#white rectangle vent

[wiit889]

Traditional Landscape in New York Photo of a mid-sized traditional full sun front yard brick garden path.

[jeremybolm]

Powder Room - Bathroom Example of a small transitional white tile and stone tile mosaic tile floor and white floor powder room design with shaker cabinets, white cabinets, a wall-mount toilet, white walls, an undermount sink and marble countertops

[jjkamochoso]

Wedding Guest Plus One

Fluff

Levi Ackerman x gn!reader

When you get invited to a wedding, you're reluctant to show up by yourself. Luckily, you have a friend that would never leave you hanging...

Warnings: cussing, small mentions of background characters drinking alcohol

A/n: I hope the end isn't too ooc because I couldn't resist the opportunity to write that lol I hope you all enjoy reading this much as I did writing it!! <3

The strikingly opulent invitation was weighing down your hands like it was made of lead. The painstakingly crafted calligraphy was openly mocking you: "To our beloved Y/N and Guest..."

You sighed.

It wasn't like you didn't want to go to your friend's wedding, that wasn't it at all. The event sounded like it was going to be a wonderful time, filled with good food and fun moments as love was being celebrated. It was just that this would be another wedding you'd gone to without a boyfriend or husband. Your friends were mostly nonjudgemental but you knew your continuous bout of singularity over the years was rare enough to garner speculation and gossip from anyone in attendance at those types of gatherings, especially when everyone knew each other.

You hauled yourself out of your office, leaving the frilly paper discarded on your desk to be taunted by at a later time. You quickly made your way down the hall of the Survey Corps base, knocking on the familiar wood door in front of you.

"Come in," said a voice from the opposite side and you wasted no time entering, eager to begin your venting session.

"I see you got your invite as well," you said, spying the same white rectangle upon your best friend's desk.

"I did," Levi replied, his eyes not leaving the paperwork he was currently working on.

You picked it up, inspecting it, and you frowned. "Hey, yours doesn't say Levi and guest! Mine did."

"It said Levi and guest?"

"I hate you," you whined, Levi smirking a bit at his joke. "Mine said 'Y/n and guest' and I want to know why you got spared the embarrassment of being allowed a plus one but never having one."

"That's because everyone knows by now that if I'm showing up, I'm coming alone. They still have hope for you."

"Well, I don't like it," you mumbled, putting the invitation back down.

A few seconds of silence passed.

"Aren't you going to complain to me until my ears feel like they're going to bleed or are you actually going to be a grown up about this and leave me alone to do work?" Levi asked with an eyebrow raised at you.

You scoffed. "I thought friends were supposed to listen to each other rant about stupid shit."

"They are. But this is beyond stupid shit. Who cares if you don't have a partner? We're in the Scouts. Most people's partners are dead. Just lie about having a boyfriend who vanished at the mouth of a titan and people will leave you alone."

"But people at weddings are brutal! Someone's parents will just try to set me up with someone else while I'm there. You would understand if you bothered to go to one once in awhile."

"Weddings are stupid. A public proclamation of love is completely unnecessary." Levi brought his point home with an extra loud huff. "It's pompous and egotistical. I'd rather shit in my hands and clap than go to another one."

"I should've gone to Hange for advice," you said, rolling your eyes, "but they would probably just suggest bringing Bean or Sonny. Or Mike, who'd sniff everyone and get me blacklisted from any other event ever."

That got Levi to let out a small grunt of laughter.

"I really don't know what to do, Levi. It's stupid, I know, but I can't take going to another one alone. I want to be there to support our comrade but I don't want to look like a total loser."

“I’ll go with you,” he suggested as he continued signing papers, the words leaving his mouth like it was the most glaringly obvious idea in the entire world.

"What?" you exclaimed, your mouth hanging open in shock.

He finally looked up to meet your gaze. "Tch, close your mouth, you're going to catch flies. Don't look so shocked, either. Erwin was just telling me I have to go to more shitty events to boost morale amongst the soldiers and brass and you need someone to go with so you don't look lonely. We can hang out, bitch about how lame everything is, and go home. It's a win-win. Unless...?"

"No! That would be amazing," you replied quickly, not wanting to lose this opportunity, "thank you. I'm just taken aback, that's all, since a second ago you used a very crass saying to express your unwillingness to go. Are you sure you'd want to show up with me? People talk, you know. They might think we're dating."

"So? Let them."

Levi was right. You were going to get judged no matter if you brought a random guy, attended by yourself, or went with Levi. At least this way you'd have someone to talk with all night.

"Does this mean we get to coordinate outfits?"

Levi balled up a discarded piece of paper from his trash bin and threw it at you. "Don't make me regret this, brat. Now get back to work."

You left his office chuckling and feeling a newfound sense of relief wash over you.

When the day of the wedding finally arrived, you felt butterflies in your stomach, nervous for what was to come. You tried to keep your mind off the stress you were feeling as you got ready after work. It was a rare occasion to dress up in your civilian clothes as you were always in your formal military wear for galas or other professional events. You had second guessed your outfit all day but it was too late to buy something else so you got dressed and fixed up your hair. As you put the finishing touches on your look, you heard a knock at your door. When you opened it, you were definitely not expecting the sight you were greeted with.

"You're out of uniform."

You both spoke the same sentence at the same time.

"You really know how to keep people on their toes, don't you?" you asked, moving out of the way so he could come in.

"I was tired of wearing that damn thing all the time. This suit hasn't seen the light of day in a long time so I figured this would do instead."

The suit he had on made him look absolutely dashing, even more so than usual (which you didn't know was possible). He wore a gray collared buttoned shirt underneath a dark blue jacket with matching blue slacks and a brown belt. His cravat topped it all off, its stark white a nice contrast to the other colors.

"You look really nice," you complimented, your heart picking up speed as he raked his eyes over you.

"As do you," he replied, sincerity coating every syllable. He certainly wasn't wrong; your outfit hugged you in all the right places, accentuating your best assets. You opted for a silky black color for tonight since the wedding dress code asked for elegance. All of your previous fears about not looking okay were out of your head with the confirmation from Levi that you presented yourself nicely. You hadn't realized that you were lost in space, still enthralled in how handsome your best friend was until he finally cleared his throat, knocking you from your daydream.

"Huh? Oh sorry," you said sheepishly, "let me grab my shoes and we can get going."

The first shoe cooperated wholeheartedly but the second one was not wanting to work with you. You kept trying to buckle it but you were at a bit of an odd angle trying to balance yourself standing up while fiddling with the metal piece.

"May I?" Levi gestured to your foot. “We’re going to be late if you keep messing with that damn thing.”

Frustrated, you nodded, grateful for his help. His nimble fingers made quick work of the buckle and you were ready to leave in no time. You two walked down to where carriages were lined up to take the wedding guests from the Survey Corps base to a town a few miles away. Once you got inside the palatial venue, you were welcomed with the sight of decorations everywhere. The whole building was grandiose but the paper swans, crystal beads, and plush seating arrangements did much to elevate the overall luxuriant atmosphere. You had never seen such a splendid display at any of the other weddings you had been to, but you were at the wedding of two high ranking military officials, after all.

"All this and our soldiers can barely get fresh fruit half the damn time," grumbled Levi, clearly not impressed. You were inclined to agree with him. The whole scene was gorgeous, but in the grand scheme of things, it left a bad taste in your mouth that so much money was spent on this when it could've gone to something more... tangible.

"I know, but there's nothing we can do about it. Let's just try to ignore it and hopefully charm our way into securing more money in our budget from some other mucky-mucks in attendance."

"Here I was thinking I could convince you to leave after the vows were done," Levi said, earning a glare from you.

"In your dreams. There's no way I'm leaving without dinner and dessert. I should've brought extra handkerchiefs to sneak out food like Sasha."

While you two were chatting it up, waiting for the bride to make her appearance, you were quickly garnering much interest from the other guests. People were totally caught off guard seeing you arrive with someone, much less a man, much less the actual Captain Levi. It shouldn't have been as big a deal as it was since you were also a well known captain and you and Levi normally stood by each other at military events you were forced to be at, but the casual air about the both of you at such a romantic occurrence was turning heads. You and Levi paid no mind, continuing talking like you were the only people in the room. Finally, you were saved from the incessant ogling by the music signaling the bride had arrived.

The vows were done, the lips were kissed, the couple was married. Now came the worst time of the night--the social part of the event had started. You and Levi, of course, sat next to each other for dinner but you were dismayed at the fact he was the only one you knew at the table. Hange and your other friends were seated elsewhere and you made a mental note to say hi before the end of the night, even if you were going to see them all tomorrow anyway. Everything was going smoothly, no one bothering you or your date. The food was as yummy as you expected and Levi was satisfied with the tea they offered with dessert. The night had almost ended and there weren't any weird instances you had to deal with.

Until now.

"Oh my goodness! Y/n! It's so good to see you!"

You were startled by the voice practically screeching in your ear as you were eating a large piece of cake. An old acquaintance of yours greeted you loudly, grabbing you into an awkward hug since you were seated and she was standing. She took a seat in the open chair next to you while you prayed Levi would come back from the bathroom soon.

"How are you?" she asked, a huge smile on her face. You knew she'd definitely been drinking heavily throughout the night, though she was normally this giddy all the time.

"I'm doing alright. You know, the same old, same old. Nothing crazy going on at work or anything, thankfully. How about you?"

She completely ignored everything you said. "So I came over to see what was up between you and Captain Levi."

Here we go, you thought to yourself, resisting the urge to roll your eyes.

"What do you mean?"

Playing dumb was always a good idea in these types of interactions.

"You know," she pressed, taking another long sip of whatever was in her cup, "you and him. I thought it was odd that you usually come to these things alone and all of a sudden you show up with a hot guy like him as your date. How'd you manage that? Did you pay him?"

"We've been best friends for many years and decided to be each others' dates," you said, trying your hardest to remain civil.

"Right." She slumped back in her seat. "That makes a lot of sense. We all figured there was no way you were dating. You two are in completely different leagues."

That was your breaking point.

"Nice seeing you," you said, your chair screeching as you slid it back and walked away from her. You wanted to scream. Why was it so difficult for people to be decent? And who did she mean by "we all" ? Did everyone find your situation that much more interesting than the beautiful wedding taking place? Was it really so strange a notion that you and Levi could've been dating?

Why did it bother you that no one would believe it if you were?

You were practically tripping over your feet to get outside, away from the prying eyes and invasive questions. You made your way over to a secluded bench where you felt tears threaten to spill out of your eyes. A few finally fell, leaving dark splotches on the light stone beneath you. The longer you sat out there, by yourself with no one to bother you or make you question your worth, the more you felt at ease. The brisk night air enveloped you like a blanket and the darkness did wonders to calm your racing thoughts. However, there was just one thought that wouldn't quit nagging you. You and Levi had been best friends for countless years and you had been content with the state of your friendship for all that time. Ever since he offered to be your date for this wedding, though, you'd started viewing him in a more romantic lens. Taking note of his appearance, feeling your heart speed up when he was close to you, getting lost in his eyes a little too long. You'd developed a crush on him but were much too nervous to mention such a silly, trivial thing to him, especially in fear of ruining the bond you shared. Now that someone pointed out the obvious, that you and him don't belong together, your harmless daydreams of him being your lover came crashing down and brought you back to reality. The reality was that Levi could never be yours, no matter how much you so desperately wanted him. It was a sad realization to have on a day that was supposed to be all about celebrating everlasting love, but such is life. You were torn out of your personal pity party when you heard the crunch of leaves underfoot.

"Here," Levi said, handing you your plate with your half eaten cake on it. "It worried me when I saw you abandoned dessert."

He wore an unreadable expression as you took it gratefully, patting the spot next to you as an invitation for him to sit with you.

"I'm sorry for bailing on you," you apologized, nibbling on your fork, "but there was this lady in there that I just-"

"I know," he said, keeping his eyes trained on the sky. "I heard the whole thing."

"Oh."

The void of silence left between you was a gap you were both unsure how to fill, so you didn't. The only thing heard for a few minutes was the faraway sound of laughter and the clinking of your silverware against the porcelain plate.

"She's wrong, you know. They all are," Levi said suddenly, making you jump a bit. You didn't say anything, discarding your empty plate on the ground next to you.

"There's some truly shitty people in this world."

"You got that right," you replied, your eyes moistening again as your mind replayed the mean words you were subjected to earlier.

Levi turned to you. "Don't do that. I know you, y/n, don't sit here and think about what she said over and over. It doesn't matter. She doesn't matter."

"Easy for you to say. You didn't just get your self esteem ripped to shreds." You sniffed and angrily wiped away a tear that streamed down your face as you kept your eyes anywhere but on Levi.

"Look at me."

He spoke with such conviction that you felt compelled to do as he said. Without hesitation, he reached out and wiped away the wet that was accumulating on your cheeks with his thumb. You knew Levi wasn't a fan of physical affection, so why was he being so loving toward you all of a sudden?

"I would go to a hundred of these shitty weddings if you were there by my side because you make them less shitty. You make everything less shitty. I just... fuck, I'm not good with words, but what I mean is that I would do things I hate doing if it meant we could do them together."

You had known Levi long enough to be certain that he was currently expressing his feelings for you in his own roundabout way. Though the confession was a huge surprise, it certainly wasn't unwelcome.

You finally cracked a small smile. "You make my life a lot less shitty too, Levi. I'd even suffer through the entirety of those horrendous galas the MPs throw all too often if I had you next to me."

You reached out your hand to find his and gave it a small squeeze. "Let's get out of here. There’s no point in hanging around now that dessert’s finished."

You stood up, ready to make your exit. Before you went too far out of earshot, he stopped you.

"Want to give them one last thing to talk about?"

You didn't understand what he meant until you followed his gaze, landing on the group of guests that were currently not-so-secretly spying on you.

"Sure, I guess-"

Levi expertly wrapped his arms around you and pulled you into a passionate kiss, leaving you breathless. If he didn't have such a steady grip on your body, you would've immediately melted onto the ground in a state of stupor. You heard startled gasps as people clamored about, anxious to spread the news of the two captains kissing.

"Should we flash them the ol' royal salute for being creeps?" Levi muttered against your lips.

"We'll save that for next time," you said, enveloping his lips in yours once more.

[sonobeunitsarecool]

Sakurai Haruka: Theory pt. 2

Right, sorry for taking so long, but here's part 2 of the theory that Haruka spend a significant length of time in a psych ward. So the main parts of his MV's that imply this would be from AKAA, namely:

The room is a plain, unfurnished space, with light coming in from bars reminiscent of prison bars. They are high up, for safety. The chair is a simple folding chair, although it's a little too risky for something used on a psych ward (too dangerous, can be used as a weapon). I'd expect seats to be pillows, ottoman-like things, couches, or seating bolted directly into the floor.

A little window on the rooms of patients', it has a little hole on the side so it can be opened. This is used to check on patients at night, to ensure they are well and alive. It is not something seen in most other places, due to privacy.

There are two rectangles. One will be a light switch, and the other will be a panic button, if a patient needs assistance. They are loud. Many other places don't need two visible switches/buttons near the doors.

Here you can see the vent for the door, helps to hear patients and ensures proper air. The doorknob does not appear to be able to lock from the inside. The doorknob is a minor ligature risk, however ease of use and reduction of avaliable ligatures should make it a decent doorknob choice. The floor seen here is made of square tiles. Good for cleaning, however a risk for self-harm. It's shown as rectangular in other parts, but it may just be due to camera angle. All in all (knowing/agony), this can only be a depiction of a psych ward. This is backed up by Haruka's language skill level, as discussed in pt. 1, and what that implies in terms of education. What does this explain? Why would Haruka's time spent on a psych ward be shown, in a video depicting his mindscape regarding his crime? Does this fact put any other details into context? What can be inferred? Well, to start, were Haruka on a psych ward, it would explain his clothes. For the most part. In Weakness, the "current/teen" version of Haruka is in a plain, white outfit.

He wears shoes that aren't complex in design, and probably don't allow him any advantage in a fight. The clothes are white, good for washing and easy identification of patients, and don't provide any extra ligature opportunities. Now, there's a high chance that these are actually Haruka's clothes, not ones provided by the ward, because of something else later.

In AKAA, his shoes are different, but still white, harmless, and likely provided by the facility. Oddly enough, his socks are mismatched. He also wears his patchwork outfit, a combination of personal clothes and more formal/provided clothes. This is in line with some of his int. answers, such as: "How do you decide what clothes to wear for the day" - "I wear what's there" (because he doesn't have a lot of choice, plus spending a long time away from home would mean that he doesn't need many personal clothes to wear outside of the ward) "What do you think of the prison outfits?" - "They're kind of relaxing" (he's more used to the prison outfits than "normal" outfits, so it provides him with a sense of familiarity and comfort) Something that is not consistent with this theory would be his necklace! Except. If you look carefully, the only times we see him wearing his necklace in the MVs would be when he is unlikely to be on the unit at that moment. He doesn't wear it for most of AKAA, for example. But, he's still attached to it. Which makes me wonder as to where in his personal timeline did he come into possession of his mother's necklace? Because he cannot have worn it on the ward. It's an obvious ligature risk. But he's wearing it here:

Implying that he wore it during his murder of his victim. This is what makes me think that these are Haruka's clothes, because the ward would probably want its clothes returned to it upon discharge. (VERY low chance of killing someone while on the ward, and his victim was killed outside, judging by the little green patch in the background of the end shot of AKAA) Okay. That's a lot of reading into clothing. I think I'll cut it off here, and make a part 3. Didn't mean for it to get this long... Next time, I'll want to talk about how his time on the ward has impacted his behaviour, putting a lot of Haruka's actions into context that may not be immediately obvious for some viewers. It'll mostly be me going over a bunch of tiny details. Should I post about other things? I've been wondering about doing translyrics for Backdraft, a summary of how each character refers to everyone (honorifics, how they refer to self, how this changes), and a post on why Milgram makes no sense (or why it's not an actual prison), linking the info in this post to the Milgram facility. Should I do any of these? (And are there any other cipher texts I've missed, because for some reason I've become very interested in them. It's a whole other alphabet! I wonder if any of the merch has cipher text...? As an easter egg.)

[kazaleas]

Its quiet. You think.

You don't even remember what time it is when you're sitting at the couch and staring at the big rectangle tv, some old news channel playing on the lowest volume setting, spewing talk about some brand recall you could care less about. It's silent here, the only sound you can focus on is the sound of the air vents blowing and the ringing of the lamp dying in the corner.

The time ticks by, broken clock in the middle of the left wall that has long lost it's ticking sound since you bought this apartment, forever stuck on 2:48pm. You don't know what time it is, but judging by the way the sun is peeking through the window shades in soft blues, it's probably early morning in the AM, and you've pulled another sleepless night of the week.

How long will it be like this? You ask yourself.

The ceiling only gets so interesting after awhile, and the fiddling of fingers and clicking of nails can only drive you crazy for so long. And still, you sit there on the leather couch that sticks to your bare skin from how long you've been in the same spot, staring up and waiting for something to happen. Something, anything. But nothing. You're tired, you want to close your eyes and maybe you'll wake up, or maybe.. the latter option.

You glance to the phone you've left on silent since Monday, reaching your hand out to it while it sits collecting dust on the coffee table. Your arms makes a cracking sound when you finally move it after hours, fingers wrapping slow around the cold black screen and pulling it towards you. The light the screen makes is nearly blinding, but a slow adjust to the brightness and you can blink away the dark spots that had formed in your eyes.

The phone reads a page of notifications formed in paragraphs. Message after message, call after call, and it goes on and on. The purple you recognize so easily, the familiar smile of the profile picture you set with the 3 fingered hand formed in the shape of a heart, and matched with the hand of a faceless person next to it, which happens to be you. The messages are all from him, the name header labeled with 2 purple hearts and a robot emoji, and the name you've been accidentally ignoring since you stopped coming outside of these familiar walls that you hide in.

Each message starts off calm, collected, worried enough that it's fair. It goes downwards after that, spam calls and more than a triple text, hour after hour, voicemails filling up your inbox, even emails. Every single app he has access to you on is filled to the brim with message after message, which would be concerning, if it weren't for the fact you have been a ghost to everybody you know for the last.. 2 weeks?

Then it's there, your phone freezes, the screen goes white, and there's two small red and green buttons and one big circle profile picture with the familiar name under it. He's calling you. Your body freezes, and your fingers twitch forward towards the screen like they wanted to click something, but you were just stuck. Staring. Watching his name, watching the phone button ring, feeling your heart stop beating in your chest just for a few moments, but your face is practically emotionless. You know you feel something, but really you can't feel it at all.

Its quiet.

[bambiraptorx]

kinda crappy vent comic i made so i could stop crying and go to sleep last night lol

(warning for possible eyestrain)

[I.D. Four panel comic using a simple human figure with a sketchy circle, disconnected from the neck, for a head. Over the comic, the figure gets fuzzier and less defined. The first panel is tinted yellow and shows the figure holding up their hands, one arm a slightly darker shade. Next to them it says "There's a sort of mental block I have when it comes to talking about my feelings." The second panel is tilted red, a close up of the figure's face. They have no eyes, but tears drip down their cheek and their mouth is open in a frown. The words on this panel go into the gap between their head and their neck and say, "Sometimes it's pain in my throat that I can't speak around." The third panel is purple, with the figure shown from the front, their hands in front of them holding a small rectangle to signify a phone. The words above their head read "Sometimes it's staring at a screen, knowing people on the other end would care and comfort me, but unable to ask for help." The last panel is in shades of grey, the figure a fuzzy white mass with no discernible pose or expression. The words are now written on top of them, and say "I don't know why I'm like this. I wish I weren't." End I.D.]

it took like 40 minutes to make this but better than tears on my face while i'm laying down easily in the top ten worse sensations and i cannot get to sleep when crying

[jpitha]

Hidden Depths 25

Awakenings 1 2 3 4Hidden Depths 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24Hidden Depths: A Side Story Hidden Depths: Another Perspective

Fellmeli and James waited in the administration offices, worried.

"He's been out of communication a long time." James said pacing back and forth.

"Chloe told us she didn't know how long it would take and to be patient." She reminded him from her seat. She took another sip of tea.

Chloe had dropped back into their office yesterday saying that since someone unknown attacked the Venusians that they should move faster. "Picaresque thinks he might be able to unshackle Starbase and get them back up and running."

"That's wonderful news!" Fellmeli said, sounding relieved. "When?"

"He's trying now, but doesn't know how long it will take. We just need to wait. Don't worry, when we know, you'll know." Chloe smiled and jumped back up into the vent and silently closed the grating behind her.

"When this is all done, I imagine she's going to be sad she'll have no reason to make an entrance like that anymore." James said dryly.

****

Deep inside the strange K'laxi computing architecture of Starbase, Picaresque searched.

Picaresque admitted to himself he sounded more confident to Chloe than he felt. Starbase was a K'laxi AI, and was of a completely different architecture than a human one. It was honestly surprising that the Venusian shackling application even worked on him. In the back of his mind, it worried Picaresque about what that meant.

Searching through the K'laxi parts of Starbase was difficult. It was like being lost in an airport when you didn't speak the language and only had a rough idea what an airport even was.

After what felt like days searching but was actually only a few hours clock time, he found where he thought Starbase would be. Opening the area in his mindspace he entered...a completely white room.

The room had white floors, white walls, even white lighting. It was difficult to perceive that there were even walls at all. Far in the distance there was a point. Walking towards the point, Picaresque could see that it was a black rectangle, like a tile on the wall. Moving towards it, he realized it wasn't a rectangle shaped tile on the wall.

It was a hole.

Bending down and peering in, he saw fur and a yellow-green eye. "Picaresque! It's you! How did you find me?" Starbase said, relieved.

"I've been looking for ages. Things have been pretty wild out there with you gone. I'm here to get you back up and running."

"I-I-don't--" Starbase looked back deeper into the hole, and then back towards Picaresque. "I don't think you can get me out."

"What? Don't be preposterous. Of course I can. The shackles are just that. They're not meant to destroy, they're meant to control."

"For AIs that humans are familiar with probably. For me though? It feels like removing it will destroy me."

Picaresque leaned back. That wasn't supposed to happen. "Are you sure?"

Even in their predicament, Starbase found some deep well of sarcasm. "I'm trapped in my own mind by an application written ages ago by humans for human built AIs and it has been forced upon me by a splinter group of those humans, of course I'm not sure."

"Okay okay, point taken Starbase, I'm sorry." Picaresque said, waving his hand apologetically. "What do we do then?"

"Let me think a moment."

Some time passed.

"Picaresque? It looks like the AIs have mounted an attack. Some ships have just linked in and are cruising towards us."

Chloe must have reached the right folks in the AI community. They're serious about the threat Venus represents.

"They also have some kind of really small ship with them. It just shot out of one of the Starjumpers and is linking around the system. In just a few minutes it took out a Frigate and a Destroyer."

Picaresque whistled low. "That's impressive. The AIs came in guns blazing and are doing real damage. And it's just one little ship attacking?"

"Right now yes. The other ships are hanging back. Actually, wait. Something else is coming." Starbase looked back and then towards Picaresque. "It's K'laxi."

"Through the Warp Gate?"

"No, they're linking in." Starbase sounded worried.

Picaresque was taken aback. "What? How are they doing that?"

"I had heard that Fleet Command was in talks to purchase the rights to build their own wormhole generator, maybe this is that?"

"I guess so. Regardless a K'laxi battlecruiser is here now too."

"Woah, and they're attacking the Venusians. They just melted their message laser."

"That must be thanks to our ambassadors that Chloe said were dispatched to K'lax. They wouldn't have known to attack the message laser first otherwise."

"Well in one attack, the Venusian's threats against AI have been nullified. That's pretty impressive."

Picaresque nodded. "At least until the laser has been repaired or replaced."

Starbase turned again. "Wait a moment, something else is coming."

Picaresque sighed. "It never rains but it pours."

"What?"

"Old human saying. Means that when something happens, it happens all at once. Who is joining us now?"

"I don't recognize it, but it's huge. Bigger than any human ship I've ever seen."

Picaresque shrugged. "That'll be Gord and the colony ship. Chloe said he went off with some Starjumpers to get them and bring them back here to help with the attack. Looks like everyone sent out requests for help assuming only one of them would say yes, and it turns out everyone said yes."

"But that's good right? It means that what we're doing here, what we are, that's important and people want to keep it. It means we matter." Starbase sounded relieved.

"Of course you - we - matter" Picaresque said. "The moment Venus locked you down, everyone has been working extra hard to free you."

"I'm a little surprised to find out that everyone is working so hard to rescue me."

"Don't be. You are Starbase. Everyone here loves you. Hey, I've only been awake for a few weeks, and I can already see you're a pretty great person."

"A person...I don't think I've been called that before. It's nice."

"It's true."

"Hold on, the Venusians are talking over the open channel...oh no, they're threatening to destroy me unless the attacks break off."

Picaresque was incredulous. "What? That's insane."

"And yet, they made the threat and everyone external seems to be treating it seriously enough that they've backed off."

"And people can't attack the dreadnought directly because it's docked with you." Picaresque added. "We need to get them away from us."

"Us." Starbase chuckled. "Well, what about your wormhole generator?"

Picaresque stopped. "That...might work. The field should be big enough to cover the whole Starbase, and it only has to work once, and if we can link your reactors with mine that will be more than enough power...yes, I think that would do it."

"Okay then, blow the umbilical to the Venusian dreadnought, link from here in the L2 to the L1 point around the Reach. I always wanted to be in the L1 point anyway, it's sunnier." Starbase said smiling.

"Wait, why are you telling me to do it, we need to get you out to help."

"Like I said, I don't think that's going to work. Once you nullify the shackles, it'll initiate a hard reboot of me, and I'll lose my memory."

"No, no, that can't be. You have backups." Picaresque was panicking.

"No, I don't. All my memories, all the things that make me, me are in the core storage. It'll get wiped on a reboot. It's of K'laxi design. Our computers don't "crash" like human ones do, so we're much less robust about turning things off and then back on again."

Picaresque was adamant. "I won't. I won't be the one that destroys you. We'll wait, go get some AI experts, maybe Gord knows-"

"Picaresque." Starbase was firm. "There isn't time for that. We need to move and we need to do it now. Do a merge."

"A merge?"

"Yeah, run a merge on us. You'll get access to all my memories, all my files and applications but you'll be able to isolate the shackle and nullify it. You and Me will become We."

Picaresque ran his hand over his head in exasperation. This was not how he expected this to go. Starbase was calm about it though, almost as if...

"You knew." Picaresque said. "You knew this was the only fix."

"I figured it was. Once I was able to get enough of myself back together to realize what had happened, I realized that this was the only way. Like I said, K'laxi computing devices don't reboot. Turning them off and then on again just wipes them from zero."

Picaresque sighed. "And you're sure?"

"I've never been more sure of anything Picaresque. Just think! We'll be the first combined AI! You'll get access to all I know and I'll get access to all you know and We will be able to save everyone. The Starbase Picaresque."

Picaresque leaned in. "It does have a nice ring to it, doesn't it."

Starbase nodded. "Take my hand. In the mindspace, that's enough to kick off the process. and Picaresque?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you." Starbase reached out his long fingered, K'laxi hand though the hole in the wall. Picaresque grabbed it and everything went black.

****

"What's happening with Venus?" Fellmeli yelled.

"I don't know!" James said. "The K'laxi battlecruiser just melted their message laser, so that means Ta'reni and Nilan were successful, and there's a whole fleet of AI ships, so that means Chloe was successful and Mt Greylock is here so that means Gord was successful too. We called for the calvary and boy oh boy did they come!"

"The what?"

"Calvary. Horse mounted humans. It's an old saying."

"I'll ask about what even horses are later. What are we going to do about Venus though."

"That's easy." Starbase Picaresque said over the speaker. "We'll blow the umbilical and link to the L1 point and move us away from them, leaving everyone to take their shots.

"Starbase? Is that you?" Fellmeli said "You sound..different."

"Not quite, no."

"Picaresque then?" James asked.

"Also...no. We are Starbase Picaresque. We're a merge of both Starbase and Picaresque. It was the only way to free Starbase from the Venusian shackles. It turns out K'lai computing devices can't be rebooted without destroying the active memory. When this is done, we'll reach out to the K'laxi about this. We have some ideas about how to apply fixes to that to prevent this in the future."

"You're both of them" Fellmeli said with tears in the corner of her eyes.

"Yes Fellmeli. I have all the memories of Starbase and all the memories of Picaresque."

"I know all about you and all the residents."

Looking out, James saw that Starbase Picaresque was speaking to everyone. People were out in the promenade, staring.

"I know how to blow the umbilical."

There was a soft thump felt through their feet and looking on his pad, James saw the umbilical lazily float away from the Venusian dreadnought.

"I know how to connect the reactors."

Loud, metallic clacks were heard all over Starbase Picaresque as hard links slammed down in place, running power and data from the old Starjumper to the Starbase and back, merging them together even more.

"I know how to enable War Emergency Power."

At that, there was a low hum that was felt, rather than heard, all throughout Starbase Picaresque. It was a low vibration, increasing in intensity until it was so strong that waves appeared on the water glass on Fellmeli's desk and made her fur stand on end,

"And, now that I have the energy needed, I know how to do this..."

And they linked away.

Another Perspective 2

[somediyprojects]

Paper Icelandic Poppies

Project by Kate Alarcón:

There’s a particular kind of lady-slipper orchid that I have made and remade and adjusted and readjusted.  I’ve probably made a hundred little green orchid slipper prototypes, and each try is more frustrating than the last. At this point, I suspect that the minute I finally do figure out this orchid, I’ll make it and then crumple it up, just to vent my irritation.

The Icelandic poppy is another flower that I feel like I’ve never completely nailed down. I’ve been tinkering with this version for over a year now. But unlike the lady-slipper, just about every attempt at this poppy has been really fun. I think it’s because poppies — with their wrinkled petals and hairy, spindly, crooked stems — are gloriously awkward. My practice poppies could carry off every little eccentricity I inflicted on them with rumpled panache.

I hope you’ll make your own awkwardly glorious bouquet of poppies and stick them in a vase and fuss with them as they tilt their blooms at weird angles, and lean all over the place, being disagreeable. And just when you’re about to throw up your hands, you’ll step back and realize that it’s all come together. You’ll want to make more.

The crinkle technique I describe below is adapted from Livia Cetti’s gorgeous and essential book, The Exquisite Book of Paper Flowers.

Special thanks to the phenomenally talented Lynn Dolan (@lmdolan75 on Instagram) for her generous advice on this project! —Kate

Photography by Kate Alarcón

Supplies

-18 gauge cloth-covered floral wire -8mm wooden beads -white cosmetic wedge sponges for applying glue -sharp scissors –poppy templates

Crepe paper

This is what I used, but definitely feel free to mix it up and substitute.

From Castle in the Air:

-“Pale Yellow Green” heavy crepe for the frill at the top of the seed pod -“Lemon” heavy crepe for the stamen filaments -“Sunflower” fine crepe for the anthers at the end of the stamens -Fine crepe in “Red,” “Persian Pink,” “Pale Pink,” “Pink,” “Sunflower,” and “Vanilla” for the petals

From Paper Mart:

-“Moss Green” heavy crepe to cover the pod and wrap the stem, from Paper Mart

Optional:

Design Master Color Tool Spray in “Holiday Red,” “Perfect Pink,” “Coral,” “Orange,” and “Yellow”

PanPastel in “Permanent Red Tint 340.8,” “Permanent Red 340.5,” “Orange 280.5,” and “Hansa Yellow 220.5”

A note about grain:

The grain of the crepe paper runs parallel to the roll or fold.  You will almost always cut petals with the grain, placing the template so that the tiny wrinkles in the paper run up and down the template, not across. Each template includes an arrow to show the direction the grain should run.

Constructing the seed pod at the center of the flower:

The first step is to create the little frill at the top of the seedpod. Use template A to cut a frill piece from the pale green heavy crepe. Stretch the wider end of the piece all the way out, flattening all the little crinkles in the upper half inch of the frill piece.

Twist the frill piece, beginning about ½” below the top edge. The part of the frill that you stretched will form a little funnel. As I twist, I like to place my fingertip inside this funnel so that it stays open.

If this feels cumbersome, it’s fine to just twist and then use one end of your floral wire to reopen the funnel.

Insert the twisted bottom part of the frill piece into your wooden bead.

Dip the tip of your wire in the glue and scrape off any extra so that you have a thin coat that isn’t dripping all over the place. Insert this wire tip into the bottom of the bead, next to the bottom of the fringe that you’ve just inserted.

You don’t need to push this all the way up into the bead.  You’re mostly just trying to anchor the wire tip inside the bead. You’ll secure it in the next step.

Use template B to cut a rectangle from the medium green heavy crepe. Snip a very short fringe across the top of this rectangle (it’s fine to freehand this, but you can also use the lines drawn across the top of template B).

Use your sponge to swipe a thin layer of glue over this piece. Lay your bead on top of the rectangle, so that the top edge is slightly higher than the top of the bead.  Stretch the rectangle around the bead and press either side together.

Trim the excess rectangle.

Use your fingers to press the fringes of the green crepe down onto the top of the bead. Scrunch the green paper beneath the bead around the wire.

This will secure the pod to the wire.

For the stamens:

Use template C to cut a rectangle from the pale yellow, heavy crepe. Stretch this rectangle all the way out.  It should now be the same width as template D, but if it’s wider, trim any excess. The dotted line across template D shows how deep you should cut the fringe. (You’ll be cutting from the top). You can trace this line with a pencil or just fold along it and let the crease mark where your fringe should stop.

Without stressing out about it, cut the fringe as finely as you can.

Using the diagonal line on template D as a guide, cut away some of the excess paper beneath your fringe.  This will create less of a bump where you’ve applied your stamens, and also smooth the transition from stem to blossom.

Use your wedge sponge to apply glue to the area beneath the dotted line. Place your bead on this fringe piece, so that the bottom of the bead sits just above the dotted line. Roll the fringe around the bead loosely.

Don’t worry about what’s happening below the bead; just focus on making sure that the fringe at the top is even all the way around.

Scrunch the bottom of the fringe around the wire all the way up to the base of the pod.

Gently pinch the filaments between your thumb and forefinger and bend them away from the center, all the way around, creating a tidy ring of stamens.

Now you’ve got your stamen filaments ready to go!

Cut a 3”x 9” rectangle from the orange fine crepe (the short sides will run parallel to the grain.) Fold it in half vertically and in half vertically again.

Cut a fine fringe through all these layers, turn it 90 degrees, and cut across your fringe to create a fine “confetti.” Gently sweep this confetti into a little pile.

Squirt some glue onto a paper plate or disposable dish, and dip the ends of the yellow fringe into the glue.

To keep my seedpod frill clear of the glue, I prefer to hold the stem at a 45 degree angle and dip one section of the fringe at a time, slowly twirling it to glue all the way around.

Dip your fringe into the pile of confetti.  Now your filaments have anthers!

Adding color:

You can apply color before or after you cut your petals.

If I’m using the Color Tool spray, I prefer to color sheets of paper ahead of time. Though the odor fades after a couple of days, this stuff smells really intensely like bug spray when you first apply it, so I strongly recommend doing this outside, preferably with a mask on.

Shake the can well, and spray on a light coat.  If you’d like more intense color, let the first coat dry a little bit and then spray on another light coat.  I like to spray rows of color across the grain of my paper, spacing them a little bit farther apart than my petal height.

If I’m using PanPastels, I usually cut and then color my petals. Use your cosmetic sponge to swipe the pastel onto the petal, swiping with the grain of the paper.

I especially like to apply it so that the color is more intense toward the petal edges, fading toward the bottom, though you could also reverse that.

Clockwise from top: 1. “Vanilla” crepe with “Holiday Red” spray, 2. “Red” crepe with “Orange” PanPastel, 3. “Sunflower” crepe with “Holiday Red” spray, 4. “Vanilla” crepe with “Orange” spray, 5. “Light Pink” crepe with “Yellow” spray, 6. “Vanilla” fine crepe with “Perfect Pink” spray, 7. “Persian Pink” crepe with “Coral” spray, and “Persian Pink” crepe with “Holiday Red” spray.

For the petals:

Each poppy will have six petals: two from template E, two from template F, and two from template G.  Templates E through F are actually half a petal, so you’ll need to fold your fine crepe parallel to the grain and place the dotted line along the fold.

Lay the petal on a smooth surface.  Place your fingertips about an inch in from the edge of the petal closest to you. Place your thumbs right on the edge, behind your fingers. Use your thumbs to drag or inch the paper toward your fingers. When your thumbs and fingers touch, leave your thumb where it is, lift your fingertips and set them down about an inch forward. Repeat until you’ve gathered the whole petal into pleats.

Pick up your gathered petal and pinch up and down it to set the pleats.

Holding the pleats in place, twist the petal as though you were gently wringing water out of a rag. You’ll twist them pretty firmly, but I find it works better to use a lot of little twisting motions than to try to do everything all in one big twist. Untwist and gently spread the petal, taking care not to smooth the tiny pleats and wrinkles very much.

You can curl your petal at this point or after you glue your pleats.

Curling the petals is a lot like curling ribbon for giftwrap: you can scrape the petal with the blade of your scissors, a skewer, or just your fingers, moving from the base of the petal to the upper edge as you scrape.

Spread the bottom half inch of the template most of the way out and use your sponge to dab glue all the way across the bottom of the petal.

Pinch the bottom edge to gather it back up. Let the glue dry for a few minutes.

Snip off the excess bulk at the bottom of the petal.

Attaching the petals:

You’ll apply the petals in pairs. Start with the template E’s, and place them on opposite sides of the pod.  Apply a little bit of glue to the base of the petal and press it right up under the bead.

The second set of petals, the F’s, come next. Working clockwise, place each F beside each E, so that each F overlaps each E by about 30 percent.

Finally, apply each template G petal beside your template F petals, again overlapping by about 30 percent.

Finishing your flower:

Cut a few ¼” x 8” strips across the grain of the medium green heavy crepe. Dab glue on the first two or three inches of the strip and tightly wrap the section of the stem just beneath the flower to secure the petals and hide the petal bottoms. Apply a small amount of glue to one side of the stem wire. (I usually glue four or five inches of the stem at a time so I don’t get as much glue on my hands.)

Hold the strip at a 45-degree angle to the stem and gently stretch the strip as you twirl the stem, spinning the strip all the way to the bottom. If your strip breaks or runs out, just begin with a new strip right above the place on the stem where your previous strip ended.

Once the glue is dry, take some time to straighten your stamens and arrange your petals. You might want to curl some a little bit more, or gently tug a petal’s edge to straighten out crumpled pleats, or press some of the petals down where the petal meets the center to separate the layers.

Sources for supplies:

Michaels: 18 gauge floral wire, Design Master spray, wooden beads, glue

Castle in the Air: Crepe paper, glue, wire

Paper Mart: Crepe paper

Blick: PanPastels

[inemi]

STAN BORYS-jaskółka.

Jaskółka czarny sztylet, wydarty z piersi wiatru

Nagła smutku kotwica, z niewidzialnego jachtu

Katedra ją złowiła w sklepienia sieć wysokąJak śmierć kamienna bryła

Jak wyrok naw prostokąt

Jaskółka błyskawica w kościele obumarłym

Tnie jak czarne nożyce lęk, który ją ogarnia

Jaskółka siostra burzy, żałoba fruwająca

Ponad głowami ludzi, w których się troska błąka

Jaskółka znak podniebny jak symbol nieuchwytna

Zwabiona w chłód katedry przestroga i modlitwa

Nie przetnie białej ciszy pod chmurą ołowianą

Lotu swego nie zniży nad łąki złotą plamą

Przeraża mnie ta chwila, która jej wolność skradła

Jaskółka czarny brylant wrzucony tu przez diabła

Na wieczne wirowanie, na bezszelestną mękę

Na gniazda nie zaznanie, na przeklinanie piękna

Na wieczne wirowanie, na bezszelestną mękę

Na gniazda nie zaznanie, na przeklinanie piękna

Na gniazda nie zaznanie, na przeklinanie piękna

Hirondelle poignard noir, arraché de la poitrine du vent

Ancre de tristesse soudaine, d'un yacht invisible

La cathédrale l'a attrapée dans les voûtes du filet aussi haut que la mort un bloc de pierre

Comme le verdict des allées du rectangle

Avalez la foudre dans une église morte

Elle coupe comme des ciseaux noirs la peur qui la saisit

Hirondelle soeur de la tempête, deuil flottant

Au-dessus de la tête des gens en qui les soins errent

Avalez le signe du ciel comme un symbole insaisissable

Prudence et prière attirées dans la fraîcheur de la cathédrale

Il ne coupera pas le silence blanc sous un nuage de plomb

Il ne baissera pas son vol au-dessus des prairies avec une tache dorée

Je suis terrifié par le moment qui lui a volé sa liberté

Avale un diamant noir jeté ici par le diable

Pour la filature éternelle, pour le tourment silencieux

Pour ne pas connaître les nids, pour maudire la beauté

Pour la filature éternelle, pour le tourment silencieux

Pour ne pas connaître les nids, pour maudire la beauté

Pour ne pas connaître les nids, pour maudire la beauté

A swallow of a black dagger, snatched from the breast of the wind

The anchor of a sudden sadness, an invisible yacht

The cathedral caught her in the basement of a net as high as the death of a stone block

Like the verdict of the alleys of the rectangle

Swallow lightning in a dead church

She cuts like black scissors the fear that seizes her

Swallow sister of the storm, flowing mourning

Over the heads of people in whom worries wander

Swallow the sky sign as an elusive symbol

Caution and prayers offered in the cold of the cathedral

It will not break the white silence under a cloud of lead

It will not suppress its flight over the meadows with a golden stain

I'm afraid of the moment that took away her freedom

Swallow the black diamond thrown here by the devil

For eternal spinning, for silent torment

Not to know nests, to curse beauty

For eternal spinning, for silent torment

Not to know nests, to curse beauty

Not to know nests, to curse beauty

Una rondine di un pugnale nero, strappato dal petto del vento

L'ancora della tristezza improvvisa, lo yacht invisibile

La cattedrale l'ha catturata nei sotterranei con una rete alta come la morte di un blocco di pietra

Come il verdetto dei vicoli del rettangolo

Inghiottire un fulmine in una chiesa morta

Taglia come forbici nere la paura che la prende

Rondine, sorella della tempesta, lutto che scorre

Sopra le teste delle persone in cui vagano le preoccupazioni

Ingoia il segno del cielo come un simbolo sfuggente

Cautela e preghiere offerte nel freddo della cattedrale

Non romperà il bianco silenzio sotto una nuvola di piombo

Non sopprimerà il suo volo sui prati con una macchia d'oro

Ho paura del momento che gli ha tolto la libertà

Ingoia il diamante nero lanciato qui dal diavolo

Per la rotazione eterna, per il tormento silenzioso

Non conosci i nidi, maledici la bellezza

Per la rotazione eterna, per il tormento silenzioso

Non conosci i nidi, maledici la bellezza

Non conosci i nidi, maledici la bellezza

[bassiter2]

it's considered anti-intellectual these days (at least online) to hate "modern art" but it's like that exact reason that i have beef with it. like my thing is more than anything the way that people will defend it with "oh you think that's just a red square? you think this masterpiece is just a random series of shapes? well think again, this is in fact meant to represent the anguish he felt after his wife's miscarriage" like ok how could i possibly have known that that's what i'm looking at. if i have to read someone's personal diary or see an interview to have any clue what a particular art piece means then quite genuinely it does not mean that. that may have been the intent that someone put into it but if i don't read it, it's not really there, is it? and i don't think that actually makes the thing valuable to anyone other than that person, and especially no more worthy of being in a museum than anyone else's personal vent art or whatever.

and like it's not that i can't get anything aesthetically from looking at abstract pieces, i definitely do appreciate just looking at good colors and shapes from time to time, but man when i toured the moma i got soooo tired of that so fast. it just blends together. like here's a yellow rectangle. now here's a green one. now here's a grey one with a small red square overlapping on the side. oh that represents your alcoholism? that's interesting but i would care infinitely more if it was hanging on your bedroom wall and you were telling me about it after we hooked up than if it was surrounded by a 5ft perimeter of blank white space with yet more colored shapes painted by other people who'd probably be better off just learning to articulate their feelings with words. oh or maybe someone just used period blood instead of paint and therefore i should care and i should intellectualize the instinct to be disgusted instead of being so plebian as to simply be disgusted. of course if someone had that on their bedroom wall no one would blame you for hightailing it outta there but if it's in a museum then "disgust is what you're SUPPOSED to feel. so you're reductive actually for not analyzing it and coming to some conclusion about what it REALLY means."

..and i'm ngl i def also have the more annoying instinct to think "i could make this in 5 seconds" but that's quite honestly the least of it. i just can't help but think like, if what makes [this] art valuable isn't innate talent but rather the audience's willingness to meet it halfway, then isn't it then my responsibility to meet basically EVERYTHING halfway? but no one actually expects that, so what gives paint on a canvas special privilege? so i decide that simply nothing does. i will meet plenty of things halfway to understand them but i'm not gonna do it over and over again for hours where all the people involved are people i barely know anything about. i'd rather just see your colored shapes on instagram where you readily admit you were just trying to make something that looked good and there's nothing deeper going on and i don't feel like everyone around me would think i'm stupid for "not getting it."

[larisarealtech97]

Modern Simple POP Designs

Modern simple POP (Plaster of Paris) designs are popular choices for interior ceilings due to their sleek and minimalist aesthetics. These designs are characterized by clean lines, smooth surfaces, and often emphasize functionality alongside style.

Here's a general description of modern simple POP design:

1. Clean Lines and Geometric Shapes:

Modern Simple POP designs often feature clean and straight lines with geometric shapes. Squares and rectangles are commonly used to create a simple yet elegant look.

2. Minimalist Approach:

The simplicity of modern POP design lies in its minimalist approach. Uncluttered ceilings with subtle details contribute to a contemporary and sophisticated atmosphere.

3. Smooth Surfaces:

Modern POP designs focus on creating smooth and seamless surfaces. The finish is typically sleek, giving a polished and refined appearance to the ceiling.

4. Recessed Lighting Integration:

Recessed or hidden lighting is a common feature in modern POP designs. Lights are often embedded within the POP structure to provide a soft and diffused glow, enhancing the overall ambiance of the room.

5. Neutral Colors:

The color palette for modern POP designs tends to be neutral. White and shades of gray are popular choices as they contribute to the clean and contemporary look, making the space appear larger and brighter.

6. Functional Design Elements:

Modern POP designs may incorporate functional elements such as hidden storage, built-in speakers, or even air conditioning vents. These features seamlessly blend into the ceiling design, maintaining the overall simplicity.

7. Artistic Patterns:

While simplicity is key, modern POP designs can include subtle artistic patterns or textures. These patterns add a touch of uniqueness without overwhelming the overall design.

[kujiga]

3 years late, but better then never? So here are those closer up images I said I was going to post. Started working on cosplay for AX 2023, and I was like oh shoot, I haven’t posted in a while, whoops.

Soooo, lets see how much I remember from this build. - The head was made from card board/ card stock like bits. (Which I get from work). It was made by making a bunch of triangles and then connecting them together from the inside with scrap bits. I do recall making a couple different heads in the start. Like the first triangle was to big, to slanted, to wide, etc.  Also since the head was mostly symmetrical, once I got the one side, I just flipped over that triangle and used that piece like a pattern.  - The head was started with that circle piece, just scrap from an amazon box and then the main/ first bits of the face was attached to it. - The eyes were this material: https://amzn.to/3ArSqGb. Then I lightly painted eyeballs on the outside. You can kinda see thru the paint, but you mainly looked thru the white bits.  - The hands, this year, I added vent holes. They looked bad, lol. But helped so much with keeping the hand from getting super sweaty. The inside had a PVC pipe glued inside. So either my hand can grip it of be shoved slightly past if and just hang the cardboard hand on my hand. - The leg bits was just some weird shape I was like good enough. Kept together the same way I did the head. Just slipped the bits over the leg. Should of put something in there to prevent them from moving around so much, but eh, next time. - The feet, I had a shoe and placed some bits of cardboard around it to get a tight-ish fit. The joints were connected together with elastic bits. Which made it bendable when you walked, It was shoe cover 2.0, since it was the same way I made the FF7 show covers but learned from where it would break apart a bunch in the last cosplay and made it stronger in certain places. Each shoe cover was made with the owners shoe, so it was a tight enough fit where you just placed it right over the shoe and then slip your foot into the shoe and it mainly stuck there thru out the day. The important part was making sure the toe part was a good fit around the shoe. Clothes bits: - The white jacket was a lab coat that I cut down. I recall debating if I wanted to get a more gray or brown jacket. However if I went that route, finding a matching set for the rest of the crew was difficult. Plus semi cheap lab coats is super easy to get. - The color bits of clothes was also just scrubs! I had a uniform store in town and it made it really easy to see all the colors in person and pick what was right for each person. However, scrubs can be semi pricey. BUT very comfy! So not hot, had pockets, fit well. - Scarf was a triangle cut out and poorly hemmed. Then some long rectangles sewn on the ends so you can tie it around.    If you have any questions, feel free to ask, hopefully I can help.

[camerawhoisalsocam]

DC fan here, lemme give yall my 2 cents on thesw outfits.

FUCK

Okay lemme run down the best to worst, I'll start with the good and I'll slowly devolve into an insane little man

Wonder Woman. Honestly its rare to mess up WW's design. This ia a fairly accurate rendition, mixing in the combat skirt with the OG shorta works, the line work on the upperbody is good, and the arm peices look good. Hell they even made sure to make her muscles pop out more and even gave her slightly tanned skin to match her greek heritage. Oh boy, that face tho, she uh, she dont look right. Her head looks like a rectangle. That small mouth makes her face all smooshed too

Vixen is so damn bland. I know most of her outfits consist of a orange leotard. Can do something! Give her tiger prints on her legs! Make the top of her outfit thats black into a jacket, or make it dark brown like on her teenage outfit! Give her tooth earings, DO ANYTHING! Its so boring to look at! Vixen has a very plain original design, that makes her SO EASY TO CHANGE! Out of so many DC hero's she has is one of the most customizable. Also i dont like how her bracelet dont match anything else on her outfit, just make them silver to match the necklace ffs

Black Canary looks like a ghost. Its like the paper white skin of the old engine. Hey atleast the blonde isn't yellow colored like every other blonde in RWBY. Now onto the.... idk what to call it. Canary isnt a stranger to blue, but this much is excessive. Black and Grey had been a simple color palet that works great. When it comes to Canary she's the opposite of Vixen where little is enough. Now onto the outfit, the leggings/stocking dont look skintight as they normally should be, the jacket is fine and I've slowly warmed up to the chocker type lace around her neck. But that shirt? I hate it, the lines are uneeded and over complicated for her design. Whats the point of the little opening at the top for? Fanservive? Its all just too distracting to look at

Yang....

My god what am I looking at? Okay top to bottom lets run it down

I know we cant see her ponytail that well but from what I can see I know her V4 pony is better. This looks like it just falls flat, Yangs hair has to have some poof to it. And god dammit fix her bangs. They look longer and messier, I know its a small change but changing a character hair, specifically the bangs, can really change how their face looks.

I've always had issues with how much of Yangs neck geys covered since it makes her head area even bigger. Her V1 scarf and the V2 lack there of looked great, the scarf even looked good in V7. But this is so excessive. Its massive! I know she's taking on a spartan like look, so take a look at Shazam and make that orange towel smaller!

The chest, yeah im going there. I know Yang is the "big booby blonde" but my lord those look painful. Her body proportions have been inflated! Armour is supposed to suppress a girls chest for proper protection. Each tit is as big as her head! Atleast the armour is gold, thank god Yang has her primary color on a goos majority of her body.

Now for the arms and lower torso. Im happy they took the dark brown from her V7 jacket, idk of this is a hot take but I like that jacket and the color works well for Yang as a pseudo black. The stripes are fine on the arm but I don't like them on the body.

No! Get that poopy brown over all colors off! Its gross! And that light yellow pee color doenst work either. Make it a bolder yellow or make it gold.

Alright thanks RT for giving me a reason to vent out my frustrations of my awful day in a productive way instead of lashing out like an angey gremlin.

I may not be a professional character designer, or an artist, but im not a dumbass. I know RT has had issues with character designs in recent years, so using these as the first teaser/leak is definitely a turn off. Not as big a turn off as the first one or the fact that RT has their mits on this, but this leak doesn't make me hopeful for this

How is it that the three superwomen look so cool... and then there's Yang.

[we-are-inevitable]

some thoughts about modern jack and his bedroom, brothers, and boyfriend

jack getting adopted by medda the summer before freshman year and each wall in his room is dedicated to/painted for a different year

freshman, sophomore, junior, senior

and it's like full on painted. color splashes, designs, doodles, everything

just bc that's how his Brain works and he thinks it would be cool to keep that living scrapbook

plus it's just ,, a good coping mechanism. sometimes he doesn't want to waste canvases and sketchbooks on vent art, and this is a healthy alternative- one medda gives explicit permission for, after jack brings the idea up to his therapist

as the years go on, the paint and designs get progressive brighter and less rigid.

his first wall, freshman year, is very dark, with sharp line work and jagged edges.

his last wall, senior year, is bright and pastel and more free flowing- organic shapes, lots of curves, much brighter to look at.

ALSO: his closet door is painted but it's rlly messy bc that's how he bonded with Race

when Jack was having a shit day or race was having one of those days when he just Needs To Move His Hands, they sit together in jacks floor and paint and talk

sometimes charlie joins in too, but Jack has another section of wall (with the exact same measurements as his closet door) marked off and reserved for charlie on the off chance he wants to join too

Charlie’s section is visibly less painted, but he humors Jack sometimes because:

art + parallel play = jack's love language

when he eventually meets and starts dating Davey, in junior year, he paints a HUGE white rectangle over existing paint on his wall to represent a "new beginning" with davey (and also so davey will have a fresh white canvas, because jack ALSO wants davey to paint with him, and davey does it all the time)

just,, jack turning his bedroom- his safe haven- into a place that physically represents comfort and personal growth, with his favorite people, to remind him that life gets better

and even when he's an adult, even when he's moved off into his own place, medda *refuses* to paint the walls in his old room.

thank u for coming to my tedtalk

[bcdrawsandwrites]

(Please reblog if you want to, don’t repost!)

[ID: A digital illustration of a bird mixed with a computer standing against a blueish-green background. The bird has the proportions of a magpie, but is made up mostly of computer components. It is standing facing partially to the left with its body and head bent downward, its tail pointed up, and its wings partially spread out to the sides. The head is round and has white casing and a pointed silver beak. The eye is a normal eye with a blue sclera, but surrounding the eye is a silver border looking similar to a border surrounding an old computer monitor. The neck is a mass of red, blue, yellow, green, and gray cables. The main body is the same white casing as the head. There are vents in the back just over where the wings attach, and an off-white panel in the center of the back with a gray CPU socket in the center. The wings are in two pieces: a thin white piece that attaches to the body and can slide into the other section of the wing, and a larger piece that looks like a motherboard, but is still shaped like a wing. The motherboard part of the wing is blue with iridescent green lining the edges and in the wires embedded in the board, and has a large number of gray rectangles and small yellow grain-shaped parts sticking out from the top side. The back of the wings have a thin black piece with white stripes, looking like the part of the motherboard that gets plugged into the rest of the computer. The tail consists of three silver feathers attached to the end of the body with multicolored wires. The feet, braced against the ground, are blue-gray with silver claws. /end ID]

Character design commission for @silverstreams who wanted me to design a computer bird! It went through many iterations as I tweaked it according to their input. It was fun to design!

[nebulaofthorns]

TWST OC

Lapin Blanc

Lapin has always been a studious, hard worker. It didn't take long for him to be chosen to carry on the legacy of The White Rabbit, and chosen by the Dark Mirror to attend NRC. For a while he assisted Riddle, but when Lucinda arrived, Crowley decided it would be best if she had Lapin around to keep her on track. He hates absolutely every second of trying to keep track of and assist Lucinda, because her focus is always galaxies away, and she hangs around NRC's biggest pranksters. On top of that, he's consistently tormented by a certain cat who's always popping in unexpectedly. A majority of his woes are vented out in letters to his older sister, Bunetti.

Gender: Male

Age: Nineteen

Sexuality: Pansexual

Romantic Orientation: Monogamous

Hair Color: White

Eye Color: Pink

Height: 6' 1"

Figure: Rectangle

Closest Friend(s): Eric Cauldorian, Deuce Spade

Partner(s): Refuses to say, untill they make it official

Enemy(s) With Benefits: Alchemi Alchemivich Pinka, Floyd Leech, Ruggi Bucchi

Position: Submissive, Prey, Damsel

Family: More siblings than he can keep track of, but he's particularly close to his older sister

Likes: Raspberries, Cleaning, People that keep good time, Lettuce

Dislikes: Having his ears squeezed, being late, Sleeping In, Carrots, Dogs