#I really need to get back to my computer drawings because they save my hand TENFOLD

[lastoneout]

It's also like super fucking infuriating to see people continue to argue that generative AI is the best way for disabled and/or poor people to make art because like, you know what helps make art more accessible? Giving poor and disabled people money.

Like take me for instance, I'm disabled. I get severe migraines and intense leg/back pain if I sit at my computer for too long, my hEDS makes holding pens and pencils hard, my ADHD makes it hard for me to start certain tasks and/or stop them before I potentially hurt myself, my neck also hurts if I look down too much, my dyslexia AND my ADHD both make it difficult to keep track of a story as I write and use correct spelling and grammar, plus, I need to prioritize taking care of myself and going to appointments and keeping my house clean and that takes up a lot of my free time. All of these things make creating the kind of art I want to create difficult if not occasionally impossible.

So what do you think would solve my problems better? Giving me money so that I can have a drawing tablet and desk chair that won't hurt my neck or back, another tablet + pen and a lap table and comfortable body pillows for drawing in bed, easier transportation to my doctors appointments, effective treatment for my chronic pain and migraines, the ability hire someone to help me keep my house clean, a spelling/grammar checker that isn't complete ass, and a therapist and psychatrist who can help me manage my ADHD better?

Or an AI program that takes my input and spits out a drawing or story made of stolen content glued together that, in the case of the art, I cannot meaningfully edit without starting over, which also destroys the environment in the process?

Seems pretty obvious to me. I don't need AI, I need help to manage the things that are actually stopping me from being able to write and draw.

Or take my mom. She's had severe rhumatoid arthritis since she was a small child, her hands are deformed and she relies on her wheelchair to get around. She doesn't need AI to help her paint, she needs special paint brushes she can actually hold, a table her wheelchair will fit at, and someone to help her with personal hygiene/keep her house clean/take her to doctors appointments so she actually has free time to paint.

Does that poor kid growing up in public housing with parents who are too poor to afford art classes or supplies or to send them to college really need a computer program to draw for them, or do they need support to help them take those classes, buy drawing supplies, and money so they can go to college.

Blind people can paint, deaf musicians exist, people with missing limbs find all sorts of ways to make art, people with parkinson's paint with typewriters, my mother can't hold a normal paintbrush and she makes some of the most beautiful watercolor paintings I've ever seen, Van Gogh had bipolar disorder and only sold like one painting when he was alive, I mean for real how many different artists have you heard of who's biographies start with them being born into poverty?

This is not meant to be inspiration porn, these people are just ones who were able to find ways to make art despite their struggles. They shouldn't have had to struggle at all, but god imagine how many more artisrs and writers we could have had if none of them had to overcome those struggles. It breaks my heart to think of all the wonderful art that never got to exist because no one helped the people who could have made it actually have the time, money, support, and safety they needed to make it. AI would not have saved them because making art isn't the problem, being disadvantaged is the problem. Living in a world that refuses to make room for you is the problem. Being fucking poor is the problem. Humans have always found ways to make art despite huge barriers, the solution isn't a computer that makes art for them, it's SUPPORT AND MONEY SO THEY CAN OVERCOME THOSE BARRIERS AND MAKE THEIR OWN ART.

As a last example: I love watching dancing and I would love to be able to dance, but I'm terrible at it(I got kicked off a dance team for not being able to learn the dance at all despite spending weeks on it, idk my brain wasn't made for dancing) and my disabled body makes it more pain than pleasure if not actively dangerous, anyway. Having a robot dressed to look like me dance next to me while I get to watch would not make me feel like I'm getting to dance. It would actually be extremely fucking demoralizing and frustrating. I would hate that!!

Having an AI spit out a painting or book would not make me feel like I got to paint or write a book. It's a fucking anamatronic doll running on stolen ideas and it will never be the same as getting to actually expirience the joy of creating art first hand. AI is not the solution. Helping people who need it is the solution. And I am CONSTANTLY pissed to think about all the time and money that goes into these fucking AI programs that would be better spent helping disabled and poor people get the help they need so they can make art themselves, all while the people running the nightmare plagiarism pollution machines pretend that their horrible inventions exist to help people like me.

[hockey-fics]

No Flirting at Trivia - Quinn Hughes 

Summary: After moving to Vancouver by yourself you start to doubt your decisions. But one group of people make you feel a little more welcome in the new city.  And there’s one person in particular who makes you certain you made the right decision. 

Word Count: ~5,800

Warnings: Pretty wholesome, some drinking. 

A/N: Honestly, don’t really know much about Quinn Hughes, he just gives kinda quiet, sweet vibes so I ran with that for this one. Could be way out of character, I’m not sure. 

Moving to Vancouver was a huge decision, one that almost didn’t happen. When you got the job offer and they also offered to pay for you to relocate there weren’t any rational reasons to say no. The job was great, the pay was great, the benefits were great. But you didn’t know anyone in Vancouver. You had never moved to a new city not knowing a single person there. 

But you didn’t want to regret letting the opportunity go so you packed up everything you owned into a U-Haul and made the journey to Vancouver. For a couple weeks you worried that you had made a huge mistake. Your job was great but that’s where the positives ended. The only social interaction you had was at work, which was even limited with the majority of your days being spent with your eyes locked on the computer in your cubicle. There was a loneliness to your life that made you question if you had made the right choice. 

That was until you met Kayla. She lived in the apartment directly across from yours. After seeing each other and exchanging fairly standard small talk a few times she invited you to a dinner party she was having. You said yes immediately and a few days later you were in an apartment with more people at one time than you had talked to in the entire three weeks you had lived there. Not only were you welcomed with open arms that night but you were quickly incorporated into the little group of friends. You were invited to everything they went to and did and you stopped feeling so lonely in the new city. 

It had officially been three months since you moved to Vancouver and things were starting to feel more and more normal everyday. It was a Friday night and you were meeting your friends at a pub that they promised had some of the best burgers in the city. When you got there you slide into an empty spot next to Quinn, saying a round of hellos to everyone who was already there. Quinn had made you feel especially comfortable from the moment you met him. He seemed to go out of his way to make sure you were included in conversations, always saving you a spot next to him at every table you all sat at, always asking questions about your life. 

“How was work?” Quinn asks. 

Looking up from the menu you give him a little shrug. “Not bad, how was your day? Did you have practice today?”

Quinn nods, leaning back in his chair as if even the thought of it was tiring. “Yeah, wasn’t bad though. 

“We should go to karaoke,” Kayla blurts out, drawing everyones attention towards her. “There’s that place right down the street, I haven’t been in so long.”

“I don’t know,” Quinn tells her. 

“I’m down,” you reply, taking a sip of your drink. You can see Quinn looking at you from your peripheral vision. Turning to look at him you wait for him to say something but he simply turns his attention back to the table. 

“Yeah, okay, I’m in,” Quinn relents. 

After a little more discussion it’s decided that you would all go to the karaoke bar after a couple more drinks, everyone needing a little more liquid courage to be able to truly give it their all in karaoke. 

Once the bills were dropped off at the table you pull your wallet out, glancing down at it before it gets whisked from your line of vision. 

“I got it,” Quinn whispers, clearly trying not to make a big deal of it. 

Reaching over you try to take the bill back from him, shaking your head. “Why? You bought my dinner the other day.”

“Because I want to.” Quinn places the bill in his other hand with his own bill. “I’m just being nice.”

“Be nice to someone else,” you giggle, glancing around the table, not remembering Quinn paying for anyone else’s bills before. 

“They’ve all had years of me being nice to them. I’m still trying to win you over,” Quinn jokes. 

“Well you’ve already won me over, but thank you.” When you look away from Quinn you catch Kayla looking at you with a look that seemed to be trying to tell you something but you weren’t sure what that was. 

After everyone’s bills have been paid you all make your way down the street to the karaoke bar. You order more drinks and watch Kayla give a very energetic performance of Since U Been Gone followed by a uniquely bad rendition of All Star from Ethan. 

You were working on your second vodka soda since getting there when Quinn leans over towards you. “You agreed to come here and you’re not even going to sing?”

Giggling you look over at him, shaking your head. “I don’t think so. I’d definitely need another drink to get up there.”

“What do you want?” Quinn asks with a mischievous smirk. 

“A tequila shot.” You really thought it was a joke, not expecting Quinn to buy you a tequila shot just minutes later, but you weren’t going to turn it down either. After the shot you convince Kayla to come up with you for a performance of Build Me Up Buttercup, a song that had never once failed to brighten your mood. 

Thank God for the tequila shot, all your inhibitions lowered significantly. Halfway through the song you notice Quinn watching you so intently and your cheeks warm a little. You and Kayla finish up your performance before returning to your seats, Kayla immediately on the hunt for the next victim she would force to get up for a song. 

“Not bad,” Quinn comments as you return to your seat beside him. 

“Not bad?” You scoff, looking at him with fake offence. “You actually seemed pretty captivated by my performance.”

You watch Quinn glance down at the ground, clearing his throat before glancing back at you. “Yeah, guess it was pretty good.”

Leaning over you playfully nudge his shoulder with yours. “You’re very tense tonight.”

“I’m not,” Quinn says quickly, his voice carrying a defensive tone. “Just not super into karaoke, I guess.”

Nodding you decide to let it go though you weren’t entirely certain that there wasn’t something else going on. “Okay,” you mutter, taking another large gulp of your drink. 

By the time you were all getting ready to head home you were a little more intoxicated than you had anticipated getting that night.

“Do you need a ride home?” Quinn asks you while you were all walking back to the parking lot next to the pub the night had started at. He hadn’t been drinking that night and it was only in that moment that you started to feel the self conscious feeling of being the drunk one around sober people. 

“If you don’t mind,” you reply sheepishly, looking up at him as you’re trying to continue walking in a straight line. 

Quinn reaches out, placing his hand on your waist and tugging you sideways with a chuckle. Looking forward you notice the fire hydrant you were rapidly approaching. “Not at all,” Quinn tells you. “I don’t know if you’d make it home on your own,” he teases. 

“I would,” you exclaim. “I’m a very responsible drunk.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sure you are,” Quinn relents. 

As you guys get back to the parking lot beside the pub the discussion of rides and Ubers begins. “Ethan is giving me a ride home, I don’t know who else he’s driving but I’m sure there’s probably room for you too, if you want.”

“Quinn is going to give me a ride,” you tell her, glancing up at him quickly, as if to check that he wasn’t going to change his mind. 

“You live in completely different directions, our place is on Ethan’s way anyway.”

“I don’t mind,” Quinn chimes in, hands shoved in his pockets as he shrugs casually. 

Kayla rolls her eyes playfully. “Of course you don’t.”

You weren’t sure what that was supposed to mean and for some reason the tension those words instil make you uncertain if you should say anything. So you don’t, letting it slide. After saying goodbye to everyone Quinn leads you to where he was parked and you slide into the passengers seat, immediately noticing how nice it was. Sure, you knew it was nice simply from the outside, but you hadn’t fully grasped just how nice. 

“I don’t feel bad about you paying for my dinner anymore,” you joke as Quinn gets into the car, pulling his seatbelt on. 

“You shouldn’t anyway,” Quinn tells you, chuckling quietly as you continue to look around the car like it was one of the 7 wonders of the world. 

“You know how to get there?” 

Quinn laughs a little more at that, pulling out of the parking lot. “Yeah, we met there.”

“Oh yeah,” you giggle, remembering the dinner party at Kayla’s apartment directly across from yours. It’s not a long drive from the pub to your apartment and when you get there a part of you doesn’t want to get out and go up to to your apartment alone. “Do you want to come in for a bit?”

Quinn looks over at you, not saying anything for a few seconds, like he was making a much more difficult decision than what you would have expected from your question. “Yeah, sure,” he finally answers, pulling into one of the visitor’s spots. 

The two of you head up to your apartment and when you step inside you realize that Quinn had never actually been to your place before. Looking over your shoulder you watch Quinn glance around the room, taking everything in. “Does it get your approval?” 

Quinn laughs and nods, following you towards the living room. “It’s very…you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” It sounded like the kind of thing you tell someone when you don’t want to offend them by saying you hated it. 

“It just suits you,” Quinn says with a shrug. “I like it, it’s not a bad thing.”

“Oh,” you say, reeling back how defensive you had gotten. Flopping down onto your couch you put on some music before looking back over at Quinn. “I feel like I haven’t said thank you enough.”

Quinn follows your lead, sitting on the opposite end of the couch. “For dinner? I’m pretty sure you have.”

Shaking your head you stare down at the middle couch cushion separating you from Quinn. “No, for everything,” you say with a shrug. “I just…when I moved here it was really lonely and I thought I had made a mistake, I was considering going home. But then Kayla introduced me to you guys and everything started to feel…okay.” You were blinking quickly, trying to keep the tears that were blurring your vision from slipping onto your cheeks, but no matter how quick you were blinking you weren’t able to succeed. “Fuck, sorry, now I’m drunk crying to you, this is so embarrassing,” you say with a quiet laugh, wiping away your tears. 

Quinn moves down the couch to sit beside you, looking hesitant as he wraps his arm around your shoulders, pulling you into him. “Don’t apologize, it’s not embarrassing.”

“You’re just saying that to be nice,” you whisper, resting your head on his shoulder. “But thank you.”

“I’m always going to be here for you,” Quinn replies, a moment of silence falling between the two of you before he adds what sounded like an afterthought. “We all are.”

Lifting your head from his shoulder you look into his eyes and you can feel Quinn shift, a nervous energy filling the room. “Do you, um, do you want to watch a movie or something?”

“Yeah, sure.”

After picking out a movie you curl up into the corner of the couch, resting your head on one of the many decorative pillows you had bought when you got there. Your apartment was decorated incredibly well and as much as you enjoyed it you also knew that it was the product of trying to make yourself enjoy your evenings alone in the apartment a little more. 

At some point during the movie you stop being able to keep your eyes open, with each blink your eyes were heavier and heavier, harder and harder to open them again. You’re brought back into reality by Quinn quietly saying your name. “Hmm?” You hum, sitting up slightly to look over at him, realizing you had fully fallen asleep. “Sorry, I didn’t realize how tired I was. I should have just let you go home earlier.”

Quinn chuckles, shaking his head. “You weren’t forcing me to stay here, I wanted to be here.”

“Okay,” you mumble, still feeling guilty for falling asleep with him there. “Are you heading home?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Quinn says, standing up from the couch and grabbing his keys and wallet. 

“Well thank you for hanging out, even though I was a terrible host.” You follow him towards the door, still feeling a sleepy haze clouding your thoughts. Before Quinn has the chance to open the door you wrap your arms around him. He responds quickly and does the same, pulling you into his body. For the first time you realize how long it had been since you had even just hugged someone like this. You weren’t exactly wanting to pull back, but you do anyway, looking up at him with a tired smile. “Text me when you get home, okay?”

Quinn nods, his eyes lingering on you for a couple seconds looking contemplative before he turns around to head out of your apartment. Once he was gone you lean against the wall in the hallway, staring a little hole in the wall that you had made the day after you moved in, trying to maneuver the couch you ordered into the apartment yourself. Sighing you glance over to your door, as if Quinn might for some reason be coming back, and if you were honest with yourself, you think you might be more than happy if he did. There was something about him, something that put you at ease, made you feel safe and comfortable. It felt different from your other friendships, not that you didn’t feel safe with them, with Quinn it was just different. 

Eventually you pull yourself away from the wall, going about your typical nightly routine before settling into bed for the night. You’re awakened the next morning by a knock on your front door, groaning in annoyance as you stumble through your apartment half asleep and a little hungover. 

“Hi?” You say, looking over at Kayla when you pull the door open. 

“Do you want to go for a run with me?”

“Not particularly, I haven’t recovered from last night.” 

“Speaking of that,” Kayla says with a mischievous grin. “What did you and Quinn get up to? Saw his car in visitor’s parking when I got back last night.”

Shrugging you shake your head. “Not a lot, tried to watch a movie and then I fell asleep.”

“So you guys didn’t…”

You stare at Kayla, waiting for her to finish her sentence before realizing what she was asking. “Hook up? No,” you exclaim, shaking your head. “Why would you think that?”

“Well,” Kayla hums, shrugging. “You know, just…I thought it might happen.”

“Why? Do you think I’m into him, because I’m not.” Your voice is defensive and your words might be lies, but you didn’t want all your new friends thinking you had feelings for Quinn so you would rather stop that rumour as soon as possible.

Kayla sighs loudly, looking around as if someone might be creeping around to listen in on the conversation. “It’s not you,” she whispers, looking shifty as she lets out another sigh. “Quinn is, like he’s really into you. I’ve never seen him so infatuated with someone before.”

You have no response to that, your heart hammering so heavily you feel like you can hear it in your ears. “What?” Is all you manage to croak out. 

“You can’t tell him I told you though, he didn’t even tell me, I was pretty sure he was into you just watching him with you but he told Ethan and Ethan told me, but I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone else. I just thought that maybe you should know.”

“Oh, okay,” you stammer, nodding nervously. “I, uh, thanks for telling me, I guess.”

“Just, can you also maybe try not to talk about other guys around him or anything like that, I’m sure he’ll get over it but for now if you could maybe-.”

“Yeah, of course,” you interrupt, nodding. You had no intentions of talking to Quinn about other guys, primarily because you hadn’t met a single person to tell him about other than himself, but there were no intentions of having that conversation. “Have a good run, I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

Kayla nods, making you swear again that you wouldn’t tell anyone what she had told you before disappearing down the hallway. Closing the door you let out a loud breath, your mind racing at a million miles an hour. Was that why things always felt different with Quinn? The only thing that you were certain about was that if Kayla was right then the feelings might not be one-sided. 

You wait till that afternoon before texting Quinn, sitting on the couch changing the message about ten times before sending it. ‘Hey, would you want to go for dinner some night this week?’

He answers pretty quickly, evidently not spending an agonizing amount of time re-writing his message. ‘Sure we have a couple road games this week but would Thursday be good with everyone?’

You stare at the message with a sinking feeling. Everyone. This attempt to ask him on a date hadn’t gone how you had hoped, even after the half an hour it took to ask him. ‘I was thinking maybe it could just be us’

This time you watch the typing bubble appear and disappear enough times to know he was also uncertain about what to say. ‘Yeah, sounds good. Does Thursday work for you then?’

‘Yeah, Thursday is perfect’ You breathe out a sigh of relief that he didn’t seem to find your request strange, although you were pretty sure you also had missed the mark on making him know it was a date. 

You rush home from work that Thursday, faster than you ever had before, knowing Quinn was going to be picking you up in a few short hours. You weren’t sure why your stomach was tied in knots, it’s not like it had even been established that this was a date. Getting ready takes less time than you had anticipated, the rest of the hour was spent shifting from the couch to the kitchen to the patio, anywhere really, not stay still. 

‘I’m here, do you want me to come up?’

The text sends makes your heart pound and your palms begin to sweat and you’re not sure if it’s from excitement or nerves but you ignore it either way and reply to his text. ‘No, it’s okay, I’ll be down in a minute’ 

You yank on shoes and grab your purse, almost forgetting to lock your door on the way out. In the elevator you lean against the shiny silver wall, tipping your head back and taking a deep breath. It was just Quinn. But you’re just as nervous when you get into his car as you were in the elevator. “Hey,” you say sheepishly. 

“Hey,” Quinn replies with an easy smile. “You look nice.”

“You do too,” you tell him, pulling your seatbelt on and entirely missing the wave of uncertainty that washes over Quinn’s face after your comment. 

“Oh, uh, thanks,” Quinn mutters, putting the car in drive and heading towards the restaurant you had suggested. “How was work today?”

“It was fine, I guess, pretty much the same as every other day.”

Quinn turns his head to look at you when he stops at a red light. “You like it though, don’t you? Like, you’re not planning to leave?”

“No, I mean, yeah, I like it,” you stammer.  “Why? Are you scared I’m going to move away?”

Quinn shrugs, chuckling quietly as the two of you continue towards the restaurant. “I don’t know, maybe a little.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” you tell him, watching him for a couple seconds before looking back out the window. 

You get to the restaurant shortly after and it seems that with every step closer to the table your anxiety was rising higher and higher. Quinn seemed entirely at ease and you wanted to scream at him that this was supposed to be a date, that you were just too nervous and awkward to have clarified that before. But no matter how easy it would be to just tell him, you couldn’t do it. Because what if you told him and he told you he didn’t want it to be a date? You weren’t sure you could handle sitting through a dinner after that. 

“You okay?”

You tip your head up from where you were hyper-fixated on the menu in front of you. “Y-yeah, why?” 

Quinn shrugs, eyebrows furrowed. “You just seem, I don’t know, uncomfortable or something.”

“No, I’m fine.” You could tell your voice sounded defensive and you wish you could take it back and try to sound at least a little convincing. “Do you know what you’re getting?”

“We’ve been here for five minutes, I’ve barely looked at the menu,” Quinn chuckles. “But I think you need a drink,” he jokes. 

“Yeah, I think you’re right,” you giggle, glancing over as your server approaches your table. You order a glass of wine, hoping it would get to your table as quick as your server had been there to take your order. Thankfully it’s only a couple minutes before you’re sipping on a glass of pinot noir, trying not too seem too desperate to get it into your system. “Congratulations on your win yesterday, I forgot to tell you that earlier,” you say, leaning back in your chair and hoping to seem natural. 

“Oh, thanks,” Quinn replies, seeming to be taken aback by the comment. “I didn’t really think you actually paid attention to that.”

Your head tips to the side slightly, eyes narrowing. “Why would you think that? I watch most of your games.”

“Really?”

Laughing softly in response to his surprise you give him a nod. “Of course, why wouldn’t it?”

“I didn’t think you cared about hockey.”

“I care about you,” you state, immediately wishing you had phrased that differently. It wasn’t that the statement wasn’t true, but the way it made your cheeks flush made you want to take it back. “And hockey is a big part of your life, so of course I’m going to care,” you add, hoping to soften the blow of the first statement.

Quinn is silent, looking down to the table then back to you then out the window you were sitting next to and then back to you. “I care about you too,” he blurts out. 

You couldn’t help but giggle at his response. Perhaps he wasn’t as relaxed about this as he seemed. “I’m happy to hear that.”

“I’m getting the steak,” Quinn says, switching the subject quickly. “Do you know what you’re getting?”

“No,” you tell him, taking another sip of your wine as you gaze down at the menu. 

Quinn chuckles, shaking his head. “So why’d you ask me if I knew the second we sat down?”

You turn your attention back to him, rolling your eyes playfully. “Because you’re making me nervous.”

“How am I making you nervous?” Quinn laughs, the tension that had been building since you got in his car seemingly fading away. 

You bite down on your bottom lip, groaning quietly as you try to figure out what direction to take this. “Because I’m at dinner with a handsome man, why wouldn’t I be nervous?” You add a breath of laughter after, hoping to ease some of the anxiety you felt after saying that. 

Quinn clears his throat nervously. “I think I’m the one who should be nervous then.”

“And you’re not?”

“Oh, I am,” Quinn breathes out followed by a chuckle that’s tinged with an energy that makes it obvious he wasn’t lying. 

“Glad it’s mutual,” you tease, looking back down at your menu. “I’m getting the chicken caesar salad,” you inform him a minute later. 

The rest of the dinner goes by about as well as that moment. You were able to relax a bit more after another glass of wine and a shift of conversation to lighter topics. Of course when the bill comes Quinn swoops in and you can’t tell if him paying for things for you was really ever just a friendly gesture or more than that. 

You leave the restaurant and you’re only a few feet down the road when you grab Quinn’s hand. He comes to a halt, turning around with his eyebrows furrowed. “What’s up?”

You let go of his hand, taking a deep breath as you glance around, scared that if you looked into his eyes too long you would back out. “Okay, um,” you hum, taking another breath. “Tonight…this dinner, I was, I thought,” you stammer, shaking your head and letting a nervous laugh leave your lips. “I-,” you begin again before tapering off, it was as if your brain couldn’t figure out the words to explain what was going on. Shuffling closer you bring your hands to either side of his face just before leaning in and pressing your lips to his in a gentle kiss before quickly pulling back. 

“Oh,” Quinn mutters, eyes wide. “Oh, shit,” he adds a second later. “This was supposed to be…”

“A date,” you whisper, nervously fidgeting with a ring on your finger. 

“I’m sorry-,” 

Before Quinn can say anything else you shake your head. “Don’t be sorry, I thought you felt the same way but it’s okay.”

“What?” Quinn mumbles. “No, that’s not what I was saying. I do, I do have feelings for you. I just…I’m sorry I was such an idiot and didn’t realize what was going on.”

You wish you could hide the stupid smile that spreads on your lips but you can’t seem to contain it. “You’re not an idiot, I was just too scared to actually actually ask you, to say that it was a date.”

“Well I had fun on our first date,” Quinn laughs, shaking his head as if still in disbelief that he hadn’t figured it out. 

“Me too,” you agree, reaching over and taking his hand before continuing on your way back to his car, a sudden ease to your interactions. “Do you want to come over to my place?”

“I don’t have sex on the first date,” Quinn jokes, surprisingly at ease. 

“I doubt that,” you tease. “But I don’t either, I want you to sit on the couch while I fall asleep again.”

Quinn stops just beside his car, tugging you closer to him. Leaning back in he presses his lips to yours, this time the kiss has more intention, it lasts longer than a fleeting second and it fills your stomach with butterflies. “Only if I get to pick the movie this time,” he whispers. 

“Deal.”

It was nearing a month since you went on your first date with Quinn and you had already been on many more. He had suggested that you make the relationship official about as easily as you had informed him that your first dinner was supposed to be a date. But of course you agreed, having no interest in being with anyone other than Quinn. More and more often Quinn was spending nights at your apartment. Despite your relationship growing you had yet to tell anyone about it. Originally it was because you wanted to explore the relationship and see if it was going anywhere before telling any of your friends, not wanting to complicate things if it didn’t work out. 

Quinn had been out of town for a few days and you hated to admit how much you missed him already. But even through your texts he seemed to be able to read you, your phone ringing with the familiar FaceTime ringtone. “Hi,” you say after answering it, already tucked into bed for the night. 

“You look cozy,” Quinn comments, also already in bed though he doesn’t seem as close to calling it a night as you were. 

“I am,” you hum, giggling. “I watched your game tonight.”

“Oh…that sucks,” Quinn laughs. 

You roll your eyes in response, having had this exact conversation almost every time they lost a game. “You know it doesn’t.”

“I like that you watch my games,” Quinn admits, looking sheepish as he says it. 

“You’re cute,” you giggle, sitting up in your bed as you begin to feel yourself getting more and more tired. “What time are you getting back tomorrow?”

“Early, I think. We’re still going out to trivia with everyone tomorrow night?”

“Yeah.” You cover your mouth to try to hide your yawn but the little smirk on Quinn’s face tells you that it hadn’t gone unnoticed. 

“Are you going to fall asleep on me again?”

“No, I’m not,” you whine, laughing quietly. 

“Hey, um, I don’t know if this is the right time to bring this up, but…” Quinn begins before trailing off. 

“What’s up?” You ask, voice soft as your heart begins to race, worried about what could possibly be making him seem so nervous. 

“I was thinking, maybe, we could tell people about us? Like, our friends, I mean.”

You let out a breath of relief, your heart rate slowing down. “Yeah, of course we can.”

“Okay.” Quinn’s voice is filled with an equal amount of relief and he’s smiling back at you like you just gave him the greatest news he’s heard all year. 

Glancing at the time you let out a quiet sigh. “I really should go though, busy day at work tomorrow.”

“Have a good sleep, I’ll text you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight Quinn,” you say before ending the FaceTime, falling asleep shortly after with a feeling of contentment. 

You knew it was going to be a busy day at work but you hadn’t realized just how busy. You barely had time for even a coffee break and it was already nearing the end of the day and your to-do list still had a few items. You look up at the time in the corner of your computer, groaning as you pick up your phone to text Quinn. ‘I have to stay late, I’ll meet you at trivia’ 

‘Are you sure? I can wait and pick you up’ 

‘It’s okay, no point in you not being there the whole time just because I can’t’ 

‘Okay, I’ll see you there then’ 

Setting your phone down you get right back to work, trying to get through it as quickly as possible. By the time you’re done you’re already twenty minutes late and it’s another fifteen before you get to the pub, heading inside and quickly finding your group sitting in a booth at the back of the pub. 

“There she is,” Kayla cheers as you approach the table. “Just in time, trivia is about to start and we can’t do this without you.”

“I made it, everyone can relax,” you joke, laughing softly. As you get closer Quinn slides out of the booth, waiting for you to get closer before pulling you into a hug. “I missed you,” you whisper into his ear as you hug him back. 

“I missed you too,” he replies, not nearly as quietly as you. So he really was serious about letting everyone in on the news right away. As you pull back you look up into his eyes, hesitating for a second before leaning in to kiss him. He kisses you back as you hear mutters at the table. “That’s one way to tell them,” Quinn chuckles as he pulls back, letting you slide into the booth before you. 

“What the fuck?” Mia exclaims, eyes wide as they jolt back and forth between you and Quinn. “When did this happen and why didn’t I know about it?”

You feel Quinn’s hand fumble around under the table till he finds yours, slipping his fingers between yours. “Like a month ago,” you admit. 

“A month? Like you two have been together for a month and we didn’t know?”

“Yeah, sorta, I guess,” you stammer. “We went on a date a month ago and then didn’t want to say anything till we figured out if we even liked each other,” you joke. 

Quinn chuckles, shaking his head. “You needed to figure out if you even like me, I already knew.”

“Did you know?” Mia asks Kayla, her voice still filled with shock. 

“Yes, but not because they told me,” Kayla admits, looking over at you with a knowing smile. “Platonic friends don’t spend nearly as many nights together as they’ve been,” she explains to Mia before turning her attention to you. “Kind of upset with you two for not telling me and thinking I would be stupid enough not to put it together when Quinn’s car is in our visitor parking half the days he’s in town.”

“I’m actually very surprised you managed to keep it a secret for so long, I know you’re not great at that.”

“Hey,” Kayla exclaims, raising her hands in defence. “If I was any better at keeping secrets you two wouldn’t be together.”

“What?” Quinn chimes in, eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”

You look to Kayla and she looks to you, giving a little shrug to say it was up to you if you wanted to explain it or not. “Well I didn’t just get the courage to ask you on a date out of nowhere.”

Quinn looks to Kayla, putting the pieces together in his head. “I mean, you didn’t actually get the courage to ask me on a date, you asked me to go for dinner and then just kissed me after,” he teases. 

“Whatever,” you giggle, rolling your eyes. “Wouldn’t have needed to be so complicated if you had just asked me out before that.”

“Okay, I think you two are very cute together but I’m going to throw up if you don’t stop flirting,” Mia jokes. 

“Sorry,” you laugh. “No flirting at trivia.”

“Absolutely none, we’re here to win,” Kayla chimes in just as the host begins his introductions for the night. As he explains the rules you can’t help but look over at Quinn, smiling happily up at him. And suddenly you realize just how right your decision to move to Vancouver truly was. 

[sadie-the-dragon-slayer]

Self / Independent Learner's Guide to Language Learning From Zero

-a mini study plan I used this for Spanish, French and Italian, it is my favourite way of starting to learn. It won't teach you the langauge but if this is your first time, if you feel confused and don't know where to begin, this is for you! -this is kinda romance langauge based but might give you ideas if you are learning from a different family too -this is very notebook / writing based since i prefer learning that way Step 1: Preperation

First of all, ask yourself "do i already have some amount of immersion in this langauge?" As humans, we learn from immersion a lot. Songs, but especially visual media is incredibly heplful. I never studied japanese but after watching a few animes i picked up 5-10 random words. Passive vocabulary, being familiar to most common words will be your biggest friend. If the answer is no, before start studying ANYTHING do some immersion. e.g. I watched dix pour cent for French and learned arrêt which means stop because characters were shouting to each other all the time.

After making sure you have some immersion or if you already have some, PREPARE YOUR RESOURCES. Make a file in your computer, reblog tumblr posts, save links. Search for pdfs in google. (x language a1 pdf / x langauge a1 grammar book / x language a1 reading) Free PDF's and and useful websites. The more the merrier. Why? Because when you actually start learning you will slowly realise them half of them are not actually useful, too advance, too simple, not in your preffered style etc. You will en up using same handful amount of resources again and again but before that, you have to TRY EVERYTHING. You are unique and so will be your learning process.

Google x language A1 curriculum. (you can try adding "pdf" at the end of sentence as well) It "probably/ hopefully" exists. If you can't find that way, learn which offical exam is necessary (e.g. for French it's DELF/DALF, in english there is IELTS and so many more) If you are lucky, you can find a langauge teaching enstitute's curriculum and you can find in what order they teach things. This was very helpful for me because sometimes you don't know what to study next, or just want to visualise what do you need to learn, it is helpful. I printed one out and paste it to the back cover of my notebook. You won't need this one YET. I'll explain in a second. Keep reading.

Get a notebook. I don't prefer books while learning from zero because it will be filled with vocabulary you don't know. My pereference is no squares no lines empty ass notebook and colorful pens. I'm a person of shitty doodles. I love to draw and visualise things. It really helps my brain. In A1, your knowledge is absouletly zero and your brain is about the explode with realising GREAT MASS of knowledge you need to learn in order to be "fluent" . So keep things away from being "too much" if you want to avoid a burnout.

Set a timer. If you want to avoid burnout, the secret is always quit when you feel like you can go another round happily. Quit when you are dopamine high. If you study too much, next day you'll wake up tired, want to rest etc. and make it harder for you to create a habit. I did this mistake with French by studying 4-5 hours everyday for around 30 days. I completed my challenge, completly quit and then didn't come back for MONTHS.

You will be re-studying A LOT. Language learning is repetition. You will start by studying "the A1 curriculum". But, because this is your first time your focus will be on the vocabulary and general comprehension. You are trying to re-wire your brain, and learn a different way of thinking and living. It's not easy. It will take time. It will be painful at times. But it is 100% worth it.

After you finished studying your curriculum, you'll take a short break and then study the curriculum AGAIN. For a second time. Because you already know the basics, this time you will be able to focus more on the little things you weren't able to comprehend the last time. e.g. articles or whatever little frustaring thing your langauge has. Also focus more on basic prononciation and especially reading aloud. Find a realistic text-to-reader. Copy-paste a text. Listen and repeat.

Get a new Youtube and Instagram account dedicated to langauge study. How many good resources exists and where they are is really depens on which langauge you are learning. For english, youtube is better. For French, instagram is better. You have to see for yourself. If you get a seperate account for your langauge algorith will learn faster and you won't be distracted by other stuff. Short form engaging videos are the best for absolute beginners. Re-watch things and try to repeat them out loud. It's called shadowing and is your future best friend.

If you want to learn how to speak, you first need to how to write. If you can't write sentences without looking at google translate (or reverso) you won't be able to make up sentences in your head. If you want to learn how to write, your first need to learn how to read. You need to start in this order but also don't be perfectionist. Do it even if you do it wrong. They will be fixed eventually and won't stick. Record yourself speaking even if the text you are reading is 90% google translated. Why? Beacuse speaking will enhance your vocabulary in a way no other thing can and that's the core of reading. So this isn't a linear thing. It's actually a circle!

Step Two! Ok, Sadie, i got my notebooks and read through all the warnings where do i start? *First page: [] means written is target langauge

[x notebook] x= your target langauge

Add something cute and make you feel happy to open up the notebook. It can a drawing, a picture, anything. First page is your entrance to your new home. Make it welcoming.

*[My name is X. I am Y years old. I live in Z.] *Greetings. Main articles if there are any. Yes, no, please, thank you. *What is your name, what do you do for living, how are you, where are you from, how old are you, how many langauges do you speak, numbers from 0-100. If there are multiple way of saying these things and probably there are, just write one. You will eventually learn others. Baby steps. *write a basic ass text of two people having a conversation asking and answering these questions.

*the alphabet and how to pronounce the letters. basic letter combinations that change into a different sound. a youtube video about this 100% exists.

*personal pronouns and if there is a "am/is/are" verb the conjugation of it. (in spanish there is two unfortunately) *artciles and basic noun endings. a couple exemples of nouns in x form but takes y article. *first 5 most common verbs. learn the conjugation, try writing basic ass sentences. (e.g. to come, go, have, speak)

*three more verbs (e.g. to eat, can, to want)

*take some time to fully comprehend. check your curriculum list to look and see if you want to add anything. e.g.for spanish that can be ser vs estar, for spanish is can be "how to ask questions in french" becaue it's way harder compared to other langauges.

*take some break from grammar and learn some vocab maybe. it can be colors, or feelings. (i am sad, i am hungry etc.)

*start studying most common verbs. usually a form of categorization exists. usually it's verb ending. (unless it's a language like turkish where every verb either ends with -mek or -mak lol.) Start with 10- 15 most common verbs. You will also be learning some vocabulary by default. (try to stick to regular verbs if you can, if not that's fine) (Do not learn any verbs you won't be able to use immediately.)

*Learn basic adjectives and how they work so you can form more detailed sentences.

*After comprehending how to form basic positive negative sentences and some verbs, congratulate yourself, because you deserve it! *Learn how tell time. "What time is it? It's x'o clock."

*learn clothing and how to simply describe physical look e.g. hair color, eye color, beard, glasses...

*learn the verbs of daily routine. be able to write a generic ass "i wake up, i do breakfast, i eat lunch at school, i sleep" sort of text.

*demonstratives. this that. these. those. you can add some vocabulary you like. this is a cat. this is a tree. you can add placement adjectives now or later. (the cat is under the sofa. the bird is on the table etc.)

*Now you know a lot of things! Take some time and focus a bit more on the vocab, let your brain process things, do some passive immersion. avoid a burnout at all costs. *learn how to say "there is" (if you want more vocab transportation and city centre themes can be included.) *learn how to talk about your hobbies. This is the generic A1 curriuculum. You are able to understand basic things, you have a generic comprehension. That's all it takes to be considered A1. If you want to pass it though, what you need is a good grammar source. For French and Spanish Kwiziq was very useful. I couldn't find a good online grammar resource for Italian yet. (please ask more experienced langblrs for recs.) Slowly learn more vocab (since A1 is more vocab based. If you hate Anki and Quizlet stuff check Linguno. Actually check Linguno anyway it's a banger and i'm gonna die on that hill.)

If you don't have have native friend to ask questiones and you don't have any ethical concerns ChatGPT can be useful. I'm using it for French for months. Why are we using this particle here, why this and not that, can you give me some example sentences.... you can play guess the animal, ask for writing prompts and then make ChatGpt find and explain your mistakes to you. It's very handy.

*Don't be scared to share about your journey on Tumblr and most importantly ENJOY!

[cod-sins]

𝑫𝑰𝑽𝑰𝑵𝑬 𝑪𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵

.ೃ࿐ Paring: Simon "Ghost" Riley x Black!Artistic!Reader

.ೃ࿐ Ratings: SFW. Very Fluffy.

.ೃ࿐ Reader: Undisclosed.

.ೃ࿐ Format: HCs .ೃ࿐ Word Count: 536.

[A/N: What started out as drabble in my notes turned into full headcanons :>. Also non-blacks y'all are allowed to interact with this post just don't be weird.Also I didn't proofread n just kinda threw these out there.]

Going to start this off by saying Ghost supports you 100% whether you do it as a hobby or as a full-time job. He isn't going to be going around bragging to everyone about it but he would definitely look at some artwork and be like 'Huh, Y/n could make something 100x better.'

If you work with clay/pottery he likes to watch your hands carefully dip and curl shaping whatever object you're making. He also asks you stupid questions.

"Why are you fingering it?" "Simon." - 😐. "Just wanna know why you're trying to give it an orgasm love." Feel free to kick him out.

Got really jealous when he found out you made Price a custom drinking glass. He never told you but he always glares at it whenever he's in the room with his captain.

Ghost has a lot of money from working in the military so he has no problem buying you new art supplies. Even if you insist on getting a new sketchbook despite you having several others that you didn't finish. Ghost is still pulling out his wallet for you.

Suffering from art block? Ghost is your muse!

You'd have so many drawings and paintings based on him. He's so amazed at the way you're able to capture every little detail. You actually end up boosting his confidence/ego because of this.

Would pose naked if you asked, but he gets jealous if you use other naked people as art references. "Simon I love you but I need a female body. Not a six-foot British man." "Use your imagination."

If you're a digital artist Ghost is constantly telling you to get up and stretch. You only agreed to this because he wouldn't stop calling you shrimp-related nicknames.

"Oi, shrimpy ya need to stand up for me." "Hey shrimpback time for you to stretch for me." "Your back looks like the letter C."

'It's you. 💻🖋️🦐' He would text you.

Doesn't understand why you're crying head down on your computer until you tell him your program crashed before you could save your progress.

Ghost is so amazed with your ability to create masterpieces just by using your head and references.

Would let you color on his tattoos and draw on his back and arms. He enjoys watching you doodle little crossbones on him. Or when you go all out and draw bones on his hands

If you were a painter Ghost would hang some of your artwork around his house. It would be such a surprise when you came over to visit. He'd smile softly watching you get all excited over it.

Ghost however can't tell the difference between different tones and shades.

You frowned slightly and furrowed your brows as you picked up the small tube of paint from the white bag. "What's the matter?" He asked. "I wanted lime green this is yellow green..." "Bloody fucking hell mate what's the difference? It's just green." "Pfft, what's the difference? Simon, there is a huuge difference," you exclaimed before continuing on. "It's like trying to use a sniper optic for a pistol." He chuckled at your shitty analogy before kissing your forehead and promising you to buy the right one next time.

[notetaeker]

Hello!!! How did you become so dedicated to your studies? Do you have some advice?

I love your blog, btw✨️

Hi hi hi!! Thanks for the sweet message 💞💞

My BIG study tips (after 25 years of studying):

Accept your fate. This goes for anything but I used to procrastinate with studying a LOT and once you start it's actually not that bad. It's guaranteed. Automatically once you start, you have started, so you're already on your way, so it's already automatically not as bad anymore. Whining abt ur studies and avoiding them will not make them go away unfortunately. Just do it.

Make study time sacred. A few minutes of focused study is much more valuable than 5 hours spent at the library "studying" + scrolling + talking to friends + listening to music at the same time. Doing 5 hours like that is literally putting yourself thru hell because 1. you cant fully enjoy any of those non-studying activities and 2. you come out of that being like ugh I studied this page for 5 hours I'm tired of studying I need a break. Pomodoro method really changed my life pls try it out if u haven't already

That one tumblr post that says 'learning is basically being exposed to the same materials many times in multiple ways' is 100% correct. How many different ways can you expose yourself to the material. Memorizing facts- can you draw it? Can you organize the facts into lists? Can you attach a funny story to one of the facts? The more ways you interact with any material, the stronger it's saved in your memory. Find out if you're a visual learner- and then create visual tools, maybe color coding things helps you. Do a little digging and find out what works for you.

Diversify your life. Have some hobbies, spend time with friends/family, take a break. Let the computer of your brain sort out things in the background while you do other things. Once you go back to studying, you will feel refreshed (and not fatigued from 5 hrs in the library doing "studying") This also means that if you fail an exam, you won't be like 'oh no i spent my whole spring break studying for this exam and didn't even enjoy it and now I got a bad grade i must be horrible my life is nothing' and spiral. def not based on a true story :) Instead you'll be like yeah I failed but look at this scarf I crocheted look at mee i have mental health!

Sleep is magic- no matter what anyone else tries to tell you. 1. If you studied something during the day, just review those things right before bed and magically they will get set into your brain. Also 2. sleeping is when our brain sorts info so if you don't get any sleep at all it' the same as taking your study sheets and throwing them into the air, so when you ask your brain for the info during the test it's like lol it's around here somewhere. On the other hand, if you slept and gave ur brain time to sort it, when you ask for that info, it'll just open the right drawer and give u the info!

That's it for the big ones- if you want more specific advice feel free to ask! Also as a disclaimer, these 5 are all big life lessons that I had to learn thru trial and error, so consider these to be the advice I would give myself at a younger age. Pls don't be offended lol whenever I said 'you' I rlly was thinking abt myself.

[benny-the-spaceman]

one of these days im going to release my tlm drafting headcanons from my notes app purgatory and that day is Today.

HERE'S HOW I THINK LEGO MOVIE CHARACTERS WOULD PREPARE AND MAKE DRAFTS

...under the cut

Batman

• Fairly good at drawing. Somehow able to draw straight lines without a ruler perfectly fine every single time but otherwise nothing super noteworthy (he does brag about this constantly however)

• Drafts in white and yellow posca pen??? will use white colored pencil for finer detail however, specifically one of those mechanical colored pencils

• Drafts on black paper because he thinks it makes his designs cooler (it doesn't)

• Dimensions in imperial and would be annoyed if you dare even *insinuate* he use metric. no justification here

• Doodles around his drafts, specifically likes to doodle bats and himself because he, once again, thanks it makes his drafts cooler (the bats kinda do)

• Refuses to leave notes on his designs. you either know what to do or you don't

• Does however write his drawing title obnoxiously large

• Used autocad for like a day, hated it, switched to solidworks and never went back

• Buys autodesk licenses for the rest of the masterbuilders. unwillingly, mind you, wyldstyle just knows his credit card information and abuses it

Benny

• Good at drawing exclusively spaceships. big shock i know

• The king of eyeballing a line or an angle and then labelling it however the fuck he wants. proper measurements take time he could spend drafting or making more spaceships, he'll save measuring and straightedges for drafts he deems important enough

• Uses blueprinting paper. there's no practical purpose for this, he just digs it

• Drafts with whatever writing utensil is on hand

• He gets inspired quite often so he usually keeps a drafting notepad on him just in case

• Leaves a *lot* of notes. Most of them are completely unnecessary and are a funny contrast to his haphazard dimensioning

• Pretty dang good at autocad! Usually reserves it for projects that require a lot more collaboration however

• Usually drafts in metric, can dimension in imperial but prefers not to

• 100% sets autocad to the light background like a monster

• Do not give him any 3d modelling software, he might blow up the computer

Emmet

• Either really good or really bad at drawings (obvs leaning towards bad. we remember the break in plans)

• Dimensions in imperial. I cant justify this one he just does. god bless america or something idk

• Owns a couple drafting pencils but rarely uses them, most of the time he drafts in marker or pen much to the chagrin of anyone who needs to read his drafts (or delight if you're unikitty)

• Started learning how to use autocad after taco tuesday and he's actually pretty good at it! he does use an architectural dimstyle for everything though which is particularly annoying when he's quite often not drafting buildings now

• Has labelled and colored layers 👍 enough said

• Uses disgustingly thick lineweights. horrible.

• Rarely if ever 3d models so he's not good at it, he mostly works on things that 2d conveys better anyways

• Although he's not the best drafter of the master builders, his construction background makes him the best at reading drafts, give him a unikitty draft and he can decipher it like it's nothing

Metalbeard

• Probably the best at drafting of the master builders, he's got the age advantage and lots of practice from making ships

• Drafts in pencil, quill, or charcoal depending

• Who needs straightedges or angle stencils when youre basically a pirate cyborg, expect robot like precision

• Doesn't use standard measuring conventions, instead opts to use the dumbest things possible. The Sea cow's units of measurement were seagulls. It isnt that he cant do normal units of measurement, he just prefers his made up ones

• Makes his drafting paper by himself

• Pretty good with 2d and 3d modelling surprisingly. He doesn't like either, however, he much prefers drafting on paper

• Leaves an average amount of notes on his drafts but has the most disgustingly fancy cursive and writes in his piratey english. Often a nightmare to read if you aren't used to his writing

• Will sometimes do blueprint swaps with Benny wherein they critique each other's work. not sure when they started doing it, but it's become a weekly activity for them

Unikitty

• Worst drafter of the main masterbuilder crew. Most people think it's because she's a cat but no she just doesnt take drafting seriously in the slightest

• Drafts like she's making an arts and crafts project. She has put several bottles of glitter on singular drafts and she will do it again

• Dimensions in rainbows, no knows what this means other than emmet

• Gives the longest, most complicated titles possible

• No such thing as straight lines

• Is entirely capable of drafting properly, just refuses to

• Leaves notes that are entirely unrelated to the draft. she wont tell you how youre supposed to connect two objects but she *will* tell you about the sandwich she ate while making the draft

• Doesnt use autocad, looks too boring

• Didnt use any 3d modelling softwares until she realized you can change the appearance of materials. that was a game changer. still much prefers drafting on paper though

• Likes drafting with emmet sometimes since he seems to be the only person who understands her drawings. to this day no one understands how he does it

Vitruvius

• Going blind has, surprisingly, not made him much worse at drafting, just changed his process a bit

• Drafts in pencil

• Probably the person who least frequently drafts of the main masterbuilders. On account of just not needing to and also on account of being dead

• Dimensions in the old anglo-saxon units of measurement

• Doesn't title his drafts and doesnt see a point in doing so

• Leaves the most vague, utterly confusing notes on his drawings. theyre still related to the drawings unlike unikitty's notes, but theyre very odd

• Doesn't use autocad or 3d modelling softwares, partially because he wouldnt really be able to on account of being blind but also partially because he doesn't really know what they are

• There isnt really much to say about his drafting skills he's about as normal of a drafter as a masterbuilder can be

Wyldstyle

• An engineering teacher's dream student. She may not have the amount of experience metalbeard has but she's still very skilled

• Doesn't like drafting on paper and won't if she doesn't have to

• When she does draft on paper she uses a drafting mechanical pencils. she also 100% collects them

• dimensions in metric to exactly 3 decimal places

• leaves very few if any notes (always very concise ones if included)

• has a case of staedtler stencils that she bought 4 years ago and never uses

• picked up a habit of doodling on drafts from batman but will never admit she got the habit from him

• Autocad PRO. Also really damn good at solidworks and fusion. Give this girl a computer and she'll give you a motorcycle assembly within the hour

• Specializes in automotives

• Spends time with Emmet on the weekends teaching him how to use digital drafting softwares (this process was incredibly frusturating at first but gets easier with time)

[windupnamazu]

lulun's ffxiv 2024 wrapped!!!!!!!

woah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my. fc got me. a GAMER COMPUTER?!?!??!??!?!?! SNIFFLE ..

i got SUPER BACK INTO MODDING with dt!!!!!!!! its easier and more fun than ever!!!!!!!!!! i still dont know how weights work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I FINALLY GOT BIG FISH!!!!!! im still working on the final fish but ill get there eventually owo)9

i got three lines in wt for the first time!!!!! i sold a coat for gil!!!!!

we cleared p12s! not as current content but you Still have to learn a bunch of mechanics!!! this is important because now ive forced oomfies hand and our woloc ship is canon MWAHAHAHAHA

WOAH WE CLEARED M4S AS CURRENT CONTENT this was a big one for me cause i havent reached a fourth floor since eden's promise :') but in dt we finally(!!!!!!) have a static!! and friends who can sub for us!!!! so we dont have to pf anymore which is how i kept getting burnt out before the 3rd floor in each tier of pandaemonium!!!!!!!

i went to a con!!! as The Adult to my younger siblings!!! i have really severe agoraphobia and anxiety so this was a really monumental thing for me TwT and they didnt have a single ffxiv thing there!!!!!

coco cocoda got turned into a shrinkydink

i made wol photocards :)

we went to pom west!!!! fc meetup!!!!!

i made my g'raha tia itabag 2.0 after a major part of 1.0's bag unceremoniously disappeared somewhere in downtown toronto during pom east last year :')

went into an ultimate for the first time (uwu) and now my static's progging fru!!! (we're trapped in dd)

completely redecorated our fc house!!!!!! i have to say i popped tf off but i dont have a nice screenshot of it

we went into cod chaotic with 23 beloved oomfs and oomfs-in-law!!! there were a lot of people. it was really scary but it was FUN they really werent lying that cod do be chaotic

i overhauled half my wol roster cause i decided it needed more yaoi and i was right

i organized six flash zines for my besties bdays featuring their ffxiv ocs!!!!!!!! heres what i consider some of my Greatest Hits ...

i could literally have every job at 100 by new years if i wanted... i might just do that ..! i probably could have had it done before 7.1 released but i got lazy and stopped doing roulettes and i leveled my last like, 6 jobs exclusively through frontlines. this is bad because i saved nin for last because i actually really like nin and wanted to have something fun to end off my leveling with but i havent been PLAYING IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

next year i would like to clear fru :) and keep raiding with my friends!! and i hope my mental health improves!!!! i hope i challenge myself to go outside more!!!!! no. i Will. challenge myself to go outside more!!!!!!!!! i hope b'ig nunh explodes. im going to do my best to step out of my comfort zone more and more next year!!! im going to talk more with people outside of my core friendgroup and im going to do more content and im gonna DRAW!!!!! a couple of us are hoping to table a con this year so im going to do my best!!!!!!!! i will!!!!!! YAY

[chaoscheebs]

It's Midnight, Cinderella, chapter 5

(Chapter 1) - (Chapter 2) - (Chapter 3) - (Chapter 4) - (Chapter 5) - (Fic Tag)

--------

Mokuba entered his brother’s office to said brother cackling evilly at his computer. Well, that’s a hell of a way to start the workday. “Does this mean you found the guy, big brother?”

Seto stood up, a manic gleam in his eyes. “Not yet, but I found the e-mail address of one of the women who was talking to the playboy the man came in with. If I can get his name from her, the rest should fall into place.”

“Just make sure to come up with a good excuse for e-mailing her; you don’t want to come across as a creep,” Mokuba warned.

Seto just waved him off. “Yes, yes, I know. I already have a plan for that.”

“Which is?”

“The man mentioned a game I’m assuming the playboy was responsible for, but I can’t remember the name of it,” Seto answered with a scowl, resenting the fact that he let himself be distracted by the man’s charms. Remembering the stupid game he mentioned probably would have saved days of searching. “I’m simply going to ask her about that and pretend I’m interested in learning more about it.”

Mokuba nodded. “Sounds reasonable, as long as she’s not hoping for a business deal with him.”

“From what I heard, they probably weren’t talking business when I saw them together; I’m willing to take the chance,” Seto said with a shrug. “Besides, most people know better than to try to compete against me anyway.”

“Mm-hm.” Mokuba, looking less than impressed, walked around to his brother’s side of the desk, and stole the chair his brother vacated earlier. “Move over; I’ll take care of the e-mail.”

Seto, however, refused to budge. “I can handle it; get out of my chair.”

Mokuba looked up at him and raised a single eyebrow. “Big brother, I love you, but you don’t know the first thing about charming information out of a woman.”

“And you do?”

“More than you; I am the cute brother here, after all,” Mokuba said, stubbornly reaching out for the keyboard and pulling it closer to him. “What’s her e-mail address?”

“The man at the party thought I was cute,” Seto said, one hand on the keyboard trying to drag it back towards himself, before he could stop the words from coming out of his mouth. He quickly realized his error and covered his mouth with his free hand, eyes darting away.

“He thinks you’re cute, huh?” Mokuba replied, grinning up at Seto. “Guess that means we really have to get this done with delicacy so we can get you reunited, then~”

Seto turned his back on Mokuba, hand still over his mouth, muffling his next words. “I said nothing, you heard nothing, nothing was said.”

“Sure, sure~” Mokuba said cheerily. “Anyway, her e-mail address?” Seto grumbled a bit, but eventually muttered a Kmail account address. “Thanks. Don’t worry, I’ll get the name from her, no problem, I promise!”

“Please do,” Seto said, finally regaining a bit of composure. “I want this entire debacle to draw to a close as soon as possible.”

“Because you want to see him again that badly, big brother~?”

Seto raised his hand to cover his face, the red tinge to his ears still visible. “Just send the damn e-mail, Mokuba.”

Mokuba kindly stopped teasing his brother there and got to work. It’s hard work, tightening the noose on the “mystery man”, but one way or another, it was going to end soon.

--------

The bell at the top of the game store door jingled. “Grandpa, I’m home!” Yugi announced, before doing a double-take and adding, “Jounouchi?!”

Both men in question were, in fact, out on the sales floor, the latter helping the former place things on one of the higher shelves.

“Ho ho, welcome home, Yugi!” his grandpa brightly greeted him.

“Hey, Yuug!” Jounouchi said, clapping his hands together to get dust off of them. “Yer gramps said he needed a lil’ extra help out today an’ I was free, so here I am!”

Yugi smiled. “Ah, OK! Thanks for helping out; we appreciate it.”

“’Ey, not prob, man! Just happy I was available,” Jounouchi said with a little half-salute.

“Oh, Yugi!” Yugi’s grandpa interrupted, slipping behind the register counter. He bent down to pull up what looked like an ordinary Amazon box, which he then set on the counter. “By the way, a box came in for you; why don’t you go take it upstairs?”

Yugi stared at the box, a chill running through him as he remembered the last time he got a surprise box. “… I didn’t order anything.”

He then felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “I got yer back if it’s anything weird again.”

Yugi placed his hand over Jounouchi’s. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Yugi’s grandpa just laughed at their worries. “Ho ho ho, I’m pretty sure it’s safe, boys; it just sounds like a bunch of plastic!” he said, shaking the box to make whatever plastic bits were in there rattle loud enough to hear.

“GRANDPA, NO!”

“YO, BE CAREFUL WIT’ DAT!”

Yugi and Jounouchi both shouted in sync and rushed to the counter, Jounouchi getting there first and snatching the package out of the old man’s hand. He passed it to Yugi and said, “How ‘bout we go open this upstairs?” He cast a look at Yugi’s grandpa and said, “Yer good for now, right? Don’t need anything else?”

Yugi’s grandpa shot Jounouchi a meaningful look back. “No, no, that should be everything for now. Go have fun, boys, ho ho ho~”

Yugi looked to his grandpa, then to Jounouchi, and back again, confused. Something was definitely up, but honestly, this worked out fine for him. It’d be harder to talk himself out of talking to someone this way, ultimately. “… sure, grandpa. Let’s go, Jounouchi.”

--------

Several moments and a little work with an open pair of scissors later…

“These are…”

“… infinity cubes?”

Jounouchi finished Yugi’s sentence stared at the contents of the open box. Well, at least it didn’t look to be anything dangerous, although they thought that about that tape too…

Yugi opened the plastic bag the toys were in, picked one up, and began to fiddle with it. “Now I know for sure this isn’t something I bought and forgot about; I always break these—” His hands stilled for a moment, sudden realization hitting him. He searched the box more thoroughly and under the bag was a packing slip with a note.

“’Break as many as you need to’? The heck?” Jounouchi read over Yugi’s shoulder. He then noticed Yugi’s hands began to shake, Yugi’s shoulders soon following suit as Yugi grit his teeth and crumpled the note, though by accident or on purpose was beyond Jounouchi.

“You…” Yugi hissed low like an angry alley cat. “You…” He balled up the already partly-crumpled slip of paper, drew his hand back like he was about to throw it, but stopped and started to lower his hand. He would have succeeded in doing so as well, has Jounouchi not grabbed his throwing arm.

“Dude, if throwin’ the thing’ll make ya feel better, throw the thing,” Jounouchi told him.

Slipping free of Jounouchi’s loose grasp, Yugi lowered his hand to chest level, looked down at the paper, and after a moment of thought, pulled back and hurled it across the room. “HOW DARE YOU?!” he yelled.

He grabbed one of the fidget toys out of the box and threw that too. “NOW YOU PAY ATTENTION TO ME?!?”

CLACK. Another cube hit the wall.

“AFTER ALL THIS TIME?!?”

CLACK.

“AFTER…! AFTER EVERYTHING…!!!”

A shrill screech of frustration, followed by another loud CLACK.

Shoulders heaving with each heavy breath, he glared at the small pile of junk opposite him until he collected himself.

“Feelin’ better?” Jounouchi asked.

“A little.” Yugi then dropped back onto the bed in a sitting position, then flopped over on his side, barely missing the open box sitting on it.

Jounouchi picked up the box and set it on Yugi’s desk, then pulled up a chair and sat down, facing Yugi. “Right, now that that’s outta the way, what’s up, Yuug? I ain’t seen ya that pissed off in a while.”

With a groan, Yugi rolled onto his back and pulled his pillow over his eyes. “It’s… a long story. A long, stupid, stupid story.”

“I got time.” Jounouchi leaned in closer. “For real, man, spill. Y’always bottle things up an’ it ain’t good for ya. Just let it out.”

Yugi gripped the pillow tighter and let out a long, low, unhappy groan. “… all right…” he finally says, “but it really is really, really stupid.” He hesitated a moment longer, heaved a sigh, and slowly rose into a sitting position, setting the pillow back in its place behind him afterward. “… OK, so, I think I told you about that fancy masquerade party thing Otogi invited me to, right?”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“Well… I met someone while I was there,” Yugi said. “Or should I say, I met someone I already knew who didn’t recognize me? Which I’m honestly still pretty pissed off about? Like how could he not--” He reached for the box of fidget toys, forgetting the box had been moved already. Realizing his mistake, he withdrew his hand, drawing it to his chest and looking down as he clenched it into a fist.

“Yeah, I can tell,” Jounouchi replied, offering him one of the cubes.

Yugi took the cube, looked at it for a moment, and decided to busy himself folding it in on itself over and over. “Anyway, he approached me first, and it was really clear he didn’t recognize me at all, so I thought, hey, let’s see how long it’ll take for him to notice? Just a little harmless fun, y’know?”

“And he didn’t notice.”

Yugi practically leapt off the bed and slammed his hands down on his desk. “He didn’t notice AT ALL! Even after I dropped major hints! I even mentioned wanting to beat someone with a dragon-focused deck and NOTHING!”

Jounouchi blinked twice, then scowled as the realization hit. “This is totally about Kaiba, ain’t it? Y’need me to sock him in the face for ya?”

“Wha—NO!” Yugi backpedalled, waving his hands in front of himself. “This isn’t—this isn’t a ‘need to punch him’ situation! He didn’t even do anything other than be oblivious! I was the one who—uh…” Yugi faltered, balling his hands into fists as the memories washed over him again. “I was the one who really fucked up here, so don’t be mad at him for this, OK? I… let things go too far, and I know it.”

Jounouchi tensed, his eyes narrowing. “Exactly how did you ‘let things go to far’?”

Yugi sat back down on the bed, slouching sadly forward. “I… So, I told you he didn’t recognize me at all, right? So I, well, kinda took the opportunity to, uh, flirt a little? It was kinda cute to see him that oblivious and all.”

“Not the word I’d use t’describe Kaiba, but go on.”

Yugi sighed. This is why he didn’t want to talk about this with Jounouchi.. “Anyway, somehow, it led to a card game, which I really should have figured was his way of flirting back, and, well…" He stopped to take a deep breath. “Well, he said if I could pull together a deck that could actually challenge him on the fly like that, I stand a chance at defeating my ‘mystery rival’. Which… was really nice to hear? So I sort of kissed him on the cheek for that.”

“An’ he got mad about that?”

Yugi averted his eyes. “… he did not. In fact, uh, he kind of kissed me? And, uh… well…”

Jounouchi leaned forward in his seat, elbows digging into his legs and his hands folded horizontally, blocking view of his mouth. “Yuug. Buddy. Bro. Pal. Please tell me this ain’t leadin’ to what I’m thinkin’ it’s leadin’ to.”

“OK, I won’t.”

They sat in silence for a while after that, Jounouchi unmoving and unblinking as Yugi, still refusing to meet his friend’s eyes and getting increasingly red in the face. In the end, however, Yugi caved first. “I mean, look, he was like the fantasy for years, OK?! I know I should’ve said something, but, well…!” He hesitated, hands gesturing wordlessly in the air. “It was… nice to be wanted and acknowledged for once. Once he started getting handsy, that was it, it was over, brain dot exe has crashed, dick dot exe is now running.”

That actually got a snicker out of Jounouchi. “His nerd shit is rubbin’ off on you, Yuug.”

“More like rushing coding in the middle of the night to get out short games out for game jams is a bad influence on me.” Yugi sighed, then picked up the blue mask off the headboard of his bed, twiddling it back and forth in between his fingers. “But anyway, now I have no idea how to even talk to him about this, or if I even should, y’know?”

Jounouchi raised an eyebrow. “Y’didn’t talk to him that night?” Yugi remained silent, the mask in his hand suddenly seeming really interesting to him. “Yuug. Please tell me you didn’t hit it an’ quit it with Kaiba.”

“… more like I hit it, then fled like a scared rabbit in the middle of the night once I was sure he was asleep. Also, I’m pretty sure he still doesn’t know it was me.”

They sat in silence for a moment again, Yugi visibly sweating as he raised the mask just high enough to cover half his face. “You’re totally gonna die, y’know that, right? It’s gonna be Death-T 2.0: Revengeance if you don’t do somethin’ here,” Jounouchi said, not waiting for Yugi to continue this time.

Yugi slumped forward, his hand dropping in the same motion. “I know, I know, but how am I even supposed to bring his up to him? Or should I even bring it up? It’s not like he’s actively looking for me, right?”

"Maybe he ain’t,” Jounouchi said, “but even if he ain’t, the longer you don’t say nothin’, the madder he’s gonna be when he does find out. An’ he probably will; you know your luck, man.”

Yugi winced. “Ugh, you’re probably right.” He took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and let it out. “… I’ll talk to him tomorrow, and hopefully I’ll still, y’know, have a job afterward?”

“I mean, you could always take over the game shop, man,” Jounouchi said, shrugging.

With a dead, distant stare, Yugi replied in something that was not quite a hiss, but not quite a whisper, “I am not taking over the game shop; I have already done my time in retail hell.”

Jounouchi recoiled like he took psychic damage from that. “It’s kinda terrifyin’ when you talk like that, bro.”

“A life working retail forever is terrifying,” Yugi countered.

“All the more reason t’get this straightened out an’ fast, then.” Jounouchi ran a hand through his hair, then shook his head. “Seriously, bro, you’re already a trouble magnet, and now you’re dickin’ down the damn trouble. You got any sort of plan of attack for this?”

“Uuuuuuh… Word vomit an apology and pray it works?”

“Yugi…”

Yugi threw his hands up in the air in surrender. “I’ve been trying to think of something better! Just nothing sounds good after I write it down or try to rehearse something!” He dragged a hand down his face. “I just… you know I’m not good with people…”

“Yer better than you think you are; you just overthink things too much,” Jounouchi said. “C’mon, we’ll figure somethin’ out together, OK? I’ll be yer soundin’ board!”

Yugi weakly laughed. “… Yeah, we’ll figure it out together. Thanks, Jounouchi. I know this can’t be easy for you, because of who’s involved…”

“Can’t say I’m a fan a’ that jerk, yeah, but you’re the important thing here, y’know?” He held his fist out to Yugi, waiting for a bump back. “We got this.”

Yugi completed the fist bump. “Ha… Yeah, we got this.”

--------

Unfortunately, as time would soon tell, they did not, in fact, have this.

[tenebraevesper]

Shatter Me, Entry 2: The Reason I'm Here

''Shiny the recog! The story we continued to draw, shine light now! Wandering through time, a place where absurdity swirls. I had a blue and sad dream, the figure that was temporarily hidden. The meaning of this world is intertwined. I run through, hoping to meet up sometime, a view of the far, far future. Shiny the recog! When I wake up, the story that continues tomorrow! Grab it with these hands, the strength to believe will become a miracle! If it's the despair that resides in you, I'll cut through everything in my sight. The reason I'm here is because I want you to smile.''

– Recognize by MegaMan X DiVE

xXxXxXx

''Hey, Tails! Have you seen where the picnic blanket it?''

Tails looked up from the device he was working on, a bit surprised to see Sonic holding a picnic basket. ''Uh, sure… It's on the shelf, over there.''

''Thanks, little bro,'' Sonic replied, going over to the shelf and grabbing the blanket.

''You're going out for a picnic?'' Tails asked curiously.

''Yeah, with Shadow. I finally managed to find him and convince him to have a victory lunch since he had helped us save the Paradox Prism,'' Sonic replied, placing the blanket into the basket.

''I'm surprised that he agreed to it,'' Tails said.

''Well, what can I say? I'm quite persuasive when I want to be,'' Sonic replied, walking out of the workshop. ''Once again, thanks for the help Tails! You're the best!''

''Uh, huh, thanks, but…'' Tails sighed when he saw Sonic already speeding off. He hummed in thought, wondering what had happened to Sonic. Ever since they had saved the Paradox Prism, Sonic started to act weird… Well, perhaps ''weird'' wasn't the right word. Instead, he actually became more attentive, paying close attention to what others said before giving his own input. Not only that, but when it came to Tails, Sonic had started to praise him even for the most mundane stuff, reminding him how he would always be there for his little brother and to ask him if he ever felt bothered by something. While Sonic being a supportive big brother was welcome, Tails didn't understand what had triggered this change.

To add to it, Sonic would also keep running off to find Shadow, noting how he needs to thank him properly for his help and talking about how he was glad to have Shadow around. While Tails agreed that it was good that Shadow helped them to save the Paradox Prism, he wasn't really sure why Sonic made such a big deal out of it. He tried to ask Sonic about it, but the azure hedgehog had already ran off to his next adventure.

''I guess I'll ask him next time he stops by,'' Tails muttered, only to turn to his computer, surprised to see a change in the weather pattern. ''This is not good. I hope Sonic won't get caught in the approaching rainstorm.''

xXx

As per their agreement, Shadow was already waiting at the beach, observing the waves crashing against the sand and staring ahead at the sky. He took note of the thick dark grey clouds approaching Green Hill, feeling concerned about a possible storm. His ears flicked when he heard the familiar sound of Sonic running up to him, skidding to a halt as he held the picnic basket tightly in his arms.

''Sorry for being late, but it took me a bit to get all the spices right… Uh, is something wrong?'' Sonic followed Shadow's gaze, now seeing the drearily dull sight before him. ''Aw, com'n! I thought we'd have nice weather today!''

''It seems like we would have to postpone the beach picnic,'' Shadow said, glancing at Sonic. The azure hedgehog's ears drooped as he stared at the oncoming clouds in disappointment, with the wind picking up. He was looking forward to this so much, only for all of his effort being for nothing. Shadow then turned back to the horizon in thought, already feeling the rain droplets on his fur. He did feel bad for Sonic and him wasting his time and energy to arrange this only for the weather to ruin it.

''I guess we should go home then…''

''Wait.''

A dispirited Sonic, who had already turned on his heel to leave, was caught off guard when Shadow grabbed him by the hand and revealing the green Chaos Emerald in the other. ''I know a place where we can take shelter from the storm. Do you want to come along?''

''Of course!'' Sonic perked up, feeling Shadow tightening his grip on his hand as he held up the Chaos Emerald. There was a flash of light and both disappeared from the beach, just as the rain had started.

This was followed by a flash of light in what appeared to me some kind of alcove close to Hedgehog's Pass. It wasn't too shallow, but not too deep either to even be considered a cave, providing the two hedgehogs with enough space to shelter them from the wind and rain, but also keeping them close to each other. Shadow turned to Sonic, still holding his hand. ''I suppose we could have the picnic here instead on the beach, if you're fine with it.''

However, before Shadow could even finish his sentence, Sonic had already let go of him and grabbed the blanket out of the basket, setting it down on the ground and took out the sea dogs, offering Shadow one, having a wide smile on his expression.

''You never miss a beat, do you?'' Shadow couldn't help but smile at Sonic's optimism, taking the sea dog and sitting down next to Sonic.

''Heh, I'm just glad that we could have a picnic, no matter the place,'' Sonic replied, before taking a huge bite out of his sea dog. ''Nothing beats a good meal, especially when you're sharing it with your friend.''

''Friend?''

Sonic almost chocked on his sea dog when he heard Shadow's tone. It was strangely serene and inquisitive, as if Shadow was questioning the very nature of their relationship without even asking anything. Sonic wasn't sure why, but something about it struck a nerve and he was suddenly worried that maybe he said something that might've offended Shadow, so he decided to quickly elaborate on it.

''Well, yeah… I mean, at this point, being rivals and friends is practically the same,'' Sonic said, remembering all those times people beat him up before becoming his friends. Somehow, this way of making friends was becoming more and more common, much to his amusement and exasperation.

''If it's the same thing, why did you get so nervous?''

Sonic gave him a blank look, only to take note of the slightest of smirks Shadow gave him as he ate the sea dog. It took a moment for his brain to process that Shadow was just teasing him. Shadow couldn't help but snort in amusement when Sonic pouted in annoyance, reaching for the basket for another sea dog, a faint tint of pink spreading on his fawn muzzle. He ate it in silence, trying to figure out how to quip back to Shadow's comment, but all that came to his mind was a rush of adrenaline and fear when a memory flashed in his mind. He tried to shake it off, sighing instead as he continued to eat.

Shadow raised an eyebrow at Sonic's sudden silence. Usually, he appreciated it when Sonic actually shut up for once, but for some reason, he felt a little concerned about the lack of response. He felt an urge to reach out for him, even lifting his hand on instinct, but stopped himself, resuming to eat in silence and watching the downpour outside.

xXx

''I hope that Sonic is fine…'' Tails muttered as he observed the downpour outside from his workshop. The weather really took a turn for the worse and it was fortunate that it didn't turn into a full-blown thunderstorm. While Tails had figured that Sonic would be able to find shelter, it didn't make him feel less worried about his older brother. Suddenly, he heard a knock on his window, surprised to see Rouge flying outside, gesturing at the closed entrance to his workshop. He quickly walked over and opened it, letting the bat inside. Rouge flapped her wings, shaking off the rain droplets. Tails then walked over with a towel in his hands, tossing it towards Rouge. She used the towel to dry herself off, placing it over her shoulders.

''Ugh, the weather outside is horrible! Good thing I was close to your workshop,'' she said, looking around. ''Isn't Sonic with you?''

''No, he went out for a picnic with Shadow,'' Tails replied. Rouge's eyes widened in surprise.

''Really? I'd never expected for Shadow to actually agree to socialize with anyone, let alone Sonic,'' Rouge said. Tails shrugged.

''That's what Sonic had told me,'' he replied. ''As a matter of fact, he had been talking a lot about Shadow lately.''

Rouge tilted her head, humming in interest. ''Yeah, I had also noticed a change in Blue's attitude… Well, I hope their date didn't get ruined by the rainstorm.''

''D-Date?'' Tails stared at Rouge in surprise. She just gave him a nonchalant look.

''I mean, what else would you call these two going alone on a picnic,'' she said, a sly grin spreading on her lips. Tails was still baffled by Rouge's take on the situation, wondering if she was being genuine or just messing with him. Rouge didn't seem to be interested in giving him an answer, instead just starting to walk around the workshop and looking at the tools and devices on the shelves and desks. ''In any case, thanks for letting me stay here until the storm stops.''

''You're welcome, but please, don't touch anything,'' Tails replied in a deadpan tone, well aware of Rouge's treasure hunting reputation.

''Do you have any gems here?'' Rouge asked, with Tails shaking his head. She then gave him an assuring smile. ''Then you have nothing to worry about.''

Tails just sighed, walking back to the device he was working on, but it was hard for him to focus, as his mind was still replaying the conversation he had with Rouge in regards to Sonic and him supposedly being on a date with Shadow. He tried to shake it off as Rouge just making a wild assumption, but for some reason, the thought just wouldn't leave his mind.

Sonic, you really have some explaining to do.

xXx

''Man, I haven't seen a rainstorm this bad in a while now,'' Sonic commented, leaning against the wall of the alcove. He and Shadow have just finished their meal and were watching the constant downpour of rain that somehow had gotten stronger. ''It feels like someone is just dumping buckets of water all over the place. I just hope there won't be any flooding.''

''Once the rain stops, we can go and make sure that there isn't any,'' Shadow said, sitting next to Sonic, with one elbow propped on his knee. Sonic just nodded.

''I hope there won't be, because the last thing I need is to fall into water… again. I don't even have the kicks I had in No Place to keep me afloat,'' Sonic replied, wiggling his feet as he stared at the sneakers. ''Those really came in handy. I wish I had them when we fought Chaos.'' Sonic shuddered at the memory of Station Square being flooded. ''Man, I know everything went well… but that guy was made out of water! I was lucky I didn't drown.''

''Chaos?''

Sonic turned his gaze towards Shadow, who gave him a genuinely confused look. Sonic stared at him, wondering why the dark hedgehog looked so puzzled, until he realized it. ''Oh, right! You weren't there when we fought Chaos and Eggman. Sorry, my bad!''

''What did the Doctor do this time?'' Shadow asked, furrowing a brow when Sonic namedropped Eggman.

''Well, he unleashed this water deity named Chaos after shattering the Master Emerald, and Chaos went on to just destroy everything in his way because he was really angry and hurt because of what Knuckles' ancestors did to him in the past. You'd have to ask Knuckles for more details about this though, he knows this stuff better than I do,'' Sonic explained. ''Fortunately, we managed to calm him down and he left with Tikal.''

''Should I even ask you who Tikal is?'' Shadow asked in a dry tone, having gotten used to Sonic just namedropping people in a context that only made sense to him. ''Or should I ask Knuckles for an explanation?''

''Eh, heh…'' Sonic smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. He then leaned over, holding up his finger and thumb as he got an idea. ''You know, if you want me to, I could tell you all about my past adventures so you can get up to speed. What do you say?'' His ears then drooped as his eyes flickered to the side, adding, ''I mean, I know you're not exactly into small talk, but we're kind of stuck here… But you also have the Chaos Emerald, so you can just leave…''

''I'll listen to you talk,'' Shadow said, his eyes closed as he let out a soft sigh, his arms folded across his chest. He understood Sonic's desire to spend time with him, especially when there really wasn't any emergency to attend to. While he typically avoided small talk in favor of keeping things concise and to the point, he figured that he could humor Sonic for the time being.

''Really?! That's great!'' Shadow's attention snapped back to Sonic, being caught slightly off guard by just how happy Sonic looked, his emerald green eyes almost sparkling. Shadow couldn't help but stare into his eyes, feeling once again that weird sense of warmth spreading through his body. This strange sensation was both scary due to its unfamiliarity, and captivating, and Shadow felt a desire to lean into it.

Sonic then started to talk, telling him tales about his adventures, which were mostly exploits against Dr. Eggman, usually in the company of his friends. Shadow listened intently, taking note of just how animated and excited Sonic got as he talked about what had happened, going into details about the events and battles he had been through, showing pride in his heroism and assurance that, no matter how bad things got, he always found a way out. It was quite a fascinating experience, as the stories were detailed enough for Shadow to be able to imagine them in his head, and the only times he interrupted Sonic to ask him questions about something particular. He took notice of Sonic's mannerism whenever he asked a question, with the azure hedgehog being always eager to explain things and basking in the attention he got from Shadow. It was as if the world around them had slowly faded away and it was just the two of them remaining.

''…never told you about it, but I'm really glad that I met you,'' Sonic said, only to suddenly pause, his expression changing to a more somber one. Shadow could see the lack of focus in his green eyes, now dull as he seemed to have been reminded of an experience he wanted to forget.

''Sonic?'' Shadow grew concerned, well aware that if Sonic ever went silent, it was obvious that things were bad. He lifted his hand instinctively, although he didn't make any further moves due to his own hesitance. Even though he had found himself feeling genuine worry for Sonic, going so far to comfort him, he could never make that crucial final step, no matter how much he tried.

''You know, when I saw you falling into The Void, it reminded me of…'' Sonic trailed off, guilt being reflected in his eyes. Shadow's ears drooped and his eyes widened when he realized what Sonic was referring to. Sonic took a deep breath, trying to continue the conversation, despite feeling as if someone placed a boulder on his chest, pressing him down, ''I thought I would lose you again. I couldn't save you when you fell to Earth, no matter how hard I tried, and I refused to let it happen again. I couldn't let it happen again, especially not when I had already lost so much because of my own mistakes.''

Sonic lowered his gaze, clearly still haunted by the memories of the past. He actually felt guilty for being unable to save Shadow after he had lost his Super Form and fell down to Earth, seemingly dying, and it was a burden he carried with himself for a while, even though he tried to push it out of his mind. He was glad that Shadow turned out to be alive, but this was something that still lingered on his mind, to the point that he had a full-blown panic-inducing flashback when he saw an unconscious Shadow falling into the darkest depths of The Void. Sonic placed his hand on his chest, his breath fast and shallow at the memory played out once again, and he could feel his heart beating rapidly. He could still hear his own desperate screams echoing in his head.

''No! No no no no! Shadow! SHADOW!''

''Sonic!''

Sonic gasped as he snapped back to reality, feeling as if he had been running for miles, his heartbeat as fast as back then. He registered a sense of weight on his shoulder and turned to Shadow, realizing that the dark hedgehog had placed his hand on his shoulder, trying to get his attention and break him out of his memory.

''I… I'm sorry…'' Sonic said, holding his breath as he tried to calm down, and forced a smile. ''I-I'm just glad that I had managed to save you this time. Heh.''

''Sonic, you're not fine,'' Shadow stated, his eyes narrowed in concern. He too remembered the moment he had tried to enter the gateway in the mistaken belief that the tech he stole from Sonic would grant him entrance to the Shatterspaces, and while he couldn't remember what happened after he fell unconscious, he did recall being in Sonic's arms, at least before the inevitable collision with one of the crystals. Even back then, Sonic tried to just blow it off as nothing, but it was clear now that this was something that weighted heavily on him.

''No, really, it's nothing…'' Sonic tried to assure him, but Shadow shook his head, giving him a firm look.

''I know what you're trying to do, and it's not working,'' he stated. Sonic's forced smile disappeared and he lowered his gaze.

''I guess that messed me up more than I thought,'' Sonic muttered.

''Even though my fall after the battle with Finalhazard was none of your fault,'' Shadow added. Sonic looked up back at Shadow, his eyes wide.

''No, I was trying to reach out for you. I was trying to save you! If I had only-'' Sonic protested, only to get cut off by Shadow.

''Sonic, I still remember that moment when you reached out to save me before I fell to Earth from the ARK, but it seems that what you have forgotten is that I had waved you away,'' Shadow told him. Sonic stared at him, speechless, trying to recall the moment as well. ''If I hadn't done that, you would have fallen with me. I appreciate your determination, even if you frustrate me to no end, but this was not your fault. I had chosen to let go, especially after all of the trouble I had caused because of my own mistaken beliefs.''

''Shadow…''

''I promised to myself that I would never forget that. Until I did,'' Shadow added, placing his hand against his temple, gritting his teeth and letting out a frustrated groan at his own issues with his memory. There was so much that was wrong with him, no matter how hard he tried. There was so much he tried to understand, but he felt like he'd always find himself at a dead end, always taking the wrong path. It felt so incredibly infuriating, despite all of his attempts to do the right thing. He then lowered his hand, sighing. ''So, as I said, don't ever think that any-''

Before Shadow could even finish the sentence, Sonic threw himself against him, burying his muzzle into Shadow's shoulder and wrapping his hands around torso, hugging him tightly. Shadow remained stunned and speechless at this move, unable to process what had just happened. His eyes darted towards Sonic as he tried to formulate a coherent thought, but nothing except a warm sensation of comfort filled his mind.

''Then, how about we avoid such scenarios in the future,'' Sonic said, still feeling the weight pressing against his chest. In that one moment, he couldn't think of anything else but to reach for Shadow and keep him close to himself, fearing that, if he let go, he would lose him again. What he didn't expect was that Shadow would wrap his hands around his back, pulling him closer.

''Yeah… The same goes for you,'' Shadow muttered, with Sonic lifting his head, still in Shadow's arms and meeting his stern gaze, crimson eyes observing emerald eyes intently. ''Your stunt with the Prism Energy, while necessary, was still idiotic beyond belief. You were lucky I was there to get you home before you vanished into nothingness.''

''Heh, so you were worried about me,'' Sonic said, cracking a soft smile. He tried to tease Shadow, but it was clear that the emotions between them were so raw that even acting as if what had happened wasn't a big deal was impossible. They had simply reached a point where any barrier they had built up between them was completely shattered. Any emotional vulnerability they wanted to hide from each other was now laid out for the other to see and it seemed to have sparked something inside them, something they still needed to process fully.

''Yeah, I was…'' Shadow said, his gaze fixed on Sonic. He still didn't understand why he allowed himself to show this side of him, the side that craved for someone he could trust, someone who could comfort him, but he knew that it was too late to back down. All the walls he had put between himself and Sonic were torn down, and he couldn't care less. Sonic was the reason he was still here, and he would be forever grateful for that.

Shadow's ears then flicked when Sonic snorted, giving Shadow a mischievous look. ''I always knew that you were a hugger.''

Shadow narrowed his eyes, feeling the familiar rush of frustration coursing through his body. He closed his eyes, speaking through his gritted teeth (with Sonic imagining an anime-like cross-popping vein appearing on his forehead), ''If you tell this to anyone, I swear I will kick your ass and throw you off the ARK with my own hands.''

''Yeah, you would,'' Sonic said casually, causing Shadow to look at him, only to notice a sly smirk on Sonic's lips. ''But, you would also catch me afterwards.''

Shadow just sighed, not wanting to answer that, as he and Sonic knew that this was the truth. It amazed and frustrated him to no end just how easily he lost his composure in Sonic's presence, becoming more and more open with his emotions. His rival really had knack for driving him up the wall with his constant antics and, to make it worse, Sonic was fully aware of it. Nevertheless, that was part of the charm of their rivalry and Shadow knew that things would not be the same without that aspect of their relationship.

He then snapped out of his thoughts when Sonic just pressed his head against the white fur on his chest, nuzzling it. ''Dude, you never told me that you had a cloud for chest fur. It's so soft!''

''You're really bold for someone who is about to get punched in the face,'' Shadow said in an irked tone. Sonic lifted his head, a sly smile appearing on his fawn lips.

''Oh, really? Then, why are you still holding me like you're afraid that I'm about to fade away?'' Sonic asked in a teasing tone, drawing attention to the fact that they still held each other in a tight embrace, with Shadow's hands being placed just under Sonic's back quills.

''Shut up,'' Shadow growled, clearly irritated by Sonic's smugness, but nevertheless, he pulled him even closer, digging his muzzle into Sonic's collarbone and enjoying the warmth that kept him comfort. Sonic was still smiling, although his expression became more soft as he understood that, despite everything that just transpired, Shadow still had trouble being honest about his emotions, putting up that intimidating look that kept most people away. Fortunately, Sonic wasn't like most people and he knew what kind of buttons to push to get a reaction from Shadow. He simply leaned into it, taking in the faint scent of lavender he came to associate with Shadow and listening to the faint sound of rain outside.

It seemed that the storm had finally lessened.

xXx

Shadow squinted, slowly blinking before opening his eyes. He was still in a daze, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. The first thing he took note of was the scent of freshness in the air, the kind that appears after rain. He gazed outside, realizing that the rainstorm had stopped and that the sky was dotted with stars. It was probably late in the night.

Shadow then turned his attention to the weight on his shoulder, realizing that it was Sonic. The azure hedgehog was still fast asleep, his head leaning against Shadow's collarbone, with Shadow having placed his arm around his waist to keep him in place. The dark hedgehog sighed, realizing that they had somehow fallen asleep like this, leaned against the wall. Shadow didn't feel too uncomfortable about this position, but he did wish he had been leaning against a pillow or something similar. Sonic, obviously, was quite comfortable using Shadow as a pillow.

How did we end up like this?

Only a few days ago, Shadow was furious at Sonic for his lack of awareness and reckless behavior in the face of danger, reprimanding him for not listening to anyone in a critical moment, which led to their reality fracturing. He never expected that their forced teamwork would lead up to them starting to understand each other better, to the point of being comfortable enough in each other's presence to open up to each other. He understood that their relationship was way more than just a simple rivalry and that there was a level of deep understanding between them, a rare relationship that can enter one's heart.

Shadow knew that this was a relationship that he couldn't let go of.

He took a look down at his lap, having just realized that Sonic had placed his own hand on top of his, his gloved fingers curled slightly over Shadow's knuckles. Shadow couldn't help but smile softly, shifting his hand so he could intertwine with fingers with Sonic's and leaned his head against Sonic's forehead. He then closed his eyes, drifting off to a peaceful sleep while holding Sonic's hand in his own.

Links:

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#Sonic Cyber Revolution (Masterlist)

[steve0discusses]

Ep 45 Part 2: I, Again, Did Not Expect Ryou

The revolving door of characters wandering into this boss arena continues, and this time it’s Pharaoh who is trying to catch up to the plot with the dead woman on the ground, the giant tablet to the side, and Seto who is cackling to himself in a corner.

And Seto does a big ol laugh and it’s been a while since we got a villainous laugh out of Seto. Been a LONG TIME. Probably felt great for this voice actor to go back to his roots.

(read more under the cut)

Y’all.

It’s been a while I’ve been doing this blog, right? And I take it slow, especially right now with chronic fatigue stuff, but MAN I really thought we’d be dueling SETO. Not Aknadin in a Seto Bean! That’s a different guy!

Yugioh! That’s a completely different guy!

And there’s time for the big showdown between Pharaoh and Seto to actually happen. But trying to write it so we no longer develop this rivalry between Seto and Pharaoh feels like...they had to do that because Seto became a friend maybe kind of unintentionally.

It still works, they haven’t lied to us, I just...I have mixed feelings about it.

Mimicking Blue Eyes in Season 1 and Season Zero, this dragon will not work for you if you are not Seto Kaiba. Or Yugi. She’ll sometimes allow Yugi to play her in his deck. But definately not Seto Imposters. And like that, Aknadin is dead by his own hubris.

Hubris be killing a lot of billionaires lately, amiright? Yugioh just leaning into my love of killing billionaire gentry with hubris.

This romantic moment somewhat ruined by the animation team refusing to draw fingers and always keeping everyone’s hands clenched like they’re gonna furiously poop.

Yami watches as Seto recreates the vision that Kaiba had seen several years prior on the blimp. And Yami I’m sure felt entirely 3rd wheel. But he’s used that. He lives in Yugi’s bean. He probably thinks 3rd wheel is normal and how everyone feels all the time.

And then THIS HAPPENS.

Seto decides he’s had enough of watching behind a pillar, and now that everyone is dead and sobbing he should go out and harass Yugi. Youknow, at this funeral. The funeral of his beloved from like a previous life or whatever. Seto is kind over it and for once he is the one that needs a ride home.

And he’s like “hey so...I noticed that guy looks like me”

And then, when you think “well I guess Seto joins the party?” they just start screaming at eachother, within earshot of Seto, within earshot of the dead dragon card, within the earshot of like the entire world.

Remember that no one can actually see Seto but Pharaoh, which makes it even more funny.

Bakura segue’s us back to Yugi and his cursed friends, where he’s trying his best to explain the logic of cursing your classmates with dark magic so you can go on playdates.

The idea that you go through all the trouble to curse people into liking you, but the puzzle itself is made of dark magic, so it finds the most terrifying people to make your friend, is funny to me although it is completely my headcanon.

Anyway, get ready for the still my computer caught for this next one.

(it’s “surprise” but eh I don’t feel like fixing it at this point.)

It DOES look like Tristan is doing a weird cross punch, he’s actually tossing both of them and his hands over extended to the other side, which is a thing we do in animation, we go past the point you intend to go so it looks more fluid--but it does make the tweens funny.

The floor gives way and creates scales made out of the eyes.

Will Yugi leap from his scale and send his friends to purple doom, or will he find Pharaoh’s name and save the world?

which like, wouldn’t be a good episode of Yugioh unless multiple people were asking to die, and Joey nailed it in the most Brooklyn way this Japanese boy knows how.

And so Bakura was like “never mind.” which I guess was an option in the footnotes that only he could read.

Not shown is a hard to cap animation where Yugi leapt from his edge of the scales and just clung to Joey’s waist and Joey was like “gotta hang on to your friends, right Yuge?” And Yugi was like “Does that mean you forgive me already? Or are you being sarcastic right now?”

Inside of the room is this.

I LOVE the outline tool in photoshop. Good stuff. I LOVE it. and so does this animation team. Outlined the HELL out of those birds.

They leave the name zone room, with no idea at all how to say Pharaoh’s name. Where, they ran straight into Tristan and decided enough was enough, it’s time to have a chat. Because no, they haven’t figured it out.

You may be asking “so where did Tristan go?”

I DON’T KNOW.

He’s probably not fine. But um. No idea where Tristan went.

Also, guess who we haven’t seen in like 20 episodes since Seto stepped over his prone body on the steps?

Ryou! Little Ryou is back!

This guy who we...thought was a good guy? Anyway he’s off to literally kill Yugi, just like he’s want to do.

Straight up...I can’t fully predict Ryou, mostly because we rarely ever see the kid, but damn, he sure did wake up just ready to do a murder today, didn’t he?

And yes, this does mean that Ryou was pretending to be Bakura pretending to be Tristan, just so we the audience could get a fun triple reveal in this episode.

For some damn reason Ryou brought a duel disk to ancient Egypt. So we WILL get actual proper cards. And by proper cards, I mean Yugioh TV show cards, which line up not at all with the actual card game. Can’t wait to spell FINAL and then die.

Anyway, here’s the link to read these in chrono order.

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

We are quickly running out of people in this season to kill, but we still got a few of Pharoah’s ancient friends left, and as for who dies next episode? My bet is on...Isis. Sorry Isis, I know you got a cool hat and you’re the token girl but, she’s super dead next right?

[box-dwelling]

So I can't animate or draw well enough to do this but I do think the world needs a Krisnix No children animatic. So a breakdown/story board plan and idk maybe I'll make it as practice for some of the comic stuff I want to do.

I hope that our few remaining friends give up on trying to save us: Edgeworth and Maya desperately trying to contact Phoenix who is ignoring their calls. Maybe including Edgeworth insisting that Phoenix would never forge evidence to lead into the next line

I hope we come up with a fail safe plot to piss of the dumb few that forgave us: Phoenix forging the ace and then a reference to SL9 dagger to hammer home what that would mean to Edgeworth

I hope the fences we mended: Kristoph being the only vote in favour of him

Fall down beneath their own weight: Kristoph doing the small manipulative smile with the diary page in the background

And I hope we hang on past the last exit: Phoenix meeting Trucy

I hope it's already too late: Kristoph watching Phoenix losing the badge

I hope the junk yard a few block from here some day burns down: the courtroom burning

And I hope the rising black smoke carries me far away and I never come back to this town again: Phoenix going to Europe with Edgeworth

In my life: warmer colours come in as we get a little close up of Edgeworth seeing Phoenix and smiling

I hope I lie: warm colours gone Kristophs black psyche locks

And tell everyone you were a good wife: Phoenix telling Edgeworth about Kristoph while smiling. Colours are muted but still brighter than the rest

And I hope you die: back to black. them dining. Kristoph speaking

I hope we both die: same but Phoenix speaking

I hope I cut myself shaving tomorrow: Kristoph killing Zak (not the best line for but idk what else to put and this works for the general narrative flow)

I hope it bleeds all day long: Phoenix in the detention center

Our friends say it's darkest before the sun rises: trucy, with Apollo entering in the background

We're pretty sure they're all wrong: Phoenix getting decked by Apollo

I hope it stays dark for ever: Kristoph in his cell, wanting to keep what he did in the dark

I hope the worst isn't over: Phoenix post turnabout trump working on Mason

And I hope you blink before I do: spilt screen of Kristoph reading in his cell and Phoenix working on Mason

And I hope I never get sober: Grape juice on the desk beside Phoenix's computer

And I hope when you think of me years down the line: Phoenix in his new suit with the full WAA found family.

you can't find one good thing to say: Athena finds the nail polish bottle, Phoenix scowls while Klavier gets a hug from Apollo and Trucy looks forelorn

And I'd hope that I ever found the strength to walk out you'd stay the hell out of my way: Phoenix getting his badge back

I am drowning, there is no sign of land, You are coming down with me, Hand in unloveable hand, And I hope you die: Kristoph screaming this as he has his breakdown

I hope we both die: Phoenix putting away the hoodie and putting the beanie on the shelf and pouring the grape juice down the sink. Symbolically killing that version of himself

Writing this out I do really want to do it but if anyone else beats me to it, I'd love to see it because I am Bad at Art and while this could be fun practice seeing someone more skilled make this would be awesome too, though I'd appreciate being tagged so I can see it

[bellybiologist]

Tallying up the Year

I hope you guys' december (which is almost over already, wtf) is going/has gone well! 2024 is upon us.

This christmas weekend, I mostly found myself thinking about how this year went, and honestly? despite all the things I haven't gotten to do, I still managed to accomplish quite a lot.

Me typing this rambly post out is less anything anyone needs to read, but more to remind myself of Things That Got Done™ than anything else because sometimes... I forget I do be getting shit done! And it's important we remind ourselves of the work we do.

The Things That got Done™

I advocated for my own Health. I scheduled (and went to!) so many doctor and dental appointments this year, holy shit. But, if the last few years have taught me anything, I simply have to put in the effort. I got my colon mostly sorted out, started a new regimen for my skin and hair (after chopping it off) so I'm feeling better, schedule an appointment with the optometrist in January, and even got lots of issues with my teeth fixed. Granted, our broken medical system made it incredibly stressful, and i spent thousands of dollars on the latter that I will be paying off til next july BUT!!!! This section is about the good things.

Started Streaming Again! I've been missing streaming since I stopped way back in I believe 2020. It was a fun way to interact with followers and supporters, so I'm glad I'm back to it on a regular schedule, with many of the old regulars still joining me while I work. Speaking of which:

I finished 43 total stream doodles. While I'm only filling a handful a month, it's definitely adding up! 40+ boys in the span of 5 months is nothing to scoff at, and that's not even considering that I'm doing this alongside normal patreon work.

I finished 39 total commissions this year. I'm definitely still going quite slowly, and I thank everyone who has been extraordinarily patient thus far, but I'm happy to say that my pace has been decent... at least relative to previous years. I got more done in the last 5 months than i did in the roughly year and a half period before 2023!

Replaced SEVERAL appliances that broke down. My computer moniter, my microwave, my refrigerator... all failed on my this year, and it took some work, but I finally managed to get them all replaced! So far, everything is working fine, but next on my agenda is to save up for a new desktop. This one I use for work has been at it since 2017, and it's about time to look into upgrading.

My Google Drive is Looking Nice. It's still not perfect, but I'm still immensely proud of how it's shaping up. There's still some curating of older pieces to do, but I've found a stride where I'm regularly updating it for people to peruse.

=====

Now despite these W's, I still got a long way to go. The things below could be considered resolutions for 2024, but that feels cursed to call them that. They are simply:

Things I Want to GET Done

Adding more YCH Figures. I was definitely expecting to have more to choose from by this point. And I really need to update some of the older ones too, because I think they've aged poorly. I got some neat suggestions and hopefully will find some time this week to showcase them in my discord to collect some feedback before releasing them.

Do more involved pieces/projects. I want to do more things like Comics, or simply pieces that I work on over the course of several sittings, ones where I can experiment and fiddle and practice!!! I rarely ever get to do that these days (I've only finished a few Big Personal Pieces this year), and I need to find time and energy to do them more because those are the things that truly make me feel like I grow as an artist. (and maybe I can find a shading style I actually fucking tolerate.). I also want to get more OC development and stuff done too, cuz I really didn't draw my children a whole lot this year!

Make more fucking Money!!!!! Let's not kid ourselves. I want to get to a point where I'm not just barely meeting the monthly quota. How to get there? I don't know, honestly. Things are so very stacked against artists right now, so it really does feel like the only thing that can be done is Not Give Up. Which I won't do. If/when I go down, I'm making it everyone else's problem. Trust. 😏

Save up to Visit the Boyfriend. I haven't seen him since January 2022! Big goal is to be comfortable enough to where I can fly my ass up there and smooch him. 👏🏽

======

I won't lie, i'm going into 2024 quite anxious and still scraping by by the skin of my teeth (that I'm still paying for). It's going to be a BIG year cuz oh boy, it's election year, there's plenty of family developments i gotta keep an eye on and work to be a part of... not to mention all the horrible stuff going on still (free palestine!).

Here's hoping shit goes our way this coming year! And let's get ,more strikes going so everyone is getting their fucking money!!! :V

[donnerpartyofone]

I'm sick of my system responding to every single thing as if it's a mortal threat. Due to a strange coincidence, I get to go to London next month to record a blu ray commentary--I don't think I'm allowed to say what yet, but it's something I've been researching independently for years, and this is a pretty amazing way for all that self-directed toiling in obscurity to pay off. Of course this kind of thing is not lucrative and I'm scared to dig into my dwindling savings while I'm still unemployed, but it's also like, what's money even for if not for this exact kind of thing? Would I really be happier if I looked back on the time when I held onto the money because that's "responsible" instead of fulfilling a kind of dream that just fell into my lap? And besides that, I have the extreme good luck that a close friend who DOES have money is encouraging me to make more of a vacation out of it, on her dime. And I'll be working with a colleague who is really cool and wants to show me the city. Like basically this is the perfect setup, but for as usual I'm having this terrible paralysis where I'm vibrating with anxiety and my brain keeps going OH NO I have to do something, I'm too tired. OH NO I have to make flight and lodging reservations, what if they get screwed up. OH NO I have to hang out with a person I've never hung out with before, what if I don't know how to act or what to say and it's exhausting and embarrassing. OH NO what if I starve to death because I bought plane tickets right after moving to a more expensive apartment. OH NO I better not get out my computer and draw up a fun itinerary of all the cool things I want to do and figure out what I need to spend on food every day and then tell someone to put the money in my hand. I better not book the trip already so I can stop worrying about it and just look forward to it. I better not do this, it will surely ruin me. I had this one second flash of a thought that was like, WOW I get to go to a city I've never been to, to do something really fucking cool, I'm SO LUCKY! It was like Oh yeah, this is probably how normal people feel when they get an opportunity to do something awesome. They don't immediately register it as a threat to their existence and wonder how they're going to survive it. What could that be like!

Admittedly I'm tired from doing a ton of shit for the move yesterday, and when I'm tired (which is often) it can make me feel vulnerable, which can make me even more nervous than usual. Unfortunately I'm concerned that a new medication I'm on could be raising my baseline anxiety to a higher level, and I'm not sure if I really want to go to the trouble of experimenting with that and putting myself through the ringer of trying alternatives if I'm not even totally sure that anything unusual is happening. It's just a thing. I wish I could be on mood meds but they all do something bad to me, if anybody has some kind of hippie nerve remedy that is not straight up marijuana I'm willing to hear about it.

[squarebracket-trickster]

Writer Q&A Tag Game

Thank you @sunset-a-story for ALSO tagging me way back in August. I AM SO SORRY

1. What motivates you to write?

It itchy, itchy urge to create something. I NEED it OUT. I MUST make sense of it ALL. The thoughts need ordering and putting together to maximize the happy chemicals. I see something I like that someone else made and I get jealous so I must do something like that, but MY way, and BETTER. It all makes me very itchy (restless).

2. A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

I skimmed my entire 3rd draft (so far) to pick a line. There are a lot of good ones but none I liked more than the rest - I couldn't choose. So... I know I've already shared this one but dammit. It is a kickass line. It's also the first line of WIPVII - and you do not know what devils I sold my soul to to escape THAT writer's block.

I will live, I tell myself through the salt water in my eyes and the sting of the south wind on my face. This will make for a good story one day.

5. What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

Banter and wit. Which is funny because I always thought that was the thing I would struggle most with - I was the academic overachiever who took herself too seriously in school. But when I reread my drafts there is something that makes me laugh in nearly every scene. Most of my highlighted lines are banter or retorts.

6. What do you enjoy most about the Writeblr community?

I love seeing writeblr content on my dash and I looooove getting interactions when I liveblog my writing. It is so nice to be able to share this with people who love it too (rather than inflicting it on my poor irl friends who are not writers). I just love all you Writeblr friends so much!

7. A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

A 2x3.5' and a 3x5.5' whiteboard with a rainbow's worth of whiteboard markers in different thicknesses for brainstorming, family trees, timelines. My sketchbook, a mechanical pencil, and YouTube drawing tutorials for my maps and concept art. MS Word, dark mode, Times New Roman pt 11, with comments enabled for my manuscripts, outlines (bullet points), and worldbuilding notes. Subfolders within subfolders stored on my PC to organize all my Word docs. Two separate USBs which my completed manuscripts are saved to (in case something happens to my computer AND one of the USBs).

I have yet to find any worldbuilding or map making software (and it hasn't been for lack of looking) that gives me enough flexibility. I have yet to find any writing software that has features Word doesn't but that would actually help my process rather than overwhelm me.

I do want to write out a draft of WIPVII by hand at some point (though with my penchant for writing hand cramps this might be doomed). I also want to try an electric typewriter.

8. A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

WIPVII doesn't have very complex worldbuilding (there is no magic and most of it is ripped from real world history) but I do always love it when authors tell us what way the wind is coming, what smells it carries, what the view is in the distance, whose lands those are... that kind of stuff. Really creates a sense of place. I spent a lot of time mapping all this out in my own novel and I am very happy with it! The description feels so rich!

9. What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

Learn more about the craft. Writing is problem solving. If you aren't happy with something figure out why - the mechanics and technique behind writing. If you're still stuck learn even more. There are so many great, free resources on tumblr, youtube, blogs, pinterest (though it is most stolen from tumblr) even twitter and tiktok.

Also, learn how to filter out what advice is helpful now versus what should wait for later so you don't get overwhelmed. If you haven't even written a first draft yet don't bother with pacing, exposition, line editing, or let alone how to query. Just focus on the macro-stuff like plot and character arcs.

Tagging with the lightest brush on the shoulder these nine alleged humans: @cheeto-flavoured-pasta, @alnaperera, @bluberimufim, @daisywords, @boundedsea, @full-on-sam, @writernopal, @ashen-crest, @surroundedbypearls

[icharchivist]

hii! if someone is interested in getting into the original granblue fantasy (mostly because I'm curious about the characters, specially belial he's so pretty omg) are there any tips/things you'd recommend keeping in mind?

I hope you have a great day/evening/night/what other times of the day exist!

oh hi!!! another victim to how pretty Belial is...... welcome abord!

I have a lot of various level of tips depending on what angle of the game you want to explore, but it might be a little overwhelming. I'll start just by "making the game work well for you" and "how to advance in the Visual Novel (especially to get to Belial)" as the starter guideline.

My inbox is also always opened for any type of clarification: no question is too dumb, i'm here to help, whatever level you're at (.... except if you're on super High Level but i don't think that's going to be the case for a while)

I usually use the tag ichablogging gbftips if you need to look through some things

First of all, how the game works:

Granblue Fantasy is a browser game. It means you don't need an app to play it. however it is chromium based so you will need a google chrome tab or the likes (if like me you're on firefox, i genuinely run chrome only for Granblue at this point)

it is accessible on this address:

the page will be Japanese upon arrival, but just scroll a little and you'll find the "set language" settings

There all you need to do is press new game and start on your journey.

Note that the English and Japanese server are the same. Unlike most gacha we play, it means there is no delay between the stories-- both language get games and stories update at the same time.

Word of advice: when the game asks you to link your account, like here:

select Mobage. the page is in Japanese but it will be the most efficient way to save your progress. this page should help if it's not instinctive to you.

Once your mobage account done, tadaa, you can log in onto the game on whatever browser you would have, and you can be logged on multiple place at once! i'm currently playing on my phone while also taking screenshots on my computer! hell yeah!

On there the game will mostly hold your hand through the gameplay and the beginning of the main story, as well as your first gacha.

Slight information about the gacha:

-On your homepage, when the "Draw" button is blue, it means the rate up for SSR is really low. when the "Draw" button is golden, it means the rate up is at least doubled, and some rarer, limited units, are also in the pool. It is highly recommended that if you want to pull, you should pull when the Draw button is Golden (it's called "Gala" in general)

-there is a pity system called a Spark. After 300 pulls (or 30x10 pulls), you are allowed to choose one of any of the characters featured on this specific banner. Most people tend to wait until they have 300 pulls saved for when their fav is in the banner too pull as a result (or, as we say, we "save a spark"). This website can help you taking track of your spark.

-There ARE free pulls seasons: if you intend to be a seasonal (ie, not play for a time) it's good to come back in December, in March (it's the anniversary month, and next year is the tenth anni, so it might be even more of a celebration), and sometimes in Summer, in order to take advantage of the Free Pulls. Usually, in December and March, we get one free ten pulls a day at least, and then further into the month, we get "a roulette" that can double or triple that number. It's really worth keeping an eye on Free pulls seasons.

Others information:

-You will want to follow or keep an eye on the Granblue_en twitter account. It's a fan account that is always updating any information needed. It's a life savior gem.

-if you have any doubt gameplay wise, rely heavily on the gbf.wiki. It is EXTREMELY throughout gameplay wise. Genuinely a must-be-aware-of to play the game.

Important gameplay thing:

-If A Story Event is ongoing (it's not the case right now), and you don't want to read it for whatever reasons, do yourself a favor and actually go to the event page and manually skip every episodes of the event. It will save the event in your Journal, meaning it can be accessed later on when the event is no longer live.

(the current ongoing event, Dread Barrage, is a fighting event, i think you can kinda ignore it for now because it is when things start to be complicated, so don't mind it as of now)

Storywise:

There are three sorts of stories in Granblue:

-The Main Story Quest, which you will have to progress into in order to unlock the rest of the stories. It's the core of the Main Character's journey with Lyria and Vyrn as they travel the skies to reach their destination.

-Events and Side Stories, which are basically stories that happen when they dilly dally on their journey and go to new islands. Events and Side Stories often have their own casts that will not appear in the Main Story, but are still equally important to the game.

This type of story starts out as limited events: they run for ten days in Granblue. Then, they disappear for a while. Usually in the years that follow, this story gets a "rerun". It means the event goes back live, still limited for 10 days. And then, after a while, the event is ultimately added to the Side Stories tab, where it will always be accessible in game.

The Side Stories tab unlock after you finish Chapter 6 or 8 of the Main Story i'm not really sure. Some Side Stories will have requirements to be unlocked (like reading up to x chapter of the main story, or reading x over events before unlocking it) (it will be featured in the Gameplay Extras tab on the homescreen)

Some Side Stories are linked together. I personally call those "sagas". For example the Dragon Knights Saga (one of my favorite stories my icon and header are from) has about 10 events stories that have to be read in their publication order to be understood. It means you can expect the same cast, and a continuation to a previous story. Some Side Stories can also have casts from multiple sagas all together, so, have fun, explore the tab!

-Fate Episodes are the last type of stories you will have. They are linked to the characters units you will play with during the game, that you get by gacha or by completing events. Those are short stories that will be character driven. The characters can be Main Story Characters or Event Characters. Therefore they might further stories from their respective origins here and there. There is usually one starter episode unlockable as soon as you get the character, then one episode when you reach a certain level. SR and SSR characters who have a 5th star instead of only 4 also have another episode when you reach level 80, and then when you reach level 100. (the Fate episodes are available in the Quest tab and a shortcut to your list is also in the envelop menu on your homescreen)

SO THAT'S For the basic run down of some of the beginner things you want to keep an eye out storywise.

(Note that about every events are also available on youtube, so while missing an event sucks and all, if you wish to read an event which isn't in the side stories, or a fate episode of a character you can't get, youtube is here for you. also the transcript of every single stories are available on the wikipedia, though it's not as ideal.)

Gameplay wise, for the beginning, you'll get your hand held by the game. when it starts to get tricky, you're free to come and ask more precisions on here.

Now one last thing: how to get to Belial.

Belial is part of the side story saga known as "What Makes The Sky Blue".

The main story is a trilogy, respectively, "what makes the sky blue", "what makes the sky blue part 2: paradise lost" and "what makes the sky blue part 3: 000" After the trilogy, the summer event "The Maydays" is a sort of light hearted event following the events of 000 that involves the same cast. it is in the side stories. Last year, they also released another event including wmtsb characters, called The Mole Troupe. It has not been added to the side stories as of now.

To unlock the first part of wmtsb: you need to: -Reach Chapter 54 of the Main Story -Complete the side stories "Festival of Falling Flame", "The Cowardly Hero and the Captive Princess", and "Blade of the Young Champion" -(no one will blame you if you skip the side stories to read later, as it's mostly recommended because characters who appear in those events appear in wmtsb p1. But do read the Main Story though because the events rely a lot on the lore developed by the Main Story at this point.)

(and if you ever want to try out the Dragon Knights saga, it unlocks after Chapter 16 of the Main Story, and the first event is called Defender's Oath. Just to meet The Boyz.)

Also as a fair warning: early Granblue events tended to be shorter and perhaps a little less complex. After 2017 (wmtsb pt2), events started to grow longer and more complex. It might be jarring if you ever end up reading an early event and a more recent event back to back.

This would be my beginner outline at least.

One last warning: the gameplay will look intimidating at some point. don't let it intimidate you and just yolo. My ultimate beginner tip is that you should focus on stories and characters you like first. Discover the story, discover the characters. Don't let "trying to be good at the game" cloud you from just having fun with those characters. You can go far into the game without being hardcore into the gameplay, so take it easy and don't let it stresses you out.

Most importantly: have fun! take your time and enjoy yourself!

And if you have anything to ask - any tips, any recommandation, anything - my inbox is always opened ;D

Take care!

[ari--anon]

Hi! Big fan of your writing! If it’s not too much to ask:

How do you keep track of the small details you add in your writing? Especially the mega master writings. I find myself not writing for a while and struggling to remember or find the small infinitesimal detail I may or may not have mentioned - in order to keep coherency.

Hi, thank you :D

There's two way I keep track of details. First off, (and this saved me many times), I have a beta reader (friend of mine) who will often remember stuff I don't, and point it out in scenes where bringing that detail up would be plausible, or even if I completely contradicted something I've written before

Then I usually make a note of things that I should keep track of in a separate document, which is sort of a place where I dump all my chapter ideas. It doesn't have to be anything complicated, just a quick mention like "remember x!"

For example, me and my beta reader will often make rudimentary floorplans for rooms the characters will spend a lot of time in. These are made in ms paint and are really ugly, but I always come back to them to see where the characters are in relation to the room. (Plus this is a good way to initially really visualize the room!)

Or before I'm writing, I will make a really simple list of information to every character, and I will update it as I go. This includes stuff like age and important bits of appearance that stray from the norm, and then a sentence that describes the core of their character. You could do something similar with the chapters as you're writing them, so you'll always have an up-to-date list.

I know that taking notes is not for everyone, though, so this might not be good advice. Everyone has their own system that they need to crack, and I'm certainly still trying to settle into mine. Maybe, if notes aren't working for you, you could try to do it in a more visual way.

Like, if they pick up an item in chapter 4 that you want the character to use from then on, but you have trouble remembering, you could take a sticky note, write 'chapter 4' on top, and draw that item, and keep it close to your computer/laptop/writing paper. (Or if you write on your phone, I know that many notes apps have a function to draw on them too. It doesn't have too look pretty, you just have to know what it is! Like drawing a letter on your hand to remember something you need to do later)

If it's more abstract things, like a string of thought a character had that you think a character should hold onto for the story, this might get a bit more difficult, but I think that if you draw something related to it (even if it's just a thought bubble or something), you will most likely remember what it meant, even if vaguely.

But this is all stuff you do before, or during writing. I know this bit is difficult, especially when you've written A LOT but I guess the easiest way to keep track is to just read through it again.

But it's really important to remember that it's fine to go back and fix stuff! That's the fun part of posting online. If it's a matter of if a dress was white or red, and nothing you considered worth writing down (we can't put everything down after all) then I assure you, the minority of readers will catch if you change that up.

I'm currently going through iawwc again before posting the last chapter, because I'm looking out for exactly those type of details that might've gone under as I've been writing. Especially in those mega works that take a while to read and write, readers will often not notice if you changed a past chapter up so that it fits your current stand of things. So don't worry too much about this. Oftentimes when a detail went under, it probably wasn't that important in the first place, and can easily be cut out/changed.

I hope this helped, and thank you sm for your ask!