#i am aware that this is not my usual anime post but I had fun and really I would love to start conversations with people and see their takes

[cold-heart-warm-writings]

Pairing each Olivia Rodrigo song on her Sour album with a A Court of Thorns and Roses character: Yes, these songs are angsty, but I have so many fun memories with this album, so let’s just have some fun and get these characters in their feels. ~spoilers~

brutal - Nesta, Emry, Gwyn - The Valkyries “If someone tells me one more time, enjoy your youth, I’m gonna cry.” - These girls have all been through some SHIT! This is just a fun, snappy, and quick song, and I could see them absolutely rocking out to it as the House drops off more chocolate while they all scream “GOD, IT’S BRUTAL OUT HERE!” They would laugh and point at each other for the line “I only have two real friends, and lately I’m a nervous wreck!”

traitor - Elain - Even though Greyson didn’t cheat on her, he still betrayed her and turned his back on her. I can see her belting the words out a window in the House of Wind, and really putting her everything behind it.

drivers license - Rhysand - okay look we all need an angsty song every now and then, and at first I thought naaah, but then I thought of those few months where Rhys was “letting Feyre go”. The little peaks down the bond could’ve been him driving past her house… “and you’re probably with that blond girl” hey, that blond bitch has a name, and it’s Tamlin. Give him a bit of wine, and he’ll sing this loud and proud and Morr.

1 step forward, 3 steps back - The Lady of the Autumn Court - Cause Beron is an asshole and I wish she could leave his ass and get with Helion.

deja vu - Tamlin… but in a he’s having a pity party for himself kind of way. It makes me think of that dick move he made during the high lord meeting where he trying to humiliate her, (but Azriel is having none of it). 

good 4 u - Cassian when Nesta is in her figuring herself phase and Cassian is trying his best to be okay and be fine that she doesn’t want him when in reality it is absolutely destroying him inside.

enough for you - Morrigan - Because that girl tried so hard for her family, and she tries to be always on and perfect, and I can’t imagine how exhausted she must be.

happier - oh fuck, Tamlin too… cause he’s such a bitch boy. WAIT LMAO AMARANTHA - Amarantha at Tamlin. I once read some random fan theory that she was Tamlin’s true mate and that just gets me good. This is the kind of song she would totally sing to herself while thinking about Tamlin … and planning her next task to kill Feyre. :)

jealousy, jealousy - Azriel - He’s just jealous of what (or I guess, who) he can’t have. He crushes on Morr, she’s not interested (and she’s allowed that!). She crushes on Elain, and she doesn’t really want anything to do with any males (she does not owe them anything). Azriel does seem like a person who is confident enough in his own abilities, but I bet little things will eventually get him down and he can’t help but compare himself sometimes to other males.

favorite crime - “The things I did, just so I could call you mine.” Tell me that is not the definition of Feyre with Tamlin during that period of ACOTAR ending and ACOWAR starting up. Feyre was in a dark place, full of guilt for everything she did for Tamlin, and then he just.. Didn’t do much to help or support her through it. Honestly, he ALSO needed help and support. Really, they all needed a therapist or a counselor or some kind of professional to help them process what happened to them, but no one was provided that kind of support, so Feyre fell deeper. And this song resonates with her.

hope ur ok - Amren - Now, while she does not seem like a person who would like this sort of soft song… and I don’t think many of the individual verses would apply to her, but I think that when it’s quiet, she’s had a lot to drink, and she’s alone, she wonders what happened to her family. She’s been separated from her own home universe for eons, and the message of growing up and growing away from people but still hoping that they’re okay… that would touch her. “We don’t talk much, but I just gotta say… I miss you, and I hope that you’re okay.”

#i am aware that this is not my usual anime post but I had fun and really I would love to start conversations with people and see their takes #to the random shit i post so i post and wait to see if anyone reacts XD #also.... the layout of this post might be super ugly rip oh well #acotar #acotar spoilers #feyre #oh shit i don't know the tags for this fandom #feyre archeron #nesta archeron #elain archeron #rhysand #tamlin #cassian #morrigan #amren acotar #amren #azriel #the valkyries

[imightgetbetter]

our first kiss

ahhhhhhh. hi. it's me. this is so weird. i haven't been nervous to post a story like this in years. probably because it's a totally different fan space and group and all that. there's a first time for everything. i have a whole idea for a series of things i want to write, we shall see if they come to fruition. for now, here you go. just a little something. (this is literally the smallest piece of writing i think i've posted in seven years). have fun <3 happy reading!

Outside, everything is quiet in the simplest of ways – the honking that usually busies the streets has subsided, just a few passing cars beneath them, the lights flickering and the occasional yell or holler from someone on the street echoing around the seemingly empty avenue. One light is shining from the bedroom where the landing leads to, and you can hear a faint grunt and murmured swears as your darling company finally makes his way back to the metal escape. His hand is clutching the neck of the guitar you purchased for his birthday, the back of which is decorated in an array of randomized drawings that somehow felt fitting for him – a carton of cigarettes, a mouse with a cookie, a rose that looked awfully similar to the one you have dried and pressed from your first date. Mouth nursing a cigarette, he teasingly pulls it from your lips as he settles against the railing, the guitar now settled on his thighs and his worn-in notebook propped open with a pen. He reaches for the lighter, cupping the fire around the end until it’s lit and ashy with his inhale.

His hand lays on your knee and squeezes it gently, lovingly. “Can’t have you picking up a bad habit from me, darling. Already have too many of those.”

“You were once a bad habit, you know,” you say, peering at him through hooded eyes masked behind wire-framed glasses, the light from your computer lighting your face. He smirks, shaking his head without saying a word, simply basking in knowing that a bad habit had turned into this, into sharing an apartment in a city you love, into late nights on the fire escape, creating your art together, art that is often about each other, even if you don’t know it. And he doesn’t know it, that the collection of essays being stored in your hard drive are about the lessons of being in love, lessons that you learned with him.

His eyes flicker from where he’s strumming at the heart of the guitar to you, a smile printed on his features that you know well – the smile that comes from your favorite bottle of wine at dinner, a stray glass or two in a shared bath. “Am I still a bad habit, my love?”

“Only when you distract me from my work,” you say, nudging your knee into his calf, a smile toying at the corners of your lips as he nudges you back.

His eyes trail from your eyes to your lips to where your fingers are working diligently against your keyboard. “How far have you gotten today?”

“About halfway into this essay,” you hum, leaning your head to the side, trying to get a peek at the lyrics being scribbled into the notebook. “How’s the song coming?”

“Good, I think. Question for you actually,” he says quietly, aware of the sleeping neighbors and easily disturbed animals surrounding the apartment. He waits for you to nod, closing your laptop quietly to give him your sole attention. “Our first kiss, where was it again?”

“Matthew.”

“In my defense, love, we’d had many drunken kisses before I’d actually kissed you sober and well-intentioned.”

“Are you trying to tell me the other times were ill-intentioned?”

“Yes, I am, actually. I was eighteen, darling. There are no good intentions at eighteen.” His eyes soften when you giggle quietly, the hardened expression washing away from your features as you hum knowingly, and a tiny smile begins itching at your cheeks. “It was during that holiday we took during Christmas. I remember that.”

“Walmart, I think,” you say, the memory suddenly feeling a bit hazy and out of touch. “You’d come to visit me for the holiday break because I couldn’t fly home. I was sick, I wanted a puzzle or something to do while I was stuck alone. You’d grabbed the one I wanted, and I kissed your cheek.”

“I turned my head, and I kissed you,” he says surely, interrupting your recollection of the memory. His smile as he told the story warms you from your head to your toes. He doesn’t need to say that he loves you for you to feel so. “I knew I was going to get the nastiest flu of my life, but I didn’t even care.”

“I yelled at you for kissing me. I didn’t want to get you sick, even though that was a bit of a lost cause considering we were sharing a bed while you stayed with me.”

“And that’s why I kissed you, again,” he says proudly, reaching for your hand and tugging you towards him. You know exactly what he wants you to do, and you do so easily. Closing your laptop, you maneuver yourself over the small space, settling between his open thighs. His arms circle around you, the guitar settled on your thighs, your head laying against his chest. He presses his mouth to your head, “I wish it hadn’t taken so long. I feel like I got years stolen away.”

“Hm?”

“Us, you know?” his murmurs, gently strumming the guitar and leaning his head on your head, humming a melody that surely just came to mind. “I wish I would’ve just moved with you.”

“I don’t,” you say quietly, leaning forward and turning to face him, your hands reaching to cup his cheeks and bring his eyes to meet yours. “I don’t because I love seeing you live your dream, and that wouldn’t have happened if you moved with me. All this happened like it was supposed to, you know that.” Matty’s eyes are pouring into yours, the deepest amounts of love washing over you. “Not to mention, if we weren’t apart, we wouldn’t have like, the best love songs to ever exist.”

Matty laughs, rolling his eyes as you lean your head forward, your nose brushing against his. “I want you with me all the time, you know that?”

“I know.”

“I want so many things with you.”

“And you can have them,” you say, brushing your lips against his ever so slightly. “I’ll be waiting, ready to go.”

#matty healy #matty healy fic #the 1975 #the 1975 fic #love it if we made it series

[tamtheshihan]

Jin & Xiaoyu in Tekken 8

This is a couple I’ve wanted for years and its safe to say Tekken 8 may just give them the room to be an actual couple once and for all. If you are obsessed with this fighting game franchise as much as I am and have been waiting as long as I have, Jin and Xiaoyu are a ship that in my opinion should have sailed loooooong ago. Xiaoyu is the sunshine and Jin is the one in need of that sunshine.

Their relationship seems to be more grounded and cohesive this time. No longer the delusional and obsessive teenager chasing the handsome and mysterious bad boy, but now as two young adults who respect one another whilst realizing and understanding underlying feelings and the role each plays in the other’s life.

Now before I get to it, I am fully aware that there are millions of people who are against them being a couple. “Oh Xiaoyu’s annoying, Jin doesn’t care for her, JinXiao shippers are delusional”, YADA YADA. Be that as it may, I am 100% behind Jin and Xiaoyu. This post is not for you!

Its shaping up to be Jin and Xiao as endgame and here’s why… Get comfortable because it’s a long one…

Starting off, Japanese men are not the most romantic and are considered shy in those kinds of contexts- as most Japanese people are. Japanese people are not big on pda and being straightforward. Commonly seen in manga and anime. Protagonist in most cases will literally do everything else in a story before worrying about their relationship- telling the girl or guy how they really felt. And it is usually the very last thing we get, if we get it at all. Creators/writers will hint at certain things subtly and you usually have to be aware of it. It’s a staple in Japanese storytelling and Tekken is no exception. It’s a fighting game people, so fighting is the main focus while something like romance is typically placed on the backburner.

With that said, Jin is yet another example of this. He crosses me as the type to be very loving but not in a showy kinda way. I’m certain Jun showered him with love and affection. Her very existence is love and affection. She is mama Kazama- Jin’s whole heart which was taken away from him very early. So being caring and affectionate is something we all know Jin is capable of doing. It’s just that his life took a course that changed him in a way that he needed to adapt to. The mishimas and the devil gene are no place for the kind boy who was raised on the almost remote island of Yakushima. Never having to deal with anything even close to his life after meeting Heihachi. I say this to not right any of his wrongs but to say that you can become a product of the things you go through in life.

Jin is capable of a lot but had to put a lot on the backburner because he was dealing with a situation that was thrown onto him. He didn’t ask for any of it but it was time for a boy to become a man. He no longer had Jun’s kind and touching words, but rather memories of her precepts and warmness to guide him, a grandfather whom he became to trust betrayed him in the worst way, and a father who could care less of his existence.

Xiaoyu on the other hand, a cheerful and caring young lady who wants nothing but to be there for Jin- someone she seen the good in and became a close friend to. She knows that Jin has only become the way he did to cope with the never ending pain and sadness, having to force away everyone and everything he cares about because he fears he would bring them nothing but harm. Jin was once a kind and sweet guy as Xiaoyu stated. Jin cares for Xiaoyu. He cares A LOT. I feel that he cares as much as he can in a way that he can given his situation. I don’t think I want the person I truly care for to be around me in moments were I lose control of myself either. Trust me, Jin has all the emotional components as the next person, he just doesn’t have the space to show it.

Xiaoyu isn’t an idiot. She understands this and catches what Jin throws. Jin’s life was a hard contrast to Xiaoyu’s fun loving, amusement park going life. Sometimes the best way to get through to someone is to communicate in a way they can understand and this time around she knows what has to be done.

And there are things that Jin is fully aware of. He knows that Xiaoyu will follow him to hell without a second thought. He knows she will come looking for him at the drop of a dime and wouldn’t even consider the harm she would face in pursuing him. HE IS FULLY AWARE of how much he means to her. Which is why he puts that distance between them. Why he disappears without a trace, why he keeps his hardships to himself. He knows Xiaoyu will go to bat for him quick. But he cares for her so much that he doesn’t want her getting caught up in his mess. Jin believes that he doesn’t deserve the love and consideration Xiaoyu gives him but he still cares. His self-hatred is what holds him back from believing he’s a proper member of society. The devil gene thoroughly labels him as an outcast who doesn’t deserve a second shot at life and he doesn’t try to hold onto that hope. So something like a relationship or friendship means nothing if you can never truly have it-and to him- as long as the devil gene exist, none of those things could ever be.

He feels as though he has to deal with everything on his own- end his family’s mess and end the bloodline. Jin always seems ready to give his life away because he feels the world would be better off without him. He looks at himself as an abomination, an existence not of this world. He invalidates how he really feels for what he thinks is appropriate for the situation. He calls it like it is. How can you smile, be a friend, or even have a relationship when you are a ticking timebomb and could ruin everything in the blink of an eye?

He's aware that Xiaoyu is going to give it to him straight, cut no corners. He knows she wants the best for him. He knows she’ll tell him that what he thinks of himself isn’t true. He knows that she can read him like a book. He knows she truly cares.

Their special interaction in Tekken 8 is long overdue. It shows exactly what their reunion should be. An abundance of emotions that look almost impossible to interpret. Xiaoyu- happy, relieved she found her man, but also with restraint trying to approach the situation another way, and there’s Jin- sheepish, unable to face Xiaoyu, not sure how she feels. Awkward but both push forward to paint a better picture together this time around. He knows she knows all the things he’s been doing and she knows that he knows but wants to move forward and be able to aid him in the fight. He’s always been much more softer in tone and demeanor with Xiaoyu. He calls the girl “Xiao”for goodness sakes, and in Japanese society people don’t usually do that unless they are really close and have a bond. She calls him “Jin”, no suffix just Jin. She even came out and said that "an exchange of blows can be revealing". Now if that's not obvious...

Sometimes love comes at the right time, and you have to be ready. The love was definitely there, feelings were definitely mutual, they were just shown very differently. In a lot of ways they just had to get themselves together and figure some things out. Besides the romantic part, Jin and Xiaoyu did a lot of growing up. I mean a lot. Look at those two. Xiaoyu LOOKS more mature. SHES A WOMAN NOW. Jin LOOKS certain in his actions and seems to have much more confidence and resolve. This is a man and a woman. I believe they are ready this time.

In a lot of ways Xiaoyu is what Jin needs- that reassurance, that support, that sunshine, that stick beside you type of thing.

And with Jun officially back, Jin’s life will definitely brighten up but with Xiaoyu included… That’s the ideal situation for me!!

I can go all day on these two but in conclusion, Jin and Xiaoyu are a pair that is definitely hard to come by and one of my favorites especially in games. It doesn’t make any since how long I have waited for an interaction between these two where they finally appear to be on even footing, on the same page, and know what they want.

#tekken #tekken 8 #jin kazama #ling xiaoyu #jin x xiaoyu #jinxiao

[fruitdaze]

fic writer meme!

thank you claire @microcomets and lore @megafaunatic for the tag!!!

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

34 posted publicly, and a few more that are now on anon because i have disowned them

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

427,315

3. What fandoms do you write for?

mostly danmei (currently a lot of liu yao, cancipin, and yuwu), but i'm excited to start branching out to other books if they catch my attention :')

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

in defense of lightning

between two lungs

blooming days

the rivers start to sing

shake the heavy

all are wangxian because i was regrettably a one trick pony for several years LOL

5. Do you respond to comments?

i fell out of answering comments in like 2022 and i've just never gotten back to it! i'm usually not sure what to say except thank you and i also get very self conscious. but i always read every single comment i receive, usually 5+ times because they're such a big confidence boost

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

i honestly don't think i've written anything super angsty! i don't like reading a lot of angst and so i cannot write it. but i guess losing all my senses every night has a vaguely angsty ending since it's a missing scene

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

most have happy endings!!! but i admit that the ending of i kneel into a dream still makes me do kicky feet a little bit

8. Do you get hate on fics?

a few times, but overwhelmingly the comments are so kind :')

9. Do you write smut?

yes! although it took me a while to get comfortable with it and also start to feel semi good at it

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you have written?

nope, and i'm not a big fan of them personally so i probably will never do so!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i am aware of.......... knock on wood etc

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

back to my door has a russian tl!! that is the only one that i know about but i would be thrilled if that list expanded

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

lots of casual discord brainstorming but never a formal fic!

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

i honestly don't know if i have an all-time favorite! what i crave in a pairing can change from month to month or even day to day. all of the ships i've written for have a special place in my heart and have provided me with comfort at some point. but for the past year i've been very into mingqian and lulin, and for the past month-ish i've been REALLY fixated on lulin (lulin save me... lulin.... save me lulin)

15. What is a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

i started a follow-up/sequel to the soft animal but the inspiration has totally left me and i'm not sure if that wip will ever get resurrected </3

16. What are your writing strengths?

i think i'm really good at imagery and purple prose. which is not everyone's thing but EYE love purple prose, so,

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

action scenes!!!! and frankly smut scenes, which always take me 5x longer to write than dialogue or more plotty scenes. i've said it before but wangxian was my first time writing smut, and as an ace person it's still not something that comes easily to me.

18. Thoughts of writing dialogue in another language in fics?

most of my experience with this is in danmei, but i have always loved seeing chinese or diaspora fans integrate that into their fics! one day i'm going to write my locked tomb/sixth house fic and put latin in there because you know those people are unironically using latin in daily speech. this is my calling

19. First fandom you wrote for?

honestly i think it was inuyasha. never saw the light of day of course

20. Favorite fic you have written?

i've been REALLY pleased with my writing over the past few months, but i'm quite fond of portrait of gravity... mingqian banter is always so fun to write and it was surprisingly personally cathartic to write from the pov of acespec cheng qian. also i can reread it without wanting to singe my eyeballs, which is the norm for me upon rereading my own work

i tag @yuebings @dcyiyou @tantai-jin @perilously @arithmonym @hamburgergod and anyone else who wants to do this!!

#rtxt #ficposting

[eirian]

made a really long thread abt this on my...furry twitter....but i wanna ramble abt it here too bc i feel more comfortable rambling on a tumblr post lol

basically im having an art style crisis again. i know i know i thought i was over this shit too. but i really have been thinking abt it and im kinda stumped and frustrated

i used to adore having a flowy, shapey, simple cartoony style. yall could probably tell i had a really fun time drawing in that style! but as i tried applying to animation studios and started getting critiques by professionals, i got...super turned off from it. basically someone told me i needed to scrap the entire style, move away from the stephen silver influence completely, and do something totally different if i wanted to land a job and get noticed. and that was when i tried to move away from it into a less cartoony, more detailed art style

it left a bad taste in my mouth i think. i felt like the style that i had so much fun drawing in was tainted somehow, and i shouldnt use it anymore.

dont get me wrong, i love every style i currently draw in! im actually a huge huge fan of my 2015/2016 art style, and it was definitely not as cartoony as the stephen silver-esque style i used for a long time. im kind of usually trying to recreate it nowadays, especially after the critiques.

but that doesnt take away from the fact that the simple cartoony style made me very happy before all this. i had so much fun turning anime characters into saturday morning (western) cartoons. i had so much fun figuring out what shapes fit each character. and i guess i Could still make my current main style more shapey, but it feels...different?

i guess im just sad about it. i miss having so much fun as a simple cartoony artist.

HAVING SAID ALL THIS, i am fully Fully aware that i can have multiple art styles! im the author of that "fuck consistency in art, we ballin" post after all lmfao. but its a matter of what style id like to use Mainly, if that makes sense? i can change it at the drop of a hat, easy, depending on my mood. but i want Some kind of sense of what style i wanna draw at any given time, yknow?

anyway yeah. this post got way longer than my twitter thread but i said what i needed to get out of my brain better lol. advice welcome but no pressure of course

[kicktwine]

Uh I think I missed the OC ask game (and don't know if you're still doing it aha), but I AM super curious about Cherry and Scylla if you have any miscellaneous fun facts about them? No pressure if you're low on spoons, though!

NAWT a problem they are in my brain rotating at high speeds!!! Here are very very miscellaneous fun facts about them

Cherry is five foot ten, but she gets up to six foot four with the raptor feet. She’s also really long and lanky, so she looks like a forest monster with her hair grown out.

Scylla is five foot two.

She also often wears big hiking platform boots so she’s not five foot two. She hates being shorter than the interns.

Cherry’s way of showing affection is by doing acts of service or giving others little trinkets and such. Scylla loves this, bc just because she’s butch DOESNT mean she can’t have many LITTLE TREATS. Usually in the form of nice smelling soaps or fancy foods or what have you.

Scylla. Is a loser. Don’t let the fancy treats and good clothes and practiced introduction fool you. Her way of showing affection is to make a dying goose noise, and then clap you on the back too hard. Maybe, if you are VERY LUCKY, she will hold your hand without getting too embarrassed about ten seconds in. Cherry simply doesn’t notice these things

Cherry tends to be very cheerful and talkative, and Scylla tends to be very quiet and stoic. When they’re stressed out their personalities swap to quiet and chattery!

They are both persistently a lil greasy. From the mechanics. Just a lil grimey

Their company works with automation and robotics as well as public defense and social reconstruction. It’s a bit of an everything, being a post-apocalyptic company town. Is it a government? Uhhhh sure

Scylla sounds like lowrange Kimberly Brooks (kinda like in scooby doo, but not nearly as growly as her jasper voice), Charybdis sounds like Nola Klop’s midrange/Ena (meanie) voice

Charybdis is not her birth name. What is it? I don’t know. Either I’ll come up with an in-universe explanation or it’ll never get expanded upon because it doesn’t matter 👍

Cherry has a super low pain tolerance and also walking the way she does strains her back and thighs. At least Scylla has strong hands if she would stop spluttering and help

Scylla’s favorite holiday is scraps sale day when the trains come by to trade and sell a bunch of nonsense. Cherry’s favorite holiday is Halloween!

Cherry tends to shove things down when she’s mad or upset, because being upset outwardly is not allowed and very rude, in her brain. She doesn’t like the sensation of being mad, either. Scylla will make it known when she’s not happy, and even though she’s aware she’s doing it she can sometimes get carried away being mad before she calms down and it’s fine actually she just had to be mad for a second. Her griping is often meant to be mutual and fun, Cherry doesn’t understand that and gets worried.

Scyl hates horror movies, Cherry likes them. Scylla would rather watch an action film or an old western than a slow creeping psychological horror that has really cool puppets I promise scyl they’re SO cool

Cherry once had a month long obsession with yo-yo tricks so she can do some SICK YO-YO TRICKS. She does not broadcast this it’s a hidden talent of hers.

Scylla’s hidden talent would be animal handling. She can shear a mean sheep and hold a mean chicken.

#ask #corishadowfang #ask game #scylla (oc) #cherry (oc) #I THINK ABOUT THEM… I have their story like. Made #they have a plot #and it’s different from my usual original plot fare because it’s not tv-viable it’s very much a webcomic type thing #ooo… ooooo girls who are well meaning but terrible but in love but having the worst time of their lives #Ty for the ask<3

[atla-suki]

nose animation in atla: a long ramble with no actual point.

before i go further, i KNOW that atla has anime-inspired animation/art style. i am aware that the characters are not white and the animation reflects this. i have no issues with the atla art style (i actually love it it’s so iconic), only some of the continuity. i’m just nitpicking because it’s fun and i’m never satisfied.

i’ve also done NO research at all on this topic. idk anything about the animation or character designs or inspiration, etc. and if i’m wrong on any points i apologise in advance.

ANYWAYS one thing about atla that has, for some reason, stood out to me is the way the characters’ side profiles are drawn. i’ll give you an example.

characters such as aang, toph, katara, and even ty lee are drawn like this:

their noses, mouths and chins jut out from the rest of their heads at a quite sudden point on the face. what i mean, is that their noses are very rounded and soft. this is usually used to depict innocence and youth, which makes absolute sense considering all of these characters are children. they’re little. they’re immature. they have faces that reflect this.

on the other hand, characters such as hakoda, iroh, zhao, and any other older character have much more defined noses - like this:

now see how zuko, mai, jet and azula also have this feature? the sharp, defined nose? this never sat right with me. i’ll explain why.

you could argue that it’s a fire nation trait. that they just happen to have sharper features. and i wouldn’t disagree - they DO typically have sharper features. however there’s people like ty lee who don’t fit into this. and with the continuity of soft features for the rest of the young characters, it seems strange to have these few YOUNG characters have such adult features.

one guess is that they’re designed to be more menacing. they are, after all, antagonists in the story (ik jet isn’t a proper antagonist ok but he’s an antagonist for the purpose of this post). this explains the sharp features, the maturity and higher level of knowledge that comes with characters who are trained to be lethal and who have less distinct morals.

visual storytelling is just as important as actual storytelling. we, as an audience, see sharp features and we connect this to danger, to someone who’s probably AGAINST the protagonists. similarly, soft features welcome a sense of security, a sense of trust. aang wouldn’t be nearly as loveable of a protagonist if he had sharp features and a permanently serious expression.

i just don’t think this is the case with atla, though. atla does a great job at reminding audiences that both the protagonists and antagonists are still YOUNG. they are CHILDREN. they aren’t painted to be adults or leaders (well… sorta. this doesn’t fully apply to azula but i’ll psychoanalyse that another day). and that’s what makes the idea of these characters fighting a war so tragic - they are children. they act like children, so naturally they should look like children too, no?

so my question stands thus: why, when all of our main characters (on both sides of the story) are children, are certain characters given soft features and others sharp?

like, sokka is the eldest of the gaang (excluding zuko), so why is he drawn to be so immature when he ISN’T? or, why is azula drawn to be so mature when SHE isn’t? are we meant to forget shes only 14? she’s the same age as katara and yet they’re drawn so differently.

simple answer: characterisation.

i’m gonna use sokka as an example because he’s the best his nose animation changes significantly more than any other character’s. sokka is notably portrayed as the goofy, comic relief, older brother. i personally don’t agree with this description of sokka but there’s no denying it’s true. anyways sokka is ALSO portrayed as the intelligent, paranoid, organised to a fault, mother of the group from time to time. with this description, you’d expect him to be drawn with more mature features. however, he is most often drawn with soft features, as such:

it’s only in scenes where he is being very serious, or acting as an adult, or in the middle of a dramatic fight, that he is drawn with sharper features, as such:

so, like i was saying about the visual storytelling, the way sokka is animated reflects the story that is being told and his place in it (actually i’ve noticed sokka looks way too goofy and lanky sometimes omg justice for sokka). aang has soft features to reflect his gentle nature, his morals, his kind heart. similarly (oppositely), azula’s features are always sharp and distinct, and so is her character and her place in the story as an antagonist. zuko as well. mai is always in a mood, and so her features and expression reflect this. the list goes on.

anyways i just. i know this is so long and so pointless. but i think if zuko can be given sharp, defined, adult features, so can sokka (and so can suki, now that i think about it. they are the eldest of the gaang, and yet…)

something doesn’t sit right with me in terms of the lack of continuity in the characters’ noses/side profiles and the way they are designed to express age, personality, etc.

BUT, as usual, i’m just being picky for the sake of it and i love this show to bits and everything i say is said out of love.

#atla #animation #dude this is LONG. props to anyone who actually reads it all. #pls excuse my terribly edited together pictures lmao #sokka #zuko #aang #azula #they’re the main characters i mentioned right? #analysis

[dril-cipher]

its been ten years can we please have the bill cipher tag back now

sometimes when women have crushes on men its not for interesting reasons someone's brain thinking that a character in a story is a person and having emotions about the character as if it were a person is how human storytelling is known to have worked since before we invented writing tumblr makes money on people posting about their emotions about fictional media products. when people have crushes on characters in media properties, they post on tumblr about it. that's how its business model works. the concept that theres a mysterious x-factor allure to the tumblr sexyman is wholly derived from some kind of naive, excited idea that tumblr invented the concept of having a crush on men in order for something to be ironically funny it has to be ironic. i'm honestly not sure what the irony in sexymen is supposed to be. everyone ive ever seen bring it up seems to have the same breathless and totally unexamined reverence for thinking of The Sexyman as a unique or special or interesting idea. the only humor in it is derived from the presumption that the viewer thinks that its weirder to have a crush on a character from an illumination movie than it is to have a crush on a character from an amazon web series being a fan of the lorax on tumblr and having a crush on the onceler was never different or weirder than being a fan of sherlock, doctor who, supernatural, our flag means death, good omens, or what we do in the shadows and having a crush on david tennant in whichever wig he's in today. if you don't come to peace with this, in four years the future version of you is going to be making fun of the idea that you enjoyed the things you are enjoying right now, with absolutely no self-awareness that this system of adoration and revulsion is cyclical when it was cool to make fun of onceler fans, that didnt make sense, because it was a totally arbitrary distinction about which media products were okay to enjoy and which were not. now that its cool to put that era on a pedestal it ALSO doesn't make sense that onceler fans are considered to have been doing something cooler or more special than anybody else. meta things arent smarter just because they're meta. please for the love of god. i just want to read about the funny triangle. if you humanization bill cipher in my presence i will reflexively pepper spray you even if you are doing a great job, because i am just so fricking tired of how proud everyone is for sanding all of the character design, thematic purpose, humor, goals, and undesirable viciousness off of this one character and then hackey-sacking the resulting anime boyfriend back and forth until the noise of it drowned out any memory people had of the actual 2012 tv show gravity falls you didnt do anything wrong, or that people havent been always doing forever and will continue always doing forever? but you also didnt do anything cool or special. its really not interesting enough to still be examining.

i happen to enjoy the 2012 tv show gravity falls actually. go check the show out maybe, if you're just in here for sans or alastor or whoever and bill cipher is just someone you know about because People Wanted To Kiss Him, Lol.? it won some awards. the front half of season 2 was rated across the board by critics very similarly to its contemporary, breaking bad. stan pines is a really good character? stan pines is a better character than bill cipher, on most methods of measurement, although obviously with my sideblog's URL i do love bill. we had an ARG, it was super fun. we raised money to keep the actual Mystery Spot from going permanently under during covid. the crew went on to do other cartoons that people like, like Owl House, Amphibia, Into the Spiderverse. i didn't keep up with the shows, because i do not usually like kids shows and they didnt grab me? but everyone saw Spiderverse, Spiderverse was fire. if thats your thing, check them out. i just want to read about the funny triangle. its been ten years. can we please just give it a rest and let the show have its own identity away from the gestalt fanon monster of the Sexyman™™ Phenomenon™™ thx

#bill cipher #tumblr sexyman #tumblr sexymen #gravity falls

[arisatominakos]

i want your gif making lore. 7, 9, 17, 15, 20, 26, 40, 45, and 49!

dfkjaj LORE REQUEST RECEIVED

7. Who are your top 3 gif makers

ohmans thats hard khfdsa. i actually am big fans of a lot of gifmakers out there that i dont follow but i see their stuff all the time in the tags & rb from them etc etc. but like i do follow a lot of folks who’s stuff i rlly enjoy and are folks that tend to inspire me. its a bit unfair to list just three so fkjsdha uhh @aartyom  @eurodynamic @onewingedangels @preciousgyro @entreri @marogarreh @thequantumranger @trident

9. What/who inspired you to start making gifs

i dont fully remember, i think a mix of just fandom stuff w/ friends & rp blogs. i do remember it was a hellacious journey until i could figure it out and since then i just have tried to keep improving or learning new things etc etc.

17. 10 sets, 8 sets, 6 sets? How many gifs to you prefer in a set

this is VERY dependent on the set im making at the time. i try to avoid like sets with a lot of images bc i get very tired with the task. but some stuff like i try to do between 2-5 so it looks nice in a post.

15. Have you ever had gifs stolen and reposted

constantly. usually its my avan gifs or star trek gifs. which is like the major reason i dont do them anymore or do a lot of non-video game slash anime sets. i tend to confront the person or ask them to take it down & it goes as well as you expect half the time: not the best. the worst time was a rp blog stealing all my avan gifs, not aware i was in the same rp circles so like tons of mutuals( most shared between the two of us ) notified me & they blocked me on said blog so i had to message them from my personal + other blogs i had at the time as well as said mutuals spoke with them as well before they took them down. it was a very frustrating day.

20. Mac or PC

i have experience with both mac & pc, however my default is my pc which is built for gaming. i’ve had mac laptops in the past via my older sister who would give me her school handmedowns. as far as specifically creating art gifs what have you, i have no preference between the two.

26. How many un posted sets are in your drafts right now

sO I KNOW A LOT OF PPL DO THAT WHERE THEY MAKE STUFF AND SAVE IT IN DRAFTS BUT IM DKSJHA i just i dont have the like mental fortitude to make something and not post it soon after. back when i was doing rp stuff & writing i used my drafts very heavily for wips & i sorta do that w/ gifsets in a way. as i make them i have a opened draft to upload each one to see how they look on tumblr, if they upload correctly, & to check coloring between my main monitor secondary monitor & phone as well so i make sure colors are good theres no washes etc. so usually if there is something in the drafts im currently working on it or its about to be posted so there are zero things in my drafts other than this ask kfsha

40. Why do you make gifs

good question. no clue. fkjhdsa but its fun & i enjoy it. its also just fun to share my interests in a way that can be shared by other people in reblogs etc. reading the tags of my sets & seeing ppls reactions or just opinions or whatever is just it rlly makes it. I Make Gifs For The People.

45. Ever gotten hate over a set

i’ve had ppl disrespect me bc of a gifset but ive never gotten hate persay. i do get a lot of bitchy people upset about my “do not repost or remove caption.” that i add to my posts which like i tend to ignore. realistically i cant stop ppl from doing such but it has helped so i keep doing it. usually i get a comment on said set they reblogged that day or in the tag but ive gotten 1 ask once about it & it was p funny. but proper hate with a valid reason ? nah.

49. How much would you say you’ve improved since you first started giffing

oH SO MUCH LOL. from coloring, to timing of the frames, to composition, to typography, to quality. the more i make the better i get. && there are things i want to redo to see how much i’ve improved. im not using the best tools to make these, but i’ve seen my improvement i’ve seen how much better i am & it’s rlly nice to be able to visually see your growth.

                                     /  GIFMAKER ASKS

#farllee.asks #fashionablyfyrdraaca #yEAH THANKS FOR ALL THE QUESTIONS

[vampirevalentineblog]

October 25 2023

ok! hello! back to regular blogging. if you weren't aware i'm now hosting the old blog on tumblr so this should be easier for me to update than manually adding to the html and dealing with archiving past posts. best part is you can barely tell save for the photos are handled a bit odd now o_<;;

so i'd like to catch up on errrrr Feb to October LOL a whole year practically. lets see what i've been up to...

did wondercon in Anaheim, uh then KawaiiKon in Hawaii. spent some extra time there afterwards as well, I always enjoy snorkeling ^_^ you regularly see many turtles but i even saw a pufferfish! honolulu is nice and walkable if you've got sun protection! plus lots of other people also walk around with a parasol so nobody heckles you for it (like where I live :|||) their bus service is decent as well. i had a pretty greasy plate lunch the first day i was there so it had my stomach upset like, the whole time ;_; did an escape room with friends for the first time that was pretty fun! unfortunately kawaiikon's moved to being juried and apps are not even open yet ??? so no guarantees i'll be back next year :/

also did another Las Vegas con, it was meh. i don't care for the organizers of this one they steal art for their advertising, overcharge for tables, and then put us next to a loud ass stage. don't like that! i'd already done Omegamart the year before but i was staying in Freemont which i've never visited. i'll be back very soon and hopefully get to Nevada early enough in the day to visit Goodsprings bc you know I am a New Vegas girlie ehehe. also did an Anime Impulse back in Anaheim. I usually don't care for them for the same reasons as those other organizers but at least the crowd is better! this past january one they stuck us in a leaky barn ;_; for the table price its pretty ridiculous but i always come back despite it all because the attendees treat me well lmao

left off with pins last time, but since then got shirts made! there's two designs, my "fallen angel" girlie and my cherubim design.

you can see them off to the side there, this is my booth Colossalcon East in Pennsylvania this September. super fun! great con, lovely weeby people in PA! along the top you can also see some of my new big prints i made in like 3 weeks. just drawing drawing drawing -w-!! this con i also got to meet Grey DeLise/Griffin and she signed my Azula print for me hehe <3

my plane ride home got delayed for thunder which was stressful bc immediately after i had a flight to Japan! eek! this was my second time going this year. i had been in 2022 right when it reopened to tourists so it was a much different experience this time, wayy more tourists about. ended up arriving right at the peak of a heat wave i took it easy though just doing some figure shopping and enjoying the food. i love family restaurants there so much lmfao they're so good and cheap. also met up with a friend from all the way back in middle school who also happened to be in shibuya the same night ??? made her and her partner go to Denny's with us later on lol! also visited Odaiba and Hakone this time on my birthday! Hakone is where Evangelion's Tokyo-3 is meant to be based in so they've got their own EVA store. I got a Unit 02 strawberry drink thing, should have got the matcha-taro swirl Unit 01 soft serve icecream >:)

got back and did some house keeping up until i found out there's a halloween party! i made a very quick costume out of stuff i had lying around. only spent like 5$ for some plastic fake chains. here's my alice (sans chains ofc) i made that apron in like a day out of an old pillowcase -w-;;; i don't sew much!! maybe i would be good at it if i bought plenty of fabric and followed instructions but we'll never know because i only try it out to make something silly with no pattern using scraps all in 1 day and then i get fed up and start using hot glue and hem tape. as one does! its got a little bow in the back too but i had no interfacing so its just a piece of printer paper giving it shape. this is what halloween is about!!

please ignore the background i'm in the middle of painting my bathroom lol

up next i've got Sin City Anime in Las Vegas and Kumoricon in Portland. i like these two, completely different vibe and size but Sin City was cozy last year (they've since moved soo well see ??) and Kumori has some interesting people lmfao. i will see you guys at the swap meet +w+!! for sin city they asked if i'd be interested in an extra free booth for the 18+ lounge event and i was like ok sure why not and come to find i'm like one of 5 tables??? i don't know how it'll go over but whatever its something to do! i will have my tres leches cows and some new ones...here's a preview!

whole milk is soOoO popular i'm so happy lmfao he is for the girls and the gays <3 i've got to do some more boys....its what the people want. maaybe a whipped cream to go with whipping ? ^_^ <3!

alright that's all for now! ttyl!

#artists on tumblr #artist alley #vampirevalentineshop #neocities #blog

[worworwol]

Rather be in jail than alone

SZA - Kill Bill

Usually, I put somethin' on TV So we never think about you and me

Glass Animals - Heat Waves

25.01.2023

well, it has been a long time. i am not gonna say i took a break cause firstly that would make it seem like i did this long pause on purpose, which i did not, and secondly, i barely did anything on this blog yet to get a break. i just stopped caring about it for a few months and lost the passion i had after a few posts. it is one of my many flaws, i get bored of things, hobbies and media and people, very easily. i think i start too passionate, get too excited, too into it. then after the honeymoon phase since i am not in that intense state of mind, i just drop it. i can't do things unless if i am forced by something else; an emotion-highness, deadlines, or my family. it is another of my many flaws, this one brought by depression. maybe the other one is too, i did not psychoanalyze it enough yet.

another very important reason is that simply i have just been very busy. college has been an entirely different experience from high school in almost every aspect. i am now a lot more social which is great! but i also have a lot more responsibilities, lots of lectures, quizzes, midterms, finals, homework, lab reports, meetings, the translation job at the journal, social gatherings and many other things that always existed. i did not have the time to sleep on most days, so writing here was not even a dream cause i could not fucking sleep. i am back however because i am on my semester break, i want to be active and consistent this time. i hope i can be successful, i don't have much hope about it nevertheless. i want to tell about everything that happened but my memory nor my writing is good enough to go through months of life so i will just give background on stuff if there is any need.

i like someone.

i know it is a big jump from the two paragraphs of rambling but i like someone and that is all i can think about these days. their soft and long hair, their glass skin, their stupid jokes, their laugh, and the way they walk like they are carrying all the good things in the world with them. some people remind me of angels; the way they are is like something holy and pure in the sense that they are good, in their core, not that they are untouched. usually, it is my niece but he reminds me of an angel too. i have never had that experience with a real live person, let alone a MAN. but then he came along. i did not know that it is possible to just look at a person and feel at peace but here we are. all the poems i read remind me of him which is both endearing and terrifying. i do not wanna get attached to a person that i barely count as a friend, more of an acquaintance. i do not wanna make them a person they are not in my head. i do not wanna get rejected if i ever try to make a move. but i also want deeply to be loved, for us to be together, to have the courage to make a move and get a positive reaction, to be good enough for someone, to be worthy of someone's attention and attraction. i do not know if it is possible however like i said before i do not know how to be something loveable.

i am aware that he is not perfect either. he is not the perfect guy nor the ideal. but he is good. something i have never managed to become. i have gained weight so i look uglier and more disgusting than usual, i am not a positive person, nor fun or humorous. i am not as knowledged as he is nor i have a talent. why would anyone want me? at least i can see appreciate him from afar thanks to our friend group, at least i get to hear his dumb jokes and occasionally talk to him even. it should be enough, it has to be.

this much self-deprecation is enough for one post so i am gonna end it here, see you later; whoever you are. am i even doing this for someone else?

#day 3 i guess??? #tumblog

[kaetchup]

rei sakuma idol story 3

rei’s third idol story, and my third real post on tumblr! i know that this one’s already localized on engstars (but hey, not everyone’s ascending those idol ranks) but i have a lot of love and it's gotta go somewhere! gimme a follow or a like or uhhh... anything! if you want more of what i do (i apologize, dear reader, i still do not know how tumblr works). as usual, i've made some minor tweaks/redone translation from the localization for readability.

♪ obligatory disclaimer! none of this is mine, i’m just sharing it for my love of our idol boys. all content belongs to happy elements ♪

rei: Sigh... Daytime activities sure are demanding... My body cannot stand the searing summer heat.

Here I am in the Sky Garden for a break from work... Yet the sun scorches me to mere ashes the moment I step out from the shade.

It seems that the only resting place for a vampire is still a coffin... I should have never been beguiled by my impulses.

kanata: Puka, puka... ♪

rei: Oh...? Is that Shinkai in the water or am I hallucinating from the heat?

kanata: Rei, it's rude to call others a "hallucination"~ I am right here, alive and breathing.

There are not many places in this "building" where I can "douse myself", so I often come here to "puka puka"... ♪

The animals in this "pool" are really cute ~♪ Look, there's a "turtle" ♪

rei: How adorable... I hope it may live as long as vampires do.

I didn't recognize that it was you swimming in this pool, Shinkai. My apologies.

I hadn't had a clue that you would be here, as I rarely go out during the day.

To think that I had once been effortlessly omniscient of everything that went on in Yumenosaki...

kanata: Hehe, it's not good to be "inhuman", you know~?

However, we have become more "human"... So let's lay low for the time being... ♪

rei: However, Shinkai, I think it is a bit ill-mannered to douse yourself regardless of the occasion...?

kanata: Details don't matter. "Humans" have their own "ways" too.

rei: An answer in this light, huh... You are a handful, Shinkai.

However, I am aware that if we were to be worshipped again, all efforts we have made would evaporate into futility.

We are able to more or less acclimatize to this world precisely because we are blessed with such precious friends. I'm sure that this is how we should be.

kanata: That is great. I heard that you have been "busy" with "agency" work these days.

So I was "worried". Are you busy fulfuilling every "request" from others again? Are you being seen as a "monster" again?

rei: Kekeke, I appreciate your concern for me, Shinkai ♪

But rest assured. I won't make the same mistake again.

I'm taking an elegant lunch break just like a normal human being now ♪

kanata: Hehe, "elegance" is great~ I'm also "elegantly" "dousing myself"... ♪

Now that you are taking a "break", would you like some "tea", Rei?

I "brought" some "iced tea"(1) with me because of the hot weather today... ♪

rei: Really? How thoughtful of you to have prepared iced tea and to have even brought a bottle here. You're on a literal mini-vacation.

kanata: The "human" body is mostly "water", so a "refreshing" drink can relieve the fatigue in your "body".

Just kidding... I "used" the technique Souma taught me to make this "tea".

And that felt fun. I feel like I have become part of "the sea" ...♪

Hehe. There is nothing special about it, but please help yourself... ♪

rei: Thank you, Shinkai. I'll gladly accept.

Gulp, gulp... ♪

Phew, I'm coming back to life. Having a friend sure is great.

It has been a while since we Five Eccentrics were able to share our time and laughter... Yet, our bond has transformed into our friendship and it persists til today.

Although few opportunities present themselves for us five to meet these days, it may be a good idea for us to gather and reminisce.

kanata: You are right. Shu is "abroad" now. Much like the case with RYUSEITAI, it is difficult for the five of us to get together.

How about we "contact" everyone and suggest a "reunion" of the "Five Eccentrics"?

rei: Oh, that's a wonderful idea, Shinkai.

It would be impossible for me to call Itsuki through paper cup phones because he's abroad, isn't it? Would you be so kind as to call him on my behalf?

kanata: Really~? Do you still not know how to use a "smartphone"? It is "surprisingly" easy.

rei: I was joking. I am well aware of how to use a mobile phone.

Yet my hands are occupied with work right now. I would be grateful if you could help me with this, Shinkai.

kanata: Hehe, leave it to me then. I have always wanted a chance to be a "host".

I will "contact" Wataru and Nacchan- and of course, I will also book a "place" for us ♪

I will have us meet at night since you will be joining us, Rei ♪

rei: Kekeke, how considerate of you... ♪ Please do, Shinkai.

Well, well. That aside, Shinkai, I can't believe you would offer to organize our reunion...

I suppose you are putting effort into your role as a member of society.

kanata: Just like how you are putting effort into "agency" work, Rei.

I have been studying all kinds of things as a "member of society" lately.

It was fun being a "high school student", but the "world" outside, like a "vast ocean", is also very interesting ♪

rei: Kekeke. I, too, will not idly stand by... ♪ With my seniority being my sole advantage, I might as well exert myself so I may not be a burden to those around me ♪

Please let me know when you have decided on the date of our reunion. I will make myself availible that day at all events. Let us take delight in an all-night conversation then.

Hibiki, Itsuki, and Sasasaki... THey have, with no doubt, grown up like you, Shinkai. I'm already anticipating great pleasure from our meeting ♪

kanata: Hehe, a "reunion" is exciting, right, Rei? ♪

translator’s note:

(1) this is localized as "cold brew" which i thought was super weird considering kana calls it tea immediately afterward. honestly, this was kinda the reason i wanted to start doing translations, 'cause of things like this. anyway, i changed it to "iced tea", as i thought it would make the most sense, for the following reasons

i never quite thought of souma as a starbucks fiend, coffee doesn't really fit his character. unless i'm wrong. in which, please tell me-

"cold brew", as in cold brew coffee, is not brewed (just steeped! it's what makes cold brew so much stronger than hot brew, it's got more time with the beans, yk?), and therefore would have been a problem when kana says it's a brewed beverage.

i think iced tea has a more "refreshing" connotation than iced coffee. don't you?

however, i will say that the image of kana in a pond with a frappucino is incredible. alternatively, maybe he's a pink drink kinda guy!

as always, thank you bunches for reading. hugs and kisses!

p.s. feel free to shoot me a message, a story you'd like translated, or an ask! i'd love to talk to you all :)

#rei sakuma #enstars #ensemble stars #idol story

[thexwanderingxsouls]

Wishlist - Y’all... two words: Sensual Falconry

Well then, I have a new spicy topic I high-key would love to write: Sensual. Falconry. Listen…I would love to write something like this with my ladies. Just saying. 😊 It’s essentially sensory deprivation with roleplay but holy crap I think it’d be fun and spicy to write!

Okay…y’all…at the recommendation of a beloved podcast I listen to (Bonkers Romance – check them out), I read an older historical paranormal romance called “Beyond the Highland Mist” by Karen Marie Moning and just…y’all. (This is making my Southern come out real hard.)

In short, this woman from modern times is transported back into 1500’s medieval Scotland by fae magic and through a series of events ends up married to a Scottish Laird who is a master falconer. There’s a bunch of absolutely bonkers and bananas crap that happens but the important part (for this wishlist post, at least) is that he gets all hot and steamy with her by employing falcon training techniques on her to “tame” her. Like, the first scene where this happens he’s taken her into a broch (a smallish and very dark stone room) and he says the following (shortened to cut out the narrative stuff):

She heard his footfalls upon the stone floor. Dear heavens, how could he see her? But he was heading straight for her! She backed away slowly, stealthily.

“I am no stranger to the darkness, lass,” he warned. “I will find you. I am the finest of falconers.”

She said nothing, made no sound.

“A haggard is a wild, mature falcon,” he continued, a hint of a smile in his voice. “Usually a falconer is reluctant to assume the challenge of training one, but sometimes, upon a truly rare moon like the harvest moon we had last eve, the falconer espies a bird of such brilliance, such magnificence, that he casts all caution aside and traps the haggard, vowing to bind her to him. Vowing to make her forget all her wild free past—whether in darkness or in light—and give herself freely only to her future with her falconer… My sweet falcon, shall I tell you how I will tame her?”

Silence, absolute. They were circling in the darkness like wary animals.

“First I seel my lady, which is to deprive her of vision, with a black silken hood…Then I blunt her talons…I fasten jesses and dainty bells to her ankles so that I can be aware of her every movement, for I am in the dark too…Then a leash to tether her to her perch until I no longer need leash her. Until she becomes leashed of her own free will. And the best part—the long, slow process of binding her to me. I sing to her, the same sweet song until she grows accustomed to the sound of my voice and mine alone….”

Adrienne stepped slowly backward; she actually felt the breeze of him passing by her, mere inches away. Where was that wall?

She almost screamed when he found her in the blackness, struggled a long moment against his iron grip. His breath fanned her face and she struggled in his grasp. “Be still, sweet falcon. I will not harm you. Not ever,” he whispered huskily… “Aye, I’ll simply have to have you seeled. Or perhaps I should bind your hands and hood your eyes with silk, and lay you across my bed, stripped bare and laid wide open to pure sensation until you become accustomed to my touch. Would that tame you, sweet falcon? Could you grow to love my touch? Crave it as I crave you? ... A falcon must be wooed with relentless and rough love. By taking away her light, by seeling her, she learns to understand with all her other senses. Senses that don’t lie. The falcon is a wise creature, she believes only what she can feel, what she can hold in her talon or her beak. Touch, scent, hearing. By slowly being given back her sight and freedom, she is bound to the hand that restores these things to her. If she fails to trust in her master and doesn’t grant him absolute loyalty by the end of her training—she seeks to flee at every opportunity.” He paused, his lips a scant breath from hers. “None of my falcons have ever flown my hand without returning,” he warned.

“I am not a stupid bird—”

“Nay, not stupid, but the finest. A falcon is the only other bird that can match a hawk for flight, accuracy, and speed. Not to mention strength of heart. Would you soar for me, sweet falcon?”

#Wishlist #Plot Bunnies

[mikemcdougal-photo]

Cave City, KY - Part One

A trip close to two years in the making and a strange destination for a multitude of reasons, embarking on the four-hour drive to Cave City, KY was almost a bildungsroman of sorts for someone approaching middle age, if that’s even possible. Per my past post I am aware that I have no concept of elapsed time and constantly feel younger than I am so as I pulled out of the driveway, finally leaving for a trip I never thought I’d complete, I felt like a teenager. Almost like I was doing something wrong or leaving home for the first time for my first solo trip. There was excitement, but more than excitement was a sense of scripted freedom. Scripted in the sense that my stops were planned with a loose itinerary of stops to photograph along the way. This wasn’t a vacation by any means. This was an assignment.

In an attempt to capture as many roadside curiosities as I could, I navigated back roads through rural Tennessee into Kentucky. This usually proves to be beneficial as I normally find some good stops along the way, but this route ultimately gave way to 30mph curvy backroads with nowhere to pull over even if I wanted to. It did put me through the city of Carthage before crossing the state line. The highway I was on put me through what I believe to be their “downtown” area which was in complete disrepair. I would have stayed and explored more but I was on a schedule and couldn’t squeeze it in. I did however, come across the town of Red Boiling Springs, TN and that was a quick, easy stop to make.

Some of these towns don’t appear to have a single person living in them and when you do see someone, its automatic horror movie vibes like you’re being poached from behind someone’s screened in porch. I say this only in jest as most people I encounter while out shooting either leave me alone or are just curious as to what I’m doing. It’s not often that I run into anyone going out of their way to be a dick.

I saw exactly one passing car in Red Boiling Springs but had that feeling like I was being watched the entire time. I’d be curious too if some strange person rolled up and just jumped out of their car and started taking pictures of weird shit. You can ask me questions, it’s okay, but I’d honestly just rather we didn’t interact. I’m just here to document your town.

My next stop was my destination, the once booming town of Cave City, KY! The last time I was in Cave City was Thanksgiving weekend of 2001. My then two best friends and two others took off for a weekend at Mammoth Cave. We loaded up in his Chrysler minivan with bottles of blackberry brandy and peach schnapps and next to nothing else. I personally don’t even remember eating while we were gone. We were just dumb high school friends who got ahold of some liquor and wanted to get drunk and have fun. I don’t remember much about the town, just the motel we stayed at and visiting Mammoth Cave National Park the next day. I guess this was the beginning of my memories being muddled by alcohol.

A ghost town by definition, Cave City strives to thrive but the people who live and work there have adapted to some unconventional ways to generate cash flow while other areas which have been closed and reopened throughout the years are once again reopen with new and updated attractions.

My first stop in Cave City was the Mammoth Cave Wildlife Museum. A main point of personal interest as a campy stop that I really wanted to photograph. First opening its doors in 1969, the museum features more than 1,600 preserved animal specimens from all over the world. The tour begins with a massive, preserved butterfly room that includes moths, beetles and other insects and then leads to the Musk Ox, the only feature in the museum that can be viewed for free.  

After leaving the museum I haphazardly rushed over to Mammoth Cave National Park to try to jump on a tour, knowing that I can view tour departure times online but choosing to ignore this fact until cell service was nonexistent. I made a stop as I entered the park so I could take what would end up being one of my only “tourist” photos with the MCNP sign. A couple was struggling to setup their phone, so I asked them if they wanted to trade, I’ll take theirs and they take mine. From there it was straight to the visitor center to see what tours were available. The best tour for your time and money appears to be the Historic Tour, and from the standpoint that I set out to photograph it, was the perfect tour for me. It set off in 45 minutes which gave me time to check out the gift shop because I must buy stickers to show everyone the cool things I’ve done but then have a mild panic attack whenever I use that sticker and realize its permanent. It also gave me time to go to the car and use my vape pen to get nice and elevated before my tour began.

The Historic Tour comes in right at two hours and covers two miles. For $20 and being able to support the National Park Service, it’s an amazing deal and opportunity. The tour begins at the historic entrance, descending 160 stairs into the massive entrance. Once you’re inside you walk to the Rotunda, the sixth largest room discovered in the cave and begin and end your tour here. From here the tour weaves through passageways and landmarks while park rangers tell stories at stops.

The weather outside was in the high 90’s with the humidity not far behind and the cave consistently remains in the mid 50’s. As we made our way closer to the entrance the air become freezing at the hot air was pulling cold air out of the cave creating wind strong enough at some points to blow your hair.

Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave system in the world and goddamn fascinating to walk through something so intricate that took millions of years to create. Places so cut off from the outside world that even for a national park, few have ventured to see. Places where early settlers used the cave for refuge; to survive. Evidence of humans in the cave dates back 5,000 years however most visible evidence now are names and dates candled and carved into the limestone and saltpeter vats from mining for the war of 1812. The lighting that’s been installed creates ethereal shadows that stretch along the walls and ceiling and the reddish hue is reminiscent of a Martian landscape.

After finishing the tour and taking time to watch and photograph a deer that was eating near the entrance, I made my way toward the city of Horse Cave where my motel was located. A lot of what drew me to Cave City was how bustling the town once was, hitting its prime in the 60’s and 70’s, the motel signage that litters the main highway every few miles is a true testament of the traffic that once came through here. A lot of motel signs that I wanted to photograph were located along the same 5 mile stretch between the turn to get to the park and my motel, so I was able to knock quite a few things from my list on my way to check in. One of my most looked forward to places to photograph was the Wigwam Village #2. The vision of Frank A. Redford and built in 1937 it was one of 7 Wigwam Villages spread across the country and one of only three remaining today, each wigwam features a bed and full bathroom. The main Wigwam is 52 feet tall and consists of 38 tons of concrete and 13 tons of steel. The structure used to contain a restaurant and gift shop but with the completion of Interstate 65 diverting traffic away from the town the restaurant closed in the mid 60’s. The gift shop remained open however when I visited it showed no signs of being open anytime recent. I tried to book a wigwam for my trip up, but they were booked out pretty far in advance. Regardless, I was able to stop and photograph the main wigwam and neon sign out front. This was a main stop, so I photographed this sign in the evening, morning and night to capture all different light.

#mike mcdougal #photography #cave #mammoth cave #kentucky #neon #canon

[writingwithcolor]

Lizard People and Antisemitism: Avoiding Dogwhistles

@cursed--alien said:

Is it possible to make an anthro lizard character without being antisemitic? I know lizard people is an antisemitic dogwhistle, but I also think geckos are really rad and want to make a gecko dude.

@aj-whitfield-real said:

On the anti-semitism discussion: What about lizard characters in of themselves? Like, anthropomorphic lizard, or just scaly characters? What should be considered when writing them?

Great questions, y’all! I love lizards so I’ve been saving this one for when I had enough energy to have fun with it.

Short answer: no, lizard anthros are not offensive on their own. I, personally, adore them.

Why are lizard comparisons antisemitic?

In order to write a lizard anthro who won’t be read as a weird antisemitic thing, there are some steps you can take to distance the character from antisemitic tropes. But before I get into that, I want to make sure everyone understands why the lizard thing is bad. I love lizards. Like, a lot. Going back to being 5 years old. But when people make those comments it's not about "cute lizards" it's like... this way of saying we look so weird (or are so weird) that we don't even look mammalian. To compare a marginalized group you aren’t in to an animal (and we are far from being the only group to experience this) is often two different kinds of annoying at once: 1. It’s a generalization, and one that reduces us to some assumed common trait that we all have, and 2. Usually it’s a reference to something humans—all humans—find off-putting about this type of animal.

Distancing your character from antisemitic tropes

Anyway moving on to ways to distance your dapper adorable Geico lizard from us:

1. I’d avoid having them being bankers, debt collectors, or anything else associated with money (I’m okay with that iguanamouth cartoon of the lizard hoarding coins you lost in the couch, because it’s ridiculously cute. This is all mental algebra, with pluses and minuses, and things being lovable, cute, and safe can make it okay because the core of the lizard trope is the antithesis of lovable and the antithesis of safe.)

2. “Invading.” Because that’s the rest of the antisemitic lizard trope, that we’re infiltrators. I think some of this might come from the fact that some of us look really white, but have customs that the local Christians super didn’t associate with whiteness so it seemed sneaky to them. Like we were something foreign and other-y but in a white-person costume. But that’s just a guess. (I am thinking of the “your skin is hanging off your bones, Edgar” thing at the beginning of Men in Black or the Slitheen in “Aliens of London” in Doctor Who, but specifically with lizards. Please note I am not a Whovian so I don’t really know anything else about them, I just randomly saw the Eccleston season with a friend a looong time ago. If you avoid having your lizard anthros evoke this trope that is a very good way to save them.)

3. Master manipulators, government conspiracy etc. I suppose this is related to point #2.

4. There are certain stereotypical professions that I would be shy about unless you have a definitive way of showing you’re not talking about Jewish people (such as, having Jewish humans in the story/universe, or making the lizards pagan or Christian or something) -- tailors (this is more historical than current), doctors, lawyers especially sleazy ones. This one is more murky because you can probably get away with a lizard anthro orthopedic surgeon or whatever if she’s super lovable. Consider #4 more of a yellow light than a red light.

Speaking of being lovable making it okay, this post I wrote about my own approach to writing a literal Jewish lizard-shifter character from the inside might be helpful, with the caveat that I would absolutely not write a characters as trope-reclaiming as Isaac from the outside of any group. I am fully aware what a thin line I am walking here.

In concusion

Look, I love lizards, and I love being Jewish, so I wish I could enjoy things like the “shalomander” meme unconditionally, or put Isaac in an umbrella as a kippah when he’s in his dragon form in an art commission without being nervous. But unfortunately there are teeth and history hidden in some of these things so it’s a good idea to tread lightly.

I think you will be fine because there is plenty of room for anthro lizard people without the kind that sets off the trope.

P.S. If you love lizards as much as I do, you should check out @daftpatience ‘s lizard wizard series.

--Shira

#asks #jewish #Jewish stereotypes #anti semitism #anthropomorphization #lizard people

[astaroth1357]

Brothers React to a Demigod MC 

So, I've gotten some interest to do a Brothers follow-up to a previous request of mine (Undateables React to a Cute, Badass MC), however, I've thus far refused to write one. Honestly, this HC actually plays on a trope I personally dislike and had it not been a request I would have never done it to start with. I just can't see any reasonable way a non-magic human can beat a bunch of demons, I just can't, and that hinders my imagination quite a bit. …But someone who’s not so human? That I can get behind. Fair warning, I grew up with the Percy Jackson series so that’s going to paint quite a bit of how I see modern demigods. Ready for things to get super-ultra fanfic-y for a bit?

Intro:

The day to kidnap bring the exchange students to the Devildom has finally come and the demons have all gathered in the Council Room to open their portal to the human world. Really, things started without a hitch - the portal opened with and their future student dropped down out of it and landed on the floor… before they suddenly leapt up, pulled out a weapon, and lunged at them!

… This isn’t your normal human, it is?

Lucifer

Oh Devil, this couldn’t have been any farther than what they wanted… They were looking for a human and they managed to pull out a halfling! A divine halfling no less!! Why wasn’t this in their file?!

Look, Lucifer might not be on good terms with his father, but even he knows he had it better than any children of the pagan gods… The levels of petty vindictiveness that run through that bunch are literally the stuff of legends...

After he and Barbatos were able to restrain the MC before they hurt themselves or anyone else, Diavolo explained everything to them and gave them a pardon for attacking the Demon Prince on sight… After they identified themselves and their parentage, Lucifer knew they were in for some shit…

He and Diavolo had to iron out an apology letter to their godly parent for days just to keep from saying anything that could accidentally cause a second Troy or worse... It was a mess...

But on the bright side, the “human” came pre-prepared for fighting monsters and demons, which honestly took a bit of a load off his shoulders. That’s less responsibility for Mammon - and in his experience, the less responsibility Mammon has, the better things usually turn out.

… Though their ability to actually hold their own in a fight did make things complicated sometimes - like whenever he was their perceived opponent... 

He wasn’t expecting to have to manage a being that was actually capable of meeting him toe-to-toe on the battlefield and it did hinder his intimidation factor to some degree…It was hard to be threatening to someone who’s likely faced worse than you could ever offer.

In the end it probably worked out for the best, as a live exchange student is better for Diavolo than a dead one - but man did it get on his nerves until they made their pact together… Be scared of him, dammit!

Mammon

The first time he tried to threaten the human, they straight up pulled out a weapon and looked like they were ready to whip his ass!! Didn’t they know he wasn’t being serious?? 😫

He really didn’t know why he had to be on babysitting duty, anymore... This huma-er demigod could handle themselves just fine!

When he first ditched them with Levi, he later found out they managed to cleanly toss his brother over their head and make a break for it all by themselves! And Levi’s no pushover either!!

Later, he saw them getting ambushed on their way back from school and they soundly knocked out about five demons before he even caught up to them… and he’s, like, fast and stuff… 

Their strength is kind of unreal at times, but he could tell they were still far from a mindless killing machine. They were more or less a normal person, they had wants and dreams like anybody else, but they just happened to be a long stronger than the average mortals around them. 🤷‍♀️

After he eventually got to know them and a bit about how their life worked, he felt a little bad for them... Who wants to be hunted down just for being born?

After learning about their struggles, Mammon ended up resolving to help keep them safe (even if a part of him knew they didn’t need him that much).

I mean, if the whole world’s against you, then you can use all the help you can get... right?

Leviathan 

Levi found out exactly one thing about them within the first two minutes of meeting them… their reflexes were killer.

After Mammon ditched them on Day One, he tried to drag the human to his room to tell them his genius plan but they broke out of his grip and threw him flat on his back like was just second nature! 

He was stuck on the ground for a full minute, trying to process what just happened, while they ran off into the House all alone…

Did he just get tossed around… by a human?? Was he really that pathetic!?!

Finding out later that they were actually half-god certainly helped out his self-esteem because, man, if he had lost so easily to a human of all things... He might have just never left his room again…

Levi pretty much kept his distance from them until they finally made a pact together and then he discovered that the MC wasn’t so scary after all. If he’s being honest, being in the same house as a demigod was actually kind of cool...! 

Like, it was almost exactly the plot of the show: “Wait, I Thought I Was the Son of a Pagan God So What Am I Doing in a Christian Hell??” but their MC seemed to know a lot more about fighting than the protagonist of that show ever did…

Plus, because he never had to worry about their safety, he had even more excuse to never leave his room. Win-win!

Satan

A demigod, eh…? He had done plenty of research into human world mythologies in his spare time, frankly he thought the old gods had died out - but it seems they were still up and kicking… and making babies for whatever reason? Horny bastards...

Satan's original interest in the MC was purely academic. It’s not everyday that you get to meet someone of such a unique heritage and he fully intended to learn if all the legends about their greatness were true… and well...

He could say that the MC was certainly different than how he pictured humans being. He’d never met very many before, but from what he could gather they were a weak race that really got by on wit and persistence… However, nothing about the MC was weak.

Their aptitude for combat was surprisingly sharp, both in skill and reflexes. He had once blown up at them in anger and not only did they dodge his swipes but they got in a good few hits themselves with a nearby lamp… He never once thought a mortal could give him a black-eye but, somehow, they pulled it off. 🤷‍♀️

Combine their physical skill with what magical gifts were granted to them by their godly-half and they were a force to be reckoned with… Even Solomon seemed to hesitate and think more about his actions around them (which is saying something for a sorcerer of his strength).

It’d be fair to say a part of him grew to respect the MC long before they ever made their pact and that respect only grew afterwards. If he had to be bound to any master, human or otherwise, he’d rather it be one that he could right about consider an equal not only as a friend, but in strength as well.

Asmodeus 

A demigod…? Oooo, he hadn’t come across one of those since he bedded Aeneas all those centuries ago… Such a gorgeous man, got all his looks from his mother~! 🤭

Asmo was probably the most interested in their godly heritage, but it felt like he was treating them like a zoo exhibit for a while… Something pretty and new to look at, but not exactly someone he wanted to know personally...

He openly and readily admitted that watching their little demigod in action got him hot and bothered (or well, more hot and bothered than usual ) but it didn’t take him to see they weren’t interested at the time…

He decided that he just had to have a pact with them after they saved him from Henry 1.0! It was before he noticed the giant snake and he was lurching back to strike, but the human swept in to knock him out of the way. They probably could have made mince meat of the creature themselves if Levi weren’t begging for them to spare his former pet...

Post-pact Asmo treated them with a lot more respect… but also still fanboyed over their fighting skills hardcore. 

Like, their body had to be fit to keep up with all those monsters, right?? What was their training routine? Could he watch?? Oh please say he can watch!! He just can’t get enough of that fighter’s physique…! 😍

Beelzebub 

So… the human isn’t a human but only part human? And the other part is a god? Does that make them any sturdier than normal humans…? Call him curious…

Beel was probably one of the few brothers who was legitimately weary of the MC from the beginning… He can get a certain feel for a person pretty quickly and something about them just felt…frankly, kind of dangerous.

But they also intrigued him a little… Beel’s used to being one of the strongest demons in any room he walks into (not a boast, just a fact) so for him to get that feel from a mortal was pretty impressive. A part of him just wanted to test them… you know?

So. He did. He asked them to help him train his martial arts one day and even with his awareness, he was not expecting the results that he got.

The MC was strong. Very strong. They were not only able to keep up with him and dodge his blows, but they were able to predict his moves and counterattack in kind. They didn’t even need to tell him that they had actually been fighting for their life for years, he could tell. They had a skill you don’t get from practice matches...

After that point, the two would go to each other to train and keep their skills sharp… but also just to spar for fun. Their fighting styles made a pretty good match and they bonded pretty damn quick because of it. 

If anime tells us anything, when you find a good fight buddy, you stick with them. Even if one’s part god and the other is a demon. 🤷‍♀️ 

Belphegor 

A demigod is still human enough to hate, sorry MC. Not that he knew about their godly heritage at first…

Really, he should have been a little more suspicious of how easily they seemed to take to life in the Devildom... Weren’t demons supposed to scare humans? Why did they seem so comfortable down here...?

His confirmation only came when he tried to enact the final part of “Use the MC to Escape the Attic!” plan and take their life to seal the deal… but oh boy, was he outclassed real quick… 

The MC had already socked him in the jaw by the time he got his full demon form out and then they threw him across the room by the tail… the TAIL!! And it hurt like a bitch, too!! Even during the full blown fight that followed, he could tell they were holding back and it pissed him off something fierce...!

Why was the MC so strong?!? Humans weren’t supposed to be strong!!!

His brothers heard all the commotion and the Lilith confrontation ended up happening up in the attic between a somewhat beat-up Belphie and a barely-scratched MC. Had Beel not come to his defense on instinct, it might have turned out worse for him in all honesty… Something about that human just wasn’t right…

He only found out about their god-half after everything settled down and he promised not to try killing them again (not that anyone thought he could...) and that put some things into perspective. So the Lastborn Ruler of Hell isn’t as strong as one mortal demigod…? Ouch. Okay, fine then... Whatever...

He does think it’s too bad he missed them beating the crap out of the rest of his brothers, though (minus Beel)... That would have been fun to see. 😔

So I tried to keep this one God-parent neutral, but I’ve upgraded this to its own series! Check it out if you’re interested! 😊

Demigod MC Series: Intro, Aphrodite, Hermes

#obey me #obey me shall we date #shall-we-date-obey-me #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #this was pretty fun #another for the fav list