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anastasiareyreed · 5 months

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all russians are guilty and let me explain why.

make yourself comfortable, it's gonna be a long ride.

you might notice that every time, if russians appear in a movie, series or documentary, they have either done something criminal, are doing it or are planning to do it. because the entire history of russia's existence is built on crimes, wars, genocides and occupations — Ukraine, Syria, Georgia, Chechnia and many more.

russia unleashed the most frequent genocidal attacks against Ukraine. occupation of Ukrainian lands and enslavement of Ukrainians, constant persecution and murder of speakers of the Ukrainian language, Ukrainian poets, writers, teachers — the entire nation, any Ukrainian figures of culture or politics. And, of course, the awful Holodomor (if you more into visualization, watch the movie about the Holodomor — «Mr Jones».)

no matter who is in power, throughout its existence, russia has been trying to destroy Ukraine and everything related to Ukrainian culture and history.

first of all, I think the terms «guilty�� and «bad» must be separated here. I'm not saying all russians are bad, because «bad» is quite subjective and vague term. just like term «good». a person can be good in relations with neighbors, good at their job or good meaning polite. but what happens to a «good» person who stands by when other people are killed, tortured and raped in front of this person's eyes and on this person's behalf? this person becomes guilty. and many can and DO have the right to call and consider this person bad.

what exactly you are doing when you write «not all russians support the war»? you tell Ukrainians that THIS TIME there are definitely good russians, good guys among the people who constantly repressed Ukrainian people. but let me tell you this. if ten people stand in front of me and tell me that only one of them probably is not a murderer, I WILL NOT trust that person. I won't risk my life, and I'm sure you won't either.

I, like many Ukrainians, had friends or relatives in russia. but all of us were betrayed by these people, because it is in their DNA to put themselves above Ukrainians. and it's quite unreasonable in the digital age to justify their position about war by the fact that they don't know anything and totally drowned in propaganda. do they not know how to search for information, use their phones, computers or brain?

when you say that right now not all russians are against Ukraine or Syria, you cannot be sure that a russian who writes «I don't support the war» is telling the truth. that this person is not trying to maintain their public image and avoid condemnation. how can we believe the word of the representatives of the nation that every decade wage a war? the presumption of innocence doesn't apply here, hundreds of thousands of victims of russia are proof of that.

my favorite topic that people like to manipulate is how can we blame russian children. sure, we are in our right mind, so we don't say that a russian child is as guilty as an adult russian man who raped Ukrainian children and tortured Ukrainian women and men. we say that the russian child must know and feel collective responsibility from an early age, so that in the future the child doesn't take the place of that adult russian man.

while other countries honor the memory of their heroes and victims of the WWII on the day of victory over the fascists, only the russians proudly and joyfully said every year that they could repeat and start another war. which they did. that's why russian children should see that the world associates russia only with death, crimes and wars. that the world doesn't tolerate russian products, art, culture or people. this is the only way children will be able to realize from an early age that this way of russia's lifestyle is condemned by the world and must be radically changed.

Ukrainian and Syrian children, who are currently suffering from russia's actions, grew up too early and lost their childhood, they know what war is, know that it's evil and russia is a terrorist state. russian children should know this as well, so that the changes in the russian mentality — that the world has been waiting for several centuries in a row — have come.

you say russian children are not guilty, sure, but they are taught that war is branded, powerful, cool and solid. Ukrainian and Syrian children are not guilty, but they are taught how to act if their parents are killed by a russian missile. you say russian youth are not guilty and shouldn't risk their future to protest against the war. Ukrainian and Syrian youth are not guilty, but every day they give their lives for the freedom that the russians are trying to take away.

russian soldiers who went to kill Ukrainians and Syrians. russians who are relatives, friends or colleagues of these soldiers. russians who openly support wars in Ukraine & Syria or show their passivity. russians who volunteer to support the russian army. russians, who for centuries raised their children with imperialist views and contempt for other nations and races. and, as history shows, will continue to raise in the same way, no matter how the war ends. if russia loses they will raise children ready for another revenge. if russia wins they will raise children with mindset that Ukrainians are an inferior nation. russians have hundreds of years of experience in it. ask how the peoples that russia once occupied live today.

imagine what those hundreds of thousands of russian soldiers would achieve not on peaceful Ukrainian streets, killing people, but somewhere in a square in moscow, protesting against the war. soldiers, their relatives, friends and neighbors. eight years ago, Ukrainians protested against the dictator, dying for their principles and freedom.

Iranians went against a real dictator, dying for their principles and freedom. because this is the only way to achieve change.

the only «protest» action of russians is to post a picture somewhere online or to stand peacefully for half an hour in a small group of people, passively holding «no war» piece of paper and leaving before dark, because tomorrow they have to go to work or universities. russians support the war or simply don't care, because it's easier to live that way. if they chose collective indifference, they must face collective responsibility.

your «not all russians are guilty» is based on your assumptions about the good faith of russians, a naive idea of what this nation really is. my «all russians are guilty» is based on hundreds of years of history of relations between russia and Ukraine. on the number of wars russia has waged in the past and is waging now, the number of nations it has destroyed and the number of evil actions the world has forgiven the russians, hoping that THIS TIME everything will definitely be different.

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blimbo-buddy · 3 months

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hi blimp!! do you have any tips on how to draw fat/big cats? i have some fat characters of my own, but i'm really struggling to make it seem obvious through their art that they're fat, especially in the face :[

Visual example that might help out a bit

The cheeks become chubbier and can show up more prominently in expressions like smiling

A double chin can help out a lot too

Keep in mind the neck folds and general fat folds, not just in the face/neck area, but all around the body

My biggest piece of advice is: DON'T DRAW ALL OF YOUR FAT CHARACTERS LIKE THIS:

You can still draw plus-sized cats like this, but don't only draw them like this, especially if it's a cat that is specifically fat. Not chubby, not pudgy, fat.

This is really all the best suggestions I could give on how to draw fat cats. I'm not the best at explaining my process of design or advice but I can sure as hell try

Here's some resources that cover how to draw fat people (I apply this to my way of drawing fat cats sometimes)

Some other tips I can give when drawing fat cats:

Go crazy with their shapes, fat characters can have the same body shape range as skinny characters

Take references, lots of references

Look at how other artists might draw fat cats, it can really help you get an idea of what you want out of your fat character design

Don't be afraid to trace photos of fat cats to have a starting base

Ask around more, many artists have different approaches and better advice than I could ever give

Fluffy fur is not always a stand-in for fat, don't constantly do this (Obviously fluffy cats can be fat too, but I've seen time to time, artists just making the cats fluffy instead of fat)

#blimmy art #ask

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gooselycharm · 9 months

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hi there! i'd just like to say that your kris and noelle "something else" comic has been driving me insane /pos and i'd love to hear more of your thoughts on those two!! their relationship is one of my favorite things in deltarune and your comic just got everything about them so right 🙏

thank you for reading "something else"! oh man, [more of] my thoughts on kris+noelle.... i sure got some of those.

this was one of the first tweets i made after finishing chapter 2 nearly... freaking 2 years ago. and basically i've just been saying that over and over again in different ways because i'm still not tired of the concept yet and probably wont ever be LOL. i'm obsessed with how badly the narrative wants to force them into an easily categorizable dynamic, especially the romantic one in snowgrave. the literal THORN RING, the more possessive dialogue options, spamton calling noelle a side chick LOL... it all creates this unnerving visual novel bad end atmosphere that feels manufactured by someone who's only ever learned about romance through secondhand sources. they're two queer teens trying to navigate their changing relationship with the only role models they know being their parents' own failed heterosexual marriages. they're so divorced² (divorced children of divorce).

i also like that for being so tragically doomed coded they can be funny! both in a dark humor way and also like, genuinely funny, like the stories of them as kids with kris covering themselves in ketchup and hiding under noelle's bed lmao. i mean there's even something funny about the romantic trappings of the snowgrave route, like trying to put wedding cake embellishments on a crime scene... you know, funny like kids trying on their parents clothes but they're too big and for some reason they're also crying and covered in blood? um.

i'm also SOOOO interested to see how snowgrave will continue in chapter 3! i really liked the hopeful note chapter 2 ended on (well. i took it as hopeful anyway). there's that bit where noelle is talking to herself and she says something like "recently kris has been acting so strange and no one else has noticed... i have to figure out why" and then kris jumpscares her LOL but i think i took that one line and really ran with it. noelle really is the one who knows kris best and despite how scared she is, she's still determined to help them... i like the little subversion of victim/hero going on, the implication that kris might be the one who needs rescuing.

the additional story/lore that came with the spamton sweepstakes made me CRAAAZYYYYY like my GOD... it's cute that noelle likes glitches/creepypasta when kris is kinda a walking creepypasta <3 also, god, noelle falling asleep listening to kris playing piano in the other room... there's so much like. wistfulness and nostalgia and this like... distant/detached intimacy packed into how noelle narrates that scene. it's kind of funny how much there is to dig into when like on a surface level they're just fairly regular childhood friends who grew apart LMAO they're extremely deep to me okay...

on another note i guess i do ship them? i like their dynamic whether it's platonic or romantic (the best is a weird mix of both 👍). it just can't be boring LOL like... this is one ship where trying to apply cookie cutter tropes to them really falls flat and the game is ahead of you on that anyway. in terms of romantically shipping them, i honestly don't think they're doomed to repeat patterns forever... i think they could actually be good for each other! but that's not really the aspect of their relationship that interests me akldjf;alk;sdg maybe i will make 60 page comic of kriselle going to couples counseling some other time

ANYWAY i'm going to cut myself off here, because i really could go on forever lol. i'll give you some links for further reading though

hellspawnmotel's deltarune art

lula pillowbug99's deltarune art

this art by raspbearis which features prominently in my internal kriselle bible

my own unfinished kriselle playlist

my own essay on gender & allegory in deltarune if for some reason u are not tired of hearing me talk yet

okay bye now & thanks again for reading my comic!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#deltarune #kriselle #im post #im really posting now. i be talking.

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space-blue · 2 years

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Total Beginner's Guide to running a tumblr fandom event week

So, you want to run a fandom event, like a week (or a bingo), and you don't know how to get started? Here's a guide to the process. It's not perfect, and the best experience remains to try your hand at it! Anyone has tips to add, please feel free! My credentials are that I've run 4 events across 2 fandoms, and will be using those works as examples along the way. This is a LONG POST.

Collect data

You don't want to run a week that already exists. It's bad etiquette, and you could step on toes. It also could be bad for your event, because people who already follow the well established event blog may not bother with yours.

Beware too of timing clashes! People are busy and might not be able to do multiple weeks at the same time. That being said it's not rare for weeks to run close to each other with parallel topics.

For example, "X/Y Kink Week" will not necessarily appeal to the same creators as "X/Y fluff Week". And some motivated fans may want to do both!

Check your fandoms for blogs like this Star Wars events aggregator!

Another aspect of data collection is more hands on: go and visit the blogs of all the weeks you took part in, and all the ones you find as you browse, type random week ideas, see what pops up. Check fandoms you aren't in as well! Check out their art, their FAQ, their masterposts. Take notes. Better, copy paste all the great turn of phrases to workshop later!

There's no need to reinvent the wheel, if you see a couple of blogs have incredible FAQs and rules, lift healthily and apply to your own event (of course, no one likes plagiarizing, so use your own words). Save the banners and "brand art" from blogs that slap. If it arrested your eye, it probably worked for others.

Having a strong visual identity is important. We'll get back to that later.

Another point of data you want to look into is, well... Is there a demand for your idea? You may have seen these posts floating on your dash before, called "Interest Check". Even blogs running yearly events will set those up, floating date ideas, etc.

It's best to run such checks from your own personal fandom blog or by reblogging a post from your newly created event blog, to reach more people (assuming your followers are into that same fandom). Ask around on discord communities too. If no one wants to do it... You risk spending a lot of time and effort for little return.

But that's fine too! Maybe you're running this week because your 5 fandom buddies all want to do it, and some randos may join!

Don't be afraid if you don't get hundreds of notes. It's all proportional to fandom size, how many people you reach yourself, but also, such blogs get bigger when they're run over time. I ended my first Arcane event with 70 followers. After 3 events it has 216! Obviously any future "interest check" I do will reach far more people.

2. Sit down and think about it

I'm sure you've already been thinking a lot about that fandom week you want to run, but you need to think some more.

Is it around a very popular ship? Is the fandom very young and buzzing with creativity? > You might want to enlist several mods to help you out!

About mods... You can add them by clicking on your blog and going to members

Be careful whether you want someone to be an admin or a mod. As you can see, I can choose to leave, remove or promote mod 2, but I can't do anything to mod 1. That's because I made them admin, and the blog belongs to them as much as me. No mutiny possible!

Mods can't edit the posts made by admins (only their own). This power distinction is very useful when someone has a popular fandom week blog but no time to run the event, and wants friends or fellow fans to help, without losing final say on their blog. For example, I don't own the Obitine blog, but I ran the 2021 event as a mod since the admin (who I don't know!) had no time for it.

If you are not doing a specific ship but instead focusing on a character or a place or concept, what sort of ship will you allow to write for/depict?

Even if you don't want to touch the topic or anti vs. proship, people will label you on their own.

Do you want to ban certain ships to avoid expected backlash? Mishandling this can also make you look like an anti yourself and bring its own backlash. Not passing judgement on what the solution is here, after all you do you! Just know that people online will have strong opinions and may not be afraid to slug them at you, no matter how hard you try to stick to your guns. Running an event is stepping out quite publicly.

If your week is a "rarepair" week for example, how will you set the limit? Do you define a rarepair as "a ship under X amount of fics on AO3" or some other measure? Again, will you be allowing controversial pairings?

You'd think running a Gen event would save your ass, but the only time I received death threats was because I was reblogging someone Anon didn't like... On an event about parenting/mentorship!

Once you've decided on such rules, SPELL THEM OUT and stick to them.

Going back to the first bullet point, others have pondered the issue! Once you've decided on the type of event you're running, see how similar events managed setting boundaries.

Don't be afraid to make this a group effort and turn to your friends and server communities. You can also ask them for help deciding on prompts. Some blogs let their followers make suggestions, others don't.

Decide too what sort of medium you want to allow. Some weeks are fanart only. Some are fanfic only. Others encourage anything.

Think about tagging policy and whether you'll deal with NSFW content. You'll want to state clearly if there are things you won't reblog.

All those conclusions will be distilled into the rules of your event and included on your masterpost accordingly.

3. Create your socials

You've made up your mind, and it's time to make a new blog! If you think you'll love this whole fandom event shtick, make a vague URL. "Fandom X Event blog" can be used multiple times, vs. something like "X/Y Shipping Week".

I've seen people run their event from their personal fandom blog. You do you, but I don't recommend it. It makes browsing the event much harder.

This is when you best do an interest check, if you haven't already.

If you expect fics to be made, you can create an AO3 collection (an example). You can copy paste your FAQ and rules directly there. If you want more submissions (especially fanart or cosplay), create a matching twitter account and link the two (it's done in Settings > Blogs (select the fandom blog) > scroll down to "Twitter" > Share on Twitter).

This is exponentially more effort and some blogs never bother. This is all up to you!

On your tumblr, create a FAQ page and enable Asks so people can reach out with questions. If you don't know how to create pages, check this tumblr tutorial. New blogs can't create pages, so better get started early. At worst you can make a post for the FAQ, but a page is easier to find.

4. Decide on the date and stick to it

Just what's on the tin. Don't surprise people with a late date change unless you really can't help it.

5. Time to make some artistic calls

The benefit of having a distinct visual identity is simple enough to understand if you've done any scrolling on the hellsite. Your eyes quickly glaze over, and text posts (especially long ones) get skipped way more easily.

Having a banner for your event makes your posts more arresting and more recognisable. Save this for important posts of course, not every update needs a banner.

It can be very basic stuff, and if you're not good with graphics, ask around. Plenty of creatives in fandom, and I'm sure a friend will be glad to do that work for you, and if they don't work on the event itself you can shoot them an @ in thanks.

The most important piece of visual media is going to be the prompt list. Not everyone bothers making an image, but I recommend you do. You should still pair it with a text post, but many people (such as myself) will download that image and work from it, rather than hunting your blog down each time to check.

Ideally, your prompt image should include the name of the event, the prompts, the dates and potentially your # and socials.

Using my own material for example :

This post has the dates in the text, but not the image itself. I ended up making a lot of different versions of that prompt post, which allowed people to reblog whatever character they liked best and spread interest for the event, but I wish I'd put dates and socials on there!

This one is better, with the days being listed a lot more clearly with their date. But the thin white font isn't ideal for readability. And that's important! Don't go overboard with insane graphics, clashing colours, complex fonts and effects. You want people to be able to parse the image easily and without squinting. The pretty effects and dividers here are just a funky free font from the internet called Bergamot Ornament.

This one is the most inclusive. It also has the tags and socials! But ideally it should be 1 image instead of 2. It also makes good use of ALT description.

See here how the banner style of that last one was kept across the subsequent posts? And then across all the daily prompt art. This makes the event more distinct and identifiable.

I've done daily prompt art in other events too. They're definitely on the side of overkill, but if you're having fun preparing art for your event, why not?

5.b. Wait, what about the prompts?

You do you! It should be part of your research. If you're running a month long event, a prompt a day is best. If you're running a week, 2 prompts a day is more common, in case people hate the one prompt. Some people like to do word prompts + AU prompt + image prompt... In our trans event we had 4 prompts a day. In our bingo cards we sometimes had 2 prompts in a square! Multiple prompts can also help having a gen and shippy option in the same day (like "cooking together" and "first kiss" might result in very different dynamics, but people can also have fun doing a piece with a first kiss happening while cooking together!)

Pick what you like best, but less is more for a beginner.

6. The important posts

The main two posts are the one announcing the dates and the rules, aka the "Masterpost", and the one with your prompts.

The Masterpost announces the dates, the # for the event (pick something easy and UNIQUE!!), explains what sort of event you are, includes the basic rules, and links to your FAQ, all your socials and AO3 collections. This post is nice with a banner. See here (a bingo masterpost for a change)

The Prompt post includes the visual prompts, and the complete text version of said prompts, the date, the #, and a link to the masterpost. See the posts linked above. You'll want that pinned to the top of your blog until the start of the event, and arguably throughout.

7. Give yourself time, and now advertise

Don't get a week started too quickly! People need some time to see your blog. Getting started on preparations 2 months ahead is good I think. Not any less than a month, but you can play further ahead of time, especially if you run a lengthy interest check and involve fans in prompt picking.

A good way to be on people's dash a lot as you build to the week is to have posts and banners leading up to the event, as shown above. "Two weeks to go!" and "One week to go!", final countdowns, etc.

Part of your preparatory research should have you browse the archives of popular event blogs, to see what sort of posts they made in the lead up to the event.

Be careful with how you tag your own posts, as they will be appearing in tumblr searches. Make sure your posts show up in the important tags.

Don't neglect discord! Servers can be quite insular, and if some of your friends are on multiple servers, they can help you promote the event more widely. Word of mouth can really do wonders. I've learned about weeks solely because someone mentioned working on some prompts in a discord server!

Opinionated advice : some people like to reblog art ahead of the week to build hype. I have done it myself in the past, and in the end I strongly suggest you don't. Being a blog dedicated to promoting a concept (a ship, a character, etc) is different from running an event. Going back to people having opinions about you... Some artist may resent having their art shared on an event blog, as it makes it look like they contribute to said event. Maybe they don't want their work shared to a greater audience. Maybe they don't like your philosophy, the other ships you sail, etc. Of course you could always reach out for permission! This remains a personal choice and a matter of etiquette, but I think an event blog is more professional when sticking to its event content.

8. Follow your own tag

Type your event tag in the search bar and hit the follow option. This will create a shortcut, whenever you click on the search bar! It works on mobile too.

Once the week gets started, you'll discover that people don't follow the rules, no matter how you spell them out and how much you plead.

You might beg people to @ your blog and use #ThisEvent2022, and they'll still go ahead and not @ you and post under #this event.

I tend to also check such adjacent tags to cover all bases. I've caught a few people that way.

9. Running the week itself

This is by far the easiest part, and to make it even easier you should decide how you'll use tags ahead of time. Keeping a pattern is nice. It's tidy and helps navigating the blog long term. It'll help you too if you decide to create a masterlist of all entries for example. Bear in mind that people won't be able to find your reblogs by keyword searching tumblr directly. They'll only see the original posts. So the tags on your own reblogs are only for the purpose of archiving and to help people reblogging from you have basic tags suggested to them.

Character name, character ship (A x B, A/B, or Ship Name), character quality (Like Trans Character or Pirate Character), type of art (gif set, fanart, fanfic), Your event tag, fandom tag, any potential AU or NSFW tag, artist handle.

This is a thorough tagging system that works well for events with multiple characters or ships. Adjust accordingly!

Then it's a mix of checking the tags and your notifications! Kudo, reblog... Up to you to decide if you post all in one go, throughout the day, and how long you'll be checking the tag for late participants.

You'll also have to decide how to juggle cross-posting to twitter or from twitter to tumblr, which is less easy. Brush up on Twitter etiquette. I'm told asian twitter likes Quote Retweets, while the Western side of Twitter sees them as stealing notifications and traffic from the artist. Keep an eye on artists who post on each platform, and reach out to those who don't to ask if they're okay with you crossposting. When going Twitter > Tumblr, make sure to include a very clear link, and the #Artists on Twitter tag.

If you have mods, keep an eye out for mistake-reblogs, as it's a very easy mistake. Try to spread work around too. Maybe someone is in charge of Twitter. Maybe your co-admin is up while you sleep and will keep an eye on the blog, etc.

You don't have to do daily prompt posts, but my personal philosophy is that they can be useful to followers, and if they get passed around it's more advertisement for your event, so it can't ever hurt.

Regarding AO3, people might struggle to find your collection. I don't know why, it's happened to me with my own collections, others' too. Have a clear and easy collection name, and give people the exact word they need to enter. It may not show up in the menu, but the fic will still be added to the collection. Make sure the collection is open too, of course.

10. Wrapping up!

When the week is over, you can make a big old post thanking everyone who participated, mention highlights... This is when you'll want the masterpost to become your pinned post, instead of the prompts one.

And for a very clean blog (or after other events on the same blog) you can create a multi event (or year) masterpost that stays pinned between events. This would contain links to your AO3 collections, event tags, information like whether you're still open to late submissions or not, etc.

11. Okay but what about Bingos? Month long events?

The same rules apply!

Bingos are very similar in practice, except you have to make Bingo cards, either yourself or using free online tools. The easy way is to have 1 card for everyone. The more intensive version is to have more options and randomize cards, handing them out to anyone who asks. Most "free" online tools limit you very quickly, so that's more work.

You share the bingo card like a prompt list. People tend to use your card and "cross off" their entries, so making it look good is also important (and also why randomized cards take more time).

Bingos can be done over a week, but a less hurried pace is better, as the final/most OP version of bingo is to do the entire card, and that amounts to a lot more than 7 entries! You want to give the crazy people dedicated fans more time!

Some events run over a month, with daily prompts, others with weekly prompts, etc. Have fun making your own format, but a week is a good starting point.

That's it! Hope this guide was helpful! Go forth and run fun weeks!

#fandom #fandom event #fandom week #tutorial #fandom etiquette #fandom things #fanart #fanfic #how to run a fandom week #how to run a fandom event #tips and tricks #how to #useful #long post #text post #resource #tumblr

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animehouse-moe · 1 year

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Bocchi The Rock! 10: The Right Notes

The creativity of Bocchi The Rock is absolutely incredible, but the visionaries behind its application are entirely separate. It's one thing to come up with crazy ideas and toss them in wherever, I'm pretty sure mostly any staff could go off the rails with any of their productions. What makes Keiichirou Saitou and his team's creativity different though, is how it's applied. It's not crazy for the sake of crazy. It's reality bending at the whim of the characters, and an under the surface approach that blends in with its surroundings effortlessly. It's not free-form expression or something without rhyme or reason, it's carefully calculated and understood material like a puzzle piece slotting into place perfectly.

And make no mistake, this isn't some abstract art puzzle. Saitou and everyone else is putting together an image, an experience, and not one that's meant to be trippy or subjective. They are, undoubtedly, following the story of the socially anxious girl as she moves forward with her band. And that's what this episode sells you on, and what every other story focused episode does for that matter.

I mean yeah, you can get the crazy vibes of stuff like the psychedelic song from this episode, which really was an amazing performance. But look past that surface.

Listen not only to the song, but what Bocchi is really saying. Her commentary is spot on and can even help you appreciate the music more. The very present and strong bass, but still only supportive. Or the very fun but well put together guitar. Or even the irregular beat from the drum that underpins it all and sells that vibe.

So of course, there's countless things that Bocchi The Rock does incredibly well, but you have to notice the effort placed on the music too. And Saitou and co. make sure you can't neglect it. They tone things down, they mellow it out, they do the minimum to sell you on those moments creatively, and let reality do the talking.

And you might be thinking, 'Wait? Those visuals aren't reality though?', and to that I say, they're Bocchi's reality. It's her experience with the music more than anything, and I think it's wonderful. It's a mind-bending experience and Bocchi experiences it as that. It's still the same her, standing in the same place she always was, making the same face.

It's... intoxicating. It's direction that sells the moment in its purest sense. Something that puts you in a trance, something that empties your mind of thought, leaving you to experience the music and moment to the highest degree. It's a dream, a shifted reality that they handle perfectly. Not even just in terms of visually, but the feel that it gives you. Those hands desperately reaching out not in excitement or hype as they cheer, but like they're reaching out for something they indescribably desire, something that they need more than anything else in that moment. Those hands trying to inch even just a little closer to reaching what it is they ache for.

And still, the episode is not stylistically boring. They give up very little to sell viewers on the reality of the moment. There's still those bursts of random creativity, but at the episode's foundation there still remains strong creative decisions. Hell, they even make use of real elements again, but it feels so normal you don't really think anything of it.

Saitou's favorite trick of faceless characters appears in force this episode still, and the aggressive camera angles remain too. Hell, even the composition of the scenes continues to be really layered with hardly everything being on the same plane.

So yeah, we'll all rave and excitedly talk for ages about the creative aspects of Bocchi, but these types of episodes impress me just as much with what they do. They strip it down to the bare minimum, to exactly what they need to get the point across of the content, and it's still amazing. It feels no different, it's not slower or less "fun". Bocchi The Rock remains Bocchi The Rock from start to finish, episode in episode out.

#bocchi the rock!#hitori gotoh #anime #bocchi hitori #bocchi chan #bocchi the rock #bocchisweep #animation #anime and manga #anime review #ぼっち・ざ・ろっく!

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vounnasi · 2 months

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Hi!! I know anon tags are fairly standard but I already got smiley over ‘my’ tag so I think I . Emotionally rebooted over my words getting put in your favorite tag.

I usually gift visual art as well. Not that it’s easier or anything, but I feel more sure of myself because I can choose to draw something like their OC or a piece of media they adore. You can technically write for them, too, but I worry about characterization enough for drawings. You can’t send images through anon, however, and I had a little line stuck in my head (smth like ‘my muse is a muse’). It goes that after someone’s name, you should describe them, right? I had to scrap that line because I didn’t like how it sounded with the rest but eh. I’m really glad you liked it !!

I forgot to include this with my last ask, but fanfic definitely sparked some bursts of writing for me ! Especially if I got quite attached to the work. On another note, I don’t have any serious questions about your OCs that wouldn’t most likely result in spoilers? I’m a big fan of knowing little sorta mundane (and maybe specific) things about characters though. Like tropes they’d really like IF executed well, their (maybe theoretically) favorite/least favorite household chore, anything dumb they did or wanted to do as a kid. I don’t know how much of those could actually spark thought or apply for your characters, but that’s the gist of it.

-🖋️ (as you’ve probably guessed)

i can't express how much of a happy surprise opening my inbox to a poem was that night, so it seems like we're even.

i agree with visual art being easier in the sense it prevents a lot of overthinking. there's a lot of work that goes into choosing a pose and all other elements, but the characterization of writing is something else lol. the culprit is likely my confident; i'm not as confident in my writing as i am my art and i'd hate to ruin someone's gift (though, if you're like me, receiving a "handmade" gift of any quality is great)

memo is my only public character at the moment, so to answer your questions with him: favorite tropes: really any trope that involves science or scientists and has them acting realistically (mad scientists, robots, new planets, etc). he's not big on fiction, primarily choosing to read nonfiction (scientific reports or the local news), so seeing something imitate his interests correctly is greatly appreciated. he'd also find found family cute favorite/least favorite chore: favorite is cooking (he's not great, but he likes giving to others) and least is dusting (it's boring) childhood shenanigans: he was extremely curious as a child, so the better question would be 'what dumb things did he not do' lol. the dumbest ideas would come from his sister though; she'd rope him in and by the end of the day he'd be stuck someplace he shouldn't be

#🖋#ask #oc: memo #as a note; i have image submissions/messages closed as a preventative measure. spam messages through asks are enough lol

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rhodeybugg · 5 months

Text

Before The Dawn: Chapter 9; Solace.

The chapter everyone was waiting for. Also! I am taking a little break from writing as it is leading into finals week for me. Nothing is being discontinued, i've just been really overwhelmed and need some time to rest, and will be back to the normal schedule soon! {I'm no longer giving out exact dates. I'm going to try to keep these stories every week but i'm no longer promising dates and forcing myself to fulfill them when I have no energy or motivation so I don't look like a liar.} For now, if you'd like to keep up with my behind-the-scenes art and other au works/concepts, you can join my server using this link!

The server is still growing and gaining speed, but I plan on posting all of my character concepts, designs and sceneboards there as they come along!

Onto the chapter!

Who am I to tell my private nightmares to if I can’t tell them to you? -Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot

Thank you for purchasing a JCJENSON Series XI GUARD Drone! For setup commands, see page 3. For troubleshooting and common system errors, turn to page 20. . . . Basic errors of a Series XI Guard Drone. -Drone is not registering voice -Misbalanced optical calibration -Refusual to follow commands -Drone is colorblind -Drone has become aggressive towards household pets… . . . . While these errors are most common and can be fixed with a simple system reboot, here are a few less common problems and their solutions!

-My drone thinks it is a human and is threatening to run away. Simply apply a JcJenson Shock Collar {Sold separately} and remind it that you are the master! If this behavior exists, please contact a certified technician to complete a factory reset on your drone. . .-My drone has started a rebellion ℙ𝕣𝕒𝕪… . . . . .

In the event that your Guard Drone refuses to follow commands and appears to be rebelling: hide in the nearest closet, dial the JcJenson Rescue hotline [1-800 HELPMENOW] and pray to your preferred higher power.

Tessa had read through every worker drone manual she could get her hands on, from the guides of the newest model, to the first models that her grandfather had built by hand. Unfortunately, there was no solution for the issue of “My drone is claming that there are demons in my rafters that are trying to eat me and will not stop trying to crawl up the walls.”

A crash from the room nextdoor made her wince. There wasn’t a single moment of the day where J wasn’t trying to claw her way up the walls to scout out the rafters, or laying in the middle of Tessa’s floor, staring up at the roof, chittering angrily to herself and rambling quietly. It worried her. It worried her a lot. She shook her head as she worked to dry out her hair. Drones were odd in general, sure, but never like this. Odd, in terms of worker drones, was a butler drone being obsessed with dogs. It was a drone with unfixable visual processors. It was Grimm, a drone without a voicebox. Odd was Cyn. J acting strange scared her, to be honest. She’d never seen her beloved guard drone in such distress and acting so erratically. Tessa kept going over her options as she fixed her hair. Her dress was more uncomfortable than usual, but it was her favorite, and she’d already made a vow to herself that she’d wear it until it fell to shreds. She had the option of taking J to the nearest facility, but she didn’t trust those technicians with her beloved companions. They were too rough, she’d seen a few manor drones before that had been taken in for simple repairs, and had come back completely catatonic, the drones who had previously been vibrant and full of energy were reduced to voiceless, trembling husks of their former selves. That wasn’t an option for J, or any of the others in her circle, not as long as she could help it. She’d have to figure out something else.

J was still in the same place she’d left her, perched on the edge of Tessa’s bed, staring up at the ceiling like a cat trained on a bird through a window. This had become near-constant. There were a few moments in the day where J would snap out of it, usually when Tessa left her room, and J followed, but whenever they returned, it was like the spell had been re-cast, and J would go right back into her alert and panicked state. “J.” She tried to get the drone’s attention, snapping her fingers as she seated herself at her desk. No response. Tessa shook her head, beginning to rifle through the books on her desk again. There had to be SOMETHING somewhere on how to snap a drone from something like this.

A gentle tap on her doorframe caught her attention, startling her and causing her to slam the manual shut. “Bad time?” Her mother leaned against her doorframe. Tessa’s shoulders relaxed and she shook her head, pointing at the manuals strewn around her desk, then to J. “Maintenance.” Louisa rolled her eyes. “We have facilities and workers for that, we pay them, you know.” Tessa shook her head as her mother cleared off the space next to her, dragging the other desk chair to her side with her leg, before sitting across from her. “Your father and I have been talking.” “If it’s about Salvadore, i’m not sorry.” Tessa kept her nose in the manual. “Tessa James. Look at me when I’m talking to you.” Tessa obeyed, glancing up at her mother as she spoke. “It’s about Azariah.” Tessa cocked her head, still nervously fidgeting with her hands. "And we’ve been considering." "…a…and?" Tessa finally made eye contact. Louisa took a deep breath and fixed her posture, before allowing her shoulders to relax, and her expression softened. "..we have come to the agreement that after the…incident the other evening, Azariah-" "Zara." "-Zara, would be a..", she considered her words, "..decent consort for you." "…Meaning?" Tessa propped her chin against her hand. "Meaning we will allow this little relationship you two have seemed to form." Tessa took in her words, then realized that they had been caught long before the event, and stared down at the floor in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. "….was it that obvious?" Louisa rolled her eyes, leaning back in the chair. "Don't think I haven't seen you two holding hands, and the way young Rose looks at you." She leaned down to be in her daughter's sight. "And your father isn't as blind as you think he is." Tessa opened her mouth to reply, but stopped as another thud from across the room grabbed her and her mother's attention. J had managed to claw halfway up the wall again, before losing her grip and falling onto the wooden floor below, simply laying on her back, arms curled to her chest, staring up at the rafters. "Is that one…okay?" Her mother seemed just the slightest bit concerned. "..I…I really don't know." Tessa shook her head. Louisa watched J for a moment, head following her movements as the drone sat back down in front of the wall and stared off into space. "Maybe she's just stressed." J leaned forward, pressing her face against the wall. Louisa cocked a brow. "…very stressed." Tessa nodded. "I'm going to see if I can get her to snap out of it today." "You have fun with that." Her mother shook her head in amusement, stopping to give Tessa a kiss atop the head as she left the room. Well, that was one worry down, she could kiss Zara in front of her parents now. No more Salvadore, one more to go.

Tessa took a breath and stood up. “Alright, J. What’s eating at you? "There's a demon in the rafters." "…….What?" Tessa worriedly tilted her head and craned her neck to look upward. Nothing but cobwebs and spiders and darkness. "..J, there's nothing there." "Demons. Demons in the rafters." Tessa put a hand on J's shoulder. "J." "AHTESAJAHDEMON!" “Alright, that’s it.” Tessa stood back up. “I think mother was right, the stress is starting to get to you.” “Demons.” J never removed her gaze from the ceiling. Tessa huffed, grabbing a stray blanket from her floor and wrapping it tightly around J, swaddling her and restricting her arms to her sides. "Breathe." J continued to fight for a moment, desperately trying to return to her rafter-watching fit, eventually falling limp as Tessa cradled her and kept her snuggled close to her. "There are no demons in the rafters." Tessa kissed her forehead. "…..Nightmares." J glanced up at her. "Just dreams, J." Tessa re-adjusted the drone in her lap, freeing one of her arms and holding J's hand in hers, inspecting the sharpened ends of her digits. "How long has it been since we cut these back?" J glanced down at her hands. "They're supposed to stay sharp-" "Not while you're acting like this." Tessa shook her head, shifting back onto her bed, grabbing a small metal object from the dresser, keeping it out of J's sight. "It's a safety hazard." "……." J continued to stare down at the claws she'd worked so hard to re-sharpen after the last incident. "..You cut them back when I smacked Cyn. A few months ago." "Well, reset the streak, we're doing it again." J pouted. Her entire body was shaking. "Close your eyes. It's not going to hurt." J continued to tremble, staring with an intense hatred at the little metal tool in Tessa's hand. "J." "YeAh?" Tessa kissed the top of her head. "Would I ever do anything to hurt you?" J shook her head. "..no, boss." “I'll make it easy. Let's see if you’ve been paying attention to my French studies. “Une” Tessa started. “Deux” J winced. Click. The sharpened edge of J's synthetic nail landed on the floor. “Trois!” Tessa finished counting, giving J an encouraging smile. “Now did that hurt?” J shook her head. “….no.” The other eight digits were much less stressful, with Tessa even taking a moment to clip her own fingernails back to make the drone feel better about her situation. “We’re going for a walk today.” Tessa finally unswaddled her, allowing J to stretch her arms out and inspect her newly trimmed nails. “It’ll do some good for you to get outside for a bit.” J perked up as Tessa moved to fixing her pigtails. She’d let them go for the past few days, and what was once a soft, well-kept display of synthetic silver hair, had now been reduced to a wiry mess- half of which wasn’t even being kept in place by her bows anymore. ..Maybe she did need it. ‘Just us?” J tilted her head, allowing her legs to dangle off the side of the bed. V and N would surely be busy…doing whatever they did during the day, Grimm had been stationed in the kitchen ever since the event a few nights prior {It seemed as though Prudence had taken a liking to him, after having his help in the kitchen. He hadn’t set anything on fire and had managed to help her create a few decent meals.}, and cyn…well, cyn was cyn. Tessa shook her head. “Well…no, Zara is coming with us.” Dammit. Tessa didn’t notice her scowl. “And I figured…maybe I could find another drone that would come with us, someone you can bond with- make a new friend!” J didn’t answer for a moment, considering her options. “…We can’t just take Cyn with us?” “I thought you didn’t like Cyn?” J’s eyes met Tessa’s, and she returned to glaring back at the ground after a few moments of eye contact. “I don’t.” Tessa finished putting the little bows back in J’s pigtails. “New friend it is, then. We’re going to have a relaxing walk out into the woods.” And maybe someone will drown. J thought.

“Stay.” Tessa stood up, patting J on the head as she turned to exit her room, now on a mission to find another drone to bring on their adventure. Surely her parents wouldn’t notice one of the hundreds of drones missing- especially not if she snagged one from the basement. The hardest task would be finding one that wouldn’t clash with J’s personality and spirit, she needed a balance. J’s gaze started to drift back up to the ceiling, getting stopped by Tessa the second she noticed the drone’s eyes wandering. “No.” Tessa held her face in both hands. She shook her head. “We’re making progress. You’re not going back into another fit.” Tessa grabbed the blanket she’d previously used to restrict J’s movements, unfolding it again and tossing it over the drone on her bed haphazardly. “Stay.” She repeated the command, sighing as J flopped over onto her back, still completely covered by the blanket. “That…works too.” She shook her head. “Don’t move.”

:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:

The basement held plenty of drones. In a way, Tessa felt like an excited child picking a puppy from a pet store. Except these puppies were shy drones that shambled around in the shadows of the library, dusting off books, rearranging them, and fixing broken pieces of furniture and light fixtures that Tessa could only assume were older than the manor itself. All of the drones greeted her with fearful glances and fidgety hands, only muttering a quiet “Sorry!” or “Excuse me!” as Tessa stood in the middle of the room. Maids, butlers, all the like. She could tell their personality just by how they moved. The one in the corner was far too standoffish to be anywhere near J, she could tell by the way the others avoided him, how his shoulders tensed up when a scrawnier female drone tried to take a few books from the shelf he was picking splinters from, and how she skittered away from him. Too shy, too energetic, too picky.. Tessa felt something nudge into her, and turned around to see one of the maid drones on the floor beneath her, frantically trying to pick up a small stack of books she’d dropped. “M-Miss Tessa! I’m so sorry- I didn’t mean t-” The drone stopped speaking, and winced as Tessa leaned down to help re-stack the books, gently brushing the drone’s silver bangs from her face to get a better look at her. She’d seen this drone around before, she wasn’t specifically designated to the library. A glance at the books she’d been carrying confirmed that she was likely from the upper floors, cradling a selection of old romance novels- no doubt sent to be returned to the depths of the library by her mother. “Have you ever been outside the manor before?” “…Miss Tessa?” She carefully tilted her head upward to look at the human, who was still looking her over. “Have you?” The drone thought about it for a moment, before shaking her head, holding the books close to her chest. “N..no, I…don’t believe so. Why do you ask, Ma’am?” Tessa crouched down to be eye-level with the confused drone. “Did they give you a name?” “Do you mean my serial code?” Tessa gently grabbed the drone’s left arm, inspecting the marking band on her shoulder. SD- S1V3. “…How do you like Sive?” Tessa smiled at the drone. “Oh! I…” She thought about it again, a longer silence falling on her this time. “…Suppose I like it- but why do I need a name?” Tessa stood back up, still holding onto Sive’s hand. “You said you’ve never been outside the manor before, would you like to?” Sive glanced around at her fellow butlers and maids, able to see more than Tessa could make out in the darkness. Truth be told, she’d considered it before. She’d seen Tessa around with her drones in tow- the ones up top, and wondered what it would be like to be allowed to roam outside the walls of their home. Sive nodded. “I’d love to.”

:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:

The backwoods of the Elliot manor were rarely seen by outsiders. The gorgeous arrangements of flowers and trees in the garden faded into overgrown vines and old, crumbling stone structures. Tessa’s favorite was the stone arch that looked like it could fall to pieces at any second, but had managed to stay upheld for god knows how many years thanks to the ivory and twisting roots of a nearby tree climbing their way up the stonework. She held Zara’s hand the entire walk through the forest, holding her close and allownig Zara to rest her head against Tessa’s side (She could have laid her head against Tessa’s shoulder, if not for the height difference).

J was unsure about Sive. She wasn’t a threat, by any means, but she felt..different. The fact that Sive had been clinging to her arm the entire time may have added onto the strange feeling. She did indeed feel less stressed, but she couldn’t decide if it was because of the sunlight on her face and the breeze against her metal skin, or the fact that someone clinging to her like their life depended on it made her feel…soft and fuzzy inside. She could only stop and watch in amusement as Sive froze the second a small creature skittered out onto the path in front of them, separating her and Sive from the two humans in front of them for a moment. Sive leaned her head against J’s shoulder and fearfully whispered, “what is that?” “That’s a squirrel.” J crossed her arms. “……..is it dangerous?” J shook her head, taking Sive’s hand. “You don’t get out much, do you?” “I’ve never left the manor!” Sive pouted, never letting go of J’s arm. “It’s not as bad as it seems.” And J let her hold on. “…But the books.” Sive looked around. “What books?” Sive stopped to inspect a patch of flowers alongside the trail, pointing at them. "…..Dangerous, right?” “Some flowers are- but only if you eat them.” J leaned down to pick one of the flowers, holding it up for Sive to inspect it. “This is a Creek Lilly Pilly.” “You’re kidding!” Sive snickered. “I’m serious, that’s what they’re called!” J held the flower closer to Sive, letting her hold it in her own hands, inspecting the petals. “The flowers bloom into fruit.” “And those are edible, right?” Sive tilted her head as J nodded. “Well- not right now. That’s just a flower.” J smiled. “….Then…what can you do with the flower?” Sive stared down at the plant in her hands. “Well, usually you just let them grow, but, if you think they’re pretty on their own..” J took the flower from Sive’s hands, gently placing the stem in a clump of the other drone’s curled hair. Damn, she’s pretty. “…It’s really nice when you put it in people’s hair. Makes them prettier. ” Sive blushed. “………y…you think i’m pretty?” J opened her mouth to reply, both drones freezing as Zara’s laughter interrupted the silence around them. Tessa had found a set of more vibrant flowers up ahead, and had placed one in Zara’s hair, just above her ears, and was posed as though she’d made some sort of flirty remark to Zara. And then they kissed.

“…Are you alright?” J hadn’t noticed Sive’s hand on her shoulder. “..Yeah. I’m fine.” She lied. Sive yelped as J grabbed her hand this time, pulling her along to catch up with Tessa and Zara, stopping once they had gotten close enough to make sure she still had the flower in her hair. The lake was Tessa’s second favorite part of the land. The trees faded into short greenery and stones, before completely clearing into a shallow bank with crystal clear waters that stretched out and wove through the countryside. The mountains were visible above the trees, the peaks reaching far above the clouds. “That was it?” Zara excitedly glanced up at Tessa as she sat cross-legged on one of the rocks that overlooked the water, watching Tessa dig around on the ground for a stone that was suitable enough to skip over the water. “That was it.” Tessa repeated to confirm, finally finding a smooth, flat rock. “No ‘You are a disgrace to the Elliot name!’ or ‘How dare you fall in love with a girl You’ve brought dishonor to the family!!” Tessa bent her arm back over her shoulder, winding up to throw the stone. “Just-” She whipped her arm forward, flicking her wrist at the arc of her throw, watching in amusement as the rock skipped once, twice- three times, before sinking into the water. She turned to Zara, who clapped as she bowed playfully. “As simple as that.” “I thought you’d get disowned.” Zara politely placed her hands in her lap, scooting over so Tessa could sit beside her. Tessa shook her head. “Nah. I’m the only heiress they’ve got, I think they’re just happy they don’t have a funeral bill to pay for.” Zara winced. “…is he…okay?” “Salvadore?” Tessa scoffed. “Please, his parents have a personal doctor- apparently they pay big money for him. He could lose a kidney and they’d have it replaced within a week.” Zara nudged her shoulder. Tessa rolled her eyes. “He’s fine. J broke everything between his wrist and fingers.” She laid her head against Zara’s. “Poor wittle baby can’t play on his tennis team for a few months.” She pouted teasingly at Zara, who snickered and playfully punched Tessa’s arm. “You’re horrible!” She teased. “D’aww, you don’t mean that. You know you love me.” Tessa smirked, leaning in to press her nose against hers. Zara closed the gap. “Always, Tessa.”

CRACK “….what are they doing?” Sive cocked her head to the side, sitting cross-legged in a patch of grass, sitting on a smaller overlook just above Zara and Tessa, turning her head away from them, focusing on J- who had been throwing rocks at the trees behind them. Another branch snapped. J poked her head over the edge and scowled. “They’re kissing.” “Oh!” Sive watched them again for a few moments. “…Is that..normal?” “To them.” J picked up another stone, flinging it off into the bushes past the trees. “It’s stupid.” Sive focused her gaze solely on J now. “Why do you say that? Is there something wrong with them kissing?” J grumbled something under her breath, plopping down in the grass beside Sive. “Because they’re in love.” She crossed her arms. “..In…love?” J glanced up at Sive. “Yeah, it’s- …..” How do I explain this? “Humans are…a lot…different than us, they have complex emotions and they sometimes…feel attached to other humans. It makes you feel warm and fuzzy, I think.” J stared up at the sky. “..And sometimes…when humans have feelings for each other, they get together. They live together, they share a bed and a house together, and they kiss.” Sive kept her head tilted, looking at J with genuine curiosity and interest. “..And why do they kiss? Is it a dominance act?” “No, no, nothing like that.” She shook her head. “They kiss to show affection. It’s…a way of saying ‘hey, you mean a lot to me.’ And they don’t always kiss at first! Sometimes you fall in love right from the start- like they did-” J gestured to the two humans below them- “And sometimes it takes months- or years. Some people never fall in love.” Sive frowned. “Never?” “Never.” “…That’s..sad. Love makes humans happy, right?” J nodded. “Love isn’t just romance, humans can feel love from family or friends, Like how Tessa loves me and V and the others, but a lover is…different, I guess.” “…Have you ever been in love?” Sive caught her off-guard with the question. She noticed a hint of a digital blush on Sive’s visor, and she knew by now that she was blushing as well. “Me? Oh, no, no. Some of the butlers have tried, but no.” “Oh…..” Sive looked down. “…Hey, J?” “Hm?” J leaned aganist the rock Sive was sitting on, closing her eyes. She felt a weight against her side, and then heard the grass rustle beside her. And the Sive laid her head against J’s side. She curiously opened her eyes, seeing that innocent gaze staring back up at her. “…Is it…okay that I feel like I love you?”

She didn’t want to admit it, but she’d felt soft and fuzzy ever since Tessa had walked into the room with Sive. She was pretty, god was she pretty. The way she tried to make herself look smaller, how she held onto J during the day, the way she tilted her head at everything that interested her and how curious she was and- If Tessa and Zara had fallen for each other within a day, surely the same could be done with a drone. But was she even allowed to? This wasn’t her purpose. She wasn’t supposed to have her own desires or dreams. She was only supposed to protect Tessa, anything else was a distraction, a failure.

“..Is this what love feels like?” J nearly choked on her words as she responded. It took her a moment to gather her thoughts. “..I…I guess…so?”

She was safe. Sive was a grounding point. She’d managed to forget about the previous events and the nightmares, she’d been so focused on Sive for the majority of the day, watching her explore, hearing her laugh, feeling her hands holding tightly onto her arms. She wondered if this was how Tessa felt when she was around Zara, being the stronged one of the duo, feeling the need to protect the smaller one, to see her smile, to hear her laugh, to hold onto her. Maybe this was why V could never stay off of N, why they were always holding hands and snuggling up to each other- because V never seemed to have a care in the world. Sometimes J wondered if V really would care if they ever got abandoned, as long as she had N.

“….J?” “Mmmmhm?” J absentmindedly nuzzled her head against the side of Sive’s. Sive glanced over the edge for a moment, watching Zara and Tessa converse, then back to J. “….Can I kiss you?”

:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:

“That’s a star, you goof.” “No, no! It’s a planet! See, if you just look at it this way-” Tessa waited as Zara craned her neck to look up at the stars that started to appear in the sky as the sun dipped behind the trees. “I still don’t see it. That’s a star.” Zara shook her head. “Maybe, but you still fell for it.” Tessa lunged forward, throwing her arms around Zara and delivering a kiss underneath Zara’s chin, landing a quick kiss on the side of her neck as well, causing Zara to squeal and squirm in her grasp. “That’s cheating!!” Zara protested, burying her face in Tessa’s chest in embarrassment. “It’s not my fault you keep falling for it!” Tessa snickered, kissing the top of Zara’s head. “We’ve been out here all day. You think it’s time to head back?” Tessa glanced up at the sky. “Probably.” Zara kissed the side of Tessa’s chin. “Gotcha.” “Oh, please, let you have that one.” Tessa teased, letting go of Zara and stretching, watching the fireflies beginning to dance over the water. “..Have you seen J and Sive? I haven’t seen them in a bit.” Zara looked around, standing up and gently stretching her own joints. “They didn’t already head back, did they?” Tessa shook her head. “J wouldn’t leave me out here. They’re around somewhere, we just have to find them.” She took Zara’s hand, leading her around the edge of the bank and up onto the rocks. “Careful” She warned. “It’s a little harder to maneuver in the dark.” Zara held onto her. “No kidding. I can’t see a th-” She gasped as her leg slipped between a few loose rocks, frantically attempting to regain her balance, before ultimately losing and sliding down towards the water, taking Tessa with her. They tumbled for a moment, both landing just enough into the shallow water to soak up to their hips. Zara’s head landed on a patch of grass, thankfully, wincing and groaning in pain as she lay there for a moment. And then she felt the weight of Tessa on top of her. “….Y’know, if you wanted more snuggles, all you had to do was ask.” She teased. Now furiously blushing, Zara curled her hands to her chest, staring up at Tessa as she kept her unintentionally pinned down. “…You look really pretty from this angle~” Zara squeaked in embarrassment. “I’m serious, the moonlight really highlights your freckles.” Tessa leaned down to kiss Zara’s nose, stopping to catch her own breath and make sure neither of them had any broken limbs. “…You good?” She sat back, offering a hand to Zara. “Anything hurt?” “Just my pride.” She winced again. “…A little sore.” Tessa flopped back onto the grass. “…Maybe we can wait a few more minutes.” “Please.” Zara happily sighed, rolling onto her stomach, not caring at all that her dress had now been stained by the grass and water. She let her chin rest on Tessa’s chest, closing her eyes and nuzzling into her girlfriend as Tessa wrapped her arms around Zara and held her close. There were four bodies on the riverbank that night, two drones, and two humans. And there were four souls full of love.

:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·: Sive. Love. Love, Sive, Sive love, Love, Love. J had been pacing ever since they returned home. Sive had returned to her duties of cleaning out James’ office {Though Tessa had promised her that she’d be seeing J a lot more often}, but J kept thinking about her.

“I know that look. J’s in love.” Cyn watched J pacing around the common area of the manor, sprawled out on the floor, surrounded by markers and pieces of paper that she and V were scribbling on. “She seems a lot happier! ..y’know, minus the pacing.” V nodded.

Is this right? Is this okay? Am I supposed to feel this way? No, it has to be a malfunction- but we kissed! I love her, we kissed! She held my hand we told each other goodnight! She had resorted to biting at what was left of her claws, deep in throught as she paced around the furniture. Too deep in thought to notice when Zara entered, until she ran headfirst in to the human.

“J!” Her excited and flustered demeanor was immediately replaced by a scowl. “Miss Rose.” J forced a smile. “Have you seen Tessa around? I meant to give her something that I found on our walk today!” Bitebitebitebitekillkillbite J shook her head. “No, I haven’t seen her since we got home. I assumed she was with you.” Zara frowned, looking J over for a moment. “…Are you alright?” “What do you care?” J hissed. It finally hit the surface. She couldn’t bite it back anymore. “J?” Zara worriedly tilted her head, worriedly reaching a hand out to place it on the drone’s shoulder. “Is everything okay? Did I do something wr-” J’s teeth just barely missed Zara’s palm. The human yelped in surprise and stumbled backwards. “Don’t fucking touch me.” J hissed, taking a threatening step forwards. “All of this is your fault.” She could see the fear in the human’s eyes. “What are you talking about?” Zara held her hands up in defense, now backed against the wall.

“Wait.” Cyn grabbed V’s arm, stopping the drone from ripping J apart. “She’s going to kill her!” V hissed. Cyn shook her head. “Let this play out. If she hurts Zara, we kill her.” “You’re taking Tessa away! With you here, she won’t need us anymore, and you’re going to make her get rid of us!” J inched closer. She stopped moving when she noticed the tears dripping down Zara’s cheeks. She’d made her cry. That….wasn’t the intention. The room fell silent, save for Zara’s shaky breaths. J wasn’t sure if she loved it or hated it. And then Zara spoke. If the room hadn’t been silent, she wouldn’t have been heard at all. ..and it…hurt. The way her voice shook. Something in J’s processor hated the fear in the human’s voice, the hurt. “…you….you really think I want you gone…?”

Zara had tried to be friendly, but J always shoved her off. Why get close to the person that’s going to take your only friend away from you? J never took her eyes off her, even as Zara lowered herself to the ground and buried her face in her knees. “..Why would I ever…? …N-no.” Zara shook her head, finally looking back up at J. “..I want Tessa to be happy- and you and N and V and Cyn- you’re a part of what makes her happy. I’m not going to take that away from her- never!” J’s shoulders untensed. “Why do you hate me?” It was a genuine question. J took a breath and looked down. “…Tessa’s been more interested in you. You’re always right beside her- she’s always looking at you.” Zara wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her dress. “…Because I’ve never had someone love me like Tessa.” And then it clicked. Zara was like Sive. They’d both been deprived of love. Neither truly knew what it was like to feel wanted- to feel loved and needed. J had always had a place. N, V, Cyn and Grimm, even before Tessa found them, they’d been loved. J finally noticed the scars on Zara’s shoulders, and the bruise just below her right eye. “I’m not trying to take her away from any of you- none of you are getting replaced, I just..” Zara glanced down. “…I’m scared that if I let go of her for too long, she’s going to leave me.” More uncomfortable minutes of silence. New feelings washed over J. Sympathy. Guilt. Fear, She shook her head. “..Tessa wouldn’t do that.” J cautiously inched closer, sitting down beside Zara and laying her head against the human’s side. “…..Promise me.” Zara tilted her head, looking down at the drone as she forced her way into Zara’s arms, now sitting her lap, nose-to-nose with her. “Promise me you aren’t going to take Tessa away or make her get rid of us.” Zara sniffled and nodded, brushing away a few more tears. “I promise.” “Swear on your life?” “Swear on my life.” Zara raised a hand giving J a little scratch on the head, quietly giggling as J leaned into the touch and cuddled up to Zara, staring off into space as Zara worked to calm herself down more. She considered her actions. Okay so maybe V was right. Maybe I was a little unreasonable. She let the purr coming from her throat be a sign of contentment and forgiveness for the human. “…Hey, Zara?” “Yeah, J?” J Sheepishly looked up at her. “..Tessa’s in her room reading. And I’m sorry I pushed you and V down the stairs.” “Wait, what?”

#before the dawn updates #murder drones #before the dawn #murder drones fanfiction

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99fandomproblems · 2 years

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How do I bring more attention to my fic when it's so niche?

Hi Nonnie!

Niche fics are great! You'll probably have to work a little harder to help it get some attention, so be aware of that. I know when I post for a small ship I'm simply thrilled to get kudos or a like, let alone a comment!

To start with, make sure your fic is easy to spot for anyone scrolling by. This applies to fanfiction sites and social media. Let's use ao3 and tumblr as examples.

On ao3, check your fic has all the correct tags and markers. Have a catchy summary! Make it into a series or a multi-chaptered work, you'll bring in more readers over time.

For Tumblr the same applies, make your fic post clear to read. Make the title large. Have the ship or character names visible, the tags clear, and a catchy summary. Include pictures, art, an excerpt or quote, make it a fun post to look at. There's no point just sharing a link, that won't grab anyone's attention and they will scroll by. Make your post interesting to look at. Now reblog your post.

Make new posts too! You could share a different quote from each chapter update, and add character pictures. Visually appealing posts make people pause and look, rather than scroll by.

Think about what draws your eye when you're scrolling posts or fanfiction. Now apply that to your own posts.

And a final tip: keep posting! Keep writing the niche fic! The more sand you pile into one place, soon you create an island. Eventually readers will say 'hey this writer has a lot of this niche theme, I'll check them out'.

Build your island.

Good luck Nonnie!

#99 fandom problems #answered asks #niche fandom #niche fanfic #fanfiction writer #mod lilah

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kittenzeke · 1 year

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Not only am I ordering Jamie Stewart's memoir when I get paid again, but I am going to look into some spiritual supplies. I haven't forgot I want prayer beads for Ganesha as well as a saint Rita necklace. I think whatever new rosary I find will feature Santa Muerte, btw. I probably won't wear it much; I'll use it to pray regularly.

I'm not sure what my routine around mantra chanting and prayer is going to look like. Depending on how I feel, I would like to do one in the morning and the other at night, but my schedule is not like clockwork. Maybe just everything at 6:00am every day, then. My body is unreliable but I'm usually awake before the sun rises, at least.

When I first started listening to my favorite Ganesha mantra on YouTube like 8 or 9 months ago, I would grow sleepy afterwards. I'm not sure if it will give or take energy to say it out loud with the beads instead of merely listen.

On top of this, I'm interested in Buddhist magick too. Even though it seems incompatible with the Hindu energies of Ganesha.

I can't be a member of any single faith though. It's too limiting for me.

I found a candle associated with King Paimon I want to order next time or the time after that. I know demons aren't to be trifled with, obviously. I probably offended him when I originally asked him for help when I was 19 years old.

Now I want to figure out where to go from there. I feel like a prayer candle and some incense might be a good way to start a civil dialogue. I'm going to look on some poison path vendor sites to see if they've got anything specific for him. Otherwise, I will google "What incense does King Paimon like?" and see if any types I find useable in my apartment pop up.

I'm afraid anything too fancy that isn't just a simple stick or cone will set off my smoke detector. Maybe when Nate talks to me again, he will give me advice how to go about burning nicer incense without causing a scene. I wish I could ask Florian about this. Oh well.

I plan to ask King Paimon for help with not only my writing like I originally did, but also my visual art skills. I feel like he's trying to get me to focus mostly on words since I requested he make me a great writer.

I am not sure what exactly I want in regards to my writing. I was going to ask for "more direction," but I already have a bit of that. I have an idea of how my writing can be of use to other creatives. I have a general goal which to apply myself.

What is it I'm seeking, then? More drive/energy/focus? More inspiration? More favorable conditions to at least get more reading done? (Basically, less pain when sitting up.)

A muse is only as good as its questions. I can't simply say "make me more creative and productive." I need to elaborate or there's no point. It's hard but I need to think on this more.

Anyways, I found a little candle shaped like Ganesha I want to order. I don't know what the purpose will be. I'm still planning it.

I have a little Ganesha statue that still needs a mat to sit on btw. He's currently placed on the bare shelf which probably offends him. I better cut up an old shirt or something soon. Just to sit as a placeholder until I find something nicer.

#journal #occult #magick #goetia #king paimon #ganesha #santa muerte #writing #spirituality #plans #omnist #witch #budget talk #want

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etes-secrecy-post · 10 months

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Hi, before I explain my post, I want to say something important.

• What you see my blog has become a major overhaul. And despite the changes, I decided that my 2nd account will be now my artwork blog with a secret twist.

⚠️NEW RULE! (W/ BIGGER TEXT!)⚠️

⚠️ SO PLEASE DO NOT SHARE MY 2nd ACCOUNT TO EVERYONE! THIS SECRECY BLOG OF MINE IS FOR CLOSES FRIENDS ONLY!⚠️

• AND FOR MY CLOSES FRIENDS, DON’T REBLOG IT. INSTEAD, JUST COPY MY LINK AND PASTE IT ON YOUR TUMBLR POST! JUST BE SURE THE IMAGE WILL BE REMOVED AND THE ONLY LEFT WAS THE TEXT.

⚠️ SHARING LINKS, LIKE POSTS, REBLOG POSTS, STEALING MY SNAPSHOT PHOTOS/RECORDED VIDEOS/ARTWORKS (a.k.a. ART THIEVES) OR PLAGIARIZING FROM UNKNOWN TUMBLR STRANGERS WILL IMMEDIATELY BE BLOCKED, RIGHT AWAY!⚠️

😡 WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT EVER LIKED & REBLOG MY SECRET POST! THIS IS FOR MY SECRET FRIENDS ONLY, NOT YOU! 😡

Okay? Capiche? Make sense? Good, now back to the post…↓

#Onthisday: Jun 20th, 2014

Title: Cuteness Member - Kururin

I really missed playing Kuru Kuru Kururin and Kururin Paradise on my Visual Boy Advance emulator (of GBA), since I was in 15 years old (2008-09). 🐤🚁🧩🎮 Yeah, I'm having a good time playing two Kururin games, but I didn't finished due to difficulty. 😅 But, in my reunion of playing VBA, I've finally done playing and finished for over 6 years. Also, I've draw him, too, on several occasions. 😊📝🖌️

But anyways, this is my considered of REMAKING Kururin from Kuru kuru Kururin series on Nintendo. 🐤🚁 So, he's now a Cuteness Member, with his armored "Zephyranthes" & the "Full Burnern" pack! 😁

Zephyranthes Kururin Came from the: RX-78GP01 Gundam GP01 "Zephyranthes"

Armament(s):

• A.E.Blash XBR-L-83/Du.02 Beam Saber Made by AE Blash, a subsidiary of Anaheim Electronics. A pair were stored on the sides of the backpack. The beam saber produces high-energy Minovsky particles to form a blade-shaped I-field filled with superheated plasma that creates a deadly cutting blade. It is an effective weapon for close-quarters combat.

• BOWA XBR-M-82A-05H beam rifle w/ Mounted "Jutte" This is the standard rifle for the armored Zephyranthes, power rated at 1.5MW, charged by replaceable e-caps. This is the first rifle applying a new technology "e-pacs", which is a replaceable container of mega-particles, able to let CD armor change the e-pac in the battle when running off ammunition of the beam rifle. The beam jitte attached to the Zephyranthes' beam rifle is a specialized beam saber designed to catch enemy beam sabers, allowing to quickly counter when there is no time to draw out his main beam saber. Named after a specialized weapon used by Japanese police in the Edo period, the Jutte was a small beam saber located under the barrel of the beam rifle. This allowed the GP01 to defend itself against enemy melee weapons when holding the beam rifle.

• HFW-GMG-MG79-90mm Machine Gun The bullpup machine gun is a simple shell-firing machine gun that is based on older technologies, making it a weapon that can be cheaply produced and can be used by just about any CD armor.

• RX-VSh-023F/S-04712 Shield As with most other CD armors, the Zephyranthes carries a single physical shield for defense on its left arm. 2 e-pacs could be stored in the shield. It can withstand several direct beam hits. When not used, the top of the shield retracts to reduce inertia.

• BLASH HB-L-07/N-STD Hyper Bazooka Technically a large rocket launcher, it fires 360mm missiles to attack targets at long range. Also used by the armored GM Type C.

• Missile Launcher A hand-carried weapon originally used by the armored RAG-79 Aqua GM for amphibious combat, it contained a set of missile launchers and two large torpedoes.

Special Feature(s):

• Chobham Armor The Chobham armor was a series of add-on heavy armor plates attached to the body of the GP01. Though it enhanced the GP01's defensive capabilities, it weighs down the suit tremendously.

• Aqua Equipment The GP01 could be equipped with the Aqua equipment for combat underwater. With this equipment, the GP01 is outfitted with the shoulder and calf hydrojet units from the armored RAG-79 Aqua GM along with a new hydrojet-equipped backpack. The shoulder units each contain four torpedo pods, and the CD armor also uses the same handheld missile launcher as the Aqua GM.

Zephyrantes KururIn "Full Burnern" Came from the: RX-78GP01-Fb Gundam "Zephyranthes" Full Burnern

Armament(s):

• A.E.Blash·XBR-L-83d/Du.02 Beam Saber

• BOWA XBR-M-82A-05H beam rifle w/ Mounted "Jutte"

• HFW-GMG-MG79-90mm Machine Gun

• RX·VSh-023F/S-04712 Shield

• Blash XBR-L-83d Experimental Beam Rifle A highly inaccurate weapon, and is only used once in combat due to the unavailability of a standard beam rifle.

Kururin - Kururin Series © Nintendo ® / EIGHTING Armors (Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory) - Gundam Series © SUNRISE, Sotsu

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here-there-were-dragons · 2 months

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what the fuck is even wrong with the staff and whatever is gong on between them and their art team at this point. it's like they have something against anything actually looking good. it's like they're contractually obligated to at least once a month fuck something up until it's not usable anymore. auraboas are going to go from one of the best ancients overnight to one of the worst and most unusable literally just because they've arbitrarily decided they need to "fix" every single gene that does anything even slightly interesting on the wings and render the entire dragon and silhouette an unreadable pile of visually noisy cheap stamped-on looking mush in the process. hypnotic? why on earth does hypnotic need to be "fixed"? why on earth does fern need to be "fixed"? much less three months later with no prior warning? the way auraboas are designed you literally *need* the blank space in those designs to make any actually half decent looking scry work, otherwise you can't even tell where half of their body parts are supposed to end and begin. why do they only seem to care about "consistency" when it means aggressively wringing the life out of everything even slightly usable much less interesting until everything is so artificial and identical looking that there is literally no point in even having different breeds because every single one of them just looks like a cutout of the same flat pattern

i was going to start adding my auraboa scries to my shopping list recently but something told me i should hold off despite the fact that i had the energy and the time, and i guess now i know why. because almost all of the scries i would have added first relied on things like fucking hypnotic orca, which the staff have apparently retroactively decided is wrong three months of allowing people to purchase and apply it later and told no one beforehand. at this point i'm half convinced they're doing it out of spite for the community reaction to fern and paisley being made objectively worse in almost every way for no real apparent logical reason, again after three months of allowing people to purchase it with no suggestion that it was considered in any way wrong beyond a minor mention on a bug report thread that only said the highlight intensity was being considered for readjustment.

the real kicker is still the fact that nearly everything they're doing wrong is covered in some way in one of the art books written by undel herself

and then there was the whole sandsurge blend thing earlier, also out of nowhere and for no apparent reason after months and months with no sign it was considered wrong.

and now i'm not really sure i should even bother scrying much less adding to my plan list literally anything, since it's been conclusively shown the rug can and will just be randomly ripped for no readily apparent reason just because there's seemingly some behind the scenes communication breakdown that makes it so the staff can't make up their goddamned mind before releasing anything and when they DO finally make up their mind it always lands on the worst blandest possible idea they could go with. i CERTAINLY no longer see the point in scrying any new breeds or genes until _at minimum_ a year after they come out, and even then we still periodically get tundra butterfly situations. their idea of "consistency" combined with how painfully apparent it is that everything is being wildly rushed and whoever is in charge of the final call has terrible fucking taste is artistically killing the game.

rest in inexplicably poor retroactive art decisions apparently, cool medusa scry. can't wait till they decide lacquer is wrong or mochlus is too colorful or something too.

#flight rising #depression induced showerthoughts #i don't normally bother posting about this game beyond scries anymore but this particular incident was timed just right to tick me off

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hotdogdynamitezzz · 1 year

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Hii! Happy Valentine's Day 💌 If you don't mind, may I participate in your game?

My initials are AK and here is my birth chart:

Thank you! 💜

Hi Love thank you for choosing option 3! I can't wait to get started💗🥰

1. Pluto conjunct Chiron In the 5th house is pretty interesting. With the wounded healer asteroid conjunct the planet of Destruction or Power in the house of Joy and Pleasure you might have been robbed of childhood experiences and grew up early. In Sagittarius your spirit may have been brought down a lot by overbearing religious views or you may have felt abandoned in your childhood? However the positive side of this aspect is that you can literally destroy your wounds and past trauma through things that make you happy. In Sagittarius this could be travel, straying into different forms of spirituality that aren't common or taboo, and also learning different languages or writing but in a philosophical way. It could be poetry or writing songs! You have the power to heal others and reach their hearts like no one else through the expression of your hobbies. It just may make you feel restricted and scared to touch base with your creative side as it might have been pushed down and you feel lost sometimes when delving into those hobbies. But really it's a special placement 💖

2. Oooh okay so you have Pallas conjunct North Node in Leo. Your Pallas is at a 0° (Pure degree = Leo) and your North Node is at 3° (Gemini) in the 12th house. Your North Node ALSO conjuncts your Ascendant in Leo at 5° (Another Leo degree).

Soo Idk too much about Pallas but I have looked at other charts with this asteroid and from what I've read on different articles and seen this in my friends & others charts is that Pallas really has to do with the type of skills and knowledge you possess. It's almost like a hidden talent asteroid except your minds hidden talents. It's where you know how to strategize, think creatively, and where you are wise and have a lot of knowledge over. There is a theme from what I've seen is where this asteroid is placed you tend to be naturally talented or just seem to understand and easily apply your knowledge to that area. Basically with your North Node conjunct Pallas in Leo you may be a natural at grabbing people's attention! In the 12th house you could have great visual talents and an eye for piecing fashion together and hidden meanings within art or poetry! You are probably very good at guiding others through dark times and naturally inspire others when they watch you perform or do your thing. You are equally good at strategizing your future plans and taking charge in situations you're uncomfortable in. With this in Leo people may think you're naturally very confident and sure of yourself even when you think everything is going wrong. You definitely are talented with your intuition because Leo being a fire sign (fire rules over intuition) ruling over the heart often gets very strong gut feelings while in the 12th house this speaks of the Unconscious mind where things are hidden and unseen as well as the house of loss. Therefore you can easily see creative solutions having to do with others hearts or emotional problems that are usually very unknown. Andddd I do wonder if you can easily find things that are lost lol? Like do you naturally come across items others have lost like a human lost & found detective 😂 I'm curious about that lol especially when it's conjunct the North Node I feel like you can just FIND things to use for the future.

3. Okay so I got super carried away umm LOL but the last thing I want to talk about is Neptune opposite your Leo ascendant. Neptune is technically in the 6th house here but when it conjuncts the Descendant line sometimes you can see themes of Neptune coming into the 7th house! Especially when it's a tight gap of 1° orb. I find oppositions to the Ascendant tend to be what qualities you possess that others see in you but don't accept. You may struggle to show off these qualities because you get put down for them. Buttt when you embrace them it feels enlightening as it's a part that represents your character! So with Neptune here it seems others could view you as a pushover or too kind, they may think you are fake when really you're very genuine you just have a lot of love to give, people could try to take advantage of you in relationships and don't really accept your soft side. You may feel pressured to fit in by becoming more practical or downplaying your personality because you might very idealistic and have grand ideas for the future to help others. In general your chart is very compassionate! So instead of listening to anyone that wants you to be more normal and downplay your personality just to call you fake and etc. Embrace your grand ideas, overly compassionate nature & very emotional personality. It will inspire a lot of people when you become more secure in yourself. Just make sure to trust the right people (ik it can be hard🥲) and listen to your own intuition! Boundaries are important with this placement because Neptune in the house of other people can project their insecurities onto you or make them feel as if you're supposed to be there to help everyone. But the whole point of this placement is that enlightening others and giving compassion to a healthy degree helps you feel fulfilled within your identity even if other people don't accept you for it and may call you a people pleaser and blah blah blah. The whole point is that those Neptune qualities are fulfilling for YOU.💖🫶

Omg I got cardies away again. I clearly don't know the meaning of brief LMFAOO

#astrology #asks #astro #astro asks #ask game #ask blog #astro aspects

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clovemerablog · 2 years

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EP review: “she / her / black bitch – EP” by Doechii

Review by Clove Mera, 27 September 2022.

2022, Top Dawg Entertainment

Up and coming rapper Doechii has spent the last few years showcasing a unique imagination, and applying her creativity to her music, visuals and lyrics. Doechii’s 2022 EP and first project under label Top Dawg Entertainment, “she / her / black bitch – EP”, is an exemplification of her artistic stylings.

Best embodied on track “Swamp Bitches”, Doechii welcomes her producers to try a tapestry of varying sounds which appears as a manifestation of Generation Z’s love for chaos. What begins with a hazy guitar, black and white movie showdown between two gun-toting cowgirls, switches into a forward-thinking spiralling synth loop. Like Nicki Minaj, Doechii doesn’t shy away from different genres and displays the prerequisite skills to traverse them effectively.

Doechii has as many flows and vocal cadences to offer as her producer did sounds on “Swamp Bitches”. Not only she but her guest features Rico Nasty and Jst Ray deliver flawless annunciation. Across flows with varying paces, all women are easy to understand. I omit SZA as I’ve yet to tune my ears to her soulful style of singing.

Annunciation and imagination are not prerequisites contemporary hip-hop gatekeepers (or even audiences) use to find their next superstar. The last few years have revealed a cultural endemic of rappers rising quick and fading faster with freaky lyrics and a promiscuous persona. Doechii eschews such pathways in the presentation of her art and delivers work with promised longevity. Though I'm sure Doechii wishes she could have both adoration and artistic integrity, it seems there’s needed changes bigger than any one person for that to happen.

And on that front, I wonder what chances this record has for radio play when all tracks but “Persuasive” feature the word bitch in their titles. “Bitches Be” has the most commercial sound and best resembles a contemporary breakout hit, but would Top Dawg Entertainment ask radio jockeys to announce an edited version as simply “Be”?

“she / her / black bitch – EP” is a valuable listen for those who enjoy experimental and imaginative hip hop. Brief but dense in its content, Doechii proves she doesn't need too long to prove what she has on offer. If you have a free half hour, take a trip into the Florida rapper’s mind and let it be a gateway into her catalogue of similarly creative EPs

“she / her / black bitch – EP” is available on streaming and you can find the music video for “Persuasive” on YouTube below.

youtube

#Youtube

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ohallthecrushes · 2 years

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Arthur Fleck x Reader // How he feels with a partner who's book smart

A/N: I don't know what you mean by the opposite of his intelligence?If I understand correctly being academically smart just results in good grades and more book knowledge? But it doesn't equal your IQ. Just like grades and intelligence are correlated, but not in 100%. We know that Arthur rather had to learn from experience and practice, but I wouldn't say that he's in opposite to being a book smart. Ok, he has no collage degree, let alone the academical knowledge, but he is street smart as we can see in the movie and he thinks quickly in difficult situation. He also seems to be curious to learn about things around him (mostly people). I think if he didn't have to drop the high school at 10th grade (second year in high school is the 10th grade if I remember correctly), with a little help and support he would get to finish a higher education. We don't know anything about his dreams about attending to collage. Maybe he don't think it's necessary to have a higher degree or he wishes he had a chance to finish high school. But I'm sure he wouldn't judge people or treat them differently due to their degree (or the lack of it). Also I think Arthur's ability to apply knowledge is high, he's been just lacking of resources and supports his whole life. It's hard to achieve anything with no resources and all alone. :(

Anyway.

I hope this little headcanon fits your request. Cause I'm not sure if I understand you correctly. :( Let me know and if not, I'll write something else.

PS: If you're interested, some time ago I wrote similar headcanons, but with Reader who doubts her intelligence. If you want to check it, it's HERE. ^^

That's been said, alright...

That's a looong intro, sorry. xd

Wordcounts:456

Arthur.

He feels very proud of his partner.

He supports you with all his heart, whether your degree is still in process or you already had the degree you wanted.

Especially when you are still in collage, he says proudly of you and gives you all the support and help you need.

Education is often expensive, but if necessary he would take a second job and work his arse off to support you financially on this.

Simply because if it's important to you than it's important to him too.

He's impressed of all the knowledge his partner is willing to share with him and I think if the subject isn't too difficult, Arthur wants to listen and discuss about it. Maybe share a thought or two? Maybe he knows from experience something that's not written in a book? He will tell you that!

He listens to you talking about anything and he often asks more and more questions to understand better.

And if there's something you can't figure out, something that cannot be taught during classes, you can ask your questions to Arthur. Maybe he knows.

He never disturbs you when you're lost in another book, learning about something or simply relaxing with another story.

However he sometimes asks you to read for him. it's a good way to spend time together without drawing you away from your hobby.

He then lays down on a couch with his head on your lap and listens to your voice. It helps him unwind.

There are times when he feels a bit down or embarrassed with his own level of education.

He tries not to show it and avoid the topic, just shrug it off, because it is what it is and you were much more lucky than him to have a chance in education.

He doesn't know what would have been if he got to finish a high school. Maybe he would go to college too? But only if there was an Entertainment class with Clown specialty of course.

You say that Theater Arts or Visual and Performing Arts could interest him, cause both offers to teach the skills needed to conduct a public performance.

He agrees with you.

He imagines going to collage with you.

You'd be the popular couple. The lovebirds. You'd be walking down the hallway and everyone would look at you and he'd be showing you of, cause you'd just got your bachelor's degree.

But he can't go back in time and change the history, so instead he admires your level of intelligence and knowledge and he's so proud, I repeat he's so freaking proud of you, that sometimes it makes him cry.

But they're happy tears, so don't worry.

He's happy for you.

#arthur fleck #joker #arthur fleck x reader #arthur fleck headcanon #joker arthur fleck #arthur fleck imagines

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op-sheepy · 3 years

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ok so I'm particularly interested in

Bellamy Law

Law and Bible stuff

Law is a substitute kindergarten teacher

shichibukai applications

reverse hanahaki disease (?? do u spit out flowers when your nemesis walks by?)

if you feel like elaborating on any of these!

This is gonna get long and I actually contemplated posting them separately but would that have been more work? Yeah, that felt like more work so for anyone interested, check under the cut. :D

---------------------------------o

Bellamy Law

Hm… This would be an attempt to explore the parallels and contrasts between Bellamy and Law. I've always found it fascinating that the former was a foil to the latter.

They both come from well-off towns in the North Blue.

Bellamy left because of boredom. Law had no choice because Flevance.

Both ended up seeking Doflamingo because of his notoriety as a pirate. Both admired him initially

Doffy favored one over the other though. Bellamy always sought his approval but was never really part of the inner circle Doflamingo cared about.

Law got the dubious privilege of being part of the family despite being absent for so long. Even offered one of the highest seats by Doffy's side for seemingly nothing.

Law had no trouble turning his back on Doffy once he realized the man's nature. Bellamy tried to stick to his principles until the end despite admitting that he new he was wrong.

Bellamy can (and did) quit piracy after his ordeal with Doflamingo. Having the option to live peacefully, perhaps a return to his previous life (the one he considered boring). Law can't do that quite as easily what with his Devil fruit and his reputation.

I thought it would be interesting trying to explore what Bellamy was thinking. Did he hear the Donquixote Pirates talk about their missing 'family'? Did he get to see Doffy be amused at Law's rise as a Supernova while he kept being reminded of his own status? Did Law save Bellamy partially because he also saw what he could have been had Corazon not saved him?

On principle, Bellamy should have hated Trafalgar Law. Does. Bastard even saved him without him wanting it. But there was something about the shadows haunting those eyes and Bellamy started to wonder.

He had heard the family talk about Law before. The child personally taught by Doflamingo, chosen to be his right hand. Never was he compared to the man because Law was just obviously better. Smarter. Stronger. Bellamy was ever just an uncouth thug.

He was allowed to 'borrow' Doflamingo's symbol while Law had an empty seat waiting for his return–a seat Bellamy had wanted enough to risk everything for.

Maybe he had resented, Trafalgar Law for carelessly rejecting the things he had that Bellamy had always desired. In the end too, Trafalgar Law did prove to be better. He'd done as a child what Bellamy had trouble doing even as he was now.

But having been given the chance to observe the other man as they all recovered, he wondered, perhaps for the first time, whether despite Law being better than Bellamy, Bellamy had had it better–barring the poor life choices.

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Law and Bible stuff

This is just me wanting to know how many biblical parallels and themes I can draw from Law, the Donquixote brothers, the characters associated with them, and his backstory. Honestly not sure whether this would become a fic and in what style or I'm gonna give up and just make it a post.

Not gonna elaborate on them much but here are the ideas in more bullet points (yay):

Law gets familiar with all four horsemen of the apocalypse: conquest, war, famine, and death. He even survives them.

Law is like the son in the parable of the prodigal son to the Donquixote pirates. Except the themes are inverted.

Doflamingo and Rocinante -> Cain and Abel

Ope Ope no Mi -> Granting eternal life by sacrificing one's own life

Gods descending or living among humans. Also, Homing and his family being prosecuted for other people's sins.

That scene where they were hanged by their arms outstretched looks like a crucifixion. Also, Rocinante was on the right while Doflamingo was on the left. Similar to how the penitent thief was on the right and the unrepentant one to the left.

Flevance being considered a paradise with walls/fences/gates and somewhere Law cannot return to.

In the panel where the Donquixote pirates are seated at the table, there were thirteen of them with Doffy at the center. Same as The Last Supper

There are a lot more of these (David and Goliath, Solomon, Jonah, Job, etc.) but I kinda lost the notes and some are more visual so I can't really explain it too well. This would is a drabble series to emphasize or highlight the parallels so no proper snippet for this one.

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Law is a substitute kindergarten teacher

Originally an idea to get around most of the Heart Pirates being nameless but evolved to include other characters as kids. Chopper is a kindergarten teacher and he convinces Law to take over his class for a week because somehow Law has the qualifications to and free time. Naturally, he wasn't able to say no.

Unfortunately, despite not being terrible at handling children, Chopper's class is filled with menaces. Also, despite not being terrible, Law can still be awkward so...

"Mr. Trofao–fargar—"

"Trafalgar."

The kid—which one was this one again? Shit, he should really get them name plates or something—scrunched up his face and tried harder, "Tar-pal—"

"Law. Just call me Law."

"Mr. Low"—eh, close enough—"can I go to the bathroom?" Wide imploring eyes stared up at him.

"Sure, go ahead." Law gestured towards the exit of the classroom with his head.

The kid just stared expectantly at him and he tried to suppress the need to narrow his eyes.

"Is there… anything else?"

"Mr. Chopper always comes with me to hold my hand."

Really?

"Mr. Chopper isn't here. You should practice doing it on your own now." He said after a deep inhale.

"But the monsters might get me…"

"No, they won't."

"You don't know that."

"I do." Before the kid could open his mouth again to argue, he added, "Besides, children taste terrible so you're safe."

The kid looked stricken and took a step back from him. Uh oh. Glistening eyes, wobbling lower lip… "Alright! I'll go with you." The kid did not look reassured. In fact he looked like going alone with Law was the last thing he wanted to do. Guess, he kinda implied that he ate children didn't he? Oops.

Well, the kid needs to go and he's not going to be cleaning up after him if he wets himself.

Law glanced at the rest of the children. It was Arts and Craft time and they seemed preoccupied enough. Still, Law doubted Chopper ever left these kids alone–already he could see some of them glancing up at him, waiting for him to leave no doubt to cause trouble. That Monkey kid in particular looked extremely suspicious.

He stood up from his crouch and clapped twice to get everyone's attention.

"Alright. Fall in line. Single file."

There was some grumbling and questioning directed at him. "What's going on?"

Law shrugged. "You're all going to the bathroom."

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Shichibukai Application Forms

Crackfic where the World Government and relevant parties review various Shichbukai Applications. Most submitted by the pirates applying themselves, some produced by their own staff. They discuss and debate. As well as judge pirate resumes.

She scanned the document. Terrible format, really. If you fail to impress within the first page, you've failed entirely. There just wasn't anyone promising enough in this batch of applications or any of the other ones before. The last one had been that clown. "Apprentice to the Pirate King," was a pretty hefty credential.

"Oh, how about this one? Three years experience pillaging, and they even listed all the towns they looted." One of the newly transferred administrative staff said.

"None of these are worth considering at all. You know, when Mihawk was asked to submit his application, he hadn't bothered with all of this. He just sent us a card with his name on it and the title "World's Strongest Swordsman," underneath."

The staff perked up. "Oh, there was an application like that." There was scramble and some shuffling before a plain white card was produced. "Here."

"'From Trafalgar Law'. What does this even mean?"

"Well, it did come with a big box..."

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Reverse Hanahaki Disease

(?? do u spit out flowers when your nemesis walks by?)

Haha. At first it was going to be that way (because it is hilarious) but the inflicted would probably choke to death too soon. Or if both enemies had it, they'd end up just coughing flowers at each other until they stopped being enemies.

The version I ended up going with was that this variant of Hanahaki, instead of afflicting those with unrequited love, affected those in denial instead. The reverse part comes from the original idea that this would usually happen if you somehow fell in love with your nemesis (someone you originally hated). So it's not the thought that the other person can't love you, it's that you can't accept that you love that other person. You get cured by confessing to the person sincerely.

This is actually another KidLaw (surprise!). And the flower coughed up directly represents the person they're in love with (I went with Oda's flower representation for them because I found it funny for plot)

So the idea is that, you get sick but you don't automatically know (maybe) who it is because that's part of being in denial. Kid and Law have many enemies after all. In this story they both get it though not exactly at the same time and not known to the other.

He survived Amber Lead Syndrome only to be killed off by a stupid flower disease that apparently knows more about his own feelings than he does.

He glared at the petals. Tulips. Red.

An image of a cocky grin and a shock of red hair flashed through his mind and—nope. That's not right.

He coughed harder, tears stinging his eyes with the effort. More flowers. Now he has enough for a bouquet.

Alright, he was a doctor. He could do this. Differential time.

First, which variant does he have. He doesn't particularly feel unloved or hopeless. There wasn't anyone he wanted in particular to love him. Ok, nothing. It was maybe safe to say he had that other variant.

Which was stupid because Law had many enemies and he hated all of them.

And cue the racking coughs. More red. He was very familiar with that particular shade.

New theory. This was a new variant that somehow makes you sick when you think of the person you hated the most.

Yes, that had to be it. He thought as he all but collapsed on the floor from the sudden paroxysm.

I knew this was gonna get long. :) Oh well...

Thank you for playing. :D

#One Piece #One piece fanfiction #wip game #trafalgar law #donquixote brothers #donquixote doflamingo #donquixote roci #donquixote homing #donquixote pirates #one piece bellamy #bellamy the hyena #eustass kid #kidlaw #trafalgar d water law

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