#i wasn't really focused on it

[paddyspubdollars]

The Inflatable Bed Situation

I had no idea what to title is...but I might post it on ao3 later or something.

---

After Mac and Dennis had sold the idea to Frank, they drove back to their apartment. As usual, Dennis was driving and Mac in the passenger side. "That went well, didn't it?" Mac exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah, I actually think it went alright," Dennis said and glances over to him. "We do have some more inflatables back at the apartment." Mac looks up and has an idea, unsure of what Dennis might think of it.

"Hey, man, we have some inflatable sofa beds at home. We could blow those up and test them." Mac hurriedly looks over at him and cannot read the other man's expression at all. The car stops as Dennis pulls into a parking spot.

"Yes, I know, but you'll be the one blowing it up, I'm not doing it. Also why would we need a sofa bed, we have our own beds, don't we?" Dennis raises his eyebrow and takes a look at Mac. Mac rubs his hand across his arm, trying to build up the courage, but it dawns on him he forgot something.

"Shit, Den I forgot my nuts in the car," Mac runs over to the car waiting for Dennis to unlock it. He puts the key into the car and turns the lock, the nuts still sitting perfectly in the passenger side.

"Goddamn it, you made a whole mess in my car. Can you at least eat them cleanly?" Dennis locks his car and looks back to Mac.

As the two men start walking to the apartment, Mac grabs a nut from the can. "Alright I will try, anyway, the thing I wanted to suggest was that we could sleep in the sofa bed together. I sort of have nightmares and haven't really told anyone." Dennis rolls his eyes where Mac can't see it. This was obviously some sort of ploy for him to get into bed with Mac. It definitely was an interesting plan, but they had two more of those beds so why not sleep in one each.

"We have more than one though," he eventually said as they entered their apartment.

"I know but if I have to keep blowing these up, it's going to take forever. And my lips will be all busted because of them," Mac takes another nut into his mouth.

"Fine, one night only, okay? And don't try anything funny, we will just lay there and sleep in the bed, alright?" Dennis remarks making sure that Mac understands.

"Okay thank you Dennis, I'll get to blowing it now."

"Yeah, you do that."

Mac walks over to where there is a deflated sofa bed and blows it up. It takes a good thirty minutes, before it's completely blown up and eventually he closes the small hole and puts the bed down. Without saying anything, Dennis walks into his room and grabs a comforter which he can put on the bed.

"Alright, well I think that solved it. I am almost ready for b--," Dennis stops his sentence as he's taking off his jeans and putting it at the end of the bed. "Alright, remember Mac, we're just laying here."

Mac nods and moves his arm to his side, maybe hoping that during the night Dennis will reach out to him. Dennis tries to sleep, but as Mac keeps snacking on nuts and wheezing, it is driving him insane. It's as if there is a squirrel in their bed.

"You know what, man, I can't do this."

---

I would say that's where I would end it. I haven't written anything like fanfic etc. in literal ages and haven't written an essay in English for like two years. I am hoping it was alright, but this is what I imagined for them to have ended up in the living room in that bed.

[lokh]

wait a second. laios hit him first

[journey-to-the-attic]

there's a moment in lesson 45 of nightbringer where mc falls off a thing (again?? is this foreshadowing?? i'm going to rule-of-three this and wait to see if it happens again) and satan tries and fails to grab their hand to catch them, but now i'm imagining the same thing happening with satan and ik except he does succeed, but it's her right hand and the prosthetic just POP comes straight off

[howtodisappearcompletelyand]

20/10 stars little guy

[ssaraexposs]

Atsushi we get it

[clockwork-carstairs]

okay this letter hurt like hell but you know what i'm really glad i finally know why kit was so angry at ty, because it never made sense to me before. the narrative that kit's angry because ty changed himself, took away part of himself by going through with the necromancy is a loooot better imho than kit being mad either about the necromancy or that ty didn't reciprocate his confession (when ty was clearly in absolutely no position mentally or physically to respond to that). kit being mad because of what it stood for, what it meant – the confirmation that nothing he could've done would ever have changed ty's mind, nothing would've been enough to save ty from himself/what he believed he had to do, kit himself couldn't be enough to help him, nor could anything. ty was always going to do it. hurts like HELL but i really love this slight change in perspective, makes me understand kit's point of view a lot better because prior to this his being angry to ty didn't really add up to me

[books-are-my-life-stuff]

Finished series, Fall 2023: Akuma-kun (2023)

"What is happiness to all humans? Are they happy if there's ample food, clothing, and shelter? Do they want self-fulfillment? Recognition from others? The psychologist Maslow said--" "Hold on. Hey, Ichiro. What is happiness to you?" "To me?"

[uncanny-tranny]

By implying that children are too stupid and rude to learn about the world and learn how the world works and how to interact with others, you are casting responsibility away from the people who are responsible for that child's upbringing and placing the blame on the children (who don't have the autonomy given to them to be allowed to decide what they want) who can't help what they do and do not learn, often.

If the children aren't okay, then investigate why before turning to thought-terminating clichés of, "Well, the kids are just stupid and dumb and aren't even worth the effort because they're lazy!"

[deoidesign]

Hello I stumbled across your profile and I just say I love your art style! I've gotta ask, how'd your develop it? And do you have any advice for someone who can't decide what they want their art to look like?

Thank you so much!

To be entirely honest, I don't feel like I truly "developed" my style. I feel a lot more like I finally let myself draw it! But I am incredibly deliberate with my work, and I do have clear tendencies and preferences... So I'll do my best to explain how I got to where I am now as an artist.

It's important to remember that "style" is something of a nebulous concept. It changes with you as you grow as a person, and most artists can work in and emulate many art styles! Art really is a form of communication with yourself, and your "style" is a reflection of the tendencies and preferences you have. My art does not look how it looked 5 years ago, and my art will look different 5 years from now too. I've changed, and my art reflects that!

(2012, 2018, 2023; two pieces I remember being incredibly proud of and considered my best work up til that point, and then my most recent piece)

What you need to do, as everyone will tell you, is study the fundamentals (anatomy, perspective, form and structure, lighting and shadow, color, and composition) so you have the proper tools to make the most informed decisions possible about your art, and so you can deliberately break or follow rules as you please for your desired effect. I know it sounds silly to learn rules if you're not gonna be following them anyways, but they help you be much more consistent and intentional! More knowledge is NEVER a bad thing to have!

However, I know it's a bit demoralizing to just be told to study fundamentals. Everyone knows you're supposed to do that, but it takes YEARS to learn, and people want their art to feel how they want it to now (which is very very very normal to want!)

So on that front, I have 2 follow up suggestions that I personally find helpful (of course, everyone is different, so it's not like this is the only way to learn! But, if it resonates with you, it might mean it will work for you too.)

1: Separate study from application

I believe this is beneficial for a few reasons:

If the goal of every piece is learning, it can become frustrating, overwhelming, and boring

It's harder to self critique when there are multiple variables to investigate. I like to study one fundamental at a time

Study (usually) works best with a large quantity of output, whereas application of knowledge (finished pieces) is often more satisfying and effective when you get to take your time

Deliberate practical application of what you've learned in a finished piece helps cement the learning in your mind, and also lets you get satisfying finished pieces with noticeable improvement after a good study session!

I've found that keeping these things separate helps me improve faster and more deliberately, and it takes a lot of the pressure off of both aspects! I'm not worried about my studies looking beautiful, they're just to learn! And I don't feel pressured to critique my finished pieces, cause they're just for fun and to make something pretty. I personally find this helps me have a much healthier relationship with my art.

When studying, copy! Copy things as best as you can, all the time. It gives you something to compare to for self critique (and of course, if you're copying someone else's work and you share the study, ALWAYS give credit, share the original, and say it was for study.) In application, don't copy: reference. Make it yours!

2: Let yourself do the things that feel "easy" or like "cheating"

This one is simpler: nothing in art is easy.

If something feels easy to you, most of the time it's not because it's actually any easier... It's because it's part of your natural tendencies and preferences! This took me forever to realize, but as long as you're actually doing some study, then you're learning. You don't need to learn All The Time. When you're doing the "application" portion, you should let yourself do whatever is actually the most fun and feels easiest! This is where your style will start to come through, and where you get to learn about yourself. Take the pressure off, and have fun!!!

The only cheating in art is theft. If you're not stealing, then it's allowed!

My whole life (and yes, still!) I'd get regular criticism about both my style and my subject matter. You will too. You'll see a thousand different styles, and a hundred different things to admire in each. Your heart will ache that you don't draw like others do.

But art is a form of communication with yourself. It's like your voice, or your accent; just something that's a part of you! It can be fun to mimic others', but when you sit to have a conversation you speak naturally. (I know some people want to and do change their voice, but this is a metaphor and metaphors aren't perfect)

Don't stress so much about what you want your art to look like, especially if you're not sure. There's a lot of value to be had in constant experimentation, I think it'd be rather boring to only draw one style the rest of my life. What I draw is what I want to see, right now, for who I am now! It's a part of me and comes naturally, if I let it!

I hope this helps!

[maliciousalice]

Hear me out (or don't... it's fine I'm just venting and mean) yeah um I don't believe Chakotay was saved in Prod*gy s2.

[theskymother]

animal jam is a lot more fun when you're rich

[maxblonda]

wes, warly and non-verbal communication

i know we've seen wes communicate in both pantomime and asl, the latter of which can help him with any language barriers he has with the cast if he doesn't speak english (as the only time we "hear" from him is in the english translation for his solo performance on stage, so we at least know he thinks in french. doesn't necessarily mean that he can only communicate in french since he uses asl- but i guess you could argue that asl has more visibility than lsf- whatever, point being that he at the very least doesn't speak or write in english) but i feel like not enough people have explored the possibilities of his communication with warly, who also speaks french and addresses other characters with french honorifics.

there's already a link they have in game with wes's favorite food only being able to be cooked by warly. there's also warly's constant usage of "mon ami(e)" to address characters, which i take as a sign that he can be just as warm and friendly as wes is (i mean, forgiving maxwell for imprisoning him for what was supposed to be eternity is remarkably kind.)

as for lore-based links, i'm not sure if wes lived in paris, specifically, like warly used to, but i wouldn't be surprised with the way klei has characters cross paths that you'd never expect (ie wickerbottom and willow, walter and woodie) that they could have potentially ran into one another but have no recollection of it. furthermore- it could be kinda sweet to imagine that warly could have seen wes on the streets of paris down on his luck after his shift and taken time out of his night to give him some nice fresh food.

but to be real i really just wanted to write this because i had this one thought of warly knowing some level of french sign language (maybe working on it with one of wickerbottom's books. that lady does have access to a bunch of knowledge, why not books on sign language of all kinds?) and surprising wes when he comes back to base after a long day by signing some sort of equivalent to "i'm so glad you came back safe, mon ami." and wes immediately feeling seen, signing back thank you with a smile, feeling like not only is there someone who knows french, but also is willing to go out of his way to learn to communicate with him in a way that considers wes's own abilities and to find a way to further include him in exchanges between the survivors.

additionally, woodie could join in on the fun. i already imagine as a result of his quotes that he has a pretty heavy canadian english accent, if he has any experience with french it'd likely be quebecois french. so i imagine wes and warly hearing him try to communicate with them in whatever limited french he knows in an accent they're not at all exposed to and simply blinking in silence at him before warly says "come again?"

but back to the two frenchmen. warly could ask wes what he would like to eat by pointing at pictures, sure, or just making whatever he wants and sharing with the other survivors, but i like the idea of warly being considerate enough to sign to wes in lsf, asking him that way instead and getting a direct answer. and the answer is almost always crepes.

[heelkenny]

kinda blurry photos of Kenny Omega on the ring apron during 10/4/23 Dynamite.

[spartanlocke]

bungie:  yes saint-14 and osiris are gay. we just don’t put a lot of emphasis on the romance because destiny isn’t a love story. russia: we censored saint calling osiris "my love.” bungie: 

[ragnarssons]

just literally watched 12 seconds of a "trop bad!!!" tantrum video and they dropped... i'm not kidding the "mary sue" word, like 3 times.

in 12 seconds

because according to that fragile man-snowflake, galadriel is a mary sue. because she can fight against random orcs......... even tho she's an elf yknow............. even tho she spent eons fighting in the biggest war in middle earth against morgoth yknow the biggest baddest villain EVER and his legions of you guessed it... orcs...... even tho she spent then hundreds of years hunting down these same orcs and sauron............

are the fragile men-snowflakes ok?

[blood-starved-beast]

A lot of mariadeline fics have Adeline be the one to die first. Which yeah, makes sense that Maria would kill herself after major tether to this Earth perishes. But consider!! The tragedy of Maria killing herself before Adeline dies.

Lady Maria always prioritizes herself (and how own issues/faults) to the detriment to her understanding of others. I'd argue this is why she never notices Gehrman's mania despite it being pretty obvious (I doubt the Doll was the first time he pulled such an act.) I wouldn't be surprised, therefore, that she in her overwhelming guilt and shame over her own actions, she forgets the connections she does have on Earth and the people who would miss her when she's gone.

Idk, this was inspired by how in the Hunter's Nightmare, when you first encounter Saint Adeline she asks if you were Maria, but climbing the Clocktower Maria is currently dead (until she is Not). More likely, the fics are right but again, it's a fun tragic fanfic concept to explore.