#you know when you get really into a craft and buy way more tools and accessories than you need. yeah that's this guy

[zahroreadsthings]

Planning...

Question: Do you start up a new conversation?

Response: 'Can you tell me about your tools?'

Check notes for previous instalment

You suppress the urge to tell him more about Reginald and decide to learn about what else you're missing.

'Can you tell me about your tools?'

Hakim sounds relieved to be on firmer talking ground. He shows you the pouch the metal balls are in - the inside is lined with heat sigils and the outside with cold ones. 'It's reversible,' he says. 'One of the best things I own.'

You make a quick mental note to recreate it.

He pulls out a smooth disc with a blue-green glass centre that fits comfortably in his palm. 'This changes colour according to air pressure.'

'I think we have something similar,' you say. 'There's a sparrow whose eyes turn red when pressure drops enough.'

'It sounds like an older version of this - this one has a range of colours it cycles through. It's not useful for telling temperatures but it lets you know how fast pressure is changing without having to pay attention to your joints. I use it all the time - it's usually colder across the mountains.'

'This is pretty cool!'

Hakim laughs. 'Some people call them gimmicky but I don't care.'

He sets the disc on the floor in front of him. 'The glass is already turning greener. Looks like your mentor was right.'

'Where did you get this stuff?'

He packs the pouch away. 'The bigger cities have craftspeople who specialise in making witch tools. Keep an eye out at your next meet.'

You watch the glass in front of Hakim brighten slowly to yellow and rub your fingers. He hums a tune you don't recognise, drops it, and picks it up again. The shadows to your left lengthen slowly.

'Here's my plan,' Hakim says. 'The balls in the bag are already warm. I'll take out a few and you'll fan out the heat from them. Once they've cooled down they'll go back in the bag to warm up again. We'll move along then take the unused ones out and repeat.'

You go back and forth to smooth out a few details. Hakim speaks to the driver, the wagon changes direction, and the ground suddenly becomes a lot more uneven. He closes his eyes and waits.

You look ahead and see trees shaking in the wind. You quickly realise you won't be able to go off on your own to collect Deema's samples.

[dognonsense]

Question...how do you make your patches? They seem so fuckin cool. I'm working on a vest and a jacket atm, and I'd like for them to be done by the time a pride fest rolls around next month.

Main technique I use for making patches nowadays is linocut. Its best suited for mass production of patches.

Make sure to remember your carving the mirror image so you have to flip all the text. Using tracing paper to flip the design is a good trick, as well as leaving graphite marks on side, then pressing that to the lino to leave the marks in the same spot. Another trick with pencil is to view what ur carving in negative space quickly, put a paper over your design and shade over it with pencil, darker marks will be where you haven't carved yet.

I use speedball fabric ink, it takes 1 week to set then will be fine to be washed. I have magenta, violet, turqouise, and white. They have a limited range of fabric colors at the store. I have seen gold and silver fabric paint for sale and I will investigate it one day.

I use a speedball roller, i find the smaller one to be better than the big one as I can be more precise and waste less ink.

I got a fancy handle for $40 but the screws fallen out so its broken now so just get some heavy books. I used to use a mug. Whats important is pushing your whole body weight into it.

I got a speedball carving tool with different heads I can swap out so I can cut into the lino at different deepness and widths. The heads are stored inside the tool since its hollow and has a screwable removable bottom. I use linocut or dollar store erasers for my carvings. Make sure to wash the ink off your linocuts after your done using them.

A thing to increase the lifespan of you're linocuts is to use wood glue, some cork or wood pieces, and glued the lino stamps onto them. I dont do that yet so my stamps fall appart from overuse sometime and because I cut way too deep into the lino since I hate chatter.

Chatter is the term for in linocutting when theres little messy lines and stuff. It makes the art more recognisably to be linocut. My work is very clean with no chatter which is why people don't notice its linocut usually. This is a stylistic choice, with diy styles having a lot of chatter can look really cool so experiment with leaving bits of extra uncarvered lino sticking out in ur stamp. I need to experiment and buy some more lino.

You can also use multiple linocut stamps together to make a patch. Some patches ive made have like 8 different stamps. Ive made a dog nonsense patch where each letter was their own eraser stamp. You can also use different colors between the different lino stamps on the same patch to add more color. An effect I like to do is first stamp it in color, then the next day I stamp it in white over the same spot but shifted to the right and down slightly. It makes the text have a cool border 3D effect I love doing.

If making a more detailed picture with colors, i reccomend hand painting patches. I use white fabric paint mixed with acrylics for color to get all the shades i need. Acrylic paint mixed with fabric softener works too.

If doing words and you dont want a unique font reccomend using letter stamps. If you want a unique font for that i recommend hand paint for individual or linocut for mass produce.

The positive of letter stamps is the font is neat and can be done quickly. I know from lending them to my roommate that they are very helpful if you have dyslexia and have trouble getting letters right.

A visual effect of the letter stamps is that have a nice boxy edge effect, its an imperfection that adds a personally touch to it. I have both lower and upper case stamps that I got from michaels. You can use a hair band or elastic to hold a bunch of letter stamps together to make a word stamp.

You can use other stamps than letters that you find at craft stores for example my racoon print is a craftstore stamp.

You can also find big plastic letter stencils at the dollar store that you can use to do lettering by filling in gaps with a sponge or or paintbrush. They make special paintbrushes just for using stencils.

You can also get plastic stencils in the shapes of things, i got some for children and use a horse stencil for my horse smoking weed patch. Easier than drawing a horse myself.

Another technique I use for more unique clean patches is gel plating. I haven't tried printing laserprint images with it as ive seen online a lot but I will try one day. What i personally do is use it to make imprints with chains and physical objects.

Another thing i use with gelplates are any stamps or linocuts that dont have words, or words ones that i fucked up with and forgot to mirror when carving. It flips mirror image twice with the gel plate so it goes back to being right again on the patch.

Another patch making technique is using foamboard cut into shapes glued onto cardboard. This is good for a quick test of a design and is very cheap to make. It will not hold under water so is more difficult to clean.

[rheiple]

Sun wants to be your favorite.

Have you noticed? From the way he greets you with a really tight hug and a little twirl, unlike how he only gives his other friends a quick pat on their shoulder and a handshake at best. The way he like to help you with work whether it’d be passing out the tools you needed, reaching stuff you can’t reach at, or even giving you the emotional support you needed when you feel like you can’t complete a task at hand. Please, he’s practically giving you the puppy eyes waiting for your praises, whenever he gives you a gift he hand made, cause he believes that putting effort like hand made crafts is much more romantic than buying it. Not that he mind buying stuff for you that is! Whatever you need, he’ll give you all, because you’re his favorite human!

And when you do give him compliments and praises? Ohh you flatter him so much! Internally squealing like a school girl who gushes about their crush, it’s so bad that he’s been nagged at by Moon. He doesn’t care though, he’s just jealous that he’s our favorite!

He doesn’t really believe it, but when you gently cup his face to admire his blue eyes, his golden rays and his pearly white smile. You told him that he’s such a pretty boy? He practically melts because of how hot his circuits are! Oh don’t look at him, you’re making him blush!

But you know what he really really likes? Whenever it’s his turn to praise and compliment you, he gets to see you overheat! Your flushed cheeks, awkward smile not being used to such statements about you, and the way your pretty eyes dart around to look anywhere but him. Oohhh he can’t wait to just eat you up! Acting all shy like that, and you’ll get a hyper Sun not letting you out of his love bombing.

He really likes you, and you seem to like him too! So is he your favorite boy? He really really hopes so !

.

.

.

Moon is your favorite.

Oh, he’s not going to sit and hope that he’s your favorite. He knows he is your favorite. I mean, you wouldn’t go out of your way to be nice and be buddy buddy with him right? He found it cute that one time you were too shy to start up a conversation with him, thinking he’s not much of a talker. He really isn’t, he prefers to listen to your voice. But if you asked him, he’d talk and talk. Wanna hear about facts of the solar system? Or hear about that one time a kid took a dookie on Sun? Oh, he’s just joking Sunny boy, he’s not that mean to embarrass you to his favorite human. Do you want to hear a story? About the spooky rabbit lady who likes to kidnap bad children? Or a love story about a human… and a robot..

Hah, he doesn’t know what your talking about Starlight. It sounds familiar? Well, yes because it’s based on a book he read. What book? Uh, he’s actually gate keeping it. Sorry Star, the book was too good for him to share it. Him? Projecting his feelings on the story?

His gonna put you in naptime for that.

Ohh but don’t think he didn’t noticed the way your eyes shined with stars whenever he lifted something heavy to help you with your duties. Like what you see? You’re practically ogling at his physique. Not that he minds, he loves your undevided attention. You get excited and hype him up whenever he does the lifting. His face plate spins in glee thinking about being your big and strong man.

He likes really teasing you, he sees your flushed cheeks and hears your heart rate speeding up little by little. He gets the sudden urge to just pinch and pull your cheeks really hard.

Oh, but you always like to take revenge. Stroking his cheeks and looking at him like he’s the million dollars you’ve won at the lottery. Telling him how he’s such a handsome man. He might’ve grumbled, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t loved it. He’s just very flustered at your compliments. No Star, I’m hiding in my hat- hey don’t take it off of me!

He knows you never get mad at him whenever he steals shiny trinkets and presents it to you. You just really love how he really really loves you. You know you’re his favorite human, his actions have shown it… So it’d make sense that he’s also your favorite, when you reciprocate his love for you right?

I got the sudden energy to write this when I listened to the song called "Pretty boy" by Naethan Apollo. The song is such a banger I would recommend it to y'all.

[malk1ns]

HI HELLO I’ve been thinking about your barbie girl sid for a hot minute….if you could please imagine the man trying to do a diy/home improvement/“wood working project….like maybe sid wants to make a bird house or bird feeding station so he can do some more bird watching, and he’s struggling a little trying to figure out which tools are best to use in what order….sid out in the backyard all sweaty and pink cheeked and pouting behind his safety glasses trying to figure out why his angles are off…..asking geno with his big old 🥺 eyes to hold his wood still for him while he works his saw……

Sid loves having hobbies.

Evgeni's watched him pick up and discard new ones practically every offseason since they've been together. The only ones that have stood the test of time are scrapbooking and baking; Sid spends hours in his craft room putting together memory books that Evgeni will absolutely not admit to crying over when he's feeling sentimental, and after over a decade Sid's perfected his banana bread recipe.

Everything else, though, Sid gets really into for a few weeks over the summer, then loses interest a few weeks into the new season. They have half a shelf's worth of books on birdwatching from the Covid pause, and Evgeni things there's a bin of yarn somewhere in the garage still.

So, he's used to Sid watching something on YouTube and getting all excited about trying something new. They take trips to stores to buy stuff because Sid doesn't trust Amazon after they delivered a sensitive package to their neighbor's house, and Evgeni watches Sid wander the aisles, offering opinions when asked but otherwise letting Sid pick out whatever little bits and bobs he likes best.

It keeps Sid occupied, usually. Evgeni does most of his intensive paper-writing in the offseasons, and Sid having something of his own to work on, even if he gives up after a month, keeps him from getting bored when Evgeni loses track of time.

He's not so sure about this summer's choice though.

Sid's been talking about wanting to redo the basement at his house all season, setting up Pinterest boards and drowning Evgeni's Instagram messages with links to renovation jobs. Evgeni figured they were in for a summer of dealing with construction and mess and contractors who lie right to Sid's face because they know a mark when they see one.

Turns out, Sid wants to do some of it himself. Evgeni thinks he'd rather deal with the contractors.

Neither of them are all that comfortable in Home Depot, but Sid insists on going in person instead of ordering, and Evgeni spends his first real off-day of the summer eyeing the endless, inscrutable tools and hardware fixtures as Sid frowns at his list and gets them lost at least three times.

It's when they get to the circular saws that Evgeni finally says something.

"Sid..." he says, frowning at the sawhorse set up to demo one of the units. "Not sure this is safe, like, you're use a saw before?"

Sid's crouched down to inspect the saw blades. Evgeni takes a minute to admire the way his ass and thighs strain at his jeans.

"It's fine," Sid says, distracted and poking at the packages. "People use these all the time. And I watched a video on YouTube." He glances up at Evgeni, eyes big and imploring. "I really want to make this table, G."

Evgeni caves. He usually does. Sighing, he crouches down next to Sid, who beams at him and shoves his phone under Evgeni's nose. "Can you help me figure out which of these I need to get?"

--

Sid takes over Evgeni's concrete shooting pad in the backyard. There are piles of wood and buckets of bolts and screws and fasteners all over the place, and Sid spends every afternoon puttering around out there, measuring planks and drawing designs on the big sheets of paper he had stashed away from some other project.

Sid's shorts are all very short, and his t-shirts are getting tighter as he bulks back up after the season. It's a nice view. Evgeni's not getting much done on this summer's paper.

It doesn't seem like Sid is making progress either, though. So far, every time Evgeni glances out the window, he's only succeeded in moving around the pieces of wood.

He looks awfully cute in his safety glasses, though.

One day, the weather is nice enough that Evgeni gives up on his paper and wanders downstairs, stepping out onto the patio.

"G!" Sid beams at him, pushing his glasses up his nose. His hair is getting long, curling with sweat against his temples, and he's wearing the tightest white t-shirt he owns. Evgeni licks his lips. "Are you done with your story? Do you want to see what I'm working on?"

Evgeni shakes his head. Every summer, Sid thinks he's going to be done with his paper right away. He's stopped explaining the number of drafts he has to go through before it can even be sent to his editor. "I'm take break, it's nice out. Yes, you show. It's not look much like table though, Sid."

Sid pouts at him. "It takes time," he whines, gathering up the papers he's got scattered over the sawhorse. "Look, I have to measure out the legs, and make sure that all the pieces fit together..."

Evgeni dutifully looks over the designs. Sid's handwriting is terrible, but he's clearly put work into the numbers; there are erasemarks all over where he's corrected the measurements.

Numbers have never been Evgeni's strong suit, so he doesn't spend any time checking the figures. Either they'll work or they won't. "Looks good, Sid, I can't wait to see." He glances to the side, eyeing Sid up. "You take break too, maybe?"

Sid frowns at him. "I was just about to start cutting..." he starts, but trails off when Evgeni drops the papers and gets his hand on Sid's ass. "Oh, a break. Yeah, okay."

He makes for the door, but Evgeni catches him around the waist before he can go back inside, pulls him over to the chaise lounges next to the grill. When he knocks one of the seat cushions onto the ground and drops to his knees, Sid squeaks.

Sid's spent a lot of time outside this summer, and he's already got color, stark tan lines on his belly and thighs from his shorts. Evgeni licks over his hipbone, setting his teeth into the soft flesh there and biting down just enough to leave a mark, just enough to make Sid whine and cant his hips forward.

Getting Sid's shorts off is always a battle, but eventually Evgeni peels them down his thighs, letting them pool on the ground as he leans forward to bury his face in Sid's groin. He's warm, and he's been sweating in the afternoon heat; when Evgeni inhales, it's salty and pungent, twisting something in Evgeni's stomach and making him groan with want.

Sid twists Evgeni's hair in his fingers and tugs, not too hard, but urgently enough that Evgeni redirects his attention to Sid's dick, already hard and beading precome.

Evgeni doesn't tease. They're outside, after all, and the chair cushions are only comfortable for so long. He opens his mouth and lets Sid feed him his dick, closing his eyes to savor the taste and the heft of Sid in his mouth, listening to Sid pant and groan and whimper above him as he thrusts.

Sid's noisy when he comes, practically shouting as he spills over Evgeni's tongue, and Evgeni clenches his thighs. He's hard, he wants to come so badly, but he holds Sid's dick in his mouth, licking and sucking gently until Sid pulls away with a gasp.

"Wow," Sid says, blinking down at him. Evgeni's mouth feels swollen and used, and his dick is hard in his gym shorts.

He gets to his feet with a groan, wincing as his knees crack. He's barely gotten his balance when Sid is pushing at him, shoving him towards the door and inside the house.

Neither of them get anything done that afternoon.

--

The table turns out terribly. The legs are all the same length, but they don't fit into the top correctly, so it wobbles. The stain isn't even, too thin in some parts and textured and thick in others. One side of the top is cut at a slant.

Sid pouts over it, wants to throw it away, but Evgeni puts it in his office, on one side of his desk. A couple of folded-up index cards stops it from wobbling, and with a few blankets on top it's a perfect nest for Maverick to curl up in and nap. Sid smiles whenever he comes in and sees it, and Evgeni's caught him doodling; he thinks Sid's trying to figure out how to make a bird house.

He does make Sid take the circular saw back, though.

[slashers-and-rats]

You know those kandi bracelets? Slashers being gifted these bracelets. I saw someone write about this once and it hasn’t left my brain since

rat chat: dude i love those bracelets!! if they didn’t distract me so much i’d wear them more often.

Slashers Receiving Kandi Bracelets from GN!Reader

featured slashers: billy lenz, jason vorhees, micheal myers

Billy Lenz :

i think this would be one of billy’s favourite gifts ever!!

you’d give him something chunky, with blue and green beads and little kitty charms, and maybe some squishy rubber bobbles thrown on too. for awhile, he’d just roll it around in his palms and not even wear it. he’d just feel up the textures and listen to the way it jingled in his hands. it’s really a stim thing for him, i think he’d really enjoy using it to fidget with.

he’s feral, he’d chew on it too. you’d catch him wearing the bracelet, gnawing on it without even thinking about it. whenever he’s focused on something, or you aren’t in the mood to be his chew toy, he’d use the bracelet instead.

he’d never take it off. it’s his now, why would he? plus YOU gave it to him. that makes it even more special. no, he’d always wear it, and when he doesn’t have it on, it would be tucked away into a pocket. he keeps it as close to him as possible.

billy would wanna make new ones too. it would become a little activity for you both to bond over. you’d buy cool beads and pieces, and bring them home, and watch him sort through them all and find the stuff he likes. and then you would make a bracelet for him, and he’d make a matching one for you.

he’d want you two to match. you’d have the same bracelet except in your favourite colours, or maybe with your initials on them. if you managed to get him out of the house, he’d make you wear it, so people knew you were all his.

Jason Vorhees :

jason would definitely see it as a craft for you two to do together. you’d bring up one day that you missed making friendship bracelets at summer camp, and that you’d bought all the stuff to make some. you two would sit for a bit, and once you’ve finished the one you made for him, he’d wear it everywhere.

jason loves seeing you happy he’s wearing it. that’s his favourite part. whenever he’s outside, cutting wood for your fire pit, and you see the big shiny beading sparkling in the sun, you get so excited. and he sees it. he’ll be watching from the corner of his eye, smiling underneath his mask, all proud that he’s making you so smily.

jason would tie it to his belt loop if he couldn’t wear it. maybe he’s working with power tools or the like, and can’t have loose things hanging off of his arms, so he’d connect it to his pants. he wants to keep it on him, since it’s a nice little reminder of you.

you catch him playing with it a lot. his bracelet has red and black beads, and charms that look like little hearts. you’d have put his initials on it too, and it took you awhile to make it fit his thick wrist right. you’d only make him one or two, since bracelets weren’t really his thing, but he’d appreciate them nevertheless.

he has more fun making them for you, actually. you’d have dozens from him. while you were out doing errands or work, he’d be at home making you little bracelets in his free time. you’d come home and they’d be lined up, all decorated in your favourite colours and charms. he just likes making you things, i think.

Micheal Myers :

very confused by the concept at first. micheal isn’t the biggest on jewellery, obviously, and tends to keep pretty plain in what he wears. when you suddenly give him something so chunky and bright, he’s a little off put.

at first, he doesn’t wear it. he’s not trying to insult you at all. you can see it in the breast pocket of his jumpsuit, and he always makes sure to take it out and put it on the nightstand beside the bed before he takes his things off for the night. he cherishes it, since it’s from you, but it’s harder for him to get used to.

once you make a matching bracelet, and start wearing it around so that he notices, he starts wearing it much more often. he never mentions it either. you just see him one day wearing it with you, and when you try to say something, he just covers your mouth and continues whatever he’s doing. he gets flustered when he’s called out on his sweeter actions.

the one you make for you both is navy blue and white, and has little skulls and knives hanging off of it. the beads spell out “y/n + micheal” in sparkly bubble letters. that’s his favourite part. he never really got that sweet teenage romance phase, so getting to do silly little things like this make his heart flutter.

i think he’d also use it as a fidget thing. i think when he’s anxious, maybe out running errands without his mask, he’d be rubbing at the charms in his pocket to keep himself calm. he’d like having a little reminder of you close to him, since you make him feel safe.

[googleyes]

YANDERE SENKU HEADCANONS ‼️‼️‼️

---------

How Affectionate would they be; (BEFORE PETRIFICATION) No. He doesn't really like showing affection to anyone. But he will buy you food as a little bit of affection. One time you came over to his house for a science project, but I guess it wasn't enough because you fell asleep mid way through the project. Most likely because of his not understandable explanations and out of boredom. So, he just wrapped a blanket over you and Pat your head before finishing the project by himself.

(AFTER PETRIFICATION) a very little. He's going to have to rebuild the world step by step 100 billion percent. And without anyone to talk to or without help would most likely make it even more difficult. So he spent day and night making the 'life juice' as he calles it. And as soon as he did it, the first person that came to his mind to unpurifie was you. And as soon as he got you out of that cursed stone, you were now doomed to be his assistant until the end.

How would they punish or gift for darlings Behavior; (BEFORE PETRIFICATION) if you've been good enough, and have been following his instructions maybe he'll do your homework for the month and buy you some food. He expects you to behave and act good an formally to him. And if not?. . Maybe a few drops of a few harmful chemicals on your hands would do the trick. 'Pain is Disapline' he'd say, or maybe he was just manipulating you. .

(AFTER PETRIFICATION) He expects you to follow every order he says. If he tells you to go pick herbs you will. If he tells you to cut wood you will. There is no choice for you. This is a new world without modern day utilizes. So you better start working. And if youve been good enough, maybe he'll craft you a tool that makes it easier for you to work with. And if you decide you didn't want to? Things were about to go down. No food untill you learned your lesson, no water, maybe not even sleep and he'll give you a drink of a mixture of herbs to keep you up. And when the torture only ends until you beg for forgiveness on your knees and maybe even cry to him. Thats only until you learned your lesson.

How much would they Care for they're darling; (BEFORE PETRIFICATION) about as much as a toy. He will play with you untill your wornout from exhaustion or get broken. And by then he'll just stitch you back up untill new. An if you get lost from him? He will search every where for you, the school, laboratory, your house, the streets, until he finally finds you. And maybe he'll teach you a lesson for running away from him. .

(AFTER PETRIFICATION) just like thousands of years ago. You will work for him until you physically and mentally can't anymore. So maybe he'll give you a two day break, and right after that your back to work. An if you run away? You better find a good hiding spot because he will find you in the matter of a few days. He knows you, he knows what you'd do, where you'd go, and things you would do to hide any information of where you are. But you've forgotten how observent and smart senku is, because in the matter of a week you'll be back to him, all tied up at his mercy.

How would the yanderes Deal with darling; (BEFORE PETRIFICATION) He knows you. If your having a tantrum, hell just wait it out before giving you some piece of mind to ever even talk to him like that. Maybe he'll put some chemicals in your drink while your not looking so your constantly not focused and just straight up not interested in anything so you can't do anything in class or any quizzes which give you an immediate F. So you'd just have to crawl back to him for help.

(AFTER PETRIFICATION) if you even dare talk to him in curses or in a raised voice in a whole new world he will give you a piece of his mind. Maybe he'll make you work with dangerous situations to huge you a higher perspective of him and the new world. And so you get taught a lesson and stop acting like that to him and show him a little respect.

How would the yanderes Effect they're darling mentally; (BEFORE PETRIFICATION) at this point your going to be at his house 24/7 for tutoring from him. At this point you would be mentally exhausted and challenged with all the things he gives you to learn and expects you to learn. Sometimes even stay up all night with him trying to teach you hard question from Math, Chemistry, and of course the hardest one Science. Sometimes you would even cry from frustration but that won't move him 1 millimeter.

(AFTER PETRIFICATION Honestly you don't really have a choice in this stone world. He would also tell you a lot about which herbs to pick an which one not to pick. To the point it would take you hours so remember all of that. Which would of course mentally drain and exhaust you for just sitting on the ground an hearing him rant about poisoness and safe herbs. As well as flowers. So be prepared!

THATS IT THANK YOU LOVES ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹‼️‼️‼️‼️ hope you liked these senku head canons! ꨄ

[nilesdaughter]

Wrapped in Love

Fandom: Critical Role Characters: Percy De Rolo, Vex'ahlia Pairing: Perc'ahlia Word Count: 1,065 Note: Yes, I know Perc'ahlia Week 2024 is coming up in a month--and I should be focusing on those prompts--but I've been trying to finish up what I didn't for the 2023 prompts. This one in particular was fighting me, but I finally got it to a point where I don't hate it.

[Also found on AO3.]

X-X-X-X-X

Aside from her obvious love for her archery lessons, Vex’ahlia looked back on her woodworking lessons with some level of fondness. They were not something she’d had the opportunity to do often, as Syldor focused more on the twins’ academic and martial studies rather than their artistic pursuits, but they put her at ease in much the same way that archery did, surrounding her with the comforting scent of wood even when she was indoors.

She naturally fell out of practice when she and Vax’ildan abandoned Syngorn, since she lacked access to the full range of necessary tools while they traveled. She picked up small projects where she could just to fill the idle moments, but her woodworking—limited as it was—became delegated to creating more arrows when she couldn’t buy them and carving small personalizing details into her bow. Even when Vox Machina earned Greyskull Keep, she still didn’t get a proper chance to return to it, since it took several months for the keep to be constructed and then their ordeals with the Briarwoods and the Chroma Conclave kept them away from their new home.

It wasn’t until Vox Machina spent some time away from each other that she could actually pick the craft up once more. As she and Percy settled more into Grey Hunt manor—her manor—they curated a workshop space for him, giving him an excuse to spend more time in her vicinity. (Not that he really needed an excuse, of course, but it was one of the reasons he gave Cassandra when she refused to stop needling him about it.) Over time, though, Vex eventually intruded on what she considered his space by installing a small workbench for her own tools, obtained gradually over the first few months of their break. She still didn’t turn to woodworking often, as she did have to focus on her Grey Hunt duties, but in the quiet moments where Percy was holed up in the workshop and she wanted the benefit of his quiet company, she would sit near him and cut and carve and shape the wood into more “frivolous” items.

She started small, carving small details and curling shapes along the curve of Fenthras, sprawling out from where she had made careful, tiny letters out of ‘sinaeth’ as she made the Vestige hers and hers alone. Eventually, she allowed herself to graduate to larger projects: a small bear the size of her palm, a simple trinket box where she began to keep her Earring of Whisper when she wasn’t actively wearing it, a panel of the De Rolo family crest that she hung above the mantle in the main sitting room of the manor. When she regained some confidence in her hands and her skills, she turned her attention to a more complex trinket box, using different woods from across Exandria to represent all the places she and Percy had seen together, determined to create something for the man that spoiled her with his own creations.

x-x-x-x-x

“Darling?” Vex called with a light trio of taps on the doorframe of the workshop.

“Hmmm?” Percy pushed his work goggles up onto his forehead and glanced her way. “Yes, dear?”

“I have something for you.”

“Oh?” His brow furrowed a little in confusion, like he was trying to figure out what the occasion might be.

She nodded, almost hesitant and shy in the gesture. “May I?”

“Of course, dear,” he replied readily.

Vex smiled faintly and crossed the room, holding the completed box—wrapped in dark blue paper—behind her back. Once she stood next to Percy, she set the package down in the spot he had cleared for her on the workbench surface; he seemed even more confused and glanced at her in curiosity.

“Well, go on and open it, darling.”

He nodded slowly and returned his attention to the package, careful and meticulous as he unwrapped the paper. He revealed the most complex section of it—the various wood types carefully cut and arranged to portray a landscape view of Whitestone as she often saw it from one of her favorite hidden spots within the Parchwood—and ran his shaking fingers along the edge of the lid.

“Is this what you’ve been working on when you’ve been spending time in the workshop?” he asked.

“Yes,” she replied with a small nod. “You always make such wonderful trinkets for me, darling, and I felt it would only be appropriate to return the favor.”

Percy seemed to be at a genuine loss for words, silent as he looked the box over. The longer the silence stretched on, the more anxious that Vex began to feel, a small and distant part of her remembering the time Syldor had discarded a pipe that she had put hours of work into as a gift to him. Before her thoughts could truly spiral, Percy let out something of a soft laugh as he glanced up at her again.

“You didn’t have to do this, you know.”

Vex smiled, trying not to let her relief show in her posture nor expression. “I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. And I thought that you might enjoy something practical rather than purely decorative.”

Percy’s expression softened (oh, how she loved that he only looked at her so) as he said, “I believe it actually serves both purposes, dear. It’s lovely work.”

Vex blinked, startled by the praise. “Oh…! Well… thank you for saying that, darling.”

He tilted his head before he frowned slightly. “You are aware that I’m being genuine, dear? I’m not merely spouting niceties?”

Vex didn’t answer, unsure of how she felt about him knowing exactly what he had inadvertently hit upon, even if that perceptiveness was one of the reasons she cherished him so deeply.

Percy sighed a little and set the box back down on the workbench before reaching out to take both of her hands in his, his tremor seeming to calm as he held onto her. “I do love the box, dear. It’s beautiful and speaks to a skill I did not realize you had. And I’m flattered that you spent so much time and effort on something for me.”

She offered him a shaky smile and, in return, he leaned down to press a kiss to her brow.

“Thank you, Vex’ahlia,” he reiterated when he pulled away. “Truly.”

“You’re welcome, darling.”

[tauforged]

do you have any tips for someone who wants to get into warframe for the first time?

- don’t start with the duviri/drifter quest when given the option. it’s cool, don’t get me wrong, but it will be very confusing and you won’t revisit any of the stuff that’s touched upon until way way later in the game. start off in the origin system, the story progresses a lot more naturally from that start point. i don’t really know why they made this an option.

- you dont HAVE to buy platinum. they start you off with like 50 i think? it’s not necessary for anything aside from buying additional warframe/weapon slots. everything else is cosmetic or optional. you can get mroe plat later on by trading with other players (if you do want to buy plat for cosmetics or whatever, i recommend waiting until you get a discount as your daily login bonus. iirc they range from 25, 50, or 75% off. they’re pretty much entirely random though so don’t feel obligated to use one if you do get it and don’t need plat at the moment so it goes to waste. you’ll get another)

- even if you decide you don’t like a weapon you end up crafting, you’ll be better off if you level it up to the maximum rank (30) before selling it rather than trashing it outright, that way you won’t have to go back and get it again later on in the game in order to complete it. the more stuff you level in full, the faster you progress through mastery ranks, and some stuff is mastery rank locked so you’re gonna wanna pay attention to your progress.

- you’re gonna wanna join a clan as soon as possible. you can find some via the recruiting channel, or probably by asking around on social media, idk. i started my own (not recommended unless you’ve got a group of friends you can rally or feel like recruiting to fill out your ranks in order to actually get stuff done) so i don’t really know what the clan recruiting scene looks like. having access to a clan dojo makes life a lot easier (and can make finding people to play with less of a hassle too)

- the story itself doesn’t really pick up steam until you start the ‘natah’ quest. in between the start and there, you’ll mostly be doing a lot of running around trying to familiarize yourself with the setting and playing catch-up. don’t worry too much about all the stuff they throw at you all at once. almost all the quests are replayable through your codex if you ever want to refresh your memory, and for those that aren’t, the wiki is… usually a pretty decent source as far as summaries go. i’d take it with a grain of salt though.

- this one especially tripped my sister up so i’m gonna touch on it: you’re going to be required to do the ‘heart of deimos’ quest in order to progress past mars on the star chart. IMHO, this quest REALLY should not be mandatory so early on in the game — you aren’t going to be able to make heads or tails of anything anyone is telling you. don’t be afraid to breeze thru it w/o paying much attention and circle back around later in the game, preferably sometime after you finish the war within or at LEAST the second dream. i genuinely don’t know why they’re throwing baby tenno to the wolves on this one. just know it’ll all make sense later i prommy

- don’t worry too much about the open world areas like the orb vallis, the plains of eidolon, or the cambion drift at first. they’re very cool (and you’ll be introduced to them via their respective quests) but they can be overwhelming to new players and the difficulty spike might be frustrating, especially before you’ve unlocked a majority of the tools available to you.

- this game has been ongoing for over ten years at this point - there’s a LOT going on. take your time progressing at a comfortable pace. don’t be afraid to ask around for help if you’re stuck on something or getting frustrated trying to farm a specific part or material.

- if people try to talk down on you for being a lower mastery rank or w/e they’re literally just being an asshole. MR isn’t indicative of skill so much as it is a representation of how much gear you’ve leveled, which is basically just an indicator of how much time you’ve spent playing - a chimp smacking a keyboard can feasibly hit legendary after enough attempts. you’re fine. hell, i’ve been here since 2013 and i’m only MR 19 LMAO

- the ‘meta’ for this game is wildly subjective due to the vast customizability of builds. take everyone’s opinions with several grains of salt and don’t be afraid to experiment on your own to see what works for you

- dont read general chat. it’s not worth it. nobody in there is as funny as they think they are

- the most important part of being a tenno is having fun and being yourself :)

[garaksapprentice]

New Post: Turning bedsheets into a wardrobe and other op shop thoughts

Originally posted on my blog: https://garaksapprentice.blogspot.com/2023/09/turning-bedsheets-into-wardrobe.html

The Dilemma

When it comes to my clothes, I'm a remarkably lazy snob.

I want things that fit well. (This isn't an unreasonable thing to want, I feel.) I want comfortable fabrics that breathe, and don't end up smelling like a billy goat slept on them. (I swear, since starting T, I strip my shirts more often than I ever had to strip the cloth nappies.)

I want colours - black and white and grey don't count - that don't make me look dead. (When did all the t-shirts in the men's section become navy and olive?) And I want them to last longer than six months before they start a part-time internship in the mending box.

(The pile doth wax and the pile doth wane, but there's always a bloody pile.)

This short list is surprisingly difficult to achieve, off the rack. Anything that fits my shoulders won't fit my chest, and vice versa. The armscye is usually either comically large, or too small to fit my biceps. And pants? Let's just not go there. (Belts help. Kind of.)

I really dislike how polyester and other synthetics breathe (they don't), so I avoid them whenever I can. It's getting much harder to find clothes made of 100% natural fibres, whether new or second-hand.

Colours I have slightly more luck with - or I would, if the first two things didn't get in the way. Longevity is always an utter crapshoot. (Though I've found that wovens last longer than t-shirts.)

The Solution

Luckily, I know how to sew. I used to do it for a living. (Not clothes, mind - baby carriers. More structural, less technically complex.) My possess all the basic tools, a few of the extras, and a reasonable set of skills.

(I've been making clothes for the kids for years - they care a lot less about style and fit. And skirts are easy.)

So I'm taking a two-pronged approach to this dilemma. I'm practicing making things I actually like and will wear, and religiously patching my current wardrobe while I make replacements.

Making clothes, naturally, requires material. So instead of going to the op shop for clothes, I'm going for fabric. (I stopped buying new years ago, except for underwear, shoes, and the occasional really high quality item from places that at least pretend to pay their garment workers.) But my favourite deal-hunting section isn't sewing/craft - it's the linens.

Wait, what? Why?

Thrift store fabrics usually can't tell you what they're made from. (The staff get narky when you try to burn test the goods, sadly.) Plus there's just not that much of it. Bedding, tablecloths etc are donated far more frequently, and often still have their tags on them.

Now, you do have check for wear. Some donations look brand new, some have had a long life already. Check for pilling or thinner areas, especially in the middle of bedsheets (fitted ones are worse for this than flats). It's easier if you can hold things up to the light. Usually things in worse condition will be priced lower, but not always.

Why not buy clothes six sizes too large and chop them up to make new stuff?

I mean, you can. It's certainly a common choice, what with all the "thrift upcycle/refashion" videos and blogs and such out there dedicated to it. I personally don't, for the following reasons.

Care for people: I take the permaculture ethics seriously.

Have you ever really looked at the racks in an op shop? Piles of sizes S-L, much less outside of that. The bigger your meatsuit, the harder it is to find things that have a hope of fitting. Too bad if you hate stripes, or the fabric is itchy - if there's only two things in your size, then that's the choice you have. It sucks. (I am in no way body shaming here. Bodies do a lot of hard work for the people who live in them, and no one gets to judge anyone else's.)

I'm both outside the common sizes, and a weird enough shape to have trouble besides. And I've been broke enough that op shop clothes were a necessity, not a choice. I know what it's like to have to take what I could get as long as it fit "enough".

To me it is deeply unethical to take the few decent garments that are available for plus sized people, chop them up, and make something for me to wear out of them, when I can just as easily start with a sheet or a table cloth and achieve a similar result.

Efficient energy planning: I have limited time and brainpower available, and sometimes my executive dysfunction is bad. Like, "I'm eating peanut butter out of the jar for dinner because my brain has stopped" levels of bad.

Cutting up a garment, taking off buttons, and so on, adds several extra steps to a sewing project. Sometimes that's fine - in those situations, I have plenty of old clothes in the stash. More often, though, those extra steps completely derail me.

So I find it easier to start a project with what is essentially yardage. Even when I have to cut around stains, rips, or worn spots, it uses less cognitive capacity.

I also prefer rectangularly cut garments, and zero waste patterns that have you draw directly onto the fabric. These work better on something that started out life as a rectangle.

Use biological resources: Natural fibres are renewable. Mined ones are not. Where I can, I use the former. That's not to say I never use things with synthetic content - it's technically possible, but in practice hard as hell.

Produce no waste: I've still got a sizeable stash of acrylic knitting yarns, plus other bits and bobs, hanging around from before I made this commitment. Throwing them out or donating them (ie making them someone else's problem) won't actually fix things; I simply use them in appropriate projects, and when I replace them, I do so with things that fit my current ethical stance and needs.

But sheets are all plain white and boring!

I can see why you might think that. TV has done a lot of false advertising on that point. It is false. Trust me.

(Ignore the movies. Real sheets come in just about every colour you can think of.)

But, I know not everyone likes plain colours. What if you're madly in love with prints, or shirts with witty slogans on them? Well, besides the growing number of fancy sheets out there, might I interest you in the doona covers?

(The top right and bottom left are ex-doona covers. The rest are sheets.)

Or the fine art of embroidery?

(I shall have the most glorious shirt sleeves when I finish embroidering them.)

Or fabric painting?

(This is technically a mend, but I totally plan on doing similar to brand new things I make.)

Or the many different styles of natural dyeing?

(Soursobs from the local park, gently turning into dye liquor for some dyeing experiments.)

Or, if you've got lots of smaller or oddly shaped pieces of fabric hanging around, maybe some patchwork (all YouTube links)? It's not just coats and dressing gowns, either - you can patchwork jeans, trousers, dresses, shirts and more.

The point here is that fabric (and buttons, zips, thread, etc) doesn't have to be a thing you buy brand new. With time, patience, and a bit of luck, you can find everything you need to create great things second hand.

(Maybe I'll write a future post breaking down the costs of some of the things I've made...)

[the-trans-dragon]

I should have been way smarter asking for Christmas gifts as a kid. I didn't ever know what to ask for so I would get generic gifts (and usually regift them, which i did enjoy) but I want to go back in time and be like "here is a list of things you will eventually buy, but it would be handy if you asked for them for Christmas while you can" and it would be like

- a small, good toolkit with a assortment of screwdrivers (for everything from shelves to laptops to eyeglasses) plus good pliers and some of those little L shaped thingies

- a nice suitcase

- little things for organization, like small sets of drawers or shelves (bonus points if theyre sturdy enough to hold things when you move houses)

- a really good mug for hot chocolate/soup/any food you want

- quality belt that won't flake apart the way fake leather does

- socks. socks. socks. socks. more socks.

- quality winter gloves/hat/other clothing items that will still fit even if I gain/loose weight (made from a good warm material, well-stitched and durable)

- recipes

- a good knife, and the tools and knowledge to sharpen it

- a good pillow

- shoes, like regular shoes, but also a good pair of winter boots that are warm and have good traction

- magnifying glass, especially one that sits up on its own hands-free (good for splinter removal and tiny crafts and admiring little bugs and cleaning things)

- small furniture, like an office chair or nightstand or other things you'll be comfortable taking with you during moves

[hms-tardimpala]

Years ago, I went to an elementary school that was legit run by a museum. Like, they would display collections at our school when it wasn't on display at the museum and we learned a lot of weird and random things through hands-on projects. The one that always gets a big reaction is our 1st grade science project had us mummify a duck.

Anyway, one of the things we learned to do was very basic bookbinding, but it was taught to us sort of as a historical, people don't bind books like this anymore, type of thing. I stumbled upon some dead blogs last year showing finished, bound fics and I was so excited to learn that, no, this is still A Thing That People Do

Now, I've been pointed to you as someone active in the craft and your work is lovely. I particularly loved your binding of A Complete Kingdom by absolute legend Komodobits. It was so clean and the colors were lovely and your lighthouse motif was spot-on.

I want to learn bookbinding, too, but I'm not sure where to start. Any advice? How did you get started? What tools or materials do you wish you'd invested more in sooner? What did you wish you'd known before you got started? I would appreciate your insight and perspective.

First of all, thank you so much for reaching out. I apologize for the time it took me to answer you: I was overwhelmed. I didn't know I'd really been noticed. Thank you for your lovely compliments, they filled me with joy <3

I'll try to answer your questions to the best of my ability, even though I still see myself as a beginner (I started in july 2022).

I started by stumbling upon this video. It served as an introduction to some basic bookbinding steps and gestures, and the stitch shown here to sew the spine is still the one I use to this day. It will only show you how to repurpose an existing cover to bind a fic in, however.

Wanting to make the whole book myself, I looked for another way to learn and found this book. And it's so good that I haven't needed to find another source of information since then. At the time I bought it, it was easy to find and not to expensive in my country, but I don't know what its situation is today where you are.

I know others learned through youtube tutorials like Sea Lemon's or DAS bookbinding's, but I didn't go that way, so I don't have recommendations.

What I can recommend is checking out ArmoredSuperHeavy's blog (their pinned post contains a link to the free bookbinding manual they made, which seems to contain the same things I learned from my book). They created the Renegade Bindery discord server. It's a wealth of knowledge and a very welcoming place (I tried it but left because I'm not good at navigating big servers, but that's just me). That's the beating heart of the bookbinding community, in my opinion.

You can get started with very rough tools, if you're not sure you want to invest right away. There are perfectly decent bookbinding kits online that will generally contain a plastic bone folder, an awl, needles and thread, and that's enough to get started. A simple cotton or linen thread waxed by pulling across a candle works great. I bought pieces of pleather made for home decor to start with, and I'm glad I did because you're always gonna make mistakes when you start, and ruining good fabric feels terrible. But now fabric is the thing I invest in the most. I buy my bookbinding cloth from Schmedt (warning: it's expensive, and may not be the most practical for you depending on where you are in the world) and I'm slowly gathering a collection of varied colors.

If you buy good tools and good fabric from the start, don't be disappointed when your first creations don't look as good as the ones you see on tumblr. You'll have to learn and get good in order to use your tools and materials to their full potential.

The great thing about bookbinding is that you learn at least one new thing every book.

I'm thinking about your questions. There's not really something I wish I'd known before I started, I think I elvolved in the most organic way as a bookbinder. As dumb as it sounds, my best advice is: try stuff, and make plenty of mistakes. Mistakes are the most efficient and fastest teachers.

Don't waste money on a small shitty guillotine if you think you're gonna buy a real one in the future (my ream cutter cost 100€, it's very good, I needn't have bothered with a 50€ one before), you're under no obligation to trim your books.

You're under no obligation to buy a Cricut to make your books look like those you see on tumblr, with vinyll titles.

WATCH OUT! SCALPELS AND BOX CUTTERS ARE HUNGRY FOR YOUR FINGERTIPS AND THEY'LL FOOL YOU INTO THINKING YOU'VE DOMESTICATED THEM. NEVER EVER TRUST A BLADE.

I don't quite know what to add. I hope this was at least a little helpful, and not just useless rambling. Thank you againg for your lovely message, and I hope you have lots of fun <3

[slutforstabbings-archive]

now i’m super curious, what’s ur hcs for alt!corey?

Alt!Corey Cunningham HC's

prompted by the conversation started here. Sorry this took so long!

tagging @rebel-blue @nachtmahr666 @vanellygal I never know who all to tag so if you want me to tag you specifically every time, please lmk!

Music:

Corey grew up listening to the radio and whatever music Joan put on. His mom is probably in her early 50’s in the movie, and she seems like one of those people who is terrible but likes and uses sweet nice wholesome things to hide behind, so she probably only listened to squeaky clean and boring pop music, and I think that would start Corey on a path towards heavy music, distorted music, music with dark themes, anything other than what Joan liked. He finds a lot of pop music to be insincere and he hates that.

WURG seems like an oddball station from what we hear of it in the movie and what it’s mentioned as playing in the book, so Corey definitely likes some punk and metal and garage just from the radio. But he doesn’t really know that’s what it is, genres and subcultures are kind of lost on him. And he doesn’t really realize he only knows music that’s 35-60 years old.

Personally as someone who grew up listening to a lot of oldies radio specifically, I know they’re really bad about identifying old songs cause they think you know the artist and title already. So I’m gonna go ahead and say for a lot of his life Corey doesn’t know the name or artist of most of the songs he likes, and he probably doesn’t realize he likes multiple songs from the same artist, so he doesn't have a favorite band. He has to learn to dig into a catalog and listen to full albums as an adult because that was never something he was introduced to as a child.

His mom obviously put heavy parental controls on his computer time, looked through his browser history, etc so I don’t think he was really able to explore his music taste probably until he got a smart phone and more privacy in his internet usage, which wouldn’t have been until he was an adult. I think Joan would have wanted him to have a phone so she could call him but would’ve kept him with a non-smart phone with no data until it basically wasn’t an option anymore, so he got his first smart phone when he was probably like 17-19, and that’s when his music exploration could really begin.

Even pre-accident Corey is sad and lonely and angry so he’s drawn to those lyrical themes. He has very angsty taste. But he also likes interesting time signatures and weird textures. He's a math and science guy and he thinks it's really cool when musicians approach their craft in a mathematical or experimental way. Post- Michael I think Corey recedes into the heaviest and most anguished parts of his music taste. Songs that used to make him cry, songs that pump him up, songs that he used to imagine were written for people much more badass than him, whatever that might be. Devastating vocal delivery, heart wrenching lyrics, chugging guitars, all three if he can get them.

BAND LIST (trying to go with the most popular examples so you can get the gist of the aesthetic I’m picturing lol):

From the Radio - Rolling Stones, Doors, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Kinks, The Clash, Talking Heads, all the obvious legacy early metal and punk bands. 

Pre-Accident - American Football, Sunny Day Real Estate, Hum, Modest Mouse, Smashing Pumpkins, Descendents, Brand New, New Order, Mazzy Star, The Smiths, Hella

Post-Accident, Pre-Michael - Grunge big 4, but his favorite is Pearl Jam, Pixies, Melvins, Tool, Joy Division, Deftones, Sonic Youth, I Hate Sex, Garbage, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails

Post- Michael - Electric Wizard, Windhand, clipping., Lingua Ignota, Full of Hell

Fashion:

I see a lot of different ages thrown around for how long Corey's mom dressed him, but novelization canon is he started dressing himself at 13. I think it's definitely still the case that his mom buys and picks out most of his clothes for a long time, but I think he slowly wears her down on letting him pick things until his wardrobe is mostly his choices filtered through her. But because of that filter it's still never quite him.

When the other kids started getting into subcultures, Corey watched with envy. He didn't have a particular favorite style, and he wouldn't have known what to call it if he did, he just liked the idea that you could say something to the world with your clothes, and draw people who agreed with you to you and push people who didn't away. The idea that you could form a community around how you dress. All he wants is community.

Corey's never really considered tattoos or piercings because he knows his mother would absolutely lose her mind if he "damaged" himself that way. The only thing he's thought of is that his dad had a tattoo of a duck, so maybe he could get a tattoo of a duck in the same place. I think that if Corey was more interested in tattoos than that , pre-accident he would be a black linework only kind of guy, he wants to be an engineer, he likes the kind of sparse, design-y, almost technical drawing aspect of plain linework tattoos. Post-accident, pre-Michael, he' definitely an American Traditional/Neo-Trad guy. It's straight forward, it's classic, it's low-key. Post-Michael Corey is the kind of guy who gets big blackout stripes or brush strokes for the experience. Because blackouts hurt and because they make people, even other tattooed people, say why the fuck would you get that? Post-Michael Corey would also so get a prince albert sorry.

I can't see him wearing make up, even just eyeliner. Seems too pretty for him I guess, like he's an aesthetically simple guy in a lot of ways, and presents in such a casual masculine way, it just doesn't seem like him. But I can see him painting his nails black every once in a while. Not any other colors but black for sure.

[talenlee]

GDQ Is On, Masks Are Off

Sigh.

GDQ is happening! Excitement, yay!

But now I gotta talk about masks! Boo!

Games Done Quick is a speedrunning marathon, held on Twitch Dot Tee Vee Slash Gee Dee Kyoo, which has been running since 2010. It’s a live speedrunning marathon where people who specialise in finishing videogames very quickly show off their craft. If you’re not already familiar with speedrunning, you can know it’s a thing I think is cool, it’s a thing I do, and it’s a deep type of performative, competitive play that has a whole host of ways to engage with it. It can be a sport, it can be an athletic display, it can be a performance art and it can be a politically defined intersection of competing ideologies. The speedrunning event across its thirteen years has raised over $46 million Eagle Bucks which have been donated to charities like the Malala Fund, Doctors Without Borders and the Prevent Cancer Fund.

It is, largely, an unalloyed good in gaming, and its controversies include things like ‘banning people for being open shitheads when asked to avoid controversial topics.’ There’s a choice to frame this as the ‘no fun allowed’ kind of thing, but it’s really a lot simpler when you remember the policy is ‘avoid provocative topics,’ and people deliberately didn’t. The convention avoided hosting live events during COVID, going above and beyond restrictions to protect people with medical needs, ran remote events during the pre-vaccine period of the COVID pandemic, and even moved the event when the state they were holding it in became unsafe for marginalised speedrunners to travel to.

I have watched GDQ for years now, I think maybe as much as a decade. Since getting access to money, I have been buying the patches and stickers and shirts to participate, to do some kind of donation of a sort, and Fox does contribute to specific donation goals and the like, playing the game of participating in the charity event. I rewatch videos from GDQ and I’ve been promoting it on this blog for years, too. It is an institution I like and which I tend to think of in terms of being ‘the good ones.’

Hence the next thing being a bummer.

COVID isn’t over. The World Health Organisation declared an ��end to the Pandemic‘ which was more ‘this is no longer an emergency where we have no tools to address it, and now just an ongoing, constantly evolving threat that will kill people for the rest of our lives, probably.’ This was seen by people who don’t finish reading beyond a headline as a sign that ‘the WHO says everything is fine now,’ and then got mad in their own direction. Either they got mad because then clearly the WHO were overdoing it beforehand, or clearly the WHO have just given up on all of their responsibility in trying to keep people healthy under COVID. This is, again, a byproduct of not reading the statement in its entirety. It describes the idea that people can ‘largely get back to normal,’ in that you can go out of your house and go to the store, but you should still be taking precautions and be aware of the constant variants of COVID.

The disease is still and permanently present and it will probably be so my entire life, which means that I will probably always be Masking in public events, including when I teach classes. This is a type of personal calculus for me. I do not find a mask a zero-impact part of my life. I live in a hot country and when it is humid talking for two to four hours in a mask, then spending another two hours in commute with a mask on is not a thing that doesn’t inconvenience me. I tell myself stories like how rarely I get ill now as a byproduct of this but that is just a fringe benefit of the fact that I am now probably always going to be inconveniencing myself because I can in order to do right by a nebulous, permanent population of anyone else.

So I mask everywhere, even though I don’t have to. Nobody’s making me. I am making a personal choice for the benefit of other people who I will never meet and may never help. It is awful to think about like that because it makes me feel like I’m doing something that inconveniences me for the fantasy of helping people. Am I in a hotspot area? Probably not. Am I actually protecting anyone by what I do? I hope so. I have to hope so.

The GDQ event this year does not require participants or the crowd to mask. It is the first event where that’s a thing. And I don’t … like that.

But what’s more, I don’t feel like this is a thing where I can like, wag a finger about it. It’s not a thing where I feel like I can say, unequivocally, that this is a bad decision. Requiring masking presents potential problems for hosting and event rules – I know there are places that might not allow you to require masking because of the potential financial impact on them. I know GDQ allows for some remote participants, which might be the safest way to allow access for at-risk people. And the thing is, I can’t make a case for ‘this is wrong, GDQ should be masks-only, this choice can only be bad,’ because I know at least from where I stand I am not making the choice of turning a big bus like this.

I hope people will mask. I hope we’ll see some masks in the crowd and see people who are still taking the job of masking seriously. I hope people are doing the best practices now they’re not required to.

But I don’t think they will.

It would be so much easier if this was just a decision where I think they did the wrong thing and I could take an easy stance against it. I want them to do things differently, but I also understand how complicated this is right now and how much that sucks and how it sucks that it sucks and ultimately I can’t leverage a stronger argument than…

Well…

This sucks.

I don’t like it.

I think they should do things differently. I would like it better if they did.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[nixalegos]

Sinday Time: An everyday merchant or businessman isn't exactly your enemy, but they are making your life exceedingly hard through their own economic practice. If you could guarantee your own family's livelihood by cursing or dooming their own through magic, would you? Why or why not?

The hooded man took a moment to compose himself as he watched the Mogul class flying machine slowly be idled into the goblin garage with a nasally fanfare of the much smaller shop owner giving a whistle of appreciation. "You know Fel'scythed, you really gotta stop making your prices so reasonable, at this rate, you'll be working directly for me!" The goblin said with an arrogant sneer. The Mega-Mogul Mk 2's were a custom machine job, and a not insignificant source of income since the loss of Shadowhold. Nix had taken to crafting them with parts he'd had personally machined and expertly refined. But the smaller goblin had come into a windfall from a now deceased aunt who'd accrued a lifetime of adventures amount of gold and left it all to their only remaining family, Marzax Greasehands. The goblin mechanic in turn, had done the smart thing. He'd turned the gold around and started to use it to buy up sought after luxury goods that couldn't simply be replaced within a day or three, and then used the very same products to tank markets to their liking when the original crafters placed a second into open air bidding. The second was bought by Greasehands himself, and then the first machine relisted at significant markup, while the original maker of both machines was left with a decent, but not AS profitable outcome as they'd like. They would be forced to spend time making a third, or fourth machine to stay in the black. It was perfectly legal, considered by many the only proper way to 'play' Azeroth's auction circuit, and utterly, bloody ANNOYING. But murdering them would be an issue, as welcome as it would be. Adventuring types murdering each other was more often then not, a norm once beyond city walls, one could forgive the wild dogs of Azeroths best and fiercest, when they nabbed at bit at each other. But Greasehands was a tax paying civilian, an utter nobody in spirit, but would have been -noticed- if they suddenly went missing with their considerable bank account left to flutter for the taking. Investigations would pend by the bankers and brokers into one of their own. Not out of concern, but because if someone was going to start knocking off one of their heads, then that meant all their heads were liable to be send to the Shadowlands express if not stopped. And stopped in this context was alot more force then the Alliance or Horde brought down even on criminals and cultists. Capital used to enforce capital. Still. It was one thing to deal with such a petty little...annoyance and another to handle it gracefully. Lord Felscythe, was not graceful. So as the goblin sneered and made quips about how much they planned on marking up one of Nix's handcrafted machines, he looked to where the sayaad was standing, near the goblins tool bench. He didn't need to see them to know they were grinning at having carved the cursed rune into the underside of their workstation. Greasehands wanted to be such a limp-dicked bastard playing machine shop mogul, then he'd get to enjoy the literal curse of impotence he'd inflict upon himself everytime he handled his own tools. Apologies for the delay @safrona-shadowsun, but thanks for the ask!

[honestlyvan]

u have rlly great opinions ..... would u like to share some about. my best bby boy valdi....👀👀

Good taste, anon :D Valdi was honestly such a breath of fresh air when we'd just spent multiple chapters dealing with the pomp and circumstance of a forever war and then there's this fucking dork living in a cave with fifty thousand robots like the world outside of his door isn't ending all the time!

A lot of that personality can be explained by the way other people do the fighting for Valdi, tbh. He is clearly very busy, he takes great pride in his craft and has a more profound understanding of how the tools affect how the war is fought -- the way building weapons only results in more fighting -- but the price for being able to be as good as what he does is a detachment from the realities of war. And it clearly bothers him, on some level, even if he doesn't really have the mental capacity to dwell on how it makes him sad.

Valdi believes very firmly in the idea that the purpose of building things is to make things better, and if those make-things-better things make things worse instead, that is as much the fault of the builder as it is the wielder. He's yet another person who is okay without being okay, the way all of them are characterised by not knowing anything but the fight -- and it's an interesting intersection of his values and personality that he's one of the quickest to grasp the idea that you can just stop fighting, perhaps because he doesn't get bogged down by the potential long-term consequences out the gates like the people who define themselves through being able to put bodies in the ground do.

Valdi is one of the characters whose personality really feels different between the translation and the original, too, like, he's a lot more dorky and innocent in English, while the Japanese still makes him oblivious, but more of in a "yes yes whatever [talks about Levnises]" kind of way. I could believably buy that English Valdi has forgotten what there is that is so upsetting about the war in the first place, whereas in Japanese the vibe is more "8) BUT WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THAT HERE". Either way, he's a sweet boy really.

[skylarkspinner]

What would you suggest if someone wanted to start spinning but knows and has nothing related? (I mean I crochet). I just dont know where to even start!

Luckily getting starting with spinning is really accessible! You don't need anything fancy to learn on.

Tools - I'd suggest starting out with a drop spindle. Good brands are Ashford and Schacht; I'm fairly certain they both still make student spindles which are meant for beginners and sit at a cheap price point (~$20 and less). It's possible to DIY spindles too, using a CD and a wooden rod or pencil, or other craft supplies. I really like the youtuber JillianEve's tutorial on DIY'ing spindles. You'll see two main kinds of drop spindles, top whirl and bottom whirl. I've found top whirls easier to pick up and spin on- but it comes down to personal preference and what spindles are available to you.

Materials - Start with wool. Any other fibers (silk, alpaca, flax, cotton, etc) will come with challenges that can be discouraging for a beginner. Breeds to look for are Corriedale, Bluefaced Leicester (BFL), Polwarth, and Jacob. Fiber comes prepared for spinning in different forms. You'll have the best luck looking for combed top, roving, and batts. Avoid buying a full fleece; that requires a lot of extra prep! You can find a decent amount of fiber to get started- 4 ounces or so- for $20-30. There are lots of places to buy fiber online (The Woolery is one that comes to mind). There are lots of local fiber shops in my state, so I prefer to shop from them as well. If you can find any local shops, or if you're even lucky enough to have a local fiber fair/festival, that can be an even easier way to get stuff to spin.

Getting started - I personally watched youtube videos to learn (again, JillianEve's channel was a good resource when I was starting) but if you can, look for someone in your local area that could teach you. If you have a local Handweavers Guild, there's a chance they offer spinning classes or at least may have spinners willing to teach a beginner. If you can find some place offering a class, that may save you some time trying to find a spindle and fiber as they'll probably provide some for use. If you do check out youtube videos, look for tutorials on the "park and draft" spinning method. It's a beginner technique to spin without having to focus on spinning the spindle and drafting the fiber into yarn at the same time. Suspended spindling- having the spindle spinning in the air while you draft- requires practice.

Good luck with your spinning journey, & don't hesitate to ask more questions, tumblr has a thriving spinning community! And please share pictures if you do get started c: