[nevertoomanyspiders]

assorted Volkov Scarecrows. how would you rank them?

my half-baked thoughts and other nonsense under the cut:

I immediately lost the plot with "most X" thing lmfao. also the Vladimirsky Scarecrow is absent bc he's kind of the golden standard to judge all the others by lol.

first row: Yuri Solovyev / Юрий Соловьев | N. Sustova / Н. Сустова | Y. Gabazova / Ю.Габазова middle row: V. Kanivets / В. Канивца | V. P. Korkin | Eduard Semenovich Gorokhovskiy / Эдуард Семенович Гороховский bottom row: Victor Chizhikov / Виктор Чижиков | I. Bodrova / И. Бодровой | Y. Koval / Ю. Коваль

I love Chizhikov's take on Scarecrow, he's such a damn gremlin. source.

honorable mentions:

LIPSTICK.

heckin bobblehead. he cute

and the woodman has cool metal sheet hair, too, wow.

I better stop because otherwise I'd be here all day.

[tarelochkaa]

Really love seeing people enjoy tales of magic land as much as I do!

My personal favourite Strasheela from illustrations of The Mystery of the Deserted Castle

[fablecore]

some rosilaw harrpy poopters!

their first meeting, rosinante knew law had magic blood because none of the falling snow was touching him or the grass around him. being the death eater (a mole, but still) brother of an infamous criminal, he has a large bounty on his head so he travels around magical london in his animagus form (who has the markings he paints on his face when he goes out as a death eater - they think its tattoos, because he puts an imperishable charm on it. makes his civilian guise easier to manage). a lot of people get very confused when they see a kid asking a large black bird on his shoulder where flourish and blotts is.

(and of course rosi buys law everything he needs for his first year! he scrounges up every last knut he can find :’D)

[rspixart]

Thank you so much! Im sorry to ask but any tips for the hat?

I’m going to answer this and tag it, because I find a lot of people asking how to make the hood. But I’ll gladly show you how I made it and hopefully it will help.

Generally, most hoods on clothing consist of 3 main pieces. There’s 2 side pieces which give the hood it’s characteristic look, and one long rectangular connector piece at the top, which spaces the two halve so it lays flat over your head. If you don’t use the connector piece, the hood will looked stretched or misshapen, resulting in a tent at the top of your head.

You can use the pattern I’ve drawn out above, though it’ll need some major upscaling. If you have a detachable hood from a coat, use that as a basis of how large these pieces need to be. Depending on if you’re wearing a wig, you may need to make the pieces a bit larger to accommodate the extra size.

Once you have all the pieces cut out, pin them together using safety or sewing pins to line up the pieces before you actually stitch them together. Piece B should be long enough that it both reaches the front and back of Piece A, Like so:

Repeat this step for the other Piece A as well.

As for the straps, you can either hem them so that the edges don’t look as jagged (AKA stop at step 2), or do what I did and roll the fabric together so it looks more string like. For example:

Then cut out four heart shaped pieces the same size, stitch them together and stuff with cotton balls or tissue or whatever (LOL I used toilet paper cause I didn’t have cotton balls and I was impatient…smells good XDD) Attach the hearts to the end of the straps.

Then just hem all the edges of the hood that haven’t been covered or hemmed yet and Voila, you can have a Roci hat in less than a day!.

The final hood with all the pieces looks like this:

So go, my lovelies. Make stupid hats. 

This is just how I made the hat, there are probably different ways of going about it that look just as good or better. But I hoped this helped people!

[yudol-skorbi]

commissions from twitter💜

[ccyans]

Concerning Rocinante

So something I’ve been realizing, (after rereading Law’s flashback for like the 20th time) is that fanon vs canon interpretation of Rocinante is very… different. Like occasionally, are we even talking about the same person kind of different. I feel like a lot of people overplay him as sweet and gentle and clumsy, while at the same time downgrading his competence. Like, yes, Roci can be sweet and gentle (and the clumsiness is ingrained) but 92% of the time he’s not.

Canon Rosi is harsh. He curses like a sailor and smokes like a chimney. He has the strength to toss grown men around like toys and he uses it. The first few months of the Find-Law-a-Cure Roadtrip he basically lugged Law around like a sack of misbehaving rice with a exasperated look, through screaming protests and 10 different assassination/escape attempts. If we’re talking about competence: this is the guy who fooled Donquixote Doflamingo for four years. That’s not  even counting Minion island, where Rocinante both outwitted AND out-gambitted his older brother, while half dead and with the entire Donquixote Family on his ass. He would have gotten away too, if it weren’t for the extremely inopportune coincidence with Vergo. 

So give me this Rocinante. Give me Rocinante who has a mind like a steel trap and a look that can freeze a grown-man cold at thirty paces. Give me Rocinante who was Heart Executive for four years and Doflamingo’s right hand; an executive who more than lived up to his title. Give me Rocinante who is Doflamingo’s younger brother, with that same incendiary temper. That same capacity for whip-crack violence if you shove fast and hard enough at his few (present, specific) triggers. Remember: burning hospitals, the staff cowering in the aftermath. Give me Donquixote Rocinante. 

And, despite this, inspite of this, because of this, give me Rocinante who has a moral compass that points unshakeably north; give me Rocinante with a conviction of bedrock, a patience deep and steely and unshakable as a seabed. (there is no room for anything less, see, when you grow up with Doffy at two points and have Garp as one of three primary adult figures in the interim.) Give me Rocinante who gives up his career, his mission, his loyalties, his life for the sake of one angry dying boy. Give me the Roci who crawled from the wreck and ruin of his childhood with his empathy burning, even when the rest of him was nothing but skin and bones and heartache. 

(Give me the Roci who loves too much. He does not know how to forget, even when he should, even when it would have been a kindness. This is a truth: he never could have pulled that trigger, on Minion. Roci can learn to hate his older brother but he can never unlearn what it means to love him, and he definitely does not know how to bury him. So give me Roci who cries for the caustic little boy who’s done nothing but give him grief over the past months and months, the Roci who’s last actions are used to oversee that Law will be safe and free and beholden to no one.)

And they’re the same person. And that’s the point. That’s what makes him such a powerful character. Roci is harsh edges and whip-smarts and military training, the smoke to his brother’s fire. He can be brutally cold; he can be explosively irritated; he can out-stubborn a D. That’s why his overwhelming empathy and compassion is so powerful. It’s the juxtaposition: between both his exterior countenance and his inner capacity for kindness, between him and Doflamingo, whom he both mirrors and diametrically counters. 

TLDR: give me DONQUIXOTE ROCINANTE YOU COWARDS. Oda gifted this guy eighty layers in eight chapters and NO ONE’S USING HIM TO HIS CANON POTENTIAL WHY??

[xrnoodle-deactivated20221228]

so !!! this is kind of a tribute to law and to a lesser extent corazon :0 

tbh it was kind of a spur of the moment thing i have no idea how i drew 30+ panels in a week,,also its 4am and im very tired

altho this is incomplete ive put in a lot of energy into it and, i think im pretty proud of the end product :D

(also itd be great if this could get a reblog since this particular project has arguably, the most amount of effort ive ever put into any of my art)

[tenthdynasty]

we’ve achieved something: parallels in lost light #25 part 4

part 1

part 2

part 3

[dangerously-nervoustudent]

There are a lot of little lines in TFA that sort of tip you off that something isnt quite right with the "heroic autobots" and it just gets more pronounced once you've noticed it. Like everything about Optimus's speech in the first episode. "We're all cogs in the great big autobot machine." Emphasizing the needs of the collective over everything else (and notice that this is apparently something he says a lot. Something he's internalized). "Don't try to be a hero, it's not in your programming." Idk bro sounds like functionism to me. But probably the most unsettling line is Ratchet's implication that they can just.. delete emotions. Just run a program and bam! That feeling of dissatisfaction with your lot in life? Gone. Thats a big old red flag if Ive ever seen one.

[little-bullheaded-shit]

I would also like to add that the protectobots which would later become the autobots, after the first war, canonically deleted massive amounts of historical documents to and I quote "Remove all undesirable elements and information from society" -Allspark almanac 2

*sniff sniff* smells kinda fishy in here..🤔

[littlemisstfp-deactivated202212]

Another red flag is that in Autobot society, the society comes before your own personal needs and wants.

Individualism is treated like a second thought and discouraged because thinking your own thoughtz leads to someone questioning the regime as a whole. I wonder what they would do had Optimus comes to questioning the regime earlier since the seeds are there.

[justmenoworries]

Another huge red flag: The way Autobots treat prisoners.

For one, this?

This is horrible.

Yes, Blitzwing is a war criminal, but they’re treating him more like a trophy than a real bot. He’s gagged, he’s wearing stasis cuffs in his cell, which is humiliating and wholly unnecessary and Jetstorm takes a picture with him as if he’s a novelty.

When the Elite Guard arrives on Cybertron he’s paraded around and shown off with big fanfare, so everyone can see how superior the Autbots are to him and his faction.

There is zero dignity or respect for your enemies here.

And, hey, remember Wasp?

That teenager who got thrown into prison because of very minimal evidence that he might be a spy? And tortured until he lost his mind?

Keep in mind by the Autobot’s standards he was barely an adult.

Yet he was still convicted without a trial, without further investigation, simply because a fellow trainee who didn’t like him accused him of being a traitor and the commanding officer accepted it without question. He was literally carted off in front of his friends, with zero discretion and had his insignia pulled off in the same manner, while begging to be listened to.

And when it turned out he was innocent, the Elite Guard still wanted to throw him back into the Stockade, because they didn’t want to admit to the public that they made a mistake.

Yeah, the Autobots are just as messed up as the Decepticons are.

[littlemisstfp-deactivated202212]

TFA is way darker than I remembered even before Season 3.

[bot-imagines]

Also the entire deal with the Jettwins. They were in a horrible accident while on the job as energon refiners and were selected to be reformatted with Starscream's CNA to become the first flying Autobots.

A reformat that they were incapable of consenting to.

Not to mention that when selecting subjects for Project Safeguard, Ultra Magnus said "Find me someone expendable."

That's absolutely chilling, you guys.

[stlplaybox]

22 Reasons Why

Transformers: Lost Light #22 hit the shelves last week. I normally refrain from discussing recent issues for fear of spoiling others. A byproduct of this is that I often never go back and ramble on about an issue because by the time it’s appropriate to. Then a new issue’s out and then there are new things I want to mull over and discuss. Rinse and repeat.

But Lost Light #22 marks a monumental moment in Transformers history. 

For that reason, I’m making an exception. 

Actually, I lie. There’s actually 22 reasons why this is a watershed moment.

I extend one final courtesy for those wishing to avoid spoilers. 

WARNING: FRESH & JUICY SPOILERS AHEAD.

1. There’s nothing like going home.

We’re often told the Death of Optimus Prime One-Shot is where MTMTE and the associated IDW phase began. For me though, the start of this journey originated in Transformers #22: Chaos Theory. In that story, Megatron is brought aboard an Autobot ship. Bots stare in awe at him but he is an outsider that instills fear, anger and trepidation into every bot aboard Omega Supreme. Optimus regards him with dread. The weight of their history hangs over their heads. Lost Light #22 is a poignant juxtaposition to this. Bots come onboard Megatron’s ship and Lost Light #22 showcases the journey that he’s endured, the strides that he’s taken since that time. It’s like coming home after all these years and realising how much you’ve changed since then. 

Read issue Transformers #22 again, people. If you love MTMTE/Lost Light, stop reading this rambling article and go read that issue followed by Lost Light #22 again. Do it. Now. 

2. The First Sign

Our introduction to Megatron in Transformers #22 is via a scan which Ratchet notes as “an unusually bright spark”. In Lost Light #22, Megatron’s first action upon returning home is to scan for the brightest spark signatures that mean something to him: Rodimus and Minimus. This is important because jumping through a dimensional portal across time and space. Megatron had no reason to know who he was looking for. That implies that his scanner is set up to detect their sparks no matter where his ship leads. Think back to how happy a stranded Megatron was to hear Pax’s voice in Lost Light #6. The joy he feels stems from the intrinsic trust he has in who Orion Pax is: that the core that makes Orion Pax who is is immutable across time and space. 

That he does this for Rodimus and Minimus shows how much he’s come to love and trust the crew. No matter what universe he may find himself in, Megatron’s always going to be looking for them because of the bonds of trust and friendship that they’ve built. 

There’s a certain romanticism to this about what sits at the heart of MTMTE/Lost Light’s story. And I’m clearly deeply, madly in love.

3. Toying Around 

While I love the nods to Transformers #22, let’s not forget MTMTE #22. Rung is a focal point of this issue and features on both covers for MTMTE #22 and Lost Light #22. (This may or may not have forced a revision of my Cover Stories selection… damned you, Roberts!). The irony is in both cases, neither depicts the truth of Rung’s alt mode. Like MTMTE #22, Lost Light #22 relegates Rung to a makeshift weapon. But we no now he’s more than that.

Let’s not forget Nick’s lovely touch of classic transformation instructions on MTMTE #22’s cover. It’s rather pleasantly meta being able to transform something but not knowing what that something is.  

4. It’s never too late 

Ratchet’s snarky response to Megatron during Dark Cybertron is biting. Megatron even concedes he’d never have the patience. He cites all the things you’d have to deal with. Yet in a few hundred years, Megatron, in the middle of saving a universe from the Functionists, has mastered the skill to be one of the pre-eminent medics in any universe. We see this as First Aid, our universe’s new Chief Medical Officer, tries to tell him its impossible to treat a Zero Point and Megatron proceeds without fuss to stabilise Drift. It’s not just his ability to perform this that’s important, it’s that he’s had the patience and grit to persevere amid “all the power cuts, all the interruptions, all the noise“.

This resonates deeply with me. I want to believe that no matter how flawed or old we get, we’re willing to grow beyond our faults. That we will have the capacity for self-growth despite the entropy that we all must experience.   

5. Sometimes a Fusion Cannon is just a Fusion Cannon… except when it isn’t.  

The iconic fusion cannon. The symbol that came to represent theDecepticon cause. We see what it means to Tarn. We know the fear that it instills in Autobot.

Rung examines this and Megatron chastises him that “I hate to disappoint you, Rung, but sometimes a Fusion Cannon is just a Fusion Cannon.” 

Except when it isn’t.  

Rung, you were right, buddy.

6. Remember that Runt? I mean, Rung?

Oh come on, JRo. Your long game. Your bloody long game. Who does this runt think he is? (Panel from the opening Transformers #22)

7. The Last Light.

Megatron finds the equivalent ship in a parallel universe and renames it “Last Light”. JRo clearly stole the notes of my series finale write up! Banter aside, this choice underlines how much the experience on the Lost Light has meant to Megatron. As the unlikeliest of outsiders who was brought on, Megatron has come to value that experience with the crew as much as we the reader do. This touch is as subtle as Swerve but it’s substantial in what it means for his character arc and its nod to us: the faithful reader. 

8. Drift was right.

It sounded stupid at the time. But Drift, you were so oh-so close. (Panel from MTMTE #22)

9. More than Meets the Eye

A key revelation in both MTMTE #22 and Lost Light #22, is that there’s always lurking beneath the surface of an obvious agent. Beneath the surface, Paddox’s a Ammonite double agent who’s been stealing Transformers secrets to further his people’s agenda. Behind the face of Pharma is the Grand Architect who’s been moving all the pieces into place.

If I’m reading this right, Pharma has been slowly asserting control and the end game is a mix of Adaptus’ plan and Pharma’s twisted scheming. 

10. Rodimus’ change of heart

In Transformers #22, Rodimus is bitterly disappointed, if not disgusted, by Optimus’ coziness with Megatron. Fast forward to Lost Light #22, how things have changed. .

11. Ultra Magnus’ change of heart.

Minimus’ whirlwind of turmoil as he comes face to face with the Decepticon who he once deemed “too dangerous to live” is palpable. Kudos to Brendan Cahill for capturing it so beautifully. (Panels from Transformers #22 vs Lost Light #22)

12. Right there. That badge.

Oh Skids, you are missed. The homage to this moment in Lost Light #22 means so much. Everything he’s done in the past few centuries counts for everything. Skids, I wish you were here to see this. 

13. It’s Minimus, not Magnus.

Magnus has an unusual outburst of emotion in MTMTE #22 when Thunderclash greets him by acknowledging his work. But Magnus has become more than just a rule-toting, badge straightening enforcer of the Tyrest Accord. Megatron greeting him as a dear and sorely missed friend resonates because it hones in on this growth in his character arc. When greeted this time by a captain, instead of being defined by his work, he is defined by his relationships.

14. Medical Captains. There’s not enough of them.

When Thunderclash, Captain of the Vis Vitalis, arrives on the Lost Light in MTMTE#22, we learn he taught Ratchet much of what he knows. This time as another captain arrives, he too is a medical practitioner of great skill.  

15. Drift, you led the way.

When confronted with Thunderclash’s charisma in MTMTE #22, Rodimus tries to talk up his credentials by claiming he’s rehabilitated Drift. Drift takes issue with this - as he should. But this time, Megatron on meeting his former Decepticon poetically acknowledges  the role that he’s played in lighting the way.

16. The power of a name. 

One of the early lessons in life I learnt was taught was the power of remembering someone’s name. Much of this was because I spent a lot of my childhood being an outsider. I get the way the Scavengers feel, that invisibility. When Megatron acknowledges them, my heart melts. It’s not just that he does, but it’s the way he does it is warm and welcoming.. Long and distant from the brutal Megatron in Transformers #22 who saw everything as a means to “peace through tyranny”. I can relate to how the Scavengers react. I remember learning the feeling of being recognised but also the importance in recognising other people. It may be a small moment but it carries a lot of weight with me in what it says about who Megatron has become. 

17. Better in Purple

Short. Simple. Significant. Megatron is comfortable about his choices and his mistakes. He owns them but at the same time instead of avoiding them and what it says about his legacy, he is now ready to accept it for what it is.

18. He’s really not that bad. 

Rodimus certainly didn’t feel that way about the other captain in MTMTE #22, look at him now.

19. I could have saved more.

Transformers #22 vs Lost Light #22. ‘Nuff said.

20. History is what you make of it.  

The weight of Transformers history that hung on Megatron and Optimus’ proverbial shoulders was instrumental in Transformers #22. The two exchange sharp conversations about battles, ideology and purpose. So much of the bitterness and struggle is steeped in history and how they still sit within the shadows of it. The Megatron that we see aboard the Last Light has moved forward. He isn’t crippled and burdened by the history of what’s happened, he’s played an active role in shaping it in the Functionist universe. He didn’t like being abandoned but once stuck, he moved forward and accomplished much in hundreds of years. That wasn’t without the loss of dear friends like Pax, Impactor and Terminus. All of this isn’t mentioned once by Megatron, only the Functionist Council. Yet this Megatron speaks with confidence but his every word isn’t dripping in the quagmire of history and bitterness. This Megatron appreciates his history but more than that, he is ready to make his own history. 

21. Megatron’s warmth

In Transformers #22, you can understand where Megatron’s come from, you get a sense of the magnitude of Transformers history, and you can empathise with him. But he’s cold and brutal. No one likes Megatron. He’s a figure scarred by history and the closest we get to a moment of warmth and feeling is the below. 

But in Lost Light #22, every panel is filled with a measured and warm Megatron that juxtaposes this. When he greets the Scavengers, when he points out that destroying Functionist Primus means destroying innocent Cybertronians, his affection for Minimus, his words to Drift, Rodimus’ concession to Grimlock… the warmth of all of these moments shows the magnitude of Megatron’s growth.

22. As long as we’re all in it together

It’s the end of the universe. There’s no story after this. But, as MTMTE #22 best put it, who cares as long as we’re all in it together? 

So there you go. 22.

I never had a favourite number.

I do now.

Thanks, James. 

PS. Here’s 23. I’ll just leave it here.

PSS. I came up with 36 reasons actually. Although I settled on 22 because, you know, you kind of have to, I want to point out there’s no shortage of reasons to love these three #22s. 

[sauntervaguelydown]

Do you have or know of any fic rec lists for Rung-centric fics? I've gone through all of your stuff already (extremely good!). Either they're thin on the ground, or the tendency to tag him when he has a single line in a 40k fic is drowning them out.

Little did you know you came to the person who spent their first six months in fandom methodically working their way back through every page of Rung tagged fic in the AO3 archive.

I have a LOT of content for you. There is more content than this but this but I don’t wanna overload you, so I have to stop somewhere

Towards Truth (gen) https://archiveofourown.org/works/1169529Actually consider Owlix’s oeuvre of Rung content: 

Crick Crack (gen): https://archiveofourown.org/works/2541725

I’m cheating a little bit because Rung only shows up for a cameo but it’s a good cameo and this is one of my favorite TF fics of all time: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20363200/chapters/48288544

But A Sleep And A Forgetting (funeral fic): https://archiveofourown.org/works/11238807

The Rung Sessions (Rung & skids) (this one has plot!!): https://archiveofourown.org/works/19240246/chapters/45751117

mine eyes blind as glass (Functionist universe): https://archiveofourown.org/works/13422936/chapters/30759708

Confirmation Bias (Rung & Whirl): https://archiveofourown.org/works/973246

Actually consider Galena’s oeuvre as well 

Cryptanalysis (Rung/Whirl, REALLY dark and detailed stuff about Rung’s backstory with the Functionists, mind the tags): https://archiveofourown.org/series/242863

View from the Bottom (Whirl/Rung porn): https://archiveofourown.org/works/9634661

Self Sabotage (another early fic talking about the history of trauma Whirl and Rung both have): https://archiveofourown.org/works/3907762/chapters/8745778

Strange Treaties (it’s actually cywhirl but the Rung parts are TOP SHELF): https://archiveofourown.org/works/23423014

To Grant God Absolution (megarung): https://archiveofourown.org/works/22945441

Wonder (gen): https://archiveofourown.org/works/22525669

Divine Desires (I laughed so hard I cried): https://archiveofourown.org/works/20616506

Actually just check out all of LoadedCasserole’s Rung fic 

All Hail the Unequaled One (SG Rung): https://archiveofourown.org/works/21463255

Synchronicity (horror/dark dead dove content): https://archiveofourown.org/works/20985764/chapters/49903409

Iridenscia 2: Electromagnetic Boogaloo (Rung and Froid being kismesis before the Betrayal): https://archiveofourown.org/works/6246802

Two good old boys (gen): https://archiveofourown.org/works/17257343

Things We Forget (speculative non canon take on the info creep thing): https://archiveofourown.org/works/17164115

Oh that reminds me! This one is a WIP unlike the others but I’m really excited about it: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23030668/chapters/55074184

[prose-n-scripts]

so I go to animation school now

[calico-and-lace]

please unmute this

[dazzleyourmindseye]

That was… not what I expected it to be but I am delighted

[my-writings-and-musings]

What's this?! A follower giveaway?! Why, yes it is!

My-Writings-and-Musings Giveaway to reach 1000 Followers!

That's right! I decided a while back that if by some unknowable magic I hit 800 followers, I'd making hitting a huge milestone into a fun contest, and look where we are!

The Prizes

1st Place: A 6000 word story written in whatever fandom you want, about whatever characters you want, and with whatever ships you want!

2nd Place: Same as above, but 3000 words!

3rd place: Same again, but 1500 words!

The Rules

1. Like and Reblog this post!

2. Follow me if you aren't already!

3. Be open to some form of communication in case you win, so I can let you know!

[theworsttrollhunter]

the rise of the titans mood rn:

[cili-ai]

😳✈️

[the-void-and-the-valley]

any sort of alien/monster/robot/non-human organism: *exists*

my undying love:

[eatherstar]

It’s DOOOOONE! Ho boy! Thanks for your patience! I know I said I’d have this done months ago but it turns out it’s really hard to concentrate during the apocalypse. Who knew? Special thanks to @retrowave-the-protogen (formally remix-the-triple-changer) for the initial mashup idea! None of this absurdity would have happened without you. <3 WOO!

[gray2tho]

[random-mech-life]

The only day you can reblog until next year