#even though I only make original posts on here once every 100 years or so

[slutouttanowhere]

Pairing: Drew McIntyre x Desiree Simons(oc)

a/n: This was already posted once on ao3, but I figured the non ao3 readers would prefer to have it posted here on tumblr. My oc has a mini introduction if you wanna check that out, it lined to my pinned post. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure how to go about this fic, but then Never Lose Me by Flo Milli—the inspiration—started playing and my brain instantly clicked on. Even though this is the same story still gonna tag my wonderful beta @insatiableorsmthn especially bc she’s not even a wrestling fan and put up with my man–splaining. Hope you all enjoys this, reblogs are appreciated, questions and comments are welcomed. Love ya ✨💜

Chapter 1: Never Lost You

Monday Night Raw

“Desiree, I’m serious; if you’re still not feeling 100, maybe it’s a bad idea to return early,” my dad’s worried face deepens over his end of the FaceTime call. When Hunter put together Becky, and I’s Wrestlemania match two years ago, my dad was the first person to know. To say he was happy is an understatement, that was the cause of our real first argument. My dad’s need to protect me kept clashing with not only original creativity, but also my independence. I lost count on how many times I had to tell him to stop handing me baby gloves. My vision for Wrestlemania was me finally stepping out of the shadows, proving that I have my own personality, and that I can be the main event without any help. He always supports everything I do, but he absolutely would not have it with the tables, latters, and chairs. So when I lied and told him it wouldn't be involved, I lied. Truth be told Becky didn’t want to put my knee through that chair, only after I begged, and wore her down about it she agreed to it. In the end, we were both proud of how everything turned out, that year's Wrestle Mania event sold out Madison Square Garden. I remember my dad waiting backstage that night with tears in his eyes, both tears of joy, and disappointment. From that point on my dad stopped asking about my matches, all he asks about is my health, and if I was satisfied with the outcome. However when he found out I’m returning earlier than what I was originally scheduled, that’s when he expressed true concern.

“I know, Daddy. I’ve thought about that…” I trail off for a moment as I weigh all my impossible options. My father’s Hall of Famer ring glints from the sunlight coming in from his patio window. That’s when my previous doubts about returning to the ring, got put to bed. If I want to be the greatest, better than my dad, then I can’t sit around the house all day. “I don’t have time to wait for 100 percent; you can’t become the greatest by waiting for perfection.” I caught a glimpse of the fire in my eyes from the reflective image through the phone, I can feel the way my eyebrows are pinching together, and my lips purse in resilience. The reassurance of my words were his reserve, any worries he had are long gone.

The smile on his lips shines brightly, and just then my mom pokes her head into frame. “Whatever you decide, you know we support you, baby girl.” She smiles warmly, her tone soft and loving as always. My heart aches as I start to feel homesick. I haven’t been home to Huston in god knows how long, but instead of crying about it, I suck it up so as to not make my parents worry about me.

“Alright then, you’ve put your foot down. I’ll let you go, I know you’re very busy tonight. Love you Dee.” He waved his hand, and my mom blew me a kiss. I kiss them back, and hang up the phone. I inhale deeply, collecting my thoughts; a plethora of emotions pass over me and I would like to get them all down to one constant before I step through the curtain tonight.

“I’m all done, girl.” My hair stylist, Janelle, fluffs my long curls. I look up from my phone, and into the mirror in front of me, my lips curl into a sly smirk. Everytime, she knocks it out of the park with every style I request of her. The pink highlights match my bright pink under eyeliner – not my favorite color, but I’m really trying to lean into showcasing my alternative fashion sense more on tv. I was originally opposed to a heel turn, I felt like the fans wouldn’t be into it, but I seriously underestimated them. Besides, I’m having fun pretty much getting away with being an emotionally spiraling asshole on TV. My outfit for the opening of the show is simple with a little bit of edge, but it’s still stepping on necks. You can never go wrong with all black.

“Yesss ma’am,” I dance around in a circle emphasizing my gratitude and excitement. “Now that’s what I’m talking about! Thanks, Janelle – I’ll see you next month.” We hug, and kiss, then I go on about my way, making my way down the hall to catering. I pass a few people here and there waving and responding to small talk on the way by, until I spot Mercedes in the back with Becky. Upon seeing me, their faces light up, causing me to dance my way all the way to their table.

“Well aren’t you just glowing, bursting full of energy.” Mercedes slaps hands with me before I take a seat at the table. I steal a grape from her fruit salad, to which she playfully stabs me with her fork.

“Doc put me back together now I’m a real boy again.” I joke playfully, and Mercedes bumps her shoulder into mine, a sly smirk on her lips. Becky doesn’t buy what I’m selling her, so when our gazes meet, I silently beg her to leave it. She remains silent, but I know I’ll be getting an ear full later. Despite us all being booked tonight, it’s been so long since we were all in the same place at once so, we all sit around joking, chit-chatting for a bit, and it feels like picking up right where we left off before my hiatus. Time gradually begins to dwindle down for me, creeping closer to the match. Tonight is supposed to initiate a tag team with Drew and I versus Seth and Becky. I have yet to find Drew and catch up with him, though I would be saying I’m lying if I haven’t been trying to avoid him. I manage to steal another piece of fruit from Becky, and this time she doesn’t fight me on it. “Kay, this is where I leave you ladies. I’ll see you out there Becks.” I stand up from my seat, phone in hand. My eyes scan the room once to see if he was already here before I waste my time running all over the arena. I’m not surprised when I can’t spot him; Drew’s always been a chill loner type. I’ve almost never seen him hanging out with groups of people, it’s one of the things that brought my attention to him when we first met. He’s a quiet guy that lets his abilities speak for themselves, in more ways than one. A shiver runs down my spine as flashbacks detour my mind from the mission at hand. A week before my return, I had a meeting with Hunter, and Vince to figure out where the story should go once I return. We ran through a few ideas here, and there. They wanted me to go just skip ahead and go right for Rhea Rippley, but I wanted it to be as natural as possible. I felt like the previous story didn’t quite close how it was supposed to. So when I brought up Becky that’s what led to Vince’s idea of getting Seth, and Drew involved. “The ending of your story with Becky, will be the beginning of not only Drew’s story, but now the beginning of your feud with Rhea Rippley.”

I wave the girls goodbye, and set on my way once again. The amount of people in the hallways are thinner than they were a half hour ago. I pass a ref gently grab onto their shoulder, “Hey have you seen Drew.” They smile at me, no doubt happy to see me back, but when their lips tilt down in a frown, its all the answer I need. That was the fifth person that had come up empty and I was starting to think he either didn't make it to the arena, or left.

“Wassup DeeDee, lookin for your boyfriend?” Colby’s voice comes from behind, a knowing smirk plastered onto his lips when I turn to look at him. I roll my eyes deeply, ignoring the pain I cause myself, and fold my arms over my chest.

“Ha ha, have you seen him or not?” I cut to the chase. Colby is like the older brother I never wanted, always putting his big nose in business that isn’t his own. He shrugs his shoulders, a look of feign confusion etched across his face as he brings a finger to his chin tapping it. He takes his sweet time pondering, long enough that I begin to turn and walk away. Usually I’m in the mood to goof around, but there were too many things on my mind. Drew being the main one, and truth be told he’s been living rent free in my head.

“Geesh okay, okay, calm down. I think the doctor may have accidentally screwed your brain up in the process. What happened to your humor, Dee?” His frown deepens when I continue to stare him down; if my annoyance isn’t evident a moment ago, it sure is now. I shift the weight in my hips, my arms falling to my sides, and my hand coming up to pinch the bridge of my nose. I get a good glimpse at his outfit, and I won't admit to him out loud how well his new sense of fashion is working for him. He’s bringing out his Randy Savage, and Ric Flair in these outfits. I’m sort of jealous.

“It was my knee, you dumb ass, I injured my knee.” I tap my knee cap with the other hand, to which he shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. His WWE Heavyweight Championship was an eyesore, and I am quite honestly tired of looking at it at the moment. It’s just a reminder of how long I’ve been gone, and just how many opportunities I’ve been missing out on because of this stupid injury.

“I’m sure you’ll find your…friend lurking in some dark corner, I passed by him like 30 minutes ago that way.” Colby jabs his thumb in the direction behind him. My heart speeds up unexpectedly, it’s been a year since I’ve seen, or even spoken to Drew.

“Thanks.” I mumble, my body already moving past Colby, he grasps me in the shoulder giving it a light squeeze, but then lets me go afterwards. I keep walking until I reach a break in the white brick walls. It's odd to place a break off hall here, but that’s why it made the perfect hiding place, I suppose. Looks like it’s used to store tools, and such. There he is, leaning against a crate with headphones over his head. His eyes are closed, and his arms crossed over his broad chest. He’s already dressed for the first segment of the night, he kept it simple in a pair of jeans, a merch t-shirt, and a pair of sneakers. I don’t really want to disturb him, but I don’t really have a choice. “Stop being pussyfoot Des, and just do it.” I murmur to myself, taking a step forward. Drew’s eyes fly open, his head snapping in my direction. I squeak out of shock; his intuition is freaky and accurate. His eyes soften once he realizes who is standing before him. He pulls off his headphones and the sound of heavy rock bleeds from them piques my interest for a moment. We used to stay up all night till we fell asleep on the phone, talking about our favorite bands. Between me wanting to keep things between us private, and me letting my injury cause a wedge between us, it’s safe to say I felt responsible for ruining whatever it was we had. “Wassup Andrew, been a while, kid.” I play it off cool, I try to step away from our past, and just get through this moment. I should have known better.

He walks closer, his tall frame towering over me causing me to have to look up at him from this distance. “I would ask how’s the knee, but you seem to be just fine don’t ya, princess.” His tone is sharp and I’m thrown off by his response. Instantly, I lose my chill. My arms fold over my chest, an attempt to calm myself down, but he’s always gotten underneath my skin with ease.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I’m quickly reminded of the last argument we had, in fact all of our arguments usually start because he goads me into them. Every time, without fail, I fall into the trap. The corners of his lips pull into a smile ever so slightly. He had been waiting for this moment, to tell me off, to embarrass me. Drew didn’t care if there were five or zero people around, he’d say what he had to say.

“You had a career ending injury, you disappeared, you didn’t speak to me for what feels like an eternity, and you just pop up with a ‘Wassup’? Is that the best you got?” And there it was, the truth. He inhales deeply, his tongue sweeping across his lips to wet them. He isn’t done ripping me a new one. I deserve it, I expect nothing less, I didn't have a reason to close off all communication, I just wanted to be left alone. He can be so smothering at times, I didn't have the stamina to keep the facade up in order to spare his feelings at the time. So here I am, waiting for him to take me back in like a stray.

“I…I called you. Not once did you answer, and I know you think I want you to baby me. I don’t need that from you, I’m a grown man, I can handle rejection, but what I won’t tolerate is disrespect. So if you wanna sit here and claim that I wasn’t worth one fuckin phone call, and that all that time we spent together ment nothing to you, at least have the balls to say so.” Man that stings, I crumble under his gaze, those icy blue eyes softening, but he wasn’t backing down on his statement. I wish we could just laugh it off, and bury the hatchet, and maybe we could, but only if I’m really careful. I’m right at eye level with his chest, and I can’t help but think of how comfortable his body felt when he held me despite how muscular he is. No matter how mad he got, or how much we roughhouse, he was always very gentle with me. “Ya’aren’t even listening to me.” I’m snapped out of my day dream and back into the present, but before I knew it, he’s walking away.

“Shit” I curse to myself, and chase after him. “Hey don’t walk away from me! Drew!” He refuses to turn around which leaves me with no choice. I run and jump on his back. For once, I catch him off guard, he yelps out in shock. I manage to crawl around to his front side while hanging onto his shoulders. My legs wrap around his waist, and without hesitation, his large hands hold onto my hips, his grip tightens, and his nails lightly dig into my flesh. I bury my head in the crook of his neck, taking in his minty scent, and just hug him as tightly as I can. “They say ‘you don’t miss the water, tell the well runs dry’, and boy did I miss you the most of all, and I’m sorry I didn’t answer. I have so much I want to say and catch up on. If you want, can we hang out later, and I’ll answer anything you want to ask?” I unwrap myself from his torso, and slowly slide down, bringing his face with me. His thick beard feels soft in my hands. I want to kiss him so badly– anything to take me back to where we left off.

He hesitates and my stomach flutters. Finally, he says, “I’d like that.” His lips pull back slightly into a soft smile. I hold his face between my hands, not wanting the moment to end. The butterflies in the pit of my stomach refuse to settle as he leans in closer. He doesn't reject my touch, encouraging me to come closer, while I was in the mood to have him smother me with his body, I bring my arms around his torso. His long muscular arms wrap around my shoulder, and he holds me there. His chin resting on my head.

“Sorry to interrupt guys, but we gotta start walking down now.” One of the WWE officials informs us, my body jolts in surprise, I got lost in Drew, and I’s reunion that it didn’t occur to me that we actually have a job to do. I’ve never been one for PDA, and though we weren’t doing anything inappropriate, I still felt exposed. I drop my arms from Drew’s waist causing them to flop at my side, he, however, holds onto me for a second longer, and lets me go. Reluctantly, he peels his eyes away for a second to nod his head, but that intense gaze of his returns right back to me before I get a chance to exhale. He brings my hand up to his lips and kisses it.

The walk from the hallway to the front of the backstage area is silent. As we get closer to the Gorilla, more people show up throughout the halls. “Alright, show time.” I sang in a melodic rhythm. As we approach the curtain, I catch a glimpse of Hunter staring at us with this expression I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

“See ya out there, princess.” Drew spoke so only I could hear him. It’s not until I feel his warm hand squeeze mine did I realize we had walked all the way down here fingers interlaced.. I look over to Hunter and sure enough that was the reason for his odd reaction to us. His eyebrows pull upwards, the corner of his mouth twitches upwards into a smirk. I can feel my face getting hot. I know he won’t go blabbing to everyone what he just witnessed, but Colby knowing about Drew and I’s situationship is already one person too many.

Choosing to ignore it, I stand by the monitor and watch the events unfold. The Miz’s segment was always used as a tool to get the pot stirring between superstars, and boy is he good at stirring the pot. Colby and Drew seem to be going back and forth about whether or not Drew was worthy enough for a title shot. “You think you’re too good to face me? What, am I not cool enough for ya, Seth? I know I’m no Jey Uso, I know I don't come out here dancing every night, shaking hands, and kissing babies. So let’s get real Seth, look me in the face like a man, and just admit that you’re scared to face me. You’re scared to face me because you see how I turned your friend Roman Reigns inside out with a Claymore straight to the face!” Drew leans forward in his seat, the roar of the crowd rings throughout the whole of the arena from Drew’s call back to his match against Roman two years ago for the undisputed champion title. The tension between them is palpable, I begin to jog in place as I stand near the Gorilla, switching my weight from one foot to the other. Colby parts his lips to speak, but Beaky cuts him off, her voice coming out with a nonchalant arrogance. “Maybe you’re just not man enough.” The crowd goes crazy. I roll my eyes letting out a chuckle, Drew inhales deeply trying to retain his focus. Or rather trying to not lose his temper, and give into his anger, that’s the other side of the coin with him. He could be the sweetest, a complete gentleman, but man oh man is his patience thin. Colby cackles, throwing his head back with his mouth wide open.

Becky takes this as an opportunity to capitalize on, and really amp things up. “I mean, aren’t you supposed to be the Chosen One? And what exactly were you chosen for – to fail?” I felt second-hand embarrassment by her words, she’s really on a roll lately, and I can’t help but feel proud. She’s come such a long way, especially on the mic, and dare I say she could do this whole promo by herself ? Drew stands from his chair, Colby, and Becky follows suit. Drew throws his microphone to the ground, his composure long gone. They are beyond talking, the shouting match is now on the brink of a physical altercation. Becky pushes her way past Colby, and shoves Drew in the chest as hard as she can. Her improvisation threw them all for a surprise – Drew’s eyes widened, I wasn't sure what his next string of words were, but Colby sure as hell didn't seem to like it. By the time they hit my music, Miz had already exited the ring, and is now watching from the commentary table.

Spitbrain ft. Willow—Purge

Purge, you can't take it away

Purge, you can't take it from me

Sink into the dark, I can't seem to find myself (Oh, oh)

I tried to come back but it's so hard (Oh, oh, oh, oh)

I don't know the truth anymore, perspective shattered to the floor

Fucking up like most of the time, coming to terms with all of my lies, not taking advice (I don’t really wanna know)

Tryna find my way to the light, through traps in my mind, it's gonna be fine, it's gonna be fine

My entrance music blasts through the arena, and the crowd pops for me harder than I had expected. I dance my way to the ring, slapping hands with a few fans, and waving to some. An official sitting by ringside hands me a mic before I climb in between the ropes that Drew is kind enough to hold open for me. As I stand from my bending position, our gazes meet, his eyes are on fire. I slap him on the chest playfully, and he flexes his pectoral muscle. ‘Show off.’ I think to myself, not nearly as annoyed as I pretend to be. Instead of acknowledging Becky and Colby, I turn towards the crowd. I climb to the top turnbuckle and the audience jumps to their feet, shouting and clapping. I make sure to show the other three sides of the crowd the same love before I come to a halt between Drew, Becky, and Colby. Before speaking I revel in the reaction of the crowd for a moment longer, then bring the mic to my lips, “I guess you ran out of female competitors huh, Becks?” My face morphs into an expression of feigned confusion, and my heart thudded with an unexplainable excitement, but I pull myself back to reality before I spiral too far.

Becky smirks, “pretty much – I mean, ever since I made you tap, the competition has been slim. How’s the knee by the way? Must have been hard recovering something that's been smashed to thousands of bits by a steel chair.” She gloats haughtily, her lips turned upward into a sly smirk. My head drops; I re-enter the darkness of those twelve months. Becky’s words stung, reminding me that I let my ego get in the way, I was so desperate, I needed the fans to love me because I earned it, and not because my fathers last name is attached to the main event.

Colby could be heard from behind Becky, “Ohhhh!” Ever so quietly, I cough as an attempt to not break character, and laugh.

“Crazy, because I’ve been gone for a year, and some change. But you have not challenged Rhea for the title yet, it seems to me that it’s you that ain't man enough, Becky. Sigh, I guess you were just riding the wave till I returned so you could hop onto my coat tails, and use me for clout like you always do. I mean, when’s the last time you had an original thought? Your merch should start sayin ‘Seth’s Mini Me’, instead of ‘The Man.’” I was starting to feel that fire burning at my core, the fire that’s gotten me through some of my toughest days of recovery. “All you are is a one trick pony, and I think your show has already played its last episode!” I don't give her a chance to react, I drop the mic, and kick her in the gut. I turn to grab her head into a reverse headlock, and then drop her into a Stunner. Following my lead, Drew pushes Colby, he goes for a counter, bouncing off the ropes, but Drew catches him mid way with Glasgow Kiss straight to the skull. The sound of two skulls connecting like that is enough to make a person vomit, but I’m too lost in the moment to care. Colby drops immediately after Drew’s head butt, the crowd roars to life, and I’ve never felt more alive in my life. I snatch a mic off the floor, “If you think you still got it in you, Becky, how about the two of us duke it out for a title shot against Rhea! You know where to find me when you regain consciousness.” I threw the mic down, and look out into the crowd. My music plays, Becky musters the strength she has left to pull Colby out the ring, and they both stumble up the ramp. I turn to see Drew’s forehead is bleeding, I’m a little worried at first, but he’s already enveloping me into a bear hug lifting me up off my feet. Still bleeding, Drew held the ropes open for me again, and we made our way up the ramp. His harm is long enough to wrap around me twice.

When we make it back behind the curtain, the medical team is waiting with all types of tools to put Drew back together. I stand to the side for a moment to let them work, but I start to feel awkward being of no help, so I turn to leave. I don't get far before his hand reaches out and grabs my wrist. He holds me in a firm grip, and with one eye open he says, “Come find me.” He doesn't let me go till I nod my head confirming that I indeed hear him, and promise to find him after all the hype has calmed down. He slowly let me go. Our fingertips graze each other, the electricity that sparks between us sends a shiver down my spine right between my thighs. Even if my mind has forgotten Drew, my body hasn’t.

I finally made it to the locker room to prepare for our tag match later tonight. Becky is already ahead of me as she stands in front of her locker half dressed. There’s quite a few other women scattered throughout, but they all seem to be in the zone so to speak. Bayley nods her head in my direction but nothing more, so I respect her space and throw her a smile from a distance. “How you feelin’?” Becky turns to me, a soft smile on her lips, I want to answer honestly, but I’m not in the mood to make a display of myself while everyone is around to listen.

“Feelin’ like money, as always. The boys looked good out there, especially Colby, you gotta get me in contact with his stylist.” Swiftly, I change topics. I know she’d ask me for a third time later, so I decide to save it till then. Taking the hint thankfully, Becky’s can-do attitude amps back up and the mischievous smirk from earlier is back. She bounces on her tiptoes, then beats her chest before responding.

“Yeah we’ll see about that, DeeDee, all money on me tonight.” She laughs with her mouth open, and head thrown back. My heart flutters with joy knowing our dynamic is the same as it was before I left. I had put her in a tough spot with that whole WrestleMania ruse. I stride over to my duffle bag to pull out my ring gear, smiling to myself, proud that it came out exactly how I drew it. I sort of got inspiration from Mugler, and just ran with it. An all black leotard, with leather, and sequence detailing. I step my legs through my tights carefully so as not to rip them, then I pull on my gear over that, and sure enough it fits like a glove. The sleeves are made of mesh with sequins, that I glued on one by one throughout the entire sleeve. I top it off with a pair of black Jordan 11. Now that I’m finally suited up, I feel like I’m officially back, and I take a moment to bask in it. My phone suddenly buzzes from inside my bag, when I see who’s texting me it’s Drew. My breath hitches, seeing his name flash across my screen, made my face heat up, and the good memories outweighs the guilt of me ignoring all his calls last year. I shake my head to clear the impending depression, and tap on his text.

Drew🧸: Where are you?

I quickly shoot him a text that I just got done getting ready, a moment passes before he replies.

Drew🧸: Come find me when you’re done getting ready.

I can’t hold back the smile when I see his reply, his voice in my head as I reread it. Knowing him, he's exactly where I found him before– he takes his pregame very seriously, and doesn’t like to be bothered. Fortunately for me, I'm an exception to that rule. It was a little tricky finding that same hidden hallway seeing as my starting point is from a different side of the arena. After walking around aimlessly for a little bit I finally find him on his own, with his headphones over his head. He’s doing wall push ups. Slowly approaching him, I just stand and admire for a while. The way his arm muscles flexes as he pushes himself off the wall reminds me of the way he used to use my body as weights for fun, our unhinged version of foreplay because workouts always led to sex. I get lost in the memories for a moment, then, “You’re going to have to stop biting your lip like that.” Drew’s soft, yet deep voice pulls me back to reality in time to notice how much closer he’s gotten to me. No matter how long we’ve known each other, I still haven't quite gotten over his size, 6 '5, 275lb, I’m always having to look up at him when we're this close. ‘They don't build ’em like this in America.’ I think to myself. He flexes his pectoral muscles as he takes a few more steps towards me, I drop my head, suddenly feeling embarrassed for drooling. He reaches out to grab my chin gingerly, as if he might break me if he’s any rougher.

“Don’t look away from me.” He demands softly, his voice barely above a whisper, his resolve is one of the things that caught my attention. For such a large man, he can be incredibly tender and I don't know what is about that that turns me on so much.

“How do I look?” I ask awkwardly, he doesn't break his intense gaze as he quickly gives me a once over, then he steps back for a moment. I felt naked, and on display, his eyes slid over each detail. He slows to a temporary stop at my chest, you couldn’t see much of anything with the way the designs cover me, but the size of my breast is prominent. His gaze lingers before he continues to move down my body, he tilts his head to the side, a pensive expression passes over his face, and at this point I wasn’t sure if he was still present. I jolt a little at the sound of him suddenly speaking.

He twirls his index finger, “Give me a 360.” On cue, I slowly turn, giving him the full display of my gear. I feel his eyes taking me in from head to toe, one hand on his hip, and the other on his chin, scratching his beard. I bring my leg out and lift my foot up for him to see my shoes. He nods his head, and a look of impression crosses his face.

“Oh, nice touch with the Jordan’s. You look great, Rey, absolutely gorgeous.” He compliments me, and I come in closer, my hands pressing to his chest, and slowly sliding up to his neck. Or at least as far as I can reach. His arms wrap around my waist, and his hands slide up my back before coming to a rest on my lower back. I originally came here to talk, but as usual, my mind and my body are not on the same page. “We could pick up right where we left off, but I think we’re going to have to work at it very slowly, is that okay with you?”

Like an idiot, I moan in response. I’m at a loss for words; the only thing I can compute is how his hands feel on body. He finds a tiny opening of skin on the back of my neck where the zipper to my outfit stops. He takes my response as a sign to keep going, pressing his lips to my neck, and I don’t protest. Instead, I tilt my head back, giving him the space he needs. I feel him kiss the shell of my ear; Drew inhales my scent deeply, “You’re such a good girl, that’s why you always get so much attention from me, even if you made me wait a whole year before I could see you again.” His hand slides between my thighs, caressing me over the fabric of my gear, and I’ve never wanted to rip off my clothes for a man so badly in my life. “Which means, it’s only fair that I do the same.” The meaning of his words don't hit me until he fully steps away, withdrawing his hand and everything. As if I could look any more dumb than I do right now, he boops me on the nose, and walks away with a devious smirk on his face. Leaving me to simmer in my own juices.

[alinktoana]

30 day no fanart challenge

this is the meat of the challenge: no fanart for 30 days (oh wow lol) 1. drawing categories/prompts instead of IP: it can be *anything*, it can be food, hobbies/professions, folklore/mythology. eg: actual taiko drums instead of taiko no tatsujin characters, cute dinosaurs instead of yoshi, cool hedgehogs instead sonic (lol) 2. IF i happen to wanna draw fanart, it's gotta be at least 100 years old (anything before 1924) eg: drawing fanart of John Tenniel's Alice (1865) and not disney Alice (1951), Albert Lynch's Joan of Arc (1903) and not Clone High Joan (2002). ps: im not sure about famous people yet, but i think ill go with the same idea that theyd have to have been dead before 1924.

here's some stuff ive drawn with that in mind, even though i hadnt stablished the challenge yet lol

why a no fanart challenge? well well well, if this isnt another post artist alley eulogy lol

here's some background feelings: after having helped promote 2 japanese food festivals and tabled on both its artist alley's, and knowing myself, and having grown up in the age of comic/book to film adaptations and the rebootprequelsequelmagaddon, it's really hard for me not to fanart, even though i trashtalk hollywood all the time for not taking risks and doing original stuff, lo and behold, i do the same. who am i to judge _anything_ when i watched all three star wars sequels in theaters and crushed on kylux for years, i was kneedeep into hannigram, i gave money to the barbenheimer industrial complex. how can i blame RGG for not letting kiryu go when i _cried legit tears of joy_ when pirate majima was announced? (granted, it's not as bad as the kiryu situation lol but this is about ma$cots, not me lol)

i love a lot of characters, a lot of stories, im always jumping from show to show, game to game, and coming back to them. but i wanna go beyond my love for other people's art and be in love with my own, now that im at a better skill and mental state. it might not resonate as much, specially at the japanese festivals im a part of, but i wanna try. and im gonna start slow, i *am* going to draw japanese food, japanese animals, and create my tiny little scenes and see what comes up. i love stickers with every fiber of my being lol so ill always have in mind that ill draw stuff that i would wanna stick on my own sketchbooks and journals. but i need to do this, at least for 30 days. who knows what will happen later, you know? a friend of mine once said that colored pencils are like sugar, and graphite pencils are like veggies. and i feel like fanart and not-fanart is the same. we love fanart, but it's not healthy to only draw fanart... also i love people who delve into IP OCs and stuff, it always seems a lot of fun. i could try that, but i think ill cut my fanart ties cold turkey and then i can figure something out, i dont know lol i could go back to d&d character sheets lol another side note: i went to film school bc i loved watching movies. i wanted to tell stories, but i had no idea how, and i didnt think i had the talent for drawing. i started studying japanese and bullet journaling, bc i had the urge to draw, and those were the mediums that were close enough to drawing i felt i could try. and then hannibal happened, i had a roommate who was learning to watercolor, and i was like, screw it, let me draw hannigram bc i love them lol ive had the opportunity to make some movies, but logistically and creatively, they never felt as good as having the spark of inspiration, sketching, linearting, painting, printing and selling these tiny ass stickers. there is some control freakness in that, sure lol but there's also a need to build confidence in my own abilities, which sadly i didnt have a space for in movie sets... anyway, ill always mourn not having spent my teens drawing, but im making my kid self proud now <3 also i might post my new stickers at some point, i still havent made a pinned post lol but someday, you know so yeah, if anyone's reading this, ty lol TLDR: if you draw, write, sculpt, whatever, anything, and you tend to do fanart, ask yourself if you're fanarting a bit too much, if there's a way of turning your love for these characters/worlds into something different and more you.

[jenny-ate-ink]

📍Intro/Pinned Post

Hiya, my name is Jenny. This is just a basic fandom blog where I occasionally share some of my views, beliefs, and opinions (nothing religious though, don't worry, I'm an atheist lol). Here's some rapid-fire info about me: I am 20 years old. I am a monogamous bisexual woman. I am mainly a The Legend of Zelda fan, but I am into a handful of other fandoms too

Also, I partake in a little something I call female-centric sex-swapping, meaning I basically sex-swap every male character to female, with the only exceptions being if male-ness is integral to a specific character (e.g. he's a misogynistic asshole or he has biological children. But even then, if it's a patriarchal/"traditional" relationship between the parents, I will still sex-swap him and his partner if possible to subvert that). This means that every fanart I reblog featuring males, I am most likely just imagining them as gnc women, and all fanworks I make will feature this specific brand of sex-swapping

I run a TLOZ side blog where I uploaded all the screenshots I take when playing any TLOZ game to both share and archive them. All screenshots posted to that side blog are 100% free to use without credit, but credit will always be appreciated, though. You can find this side blog @free-tloz-screenies

Ao3: @/jenny_ate_ink

Quotev: @/jennyateink (yes, I know Quotev is "cringe", but I had this account since 2018, sue me)

Wattpad: @/jenny-ate-ink (yes, I know this is even "cringy-er", but I had this once since 2016, sue me again)

I content warn my posts by using this format: "#cw [insert]" if it is visually depicted or shown, and "#cw [insert] mention" if it isn't shown but brought up. Always feel free to request me to add a CW to any post by the way

Here's a few main tags I'll be using in general for organization:

"#rebloop" for all reblogged posts, minus self reblogs

"#self rebloop" for all self reblogs

"#fandom rebloop" for fanworks

"#general fandom stuff" for non-fandom-specific fannish posts

"#other stuff" for non-fannish things I find interesting enough to reblog

"#jenny posting" for all original posts

"#jenny comments" for when I reblog someone else's post and add some kind of addition to it that's in the body of the post and not just in the tags

"#jenny creativity" for all my art and writing and other artistic indulgences

"#jenny fanwork ideas" for all my fanfic/fanart/etcetera ideas that I don't have the energy to see to completion but still want to share. Feel free to use these posts as prompts, but just make sure to credit me if you do so

"#jenny responds" for when I answer asks

Fandoms (list under read more):

Twilight Princess (Game and manga)

Skyward Sword

Breath of The Wild

Ocarina of Time

Majoras Mask

Minish Cap

Link's Awakening

Harry Potter Books 1 - 7 (Books only. I haven't seen the movies yet)

Terraria (Summoner mainly, sue me)

Mario Galaxy

The Powerpuff Girls (1998–2005)

Teen Titans 2003

Castlevania

Castlevania: Nocturne

Sonic 1 & 2 (Movies, desperately waiting for Amy)

Creepypasta (Primarily Nina Hopkins and Jane The Killer, but I like other characters too)

Marble Hornets (Original series, have not read comics yet)

[meowsticmarvels]

hello. seeing as some of you liked the previous analysis here's the other one i did. not solely on radar but very radar-centric bc of the nature of this scene. anyways under the cut is an analysis of this scene: (copy and pasted from a twt thread)

OKAY you know what. ive already been crazy about this scene to multiple people already but i need to post this publicly. anyways thread abojt this scene GO i can say something about literally every line so that's what im going to do atp. "you'll never change"... this is a particularly interesting line to me for some reason because it doesnt Sound like something youd expect radar to say. not only does this immediately reveal that he Knows Stella but also implies she was pretty much the same in the past. also.

- once again this is not ooc for radar to say but unexpected based on what the player knows about him as a character up to this point

- this is what somehow gets stella to recognize him. even though she says he looked Familiar this is what makes her go Oh Yeah I Know You

"oh I thought I recognized you! you're the quitter who used to work on my inventory management team!" this is another particularly interesting to Me. for one it does give the backstory that he did quit himself - she didn't fire him or anything. quitting was radar's decision. whatever the circumstances were, though, stella seems to be clearly a bit resentful of it (or at the very least it stands out to her), enough to where she defines radar as a "quitter" and that's how she remembers him. notably, when she says this his expression quickly changes from kind of neutral to slightly frustrated which is. hm. whatever happened between them seems to have left them on bad terms as both radar and stella seem really. hostile

"do you two know eachother?" despite one of the main writers saying that radar's worked foe jesse for abojt a year, this has never come up. it's possible thag it was just Never Important, but it could also be that radar's trying to hide his past with champion city. which makes sense given how ashamed he seems when admitting he used to work for champion city. whatever happened between radar and stella is clearly kind of a sore subject it seems

"i don't know what he told you to get on this little 'team', but I don't think he even knows how to use a sword" see this also has a lot of relevance. the first clause kind of implies that stella thinks there's no way radar could have earned a place on the team of his own merits. like she thinks that he basically either had to manipulate, lie, beg, whatever - she doesn't think he's worthy of being there. and this is particularly interesting because earlier on in the episode radar specifically has to ask to go with them. like originally nobody considered bringing him.

and then she says "i don't think he even knows how to use a sword" which. i have said this before but mcsm seems to operate in a very survival oriented society so not knowing something like that is seen as like. Odd. essentially seeing radar as weak. and this was New information too so shes basically. exposing yhat fact to everyone else. and you can tell radar's ashamed of that fact too from how he reacts when she says that! he KNOWS he's not strong and that he doesn't know how to fight properly and is 100% aware of that fact, stella's just using that to what seems like get people to turn against him (???) or whatever. she's not talking to radar because he Knows this, she's telling jesse. idk what else to say about that really but its. hm

also "you don't know anything, stella, so zip it" again! unusually hostile from radar but like this and in later lines its clear he's trying to prove himself and overcompensate a bit

"ooh how do you put up with that little voice of his, jesse? i never could" not entirely sure what this means open to suggestions but twice she makes comments on how squeaky his voice is (later in the episode she calls it "shrill"). unsure what this means really

"not everyone needs to know how to swing a sword, stella - radar has a lot of his own skills" something abojt this option. even though radar's not physically strong he is fairly smart snd thats something Very intrgral to his character I Think.

"yeah! thanks jesse" almost came across as if radar was struggling to stand up for jimself. he's just like me fr

"can't wait to see 'em. ill call you if the admin needs to file anything" once again she views radar being unable to fight as a flaw that overrides his other abilities (...interesting considering she herself never directly fights shit really). like she's saying basically Oh yeah filing and organizing is the only thing youre good for!! like OKAY... not even going to go into on hownautistic coded radar is but like. lord

also the way he says "...i appreciate that" is a lot more like. idk how to describe it but his va delivers it in a much softer tone than when he thanks jesse a few seconds earlierniys like. hm idk "im not the person she thinks i am anymore. ive changed, and i can prove it" who is the person she thinks you are radar. not only is this alluding to his whole Yeah I Have To Overcompensate And Be Strong!!! thing but also he seems to want to impress jesse in particular

"i can be different. braver" girlie you do not have to change yourself for otber people.. do not like what this person picked for the final choice so analysis thread over. but as a general thing this is Really.interestinf and important to me and i wish this was expanded on more anyways. im normal now. original tweet thread here: https://twitter.com/rival_trevor/status/1683476048715849734?s=20

[marinecorvid]

2.21.23 (but actually drawn at least a month ago - and now posted 6.2.23) - some xy fic sketches. rambles beneath the cut

.

in my Great Fanfiction Rewrite of the (X)Y plot because it was sadly lacking in some places, Calem/Xavier kinda sorta joins Team Flare! To be honest this isn't my 100% original idea, I saw someone post once on here somewhere how cool it would've been if your rival, frustrated with constantly losing to you, joined Team Flare in desperation to beat you. I have taken this concept and am running with it. Xavier in my story Did Not take kindly to losing the Mega Ring to Yvonne: a rookie trainer, a girl, a girl who doesn't fall into his preconceived notions of what a young female trainer should be like, a girl he initially assumed he would be in a relationship with and he'd be the tough trainer in contrast to her contest abilities, someone from a poorer family from his. He gets uhh a little wild trying to prove his might makes right (deeply sheltered child who was never exposed to anything that would upset him syndrome)

In my head Y is the canon, but I'm doing a ramshackle combo into a tentative Z in which Yvonne and Yveltal fight Lysandre together, but also Xavier and Xerneas at some point and Zygarde is there too as a result of Team Flare managing to find BOTH legendaries (who in the anime were depicted as being right on top of each other) but only figuring out how to use Yveltal in the Ultimate Weapon. Xavier steals the Poke Flute and uses it to wake Xerneas (willingly or not - he's irrational, but IDK how down he'd be for the "destroy the world" plot, but Xerneas DEFINITELY uses ~fairy powers~ to fuck with his mind)

Yvonne has vitiligo! Dyes her hair blonde for the first halfish of the game, lets it grow out to its natural brown as a symbolic representation of not wanting to conform to certain beauty standards. She starts wearing very snazzy suits post-game, avoiding short sleeves and skirts

My HC is that Sycamore is her da! He and Grace were an item back in the day when Grace was in Kalos Rhyhorn racing, and she only realized she was pregnant when she'd already left. Sycamore didn't feel ready at all to be an active father, and Grace didn't feel any strong need to be in a relationship with him/have him be a part of Yvonne's life with a strong circle of friends and family who'd help with childrearing, so he stayed in Kalos and continued his work on evolution and Fairy Types in Kalos, every other month or so receiving an email of an update of Yvonne's life in progress. Eventually Grace's racing injuries/chronic pain is too debilitating to continue racing, and Sycamore offers his grandparents' cottage in the starting town. Yvonne knows her father is an academic/scientist in Kalos but doesn't know it's him, and doesn't want to know until she's more comfortable in the region. She DOES start to suspect though, but only confirms it mid/post-Geosenge crisis (haven't decided how long that's drawn out) in a hospital bed. Sycamore (after years of watching his daughter grow up from afar, and has become more invested in her life in the past few years) is delighted that she's willing have a familial connection

a lot of people draw Yveltal as a bird (super cool, no judgement) but it's very dragon-y to me with the hands/wings, kinda like how bat wings are just elongated fingers with skin between them. The logic of the tail eludes me though. It's Yvonne's buddy post game! As much as she does not want it to be her buddy! But when a super powerful ancient deity of death decides it wants to be your friend there's not a lot you can do to stop it. She warms up to it eventually. They have a fun time threatening Malva together

Korrina is a sports lesbian

Shauna slight redesign. She and Yvonne become an item around Laverre. In my story there's a cool Ren Faire-ish thing happening when they arrive and they both get a little tipsy and kiss and spend the evening running around in semi-accurate reenactment dresses giggling and dancing and giving each other wildflowers

Gogoat =)

[motherofthecorvids]

Figured as my first post I should show off my currently existing OCs, so here’s the Dragon Ball ones. I have a lot of old OCs that I don’t use (my art isn’t great I’m sorry 🙏)

First up: Yamoshi

You might know him, he’s a canon character, but with 0 actual content besides filler explaining he’s THE legendary Super Saiyan, and a little info in BoG that implies?? I think, that he’s the original SSG but like…. no. Anyways I made him the Legendary Super Saiyan, capital L, cause it was interesting and it would fit more in line with the whole “A Super Saiyan only emerges once every 1000 years” thing which is still stupid anyways

Next up: Cassa

Technically my first truly 100% original OC. I say technically because I had a few before but they don’t matter and are rotting in the ground. The name is not 100% original though I have met like 3 other people that have used it

Next-er up: Kalot

I don’t have an image cause the only ones are old designs, but he’s got hair tied up and back, if you play Xenoverse 2 there’s a hair that’s like exactly like it, 12 for MSaiyans/Humans iirc

Even Next-er up: Kiln

He’s evil. And gay. What more could you want honestly

Finally: Genesis

She’s a bio-android Majin. Probably my most creative idea, which is kind of sad

Ok finally for realsies: Vega

Her hair is different when she gets older which j need to draw, but I haven’t yet

Bonus! Ruta/Rutarot

I don’t make anything of her (and her fusion with Goku), but she has a special place in my heart because she easily has the best art I’ve ever made be of her (note: Her SSJ4 is not godly at all, it’s just purple)

[littleturtlefish]

Sigh 😔 at this point, I might as well just post my art classwork since I haven't been doing any art in my free time...

Not art-related at all but I've been (kinda) reading Komi-San Can't Communicate and I wanna post my thoughts on it since I like it (I do have some personal complaints though) but I have absolutely no way to put these thoughts out aside from here ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Somewhat related but have you seen how weird some Komi-San fans are??????? Knowing the genre and all, I shouldn't be surprised, but still...i wouldnt want to share my thoughts with some fans either way

Forewarning, literally the only manga I was ever fully invested in was Mob Psycho 100 and I haven't even touched the Komi-San anime. It's also been a while since I reread the entire manga so my memory may suck, my apologies. There will be many paragraphs, my double apologies.

[SPOILERS FOR EVERYTHING UP TO CHAPTER 412]

Overall, I think the manga is really cute. I don't read manga that much but I'd still say that it very much fits the slice-of-life genre well. Maybe too well 🙂 but I'll talk about that later. It's a great manga to read for fluff and just to have a good time.

Side-note: I'll be talking about the one-shot for a bit and when I say "current" Komi, I really just mean Komi throughout her 2nd/3rd year.

First things first, I absolutely fell in love with the concept and the one-shot (...first chapter?). The idea of a character with crippling social anxiety slowly coming out of their shell with the help and support of others? Fantastic :D And jeez, the art style change is REALLY obvious once you look at the one-shot. Honestly, I really wish the entire manga kept it u_u the dead-inside eyes Komi had actually showed why everyone was so scared of her. Her cute-ified/chibi look isn't as intimidating and only shows that people were scared just because she kept staring at them (which is fair lol, but her original look makes more sense). Tadano, though... I would prefer his current look compared to his old one LOL. Style aside, I'm gonna talk about this specific little thing that truly made me binge this manga: the diner and hospital talk. Technically two scenes but they share one thing and that is that Tadana and Komi sit facing AWAY from each other. I don't think I ever really struggled with social anxiety but when I was younger, I had a very hard time talking to people while making eye contact. I know chronlogically that the hospital talk is before the diner one but as a reader (since diner scene is shown first), seeing that issue be addressed without it ever being directly brought up was just...really sweet. I understood it right away. Hell, even when it was noticed and brought up in the hospital talk, Tadano was such a caring person to suggest the idea of facing away from one another i straight up wouldve cried if someone did that for me irl moreonmylovefortadanolater— One-shot Komi is also pretty interesting because she actually IS able to talk, she just varies between saying very little to saying a lot. I'm no psychiatrist but personally, I felt that could've been more relatable BUT that's not a complaint because the manga isn't obligated to accurately portray every single thing about the disorder (especially since it's clear that this manga is focusing on being lighthearted so of course it won't necessarily go into the very heavy stuff). I find current Komi's trait of using a notebook to speak much more interesting but I was shocked on the relateability of one-shot Komi, haha.

Okay, now for the actual manga. I'll admit, I don't really have much to say in the beginning portion purely because I don't really remember much 🙃 The chalkboard scene was really cute but I'll just be saying that for any scene with Komi and Tadano alone, tbh. Komi and her reactions in social situations are mood as always. Tadano was a KIND, CARING, and LOVING lil guy and all he got was death threats smh. Yamai.

She's part of a bigger issue.

In general, I love seeing Komi and Tadano together. Together relationship-wise and also just simply interacting with each other. Their relationship is SO adorable and I always reread their pining moments :ↄ I understand the dislike for the trope of an extraordinary woman falling in love with Some Guy™ but I like it here because while Tadano truly is Some Guy™, he's a genuinely nice person and not even just basic-human-decency nice; he goes out of his way for people. He also sees Komi as a friend before all else, too. Like, yes, he finds her attractive and, yes, she is literally his girlfriend now, but they still share a lot of platonic moments together and just act like a couple of besties ✨

Manbagi is also a main character I can't help but adore. I found it fascinating that the love triangle, while still a competition, was lighthearted and friendly. I've personally never seen one portrayed like that so I'm really impressed! The love triangle showcased Komi and Manbagi's friendship so much that, despite not being a fan of OT3s, I genuinely just wanted both of them to date Tadano lmao and I truly believed that it would've worked out!!! I still do; all three of those characters have chemistry with each other! Anyway, love triangle arc aside, I'm happy that she's at least getting her happy ending with that one dude :)

Speaking of that dude, the side characters are cool. My favorites are Hiki and Komitani. I like the name puns and some side stories are pretty sweet (like with Hiki's). I forgor their names but surprisingly, I liked those two bitchy girls who "bullied" Komi (quotes because it wasn't that serious). How they acted towards Komi and the reasons why they acted that way (AKA their assumptions about Komi doing it for attention or whatnot) was a nice change from the standard character reaction towards Komi. Yeah, they were still dicks and I especially didn't like how everyone quickly forgave that one tsun (?) girl, but they were a refreshing deviation from status quo. Those good examples aside, there...are a lot of side stories to the point I get tired of them :U I mean, I assume that's just a genre thing because I have read other slice-of-life manga before but would drop them because the side stories were too much >.> Clearly, I didn't really drop this manga since I'm talking about it but 400+ chapters feels like a lot to me (especially when a good portion of those chapters are side stories) and it's still ongoing, which I typically wouldn't even touch since I like endings to a story :u It feels like trudging through mud sometimes but I gotta get through it or I won't see my favs Komi and Tadano ✊😔 The side stories really would've been a dealbreaker if not for those two.

Ah, and finally: sexual fanservice. God, I hate it so much. Both, in the manga and in general. I hate how it's prevalent in so much media, I hate how it is used as a tool to attract audiences, and I hate how it works in attracting those audiences. Yes, the manga has many, many instances of sexual fanservice but I've just accepted that I can never escape it. Yamai and her sexual harassment. Close-up shots of teenage chests. Hiki being a literal middle schooler at one point. Almost every character's sexualization of Komi, no matter their age. All make me disappointed, but not surprised. You gotta make money somehow ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I am surprised that Tadano and Komi's relationship isn't sexualized all that much. Maybe I missed some things but the only sexual things I can recall are the "Tadano unlocked a new fetish" moments (which happens only twice? Thrice?) and other characters asking/teasing on how far they've gone. I like that. It makes their relationship very wholesome and also reinforces the fact that Tadano sees Komi as an actual person.

Kinda related to fanservice but I very much dislike the current art style. Y'know that meme of anime girls being compared to pugs? That's exactly what happened to Komi's face. Why is it so scrunched up??? To be fair, this applies to every character so I guess there's consistency... Her sharp edges in her hair are kinda jarring, though, because she has these really detailed eyes but her face is small and her hair, although detailed, is a geometric shape and all of these factors do not look good together. I'm fine with Tadano's design because it gives him personality, which...may or may not be a good thing, character-wise? Like, yeah, he's supposed to be some normal guy and all, which his original design perfectly portrays that bUT ITS SO BORINGGG. I like his sharp edges! It's better on him since he isn't as detailed as Komi. Anyway, I say this is related to fanservice because, while yes, this art style is much easier to draw with than with the old style, Komi's prominent eyes and tiny face surely must've been influenced by some other factor other than time management :U but that's just my theory. Final note: this art style kinda ruined the Tadano confession scene for me a bit because the close-up of Komi's face was...not good, imo.

One last thing: YAY THEY KISSED!!!!!11!°!! When I stopped reading, I stopped at the end of the Kawai arc since I do not like being left on cliffhangers and there were only some chapters left at the time. I heard about the kiss scene at Chapter 411 and so, I only read the chapters that led up to that scene instead of picking up where I last was 🙃 I have some thoughts. Why is Kawai trying to insert herself into Komi and Tadano's relationship. Why is Kawai's family weird. Why...is Kawai even here lmao. Komi and Tadano are adorable, though <3

My final thoughts are that it very much is a slice-of-life manga. Nothing revolutionary, I think, but that's fine! Watching the relationship grow between Tadano and Komi was the main thing for me and now that they're officially together, I'll admit, I'm not all that interested in the story anymore ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I know the main goal of the story is for Komi to overcome her social anxiety and make 100 friends and I do like the development of that goal, but...eh... I remember seeing a comment in the subreddit mention that they wish the goal was changed so that the quality of friendships mattered over quantity and I agree. The manga does emphasize that Komi has made meaningful connections with some of the friends she made (Tadano, Manbagi, Kawai...I assume? Didn't read LMAO) but that's the thing: it's only some friends. Her other friends are side characters that have their own side stories which may or may not be boring. They're not as fleshed out as Tadano or Manbagi nor do they share the same impact. Sure, a mean character may push Komi to stand up for herself once or twice but there's no revolutionary moment within Komi compared to her moments with Tadano or Manbagi. To be fair, those small moments with side characters do build up for Komi but my point still stands that Komi has friends that are much closer than the rest. Because of that, I just feel like Komi already reached her goal 🤷‍♀️ She has Tadano, her #1 support system and friend, along with other friends that played a role in her development. She doesn't really need more friends, since the friends she has now are already caring and considerate. She was able to form deep relationships despite her communication disorder; I feel like that's a great ending. And I know, ending a story when the main couple gets together is cliche and there'd be no kiss scene if that did happen but I'm just saying!!

oh and komi's parents' lil side story was adorable

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

ELEMENTAL Projections

So apparently ELEMENTAL is on track to flop-a-doo this coming June, huh?

Recent projections made by Box Office Pro have it opening at $28m minimum, $38m maximum. They note that the picture has the chance to have those usual Pixar summer legs and break the 2020s Disney theatrical animation bad streak at the box office, and make it to around $155m domestic, which would be a fantastic total for a post-outbreak original animated movie. COCO, back in early 2018, finished up with around $209m domestically. $200m is usually an easy threshold for Pixar. Only one picture in the 21st century that wasn't a sequel missed it, that was THE GOOD DINOSAUR, which still made over $120m domestically. ONWARD I do not count, because that was cut off one week in by the pandemic.

Box Office Pro has a history of lowballing animated movies on their opening weekends, though. They also had THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE pegged for a roughly $65-90m opening, when the thing cruised well past $140m+ for the three-day alone... I knew it would top $100m easily, and I'm no box office pro... I've only made predictions for fun for about a decade, many of which concerning animated movies, haha.

They also weirdly note that the picture, being a romantic comedy, will have a hard time appealing to young boys... Okay, are young boys the ones with the money buying tickets? You know, Walt Disney had once said in an interview with the BBC in 1959:

"Well, no, you have to appeal to the adult, or... Well, the adults have money, the children don't have any money."

Interestingly, Walt had kind of cracked it when it came to making movies by that point in time. As he saw it, anyways. He had theorized that appealing to "mom" was the way to go, the target to hit. Because mom takes dad and the kids, the whole family, to check out the movie... And mom tells her friends... So on, so forth... Maybe it's not young boys that Disney should be appealing to. Remember when they tried very hard to appeal to that demographic in the late 2000s? Making major changes in animation because of that? Nearly jettisoning fairy tale stories for good and messing with movie titles for fear of boys finding them to be too girly? (I still dislike "TANGLED" as a title, to be completely honest.) I guess the romances of classic Disney animated movies were a hard sell, huh? Because boys under the age of 13 might not like them?

I'm not trying to knock the good people at BOP, by the way. I frequently enjoy their podcast and analyses, but sometimes I think they can be a little off with animated movie, and because there's a lot of internet dogpiling on this one Pixar picture that no one except the film crew has even *seen* yet... I just wanted to weigh in.

As BOP noted, and many others have noted as well, ELEMENTAL has a big uphill battle to face in the form of the Disney+ problem. We all know what that is... A lot of people, especially those who are tight on money and have to narrow their moviegoing choices every calendar year, might've been conditioned to just wait for these family movies to come to Disney+. No need to spend $100 at the multiplex on tickets, snacks, and of course take a gamble on whether the experience in a theater will be good or not... It's right there, at home, in a few months, and we got all the snacks without having to spend a mortgage on!

I've stated on here many times before that I work at a movie theater, and a major chain movie theater at that. A Cinemark. Been there for almost 8 years, and I feel I get the first-hand idea of what audiences want to see as opposed to very-online "experts" on twitter and elsewhere.

And it seems like people are digging ELEMENTAL. "Ah cool, a water and fire people movie! Looks cute!" Most of my co-workers think it looks like it's worth watching. I've seen some customers walk up to the posters and say "Is this INSIDE OUT 2?" "Hah, looks like Sharkboy and Lava Girl."

A lot of people online are writing ELEMENTAL off as generic-looking, but that might be... In a weird sense, its secret weapon.

Familiarity sometimes works for movies, and sometimes it doesn't. LIGHTYEAR, I'd argue, had trouble having some kind of longevity at the box office because of how much it deviated from what people associate with TOY STORY and the titular character. Of course, if you're me, and you knew full well what that movie was going to be (read: an actual sci-fi space adventure where Buzz is actually a space ranger, not a toy), that wasn't much of an issue. Some just genuinely didn't like the execution of it. It rung more INTERSTELLAR and '70s sci-fi movies than anything, Buzz was a little more serious here, he wasn't his toy counterpart at all nor was he the fun cartoon hero in the 2000s TV series BUZZ LIGHTYEAR OF STAR COMMAND. I get that. I myself quite enjoyed the movie, but I can totally see it how it just wouldn't gel with most audiences.

TURNING RED, I feel, would've done okay at best at the box office, not because of its perceived quality (I loved the movie), but because of - again - most audiences being very careful with their money. I keep thinking it would've made around BAD GUYS/ENCANTO numbers, $90m domestic and around $200m worldwide. Not enough to cover the usual Pixar budget... Which is typically a gargantuan $150m+... I feel they, and Walt Disney Animation Studios for that matter, shouldn't spend so damn much on their movies... It puts an unnecessary strain on them, gives them a sometimes impossible task to achieve. It soooo ain't 2003 anymore, when any CG animated movie you dropped in front of an audience was 99.99% guaranteed to make a blockbuster amount of money...

ELEMENTAL also shares June with... ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, TRANSFORMERS LIVE-ACTION MOVIE #7, THE FLASH, RUBY GILLMAN *comma* TEENAGE KRAKEN, and INDIANA JONES 5... Wowee... And a good chunk of those movies weren't supposed to open in June 2023 in the first place, they all just ended up landing there. Pixar usually locks mid-June for a movie years in advance, and the movie could be anything, be it ELEMENTAL or TOY STORY 5. It just so happened to be ELEMENTAL... Maybe they should've moved it, just to be safe...

So, opening weekend could make or break it... But the legs will be the most important thing... And we don't know what those will be like... We have to know first and foremost, come opening day... Did audiences like it?

LIGHTYEAR got a not-so-hot A- CinemaScore, and had abysmal legs thereafter... STRANGE WORLD from WDAS was the rare family friendly animated movie release to score less than an A...

It's hard to gauge off of two animated sci-fi action movies, which have a history of... Not making blockbuster totals meant to cover ludicrously high budgets... Just ask TITAN A.E., ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE, and TREASURE PLANET. WALL-E was a sci-fi romance movie with cute robots, and that did very well. Also had that Pixar goodwill that was very strong back then. The name's not a guarantee anymore.

How do I think ELEMENTAL will do?

Animated movies that aren't sequels are usually kind of hard to track, and they seem like they'll do okay-ish at first... Until the week of release, the tracking shoots up... And word-of-mouth kicks in after opening day...

So, $28m for ELEMENTAL could very well be looking like $40m minimum within a week of its release... Opening at Cannes this coming week, if the picture is acclaimed, will look nice too. I don't see why it can't open below $40m, the only thing that could hurt it is just SPIDER-VERSE and LITTLE MERMAID being out, and families having to make tough choices. Adults w/o families will be the ones to get, if they're not as choosy. The romantic comedy angle might just make it a date movie.

Not the first time that happened... That's what Disney took total advantage of during the Disney Renaissance in the early '90s, pushing BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and ALADDIN as date movies for young adults... Oh, and it paid off nicely... A lot of people tend to overlook this, but... It's *adults* who make animated movies huge, too. Not just "kids dragging their parents" to the cinema. If that were the case, every kids' movie would be a FROZEN or MINIONS-sized blockbuster. No! Those movies make so much because a lot of adults like them, too, and there's stuff in them that appeals to adults. A novel concept, I know!

A movie like THE BAD GUYS didn't need to worry about that, being a much lower budget endeavor, ditto DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS. Even Illumination's movies don't have to worry about that, either... But Disney Animation and Pixar? They gotta hook everybody if they want to make back the $150m+ they spend on each and every movie. LIGHTYEAR seemed to turn families away and had a hard time getting adults, STRANGE WORLD seemed to appeal to no one. ENCANTO dealt with Delta and Omicron, RAYA was still a bit too early to be a theatrical release. SOUL, LUCA, TURNING RED, all straight to Disney+ releases.

It's like each new Disney animated movie release is some kind of test... ELEMENTAL is next line, and WISH will follow... And do I think ELEMENTAL can get that adult appeal?

I think so. ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE already has it built in (projections are saying $85m minimum for the opening weekend, which sounds about right, could go even higher), but does anything else coming out in June other than INDIANA JONES have it? I think audiences are largely burnt out on the Autobots, THE FLASH comes on like some big NO WAY HOME-esque event for DC but I sense a real "who cares?" aura around it, plus superhero fatigue seems to have kicked in... That's about it? RUBY GILLMAN seems muted and quiet, it probably doesn't need to make a blockbuster gross... It's very possible ELEMENTAL is the most appealing June release to... Normal people.

Online, it looks like some crap generic Pixar movie... But normal people? Who aren't there for TRANSFORMERS 7 and a DC movie that happens to have Michael Keaton Batman in it? They might be digging it. For what it's worth, when I caught the trailer in theaters before GUARDIANS VOL. 3, I heard some of the adults in the crowd laugh at the funny bits.

It's kind of a wild card, but I have kind of a good feeling about this one. Maybe... Or, come late summer, I'll be eating crow on here. I'm sure Disney Co and Pixar don't want it to fail. Especially since the smarter of the two Bob CEOs came back, the very Bob who wants to focus much more on theatrical releases than sending massive-budget movies quickly to Disney+.

So, rough prediction. Around $40-45m on opening weekend, very solid legs, over 3.5x multiplier, $140m minimum domestically and double that overseas, $400m+ worldwide finish. We shall see...

[triforce-dragons]

Gerudo, and the Blessing of Din

How the magic that is the Gerudo in Triforce Dragons works, or why there's only 1 male every 100 years.

So, first the origin of Gerudo;

Gerudo were, when the world began, the flickering fire from Din's flaming hair and were called the Daughters of Din. These flames would become independent beings of pure firepower, but they still served Din's will. They are the ones who helped shape the earth, especially Death Mountain. Once the goddesses finished making the world, they left, á la Ocarina of time lore, the gerudo however remained. Unfortunately, as they were literally fire, they burnt (consuming often) everything they touched. This was fine around the Gorons, but lots of others have a tendency to BURN when exposed to fire.

So, the peoples begged the goddesses for aid, and at first they were moved to what would become gerudo desert, which fun fact was prairies before. But, while the gerudo weren't aggressive, their natural state was still expanding well beyond the borders of Gerudo desert.

Again the peoples turned to the goddesses, begging for relief. And so the goddesses Farore and Nayru both poured a bit of their power into them and turned them from living flames to peoples of their own right. They took the name Gerudo for themselves that after what other peoples called them, the 'dancing fires' in a tongue too old to even have a memory of it.

Now they were people, but seeing as they were made of Din's hair, they were all vai, no voes.

Quick explanation what a voe is vs a vai; it's not binary as man and woman. Voes can be any gender, they just have to be able to impregnate a vai. All people are voes until they prove they cannot impregnate a vai. So, while a trans person who has functioning male genitalia would be considered a voe, it's not equivalent to male. However since this is a society of vai for vai, a trans person can request a magical ring that is placed on said person that ensures they cannot impregnate a vai. There are rules and regulations, as well as punishments for crimes around this ring but I'm not getting into it here. That'll be another post, including how the gerudo tell who's fathered whom.

Though the magical ring was made very early into gerudo becoming a people, problems still began, as the gerudo had to go out to repopulate. They weren't a cohesive peoples, more like the 13 kingdoms of china, and how they handled the whole 'we need humans or these proto-hylians' to repopulate varied widely. Some took to capturing and enslaving voes, others would wander out into the worlds of peoples but could find themselves captured or enslaved. What would become the dominant group, also known as clan Dragmire, made a 'voe quarter' outside their own where various peoples could come and trade with the gerudo, including acting as voes for the gerudo. But, as stated before, they weren't a cohesive peoples.

Fights began to break out, both because gerudo captured, and gerudos capturing, these forms of reproduction would lead to conflict with the other races. This time it was the gerudo who begged their mother Din to aid them. She told Farore to send her champion to the seven heroins, leaders of the seven groups, to speak with them directly and make peace. The champion is the heroes spirit who at the time is from Farore's domain, but that's it's own post so again I won't get into it here.

He spoke with all seven, what would be known as the heroins, individually, and then asked them all to come together for a meeting. He fought every one of them in a duel, but not always the same kind of duel. After he defeated them, they agreed to come together for a solution that wouldn't endanger either side, and would have all captured peoples returned (the champion would rescue any stolen gerudo who were not returned and bring them back home.)

The agreement was that all gerudo who wanted to become pregnant would go to the already established voe quarter, naming it the Oasis. They would also have an agreement with the humans and proto-hylians that if a gerudo was kidnapped that they would be allowed to retrieve them and would receive aid from the peoples in which this agreement was made.

Din was so pleased that this solution helped her daughters without bloodshed she decided to make a blessing that would make one of her daughters a voe, only to distinguish them from all the other gerudo, and that gerudo would always named Ganondorf. They would be a leader to protect and guide the gerudo in their time of need. Thus, the Blessing of Din was born.

The gerudo Ganondorf is always born a vai, and then Din places her blessing during the birth turning them into a voe. As such it is never specific to a blood line, or whom is the mother or father is. There can generally only be one at a time, and there's always at least a hundred years between the blessings. The blessing, is that, a blessing and is not a cage for which 'Ganondorf' must live. He can return the blessing, or give it to another at any time in their life.

In emergencies, such as when a king of hyrule is actively trying to kill a Ganondorf, the mother can also remove the blessing until it's safe. This why Ganondorf in OOT has no beard and their general body shape is a little more lean and hippy than others. Their blessing was removed until he went on to invade and conquer Hyrule.

[addicted2coke-theothercoke]

Not really sure this is what I'm supposed to do but I'm too tired to figure it out. For this post we'll be doing... The Tale of Filv Shepherd

Gaus is split into three kingdoms, the largest and most powerful being the kingdom of Tral, with it's neighbors the kingdom of Kinton and the kingdom of Done

Kinton has some political issues going on and being "sorted out" but there not focused on much

Depends where they're from. Filv lives in a hamlet so small there have no real concept of money, but this is an exception. Tral is for the most part full of "wealthy" provinces, but this mainly means that people are constantly well fed and able to afford the occasional luxuries

Yes. The biggest being Runior, followed by Ver and Benna, followed by: Falk, Filk, and Fenna. Plus some others depending on religion and location but they're not focused on

Most dress simply, even the wealthy, in several layers of mismatched and hand sewed cloths

The first war, when the three great champions of craft and carving lead armies upon the dark mountains, seeking genocide upon the other

Runior's blessing, a common myth revolving what happens after death, it's gradually becoming a religion though

The Silenced make it their mission to see every dead body attending to properly wrapping them in black cloth and saying prayers only they understand before lighting the bodies aflame. They will kill to ensure this happens. But if they do not find out which is the case in small places it's up to whoever cares the most of general belief. In Filv's hamlet the dead are returned to their homes and talked of as if still alive

Murder? Well there is a war going on in Kinton so that kinda tips the scale towards pickaxe to the face, but in just Tral it'll be dueling which is legal if you don't cheat. Eventually a far crueler method will eventually rise to be more common though

Again depends on location. General answer is don't do it, but if you do you'll be fine in a year or two once you get through the drama and repercussions. Some local groups will violently enforce abstinence before marriage with dueling to enforce good faith, but if you're good with a blade that might be okay.

Poor citizens like in Filv's hamlet take good care of their appearance, but good isn't he case for everyone. General people have a decent look to them, not particularly fair but enjoyable to the right person. The wealthy radiate, nobody knows how

Depends so here's three: an assortment of potatoes, salad bread and whatever meat is handy, similar to before but far more better cuts and greener plants, plus fun little rarities that pop up now and then to make it more interesting

Once every two years every member of Filv's hamlet over 15 walks alone in a direction for roughly 100 miles, when they return they throw a large feast and tell stories or sing of everything they saw

The world was the first thing created, crafted and carved by Ver and Benna, the coupled gods of life and death

It's just kind of a random fantasy setting for a story I thought would be neat to tell. Maybe good was a terrible idea? Should my setting be more thought out, or my story made more original? Jeez I suck at this brainstorming thing or whatever we're doing

Cok, it's basically a baked potato

Every time an evil rises and attacks Tral utilizing this dark power, it's actually the same dark power even centuries later, nobodies been able to get rid of it

Farmer, a lot of people are just born into it

Games I grew up with. Why I should probably think of something new instead of trying to make an old idea work just cause it has a couple scenes I really really like

Considering The Silenced due have the law on their side, maybe It's to them when someone is dead

Welp, this has been a mess, I suck and am tired, goodnight

RED ASK GAME: WRITEBLR: WORLD-BUILDING

CRIMSON - What is the government?

SCARLET - Is there a rebellion?

RUBY - How rich is the population?

GARNET - Are there gods?

CARNELIAN - How do people dress?

POPPY - What historical event does every student learn about?

ROSE - What is the most known myth?

BLOOD - What do the people do with the dead? What are their funerals like?

GORE - What is the most common method of murder? Is it legal?

BLUSH - What are the views on sex before marriage? How strict is it?

LIPSTICK - What is the beauty standard, and how often is it met?

APPLE - What is the most eaten meal?

CHERRY - Describe a celebration!

STRAWBERRY - What was the first thing you created in this world?

RASPBERRY - How does the world support the story you're telling?

POMEGRANITE - Name a food!

JAM - Share your favourite piece of worldbuilding information!

TOMATO - What is the most common occupation? Do the workers enjoy it, or is a requirement?

PEPPER - What inspired this world?

WINE - What is the most broken law?

[zerokissingbooth]

every number but with gepard or sam drake or both, up to you

EVERY NUMBER? ARE YOU INSANE???? ok well im not listing out the questions here's the original post

gepard

forehead kisses,,, to me he's like 6'4" and i'm almost a whole foot shorter than him so it's more convenient for forehead kisses!!

hmm... neck kisses...

definitely soft and tender. his desperate kisses are just as gentle.

he likes spooning but i think when it's been a bit or he's having a rough patch he likes resting his head on my chest.. comfort in proximity

hugs from behind esp in the morning... sleepy where he hides his face in my hair as he wakes up

pancake.. likes the size different and he feels more like he has security in the hand hold :)

ideally he'd want to go to fancy places just bc i think that's how he was raised to treat a partner, but he prefers actually cooking instead!! he likes servicing :-)

accidentally keeps the relationship a secret.. he just doesn't want people to bother me !!

back massages. 100%.

he would only say "i love you" in serious moments or before going off to work with the guards... he takes the phrase very seriously (vs me who says it every other 5 sentences)

he either calls me by name or 'dear' / 'love'

just simple hand holding in public :) he probably gets a little flustered if someone makes a joke about PDA

stay at home most of the time... a nice home-made meal and something to watch is probably his ideal but he wouldn't hate a night out

both of these suggestions sound bad to me he could just take me to a cabin up in the mountains and keep me warm during the snowfall

he would have it ingrained in his head it has to be fancy so it probably would be... not loud and flashy but it definitely screams that gepard had a budget to splurge a little LOL

i think gepard would not want kids just bc fear of dying on the field and not coming back home + past trauma from his own parents mistreating him and his siblings creating a fear of 'what if i do that'... but he'd be a great uncle :)

he's demiromantic to me so it'd def be a slowburn on his half... me however i think i would have called him archangel gabriel as a pickup line and then leave out of embarrassment

he tries to maintain space in bed but he cuddles in his sleep LOL... he gives up after 3 weeks of waking up with some of my hair in his mouth

GIFTING FLOWERS 100% they're flowers he did his damnest to raise well and he's so excited about them being well grown for once

he also would value anniversaries a lot... not like huge events but makes a nicer meal than normal and buys nice wine for the night

ok i'm putting sam under the cut so it's not cluttering

sam drake

nose kisses. hes a freak

thigh kisses.. he is a freak and likes seeing me get flustered / stubbornly call him a jackass

heavy and passionate. bro was in jail for 13-15 years, he's gonna do his best to step up his game and i am the poor victim to be tested on

SPOONING!!! spooning!!!

hugs from behind bc he's a horndog but also likes the intimacy :-)

waffle!! he likes squeezing his fingers into my hand and vice versa

take-out dinners but he wouldn't be opposed for a quick run to a hole-in-the-wall

would brag to everyone like a smartass because he somehow still has game even though he was stuck in jail for like a decade

back massages also! type of dude to moan when you get to a knot in his back

says "i love you" pretty often too. since he is technically a criminal he doesn't want to risk missing the chance to say it

lots and llots of petnames... 'sweet heart' and 'pretty boy' are top of the list followed by my name and 'dear'

dude is casual pda core. arm over the shoulder, hand in my back pocket while we walk, maybe arm around my waist and keeping me close

cheap out on the town dates!! throwing rocks at cans and drinking in his shitty car or driving around on his motorbike

his ideal honeymoon is going on another treasure hunt. yes it would be to an island but hes bringing rope climbing gear picks and flashlights we are GOING to find something

definitely casual but intimate. closest friends and family only..

he does NOT want kids bro is emotionally stunted and is happy enough just being cassie's uncle

love at first sight on his side bc he's a sucker for stubborn idiots (me)

he likes both, but enjoys cuddling more. gets lonely and yearning when he has no body to sleep next to yknow

he wouldn't gift either but instead probably more antique vintage items... "hey i got you this rare 15th century snuff box" "where did you steal it from" "well."

yes but he doesn't make a show of it. treats it more like a private day alone with me, probably more into lazing in privacy and really cementing the fact he is in love

[dashawfrostart]

This Week In "Time & Again" #7: And The Wheels Keep Turning

Hallöchen! 👋 Took me a little more time to come back with a new blog post - but here I am, delivering you a new tiny wall of text to read, just as originally intended 😁

Christmas is steadily on its way, and the life is exploding with events, big and small, good and not quite - but mostly good ones; and the jolly festive music is playing all around, and as a certain somebody plays one truly mesmerizing and entertaining Christmas Doom mod in the evenings - of course, with Christmas music in it, too - the work on "Time & Again" goes on and quite well (can't complain; Lothar can't complain either). All's good. In fact, I have only about 3 pages left to finish up The Lineart Stage, although some little parts here and there were skipped previously. But I doubt it it's gonna take me considerable amount of time to make everything 100% complete and to wrap it up (no, not the presents - tis the season, I know, but I meant a different kind of wrapping... y-yeah 😅).

Since time is a valuable resource - which is exactly what one of my absolutely favourite characters in the entire "Time & Again" series once said (hey dear readers, can you guess who I'm talking about?) - I think, for the first time in my life, this once, I'll make a new post very short. Gotta go back to nannying me kids, after all (ah, life of an artistic parent is hard 😫). Don't wanna waste a lot of time distracting myself, especially during this hectic end of the season. Also, I still got my eggnog to drink. It's on my list of important things to eat/drink. So yup, time is sure valuable!

I was gonna make a special post about the procedures and peculiarities of how I create page templates for "Time & Again" using Inkscape and Krita to create a functional and convenient workspace for myself. But I'll save that for another day, because writing a logically structured and sophisticated post about such a technical topic will require some mental effort. And since currently my mind is preoccupied mainly with blue jays, eggnog, laundry, und Spätzle, this topic might be a tad too exhausting for me to take on right now. So I'll just spam with a few cute panels portraying Lothar - to keep y'all happy 😁

We already talked about Lothar's disgusting habits earlier, we did. However, cigarette smoke dreamily twirling upwards in the air is something that I really enjoy drawing often outside the outlined boundaries of the comic panels. As you can see on the screenshot above, Lothario is super excited about something in front of him and he absolutely does not notice that the cigarette is sticking out from the panel. And you know? I like that. What you will often see in my graphic novel for sure - and especially in Chapter 5 I'm working on right now, because holy effing ****, is Lothar a heavy smoker! 😱 - I use the smoke outside and sometimes across a few panels, sometimes intertwining the lines and arranging them in such a way that they create a neat effect of interconnection. It's not only about smoke/aromatics though; I really enjoy drawing hair sticking out from the frames, too. I must admit - your dear creator hasn't read a lot of comics in her life, but you'll have to put up with me 😎 - I do not see this happening in a lot of comics or mangas. Or perhaps I'm just attempting to read the wrong ones all the time 🤪

Here's another one peculiarity I really grew really fond of within the last few years. Whenever I draw limbs on the background that are directly behind the limbs on the foreground, I just fill the background one with diagonal strokes. Of course, I do it by hand every time. I did have an idea to automate this and just fill the areas I need with the predefined strokes/crosshatch - luckily, Krita has an amazing function to add a fill layer with a wide variety of parameters of choice. But for such a simple task as illustrated above, I just do it manually all the time. Also, it looks natural and with a slight degree of imperfection - that's just what I need! And pistols... ugh. Pistols take a certain talent to draw well, too 😁

And this... Honestly, why am I even showing this one to you?.. 🤔 Probably because I really like Lothar's face on this picture. Once coloured, it won't disappoint you.

Welp, that's probably enough for a very short post in between sessions of creation and life undertakings.

Aaah, no! Just one more thing - a little but extremely funny animated gif before I go offline to create more stuff! Here you are! 🤣

See you next time! Take care! Don't forget to drink some eggnog. 👋

[yeehawpoorcryptid]

Me, wondering if I’ve become immune to media, that, even if I find something I enjoy a lot, there’s been nothing in a few years that has rocked me to my core & become a fundamental part of who I am, so maybe I’ve just read/watched/listened to too much and can no longer be affected as deeply as I used to be: 😐

Kevin Perjurer: …so what a monumental achievement it is to be remembered for four.

Me:

[respectable-username]

🔐 Why You (Probably) Don't Need A VPN

A rant by a software engineer sick of VPN ads from her favourite YouTubers

TL;DR:

Here are some legitimate reasons the average internet user might want to use a VPN:

To connect to their company's internal network

To bypass the Great Firewall of China (or other types of website blocks at country or organisation level)

To watch Netflix etc as if you were in another country

Here are absolutely rubbish reasons to use a VPN:

Privacy

And today, I'll tell you why.

Hang on, won't a VPN stop hackers from stealing my passwords?

I mean, it does encrypt the web traffic coming from your device.

You know what else encrypts web traffic coming from your device? Your browser.

Yes, in the year 2021, pretty much all websites on the internet are accessed over HTTPS. The "S" stands for "secure", as in "your request will be securely encrypted". If your browser is using HTTPS, nobody can capture the data you're sending over the internet. More detail in the "I like too much detail" section at the bottom of this post.

It's very easy to check if you are using HTTPS by looking at your URL bar. In most browsers, it will have a lock on it if secure:

(From top left to bottom right: Chrome on iOS, Safari on iOS, Chrome on Windows, Edge on Windows, Firefox on Windows, and Safari on Mac. Screenshots reflect the UI at the time this post was written. Oh gosh this has taken over 4 hours to write.)

But isn't moar encryption better? What if somebody breaks HTTPS?

For starters, nobody's breaking your HTTPS, and there isn't any benefit from double encrypting. This is because of the maths behind encryption/decryption!

Encryption works kinda like a lock and key, except the lock is maths and the key is a special number only known to the person allowed to unlock the information.

The important thing is, without the key, all the locked data looks like complete and utter garbage. Completely unusable. Barely distinguishable from random noise. There's absolutely no way to tell what the original data was.

The other important thing is that the key is nearly unguessable. As in, with current technology, will generally take more than the lifetime of the universe to guess by chance. And when technology gets faster, we just make the numbers bigger again until they're once again secure.

For any major website you use, they will use a strong encryption algorithm (ie lock) with big numbers so your keys will be strong enough to withstand an attack. This means your data is safe as long as that lock icon is in your URL bar.

A VPN will not make the existing garble any more garbled. The extra $10/month or whatever you're paying for does not buy you any extra protection.

If you want to know more about how encryption and HTTPS in particular work, see the "I like too much detail" section at the end of this post.

Something something viruses

How's a VPN going to stop viruses? It controls the path your internet traffic takes, not the content that gets sent down that path. I guess it could block some known virus-giving hosts? But if it's known to the VPN provider, it's probably also known to the built-in antivirus on your computer who can block it for you.

(Oh yeah, 3rd party antivirus is another thing that's not worth paying for these days. Microsoft's built-in Windows Defender is as good as the third party options, and something something Macs don't get viruses easily because of how they're architected.)

Honestly though, keep your software up to date, don't click on anything suspicious, don't open files from sources you don't trust, and you'll be right most of the time.

And keep your software up to date. Then update your software. Hey, did I mention keeping your stuff updated? Update! Now! It only takes a few minutes. Please update to the latest version of your software I'm begging you. It's the number 1 way to protect yourself from viruses and other malware. Most major software attacks could have been prevented if people just updated their damn software!

But my ISP is spying on me!

Ok, it is true that there are TWO bits of data that HTTPS can't and won't hide. Those are:

The source of a request (your IP)

What website that request is going to (the website's IP)

These are the bits of information that routers use to know where to send your data, so of course they can't be hidden as the data is moving across the internet. And people can see that information very easily if they want to.

Note: this will show which website you're going to, but not which page you're looking at, and not the content of that page. So it will show that you were on Tumblr, but will not show anyone that you're still reading SuperWhoLock content in 2021.

It's this source/destination information that VPNs hide, which is why they can be used to bypass website blocks and region locks.

By using a VPN, those sniffing traffic on your side of the VPN will just show you connecting to the VPN, not the actual website you want. That means you can read AO3 at work/school without your boss/teachers knowing (unless they look over your shoulder of course).

As for those sniffing on the websites end, including the website itself, they will see the VPN as the source of the connection, not you. So if you're in the US and using a VPN node in the UK, Netflix will see you as being in the UK and show you their British library rather than the American one.

If this is what you're using a VPN for and you think the price is fair, then by all means keep doing it! This is 100% what VPNs are good for.

HOWEVER, and this is a big "however", if it's your ISP you're trying to hide your internet traffic from, then you will want to think twice before using a VPN.

Let me put it this way. Without a VPN, your ISP knows every website you connect to and when. With a VPN, do you know who has that exact same information? The VPN provider. Sure, many claim to not keep logs, but do you really trust the people asking for you to send them all your data for a fee to not just turn around and sell your data on for a profit, or worse?

In effect, you're trading one snooper for another. One snooper is heavily regulated, in many jurisdictions must obey net neutrality, and is already getting a big fee from you regardless of where you browse. The other isn't. Again, it's all a matter of who you trust more.

For me personally, I trust my ISP more than a random VPN provider, if for no other reason than my ISP is an old enough company with enough inertia and incompetence that I don't think they could organise to sell my data even if they wanted to. And with the amount of money I'm paying them per month, they've only got everything to lose if they broke consumer trust by on-selling that data. So yeah, I trust my ISP more with my privacy than the random VPN company.

But my VPN comes with a password manager!

Password managers are great. I 100% recommend you use a password manager. If there's one thing you could do right now to improve your security (other than updating your software, speaking of, have you updated yet?), it's getting and using a password manager.

Password managers also come for free.

I'm currently using LastPass free, but am planning to switch after they did a bad capitalism and only let their free accounts access either laptop or mobile but not both now. I personally am planning to move to Bitwarden on friends' recommendation since it's not only free but open source and available across devices. I also have friends who use passbolt and enjoy it, which is also free and open source, but it's also a bit DIY to set up. Great if you like tinkering though! And there are probably many other options out there if you do a bit of googling.

So, yeah, please use a password manager, but don't pay for it unless you actually have use for the extra features.

No I really need to hide my internet activity from everybody for reasons

In this case, you're probably looking for TOR. TOR is basically untraceable. It's also a terrible user experience for the most part because of this, so I'd only recommend it if you need it, such as if you're trying to escape the Great Firewall. But please don't use it for Bad Crimes. I am not to be held liable for any crime committed using information learned from this post.

Further reading viewing

If you want to know more about why you don't need a VPN, see Tom Scott's amazing video on the subject. It's honestly a great intro for beginners.

I like too much detail

Ahhh, so you're the type of person who doesn't get turned off by long explanations I see. Well, here's a little more info on the stuff I oversimplified in the main post about encryption. Uhh, words get bigger and more jargony in this section.

So first oversimplification: the assumption that all web traffic is either HTTP or HTTPS. This isn't exactly true. There are many other application layer internet standards out there, such as ssh, ftp, websockets, and all the proprietary standards certain companies use for stuff such as streaming and video conferencing. Some of these are secure, using TLS or some other security algorithm under the hood, and some of them aren't.

But most of the web requests you care about are HTTP/HTTPS calls. As for the rest, if they come from a company of a decent size that hasn't been hacked off the face of the planet already, they're probably also secure. In other words, you don't need to worry about it.

Next, we've already said that encryption works as a lock and a key, where the lock is a maths formula and the key is a number. But how do we get that key to lock and unlock the data?

Well, to answer that, we first need to talk about the two different types of encryption: symmetric and asymmetric. Symmetric encryption such as AES uses the same key to both encrypt and decrypt data, whereas asymmetric encryption such as RSA uses a different key to encode and decode.

For the sake of my writing, we're going to call the person encrypting Alice, the person decrypting Bob, and the eavesdropper trying to break our communications Eve from now on. These are standard names in crypto FYI. Also, crypto is short for cryptography not cryptocurrencies. Get your Bitcoin and Etherium outta here!

Sorry if things start getting incoherent. I'm tired. It's after 1am now.

So first, how do we get the key from symmetric crypto? This is probably the easier place to start. Well, you need a number, any number of sufficient size, that both Alice and Bob know. There are many ways you could share this number. They could decide it when they meet in person. They could send it to each other using carrier pigeons. Or they could radio it via morse code. But those aren't convenient, and somebody could intercept the number and use it to read all their messages.

So what we use instead is a super clever algorithm called Diffie-Hellman, which uses maths and, in particular, the fact it's really hard to factor large numbers (probably NP Hard to be specific, but there's no actual proof of that). The Wikipedia page for this is surprisingly easy to read, so I'll just direct you there to read all about it because I've been writing for too long. This algorithm allows Alice and Bob to agree on a secret number, despite Eve being able to read everything they send each other.

Now Alice and Bob have this secret number key, they can talk in private. Alice puts her message and the key into the encryption algorithm and out pops what looks like a load of garbage. She can then send this garbage to Bob without worrying about Eve being able to read it. Bob can then put the garbage and the key into the decryption algorithm to undo the scrambling and get the original message out telling him where the good donuts are. Voila, they're done!

But how does Alice know that she's sending her message to Bob and not Eve? Eve could pretend to be Bob so that Alice does the Diffie-Hellman dance with her instead and sends her the secret location of the good donuts instead.

This is where asymmetric crypto comes in! This is the one with private and public keys, and the one that uses prime numbers.

I'm not 100% across the maths on this one TBH, but it has something to do with group theory. Anyway, just like Diffie-Hellman, it relies on the fact that prime factorisation is hard, and so it does some magic with semi-primes, ie numbers with only 2 prime factors other than 1. Google it if you want to know more. I kinda zoned out of this bit in my security courses. Maths hard

But the effect of that maths is easier to explain: things that are encoded with one of the keys can only be decoded with the other key. This means that one of those keys can be well-known to the public and the other is known only to the person it belongs to.

If Alice wants to send a message to Bob and just Bob, no Eve allowed, she can first look up Bob's public key and encrypt a beginning message with that. Once Bob receives the message, he can decrypt it with his private key and read the contents. Eve can't read the contents though because, even though she has Bob's public key, she doesn't know his private key.

This public key information is what the lock in your browser is all about BTW. It's saying that the website is legit based on the public key they provide.

So why do we need symmetric crypto when we have asymmetric crypto? Seems a lot less hassle to exchange keys with asymmetric crypto.

Well, it's because asymmetric crypto is slooooow. So, in TLS, the security algorithm that puts the "S" in "HTTPS", asymmetric RSA is used to establish the initial connection and figure out what symmetric key to use, and then the rest of the session uses AES symmetric encryption using the agreed secret key.

And there you have it! Crypto in slightly-less-short-but-still-high-enough-level-that-I-hope-you-understand.

Just realised how long this section is. Well, I did call it "too much detail" for a reason.

Now, next question is what exactly is and isn't encrypted using HTTPS.

Well, as I said earlier, it's basically just the source IP:port and the destination IP:port. In fact, this information is actually communicated on the logical layer below the application layer HTTPS is on, known as the transport layer. Again, as I said before, you can't really encrypt this unless you don't want your data to reach the place you want at all.

Also, DNS is unencrypted. A DNS request is a request that turns a domain name, such as tumblr.com, into an IP address, by asking a special server called a Domain Name Server where to find the website you're looking for. A DNS request is made before an HTTP(S) request. Anyone who can read your internet traffic can therefore tell you wanted to go to Tumblr.

But importantly, this only shows the domain name, not the full URL. The rest of the URL, the part after the third slash (the first two slashes being part of http://), is stuff that's interpreted by the server itself and so isn't needed during transport. Therefore, it encrypted and completely unreadable, just like all the content on your page.

I was going to show a Wireshark scan of a web request using HTTP and HTTPS to show you the difference, but this has taken long enough to write as it is, so sorry!

I could probably write more, but it's 1:30am and I'm sleepy. I hope you found some of this interesting and think twice before purchasing a VPN subscription. Again, there are legit good uses for a VPN, but they're not the ones primarily being advertised in VPN ads. It's the fact that VPN ads rely so heavily on false advertising that really grinds my gears and made me want to do this rant. It's especially bad when it comes from somebody I'd think of as technologically competent (naming no names here, but if you've worked in tech and still promote VPNs as a way to keep data safe... no). Feel free to ask questions if you want and hopefully I'll get around to answering any that I feel I know enough to answer.

Nighty night Tumblr. Please update your software. And use a (free) password manager. And enable two factor authentication on all your accounts. But mostly just update your software.

[dimeeasy]

10 Legit Ways to Build Passive Income Online

Whether you are a student looking to make some extra cash, a working professional wanting to build a side hustle, or a corporate escapee and whosoever who is starting to build an online business need to have some cash inflow for the further smooth flow of your business.

There are many sites out there saying make money like $100 a day with surveys, with google sites, etc. Of course, they may make you money for a certain period of time but are not long-term and passive.

You always need to look out for ways to make money that are passive. You need to earn money every month and double it. Here are my top creative ideas to make money online. These real methods have worked in past and will work now and then too.

Freelancing

You would have heard a lot of this from others. But yes, this is the first best way to earn some cash before starting out your business. It will help to get some extra money into your pocket as well as fund a little for your software if you are starting out. You can start freelancing with no investment upfront. It's FREE. You can make money online freelancing.

Don’t worry if you think you don’t have any skills. You can learn small skills by taking a free trial in skillshare. There are tons of gigs people are looking for to get their work done and with the right process, you can make money as a freelancer.

By the year 2027, freelancers are projected to make up the majority of the workforce in the United States, with 50.9% of the working population. In fact, at the current growth rate, it’s estimated that 67.6 million Americans will be freelancing by the end of 2021. That’s 42% of the American workforce! (Website planet).

What are you waiting for? Search in-demand gigs on google keywords and search trends. And yes, patience is the key. You need to wait a few weeks while you get your first gig. Start promoting your services on social media and find your spot.

Starting a Blog

As of 2021, there are more than 570 million blogs on the internet, based on activities reported by WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger, Wix, Squarespace, and Medium (and this number is constantly growing) (firstsiteguide).

Now do not get overwhelmed, the one thing is though blogs are growing rapidly, and so are people reading blogs. Of course, blogs are saturated, but when you niche down and find your audience then you can achieve your space in this sea of bloggers.

Starting a blog, yesterday, today, tomorrow, is possible as long as you are using proper rules, like optimizing your SEO, giving unique content to your readers, and more. But, the best day to start blogging for your profit is today and now.

Let us look at some stats on why you should start your blog today

61% of online shoppers in the US say they made a purchase after getting a recommendation from a blog post

Companies that blog actively have 126% better lead growth

80% of bloggers say that they see positive business results from their blogging efforts

Blogs affect customers’ buying decisions as 47% of them go through 3 to 5 blog posts before the buying process (Firstsiteguide)

Give me a better reason why you should not start a blog after these mind-blowing facts.

You can start a niche blog, review blog, cooking blog, gaming blog, parenting blog, and more. Just write what you know or keep an eye on your competitors and outperform them. And blogging is the best for your long-term passive income.

Starting a YouTube channel

Now as we’ve known how YouTube has evolved to be like a video search engine, the platform has grown considerably and is been growing millions of YouTubers.

Again, let’s talk about some statistics about YouTube. YouTube has 2.3 billion users worldwide.

79 percent of Internet users have their own YouTube account.

YouTube viewers watch over a billion hours of video on the platform every day and generate billions of views. (YouTube, 2021)

YouTube is localized in more than 100 countries and is available in 80 languages. (YouTube, 2021)

Every day people watch one billion hours of video on YouTube (source-Oberlo)

Now, the real question is how to make money out of YouTube? Well, there is enough space for you to sink in. Are you a coach, fitness enthusiastic, a person with good communication, or even just an individual with no skills at all? You can make videos, monetize your YouTube account, and earn from AdSense and affiliate marketing.

Umm! Some people may say that YouTube is not for me. I don’t know how to make and produce videos. I don’t have any skills. Well, I have a solution for that. You can make money from YouTube absolutely by not showing your face at all.

Here are some of the niches you can make videos y not showing your face.

If u do not want to record videos, you can head up to free stock videos or images and give a voice-over and start making content.

If you feel shy to start, you will never get ahead. So, the one thing I want to tell to everyone who is shy to make videos and for my younger self, stop doubting yourself. Just do it, don’t care about criticism, success will follow you

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is when a person earns a commission for referring a product to others. For eg: You register yourself as an affiliate to promote certain products, when the person you promote the product click on your unique affiliate link and purchases through your link you earn a commission. A commission can range for each and every product.

And the affiliate marketing model is the best, safe model for beginners. You can drive traffic for free and for paid as well. You can be an affiliate marketer if you need a passive income, you don’t need to have any other customer support, you can work from home at your own comfort.

Now, how to register as an affiliate. First, think of what do you like the most. What products do you love using? Type the name in google and see whether there is an affiliate program or just see other affiliate programs in your niche. Choose the one you love so that you don’t feel tired and exhausted in the long run.

There are many other sites where you can choose your products from. You can take products from Click bank, Digistore24, Share a Sale, Jvzoo, and similar other platforms.

Here are the best affiliate platforms for you to choose from

How do you want to promote is the next question?

Well, you can create landing pages in click funnels, kartra, or builderall and promote them through ads. If you are on your budget, you could start a blog and promote it. You can write blogs for free on medium.com. It is a cost-effective way to sell your products. You can create a YouTube channel, talk about how you love using those products, and promote them, you could even use Pinterest to promote your blogs and landing pages.

We all know that Pinterest is a visual search engine and no doubt you can get quite a good sale from affiliate marketing in Pinterest

Once you get your first sale and testimonials you can start your Instagram page and build trust with others to promote the products and scale your business.

Instagram Influencer

Do you love making TikTok videos, always want to be active on social media? Then here is your chance to start earning being an Instagram influencer.

You can start by creating content about the topic you want to talk about the most. If creating a YouTube channel feels a bit challenging, grow your audience and monetize them through Instagram. Feel free to talk about what you feel.

Collect your follower's email IDs. Once you become consistent with the audience and platform, the content you are generating makes a digital course or something you think to monetize your people. Giveaway a lot of freebies, checklists, and many other things to lead your audience to the product you are offering. Build trust with them and try to use all of Instagram's available channels. Use carousals, reels, IGTV, go live to show behind the scenes of your work, and more!.

Staying consistent is the key to grow your audience on Instagram.

Starting a T-Shirt Business

Whether you’re an artist, writer, designer, or entrepreneur, physical products can be the perfect canvas for monetizing your creativity. Yes, you heard that right. You can start your own merch for free. Starting an online T-shirt business is booming in this era an why don’t you be one of them. You do not need to hold any inventory, just design your t-shirt online and publish it.

Let me make it clear. So what is print on demand? How to start your free t-shirt business

Print on demand is a process where you work with a supplier to customize white-label products (like baseball hats or tote bags) with your own designs to sell them on a per-order basis under your own brand.

That means you don’t pay for the product until after you’ve actually sold it, so there’s no need to buy in bulk or hold any inventory yourself.

Plus, with print-on-demand services, everything after the sale, from printing to shipping, is handled by your supplier. Once you’ve set everything up, it takes only a few clicks to fulfill an order once you’ve made a sale.

You can use print-on-demand services to:

Test a business idea or new product line for an existing business without the risks that come with buying inventory.

Monetize an audience you’ve built. Printing on demand is a great option if you’re a YouTuber, cartoonist, or social media influencer who wants to spend your time creating content instead of fulfilling orders.

Create original products for a niche of customers. For example, apparel for people who are passionate about gaming.

Easily print one-off items—t-shirts, books, shoes, bags, wall art, phone cases, clocks, laptop skins, mugs, and so much more. You can send these as gifts or keep them for yourself and your team (source-Shopify)

You can get started with print on demand for almost free with teespring, redbubble, printful . Or you can start your online store on Shopify and sell them as a custom branding.

Do not worry if you are not a pro in graphic designing. You can design your t-shirt on canva and paste the design on your t-shirt too. This is a legitimate and easy business for beginners online. You can promote your merch by using SEO, keywords, and various social platforms.

Let's take a look at the print on demand statistics:

This statistic depicts the market value of the custom t-shirt printing market worldwide from 2016 to 2025. In 2016, the global custom t-shirt printing market was valued at 1.16 billion U.S. dollars, and was forecast to reach a value of 3.1 billion U.S. dollars by 2025.

This is insane amount the industry is making from print-on-demand only.

COVID-19 impact Fabric face mask accounted for 11.14% of all goods sold through Printify in September 2020. (Printify)

A 2020 survey revealed that about 96% of millennials and Gen Z have concerns about how the ongoing pandemic will impact the economy. (BigCommerce)

With more people staying at home and focusing on home improvement projects, the Home & Living category is on the rise, with the first 6 months of 2020 seeing a 243.77% growth. Both canvas gallery wraps (2.19%) and premium vertical posters (1.35%) are in TOP15 products sold by Printify merchants. (Printify)

According to Merkle’s report in 2020, roughly 79% of consumers plan to be more conservative with how much they will spend shopping online during the pandemic. (Merkle)

In the first 6 months of 2020, Printify monthly active users have grown by 69%, with registrations up 39%. (Printify)

62% of sellers in the United Kingdom changed their marketing plan because of the pandemic. Moreover, only 14 percent of businesses have decided to stick with their original marketing strategy for 2020. (Statista) ( All sources- Printify) Read more at: https://printify.com/ecommerce-statistics/ And these are just stats alone. Don’t wait now. Start your print-on-demand business right away.

Online Tutoring

Again, online tutoring is gaining massive demand in this digital age. During the pandemic the online tutoring business was a boom and it will be more in the coming years. Just teach people what you know. There are many people in this world who want to learn and are ready to pay for it.

Whether you know to speak English, or drawing, graphic designing, marketing, business, or anything that matters, turn your own skill into a business

You can tutor in paid platforms like cambly, Oakary, iTutor, or just start teaching in YouTube and create tour own course and sell it. You can create courses and teach in udemy too. People all over the world are searching to learn skills and may be you can teach them what you know and monetize your skills.

Amazon KDP [ Selling E-books and low content books ]

As I told you print on demand is a big thing and so does amazon KDP is too. What is KDP? Amazon KDP is nothing but kindle direct publishing. KDP allows you to self-publish eBooks and paperbacks for free. Amazon gives you direct access to your book on Amazon and allows you to create a product detail page for your book. It also gives you the option to expand your book’s availability on a global scale, making it more accessible for readers around the world. Publishing with KDP gives you full rights to your book, which is not something a traditional publishing house typically allows.

What types of content can I publish through KDP?

KDP allows you to publish eBooks (Kindle) and paperback books. However, KDP does not allow the creation of magazines, periodicals, or spiral-bound books.

Content types typically published using KDP include but are not limited to the following:

Novels

Book Series

Children’s Books

Comics

Cookbooks

Journals

Poetry

Textbooks (source: amazon.com)

Selling Photography

Are you a photographer? Are you making enough money? If no then this will help you , if yes you are gonna make an extra dime.

You can sell your beautiful photos on Getty Images, Pexels, Shutterstock, Adobe Stock and many more sites and earn money whenever your image is downloaded. If it is a subscription-based site then your earnings will be more. You can post your beautiful images on Instagram and become famous. Ultimately you can collaborate with various brands for their product photography.

If your camera is lying there near you, take it and start clicking pictures and sell your photos online.

Selling on Etsy

Etsy is an online market place that works as an intermediary between customers and artists, crafters of handmade items or collectors of vintage products. The company engages in customer to customer (C2C) or peer to peer (P2P) e-commerce in which both the seller and the buyer are private individuals or micro-businesses. This is in contrast to other forms of internet commerce such as B2C or B2B (source: Statista).

Let's head to our facts about how profitable it is to sell on Etsy

Etsy had over 2.5 million sellers at the end of 2019, and we can only expect that this number has increased.

Etsy sellers live all over the world, in 234 countries

62% of Etsy sellers are based in the US.

California is home to the most Etsy sellers with 14% of US-based Etsy shops. (credits: veeqo)

Etsy is a huge commerce platform, with an especially strong US presence. Plus, the fact that most sellers are multi-channel retailers—and also selling their products on marketplaces like Amazon and Shopify sites—suggests that the platform isn’t just for amateur makers. It’s for eCommerce businesses.

So if you’re already selling handmade or vintage products on another platform, it’s worth it to expand and start selling on Etsy.

If you’re starting a business, it’s important to run the numbers before setting up shop—or at least quitting your day job. Etsy does have associated costs, though it’s worth noting that the listing and transaction fees are lower than other platforms, like Amazon and eBay. (cre: veeqo)

So, if you can start your print on demand you can sell it on Etsy too. If you are good at handicrafts Etsy is the best place to promote.

Conclusion

So here are the top 10 ways where in you can make legitimate money online. You can try all these methods one by one. Well, everyone will look for quick methods to make money online, but those won’t suffice for long run.

If you should build a strong business online you need to stay consistent no matter what. Staying consistent will help audience grow along with you on your journey to make money online. For beginners starting out these methods will help you in starting out to make a dime or two.

One thing I need to make particular is you will not see results instantly. You need to try and try, keep on trying. Whether it is 2 weeks, 1 month or 3 months, you should not stop. Keep up that grind and let’s start the digital lifestyle. Start by making money online fore free with these methods and start investing in ads and make the business run for you in long run.

[undertale-data]

[Image Description: An Undertale chat box that has “WHY FANS LOVE UNDERTALE” at its center. Next to it are a line chart and an Egg from the Dating Hub on its left, and a CRIME measurer (also from the Dating Hub) on its right. End I.D.]

[Image Description: a pie chart titled, “LEVEL OF LOVE FOR UNDERTALE.” The textbox on the top right reads, “On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the least and 10 being the highest, how much do fans enjoy Undertale?” From the top going clockwise, 12 or 0% chose 5 and below; 23 or 1% chose 6; 98, or 4%, chose 7; 325, or 12%, chose 8; 529, or 20%, chose 9; and 1664, or 63%, chose 10. End I.D.]

It’s clear from all of the data analyzed so far that fans who took the time to answer our survey love Undertale. It is unlikely that they would have taken the time to answer so many questions if they had not, and even less likely that they would have come across our survey in the first place. Naturally, it comes as no surprise that 63% of our responders gave their love for Undertale a score of ten out of ten. 95% gave their love for Undertale a score of eight or higher, and only 12 responders responded with five or below, a number so small that their responses had to be lumped together to be visible on the pie chart. Of those, only 3 responders gave their love for Undertale a score of 1, and based on those responders’ other answers, it is likely that they were only intending to troll. We are very fortunate that the vast majority of responders took the survey seriously, enough so that responses like this are barely a blip in the data.

Now, for our final analysis post of the event, we will delve into the reasons that fans love Undertale so dearly.

(Essay and highlights under the cut.)

There have been countless essays on the impact that Undertale has had on people’s lives. I can hardly add more on the subject than what has already been said, but I hope this summary can provide a brief overview of what stood out among the over two thousand answers given in response to this survey. That said, due to the sheer volume of answers, I could not read every single one in depth—however, I did skim all of them, and some that stood out or were representative of several responses have been highlighted below. If you would like to see what every fan who consented to share their response had to say, you may view the full list of responses here. Note that these responses have not been edited in any way. This document may take a long time to load, as it is over 100 pages long.

(Warnings for mentions of suicidal thoughts in the following essay.)

Several responders loved the theme of choices mattering in Undertale. Whether people played the pacifist, merciless, or neutral routes, they enjoyed how the game reacted to their actions. For some, it even made them consider their own morality. One touching response explained the impact that the theme of mercy made on them. “I realized that Mercy isn't something that's given to those who deserve it. Flowey didn't deserve it. I don't deserve it myself. Shoot, we ALL need Mercy in our lives.” Many fans left similar comments about how the themes of Undertale made them better people.

Undertale changed how its fans treat others, and it also changed how fans treat themselves. The theme of staying determined and the messages of hope in the game were a light to a very large portion of fans. I cannot list all of the fans who said that Undertale helped them out of a dark place, or that they would not be alive if not for Undertale. “DETERMINATION became a metaphor for not killing myself at a really rough time in my life and I’ll always cherish that. Undertale isn’t afraid to go to really dark places but at the same time holds on so tight to its hope.”

Undertale brought fans together in unexpected ways. Some said they met friends or significant others through the fandom. “I wouldn't have met my now husband without Undertale,” one fan said. A different fan who is non-native English speaking mentioned that the game and the fan community helped them to learn English.

It would be impossible to discuss Undertale without mentioning the fan community. Whether for good or bad, many responders mentioned the fandom in their responses. Overall the feelings towards the fandom seem positive, though many made references to “toxic” parts of the fandom without specifying which parts they consider toxic. Others rejected the idea of toxicity in fandom. One response said: “[SLAMS FIST ON DESK] I KNOW MOST PEOPLE SAY THE FANDOM IS TOXIC AND CRINGE OR WHATEVER BUT OH MY GOD. The Undertale fandom, both the UTMV and the actual UT fandom, has been so much fun to be a part of. I've met countless friends because of our shared interest in something related to the game! The art people create can be breathtaking and so inspirational, and the fanfics are so so good!! I've seen people write incredible things for this fandom and it's what made me continue writing!”

One thing that makes the Undertale fandom unique is the way it embraces various AUs. Some fans are tired of AU content, but the majority of responses show a love for the creativity behind AUs. “Roll your eyes at the 50th AU Sans all you want, it's encouraging people to step outside the boundaries of fanart and pushing people to make their own ideas! I mean, hell, it was how I gained the confidence to start making my own original content.” The lack of a judgemental atmosphere seems present in the AU community, according to the responses we saw. There is an interesting balance between AU and canon (sometimes referred to as “classic”) content that another responder pointed out: “The fandom helped keep the game alive all these years, with all of its AUs. Although personally, I always enjoyed AUs that kept characters as close to the classic material as possible (dancetale, outertale) I do appreciate the creativity of the fandom. They almost created entirely new stories with new characters of their own! If it weren't for those people, the Undertale fandom would have probably not been as active as it is now. I do feel like we're getting a resurgence of classic content now too! (In 2021)”

Regardless of the many AUs the fandom has created over the years, the original game of Undertale still feels like home for many fans. They wished they could reclaim the feeling of playing the game again for the first time, but even though we can’t reset time in real life, there is still a special feeling for fans each time they play Undertale. One fan said, “Even the best fics I've read can't capture that feeling of nostalgia/almost-"coming home" that comes with hearing the music and talking to the characters.” This feeling is one that can be cherished time and time again. In the words of another responder: “It always feels welcoming like home or like comfort food that I never grow tired of no matter how many times I go to it.” Others pointed out the strength of the found family trope in Undertale, which likely contributes to this feeling of “home” as well.

As mentioned briefly earlier, the music is part of what makes Undertale feel like home for fans. Even when responses focused on other aspects of the game, many would throw in a comment about the soundtrack at the end. One comment focused on the music said “IT'S SO GOOD like I will literally go through the entire thing over and over and not be bored with it. It makes my monkey brain so happy you have no idea.” Like with the game itself, the music has incredible replay value, an amazing feat considering most of the tracks use the same few motifs. “I think what I like the most about Undertale is how the music attaches you to the story,” another responder said. “They're simple melodies that stick with you throughout the whole game, and they can remind you of both good and bad times.”

If the music sticks with fans in their hearts, then the game’s lore sticks with fans in their minds. Even six years after the release of Undertale, fans are still creating new theories and digging up new secrets. The way the game breaks the fourth wall in particular intrigued many fans and has stuck out through all these years. The awareness that the game shows for the RPG genre makes it memorable. The game plays with the player’s expectations and turns them on their heads, all while reminding the player that they’re in a game. There are few other games that do this on such a large scale, so it’s no surprise that fans cite this as one of their favorite things about Undertale.

Lastly, the LGBT+ representation in Undertale has been a huge draw for fans. Especially in 2015, the sheer volume of non-cishet characters was unprecedented, as one fan pointed out: “It's practically unheard of to see so MANY from just one source, especially during its heyday in 2015-16. Hell, you can't even GET the true pacifist ending without helping two gay couples hook up. It's really nice to see all of them being accepted for who they are and not judged for their sexuality or gender, at least in-canon.” The LGBT+ cast including Frisk, Chara, Napstablook, Monster Kid, Mettaton, Alphys, and Undyne each connected with fans in unique ways. It’s clear how important this is from responses such as: “There are canon nonbinary characters 🥺. i have never seen representation of myself before.” “It made me gay and trans so thanks for that.”

Once again I am overwhelmed with just how much there is to say about Undertale. One responder really understood when they compared Undertale to an iceberg, explaining that there are so many layers to the game that there is something for everyone: “everyone can find something to enjoy in the lore/game regardless of what kind of fan they are! Being able to appeal to various types of fans—from simple happy shipper people to deep dive lorediggers—is the mark of the coolest games!” I would have to agree with them.

It’s been six years, and despite everything, it’s still you. Thank you for reading, participating in this survey, and above all, staying determined.

Highlights:

DETERMINATION became a metaphor for not killing myself at a really rough time in my life and I’ll always cherish that. Undertale isn’t afraid to go to really dark places but at the same time holds on so tight to its hope.

I think the coolest thing was having the opportunity to watch the AU community grow from its bare roots. It's nearly insane how big and complex it's gotten, unlike anything I'd ever seen before. Roll your eyes at the 50th AU Sans all you want, it's encouraging people to step outside the boundaries of fanart and pushing people to make their own ideas! I mean, hell, it was how I gained the confidence to start making my own original content.

i love how the lgbt rep is so naturalized... there are just gay people! and its nobodys business!

The music is my go to answer, but what I really really REALLY love is how the minor characters have so much personality to them when you talk to them. They aren't incredibly important to the overall story, but they're all so likeable and diverse that you just can't help but like them immediately!

I think it was the first videogame I have played that broke the fourth wall that much. Of course there has been other videogames that broke it but just for one or two tongue-in-cheek jokes. The guilt of killing mama goat was also something intense as well that I appreciated as an experience and that I didn't think a videogame could cause on someone.

I love how no character can be seen as completely bad! Everyone builds up Asgore as some horrible villain, but he turns out to be a 'fuzzy pushover' who's broken and just wants his family back by the time you meet him. Then you think Flowey's an irredeemable killer who engineered the suffering of the monsters across many timelines, and he is... but he also used to be the kind and beloved Prince Asriel Dreemurr, traumatized by his death and subsequent rebirth, projecting his best friend onto you.

The fact that choices matter in the game. Your first playthrough and getting the golden ending for the first time. I can never replicate those feelings again, wish I could erase my memories and replay the game from the start.

I wouldn't have met my now husband without Undertale.

(Toxic parts of the fandom aside) The community is possibly one of the kindest I've ever met. Cringe culture is completely dead, and I feel like I can be myself. I felt a very close connection to many of the characters, and I loved consuming content about them when I was in a rough patch in my life.

just everything, the whole game has just impacted my life so much. i know it sounds really lame, but when the game first came out, i would purposely put my hands in my pockets and sway slightly, like sans' idle animation. of course i dont do that anymore haha, but undertale still really impacts me to this day, and i wouldnt have it any other way :)

it made me gay and trans so thanks for that

I realized that Mercy isn't something that's given to those who deserve it. Flowey didn't deserve it. I don't deserve it myself. Shoot, we ALL need Mercy in our lives.

The thing I love most about Undertale is no matter how many times I play or watch a playthrough it always makes me genuinely happy. It always feels welcoming like home or like comfort food that I never grow tired of no matter how many times I go to it. Toriel still makes me feel all warm and cozy in her home, the Skelebros always make me laugh, and I still cry on the inside watching Frisk comforting Asriel. And on the flip side the No Mercy run still invokes the negative emotions in me as well. In short Undertale just feels like a second home to me and I always wish I could stay.

The reader inserts are my favorite way to decompress after a hard day

I think Undertale helped me discover my love for 8-bit games, and made me realize how IMPORTANT music is in video games.

the worldbuilding and character design are my favorite parts of the main game apart from the music! I’m also a huge fan of the random AU music- not for like underswap or underfell i like the stuff where someone makes a megalovania for a random au where gru from despicable me replaces sans as the character. i think its funny

Just... the vibe, honestly? Even the best fics I've read can't capture that feeling of nostalgia/almost-"coming home" that comes with hearing the music and talking to the characters.

there are canon nonbinary characters 🥺. i have never seen representation of myself before.

[SLAMS FIST ON DESK] I KNOW MOST PEOPLE SAY THE FANDOM IS TOXIC AND CRINGE OR WHATEVER BUT OH MY GOD. The Undertale fandom, both the UTMV and the actual UT fandom, has been so much fun to be a part of. I've met countless friends because of our shared interest in something related to the game! The art people create can be breathtaking and so inspirational, and the fanfics are so so good!! I've seen people write incredible things for this fandom and it's what made me continue writing!

There's a scene where Frisk (the player) is going towards what is presumably going to be their death. They will fight Asgore and he will use their human soul to break the barrier and free his people. The music, despite the player's impending doom, is... triumphant. You are not the triumphant one here, and yet, the score invites you to experience the monsters' joy and happiness as they tell you the tale of their subjugation. The monsters are going to be free. This is their victory, but they don't hate you or want you to die. They're just... happy. That scene has always struck me very deeply. I feel it represents the best parts of Undertale.

I loved how well thought out the Geno route was. It really made me feel like I was doing something horrible, and the characters were very obviously reacting to dire circumstances.

I dunno? I like Undertale for it's characters, story, music, secrets and many more. I am not good with Headcanons but I also like the neutral endings and how different they can depending on who you spare and kill

I was very bad at english before, i thought i couldn't progress because i was very shy and not confident. But my sibling and i wanted to have the best experience with this game so we wanted to play it in english. It's this game and the fandom which helped me to make huge progress in english !

THE SOUNDTRACK. IT'S SO GOOD like I will literally go through the entire thing over and over and not be bored with it. It makes my monkey brain so happy you have no idea.

to avoid writing an essay i will say one word. Mettaton

It is like Toby specifically made the games to fit the iceberg meme and it's awesome, everyone can find something to enjoy in the lore/game regardless of what kind of fan they are! Being able to appeal to various types of fans - from simple happy shipper people to deep dive lorediggers is the mark of the coolest games!

I love almost everything about Undertale as a game on its own. The music, the art and especially the characters and how they interact. They made me feel at home. Undertale means a huge amount to me. (I even got a tattoo of the castle when you and MK walk together!) The fandom helped keep the game alive all these years, with all of its AUs. Although personally, I always enjoyed AUs that kept characters as close to the classic material as possible (dancetale, outertale) I do appreciate the creativity of the fandom. They almost created entirely new stories with new characters of their own! If it weren't for those people, the Undertake fandom would have probably not been as active as it is now. I do feel like we're getting a resurgence of classic content now too! (In 2021)

the mystery. toby fox refused to give answers to anything and i think thats very sexy of him.

I just feel guilty for liking it so much when I'm in my 30's. But I recently got diagnosed with ASD, so I guess it explains things a bit. Many ppl consider Papyrus to be neurodivergent, and some adult fans are too, so seeing that makes me feel a bit better.

i think about "Despite everything, it's still you" everyday of my life.

I like how it's just as funny as it can be serious. All routes are this way. I laughed as much as I cried when I played the Pacifist route and then once I opened the game again and Flowey was telling me to let them be happy, I immediately turned off the game. I somehow felt bad.

The Found Family Trope

The True Pacifist Ending is just...man. And the fanworks about saving everyone even when the game doesn't let you? MANNNNNN

I think what I like the most about Undertale is how the music attaches you to the story. They're simple melodies that stick with you throughout the whole game, and they can remind you of both good and bad times.

there's honestly a LOT to love about this game, but i think one of my favorite things about it is just how many lgbt+ characters there are??? i can think of alphys, undyne, frisk, chara, mettaton, napstablook, monster kid, asgore, mad mew mew, the dress lion, the royal guards, and arguably even papyrus off of the top of my head, but im sure i'm forgetting a few from just undertale alone (there's even MORE in deltarune)!! it's practically unheard of to see so MANY from just one source, especially during its heyday in 2015-16. hell, you can't even GET the true pacifist ending without helping two gay couples hook up. it's really nice to see all of them being accepted for who they are and not judged for their sexuality or gender, at least in-canon.

[Image description: A wordcloud in the shape of the capitalized word UNDERTALE. The text is white on a black background, and uses the font found in the game. Some of the most visible words are: Game, Love, Music, Life, AU, Store, Friend, and Feel, which represent the most common words in the essays people wrote about their love for the game. End of ID]