🎣lure me in, baby!

Progress on my Locked Tomb jacket DIY! I’m prepping the remaining sleeve house skulls tonight 💀

(AKA: this is my “where are the literate, book smart sapphics” calling card)

recent veneer art >:o)

NGL, this shit is fucking frustrating as hell.

8 comment threads by a total of 4 different people. After 4 chapters posted! That means on average one person per chapter decided to leave a comment, even if some kind souls left several.

53 people liked it enough to want to keep reading. 4 of them decided to comment. And that's assuming none of those 4 people is subscribed to me as a writer or to the series or not subscribed at all.

Please, I'm begging you. Bring commenting back. We do this shit for free out of sheer love for the characters and their stories and you get to enjoy the results. Please make a habit of leaving comments on fics. I promise it's not that difficult once you've gotten used to it.

Let your fic writers know their work is appreciated, at least a little. Or at some point they will stop doing it.

I love you mobility aids.

I love you canes I love you forearm crutches I love you compression gloves I love you compression sleeves for knees and elbows. I love you rollators I love you wheelchairs I love you back braces and neck braces I love you power chairs I love you leg and arm braces I love you screen readers and hearing aids and everyone who spends the time and energy to actually help physically disabled people of all kinds.

I love everything that helps disabled people live our fucking lives

For someone who vibrates if he thinks about the guy for too long, I don't draw ctommy nearly as much as I should

Copia wearing one of aethers sweaters but it's too big so it's like a fucking dress on him

BUCK-TICK 現象 2023, my experience

Nippon Budokan was absolutely packed.

As the start time drew near, for half a moment, I had a daymare that Atsushi Sakurai would, physically, appear on stage. That his death had been a stunt all a long. Ridiculous to think, but even that horrible, cruel scenario would be preferable to the reality that we continue in a world where he no longer exists.

And here, what was to happen on stage? The rhythm section's platform, the drums, the guitars, the chairs, all laid out as usual, but the center mic stand was missing. I gasped as I realized Sakurai's masks were laid out, as well as candles ready in a candelabra.

The lights dimmed and the boys came on, one at a time, as they always had.

Toll and Imai wore spectacular costumes. Toll was in all red accented in black with matching gloves, as if taking on the concert's newly adopted logo in total. Imai, ever wild and challenging, came with blazing red hair, matching red fur platform boots with glittering silver heels, screaming gold spandex tights, and a carpet-like top with a kimono-like right sleeve. Both of Imai's and Toll's tops sparkled.

Yuta and Hide were more subdued, with Yuta in dark, gemtone amethyst and Hide in loosely flowing silver.

Then spot lights shining straight down from the ceiling above struck stage front center. The ghost of Sakurai, in the form of this memory, in the space that had always been his, was being honored. Had the spot been blocked off by a border of shimenawa, the hemp fiber rope and white lightning paper that marks the holy ground of gods, it would not have been out of place.

Music was already playing, Shippuu no Blade Runner, but no hint of vocals came across. I listened to the crowd to see if they were going to—if they were even expected to—sing in Sakurai's stead. They readily raised their arms, bouncing to the beat, as if this were any other concert, but the vocals remained bare. The background screen split five ways with two each of the living members on either side, while the center section remained dark. Sakurai was missing. The song's end was followed by a standard applause, along with a few cries of "Acchan!"

By contrast, the second song, Dokudanjou Beauty immediately featured a track of Sakurai's voice, taken or blended from previous live events. A few tears broke among the audience, but the mood went up in general, and the crowd was readily engaged in the song's call and answer.

For much of the show, this pattern continued. Some wails, much cheering and waving, and no shortage of calling Acchan's name. From time to time, there were more notable reactions.

Gustave's distinct first meow from Imai's guitar received audible sobs, followed by enthusiastic dance, pawing at the air, and singing along.

I broke at Aishi no Rock Star, which featured dual vocals from Sakurai and the late Issay, along with their performance at Toll's "It's a NOW" 60th birthday gig projected on the back screen.

Sakura stung especially, but was equally poignant. All the sentiments that Sakurai had laid bare were now shared by the audience and band and redirected at him. Single arms rose (as their partners were busy clasping mouths and gripping tissues) toward the screens and light projections of sakura branches losing their petals in the song's final refrain.

A completely robed stage hand came to the dark stage to light the candelabra in sync with the projection of Sakurai as Romance began to play. They gently brought the stand to stage front center, and I think most of us in the audience watched those candles burn through the song.

Like Sakura, Taiyo to Icaros was recolored by the new context.

Had only such songs been played, the concert would have been maudlin, but Go-Go B-T Train, Future Song, and Boogie Woogie balanced the mourning with an upbeat, celebratory and playful tones.

And then there was Memento Mori. I could not have been more grateful to hear this song, not simply because it's one of my favorites, but because it's perhaps the most characteristic of Imai's approach and message during this entire trying period. Nor was it lost on the crowd, who seemed to be waving and dancing more furiously in defiance of grief at the chorus.

Muma, The Nightmare was a choice… I found myself crying at the first image of Sakurai against a brilliant white Christian cross behind him, singing of Hell in Heaven-like lighting. As the song progressed, the live stage before us was accented in red, very especially the grate beneath stage front center, which was now also spewing mist, and with the red light, appeared as fire.

I came to have a feeling of confidence as the song went on, as I was watching the crowd enthusiastically waving their hands along. Sakurai's voice could easily tell this story because he was acting out the part, not because he was living it. And even had there been such a moment on his journey in Bardo, one could easily infer such suffering as temporarily Christlike, the preamble to the joyous ascent to Heaven.

The remaining songs were playful and hopeful, though I found Na Mo Naki Watashi difficult not to cry through entirely.

Before the last song, the boys all sat, and the lights came up a bit as they addressed the audience directly.

Yuta spoke first and was quick to tears as he said that, while he was uncertain of the future, he knew that Buck-Tick will always be five members. As his voice cracked, the audience also broke. Sobs remained audible throughout.

Toll noted the rare show of Yuta's vulnerability, and admitted that, at first, he did not know whether Buck Tick would continue or not, but that the immense support of the fans gave him the drive to, and that Imai and Hide had no shortage of songs left to compose.

Hide connected the audience's nervousness with his own, but spoke softly and reassuringly. "The Parade will continue."

Imai floored me.

Imai's recent posts on Instagram show a man who's pushing forward. Granted, not in a brutish, shaming way, but he shows little sadness, if any. He just spend a day chatting up a god of contentedness along one of his shrine visits. Combine this with his reputation for suffering no fools, and he would seem the type to keep a stiff upper lip and expect others to do the same.

Instead he said, 
"It's okay to be sad. It's okay to cry. It's okay. But please don't suffer."

Such sentiments are exceedingly rare in Japan's gaman culture. To hear such kindness shook me, as did the rest of Imai's speech.

That he did not believe Sakurai was in Heaven, but rather, that he was here, now, remaining in the presence of the band.

That they would continue to make music. That they would have another album.

That "one day, there will only be three members." (And here, the audience wailed.) "And one day, two." (Again.) "And finally, one. I wonder if that will be me. But I'll continue the Parade, and I'll take everyone with me. And so, raise your glasses for a toast. To you, to your return. Share your stories of Buck-Tick and Acchan, please."

After New World as a finale, the credits, which featured music and tour videos from their past decades together, ended with the announcement that they would return to perform at Nippon Budokan in 2024.

RAGATHA WOMAN OF THE YEAR

drew @ask-the-rag-dolly 's "The Influencer" Ragatha cuz i think she's pretty neat (i want her to step on me)

Desperate times call for desperate measures and all that...

French Lady Barbie, from the 1997 Great Eras Collection

It's France in the early 1800's and the name Napoleon Bonaparte is on everyone's lips. Self-proclaimed emperor in 1804, he and his beautiful wife Josephine are the leaders of French style and fashion. French Lady™ Barbie® pays heed to the dictates of the famous emperor. Her gown is all the latest rage in Napoleon's court. Its empire styling mimics the elongated elegance of a classical Greek column, a time and period most admired by Napoleon. Its predominant color is French blue, a color much favored by everyone royal in France. The underskirt is dotted with golden Fleur-de-Lis, a long-lived symbol of French royalty. Women of the era wore high heels on tiny feet, and often had a pair made to match every outfit. French Lady Barbie has hair gathered into a golden headpiece and her lovely face is trimmed in tiny chestnut curls. Her skin is fair, her eyelashes rooted, while her faux turquoise jewelry complements the French Blue of her gown. Napoleon had an effect on more than fashion and style. He gave France a civil code, religious tolerance and fair taxes. During his reign, the Bank of France was founded and France enjoyed freedom of the press, rare in its long history. While Napoleon led French armies in conquest, the beautiful, brooding music of composer Ludwig van Beethoven was heard throughout Europe. In France, artist J. L. David achieved fame and popularity as did portaitist Jean Ingres. In 1806, the Institut de France was created by combining Academie Francaise with other academies, all designed to protect and promote everything French, from art to architecture! The beautiful city of Paris began to take form and shape as the famous landmark, the Arc de Triomphe by artist Claude Clodion, was begun in 1806 and completed in 1836. Rarely in history has one nation ever commanded so much prestige, so much success and so much style. In this magical age of Napoleon, everything the French touched rang with glory. French Lady Barbie captures this glory in her brilliance of style and sophistication. It's not difficult to close one's eyes and imagine her gracing the balls of Paris, with the cry of Vive la France, ringing in her ears.

The first of two incredible ship art pieces I commissioned from @namaeekaki!!! Found a pose that was so perfectly Ikkaku and Zoro that I simply needed to have them bring it to life, and oh man did they deliver!!!

Ikkaku is living her best life, helping Zoro get in his regular workout before he helps her practice two-sword style. What could be better than that?

oh my fUCKING god we fucking knew it didnt we HARD swing the other way hey i just met you and this is crazy heres my entire life story come fly away in my phone box with me

I was too proud of this draft sketch to keep it secret for much longer, here's a WIP of a sprite comm for @sunnetrolls ! the fold details in the shirt got lost after i put the pattern on the top and i still gotta draw his belt/chain loop. BUT. this screenshot is over a week old and i took it before i made more edits

this was done on new year's eve before i had to stop cos the laptop was shidding and dying. and then ive spent the following Twelve Days making copies of all my files, exporting them, exporting CSP brushes, etc, so that's why I've been SUPER absent lately!!

anyways um. Gargex<3

mix of chaos and art