wardofwinters

[wardofwinters]

everyone’s talking about how unhinged fans are nowadays about their blorbos. well let me tell you that when the polish writer henryk sienkiewicz first published his novel ‘with fire and sword’ in parts between 1883 and 1884, and killed off the beloved character longinus podbipięta, people nationwide were so upset they’d go to church and ask for requiem masses to be held in his memory. match THAT freak

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One time my mom took me to a hibachi grill with a bunch of her friends and if you've never been to a hibachi grill basically the draw is that theres a bunch of interactive performance stuff done by the cook who cooks for you at your table, and one of the tricks they did at this one was take a squeeze bottle full of liquor and shoot it into your mouth across the table (with permission)

And now at our table my mom explained this because it was my first time going, and she wanted to make sure to warn me it was liquor because she knows I don't drink- she just said "if he offers to shoot at your mouth, say no because it's alcohol".

And so the chef does his thing and it's all very impressive, but the time does come where he pulls out this squeeze bottle of booze and asks me if I wanna try

I of course say no, because I really don't do alcohol, so he moves on to someone else

And I watch, and slowly come to understand that this is some sort of game, because once someone is drinking from the continuous flow the chef starts counting "ONE! TWO! THREE!"

I realize that we're trying to see who can keep drinking the liquor from three feet away without choking or spilling, and its a bummer cause i kinda wanna try and I CAN'T

But he goes around the table with everyone there, and I think my mom makes it to three, one friend makes it to five, I think my brother got to three as well, and he comes back to me

And I'm REALLY bummed out now but I will not drink alcohol, so I sort of sadly repeat that I can't when he pulls out a SECOND BOTTLE and grins and goes "juice?"

And Im like FUCK YEAH LET'S GO and I'm a bit worried he's gonna spray it into my eye or something but he doesn't, it hits me right at the back of the throat, and I start drinking while the whole fucking table counts "ONE! TWO! THREE!"

And like

It just sorta

Kept going?

And Im looking at the chef and he starts freaking out by the time we get to six, and at around seven I kinda start looking around and my auntie is staring back in shock, my brother is laughing his ass off and my mom has her face in her hands

And then at like nine or ten it gets like. Super tense and quiet, and only the chef is still counting

And I guess it got too much for even him cause we're at eleven and I don't believe in quitting early and it is almost painful how awkward it's getting

So he cuts me off at twelve and raises his hands in the air and everyone else cheers and claps like a dumb movie

and I just sit back in my seat to look back at my mother staring at me surrounded by everyone she knows, bright fucking red in the face and choking with honest to god tears in her eyes and she puts her face back in her palms and starts chanting "I don't want to know. I don't want to know. I don't want to know"

So I give her the biggest, proudest grin and tell her, "I won."

So now every time something suggestive happens in a movie, or in conversation, or something shocking happens around us and she goes to jokingly cover my ears, I just ask her, "Remember when I won?" And she goes face-down and groans, because I know EXACTLY how she thinks I trained to develop that particular skill and she HATES knowing that about me

The truth is though, I'm a whole ass 28 year old virgin. I've never so much as kissed anyone in my life. I had no idea I could do that trick until that exact moment

But she doesn't know that, and I'm never gonna tell her

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[wardofwinters]

FREE/PWYW Brush Pack for Procreate, Krita, and Clip Studio Paint

Just released an overhaul of an older brush pack of mine, now with Procreate support. Been working on this for a while, so I'm pretty happy to see it all come together. :D

Get it on my itch.io page!

This suite of brushes are designed to create gritty, crunchy, bold illustrations by utilizing toothy liners, stipplers, grimy texture stamps, and jittery coloring brushes, with a bonus texture overlay thrown in to bring it all together.

Brushes are inspired by various tattoo needle configurations, inking pens, and spray paints. The goal is to give your digital artwork a tangible quality to them.

[wardofwinters]

All of the Prehistoric Pride guys in one collective post to celebrate pride month. Choose your fighter and have an awesome time :D

More suggestions are always welcome, I sadly was not able to cover everyone, but I will do more of these in the future!

I am going to add more and more to the collection as I get them done :D

If you would like to support my silly little dinosaur art, then you can buy any of these Prideaurs as stickers from my Etsy shop, which I just set up recently. I am pretty new to this entire business side of art things, but I am trying my best :D so a like or a reblog would go a long way. Thank you guys so much for all your kind words and support!

[wardofwinters]

are you in the proper headspace for me to disintegrate you with my devastating massive beam attack

[wardofwinters]

I recently got an on-campus job. During the interview process, I requested that I not be scheduled on Friday nights or Saturdays as I am a Jewish student.

My boss immeadiately brightened and rushed to explain - "Of course ! Of course! We want to accomodate you! We have another worker who takes off for Ramadan. Do you need to take off for Ramadan?"

I shook my head, incredibly confused. "Uh. That's. Not my jurisdiction. I'm good." Boss nodded but was sure to add "Let me know if that ever changes. We can help you with Ramadan."

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I think shen yuan has the privilege of being selfless because he's a rich boy. Like how a child who never has candy will usually refuse to share when hes given some, but one who has plenty of candy waiting at home will turn it down when he's offered it and say someone else can have it.

That's why I really like how mxtx wrote shen yuan and shen jiu. Shen Jiu was a slave so he grew up bitter and resentful whereas shen yuan had a loving family and security and grew up sweet. Mxtx is one of the few writers to show kindness is a luxury not afforded to everyone

[wardofwinters]

Hm

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[wardofwinters]

A Crash Course to Kendrick's Super Bowl Performance, from a Black Woman

Note: this does NOT go in depth into all of the song's lyrics. I don't have time to recount two decades of his discography. This is just a summary of the performance itself.

Let's start with the first visual we get:

UNCLE SAM - most notably recognized from WWII American wartime propaganda, Uncle Sam is the personification of American patriotism and freedom. The term "uncle" is also evocative of Uncle Tom from Uncle Tom's Cabin, an abolitionist book that aided in inciting the Civil War. Uncle is also a very common term (both endearment and derogatory) towards Black men (eg. "unc"). Samuel L Jackson was fantastic.

Uncle Sam also resembles a circus ringleader, notable for my next point:

THE GREAT AMERICAN GAME - no, not Super Bowl. The GAG is us the people being pitted against each other: through late-stage capitalism, through the culture war, through class warfare, through being built of the backs of slaves. We are all players in the GAG because none of us on this site were the oligarchs seated at the inauguration.

This is also seen as Kendrick's stage was a Play Station controller. Not only did it remind of circus rings visually, but it was a game battle stage. The Great American Game is a battle royale of the commoners for the amusement of the rich whites.

Remember the foods / Them color was tin and brown / But now they 100 and blue - For this I'll just say, look what the last election said about lowering the price of eggs... and look at the prices now.

The revolution about to be televised / You picked the right time / But the wrong guy - Election 2024 once more. *Edit to add, the first part of this lyric is in reference to the Black Liberation Song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" by Gil Scott-Heron. Thanks to everyone who mentioned that.

THE FLAG DANCERS - yes, the dancers formed the US flag... off of the backs of Black people. Not a single white person in sight, and that's true of the cotton pickers in the fields. Plantations are part of how the US came to economic prominence after being a "backwater" colony. Remember tobacco? Cotton? Our bloodlines do. *Edit to add: they also all piled out of a clown car. The US flag in a clown car? Brilliant.

The red and blue dancers are also notable for representing the Crips and Bloods, two infamous street gangs. The dance in Not Like Us is the Crip Walk. I recommend researching more on your own time about them, but just know they are a large part of the stereotype of Black people being "ghetto."

TOO LOUD, TOO RECKLESS, TOO GHETTO. Do you really know how to play the game? - This is exactly what Black people, especially Black men, get told all the time. It's why we change our names on resumes if they sound "too Black." It's why we codeswitch in non-Black company. This is especially rich considering how non-Black people love our culture and love to make money off of us, as the latter part of the quote points to. And it's even more profound during the Super Bowl-- the NFL is majority Black players.

STREET LIGHT A CAPELLA -- "thug" stereotype dancers to counteract the a capella connotations, with Uncle Sam then saying that Kendrick figured out "bringing other street guys around being a culture cheat code." Yes, this is a direct hit at Drake (listen to "Not Like Us") but also politically. Look up "model minority". Notably I would point to Candace Owens, or the Miami Venezuelan political group that's been in the news recently, especially as this directly led to Kendrick being surrounded by...

DANCERS IN WHITE -- it's white America. That's... that's the allegory.

NOT LIKE US TEASER -- Kendrick says "Not Like Us" is "their favorite song." -> he means white people specifically here. It comes after he's surrounded by all white dancers, the women around him who are his call and response are also in white (my opinion, they represent the industry). He's saying "Not Like Us" is the favorite of yts because it is about BLACK MEN FIGHTING. This again is reflected in the video game stage and ringleader Uncle Sam.

SZA -- instead of giving what they want, we see SZA. She's one of Drake's exes and Kendrick has always supported her.

ALL THE STARS -- This was in the first Black Panther movie, which I recommend you watch. Rest in Power Chadwick. Notably, this movie was incredibly mainstream as a major Marvel movie, and then we have Uncle Sam say...

"THAT'S WHAT AMERICA WANTS: NICE AND CALM. DON'T MESS THIS UP" -- translation: Marvel (the industry, America, etc.) wanted a safe, semi-pop song because white American likes safe pop songs, not Kendrick's usual heavy rap style about his life as a Black man! Don't mess up what you've got going mainstream for having this "Black rap feud" with Drake, who is an R&B model minority to white people because he's safe.

So what does Kendrick say?

IT'S A CULTURAL DIVIDE / IMMA GET IT ON THE FLOOR -- He was warned not to be political or apologetically Black for this Super Bowl performance, but he is using this big stage opportunity to speak out.

40 ACRES AND A MULE / THIS IS BIGGER THAN THE MUSIC -- 40 acres and a mule are what the freed slaves were promised. Instead, this land went to white sharecroppers. Research Jim Crow laws.

THEY TRIED TO RIG THE GAME / BUT YOU CAN'T FAKE INFLUENCE -- rig the election, rig the industry like with model minority Drake, rig the Great American Game with culture war to distract from active class warfare.

NOT LIKE US -- the only thing I'll mention because it made me holler is Serena Williams crip walking on Drake's metaphorical grave. She's another one of his exes.

TURN THE TV OFF -- exactly like he said! The TV is a distraction, the Super Bowl is a distraction, the mainstream news is often a distraction. Turn it off and get with your people!

GAME OVER — could not see this on my stream but at the end of the performance, the lights in the stadium spelled this out. The world is watching, America…

In conclusion, Kendrick Lamar is a visionary and thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[wardofwinters]

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are feeling the wrath of constituents as their phone lines light up with complaints, worries and confusion over Elon Musk's efforts to gut government programs and fire longtime civil servants.

[wardofwinters]

Moon Fairy Jinshi! Makeup by yours truly Maomao

[wardofwinters]

Calling all Madoka Magica creators!!!

Earth Love 2025 is a collaborative zine that celebrate Earth Day with our favourite goddess: Ultimate Madoka.

Check our past volumes:

🌏 Earth Love 2024 🌍 Earth Love 2023 🌏 Earth Love 2022 🌏 Earth Love 2021 🌏 Earth Love 2020 🌏 Earth Love 2019

Like the past years it’s going to be PDF only, and completely free. Artists/Writers of all skill-levels are welcome, all entries that follow submission guidelines will be accepted and included in the zine!

If you want to be part of our discord server follow this link: (https://discord.gg/nGMhkUq) Be sure to write you’re part of the Madoka zine in your intro or you won’t be able to see the zine channels.

We want to accept the hard work of EVERYONE who submits to us, so please make sure to follow the guidelines below:

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Please refer to “what to draw/write about”.

Only one submission per person!

ALL SUBMISSIONS WILL BE DUE BY 11:00pm CET ON APRIL 8! Every piece we receive after that time will not be included.

The Earth (It’s going to be something for Earth Day after all).

Ultimate Madoka.

A background of your choice. Simple, complex… is up to you. Please NO BLANK/TRANSPARENT backgrounds.

(OPTIONAL) You can include other Madoka Magica characters (OCs are not allowed) but please mantain the focus on Ultimate Madoka and the Earth.

WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT

The Earth (It’s going to be something for Earth Day after all).

Ultimate Madoka.

(OPTIONAL) You can include other Madoka Magica characters (OCs are not allowed) but please mantain the focus on Ultimate Madoka and the Earth.

You can write about the reason why Madoka love the Earth so much, if she does something particular on Earth Day, her job as Earth protector, or if she looks for puppies or cute things on Earth when she doesn’t save magical girl… the possibilities are endless. Remember you can draw/write about other characters, but the focus of your piece must be on the Earth and Ultimate Madoka.

ARTISTS GUIDELINES

Refer to “what to draw” and “general guidelines”.

A4 (2480 × 3508 pixels @ 300dpi), RBG, PNG, portrait orientation. Make sure your canvas is this size.

Traditional art will be accepted, but please scan it cleanly!

Only complete drawings. Sketches will not be included.

WRITERS GUIDELINES

Refer to “what to write about” and “general guidelines”.

All writings must not exceed 1k/1.2k words!

Before submit triple check your piece for grammar/spelling errors. Keep in mind that mods aren’t english native speakers so we might let some errors slip our eyes when we read it. So please get someone that can proofread your work before send it to us.

Please use a google doc link to submit your work.

HOW TO SUBMIT

When your piece is ready send it to dotzines@gmail.com with:

Nickname: (The name we’ll use to credit you. Be sure to check everything for letter case to be as you want -all uppercase, all lower, mixed up-)

Social media: (Up to 2. Please complete url)

Message: A little message for Earth Day ♥ (Please limit yourself to 1 or 2 short sentences)

We’ll send you a confirmation email (so you know we received your piece) as soon as we can. If we don’t after 48 hours please contact us and re-send your email.

You can post cropped wips of your piece (@ our socials so we can reblog/retweet them ♥), but please keep the final thing secret until zine release.

The goal is to have this PDF released on April 22: Earth Day.

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or check the FAQ page! Please share this post to spread the word so even more people can join in! (.❛ ᴗ ❛.)

[wardofwinters]

🏮Social Media Campaign!🏮

Happy Lunar New Year!

We're happy to announce a Social Media Campaign to celebrate! Help us reach our goals and unlock this amazing illustration by Yuqi as a phone background and print just by liking and reblogging THIS post! 🐉 250 Reactions: All purchased bundles get this gorgeous illustration by Yuqi as a digital reward! 🐉 500 Reactions: All physical bundles will get this as a physical print! Social media reactions are based collectively on Likes, Shares, and Reposts across Twitter (X), Instagram, BlueSky, and Tumblr.

❤️ Art by Yuqi: Twitter (X) | Instagram 🛒 Shop: https://unseenpoison.bigcartel.com/