#AM FINALLY FREE TO DOODLE ON THE TAB

[inkclover]

funky wall man hello there 🟨

[archielogy]

Welcom...

Hello! I'm Archie and welcome to my art blog! This is basically where I post my drawings and doodles! This is a blog where I do my silly things and things about my characters, it's like to interact with more people!

Chima Minifigure Base F2U  ~ My linktree

All my social networks are here!

Commissions: Open

Requests: Closed

Introduction:

My name is Archie, I am interested in any subject, although sometimes I get depressed very easily, I love literature, which is Tailchaser's song! a book that was written by tad williams. although I am also interested in other topics that call my attention, and I share what I feel. I mostly focus on writing and the occasional character design. I'm a bit shy and socially awkward who freaks out about everything, but feel free to message me or ask me a question!

Fandoms where I usually hang out:

-Ninjago (not much)

-Legends of chima

-monkey kid

-Cookie run

-Slugterra

-kingdom hearts

-beastars

-Tailchaser's song

-stranger things

-pokemon (not so often)

Rules:

I only have a few rules, I just ask you to respect them and respect my limits.

Do not send me ANY nsfw/”suggestive” content. This includes requests and messages. I also ask that you refrain from comments like these about my art, they make me feel very uncomfortable. Don't tag me or send me anything with gore either, the light one is fine but the violent one isn't.

DO NOT republish or edit my art. This includes using it in a video edit and posting it to pinterest. The only exception to this rule is if I made the art specifically for you.

Please do not use any of my oc art as headers or profile images. You can use my other fanarts as profile pictures or headers if you choose ((none of my oc content)) it's very awkward for me.

I do not tolerate anti-LGBT+, racist, pedophile and incestuous content.

Don't send me questions/messages from my friend @monicskyblue story, I just won't answer them.

Please don't use my tailchaser song designs without my permission! These designs are simply not free to use but it's good to ask me first.

I'm also inspired by nifty-sempai's designs/art! I like to try new things.

Au ninjago:

This is a personal project of my friend who has been helping him, it doesn't have an official name yet. I post one thing or another here but it's not very often.

but i own jack, so here it will be told like jack's past in the desert, also things he does, really jack does things that are not written, this story is in progress but if i get motivated maybe i'll publish it here.

An Au of psychologists doesn't really have a great plot but it was only done for fun, but here Jack saw how they ended up with his mother since he was a child, his father abandons him and he is Monic's little brother, as I said it's not frank but I did it for fun

This au is about mythology, mythological creatures and human hunters. it is still in process

and finally a ninjago au with pokemon, to be more specific legends of arceus. it is still in process

my favorite alice AU where monic forced to be married travels to wonderland so i really want to think of a good plot for this kid

Au Tailchaser's song:

I have this main au which is where I currently write there are 2

the first is the curse of the first home that is located right here!

the second is an au where he tells us more about characters that were mentioned once and never appeared again trying to find a moment, but I also try to write it in a fanfiction! The fanfiction is not available to the public at this time. but you can find art and designs on this tag!

#Tailchaser's song desing or #Tailchaser's song

Then I leave you some links of tabs where I keep au's and some other information

Read Me!

DNI

Algunas cosas de mis personajes

Queriegoip

Au the curse of the first home

all the bases of the mini figure are used by @//speedythecat! so all credits to her.

I think that's all I wanted to say in my pinned post! I'll edit this as information changes :3

Thank you for reading

[aikmodblogs]

Harmony Woods Breakdown

I am thrilled with the overall result of this project. In my opinion, it's one of my favourite interiors I've created to date. But how did I start making this project? Let's break it down.

Initial Concept and Sketching I began with a rough sketch, more of a doodle really, experimenting with different forms and shapes to create the space. I kept a tab open with various inspirational images to fuel my creative juices and guide the design.

Adding Details Next, I started adding details to the models, such as cuts to create a wooden tile look, and openings for windows and doors. These elements added visual interest and provided resting points for the viewer's eyes as they explore the room.

Decorating the Space One of my favorite parts of the archviz design process is filling the room with décor. This helps the audience understand the room's purpose, location, and usage. I personalize the space with items from the Blender Market, which saves time and increases productivity since modeling everything from scratch would be too time-consuming.

Camera Placement I quickly added cameras around the space, selecting areas that would make great shots for the render. This is where my photographer’s eye comes into play. I experiment with different lenses, zooming in and out, and moving the camera up and down until I find the perfect frame. Using the Control B command helps focus on the frame by darkening the area outside it.

Texturing After decorating, I added textures to the space. Since this is a kitchen, I opted for a marble countertop, complemented by my favorite materials: wood and concrete. I love using these materials together because they contrast and complement each other in color, texture, and tone. Concrete is hard and cold, while wood is warm and smooth, especially when varnished. I spent time applying these materials to different parts of the model, adjusting until I was satisfied with the look.

Lighting Lighting is a crucial part of making the scene shine. It makes the materials and textures look realistic and beautiful. I used an HDRI, which is a sky texture ranging from morning to evening. I adjusted the lighting position and intensity to achieve the perfect visual appeal.

Rendering and Compositing Once happy with the overall look, I used the Cycles render engine to generate the image. I tweaked the settings, such as sample count and threshold, to speed up the rendering process. I did some compositing in Blender but preferred to finalize the image in Photoshop for more control.

Post-Processing in Photoshop Post-processing in Photoshop is my favorite part and the area I aim to improve the most. I start with the Camera Raw filter, adjusting exposure, contrast, blacks, and whites. I add color filters to set the mood, usually opting for warm, ambient summer colors with orange being my favorite.

I add layers for hue and saturation, color balance, and levels. To enhance a light source, I create a layer, pick a color from the light source, paint over it, and use the overlay blending mode. I adjust the opacity to avoid oversaturation.

Finally, I return to the Camera Raw filter for final tweaks, adding noise and a vignette for focus, increasing texture and clarity, and sharpening the scene to make it stand out.

Final Thoughts I love this scene; the lighting is great, and the colors set a welcoming, homely vibe. If I were to revisit this scene, I would incorporate render channels from Blender to enhance it further. Adding people to the scene, though tricky, could also bring it to life.

I hope you enjoyed this breakdown of Harmony Woods. Feel free to share your thoughts and ask any questions you might have!

#archviz #blender #postprocessing #breakdown #casestudy #architecture #interiorarchtecture #conceptart #render enviromentart

[thegongoozlerreacts]

Welcome Home (Part 6)

ok so this has been going on for much longer than i thought it would (i started making this post in july, its september now, so i might not remember stuff from before bc its been so long)

now that i have some free time, i can finally continue and hopefully finish this

anyways i decided i was gonna organize all the secret stuff ive found so far by making tab groups

which was the BEST decision i made because it made me go back to old links (the askew letter stuff) and i have found NEW stuff !! on the old stuff !!

all of that and more under the cut

so first off

bug spotted !! i got scared seeing it LOL

an animation doodle !!

so lets start with the bug video

ok so until the end i was so confused what the hell i was looking at, and im pretty sure that its paint

what the painting's supposed to be, ive got no idea but very fascinating

this bug video was Barnaby recounting the day's events to Home, most of those events being other bug videos

also !! i copied the link of this bug video and noticed it ended in '14-14-bh'

i checked the other bug video links and they're all similar !! which means there's 14 of these videos and hopefully ive found them all (i will be re-organizing this so that its in order)

also i think the last two letters are the first letters in the names of whichever neighbors are talking in the videos

ok ive ordered them and i am missing videos 13, 7, and 3! so there's only 3 more bugs for me to find !! hopefully i didnt miss any in past searching (but i will probably double-check if by the end im still missing some videos)

next up is the doodle audio

so this one is titled 'way' and its Wally asking why cant he hear us, and it ends with him saying 'let me in'

im not sure how many of these audios there are, but im sure they all amount to one giant message and i just need to find all the pieces and put them in the right order

well thats it for the new stuff in the old stuff, onto new-new stuff

i last explored The Playfellow Exhibition and the distorted version of it, so now its time to go through the guestbook!

aww thats cute

OH ANOTHER ONE

ok, this one is Wally talking about how we've looked into his eyes so many times and that we're looking at him now

tbh lowkey i was expecting his eyes to just appear out of nowhere when he said that, like in that one askew letters link

now onto the actual guestbook

currently just going through all the doodles on it since if u open the image they have titles in the tab

bug spotted !!

so it leads us to video number 7, and its Julie and Eddie playing pretend business! like that one drawing

also breen berry strikes again

Barnaby calls and asks for Wally

also the little drawing is just so cute

i love these bug videos even tho they have some ominous implications

its just all the neighbors being silly together its so cute dude !!

anyways continuing the search on the guestbook

i am forever gonna laugh at Wally giving a drawing of Barnaby bc a guest said they love clowns and Frank said Barnaby was a clown

oh bug spotted

this is cute too !! Sally buying stuff at Howdy's !! also ?? wdym one large sponge Howdy?? WOODCHIPS N SAWDUST ???

and at the end when Wally pushes the box further im just imagining he's just been standing there the whole time with his groceries and im laughing

thats video number 3, so now im just missing 13

well i think thats it for the guestbook i mean there are new doodles and messages on page 8, but nothing all too interesting

and that is, in fact, everything new i think? i am still missing bug video number 13 but if push comes to shove i'll just search up where to find it haha

or maybe even guess the link code since they all follow the same format

i guess time to go back and see if i have missed anything

oh i did miss something

yay video 13 !!

silly Eddie u need to chill out (flashbacks to Frank telling him that he always did work too hard)

and thats all the bug videos yay !!!!

ok so i guessed the order but then i went and searched up all audio locations in Welcome Home just to make sure that i got everything and the article i found put it in order too lol

'I Will Help You understand' 'I will find a way soon Neighbor' sooo very fascinating

and yep i played it in order and it soubds like it could be one giant message

the last one, 'Neighbor', is in morse code tho but idk if i want to try and decode it myself or just search up the answer lol

ok i have no idea how to translate the audio into the dots and dashes so i will just look up the answer

so i have not found any answers LOL maybe i'll try my hand at translating it myself again some other time

well!!! this is the end !! i have seen and gone through literally everything !! (well i hope i have because i will lose my mind if i missed anything else)

its the end of this series !! for now at least

will definitely come back when there's a new update, but maybe i'll post something about all my theories in the future

alright then !! byebye !! now that ive finished the Welcome Home update, i will be moving on to arcadekitten's games! tune in next time for my playthrough of It's Not Me, It's My Basement (when will it be posted?? i have no idea !!) farewell, neighbors!

[silentsockfeet]

hey friend, got some q's for you! 1.) what kind of doodles are doodling, if you don't mind me asking? 2.) also you are a longboarding person right? can you do any of the tricks? or do you have any longboarding injury stories or adventures or just general tips and tricks? i used to longboard but not well lol! 3.) finally got any music recs? anyways hope these q's help pass the time for ya! feel free to answer one or all or none! lol

omg thank you for saving me from my boredom hehe

1) ok i will admit i actually brought my notebook with me so most of the doodling was taking place in there and not on the receipts. i drew a little portrait of my coworker on a receipt tho and gave it to him

anyways the main thing i doodled was our computerized cash register. i drew out schematics of it and tried my best to explain the measurements and proportion bc i want to try and model it from memory when i get home

(apologies in advance for my chicken scratch handwriting)

and then besides that i doodled a bunch of other objects around our lobby just for fun. i’ve been trying to look at objects and figure out how i would model them so for some objects i wrote notes on how i might make it

2) i am a long boarding person but not hardcore i guess? i don’t really longboard well either lol i live in suburban america so i can’t really use longboarding for transportation, so the most i ever do is skate to my nearby school and then do loops around the parking lot. i also can’t do any tricks besides the most basic ones. i worked myself up to being able to jump on the board and rotate in the air, and i can jump off curbs, but that’s about it. i’d like to learn how to do more tricks one day. the worst injury i’ve gotten is just a couple scraped hands, but one time i completely wiped out in front of this couple walking down the street and it was so embarrassing. they asked if i needed help and i told them i was fine and then quickly skated away lmao

3) boy oh boy,, music recs are hard bc there’s so many that come to mind. my favorite band is young the giant, i highly recommend any of their songs. my favorite song of theirs is called “firelight” off the mind over matter album.

lately i’ve been working my way through joshua burnside’s discography. i first discovered him through his song “grapes” which i’ve been trying to learn it on guitar, but there’s no tab anywhere so i have to learn it by ear, which takes me a while

my favorite song of all time is “i still haven’t found what i’m looking for” by u2. it’s been my favorite song for as long as i can remember, my parents would play it when i was a kid and i’ve always loved it, i haven’t found a song that’s topped it yet. i think it’s the feel of it more than anything else, i’ve found plenty of songs that sound just as good but that song is the only one i’ve found that feels like the perfect representation of my soul. idk if that made sense at all but yeah that song is my all time fav

anyways hope you’re doing well bud, thank you for entertaining me and keeping me company while i do absolutely nothing at work lol

[eirist]

A Taste of Summer II

SUNKISSED

One-shot #: 5

Disclaimer: One Piece (and its characters) belongs to Eiichiro Oda-sensei.

Reminder: I have no beta-reader. Any grammatical and spelling errors are solely mine.

Warning: OOC possible. One shot.

Rating: T  (Teasing… Flirting… lots and lots of teasing and flirting. Plus a hint that they probably will have an unwritten sexy time.)

Note: Last prompt for the ZoNami Week 2020 at zonamievents in Tumblr. Day 5: Tan Lines. And it only took me months to finish this collection. But it’s done so I can now start my Autumn/Fall prompts.

Summary: His grey eye met hers. And the heat behind it was unmistakable. It was hotter than the sun she loves basking under.

It vaguely registered to him how brilliantly her orange hair shone against the sun.

How it glowed so radiantly…

Vibrantly…

As fiery as her personality.

Any more thoughts running inside his head came to a standstill when her lips slanted against his to deepen their kiss, prompting him to give her more access to his mouth.

She hummed—a rather, satisfied sound—as her fingernails scratched lightly against his scalp.

Her other hand started rubbing the well-defined muscles of his chest; his own was grasping her by the nape, pushing her closer to him while his free arm all but caged her body against his as their kiss turned aggressive.

She shifted on his lap slightly, pressing herself to him as they continued their lip lock.

They were on the top of the island’s lighthouse. Nami had seen it when they docked a few days ago and figured it would be nice to get a view of the whole area from that vantage point. But she only got the time to put her plan to action today—after arm twisting him to accompany her by reminding him of his accumulated debts these past few weeks from all the stress and waiting he subjected her to. 

He wasn't all too happy to acquiesce and she already expected that. So she threw in a promise of an undisturbed nap and some booze from the Sunny's secret stash as well. 

That changed his mind and sealed the deal.

So they headed towards the old white structure after breakfast despite the irritating, non-stop whining of that stupid love cook about how his Nami-swan shouldn't be left alone with him—the idiot moss head. 

Once at the top, Zoro settled down the wide gallery deck as Nami set up her surveying tripod and telescope.

The moment she finished… she made herself at home on his lap. 

What was supposedly a 'thank you' kiss had turned into a full blown make out session. And now they are kissing each other like there's no tomorrow.

This is most likely the result of all the tiptoeing they've been doing around each other these past weeks. Ok, more like the tiptoeing HE had been doing these past weeks… because Nami already knows what she wanted and was just waiting for him to come around.

“Mmmm…” she murmured against his lips, finally managing to pull away after a little while. “At this rate, I’m not gonna finish surveying this island.” Her voice was husky, eyes a bit unfocused as she gazed at him.

“Not my fault,” Zoro drawled, stealing one last kiss on her lips before giving her a rather arrogant smirk. “I’m not the one who got comfortable in my lap.”

“It IS comfortable here,” she agreed cheekily, her hand still rubbing at his pectorals.

"I can see that."

“You complaining?”

The corners of his lips quirked up some more and he shrugged. 

Her laugh was melodious as she untangled herself from him.

He must say... he was rather disappointed. How can he easily miss the way she was wrapped around him when it was just merely seconds ago?

"You should stop distracting me Zoro," she teased as she stood up. 

"Can't help it if you can't stay focused on what you're supposed to be doing."

Nami just chortled at his response. There was that certain twinkle behind her brown eyes as she regarded him... a naughty gleam he had just recently got accustomed to seeing.

She gave him a cat-that-ate-the-canary grin before swiveling around to finally pay attention to her surveying tools.

Zoro leaned back against the metal wall, hands behind his head, ready to pass out anytime as Nami gradually gets into her zone. It’s not like he will be able to disturb her without risking an increase in his currently renewed debt. Plus, she did promise him booze and an undisturbed nap.

And damn he’s going to get 'em both.

He yawned widely as he felt himself relax at the soporific sound of the waves crashing on the rocks below. His grey eye flitted towards Nami to check on her first before he succumbed to sleep.

The swordsman silently observed her… admiring the serene look she had on her face as she scribbled and doodled on that small notebook she had remarkably pulled out somewhere from her tight, pale yellow sundress.

Her orange hair whipped wildly across her face, prompting her to tilt her head towards the wind so they will be blown back and away from her pretty face…

…and sun-kissed shoulders.

“Quit staring at me Zoro,” she suddenly said, looking back at him with a smirk. “You’re making me blush.”

He scoffed.

She snickered at his reaction and went back to charting the island.

He, on the other hand, went back to watching her.

Her brows were furrowed in what could only mean deep concentration. She chewed on her lower lip as she focused on whatever was jotted down her notebook. 

He always marveled at the discipline and effort she puts out for her beloved maps. It was almost the same as what he devotes to his training and swordsmanship.

When she’s like this… Zoro realized that he can stare at her forever.

“You’re still looking, Zoro,” her playful voice broke into his thoughts.

He blinked up at her.

Nami was eyeing him again. Though despite the mischievous grin on her lips, he can see that her cheeks were slightly flushed and he knows that it has nothing to do with the sun.

He inwardly smirked.

“I take it you like what you’re seeing?”

He returned her grin with his signature shark-like one. “And if I do? Are you going to charge me for looking?”

“Yes. That’s 200,000 belis added to your debt.”

“200,000 belis are for groping.” Zoro pointed out, cocking an eyebrow at her.

She looked genuinely surprised that he knows that. 

“How come I owe you 200,000?” He asked, frowning. “Wait, don’t tell me you put a price on earlier?! I didn't grope, you greedy onna!”

“Idiot,” Nami reached down to pinch his cheek. “That doesn’t have a price. The charge is for catching you ogling at me twice!”

“The hell? You sure are evil,” he grumbled, wrapping a hand around her wrist. A wicked smile suddenly appeared on his face and he tugged her down to him.

She easily let him pull her right back into his lap… arms automatically wrapping around his neck.            

“And that’s why you like me,” Nami joshed, beaming at him.

“Who says I do?”

She pouted. “Didn't you kiss me because you like me? Oh you wound me!”

The corner of Zoro’s lips twitched amusedly. “You’re mistaken.”

“Am I really?”

“Really.”

"That wasn’t what you said last night.”

She was right. He did say that when they finally talked about what happened in the orchard after they  sneaked out of the villa for a late night stroll along the beach and almost got caught by Robin and Franky. 

And Brook.

And Usopp.

And Sanji for crying out loud!

Why are their crew mates such night owls?

Luckily they were able to wrap things up about their relationship and managed a kiss or two before nearly encountering their still awake and about friends.

“Hello?” Nami tapped his forehead with her knuckles. “Are you still there Zoro?”

“What?” He must’ve zoned out, thinking about yesterday’s events.

“Getting lost in your own thoughts huh?”

"Shut up."

He playfully sank his teeth on one bare shoulder.

“Hey!!!" 

Zoro grinned roguishly at her and immediately planted a kiss on the spot to appease her. “Can't resist. You're being more cheeky than usual."

Nami scowled at him. "Biting will cost you another hundred thousand belis!”

"Just put it on my tab. You have my permission to cash my bounty once my debt reaches it.”

Her eyes widened. Then she sniggered. “You must like me so much that you’re actually willing to be surrendered to the marines.”

“Yeah.”

She blushed when he easily admitted it but instantly recovered her composure as she tossed her head back and laughed loudly. 

Damn! Who knows Zoro can be endearing sometimes?

Nami kissed his cheek adoringly. “I’ll hold on to that. Nothing can make a woman fall so hard than a man willing to be handed over to the marines.”

“To cash out his millions worth bounty.” Zoro added.

“To cash out his millions worth bounty.” Nami agreed with a wide smile. “I really like that part a lot.”

“Tch. Of course you do. You're a money fiend after all.”

She laughed again and childishly stuck out her tongue at him. “Priorities Zoro.” 

“Glad to know I’m one of the least.”

“Uh-huh,” she nipped him on the jaw. “Now I'm going to focus on my other priority," she gestured to her equipment. "The earlier I finish, the sooner we can head back. Robin and I planned to sunbathe while we babysit you boys. Pretty sure you all want to run amok and play before we leave this island.”

“Is that why you’re wearing a swimsuit underneath this?” Zoro inquired as his fingers played with the thin strap of her dress.

“That and you know how spontaneous our crew is. First it's a barbecue party then the next thing you know one or three of our idiot hammers’ in the sea, drowning."

“You rarely go after our hammers.”

Nami rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. “That’s because we have you and Sanji-kun for that.”

“Hnnn…” he traced the strap on her shoulder before his finger strayed off path, to run along the bikini string that was diagonally traversing her collarbone.

She shivered slightly under his touch. Something inside her immediately sparked.

“I don’t see why you still need to sunbathe,” he was saying as he hooked a finger on her strap, nudging it to the side. “You’ve already had too much sun while we’re staying here.” He touched the tan line she was sporting underneath. “Still not roasted enough?”

Nami looked indignant. “What the hell do you mean by that?!”

He chuckled, dipping his head down and kissing the still pale skin.

And she melted just like that... her annoyance instantaneously dissipating. A familiar heat crept up her entire body and she groaned. “Damn it!”

He was looking smug. Absolutely liking the way he affects her. 

This is better than he expected when he kissed at the orchard.

"Thought we're here to map and nap Nami?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. She was slowly learning that Zoro can be a tease when he wants to.

But she wasn't the kind to just let him one up her. Together or not she wouldn't let him take the upper hand.

She batted her eyelashes at him. 

"Oh," her voice took on a flirtatious tone. "Here I thought you want to see and touch more."

Apparently Zoro was thinking just the same thing. 

“Of course I do,” he played along, whispering in her ear. “How about you lose the dress? Lemme see those tan lines you worked so hard to get?”

It took all her willpower not to let her jaw drop in pure amazement.

Was he really the same person who was hesitant to make the first move? Who managed to turn his back on her while she was top naked in front of him after skinny dipping on the lake?

Who consistently refused to kiss her despite every damn opportunity they have until he cannot stop himself anymore?

She heard the low rumble of his laughter as she just stared blankly at him.

“Is this…” she managed to say after a few seconds of short circuiting. “Your not-so-subtle way of saying you want me naked?”

“I think I’ve waited long enough Nami.” He stated in that deep, lazy yet light-hearted voice that she was secretly fond of.

A delicious shiver of anticipation ran all over her body and made her skin crawl.

“And you actually want me to believe that Roronoa Zoro’s actually interested in things like tan lines and a naked girl?”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“You!” She exploded when she saw the corner of his lips twitching. Her moron swordsman was trying not to laugh. “Quit teasing me, you idiot!” She bopped him on the head lightly as he finally laugh out loud.

She glared at him as he continued laughing at her expense.

This is going to be one hell of an interesting relationship.

With a vexed-sounding huff, she scooted away from his lap to stand up, giving his leg a nice, good kick.

Zoro caught her by the ankle. Still grinning up at her, he said, “Just go back to your mapping Nami, I still want my nap.”

“Damn right you still do! By all means kindly please pass out now!”  

“And booze.”

“I will drown you later in favorite sake!”

He threw her a cocky smirk as his thumb rubbed circles on the inside of her ankle. “The sooner you finished the better. We can continue where we left off back at the villa.”

Nami raised an eyebrow at him. “Where we… left off?”

His grey eye met hers. And the heat behind it was unmistakable. It was hotter than the sun she loves basking under to get tanned.

“You actually thought I was just teasing you?”

[drangues]

I hope you’re right, but the future remains to be seen. On the upside, I’m finally gonna be able to see my therapist again! Which is good because I can finally report back on how my meds are doing. Also nooo I’m sorry your teacher is a Fool, that sucks. They clearly don’t know Good Kitty Doodles when they see them. Anyways, YEAH their dynamic is one of my favorites, they’re like. The definition of the vitriolic best buds trope, I feel like? (Nyanon, 1/7)

And it is a bit annoying when people reduce them to Kunikida hating Dazai and Dazai mocking Kunikida, because like you said, that’s part of it!!! But they also trust each other a lot, Dazai genuinely believes that Kunikida is a good man and I do think he tries to base a lot of his morals off of Kunikida’s (and Oda and Atsushi and Fukuzawa, but this isn’t about them), and I think that, while he finds Dazai’s antics annoying, Kunikida very clearly trusts and cares about him? (Nyanon, 2/7)

Sure he thinks he could take things more seriously, but he trusts in his ability to get the job done when it needs to happen, and he even plays into his antics a few times! That fic does sound like them though, Dazai being Extra and Kunikida being exasperated because “you’re dying and this isn’t a manga (unless we break the fourth wall)??? Please focus on staying alive so you can actually confess to the brat.” I love the two of them so much. (Nyanon, 3/7)

Moving on a bit, I seem to have bad luck with friends??? If they don’t randomly stop talking to me if they’re online friends (not for mean reasons, contact just tapers off), then I’ve has like. Physically abusive friends and friends who lied to me and took advantage of how gullible I was as a kid? I’d hope I get a friend like that but at this rate I’ve accepted my lot as a hermit. I am an introvert though, so I guess it’s fair. Back to BSD, though! (Nyanon, 4/7)

I BET OLD ATSUSHI GETS IT FROM FUKUZAWA, he’s been taught his Ways. And Atsushi is probably the one giving people hugs half the time, he’s touch starved and very nice to hold and be held by, again, like a cat- Speaking of, at least it’s a nice rent free thought and not something Super Weird like the theme song of a kids show (yes I hate having songs stuck in my head). But yeah, poor thing needs hugs, preferably from the rest of the ADA when he’s feeling inadequate. (Nyanon, 5/7)

I want them to tell him how much he means to them and shower him with love and affection. And listen, Atsushi is a Literal catboy but he isn’t anywhere near as chaotic as Dazai is, he isn’t a sadist, he isn’t a sugar addict, he isn’t,, The Tanizaki Family (TM), as far as Kunikida is concerned it’s a dream come true. The fact that he actually does try his best and take on extra work when Kunikida is overwhelmed is just a bonus. (Nyanon, 6/7)

Also Atsushi is an indulgent big brother who says fuck gender norms, he adores Kyouka to bits and if she wants him to model some fashion that she likes then he isn’t gonna say no. Anyways, moving on to another Scenario Concept: I’m reading a chat fic right now, so how do you think that’d go with BSD? I know they aren’t action stories but they’re always great if you find a good one,,, I feel like there’d be pictures of Atsushi as a tiger are being thrown around at lightspeed. (Nyanon, 7/7)

WOOO HELL YEAH IM GLAD YOU CAN GET BACK TO YOUR THERAPIST!! make sure to take not of EVERYTHING all right?? dont reduce to “eh it’s fine” S M H

and yes!!! i also hate how theyre reduced like that, though we also got the anime adaption to blame here because they really love to Crank That Part Of The Dynamic up, so the fans are not TOO much to blame. Plus as you said, they trust each other a lot clearly. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MAN FUCK ALL YOUR FRIENDS YOUVE HAD SO FAR S M H, i hope the abusive ones Rot In Hell they did not deserve to do that to you i swear. i understand if this makes you be more closed off but please dont let that hinder you from experiencing the true beauty of people that actually care!!! relationships/friendships take time to build so just have patience im sure youll get someone soon!! i believe in you!!

man you have songs stuck in your head?? mood, i feel that, it’s pretty hard for me to have Something stuck in my head for too long because of how many different thoughts my brain spits out constantly, it’s like several tabs open with many of them playing different sounds it’s all a M E S S but i like it uwu

atsushi is the Least weird in the ADA and kunikida appreciates him, im sure kunikida is the type to say something caring in a threatening voice and then play it off as something Logical like “make sure to not overwork yourself- good health is important for good work ethics”

i’m sure atsushi would feel weird being shoved feminine stuff in his face at first, but because he cant say and loves kyouka to bits he would sit through it and start actually liking it because really, why Not? Whats Wrong Exactly? nothing. thats the point.

I WANT A CHATFIC OF THE ADA LIKE FROM WHEN ATSUSHI FIRST GETS HIS PHONE AND ALL THE CHATFICS THERE MAN (though except for all those intense ass arcs man i like fics where i ignore the canon arcs that happened because F U C K that personally, bsd has VERY emotionally draining arcs imo and mainly the reason i stuck around is cause of the characters OSGDHJSK)

[euphoriacrossing]

So, uh finally got my journal stuff.

I put it together yesterday, I am SO excited about it, it's better than I thought, BUT I have eight dividers (and can actually have more sections than that if needed because I have more dividers, plastic folders I can use to separate, and extra tabs I can use to label) and I don't know what sections I want to put so I can write it on the tabs.

I was thinking things like a tab for character profiles for the villagers, a tab for friend profiles, a tab for collecting and crafting, a tab for decorating, a tab for bells and budgets, things like that. I don't even know if I can come up with eight solid good sections, I might need to take some dividers out but we'll see.

I also have seen some pretty cool layouts. Like a play tracker someone made, I actually had a sheet come with my journal that had the months and days all listed in a chart so i am using that. But if you have any cool journaling layouts so far i would love to see them.

I am gonna try to print out my dodo airlines ticket and avatar from piccrew to paste in my journal since I can't draw. I have TONS of stickers and glitter glue and craft stuff so I might decorate my dividers with non-AC related decorations just so they are cute but I don't waste too many of my AC stickers though I guess I can always order more from etsy (lol, not really because I have already spent too much money and it's just the first of the money... but I mean, if it becomes an "emergency" I can and I can always purchase them at later days), and I actually still have some coming from etsy.

I ordered some gold letter stickers to spell out "New Horizons" on the front of my journal. I decided I just wanted to put that instead of my island name which I'll put inside on a "title page" of sorts. That way if I change my name for my island before the release I can just rip that page out and do a new one.

Oh I have both a clear pouch where I can put stencils and I have some stickers stored, and a fabric pouch where I have a pen, a stylus, and my amiibo cards. The fabric pouch I have clipped into the discs, but on the front so it doesn't hold the cover open. I know they have those pouches you can slip onto the planner with an elastic, but I like this little clip on one better. It's really small and only fits like one pen along with the other things which is usually less than I would carry BUT I guess this is already a bulky enough planner, I'm already unsure if it will fit in the AC sling bag with my switch, so best not make it any bulkier. Though my journal/planner did come with a canvas case, and it's not too much bulkier but it is a good place to store stickers and pens as long as I don't bulk it up too much, and that should help protect it if I shove it in a bag.

I guess most AC journaling will be done at home, but sometimes I go to my grandmother's or the hospital and I might want it with me to use depending on what info I end up writing down in there and how useful it becomes to me, I am not sure. I mean, I definitely have bags it will fit in along with my switch, but I ordered the AC sling bag because it was cute and I wanted to carry it, so if it doesn't fit I will possibly not be carrying it as much.

Oh also my journal stuff came with these nifty clip in to-do lists which I have a feeling i will be using to better make use of my AC time. I got some weekly planner sheets as well. I also have the monthly ones which were unnumbered so I went ahead and numbered those. =/ Tedious work. But now the monthly ones I will use to write down events, holidays, and birthdays, and I will leave those in there. The weekly planner sheets I just put in six weeks worth, and I will probably just do six weeks at a time and tear them out and throw them away when I'm done. That way I am not taking up too much room on my discs, but I can write more detailed plans and things I need to get done on those, but after I DO those things, I won't need the weekly pages at least I hope I can part with them. I am trying very hard not to make this a AC /diary/. I want it to be more like a reference book for my Island. The difference being one is nostalgic for me and the other one is actually useful to me OR anyone who might play on my island. Like if it's a proper reference someone else could pick up my switch and play and have access to say my Islanders birthdays, or the native fruit, or how much I was intending to spend on this, that, or the other. I don't know how many people intend their journals to be more like a diary, but I don't want to waste time writing things down that will only be nostalgic to me, instead I want the GAME to play as my sort of diary, for the memories I make to be playing, not writing. I want to write down things I need to remember and not just things I want to remember, I'd rather those just happen as in game moments. And if I want it to be a diary in the future, since it is discbound I can do that. But to start off that is not what I am going for. So that being said, hopefully I can part with the weekly pages and just throw those away since they won't really likely contain and pertinent info I will need in the long run. And any that do contain like birthdays or events, those will be added to the larger calendar so I won't need the weekly pages to remember when those things are.

Anyway, I am overall pretty excited about my journal being here and being able to work on it. I actually listened to some music yesterday while working on the calendar and it was kind of fun. Now I can just test different layouts, and things like that. My stencils come tomorrow I think. I ordered two sets actually so I could have more little doodles. And I can test what pens work the best and all that. It gives me something New Horizons related to do, which considering that's all my brain really wants anything to do with right now, it makes a huge difference for me.

If you have any ideas to help me with my journal, feel free to share them either in a reblog, or reply, or tag me in a post on here, whatever. I'd love to see your layouts and hear your ideas for different sections and stuff. Oh! And if you can think of anything else cool to print out for my journal, let me know! I know a lot of people are doing the dodo airline's tickets and I am gonna do that plus the piccrew avatar, but is there anything else cool I should print out? Like any reference guides or information that might be helpful when playing?

I know some people are already writing down friend codes and what not. But I am going to wait until I actually add people which will be closer to when we can actually play together.

But other than that, PLEASE share your ideas with me. =)

[recurring-polynya]

Writing Update/Art Update 4/28/2020:

I made it through my first full week as Full-Time Mom and Distance Learning Coach. It went... fine. I mean, it didn’t go all that great, to be honest, but it was Week 1, and I was still decompressing, and we all survived and Christ, these kids have a lot of work, and it’s only Tuesday, but Week 2 is going a lot more smoothly already so far. I have no idea how we would be getting through this if I were still working. Anytime you see some sort of “here are the personality types you see in a quarantine” you never see “utterly burnt-out working parent” because those people are too tired and brain-dead to be making memes on the internet.

Last week, to be honest, I did not feel like writing. I don’t get this feeling often, and I do not deal with it well, because my anxiety screams in like maybe this is it. Maybe it’s over. Maybe I’ll never write again. As if my writing were somehow my livelihood and I’m out here writing New York Times best sellers instead of the occasonal doofy fanfic in a not-very-popular ship within a mostly dead fandom. Whatevs.

This weekend was better. I finally finished up the rest of my Frozen II doodles, which I started way back before I quit my job and have been sitting around. I do have more art ideas, but I have a family portrait that I’m doing for a friend first.

I puttered at a couple of different stories. An anon sent me a story request a few weeks ago, and I’ve been working on it, Anon, honest, I’m just not movin’ real fast these days. I really, really love it when people send me requests, and half the time, I bang out something incredible in half an hour and the other half of the time, I utterly fall down on the job. :/

Then, on Sunday, I did start wanting to write again, except all I want to write is this raunchy porno I’ve been working on. I don’t know why I am into this now, I am not good at it. Look, I am a grown woman with a husband, I have had sexual relations before, but I sit down to write it and go, “wait, what is that thing called? where does the... how...? Is this sexy, or just gross? What even is sexy?” What I am getting at is, I really wish we had some other porn writers in this dumb fandom, but we don’t, so I’m reading a bunch of sex tip articles in incognito tabs for you, reader. ::butterfly meme:: Is this... growth as a writer? (It is not)

Oh, we also hit the Zanpakutou Rebellion arc in our Rolling Perpetual Bleach rewatch and I’m debating if I want to do recaps. I kinda don’t really feel like it, but people always really seem to like them. I still need to figure out how to do screenshots again, since Chrome blocks it now (or just go without, like a law-abiding citizen I guess). They’re pretty easy to write, although I think this one is a little harder than most of the filler arcs, because it’s not terrible and people actually like it, ha ha. There’s still plenty to shout about, I’m only one episode in and the Squad 10 crash couch has already made an appearance.

I guess that’s it for now. The one precious hour a day my children are banished to “Quiet Time” has come to an end, so I guess I’m back on duty. :/ I am busy, but also kinda bored, so feel free to send me, like, asks and stuff, and keep posting that Blessed Content, Tumblr is one of the major things keeping me going these days, I love you all.

[1-1snailxd-art]

Sides of a hero

Chapter index ----------- Chapter 3 

Chapter 4 - A nightmare on Impulse Street

Summary:  All appeared calm in the mindscape. That was a good thing, right? Can the mindscape really be calm? Enjoy the tranquillity while it lasts. Deceit and Depression have other plans.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Virgil felt much better after he returned to his room following breakfast. There were only a few small shadows waiting for him to review; the usual concerns prior to Thomas' friends coming over. He dealt with them easily and Thomas remained focused on preparing his apartment for the arrival of Talyn and Joan. Virgil went over to his second wardrobe and opened the doors to reveal his section of the imagination kingdom; a changing landscape that he could manipulate.

 Years ago, Virgil had helped establish the space along with the other roaming impulses. In this space they could influence Thomas safely; until the core sides  overpowered them. Now, Virgil was thankful that the space was avoided by the other impulses. They all had their own spaces; even Deceit and Rage had a space, despite not being satisfied with it.

Virgil walked through the wardrobes doors to find the space reflected a forest clearing; complete with a calm stream running by. In the centre of the clearing was a drawing table and over the other side of the stream Virgil could see Thomas on his lounge with Joan and Talyn; a simple projection so he could keep tabs on what was happening during the social exchange.  He sat at the desk, pulled on his headphones and started doodling on the paper in front of him.  Virgil let his hand glide over the page and form a variety of patterns and designs; only stopping to process a shadowy thought as they entered his room.

 It was a surprisingly relaxing day and Virgil was thankful for the unusual reprieve, especially following the previous events. Although concerned that Depression would haunt his dreams again, Virgil still forced himself to sleep that night. Thomas had gone to bed uncharacteristically early and was already asleep; which made sleeping a lot easier for Virgil too.

******************************************************************************************* 

Deceit walked through the mindscape. The landscape shifting and changing as he passed through the different territories; thinking and contemplating what action to take. He had always been pushed away by the core side, but in the past there were more roaming and lost impulses. Now they all had a place.... And he still felt lost. Deceit was good at his job though. He made sure Thomas was never consciously aware of his more 'negative' impulses.

 Deceit knew he was needed, important, necessary. Yet he still felt like he didn't belong anywhere in the mindscape. Talking to Depression hadn't improved his mentality.

 Depression's questions ran through his head - "Have you ever stopped to consider the reason why you feel so lost, Deceit? Why are you the only impulse without a place? Why did the little nameless impulse get a room and not you?"

Deceit found himself walking into Virgil's territory and looked around a tree to see the anxious side working at a drawing table; an unusual sight. Depression's questions ran through his mind again and he snuck around Virgil to enter his room and headed to Depression's cage.

 "I am truly being spoilt with company," Depression cooed as Deceit approached him. "A pleasure to see you again, Deceit. Have you had time to consider my proposal?"

Deceit shook his head, "Anxiety is much weaker than you promised."

"Well that is understandable. He does have access to my energy, as well as the excess power held within the seal." "What do you mean?"

"The seal on Anxiety's arm, that formed this cage, he took a little extra energy. How else do you think he became a core side?"

Deceit looked at the floor, contemplating Depression's words.

"Get me out of here. I can restore balance to the mindscape. This room was meant to be Anxiety's. A cage that YOU could control. Set me free and I will seal Anxiety in here for you."

"How? I just said that Anxiety was weaker than me." "Give me time. I can weaken, Anxiety. I've found a way to influence his memories with the shadows. All you need to do is rally the free impulses and break the seal. What do you say, Deceit?"

 The sound of Virgil re-entering his room cut Deceit and Depression's discussion short, and Deceit vanished without openly responding. Depression wasn't concerned though. Deceit's body language and visit had just confirmed their alliance. There was only one thing left to do... Break Anxiety down.  

 ******************************************************************************************* 

The next few days went by at a very average pace. The sides mostly remained in their own realms; only coming together to support Thomas with a livestream, a Wal-Mart trip and a writers meeting. Thomas and the sides were working well to respond to Virgil's concerns; even if Roman was still a bit confrontational. Virgil thought for sure that Ego and a couple of other impulses were probably working overtime to make Roman this way. Roman would recognise their influence eventually and calm down; he always did.

 For Halloween, Thomas had a little gathering and filmed a short video. Somehow, that had turned into the other sides wanting to have a Halloween party in the mindscape. As Virgil could anticipate, it didn’t go smoothly. Logan and Roman spent majority of the time arguing over who the 'real' Frankenstein was. Patton was changing his costume ever few minutes because he thought of an even cuter character. Virgil tried scaring Roman and Logan out of their argument, but only managed to annoy them. However, making Patton scream by conjuring some spiders proved the most effective way to distract the bickering sides. Virgil preferred being scolded than to listen to those two argue.

Finally disappearing back to his room, Virgil ditched his vampire outfit and stood in the middle of his room. He had been processing Thomas' shadowy thoughts while he was in Roman's realm for the party; one of the bonuses to having realms so close. There weren't any shadows in the room and yet something felt off. He couldn't sense anyone in the room or that anything had been changed, and yet something still didn't sit right with him.  

 Deciding sleep probably wasn't the best idea right now, Virgil conjured a small desk in the middle of his room and sat down to draw. I just have to stay awake until I work out what this feeling is. As the night dragged on, Virgil felt his eyelids grow heavier and heavier; his movement slowing and his head drooping down periodically. I can’t sleep now…as much as Virgil wanted to stay awake, his body had its own agenda. As his head came down to rest on the drawing table, Virgil gave in to sleep and let his mind go completely blank.

 .

 .

 . 

“Shall we go for another walk down memory lane, Anxiety.” Depression whispered from the cage. He reached a thin hand out from between the bars and rested his palm against the cold concrete floor. He lifted his hand up, pulling a small dark shadow up with him. The shadows had always formed naturally in the room. It was only recently that Depression had discovered he could conjure and manipulate small shadows on occasion. It was the first hint he had gotten that the impulses seal was weakening, and he wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip away.

Depression nudged the little shadow forward. “Go and remind dear Anxiety of who he was. It seems he has forgotten over the years.”

As the shadow floated away Depression laid on the floor of his cage, closed his eyes and smiled. This was going to be a wonderful dream.

 ****************************************************************************************** 

A lone impulse sat in the middle of a dense forest, knees pulled close to his chest and chin resting on top. His heart raced as young Thomas was learning to ride a bike. He had been at the forefront of the mindscape when Bravery had scolded him for being annoying. He didn't mean it. He didn't want to upset anyone, but he just knew Thomas needed to feel...something. He had no idea who he was or what role he was want meant to play.

 The crunching of leaves under foot alerted the impulse to another's presence.

"What are you?"

The impulse glanced up at the other impulse wearing a black hoodie and grey brown eyes that matched his own. It was like looking in a mirror.

The impulse fiddled with the zipper on his black jacket. "I don't know."

"What do people call you?"

"Normally...Go away. What are you?"

"I don't know either...But if you are GoAway, then I must be StopIt." He extended a hand down to the sitting impulse. "Want to go find a place for us."

The other impulse sighed and reached up to take the others hand and the two teleported away.

 Virgil stood in the forest. What was that?

That was us. Obviously.

Depression? What's going on? What are you doing?

Just helping you remember.

The world went dark and Virgil felt himself slip away again.

 Time sped by as the nameless impulses roamed the mindscape. Ignored or criticised by the more 'positive' impulses at the front of Thomas' mind, the two found themselves at the edge of the mindscape on the cliff. Other impulses visited on occasion. Envy, Greed, Sloth, Lust, Selfishness, Gluttony, Ego, Anger, Impatience, Guilt, indecision, Deceit, Dread, Avoidance, Nervousness, Panic. None of them cared that the two impulses were nameless. They understood that they served a purpose and were important to Thomas.

.

.

.

"We go through this all the time," a young Logan pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at Nervousness. "The swing is perfectly safe, and Thomas' brothers are right there should we require assistance getting down."

"Yeah, but..."

"I want to go higher?" Patton danced around the imagined park. "Let's keep swinging until we get wrapped up around the top!"

"What! No!" Nervousness stumbled backwards into two other impulses that appeared.

"Patton, that is impossible with this kind of swing."

Suddenly young Thomas' laughter turned to screams and cries for help. Patton and Logan froze as the imagined park started to darken and they turned to find a huddle of dark clothed impulses. Thomas' brothers stopped pushing him and Thomas squealed that it was too high.

Patton was nervously bouncing up and down, "I don't feel so good, Logan. What are we going to do? Is Thomas safe?"

"All right. Enough is enough. You all need to get out of here now." Logan looked pointedly at the impulses. "If you are not going to provide anything constructive to this situation then you serve no purpose here." Logan's eyes flashed a deep blue, and the impulses were forced to flee to the cliffs edge.  

   Impatience was surprised by the sudden arrival of the other three trembling impulses. "Panic, Nervousness, Jacket? What happened at the park?"

"I had it under control until these two arrived." Nervousness pointed at the other two.

"Well I only came because Jacket summoned me," Panic said in a high pitch tone.

"I had to..." he played with the zip of his jacket. "I... I don't know why."

"Helpful as always, Jacket" Impatience commented before walking away. Nervousness and Panic soon followed; leaving 'Jacket' alone once more.

 He couldn't stay at the cliff for long; the silence was maddening. So, he walked. The mindscape was changing daily, and every day Jacket walked through the many different areas. Sometimes he walked alone but generally he was accompanied by the nameless side, Hood. The two nameless impulses had two jobs. 

1. Help Thomas. 

2. Find a place where they belonged.

 Virgil found himself watching the two impulses walking through a dark tunnel. Oh, I love this part. Virgil felt sick as he watched the two impulses stop in front of a door that had appeared in the rocky walls.

 "This is new," Hood commented. "Do you think it is safe?"

Jacket shrugged. He had a bad feeling about the door, but his friend looked so...happy...How could an impulse that was always making others sad, actually be happy.

"Do you think we should open it? I mean... It might be the place we've been looking for. We could find our purpose in there. Or better yet, a name like the core sides."

"Don't let me stop you." Jacket looked at his friend and the two exchanged a small smile.

 Stop. I don't want to watch this.

Why not?

Because I have already lived it.

So, then what is the harm in living it again.

 Virgil's body shook with fear and shame as he watched the two young impulses. As soon as Hood twisted the doors handle, the door exploded with black fire. The force of the explosion smashed the two impulses against the cave wall and Virgil swore he could feel his skin being cut up again.

"NO!" Virgil slumped to his knees and wrapped his arms tight around his chest, feeling like his heart was about to burst out with the speed it was beating.

You did that, Anxiety. Look what YOU DID. I TRUSTED you.

Virgil tried to speak but all that came out was chocked sobs.  

You knew something was off about that door. You knew and yet you still let me open it.

Virgil shook his head a willed himself to wake up.

You didn't protect me. You couldn't protect me. And soon...You're going to do the same thing to Thomas.

 Virgil screamed in horror and found himself falling off his chair; knocking his head against the floor. He couldn't breathe; despite the fact his chest was clearly moving. He was sad. He was scared. He wanted to run, but he also wanted to hide.

He was still sleeping. He could feel his body on the floor of his room and yet he was still in the cave, watching black flames lick at the stone walls. Depression yelling at him.

Virgil's room responded by darkening further, and his various spiders sunk further into the room’s dark corners; away from the quivering side. 

Chapter index -------- Chapter 5 

[snail-giggles]

Sides of a Hero - Ch4 A nightmare on Impulse street

Chapter1 -- Chapter2 -- Chapter3

Summary: All appeared calm in the mindscape. That was a good thing, right?Can the mindscape really be calm? Enjoy the tranquillity while it lasts. Deceit and Depression have other plans.

Warnings: depression, fear, panic, Deceit

Virgil felt much better after he returned to his room following breakfast. There were only a few small shadows waiting for him to review; the usual concerns prior to Thomas' friends coming over. He dealt with them easily and Thomas remained focused on preparing his apartment for the arrival of Talyn and Joan. Virgil went over to his second wardrobe and opened the doors to reveal his section of the imagination kingdom; a changing landscape that he could manipulate.

 Years ago, Virgil had helped establish the space along with the other roaming impulses. In this space they could influence Thomas safely; until the core sides found and overpowered them. Now, Virgil was thankful that the space was avoided by the other impulses. They all had their own spaces; even Deceit and Rage had a space, despite not being satisfied with it.

 Virgil walked through the wardrobes doors to find the space reflected a forest clearing; complete with a calm stream running by. In the centre of the clearing was a drawing table and over the other side of the stream Virgil could see Thomas on his lounge with Joan and Talyn; a simple projection so he could keep tabs on what was happening during the social exchange.  He sat at the desk, pulled on his headphones and started doodling on the paper in front of him.  Virgil let his hand glide over the page and form a variety of patterns and designs; only stopping to process a shadowy thought as they entered his room.

 It was a surprisingly relaxing day and Virgil was thankful for the unusual reprieve, especially following the previous events. Although concerned that Depression would haunt his dreams again, Virgil still forced himself to sleep that night. Thomas had gone to bed uncharacteristically early and was already asleep; which made sleeping a lot easier for Virgil too.

 *******************************************************************************************

 Deceit walked through the mindscape. The landscape shifting and changing as he passed through the different territories; thinking and contemplating what action to take. He had always been pushed away by the core side, but in the past there were more roaming and lost impulses. Now they all had a place.... And he still felt lost. Deceit was good at his job though. He made sure Thomas was never consciously aware of his more 'negative' impulses.

 Deceit knew he was needed, important, necessary. Yet he still felt like he didn't belong anywhere in the mindscape. Talking to Depression hadn't improved his mentality.

 Depression's questions ran through his head - "Have you ever stopped to consider the reason why you feel so lost, Deceit? Why are you the only impulse without a place? Why did the little nameless impulse get a room and not you?"

Deceit found himself walking into Virgil's territory and looked around a tree to see the anxious side working at a drawing table; an unusual sight. Depression's questions ran through his mind again and he snuck around Virgil to enter his room and headed to Depression's cage.

 "I am truly being spoilt with company," Depression cooed as Deceit approached him. "A pleasure to see you again, Deceit. Have you had time to consider my proposal?"

Deceit shook his head, "Anxiety is much weaker than you promised."

"Well that is understandable. He does have access to my energy, as well as the excess power held within the seal." "What do you mean?"

"The seal on Anxiety's arm, that formed this cage, he took a little extra energy. How else do you think he became a core side?"

Deceit looked at the floor, contemplating Depression's words.

"Get me out of here. I can restore balance to the mindscape. This room was meant to be Anxiety's. A cage that YOU could control. Set me free and I will seal Anxiety in here for you."

"How? I just said that Anxiety was weaker than me." "Give me time. I can weaken, Anxiety. I've found a way to influence his memories with the shadows. All you need to do is rally the free impulses and break the seal. What do you say, Deceit?"

 The sound of Virgil re-entering his room cut Deceit and Depression's discussion short, and Deceit vanished without openly responding. Depression wasn't concerned though. Deceit's body language and visit had just confirmed their alliance. There was only one thing left to do... Break Anxiety down.  

 *****************************************************************************************

 The next few days went by at a very average pace. The sides mostly remained in their own realms; only coming together to support Thomas with a livestream, a Wal-Mart trip and a writers meeting. Thomas and the sides were working well to respond to Virgil's concerns; even if Roman was still a bit confrontational. Virgil thought for sure that Ego and a couple of other impulses were probably working overtime to make Roman this way. Roman would recognise their influence eventually and calm down; he always did.

 For Halloween, Thomas had a little gathering and filmed a short video. Somehow, that had turned into the other sides wanting to have a Halloween party in the mindscape. As Virgil could anticipate, it didn’t go smoothly. Logan and Roman spent majority of the time arguing over who the 'real' Frankenstein was. Patton was changing his costume ever few minutes because he thought of an even cuter character. Virgil tried scaring Roman and Logan out of their argument, but only managed to annoy them. However, making Patton scream by conjuring some spiders proved the most effective way to distract the bickering sides. Virgil preferred being scolded than to listen to those two argue.

Finally disappearing back to his room, Virgil ditched his vampire outfit and stood in the middle of his room. He had been processing Thomas' shadowy thoughts while he was in Roman's realm for the party; one of the bonuses to having realms so close. There weren't any shadows in the room and yet something felt off. He couldn't sense anyone in the room or that anything had been changed, and yet something still didn't sit right with him.  

 Deciding sleep probably wasn't the best idea right now, Virgil conjured a small desk in the middle of his room and sat down to draw. I just have to stay awake until I work out what this feeling is. As the night dragged on, Virgil felt his eyelids grow heavier and heavier; his movement slowing and his head drooping down periodically. I can’t sleep now…as much as Virgil wanted to stay awake, his body had its own agenda. As his head came down to rest on the drawing table, Virgil gave in to sleep and let his mind go completely blank.

 .

 .

 . 

 “Shall we go for another walk down memory lane, Anxiety.” Depression whispered from the cage. He reached a thin hand out from between the bars and rested his palm against the cold concrete floor. He lifted his hand up, pulling a small dark shadow up with him. The shadows had always formed naturally in the room. It was only recently that Depression had discovered he could conjure and manipulate small shadows on occasion. It was the first hint he had gotten that the impulses seal was weakening, and he wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip away.

Depression nudged the little shadow forward. “Go and remind dear Anxiety of who he was. It seems he has forgotten over the years.”

As the shadow floated away Depression laid on the floor of his cage, closed his eyes and smiled. This was going to be a wonderful dream.

 ******************************************************************************************

 A lone impulse sat in the middle of a dense forest, knees pulled close to his chest and chin resting on top. His heart raced as young Thomas was learning to ride a bike. He had been at the forefront of the mindscape when Bravery had scolded him for being annoying. He didn't mean it. He didn't want to upset anyone, but he just knew Thomas needed to feel...something. He had no idea who he was or what role he was want meant to play.

 The crunching of leaves under foot alerted the impulse to another's presence.

"What are you?"

The impulse glanced up at the other impulse wearing a black hoodie and grey brown eyes that matched his own. It was like looking in a mirror.

The impulse fiddled with the zipper on his black jacket. "I don't know."

"What do people call you?"

"Normally...Go away. What are you?"

"I don't know either...But if you are GoAway, then I must be StopIt." He extended a hand down to the sitting impulse. "Want to go find a place for us."

The other impulse sighed and reached up to take the others hand and the two teleported away.

 Virgil stood in the forest. What was that?

That was us. Obviously.

Depression? What's going on? What are you doing?

Just helping you remember.

The world went dark and Virgil felt himself slip away again.

 Time sped by as the nameless impulses roamed the mindscape. Ignored or criticised by the more 'positive' impulses at the front of Thomas' mind, the two found themselves at the edge of the mindscape on the cliff. Other impulses visited on occasion. Envy, Greed, Sloth, Lust, Selfishness, Gluttony, Ego, Anger, Impatience, Guilt, indecision, Deceit, Dread, Avoidance, Nervousness, Panic. None of them cared that the two impulses were nameless. They understood that they served a purpose and were important to Thomas.

.

.

.

"We go through this all the time," a young Logan pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at Nervousness. "The swing is perfectly safe, and Thomas' brothers are right there should we require assistance getting down."

"Yeah, but..."

"I want to go higher?" Patton danced around the imagined park. "Let's keep swinging until we get wrapped up around the top!"

"What! No!" Nervousness stumbled backwards into two other impulses that appeared.

"Patton, that is impossible with this kind of swing."

Suddenly young Thomas' laughter turned to screams and cries for help. Patton and Logan froze as the imagined park started to darken and they turned to find a huddle of dark clothed impulses. Thomas' brothers stopped pushing him and Thomas squealed that it was too high.

Patton was nervously bouncing up and down, "I don't feel so good, Logan. What are we going to do? Is Thomas safe?"

"All right. Enough is enough. You all need to get out of here now." Logan looked pointedly at the impulses. "If you are not going to provide anything constructive to this situation then you serve no purpose here." Logan's eyes flashed a deep blue, and the impulses were forced to flee to the cliffs edge.  

  Impatience was surprised by the sudden arrival of the other three trembling impulses. "Panic, Nervousness, Jacket? What happened at the park?"

"I had it under control until these two arrived." Nervousness pointed at the other two.

"Well I only came because Jacket summoned me," Panic said in a high pitch tone.

"I had to..." he played with the zip of his jacket. "I... I don't know why."

"Helpful as always, Jacket" Impatience commented before walking away. Nervousness and Panic soon followed; leaving 'Jacket' alone once more.

 He couldn't stay at the cliff for long; the silence was maddening. So, he walked. The mindscape was changing daily, and every day Jacket walked through the many different areas. Sometimes he walked alone but generally he was accompanied by the nameless side, Hood. The two nameless impulses had two jobs. 1. Help Thomas. 2. Find a place where they belonged.

  Virgil found himself watching the two impulses walking through a dark tunnel. Oh, I love this part. Virgil felt sick as he watched the two impulses stop in front of a door that had appeared in the rocky walls.

 "This is new," Hood commented. "Do you think it is safe?"

Jacket shrugged. He had a bad feeling about the door, but his friend looked so...happy...How could an impulse that was always making others sad, actually be happy.

"Do you think we should open it? I mean... It might be the place we've been looking for. We could find our purpose in there. Or better yet, a name like the core sides."

"Don't let me stop you." Jacket looked at his friend and the two exchanged a small smile.

 Stop. I don't want to watch this.

Why not?

Because I have already lived it.

So, then what is the harm in living it again.

 Virgil's body shook with fear and shame as he watched the two young impulses. As soon as Hood twisted the doors handle, the door exploded with black fire. The force of the explosion smashed the two impulses against the cave wall and Virgil swore he could feel his skin being cut up again.

"NO!" Virgil slumped to his knees and wrapped his arms tight around his chest, feeling like his heart was about to burst out with the speed it was beating.

You did that, Anxiety. Look what YOU DID. I TRUSTED you.

Virgil tried to speak but all that came out was chocked sobs.  

You knew something was off about that door. You knew and yet you still let me open it.

Virgil shook his head a willed himself to wake up.

You didn't protect me. You couldn't protect me. And soon...You're going to do the same thing to Thomas.

 Virgil screamed in horror and found himself falling off his chair; knocking his head against the floor. He couldn't breathe; despite the fact his chest was clearly moving. He was sad. He was scared. He wanted to run, but he also wanted to hide.

He was still sleeping. He could feel his body on the floor of his room and yet he was still in the cave, watching black flames lick at the stone walls. Depression yelling at him.

Virgil's room responded by darkening further, and his various spiders sunk further into the room’s dark corners; away from the quivering side.

Tumblr Masterlist      Ch5

More chapters here at Ao3

[jaurimt]

New Art Blog (AND I LIVVEEE)

ARRGGGHHHHHHHH

I FINALLY GOT INTO MY OLD ACCOUNT YAHO Right after I made a new one gdi ...... Speaking of, Hello everyone! I am deeply sorry for this account’s long ‘semi-hiatus’ Since it finally dawned on me that I am already a graduate.. I was in the process of finding a good job, (well I managed to but i’ll be working part-time as a graphic designer)

Not only that, our internet connection is not in the right condition atm and I am seriously considering buying a new internet modem plus a new wifi router. So while I was gone, I managed to get back at DIGITAL DRAWING and posted most of my works on my Instagram account (link) cuz my mobile data is limited to only accessing my social media accounts, Instagram is the only surviving app I had on my already spacious phone... Now that I came back, 

I would love to announce that I have already made a proper art blog!

>jaurimtdoods.tumblr.com

I am going to make this account as my own personal Account All my doodles, my digital art and sketches will go to my new account! So feel free to visit it anytime! Another thing, work will start in a few days so I have to set up a new schedule soon on what day/days of the week am I  going to post new content to avoid another hiatus.. For the meantime I am going to post my recent digital works on my new account while I am still waiting for my new graphic tab pen to arrive. Thank you you guys so much for your patience u.u  I am sorry if I am too slow to update anything new.... I will make up it all up to you.

Till then, Have an Awesome Day Ahead Everyone!

[loadshopping867]

Simple After Effects Animation

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Create a new composition with a solid color layer. We are going to use this solid color as our background. Go to Layer > New > Solid to create one with a color of your choice.

Double-click the brush tool () to create a paint layer. Once this is created, you can select your paintbrush as well. In this example, I am using a simple, circular 15 px brush in the color white.

Set the frame duration as a “custom” of 2f. The duration indicates how many frames of motion your paint strokes will be on-screen for. 2 is a convenient duration because it allows your frames to overlap for a second—you will see how this works after the next couple steps.

Draw your first frame. For this example, I am going to draw a curly, moving doodle. The first frame might be boring, but the animation will look clean if it starts out small!

Use the command key and right arrow key to advance to the next frame. Do this once to move one frame forward. Nothing will change, but draw your second frame on top of the first one. You’ll want to use the same color, but for the sake of this tutorial, I used white to show my first stroke and black to show the second.

Repeat this step until your animation is complete. When you press command+right arrow this time, you should see only your second brushstroke. Add your third one on top of this and repeat the step (Draw your frame, advance one frame forward. Draw, advance. Draw, advance.) until your animation reaches its final frame. You can move backwards in the timeline by pressing command+left arrow. To delete a brushstroke or change its duration, click the down arrow beside “effects” in your timeline window. Open the paint layer. You should be able to see all of the brushstrokes you have created, each spanning the number of frames it occupies onscreen. Scroll until you find the brush you would like to delete or modify. You can delete a brush using your computer’s delete key or modify the length of a brush by dragging the beginning and endpoints back and forth in the timeline.

Click back into the main composition to view your animation. Close the paint layer by going back to your original composition. The tabs usually appear along the top of your project window. Drag the playhead to the beginning and press the spacebar to watch your animation from beginning to end.

After Effects Simple Animation Tutorial

Joomla twitter. Luckily, there are hundreds of After Effects opener templates that you can use without creating them from scratch. Ofcom internet speed test internet connection. Check out our collection of best free Adobe After Effects opener templates below. More free After Effects templates: Titles, Animated Icons, Logo Reveals, Animated Fonts, Slideshows, Lower Thirds, and Intros. Apr 21, 2021 Adobe After Effects is the industry-standard software, which is used by most VFX, 3D and motion graphics artists, as well as animators. The program is packed full of features for creating everything from a simple title sequence to full 3D stereo compositing.

[keepitdreamin]

do u have any shawn/gus hcs? im Suffering from lack of content

(Here’s a tip: don’t open an ask at 11pm when you’re Very Tired because once the notification disappears you Will forget about it 😬 sorry anon!)

I actually tend not to really make headcanons unless they’re being used for a fic (which, incidentally, there’s a proposal fic coming Soon that I started when I was writing this list so be on the lookout for that!) but I too am starved for Shawn/Gus content, so, in no particular order, here’s some things I thought of:

This exchange has definitely happened more than once:

Shawn: “Look! This place is doing a discount/free thing for couples for Valentine’s! Let’s pretend to be boyfriends and get free food!”

Gus: “….Shawn, we’ve been married for 3 years.”

On that same thought: soooooooooo many fake proposals to get free desert oh my god.

And you know Shawn will keep the charade up every time they go into the restaurant after. Gus has honestly lost track so he just goes along when Shawn drags him out saying, “Come on, it’s our 5 year anniversary at The Grove!” They have an anniversary at least twice a month.

Shawn gave Gus a ring pop engagement ring when they were 7 and has kinda always assumed they were going to get married one of these days anyway

(Gus actually gave Shawn a decoder ring when they were 6 and has also kind of always assumed they would get married too)

Before they got together, they never really had a problem with physical affection (hugging, cuddling, holding each other when they’re scared, tugging arms/hands, etc), but when they finally get together, they Never. Stop. Touching. They are that annoying couple that holds hands while eating ice cream cones walking down the boardwalk at sunset that’s just perfect.

The Chief has long since given up on any kind of professionalism when it comes to Shawn so she doesn’t even blink an eye when he spends an entire meeting sitting on Gus’s lap (Gus, for his part, does look vaguely apologetic but he doesn’t try to move either), or when they walk around the station/crime scenes holding hands or with their hands in each others pockets.

Shawn is really good at drawing (that T-Rex sketch like???) and Gus has saved Every picture he’s given him since they were kids, including the ones doodled on the back of receipts and takeout menus. (He has binders with color coded tabs and meticulously written labels and indexes for easier sorting)

Shawn probably gets headaches a Lot just because of the sheer Amount of sensory information he’s constantly sorting through. Shawn says Gus got into pharmaceuticals because of his asthma but it was Definitely because of Shawn’s headaches/migraines.

(is this me projecting? yes a hundred percent) but also Gus does all kinds of research and has Perfected the temple massage to help soothe the headaches

Shawn maybe sometimes pretends that his headache is a little worse than it really is to get a temple massage

Their first date was a disaster because halfway through dinner somebody is poisoned and they spend 3 days solving that case before they’re finally able to sit down alone together again. 

Shawn is actually really upset about that because he’d kind of planned a whole date with stuff just for Gus, all the things that he likes that Shawn only really likes because Gus does, and it was all ruined and that sucks

So he’s sulking alone for a little but in the Psych office when Gus comes in with both of their favorite pizzas and deserts and beer and they continue with their date in the office by the light of fake flickering candles (Shawn suspects Henry stole all their candles after the one time he almost burned the place down but it could’ve easily been Gus himself)

They count that as their second date and it almost definitely ends with a nearly chaste kiss in the doorway

[briseis-lavellan]

Tagged by @meliciousintent

5 things you’ll find in my bag:

My bag is a backpack so the common things are my textbooks for school.

Notebooks, of course.  I try to keep one for each subject.

Pens and pencils.  Even when I’m not in school, I have writing implements galore.  You never know if you have to loan one, jot something down, or utilize it as a weapon.  The potential emergencies are countless. :P

Post-it note and tab booklet that I got for free from my college.  They hand them out for free at the beginning of fall quarter.  Currently, the first post-it is a doodle that drew of Solas.  I shared it on here ages ago.  Shows how much I use post-it notes. XD

My wallet.  It contains my debit card (with a perpetual 49 cent (US) balance), library card, state ID, Student ID, and almost every single receipt from the last year and a half.   My regular bag/purse is pretty much the same except there are not any textbooks or notebooks.  I have a boring life.

5 things you’ll find in my bedroom:

A really cool tree picture, drawn in pastel, made by my best friend for an art project.  The tree looked so cool and I loved the colors that I begged her to let me have it once she was done with it for school.  It adds a pop of color to my very gray room.

A ribbon that holds my button pin collection.  I love button pins and I started a collection.  A majority of them are from college events, but I hope to score more from other places.

A hurricane lamp made out of recycled vintage tins.  I bought matching ones for my best friend and myself.  She has a tall one and mine is short.  Also a colorful edition to my room.

TV and my Xbox One, where I play games like The Witcher III, DA:I, and Skyrim.  I prefer PC, but my laptop is a very basic machine for school, but I hope to get a decent rig so I can play my favorite games. 

A really pretty blue and white quilt.  I was once homeless and I remember there was this lady who would make regular visits to the park I would frequent and sew her quilts (she liked to do some parts by hand).  I really loved the colors of the one she was working on and I told her so.  I didn’t see her the next day, but the day after that she handed me the finished quilt and told me she hoped that it would keep me warm, and when I wrap it around me that I would feel the love she put into making it.  She was Wiccan and she often blessed her work as she made them.  Protection, warmth, and love were what she put in and I have an awesome sense of that when I sleep with it.  It was the best thing someone outside of my friends and family ever gave me. 

5 things I’ve always wanted to do in life:

Travel somewhere that is outside of the US, preferably off the continent.  I have always wanted to visit Europe.  When I was young, I wanted to visit the famous major cities like Paris and Rome.  Now I am aware that cities have too many people and I’m not a fan of that, so I would love to visit the rural villages and towns. 

Swim with dolphins.  Preferably in the open sea and not captivity.  I know that’s not a likely thing, but a girl can dream.

Adopt a panda.  When I was about 4 or 5, my grandparents took me to a county fair and one of the booths had a video about how the habitats of pandas were being destroyed, and how they were dying out.  I was so upset and when I learned that you could adopt a panda, I begged my grandfather to do it.  My grandfather was a very doting one and had a hard time saying “no” to me or my brother (he did sometimes, but it was very difficult for him).  He spoke to a lady at the booth and brought out his checkbook and filled it out.  After all was done, he was given a certificate and other paper work, everything but a panda.  I was inconsolable upon learning you don’t actually physically adopt pandas.  It wasn’t until my grandma handed me a stuffed panda that we got as a thank you gift that I became content.  I was a fickle 5 year old. To this day, though, I am still pissed that I didn’t get my panda.

Attend a convention.  I have never been to one.  My guy friend invited me to one. He wanted me to wear a retro Star Trek costume and help him sell his homemade action figures.  Sadly it was on my nephew’s 2nd B-day party and his mom would have never forgiven me if I skipped it.  So I had to turn him down. :(

Be the first member in my entire family, both sides, to graduate college.  Which I will do next month!

5 things that make me happy:

My nephew, who is the most awesome 5 year old ever.  My 17-yr-old niece too, when she’s not being a bratty teenager, I love her to death though.

My field trip that I’m going on tomorrow.  We get to visit Mt. Saint Helens and I’m excited.

Roadtrips in general.  Every male in my family have been long-haul truck drivers, and I think that contributes to my wanderlust.  

My grandparents.  Sadly my grandfather (the one who adopted a panda for me) passed on two years ago, but I have my grandma still.  I got to visit her last summer and I don’t remember ever being so happy or my former self.  Memories of my grandfather are sometimes sad, but mostly happy because he was awesome and I miss him terribly.

Baby animals.  I mean seriously, how can anyone look at a baby animal and not feel warm and fuzzy?  Monsters, that’s the only way I can explain them.

5 things I’m currently into:

Dragon Age

Shameless (US version).  I swear this could easily be my family. 

Harlots (on Hulu).  I am so into the drama of this show.  I even like that the soundtrack is modern even though the series is set in the 1700′s.  Reminds me of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. 

Books by Juliet Marillier.  I love how she writes her female characters.  Strong but you still get a sense of their fragility. They are almost never portrayed as damsels in distress, but rather heroines in their own right.  One saved her brothers from a curse.  Another saves her lover from the fae world.  She’s awesome and deserves to have more readers.

Knitting, though I never finish the things I start.

5 things on my to-do list:

Finish that final chapter of my fic, maybe even work on more sketches for Cassandra (my drabbles)

Actually start my homework assignment way before it’s due.

Clean my room.  It is a disaster zone.

Mail my homemade mother’s day card to my grandma.  It’s cheesy and kind of bad, but she’ll love it anyway.

Pack my lunch for an upcoming field trip.

5 things people may not know about me:

I was homeless for nearly three years.  First year of that was spent living in a van with my dog.  Second was spent in a women’s shelter, the third was a transitional shelter before I finally got back on my feet and was able to get my own place.

I can eat jello with chopsticks.  It’s a fun party trick.

I am terrified of the sound of popping balloons.  I have no idea why.

Not really uncommon knowledge and many do it, but I procrastinate a lot.

I have a weird and secret relationship with a friend of mine.  We kind of get a thrill out of being the only ones who know.  We don’t really have the same circle of friends, so it’s easier to maintain the illusion of not really being anything more. 

[animationnut]

To Gravity Falls, From Piedmont: Chapter 21

Summary: It’s a long way until next summer. Until then, Dipper and Mabel share their daily antics and life problems with their lifelong friends and attentive great-uncles through an endless string of e-mails. Distance makes the heart grow fonder after all, and there’s no place Dipper and Mabel love more than Gravity Falls. 

                                                   Chapter List

To: Mabel Pines (ShootingStarRainbowUnicorn); Dipper Pines (GhostHarasserfan); Stanford Pines (Highsixer); Stanley Pines (StantheMan); Soos Ramirez (QuestionMarkDude)

From: Wendy Corduroy (Lumberchick)

Subject: Greatest snowman to ever exist

1 Attachment (Photo File)

This wicked snowstorm means no school, and no school means complete freedom. My brothers and I worked together to build this snowman, which is totally the best snowman ever created and you can't tell me otherwise.

See all messages in this thread (Expand)

Mabel Pines: Oh my gosh! It's amazing! How much tape did you need to use to get it to hold up the axe?

Wendy Corduroy: About two rolls. But it's okay. They look like bandages covering a really nasty wound.

Dipper Pines: Whose ushanka did you steal to give it a hat?

Wendy Corduroy: My brothers had to draw straws. Glen lost.

Stanley Pines: You don't know how much I wish I was in Gravity Falls right now. Soos, take a baseball bat to it!

Soos Ramirez: No way, Mr. Pines. Snowmen have a right to exist too.

Wendy Corduroy: Don't be jealous just because you know you could never craft a good a snowman as mine.

Stanford Pines: I suppose you know what you're about to start with a comment like that.

Stanley Pines: It's on, Missy. I'll make a snowman that'll kick yours to the curb and steal its wallet.

Stanford Pines: I'll admit you've always been creative, but your crafting skills have never been up to par.

Soos Ramirez: Mr. Pines made all the exhibits at the gift shop. He's the best crafter there is.

Stanley Pines: You tell him, Soos. Poindexter may be able to invent weird gadgets, but he knows nothing about artsmanship.

Stanford Pines: First of all, that's not a word. Second of all, you don't need to be a genius (which I am) to beat you in a snowman building contest.

Wendy Corduroy: Ah yeah! Here comes the smack-down! My entry is already done. Feel free tearing each other apart for my entertainment. I've clearly won.

Soos Ramirez: Your lumberjack snowman is pretty rad, but I've been building snowmen for years. Abuelita said I was the best at it. Dunno if you can beat that.

Stanley Pines: All right Ford, looks like we're making a detour to a wintry place. I've got some hopeful souls to crush. Especially yours.

Mabel Pines: Woo-hoo! Let the games begin!

School bag slung over one shoulder, Dipper entered the kitchen to retrieve a can of soda from the fridge. He popped the tab with one hand while he used the other to dig his phone out of his pocket. He read through Wendy's email to see the comments made after his, eyebrow raising.

"Mabel, encouraging them makes it worse!"

His sister appeared in the entryway, Waddles skittering behind her on the hardwood floor. "They would have turned it into a competition anyway. I'm just showing my support."

Dipper sat down at the kitchen table and dropped his bag to rest by his sock-clad feet. He studied the picture Wendy had attached to her e-mail again, grinning at the ice and snow creation that loomed a head taller than the redheaded female. There was a dark brown ushanka pulled over the top, smallest snowball, a pair of acorns for eyes, a broken handle of a pick for a nose and the metal handle (from what Dipper assumed to be the same pick) for the mouth. There was a red plaid wool jacket shrugged over the middle snowball and through the arms of the jacket were two thick pieces of chopped wood. At the ends of the wood were frayed white work gloves. Attached to the right glove was an axe, held in place by black tape.

"Isn't it cool?" sighed Mabel wistfully, peering over her brother's shoulder. "I like California, but the problem is that we don't get snow days. While we were doing math Wendy was making a snowman."

"How cruel life can be," quipped Dipper.

Mabel poked the back of his neck. "Come on. As much as you love school you'd love a snow day."

"I would," Dipper failed to deny. "But that's not going to happen. We'll just have admire the snowmen from afar and be with them in spirit."

Propping her chin against the top of Dipper's head, Mabel wondered, "What do you think Grunkle Ford will build?"

"Probably something to do with his research. If he doesn't do a life-size sculpture of the abominable snowman I am going to be rather disappointed."

"Grunkle Stan?"

The two fell into a thoughtful silence for a moment. After a while, Dipper replied, "I honestly couldn't begin to imagine. But I doubt it'll be appropriate."

To: Wendy Corduroy (Lumberchick); Dipper Pines (GhostHarasserfan); Mabel Pines (ShootingStarRainbowUnicorn); Stanley Pines (StantheMan); Stanford Pines (Highsixer)

From: Soos Ramirez (QuestionMarkDude)

Subject: Behold the beauty

1 Attachment (Photo File)

Yo, dudes.

No offense, Wendy, your snowman was super cool, but mine's super cooler. It sparkles and it has some oomph to it. I just wanna thank my inspiration for motivating my creativity. Couldn't have done it without you.

Soos out!

Lying on her back in the soft grass, Mabel splayed out, absorbing the sun's rays. Waddle laid across her stomach, nibbling at the hem of her light blue fleece sweater. Dipper was beside her, reclining against a looming oak tree, nose buried in a book. They were both distracted from their peaceful relaxing as their phones beeped in unison, alerting them to a notification.

Mabel grunted as she sat up, careful not to dislodge Waddles completely. She moved her sunglasses to rest on top of her head so she could get a better look at the screen. Her eyes lit up when she realized Soos had completed his entry in the impromptu snowman contest and eagerly clicked the attachment.

Positioned in front of the icicle-covered Mystery Shack was a life-size sculpture of Melody. The hair was made of strands of hay, packed closely together so that it seemed like it had density to it. A pair of sapphire-coloured plastic gems were used for eyes. A purple jacket hung on its arms and torso and somehow Soos had managed to attach a pair of jeans.

"Wow," said Dipper, eyes wide. "Abuelita was right. Soos is pretty dang good at building snowmen."

"You can't call this a snowman," protested Mabel. "It's a snow sculpture! It's gorgeous!"

"This is definitely going to be hard to beat," said Dipper with a grin.

Wendy Corduroy: Well dang.

Stanford Pines: That has more than just oomph, Soos. Melody must be very proud of this.

Soos Ramirez: Thanks, Mr. Pines! She loved it. But she wishes I would've asked before borrowing her clothes.

Mabel Pines: How did you get the jeans on?

Soos Ramirez: I built the legs first and then had to cut the jeans to fit them on properly. Figured it out after three tries.

Dipper Pines: Uh…does Melody know you ruined her jeans?

Soos Ramirez: Do you think she'll notice?

Stanley Pines: Eh. It's not bad.

Mabel Pines: Are you crazy? It's fantastic!

Wendy Corduroy: Like you can do any better, Mr. Pines.

Stanley Pines: Don't take your bitterness out on me because you so clearly lost. Of course I can do better. Who do you think taught Soos everything he knows?

Stanford Pines: Which probably wasn't very much to begin with.

Stanley Pines: Sure, make fun. I'll be the one laughing when I cream the lot of you.

Dipper Pines: He's got a plan. Those never turn out well.

Mabel Pines: But they're always entertaining!

Soos Ramirez: Good luck Mr. Pines! And Mr. Pines!

Wendy Corduroy: Yeah. This is going to end in disaster—and hilarity.

The voice of her teacher droning in her ears, Mabel's pen scrawled against her paper as she took notes. The shooting star charm of her bracelet clattered softly against the surface of her desk as she moved her wrist back and forth. Heaving a quiet sigh, she shifted her gaze to the clock hanging above the door. There was still an hour before school let out and her brain had already decided to quit for the day.

Mabel paused halfway through her writing of science notes when she felt her cellphone vibrate in her pocket. She peeked over at the teacher, who was facing the chalkboard as he lectured. She positioned her textbook so that it was blocking most of her desk from his sight. She slipped out her cell and held it behind her makeshift barricade, tapping on the e-mail icon.

She grinned widely when she discovered the sender of the e-mail and looked over at her brother, who sat diagonally from her. Dipper gave her a side glance of disapproval, which evaporated when she mouthed 'Grunkle Stan'. His curiosity too great, he did the rare act of taking out his cell in class, tucking his textbook into his lap and keeping the device cloaked behind it.

Stan had sent the e-mail a couple of class periods ago, meaning that they must have missed the initial notification and succeeding ones as their friends commented. The latest remark on Stan's snowman entry finally caught their attention and Mabel could not stop the burst of surprised laughter from escaping.

Turning around, her teacher said sharply, "Do you have something funny to share with the rest of the class, Miss Pines?"

Mabel shook her head, cheeks red not from embarrassment but suppressed mirth. "No sir," she managed to choke out. "Sorry. Just thinking to myself."

Eyes narrowing slightly, he returned to the lesson as their peers gave her odd, sneering looks before going back to their own work, whether it be meticulous notetaking or lazy doodling. Dipper's shoulders were shaking from laughter, his head ducked down as he pretended to focus on the text in their science book. Mabel bit down on her bottom lip and glanced at her phone, staring at the snowman Stan had constructed.

It was a replica of himself made out of snow, wearing his wool beanie, what looked to be grey cloth from a mop making up his hair. Apart from that, the only other article of clothing this Stan snowman was wearing was a speedo. The snowman itself was positioned in the pose of the Thinker. Stan left few details out of his wintry work of art.

Mabel rested her head on the surface of her desk, silent tears of laughter trailing down her cheeks.

To: Mabel Pines (ShootingStarRainbowUnicorn); Soos Ramirez (QuestionMarkDude); Dipper Pines (GhostHarasserfan); Wendy Corduroy (Lumberchick); Stanford Pines (Highsixer)

From: Stanley Pines (StantheMan)

Subject: Now THIS is beauty

1 Attachment (Photo File)

Soos making a snow sculpture of Melody is sweet and all, sure. And let's not even get to Wendy's mundane attempt. I present to you the greatest snowman (and snow sculpture) ever created. Bask in his glory.

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Wendy Corduroy: Oh. My. Gosh.

Soos Ramirez: Wow. It's a great likeness!

Wendy Corduroy: No. Do not support him with this one. He's a lunatic.

Stanford Pines: I promise you I had no idea what he was up to. If I had the slightest inkling, I would have knocked him out.

Stanley Pines: What's wrong with him?

Stanford Pines: IT, Stanley. A snowman is an 'it'.

Stanley Pines: Then why do they call them snowmen?

Wendy Corduroy: We're not getting off-topic this time. Why, for the love of everything, did you build a snowman of yourself without a shirt, pants, and too-small underwear?

Stanley Pines: It's artistic! Like those life painting classes or whatever. Besides, there's no greater beauty than myself.

Soos Ramirez: It's really detailed.

Wendy Corduroy: Way too detailed. And I've seen this guy in his boxers multiple times. I've seen Soos in his underwear for crying out loud. But this is way more traumatizing.

Stanley Pines: Keep on talking. I've spent my life dealing with jealousy. It just rolls of my shoulders now.

Wendy Corduroy: You are so full of it.

Stanford Pines: Right. I'm off to destroy it.

Stanley Pines: DON'T YOU DARE.

Dipper Pines: I can't believe we're related.

Mabel Pines: No offense, Grunkle Stan, but the only bathing suit I ever wanted to see you in was your old man one-piece.

Soos Ramirez: I didn't know he owned a speedo.

Wendy Corduroy: Now we all know, unfortunately.

Dipper Pines: I thought I was traumatized before. I was wrong. My consolation is that at least it's just a snow-version of him.

Soos Ramirez: It's a good ice model, though.

Wendy Corduroy: If you can look past all of…that, then I guess that it's okay. Explains where Mabel gets her artistic skills, in any case. But seriously, when did this snowman contest become an intricately-carved snow/ice sculpture contest?

Dipper Pines: Well, Soos took it up to the next level, and I think Grunkle Stan would have done this regardless. Wished you hadn't started this whole thing now?

Wendy Corduroy: Nah. I still think my snowman is the best. It's a twist on a classic.

Soos Ramirez: I think mine is the best. But that's just me, dude.

Mabel Pines: Yours is really good. But Grunkle Stan added moles to his snowman.

Wendy Corduroy: What? Like the mole he has on—?

Wendy Corduroy: OH MY GOSH HE DID HE MANAGED TO INCLUDE THE MOLE!

Dipper Pines: Mabel stop laughing! You're going to get us in trouble!

Dipper Pines: Too late.

Mabel Pines: Delete all evidence! Teacher incoming!

To: Dipper Pines (GhostHarasserfan); Mabel Pines (ShootingStarRainbowUnicorn); Stanley Pines (StantheMan); Wendy Corduroy (Lumberchick); Soos Ramirez (QuestionMarkDude)

From: Stanford Pines (Highsixer)

Subject: The original snowman

1 Attachment (Photo File)

Wendy's snowman was certainly a childhood classic, and Soos' was a touching tribute to his girlfriend, I have crafted the original snowman. It is a replica of the creature that roams mountains, causing mysterious disappearances of hikers and skiers. Its existence dates long before the discovery of the recreational activity of building figures out of snow.

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Stanley Pines: You didn't mention my snowman.

Stanford Pines: Obviously.

Stanley Pines: Hmph. At least I know how to have fun without turning everything into some boring lesson. Seriously, the abominable snowman?

Dipper Pines: Called it. Very good choice, by the way.

Mabel Pines: You made it really tall!

Stanford Pines: Yes, I tried to make it as life-like as possible. It was difficult using a ladder in this icy climate.

Stanley Pines: He fell off of it at least three times. You should see the black eye he got.

Wendy Corduroy: Wow. Is that actual hair you used?

Stanford Pines: You'd be surprised by how much llama hair is shed.

Wendy Corduroy: I'd ask where you are but it would probably be best if I didn't know.

Soos Ramirez: Dude. That's pretty scary.

Dipper Pines: It is pretty realistic. Have you ever seen the abominable snowman, Grunkle Ford?

Stanford Pines: Not yet, but I hope to encounter it soon. However, I've done quite a bit of research and come to the conclusion that this is an accurate representation.

Mabel Pines: You guys are really great when it comes to snowman.

Wendy Corduroy: I could argue with that, but I won't. So which one of us wins?

Stanley Pines: Isn't it obvious?

Mabel Pines: How about we take a vote?

Dipper Pines: Where you have to vote for someone else. You can't vote for yourself.

Wendy Corduroy: I guess that works.

Soos Ramirez: I'm in. But do I have to vote now? This is kinda a tough decision.

Stanford Pines: We can cast our votes tomorrow morning at ten o'clock.

Wendy Corduroy: Our time zone or yours? Wherever you are.

Stanford Pines: Yours.

Stanley Pines: Deal.

Dipper Pines: Then we'll find out the winner tomorrow.

Mabel Pines: May the best snow creation win!

Dipper shook his head in amusement as he set his phone on the coffee table situated in front of the couch. "I have a feeling it might be between Soos and Grunkle Ford. Those two took it up a notch."

"I love Grunkle Stan, but I don't think anyone is going to be able to get rid of that mental image," said Mabel with a giggle.

She studied the picture of Ford's snowman, a towering mass of snow carved in the shape of the yeti. Llama hair covered every inch of the creature, black coals acting as eyes, peering ominously from a curtain of white hair. Icicles hung from the armpits and arms, the hands and feet massive in order to be in proportion to the body.

"It's not fair," she lamented, getting to her knees so she could look over the edge of the couch through the living room window. "They can play in the snow and we just got a rainstorm last night."

"It's a mud wonderland," agreed Dipper. Their entire front yard was damp and soft, the grass nearly swallowed by the thick brown mud. "Too bad there's no such thing as a mudman."

There was a pause as the twins were struck by the same idea. With a beaming smile, Mabel jumped to the floor and declared, "Let's go, brother of mine!"

"We'll make the greatest mudmen in history!" cheered Dipper.

They spared a moment to shrug on their boots and rain slickers before charging out into the misty afternoon. It took a half hour to decide what they should craft and they soon got to work. They gathered piles of mud with shovels and packed it together with their bare hands. For two hours they sloshed about in the mud, hair sticking to their foreheads and boots caking with dirt and grass.

"There!" exclaimed Mabel, wiping droplets of water from her skin and leaving a streak of mud. "It's brilliant!"

Dipper removed his phone from his pants pocket and snapped a picture of the scene. There were seven mud figures rising from the ground, and though they weren't perfect they were identifiable. There was Wendy with her ushanka, which Dipper had removed from his head temporarily, Ford with a long beige jacket, which Mabel had dug from their father's closet, Stan with his tuxedo jacket, tie and eyepatch that Dipper found from their old Halloween costumes, Soos with his green T-shirt and a question mark drawn on it, Waddles in the middle, and on either side of the mud-pig were sculptures of Dipper and Mabel. Dipper had found one of his old hats and vests to use on his mud counterpart, and Mabel had managed to affix a knit jacket and sparkly headband to hers.

"Who says we need snow to have fun?" laughed Dipper. He then looked around the yard, which now bore holes and dips from their effort to gather as much mud as possible. "Uh…as great as this is, we better put the mud back before Mom and Dad come home to find the yard torn up."

To: Mabel Pines (ShootingStarRainbowUnicorn); Grunkle Stan (StantheMan); Grunkle Ford (Highsixer); Soos Ramirez (QuestionMarkDude); Wendy Corduroy (Lumberchick)

From: Dipper Pines (GhostHarasserfan)

Subject: Mud Shack crew

1 Attachment (Photo File)

It's almost time to vote! But before the inevitable fight begins about who deserves to win, Mabel and I make our unofficial contribution with our mudmen. I present the Mud Shack crew, complete with a mud version of Waddles. We may not have snow, but we learn to work with what we have.

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Soos Ramirez: Mud looks pretty good on me.

Wendy Corduroy: Dudes. That's pretty sweet. But yo, you're gonna wash my hat, right?

Dipper Pines: Maybe.

Grunkle Ford: I don't think I've seen soil used in such a way before.

Grunkle Stan: Talk about making the most of your environment.

Mabel Pines: I'm going to have mud in my ears for weeks, but it was worth it!

Grunkle Ford: How exactly did you manage to get mud in your ears?

Mabel Pines: I slipped and fell. A few dozen times.

Dipper Pines: We are hopelessly snowless, so we found our own way to contribute to the contest—just for fun, anyway. Are you guys ready to vote?

Wendy Corduroy: Yup.

Soos Ramirez: Totally.

Grunkle Stan: Let's start it, then.

Grunkle Ford: Why don't you kids start?

Dipper Pines: Sure. I vote for Wendy. Her snowman may not be extravagant, but it's a classic snowman, which I think was sort of the point before Soos took it to the next level.

Mabel Pines: And that's why I'm voting for Soos! His snow sculpture of Melody was really sweet and pretty, and I like that he took a different route.

Wendy Corduroy: I vote for Dipper and Mabel, because I look pretty rad as a mud sculpture.

Dipper Pines: Wait, what?

Soos Ramirez: I vote for the little dudes. It was hard making a snow sculpture, so it must have been twice as hard to make what they did.

Mabel Pines: But this is a snowman contest. We didn't make ours out of snow.

Grunkle Stan: Who listens to the rules? Not me. You get my vote, kiddos. I think I look even better made out of mud.

Grunkle Ford: It's settled, then. Including my vote, that makes you the clear winners. Substituting mud for snow is allowed, since there is a lack of snow available to you and you used alternative resources.

Grunkle Stan: But next time we have a contest you can't participate so that I get a shot at participating.

Soos Ramirez: Next year we could have a snow fort building contest!

Wendy Corduroy: I don't think so. I thought I was competitive but ya'll take it to the extreme.

Grunkle Ford: Runs in the family.

Grunkle Stan: I'll annihilate you next time.

Mabel Pines: Sweet! We won, bro! We're champions of mudmen!

Dipper Pines: Not bad for the tender age of thirteen.