. Matching Cyberpunk

Lucy x David

ig: felipee.mp3 follow x follow

My heart burns for love

My soul burns for blood

goth queen ena ♡

I’m sure you get this question a lot, but what are your best tips to starting your own tumblr self care diary ? 💕

This is actually the first time I've ever got asked this! I can think of a few tips that I kept in mind when I created this blog.

Be authentic. For me, I use this as a safe space to be myself without fear of judgment. And I find it helps me to be honest and open and true to who I am, as it's even helped me to become more confident in my actual life!

Be mindful of your online presence. It depends on the level of anonymity you want, but i try to be mindful of making my identity known. it's the anonymous aspect that's helped me feel more comfortable being my true self.

Be comfortable. Only post content that you are comfortable with sharing and that makes you happy. I have no problem using aestheic pinterest photos, and keeping a theme because it makes me happy and I feel comfortable posting my life with limited details.

Have fun with it! For me, my blog is a form of self expression and I love the way I've curated the aesthetics of my blog to match my interests. I tend to dress a little edgier in person, and I'm an aspiring gym girly, but I love makeup and shopping and kpop and anime. I'm a very multifaceted person and I enjoy sharing those bits of myself online.

Remember this is for you. Don't feel bad for not getting as many likes or reboots or comments because this is for you. When I decided to start my blog as it is now, I had 7 followers. But I didn't care because this was something for me. And now I have over 1200 followers, and im so grateful for this community. This is a safe space I helped create for myself, and I'm just so happy I made the decision to start posting. I appreciate everyone who interacts with my content and who supports and encourages me. It always makes my day, but I never forget that this blog is an extension of myself.

I hope this was helpful! Good luck on your self care diary journey, I wish you the absolute best, and I hope you have the most fun and enjoyment with creating that space for yourself. <3

The nocuous Shonweak

My response to this week’s BestiaryPosting challenge from @maniculum

Jinhao shark fountain pen with fine, hooded nib, with Monteverde Raven Noir ink, over initial pencil sketch. I'd considered adding some colour, but didn't have time this week; imagine it's got telltale orange/yellow and black warning colouration :)

It's been interesting trying to relearn pen shading techniques from scientific illustration again (as ever, suspect going a bit bigger would make this easier, I'm also going to have another rummage through my pens to see if I can find an even finer nib, since the one's I've been using don't come close to using a dip pen).

Reasoning under the cut;

The Shonweak is so called because it is proof against fire.

Okay, first things first, we get no indication about what type of creature this is. My default assumption when the bestiary authors don't give us any more detail is that is must be a Beast, but I've been wanting to mix it up a bit. But what to go for...?

Of all poisonous creatures, it has the strongest poison. Other poisonous creatures kill one at a time; it can kill several things at the same time. For if it has crawled into a tree, it poisons all the apples and kills those who eat them. In addition, if it falls into a well, the strength of its poison kills those who drink the water.

Okay, a poisonous critter, and not just poisonous, the most poisonous...! Okay, this narrows it down a bit. We get some creatures that are occasionally poisonous due to their diet (including certain birds, and snakes!), but mostly we're looking at amphibians, insects, echinoderms, fish, flatworms, and some others too.

This also made me think about the line between poisonous and venomous. We've all been on tumblr a while, so we've probably seen the memes, but technically the main difference is that poisonous animals deliver their toxin passively (in this context, being eaten is passive...)

We also know that this thing can crawl into a tree, so must be able to climb (that eliminates most fish, for starters).

I've gone for a beetle, since drawing an arthropod is pretty different from anything I've done thus far. Main influences are;

The diabolical ironclad beetle, a tiny awesome critter that is nigh on indestructable. It has a flattened body, fused elytra, and a cool, knobbly surface to its armour; I gave the elytra a bit of an overlap, so it could consider clamping its body down if it gets into a sticky situation (like a fire).

Bombadier beetles; in case you're not aware of them, their defence mechanism is spraying near-boiling noxious chemicals at attackers (you'll also be familiar with them if you've ever read the Spider World books by Colin Wilson!). The most famous ones are yellow and black, and you can see the nozzle on the end of its abdomen.

While the bombadier beetle does actively spray toxins, keeping them in its body also makes it poisonous - best of both worlds!

Also can't deny the influence of the blue death feigning beetle, a very aestheic insect indeed, and if I'm honest, the tanker bug from Starship Troopers...!

I did look at large beetles like the goliath beetle for some inspiration, especially around the legs (I imagine the Shonweak to be pretty big as beetles go), but decided against it since they're a lot fancier, and I figured a tough, fire-braving critter like this to be a little plainer and unadorned.

It resists fire and alone among creatures can put fires out. For it can exist in the midst of flames without pain and without being consumed by them, not only because it does not burn but because it puts the fire out.

Okay, if this is the creature I strongly suspect it is, this is an interesting wrinkle to the mythology around it; it's proof against fire because it puts the fire out (not something I've heard before). I'll have more to say if it does turn out to be what I suspect...

Okay, hear me out... The bombadier beetle combines exothermic chemicals in its body to produce its boiling, caustic spray... What if a creature could do something similar for a seriously endothermic reaction; it would be almost like a tiny, living fire extinguisher... I imagine the Shonweak as a bomadier beetle relative, spraying freezing toxins at enemies (or just generally if stuck in a fire, or if it falls down a well, or if those apples are looking particularly hostile...)

WIP questions (Sculpted Lands Edition)

thanks for the tag @aestheic-writer18

Rules: answer as many (or as few) of the questions about your WIP as you can

1) What was the first part of your WIP that you created?

A lot Lmao. Cambrius and the world of primordial clay was the first first concept, idk it all just came to me one day and I’ve been tweaking and adding to it ever since.

2) If your story was a TV show, what would the intro song be?

Volume 1: Dark Souls 3 menu theme Volume 2: Haunting of Hill House intro theme Volume 3: Dark Souls 3 Epilogue (not that I’d ever want Sculpted Lands adapted in the first place)

3) Who are your favourite character/s and why?

Oof that’s hard, I’ll go with Owin, Hanithan, Cambrius, and Isac and Rion (those gay little knights are especially my favorite)

4) What other pieces of media could share a fan base with your WIP?

Berserk, maybe Fear and Hunger.

5) What has been your biggest struggle while writing your WIP?

probably character voice. Most stories in the three volumes are in first person so it’s hard to make the pov character speak differently.

6) Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

Oh yeah DRAGONS! SANDWORMS! Spooky salt monsters that can mimic human voices, giant blind spiders, glowing moths, chameleon velociraptors, massive sea squid’s, the works.

7)How do your characters get around?

Walking or horses

8) What part of your WIP are you working on right now?

I’ve just started the rough draft of Volume 3. I haven’t started the second draft of the previous two. I just want to write these three little shits so I can edit them later.

9) What aspects of your WIP do you think will draw people in?

The world building, the open-ended mysteries of the world, and the complicated characters who go through some SHIT.

I’ll tag @finickyfelix and @valyalyon (no pressure tho!) as well as whoever else wants to join!

A'akuluujjusi

In Inuit mythology, A'akuluujjusi is the goddess of creation. She is a primordial goddess and the mother of the creator. It is said that she threw her clothes on the ground and created land animals. The animals that were first produced were flawed and rife with mistakes. For instance, walruses had antlers, and caribous had vicious tusks. She evetunally corrected these errors to create the more aestheically pleasing animals that we see today.

AU/Canon Divergence Friendly - RULES

Follow From: @eunoiaastralwings

Other RP Blogs: @quiet-flower-wonderlings | @illicit-unknown-shadows | @son-of-the-moon-and-sun | @tears-of-burden

Non-Tolkien: @shadow-hazehuntress | @spider-lily-droplets

Feel free to reach out – with an idea of your own

FICS/HEADCANONS: I’ve got you, Brother | I’ll Be Your Light (Lúthriel x @vanifinwe-feanorian) | How Ardently (Lúthriel x Erestor) | Sleeping Beauty AU (Lúthriel x Vanifinwë) | Lúthriel NSFW Alphabet

Artworks: Aestheic | Lúthriel x Erestor | Lú Animation artwork | Lúthriel x Vanifinwë | Lúthriel and Dior (twins) | Lúthriel x Erestor | Lú monochrome artwork | Poor Grandpa Thingol | Lúthriel | Sorry Ada. . . | Lú writing letters | Erestor x Lú | Lúthien & Lúthriel

NAME: Lúthriel Tinuviel

MEANING: lútha - to enchant, tinuviel - nightingale (named after her mother)

REASON: Her eyes are made to enchant according to her mother - her singing is as beautiful as her mother's according to her father.

NICKNAMES: Lú, princess, snowdrop

GENDER: Female

BIRTH DATE: F.A. 470

BIRTHPLACE: Tol Galen

ORDER OF BIRTH: Born 12 minutes after her twin brother

HOUSE: House of Bëor, distaff descent from House of Thingol

HERITAGE: Heritage Mannish father, half-Elf/half-Maia mother

PARENTAGE: Beren and Luthien

SIBLINGS: Twin sister to Dior Eluchil

POWERS: Controls the forest and reading stars for incoming danger

SOCIAL CLASS: Wealthy, Princess, later loses her home. Eventual advisor to Elrond in Rivendell.

FACECLAIM: Bogdana Kadritskaya

VISUAL AGE: Mid 20's (immortal)

HEIGHT: 6’3

BUILD: Lean, Lithe

RACE/ETHNICITY: Sindar

EYE SHAPE: Almond

EYE COLOR: hazel/green (right eye), blue (left eye) - heterochromia

HAIR COLOR: black - left down, sometimes ties the sides to keep hair away from her face.

HAIR STYLE: freely left down most of the time — sometimes ties the fronts to leave hair away from her face

DISTINGUISHING MARKS/FEATURE: her eyes

SKIN: fair, slightly sensitive

HANDS: small, slim fingers, squoval nails

SCARS: a long hyperpigmented scar on her neck she gained when escaping the ruin of Doriath.

TYPES OF CLOTHES: mostly velvety light flowy hooded dresses - e.g one - dark in color like navy or dark purple

WHAT ARE THEIR FEET LIKE: boots or clean slippers, but does enjoy walking barefoot in the forest and grassy fields a lot - it's her way of connecting with nature.

MANNERISMS: Has a stubborn look with narrowed eyes when angry - also balls her fists until her nails are digging into her palms.

MULTISHIP: Yes

SEXUALITY: Bisexual

LIKES: books, family, exploring the forest and stars, archery, singing, enjoys writing poetry, play fights (especially with Dior), lawfully good personalities, red wine.

DISLIKES: her eyes (sometimes), unmoral, immorality, arguments (with Dior especially - or another loved one).

FEARS: The inevitable losing of her family, losing control of her powers because of her strong emotions, orcs, oath-blinded Feanorians.

LITERATURE: Romance novels and poetry.

MOST PRIZED TREASURE: The half star necklace she shares with Dior.

FAVORTIE COLOR AND WHY: Green because symbolizes aspirations, resumption, and peace - also because it's the color of nature.

FAVORED EXPLETIVES: Oh my Stars! Eru give me patience!

HOBBIES: singing, poetry, reading, listening to the sounds of the forest - it's relaxing for her.

FAVORITE CHILDHOOD MEMORY: When she received the half-star necklace she can share with her twin or her any picnics she had with her family in Tol Galen.

LEAST FAVORITE CHILDHOOD MEMORY: Lú's least favorite memory when she dreamt of losing her family - but later when she was safely tucked in her father's arms, she realized she was safe with them and it made her happy - her emotions are linked her magic, so it caused flowers to bloom inside their home. It was also the first time everyone realized she was born with magic - but also a time Melian had realized Lú was born to be an immortal.

(Lú's first memory was from when she was a little elfling. She had woken up from a terrible nightmare - Beren instantly took her into his arms, while Lúthien attended Dior who had woken up from his twin's cries. She fell asleep on his chest and Beren had to hold her for the whole night - she was too afraid to let him go. The next morning everyone had woken up to see flowers blooming inside their home).

PERSONAL TRIGGERS: reminders of the losses of her family - the ruin of Doriath, running into the forest barefoot hoping to save her nephews. Battle and blood.

WHAT ARE PHRASES OR WORDS THEY OVER USE: Eru give me patience!

ARE THEY OPTIMISTIC OR PESSIMISTIC: Optimistic in Tol Galen and before the ruin of Doriath. Pessimistic and in depression afterwards until she reaches Rivendell.

WHAT MAKES THEN LAUGH OUT LOUD: Anything hilariously stupid done by her friends or the twins before the ruin of Doriath. Afterwards she doesn't tend to laugh even if something seems funny a small smile is the most you get from her.

HOW DO THEY DISPLAY AFFECTION: Words of affirmation, acts of service - and physical touch (when a romantic relationship).

STRONGEST CHARACTER TRAIT: Compassion, fair.

WEAKEST CHARACTER TRAIT: Stubbornness, jealousy (she already lost so many people in her life she easily gets jealous. But it is not toxic, she tries subtle ways to get her lover's attention back. Little puffing, shifting from one foot to the other; after some time even step closer to her beloved or link arms with them— this is when she feels a little insecure and starts comparing herself to the other person). Has Thingol’s temperament for sure (but denies it).

GREATEST FEAR: Losing yet another loved one.

WHAT DO THEY CONSIDER AN OVERRATED VIRTUE: Solemnity.

IF THEY COULD CHANCE ONE THING ABOUT THEMSELVES, WHAT WOULD IT BE: Her eyes - she hates it at times some people think they are too strange and she grows to dislike them. Her family was the only ones loved them - she has yet to meet someone who loved her eyes like they did. Her powers - they are the one thing stopping her from sailing west and giving up her immortality , times when she feels alone and lost after the ruin of Doriath she wishes she didn't have these powers and can freely sail west.

Song: Dynasty by MIIA, Lovely by Billie Eilish, and Arcade (Loving You Is A Losing Game) by Duncan Laurence ft. Fletcher are songs that can describe Lú's life.

Smell: she prefers to wear perfume that smells like lilies and snowdrops.

PARENTS (Beren and Lúthien):

Lúthriel and her parents have a great relationship. They both encourage her to take her powers to the fullest but also be careful how she wishes to use them. Luthien and Beren always gave a talk with Dior and her — considering their future and gifted them small necklace that can be connected together to make a whole star Lúthriel and Dior always had it with them and they never took it off — even after Dior's death she always keeps it as her most prized treasure. Beren would always tell Lúthriel to use her powers for good — and try to help those in need — like how Luthien saved him. Luthien would always encourage not her to be never dishearted because her parents and brother are mortal and tell her she was made to be immortal for a reason and she must fulfill it.

DIOR (Twin):

Dior and her are very close — they have each other's backs. She trusts him with almost anything. He's always the one protecting her if seome ever said anything bad about her 2 different colored eyes. She spend countless nights crying to him about it. She feared no one would ever love her because she's so different from others. He's actually the first she told and she thinks she's bi. Their relationship however strained a little — when the silmaril came into Dior's hands.

Since she's immortal because of her inherited powers — most of the time Dior and her, try not to argue and cause strain on their relationship. Instead encourage each other to the fullest.

She stays with her parents for a few years — then travels to Doriath to stay with him afterwards. She's really hates separating with anyone — especially family. But Beren, especially — tells her to stay with her twin because one day she will regret not having all the time spent with him. Both their parents know how much the twins mean to each other — so they rather them be together than separates. I like to describe Dior and Lúthriel as like two bright stars on each side (north and south) shining as much as the other — providing so much light.

Herself and Dior shares a special bond like that — and either of them can tell if the other is feeling upset or unwell. They can't hide anything from each other.

NIMLOTH (SISTER-IN-LAW):

Lúthriel didn't know how to feel about her at first — but then she saw Nimloth was kind and loved Dior. So she wished them a bright future and was happy for her brother. She only wishes she can find a love like theirs too

ELWING, ELURÉD, ELURÍN (NIECE AND NEPHEWS):

She's a great aunt— always up to mischief with her nephews and niece. She's the type of a aunt that gives them goodies even if they are grounded — so you can imagine how much they love her. She always showed them her powers ,— little things like growing flowers or strengthening trees.

THINGOL (Grandfather):

Her relationship with Thingol is very strained because of the silmaril. From an young age Lúthriel could always tell the silmaril was bad news. She always could get a strong dark vibe from it. She never understood what good it brought. She had multiple arguments with Thingol as she grew up — but knowing he was still her grandfather matter what she still respected to him to an extend.

MELIAN (Grandmother):

She definitely closer with Melian. Melian understood her views — she was always the one that helped Lúthriel calm down after than argument with Thingol.

CANON LOVE INTEREST:

Erestor — Chief Councilor and Librarian of Imladris - former warrior in Eregion

MCU AU LOVE INTEREST: Loki — god of mischief and lies.

ROLEPLAY LOVE INTERESTS (in different AUs):

@vanifinwe-feanorian — 8th Fëanorian and Daughter of Fëanor

Wielding her Magic:

She can wield magic — she can command the forest to her will and she can read into the pattern of the stars — to tell if any danger is incoming.

Melian and Luthien both tried helping her hone in her powers— but soon they and her learnt it was better if she was self-taught as her powers has almost a mind of its own — and she needed to harness them on it on her own. They were still on the sidelines encouraging and giving her advice. It's through their encouragement she developed.

However, there was a lot of mishaps along the way — Dior sometimes still tease her about it. - She almost hit Thingol in the head with a branch once and another time she accidentally hung her father downside on a tree.

During the time Dior was in possession of the silmaril - their relationship was strained and she did not spot the oncoming danger. She felt at fault for the death of her twin and sister-in-law, she hugged his lifeless body - crying her heart out. She connected their half necklaces one last time and set out to find her nephews - because her niece thankfully escaped - the pattern of the stars told her, Elured and Elurin was in greater danger. Due to the heartache of her twin brother's death - it was hard for her to locate her nephews - she was exhausted and tired. She crashed in woods and cried out to the forest to save them - in canon tradition among the Nandor of Ossiriand held that they were led to the safety of the woodlands by birds and beasts and thereby survived - for my oc this was caused by her powers - she knew they survived but never found them again.

🕷️

I was late to my hair appointment so I had to use these bad boys

Tagged by @translesbiantheo (thanks for thinking of me! Hope you enjoy my far too wordy answers!) Questions are: Last Song, Last Show, Currently Watching, Currently Reading, and Current Obsession. I’ve put it all under a readmore cut because I tend to wax lyrical and I don’t want to gum up peoples dashes, but if you see this please do click through and have a look.

Last Song: People are answering this as meaning ‘To what song did you most recently listen?’, to which the answer is probably: one of the unreleased songs from the Protomen’s as-yet-unreleased third album, ‘Act III’. Most likely ‘NO WAY BACK’, a major fave, but I’ve been listening them a bunch while working and it might be ‘The Fight’, which has been released as a single.

They’re kind of  hard band to describe, because all elevator-pitches make them sound like a joke: In short, they’re a band who wrote a rock opera (very) loosely based on the videogame series ‘Megaman’, and have spent about twenty years touring to perform assorted bits of it along with covers of iconic heavy metal / prog rock songs. I have little respect for other members of the surprisingly popular ‘videogame themed novelty band’ genre, but the thing is that... they’re really fucking good? Like, very actually good. They’re about the music, rather than the game, or the novelty, to the point where the fact it’s themed after fucking Megaman is almost an albatross around their necks. I tend to gush about the performances (and amazing range- one is a classically trained opera singer, the other sings both sides of a duet) of their two lead vocalists, but their guitarists are the secret MVPs, melting face with heavy metal melodies. And their lyrics and storytelling-via-lyrics, and aestheic... Well, I guess I like all of it. They care deeply about their project and have a deep knowledge of and love for both their music and the music that inspires them.

I’m very fond of that heavy metal/ prog rock era and tbh they’re not so much nailing a pastiche as they are genuinely keeping something beautiful alive. They have fun, but there is no sense of irony whatsoever to their work or their performances, no feeling that they have to ‘wink at it or we’ll be cringe’; their original songs are heartfelt and their lead singers belt them out like their hearts are breaking right there on stage. No one else does it like them.

Plus, they have an amazing stage presence which blows their (now decades old) studio albums out of the water. I saw them live in london and it was the best night of my life, and pretty much the only reason I haven't yet died of postcovid syndrome is my will to see them live again. Sadly, there are very few decent recordings of their live shows. Last Show: Oh, right, there was more than one question. I recently watched Revolutionary Girl Utena, and had strong feelings about it, but I’m now a little too distant form it to unpack them here. I also started watching Serial Experiments Lain and Haibane Renmei, both of which I drifted away from mid-season. This says more about my postcovid brain damage than it does about the quality of the shows, to be clear: I can see why wey are both beloved. I intend to go finish them and then move on to more cornerstones of my fave era of anime. Currently Watching: I feel like I should talk about YouTube or something here, but mostly I’ve been watching tv. I decided to give the Wire ago, as my watch-through of the Sopranos with my flatmate stalled out. We really need to pick that back up... Season one of the wire I felt had something special. It had real willingness to draw parallels between urban gangs and the police, to showcase the brutality, hypocracy, and deceptiveness of police forces right alongside the lives of those forced into crime, and most importantly it had a rare empathy for it’s criminal characters. The direction and writing were also great, and I can see why it’s one of the great touchstones of prestige tv. Also, there was a groundedness to the characters and their personal problems (and a refusal to sermonize or get moralistic about those problems) that I found delightful. Season two abandoned much of that, feeling more like an ordinary copaganda-filled police procedural, and also suffered a general loss of quality in filmmaking terms. Anyway, I’m midway into season three now, and it’s been much closer in tone to the original. It’s not as good, and I think this is yet another example of ‘a tight, focused work turned out profitable, spin up the infinite money-engines to make more of it forever’, but unlike S2 it is at least a worthy tonal and structural sequel. Currently Reading: I have straight answer to this one lmao: Ringworld, by Larry Niven. I have a deep and lasting interest (of what you might call the ‘autistic amateur historian’ variety) in 'nerd subcutlures and community history’, in especially that of sci-fi and the Fantasy one into which it split. As a part of that, and also because it’s my own literary interest, I used to read a lot of modern and classic fantasy and sci fi. Post-covid, however, I’m not able to read much, so much like with anime I’ve been trying to get myself to catch up on missed touchstones. Hence, Ringworld. It’s proving an interesting read, partly because of how hard the science  was (for the standards of seventies sci-fi), but also because of how different the general style was back then. I’m mostly enjoying it a lot, but it does occasionally blindside me with something astonishingly of-its-era like a casual rape joke from the protagonist to an ally. Next I’d like to get into rereading my collected volumes of Clairmont’s run as writer on the x-men comics, after having read John Allison’s recent fan-comic throwback to the era. I mention this (in addition to it being yet another special interest of mine) because of an odd tangential relation: In the 70s Clairmont introduced Kitty Pride as a new viewpoint character for teens reading the comics, so he wrote her as a nerd, and so she mentions a lot of nerdy cultural touchstones of the era. Her best friend, Ilyana Rasputin, develops the mutant power to teleport via circles of light, which Kitty names ‘stepping discs’ after the teleportation technology in Niven’s Ringworld, of which she was a fan. Current Obsession: Continuing the theme of ‘the history of nerd culture and it’s branching subculture communities’, I’ve been thinking a lot about OSR tabletop RPGs. These are ‘Old School Renaissance’, or ‘Old School Revival’, games, pert of a movement to recapture the ‘mom’s basement’ days of roleplaying games. Lighter systems than some, a focus on action, puzzles, and dungeoneering. Some are new systems designed to fulfill those design goals, but others are heavily based on actual roleplay systems from the 70s themselves. I’ve been reading system rulebooks and adventure modules for fun for a couple weeks now, haha. I used to love GMing tabletop RPGs, and I have wanted for ages to run a series of experimental mini-campaigns, trying out many systems with a rotation of players. I’m pleased to say I’ve actually put this into practice now, and I’m two weeks into a campaign using Black Hack rules. Others I want to try are: Torchbearer (which has a focus on hardcore survival), MÖRK BORG (Which is very rules light and focused on brutal dark-fantasy a la BERSERK or Dark Souls), Old School Essentials (Which is basically a more organised remake of the AD&D your dad might have played in the 80s), Dungeon World (which uses the very modern story-game style Powered by the Apocalypse system), and several more. Once I’ve tried a bunch out, I’m probably going to run a hexcrawl or maybe a west-marches type game, and if the mini-cmapigns thing worked for me I’ll branch out into non-OSR systems that I feel like trying. I have a huge folder of RPGs I always wanted to run but could never get around to. If you want into the player pool for these mini-campaigns, send me a message and let me know. It can be a reward for having read this far ;) Passing it on to: @girl-like-substance @expertpedestrian @tinytachyon @lancelought @acrylicpainting

Sydney Vivid trip! A quick trip, whole thing took about... 30 hours, including travel time, but otherwise extremely fun. Thursday night was dinner at an Indian restaurant (beautiful, delicious food, but even the 'mild' was Extremely Burny), the Light Walk, and the most incredible gelato I've ever tasted, Friday had the Australian Museum and checking out the new minerals, delicious salad bowl from Fishbowl, and more gelato :D

If you're in Sydney (or Italy), go to Rivareno Gelato holy shit. The vegan hazelnut they had on special this week will only be around, I think, another couple of days, and is worth the trip tbh. I had it with the chocolate sorbet on Thursday night, and coconut sorbet on Friday.

More details, images, and thoughts on the Vivid displays under the cut:

For the Light Walk, we started at the Circular Quay end and went as far as Barangaroo. Didn't do the paid stuff, although I would have liked to see the gardens as well; unfortunately it just was going to be a little too much walking (as it is, I did about 6km). Here's what we saw, in order:

Between You and Me: This was actually a projection on the pylons of the bridge, but we watched from the other side of the harbour for the best view. Gorgeous animations of birds. There's an app you can use to access the audio for it, curated by Dr Ann Jones, one of my favourite nerds.

Sonder: Light tubes at the far end of the station structure. Pretty, but lots of people around it.

Inside Out: On the facade of Customs House. Banging soundtrack, gorgeous light. What a cool way to literally bring Florence Broadhurst's patterns to life!

The Hive: Definitely face the proper side for this, haha. Lovely lights, cool meaning.

Losting: Very cool to look at, but a bitch to photograph - too many mirrors! Was like a little pocket into a hidden world.

Supernova: Lowkey and fairly still, but the holes in the metal gave this really neat effect of flickering when you walk around it.

Barerarerungar: On the facade of the MCA, this was one of my favourites. Gorgeous light presentation and another really cool soundtrack, we stayed on this one for a bit.

Life Enlivined: This is the John Olsen stuff projected on the Opera House. Absolutely beautiful, although the sound app wasn't working for it, alas. Best view is from across the harbour right near Barerarerungar, if you're any closer to the actual Opera House you won't see it right. Goes between more abstracty, directly art-inspired displays, and cute animations.

Waterfall: Very lowkey. Neat, but not much to it.

Biotechture: Some lovely light, great kind of impression of the building being peeled back.

Superorganism: Lit-up tree! Simple, but extremely pretty.

Dandelion: This neat dome of these kind of starburst things. You could actually go inside this one, although we didn't because it was very crowded.

Monad: Absolutely gorgeous projection of circles, lines, orbits, stuff like that, projected on a screen of water. Mum was absolutely transfixed by this one in particular, haha.

Bump and Sway: Another fairly lowkey one, walk by and acknowledge it as you go, I guess. Light poles in water.

Ghosts: Fairly subdued, just some lit-up paper cranes.

Spirograph: Light fountain! Very pretty but surprisingly tiny?

Night Walkers: Frogs :D There are actually a few of these scattered around, not just in Barangaroo Reserve. They were super cute.

Night Whisper: Smaller installation, but just very aestheically appealling. Lightbulb surrounded by moths, about how we're all drawn to light.

Dune: Shifting triangle-square-y shapes, kind of hypnotic tbh o.o

The Last Ocean: One you can walk on! It's made of reclaimed ocean plastic. Was neat seeing the lights shifting under your feet.

Vivid House, feat. Infinity, Ama, Australian Oceans, and Invincible Corals: A mixed collection of nature-oriented stuff projected on four walls around you. My favourite was Invincible Corals, which showed these gorgeous growing corals, showed a depressing bleaching event, then regeneration with the spawning. Infinity was… pretty, but, um, not the best-animated, tragically!

What Lies Beneath: Very lowkey, it was just some stuff projected on rocks on the waterline and kind of… hard to make out, unfortunately.

The Tunnel: Brightly-lit neon tunnel in different colours and patterns, including rainbow. Had this fun part where you could actually control the patterns.

Lilies and Fish Are Jumping: Last two, kind of entwined. Lilies were these big floating flowery things, and Fish Are Jumping was this fun little thing surrounding them, which had these little darts of light shooting across arcs of wire, which looked a lot like jumping fish in the dark.

My favourites: Between You And Me, Inside Out, Barerarerungar, Live Enlivened, Monad.

Images! Very important lights:

I know it's blurry, but here's the bridge, part of Between You and Me, and the cool lights playing over the sky.

Inside Out:

Barerarerungar:

Life Enlivened:

Superorganism:

Closer shot of Between You and Me, and one of the Night Walkers frogs:

Dune:

The next day, at the Australian Museum. One of my favourite skellies, all ready for the Skeleton War:

Nice:

And finally, the hazelnut gelato of the gods, and a very very nice coconut sorbet:

Good trip!

What Kind of Future?

Midoriya Izuku / Male OC - Midoriya Izuku / Bakugou Katsuki

After the war, Izuku finds a way to settle back into life with his class at UA. He finds himself moving forward, looking into a future with his boyfriend and seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

It doesn't take long for that light to be extinguished, and when it is, he only has his friends from America to turn to.

Izuku will no longer allow himself to be the sweet boy that smiles despite everything. The world has tried to tear him down, and he will rise from the ashes of his former self and become who he was truly meant to be.

OCs/ Aestheics

Name: Atlas Azriel (Az, Atty)

Age: 19

Height: 6'4

Gender: Cis-Male

Pronouns: He/Him

Sexuality: Poly, Pansexual

Quirk: Devil Spawn

Atlas grows large wings and horns when his quirk is activated - his eyes will glow red and his canines elongate into fangs, and if he makes direct eye contact with you he may be able to imbue his will onto you - it is dependent on how pliant the mind of the victim is. He can also summon shadows from his fingertips that he can control and use.

Drawbacks:

- Fatigue after transformation

-Pain when growing wings, horns and fangs

Hero Name: Lucifer

Likes: Cats, Guitar, Fire, His friends, Smoking, His motorcycle, night time

Dislikes: Cheaters, Sour things, assholes, sunlight, waking up

Account: At_less

Name: Xavior Angus (X, Zee)

Age: 20

Height: 6'1

Gender: Cis-Male

Pronouns: He/Him

Sexuality: Poly, Gay

Quirk: Telepathy

Xavior is able to read the thoughts of anyone within 20 feet. Generally he only hears surface thoughts, however if he is concentrating, he can delve significantly deeper into someone's mind.

Drawbacks:

- Consistent mind chatter (he has mostly learned to tune it out at this point in his life)

- When he delves deep into someone's mind, it can be difficult to come back out

-Nose bleeds when reading too many minds too deeply.

Hero Name: MindMeld

Likes: Music, His Friends, Texting, Instagram, Dogs, The first sip of Coffee in the morning, getting lost

Dislikes:  Loud people, strong scents, crowded spaces, people who are rude to servers, narcissism, anyone who fucks with his people

Account: x.Mind.x

Name: Castiel Satou (Cas, Steel)

Age: 19

Height: 5'11

Gender: Cis-Male

Pronouns: He/Him

Sexuality: Bi-Sexual

Quirk: Transform

Castiel can transform into any animal he knows the anatomy of.

Drawbacks:

- if he transforms more than 10 times in a day he struggles to turn back into a human

- He needs to have knowledge of all internal workings of whatever he turns into.

Hero Name: Beast

Likes: Video Games, Quiet Spaces, Animals, Laying in the Sun, Tea, Tarot

Dislikes: Spicy Foods, Aggression, poor manors, long car rides

Account: SteelxxMagnolia

Name: Persephone James Grey (Poppy, Grey)

Age: 18

Height: 5'6

Gender: Cis-Female

Pronouns: She/They

Sexuality: Poly, Bi-Sexual

Quirk: Enthtall

Poppy always has a Halo above her head - it forces people to automatically obey what she says and attempt to worship her when she activates her quirk (Can be negated when you spend enough time with her)

Drawbacks:

- undying loyalty from anyone under her thrall can be kind of annoying

-has to help her friends / people close to her build immunity to her power.

Hero Name: Angel

Likes: archery, snakes, dressing up, piercing's, kissing, cuddling, smoking

Dislikes: Cold food, horses, anyone who yells to get their way, her parents

Account: Poppin'Poppy

Name: Jessie North (Jess, Jessica, Snake)

Age: 20

Height: 5'9

Gender: Cis-Female

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Straight (ally)

Quirk: Electrosis

Jessie can create anything from electricity - her go to move is to create snakes out of electricity to do her bidding. She can also surround herself completely with up to 9000 V of electricity, anyone who makes contact with her will be shocked when she does this.

Drawbacks:

-  Jitters if she uses too much

- Gets severe finger pain when controlling her electric creations

Hero Name: Snake

Likes: Singing, Drums, tattoos, her friends, coffee, weed

Dislikes: Chocolate, men assuming they're better than her, water

Account: North_Aesthetic

Name: Izuku Midoriya (Deku, Izu, Mido)

Age: 19

Height: 6'0

Gender: Cis-Male

Pronouns: He/Him/They

Sexuality: Poly, Pansexual

Quirk: OFA

Same characteristics as the show.

Drawbacks:

- previously had issues with controlling it at it's highest capacity

- Occasionally broken bones

Likes: Smiling, reading, piercings, music, friendship,

Dislikes: Cheaters, when people are mean for no reason, yelling, tight spaces

Account: TheRealDeku (form.) Izu_babes (fut.)

WIP Question Game

My thanks to @aestheic-writer18 for the tag!

In this game, I'll be answering nine general questions for my current WIP, Kelovir.

1. What was the first part of your WIP that you created?

So Kelovir (though it went by a different name back then) was started back in NaNoWriMo 2022. I usually start WIPs by writing a scene or two that helps me build a plot and characters, but because of the time constraints of the challenge, the first thing I did was create a planning document (I wasn't doing any prose writing because the planning doc was in October). The first thing in that document was a main character summary, and the first MC I covered was Narra. Up until a week ago, she was the only thing in that document (sans names, I usually like my names) that was still accurate. I'm beginning giving her a rewrite, and once I'm done, that planning document will be 99% outdated

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the intro song be?

I actually did a thing and wrote one for that exact hypothetical (It's not very good) I have several ideas, but most of those songs were written for other specific pieces of media. Of the ones that aren't, there's three distinct emotions that tend to crop up (so if it were a three season show it could have a different intro every season, like some animes): Anger, Melancholy, and Hope, for which I'd respectively say

Evil Ways or When the Devil Calls from those "Dark Country" albums (don't remember the artists)

2. Good People by PMP or Streets of Gold by Aviators

3. Forward Motion by TFK

Though now that I think of it, Slow Farewell (from the Dark Country albums) might work well as a singular intro.

3. What other pieces of media could share a fan base with your WIP?

Given that I've shared very little of my writing, I don't really know who it appeals to, so instead I'm just going to list half-a-dozen of my influences (in no particular order, probably affected by recency bias) and hope that people who like what I like also like what I do:

Brandon Sanderson (a lot of thematic inspiration and a bit of character [Ik what it looks like, but I hadn't read Stormlight before the main trio and the idea of Brands were both fully formed, I swear])

Fire Emblem (Dauria literally only exists because of Sacae, Cellic takes a lot of inspo from Dimitri, Anesaru takes a bit of inspo from Edelgard [sorry El stans, I promise I don't treat her too harshly])

FMA:B (character inspo mostly, esp. Maiph)

LotR, ofc (thematic inspo, a few literary conventions like characters spontaneously bursting into song lol)

Firefly (dialog inspo)

FFIV (a lot of character inspo)

4. Who are your favorite character/s and why?

It's Cellic. It has been and always will be Cellic. I've harped on about him before, and for the sake of space here, I'll try to keep it concise this time. He takes the part of me that wanted to be a hero as a kid, and he embodies that heroism as he walks through the world I saw as a teenager, and, though he breaks, becomes the kind of person I want to be and befriend as an adult. He bears the Trace of Devotion and (spoilers) the Brand of Justice, and (also spoilers) passes the trial of Beauty, and (also spoilers but very predictable) marries someone who bears the Seal of Healing. He's archetypical in many ways to be sure, but his dependability and classic heroism are part of what makes him my favorite.

5. What has been your biggest struggle while writing your WIP?

The oft-mentioned lack of discipline that leaves me unable to actually progress. Apart from that though, probably the fact that my outline means that who I attempt to write my characters as and who they actually are as they evolve on the page aren't the same, and that can cause some sticking points.

6. How do your characters get around?

Mostly by running or flying. Four named characters have wyverns, another one has wings, three or so can fly w/ magic, and the rest just learn to suck it up and hike it out.

7. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

A lot of dragonkin. There's the aforementioned wyverns, two amphipteres, and one currently-though-not-originally-incorporeal dragon god. All of these are sentient, and all of them but two of the wyverns have dialogue. Aside from the dragonkin: there's several horses, sheep, goats, and boars for domesticated animals, and several more... interesting beasts for wild creatures. Particularly valrak, giant fusions of scorpion, wasp, spider, and beetle that eat everything and spread like fauna kudzu, and whatever demon things the summoners of Clan Anyraz pull from what is essentially the nether. For mythological reasons, wild animals tend to be hostile to people. You'll find the occasional neutral one, but animals have a surprisingly good reason for hating humanity.

8. What part of your WIP are you working on right now?

I'm working on my rewrite of Narra, which you can help give me ideas for here! Once I get that revision done I'm going to resume drafting, specifically I'm going to finish the flashback sequence where Cellic's mother dies.

9. What aspects of your WIP do you think will draw people in?

HOW DARE YOU FORCE ME TO BE POSITIVE ABOUT MYSELF!

Dialogue. I like to think I'm pretty good at it, both the funny parts and the deep parts (which are sometimes the same). My descriptive style is still evolving, but luckily I think it's changing for the better. Also, thematically it talks about things that I think are important, and I'm told that the enthusiasm of the writer often translates to enthusiasm of the reader.

Aaaand that should do it! I've seen this passing around a few times and ik several of the people I'd otherwise tag have done it already, so Imma just leave this as an open tag! If you see this and you want in, that means YOU!

͟͞= black to the pink ♡︎