Even In The Tags I Ramble - Tumblr Posts

Wow, Mars!? I know that’s kind of bad but it’s also kind of awesome. 

We live a mile south of the MN/IA border (we live in Iowa but the nearest town is in Minnesota, just 6 miles north), and this is not my first -20F day. It’s a funny thing, stepping outside when it’s this cold; I find it feels as though it’s wet, not because of any moisture, but just because it’s so cold that my body reads it as wet from the drastic temperature drop. 

But, back to that exciting part about Mars. 

I’ve often compared putting on all the pieces of my winter gear to putting on a space suit, and I’m not going to lie, I sometimes go full mental role play when it’s this cold and I’m going out to feed animals in the barn. Like, I start mentally referring to the house as the exploratory base and my car as the rover and I’ll say I’m going out on a solo surface mission and whatnot; if my scarf slips off my face, I have a helmet breach, and so on. (I could probably pick more accurate scientific space terms, especially after reading the Martian, but it’s usually just in my head so I don’t typically pay too much attention to accuracy). Apparently, I never realized how semi-accurate I was actually being! 

So wait, wait though. Are you actually telling me that the winter gear currently in my possession--knee-length down coat rated to ~ -20F, wool scarf, felt-lined wool mittens, wool hat, snow boots, snow pants, etc... Is what you’re saying that with the clothing I currently own, I could potentially walk around on the surface of Mars without actually needing a space suit?? I mean, I guess there are also other factors, like oxygen and pressure and things, but I’m suddenly feeling like a patched together homemade spacesuit made from the winter gear I already have and like maybe a scuba diving tank or something is way more viable than I had previously considered. It’s a good thing I don’t have any way of quickly transporting myself to Mars right now or the high level of childish space energy currently flooding me might make me foolish enough to try it. 

Also I just had this moment where I thought, “it’s like I’m in space!” and then remembered that the earth actually is a planet that is in space, so, technically... I am in space. So, in conclusion, stay warm, my fellow space travellers, and may your space suits/winter gear serve you well :)

Fun Fact for my friends caught in the US Polar Vrotex:

It’s 19-20 F (-7 C) whole-ass degrees at the Larsen Ice Shelf in Antartica.  

Google says it’s -7 F (-22 C) in St. Paul, MN.

Congratulate it’s nearly 30 degrees warmer in antartica rn, stay toasty and be real smug about living through this.

Guess what my new phone background is :)

I finally decided it was time to change away from my Christmas screensaver (it was Os, Ed, and Martin decorating their Christmas tree by random-fandom-art, partly inspired by a prompt I sent, which I reblogged a while ago--it’s currently on page 4 of my blog, though obviously that will change--side note, how cool is it that you can suggest things to artists on here and then the art happens? Epic.) 

So this is my new home screen. I always love Spicy Watson’s colors so much; they’re just so vivid and cheerful and the art really pops. I also love the details of the pattern on Os’s robe. Perhaps the best thing about this piece in particular, though, (I’m sounding like a wine-sipping art critic right now, aren’t I... woops) are Os and Ed’s expressions. I just love how straight up annoyed Oswald looks that Ed has gone and done something silly and gotten himself injured; his eyebrows could not more clearly say “again?”. Ed looks so bashful and embarrassed, yet there’s also that edge of a smile he’s barely biting back, and he looks like he’s actually quite happy to be having Oswald patching him up. I also love the purple outlines on Oswald’s hair because purple, and the fact that Oswald has canonically had purple highlights is still one of my favorite things about his fashion choices. Because purple. In conclusion, they may annoy each other, but they’ll always take care of each other. (That was a completely non sequitur use of “in conclusion” but I’m standing by it.) 

-Oswald, really, I’m fine.

-If you come home like this one more time, you’re sleeping on the couch.

[please don’t repost anywhere]

I was genuinely sad that Mr. Penn got killed off (again), but at least his demise facilitated this great Nygmobblepot moment. Ugh, I don’t know, Mr. Penn was weirdly sweet and I actually quite liked his... odd fondness for/relationship with Oswald, and I’m glad we got this episode where they hashed out their issues. I was happy that Oswald didn’t want to kill him. 

I actually quite like the idea of Penn being part of the accidental party on their secret submarine, too, with Os and Ed and Selena and Barbara and her unborn Jimling (I’m sure she’d strangle me for calling it that but too late) and Penn aaaaalll together in a confined space. Now I want that fic. Maybe I should write that fic... but I’m already working on a season 5 AU with Martin... but maybe I could incorporate this phenomenal cosmic party in an itty bitty submarine? We’ll see.

But anyways, yes. I’m sad for what befell Penn, but the moment of mutual acceptance and maniacal Nygmobblepot laughter that followed had all their strange, dark sweetness. I’m happy to see them bonding back together :)

Forget what I said before tonight’s episode about possibly wanting Isaac’s betrayal to stand for the sake of emotional intensity, by the way. Identity part 2 handled things beautifully and I couldn’t’ve hoped for better. While it might’ve been interesting to have all of Isaac’s past interactions so profoundly undermined by the realization that he was simply a genocidal Cyberman playing his role all along, it’ll be more fun in the long term to have an artificial intelligence who believed he was incapable of emotions realizing he has them and figuring out what to do with them amidst being cut off and isolated from his people, all the while having to heal the wounds his betrayal caused.

Also, human!Isaac was great and I love how his expressions are so level and robotic yet vaguely bemused with hints of wonderment. They’re just so on point for a human manifestation of an intellectually curious robot. I’m glad I can go back to enjoying him properly. 

I’d like to do more than that.

I watched this episode tonight, and I must say, I’m not sure if I was in just the right mood or what, but I don’t think I’ve ever shipped anything on the Orville quite this much before. Like, I find Claire and Isaac and Ed and the Krill lady intriguing, and I root for Ed and Kelly, but none of them give me quite this many feels. 

I mean, it was clear from the start that this was going to be a tragic ship, and in a way perhaps it was that underpinning of inevitable tragedy that made it so beautiful. But like... it was so sweet and moving and I felt so much for Gordon. I wanted it to last even though it obviously couldn’t; I wanted them to be happy. 

Now I want them to develop time travel for real so he can go back and meet the real Laura, not just the computer-synthesized version of her. Perhaps this is the perfect time for a Doctor Who crossover AU...

Leighton Meester as Laura Huggins in The Orville 2x11

I figured I’d go ahead and reblog the updated version, because it is rather relieving to see the inside looking recognizable, though damaged. 

(Also, I ramble about guilt regarding what I do & don’t reblog after the cut.)

Of course, people are also posting now about other important fires in culturally significant buildings that have happened recently and asking why this one is getting all the attention; and, of course, as bad things happening in the world right now go, there are doubtless a great many of them doing more immediate harm to people. Obviously, humans are more important than buildings. In short, it’s making me feel guilty that this is basically the first news story I’ve shared on my tumblr, and there are probably more significant things I should’ve reblogged in the past. I mean, I’m pretty sure I still have things about the recent floods not far from us in the midwest sitting in my drafts somewhere. The fact is that typically I take a long time to process a post, because I am the sort of person who takes a long time to think through what I want to say--and then I probably say too much, but I still always feel like I’m never saying everything I mean to or would like to. 

In short, I am not the blog to follow for timely commentary on things, because I take weeks to process the average post. The first Notre Dame post I shared just struck an ideal storm of coincidences for me to have the time and motivation to post it in a timely manner. When there are other terrible things going on in the world that it seems I should be posting about, know that if I have heard about them, then I likely care about them and am praying about them. There are just always so many things. This is why my prayers so often escalate to “bless everyone, God, because everyone is dealing with something or another that is troubling them in some way, and everyone needs you”. I know I really should be more specific in my prayers, but it’s also true that everyone needs God, and the more I hear about the problems of the world, the more people I feel the need to pray for, and so that’s where I wind up. 

Since my first ‘in short’ didn’t work, I’ll try one again: in short, I see these things and I care about them, and I’m sorry if my reblogging isn’t always balanced towards the most important human disasters. This is foremost a multi-fandom blog, and maybe I shouldn’t have dabbled in news at all, but this one just struck me for a moment.

Sorry this post devolved more into my guilt about all the things I don’t reblog rather than an update on Notre Dam. 

notre dame is burning.

this is ok.

it has happened before. it will happen again. it has been lost before. it will be lost again. and again. and again. and again. art and architecture are transient, and temporary, and 850 years may seem like a lot to the individual, who will live maybe 100 if they are very lucky and very healthy, but even the pyramids at saqqara have only existed for about 6000 years and that’s still not all that much, if you consider the grand scheme of things.

yes, this is terrible. as someone who is deeply religious and literally a professional historian with a focus on art and architecture, this is terrible. im mourning. im gutted. im horrified and upset and miserable. but.

it’s not over.

victor hugo wrote hunchback because notre dame du paris was in the process of collapsing and falling apart, and revitalized the entire world’s focus and love for this church, and that was not even 200 years ago. it led to it being renovated.

the roof has fallen in. the scars of fires are on its buttresses. the rose window has fallen out. the beams and piers have collapsed. the spire has toppled. the stones have suffered, and will suffer again, but it is not gone.

renovation work is essential. sometimes things collapse and burn and break and have to come back. it’s not a terrorist attack, it’s renovation, an accident, but we have so much evidence, history, carefully documented everything on one of the most studied places in the world.

it’s not the end.

And I think I’ll close out my pre-finale blast with this sweet one of Os and Ed holding Barbara’s baby. They’re going to be the best babysitters! Hehe :) 

Also I really like this art style. There are so many great Nygmobblepot artists!

I love any and all AU’s where the Doctor and the Master go travelling together, and this art style is just lovely! It’s all surreal and cubey but also soft and emotional, and the use of color and light is just beautiful :)

I actually did call it, but only because I recognized him from his more recent role as dashing international art thief Pierre Despereaux in Psych, which is a pretty solid intermediate phase between Westley and Mayor Jerkface. 

I was just as surprised as you to learn that Despereaux was Westley, as I recall, back when I was first googling him. Like I think I thought he looked familiar but I couldn’t place him. (Then I ended up writing more than half of the Psych Wiki page on Despereaux but that’s another story.) 

But it was hilarious because my mom, who has also seen Psych and Princess Bride, totally thought I was wrong. I looked at the mayor and I was like “hey, that’s Despereaux” and she was like “Nah, I sort of see the resemblance but that isn’t him”. Then I looked it up and it was; it’s bloody Cary Elwes. I’m very proud of my facial recognition skills, which are frequently lacking but in this case were spot on. 

Although, to be fair, I also kept getting the mayor and the newspaper guy mixed up, to the point where I briefly thought that the mayor also ran the newspaper, and when I learned they were separate I had no idea which one was Heather’s dad, so I guess that’s 1 win and 1 loss for my facial recognition skills after all.

(Also Pierre Despereaux is the #1 best side character in Psych and if you love Westley, I highly recommend you watch Despereaux’s episodes on Psych. The first one is called Extradition: British Columbia and it’s great and you should watch it...)

WAIT

ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS GUY

IS ACTUALLY THIS GUY???!!

WHO WAS GONNA TELL ME????!!

BroTP or OTP, they’re adorable together and this is super cute art. Fairs and fireworks make for such pretty backgrounds <3

I guess I could maybe get behind them as a couple... As long as they’re happy. 

I didn’t say????? They’re my new fav now😉

My boi Alexei deserves everything, of course his American boyfriend!!!! And cherry slurpee!!!!!!!

I should probably mention the main reason I was in a space pirate mood today: Skyvault. As a kickstarter backer I got to preview the pilot yesterday and today, and I am feeling all of the hype--I want to binge it but the show doesn’t even exist (beyond what I’ve seen) yet! 

[I ramble at length about my experience of and feelings about Skyvault below, with somewhat of a pilot review mixed haphazardly in. There shouldn’t really be spoilers but some may consider some of it as such so read with caution.]

I mean, to be fair, I knew a great deal of the pilot’s plot before seeing it, mostly from watching all of the Q&A’s Door Monster’s already done on it, and also partly from the audition scenes I got to read when I auditioned for it... a year ago already I guess, wow. Time is weird. (I didn’t get a part in it, if you were wondering, but looking back on my audition tapes, they were kind of a train wreck and I have definitely come a ways as an actress in the past year, though of course I have a ways to go.)

But yeah, it’s pretty cool having the forbidden knowledge of the audition scenes--obviously I won’t say much, but when Ian mentioned in the Q&A that Truman’s favorite soup would become a plot point down the line I actually had a pretty good idea what he was referring to, and (assuming I’m right) that was 100% my favorite scene to read for (even though I wasn’t actually in the age range of the character I was reading and so in terms of professionalism I probably shouldn’t’ve included that in the audition, but pretending to be that old woman was also the best acting I did so there were pros and cons.)

But yeah, that’s just to say I did already know a significant portion of what the pilot would be before watching it, which is probably why I must admit I felt like not a ton actually happened in it plot-wise. There were also definitely things I wanted to see developed more in depth--Jay’s relationship with his friend and worldbuilding stuff in particular. It did feel like it moved a little too quickly, although as Kyle explained in the Q&A the pilot isn’t going to be exactly how the first episode will be if/when they get picked up but rather a summary of the show which they’ll use to help sell it, which is reassuring. So, its main weaknesses for me were plot depth, pacing, and world-development, and I have confidence that those were either influenced by my knowing too much ahead of time, or among the things that they’re already planning to fix going forwards, so I think hopefully my current critiques of it will dissolve with time. It really just deserves to be a longer first episode than it was so it can develop itself better.

The best thing about the Skyvault pilot, I’d say, was the characters. I fell instantly in love with both Jay and Truman. At one point I referred to them both as “shards of my soul”. Jay is delightfully enthusiastic about everything and addicted to adventure; he is far too happy in the face of potential death. He’s the hero who has completely idealized and romanticized adventure and is just so deeply in love with it that he plunges headlong into danger and grins in the face of death traps. 

The only character I may love more than Jay is Truman. I said right away that he reminded me of a live action Milo from Atlantis, and in the Q&A they told us that Milo was one of the main inspirations for the character other than Ian (acknowledging my comment while doing so, which always feels great). Being deeply in love with Milo and all awkward adventurous academics, it was inevitable that I would love Truman, and he certainly did not disappoint. I don’t want to spoil it, but there’s a reveal with him that is brilliant and hilarious and beautiful. I also love how they’ve already displayed his internal conflict between earnestly wanting adventure and discovery versus his tendency towards fearfulness (“I’m done being safe.” vs. “The things we do are extremely dangerous.” “How extremely?”). 

To put it in Harry Potter terms, Truman is my inner Ravenclaw and Jay is my inner Thunderbird, and I love them both dearly. 

I will admit I don’t relate to Kat nearly as much, but I’m sure I’ll come to love her as time goes on. There was already a moment when she and Truman touched hands and I’m such shipper trash that I’m already fully prepared to ship it, haha. I mean I’m still flexible on ships at this early stage, but like, I’m ready. 

They’ve also done a great job with kickbutt female characters and diversity. There are already several women who display a range of strengths in different ways but who are all capable of handling themselves, and it bodes well for an epic series. 

It also has, of course, that signature Door Monster humor. The actors have done a good job of being characters based on the Door Monster cast but not exactly them, and the whole thing has DM’s signature inventiveness and I am so ready to find out more. 

And, yes, as I stated, this is primarily what caused me to go on a space pirate bingeposting spree today. 

Anyways, this review, like my Skyvault audition tapes, is a bit of a trainwreck, but I am now too tired to edit it properly so for now I’m just going to toss it into the merciless void of the internet. 

New official poster for Skyvault as the pilot enters post production

I love how soft and whimsical this art is; it feels subtle and minimalistic and yet still very pretty. It’s like something out of a story book, and it captures the aesthetic mood of daydreaming. Lovely :) 

Also I still haven’t seen 13 yet but now I own her coat since I dressed as her for Halloween and it’s very fun to swish around in her long flowy coat :) Definitely putting her season on my Christmas list. 

Yellow 

(with @turtleneckandtee‘s handwriting)

My gosh this is so beautiful! It does an excellent job of echoing the videos’ color palette while still creating its own vibe, and I just love how soft yet realistic the drawing style is.

I love how art can inspire other art. And man, those music videos were a ride. I wish they hadn’t killed off those characters after just two music videos; they were pretty compelling and it would’ve been cool to see more stories from them. But they sure can tell a story. 

Which, speaking of, it was interesting to see the elements that were reminiscent of Umbrella Academy in those storylines. I also watched a video about the struggles Gerard went through in the earlier days and I have a deeper appreciation for the connection he must have with Klaus. It’s fascinating to string all of this together. 

But yes I have many feelings for this gorgeous Party Poison <3

I’LL HOLD THEM BACK 🔫🧨💣

Anyways, I’m just having some nostalgia(tm) this morning and I was just thinking about all the ways fandom has affected my musical experiences of late since I joined the MCR fandom and how much Tumblr has had to do with that. 

And then I was like, what would it have been like if I had grown up with fandom around the music I was listening to in my youth (I say like an old person)? And anyways I’m looking through pictures of Tom Petty on Tumblr now as I continue to contemplate Tumblr fandoms and my musical tastes. I picked this one to share because I hadn’t seen it before and his hair looks particularly lovely here. 

(I did make a post with some of my favorite Tom Petty pics a while back, though I was basically just talking about how I thought Lemony Snicket ought to look like Tom Petty.) 

Also, I believe I’ve found references to Tom Petty made by 3 of 4 MCR members in various interviews and things (I think Mikey is the only one I haven’t heard mention him) and I do love the excitement of finding the people behind one of your obsessions mentioning another (just like whenever Gerard mentions a fondness for Doctor Who). Let me know if you want sources and I’ll track those back down :) 

Tom Petty, especially sassy, by Michael Zagaris

So Gerard’s Quarantine Coloring Book got me thinking, and I’ve had these lyrics stuck in my head a lot lately (what with the quarantine and everything), so I made my own little doodly coloring page with them. 

In the spirit of the Quarantine Coloring Book, feel free to color it and post your own colored versions of it if you’d like! (Though of course I’d appreciate credit for the drawing part of it if you do post it :) And please tag me so I can see it!)

“And we’ll love again, we’ll laugh again, we’ll cry again, and we’ll dance again” 

~My Chemical Romance, I Never Told You What I Do For a Living

Oh yay I got tagged in a tag game!!

Oh no I am horrible at decisions!

(I cheated and used italics for ones I felt less strongly about, and I also used numbered asterisks to add third options and commentary. I also chose both options more than once because I am incorrigibly indecisive.)

ancient or modern • bitter or sweet • chocolate or vanilla • coffee or tea • create or destroy • day or night*1 • early bird or night owl •  freckles or dimples • gold or silver •  greek mythology or egyptian mythology*2 •  macarons or eclairs • hot or cold • thunder or lightning*3 • typewritten or handwritten • secret garden or secret library*4 •  spicy or mild •  dark magic or light magic  • ocean or desert*5 •  mermaids or sirens • known or unknown*6 •  rough or smooth •  moon or stars  •  rain or snow

*1. What about like... evening, like from golden hour into sunset into twilight?

*2. Norwegian mythology is my real favorite.

*3. I mean... how do you separate the two? A thunderstorm is meant to be seen, heard, and felt, deep in your core. And smelt, too. Have I mentioned how much I love thunderstorms?

*4. Consider: a secret library inside a secret garden!

*5. Except in the case of the Killjoys, of course.

*6. This depends so much on context...

I’ll tag...  @saturnrx  , @ravenfal , @mellone-collie​ (or @frankiemustlive ), and anyone else who wants to do the thing :)  

Thank you @itsjacobperalta and @billiejs for tagging me!

rules: choose between two words and make the chosen word bold.

ancient or modern · bitter or sweet · chocolate or vanilla · coffee or tea · create or destroy · day or night · early bird or night owl · freckles or dimples · gold or silver · greek mythology or egyptian mythology · macarons or eclairs · hot or cold · thunder or lightning · typewritten or handwritten · secret garden or secret library · spicy or mild · dark magic or light magic · ocean or desert · mermaids or sirens · known or unknown  · rough or smooth · moon or stars · rain or snow

I’m tagging @fandom-phaser @bi-bowen @crossedties and anyone else who wants to do it!

....OP you are correct.

Also searching “chinchilla dust bath” is definitely worthwhile. 10/10 do recommend.

(Do I even need to include the top image source? I took the screenshot myself. I should really learn to make gifs one of these days. The first video link is also the bottom image source btw)

gerard in the famous last words video -> chinchilla taking a dust bath

A moodboard for my Killjoy OC Fruit Snack! She is half African American and half Hopi; I'm still working on developing the full details of her character, but putting together this moodboard has helped me work towards getting to know her better. Her name arose out of this post (blagueofchaos is my sideblog) and I’ve basically run with it from there, trying to work out what a Killjoy who named herself Fruit Snack would be like. I do plan on doing a full OC intro post once I have a decent summary of her worked out and written, so I’ll try to refrain from making this post super long with details and mostly let the moodboard speak for itself. 

I was motivated to make this moodboard by the Killjoys of Color Project run by @andromeda-flash and @code-red-against-mike-milligram. This is for Day 3: City Born OCs. Thank you for the inspiration to actually make this! 

For full photo sources and credits, plus an expanded section of thoughts on my moodboard process that I moved for brevity’s sake, see below the cut. 

I was also thinking about putting something to more specifically represent her Hopi heritage in this moodboard, and I’ve been reading up on Kachina dolls, but I didn’t want to just stick one in my moodboard without understanding the full context of them and whether it would be appropriate. I think it’s fairly likely that BLI, as an organization that tries to strip people of any individuality, would attempt to prevent the passing on of such traditions, but I’m also sure that her mother would have passed some knowledge of her heritage on to her in secret before she left the city, so I was thinking maybe a Kachina doll could be like the one physical aspect of her culture she has to hold onto. I may at some point make a revised or an additional moodboard with one in it, but for now I decided I should wait to be sure that I understand what I’m doing with those. 

Image Sources: 

1. Dreamstime; I edited the hair pink in Pixlr (which is a great free picture editing software by the way, if you’re looking for one).

2. Etsy

3. Background: Phototrekker; Quote from D. Antoinette Foy found via pinterest; my edit made in Pixlr.

4. My own work; I looked around my room and thought “what in here makes me think of Fruit Snack?”. My light up floral cat ear headband, my multicolor metal fidget spinner, two starbursts, and a rose pin. 

5. Background: Wikipedia; my text edit made in Pixlr.

6. My own work; I painted some water guns to be Killjoy rayguns and I do plan to make a separate post about them soon on this blog! Also, they glow in the dark. 

7. Background: Phototrekker; Quote from the 12th Doctor; my edit made in Pixlr. 

8. I forget what site but I bookmarked the picture link here.

9. Background: TripSavvy; Model: WiseGeek; I edited the pink hair in Pixlr.

Halloween 🎃

Oooo okay, let me pick out some things from my Vampire Vibes playlist:

Uninvited, the cover by Red Sun Rising

Possum Kingdom by Toadies

Little Monster by Royal Blood

Nocturnal Me by Echo and the Bunnymen

Animal by Badflower

Out for Blood by Sum 41

Animal, the cover by Chase Holfelder (it’s not the same song as the Badflower one)

There’s more on the playlist but I think those are the most evil and s*xy :)

send music recs for a playlist about sexy evil vampires