#that was a sample piece i'd made

[ash-elizabeth-art]

**Clearance Bin - Everything is $5**

The clearance bin- she is back! I cleaned out my art room and gathered a bunch of things that had either been sitting for ages or that I was just ready to part with. There are necklaces, pins, ornaments, paintings, all kinds of stuff! 

You can find them here: etsy.com/listing/1223791488

#and if you're looking for a gift for someone named abigail today is your lucky day lol #that was a sample piece i'd made #etsy seller #shop update #art for sale #polymer clay #gouache painting #misc

[doctorbeth]

Jigsaw Teddy Bear

It's been a while since I've posted about a jigsaw puzzle patient, and I just sent one home, so I thought I'd share his story today. :-)

Mr Theodore E. Bear, known as Teddy to his friends, was not feeling well. Teddy's person wrote:

When I was born, my father bought me my first (and only) teddy bear.  That was 66 years ago.  Sadly, our new pup tore it up.  I cannot describe my heart break.  I lost my dad in 1999 and this was the only personal thing I had left from him.

Could I please get an estimate on fixing him?

I would so appreciate your efforts. 

This is the photo she sent of her Teddy:

She actually had both eyes, and the tears were pretty clean, but Teddy had lost a significant percentage of his head and front body. We agreed on a treatment plan to include a spa (thereby removing Puppy saliva), and he flew to the hospital from Arizona.

When patients are in pieces like this, spa photos can be a bit... disturbing, so I don't send them. Suffice it to say that given his age, the surviving cream and brown parts needed to be separated to be safely cleaned, and I kept his googly eyes out of the water.

Once he was dry, surgery proceeded. It's a bit complicated when you aren't sure what his original shape was. I sent this photo I found online to ask if it perhaps looked like him:

It was so close, his person thought it WAS him at first! But there were issues I could see with this sample. For instance, when teddy arrived one eye was on cream fur. So using this as a guide, but keeping that in mind, I went about putting him back together. There's a fur whose reverse side is a really close match for older, well loved bears like him, and I used that for the darker brown areas. For the missing cream areas (which were really more of a yellow) I used a smooth minky fur.

Here was the first set of photos of Teddy:

Well, it turned out that despite the eyes being on yellow cream on arrival, his person remembered them on brown. That memory is what is important, so that part of his face needed to be adjusted. Also, the head and muzzle were a little too big, as was the nose... but his body was looking good!

Here's the next set of photos (without the nose on... it'd go on once we got the muzzle size/shape right).

That was right! And then there was the new nose, which was embroidered:

All set! His person wrote:

Love it!

Thank you!  

He’s perfect!

Oh, and lest you think I forgot his heart of original stuffing, he did get it, it just goes in at a different time with jigsaw animals that need lots of adjustment. Here it is being made and installed:

Teddy made it home safe and sound. His person wrote: Thank you so much!  You saved him and a huge piece of my heart! Teddy is HOME!  He’s wonderful and I so appreciate your hard work!

#stuffed animal repair #stuffed animal hospital #stuffed animals #teddy bear repair #teddy bear hospital #teddy bear cleaning #stuffed animal cleaning #teddy bear #1950s teddy bear #1950s toy #1950s stuffed animal #1950s #1950s toys

[thisapplepielife]

Written for the @steddieholidaydrabbles December challenge.

Beautiful Boys

Prompt Day 23: Wayne Adopts Steve | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: T | CW: Lingering Injuries/Trauma | Tags: Post S4, Eddie Munson Lives, Good Uncle Wayne Munson, Wayne & Steve, Wayne POV

Wayne is in Hawkins Hardware, looking at the fence pickets. He definitely didn't expect them to have this many choices. He figured he'd come in and buy what he needed, from the only option available. In and out. Wallet a little lighter, but no choices to be made. 

But, no. There are options. Decisions. And he isn't sure which style Eddie would prefer. He just wants Eddie to have a place he feels safe outdoors, again.

Wayne reaches out to touch the samples, again, when he hears clattering and an "oh my god, I'm so sorry" that sounds an awful lot like Steve Harrington.

Wayne pokes his head around the corner of the aisle, and Steve is gathering up a bunch of swag hooks off the floor, swiping them back into his handbasket.

"What're you doin' with those, kid?" Wayne asks, crouching down to help him.

"Eddie's plants," Steve says, standing back up, pushing his hair back and up, out of his eyes. These boys and their hair they can't keep contained. Wayne smiles. He remembers how his (now long-gone) hair was in the sixties. Different styles, sure, but just as impractical, at times.

"Eddie's plants," Wayne repeats with a smile, then asks, "You're gonna hang them from the ceiling?" 

Steve nods, and Wayne grins, "That's a good idea, kid. He'll love that."

Eddie has gathered up a lot of houseplants recently, tending to them, taking care of them, babying them. The first ones were sent to the hospital by his friends, and Eddie latched onto them. And now, Steve drags a new one home every week or two as a gift. Eddie is still recovering, might always be recovering, but his plants make him smile and give him something to do.

Wayne doesn't quite understand it, not with the black thumb he has, but it's like everything else about Eddie. Wayne doesn't have to understand it, to support him. If Eddie wants plants, they can have a whole houseful of them.

Eddie survived something he still hasn't fully explained to Wayne, might never, so if he wants to fill the house with greenery, so be it. 

If he wants to fill the house with Steve Harrington, too, that's also just fine by Wayne.

Steve smiles shyly, "If you don't care that I put holes in the ceiling, that is."

Wayne doesn't care. "I'll help. I've got a stud finder, so we won't have them falling and cracking us on the noggin."

Steve laughs, and nods, "Thanks. What are you doing here?"

Wayne waves him over, getting Steve to follow him.

"Trying to pick fencing for the backyard. If Eddie's gonna keep dragging home strays, we'll need a place to put them," Wayne says, and Steve blushes, just a little. 

"I could make a tent work," Steve teases, and Wayne squeezes his shoulder. Steve is always, and will always, be welcome in the house.

"Good to know, but I was thinking more along the lines of dogs, cats, raccoons. You know how he is," Wayne drawls, and Steve smiles. It's wishful thinking, because they both know the real reason for the fence. Eddie doesn't want to leave the house these days.

"I just assumed I'd get dog-ears," Wayne says, pointing at the slightly-rounded piece of wood on display. "But there are choices."

Steve studies them all, finally saying "I think Eddie would like the pointed ones the most. Looks dangerous," Steve says.

Wayne nods. He was thinking the same thing.

"They're narrower, be more work to set," Wayne mutters.

Steve turns to look at him, "I'll help you, you know that."

Wayne nods. He knows Steve will. He's a good kid, who spends most of his time hanging out in their new little house, doting on Eddie in one way or another. Wayne isn't blind. He knows what this is, what these boys feel for each other, even if Eddie hasn't told him yet.

He will. Wayne just has to be patient.

"Sounds good, kid," Wayne says, and Steve grins, big and bright. Like he wasn't sure his help would be accepted. 

"I don't know much about building a fence, but I can learn. I can follow instructions," Steve assures, and Wayne pats him on the back.

"Let's double-check my math here," Wayne says, pulling a small notepad out of his pocket, rerunning his figures. 

Once he's got a good number, Wayne directs them towards the stain options. Steve picks one with a red tint, and Wayne nods. Looks good to him.

When they get to the counter, he takes Steve's basket and adds it to his.

"You don't have to do that," Steve says.

Wayne knows he doesn't, but it's for Eddie and it's just a few dollars worth of hooks and bolts. He's definitely gonna get his money back in fence-building help.

"I know, I want to," Wayne says, opening his wallet.

Outside, Steve helps the guys from the lumber department load up the trailer full of the pickets. 

"See you at home?" Wayne questions, and Steve nods and smiles.

"Yeah, at home," he answers, walking towards his car, with his small sack of hardware.

And they spend days hanging the over-abundance of plants in front of every window in the house, so many that it seems like they're living in a greenhouse, and then they work on the fence. Putting it up, picket by picket, together.

Sometimes, Eddie comes and sits on the patio and watches, but it still takes a lot out of him, even now, months later. Wayne's worried he might never fully recover. 

But, Steve works hard to entertain Eddie. Steve's funny, and he treats Eddie real good. That's all that will ever matter to Wayne. Eddie's his boy, and by extension, Steve's his boy now, too.

Eddie and Steve fight over the radio, a welcome sound, and Steve's won. 

So, John Lennon's singing about a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy. 

Wayne knows that feeling well.

He's got two of those beautiful boys, now. 

close your eyes, have no fear, the monster's gone, he's on the run and your daddy's here, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy John Lennon, Beautiful Boy

If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @steddieholidaydrabbles and follow along with the fun!

If you want to see more of my entries into this month-long challenge, you can check them out in my Steddie Holiday Drabbles tag, right here!

#steddieholidaydrabbles #wayne adopts steve #wayne munson fic #good uncle wayne munson #wayne munson is always the best #wayne munson & steve harrington #eddie munson lives #steddie #steddie ficlet #wayne munson #steve harrington #eddie munson #thisapplepielife: short fic #thisapplepielife: steddieholidaydrabbles #Spotify

[heartfullofleeches]

Cinnamon Cream

Yan Couple [F+M] + G.N Reader

A.N: The winning pair from a poll I ran to satisfy my craving for edible partners. The duo are heavily implied to made out of the foods they represent as a heads up

-

"Care for another roll, Hun? Can't send you home on an empty stomach."

This woman was trying to kill you. The tinge of cinnamon fresh on your tongue, you couldn't fathom the consequence of taking on another pastry when you've only sampled the first. Your stomach being empty was the last of your concerns with how big it was. Your free hand lie flat on the table and even it was off by a few inches. She claimed to have made this batch smaller so you could finish the full dozen before you left which you found quite impossible. Prying the fork from your teeth, you let the woman down as best you could - praying to be let off with the rest to take home.

"No thank you, Mrs. Cinnabar - I haven't finished the first."

Her jovial demeanor is not lost as she takes the utensil off your hands. "You can drop the formalities, Love. We're all friends here. You'll have to forgive me for everything else. Izzy worked so hard on his part and I would hate for it to melt before you become addicted to us both."

The smell hits you before you take the bite she offers. No matter the date in time, she always smelled like a bakery. Mrs. Cinnabar has been your neighbor for about a year now following the disappearance of the last tenant not even a week before she and her partner moved in. A friendly face to all, she had taken a special liking to you when your paths finally crossed. Being next door neighbors was one reason, but she also told you she took an immediate interest to you similar to the instant attraction she felt towards her husband. He wasn't in the picture often, and so your company patched up the hole his absence left. With the combination of her loneliness and the rewards of free meals - who were you to say no when she asked for you to visit? Today's dessert was meant to be special and now you knew why.

Cheeks stuffed with pastry, the sweet bread takes up a new texture as you manage to scarf it all down. Rich, velvety cream with just a hint of vanilla; the cold, ceremonious blend to an otherwise warm and sticky treat. As the taste settles on your tongue, you could piece together traces of the ice cream mixed directly into the icing of the cinnamon roll - the delicate flavor you had trouble putting your finger on before. It certainly lived up to the hype set for it by the woman at your side. The scent of cinnamon is almost overpowering as Cinnabar sweeps her thumb up the corner of your sugar crusted lips; smile as sweet as the roll on your plate.

"Well, don't keep me waiting. You like it - don't you, Hun?"

"I-it's great... Wish I could give my compliments to your spouse."

Cinnabar peaks up in her seat; a chill running down your spine at the extend of her grin. For a brief moment she looks behind you. "Who said you couldn't?"

Leaning back in your seat, you come to find that the source of your chattering teeth is not her smile, but the hands of the man gripping the back of your chair. His glare is as icy as the frost radiating off him, your breath visible as you exhale in surprise. Stoic as a brick wall, his eyes show signs of satisfaction drifting over the missing forkful of the now frozen dessert. Ever so slow, he cleans the remaining crumbs off your face before joining his wife's side of the table. Perching an arm over her shoulder, he slides a metal ring into her breast pocket as she takes his hand.

"Y/n, Izzy. Izzy..." Cinnabar rests her head on his wrist. "knows all about you already. Nosy thing has listened in on all of our conversations before now and I'd say he adores your company as much I as I."

"but... I thought you said he was gone most of the day?"

"Oh, he is, Hun. Up in his study. Not too good at speaking with other humans. Specially cuties like yourself, isn't that right, Dear."

Izzy nods his head with a grunt - pale face just shy of a flush under the kitchen lighting.

"We both care about you so much, Hun. Watching you has opened so many doors for us so it's only fair we open ours to you. We've thought hard about how to introduce you to life with us, but the best start was showing you have well we work together. How good all of us could be for each other. I'll keep you warm in the winter, Izzy can cool you down in the summer. You...can just be you. We know this is a lot to take in now, but soon you'll see things our way."

Cinnabar retrieves a set of keys from her pocket, twirling the familiar ring round her finger. "We can talk more about this after you finish your dessert."

#Yandere spouse #yandere oc #yandere x reader #yandere #yandere imagines #yandere scenarios #yandere insert #yandere headcanons #yandere x you #yandere blurb #yandere drabble #male yandere #female yandere #yandere monster #poly yandere #cinnar my oc #izzy my oc

[evilscientist3]

nice job supporting ai stealing artwork dickweed 👍

First, let me start with a disclaimer:

I don't like AI art personally. Subjectively speaking, it just doesn't feel like proper art to me.

I just think that the rhetoric behind why, from an objective standpoint, AI art in particular is bad (i.e. immoral) deserves more thought.

Some questions which you might find worth answering:

Is there a means of explaining how AI art steals from artists that doesn't imply collage and/or inspiration are also forms of art theft?

For an artist, is anything intrinsically lost when their art is used as a sample in an AI's data model?

When it comes to AI generated photographs, is art theft still occurring?

Consider the post you're getting mad at me about. whompthatsucker1981's copy of the AI generated photo likely wouldn't have existed without an AI generated photo to copy. Is there no value to be found in the AI enabling the creation of the art?

Suppose I were to train a data set on, say, Rembrandt's paintings to try and generate my own "new artwork" of his - just to hang in my living room. He's famous and dead, so this action doesn't affect him at all - is anything wrong with me doing this?

Similarly, suppose a commercial entity or institution were to do the same, and sell or display it with the pretext that it was generated - would this novelty not at the least be somewhat intriguing?

How about if a team of experts assessed the product, and personally corrected and altered details to keep it consistent with his other works if necessary?

Many years ago, I met an artist called Doug Fishbone while he was doing an exhibition called "Made In China" at the Dulwich Picture Gallery. There was no clear piece on display as part of the exhibition; there was, however, an impostor. One of the paintings in the gallery had been replaced with a replica commissioned from the Meisheng Oil Painting Manufacture Co., who only ever saw the painting they copied as a high resolution photo - thousands of visitors were invited to guess which.

This both questions the value of originality in art (is the copy really less valuable than the original if you can't tell the two apart? How about if it's utilised as part of a philosophical point or artistic message?) and reveals, via the copycat painting's minor discrepancies, that even in careful replication, the preferences of the artist often shine through (perhaps this is a motivation in the encouragement of copyists by many old masters).

I would certainly agree that it isn't particularly desirable to study the "eye" of an AI all too closely - its own quirks will simply be the mean of other artists' idiosyncracies. But suppose that the image is then copied, modified, or used as inspiration - is its place in allowing for another artist to develop a concept not valuable at all?

To be clear, these questions aren't rhetorical; I'd like to hear your views. If you reply, I hope you do so in good faith.

#ask #hope people see the big red line and avoid crucifying me #i simply think we should think about what we think

[candlewaxandp0lar0ids]

Hi all, so, basically I've been having a lot of thoughts and feelings about the state of fanfiction these days. Specifically, I've been thinking about the relationship and interactions between writers and their readers within the fandom (talking about my fandoms in particular, but I know that similar things seem to be happening across the board). I know that authors have been talking about how they've been getting less and less comments and feedback in general on their work. I haven't said much about it because I don't want to appear ungrateful to the people who take the time to leave detailed feedback — I'm incredibly grateful to them and they've played a huge part in keeping me going for this long. If you've left a comment on any of my works and see this and wonder if you haven't done enough, trust me, you have.

Still, if I'm being honest, the amount of silent readers is starting to take its toll on me. It's gotten to the point where when I write something, if it's a decently long piece (let's say over 4k), I'm likely to get less comments on the work than I've put hours into writing it. It sometimes feels like I have to beg for comments and that is not a nice feeling. As an author, it's hard to see that and not think that it says something about the quality of the work you've put out.

I've been trying to think of things that could help, I have a bunch of thoughts that I'll probably try to organize at some point (namely i think a network for writers to have constructive feedback, which doesn’t always mean negative feedback btw, could have a positive impact — feel free to let me know if you’d be interested but also i’ll probably make another poll for that). For now, I wanted to ask: as readers, if you don't leave comments, is it because you're not sure of what to say or how to articulate it? If so, would it help if I made a post detailing things you can tell writers in the comments (other than the classic, but always good 'I loved it')? In general I'd love to know more about why people don't leave comments.

Expect a couple more posts on the subject once I've collected my thoughts and in the meanwhile, here's a poll to let me know if it would help. Reblog to increase visibility/sample size, etc.

#i'll tag this with some of my fandoms #bts x reader #skz x reader #bts fanfic #stray kids fanfic #stray kids x reader #candywrites #just thinking thoughts #poll #tumblr polls

[teyamsatan]

Illicit Affairs | Chapter I: Willow

Pairing: Neteyam x f!Human!Reader

Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter VI Chapter VII Chapter VIII Chapter IX Chapter X

Warnings: Cursing, mentions of death and disease

WC: 3,4k words

A/N: Sooo.. I kinda did something. This is the first fanfic I have written that will actually see the light of day, and also the first piece of writing (outside of master's dissertations, papers, scientific essays etc) that I have done since probably high school, which is longer ago than I'd like to admit. Anyway, I have been hyperfixated on Avatar recently, ATWOW fully bringing back my love and obsession for Pandora that I have had since 2009. I adore the new movie and the Sully kids, but I have a special place in my heart for Neteyam, so here we go. Let me know what you guys think. I work full time as a PhD student, so I'll try my best to write in my spare time and hopefully I can get this done the way I truly want to. This story is also loosely inspired by the incredible @forever--darling and her "One of Us" Neteyam fanfic, which I adore and have probably memorised by now with the amount of times I have read it.

I'm like the water when your ship rolled in that night Rough on the surface but you cut through like a knife And if it was an open-shut case I never would've known from that look on your face Lost in your current like a priceless wine

“Wake up, Ace. It’s late already and there’s so much to do today, remember?” Norm’s voice pulled you out of a beautiful dream, one where you were flying on your chosen Ikran, high above the clouds, the worries…this lab. Albeit hard to swallow, you were almost relieved to be woken up, as feeding out-of-reach fantasies and dreams could lead to no good, anyhow. 

“I’m up… Jesus, Norm.” You felt yourself rise from your warm and comfortable bed and the feeling of your bare feet touching the cold, hard floor of the living quarters of the lab made you swallow a curse. 

“We left you some breakfast, get ready and meet us in the lab in 30, okay? We have the samples ready for you and you can run them after we’ve talked it through.” 

“Aye, aye, captain.” 

This was your life. You, among a few other people, were one of the only humans left on Pandora after the war took them back to Earth more than 17 years ago. Unlike the others, though, you were born here, on this foreign planet, the only home you’ve ever known. There was one more, a beautiful, feisty young man with a dark heritage, who liked to think that he is as much Pandoran as the actual natives. His name was Spider, and although you grew up together, there was not much you could say you had in common. He was wild and adventurous, has been his whole life; fully willing to immerse himself in the Na’vi ways and almost demanding a place amongst the people.

Although you have your doubts, he says the people were accepting of him, as he managed to befriend the most important family of the nearby Omatikaya tribe: the Sullys. Jake Sully, a former dream walker, rose to prominence as Toruk Makto, rider of Last Shadow. He brought multiple clans together to defeat the Sky People in their brutal quest for wealth and colonisation. He succeeded, after which he became Olo’yektan, leader of the Omatikaya. He is now fully Na’vi, after completing a consciousness transfer that allowed him to leave behind his human form and forever live as one of the people. It had never been done before. Jake was a great man, who became a mediator between the Na’vi and the humans left on Earth. His children, Neteyam, Lo’ak, Kiri and Tuk, were brought up to know English and be accepting of everyone, regardless where they came from, as long as they had pure intentions and a strong heart. Spider was considered one of them. And, surprisingly, you were, too. 

Your mum was a medic and researcher, brought here many moons ago to assist the Dr. Grace Augustin and her team in their quest to understand Pandora and its miraculous biology. Your dad, a former Master Sergeant in the US Air Force, joined the RDA for their military purposes. You never met your dad. He died when the Sky People attacked, although no one knows for sure which side he ended up taking. Your mum didn’t even know she was pregnant with you at the time, that’s how new everything was. Your mum loved your dad and she maintained her belief that he ended up doing the right thing in the end. You believed that as a child, but now are not so sure. Nevertheless, you still kept his dog tag, in a drawer at the bottom of your desk, a reminder of where you come from and what mistakes not to repeat. 

Your mum died where you were 10. It was the worst day of your life. The cancer, which slowly spread in the beginning, overtook her being one faithful day, which you will never be able to erase from your memory. There is no chemotherapy, no radiation therapy, no drugs that could have prevented this, not here, not on Pandora. Your mum made a decision to remain on this planet she loved more than her own and it eventually killed her. She had no regrets, she said. She was happy to have lived and loved and died here, among Eywa. The Na’vi loved her. She was good friends and a mentor to Neytiri and Jake, both of whom agreed to give her a Na’vi send off. You were there that day, one of the few times you had visited the Home Tree. You remember the pouring rain, falling so hard it washed away the tears spilling from your eye almost as soon as they emerged. You remember Lo’ak and Kiri, your beautiful friends that have always been there for you, mourning with you. Your mum was their favourite aunt. She introduced them to music and films, and showed all of you her favourite books and painters and made sure you all understood that humans, despite their many flaws, have beauty and love and good in them, that no matter what, will prevail. “It will prevail because of you. Because you will carry it along and share it. You will revel in the beauty and fight to bring it back because what better way is there to live?”

You finished breakfast quickly, some dry toast with some fruit Kiri brought you the last time she visited and made your way back to the lab. You found Norm and Max, alongside two other human scientists, Tim and Claire, sitting on chairs next to the lab benches, discussing plans for the week. 

“There she is, the brightest of us all.” You smirked at the compliment, raising your eyebrows in amusement and sitting down next to Claire. 

“You’ve done great work last week, Ace The ELISAs show promise that Relensa might have some effect against this type of Pandora virus. I need you to now repeat it with the samples we’ve provided and also include a different type of positive control to the experiment, if possible.”

“Will do. How about a combination therapy? I know Relensa is not the only type of anti-viral therapy we have available. Amantidin, maybe? We have to go at this from all angles, you know?” 

“Our Amantidin reserve is running severely short, but give it a try. Try a dose-response? Maybe 100 nano molars to 1 micro molar? Try 1milimolar as a positive control?”

This was your life. Unlike Spider, you avoided the clan. You did not want to be the walking reminder of everything they’ve lost. You were happy to sit back and dedicate your life to helping from the shadows. Your mum was a medic and a researcher, one of the brightest in the world. She wrote the book on Na’vi anatomy and physiology, she wanted to understand the people and hopefully help them mitigate losses brought by disease. You continued that work. Although young, you learned everything there was to learn. Not like you had anything else to do. You worked as a scientist and a nurse and a doctor if needs be. You patched humans up, stitched their wounds, ran experiments on Pandora pathogens and tried to find a cure against viral and bacterial diseases that plagued the Na’vi. You spent your life in the lab, and in the adjacent hub, learning, working out and playing the guitar and piano your mum taught you when you were really young. You couldn’t say you loved it, loved being here all the time, but you were content knowing you were, in your own way, making up for your species’ past mistakes. 

Around lunchtime, you heard commotion from the entryway. A very familiar voice reverberated through the hallways. Your lips raised in a soft smile. Lo’ak. 

Removing your lab coat, goggles and gloves, you made your way towards the origin of the sound. The tall, much-taller-than-you young man picked up a breathing mask from the designated shelf and waved at you with unwavering enthusiasm. You loved this boy. Your brother, for all intents and purposes, your partner-in-crime for all time. He loved you, too, you knew that, and you thought in a different life, in a different universe, you were soulmates, braving life’s tough storms together. 

“Brought you lunch, angel.” Your nickname for you made you roll your eyes. You hated it, but the more you hated it, the more he used it so you remained silent. “I thought you could use a break from the stale excuse you guys call food around here.” 

Lo’ak spoke English with you most of the time. He took to your parents’ (and his dad’s) culture the most out of all the kids. You spent a lot of your childhood together, hunched around a computer with old reruns of shows your mum loved in her youth, shows and movies that were way before even her time. She said she loved seeing what Earth looked like before humans killed their mother. Shows like Gilmore Girls, Friends and Modern Family were some of her favourites. You devoured them as a child, and Lo’ak did so too, with you. You drove her crazy as children, and drove Norm and Max crazy as teenagers, both trying to understand references and sayings, buildings and activities, games and idiosyncrasies. The Earth you grew up watching and reading up was beautiful, a star in the night sky you will never be able to touch. 

Lo’ak made his way to the dining room of the hub, and lay several carefully-packed items on the table. Fresh teylu, cooked over fire and Pandora vegetables, all full of colour and flavour, all much better than anything that could come out of this place. You realise that you are starving as soon as you lay your eyes on them. Before you even sat down, you dug your fingers in and quickly ate some teylu, groaning at the delicious sweet meaty flavour. It was your favourite, and Lo’ak knew. He laughed at your apparent desperation and motioned for you to sit down. You obliged, and you both sat in silence for a while, just enjoying each other’s company and the food he provided. 

“How’s training going? I haven’t seen you in a few days.” 

“I die a little bit inside every time you make me remember I spend my days training like a little robot. It’s going fine. Tiring, you know? My dad is fully back in his Marine ways. He knows it’s been enough time that the humans are bound to return sooner or later. He says they’d never leave this world, and all its untapped riches alone without a fight. So it’s a lot of military training… if we walk like them, talk like them and fight like them, it might bring us some sort of advantage, you know?” 

“Yeah, I know. I know it’s a pain, but he’s only doing this to protect you guys. He’s right. The humans are bound to return one day and when they do, we have to be prepared.” He doesn’t know this, but you have also been training, learning about guns, going through your dad’s old manuals and whatever else the RDA has left behind that could possibly be of use. You use the guns that are in the hub to learn how to aim, shoot, strip field, reload and clean the weapons, so you too can be prepared when the time comes. You might be stuck in a weak human body, but you will not be weak. 

“Neteyam’s driving me nuts. He used to be fun, remember that? He’s such a killjoy, it’s hard to stomach being around him anymore. He’s always giving out orders, always making sure everything is in order and perfect, like him. He’s been training like crazy, and sticking to my dad like he’s some sort of fungus you can’t get rid of. Drives me crazy.”

“Hey, don’t talk about your brother like that. There’s a line, Lo’ak. Neteyam only wants the best for you guys, and he’s the oldest. He has to carry the burden of being the responsible one while you guy cause mischief all the time.” 

Neteyam, Jake and Neytiri’s oldest, is more Na’vi than all the other children combined, in both looks and personality. Whilst the two middle children, Lo’ak and Kiri have five fingers, eyebrows and a more human appearance, Neteyam is all Neytiri. He’s tall and lean and seems like he was born with a bow in hand. A true warrior, you always found him a tad intimidating. Just like his mum, he has his apprehensions about humans and avatars, and although he used to come to the hub quite often when he was younger, mostly to keep an eye on his siblings, the visits have become a rarity as of recent times. 

You wonder how the young man changed in the time you haven’t seen him. You used to be close as children, or at least that’s what you thought. Whereas Spider took to Lo’ak and Kiri, their mischievous personalities a good match for each other, you took to the oldest Sully boy. He was quiet and thoughtful, and he used to look at you like a puzzle he was trying to solve, but couldn’t. He used to sit in the back as you used to play piano, and his gaze on you used to make your skin blush and your heart race. You tried not to think about the pang of hurt that rose in your chest as you remembered that he essentially abandoned you, without so much as a farewell. 

“Earth to Y/N, are you still there?” Lo’ak interrupted your train of thought and you were half grateful that you didn’t have to think about Neteyam anymore. 

“Sorry. You were saying?”

“I was saying you’re right, I know I should be more understanding, I am happy I don’t have to be the one to carry all of responsibility, but it’s hard not to hold a grudge when it seems my brother was abducted by aliens and replaced with a weird, no-fun replica of himself.” 

You groaned at the young Sully’s ongoing verbal attacks, but said no more. Whatever was going on between the two Sully boys was, at the end of the day, none of your business. 

“Anyway…” Lo’ak started, a mischievous grin appearing on his beautiful face, “I know something you don’t.” 

“Mmm, what is that?”

“I’m not telling you, but let’s just say I think it will make you very happy.” 

“Well that’s just cruel. You know I hate surprises.”

After lunch, Lo’ak joined you in the recreation hub, where you kept a guitar and the piano that the humans left behind. You didn’t feel like going back to work just yet. You sat down on the cold floor and picked up your copy of Pride and Prejudice, your mum’s favourite book. The book was coming apart at the seams, worn down from all the times you have held it in your hands, as if gripping it tighter would bring her back to you, even if for only a split second. You sighed as you passed the book to Lo’ak and motioned for him to put it on the table next to him.

“Sing for me, will you? I missed hearing your voice.” 

You smiled up at him. Nobody knew you like Lo’ak did. Nobody accepted you the way Lo’ak did. Both of you felt out of place in this world, like you didn’t quite belong anywhere. He has spent many an hour confessing how alone he’s felt all his life. You’d like to think you helped. You picked up your guitar and played a familiar song, one you knew he loved.

“Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind , as if you were a mythical thing

Like you were a trophy or a champion ring, and there was one prize I'd cheat to win

The more that you say, the less I know

Wherever you stray, I follow

I'm begging for you to take my hand, wreck my plans

That's my man”

You sat like this for hours, laughing and playing and singing. You tried to teach him a couple of chords on the guitar, which looked puny in his massive hands. With a loud thud, the open to the recreation centre swung open, making both of your heads turn in shock. 

“Lo’ak, what the fuck?” 

The harsh tone came from a man, a man you barely recognised anymore. Tall and muscular, he was not the same Neteyam you last saw. He was adorning a carefully crafted neck piece that matched his hunter’s chest piece and the knife holder he kept by his hips. You took a second to adjust to the man in front of you, that you haven’t seen in so long, that will always have a special place in your heart. Your gaze eventually fell on his face, which, like the rest of him, matured so much in all that time apart. He was beautiful. His hair was freshly braided and you couldn’t help but stare at the beaded strands that framed his face. As much as his body and face changed, they didn’t hold a candle to his eyes. The big yellow orbs that always looked at you curiously and intently were now focused on Lo’ak with rage flashed across them. 

“You were supposed to meet me at the Home Tree a fucking hour ago, Lo’ak. Dad asked you to join the hunting party and pull your weight for once, remember that? Are you physically unable to do anything that is ever asked of you?” 

He is yet to even spare a glance in your direction. You felt your blood pressure rising at the oldest Sully, but you pushed it down to look at Lo’ak, who was staring daggers at his older brother. As he was opening his mouth to undoubtedly say something that would get him in even more trouble than he was already in, you cut him off. 

“It’s my fault.” You say in Na’vi. You doubted Neteyam was in the mood for English, so as to not escalate the tensions further, you opted for your semi-decent Na’vi. “I needed his help with some samples Norm got for me that I couldn’t identify. I’m done now, though. Sorry for taking him from his duties.”

His eyes finally snapped from Lo’ak and laded on your frame. You saw his lips parting in confusion and then settle in a firm line. His eyes scanned your body from head to toe. You changed. A lot. Your hair was now close to reaching your narrow waist, which he hated himself for noticing. You were wearing what the humans called a “top”, that was cut above your abdomen and had the word “Stanford” written across it. He’s sure he’s seen it before, although he couldn’t place where. You were wearing bottoms, short and blue, with cuts in them, which Neteyam didn’t get. Why are your clothes ripped? It’s not like you fought some animal in the wild, you never got out. He couldn’t help noticing how lean you had become, so lean, in fact, he could trace your muscles with precision, something he is rarely able to do with humans. Your species was puny and weak, which is why they needed avatars and exo-suits to survive on Pandora. Realizing he was staring, his eyes moved from you back to Lo’ak, and motioned for him to get up. Although he huffed and puffed, Lo’ak obliged without saying a word. He turned around before exiting the room, giving you one last exasperated look. You winked at him and clicked your tongue in the direction of the forest, a small smile on your face. This skxawng. 

“Hey, you.” You called after Neteyam in English, as soon as Lo’ak disappeared from your line of view. You don’t know what you expected, but you had to try. He turned around and his eyes met yours. It was like looking at a stranger. 

“I really have to go, Y/N.” He said, with a deep voice and slight accent, and his eyes fell on the floor as soon as he noticed the look of hurt that crossed your face. 

“Fine, go.” You said, quickly composing yourself. You refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing he can hurt your feelings. You turned around, and busied yourself cleaning up, not sparing a second look in his direction. His gaze shifted back to your frame, and with a sigh, he made his way out of the lab and your life, once more. 

#neteyam #neteyam x human!reader #neteyam x reader #neteyam fanfic #neteyam reader #neteyam sully #avatar #avatar twow #avatar fanfic #neteyam x avatar!reader #neteyam sully fanfiction #neteyam angst #awow #awow neteyam #loak reader #avatar loak

[yaekiss]

#Mailroom Open! If you still have open slots/want to do this <3

I'd like this letter to go to Tighnari, please and thank you! Subtle yandere and SFW. Thank you again!

The contents of the letter are as follows:

"Tighnari!

Things have been absolutely marvelous in Mondstadt. Your idea to visit my family was genius. It's been a long time since I've been back home. My mother asked why you didn't accompany me, isn't that cute? She called you her future son in law.. Then asked when we'd be giving her grandbabies.

I have been missing you to pieces though, my love. You would love a few of my friends over here, they're interested to learn more about you! Well.. aside from one. He seemed a bit upset when I gushed about you. But never mind that! How are things back home with you? How is Collei? Please let her know that Amber sends her regards. But most importantly! How are you?

I also hope that the package I sent gets to you safely. I thought you'd really appreciate my finds.

Love you so much!

-♡"

The package itself is smaller in size, yet still larger than the envelope sent. Inside the box are new glass storage jars, made for storing herbs and spices. Aside from the jars, there's a hand woven bracelet. It matches with Tighnari's typical attire, and is woven in order to prevent fraying or breakage. There's another, tiny sticky note at the bottom of the box with a doodle of Tighnari and his partner. They're stick figures and holding hands.

꩜ Letter Content: GN! Reader x Slight Yan! Tighnari, SFW, no gendered terms for reader, possessiveness from Tighnari, lmk if I missed out anything ! ꩜ Delivery Notes: Tighnari was absolutely covered in pollen when I picked up his package in Sumeru, HAHA! However, judging from his droopy ears and tail, I think he really misses you :( ꩜ Wanna write a love letter yourself? Check out it out here!

Sent back to you is a small, lovingly handmade, woven basket that you recognise to be the handiwork of Tighnari. Weaved between the strips of dried Kalpalata lotus vines are cute tiny flowers native to the forested area around Gandharva Ville. There’s a ribbon tied around the handle in your favourite colour that’s lightly scented with the perfume of Sumeru roses.

A dark green fabric that matches his fur colour sits nicely atop the contents of the basket, it’s embroidered with the stick figure drawing of you and Tighnari. The Tighnari stick figure is made of thread in a light emerald green that’s the colour of his eyes while your doodle is woven in a gorgeous shade identical to yours. There are extra little hearts floating around the two of you in the embroidered picture too, how cute! 

Removing the embroidered cloth cover from the basket, you first take his letter out. Reaching into the envelope, the first thing you pull out is pressed Nilotpala lotus petals. They retain a delicate faint glimmer of how they shone when they bloomed at night and infuse the parchment in the envelope with their light floral scent. His reply is written in his usual scrawling handwriting you see in his research journals but there's an underlying tenderness present. You think he makes a noticeable effort to ensure that his words are more legible, especially just for you. His response reads:

“My dearest lotus,

It’s about time you wrote back! Just before I got your letter, I was going to mail you a lengthy lecture regarding important safety tips while one is travelling. Really, with your extended silence, I was worried about you for a bit, lotus. It's good to hear you're enjoying your time in Mondstadt with your family though, how’s the flora diversity there? I do hope you bring me back some flower and mushroom samples.

Collei too sends Amber her very enthusiastic regards, she was so excited at the mention of Amber, the way her eyes lit up was precious, I wish you were there to see it, lotus. Now, I’m sure with your keen eye you’ve noticed all the flowers included in the basket. I can’t take all the credit, it was Collei who helped to collect the flowers for the basket. She came back with so many that we spent almost a whole afternoon just picking out the best ones for you. Seriously, you should’ve seen the way she came into the hut with her arms full of flowers, I didn’t even know how she could see in front of her!

Also, new jars! You know me so well, how did you figure out I was running out of them? Gods, thinking about the hassle of procuring them gave me such a headache. You really are my saviour, gods, I miss you so much… Please come back soon, lotus, I’m getting sick of longing for you. Your lovely handmade bracelet has done well in curbing the urge to go over to Mondstadt to sweep you back up in my arms. It’s beautiful and I appreciate all the work you put into such a sweet gift, lotus. I’d never take off the bracelet, ever.

I’d hate to nag but do take care of yourself alright, it worries me to be so far away from you. (this part is written in a small font, but squinting, it reads out) Especially where you can meet with all sorts of people… and that friend of yours you mentioned. Ugh, I feel my headache coming back.

Help me pass my well wishes on to your mother, and tell her that calling me her “future son-in-law” is not too far off from the truth. Write more often to me alright, lotus? Hearing from you helps keep my longing in check. Come back soon!

Ever awaiting your return,

-Tighnari -”

Tucked underneath, is a sealed bag of dried mushrooms, the kind that Tighnari favours the most. It warms your heart to know that he’s willing to part with the stash of his favourite shrooms to make sure you’re eating well in another region. Tacked on are some collated recipes for the ingredient, with little notes scribbled in the margins on how the default recipe can be improved after gathering feedback from many many many rounds of him cooking it for you. Everything is so sappily domestic that you’re sure your mother would coo over how adorable the two of you are when she finds out about his gift.

And finally, there’s a small box at the side, crafted in the form of a lotus using expertly preserved Kalpalata lotus petals. Gingerly opening up the petals reveals an exquisite ring resting in the centre, woven from sturdy plant stems entwined with golden fibres that almost seem to shine. The stems are fortified with a sheer shimmer of dendro (no doubt Tighnari’s) so that it endures, staying evergreen. Included is a tag reading: “A temporary placeholder for an engagement ring, so that no pest steals you from my side while you’re away ♡”

Slipping it on, it fits perfectly, snugly home on your ring finger. You’ve never told him your ring size though, lucky guess?

Thanks for reading! Consider supporting me on kofi if you enjoyed this or check out my other works hehe ♡

#📜.qi musings #📜.qi celebrates #📜.Mailroom Open! #📜.qi chats #chats with 🧸 anon! #yandere #SFW #genshin x reader #yandere genshin #genshin fluff #tighnari x reader #yandere tighnari #tighnari fluff #THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE LETTER ANON!!! #hope you like his reply <33 !!! #📜.qi writings

[misstranci]

Having just found your page I was wondering if you had an order to where I should start watching/listening?

Well sweetie, I meant to answer this sooner, but really there is little need to consider a specific order for what I have released so far. Each of my files have been standalone pieces.

The order of their release is more or less what I would recommend, though "Time to Obey" is a bit of an outlier in that it was originally written for one of my most devoted subs. So it has a somewhat different level of intensity, thematically speaking. Anyway, here is their order of release at least, the first one being more of just a video sample session. But it may serve as a sort of primer for helping you go into trance for me.

1- Love to Obey

2- Time to Obey

3- Here to Obey

4- Made to Obey

5- Happy to Obey Again, there is no wrong or right order for these as of yet. I'll probably be working on more for the "To Obey" series soon though. At this point I'd imagine they will continue to be standalone files with no specific order recommendations. Hope this helps! 😘

(Edit: updated this post to add My latest release Happy to Obey)

#hypnokink #hypnodomme #hypnosis #eye contact #hypnosub #sweetie asks #misstranci

[cuddlebugzz]

Hey hey! Since the last post went over so well I thought I might as well share more steps on my agere gear journey! I felt a little shoppy lately so I bought some stuff I've never tried: namely, Little Kings Diapers from abu and bigtots training pants! I also got some new goodnites, I'll share about those too. Continued under the cut!

*before we start I want to mention - I do actually use nappies. I'll put {these brackets} around talk about it in case you want to skip it.

So, going chronologically, shortly after buying my boys goodnites I also bought the girls pattern. I bought these ones at the actual store, a walgreens I think. I heard the girls pattern was hard to find so I thought I'd pick some up. It took me two tries to work up the nerve, but as with last time, it wasn't actually a big deal. Same quality notes as last time:

soft and comfy, but not too big. I did try fluffing one, and it did add softness! Still very discreet, it makes no noise and you can't notice them through regular pants.

{ they hold a decent amount wetness wise. I've had no problems with leaks or dampness on clothes.}

Next up is the Little Kings! I bought a two pack sample of the medium size on thursday, and it arrived on saturday! They came in discreet packaging, the shipping label didn't even say abu, and it came with a ziplock bag for storage. I immediately noticed how big they are, easily twice the goodnites. They also smelled like baby powder, and felt sooo soft to the touch!

I was going to wait until another day to try them, but I got excited. I did rush through the application though, so it came out a little wonky lol. The medium is definitely a little big on me, but I don't think they carry small, so it'll suffice. Here's the deets!

soooo soft. I know I've said it, but I'll say it again. They're very different from the goodnites, they're plush all around so they're bulkier. They also cover much more, the back came up to my lower back and was a little difficult to hide under my pants alone. Sooo cozy though, probably better if you apply them well!

Surprisingly quiet for what I was expecting - maybe some shuffling, and it does make you waddle a bit, but it's not too hard to hide. Not necessarily discreet, but not loud. They're cloth backed, which is why.

They have 'hook and loop' tapes, which are a little like velcro, so you can adjust them!

{ obviously more absorbant than the goodnites, that's what they're made for. I actually had a little trouble going in them because they were so padded - but I did manage a little. It didn't even activate the wetness indicator, so Im assuming it can hold quite a bit. Probably a good overnight nappy if you struggle with bedwetting.}

Overall, if I had a smaller size, they'd be 1000/10 perfect!

Lastly, we've got the training pants from bigtot!! And honestly I'd go so far as to say these are my favorite piece of agere clothing. They're exactly what I wanted! I always loved training pants, the softness is just comforting, and these are exactly what I wanted - or even better!! Notes:

So. So. So soft and pillowy!!

Adorable patterns

Pretty pricey, but worth it if you have it! They're very well made.

Pretty discreet, a little big but nothing too noticeable.

They run a bit small, so maybe try a size up! They can get a little tight around the elastics.

{ I don't have a washing machine so I can't speak to the effectiveness of these when it comes to using them }

Overall, 10000/10, even perfecter!! Anyway, I hope this whole review post was helpful ♡ lmk anything else you'd like to hear about!

#lets talk about agere #agere gear #agere #age regression #um. idk lol #these made me so so happy!!! #OH WAIT #ageredips #padded agere #nappychat

[loopy777]

AtLA Book Water Soundtrack Review

You all know how we've wanted this soundtrack for years and suffered through such explanations as 'the original sound files probably don't exist anymore.' Thankfully, Avatar Studios has seen fit to re-record the music of the first season with a full orchestra, as part of what I assume is a media blitz meant to build hype for the live action Netflix remake. But we all know that remakes, even in music, often don't live up to the original. So, how did it turn out?

(Er, the soundtrack, I mean. The Netflix thing hasn't been released yet.)

With a sigh of relief, I can report: It's great!

Thankfully, the sample track didn't turn out to be indicative of the entire album. The composition of everything else is pretty faithful to the original versions, as far as I could tell. In fact, the overall sound is pretty close to my memories of the original music, despite the use of a full orchestra to record this version- with the exception of the drums, which in the HiDef sound files I downloaded sound fantastic and successfully make my floor and walls shake. (I make no guarantees about what you get if you listen to streaming, mp3 files, or the vinyl disks. This is why I pay a premium for FLAC files or CDs.) I loved turning up the volume and getting blasted by the classic Avatar theme in glorious orchestral quality.

Plus, some tracks are vastly improved by these recordings, while also being true to the original. The best example is the Northern Water Tribe entrance music, which I always thought sounded a bit chintzy and repetitive in the original track (but I admit my opinion might be colored by the poor quality of the recordings we have access to). The new version has a much fuller sound and enough variation to justify the length. I suspect this might come down to which of the original tracks used real instruments and which had to rely more on synthesized sound.

I suspect, though, that the vocals on this album are all the originals, and that's why the Koizilla music makes the chorus less prominent; it probably couldn't be mixed together with the new orchestra without sounding bad. In most cases, that's not a problem, but I do mourn that the Kozilla music doesn't sound quite right. But, on the other hand, Mako's singing has never sounded better.

The album has all the music I'd expect of a soundtrack for Book Water. The Fire Nation, Kyoshi Island, and Jet all get good suites that showcase their themes and music, something that just doesn't exist anywhere in the original recordings. The famous stuff -- the opening theme, the Avatar State, the 'into the sunset' peaceful music, the Agni Kai, Aang's antics, the full "Winter, Spring, Summer, & Fall" tune in both full instrumental form and with Mako's singing, and of course the ending credits -- is all here. The season finale is heavily represented, but that's appropriate as those episodes got a lot of new music and all of it is great. And if you've only been able to content yourself with the fan-made soundtracks we've had to piece together over the the years via promotional releases and episode rips, there's some good stuff here that you might never have heard by itself before, like the fun bit of music for June.

And because I'm compelled to nitpick, I'm a bit annoyed by the order of the tracks. I like to listen to soundtracks in chronological order, and while that kind of thing isn't really feasible with something as long and repetitive as a television series season, this album does a serviceable approximation with its order- except for two weird cases. The Blue Spirit introduction comes after the music for his escape with Aang, and the music for the encounter with Koh comes after the music for Aang's arrival in the Spirit World. I assume this is because it makes for a better hi/lo/fast/slow sequence as part of the overall, but I would have preferred the order of their presentation in the cartoon.

So, in conclusion, this is the soundtrack we've wanted all these years, and everyone should stream or buy it or at least pirate it in enough numbers to raise eyebrows. I want the other two books done this way, and I think we as a fandom deserve it, despite some of the fanfic I've seen you people write. ;)

#atla soundtrack #atla #avatar soundtrack #jeremy zuckerman #book 1: water

[jamscandraw]

Artist/writer/creative friends, my darlings, I am reaching through your screens and gently holding your faces in my hands as I say:

Please stop dunking on yourself on public socials.

I know it's so tempting to post some art and put "this came out real bad lol" "I suck so much why did I post this" but as a follower (and as a friend to a lot of people who do this) it's really disheartening and uncomfortable. A friend of mine got a really nice comment on some art they'd made and their reply was "thanks it looks way worse than my usual art" how do you respond to that?? Coming across like you have no faith or love for your own work will most likely mean your followers won't either. And if you're putting this work up for sale/as samples for commissions, it doesn't look very professional.

Yes tooting your own horn is hard but you don't have to swing to the other extreme end of the spectrum and start saying "look at me I'm so amazing!!! I aced this!!" (Although you should definitely try it at least once when you're super proud of something, it's a really good confidence boost sometimes) Just don't be 100% negative about your work in a place your followers/potential customers can see. If you really don't like a piece that you're posting, try and put a positive spin on it: "this didn't come out quite the way I wanted and I think I've learned something about anatomy!" or "working on this made me realize I'd like to get better at drawing backgrounds" etc etc. And if someone gives your work a compliment that you feel your work doesn't deserve, don't try to convince them they're wrong - just say thank you! Not only does it make it much more approachable for your followers (and possibly open up engagement in terms of people offering tips/feedback) but you will start to feel much less negatively about your work, and yourself as well. Please be a little bit kinder to yourself and your hard work ❤️

#jams speaks #cynics DNI

[shopwitchvamp]

not trying to be a hater, but genuinely curious, long ago i saw some people saying your skirts were of a lower quality and were prone to being torn and ripped because of this lower quality, was that a fluke in certain pieces or did you begin selling clothes at a lower quality with a lower price point until you could afford to ship out clothes made of better materials?

Hmmm, a couple questions to narrow down what you heard that about:

1) how long is long ago? If you mean reeeeally long ago (before about.. 2017?) Then they were totally different skirts from a totally different manufacturer.

2) who were the people saying that? (because sometimes people put some rude stuff in comments on posts when they've never even seen my skirts in person, but also if it was specifically sometime in summer last year I might have been the one you saw complaining about quality issues)

3) was it definitely about my skirts or was it about similar ones somewhere else? I get confused with other people a lot, so just to check.

Regardless, I've never heard of anything ripping or tearing, but I have had issues with pilling. The first thing to come to mind is that last year I did have a bad batch of skirts where the issue went further back than the manu that does the printing for my skirts, to the manu they get blank fabric from.

Summer 2022 there was a much, much higher percentage of skirts than usual with some kind of fabric flaw where the fabric was pilling very quickly, sometimes after only being worn once. This was while I was still with FHF, so some of their skirts were affected too, but just by chance more of my designs had issues than theirs. Spider Lily Maxis in particular got the worst of it. Maya Kern (who was also using the same manu at the time) had similar issues with some skirts' fabric around that time too.

This is when I started switching over to "Milk Silk" fabric after getting some samples from my manu of different fabric options and running them through a bunch of testing (high heat washing and drying, friction tests, etc). The "Milk Silk" option not only felt softer/smoother, but it also turned out to be much more durable than the "Matte" fabric I used to use. So that's what's available on the shop now.

Anyone that got a dud skirt was sent a replacement made with the new fabric as soon as I had them on hand.

Also the cost to me from my manu hasn't changed (beyond shipping fluctuations), so none of this has anything to do with cost cutting before or after getting that bad batch.

If this is about skirts waaaay further back in the 2014-2016 range though, we were using ArtsCow which still wasn't about cost vs quality but about accessibility and being able to order as little as one thing at a time. Finding a manufacturer to work with directly instead of going through a company like ArtsCow took time, and the very very early skirts were an experiment more than anything. I didn't think I'd end up in fashion, haha. Mainly I was selling handmade crocheted plushies back then and just wanted to try out making skirts because my friends were also doing it and it was a fun and cool new thing to offer at cons.

#witch vamp #ask #anon

[preciousbarnes]

sex pollen au?? like maybe on a mission with the avengers he gets drugged by someone trying to incapacitate him? and since he has heightened senses its even worse for him? pls with sugar on top?

oooo ur speakin my language anon

content warning: smutty smut smut, dubious consent due to the nature of sex pollen au's but efforts were made to make this as consensual as possible, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it kids), aged-up!Peter (think 21 or 22),

this is filthy i am sorry i am going to hell

You were waiting in the avengers compound for everyone to return from the mission. You had reluctantly sat this one out, due to a concussion you were still recovering from that was the result of the last mission you took part in. Peter had kissed you gently on the cheek before boarding the jet, promising to return soon and in one piece.

When they all returned, your blood ran cold as all the other avengers walked into the common area except Peter. Immediately you jumped to questioning.

Where is he? How bad is it? Please tell me he made it? Please dont tell me he's gone.

"He's in containment, it's not safe to be around him, especially for you" Captain informed you sternly.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? What happened?" You ask, pleading for someone to just tell you what had happened.

At this, Tony stepped forward, placing a hand on Steve's shoulder to get him to stand down and relax with the sternness.

"It's only right we tell her. They are in an established relationship. I'd want to know if it was Pep." Tony told the soldier before addressing you.

An intense aerosol aphrodisiac they called it. Steve and Tony had been there when Peter had been sprayed. Tony's suit protected him from the spray and Steve's heightened metabolism burned through it quickly so he had very minimal side effects from being in contact with the substance.

Peter's heightened senses didn't make him so lucky. It just intensified matters. He could barely stand, could barely catch his breath, his stomach tense like a stretched rubber band with no release in sight, his cock hard and swollen, with no way to satisfy himself. They told you it was so bad that he begged them to knock him out, drug him, do something to make it stop. They couldnt though, not until FRIDAY finished running diagnostics on the sample of the aphrodisiac. As much as Tony wanted to help his young mentee, he refused to do anything that could possibly harm him, like administering other drugs without knowing how they may interact with the unknown substance.

Take me to him now. You ordered without second thought. The idea of him suffering broke your heart, but you were not prepared for the site of him in the airtight, reinforced quarantine cabin he was isolated in. Tony had turned off the one way glass effect on the window, so Peter could see you and you could see him. Tony quickly instructed you on how to enter the compound if you both decided you would, and turned to leave, having FRIDAY lock down the floor once again as he left.

"Peter?" You called through the intercom. He hadn't even known you were there, until you callled. His eyes shot up to where there was once a large mirror, now just glass he could look through and see you standing out in the hall, reinforced hulk-proof glass standing between you both.

"Baby," he groaned, body slick with sweat. He had gotten out of his suit which lay in a heap of red and blue in the corner of the room, kicked aside. He was just in a pair of black boxers, straining at the front from his hard on that was very prominently standing at attention, twitching from time to time. His abs were clenched, his chest heaving with each breath. His muscles in his arms were bulging, veins in his arm more prominent that usual and his hands clenched the bed sheets beneath him as he withered in both pain and pleasure.

He took a couple deep breaths, turning from you and clenching his eyes shut. "Baby, get out of here, I can't control myself," he groans out.

"Peter, please, let me come in. I want to help, you're in so much pain, let me fix it, let me help get it out of your system," You plead with him.

"Sweetheart, you deserve- ah fuck- you deserve better," He says headily.

This confuses you, making you cock your head as you ask him what he means.

"I- I, fuck babygirl," he's cut off with a moan, hand moving down to grasp himself through his boxers.

"I cant give you slow and sensual like usual, not like this, and I refuse to hurt you," He sighs out, once again clenching his eyes shut. a whimper coming up and out of his throat.

You swallow, taking him in. He's still your Peter. And yes, he is always so gentle with you but you'd be lying if you didn't acknowledge how wet you felt at the prospect of him just having his wicked way with you.

"Peter, babe, look at me," You call, placing your hand near the unlock button, not pressing it yet.

Reluctantly, he looks up and meets your eyes. Looking at you sends heat and want through his veins and it takes everything in him to not launch himself at the damn glass and reinforced door keeping you from him.

"Maybe, I want something other than slow and sensual? What I'm trying to say, I love you, you are in pain, and I want to help. I am consenting, and you won't hurt me. Even with any drug on the planet or in the universe, I know you'd never hurt me. All you have to do is say yes if you want me to help. It's your choice, honey. If you don't want that, that's okay. Just say what you want." You tell him, looking him directly in the eyes so he knows that you mean what you say.

After a second he nods, "yeah, fuck, if you want this I want it too, please get in here," He begs.

Your hand finds the unlock button, and Peter is up and pulling your body into his the second the door slides open, pulling you to the bed as the door latches and locks back into place.

His hands are everywhere, roaming and gripping and caressing as you both work to strip off the clothes you were in. As gently as he can in his frenzied state, he leans you back onto the bed and climbs on top of you, pulling your legs up to wrap around his waist.

One of his fingers drifts down between your folds, feeling the wetness and throbbing of your folds and clit.

"Are you ready sweetheart? God, look how wet you are for me. Gonna eat you out later, have you squirming all over the bed like I have been for you for the last hour," He says, voice sounding more intoxicating than anything you've ever heard.

"Please," is all you have to say before he's pushing into you, his throbbing cock finally getting some relief from your tight and velvety walls.

His head drops down to rest on your neck as he groans, his arms and legs shaking in the pleasure of feeling you. He pants between kissing and sucking on your neck, leaving little love bites.

"Can I- fuck, baby I gotta move, please," he pleads, overwhelmed by the lust coursing through his veins. You're as close as possible, but not close enough at the same time.

You nod your head breathlessly and he begins to thrust in earnest, each one jolting your body. You let out a moan as his tip brushes that oh-so-perfect spot in you, your stomach already in knots from the pleasure. Your fingernails rake down his back as he aims for that same spot as he continues, making you see stars. You begin to sporadically clench around him as your high gets closer and closer, earning a heady groan from him.

His thrusts speed up slightly, going deeper and harder as he pants into your neck, groaning again as you moan and clench down on him. He reaches down and rubs your clit in tight circles, quickly bringing you over the end with a cry as you clench again tightly around him and grip his broad shoulders in pleasure.

Feeling you let go around him is what brings him finally over the edge, his hips stuttering as he fills you up as you feel him pulse inside you. After a few moments and deep breaths from you both, he pulls out and rolls you both to your side, holding you against him; the fire in his veins temporarily sated.

“Are you okay, sweetheart?” He asks, searching your face as he tucks a strand of hair behind your ear. You smile and grab his hand, kissing his knuckles.

“I’m perfect. How long until the next round?” You ask, earning a cheeky grin from him as he climbs on top of you once again.

WOOO BUDDY THAT WAS SPICY

#peter parker imagine #peter parker smut #peter parker blurb #peter parker #asks are always appreciated #preciousbarnes blurbs #smut

[cookies-super-secret-blog]

something something grow a pair and state thoughts on ai?

So, funny story, I made a post about this before, whenever the topic tag for it was trending. And like, I still stand by that, sans the part where I call the AI itself a form of art under my definition. A little bit after that, I saw a post, while definitely not in response to my own post, made the point that while we should hate AI art for the rampant theft of jobs and content, that its somehow bad to dislike it as Bad Art or Not Art because "gatekeeping art is baddd". Which like, in the context of someone drawing stick figures or painting giant blocks of color, is valid; we shouldn't gatekeep art from people. I still think AI doesn't deserve that privilege. Like, not to try and define art again, but, like hold on ket me grab something.

This is an ai generated adoptable from deiantart. Now, I have to ask, what's being expressed here- besides "cute girl in big hoodie (despite the one on the left not having a hoodie)"? Like it's easy to take these apart mechanically, but conceptually? It's somehow easier. Like, part of character design is visually communicating stuff about the character. There's nothing here besides anime girl in big outfit with minor armor details maybe? Like nothing else here is coherent! Like she looks sampled off of genshin and honkai characters but that's it. Like the cutains are just blue, and its dull and boring because of it. Why is the jacket neon green? The prompter wanted it that way. Why does she have the shoulder pieces and the case she's holding? Because the prompter likely put "battle girl" and/or "solarpunk" into the prompt. And it's not bad to have design elements for the sake of it, but the ai can't do anything but that, and the content it generates suffers because of it. There's no artistic value there, imo.

Now, not to toot my own horn, but here's my take on this design:

This is still a "cute girl in a big lime green jacket", but there's more to it. It's a high visibility jacket, with stripes reminiscent of construction vests. In the other doodles on the page, this high visibility theme is expanded to a theme of her being some kind of rescue personnel, and/or an angel (see; the halo in the bottom right). While it's fairly easy for me to point these themes out- it is what I intended- I'd still argue an obersever would be able to point out similar, or other themes and motifs that bring this character together.

No ammount of prompts and generation models can recreate that. Even if the prompter had the exact same intent I had when making the og ai content, that intent doesn't come across whatsoever. Because AI cannot replicate human intent and artistic processes.

These image generators register to me as the miserable end point of the sad, art-illiterate belief that art only is, and is only meant to "look pretty". Every time modern art is decried as "ugly and pointless", another prompter gets validated in their shameless attempts to assert their narrow-as-fuck vosion of what art is.

Art is human. Art is messy, art is intricate, art is sloppy, art is beautiful and art is ugly.

No machine on earth can comprehend or replicate that. And the ceasless attempts to commodify and capitalize on art have made some people forget that fact. The kinds of people who prompt really only see art as a gimmick product, pretty knickknacks that will make them rich quick.

For lack of better terms, the dehumanization of art itself is disgusting, and so like hell am I going to consider AI's mass-produced, slot machine-esque, drivel as art.

And I will not be guilted by other people on this hellsite who think its a moral failure to call mindless content what it is because its dressed up in distorted frills and anime girl boobs.

Art is human, and AI is not human. And what a sad world it is, that we're automating and strangling human creation, instead of letting it thrive.

Thank you for reminding me to share my thoughts.

#bit speaks #ai art discourse #anti ai #ai art discussion #ai art debate #old man yells at cloud

[sheliesshattered]

We had a fabulous time visiting Batuu yesterday! Our outfits were comfortable and functional and well suited to what turned out to be a relatively cold and cloudy day in southern California. Disney cast members definitely seemed to interact with us more because we made the effort to dress up, and we got some lovely compliments from other guests, too. We were even gifted some BSO credit coins by random strangers who liked our outfits!

It was Jack's first visit to Batuu, and while I did get to spend a little bit of time there with my mom in October, this was my first opportunity to really explore the entire area, browse through the shops, and sample all the food and drinks available. It was at least as cool as my first impression of it back in October, and Jack was impressed and delighted by all of it. We spent a good portion of the day just admiring all the details and world-building and excellent sets.

Jack has requested no photos, but I did manage to snag this pic of him blocking the camera like a victim of the paparazzi, lol.

But look at those pleats! Both Jack and I are so pleased with how they turned out. Several of the Resistance jackets on display in the Rise of the Resistance queue had similar pleat details, and it was fun to look at them up close.

Over this last weekend and all the way up to late Monday night, I was able to add a few last details to our outfits. I finally adjusted the chain length of my dangley earrings and glued the leather cording wraps to the back of my kyber crystal necklace so that it wouldn't slip out. While I had the glue out, I figured I'd take a stab at making some spat-type things to cover the lacings of my tall Doc Marten boots. I was completely winging it from start to finish, but I'm really happy with how they turned out!

The spats are made from some left over suede I've had in my stash for literally more than 20 years now -- it's been used for an Aragorn vest for Jack, a couple of bags for me, and the inner layers of the big wedge shaped piece on my Oswin belt. And I still have some left over! Maybe I'll make myself a belt pouch to match these spats at some point in the future.

The narrow end of each spat tucks under the laces closest to the toe of my boot, and theoretically secures to itself with a hook and eye, though I found the hook didn't really hold from that angle, and really wasn't necessary anyway. The straps then velcro around the back of my leg, at the lowest point of the bend of my ankle, and right at the top of the boot, so that the strap sits just above the top edge of the boot in the back, which helps keep it from slipping down.

To make these I really just draped scrap suede on my boot while wearing it, started cutting it to the shape I thought might make sense, then copied that over for a second spat. I measured how much I would need for the straps and how much of an overlap I wanted for the velcro, then cut out all those pieces and glued them together using E6000 -- which works wonderful for adhering velcro to suede and suede to suede, but is a bit more iffy with the metal hooks and eyes (one eye popped off when I was taking off the spat at the end of the night, but since it wasn't staying hooked anyway, I'm not fussed).

Despite being such a quick off-the-cuff project, the spats worked out great, and added that last little bit to my outfit by covering the laces of my boots. They're visible in the third photo, the full-length shot in front of the door (and in the video below), and I think they add an understated bit of texture difference in all the black-on-black there, in addition to obscuring the modern look of the boots a bit.

Besides those detail bits for me, I also made a pair of little pockets for Jack's jacket, to hold 'code cylinders'. It's a tiny detail that really makes the jacket look that much more Star Wars-y, and the cylinders themselves are empty and their tops unscrew, so the space can actually be functional, too. (Currently they're filled with gum!)

And at Jack's request, I threw together a quick insert for the zipper section on his collar that used to hold the hood before we removed it. The hood was making the collar too puffy, but without it the collar didn't have enough body to stand up on its own.

I took some measurements, then cut a piece of cotton duck canvas (that I had originally bought to cover the zippers on my Moment vest, before I changed gears and made the Batuu vest instead) to the right length and about three times the height of the interior of the hood section. I did a simple zigzag tri-fold on the height, ironed it flat, and marked some guide lines perpendicular to the length. Then it was just a simple process of quilting the three layers together by machine sewing in short vertical rows ~1cm apart.

The quilting gave the canvas even more stiffness, and after that point it absolutely did not want to fold or droop along the short vertical axis. I slipped it into the former hood pocket (after snipping one corner to fit around the snap I hadn't accounted for), zipped it closed, and gave the whole collar area a quick pressing. It's removable if we ever need to, completely washable, and keeps the collar standing upright without looking too stiff. Jack was very happy with the result.

With our outfits finally done, we headed into the park around mid-morning, with a plan to stay late. I wasn't quite sure what to expect with Batuu Bounding at Disneyland (which is notoriously a bit more hit-and-miss than Batuu East, in Florida), but we got through security without incident and through the rest of the park without anyone commenting on our outfits. We saw someone else wearing the same leather-look leggings as me, and a guy wearing similar jacket and pants to Jack (but without the pleating), which made us feel like we didn't look too weird, by general Disneyland standards.

Once we were in Batuu, though, our bounding definitely got noticed more. A couple of fellow guests complemented our outfits (including the kind strangers who gave us the coins!), and cast members seemed way more interested in interacting with us in-character. I got to bring up a bit about the history I'd made up for Samæni Ray -- which led to one cast member later referring to me and Jack as "my friends from Denon!" All of the prep and character design made it a lot easier to think on my feet in those little improv interactions.

One cast member in particular kept finding us throughout the day, just suddenly appearing out of nowhere it felt like, and kept trying to sell us a speederbike that totally wasn't a broken down lemon.

Later in the day, he kind of sold us out to Kylo Ren and a pair of stormtroopers (but like, in a fun way, lol) which led to an intense interaction with Kylo Ren right up in both my face and Jack's. Kylo Ren is tall, and the voice and the mask and the body language was all perfect up close. There was a bit of nervous laughter on our part, but we kept our cool and convinced Ren that that since we'd only just arrived on Batuu from Denon, we couldn't possibly know anything about any Resistance activity in Black Spire Outpost.

We were way too in the moment to get any photos, but because we were dressed up and Kylo Ren was so much up in our faces, we did draw a bit of a crowd, so for all I know other people may have taken pictures or videos of the event, lol. My family has a saying about 'look hard' rather than take photos, and it was definitely that for us.

Overall the whole day was wonderful, and we ended up spending nearly 12 hours in Batuu without leaving once. I got to pilot the Falcon multiple times (though I can't really say I've gotten any better at it, lol), and got to try out gunner and engineer, too. We managed to ride Rise of the Resistance both during the day and again after dark, explore every part of Black Spire Outpost in detail, learn to play Sabacc with a cast member, have drinks at Oga's, and eat a bunch of really tasty, really well-presented food.

All together it was an excellent, excellent birthday. And we're already talking about when we might want to go back again.

#Batuu Bounding #Batuu West #Disneyland #Disneybound #Disneybounding #Star Wars bounding #2024 mood #this is my real life #my sewing #Batuu vest #scrappy sweatshirt project #Jyn Erso sweatshirt #hooded wrap #Jack's jacket project #Samæni Ray #Samaeni Ray #long post #safe to unmute #there was a snaffu with my lightsaber so I didn't get to take it -- but I don't regret not doing Savi's #soon I will have a lovely slim saber that I can spin with #I didn't really miss having a saber on this trip (and it would have made the interaction with Kylo a bit more pointed I think) #but if we go back for another round of bounding for Star Wars night then I'll certainly take it for the lightsaber meetup #last night and this morning I was SO TIRED -- spoonies are not meant to go for 14 hour days like that #but I am already back in the mode of wanting to be Samæni all the time lol #and hey the Season of the Force Star Wars nights haven't sold out yet so just maybe we can do this again soon