#i say new sketch like this isn't weeks old

[anpiels]

Kazuma Asogay and Ryunosugay Naruhomo.........

(guy who never finishes art) hey guys check out this new sketch that i definitely didn't forget to put Karuma on at first

[inexplicifics]

Hiya! I was wondering if you’d been having any luck making the Cats Among Wolves bunnies cooperate lately? If not, that’s cool. Plot bunnies are not the most cooperative creatures, but I figured I’d ask. I was also curious about what the writing process usually looks like for you if you were willing to explain it a bit. Do you tend to jump around between projects just following the inspiration, or do you write out at least a whole scene or chapter before letting yourself move around? How many times do you usually send a fic to Rose for betaing before you feel ready to release it? I always find different people’s processes so interesting.

So Cats Among Wolves is mostly not cooperating at the moment - I am weirdly low on Brain and the bunnies are not doing long-form very well just now. But here's a snippet from the Cedric & Axel fic:

Fuck, this is good, Cedric opines, sipping greedily at the soup Gaetan is holding for him. “The old Wolf knows his way around a kitchen,” Gaetan agrees, nodding. “I think I gained most of a stone the first winter I spent here.” “You needed it,” Eskel puts in. “All you Cats are too damn scrawny.” “Wolves are just absurdly big,” Gaetan sniffs. “And what are Vipers, then?” Eskel - teases. And Gaetan is grinning. Axel has never seen Gaetan so relaxed around an alpha before. Not even Cedric. But there’s not even a hint of tension in his littlest brother. He’s utterly unafraid. “Vipers are mostly perfectly normal sizes, Letho’s just special,” Gaetan says cheerfully. Letho smirks.

As to my writing process - oh gods, it's like a pogo stick. I often have eight or ten docs open, and I create a new WIP at least three times a week. (I am very easy to plotbunny. And I am surrounded by enablers.) I write until I get stuck and then I go to something else. Sometimes, if something really grabs me, I can get a whole longfic out in a week; sometimes I have to come back to it again and again until it clicks. My personal feeling is that as long as words are ending up in a row, it's all good.

I don't outline. Outlines kill fic for me. Once I've written down what's going to happen, why bother writing it again? Even for something like MBtT, I had the very loosest possible sketch of the plot and the desired relationships. I also can't estimate how long a fic is going to be to save my life. I thought MBtT was going to be 50K. I have to very deliberately keep from putting plot into things like prompt fills and flash fics, because once I've added plot, that fic isn't getting done in less than 10K.

I usually send the fic to Rose when it's completely done, and then do a pass through it once she's left comments, fixing all the plot holes she finds. Then she checks my work and I put it in the posting queue.

One thing I have found that helps me is that I color-code my docs. Blue is in progress, purple is ready for beta, and green is ready to be posted. It makes it easier for me to track things visually.

The other thing that really helps is cheer-readers. Because I try to only post finished fics, sometimes I'll start wondering if what I'm writing is really any good. Rose and Twist and Ray have all been wonderful at Encouraging me enthusiastically to keep going, and suggesting directions when I get stuck. Cheer-readers are great and I encourage writers to find them if they can.

Hope that was interesting!

[raayllum]

a/n: sometimes i don't realize how much my autism has affected my life / relationships and then it slams into me. a ficlet

It's been an hour since the spat at negotiations, for lack of a better term—Opeli still winces when she thinks of the sharpness in the young prince's voice, straightening out his Evenere green robes with a finicky flourish—and Ezran had requested to be alone for the break.

Opeli had obliged him, not pleased he'd wanted distance from even Soren and Corvus when they had visiting nobles and servants over, but so long as they stood guard at wherever he'd gone, she couldn't really find it in her to object. Being king could be overwhelming even if you weren't eleven years old.

It's nearing the time negotiations will re-commence, though, and... she can't find him.

He's not in the kitchens, or one of the smaller dining halls he likes to use with Soren and Corvus. He's not with Callum, who went to the courtyard to sketch, a worried crease in his brow (he'd checked on his brother—you alright, Ez?—talked down the prince, but Ez had shooed him off).

Opeli is beginning to despair that maybe he's run off into one of the remaining secret passageways, or even gotten stuck somewhere, when she spots Soren and Corvus standing in front of the library doors. Corvus seems as troubled as Callum, Soren catching her eye and arm when she moves to go inside.

"I think he's having a rough time," Soren says softly. "You might wanna..."

"I don't know if we can delay the next meeting any further," Opeli says apologetically. He releases her, nodding but unhappy about it, and she pushes open the door.

It takes a few moments, peering through the tall aisles of shelves and one or two alcoves, but eventually she finds the young boy king in one of the armchairs tucked away in a corner, a book open in his lap. And in truth, Opeli hears him before she sees him, because Ezran is... crying.

Big fat tears rolling down his cheeks in ways she hasn't seen since they completed King Harrow's memorial statue based off Prince Callum's sketches, or since those early, overwhelming weeks of being king once the Moonshadow elf had left... Bait's not in his lap either, pawing at his thigh but otherwise ignored, which isn't like Ezran either; so much so, Opeli stops right in her tracks.

"I'm, er—" She starts, then stops. He's clearly not okay so there's no point in asking. She eases onto her knees instead beside his armchair, unsure of how to proceed until she knows what's distressing him. It's not far from the anniversary of the attack, so maybe...? "I'm afraid the meeting is going to resume, soon, King Ezran."

He sniffles, looking briefly at her and then just starting at the floor, his eyes hardening. He doesn't move. He doesn't even wipe away his tears.

She purses her lips. "Ezran?"

Finally he looks at her, his face contorting—livid like she's never seen. "I don't know how to do this, Opeli."

"King Ezr—"

"Prince Erik asked for more information, so I gave it, and then he snapped at me and—I just don't understand!" Ezran cries, tiny fingers curling into fists. His eyes go wide with frustration, searching for something he can't find. "I don't get it. We've always had these trade deals and they worked fine, and this new one is the exact same, but now the policy's a problem? And when I pointed out it's just like the old ones, he said it just feels like Evenere needs something different even though those things are there for a reason—and no one cares about the reason but me!"

Opeli reaches for his arm. "Ezran—"

He stands, pacing. "And then when I explain those reasons, it's like... I knew as a kid the other kids didn't like me because I talked too much, and I was boring about wanting to talk about bugs or animals, or—so I just... I tried so hard to use less words and always say what I mean, but people still didn't get it, or like it." He pressed his palms to his eyes, tears leaking out underneath. "And it's the same damn thing in court, I don't—at the last Summit, Prince Erik didn't mind how much I talked because we were agreeing on policy, but now that we disagree I-I can't, for some reason? I'm just trying to explain, but he thinks I'm being condescending, but I don't think I'm smarter than him, I don't, I try so hard to say things right and I just don't know how —"

"Ezran." She takes him by the shoulders and he looks up at her, red-eyed with a runny nose. She takes a deep breath for her own measure, reaching up to wipe away some of his tears. "The prince, as many do, have an ego. You are doing your—"

"Well yeah, some people are jerks like him. But most people aren't, and I still can't... Why can't people just know you value them? Why do I have to remember to spell it out every time? Why do I have to read their mind and know what they need without them telling me? If I'm listening it's because I think we can reach common ground... Because the respect is already there. And I try so hard to explain so we can just reach common ground, but people just—they don't see that. And I don't know how to make them see that. I came up here to read hoping I'd find something so I can understand where His Highness is coming from, but it still doesn't make sense to me, and... I'm so tired, Opeli."

Gods, she wishes she had a better answer for him. She gives his shoulders a tiny squeeze, and then reaches up and takes off his crown. "Go to the gardens for the rest of the day," she says. "With your crownguard, or your brother, or both. Down by the town. I'll tell the prince and his delegates you're not feeling well."

Ezran's eyes shine as she presses the crown into his hands. "But—"

"No buts. It's like you said: you're tired. You deserve rest." Opeli offers up a tiny smile. "Go on."

Ezran steps away, bottom lip trembling, and then throws his arms tightly around her in the middle. They've never hugged before, she thinks, but she hugs him back now, rubbing his shoulders gently.

"Thank you, Opeli," he mumbles, some of the last tears fading. "'M sorry I'm so..."

She shushes him quietly. "You're a very special boy, my king. Not everyone is going to understand that. And I know it hurts, but not everyone needs to. Just keep... being yourself. We all love you here. You know that, don't you?"

He pulls back slowly, not smiling, but not looking nearly as worn down as before. He tucks his crown under one arm, and picks up Bait with the other. He has one last big sniffle. "Yes. I do."

[artificial-transmutations]

Transformation Letter: Dian

Hello. My name is Dian and I wouldn't mind transforming into anything or anyone. I'm an single 38 bisexual teacher, whom works out twice per week. My students would most likely describe me as the boring brown math teacher with the medium length black hair.

It wouldn't be right to say that today it is your favorite day of the year. To be honest, it's not even clear if you even have a favorite day of the year, at least regarding to your job.

Not anymore, at least. With your 38 years, you are teaching math for over ten years now. Ten years of reiterating the same and same again to your students. It is what people describe one of the biggest boons of teaching math: The subject never changes. While your colleagues have to integrate some new events or discoveries into their lessons every now and then, math never changes.

So, why is today one of the days you look most forward to? Because it's time for curve sketching again. This is both the subject you discovered your passion for math with and the point in the curriculum where you can see clearly which students are able to grasp the concepts of math - and which are too dumb.

Still, calling that one of your highlights sheds a sorry light on your academic career. Becoming a teacher *seemed* like a good idea, but the truth is that the endless repetitions are mind-numbingly dumb. You could have gotten a research job at university, but you decided to become a teacher. Ever since, every day is the same, every week, every year. Everything is on repeat. Teaching, driving home, working out twice a week, like a clockwork, summer holidays, winter holidays, one and the same.

You shake away the thought and sigh before entering your classroom and begin your lesson. You have the feeling you will lose half of your students today, intellectually, but you can hardly feel sorry. Math in school isn't hard. There is no reason for anyone not to get it.

So, you drone on and slowly approach one of the central milestones of the subject.

"And, as h approaches zero, we narrow in to the slope of the curve on that singular value for x. That is what we call a dancing quotient."

You look into the confused faces of your students. What did you just say? No, this is wrong. You try again.

"Sorry. The diffuse quo..." You trail off. Something is not quite right with you. You should know the word for that... thing. You look at the blackboard again. A big line with letters above and below, some arrows and a drawing of some curve. If you are honest, you don't understand fuck about all that. Weren't you supposed to teach math? Where are the numbers? What are letters doing in math.

"Is everything alright, Sir?" one of your students asks. Something else is wrong. When you look at your hand holding the chalk, it is way darker than it is supposed to look.

"Excuse me..." you mumble, surprised how deep your voice sounds. You exit the classroom and head towards the nearest bathroom, almost running.

The world seems wrong, too. It's like you’re looking at it from way too high. When you finally arrive and look at the mirror, you notice that your clothes are tight and constricting. Looking back from the mirror is another man, not the 38 year old math teacher you are used seeing every morning. The face looking back at you is younger, twenty-something. And it is Black, African American heritage, definitely. You can see your medium length black hair receding into your scalp, leaving you with the shortest buzz cut, as your nostrils become wider.

Not just your face changed! Your muscles grow and your shoulders expand, bringing your clothes that are riding high close to the breaking point. They don't break, however, but reform into a simple work uniform, covering your massive black body. At your groin, you can see the ample bulge of your dick and it makes you smile contently. You might not be the smartest, but you sure are both the strongest and best endowed man around here.

You give the mirror one last wipe and begin to clean the toilets with the janitorial equipment in your cart. Being a janitor in school is good work and doesn't require much of an education. That's why you even clean the toilets happily. However, it doesn't really pay well, either, so, recently you have gotten a second job as a bouncer in front of a gay club.

You don't mind the club visitors ogling your body or touching it from time to time, so the combination of both jobs makes for a diverse and eventful life! The strange letter you sent two weeks ago is already well forgotten.

Another one of those Transformation Letters. You, too can send one, over at my riot page!

[verdemoun]

jumping ahead in the timeswap au because i am the captain personally i headcanon jack not making it to 20. i think life had well and truly defeated him and he was too tired to keep running, and he ended up hanged for ross's murder.

side tangent a) imagine the emotional devastation the VDLs in modern era would feel reading that. there's a grainy photo/sketch and they can almost tell what jack looks like, how much he looks like john, how old he already looks at 19, and then there's the noose sitting on his shoulders waiting for the trapdoor to be pulled. the article portrays ross as a poor elderly man of honor killed by jack marston, outlaw, a dangerous sociopath

side tangent b) john and jack being reunited. john really struggling not to be angry because he wanted/expected so much better for jack: knowing he was never an ideal father (or even a good father) but how much he didn't want his son to be like him, how clear he had been to never become an outlaw. then, the grief. it's only been 3 years but being able to see how much those three years have changed jack, physically and mentally, just by the way he carries himself and that dead, destroyed look in his eyes. jack struggling not to be angry for a lot of the same reasons because at 16 he was left taking care of abigail as heartbreak and illness killed her, and a ranch they could barely take care of together. jack realising his mom, dad and little sister got to play happy family in current day without him.

well now that that's out of the way: dues-ex-isaac morgan

isaac morgan deciding jack marston is his personal responsibility. sure, the whole recipe of staying in a house for a few weeks slowly learning about the current day slowly works for most VDLs, but isaac understands that not only is jack 19 (a teenager) but the culture shock isn't quite as severe going from 1914 as it was 1899.

isaac throws rocks at the window until jack sneaks out his first night in modern day. he forces a helmet onto his head and gives a vague warning that 'it's going to be faster than a horse', before setting off at very illegal speeds on his motorbike

jack immediately loves it. it's very much what he needed: the adrenaline, feeling like he's rebelling, seeing the chrome and crowds of city as a blur become more and more recognizable in outdated suburbs until they're pushing 100mph on the highway

isaac strategically takes him out to the desert, because the desert really hasn't changed that much, and pulls out a bottle of whiskey. they lay down and trauma-bond about how fucked their lives have been (isaac, who experienced the timewarp like a child moving house and had to teach things to his 19th century mother, jack, who grew up in the chaos of the VDL gang with his mother as the only constant: deadbeat dads taken to the metaphorical extreme).

'there's only two things you really need to know: you can't buy alcohol until you're 21 and cigarettes are actually really bad for you' 'cigarettes are BAD??????'

isaac introduces him to cliche teenage emo music through a dodgy bluetooth speaker. jack marston actually listens to music for the first time

arthur getting a frantic phone call from john saying jack snuck out

charles offering to help track them down, because they immediately know isaac is involved

charles and arthur finding a drunk isaac and jack air guitaring to mcr in the middle of the desert

isaac and jack are instant best friends. instead of the coddling most of the gang do when something is new and initially intimidating, isaac laughs at him and it's honestly more comforting. like yeah, traffic lights take a hot second, but jack does feel dumb for not realising that the changing lights and loud beeping meant it was time to walk/run.

isaac literally doesn't hold his hand unless he has to, meanwhile jack has had months of living alone as an outlaw in 1914. they balance each other out in the worst ways. isaac will say they shouldn't walk through a dark alley and jack is like pfft if someone tries to mug us i can take them

their hangouts go from jack bookworm marston helping isaac study at college to isaac being the one calling his dad because 'heeey we might be in jail' in 3 hours. all parental figures involved are going grey with stress

[extra-vertebrae]

Hello! I followed u an eon ago on a different account, and am so excited to see ur art come up on my feed again. Idk if this is the best place to send this; Id feel awkward sending a whole email for this and I dont have a twitter anymore (dumpster fire.) i love all ur designs, but I keep coming back to ur pokemon ones. I’m so fond of them. It makes me want to experiment w body horror art.

I know ppl have sent u mean-spirited asks in the past abt them. I just want to say: I went thru ur old art and said a variation of “aww, a cutie!” Or “oh, poor babyyy :(“ in the occasion that their breeding has created things like chronic pain. At no point was I thinking. Idk, they were ugly or mean (to the pokemon franchise)? To me, ppl like that just have bad taste 🤷🏽‍♀️

I do wanna see more of ur original stuff, certainly! Im just being nostalgic rn.

Thank you so much for your message! I'm glad you still enjoy those old designs, and that they're inspiring you to give body horror themes a try!

Thankfully most of those types of messages are gone, though I'm sure my lack activity in the Pokemon space since then has probably helped a lot in this regard.

Haha, I still find a lot of them pretty cute, too. There's some good design shapes and ideas in some of those older pieces that maybe I can recycle and refine or develop into something new someday.

I definitely would like to share more original work; I'm going through a sort of transitional phase with my art at the moment, so there isn't much to share that I legitimately feel like posting. I can, however, share this lineup of vehicular characters that were sketched up some weeks ago for Funky Town:

I've always had a general appreciation for mechanical shapes and design; I've learned that that general appreciation runs deeper than anticipated, so hard surface focused / adjacent design has been where my mind has been at recently.

[rapid-artwork]

After honing my cartoon-ing skills a bit further, I've moved on to making some new characters for a secret project. Studying the Cartoon Network™ style has paid off.

Names subject to chance, but for now let's meet Charlie and Penny.

Charlie (Lee to his friends, Charlie to his teachers, Charles to his parents whenever he is in trouble.) He is the ultimate big brother. He just turned 13 and is convinced that he is the coolest person to ever exist. He even has his own Palm Pilot Handi-Man™ 20X6! He definitely didn't steal it from his dad's office, so don't even ask!

His RCA-Lyra Portable Music Player™ is filled to capacity with all the hottest MP3s. (Literally just the Kingdom Hearts OST and nothing else.) He knows all the cheat codes to every Sega Dreamcast game, and just last week he got to see his first PG-13 movie! (Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World, he hasn't seen the first one and probably isn't aware it exists.) He was very brave and only cried a few times!

He spent all of his allowance on a pair of ripped jeans but his mom made him sew patches on the knees so his legs wouldn't get cold.

He can and will die for Penny at the drop of hat.

Penny: (Short for Penelope, but she tells everybody that it's short for "Dollar", exactly 99 cents short. She's very proud of that joke and tells it everybody.)

She is the ultimate little sister. She is 10 years old and is very nervous about what happens when you are too old to count your age on your fingers. She loves playing with her dolls, and listening to her favorite death metal band, 𝕲𝕺𝕺𝕱𝖄 𝕺𝕮𝕿𝕺𝕭𝕰𝕽 (Goofy October; the most intense PG rated death metal band in all of Canada.)

She has a bad relationship with the local dentist because she refuses to stop chewing on the cool rocks she finds in the woods behind her school. She has destroyed multiple retainers with great prejudice and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Literally everyone loves Penny and finds it impossible to say a bad word about her no matter how hard they try. Every single person in town is terrified of what might happen if she gets too sad. It is foretold in the ancient scriptures that if Penny cries for more than 60 seconds the entire world comes to a violent end.

These two are gonna be protagonists in a fun little video game I'm pitching. It will be very weird.

In process sketches I made in designing their character below the cut:

Charlie had Johnny Bravo energy from the beginning. It was pivotal that he wasn't just "cool" but specifically what a 13 year old THINKS is "cool"

Penny's design was nearly perfect from the get-go, but I had to get the hair just right. She feels like a mix of every single KND character and I like that.

[lilac-hecox]

from what I'm seeing going on in the Fandom, it is not so much about if bit city is that good or not, people had splitting opinions on other smosh projects before and that was fine, I guess it is the feeling that Bit City is the one thing keeping us from Ianthony and old school sketches. And it happens to be BC, but from the vibes of them, mostly Anthony I guess, if it wasn't BC, it would be something else, they wouldn't have kept going with the sketches as they were. For instance, I think everyone enjoys tntl or like reddit stories, but if smosh said that instead of sketches we would get one more of those every other week, people would still be upset. So overanalysing every bit won't really help the feeling of us fans, it might just change our focus a little bit. Sorry for the rant / long post, but that's been on my mind and I had no one else to share it with.

I actually do think that's valid. I wonder if they alternated Bit City with Ianthony sketches on Fridays if the critiquing of Bit City would calm down more? I can't say I'm immune to not feeling a little resentful towards the show in it's current state, but I am trying to give it more of a fair shake. I admit that not even all the new era Ianthony sketches were hits for me, but because my faves were in it, I was happy just to see them.

I disagree on if it were something more established like TNTL or Reddit Stories that people would be as angry about it. Sometimes, Bit City just isn't very good. I understand it's still finding it's footing and I hope it evolves beyond what it is at the moment because in my opinion it's pretty mid at the moment.

*This is only my opinion

[accidentally-in-fictional-love]

I can't get my emojis to work, but Joshua Whitmore and happiness?

That Familiar Smell of Fresh Paint - Joshua Whitmore/Reader

Warnings: Gender-neutral reader, no use of Y/N.

Wordcount: 2560

Summary: Happiness isn't a familiar feeling to him anymore, but it's the little things is his new life with you that makes him start to remember how it feels.

Notes: I love writing him so much that I'm already looking forward to all the new ideas that came to me as I was working on this QwQ

It was hard at first, but you both expected that after your big, dramatic return from New York. As soon as you'd boarded the plane the two of you knew that things wouldn't be the same now that he'd been found, and sure enough once word got out that you'd not only crashed his big party to steal him back but also returned to Detroit, one Ms. Jorie Chastain was back at your door to properly ask for an interview this time.

Turns out she'd been quite reprimanded by her superiors for her previous ‘interview,’ and you were more than happy to accept her apology money and then have Joshua slam the door in her face as thanks for tearing the painting that was now framed on your wall.

It'd been quite the sum to make up for nearly ruining both your lives, and you put it away to go towards that adorable little property you'd had your eye on since it'd gone on sale. You drove past it the next day with him to test the waters, see if he'd want to start over fresh with you there, just casually mentioning the for sale sign and how you should maybe check it out, get back to animosity since everyone now knew where you lived. He'd been silent, his foot propped on your dashboard and his sketchbook placed against his leg while he drew what he saw, and he'd barely paid the property any attention at all when he caught sight of an overgrown park crawling with nature and freedom.

You try again a couple weeks later when you make the drive to the art store with him to give his legs a rest; he was so used to walking everywhere he'd forgotten completely how to drive, and at first he'd gone on a very long rant about how cars were polluting the environment and how walking was better for the body and mind, although for once he tossed in a little compliment as he commended you for always walking to work even though you did own a vehicle. 

Now, many rides later, he’s relaxed and sitting in the passenger seat while feeling the breeze, completely fine with cars for the moment while you drive, and you point out the for sale sign again as you approach.

‘I see it still hasn't sold, it's a decent property, I wonder what's wrong with it?’ you joke with many glances thrown his way, and this time he did look as he hums to himself.

‘Based on the state of the yard, broken windows on the side of the house, as well as that concerning dent in the roof I'd say it's a wreck inside, owners are probably old and finally selling because they can't afford to keep it in the family anymore, that one won't be housing anyone until the whole thing needs to be gutted,’ he figures before taking his sketchbook back out to work on his park sketch, he only seemed to work on it when you drove together.

‘Oh, how'd you-?’

‘Been in a lot of places like it, I can usually tell from the outside what the inside will be like by now,’ he says without looking up, and for a moment you'd actually forgotten that he'd been on the road the past seven years, not homeless but traveling, of course he'd had to have learned about all the safe and empty places to stay, what would be a risk and what would be a temporary paradise. ‘You're quiet, you wanted that house, didn't you?’

‘What? No, of course not, I've already got a decent duplex, you're not gunna find a better bathroom for that cheap,’ you brush him off nervously, but he doesn’t buy it as he glances at you and keeps drawing. ‘By the way, I've been wanting to ask since I don't see you on my floor, but how's the job going?’

‘Working to survive but not to be happy, it's a hard question to ask, isn't it?’ he begins, and you give him a look until he chuckles. ‘It's fine, been a while since I've been around that many people, and I know the only things they know about me were found on the internet and in that woman's news segment, but I'd prefer it if I was a no one to them again, just so they'd stop staring when I come around.’ He doesn't draw as he speaks this time, his eyes staring out the window as the neighbourhood turned into downtown, the art store in sight.

‘We could always see if you could work from home, I hear that's been a big thing in the city?’ you suggest, but the thought of that makes him visibly recoil.

‘Working at a desk in the comfort of my own home? Taking the precious hours we have in a day to get up, sit in front of those machines and just work until I can't tell what's the job and what's my personal life anymore? That sounds worse than being forced to paint, don't ever say that to me again,’ he grumbles as he hunches up and places his shoes on your dash again. You chuckle softly at the sight, he always knew what he wanted and what he didn't like, and you certainly can't imagine him being able to work on anything other than his paintings while he was home.

‘Sorry, I should've known better,’ you tease, and he just continues grumbling all the way to the parking lot. The art store is more well stocked now that everyone knew he was here, the owner ordering all sorts of professional things since he knew that Joshua would be back in due time, and sure enough he always was to replenish his supplies. It was nice to not be limited to just the children's supplies now, he’s certainly very happy about it as he races for the paints and sees that they were higher quality than last time, and the new brushes he'd suggested have come in as well, the display announcing their newness to the lineup. 

He has his own money again, after the great loss to the show you'd ruined he'd ended up having to pay out of pocket for it all as compensation, but once that was settled and he was finally set free from his contract he was also free to claim the rest of what the bank had been holding for him for almost a decade now that he wasn't legally dead. 

His checking account had been pretty much cleaned, but he'd also had a secret savings account that had been highly suggested by his then girlfriend, since she did care about his future until he'd grown too numb to remember how to love her back anymore. As such, since Mr. Eldred didn't know about it and focused purely on what he had left in his checking, the interest had accumulated into a new mini fortune that he was now slowly blowing through as he spoiled himself with new paints and proper canvases and all the things a starving artist on the streets wouldn't be able to get.

It was funny how fast his views on money had changed when he was able to toss everything onto the counter and pay for it without putting you out.

Now that he has a paycheck again he mostly sticks to using that, the two of you recently having joined your accounts so you could help contribute to his savings. It was a very big step in your relationship, once you discussed many times as you helped him set up an online account so he could see where his paychecks were going without a trip to the bank, but it felt right after your big city rescue. Knowing that he can get whatever he wants, you again wait patiently as he checks out everything and repeatedly goes over his mental inventory of what he still had back home. 

You hang around the register so you won't bother him, he would likely be ignoring you anyway if he wasn't giving you a history lesson about everything he was looking at, so you prefer this option since it gets you home faster. You exchange a friendly nod with the owner, he was very familiar with the both of you now, and get comfy leaning against the counter until he’s done, his voice drifting over the aisles as he openly talks to himself since you weren't there to listen.

‘He sees like a nice guy,’ the owner observes as he also listens, and you smile fondly in his general direction when he sees something he doesn't like and starts talking a bit too loudly about how kids could never flourish with brushes that break that easily and were too cheap to actually hold the paint they were using.

‘He is,’ you reply honestly even as he approaches with an armful of said brushes and sets them down with the intention to have them be removed from the inventory, which of course they wouldn't be. ‘He's a bit insufferable at times, but… he's genuine, and honest, and passionate, and I've never met anyone like him.’ He returns with more as well as the things he actually wants to pay for before disappearing again. ‘I'm sorry about this, I'll put it all back when he goes to the canvases.’

‘It's no problem, it's pretty slow in here when the kids don't have any big art projects going on, gives me something to do,’ the man laughs, and Joshua is very pleased when he finally notices the extra large canvases that were now in stock even though you know it'll be a pain to fit them into the backseat. 

You continue your light conversation with him while Joshua finishes up, and in his excitement the final bill is a bit more than usual, but he’s happy to pay for it all as he hands over his card and punches in the pin. All three of you have to carry everything to your car once the transaction is complete, thankfully he only indulged in one giant canvas this time since he was running out of wall space in his studio, and the rest is tossed into the trunk with great excitement.

‘Thank you for getting these in, and you have my list of more appropriate supplies for the kids’ section, right?’ he asks as you get into the car, Joshua hovering around the door and refusing to let the owner go without his very important suggestions being taken into consideration.

‘I'll see how well the new stuff sells before I order more stock,’ he vows as he backs up towards the door, Joshua ready to walk back in and give him a quick lesson on why he should also really get rid of some other things so he could pay more attention to his rather lacking informational book selection when you lean across the seats, grab him by the back of the hoodie, and pull him in with you. He relents and shuts the door, now preferring to see how this stuff compares to what they provided in his month back in New York since they'd gone for price over preparation, which of course he could tell the difference between. 

You have to pass by the house again to get home, but you can only glance at it longingly this time at the thought of moving him into another rundown place; you don’t want that for him, he deserved someplace open and clean after waking up in empty houses for so long. He sees your look this time and bunches up again to draw, but this time it isn't to work on his park you discover as you pull into your driveway, it’s actually a rough blueprint of how to fix up what he saw on the outside.

‘Need to get in, see how bad it is or if I’m wrong,’ he mutters as he hands the book over after everything is brought in, and your heart pounds a little harder when you read his notes crammed beside the shapes.

‘It’s just a house, we can look together for something better,’ you tell him as you hand it back and head for your laptop, but he just shakes his head and rests his arms over your shoulders, his chin on the top of your head while you sit at the table.

‘Told you I’m good with my hands, did a lot of construction work, if we buy it fast then we could get it cleaned up before it gets worse,’ he says softly, and you realize that he was doing this because it was something you wanted for once, his final hurdle in him getting used to not only living with but also loving someone again.

‘I don’t want you to have to stay in another busted up old house,’ you reply without looking up, your hands still on the keyboard and touchpad as you hover over the real estate site you’d bookmarked weeks ago. ‘This place is fine, we don’t need anything bigger or better, it’s… you deserve better than more broken ceilings and cracked paint.’

He kisses your head then, he was still getting used to giving you affection when he felt like sharing it even though you’d already slept together and had been together for months, but just knowing that he was the one to kiss you this time is enough to make your heart soar. ‘You know I don’t mind the smell of fresh paint, that’s my entire life,’ he reminds you quietly, his lips moving against your hair and his chin digging into your scalp as he speaks, and you free yourself to turn in your chair and stare up at him.

‘So you really wanna do this? You wanna buy a house with me? I’ll have to start driving to work again,’ you gape up at him, and he doesn’t seem too happy about you driving so much, but his expression is still very soft as he leans down even more to rest his chin on your shoulder along with his arm.

‘It’s closer to the art store, we can start walking there together,’ is his reasoning, and you press your own kiss to his cheek before going to the house’s page and checking out the uploaded images together. It’s better than he expected, the damage is mostly on the outside, but he was right about the older owners wanting to sell their family home since they now had a slightly smaller place closer to their grandchildren and couldn’t afford to keep both. He points out the easy fixes, stuff he’d learned how to do years ago, and the second bedroom is the perfect size for an even bigger studio; both bedrooms lead out into the backyard, a proper backyard this time where there’s room for a garden, and a birdbath is already in place and sporting a bluebird in the photo on the screen.

You take it as a sign, you both do, and he decides to save his giant canvas for later as you call up the realtor and set up an appointment to tour the property, Joshua just watching you talk with a content smile on his face all the while.

[peterlorres21stcentury]

I was going through some past emails and I found this post from my old Yahoo group

On Feb. 6, the "Old Movie Section" blog posted this "tintype" of Peter, written by Sidney Skolsky, taken from a book titled "Tintypes". Peter was working on "Crime and Punishment" at the time:

<<<< 11/27/1935 HCN Tintypes By Sidney Skolsky

Peter Lorre is in his dressing room. It generally takes him an hour to dress for his role in Crime and Punishment. He does this slowly, intentionally. He believes it aids him to portray the character.

He goes on the set and stands in for himself. He is one of the few big actors who do this. He poses under the hot lights while director von Sternberg arranges them and the camera. He does this because von Sternberg, who is particular about lighting a scene and an actor, asks him to do it. It means hard work for him, but he admires von Sternberg.

While on the set he has a favorite drink, a mixture of raspberry syrup and water. He makes everyone sample it. While making a flicker he doesn't eat much. His lunch consists merely of sliced fresh fruit, usually peaches.

He walks about, whether it be in the studio or in a restaurant, much in the same manner as he did in M. People who have seen him in this great flicker are scared when they first see him in person. He knows this and is greatly amused by it.

It was his excellent performance in M which got him a contract with Columbia. Before coming to America, he signed to play in the flicker, The Man Who Knew Too Much, to learn to speak English. He is good at languages and was quite adept at English in six weeks. He spoke better English in the latter reels of The Man Who Knew Too Much than he did in the beginning.

He was born in the village of Rosenberg, Hungary, on June 26, 1904. It was after he completed high school that he ran away from home to become an actor. In one early theatrical job he was given a three- line part. After the rehearsals the lines were taken away from him because he overacted. The director said he would be a standout by merely walking across the stage.

He is five feet 5 inches tall, weighs 160 pounds, has brown prominent eyes, brown hair, and rosy cheeks. A strange villain.

He speaks in a low, confidential voice which cannot be heard very far away. At the studio he will visit different offices. He amuses friends by acting and making faces. When telling a story he acts out all the characters.

He is a mild, pleasant person. He has a house at Santa Monica to which he invites his few friends for breakfast or dinner. He prefers to test by himself in his garden here. He seldom barks. He is not a visitor to the Hollywood gay places.

He enjoys watching tennis and football. His favorite sport is wrestling. He attends the bouts regularly. He once waited until after a match to ask Man Mountain Dean for an autograph.

He is married to Cecilie Lvovsky, an actress. They met when they were both appearing in the German play, "The Candidate," and were married when they met again in London. He was making a flicker. They were married during a lunch hour, and Lorre was in the make-up he used in The Man Who Knew Too Much. They haven't any nicknames for each other.

He makes charcoal sketches, landscapes and portraits, and is a good artist for his own amusement. He likes to listen to classical music. He detests bright red fingernail polish on women.

He insists that if he did not have to act, he would not. Acting, he says, is a child's profession for a grown up. "But," he slyly adds, "I love it."

When he isn't working he relishes a big meal. He likes Hungarian goulash and is especially fond of new potatoes in cream. He will talk about food and give a lecture on why a certain salami is better than another type of salami.

He is not at all particular about clothes. He doesn't try or pretend to be fashionable. He always carries plenty of baggage, most of which he never uses. He claims it looks good when you're traveling.

He likes cold showers and actually takes them.

He seldom carries money with him. Often he has run into a shop to buy a package of cigarets [sic], has found himself without a penny, and has had to write out a check for 15 cents. He sleeps alone in a twin bed. He wears pajamas, and on warm nights he wears only the jacket. He always reads himself to sleep.

He has a clause in his contract. Each day before work he is allowed to run into Boris Karloff's dressing room and frighten him.

[electrosweaters-arts]

Question!

Is Victor in the cryptid college universe? What’s he like, if he is?

Victor IS in CC! In fact, he's already appeared in two pages during the prologue

He's kinda a silly little guy but I'm going to PREFACE real quick by saying: Victor in CC is probably the MOST canon-divergent in terms of personality you're gonna get in CC, at least depending on your interpretations of the OG book characters, but he's pretty different from how either of us actually view him in the book.

CC Victor isn't an exactly an evil mad scientist trope or anything (being a mad scientist in CC is basically like being a mathletes nerd but a bunch of you keep dropping random children off at other peoples houses) but he's just a bit of a general asshole, SPECIFICALLY because placing him in a modern college where EVERYONE is a monster changes who the character is a Lot. A lot of his base traits come from the book, but amplified as a parody like we do with all the CC characters (so yes he does get tropey on purpose) + some changes based on how being in a monster college changes his and the creature's story.

While not uncommon for mad scientists in this universe, he's pretty self-centered, he believes himself to be the superior scientist of his class and can often be rude and dismissive of other students' work. (Though he IS actually incredibly good at what he does, he's top 3 in the class and would most likely be #1 if Griffin didn't have a grading bias towards experiments that can help him with world domination)

(going to be using some LOVELY sketches from @internetwerewolf now <3 theyre the person currently drawing episode 1 of CC <3)

Also, before I forget to mention! CC victor is gay and autistic and both he AND both of the creatures have chronic illnesses that leave them with a lot of joint pain. Their illnesses are based off my own so since *I* don't have a medical diagnosis for my joint issues I can't put an exact name to what they have but ???? maybe Fibromyalgia? again, can't put a name to it but their joints are stiff and HURTY. Adam and Victor's symptoms usually manifest in more invisible ways, from time to time they will need a mobility aid of some sort but most days they get by with painkillers and compression-wear. (Mary almost always uses a crutch or a cane and from time to time will use a wheelchair)

And oh right, the creatures! Let's talk about the creatures, I'd say they're pretty important to Victor's character, wouldn't you? (^another @internetwerewolf doodle of Adam and Mary at Victor's dissertation)

Starting with Adam, Victor made Adam in his first semester of Freshman year at CCU (if you don't know, the school Oracle acts as the head of admissions for the school and is particularly in charge of inviting new mad scientists to the school, which is why characters like Victor or Jekyll were accepted and allowed to know about monsters before having made their experiments themselves, the Oracle knew that they would make them eventually) his reasons for creating and then abandoning the creature are mostly the same as in the book, the death of his mother gave him a fascination with restoring life to the dead but once he actually gave life to the creature he was horrified an ran out on it. Adam was left in Victor's dorm room alone for about 3 weeks before being found by an RA and due to school policy on mad science experiments he was given free room and board for the course of his college degree, he was also taught english directly from classes at the school and found a copy of Paradise Lost among Victor's old things, which gave him the idea for the name Adam.

Adam never actually killed anyone in CC, but he DID ask Victor to make him a family member. He was incredibly lonely from being unable to connect with any of the other students and wanted someone like him, Victor obliged before he and Adam got into an argument which ended with him partially destroying the other creature and leaving Adam to do the rest of the reanimating work himself. (This is why Mary is not quite made right, the stitching on her limbs is very loose and she's missing an eye)

The creatures' and Victor's overall relationship is rocky at BEST, most days they can't STAND each other and squabble any time they pass each other in the halls. Though Victor's family is all still alive AND Adam got his second creature so from time to time they can get along, if a topic in interesting enough for both of them Adam and Victor can hold a conversation for a few hours, and they will sometimes help Victor out if provided a good enough reason to. Mary's less likely to talk to Victor but that's mostly because she just...doesn't like talking to people. They treat him like a shitty dad, and as seen in the prologue they DO like to rough him up a bit from time to time for fun but they wouldn't ever really want to KILL him. (Hyde would. Hyde wants to kill him. Adam has to hold him back from it.)

This was WAY longer than I expected, kinda incoherent, feel free to ask any follow up questions if you'd like! I LOVE talkin about these guys :3

[thedawningofthehour]

This week for some reason has felt so heavy. Elections aside, every single thing of media i see reminds me of DOTH to some extent, I wasn't exaggerating when I said this fic has literally rotted my brain. Recently I've been on transformers because of the new movie and remembered how in one of the shows there is an arc where a very important character loses his memory and is manipulated, which reminded me of how this was a trope in several shows and how I literally hated it because of all the anxiety it generated for me even to this day, no kidding, that rabbit hole reminded me of my most recent case: Code Geas! Which I just remembered, it's the most similar to Doth!!! At one point in the anime the main character is captured and taken to his father, who alters his memories in order to use his intelligence for his benefit, and not only that but the one who captured him is a character who is supposed to be a good person, but his beliefs of what is right end up doing more harm than good. And yes, I also wanted to punch him so hard in the face because I was so angry!!!!

The point is, I hope everything gets better in your life so you can post more often and I can get on with my life, because i need It so much.

Btw, I decided to watch the Simpsons Halloween specials and on the 2020 one they have a sketch about the elections and at one point they show the things Trump did in his term and My God!!! the man didn't change at ALL!!!! Some things he said he might as well have done them yesterday!!!!

I just looked it up and oh geeze that is actually eerily similar to what I have in doth.

For legal purposes I have never watch Code Geass and knew absolutely nothing about it before this ask; I actually confused it with Code Lyoko a lot as a child. All similarities are coincidental.

Like dude Trump has been a dipshit for so long his ridiculous assholery has been cemented into American pop culture. Like, was Back to the Future big outside America? Biff Tannen was literally a lampoon of Trump. This was thirty years before he ever announced his presidential run. He's always been an absolute joke until he stepped into the spotlight at the exact moment the alt-right movement needed representation, and they latched onto him to play out their fantasies of owning women and killing brown people.

And he's actually gotten worse since getting out of office. The anger of being rejected and the stress of maybe going to jail is doing a number on him, but he also legit has dementia. A lot of people think he's had a stroke as well. The other night he mimed fellating a microphone during a rally. People accused Biden of having dementia but like-Biden's stuff is all pretty typical old people stuff. They forget things, they mix up names, they hit their limit and are kind of nonfunctional until they get a nap. That's just what happens when you're 81. Sexual behavior with absolutely no care to its appropriateness is textbook dementia shit.

I'm really sorry to you and everyone else who isn't American and has to listen to me talk about the election endlessly. Believe me when I say I would much rather talk about turtles. I'd like to say the political posting will stop after tomorrow, but this isn't going to be over for a while.

Please vote if you haven't already, guys. For real.

[stardropcritter]

Welcome to the Valley~

I kept getting distracted instead of making a small summary post for Iris' playthrough, but I want to put it up here before I play too far lol. I've been working on some sketches for her, but please enjoy the WIPS since I keep getting distracted. During the first years, her main circle of friends is: Shiro, Yuuma, Philip, Sebastian, Sam, Leah, Hayley, Alex Kiarra, & Shane :)

The bus ride was rather exausting, but after Lewis and Robin showed her to the new farm, Iris was very pleased to have the afternoon to get settled. She probably spent most of the first week just clearing the land around the farmhouse, and enough to clear a small path towards the town, and the mountains, as well as one around her coop so she doesn't lose track of the chicks when they are out.

She ran into Alex pretty quickly, probably on the second or third day. He found her petting Dusty, chatting to the good boy. Iris isn't a super sporty person, but lots of classmates and coworkers in Zuzu were big gridball fans so she knows enough of it. She feels like Alex is a bit full of himself, but a good guy. They click well enough.

The meeting with Abigail and her family was not the best, she was a bit on edge that morning, and Abby came in swinging with the "It's a shame you moved here" welcome line. Pierre was also pushing the salesman front quite hard, and Iris can't stand that.

She met Phillip, Yuuma, and Shiro very briefly on a day when they were in Pelican Town for their therapy. It was just a short conversation, but she got along well with all of them.

It took her nearly two weeks to get the courage to take the cable cars up to the ridge. The first ride she ended up having a panic attack, during the afternoon. A tourist who was taking the car along with her ran to get Lenny and Paula while Iris struggled to get to her feet and get her heart and breathing under control. Phillip, Shiro, and Yuuma happened to be coming back on the next car, and Phillip was quick to help talk her through the attack. Girl was mortified, but super appreciative when they all walked her to the hotel for a bit.

Since then, she would say hi to them whenever she saw them in town. She didn't go back to the ridge for another 2 weeks though.

When she learned that Yuuma often stopped at Pierre's on his own to do grocery shopping she's determined to give him a hand. She shifts her schedule around a little bit so that she has one day she can spend up at the ridge. She offers to help Yuuma carry the groceries up. He does initially say it's ok and he doesnt want to cause trouble for her, but she tells him he would actually be helping her- having a goal/chore that takes her up on a regular basis can help her get over her fears. Plus, she'd feel safer if he keeps her company. He says ok after that. I headcanon Yuuma as like 8 years old or so? I don't remember if we ever get any closer age.

Throughout the first year she becomes very close with Shiro, Philip and Yuuma. Yuuma especially starts to see her as a sort of older sister, feels comfortable asking her for help, and sometimes asks to visit her farm. Iris also fully adopts Yuuma, and does her best to lessen the workload for him.

She beat Abigail at the egg hunt during the first year and Abigail was wildly bitter about it, not helping. These two just do not get along.

It doesn't help when Abigail walks by Sam's and sees that Iris is hanging out on the lawn in front of his places with both Sam and Sebastian (Abigail is crushing hard on Seb, and is a wee possesive)

Nearly missed the summer Luau, she was completely lost in finishing a new book that Sebastian had just lent her. They share similar tastes in what they like reading, and this along with music is the main building point of their friendship.

Her friends and some of their fam start picking up on her habit of making little cards or bookmarks or small trinkets with pressed flowers and leaving them around as surprise gifts for them. Granny Evelyn in particular loves getting these, and Iris is happy to help her out with the garden beds around town from time to time. Alex finds this mega endearing.

Seb, Sam, and Iris continue the Solarian Chronicles campaign, and Victor and Sophia join them later in the year. The group begins to become a bit closer due to this. Abi joins from time to time, but seems to never quite feel comfortable or fit the party much.

She gets along well with Shane, and they're close-ish but she was very surprised and very worried when she found just how bad his mental health is. She makes a concsious effort to check in on him more often, and they somtimes have evenings where she brings a book and reads at the ranch while he helps Marnie, and they chat on and off. Shane still delivers feed and other things from Marnie's to her farm, and has definitely found her asleep on the floor of the coop with a book in her lap, and a chicken too, on more than one occasion. Maybe he thinks thats cute, but you won't be hearing him admit it.

Fall, um.... June Arrived. And Iris might be in trouble y'all.

She loves listening to him play the piano at the Ridgeside hotel, and they get along very well. He's even more of a coffee nerd than she is, which was surprising. So when they had a little breakfast hangout/date and he was nerding out about coffee, no, she wasn't bored at all. Was that a blush? maybe.

and holycrapJunewhat That dialogue killed me- Iris was trying to be a silly flirt and I feel like June absolutely called her bluff and left her a tomato-faced mess. It's a shame he's only here for half of the year, she'd love to get to know him better.

She continues to to become closer with Shiro, Phillip and Yuuma. (Yuuma was the first villager i got full hearts with). She occasionally helps them with the physio as well, and some minor chores at the Kobayashi house. It's a nice way to spend time with them and chat, and for the first few months while she didn't have a kitchen, it was a good excuse to use theirs and make them dinner sometimes.

Dinner at the Legame house also becomes somewhat of a frequent occasion- She likes to help out Kiarra, and they always end up chatting late into the night. Iris loves listeining to all of Kiarra's wild stories with Joja sabotage and boycotts. Anton also grows to really enjoy her company, but his heart belongs to Paula.

As we turn to spring of Year 2, the layout of the farm is looking like this! She keeps a steady turnaround of coffee and tea, two grape varieties and honey. She makes wine and jam as well and only a small-ish selection of seasonal crops. She grows flowers near her house, and is working on renovating the little guest cabin close to the shipping box. And we got our first cow!

[tallsc]

AvA AUs (Virored)

So a little while ago I made a summary of my main AvA/AvM AU/headcanon thing, if you haven't seen it and you want to it's here.

That one is what I use for most things, and I try to keep it close to canon just with a few of my own interpretations and such. If you ask any of the AvA characters anything on my blog, I'm usually going to answer with the one linked above unless you specify that the character is from one of these AUs XD

That said, I have a few smaller, more canon-divergent AUs, generally focused on one or two characters each. And, hey, why not share those too? And since I don't think I have the motivation or ideas to make cohesive stories for all four, I'm going to give you a summary of each!

However since each of these is gonna take some time and be decently long to write, I'm just gonna be posting one at a time - let's say starting with Red's, then Mango's, then Green's, then Dark's. But I will give you this little sketch to make guesses from until the other three are posted :) I'll try to make one a day but no promises there.

Edit: Hehhh nvm I'll make the others some time but idk the exact schedule I'm too busy sorry XD

(Note: All of these operate using my old headcanons for the most part unless otherwise specified, so for example there still isn't shipping in any of these. Haven't decided if the jewelry still applies for any of these but it does it's not very plot important anyway XD)

Virored AU

(originated from a dream)

I have so many dreams about AvA and a few of them ended up having cohesive enough plots that I spent some time to figure them out more and make them into AUs. This was one of them XD

This takes place some time after both AvA 5 and AvM 30, along with it being in a universe where Dark is on Chosen and the CG's side now. There, however, are some existing virobots, who have started running around destroying things now that they're not getting any more commands from Dark's bracers.

Dark, Chosen, and the CG decided to team up to either shut down or outright destroy any remaining virobots, but during one of those fights, Red got bitten.

Now virobots in this AU can get stronger and smarter by eating code, and this guy in particular was pretty successful. So it decided that, instead of deleting Red and probably getting killed by the rest of the CG, it just jumped inside Red's code like how virobots can infest the computer.

Yeah Red's getting possessed for a fourth time, this kid can't catch a break.

But anyways, since the virobot was taking its time doing any actual possession - it's probably harder to take over a living creature anyway - Red and the CG just decided they were very lucky that nothing too bad happened and went home to patch themselves up and rest.

And that night, the virobot took over. Virored escaped back into the internet to continue their destruction and rally together more virobots, they themselves regrowing virobot-like claws and a venomous mandible from the mixed stick-figure-and-virobot code.

The rest of the CG quickly started trying to track Virored down, getting Chosen and Dark's help (although low-empathy Dark was mostly just annoyed that Virored's stealing Dark's old brand -v-) to find and stop them faster. However, this took them quite a while with quite some difficulty, as Virored was fully aware they were likely being tracked and was actively avoiding them.

In the meantime, though, Virored went back to running around rampant and destroying things - even killing people - just this time, with a new body and new intelligence, able to gather more virobots together into a collective swarm.

However, after a few weeks of this - Virored and their swarm invading a town, leaving after whatever destruction they've caused, then the rest of the CG, Dark, and Chosen tracking them there - the group finally cornered Virored.

And, after a battle, Chosen was able to separate Red and the virobot controlling them.

However, this didn't quite lead to everything being solved. For one, during those weeks, the virobot had still been eating away at Red's code. While they kept their mind mostly intact, their physical body was a different story.

Chosen wanted Orange to help with the separation, since Orange has healing powers, but they still had no clue how they were supposed to invoke those since they still had no memory of how it happened last time, so instead Chosen just had to do it themselves (cause that's not Dark's expertise either) and try to make sure Red would still have enough code left to survive.

This left Red, even after some time (and potions from Blue) to recover, with scars wherever the virobot claws and mandible used to be. Scars that, after a few days, began to grow back into the same claws and fang they used to have.

These odd physical traits were the clearest pieces of what the virobot code and time of possession left behind, though Red still had all the memories of what happened during those few weeks. And, as Virored had bitten and killed people before, those weren't exactly the happiest of memories.

But Red still was free from the possession, none of their friends had been bitten during the fight, so there was at least an okay ending there.

I'm pretty sure all the towns and cities banned Red from going back tho

Well idk, hope you enjoyed my weird dream-au ramble, if you wanna know more about it feel free to either ask me or ask the character involved XD If you do ask the character please specify that this is from the AU (and preferably whether it's in the middle of it or in the aftermath) so I know who to respond with tho ^-^

I'll be trying to write the other three soon!

[desidesidesi]

The first liveblogging of the excitement of The Box TM was getting out of control so I'm making a new post and sharing a new story.

So! My mother and her friends live in a poor backwater of Mississippi. Like we visited during Thanksgiving and the "City Square" which is the heart of the city was either cute, kitschy gift stores or buildings that are literal husks with caved in rooves. So they are permanently B O R E D and have picked up the art......... Of Dumpster Diving in the extremely rich college town north of them (not naming it cuz I don't wanna dox my mom or ruin their weird side hussle. @banahbanah you know where I'm talking about)

Apparently they heard tale that all the rich college kids and stores just throw out perfectly good furniture, clothing, anything under the sun at the end of the semester. Sure enough she's told me about a giant 65in TV that was "broken" (a 50$ repair got it working again) basically a new wardrobe, perfectly good food (Star Bucks throws away so much shit), Coach Bags, and knick-knacks galore!

This is all relevant because half of the stuff in The Box are goodies from one of her outings!

First pic!

In this picture (Professor Juniper for Scale) we have a Bento Box, a Tea Cup (which she worried would break but thankfully did not), and two different gift sets of tea (both thrown out well before their expi date) all gotten from the HomeGoods Dumpster in said rich college town.

Now, I know what you're thinking: Desi. Isn't this a little privileged and problematic that a bunch of Southern White Women can go around dumpster diving and basically not get in trouble with the police? And I say... Like, duh? But they kinda do a Robin Hood approach to their little operation and share with everyone in their friend group anything and everything they find! They're basically using their privilege to stick it to corporate America and even MORE privileged white people!

Also in this pictures are crystals from an old chandelier in my childhood room. Mom was replacing it and asked if I wanted it? I'm renting, I don't have any place to put it lol so I just said "Can I have the crystals to make Sun Catchers with?" She didn't quite get it, but she sent them anyway so yay!

And of course, my delicious Milex (powdered milk for those that don't know what the hell I'm talking about) 💖💖💖 I know I'm a weirdo for basically using it as a cereal additive by making things extra milk, but I fucking love it and it tastes of childhood. 💖 We have to get friends to "import" it from Honduras cuz the company that makes it doesn't sell online anywhere??? It's fucking wild how hard it is to find this stuff!!! Gotta ration better this time. I literally used the last bag she got me in a few weeks 😅

Also? Cute cows on the packaging!

And finally! The Purse-My-Aunt-Saw-And-Thought-I-Would-Appreciate-It-Best!

Look at this thing! It was "Made in Nepal" with "environmentally friendly products" and is bigger than my damn torso??? I can fit my full-sized sketch book in this dang thing lol! It's very... Hippy dippy lol. I definitely see why she got it for me 🤣 Will have to wear it around Colorado and see if I get any Crunchy Moms lusting after it.

BUT YES. I did an unboxing on Facebook Messenger with my mom and dad and it was silly fun. Hope this random hobby my mom has taken up nets me more random bullshit lol.

[saleintothe90s]

244. The Big List of Favorite Commercials (part 17)

(part 16)

1985 Velveeta Extra Thick Slices "enough for the biggest cheese appetite" TV Commercial

This commercial is kinda sickening but I love that "extra thick" voice. That plastic cheese is too thick!

"Six Degrees of Separation" by John Guare at Lincoln Center Theater [1990]

"His shirt isn't bleeding! HE'S BLEEDING!"

Frankie and Johnny's Furniture: See the Special Man [1989?]

[grumbling] "Let her have it!"

Conan showed this old commercial from New Orleans on his show back in 2012.

Here is a news report on it.

Jane Lynch Roach Control Combat Commercial 1995

Doesn't this look like a parody of a Combat commercial, and not a real combat commercial? Reminds me a lil of that SNL sketch with the roach killer that teared off their legs and then used the legs to beat the roach to death. However, this time Jane is the host of the episode.

New Coke Commercial (1986)

Next time I go out this week (which let's face it will probably just be the Publix) I'm doing my makeup like this.

McDonald's Filet-O-Fish - Commercial Classic 1985

This Minnie the Moocher x Filet O Fish mashup is a JAM.

Kraft Singles Tennis Cards Promo - Australian Commercial

We love you and your giant packs of cheese, Pam.

Little Shop of Horrors broadway play commercial 1983

Now, I've never seen Little Shop, I've only seen the parody on Family Guy of "Somewhere That's Green", and I just read the plot on wikipedia and it sounds sad. BUT but, this commercial has Marlene Danielle from Cats, pre her being with Cats through its entire original Broadway run.

1986 Snuggles Poison Contol PSA

Never ever ever...touch, taste or drink...bottles and boxes under the sink? Such a clunky saying.

NBC Commercial - Thank You (1986)

I discovered this one from the Jaboody Show. Yes, they obsess over how bald Dennis Franz is, and how sexy John Larroquette is. This is a shorter version, I can't find the long one where Jane Pauley says "z'thank you".

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