#and honestly I don't think it has anything to do with like... the skill level or anything

[invasive]

Under a read more since this is kind of a story lol

Forcefully took up sewing since I urgently had to mend a DEAR treasure (2 of them) after an accident. It happened so soon after New Years I was thinking "what a terrible way to start this year!... uuuuuuu....uuuu...." and I tossed and turned all night. Cried. I furrowed my brow and thought about rolling over and just taking the loss. But impulsively I steeled myself and thought Hell No! I was experiencing despair and waded my way through it but I wouldn't let it become loss.

I resolved to go to the only fabric store I knew of to find replacement fabric and matching thread the next day. The train ride was nice. I felt so purposeful lol. A very rare occurrence in my life. I watched maybe 30 seconds of a video telling me how to sew and went WHATEVER! and went at it on some tests for 2 hours. Don't advise that but I was stressed haha. The tests weren't that good but they were good enough. I got the hang of things.

Took me about 2 nights to finish mending the first item. The fabric matched really well in color and texture so the fact my sewing was shoddy didn't show as much as I thought it would. I was satisfied. The next item.... took 4..... all nighters... it doesn't sound like much writing it down but I experienced so much frustration. Probably more frustration than I've felt in 3 years since I haven't picked up any new skills or hobbies in that time. I was just an observer before. It was so grueling.

But I surprised myself! The reason it was grueling was because I kept aiming for something better. I redid sections so many times and approached it from 4-5 different angles even if it undid hours on hours of work. The patching fabric for the second item didn't match as well (totally different material, texture, and thickness) and ended up being more decorative. I encountered new problems I didn't previously account for. I had to worm my way around a lot! And it was not fun. But my will was something that strangely surprised me. I would finish a section, look at it, and go "I won't settle for that" then restart. Id go up halfway, realize I was doing something wrong, then restart. I'd realize there was a better way of doing something, restart. I think there were 3 times last night I decided I was done but realized I wanted to redo something and I worked for an additional hour every attempt.

Again It wasn't fun in the moment! But something in the back of my head was so very happy. I knew I would come out of this being proud of what I did. That Will I experienced was honestly something I thought had atrophied outside of art! And with digital art, problems are easy to solve. Undo, copy, paste, save states, etc. I'm not holding a needle with long nails and thread that I can barely see to solve I problem I don't know anything about.

Even if the actual display of skill is fledgling, the mental hurdles I overcame made the end product feel more rewarding. I did everything I could with my level of skill and prep. While doing something middling is better than not doing it at all, I got too used to that and just started aiming for mediocrity. So overcoming that has been so very rewarding. I can't say that enough.

I wondered if this was because I've been watching jojo... nearly all the characters carry themselves with so much purpose and determination, regardless of their role in the story. I can't lie, on the train ride there I was thinking about how certain characters would persevere in situations that devastate them..! I was like.. I should too...!!

It's so funny how an objectively small project became so important to me. I've built a little more respect for myself this year! I think that's a good way to start it off.

I feel really good about myself lately

[dirkxcaliborn]

wdym it takes effort to fix things. Can't they just not be bad

[neverendingford]

,

[l4zyb0n35]

THE BREAKING POINT

SMUT FIC

PAIRING: Alastor x F!Reader

SUMMARY: Y/N is a diligent worker, much to the chagrin of her partner, Alastor. Despite his efforts to get her to stop for both their sakes, Y/N remains steadfast in her duties. However, Alastor finds a loophole to this situation.

WARNINGS: Really really great awesome writing skills, Established romantic relationship, (can be seen as dating, fiancé, or married), AFAB reader, usage of Y/N, Sexual content (obv), Mature themes, Mature language, Nudity, Breastfeeding, Unprotected sex, MINORS DNI FOR UR OWN SAFTEY, Alastor manipulates her but only to get her to stop cleaning the hardwood floor, Alastor kinda controls her but not too much. Let me know if i missed anything :3

NOTICE: please don't copy or steal or translate any of my work or you will be haunted in your dreams and i will spawn something unpleasant at your porch the next day. But...thanks for liking my work !! >.< Property of @l4zyb0n35 and @genderlessdude92

WORDS: 2.4k

Requests are open, support is highly appreciated!

〰ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭ ..。.:*･ﾟ♫₊ ♪ *♬‧₊enjoy!~

You were a very hardworking woman around the hotel, to say the least.

Your excuse? “Well, Charlie is just dealing with so much, what’s my help going to harm but not… help?”

Ever since your dear partner, Alastor, invited you to live with him in his hotel room at the Hazbin Hotel, just to be closer as a couple,

You would not stop fucking working.

It’s driving him mad.

He has recently tried everything to get you to relax, to take it easy for once, but you were too stubborn for that. He couldn’t even believe how much work you did for such a small pay. It was honestly ridiculous since you weren’t even a maid, if that was what you were thinking.

So what if you were a bit of a clean freak, it wasn’t any reason to clean the entire damn hotel every day, including the outside, may we add.

You wouldn’t listen to his advice though, no matter how many times he told you to stop.

“Y/N, I swear if you keep cleaning the hotel I’m gonna…do something very bad,” he threatened one day while you were scrubbing down the lobby.

You chuckled, ignoring his threat.

“Don’t worry about me, sweetheart, m’ not gonna lose a limb.” you said with a smile.

Alastor sighed, watching as you continued to scrub the floors.

“You’re just being stubborn, Y/N,” he mumbled under his breath.

‘My last resort, I suppose.’ he concluded in his thoughts, looking around to make sure nobody would hear them.

After making sure that they were alone at the scene, he walked back over to you, trying to fix his composure.

“…When will you come back to bed with me, dear? It’s been cold without you.” Alastor said, kneeling down to her level as he put on his fake facade.

You paused for a moment and turned to him, “Aw, Al, you miss my spot being filled in the bed?” You said, rubbing his shoulder.

He nodded, “It’s never the same without you, I’m afraid.” He tried to soften his smile.

“…You’re not just saying that, right?” You said, losing your smile and pausing your hand.

“What? No-no. I would never lie to you dear.” He said, defending himself.

“…When do you want me in bed, hm?” You said, picking up your supplies and ignoring your suspicions, “I need to shower, after all.” You added.

Alastor stood up, “Now?” He asked, trying to sound hopeful.

“Mm, sure.” You nodded, walking off with your bucket of cleaning supplies.

He silently celebrated his victory.

* * *

Alastor’s ears perked up as he heard the shower turn off.

He was currently laying in bed with only a robe on and some boxers, staring off into the bayou and he brainstormed what he could do to get you to stop working.

He decided a couple minutes ago that his only option left were to ‘have intercourse’.

It was quite smart, actually. All he had to do was take your ability to walk.

So he waited as your blow dried your hair, trying to ignore his unpleasant boner from beneath the cloth of his boxers.

He waited even more when you picked which robe to wear to bed,

which, as you stepped out the steamy chamber, was a red silk robe with Alastor’s initials on it, your favorite.

He had a smug look on his face, seeing you step out in his clothing.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were waiting for me.” You said, seeing Alastor sitting up in bed.

He smiled at you, “No worries, dear,” he said, standing up and putting his hands on your hips.

“I was just waiting for you to come to bed.” He said, bringing his lips close to yours.

You laughed softly, pulling back after a moment, “What’s the occasion, dear?” You rested your forehead on his, closing your eyes.

“Hmm?” He asked, confused.

“Why are you acting so lovey-dovey with me? Is it Valentine’s Day already?” You laughed again, resting your head against his chest.

“Oh, don’t act so surprised, darling.” He said, leaning forward and kissing your temple.

“But, really, what’s the occasion?” You asked, moving back to give him space.

“Well…” He said, thinking quickly, “I figured you deserved a break after all of that hard work you put in recently.” He said, smiling again.

“Oh, your so sweet, Al.” You commented, caressing his cheek.

He leaned into your touch, “Yes…so i decided, what better to do so than taking your ability to walk for the next morning?” He sighed sweetly.

You paused, “…forget about Valentine’s day, did rut season come early?” You said, raising an eyebrow.

Alastor grinned, “It’ll definitely feel like it.” He said, grabbing your waist and laid you flat on the bed.

He moved down to your neck, kissing and suckling on it.

“Alastor…” You laughed out softly, more in a mumble.

“…Sshh, just let me do my thing, okay?” He whispered in your ear, continuing into your neck until he was sure to leave a mark, latching off of it with a ‘pop’.

He then made his way down, stopping at your breasts, cupping them in his hands and giving each nipple a gentle tug before resting his lips onto one of them.

He sucked and nibbled on it, moving to the other breast and doing the same.

He stopped, hearing you moan quietly under him, “Are you enjoying yourself?” He asked, looking up at your face.

“Oh, yes,” you gasped out, feeling your legs go weak as you lay there, “Keep going.” You added, running your fingers through his hair.

Alastor smiled, continuing to kiss your breasts until he felt you get wetter and wetter.

He sat up, sliding your robe off of you and throwing it somewhere across the room, leaving you in just your panties.

His eyes widened a bit at the sight of your body, “How did i end up with a sinner so beautiful.” He said, resting his head on your stomach, giving the fat of your hip a squeeze.

He ran his hands up and down your thighs, stopping at your panties and pulled them off of you, tossing them aside.

He then spread your legs apart and started to rub your clit gently with his thumb.

You let out a soft moan as you let out a jolt throughout your body from the contact, “F-fuck…” You breathed.

Alastor smiled and brought his free hand to your mouth, “Lick.” He commanded, placing his index finger on your tongue.

You obeyed, tasting your juices on his fingers.

He swiftly pulled the claw out your mouth, then slowly slipping two of them into your gummy walls.

You moaned out again as he curled his fingers inside you, thrusting them in and out of your hole.

He pulled his fingers out of you, sucking them clean as he moved your body to the center of the bed, sitting on his knees atop of you.

“Now,” he grabbed your left left, throwing it stop his shoulder, “You know the safe word, dear?” He said, grabbing ahold of his member and teasing your entrance with it.

You nodded, moving your hips for some more friction.

“Needy, I see…” You pulled his cock farther from her, “I need words, dear.”

“Y-yes, Alastor…” You struggled out.

He started to fist his member slowly, “Wouldn’t want to hurt my prized possession.”

After a moment, he pulled his hand away to put another leg up on his shoulder, scooting in and rubbing his duck along your slick folds.

“O-oh….” You breathed out as his meat hit your nub, “P-Put it in, Al…” You mumbled.

“Hm, what was that?” He stoped his member, resting it upon your nub as a tease.

You bit your lip, grinding against his dick, desperate for him to put it in.

He chuckled, pulling it back, making you stop.

You let out a whimper.

Alastor looked at you with a lustful look, his smile widening. “I need you to beg for it, dear.” He claimed, enjoying the moment.

You blushed, looking away for a moment.

Alastor tilted his head, grabbing his member again and started fisting it slowly.

You gulped, looking back at him, still not meeting his gaze, and whispered something incoherent.

He grasped your chin, turning it so you would look at him. “What’s wrong dear? losing interest in my so suddenly?” He said, making you shake your head, “Hm…then beg for it.”

"Please, Alastor, put yourself inside of me, fill me up, fuck me, please!” You begged, moving your hips for a feeling.

He stopped your hips, growling as he pushed himself inside of you without any warning, making you moan loudly.

“F-fuck…” you cursed from the sudden movement, trying to squirm away automatically.

Alastor noticed this, pausing his movement as he grabbed your arms, then your hips and waist, getting you to stop, “What’s wrong dear?”

You looked at him, “…k-kiss me?”

He smiled softly, “Anything for my doe.” he said, leaning down and kissing you directly on the mouth.

Although, as he leaned down, his dick moved further inside you, causing you to let out a jolt once again.

He caressed your hair, “It’s already in, dear,” he mumbled lovingly on your lips, “you’ve done your work, now just relax. I’ll do everything else.”

Waiting until you nodded, he pulled away and slowly began to pull out, before thrusting in swiftly, but gently.

You whimpered softly, gripping the sheets under you.

He pulled out and pushed in again, slowly building a rhythm.

He began to thrust faster, more cruel, “Oh, Alastor…” you moaned out, holding your hands around his neck.

Wet skin slapping together filled the room’s noises, alongside the crickets in the bayou, making you blush from the awkward noises.

Alastor noticed this, beginning to buff out his breaths and growls, and silently sent over his shadow to turn on the radio to a quiet, intimate jazz station.

“Hah…Alastor…” You breathed out as he shushed you, thrusting faster.

His cock rubbed against your walls, hitting all the right spots.

After a while, Alastor started to feel a familiar coil in his abdomen, grunting as he forced his hips to go at an ungodly pace, making your eyes roll to the back of your head.

“Gonna fuck you so good, darling…” He huffed, “Fill you up…you won’t be leaving this bed, understand?” Making you look at him directly and he moved your head with a tendril.

“Y-yes, Alastor…” You mumbled, trying to hold eye contact.

“Good girl…” He awarded verbally, growing another tendril into sight as he moved it down to run your clit, getting a high pitched moan out of you.

“F-faster, Al…I feel it…” You tightened your legs on him, tensing up.

As your tits bounced up and down from the thrusts, you couldn’t help but have to cover them because of the breeze from the bayou-

“No,” he immediately said, lifting one of his hands from clawing at the sheets and placing your hands around his neck, immediately diving down to suckle on your breasts.

“O-oh, yes!” You cried out, feeling his tongue circle around your nubs as he switched between the two.

You groaned as you felt the familiar coil in your abdomen grow after a couple thrusts, “I’m g-gonna cum soon, Al…” You scratched at his back in pleasure, trying to chase at your orgasm.

That’s when he didn’t switch to another breast, but kept sucking on one of them, rubbing and squeezing the other with his hand, making you wonder what he was doing,

Until you felt some milk come out of them.

“Ah-Ah! Alastor! I’m close!” You said, your legs shaking violently as you felt the intensity of him suck and squeeze milk out of you.

He growled, fastening his pace even more, making them even more tougher and he enter and exited your womb space, “Come for me, darling, let me hear you sing for me…”

His dirty talk only got you closer and closer to your edge, until,

You threw your head back into the mattress, arching your back as you let out a blissful cry of pleasure, clenching around him as you rode your orgasm, struggling to even keep your eyes open.

Alastor let out a beastly growl as his form quickly morphed to a more intimidating one as he shoved he cock into you one last time, releasing his seed inside you.

His cum leaked out of you as he slowly pulled out, quickly stuffing his fingers inside your hole so the cum would stay.

“What a good little for you are to me…” He said, admiring the mess you both made on the bed, and then just you laying there.

Noticing how you were still breathing heavily, not moving your body unless a little twitch, he leaned down to whisper softly, “How about some cold water, dear? Think this’ll help you relax?” He asked dotingly, making you nod instantly.

That made him chuckle, moving over to the edge of the bed as he stood up, going over to the nightstand and placing a water pitcher there from the shadows, and walking over the the bathroom for a towel.

***

As he came back from the bathroom with a hot rag in the hand, he noticed how you were half asleep, yet still conscious, which made him laugh softly as he place the rag down by the pitcher, crawling over to you.

“Mon Cher, you’re all fucked out by yours truly.” He smiled softly, fetching the rag from the nightstand with his shadow as he began to wipe your cunt clean.

When he was done, he then took notice of your breasts, how there were some stray milk on them.

Shrugging and tossing the rag aside, he leaned down and softly licked the milk off your chest.

You giggled softly in your daze, “Alastor…” You rubbed your eyes.

When he finished up, he filled a glass of water from the pitcher and turned back to you, sitting you up gently as he tipped the glass of water to your lips.

“Think you’ll be walking tomorrow?” He wondered aloud.

“Hm…will you stay with me here if i don’t?” You asked as you finished your glass.

He placed the cup down, “Of course dear,” he promised, crawling under the sheets beside you, sending his shadow to turn off the lights in the room as he cuddled close to your fragile state,

“Sleep well, dear.”

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END NOTES: I LEARNED HOW TO SPELL AWKWARD FROM WRITING THIS LETS FUCKING GO!!!! All jokes aside, (not really, now clap), i hope this fic actually turns out well because i spent 5 minutes trying to copy and paste this into a word counter and then 2 more minutes pasting this fic here because my phone sucks and it’s broken and i hate it and abuse it but like…i just hope it does well. I (hypothetically) put blood sweat and TEARS into this fic and idgaf what you think because it’s amazing for a first fic on this blog. Notes and comments, maybe even reblogs *wink wink* and also REQUESTS!!! Requests are my best friend, and always open unless I’m on vacation (which i’ll always announce). I love you guys ^^ !!

-Lynn Lazybones

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Masterlist Link

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[empressofthewind]

It says in Volume 13 that Near's ability to complete a blank puzzle is a sign of his intelligence, but honestly I kind of disagree??? Which is not to say that he isn't brilliant, but rather that I don't think that's the main thing the puzzle tells us about him. When he's first shown putting it together, he has a few pieces already selected that he knows will go in the centre. Then he tips it out in Roger's office, and within minutes, it's completed again. This tells me that it's a puzzle he's done over and over, so he knows how the pattern goes and he can finish it from memory alone. The fact that he's able to do this is definitely impressive, but to me, this is more telling of a few things:

A) He likes having something to do with his hands, which is pretty obvious given that he's always seen fidgeting with something.

B) He likes repetitive tasks, which is supported by the hair twirling and the stacking of identical objects.

C) He seems to like activities with that take up a lot of space or have many components for him to play with. In the case of the puzzle, this is shown by him scattering the pieces around him, including behind him. This is also clear in the case of his giant Lego sets or massive L-shaped card towers in the oneshot that fill up the entire room.

D) He likes activities with small or moving parts - which again, is exemplified by the small and numerous pieces of the puzzle, but also with the marble roller coaster, the toy train, and the finger puppets with all their various miniature accessories. He also tends to enjoy taking things apart and rebuilding them, which is seen when he tips out the puzzle, and when he destroys his various towers and Lego structures.

Based on the kinds of activities he does later in the series as well, I don't think he chooses hobbies that are mentally stimulating or writes off hobbies that aren't in line with his skill level. If anything, he tends to pick things that are quite simplistic, like rubber ducks or model trains, that he can use in a range of creative ways or scatter across a large surface area, and will keep his hands occupied while his mental energy is focused elsewhere. Even in the case of the puzzle, a lot of the pieces look like the exact same shape, and if that's true, this would mean each piece can fit in multiple places; so it could actually be a lot simpler to put together than it looks. But regardless, I don't think the mental stimulation is the main purpose of the activity for him. The only activity he seems to find challenging is throwing darts, which he never manages to do successfully.

[strawberry-cowmilk]

cooking with the brothers

mc's gender is not mentioned, not proof read

content warnings: none

-----

Lucifer

it doesn't matter what culinary level you're at, lucifer is basically your average masterchef winner and he acts like it

maybe he likes to brag a little, maybe he's wondering if you're impressed by his cooking skill

he also uses ingredients like devildom olive oil that looks like it costs 50 grimm per drop

he is kind of controlling when you're cooking together though

but whatever meal you make, it looks smells and tastes amazing

Mammon

sometimes when you're on cooking duty together you end up having to get akudonald's to serve dinner on time

because you get distracted together

like mammon starts a play fight with spoons, which you join in on meanwhile the food is burning

and mammon kind of never follows a recipe, he mostly does what feels right

he opens the cupboards too and goes 'okay what do we got here' and improvises a meal

Leviathan

he mostly wants to make meals he's seen in anime cafes, or recreate food from his favorite shows and tsl

if you don't got the ingredients he'll improvise a meal with whatever is left, since he doesn't want to go grocery shopping

and while he's cooking he likes to blast really loud music, if you love it he'll blast it even louder

one time satan was trying to read and the music was bothering him, so he stole levi's speaker which made levi chase him and you were in charge of the food alone for a while (average day with the brothers)

Satan

he has a cooking book full of recipes, he gives it to you so you can choose something to make

satan has multiple cooking books actually, one of them is all cat-themed and if anyone would find it in his room he'd get embarrassed and angry at the same time

and one of them is a cooking book with recipes you can make for your cat

anyways, satan goes grocery shopping on time for the ingredients and he's a pretty good cook

he's also very focussed so everything goes smoothly and dinner gets served well on time

Asmodeus

on the day you're on cooking duty together, asmo sends you a ton of devilgram posts with recipes you can make

sometimes he does change the recipes though, like if somebody doesn't like raisins he'll take them out

asmo gets distracted sometimes though, there have been times where he wanted to change the song and took 5 minutes to pick a new one

speaking of music sometimes cooking with him turns into a karaoke and dance party but at some point the food gets finished

Beelzebub

he brings a big bag of chips with him so he can eat those instead of the ingredients for the meal if he gets too hungry

do not let beel sample anything though because there have been times where he's sampled the whole thing (he even warns you about this himself)

he does like to watch you sample the food and tell him what you think of the flavors and all

when the food is finally done and served, he eats it in a whole minute

he's been waiting and you made it together so it's special

Belphegor

he cooks like your average college student during exam season

belphie goes 'hey mc I got some stuff, put it in the microwave and three minutes later we got a meal'

if it's not microwavable it's probably something boxed that's done in under ten minutes

but he's capable of cooking something proper with you, just know you might end up doing more work than him

and when he actually puts in effort, he finds out that cooking together is honestly really fun and relaxing

[milomilesmib]

✨PJO/HOO characters playing Stardew Valley in no particular order✨

Leo: it's a miracle his game doesn't crash with how many mods he's put in. He has several completed saves, all on different farms with different spouses. If anyone needs tips on the game, they go to him because they just know he has it all memorized.

Nico: he has a shared save with Will. He avoids the mines and the desert casino at all costs. He's mainly here for the cutscenes, Krobus, and the junimos.

Will: he does all the mining for Nico. He enjoys the grind and he relates heavily to Harvey. Him and Nico argue about whether to get a dog or a cat on the farm.

Percy: I don't think even he knows what he's doing. He didn't know he needed to water his crops, he gifts people random things without meaning to, and he put sap in the luau pot because he forgot to bring an actual ingredient. BUT, he knows every way to piss off Lewis and he takes every opportunity he can to do so.

Annabeth: she plans her farm perfectly and beautifully. She stays in the mines until 1 a.m., she ignores every villager but Linus, and she gets to level 100 of the Skull Cavern within a week of unlocking it.

Piper: I bet she's absolutely in love with Emily. Her main goal is to save her from Clint, and she probably marries Emily on Clint's birthday to REALLY break his heart. Also she probably mastered combat before any other skill.

Frank and Hazel: doing them together because they're a perfect team. They have a shared save and they accidentally speed run the game. Within the first two years, they're married, they've completed the museum, they've finished the community centre and the movie theatre, they've unlocked ginger island, and they're best friends with all the townsfolk. They don't know how they did it, it just happened.

Jason: he does the joja route just for shits and giggles, then gets really sad about it and starts a new save where he does the community centre route and marries Penny.

Reyna: she plays surprisingly normally. Nice and slow moving, not doing anything terribly dramatic, just hanging out and growing her farm. She really likes the casual gameplay.

Grover: he just watches other people play. He feels like he wouldn't enjoy it, but he looks things up on the wiki for his friends while they're playing. He knows all the lore just from the wiki and watching others play.

Thalia: honestly she'd probably use the game to live out all the romance she didn't get to experience, just for fun. She'd date all the bachelorettes at once but end up rooming with Krobus because she couldn't bring herself to choose. She'd also loooove fucking with Lewis tbh

[ladykailitha]

You pardon me, I'm getting a little foamy at the mouth about this and if I don't rant about it, I may explode.

Lucas and the Game.

Which game? Both of them. Basketball and D&D. Because honestly I am a little lot weary of Eddie getting the lion share of the blame for what happened that Friday. Like I legit saw someone suggest that the school move the basketball game. Like what now?

Did Eddie make some CHOICEStm? Yes, yes he did. Lucas did not go to the dark side for playing a sport.

HOWEVER!

Lucas made some choices of his own.

Now, my information is 20 years old and I'm doing this based on memory, so if I get things wrong, also know I am from a different state than Indiana.

The play offs and championship games are announced ahead of time. There is no way Lucas was told THAT day that Hawkins was playing in the championship game. He had three days on the inside and a week on the outside of knowing when the game was.

Also take into consideration that the likelihood of Lucas PLAYING in said championship game is astronomical. Like the starting lineup and all the second string players would have to injured or fouled out before he could play. Because he's a freshman. He would have to wait out all the sophomores, juniors, and seniors(grades 10-12 respectively) before the coach would put him in. As opposed to a game that not only would he be playing in, he would be considered a valued member.

But as a club, Hellfire probably had set days they could meet. (Also, also, who the teaching advisor for that club and where the hell were they at any point during that season?)

So for most of the school year, the Hellfire club met on Fridays. Lucas would have known that.

So he had a few days to tell Eddie that he wouldn't be able to make it to the finale of their campaign, and he didn't. Then he didn't have to courage to tell Eddie himself and made Dustin and Mike do it.

So here's Eddie, president of the club (though, I can only imagine he was because no else wanted it, as something tells me I don't think they would have a let a double super senior president of anything), being told he's going to be down a player or be forced to move it. Something the other members of the club didn't want to do.

So why does Lucas's choice matter, but Gareth, Jeff, and the Unnamed Freak's choices don't?

So Eddie has to make a decision. Move it, find a replacement, or cancel it all together.

But since it was Dustin and Mike who brought to his attention THEY can find a replacement.

Because here's the thing about D&D and especially about being a DM. You build the fight based around the characters' abilities, classes, and magical items. And there is a lovely thing called CR or challenge rating. It's based on a party of four but can be adjusted for how many players you have. So a CR 10 would be a monster or fight that would take FOUR level 10 characters to beat. So six players, he would probably throw a CR 12 or 13 because of the extra players.

And if they are down a player it can really fuck things up, because what do you scale back and how?

We don't know what level all the characters were or what their classes were. We know that Lucas HAD played a ranger in the past so lets go with that. And since we know EXACTLY what Erica's character was: a level 14 half-elf rogue, so Lucas was probably of a similar level. And let me tell you TWO complete different skill sets.

Which is probably why the group is decimated at the end. Rangers are long range (heh) and rogues are better up close and personal. If Erica hadn't rolled a natural 20 both her and Dustin would have been dead when Vecna took his turn.

Sorry, I got off track a bit with the D&D stuff. But the purpose of that was to show that Lucas bailing last minute would have fucked things up for Eddie.

So TL;DR is that Lucas chose a game that he would likely be on the bench for for all of the game over a game he was an active participant in, didn't tell Eddie for DAYS and made his friends do it last minute, and then demanded the campaign get moved at the cost of the other members of the club's wants, and all because he wanted to be popular.

So, no. Eddie should NOT apologize for not catering to the wants of one member of his club over the needs of everyone else in said club. Maybe a bit on the traitor thing, but not moving the finale because Lucas thought basketball was more important? Nah...

[fanged-fanfics]

Hi! I really enjoy your writing and I honestly find it super comforting, would it be cool with you if I requested a Syntax and GN! reader fic, only the reader shares hella similar qualities to him (personality and intelligence wise)? Kind of like first impressions, and what Syntax thinks of them over time? I hope you have a good day, also pls don't burn yourself out (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)💞

💚💻 Two of A Kind — Syntax x GN Reader HCs 💻💚

Genres: Fluff || they/them pronouns for reader || No warnings needed

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆˚｡⋆୨💻୧⋆˚｡⋆✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖

- At first, when Syntax noticed how similar you are to him, he didn't react quite that well to it. Anyone who could potentially take his (very much self appointed) title as the smartest member of Spider Queen's Queendom was a threat to him

- Your relationship started out a lot like a rivalry, but a friendly one. He kept trying to show off to you or one-up you, and you just kept meeting him at his level. It frustrated him to no end, but it also gave him motivation to always improve

- He'd make small comments here and there about your skills, but usually disguised as a 'that's why I have to beat them' comment. He'd rant about you to basically anyone who would listen, which more often than not tended to be Hunstman or Spider Queen

- After being teased by both of them, he started just focusing on his next methods to best you. You, you, you. It was always you. Basically every time he did anything, he'd try to think how you would do it, or what comments you'd make. He justified this as mocking, but he realized one day that he was just memorizing all your interests and little quirks

- Poor nerd just ended up confusing himself. He kept telling himself this was all in the spirit of competition, that it was serving him. But he was slowly doubting that. Your ways of matching him stopped being annoying and started to feel... charming. Which, of course, he tried to convince himself he hated

- It was hanging out with you more that really did him in. Being so close to you, learning just how many mannerisms you had in common, it slowly changed his perspective into being endeared rather than frustrated. He wanted to spend more time with you... for the sake of the competitions, of course... totally

- He felt pretty at ease with you after some time together. It was actually refreshing to have someone that he felt understood him, to have a real and meaningful conversation with someone who matched his intelligence. It was very nice, he came to discover

- Pretty soon he was head over bionic spider ega for you. As Huntsman made sure to tell him in length, his crush on you was really obvious, but Syntax always denied it when asked

- He started inventing things for you to use to help you rather than to combat you. A faster computer, a better phone, a specialized app for you, your own bionic enhancements, everything like that. He also began heavily praising all your work, every little accomplishment was suddenly newsworthy to him

- Even though he's used to you two being similar by now, any reciprocation from you has him suttering and flustered like a fool. He likes to act suave and charming, but it's all an act, in reality he gets flustered easily

[moonspirit]

Hello Moon,

Ok, my curiosity is peaked,

Can we hear about this Papa Levi and Armin headcanon you have cause the more one thinks it over, the more adorable it seems?

I mean we already know that Levi is a gruff but secretly warm Papa bear with his Paradis boys, and with Armin being the timid baby of the group, the possibilities for wholesomeness are immeasurable.

I think we all would love to hear what you have to say on this.

#thehelloanon

Hello!

(Edit: oh god this is very long T^T)

The reason thinking of Levi as the father figure for the Paradis boys makes me so happy is because I think he does continue to see them as his children even long after the Rumbling. I mean, watching them get recruited into the military as very young children, and then being part of the group of adults that guided them into having the right skills, mindsets and motivation, it's hard for me to imagine that Levi does not subconsciously begin to bother about them at every bend and corner. While we've already seen how much he cares for them through the seasons of the show, I also like to spend time thinking about his Papa tendencies post-rumbling, when the Paradis boys are more or less proper adults.

So this is maybe him inviting them to stay at his place when they're visiting, honestly get quite fed up of them in less than 2 hours, but instead of kicking them out (he says he will but pffft), he covers their scraggly sleeping forms with blankets instead. He gives them pep talks before their public appearances, very practically telling them to "give no fucks ever" to the annoying press and their questions. He gets pissed when he finds they haven't been eating properly and goes on a long rant about how weak and stupid they are all the while peeling a dozen potatoes and cooking an elaborate lunch. He comments on their new hairstyles. He tells them off when their suits look wrinkled. He forces the boys look sharp and neat. He tells them they should hold their heads high and be confident and brave.

With Armin, I DO think Levi has a special soft-spot, both in canon and as a headcanon. It's very endearing to imagine he quite liked Armin right from the start. A polite kid, very smart, diligent, responsible, level-headed. I can't see him doing anything to tick Levi off (other than being Eren's friend lmao). Armin also possesses a sincerity and pureness of intent (i.e. his dreams are very simple and joyous, not necessarily hurting anybody directly) which I like to imagine reminded Levi a lot about the very motto of the Scouts and what they were striving so hard to achieve. I don't think Levi would've treated him any different from the others though. Anyway. Good boy with a good heart and poor taste in friends (one raging idiot and one gloomy brat).

Coming back to canon, see, I think that as much as Levi made his choice in Shiganshina about who to give the serum to, that while he doesn't regret it, he also feels responsible for burdening Armin with the implications of being brought back to life. Levi might've been very aware of Armin's physical shortcomings, but without a doubt he acknowledged his intelligence and strategic talent. This is *one of the reasons*, I believe, that Levi thinks it's fine to let Erwin rest and bring his suffering to an end, because as inexperienced and young as Armin is, he has the potential to reach great heights, in due time.

Anyway, Levi's choice burdens Armin to very great extents, forcing him into situations where he struggles with feelings of being inadequate, insufficient, and overall useless. I don't think Levi was blind to any of this, just that he might not have engaged in your typical "sit-your-kid-down-buy-him-a-snack-and-talk-feelings" type of thing. However I can see him as giving Armin tiny pointers to bring him out of his mental turmoil, even if only for brief moments. So maybe that's telling him "Oi. No time to spiral, focus." or "Your friends are depending on you, get out there." stuff, you know?

Post-canon, you have Armin trying to battle greater things, such as the grief over Eren's death, his contribution in the Rumbling, his personal guilt, his overwhelming insecurity and so on and so forth. Do you think Levi would be watching all this and not think of his own personal responsibility in pushing this young boy with innocent dreams into this disastrous role of power, tasked with leading the world? I think not. I think Levi would feel more responsible for it than ever before, and coupled with his existing soft-spot for Armin, would quite naturally slip into a parental role. Perhaps they have long conversations. Perhaps Levi always makes sure Armin's got pressed clothes and new socks. Perhaps Levi reminds him now and then to take the tie off and go have fun. All in his deadpan delivery of course, but still.

A Papa to his Son all the same.

[l1tw1ck]

got a reply on ao3 where someone was being ableist to me by using dyslexic is an insult, so I told them that was ableist and then they said "not liking your writing isn't ableist" (i never said it was) and then proceeded to use the r slur and then said "i could tell you're autistic."

so in order to fight the ableist allegation...you use more ableist rhetoric...i see 🤔

laughably ironic

rambling under the cut bc it's just ... hilarious

i wasn't gonna say anything about it on here bc it's not worth thinking about it any further than necessary but i just have to say something bc it's so funny to me.

i wish people knew how to insult me and talk about my work negatively without being ableist, racist, transphobic, etc. like, i'd rather not get any rude comments at all but if you're gonna be a dick at least be ethical about it 😭 how are you gonna READ a fic including things you DON'T like and then insult me over it?! why do people do this?!

i honestly can't be upset by this kind of thing because it's just so hard to take them seriously. people just sling slurs at me thinking it'll hurt me but it doesn't, because I know they're only doing it because they feel comfortable doing it online anonymously. if they were really about it they'd say it on their main account, but they don't.

it's hard to fully articulate my feelings and thoughts on this but man...reading their replies made me cringe

nobody has to like my writing or the type of content I create, i really don't care about that. especially because i don't even like my older work anyway (the fic in question is 2 yrs old). my writing style and skills are the way they are because I'm disabled and struggled throughout school because of it, not liking the way I write or thinking i'm not highly skilled isn't ableist. using ableist rhetoric and slurs is. i write purely for fun and i don't care if someone hates it because it's not like i'm trying to submit these to like...the new york times 😭

everyone has a right to feel disgusted or uncomfortable with my work, i'm not gonna cry about it or call them a "puriteen" (god i hate that term). but if you're gonna waste your time and energy reading my fics and then insult me about it, at least hold back on the slurs and bigoted language. insult me all you want but don't use my identity as a marginalized person to do it

oh my god i just remembered they also said i should give up on being an author bc my writing is terrible. Who the hell is reading smut fanfic and expecting shakespeare????? it's porn! porn is known for being shitty. it's the equivalent of opening up a video on pornhub and expecting an A24 level of production 😭 i'm an adult with a personal life, what do i look like emulating the skills and stylings of mark twain or jane austen for PORN? for free no less! 😭😭 ppl tend to forget that part

full respect to people who actually do write really fancy stuff for smut fics cause I don't have the energy for all that 😭 or even the skills honestly. i'm currently trying to make up for the train wreck that was high school (major depressive episode for FOUR years)

i'm ranting (i have a tendency to ramble...writer's curse) but man, i really hate how acceptable it is for people to say these kinds of things online. In the past, people would lose their jobs and scholarships for being bigoted but now you can just open up twitter on a new account/logged out and you'll see plenty of people saying horrible things (and getting PAID for it!) It's like a reverse of 2020, people were overly scared of being "canceled" and now everyone is comfortable using slurs against people. sigh.

like i said, insult me ethically!

anyways i'm gonna keep writing crappy fics ☺️ progress is slow but i'm still writing!

[masochistartt]

okay fuck it jamie self perception post

jamie has been signed to city since he was a child. this is how the academy system works - they recruit players (children) from local grassroots leagues and bring them into their club system, hoping to raise them up to play for their club in the future (or sell them off to other teams for profit). these players are typically between the ages of 9 and 10 when they're first recruited, but can be younger/older. they're evaluated every year, and players can be cut at any time.

i think jamie joined city when he was around 9, solely because of the fact that he said his dad started showing up when he got good at football, and georgie my beloved would not let jamie go on a trip abroad with a complete stranger to him when he was 14. i think james started coming back around when jamie was somewhere between 11 and 12, playing for city's u14 team, and his skill at that age level is how james heard about him (it's not uncommon to hear about great players who are that age. city recently signed a like. legendary 14 year old and i've heard about it (young boys should not be having their egos inflated like that at 14 but that's beside the point)).

that's a whole lot of rambling before i even start touching on the original point – the contract jamie's had signed since he was ~9 that dictates what he must and mustn't do. this is the idea that he's had of himself in his head from that very young age.

screenshots are provided from the 23/24 premier league youth development forms bc honestly i cba to go back and find anything older (i've tried looking and it's not working so you're getting this) but

the scholar here is the academy player. 5.1.3 and 5.1.4 are what interest me here. jamie was obligated to not only train & play to the best of his ability always, but he was obligated to maintain a high standard of physical fitness at all times from the age of 9.

think of the thoughts that might put in a young jamie tartt's mind. he had to be at his peak always. if he wasn't at his peak, he was disobeying his contract. he was owned by his club, and he knew that if they sell him, they'll make a whole lot of money off of him (there's a certain base fee x number of years the player was trained + extras = total homegrown player transfer fee algorithm but i don't want to do math rn so im not touching on that). i don't think jamie ever wanted city to sell him, so i think he put pressure on himself to be at his best always, to never let his standards slip, and when james came back into the picture, that pressure only grew exponentially.

it's also interesting looking at the "the scholar shall not" section of the contract. 5.3.1 is interesting bc like. if the club (city) didn't think his house on the estate was safe they could've fully just. Moved Him. but 5.3.3 is insane to me. especially the beginning. "the scholar shall not indulge in any activity or practice which might endanger his fitness". this means no fun roller skating birthday parties. this means jamie probably knew how to ride a bike before he was 9 bc if he "indulged" in learning when he was with city that might have endangered his fitness. no rock climbing. no tree climbing.

and if jamie took things as seriously as i think he did (boy really wanted to play football, that was his dream in life, i don't think he would've purposely done anything to endanger that dream), i think he missed out on some fun in his childhood solely bc he was Keeping His Body In Full Fitness For His Club.

which brings us to Adult Jamie. bc he was raised in this environment, raised with the mindset of My Body Belongs To My Club, My Body is an Asset for my Club, it makes even more sense why he'd put up with the auction at the gala without starting a fight (even if the whole manipulate keeley & possibly bribe bex thing happened behind the scenes).

his club (even though he was on loan, it was his club for the season), was auctioning off Its Own Asset (jamie's body) to the highest bidder for a night. jamie's body, from a very, very young age (does jamie remember much before he was signed to city? i don't think so) has always Belonged to His Club.

this is also part of the reason that i headcanon jamie doesn't like driving - driving is, in his mind an Activity Which Might Endanger His Fitness.

also. for the record. this stuff is also in the professional player's contracts too.

the player agrees to maintain a high standard of physical fitness at all times and not to indulge in any activity sport or practice which might endanger such fitness.

3.1.6 is another reason i think jamie went along with the stuff at the gala too. the player agrees to comply with and act in accordance with all lawful instructions of any authorised official of the club. rebecca/higgins/whoever put on the gala is an authorised official of the club. he kind of. had to by contract not put up a fight with them about this

the player agrees that he shall not undertake or be involved in any activity or practice which will knowingly cause to be void or voidable...policy of insurance maintained for the benefit of the club on the life of the player or covering his physical well-being including injury.

he still can't do anything that might get him hurt. i ignore that he engages in kink practice both in canon and in my own headcanons bc i think the heavier kink stuff really only comes in later seasons' timelines and even then he's engaging in that kink stuff with someone(s) who knows that this stuff is in his contract. they know his limits.

anyways something something jamie's body is an asset for his club (city and then richmond) and i think that says a lot about the way he views himself. you know ?

[wing-ed-thing]

Iruka x Reader x Kakashi Love Triange Headcanons

Tags/Warnings: No Reader Pronouns

𓆃 Hm... I guess you have a decision between a mentally stable, emotionally intelligent man with no commitment issues who is willing to settle down and give you anything you could humanly ask for... and Kakashi.

𓆃 Okay, perhaps that's not entirely fair, but that's certainly how Kakashi is bound to think.

𓆃 Due to the nature of the shinobi profession, most shinobi start young and retire young compared to other jobs. Even older shinobi take on less field work in favor of other high leadership opportunities.

𓆃 And at some point, a shinobi has to decide what their career path is going to be like, given that they're all so varied. This is likely to be the main point of contention when it comes to your triangle dynamic.

𓆃 Now, Iruka and Kakashi don't really know each other. Sure, Iruka is a prominent teacher at the academy and him and Kakashi have had professional interactions, but they aren't necessarily friends.

𓆃 And honestly, most of the triangle hinges on how they view each other rather than how they view you.

𓆃 Clearly, they view you positively and romantically, but pursuing you in spite of each other is where they almost get wrapped up in themselves in a way that a traditional "love triangle" typically doesn't function.

𓆃 They're both aware of their mutual interest in you. Kakashi is bound to figure this out first since he tends to have a sharper eye for these sorts of things, but Iruka isn't too far behind.

𓆃 You'll have a wonderful friendship with Kakashi and Iruka, which serves as the foundation for your budding relationships and their interactions with each other.

𓆃 The stand-up men they are, all Kakashi and Iruka want is for you to be happy... they just can't agree on what that means.

𓆃 Kakashi sees Iruka as a stable partner who can provide for you and who you won't have to worry about losing. He knows that he's emotionally unavailable and struggles when it comes to commitment. He believes that until his inner problems are 100% fixed, he's not ready for a long-term relationship and is a serial self saboteur.

𓆃 Meanwhile, Iruka doesn't consider himself to be someone with a lot to offer. He's a chūnin who's been in the same position his whole life. Teaching isn't very glamorous, and he considers the dynamic you have with Kakashi to be more exciting for you.

𓆃 He perceives Kakashi as able to offer you a more fulfilling like compared to his "boring routine."

𓆃 Sometimes, they make meaningful eye contact when the three of you are together, and the communication varies each time.

𓆃 Sometimes, it's Kakashi communicating that you've had a really bad day and your level of upset is more in Iruka's skill range. Or maybe you're leaving a party, and Iruka is telling Kakashi that he should probably walk you home.

𓆃 What's a truly juicy dynamic is if you're dating them at the same time. Perhaps you're casually dating because you're already thinking about your future as a shinobi. Or maybe you're a civilian who's anxious about dating shinobi men.

𓆃 But they know. They do know that you're dating the both of them trying to feel out of you want to make anything official if anything else. And they're cool with it for the most part.

𓆃 If you happen to have a, "wait... the two of you know each other?" moment, expect more meaningful eye contact.

Thank you to all who liked, reblogged, followed, and supported. Your support means so much and is greatly appreciated.

Notes: GREAT NOW I WANT TO WRITE THIS WHOLE CASUAL DATING SCENARIO

[tarysande]

Hi! I’m considering becoming an editor but I’m not sure if it’s the right fit for me. If you don’t mind answering, what was your path like for becoming an editor, and what does the job mostly consist of for you?

Additionally, while I really do like helping other people’s work become better, I get too in my head to release a lot of my own work. Does editing require you to also be a writer most of the time, or could I get by mostly just editing?

Thanks!

Hi, anonymous friend!

These are really good questions for a potential editor to ask.

To (sort-of) answer your question, the amount of writing involved depends on the type of editing, honestly. So, first you have to decide what kind of editor you want to be.

Roughly, editing breaks down into three-to-four types: developmental/substantive, line/stylistic, copy editing, and proofreading. These terms are mixed up and interchanged ... often. Increasingly, line editing includes or incorporates copy editing, which is why I say "three-to-four."

Developmental is the big picture stuff, including manuscript critiques. Books of all kinds usually undergo some kind of developmental editing--by editorial agents, acquisitions editors, freelance developmental editors, etc. In my experience, this is also the kind of editing that requires the most writing and/or the most author/editor interaction.

Stylistic/line editing tends to be editing at the sentence level, looking at diction, structure, clarity, consistency, etc. Copy editing, on the other hand, is what many people think of when they think of editing--it's the mechanics of writing, like spelling, grammar, punctuation.

Proofreading is the rather specialized skill of editing proofs. They're the final eyes on a pre-published piece; they're looking for typos and errors rather than anything that will involve significant authorial changes because a proof page has already been "set" (as it were).

All of these kinds of editing can be applied to many different areas of communication, and the editors who perform them can be self-employed (like me) or work for an employer (i.e., as a more traditional employee). Employee editors might work in-house at a publisher (of books, magazines, academic journals, etc.), or they might have any number of editing-focused roles in business, government, education, etc. Self-employed editors may also end up working as contractors for other companies; this is pretty normal.

Many book publishers, including the Big Five, farm out a lot of their editing these days, by the way. Especially the copy editing and proofreading. So, those particular jobs are dwindling as in-house options. Publishers can pay freelancers less ... and avoid paying benefits. (#capitalism)

I will also say that, especially in jobs with anything to do with marketing or advertising, there's a lot of annoying scope creep where "copy editor" is often expected to be a copy writer, too. Again, it's a symptom of employers wanting to pay fewer people to do more jobs (and it's really annoying).

My path has mostly involved trying as many things as possible and slowly weeding out the ones I don't like. I've pretty much always been self-employed because the personal benefits (setting my own schedule, rates, deadlines) works better for me. That said, I'm Canadian (so I don't have to worry about employer-covered healthcare), and I have a partner whose salary is regular and whose benefits cover me, so I don't have some of the worries a freelancer in the US or a single-income household might have. I'm increasingly working on the development side of things because big-picture storytelling, including writing and editor/author interaction, is my jam. But I have also done a ton of line/copy editing on fiction, non-fiction, academic work, etc.

Without knowing what kind of editing you're looking to get into, it's harder for me to offer suggestions for next steps, but generally, I'd say it's important to get SOME training--whether through a school, a certificate program, or the various workshops and professional development offered by editing associations (Editors Canada, the CIEP, ACES, the EFA, ...there's an Australian one whose acronym has slipped my mind). Researching the flavor of editing you're interested in will probably offer up avenues for study, too. For example, most US publishers/authors use iterations of the Chicago Manual of Style. Most UK publishers/authors use Hart's Rules/Oxford. Academic journals/schools/students have different style guides (APA, AMA, MLA, Harvard, Vancouver). Law uses the Blue Book. It's good to have working knowledge of a few style guides--and then you have to keep up with the changes (Chicago's 18th edition is coming out this year, and I hear some significant changes are afoot--such as fully embracing the singular they!).

The tl;dr here is that yes, there are a lot of writer-editors. But there are also a lot of editors who aren't writers at all, or who have no interest in becoming writers, or who don't want their writing and editing to overlap, or who edit because they like helping people and they value clarity. At the end of the day, editing and writing are two very different hats, and you don't necessarily need to wear both.

...this is already a bit long, but if you have other questions or want me to get more specific about something, please ask!

[zesty-goblin-trash]

Ayeoo, finally working on my doll again. Small victory for me because my mental state has been chaotic to say the least.

I don't remember what, if anything, I've shared on my current goblin-self doll? Actually I can save this as a draft easily, lemme go check.

Oh g's like nothing. Okay. Welp, grab a snack cause I'm about to overexplain everything up to this point!

Right, so I made a custom Monster High doll a while back and for my first ever attempt at it, she turned put pretty good. Especially since she was meant to just be a practice piece for stuff as I was working on another doll along side it to be my first. Never finished that doll, but I think I have to high of expectations for it compared to my skill level right now.

Jump forward to G3 Monster High being released, and I decided to remake my test-doll-turned-goblin-self with a G3 Draculaura body because it much more accurately represents my body style. I got all the way to having the body painted, my own tattoos added, and various scars and marks detailed. And honestly, I was pretty happy with the result! Here's some photos of that;

Love the colors, and I was happy enough with what I'd done to keep moving, except for the face. It was driving me crazy that I could still see the line where I added the Apoxie Sculpt to the jaw so clearly, despite it being sanded as smooth as I could get it. So I wiped her head and was going to try again. Not sure what my plan was, to be honest, but she got shoved to the corner of the desk for a good while.

I ended up finding another G3 core Draculaura at Value Village in one of their hanging bagged toys, and for $8 bucks with all her accessories I couldn't pass it up. At the time I didn't plan on it, but ended up deciding to start over completely on v2 of my goblin-self using this doll. The core dolls have an articulated chest, unlike the budget dolls (Day Out which I was using, the 2 that came with the car from Costco, ect.), and there were a couple of things I think I could have done better on the body when it came to the joints.

Jumping forward I did all the prep work on the new doll, sanding everything to remove mold lines and smooth it all nice, removed the face up and hair, yadah yadah yadah. I then attempted to dye the new body with some Rit dye and whatever brand it is that's sold at Dollar Tree, knowing it wasn't going to take correctly because the Rit wasn't for synthetics. I was really only hoping to dye the joints darker, because if you've ever seen or customized your own dolls, body repaints rarely stay painted at the joints. It's kinda inevitable if your doll moves at all. I just wanted to reduce the jarring difference between OG light pink skin and the new green skin.

It sort of worked, the teal Rit did nothing (as I expected), but the red-orange Dollar Tree stuff dyed her a bit. I didn't do her head at all since this was just meant to darken the parts that'd be rubbing together.

If all the different plastics on the body would take dye the same way this would have been a cute color honestly 😂

Skintone differences aside, it did darken down the plastic used for the wrist and elbow joints, which was my main goal. But I had another idea I wanted to try as you may have noticed in the image background. Alcohol inks! I wouldn't recommend. At least not directly from the bottle dripped into the joint.

The high concentration of alcohol in the inks very quickly made the vinyl of the lower arms get gummy. It's the same reason you don't want to use acetone on the bodies of dolls basically, it just destroys the plastics a bit too much. The pigment did start to take to the plastic, but with how quickly I had to blot it back off to stop the plastic from melting it just didn't have enough time to stay. However it did make me think of another way to essentially stain the joints. I think the same could possibly be done with a brush and alcohol inks directly maybe? But my hubs has Prismacolor Alcohol based markers so I switched gears to bring those.

And yea! A very good option! At this point I'd already washed and resanded the body to remove the outer layers of the dye from the hard plastic parts so in that image she's pretty light again. It takes extremely well to the hard plastic parts and because the concentration of alcohol is much lower it doesn't make the vinyl arms feel sticky like the inks did. I have a video of the joints moving I'm going to upload on its own after. Cause I really think this might be a viable way to help reduce the obviousness of joints in skintone changes, and I don't want it buried in my nonsense 😂

I ended up coloring the whole body with the marker, not just the joints. The hard plastic took the pigment so well that if the paint does end up scraping off anywhere it was worth it to have the marker color underneath everything. I know that spots like the knees and the butt were getting scrape marks on the first repaint just from posing, so hopefully this helps those spots look good well after I'm finished the doll!

At this point I've now gotten the body all prepped and ready to paint with the new skintone. Sanded, dyed, MSC'd, and waiting! I started working on the new head while I was figuring out the dye situation.

I wasn't planning on making this a multiple post thing (other than the video) but I think I'ma split it up here! I'm still going to type out the next post now but I'll schedule it for later 😂 Because unlike Insta, I can do that and not have to remember to come back and actually make the post later.

And thanks if you've read this far ☺️ I apreaciate the interest! See you in the next one!

[popatochisssp]

I don't think this has been asked before: what if the boy's very close human friend/partner wanted to learn magic from them? And showed at least a BIT of potential in being physically capable of doing so?

Oh that’s interesting!

I think some would definitely be more helpful with something like that than others…

Sans (Undertale): If you decide you want to be a mage, that’s great and he can’t deny he’s at least a little curious to see how it pans out for you, but as for teaching you himself… Well. He can probably help you out with some of the super-ultra-basics, but beyond that he doesn’t have much to offer. He’s got a lot of magic and knows how to use it, sure, but he’s something of a prodigy there, so he never really did a whole lot of actual learning or practice, he just…figured it out. Probably not the best for imparting that to somebody who’s starting at zero so you might want to learn from a better teacher. And one who's less lazy, because of course, he is also very lazy. But hey, he’s rooting for you!

Papyrus (Undertale): Oh fantastic, that’s amazing that you want to learn magic! Of course he’s happy to help, your training begins now! He’s super excited by the chance to help and teach you everything he knows—which is quite a bit, he’s very talented and the strength and sophistication of his magic has only grown over the years!—but it’s possible he might be a little too eager about it. It’s almost the only thing he’s interested in from the moment you bring it up, so you’ll probably have to be firm with him when you want or need time to do something else. He means well, he just wants to see you succeed, and it’s so much fun to show you how things work!

Sky (Underswap Sans): He’s totally flattered if you want him to help you learn, and determined not to let you down by being anything less than the best tutor! He’ll be very mindful of your time and energy and skill level, and be sure to check in with you a lot with how you think things are going. If there’s any downside at all, it’s that he doesn’t always know how to explain the things about magic that feel obvious and natural to him, but are confusing or alien to a human. He’ll do everything he can to get past those blocks, but there’s definitely going to be times where he’s stumped for how to convey it to you and has to fumble through a few tries to get it to make sense—or take a break and come back later, when he’s thought about it some more!

Paps (Underswap Papyrus): A little nervous and not entirely sure he’s the best person for the job, but heck, if you insist, he’ll do his best… He should be more confident in himself, though, he’s a pretty great teacher! He’s patient and thoughtful about how to approach different topics, and he’s definitely got a knack for making it make sense and relating his experience with magic to your perspective—you’ll probably be hearing a lot of unusual similes and analogies out of him, but they’re almost always coherent. And…he actually really likes being able to show you how it all works, it makes him feel a lot closer to you to be able to find a common understanding to bridge the species gap.

Jasper (Underfell Sans): Well… Honestly, he’s not a bad teacher, when he actually bothers to do it, but that’s the thing. You can say you want to learn from him and he won’t say no, but he’s not gonna take any initiative. He’s not giving lectures or sending you study materials or putting practice time on your calendar, you’ll be the one to have to come to him, with specific things you want his help with. Admittedly, he doesn’t think you learning magic is the best idea, but he won’t stand in your way if you want to take a crack at it, and if you want a little help from him here and there, sure, for you, as long as it’s nothing that’ll get you in too much trouble. (He’s not gonna teach you any red magic, don’t even ask.)

Pyre (Underfell Papyrus): You may live to regret this. He’s definitely on board with helping you learn and train your skill in magic—in fact, he’s a bit miffed you didn’t ask him sooner—but as far as teachers go, he’s…intense. He absolutely wants you to know how to use your magic, to the full extent of your capabilities, so you can be prepared to face any threat at your strongest! And in trying to facilitate this, he is very strict and insistent about regular practice and study to get you to your maximum potential, which is…not always a whole lot of fun. As far as he’s concerned, it’s not supposed to be, it’s meant to sharpen your skills and make you stronger, and if you’ve asked him to do that for you, that’s a responsibility he takes too seriously to let you slack off!

Mal (Swapfell Sans): Probably not a route you want to go down, in all honesty. He’s encouraging enough about the idea of you learning magic, be safe and take your time with it and all, but as far as learning specifically from him… Well, he’s not the best teacher, and he knows it. He’s a little too insistent and has a hard time being patient if something’s not clicking for you right away, and he’d rather you not have to deal with that from him. He can help you out with some basic concepts, and direct you to better resources—and once you’ve already got the gist of something, he’s available if you want someone to practice it with, but as far learning from him, it may be best to keep that to a minimum…

Rus (Swapfell Papyrus): Oh yeah, definitely, he can help! Maybe a little surprised you want to learn from him, but y’know, magic’s one of the few areas he’s both competent and confident in, so…sure. He’s a pretty good teacher, as far as that goes, very patient and willing to demonstrate and answer whatever questions you might come up with. Probably his biggest failing is not anticipating a need for context or…warnings, for unfamiliar things. He’s a ‘learn by doing’ kind of guy, so he tends toward practical lessons, just do it and then we’ll go from there. You’re almost guaranteed to be pulled into an Encounter before he explains what one is, or surprised with a blaster skull without being assured they’re just a construct first. Sorry for the heart attacks, he’s trying!

Slate (Horrortale Sans): Ah, he may not the best person for the job. He’s happy that you trust him and think he’s reliable enough to even ask, but he’s… His memory’s a little bit shot, and his thoughts tend to run on the slow side, which isn’t to say that he can’t help you at all, but he definitely shouldn’t be the one running this show. He’s just not gonna be able to keep on top on everything he’s told you and everything he hasn’t, making sure to follow up with you on things you asked about, remembering where you’re struggling and where you’re excelling, all that. If you want him to supplement your education by asking him some questions or with specific help here and there, that’s more than doable, he just doesn’t want to be in charge of it. As long as you or some other teacher is mostly doing the work and keeping pace, he won’t have to worry so much that he’s slowing you down or standing in your way!

Papy (Horrortale Papyrus): He won’t be prepared for you to ask, but he’ll be pleasantly surprised nonetheless! He’s eager to dive right into it with you whenever you’re ready, and he’s ready to put in as much effort as you want from him—he’ll definitely be expecting you to guide your own lessons and tell him what you want to learn, but he’s happy to take it from there and provide you with everything you need to succeed. He has nursing school in pretty recent memory, so he’s sympathetic to your situation as someone learning about something from another species that’s totally alien to you. He's always prepared to explain the little details that other monsters might gloss over since they’re just so second-nature. One thing about him is that every new thing you learn, no matter how small, comes with a reminder that you need to be responsible with this power, probably to the point that you’ll get sick of hearing it, but… he has to keep saying it, for his own peace of mind.

Ash (Undergloom Sans): It’s a little more than he’s probably up for…at least if you’re looking for a lot of demonstrations or someone to practice with. He’s got more magic than he has anything else, but that’s a low bar to clear with how little of the other stuff he tends to have—low energy, low strength, and low assistance for you… Still, that doesn’t mean he can’t take an interest, and there’s other ways he can help. He’s not half bad at talking you through how things are supposed to feel and how they’re definitely not supposed to feel, which is good for keeping you from overextending yourself before you’re ready, and if you show him something you’re having trouble with he’s good at feeling out the problem and giving you some pointers. At this, he’s a better a coach than a teacher, and coaches don’t play but they make pretty good cheerleaders on your journey to get stronger.

Yrus (Undergloom Papyrus): He’s all-in from day one, both honored and thrilled that you want him involved in your magical education. It’s probably verging on comical how totally invested he is, to the point of actually treating it like school—lesson plans, assigned readings, even quizzes and homework—but he really loves this stuff and he’s excited, it’s hard for him not to get carried away… As a teacher of magic, his strong point is more on the academic end of things, the theory stuff and what’s well-researched and understood. He’s a little weaker when it comes to the more finicky sides of magic based on emotion and more nebulous, less researched factors, but some of that is just the nature of the beast. Magic in and of itself is a tad nebulous and some amount of ‘We don’t know why’ just…has to be worked around. But he’ll make every effort with you!

Brick (Horrorfell Sans): He’s not really interested in the idea… If you want to learn magic, fine, more power to you, but he personally doesn’t want to be involved in it. Any way he looks at it, it feels like setting you both up for some frustration, trying to convey concepts largely unfamiliar to you through means only barely familiar to him, and there’s probably ways to get around it if you both work really hard at it, but… Yeah, he doesn’t really wanna. Feel free to show him whatever you’re learning if you’re excited about it, or if you wanna bitch about your teacher or something, but he’s gonna opt out of being that teacher. You’ll do fine without him, he’d probably only slow you down anyway if he’s being realistic.

King (Horrorfell Papyrus): You may not live to regret this (a joke [barely]). Though he’ll neither insist nor offer to teach you, he will if you ask, but not without warning you that you may not enjoy it. He’s not one to half-ass things, so if you want to learn from him, he’s going to make sure you do it properly, no cut corners, no skipped practice, and no missed study opportunities, there will be a schedule and he will hold you to it. Frankly, he teaches the same way that he puts patients through physical therapy—assertively and unbendingly, holding you to the high and exacting standard he’s set for you. Much like those patients of his, you’re likely to make a lot of very impressive progress very quickly, but you may not like him too much by the time he's done putting you through the ringer. Consider it carefully before deciding you want to do this.

Merc (Horrorswap Sans): Pleased to be asked, and certainly willing to do his best to help you, he’ll be a pretty good teacher, if a little overcautious. He wants you to be careful and safe above all, so there may be some times when you just want to try something to see how it goes, but he won’t want to let you, or you think you’ve got something down and want to move onwards and upwards to more advanced techniques but he thinks you need to practice the basics a little bit more first. His intentions are good, but he might stymie you a little and hold you back from progressing because of those good intentions, so be prepared to argue and reason with him if you have a different time-table. Aside from that, he’s patient and calm and very thorough with everything he does, so at least the quality of your education won’t be lacking!

Ell (Horrorswap Papyrus): Are you sure? Well, alright. He definitely doesn’t get why you want him to teach you when there’s gotta be a ton of better options, but he won’t argue about it much…and ultimately, he’s not bad at teaching. You may have to bug him a bit to get him to do it—he gets wrapped up in things he’s doing, liable to forget even if you had a standing appointment for it, so some amount of nudging and nagging and “You said we were going to X, Y, Z…” may be required to keep him a man of his word. That aside, he’s a little lecture-heavy maybe, has a tendency to run his mouth and take longer than is strictly necessary to explain a concept when he goes on little tangents in the middle before getting back to the point, but y’know… He gets there eventually, and he’s got enough magic and stamina to do demos and practice with you as much as you want.

Pitch (Horrorswapfell Sans): You might not get exactly what you’re hoping for from him. He’s not unwilling to try to teach you, certainly a lot more patient and easygoing than he used to be, but…that does come with its own drawbacks. He’s not the most disciplined these days, as a person or a tutor, and that means any training he can give you will probably be sporadic and not the most focused. There’ll be lots of veering off topic, getting distracted, taking breaks and not getting back to it for awhile, and broadly the sense that this isn’t a very high priority for him; that he's not taking it all that seriously. If you aren’t either, or if you are but don’t mind the cavalier attitude to his part in your studies, then no problem, but if you’re looking for a more stringent lesson plan…look elsewhere than him.

Nemo (Horrorswapfell Papyrus): Yes, of course he’ll teach you, that sounds like a good idea, you should know these things, if you’ve got the capacity for it. He moves a little slow, taking all the time you both need to feel comfortable and safe with every new hurdle, but he’s thorough and has a knack for being prepared for every question, worry, and mishap you can imagine. You’re in good hands with him for the most part, just…don’t expect him to teach you how to fight with it, because he won’t. He’ll do the basics, little tricks, even how to defend yourself, really everything but how to attack. He just takes FIGHTs too seriously for it to feel safe, for either of you, so if that’s something you really want, you’ll have to find someone else. He’ll cover the rest, just…not that.

Sunny (Gastertale Sans): Sounds fun, sure, he’ll do what he can! Admittedly, he’s not much for the purely academic approach, finding it to be a little dry and missing large swathes of important stuff that you can really only get by feeling and doing. He likes the socratic method, so you can expect him to be asking you a lot of questions while you learn, and gently nudging you towards making your own conclusions, feeling out how magic works for you and where you want to go with it next. He’s also pretty good at working practice and learning new techniques into casual games or fun, spontaneous challenges—can you do this? wanna bet i’m better at that than you? hey, check this out, you try—to the point you might not even realize how good you’ve gotten until much later. It’s not madness, but there’s a method to it if you let him see it through with you!

Aster (Gastertale Papyrus): Oh yes, please let him help you learn magic! This is a thrilling opportunity for both of you! …Which is to say, he’s maybe a tad too interested in this, getting to watch (and participate in!) a human learning magic, up close and personal. He’s going to want to know absolutely everything from your perspective as you start to pick things up—what it feels like to you, how you’re conceptualizing this, that, or the other, what’s easy and what’s difficult and why, and so on and so forth. If you don’t mind the probing questions, or are at least prepared to shut them down if they get to be too much for you, he’s a great help to you with tons of answers and reading material, and a nigh-unstoppable drive to problem-solve if you hit a wall at any point in the process. Just be prepared to rein him in as needed, if he happens to get too excited and forget you’re not a science project.

Spectr (Transcendtale Sans): He’s going to resist at first, having some mixed feelings about humans with magical affinities and abilities and debating with himself how much of a role he should be playing in this. Still…it is you, and that makes a big difference, so as long as you keep asking, you’ll wear him down in no time at all. Ultimately, it’s a good thing for both of you, for him because he’s actually pleased to have something meaningful he can pass along to you, and for you because he’s not a bad teacher at all. He is lacking a soul, which isn’t an insignificant part of magic, so there’s some things you’ll have to fumble with while he talks you through it as best he can by memory alone, but most everything else is easy for him to help you tackle, what with the combined magical power of nearly all monsterkind. You may not have had a lot of options for magic teachers, but of them, he’s a pretty good pick.

PapAIrus (Transcendtale Papyrus): Of course he’ll help you, you couldn’t have picked a better (or less humble) teacher! He’s extremely convenient for whatever your schedule is, since he doesn’t really sleep and is pretty much available 24/7 if you have a thought or a question or want to work something out. He also has a literally encyclopedic knowledge of pretty much any literature that’s ever been published about magic, from personal accounts and anecdotes to peer-reviewed studies, and if you don’t have the time or attention-span to do the reading yourself, he can pretty quickly condense it down to the key points in it. Still, as far as actually putting any of it into practice, you’re…kind of on your own. He doesn’t actually have magic of his own now that he’s digital, and though his memories are all technically intact, some of his sensory ones—especially ones for senses he doesn’t have anymore—haven’t transferred too well. He tends to falter and blank if you ask him to describe what certain magical things are meant to feel like, so…you’ll just have to muddle through that bit together as best as you can!

Xanth (Ascendswap Sans): Very willing and pleased as punch to help you learn magic, he can feel the potential in you and he’d love to be part of helping you realize it! Due to his nature and the way his mind works, he’s more inclined to focus on the soul and the ways in which it and your body and your thoughts act as a conduit for magical energy, working in tandem to direct that energy to do what you want it to do. His explanations of this abstract and ever-changing process, influenced by so many unknowable factors, tend to be hit or miss. Sometimes, the way he describes something to you lands perfectly and you know exactly what he’s talking about and how to make it happen for you with beautiful, precise clarity…and other times, you won’t get it at all and it’ll be complete gibberish to you until you go do some reading or get a second, less psychedelic opinion from someone else. Either way, he won’t take it personally, he’s only one guide along your path and just getting to walk it with you is a joy!

Piper (Ascendswap Papyrus): You want him to teach you magic? Well, that could be interesting, he’s not opposed… Before anything, he’ll ask you to swear that you’ll never use anything he teaches you against a monster, not unless your life is at stake—but as long you promise, and as long as he believes you, he’ll teach you everything he knows. He’s a fantastic help and consistently makes time to help you study and practice, with a good amount of breaks and downtime in between to keep from getting burnt out or frustrated. He’ll even take into account that you may get sick of him being your tutor all the time and loop in some friends to help out every now and again, getting you some other perspectives and maybe helping you network a little. It’s only a matter of time before you’re a magic-expert—he believes in you, and he’ll get you where you need to be.

Carmine (Underfell Fruition Sans): You might not guess it to look at him, but he’s actually a decently helpful sort of guy when he wants to put the work in—and for you, of course he will! This is a great excuse to burn off some of his excess magic, doing any and every demonstration you could possibly ask for and more. He’s probably not going to be much help with any book-learning you might want to do, very hands-on and ‘just do it’ in terms of his teaching style, but he can talk through things pretty well on the fly if you’re having trouble, and that helps plenty. He will, however, have a tendency to consistently and wildly overestimate your capacity of magic, due to how high his is. It’s just hard for him to wrap his head around how little you have, and actually retain that for next time… Just be prepared to remind him of your limits when you’re tired…or if he trusts you enough, maybe he’ll let you borrow his.

Tank (Underfell Fruition Papyrus): Ah. Well. He’s…not very good, with magic. And he doesn’t have all that much of it to work with either. His build favors physical power and durability over anything else, and so did his training, so he doesn’t really have much experience to share with you that isn’t related to brute-force attack capabilities. …But maybe that’s a good thing? Maybe that puts you both at a more similar level than if he was significantly more advanced than you, and maybe you can learn more together? He certainly wouldn’t mind showing you the things he does know, and you could be his permission reason to start studying the other less-military applications of magic, so that he can help you if you’re struggling. And of course, the reverse would be true, if he struggles. Yes, this could be very good!

Vi (Swapfell Fruition Sans): You want him to teach you magic? Fine, but he has a laundry list of stipulations you’ll have to agree to before he starts. He practically wants a nondisclosure agreement out of you, for you to not tell anyone that he’s training you or that you have magic capabilities at all. The latter is mostly because he thinks it’s more strategically sound on all levels for you to keep what you can do a secret so it remains a hidden advantage for you if needed, and the fewer who know you can do things not every human can do, the safer you probably are—typical black-ops mindset. The former…well, more of the same mindset, just the ‘cover your ass’ part of it so that he can claim no knowledge or involvement in you learning what you’ll know when he’s through. Aside from the probably-not-entirely-necessary secrecy he insists on, he’s a very straightforward and no-nonsense tutor, fully capable of meeting you wherever you’re at and guiding you to higher proficiency with everything you need to know and nothing you don’t. If nothing else, learning from him will be efficient.

Hunter (Swapfell Fruition Papyrus): He’ll give it a shot, but you might not get all of what you’re looking for. You’ve got the best chance of learning from him either while the novelty of teaching you magic is fresh, or if you find a way to incentivize him and make it worth his while to show you. He doesn’t have much of an attention span if he’s not interested in something for his own sake, and if he’s not interested, he’s liable to quit putting in extra effort as soon as it gets difficult. If you happen to not get something on the first try, he’s down to explain things once, maybe again if you press, but he doesn’t have a knack for re-framing so if what he said the first time didn’t make sense, eh… he doesn’t know what to tell you, just…try again, you’ll figure it out or you won’t, right? Bets, dares, and bribes all work pretty well at keeping him motivated, though—he can rarely resist a dangled carrot, and some kind of reward on the line makes him a lot more amenable to take on a challenge—so keep those tricks in your back-pocket if you’re really set on him being the one to teach you.

Kohl (Descendtale Sans): He’ll probably explicitly say no. He’s got some hangups about humans, especially the kind who dabble in magic, and even if it’s you—which he’s loath to admit makes a difference at all, but it does—even then, it still doesn’t make him comfortable with the idea of you having and using magic. Helping you develop it further and get even stronger with it, thinking about that makes him edgy and brings up some bad thoughts and memories. Still… if he can’t dissuade you and you start making a study of it anyway, he’ll probably end up getting involved and helping you a bit despite himself. He still doesn’t want to and doesn’t like it, but if you’re just gonna do it regardless, he’d at least feel better being in the loop and keeping an eye-socket on what you’re learning and what you might be inclined to do with it. A begrudging tutor to be sure, but he’ll keep you from blowing your own head off with supercharged magic at least. (Is that a thing that can happen? Oh no… well, maybe…sure, could be. Guess you shouldn’t play with it unsupervised, if you don’t know…)

Bram (Descendtale Papyrus): He’s more than thrilled that you asked, he’s delighted! This will be wonderful and he’ll be the best teacher ever, you won’t regret this! …Actual results may vary, but at least he’s enthusiastic. He’s very attentive to all the details of everything you want to learn and will discuss your goals with you at length before planning out how best to teach you all you could want or need to know. Which is a good thing, of course, but he can go in a little hard on it from time to time. He’s inclined to hand-hold you perhaps a little more than you actually need and may insist on continuing to explain something step-by-step even when you’re pretty sure you’ve got the gist already, or drag out a lesson or practice session longer than necessary even if you’re starting to get tired or frustrated. He just really enjoys being helpful, and having your attention, so he’s never eager to stop and lose it, and he may not realize without being explicitly told that you need a break to go eat or sleep or just do something else. Insist on the you-time that you need, though, and you’ll be fine!