#anyways this was fun to draw but also colors are infuriating sometimes

[mistydragonflyart]

MERMAY 2023 - OH WHAT A MOUTH

I can’t believe I’ve never drawn sharks for mermay until now, but better late than never and who better to draw than some old ocs. 

Anyways, happy pride month everyone!!

[syntheticfoxfire]

Invader | Chishiya Shuntaro | [F]

Summary: People have likened Chishiya to a cat for as long as he can remember, from his classmates to most recently Kuina. It's nonsense, of course. Or is it? Word count: 2.6k

Chishiya’s been told that there’s something cat-like about him more times than he can count. He doesn’t care, not really.

They’ve told him it’s something about his smirk, the cheshire grin, the lazy stretch of his lips that makes people around him feel inferior. When he smiles like that, he looks like he knows something the others don’t, they say. A cat that ate its mouse happily. He studied the expression in the mirror after someone told him for the first time but he just doesn’t see it. It doesn’t matter. As long as it has any sort of useful effect on people, he’s okay with it.

If it’s not the smirk, then maybe his eyes. He has noticed very early on in his life that a lot of people get fascinated by them. It’s a mystery, even to him. His eyes are pretty ordinary in both shape and color. He doesn’t understand why they seem to draw people in as much as they do but it plays to his advantage in this strange country so he can’t really complain.

He’s been told it’s his behavior as a whole that gives him the cat vibe. His subtle laziness, the way he functions in short bursts of explosive energy when he needs to and then goes back to slowly strolling around. He never takes the stairs if there’s a working elevator. Of course he always keeps himself fit, especially since coming to Borderland, but he doesn’t see the appeal in running around and wasting his energy. He didn’t see it then and certainly doesn’t see it now.

They also told him it’s because of the way he always sticks to the walls and places where he can, literally and not just figuratively, look down on others. He doesn’t have much of an explanation for that one. Well, sure, in Borderland it’s something he does for survival and safety - elevated places allow him to see the bigger picture and watch everyone else get killed, cheated or otherwise betrayed while he can stand back and relax. Same goes for sticking to walls and such - no one’s gonna stab or shoot you in the back if the only thing behind you is a wall.

There are many more irrelevant points that people used over the years to liken Chishiya to a cat. He’s already forgotten most of them but one keeps popping up in his mind. Especially lately.

It’s not the fact that it was Kuina who told him. He’s heard it before but she reminded him of it and recent events made him think about the remark more than he’d like. Somehow her words always pop up in his mind as he goes about his day and does the thing.

What Kuina said is that her cat used to do the same thing she says Chishiya does - it had its favorite spots that it’d use to sleep or hide in and would get mad if, for whatever reason, it couldn’t get there. Back then he scoffed at her and told her off. Now, however, he hates to admit that she just might have had a point.

It’s irrational and infuriating.

This whole situation started off pretty innocently. There was a big wave of newcomers to the Beach. It happens sometimes. The Hatter needs a large army of people to collect cards for him, die for him. It’s only natural that he takes in all kinds of trash. Most of them die within a few days anyway.

And on one of the days that they brought in these people, Chishiya felt like observing life in the former resort from a higher ground. It was fun sometimes. If he was lucky, there would be someone worthy of his brief attention. Individual to be used by him for another plan he might come up with. Mostly, though, it was just a way to pass time.

This particular evening he felt like the balcony on the one but the last floor would do. It had a nice overview of the lobby and since he needed to extend his visa anyway, once Hatter and the executives play the siren to gather the crowd, he won’t need to move an inch.

Yes, that place would indeed be perfect for tonight.

Imagine his surprise when he found someone has already taken the space for themselves. He was sure he’s never seen you before. He didn’t care to remember much about you but he did anyway. Not because he’d be that interested in you, although he must admit it’s smart what you’ve done. Barely anyone thinks to observe the inner workings of Beach and the new arrivals. Anyway, no, you got stuck in his memory purely because he felt this irrational aggravation that someone was occupying his spot. 

As much as he doesn’t care about humans, he cares about his comfort when he can get it. And changing his routine is not comfortable.

Well, it wasn’t worth getting worked up about. It was probably your first night here and you got lost or something - no one ever comes here otherwise, except for him. It’s too far from the bar.

He simply walked past you and found himself another spot. It didn’t feel right but he didn’t care enough to be bothered by it.

But in the weeks that came, he found himself feeling… something. He wouldn’t say he was properly bothered, but it certainly wasn’t the natural state of his being where emotions just pass through him. If he was honest with himself, which he seldom was in regards to these things, he’d find that he wouldn’t be able to decide whether the thing that irritated him more was that someone kept stealing his spots or that it bothered him.

Every time you were where he wanted to be, he suppressed the wave of mild irritation and walked by to a different hiding spot. Maybe it was good that there was a ripple in the never changing pond of his life. He felt something, and it was almost fascinating. 

He could, however, admit that it was suspicious and potentially dangerous that you seemed to invade all of his favorite and less favorite places. You shouldn’t be able to sneak around as easily as you did. He had a feeling you must already remember him about as well as he remembered every little detail about you from the constant passing glances and fleeting meetings. Still, he did not approach you. 

Not even when he found you in the security room, late at night when there was nobody to keep track of what was going on at the Beach. He couldn’t pretend that he was simply just passing by. Your eyes met and he knew you knew. You gave him a nod and left the room. That was the first time you’ve surrendered the spot to him. And when he realized that you might not be completely useless. The tension between militants and Hatter was growing, perhaps he could use one more pawn.

Nonetheless, things remained the same for some time. You kept walking past each other, finding your chosen spot occupied by the other. When he leaned against the railing and felt heat lingering there, or when he climbed to the roof and found a blanket left behind on his spot, he ignored the gentle tug on his nerves.

Gentle. If his anger and irritation before were a rumbling before a storm, now it wasn’t more than a single dark cloud in the sky. He must have gotten over this childish phase. He had no claim over those particular spots, after all. It was ridiculous that he should get worked up by someone else occupying them. So he thought whatever has come over him for the past weeks has successfully evaporated. He remained neutral in his feelings towards this fact, although maybe he’d admit a little bit of satisfaction.

It was only after another period of time - was it a month, weeks, who could tell in this country - that he realized that his previous feelings had not actually subsided into nothing.

When he first took notice of the weird change that was happening to his body, it’s not an overstatement to say he panicked for a second. Just slightly, merely a brief furrowing of his brows. He pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against. It was still warm when his back collided with it, ready to stand there for a while and watch the people of the Beach in their natural habitat. Strangely enough, the lingering warmth of the wall somehow permeated his hoodie and skin and settled in his chest.

He felt calm.

He dismissed it to be a matter of basic biology. Warmth helps to calm human beings in certain cases. Humans are social creatures. Combine these two factors together and the effect your lingering body warmth had on him was completely natural, in the cold sense of the word. It was just biology. Something he had no control over because his body was physically made to react in a certain way to certain stimuli. 

It was more than that, though, wasn’t it? Not to mention that had he not shut down the truly rational part of his brain to protect himself, he’d see many flaws of his train of thoughts.

The usual emptiness inside of him that felt, well, empty, was different. He felt at peace with it. Not that he’d usually feel bothered by the void. He’s long since grown used to it and didn’t really think that much about it until something pointed right at it as if to say - ‘Look! That is not a human, that is just an empty shell!’. That’s what the strange warmth did, but instead of alarming him to his own alienation from his fellow humans it felt almost comforting. As if the emptiness was okay, as if he wasn’t missing anything. He frowned again and left for his room. He needed to think.

As much as he did just that though, he wasn’t able to figure out anything. Complete and utter apathy might not have been that bad after all. 

Why would he feel like this? 

It was frustrating. Not enough to mess with his scheming or anything, but it surely was strange to have his brain occupied with something he could do zero things about. Or could he? Perhaps. After he thinks about it some more.

And yet no matter how much he waited for the feeling to go away, no matter how much he analyzed its source and cause, he always arrived at one single conclusion - he was human. An empty husk of one, sure, but still a human being with human needs, emotions and instincts.

Humans are social creatures, they need company. He had Kuina, of course, and he mingled with the other occupants of the Beach, yet it seemed that wasn’t quite what his body and the instinct-driven parts of his brain longed for. To be reminded of his own humanity was irritating as much as it was intriguing.

He bided his time, he knew it and you knew it - and he knew you knew and so on and so on. The slight shift in the atmosphere was easy to notice for you two alone. By the time he realized what’s going on with him, you were already aware of that same process happening in your own body, although acceptance was much easier on your part. 

Now that he understood his own feelings, he felt somewhat ashamed almost - like he was outsmarted by you. This one loss, however, he’d allow himself. Feelings were beyond him anyway, nothing more than an interesting chemical experiment to play around with until his next plan could move to another phase. Who knows, maybe you could play a role there. Perhaps he will decide soon.

Tonight was a successful game night for both of you. His lips twitched as he found himself vaguely remembering something about fate as he strolled through the halls that would lead him onto the roof. Once again, he walked slowly in what his acquaintances in the real world would call a cat-like manner. He was purposely taking his time. He seemed to do that a lot lately.

Sure enough, you were already present on the spot where he always sat - and where he meant to sit tonight, although it was hardly a surprise you thought to do the same - blanket folded under you to fight against the cold. You turned to him when the doors closed and frowned for a second, seeing he stayed and didn’t walk away. He gave you a wave and a little raise of the corners of his mouth. You turned your head.

The hollow look in your eyes told him most of what he needed to skip the small talk. A hearts game, no doubt about it. Those were hard on most of the people here. Chishiya found them fascinating. At least some of them. If the other players were solid, he himself needed to come to the roof and breathe and think. Analyze. 

Humans were so different from him.

He invited himself over, sitting close enough to you that your body heat mixed with his. Legs dangling in the air over the edge of the roof, your thighs and sides were barely not touching. You didn’t flinch away, he noticed. Then again, there was hardly a reason to act shy now. This wasn’t really that different from leaning against surfaces where the other’s warmth lingered.

“Diamonds?” you spoke up, breaking the silence of the night. He looked at you from the corner of his eye.

“What makes you think so?” he asked back. To answer a question with another is impolite, but it’s not like anyone cared anymore. It was kind of refreshing. 

Anyhow. 

It’s easy enough for him to read you, but the other way around - that would surprise him. As for you, after a hearts game, you were usually like this - lifeless, hollow. You were more likely to walk around and look for the warmest place - a place he left warm - to stay. Unless, like today, you headed to the roof. He supposed you would do that if the game ended badly.

After diamonds you’d be on edge or in a good mood, depending on the difficulty, spades would most often leave you exhausted for the day, and clubs uneasy. It seemed you weren’t much of a team player.

“You look bored,” your eyes shifted to look at him without your head moving. He scoffed; you were right. Then again, not an impressive guess this one.

“The others died?” he asked in turn, voice devoid of emotions. As always. He knew you’d know he knows.

“Some of them,” your voice sounded eerily similar to his as you said the words, “But I just figured out the solution to the game. One that would allow all of us to survive.”

He hummed in response, not saying more. This was a better display of why you could get a role in his plans. Did you think about different ways of finishing the games every time? Was that why you seemed to enjoy hearts games the most? Not bad. Interesting, even. Maybe he could try it too next time.

Neither of you spoke a word after that. The silence felt more natural. You both spent too much time with memories, lingering traces of the other that meeting in person now felt surreal and out of your respective comfort zones. Yet there was something strangely comforting about it as well. 

Watching the buzz of life underneath your feet and the starry skies above your heads, you shared the silence and heat your bodies produced. Perhaps tonight there was no need for words at all.

[brickercupmasterx3]

“Confessions in the Darkened Room”-

AN: I’m NOT exactly too proud of this fic and I’m still going back and forth on it, but I shared it with a friend (you know who you are) and she said it was fine... So I’ve decided to post it anyway? (I’m going to log off for the rest of the day so I don’t feel tempted to delete this minutes after I posted it. However when tomorrow comes, don’t be surprised if I do delete this post.)

And no, this was NOT the second fic I had in mind that I mentioned on my Lukanette blog.

These deal with my own headcanons dealing with Feloe (Felix x Chloe pairing). This ship has little to no content, and I’ve been kinda into it lately. So yeah... Here’s my (terrible, imo) contribution. (If I do end up drawing them eventually, that’s why. They’re a fun pair and I have a few story lines prepared for them. I’m NOT planning to write them out though.)

(I would also like to apologize in advance if anything seems out of place or rushed? I tried my best to make things organic, but anymore and I probably would have screwed this up further.)

Anyways, I’m done talking. So here. Enjoy?

______________________________

First thing Chloe knew, she was arguing with the most insufferable guy she’s ever known and the next, the two were shoved inside a closet. She had no doubt about who pushed them, considering there was only one other person in the room, aside from herself, that knew about her feelings for the boy. 

It had been around half an hour since the two blondes were locked inside the closet, neither having said a word since then. Chloe knew she’d have to say something sooner or later, but when? There was never a right time to admit to someone who had brought you down and made you feel inferior all your life that you’ve grown feelings for them, could there? 

Felix sighed, clearly annoyed at the situation they were forced into. While it wasn’t in the most pleasing of circumstances, at least this provided him the space to get some closure with the girl. She may have those infuriating moments when all she can talk about is Adrien, but lately, throughout their whole “fake dating” scene… He’d found himself falling for her more than he thought possible. 

He enjoyed the closeness and getting to know her more, in and out of character. He’d memorized her facial expressions, the sound of her laughter, her touches… Basically everything… Not that he’d admit it aloud to the blonde girl at all. Otherwise, he wouldn’t hear the end of it. 

“So… What’d you want to talk about?” Chloe asked, trying to speed things along so that she wouldn’t have to be trapped with him any longer than necessary. “I don’t know about you, but I’d rather get out of here as soon as possible. Don’t exactly find it thrilling to spend too much time with you.” 

He rolled his eyes at her usual antics. “Not like spending time with you is any picnic either.”

“If I’m that revolting to you, then why ask me to play the role of your fake girlfriend?” She asked, awaiting for whatever response he’d be willing to give her. His responses were always the same, and she knew she shouldn’t have hoped for anything different, but she could dream. 

“I needed a favor, Chloe. You fit the bill and that was it.” He responded, keeping it short.

"That's all you ever say." She said, crossing her arms. "Sometimes, it just feels like you're this emotionless robot with the same practiced lines. Is there really nothing else on your mind?" 

"Why does it even matter to you? The only person you ever cared about was Adrien!" He shouted, just about done with her. 

"I can't believe you…" Chloe started, anger evident in her eyes. "That's honestly what you think? Even tracking back to our childhood where I tried so hard to be your friend? Need I remind you that you rejected me?"  

"Did you really expect me to take your friendship?" He looked over to her, returning her glare. "And watch you become another one of those annoying fangirls of Adrien's?"

"Did you really think so lowly of me then that you couldn't find a single ounce of genuineness in my eyes then?" She looked away from him, trying so hard to conceal all those horrible childhood memories. "Of course you did. After all, I played my part perfectly well… The bratty, spoiled rich kid who wanted nothing but to be part of the Agreste family. No matter the cost…" 

“Are you seriously trying to get me to buy into that?” Felix looked at her as if she was crazy. “Would you stop trying to make up excuses to justify your petty behavior from back then? And just take responsibility for what you really are.”

“Responsibility? For what exactly?" Chloe shouted, more than fed up with his attitude. "Do you really think that this is what I wanted for myself? You don't know me! You never tried to get to know me, even with the several chances offered to you!" 

"Why exactly would I want to? You've shown your true colors and by the way you're acting right now, you're not making yourself look any better." He said matter of factly. 

"Ugh!" She groaned. "Fine! Think whatever you want about me! I'm done trying with you… Done with this stupid arrangement of ours altogether!" 

“We had a deal… You can’t just back out of it now.” “Why not? You’re insufferable, Felix! You constantly treat me like trash, bring me down all the time with your pathetic insults and just expect me to sit there and take it like I’m inferior to you!” The blonde girl knew she couldn’t normally act out like this in public, but considering Sabrina locked them inside to talk feelings, that’s precisely what she was going for. “Well… You’re not any better than I am. These petty feelings you say I have, well, you have the same ones towards Adrien. Neither of us get why, because you refuse to tell us anything.”

“That’s hardly any of your business.” came his simple reply. “I didn’t ask you to help me out with this in order for us to get to know one another better. I could care less about your opinion on any matter. I simply just needed someone around to get that annoying Bridgette out of my life. You just fit the part.” “So… You’re just using me?” Chloe laughed, of course it was moreso a fake one, not that he’d know the difference. She needed to save her pride, not give him the satisfaction that he’d gotten to her yet again. It was just as she’d feared, wasn’t it? He never cared about her, no matter what she did. “Of course, you are… It never mattered how well I played the doting girlfriend part… Nothing can ever satisfy you.” 

He just stared blankly at her, rolling his eyes at her usual dramatics. “Are you done yet?”

“As done as I am with you…” She responded, rolling her eyes at him. 

How she fell for him over his nicer, denser cousin, Adrien, she wouldn’t understand. In ways, Adrien was everything she should have desired. He had the status, the cash, the looks… Those were the things she was supposed to chase after for the sake of her mother’s approval. Chloe was a Bourgeois. And Bourgeois’ don’t settle for anything less than the best. 

But that wasn’t what she wanted for herself… Adrien just wasn’t it for her.

While he was kinder, sweeter, most endearing and at times a bit more understanding than his jerk of a cousin… Adrien couldn’t understand most social cues, which was indeed beyond frustrating. Nor could he tell the difference between liking someone as a “friend” or more. The boy had been sheltered from the real world for the majority of his life, she knew that and she couldn’t fault him for those things… And she didn’t… but she knew he’d never be more to her than just that childhood friend she adores… 

And it hurts, because loving him would’ve been easier… Adrien wouldn’t reject her out of malice, unlike Felix. He’d do his best to let her down easy, if he came to figure out her feelings, because first and foremost, the two were friends. And the Agreste boy obviously treasured the Bourgeois girl as family, just as she did him.

Chloe then resigned to sit down at the farthest corner from Felix, quietly mumbling something under her breath as she finally registered her thoughts. 

 “If you have something to say, come out with it.” The boy said. He was a no-nonsense kind of guy and mumbling just wasn’t his style. 

“Why would you care so suddenly? I’m of no interest to you.” She said softly, hiding her face between her legs… If she’d said anymore, her feelings would probably be out in the open and he’d know. 

Felix had been witness to many of Chloe’s outbursts… but this? This wasn’t one of them. 

She was never this quiet or reserved around him. She always had something to say and that's how he liked it. Chloe may be loud, annoying, spoiled and all-around self centered from what he'd seen, but he wouldn't have it any other way… So why the sudden change in attitude? 

He tried to reach out to the other blonde, but his attempt was met by a slap. She clearly was in no mood to entertain him, much too lost in her thoughts to do much else. It didn't help matters that she was shaking either. 

Had he really upset her that much? 

"Chlo, come on. Just come out with it." He insisted. 

She didn't budge, just kept her head down and ignored his words. If he wasn't going to listen to her at all, then she wouldn't either. It was a two-way street after all. 

_______________________

Within the next fifteen minutes or so, her breathing had finally evened out again. Chloe couldn’t even bother herself to give him the time of day at all anymore. She’d finally raised her head and stood up silently, making her way back to the door. 

“Sabrina... Whatever it is you thought was going to be resolved here isn’t going to happen… So just open the door, will you?” She spoke, still pretty soft, but a little louder than the response she'd given Felix just minutes ago. Chloe couldn't be bothered to yell out as angrily as she’d had done when she and Felix were both thrown inside. 

Unluckily for her, there was no response from her redheaded friend on the other side of the door. Though she supposed it was to be expected, not that she could blame her. 

The blonde girl then sighed again. Not only was she stuck with the guy she liked, but she wasn't even close to being in control of her own emotions either. So she decided to keep the silent treatment intact, and have her back turned to him for as long as she could. 

"You're seriously going to keep this act up?" Was the blonde boy's interjection in this silence. "You can't stay silent forever." 

Why he was still even trying to get to her is something she wouldn't understand, but knowing him, he probably wouldn't stop until she gave in. 

"Fine… What do you want from me?" Chloe asked, obviously annoyed by him. "To tell me how much it is you hate me? Because if you haven't figured it out by now, I know that already." 

"I just want to know what's wrong with you. You normally have more bite to your words." He said, because she did. She wouldn't let him get away with what he normally said. 

"What's wrong with me?" She finally turned and glared over at him. "What's wrong with me is you… You, Felix. You'll always be the problem!" 

"What?" He raised a brow, confused. 

"Seriously? You don't even see it? You ask me for a favor and you're in no way, shape or form, grateful for any of it! I play this role I hate perfectly, but you're NOT man enough to admit it!" She yelled out beyond frustrated with him. 

She hated that she gave in to her emotions so easily, but how else was she going to get those feelings out in the open? She hated him for making her feel the way she did and she wasn't going to let him off easy until she was done.

"Do you think any of this is easy for me? Do you even try to act like a boyfriend, fake or otherwise, would to someone he's dating? No! Because it seems you're incapable of showing any emotion to me other than one of hatred or indifference, all depending on your mood!" She continued. "If you hate me this much, just end it! This isn't going well for either of us and… and I'm tired of it… I'm tired of growing angrier than I've ever been. Exhausted from everything that's going on between us…" 

“There’s nothin-” Felix started, but couldn’t finish because the female blonde wouldn’t let him.

“Don’t you think I know that?” She asked, nearing her breaking point. It was unbelievable how he couldn’t get what she meant. “That’s precisely why this has to end... You hate me as it is, and I just can’t deal with this anymore!” 

Chloe wasn’t one to just break down without reason. Having always had to bottle up her emotions and fake others, wasn’t an easy task and it’s started to take more of a toll on her since this dumb “fake dating” favor started. What was she supposed to do? Continue this when it wasn’t doing her heart any good? No. That wouldn’t have been healthy and she knew that well enough already. 

“... I… I wish I did have actual feelings for Adrien, you know?” She started, pretty much having to hold back from shedding any tear at this point. “Things would have been easier… He wouldn’t have done anything to hurt me. And I would have been perfectly content just being his friend.”

“Are you ever going to stop denying such an obvious fact? You’ve been into him literally all your life!” 

"That's not true! He was never the one I fell for…" She responded, hugging herself, because she was sure that after this there would be no going back. "Even back when we were younger, loving him never crossed my mind. I didn't have many friends… And I still don't, but I wanted to try…" 

“Try what? Befriending someone with no interest in you whatsoever?” He asked, still extremely annoyed at how hard she tried to prove him wrong. “Becoming friends with just another girl who claims to be in love with my cousin isn’t something I’d ever want.”

“Well, good then! Since that’s NOT even the reason I tried so hard anyway!” She yelled back in frustration. “It was never my intention to make you feel like second best… but you wouldn’t know that since you rejected me every chance you got!”

“As if I’d believe anything you’d have to say… There’s nothing you could say that could sway me to believe you in the least.” He rolled his eyes. Who did she think she was anyway?

“O-Of course not… You’re heartless, Felix…” Chloe said, looking straight into his eyes. The girl never wanted to believe such a thing, but he’d proven it, especially with the way he normally treated her. “It’s sad how nothing could ever make its way through that cold and tough exterior of yours… You’re so unwilling to let anyone in, that I can see now that nothing’s ever going to change.”

The tears became harder to contain with every word she spoke. Chloe was very self conscious and she hated that it had come to this. She was stronger than this. 

"... You never made it easy, you know?" The blonde girl continued, closing her eyes shut, as if that would have been enough to keep the water in. "At first, I thought that was just you playing around… but the more time went by, the more I realized that was just you… You hated everyone and everything around you… And I still don't understand why I tried so hard to change it… because you're never going to see me that same way…" 

He just stared at her. Was she trying to tell him the one thing he always wanted to hear? She wasn't completely clear, so he wouldn't know. 

“It was never even about Adrien… He wasn’t the one who’d stolen my heart.” She’d looked down upset, tears on the verge of slipping away. “But then again, why would you care? I’m nothing but an inconvenience to you.”

Not being able to hold back much longer, the girl just let her tears flow freely. What else could she do now that things were out in the open? She wasn't sure anymore. 

"I… I hope you're proud of yourself…" Chloe said in between sniffles, all the while wiping away whatever tears she could with her hands. "J-jerk…" 

Before she could utter another word, she found herself enveloped in warmth. She wasn't sure how or when it occurred, since her main focus was ridding herself of the tears in her eyes. And when she looked up, she'd found herself staring at those same hues belonging to the one person who had stolen her heart. 

"W-What are you-?"

"Look, I'm not too good at this "comforting" thing… I just know I don't ever want you feeling this way, okay?" He said. "Especially if it's because of me." 

"Why the sudden change of heart?" She asked, curiously. 

"Because if I'm honest, I never actually hated you, Chloe. I was just under the impression that that's how guys would act around girls to show them that they were interested in them." He responded. 

"That explains a lot actually… Sabrina thought as much, but I just couldn't believe her." Chloe commented, in between sniffles. "Though an easier way to let a girl know you're interested is to just ask them out." 

"And would you do me the honor of going on a date with me?" He asked her straight out. Not at all planning to waste another second, as he'd had the last few years. "A real one this time." 

"Hmmm…" She hummed, as if deep in thought. "Maybe… if you can handle high maintenance and clingy?" 

"Only if it's you." 

"Damn right." She said, with a little soft smile on her lips, before it turned to a serious thin line. "I still expect you to make it up to me though. For making me so angry and upset in the past." 

"Demanding as always, are you?" He said, a little playfully. "Alright… Whatever you want." 

"We'll talk about the details later. Just hold me close for now, okay?" The girl requested, just enjoying being near him.

"Okay." He agreed, not at all minding her request. Felix could get used to this. 

He just hoped that the next time they hugged or had an intimate moment, it wouldn’t be under these circumstances.

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

Multiples of 6 for the OC asks!

AYYYYYYYYYY THANK YOU

i think for this one i’ll answer each question with three ocs for comparison >:V

(under the cut because, predictably, It Got Long)

-

6. Do they smoke or do they hate smoking. 

(origfic, unnamed superhero verse)

-

Neil: won’t touch cigarettes, but has been known to smoke a bowl every now and then when his anxiety gets the best of him. he doesn’t like doing it--he’s internalized some pretty negative shit about how it means he’s a trashy, weak-willed loser who can’t handle reality--but since meeting nads and then beth, he’s eased up a lot on the guilt and is able to relax more.

Nads: smokes cigarettes, but only if they’re stolen. she’s got an active lifestyle to say the least and she doesn’t want to risk fucking up her lungs, so that’s her compromise. my god does she love her weed though

Beth: smokes cigarettes to take the edge off her anxiety when she has to go outside during the day. she knows they’re worse for her than weed, but she’s wary enough of her liminal space powers without imagining what they might do if she got stoned.

-

12. What’s an outfit they’d despise wearing Vs one they’d love wearing? Draw it! 

(Tales of Arcadia; i’m godawful at drawing clothes so i’ll just describe them as best i can ashdflkshdfkl)

-

Liyen: loves comfortable, understated, professional-looking masc clothes, usually in muted shades of gray, blue, or black. give them a fuzzy turtleneck sweater and black pants and they’re happy. meanwhile they’d be SUPER uncomfortable in loud, clashing colors or anything too femme. 

Schommag: Does Not Like Clothes That Will Get in Her Way, also not a big fan of dressing femme with very few exceptions (the right Little Black Dress, for example). give her what she needs to get around the woods and stay out of her way. that said she does love showing off her muscles, so she wears a lot of tank tops and sports bras (and sometimes no top at all, if she can get away with it). 

Oryalv: VERY femme, particularly business casual. this man loves his pantsuits. meanwhile his nightmare is middle-aged high school coach aesthetic. put him in a t-shirt and khakis and he’ll start pouring smoke like a teakettle

-

18. Have they ever committed a crime? How? Why? If not, then what’s their opinion on crime?

(origfic, unnamed VALENTINE DON’T DO THAT verse)

-

Valentine: has been made complicit in a lot of their family’s cutthroat-noble shadiness growing up, is otherwise a law-abiding sort up until they jump off the slippery slope and get the war crime ball rolling in earnest. Whoops

Edmund: has gotten into plenty of cutthroat-noble shadiness of his own volition, thank you very much. unlike valentine he’s a whole lot more inclined to go UHHH and pull up when it comes to war crimes

Marcel: LOVES war crimes. LOVES them. would marry them if he could. lucky for him he’s captain of the guard and has plenty of opportunities. will otherwise use the law as a bludgeon but i don’t think he’s too bothered about it for its own sake

-

24. Mcdonalds, subway, or KFC?

(Final Fantasy Tactics A2)

-

Nebilim: subway, grease is sensory hell and makes him sick and it’s the easiest place to avoid it. the number of variables per sandwich make him anxious, but if he has to pick one then fuck it, it’s worth not putting grease in his body.  

Moovry: loves grease with all his somehow-still-functioning heart, would bring his own beer keg to KFC and refuse to leave til he’s finished his fourth bucket of chicken

York: MCDONALDS! MCDONALDS! MCDONALDS. gets the happy meal and then uses the toy to test their black magic minispells. we hardly knew ye, beyblade 

-

30. Have they ever dreamed about another oc?

(Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, taxidermy/doll horror cw)

-

Faerna: has dreams about missing his mother sometimes. he hasn’t seen her in a long time, and for all he knows she thinks he’s dead, but he can’t bring himself to go back and look for her when he doesn’t know if she’ll approve of the life he’s chosen for himself. for all he talks himself up, not everyone’s happy to have a thief and a conman for a son.

SkekNev: has recurring dreams about the victims of their taxidermy coming back to life. less of a HOLY SHIT THE DOLLS ARE ALIVE nightmare for them, more of an anger/anxiety nightmare because stop that, stop having autonomy, i made you like this for a reason.

Aivne: dreams a lot about her little siblings. outright nightmares, semi-lucid rehearsals of danger scenarios, memories from before they lost their parents.

-

36. If they’re nonhuman, what’s their opinion on humans?

(origfic, faeverse)

-

Aislinng: vampire/incubus, more specifically A Dracula Lookin Motherfucker. depending on how much of a bastard he is in a given au, humans are usually somewhere between ‘fun to dazzle with my Supernatural Charms’ and ‘boring. where are the interesting people to torment’

Meadowsweet: rabbit faun. depending on which of the two wildly different versions of him we’re talking about, he either treats humans with the same goodwill as anyone else who might need his healing, or looks down on them and considers them fair game for whatever evil bastard he’s pining after this week.

Agaric: aislinng’s son with a forest spirit, so fuck if i know what to call him at this point. humans tend to find his brand of quiet, aloof awkwardness either offputting or endearing; either one is mortifying, and he’d mostly rather just keep to himself. 

-

42. What’s their standpoint when it comes to washing hands?

(origfic, bumfuck nowhere cult)

-

Cristina: obsessed with cleanliness, washes her hands constantly, crissy please you live in the desert

Skinner: if my hands are clean i can’t wipe them on cristina’s robes now can i

Rosemary: who needs to wash hands when you’ve got tentacles ;)

-

48. If they were defeated fairly in battle, would they accept and move on or throw a fit?

(origfic, slasher movie slaughterhouse dimension)

-

Maggie: will stay down and let you think she’s beaten, until you take your eyes off her for a second too long. then she’ll go for your hamstring

Dee: will accept it and move on, but will also try to make you feel like winning wasn’t really important anyway. maggie loves her dearly but she is kind of infuriating to everyone else

Esau: is delighted when somebody beats him, because if they’ve gotten that far they’ve committed at least one horrific atrocity and will have to live with that forever (if not embrace it). the real treasure was the corruption and PTSD we found along the way. no wonder maggie kind of hate-connects with him, he reminds her of dee lmao

-

54. Have they ever lost anyone?

(misc origfic)

-

Gray: lost the person who summoned them, gave them form, and taught them how to speak. once she died, all they knew was that she’d stopped coming, and that their only friend--their only contact with the world outside the cave--was gone. they’re there alone for a long time before a hitchhiker stumbles across them, and now they’re clingy as fuck and terrified of being abandoned again.

Ashdown: lost her wife the spring before her story begins, which left her so depressed she didn’t bother flying south for the winter with everyone else. she does eventually find love again, after coming to terms with the fact that what she’s lost isn’t the only thing she can ever have.

Jake: lost his older brother as a kid, which might or might not be why some fuck haunting their own fursuit recruits him to help with their unfinished business.

-

[DYING WHEEZE]

thank you again for the questions!!! i have. so many ocs. SO many ocs, and it’s always fun to get a chance to trot a bunch of them out, especially with a good range of questions like these :D

[erasingworlds]

a soul’s mate

( BARBATOS x JULIA )

Multiple side ships will be mentioned throughout, mainly Belphie x Usako. Please enjoy!

-----

Being able to read auras came in handy very, very often. For example, often in the Devildom would a demon see Julia wandering about, and seeing how she was blind given the white cane she used to help guide her, demons would quickly view her as an easy target. So, they would approach her, waiting for the right time to snatch her up and slice her open to extract her soul. When that time came...

She would either put up a magical barrier just to protect herself and continue on her way, or turn around and beat the demon with her surprisingly durable cane, using the shape of their aura to have a good estimate of where their head was usually and aim for that. Really, it depended on her mood which treatment she gave. Oh, but if she was in a really good mood and some demon decided to try and ruin it, this witch would make sure to get something of theirs and use that to curse them because how dare they mess with her happy day?

Every aura was different in some way, the shape and movement of every aura showing their mood, and helped to give her insight on their personality. The colors in their aura also helped her differentiate human, from demon, to angel, to anything else, while the energy radiating from it told her how powerful they were. The most interesting part, though, was the core of their auras. Their souls... well, if that really was what the majority considered a soul she wasn’t sure, but she liked to call it that at least. 

Their soul told her about their morals, their thoughts, the depths of who they were. Everything revolved around it. The stronger souls seemed to even have these unique symbols in the middle of them, like the Avatars of Sins.

Speaking of them... man getting Usako and Belphie together was going to be a pain.

A fun thing she learned from when she was young and lived with her aunt and uncle were these things called a soul’s mate (to her, calling someone a soulmate really referred to the person, so to differentiate from the souls she could actually see, she would specify being able to see a soul’s true mate). Whenever someone had an interest in another, their aura would flicker and wave in the direction of said person, but a soul’s mate was something else. That was where, whenever the two people came into contact, their core, the soul itself, would draw a bit closer, but being unable to leave the center, would instead change its hue slightly, glowing in its center the core color of their mate. It was one of the few things she could say she saw and would immediately feel giddy witnessing.

Surprisingly enough, when she got to the Royal Academy of Diavolo (RAD), many of her human companions that were part of the exchange program with her had their soul’s mate here, with the Avatar of Sins. Man, did her friends really catch themselves some powerful boyfriends.

One by one, when she began noticing the change in their hues to reflect the person they had just accidentally brushed hands with, pat the other’s head playfully, hug, any physical contact, she decided to try and nudge them together, wanting her friends to be happy with the one they truly belonged with.

But, for the love of Lord Diavolo were Usako and Belphie a pain to get together.

“Usako, it is clear you two belong together. I do not understand why refrain from confessing,” the green haired witch huffed, keeping her chin up and arms out to the side as her friend helped her put on the uniform. Usually she got away with just dressing in a long sleeve, dark teal dress and a black cardigan, but apparently Lucifer wanted them all to be dressed properly in their uniforms as they were going to have a meeting with Diavolo? She had no idea, nor did she entirely care about the fact Diavolo had wanted to meet with all of them, but what she wanted answers for was why this stupid uniform was so complicated with buttons and beads and belts.

Thankfully she had friends who took pity on the girl and rather than letting her walk out with the jacket upside down, not even properly buttoned, she was taken back to her room to help get changed. “I don’t know for sure though, Julia! What if that was some, hoax? Or maybe I was just seeing things,” Usako sighed.

Julia couldn’t help but roll her eyes at this. “You have checked this string trick of yours numerous times, and even I have seen how your souls interact with one another,” she retorted, finally putting her arms down when Usako said she finished with the belt. “What more proof do you need?”

“Being able to see the string on myself...?” Usako seemed to have an interesting ability, as well, despite not being a descendant of a witch - at least, not that either of them knew about. She could see thin threads of red connecting soulmates to each other, and while she couldn’t necessarily see them be attached, the string would tug and move in the same direction as the other’s hand, as though reaching out to each other. While Usako couldn’t see her own string, she one day saw Belphie’s string follow her own hand.

Before Julia could say anything else, Usako began lightly nudging at her. Her voice held a playful tone as she asked back, “What about you, hm~? How about, rather than meddling in everyone else’s love life, you go and make yours a reality?”

“It is may be mutual attraction, but our souls are not mates,” Julia sighed, though she did feel her cheeks tingle as a blush rose to her face. “And unlike you, I do know. Barbatos has offered me his hand once before when I fell, and when we touched, his core did not change.”

“Oh, c’mon! Let me check for you! You’ll just need to touch hands again when I’m around so I can see!”

“Barbatos has mentioned he is not a very touchy person before when you tried insisting we hold hands before, so I do not believe that will happen any time soon.”

Usako pouted, about to pester her again, before hearing Mammon call from down the hall, “Yo! We gonna be late, get it movin’!”

--

“Belphie, I can tell you are not asleep,” Julia huffed, poking the avatar of sloth sitting next to her with her cane. Their History class was now a study hall due to the teacher being absent, so everyone was doing whatever they pleased. Well, almost everyone. Belphie wanted sleep, but Julia said no. “Belphegor.”

She suddenly felt her cane get yanked from her grasp, a low growl quickly following up with, “Poke me again and you’re going to need a new seeing stick.”

“White cane.”

"Whatever,” he grumbled, folding the cane in half before placing it back on her desk, then laying back down to try and sleep.

“... Okay, but here me out--”

“I swear you can be more annoying than Horizon and Solomon when they start belching songs,” Belphie finally groaned, turning his head to face Julia, though was still down resting on the pillow on his desk. “I already told you, no. Stop playing matchmaker with me.”

“If you truly love someone, I do not see why you should refrain yourself from confessing.”

“Because she doesn’t like me, she... she likes--”

“I have already told you she no longer does.” She remembered how Usako told her she originally had a crush on the avatar of gluttony before Sen and Beel got together, but how that attraction and interest was no longer really present (besides finding him hot when he was shirtless... but apparently everyone agreed on that, even Asmodeus, and that was his brother).

This was infuriating, and she wanted to just flat out say to Belphie that Usako admitted to her about having an interest, and how she saw how their souls reacted to each other and that Usako even saw their strings react... but that was out of the line for her. Since she could see such personal feelings, she didn’t like directly telling someone another’s emotions... but she was real close to breaking that exception. Julia technically already did with Usako, but that was different since Usako could see the strings anyways.

Actually, yeah, screw it.

“Belphie, you are speaking to someone who can read everyone’s emotions. Do you truly believe I would be encouraging you to confess so desperately if I knew it would end in pain?” she tried to reason, her voice a bit lower, sounding hurt.

She saw how the edges of Belphie’s aura spiked, startled at her tone and words. He remained silent for a moment, as though assessing her to see if she was serious, before sighing. “You better not be lying...”

“Finally!” Throwing her hands up, the human girl cheered, which was rather out of character for her. She normally was much more quiet and reserved, even when she was teasing someone else.

Belphie simply shook his head at her actions, though couldn’t help but chuckle a little. “Now shut up and let me sleep.”

“Actually, no, I believe you are behind in some assignments, so you should work on though.”

“I actually hate you.”

--

“You seem to be in a good mood,” a voice called from behind her. 

Hearing the other, she nodded, but rather than elaborating, noted, “I am surprised you are not with Lord Diavolo.”

Barbatos sighed. “He ran off to talk with Lucifer about what we will be discussing about later at the meeting,” the demon explained, before gesturing to the space next to her on the bench. “May I?” The blind girl raised an eyebrow, pausing before she took another bite from her sandwich, missing the slight gesture. “Oh, my apologies, may I sit next to you?”

Understanding now what he meant, she nodded, before continuing to eat her lunch. She liked to escape the cafeteria and eat out in the garden area sometimes. Usually, some of the others would come and join her, but it seems everyone was taking this lunch break to meet up with their significant other. Belphie said he was going to talk to Usako during lunch, but demanded she stay far away and not peak at their auras, so she was respecting that. Julia did enjoy whenever she had time to be alone, seeing her friend group was rather big, meaning she was almost always bound to be around some of them (usually as the third wheel, but that gave her plenty of chances to tease them so she was fine with it). Since it was Barbatos, though, she didn’t mind this kind of company.

They remained silent for a little as they ate, simply enjoying the other’s company and relaxing blissfully, not hearing constant yelling or orders or complaints or fighting or obnoxious loud laughter. It was peaceful, and made Julia feel warm inside.

Once done eating, Barbatos broke the silence, questioning, “What is it that has you in such a good mood? You normally don’t swing your legs while sitting down.”

Oh. Julia didn’t even realize she was doing that. Her legs were barely swinging, to begin with, though it was true, she normally kept perfectly still and sat properly. “I finally convinced Belphie to do something that I have been begging him to do.”

Hm? She thought she saw a small spark of orange by the rim of his core, but when she did a double take, it was gone. “Belphegor? What did you need him to do?”

“Ah, that is a private matter.” There was that spark again. Jealousy. Julia had to refrain from smiling a bit. Of course, wit her abilities, she wasn’t oblivious to when someone was attracted to her. She knew Barbatos had an interest in her, just like she in him, but... she was not his soul mate. There would be no point in starting a relationship that wouldn’t last - at least, that was how she felt. Didn’t stop her from finding satisfaction at the sight of him getting jealous over her, though. “It is something only he could do. If it was not, I would most likely go to you first, seeing as I trust you the most.”

The way his aura waved indicated to her he was pleased with what she said. “I’m glad you can put such faith in me.”

“Oh, how was your double date with Lucifer and Lia, by the way?”

“Why do you...” he sighed, knowing there was no point in protesting. Similar to Lucifer, he also often got teased by everyone about having a thing for Diavolo, even more now that Lucifer found himself a girlfriend. “If ever possible, please stop Lia from suggesting anymore human world cartoons to our Lord. He wants to a pet platypus now and I can’t find a green one.”

“... Can you not just use a spell to make it green?”

“Why is that your first question rather than why he wants a platypus? That should be the stranger point.”

Julia just giggled. 

They continued talking for the remainder of their break, mainly addressing the craziness they have to go through on a daily basis. At times, she would see the occasional demon walk by, seeing a sliver of shock and curiosity rise within them that was directed at Barbatos and her. No surprise, seeing as Barbatos was normally glued to Diavolo’s hip. After the sixth person, Julia mentioned it to Barbatos, who just shrugged it off.

“Should you not be getting back to Lord Diavolo?” she questioned with a slight frown. While she wanted to continue talking to him, she didn’t want to take him away from his duties.

It surprised her when he declined, “He’s probably still speaking with Lucifer. Even if he wasn’t... I don’t always need to be right by him.” Those were words she never expected him to say, and there wasn’t even any hesitation in his aura when he spoke. She was just about to comment on that, before he added, “Besides, I would prefer to spend my free time with you.”

Okay, she did not expect that. His aura hadn’t even been hinting that he was about to say such sweet words directed towards her. It didn’t flick back or inch closer to her until just after he spoke. Okay, whoa, that really caught her off guard. She felt heat rise to her face, eyes widening and mouth slightly open, before quickly shutting it. Nope, she spoke with logic, and there was currently no logic going through her mind at the moment. In her surprise, she accidentally kicked her white cane a bit, which had been to her other side next to her. Julia didn’t even realize until she heard the soft clatter to the ground.

“Hm, oh, excuse me.” Why was Barbatos getting up to get it for her? He was sitting at her other side. She should get it herself, she kicked it! Wait, calm down, he is a gentleman and works as a butler, so this is just instinctual for him.

She bit her lower lip a bit and willed her cheeks to cool down. Ugh, she didn’t know how she looked when flustered, but she was sure it was foolish. Distracted with that thought, she didn’t pay too much attention to when he handed back to her the cane. Instead, she quickly said thanks as she accepted it back, their hands touching just momentarily since she reached a bit too far accidentally when taking it.

That was when she saw something from the corner of her eye.

“Wait, what?” she accidentally slipped out, quickly looking back up to Barbatos’s core. It had gone back to its normal turquoise with little lime green edges that outlined both his soul, and the symbol in the middle.

He was about to question what she meant, only to be taken by surprise as Julia quickly used her other hand to grab his as she placed her cane down to the side - which ended up rolling off the bench and onto the floor again, but she didn’t care. Standing as well now - way too close, not that she really noticed or cared, though it did take Barbatos off guard - she held his bare hand in hers, her gaze directed right at his chest.

“Um, is there something the matter?” he questioned slightly nervously, unsure if he should take a step back to give her space. He felt himself getting even more flustered when she brought one of her hands to his chest and rested it there, and while his face didn’t entirely show it anyways, he wouldn’t be surprised if Julia saw it in his aura. “Juliana?”

“Y-Your... your hand feels different,” the witch muttered, her thumb softly stroking his palm. “It... is very rough. You should moisturize.” Now she was sputtering randomness.

He just blinked at the comment. “I usually remove my gloves when eating. I’m sorry if my hand... doesn’t feel pleasant?”

His questioning words and concerned tone brought her back to reality, releasing him and watching the plum purple mist fade from his soul. “No, I like the feel of your hand,” she complimented without thinking.

“Pardon me for the suddenness, but, can I be your girlfriend?”

[retvenkos]

Hey! I’m resending my 🔥 ask, because it may be deleted. For a guy from Sherlock, the X-Men and MCU please! I’m 28, hetero girl who’s about to get her PhD in a month. Oblivious to flirting, very clueless about intimacy. Proud Slytherin, INTJ-T, Virgo, melancholic. I’m always kind and friendly but does have a temper and a poisonous tongue. Perfectionist. Nerd. Tomboy. I enjoy reading, films and TV series, colouring books, metal music. I hate loud, bossy people, snakes and being told what to do.

woah, early congrats on getting your phd! that’s huge!!!! also, disclaimer that it’s been a while since i’ve seen x-men, so i might be a little rough on the details for that ship.

Sherlock:

I ship you with Sherlock!

alright, so you are the only one who is able to handle sherlock, and that’s truly something. 

there is no doubt in my mind that you and sherlock had a rivals to lovers story line or at the very least a begrudging allies to lovers story line.when you first met sherlock you thought (rightfully) that he was arrogant and bossy and rude - the last person you’d ever want to spend your time with. and throughout the case that you’re working on (maybe your case? idk, but it’s a group effort), you are certain that you will be glad when you never have to see sherlock holmes again......but you spoke too soon. for some god forsaken reason, you keep running into sherlock holmes and john watson. now, john watson you don’t mind so much, but that sherlock holmes.... he infuriates you to no end. and he seems to find joy in annoying you, and that’s the worst of it.but, then again,,,,, the more you see sherlock..... the less you hate him? it doesn’t make much sense, because if anything, he only gets more cocky the longer you spend time together, and usually that irritates you more than anything else, but.... it doesn’t? and maybe it’s your lack of irritation that bothers you when sherlock is around....

meanwhile john is watching all of this go down like the ben affleck smoking meme,,, a veteran of many things, including the “why the hell do i like sherlock holmes?” phenomenon.

but anyways, you and sherlock are actually really good together.

both of you are intjs, which means that you understand each other really well, something that’s probably rare for the both of you. and yet, you also have many qualities that sherlock doesn’t have that would be good for rounding him out. you’re more patient than he is, more apt to show your feelings, and more reliable. you’d be able to balance sherlock’s instability but still meet him at this own level, and that’s good for your relationship.

the two of you definitely knew each other for a long time before you got together, both of you are wary of bringing others into your circle until you know you can trust them, and both of you are romantically clueless, so you’re a little slower to figure things out, which isn’t bad.

you both are also wicked smart, not afraid to say so, and ambitious as hell. the two of you are constantly in forward motion, trying to find the next thing to keep you occupied, and this trait would be bad in other relationships, but both of you are equally as motivated, so there’s no misunderstanding with that.

i also love how both of you can be kind and friendly, but you also have tempers and quite the tongue. you can both destroy your opponents, and no doubt that’s something you find attractive in the other.

X-Men:

I ship you with Erik Lehnsherr!

alright, so the power couple vibes i get from the two of you are astronomical. the both of you are hella determined, ambitious, introspective, and great leaders as you are informed and rational as well as loyal to your beliefs. and for your shyness, erik is incredibly charismatic, so the two of you could persuade armies to your side. iconic.

i also think the two of you would be great because while you are both determined, you are also very versatile, curious, and creative. you would bring an interesting viewpoint to any challenge that you face, and you’d be creative in getting the both of you out of trouble.

i think the two of you can be very domestic in your down time together - i imagine you both reading together, but also! i think you’d do puzzles together - they’re fun, not too difficult, and the perfect, mindless task to do while having deep conversations.

oh! and the two of you together are the most sassy, sarcastic people i’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, but all of your comments end with a wide grin, so most of the time, you’re not hurting anyone’s feelings. you definitely walk the line sometimes, though.

i also love the idea that erik is flirting with you and you’re just like ??? yeah no, he’s just like that with everyone. it makes the other x-men want to run into a wall. eventually you get better at knowing when erik is flirting, but for a while it’s rough going, and erik is like ??? how are you this oblivious? it’s cute.

MCU:

I ship you with Steve Rogers!

alright, so i’m taking a different approach with this ship, but i think you and steve would go really well together! you’re both kind and patient, with a bit of a sad streak to you as well as a ferocity that is deep seeded into your being and is often shown in small ways like your determinedness and your loyalty.

both of you can be a little shy and a little oblivious, and i think that together, you would have a really cute dynamic. steve is the more emotional side of the relationship while you offer him a really grounded approach to things that he definitely admires and needs in his life.

you are more the brain where steve is more the heart, and together you are able to balance each other out and compliment each other’s strength. i think that with steve, you would really be heard, and that’s important for you. you like to know that you’re helping out in palpable ways, and you like to know your advice is thought about, and steve is nothing if not thoughtful.

also, the two of you have the sweetest quiet moments. you definitely read together - often to you read to steve out loud because he insists that he loves the sound of your voice. 

you also draw and color together! steve knows first hand that it’s a great stress relief to do something artistic and mindless like coloring, so i 100% believe that the two of you get those adult coloring books and work on them together. 

steve also loves your music taste? like, at first, you didn’t think he would, because he is so much that 40s gentleman, but when he actually really enjoys your music, you remember that he’s friends with people like tony stark and natasha romanoff and it all makes sense. he definitely has you branch out and listen to some more slow jams, though. especially when he’s feeling homesick or melancholic, listening to older, calmer music just takes him back.

and while the two of you are definitely a soft couple, i think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the ferocity that steve can have. he’s a very emotional person, and when he’s angry, he can surprise everyone with how harsh and ruthless he can be. steve contains a great many multitudes, and i think you would be able to appreciate them rather than fear/dislike them.

also! you are so smart, and steve really admires that. he’s pretty smart himself, a creative thinker and used to outsmarting others rather than punching them down, so he recognizes your intelligence and appreciates that you can recognize his. 

[gwidener]

Kingdom Hearts III - Some Thoughts

I am coming to KH3 as a pretty big KH fan. I have followed Nomura's Wild Ride for a long time - multiple clears on KH1, then Chain of Memories KH2, KH2FM+, and BbS all comfortably under my belt. I tried 358/2 Days but it never clicked for me, got frustrated with Dream Drop Distance, and have never played the mobile game (but it looks like everyone is going to be checking it out, so maybe SE got what they wanted!); I am not a speed runner or everything, but have comfortably finished the games on their hardest difficulties and beaten most of the secret bosses (I actually still need to go back to KH2FM+ and finish the Data fights, but I have that save file on PS3, which is kind of a pain to go back to now. ANYWAY)

Going to try to go through gameplay first, then story stuff, so the major spoilers should be backloaded? 

One of my better notes is that KH3 plays more like a KH2 than KH2. I stand behind this now, another 10 hours later; KH2 is much more refined and takes the battle system in subtly more interesting directions than 3 does. To beat the hardest fights in KH2 (and also BbS) I sometimes found myself taking combo extensions off and working my way back in the abilities to find which ones were leaving me open to new attack chains from these harder fights. KH3 does not have this. Turn everything on and level a bit and you will get through fine; I need to start running through the gates but from what I have seen this is going to pretty much be the case all around, and that is disappointing from a series that has given high-level combat a puzzle box in the past.

For someone who lost their strength and abilities, Sora is pretty powerful even early on. Formchanges are really good and probably the one thing I think this game handles better than past titles - KH2s forms often felt random in terms of triggering and not always very useful until they were leveled up. 

That leads me to the attractions: they aren't really possible to use in a really strategic way other than giving you time where it is hard for enemies to hit you to let your MP recharge. I often used my formchange animations in the same way; free hits from an animation that leaves Sora in an invincible state. These are a big part of why the game feels so easy. (Kupo coins also make the game feel really really easy, but when you can just hit retry on the battle anyway, I don't think it really is actually easier.)

Outside of combat, I don't know how much really needs to be deeply looked at in a wrap-up post anyway: the gummi ship design is disappointingly regressive, but a good source of extra stuff to do; the secret emblems could have been really cool but end up being frustrating and a bad gate to the secret movie; the worlds are mostly really well-built and designed but some are way too long (Arendelle, for example, has a ton of variation in feel and how the player is guided but it is wasted when you are spending so long looking at the same color palette) and some are so disappointingly short - in particular, it is fun to run around in San Fransokyo but it is so small and really should have had a little more to it or been moved back in the game so that you feel more like you accomplished something heading into the game putting you on the track to the ending. Still, though, the worlds are far above what they have been in the past, to the point where I noted the Map Directors name in the credits (shoutouts to Yoh Miyazaki!)

One more thing I think I can get away with without being an explicit story spoiler is after 0.2 and KH3 I never, ever want to fight a Demon Tower again.

Alright, story spoilers follow.

Last warning.

Kairi is completely fucking wasted. I could write at least five paragraphs about how frustrating all the other keyblade wielders not really being a part of the majority of the game is but Kairi's story still being the same as it has been forever despite her being empowered with a Keyblade is just infuriating. Someone slap Nomura for this shit. It is glaringly bad in the face of almost everything else.

KH3 is as poorly paced as any of the previous games, but it is more frustrating here for some reason. A lot of this has to do with how much of this act of the overall KH story being in previous games - Dream Drop Distance and BbS 0.2 really are the first big chunk of KH3, which is extra comical because KH3 opens claiming itself as KH2.9. But really, the player and Sora do not achieve anything until the journey through the Disney worlds is over; the only real reason to have the recovery of these other characters start occurring in the final moments of the game is to stack emotion on top of emotion to ensure the reaction they want from the player. But these moments are going to be stacked with gravity wherever they fall in the game. If Kairi and Axel were to join up with Sora, Donald, and Goofy midway to tackle a considerable enemy or something, it would push the player more while giving them some reward halfway. Ultimately you get sick of the carrot on the stick only being at the very end of this journey.

Speaking of DDD and 0.2, the 2.9 portion of this - and those moments being split into their own games - feel like Nomura way overcorrecting from criticism of the KH2 opening being too long and somewhat boring. It *was* too long and kinda boring but that let Roxas build as a real mystery and something intriguing; KH3 forgoes that, putting those mysteries in other places, so that it can focus on a bombastic opening that draws players in from a gameplay sense. And it works! Olympus is really cool! But it is just one of several long pieces of nothing in terms of the overall story.

Similarly, stacking all of the real boss fights in the endgame kind of cheapens them as characters with regards to 3. I know the fight against Xemnas, Ansem, and Young Xehanort is cool as fuck because I have played the games to know that but if you are just coming to 3, these guys showed up to tease you a couple times and said some vaguely threatening shit in cutscenes. Not giving active confrontation to these enemies earlier on torpedoes the emotional resonance of the fights later, instead of adding to them which could have been the idea behind holding them all back.

So much of what happens in the end is not just predictable but the game straight up tells you it is coming. And any conclusion in this vein will feel like that, so it seems like I am grading it on a curve when I tell you that I did ultimately like the game and how it carried itself despite the above. But if it pulls too many twists on you, it would feel like it is moving the goalposts away from you but both you and the game know it has to go down.

It feels like I am being a little more negative than I mean so let me dive into something real quick that I absolutely enjoyed: the emphasis on Sora, Donald, and Goofy as a team and that being the way you spend the majority of your time in the KH universe. It feels like Nomura and his team read my exact criticism of old KH games for always having a final battle that is so laden with new mechanics and loss of abilities; having Donald and Goofy along when you go to Scala ad Caelum and for the majority of the final run of battles really makes it feel like you have come all this way together and that Sora draws strength from that (which buoys that as a theme as well.)

Finally (for now, I may revisit my notes later) so much of what happens before the credits roll feels kind of crappy. If you have played BbS, you kind of know Xehanort hasn't always been irredeemable shit, but having Eraqus show up and essentially forgive him, and having Xehanort hand Sora the x-blade, put positive feelings on a character that absolutely doesn't deserve it. He has murdered for his goals and had others do the same, throughout fucking time. He is a shithead and him getting to stand up and somewhat willingly hand power over after his defeat knocks the wind out of Sora as the powerful figure he is and should be at this point of his journey. Make no mistake: at the end of KH3, Sora is by far the most powerful character we have seen in Kingdom Hearts. He takes down a Xehanort over multiple forms who has the x-blade and has opened Kingdom Hearts; he reassembles his own consciousness and heart and body which is something nobody should be able to do, according to Chirithy. Xehanort does acknowledge this, but it still plays at deference to Xehanort instead of glorifying Sora and his success.

I know I said finally but secret ending stuff too:

I hope you like long stories is A HILARIOUS LINE in a KH ending. Looking forward to learning why Riku and Sora are in the Shibuya from The World Ends With You and why on earth the dude from Verum Rex and YET ANOTHER PERSON IN THAT COAT are there like what the fuck. Is this the only way Nomura can get to make another TWEWY because *I am okay with this*

[simplylegilimenss]

Yule Ball Number Two (Or Another Reason for Hermione to Fangirl)

 The Decorating Committee had done a fine job, Hermione thought as she stepped through the doorway. The white marble stairs had been polished to perfection, the lanterns were glowing brighter than ever, and even the colors of the stained glass in the windows shone brightly. They had also added a special glowing magical shield that prevented anyone from seeing into the ballroom and from seeing anyone outside. A useful piece of work really.

    Hermione wiped her hands on her ice blue dress nervously. She wanted everything to go perfectly tonight. It was hard work, setting up for another Yule Ball in their eighth year. It was her idea of course, just another way to promote house unity. She even managed to get Harry to join the decorating committee, but let Ron be because she knew he was very busy with something he was doing this year. She was happy to see Harry so happy again, she knew how lost he had been after the war. She reckoned that a bit of work would take his mind off of things and make him happy even. And it had worked. Harry was eating more, his face was more flushed and he was almost always smiling now. She knew that another part of the reason he was happy was because he was seeing someone as well. And she thought she knew who it was already. But Harry promised her she’d find out tonight, so she was still itching to know if she was right or not.

       She wondered where Ron was as she passed people on the stairway staring at her. She knew Harry was going to help him dress up tonight, but she was still worried, because her best friend didn’t exactly have a blast fashion sense now did he? She quickly looked down at her ice dress, which had a sweetheart neckline and sleeves that weren’t quite on her shoulders. She had been patiently working on her appearance for tonight because this was a night she wanted to remember always. Today, her hair was up in an elegant twist, with a lock of hair dangling down by the side of her face and a few strands of hair peeking out from her bun and dangling at the nape of her neck. Her lips were a deep red, and to say so herself, she was proud of how she’d done with her appearance tonight.

      She stopped at the edge of the stairs, only one step down and took in the room. It was big and spacious, perfect for a night of dancing and fun. To add more inter-house unity to the night, she had invited the other eighth years to the Gryffindor common room when it got late for some fun games she had planned out with Seamus and Dean. There were already people dancing on the dance floor and some were sitting by the tables in a corner. But still no sign of Harry or Ron. She walked down the stairs, her plain black flats clacking against marble. Just as she got to the bottom-

“‘Mione!” A very familiar voice called to her and she turned around, grinning.

“Harry!” She called back, waving.

Harry ran to her and gave her a quick hug. “Hey, you sure do clean up nice ‘Mione.”

“So do you,” She said, smiling. “Waiting for someone?” Harry was wearing deep green wizarding formal dress robes with a gold embroidery. They certainly looked expensive and brought out Harry’s eyes, she noticed. She tried scanning the room for someone wearing something similar, but nothing. She turned back to him and placed her hands on her hips, expecting an answer.

He smiled at her and shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Where’s Ron?” She asked, smiling.

Harry laughed. “Well, someone told him to make a ‘dramatic entrance’, so he won’t be here for a few minutes.” He shook his head fondly, and she laughed.

“Who told him to make a ‘dramatic entrance’? I’m sure it wasn’t you.” Harry looked at her and then started laughing.

“Merlin, ‘Mione, just how well do you know me? When have I ever told anyone to make a dramatic entrance?”

“Ugh, where is he? I swear if he doesn’t show up in the next thirty seconds, I’m dancing with you.”

Harry’s eyes glittered mischievously. “Sorry, but I’m spoken for tonight.”

“Great, then I should just find someone to dance with then? Maybe punish Ron for not getting here on time?”

Harry laughed and pretended to look disgusted. “Ew, keep you and your kinky fantasies away from me!”

“Fine, I guess since you’re not willing to dance with me, then Neville’s over there looking lonely. I think Hannah hasn’t shown up yet, that’s why. Ok, bye Harry!”

“I don’t think that will be necessary.” Another voice cuts in and she whips around, elated to see the sight of red hair and freckles.

“Ron!” She yelled happily and launched herself into his welcoming arms. “What kept you?”

“Well, someone wanted me to make a dramatic entrance that will, and I quote, ‘impress that girlfriend of yours’.” Ron was wearing a jet black muggle suit and an ice blue tie to match her dress. He looked so handsome tonight. Who had dressed him up?

“Come on, tell me,” She smiled at him and batted her eyelashes. “Who is it?”

“Sorry,” Ron pretended to zip his lips. “but I swore to Harry that I wouldn’t tell you.”

“Come on, please?” She tried.

“Uh, he made me do an Unbreakable Vow.”

“Wait, what?” Hermione was shocked.

“No, but with....er...different consequences.” His face turned red and she smiled at him.

“That’s okay, I’ll find out tonight anyway. Wanna dance?”

“Why would I ever say no?” 

                                                        ————

  It was probably almost ten o’ clock, and Hermione still didn’t find out who Harry was with yet. “Come on Harry.” She muttered under her breath. She took a sip of her punch and watched Harry, who was currently drinking water. She had mostly seen him dancing alone, but sometimes she saw him dancing with Luna, and then Ginny. But the two girls were together, so that didn’t make any sense unless.....were they in a threesome?

  Then someone walked up to Harry. Malfoy? Draco had been extremely quiet this year, and she knew he was also on the Decorating Committee as well. He seemed very lonely this year, but now he wore his trademark smirk as he approached Harry. What was he going to do? Hermione was so focused on the blond head, that she completely forgot about her punch.

  “Hey, Potter. Want to dance?” Draco smirked at Harry and she could practically feel the sparks flying. It had to be Malfoy, it had to be.

  “Sorry, but I’m already spoken for tonight.” Harry said, also smirking now. Hermione was shocked. She was so sure it was Malfoy, even before the dance. Maybe it wasn’t him. But then who could it be?

   “Well, they must be an absolute saint to put up with you, Potter.”

   “Ah, well, that they are. But you know me. This person is...special.”

   Malfoy’s eyes softened a bit, but he kept the smirk on. “What are they like?”

   “Well,” Harry said, evidently thinking, “they are extremely infuriating and annoying. They are about this tall.” His hand went up to the top of Malfoy’s head, and Hermione’s heart seemed to stop beating. “I swear, they’re like this big prickly cactus, but you know what Malfoy? They’re so beautiful and kind and I think I’m in love with them. No, scratch that. I know I’m in love with them.”

   Ron came up behind Hermione. “Watcha looking at?”

   Malfoy stepped closer to Harry. “You say you love them?” Hermione’s kept staring, ignoring Ron’s question.

   Harry smiled that huge smile that always made others smile, and Malfoy did smile then. “I do. I do love them so much it hurts.”

   Malfoy smiled at Harry. “So, if you’re done ranting about your lover, then care to dance?”

   Harry smiled. “Actually, I think I’m going to kiss my lover right now.” And took another step closer to Malfoy. Hermione was practically screaming kiss kiss kiss in her head. The two were nose to nose now.

   For one moment, Harry turned around. “You watching this ‘Mione?” And then he turned around and with one swift movement, kissed Malfoy in front of everyone. Ron cheered behind her while she let herself smile in giddy happiness. Wow, the two were in love! She kept staring at the entwined couple. What could be better than this?

   She turned at a tap on her shoulder and then saw Ron looking at her with so much love in his eyes that she practically melted right there.

   “Hermione? You know I love you, right?”

   “Yes, and I love you as well Ron, but-”

   He held up a hand to stop her. “Hermione Jean Granger, I love you so much. More than you can ever know. And you know a lot.” He dropped to one knee and Hermione gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth. This couldn’t be happening. Was it some kind of dream?

   “Hermione, I’ve known you for so long. And I don’t want to make my speech that long because I definitely don’t want to make you fall asleep. So, will you marry me?”

    “Ron,” she said, smiling from ear to ear, “why in the whole world would I ever say no?”

    He jumped up and placed the gorgeous sapphire ring on her finger, complete with diamonds. It was beautiful. She looked at him. “I love you,” she told him.

    “And you know I love you as well, Hermione.” And then he kissed her and everyone was whooping and cheering for them while the fireworks exploded behind her closed eyelids.

    Best Yule Ball ever.

——————

 I also thought I should draw art for this and so after about three days of fixing hair, dresses, and the whole background in general, here it is: Yule Ball Number Two Art. I feel like I might make a continuation of this fic and do more art for it, so the post will constantly change, so get ready for that! 

[indiawebcommsolutions]

Intuos And Intuos Pro

How to Make Writing a Breeze with the

Wacom Intuos

No, not handwriting, although it’s useful for that too.

This will be a guide to how to set up the Intuos — or any Wacom tablet with four buttons — as a powerful productivity aid for noveling, freelancing, coding, teaching online, or just general office work.

http://india-iws.in/Back before working for Wacom was even on my radar, I used a 2013 Intuos Pen & Touch as a full-time mouse replacement for four years. I now use a Cintiq 16 HD for art and a Logitech gaming mouse for everything else. The Cintiq is the best art tool I’ve ever used, but I recently realized I miss using the flat tablet for work. Partially because the interface was more efficient, but I think a lot of it was also psychological: What do we associate more with writing than pens? Just using it, even for ordinary articles, seemed to put me in creative mode.

Yes, holding a pen for several hours on end takes some getting used to. Your hand might be sore for the first few days. And you’ll want to practice tucking it into your thumb crease while you type to make the switch between navigating and writing faster. But once you’re fluid with it, it’s more efficient, ergonomic, and fun than a mouse. It’s very satisfying to scroll by hovering and flicking your pen, highlight text the way you would in a book, physically drag paragraphs down the page to reorder them, and cut and paste with one tap of a button.

If you’re an artist as well, it also helps you keep in practice holding and making fine movements with a tablet pen even when you’re not drawing.

I don’t have the Pen & Touch anymore; I gave it to a friend whose tablet was stolen. But I currently have a new Intuos Small, so in this article, I’ll unbox it and recreate my old setup.

In the interest of monetary honesty, this one was given to me by a manager a year ago and has been sitting in the closet neglected since then, so using one I got for free is less daunting than the idea of buying one for the purpose. But this model, a Small, retails for $95, half the price of a Medium, so if you’re interested in trying a tablet, it’s not a huge investment for both a mouse alternative and a capable drawing tool. Figuring out what size tablet you need can be tough, but the small is perfect for this purpose. It’s the size of a mouse pad but more precise than a mouse, so you have more room to move in the same area. Even with a dual-1080p-monitor setup like mine, it feels fine.

Anyway, inside the box are the tablet, the pen, a Micro USB cord, and a very thin manual.* Don’t worry, you won’t need it until you change the nib: Once you install the universal driver from our website, It’s plug-and-play, and automatically detects whatever Wacom tablet you use.

—

Note

If you look up any guide to setting up a tablet for drawing, they’ll tell you to put it in front of your keyboard so it’s also directly in front of the monitor, not to the side like a mouse pad. But for writing, feel free to do the opposite.

—

Setting preferences

I’ll walk you through the configuration process as if you’ve never used a tablet before, because maybe some people reading this won’t have. If you’re experienced with them, some of this will seem redundantly basic. But some of the other tips and shortcuts, you might not know as well. So bear with me.

Once you’ve installed the driver, open Wacom Tablet Properties. For anyone who hasn’t used it, there’s a lot more than meets the eye here.

When you install it, it automatically creates profiles for your installed image editing programs — or the big ones, at least — and everything else is covered under All Other. Any programs you add will copy this profile by default, so let’s punch in some foundational settings, starting with Mapping:

We’ll leave it on Pen Mode despite using it as a mouse. You want to get used to mentally mapping your tablet to the elements on your screen, and Pen Mode is far more precise anyway. Not to mention you’ll never lose your cursor again.

If you’re using one monitor, turn on Force Proportions to match your tablet’s aspect ratio to your screen’s. You’ll need this for drawing, anyway. If you’re using two monitors, leave it off or it’ll reduce your tablet’s active area to a tiny sliver. You’ll need it for one type of program, but we’ll get to that later.

Set the lower button to middle-click instead of its default scroll. When it’s on scroll mode, you have to drag the pen across the tablet to scroll up and down. If you set it to middle-click, you can simply click once and navigate by hovering. Middle click also lets you quickly open and close Chrome tabs, and everything else clicking the scroll wheel does in other programs.

Writing program settings

Now, Tablet: For this step, we’ll be adding a writing program and a browser. Clicking the + brings up a list of a list of all the programs you currently have open, so you can create a separate mapping profile and shortcuts for each one.

I do my fiction writing in Scrivener and my article writing in a Google Docs desktop app, with different settings for each, but for simplicity’s sake, I’ll demonstrate with MS Word.

Those four buttons, FYI, are called ExpressKeys, and any number of program or navigation functions can be assigned to them. For writing, we’ll do keyboard shortcuts. For the top left one, go to Keyboard > Keystroke, and in the popup window, hit Ctrl-X in the top field and name it Cut in the bottom one.

Keep adding basic shortcuts until you have this, or whatever alternative suits you:

Note that one key’s still on default: Since cut, copy, and paste cover my basic editing needs, I’m left with a free space. I’ll use it to create a shortcut menu for my common formatting functions. So, let’s pop over to On-Screen Controls.

As you’ll see, this lets you create infinite toolbars. They’re program-independent, so you can create one general “writing” one to use the same shortcuts across different programs.

There are two types of menu: Grids and Radials, and grids come in horizontal, vertical, or square. I’ll make a new single-column vertical grid for all my common shortcuts in order of use — Ctrl-I, Ctrl-E, Ctrl-K, Ctrl-B — and creatively call it “Writing.”

And I’ll assign it to the final ExpressKey. Menus normally disappear after you select an option, but you can use the pin icon to make it a permanent toolbar. From now on, I’ll stick mine to the margin of whatever I’m working on.

—

Important

If you’re using Windows 10, uncheck “Use Windows Ink” in the Mapping panel for all your writing programs, or else you’ll get that infuriating Handwriting popup every time you place your cursor.

If that still doesn’t work, you can turn the box alone off through Windows by searching for “Pen & Windows Ink” settings in the taskbar, and changing this one from “When the keyboard isn’t attached” to “Only in tablet mode.”

—

Browser settings

We’re going to do one thing different here. There’s one capability that’s still missing: zoom. The normal Intuos doesn’t have any equivalent to a mouse’s scroll wheel. Some other Wacom products have a touch ring that can be programmed to serve that function — The Intuos Pro, Cintiq 13HD, ExpressKey remote, and various older models — but not this one.

But don’t worry, the Intuos has a workaround. An inelegant one, I’ll admit, but it’s better than switching back to the mouse every time you need a closer look at something.

Besides image editing programs, Chrome is probably where I need to zoom in the most for things like Google Maps. Since I don’t often cut when browsing the web, and I can just use Ctrl-X when I do, I’ll set the first key to Navigation > Pan/Zoom.

While the button is held down, hovering the pen will scroll, and dragging it up or down on the tablet will zoom. You could simplify things and just program this function to the lower pen button, but then you’d lose middle click functionality for things like opening browser links in a new tab. It’s a good idea for any program where middle click doesn’t do anything, though.

—

Also important

You’ll need to turn off Windows Ink for Chrome and any other Google apps, too. It causes a pen tracking glitch. Same with Discord, for some reason. In fact, you really only need to leave it on for Photoshop.

—

Image editing settings

Of course, I’ll still use the Cintiq for any serious work, but for simple cropping and color correction, it’s sometimes more convenient to just bang it out on the flat tablet. Any artists present will already know to do this, but for Photoshop and any other drawing or image editing programs, set the active area to one monitor and turn on Force Proportions.

If you’re using two monitors, don’t worry, all you have to do is click your Windows taskbar to navigate back to the non-photoshop monitor.

Services & Saving

If you’re on Windows, occasionally your computer will fail to detect your tablet, in which case you’ll have to reset the Wacom driver through the Services window. This is something everyone should know how to do. Every problem I’ve ever had with a Wacom device has been fixable this

You can also use the stop and start icons at the top of the window. You can pin services to your taskbar once it’s open, too.

But once in a blue moon — every few months, perhaps — this might wipe your preferences. So once you’ve set them, make sure to save them through the Backup Settings panel in Wacom Desktop Center. You can either save them as a .pref file to your hard drive, or upload them to the free Wacom Cloud, then restore them with the very next button.

Impressions of the

Intuos

Zoom hitch aside, this is an even better mouse replacement than the 2013 Pen & Touch was. The P&T had a smooth plastic surface that constantly reminded you that you were using a computer peripheral. The current gens have a rubbery textured surface that genuinely make it feel like you’re somehow using a ballpoint on a notebook to control your computer. And the pen helps with that too: It’s lighter and thinner than either the P&T or the Cintiq, just 5½ inches long by 1/3 inch thick, smaller than a Bic.

But my favorite feature is the Bluetooth. Once the tablet’s charged via cable, you can connect it wirelessly and regain the use of your USB port. I didn’t see the point of this before I tried it — who uses a tablet further than a cord’s distance from the screen? — but now that I have, I never want to go back. It allows a lot more freedom of movement: I can slide it across the desk from one monitor to the other if I want to switch to another project on a different screen, without messing with the cable, or when I need the mouse for a game, I can simply turn the tablet off and set it aside. And once we can do these things again, it’ll be easy to slip into a backpack to use outside at a coffee shop, bookstore, or while traveling. It can be charged with any Micro-USB cable, so if you run it off Bluetooth, you can use a wall charger. It takes a few hours from empty to full, but it has a battery life of fifteen, meaning it’s good for two workdays or one brutal one.

Finally, in an interesting last-minute twist, I was surprised to find it compatible with the Cintiq — I could even draw into Clip Studio Paint with both at once — meaning I won’t need to switch them out. I don’t think an overabundance of Wacom tablets is a problem the average reader is likely to run into, but for example, if you ever find yourself graduating from a flat tablet to a drawing monitor, but aren’t quite ready to sell your old one, you can repurpose it as a mouse.

As for me, I’m going back to dailying the Intuos for my writing.

—

Finally

If you teach or tutor online, we’ve been putting out a lot of articles for educators lately — in fact, this article was originally intended as a guide to set up a tablet as a teaching tool, I just realized halfway through that the setup would be the same for any job that works with words. If you’d like to know more about teaching with Wacom products specifically, check out All You Need to Know to Teach with a Wacom Tablet, Recreating the Physical Classroom in a Virtual World, or the entire section of our website on using tablets for education.

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[giraffles]

Stay The Night

forgot to post this one here, whoops! some post-canon sweet taakitz for y’all, because I’m weak for these boys. 

Stay The Night (Taako/Kravitz)

His solution, brilliantly, is to not sleep. Not until he falls over from exhaustion or passes out while cooking. He's even got everyone fooled that he's a-okay. At least he thinks he does. No one says otherwise, and that suits him just fine.

you can also read it on AO3 here!

The world doesn't end. And that's a good thing, because they didn't have a backup plan. There was no second chance, no desperate bid for freedom, no tedious reset. It was all or nothing. And they came out on top with all the sweet victory they could ever want. Against all odds, they won. They won, and it's a flood of joy and relief and tinged with a little disbelief. And it's absolutely exhausting. Taako isn't sure if it's physical or mental or just an ungodly combination of both. Maybe it's the weight of over one hundred years of memories finally catching up to him. It's a lot to have lived through, and then to have lived through again, much less cobble back together a coherent understanding of his place in the world. Like, holy fuck. That's a lot to wade through. Sometimes it gives him such a bad headache that it's easier not to think about it, and focus on the here and now. On rebuilding. On reconnecting with those he'd lost but some how found again against all odds. Lup has taken to finding new ways to scare the living hell out of everyone, from floating through the bureau at night to phasing through walls. She even startled him and wasted a whole pot of soup when she popped her lich head up through it. (He had chased her, for all the good it wouldn't do, while she cackled and made full use of her incorporeal form. It had been equal parts nostalgic and aggravating.) Magnus carves ducks in between rebuilding jobs, even though Fisher has long since departed their universe. Merle is trying, and mostly succeeding, to boost morale as they shift through the wreckage, finding what can be saved and mourning what cannot. Everyone is there. Everyone is safe. And yet there's this looming feeling of impending doom that just won't quit. It's as though that through the act remembering, Taako has forgotten what it's like to feel safe. Ignorance really was a sort of bliss, as much as the fuzzed out edges of his life had caused a constant turmoil, because now it's a struggle to stay on top of everything. So much is the same and yet so much can never be the same again. You can't go through something like the apocalypse and not be changed. Sure, at his core he's still Taako, from TV, a living brand name, a hero to be sung about down the ages; but now he's a different kind of Taako. Literally. It still takes a lot to convince himself he doesn't need the illusion spell every morning, and sometimes he does it anyway. Just a little. Nothing too noticeable, but enough to make him feel better, especially on the very likely chance that he hasn't slept much. Sleep is hard now. Meditation is straight out the fuckin' window. Nights and days get stretched together when he's plagued with either insomnia, or worse, the dreams. No, not dreams, because that would imply fantastical but harmless mind adventures. These are memories. Always back to the goddamn memories. The worst ones, the times they almost didn't make it, when he had to watch friends die or feel the cold sting of death himself. Or memories that his brain decided to make up new, more grim endings; his sister, turned to ash, his boy, bleeding out on the floor. Endless rounds of games in a horror carnival that leaves everyone he ever cared about in pieces. Things that leave him awake and gasping and on the edge of tears. Things like that. His solution, brilliantly, is to not sleep. Not until he falls over from exhaustion or passes out while cooking. He's even got everyone fooled that he's a-okay. At least he thinks he does. No one says otherwise, and that suits him just fine.

Date night rolls around. Taako has been looking forward to it all month, a distraction and an excuse to monopolize Death's free time. No business talk. No family. No not-actually-family-but-kinda-sorta-maybe-adopted family. Just the two of them, together, for a nice evening. And god, did he need a break. There's still so many loose ends to tie up, so many things that still need to be sorted out. Not to mention the new void of what the hell he was going to do with his life now. Kravitz stops when he sees him. He squints at Taako, and frowns. "Are you okay?" "Just fine, babe," as fine as he could be, really, "Why, didja forget how gross I looked now?" When all else fails, self-deprecating humor is where it's at. He can preen and put himself down at the same time. Win-win. Kravitz pauses, brows knitted and looking at him intently, seemingly gathering up the right words. "Taako," he begins carefully, "When was the last time you slept?" "Dunno. What's today?" The reaper sighs. He rubs his forehead. Taako drapes himself lovingly in his arms. He's dizzy on an endorphin high and ready for a night out on the town with his most beloved bae. Even if said bae keeps looking at him with such a sour face, and-- "You're going to bed. Right now." "Oh no--" Taako attempts to bolt, but has already made the fatal mistake of allowing Kravitz so close. He might not technically be alive, but he has all the strength of a man his size, and Kravitz has him in a vice grip. He struggles. Any other day of the week and he'd be admiring those guns, but today they're helping commit a great betrayal. Taako whines. "Babe! C'mon!" "No," Kravitz picks him up and starts carrying him inside, "You look like I should be collecting your soul soon, and frankly, that's a little alarming." Taako does his best to wriggle out of his grasp, but it's fruitless. Kravitz can be just as stubborn as he is. Taako resorts to flailing and complaining. However, neither of those slow down the reaper, who's drawing ever closer to his dormitory door. "I don't need sleep! It's for the weak!" "Yes, you do," Somehow Kravitz manages to keep a hold of him even as Taako flips himself upside down, which is both impressive and infuriating, "We can go out another time." Taako huffs and crosses his arms, braid swinging freely and dragging on the floor. This sucks. He can't even get one lousy night to not think about how overwhelming everything is. Kravitz is the worst and he hates him. (He doesn't, of course, he adores his hot boyfriend who's sometimes a skeleton, who's both a badass and a giant dork. He's just mad at him at the moment.) Taako gives him the silent treatment. It's harder to do than it looks, because he'd much rather be vocal about the injustice that's happening to him. Kravitz sighs again. "Taako--" "I'm not talking to you." "Love, please," the pet names have come out, and he resolves to not let it affect him, "You know I care, right?" "I guess," Taako pouts as he's gently set on a couch, "But I wanted to spend time with you." Kravitz looks conflicted. Taako sulks and makes a point to avoid eye contact. So maybe he's a little cranky for only sleeping three hours out of as many days. It's still not fair. "I could stay." Kravitz says. He blinks dumbly up at him. "Do what now?" "Stay with you. While you get some rest. That's a lot creepier out loud than it was in my head." "Do you even need to sleep?" "No," Kravitz admits, "But I wouldn't mind. I mean, if you wanted me to. I don't have to. But I could, I have the whole night off, not that I expected to... do anything. For the whole night. I should stop taking now? I'm stopping now. Sorry." He can't believe he's in love with such a ridiculous, stupid, wonderful, and kind person. Entity? The definition was kind of up in the air for that one. Taako doesn't have to look to know that Kravitz is blushing, probably all the way up to his ears, off-kilter and rambling. He's still wrapping his head around the idea that there are persons out there who, honest to gods, want to put Taako first. Taako doesn't even think Taako deserved that. Sure, that's not what he tells people-- because no one needs to know how bad the inner battle gets. In some ways remembering has made it easier. In others, it's that much harder now. He thinks, that maybe, it would be nice to have someone at his side. Someone who liked him before his life's story got broadcast through reality. Taako considers the proposal for a moment. "Okay." "Okay?" "Okay as in, you best be ready to get super snuggled. I'm clingy as hell." Kravitz gives him a shy smile. "I think I can handle that."

Kravitz has a bigger frame than he does-- nothing like Magnus or Killian who are built like brick shit houses, but he's not as slight as Taako is. Even as a flipwizard, there's not much he can do about genetics and non-athletic career choices. It takes him a minute to fish out some of his more drapey clothes that have half a chance of fitting Kravitz. As much as he enjoys the suit and cloak ensemble, it's not exactly practical sleepwear. And it would be a shame to excessively wrinkle it. Unless it was gonna be in a sexy way, but that should probably wait until another time, when he's fully present for all the fun. Taako's fanciest skirt goes flying across the room, landing on a bookshelf that has less books than colorful knick-knacks and choice pieces of junk. The first time Kravtiz had come over, in a panic he had tried to cover everything in sheets instead of cleaning up, but somehow managed to trip and pull them all down at once. It had been equal parts hysterical and mortifying. Kravitz said that his collection of garbage was 'charming'. Taako still isn't sure he believes that, but it's still sweet. What's also sweet is the way that Kravitz pointedly looks away, trying to be respectful or something-- as though they haven't fucked wildly on various flat (and not so flat) surfaces around his room. He's flustered and it's still as cute as the first time it happened. And nothing would top that first morning, that so called walk of shame where Merle gave them a knowing wink when they came down for breakfast, and Taako had 'accidentally' burned his pancakes in return. At least everyone else had a little more tact and kept their opinions and eyes to themselves. None of them also wanted burned pancakes. But he sets aside those more recent and pleasant memories for pajamas instead, wiggling into them and undoing his complicated orante braids as Kravitz dons his spare clothes. They're still a little tight on him. Taako is very okay with this. "Just sleeping." Kravitz says firmly, catching his gaze. He pouts back. "Not even a little smooching?" The reaper pauses and seems to think on it a moment, though he knows what the answer will probably be. Taako makes his eyes extra big and disarming anyway, having perfected the cute puppy look years ago. You could never be too sure. "Fine, a little smooching," Kravitz yields, "But you have to get some rest." Taako dramatically falls forward into those strong arms again, knowing he'll be easily caught and securely held. "Then take me to bed, big guy." He doesn't miss that breathless laugh, and revels in the way his heart lifts as he's easily swung up and onto his unmade bed. There's no illusions here that if Taako really wanted to he could have a dozen different spells incapacitating his lover, leaving escape for him wide open. Power acquired over decades of study and practice and mad dashes across planes has given him abilities previously only talked about in legends. And so maybe he is a legend, something that should be mysterious and untouchable, always sought but never found. Just like a light they'd once chased through realities. A story to be sung, a name to be called in hushed tones, an abstract ideal to be strived towards. So it's nice, he thinks, when Kravitz looks at him like a person. When Kravitz gets frustrated with him, exasperated, or even bemused. When he looks at Taako like he's the whole world and then kisses him like it's ending all over again. It's nice to have that grounding force to remind him that he's not entirely a fuck up and that he's also not just a product of good marketing. He never thought it would matter to him so much. But it does, and every action is an affirmation, from the way Kravitz smiles at him to the way he runs fingers so gently through his hair. It's wonderful and it hurts and it's so good. He's drunk on the feeling of being wanted. "It's... not too cold, is it?" Kravitz asks him nervously as he curls up on that broad chest, nestling into the crook between neck and shoulder. Yes, he's cool to the touch-- he's never been anything approaching warm since Taako met him. But he's gotten used to it, adapted even, because Kravitz doesn't feel icy and doesn't leave him with a chill. It's almost pleasant in weird way. "S' fine," he mumbles back sleepily, "Kinda nice, actually." Already something is different from all the other times he'd recently crawled into bed or dozed off in the foyer. Something shifts, puts a damper on the rolling anxiety and dread. It takes him another few long moments to realize it's an aura of safety that he's been missing. A bit of calm in a turbulent sea that's been threatening to sink him for weeks. There's no heartbeat beneath his ear, and he's sure the breathing part is either habit or for his own benefit, but it's a piece of normalcy that soothes beyond a doubt. It's something he hadn't realized he even needed. Something solid. Something real. He wraps his arm around Kravitz and holds tight. Taako hadn't been kidding about the clinging part, knowing full well from his days of youth he had a tendency to latch onto things (or someones) in his sleep. This is still different, a conscious effort not to let go of a tie keeping him close to home. Because petty fears and insecurities only seemed to grow as time went on, feeding on each other and plaguing every thought both conscious and not, bringing him to the vicious cycle he was now caught in. And while usually the words would flow so easily, he now found them strangled in his throat. They died before Taako can give them a voice. Kravitz must have felt the tension reverberating through his body, because a hand comes up to push circles into his back. Yes, they've banged countless times, but this is a different intimacy. A different context for something slow and sweet. And he suddenly feels bad for being so needy and high maintenance, but can't summon the energy to do anything about it. "I'm right here," Kravitz murmurs into the darkness, "I'm not going anywhere." And really, that's all he needs to know. That there's someone there. That it's safe to let go.

[chickenfetus]

all moongan

thank you for asking falen tbh i love u sm and i love doing these 

omg is this ask for this ask meme i literally almost posted this along with the wrong ask fml

1: when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk?

more cereal than mik because.. i dont eat cereal with milk……… i love the crunch

2: do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day?

as someone who lives in a tropical country is that what its called idk we dont have seasons and it never gets lower than 25 degrees so yes that would be ideal

3: what random objects do you use to bookmark your books?

hrmmmmm… i just remember the page number?? or try to lmao if i dont remember i just skim through the pages and try to recognise where i left off

4: how do you take your coffee/tea?

with at least 2 packets of sugar tbh…. i dont drink coffee

5: are you self-conscious of your smile?

omg story time i went 2 get my braces removed and the dentist wanted to take pics so he was like “smile with your teeth!” and i was like ok! but then he kept saying i wasnt doing it right lmao… guess whos never smiled b4… (me) so he told me 2 practice my smile lol i didnt answer the qn but ya,,, i am probably

6: do you keep plants?

i used 2 be very against plants… now theyre okay i guess i dont rly keep any

7: do you name your plants?

refer 2 6

8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings?

art??? i havent drawn in awhile

9: do you like singing/humming to yourself?

no LOL

10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach?

on my side!!!! i cant sleep on my back bc i gotta hug smth.. and my stomach is out of the qn

11: what’s an inner joke you have with your friends?

🅱️… and .. same brainwaves…. poor mans ____…. this is all from the shady hq im so sorry my other pals

12: what’s your favorite planet?

the moon for no real reason

13: what’s something that made you smile today?

hMMm, watching astro and mx perform??? and just being shady with bell lmao

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like?

this… question,,,..so im thinking of a bright place with white walls and translucent curtains so the light call fill the (living) room perfectly and everythings really ??? sunny and shit idk its warm… the floor’s made of (fake?) wood and theres a small kitchen bc i cant cook and idk if my friend would be able to lol.. theres 2 bed rooms both are painfully small but it works.. theres one other room with a closet for clothes… the bathroom is just a shower, sink and toilet… theres no washing machine rip and ?? thats about it poor mens life

i watchd the like we used mv again and i realized ...... that is literally where i got this imagery from thanks the rose i love a relatable band

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is!

heres a fact (?) from me first: it rains diamonds on one planet ?? mecury maybe?? mars??? whomst.. this isnt even a fact its ,me trying to recall shit

ok real fact: There are thousands of other planets out there. sorry lads this website doesnt wanna have fun

16: what’s your favorite pasta dish?

is spaghetti bolognese a pasta dish

17: what color do you really want to dye your hair?

im chill with my current hair colour??? bc its brown sometimes idk shitty hair

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up.

i asked my irl friends (group name: panic support group) and this is what they said

K: everything

E: when u were one hour late (i dont remember this happening but i do know im always late but never for an hour past me wyd)

19: do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it?

goDD i dont but i sure want to

20: what’s your favorite eye color?

this is strange but every eye colour is my favourite although ppl with two or more colours in their eyes are so cool

21: talk about your favorite bag, the one that’s been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces.

its just my school bag lmao i got it 4 years ago and i take it everywhere even if the event is “small” and they ask us to bring “smaller bags” ill bring my big ass school bag anyway it looks like this (i dont have to but linking stuff is so fun)

22: are you a morning person?

technically.???its the holidays but i still manage to get up before 10 (most of the time) and … even if i have like 5 hours of sleep i manage to feel awake really easily????

23: what’s your favorite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations?

tf i just use my phone lmao this is what ive been doing for like a month now… i could watch every vlive i havent watched yet, i could make video compilations i could practice my art but… even though im out of school im still procrastinating.. legends only

24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets?

mmmm falens the closest to that

25: what’s the weirdest place you’ve ever broken into?

my classroom

26: what are the shoes you’ve had for forever and wear with every single outfit?

white converse??  i have 2 get new ones every like 2 years since theyre also my school shoes and break easily….. other than those i have my blueblack converse too (i dont wear them as much so theyre still in one piece)

27: what’s your favorite bubblegum flavor?

i dont eat bubblegum bc im always afraid ill swallow it and die and im p sure its illegal here

28: sunrise or sunset?

sunset but i dont look outside enough for either

29: what’s something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing?

hm……… with jen its when she sends me asks on anon despite it being super obvious like im not a Fan when my friends send me asks on anon bc sometimes i cant tell and i get a sense of false hope but w/ jen its okay but i know its her

with bell its when they reply to my keyboard smashes with their own keyboard smashes lmao and when they just??//?? say smth cute abt their faves (lately its been sanha thank u sh)

30: think of it: have you ever been truly scared?

ya lmao when i have 2 sleep alone and its completely dark i have half a mind 2 believe some random supernatural being is out for me

31: what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks.

hmM. socks are great i always wear them bc i wear shoes almost every time i go outside… i dont have any weird socks bc im Boring but i have 3 pkmn songs and 1 gudetama socks/.. bUT I DID buy my friend those socks with individual toe pockets… it was so funny when my other friend saw it she choked on her drink and almost spat it out. we laughed so hard we hit our heads against each other i love friendship.. i have 2 wear white socks for sch bc… aesthetic? god if i know lmao….. i only ever wear ankle socks bc….. socks any higher than that? cancelled.

32: tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends.

listen ive never stayed up later than like 1am ok maybe 2am??? but i was working on like a project that was due the next day for school with my groupmates (friends) so does that count lmao

33: what’s your fave pastry?

bread………. sugar donuts…….. i am Aware that thats not how u spell it but wtv

34: tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it?

why does this ask so many qns in 1 qn……. i had a cat?? it had pink stripes and it didnt have a name bc i dont name my stuff… even my pokemon.. and yeah i still have it except its in a big dusty bag where all my other toys are kept

35: do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often?

i kinda have to use stationary for school so ya.. p often is correct… pretty pens??? i dont rly see the point whoopS!!! in exams u can only use black or blue so

36: which band’s sound would fit your mood right now?

im listening 2 day6 so like day6

37: do you like keeping your room messy or clean?

my room isnt even my room i just go there to sleep .. the place im always at is like a study area except its open?? so everyone can see me lol and . its not messy?? if u look at it from far but the shit on the desk and shelves are so fucking messy god i need to pack those

38: tell us about your pet peeves!

aLRIGHT LADS welcome 2 megans ted talk

(skip this if ur not fond of drama)

so something (refer to the song he said suits myday) happened with jae recently and ive seen fans trying to defend him by @ing him and saying that they love him which is fine - great even! but what i dont approve is how everyone’s basically forgotten about the whole matter because they had concerts so instead of @-ing him and asking him to explain himself, they tell him what a great concert it was which is also great bc their concerts are honestly amazing. basically my pet peeve is when ppl dismiss the problematic action of some people just bc they like them.

another thing is that there were some fans who started guilting others for wanting to drop day6 completely because of what jae did and in my opinion i think it is totally cool to want to drop a group if they did smth bad like??? its ur life???? u can choose who you want to like. what is not cool is pulling out all the good things the person has ever done in their entire life and try to remind others about the positive sides of the person. yes. they’re an encouraging person, etc. but that does not cancel out the bad things they’ve done until they explain/apologise. what is infuriating is just the manner some people took it?? they literally went ahead and tweeted shit like “would your parents drop you if you did smth wrong?” and “you’re seriously gonna drop someone whos been nothing been nice because of one incident?” yes. people will and you dont have any fucking right to stop them? so dont go pulling out receipts.

another thing. its also okay to want to stan the whole group even if someone has done smth problematic. like? to me youre cool if youre able to see and acknowledge the bad shit someone has done and still stand by their side while educating them at the same time its nice to have faith in your idols. however, i wont say much when your idols dont respond and/or respond in a way that shows absolutely no remorse. its cool if you want to support them too, despite that.

tldr; dont fucking excuse someone’s behaviour/action just because youre so far up their fucking ass. dont pull out shit from before either, be it good or bad. and lastly, its okay to want to drop/continue supporting them, its your life.

i just wanted to talk about this tbh,, it was nice to see a few mydays trying to urge jae to explain the whole situation but seeing as he still hasnt and couldve it really irks me :-/

okay update its been a day and i havent really thought about this but im kinda conflicted now bc jae still hasnt talked about the song and im probably just making a big deal out of smth that will never happen again but it really doesnt sit right with me knowing that jae recommended that song to his fans and said it suited mydays?? bc looking at the lyrics... i SURE hope not... idk i have neither forgiven or forgotten but he’s okay now.? i cant stay mad at someone for that long anyway ill never forgive him 4 it though lmao petty ppl only

another thing... jae’s still an amazing person to me with all the encouraging words he says to mydays but this one incident is just soOOOOO hrm and i did go off tangent with the question as usual lol

39: what color do you wear the most?

i wear a lot of colours tbh??? but bc its rly hot out ive just been wearing the same shirt every time i leave the house and its black so

40: think of a piece of jewelry you own: what’s it’s story? does it have any meaning to you?

i dont wear jewelry rip

41: what’s the last book you remember really, really loving?

challenger deep

42: do you have a favorite coffee shop? describe it!

hm,, ive only ever visited this coffee shop like more than once bc the girl i used 2 like showed it to me b4 like 2 years ago and it was nice i liked their mocha frappe and its cozy i guess??? sometimes i go there with friends to study/just eat but i havent gone in awhile.., its two stories and it has an open air sitting area too i prefer sitting inside bc the sun is a big no thanks.. the ceiling is kind of like?? going downward?? like the kind iin attics???? idk man it was nice

43: who was the last person you gazed at the stars with?

u cant see shit here sorry

44: when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything?

cant relate

45: do you trust your instincts a lot?

yea?? sometimes i just gotta bc my brain wont shut the fuck up

46: tell us the worst pun you can think of.

suddenly all of the puns i know have left my mind thanks @ me

47: what food do you think should be banned from the universe?

vegetables

48: what was your biggest fear as a kid? is it the same today?

the dark and whats basically in it???? like ghosts zombies and shit u kno the scary shit

49: do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought?

i like buying albums?? theres a CD in those so it counts lmao i bought sunrise by day6

50: what’s an odd thing you collect?

boxes??? like containers????

51: think of a person. what song do you associate with them?

boxy and letting go by day6

52: what are your favorite memes of the year so far?

YOU KNOW I HAD TO DO IT TO THEM and oh worm

53: have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers? beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them?

me: rocky.. ?????? from astro.. /?? no ive never heard of any of those and i saw the word horror so u wont hear abt those from me any time soon

54: who’s the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face?

i literally havent been outside for 2 days

55: what’s the most dramatic thing you’ve ever done to prove a point?

be petty aka yesterday i changed my twitter icon from jae 2 brian bc jae’s being a child rn so hes out

56: what are some things you find endearing in people?

when they ramble abt smth they like thanksk buds

57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics?

is this the song from p!atd i have it in my playlist lmao oh i fucing hate this song i always skip it im not listening

58: who’s the wine mom and who’s the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why?

idk what either of those are but bell and boxy

59: what’s your favorite myth?

idk any

60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves?

anything that eunwoo has ever written

61: what’s the stupidest gift you’ve ever given? the stupidest one you’ve ever received?

ive given eggs for karissa’s birthday b4 and i got a kermit its not stupid tho its just the closest thign i could think of

62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind?

i drink water juice everyday every minute every hour

63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be?

my books are all in shelves lads i just  heard the fucking keys rattle im not doing this shit im logging off night

ok day 3 and im back like i said previously my books are on shelves i tried rearranging them by series b4 but my housekeeper rearrnaged them randomly the next day so i gave up

i make playlists for songs that i like, really like (i still skip them sometimes rip) and songs that my friend recommends me i have a seperate playlist for the songs i like in japanese 2

64: what color is the sky where you are right now?

light blue?? like its actually p white bc its cloudy

65: is there anyone you haven’t seen in a long time who you’d love to hang out with?

m not rly

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like?

just. leaves maybe??

67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel?

Horror Movie

68: what’s winter like where you live?

oh winter is fucking fantastic it never gets colder than 25 degrees celsius here and if it does rain it lasts for like 10 minutes

69: what are your favorite board games?

i used to rly like snake and ladders and monopoly :-o

70: have you ever used a ouija board?

im not ready for that kinda death

71: what’s your favorite kind of tea?

english breakfast or earl gray??? those r like the standard right

72: are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you’ll forget it?

ya but i never do bc i either forget to or am just 2 lazy

73: what are some of your worst habits?

being lazy + procrastinating :-D

74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns.

okie :-o ..

they’re great ok ive talked abt them like 10 times in the span of 2 months but whatever folks

they’re super nice, kind and just all of the positive adjectives out there in the dictionary ...... they’ve helped me multiple times and they’re always there 2 lend me a listening ear (or in our case, eye lmao) idk??? im just super comfortable around them always and im honestly so thankful we became mutuals (and subsequently friends) last year!!!! i cant say a lot bc ill just get v repetitive but overall they’re an awesome friend and im glad we still communicate daily via twitter and sometimes our skype sessions even if they’re kinda awkward bc i never know when 2 talk bc im scared ill speak and theyll say smth and itll turn into a MESS which actually happened lmao  

im looking forward to the day our skype sessions become super smooth and easy going!!!

75: tell us about your pets!

i have none but id die for boxys cats

76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren’t?

well yeah always tbh but its not smth i have to do but more like want to do im just 2 lazy to get around doing it

77: pink or yellow lemonade?

?? i almost said lemons arent pink but i Remembered...... yellow lemonade

78: are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub?

i feel like this is an Attack? okay LISTEN so story time again.

on the flight back from japan i watched the alien covenant and i couldnt even get past the scene where the baby alien was gonna kill the poor guy who ended up being locked up with the infected dude as soon as i saw the blood and the alien emerge from the guy’s back i bolted lmao

so to calm myself down nd block that memory from my mind i went ahead and watched despicable me 3.. which HONESTLY im the worst critic ever but in my humble opinion.... the movie was good????????? idk i didnt watch minions the movie though i got lazy again whooopS!

anwyay i sidetracked but im neutral im not a fan but i wouldnt go out of my way to call minions annoying?? bc they really arent? i feel like its only seen that way bc of how people make posts abt how annoying minions are even tho.. they arent??

79: what’s one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you?

my memory hates me so every specific thing my friends have ever done for me has left my mind but .

the cutest thing? everything my friends do for me

80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why?

theyre yellow and no i didnt theyve been there ever since i could remember

81: describe one of your friend’s eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of.

lava cake

82: are/were you good in school?

yeah i was good in school for like the first three years and this year i just flopped so badly lmao and its my important year too oh well my exams r over and i still dont have a backup plan in mind

83: what’s some of your favorite album art?

all of dance gavin dance’s albums have awesome art

84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones?

back when i was really into 5sos i thought of getting a tally since that was their logo at that time but now no not really unless i decide to get lance’s face tattooed onto my forehead on impulse

85: do you read comics? what are your faves?

im keeping up with hq, bnha and tg manga!!!!

86: do you like concept albums? which ones?

idk what those r but sure

87: what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives?

big hero 6

88: are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy?

who wrote this whats up with these questions

i googled and.. not really?? they all look nice

89: are you close to your parents?

close enough to stand being in the same room as them but not close enough to want to initiate conversations

90: talk about your one of you favorite cities.

tokyo was really cool (literally) and if i ever go again id love to go with friends so we can explore more??

91: where do you plan on traveling this year?

japan was supposed to be the only plan for this year but my grandad passed away so i had to go to malaysia multiple times earlier this year ik this wasnt the qn but ive already went to the planned destination tm so

92: are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch?

BARELY SPRINKLES A PINCH im anti cheese

93: what’s the hairstyle you wear the most?

um. like?? i tie the sides of my hair that cover my face back??? bc i dont like hair in my face

94: who was the last person you know to have a birthday?

bell

95: what are your plans for this weekend?

hopefully something useful

96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot?

i also click remind me tomorrow lmao

97: myer briggs type, zodiac sign, and hogwarts house?

infp-t, capricorn, hufflepuff (same as falen nd jen yay)

98: when’s the last time you went hiking? did you enjoy it?

uh ive never been hiking and i dont plan on it sorry body

99: list some five (or id never shut up) songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them.

currently......

when you love someone - day6

like we used to - the rose

crazy sexy cool - astro

death of a strawberry - dance gavin dance

if it means a lot to you - a day to remember

idk if these actually “resonate to my soul” they just sound nice

100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why?

oh worm.. i wouldnt miind either???

i know i have 2 choose but like

if i go back into the past i could be less annoying?? but the past has actually helped me be the way i am today and i think im learning to be a better person?? im definitely way better than how i was previously 5 years ago and im just grateful i was able to learn from my mistakes???

so i wouldnt go back to the past.

if its in the future i can see how ill end up and if its not good i might end up being able to change myself so i dont get my “bad end”..???? maybe or i can just see what happens in the future and i can look forward to it

itll also give me a chnace to have the most fun while i can if its not too nice

so my decision is to go to the future

thank you so much for asking falen god this got so long lmao

[actual-talking-trashcant]

Do all the asks, if you have time. I'm especially curious about number 14 from the story time asks.

ask #2

Tattoos: What is art to you? Does it have an important place in your life? things that people make. yes

Soil: Something that you have grown from, or that has helped you grow. tbh my life as a whole

Dusk: Name something that captivates you. the sky

Ravens: What is something you are inexplicably drawn to? the sky, water, and skateboarding oddly enough

Natural curls: List some things that you like/love about yourself. at this moment in time not much

Zack: Describe someone you love. (Can be s/o, friend, family member, fictional character) i really love my mom. she cares all the time.

Pomegranates: Talk about something that is meaningful or has personal significance to you. music.

The Smiths: Share some artists, songs or albums that you adore. ajr, pwr bttms right now

Jars: Do you collect anything? If so, what do you collect and why? coins, money, boxes, instruments, books, regrets, metal

Mountains: Do you have any sanctuaries, or places you feel at peace in? my room, the youth room, sometimes trees i need to find a good tree

Hugs: Is there anything/anyone that helps keep you going on the really rough days? my mom, music

Caves: Something that terrifies yet also fascinates you? space, water, music, relationships

Mythology: Is there anything you have a vast knowledge of or enjoy studying? a good few things

Ruins: Are there any places in the world that you would love to see or visit? rome hawaii the gay parts of canada

Road Trips: What gives you that sense of freedom and adventure? walking alone at night

Megan: Is there anyone in your life that you admire? my mom

Bubble Baths: Where or in what situations do you think most clearly? in ones where i have a bubble of space and can think and are not about relationships 

Evening Walks: Are there any things you do that put your mind at ease? music

Amy: Is there anyone in your life you would consider to be a kindred spirit? my mom

Crossroads: You are at the crossroads and there are four roads. The road going north will take you somewhere or to someone that is home. The one going east will be a long journey that you will learn from, a message will be given to you. The road leading south will be an epic, unpredictable adventure. The west road leads you down a beautiful path to a body of water, where you may bathe and heal from something that you have endured. Which road do you choose and why? in this moment I'm not really up to adventure so probably just north

Folk Metal: Tell me about something you get really excited about. music

Full Moon: Describe an experience you had that was somehow related to the moon. i was at my grandmas and i was just thinking about how i had wanted someone with me to see how nice it was so i was going to draw it but i never did

Live Music: Have you ever been to a concert? If so, what were some of your favorite ones you’ve been to? If not, who or what would you love to see? yes. I've loved all of them because I've loved the people that I've gone with. still pissed that i missed oh pep and i really want to see them.

Spill your thoughts

01: Do you have a good relationship with your parents? yeah02: Who did you last say “I love you” to? my mom03: Do you regret anything? probably

04: Are you insecure? yes05: What is your relationship status? single06: How do you want to die? hm. quickly ig07: What did you last eat? cookies that were not for me08: Would you want to know what happens in the future if you couldn’t change it? i think so because then i wouldnt have to waste my time09: Do you bite your nails? i used to a lot now i dont usually10: When was your last fight? dont remember 11: Do you like someone? i dont think so12: Have you ever pulled an all-nighter? Why? i couldn't make it because i never sleep enough anyway13: Do you hate anyone at the moment? donald trump14: Do you miss someone? yes15: What would you see in the Mirror of Erised? (What do you most desire?) people around me16: How exactly are you feeling at the moment? not much. not good17: Ever made out in the bathroom? i dont think so. I've been kissed in a bathroom and got a hickey in a bathroom though18: What are you afraid of? the dark. being left behind. 19: Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? probably 20: Where was the last place you made out with someone? my bed21: What are your plans for this weekend? i went to wisconsin then i didn't do anything today except feel shitty22: Do you want to have kids? How many? adoption. as many as i can handle, 2-323: Do you have piercings? How many? no24: What is/are/were your best subject(s)? i like science and math, though i never study either25: Do you miss anyone from your past? yes26: What are you craving right now? how i felt yesterday27: Have you ever broken someone’s heart? maybe28: Have you ever been cheated on? i hope not29: Have you made a boyfriend/girlfriend cry? yes30: What’s irritating you right now? a lot of things31: Does somebody love you? my mom said she did a little while ago so32: What is your favorite color? blue33: Do you have trust issues? yes34: Who/what was your last dream about? dont know35: Who was the last person you cried in front of? people yesterday36: Do you give out second chances too easily? yes37: Is it easier to forgive or forget? forgive38: Is this year the best year of your life? no39: How old were you when you had your first kiss? 14 i think40: Have you ever walked outside completely naked? maybe when i was tiny51: What is one book everyone needs to read? I'm sure there is one but i can't think of anything52: Do you believe everything happens for a reason? probably 53: What is the last thing you did before you went to bed last night? watched too much skateboarding youtube54: Is cheating ever okay? i dont really think so55: Are you mean? i hope not56: How many people have you fist fought? outside of martial arts like maybe 257: Do you believe in true love? i dont think so58: Favorite weather? nice59: What is your perfect day look like? i dont know60: Do you wanna get married? i dont know 61: Is it cute when a boy/girl calls you baby? in any context at this moment no62: What makes you happy? music friends 63: Would you change your name? yeah64: Would it be hard to kiss the last person you kissed? no65: Your best friend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? say sorry66: Do you have a friend of the opposite sex who you can act your complete self around? not really 67: Who was the last person of the opposite sex you talked to? my brother68: Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? probably rhys69: Do you believe in soulmates? maybe70: Is there anyone you would die for? yes

Clean and Simple

A. What makes life worth it? good question

B. Hidden talents? i dunnoC. Last book you read? frankensteinD. Are you seeing anyone? i dont see anyone right now because I'm alone and also noE. What color do you look best in? let me knowF. Favorite place to nap? my roomG. Last film you saw? boys dont cryH. Best advice you’ve given? dont do itI. How many languages can you say hello in? a few probably J. How often do you nap? not oftenK. Favorite fast food? meatheads friesL. Piano or drums? drums because i find piano really hard. both are hardM. First thing you ate today? i think a piece of brownieN. Best Birthday party you’ve attended? i dont know. ones with friends O. What’s your typical Tuesday? school soccer homeP. Celeb you’d most like to meet? kaitlyn alexanderQ. Weirdest phone call you’ve had? i dont normally call people R. Favorite memory? sleepS. Who gives the best hugs? this girl from my church retreat gave really good hugs and so do my friendsT. Sitting on laps or piggy back rides? as long as I'm not on topU. Best holiday song? white christmas is my first thoughtV. Last shoes you bought? no ideaW. What’s your skin care routine? badX. Coolest thing about your best friend? artY. What’d you have for lunch two nights ago? uhhhhh Z. Something kind you’ve done recently? i was nice to people yesterday

Story time

Put a number in my ask and I'll tell you about a personal story/experience with that theme!1. Happy story? when i got into my school

2. Injury story? I sprained my ankle running down the stairs on easter3. Funny story? me saying “i would eat- CELIA” 4. Scary story? i almost died under an inter tube 5. Random story? my dog and i breathe the same sometimes6. Sad story? my dog died from cancer my day off of school7. Secret story? (A story you have never told anyone before) 8. Infuriating story? when the varsity soccer coach acts nice but she is not9. Awkward story? i threw my phone in the closet after telling my friend i was gay10. Fun story? i caught a turtle because it bit me one time11. Self incriminating story? i stole $20 from my brother one time because he had more money than me12. Embarrassing story? i dyed my hair green and gold 13. Weird story? my friend opened my other friends photos and the first photo that popped up was a dick pic14. Oddly sexual story? I've only made out standing up once and it was not super serious. Also i almost stuck my hand down someones pants because i am competitive15. Face-palming story? “where do you wanna dye?”16. Food story? i like carrots and ketchup 17. School/college/work story? my mom is friends with my principal. its weird.18. Illness story? my brother got a concussion from snow tubing and he only had this really tiny cut19. Event story? (Something that happened at a public event) i got kissed but paid more attention to the music my friend didn't20. Boring story? today i watched 5 episode of bones

100 questions to invade my personal life

1. What's your middle name, and do you like it? jane, not terribly2. are you artistic? nope3. Have you had your first kiss? yes4. What is your life goal? graduate college, do something cool, get a nice house with bookshelves and a music room5. Do you have any expieriences with a famous person? I'm friends with this family who are in the tv and play industry and my nickname is nugget6. Do you play any sports? soccer, martial arts7. What's your worst fear? dark, being left8. Who's your biggest inspiration? mom9. Do you have any cool talents? music?10. are you a morning person? not really11. How do you feel about pet names? they're kinda weird but sometimes nice12. Do you like to read? yeah but I'm shit at actually doing it now13. Name a list of shows that have changed your life. glee and a few others ig14. Do you care about your follower count? no ( but i have 295)15. What's the best dream you've had? can't remember16. Have you ever kissed someone of your same gender? yes17. Do you have any pets? yea i have a beagle18. Are you religious? yes19. Are you a people person? sometimes20. Are you considered popular? i used to at least21. What is one of your bad habits? worrying about not working but not working but also not resting22. What's something that makes you feel vulnerable not enough clothes, no sound23. What would you name your children? gender neutral names24. Who's your celebrity crush? kaitlyn alexander? i mean i wanna meet them25. What's your best subject? english is easy but i like math and science26. Dogs or cats? dogs27. most used social media besides tumblr? snapchat usually28. best friends name rhys29. who does your main family consist of my mom dad brother dog30. Chocolate or sugar both31. have you ever been on a date? yes32. Do you like roleercosters? no33. Can you swim? yes34. What would you do in the event of an apocalypse? i would probably try my best to live or just give up and fuck someone (dealing with extremes i guess)35. Have you struggled with any kind of mental disorder? yes. i still have to do intake for a therapist but its only at certain times and my mom has missed it a couple times36. Are your parents together? yes37. What's your favourite color? blue38. What country are you from/do you live in? us39. Favourite singer? tyler joseph i guess40. Do you see yourself being famous some day? not really but i wish41. Do you like dresses? no42. Favourite song right now? let the games begin or pitchfork kids43. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable? yes. but it needs to be talked about44. How old were you when you first got your period? i think 1245. Have you ever shot a gun? yes46. Have you ever done yoga? yes47. Are you a horror girl? god no48. Are you good at giving advice? reasonably49. Tell us a story about your childhood. i would count and organize coins instead of going outside50. How are you doing today? nope51. Were you a cute kid? i guess52. Can you dance? if I'm given something to learn53. Is there anything you do that you can't remember ever not doing?54. Have you ever dyed your hair? yes55. What colour are your eyes? blue/green56. What's your favourite animal? turtle57. Have you ever made a huge fool of yourself? yeah58. Do you have a good relationship with your parents? yes59. Do you have good friends? i guess60. Are you close with anyone of the lgbtq+ group? hahaha yes I'm gay61. What's your favourite class? guitar is fun and i like physics even though its hard62. List all the tv shows you are watching. i just started watching bones63. Are you organized? some places yes, others no64. What was the last movie you saw? Opinion? boys dont cry. i thought it was a little weird but it was an important movie for trans and lgb+ representation67. Which tv character do you relate to most? all i can think of is Lance and head canons i saw today68. What are some things that stand between you and complete happiness? knowledge, time, other people, situations69. If you received enough money to never need to work again, what would you spend your time doing? learning and teaching about the environment and lgbtqia+ stuff70. What would you change about your life if you knew you would never die? i would probably procrastinate more and maybe learn how to like everything and probably try to kill myself after a while because everyone i loved would die71. What would you do differently if you knew that no one was judging you? id probably kiss more people who knows72. If you could start over, what would you do differently? dont get attached73. Would you break the law to save a loved one? yes74. When was the last time you travelled somewhere new? i went to madison wisconsin a little while ago75. When you think of your home, what immediately comes to mind? my mom, warmth, my dog, blankets and tv76. What have you done to pursue your dreams lately? How about today? not much, absolutely nothing77. What did you want to be when you were a kid? pediatrician 78. If you dropped everything to pursue your dreams, what would you be risking? i dont know i dont really have much in the first place79. When did you not speak up, when you know you really should have? when i shouldn't have distanced my problems 80. Describe the next five years of your life, and your plans, in a single sentence I'm gonna go to college and maybe live with some friends and still play music81. What would happen if you never wasted another minute of your life, what would that look like? i would have written 3 plays and a book, be in a band, get 5s in both ap tests and get all a’s and know how to ride a skateboard and be organized and my room would look nice and i would have scholarships already applied to. just a lot of things82. If you could live forever, how would you spend eternity? probably learn for a bit then just play video games or something83. How would you spend a billion dollars? probably save it or use it to keep my grandmas house. There are a lot of financial issues with that.84. If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future? maybe future to see if it gets better85. What motivates you to succeed? right now not much. my mom86. What dream that you’ve had has resonated with you the most? idk87. Would you rather live in the city or the woods? Why? city. i like to travel to the woods but not live there88. Do you believe in life after death? i hope so, i think just dying would be boring89. What teacher inspired you the most? How did they? I've had a lot of great teachers but i think davey inspired me to learn about the world and meacham helps me think about myself and others90. What’s your fondest childhood memory? lemonade stand91. If you could have dinner with any one person, living or dead, who would they be and why? alexander hamilton maybe so i could see what he was thinking when he did all that he did, and so maybe he could help us out and also see how gay he was92. What would you have to see to cry tears of joy? depends on the day, probably something i would think is jesusy93. What is the hardest lesson you had to learn in life? hm. i still havent learned how to care for myself but to be respectful of other people and to really think of things from an even standpoint.94. What do you think happens after we die? i like to hope it isn't nothingness95. What would you do if you would be invisible? pantsy a lot of people. maybe steal some stuff96. What's something you can't do no matter how hard you try? do my work apparently 97. Would you want to choose the sex and appearance of your offspring? nah 98. How did your first crush develop? friendship to wow i really miss this person99. Is there a feeling you are trying to ignore? What is it? a feeling of hatred towards myself, a feeling of confusion at a dynamic, a feeling of angst over my feelings towards relationships and the fact that i wish i could just figure what i want out100. Do you live or do you just exist? right now I'm staying at exist so i dont go crazy trying to live

alright i think thats it, i kept being pulled away and not being able to do this sorry

[indiawebcommsolutions]

"Intuos And Intuos Pro How to Make Writing a Breeze with the Wacom Intuos No, not handwriting, although it’s useful for that too. This will be a guide to how to set up the Intuos—or any Wacom tablet with four buttons—as a powerful productivity aid for noveling, freelancing, coding, teaching online, or just general office work. http://india-iws.in/Back before working for Wacom was even on my radar, I used a 2013 Intuos Pen & Touch as a full-time mouse replacement for four years.  I now use a Cintiq 16 HD for art and a Logitech gaming mouse for everything else.  The Cintiq is the best art tool I’ve ever used, but I recently realized I miss using the flat tablet for work.  Partially because the interface was more efficient, but I think a lot of it was also psychological: What do we associate more with writing than pens?  Just using it, even for ordinary articles, seemed to put me in creative mode. Yes, holding a pen for several hours on end takes some getting used to. Your hand might be sore for the first few days.  And you’ll want to practice tucking it into your thumb crease while you type to make the switch between navigating and writing faster.  But once you’re fluid with it, it’s more efficient, ergonomic, and fun than a mouse.  It’s very satisfying to scroll by hovering and flicking your pen, highlight text the way you would in a book, physically drag paragraphs down the page to reorder them, and cut and paste with one tap of a button. If you’re an artist as well, it also helps you keep in practice holding and making fine movements with a tablet pen even when you’re not drawing. I don’t have the Pen & Touch anymore; I gave it to a friend whose tablet was stolen.  But I currently have a new Intuos Small, so in this article, I’ll unbox it and recreate my old setup. In the interest of monetary honesty, this one was given to me by a manager a year ago and has been sitting in the closet neglected since then, so using one I got for free is less daunting than the idea of buying one for the purpose.  But this model, a Small, retails for $95, half the price of a Medium, so if you’re interested in trying a tablet, it’s not a huge investment for both a mouse alternative and a capable drawing tool.  Figuring out what size tablet you need can be tough, but the small is perfect for this purpose.  It’s the size of a mouse pad but more precise than a mouse, so you have more room to move in the same area.  Even with a dual-1080p-monitor setup like mine, it feels fine. Anyway, inside the box are the tablet, the pen, a Micro USB cord, and a very thin manual.*  Don’t worry, you won’t need it until you change the nib: Once you install the universal driver from our website, It’s plug-and-play, and automatically detects whatever Wacom tablet you use. — Note If you look up any guide to setting up a tablet for drawing, they’ll tell you to put it in front of your keyboard so it’s also directly in front of the monitor, not to the side like a mouse pad.  But for writing, feel free to do the opposite. — Setting preferences I’ll walk you through the configuration process as if you’ve never used a tablet before, because maybe some people reading this won’t have.  If you’re experienced with them, some of this will seem redundantly basic.  But some of the other tips and shortcuts, you might not know as well.  So bear with me. Once you’ve installed the driver, open Wacom Tablet Properties.  For anyone who hasn’t used it, there’s a lot more than meets the eye here. When you install it, it automatically creates profiles for your installed image editing programs—or the big ones, at least—and everything else is covered under All Other.  Any programs you add will copy this profile by default, so let’s punch in some foundational settings, starting with Mapping: We’ll leave it on Pen Mode despite using it as a mouse.  You want to get used to mentally mapping your tablet to the elements on your screen, and Pen Mode is far more precise anyway.  Not to mention you’ll never lose your cursor again. If you’re using one monitor, turn on Force Proportions to match your tablet’s aspect ratio to your screen’s.  You’ll need this for drawing, anyway.  If you’re using two monitors, leave it off or it’ll reduce your tablet’s active area to a tiny sliver.  You’ll need it for one type of program, but we’ll get to that later. Set the lower button to middle-click instead of its default scroll.  When it’s on scroll mode, you have to drag the pen across the tablet to scroll up and down.  If you set it to middle-click, you can simply click once and navigate by hovering.  Middle click also lets you quickly open and close Chrome tabs, and everything else clicking the scroll wheel does in other programs. Writing program settings Now, Tablet:  For this step, we’ll be adding a writing program and a browser.  Clicking the + brings up a list of a list of all the programs you currently have open, so you can create a separate mapping profile and shortcuts for each one. I do my fiction writing in Scrivener and my article writing in a Google Docs desktop app, with different settings for each, but for simplicity’s sake, I’ll demonstrate with MS Word. Those four buttons, FYI, are called ExpressKeys, and any number of program or navigation functions can be assigned to them.  For writing, we’ll do keyboard shortcuts.  For the top left one, go to Keyboard > Keystroke, and in the popup window, hit Ctrl-X in the top field and name it Cut in the bottom one. Keep adding basic shortcuts until you have this, or whatever alternative suits you: Note that one key’s still on default: Since cut, copy, and paste cover my basic editing needs, I’m left with a free space.  I’ll use it to create a shortcut menu for my common formatting functions.  So, let’s pop over to On-Screen Controls. As you’ll see, this lets you create infinite toolbars.  They’re program-independent, so you can create one general “writing” one to use the same shortcuts across different programs. There are two types of menu: Grids and Radials, and grids come in horizontal, vertical, or square.  I’ll make a new single-column vertical grid for all my common shortcuts in order of use—Ctrl-I, Ctrl-E, Ctrl-K, Ctrl-B—and creatively call it “Writing.” And I’ll assign it to the final ExpressKey.  Menus normally disappear after you select an option, but you can use the pin icon to make it a permanent toolbar. From now on, I’ll stick mine to the margin of whatever I’m working on. — Important If you’re using Windows 10, uncheck “Use Windows Ink” in the Mapping panel for all your writing programs, or else you’ll get that infuriating Handwriting popup every time you place your cursor. If that still doesn’t work, you can turn the box alone off through Windows by searching for “Pen & Windows Ink” settings in the taskbar, and changing this one from “When the keyboard isn’t attached” to “Only in tablet mode.” — Browser settings We’re going to do one thing different here.  There’s one capability that’s still missing: zoom.  The normal Intuos doesn’t have any equivalent to a mouse’s scroll wheel.  Some other Wacom products have a touch ring that can be programmed to serve that function—The Intuos Pro, Cintiq 13HD, ExpressKey remote, and various older models—but not this one. But don’t worry, the Intuos has a workaround.  An inelegant one, I’ll admit, but it’s better than switching back to the mouse every time you need a closer look at something. Besides image editing programs, Chrome is probably where I need to zoom in the most for things like Google Maps.  Since I don’t often cut when browsing the web, and I can just use Ctrl-X when I do, I’ll set the first key to Navigation > Pan/Zoom. While the button is held down, hovering the pen will scroll, and dragging it up or down on the tablet will zoom.  You could simplify things and just program this function to the lower pen button, but then you’d lose middle click functionality for things like opening browser links in a new tab.  It’s a good idea for any program where middle click doesn’t do anything, though. — Also important You’ll need to turn off Windows Ink for Chrome and any other Google apps, too.  It causes a pen tracking glitch.  Same with Discord, for some reason.  In fact, you really only need to leave it on for Photoshop. — Image editing settings Of course, I’ll still use the Cintiq for any serious work, but for simple cropping and color correction, it’s sometimes more convenient to just bang it out on the flat tablet.  Any artists present will already know to do this, but for Photoshop and any other drawing or image editing programs, set the active area to one monitor and turn on Force Proportions. If you’re using two monitors, don’t worry, all you have to do is click your Windows taskbar to navigate back to the non-photoshop monitor. Services & Saving If you’re on Windows, occasionally your computer will fail to detect your tablet, in which case you’ll have to reset the Wacom driver through the Services window.  This is something everyone should know how to do.  Every problem I’ve ever had with a Wacom device has been fixable this You can also use the stop and start icons at the top of the window.  You can pin services to your taskbar once it’s open, too. But once in a blue moon—every few months, perhaps—this might wipe your preferences.  So once you’ve set them, make sure to save them through the Backup Settings panel in Wacom Desktop Center.  You can either save them as a .pref file to your hard drive, or upload them to the free Wacom Cloud, then restore them with the very next button. Impressions of the Intuos Zoom hitch aside, this is an even better mouse replacement than the 2013 Pen & Touch was.  The P&T had a smooth plastic surface that constantly reminded you that you were using a computer peripheral.  The current gens have a rubbery textured surface that genuinely make it feel like you’re somehow using a ballpoint on a notebook to control your computer.  And the pen helps with that too: It’s lighter and thinner than either the P&T or the Cintiq, just 5½ inches long by 1/3 inch thick, smaller than a Bic. But my favorite feature is the Bluetooth.  Once the tablet’s charged via cable, you can connect it wirelessly and regain the use of your USB port.  I didn’t see the point of this before I tried it—who uses a tablet further than a cord’s distance from the screen?—but now that I have, I never want to go back.  It allows a lot more freedom of movement: I can slide it across the desk from one monitor to the other if I want to switch to another project on a different screen, without messing with the cable, or when I need the mouse for a game, I can simply turn the tablet off and set it aside.  And once we can do these things again, it’ll be easy to slip into a backpack to use outside at a coffee shop, bookstore, or while traveling.  It can be charged with any Micro-USB cable, so if you run it off Bluetooth, you can use a wall charger.  It takes a few hours from empty to full, but it has a battery life of fifteen, meaning it’s good for two workdays or one brutal one. Finally, in an interesting last-minute twist, I was surprised to find it compatible with the Cintiq—I could even draw into Clip Studio Paint with both at once—meaning I won’t need to switch them out.  I don’t think an overabundance of Wacom tablets is a problem the average reader is likely to run into, but for example, if you ever find yourself graduating from a flat tablet to a drawing monitor, but aren’t quite ready to sell your old one, you can repurpose it as a mouse. As for me, I’m going back to dailying the Intuos for my writing. — Finally If you teach or tutor online, we’ve been putting out a lot of articles for educators lately—in fact, this article was originally intended as a guide to set up a tablet as a teaching tool, I just realized halfway through that the setup would be the same for any job that works with words.  If you’d like to know more about teaching with Wacom products specifically, check out All You Need to Know to Teach with a Wacom Tablet, Recreating the Physical Classroom in a Virtual World, or the entire section of our website on using tablets for education. Advertisements Occasionally, some of your visitors may see an advertisement here, as well as a Privacy & Cookies banner at the bottom of the page. You can hide ads completely by upgrading to one of our paid plans.