#which will take a bit more workshopping I think but can also be adjusted or I can create more later

[applejarjar]

I am SO EXCITED FOR THIS PROJECT

this thing is gonna kick absolute ass

all this time painstakingly working with my least favorite ring size is really gonna pay off I think!

I'll have to pivot ever so slightly because of the pins I just got in the mail, but overall it looks exactly how I was hoping it would :D

[sunshinegat0r]

I’ve had a song stuck in my head all week, can you guess which one? Also Eustass Kid is so fucking fun to write, what the heck! Modern AU, established relationship, just thought it’d be nice to see him as obsessed with reader as I am with him. 🙃

Perfect ~ Eustass Kid x F!Reader

CW: Swearing, brief mentions of sex acts (masturbation, grinding), nothing too exciting.

WC: ~1.2k

“What’re you doin’?”

You glance over your shoulder and unfold your torso, pulling up the large boxer-briefs patterned with cartoon nuts and bolts. You release the waistband with a flourish and let the elastic snap against your hips with a smirk.

“I feel more comfortable with something on, and-” you glance around the semi-chaotic state of the bedroom, “-I have no idea where my underwear even are.”

“I ripped ‘em off ya.”

“Eustass!” you chide, no real heat behind the words. “I liked that pair!”

The red-head shrugs with a big grin and tucks his arm behind his head, propped against the headboard of his giant-sized bed. He has to admit it’s a nice view, watching you move around his room topless and wearing his clothes.

“Why’re you leavin’ me all alone over here?” Kid sulks.

You move to the desk in the corner, dragging over a small desktop mirror and some makeup wipes. “Some of us have things to do this afternoon and can’t stay in bed all day fucking.” Kid tsks at that - you know he could keep you trapped in his bed if he really wanted to.

“And as much as I love your, uh, art, I don’t think my boss would appreciate it nearly enough,” you tease, peering at your body in the mirror.

Reddish-purple lipstick is smeared all over your skin. While there are rare spots that form a perfect set of lips, it’s mostly lines of color, left from where Eustass Kid dragged his lips along your body as he ravished you. Your lips and neck suffered the most attention, but you blush as you notice the prominent amount concentrated on your breasts, and the trail down your stomach leading in between your legs.

You turn the mirror to meet Kid’s gaze behind you and find he has the most insufferable grin on his face. Truly caught red-handed - or red-lipped - his own mouth is anything but neat and tidy.

You roll your eyes, a soft smile lifting your lips, and adjust the mirror back towards yourself, grabbing a wipe to start removing the evidence. You don’t bother taking a seat at the desk, you just lean over and get to work.

As he watches you with sharp golden eyes, Kid’s smile slips slowly from his face. The gears in his head are spinning fast enough he’s surprised you can’t hear him thinking.

He’s fucked.

Well, technically you both were - he’d made sure of that thoroughly - but he’s in real trouble here.

He can’t tear his eyes off of you. You look so perfect standing there in his underwear, with his marks decorating your pretty skin like the finest museum-worthy art piece. It’s not an unfamiliar sight - the two of you had been dancing this tango for months now. Neither of you wanted to put any labels on it. For Kid, at first it had been a fun distraction from the regular bullshit of living.

Now, thoughts of you distracted him from every other aspect of his life. You were the first thing on his mind when he woke up, checking his beat-up phone for a text from you (since you were usually up hours before him). No matter what his day consisted of, even in the palace of his workshop, it was plagued by thoughts of you. And at night, when he couldn’t sleep for tossing and turning, your eyes, your smile, your body, consumed him as he tugged his aching cock, desperate for your touch to wear him out.

It was safe to say Kid was a bit obsessed, which was new territory for him. But as he watched you, all soft curves and graceful limbs, humming tunelessly and tapping your foot a little, he knew. All he ever really wanted was you.

You straighten from the desk and give yourself a final once-over in the mirror, satisfied with your work. You haven’t bothered cleaning up the marks below your neck - the collar of your shirt will hide all of that.

And besides, you… Kind of like the idea of walking around with Kid’s claims burning on your skin, with no one else the wiser. The thought brings a warm flush to your cheeks and you turn sheepishly towards the bed.

You’re surprised out of your own embarrassing thoughts by the sight of Kid looking just as flustered. Briefly you wonder if he knew what you intended by leaving yourself in such a state. His large hand is covering his eyes but it’s not enough to hide the blush bathing his own cheeks and tips of his ears, bright red against his pale skin.

Padding softly over to the side of the bed where he’s reclining, you lean in and blow a gentle puff of air into his ear. Kid jumps and swears, staring at you like a deer caught in headlights. It’s enough to make you giggle; you’ve never seen his feathers look so ruffled.

“Penny for your thoughts, babe?” The question is dripping with false innocence as you walk your fingers up his arm.

Kid scowls and looks away, twists his arm to grab your wandering hand with his own. You yelp when he tugs you back into his lap and you settle, straddling him. You’re suddenly glad for his underwear; flimsy barrier though it may be, anything to give you a chance not to be lured back into his clutches.

Eustass Kid was never one to back down from a challenge and he’s not about to start now. Despite the heat still painting his face he manages to pin you with his golden gaze. His mouth works for a few moments before he forces the words out through clenched teeth.

“Just… Realized how much ya mean to me. How - whenever I think about what I want, you’re top of th’ list. By leagues.”

Your eyes widen and you feel like you could melt straight through the bed, the floor, into the earth below. You thought your face was on fire before - now it’s your turn to cover it with your hands.

At least, you try, but Kid has a firm grip on your left hand and he’s not letting go to save you any dignity. If anything, your reaction seems to have given him some of his cocky swagger back.

He snickers at your distress and gathers both of your hands into his large one, raising your arms above your head and leering at you like a fresh-caught prize. “What’s wrong, treasure?” he coos ominously. “Can’t handle a little sincerity?”

You shake your head and let out a surprised gasp when he pulls you against his chest, his mouth immediately back on your neck and undoing all your hard work. “Only you could turn such an embarrassing confession to your favORRrr,” you mutter, a particularly hard nip turning the last syllable into a quaking moan.

You feel an inescapable hardness growing through your stolen underwear. A secret smile spreads across your lips and you arch against Kid’s chest, grinding your hips down and wrenching a garbled curse from him against your skin.

You were definitely going to be late for work.

Tag List: @zoros-sheath @quinloki (Your pinned post says to tag you in any Kid stuff so here I am hello goodbye 🫣)

[little-miss-dilf-lover]

Also! May I request some baby fever hcs for tan? It could be any genre you want. Sorry for spamming again, this will be the last request I send, promise. 💺 anon

hii!! ofc ofc! thank you for requesting, hope you like it💌

…

pregnancy hc’s

tangerine x fem!reader

word count: 744

✧.┊ MASTERLIST

✧ firstly, this man is a girl dad. that's it, nice and simple. but that doesn't mean he only wants a girl. he just suits being a dad to a little girl. BUT I do think he'd also look great as a boy dad. he doesn't care what gender the baby is, as long as it's yours, his and healthy. he'd just look great as a dad in general, cough cough preferably as the father to mine. I'm just kidding (no, I'm not)

✧ but with his job, he's always had doubts about starting a family. so I think the idea of having a baby has always been up to fate. like you don't plan it, but you'd be happy either way. you go with the flow, if it happens, it happens. if it doesn't, it doesn't

✧ he's also had doubts about being a father, as he was a foster kid, he's always thought that he isn't made for fatherhood. but you've seen the way he is with babies and kids in your family, so you know he has it in him to be a great dad. you also reassure him with all of his doubts, which he massively appreciates

✧ but when you told him the news you were expecting, you were soft and gentle when announcing it, it was also private and special. you told him, then he gave you a hug, kisses etc, then he called lemon. he might have been tearing up a little, and lem was VERY VERY happy for you both, you could hear him from tan's phone (probs shouting and congratulating a lot)

✧ he'd be AMAZING helping you through the first trimester, just a doll. helping you with morning sickness (as best as one could) would manage your mood swings like a champ (he's got tough skin, he can take it) would do things for you when you feel tired. would get you ALL the foods you're craving, and get rid of all the things and foods that makes you want to vom

✧ during the second, he'd cream your tummy with lotions and ointments, massage you if and when you feel sore and swollen. would continue to do things for you, get things for you

✧ in the third, he'd probably be the most helpful and reassuring. he knows that by now you're over being pregnant, so he'd be the support and cheer you along for the last mile. he knows that you hurt and he wishes he could do more for you. he helps wash and dress you, put on your shoes, and just anything that you can't do yourself. guides you to the bathroom if you're having trouble

✧ he's helped you practice everything. gone to classes, workshops, and yoga sessions. booked the thing with the exercise balls. helped to work on your breathing. did practice drills. became a pro at doing the nappies

✧ he knows that he might be smothering you, but he just wants to be there for you. so if you tell him to leave you alone, he takes it with a grain of salt

✧ reassures you constantly, tells you how he's never going to leave you etc

✧ he bought lots of pregnancy and baby books !! (primarily for himself)

✧ when it comes to labour, he might be the opposite, he knows that he has to be your support and rock etc. but I feel like it all gets real for him, and he's a bit of a mess (not in a bad way) just a little uncoordinated and uneasy. but he snaps back into it and back to his usual self, and helps you breathe, pats you down, adjusts your gown, pushes your hair back. anything he thinks you need

✧ he'd definitely cry

✧ and when the little bambino is born, he'd be the most protective and vigilant (watching over baby while they're getting cleaned and weighed, making sure nothing happens) then once he knows they're safe, he's back at your side. telling you how proud of you he is, how well you did

✧ you get the first hold (he turned it down, bc you did the hard work you should hold them first) he'd kiss your forehead and stroke your arm while you hold the baby

✧ if it's a girl, he tells you how she's so beautiful and that she looks like you. and if it's a boy, you tell tan how he's so handsome and that he looks like him

✧ the best little family <3

— — — — — — — — — — ☆ — — — — — — — — — —

[reddevilproductions]

⚠️Sonic Prime Infodump/Spoilers Ahead⚠️

Can we walk about how cool all the little references in Sonic Prime are?

The whole show itself feels like watching video game cutscenes and I just find that to be incredible and interesting. It felt like a whole new take on a Sonic series and I loved it.

But back to my original point with the little Easter Eggs. Here are some things I noticed that I just found really neat and I liked how they were included.

• The passcode to Tails’ workshop is ‘1992’. Which is when his debut game was first released

• Similar to the first one. Bigs’s ID number (I think that’s what it is?) in New Yolk City was “1-9-9-8” or 1998. The release year of his debut game

• The mention of the notorious orca whale that likes to fuck with Sonic

• Just him doing video gamey things in general (collecting rings, some of the sound effects from games, Knuckles GLIDING)

• The whole Rusty Rose thing. I was so excited that they brought back a form of robotization. Considering the concept has so much potential but we hadn’t seen it in years.

• Also the bit where Sonic’s shoes weren’t adjusted to the energy in New Yolk and he couldn’t run correctly reminded me of an episode of the original 1992 show. In said episode (which I unfortunately don’t remember the name of), Sonic somehow loses his shoes and because of that he can’t really run correctly anymore. It probably wasn’t an intentional callback but I got serious deja vu, but in a good way!

• And I found it funny how they did a little Deadpool “You’re probably wondering how I got into this situation” bit

• Can’t forget to special mention how they snuck “Maurice” into the show description

I would also like to mentioned that I ADORED Rouge’s new outfit. All of her outfits actually. And that hearing Adagio’s voice come out of her did catch me off guard for a second.

And Nine and Shadow may be my favorite characters. Because Tails is just my favorite Sonic character as a whole, and Shadow was just so cool! Despite the fact that he didn’t get much screen time, but I hope he does if this show gets greenlit for another season!

The art and animation for this whole thing is also just beautiful and smooth. You can tell a lot of work went into it and the crew absolutely killed it!

There’s definitely a lot more stuff I forgot to put here, but if I remember something I’ll definitely be sure to add it in later. Or anything else I notice when I inevitably rewatch the show. Overall I give it a 10/10. I watched it with my younger siblings and we all genuinely enjoyed it

And of course, I can’t forget to mention

He did it, he finally found that damn fourth chaos emerald

[the-ninja-legacy-whip]

If it's not too much of a spoiler but which em are going to end up more on the antagonistic side and which will end up taking more of an ally stance?

Some characters are definitely going to have a similar role like in season 4 I imagine but considering you will give more depth to a lot of them (like for example tox who completely drowned out in the show), which roles will slightly change/more focused on?

What I'm personally guessing right now is that chamille and ash are more on the antagonistic side, skylor stays the way she was in the show while karlof might be more of an ally (since he is kai's teacher in school) as well as tox. And with the rest I absolutely don't know

-nerd anon

With Skylor, she does lean a bit more into her ~evil upbringing~ at first cuz I think there's a lot of potential there that can be explored, along with how she grows to adjust to life beyond the Archipelago, but otherwise yes she's basically just like the show.

Chamille of course is antagonistic (especially towards Lloyd for hopefully will-be-if-not-already obvious reasons) as that's been her schtick for a while (though we don't really get to see much out of it), but she definitely ain't using that power of hers for anything good.

Karlof and Tox stay good through and through, although Tox may be tempted otherwise a little ways down the line, even if only temporarily. Karlof, however, stays a good bean ;w;)/

Paleman's definitely getting fleshed out more! As mentioned on a previous ask he actually gets to have a fight in the tournament (primarily due to the inclusion of Jesse), on top of his complicated background and potential connections with Sunni :3

Griffin's already got some of the biggest spotlight out of all the "Side EMs", and I'm aiming to make him more of a (eventually friendly) rival character than a straight up antagonist. Just someone to keep the gang on their toes, mostly.

Ash isn't outright evil, but due to me rebranding him as an assassin, he definitely doesn't have the best morals all the time. Still kind of fidgeting with his character due to the fact he doesn't ever say a word (maybe I'll make him selectively mute, there's an idea) but for a wispy guy he's rather sharp around the edges *ba dum tiss*

Jacob won't have a grand role or anything, but he does get a lot of interaction with the likes of Jay and Jesse that I'm looking forward to. And in later seasons when the EMs are called upon to gather, I do plan to have him, y'know, not be missing, because unlike Chamille he does't have an excuse. C'mon man, you're part of this crazy crew too!!! (And no, I refuse to believe he was eaten by Chen's pet snake, hmph)

Gravis...I'm still workshopping. I do somewhat picture him as a neutral party when it comes to conflicts, and probably mediates when necessary, but right now I don't have him doing anything outside of the box. Yet. I'm sure once I dive more into his character I'll come up with something, haha

Shade comes off as antagonistic, but he's just an anti-social extravert hgfkjhjgfdsgfd. And this started as a crack idea (of course) buuut I thought it'd be hilarious if Sunni and/or Miranda wind up making him break his hardass facade askljhghfhgfd

Neuro generally is someone that has good intentions, but he will play both sides if he thinks it'll benefit him in the long run. Which is very easy to do when you're a mind reader. Most of the time, however, he is actually quite eager to help, and I kind of think it would be fun to have him work under/for/in relation to Borg in the future like Julien used to. But, we'll see, I'm not totally committed to the idea (I just want an excuse to see him more)

Bolobo is just out here doing his own thing to his own vibe and thriving with it skklslkslkfg. He's got some good insightful moments coming his way though~

Jesse absolutely doesn't go full antagonist whatsoever but he does have a lil' rebellious phase at one point snksnksnk

But also every EM gets a chance to kind of talk about themselves and their pasts before or after being eliminated from the tournament (preferably before but I'm going to be realistic for now), and I'm really excited to expand on the EMs dynamics with the main ninja and each other! <3

[razorblade180]

“Nothing Happened”

Let’s talk about RWBY Vol9 and the oddest complaint in my opinion that I keep seeing! For some reason, people keep saying this was basically filler and that nothing happened. While I think certain parts of the finale didn’t wow me, it feels so disingenuous to say nothing happened or changed.

I’ve heard the argument it’s because the heroes still want to beat Salem and do what’s right like they did before, and while that is true, the framework and mindset is different which was the entire point for the volume and finding yourself.

Ruby dealt with feeling like an imposter for failing to meet expectations/idolizations of what she should be to the point she genuinely believed the world would be better off without her and didn’t want to do deal with it anymore. Admittedly, I too was a little disappointed that she didn’t return with a new design, form, or etc. However, there wasn’t a second I was mad at it because under the conditions that got her there, the most important and morally correct thing to represent is for the message to be “Choose yourself because you’re enough.” While I don’t want the show to completely write her as if she’s out of the woodwork, it’s a very important change that from this moment Ruby’s failures going forward shouldn’t have her believe “I’m not cut out for this” but “Get it together, gotta find a way to salvage this.” More constructive and less destructive.

My personal nitpick with the episode is having her friends going “She knew what she was all along” because no the hell she didn’t. If she did then she wouldn’t have drunken the tea or y’know, have a internal crisis about her life and decisions.

As for Jaune, people think that regaining his youth means nothings happened in the end? Why? He remembers everything and has fought for decades now. Outside of that, this volume has gotten him over the main hurdle of killing Penny and a bunch of his baggage of feeling like a failure for not protecting people by also changing his mindset to understand it’s not his fault. At the end of the day you gotta do the best you can and try not to wallow in the pain or hold on in fear of it. Like Ruby, I really hope there’s still a slight adjustment period in breaking old habits and even him generally feeling a bit awkward socializing with people again. It would be really neat if he still woke up early for something specific and someone has to tell him “It’s okay. You don’t have to do that anymore.”

As for the rest of the team, besides the literal relationship cementing, I can agree not an entire shift has changed outside of something we would actually have to see in practice which would be how they approach Ruby and some problem solving. Like they’ve always sorta workshopped most plans together but it would be swell if they were now more attentive to how Ruby is feeling about something or they purposely take an action that is primarily for Ruby’s benefit.

So yes, while the over all goal remains the mindset is different and I think that means a lot.

[k00295632]

Project: Disrupt

Week 2: Monday, 16/10/2023

I did the Photography workshop on Monday , and was given an introduction to Studio lighting and set up, and did a few portrait shots as a exercise using different lighting and "filters" to gain different affects and experiment with different out comes.

We started off using the automatic features on our phones and took some normal portraits before experimenting and disrupting these portraits with different poses and coloured lights. We used a red light and pointed it from different angles gaining different interesting results, we also tried putting a piece of red plastic over the camera lense created a red filter.

Using different phone cameras resulted in different quality photos, some of my photos were taken with my own phone and the photos me with red light were taken on A.J's phone. These photos of A.J were taken with their phone (which is brand new with a high quality camera) , and the quality was way better than my phone as you can see. With A.J, we also started with a basic portrait and then experimented with some slightly different poses, and then by reflecting light onto a golden reflective material from their side and then from behind them.

These were also taken with A.J's phone, and we tried using a large translucent sheet of plastic and shined a bright light behind it while one of us posed. We used different coloured pieces of clear plastic in front of the camera, and interestingly enough the orange plastic would turn into a light warm grey (top left picture), we had to reposition and refocus the camera many times before it settled on orange, we had similar problems with the red plastics at times.

After being shown how to use the DSLR camera we continued the to take a variety of different portraits using different methods once more but with the DSLR. I had a bit of difficulty adjusting to using it but managed to somewhat grasp it in the end. Here we experimented with the light projector and placed coloured plastic over it, and projected it onto the wall. I'm realising now that we used mainly red in this exercise and I think it suits the theme of disruption. I feel like red is a very disruptive colour, maybe its because red is often used as a warning colour, both in everyday life and in the wild.

For our Project : Disrupt, an idea I had for my security camera concept was that while the p.o.v was switching cameras, in between switches a "normal" portrait in the background would change and become disrupted, distorted even, and switch back. But shown long enough to have the viewer second guessing themselves. As a reference for this I posed with this baby I found lying around and shot a impromptu Madonna and child. ( left image normal, right image disrupted)

"Baby in a frame, I know, I know it's serious~" - The smiths (probably)

It's a framed baby, in a frame, with a lizard. If I had another frame I would've tripple framed it. This was completely self indulgent.

Overall, I now know that I just about know how to navigate the studio and light work from other workshops. I feel that I may need to revisit this workshop in the future or do my own research to gain a clearer understanding, but I just about have a grasp on it.

[mogai-sunflowers]

waaa my drivers ed class is two hours in the evening twice a week for the next month 1/2 /neg

at least most of it's online but it's still just ?? so much ? i am tired at 7 pm i don't want to be in a class.

anyway. how are you ? how's college ? any cool classes ? any classes at an awful time ? /lh are you planning to add to the bi lesbian + she-ra wall ?

yooo i remember drivers ed class. mine was legit three hours every day for a week it was terrible, good luck adfadfsaf!!!!!!!

so college is...... something. and i mean that in an overwhelmingly positive way, it's just been a major adjustment which is no surprise. i'm enjoying my classes and i've already made a really close friend group and i feel loved and supported and it's honestly great. i was just elected as the freshman representative of my school's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Board, and I have a lot of ideas for that. I've been working with my school's disability advocacy club to create image descriptions for social media posts and through that club i'm participating in leading an image description workshop in October! i'm having a bit of a problem (not a bad one) because i think i might have feelings for my roommate... who is my best friend.... but who is also dating my other good friend... and i feel terrible about it because i would obviously never do anything to jeopardize their relationship OR ours, but it's just sucky sometimes. she's the best roommate in the whole damn world though and i would never want to move out.

i have a professor who is the first openly queer professor i've ever had. they use they/them and are gay and trans and i thought i had a crush on them (turns out i was just so happy to finally have an openly queer teacher). they're great and make an otherwise difficult class very engaging.

ALSO one of my new friends is also a bigger GNC lesbian and they're going to be taking me suit shopping soon so we can both wear suits to my college's winter formal dance :))

i won't lie, going to an all-girl's college as a queer trans person is difficult. more than difficult actually, it's infuriating. but i know it wouldn't be much different anywhere else and there are still supportive people. so even though i'm surrounded by conservative christian trump-worshiping girls, i'm also surrounded by all my friends and some respectful professors (though ironically my sociology professor is kinda weird about trans ppl) and my music lessons are going well so it's a mixed bag ofc but it's been a good experience overall so far :)))

there's not much more room on my specific shera bi lesbian wall, but i have made other props that are going to go elsewhere and i'm also cosplaying shera for halloween using my sword as a prop :))

how are you? have you started your sophomore year yet? is everything goin alright?

[pynkhues]

I’m the anon who asked you for your take on Jeremy Strong’s awards no-show. I straight up LOVED that answer! And your point re. Kieran and Jeremy probably annoying each other, I hear that and understand it and agree! But in all seriousness, I think this is one of the things that kind of narcs me about the discourse around Jeremy’s ‘process’ and how disruptive it is, and how Kieran has to make allowances for him. It’s a two-way street! Jeremy would have been making allowances for and adjusting to his colleagues, too. I’m not sure why one style of disruption is more acceptable than the other tbh. Anyway ty for your reply, love your blog and your Succession thoughts and your industry insights!

(x)

You're very welcome, anon! And yeah, I think people just have a kneejerk reaction to method acting tbh, which I do kind of get? A lot of actors I think do use it in a way that lets them get away with bad behaviour, after all, and it's certainly an approach that's had a body count, but I think at its core, method acting is an immersive technique that, when done well, can be immensely useful for actors feeling their way into worlds that are really foreign to their own.

Benedict Cumberbatch actually talked about it in a pretty interesting way during The Power of the Dog's press tour. Jane Campion had actually encouraged him to do it, and for him it really became about using his hands in a way that he'd never really had to before, in particular in cigarette rolling, banjo playing and taxidermy, all of which are crucial to the character he plays.

But yes, that's a whole other thing, haha. I do think some of the criticism of method acting is about it's room for bad behaviour, but I also do think a bit of it can sometimes be a deliberate diminishment of the craft of acting. There does seem to be a popular sentiment that acting is just people who just get to play make believe all day, but good acting is an art form in and of itself, and of course there'd be different techniques and methods to excel at that.

I don't know! Day jobbing at a theatre company means I'm around actors a lot these days, and I kinda love just going to watch them workshop. There are so many different ways into roles, and I think the only thing to really remember is that when it comes to actors, they're all insane, haha.

[trashyandtiredsol]

Okay @kredena-dark you have unlocked an unskippable rant!!! :D

Some of this is just me explaining stuff, so don't mind that- actually idk I'm just info dumping rn, it explaining everything in full detail, but still explaining :P

Idk how long it'll be so- CUT TIME

💚Okay- posca pens!! Fuckin love those!! It's a liquid marker of sorts and there are thinner nib ones and thicker nib ones. There's also a very limited amount of color options. Which include pastel like colors, black, white, gray, silver, gold, basic color saturated colors, forgot if the green is more of a forest green or a more vibrant green tho :P

They can be so smooth and solid looking!! Which is what I like about them!! It's like markers but better!! :D

Really wanna get every single color for myself instead of only using them at school :/

💚 Woodworking has been going really great so far!! For woodworking 1 I took last year, it was introducing all the machines, taking safety tests on those machines plus ones for how to be safe in the workshop. It's where I made a box and a shelf were the drawer is now stuck in, which sucks, plus a phone holder with 2 holes for pencils.

Woodworking 2- very nice~ I'm working on another shelf, this time with 3 drawers!! And hopefully they won't get stuck :P. We also make a bowl, which I'll fully fully work on once my shelves done!! We actually learned a new machine for this!! It's able to make the wood rounded, so we can make a bowl and practice making the wood rounded.

💚Ink is a very nice tool for traditional art in my opinion!! You can put a blob of sorts and shape it however you want, then once it's dry you can use a sharpie or a pen or a fineliner sharpie pen to make something out of it :D

You can also just use the line pens and sharpies by themselves and create different values with thicker or thinner lines and I have shaky hands!! Which can really make your lines feel more organic in a way!! Also really helps me feel loose drawing!! But then sometimes it's rather annoying, like with digital art and when I want to make smooth straight and curved lines!!

💚 Speaking of digital art~

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE HOW THAT'S BEEN GOING FOR ME SINCE I'VE STARTED DIGITAL ART!! :D

I think it was..... Less than a year ago? Around that long ago :P

Anyway- I've made myself my own Sona and it's great!! My hair color and just having a pixie cut hair works quite well with the cat ears!! And all the markings and just- everything that's gone into making them has been so great~

And the art apps I use!! It took a few tries with multiple other art apps and looking up which would work for a phone and what was free to use. But I found Infinite Painter and HiPaint and they are so great!!

I found Infinite Painter first off, and it's worked splendidly and hasn't crashed or glitched on me at all!! And the brush options are so nice!! It's a great beginner digital art app, it doesn't overload you with so many brush customizations!! Even though there still are plenty of customizations, you don't have to adjust them if you don't want to!! You can just change the opacity and size of it if you want!!

And then there's HiPaint!! I REALLY like the brushes this app has, it's actually so much better than Infinite Painter!! And you can customize the stabilizer!! I currently have it a 20%. I actually thought I'd have it at some higher percentage since my hands shake, but it's quite comfortable at 20%!! I could maybe slide it to 21 -25% , just for a bit more smoothness. And- this app has glitched out once before and it wouldn't let me do anything at all!! So I tried restarting my phone a couple times and that didn't work so I uninstalled it AND I FRICKIN LOST MY PROJECTS ON IT AJSJDJFJFFKDJF that fuckin sucked, but luckily I already posted the doodles I did on there and I screenshotted the sona sketch I did, but I did loose my linework and the start of me coloring it :/. But I did redo the linework and finished it all and it looks very nice!! So didn't really lose anything permanently!! It hasn't glitch again so that's good~

💚hmmmm I'm running out of what to add!! Might just leave this as is~

Idk I wanna show this as soon as possible so I can talk more about this with you Kredena!!

(this is mainly for Kredena, but to anyone else reading, I hope you like this all!!)

Ye you know what idk what else to add, probably all my head cannons and such for every fandom I've ever been in, but I don't even remember all of that rn so- this is it I guess, maybe at least for now!! :D

💚Update: BANNER IDEAS FOR MY BLOG HERE :D

I have some very nice ideas!! There's one with my sona wearing my in progress green scarf!! There's another with a winter setting with a certain way the trees would look that I really wanna try doing!! There's a flower pattern idea for spring!! I also wanna do one with a pattern with better pumpkins and fall leaves and candy corn!! For summer I'd probably do a Sona drawing with a sunny background with my sona wearing shades and, OH OH MAYBE STANDING IN AN OCEAN!! OH I LOVE THOSE CONCEPTS SO FRICKIN MUC AJSJDDJFJajsjsjdjsffjdjAHSHDajsjdhASJDHDjajsdj!!

[littlemissmanga]

it makes me so nervous me as someone who Wants 2 write in the future but doesnt rlly know how or have much of the talent or skill that other ppl have that, on the chance i actually get published that it’ll be bad & ppl might think im just trying to appeal to the market or part of the right circles or smth :( which ik is such a nonissue but i rlly dont want to upset actually talented writers

In my 13 years on this site, you're my first anon. Thank you for reaching out!

First, let me start with this: NO writer you consider "talented" (a subjective moniker at best) will ever be upset that someone else is starting out, even if they're working through the same bumps we all do at first. This isn't the hunger games and there are no winners. There's always room at the table for a new friend with new ideas, new ways to express themselves, and new ways to explore the stories that are important to us.

Writing is a skill. Just like learning a new language or cooking. No one is born knowing what to write. Sure, some people naturally have a more discernable palate or pic up languages easier. And some people have a natural grasp on grammar and the rhythm of words. But you can still be a great writer without that. it just takes a bit of work.

Writing is also scary. You know the story you want to tell, and when you're just starting out (which is the first time you start any new writing project, no matter how many have come before it) it may be that nothing you put to page will sound the way you imagined in your head.

It's frustrating and disheartening. But my best advice is to just keep going just for yourself. When you're getting it down into paper/screen for the first time, you're writing for you. What you imagined is so important to you, it deserves to be made real through writing.

So don't think about what readers will think - of the prompt, the prose, the dialog, or the characters. Don't worry about syntax or diction, just get what you need to express out of your mind to a place where you can examine it.

Then, give yourself time and space. It's OK to edit and re-edit. To polish a section only to cut it later because as much as you like it, it doen't actually fit what your end goal is. Don't think about it in terms of what's popular or well-liked. Just think about "Does this serve the story I want to tell?" "Is my blorbo behaving in a way that serves their character and the plot? If not, why and how can it be adjusted?"

Over time, you'll see a growth in your writing. You may also see a regression in your writing from time to time. I'm going through that right now. That just reveals an area you need to focus on more.

It's up to you whether you want to share those early attempts or not. And be prepared - you'll never really feel your writing is "ready." But rather your excitement over sharing it with others who enjoy the media/characters/writing will overwhelm your anxiety.

And it's ok to be selective with who reads your writing, especially if it's early. Select strangers on the internet you don't know so you can remain anonymous. Find online workshops and share there. Select friends you can trust to give you only constructive critiques, rather than subjective analysis if that helps at first. Don't shy away from true help, but it's ok to share with people you know will inherently be supportive.

And if it helps, I'll offer to be your first stop :) I can't wait to see what stories you have in your heart.

[realcatalina]

Unkown lady in purple? part 2

I screwed up. A bit. It’s nothing major. I just wrote a post, posted it and in meantime the webpage of museum which has the painting, has updated and I didn’t notice. I was wondering why all of sudden I could find better photo of the painting online, but I didn’t think to check the webpage. Hence my previous post would be written pretty differently, if I did check it. Anyway, back to lady in purple:

Link:https://www.khm.at/en/objectdb/detail/967/?offset=3&lv=list

That dress certainly cannot be excluded as purple. So it can be unidentified Tudor royal lady. And I might have figured it out.

Colours of undersleeves still bit off, but possibly thaht is due to instability of pigments. (Because painting looks like it underwent conservation or they took much better photo.)

The affected areas includes hands, and hence the slightly weird greyish undertone of skin, the white linnen probably also:

However, now the details of the paintings are beautiful, although I am wondering if it is Holbein or Holbein’s workshop. Both is possible.

By the way there is something odd going on where black and white and parts of skin meet, I am not sure if that is pigment instability, or some traluscent linnen being used, creating this effect. But not relevant to sitter’s identity.

I especially like detail look at the chest brooch and decorative lining of the chemise, then either the kirtle is black or the dress is linned with black. Pretty unsual. Almost as if somebody had their own style.

The golden pin holding the oversleeves, loving it:

The eyes are most likely grey. 

The background is blue and didn’t fade, so it is unlikely that cheap pigment would be used for eyes, when plenty more blue pigment was used for background.

As for the sitter’s identity. It suddenly started to make sense in my head few hours after making the post.

So in part 1 we said it can be Mary I, or Anne of Cleves or Catherine Howard or Catherine Parr.

 Mary in many depictions has grey eyes, however if you check her nostrils-despite many portraits created-only one has nostrils anywwhere near the prolongated nostrils of lady in purple. While it might seem as roundish nostril on left side in portrait of lady in purple(imo optical ilusion created by shadow of nosetip), nostril on right has clearly entirely different shape. 

It’s not Mary.

I next considered Catherine Parr. She had grey eyes in many depictions. 

I have seen lots of portraits from 1538-1543 but most of time you cannot do the chronology, because of how many unusual styles occur during those years.

Only bit of fashion we can conclusively do chronology in early 1540s are partlets. So I coloured the one worn by lady in purple, to be able to do lineup better.

Simple partlet ending under the neck, were with Tudor ladies from at least late 1520s, all the way to late 1530s. During Catherine Parr’s time as Queen(1543+, the partlet was very wide, with sides turned outward and often embroidered)

It doesn’t take genius to then line up towards which style partlets in between linger to more. Hence it is very obvious between fashion of lady in purple, and 1543+, belongs so called Toledo portrait. But that makes no sense, if lady in purple was Catherine Parr as  Holbein died October/November 1543, and she only became Queen in July 1543. True new Queen could change fashion completely, and adjust it a lot. But in less than 3-4 months so significantly? I am not buying it. Especially given we have several sketches and paintings by Holbein  and one more painter of ladies wearing both styles these french hoods and very similiar dresses, and by 1544 completely different style was worn by english ladies.

So no, I am not buying that these fashions were around just for half of 1543! 

So I believe it is very unprobable lady in purple is Catherine Parr and imo we have to look more at timeframe of 1540-1542. 

Hence Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard. 

And here the eye-colour becomes important. 

Unless Anne of Cleves had hazel eyes same as Mary Rose Tudor(grey-brown), then she is not sitter. 

(Spoiler alert, her eyes might have been hazel!) Anne’s eyes in depictions by Holbein are brown. 

OK, in miniature on left(bellow) one eye is bit to grey, but imo that is because it is ment to be in shadow.

And yes, that miniature on left is Anne of Cleves, not Katherine Howard.

It was solely identified as Howard due to consort’s necklace(which any Queen could wear) and being done in year 1540. But there were 2 Queens that year!

Fact that seemes to have escaped those who said-definitely it must be Catherine Howard! And I agree with those who point out clues by Holbeins himself point to Anne of Cleves-It’s on number 4 card!

 She’s just not so easy to recognize in English outfit.

So if it isn’t Anne the sitter should be Catherine Howard. I’ve excluded all other wives, right? (not so fast.)

But then I started to look at other depictions, supposedly of Catherine Howard. And you know what I realised? 

These are not very likely to be same hands(not impossible though):

But these very likely are hands of same person:

Toledo portrait is not Catherine Howard! It’s Anne of Cleves! I know it is insane! But look at those brows, the shape of eyes. Nose. She even tilts her head same way. The shape of lips, exact, shape of brows too, same exact nose. It’s near perfect match.(which for miniature and full scale painting is really unusual.)

I have updated this post and removed the lenghtly explanation as to why it actually is Anne of Cleves and why she was overlooked as possible sitter so many times. It took half of post, which wasn’t my intention at all. And I really wish to focus on unidentified lady in purple gown here.

But if you’re interested more, wait for the post which will be focused solely on Anne of Cleves, where I will explain everything Just take my word for it for now, Toledo portrait is most likely Anne of Cleves. 

But Toledo portrait is very darkened(Holbein’s workshop’s late work had issues), but one copy of it (on left, which by the way has same traluscent fabric? as lady in purple, suggesting alterations to original) has much lighter hair(probably some strawberry blond variant) and GREY eyes!

 Maybe after all Anne had hazel eyes going between brown and grey!!!

But then who is the lady in purple? Once again, is it Anne of Cleves or Catherine Howard?

If we assume the different shape of hands could be due to health reasons. Then yeah, features could fit Anne. But probably Catherine too. Henry had a type. Big time!  But there are still bound to be some differences and due to Holbein’s insane quality of portraits we can check, they are most suitable for comparison. 

We have 3 depictions of Anne by Holbein with visible brows:

(Actually 4, there is another miniature also with such brows.)

And given the lady in purple falls fashion wise before Toledo portrait and after miniature with consort necklace, it is higly unlikely Anne’s brows would disappear completely in between. Go slightly lighter or darker yes, complete disappearance? No. Not in portrait by Holbein. 

I also think there is difference in shape of eyes, but i am not sure how to describe it. They are similiar, but i feel like Anne’s eyes to sides are more almond like? Also imo, the nose of lady in purple from side would not be as prominent as of Anne. In this angle we should probably see more of it, if it was Anne.

Another piece of evidence is that Anne was described as rather tall in contemporary reports(by many people), Catherine as rather small. Lady in Toledo portrait seems tall, but not the lady in purple dress. 

This is not a sitter of same height, yes lot is hidden by the dress, but proportions of limbs are very different. It’s highly unlikely it is same woman due to this. Despite very similiar features of the face.

So yeah, with everything else ruled out the lady in purple is probably Catherine Howard.  

(Anne’s portrait is most likely done during Catherine’s time as Queen, hence the similiarities in style. But if so, what the heck was Henry’s problem?! The women look so alike you could mistake them for each other really easily! Like sisters! I get he had a type, but this is so weird! )

I am 90% sure lady in Toledo portrait is Anne of Cleves.

However only 60% sure lady in purple dress is Catherine Howard.

Which is not much. But it also completely reasonable.

I have 3 other depictions of Anne to compare with, but none of Howard. Hence the uncertainity is bound to be there.

I hope you’ve enjoyed in and in part 3 I will be going over alleged depictions of Howard and compare them to lady in purple. 

(Those which didn’t turn out to be Anne of Cleves already.)

[mykey-and-bobby-koopa]

04: The learning

| Versión en español |

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Jr. was in his room adjusting his bed a bit to make room. At that moment he feels the door knock and goes to open it.

Jr: oh! Mykey! Come in. Welcome

Mykey: excuse me...

Upon entering, the older Koopa sees the room, noticing Jr.'s toys, as well as the drawings of him on the wall, causing him tenderness to see all that.

Mykey: are they yours? (pointing to the pictures)

Jr.: y-yes…

Bowsy said that sadly, thinking that his friend would find it childish and silly.

Mykey: they are cute, I like them a lot

The little boy gives a small smile and looks at him tenderly

Jr.: Thanks...

Saying that, Jr. walks over to his bed, which is medium-sized with pictures of flames in bright green sheets, sorting out some sheets he had there.

Jr.: My brothers don't seem to like my drawings, neither does Dad.

As Bowsy said that, Mykey sat on the bed and paid attention to the little boy's words, looking at him intently.

Jr.: Once I showed him a little drawing of me and dad, but he didn't seem to pay much attention to it (putting the sheets aside and sits next to Mykey) and my brothers just laughed at my drawing

Mykey: well… I do think they're great.

Jr.: Really?

Mykey: yes. I wish I knew something about drawing, but it's not that I'm particularly good. I'll give you an example; do you have a paper and a pencil?

Jr.: sure (he gives him what he asks for) here you have

In that, Mykey starts to draw something and then show Jr.

Mykey: tell me, what do you see here?

Jr.: (squinting and tilting his head) uh…is it…a mosquito?

Mykey: It's a cat, or so it's supposed to be.

Jr.: oh… s-sorry… (looks down)

Mykey: (laughs) don't apologize. What I am trying to say is that we all have something that we are good at and something that we struggle with. Your drawings are better than mine because your energy and affection are reflected in them, and that is very good, Jr.

With those words, Jr. looks up again at the purple-haired Koopa

Mykey: When we take a break from studying, we can have a little drawing workshop once in a while to relax, don't you think?

Jr., with that said, becomes more motivated, which brings a smile to his face and a sparkle to his eyes.

Jr.: I would love to! (smiling more)

At that smile, Mykey smiles at him tenderly.

Mykey: Well, it's time to sleep. Tomorrow we will start and we’ll want to be with all the energy.

After putting the sheets on a nearby table, they both go to the bed, which is big enough for both of them to fit. Jr. gives Mykey space to settle down, then moves to his side, settling next to him, but not before turning off the lights and being in the moonlight. Bowsy closed his eyes slowly while he was hugged and wrapped in the sheets, in turn, Mykey looked at him and caressed his face slowly as he whispered affectionately.

Mykey: (soft voice) don’t worry, little one. Everything will be alright

With those words, Mykey gradually falls asleep while still hugging Bowsy, who seemed to be smiling as he slept.

On the other hand, in Ludwig's room, he was also preparing to go to sleep. As he does so he keeps thinking out loud and talking to himself.

Ludwig: well, well, well... so another day ends

The young Koopa snuggles into his bed, which is dark blue, large and circular, with two large pillows, with silver-colored sheets with music notes on them. Placing her head on his pillow, he continues to think out loud as he gazes at the ceiling of his room, which is adorned with light blue stars that light up in the dark.

Ludwig: (sighs) well, I hope tomorrow is a more normal day and that Larry doesn't behave like a child, although I feel bad for the other little one… I don't remember his name; he had to do with our fight…

The Koopa settles from one side to the other while he continues thinking and falling asleep little by little.

- And the oldest… I'm sure I've seen him somewhere… whatever… he looks… nice… but I still don't trust him… I hope he doesn't lose patience with Bowsy… although that's not my problem anymore… -

He settles down one last time by lying on his right side, closing his eyes.

-although… (remembering the small smile he gave her before going to sleep) I can't stop thinking about how cute he looks… smiling…-

Thinking of that, he cracks a small smile. After a moment of silence, Ludwig's eyes widen as he realizes his thoughts.

Ludwig: no, no! What am I thinking?

In that he sits down and puts his hands to his head, making a denial gesture

Ludwig: Wow, I'm definitely so tired my thoughts won't leave me alone.

Without realizing it, Ludwig touches a certain part of his head to calm himself down, and feels a sharp pang there, making him groan a little in pain. The young Koopa doesn't understand why he felt that, and he tries to touch that part very carefully, being the left side above his ear.

- What is this? Why does it hurt? him -he thinks while breathing something agitated-

Ludwig tries to calm down and after a while lay down carefully and slowly, leaning to the right to support his head and trying to sleep. He struggles, but eventually falls asleep after a while.

The next day, Mykey, in Jr.'s room, slowly woke up as he watched the younger boy sleep soundly. After that he gets up and lets Bowsy sleep, to instantly go outside and breathe fresh air and finishing waking up. In it, he is found by King Bowser.

Bowser: good morning, son (strokes the young man's hair)

Mykey: oh, good morning Mr. Bowser

Bowser: what are you doing here so early?

Mykey: nothing, just starting the day

Bowser: great! We go to breakfast. Go wake up the others, okay?

Mykey: sure, now I'm going

Heading towards the rooms, he meets Ludwig, who seems to be a bit distracted and almost asleep.

Mykey: Good morning, Ludwig.

The young blue-haired man barely listens to what the purple-haired man tells him, so he looks up at him with a sleepy face, to which Mykey looks at him somewhat worried

Mykey: are you alright? Looks like you didn't have a good night.

Ludwig: (rubbing his eyes) I'm fine, you don't have to worry.

Mykey: are you sure? You seem...

At that, Ludwig interrupts with a slightly irritated tone.

Ludwig: Look, look, I appreciate your attention, but it's too early to start arguing. You'll see what it will stop, okay?

Mykey notices that Ludwig's gaze is a bit lost, almost closing his eyes from sleep.

Mykey: sure… (moving his eyes slowly to another side) anyway, Mr. Bowser says that we all go to breakfast.

Ludwig says nothing and gives a thumb up as a sign of understanding and walks towards the dining room, bumping into a wall in the process. Mykey can't help but give him a weird look, but then he walks into the nearest room, Larry's.

In it he knocks on the door but no one answers, to which he knocks again and the second refusal by Larry and Bobby, Mykey decides to go in to wake them up. Being a little dark, the older Koopa opens the curtains a little, letting in the sunlight. Going to wake the boys up, he notices that Larry is on the floor sleeping with his feet up on the bed and his head on the rug, while Bobby is lying on the bed.

Mykey watches Larry for a few moments and then picks him up and puts him on the bed so he can wake him up, as well as his little brother. Larry wakes up and slowly straightens up, somewhat confused.

Larry: huh? (tilting her head from side to side)

Mykey: I see you woke up, sleepyhead

Bobby wakes up too, but less sleepy

Bobby: good morning

Mykey: Good morning guys. Can you tell me why Larry was on the ground?

Bobby: I don't know, we went to sleep at the same time and he was fine in bed

Larry: was I on the ground? I didn't even realize it, so how did I get up here?

Mykey: I put you up there; I'm surprised your neck doesn't hurt, does it?

Larry: nope

Bobby: Now that I think about it, in the middle of the night I heard a loud bang, but I thought it was my imagination.

Mykey: At least we now know what happened. Come on, let's have breakfast

Bobby: let's go soon

After everyone had breakfast, Mykey and Jr. met up to study, going to the same Kamek office where Ludwig had taken Jr.'s exam.

Mykey: ok, let's see...

While Mykey read the notes, Jr. took the materials from him. The purple-haired Koopa was noticing that the notes were somewhat advanced, even for Mykey himself.

Mykey: well, it doesn't seem easy, but we'll try

Jr.: I'm ready (putting on an expression of enthusiasm)

Mykey picks up the whiteboard marker and starts explaining the basics while Jr. tries to pay attention, but he gets distracted easily, which he tries not to do, however it's hard for him, so he tries to bite his lower lip a little to react. While that was happening, Mykey finished explaining some things and asked Jr. something, who accidentally bit down a little harder, which makes him moan.

Mykey: are you okay?

Jr.: y-yes, I just bit myself, but I'll be fine

Mykey: Why?

The little boy sighed and supported his face with his hands on the desk

Jr.: I get distracted, I can't concentrate very well; maybe that's why Ludwig gets mad at me and loses patience

Mykey: That's because you're not like him, but don't worry, that will get better with time. Tell me, did you manage to understand something I told you?

Jr. looked somewhat nervously to the sides of him while he hesitated a bit, to which Mykey puts his hand on the little boy's shoulder, who looks at him and notices his warm smile and his gray eyes.

Mykey: don't worry, if you didn't understand I don't blame you. After all it's easy to get lost with this. Wait a minute, I'll be right back.

At that, Mykey retreats to the next room in search of something. A few minutes later he returns with some plastic containers, sand and some blank sheets of paper.

Mykey: Ok, we will apply this graphically (leaving the materials on the main desktop) we will see it from another point of view.

Jr.: What is that for?

Mykey: You see, mathematics is one thing, but it can be applied in different ways, it can also be understood in different ways (hands the blank sheets to Jr.) here you will be drawing the same thing that I will be giving you as an example, understood?

Jr.: I think so

Mykey half fills a container with sand while he repeats the process with another container, explaining the concept of half and whole to Jr., while the little one draws and colors what he sees. Later Mykey proceeds to fill the containers in thirds and fourths, explaining and Jr. drawing, as well as several examples, mixing both halves, thirds and fourths.

Mykey: …and that's how you get the result, do you understand that?

Jr.: Y-Yes! Now it's clearer to me

Mykey: Remember to look at the board to learn how these quantities are expressed in numbers. He sees drawing them, coloring them and writing their numerical value.

Before the examples, Jr. is putting into practice what he has understood. At first he still had a hard time, but little by little he becomes aware of certain numerical patterns, although he still continued to make small mistakes

When he finishes he tells Mykey to see if he is okay, to which he corrects those details but notes that he is on the right track, always relying on his drawing sheets. They go on like this throughout the class, which moved fast, according to the perception of Jr., who seemed to enjoy all of it.

Jr: Wow! He didn't know it could be so much fun

Mykey: I'm glad you're getting into the groove of this. That would be all for today, it's time to rest a bit from so many numbers.

Jr.: (nodding) I want to go get an ice cream. Last time I couldn't because I had this stupid test and...

At that moment, he covers his mouth with both hands, putting on an expression of surprise at what he said, looking askance at Mykey, who was approaching Jr. and he, with an expression of fear and closing his eyes, expects a scolding, but instead he gets a pat on the head, which makes him surprised. Mykey stops petting little Koopa and eventually extends his hand in invitation.

Mikey: let's go?

Jr., still stunned by his teacher's action, nods softly and his eyes light up and he smiles again. After that, Bowsy takes his hand and together they leave the classroom, but not before the redhead young takes his backpack. As they walk towards the exit of the castle, Jr was almost running with joy. It was a very beautiful sunny day, without any clouds and with a gentle breeze. Arriving at an ice cream stand, they both buy one. Bowsy chooses a chocolate one and Mykey chooses a raspberry one.

Mykey: are you enjoying it?

Jr.: (smiling) yes! And a lot!

Mykey: You deserve it.

He pats Bowsy's head again, who is really enjoying his time with Mykey and inadvertently wags his little tail a little.

Both boys were walking for an hour or so before returning to the castle

Mykey: remember to practice what we're doing today so you don't forget. I gave you a small task

Jr.: aww… do I have to do it? D-Don't answer! I won't make that mistake again

Mykey: Don't worry. You will have time to enjoy, let's go little by little, yes?

Bowsy nods and then Mykey gives him a hug and a small kiss on the forehead, making him blush a lot, covering his eyes.

Jr.: And why was that?

Mykey: I'm sorry (laughs) it's that you're so adorable that it's irresistible not to pamper yourself. Take it as brotherly affection. I do the same to Bobby, I hope you don't mind

Jr.: (nervous laugh) w-well... it doesn't bother me... I'm just not used to much... affection

Mykey: I imagine. Anyway, I'll go prepare some things, what will you do?

Jr.: I don't know, but I guess I'll do my homework first and then I'll see

Mykey: Well said, sweetie. We will see each other tomorrow at the same time to continue studying

Jr: yes! I will wait for you there

Mykey walks out of there, leaving Jr. alone, who goes to his room and leaves his backpack on the bed and takes out his notebook. He settles into his desk and thinks for a moment, remembering how well he spent his time with Mykey.

- So this is enjoying someone's company... I think everything would have been better if I had paid attention to what Ludwig told me, maybe I would have gotten along better with him and maybe we would have been more united...-sighs as he continues- how I wish my brothers spent more time with me… it felt good that someone trusted me and gave me support… definitely Mykey is very different from Ludwig… he is quite the big brother… I really envy Bobby… they get along so well I wish... Mykey was my older brother and not Ludwig... -

At that thought, Bowsy is surprised and interrupts what was going through his mind and after being silent he realizes what he was thinking.

- n-no! What things am I thinking? -he thought as he shook his head- I-I'd better start doing my homework, I don't want to disappoint others -he said that while he opened his notebook and began to solve the exercises while he had his drawing sheet-

The next day, Jr. and Mykey meet again in the room to continue practicing fractions.

Jr.: good morning, teacher

Mykey: good morning dear student

After saying that, they both laugh at each other.

Mykey: ready to start?

Jr. nods and immediately takes out his notebook. Both continue with their routine. This is how they spend several days a week, dedicating an hour and a half per day. Little by little, Jr. improves his numerical skills. So much so that he is gradually not relying on his drawing sheets but on his mind. He imagines elements around him and writes the result in the most optimal way. This is how the days go by. Mykey continues to back him up on the details and inadvertently they are into more advanced fractions.

One day, after a day of study, they decide to take a short break.

Mykey: ok that would be all for today

Jr.: Yeah, that was kind of tiring, but I like it

Mykey: that's great.

At that moment, Ludwig, accompanied by Roy, goes to look for something in the classroom, but before entering and about to grab the doorknob, he listens to the small conversation that both Koopas have inside.

Mykey: how are you feeling for the exam on Monday?

Jr.: eh… I don't know…

Mykey: What's up?

Jr.: (poking his claws) is that... I feel a little nervous... what if I fail again? I will be everyone's disappointment and mockery... again...

Ludwig puts on an annoyed expression and rolls his eyes. Mykey walks over and looks closely at Jr.

Mykey: listen to me, Bowsy: you have nothing to feel bad about. You do not prepare just to pass an exam, but to learn and apply that in your life. Maybe not in a literal way, but in a practical way, and that's all that should matter.

Ludwig listens carefully to every word

Ludwig: (thinking) Wow! I didn't expect that, he really seems to take this seriously...

Jr.: It's true, but... it still worries me

Mykey: (smiles) Whatever the outcome, you'll have my support. Remember when you started and how you're doing now

Jr. shyly looks at Mykey and then looks at his notes, then back at Mykey

Jr.: It's true. I'll give my best. Thank you very much, Mykey, for everything

Mykey: whenever you like (winks at him)

The little boy puts away his things and heads for the exit. Opening the door, he notices that Ludwig is there, which shocks Jr., who in turn freaks out a bit.

Ludwig: Hi, Bowsy.

Jr.: h-hi… (looking away from him a little)

Roy: Hi Mykey!

Mykey: how are you Roy? What are you doing?

Roy: nothing, I just accompany Ludwig to carry some things

Ludwig: And… how are the studies going? Have you lost patience with this boy, Mykey?

Mykey: (smiling) nope. Everything is fine, he is learning

Jr.: That's right, with him I learn better and faster. I'm putting all my effort into it.

After what Jr. said, Ludwig frowns a bit, but tries to divert attention

Ludwig: It is seen that now you do have confidence. I guess you don't mind to bet, do you?

Mykey: (with a doubtful expression) what do you have in mind?

Ludwig: If Bowsy says he's going to put all his effort into it, then it won't be a problem if we make this more interesting, right?

Roy: Just spit it out now, gnocchi head.

Ludwig: If you fail the next test, Bowsy, you'll have to eat it.

Jr. is surprised by what his brother said but remains attentive

Jr.: What if I pass?

Ludwig: If you get an 80 or more, I'll admit you're not a fool.

Mykey: And what if he rolls a 100?

Ludwig raises an eyebrow and laughs a little, causing Mykey and Jr. to look at each other strangely.

Ludwig: If the extreme and unlikely event occurs, which I don't think so, then I will eat the previous exam you failed.

Roy: This is getting interesting (smiling mischievously)

Mykey: (sighs) It doesn't have to come to that.

Ludwig: What's up? Aren't you supposed to be teaching him well? It's time to try it

Mykey: It's not about that.

Ludwig: Yeah, I already said that Jr. is a fool who doesn't even know where he is standing.

With those words, Bowsy reacts and puts on a serious and determined expression.

Jr.: I accept the bet!

That surprises Mykey and Roy

Ludwig: Well, it's a gentleman's agreement.

Jr. and Ludwig shake hands in agreement

Ludwig: Then on Monday we will know the result. Good luck Bowsy

After saying that, Ludwig and Roy take some boxes and take them to another room. Mykey tells Jr. his concern

Mykey: Jr., you didn't have to do that.

Jr.: It's just that I was getting tired of him making fun of me, but this time I'll show him that he's wrong. For once I want he shut his mouth

Mykey: (sighs) Okay, but remember to be careful and don't mess up your strategy.

Jr.: Mykey… I thank you for the support. I promise you, I will not fail

Mykey notices Jr.'s look of hope and that comforts him a bit, to which he smiles at him and strokes his hair again and kisses his forehead, to which Jr. blushes.

Jr.: I'm starting to like that... (laughs)

- END OF CHAPTER -

_______________

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[lgcxjasper]

NOW PLAYING: Not Young by DBSD Solo | LGC Workshop Opportunity 002 wc: 667

jasper meets with his coach for a short interview.

what do you think are your strengths right now? "Ohhhh," He says lowly, followed by a low whistle. There's a smile playing on the edge of his lips. Not too long ago that question would have frightened him a bit, but… well that was a while ago. He had found a new layer of confidence, and it shows as he offers a grin along with an answer. "Of course, I'd like to think I've worked on my first talent-- singing, quite a bit, and even though that's what I've gotten in on, I'd say that's improved some. I've also played a few instruments, like piano, cello, and more recently I've gotten a guitar that I've grown a bit attached to. Performing is more a new found talent, but it's something I've grown to appreciate want to cultivate, that's another. Of course, I'm an English speaker, from across the way, so I think that's always a strength I should appreciate more."

what are three skills that you would like to work on in the next few months? "Ah, well I think, perhaps, I've got a little ways to go on dancing?" He admits with a bit of a sigh, but then a moment later he finds himself shrugging. "I can only approve with that skill, though I've told I've grown quite a bit from when I've started and I've started to develop my own style now, which is fun. Additionally, I think rapping could be something that could be improved as well, such as a better flow and gaining confidence. I'd like to dabble more in composition with music as well, both lyrically and musically, and given the chance to do so."

if given a chance, what types of gigs would you be interested in participating? "I'd love to give acting a good hefty try!" He admits with a signature grin, offering a nod for confirmation of himself, as well as the coach he's being interviewed by. "I dabbled a bit in school, but I'd like to really do more with if in the future- leaning more towards film rather than musicals, though I'll give musicals a try as well." He takes a breath, tilting his head. "After some though, maybe modeling-- I've been told I've got the face for it-- or, even a youtube show? I've got some ideas that I've been playing with a bit, there."

during your time here in legacy, what are some of the lessons that you’ve learned about yourself? He's quiet for a brief moment, taking on a more serious expression, brows furrowed in though before he's crossing his arms over his chest, adjusting in the chair he's found himself sitting. "Well, I suppose that I don't have to be everything people expect. I've learned more about my performance, my style, and what I really want out of my craft. I think I've discovered I've more to my craft than I've even originally thought. Before I was putting myself in a box without realizing it, and I've discovered I don't even have to be apart of the box, in it, or by it at all, which has frankly, been a relief. Of course, I've learned I'm a much better dancer than I originally thought, too!" He admits with a laugh.

[enactivewebs]

26/02/2023

Reflections:

What was an insight or a-ha moment you had from today? Did it make you aware of something new or disrupt some assumption or expectation?

A-ha moment occurred when we realised that it didn’t matter if I sounded out of time to oskar, as long as he was in time at my end, the performance was going to work for the performance in China. 

Other insights included that it was actually possible to jam in this context and it be successful/worthwhile.

Getting used to the context/experience of jamming in a slightly dis-embodied, remote way (e.g. not in same room as Oskar, can’t hear what sounds he’s making in the literal same space I’m in - reverberating around the room/walls/floor of my space, not being able to pick up on his body language and physical cues) -

It made me aware/realise differences of this way of jamming + appreciate and recognise more of the features of jamming in the same space as someone else. 

 What was a moment when you felt challenged or frustrated?  What was the nature of the challenge or frustration you experienced and what specific steps did you take to resolve it?

Felt slightly frustrated, self-conscious when I could hear my voice through oskars speaker - frustrating as it was lagging and interrupting my train of thought, self-conscious in the sense where I became ‘too’ aware of my own voice, how I talk, what I sound like, how I am perceived/taken by others etc.

Also felt a bit self-conscious about my playing out of context and how it sounded to others who couldn't hear what I was playing to - my lack of slickness and practice on the guitar, rustiness etc. 

Challenging to hear fully what he was playing through low quality speaker feed - need to work on this for future jams/performances

What was a moment from today that stood out to you or caught your attention?

How it is possible to jam in this way and collaborate musically in real-time online.

Identify 3 challenging or memorable experiences

* Name the moment - Jamming online to a live feed of Oskars drum looping + keyboard playing through WeChat.

*  Describe the context–Where were you when the moment occurred (in a workshop, reading an article, having a conversation with someone, etc.) and what were you trying to do or learn at that time?

I was in our study/spare room standing with my guitar at my iMac plugged in through my amp and guitar pedals. I was experimenting with a friend to have a live real time musical jam through the WeChat chatting web app. 

*  Unpack how moment/experience unfolded - Why did the challenging moment or memorable experience occur? For instance, did you read or hear something that challenged your assumptions or beliefs in some way, or made you think about yourself or someone you know differently? Describe why you felt challenged or engaged, and what changed or shifted within you as a result.

Started off just checking whether we could hear each other, adjusting levels etc. It was an experiment to jam from different geographic locations and practise a set for a live performance art piece that will occur between NZ and China.

Felt engaged as it was a new experience for me and new type of musical collaboration. It was strange and quite unintuitive in some ways, and in others was natural and worked. Technological difficulties such as sound quality and lag were encountered. 

Changed my perceptions of what is possible in terms of jamming from remote and distant locations with others online.

*  Integrate your insights – Describe two ways you can connect your insights from this experience to other readings, materials or activities.

I could connect this experience to live band jam contexts, other musical collaborations and other means of performing

I’m sure there are other readings or texts which detail and talk about similar experiences.

* Apply your insights - How do the insights you’ve gained from this experience motivate you to perceive, act, or interact with others differently? Describe at least two situations you are likely to encounter in the future where you can apply what you’ve learned from this experience to your life. Be specific.

This was a valuable learning experience for preparing for our live performance scheduled for March/April between China and NZ. It has given us a method for practising while living in different locations, and inspiration to explore this context further to see what else is possible in terms of live performance online. Gave me a lived and embodied experience of jamming online and opened up ideas about what else could be possible in this context.

Sensory Mapping this experience:

Sound: 

Tinny feed of Oskars loops and keys through airpods + computer speakers

Hum of my amp + pedal chain and cheap patch cables

Tap, clunk and click of pedals 

Birds and lawnmowers outside

Doors politely closing to smother noise in our whare

Touch/haptics:

Feel of yoga mat and carpet under my feet

Feel of the pedals under my feet as I tap tempo and switch between different effects

Guitar strap slightly cutting into and rubbing against my shoulder, especially as I manoeuvre the mouse and type of key board

Knobs and switches of pedals and amp (of varying degrees and standards of ergonomic/sensory design)

Fretboard and strings feeling unfamiliar and heavy on my fingertips due to lack of playing recently

Smells:

Musty/sweaty from being in the room all afternoon

Carpet

Moonboot stench

Guitars woody odour

Sight:

Guitars fretboard

Pedals on ground

iMac screen and keyboard/mouse in front

Oskars face and torso on screen

Spotify in background in another tab

Books, paper, coffee mugs, hard drives, cables and various other things littering the desk

Yoga mat on ground

Multiplug and other cords on ground

Standing desk

Window to sun shining outside and garden (my tomato and chilli plants)

Proprioception:

Hands and fingers feeling a bit clumsy and awkward on fret board, from not playing much recently

Body hunched and cramped up slightly and uncomfortable from being in awkward position with guitar and computer

Standing and able to swing and sway slightly on spot, moving guitar and body through air in time with music

Head and neck bopping and bouncing in time to music

Thermoception:

Feeling sweaty, clammy, warm in sweltering afternoon sun in study room

Lack of airflow

Chronoception:

Time passing quickly

Jammed for over 90mins and didn’t feel long

Sense of flow state engaged?

Was enjoyable to jam simple guitar lines on simple repetitive beats for quite some time

[mollykeaneyviscom]

ISTD: Spaces Between - Logistics, Planning & Reconsidering Paper

Logistics Of Making:

I showed my prototype to our technician Ben and asked what it techniques it was best for me to look into going forward. I was right in thinking laser cutting was the best way for me to achieve the cut outs and for binding and apparently I can also use this to create the wooden block. This then meant me speaking to David from the workshop who was also very helpful in talking me through everything,  and I will be inducted on laser cutting asap.

Reconsidering Paper:

When speaking to Ben I also asked about paper stock and what I needed to know. Our printers can print on up to 220 gsm, I could go even thinker if I wanted to but then I would need to print on the large format printer which all gets a bit complicated so I will likely stay under 220.

I also need to make sure whichever paper I choose is compatible with a office laser printer, which the majority of ones I liked so far are not, so I need to look again.

I then went back over our more up to date G.F Smith book this time knowing what to look out for. Mohawk Superfine - 216gsm and Munken Design - 170gsm both look to be good options, I have ordered samples of those and a few other types to compare.

Ben also showed me the 220 gsm seawhite cartridge paper we have in the studio which is another great option for me to consider as it’s the perfect gsm and nice feel.

I also took some of this thicker paper to trim down into A4 to create a stack just to check the size of my binding block would work or needs adjusting in relation to a thicker paper stock being used for pages.

I assumed I would make the block smaller when I do the real thing however using thicker paper will take up far more room within the block so it may be best to stick with my current size.