#Nowhere near those proportions | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thewhitefluffyhat · 1 year

Text

barbie doll not in a barbie world

We know John based Alecto’s body on his favorite Barbie doll. Does that mean Alecto literally has Barbie Doll Anatomy as per the trope?

Like, no body hair, no female-presenting nipples, nothing but featureless smooth skin between her legs?

Because I agree that John didn’t intentionally put Alecto in a doll-like body to make her “sexy.” But what if - accidentally or not - he instead made her sexless?

So first of all, we know that Alecto-as-Nona finds Harrow’s scrawny, lumpy-brain, unattractive-by-popular-vote body to be beautiful. And yet, in Nona the Ninth, Alecto describes her own body as a “hideousness.”

Now, it could be that Alecto hates the body John made her just because he got the proportions kinda wonky, or because there’s something unique to the Alecto-body that keeps her trapped there unlike when she’s in Harrow’s body.

But I can’t help but also think of the passage where Nona describes the “cradle creature” that she drew to the Angel. Because she doesn’t defend her drawing on how creative, or beautiful, or accurate the doodle was:

Nona looked down at the animal she had drawn, and thought perhaps she understood. She said, “No, I made it up. It does work, I promise. See these things? They're its ears,” she said in much the same tones as she would have explained to Kevin. “This thing is its nose, and you can’t see it because I didn’t draw it, but the mouth is under here. When it was first born it used to live in a river, but then it got cold so it had to get large. I know the legs can’t rotate, but you don’t think that’s stupid, do you?”

Nona the Ninth, p251

Instead, Nona is completely focused on the fact that despite her doodle’s unusual features, it’s an animal that “works.” It’s a being that could live.

Is Alecto… not a being that “works”?

At the very least, Nona doesn’t seem to like or need normal human food. Presumably, Alecto was the same way. So her lacking an anus or genitals likely wouldn’t be an issue given that this is a woman who thinks rubber and graphite are a yummy snack. Also who, per Mercymorn, might not even have DNA.

So why would this matter?

It’s because there’s something especially potent and horrifying about taking the soul of Earth, of Mother Nature herself, and then forcing her into a body without a functional digestive tract or reproductive system. Not, to be clear, that people lacking those things are in any way less human or less worthy of life. It’s just… speaking of life and nature in the most broad and planetary terms, ’can eat and reproduce’ are the significant features that set living organisms apart from rocks. The uniqueness of which is also what sets Earth apart from every other planet in the solar system.

Plus there’s the way Gaia (the ancient goddess, not Kiriona) was somewhat associated with fertility and the harvest. Meanwhile Christmas tree fairies, Renaissance angels, Adam and Eve in their innocent state, Galatea the statue, Frankenstein who was denied a mate… they’re more associated with the opposite of that.

So when it comes to the symbolism of Alecto, there’s these Classical thematic connections between womanhood and abundance and fertility, now being placed in dialogue with a very Christian idealization of abstinence from food and sex. It’s Muir using two mythological building blocks and putting them in tension with each other.

(There’s also the building block of Māori traditions that Muir draws on with Alecto and her saltwater, though I am nowhere near qualified to comment on that… would love to read more about it, though!)

Last but not least, there’s the modern context to consider. Alecto’s body is specifically a Hollywood Hair Barbie. Hollywood formerly of the Hays Code, Hollywood now in the age of “everyone is beautiful and no one is horny.” The gilded facsimile of life, distanced from the messy, primordial desires underneath.

I don’t have any kind of grand thesis to tie all these observations together, but the juxtapositions are interesting, aren’t they? Especially in a series that is less shy than many about normalizing queer (often female) desire. In that context, taking such desires away would be a hideousness, wouldn’t it?

And you know, while we’re on this subject… it’s unclear whether Gideon can eat or feel arousal in her revenant form either. (Yes, I’m sure fanfic writers have opinions on this, but I haven’t gotten to post-Nona works in my chronological AO3 binge and we’re just talking about the text of NtN here.)

Did John take those pleasures away from Gideon too?

I hadn’t even really thought about all the Kiriona/Alecto parallels, but they sure are plentiful. John puts both women into bodies that seem superficially wonderful yet which they both resent and dislike. And they also both act/consider acting as John’s cavalier, with the implication that this is because they don’t have any other options or people who care about them. At least John seems to like their company, even as he manipulates and hurts the ones they love.

So yeah, what is with this dude and turning people into his perfect dolls? Once might have been an accident, but this starting to look like a pattern my guy.

208 notes · View notes

moonlitcomet · 9 months

Text

A simple, not fully comprehensive guide to stick figure community art styles you might find on the internet:

Despite being such a simple object, something universal to humanity when drawing a simple person, there's a lot of ways to depict a stick figure. Almost infinite ones. And some of these ways to draw a stick figure have developed into entire communities; just by looking at the way someone draws a "stick figure" character, you can probably tell what corner of the internet they've stuck their nose in!

RHGs/Dojo Duelists

Probably what first comes to mind when you think of those fancy stick fight animations. These guys have been around for longer than many people have been alive, having been founded in 2005 by Stone. Many people who started out animating with RHG eventually moved on to become professional animators for cartoons, movies, and even anime.

RHGs and Dojo Duelists are often animated using symbols and objects in Flash, creating a distinct "segmented" appearance. When up close, they often have hand drawn facial features, which adds more to the style of the artist and animator.

Fans of RHG and Hyun's Dojo are often inspired to animate or create colorful and violent stories based on these characters, and quite a few of them seem to find old men incredibly sexy.

An interesting fact about the RHG style and its fanart is that most RHG fanart is in a style commonly referred to as glorified stickfigures, with simple, full bodies and detailed features. I am unsure as to the origin of this art style, but if anyone knows where it first originated, I would love to know.

Gildedguy's Glorified Stickmen

A bit of a side-community to Dojo and RHG is that of Gildedguy's community, who I am happy to represent. Gildedguy started animating in 2006, but truly became more of an internet sensation in 2011 with the release of Slush Invaders. Gildedguy the character made his first official debut in 2015 with Gildedguy vs. Fry, a speedbattle[though he made an appearance in the Slush Invaders game before that.]. Since then he has been releasing at least one new big project every year, with the quality of each animation ramping up as time goes on.

Gildedguy's art style involves large heads and stumpier proportions, with enormous eyes. His style is extremely unique for a stickfigure artist, and you can almost always tell when someone has been inspired by his art and animations.

Gildedguy has a very interactive community, and he has inspired many people that I know to start animation, be it when he first started with Slush Invaders or even as recently as Story 7. Many members of his community, myself included, do not find themselves interacting with many other stick figure communities, though overlap between Gildedguy and almost any other large stick figure community is also very prominent and common.

Animator vs. Animation [Alan Becker]

The source of nostalgia for many my age, these little stickfigures have kept a chokehold on their corner of the internet for nearly two decades, with the first Animator vs. Animation being released one year after RHG's founding, in 2006. Ever since then, AVA and its sidestories of AVM strike inspiration and excitement into the hearts of its fans. Many children and adults alike love the stories of these stickfigures, with simple but nuanced characters and visual stories that anyone can enjoy.

Unlike with many RHGs and Duelists, AVA stickfigures are hand drawn and have more fluid and bendy limbs, and have no facial features except in the case of a single Youtube short as of the time of this being posted.

Fans of AVA sometimes draw in the art style of the source material, but here on Tumblr, I've also seen a lot of them giving them more detailed bodies and faces, as well as clothing and hairstyles. Many copycat animators on youtube exist with nowhere near the level of charm and love put into Alan Becker's AVA.

Henry Stickmin

I'm not actually fully familiar with Henry Stickmin, its games, or its characters, but it's hard to find any other stickfigure style as distinct as this one. With detailed heads, hands, and feet but stick-thin bodies, Henry Stickmin stands out while also sticking to the stickfigure art style.

Henry Stickmin first debuted in 2008 with Breaking The Bank, a point-and-click adventure game.

Dick Figures

Dick Figures is a crass, adult-oriented short animation series on YouTube, which debuted in 2010 and released a feature-length film in 2013. The shorts are almost always immature and vulgar, calling to the times of the internet that they originated from.

Dick Figures features hand drawn stickfigures with stick-thin bodies and detailed faces.

I've found that fans of this series do not often cross over into the internet territories of other Stickfigure communities, and instead spend more time in meme communities.

Marikin Online 4 [MO4]

MO4 is a Japanese RPG game with a very niche and dedicated art community behind it. While Marikin Online 1, 2, and 3 did technically exist, they were never fully finished games and are no longer available to the public. From what I can tell, MO4 first released around 2018, and I can find little other information about the series' history itself in a cohesive place.

The characters are unusual and distinct, with one of them even somehow landing on the Sexypedia. They have gray or white skin with few body features aside from their faces, and many of them will be adorned in fancy billowing clothing.

I can't say much for the game aside from the fact that it is intended for mature audiences, and has dark themes such as abuse and sexual harassment.

You'll find that many fanartists for this game are Japanese or Chinese, and may be difficult to find outside the community itself, but once you find one you'll almost definitely stumble into 20 more.

Countryhumans

One of if not the most controversial groups of stickfigure communities on this list, Countryhumans are character designs based on countries and historical regimes. They have distinct character designs with facial markings based on their respective flags.

Countryhumans were likely founded in 2017 in a Russian forum, almost definitely based upon or at least inspired by the 2009 Polandball comic. As is the nature of depicting entire countries as characters [IE Hetalia and Polandball itself], this community wound up creating many offensive caricatures of countries and citizens of the countries it represents, and is frequently put under criticism for doing so, as well as shipping said countries with other countries that have warred, invaded, or forced oppressive regimes upon others. The sexualization of regimes such as Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and ISIS are especially causative for this.

Due to its controversial nature, many stickfigure artists - especially east Asian artists - around the world have wound up blacklisting Countryhuman community members and artists from interacting with them.

Mid-Fight Masses and related characters

Mid-Fight Masses, and its related characters, were a phenomenon released in the early modding days of FNF in 2021. While these characters were not created for the mod - instead being made as early as when their creator, Dokki Doodlez, was 9 or 10 years old - they were popularized in the FNF mod featuring them, and became somewhat of a sensation, being some of the most popular characters in the fandom.

Sarvente, Ruv, and other characters in the universe sparked their own microfandom outside of FNF, with many new and young artists creating characters based on their distinct designs. With colorful facial markings, detailed clothing, and blank white eyes, many stickfigure characters created in 2021-present follow these design traits. They stand out from other popular stickfigure communities in the sense that many of these characters very rarely are shown committing violent acts, and have much more whimsical and fantastical lore.

#mine #stickfigures #long post #had a sudden urge to go autism mode #this isn't fully comprehensive by any means but it encompasses many of the bigger stickfig communities i've come across!#there's also a couple communities i refuse to add on principle of me just hating their creators #take a shot for every time i say distinct in this post

55 notes · View notes

a-dinosaur-a-day · 6 months

Text

Fossil Novembirb 13: French Savannah

Sylphornis by @quetzalpali-art

Whoops I got behind because life sucks but I'm back with the birds of the Quercy Phosphorites! This fossil site is another location of excellent preservation in Europe, dating to the end of the Eocene through the Oligocene. In fact, it shows a lot of how animals continued to evolve post-Messel, and has been compared to the Messel Pit extensively to look at the process of mammalian evolution in Europe!

But we, of course, are here for The Birds. This ecosystem was an open plain, not quite filled with grass as the great Grass Takeover hadn't happened yet. But it wasn't a tropical or subtropical forest like most of the world had been for millions of years by this point. In fact, the Eocene to Oligocene transition would force many animals - including birds - to deal with a more varied landscape for the first time in ages.

Pelargopappus by Piotr Gryz

As with other northern hemisphere ecosystems, we once again find a European locality filled with birds whose relatives live nowhere near Europe today. Pelargopappus, also known as Amphisagittarius, is one of our first known fossil Secretarybirds - and it was from Quercy! In fact, it's possible that the ecology of Secretarybirds as fast running prairie hunters may have evolved due to the decrease of forests during this time.

And it wasn't alone - the relatives of modern seriemas, like Talantatos, remained in the area as predators, and adapted well to the new environments. Along with Elaphrocnemus, it showcases that cursorial predatory birds were major factors in these early plains environments, and may have even been among the leading predators in these ecosystems. Mammalian carnivorans were only just starting to get bigger, and these growing pains allowed birds to fill some of their ancestral dinosaur niches even in Europe.

Talantatos by @drawingwithdinosaurs

Predators weren't the only birds having a grand old time in these new ecosystems. Landfowl, which were surprisingly scarce in earlier fossil records compared to their cousins the Waterfowl, begin to be more common during this time. These ground foragers, such as Quercymegapodius, had more food to pick from on the plains, and they even adapted for short bursts of flight rather than long-term flying in order to escape predators quickly on the open landscape. Relatives of seriemas adapted to herbivory, like Ameghinornis, were present too - there were a lot of grains and seeds to eat, after all!

As they evolved for this new environment, many landfowl experimented with different body proportions - such as Paraortyx, which had extremely lightweight bones, long and slender wings like those of ducks, and short legs like those of chickens. Birds like Paraortyx indicate that the evolution of living landfowl was a stepwise process, with some of the ancestral fowl characteristics sticking around in stem-landfowl such as these birds. Being able to fly well for long periods of time would have helped these birds travel through the landscape, far away from the dangers of the ground.

Paraortyx by @quetzalpali-art

Small, tree dwelling birds were present in the Quercy Savannah as well. Quercypsitta, a potential parrot relative, was a common bird in the ecosystem and may have been more like living parrots than the Parrot-Passerines of Prey we've talked about previously. Trees were still around in this ecosystem, and fighting over niches within them became difficult as all these tree birds now had to live in increasingly limited areas - which may have driven parrot relatives like Quercypsitta into diversifying further, towards the parrots we know today.

We also see early relatives of woodpeckers and barbets! Sylphornis had legs and feet weaker than those of Passerines, but very similar to living woodpeckers. With long slender legs and zygodactylus feet, it was able to perch on the trees effectively and hold onto them while searching for food, a helpful adaptation in an increasingly competitive world. Modern-type birds of prey were beginning to appear as well, with hawk-like animals such as Horusornis showing up more frequently in the fossil record as these open habitats appear. Like living birds of prey, Horusornis probably took advantage of the large landscape to search far and wide for sources of food.

Quercymegapodius by @drawingwithdinosaurs

Wading birds like Itardiornis were also present, though what sources of water they were feeding along is less clear. As terrestrial omnivores, they probably went from water source to water source, searching for anything they could eat in the savannah landscape. Relatives of avocets were also present, indicating probing around in the substrate was something many animals could benefit from in the plains.

The only fossil Toadie is known from Quercy, Palaeotodus, and while they were similar in terms of morphology, they were significantly larger than living toadies with much larger wings proportionally. This probably would have helped these birds go longer distances across the fragmenting landscape.

Palaeoglaux by @quetzalpali-art

Owls continued to adapt to the changing landscapes, competing with new diurnal raptors for niches as these forms began to appear. Palaeoglaux, known from the Messel, was still present in the Quercy Phosphorites, and was probably still diurnal as its earlier form had been, as it had visible display structures. Strisorians were common too, with relatives of nightjars like Ventivorus, potoos like Euronyctibius, and frogmouths like Quercpodargus all present in the ecosystem. This shows that, even as the world cooled, it wasn't quite cold enough for these now-tropical birds to disappear from Europe... yet.

Sources:

Mayr, 2022. Paleogene Fossil Birds, 2nd Edition. Springer Cham.

Mayr, 2017. Avian Evolution: The Fossil Record of Birds and its Paleobiological Significance (TOPA Topics in Paleobiology). Wiley Blackwell.

#fossil novembirb #novembirb #dinovember #dinosaurs #birds

32 notes · View notes

random-thought-depository · 5 months

Text

I think bonobo-like humans might have something weird going on with their teeth.

Human teeth, like our ovaries, seem to have not really "caught up with" how much longer than most mammals humans live and tend to reach their expiration dates long before the rest of our bodies. Maybe selection pressure for longer-lasting human teeth stopped when we invented knives.

Bonobo-like humans were much more shaped by female sexual selection that Homo sapiens. Rotten teeth aren't sexy. They'd have more selection pressure for teeth that last.

I wonder if they could have one or two extra replacement sets? Like, maybe they could have a second reserve set of adult teeth that grow out and replace their first set of adult teeth in middle age?

Imagine going through the same tooth loss and replacement little kids go through but in your 40s. That'd be a pain. You'd be a lot more likely to keep a full set of teeth the rest of your life that way though, especially in a time period before flouride water and toothpaste. Also, it's kind of cute to imagine a BLH child and parent going through tooth loss and replacement at the same time and sympathizing with each other.

The one thing that makes me hesitant to go with this idea is I did a little Googling and... I got the impression having more than two sets of teeth is pretty rare in mammals? I think if BLHs are like this it would make them unique among primates? Which makes me suspect there's no easy mutation pathway for mammals to evolve extra sets of teeth. I guess this might be another way we got screwed over by our ancestors being small, short-lived, scurrying things for a hundred million years.

Some mammals like rats have teeth that grow continuously, so maybe BLHs could have that (probably with a slow tooth growth rate cause a lot of our food is softened by cooking)? The main problem for human teeth is often rotting (basically being slowly dissolved by acids produced by mouth bacteria, I think?) rather than mechanical erosion though, so I don't know if that would be a good solution.

I guess a biologically conservative solution is they might have just milk and adult teeth like us but their adult teeth have really thick enamel. Which would imply their teeth are bigger and more robust than ours. That does feel more like how evolution usually works; no radical change, just a bunch of small increments of thickening adult tooth enamel.

This does contradict another idea I had about them though, which was that their more intense self-domestication might have resulted in smaller jaws with smaller teeth and maybe a completed loss of the wisdom teeth, something which might give them low-key "anime face," though with nowhere near the level of strange facial proportions you get in those "how anime humans would look if they were real" pictures. Low-key "anime face" with jaws and noses a bit smaller than ours would tend to make them look neotenous in a way I think would probably be kind of cute, it'd give them something a little closer to the facial proportions that make puppy and baby faces cute, so it'd fit with the more intense self-domestication thing.

Maybe they could have smaller jaws but bigger teeth, with room made for them by the completed loss of the wisdom teeth? I think that'd give them a kind of weird jaw structure though, which might make them look kind of weird. That's not necessarily a bad thing though, them having a distinctive look that's different from Earth humans would make them feel more like a different species (well, arguably they're not a different species cause they can still make babies with us, but it would make them feel more like a human population that's been reproductively isolated from Earth humans for hundreds of thousands of years). And one thing I like aesthetically about the bigger teeth but smaller jaws idea is the mix of "hyper-domesticated" and "primitive" feeling features that has a clear logic to it.

There's also extended phenotype of culture as a possibility. That's how we solve this problem: we put flouride in our tap water and brush our teeth and get cavities filled and when our teeth do decay beyond salvage there are dental implants. Modern BLHs presumably do similar things. Early, much more technologically primitive BLHs wouldn't have flouridated water and toothpaste, but... Their planet does have more poisonous plants than Earth, and that means it might also have a lot of plants which produce chemicals with interesting bio-active properties. Including maybe some plants that produce some mild antibacterial chemicals which could be applied to teeth to slow tooth decay.

Aside: I have some other ideas about how being more shaped by female sexual selection influences how bonobo-like humans age.

Maybe the most easily noticeable thing: they got a lot more selection pressure for staying kind of pretty into old age. Old bonobo-like human males tend to look very "silver fox"-ish. The primary selection pressure for this was sexual selection on older males, but since human males and females have most of the same genes the effect spilled over onto females too, and old bonobo-like human women similarly tend to look very "silver-haired MILF"-ish (a secondary contributor to this may have been kin selection for post-menopausal BLH women to still be attractive for sexual bonding, as given how BLH societies works that e.g. might have improved group solidarity - also it's worth noting here that BLH women have much later menopause than Homo sapiens women).

Related to this, bonobo-like humans tend to stay pretty physically vigorous until quite late in their lifespan, and "gross" old people problems like continence problems are less common in bonobo-like humans and when they do happen usually have a late onset, not starting until the individual has more-or-less already lived past their statistically expected lifespan.

However, this has a dark side. Bonobo-like humans tend to not live as long as us. Old bonobo-like humans tend to be kind of like a used car purchased from an unscrupulous dealer; everything visible to a casual observer is in good condition, but the hidden internals are a different story. This might be because increased selection pressure for attractiveness "diluted" selection pressure for long lifespan. Another possible factor is some of their apparent vigor in old age might be achieved by diverting resources away from tissue and organ maintenance and/or by putting increased strain on the body, trading away lifespan later for improved vigor now. And also, part of the reason they have a lot fewer wheelchair-bound old people in adult diapers is they tend to simply not live long enough to get very old. The difference in average lifespans between bonobo-like humans and Homo sapiens isn't that big, bonobo-like human average age of death with modern medical care is probably in the late 70s, but they have a lot fewer 90+ year olds than us.

#bonobo-like humans #my main SF setting

8 notes · View notes

inc0rrectmyths · 10 months

Text

Laxman and Shatrughan sick fic.

(Modern Day AU)

Note: artemis and apollo won in the poll, but since @hobgoblin-meat provided me with Hanuman and Vibhishan hcs. So i owe him this cuz he requested it :)

and also ik this is really bad lmao, I wrote it in a hurry but hope you like it.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It was one of those days when Ram and Bharat and their wives were off to work at the same time. Meaning Laxman and Shatrughan were left all alone and were expected to take care of the house.

Laxman had proposed the idea of him going out to get some snacks for them. It was raining heavily outside but Shatrughan after refusing for a few times did agree to the plan.

"I will be back in fifteen minutes, Shatru. Don't worry for me. " Laxman said as he jumped out into the rain and Shatrughan saw his figure disappear in the foggy, rainy weather.

Shatrughan said a quick prayer to Indra and walked inside to close the windows. Or bhabhi Sita will be annoyed because of wet curtains.

An hour passed away but Laxman was nowhere to be seen. And Shatrughan started worrying about his brother. He knew his brother had an allergy from rain water. And to top it all, it was raining more profusely than before.

The boy decided it would be good to stand outside the gates and look for his brother. And he was correct. Just minutes after standing near the gates, with an umbrella in hand. He spotted his brother. A bag in his hand. Walking weakly towards him. Forgetting about the rain, Shatrughan ran towards Laxman, the umbrella falling from his hand.

"What in the heavens Laxman? " he supported his brother. Laxman was drenched and his body felt hot.

"I thought the rain would stop, so I didn't bother to take an umbrella. " he muttered weakly.

"You're an idiot. You know you have allergies. It's kicking in. Your body is boiling. "

The duo walked slowly inside the house. Shatrughan and Laxman had almost the same physical proportions and it was hard for the younger one to lift up the older one. So in a painfully awkward way, he supported his brother and climbed up the stairs to their shared bedroom. He gently placed Laxman on his bed. Quickly running to the washroom and grabbing a towel to dry himself and the sick idiot who sat and coughed on the bed.

"How are you feeling? " Shatrughan asked, his hands slowly drying his brother's hair with the towel.

"Terrible. My head hurts, my limbs hurt, everything hurts. " Laxman said weakly, his voice hoarse.

Shatrughan's anger finally went away as he finished the drying session and sat beside his brother. Slowly touching Laxman's forehead. They both shared an understanding look and Laxman dropped his body on the bed, quite hard. Shatrughan let out a giggle.

"You're a drama queen. '' Shatrughan got up and grabbed the medicine box. Carefully selecting a couple of pills and a cough syrup.

"Do not do anything dramatic. I will be coming from time to time and feeding these to you. Ok? And tell me if you need anything. I'm… " the younger boy trailed off. "I'm there for you. "

He said and left the room. It was not very common for them to be affectionate with each other. Laxman who was always sticking with Ram never actually spent a lot of time with his twin. And it wasn't completely Laxman's fault. Shatrughan himself preferred the company of Bharat over others.

The day went by with Shatrughan handling the whole house alone. Cooking dinner for both bhaiyas and bhabhis, cleaning the house and taking care of Laxman. Since it was an allergy, the fever went away pretty quick. But Laxman still complained about body aches. And after a lot of whining, Shatrughan finally agreed to give him a massage.

"I can't believe you're doing this Shatru. " Laxman laughed, as he enjoyed a good head massage.

"Shut up. Don't tell bhaiya about this. You have a habit of spilling every little secret of ours to Ram bhaiya. "

"As if you don't do the same thing with Bharat bhaiya. " Laxman acted annoyed.

Silence fell upon them. Laxman closed his eyes, trying to avoid the awkward atmosphere.

"You know, you can also spend time with me. We are twins after all. " Shatrughan said, his voice soft, unlike the manly deep voice he actually had. Laxman could clearly hear the pout that was forming on Shatrughan's lips.

"You know I love and care about you, right? " Laxman opened his eyes. Looking directly at Shatrughan. "You are just always so distant with everyone. Sometimes it feels like you only recognize Bharat bhaiya. " Laxman slowly sat up, flicking the pout on Shatrughan's lips.

"Hey! It hurts! " Shatrughan yelled, gently slapping his brother on the arm.

"Sorry. "

"It's fine. But Lax, have you ever considered spending time with me? I was young, the only person I considered mine was you. But you left me for Ram bhaiya. I had no one. And Bharat bhaiya treated me like his son. The love which I wanted from you, I got it from Bharat bhaiya. " Shatrughan was fiddling with his fingers. A thing he did when he was nervous.

"I think we both are at fault. " Laxman held Shatrughan's hands, stopping the constant fiddling.

"Don't use that brain too much with that sickness still in you. I don't want a mad twin. " Shatrughan laughed.

"The only one mad in this house is you. "

"Urmila agrees with me. "

"Shrutakirti agrees with me! "

"Our girlfriends don't have a say in this. Let's just stop. " Laxman raised his hands in defeat.

"Take rest Lax. I don't want the elders to come and find us in this condition. "

"Stay with me. "

"Yeah no way! I don't want your allergy. And also your feet are freezing what the hell. " Shatrughan jumped out of the bed.

"Shatru please I need warmth. Listen to your older brother. "

"We are twins?!? "

"Still I came out first. "

"Die. "

"Don't wanna. I almost died in the war, remember? " Laxman immediately regretted his choice of words. The smile on Shatrughan's face vanished.

"Hey sorry. " Laxman reached out to hold his brother's hand and pulled him closer. Hugging his waist.

"I know it was traumatic for you. We both were young back then. " Laxman rubbed his cold hands on Shatrughan's warm ones.

"Lax, what would have happened if Hanuman failed to bring sanjeevani for you? " Shatrughan whispered, his hands freeing themselves from Laxman's grip, and gently placing them on his brother's shoulders.

"Why think of something that's never going to happen. I'm alive and healthy. In front of you. " Laxman kissed his brother's arm.

"I guess I'm just scared of losing you. I don't like most people, like you said. But my brothers mean everything to me. Ram and Bharat bhaiya are of course almost like a father to me. But you, Lax. You're half my soul. And I can't function without you. I don't hate you Lax. I never did. "

"I know. I know meri jaan. "

"Stop. "

"You'll never lose me. You'll never be alone. I'm blessed to have you as my twin Shatru. I thank the gods everyday. You're forever going to be my favorite. "

"Cheesy stuff ew. Go sleep, I will cover up for us to the elders. " Shatrughan pulled himself away from Laxman's embrace and stepped out of the room, taking a peek in to make sure Laxman was going to sleep.

Oh Narayan, please do not ever repeat something like this. Shatrughan thought to himself. The exchange he had with his brother today was something he never expected.

So I guess Laxman and I do love each other. Interesting. He laughed to himself. Some feelings were better unsaid. And he will make sure that Laxman and him never ever verbally express their love for each other again.

#i used some hindi words #ask me i will translate them #hindu mythology #hindu mythology fanfic #fanfictions #fanfics #ramayan #modern au #laxmana #shatrughana #fluff #sick fic

15 notes · View notes

tamorisana · 1 year

Text

Ponche..?

Pairing :Aledolfo, Gaz/Alex (background), Pre- Ghost/Roach/Soap??? like they definitely caught feelings but don't know how to be about it so they dance around

Tags :Omegaverse, but Omegas aren't weak, small and fragile like glass, Christmas preparations?, they are all a little(not) bit gay.

Trigger warning :Talks about abortion, threatening with self harm, manipulation, people going missing (?). Please be careful and I advise you to not read if you are sensitive to these topics.

Note :Please I don't know anything about Christmas, everything in here is from reading other fanfictions. Do not berate me so hard for this.

Word count :3k.

@brokenjardaantech Simping hard for their OC Major Rene. I literally cannot simping. Thank you so much. Go check them out. From where Major René is.

For @thefuckisaid. This took longer than expected... nonetheless I hold this in my shaking hands so gently, reaching, offering it to you. Thank you for prompt.

Another note :When we speak of scents, we actually talk about hints of all of those aromas, such as peaches, coffee, tea and etc., it isn't your absolute scent but, sometimes, it becomes more vibrant/brighter.

[——————————————————————————]

Usually, Soaps Christmas consists of fun, family, and a warm home. The focus word is usually. This year, however, is different. Fundamentally different.

With family issues rising and going down, bubbling like a pot of soup and he was not ready to face them. Too much painful and cold words were said and unspeakable things were made which resulted in him refusing to celebrate back home.

Soo… He is in Mexico. With Los Vaqueros and some of the 1-4-1 members, Ghost and Gaz joined by still recovering Alex. His first Christmas not in Scotland feels like home too.

Right now he makes sure to be prepared for the little party they decided to have at the slowly rebuilt base. Yes, it's nowhere near done but this place was basically grounded. So for now he makes sure goods in the oven wouldn't burn to a crisp and ponche. Yes, Soaps the best ponche.

Soap is the best at making one. He can master you any type: We have a corporation-owned party? There is your ponche with almost no alcohol. Is it a team bonding time? Here comes the skill. It's almost terrifying how good they are and no one knows how he gets all of those proportions to always combine so perfectly but it's a fact. A well-known one too.

Everything is nearly done and no one bothered him about being a little bit late. You can imagine how hard it is to find an open shop on Christmas eve, but hey! No one told him they were out of butter and sugar. He could have brought a bowl of drink to the table but oh well. Still, he needs to check on those bastards, what if they already got drunk without him!

As he stood in the doorway, looking around. A warm feeling bloomed inside. Alejandro and Hugo, the pilot who helped them take the base back, were having a chat, Ghost, and Roach arguing about something in ASL, Gaz and Alex sitting, petting their dog Lucy. There are some of Alejandro's men who don't have a family back home so they were invited to join the party. The only one missing is Rodolfo.

He left for home, very early in the morning, to get some clothes and things. He was injured on the last mission together on Soap which resulted in him dirtying the last clear hoodie. Do you know how hard it is to wash away dry blood? All of his thighs were bloodied: shirts, pants, hoodies. Alejandro had to give him at least something to go out in.

There are many aromas in the room:

Guava and cinnamon from Alejandro. It can get pretty heavy in a stressful situation. It changes and fuses with something occasionally but it is so-so dull that no one can catch a glimpse of what it is. Despite this fact, it's a pleasing one.

Kyle's changed, before it was just vibrant ginger, vibrant to the point of needing to take the stronger blockers, but now it was slowly mixing with honey, not strong enough to be noticeable if you don't know before right now but explains how Alex is always around. Johnny swears, Garrick would be madly scented by the man if they weren't in public, he probably is behind closed doors.

Alex's is way lighter than Ale's, lemon mixed with lime. It makes an interesting combination with Gaz's. Like a drink, his mother made when he was a pup: hot water, a slice of lemon and ginger, and honey. God, how much he loves drinking it during cold nights.

Simon's and Gary's are kind of mixed. Not mixed like Kyles is but more like a combination. Freshly baked Japanese milk bread with slightly bitter gooseberry jam. It's a wonderful jam of fragrances.

Rudy's aroma is a Mexican Hawthorne with a hint of sorrowful apple. It's an interesting one, not something you smell every day. Like in Alejo's case, it changes, incorporates more than changes, with something else.

And then there is Major René's. Caramel is nicely hidden by the powerful sting of coffee. It makes a good combination with Captain Blanco's Técula Mécula. The thing you what to be wrapped by in the early hours of the morning. Soap is even jealous of Vaqeros who have the pleasure of this aroma every single morn.

There are some others but he doesn't really feel them from that far away. You can add the smell of food on top of all of

His scent, flavourful tea with honey, is probably shoving, a little.

"Hermano, you alright? Everything good? Need help with trays?" Oh. He probably stood there for way too long and Ale' noticed him, smiling softly, he didn't even catch the moment when he started.

"Oh, I might need some help with the trays. You know, I can't lift it with my hand" He does need help with it, stupid metal and dough on it are too darn heavy. It's not why he came here but now that it was said. He got his arm strained.

As they step into the kitchenette a pleasant smell of baked shortbreads hits them. They are right on time. As Alejandro takes metal out of the stove they hear the car door closing from outside, pretty aggressively if you ask him.

Rodolfo's home.

Therefore he finishes with the dish as fast as he can, missing Soap's worried look, getting close to the entrance where the aroma of funky apples practically kicks him in the gut so violently like a cartel narco sometime ago. Oh God, he almost feels sorry for whoever put Rudy in such state. Distressed, angry, bitter, sad, he could feel that on his tongue.

What the fuck happened?

What possibly could you do to piss off his calm, collected, not-so-easily angered Rudy?

In the meantime, Soap finishes decorating cookies which is essentially just putting leftover powdered sugar on top and, from the bottom of his heart, trying to bring this huge plate to the table without causing himself any pain. He almost succeeds in it but Simon is way too quick to react, so just as Johnny makes his way into the room his plate is snatched from him immediately and he is treated with the "My god, we can't leave you for 5 minutes 'cuz you'll try to injure yourself. Again. Just let me handle those things, dear" look.

Roach was silently shaking in laughter through the whole scene, watching as Soap's face changed from confused to annoyed, pouting he turns around on his heels, muttering "Cearc mhàthair*" leaving the room. Ghost looks back at Gary, who at this point was dying of laughter, with a puzzled, lost look probably thinking Scotsman cursed him or something.

A quiet, softly spoken "Go help him" snaked through the room to him. So softly murmured, it sounded unreal, like an angel's voice, smooth and flowy. It gently bloomed in Simon's head like spring flowers in the warm sunbath after cold winter. What? Don't get him wrong. He loves, adores, and cherishes when bug speaks to him but it is the first time he did so around others.

He wishes to see bewildered looks on

"My god, I wish we could see your face. It's hilarious" laughter escapes from Gary. Dear stars, does he falls in love with it. Simon is ready to fall in love with the whole Gary, not just his laugh, again and again. Every single day bathe in his love, gentle strokes on his face, the way those eyes look at him with such genuine adoration, devotion and affection it makes Ghost's mask crack.

Just like Soap.

No, not Soap.

John.

Johnny.

He hates the way man just completes him. Them. Both of them. He fits here so nicely: Gary being the moon, Simon stars, and Johnny is their sun. Everything lines up perfectly. Even by the goddamned olive theory. He hates them with all his heart but both of them love, sometimes to the point of only eating olives all day. Yes, he is this precious piece they were missing, lacking, carving.

Suddenly Roach is right before his eyes, snapping fingers before Ghost's face "Earth to Ghost, you there? C'mon, I'm sure Soap will appreciate some help" is quietly stated while the shorter man tries to move him closer to the entrance "Simon, quit staring into the void, go help him before he accidentally kills himself or spills everything on the floor"

Not a command still he will accommodate.

He wants to.

As Ghost maneuvers to kitchen, spoting Rodolfo and Alejandro standing together at far end of corridor just before entrance, discussing something, right as he came through the door frame. Silently, as to not disturb whatever conversation they had, he steps into the kitchenette.

"What happened, Cariño?" Ale' murmured, placing pecks against his lover's neck and scent glands as he carefully wraps himself around the other, holding tightly trying to comfort as well as warm him, Rudy's incredibly cold to touch. Either from cold weather outside or... something is wrong with Rudy's body.

The last thought made Alejandro shiver.

"Everything is alright." the answer is cold and rough, the absolute opposite of what his sugar-sweet husband is. In an attempt to soothe and turn his attention away from whatever is causing or caused such a change, he kisses man's scruff, nuzzling just above sensitive glands. Ale' didn't push knowing eventually Rodolfo will tell him, later or sooner, so he just continued leaving almost intangible kisses as well as rubbing circles on the other's stomach and sides.

"She was there. On our ranch. In our home. And we had no fucking idea. There aren't even any buildings or shelter of any kind, she lived in a goddamn van on YOUR property. She had a fucking audacity to whine about how there is nowhere FOR HER TO LIVE---" Rudy stops himself before anger takes over again, takes a deep breath afore going on saying one sinful name Alejo' hoped he wouldn't have to hear at least for a day.

"Carmen."

No, please. Just one day without this bitch. Is this too much to ask for?

Pause.

Carmen was where?!

The thought caught up to him, flooding him like tsunami. Their sister-in-law, who is a fucking bitch, is on his family's estate. On his ranch or what's left of it anyway. With her stupid grin, scent, and attitude, God, How could Rodrigo, for the life of one, love and marry her? HER. Out of all people.

This bitchy, absolutely self-centered woman, he doesn't even want to call her that, woman should be a goddamned title for her, because... Women are different: strong mentally or physically, shorter, taller, sweet or really stir and cold, and a whole lot more but she... she is a fucking slime, willing to step on other's feet to get what she wants, she doesn't deserve this name, title. God, he hates her.

'Get yourself together ' a voice flashes by Ale's mind and it's right. He would make it worse if he doesn't shut himself up. Which is relatively easy with Rudy's scent right here. "That bitch" still escapes his mouth, muffled by hands shuffling through a grey hoodie, Rodolfo's favourite, to get under it. As he did, his left palm on his amor's chest, right one on the lower abdomen, putting on a comforting weight.

"You called the police and got her evicted, right?" he tries to keep his voice as cool as he can. "Did father call you?"

"I did and they cannot arrest her since she is, you know, carrying a child.." Rodolfo throws his head on Ale's shoulder as well as letting his scent blend with guava and cinnamon creating an absolutely new odor. That reminds Alejo' of the fragrance he had the pleasure of tasting earlier in the kitchen.

Ponche.

This pleasant aroma warps around them like a huge, warm, weighted blanket. They never let themselves do this at work, only on their weekends at the temporary flat they were given as compensation for the grounded ranch, not what they were told but you could read it in between the higher-ups speech.

"Dad did call and... you know how that usually goes, this time no different." he sights, and you can almost hear the pain behind those words. This man is a victim of Carmen's manipulation, she used different way to turn him against his sons. It worked. An another reason to hate Carmen. Alejandro carefully, which isn't like him at all, started "She isn't able to take care of that kid, she thinks we will just give her the money and leave. Maybe..." he scoffed thinking of how to put the thought into words.

"Maybe..?" encourages shorter " 'Cmon, Ale', finish" he almost fully relaxes, puts his cold hands over Ale's warm ones, and waits for other to continue.

"Maybe we can strike a deal with Carmen and once the kid is born we take it under our wing. I mean. It's Rodrigo's child and you are their uncle, even if we have to sue her for parental rights, Court would see how crappy her life is right now—" he was rudely interrupted by a squish of his hand and "She wants to put it up for adoption."

Alejandro's face drops at those words but before he can question such judgment Rodolfo continues "She won't go for that deal and we both know it. She mentioned during the fight today that if we don't give her what she wants she will do something to herself, abort the kit even if she is 5 months along, and if THAT won't work she will put it for adoption" he stops for a second to breathe in some air and continues sounding more bitter, almost crying.

"She doesn't care that this kit probably is the only thing we have left from Rody...Fuck! It's been 4 months since his disappearance, he is probably fucking dead already and this bitch acts so fucking entitled to everything but not once, not fucking once, she asked about him. Or how is the search going."

Angry tears are building up, his voice becomes shakier and quieter "Everyone expects me to just close my eyes on that fact, to forget about my brother, and focus on her and her goddamn litter if something happens to me would everyone act the same way? Is Rodrigo not important enough to at least ask and remember about but that motherfucking slime is?!"

Rodolfo stops, sobbing and mumbling something he cannot hear, and violently shakes in his arms. Alejandro's heart dropped at two things. How Rody's kit is used as a weapon to manipulate them and how heartbroken and tired his husband is.

It all started with Rodrigo, Rudy's older brother, going on a mission with Major René, his third-in-command, as a sniper. Just to cover them. Just to ensure informant won't get them into a trap and ambush them. Which wasn't the case but at some point in the commission there was "A loud thud" followed by silence on Rodrigo's side. They turned Las Almas upside down searching for him, it was as intense as worthless. No trace, not a single piece of information, there is absolutely nothing.

And then there is Carmen. And if with everything above, you didn't understand what he fills towards his sister-in-law, which he refuses to believe, Alejandro despises her guts to bits. For this bitchy behaviour, for using Rudy's unborn nephew to manipulate both of them, for using his omega nature to use against, again both of them, by saying how she has no money or roof above her head, which is a lie. She has governmental support and two, not one but two, flats to live in. One being Rody's that should've gone to his husband but they will not pull that string until they either get the custody of a kit or she is able to work to afford a place to live in.

He likes the first scenario better.

"Then we go to child support or whatever instans and we sue her for parental rights." Alejandro began speaking, his voice low and deep now, he smushes his face into shorters collar. "It all gonna be alright, I promise you. No one expects anything of you, I don't expect anything and I'm sure Rodrigo would be very pleased and proud of all and any decision you make because you always try to make the best ones." He looks up, kisses his cheek and purrs loud enough for only Rodolfo to hear. "Don't let her get under your skin." he feels how cold hand squeezes his own.

"You need to rest, forget her for this weekend, if you continue to do that to yourself, overwork, overthink everything, not eating properly we will repeat 2017 and we don't want that, do we?" Of course not. The image of him so smol and fragile against hospital bed, exhausted, dehydrated and hooked to an IV still hunts Ale' in the nightmares.

"We don't..."

"Exactly. Mi alma, just for this holiday please, I'll get on my knees and beg if It'll mean you take a proper rest. Looking at you sometimes I get so worried that I'm missing the red flags of you putting yourself on edge." Alejandro bitterly sights while Rudy spins around and holds his mate.

"Please talk to me if it's all overwhelming and you need a distraction. I'm always, always here for you. I've always been. Always will. I share this pain with you and it breaks my heart you are my heart to know what a shitty person gonna have Rody's kit but please, and I mean it, don't let it become the only important thing in your life."

"I'm sorry, my darling, it all consumed me so badly. I'm sorry for making you so worried it isn't good for you and.." a cold hand appears on his stomach, slightly rubbing. Rudy nuzzles closer to his shoulder.

"It's alright, it's alright, my heart" a pleasant, almost silent settles in the whole corridor, somewhere far away you can hear laughter, talking and men cheering.

"C'mon, I think Ghost will help Soap with bringing heavy stuff to the table." Alejandro leans away, still close enough for their foreheads to touch, looking into the most beautiful, in his opinion, eyes. Hands laying at the back of the man's scuff. It's unclear who started leaving peaks on whose face but they didn't return to the main hall until everything, both shortbreads and bowls of ponche.

[——————————————————————————]

I didn't beta anything. I will but later. This took way too long than it was supposed too.

Did you notice that Ghost/Roach/Soap scents make a good breakfast?? That's my favourite one too.

We all know why Kyle's scent changing, don't we?

34 notes · View notes

adobe-outdesign · 2 years

Note

I'd love to know your thoughts on Klefki! Love them funky little boo-boo keys. Or the Vanillite line if Klefki has already been done! I love reading your thoughts, they're very interesting!!

I already did Klefki over here, but as for Vanillite:

For some reason the Vanillite line gets a ton of hate, and frankly, I don't really get it. It's not my favorite line Ever(TM) or anything, but I wouldn't even say it's bad, let alone a sign of GameFreak "running out of ideas" or whatever people try to claim. It's cute! It's got a theme! It's ice cream! And hell, it's not even literally ice cream, but rather an icicle creature with snow crystals that naturally form on its head. There's even some art of it without the crystals:

And visually, I don't really have any problems with it; the monochromatic look is nice, the little ice-crystal blush cheeks are cute, and I like the crystal details on the "cone". I also like how it looks like a kiddie cone at this point, to reflect its pre-evo status. The only thing I find odd is the little clouds around it, as I don't think those actually show up in the games anywhere, but that's it.

Also, I like this bit of mythology:

Visually, I don't like Vanillish as much, but there's still nothing wrong with it. I think it's mostly the face that bugs me; the proportions are different than Vanillite's to make it look stronger, but something about the open mouth starts to look a bit odd. Maybe that's just a me thing,

Regardless, I like the progression from Vanillite being a kiddie cone (with a cake cone base) to being a full-size ice cream cone with a waffle cone base (the best kind of cone)—especially because this leans back into the icicle idea. I also like the little "hands" as well.

The only thing that I can nitpick visually (outside of the mouth) is the two crystals in the middle of the body. I don't really see the point of them, and you could drop them and not loose anything. Other than that, it's solid.

I've heard some say Vanilluxe is unnecessary, but I like the progression: going from kiddie cone to waffle cone to one of these bad boys:

However, I'm not always a big fan of the "same Pokemon but doubled" style of evolution, and while Vanilluxe isn't too bad in this department due to having some differences between it and a singular Vanillish, I think it could've been pushed a bit more.

The only big differences are the pattern on the "cone", the expression on the right side (which I kind of would've liked to see on both of them, it's cute), and the straw. I was confused by the straw at first and had to do some digging, but I guess the line was designed by James Turner (a British man), and it's referencing the very UK 99 flake cone. I have never even heard of this before, and it's more than slightly ironic considering it comes from the U.S. region and not Galar. Still, this helps give it a bit of a unique "flavor" (pun intended).

However, I would've liked to see it pushed even further. First, I think the two sets of crystals in the middle of the body could've been reduced to just one. And secondly, I would've loved to see the position of the crystals change to look like sprinkles or something, or have some snow added to the "cone" to make it look like it's dipped.

Also, apparently it's based on the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters?? Okay. At least explains why it's in Unova.

Speaking of which, this line always felt like an obvious pick for different forms that it never got. Give me ice/grass regionals based on frozen yogurt or shaved ice/snow cones! Give me a g-max based on an ice cream sundae! The possibilities are endless.

So overall, a fine line. I would've liked to see Vanilluxe's design pushed a bit further to make it more unique, but it's solid overall, and nowhere near deserving of the amount of hate it gets.

#vanillite #vanillish #vanilluxe #pokemon #pokemon reviews

64 notes · View notes

wistfulpoltergeist · 2 years

Note

Is another one the Mitchell inspired sim? Because I really love him a lot (I've always lowkey wished I could download him) and my attempt at Mitchell is nowhere near as good. All this to really say you're very talented at making likenesses. I really love all your screenshots/stills regardless of if the sims are private.

Yes, Mitchell is one of those three I made for my sis and he was the first Sim I created inspired by real person. Thank you for appreciating my work, but I must confess... I don't find comfortable making sims inspired by real persons :D It's such a pain in the neck for me. I literally suffered every bit of their appearance >__< Because I don't copy facial features. If you look closely it's not exactly the same face in all proportions and details. I copy the impression someone's appearance gives me and try to repeat the same feeling. That's my only beacon. Roland's appearance for example mixed with Tyler Hoechlin and Mark Dacascos impressions. You may not believe me, but this two completely different persons give me the same vibes :D Well, I can only say that... if so many people see in my sims their inspirations then I picked their vibes right. But damn, sucking soul out of someone is so hard!:D

#thesims4 #the sime 4 #sims 4 art #WistfulArtSims4 #WistfulA&A #sims 4 ask #my sims #sims 4 my sims #TS4 #AskfromWistfulCastle #the sims 4 blender #sims 4 blender render

75 notes · View notes

silver-wield · 4 months

Note

"Apparently the dumdums were told it before we were so they could "brace themselves"

What? Really? That would also explain why suddenly out of nowhere they started harassing every Cloti artist recently. If those leaks are real they know their end is near, they are scared and they want to make everyone as miserable as them before going down with their ship.

That was my reaction too. Usually they're nasty but even they don't stoop to that. But Aze is a talented artist with a massive following, so can you imagine the traction one of her arts would get if she did a canon scene?

Those dumdums can scream and shout over words but art is so much harder to beat back against. Look how Tifa trended just by having short hair. They'd never be able to shout down a gorgeous piece of artwork showing a canon scene. They got pissed when spykeee drew a canon scene from ToTP because they thought it was official and it goes against their lies. For those interested, it's when Tifa and Claudia cook together. It's very wholesome and cute and the art is stunning 🥺❤️

So yeah, the tactic of forcing cloti artists to fuck off is because they can't prevent canon scene art being shared and overriding their bullshit lies.

Meanwhile all we say is Aerith doesn't have those proportions when they give her Tifa's body in all their arts, and point out they're stealing canon cloti scenes, which they do because all they have is...uhh...idk what they have cause they sure af don't do art of their uber romantic high five 🤣

#ship war #for the fandom

4 notes · View notes

jbt7493 · 8 months

Text

i have been thinking- and i mean, this is nowhere near the least healthy of my daydream fantasies but i do think that its unproductive and overly vindictive. but i was thinking about, if i were to make a threat against the ceo of Unity Software, what would it be? death threat is not something i'd be willing to do anyway, nor is it proportional, and i think that they do not tend to be effective because it's kinda like. i mean you know the person isnt actually making a credible threat

but here is a question for people who work in tech. is "I will distribute USBs with malware on them near or in your headquarters" a credible and effective threat?

my immediate thought is that it would force an increase in spending on teaching your employees to not touch anything and would be a nuisance, and if one of them actually put one of them in their computer then that'd be a problem obviously. but then, idk that employees at a software company would be uh. dumb enough to put one of those in their computer. especially if they just found it in the parking lot and not IN the workplace, and if you could get in the workplace you may as well just fuck with their tech yourself.

the thing is that like. idk i feel like you want the threat to be sufficiently nuisance level because then it feels more credible.

3 notes · View notes

cybernaght · 8 months

Text

One and Only: a review of sorts

I bet you did not expect the actual topic of this blog to resurface, and yet, here we go.

The previous time I went to a cinema to watch one of those Chinese films was actually completely by accident. I had a long break/cancellation situation at work which meant a three-hour break with a cinema around the corner. I ducked into said cinema and found out that a screening of Born to Fly has just stared, so… what’s a girl to do. I then didn’t write anything about it because I didn’t have much to say about it.

This one, however, was planned.

One and Only/热烈 is a story of a working class boy with a passion for dance (Wang Yibo - obviously) being roped into being an understudy for a cocky obnoxious star of a dance team by that team’s coach (Huang Bo - obviously), learning a thing or two about himself, finding friendship and hoping to one day complete in the Nationals.

As the film is in cinemas, I cannot provide visuals, so, instead, I’m gonna populate this with some of my many gifs from Street Dance of China season 3-5.

Plot-wise, it’s not really unpredictable in any way. The highs and the lows are placed roughly where you would expect them to be, all the lulls are appropriately proportioned for character development, and the final-act dance competition is as exhilarating as one might hope.

And yet… this one has a heart, it really does, and the writing really does a lot to elevate a cookie-cutter premise. The characters have a hell of a lot of inner life, including whole sets of circumstances that are merely implied - a real joy to see in any movie, I love the effect this has on the feeling of the characters’ realness. There are also fantastic decisions made pacing-wise in the final two acts, with one specific time-skip which I found very exciting indeed.

Themes of mutual respect and cooperation are not by all mean new to this kind of a movie, but I really appreciated how well developed they are, being set up in the opening scenes, and paying off in the eleventh hour; and it was lovely to see those themes explored organically. Again, writing elevates the premise here, too.

Wang Yibo’s acting keeps improving in a way which is pretty damn impressive. He seems to be a very hard-working young man, and that hard work seemingly pays off, too. Good for him. There are a few idiosyncrasies that are still very “his” (I swear I have never seen him have any screen chemistry with any woman ever), but there were also moments that read as character, and that read as truth. Honestly, he’s all grown up now, it’s very sweet to watch.

And if you are here through Street Dance of China route, whoooo boy do I have good news for you.

Ye Yin is here

Jr. Taco is here

B-Boy George is here — with plot! (Is this a spoiler? It might be. It might not be.)

Rochka is here, with the signature ankle spin

So are Klash and MT Pop, by the way.

Liao Bo is here AND he! is! actually! dancing!

Kevin is in it, although he is not, in fact, dancing

I am certain this list is not comprehensive. Suffice it to say, there is enough on the screen to make a Street Dance of China fan very happy.

(The only real crime was that Chick was not in it. Because he absolutely should have been.)

Speaking of dance — I really want to know who choreographed this, because some of the routines were fantastic. I only wish that we could see them uncut - but of course this is a movie, and it is edited as one. Besides, you have to have cuts to be able to cut-in Wang Yibo’s dance double*, the true unsung hero of this cinematographic show.

(*last year the boy could do like, one freeze. He is a fast learner so I am ready to believe that he can be pretty good, but he is definitely not “halo five times in a row” good.)

All in all, if you are feeling sad that SDC 6 seems to be nowhere in sight at the moment, and One and Only is in cinemas near you, this comes with a cybernaght stamp of approval.

Go see your favorites doing the thing that they do - and doing it well.

You made a promise. Please hurry up. It's late August already, and you've not even announced the captains yet.

#street dance of china #SDC #wang yibo #one and only #这！就是街舞 #review of sorts #now with gifs

3 notes · View notes

egg-emperor · 1 year

Note

what are your height headcanons for all the eggies?

They don't differ too much because if they say they're a certain height then I tend to stick to it because I'm a close follower of canon/official media when it comes to writing. Unless I feel like it's totally unbelievable for them to be that certain height and there are a few like that too lol

I still keep most of them at 6' 1", such as modern (in all media except for X and Prime), Shahryar, Casino AU Eggman, Zobotnik, Vampire Egg, etc. If it doesn't look like they differ in base design and leg length, since they all match proportions and leg length, I keep them at the height they're stated. They're not super taller than average but they're very large more than they're tall and they all only differ in weight and maybe slightly in proportions instead.

Classic is apparently supposed to be 6' 1" too but his legs and body look visibly shorter in length than modern's even in his own media and in Generations, he does indeed look a little shorter, which is cute even if it doesn't make much sense. XD So I go with that in my stuff, so I guess I'd say he's probably just under 6 ft but most of the time I also refer to him as 6' 1" when it comes to the literal discussion of the facts.

Now it comes to the others that are especially unbelievable for their height to me lol

I think it's funny when people act like Boom Eggman is a hulking towering giant because while his height wasn't stated and confirmed as far as I'm aware, I absolutely would not believe he's 6' 1" in any circumstance. His legs are visibly much shorter in length than modern's and he looks like he's also got smaller hands, feet, and everything else. I don't feel like his body length would make up for the rest of his height.

He's both the shortest and smallest Egg to me, I love to imagine all the others I like would make him look really small because they're big and taller bears in weight, height, and proportions and he's just a little guy. He's probably more believably just under 6 ft like classic in Generations but I like to make him only 5' 5" or something because I want him to be in line with the majority of Eggs' chests sjgksnsnkgsbgk

X is another absolutely unbelievable one, they did in fact state he was only 6' 1" but there's no way, they drew him as a literal giant both proportionately as his hands alone were bigger than people's heads (though regular modern is quite close too but not quite as exaggerated) but he also absolutely towered over everyone and I love it. He's gotta be like almost double regular Eggman's height or something it's insane lol

And now with Prime Eggman, his legs just look longer to me than regular game modern Egg's, he looks like a very lanky boy that can rise to higher heights as we see for a split second in some parts, so I'm putting him at maybe around 6' 9" to 11" maybe lol, could be a bit taller with his stretching ability too. Still nowhere near as tall as giant X Egg though. Proportionately he's still similar to regular modern.

Regardless, all of the Eggs also have some sort of gigantism type situation going on with them in my stuff as they appear in canon, except for Boom Eggman, who looks more average proportionately and he's a bit below average in height in my stuff too.

And those are all the versions relevant to my blog covered! XD

#dr eggman #eggman #dr robotnik #dr. eggman #my post #asks #headcanons

7 notes · View notes

joyfulexperiment · 2 years

Text

Joyful Experiment, Day #1: "Anna" Study, charcoal

"So I'll walk through this night Stumbling blindly toward the light And do the next right thing."

Art diary (and excuses, explanations) under the cut.

All things considered, I think this is a good start to the month. It's not polished by any means, but it's better than usual. Let me tell you the story of "the usual."

I drew all the time as a kid, but primarily for the sake of telling stories. I didn't make "hang-on-the-fridge" art. I made comics and magazines and newspapers and storyboards and scenes for computer games. Plenty of OC's, but I stole my style from 80's cartoons.

(Not my art, but very much the style I was learning from. Credit to Peyo, image from "Johan and Peewit")

Around eleven we moved to another province, and my pencil crayons disappeared amongst the luggage for months. I focused on writing instead, and write my first little novel that year. And thus I became a writer, not an artist. I honed my author craft religiously throughout my teens, and if I ever drew, it was mindless doodling during family read alouds - doodles of people who still looked weirdly like Smurfs and Care Bears despite being human. I went through a fortnight of sketching historical costumes out of a book, mostly for the validation from my parents, who loved them, but little of the experience stayed.

Then, I took an art history course that required us to sketch ten acknowledged masterpieces of the past. Our professor was not particularly picky about skill, as there was no artistic instruction in the course, and it was only necessary to produce something that demonstrated you'd looked at some art.

Nonetheless, perfectionist that I am, I spent ages on every one of those sketches. I made grids with a hundred squares and painstakingly reproduced every detail of the "Starry Night" and the "Muse of Comedy" and the Michelangelo-inspired philosopher in Raphael's "School of Athens." Several audiobooks sketched themselves into those works in the process - for me Rudyard Kipling and E. Nesbit are still heavily associated with charcoal fingers.

By the time I turned in my portofolio, I had rather astounded myself, because, while the work was nowhere near excellent, it was mindblowingly better than anything I had produced before. Because I was actually looking at the shapes and using reference carefully. My professor told me that though my art was rough there was something there and I should pursue it.

Reader, I did not pursue it. I seldom do aught but doodle, and I am capable of drawing two poses: Standing up straight with hands at sides, or with hands behind back. I cannot eyeball proportions, even making a character hold out a hand reveals that I have never seen a human arm in my life, shading tends to look a bit like leprosy -and just - it's a mess. Here's a good example of what my art looks like when I'm actually trying:

(It wouldn't be too bad if the character in question wasn't supposed to be a grown man...)

Things turn out a little bit better if I use reference, but frankly, I'm afraid to use reference that isn't someone else's art. Drawing from life or photos is HARD, because someone else hasn't made the artistic choices for me, hasn't chosen which lines are needed and which can be left out. But, that kind of thing is generally frowned on as intellectual property theft unless you keep the art strictly to yourself.

I want to start drawing from photos. I want to start mixing and matching elements from multiple photos. I want to mix ideas out of my head with appropriate reference. So... I picked a middle ground for this starting sketch. I picked a Disney CGI movie, because it's a bit like drawing from a photo, but still with a number of artistic choices already clear on the screen. (Also Disney is so huge I don't mind doing studies of their screencaps and posting them the same way I would just finding an Indie artist and doing a study of their work.)

It's a stepping stone - I don't want to stay stuck doing this kind of thing, but it's what I need to get the ball rolling. I'm not especially a "Frozen" fan, but I do have a soft spot for Anna.

Disclosures: When I uploaded the sketches I arranged them to be closer together for a more pleasing look, and I increased the clarity by 25% to make up for the greying/fading my scanner causes. Otherwise, this is the art as it looks on the page. For the large image of Anna, I did permit myself to cheat by tracing rudimentary markings to show the distance from eye to eye, from top to bottom of the face, etc, but I tried to avoid any major tracing. (It's from a screencap, not from lineart so there wasn't much in the way of lines to trace anyway.)

#art challenge #anna #frozen #traditional art #fanart

29 notes · View notes