#and feeling this emotional loop of “that's awesome this drawing is so cool”

[botched-lineart]

really feeling that "never trust how you feel about your life past 9pm" philosophy

[andro-dino]

More Takanosuke and Sakyo parent Headcanons for my aching soUl???

oh this gives me an opportunity to talk about canela too woohoo

Overall I get very emotional abt them as parents but Sakyo especially bc the kurayami family (in my lore) is one long plagued by generational trauma instilled by the dragon clan and Ryoma was able to recognize that and get away from the clan, but he wasn’t able to break the cycle despite the fact that he was trying to, accidentally perpetuating it instead. Sakyo, however, despite feeling the impact of it, was also able to recognize that what he was doing wasn’t great and instead WAS able to work to actively improve himself to the point that by the time canela came around, he HAD broken the cycle and canela was the first kurayami in a while to really be free of that generational loop and that is so important to me.

With all that, Sakyo as a parent is very open and communicative (another big contrast to Ryoma) and he does everything in his power to make sure canela knows they are always loved and supported. This communication also extends to his relationship with Takanosuke and how their marriage is. Drawing back to Sakyo’s parents again, takanosuke and Sakyo’s relationship is extremely similar to how Victoria and Ryoma’s was, but Ryoma despite everything had notably been rather closed off about a lot of the more serious things he had been dealing with, leading to a sort of barrier between that was never fully broken, which kinda also worsened Victoria’s grief when he passed. Sakyo by contrast vowed to be a lot more open with Takanosuke and he’s stuck true to that. In all fairness, by their adulthood, Takanosuke can also read him like an open book, but the two of them communicate very openly and directly with each other and it makes for a very good relationship. I like to think also bc I headcanon both of them as autistic that both of them just prefer to communicate very directly without beating around the bush, which helps avoid a lot of conflict in their relationship.

A big thing with Canela is how much they enjoy researching beyblade history n stuff, especially when it comes to the dragon clan, and it’s a very good bonding thing for her and Sakyo because Sakyo is very open about the fact that he himself doesn’t know much about the clan, so it’s a chance for both of them to learn more about their culture and grow closer with each other as well as a result. Takanosuke’s not left out of this either as he also enjoys helping them out with their research and the two of them like sharing their findings with him afterwards (though Sakyo lets canela take the lead a lot of the time because of how passionate she is about it). Something that I actually have thought a little bit about is at some point, probably when they’re in their early teens, Canela gets little insecure about both not being an active blader and with that, not having a dragon bey (her bey is Bandit Icarus (solely bc I thought it was cool and I wanted to give someone an Icarus bey lmao)), and at some point, opens up about that to Sakyo, thinking that she’s a disappointment in some way. In response, Sakyo reassures her that he is always proud of them and that he could never be disappointed in her no matter what, and it’s an important moment for Canela and their relationship.

In general I think both Takanosuke and Sakyo are just pretty cool dads. Their relationship with canela is very open and she feels very comfortable telling them anything and they get along exceptionally well. I like to think that a lot of their friends actually didn’t expect them to be such good parents but like yeah they’re kinda awesome at it. Canela is also definitely their little princess always and they would do anything for them.

Another thought that I think would be fun, I’ve seen with like a lot of parents who raise their kids to be bilingual, one parent will speak primarily in one language and the other parent will speak mainly the other language, and I like to think that’s how they did it for Canela and teaching her Spanish. Sakyo was the one to speak mostly in Spanish bc while I think Takanosuke’s probably better at it by the time he’s an adult, Sakyo is definitely still the more fluent of the two. There’s this one couple I’ve seen online who are raising their daughter that way and her dad is the one speaking English and she will get very upset with him if he tries to speak Spanish to her and I think that is very funny and it would be very silly if canela did the same with takanosuke for a while.

[purplerose244]

Thinking journal for season 12 Prime Empire 😎😎😎 (2/2)

Here we go with the next part! I really hope we get some major big plot twist at some point, because it's all really cool but I need something to really change from good to GREAT

For now, let's focus on the next episodes!

It's the 17th of April and here we go!

GENERAL

I feel like there's little time to really pull up something, I don't know. Like, what plot twist could happen now that there just half season left with only Unagami/Dyer's identity and maybe Scott's past as mysteries? There's little space for more plotlines, that's what I think

Overall fighting scenes, character designs and game backgrounds are AWESOME!!

Let's see how it goes, maybe I'll be surprised. Wouldn't be weird for Ninjago to pull a bomb last episode 😅

ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK

ZANE AND PIXAL FINALLY!!! IT'S DETECTIVE TIME!!! 😎

Okay, so there is a photo, and there is a friend. As I thought, Dyer might not be Unagami at all, I feel like there's a lot of backstory coming along. I wonder if Scott has a part in this... WHERE IS SCOTT 💙

Ah, of course Kai would spend his credits on an avatar, I should've known, my flame babe can be such a dummie sometimes I mean why would you even do such a thing as buying an avat-

NEVER MIND I LOVE IT 😍😍🔥🔥 I thought him being blonde was going to bother me, I actually kinda like the change. Still prefer my baby brunette, but it's really cool as well. The best of this season are definitely the characters designs

Was that "let's fight an ogre mission" a hint for next season? I wouldn't be weird, but it's been a while since I've seen forshadowing for new season in this show

HECK YEAH THE DANCING EPISODE!!! I was waiting for this, Jaya is so cute while they are on the dancefloor 😍 They have chemistry 😘😘😘

I like the implication that Nya was really bad at dancing before Jay, like Kai covering his eyes because he cannot handle her sister not being perfect at something 😛

And Cole being the dance expert, that little tango moment with Kai I bet made many lavashippers super happy 🖤❤🖤❤

THE TRIPLE TIGER SASHAY ALL THE WAY FROM SEASON 1-2 ABSOLUTELY YES YES YES!!! AND HE DIDN'T ROAR, HE STRAIGHT UP SAID "NO ONE PUTS COLE IN A CORNER" I'M DYING!!! With this and Nya's 'catch me', I expect so many Dirty Dancing AUs from this 😂👌

JAYA BEING AWESOME HECK YEAH ❤💙❤💙

JUST LOOK AT THEM!!! Nya better say I love you back soon, like Kai and Skylor are a little behind, Zane and Pixal already said it, Jay can't stop doing it, come on girl it's your turn! 😎😎

RACER SEVEN

SCOTT IS BACK YES!!! 😍😍😍💙💙💙

Okay, I think my theory won't happen 😅 Feels like there are not enough episodes for a good reveal, and it doesn't seem like Scott is that influenced by Jay. My last idea is that perhaps he has spent so much time in the game like Jay said (POOR BABY 😭) that he doesn't remember. Maybe the moment he will come back, we will find out that it is Jay's brother/twin, I mean he still has those dragon and lightnings drawing on his back... yeah I like this theory a lot, gonna hold on to it!

So Scott is indeed a person trapped in a game, at least that's confirmed 👍

Also he's got some major issues, the poor thing, and I think there is some special reason behind him not wanting to race besides having just one life.

HERE IT COMES

OH MY GARMADON 😂😂😂 Okay, okay, it's actually better than I expected really. The scarf is cool, and so are the golden tattoos, the suit and the golden sleeve. It's just the mohawk that will take time to get used to, it's not even bad, just weird 🤷‍♀️

Racer Seven is so cool! Always nice seeing a new female character in this show that is not a love interest. I do love Nya, Pix and Sky to death, but I love variety too 💪

Really, really nice the piece of all Racer Seven's crashes! Impactful and sad, a never ending loop that she wants to break through from. That's the heavy stuff I like!

Okay, ready for the race! And I'm... scared? Like, a lot of they guys have one life?? KAI HAS ONE LIFE?? 😱😱 I hope for the best I guess 😅

THE SPEEDWAY FIVE-BILLION

Might be my favorite episode yet

Seven is SO COOL, it's another reason why I'm sad these episodes are so short! I really would had liked see her more, truly have her bond with the guys

Soooo... I guess since Scott's been in the game for 30 years it's safe to assume he's not Jay's brother/twin. To be fair it's really hard to tell a LEGO person's age😅 At this point I guess he could be either Dyer's friend, even if it sounds unlikely, or... idk, still think he could have a connection with Jay. Maybe he's like... an older brother? Libber had him a long while ago?

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! WHY DID SCOTT HAVE TO DIEEEEEEEE??? 😭😭😭 Just when he was getting more involved, come on! He even said he wanted to try that hero stuff, I love him! WE WILL SAVE YOU MY TECH BABY!!!

Cole getting a ride from Kai, this season has some pretty good lava material ❤🖤❤🖤

I've got some major Ninjaball Run vibes from this, that brings me back 😂 Even the no rules thing is there, come on, there has to be a little bit of inspiration from it!

Still don't know what I think of the rats, kinda seems useless and annoying, gonna be honest. But it's a nice race, exciting with nothing big happenin-

Kai and Cole sacrifice for Jay

I KNOW I THOUGHT ABOUT IT BEFORE BUT I'M NOT OKAY WITH THIS!!! MY FLAME BABE AND MY ROCKY BABY!!! 😭😭😭😭 WHY PEOPLE KEEP DYING IN THIS EPISODE???

I so, so enjoyed how they did it. Like, one look between them to realize that yes, this is it, Jay is the expert and needs to go on. This is the end of our race... AAAHHH!! (Infinite shipping potential too)

Omg Nya screaming her brother's name and Jay his best friend's name, while Lloyd looks so devastated (those masks are actually kinda espressive, I really like them). Wow. This is the angst I needed, finally👌

YES SEVEN WON!!! HECK YEAH GIRL!!! SO HAPPY FOR HER!!! Also Okino in the background being happy, nice touch!

And now they are three... it's gonna end up with only Jay huh. I... I'm not ready actually, my heart 😢 They better all hug when this is all over!!!

STOP, DROP AND SIDE ROLL

I CAN SEE THEY ARE KEEPING THE FEELS FOR LAST APPARENTLY??? 😭

The music of the old school section was actually very nice, reminds me of the past, I kinda hoped The Fold were going to release some game themed songs. Been a while since I have one of those 😍

Lol, explaining the side scroll games was actually pretty cool

YES THEY ACTUALLY ACKNOWLEDGED THE AIRJITSU!! Maybe they will remember they can used it, right Cole? The ladder scene? YOU CAN FLY???

OMG NYA ACTUALLY SAID CICLON-DO JUST HOW CUTE IS THAT!!! All the way from my favorite season Possession, Jay's definition of airjitzu that I actually still kept in one of my fanfictions 😂

Okay the design of the temple of madness is REALLY cool, you can immediately tell it's from an old videogame. Gives me the double vibe the googles for the first 3D movies used to give me 😂

Also look at this

THIS IS ADORABLE!! 💙💚💦 Really old style videogame 😂

And there we go!! Harumi!! Since I saw her in the set I was wondering what she was going to be, maybe an avatar or an NPC of some sort... THIS HURTS WAY MORE!!! And of course pure heart BABY boy Lloyd doesn't feel good fighting her, he had a crush on her! AND HE FREAKING SAW HER DIE!!! It's really sad that he still hopes for her to be good...

The fighting scenes are really, REALLY good! So fluid and active! This fight was really pleasant to watch, not gonna lie 💜

NOOOOOOOOO!!!! NOT MY GREEN BABY BOY!!!! I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN BUT STIIIIIIL!!! 😭😭😭

Okay, down to three members. Remaining Zaptrap and water godess... omg Nya will totally die first and at that point Jay will go completely nuts. I'm both scared and DYING TO HAPPEN!!! ANGST FINALLY!!! THIS IS THE STUFF!!

Got some major Skybound feeling, like when it was only Jay and Nya... will Nya finally say I love you back?? I HOPE SO ❤💙❤💙

With the three keytana now, what will happen? I'm actually curious now, this is the exciting stuff I need! And yes I do realize it's a little weird that for getting hype I need my faves to die 😅

NINJAGO CONFIDENTIAL

OMG THEY ACTUALLY DID A DETECTIVE THEMED EPISODE BLACK AND WHITE I'M DYING 😂😂😂

The Weekend Whip with sax, never thought I needed this in my life 😍

Bet Brent had a blast recording this

Okay this is the third Chima reference I see, they better throw some Nexo Knights hits as well next season! Come on, it's about freaking knights!!!

This is not what I expected when they said there was going to be an episode with only Zane and Pixal but I'm sure as HECK not complaining 👌

Oh, seeing Pixal joining in so normally is so beautiful, I really wish we could have her even more often

Dareth's karaoke bar! From Sons of Garmaron! Also him guessing first try because the ninja really do get post in other dimensions very often 😂 Gotta love them indeed

Pff Zane narrating and getting stopped every time because of it, how I missed this naive little nindroid

So the bartender Tony is the friend? That's it? A little easy really, hoped for more... still calling him Milty is cute 💕

Buddy's Pizza from season 2!!! This season is killing me with references and I LOVE IT SO MUCH 💜💜💜

So, the mechanic is free again (the Kryptarium dudes should really learn how to do their job right 😓), Zane is kidnapped, and Pixal has a fedora that makes her possibly even cuter. I have emotions

AH!! KNEW IT!! UNAGAMI IS NOT DYER!! FREAKING CALLED IT!!... kinda expected really, but still called it 😅

So Unagami was the first name of Prime Empire and is also an AI that got crazy and was shut down, but now is back after programming the game itself and wants to get to the real world?... I'm down with it

So I'm guessing we won't get much of a Scott backstory... Eh, let's see how it goes!

THE PRODIGAL FATHER

I was seriously confused by why those dudes wanted to kidnapped Wu, but it made sense later. Still come on sensei, you're a freaking half god or something, pull yourself together 🤦‍♀️

Very nice that Pixal is the one to bring up the argument about feelings and AI. So very nice to have her in this!!!

I THOUGHT ZANE WAS GOING TO TAKE A BREAK FROM LAST SEASON, WHY ARE THEY MAKING HIM SUFFER AGAIN??? 😭

Oh finally the backstory of Unagami I'm really curious about what happened in the past and what exactly brought the shut down of Prime Emp-

I LITERALLY CARE ABOUT NOTHING ELSE BUT THIS BEAUTIFUL GAMER BOY IN REAL LIFE!!! 😍😍😍😍😍

So Scott was the first beta tester, Milton asked Unagami to make the experience as exciting as possible, and that ended very badly so the game was shut down and THEY LEFT HIM INSIDE FULLY KNOWING HE WAS THERE??? I HATE DYER NOW!!!

Although it is really interesting knowing a tech genius like him, until now we got Dr. Julien and Cyrus Borg that were plenty open about the idea of AI with feelings as meaningful as humans'. While he doesn't get that, they are only machines for him and that's the reason why he doesn't understand how much Unagami is mad and filled with need for revenge.

This is why I want more than 11 minutes, the themes of this season are really, REALLY cool. I would have loved more introspection and development.

I guess Scott being Jay's brother is officially debunked 😅 Although I am curious about the life he left behind, since he was stuck in that game for 30 years. He still has those lightnings on the jacket I don't understand...

DON'T YOU DARE LET ZANE BE DESTROYED AGAIN PLEASE I STILL CRY WATCHING "THE TITANIUM NINJA"!!! 😢😢😢😢😢😢

The portal is open, Zane might get destroyed, Unagami wants revenge, Jay and Nya are the only one left and I'm pretty sure Nya will be killed as well leaving only Bluebell so there's THAT. So yeah, this is actually pretty cool!

Two episodes left. Okay Ninjago season 12 Prime Empire, wow me 😎

THE TEMPLE OF MADNESS

This felt a little simple if I'm gonna be honest. I felt like the last mission before facing Unagami was a little basic, with nothing really exciting. Still liked it, but this is probably my least favorite episode 🤷‍♀️

Of course, put Jay is a sushi restaurant-themed level and he will kill you with puns 😂 I love this prankster

Again, the fighting scenes are dope. Definitely one of my favorite things since they changed the animation. You lose something you win something 😙

Wooo, Jay saying that he had trained for years just for kick his butt was actually cool! Bluebell is unleashing!

"And that's how we roll!". You rock we roll, am I right 😂

AH!!! CALLED IT!!! TOTALLY CALLED IT!!! MY POOR BABY BLUEBELL 😭😭

I wish Nya said that she loves Jay back though! Freaking come on girl, he is your yang!!! ❤💙❤💙

Unagami is not Dyer, he wants to get to the real world, I'm actually kinda curious about the confrontation that is about to happen... ALSO THERE BETTER BE LOTS OF HUGS WHEN THIS IS OVER

I... genuinely forgot about the dragon medallion 😅 Eh, I love dragons so I'm fine with it. Well, let's see how it ends!!!

GAME OVER

Wow, I actually love this ending?? A LOT?? After last episode I didn't have much hope, but after seeing it I gotta say, it was really great 👌👌

Thanks for not dying on us again Zane, much appreciated

Jay taking charge is quite rare and when it happens you know things are about to get crazy 😂 It was really nice seeing how sensible he could be, telling that Unagami wasn't evil after all, that he needed closure and answers

I know I miss the animation peak we reached with SoG and Hunted, but I gotta say the atmosphere of the city with the lightnings and the gray sky was really awesome. Very cool.

Pff, that part with the elevator though, reminds me of the one in season 1 that made me start watch Ninjago ✌ Also it's always Borg's Tower indeed 😂

OKINO KICKING BUTTS HECK YEAH LOOK AT OUR RONIN GO!!!

And wow. WOW. I didn't expect Jay to drop the I'm adopted bomb on us, I think I never heard him talk about it since Skybound (that technically never happened so 😅). It was SO good seeing him sympathize with Unagami because he was also left with no explaination. His desire to know, along with the hope that the past is the past, but they had a good reason for. Also he freaking said he didn't have the chance to ask because Cliff is dead and I 😭😭😭😭

And here I melted, because we finally see the situation for what truly is, the way Jay also sees it: Unagami is a kid, a child that doesn't understand how the world works, that just wants to make his father proud but got rejected instead. The confrontation was actually touching, I really wish we had more time for that. Even a little resistance from Unagami, another fight, and a finally reconcilliation with Dyer.

MY NINJA BABIES ARE BACK I MISSED YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!! ❤💚💙🖤💦💎

Could you seriously be cuter than this?? ❤💙❤💙 I wished for more hugs but I'll settle for this I guess 😍

Okay, very nice to see Seven and Okino out there and deciding to live their lives in Ninjago, nice to see some others like the rats going back to Prime Empire. As Unagami said, he gave them a choice, it's up to them at this point

But I'm sorry, WHY ARE WE NOT GOING TO TALK WITH SCOTT??? That guy's been trapped inside the game the longest, not even a "Hey bud, you're alive, cool cool"? I know I've been overbearing about how much I love Scott, especially since I had all those theories about him (still don't know why he has lightnings on his jacket and hat, is it just a style thing? Idk), but come on! Well I guess if he's happy I am 🤷‍♀️

Is that his girlfriend or something? After 30 years? Or maybe she got trapped with him a while later? Or maybe that's his... mom? Look, we all know determine the age of LEGO characters is hard, give me a break please 😅😅

Overall, very nice ending, it brought everything together quite nicely. I'm satisfied, yes!! 💜💜

FINAL THOUGHTS

As I said, the episodes' lenght I really think gets in the way of making this an excellent season. There is so much that could be explored more, the choice matter, all the amazing characters, and the AI feelings stuff from the latest episodes. There is room for more, I wished we got that

The characters though were really amazing. Between Scott, Okino, Seven and Unagami himself, there were very different personalities with very different dreams and thoughts, that made this ride much more interesting

Fighting animation was 👌👌👌

Comebacks from past seasons were 👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌

Maybe it didn't really focused on Jay as much until the end? Yeah it was about him, but we got to see his sensibility and his past only last episode. He loves Nya, he likes videogames, of course but there's more about him than meets the eye! Wished we saw that, but in general it was nice seeing him first line again 💙

I liked this season. It has flaws, but I enjoyed many parts and at the end I was left satisfied 👍

Just... wasn't Jillian supposed to be in this? Or is it next season? She said a mom was going to come back, I took for granted it was going to be Edna. I'm curious about next season now... FINALLY A COLE SEASON EVERYONE!!! 🖤🖤🖤

Thank you for leaving notes to my last rant, this helps me not jump excitedly every time a new episode comes out 😅 Well then, that's all from me!! Have a nice day everyone!! 💜💜💜

[goldeneyedgirl]

2020 Fic Meme

It happens every year like clockwork. The Fic Round-Up Meme. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to it this year because I’ve written so much. As usual, compiled from ancient Livejournal fic memes. I like doing it as kind of a time capsule of my writing. If anyone else wants to take a crack, feel free. I love reading writers’ throughs on their own work. <3 No tagging because that is PRESSURE. 

Twilight

12 Days of Fic-Mas (Twilight, WIP) Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 + Christmas Eve Twelve days of fic extracts, previews, and drabbles focusing on Alice Cullen and Jess/Jasper Hale: Anathema, the KidFic, Married in Vegas, Daemons, Memento Vivere, Human Alice Kills James, Jess and Alice do Prom, Forgotten, Vampires in Vegas, Shadow to Light Missing Scene, Hybrid, Cowboys and Angel Solstice, and All These Broken Things

Afterglow (Alice/Jasper, AU, Romance, G)  There were three things of which she was certain. The first was that her name was Alice. The second was that she was born an angel. And three, she was getting ready to die.

Against a Wall (Alice/Jasper, Human/Vampire AU, Romance, Angst, PG) If you asked anyone with the surname ‘Whitlock’, they’d tell you that the family was cursed. It was the Whitlock Curse to blame the day the bank took the ranch away from Jasper’s own father.      

And Found (Alice/Jasper, Soulmark AU, Romance, PG) The soul mark appears when Alice is six. It is a twisted ribbon of a mark, from the inside of her left elbow, up her arm, over her shoulder, along her clavicle, over her right shoulder and down to her right wrist. What ugly, soulless individual could inspire such a mark?

Jar of Hearts Pt 1 Pt 2 (WIP) (Alice, Emmett, Seth, MCU xover, Angst, PG) The snap came for everyone - “He said he’d never leave me,” she says in a wobbly voice. “He promised me.”“It wasn’t by choice,” Emmett rushes to tell her. “You were his last thought; he tried so hard to get home before he…”

Never a Question (Alice/Jasper, AU, Angst, G)  Carlisle is quite sure that he’s watching his son’s heart break into a million pieces as he stares at his human mate, slowly dying alone, not a single person allowed to hold her hand.

Hand in Hand (Alice/Jasper, AU, Fluff, G)  “Never,” he swears, pressing a kiss to her cheek that makes her beam -  “There’s not a single moment I can think of that cannot be improved by your presence, darlin’.”

Love & Duty (Alice/Jasper, AU, Romance, G)  A trainee witch is sent to treat a wounded cowboy from her brother coven. 

Shadow to Light (WIP) (Alice/Jasper, AU Angst, PG) In 1918, Jasper lures the newborn known as Mary-Alice back to Monterrey. He is lost to her before it even begins. (Ch 6-8)

The Way of Things (Alice/Jasper, AU, Drama, M)  She truly doesn’t know what comes next. He truly doesn’t know if it will be good or bad. They will live this life for as long as it lasts, long may it last, surrounded by the people they love and trust. 

What You Say (Alice/Jessamine, Canon, Angst, M)  Edward might have thought Aro was their reckoning, but Alice knows for her, it is Jessamine’s hurt.

Total number of completed stories: ELEVEN. 

Total word count: 90,155 words were formally posted - not including snippets, previews (aside from FicMas) or anything that was shared on the Discord server. 

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted? I fucking nailed it. Like, seriously. THREE chapters of Shadow to Light? Every single day of JaliceWeek AND FicMas? I mean, I think the lockdown definitely helped with free time, and not going to lie, the iOS shutdown of Fortnite probably assisted my productivity. 

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January? The Discord has so much to answer for. I wrote porn. Like, what. What. What. What. I find this bizarre and did not have ‘let’s just go full NC17 in 2020′ on my bingo card, but it happened. In fact, 2019 Lexie has just gone full spit-take and yelled, “WHAT?!” at the top of her lungs. 

And to make it more surprising, it’s both het and f/f porn. Like, mind-blown. Who am I anymore?

What’s your own favourite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest? The Way of Things, What You Say, And Found, & Afterglow. All fics that came together really well, that felt like *me*, and had hopeful endings. I’m really proud of them. 

STL doesn’t get an opportunity to be apart of this til it’s finished. 

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? The porn. 

Apparently, I can write it. Who knew? 

I definitely threw caution to the wind with JaliceWeek and just went for whatever crossed my mind and stopped worrying so much. Like, whatever, this is what I want to write so I will. I mean, the MCU crossover is happening in a slightly more obscure way than I initially envisaged it, it’s definitely a better fic for it.

I joined the Discord, and that’s been amazing. I’ve spent my last few fandoms existing in kind of a vacuum because of bad experiences and the fact I’m usually doing something niche, so having people to talk to who are so nice and welcoming and are happy to ignore my special brand of obnoxiousness is so lovely and has had such a good affect on my mental health. Sometimes you need people you can be your dorkiest self with. 

My instincts are pretty good as far as fic goes, people are awesome, and I can write sex scenes. It’s been a learning curve, let me tell you that. 

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year?  I have to balance grad school, my business, and my writing, so that’s going to be interesting. I think I need to look at my fic more as downtime than a high-stress ‘job’ because I LOVE writing it. I love writing. I love reading. But I get in my own head and overthink. So my goals are BALANCE and RELAX. 

My best story of this year: Oh man, that’s not something I can judge. I am so incredibly proud of how Afterglow, And Found, and The Way of Things turned out. Especially considering I was so behind with JaliceWeek, and I think I was putting out a fic a day, and freaking out because I was lacking ideas, so when these three just came together exactly how I wanted them, it was a good moment. 

My most popular story: Shadow to Light. Look, if that’s my legacy to fandom, I’ve done pretty damn well. I’m really, really appreciative of how enthusiastic people are about this ‘verse. I don’t always understand it, because I can see how my writing has changed and how the story has evolved massively (first it was supposed to be a one-shot, then five chapters.) I hope that it ends up being satisfying for everyone because I have LOVED writing it, even if I am slower than molasses. 

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: Everyone is always so damn enthusiastic about my writing. I think maybe Hybrid is kind of a big question mark for everyone at the moment because there are so many questions and no answers yet. 

And any of the Jessamine/Alice. That’s a new niche, I get not everyone is into it. But it’s happening and will continue into 2020.

Most fun story to write:  What You Say or Jess and Alice at Prom. Jess is a little snarkier than Jasper, less controlled, and the girls are super fun to write, even high-tension scenes. 

Most Sexy Story: Oh, I can answer this now! Um, maybe The Way of Things or Jess and Alice at Prom? Yup, those are my picks. 

Story with the single sexiest moment:  The Way of Things. This happened before the Discord Intervention, and I’m genuinely not sure if I’m happy with the end of the Prom fic, so it might be reworked slightly in the future. But The Way of Things I was really happy with because it covered so many ideas I had in a way that fit together well. 

That’s where she makes good on her unspoken promises from aeons again, of their private victory celebration. She sits astride him, her hips rolling hard against his, drawing out his groans and growls as he grips her thighs almost tight enough to crack. Their gazes are locked the entire time, her tongue skimming over her lips, as she lets her emotions tell him everything that she wants and everything she plans to take.

He remembers fucking her in the dirt in Dacia; his mouth between her legs as she hollered obscenities in a Paris attic; and the urgent, passionate loving-making of a marriage finally consummated.

She remembers bloody emeralds looped around her throat and resting between her breasts as she gets down on her knees and takes him into her mouth, his fingers tangled in her hair; the delicious weight of him on top of her, their sweat mingling and cooling in the frozen night as their flimsy bed creaked against the wall; and his soft encouragement in her ear as he grasps her around the waist, their hands resting together on the gentle swell of her stomach. 

Most “holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story: I think I restrained myself from anything too dark or twisted this year, actually. Oh, wait, Vampires in Vegas. That one has some pretty dark implications about Alice’s life, about the vampire underworld, and Jasper’s behaviour, especially as it goes one. No fic that deals with someone being put into sex work without educated consent is going to avoid being dark, and I think it’s logical that vampires would have their hands in a lot of illegal yet profitable areas. 

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: Anything with Jessamine/Alice because, like, Jess isn’t a name-swap of Jasper, and the relationship dynamic shifts with the slight personality shifts. And then you have to consider the family and social dynamic of two women in the relationship, so working all that out was fun. 

Jar of Hearts is another one, because I had to work out who the fic was going to follow and what was lost. And Emmett and Alice pretty much don’t interact in canon, but they were chosen for a reason. I’ve stripped them down to their worst, most isolated selves without their ‘true north’ (Rose and Jasper) or their moral center (Carlisle and Esme), or even their secret weapon (Edward). Seth, too, has been isolated from his family and friends, and is especially ‘other’ in this situation. This is an MCU crossover, so we’re kind of following a heroes’ journey with the last of Forks’ supernatural creatures.

Hardest story to write: Shadow to Light because of the way I have to use language, because of the plot strands from canon when I hate writing canon material, and how the characters have changed and how this new version reflects the old version. 

Against a Wall, as well, because of the in-verse time crunch I had - I needed Jasper damaged, military-minded, and changed by age 19. And I needed the boy broken. I’m happy with it, the story is done and dusted, but it didn’t quite turn out how I planned. And that’s okay, because I like this version. But I think I tackled something a lot bigger than I anticipated with it. 

Most disappointing:  Look, I love the verse and the set-up, but I think Love & Duty could do with another 2k words for build-up. I just ran out of time, honestly, to build up that mutual attraction between Alice and Jasper. 

Easiest story to write: Anathema, because Alice’s voice was so clear in it. Anathema!Alice knows exactly who she is, and that’s always fun. And the Shadow to Light Missing Scene; it wasn’t as long as I hoped, but it turned out exactly as I imagined it happening. 

Biggest surprise:  Everyone really, really liked Forgotten. And Vampires in Vegas, which I honestly thought were the weakest offerings during FicMas. 

Most unintentionally telling story:  The Way of Things. There’s so little dialogue, and it’s covering such a massive amount of time and story that it’s intentionally written to tell. 

Story I’d like to revise: Love & Duty, and Married in Vegas. A little polish, a little shine, it’s fine. For Love & Duty, it’s definitely the time crunch I need to go back and fix; for Married in Vegas, it’s just reflective of how long ago I started it. I’m a better writer, I know the characters more, and I’m less prone to overly dramatic plot twists. 

Story I didn’t write but will at some point, I swear: Look, let me lay the groundwork now so that no one who isn’t on the Discord isn’t startled. 

There’s going to be a Jess/Jasper/Alice threesome fic, and I regret nothing. 

I really, really want to get All These Broken Things redone and posted because it’s getting silly how long it’s just been sitting there. 

I want to actually write Monster, which is a fic I don’t talk about much but I want to write. It’s a question about who the monster of the story is, and I’m not sure I’m as skilled as I should be, to write it, but I want to try. 

And one of my numerous attempts at a Haunted House Cryptid fic. It has to happen, I have so many ideas!

[it-takes-acquired-minds]

Multiples of 9!!

Ooh yes I’m on it!!

9: Favorite flavor of anything? 

I’m always down for Oreo or for hazelnut. (Bonus if it’s chocolate hazelnut/nutella.) For fruity stuff, lemon. Always lemon. 

18: Movie I watch when I’m feeling down? 

I love Inside Out or Spirited Away. I really need to rewatch both. Not sure if my emotions can handle it in their current state, though. 

27: Am I in a relationship? 

Yes! I have a bunch of great friends, an awesome family.....oh you meant romantic? I wish. I’d love to go out with someone. Don’t have a specific person in mind, but I love the idea of that perfect dating. Not in the time of COVID though. 

36: Current obsession? 

None that’s like taking over my life obsessed. I’m writing a fic that I’m really into. And my sister’s really into Bring It On, so I’m sure once I give that a full listen-through I’ll be all over it. 

45: Last film I watched? 

Almost Famous! So good. I’m sure that’ll become my new comfort movie because it’s so warm and fun and just. Amazing. 

54: Do I sleep with the lights on or off? 

Off! 

63: What occupation did I want to do when I was younger? 

I’ve wanted to be a writer since forever. Like, forever. But I wanted to be a veterinarian for a while before I found out I was allergic to dogs and cats, rip, then I’m pretty sure I wanted to be an illustrator until I made my own book and realized I liked the writing part a lot more than the drawing part. (And when I was a toddler I went through a “I’m gonna be a Disney Princess when I grow up” phase.) 

72: If I won the lottery, what would I do? 

Definitely donate a frick ton. I’m pretty well off as I am buuuuut I do still live with my parents so this answer may change when I move out. I think I’d save a bunch for college or use it to go to Hollywood and try to get a contract as a writer for a show or movie. I’d get some small apartment and write my own script while I worked on episodes for some big show or helped storyboard a movie, you get the gist. 

81: Story behind my last kiss? 

I’m assuming this means romantic kiss, and I’m going to go ahead and admit that I’ve never been kissed. Not even as an age thing, because there’s a lot of people my age who’ve been kissed. I don’t have a partner and last

90: Favourite sporty activity? 

Swimming! Other than that, I’ve gotten really into running. And I have a badminton net so I play with my family a bunch, I like playing casual soccer, and barre fitness or dancing. I am a (inexperienced) dancer but some people don’t consider that a sport so. Swimming. (I also miss ice skating and skiing so much.) 

99: 3 things I hate? 

1. School. To be fair, I’m in exams week. 

2. Injustice/fascism. This is kind of a given. 

3. Myself! Yaaaaaaaay! 

108: Favorite Youtuber? 

Dodie! I like also Malinda, WithCindy, Thomas Sanders, and Jaiden Animations. 

117: Am I religious? 

 I guess technically. My dad’s family is Unitarian and my mom’s family is Jewish but we don’t believe anything so. The real answer is no. But I’m not against people who are! 

126: My current project? 

I’m writing a novella! It’s a futuristic retelling of the myth of Eros and Psyche and I’m probably about halfway through. Plan to publish it once it’s done and edited! 

135: Do I like gossip? 

After my experiences with gossip? Nah. I like being in the loop but I feel weird keeping secrets and I’m not about to invade in other people’s business. 

144: Have I ever been on a plane? 

Yep! After my sister and I both got horribly sick on one and another crashed into my summer campground I now hate them and nearly cried the last time I had to get on one! (Probably wouldn’t now, but the memory is vivid. Also holy frick that was summer 2019 I hate COVID.) 

153: What was my first car? 

My family’s first car I don’t remember what it was but it was small and black and I loved it. I don’t own a car. 

162: What do I hate most about myself? 

Ohhhh geez. I guess how sensitive I am and the way I can barely handle my own emotions. Not going to get into it. 

171: Do I hold grudges? 

Nah. I remember what people did to me but I’m pretty forgiving. Got threatened and got into a lot of fights with a girl in elementary school and was best friends with her the next year. 

180: Do I like shopping? 

I like it! I don’t love it but I do enjoy going to the mall and trying on clothes and just looking cool. Usually I go with my mom and I can’t wait until I can go on my own and pick out the clothes that I myself like. (Not that I don’t love going w my mom!) 

189: Love or career? 

I think I’d pick love. I don’t know how I’d react in real life but the philosophy I’ve learned from my family is that it doesn’t really matter what I end up so much as who I end up with. And that doesn’t have to be romantic love! I would pick friends, a real family, my sister, I think I’d put people before my career. 

198: Zombies or vampires? 

Cliché but vampires. 

207: Worst job I’ve had? 

School. Not a job but school. (Sorry I just. I’m really not into it right about now.) 

216: Favorite fictional character? 

Edward Tulane from The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. Best character development ever. I love that book. 

[let-me-make-you-proud]

Tangled: The Series Q&A with Kait.

This is a recapitulation from today’s (September 14, 2019) Questions and Answers session with Kait on the Tangled Discord Server.

Q: Which Disney princesses outside of Tangled the series can you see Varian being friends with? Nonfranchise ones included.

A: I think Belle is the first one who comes to mind!! She’s super studious and goes against the grain…not to mention her father is an inventor who’s a little off-base! 🙂 I think he’d be super comfortable experimenting with Belle and her dad and reading awesome stories! (Maybe even sharing the Tales of Flynn Rider with her! …Assuming she hasn’t read it! Haha. ) He could also eat ham sandwiches with Anna. Sorry. Second thought. Lol!!

Q: So Kait, as a storyboard artist on the show what kind of little details, quirks or creative touches did you or any other artists put into Varian scenes you or others storyboarded?

A: Ha!! Any acting scene with Varian I had…I pretty much based off of Anna Lencioni (my best friend/ another board artist on the show.) Anna makes these very specific expressions and she gestures to herself a lot and closes her eyes and creases her brows and says things like “A-huh! Actually…” or “Um!!” Before making a point and it’s always reminded me of him.

She kept a “flynnolium” prop from Halloween with green goo in a vial in her cubicle at work so long it grew mold. She said she was studying it. She found scrap metal in her boot one day. She has a basement lab for her experiments and crafts. She befriended two raccoons at her last apartment. She is the most accident-prone person with freckles I’ve ever met…she’s pretty much him.

Jeremy Jordan’s reads give you so much to work with…and I love that character so much I feel a natural sort of understanding of how he might say something or do something…but Anna would always do these specifically Anna things that I had to use for Varian.

Q: Do you have any specific advice for aspiring storyboard artists or people who aspire to work in animation?

A: Gestural drawings help you learn to draw fast…which is a very important part of storyboarding. I would say storyboarding‘ s biggest requirements are clarity and speed. Lots of productions have different requirements in terms of what they look for from story artists. Tangled‘s leadership cared a lot about drawing skill, animation, layout, etc. because it more strongly informed the animation studio to have those things. The show I’m working on now (Monsters at Work) is a 3D show…so for our production, the emphasis is more on story and speed. We pitch ideas more than we pitch drawings…so clarity is important and acting is too, but we’re far less precious about tying down drawings and animating since we shift into the 3D production pipeline after story. The boards are still very important…but the more technical aspects are a *little* less so. The focus is just more on story and character and what the board artists can bring to their scenes.

So I’d say just practice drawing…maybe try and give someone a prompt or ask a friend for one. Choose a theme! Maybe vampires? What’s the worst thing that could happen to a vampire? What’s the best thing? What’s the funniest thing? What if they were also an alien? Or fused with a werewolf? Or chained to one? What would happen? Giving yourself a starting point for an idea will inspire you to explore all the possibilities for humor, drama, etc. in that idea. If you’re struggling to give yourself a prompt, try looking online…or maybe choosing a song you like or a passage from a book for inspiration.

There’s also this really fun thing you can do to study cinematography and shot composition called a “three tone” exercise. Basically…put on your favorite (live action) film, grab a sketchbook, grab a black and grey marker, and use the white of the page for your third tone. What you wanna do is (as you’re watching or while pausing) sketch a small thumbnail using only three grey tones of what you see on the screen. Draw the shot- where the characters are, try and duplicate the lighting…it teaches you a lot! 🙂 (Phew!)

Q: Do you have any fun non-spoiler head canons about Varian?

A: I think his favorite dessert is apple pie and I think he bakes recreationally very often! He’s probably a good cook. (Though he may have one or two minor accidents……a burnt thing here and there. Minor oil splatters….haha!!)

Q: What’ve been your favorite episodes, both to storyboard and in general? Of course, no specifics if it’s S3

A: Haha! Well…What The Hair and Queen for A Day have special places in my heart because they were such big moments for my favorite character…(Varian, haha.) But I’d say the episodes I had the most fun boarding are all in season 3!!! Which is exciting! I have to start compiling some work to post! 🙂 I think the episode I had the most fun with is one you guys will really enjoy.

Q: Will we get some interesting surprises (In Season 3)?

A: Without any spoilers- absolutely!! The show is always full of those.

Q: So We’ve heard many fans express why they love Varian as a charcter before, I’d love to know what drew you and Anna to Varian as well and why you guys personally found him to be a great character.

A: When Shane Prigmore originally pitched the character to me, he was much younger. He was like 11 or so, I think? Maybe 12? He’s still pretty young…but what Shane said was that he wanted him to go from this wide-eyed kid to this dark, angry person whose bangs fell over those wide, bright eyes…just full of rage. That idea was super interesting to me…it just hit on something in character development that I felt like I’d never exactly seen before? He was so young and it was such an interesting idea to me to make a child the villain and to give that child a strong reason to be angry? It felt like it was taking this child very seriously, which I appreciate. It felt very real and very dark.

The thing that threw me through a loop but also evolved my fascination with the character was Jeremy Jordan’s casting. I listened to a lot of the auditions they had for various actors and I had seen a ton of Shane’s concept art of the character…a lot of them were VERY different than what we have now. One version Ricky Roxburgh (writer) contributed to had Varian cast as an adult in the story. But when I heard Jeremy I felt like I totally understood who Varian really was.

He was a well-intentioned disaster with unchecked emotions. That. Is me! Haha!! I see myself in his imperfections, his emotionality in spite of his creative and often intellectual thinking. He wants to ascend to these levels he may not be ready to ascend to…he feels this need to prove himself and seek validation. I don’t know, I guess I relate to that! And I’m just a sucker for good guys gone bad. The other half of this, of course, is that he’s very charming and cute and super reminds me of my best friend, Anna Lencioni.

Q: Which character do you most like seeing interacting with Varian?

A: It’s a little spoilery for me to reveal that……..but I think you guys are gonna know when it happens! Haha!

I can’t wait to post THOSE boards

That’s actually right out of the episode I think I liked boarding the most, haha.

Q: If there was one prop (furniture, object, the like) from the Tangled series that could be made real and you could keep, what would it be..?

A: I think it’d have to be those little alchemy orbs that Varian throws? They just suddenly clean the whole castle hallway somehow and like…could use me some of that. He also has the one that removes stains from tablecloths, so. I’m sloppy. That’d be a big help. Haha!

Also his staff is pretty cool 😉, I boarded/created that staff…David Lee (prop designer) did its final design…haha

Q: I have a question about a scene in season 1. When Varian got back the first part of the scroll he mentioned that it took him a while to translate it. Has he really been able to read it or has it been a bluff?

A: Varian can indeed translate what’s on the scroll. 😉

Q: Do you have any networking advice for those trying to get into the animation industry?

A: Post your work!! Make it easily accessible, tag it well, just show what you’ve got online! Upload boards, animatics, drawings, etc. Creating an online presence can really help put your name out there. Apply for internships, jobs. I know it’s hard to network because a lot of industry professionals don’t have time to answer specific questions or give portfolio reviews…so it’s sort of important to take some initiative on that and be self-motivated.

For me, I studied the portfolios of Disney feature story artists, CalArts students, etc. and tried to structure the presentation of my work based on that. Also, it helped me get a sense of what pieces of work would best showcase where I was trying to go and what I was trying to do. I’d ask yourself those questions as you develop a portfolio and artistic voice online! 🙂

My first feature job after a trainee program in New York at Blue Sky happened because Doug Sweetland (Pixar animator, feature director, awesome dude) found my work online and liked it. He just reached out based on that!

Shane Prigmore actually reached out to me for Tangled similarly.

Q: Besides Varian, do you have a favorite character that you’ve boarded?

A: I always love Eugene. He’s the second character I think I’m most like. His acting was really fun to play with and I felt like I could push his expressions a lot because he’s so funny. I loved boarding Lance too (I boarded a lot of Lance in S3!!) but MAN was he hard to draw, haha! His face shape is just really hard to draw at certain angles.

Q: With Varian cosplay that is going on, what Disney character would you like to see Varian dress up as next?

A: Jack Skellington! Halloween is afoot. Jack is another well-intentioned disaster. Guess I have a type!

Q: What’s Varian’s opinion on raccoons, are they his favourite animal?

A: I imagine it’s because Ruddiger is always finding interesting things in the trash and giving them to Varian to use in his experiments. Also, they’re fat and cute.

Q: There’s a bit of an argument going on over how many freckles Varian has. Can you confirm how many he has?

A: Ha!!! Yes…one second… 14!!

Q: How big do you think Corona is? Like Vatican City small or Arendelle big?

A: You know, with the wall and all, it actually feels a little on the smaller side to me? I’m sure there’s a little bit of discrepancy between the movie’s version of Corona and our version…but based on where we went within Corona on the show, I’d say it feels on the smaller side.

Q: Are there any non-spoiler Varian scenes or moments that didn’t make the cut that you can share?

A: MAN. Yes. There is one scene that changed after I rolled off the episode and I’m very sad about it. I’ll post it after the episode airs! There was also a line of Varian’s that I boarded to a specific read from Jeremy Jordan and that read was not chosen in editorial later so…I’ll post that one too, haha!

Q: What is your favourite song from the first two seasons so far?

A: All my favorite songs are in season threeeeee…hahahaha!! I think Let Me Make You Proud or the Buddy Song are my favorites. Buddy Song still gets stuck in my head now and then.

Q: What do you think Varian would order at a drive-thru? Specifically at chipotle 😂

A: Chipotle isn’t a drive thru!! Hahaha He’d get the kid’s quesadilla from chipotle. I think Varian is a fries/chips kind of person…something to snack on while he works! He probably also likes milkshakes.

Q: (Continuation from the question above) Chocolate or vanilla?

A: He’d revolutionize by combining them both. FOR SCIENCE!

Q: What is, in your opinion, the most challenging part of varian’s design to draw?

A: His goggles, hahaha. Or just his…hair in general.

Well it’s funny too because when you board these guys, you get used to doing a shorthand for them and then when you go to draw them FOR REAL you realize how complicated that actually is and how wrong your shorthand actually was? Hahahaha

Q: is Varian ticklish at all?

A: I feel like Varian, Eugene, and Lance are all equally ticklish. To the point of absurdity. Cass would fight it as long as she could…but when it finally got to her, she’d laugh uncontrollably. Rapunzel, she’s the TICKLER.

Q: What do you think Varian opinion and belief on magic is now that he’s seen it with his own eyes?

A: I imagine that he certainly believes in it now and no longer underestimates its powers…but I imagine he’s ultimately more comfortable staying in his own lane and working with worldly properties!

Q: If Varian would have been able to meet Demanitus…how would their conversation had looked like?

A: I feel like Varian would have had a TON of questions about his legendary device and whether or not he truly traveled dimensions.

Q: Did Varian have any other friends in old Corona before he met rapunzel?

A: Probably not many…he’s a bit of a hermit. I think Ruddiger is his best friend……. It’s sad but I also think that’s kind of why it hurt so bad when Rapunzel wasn’t able to help him. Also why he was SO excited to have Rapunzel, Cass, and Eugene come visit.

I think the village looked at Varian as a little unstable or worrisome. I’m sure everyone knew he was very nice…but they were likely very unnerved by his inventions.

Q: Do you think Varian ever tried to synthesise gold or the elixir of life like a real alchemist?

A: I’ve wondered that myself!! I think his alchemy has proven to be more about other people…helping others, making people proud. Maybe if someone he cared about was in need.

Q: If you were to meet Varian in real life, what would you say to him?

A: What elixir did you make to get THAT kind of volume? His hair’s so POOFY! Honestly, I’d probably just give him a hug.

Q: How much does Varian know or remember about his mom?

A: I’d say about as much as the photo of her on the wall.

Q: Is there spoiler about his hair streak? Or is it just by design?

A: It’s totally by design. I think it’s safe to assume it’s probably the result of some lab accident!

Q: In what ways is Jeremy Jordan like Varian?

A: I don’t know Jeremy Jordan personally, haha! But I think a lot of these inflections he adds to Varian sort of off the cuff probably come very naturally to him. I know he often wants to do his own pass at the musical arrangement Alan Menken writes…like he’ll want to do something a little different, in his own way, and it will change the song completely!! In an awesome way. That’s a little Varian-esque. In the “Let Me Make You Proud” reprise…Alan Menken had sung that “they are going to pay…they…will…pay” all in a low, downward tone. Jeremy wanted to scream it and make it powerful and angry and loud when he said “PAY” and you could just hear the spite in his voice for the “they will pay.” Genius!

Q: What was the most shocking moment/revelation of the series to you (minus anything season 3)?

A: It’s hard to say because I knew most of what was going to happen long, long ago. I think one of the things that made me go “oh dang!” was something Tom Canfield boarded. It’s that part in Destinies Collide where Lance slices the entire statue down the middle with a sword. What a BAMF!

Q: What were your thoughts on the early concept of Varian having an apple orchard and being a farm kid instead of a young alchemist?

A: He still kinda has those things! Quirin is a farmer as well as the village leader and there are apples on their little farm estate! 🙂 I think that makes Varian very unassuming as a mad little scientist. I’m sure that’s how (Ruddiger and Varian) met! Remember, he used his purple tacky goo stuff to catch raccoons so they wouldn’t eat the crops! And Ruddiger’s favorite snack is apples. 😉

Q: What is his official height and weight?

A: Smol.

Q: How did you guys come up with Varian’s name? And was there any other name suggestions for him before the name ‘Varian’ was chosen?

A: I’m not sure who came up with that name, actually! I’m sure it has something to do with the meaning of the word “variant” which means something that varies, changes in form.

Q: What’s his last name?

A: His last name!! I have NO idea and it bothers me!!! A Disney magazine referred to Varian, Ruddiger, and Quirin as “The Ruddiger Family” and I still haven’t stopped laughing about that.

Q: What sad Disney movie moments would make him cry?

A: Oof. Lion King.

Q: What musicals do think Varian would enjoy?

A: Little Shop of Horrors! I think he’d see himself in Seymour! Or Wicked…you know, that villain arc.

Q: How did Arianna and Fred meet?

A: I actually don’t know off the top of my head!

Q: Would Varian enjoy rollercoasters?

A: I think he’d enjoy how they’re MADE and then scream his head off while riding one, throw up his cotton candy and corndog, and go play carnival games instead. Then get mad that they’re rigged.

Q: So what comes next for you now that the series is almost over? Any big plans?

A: Well the series wrapped for production a while ago! I’ve been on another show for almost a year now! 🙂 I’m working on the new Disney+ show Monsters at Work as a director! It’s an awesome, awesome show…totally next-level…I’m shocked that I’m getting to be apart of something like this. It’s a direct sequel to the movie that serves as an office comedy (a la The Office, Parks and Rec) and has so many characters that fit immediately into the Monsters Inc world. Monsters Inc is my favorite Pixar movie…so I literally come to work and leave work on the same high! It’s an awesome, awesome show with a great crew! 🙂 It’s also just really exciting to be apart of the first original animated property for D+!

Q: How would you compare working as a director to working as a storyboard artist?

A: It’s hard work, just as hard, but in a different way! For me personally, I’m a little easily fatigued by drawing? I get a little creatively frustrated because my thoughts move quicker than my hand. Or because I don’t always feel like I can execute in a drawing what I’m thinking in the way that I want? Part of that is just being an artist…and it’s not ALL the time that I feel that way…but I think I have a certain stamina for drawing that I found challenging to increase.

Directing is just different! It has a lot more to do with managing a team, communication, coordinating, listening, speaking up, problem-solving, being very aware of story as it applies to ALL parts of a production. I don’t draw as often anymore. You have to consider a lot more…more people, more constraints, more difficulties, more opinions, more solutions…it’s just MORE. And you also still have to draw! 🙂 It’s very busy work, but it’s AMAZING and I love it. I feel like I’m contributing to animated storytelling a lot more in this role, actually. I love working with people, I love workshopping, and I love helping! I’m also just spoiled to be working with some great people right now. It’s a blast.

Q: Are any Tangled: The Series crew joining you on that show?

A: Yes!! Tom Caufield and Wendy Sullivan were on it for a minute, but they’ve both moved on to Dreamworks recently! James Suhr (board artist), Isabelle Gedigk (season 3 board artist), Naomi Hicks and Casey Coffey (revisionists), David Lee (props), Ricky Roxburgh (writer), and I are all working together again! It’s awesome.

Q: Does Varian, deep down, blame himself for the amber?

A: I believe he does.

Q: How do you deal with artist’s block?

A: I try to think about the intention behind what I’m doing. Why is the scene I’m working on very important to the story? If it feels unimportant or boring, how can I make it interesting? What can I do on my end to make it more inspiring or fun without going too far off the rails and still serving the scene’s purpose?

If it’s not work-related, I try and start with some fan art or something familiar for me to draw. I have a lot of scribbly Varians in the margins of a lot of my sketch documents. I use him as a warm-up a lot. It helps build my confidence to draw something familiar/ that I think I can draw pretty well.

Q: What’s the hardest scene you’ve ever had to board?

A: Oh God. ANYTHING with action. I’m not an action gal. Lots of stuff in S3. I was board partners with Wendy Sullivan and ended up getting a lot of action to board even though she’s WAY better at it than me!! It was an interesting challenge…but it was very, very challenging. Ben (Co-EP) was a great mentor to me in the scene I did for the mid season. He was very patient with me, despite my shortcomings as an action board artist, haha. I enjoy boarding for comedy much more.

Kait: Anyways, I should probably head off now! Thank you guys so much for all the questions!!!! You’re awesome! I hope you’re all super excited for S3! It’s a great one.

[slushieplanet]

Love Death + Robots

I just finished season one, thought I’d share my thoughts on each film. Mild Spoilers. 

Sonnie’s Edge: My favorite, loved it, 10/10. I would love it to become a series if possible. I loved the designs, the animation style, the plot twist. Awesome.

Three Robots: Funny, I liked it. Loved the characters and how they thought things were run. I also liked that even though they were robots with natural personalities, they spoke in complicated and technical ways while describing certain things. 

The Witness: This one was pretty cool! It filled me with anxiety because I was wondering how it would end. I liked how it was a loop. The art style mindfucked me because it was live action AND drawings. 

Suits: I liked the art style, the setting and how things ended up in the end. It had good character designs and was honestly lighthearted. Really good. :)

Sucker of Souls: Meh, didn’t like this one as much as the others. The humor and art style was pretty nice, but everything over else was not my thing. :/

When The Yogurt Took Over: HATED IT. I hated the style, hated the narrator’s voice. Awful. 

Beyond the Aquila Rift: I have mixed feelings about this one. I don’t like space bug stuff, but it was a good psychological horror. Just seeing Thom outside the simulation, seeing how his body was horribly skinny and how long his hair was,  just shows that the alien was feeding off of his sex and then just... let him die. It wasn’t giving him any support on the outside.

Good Hunting: I liked this one a lot! I liked how it showed how the magic from the land hurt the spirits and the steampunk setting in Hong Kong. The racial slurs.. yikes. Pretty fucked up circumstances but I like how revenge was set up at the end and the overall style. 10/10

The Dump: Ehhhhh not much for me to say about this. I didn’t like seeing an old man’s gross dick. :///

Shape-Shifters: Oh I loved this one! The style, the idea behind the werewolves. The character’s facial designs. Pretty brutal but I liked it. 

Helping Hand: This one gave me a lot of anxiety. It was interesting how Alex, I think her name was, found a way to get momentum in space. I feel really sorry for her, got me thinking about how painful having exposed flesh in space would be. 

Fish Night: I loved the art style and the fish/ocean/desert thing. Kinda... hm. Lame how the dude died in the end. 

Lucky 13: This one was actually really sweet. I really liked Colby, her attitude towards the ship and how she felt when she lost her. I was totally expecting the ship to be sentient somehow. 

Zima Blue: This one was beautiful! The narrator’s voice, Zima’s passion and creations, the plot twist, how he died. It was so beautiful. 

Blindspot: GODDAMMIT BOB. I loved the character designs and art style. This is another one I wouldn’t mind having a full series of. 10/10. Loved it. 

Ice Age: Oh this one was great! It was funny in a simple way, and I really enjoyed... I dunno, the organic emotions of it? I like how nonchalant they were about missing the Renaissance. Eh, they can just witness history forever. Everything comes together, right?

Alternate Histories: Awful. Didn’t like it. Next. 

The Secret War: I liked the art style, the setting... not so much the monsters. But the character designs were really good and I honestly wouldn’t mind watching a full movie with the characters. 

In conclusion: Sonnie’s Edge will always be my favorite out of all of them. That and Blindspot would be great shows. 

[jewels2876]

Sweet Success - Chapter 8

Square filled: Bakery AU - @star-spangled-bingo

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader, kids Isabella and Rebecca and James - appearance by Tony Stark and Pepper

Word Count: 1220

Warnings:fluff

Pics are not mine!

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight - The Proposal

Steve’s cell phone chimed. He looked at the incoming caller ID information and frowned. “Hi Mr. Stark,” he answered.

“Rogers, good news. I’m having another party so I’m giving you a second chance. Are you at the store?”

“Yeah I…” The doorbell rang and Tony Stark entered, a heavier set assistant (driver?) bringing up the rear. “Hello,” Steve greeted the tycoon, hand extended. Tony dismissed the extended hand and walked around the storefront.

“Nice place you’ve got here. Good size, cute staff,” Tony nodded in the direction of Steve’s store manager, Pepper. Pepper frowned at the ‘cute’ comment, but managed a polite smile for Tony. “So Rogers, can you deliver for me this time? The party’s in three weeks time and it needs to be EPIC, like me.” Tony flashed a cheesy smile. “Seriously, I want you to do this but you can’t mess it up again.”

Steve thought for a moment. Tony clearly was giving him a second chance, but Steve’s ideas were… suddenly inspired by a certain baker and her family. 

“I can totally do it, but I’m going to need your help please.”

Tony gave Steve a blank look. “I do you a favor?”

“Yes, but nothing crazy. Just I need you to call this number and ask for their help too.”

Tony looked at the number. “Do I have to leave you out of it?”

Steve smiled broadly. “Not at all. You can even tell her it was my idea.”

You stared at your phone as the call ended. Was he INSANE? The phone rang again. A local number showed but you didn’t recognize it. “Hello?” you answered cautiously in case it was him again.

“Did you say yes?”

“I’m sorry, who is this?”

“Steve! Didn’t he tell you? Oh my god, please tell me I called the right number? Y/n?”

You exhaled the breath you were holding and smiled. “Hi Steve. Yes it’s me. How in the hell did you get me involved? Sorry, WHY in the hell?”

You could picture Steve shaking his head as he chuckled. “Because I have enough sense to know when I could use some help. You and Izzy could help me in the kitchen and Rebecca would have better ideas than I can currently come up with. Please????”

You sighed and bit your lower lip. The idea was so tempting, and it would help both of you… “Fine. I’m in, but I will let the girls decide on their own.”

“Will we get paid?”

“I can design everything?”

“Seriously, we’re getting paid?”

“I want to do a robot.”

“Girls!” You grinned and held your hands up in front of you with a small “calm down” motion they recognized. “Yes Izzy, Steve will treat you just like his own employees, which means you will get paid. As for you,” turning to Becca, “Steve needs something a bit more… unconventional for the cake that was commissioned.”

Rebecca pulled out her drawing tablet and started doodling immediately. Isabella looked at you with a mix of emotions. “Isn’t this the opposite of the family business?” she asked.

You sighed and pulled her into a side hug. “Nope, not this family. We help people that ask for it, and Steve asked for all three of us. I don’t know if he understands quite what he’s getting in to,” you teased.

“Hey!” Rebecca half-heartedly whined. “I’m trying to draw here! Enough with the sappy heart-to-heart and tell me what you think.” She turned the tablet around.

You sucked in a breath and then breaking into a wide grin asked “Can I take a picture and send it to Steve? Or you can,” you finished hastily.

Your daughter giggled. “Oh no, you can do it! He’s your boyfriend.”

You smirked without acknowledging the ‘boyfriend’ comment, taking a quick shot of the picture and sending it to Steve. “For that sass, I’ll make sure Steve puts you on dishes duty too.” Your phone quickly pinged.

Are you KIDDING me? That’s freakin’ awesome! Can we do that as a cake?

You replied back. “Of course! We’ll have to build a solid base and make sure everything’s symmetrical.” You looked back at Rebecca’s drawing. “Or we could just do it from a midpoint up?” The phone pinged back quickly.

Talk to Rebecca, she clearly knows what we’ll need to execute her draft.

You texted back a quick “Ok thanks!” before turning back to the girls. “Steve LOVES it Becs! He wants you to figure out the logistics, building part, and asked if maybe doing half would be better?” You noticed the frown on Isabella’s face. “Make sure to keep Izzy and I in the loop though; we’ll have to know how to mold each part to get the end result.” Isabella relaxed a little at the inclusion.

Steve knocked on James’s bedroom door. “Come in,” a muffled voice said. Steve opened the door to see James nose deep in a text book, his cell phone sitting beside him as well.

“Studying with a buddy?” Steve had to chuckle at the sight. It wasn’t too often he caught James deep in any book.

“Yes and no. No, because Izzy and Becca keep texting me about this cake they wanna do? And yes because I have a math test Monday.” James looked up at his dad. “Why do I get the feeling this will be a ‘very important talk?’” James made quote marks with his fingers and rolled his eyes.

“Yes and no,” Steve teased his son. “Yes because you and the girls are helping me and their mom create a cake for Tony Stark. No because that’s really all I came up to tell you. I’ll leave you to your studying.” Steve started to turn away then turned back to face James. “You are allowed to tell the girls to give you a break, you know?”

James grinned despite his current stress. “I know, but I really like Izzy. Becca’s ok, for a little sister.”

Steve frowned at the description for a moment. “Little sister?”

“Yeah, I have one other one, technically, but when you and Mrs. Barnes finally decide to hook up…”

“Whoa! Hold on a sec, I’m confused. You like Izzy, right?”

“Yeah as a friend, she’s cool.”

“Does she know that?”

“Yeah?” James gave his dad a funny look. “We had this discussion on our ‘date’ that was never really a date.” James kept his face neutral but internally his thoughts repeated: shit Izzy’s gonna kill me now!

Steve leaned back against the doorframe and cocked his head. “A date that was never a date? What exactly does that mean?”

“Just what it sounds like,” James said evenly. “We went out, we realized we didn’t click, so it wasn’t a ‘real’ date.”

Steve visibly sighed and James mentally patted himself on the back for the quick save. James started to pick up his phone when Steve stopped him. “Look buddy, I know I’m probably not the first person you think of for dating advice, but you are allowed to talk to me about that stuff.”

James smiled at his dad. “I know! And if I still wanted to date Izzy, or whoever, I would totally ask you for the old-school stuff that got you mom. But I’m good… for now.” His smile changed to a smirk.

To Be Continued

I would love any feedback/reblogs/love in general

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[shikai-the-storyteller]

CYBERVERSE WATCH: Season 3, Episodes 15, 16, 17, and 18!

MAN IM SO SAD THERE’S ONLY 4 EPISODES LEFT IN THIS SEASON....I’m really glad we got confirmed for a Season 3, but the thought of this show ending period makes me sad. I’m having so much fun watching it

Episode 15: Wiped Out

Alright enough moping around, let’s get down to business and actually start this episode

The Ark looks like Samus’ ship!

Omg Roddy and Bee complaining about their chores, they’re so cute....”I can’t believe Dad is making us scrub his car, ugh”

“I’m gonna buff the ugly out of you!” THERE IS NO UGLY, THERE IS ONLY CUTE

Optimus with his hands on his hips is so cute

Oh no is Rodimus going to go surf on the asteroids like in MTMTE--HE FRICKIN IS IM SHRIEKING!!!!!!!

RODIMUS PRIME ID DIE FOR YOU, YOU BIG DUMB JOCK

I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t want to join them though lmao, that looks fun as heck

Seeing Roddy flame out is so soul-soothing, Cyberverse was absolutely made with me in mind

OMG CAT ON A SURF BOARD “Behold! I am awesome!” YOU SURE ARE BUD

Oh no is that a sharkticon THEYRE TOTALLY SHARKTICONS

THEY’RE CALIFORNIAN IM SOBBING

CHEETOR IS SO NICE “Is this all of it?” PFT that dramatic zoom was great, I love the humor in this show

This means Bee and Rodimus probably got picked up by the other gang huh

“Yeah our world got destroyed but at least we still have this sick skate park left”

Omg it’s the Californians vs. the New Yorkers, I’m cryin

RODIMUS COME ON BUD, HAVE YOU GUYS LEARNED NOTHING FROM YOUR OWN GIANT CIVIL WAR

I love that Cheetor gets recruited and he’s like “Um I really don’t wanna”, Bee went with and even got painted all fancy but went “Cheetor! :D” upon seeing his bud, then Rodimus zooms in decked out in paint like he’s the king of the gang like “Yo back off from our skate park noobs” Hot Rod you’re terrible and I love you

“Wait was that one of my snouts” RODIMUS

LMAO WAY TO BE RACIST CHEETOR

They’re gonna get back to the Ark and Rodimus is gonna be like “WHAT’S UP OPTIMUS guess what we did? We joined a gang” and Optimus is going to be like [deep sigh]

Uh Cheetz what are you doing OH SNAP HE’S FIXING THEIR WORLD aw way to go Cheetor

Episode 16: Ghost Town

Oh no are they going to get to Cybertron finally and find it empty...or wait Cybertron is dead in this show already isn’t it. Are they gonna find out the ‘Cons already got to Cybertron and shoved Percy in a locker?

Oh snap what’s up with Windblade Oh no is this Starscream in disguise or something WHAT’S GOING ON

LMAO TELETRON X IS SERIOUSLY OUT HERE GIVING STARSCREAM THERAPY IM SCREAMING

“HOW DO YOU THINK THAT MAKES ME FEEL!?”

Where is Rung when you need him

Is some kind of MetroTitan speaking to her or something, calling out for help?

oh absolutely this city looks like it’s part of some giant Titan, I AM LOVING THIS PLANET man whoever does the background drawings in this show does an awesome job

I I love that Optimus specifically says “We must help her” and not “we must stop her” or something, nice distinction

GO RODDY GO!!!!!!!

“I’ve determined you have an emotional need for someone to trust you” JUST STAB ME THROUGH THE HEART WHY DON’T YOU CYBERVERSE, IT’D BE LESS PAINFUL

*Flashbacks to Starscream on one knee, offering Jetfire his hand* GUHHHH

LMAO Teletron gave him more cell space and Starscream is immediately like “Haha IDIOT”

Well that can’t be good

YEAHHHH HOT ROD AND BEE WATCHING EACH OTHER’S BACKS, I LOVE THAT

METROTITAN METROTITAN METROTITAN METROTITAN!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! I KNEW IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Croatan!!!!! YOOO

“My citizens were taken from me” QUINTESSONS???

THAT BACKGROUND HISTORY ANIMATION IS SO PRETTY

AHHHH I CANT STOP GRINNING, I CAN”T BELIEVE THEY ACTUALLY HAD A METROTITAN IN THIS SHOW, THAT”S SO AWESOME, THIS IS SO COOL I”M LEGITIMATELY GETTING SHIVERS

Just goes to show not all red-eyed things are evil

Oh yeah Starscream escaped OH SHOOT HE’S WITH A TITAN NOW OH MAN??? OH MAN!?!?!?!?! I don’t know who I’m worried about more, Starscream or the Titan--well no, the Titan, Starscream is a menace and there’s no way he’s not gonna show up 10 episodes later using it as his latest new death machine to kill Megatron 

Episode 17: Perfect Storm

Optimus sitting in his chair looking bored.....cute......

AW ARCEE IS SO CUTE Finally we get to see her do something. And she and Grimlock are buddies!! That’s sweet

Gosh that red nebula is GORGEOUS

Oh no is this going to be like some kind of storm that knocked everyone out while they were all gone

LMAO I love that they’re not even worried, they’re just like “UGH something happened while we weren’t here! >:/ ”

I LOVE ARCCEE SHE’S SO CUTE

OHHH I don’t know what those things are but they look pretty and dangerous

LMAO SHE JUST SHOVES HOT ROD OVER

ARCEE MIMICKING THEIR CRIES...THAT”S SO CUTE

LMAO THEY REALLY CANT CATCH A BREAK CAN THEY

GRIMLOCK AND ARCEE ARE JUST STANDING ON TOP OF THE SHIP FRICKIN MACHINE-GUNNING THESE COMETS DOWN IM CRYING

PEAK ARCEE CHARACTERIZATION RIGHT HERE I love that she’s snapchat girl AND machine gun warrior girl

They’re just hitting Cheetor on the Allspark....I love these morons....

UHHH ARCEE THAT SEEMS LIKE A BAD IDEA

LMAO “NO IM GONNA SACRIFICE MYSELF FIRST”

Wheeljack what were you doing back there

MEANWHILE THE SUPERNOVA’S ABOUT TO KILL THEM ALL gosh I love these dummies

I really hope they both just wind up powering it with botht heir sparks, that would be a nice middle-finger to the Soul Gem thing that happened in Endgame

LMAO I love the ominous music when Teletran X knocks on the window

That was such a cute episode :’)

Episode 18: The Crossroads

OHO SPACE BRIDGE

“I’m no Quintesson!” SO THERE ARE QUINTESSONS IN THIS SERIES....I BET THOSE ARE GONNA BE THE BIG BAD GUYS IN SEASON 3 also Wheeljack could you have said that in a way that was even SLIGHTLY less suspicious

CHROMIA CHROMIA CHROMIA CHROMIA!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHH

Oh so Cybertron is still alive GOOD TO KNOW

UNSPACE?!

GASP there’s another autobot ship!?!

OH MY GOSH IS THIS GOING TO BE THE SHATTERED GLASS VERSION OF THEM!?

“I wish that made me feel good” Grimlock you’re so cute

Wheeljack PLEASE don’t touch it

THIS IS JUST LIKE MTMTE IM SCREAMING

OPTIMUS NO!!!!!!!

Oh ok they’re fine

OK BUT WHY WAS THERE ANOTHER ARK THERE

HOT ROD AND OPTIMUS

Is this some kind of weird time-space thing going on where they’re stuck in an infinite loop

“Grimlock hurt Grimlock feeling :(” THAT MADE ME SO SAD???? GRIMLOCK BE NICE TO YOURSELF

“Are you my Bee, or are you the new Bee?” MY BEE...THAT’S PRECIOUS

CYBERVERSE YOU CAN’T KEEP THROWING CUTE STUFF LIKE THIS AT ME, I CAN”T HANDLE IT, I’M GONNA GET TOO USED TO QUALITY CONTENT

Rodimus please don’t hit on yourself

IT”S A MULTIVERSE IM CRYIN. THEY REALLY DID DO AN “INTO THE CYBERVERSE” GOOF, I LOVE YOU CYBERVERSE WRITERS

I’m still so worried a Shattered Glass version of them is gonna pop up

But won’t that mean all of them will pop out in the same universe?

THERE”S SO MANY ARKS

All of them saying “Autobots Roll Out!” is so sweet...

OH NO THEY HAVE CHROMIA.....CHROMIA WHAT HAPPENED

EXTREMELY RARE BLESSED OPTIMUS SMILE....HE LOOKS SO SWEET.....

Dang boy Cybertron looks jacked up

NOOOOO IS THAT IT??? AM I REALLY GOING TO HAVE TO WAIT TIL NEXT YHEAR FOR SEASON 3??? Man those were such good episodes though, I can’t even get mad I LOVE CYBERVERSE SO MUCH Y’ALL......... :’) I’m so glad we have a series like this

[sk-salazar]

Here are my favorite things and some amazing observations about “Change Your Mind”. Needless to say, there are spoilers.

💖 Those cute rainbow caterpillar bois that Pink brought to Homeworld. And the image in my head of them chasing the Pearls. 😂 Someone needs to draw that.

💖 That DejaBlue pun.

💖 Connie standing up to Mama Blue and using her strict parents to her advantage.

💖 Steven standing up for his support of fusion instead of just giving Blue an empty apology.

💖 Blue realizing that she was wrong to use her emotional manipulation powers on her loved ones all these eons. And her comment about Homeworld failing Pink instead of Pink failing Homeworld. So many kids who defy the status quo need to hear this.

💖 Blue hiding the kids in her hair loop.

💖 The symbolism behind Steven throwing off his Pink Diamond getup and putting on his own clothes to confront White. (Maybe they’re just more comfortable, but I feel like there’s a clear message there.)

💖 Blue saying, “She prefers to be called Steven.” Even if she didn’t use a male pronoun, I can see a message here of accepting your trans kid and defending their chosen identify. Even if it causes a strain in your marriage.

💖 Connie’s courage (again!) to stand up to Yellow. Everyone kept blaming Connie for “blowing Steven’s chance to talk to White” because she fused with him. And Connie’s statement about changing the rules for everyone was the best clapback to that. Steven knows he’s right. Steven knows that servitude is wrong. He knows that denying who you want to be and not loving who you want to love is wrong. So if he is to confront White Diamond, he must do it on his terms, not hers.

💖 Yellow crying of her own volition.

💖 Connie’s “face-off” pun and all the hand puns about the ships. 😂 And Bismuth wanting to uppercut an upper crust. The writing for this episode was 🔥.

💖 Steven saying “GASP!” instead of actually gasping. 😂

💖 Lapis’ and Peridot’s new forms! I’m so in love with Lapis’ palazzo pants and golden sandals! She looks like she has so much more personality now. 💙💚

💖 Peridot saying, “Who needs thumbs?” even tho they’re the reason humans are an advanced species. 😂

💖 Steven’s observation about all his forms. Pink represented the “flight” response and Rose represented the “fight” response. Both of which are primitive responses to conflict. Meanwhile, Steven represents using logic and compassion to foster dialogue. He’s the most ascended form.

💖 Blue saying, “In order to fix [our family], we must admit that it’s broken.” Here, she voices the most common fear of those people who always push back against progress.

💖 Yellow telling Steven to #TakeAKnee . I see what you did there, Sugar Woman. 😏

💖 Yellow having the courage to tell White that “we need to talk about us”. (I love all the throwback references in this episode! One of which is this line, which is a throwback to the episode about Greg and Rose.)

💖 Steven telling White to “let us in your head” or to “get out of your head”. To be “in your head” means that you’re self-centered and unconcerned about the world around you. Again, that 🔥 writing.

💖 Amethyst’s owl pun. 😂

💖 Steven fusing with all the Crystal Gems to save them. Not only was it a great idea in an emergency, but it’s a great plot device. It gives us the answer to our questions about who all the Steven fusions are, thereby making it easier to wrap up the show sometime in the near future.

💖 The new fusions!!! Rainbow Quartz is a posh twink, Sunstone is a positive, 80’s rapper-esque cool dude role model for kids and Obsidian fucking Te Ka.

💖 Rainbow Quartz blowing a raspberry, Rainbow Quartz blasting off with a literal rainbow trail, Rainbow Quartz’s “two stones and one bird” joke. Just, Rainbow Quartz. 🌈

💖 The Crystal Gems forming a cheerleading pyramid to form Obsidian and Pearl doing a Swedish Alps move.

💖 That badass fucking shot of Obsidian’s multiple arms. As well as that epic music they played for her scene.

💖 The Crystal Gems’ new forms. Pearl has completely thrown off that flimsy veil thing that all Pearls have. (Which is a symbol of servitude to her.) And now, her outfit is a lot more conventionally human. (Maybe a sign that she wants to pursue Mystery Girl?) Also, the Star is on her back, representing her putting her past as a Crystal Gem behind her. Now, she’s just Pearl and she just wants to live her own chosen purpose.

Garnet has both red and blue in her corset. After Ruby and Sapphire spent time apart, Ruby realized that she liked being with Sapphire while still being herself. Maybe Sapphire came to the same conclusion. Maybe they both came to the conclusion that they’re not two halves of a whole. They’re two whole beings in one pair.

💖 Bismuth loving Connie enough to make her a custom non-Rose Quartz-themed sword. I love how much she loves and protects the new crew.

💖 The Great and Lovable Peridot declaring that she’s Homeworld’s savior.

💖 As unnerving as it is, I love the way White tries to mess with Steven’s head. She talks about Yellow’s, Blue’s and Pink’s impurities making them dependent on each other. (Essentially, colored diamonds are created because of impurities.) And also how Pink surrounds herself with outcasts in order to be considered normal or good. I don’t agree with any of her statements, but you’ll often hear bigots use the same kind of logic to justify their worldview, which really makes this show hit home in many ways. I have to admit, her words kind of messed with my head, too. For a moment, I had some intrusive thoughts, wondering if I believed what I believe so that I could be “the best of the worst”. I snapped out of it really quick, mind you. But this was an incredibly effective speech.

💖 Amethyst calling White a dirt wad. 😂 She has NO chill.

💖 Again, White Diamond being an absolute villain when she says, “Now I’ve removed all their flaws. Now they are perfect, now they are ME.” This could be an interpretation of God. He sees free will as a mistake because his creations choose NOT to glorify him and NOT to be molded in his image. So many awesome sneak-disses of real people in this episode. 😎👏🏼

💖 Yellow Pearl’s silly Pink Steven line turning out to be foreshadowing. 🤦🏻‍♀️

💖 The palpable representation of self-love in the form of Steven adoring his own form. Also, there’s a throwback to Rose Quartz saying, “Every time you love yourself or you love being yourself, that’s me loving you and loving being you.” Steven really is Pink’s ascended form. The song in the credits is from Pink to Steven.

💖 Rose Quartz and Pink being gone for good. So many stories have characters that come back to life and it seems like death loses meaning nowadays. As much as I love Rose, I’m here for her never coming back. Especially because that represents Pink/Rose/Steven growing and moving on. Just as we never go back to our old, naive selves, neither should Pink.

💖 Steven being equal to White in power, apparently. She was shook with that scream of his! And he took his sweet ass time walking towards his meat suit. That’s power right there.

💖 White saying, “I only want you to be yourself and if you can’t do that, I’ll do it for you.” A perfect representation of people nowadays forcing people to deny their true identities through draconian laws, unwritten social codes and bigoted statements.

(“You do not look like this, you do not sound like this, you are Pink Diamond” = “If you have a penis/vagina, you’re a man/woman.” “That gender doesn’t exist.” “Men and women are supposed to be with each other because...reproduction.” “You can live together, but don’t call it marriage.” Etc, etc.)

💖 The best line in the whole show: “I AM a child. What’s your excuse?” What a sweet, heartfelt way to remind us of the pilot episode, when all this magic got started. 😭

💖 White Diamond interpreted Pink’s “impurity” as warmth earlier. All this time, she thought that being “perfect” meant being detached, cold, unsympathetic, overbearing and cruel. But she becomes more likeable and multi-faceted when she absorbs Pink’s warmth/light. Without it, she’s a creepy, aloof puppet master. But with it, she becomes the same old White that the Diamonds loved. She changed quite easily, so that indicates to me that she felt the need to remove her emotions to become a more effective leader. (Kind of like how people with broken hearts often vow never to love again.) There should be a future exploration on this. Did she remove her own emotions? Did she do it in order to detach herself from grieving for Pink? Or did a higher, more eldritch power do this to her? 🤔 Either way, Pink’s warmth is the antidote to all forms of frigidity. For all that guff about her perfect white light penetrating everyone, she sure got shown a thing or two. 😁

💖 Apparently, Pink Pearl is okay-ish. She probably still has the trauma of being taken from Pink and having her eye cracked. But she apparently has no memory of being controlled. I was so tormented for the last month, wondering if poor Pink Pearl was screaming for freedom, trapped inside her own body. 😢

💖 Steven’s throwback to the song he sung to Lars and Sadie when they were stranded on the island. “If you let others just be whoever they are, maybe you could let yourself be whoever you are” is a throwback to “Let Yourself Just Be Wherever You Are”. It’s also a perfect message to people who rely on bigotry and forcefulness to serve as their whole identity.

💖 Sadie’s green hair. 💚 What a look! And Greg is such a good guy that he’s allowed Sadie and her band to play his song. ☺️ Also, her literal mic drop when the Diamond mothership lands above her. 🤣

💖 The way our perfect cinnamon roll always brings people together. The way he introduces the off-colors to the Diamonds like it’s NBD, like there hasn’t been eons of bad blood between them. And the way White is willing to say hello to them first. What a good grandma. ☺️ It’s funny that earlier on, White said that Pink inspires others to be their worst selves. Yet whenever Steven does stuff like this, it inspires me to be my best self. And many other fans too, I’m sure!

💖 Lars being kind to Lion. ☺️

💖 The off-colors and corrupted-now-uncorrupted Gems finally getting their happily ever after. ☺️

💖 Jasper still retaining a scar of her corruption. Because no one ever comes back unscathed and that little detail makes this story so much more real to us. Also, the way Amethyst explained everything to her, even after the way Jasper had bullied her.

💖 Yellow throwing up some deuces as the mothership was blasting off. 😂✌🏼 There is hope for these Diamonds after all.

💖 Steven’s closing song. What a perfect message to sum up the entire episode. 😍

[lonelypond]

IT’S AN ASK MEME

These are fun so thanks @oumiyuki for tagging me. Here we go:

Nickname: It’s always fun to see how people shorten blinkkittylove. My immediate family and the people I knew in elementary school shorten my first name, I’ve also answered to MDN and Howard Francis. 

Zodiac: Horse/Gemini 

Height: just under 5′ 9″

Last movie you saw: On the big screen: Aquaman (the second time). Mera was awesome. On the small screen, Captain America: The First Avenger. I wanted to watch someone punch Nazis.

Song stuck in your head: “Mona Lisa” by Sabrina Carpenter. I’m still looping her new album, Singular, Part 1, in my car so which particular song varies by day and mood

Other blogs: Yes, too many, honestly, I’ve lost track. This is the one I update though, plus Twitter and Instagram.

Do you get asks: Not often...I appreciate them when I do. And I still owe some people AUs, which I have not forgotten. Feel free to ask away.

Following: 270 (I feel like a lot of those are from when I first started this Tumblr and are now inactive.)

Followers: 288

Amount of sleep:  Insomnia wins too often.  I tend to sleep in two hour shifts. College and my first job being an overnight shift got me locked in to not sleeping on a regular schedule.

Lucky number: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Just roll the dice ; ) 

What I’m wearing: Silver shirt with a recharging battery graphic with “Introverting” above it, gray sweats, green, white, and tan plaid flannel shirt, black beanie with pins (SpiderGwen, Godzilla, Pride Star Trek badge, Sparkly unicorn with Santa hat hula hooping), glasses.

Dream job: I think it’d be cool to have an animation studio so I could develop stories, be involved in the process, and play around with different styles. And have actual trained animators on hand so it only takes 2 years to do a project not x+15.

Dream trip: Ireland. My dad’s family is originally from there. I love the stories I’ve read about it and the green hills are gorgeous.

Favorite food: the cauliflower pakora at a small Nepalese/Himalayan restaurant slightly north of where I live...there are pockets of spices in the batter and so you get these little delicious pops of flavor in your mouth.

Languages: English, some French, thanks to four years of Latin I can clumsily hack my way through Spanish, French, and Italian poetry and road signs.

Favorite song(s): “Satellite” The Dollyrots; “Start Dash” and “Snow Halation” μ's; “Fridays I’m In Love” The Cure; “Bizarre Love Triangle” New Order; “You Only Get What You Give” The New Radicals

Random fact: “I can’t live without music” This is oumiyuki’s random fact but it could also be mine. Music is how I process things aka emotions.

Describe yourself as aesthetic things: pine trees, surf, midnight wind and howling, very smooth ink drawing a cute doodle across very scratchy paper, windows down stereo blasting

Thanks again for tagging me, O Bringer of Smiles. And I’m going to say “Tag” to anyone who’s read this far, I’d like to know your answers, especially the ones involving songs. Or drop a song in my ask box and I’ll write something inspired by it to help me get back in the writing groove. Have had my theatre hat on for a couple of weeks.

[floweryfandomnerd]

@thelazyfanartist Hey I finally got this done and I’m very happy with it despite it being a procrastination method from revision man am I gonna fail my exams at this rate.

Anyway here is the fourth drabble in the schoolboy!arslan au that you requested. I say drabble it’s 4k+ long... I hope you enjoy

*

Chapter Four

The room that Elam stands in the doorway to is a mess with old toys strewn about the wooden floor in almost a circle from the centre, he sighs at the thought of cleaning it up.

“Hey Elam, did you bring your old toys to go through for the beneficence day?” Arslan asks him, springing up from what could be described as the eye of the storm, if the storm were one of dolls and stuffed animals.

He lifts up the canvas bag in his right hand to show him, Arslan eyes the graphic print on it for a moment then holds out his hand expectantly. Elam loops the handles around Arslan’s wrist, he tugs the bag open and peers inside, wide grin forming on his face as he pulls out a spiderman action figure, “Cool! You have my favourite hero!”

Elam steps closer to him, digging around in the bag himself, he produces a Hawkeye figure and holds it up to eye level, “Yeah, but Hawkeye’s my favourite because he's skilled with a bow and that's pretty awesome. Even more awesome is that in the original comics he's deaf, that's pretty inspiring for disabled kids, y’know?” Elam tells him.

And even though his voice lacks the same obvious excitement as his, Arslan has long since learnt to read him by the way the corners of his eyes crinkle as he talks about it, by the way that he stands just a little bit straighter and holds the figure to his chest. Arslan smiles softly, he's more than fond of seeing his friend so happy.

“Yeah! It's great because it shows that even with a disability you can be anything - even a superhero!” Arslan agrees, enthusiastically nodding his head, “Hawkeye is Daryun’s third favourite, besides Thor and Captain America.”

‘Yeah, they're kinda cool too.” Elam glances back down at the figure sadly, he doesn't really want to give it away.

“He says Spiderman is lame though, says it's because he reminds him of a teenage Narsus, except Narsus didn't have a six pack and liked art too.” Arslan gently takes the figure out of Elam’s hand as he laughs, (he takes pride in drawing that laugh out of his friend, he's glad that he doesn't always feel the need to be so serious around him anymore.) Arslan sets the two action figures down carefully on his bed, kept apart from all of the unsorted toys, “Anyway, we can't get rid of these.”

“Wow. Was Narsus that much of a nerd?” Elam asks, still in stitches and clutching his arms around his sides.

“What do you mean was? He still is!” Arslan jokes, mumbling an afterthought, “Though he's more of an art nerd than a science nerd now, I guess.”

Elam carefully steps around the toys to sit in the middle of them, he drags Arslan with him by the sleeve. Picking up the nearest stuffed animal in front of him, Elam inspects it for any rips in the stitching or missing eyes. When he finds nothing wrong with it he holds it up to Arslan. Silently answering the question, Arslan nods his head to say that it can be donated; Elam sets the toy aside in a basket labelled “donations.”

They get into a rhythm of deciding whether the toys can stay or go, picking them up, checking them over for injury and then questioning whether they can be kept or not. Most of the toys wind up in the basket, too many for them to be of any emotional value. Occasionally though, Arslan shakes his head and tenderly takes the toy from Elam’s hand, placing them on the bed. It builds up an eclectic collection of old, tattered toys that he stares at fondly.

They’re special to him, each and every one, he doesn't want to get rid of them. Knowing they're safe, he quietly returns to helping Elam sort the rest of the toys, neither of them break the silence, though Elam wants to ask what makes each one so important. After all, every toy has a story to it when it means something.

Breaking the silence between them by means of a creaking door, Alfarid strides in, calling out, “Guys, I’m here!”

Taking another step into the room, Alfarid stands on one of the still unsorted toys, slipping and crashing into the basket. A few toys go flying out, one of them hitting Elam on the head; Alfarid sits slightly dazed in the basket, limbs splayed everywhere and giggles sheepishly, “So um, what were you guys doing?”

Elam scowls at her, rubbing the impact spot, “We were enjoying ourselves but I guess that’s over now.”

Long used to his sass, Alfarid simply sticks her tongue out at him. Despite Elam’s sourness towards her, Arslan laughs at her. She laughs along too, guessing herself just how ridiculous she must look. The three blink at an unexpected flash and the sound of a camera shutter, Etoile stands in the doorway, polaroid camera in hand and held up in front of her face. Lowering it, she tugs the photograph printing in the bottom out and fans it around. The photograph develops, ink drying and the image forming in blotches.

She looks at it and grins, chuckling just slightly, then she holds it out for the others to see. They smile and Alfarid takes the photo in her own hand.

“This one’s a keeper!” she beams. “It’s definitely going in my memory box.”

Etoile points to the window where opened light blue and white curtains let the sunlight filter in through the glass, “Yeah, the lighting in here made sure it came out great. But that should be going in my memory box, I took the picture.”

Pouting, she holds it out for the other girl, but Elam quickly snatches it away and squints at it. He cracks a smile and shoves it into Arslan's face.

“It’s cute, we look cute in this photo don't we Denka?” he pauses, considering thoughtfully for a moment, then adds, “Alfarid doesn't.”

She gasps in outrage, insulted and ready to fire expletives back at him, Etoile speaks over the top of her, vexed, “Wait, why did you call him ‘Denka’?”

Alfarid resorts to crossing her eyes and arms and sticking her tongue out at Elam in a huff, he pays her no mind and gestures towards the bed in the corner of the room, “Because he has a king sized bed, in like every room, but we're still kids, so Denka.”

She glances to Arslan, ‘Denka’, questioningly but to her surprise he doesn't seem to mind the nickname. She turns her head away rapidly when she realises that she's caught his eye with her own. He jumps up, excitedly putting a hand on her shoulder.

“You should take another one,” he tells her, voice as warm as a sunny day, “but this time you should get in too!”

She nods, still a little surprised, then finds her voice to reply, “Of course, it wouldn't be the perfect photo if I weren't in it.”

He laughs happily and bounces off to the pile of toys on the bed.

“Before you take it,” he says, waving Alfarid over to his side, “we need to organise the toys on here for the background.”

They align them against the wall, organising them by size with the largest teddy bears at the back and action figures sitting in the front. Arslan grabs Elam’s arm and drags him over to sit in front of the bed with him and Alfarid. Etoile sets a fifteen second timer and places the camera on the bed side table, seating herself next to Arslan. Seconds later the camera flashes and she fights the urge to blink. She’d set it to go off three times, one photo for each of them.

The polaroid deposits the photographs in front of it, she idly goes through them, pausing and deciding which she likes best, Alfarid making the peace sign whilst Elam glares at her, Arslan and herself making silly faces; maybe the one when all four of them are smiling and Elam and Alfarid have given up their bickering. She decides on the one where, for some strange reason, Arslan's smile is directed at her instead of the camera. She pockets that one carefully and leaves the other three open to the others’ choice.

Turning to Elam, she picks up a stuffed horse off of the wooden floor, dangling it in the air by the tail. She scrutinises the toy, swinging it from side to side, “So Elam, why all the toys? We helping a tragic case of hoarding or? I mean, if so I guess it's a productive use of a Thursday afternoon… ”

Elam laughs, “No, our school is having a beneficence day so we're going through all of Arslan's old stuff to sell some and raise money.”

“You can donate that horse by the way,” Arslan chimes in.

Etoile nods, dumping it amongst the other sacrificed toys. “What about this ratty old bear? Are you sure you want to keep it?” she asks just a little brashly. Its fur is worn and discoloured, one of the eyes is missing and some of the stitching is coming away, letting the stuffing spill out in small patches. They couldn't even donate it if they had wanted to.

Still, Arslan nods almost shyly, softly replying, “Yes… I want to keep it.”

She carefully passes it to him, gazing thoughtfully in his direction, head cocked slightly to the side, “That’s important to you, isn’t it?” she says slowly.

“Yes, it’s the only thing I have left of my birth parents. They gave it to me when I was five.”

Alfarid’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise, “Your birth parents?”

Smiling almost sadly at her, Arslan sighs quietly, ‘Yeah, they died in a car accident when I was eight.” He brightens up then - Etoile can't help but think the expression reads as fake - adding, “I'm okay with donating almost anything, just not this, okay?”

Elam silently pats his arm, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye, Arslan briefly taps Elam's hand with his own in acknowledgement.

Clapping a hand gently on his shoulder, Etoile reassures him, “Well that's fine, isn't it? You don't have to give up everything of yourself to make a difference to others.” She grins broadly at him then, firmly stating, “Giving to charity is a good thing Arslan, you just need to make sure you keep something for yourself too.”

When he beams at her in response, agreeing resolutely, she thinks she might just have to change her opinion of him as a spoiled rich boy. “Why don't I take that and fix it for you?” she asks, pointing at the stuffing spilling out like Winnie the Pooh’s, “I know how to sew.”

This time it's Elam's turn to be surprised, “Really?” he enquires almost incredulously.

“Yup.”

“Do you think you could teach me then? I'm no good at it past stitching up holes.” Elam points to the dark brown fabric patches on the elbows of his deep green jumper as if they were evidence of his lack of skills.

Etoile laughs then, quickly obliging herself, “Yeah, I think that would be fun. I could even teach you how to make clothes, if you want me to,” she says, closely scrutinising his work and mumbling, “though I think you're plenty good already.”

She doesn't notice the camera go off again, snapping a shot of her intensely staring at Elam's elbow whilst he looks to be concentrating equally as hard. Giggles escape Alfarid, betraying her mischief as she shows off the picture to Arslan who giggles along with her.

Cutting off the giggling, she turns to Arslan again, “Well do you?” she almost demands the answer of him, “I promise no harm will come to it whilst in my care. Just good old stuffing surgery.”

Easily agreeing, he hands the toy over to her, “Yes, I trust you'll do a great job.”

Daryun interrupts them, knocking loudly and pushing open the door to the room. “Dinner's ready kids. Come down and eat.”

“You didn't cook it now, did you?” Elam worries at him, Daryun isn't someone he would trust to make food. Responsible, usually, but he's just as much of a disaster in the kitchen as Narsus is, if his attempt at a cake is anything to go by.

Daryun's expression morphs into one of offense, arms crossed, eyes narrowed, and his mouth set in an annoyed line, “Yes I did, I don't really think there's anywhere to go wrong with spaghetti bolognaise, Elam.”

Holding his glare a moment, Elam eventually relents, accepting that Daryun perhaps might not be as useless a cook as he is a baker. Though he does question why Daryun decided to make it himself, if he remembers correctly, Elam believes that Arslan's household employed a cook already, and that it certainly wasn't Daryun.

Daryun smiles in response, “Okay then, I'll drop you lot off at home after you've finished dinner then.”.

Etoile takes the bear home with her.

*

After her Tuesday afternoon shift in the shop, Etoile wanders around the town centre a little bit, gazing in shop windows without entering, pressing her hands against the glass when she takes interest in something and peering in curiously only to pull herself away a moment later. Eventually she arrives in front of the store she actually intends to enter and pushes open the door. It's a small shop with little room and fewer regular customers, but the products are good quality and inexpensive, so it's her chosen place to shop.

They have pretty fabrics hung on spools all across the far wall, Etoile likes looking at them, running her fingers across each one as she tries to decide which one she needs to buy. Pausing, she takes the bear from the plain brown satchel at her hip and studies it, tapping a finger against her lips in thought. A patchwork job would probably last longer, she thinks, than just sewing up the bear. As long as she finds the right fabric and colour.

This one, she thinks, feeling a soft and velvet-like deep brown fabric. She buys half a meter, some brown thread and a button that matches the eye of the bear. She pays for the items and is almost out of the door before she remembers that some stuffing might be useful. Purchasing the stuffing, she leaves and makes her way home.

Her apartment is empty when she arrives, Barcacion - the great uncle that she lives with and is rather fond of - isn't home, leaving Etoile to quietly sit in the arm chair by the window as she repairs the bear. It doesn't take long to fix, but as her needle dips in and out of the fabric, sewing the toy's wound shut, Etoile considers why Arslan, with all his money, didn't just pay for the bear to be sewn back up. At first she can't think of any real reason, eventually however, she thinks that maybe it was because he was scared it would be changed beyond recognition and he wouldn't have anything left of the people who formed his early life. After that, she's careful to make sure the bear remains recognisable.

Her chance to return the bear doesn't come until the Beneficence Day three days later. She wanders through the gate idly, taking her time to enjoy the afternoon sun that spills over the buildings around her, casting shadows and golden rays alike. The school grounds are unusually busy, but that's hardly surprising given the day's event, still, the crowd is so thick that she struggles to see where she can find Arslan, Elam or Alfarid. What gives it away is the circle of young children and their parents circling around one particular covered table, she figures that nothing other than a ridiculous amount of toys would draw that kind of attention and starts weaving her way through the throng of people to get there.

When Arslan catches sight of her amongst the crowd he beams at her brightly and waves to her to catch her attention, she smiles gently and holds up the bear, moving one of its arms from side to side to wave back at him. He laughs cutely, clutching his sides with one arm, Etoile quite likes the look of his laughing face. Quietly, and to herself, Etoile giggles along with him, holding one hand up to her mouth to hide it. Upon arrival in Arslan's little covered stall she deposits the bear in the front pocket of his apron, situating it with its arms hanging out over the top as Arslan's face begins to flame whenever her hands accidentally brush at his chest. She steps back, peers at him critically and smiles, satisfied with how it looks.

“Now you look like a toy maker, one who likes giving gifts to little children.” She tells him, patting his shoulder momentarily.

“That doesn't sound like such a bad job, actually.” He says thoughtfully, turning from her and serving a bright eyed little girl who eagerly buys the cutest stuffed rabbit Etoile has ever seen. Arslan holds a finger to his lips and leans down to whisper conspiratorially to her, “I'll tell you a secret about that rabbit, but you have to promise to take good care of her.”

The little girl nods her head, wearing a serious expression and crossing her heart, “I promise!” She says gravely in a hushed whisper.

Arslan looks pensively at her for a moment, “Okay,” he tells the girl, “That rabbit is the princess of the rabbit kingdom, but no one can know or the foxes will find her and plunge the kingdom into turmoil.”

She gasps and glances astonished down at the bunny in her arms.

“So you need to protect her, you see, brave lady knight, I wish you good luck.”

“Thank you, I'll look after her well.” The little girl declares, leaving and going back to her mother.

Etoile watches fondly and just slightly awed, she never realised just how good Arslan was with children, she doesn't quite know what to say, it reminds her of a game she used to play as a child. “That was adorable,” slips past her lips as he turns back to face her.

“I used to play a similar game when I was a kid, my bear used to be the prince of a fallen kingdom,” Arslan tells her wistfully, “Sometimes - as often as I could, actually - I used to get Daryun to play it with me, he was always this brave warrior, see.”

Etoile’s own memories are somewhat the same, it’s a rather nostalgic feeling, “Ah, me too, I was a valiant knight, fighting for my kingdom in the name of God, well, a made up one that I called Yaldaboath. It was fun.”

He smiles softly at her, probably imagining when she was ten years old, running around and swinging a foam sword. At least she can imagine him playing with teddy bears straight back.

“Arslan, you can switch out with me now. Go enjoy the rest of the event,” Elam says from behind her, appearing out of nowhere and startling Etoile just slightly.

Arslan nods, gently grabbing Etoile's hand and tugging her along with him, a mischievous sparkle shining in his eyes. He doesn't say much, concentrating on navigating through the crowd of people, stopping at a table with a crudely set up game of ring toss that offers prizes in the form of toys, money and cupcakes.

“Do you want to play?” Arslan asks her, pulling his hand away and reaching in his pocket for change to pay with.

Ignoring the emptiness of her hand, Etoile agrees, reaching for the rings, “Sure, but pay for two games I want to know who's better at this game.” She says, challenging him to test his aim.

He has fairly good aim, actually, which shouldn't surprise Etoile given his school has beaten hers at mixed baseball before. His first two throws go well, the rings hang on the necks of the bottles but he overshoots the last one just slightly and misses. He shrugs somewhat disappointedly, staring longingly at a giant chocolate cupcake offered as a prize. “Guess I'm not getting that cake then,” he says and Etoile swears she can hear genuine sadness in his voice.

Grabbing the second set of three rings, Etoile aims carefully, flinging them with just the right amount of force that they land on the bottlenecks, spinning noisily around them like a hula hoop. She doesn't even have to say what prize she wants, the bored student hands over the chocolate cupcake immediately. Etoile shoves it towards Arslan, offering it to him.

“You look hungry, so take it.” She half commands him.

Instead of eating it all himself, Arslan splits it in half and gives the bigger piece back to her, “Thanks,” he tells her with an impish grin.

There's not really much else to do at the beneficence day, having come so late and working on the teddy bear stall, they've missed all the events like races and talent shows. Etoile quickly finds herself growing bored despite her company and the different little games they play - actually, the one with the water guns is fun since she gets to soak him and he gapes at her in open shock - though she holds it in and doesn't say anything, at least she has time to think for once.

The crowd has thinned by the time he turns to her, still damp from her earlier attacks, “There’s not really anything left to do here, is there?”

Etoile shakes her head, “Not really, I think we missed all the good stuff, unfortunately.”

Arslan hums in agreement, making a little noise and obviously thinking about something else , what exactly, Etoile isn’t sure. He holds his hand out expectantly, waiting for her to take it again, “Let’s go then, I know somewhere nice.”

Hesitantly, Etoile takes his hand, following him through the grounds and avoiding the last few stragglers there, her cheeks feel decidedly warm.

“Where are we going?” She asks as they leave the gates, heading away from the school and in the opposite direction from his house, moving farther from the town centre with every step.

“You'll see,” he tells her cryptically, staring up at the top of a grassy hill from the base of it.

A small playpark sits on the summit of the hill, surrounded by a bright coloured fence and trees dotted around behind it with swings and slides and a giant climbing frame among the things to do there. Arslan tugs her hand and starts climbing it, bringing Etoile to realise that he wanted to take her to the park. Sometimes, she thinks, he’s a little bit of a kid and a little cliché but she doesn’t mind it so much. Silently challenging Arslan to a race, Etoile removes her hand from his, sprinting up the hill ahead of him. She sees him break into a run as she glances behind her, the corners of his lips curved up into a wide smile.

Etoile wins the race, sitting in the grass and panting at the top of the hill as she waits for him to struggle his way up.

“You’re many times fitter than I am, Etoile, I don’t know how you managed to run the whole way up,” He tells her, bent over with his hands on his thighs and wheezing to catch his breath.

Etoile shrugs casually, “I cycle to school.”

Pushing herself up from the grass, Etoile waits for him to stop wheezing and takes herself to the swings; she’s always been fond of swings, something about them is relaxing and they always seem to have the amazing power of clearing her mind. Arslan sits on the one next to her, swinging quietly aside from the creaking of the chains that attach the seat to the bar and the scuffing sound of his feet when he kicks off the ground. It’s peaceful.

“You know, I always used to come to this park as a kid, you know, before I was taken to Castle Andragoras.” He says softly, breaking their comfortable silence with a mournful tone of regret, “I don’t really remember it.”

“Was it fun?” Etoile asks in an almost-whisper.

“Yes.” Arslan abruptly stops swinging, getting up and holding out his hand for her again.

She lets the swing stop naturally before she stands, though she doesn’t take his hand this time, there’s no way for her to get lost in the little play park. After a confused moment, he lets his hand drop and begins climbing the giant climbing frame that she noticed earlier.

“Come up here, Etoile, this is what I wanted to show you.” He calls down to her, already a short distance from the ground.

She obeys, scaling her way up through the organised mess of cold metal bars until she reaches just below the top, where Arslan sits on one of the bars, distractedly swinging his legs as he gazes over the city. As she sits beside him, watching the same view as him, Etoile thinks she knows why he brought her there. The sunset is beautiful, pinks, purples, oranges and reds taking over from the sunny blue bathe every tree and building in their hues. If she remembers correctly, it’s the start of magic hour, or twilight.

“It’s so pretty, I’m glad you brought me to see it,” she voices with some awe.

“Yeah, I’ve always thought so,” he whispers on an exhaled breath, glancing at her from the corner of his eye with a fond smile.

Etoile sways slightly and Arslan places his hand on hers to help her keep her balance.

“Do you remember this?” She asks quietly.

“Yes.”

*

If you enjoyed this please think about a reblog so that more people can read it!

@inokinako You would probably like to read, no? 

[ndrv3winterexchange]

wool and chocolate [kuzuhina; fluff; warm and fuzzy as heck]

hi there, umeko ( @umekopyan )!!! you asked for something fluffy with kuzuhina, so i tried my best to deliver. it was my first writing this ship, so i hope i didn’t fail too badly c; anyway, please enjoy your gift! <3

“Y'know what?”

“There’s an enormous chance that I do know, but, please, feel free to enlighten me.”

Rolling his eyes, Fuyuhiko elbows Izuru in the ribs, more out of habit than annoyance, then sips his lemonade and says,

“Call me a fuckin’ sap, but I kinda miss winter.”

Izuru’s brows twitch a little. So - he’s surprised. A lot. Or maybe he’s not surprised, but only decided to move his brows for one of those reasons that make no sense now, but will later turn out to be vital to the fate of the entire universe or some shit. Who the fuck knows.

As the boy besides him busies himself with, who the hell knows, compressing the new input data, Fuyuhiko digs his fingertips into the warm sand and shifts them a bit, enjoying how the light grains feel, all airy and nice, and then moves on to enjoying how this entire situation feels - shit, it’s almost December, and here he is, on a tropical island, with his friends, his partner (he will not call Hajime nor Izuru a boyfriend. He will not.) and Nanami’s AI keeping him company, chilling underneath the blazing sun and occasionally sending Naegi and co. ideas on how to un-fuck up the world.

“I presume you mean the atmosphere of the winter and not the weather, right?” Izuru slips the sunglasses onto his nose. “As a person of a quite… short and thin stature, you must get cold quite easily, right? And that is not a pleasant feeling.” He pauses for a second, nods to himself and adds, completely putting out Fuyuhiko’s ebbing offense, “I think.”

“You think?!”

Time, just like it always does, passes. The small conversation is gradually forgotten as Fuyuhiko finds himself dealing with more pressing issues, such as talking Naegi out of the mindset that reopening Hope’s Peak without any changes to its regulations would be a good idea.

Don’t tell anyone about it, but Fuyuhiko ends up calling Naegi’s associate (yeah, just like that, associate, all ambiguity implied), the original Togami kid, and having him conspire with that asshole Munakata. In the end, though, it works out. Naegi has a nice, long, public speech about how Hope’s Peak will now be open for everyone, that the classrooms will be named after perished Future Foundation workers, society this, equality that. Cool. And people seem to dig it, of course.

Then, the next week, Koizumi relapses and hits Sonia over the head with her shitty Polaroid camera, giving her a nasty concussion. Both girls end up in the hospital, one unconscious, another restrained in her bed and sobbing. Hajime swears a blue streak, then squeezes Fuyuhiko’s hand and gives place to Izuru. He spends the entire night examining Sonia while his partner spends the night at Peko’s cottage, hiding worry behind irritation. In the end, though, it all turns out okay. Sonia’s hair, still short and messy after the haircut she had to give herself after waking up from the simulation, is now pressed to her skull with bandages, while Koizumi slowly picks herself back up and takes photos of tropical fruits and rare clouds.

Life goes on.

On the beautiful early morning of December the twenty fifth, Fuyuhiko wakes up to an empty bed. Usually, this wouldn’t concern him - Izuru likes going for morning runs - but last night Hajime said that Izuru’s tired of people and probably won’t show up for the next few days. And Hajime himself is the exact opposite of an early riser. So, all things considered; what the fuck.

To hell with that. Fuyuhiko can start thinking about it after he gets some coffee. Bleary-eyed and yawning, he throws the blanket off himself and shuffles to the door of his cottage. Opens it. Freezes.

It’s snowing. It’s. Fucking. Snowing. The cottages’ roofs are covered in white, the air whipping at him brings so much cold it almost makes him squeak (almost! almost, for fuck’s sake!), and just- What the hell.

“What the fuck.”

“Hi, Fuyuhiko,” Izuru says flatly, peeking out from behind the cottage next to theirs. His expression gives away no emotions - but the tone of his voice is almost fucking pleased. Fuyuhiko gapes at him, then points, rather dumbly, at the snow, then at the cloudy sky, then at Izuru, then, once again, at the snow. And Izuru nods. “As you can see - it worked. You got your winter.”

“How the fuck?!” Fuyuhiko screeches, half-convinced he’s gonna wake up from this goddamn dream any second now. “We’re by the fucking equator!”

“Two Super Highschool Level Lucks should not be underestimated,” Izuru says, thumping his chest in a decidedly Hajime-style gesture. Asshole.

Still. What the fuck.

Watching Saionji throw a snowball at an unexpecting Souda, Fuyuhiko snickers and moves away from the window, all toasty and happy in the hotel’s old building, with the chimney (honestly, the good luck) burning hot and filling the main room with a warm glow.

And then, to make the moment even more disgustingly sappy, Hajime hands him a cup of hot chocolate. Fuyuhiko nods in approval and pats his partner’s shoulder, sliding to the couch; Hajime sits by his side with his own mug. They sit for a while in pleasant silence, just enjoying the sheer absurdity of the situation - and each other’s presence too, Fuyuhiko supposes. They sip their drinks, watch the flames shimmy in the fireplace. People outside are laughing and shouting at each other; at one point, Sonia and Tanaka, red-cheeked and with matching grins, bust in, stay for ten minutes, ask Hajime to give Izuru his thanks for bringing the snow, then go back to do whatever the fuck they’ve been doing. Maybe drawing pentagrams in the snow to summon a winter tengu, or some creepy shit like that. When Fuyuhiko shares this theory, Hajime chokes on his chocolate and has to get a hearty pat on his back.

“Thanks,” Hajime wheezes out, reaching out to loop his arm around Fuyuhiko’s shoulder. “You’re awesome.”

“Says the guy who literally has all the talents available,” Fuyuhiko snorts, “including the ability to fucking make it snow on a tropical island.”

“What, you’re not enjoying this?” Oh shit, he looks troubled now. Good job, Kuzuryuu!

“Of course I am!” Fuyuhiko spits out, hastily adjusting his eyepatch. “I’m just really fucking confused, is all. But happy too!” he adds when he sees Hajime pout. “Thank you for breaking the laws of common sense just to give me some good memories, I guess.”

“Huh.” Hajime perks up. “You’re welcome. Now,” he stands up and offers Fuyuhiko his hand, “wanna go for a walk?”

“Hell yeah I do.” Smirking, Fuyuhiko intertwines his fingers with Hajime’s and gets to his feet.

The first thing that happens after they get outside is that Fuyuhiko gets hit with a strong blast of chill wind - and falls onto his ass. Hajime, the jackass, laughs so hard his legs give out and he ends up in the snow drift too.

“Rest in shit, Kuzuryuu,” he has the guts to say. Frowning, Fuyuhiko gets up and brushes the snow off himself, coming to the painful realization that  the cheap gloves he got in the supermarket ain’t exactly water-proof. Fuck.

“If I end up catching a cold, it’ll be your fault,” he grumbles. “And it’ll be your fucking duty to take care of me, got it?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Hajime reaches out to stick his hand in Fuyuhiko’s jacket pocket. “I can even wear a nurse costume.”

“I hope to fucking god you’re shitting me.”

“Who knows? Izuru wouldn’t have anything against dressing up, I suppose.”

“You’re a dick.”

“You love me though.” Hajime grins. “Wanna share a scarf?”

Fuyuhiko shrugs, then watches Hajime unwrap it from around his neck. It’s quite a bitching thing, tightly knitted and in a shade of green (olive? Avocado? Fuck, it’d be nice to have an avocado sandwich) that matches his eyes. Not like Fuyuhiko noticed that before, of course. He may be gay, but he isn’t, like, y'know. Gay.

“There we go.” Humming to himself, Hajime bundles the thing - Jesus Christ, it’s really fucking long (did he make it himself?!) - around Fuyuhiko’s, then around his own neck, and once again pushes his cold-ass palm into his partner’s pocket. This time - the back pocket on his pants.

“Smooth, Hinata,” Fuyuhiko drawls. “If I wasn’t that chill, I’d punch you in the face.”

“And you’d lose this,” Hajime tugs on the scarf, “source of warmth. I dunno if punching me would be worth it.”

“Right.” Rolling his eyes, Fuyuhiko wraps his fingers around Hajime’s elbow and pulls gently. “Let’s go for this fucking walk then.”

“Alright.” Hajime looks him in the eye (ha!) and smiles. It’s warm, bright and way too fucking gentle. Ugh. “Let’s go.”

[stellar-stag]

Wow it’s been a while since I did a personal update here huh

I’ve honestly transitioned a lot of my venting/personal stuff to twitter

(I promise I havent abandoned you for my furry friends)

(I kinda have)

(I totally have)

(sorry)

But I feel like the last couple months have been a whirlwind for me, so I may as well keep y’all in the loop. I’m gonna sort these by topic.

First off, I had some issues with my romantic feelings. There’s a guy, a very very good friend, who is just fantastic in so many ways. Friendly and kind and supportive, progressive and enthusiastic, and shares so many of my interests. Seems natural that I would fall for him, right?

Well I did, and it resulted in a lot of emotional duress.

He has a girlfriend, and I knew this going in, but I didn’t fight my attachment. In the process of admitting my feelings to him and working through everything, I learned a lot about myself and got some practice in controlling my emotional state and how I react to things. But I also relied on him as an emotional crutch and used him for validation, especially during some particularly low emotional points, which is unfair to him. It is only because he is immensely understanding that we remain close friends, and this could have easily resulted in disaster.

But through this process I have grown, and identified a new issue blocking me from being of completely sound mind: Low self-esteem and reliance on others for validation. During my more anxious periods, I would slip into joking self-deprecation, and somewhere along the way it stopped being so joking. But surely, now that I’m taking meds for anxiety it would stop, right? Well, no. Turns out, even if I stopped consciously having thoughts of “Wow, I’m so bad at this”, I didn’t automatically gain appreciation or acceptance of myself. This manifests in a particularly dangerous manner when guys who are attractive are nice to me. 

I end up conflating kindness with romantic intent, and decide that obviously, if someone doesn’t have romantic interest in me, I must be irreparably flawed in some way. This is bullshit, and I consciously understand that, but my subconscious doesn’t play by the rules. So I end up in a self-loathing spiral that only manifests in periods of intense romantic desire, and a month later I’m exhausted, bruised, and have run the risk of alienating those around me who care about me.

So how to fix it? I suppose I’ll need to work on drawing validation from within, so that rejection feels less of a condemnation of my character and everything I am. It won’t be simple, to be sure, but understanding the issue is the key to overcoming it. 

Here’s hoping.

Secondly: I started working out! As of today, March 24th, I have been to the gym 12 times this month (half the days, holy shit) and thats because I, last week, decided to go from 3 workouts a week to 5, solely because I wanted to. If you told me a year ago that I would, of sound mind and body and my own volition, wake up every weekday at 5:45am to go workout for an hour, and enjoy the experience, I would have called you a liar. 

But I am, and I do. I think it’s benefitting my mental health and self confidence, and I’m thankful that I’m in a place where its even an option. This is only possible due to a coalition of so many factors: A free gym in my office and a natural predilection to waking up early to remove barriers, I started taking Vyvanse in January to aid in my attention issues (not sure if I have ADD/ADHD or what, but it’s helping me remained focused in all aspects of my life and for that I am grateful). And, of course, two people who aided in the impetus for beginning and making it a habit: My dad, for giving me crippling self-worth issues my entire life and then visiting in February and criticizing my health and weight (because I was sweating after walking up a hill, which more and more I realize is not actually an indicator of my exertion! I am just a person who sweats easily, and its more a function of temperature and endocrine system than anything else) and giving me the sheer spite to begin working out, and the guy I was crushing on (who is intensely into working out, and I wanted to impress him. Yeah, I was hella thirsty. Sue me). 

Regardless of the reasoning, I found that (once I cut cardio because seriously, fuck cardio), I enjoy working out in the mornings. It’s calming to wake up by exertion and then cool down slowly at my desk before other people even wake up. It’s given rise to a ritual of sorts where I get to my desk, deal with my emails, make breakfast and tea, all before anyone shows up, so that I can really hit the ground running. And more than that, I don’t have a goal in mind. I’m doing this because I know it’s good for me and I want to be healthy, and I enjoy the exertion and following “good” tiredness. If I was trying to lose weight or trim  fat, or stuck only to cardio, I would have given up by now. But its a habit, and I love it, and I’m sleeping better, eating better, and feeling better.

Again, this is only possible because of an alignment of several factors, but I’m thankful for it, and I’m glad I got out of the mindset that “workouts must suck but people do them because they wanna lose weight”. You don’t gotta do anything you don’t want to do, and I wish I had realized that sooner. Im feeling way better about my body, even, because despite the fact that I haven’t lost weight or gotten trimmer from working out, I know I’m eating (pretty) well and working out, and that my body does everything I need it to. I can take pride in the callouses on my hands and the soreness of my body, because they’re proof of dedication, exertion, and effort, and those are way better things to feel good about than shape and size, anyways. If people think I’m unhealthy because I have fat, they can suck it.

Thirdly, I’ve begun looking for a condo to buy! Housing in the bay area is STUPID EXPENSIVE (and yes everyone knows this, and I know this, but it bears repeating). But I can put a down payment on a one bedroom in a good location, and I’m prequalified for a loan, and I just need to keep waiting and pouncing on leads. I think I’ll be happier living by myself with a kitchen to myself, and still going out to social events to prevent becoming a hermit. Plus, with this setup I can maybe bring dudes back and not have to show them the pigsty that is our living room or the shoebox that is my bedroom. I was terrified at the start of this process, but my mom and the realtor have been awesome about taking this step by step and ensuring nothing is confusing or surprising, which is sweet.

Fourthly, possibly because I’ve been taking Vyvanse but also possibly because I’ve finally begun understanding what the hell I’ve been doing, I’ve really hit my groove at work. The project I’m working on is complex but interesting, challenging but well understood, and I don’t feel alone but still get to feel a sense of ownership. It’s not the most fulfilling thing ever (I don’t know that working on payments platforms for a corporation ever will be) but I enjoy work, I don’t loathe going to work, and despite the fact that I was sick as a dog all this week, I came in everyday (after working out) to work full productive days, and I was happy at the end of each of them, more or less. Its not perfect but its head and shoulders above what most people get from their jobs, and I’m immensely fortunate to be in this position.

Fifthly, this is more a continuation of already known things, but I’m making cool friends in the furry fandom. I’ve made good friends, some who I hope I will keep as friends for the rest of my life, and I’ve already made plans to go to Reno in June and Disneyworld in November to hang out and have fun with them. As nerve wracking as being an adult is sometimes, the freedom is something I wouldn’t trade for anything. 

Sixthly, I’ve been taking a creative writing workshop in SF! It finished last weekend and I’m happy to not need to commute each week anymore, but I learned a lot about reading like a writer and choices you can make as a writer to achieve desired effects. The workshop focuses on narrators and how who is telling the story tells it, and the model they use for exercises is SO HELPFUL. We would read an excerpt of something, discuss how the narrator/choices/tense/mood all work together, and then we would write something in a similar format about whatever we wanted. Lemme tell yall, that is so much more helpful to me as a student than just prompts. Having a guide to format is like drawing from references, its helpful and and great for learning and gives you the tools to make your own things later on. I highly recommend it, and I can’t wait to get back to my book. 

Got a lot of art to make first, though. I’ve definitely improved a lot in artistic skill and confidence, and I’m loving finding niche styles that I like and mimicking them. The stained glass pic I posted yesterday is proof of that, I feel. Its drawn from Mucha and various real life stained glass windows and a bit from Kingdom Hearts, but I took these and the tools at my disposal and wove it into something that feels complete. I figured out how to apply a cloudy “glass” texture, glows, stabilization, symmetry tools, pattern design, and more all through the process, and I know theres so much room to iterate and grow, in shading and coloring and proportion. But even knowing I have room to grow, I’m proud of what I put out and I put a lot of my heart into that piece (yes, its a birthday gift for workout boy. Shut up). I think I’m going to accept commissions for pictures in this style, even. It’s great fun.

So yeah, the last couple of months have been intense. I’ve had ups and downs, but I’ve learned and grown a lot, and I think I’m in a really good place in my life right now, and I hope that every one of you achieves a similar level of peace.

[solarpunksoftie]

additional fun facts about the Gene Pool

because i cant be stopped and oh hello new obsession

my sides

A - Adrienne   E - Ethan   L - Laura   P - Pandora   D - Daryl

Favourite Colour

A - Green

E - Red

L - Blue

P - Yellow

D - Purple

Favourite Music

A - The Struts, Major Lazer, Ariana Grande

E - Rise Against, Green Day, Paramore

L - Lindsey Stirling, Sleeping At Last, Ratatat

P - KONGOS, Arctic Monkeys, Bastille

D - Twenty One Pilots, The Neighborhood, The Front Bottoms

Favourite Foods/Bev

A - Popsicles, Bananas, Mussels / Dr. Pepper

E - Yogurt+Granola, Lamb, Bacon / Juice

L - Steak, Mushrooms, Ramen(its convenient!) / Tea

P - Berries, Spaghetti, Clif Bars (chocolatey ones) / Coffee

D - BBQ Chips, Goldfish, Cheesecake / Hot Cocoa

Favourite Movie

A - Avengers

E - The Sting

L - Cosmos: War of the Planets (they fuckin lov terrible movies)

P - Indiana Jones and the Lost Arc

D - Heathers

Favourite T.V. Show

A - Rick and Morty

E - Brooklyn Nine-Nine

L - Star Trek (tos)

P - The Walking Dead

D -  Cutthroat Kitchen

Favourite Fiction Genre / AO3 Tag

A - Action / Smut

E - Drama / Hurt Comfort

L - Sci-fi / College AU

P - Fantasy / Graphic Depictions of Violence

D - Slice of Life / Whump

Favourite Musical / Song from it

A - Catch Me If You Can / Live in Living Color

E - Les Miserables / Do You Hear The People Sing 

L - Hamilton / Non-Stop

P - Into The Woods / I Know Things Now

D -  Heathers / Lifeboat

Favourite Activity

A - sex, dancing, late night shenanigans with friends

E - attending protests, witchcraft, hiking

L - painting, research, watching movies

P - cooking, playing horror games, playing with animals

D - sleeping, listening to music, cuddling (but they’ll never admit it)

Favourite Affection

A - kisses. not necessarily romantic, forehead, cheek, hand, etc are all awesome

E - massages, especially shoulders

L - hair play

P - hand holding and casual touches

D - hugs, but so touch starved he’ll take anything

Favourite exercise

A - Dance!

E - Swimming

L - Climbing

P - Bicycle

D - pass…

If They Had A Super Power…

A - Flight

E - Pyrokinesis/Pyrogenesis

L - Time Stop

P - Invincibility

D - Invisibility

Weapon Of Choice

A - Falchion… specifically this one 

E - spiked bat

L - Pistol

P - Bowie Knife

D - Switchblade

Travel Destination

A - Amsterdam OR Cross Country Road Trip

E - International Relief Aid (they have no concept of relaxation)

L - Ireland

P - Hawaii

D - no thanks..

Element

A - Air

E - Fire

L - Earth

P - Water

D - Smoke

Theme Songs

A - Raise Your Glass, P!nk - Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time, P!atD

E - Architects, Rise Against - Uprising, Muse - Feeling Sorry, Paramore

L - Conquest of Spaces, Woodkid

P - Laugh Till I Cry, The Front Bottoms - Stressed Out, Twenty One Pilots

D - Trapdoor, Twenty One Pilots - Be Nice To Me, The Front Bottoms - The Draw, Bastille

Little Quirks

A - Happy Dances, Winks, Hair Fluffs

E - Impatient finger tapping, “Cool Kid” posing, Blowing hair out of face

L - clasped hands, Adjusting glasses, straitening tie

P - deforest kelley bounce, hands nervously in pockets, always ready to rabbit

D - Tired face rub, eye roll, lip biting

Zodiac Sign/Planet (all from my full chart)

A - Aries Moon

E - Scorpio Mars

L - Libra Mercury

P - Sagittarius Jupiter

D - Pisces Saturn

Shadow Emotion

A - Loneliness

E - Sadness

L - Confusion

P - Fear

D - Anger

Alignment

A - Chaotic Neutral - fuck it this looks fun

E - Chaotic Good - I will burn this city to the ground to save a child

L - Lawful Good - do the right thing the Right way and you get the best results

P - Lawful Neutral - follow the rules and you won’t get hurt

D - Neutral Evil - I’m tired just kill yourself

Hogwarts House

A - Gryffindor

E - Slytherin / Gryffindor

L - Ravenclaw / Slytherin

P - Gryffindor

D - Hufflepuff

D&D Class

A - Sorcerer

E - Druid

L - Wizard

P - Ranger

D - Rogue

MBTI / my function stack

A - ESFP / Se

E - ENFP / Fi

L - ENTJ / Te

P - ISTP / inferior Ni

D - INFP - none, hes a disorder

God Tier 

A - Maid of Breath

E - Knight of Space

L - Sylph of Mind

P - Mage of Rage

D - Page of Doom

High School Superlatives

A - Best Person to Travel With

E - Most Likely to Help Hide a Body

L - Most Likely to Succeed

P - Best Person to Get Stranded With

D - Worst Case of Senioritis

Vices/Virtues

A - Sex/Kindness

E - Rage/Courage

L - Overwork/Diligence 

P - Alcohol/Vigilance 

D - Drugs/Humility

When Stressed

A - loses all sense of direction and will jump onto the first suggestion someone makes to relieve the stress. Gets paranoid about appearance. Easily becomes overwhelmed/sensory overloaded and needs soft things, stim things, and fidgit toys to keep from becoming entirely incoherent.

E - Gets really impatient and short with people. If the stress escalates they will angry cry from frustration. Slams doors, yells unnecessarily.

L - Comes to a complete stop. They can’t complete a thought coherently and are easily confused. Prone to quitting from distress, coming to the conclusion that the most logical thing is to remove ones self from the stress while also stuck on the fact that it’s stressful because it’s too important to ignore. They basically experience blue screen of death by becoming a feedback loop of “oh no”.

P - The paranoia is in full bloom. they can get delusional and jumpy. Fears intensify. Outwardly, the only sign that somethings wrong is the occasional thousand yard stare or, contrastly, they get hyper vigilant. They’re just always ready.

D - Nap Time. If naps are not acquired they become crazy aggressive and verbally abusive. Every problem is a personal attack and it must be Gene’s fault. Craves death but will settle for a razor.

When They Like Someone

A - a smooth motherfucker. loves the seduction game. will wear lingerie under her clothes in case the opportunity arises to take it off ;)

E - Skittish. romance is the one emotional department they always fumble with. will compliment a lot and try to win them over, but takes a long time to act on anything for fear of misreading the other person’s intentions and making them uncomfortable.

L - Direct. knows the importance of presentation and is a good manipulator, so may implement their skills unintentionally. Really they just want the other person on the same page as them.

P - Suspicion. they normally aren’t attracted to someone unless the other person flirts first, and they are distrustful of others’ intentions. only once they feel safe with their crush will they act more directly and can actually be very charming.

D - Obsession and Despair. This person becomes their everything, which terrifies them, so they try and pull away to avoid getting hurt, and then get upset that the person isnt paying enough attention to them, and then the “im unlovable” spiral begins.

When Injured (with irl experiences oops)

A - powers through with force of will. will convince herself that its not a big deal. would probably try to finish a marathon with a broken leg. not stubborn if told to seek help, however, theyre just really bad at judging the severity/urgency of an injury. (went through their day without a care in the world after a head injury, legit didn’t think it was a big deal. the bump just looked nasty)

E - stubborn as a mule to keep up their badass image. will brush off most things even if they know its bad news. the only time the facade drops is when theyre alone, and then theyre a mess. (helped someone move despite the fact that they were seriously ill. hid it the whole time. collapsed when they got home)

L - reacts appropriately to the situation. has an objective enough knowledge of medicine and anatomy to assess the severity and urgency of an injury and will seek help if needed. 

P - Panic. has a slight inclination to hypochondria that only comes out when something is wrong. stubbed tow? its broken. stomach ache? it could be cancer or their appendix is gonna burst. weird symptoms they dont recognize? absolutely positive theyre gonna die. if they cant see whats wrong the panic is worse. is actually not bad dealing with flesh wounds, but still wont hesitate in seeking care. (full blown panic attack when a uti started exhibiting unfamiliar symptoms and couldn’t receive immediate care)

D - secrecy. wont tell anyone. 10/10 most likely to silently stitch up a wound themselves and no one would be the wiser. (suffering silently through a migraine without medication, cleaning up self harm cuts)

Negative Influences

A - Reckless behavior, abandoning obligations in favour of a fun activity, drug use

E - Being argumentative, “anyone who doesnt agree with me is the enemy” knee jerk reaction, grudges

L - Obsessive behavior, hyper focus, over rationalizing feelings away

P - Irrational fears, distrust of others, exhausting hyper vigilance

D - Depression my dudes, self worth issues, self harm in all forms

Positive Influences

A - Trying new things, Courage, enjoying the simple pleasures

E - Passion, Moral compass, Determination

L - keeping my life structured, love of learning, the designer

P - self preservation, observing others’ personal boundaries, being prepared

D - ?????, keeps me from becoming too powerful,, ???????

When To Worry About Them

A - would rather stay home than go out, reclusive behavior

E - either theyre constantly fuming or they become painfully apathetic

L - none of their ideas make sense, language issues

P - always v stressed

D - smiley mask, overly compliant, overly positive

How They Chill

A - Nature Walks

E - Low Key hangouts with friends

L - Coloring books

P - Music - will often chill and listen to music with Daryl

D - Sleep - falls asleep while listening to music with Pandora

ill probly add onto this when i think of more stuff, but here for now

Self Care

A - Dressing up, cuz looking good for your own sake does wonders for emotional wellbeing

E - Talking to people, it’s not fair to you or your friends to shut them out, and the attention makes Adrienne happy

L - Hot Shower. As well as being good hygiene, hot showers improve circulation and relax muscles and the mind

P - cooking a whole meal for yourself, because you have a penchant for denying yourself food, and its a creative, mentally stimulating activity that gets you moving and is satisfying

D - He’d say sleep, but he always wants to sleep so its mostly detrimental. So he’s with Laura on hot showers, but like, in the dark. They’re good for if you’re upset, or nauseous, or tired, or have a migraine, or need a cry. Don’t gotta put much thought into it, if somethings wrong it can probably be fixed with a shower. Also the warmth is super nice, and a locked dark bathroom is basically the most secure place you have access to. AND you can use nice smelling soaps and stuff, so Addy is happy too. Showers are just default best.

Which Sanders Sides theyre most like

A - Patton

E - Roman

L - Logan

P - Anxiety

D - get fucked

As My Friends… 

A - Kevin - big puppy dog, adventure/food/trouble friend

E - John - loud and proud and also my libra buddy

L - Owen - too smart jesus christ

P - Bri - anxiety ridden and prepared for everything

D - Jake - seriously hes the embodiment of depression anyway its horrifying

Physical Details

A - always wearing body glitter. nothing too Extra but just enough for a slight shimmer

E - has all the tattoos ive ever fantasized about. when i think up a new one it gets added to the collection. the buffest looking; when they work out they go for tone cuz they love the look

L - the only one who wears glasses. also wears a binder cuz theyre most comfortable flat-chested

P - carries any injuries i have at the time, including random bruises or cuts. actually the strongest even though they dont look it

D - has cuts all up their arms. they’re normally wrapped in bandages or hidden under hoodies. Deep under eye bags and the thinnest by far cuz they never heckin eat

Group Opinion

A - despite being the oldest everyone sees her as the little sister they need to protect. they love when shes happy and they all put in efforts to keep her out of too much trouble for the most part

E - they see them as a bit of an egomaniac, which isnt too far off. they are the judicial voice of the group, keeping everyone in line. those who deviate too far face their wrath.

L - the nerd. the others actually try to dismiss them a lot, since a lot of times they end up holding the group back. wildly unappreciated even though theyre normally right and helpful

P - doesn’t normally pop into group discussions, and is more of a casual observer, only participating when necessary. the others appreciate this about them, because for real if they contributed all the time id be a lot more stressed out

D - the villain. everyone always attacks everything they say (with good reason). despite this they still somehow end up winning a pretty good amount of decisions, cuz they are disgustingly good at twisting words and appealing to what at least one of the others wants. no one trusts them

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Photo editor software for PC

When you're taking pictures, trying out different poses as well as plans. Also small adjustments can produce a totally various picture. When photos look staged, they really feel fake as well as do not resonate with the visitor. Little components of life can be the missing out on loop that highlights an emotion when you take a look at the picture.

You may assume that you need to just handle flash in the evening time or inside your home, yet that's not the instance in any way. Switch on your flash if it is an exceptionally intense day outside and also the sunlight is producing harsh shadows on your topic. Forcibly added light into your subject, you will certainly be able to load in those hideous darkness as well as develop an even direct exposure.

As I was looking for an easy to use photo editor software, I suddenly tripped over this very impressive one

It's a bad habit photographers can establish. Over and over again I see professional photographers take a photograph and after that check out the back of the display instantly. By doing that you might miss out on all the unique moments. You can look at your photos later. You can miss the shot and also it affects the flow of your job, so simply keep capturing!

As you edit your photos, take treatment not to over-edit them. It's simple to go wild with your editing and also enhancing options, yet way way too many minor modifications can make an image look abnormal. You do not need to be a specialist professional photographer to acquire fantastic shots for operate with on your blog site.

With the suitable tools, a basic understanding of taking images in addition to sufficient practice, you'll discover the quality of your photos increase substantially. The application is a good photo editor software with a lot of nice functions for quick and easy photo enhancement. Naturalized terms for image editing functions are draw picture in picture, sharpening and manual effects and many more. Listed below are actually some computer program applications for modifying photos and also graphics that you might wish to look at. When I work with a photo editor software for a picture editing, like masks results or radial stretch, I on a regular basis operate with extremely basic photo editor software. The programs will definitely also series you how to beautify or soften certain segments of the photo, to make sure that you may remove particular items from your image.

You may benefit from the face renovation functionality, to ensure you can repair service the faces of people you take images of to generate a much more complementary image. Along with the program, you can easily consist of inscriptions to your photos, structure your pictures electronically, as well as create your photographs right into histories for your screen or even to send in your email through using the discolor and shade features that come with the program. The systems will certainly additionally reveal you how to darken colors or even merge specific segments of the photo, to ensure you may do away with details things from your picture.

Various other items from the firm include the result 3D workshop, a graphics modifying and also style system that allows you to form cartoon graphics whatever your capacity level is.

Edit photos and photo star cut print is very simple with the photo editor software or software photo editor for beginners

Powerful photo editor software with a lot of cool settings

Another practical usage of photo processing is occasionally the effective modify of shootings. This tool is a good photo editor software with a ton of awesome options for rapid and easy picture manipulation. You may similarly like to get a manual or even more with some more vital details on image modifying software application, to ensure that you'll recognize which programs are most practical to make use of and also a lot of economical. You might additionally yearning to selection up a publication or even two with some even more simple information on photograph tweaking program, therefore that you'll know which systems are most basic to usage as well as a lot of economical.

Along with the system, you can consist of subtitles to your photos, frame your images digitally, and also produce your photos right into backgrounds for your display screen or even to deliver in your e-mail by using the fade and also shade components that come with the system. Edit images made easy with the helpful unique photo editor software for beginners and experts with a lot of cool picture effects. You might likewise prefer to choose up a book or even 2 with some additional essential details on picture modifying software, in order that you'll understand which systems are actually easiest to usage as well as a lot of economical.