#so setting this up is probably not going to be the fastest process

[bf-rally]

today i tried to code more

[ckret2]

Would Mabel being the reincarnation of Bill cause a rift between her and her family? I imagine that even though they know that Mabel and Bill are two different people it'd be kinda hard to get over the fact they ARE fundamentally the same being,especially for Ford.

Now, that's the problem. They AREN'T two different people. That's the whole point of this specific AU's take on reincarnation. It's not "Mabel happens to now possess the soul that was formerly used by some other guy" but rather "this is that guy after working on himself for thirteen years, she just didn't remember it until now."

"We know you're two different people" is the kind of thing her family might say to be reassuring. But in her ears it'd be like if she's on trial for murder and her family says "We love you because we know you're innocent," when actually she did totally commit that murder, and it was premeditated, and she didn't even have a sympathetic motive. Like it's nice of you guys to say that and I know you mean well, but if you only love me because you think I didn't do anything wrong, would you still love me if you understood the truth?

The biggest rift is on Mabel's end. She's holding back from letting them find out for as long as possible. It's not coming out until they put together the evidence themselves or she has a breakdown and confesses while in tears. And, naturally, when she's trying to keep that big a secret from them, she's gonna be withdrawn.

Like, there's a very high probability that Gideon finds out before any of the Pines do, that's how hard she's trying to keep it from her family.

When they DO start finding out?

Dipper's known Mabel almost fourteen years; he knew Bill two months. He's gonna get over it the fastest.

He's cracking annoying brother jokes before you know it. "I mean—you didn't manage to kill me in the womb, I don't think you're gonna do it now." "I forgive you for the sock puppet thing but now I REALLY wish I'd done more dumb stuff in your body while we were body swapped. As pre-revenge."

If anything, ultimately this turns out to be GREAT news for Dipper. He spent all last summer being pissed off that Bill had all the secrets of the universe and just wouldn't share them, to be a dick. WELL GUESS WHAT. NOW THEY'RE SHARING A BEDROOM. He's keeping her up until 3 a.m. asking about every conspiracy theory in history until Mabel lies "sorry, my memory of that one hasn't come back yet. Maybe my memories would return faster if I could GET SOME SLEEP..."

Stan's known Mabel off and on for fourteen years, and has gotten to know her really well over the past year; he knew Bill for—lemme check how long his death scene is—under two minutes.

Try to tell Stan that Mabel's Bill and his first reaction is "WELL THAT'S STUPID AND I DON'T BELIEVE IT." "But she can set fires with her brain." "Sometimes teenage girls do that! I saw it in a horror movie!" He's gonna process the news about the same way he'd process it if Mabel told him that she's some gender he's never heard of before: he's confused and too damn old to understand this complicated identity stuff, but he loves her even if he only understands half of what's going on, and he'll punch anybody who looks at her funny because of it.

Ford's only known Mabel since last summer; he's known Bill over 32 years.

This AU ain't a fic, so there's not a single set plotline, just a whole bunch of ideas that may or may not actually happen if I were ever to turn it into a story; and because of that there's a lot of ways things could go down with Ford, on a wild scale from hilarious to heartwarming to tragic, depending on what I think is interesting on any given day. But in many potential timelines, the first and most pressing question Ford's facing isn't "can I still love Mabel even if she was—is—Bill?"

It's "How do I kill Bill again?"

Because he knows Mabel the least and knows Bill the best, he has the best odds of looking past what everyone else sees as "haha that's just Mabel being Mabel!" and going "that's Bill fucking Cipher"; and because he hates Bill the most, he's the absolute last person Mabel would voluntarily tell about her exciting new personal discovery—meaning that he just has to draw his own conclusions. If he sees Bill looking at him through this little girl's eyes and clearly trying to convince Ford that he's not Bill he's gonna assume Bill's back from the dead and possessing his niece.

If Ford finds out, Mabel's not just afraid he won't love her anymore; she's also afraid he'll want her dead. If anything, him thinking she's possessed would be a good thing, because it'll buy her a little time while he's looking for a way to "extract" Bill to "save" Mabel, whereas if he knows the truth he'll know there's no Mabel to save.

Worst case scenario, she fears that, if he finds out, she's dead as soon as he can get his hands on her—unless she can find a way to defend herself.

Of course, this is Gravity Falls, where the power of love & family always wins, so in reality if he found out no that IS Mabel it'd stay his hand while he tries to figure out what's going on. His hatred for Bill is weaker than his love for his family. But she doesn't know that.

After all, Mabel's known Ford for 32 years, and for 30 of them he was on a suicidal vengeance quest to kill her; he's only been her grunkle since last summer.

[spotsandsocks]

🎃 cat

Hello and thank you for trick or treating with me - I got to 650 ish words with this one so here we go with cat

Dinner is over and a surreptitious check confirms no one is watching him. Eddie stands up as casually as he can to take his plate to the kitchen then edges carefully towards the pole. Not too slow or too fast nothing to attract attention. You wouldn't think it but its actually the fastest and least obvious exit to take as long as everyone else is looking in the opposite direction. Luckily for him they are. Not that he’s doing anything wrong but he could do without the inevitable comments that will come if he’s caught.

Glancing around one last time everyone looks fully occupied so he makes his break for freedom, fully aware that he’s five minutes later than usual and that means there will be complaints. Someone won’t be happy with him. The lump in his pocket reassures him he’s prepared for the encounter so he’ll be forgiven quickly enough.

One hand on the pole he makes a last check. It’s been particularly hard to avoid Buck catching on to what he’s doing because he’s so often with him or looking at him. However at the moment Buck is fully engaged in a heated debate with Ravi and Chim about the relevant merits of some social media site he’s never heard of.

Taking advantage of that he vanishes out of sight.

Downstairs his exit is significantly easier, most of the shift are still upstairs, a few other occupied by the gym equipment or chores Bobby set. He makes it out to the back of the station without having to explain why he slinking around.

He wouldn’t be in this predicament if she wasn’t so cute and he hadn’t fallen completely in love. If Buck finds out he’ll never hear the end of it.

The packet slips out of his pocket with a crinkle and within seconds she’s there. Making a lot of noise, as he suspected, she’s cross with him but as he also knew the treats laid out on his hand soon fix that. Eddie sits down and the cat he refuses to name purrs wildly, butting her head against his fingers demanding attention and affection.

“Hello beautiful” he whispers, giving the golden brown tabby cat the fussing she wants.” How’s your day going?”

The stray he’s very much not in the process of adopting purrs some more and climbs into his lap. She is very pretty and absolutely adorable. Still young, probably not even two yet. He doesn’t need a cat. He doesn’t want a cat. He hasn’t got a cat.

Yet.

He smiles down at the one kneading his thigh happily and strokes her ears. It’s not his fault if she’s so fluffy and cute is it? How’s he supposed to resist. He knows Buck and the others are bound to find out soon but until they do he kind of likes having this little lady to himself.

*

“Where’s Eddie?”

Hen asks the person most likely to know. She’s looked everywhere and she wants him to help with the inventory downstairs but he’s vanished. Buck looks back over his shoulder at her, pausing whatever argument he’s having with Chim.

“He’s out the back, he snuck out to see his cat again, thinks I don’t know.” Buck shakes his head in disbelief. “As if…”

As if indeed Hen thinks and trades a look with her partner who’s sat next to his brother in law and pulling a face Buck doesn’t notice. It’s funny how Buck notices some things instantly and other things get totally missed. The guy had a set of weirdly specific interests.

And speaking of Buck’s weirdly specific interests Hen looks and eventually finds the missing firefighter sat outside talking quietly to a small noisy cat. She can hear it purring from the door she’s hiding behind.

Eddie looks so calm and happy that she retreats quietly the way she came with her own smile. She can wait a little longer for Eddie to come back from not too secret adventures in kitty sitting some things are just too adorable to interrupt.

Sorry for all the tags these last few days you must be tired of me!! Only one more after this and then I’ll be quiet for a while @actualalligator @bekkachaos @beyourownanchor6 @bekkachaos @caroandcats @daffi-990 @dangerpronebuddie @darkrose6578 @diazsdimples @eddiebabygirldiaz @exhuastedpigeon @hermscat @hippolotamus @inell @lonelychicago @monsterrae1 @repressedqueen @ronordmann @stagefoureddiediaz @steadfastsaturnsrings @shipperqueen6 @tizniz @thekristen999 @thelikesofus @theplaceyoustillrememberdreaming @underwaterninja13 @wildlife4life

[seliasvault]

The Supermarket

supermarket!simon x reader cw: stalking, dark simon riley

Part two

1 │2 │3

Simon Riley hasn't experienced kindness, so when you show him some, he goes a little crazy.

Simon Riley's had an unarguably difficult life, from his childhood to his current occupation, he hasn't experienced much kindness.

He's been in his line of work for a vast amount of time, been through countless missions, seen all kinds of things, and his views of the world have consequentially been tainted.

But it isn't just the missions that severed his perception of the world, he's been let down time and time again by several individuals, relatives, teammates, strangers. He doesn't believe anyone could truly be good.

With his life experiences, he'd be a fool to believe any act of kindness or show of good would not be followed by an ulterior motive.

Which is why when he encounters you, he's perplexed.

- He's on leave, once again, returning to a so-called "home", barely furnished, with equally less in the fridge.

The smell of smoke and debris following him, he decidedly heads straight for a shower. Rinsing his body of any reminders of his most recent assignment, he gets out clean, in a literal sense. He doesn't think could ever be clean.

He makes his way out, deciding to head to the local supermarket down the street from his flat. Not being in the mood to drive, he thinks the walk might help him unwind. It doesn't.

The fluorescent lights illuminate the space, uncomfortably bright, he goes around with a shopping basket, filling it up with the essentials, some organic shit that Johnny recommended to him, and a six-pack.

He heads toward the lines, numbers of people at each register, some even lined up inside the aisles themselves. He chooses the cashier that looks the fastest, based on the speed of her scanning and bagging.

The line continues to slowly progress and he's lightly tapped by the cart behind him. Turning around to look, he sees the person behind him's been shoved into by the cart behind her. And from the look on her face, it wasn't as light as the slight tap he got.

He's almost sure she's getting ready to blow up at him, the little fuckers got the most shit-eating grin, with no ounce of a sorry, done almost deliberately.

He awaits the forms of screaming, lecturing, anger, but she simply turns around with a hand soothing her back. Almost unphased. Being somewhat surprised he turns back.

But he can't mind his business for too long as an older man approaches you, probably his dickhead father. He once again expects you to tell him off, to control his son. You however are courteous, kind? Offering an understanding look and turning back.

Again unusual, statistically people tend to create a scene, especially when they've been hurt, it's human nature to get angry, and so once again he wonders why you would just take it?

Turning back around he sets that aside, not wanting to read into it, he continues waiting.

-

By the time his turn comes, he's over the noise and the fucking lights. Everything's been bagged and the last step to freedom is to pay the overpriced store. He reaches a hand into his pocket, searching for his wallet, empty. He shoves his hand into the other one, again empty. He searches his sweatshirt pocket to be met with the same fate.

Empty.

Just as he's deciding to forget the entire thing and leave, he's interrupted by a soft voice.

"Hey, y'know what it's okay I got it." a smile followed, one that twists something in his heart. He looks at you, the same unusually calm stranger behind him. He searches your face, eyes for an explanation, did you want something from him?

After a beat he replies, he doesn't need your help, isn't some man to feel bad for. And so he turns going to leave, to escape you. Before he can get anywhere at all you quip back a reply and pay. Claiming it was "No problem.", so fast he hasn't had time to process what the hell this all means.

He's confused, conflicted, turning around to face you, studying you once again.

Searches for something, a hint of an ulterior motive, of frustration at his lack of words, a sign that you'll do something, anything to finally prove him right.

All he sees are innocent eyes, not even a twitch of a brow as you look at him and avert your eyes back to your cart. Acting as if you hadn't just paid a hefty sum for a stranger you've only met. He tries to figure you out, the tired slump of your shoulder, the honey-like voice you use to talk to others, the way you stand with a certain uncertainty.

He doesn't come to any conclusions, snapping back to realize he's been staring too long. He gives you a grumbled thank you, grabs his bags, and leaves.

Walking out the door for the trek back to his flat, he can't stop thinking about you, you've confused him, ensnared him, people like you don't exist. Haven't existed in a while, at least not in his life.

Kind, gentle words, with a hint of something else.

Something inside hims snapped, and he'd be damned if he gave up trying to figure you out. Because you've already embedded yourself into his brain.

-

Simon Riley's never claimed to have a strong sense of morality, never claimed to have any at all.

The lines to cross are practically invisible, especially when it comes to you.

And so what he does next, is nothing short of justifiable for him. Because it’s for you.

had to write a dual pov just to show how different him and reader are, her reactions and behaviour aren’t a big deal to her but to simon, he’s just 🤯

this was a short chapter, but part three is coming! working on the mapping/where to go, if you have any suggestions, things you’d like to see, or anything to say, my asks are open

[thephooka]

Happy Webcomic Day! My webcomic White Noise is a labor of love--according to Procreate, this page took me 15.5 hours to complete.* Here's a look into that process!

Some other notes:

The thumbnails are done on graph paper and I script while I do them--there is no separate written script for White Noise. I usually spent a couple hours on weekends as needed thumbnailing, sometimes at a coffee shop or at home listening to records.

I then set up the file in Photoshop, so I can lay in the text and use the template I have with bleeds already set up. The text is rasterized and I shuttle the file over to my iPad via Airdrop.

The bulk of the actual work is done in Procreate, which records timelapses that I sometimes share to my Patreon. I usually spend a couple hours most nights after my day job or on the bus commuting doing this.

Once everything art-wise is done, I shuttle the file back over to my desktop to re-set in the text, add a stroke around the speech bubbles (Procreate doesn't have that took fsr) and do the resizing/exporting for web.

On Sunday mornings I get up, queue the page and write the page descriptions. I don't spend any time on the page descriptions outside of that.

Also, this process goes for the whole first arc of White Noise. I'm done with that arc (which means you can binge the whole thing I'm js!!) and am experimenting with some different methods these days, but my workflow is still generally the same.

*Some more talk about the labor (and burnout) involved below the cut:

This particular page (and most of the pages I did in 2023) took a lot longer than normal because I was heading into a burnout period that I'm still lowkey in/recovering from. It's obvious to me now in retrospect watching the timelapse here and seeing how much noodling I'm doing and how much I'm struggling with the process, but at the time I was just very frustrated generally. When I'm not burned tf out pages take maybe 10 hours max.

2023 was a pretty stressful year--lots of big life changes, uncertainty, pet death, health issues--so it's no wonder it propelled me into burnout, but it just goes to show that even the slowest and steadiest pace is not sustainable forever. I've been doing one page a week following this general process for over a decade! And I stuck to that pace because I knew it was one I could maintain. But even so, by the end of this arc I found myself working more and more slowly, not really looking forward to the work, feeling anxious about being behind, unhappy with the finished work, and extremely annoyed with myself for not being able to give it my all right there at the finish line.

I did stop for a while after the epilogue and took a more or less complete break from drawing for about a month--the longest I have EVER gone without drawing, much less working on White Noise--which did help, but these days my ability to work is...inconsistent. I should probably take another total break, but I'm reluctant. What if my passion never comes back? What if people forget about WN? It's already pretty obscure, and with the general social media collapse, it's harder than ever to get people to read my work. Now that I've left Hiveworks, WN doesn't even get the benefit of being linked to other comics (although objectively very, very few readers actually got referred to my comic that way.) And frankly, I'm also just too proud to go too long without comic updates. I've always told myself, I might not be the best artist or the fastest worker or make a popular comic, but I'm consistent. Difficult to let that go.

This is all to say that webcomics are hard. We do them because we love them, we have stories to tell, we are seized with the human compulsion to create. We spend hours of our time, almost always on top of the paying work that allows us to eat, to make something that we then give away for free. It has consequences on us that the reader doesn't often see, no matter how careful we are about it. If you ask me, webcomics deserve to be valued more.

Happy Webcomic Day! Read webcomics!

[son1c]

Thinking about how deranged Tails is in the the 3 au. Like to create a copy of your best friend/older brother seems like an INCREDIBLE breach I don't think Sonic could look the same at him after that. Plus going to create a whole living being for such a purpose is also in itself terrifying (*ahem* Project Shadow)

the thing is i don't think tails set out to create a copy of sonic, it probably started as an actual mechanical defense system/machine of some sort, but he decided that wasn't good enough. a robot just wasn't going to be strong enough to protect everyone, and certainly, a robot could never live up to sonic (or shadow's) power. *cough*

so, his process escalated, and eventually he started developing 3, not fully realizing the gravity of his actions, because he was too caught up in the noble pursuit of protecting the world.

but whether it was his intention or not, you're right. it was a HUGE breach of trust for tails to make a copy of sonic. they have a big fight about it, like, "what are you trying to replace me for?" and tails would defend himself by saying, "i would never replace you, but relying on you for everything isn't smart!" and sonic would ask, "you think i can't handle it? i'm the fastest thing alive!" and tails would reply, "infinite was faster!"

and OHHHHHHHHH it would get quiet. REAL quiet.

[writer-or-whatever]

Training Montage

Wrote a little TAZ Amnesty piece featuring my beloved Aubrey & Duck friendship. Read under the cut or on AO3

Summary: Aubrey decides she wants to expand her skillset and asks Duck for help. Set between Season 1 and Season 2.

Rating: G | Word Count: 1.3k | Fluff & Humor

Duck opened his apartment door at 12:15—Aubrey was only 15 minutes late, which was a personal best for her—to find her holding two paper grocery bags. He didn’t manage to get a word out before she shouldered her way past him into his apartment, making a beeline for his kitchen.

“Nice to see you too, Aubrey. Why don’t you come in?” He muttered to himself as he shut the door.

“Yeah, yeah, niceties. Get in here so we can get down to business, Duck!” Aubrey called back to him. When he walked into the kitchen, she was in the process of up-ending her grocery bags onto the counter.

“What the hell could you possibly need that many frozen burritos for?”

“Training,” Aubrey said without even turning to look at him.

“Training for what?”

Aubrey turned to him with her giant stage-worthy smile and flourished her arms about. “You are looking at the future title-holder of the record for the fastest time to eat a single burrito.”

Duck just looked at her dumbly for a moment before speaking. “This is ridiculous.”

It was clear that the short minutes of Minerva’s visit last night that they’d spent coming up with a training plan for Aubrey were wasted. Which disappointed him a bit. Minerva had sounded so proud of him for ‘Taking initiative. This will aid you well on your journey, Duck Newton!’ Not that he particularly cared about that. At all. But it was a nice change of pace from her usual scolding.

“Well, it’s not like we get any recognition for the whole pine guard thing,” Aubrey said with a shrug. She quickly continued before Duck could remind her that they were supposed to keep that a secret for a reason, “Which is fine. But Mama also said I can’t do any gigs until I get my powers under control better. So, you know, gotta get a little recognition somewhere.”

���And so you chose to become the Joey Chestnut of burritos?”

“Well, his whole thing is eating a lot of things really fast, and I just want to eat one thing really fast. But yeah basically.”

“And you need me for this because…”

“Well, you’ve been training every day and I thought ‘hey, if there’s anyone who knows about discipline and determination, it’s Duck Newton,’” She said, still smiling winningly at him, though he could see little sparks from where she was fidgeting and snapping her fingers.

“And?” He asked, raising an eyebrow expectantly.

“And you have a microwave,” Aubrey admitted sheepishly.

“Well, at least you’re honest,” He said with a laugh. “Go ahead and heat one of those up and we can see what you’re working with, I guess.”

“Yes!” She said, pumping a fist. She unwrapped the first of her many vegetarian burritos while he questioned his own sanity for agreeing.

He and Minerva made a plan for Aubrey’s training and improvement, which he could probably modify for this, and he already set aside his afternoon, so he may as well go along for the ride.

Once Aubrey had her burrito (and let it cool for a few minutes—she already had enough burns, she didn’t need to add the roof of her mouth to the list), she pulled a stopwatch from one of the pockets on her vest and handed it to Duck. “Just tell me when to start, coach.”

Duck nodded. Step one: establish a baseline for performance. “Alright. Ready? Set? Go!”

The next 2 minutes and 38 seconds was one of the strangest moments in his life—he spent the time looking between her and the stopwatch and tried to ignore the sound of Aubrey chewing. He’d never be able to watch ASMR with mouth sounds again.

“2 minutes, 38.2 seconds,” He said as she swallowed her last bite. “That’s not bad? I think. What’s the record anyway?”

“31 seconds,” Aubrey burped out.

“Okay, gross. I draw the line at talking while burping. It’s just bad manners, Aubrey,” He said sternly.

“Aye, aye, captain,” she said with a salute as she stood up to make another burrito.

It was time to move on to Minerva’s Step 2: make small changes towards a goal and measure Aubrey’s progress.

“Try taking bigger bites this time,” Duck suggested when Aubrey returned with burrito number two.

“Alright. Just tell me when,” Aubrey said as she wiggled her fingers and leaned over her plate.

“Ready? Go.”

It was just as gross the second time. But Duck was starting to get invested in Aubrey’s ridiculous goal, despite himself.

“2 minutes, 29.4 seconds,” He said when she was done. “Maybe try smaller, faster bites?”

Aubrey gave a thumbs up as she headed back to the kitchen.

The third attempt clocked in at 2 minutes, 45 seconds, so clearly big bites were the way to go.

Aubrey continued to work her way through her burrito supplies and experimented with the technique. She tried varying sized bites. She tried chugging water just before she started—”For maximum lubrication, Duck.” “Gross.”—and in-between huge bites as well. After 7 burritos, her time was hovering around 1 minute and 40 seconds and she was starting to look pretty green.

“Duck?” Aubrey said as she slumped over and rested her head against the table.

“Yeah?”

“I think I’m gonna be sick.”

Duck reached down for the little trash can from his bathroom, complete with a fresh bag, which he’d gotten while she was heating up burrito number four. “Here.”

“Thanks,” She said, sitting up and clutching the small bin to her chest.

“Let’s get you to the couch to lay down,” he said gently as he took hold of her arms and helped her up and guided her to the living room. Once she was settled on her side on the couch—laying with her legs stretched over Duck’s lap so he had a place to sit in the small living room other than the floor—he switched on the TV and let Golden Girls reruns fill the silence.

After 2 and a half episodes, they were startled from their stupor by the sound of Duck’s landline ringing from the kitchen.

“Let me up,” Duck said, patting her legs gently.

Aubrey moved her legs with a groan and said, “If that’s Mama with a pine guard emergency, kindly inform her that I’ve passed on.”

“You got it,” Duck said with a laugh.

A few moments after he answered the phone, he yelled back to Aubrey, “It’s Ned. He wants to know if we want to go to dinner at the new Mexican place.”

Aubrey groaned again. “Tell him I’m never eating again! And that I hate him for even asking!” She yelled back.

Duck relayed the message to Ned, who started laughing so hard he sounded like he could barely breathe.

“You knew about her world record aspirations then, I take it,” Duck said once Ned’s guffawing eased off.

“She might have mentioned it.”

“You’re evil,” Duck said with a laugh of his own.

“Perhaps,” Ned conceded. “I also wanted to check that she’s still alive.”

“Well, she is for now, but I better get back before she decides to keel over,” Duck said before saying a quick goodbye and returning to his spot on the couch.

A few hours later, when Minerva made her nightly appearance, Aubrey had fallen asleep on top of him.

“How was training today, Duck Newton?” Minerva said quietly, clearly trying not to disturb Aubrey, which made Duck smile.

“It really took it out of her,” Duck answered with a soft laugh.

Minerva nodded her approval. “And did she acquire any new skills today?”

“Oh, I think she learned a lesson or two.”

“Very good work, Duck Newton. I will see you tomorrow,” Minerva said with a smile before she flickered out of view.

[mychlapci]

More chase porn because YESSS (same anon :3)

Blades having to explain to chief burns, and (probably) dani since she’s medically trained in being an EMT so naturally she’d probably be somewhat curious, how cybertronian pregnancy works, but then both of them regret asking. Realising Chase’s need for interface is gonna get even 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 the more the sparklings grow. And it couldnt have been little then over a month before Chase starts showing- then he’s grumpy because Chief benched him for his and the sparkling’s safety.

The bunker is officially offlimits for everyone by the time its the third month. Because 9/10 times someone goes down there Chase is pinned under one of the bots, being pushed through multiple overloads and just begging for more, theres dents in a complete concrete floor from how rough they are. And even though Chief would love to not get involved he ends up worried for his partner because of how rough the three of them are with him.

Blades has to explain again that: Yes its normal for them to be rougher with a carrying mech and yes he asked for it.

Maybe they cant even get rescues done properly because all three current bots are distracted and difficult to work with, happy to do their duties at protecting the island but sire-coding tells them they shouldnt be out of Chase’s sight, So even Boulder, who’s usually as friendly as a puppy, can be a complete ass to try and work with when the other’s get to go back and see their pretty speedster before he does!

And its hard to work with stubborn bots who weigh up to a couple tons, and the aggression has to be personally handled by Optimus- who’s quite surprised to hear that the rescue bots he formerly thought we’re all a bunch of sweethearts, were piling up on eachother and putting spikes in whatever hole they can in a twisting ball of who can fuck who the fastest.

Cody sometimes visited Chase when the bots are on rescues, but that very quickly changed to that theres a temporary command centre down there, none of the family sees how stressed Chase gets when he’s without any of the bots. So usually Cody’s sat there on Chase’s shoulder or sitting on his knee-plate infront of a few set-up tv’s connected to the Cctv so he can help the team and make sure Chase isnt too worried.

One downside of this is that chase gets overprotective and 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵, Whenever he isnt getting his valve filled with transfluid and frame groped like a pleasure-bot before the war until he’s mewling and sobbing in overstimulation and sheer exhaustion, he’s making sure Cody is in his line of sight. The more logical part of him knows its silly but Cody’s so small, brain-fog mixes with creator-protocols and unless the kid needs to sleep or he’s being filled with transfluid, he��s usually insight of atleast one of the bots to settle Chase’s anxiety.

Because timing is impeccable, Chase probably comm’s one of the bots in the middle of a mission trying to explain in cybertronian that he’s going into Labour, not wanting to worry Cody. And everyone sorta just freaks when Heatwave up and abandons a nearly-finished rescue to speed back to the firehouse. He gets forgiven ofcourse but Blades and Boulder are right behind him moments later and everyone’s just stood there like…what?

He’d definitely be carrying more then one? Three sire’s and the amount of transfluid he gets stuffed in him on the daily there has to be more then one in there.

Hopefully Blades is trained enough to help without them having to hail the mainland for Ratchet to be sent over, Chase having four or five bitties before he’s absolutely exhausted and finished, And Blades makes sure he’s had enough rest before daring to let everyone down, The bonding process between carrier’s and their newborns is fragile and extremely important, and disturbing the silence can cause too much stress, orphan babies during a war would not go well.

Ooh wait, Chase’s carrier instincts going haywire and he gets super attached to Cody is a super sweet concept to me. His programming basically starts registering him not as a human child but as a sparkling, just a little glitch caused by the slowly stabilizing carrier program. It’s probably endearing to the rest of the bots and very weird to Chief Burns. 

haha, at first everyone thinks that the “sparklings need transfluid and charge to develop” thing is just an excuse for them to get their hands on Chase more often, but over time it really doesn’t matter, because excuse or not, they’re not gonna stop. Heatwave is almost completely unresponsive to Kade’s authority, Blades is even more distracted and Boulder, for the first time that they know, actually starts getting mad and frustrated when asked to go on missions. Sire coding causes everyone to go a little crazy, is what i’m saying.

And bless whoever decides to come down and try to get one of them to go on a mission. The sight of Chase pinned down with his hips in the air and a spike up his valve is forever going to be carved into their brain, and the sound of Heatwave screaming at them to get out rings out in their ears for days. The bots getting competitive between each other, which is nothing unusual in cybertronian society - assuming the coding information contained in transfluid can dominate over someone else’s coding if prevalent enough, it makes sense that multiple sires would want to get as much of their coding into their carrier as possible. The fights never get too heated, never get physical, but it’s come close. Chase’s request for someone to come and just fill him up usually breaks up the fights. 

hghhhh the bots dipping from a rescue mission because Chase is about to have his babies and they’ve gotta be there to help him. The rescue team is very mad at them, and once they manage to make their way home (since the bots literally left them stranded on the other side of the island) Chief Burns is more than ready to give them the chewing out of their life. That is, until he walks in on little bitlets crawling all over Chase… well, that certainly explains the urgency.

[the-mspfa-200-favourites-project]

HOMESKILLET

HOMESKILLET. Another MSPFA I’ve heard a lot about, but then again, besides a couple of the MSPFAs I’ve reviewed in 2024, I’ve basically heard of all these MSPFAs? Which makes sense; again, these are the cream of the crop of 2024, if you will, the MSPFAs that were the fastest growing out of all other MSPFAs I’ve looked at because they’ve had the least amount of time to “prove” themselves or attract an audience. Not to say other MSPFAs haven’t proven themselves to me that they should be at least 200 favourites of more (to me), but these are the ones that are making waves. And since HOMESKILLET comes from the dynamic mind behind one of the BIGGEST Fanadventure ever, KARKAT GOES TO A CONVENTION, and was even purposed once upon a time as the “Act 2” of that Fanadventure…yeah, I’d say that it made some waves.

And the intro seems to set-up once again that this won’t be your regular ordinary MSPFA SBURBventure, with it being like, “what if MSPA Reader, instead of reading the epilogues, read a random Fanadventure?” Which means that the actual “real” fanadventure starts on page 69, therefore proving to me, at least that this text knows how the slower moments can build up to a reveal, and is comfortable going the slower route. Apparently, according to people “in the know” (read: have read farther than me into Karkat Goes To A Convention), this is apparently somebody’s actual in-universe MSPFA? I’d be interested to see how this maps onto their character, then, and how their view of the world changes throughout Karkat Goes To A Convention. Although, splitting it off from the main text, KGTAC, means that that kind of analysis is a lot harder to get, since I could, theoretically (and in practice) not be coming into this Fanadventure with the idea of who that character is. Anyways, much to consider already.

Okay so far, this fanadventure has been…slow? Like, not like, in an uncompelling way, like there is that sense of dread that occupies every SBURBventure when you haven’t quite had the “SBURB Meteors/Threat Dejour” show up yet, (in a similar way to how dread builds in a Murder Mystery, come to think of it), but…idk. Nothing’s gripping me, so far. It’s been rather good and consistent and competent, and some of the jokes and phrasing of things are good, like refering to closing the door of a mini-fridge as causing “The COKE BOTTLES begin to go back to their original temperature,” which is like. Yeah that’s how a mini-fridge works. But it also mechanicalizes the process of opening up the fridge and closing the fridge in a very interesting way that I thought I should note down. Although, now that I think about it, that stuff is still present in Homestuck and other MSPFAs, just. Not as apparent, I guess?

I gotta say, I feel like the story wants to present itself as more…grounded, somehow. That’s probably a combination of both the vaguely slice-of-life presentation to Fred’s bumbling around the house (there’s not really *a* goal at this stage in the story, like how John basically got a goal pretty quickly of “retrieve the Sburb Beta and play it” in OG Homestuck), to the slower pace of the story and the less…extreme reactions to things from Fred. John is disgusted at his Dad’s Fanciful Harlequins, and Fred just wants cookies and Mac and Cheese and loves his Grandma. I think the story’s doing this, again, to set-up the tension and dread; we ALL KNOW, if we’ve come from reading KGTAC, what happens in these MSPFAs, and the destruction SBURB tends to set-up, so in these low-key moments of “normalcy” (for a lack of a better term), I feel a more heightened sense of dread about proceedings.

I will say, I like how there’s been a trend lately of like, emphasizing various other forms of communication besides just pesterlogs? Like, Homestuck has the characters interact with each other through the internet, and this feels like a logical extension of that. Sburb 1996, Ever After, and now Home Skillet (and also technically DEAD MEAT with its text messages) all fit into this, I think. I don’t have like, anything further to say about that, noting that it’s occurring and it’s an interesting trend.

Okay got to the windchime flash and this is exactly what I’m talking about with regards to the slower, more grounded pacing. Instead of a flash marked entirely by the absence of other people, we have noises of children and families playing in the background. Instead of having the cool wind blowing through the streets, creating a more haunting feeling, there’s birds chirping and there’s sunny lighting everywhere. Instead of a monologue about how something feels missing, there’s a monologue about responsibility and wondering what’s next, as if to say, Fred has never wanted or considered absence in this life. It’s…grounded. Slower. Anyways yeah if that sounds like up your alley you should probably check this out, I certainly liked it better than KGTAC’s opening stretch.

[strangerchurby]

Days around the holidays can really get away from me. But I'm back and there is more words to be put down into places for everyone to see. Let's check in on the werewolf boy.

Original Idea/Steve Post by @shieldofiron

[ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ Here ] [ 7 ] [ 8 ]

Or Read on Ao3

Between taking his time with his injuries and staying in cover as much as possible, it takes what Billy figures is four hours for him to approach Hawkins. Which, thankfully, means that it was growing toward early evening when he started to recognize familiar landmarks outside of the town. That said he knew he was getting close to the place before he could recognize things and before the 'Welcome to Hawkins' sign.

If he had to explain how he knew he would have to hate himself for saying 'the vibes were off.' But they were. Something like half a mile before he saw the welcome sign he could feel it. A low sort of unease that ran through his whole body. It made him wish he could puff his fur out to scare whatever was bothering him off. It didn't even take much longer before his instincts, which had done right by him so far, drove him deeper into the woods.

By the time he was moving through the trees near the trailer park he's certain that something is wrong with Hawkins, Indiana. Which, of course, probably traces back to whatever happened to him. Not just at the mall. What happened to him before.

His lips peel back in a snarl as he passes by a part of the woods that smell like old blood and some strange sort of lingering rot. The scents make him think of the basement of the steelworks. Of the taint. Of the way that bodies broke down into slime to become the horrible monster that almost killed him.

He has no time for this. For the scents and the distant wafting scent of fear. His only concern right now is finding Max. So he's got some choices here. The hospital is where she would have been taking if she was a bit more messed up when he threw her than he thought. But Neil's a cheapskate, so he'd probably have pulled her out by now no matter how much Susan might protest.

There's the arcade, she loves that place. Problem there is that the place is nowhere near the woods, and given it's evening in July, he's still got hours to go before he'd dare wander the open streets to look for her. Better to lay low.

Another choice was that creepy house, the Byers' place, where he found her that night with Harrington. The very thought of the place leaves him to snarl in distaste. After that night he swore never go to back there if he ever could. So he's going to check there if he has to, but it's not high on the list of priorities.

So the best place he can hit up right now is also the one he really doesn't want to end up at. But he knows the area well, knows how to get in and out without being noticed, and it's the most logical place.

Guess he just has to hope his father isn't home.

Decision made he sets about the slow process of sneaking around toward Cherry Lane. It's not the fastest he's moved since the change, but it's the most cautious. The crow, because yes the pest had returned to perching on his back, stays still and silent as he moves. Maybe it realizes the danger humans present to it. More danger than it thinks Billy does. Which is probably fair.

He has to wait an unbearable amount of time before he crosses the road each time, and there's nothing more tense than racing through backyards in hopes no one sees him. The whole thing is a fraught experience. Even as he gets to only a block away he knows something weird is going on in town. Grieving, probably, but how is there seemingly no one out and about on a summer day like this? Was whatever happened at the Mall public knowledge?

Do they know what I did?

The thought melts from Billy's mind as he finally reaches his block. From there it's a matter of slipping from the edge of the thicker trees toward the back of the house. Thank fuck Neil never got around to that fence he was thinking about putting up. It means Billy has no trouble just sneaking-

A scent overwhelms him as he approaches the back of the house. Green and bitter, sage and woody bitterness that slams up his nose and makes his stomach roil with pain and fear. A whimper tears from his lips and Billy backs away from his angle of approach. Are his eyes watering? He really thinks so. He backs up a few more steps, and the scent seems to fade a little, but his nose still tickles and his skin starts to itch.

His legs move without permission, forcing him to back even further up, more toward the trees. No, they drive him fully back into the meager cover, where he settles on his belly and puts his snout on the ground. His forepaws come up to paw at his nose, trying to drive the scent away. The sensations. The nausea.

Frankly he doesn't know how long he lays there uncomfortable and half sick from the scent. The sun might be a bit lower in the sky, he's not sure. What he does know is that he's breathing a bit clearer but he's still afraid of approaching closer.

What happened?

Bad. Danger. Run.

For once Billy ignores the push of instinct. It isn't easy. But this is important. Max is here. Or will be here. And Billy needs to make sure she's safe before anything else. He's been responsible for that shit for so long, he can't shake it now.

Especially not now that the anger he once held at being forced to practically parent her has melted away. Hard to hate her for that when he got to watch her in tears twice trying to save him. When she clearly cared.

So no. Fuck running. He's got to figure out how to get closer. Maybe it will wait until night, but he's got to get closer.

As he pushes to his feet again, his body shaking with lingering weakness, the crow finally takes wing from his back. Losing his company again, he can accept that. His eyes track the motion, expecting the thing to retreat to a branch.

Instead he watches in shock as it flies right for the property line. Watches as it alights, at last, on the ground near where Billy had stopped going forward. It lands next to a row of plants that he remembers mostly because Neil had been so insistent on them getting planted in the first days they had moved there. Billy doesn't even know where his father got them from, just that Billy's hands had itched something fierce as he had been forced to help Susan plant the things.

Now that he thought about it, they had been unsettling then too. He'd taken a sniff of one before his hands were itching and it had struck a chord in his memory.

It had reminded him of the tea his father used to force his mom to drink. The one that made her sad and sick.

He knew what she is, Billy realizes suddenly. Whatever she had been drinking had been bad for her, but she'd done it. He doesn't know why. But if the thing was as unpleasant and sickening in the tea as it was for Billy to just smell now that he's changed...

He was torturing her. In his own way he was torturing her for what she is. What we are. So why did he have me plant these? To keep her away, or in case I turned out like Mom?

Chances are he'll never know. But Billy really wishes he could.

By the plants the crow caws again, pecking at the plants. It doesn't seem to be eating it though. Just... tearing the thing up. Like it doesn't like the scent either.

Maybe it doesn't. Maybe it's helping him out again. Billy doesn't know. But while he watches it continues its battle against the plants.

Billy's starting to think that maybe the crow doesn't just see him as a simple meal ticket. Maybe it understands what he is. What he really is. Which raises a whole hell of a lot of questions.

Not that he's particularly rolling in answers right now. Or that he's likely to get them.

Billy sighs and sits back on his haunches, watching the crow for a bit longer. Finally he gives the lightest little yip he can, trying to catch the crow's attention. The bird pauses in its battle, turning its head toward Billy.

He's got no way to explain that Neil is a danger. That the guy has a revolver hidden in a box on a shelf in his closet. That he might take a pot shot at a bird he thought was fucking with his garden. So he does the best he can to lure it away. He stands and turns away, hoping the crow will take the invitation and follow.

Sure enough, as he trots away, there's the familiar sound of wings near his head and then a comforting weight settling on his back.

At least he won't be alone as he seeks out another place to try and track his sister down.

Being alone with only his own thoughts was probably the worst thing he could be right now. So even if he doesn't get a conversation, he's still grateful to the crow.

He resolves to find a trash can to knock over somewhere near the trees just for the bird as soon as he gets the chance.

[ To Part Seven ]

[anonduck07]

2024 Chinese GP: Recap + Results

Another one! Fair warning that it's the longest one so far, but I blame that on the 3 safety cars

P1 is Max Verstappen, who takes his first Chinese GP win, leading by about 14 seconds!

Yes the car is great, but the guy behind the wheel is also having to deliver - Crofty about Verstappen post-race

Red Bull also sets the fastest pit stop of the race, double stacking Verstappen and Perez under the full safety car and setting 1.9 and 2.0 seconds respectively.

Lando Norris is P2, his best finish since 2023 brazillian GP. He was also voted DOTD, winning just ahead of Hamilton and Alonso, who were also fan favourite picks. He was a little unhappy after he missed out on pitting under the safety car, but all ends well for him.

He [Norris] is not a happy bunny - Crofty, probably, about the missed pit stop

Woop Woop! I told you we would get past the Ferraris. - Norris, after crossing the finish line

Checo Perez places P3, yet another Red Bull double podium! There was an interesting 5 second gap from him to Norris, likely due to Norris having fresher tires. At the beginning though, he pulled some nice moves, regaining his position from Alonso within a few laps of him losing it.

P4 and 5 were the two Ferraris, Leclerc finishing in front of Sainz for the first time this season. They had a bit of a clash at the start, but nothing that the broadcast really focused on.

P6 was George Russell

P7 was Alonso, who was placed on an interesting strategy for the last several laps. He pitted for mediums, allowing him to overtake Ocon, then Hulkenberg, then Hamilton and Piastri.

P8 was Piastri who, keep in mind, has never driven at this circuit before

P9 was Hamilton, who is DOTD in my heart. He struggled with his tires at the start, being only one of four drivers on softs (everyone else on mediums, except Magnussen). He seemed to fare better after pitting for mediums, making his way to finish P9 after starting P18 :)

We also got a few moments of Nico Rosberg trying to be on some sort of wavelength with Lewis while commentating:

He's Lewis Hamilton, so yes he can…get into the points…im sure he'll move up fine - Nico Rosberg

I'm making no ground with this tyre - Lewis Hamilton That's not what we want to hear - Nico Rosberg

I can't even catch him, Mate. This car is so slow. - Lewis Hamilton That's exactly what I was going to say - Nico Rosberg (Lap 17)

P10 was Hulkenberg, yet again managing points for HAAS

P11 was Esteban Ocon

P12 was Alex Albon, who had a complaint about Ocon "moving like a ---- everywhere on the breaks." on Lap 1

P13 was Gasly, who set the slowest pit stop (19.3 sec) after an incident in the pits where a loose tire hit a mechanic when he was set to be released.

Is he okay? - Pierre Gasly All good here Pierre - Alpine

An unfortunate no-points finish for Zhou, who places P14 at his home GP, but still a very emotional day for him.

This is a dream to me as a kid, so thanks for all the Chinese fans here and back home watching TV and thank you to my team…let's keep working. - Zhou Guanyu, after he gets out of the car

Sauber, as always, had issues with their pit stops. Zhou's first one was quick compared to their previous ones, at only 3.0 seconds, but his stop under the physical safety car was the second slowest at 5.3 seconds.

He had a short fight against Sargeant and picked up some damage after contact with Magnussen near the end, losing his front wing end plate in the process, which couldn't have helped his position.

P15 was Magnussen, who always seems to be at the scene of the crime. He also picked up a 10 second penalty for infringing on the safety car.

P16 was Stroll, after picking up a 10 second penalty for causing a collision. He also had a battle for 16th with Magnussen, which was pretty interesting.

P17 was Sargeant, who was doing pretty well for the most part. Then, he stacked up a 10 second penalty for the same reason as Magnussen.

DNFS

The first yellow flag was also the first DNF of the race, caused by Bottas whose engine reportedly failed. The FIA changed the yellow flag to a virtual safety car, then a full safety car, all within a minute or two. Truly a testament to their amazing decision making skills.

The second yellow flag was caused by Yuki Tsunoda's spin out at lap 27, after contact with Kevin Magnussen that led to Tsunoda having to DNF and Magnussen going into the pits for a punctured tire.

Just minutes later, his teammate also DNFs, as Stroll collides with the back of Daniel Ricciardo's RB under the safety car. This was likely due to the fact that Ricciardo was the only one who hadn't pitted for fresh tires during the last safety car, as well as the fact that he was trying to avoid bumping Piastri, who was trying to avoid Russell, who was trying to avoid Alonso. Stroll recieved a 10 second penalty for causing a collision, but Daniel retired on lap 33 after reporting floor damage.

This idiot just slammed on the brake! Check wing damage - Lance Stroll

I've got no fucking rear on exits - Daniel Ricciardo

Before that though, his drive was going "superb" (in the words of Nico Rosberg), as he was P9 and had made a switcheroo overtake on his teammate at turn 3.

[thatsmygirl6612]

Request something :)

(Yeah IDK what else to call it)

A Rise/TMNT 2012 crossover

(I need a better name for this, suggest something in the comments)

This is probably going to be a 2 part series, as I understand some people don’t like whump fics. This might change, though. And I’ll mostly be working on this, unless I decide to write a one-shot or something.

Set post-movie for Rise, and post s5 for 2012. Takes place in the 2012 universe.

Synopsis: So y’know how the Shredder was crushing on Tang Shen? Well I needed an enemy and it’s post s5, so let’s just say that this girl, Fukitsu Kasumi (I’ll explain the name later) kinda liked him. So when Shredder showed his affection for Shen, who was her good friend, she started hating her. And when Shredder moved to NYC, she moved with him. She hated him for not loving her back, yet she could not stop herself from looking out for him from behind the scenes. Eventually, he found out, and she was subjected to a prototype version of the brain worm (does this make sense?) which strengthened her need to protect him. After Leonardo killed the Shredder, the brain worm caused her to be enraged, and she vowed to seek revenge.

Somehow, the Rise guys end up in the 2012 universe, and recognising that they are the counterparts of the 2012 turtles, decide to capture them too. They are divided into cells of how much she hates them(No spoilers!).

Just to clarify, she initially gets introduced by Karai and Shinigami, and in the end… well, do you really think I would make such an intriguing OC bad forever?

I might change the plot up a little, not entirely happy either it right now.

Note: She will only feature in this fic, as I know some people just don’t like OCs.

Unnamed fic, lol

I’m thinking of plonking the turtles in the real world and swarming them with fans. Not the best idea but… yeah.

I’m running out of ideas, but you people can help by suggesting things. I’d also appreciate inspo for the fics above.

I’ll write stuff for free, because it’s writing and I’ll enjoy it. Anything in set in the 2012 universe, but can feature the IDW turtles, Rise turtles, and bvtmnt.

I will write:

Whump

Angst

General adventures

I would prefer not to write:

Fluff

18+

Romance central fics

Please be warned, my writing process is not the fastest. I may or may not abandon a fic for a week.

I have a 6 fic limit on commissions.

[lemon-wedges]

Just wanted to ask (and feel free to not answer), but how do you draw so much so quickly? I'm always impressed by how fast you doodle or paint. Also, wanted to say that I appreciate your Barok and DGS art as a whole.

and with this ask i have finally reached an artist milestone 😭

Well theres a short answer and a REALLY long answer (which ill put under cut when i get there).

short answer: practice + refs

which.....can be an annoying thing to hear. And as someone who studies art and has bought a LOT of online courses trying to figure out how industry people can just churn out work like nothing. it feels like a let down every time i find out their big secret. just practice and photo refs. Every. Single. Time.

LONG ANSWER:

its how you studying your refs. heres how i do mine

sorry if this is rambly. but ill try my best to at least be clear. BUT THIS is the EXACT way i taught myself how to be quicker.

I do not know if youve taken any art classes but essentially one of the ways to study gesture drawing is by first tracing ur photo ref to get a sense of the flow/proportions of the body. youve probably seen a billion of these tutorials floating around:

So last year around hmmmm june/july? i was NOT looking to get better at my anatomy or gesture. i was actually trying to get better at clothes. but my problem was it took me so long to draw out a figure (which i was fine with cause i liked how my people looked at the time) that i could never really just focus clothing part.

So i told myself look. ur not looking to draw in this style like this forever. so for now SIMPLIFY SIMPLIFY SIMPLIFY!!!! I WANT THE BAREBONES OF A HUMAN HERE TO MAKE A MANIQUIEN FOR CLOTHES OK

but how do i do that....

Im gonna use this piece as an example from my rise and yosuke fashion palooza month. FIRST u see i got all my photo refs together. i like those poses on the right and i want to switch out the clothes for the other ones i picked out. i trace out my poses. kind of like the tutorial up top but since this is about draping i was focused the exact places their waist/arms/legs/etc would bend.

and like the tutorial u turn off the photo ref and do a drawing based off that traced piece.

then i would turn on my refs and add on my clothes

And after a month of just doing that over and over and over. i was surprised to find that figures and poses were so much easier to understand when i would break them down like this. and once u get familiar with them the faster and more confidently you'll draw them.

I and still do this btw. heres my otasune from the last week

i used photo refs for all my sketches. if i cant find anything online to match what i want i just take photos of myself. and some might say well arent u just relying on reference TOO much?

AND AGAIN take it from someone who has spend a lot of money buying classes from their fav artists in the industry. The Secret of how they churn out so much cool work so fast always turns out to be this. practice and photo refs.

Every. Single. Time.(tho this is omitting a lot. im not getting into like they way they stylize their art work. that actually the fastest and funnest thing to do once u have ur base down)

Now PAINTING

The thing is, i dont actually post up all my work on this blog. So theres a ton of stuff you havent seen me do. These are some paintings i did 2 years ago for a class.

I already know how to pick my values and set up lighting. When you see me painting my figures now. i am not focused on learning these basics im actually just honing a technique.

you might see me post readmores with these kinds of wips. I lay in all my colors and lighting with the lasso tool. ALL THE MAJOR DECSIONS ARE DONE HERE

(the little miniature i add on the side basically tells me what the overall feeling is going to be when i blend in the lineart to be cohesive with my colors) ( also if you had any questions on my prepainting process tho. feel free to ask!!!)

and if you compare this wip to my finished piece youll actually find that i dont stray that far from what i've laid in.

everything happening at THIS stage is about feeling out how i want the textures to blend with one another and getting funky with some brush strokes.

and thats it? im not sure if any of this is helpful but if anything. i hope you come away from this feeling like what ive been doing here is nothing special. "THATS IT???? THATS ALL THERE IS??? well i could have done that :T"

exactly man. you can do ALL OF THIS aND MORE!!! I BELIEVE IN U :D

but ill let this be the last thing i leave u with my friend: my barok sketch and the refs i used for his boobies

[askagamedev]

Hi, I'd like to ask something about dlcs. I apologize in advance if this turns out to be a stupid question but I really have no idea about how game industry works. So... do software houses usually decide the plot of the dlcs together with the main game (or at least before the main game is released on the market) or they tend to wait for the audience's feedback and then start planning accordingly? Like, when the game is out, a certain character ends up being very popular in the fandom. So... will they decide to focus the dlc on this popular character in order to give ppl what they want or they're still gonna stick to their original plans? In a few words, could fandom popularity influence the plot of future content of a game?

Generally speaking, the ease of making changes to the game, its narrative/characters/content is inversely proportional to how close that content is to release. The closer the patch/DLC/update is to release, the more locked-down and set-in-stone it is. This is because these kind of changes will often affect other systems, narratives, characters, systems, etc. and that kind of propagation through the system gets more expensive the more changes need to be made later on. I'll use my current project as my example.

My current project is getting close to launch. We already have the first several seasons of content for this game scheduled - we plan on adding several significant boss fights and content updates over the course of the next year. The first new boss scheduled to go live in the first post-launch update is the closest to being done. That boss already has all of its mechanics locked down, all of the art done, all of the voice over recorded, all of the features designed, and so on. At this point, we're just tuning the fight because it's so close to release that we don't want to risk breaking anything. No matter what the community reception is for this particular character in the narrative, they're getting this fight because we've already locked in those plans months before launch and it's too late to change them now.

The further into the future we go, however, the more malleable things become. A good rule of thumb is to assume we on the dev team are working two or three patches ahead of whatever you're currently seeing in game. Content patches are often quarterly releases, which means that the thing I am working on today probably won't be seen by players for at least 3-6 months down the line. If supporting character Neelo turns into a huge fan favorite, we can pivot to add more content to feature Neelo - and sometimes we do! However, even if Neelo becomes super popular right at launch, that likely means the fastest we will be able to add more Neelo to the content updates (if we didn't plan to do so before) is in around six months post-launch. The patches before that are already in the process of being locked down and getting ready for certification and launch, it's too late to change them.

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[emeliejeannie]

I've been inspired by another post I saw earlier this week to think about how the Miraculous might affect their holders. so here I go! I apologies for any misinformation about a certain animal here, I just found some info online. so there's only a few things in here with each animal...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ladybug holders are extra sensitive to the cold, and can get sleepy.

Since Ladybug's are the most well liked bug (probably), humans are naturally drawn to them. this explains why so many people suddenly started to develop crushes on Marinette.

~

Cat holders have night vision and improved hearing.

Cat holders tend to be night owls.

Cat holders have the ability to purr in and out of costume.

Cat holders get affected by catnip.

Cat holder's nails grow faster and a little thicker than normal.

~

Ladybug (creation) holders get along well with the living while Cat (destruction) holders get along better with the dead. what I mean by that is, terminally ill people, for example, feel at peace in the presence of cat holders. while animals, nature and children alike feel at peace with Ladybug holders and thrive in their presence.

~

Bee holders are also sensitive to cold temperatures.

Bee holders have a heightened sense of smell and taste.

Female bee holders start craving jelly.

Pollinator holders (Bee, Ladybug etc) are drawn to plants.

~

Bug holders get along with bugs better than others.

~

Pig holders sweat less.

Pig holders have a tendency to be talkative.

Pig holders have better memory than most.

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Tiger holders are one of the fastest miraculi.

Tiger holders have an increase in appetite.

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Goat holders get cravings for salads.

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Mouse holders produce more vitamin C.

Mouse holders like to walk by walls when they can.

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Fox holders have improved hearing.

Fox holders can sense the magnetic field of the earth.

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Turtle holders are drawn to light.

Turtle holders might become "slow" they process things slower than before, and sometimes respond later than usual.

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Snake holders can hiss (???) like snakes.

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Horse holders have fast reflexes.

Horse holders rarely vomit.

Horse holders produce more saliva than the average human.

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Monkey holders like to "groom" their loved ones. they play with their hair, or pick at loose hairs on their clothes or lint. they're just generally touchy.

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Dog holders tend to follow their loved ones blindly. they become very affectionate and are sometimes blinded by their love for others.

Dog holders tend to get excited easily.

dog holders tend to "look out for their pack" they always check if everyone is present in group settings, and protect their loved ones when vulnerable.

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Rooster holders tend to be early birds.

Rooster holders like order in their daily lives and in their relationships.

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Ox holders tend to be quiet and reserved.

Ox holders tend to be comforting and reliable people.

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Rabbit holders are usually very expressive with their face and body language.

Rabbit holders, like cat holders, have the ability to purr.

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Peacock holders are drawn to bright colors.

Peacock holders hate being alone.

Some Peacock holders can become aggressive if worked up.

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Dragon holders have a tendency to hoard.

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Butterfly holders tend to drink a lot. doesn't have to be water, as long as it's liquid.

Butterfly holders have trouble regulating their body temperature.

[m34gs]

Saw AU Ask Time!

From designing/creating a trap all the way to implementing the trap on their victim, how long on average does it take each dorm to fully complete their assignment?

Please list this in order of least amount time to longest amount of time because it will spice up the order of your answers.

Oooooh what a fun ask! Thank you! (for anyone curious about the Saw AU my friend is referring to: please see this pinned post about our Twisted Wonderland Saw AU)

I am eager to take a break from my busy weekend and relax by thinking about Saw and Twisted Wonderland; two of my favourite things!! :D I will be talking about the absolute fastest timeline each dorm can make; keep in mind that certain circumstances may cause them to expedite certain processes and that the average trap time may be slower if the need is less urgent! :)

(Also, my friend, please don't panic if you think the timelines don't match your fics. I promise, they do! I have plans to make the murders fit into your stories!!)

Diasomnia - they take the least amount of time because Fae rules. Investigating the victim is a cinch for them and their Fae Powers. Parts are easy to obtain for the Heir of Briar Valley, and Lilia's vast network of connections makes finding locations a simple task. The one hang-up is when they're setting up the traps; in order to make sure it's not entirely inescapable by human standards but still presents a challenge and test, Silver is often the one who ends up putting his strength against various trap parts. While it's all supervised and done in a safe environment, Lilia tries to delay it Every. Single. Time. Still, they manage to get through it in a relatively timely manner. Honestly, when reading White Lilies (Kimium's fic about Yuu and Malleus, with a hint of murder in the background), there wasn't a specific timeline, but I imagined the festival was about 1-2 weeks away due to how Malleus said it was fast approaching. Seeing as he only just met Roy (my name for the man as Kimium left him unnamed and granted me the joy of naming him in my companion fic: Rebirth) on that day with Yuu, that would put the entire operation from start to finish within that 1-2 weeks. Honestly, I was thinking closer to 7-10 days. Of course, that's if they are working nonstop to make it happen, but I believe they would because to Malleus nothing trumps Yuu's safety.

Ignihyde - Idia and Ortho are next! And it's very honestly all because of how tech-savvy they are. Idia Shroud doesn't even need your name to start. He hacks the security cameras at the front of shops and tracks your movements, sees where you go, hacks security systems. And once he does have your name? Game over. He's got your social insurance number, your phone number, your address, and a digital copy of your birth records before the day is up. He sets up a virus that you can't even detect, hacks your computer, and uses an algorithm to analyze your online activity, and on a second monitor he's going through your bank information for patterns to see when the best time is to kidnap you. He knows the names of all your contacts and their banking info and schedules within hours. He knows exactly when he could snatch you and how long he would have before anyone noticed you were gone. And with all his tech and the tech for STYX and the fact that it has to be produced somewhere...you can bet your ass he can get access to an abandoned warehouse. The longest part is actually assembling the trap, because, as we've established, Idia doesn't just want a trap. He wants to challenge himself to see what he can do. He's pushing his limits and learning and growing (which like, yes we love to see growth but not with murder Idia!!! lol) and that takes time. But he'd have it done within the month. Guaranteed. So I'm gonna say Idia is typically 2-4 weeks (probably also depends on if he needs a rare part for his trap and needs to wait on account of shipping).

Heartslaybul - okay, I know, I know. You might be thinking "but Meags...Riddle has all these rules and technicalities and he would probably want to make sure everything was exactly right. He would never slap something together half-heartedly, and he also places a ton of restrictions on himself and has an intense perfectionism that would make him take things even slower". And you would be right! Except we also must consider that this is Riddle we are talking about. (insert tour guide voice, for funsies) If I may direct your attention to the Housewarden Trap Designs ask, we can recall that Riddle is one to go for the more simplistic traps. I also think he is one to always be Prepared. He has trap designs ready to be used ahead of time that can be easily tweaked as needed. He may not have them all built, but the design is there. The majority of time is spent on 1. researching the victim because unlike Idia and Malleus, Heartslaybul has to resort to good old in-person tailing and stalking, and 2. assembling the trap. While Deuce may be really good with his hands and mechanical work, he and Ace together spell DISASTER and I imagine there's more than one mishap that occurs...Taking all this into account, I'm thinking 6-8 weeks from start to finish is the fastest timeline for them.

Savanaclaw - To be honest, I don't think there's much difference between Heartslaybul's timeline and Savanaclaw's. Though they have less people, Savanaclaw has both Jack and Ruggie, who are pretty much doubly more efficient than Ace and Deuce (sorry but it's true). Especially if Leona promises Ruggie a bonus (or some fun in the bedroom). Leona, being a prince, has a lot of resources at his disposal. Plus, they have a lot of connections. Let's be real, Leona has his political connections to work with, but we all know Ruggie has connections in every corner of the city. And they run a casino. That's like, dipping into mafia territory. They probably have some sort of handle in the underground as well. And Leona's very smart. He would be the one to "work smarter, not harder", so I think he'd find a way to keep the traps relatively simple (also mentioned in the Housewarden Trap Design ask) so it couldn't take up a lot of his time. So I think Savanaclaw would also be 6-8 weeks.

Pomefiore - Vil, Rook, and Epel are next. While efficient, they do have one thing that kind of limits them: spare time. Vil is so busy with all his auditions, his roles, photoshoots, guest appearances on various talk-shows, etc. He can only devote so much time to the traps. Yes, he has Epel and Rook to help, but we must not forget: There's no way in hell Rook is going to spend time tailing some asshole when he could be watching his boyfriend on the runway. Much as everyone likes to think Rook would just do whatever Vil asks, the truth is that Rook is the only one on the team in Book Five who voted against their own dance team. Rook is, first and foremost, true to his own heart. And his heart wants to see Vil's beauty in every possible moment. And Seven knows Vil cannot leave all the work to Epel. Perish the thought. Also, they must set aside time to visit Yuu and Grim. It is imperative. Because of this, Pomefiore is looking at upward of 8 weeks; probably closer to 9 or 10 weeks, for their fastest trap runtime.

Scarabia - I honestly don't think it's a surprise they're this low on the list. Kalim, for one, would hesitate to kidnap and put someone in a trap, as we've established. Jamil, on the other hand, would spend so much time trying to account for every detail that his planning phase takes *forever*. FOREVER. Jamil. Please. You're killing me. Anyway; once he gets through that planning part, putting the actual trap into motion is easy, but yeah. It's the planning stages that trip up this dorm and cause them to take longer. And Kalim's big heart. He just really doesn't want people to die. I think more than once he has a heart-to-heart with John, and John reminds him that by putting people in the trap he is helping them (at least, in John's twisted point of view) and that makes Kalim feel a little bit better. He might need a pep talk or two to get through the planning though. Three months.

Octavinelle - ok, ok, let's be real. Who else? Who else but Azul? Honestly, that boy. Ok, so we all know Azul is a perfectionist to rival Riddle, but he is also almost as busy as Vil (especially in this au, where we have him not only running a chain of Monstro Lounges, but also doing consults on the side). Yes, he does have an ever-growing list of people to trap, but he has to make sure it is the *right* time for all of them, and he has to make sure everything goes without a hitch. In fact, the only reason it doesn't take him even longer than it already does is because he has Jade and Floyd. He can 1. outsources (some) work to them, and 2. they push him to stop fussing over details and just do something (I imagine if it comes to this, Floyd makes some sort of fuss; like a cat shoving a cup off the counter if they don't get enough attention). That being said; I think Azul also spends a whole lotta time in the planning stages, much like Jamil. Things are likely a lot faster once he has all the pieces ready to be put together (Probably partly because he gets Jade and Floyd to help more with this part). Three to four months. For his fastest traps. And this is only once he's actually decided on a victim(s) that is/are approved by John. Jigsaw help me.

Alrighty! There you have it, friend! My rankings from fastest to slowest, with an estimate on how long it takes each dorm to do the entire trap process!

(I also need you to know I currently have 10 tabs open on my computer to answer this ask...lol)