#yes cry

[soy-sauce-and-mothra]

Hey! Are there blacksmiths in your story? I'm a hobbyist blacksmith and I'm here to help!

Blacksmithing is one of those things that a lot of people get wrong because they don't realize it stuck around past the advent of the assembly line. Here's a list of some common misconceptions I see and what to do instead!

Not all blacksmiths are gigantic terrifying muscly guys with beards and deep voices. I am 5'8, skinny as a twig, have the muscle mass of wet bread, and exist on Tumblr. Anybody who is strong enough to pick up a hammer and understands fire safety can be a blacksmith.

You can make more than just swords with blacksmithing. Though swords are undeniably practical, they're not the only things that can be made. I've made candle holders, wall hooks, kebab skewers, fire pokers, and more. Look up things other people have made, it's really amazing what can be done.

"Red-hot" is actually not that hot by blacksmith terms. when heated up, the metal goes from black, to red, to orange, to yellow, to white. (for temperature reference, I got a second degree burn from picking up a piece of metal on black heat) The ideal color to work with the metal is yellow. White is not ideal at all, because the metal starts sparking and gets all weird and lumpy when it cools. (At no point in this process does the metal get even close to melting. It gets soft enough to work with, but I have never once seen metal become a liquid.)

Blacksmithing takes fucking forever. Not even taking into account starting the forge, selecting and preparing metal, etc. etc. it takes me around an hour to make one (1) fancy skewer. The metals blacksmiths work with heat up and cool down incredibly fast. When the forge is going good, it only takes like 20 seconds to get your metal hot enough to work with, but it takes about the same time for it to cool down, sometimes even less.

As long as you are careful, it is actually stupidly easy to not get hurt while blacksmithing. When I picked up this hobby I was like "okay, cool! I'm gonna make stuff, and I'm gonna end up in the hospital at some point!" Thus far, the latter has yet to occur. I've been doing this for nearly a year. I have earned myself a new scar from the aforementioned second degree burn, and one singe mark on my jeans. I don't even wear gloves half the time. Literally just eye protection, common sense, and fast reflexes and you'll probably be fine. (Accidents still happen of course, but I have found adequate safety weirdly easy to achieve with this hobby)

A forge is not a fire. The forge is the thing blacksmiths put their metal in to heat it up. It starts as a small fire, usually with newspaper or something else that's relatively small and burns easily, which we then put in the forge itself, which is sort of a fireplace-esque thing (there's a lot of different types of forge, look into it and try to figure out what sort of forge would make the most sense for the context you're writing about) and we cover it with coal, which then catches fire and heats up. The forge gets really hot, and sometimes really bright. Sometimes when I stare at the forge for too long it's like staring into the sun. The forge is also not a waterfall of lava, Steven Universe. It doesn't work like that, Steven Universe.

Welding and blacksmithing are not the same thing. They often go hand-in-hand, but you cannot connected two pieces of metal with traditional blacksmithing alone. There is something called forge welding, where you heat your metal, sprinkle borax (or the in-universe equivalent) on it to prevent the metal from oxidizing/being non-weldable, and hammer the pieces together very quickly. Forge welding also sends sparks flying everywhere, and if you're working in a small space with other blacksmiths, you usually want to announce that you're welding before you do, so that everyone in a five-foot radius can get out of that five-foot radius. You also cannot just stuck some random pebbles into the forge and get a decent piece of metal that you can actually make something with, Steven Universe. It doesn't work like that, Steven Universe.

Anvils are really fucking heavy. Nothing else to add here.

Making jewelry is not a blacksmithing thing unless you want jewelry made of steel. And it will be very ugly if you try. Blacksmithing wasn't invented to make small things.

If there's anything here I didn't mention, just ask and I'll do my best to answer.

#yes some of this was directed at steven universe #the only thing su got right was bismuth crying when her anvil broke #cus those things are goddamn expensive and hard to transport #blacksmith #blacksmithing #writing #writing prompts #writing advice #writeblr #writer #writer problems #writerblr #writerscommunity #writers on tumblr #writers and poets #writers

[sincerelystesichorus]

i have spent so long trying to place who astarion reminds me of

his dry little sarcastic bits gets me every time and like it's automatically funny but it felt so familiar...

this bastard.

and some more similar comparisons i think

thank you for coming to my ted talk

#astarion is a black cat ppl going crazy rn #like yes actually #its me #will anyone else care about this comparison #has it already been done ill cry #salem was my fav growing up i built my evil gay personality around him #and now i have astarion to further bear the curse #astarion #astarion ancunin #bg3 #bg3 memes #salem the cat #salem saberhagen #sabrina the teenage witch #astarion is a cat #qb #qb shitposts

[inkskinned]

the thing is that they're so fascinated by sex, they love sex, they can't imagine a world without sex - they need sex to sell things, they need sex to be part of their personality, they need sex to prove their power - but they hate sex. they are disgusted by it.

sex is the only thing that holds their attention, and it is also the thing that can never be discussed directly.

you can't tell a child the normal names for parts of their body, that's sexual in nature, because the body isn't a body, it's a vessel of sex. it doesn't matter that it's been proven in studies (over and over) that kids need to know the names of their genitals; that they internalize sexual shame at a very young age and know it's 'dirty' to have a body; that it overwhelmingly protects children for them to have the correct words to communicate with. what matters is that they're sexual organs. what matters is that it freaks them out to think about kids having body parts - which only exist in the context of sex.

it's gross to talk about a period or how to check for cancer in a testicle or breast. that is nasty, illicit. there will be no pain meds for harsh medical procedures, just because they feature a cervix.

but they will put out an ad of you scantily-clad. you will sell their cars for them, because you have abs, a body. you will drip sex. you will ooze it, like a goo. like you were put on this planet to secrete wealth into their open palms.

they will hit you with that same palm. it will be disgusting that you like leather or leashes, but they will put their movie characters in leather and latex. it will be wrong of you to want sexual freedom, but they will mark their success in the number of people they bed.

they will crow that it's inappropriate for children so there will be no lessons on how to properly apply a condom, even to teens. it's teaching them the wrong things. no lessons on the diversity of sexual organ growth, none on how to obtain consent properly, none on how to recognize when you feel unsafe in your body. if you are a teenager, you have probably already been sexualized at some point in your life. you will have seen someone also-your-age who is splashed across a tv screen or a magazine or married to someone three times your age. you will watch people pull their hair into pigtails so they look like you. so that they can be sexy because of youth. one of the most common pornography searches involves newly-18 young women. girls. the words "barely legal," a hiss of glass sand over your skin.

barely legal. there are bills in place that will not allow people to feel safe in their own bodies. there are people working so hard to punish any person for having sex in a way that isn't god-fearing and submissive. heteronormative. the sex has to be at their feet, on your knees, your eyes wet. when was the first time you saw another person crying in pornography and thought - okay but for real. she looks super unhappy. later, when you are unhappy, you will close your eyes and ignore the feeling and act the role you have been taught to keep playing. they will punish the sex workers, remove the places they can practice their trade safely. they will then make casual jokes about how they sexually harass their nanny.

and they love sex but they hate that you're having sex. you need to have their ornamental, perfunctory, dispassionate sex. so you can't kiss your girlfriend in the bible belt because it is gross to have sex with someone of the same gender. so you can't get your tubes tied in new england because you might change your mind. so you can't admit you were sexually assaulted because real men don't get hurt, you should be grateful. you cannot handle your own body, you cannot handle the risks involved, let other people decide that for you. you aren't ready yet.

but they need you to have sex because you need to have kids. at 15, you are old enough to parent. you are not old enough to hear the word fuck too many times on television.

they are horrified by sex and they never stop talking about it, thinking about it, making everything unnecessarily preverted. the saying - a thief thinks everyone steals. they stand up at their podiums and they look out at the crowd and they sign a bill into place that makes sexwork even more unsafe and they stand up and smile and sign a bill that makes gender-affirming care illegal and they get up and they shrug their shoulders and write don't say gay and they get up, and they make the world about sex, but this horrible, plastic vision of it that they have. this wretched, emotionless thing that holds so much weight it's staggering. they put their whole spine behind it and they push and they say it's normal!

this horrible world they live in. disgusted and also obsessed.

#this shifts gender so much bc it actually affects everyone #yes it's a gendered phenomenon. i have written a LOT about how different genders experience it. that's for a different post. #writeblr #ps my comments about seeing someone cry -- this is not to shame any person #and on this blog we support workers. #at the same time it's a really hard experience to see someone that looks like you. clearly in agony. and have them forced to keep going. #when you're young it doesn't necessarily look like acting. it looks scary. and that's what this is about - the fact that teens #have likely already been exposed to that definition of things. because the internet exists #and without the context of healthy education. THAT is the image burned into their minds about what it looks like. #it's also just one of those personal nuanced biases - #at 19 i thought it was normal to be in pain. to cry. to not-like-it. that it should be perfunctory. #it was what i had seen. #and it didn't help that my religious upbringing was like . 'yeah that's what you get for premarital. but also for the reference #we do think you should never actually enjoy it lol' #so like the point im making is that ppl get exposed to that stuff without the context of something more tender #and assume .... 'oh. so it's fine i am not enjoying myself'. and i know they do because I DID. #he was my first boyfriend. how was i supposed to know any different #i didn't even have the mental wherewithal to realize im a lesbian . like THAT used to suffering.

[bearhaviour]

Yearning

#satosugu #jjk #gojo satoru #geto suguru #digital art #bear art #why yes I did make myself cry

[crawlingrats]

Please please PLEASE watch this Christmas spot we got in Spain

#lgtbqia+ #lgtbq community #queer pride #transisbeautiful #Yes it's from jb but we NEEDED THAT #So much crying omg

[ryllen]

thank you for working hard x

#he deserves a big cold milkshake #twst #twisted wonderland #sebek zigvolt #twst yuu #twst mc #twst baby #fanart #yes he had to use his unique magic it was an emergency he insisted #his daughter was crying #anything that involves his child crying is an emergency

[dmbakura]

the dark urge and astarion trying to out edgelord each other

#astarion #dark urge #bg3 durge #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #ravennart #yes my durge is basically V devil may cry

[mikayesha]

Unecessary Feelings

#ace attorney #ace attorney shitpost #miles edgeworth #mitsurugi reiji #wrightworth #nrmt #narumitsu #also yes he's wearing his suit in bed #was he getting dressed for work? did he wore it in his sleep? who knows #this is a cry for help #aa #can we consider this as... art? #HAS ANYONE DONE THIS BEFORE PLS TELL ME #ok i wont delet LMFAO I LOVE EVERYBODY #the amount of gay lawyer simulator hashtags i saw under this is so fckgifnh funnymgood LAWD

[eggbertith]

the transgender flag in the background.....slow down satan

#nimona #yes im crying what about it #im going to dissipate into thin air

[stil-lindigo]

your favourite arach-narchists 🕷️

prints

#tried to draw this like how miles would in his sketchbook #god i love this movie to death #i preordered the artbook #you should too #i havent felt this rabid over a piece of media in YEARS #did i cry? yes #after the past couple of years for creatives this movie was like a warm hug and a nudge in the right direction #spiderverse team you are my everything #i think im done with my fanart spree though #at least until i rewatch spiderverse this weekend #spiderman #spiderman across the spiderverse #spiderverse #miles morales #hobie brown #gwen stacy #spidergwen #stillindigo art

[hypewinter]

Danny is reading peacefully in his new room at Wayne Manor when there's suddenly a commotion outside his door. Next thing he knows Bruce comes storming through the door.

"Danny did you lie to me about your past!?" he asked calmly.

#dp x dc #dc x dp #dpxdc #dcxdp #hyper prompts #why yes i do think i'm funny #thank you for asking #but seriously don't you think bruce and dumbledore are similar in a lot of ways? #btw please tell me y'all get the meme #this will be infinitely less funny if you don't get the meme #and then i'll cry #and neither of us wants that #so please tell me you get the meme

[lotus-pear]

the fine people of bsd tumblr have asked for fem skk and i shall give it to them

#bsd one of the realest animes out there for having unisex outifits i didn't have to change anything (yes this probably defeats the point) #i normally hate feminized male characters bc nine times out of ten they become hypersexualized and/or lose their og outfit #bc ladies can't wear pants?? god forbid. no. give them a miniskirt or ridiculously skintight see through leggings/stockings #i was extremely normal drawing this tbh. i totally wasn't falling in love w my own sketch. god i love women <33 #also if any one of you points out that chuuya looks the same but w longer lashes i will cry😭 #i couldn't give him long hair he looked too different pls hear me out ik i robbed you guys but pls forgive me #bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs #dazai osamu #osamu dazai #chuuya nakahara #nakahara chuuya #soukoku #skk #fem soukoku #fem skk #(<- is that a tag???) #bsd #lotus draws

[short-boii]

I’ve got a feeling that Sonic doesn’t like showing his feelings

whatever they’re watching is up to you

#team sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sonic #amy rose #amy #amyrose #tails #miles tails prower #tails the fox #knuckles #knuckles the enchilada #knuckles is very emotional #bc I’m sega #except sonic because yes #sonic and knuckles #sonic the hedghog fanart #personally I think #they’re watching #encanto #bc it made my dad cry

[yujateaandpi]

hold on I’m going to be emo about Digimon for a moment. The whole essence of the franchise is “my good weird talking dog loves me soooo much and all they want is to live peacefully by my side but when my life is threatened (which is often) they transform into an immensely powerful being just so they can give their life up for mine. And sometimes they do and sometimes they are reborn but other times they do not come back and there is no way to repay or fill their loss. And sometimes I betray them but they will forgive me forever no matter how I mistreat them. And sometimes they forget who I am but they will never stop following me because that love doesn’t go away. All they want is to stay small and get head scritches and snacks but the world gets threatened literally every day so they’re always fighting for me. We live in two different worlds and they can’t always be next to me but they’ll wait. They’ll wait years and even when I’m older and have changed they’ll know who I am. They don’t understand why I’ve changed but in their eyes, I’m still the same child.”

#If my dog #who I love with all my soul #turns into a guardian angel and dies protecting me #what then #yes yes I have the same interests as a ten year old boy #it’s fine we’ll cry together (it’s not fine) #I will not tolerate Pokémon/ Digimon discourse either they’re both good for different reasons #digimon #digimon adventure

[lno-x]

Vash is Doctor Who coded character if you understand what i am mean

#that just my vision of post trimax #yes meryl and milly named their second adopted son nicholas #livio and vash crying tiil they both pass out #trigun #trigun maximum #vash stampede #trimax #vash saverem #meryl stryfe #milly thompson #livio the double fang #melly trigun #post trimax #lno-x art

[marzipanandminutiae]

hot take: crying YouTuber apology videos are manipulative

crying while apologizing to someone in real life is a thing that happens. it's an emotional reaction you may be unable to control

chosing to film, edit, and post a video of yourself crying cannot be done in the heat of the moment. you want people to see your tears and feel bad for you

there's really no excuse for it, IMO. if you can't make the video without crying, do a text apology instead

#internet drama #yes this is about James Somerton #I'm not buying it! you are only sorry you got caught! and you want everyone else to see you crying!