#hence the. caption to that one piece

[surveillance-0011]

Gurgula sketches that are Not New but I’ve been meaning to share. He is. Interesting.

+ headcanons and shtuff

Please don’t repost ^_^ rbs + likes both appreciated

#dr. gurgula #the Skrendel brothers #Skrendel brothers #my art #high on life #high on life game #I was kinda . goin through it a while back #and I’m still feeling the strain of the finals stretch right around da corner #hence the. caption to that one piece #but we ball!! and take time for ourselves to not burn out #I’m cool with posting it bc I like to imagine Gurgs on the Struggle Bus. makes me feel better to know he is suffering

[strawberrysainz]

romanticism. charles leclerc

“ being charles leclerc’s assistant was a piece of work. you loved him though. ”

charles leclerc x reader

a warning — crude language, mentions of food, alcohol consumption, semi-mature scenes.

word count: 2.8k

“Do you want a biscuit?” He pointed to the box of red, racing-themed biscuits, mouth already full with one. “Please don’t tell anyone.” He added as an afterthought, and you snorted to yourself, setting down a notebook to take a gingerbread man decorated as him.

The instagram handle for the baker was loud and proud on the box, and you took a photo of the little Charles, making a note to post it later.

Qualifying hadn’t gone very well for Charles, hence the angry biscuit-eating. He’d ended up third, but an incident in the famous tunnel of the Principality had cost him three more places. His white suit was blinding in the tiny room, and his frustrated little huffs as he flung things this way and that made you slightly on edge.

You had been scrambling to catch up with him this season; you had been dealing with a family crisis until Miami, leaving Charles with some guy as his assistant for the past races. You had thought he was decent at first, but Charles was a precise guy; if he was relying on you to keep it together at work for him, then you’d better fucking do it the way he wanted. Even you didn’t mess with Charles on a race weekend. He was so nervous or upset or he was the happiest guy in the world - it didn’t matter, you just had to be consistent, comforting and take things as they went.

You swore he could’ve kissed you when you arrived on Monday.

But here you were on Saturday, still uneasy; Monaco had always freaked you out - you didn’t believe in the curse because Charles scorned it, but a part of you had anticipated that a stroke of bad luck would always have its way here. It was nine in the evening, and the crowds were still insane. You were prepared to walk back to your apartment at this point, even if it would take you about an hour with the blocked off roads. You handed Charles his clean clothes to change into after his shower, and you were about to go home for the night -

“Do you want to have dinner with me?”

You tilted your head. You knew Charles’ new girlfriend had arrived this morning, surely he’d do something with her?

He must’ve seen the look on your face, and his unsureness- the way he couldn’t believe what he were saying- made you embarrassed.

“No, it’s alright. Get a good night’s sleep. I’ll struggle to get back to mine anyway.” You said abruptly. “Must I make you an Instagram post while you’re in the shower?”

He nodded, unlocking his phone. You immediately went into Google Drive to get some pictures as he left, when a message from Alexandra came in.

You blanched; usually, bar your forgetfulness, you put the phone on the do not disturb function so that you didn’t see what he was getting sent- but the full stops and seriousness made you guiltily keep a finger on the notification.

You’re being ridiculous. I can’t give up my job to come cheer you on. I know it’s Monaco but I thought I made it clear. I can’t make it after all, C. My job is equally as important as yours. You’ll be fine.

You inhaled sharply; she was pissed. You thought she was reasonable, but you knew how much it meant to him to have people here; he struggled in Monaco, and even if he didn’t admit it he was so anxious to please.

I’m sure she’ll have a little fuckin hug and a kiss for you. I’m not a cheerleader, that’s her job, Charles. Watch her under the podium instead. Or maybe not after all- I saw you got P6

Talk tomorrow

Your eyes widened. Was she talking about you?

You were being too nosy. You selected the pictures and put them together, locking his phone on the caption section so he’d write what he’d like. As you opened the door to leave, he was there, his eyes meeting yours; and he must’ve known that you knew something because he lowered his gaze.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” You said quietly, patting his arm. “Sleep well.”

There was a desperation in his tone when he asked you again to supper.

Well, how the fuck could you say no? He was clearly desperate.

“I’ll invite Joris and Lorenzo, and Arthur.” He said quickly, and you sighed; “The usual?” It was a little tapas restaurant 15 minutes away.

You closed the door then, confused, and walked away, opening your phone to call Joris for a lift.

❤️‍🔥💿💌🍓

You were in the front seat surrounded by the familiar smell of Joris’ car; you two had become good friends- always together, waiting, working because of Charles.

You were busy typing about the gingerbread man when Joris asked you about the lack of Alex (Charles had probably been talking about her first Grand Prix together with him).

You paused. “They seem to be having some sort of rift. Not sure. Ask him.” You said shortly; you tried to stay out of his love life as much as you could. You’d liked his previous girlfriend to an extent, but the final events leading up to their breakup made it awkward for you to say goodbye. You tried desperately to be professional but at that point you were a really close friend of Charles’.

Joris nodded. You two did enjoy a paddock gossip now and again, but when it involved Charles alone you really weren’t into it.

You ended up taking longer to get to the restaurant because you made him stop at your house - you weren’t going to turn up in Ferrari gear - and showered, put new clothes on and sprinted back to his car in the drizzle.

Walking through the restaurant to your table in the corner, Joris was busy chattering on about the home GP content he was busy with; you were fiddling with your hair, your bracelets, your clothes, irritated to be there. Trying to be normal around Charles in non-work situations like he didn’t fucking employ you always stressed you out.

Not to mention he was being so awkward as of late.

You slid into the bench next to Lorenzo, giving him a warm pat on the arm as Joris sat on your other side. Charles was smiling at the sight of you - you greeted Arthur, and then him, and you were presented with some iced tea (no one drank next to Charles on a Saturday before the race).

You were lost in the conversation between Arthur and Charles (Arthur hadn’t done so well in F2 today either) when Lorenzo caught your attention.

“How are you?” You adored the way he spoke French; it was low and comfortable, in the kind of way that reminded you of a warm hug.

“Alright.” You said, giggling, and he nodded seriously. He knew about your stress - he’d never raced as intensely as his two brothers - and you’d always found him a comfort.

He was busy telling you about something - a trip with his girlfriend - when you heard the distress in Charles’ tone and turned to him. He was staring at the paella in front of him.

Joris was silent; Arthur just looked lost.

“What’s wrong?” You said quietly, and you noticed a few stubborn tears in his eyes that he was dying not to let fall.

“I’m just not feeling good about the race.” His tone was terribly melancholic, and you felt a bit frozen. “I- Cha-“

Lorenzo was stiff; you blinked.

Charles sat up straight. “It’s okay. Sorry.” His tone indicated no more talking about it, and Joris launched into a conversation about something, Arthur hurriedly joining in. You made eye contact with him sternly; we were talking about this later.

❤️‍🔥💿💌🍓

Supper had come and gone, the bill had been paid, and you found yourself alone in Charles’ car at 10:53 pm on the way back to your apartment.

“Please come in.” You had said to him, after he refused to go home immediately to sleep; promising a cup of tea before he got home.

You had dropped your keys by the front door and entered, your cat greeting the two of you. “What’s wrong?” You said, starting the kettle with a tenderness in your tone you could never replicate with anyone else.

Charles was just sighing, complaining, choking with emotion as he spoke of his fears - dear God, he was struggling - you poured milk and sugar, biting a lip, and eventually it became too much that you brought him in for a tight hug in the light of your kitchen, a song playing in the corner.

You pulled away, and to your surprise he was looking into your eyes softly, a gentleness in his expression that freaked you out. You felt your body soften as his hand met your hip, and you knew, despite yourself, you could never refuse him.

“Cha…” you murmured, gaze on his lips. Holy shit, this was so wrong.

He let out a little sigh that had you going insane, and you turned around to fetch the tea, overwhelmed; this was the only way you could prevent whatever what was happening, not happen.

He murmured your name again, and you turned around slowly, guiltily watching his beautiful face, certain feelings you’d suffocated return just like that.

His hand met your arm, gentle pressure prompting you to put the tea down. You gasped quietly as his hand on your hip brought you together, eyes wide and wanting.

He met your lips with his, and it was like a wildfire that burned, bright and haunting, kissing you everywhere, his touch burning, thigh in between your legs, arms and hands touching you everywhere, you were gasping and he was moaning, the desire in the air thick, scary, and his facial hair tickled you in a delicious way that made you shiver, eyes lidded, dark, and suddenly he was moving to take his shirt off and you stepped back, terrified, lonely.

“Charles, you have a girlfriend.” You said lowly, hair messy. You noticed your lipstick all over his lips and face.

He looked scared of himself. “Fuck. I have to go. I need to sleep.”

“And talk to Alex.” You said, scaring yourself with the heaviness of your tone, and he was gathering his things, tea forgotten.

When he left, you waved him out, mouth wobbling, and you burst into tears after closing the door, clutching your mouth, your sobs shaking you, sinking down to the floor.

❤️‍🔥💿💌🍓

You’d agreed to lift Joris the previous night, so you were glad to ditch seeing Charles until you really had to - an hour later, you walked into his driver’s room; he was doing some exercises with Andrea while the social media intern videoed him. You stayed out of sight of the camera, leaning against the wall, trying to distract yourself from the previous night’s events.

You were wearing more makeup than usual to hide your puffy eyes from the tears last night, determined to act as if nothing had happened. You really hated that Charles had cheated on his girlfriend with you; you could put it down to him being vulnerable, but you were at fault as much as he was.

When everyone had left, Charles was left on the couch staring sheepishly at you. You crossed your arms, an invisible ocean separating you two, you two continents.

“I told Alex.” He said calmly.

“And?”

“She said she can’t be with me if I’m not being faithful and she’s not there all the time. We’ve only been together three months. She’s not into it.”

“I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “It was my fault. I made a move when I wasn’t meant to. I’m sorry for putting you in that position.”

From the way he was moaning yesterday, you weren’t sure if that was true.

“Okay.” You snort, moving to open the door. “Driver’s parade in 20 minutes. I’ll see you later?”

He nodded, waving a goodbye as you left.

❤️‍🔥💿💌🍓

P6, like he started.

It was consistent, Joris had joked in your ear as you shook your head, trying not to laugh. He’d had a pretty good race, the team hadn’t fucked up, it was just the way it went.

He had been busy with press and much more before he ended up back with Andrea where you and Joris had been waiting for about three hours (you were also a bit drunk; you’d had too many glasses of champagne from Paddock Club).

“Hi!” You giggled, high-fiving him. “Good job.” Joris also cackled, and Charles shot you a glare. “Are you drunk?”

“No.” You said firmly, shaking your head. “I am very sober.” You said, and Joris nodded seriously. “We had a little bit of champagne.”

Andrea gestures to the bottle that was on the table beside you. “What’s that?”

“For Cha! A well done.” You beamed, and presented it to him. Charles couldn’t help but laugh. “I am going to have to drive you two back in her car, no? Put my bicycle in the back.”

You and Joris were squealing with laughter at the idea, and the two standing before you were laughing at you.

“Come, you fucking idiots.”

“No! You can’t insult me, you kiiiiissssed me,” you giggled, and Joris didn’t catch it, but Andrea did, shooting Charles a glare, who if looks could kill, would’ve shot you dead. He looked so pissed.

“Come,” he snapped, and Andrea said that he’d take Joris.

❤️‍🔥💿💌🍓

He pulled up to your apartment. “Come in.” You said, and Charles scoffed. “Not for a long time now. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

You looked so vulnerable, rain falling on your head as you peered down at him. “Are you taking my car? I’ll come fetch it tomorrow.” You said softly. “Thanks for taking me. I’m sorry, I was stupid. I needed to relax for one fucking minute this week.”

Charles’ eyes softened, and he opened his mouth to say something before he closed it, nodding curtly, and drove away.

You couldn’t differentiate the raindrops from your tears, forcefully wiping them away.

❤️‍🔥💿💌🍓

You knocked on his door at midday the next afternoon, wanting to thank him before flying to Spain. You hated the energy he’d given you since you’d kissed; it was wildly different and you loathed it.

He answered a minute or so later, glasses on and a scruffy jumper, eyes tired. “Hi,” you were out of breath all of a sudden; he was so terribly attractive.

He looked surprised to see you. “I came to say thank you. And get my keys.”

“Come in. Do you want coffee?” He said instead, and you felt a bit of déjà vu from two nights before, hauntingly familiar.

You loved his apartment. The red and white was a colour scheme you adored, and you sat on the sofa while he made you a coffee, one spoon of sugar and a splash of milk just how you liked.

“I want to say sorry for how weird I was this week. I just hate the Grand Prix in Monaco, you know?” You said hurriedly, and he set down the coffee, sitting down next to you. He laughed. “I know. I know.” It had been this way since 2021- when you had started working for him- and he kept having shit races here.

He held out his hand. You squeezed it. “Let’s move on from it.”

He smirked. “Am I such a bad kisser?”

Your jaw dropped, throwing your head back laughing. “Cha!”

He was dead serious. “Why do you want to move on?”

“I work for you?” You said, disbelievingly, and his mouth twitched. “Charles, come on.”

He picked up the mug and took a sip.

You quite literally wanted to die.

He set it down again, looking seriously at you. “I don’t regret the kiss, if you want to know.”

You stare at him. “It literally broke you and your girlfriend up.”

“I like you.” He shrugged. “More than her. More than I thought.”

You laugh, bringing the coffee to your lips. “And when I saw your lipstick on my face…” he trailed off, blushing, “Fuck.”

You swear you were as red as a mother fucking tomato at this point.

“Slow down.” You retorted, trying not to spit the coffee out.

“Kiss me.”

You stare at him again. Was he fucking delusional?

“What?” You hiss.

He rolls his eyes and kisses you.

You’re pulled onto his lap, breath gone, kissing him as hard as you can. Your head is thrown back as he goes for your neck, and the sounds he’s making make you moan.

“You’re really hot with glasses on,” you tell him, and he falters, giggling, before carrying on.

This time you let him take his shirt off, matching him.

You fall back onto the couch. Those eyes on yours, the eyes of your beautiful boy.

❤️‍🔥💿💌🍓

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thank you, monaco 💋💋

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lorenzotl Padel boyssss

user i wish I had your job girl

carlossainz55 Please give me a shirt @charles_leclerc

maisonde.monaco ❤️‍🔥💋

user So glad to see you back in the paddock again!!

thanks for reading bestie ❤️‍🔥

masterlist

#f1 fanfic #f1 imagine #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc x you #f1 x you #charles leclerc imagine #f1 x reader #charles leclerc one shot #charles leclerc drabble #charles leclerc fluff #f1 one shot #f1 fic #f1

[fab-bladesmith]

A Schlachtschwert, early XVIth century.

Spring steel blade of flat hexagonal section for most its length, mild steel fittings with hollow brass ball finials on the cross. Leather over thread over wooden core for the grip, and leather over wood for the sleeve (more about that below). This is a tentative reconstruction of what a "proper" Landsknecht Greatsword could look like, such a they appear on period artwork, be it paintings like the Siege of Alesia by Melchior Feselen (1533) or the Battle of Pavia kept at the Royal Armouries (or the tapestries depicting that same battle, now at the Museo Capodimonte, made after sketches by Bernard van Orley), the Victory of Charlemagne over the Avars near Regensburg by Albrecht Altdorfer (1518), or the many drawings, prints and woodcuts by artists such as Reinhart von Solms, Jörg Breu, the great Hans Burgkmair, Niklas Stör, Hans Holbein (both Elder and Younger), Virgil Solis, Hans Sebald Beham, the legendary Urs Graf, Daniel Hopfer, Erhard Schön, Hans Schäufelein and others...All of them combined to give this result.

Such swords would be seen not only in the hands of a Doppelsoldner, but also carried by your Feldwaybel or an Edelman. And it would be called a Schlachtschwert in the very captions of the illustrations I mentioned earlier (see Erhard Schön). *Not* a "two-handed Katzbalger", though the cross obviously echoes the S/8-shaped guard of the latter. We clear on that ? Good.

Very few of such swords are kept in museums out there, with a lot of them leaving me dubious regarding their authenticity. The one in Berlin seems to me to be the most genuine of all, and it is on its proportions that I based this piece, though the Berlin sword shows a fancy, diamond-pattern decoration on the quillions very much recalling the Katzbalger kept in the Museum of London. Most if not all period illustration do not show such fancy details on the crossguards though ; they are actually rather plain, without even the ribbing/threading/filework you can find on Katzbalger crosses. Hence I kept this one rather plain, with a square cross section with rounded corners, and some light filework at the center. I also bent the quillions into an offset 8-shape rather than a symmetrical one, to be more consistant with the earlier examples visible in period artwork.

The main questioning was that sleeve at the base of the blade, present on a lot of the period artwork; its obvious function was to provide a spot on which to put the other hand - as can be deduced from Marozzo's teachings for fighting against polearms - but the main issue was how was it made/what was it made of. Elaborating on my previous experience and studies of such things on later Schlachtschwerter, I went for a basic construction of leather glued/stitched over a wood core made of two flat slabs, and force-slid down the blade. There is more than enough friction to keep it well in place, but it is still possible to take it off albeit with some effort. The end of the leather is cut according to period artwork, and flares out to accommodate the mouth of a scabbard if needed. A simple decoration of plain lines on one side, and checkered on the other makes it also consistant with the artwork.

It is 139 cm long, the blade is 1083 mm long, 45 mm wide with a thickness of about 7 mm at its base, tapering down to 3.4 mm near the point. The span of the crossguard is about 21 cm, though from one ball end to the other there's about 73 cm of steel. Weight is 2547 grams, point of balance 13.5 cm from the cross.

Twenty-eight hundred EuroUnits and it's yours.

#Sword #Epee #Historical #Historique #Available #Disponible

[e-dubbc11]

for the song lyric prompt, I'm presenting you the super classic 'with or without you' with the most incredible obsessive love presence and our fave obsessive man: billy

My dear Selene,

I love this song, it’s one of my favorites! Thank you for sending this one in. My head has been wrapped around writing for Rumlow the past couple of weeks and I’ve missed writing for Billy so I hope you like what I did here

Thank you again!

With or Without You

Photos are not mine. They are courtesy of Pinterest/Google.

Pairing: Billy Russo x F! Reader

Warnings: little bit of angst, fluff

Word Count: 1.3k-ish

Summary: You see a picture of Billy that you’re not very happy with

A/N: This is one of my favorite songs even though I don’t like U2 all that much.

As always, thank you for reading!  I appreciate it so much and comments, reblogs are welcome and encouraged. Don’t be shy to tell me your favorite part. 💕💕 💕

He was so stubborn but you were too.

Billy Russo made you absolutely crazy. No other man frustrated you like he did but you’ve never loved anyone as much as you loved him either which is why seeing that picture of him online kissing another woman shattered your heart.

The ache you felt in your chest was unlike anything you’ve ever felt before. It was betrayal on another level as tears pricked your eyes scrolling through social media and stopping on a grainy picture of Billy’s lips locked on someone else’s other than yours.

It was from the event that you weren’t able to attend with him because you didn’t feel well.

He told you, “Of course it’s alright, sweet girl. Just get some rest, I love you.”

“I love you.”

Those words were hard for him to say at first, he had never said them and meant it until he fell for you. That’s what he told you, so how could he do this to you? Just like it was difficult to give his heart to someone, it was hard for you to give your heart away too.

All of the others had no problem taking and taking from you but in the end you were alone with a feeling of emptiness from the pieces of you they selfishly took with them when they left.

Against your better judgement, his too, you both opened up your souls to each other, leaving your hearts vulnerable to everything you worked so hard to protect.

Sometimes it was so hard to live with him, even though you didn’t physically live WITH him. The long hours, the constant worrying about him, hoping he was alright taking on so many jobs, and the exhaustion plastered all over his face…you’ve never known anyone that worked as hard as he did.

You didn’t want to live without him though. Billy made you crazy, fights with him made you want to rip your hair out, his jealousy sometimes got out of control but yours did too, hence the rage you felt burning inside your body right now.

You wanted to find that woman and tear her limb from limb, break all of her fingers that were holding Billy’s head in place while she kissed him, and make sure she never messes with another woman’s boyfriend again.

Several texts from Billy came through as you continued to stare at the photo, tears stinging your eyes like stars burning against the night sky.

“Please talk to me, sweet girl.”

“I really need to talk to you.”

“I love you, baby…please answer me.”

Newspapers and websites marketed Billy as an “eligible” bachelor, even though he was in a relationship with you. They built him up to be a local celebrity. From humble beginnings to a handsome successful CEO, Billy Russo was the object of every woman’s affection and you knew what you were getting yourself into when you started dating him but you thought you could handle it.

And you could, until now. You didn’t want to break up with him but you couldn’t look at him or talk to him right now, it hurt too much.

Seeing that photo broke you and no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t bring yourself to leave the house that day. The caption for the photo made you breathless with anger and caused your mouth to tighten.

“Where’s your girlfriend tonight, Billy Russo?”

**********

Dark gray clouds blanketed the early afternoon sky while the autumn winds blew around the sparse branches of the trees down below. You could feel the draft coming into your apartment from the weakened seals in the windows that your landlord said he was going to replace months ago. Thankfully your favorite sweater was keeping you warm as you sat down on the couch to enjoy a cup of hot tea.

Loud raps against your door startled you before you could take your first sip, almost spilling the tea into your lap.

“Baby, open the door please! I know you’re home, you haven’t left the house all day.” He said loudly so you could hear him from the other side of the door.

How does he know that? Was he spying on you?

“I don’t wanna talk to you right now, Billy!” You shouted.

Suddenly, the front door flew open and crashed against the wall. Billy had told you before that your front door should be replaced because of how old it is.

Well, he wasn’t wrong and now it definitely needs to be replaced but you were furious because of how far he took it. Just like the door, he was unhinged. But again, that’s Billy. Always quick to fly off the handle.

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!!!” You yelled. “ARE YOU INSANE?!!”

You stood up and set your tea on the coffee table as Billy walked over to you.

“I’m not leaving until I explain myself, y/n! I know you’re angry, I know you saw the photo but that woman kissed ME, alright?!! Yeah, I had more to drink that I usually do at these things but I was upset that you weren’t with me last night!” He confessed.

You stood there looking at him with a confused look on your face. You had been to a lot of these fundraiser events with Billy, why was he so upset about you not being at this one?

“I wasn’t feeling well, Billy. I said I was sorry and you said it was ok! Go in my room, the dress I wanted to wear is still hanging on the edge of the door, I didn’t do this on purpose!” You exclaimed.

His expression softened and he was visibly upset, but he wasn’t angry.

Billy lowered his voice. “I know you didn’t, I just…had something planned, that’s all. And I pushed her away as soon as her lips touched mine, ask Frankie.”

You could tell Billy felt terrible for what happened and you…believed him.

“She had been following me around all night. I’m so sorry, sweet girl, I’m sorry.” He said softly.

“What did you have planned, Billy?” You said, remembering what he mentioned a minute ago.

He ran his long fingers through is ebony colored hair and brushed his beard as he paced back and forth, looking very nervous about what he was going to say next.

“I was gonna ask you if…if you would move in with me.” He said.

You felt your stomach drop and start to flutter. Your eyes welled up with tears, happy tears this time.

“Billy…I—I” You started to say.

He interrupted you. “I know we’re together most of the time but on nights that we’re not, I don’t like going to bed alone or waking up alone. I don’t like being without you. I love you.”

Billy inched closer to you, close enough to inhale the scent of his cologne and you felt his warm breath on your lashes.

You snaked your arms around his neck and gazed into his deep brown eyes. “I love you too, handsome. You make me absolutely nuts but I’d rather be with you than without you, so my answer is yes.”

Gently scraping your nails against his scalp, you pulled him closer so you could kiss him which he gladly returned. He loved being touched by you, and only you.

“I told you that you needed a new door, that thing was easy to kick in.” He chuckled.

You playfully slapped his shoulder. “You lunatic, I’m gonna get in so much trouble for that! I know I’m gonna be leaving anyway but you owe me a new door, Mr. Russo.”

He kissed you on the forehead. “I’ll get you a new door, baby…I’ll get you whatever you want.”

Through the storm, we reach the shore

You give it all but I want more

And I'm waiting for you

With or without you

With or without you, ah, ah

I can't live

With or without you

Tag List: @mindidjarin @saintmurd0ck @wheresthesunshinesblog @rafaelakelley @idaoftheburningmind @snowkestrel @xdervyxccgh @mattmurdocksscars @fakehappy27 @music-indie-tv @fictional-hooman @kayhi808 @munsonownsmyass @gijos @celestialams @idek-what-to-put @anastasianeedstoread @ratsys @k-marzolf @nutmeg17 @rosaleenablack @vaguekayla @qu1etwolf @danzer8705

Others that might enjoy: @itwasthereaminuteago @fluffyprettykitty @jvanilly @russosafehaven @mrsbillyrusso @imagine-a-fictional-boyfriend

If you’d like to be added (or removed from) my tag list(s) for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕 If I tagged you but you didn’t want to be, just let me know and I’ll never do it again.

#billy russo #billy russo x reader #billy russo fanfic #billy russo imagine #billy russo x female reader #ericca answers #ericca’s 400 follower celebration #thank you!! #ericca and selene

[daisyswift3]

hey I'm pretty new to gaylor stuff and am just wondering, why are the daisy socks important? Just wannna know how crazy I should be going over this lol

Hi and welcome to the gaylorverse!! 🤗 The daisies are one of the most obvious pieces of gaylor/kaylor evidence and they were the nail in the coffin for me when I first fell down the rabbit hole 🌼

It all started when Karlie and Taylor took a trip to Big Sur, California in early March 2014. They took a bunch of pics of their trip and this daisy makes a cameo in many of them (you can search “big sur” on my blog to read more abt it). The most important of these pics is the one where Karlie tags Taylor as the daisy on the dashboard and captions it w “best road trip ever.” This is referenced in Don’t Blame Me—“I once was poison ivy but now I’m your daisy.” Also “trip of my life” is a double entendre here bc she’s not only talking abt tripping on drugs but also abt this road trip. To add more evidence to this theory the original handwritten lyrics include a drawing of a daisy that looks exactly like the one on the dashboard w the same positioning and all.

Plus Karlie was a literal VS angel hence all the angel/heaven imagery in Don’t Blame Me and many other songs—“Halo hiding my obsession / I would fall from grace just to touch your face / Lord save me” // “Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes” // “I know heaven’s a thing, I go there when you touch me,” etc. And when she was making the song (1:00 of this vid) she said she wanted it to sound religious.

She mentioned in this vid that she has repeatedly used clothing and jewelry as easter eggs over the yrs which is why the daisy socks are a big deal. She’s extremely intentional w everything she does (she’s a mastermind after all) so it’s unlikely this is all a coincidence. She still uses daisies in her art and wears lots of clothes w daisies to this day which is one of many indicators that they probs haven’t broken up. Here’s a great post showing many of these instances. Here are some other times she’s worn daisies: (x)(x)(x)(x). There are countless other times daisies have shown up but I don’t have time to cover them all.

Fletcher and Kelsea Ballerini, who are Taylor’s friends and were invited to her after party not long ago, also took a trip to Big Sur in 2022 where they took a pic identical to the 2015 Vogue photoshoot pic and Polaroid shown above. This photoshoot was a recreation of their 2014 Big Sur trip. See here and here. This issue was released on Galentines Day, the same day Style was released as a single.

Also, Girl in Red recently mentioned at the eras tour that Serotonin, which has the lyrics “put me in a field with daisies,” was Taylor’s most listened to song. Taylor gifted her a painting she made w these exact lyrics.

#kaylor #daisies #gaylor #gaylor swift #karlie kloss #angels #vogue photoshoot #big sur #kelsea ballerini #fletcher #don’t blame me #girl in red #serotonin

[ateez-himari]

VERSACE: NEW GLOBAL AMBASSADOR

ATEEZ Himari joins Stray Kids Hyunjin as the fashion house's representative.

September 17, 2023 (6:11PM)

Following the attendance of ATEEZ vocalist Himari at the La Vacanza fashion show, many expected an ambassadorship announcement to follow closely behind yet when the awaited post came only one idol had been put forth for the position. While some speculated that the young woman simply did not fit Versace's criteria, others claimed that due to the group's busy schedule KQ Entertainment had turned down any offers for external work.

On September 17th however all rumors were silenced by a singular post released on the brand's account, which contained a picture of Himari wearing an outfit similar to the one Hyunjin wore in his own announcement with the caption: 'The house of Versace is proud to announce that K-Pop's Princess, Min Himari, will be joining our Prince as global ambassador.' Merely minutes after the statement's upload countless comments began flooding in, for the most part conveying how excited they were that the idol was finally making an official entrance in the high fashion world.

This was not entirely unexpected as during the few months following the fashion show she had been seen almost perpetually wearing at least one Versace piece. It is quite possible that KQ Entertainment wished to wait until the group's schedule cleared to let the artist pursue external offers, hence teasing the collaboration.

'When we met in person for the first time there was something about her very being that immediately had me mesmerized, which is quite the feat because when working in an industry like this you see so much beauty that it almost desensitizes you. To me she truly did look like a princess not only in her visuals but the way she spoke, the way she moved, her posture and immediately I thought to myself 'that's her, if Versace had a human form it would be her'. Throughout the show she tended to stay near Hyunjin and when I saw them together I realized why people call them K-Pop royalty, so much so that I couldn't imagine our house being represented by simply one of them.' - Donatella Versace

'To have been chosen for this position truly is an honor, especially by someone whose fashion I have been following for quite some time now. I can't wait to experience first hands the extent of Donatella's creativity and to take part in the house's amazing journey.' - Himari

Both South Korean artists are recognized for their artistic abilities so it came as no surprise when the fashion brand's creative director expressed her desire for their pieces to inspire a future collection. In the past Himari had shared several images of reformed clothing, a skill she learned from ATEEZ leader Hongjoong, which makes this idea becoming a reality all the more likely.

Himari's attendance at Milan Fashion Week will be her first official appearance as a Versace ambassador, with many more schedules to come. Meanwhile her visage has already begun appearing through displays in stores based in Korea.

The duo's stunning visuals as well as their creative minds is sure to bring the House of Versace to new heights and we eagerly await to see what will come out of the artistic synergy. With a few of their bandmates having been chosen as ambassadors (Hongjoong for Balmain and Felix for Louis Vuitton) we can also look forward to more members making their way into the fashion industry.

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#ateez 9th member #ateez au #ateez extra member #ateez female member #ateez imagines #kpop oc

[aestriiea]

─★°࿔ 𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐝'𝐬 𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 ₀₁ .ᐟ

from polaroids, to poems, to random sketches & songs she's shazaming behind someone's back; astrid's sketchbook is without a doubt the window to her soul. she's rarely without it on hand or in her tote bag, graphite pencils shoveled into the metal coil in case she wished to take note of something (she rarely ever does). she used to worry about people, namely ximena, looking through it however a few offhanded mentions of her latest 18+ commission seemed to steer her clear away from anything remotely art related in astrid's possession. unwilling to let just anyone see or even in her sketchbook; the abundance of names and content relating to valpo residents surprised even astrid when reviewing her latest completed book.

─★°࿔ 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐬 .ᐟ

xime: likely from one of their midday trips around vina del mar, astrid's quite fond of photos and will lug around her camera in order to get these shots. she tends to claim that it's for landscape shots as she really should be working on her background work but she often folds and ends up using her film on xime. in this case, she does plan on using it to facilitate her practice for once.

luna: which building is this from again ? it's not like astrid can keep track. she'd brought the camera along to get cold hard proof of any supernatural occurrences but the sign was too eerie for her to not snap a photo of. given that it was toppled and in english she figured one photo wouldn't hurt. that was the last of her film and ghostly encounters had to be recounted purely by word of mouth.

kaito: she never really intended to draw kaito, something of an itchy trigger finger enticed her to snap the photo. hidden behind the other polaroids and recently defaced she knows she should be rid of the photo but can't muster up the strength to toss it. when sandstorm has failed to do its job and ground astrid, she fishes the photo out and contemplates erasing the marks. thankfully, she's stayed strong so far.

leia: after a sweaty morning looking for a gecko she'd spotted, astrid decided to just use the film meant for the reptile on leia while they awaited cool beverages in a nearby cafe. as luck would have it the small animal darted across their feet as they exited the establishment sending the pair on another wild chase ending with clear photos of leia and their beverages and blurry ones of a green tail connected to a body just out of sight.

─★°࿔ 𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 .ᐟ

most sketches in this book are humanoid, captioned with idle thoughts that strike her during and/or after the sketch is completed. luna is featured as an elf loosely inspired by astrid's own fleating interest in bg3. it passed fairly quickly however not before they'd been drawn and astrid began thinking up possible names for the piece. it's still a wip. noah is also featured more directly as she'd gotten him to 'model' for her between the fidgeting and astrid's unexplainable aversion to looking into his eyes it's a surprised she'd gotten even half of it done. idle hand sketches referenced from shows and her aforementioned model. poses are likely done by way of photo references hence her love for her camera. asking anyone she knows to sit still and be quiet is a task astrid is aware they're incapable of and she's taken steps to combat the issue.

─★°࿔ 𝐩𝐨𝐞𝐦𝐬 / 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 .ᐟ

i am a burning ship; a vicinity one must always flee.

mistaking kindness for tokens of love.

i know i make it very hard to love me.

i’ve yet learned how to wear my rage.

i am sometimes so close to drowning that I can hear the rivers singing through my body.

for lack of better word, these are musings! thoughts that come to her in the dead of night; things that crawl from her mind onto the pages. she often wakes the next day and finds it all very cringy opting to cover the lines with photos and washi tape. doesn't wipe it from her mind though and she works on putting it into more polished works (the piles of finished poetry she burns every full moon).

ok! that's a peak into astrid's sketchbook for this month/bimonth? idk, i would like to do this semi-regulary as she grows as a person and artist though. if you made it this far yippee! ty for caring about my lil loser <3

#જ⁀➴ 𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒅 ꙳ ( 𝖺𝖽𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗈 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗌𝗄𝖾𝗍𝖼𝗁𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄 : 𝗂𝗇𝗌𝗉𝗈) ꙳ #જ⁀➴ 𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒅 ꙳ ( 𝗆𝗎𝗍𝗎𝖺𝗅𝗌 𝗈𝗇𝗅𝗒: 𝗆𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗌) ꙳ #polaroids r not going anywhere me fears ... #all art from! azizlaswiftwind #valpoinspo

[k-labels]

LOADING….INSIGHT 

one of the most important moments in an idol’s life is their debut. the path they have worked hard to get towards and the day when the world catches a glimpse of who they are. some may choose to follow and support them from the beginning, others might just keep an eye out for them. those first impressions are key. 

our first upcoming event focuses on a debut song/concept of your choice. whether it’d be writing a fic inspired by the song’s meaning, a few lyrics, or just the overall vibe the song may have. the fic does not need to be word for word on what the debut song is about, hence the room for growth above. others may create visuals that took place during an idol’s debut. this can include screen grabs from their debut mv, any content from their debut era, etc. 

has your attention been sparked? please reblog this post and continue reading for actual details of our first event! 

LOADING….RULES

this event is exclusive to members only. if you’ve seen this on your feed and are interested in joining k-labels, and our future events, please review our official post and our audition forum. 

due to this being a members-exclusive event, it is very encouraged that all our members are in our discord server, as that is where any information and questions about this event will be posted. if you are not in our server please reach out to k-labels or our admins cici @iyeonjuni and val @fairybinie and we will provide you with the link. otherwise, you may ask potential questions through our dms and ask box!

SUBMISSIONS FOR THIS EVENT WILL BE ACCEPTED ON AUGUST 7th THROUGH AUGUST 14th (deadline). along with our standard k-labels tag, please use the event tag kl: debut so it’s easier to sort through. 

as always, each fic must contain its usual trigger warnings, genre, word count and pairing in the beginning. we will not be accepting any mem x mem fics. 

for our writers, the debut song you choose does not need to be the same artist you write for. this way, it can allow for more flexibility! ie. you choose crown by txt but you can write for stray kids.

no smaus or smau dedicated chapters for this event. fake text oneshots will be accepted so long as it adheres to the prompt of this event. 

fic word counts must be at least 300 words and a maximum of 4,000 words. be gracious of the keep reading tool.

any glorification or inclusion of triggering topics will not be allowed. 

PLEASE DO NOT PLAGIARIZE OTHER CREATORS’ WORKS. 

if you intend on writing a nsfw piece, please make sure that the idol in the fic is of age. we will only accept idols born in the year of 2002 and older. minors are not allowed to write nsfw. 

for our visuals and gfx creators, it’s pretty much free game. as mentioned in the insights half, content may be used from an idol/group’s debut mv, debut era, etc. still, to make it unique please use your favorite lyric(s) of the debut song as your caption! 

members are not required to participate in this event!

if you do choose to participate in this event, a reblog with your clarification and indication would be appreciated as well as a response in our discord server!

LOADING….FINAL WORDS

as mentioned, our discord server will have a dedicated channel for event submissions where you can plug your content for this event on the specified dates. if you are not in our server, remember to use our k-labels and especially our kl: debut tag so it’s easy for us to find it! if we have not reblogged your work please reach out to us. 

once again, thank you to anyone who is interested in participating. we look forward to your submissions! let's appreciate these firsts for everything and the special time in an idol’s life that is their debut. 

#kpop #kpop network #kl: proposals #k-labels

[somediyprojects]

Mirabilia Designs #19: Deco Spirits conversion by Kelley Phillips Shields. Pattern designed by Nora Corbett.

Deco Spirits — In living color!  I admit I’m nervous to share this because it’s SO different 😵‍💫.   This is what happens when my fabric is backordered and I have a gigantic pad of graph paper, a pink eraser, some Gatsby Deco font and a vision.  LOL

I wanted to breathe life into the ladies and while studying the pattern, I realized the Spirits were more meaningful to me when they were clearly defined (hence the font!). Also, the 20 or so colors originally assigned don’t necessarily translate into the correct shading of 30+ different colors.  In each block.  This was 4-conversions-in-1 while trying to tie them together in shared colors.  I wanted them a bit independent with 4 different skintones and hair color.  It was a serious challenge. 🥺.  I learned a lot.  I did insert or change some major elements (like the globe in Earth) and put some of those details in the captions. About the graphics:  I wanted this to look like a period illustration or print that was popular in that era (and one of my absolute favorites).   Same with the compass and the arrows for design.  I’m counting on the framer to straighten up all these lines!  It’s incredibly sparkly and so hard to capture in pictures, as usual.

It’s not that big, really.  It fit perfectly on an 18x27 32-ct piece of white opalescent Lugana.   

All the plans I made in the beginning —for colors —were almost 100% changed on the fly. I included one of my notes sheets so you can see what crazy looks like.  

It’s not perfect —but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out!

Earth:

Because the other spirits were holding an opaque object, I wanted earth to have one, too. I changed the “star” or orb to a globe and revised her hands to hold it. There aren’t many beads on this one but there’s a ton of Kreinik. She is brunette with peachy skin tones.

Air:

The beads on the feathers I chose are dense and very opalescent. But you can hardly see that in the pics. . She has the palest skin tones…mostly ecru. She is platinum blonde as was popular in that era!

Water:

She has the pink/rose skin tones and dark blonde/light brown hair. A ton of Kreinik in this one. The beads in the sun rays are metallic fuchsia but look red in this photo.

Fire:

This is my disappointment. So much skin and I blended and blended trying to even it out. I left out much of the shading and “spots” that was in the original chart and still it is blotchy. I chose colors next to each other on the cocoa scheme too. I used the darker shade for the bottom leg and smoothed the edges. And frogged so many times! Anyway I finally just let it go. Maybe if it wasn’t petite point it would have been better (at least frogging would have been easier!). The good part is I learned alot!

I also changed her hair. I wanted her curls to look like little flames of fire. In addition I added an extra “ray” under her wrist to break up a big section of color.

#cross stitch #inspo #x #mirabilia designs #nora corbett #conversion

[jichanxo]

still on the topic of titles: though i can see why you wouldn't, but isn't it hard for you to let go of placeholder names? and an unrelated new question: if i remember correctly, in senseific, you've completed writing the kuwagami part, but not the school stories part? do you have a problem with stringing it together, so that the relationships/events would fit with e/o naturally? (i hope i phrased that coherent enough)

this is long as usual, so

on titles:

the working titles are too literal and functional for me to get that attached to them, I think. It’s just shorthand for the larger idea itself. I suppose if there’s a placeholder title I like enough, then I’d keep it/adapt it into something similar. Funnily enough I’m probably likelier to think of titles/captions for my drawn artworks, though the file names themselves are still super literal lmao. those ones are usually the ones I’ve planned out in advance, because I want to convey a specific idea and it can be hard to do that visually without having a plan. 

obligatory examples: this arasawa piece -- the text itself was a key part of the storytelling, so this one was decided early, about the same time as my initial sketches. it's two parts, duty and desire, conveyed in imagery and words, both important. this schrödinger's cat themed umineko artwork -- i didn't really have anything concrete for this for a long while, but this was always about flux and uncertainty, so the words were always floating around in my head when i was making this.

on senseific:

STRINGING THE TWO PLOTLINES TOGETHER, OH BOY. this is very much something I have to just… wait and see on. If my process for the kuwagami plotline is any indication, then I probably will have to rewrite/shift things around when I find something doesn’t work. That’s part of why I made an excel sheet for this fic, so I (hopefully) can see which parts aren’t meshing and how I might be able to resolve them. Move things around, put them earlier or later, etc. and of course, there needs to be breathing room so it feels like they have lives that exist outside of each other. I’m feeling kind of nervous thinking about it right now. I suppose I just have to try?

I have tried to consider where these two plotlines would interact, but I just need more details to make sure I get it right, hence my need for note taking. I've also left a bunch of gaps so that there's room to let it grow in between kuwagami stuff.

The school related (as in, including school stories but also other stuff that takes place there) stuff I have right now is something like: 

Thing I invented for the intro

Follow up to this, resolution, lead into kuwagami story beat 

the conclusion to the dance club story (as far as my vague memory could get me), but With Kitakata. since the dance club is so early, it was an easy choice as a kind of starting point

Itokura related thing I invented and desperately need to flesh out 

Follow up to that 

(Imagine a big gap of time here) 

6. big moment that’s simultaneously a kuwagami beat and a school story beat -- yagami's continued refusal to trust kitakata or let him in on the investigation, resulting in the two of them getting into a physical fight. amasawa ends up going to sawa sensei to get them to break it up, and yagami realises that kitakata has a right to be worried for his students and shutting him out was a dick move actually (spoilers? but I’ve already talked about this scene before, so…) 

and from this last point it's pretty obvious that kitakata has to be involved with the conclusion of the case. i haven't written anything yet because i need to do the rest first, but this is almost certainly happening despite not being written down yet

but yeah, because my process is Like This, I kind of have no choice but to present the story in chronological order to make sure that everything progresses logically. ...honestly the structure of the ever-changing is obscenely impressive to me, I suppose it’s the power of planning — that you can go back and forth in time while keeping it meaningful and coherent. I love it so much… I will never stop singing the praises of the ever-changing, genuinely...

anyway, while i say the kuwagami plot is done, it's still pretty open, it's just that i've locked in what i think the major conflicts and resolutions are for that relationship. there's still room for the other plot to grow into (i hope) and in worst case I can tinker a bit with rewriting some stuff to make it work.

#jitxt #kitakata sensei #this was about writing but. a little bit of artist process talk as well #it can be fun to think about these processes in comparison to each other #anyway after flicking through my doc again today i'm feeling a bit more motivated! #“how are you going to merge these two plotlines together” “i'll handle it” #“and how are you gonna handle it” “i'll just deal with it” #(that one shirou meme is me rn) #my confidence on doing it fluctuates. but all i can do is say i'll do my best and see how it goes #this is what i have. this is what i gotta work with #but at the very least hopefully this helps show my train of thought #excuse the compliment detour. i don't think i can overstate how impressed i was reading the ever changing the first time #i clicked it thinking “well it's not done but i wanna read kuwagami so i'll try it and see how i feel” #and then it was so good that i read every chapter #but yeah i um... read a snippet i wrote of kitakata and yagami on a date and suddenly i'm energised again #gotta keep writing so they can go on their date yknow 🙏 #...going to post this before i start overthinking it again 😔

[chthonicgodling]

re: specifically @marscats37 tags on that last post but also in general. that little fun fact about ty and bel tossed in that caption - (e.g. that the soul of the late Melanie, Eury and Epi’s first deceased child, was reincarnated into the twins as Epi was first pregnant with them hence why they’re One Deity split into two bodies) -

is one of my favorite fun facts because completely unintentionally it became a piece of foreshadowing for. of course. years later. Ty and Bel marrying Libby and Chal who would turn out to be the (collective) goddesses of reincarnation themselves..,,,, and we did not plan this at ALL, I had decided Chal’s realm 1) long after they got together and 2) way before REMEMBERING this, so-

🫢 ‘twas Fate

#oc talk

[goneadrift]

tell me about 'it hurts to stay silent' :3

ooooh 🥰

This one initially got inspired by art by tomochingus featuring Royai during war in Ishval - the one where Roy grabs Riza by shoulders and with caption "You shouldn't be here".

Soooo I wanted to make a piece where Roy and Riza confront each other and it's all fruitless and painful... and escalates further than either of them expected because Roy is too shaken by Riza's deployment. Given the topic, it's rather exhausting to dive into this wip. Also I inadvertently raise questions that i struggle to find answers to 😅 Hence why this work is stalling.

It used to be easier to think that he simply did what he had been ordered to. And yet he couldn’t keep lying to himself like this — it didn’t bring a sheltering oblivion anymore, it only made him feel sicker.

Hughes said that they were caught in a double bind but Roy couldn’t help but think that his bind was of his own making.

He made a choice to pursue alchemy. He made a choice to accept the knowledge she offered him in good heart. He made a choice to bring this knowledge right into the military's waiting claws.

He made his own trap and now laid in it.

current list of wips for ask

#ask game #wip #dairogo

[void-kissed]

For that writing thoughts thing, the "taken life, given soul," do you have any thoughts you'd line to share about that? :D I loved it a lot! (dragonsmooch)

Ah yes, my most recent piece of writing!! I can definitely come up with some stuff to talk about from that one for you, friend!~

(source: this post by void-kissed - hey, that's me!)

Name a piece of writing that I’ve posted, and I’ll give you some thoughts and analysis of it! - Alright, let's see what comes to mind! This might get long because I'm not very good at being succinct, so I'll put it all under a readmore if that's alright.

The main thing about this piece is that it's essentially from Vanea's perspective more than anything, and it isn't always as easy to write my F/Os' perspectives compared to my self-inserts' (since, well.. my self-inserts are me, so that makes it easier). It also didn't help that I'm a lot less familiar with the overarching details of the first Xenoblade Chronicles game than I am with XC2 (which, as an aside, is not the second Xenoblade Chronicles game - X should never go unremembered!). But I tried to make it work!

For example, in the opening paragraphs to set the scene, I tried to portray the background events in the sort of way the Machina might be thinking of it, as opposed to the Homs and other residents of Bionis (for example, describing the attack on Colony 9 as "provid[ing] the Mechon with some valuable resources", not really detailing the fact that those resources largely consisted of human beings.)

I also tried to draw attention to the fact that Vanea is, at heart, a scientist, when you think about it! Hence her making sure to keep close tabs on all the parameters, and initially referring to Citri as an "anomaly" in the experiment, and the fact she took an interest in the memories she saw of Citri being a nerd and doing research and stuff with Shulk.

The other girl who got captured and brought to Vanea at the same time as Citri was Fiora, who is actually the one present for the cutscene my writing replaces in the game (although you don't find that out in-game for a while). She's also a childhood friend of Shulk, hence why she was picked out as a potential vessel for Meyneth.

The wound she had sustained was based on when Metal Face stabs her in the game, hence specifically using the phrase "clawed at her clavicle" because Metal Face's weapons are long sword-like claws. Him hitting Fiora's clavicle specifically was partially to provide some nice alliteration, but it also explained why she couldn't have worked as Meyneth's vessel here, because the soul component goes on the pilot's chest.

The section where Face Nemesis is actually assembled, and Vanea is saying lots of short sentences that are all on different lines, was mostly directly copied over from the in-game cutscene my writing replaces. This is how it actually goes, if you were curious:

In terms of differences from the in-game cutscene, I didn't really know how to add in Vanea spotting the damage dealt to Metal Face, so I sort of half-worked it into the "worrying news about a new wielder of the Monado arising" at the start. You can also argue that taking that bit out and moving the interruption about Egil to later on is because Vanea was distracted by how things went with Citri (because she was expecting Lady Meyneth to awaken, not Citri herself).

Another difference is that Vanea's dialogue is slightly expanded, and this is actually because this isn't the first time I've portrayed this scene. The extra lines added in are from the caption I put on a render I made last year showing Citri as Nemesis' pilot!

In the writing, the mechanical hands that Citri should have been fitted with weren't able to be properly fixed, which is why Vanea decides to risk keeping her biological ones instead. This is actually based on something that happened out-of-story - namely, the fact that the mechanical hands that were meant to go on Citri's reference model wouldn't fit typical MMD bone structures properly, so I ended up keeping her base hands instead. So they did quite literally break both in and out of the game, haha! But I like to think it works out, because the fact that the only "organic" parts of Citri left are her head and her hands gives moments like holding hands with Vanea much more significance ^-^

Overall, I also kind of tried to convey the fact that all of this interaction that Vanea ends up having with Citri was not supposed to have happened, at least not according to Vanea's calculations. This is why I made such a thing of Vanea being surprised she remembered Citri's name - she's not supposed to have ever gotten to speak with her, really, yet she finds herself wanting to know more about her anyway. And she does, with time! And that eventually leads its way into the beginnings of a romantic relationship! Because I love Vanea! ^-^

Okay, this is about all I can think of for the moment. Please take a picture of Face Nemesis itself from the game for your troubles, and thank you very very much again for giving me this opportunity, friend ^-^

(For context to give a sense of scale: Citri fits in the torso part of Nemesis, sitting down! So.. yeah, it's pretty enormous.)

#a call from the void #heart of the void #selfshipping #love: a wish for peace (vanea) #selfship: a love to last millennia (vanea/citri) #sort of #self‑insert: vessel of nemesis (citri) #I also mentioned others but they were not the focus #of gods and titans (xenoblade chronicles) #out of the inbox #selfship asks #dragon tag! #thank you very much again for this opportunity friend~ i am still more than happy to take any more asks that are along these lines #and will be looking out for anyone else who reblogs the post so I can ask them the same sorts of things hehe #what can I say I just like hearing friends ramble #for now however it is two o'clock in the morning and I am Tired

[2023-512kaylawilliams]

Second pre-formative hand-in critique

After making a number of changes (as per David's feedback) since last Monday, I went through my booklet with Emil today, which was really helpful. It highlighted unnecessary things, small changes that would make big improvements to streamlining the book's flow and key elements I hadn't included (a key one being captioning photographs). He ran through a lot of things I had looked over and also needed to improve upon, which I will take into account this week and make those changes before the Thursday hand-in.

The symbol is meaningless (i.e. has no purpose) - get rid of it.

Though the rap around text was good - the two words split by the spine were unecessary distraction from the title (if that's what i choose to be the title) which is Gimlet Display.

It was suggested that I incoperate more of the meaning of the booklet in relation to my pepeha in the front cover. I think some development into making the covers (front and back) more useful in that sense could be explored.

A suggestion for graphically displaying the text in a very simple way was a large G/GD on one/both of the covers, which as above, i'll use in development.

He liked that I used my tartan which links to my Scottish heritage. Exploring the relevance of it could be a good idea. My idea was to, in moving around some of my spreads as later suggested, that i could put the information/history page as pgs 1-2 and explain its relevance there.

Something of my own reflection was the cover image was a little distracting. I might edit it a little to make whatever text I place on the front more in the foreground but without losing the detail and impact of the tartan. I have since scaled it down (it was scaled up in the above print out) which I think this may work better. Also having the text larger will help with this.

This page is unfinished (hence the palceholder text for blocking); this will be something I need to finish but the formatting of it is okay thus far i think.

Point to mention in the rationale *why is this font good?* > *why did i chose it -> relation to my pepeha*

Captions were something i needed to add for the photograph here but i think i will be changing it anyway.

Emil mentioned that streamlining all of the footer elements on the pages was a necessary detail. As he said they are the 'normal' elements and everything else will show as a deviation from that to show what the typeface can do.

These two spreads were relatively untouched by feedback apart from the note about footer details.

However, I did have a personal reflection for these. I though that the text overall might be on the smaller side. I have noticed in all of my spreads that has been the case. So i think being a bit more bold with my choice of font size would be a good idea to bring contrast between the smaller pt sizes and larger pt sizes.

Something that isn't super noticed once printed was the fact that i did make all text a dark green shade. Which after playing around does make a significant difference on the eye even if it is subtle (compared to plain black). However, for further refinement I might try a colour combination.

Another element i need to add is the pt sizes and font names on all the pages.

Three main points for this spread:

The text in the poems does look too similar to the footer text > could be changed to medium weight to differentiate?

Move the Haere Mai poem/song title to the top of the block of text to signal that it is another piece of text (not flowing on from the previous page), where to start reading and that it is the title of that section of text.

Note the authors of the texts (My Great Aunt) and the relevance of the text - why is it there?

The biggest problem with this layout was the text crossing (what I have come to call) the no-go zone. Anything crossing that line will be lost even a little because of binding and alignment.

However, suggestions were to play with the spread a little. What different kinds of AEIOU's could I showcase? Try moving them around and play with the space in the spread.

In regards to the photo asset on this page, again, needs a caption. A further suggestion was to see what it looked like spread over both pages. I do have a limit on its dimension but I could play with this a little.

Last point was if it was necessary to label every page with the footer 'Gimlet Display' > it will be obvious given the start of the booklet what the typeface is called, so maybe use this space for what specific font is used, point size etc. instead.

This spread got a big tick. Emil said it was a good resting page. Given that my booklet does have a lot of detail-heavy pages, spreads like this one give the eye a rest from having to follow any detail whilst also showcasing alternative versions of one glyph the font has to offer.

A way to further this might be to make another spread in this kind of format (which I think I could use to replace the image page on pg. 22 maybe). A symbol that Emil pointed out that was quite unique in its form was the # from pg. 17. He said it's got a unique skew and weight variation. Thus, it could be a cool idea to make that a key point somewhere in the booklet, just to give rest as well as iterest and pinpointing a cool feature of the typeface.

This page got a pretty good go ahead neatly showcases all of the accent alternatives. The only thing to change was the title of the spread. Emil said to have a look into what other type specimens have named this kind of layout.

The left spread:

[1st line] doesn't quite fit with the rest (I think it's because of its "lack" of detail compared to the other lines?) > move down to balance?

[2nd line] good.

[3rd line] As mentioned before, Emil thinks the # deserves a feature (bold/scaled up in another spread?)

[4th line] symmetry of this one is great, well balanced.

[5th line] the cents symbol is the only one that stands apart but can't be changes and still makes sense.

[6th line] the No. symbol doesn't work with the rest, if it can be used elsewhere go for it but otherwise probably not hugely necessary. The tilde is a nice one to include though > find where it can go?

The right spread:

What is the significance of the numbers, and why is one outlined? > explain in the caption. Or repeat to create a pattern/rhythm.

Old style numbers need explaining (otherwise one would think i did that myself) > its a feature of the typeface so label it somewhere (page title?)

Split the page titles.

Suggested this could be moved to the front of the booklet, given that it is key information about the font (not just the history > rethink the title or split the titles over the two pages).

For clarification, Schadow is the correct spelling :) but showcase that this was what the typeface was inspired by. Include more clearly what each typeface looks like on there own.

The comparison between the typefaces is good. Could do a lot more labelling (this could be where i do some "diagrams" on type form features.

A note for the second paragraph on the left page; showcase those different fonts on a larger scale to more clearly see their disctint features. > This may have me rethink some of the more text heavy pages as i could showcase these here instead? given this spread may become quite busy with the changes and level of detail.

It was suggested I move all larger text to one side and bulk text to the other, as there is blank space that is being unused.

Also a final point was to extend the written part, dig deeper into the typeface itself.

Caption for the photo, again.

Move this spread to the front > key information?

Personal note > move the line for language support up one line.

Overall I am super happy with this draft of my work; it is by no means the final draft. I have come quite far from my earlier drafted pages, but I'm not finished yet. This draft aligned with how I wanted the booklet to look, but there is still much to improve, and I will continue refining it even after the Thursday hand-in.

[hoidn]

tl;dr spanish has formal pronouns and english doesn’t and this is what FOMO looks like for me, a nerd.

one of the downsides to engaging with media in languages you don’t know is that you're locked out of a lot of the experience because things like cultural/social references and contexts don’t necessarily register or have meaning when they’re not in your frame of reference (and while this happens at times to everyone generally, because even within one’s own culture it’s impossible to be aware of ALL the things, it’s much more pronounced when coming entirely from outside of it). 

of course for me it’s primarily about language itself and shades of meaning and aughghg it’s so frustrating to know that there are linguistic nuances failing to have an impact either because the translation is (of necessity) filtered through the interpretation of the translator and they can only convey so much, or because their presence is simply not readily apparent to me. but i want to knooooooow. LCDP is the first non-english language show i’ve ever been fannish about and it’s certainly been an education in how much i actually remember from four years of high school spanish classes lo these many years later. it’s more than i thought, but it’s mostly just isolated words and short phrases, and it’s largely recognition rather than immediate understanding. it’s like i’m on a two-second delay, so that by the time my brain has (a) picked out the word/phrase from amongst all the unfamiliar sounds, and (b) found its meaning, i’m two sentences behind what the characters are saying. mostly it’s been more distracting than useful.

however!

my bits and pieces of spanish sort-of-understanding have allowed me to solve the mystery of something that had been sitting in the back of my mind with a question mark since i first watched THAT SCENE in 1x12. (well, once i got over the initial “omg they’re making out!!!” reaction, anyway.) according to the english subtitles, raquel says “about you” then stops and repeats “about you” again. i couldn’t figure out the significance of the repetition or how her next line “i think it’s time we stop being so formal” followed on from that. it was only on a rewatch, when i already knew the meaning of the dialogue and didn’t have to focus on the subtitles, that i actually listened to what she says. and i realised they’re still using the formal pronoun ‘usted’ with each other. so the first time she’s saying “de usted”, but the subsequent times she’s saying “de ti”. hence less formal! and since modern standard english doesn’t have formal pronouns, in a literal translation both ‘usted’ and ‘ti’ are the same word: you. achievement unlocked! VICTORY!

for confirmation i switched my subtitles to ‘european spanish’ and, first of all, how cool is it that they get different colours for different speakers?! that makes it so much easier to read! stupid english subtitles all being in white. then, because i am A Nerd, i transcribed the spanish to compare to the english translation, and i put the important bits into google translate to see what it came up with (bolded in brackets).

english:

R: I want you to know I'll never pull my gun out again. Yeah? S: Okay. R: Or frisk you or have any doubts about you. S: Good. R: About you.... About you. I think it's time we stop being so formal, isn't it? S: I couldn't agree more. R: Yeah. S: I agree. R: Me too.

spanish:

R: Quiero que sepa que no voy a volver a sacar la pistola nunca más. Sí. S: Ya. (ed: i definitely hear him say “bien” but w/e) R: Ni a cachearle ni a duda más de usted.  S: (ed: i hear him say “bien, bien” but there’s no dialogue at all in the captions here) R: De... De ti. De ti, de ti, de ti. Ya va siendo hora de dejar da tratarnos de usted, ¿no crees? [“It's about time we stopped talking about you, don't you think?” <- yeah, see, the literal english translation of that sentence means something quite different to what the spanish sentence means, which is sort of how we ended up here] S: Yo creo que es momento de tutearnos, sí.  [I think it's time to call each other, yes. <- i feel like we’re missing a word, there, google] R: Sí, sí. S: Yo creo que sí. [I think so] R: Sí.

from my perspective, even with this rough translation, there’s a lot of nuance left out of the english subtitles, and that’s really disappointing. it’s... i don’t want to say it’s cuter or more adorable in spanish because that sounds like i’m being condescending about the language itself, when it’s actually that the english translation leaves out elements of the original that convey a level of meaning. the kind of babbling repetition they’re doing in spanish, which is what makes it adorable, isn’t even hinted at in the english translation. basically, the adorableness of the moment is baked into the language of the original; it’s supposed to exist as part of the emotional landscape. but if you rely solely on the translation, you don’t really get that, or the way it kind of builds momentum. (maybe it comes across better in the dubbed version? idk i can’t stand dubbing.) 

anyway, while i don’t understand the translator’s choices here wrt to that, obviously they did the best they could with the usted vs ti issue. (this is one reason written media is better for translation: you can have footnotes!) still, i have to wonder whether someone who’s not familiar with spanish would really get the underlining meaning of the “stop being so formal” line.

and i genuinely mean no disrespect whatsoever to the translators of this show or translators in general everywhere because i am incredibly grateful to them for making the world so much richer and there are so many wonderful media i’d never be able to watch or read without their work. but this single exercise in explication has just emphasised for me how very much i’m missing out on and it makes me sad that short of thoroughly learning every language on earth there’s no way for me to fix the problem to my own satisfaction.

i really hate that.

(also i have so many more questions about the whole translation process for visual media now. for starters, i have the suspicion these people were translating without a net (i.e. a script) and had to go on what they heard. if that’s the case, it’s a ridiculous way to go about things and infuriates me as someone who used to do court audio transcription. because i can attest that transcription of multiple speakers is hard enough even when you can isolate individual mics and you only have to work with one language. the idea of having to translate from a single sound file on top of that? fucking hell. i hope they got paid very well. (lol of course they didn’t.))

#words are my life #TIL how to type the spanish upside down question mark on my keyboard #(refers to the day i typed it not the day of posting because lbr they're never the same day) #me and my charms #la casa de papel #minor victories are the only kind i get just let me have this

[gaypanic97]

So, I’m a true crime fan, which I know is something we’re all sick of hearing at this point in the game. But it’s true. I like watching crime documentaries just like I like watching historical documentaries—it’s interesting and tragic and informational. Dramatizations are not as much my forte, unless you count Netflix’s Mindhunters. That show is great, but almost every other true crime drama show I’ve watched just made me feel icky. (Hence why I haven’t watched the Dahmer thing yet. Feels… gross.)

That being said, I have never really looked into the true crime community on tumblr. The tiktok ones can be pretty insufferable at times, though, so I decided to see if there were some cool research-based posts/blogs on here. And there were.

To get to those, however, I had to sift through an ungodly amount of fan-club blogs of some sick motherfuckers. Namely, the Columbine shooters and Adam Lanza. Icons of those assholes. What are you saving the icons for? Edits made with captions about how handsome they are or intelligent and god knows what else. What the actual fuck, man?

Frankly, I’m confused. Why is there this weird, cult like obsession with those pricks online? Is this a new thing, or am I just late to the party here? Columbine was almost 24 years ago now. Sandy Hook was ten. I’m so confused why people have started worshipping these guys?

Why them, too? A bunch of pathetic, sickening, psychotic losers? And I know what some of you are thinking. It’s language and treatment like that that made them into the monsters they became. Yes. Bullying is terrible. It shouldn’t happen. It can destroy lives. But those pieces of shit lost any chance of sympathy from me the moment they started killing other children. In Adam Lanza’s case, elementary grade kids who never did fucking shit to him.

I get pissed off over all the mass shooters, serial killers, rapists, etc. As someone whose family was torn apart by a murder years ago, I fucking hate those guys. I don’t care about their background. I don’t care that their childhood sucked. I don’t care that they felt alone. I don’t fucking care. Should someone have stepped in to help before the crimes were committed? Yes. When you see behavior like that, you acknowledge the red flags and try to prevent escalation. But I don’t buy the post-arrest confessions, teary trial apologies, or sob story suicide letters. You had a choice. You came from shit, you lived through shit, and you could’ve chosen to be better than that. Better than your family life. Better than the bullies. Better than your fucking diagnosis. You had a choice, and you decided to fucking kill innocent children.

And as much as the murders piss me off, I think that the murder apologists are even worse. You know this asshole killed/tortured/raped people? Actual people. Real life, breathing people with lives and families and futures and dreams. They killed them brutally, and you want to talk about them being misunderstood or relatable? Fuck right off. No way. Get the fuck out of here. Find a new obsession, a new hero, a new fixation. Liking fictional film/television/book villains is one thing—that shit is fake, and I get it. But now you’re romanticizing real life murderers and rapists and necrophiliacs and goddamn cannibals (see Dahmer comment above)?? I am astounded and disgusted and fucking sick.

Grow the fuck up. If you met Adam Lanza, Eric Harris, or Dylan Klebold while they were alive, you wouldn’t have been able to “fix” them or whatever. There would’ve been no romantic bullshit. You would’ve just been another victim. So, maybe you should consider the kids killed and the families whose lives were ruined instead of the twisted, insane, nasty motherfuckers who pulled the trigger?

Jesus, fuck. I’ve never angry posted before, but here you go.

#true crime #what the fuck #pissed #what is this shit #true crume #ugh anyway