#and i am really quite adjacent to that in build
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My main issue with men's clothing has far more to do with fit than style. If anything I love that mens fashion is a bit more boring bc i personally am a bit of a boring butch and I looooove solid & boring clothing in one colour maybe some stripes if I feel daring! However I hate that men's fashing has been haunted by slim fits for so many years now. My grandfather and I have toughly the same shoulder and arms measurements, but he is long and thin and while I'm not short I am fat and squat. His shirts from like the ninties to early two thousands fit better and more consistently than what I've found in any store, but with any of his newer shirts I'm not even remotely able to close them around me:') current movement towards oversized and baggy fashion has improved things somewhat, but in the end just fits a bit weird bc well, it's designed to look oversized and that uses different proportions usually, but at least then I can close the shirt:/
#for real best day of my life was when i was let loose at old navy bc that caters to stocky and square corn fed midwestern men#and i am really quite adjacent to that in build#but we dont have old navy over here:((((((#but yes i love dressing like a boring guy ❤️#musings
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There’s a phrase I like to use when people question why, in fantasy series, people don’t just take the most efficient and ruthless option. I say, “This isn’t Game of Thrones.” Bluntly put, apart from having a very unsatisfying ending to its character arcs due to a realistic but very abrupt swing from the character arcs it had been building up (and in one notable case, a character arc that WAS built up the whole time, but not in a way people anticipated), Game of Thrones is most notorious for a very realpolitick approach to how the characters make their decisions.
Efficiency, immediate needs and ruthlessness regardless of personal qualms comes up a lot in what people seem to have taken from that show’s success, and you see a LOT of people thinking that pragmatic ruthlessness is the most basic and standard solution to any story’s problems, regardless of whether or not its consistent with a story’s given themes and morals.
The Avatar setting is NOT one of those. In this setting, spirituality is vitally important; the reason WHY things are done, as well as HOW they done, are just as important as the actual end result, if not more.
So, one thing I see a LOT in fandom circles (usually in bad takes floating around and being mocked by the circles I am adjacent to, or ideas popular among Big Name Fans who are kind of sheltered from the actual themes of the show itself and have distanced themselves from what the show is actually like in favor of what is functionally a completely original series that appeals to their own preferences) comes down to discussions arguing that AtLA would be better if Aang just took down every one he fought and killed them all without hesitation; there is a popular implication among these ideas that Aang is considered weak to them BECAUSE he doesn't want to kill. Because killing is anathema to his people, because the deliberate taking of life is a HUGE deal to both the Air Nomads and the real life religions that they are based on.
These takes conclude that none of that matters; that his morals and compunctions should just be immediately tossed aside in order to achieve his goals. There's usually something like 'who cares about spirituality when the world is so bad' or the ends justifying the means. And the thing is that we DO see characters in AtLA saying that, quite often. Characters who don't care about the spiritual consequences of their actions, who do whatever it takes to accomplish their goals.
They're the villains.
In AtLA, ruthlessness, pragmatism and 'whatever it takes to get what I want' is SPECIFICALLY and EXCLUSIVELY associated with the antagonists. General Fong; Azula, Ozai, the entirety of the Fire Nation... one thing they all have in common, besides opposing Aang, is that they're not just willing to be ruthless, they have no interest in achieving their goals or really doing anything at all without being ruthless and amoral about it. There's a common point in the narrative here, and I think the episode the Avatar State neatly sums it up through its story, as we are presented with Fong, who is seemingly an ally, demanding that they ignore the spiritual demands in favor of just weaponizing a force of nature no one involved really understands.
His emphasis on the people dying in the meantime does make for a potent image, but he is ultimately and frequently established as a ruthless jackass who cares more about trying to weaponize the Avatar State (and mere mortals do not get to have a say in its decisions or what the World Spirit, in its fullest power, wants to do). Apart from this indicating a more or less full departure from a strict moral binary within the series, there's also an emphasis on Katara growing increasingly uncomfortable with the non-spiritual plan they're taking, to the point that she won't have anything to do with it, and she is very much the show's heart. If she disapproves of something with plot relevance, its usually a bad sign.
So this whole THING you have with people going 'everything would be better if Aang killed everyone immediately except for the secret Good Guys even though he has absolutely no way of knowing them out of context'... its genuinely really bewildering and I think its kind of proof of people not engaging with the show's themes or ethics, but assuming that ruthlessness and efficiency are the default way of handling everything. AtLA is not subtle about this and if you think that the show at any point suggests that this is a likely outcome, I don't think you're really engaging with it, or you're misunderstanding the context (such as the Ocean Spirit rampaging being framed as a last second moment of hope; I think people conflate its destruction as generally a Cool Thing, rather than the world itself protecting a dying culture from near certain destruction as the moon itself is... well, dead.)
(There's also a protagonist-centered morality in that they seem to want their characters to BE rather amoral, being all about love and acceptance and tolerance but also brutally and remorselessly kill everyone in their way without hesitation, and the people making these statements don't see any kind of logical flaw. I dunno but that's WEIRD to me.)
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I think I made Celebrazioni D’amore kinda sexy...😏
I'm gonna ramble now!!! ↓
HOLY CRAP this lot has been a HUGE challenge. Every time I'd think I was close to being done, this freaking lot would provide me with an even more bizarre and questionable feature than the one previously conquered... but despite nearly throwing in the towel, here we are! Phew!
I changed so. much.
The biggest change I made is that I shrunk the building down quite a bit to eliminate the excessive, gaping, empty spaces that were quite literally everywhere and serving no function whatsoever. I also moved and downsized the mega stairs, fixed all the visual balance issues (like one side of the build being heavier than another or tables being off-center from the stage and etc.), made the bottom floor's main area an actual room (yes... that was an issue in the original build), removed the heinous carpeting (goodbye random cheetah print patches), landscaped basically from scratch, and so. much. more. I'm relieved to say that when I look at these pictures though I still feel like I'm looking at the same lot... just a more functional and aesthetically pleasing version of it.
The OG build made a good attempt at something adjacent to "character," and even though it was a bit of a swing and a miss, I wanted to maintain that intention. I never do nightclub or lounge lots so this became a great exercise in pushing myself to build in a style I don't typically gravitate toward. (Using neon, colored lighting and modern fixtures in the same build?? Unheard of for me!) Some of my favorite parts aren't even pictured, so I'm really excited to share the whole thing. Although I'm not done (fingers crossed that I'll wrap it up tomorrow...) I am pretty damn close, and that's a win in my book! I have two things left to do: first I need to decide if I'm going to keep the exterior paint colors (currently a combo of dark purple and magenta) or swap one of the colors out for something like a plain "base" (such as brick). After that I just have to... *gulps*...playtest it (yes I am shuddering and crying profusely. Ask your god to give me mercy). TLDR: I will probably post this lot by Monday at the latest, so keep an eye out for it!
One last thing!!! I promised it would be extremely DLC-lite... and it is!!! It uses less DLCs than every single one of my shell builds. Woohoo! Goal met!
Okay, I'm officially done talking now! If you read all of my rambling... you have my undying love and appreciation. You are also probably entitled to financial compensation for your time (note: we at B.B.R.U.* are not taking cases and claims at the moment, unfortunately). But might I say that you are cooler than the other side of the pillow? 😎 Hopefully that will suffice.
Byeeeee friends! ❤
*B.B.R.U. stands for "Broke Bitches R Us," in case you were wondering. It's my company and I'm the CEO, bless
#ts4#simblr#the sims 4#sims 4#the sims community#ts4 screenshots#ts4 build mode#ts4 tartosa#ts4 my wedding stories#tartosa#in progress#personal#update#*V chats
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Hello all, I am honestly not even sure how long it's been since I've really talked to anyone online and I'm very sorry for just straight-up ghosting so many of you, but I'm trying to work on resuming my life and reconnecting with people a bit and especially trying to start picking up all of the commitments I've let myself drop in the past year or two.
Full disclosure, I've been having a bad time mentally for quite a while and just haven't been available to anyone in my life, online or off. I'm really sorry to have stressed people out with that because I know I did worry a few of you. I'm just not all here, to be honest, and I haven't handled it well. I'm having some personal struggles and just not doing my best taking care of the resulting issues--it's not anything trauma-based/triggered, it's more along the lines of problems with in-built psychological issues stemming from chemical imbalances that I just don't always manage as effectively as I could. But I'm not physically ill and haven't been in an accident or anything like that, and I'm trying to re-engage with life now. Catching up with people I owe communication/commissions/explanations to is on my list, but I just haven't managed to make it very far into said list yet. I am, however, physically healthy and in stable housing, and if anything emergency-adjacent happens I do have local friends and non-local family members I could get help from, so I'm not in an "immediate crisis" situation.
I'm just also unemployed, out of money, and scraping by on food stamps and state-issued healthcare that doesn't cover my previous psychiatrist, and I haven't been able to find a new one in-network who's taking patients and actually, like . . . calls me back when I leave a message or email them in interest of making an appointment. I'm signed up with a program that can help me get a job, hopefully, but the process is taking a little while and I'm not sure how long it'll take in the end, so the future is very nebulous at the moment.
And like . . . VERY full disclosure, I'm just very depressed and stuck being off my meds for the forseeable future. My room is a mess I can't bring myself to clean up, I feel like I can't engage meaningfully with a lot of things, I don't feel hopeful or optimistic at all, my emotional responses are all heavily muted, my coping mechanisms are avoiding breakdowns but are not long-term helpful or productive, and I'm neglecting a lot of people and things in my life and my own best interests because I just . . . don't care.
I know my situation and my feelings are largely just because I'm going through a major depressive phase unmedicated and with limited personal resources, it's not an end of the world scenario or anything. It's just been difficult and upsetting trying to find ways and motivation to fix my life and get out of that phase when I'm already feeling sunk in a quagmire and like I did all this to myself with my own mistakes, and I'm just trying to take things one step at a time and build back up from where I'm at.
So long story short: I'm not doing great right now but I'm stable, and I greatly appreciate the concern and grace I've been given while being just entirely off radar and am going to be doing my best to make right or make up for the neglect. If anyone wants or needs to check in on anything I owe them, please feel free to message me and ask; I'll be trying to contact everyone I owe anything to but given the brain-fog I've been dealing with I don't trust myself not to miss anybody in there, so believe me, if you feel the need I will in no way be offended and you'd probably be doing me a favor anyway.
Thank you all, you've all been so good to me over the years. I'll hopefully be in touch soon. ❤
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𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐏𝐓 𝟐
from critical role's the mighty nein episodes 34-71. feel free to change prompts as you see fit!
❝do they know you?❞
❝do they check weapons at the door, or anything like that?❞
❝i want to see how strong you’ve gotten.❞
❝well, how do i look?❞
❝i like myself just the way i am.❞
❝call this your home so long as you’d like to stay.❞
❝do you still love them?❞
❝love is a funny thing.❞
❝can you recommend any bookstores here?❞
❝hey, crime boss, are you my dad?❞
❝i don’t want people to know i’m still alive.❞
❝you’re asking a lot of questions for a person i just met.❞
❝i think you could snap me like a twig.❞
❝i think, perhaps, it’s destiny. do you believe in destiny?❞
❝i don’t have any dreams at night. is that worrisome?❞
❝it is funny how you keep showing up like a bad penny.❞
❝please don’t kill me.❞
❝i didn’t expect you to come in here and slaughter my contacts.❞
❝who were you supposed to deliver this to?❞
❝you’re not afraid of dying, are you?❞
❝is life always this directionless?❞
❝sometimes the things that are the most beautiful are the things that can hurt you the worst.❞
❝out of idle curiosity why have you been trying to butter me up?❞
❝i thought i had you figured out.❞
❝we’re about to be boarded by fucking pirates.❞
❝i am trying to process this as quickly as i can.❞
❝is there food in this bitch?❞
❝do you want to control the sea?❞
❝how many dudes you think you killed?❞
❝how many fingers am i holding up?❞
❝get out of there!❞
❝these days i’ve spent with you are the most exciting of my entire life.❞
❝this was the worst day of my life.❞
❝i’m getting used to the idea that this wouldn’t be a test if it was easy.❞
❝i think the world is shaping you into something important and i want to make sure that you get to wherever you need to be.❞
❝okay, i feel like shit, so i’m going to bed.❞
❝what was your first kiss like?❞
❝don’t fire on them unless they fire on us, you understand?❞
❝sometimes you can be nice to people too.❞
❝you better be sure this is something you want to die for.❞
❝if you’re lying to me, i’ll slit your throat.❞
❝pleasure to meet you. i have the feeling you’re having a really bad day.❞
❝just keep your mouth shut for like 30 damn seconds.❞
❝this is very dangerous to give to you, but you’re the perfect person to have it.❞
❝i was born to be a cannoneer.❞
❝have you ever sacrificed anything in order to achieve a greater goal?❞
❝i was alone for a long time and ran from everything.❞
❝i feel like a fool much of the time.❞
❝i could fill a book with what i don’t know.❞
❝what if we can never go home?❞
❝this is the best plan we’ve ever had!❞
❝i’m going to summon a demon.❞
❝no, really! she was a really bad person before we killed her and everyone on the boat!❞
❝i’m not an asshole. i’m asshole adjacent.❞
❝of course it’s minimalizing. have you met me? everything i do is minimizing.❞
❝do you ever feel like your relationship with your cat is hindering building stronger relationships with human people?❞
❝i understand when i’m being condescended to! even when i’m drunk!❞
❝hey. sorry for being a dick. bye.❞
❝i go where the wind goes.❞
❝yeah, i’m not a happy guy.❞
❝that’s what we do, we seek out active doom.❞
❝to be perfectly honest, yes, there were quite a few people chasing me.❞
❝best not to call attention.❞
❝i will so gladly introduce you to my cat because i’m very fond of him and love for people to meet him.❞
❝we’re running! it’s bad!❞
❝it was nice to meet you and nearly die next to you.❞
❝i’ve always heard that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, but i feel pretty fucking weak right now.❞
❝i think i oddly feel the most comfortable when things are a fraction away from going terribly wrong.❞
❝my mother was a big believer in the buddy system.❞
❝got to be careful with what risks you take, but without risks, you’re never going to get what you want.❞
❝in my loneliness i just turned to anger.❞
❝sometimes you’re running towards something so fast that you can’t remember why you’re running in the first place.❞
❝i get nervous to get close to people because i feel like i lose them.❞
❝i’m either very unlucky or cursed, and i don’t believe in luck.❞
❝don’t forget me. i won’t forget you.❞
❝if you hear the signal, run. you remember the signal? it’s ‘AHHHHHHH'❞
❝don’t turn evil, okay? but if you do, i’ll still be your friend. i mean, it’s okay. you know, some people are evil. it’s okay. just don’t turn evil to me.❞
❝sometimes it sounds like you don’t have much love for home.❞
❝we need to know the ones we love.❞
❝i guess it’s easier to pretend like you don’t care.❞
❝you would do anything for love.❞
❝i would protect you.❞
❝do we look like tourists?❞
❝that could have gone much worse.❞
❝why does it feel like everyone here is hitting on me, but also insulting me at the same time?❞
❝what? why are you looking at me like that?❞
❝i operate alone. that’s how i survived this long.❞
❝i’m a danger to you by proximity, as much as you are a danger to me.❞
❝how was i supposed to get better? you fucking left!❞
❝now, i see great possibility in you. you have potential. but you need to listen to me and think before you act.❞
❝your rash, intense behavior will be your downfall.❞
❝no one has to see what you’re doing is good, as long as it is good.❞
❝i do not do this for accolades. i do this because i serve the purpose to provide a better world for those who. cannot defend themselves.❞
❝i can’t tell your morning voice apart from your just-almost-died voice.❞
❝if you ask, the worst they can do is say no, and throw you in prison, and you’ll never see your family again.❞
❝we are exiles in every sense of the word.❞
❝you made the right call. i’m very proud of you.❞
❝what would you have done differently?❞
❝for the first time in a really long time, i feel hopeful.❞
❝now that i’m with you, i don’t know how i could be apart from you.❞
❝oh boy, i don’t understand anything that’s going on.❞
❝i trust your heart. it’s in a good place.❞
❝i think you might be wrong. i can’t say it with 100% certainty, but you might be.❞
❝i had a very bad dream.❞
❝i think i’ve done something very bad and i don’t remember.❞
❝have i done something terrible?❞
❝i am talking to you as one accomplished liar to another.❞
❝this is our family now and we are looking out for eachother.❞
❝we can remake ourselves into something better.❞
❝those things were fucking scary as fuck!❞
❝it’s a tomb with an exit. that’s the worst kind.❞
❝maybe we shouldn’t go in. let’s just go back.❞
❝i know you lost your family. we can be your new one.❞
❝i’m just doing my best.❞
❝i’ve never seen you get scared.❞
❝are you feeling scared? you should. this is terrifying.❞
❝try what you want. you won’t break me.❞
❝your life hangs by a thread. what have you to lose?❞
❝some of us get tired of macabre fairytales. so you enjoy your mouthful of lies when they choke it out of you.❞
❝we’re being sneaky! stop talking so loud!❞
❝i’m confused. do you want me to stay or not?❞
❝is this conversation appropriate to have in a hot tub?❞
❝it’s been really hard trying to figure out who’s just a traitor and who’s an actual demon.❞
❝all i can give you is my loyalty.❞
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Sewing in G/T
Fiber Arts | Knitting | Crochet
Sewing is one of those skills that exists in literally any representation of g/t, even if it's not emphasized! Most people wear clothes, and those clothes have to come from somewhere. If they're not being sourced from another place, like doll's clothes for borrowers, then giants and tinies likely have to make clothes for themselves! So long as they have a needle and thread, they can make and mend their own clothes and other articles.
As per the usual format now, I'll be going through examples of g/t sewing in media that I'm aware of, talk about some of the practical application in g/t scenarios, and provide some examples of what gives me real life g/t vibes in sewing.
Just a heads up, I am a relative novice with sewing compared to knitting/crochet, having picked it up only in the last few years. So if anyone more experienced has more ideas, please share them!
In Media
This time around I actually have quite a few examples of on-screen sewing in g/t that I know of, and as always I'd love if anyone would share others that aren't shown here!
The most practical example of tiny sewing I know of is the scene from Studio Ghibli's Arrietty (The Secret World of Arrietty) in which she and Homily are putting together very large bags in preparation for their move. Not only is it a nice quiet moment that starts to build the tension and seriousness of their situation, but it also showcases the difference in skill and experience between mother and daughter.
While appearing rather large in comparison to real life hand stitching, you can see that Homily's stitches are tight and even along her own seam. Arrietty's, on the other hand, are uneven, and within the scene Homily points out that some of them are too long and she'll have to start her seam over to make sure it's properly secure.
Homily is shown sewing in several iterations of The Borrowers that I've seen, as shown below. She seems to be mending things in the 1997 and 1992 versions, and I think 2011 Homily is running her needle through a ribbon, maybe making a ruffle? It's hard to tell since it's not exactly the focus of the scene, but it's clearly a way for her to cope with her husband very audibly getting into trouble.
And for once I have examples of giant sewing to include as well! @taters169 recently shared one with me in the discord, in a version of Gulliver's Travels I hadn't seen before. The Lilliputians pitch in to make him a new jacket!
youtube
Another, shorter example is from an old Disney short about Paul Bunyan, an American folk tale about a giant lumberjack. There's a brief scene, timestamped below, in which the town that found and adopted Paul as a baby came together to make his clothes. Not only does this include sewing, but there's also a big group spinning yarn to knit into cartoonishly large booties for him. Again, it's very short, only one shot in the whole thing, but it's nice to see those details included!
youtube
The Potential
Sewing has been around since the dawn of time, so there's really no reason why any giant or tiny couldn't have some access to it in some form or another, if they really try! Needles can be made from bone or antler if metal isn't available, and tinies can potentially use human-sized needles for their own purposes. Sewing needles come in many different thicknesses and lengths, so depending on the scale, they don't have to be too unwieldy. The smallest needles I've seen were quilting needles (shown below), but I'm sure if a tiny or giant is crafty enough, they could make their own.
As for thread, that can be sourced from loads of places! It can be spun from natural fibers, like animal hair or plant fiber or silk, or it can be repurposed. Giants could use spools of rope, and tinies could use some of the thinner threads available.
Similarly, fabric can be homespun and woven, or found and gathered and recycled. I think it depends on the kind of setting you're working with, and whether the giants or tinies live adjacent to human society and have to source things that way. If they live independently, then the former is certainly a possibility. The latter is the reason patchwork items give me major g/t vibes! It's a thrifty way to put clothes together when you don't have enough of any one fabric for the entire thing. The smaller the patchwork, the bigger I envision the person wearing it since I can only imagine giants could find very small amounts of fabric at a time, proportionally.
I guess that leads right into:
Real Life G/t Vibes
With regard to sewing patterns, Vibes are really open to interpretation. I often gravitate to simple garments that don't have too many bells and whistles. Adjustable garments as well, especially if one imagines a giant or tiny could have less access to fasteners.
I recently found a company called Matchy Matchy Sewing Club. I'm in no way affiliated with them. They're a US based company that sells cotton and linen fabric, and PDF sewing patterns. The patterns are designed in such a way as to have several panels, giving ample opportunity to mix and match fabrics into some very cute patchwork looks!
I will say that printing PDF patterns can be tough on a domestic printer, so if you can, I would find a service that can print patterns full size for you. I can't speak for international services, but I know that in the US you can use PDF Plotting and have patterns printed and shipped to you. I haven't used it personally yet, but from what I've heard, it's more worth it to upload several patterns to print at once to make the shipping worth it. If anyone knows of other services that work internationally or in other countries, please let us know!
Fabric choice is also a factor in g/t vibes. Solids are kind of a blank slate, but if there's any sort of pattern on it, I feel it kind of works like visual storytelling. For instance, Moda has a line of tone-on-tone fabric called 'Grunge' that almost looks pre-distressed, great to give one some rugged, well-worn vibes! In a similar vein, I'm a huge fan of their speckled metallic line, which is a fun and random-looking small scale print.
The scale of prints can do a lot to imply how large or small someone is, without being obvious enough to those not in the know. Small scale can give the impression of being big in comparison, while large scale has the opposite effect! Examples below, small scale Liberty Tana Lawn on the left, and large scale Robert Kaufman Organic Flannel on the right.
The thickness and texture of the fabric can also play a part. For example, cotton woven fabrics are much thinner and more drapey than typical quilting cottons, and there are lightweight canvases that are stiffer than typical cotton, but still usable in garments if one wanted to make something that looked like it was originally made for dolls!
I feel like I could go on forever about this, but I'll cut myself off there. What do you think? I'd love to hear your ideas and inspirations for g/t sewing! And if you'd like to chat with more g/t fiber folk, come join us on our discord!
#g/t fiber arts#gt fiber arts#g/t sewing#gt sewing#giant tiny#g/t community#giant#tiny#the borrowers#gulliver's travels#gulliver's travels 1977#the borrowers 1992#the borrowers 1997#the borrowers 2011#arrietty#the secret world of arrietty#paul bunyan#borrowercore#giantcore#tinycore#g/t vibes#g/t
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So I am heavily hesitant to post this for a number of reasons the biggest one being- she’s in gear, publicly to you all for the first time.
Which I guess is time for her biggest announcement? She’s been cleared for public access work.
She’s had quite the rigamarole of tests and hoops to jump through to prove that she is no longer reactive to other dogs, safe if a dog approaches while I’m unconscious, stable if rushed, that her stability remains if I’m not present, handled by a stranger, you name it. she’s done it. And I kept it all a secret because I was really afraid of posting progress and failing, but we didn’t fail. and I’m so damn proud of her.
Honestly this feels overwhelmingly surreal, this dog used to be reactive to everything that moved, scared of everything she’s never met before to the point of shaking and to imagine this even being a possibility for her back then was a fairytale.
She’s been cleared for about a month now and I’ve been afraid to share it not only for the possibility of failure but also because I know the SD community is a very toxic place where many would have washed her the day they met her. I know the amount of vitriol that can fly at me for even giving her a chance to succeed, and many will always see her as a reactive anxious dog and nothing else, ignoring the fact that she hasn’t been that way for a very long time. And I’m very afraid of that quantity of judgement.
So with great hesitancy I say: Yoshi has been granted public access rights!
And today she had a very productive session at a pet friendly winners/ homesense where she got to put all of the skills she was taught on the treadmill to her first real escalator. We did about five passes walking up to it and away to watch it move and build comfort with the sounds and there’s an adjacent stairwell that runs parallel to it so we walked up and down that as well for further confidence building and watching. (Where she also met her first glass railing quite high up totally unfazed). First two tries at getting on she needed a lot of coaxing to hop on and remained pretty stiff but did do the jump on and off as was practiced on the mill. This clip is the fourth try I thiiiink? She pops her ears back to block out some sound but is overall confident with what’s happening and knows how to mount and dismount. She should be standing the whole time to keep that booty floof safe from the escalator - she keeps sitting down very visibly because she’s watching my treat hand move back which is not safe but is so clear on how comfortable and happy/ focused she is at only her fourth try. I adjusted my hands to treat from the other side on the following rep and she held the stand perfectly that time!
And if this does happen to somehow end up in the SD community which I really want no part of I will address the lack of boots here: there’s a few reasons why we felt it was safer for Yoshi personally not to use them. The boots greatly alter her body awareness, even with significant work done in that area there’s always a bit of a clown shoe situation going on, tiny dog shoes just don’t fit as well as they do for larger dogs, they’re heavier, larger, and bulkier relative to the dogs size, makes it far more likely that she will have mobility issues on the escalator when she really needs precise mobility. I have yet to find a grippy tiny dog shoe that fits her, the only pair that fits her currently is not designed for indoors and will slide risking injury. The lack of hardened rubber on her small dog shoes means the fabric is thinner and softer when paired with the above problems makes for a very high chance of the boot itself getting caught in the escalator and being the reason for injury.
She won’t be riding escalators as a primary choice, this training was chosen to occur under professional guidance as a precaution if an elevator sn’t an option when I am unable to manage stairs.
She did really really great today, I don’t know how much of her in gear working I’ll actually share purely because I don’t want my content to end up on the SD side but I really do want to share this huge success with you guys as I consider you all to be my little friend group. I know you guys here have watched the progress from the beginning and I feel like a lot of you would want to know just how great she’s become.
Last thing I want to add here is that although we are working with a group and will obviously be on the right track that way if you do ever see or feel us doing something that seems wrong please let me know. I know how easy it is to ignore things because you’re emotionally invested, last thing I want is to make a wrong call because I’m too emotionally invested to see it. So just let me know, okay?
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What's your ultimate self indulgent smiling man fantasy?
'Nonners. I love this question, thank you for it, I am totally here for any indulgence of my smiling man obsession.
I don't have a singular ultimate fantasy as I cycle through very similar ones regularly enough, so let me be very very self-indulgent and go into all of them.
Behind a read more because it might be a lot.
So my smiling man daydream fantasies tend to have a few distinct categories.
Folksy/grounded -- where whoever I'm imagining myself to be has made a bargain with the smiling man, similar to the bargain than Jonathan Webster made ,and very often they're in historical settings. Sometimes it's people making a bargain for something earnest, like wanting to have children or paying off some massive debt they can't see a way out of or wanting to get out of being married off to someone (usually these tie into the issues of being a historical woman--wanting to escape a fate); sometimes it's more greedy and selfish, like someone wanting to be a famous artist but wanting that instant magic fix to be famous.
These always end with the character in question being taken behind the mist and used up, after the smiling man is ready to take them.
Servant - where whoever I'm imagining myself to be makes a bargain with the smiling man but becomes his servant in the 'sunshine world' as part of the deal. Usually these characters tend to be desperate but yearning for something that isn't a necessity, like fame--quite often they want to be stage performers because then I can daydream with my music playing and have it be relevant, lol.
Sometimes the servant character falls in love/gets engaged and the smiling man gets mad about it because the character belongs to him, and they didn't even think about that before trying to promise themselves to someone else. He doesn't view it in a "I love them" way, just, "Uhhh you're my belonging, I own you, what makes you think you can just up and devote your soul to someone?"
For supreme self indulgence with this daydream, I turn to "All I Ask Of You" from Phantom of the Opera, where the character and her fiance write a song where my character is alluding to their servitude to the smiling man and all the horror that entails ("All I want is freedom/ a world with no more night/And you, always beside me/To hold me and to hide me") while the fiance is probably just thinking they have lots of personal problems.
And of course, the smiling man gets wind of this song, and is not very impressed and will be having A Talk with the character.
These don't really have endings, they sometimes spin off into other vaguely musical moments, often with "Pure as the Driven Snow" from the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (the official Rachel Zegler version of the song, anyway).
Adults with supernatural or smiling man adjacent histories for these Daydreams, it involves a character who has a background with the smiling man in some way or who has a traumatic event that connects them to supernatural or otherworldly things.
Sometimes it's a character who encountered the smiling man and made a bargain as a child, and now they're an adult and he's coming to collect. I often have him show up looking like someone else and fucking with them, because he finds it entertaining.
Sometimes it's someone who saw a ghost or was involved in another supernatural entities shenanigans (sometimes I decide the Other Mother from Coraline was involved, or a creature like her) but as an adult they have the misfortunate to come across the smiling man, who overhears their history and decides they'd make a great way to help keep the doorway to the other side of the mist open.
One in particular I always return to is someone who returns as an adult to this summer camp style experience where the kids lodge in this large building that used to be an old mansion but was refurbished into a summer camp spot with offices, dorm rooms, etc.
As a kid, they were haunted here by this creepy lady ghost who wanted to take them and have them be their "daughter" (because their own daughter died due to their negligence). And when they come back as an adult to be a counselor or chaperone... well, they end up coming back the summer that the smiling man happens to be there looking for new souls to collect.
And the lady ghost offers to help trap all the kids at the camp if he just makes sure she gets to keep the returned character forever and ever.
Folklore - I would say this is probably the most self indulgent of them. In this type of Daydream, the character is someone who is really into folklore beliefs, believing in old traditions like house spirits and witchcraft, who leaves out buttermilk for a house spirit that lives in the wood shed and makes protective bundles every year to hang up around the house that will ward off bad spirits. Who goes into the woods to gather herbs.
For this, I usually imagine the character was taught by their grandmother or something like that. A grandmother who taught them about fairies in the woods, who told them to sweep out bad energy with a broom during changing of the seasons, and who (to steal from Addie LaRue) said to never ask things of any spirit who comes after dark.
And they often have a sibling who doesn't believe in the things the grandma told them and who teases the character about it. Like, the character smacks the sibling's hand because they try to take baked goods that they're going to leave in the forest as an offering, or they try to use buttermilk being collected for the house spirit to make pancakes. And their sibling is just like, 'Ohhh boy, here we go again."
It's lighthearted teasing from the sibling. Mostly just because that allows the smiling man to overhear what the character believes in and have it feel organic.
All of this usually leads to the smiling man deciding that this character could be an interesting way to keep the door(s) to the other side of the mist open. Sometimes I have the smiling man encounter the house spirit, who threatens him to leave the character alone, as she's the only one who still feeds him and believes in him.
(The character does usually have a niece or nephew that she teaches these things too, so trying to keep her grandmother's traditions alive.)
I never really have concrete endings for these types of saydreams as they kind of go back and forth depending on my mood. Sometimes I have the smiling man encounter the character in the woods and nothing much happens, other times he tries to make a bargain and she is smart enough to realize that it's a bad idea.
Often they have conversations about things that she believes in, because he's always interested in people who still believe in the old things that have been overridden by technology and science.
#smiling man#I am really ... really into him#this probably isn't the only smiling man post for today ;) hint hint wink wink wink#gonna hopefully finish up one thing before bedtime
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Devlog #0
My dungeon crawler game is in the extremely early prototyping stages (like no art at all, just placeholders, the battle system is nothing so far). I didn't think I'd show it or make this blog anything other than my thoughts about RPGs for a long time. But, I've been really liking Tumblr and seeing what other people have been making, so I'm just getting that feeling.
I've really only prototyped basic movement mechanics, and am working on implementing the battle system, but I think next steps are including at least some basic concrete enemy types, party stats, and attacks to build it out. I don't see myself replacing the art until the game is quite playable, the faster I can iterate and delay committing to a specific look, the better. That's why I've been thinking so much about character.enemy/unit classes in RPGs.
What I've done so far that I can be a bit proud of:
Movement in a basic tile-based dungeon (maybe the way I did it was suboptimal, but it isn't how you often see movement tutorials for these game engines, the player controller has to have collision boxes in adjacent tiles as "feelers" for walls, to disallow some moves). You can strafe like in Etrian Odyssey or SMT: Strange Journey, so your movement direction isn't the same as your looking direction. There is also a feeler on the bottom to see if you should be falling after moving.
I have working stairs. The stairs have collision boxes at the bottom and top to decide whether you're going up or down, and the player also can mount stairs smoothly from the side, but falls off if doing the reverse. Honestly making this work was surprisingly difficult without having the camera clip through the stairs, more though went into these movements than expected.
I have a working door/teleporter to take you to other rooms in the dungeon.
A random encounter system. It can pull up different groups of enemies based on the areas encounter table, and ends the battle and returns you when all are down. There's an arrow to select your target. All enemies die in 1 hit right now. You can run away too.
It might be a while until my real Devlog #1, as I think this one was a bit early, but I finally felt I should keep a record of this early stage for later.
#gamedev#solodev#devlog#drpg#rpg#game design#game development#slugdragoongame#slugdragoondevlog#indiedev#indie games#godot#godot engine
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YOUR FAVORITE SEFIKURA FICS?!?!👀👀
I’ve really taken my time with answering this because I have 400+ Sefikura fics in my bookmarks, and I ended up going through all of them. It was very hard to decide. This ended up becoming more of a rec list, because I really find it hard to narrow it down when there are so many fics with this pairing that have brought me joy. Here are my very most favorites—I hope you’ll enjoy them too.
One shots:
Without Mercy, Without Grace by BloodyWar2411 - Probably one of, if not my most favorite sefikura fic ever. The banter, the dynamic, the inclusion of Angeal, Genesis, and Zack… it’s just so wonderful. Angeal is the time traveler this time, and drags Cloud back with him, which changes many, many things. This one will never get old.
The Brightest Star in the Universe by modeoheim - (Technically a two-shot but shhhh). Sephiroth is an alien who crash lands in Cloud’s backyard. Cultural differences, shockingly wonderful emotional vulnerability, interesting world building, and really fun smut due to Sephiroth’s alien appearance—this one has it all. And lots of feelings. God the feelings these two develop for one another are so amazing.
Shelter From The Light by AsreonInfusion, TekkaWekka - I hesitated between putting this one here and in the pwp section, but there is a fair bit of plot, so I’ve left it here instead. Vampires are a weakness of mine, and this fic really does them justice. There’s something wonderful about the fact that the situation depicted here very much should be fucked up, and yet it somehow isn’t. One of those fics that has me imagining what would come after, how their relationship would continue to build. Lovely.
i’m bunkered with ashen soul by shivadyne - Very, very fun world here that’s been built. Cloud is a vampire, old and powerful, but Sephiroth, as a dragon, surpasses him in both respects. There’s something wonderful about Cloud willingly giving himself over to Sephiroth to be a part of his hoard, who immediately starts doting on him and indulging Cloud’s whims. One of those fics that makes you itch for more.
Alone Together by Up_sideand_down - This one has a super, super unique concept, in which Sephiroth and Cloud are both shoved into one body by Hojo. The hijinks that ensue with that are interesting, but the closeness they crave once they’re separated is wonderful.
That Deep Dark by modeoheim - Haunting and dark. Sephiroth really, truly feels like something very far from human. I like to interpret this one in a sappier light, but the ambiguity of it is amazing. Godly Sephiroth deciding that Cloud is His is really wonderful.
corsetry by silentsaint - I am not sure why this fic stands out so much to me. Or rather, I’m not sure how to describe the way I feel about it. One of the most beautiful uses of long, elegant descriptions and wordplay. The dynamic between these two, with Cloud all wrapped up in a wedding dress… there’s something about this that’s ethereal in and of itself, and it’s uniquely compelling.
Rushes and Reeds by corvidkouhai - Short but sweet. The vibes here are immaculate. This piece, and the energy it captures, really inspired my kelpie fic I wrote for Sefikura week. Always a sucker for mermaid/mermaid adjacent fics, and this one does such a lovely job with Sephiroth’s ethereal inhumanness.
Like Mother, Like Son, Like New by jukeboxhound - This is definitely more of a character study of Sephiroth, but it’s wonderful all the same. It all leads beautifully into seeing Cloud and Sephiroth together. I have a weakness for hair washing, so this is one of my favorites for that reason, but also for the softness that’s here in spite all of the acknowledged hurts Cloud and Sephiroth have caused one another.
Inter-Dimensional Life Strategy Seminars (Attendance Mandatory) by dustofwarfare - Crack but very fun and very amusing. Probably not as fun unless you’re familiar with all of the series that this plays with, but it’s quite funny if you are. My love for Sephiroth and Cloud hating Dr. Phil knows no bounds.
Longfic/chaptered fics:
Telling Time With a Broken Watch by CloudStrifeIsMySpiritAnimal - I wish I could provide you with a link to this one, but it’s sadly been deleted. I think about it all the time, though. I don’t think I’ve seen any other fic be able to go as dark and deep with the enemies dynamic and still somehow pull it back on track toward something resembling a healthy romance. The mental bond was amazing, the banter and humor was great. I miss this one a lot.
Rectify by unknownlifeform - Do I have to explain why I love this one? I kept up with weekly updates for around a year and I swear it was always the highlight of my week. Sephiroth is a God and Cloud is rather blasphemous, which is a wonderful dynamic in and of itself, but this goes so far beyond that. It’s. I don’t have words. (And also I still think about the Saferoth smut in this fic. We were truly blessed with that).
The Little Guy by TokiMirage - One of, if not my most favorite longfic for this pair. A time travel fic in which Cloud is Very Done and decides fuck it, he’s not getting involved at all. Time to be a janitor. And yet somehow, of course, fate brings him back to Sephiroth time and time again. Cloud’s personality and characterization here is great—he’s SO sassy and Sephiroth is drawn to him because of it.
What Is My Life by NightmareDaybreaker - This one is still ongoing and I’ve been following it since the very beginning, which has been such a treat. The story sees Sephiroth coming back to life post-AC, but there are so many twists and turns and the plot is so fun that it feels really unique. The characterization is wonderful, I love the banter, and the way the sexual content is written is to die for—awkward and silly in the best of ways, and it feels so very real and intimate and soft. I adore the way that feelings are portrayed in every part of this fic. There are also multiple pieces of art with each chapter, done by the author. They’re all really wonderful, and I love the way they draw Cloud and Sephiroth.
Cadet Strife’s Adventures in the Big City by Munchkin47 - Fun, sweet little soulmate AU. Cloud is so very sassy, and there is so much sexual tension throughout. It’s really wonderful seeing Cloud grow from half-rate trooper to SOLDIER Third. Very fun.
Patience is a Virtue by Iciseria - In which Cloud decided to work as a lab assistant instead of a trooper after failing the SOLDIER exam and everything changes. This fic is… so fucking soft. It’s crazy that it manages it in spite of the setting. One of those wonderful fics in which Cloud gets to know who Sephiroth really is, who in turn feels Seen for the first time in his life.
Call it Magic by kzam - All of kzam’s fics are just… so wonderful. This one plays with some very interesting dynamics in regards to the connection that Cloud and Sephiroth share. As always with kzam, the world building is really phenomenal, and is worth the read alone.
Deep Waters by unknownlifeform - Look. I’m a sucker for mermaids/mermaid fic. But this stands out even from my usual love of that sort of AU. Sephiroth is a big scary abyssal mer, and him and Cloud kind of hopelessly, awkwardly fall in love. The cultural + size difference is superb, and the plot itself is super riveting. Love this one.
Your Wings by WindsOfTime - Cloud is such a bamf in this one dear god. Takes the usual boring CEO premise and turns it on its head. Cloud is Sephiroth’s assistant, yet he is very much the one in charge. And then there’s the wings and the bigger plot and Angeal, Genesis, and Zack… this one is very, very fun.
PWP:
Rumour Has It by AsreonInfusion - Saferoth tentacle porn and the very start of Feelings. Need I say more?
Reverb by Carressa - One of my favorite smutfics for these two. It plays with some really, really interesting dynamics in terms of how Reunion and puppet!Cloud can be used sexually, and yet somehow is still soft for it? There’s a lot of love beneath the surface here.
Mukbang for Monsters by Fictional_Nympho - This one is a really interesting combination of fun tropes, from camming to monsterfucking to top Cloud, oh my! Really just a whole lot of fun.
Blinded Love by Gregora - Starts off as anonymous sex, but then feelings get involved. Sephiroth has a tentacle dick which is very fun. It’s a source of insecurity for him and very appealing for Cloud—the dive from anonymous sex to feelings in this one is really lovely.
Hazy by esama - Even though this one is a pwp, the plot is super compelling. Time traveler (maybe?) Cloud who’s forgotten most everything except his instinct to kill Sephiroth. Which turns into fucking Sephiroth. Lots of humor, neat dynamic/setup.
The Plan, and How It Went Wrong by XpaperplaneX - While technically this is a bit bigger than what I’d consider a pwp, it is filled with wonderfully written smut, and that’s kind of what the whole plot revolves around. I’m a sucker for pretty men in pretty clothes, so I love the games Sephiroth and Cloud play with one another in that regard.
#sefikura#sefikura rec#sefikura fic rec#answer sabbath#yes yet another silly themed tag I invented even tho it’s unlikely I’ll revive many asks
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Speaking of the Ankou - I have a real-life story related to death (no Ankou involved though) which I wanted to share for some times because it betrays a modern phenomenon...
Recently, in my town, there were plans, in a tiny residential neighborhood, to create a funeral center. This is mostly due to the lack of funeral-related organization, group or building in this part of town: we only have one of the sort, and it is at the other end of the town - if you don't get there you need to go to the neighboring towns. Having this new funeral center would allow funerals to be organized in a much easier way - especially since the population of the town keeps growing.
Now, the inhabitants of the street where the funeral center must be built (and of other adjacent streets) became very angry upon learning of the project. They put up banners on their houses' facades "NO TO THE FUNERAL CENTER", they spoke against the project in newspapers, they organized petitions, and in general they are very motivated for the funeral center NOT to be created.
Why? Well they have a list of reasons, and some of them are actually legitimate, practical reasons: most notably, this neighborhood is as I said "tiny", as in, it is filled with narrow streets, many one-sided or with dead-ends, and as such the car traffic is already quite complicated, so adding the regular flow of funeral-related cars and other mortuary vehicles would only worsen the situation.
But the problem is that these practical reasons are put in a secondary place in their list - or rather they are trivial, almost "afterthought" comments at the very bottom of the list. What is their number one and main problem, at the top of the list, that they decline in three different ways?
"We don't want this funeral center because it will ruin the mood of our neighborhood"
I am not kidding, their main problem is literaly, and I quote "We don't want to see grieving families in front of our houses". They keep saying their streets are peaceful and quiet, and that they lived happily there, and that such a funeral center would be a sore to their eyes by bringing unhappy stuff and making them depressed...
I think such an indignation at the mere sight of seeing grieving people reflects something that is going on in today's era or society... People somehow refuse to acknowledge or accept that death exist. I mean, here they literaly visceraly reject the idea of seeing funerals or grief in any form, and defend the idea that yes, these things should happen in ANOTHER TOWN. Yes, it is not a happy sight, but when you live at the OTHER END OF THE STREET (said street is quite long by the way), which means you are not even facing the center, you can spend your entire life not passing by there... it is not a question of you being bothered by the sight, you are just annoyed at the mere idea this thing exists down you street.
I don't really want to go anywhere with this - just to share how in my town there's a literal funeral center-hatred going on in a tiny neighborhood.
#stuff#again i don't know how to tag this#except#funeral center#funerals#and maybe#people's inability to acceept death#i don't know#i mean come on when did we reach a time when it is normal to say#better have our burials and funerals in another town rather than our own#because we don't want to see death in any form?#just a cranky rant
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Let's fix Star Wars!!
(I said at the start of the summer and wrote nearly 100k.) (It needed a lot of fixing ok.)
Here is a fix-it fanfic but it's for three series and the entire sequel trilogy. I will be posting about this more because I am determined to finish it soon (and then redraft it wooo!).
Description:
Somehow, Darth Maul returns. (As a force ghost.) (Somewhere Ahsoka thinks is probably the living Force.)
This changes everything.
In other words: The Mandalorian S3 but make it Din/Luke; the Ahsoka series but make it EZRA AND THRAWN SPACE ADVENTURES; and ‘somehow Palpatine returns’ is ripped to shreds because I connect plot points and add new characters.
Chapter excerpts below!
Chapter 1 excerpt:
“Not as far as I remember. Oh, wait! I wanted to rule the galaxy… shame.” He rolls his shoulders again. “Can’t do much about that now. Being dead is quite demotivating.”
“I’m sorry for your lack of motivation.”
“Don’t make fun, Lady Tano. Have sympathy for this poor, dead, ex-Sith.”
“I guess 'dead' is your only personality trait now.”
“You preferred me before?”
Ahsoka grimaces. She can’t argue with that. “No, sorry."
“I will be honest,” Maul says, “I haven’t felt this peaceful since before I lost the lower half of my body.”
Ahsoka fixes him with a reproving look. "You were Palpatine's apprentice then."
“Yes.” Maul sighs wistfully, chin sinking into his hand.
Ahsoka rubs her eyes. Maul has already given her a headache and they've only been talking for a minute. There is still nothing but darkness and flickering light, and Maul’s steady, yellow eyes. “Do you know where you are?” Ahsoka asks.
“Why should I help you figure this out? You didn’t help me once. Also, in case I haven’t made it abundantly clear, I’m dead, so I don’t care what happens to you or anyone else who is still alive. Some of us aren’t so lucky, you know?”
"If we figure this out, maybe I'll get peace. I really don't want you as a voice in my head."
Maul grimaces. “B’ahor,” he mutters.
“In the Al'har system?”
"There is a dark power on that planet… I sense evil, but also… something else." His eyes burn. "Perhaps you will go there and die. That would solve this problem quickly."
Chapter 2 excerpt:
“What was that?” Mayan asks as they hurry towards the mountain. “That feeling… the…”
“The Force,” says Ahsoka. “The Force exists all around us. It is created by all living things, it moves through them, and it binds the whole galaxy together.”
“How do you know about it?”
“I was trained as a Jedi.”
Ahsoka is surprised when her face remains impassive. There is no flicker of recognition, no spark of awe in her eyes. She just nods.
“In my village, people like that are called world breakers.”
“There are more of you?”
“There were.” Mayan looks away. “The legends say that world breakers can take a planet in their hand and shatter it.”
“That's... impossible,” Ahsoka says. She wonders why she had never considered that remote planets may have different legends about the Force.
“According to the stories, we are children of the Great Universe. If we follow its will, it will guide us... That's how it used to be.”
Ahsoka means to ask if there is more to these legends, but Mayan comes to a halt suddenly and points to the rock face in front of them.
“This is where the curse is,” says the girl.
“Yes.” Ahsoka can sense it too. This is where the Force has been leading them. It reeks of Sith and of evil.
Something terrible must have happened here.
Chapter 4 excerpt:
Fleeing vehicles kick up a cloud of dust, and Luke jumps up onto the roof of the adjacent building, crouching close in preparation to drop down. Sweat licks the back of his neck. For a stupid moment he thinks how this is the complete wrong time of day to be out, when both suns are high in the sky.
Then he leaps.
There isn’t even time to be annoyed as the roller-wheeler careers around the corner.
“Peli, I told you to keep him inside!”
“He wanted to see his dad!” Peli screams.
Luke sends Grogu a withering look. The little guy sticks his tongue out from where he is held securely in the Mandalorian’s arms.
“I am so sorry,” says the Mandalorian.
Luke doesn’t even know where to start. “It’s alright, can you hang on to him?” The roller-wheeler jolts suddenly, and Grogu squeals in what’s probably excitement.
“Yeah, but you can’t get through their shield with your lightsaber. I tried with mine.”
“Ok.” Luke tugs the vehicle slightly to adjust its course. “We’re gonna have to talk about why you have a lightsaber later.”
He senses annoyance from the helmet.
“Did you kill a Jedi?”
“Won it from Moff Gideon.”
“You defeated Moff Gideon?”
“Watch it.” The Mandalorian blasts a Pyke who was aiming for Luke from the top of a building.
“Good shot.”
The Mandalorian nods. Next thing they know, a Pyke has taken out the droid, and Luke somersaults off the roller-wheeler before it flips. He plants his feet in the ground and catches the vehicles momentum that everyone lands relatively unscathed. The Mandalorian caught Grogu immediately, so Luke draws them towards him, until his hand meets bescar.
“Nice catch,” says the Mandalorian.
Luke grins. “Is Grogu ok?”
Grogu pops up over the Mandalorian’s shoulder. He’s a little shaken, but a smile breaks across his face when he sees Luke.
Peli spits out a tooth from where she’s lying.
Chapter 5 excerpt:
“We’re even,” Boba decides. He makes a hand gesture for the blue liquor, which Fennec tosses to him with a roll of her eyes. Boba places his helmet beside him on the seat and takes a swing, acid-scarred face regarding him cooly.
Luke bows respectfully. “Thanks a bunch.”
Boba waves an arm dismissively. “Go see the little green guy.”
He turns to leave, but Boba isn’t done. He comments, offhandedly, “I thought you would’ve gotten a few more scars since the last time I saw you.”
Luke turns, puzzled. “Why?”
“Haven’t you been Jedi-ing?”
“Jedi-ing...”
“Saving the galaxy.”
“We... I did that.”
“What about Tatooine?”
Luke’s smile falters.
“Tch. ∂ι’кυтℓα נєтιιѕє.”
“What's that s'posed to mean?”
“It means I don’t like you.”
“He called the Jedi useless,” says Ahsoka. Luke meets her eyes, trying to stifle the burn in his skin. Ahsoka clears her throat. “We’ve been gone a long time.”
“That’s why I want to rebuild what was lost.”
Ahsoka looks at him for a long moment. “I know.”
Chapter 6 excerpt:
“σяιтѕιя!” Koska yells. “Bo-Katan Kryze!”
Bo-Katan’s eyes widen, she drops her gaze and breathes softly. “Stop yelling.”
“You… you…” Koska clenches her fists. “иιвяαℓ! αяυєт!” She kicks the metal desk, exclaiming incoherencies.
Bo-Katan shakes her head. “What do you want me to do?” She sits back, hands out. “I don’t have any way to unite our people, and Mandalore is inhabited by a clan of psychos.”
Koska’s lip trembles, but she bites it down. “We were going to follow you. We were going to get our home back,” her voice cracks. “Don’t tell me it’s all over now. After everything we’ve been through to get here.”
“Mandalore, and my legacy, is dead,” Bo-Katan seethes. “Even with the darksaber, would we be able to subdue, or, live alongside that… Clan куяαу¢, knowing what they did to Mandalore?”
“Just get the darksaber from him!” Koska says. “If you get it our clan will stop kriffing falling apart and we can take them down.”
Bo-Katan slumps into her hand. “This is why we fell apart in the first place. We fought each other instead of the Empire. It’s not a path I am willing to go down.”
“The others are,” Koska states.
Bo-Katan looks up.
“And they will,” Koska continues, eyes hard. “That’s why you need to decide what to do now before they decide for you, and we end up going down a path of self-destruction. While they’ll still listen to you, choose.”
Chapter 8 excerpt:
Ahsoka clenches her jaw. “Maul,” she grits out, “what did you do?”
“Em, an… indoctrination ceremony? It was mostly just for fun,” he assures her. “Ezra thought it would be fun.”
“You indoctrinated him into your clan?”
“That’s…” Maul blinks. “Yes. He could be considered a son of Dathomir.”
“And that’s why the night sister magic took him to Dathomir.” Ahsoka groans. “Well, this was a complete waste of time! Now I have to deal with Thrawn and get out of here somehow.”
Maul nods, as though that had been his plan all along. “How long has it been since they returned from the unknown regions?” he asks.
“I don’t know.”
“Find out,” insists Maul. “Spending too long on Dathomir with the spirits of the night sisters… would not be advisable.”
Ahsoka narrows her eyes. “How so?”
“They will attempt to resurrect, using whatever means they can get their hands on. I wouldn’t be surprised if they sacrifice his mortal body to gain strength to cross back over into the physical world.”
“Are they immortal?”
“They are… like Force ghosts that can absorb energy. With enough energy, they can reconstruct themselves, piece by piece, until all they are lacking is a physical body. They will need many sacrifices to resurrect fully.”
“Hold on… could you resurrect?”
“I would prefer not to,” Maul says simply.
Ahsoka’s eyes widen. “Okay… why?”
“Haven’t you asked enough personal questions?” he snaps. “Leave. I’m busy trying to wallow in misery.”
“Sure, okay.” Ahsoka shrugs. “But if you want to talk about it—”
“I said go,” Maul hisses.
Chapter 9 excerpt:
The smaller tunnel winds further down, deeper into the centre of the planet. There’s the slightest movement in the air, vibration, and Luke recognises the energy of life forces and stops walking suddenly. “There are… people down here,” he says.
Din casts him a dubious helmet tilt, and they continue until it is unmistakable. Voices echo through the tunnels, many, it seems, perhaps a covert worth.
“Do you wanna go say hello?” Luke asks.
“Perhaps they can help us find the living waters.”
The tunnel breaks off into several other small passageways. This close, Luke can pick out the soft glow of light, and he gestures for Din to switch his torch off. When he does, they are plunged into darkness, but gradually, Luke’s eyes adjust to the light, and he leads Din by the arm towards the light and the voices.
The voices hush suddenly. Luke pauses, he wonders if they should stop, go back, maybe confront these people somewhere they have more of an advantage. But Din steps past him, leaving Grogu in Luke’s arms.
“тισи’¢υу?”
“иι αℓιιт мαи∂σ.”
“иυ тισи’αℓιιт ѕσℓυѕ?”
“иαу¢… αѕн’α∂.”
“к’σℓαя.”
Din steps into the room. Luke follows after him. Inside the large cave, is a group of Mandalorians. One of them stands abruptly, blaster raised. “тισи’ѕσℓєт?” he barks.
“єни,” Din responds.
“тισи’ναιι?”
Din reaches for Grogu, and takes him into his arms. “иєя ιк’αα∂. иι куя'тαуℓ gαι ѕα’α∂,” he says.
The Mandalorian stares at them for a moment, then sighs raggedly, and sinks back onto the rock. The others in his group relax, but keep their eyes fixed on the newcomers. Their armour is in a state of disrepair, some of it clearly salvaged from the ruins. Some wear their helmets while others do not. The faces that Luke can see are pale and gaunt, as though they haven’t seen the sunlight in a long time and their torn clothes hang off their body in a way that makes Luke think of skeletons.
“Do you speak basic?” Din asks.
“We haven’t,” the Mandalorian says harshly, “since a long time.” His eyes are dark, hooded, his hair matted and entirely grey.
“We are looking for the living waters,” Din explains. “Do you know how to get there?”
Chapter 10 excerpt:
Mayan has gotten better at interpreting binary speech, but she’s not quite there yet. It takes her a moment to figure out what the little beeps mean as she stuffs some out-of-date rations into a makeshift pack. “Um… we’re going to rescue Ahsoka.”
R2 spins excitedly. Then he stops and says, “…. --- .--?"
“I don’t know how.” Mayan ties her boots. “By now, the blue man will think we’ve gone, so we can surprise him, right?”
R2 whistles uncertainly.
“Well… there’s no other choice.” Mayan grips the lightsaber in her hand. “You said Luke can’t come… so…”
R2 bumps into her as she walks towards the ladder.
“Ow, that was my toe.” Mayan groans. “What is it?”
“-.. .- -. --. . .-. --- ..- …!”
“I know it’s dangerous. You didn’t want Luke to come because he’s an important Jedi, right?” Mayan squeezes past him. “If the blue man finds him it’d be bad, so it’s better if I rescue her.”
R2 whistles a sad note again.
Mayan clambers up the ladder one-armed, her other arm tucked into a sling under her cloak. It’s completely useless. She doesn’t know how bad the break was, but since it happened, the skin has gone from red to purple — the edges faintly green. If she tries to use it, a sharp pain stabs through her.
The town is quiet this early — even the fruit vendors haven’t opened their stalls yet. Mayan sneaks around the side of the blown-up house, pulling her cloak over her feathered hair. She gestures for R2 to follow. She thinks if she can get to the mountain again, she can… well, she doesn’t really know. Mayan has always been good at getting out of dangerous situations, not getting into them. Maybe R2 can come up with a plan.
“This is hopeless,” Mayan decides. They sit within viewing distance of the tall mountain base, hidden in a valley of rocks.
“--. --- ……. -… .- -.-. -.-?” R2 suggests.
Mayan rubs the wrinkly skin of her fingers. “I don’t want to give up, but I don’t know how to get in, or where she is. I’ve never even seen a prison before.” She pulls her knees up to her chest. “I don’t know why Ahsoka even believes in me at all.”
“… -.- -.-- ……. .. … ……. .- -- .- --.. .. -. —.!”
Mayan smiles a little. 'Sky is amazing,' R2 said. It’s nice that he gave her a nickname after she said she wanted one like Ahsoka had as a padawan.
Chapter 11 excerpt:
Their arrival must have caused a minor uproar. A dozen Mandalorians watch from every hallway Luke glances down. They are all blue, presumably Bo-Katan’s people, and they don’t seem happy.
They are brought into a large hall, where spear-shaped windows bite into the ceiling, and white crystal casts a steady light over the room. A long carpet leads to a throne that resembles a hardened splash of lava, and on it, sits Bo-Katan.
She’s really got the throne thing down, maybe even as much as Boba Fett. Luke would not mess with either of them unless absolutely necessary purely based on their throne demeanour.
“What the kirff are you doing,” Bo-Katan says. She doesn’t yell, just sounds exasperated, maybe even exhausted.
“I’m taking you up on the offer to join you.”
Bo-Katan looks at him. Her amber eyes narrow, and she gets up, and makes her way towards them. “You’re too late now,” she says. Her expression touches on cold rage. “I’m barely holding this together as it is. With the arrival of your covert, things have only gotten worse.”
“Mandalore is habitable,” Din says. “There are other Mandalorians already living there.”
“The clans on Mandalore are belligerent and mad,” Bo-Katan snaps. “And the Empire has eyes on the planet. With the numbers we have, staging anything with only attract attention and get us all killed.”
Chapter 12 excerpt:
“You have redeemed yourself?” asks the Armourer.
“I have,” says Din.
The intense blue of the forge reflects off both of their helmets and the heat dusts Luke’s cheeks with warmth.
“And you have acquired another foundling…” The Armourer’s tone shifts to something decidedly less serious and more akin to amusement. “What is the name of this child?”
“Kymir,” Din says.
“Kymir, do you wish to join our covert?” the Armourer asks the boy.
Kymir looks from Din to the Armourer, brows furrowing.
“He doesn’t speak basic,” Din says. “Kymir, тιαи’¢σρααиιя тσ αℓιιт?” he translates.
Kymir bites his lip. “иαу¢,” he says.
Luke infers that his answer is no.
Din looks at the Armourer. “He has had a bad experience with his covert. He will not trust easily.”
“Without a covert, he will have no protection.”
“I will watch over him.”
“At this time, you are also in need of protection,” says the Armourer, lightly. “You were almost killed this morning.”
Chapter 13 excerpt:
“Ahsoka? Ahsoka!” Mayan shakes Ahsoka’s shoulders, but her master doesn’t stir. She holds her face and tries to somehow will her awake with the force, but nothing seems to work. Her eyes remain closed, eyelids twitching minutely every few seconds.
“Is she alright?” Leia asks, crouching by the broken tree Ahsoka rests against.
“I think so… she goes into deep sleeps sometimes. I don’t really know what…” Mayan hugs her arms. “Um, is the Falcon okay?”
“Ships fine,” Han says, an edge of annoyance in his tone, as he walks over to them. “But Ahsoka better wake up soon so I can ask her what in the hell just happened.”
“We went through a portal,” Mayan says.
Han squints. “How d’you know that?”
“I’m a Jedi padawan…”
Han throws his hands in the air. “Not another one! Come on, Chewy,” he says, “let’s go help Sabine get the engine started like normal people. Damn Jedi…force portals…” he mutters.
R2 beeps in a pattern that Mayan recognises as a laugh as Han stalks off.
“I hope Ahsoka wakes up soon…” Mayan says, mostly to herself, though Leia is still beside her.
“Yes, well,” Leia starts, “we need to get back home. This was meant to be a drop-off, not another adventure.”
Chapter 16 excerpt:
“Come with me to Mandalore,” Din says.
“But I don’t think I’m supposed to do that.”
“Do you want to?”
“Yes.” Luke glances at him from over his shoulder. “But I can’t,” he says. “I’m a Jedi, I have to follow the will of the force.”
Din is silent for a long time, and Luke wonders if the conversation is over. But finally, he speaks.
“I understand.”
Luke huffs dubiously. “Really?”
“Yes,” Din says. “I know what it’s like to be told that something that feels right is somehow wrong.”
Luke’s stomach twists. Nothing feels right. Nothing. He let the force guide him here and now the force is telling him it’s time to leave. What if Din and Grogu still need him? He’s almost certain they do. But the galaxy needs him too. Perhaps his responsibilities lie elsewhere, maybe he got caught up in his emotions and mistook this for being the right thing. The problem is, Luke doesn’t know. The uncertainty makes him afraid. (Jedi should not be afraid.) He remembers his vision in the mythosaur lair and his throat tightens until he can barely speak. (Fear clouds one’s judgement.)
“I can’t choose you,” Luke whispers, and a laugh catches in his through. “I can never choose you. Can you really tell me you understand that?”
Din brings a hand up to his helmet. “I don’t know.”
Luke stands up and catches his wrist. “Don’t,” he says. “I can’t let you give up your creed for me when I wouldn’t do the same for you.”
Din’s hand falls. Luke stares into the dark visor, feeling further from his eyes than ever.
The words of Obi-Wan’s Force-ghost echo in his head. “Had she said the word, I would have left the Jedi Order to be by her side.”
“I’m sorry,” Luke says and lets go of his wrist. He steps back, gaze falling to the floor.
If he wasn’t among the last Jedi… if the fate of the galaxy didn’t rest on his shoulders…
But the Jedi are gone. Palpatine and Vader made sure of that.
And now Luke has to spend his life paying for his father’s mistakes.
Chapter 18 excerpt:
“Leia, I don’t like this.” Luke tries not to squirm in his seat. If he had no appetite for the fancy Coruscant food before he certainly doesn’t now. “A Moff, after a force-sensitive child, working with a cloner? What the kriff were they doing?”
“He might just have been after him because he was force sensitive and you know how the Empire felt about the Jedi.”
“I wish I’d asked Din about this! I’m such an idiot.”
“Who’s Din?”
“Never mind. Okay, I’ve got to find out what Pershing was doing for Moff Gideon. I have a seriously bad feeling —”
“Okay,” Leia says. “I trust your judgement. Are you finished? Let’s go speak to them.”
Luke’s stomach swoops. “What?”
“Sorry, farm-boy. Sneaking around isn’t how we learn things on Coruscant. You’ve got to play the game.”
“What game?”
“Politics, Luke.”
“Oh great.”
Chapter 19 excerpt
“Good. I’m going down. Kymir and I can reach them fastest. Once we know where the creature lives we can go with a small group and rescue Ragnar.”
Bo-Katan narrows her eyes, searching his visor for something to reassure herself. Din’s stomach drops when he realises that she’s desperately searching for his eyes.
He touches her shoulder instead. “Keep them together,” he says, nodding in the direction of the others who are still reeling from the shock of the attack, some badly wounded.
Bo-Katan sighs. “That’s what I’ve been doing for years, Din.” She shakes her head. “Let me wrap your arm. Take some more painkillers or you won’t be able to think when you’re down there. You might still lose the arm the way it is now.”
Din stares at her. “Yeah, okay,” he says.
“Okay?” Bo-Katan squints, winding the bandage around his arm which is thoroughly smothered in bacta. “I think you mean fuck.”
“Fuck,” Din says. “It’s fine. I still have another arm.”
“∂ιи ∂נαяιи נσя иєя’вυιя נιι.” Din Djarin is… my…
Din grabs a wall to steady himself. The words bounce around his helmet and his ears ache. He shuts his eyes, tries to focus on the words through the pain. They’re the important thing.
“σяι’νσ∂ вυяк’у¢. ναιι’уαιм ∂яαgσи?” My friend is in danger. Where is the dragon’s home?
“куяαмℓα.” He’s dead.
“иυ ∂яααя!” Not never!
“кумιя, уαιм’σℓ.” Kymir, come home.
Din steps out to stand beside him. He tries to stand straight. He pulls out the darksaber with his good hand.
“gαα’тαуℓιя,” he says, and ignites the blade. Help me.
For a moment, nobody moves.
Then, somebody asks, “ιвι¢… иι ¢єтα?” Will this… redeem us?
Din looks at Kymir. Understanding wells in his eyes. "Do you forgive them?"
“иααѕα∂ мι’ѕυя’нααι,” says Kymir. Not in my eyes.
Din nods. Good.
“мєн’gαα’тαуℓιя, нιвιяαя gαя иι ¢єтα.” If you help us, you may learn to forgive yourselves.
Grogu frowns in concentration. He peers out of the window, ignoring the computer completely, but his hand shifts on the stick and suddenly his eyes widen and he presses the button down.
It hits the dragon and the creature screeches in agony, twisting up into the sky to escape from the onslaught.
“Mu?” Grogu turns to Din.
“Uh, lucky shot,” Din says. “I wouldn’t shoot without aiming first, kid. Wait, actually… can you use your Jedi stuff to aim? Is that what you’re doing?”
Okay. What would Luke say? Something like…
“In that case, just focus, and… listen to the — is it called the Force? Yeah, listen to the Force.”
Grogu snorts.
“What? Wouldn’t I make a good Jedi?” Din smiles, but Grogu can’t see it.
The guns bombard the remaining dragons with enough firepower to essentially obliterate them, and litter their scaly corpses across the ground.
Boba-Fett lands his ship with a whoosh of hot air. Din stares as he lowers the landing ramp and marches towards him, Fennec following closely.
“Thought you could use a hand,” says the gruff voice. Din tries to speak but his legs decide to give out.
“Woah, there.” Boba keeps him upright with a firm hand on his shoulder. “Let’s get you inside, Manda’lor,” he says.
“Someone oughta throw you in a bacta tank,” says Fennec.
“We don’t have a bacta tank.” Bo-Katan scowls from the cave entrance. “What are you doing here, Fett?”
“I heard there was a get-together on Mandalore. Someone must’ve missed my invitation.”
Chapter 20 excerpt:
The magic tethering her to Dathomir tugs sharply on her wrist as she falls again into the familiar darkness. And then stops. Ahsoka can hear her breaths this time, sharp and cutting, and she scrambles to her feet, searching for —
“You…”
“Get away from him,” Ahsoka snarls. Leia’s lightsaber ignites with a burst of blue.
Palpatine, or whatever’s left of him, has found them. His dark cloak drowns his physical form, making him almost impossible to discern from the flickering darkness, if it wasn’t for the ghastly, misshapen white of his face. Yellow eyes melt through the darkness, and grey lips stretch in a triumphant gleam.
“He is of no more importance,” Palpatine snarls.
Maul’s body twitches in the air, hands grasping desperately at his throat.
“Let him go,” Ahsoka says.
“S-sever our dyad,” Maul gasps. “Don’t let… don’t let him…”
Ahsoka rips her arm free of the green string.
“No!” Maul cries.
Now there is no going back.
“I will not leave you with him.”
“Grand Admiral, Sir, permission to speak freely?”
“Permission granted, commodore Faro. You know I always value your input.”
“Well, Sir, we’re kriffed.”
Chapter 25 excerpt:
“Thrawn,” Eli starts, looking into his red eyes, “y’know I—”
The security feed beeps. Eli’s eyes widen when he sees Ezra waving up at the camera from the supply room.
Eli clicks the comms. “Um, Ezra, wha’d’ya think you’re doing there? Actually, how’d you even get on board?”
“Space portals!”
“Right. I see.” Eli rubs his forehead. This is going to be a long day. “You need anythin’?”
“You won’t believe what happened down there,” Ezra practically yells. “Anyway, I need the key now because we’re locking Dathomir so this doesn’t ever happen again, then we’re all jumping through a space portal to you guys. Is that alright?”
“Sure. See ya in a bit.”
“Excellent,” says Thrawn. He turns to Eli. “What were you going to say?”
Eli sighs. “Moment’s gone. Alright, let’s get this data ready for Ezra-kid to look at.”
#star wars#fanficion#ao3 fanfic#ahsoka#ahsoka series#thrawn#star wars fanfiction#grand admiral thrawn#eli vanto#ezra bridger#luke skywalker#din djarin#the mandalorian#the mandalorian fanfiction#star wars fix it#star wars au#star wars oc#jedi oc#thrawn ascendancy#thrawn trilogy#the mandalorian critical#dinluke#thranto
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Hello!
I know that in this blog, you mainly analyse the prog music and don't care much about some things in the prog world that aren't music-related. However, I wanna know your opinion on this...
Why is prog rock such a male-dominated genre?
Even though most people say that rock music in general is male-dominated, this statement isn't that true anymore. Because female rock musicians are becoming more. Yet, when you look at the world of prog rock, there are only and only male musicians. And also, back in the 70s, the fans of this music were mostly young men as well.
Why do you think this has happened?
If one day, a prog rock band gets formed with all members being women or even a band that its members are all genderqueer or sth like that, will they get the attention that they deserve and be noticed just as much as the all-men bands? Or do you think that'll start an era in the world of prog where critics don't care about the music itself anymore and just talk about sexism??
This is a great question, and while I do primarily focus on the music and the artists themselves, one cannot overlook the cultural factors at play in progressive rock.
It's very difficult to explain why progressive rock in particular is such a male-dominated genre. Firstly, one would have to investigate if there really are fewer female and/or genderqueer prog musicians than in other subgenres of rock, or if that's simply public perception due to being perceived as having a largely male fanbase. As for why prog appears to have a largely male fanbase, that's an equally difficult question. Are there really more male prog fans than female and/or genderqueer prog fans, or are they simply more vocal about it, and more likely to go to concerts?
From what I'm aware of, there haven't been any large studies on fans of progressive rock and their demographics, so that's more or less impossible to answer whether there are actually fewer female and/or genderqueer prog fans and musicians, or if it's just public perception. However, the fact that prog fans and musicians are largely assumed to be male is an interesting occurrence in and of itself, and that may be rooted in sexism.
The reason why it may be rooted in sexism is that prog typically strays from your typical pop song topics of love and emotions, and so it is assumed that women must not be interested in that. This builds this culture that assumes women aren't going to be present at progressive rock concerts or on online forums, because why would they be interested? This could ironically drive away female or genderqueer fans that might otherwise be interested in the genre.
As for the issue of female musicians, there are a few from the 1970s! Annie Halsem of Renaissance, and Tal Wilkenfield, who played bass with Jeff Beck, are the first two that come to mind, however, there are many more that often do get overlooked, perhaps because of the assumption that there aren't any women in prog. I, for one, am an aspiring female prog musician myself, so I've actually thought about this quite a bit, and I'm not quite sure how the prog community would react if a major band was formed consisting of entirely female and/or genderqueer members. I'd imagine that many older prog fans would have a hard time calling them prog, instead calling them "art-rock" or "prog-adjacent", unless they were playing stuff that sounds like it came out of 1972. However, I'd like to be optimistic and hope that the focus would be on their music rather than on their gender(s).
Honestly, this is a topic that I'd like to do some more research into, as well as looking into related topics such as queer representation in prog or BIPOC representation in prog, so thank you for bringing it up!
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I’m back in the fucking building again!
Hello All!
Welcome to Shit Show!
So this is not my first tumblr but a new one!
I deleted the app after the first few major updates and didn’t want to come back till now. I wanted to have a place to talk again. Even if no one is listening.
And of course shit post. My Hazbin Hotel fix is not getting enough traffic on there.
So, a little bit about me:
I’m Ae. My pronouns are They/He and I am 29 years old. I’m nonbinary and trans masc. I am T4T so if you are Cis please keep moving.
I started HRT 05/17.
I am so excited to document those changes somewhere again.
I haven’t felt the need/want to in a while.
I am married and Non-monogamous.
Yes, both of us.
We date separately and if you think you are brave enough I’m taking applications for a hot, vampire, anime-esc trans guy.
I am on the beautiful PNW coast and am working as a private caregiver.
I have been a caregiver for 10+ years and I love it.
I live with my husband, our roommates and our collective 5 dogs, 4 cats, and one regular garden snail.
Spiritually:
I am a witch and I currently work with Loki.
I want to eventually work with Hades and Persephone.
Mental Health:
I have ADHD, Autism, and am currently figuring out a 3rd thing with the love and support of my friends.
I am an AVID supporter/ believer of:
Free Palestine
BLM
ACAB
Land Back
Trans Rights
Disability Rights
Supporting our Sex Workers (I still do light sex work)
No to Autism Speaks
Self Diagnosis is Valid
Social Anarchism
Mental Health Awareness
DID Awareness
I choose the Bear
If you agree with anything on that list or anything adjacent to it give me a follow cause we should be friends.
Kink wise:
Mainly Sub but venturing into verse stuff.
Looks like a Dom but will cry if yelled at.
Blood kink
Vampire kink
Manipulation kink (not quite hypno)
Thing that are okay to call me:
Good boy
Slut/Whore (in a masc way)
Boytoy
Toy
Babyboy
Things that are not okay to call me:
ANYTHING FEMININE.
I don’t really like being called pretty or beautiful until you know me irl.
Anything derogatory unless there is a prior relationship there.
“Your” anything. I have a Dom and it’s not you.
Do not interact if you are:
Republican
Pro trump
Pro establishment
Anti trans rights
Pro cop
TERF
Anti POC
Pro colonization (yes, that means your friends who go on missions to different countries)
Honestly we are just here to have a good time and find friends.
If you know me IRL no you don’t.
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Speaking of Anime Discourse ,Trixie/The Golden Witch, formerly Digibro, retired from Youtube last week. For most people this is just an obit for a long-gone career - Trixie’s videos haven’t been reaching audiences for years now. Extremely happy she is moving on; in the ‘goodbye’ video its harsh to watch how much discussion of money is the focus of the long downward spiral. Which is not a criticism, paying bills is good, but its obvious that 95% of the actual drive for making anime videos vanished, replaced with whack-a-mole attempts to chase the ghost of lost glories from ~2017. Real “Romanov-adjacent in 1920′s Paris, bedecked in whatever furs and jewels fit in the suitcase lugged onto the last steamer out of Petrograd, smoking away the years at the Ritz bar awaiting the inevitable Restoration” vibes, even down the mismatched furs. It was never going to work, primarily because it never works for almost anyone and the lack of passion is openly transparent. Absolutely quit, there is nothing for you here, I hope you go be happy.
Though it is funny to hear a decade+ YouTuber discuss subscriber counts like they are meaningful metric, like she needed to ‘recapture’ an audience that is still there due to a 300k subscriber count. Those account aren’t real, if your videos are getting 3k views its because the ‘active’ accounts ditched, all that is left are dead emails & spambots juicing a number. Another ghost from the past, hard to admit that the one thing you do have means nothing. I am not trying to roast here, I just don’t want to pretend that this whole process wasn’t a negative thing. Her trajectory in life was tragic, and it was painful to watch.
At least she admitted she got ridiculously addicted to weed for a time there, heartening for the obvious to finally be acknowledged.
Still for how sad the last chapter was, as Digibro Trixie was one of the most influential anime YouTubers to ever do it. Youtube has era’s, and starting in like ~2014 there was a big upswing in higher-effort ‘analytical’ videos, and Digi was absolutely a leader of the pack the anime space. She brought the caustic, humor-laden but actually-substantiative analytical style of Red Letter Media to the anime sphere and blended it with gonzo-inflected, despair-laden personal rants. The peak of her legacy is of course turning the tide on Sword Art Online, which was an immensely popular anime in 2012 but Digi’s viral 2014 review started a floodgate of counter-appraisals in the western fandom such that a few years later liking SAO was the hipster stance. Pedantic Romantic even documented the ‘digi effect’ on SAO & the fandom in a video, which is exactly the kind of investigative journalism we need more of.
At the time Digi spawned waves of imitators and also was the center of a crew of other creators, people like Endless Jess & Best Guy Ever, she was a member of the PCP crew, and there were others less directly connected but still strongly influenced like Steak Bentley, who’s video on Cowboy Bebop & the West is still one of my absolute favourites. Digi was really good about highlighting other interesting anime YouTubers and giving you an idea of what could be out there, being responsible for half of their viewership, and through that building a sense of community.
Of course I chose those specific names tactically - they are mostly gone now. Some off the internet entirely, others occasionally appearing once a year with a tweet or a video, others pivoting to video games or Twitch streaming, etc. Just like that era of YouTube is now gone, Anime YouTube still exists of course, but it isn’t just the names that have changed; the content, the style, the market, expectations, all moved on. Even Trixie’s later content showed that, making fun of the depression-inflected rage she used to exhibit at properties like High Guardian Spice, because while rage-merchants are a thing on Youtube, oh for sure they are a thing, its now its own thing, not part of the analytical-emotional melting pot in the same way anymore (and pretty inextricably tied to politics). And we are in the golden era of western creators doing serious dives into production histories, industry reporting, etc, but that's too serious, there is also no place for Digi there either.
Or I am wrong, and I just don’t know the new generation doing it out there. Would love to see them. From my vantage point, Anime YouTube’s “Gonzo” era is over, and Digi was the center of it. Maybe itll come back. But its certainly over for Trixie, and I am glad she is finally letting the ghosts fizzle out in the wires of the internet in peace.
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20 Questions for Fic Writers!
Tagged by @silverinerivers! I am also procrastinating 🤝
1. How many works do you have on ao3?
270! I used to be very prolific in high school, but I've slowed down since college XD
2. What’s your total ao3 word count?
910,686
3. What fandoms do you write for?
Tower of God, and MCYT, mainly Hermitcraft and hermit-adjacent series (Life Series, Evo, MCC, anything where a hermit may be featured)
4. What are your top five fics by kudos?
The two fandoms I write for have a pretty huge fandom size difference (based on fics alone, Hermitcraft has about 4x the amount of ToG's), so the kudos difference is very drastic. Also, since I've been writing ToG for quite some time now, my most kudosed ToG fics are just the first ones I've written, since they've been around the longest. So I'll just post my most kudosed Hermitcraft fic, and my two most kudosed ToG fics, one for pre-anime and post-anime (due to the fandom explosion in between)
lightning often strikes twice - ToG, 2k, rated G, Eduan and Khun interacting in the data world
Mornings - ToG, 800 words, rated G KhunBam sleepy morning cuddles
and the wind will remake all that time has worn away - Hermitcraft, 13k, rated T, a fic featuring a bunch of hermits curious about Grian's new wings
5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?
I do my best! I like interacting with readers :D
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
Ooo, hmm...
*filters my fics by Angst tag*
*67 fics appear*
Uh.
Thus Kindly I Scatter is one of my first angst fics ever, and evidently it's hurt a lot of people XD. But I'll go with Ache, the first fic for one of my month challenges. That one was fun to write :D
7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
I haven't written many multichaps, so I don't really have one that builds up to a happy ending. But Memory Lane is a nice fluffy one ^^
8. Do you get hate on fic?
Not really, I think most of my comments have been pretty chill. And I'm not too active on social media, so I don't really pay attention if anything's been said there.
9. Do you write smut?
Best part of turning 18.
10. Do you write crossovers?
Not really, unless you count stuff from different MCYT series. I think it can be a big vague on what constitutes a crossover, because ccs can be part of different series
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not that I know of, and I hope not.
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
Yes! It's always an honor when someone wants to translate/podfic/create other derivative works off my own <3
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Yes! Kings and Prophets as a raffle gift fic for a fandom event. It was very fun to write (and ended up about 9x the original predicted length). Still one of my favorite fics <3
14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?
KhunBam, what else XD Started with them, still hung up on them
15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but probably won’t?
Last I checked (a few years ago), I had 136k words worth of WIPs in my graveyard, and it's only grown since. I did have this one Gods AU KhunBam fic called Post-Immortem that I remember planning extensively, but unfortunately, I only got a few chapters in before I got bored XD. Multichaps tend to be difficult for me.
16. What are your writing strengths?
I really like worldbuilding! Fantasy has always been my favorite genre, so I love writing AUs. I think I'm also decent at writing action scenes (Doing martial arts for most of my life has helped, I think)
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
Characterization can take me a while to get, and also I'm not very good with writing multichaps. Long plot buildups aren't really my thing.
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?
I've never done it extensively for a long fic, but I've done it in a few oneshots. I have some knowledge of Spanish from school, and I can speak Mandarin, but my writing is ehhhhh. I think it's fun!
19. First fandom you wrote for?
Tower of God, whoo! And it hasn't changed XD
20. Favourite fic you’ve written?
Oh hmmmmm, Like Seeds Scattered Across the Sky probably (beloved fae fic :3), but Dear Fellow Traveler is pretty close as well, although that one isn't finished yet. It's taken me a long time to finish, but if all goes to plan, it'll be done by the end of the month ^^
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