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#art et talent
fidjiefidjie · 6 months
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🍁 🍎 Autumn 🍇🍂
Lithographie 🎨 de Alphonse Mucha de 1897
Bel après-midi 👋
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iniziare · 1 year
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Tag drop: Guizhong (Genshin Impact), the love of my life and all of Liyue's.
#tag drop#i have been entirely lost to the aether called genshin impact. goodbye folks.#[ guizhong. ] wisdom is like water. it nourishes all those who receive it and in it; is a reflection of the truth.#[ guizhong / threads. ] after the goddess of dust was taken by the wind; the last glaze lily in guili plains withered away to dust in turn.#[ guizhong / inquiries. ] that her mechanical accomplishments were judged superior was one suspects; in large part to her sheer eloquence.#[ guizhong / visage. ] and because they are afraid; they try so hard to become more intelligent. this i understand.#[ guizhong / relevance. ] although she did not live to see the splendid sights of today; she was as much a hero as any other.#[ guizhong / meta. ] she was a visionary; tragically passed before her time. it gives cause for contemplation on what might have been.#[ guizhong / et cetera. ] we think of human life as a lantern that's lit one minute; extinguished the next. but are we adepti so different?#[ guizhong / humanity. ] they are so small; they know not when they will lose their lives to disaster or strife. and so they are afraid.#[ guizhong / guili plains. ] it takes every blade of grass and every flower to make a homeland.#[ guizhong / liyue. ] perhaps she will look at the liyue of today and steal a smile when she sees the prosperous land that it has become.#[ guizhong / sanctuary. ] “whether anyone tends to it these days; i do not know. -- alright then. that is where i shall go tomorrow.”#[ guizhong / mechanisms. ] in one's heart; i knew that she was indeed the superior talent in the mechanical arts.#[ guizhong / cleansing bell. ] though no substitute for human composers; they were yet capable of producing simple but fine melodies.#[ guizhong / glaze lily. ] to the gentle sound of their laughter and poetry; sparkling; glaze-like blue flowers began to burst into bloom.#[ guizhong / dyn: morax. ] what a silly notion: there was no formal contract between them.#[ guizhong / dyn: guili. ] she left one riddle: they say the wisdom of dust can soften a heart of stone. even if it takes a thousand years.#[ guizhong / dyn: streetward rambler. ] as for the story between her and streetward rambler; that begins with a certain bell...#[ guizhong / dyn: cloud retainer. ] we each had our ideals; and neither one of us would yield to the other.#[ guizhong / dyn: adepti. ] until the moon set and the sun rose; and only then would the banquet finally come to an end.#[ guizhong / v: pre-rule. ] a god whose dominion was over dust. and whose reach shrouded the skies for thousands of miles around.#[ guizhong / v: guili assembly. ] it's great to have it back but i want to go back to the world. and start with guili plains.#[ guizhong / v: archon war. ] they fought upon the guili plans; where black dust choked the heavens and a thousand rocks splintered.
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zakeno · 5 months
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90+ artists and I have contributed to an auction supporting Medical Aid for Palestinians-an org for Palestinian medical workers on the ground All people have a right to life and safety. Listening to Palestinians is not only important, but life saving. You can view and bid here until 12pm ET on Friday, November 3rd.
There are not only art pieces included, but many different contributions from an incredible array of talented creators.
Please consider helping. 100% of funds will go directly to Medical Aid for Palestinians.
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see-arcane · 4 months
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The Vampyres--The Bones and Blood of the Book
Good news! I’m not dead and the book isn’t either! Just shambling slowly through the wasteland of the publication process. It’s been a bit since I last waved this bloody morsel around. So, consider this a progress report on the state of the novella, the prospective publishing options, and a few other questions that have been bouncing around in the inbox.
EDIT:
I have a website now! For some reason.
It's See Arcane Scribbles.
Smaller Edit:
Got a Spotify too for story soundtrack goodness:
COVERS
First things first—and the first part of a finished book is the cover. Here are some mockups I’ve been juggling, starting with the original placeholder. They’re far from perfect, but I’m proud of what I managed with a fairly skinny graphic art skill set.
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FINISHING, FORMAT, AND FINANCE*
*(OR, THE HEADACHENING)
Copyright: Technically speaking, you have the copyright to your own writing once you put it to paper or screen. But this is somehow a different thing from a legally-binding registered copyright, which everyone declares is a must-have if you want your work to be protected with more than a non-textual trust-fall exercise, hoping nobody steals your work and runs.
That said, electronic registration with the copyright office is $65, or $45 to register one work by one author.
ISBN: I only recently learned the words behind this acronym. ‘International Standard Book Number.’ It’s the ID on a book that marks it as unique and helps commercial booksellers and libraries circulate it. Each iteration of a book—paperback, digital, hardcover, new editions, et cetera—has its own ISBN. When you’re publishing on your own, you purchase ISBNs through a service called Bowker.
One book/version’s ISBN costs $125.
There are better bargains the higher the number of books and/or versions you go, starting at a bulk of 10 books for $295. But as I only have the one (1) skinny novella on the table, that’s a no-go. Which begs the question of how many ISBNs are in store for this little monster. It depends on how many formats I go with.
eBook: The quickest and most cost-efficient option across the board for any self-publication service. Short, sweet, no printing pains of trim sizes or distribution costs or formatting, oh my. Nice.
Paperback VS Hardcover: …But I am now and forever a sucker for physical media. Even though it’s a teeny brochure of a thing, I want to hold a physical copy of The Vampyres in my hands! So bad! And every service I’ve looked through has stated the obvious: Hardcover costs more than paperback. My heart won’t break if I have to stick with paperback to spare everyone’s wallets—hardcovers are pricy in both directions!—but I am a little torn. Especially as physical size might affect the price too.
Here we have two of my favorite quick reads, an anthology of Poe stories and Clive Barker’s novella, The Hellbound Heart.
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The Poe book is a clothbound hardcover. 6.5 x 4.5 inches, a bit over 120 pages.
The Hellbound Heart is roughly 8 x 5 inches (about standard for a novella), at 164 pages. But unlike Poe, it looks like Barker took some liberties with the spacing and font size.
Standard size dimensions cost less than unique cuts, which means that whether paperback or hardcover, I sadly have to say goodbye to the petite palm-sized edition I was hoping for. On the upside, good news to us crap-vision readers—the font’s going to get H U G E in order to make the book more than a pamphlet with delusions of grandeur.
Audiobook: The fact is, my voice is not up to the task of reciting anything with appropriate gravitas and I think we’ve all been spoiled by @re-dracula and assorted other podcasts’ skill in orating. I don’t have the cash to hire a professional and I’m not about to accept anyone’s freebie offers. I won’t pickpocket friends for their talent. If an audio version ever comes along for any story of mine it’ll be down the road when it proves worth the format’s effort and cost.
REVIEWS (and a Foreword!)
It was the best of times (People reading the thing! Commenting on the thing! Good good good—), it was the worst of times (The Mortifying Ordeal of People Reading and Commenting on the Thing). Time for what every advice site declares a book absolutely must have the moment it’s thrust into the wild.
Reviews, reviews, reviews.
I’ve already bitten several bullets and passed copies out to a handful of fellow scribblers to scrutinize, their reviews destined to be hung up like literary gold stars on their bookselling site of choice, my own included. Now comes my preliminary grovel to readers en masse to please drop a review, a comment, a blurb of any shape or size where you can once The Vampyres drops. I’ve already gotten some early comments that have consisted mostly of screaming. Screams also count as a review.
As an aside, there are two folks in particular who I reached out to who exist in the stratosphere of Coolest People in the Vampiric Lit scene. They promptly exploded me into disbelieving giblets when they told me, yes, they’d be happy to read my little story and offer up a review and a foreword for the book respectively.
I’m not sure what the decorum here is, but for safety (and surprise’s) sake, I’ll not name names. But they are names I’ve been happy to come across for the past two years while neck deep in the undead book club. I’m infinitely grateful to both of them and am waiting on pins, needles, stakes and kukri blades by my inbox so I can pin their words up inside the book itself.
FUTURE SCRIBBLING
To get one of the biggest questions out of the way, let’s talk about Barking Harker.
My very own object lesson on sunk cost fallacy.
I wrote my way through a goddamn cinderblock of text without even grazing the finish line of the first section of the story. A story made of so many convoluted triple-decker layers of subplots and side characters that it had the structural integrity of a monolithic Nature Valley granola bar, just waiting to fall apart under its own weight. Such is the hubris and curse of too-many-words-itis. The Vampyres remains a miraculous fluke, jotted down during an overdue break from BH’s slog. Not just because I tripped and fell into finishing the story, but because it’s comparatively compact! Brevity at last!
For those still craving the assorted gothic and ghoulish promises of the initial novel idea, don’t worry, those aren’t going anywhere. I’ve just crumbled the metaphorical bloodstained granola by my own hand and have done the sane thing of parsing out the various subplots to become the foundations of their own stories. Which they really should have been from the get-go. Insert 100+ clown emojis here.
On that note, I am turning into WIPs Georg over here. Good god.
I hesitate to throw myself all-in again and make promises of X Story that may leave me spinning my mental wheels or ballooning the plot out into a behemoth that can’t be steered back on course. Even so, here’s a peek at a few ideas I currently have on the brain.
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So.
Not exactly lacking for stories. It’s just a matter of seeing which of them breaks ahead of the herd and squeezes out into the publication ether first.
LAST BIT  
Blah, blah, requisite reminder that I have a Ko-Fi where you can donate a buck or commission my best attempt at art, blah. Any pennies are a help.
But I’m betting very few of you came around here for my doodles. Somehow, a good amount of people tripped into this pit with me because you enjoy the rambles and horrors I’ve written over the years. Maybe some of you will even buy my book once it’s out. And you, there, on the other side of the screen—you’re reading this right now. You made it all the way to the bottom of this pile of exposition just because you wanted to. So, thank you.
Thank you for reading this far. Thank you for reading before and reading what’s to come. Thank you for giving me the confidence to even consider shouldering my own work out into the wider world.
Thank you.
P.S. If you want to re-read the preview, go here!
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kymb-10 · 9 months
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That's Miami, baby!
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Plot: (req!) Can you write where you are Kylian's nephew and niece’s baby sitter as part time cuz u r a collage student as well, and Kylian gets to meet you and take a liking on you when they have a family gathering n stuff, can you add smut too if you don’t mind?
Genre: Smut! A bit explicit!
Pairing: Kylian x (fem!)reader
A\N: I just had to feature his Miami vacation in this, cuz- lsk;fs;fmsanfklh.
Taglist: @okayymochi @kevjrr @darlingmbappe @fictional-l0v3r @neymarloverxxx @jkkyks @xanjoy @mounthings @mywhimsyjournal @mitruscity @anaofc @ihazels @sangriaswined @karotland
Special thanks to: @jkkyks for helping me out with the poster and picking the right pics. ILYSM! 🩷
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A chorus of sun-warmed grains sings the melody of the beaches right into your core. Upon the sunny beach, upon the rising gold, your eyes listen to the light as it plays upon oceanwater.
It was times like these where you'd wind up and relax a bit. Though you were still doing your job, but just breathing in the ocean breeze, in tousled updrafts, it invited you to raise your eyes toward the denim horizon.
You could never imagine yourself travelling so far from home, yet alone have the money for it. Being a college student you had to look for a job to pay for the fees and your rent. But damn, being a babysitter for two kids of a wealthy family had its privileges. A whole package of good payment, free vacations and in some cases free entrance to stadiums to watch football matches. Who wouldn't be happy about that?
"Are we going to build a sandcastle, Y\N?" Isayah interrupts your thoughts. He was jumping while holding your hand, pulling your arm down in process.
"Do you want to build a sandcastle?" You ask, your grin grows wider as you glance the crashing waves. The thrill is real.
"I want to build a BIG sandcastle with bridges and dungeons, lots of windows and high towers!" His voice was shaky, but rich in excitement.
"Well then, I need my arm for that.." You joke with a smirk and he gets the hint, and stops jumping.
"Can I help, too?" Lana tags along, leaping forward after letting go of her mom's hand.
"It's a castle for strong soldiers, et tu es un pleurnichard! (and you're a crybaby!)" Isayah spits.
"Isayah..!" His mom's calling was accompanied with a threatening tone and an even more dangerous look.
"What's a castle without its queen?" you exclaim.
"But you're the queen! A child can not be a queen!" Isayah complains, he was stomping with his feet by now. You dart a look at him. Does he even realize he's a kid too?
"A princess then." You suggest, and Lana's smile widens.
"Is uncle Kylian going to build the castle with us?"
"Oh, chouchou." His mother pampers him, "I think uncle Kylian wants to enjoy playing beach tennis with uncle Brice a bit."
You're halfway to the spot Kylian and Brice were playing when Isayah and Lana let go of your hand and run towards them.
Your chest clenches. You take a look at God given talent and well earned ability - he's supposed to be a football player, but he has the spirit of a challenger, so he's definitely giving his best. Sculpted into sporting work of art. He's in his blue swim shorts and a white tanktop with a dark bucket hat covering his head.
You're tempted to keep walking, but the sight of his bare arms, browning legs dusted with sand like flour on bread and naked thighs pisses you off even more than the exam you were hoping to get good grades for.
"Lord, have mercy on me.” you think when he glances at you coming nearer, gifting you a simple nod and a face that lights up with enthusiasm.
"You're finally there!" He remarks, somewhat of a scold but also a long awaited meeting.
You didn't respond, assuming he was talking to Melissa given she was only a few steps behind you.
You put yours and the kids' belongings under the red-white umbrella. Keeping an eye on Isayah and Lana as they were searching for some shells and beautiful stones for the grandiose castle.
You sit close to the lapping waves. They feel warm and cool, like tea that's been forgotten and returned to. Your fingers wiggle in the water, in these lips of the ocean as you sing. In this place you will remain until the tide is lower, scooping the sand that runs like cold lava through your star-fish fingers and onto the dry beach. With each handful you twist your body as if dancing in a chair, gazing at the falling sand. Below it rises a drip-castle, a sandcastle that looks for all the world like a melted candle. 
The beach stretched out alongside the water, these constant chattering as the water comes in your reassuring way, as if your joy is to soothe the sand.
You grew not to like these family gatherings.
Mostly because he's always around the kids.
Especially because he's mostly around the kids, and that's where you're supposed to be.
You were in the grip of inappropriate and unprofessional liking and you've become deaf to the advice of those who hold you as treasure. The only way that can help you is to walk away, to let this feeling ruin you utterly, for only then will you be able to save yourself, to pick up the shards of what is left and rebuild a healthy work environment.
God, he is a beautiful man.
That's not the point, damn it.
If it could be any other way you'd take it, bring softness and light... if only you could see this from the perspective of one who's sane and not risking losing their job, it would be a great help. But for now?
Avoid.
But it's not helping when he's a loud talker and an even louder laugher, it makes your heart crumble to pieces. To fight one's feelings is the toughest battle ever. You saw him being joyful, laughing, upset, grumbling, brooding, and you knew you'd like to spend more time with him, without missing any second. How do you live in a place where you know that he eats a part of you every day?
He looks at you after he rests on one of the chairs, and you don't know if the fire within your heart went out, or did you just get used to it?
Your eye sees what it desires and misses, and the one who looks at the heart is not devoid of looking.
You smile.
He grins. Eyebrows poking up from under his sunglasses. You'd say he was winking at you, but you couldn't really tell behind his shades.
"Kylian!." You hear Brice call him, and you turn your attention back at Isayah and Lana running towards their mom with a starfish in Isayah's hand.
You get up and dust the sand off your thighs.
"I could help with that." A random disembodied male voice threatens your comfortability and you look up, straightening your posture. "Excuse me?"
"Humans, we gotta help each other out, you know? I can wipe the sand off of that cute butt too, no problem." He scoops closer, reaching out with his hand to touch, but you flinch and step back.
You feel an urgent need to get out of there, and this is one of those times. it's a crisis of the eye eating your body up and the words proving bad intentions. Someone approaches from behind and the problem of whether to look away or look at them — and if to look, how long to keep looking for — does not resolve itself easily, quietly, in the background. It becomes a loud problem, and as people pass by, the anxiety of how to act and this question about responsibility to your fellow humans, paid out in a momentary acknowledgement of mutual humanity, prohibits you from thinking about anything else.
A warm coarse towel covers your body. "Do you need me to cut your tongue off before you leave?"
Kylian's voice was so loud, so thunderous, that you couldn't concentrate on what the other guy was saying or how he was reacting.
"Or better yet: your hand?" He became a different person. His eyes had warped into a miserable black. Anger curled hot and unstoppable in his gut, like a blazing inferno that wanted to burn him from the inside out. Pushing the man back with some force.
"Chill out, man! It was just a joke!" The guy threw his hands up in the air as a defense. "I didn't even know she's with you."
"With me or not, you stay away from her! Get lost, pervert!" Kylian shouts, and the guy slowly retreats.
The worried voices of Isayah and Lana were the first you heard. "Maman, pourquoi tonton Kylian est-il en colère? (Why is uncle Kylian angry?)"
You take notice of the heated argument in the background. Something about the paparazzi, pictures and the press. You shut your eyes in regret. Your emotions turn - cold, fearful, anxious. You want to back away, flee or disappear.
"I'm taking her back to the hotel." Kylian says, and you look behind you, still holding on to the towel he wrapped you up with. He covers up his upper body with his tanktop and walks towards you, grabbing you by the hand.
"M-my stuff." you point out - with index and words. But he just walks off with you. Sadness in fight-mode; Anger.
You put your hands in his because he puts his hands in yours.
They were soft hands but with a firm grip that spoke of the kind of precision that only the love and focus of years may bring. You can feel the uncertainty in your chest ready to take over.
It wasn't a long walk to the hotel. But the silence surely made it seem endless. Kylian was muttering something inappropriate. Guilt builds up in you, and you feel the urge to say something to make him loosen up.
"I'm sorry about the paparazzi.." You apologize and he scuffs at first then laughs while shaking his head.
"I don't care about the damn paparazzi, they're my last concern."
You take the elevator up to your rooms, and as you reach yours you remind him that your bag - keys in it - is still on the beach.
"D'accord. On va dans ma chambre. (Alright, we will go to my room)" He wasn't touching you anymore. Perhaps he didn't feel the need to do so, given there was no threat anymore.
He unlocks his room and gestures with his hand for you to go in. The grand spaces of his room invites your lungs to expand, to absorb the floral aromas and enter the moment.
His anger was just that, a flash of fire to cover his own weakness; You.
In the moment, that flash of anger protected you from danger. Were you to relive it, you would try to summon more strength. You failed yourself, and him too. You never understood before why love must be free; you do now. It must be free or the need will warp your own nature and change the love into something it should never be. Love isn't possession, but the wind beneath the wings of the one you love. So you have something new to work on, to watch for that flash of darkness and strive to be better. The problem was never him, but yourself.
"Make yourself comfortable." Unlike you, he moves confidently around his residence. "Do you need anything? A drink? Water? A shirt, maybe?" He points towards his closet and intentionally moves towards it.
"No, no. It's fine, really. I'll just hold on to this towel and then I'll be going back to my room to change into something." You scratch the back of your head with your free hand.
"Sit." He asks. ", please." He adds.
Your movement was rigid, but you sit. Still clutching on to that towel. It moved up a bit, showing your thighs and leaving little to his imagination.
"I hope I didn't cause you any trouble with the press?" You hesitantly asked as you watched him take a seat across from you.
He shrugs, lips pouting, jaw muscles contracted. "It's the last thing I'm worried about. They talk nonesense about me regardless. What I'm more worried about is you." he rests his hands on his thighs comfortably.
He comes to you and treats your existence as something essential and sanctifies the smile on your face and fears you from the impact of the rigid word, and the reckless act, you understood he cared.
"Well," You breathe out. "I'm fine. I will just move on. What else am I supposed to do?"
"Do not accept little while you mean a lot."
He smiles and tilts his head, bulging forehead veins compliment his masculine features.
"That's... A great advice." You aim for nonchalance, but your acting skills don't stretch that far. "I'll go get my things from down there, then." He doesn't say a word. Instead, he stares ahead with a smolder hot enough to set the Pacific on fire.
You get up. So does he.
"I'm sorry I didn't come to your help sooner."
"You came just about the right timing."
"Still, I can't help but to feel a sense of guilt."
"How's that?"
"Because it was me who suggested we have a family trip this time." He hides his hands in the pockets of his swimshorts. "I usually go alone, or with Brice. But this time I changed my mind. I convinced Melissa to come with the kids."
Your jaw tightens, and you keep your eyes trained on the door. "Why?"
"Because I wanted to spend more time with you."
You already broke several rules, and you knew then that you'll break many more. For when a person desires nothing hinders them.
"I've seen you look at me, Y/N." He searches your face. "Not just today or while watching me on the pitch, but for a long time."
Irritation, embarrassment, and something more vibrant, tingle in your face like pins and needles. It's ridiculous, you know, but knowing there's a possibility he talks to other women like this makes a thrill buzz under your skin. Pathetic. Because of course he talks like this to you too.
"Or maybe you were just thinking I was."
"Or maybe I'd like to think that you were." He confesses, brushing your cold cheek with the back of his hand. Eyes penetrating - seeing through your cover.
You shake your head and try to squeeze your way out. You can't do this. You can't say it knowing you'll never be able to take it back now that you're under spot like that. Kylian's hand tightens around your waist and he turns you around, tugs you forward until he has your face on full display.
"Do you want to know what I did last night?"
"It depends," you say, trying to grasp some control over your voice, "who it involves."
"You," he says, he moves closer, but there's no extra space, and now you're chest to chest. The breath catches in your throat, and you throw your hands behind you to lean on the door, dropping the towel that was covering your body. You hear the voices outside, laughter and rubber soles slapping against the bottom of residents' feet as they pass by. You don't even care.
"I couldn't get you out of my head. I just kept seeing your face, your eyes, and the way you smile." Slowly, he touches your face, letting his fingers skim over your lips. He stares down at you for a moment, his gaze hard.
"I just kept picturing you in my mind. You were a thousand paintings, a million colors." His hand trails down your neck as he speaks, along your shoulders, brushing your arm. Then he presses his palms flat on the door, one hand on either side of you. Your body backs into the door, your chest heaving. You can't break his gaze.
"Kylian.. If.. If Melissa finds out.. Or your mother.."
"Then what?"
"Then I might lose my job! And I need it for my college fees, the rent and food. I can't lose my job! I just can't. This is risky, far too risky and I'm not in a position to take risks."
There's a faraway look in his gray eyes. His absent tone makes it clear he's not interested in making a conversation, so you fall silent and try hard not to let his overpowering masculinity affect you. But all of a sudden his cheek grazes your face, the goose bumps get worse. And every time his breath puffs on your jaw, a flurry of shivers skitters through you. The heat of his body sears into you, his scent surrounds you, and you're excruciatingly aware of his warm hand clutching just below your breast line. Before you can stop yourself, you grab onto his forearms.
"I can't get over you no matter how hard I try. That day we kissed, after my birthday party, it only screwed me further and believe me when I say I almost murdered your ex-boyfriend when I saw his lips on yours because the only person who should be kissing you is me. Only me." His lips brush against yours and you gasp at the sensation shooting through every limb.
"I have a hunch you feel the same way but I need to hear it." His thumb tugs down on your bottom lip freeing it from the tight grip of your teeth. "I need you to say the words out loud so I can stop thinking I'm crazy."
Your breath hitches. Yep, it has to be the part where you're giving in. There's no other explanation for the sensations coursing through your body. The ache in your breasts, the tight clenching of your thighs and the strange emptiness in your core.
You trace his defined cupid's bow, letting your eyes fall as you say, "It killed me when I cut you off, Kylian. It killed me not knowing what it was between us." You inhaled shakily. "But nothing has ever hurt me like seeing you move on."
You shake your head. "I have no right to be with you. This is all my fault. Everything, I know that. Yet I'm so uncertain, so hurt, that I feel like I could die from this pain." You lower your hand from his mouth. Looking up at him, begging with your eyes, you add, "So, please … please let me go. I can't be here, not right now."
Kylian doesn't move. You could see the shock on his face. Using this to your advantage to escape, turning around, brushing your dry shoulder against his wet one as you pass. But then you feel a strong tug on the side tie of your bikini bottoms and come to an abrupt stop next to him.
Confused, you look down to see his forefinger is hooked under the thin bow tying your bikini bottoms together. Your heart stops beating so suddenly that you feel as if you may pass out. He's touching you. The back of his knuckle scorches your bare skin, and it doesn't escape you that all it'd take is a slight tug and your panties would be on the floor. Blood drums in your ears. You glance up, but he's glaring down. The only thing moving on him is the pulse thumping in his jaw.
This is it. Sink or swim. Run or stay. When you look into his eyes all apprehension melts away and all you can see is him. You. The next 15 minutes or so. And you hate yourself for all the time you wasted before you realized. You're in love with him.
You freeze, then he snaps his head up and you can only glare at him. When you allow a beat of stunned silence to pass, Kylian's lips tilt before disappearing behind a tempting lick and and white teeth. He thinks he's won. Your cheeks grow hotter than the heat lamp above your head, and you let out a sardonic laugh.
"Odd. Everyone seems to think you're quite the gentleman, but pulling a woman from her panties isn't exactly a gentle-manly habit." The only thing that moves is the muscle flexing against his jaw. And then with the same reluctance one has when getting out of bed in the morning he drags his gaze to yours.
"And you? What do you think?"
"I think I'm not so easily fooled."
His eyes fall to your lips, a slow, devilish smirk spreading across his own. Although his smile is cold, it creates a warmth in your core, which drifts like a summer breeze between your legs.
"And you, Y/N? Are you a lady?"
You don't like the mocking edge to his tone. The silk marred with sarcasm gets your back up. You tilt your chin and harden your stare.
"Yes."
He runs a hand across his face, wiping off a hint of amusement. "Ah."
After all these attempts, months and neglect, you can't get your hands on anything and say with great confidence he is yours.
You wanted to taste those lips, he wanted to feel you in his arms. He watched your lips part as he moved in closer. Your eyes widened slightly and you glanced toward the doorway briefly, like you were thinking about escaping —but you didn't back away.
"I will not take you as a lady, though." Then his mouth closes over yours, you moan. The sound was soft, just like the feel of your lips. Everything about you was soft. Your curves that pressed against his chest, the material of your bikini top under his hand as he untied the tiny bow, the way your mouth opened at his gentle insistence, allowing him to taste you — just how he likes it.
He lost himself in you. He drowned in your sweet softness. The slight floral scent of your perfume mixed with the evergreen, that now-familiar hint of mint that made you taste fresh and nostalgic, like you singlehandedly embodied everything good about summer. You kiss him back, your lips tentative, your tongue hesitant as you mirror his movements.
In that split second before his touch tingles every nerve in your body and brain is electrified. It's the anticipation of being together in a way that's more than words, in a way that's so completely tangible.
He steps back. Breath holding time.
There is something so disarming about seeing your chest naked. There's a vulnerability in your eyes he can't resist. His eyes travel from your face to your collar bone, delicate in the semi-darkness, then to your breasts. Without anything covering them they sit lower, more natural, less close together, each so perfect and moulded to your form. He doesn't linger too long, just enough for you to see how beautiful you are to him. It's your eyes he wants to see and his hands can tell you the rest.
"No more waiting." He says, his hands cup your face and he yanks you in for a hard kiss on your lips. Your head spinning out into space. "Kylian," you breathed out, almost coming right then and there. His hand moves under the flimsy fabric covering your private part, revealing all your wetness and eccentric flesh.
"Oh, fuck." You moan only to encourage his hand to do more than just touching and rubbing. Already out of breath and throbbing, you could only word, "Oh, boy."
You felt his hum fall on your skin. "Not boy," he said, before sending you off the edge. "Kylian."
"I can't handle it. Please. I need more. Way, way more." You're not sure which pair of eyes says that first.
He leaves you only reluctantly, then returns in merely seconds; tanktopless.
He sighs indulgently, removes his shorts, unties the tiny bow of your bottoms, and you finally hear that magic foil-rip. His voice would sound authoritative when he speaks next, except it has a shaky, breathless edge, totally undermining his efforts.
"I'm finally having you." He breathes, tugging on your thigh, lifting it to press on his side "I'm finally having you," he counters, then he presses in. Dazzled, you close your eyes, and when you open them, he's looking at you. The black-sapphire facets of his eyes are doing strange things to your heart.
"You like this as much as I do. Don't you?" He moans into the kiss, your fingers tangle above your head. The second press he makes is gentle, yet needy and your body takes it. Your mouth opens at the sensation, holding onto his shoulders.
"Juste un peu plus, bébé. (Just a little more.)" he pleads, and then takes some more. He's pressing his temple to yours, making desperate sounds, like he's in pain, like he's trying to live through this.
You can barely keep up with the jumbled thoughts racing through your brain.
"That's it.." he groans in your ear as he pushes fully into you. "All the way in.."
He drives into you, ruthlessly, not looking close to being done. "Tell me why we've been so stupid." He says, "missing out on all the times we could've done this."
"I.." you whisper, quivering against him.
His thrusts grow in intensity and length. Kylian is a sight to behold when he's infatuated. His muscles stiffen and harden beneath your fingers, and he slightly bites the corner of his lip.
You whimper, and his hand brings your knee up higher, making sure he hit that spot that makes your mind descend its thoughts of morality again.
"I want to hear it."
Letting out a groan, you grab onto his neck for support.
"I want to hear my name, loud and clear," he's thrusting in again, and again, and again. "Say it."
You couldn't think straight, addled, stuttering. You almost scream when he pushes into you, smooth and hard. "Kylian! Oh, Kylian."
"Putain." He presses his lips together, and then he loses it. "You are"— he digs his fingers into your flesh and the pleasure pressures your edges— "so small and tight and warm."
The heat flooded within you once more, leaving you openmouthed, bright colors burn your eyes as you lift your head up, he groans something that was not quite coherent as his sloppy kisses on your neck turn to needy bites.
"Tu me fais bander (You got me so hard.)" He moans.
Pure, boundless sensation. Kylian's name didn't even leave your lips even if you wanted to scream it until your voice grew raw.
You were spent, rendered empty. Weightless. One arm of his goes around your back, and in a heartbeat, you were standing on wobbly legs. Your back came against the door, it must be banging so hard by now.
Feeling him hot and throbbing with need. The sensation—the knowledge of having the power to do that to him—brings you back to life. In another heartbeat, he brings his lips to your collarbone, sucking hard on it. You feel the warmth of his chest on your back, and then his fingers closed around your wrists.
"Poser tes mains sur moi, bébé. (Hands on me, baby)" He demands, guiding your palms to his chest. Then, he widens your stance with his right hand, as he brushes openmouthed kisses down your neck. His left hand grabs on to your hips, trailing it down your bare side.
"I should take you to my bed." He kneads your ass, and then his palm travels back to your thigh.
"I should lay you there and fuck you deep and slow." Whimpering, you push into his hips. He grunts and presses his hard length deeper into you. Moving in and out of you, and you could tell he was close to his release, cause he didn't even bother to speak anymore. Only expressing it with his thrusts.
Madness.
It drives you fucking crazy.
"Fuck, Y/N." His voice is raw, but most importantly, his grip on you tightens like he refuses to ever let you go as warmth spills inside you. Resting his forhead on the crook of your neck, as he tries to regain his breath. He shakes his head. You glance to your side to take a look at his raising and dropping shoulders.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck." He curses repeatedly.
"What? What is it?" You breathe.
"This is not a one time thing I want to happen." He confesses, then he looks up to meet your eyes. "You're coming with me to the white party."
"What?"
"As my date." He goes on.
"Isayah and Lana.." You remind him of your duty.
"It'll be past their bedtime."
"Melissa?"
He admires your features. "Oh, don't you worry about Melissa." He pushes that loose strand of hair away from your face. ", I'll take care of it."
"But wh—" Kylian places a finger on your lips. "Don't. Don't ask. It's annoying. I want you with me. That's it. That's all. So let me take you." Kylian's face was so close. So close.
Focus, damn it. "Everyone's going to think that we're together."
"Let them," he said as his eyes search your face.
"But—"
"But nothing. I want them to think that." You think of everything that would imply. Because it was Kylian, people wouldn't just think that you were together, but that you were together, together.
"I'm a bad actress," you say by way of explanation.
"Good." He smiles softly at first, then it turns into a sadistic one before he crushes his lips onto yours again.
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A\N: You requested, I served. *Hat off* Evening lads
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gentlebeardsbarngrill · 2 months
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02/10/2024 Daily OFMD Recap
TLDR; Long Post is Long. Cast & Crew Sightings; David Jenkins; Matt Maher; Clowning; Rhys Darby; Rosie; Samba; Max Trolling Reminder; Coyote Vs Acme Cont'd / Articles; Watch Party Reminders for Feb 11; SafeSpaceShip; Art Director's Guild Nominee; We Need to Be a Lighthouse! Game; AdoptOurCrew Choose Your Own Adventure; Love Notes; Daily Darby / Today's Taika;
= Cast & Crew Sightings =
Well as you can imagine, the David Jenkins IG is the big news of today. The clowning forecast has gone up significantly. Dad posted one of the late-blooming SaveOFMD banners in NY and attached Elton John - Candle In The Wind to the post. This song has some very specific significance to our fandom.
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Apparently back when we lost Lucius in Season 1, Chaos Dad posted this song to Nathan Foad. Src @cptn_brightsky's Twitter Post
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Now ADD to that... David Jenkins ALSO added this picture of Matthew Maher standing in front of a saveOFMD flyer found out on the street.
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NOW OF COURSE, we are all clowning, but I think as usual Chaos Dad is trying to give us info without giving us info since the fandom pays so much attention to every little detail.
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@saltpepperbeard has a theory that I'm down to clown with until I turn blue in the face. Src.
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So yeah, as always take the clowning how you will, but I'll be honest, this looks like great news to me. It really does. CLOWN ON MY FRIENDS.
= Other Cast & Crew Sightings =
Rhys Darby's going to be at The Bourbon Room Hollywood next Friday, 2/16 at 8 PM PT.
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== Rosie ==
Since doing cute stuff just doesn't stop in the Darby houshold, tonight I wanted to make a special shout out to Rosie Carnahan Darby, Rhys' Wife who has been active the last couple days. First and foremost, she knit a little blanket and hat for Samba's baby!
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Second apparently she's restocked the Awesomeness Comedy website with more Buttons McGinty books and Comedy Special DVD's in case you're interested.
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Oh and by the way, Samba loves the blanket:
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= Vico Ortiz =
Tonight Vico was out performing with Them Fatale Drag Kings at their last night at their home bar Redline! Just some shots from their IG stories, feel free to check out more.
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== Max Trolling ==
Gentle reminder luvs, if you're going to IG, or Twitter to troll Max posts, let's try to remember not to post OFMD/Negative comments on any posts that are celebrating underrepresented groups. We want to support those groups. Please note however, if you'd done it previously and didn't know, don't beat yourself up! We all make mistakes, just please try to keep it in mind going forward! (If you can delete your previous posts, great, if not, again not the end of the world).
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== Coyote Vs Acme Cont'd / Articles ==
Why Deleting and Destroying Finished Movies Like Coyote vs Acme Should Be a Crime
This article is from yesterday but this blurb was pretty damn specific so I wanted to make sure if you missed it you got to see some of the reasons why Max did cancel OFMD.
"Some of the company’s tactics post-merger were garden-variety ruthless, like eliminating 87 series from its streaming platform Max, so that they won’t have to pay union-mandated residuals to the talent that created already-existing programs or pony up funds to produce more seasons of existing ones (such as “Our Flag Means Death,” one of the company’s most popular and critically acclaimed comedies—canceled after just two seasons)."
= Watch Party / Event Reminders =
Feb 11: Q+ and AdoptOurCrew Season 2 Live-Rewatch Party
Times: 2PM GMT, 9 AM EST, 6 AM PST
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Watch Party Hashtags:
#OurFlagMeansBBC 
#OurFlagMeansRewatch
#SaveOFMD 
#AdoptOurCrew
= Feb 11: Relax I'm From the Future Watch Party! =
Sunday February 11th, 1 PM PT. 4 PM ET, 9PM GMT
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Watch Party Hashtags:
#PiratesFromTheFuture
#SaveOFMD
#AdoptOurCrew
== In Person Events: San Diego CA ==
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February 11, 2024 at 4 PM at Maritime Museum of San Diego
Costumes & Cosplay Encouraged! Location: Maritime Museum of San Diego 1492 North Harbor Drive San Diego, CA 92101
Hashtags:
#SafeSpaceShip
#SaveOFMD
#AdoptOurCrew
= Art Director's Guild Award Nominee! =
Sorry, I forgot to add this one yesterday!
Ra Vincent - Nominee for Half-Hour Single - Camera Series. Src: @AdoptOurCrew and ADG
Check out the Design Presentation: OFMD_s2_art.pdf
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== We Need To Be A LightHouse! ==
Have YOU heard of this awesome new Monkey Island Inspired Point and Click Adventure Game by @blueberreads and @eldawee? They've been working on it for months and it's FINALLLLLLLY HEEEERE!
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These folks are so incredibly talented! Please go check it out here! https://dawee.itch.io/lighthouse If you're using a MAC OS you'll most likely need to download an executable at the bottom of the main page. Just FYI! If it prompts you with the "you downloaded this from the internet" error just click OK. I already started playing with it and I'm in love.
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I pushed Ed and he asked if I wanna do something weird xD Okay no more spoilers, GO CHECK IT OUT!
== AdoptOurCrew Choose Your Own Adventure Game!==
In honor of the s2 watch party with Q! tomorrow, @adoptourcrew did a really adorable choose your own adventure game on twitter today! They did polls and let the majority pick which direction they wanted the story to go!
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Since it was a lot of pictures I made a separate post so you can see the whole story: @adoptourcrew Choose Your Own Adventure here on tumblr. Please check it out!
== Love Notes ==
Alrighty lovelies. It's been another busy day. Lots of clowning, lots of hope, lots of emotional roller coasters. I hope you had a good time and generally it was more positive than negative. I have a lot I want to say, but my brain is still pretty foggy. So I'll make this short.
Sometimes when things go well, our brain gets excited and then they overcompensate when we calm down. It starts to think a lot more negatively because it had so much extra dopamine for a time. When that happens, little things can be really devastating. I just want you to remember that we all make mistakes and YOU, you beautiful imperfect being are not your mistakes. They hurt, and we learn from them, but they don't define us. Try not to listen to your brain if it's telling you otherwise. You are so very wonderful.
Anyway, I hope that makes sense.
Here's a picture I found today I thought really applied to all you wonderful people. Thank you to all the folks who reached out to me and checked in and sent me love when you knew I was struggling (there are too many to list and I don't know if you want to be tagged so please just know how much I appreciate you). I love you all so much, and I'm so lucky to how found people who make me feel like it's ok to be me.
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== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==
Tonight is once again animal themed. I wish I'd made that Taika gif last night for the lovebirds theme, but here we are.
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ikemenlibrary · 4 months
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Ikémen Prince Gift Exchange Masterlist
Thank you to everyone who chose to participate in this event and helped make it a success! Everyone is so talented, and I am in awe of all of you <3 Going through all your pieces have been truly enjoyable and I've loved every minute of it!
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Prove It To Me | Jin Grandet x Reader | by @nightghoul381 for xxsycamore
They Say Distance Makes The Heart Grow Fonder | Nokto Klein x Emma (MC) | by @xxsycamore for nightghoul381
Unaccepted Together | Clavis Lelouch x Reader | by @nightghoul381 for scummy-writes
Autumn Daze | Gilbert Von Obsidian x MC | by @scummy-writes for daegupaksu
A Starry Tryst (Artwork) | Nokto Klein x Noele (OC) | by @daegupaksu for drachonia
Sea at Sunrise (Artwork) | Silvio Ricci x MC | by @drachonia for nightghoul381
Bookmarked Dialogue | Keith Howell x Julie (OC) | by @ikemenlibrary for queengiuliettafirstlady
The Gentle Stag Rewrites The Stars | Keith Howell x MC | by @queengiuliettafirstlady for ridiculouslly-ridiculous
Princess Picnic Pick Me Up | Rio Ortiz, Clavis Lelouch, Silvio Ricci, Gilbert Von Obsidian, MC | by @ridiculouslly-ridiculous for misty-moth
Peter Clavis and the Lost Boys (Artwork) | Clavis Lelouch, Nokto Klein, Luke Randolph | by @misty-moth for pondlilies00
Take a Rest (Artwork) | Sariel Noir x MC | by @pondlilies00 for alydra (bluejay-writes)
This is fine. | Chevalier Michel x MC | by @bluejay-writes for randonauticrap
Ember Glows the Heart | Leon Dompteur x MC/Reader | by @randonauticrap for myonlyjknight
A Clavish Day Off | Clavis Lelouch x MC | by @myonlyjknight for claviscollections
Petrichor | Yves Kloss x MC/Reader | by @claviscollections for pillowpillowillow
The Voyager Prince (Artwork) | Silvio Ricci | by @pillowpillowillo for aquilapolariz
In Business, In Life | Silvio Ricci x Hyacinth (OC) | by @aquilapolariz for tacogawa
La Belle et la Bête (Artwork) | Leon Dompteur x MC | by @tacogawa for kokorokai
The Tyrant's New Wife (Artwork) | Silvio Ricci x Airin D'Avalos (OC) | by @kokorokai for airin-queenz
Chilly Morning's Date | Licht Klein x MC | by @airin-queenz for ikemenlibrary
Read to Me | Chevalier Michel x MC | by @ikeromantic for aquagirl1978
What Was I Made For | Gilbert Von Obsidian x Rosemary (OC) | by @aquagirl1978 for prisoniclover
Return | Leon Dompteur x Emma (MC) | by @prisoniclover for chirp-a-chirp
Cat-astrophe | Clavis Lelouch x MC | by @chirp-a-chirp (with art by @aide-falls) for katriniac (ohtomatotome)
Getting There is Half the Fun | Keith Howell x Emma (MC) | by @ohtomatotome for violettduchess
Practical Magic | Clavis Lelouch x Emma (MC) | by @violettduchess for ikeromantic
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arminreindl · 10 months
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Prehistoric Planet Croc Ideas
So this was a thing I did on Twitter in anticipation of Prehistoric Planet. Obviously crocs (in this case meaning crocodylomorphs) were a pretty massive part of earth's fauna during the late Cretaceous, and seeing as the first season featured NONE I came to speculate which taxa could hypothetically make an appearance. Now part of the challenge for myself was to come up with a new, interesting contender every day in anticipation of the show's release, each based around the confirmed episides we had and restricted purely to taxa from the Campanian and Maastrichtian. While it took a lot of energy, I did manage to do so. Hell, halfway through they dropped the reveal of Simosuchus, which I had saved for later.
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Obviously we didn't get much still, but I'll regardless post my list of candidates and ideas here, perhaps third time's the charme for a lot of these (tho for convenience I'm still ordering them by S2s episode titles). I'll also try to break them apart roughly by biome, starting with islands. PS: I'd love to hear which crocs people would have loved to see themselves. Any on this list or stuff I didn't even mention? Let me know I'm curious.
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We got a shit ton of island crocs from the Cretaceous actually, which you can broadly divide into two categories. The crocodiles of the European archipelago as seen in the top row. Featuring the small, possibly shellfish eating Acynodon (art by Adramelech89), the incredibly widespread Allodaposuchus which did have some possibly semi-terrestrial forms (art by Alejandro Blanco, Aina and Agnès Amblás) and Aprosuchus, a tiny terrestrial critter from Hateg (art by @knuppitalism-with-ue). They already give a nice diversity between tiny durophages with blunt snouts, large, more traditional crocs and lanky land species.
The other island category concerns Madagascar, which had a lot of attention in season 2. Discounting Simosuchus, we got Araripesuchus tsangatsangana (art by Scott Hartman) and Mahajangasuchus (art by Mark Hallet). Both are really cool. The former is yet another smaller terrestrial species that may not actually be part of Araripesuchus, while the later is a massive, 4 meter relative of the famous Kaprosuchus that took to the water independently from all other crocs and has been nicknamed "Hippo croc" for its weird skull. Really I'd have loved to seen an episode entirely dedicated to this place.
Next up we had the badlands episode, which oh boy has a lot of contenders from the clade Notosuchia. Brace yourself.
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Here again I could split these in two categories. The first is just general badland taxa. There's Ogresuchus for example, from Spain's Tremp Formation (art by Aina and Agnès Amblás). A relatively small sebecid found in a sauropod nesting site. And we all know what PhP does with baby sauropods. Or the long-necked Gobiosuchus (art by @yoofilos) from Mongolia, which may look like its related to the other ones in this category but actually is a far more ancient type of croc.
The far bigger group concerns South America's Notosuchians. ALL OF THESE are from the Bauru Group, with some even from the same single formation. You got Stratiotosuchus (again by Joschua Knüppe), a large terrestrial baurusuchid that filled the nische of mid sized carnivore in an environment shared by sauropods and abelisaurs. There's Pissarrachampsa (by Felipe Alves Elias), another baurusuchid I decided to feature because we have evidence of a nesting site that shows they only had few eggs. A great opportunity to show their tender side. Uberabasuchus (justin_an74), part of the bizzarly proportioned peirosaurids. Adamantinasuchus (by Deverson da Silva), a small, lanky Notosuchian and of course the heavily armored omnivore Armadillosuchus (by the ever talented Júlia d'Oliveira). Hell you could do a full episode just on the foodweb of the Bauru Group (Godoy et al. 2014).
Then there's swamps, which I'll just use to dump all the crocs that don't fit into the other categories.
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As you'd expect, freshwater would be ideal for crocs with a more traditional semi-aquatic lifestyle, here represented by three forms. Jiangxisuchus (image by Li et al. 2014) is a paralligatorid, which are tiny crocodilians from the Cretaceous and Paleogene of east Asia. We honestly don't know what they are, some say alligator relatives, others say they are closer to crocs. But its small and cute. Then there's Roxochampsa (artist of the model I couldn't find), which looks suspiciously crocodilian but is actually a relative of Uberabasuchus from the badlands, hell it appeared in the same formation. Still, I reasoned that I'd throw it into this category because I already proposed so much for badlands (none of which came true but hey). And then there's Denazinosuchus (art by Andrey Atuchin). Again it looks deceptively like a modern croc, but is actually the last remnant of the goniopholids, crocodyliforms that were prominent animals in the Jurassic and early Cretaceous. It could have brought both taxonomic diversity nad highlighted croc resilience till the end.
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When it came to picking out crocs for Oceans, it got tricky. Obviously season 2 tried to differentiate itself by being set more in the open ocean, not the coast, and true pelagic crocodiles weren't around by the end of the Cretaceous. So I had to settle for coastal animals. There's Sabinosuchus (Schiller II et al. 2016), a cousin to Sarcosuchus and, like Denazinosuchus, one of the last of its lineage. Also its from Mexico which is rarely talked about for its fossils. Rhabdognathus (Ghedoghedo) is a distant cousin, a slender snouted dyrosaur. Unlike pholidosaurs, dyrosaurs actually did really well after the KPG impact and spread around a lot, living way into the Eocene. And finally Chenanisuchus (art by artbyjrc), which like Rhabdognathus was found both before and after the impact that killed the dinosaurs.
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And the final two I shall talk about, both of which I thought/hoped would appear in the North America episode. Again, there's certainly overlap, both would have just as much fit into swamps, while many others would have also suited North America. Regardless, here's Brachychampsa (Tom Parker) and Borealosuchus (Chris Masna), both iconic animals from the Hell Creek Formation. One closely allied with alligators and caimans, the other more basal with a head-shape more similar to todays crocodiles.
Now obviously there'd have been a lot more. Part of the challenge to myself was to try and be as diverse as possible, rather than just listing 10 different baurusuchids I went with only two, tried to include as much of the world as possible, etc.... There's also the fact that some really awesome taxa, Titanochampsa, Brachiosuchus and Eurycephalosuchus, all incredibly unique or interesting, were published too late to have been considered for the show. And now, in hinsight, we obviously know that with the exception of Simosuchus none of them made it in. Which is a shame, but maybe next time.
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deathbyoctopi · 1 month
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"Xiao Xingchen!"
Xiao Xingchen lay curled up on the mattress, his back to the door. He was still wearing the robes he had been brought to Jinlintai in, although they were quite filthy now, the white turning grey in many places, the back splotched red with blood...
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Xiao Xingchen appeared to twitch, but gave no response. Hmm, Xue Yang thought, that's no fun.
“Huh. Hey, Xiao Xingchen, you still alive in there?” Still no reply. “I know it’s been a few days and you’ve missed me, but that’s no reason for the cold shoulder, is it?” he laughed.
“Go away!” Xiao Xingchen ground out at last.
“Ahh, you are alive!” Xue Yang replied happily. “How are you finding your new permanent residence, hmm? I can’t say you’ve done much to improve the décor since the other day… Comfy bed at least?”
“Shut up!”
“Oh, why? Xiao Xingchen, I’m just making polite conversation here, why are you being so rude?” Xue Yang pouted, then laughed loudly.
Xiao Xingchen finally looked over his shoulder and glared at Xue Yang.
“What do you want, Xue Yang?” _ _ _ _ _ _ _
I'm ever thankful to @wrathyforest for their incredible art, and also for @fieri-sentio-et-excrucior for the amazing fanfic The Prisoner of Jinlintai...
And here is a wonderful combination of both their talents!! An excellent image from one of my favourite scenes from the fic, perfectly represented!! 😍😍😍
Seriously, xuexiao fans, go enjoy both their art and their fics. They are absolutely delightful.
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gunterfan1992 · 7 months
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Episode Review: "Fionna Campbell"/"Simon Petrikov" (Fionna & Cake, Eps. 1-2)
If you had told me on the day that Adventure Time was canceled that almost a decade into the future, I would still be writing reviews about new episodes, I would have never believed you. And yet, today saw the release of not one, but two new episodes. (It seems that the fun really will never end!) What a world we live in!
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When I first heard that Fionna and Cake would be the focus of the newest Adam Muto-produced Adventure Time spin-off, I was a touch apprehensive. It is not that I disliked the characters... I just worried that they might not be able to anchor ten 22-minute episodes. After all, the two were always something of a funny gimmick. Other than explaining if they were real, what more was there to say about them?
My tentative apprehension started to dissipate when I learned that the one, the only Simon Petrikov would play a major part in the miniseries. Simon was always a strong character, and there was much to his story that still needed to be teased out. His presence in the miniseries signaled one thing: Fionna and Cake would not just be a fluffy romp, but rather one of mythological significance! Needless to say, my interest was fully piqued, and I began to count down the days when the miniseries would debut.
And now that the first two episodes are out, I am happy to say that my tentative fears were likely misplaced. Indeed, if "Fionna Campbell" and "Simon Petrikov" are indicative of the overall quality of this miniseries, we're in for a good time!
So let's dig in!
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Airdate: August 31, 2023
Story by: Anthony Burch, Adam Muto, Hanna K. Nyström, Jack Pendarvis, Kate Tsang
Storyboarded by: Hanna K. Nyström, Anna Syvertsson, Haewon Lee, Jacob Winkler
Directed by: Ryann Shannon (supervising), Hans Tseng (art)
The miniseries kicks off with "Fionna Campbell," which follows the story of Fionna the human... No, not that Fionna the Human. This Fionna does not live in a magic land, and it is only in her dreams that she's a swashbuckling hero. Instead, the Fionna we meet lives in a mundane world very much like our own. This Fionna seems to feel as if she fundamentally lacks any sense of purpose. Accompanying her throughout her non-adventures in this alternate reality is Fionna's (non-magical) cat, Cake. The main plot of the episode begins after Cat and Fionna have a strange dream, whereupon Cake begins to act erratically; it is almost like she desperately needs to be in contact with ice of all things. After a series of humorous set pieces in which Fionna repeatedly discusses the dullness of her reality with a variety of uncannily familiar characters, Cake goes bananas and makes a mad dash for an ice cream cart. As Fionna gives chase, Cake dives into the cart, which turns into a magic portal and teleports Cake to a different world...
Of the two episodes discussed in this review, "Fionna Campbell" was the least impactful. Do not misunderstand me: It was still a fun, charming episode, but it did little more than introduce us to our heroines and set up the plot of the miniseries. The issue with this is that it makes much of the episode, on a strictly narrative level, superfluous (for instance, were you to have Cake dart over to Fionna's ice dispenser and have it—rather than an ice cream cart—the overall story would still work just fine). But while much of this episode is technically "unnecessary," it nevertheless mines a lot of goodwill and humor by introducing us to gender-bent "real world" versions of beloved Adventure Time characters (e.g., "Queen" [Queen of Ooo], "Ellis P." [Lumpy Space Prince], "Gary Prince" [Prince Gumball]). Perhaps I am biased as a Marceline fan, but hands-down the best of the gender-bent bunch is Marshall Lee, played once again by the uber-talented and oh-so-witty Donald Glover. (That said, Pen Ward's oddball hobo-vet character, "Ellis P.," is a close second.)
Regardless of any narrative weirdness, I applaud Muto et al. for approaching this Fionna and Cake storyline from a different angle. It would have been very, very easy to simply drop us back into the genderbent world that we have already visited in the main series. This, honestly, is what I was expecting the series to do. Instead, the writers decided to introduce versions of Fionna and Cake that feel more like they are from our world. This makes them solid audience surrogates. Over the course of the episode, I came to see Fionna as a character in and of herself, not just as a female version of Finn. Likewise, Cake felt less like "feline Jake," and more like a goofy house cat (albeit one that has a case of the Zoomies from Hell). "Fionna Campbell," in a word, gives Fionna and Cake a chance to become their own people before throwing them into the wider world of Ooo.
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Airdate: August 31, 2023
Story by: Anthony Burch, Adam Muto, Hanna K. Nyström, Jack Pendarvis, Kate Tsang
Storyboarded by: Iggy Craig, Graham Falk, Jim Campbell, Lucyola Langi
Directed by: Steve Wolfhard (supervising), Hans Tseng (art)
After the purposefully abrupt ending to "Fionna Campbell," we are suddenly thrown head first back into the familiar Land of Ooo with "Simon Petrikov."
This episode picks up several years after the main series. Simon is now living a, shall we say, "unorthodox life in a museum-like facility, where he is treated as a relic of the past. He has lost his sense of purpose and direction, and he struggles with loneliness and boredom. Simon, in a word, is depressed. It does not help matters that people keep asking him about "his" Fionna and Cake novels--novels that he repeatedly emphasizes Ice King wrote. Alas, it is no use, and so Simon goes to the tavern owned by Dirt Beer Guy (A+ cameo) to drink his sorrows away. It is here that he runs into a 20-something Finn in all his himbo glory. Finn sees that Simon isn't doing well and insists that he must go on an adventure to reclaim his joie de vivre. Simon reluctantly follows Finn into the most primordial corner of Ooo, where the two are nearly killed multiple times.
At the end of the episode, Simon returns to his museum-home feeling just as bad as he did before. After sneaking off into his closet, we learn that his depression has driven him to create a shrine to GOLB; using the demoniac power of Evil Choose Goose, he subsequently attempts to summon the deity, presumably to reconnect with Betty. But, just like the best laid plans of mice and men, Simon's scheme fails to summon any eldritch abominations, but it does open up the portal we saw at the end of "Fionna Campbell." And out from this portal pops Cake the Cat!
The episode immediately shifts to Prismo's time room, where we see an alarm on the wish-master's remote begin to blink ominously…
Wow, what an episode!
I appreciate the focus "Simon Petrikov" places on depression and the struggle against nihilism. Simon, after all, is a man thrust into a new world. Everything he used to strive for is gone. Even the madness that took his old world away from him is gone. This might sound like a good thing, but interestingly, it seems to have had a deleterious effect on Simon’s psyche: Previously, when Simon was metaphorically locked within the recesses of Ice King's mind, he had something to strive for: He could overcome the crown’s curse and regain his sanity. And then he did! Thus, Ice King ended and Simon was back. But alas, his arrival occurred at the literal end of the story. The big bad was gone. The goal had been reached. All that was left was the ride into the sunset. But Simon could not do that, because even though he regained his sanity, it ultimately cost him his love, Betty.
I won't lie: I found Simon's story to be deeply relatable. For those who don't know, I recently earned my PhD. It was a long, uphill battle, and after I earned that degree… I didn't know what to do. In truth, I still don't know what to do. I have been a student almost my entire life, and now the rest of that life lays out in front of me. I achieved what I originally wanted; it is time to figure out what I currently want. Honestly, it has been an occasionally gloomy time, and I won't lie, I have struggled quite a bit with depression these last few months just trying to figure everything out. In doing so, I have realized just how much of my life I have sunk into my degree. It has been a bit disheartening to realize that while I have a doctorate, but it cost me the entirety of my 20s to get it. So yes, while I did not lose the love of my life to an eldritch demon-god, I still empathize with Simon's listlessness and his existential angst. (As an aside, post-PhD depression is very a real thing, y'all!)
When you have gained what you thought you wanted and lost that which was really important, what do you do? Of course, it is easy to simply collapse in despair. This is capitulation to vulgar nihilism, and it is something that I have struggled with ("Why even bother doing anything..."). At the start of "Simon Petrikov," the titular character is very close to this collapse, too. Indeed, Simon starts off in a dark place, but paradoxically, this darkness holds the seeds that can grow into a life-changing journey. After all, when we are at our lowest, the only (productive) way to go is up. Put most simply, Finn was actually right: Simon needs an adventure to reignite within him that sense of drive and purpose. But the catch here is that that adventure needs to be meaningful to Simon. It needs to spark something unique within his soul. The bizarro arrival of Cake may thus be exactly what he needs. Cake is not just a mystery—she's a mystery that perhaps only Simon can solve, since it was Simon (or, at least a version of him) who dreamed her up in the first place!
Simon now has a purpose.
Purpose.
Once again, Adventure Time is reminding us of the importance of "purpose." Purpose, the show seems to be saying, is what gives meaning to our lives, what motivates us to overcome challenges, and what inspires us to contribute to society. Without purpose, we may feel lost, empty, or hopeless. What, then, is the show suggesting we do to gain this sense of purpose? It is hard to say, given that the miniseries isn't over, but my guess is that the show is emphasizing that while meaning can emerge from even the most chance of occurrences, it is not enough to just recognize these coincidences. Instead, we have to seize them, embrace them, and make them our own. We have to act on our purpose, and not let it slip away. At the end of "Simon Petrikov," Simon is put in this exact spot, and while he might show some reluctance to seize the moment, something tells me that he'll eventually act in a major way.
Am I on the right track? I guess we'll have to wait a few weeks to find out!
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When news about the series first started to leak, I remember there was a lot of hubbub about its more "adult" tone. I was a bit apprehensive when I heard this; part of what I love about Adventure Time is that it is capable of being scary and profound without having to stoop to the shock value of cheap swears and bloody violence. After seeing these episodes, my worries have mostly been put to rest. After all, most of the "swearing" is pretty mild, and it seems to be used rather judiciously. (That said, I did a double take when Cake told Fionna to "Puke [the bad guy] up"—I thought she said another "-uck" word!) On top of all that, it was often just funny! Queenie shrieking "Jesus!" when Fionna ripped her pants off was comedy gold, as was Finn's line about "bust[ing Simon's] balls" back in the day. I'm a bit more ambivalent when it comes to the gorier elements (e.g., Finn killing that mudskipper in a bloody splatter), but that's largely because it feels a bit incongruous with the lighthearted Land of Ooo that we know. Adventure Time was often violent, this is true, but it was rarely gory. That said, the violence in these episodes is not over the top—this isn't Superjail! or anything—and I hope the show continues to maintain that nice balance. Right now, everything mostly feels "right."
All in all, these were solid episodes. In addition to all the positives that I outlined above, there were a variety of other things that made me smile. I'm quite happy that the show is returning to the multiverse lore, as I always felt that was a story thread that the show never explored to the fullest. The various cameos were also delightful (I had a lot of fun guessing who all the gender-bent normies were supposed to be representative of), and I loved the little post-Mushroom War Simon & Marcy moment. And of course, hearing Marceline say that someone is "pissed" is something that I didn't know I needed to hear!
I cannot wait to see what the series has in store for Simon, Fionna, and Cake.
Final "Fionna Campbell" Grade: B
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Final "Simon Petrikov" Grade: A
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the-river-runs · 10 months
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Back at it again with a post from my best friend! This one is another edit she's made!
Once again, I have been asked to post this to my tumblr for Fandom, and all content was edited by her.
Here's her Instagram!
Fandom has also asked me to relay this message:
"Hello everyone tagged here! (Hi again Naff <3)
To show my love and appreciation for the DCA content creator community, I dedicate this edit to all of you. Whenever if you draw art, write fanfiction, or both, I would like to thank you. You guys make outstanding work and are insanely talented 🫡
I already introduced myself to two of you, but to most - hello! My name is Fandom and my Instagram is @ http.redshoes. If you have an Instagram, hmu!! I would love to follow you if I haven’t already. I hope that everyone enjoys the edit! 💕💕
Ac: dex.editz (TikTok)
Vc: JazeCinema & Kyle Allen Music (YouTube)
Sdt: @naffeclipse , @zhench , @lavenoon , @bamsara , @paper-lilypie , @crow-n-tell , @spaciebabie , @sorveteir , @skizabaa , @solitary-star , @zus-a-fungi , @venomous-qwille , @pure-plum , @xitsensunmoon , @kandidandi , @bri-does-art , @pillowspace
Blender credits (on thumbnail): EliteRobo04 (Reddit)
Let’s give a big round of applause to these creators!! 👏👏👏
(P.S. - I tried doing a new editing style in CapCut so apologies the quality is a bit iffy. I’m attempting to make it resemble After Effects since I usually make simpler edits. I wanna know if I did a good job at it or not 👀)
(P.P.S. - if the one and only, the myth, the legend themselves…Solar Lunacy, Demon!Bakugou w/ Human!Izuku “let’s make an accidental ‘friendship’ deal bc we’re oblivious also my mom’s almost killed me for this one DEKU but thank goodness you don’t seem to really remember me” AU, the one that carried the Invader Zim fandom and made that one ET Katy Perry comic with Dib and Zim, while they’re being delulu about not being rivals but FRIENDS they are FRIENDS your honor but they don’t want to admit it, Bam the Sara ™ sees this…I told River to bake me cupcakes if most of the users I tagged for a separate post on Insta would see it. They all did, but not Bam Sara the Sara Bam ™. It is a sad but a true story. I got my cupcakes and they were absolutely delicious, but!! I told my bestie, River, that if Sara the Bam Bam Bam ™ saw my post, she needed to bake me a cake and throw a celebration party. This whole baking thing was an inside joke at first, but now it’s getting real. If they see/comment on this from Tumblr, Insta, or on both platforms, I will *literally* return the favor to my best friend here and bake her something. Throw a little celebration party too while we’re at it 💥💥)
(Bam, if you do actually see this, apologies for remixing the crap out of your username; I only did it for the sillies. I’m a huge fan of your content and you’re so SO creative you have no idea. Your art skills are everything and I wanted you to be appreciated as well!)" -Fandom
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fidjiefidjie · 29 days
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🌔 The Moon and the Stars 🌟
Illustration 🖍🖌 de Alphonse Mucha de 1902
👋 Bel après-midi
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pumpkin-bread · 3 months
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More dryads set forth from the Ever-Autumn Wood. Windsway, like so many of her siblings, wears the guise of a dragon and feels the desire to live among them. She doesn't look quite right - horns and feathers in the wrong place, et cetera - but not so much as to stick out as some of her kin do. Nonetheless, Windy draws attention to herself through her impressive talent with magic - and her prideful nature that resulted from it. Most likely, her growing over the grave of a wind mage is what let to her affinity. Hard to say. But check out this trick she can do!
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Underbrush actually gets along with her twin, in spite of their differences. Sure, Windy was boastful... and loud... and competitive, but she was also...
uh... hm. She was...
Nevermind. The point is Under was quite used to her and has the patience of a saint in all walks of life. Nonetheless, she is closer to her eldest brother/adoptive father Peach, and took his lessons to heart.
She agreed with him that how she and her twin grew should never be confirmed by her - at the very least, not in any way that could get back to their birth parents.
And besides, she couldn't help but feel a certain amusement with the knowledge that Wind really had no idea who absorbed the mage's more... esoteric powers.
Pure gen 2s, unbred, Halloween birthdays, both available for 1.5kG.
Under is being held off AH because I remember a friend of mine had first dibs on her art. I will update accordingly.
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crystallizedtwilight · 7 months
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hi , sorry to keep bothering you (I really love your work). Your art of lock, shock and barrel is incredible. I first watched the nightmare before Christmas when I was 8 and was absolutely terrified of it for like five years but rewatching it has really made me love it( I especially like calliope:) ). Also I’m a bit of a Shakespeare nerd so I absolutely ADORE your roméo et Juliette ( currently listening to comment lui dire). Your so so talented and I just want to say your work always makes me smile
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a-big-apple · 26 days
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THE BROWSING PERIOD HAS BEGUN AT @fandomtrumpshate!!!
💀⚔️💀
If you're interested in bidding on fanworks from some of the many talented creators signed up, now's the time to look at what's on offer before bidding opens this Tuesday, March 5th at 8am ET!
There are EIGHTEEN creators offering works in TLT fandom, including fic, art, poetry, and podfic! In the Locked Tomb tag you can check out their offers, find links to examples of their work, look at the nonprofits they're supporting, and see what their minimum bid amounts are.
So ready your wallet, dig the change out of the cushions of the couch, sell your roommate's hidden cigarette stash for less than half of what they're worth, and get excited to bid! It's a haunted time to be alive, but every bid helps make a meaningful difference to FTH's selection of progressive nonprofits.
(And if you're looking for my TLT and other fandom offerings, look no further!)
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jefaiscequejepeux · 8 months
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Je suis souvent fascinée par les reels de make up sur instagram même si j'en mets jamais car ma peau est giga sensible et aussi j'ai l'impression de faire n'importe quoi quand j'en mets mais je suis quand même hyper impressionnée par le talent des gens mais parfois ça me fait peur quand c'est des meufs qui sont genre "mon make up de base" et elles mettent 800 produits je sais même pas c'est quoi j'ai l'impression d'être un homme idiot qui est là lol c koi tous ces machins dis donc 🤪 et aussi quand je me regarde dans le miroir juste après je me trouve plutôt laide et fadasse donc une opinion assez controversée finalement vive le make up quel art et en même temps arrêtez de mettre du make up tout le temps moi je peux pas trop et je me sens moche c dur mdr non faites ce que vous voulez juste je suis tristoune de ma peau de merde et en même temps contente de pas être dépendante du maquillage comme je l'étais y a 10 ans genre je pouvais pas sortir sans anti cernes et mascara ct nimp ce post ne va nulle part bye
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