#i’m right about fonts btw

[daisychainsandbowties]

Moonlit 🌛 and amber

moonlit: are you a neat or messy person? Is your room / house orderly?

okay so i’m a bit of both. i’m hyper-organised and tidy about certain things like books, my part of the fridge is colour-coded and organised front to back by expiration date. cupboards are the same and also clothes organised by softness/ looseness/ casual vs work. and then by colour. research documents have folders and sheets to organise them and i have my citations in the most painstaking organisation ever because they suck to lose track of. all my online portals for students are very organised too.

but i’m also constantly tripping over stuff on my floor the creative side of my laptop is utter chaos can’t find anything. inventories in video games an unmitigated disaster. i have a habit of just throwing stuff on the floor and stuffing wrappers into obscure places. and like. the bedroom is a mess except for the bookcases and the wardrobe. which are spotless.

amber: share an unpopular opinion you may have

the best font size is 10.5 calibri with no magnification

[mikeystrawberry]

This piece is very special to me so here’s some early progress stuff where I was figuring out the composition and colors + younger Terry’s design (+ a wall of rambling in the tags lol)

I started listening to this podcast a year ago already, it’s grown to mean the absolute world to me. So my love letter to a year of listening is the scene that got me to start.

[makos-hotbox]

Hello! Saw that ur taking requests soooo may I request a coffee shop au where the MW2 characters are the baristas? Pairing would be König with a male reader (he/him)... So basically reader is a regular and König has a crush and the others are just teasing him so much about it that reader eventually heard them? Just fluff all around!! ❤❤❤ (You can just ignore this if you don't want to write it btw!💓)

LARGE FONT VER. (coming soon)

… 𝐗𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐗

`⌁ ◜ 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤, 𝐢’𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞? ◞

Relaxing music was heard throughout the building. The dining area was empty as König leaned against the counter with his eyes closed. Trying to focus on the lyrics of the song rather than the customer who had just left with an even worse attitude than they came in with. His anxiety was at peak right now, the confrontation could’ve been avoided.

A lady had come in to get her “usual”. Causing König to let her know that he didn’t know her, let alone if she had a usual. He had expected her to just tell him her normal order, but instead she freaked out on him. It went on for about ten minutes. Even Ghost and Soap stepped in to try and calm her down to no avail. Once she was done with her temper tantrum, the woman left. No coffee in hand.

All of the yelling easily made König’s heart race, not the best thing to start his morning shift with. “You okay, König?” He heard Ghost ask. Opening his eyes to see his concerned coworker, König nodded his head slowly.

“Ja, I’m fine. Just not the thing I was expecting this early.” He nervously chuckled, getting back to work and refilling the coffee beans. Simon nodded his head in understanding, just wanting the Austrian to be feeling okay. He also went back to doing his chores.

A few minutes later, Soap came to the front from the kitchen. “Try these.” He handed König a couple of differently flavored cookies, the taller man immediately taking a bite out of one. Soap was the shop’s baker. Constantly coming up with new fucked-up flavors for König and Ghost to test and approve or deny.

Soap stood in front of König patiently, arms crossed over his chest as he awaited his answer. He watched König’s facial expressions closely. “Wow… these taste great, Soap! And they look just as good as they are. These are gonna sell out so fast— oh gott.” König interrupted his own rambling by shoving the remainder of the cookies into his mouth, completely whipped by the flavors.

A large cocky grin was plastered on Soap’s face. Laughing at König’s love for his treats, it made the Scot feel proud of himself. “Good to know they passed the test. I have tons o’ batches ready to go on display.” Soap looked around the shop, noticing it was empty. An idea sparking into his head to tease his coworker. “Aye, where’s y/n? ‘E hasn’t shown up yet. Usually would have been here by now.”

König’s eyes widened at the mention of your name, but he also was confused. Soap was right, normally you would have already come into the shop. But it’s way past the time they always see you. “Huh… I don’t know. Maybe he was busy today?” König pondered, a slight drop in his mood at the realization he didn’t get to see you today.

Yes, König was crushing. He knew it, and so did everyone else who worked in the shop with him. König couldn’t spend a single shift without being teased by one of his coworkers. He didn’t mind though, because all the teasing was just the truth. There wasn’t a single ounce of shame or embarrassment in König’s mind; you're a great person!

Every time you came to the shop, you would ask König to pick a drink for you to have. And while he makes his favorite drink for you to have, the two of you will talk about whatever is going on at the moment. Whether it be about your job, life, or something stupid, König was all ears. Gott, he loved hearing you talk. He felt natural around you, not shy and filled with anxiety. Soap joked that you were his Xanax.

“König? Earth to König?” Ghost snapped his fingers in front of the Austrian’s eyes, knocking him out of whatever trance he was in. “Stuck in La La Land?”

“Nope, Simon he’s stuck in Y/n Land. He hasn’t shown up yet today.” Soap interrupted, nudging König, causing him to roll his eyes. He grumbled some German curses under his breath as Soap kept his teasing going. The Scot seemed to annoy Ghost more than his actual victim.

Ghost clamped his hand over Soap’s mouth. “Johnny shut it.” He turned his attention back to König, “so when are you asking him out?”

The question alone caused König’s face to flush red. “Uh…” he fiddled with his hands, suddenly nervous under the eyes of his two closest friends who were waiting eagerly for an answer. “I don’t know! I like him a lot, but what if he’s not even into guys? What if he laughs at me for even asking that?” This was the first time König had ever felt anxiety about you. Mind spinning with the endless possibilities of what could happen and a majority of them were negative. He couldn’t help but worry.

“Okay and? What if he doesn’t laugh at you and instead accepts? Ever think about that one?” Ghost interrupted, trying to put König’s anxiety at ease. König couldn’t think of a comeback, Ghost was right. There was an equal chance you would accept or deny— but why was he so worried?

“Come on König! It’s bad ‘nough watching you become mush all because he-“ Soap was interrupted.

“Why’s König becoming mush?” Your voice hit the three workers’ ears, sending an adrenaline rush of quick panic.

König spun around quickly, facing you with a nervous grin on his face. “Y/n!” Behind him, Soap grabbed Ghost by the apron and dragged him into the kitchen to leave König with you; great. “You snuck in!” The Austrian awkwardly laughed, hoping you didn’t hear any of the conversation from before. How long have you been here? How did no one hear the bell?

“I sure as hell did. Come on, don’t be surprised. I come here almost every day.” You commented, noticing the slight redness on his face. König moved over to the register to order your drink; it was the beginning of the week, meaning he had a new favorite drink that he wanted you to try.

He tried to keep up a conversation with you. “I thought I wouldn’t see you today, working late?” You shrugged your shoulders, a small grumble leaving your lips.

“Not really, I’m actually looking for work. Had to quit my last job.” You explained, König frowned. But an idea popped in his head.

“Why don’t you put in an application here? The hours and pay are good. And I think you would like it!” He smiled, a genuine sign that he wanted to help you. Hell, he would help you with anything if it meant he could be around you.

You nodded your head, thinking it would be a good idea. “Maybe I will. Oh! By the way, what was all that talk about you turning into mush?” You leaned against the counter, a cheeky smirk on your face. “You like someone König?” Wiggling your brows at him, he cowered under your gaze. He was nervous, but he wasn’t going to let that get in the way of this opportunity. You can do it, König.

He’s never been good at flirting, let alone conversing with people he likes. But gott, he was going to try. “…maybe I do.” König mumbled, watching your surprised expression. He finished your drink and handed it to you over the counter.

Taking the drink, you continued your interrogation. “Who’s the lucky guy? What’s he like?” You took a sip, waiting for his answer. König swallowed nervously, now suddenly debating on telling you or not— wait.

“Well- wait. Lucky guy?” König’s heart dropped. How did you know?

“Yeah! I heard you worrying about whether or not to ask him out when I got here. Plus I kind of already thought you liked guys, sorry for assuming.” You replied, a smile appearing once again. König avoided your apology, it was well known he wasn't good at masking as straight, so he didn't mind the assumption. “Personally, I think you should ask him. The worst that could happen is getting rejected and never seeing him again. But if you don’t, you completely lose a chance of any sort of date happening.”

König nodded, half of his mind was trying to pay attention to you and seem normal. The other half was trying to muster up the courage to go with your advice right then and there. You were genuinely trying to help him through this, and that only made him fall further into the pit of attraction he had for you. “So, would you rather take the opportunity and face the possibility of rejection? Or just completely avoid it all and receive absolutely nothing?” You awaited his answer, the Austrian looking away from you as he sorted through the hurricane of thoughts going through his head.

“I don’t think I want to miss this chance…” He said quietly, barely heard over the music coming from the speakers. Your head cocked to the side, not hearing what König said. “Okay. Y/n, i'm sorry that it took me so long to ask out of nowhere– but i like you a lot and i was wondering if maybe.. You would like to go on a date with me?”

Scheiße, das war lahm. König slapped himself mentally for such a lame question. And another one for asking that right after you had given him advice. Seeing your shocked expression on your face sent waves of embarrassment and guilt down his stomach. Who asks their friend out after just receiving important advice from them? Was it weird? König opened his mouth to apologize and accept the rejection he was expecting, but the grin on your face stopped him.

“I honestly didn’t think you would do it.” König’s brows furrowed, what did you mean? “Your face gets a little more red every time I come here, I noticed. And Soap has told me how you wait for me to walk through the door every day.” You leaned over the counter to get closer to him, placing your free hand over his. His eyes, expressive as always, widened as he stared at you. A red tint on his cheeks that only got worse as he realized how close you were. Scheiße, König’s heart was beating so fast and loud he was positive you could hear it. What the hell was happening right now?

“And i think all of that– and you– is fucking attractive as hell. So, yes König, I would love to go on a date with you.” König felt like his lungs were going to explode and his heart would fail. You accepted? He couldn’t contain the wide grin from forming, a loud breath of relief leaving his lips. His euphoric thought train was interrupted by the sound of your laughter, you were laughing at him. But not because he was funny.

It's because he looked starstruck. Like a teenage boy who just got his first girlfriend and first kiss on the same day. He felt like it too. König waited for you to calm down before offering, “I’ll pick you up at seven?” You grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down your phone number and address, handing it to him.

“Sounds perfekt.”

»»»

Soap and Ghost stared through the crack in the door, watching König shuffle his feet and lose himself as he finally asked you out. Ghost had to hit his friend multiple times to get him to keep quiet. Soap only got louder from all of the hitting. “Johnny, shut up. If you get us caught, we can’t take on the angry Austrian.” Ghost hissed at the Scot, earning an annoyed side-eye instead.

“I don’t listen to people who hit.”

Smack!

REQUESTS:: OPEN

» 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 / 𝐢 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 … 𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫

[thedndgoblinwholivesinyourwalls]

Bruised Apologies

A Glark Fic for and based loosely on @justablah56 and it’s post!! Is it my best work? idk! Warning for violence? (someone getting punched and mentions of past violence just in case!)

[Aether Hihi I hope you enjoy this! Again, I’ve never written these guys and also idk how to portray characters that well in fanfic so uhhh fuck it we ball. This is a bit short and idk if it follows your Tumblr post well]

(She/They Terry and She/Her Sparrow btw! To avoid confusion and this is set when these guys are late teens/early twenties :])

Lark spat blood out on the floor, catching himself before he fell. The crack that had rung out when Grant had punched his face still hung in the air. The hand holding the railing and stopping him from falling was already splattered with blood, none of it his. He could hear Grant running up to meet him and by the time Lark got his balance, Grant was shaking his shoulders.

“Lark, buddy,” Lark could hear the fear in Grant’s voice and when he met his eyes, it was even clearer. The boy’s jacket was covered in dirt from when he had fallen, and Lark couldn’t help but smile a little when he saw his blood on Grant’s hand.

“I didn’t mean- it was the adrenaline I think-I’m sorry,”

“Don’t apologize.” Lark’s voice was ragged from yelling earlier. 

“I asked you to hit me.”

“Yes but not that hard!” While Grant was stuttering out another apology, Lark noticed that Grant’s nose was bleeding. Around them, the empty parking lot was lit dimly with streetlights and the building Lark was leaning up against had a sign reading D.A.D.D.I.E.S in a business font. Coughing, he stood up, Grant hurriedly copying him. Lark held a hand to his cheek, trying to feel how much damage there was.

“How bad does it look?” Grant paused.

“Not that bad but that doesn’t mean its ok, I think it could bruise so- “Lark covered Grant’s mouth with his hand.

“Thanks, you don’t need to apologise again,’ He removed his hand and Grant went to speak but seemed to think better for it since he stayed quiet. Lark wiped the blood from Grant’s face, not doing a good job since he himself had blood on his hand. In the end he ended up putting more blood than removing it from Grant’s face. Grant laughed awkwardly and took a piece of cloth from his pocket.

“It’s one of Terry’s cloths for her glasses since they forget them, I think it could work,” Lark took it and cleaned his hands and Grant’s face in silence.

“Lark,”

“Hm?” Grant’s hands met his and Lark looked up to see him looking at him.

“What?” Lark put the cloth back in Grant’s hands and stood back, the silence now weighing on him.

“For fuck’s sake spit it out!” This was the loudest Lark had raised his voice that night besides when he had yelled, and he could feel his throat ache.

“Sorry.” Grant’s voice was cautious and when Lark didn’t say anything he continued.

“I know you said to hit you, so we’d be even, but I don’t want to hurt you again.” Grant’s hands were warm. Lark couldn’t help but remember when he’d talked to Sparrow about  kissing Grant. She’d said go for it, but he didn’t think this is what she’d deem as the right time.

“I don’t want us fighting to become a thing we do ok?” Lark wasn’t paying attention. Grant’s eyes were shiny, from pain or tears Lark didn’t know, and he was waiting for a response.

“Lark please- “Lark leant forward, grabbing Grant’s jacket. Sparrow’s voice in his head yelled something about him being stupid but he waved her away as he pressed his lips to Grant’s. Grant mumbled something in surprise, but it was caught up in their kiss. Grant’s hands cupped Lark’s face and the kiss turned into what Lark could describe as hunger and relief. Grant’s lips were broken and chapped from when he worried, they were dry, but Lark didn’t complain. His weren’t any better. Lark’s hands found their way under Grant’s jacket and held his waist.

“LARK OAK GARCIA.” The two of them pulled away quickly, Lark looking around and saw that they’d been kissing right in front of D.A.D.D.I.E.S main entrance and Nicky Freeman stood there, huffing as if he’d had to run there. He was joined by Terry being dragged by Sparrow, the two of them sprinting as if their life depending on it. The scene was frozen with Lark still holding Grant’s waist, Grant blushing with his head in his hands, Terry and Sparrow shocked and Nicky smiling like he’d won the lottery.

“Right Sparrow you owe me,” He held his hand out and Sparrow slapped it away, nodding.

“You guys kissed right in front of the security cameras,” Terry said, still struggling to catch her breath. Sparrow walked over and shook Lark by the shoulders.

“You’re lucky it was just us actually, Mr Wilson had just left, and I think you could have given him a heart attack if he’d seen,” she said this jokingly, but he knew he’d be getting a talk either from Sparrow or his mum. They all started walking in, and Grant ran up to Lark from where he’d been giving Terry their blood-stained glasses cloth and caught him by the arm.

“Uh-was that a yes to my question?” Lark laughed and nodded. 

“Yeah it is.” Grant smiled and walked alongside him into the warmth of the HQ and by the time they got in the elevator, his hand was looped in Lark’s.

[shuniverse]

pick me up ,,| l.f

a/n: i’m doing these in a different font style now lol. but i wrote this on the spot because i’m just so done with life rn. i’m not going through personal internal issues, but needless to say this drabble will kinda sum things up. also this is written in lowercase on purpose, just btw

1.1k words

involves felix because he’s one of my biggest comforts next to channie.

the basic gist is of parents fighting and reader having to leave because of it, but it doesn’t explicitly show what they’re saying, so no descriptions of abusive language.

┆ ° ♡ • ➵ ✩ ◛ °

you can’t do it anymore. the constant yelling, the fighting. you wish you had enough money to leave, but seeing as you’re job only pays so much and your parents seem to want you to stay, you’re stuck.

you’re in your room, blankets tucked over your head trying to drown them out as you at least attempt sleep, but it doesn’t work. the banging, the clattering, the constant berating and degrading and just pure hatred seeming to spew out of your parents mouths is too much.

you don’t know what else to do, so you call your boyfriend, seeing as it’s your only option. you pull out your phone, the brightness of your lock screen blinding you momentarily in the dark cocoon of your blankets. once your eyes have adjusted, you unlock your phone and head right to his number.

you: lixie come get me please

lix ❤️🍪: ok honey! what’s wrong? is it happening again?

you can’t bring yourself to answer at first, tears pricking again at your already puffy eyes.

you: yes pls come get me i can’t do this anymore

he sends two thumbs up emojis, and one little heart, attempting at trying to be gentle, which he always is. felix is someone you never thought you’d have, but you’re sure as hell not letting him go.

about 10 minutes later, there’s a text on your screen.

lix ❤️🍪: I’m here baby. take your time, I’m in no rush, I love you

you smile at his text, and send just a heart emoji. he doesn’t press for more of a response.

your tugging on your converse, the ones your mom bought you. they’re dirty, but functionable. you tie the laces loosely, tugging on your (felix’s) hoodie, grab your phone and bbokari plush and leave quietly out of your room. your parents are in the kitchen, and you shrink down while they’re shouting, not even noticing you leave. you sneak out the front door, and jog the small distance to felix’s car.

as you get in, you’re greeted by felix in all his beautiful glory in the drivers seat, looking to be disheveled and anxious. as soon as he sees you and your in your seat and shut the door, he grabs you and brings you in for a comforting, yet very snug, hug, breathing shakily into your hair.

“are you okay? are you hurt?” he pulls away, inspecting your features, his face softening just a bit as he sees the hoodie and plush sticking out of the hood haphazardly. sighing and brushing your hair back, he plants a gentle kiss against your forehead.

you shake your head at his question, and rest your head on his shoulder, tears in dry streaks down your face, your eyes red still. “no, they never touch me when they get like this.” you look up at him, and hold one of his ringed hands. “thank you, lixie.”

he smiles warmly, kissing your cheek. “any time, sweetheart.” his deep, soothing voice comforts you, and you snuggle against his shoulder

“can we go now? i don’t-“

before you can finish your sentence, felix is driving off. he intertwines his fingers with yours, kissing the back of your hand. “let’s head home, yeah?”

you smile. you’ve gotten used to calling felix’s apartment your home, it’s comforting. better than your actually home, where every other night it seems like you’re woken up by yelling.

after 10 minutes of comfortable silence, you’re walking up with felix to his apartment.

you don’t even expect a “come home” text from one of your parents tonight. if they haven’t noticed you leaving, they certainly won’t notice that you’re gone.

sitting on his couch, you’re watching on of your favorite comfort movies, an old Disney movie from when you were young. snuggled up against your boyfriend, you feel a surprising buzz of your phone. you reach for it, and pull it out to see, surprisingly, a “come home. please.” not from your mom, nor your dad. no, it’s from your brother. he never texts you.

you sigh, replying with:

you: im sorry, im at felix’s. you can call your girlfriend to get you?

the question is genuine, and he replies back almost immediately.

brother boy: I’ve tried but she won’t respond. they’re getting louder. can you help me?

you: I can ask one of the boys? I know you’re close to some of them. want me to call jeongin?

brother boy: sure. that works. just anything to get my out of this shit hole

you look at felix, who’s been gazing at you with a curious look in his beautiful brown eyes. “what’s the matter, sweetheart?”

“my brother needs to leave too. can you call innie?”

he nods immediately, grabbing his phone and calling jeongin.

they’re talking, and in a little less than a minute he’s ended the call. “innie’s on his way. good thing him and your brother are friends, huh?”

you nod, a small smile on your face before you look back at your phone for a second. the screen is notification free.

you open your messages and shoot your brother a text.

you: hey, jeongin’s coming to get you. he’ll be there quick, don’t worry okay?

brother boy: okay- oh, I think I see his car on the other side of the street. I’ll climb out the window.

you: no! just go out the door, I went out the back door. they didn’t even notice, you’ll be okay.

brother boy: ok. thank you

you: no problem. have fun with jeongin

he sends a thumbs up. you look up at felix, and kiss his jaw, making him smile. “thank you for helping me, lixie.”

he nods, kissing your forehead. “the least I could do, baby.”

you yawn, and he gently rubs your shoulder before scooting down a bit to lay you both down on the couch, and he pulls a soft blanket over top of you. he snuggles bbokari in your free arm, on the open side of the couch. “let’s get some rest, yeah?”

you nod sleepily against his chest, snuggling into it.

he kisses your head. “I love you, sleep good baby.”

you mumble something, and felix giggles, before wrapping his arms around you, holding you close as you both drift off to sleep.

you wish you didn’t have to run to him every time your parents fought, but you’re glad he’s there anyways. you’re parents fighting is shoved to the back of your head as you fall asleep, but you know you’ll have to talk to them tomorrow.

but tomorrow is the last thing in your mind.

——————————————————————————

hope you guys enjoyed!

please know that if you guys are dealing with things like this, and it’s getting bad, please don’t be afraid to tell somebody. this is a serious thing. my parents aren’t exactly innocent in this department, and I hate to have to hear it, and I don’t want the same for any of my readers or any others living with their parents.

this was a way for me to express my emotions through writing, involving someone who brings me much comfort. call it a coping mechanism, if you will. I hope people who are struggling can find a happy coping mechanism as well, and I wish you all the best <3

stay safe!

[beefscrap]

Bro’s fed up with the monologue Souleater’s been spewing in his head for the past hour (I don’t blame him smh- she’s way too enthusiastic about ‘scorching pyrrhia to ashes- so that only those that know true power remain’ pfft)

Insight is definitely not the type that’d be manipulated by Souleater lmao, I doubt he’d ever entertain the idea of ‘completely erasing those you loath from history, in exchange for freeing me’ when it’s obvious from Souleater’s mind that she should probably stay stuck on that island 😒

She’s been so sleepy eepy for so long that her shocked face just looks like she’s about to bite someone 🤷 skill issue amiright

I have no clue what I’m doing /silly /gen 😎✌️

EEEAAUUU THIS !!!

Starting with the art- I love it. Obviously. Your style is so SHARP but also really expressive!! And it’s superrr fitting for Insight omg. HIS EXPRESSION IS PHENOMENAL as well as Souleaters. And such an awesome design for her btw. The way she looks so menacing- then so baffled by tiny little Insight AUGUGH. THE FONTS they give so much extra personality. Big heavy and bold is perfect for insight and I can HEAR Souleaters voice! I really like how you were able to highlight both dark dragons on a dark background. Plus, it adds to the scene!!

HED BE SO FED UP I CANT wait to get more into Insight reading minds, since there’s dragons to do that now! He may be a little emo but I’m sure he’d get tired of her values very quickly 😭. So YOURE TOTALLY RIGHT! I think he’s generally pretty tough to manipulate (I mean, considering the entire trope of his character) and even if he’d love to erase everyone in the animus organization, I agree that he’d see past her lies. Her shocked face is so funny. I just love how she still looks so menacing even when you can tell she’s stunned

[sazeracs]

Get to know me better

Tagged by @averythepirate! Btw I did this in Word and forgot I had installed the Pentiment fonts so yall can’t see it but this is all in Pentiment humanist script teehee

Do you make your bed? Yep, it helps me start the day off right, personally.

What is your job? I work at a university. My specific role isn’t necessarily what I want to do “””as a career”””, though it is something I have lots of experience in and do on the side as a consultant.

If you could go back to school, would you? I would stay in school for the rest of my life if I could lol. If someone can pay me to do it, even better. I intend to go back to school for my doctorate and am looking at programmes abroad because it is otherwise unlikely to be feasible here in the US 🥲 (And also because I want to!)

Can you parallel park? Yes. I am a gay who can drive. It ain’t much, and truthfully idek that it’s honest work, either, because I’m fighting for my life every time (Boston driver), but I stay reasonably silly about it 🫡

A job you’ve had that would surprise people: Idk if any of the jobs I’ve had would surprise people, but I have had lots of unusual jobs.

Do you think aliens are real? There’s no way we’re the only mfs in the universe lmao

Can you drive a manual car? I originally learned how to drive stick shift 😎

What’s your guilty pleasure? I’m with Avery on this one in that I ultimately don’t believe in feeling ‘guilty’ about liking things, but in the service of It’s Not That Deep, I love J-/K-pop including BTS LOL. Not truly a part of stan nation though, maybe more like an occasional tourist.

Tattoos? Not yet but I want so many – I just haven’t decided what I want my first to be and also they’re expensive 😭 (<- has seven piercings)

Do you like puzzles? Hell yea I love a good puzz

Any phobias? Very specific, but worms, centi/millipedes, and their ilk. Not snakes/other worm-like non-insects or even bugs generally, just those. (Please be normal about this.)

Favourite childhood sport: I still do them so maybe it doesn’t quite count, but horseback riding and fencing :3c

First thing you wanted to be growing up: Uhhh probably something in the arts? Cannot remember exactly

Do you talk to yourself? Doesn’t everyone?

What movies do you adore? The one that immediately came to mind was AMADEUS. Literally one of my “watch this to understand me” movies. Immaculate.

Coffee or tea? I drink and enjoy both, but I’m likelier to get coffee if I’m out, say.

Favourite colour: I don’t have a single favourite colour but like deep, rich colours.

Tagging @nessvn, @esotericeribos, @emby-m, @wrenhavenriver, @netch-rancher, and @cloistergardens 🫶🏼

[amikufanlol]

And since I thought this would work better, for now…

(I’m sorry I changed Krino’s font between photos)

Also btw idk if I need both but here they are anyways: for text out of the picture, colors & those weird ending things with their names (idk what they’re called).

-Krino⭐️🍬

-Jinwari🌧️ (I couldn’t find anything to fit other than the rain symbol if anyone has any suggestions it would be GREATLY APPRECIATED-)

-Saitei🌀💊 (almost forgot about Saitei! Couldn’t have made her thing blue since her buddy & another person are ALREADY blue and there are no more blue options. Had to stick to bold and italicized white

-Clover Knight🍀🗡️ (currently stuck in WIP hell)

-Unnamed OC #1👾💾 (the one I just CAN’T GET RIGHT. Stuck in WIP hell)

-Unnamed OC #2🌌🔭 (the AI-generated by a random person to redesigned OC. Slowly getting out of WIP hell)

Not going to add OCs to this list unless I’ve STARTED their designs. Will only use them on the ask blog once I finish them & give them a name. Clover Knight MIGHT be an exception but he’s only being used in text until I finish him.

[iguessitsjustme]

I Saw You In My Dream Ep 2 Thoughts

Okay I just finished episode 1 and I immediately had to jump into episode 2. Obviously. I got my donuts. I got my pringles. Let’s just dive right in. Liveblog under the cut:

Oh Ai and the sex dream. Love it. Okay Ai, now listen to me. Do not do what I did when I had a sex dream about a friend when I was in high school. Now listen. I had a sex dream about a same sex friend. And then I immediately told her and I was like “weird, right?” and she was like “sex dreams are completely natural! thanks for being comfortable enough with me to share that!” and I need you to understand that I did not have feelings for my friend. So cut me some slack. But it still took me another fucking decade before I realized I was attracted to women. All my personal gender shit aside, don’t do that Ai. Listen to your subconscious. For it knows. And that has been oversharing time with Rae. (btw she is still one of my best friends to this day.)

Ai. Please tell your friend about your dream. He can’t give you advice if he doesn’t know.

Ai, hate to break it to ya, but you can’t research away the gay thoughts. Them suckers here to stay.

See my guy? Gay thoughts. Once they take hold they are there forever. Worry not though. Gay thoughts are your friend. Gay thoughts love you. Gay thoughts just want you to be happy.

If I were to make a prediction, Yu has liked Ai for pretty much his entire life. Now Ai is catching feelings but Yu has no idea and just thinks his crush is one sided. And if that’s the case then I am HERE for it. If that’s not the case then I am also here for it. I’m here for whatever.

So Ing is just the cutest boy who ever lived with the cutest little crush on his friend. The way he was smiling at that towel? Unmatched cuteness. I feel like I need to pinch his cheeks or something.

Rae vs the internet that doesn’t want to load. What have I done to deserve such suffering?

It’s working again yay! Now I can see Ing’s reaction to Ai’s prophetic dreams! Woo!

Someone tell me what this title screen reminds me of? I feel like there was another show with similar fonts and color palettes but I cannot for the life of me figure it out.

LIL BOY SDIGHKSLHFGKDJFHKJH

Give the translators a raise I swear to god

I’m obsessed with this framing.

Well this music, despite sounding nothing like this song, got a song stuck in my head. Took me a minute to figure out why but the song stuck in my head is The Sky and The Dawn and The Sun by Celtic Woman and if you don’t know the song there’s this bit that goes “I am the sky and the dawn and the sun I am the sky and the new day begun” and up until the very last note in that verse, it is the same little melody playing in the show. Very completely and totally different vibes. If I had the spoons one day, I might use this as an example for how even the same notes can sound different in different hands with different interpretations and how music can change even if technically the melody is the same. Because if I played both bits for you, they sound extremely different. But the notes? The same. Or at least the melody is. Not sure of the exact key of each but they have to be relatively close in key if not the same (it’s been awhile since I listened to that song by Celtic Woman) (also also the music around that one specific section is completely different. nothing at all alike)

Oh now see this is fascinating because if Ai didn’t have the dream, he would not have gone to the park and this would not have happened. Right?

The music in this episode is getting me. It is so much better than last episode. So, so much better.

See, here’s the thing. I desperately want to watch episode 3. But I have to work tomorrow. And I’m getting over being sick. So I need rest. But I want to watch episode 3 so bad. Tomorrow. I can watch tomorrow. It will be fine. I can be patient. I can wait. Luckily, work will be busy so the day should pass by quickly.

[annikuza]

how could you watch The Penguin and think that man has any good in him and wouldn't kill Victor? Victor saw him at his weakest, there was no way he was making it out and it wouldn't have made sense in Oz's head (bc that's what the show is about) to not kill him. he is a villain through and through who will do ANYTHING to get to the top

also it wasn't written by Matt Reeves so if you're going to complain about not being able to understand such an incredible show or character at least get the details right. not liking the outcome of the show doesn't mean it was written badly btw

🧍

damn bruh my bad

it doesn’t rly matter to me if i said the wrong writers, same thing different font

also I’m starting to change my view on the death scene. Oswald def had something familial going w Vic, and they definitely shared that sentiment but consider he was a ‘loose end’ AND he was his family. He did kill Victor to not let anyone get to his vulnerabilities but also perhaps because he didn’t want anyone ELSE taking out Victor but him. He didn’t want Victor to get hurt or suffer so he just did the deed himself

like that would make more sense to me, yk? Maybe i’m delusional, maybe i’m still shocked and upset by the ending but this makes more sense to me

anyway, doesnt mean I hate the show. it was AMAZING all throughout. I’m just weirded out by the creative liberties the writers took

not my Oswald but 🤷 everyone has a right to their opinion okay goodnight

VICTOR BEGTER BE ALIVE

[maireadralph]

Entrapdak Zine 5 - “Nostalgia” is now open for submissions!!

Did you know this issue will mark two years of this Entrapdak Zine? I’m just as surprised as you!

Right let’s down to business!

The deadline for this issue will be Saturday JULY 1st 2021 at 9AM GMT.

What’s that in your timezone? Go here for a Handy Dandy Countdown -> https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/wfh?iso=20230701T09&p0=136&msg=Entrapdak+Zine+5+Deadline&font=hand&csz=1

I am flexible on this Deadline so anything that arrives on this date or by my 9am the next day July 2nd is allowed (I’m in the GMT timezone BTW)

I am LESS flexible on the Extension Deadline (see FAQs Section for more information on that)

The Zine will be out mid July the actual date is flexible and dependant on when all the Submissions come in and my own personal work schedule.

So most of this is the same as the last few - really if it ain’t broke don’t fit it!  Also a polite reminder I am only one person running this and I am a part time Barista.  It may take me a little time to reply to emails/comments especially after the Deadline time (when I have the most amount of work to do on this project) so please be patient with me.

Our basic guidelines are the same as last issue.  This is:

A Digital pdf Zine containing content created by the fans for the fans

A 100% Free Zine

Preferred Language is English

SFW content suitable for a Y7-PG13 age range (same as the show’s age rating)

You may notice I run this different to other zines as there is no sign up period, just submit work before the deadline - I’d rather people have more time to work on their pieces 

Anyone can submit regardless of age or skill level - this is not a job application - just follow the guidelines and email in your work

Submission can be Fan Writing (poems, fan fiction, character analysis, eassys etc), Fan Art, or even photos of your Entrapdak IRL content (cosplays, fancrafts etc)!  You can submit an older work that you have published online previously if you wish - or even update a work you submitted to the last Zine! Just have fun!

Guidelines applicable to all work:

Content Age Rating:

Like the show this Zine will contain content rated Y7 and PG13 rated - so please no swearing 

There WILL BE NO NSFW or 18+ content - where possible let’s keep this suitable for all ages please 

Sub note on character minimum clothing requirements: 

for male presenting characters to be speedos/underpants

for female presenting characters to be a bikini/bra and underpants 

if not sure please use the female presenting criteria

Theme:

This issue’s theme if you wish to use it is:

“Nostalgia”

This theme is a suggestion and if you’d rather make an Entrapdak piece without this theme please feel free to do so. I want you to have fun!

Allowed Characters:

As long as both Entrapta and Hordak are the main focus and the piece follows Age Rating it will be allowed.

Other allowed characters in the Entrapdak family include Emily, Imp and the Clones (also known as Spacebats)…yes weirdly this also  includes Horde Prime.

Other She-Ra characters will be allowed but Entrapdak is to be the core element.

Phew that’s a lotta text sorry about that - now on to the fun stuff! What sort of stuff is allowed?

Sex Swap AU, Species Swap AU, Furry AU, Toony AU, Anime AU, Fankid AU, Coffee Shop AU, married AU, Spacebat AU, just besties AU just to name the few that pop into my head! Oh yeah Canon Lab Partners Entrapdak too…hehe nearly forgot about that one XD. Make something Entrapdak related that’s PG13 rated and have fun!!

Fan Writing guidelines:

This includes fan fiction, analysis eassys, poetry or whatever else you’d like to write about.  I would ask this content to be between 1k-10k words in length, it’s not a big deal if the writing is over 10k or even if it’s 20k - write whatever your story needs. If you’d like to write Chapters then please do!

Written work can be emailed in the body of text, sent as pdf attachment or as a link to a Google Doc - I can work with any of those.

Please include you name/username somewhere as it helps. If there’s no name on the piece I’ll add one at the start with the title.

Fan Art guidelines:

Fan art can include rough sketches, screencap redraws, comics (appox 1-10 pages length), coloured sketches or full colour pieces. 

Fan art can be in the digital or traditional medium.  

Traditional fan art can either be submitted as a photo or scanned, which ever you prefer.

Preferred sizing for Digital art is as follows, my aim to to have everything on International (UK) A4 paper sizing where possible*

2480px x 3508pm DPI 132 

Portrait layout is preferred**

PNG is preferred but I will understand if you only wish to send a workable JPEG

The aspect ratio (width:height) of A4 paper is 1:1.4142 (1:√2)

If you need a template here’s one -> Here’s a prepared A4 Canvas PSD File (2480pm x 3508px 300DPI) if you’d like to download it and use it <- Template

Notes: 

*Images outside these sizings are still okay but may end up with a white border on the edges due to the PDF publishing settings.  

**Images in the landscape layout will get boarders when posted on a portrait page due to the PDF publishing settings, however if I receive landscape art I will make some extra pages at the end of the Zine and attempt to turn landscape art into a two page spread (which does look awesome!).

How to Apply:

Make your content and email it to entrapdakzineisluvd[at]gmail.com by JULY 1st 2023

Please make sure to include your Social Media contacts and which name or username you wish to be identified by.  If you forget to include social media details and have been a part of a previous Zine I’ll use the details I have on file 

I will reply to confirm I have received the content and that’s it I take care of the rest!

Please note I DO NOT KEEP any records of anyone’s email addresses.  When the Zine is out I batch delete all emails sent to the email address (this is usually done a week after the Zine is out) and I keep no further records of these address. I respect your email privacy at all times.  

The only records I keep on Zine applications is a private Google Sheet that has the following details: Submitter’s name, rough description of the item submitted and their social media contacts. I’m the only person with access to this Google Sheet as I use this as a Master List reference when compiling the Zine 

FAQs:

Why no Application form?

I don’t want anyone to feel like they are applying for a job here, this is supposed to be fun.

Will there be Guest Artists or Guest Writers?

If they apply sure, I’m not advertising who applies to be a part of this Zine until it’s ready to be published.  I don’t want anyone to feel intimidated just because a certain person has chosen to participate.

Can I submit more than one piece?

If you’d like to certainly!  If you’d like to submit up to three pieces of art and 3 fan writings, sure go for it! I’m certainly not going to stop anyone having a good time

May I post a preview of my work to my Followers?

Sure! Bonus points if you link them to this post so that they can take part if they wish

May I post my work online?

I would ask if you could please wait until the issue featuring your work is published. Of course this does not apply if you are chosen to submit and older work - in this case may I ask that you edit or add to said post to mention the work was also used in the Zine?

Is this only for people with a [insert certain social media account here]?

Nope, this is for anyone who wants to take part.  I only ask for a social media contact so that others who like you work for the Zine may follow you on your preferred social media platform.

Can I send an update to a piece?

Of course! Just let me know which piece you want to use and I’ll update on my end

Can I send another piece on later?

Of course that’s not a problem!

Ah I can’t get this done before the deadline - it’s almost ready!!!  I need another day!!!!

Contact me, either through the submitting email over via my Tumblr or Twitter DMs or just emailing the email address. There is extra time scheduled as an extension for anyone who needs it with no questions asked to why it is needed. Just get in contact, I'll put you name on the Extension List and that extra time is yours.  Once all names come in (or the deadline is reached) I will finish up my work and get the zine out. I will not be sending out a further reminder (because I’ll forget sorry 😅).

Why don’t you make the Extension List time public?

Because I can’t finish up the Zine if extra stuff keeps coming in at the last second - I get jittery enough with final deadlines so this is how I manage my stress

More Entrapdak Zines??

Sure why not? If the community still wants them I’ll keep compiling them ever three or so months.  I’ve seen what us nerds can do!

Where can I find the finished Zine?

All finished Zines are all hosted on a shared Google Drive free folder -> https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1My_hDY8NmOWV7v6z0sYi0TSvxv07WowX 

Oh you made it to the end of this Wall of Text…someone actually read all of this?  I mean it’s mostly the same as the last two times… uh here’s a picture of my Son Smudge because I should really pay my Cat Tax with toe beans:

[isame-allen]

I have been resisting but lovesick slash won’t leave my brain

Please tell me how much different you think she’d be, as the Lovesick Cross creator 👀

I’m guessing you’re asking for a comparison between lovesick cross and lovesick slash so imma just go with that

She is not as showy with her horniness in opposed to cross

Slash isn’t as puppy dog as cross is with her lover

If we’re talking about the ‘normal’ lovesick then she’s more violent and less merciful to her lover. Slash has most likely to have stabbed her lover at least once

Cross and slash have the same stalking habit but cross is more to interacting with his lover in a disguise/manipulate them before getting together. Slash is more to just stalking and not even talking to her lover, she’d threaten her lover to date her if she was caught

It’s much harder to convince slash if her lover wants to do something she doesn’t like. For example the lover wants to go to a bar, with cross it’ll be easy because cross is either confident that his lover won’t leave him or he follows them to the bar whereas slash is less confident in her lover that’s she’s willing to hurt her lover if her lover doesn’t say the right convincing words

Cross is very much more submissive than slash (this isnt in bed btw just generally)

And that’s all I can think of since lovesick slash is technically just killer lovesick cross but in different fonts

[itsgothgirlthyme]

Chapter 1: City Style

Ken Doll

Chapter 1: City Style

Word count: 2805

cw: g/t (duh!), swearing, hints of fearplay, but it's all just fluff mostly :) 

Note: This story has been brewing in my mind ever since I saw Barbie with my friend :) i've been adjusting to living in my new home and job! Things are going pretty well btw!

Anyway! honestly kinda challenging writing about 12 inch characters since i’m used to writing about smaller (my tiny 5inch steve harrington). lol. BUT IT'S BEEN FUN! This is ryan gosling’s ken btw, bc i said so. 

...

Anna rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to focus her dry eyes on her computer screen. Her brows furrowed and she let out a deep sigh. She shut the computer and rubbed her eyes. She got up from the dinner table and slammed her window shut. The muffled traffic outside eased her mind. Instead of, not staring at a screen that irritated her mind and body, she scrolled through her phone. 

Her text notifications were highlighted in big red blobs as she swiped past them. Eventually, doom scrolling her way to a toy company page on Instagram. Large letters in fun fonts were colored brightly. She raised a brow at the celebrity appearances which increased their likes. After a few minutes of research, she found out their orders had even tripled recently. All for a new line of robot toys, making her frown. 

“Shit,” she scratched her brow, “might need to work for these guys.” 

The thought of a bigger paycheck did make her smile. It was tempting to leave the company she’d been contracted with for years. Though they’d kept her and accommodated her needs when her accident happened. Except now her paychecks were slimming, she was pulling out of her savings, and she’d only now got insurance to cover for her meds. Then the problems just piled on from there. 

“Damn… mood ruined,” she said to herself. 

Anna shook her head as if her thoughts would disappear with the motion. They didn’t. She deeply sighed and set her phone down on the kitchen counter. Anna’s glasses fogged when she opened a bag of steamed vegetables. She dumped the veggies into her bowl of rice and meat before diving in. Every full spoon of food in her mouth was met with a harsh critique. She scrolled through the comments on the graphic designs she’d submitted. The latest one was for a doll in Mattel. Trying to do Barbie justice seemed harder every day for some reason.  

A light knock on her door caused her to jump in her seat. She slowly walked up to the door and looked through the peephole. The apartment door across from her was the only thing in sight. Anna opened up the door and looked downwards. There was a white parcel waiting with her name on it. She picked it up and placed it on the dinner table. She examined it but realized there was no return address. Confused, she set it aside and scrolled through her emails. 

Anna got lost in her work and remembered the package at midnight. Her dark short hair was wrapped around large curlers. She wore matching green satin pajamas and fluffy socks. 

“Right…” she eyed the mystery box and grabbed a pair of scissors. 

The box revealed a familiar product. 

“Okay, Ken,” she said to the doll staring back at her through plastic, “let’s see what you’re here for.” 

She set the box to the side and started to scroll through her email. She searched, and searched, and searched. Nothing. She furrowed her brows and realized she’d never gotten a Ken to advertise in her career with Mattel. Anna snorted. Someone would have to do some insanely good marketing to get a single Kens sales up. 

She looked at the basic model of Ken. Blonde, blue-eyed, and wearing soft pastels. Her brow raised at the color choices. She liked them. He had a plain pink pastel shirt, and beige pants alongside white shoes. The more she stared she swore she could see more detail. The plastic looked textured and she swore his hair looked coarse. Anna blinked and rubbed her eyes. 

“I think I’ve actually lost it,” she said under her breath. 

She got up from her chair and shut her computer. Anna decided she would just call work tomorrow and figure it all out. Except when she started to step away some curiosity swirled in her mind. She looked over her shoulder at the box face up on her table. She’d already stepped into her room and could just fall into bed. 

“Ah, shit. It doesn’t hurt to look,” Anna said. 

She took a seat again and started to cut off the tape around the box. Then she gently pulled the cardboard latches. She slid out the flimsy cardboard printed with a blue cloudy background and the Ken doll attached. She picked it up into her hands and her thumbs were beside his ziplocked hands. 

Anna truly believed she was losing it because this Ken was heavily detailed. Too detailed, too human-like and it was bugging her. She rubbed her eyes with one hand and adjusted her glasses. Then she heard a breath that wasn’t her own. She once again looked down at the doll. 

Ken blinked. 

What. 

The.

Fuck. 

Ken blinked, again. His brows shot up before letting out a shout alongside Anna who dropped him. Her chair smacked against the floor as they both continued to scream. After a minute they’d both gone quiet. Anna with her hand over her thumping chest and Ken frantically looked around him. A pang of guilt hit her chest as she realized he was still trapped in ziplock cuffs. 

She bit the inside of her cheek realizing she was referring to a toy. Yet he was so… lifelike… and his confused face was making her heart sting. She silently reached for the scissors as her shadow covered Ken. She hovered over him, still standing, and moved the scissors near his right hand. He turned his face to the sharp tool and then looked away while squeezing his eyes shut. 

She frowned but Anna snipped off the first ziplock cuff. After that, he turned his head back to the spot. He looked surprised and then he smiled widely at being able to move his hand. She smiled softly as he curled and uncurled his fingers in front of his face. While he was distracted she snipped off the rest of the ziplock. When he’d realized he was free he looked up at her with a smile. 

“Thank you!” he said. 

Anna still unsure of what the fuck was happening, hesitated before responding. 

“You’re welcome,” she said. 

She opened her mouth to say something as Ken got up. He looked at his surroundings with his hands on his hips. Anna just couldn’t find any words as she watched his beaming face falter. He still stood on top of the cheap cardboard and mumbled to himself. His brows were scrunched up in confusion and his lips were pressed into a thin line. 

“Okay, it has to be AI,” she told herself, causing Ken to look up at her. 

“What’s AI?” he asked just as Anna set her chair back and took a seat, “And uh where am I?” his voice went up a pitch. He kept up a brave face but his body language said otherwise. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet and started to over-fix his hair. Anna felt another pang of guilt in her chest. She tried to push it away and wondered if this was a part of the appeal for a new toy. Its awareness was off the charts, and again seemed so human. 

“You’re at my apartment,” she said, not wanting to explain Artificial Intelligence to something that was most likely AI or close to it. 

“Oh,” he blinked like it wasn’t something he wanted to hear. “It’s nice,” he complimented, “and really big.” 

She smiled at that, “Even I feel like it’s kinda big sometimes,” Anna said. A decent-sized kitchen was behind her. She sat at her dining room table. To her right was her living room with lots of furniture and personality. Three doors spread out in the apartment. Once was for the entrance, the other door next to it belonged to the bathroom. The open door to the right of the couch went into her bedroom. It was a score honestly, she’d gotten lucky before inflation hit and managed to keep the place. 

Anna looked at Ken who again was looking around with wide eyes. She snapped the laptop open causing him to jump and let out a squeal. She muttered an apology while he tried to play it off like he hadn’t been scared. Her ringed fingers clacked against the keyboard as she started to type keywords into a search engine. Ken had leaned his pretty self to look at the screen. The flashing of colors made his eyes hurt as it felt like she was scrolling 10 miles per hour. 

“Nothing…” she muttered. 

All she saw was some shitty Barbie AI filter, a Mattel babysitter bot, more Barbie models that were problematic and cute little robots. Then she moved to her emails, but there was nothing. 

“Nothing? What is nothing?” Ken asked, causing her to remember he was still there. Not a dream or a figment of her imagination. He had this display of confusion written all over his face, and couldn’t seem to stress what he was confused about. Anna dragged her hand over her face. 

“I’m trying to figure out what you are, or who sent you… or anything,” she explained and then perked up. “Wait! Do you know what you’re doing here? How did you get here? What are you?” she bombarded him with questions. Ken froze up and gave her a blank look. 

“You don’t know… do you?” she deadpanned. 

He shrugged with a pitiful smile but then he lit up. Anna felt hopeful as he opened his mouth to explain. 

“Well, I know I was in Barbie Land,” he started and Anna’s hope shattered. “… and I’d been trying to y’know… find what it means to be Ken. I-I can’t remember when I got in that box, and why I’m so… small,” he let out a defeated sigh. 

Anna let out a dramatic groan startling Ken again. That was a lot to unpack but nothing useful to her. 

“Sorry,” she said. 

Ken just blew out air from his mouth and put his hands on his hips. “Not a big deal,” he said and she raised a brow at that. He attempted a look of *whatever, it’s cool* but he did not seem cool with it, at all. 

“Right right,” she said amused. 

She eyed him and he looked away when she started to stare for a long time. She reached her hand out to him and wrapped her fingers around his waist. He snapped his eyes to her hand as she lifted him from the table. 

“Woah uhh,” he fumbled for words as his fingers wrapped around hers, “can you put me down?” he asked. 

She held onto him with one hand and used the other to take his shirt off. Numerous protests came out of Ken’s mouth yet he had no choice but to comply. Anna held the piece of fabric between her fingers which was soft and didn’t have the typical plastic shine. Meaning the stuff wasn’t cheap, that was for sure. He wasn’t cheap, it made her feel like she shouldn't even be holding him. The pale pink colored shirt even had a tiny tag, it said, Mattel. She set it aside on the table and then turned to Ken. 

His back was facing her as she traced her thumb over it. She reeled her head back in surprise at the warmth under her thumb. She could feel the grooves in his spine and he felt fleshy. Fleshy yet smooth, like plastic. She squinted to see if she could find anything to explain all of this. The outline to a compartment box or serial numbers. 

There was nothing and tiny hands around her finger grew tight. She let out a huff and the puff of air gave Ken goosebumps. He looked at his arms in surprise at the chilling sensation he’d felt. When he looked up he was met with her face. His face was inches away from hers as she examined him. He could feel the heat rising to his face at the proximity. 

Damn, his abs are crazy defined she thought to herself. She used one hand to prop up his upper back with one thumb over his chest. Her other hand was on his lower back with her thumb to his left side. A pulse under the pad of her thumb caused her to blink again. The pulse under her thumb on his chest wasn't coming from her. 

“What the fuck…” she whispered. This was getting far too weird. She got an incredibly advanced doll with no return address, opened it (like an idiot), and had zero information on it.

“What are you?” she asked. 

“I’m Ken,” he said. 

He’d slid his hand over her green-painted nail and held it there. He wasn’t sure what to do, it was a completely new situation for him. Sure, he’d had memories of being taken out of the box. Then he was in Barbie Land, that's how it was. It was never this literal. 

Maybe this was a punishment or a new beginning. Yet that didn’t explain anything. His head was going to explode from racking through his brain. 

Anna let out a noise of frustration after finding nothing other than well-defined abs on Ken. She set him down and he sat on the edge of her table. He was quick to pull his shirt over himself as she went through her computer. Click after clack, nothing. Meanwhile, Ken was swinging his feet back and forth trying not to think too hard. 

“Nada, zero, zulch,” she said. It had already been a bit over 2 hours and 3 am was nearing. “I give up. I’ll call work tomorrow and maybe they’ll know what the hell you are,” Anna tilted her head down. 

“But I’m Ken,” he said, again. He didn’t even seem confident saying those words. 

“Yeah I know you’re Ken, but what does that mean?” In this specific situation, Anna thought to herself. 

That earned his silence and his shoulders slumped. She hesitantly gave him a finger tap on his shoulder. “Don’t worry. It’s my fault for opening up your box in the first place actually… Shouldn’t have been nosey.” 

He looked up at her which made her chest squeeze. Those puppy dog eyes were convincing her that he was so real, it was weird. Anna yawned a second after and pushed her chair back. She shut the laptop and turned off the kitchen light. She tidied up a bit and then plugged in her computer at the table. 

Immediately Ken stood up and she turned to him. 

“Do you sleep or charge?” she asked. 

“I sleep,” he said snappily. Probably insinuating that he isn’t a toy, but a real Ken doll with sentience. 

Okay. Sensitive much?

Anna hummed and racked up her 3 a.m. brain to think of something. She didn’t recall having much Barbie furniture so… she decided her bed would do. 

“Wanna join me in my bed? I don’t think I have anything for your size,” Anna said. 

“Like sleeping together in the same bed?” Ken asked with brows raised. 

“Yeah,” she said. 

“Are you sure?” he asked. 

She squinted at him and tilted her head. 

“Yeah, I’m sure. Are you sure?” she asked. 

He thought about it for a moment before looking up at her with a smile and nod. She actually could feel the wave of cuteness overload and tug at her heartstrings. He gazed up at her as she hesitantly put her hands around him. This time aware of what she was doing. She used one hand to pick him up by his waist and pulled him close to her chest. She used her free hand to shut the lights off and strolled into her room. Her unmade queen-sized bed awaited them and she set him down on the side she never slept on. 

Anna went to her bedside and turned on the desk lamp. She fixed a couple of hair rollers and then slipped her glasses off. She turned off the light and caught Ken staring at her. He was sitting on top of the bed sheets and leaning his back against the pillow. He was quick to look away and she’d noticed his hair was out of place. She smiled to herself before switching off the light. 

Her head sunk into the pillow and with half-lidded eyes watched Ken. He was fidgeting with his fingers and was looking at everything but her. She decided to pull the sheets over him and he’d jerked back for a second. Realizing it was her hand in the darkness he relaxed and turned to her. 

“Thanks,” he said quietly. 

Anna hummed and then dozed off into sleep. Ken was left awake but he found himself fighting off sleep. Finally, he slept as well, hoping he’d wake up in Barbie Land. 

...

[introdemodev]

Howdy!

Anyways...to celebrate the demo turning one year old, I wanted to celebrate by posting more behind-the-scene works and such! :-) The plan is to post every day, but I might space some posts out by a day or two - I don’t want to seem like I’m spamming. Either way, I’m going to be active for the next two weeks.

And if you guys have anything you want to see, just let me know and I’ll add it to the queue.

With that out the way, let’s start off with talking about........her. The text box.

The first thing I tested for Introdemo was sprites, the next thing was the textbox and font size. The textbox was something I wanted to figure out right away. If I had to make changes to it later down the line, that meant I might have to possibly rewrite and reformat lines of dialogue. If you notice, the textbox almost always contains 1-2 lines of dialogue.

My original idea for the text box was to have it be literal speech bubbles. Introdemo is a prequel to an old webcomic of mine so I wanted Introdemo to read like a ‘comic’ too (btw don’t look at fridge and bear for any clues!!! it’s getting a soft reboot later down the line!! it’s technically canon but also not canon...it exists in canon limbo).

I also looked at The World Ends With You for inspiration as well.

However, I didn’t understand/know how to code something like that at the time, so I scrapped the idea. This idea still lives on in the game though. Introdemo feels like a bunch of different things, and that’s cool. Aaaaaah look out!! A style shift is approaching!!!!

So, I started to think of other games that I liked that might’ve used as a speech bubble as a textbox or had a speech bubble-like textbox, if that makes any sense. One of the first games that came to mind was Animal Crossing. I’m a fan of that Franchise™ and I’ve been playing it ever since the Gamecube version (best version btw). I’m going to be completely honest, I was heavily inspired by it, especially the speech bubble used in New Horizon, and a bit of New Leaf (NL, because of its use of patterns and the lower opacity).

But mainly, the inspo was New Horizons. I like how sleek it is and it’s nice on the eyes. It’s very simple. Best part is, it doesn’t take too much of the screen either - this was also important because Introdemo has *a lot* of art in it. I didn’t want to cover up the artwork.

So, what I’m saying is, I ripped off the textbox I was heavily inspired by it!

There is another variation of the textbox used in the game, and that is the thought box. It’s a rectangle, an uneven one. Since the game takes place primarily in Fennel’s POV, it’s mainly used by him to narrate, think, vent, and give commentary.

The inspiration for this was manga. In manga, squares/rectangles are sometimes used for inner monologue and narration (well, they're used in western comics too, but you get my point....I was thinking about manga when I made this decision).

After figuring out how I wanted the textbox to look, it was very easy to figure out how I wanted the game’s GUI to look overall. I like to think everything works together aesthetically.

The game has a pulpy-inspired comic look ...

and the menus have a pulpy-inspired magazine/tabloid look.

The menus aren’t exactly set in stone, unlike the textbox, so I do have plans to touch it up on future. It’s fine, but it’s not ‘there’ yet, in my opinion. The accessibility and about menus definitely needs more work and care put into it.

And that’s it for now! There’s not much to say about the GUI at the moment but I’ll go over my inspirations for it at another time. I’ll also go more in-depth about it in the digital art book, which will be available for purchase when the full game comes out (full game will be available for free, ofc :-) )

Thanks for reading!!

[georgeromerosanalcavity]

Need to talk about my Rae Dunn experience as a former TJ Maxx employee for those who don’t know of it.

So if you don’t know what Rae Dunn is, you’ve probably seen it. It’s (usually) egg shell white pottery with a font I recently learned is known as The Skinny. Occasionally they have themed pottery that is a different color or has a themed topper or shape to it but is typically just a very boring set of pottery.

The only thing is, originally before mass production each piece was hand made by Rae Dunn herself before she started mass production (although people still say it is handmade by someone) so the pottery has an allure of uniqueness marketed with it. Because of this and the minimalism craze, people flock to buy these.

The only thing is that Rae Dunn herself has not done personal commissions through her Etsy in some time and has outsourced to mass production, although through certain stores, and while this has not deterred her loyal fans, this means that there are only select places to buy them: Second hand sites and TJX company stores (i.e. Marshall’s, TJMaxx, Home Goods, etc.).

Because of the sudden convenience of your local discount department store selling your favorite bleak vessel for coffee, people didn’t just flock to stores but would stalk them. I remember that, everyday, as we did our morning meet before opening the store, we saw multiple people standing outside watching and waiting, always the same people too, ready to get whatever was newest on the Rae Dunn shelf. It got so bad that, while I’m not sure if this is still practice, for a while the only way to obtain Rae Dunn was in person, because people would take all of the product online immediately. I remember a coworker having to clean the oil off of one of the doors, where a customer pressed her face against the glass and held it there for the entirety of our meeting.

There was also a special colored cart (so we wouldn’t confuse it) that was strictly for Rae Dunn glassware/pottery and we were not allowed to place Rae Dunn glassware/pottery on any other cart. This was because the Rae Dunn cart was always the first thing pushed out onto the floor, hours before opening. We had to do this because while we would push regular products on carts during opening no problem, if we had any visible Rae Dunn, people would pluck entire boxes of Rae Dunn off of it and carry it their merry way. As soon as we opened, what Rae Dunn was on the floor was the Rae Dunn we had on the floor for the day, no restocking period.

There were rules to dealing with Rae Dunn and Rae Dunn customers as well: You were not allowed go say Rae Dunn on the floor in case they heard you. Employees were allowed to buy any product BUT Rae Dunn which was strictly forbidden as several customers would apply entirely to get Rae Dunn. If a Rae Dunner approached you asking about Rae Dunn you could only point them in the right direction and walk away as fast as possible.

You might ask what the allure was besides the very flimsy excuse of “unique” pieces of pottery. The real reason they did this, beyond being hobbyists for these products, was to resell them to other hobbyists for MUCH higher prices.

Btw, as far as memory serves, most mugs and plates were typically $4.99-7.99. (It’s possible that changed but. Again. I cannot look up the TJX online prices lol)

Not to mention, there were certain products that did go together but were never put together in a set. This meant that it would be a hunt to collect the entire matching set, which was the real prize to these obsessive Rae Dunners. It’s so bad that one time while I was going down this rabbit hole, I actually stumbled onto a message board dedicated to tracking shipments of Rae Dunn.

While this could all be centralized to my store when I worked there, I thought it was fucking wild. I saw fights get broken up between Rae Dunners. I saw friendships ruined for Rae Dunn.

[padme-amidala]

hi! i love your gifs they're really beautiful! i was wondering if you have any tips/tutorials about advanced gifmaking. ie. typography, blending, etc. also how to find ideas about things to make. (i'm also finnish btw, it's nice to see other finns here!)

hii jen! i’m so sorry i know you sent this ages ago i’m the worst asdsgdgf. but thank youu!! <3 i can definitely give some tips! i’ll list some under the cut in case it gets long lol.

COMING UP WITH IDEAS: - soo i think i do a lot of sets with quotes and lyrics. tbh i’m not really sure how i usually come up with them, they just hit me i guess. :D and honestly i don't think i'm the kind of gifmaker that comes up with exciting new things lol. but here are things i sometimes do! - i have pinterest boards with nice quotes and lyrics i come across. if i have no inspiration i’ll just go through the boards. tumblr also has some nice poetry! - listen to other people’s playlist for characters/shows/ships on spotify.

TYPOGRAPHY: - i just posted some of my favorite fonts here! - for me the biggest thing is making it easily readable!! so no plain (small) white text on even nearly white backgrounds. - i like adding boxes under my text if i feel like it doesn’t pop enough. if the typography is not super intricate i’ll use different blending modes (usually screen, difference, darken) and gradient/color overlays. - drop shadows also help. i use white drop shadows soo much but colorful ones are super nice too especially if the color of the text is more neutral. - i loove using the difference blending mode with gradient or color overlays (as you can probably tell lol it's like all i do). play with different blending modes on the overlays too. the ones i use the most are color and linear light. - typography doesn’t necessarily have to match in every gif!! i feel like i forget this too often but some variation often makes it more interesting imo.

BLENDING: i recently explained a little bit about my blending process here! i can’t really think of anything to add right now.

COLORING: - levels, selective color and color balance are your best friends! - the first thing i do is add levels and curves. i don’t do anything that special with them, just add contrast and brightness. - if the scene is super dark you could also try adding a brightness/contrast adjustment layer and then setting the blending mode to screen. then just adjust the opacity to your liking. - i usually start coloring by upping the vibrance a little bit, then using color balance to make the highlights cooler (or in case of a blue tinted scene i’ll add warmth). - from there it varies a lot depending on the coloring i want to do. usually i’ll add a black and white gradient map with the blending mode soft light. then i drop the opacity to 10-25% depending on the gif. it makes the blacks deeper and gives a soft contrast that i think looks nice. - if the gif has little movement i’ll add a gradient or a solid color to a new empty layer and use the eraser tool to delete the color from faces and everywhere i don't want it. just make the blending mode overlay or color (others could work too) and you have a nicely colored background! - or you could use the brush tool to paint on the layer too.

i’m sure i forgot hings but if you want me to explain something in more detail just let me know, i’d be happy to help!! AND i’ll try to answer asap. again, i’m so sorry about that. i really hope this helped though :))