#because i got used to it and idk how well i'll adjust to my normal solitude

[trashpremiium]

i will remain normal about having to actually spend my time studying and not hang out with people <- (lying)

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

okay whatever!! I'm doing NaNoWriMo I guess!!!

I'm fully expecting to fall off the wagon at some point, probably this coming weekend because I'll be at a conference, but idk I like having structured writing motivations. and it's a YA thing with a VERY informal conversational voice so hopefully I can just chill and have fun.

first 1800ish words here. meet Cara, she's 18 and a werewolf and not doing so hot.

Where do I even start?

That’s not a rhetorical question, I have no idea. I’ve never really done this before, you know? I’ve never actually had to explain myself to anybody. Growing up, everyone always knew exactly who I was and what was going on.

Well, not everything. I mean, a lot of people actually had no idea what was going on with me for a really long time. That was actually part of the problem.

So suppose I start with the day that everything started falling apart? It makes as much sense as anything else.

That was the day we were supposed to be getting back to school from winter break. I remember really clearly that I slept in so late that Dad had to come and tell me it was time to get out of bed, which I he hadn’t had to do since I was a little kid and still adjusting to the routine. Every morning since I was thirteen, we get up early together to make breakfast and go patrol around the town. 

Sorry, do you know about… I mean, you obviously know what I am. That’s not what I’m talking about. But how much do you actually know about the werewolf thing? Most people don’t really know much unless they grow up in a town with a local wolf around. It’s a lot simpler than most people think it is but it’s also a lot more complicated, in other ways.

I don’t even know if I’m making sense. You remember what I said, about not being used to having to explain myself very much? 

Okay. Um. Just let me know if you have a question, I guess. Basically, what happened that morning is that Dad came and told me I had to crawl out of bed and I scrambled up and got dressed in the warmest, baggiest clothes I could find, and then we had some oatmeal together, and then we both went out back on the porch and turned into giant wolves so that we could run around the town borders and make sure nothing spooky was afoot. Got that?

Cool.

Like I said, we’d been doing that a long time. Every morning since seventh grade started, when I finally started getting a handle on my wolf stuff. And I was a real pro about it, even though I love being in bed, so I guess Dad probably thought it was weird that he had to tell me to get up. It wasn’t like I had been sleeping in over Christmas vacation; we never get a break just because of holidays. I mean, monsters don’t care that it’s Chrisitmas. Heck, the year before that we had to deal with a bunch of snowmen that came to life and started attacking people up at the ski lodge.

Did you hear about that? We did kind of blow up the lodge, but it was an accident. And it worked, so… You know.

Sorry. Am I avoiding the subject? I don’t know, I don’t think so. We haven’t even gotten to the hard stuff yet.

Me and Dad. He made oatmeal with strawberries and cream for breakfast, it was great. And then we went out to circle around Silver Falls and make sure everything was normal, which it wasn’t, but we didn’t know it yet that morning. Normally we can smell it coming miles away, right? I sort of mean that literally, because the sense of smell when you’re a wolf is like… I can’t describe it. I’ve never known how, when I’m human. It’s like having an extra eye open up seeing stuff you can only kind of squint at normally, and everything that’s usually fuzzy or invisible is suddenly so obvious. And then you change back and it’s just gone, like trying to hang onto a dream after you wake up. And our hearing is great too, which also helps. It’s hard to surprise us.

But there’s also just, like, a sense. Like a feeling, like when the town is in trouble we can feel it as clearly as if there’s something creeping up right behind us and breathing down our necks. My friend Ruby says that normal people learn not to pay attention to it when they have a feeling that something’s following them or they can’t stop glancing over their shoulders, because in normal people that’s just anxiety or paranoia. You take pills for it and go to therapy because it’s bad for you to feel like something is out to get you all the time, so you make it stop. But Dad always taught me and my brothers to listen to those instincts, because when werewolves feel like they’re in danger they’re usually right.

That morning everything was normal, though. All of the tracks in the snow were normal animals, ones that we knew. And no strange scents in the air. It was just a nice run with my dad, a good way to start the day off.

Most days actually are quiet, you know. For every day we’re tearing around town trying to catch a monster before it can kill someone, there are dozens of mornings that we just get to go for a run and stretch our legs. We can’t talk when we’re wolves but it’s still nice, hanging out. Sometimes Dad will stop to point out something cool he doesn’t want me to miss, like some baby animals or a pretty sunrise or flowers growing when it’s warm. I always get what he means. And I appreciate that he does it. We go fast when we’re wolves, like, faster than anything else can run. So it’s easy to miss things. And he always says it’s important to actually pay attention to the land and everything living on it, so that we remember why we do this and what we’re protecting. Because if you lose sight of why you do it, then you get… I don’t know. Weird?

I definitely ended up getting weird.

But we made it back to the house with no incidents, which was great. We were definitely thinking it was about time for something to happen soon, though. We never go more than a few months at a time without something cropping up in Silver Falls. The last big thing had been some gremlins at the trade school, gathering up scraps to build a mech suit. That one was… it was fun, honestly. I had never fought anything like that. And Hector thought it was really cool, because he likes robots and stuff like that. It was actually kind of downhill after that? I mean, not really, but we had kind of been getting worse since then. Like the gremlins were the last time we had something in common.

Hector was sort of my boyfriend, by the way. Or my fiancé, sort of. I don’t know, I hate that word. We weren’t even technically engaged, I guess. He had never actually proposed, but everyone knew what would happen after we graduated.

Do we have to talk about this part right now? I’m going to get to it, I swear, but there was other stuff. I swear I’m not avoiding it.

I was avoiding Hector, though. Not on purpose, it had just kind of happened over break. I don’t know, we’d been hanging out less and less, and then over break it was just so easy not to see him at all. He’d gone back to Florida with his mom for Christmas, to visit their family there, and I didn’t want to bother him. Or think about him at all, really. He’s a nice guy, really, but it was…

No, hang on. I’m doing this so out of order. We’ll get back to Hector, I swear.

Okay. Okay. So I got back home from this patrol where nothing happened, and we were running a little behind because I’d taken so long getting up, so Mom and the boys were practically already out the door. Um, I’ve got three brothers. Colin, Caleb, and Cooper. My parents liked the double C name so much for me that they just kept on rolling with it. 

The boys are all normal. Only the firstborn in each generation gets the wolf gene, and it only bounces if something happens. Like, my dad actually wasn’t supposed to be a wolf, but his brother died when he was a teenager fighting some tree monsters with my grandma. It only shifted to Dad after that, on the next full moon after his brother was gone. So Colin would only be a wolf if I died too young to have a successor, which is… I don’t know. I won’t let it happen. Colin doesn’t need to worry about that. 

It’s weird, actually. Colin was fourteen when all of this happened, and Caleb was twelve, which was how old I was when I started wolfing. And when I was twelve I felt so mature and ready to start taking all of those responsibilities on with my dad. I was so impatient for it, and I hated that it felt like I took so long. Like, I was kind of a late bloomer. But I think back to Caleb being that age, and even Colin being fourteen, and I don’t know. They’re babies. They’ve always seemed like babies to me. But I would look at my brothers and their friends and how young they were, and how totally clueless, and it just seemed crazy to me that I was already running off to life or death fights at all hours when I was their age. 

Sorry, I got sidetracked. Anyways.

So Mom was already dressed for work at school, and had the boys wrangling all of their books and lunches together and stuff, and she told me if I wanted a ride with her then I needed to move fast, so I told her not to worry about it. And she said:

“If you see Ruby before I do, give her a hug and tell her congratulations for me.”

And I didn’t know what she meant, which was weird, because Ruby was always doing something that deserved a hug and congratulations, but I also always knew what it was because Ruby was my best friend and I thought I knew about everything going on with her. But I was confused and Mom could tell, so she went:

“She got another three acceptance letters over break.”

And I said, oh, right, yeah, like I had known all about that, so Mom dropped it and gave me and Dad little kisses goodbye and left. Which was kind of silly in my case, I guess, since she worked at my school and my school wasn’t huge, so we would definitely see each other again before too long. But it was sweet, though. I don’t want to sound like I was complaining about my mom loving me or anything.

[saradrewitt]

SARAH JACKALOPE I DESPERATELY NEED YOUR HELP WITH LEARNING HOW TO DRAW A TERZO EMERITUS PLEASE GET BACK TO ME

Hi! I’m so sorry this took a bit to answer!

FULL DISCLOSURE I am literally the worst person to ask because the way I do it always changes but I appreciate your trust in my inconstancy! I also have a hard time drawing him or the other papas for that matter without a reference. I can try to help the best way I can. here we go, I really hope this helps!

So the number don represent the order but just what I'll explain. First always consider the shape of the face I know this is just the sketch but we always start somewhere. 

(1) Take a look at the basic jaw structure my style always make it longer than it should be but in this case I'm taking in the fact that while I made this tutorial I was looking at a photo reference. (2) Then the ears. (3) The basic middle line mark. (4) Two lines are of course for the eyes and you must realize that our eye level matches the tip of the ears show in the picture for remember that. (5) What I personally do when I draw noses it just help with a realistic measurement of the brows and the nose size. if we’re looking at this through a stylized realism way, remember that the distance between the eyes is matched by the size of the nose. this is not the case for some people but look at refs of people’s noses and see that the size of the eyes is the same size of the nose.(6) The first initial circle is the base, but remember that that won’t be the size of a head. so expand it a little bit so there is extra room to get that hairline and detail when we get to that part (I ended up not paying attention and ngl Terzo ended up with a big ass head but shhhhh I warned you)....

I went ahead and did some detail work but this is what we’ll be seeing when I draw them. from pictures you can see the age lines and it’s really just a matter if you want the detail or not, done people can do that with little detail and make it look good but my style is in constant crises all the time so this is how I do it. you can also why I have the base sketch on top of my “lineart”.

So Terzo’s hair specifically is weird in my opinion. I normally have a part I go off from when I draw hair but his just has to be weird. Either way, when I draw his I go down from the middle and just make it both have that volume and fluff he normally has. (Agin in the end result I polished it up so his part is that square like formation seen in pictures).

Okay now the fun part, the papal makeup! The deep pink lines are the base sketch I usually draw up so when I color and shade it can be adjusted if needed. It also helps me know that proportions are somewhat realistic but with a small hint of my style as well. Idk I'm still in a style crisis as we speak and it’s gotten a lot worse since I've joined this fandom. 

When I think everything looks good I work with the black and color it. I normally like using our black when I work with lineart to give it that ink look. I called this blunt lineart (and shading cuz like I said my style is very inconsistent). Now if you’re working digitally I do this type of coloring on a layer on top of this sketch so when I low the opacity I can see if my placement is correct (again just of needed). if I think I got most of it correct that’s where I go I with my next step. 

Wow, it’s looking like Terzo now, look at our sweet boy with the rbf, Blessimo!

So in these next few steps I just add the white and added purple wrinkle likes that were cover by the blunt lineart. You can make those line grey or white depending on your style but I like adding his colors when I draw him digitally so that’s an option. Once I have everything done I just against as needed then move on.  

Lastly I finish up the lineart, work on some shadow work and add color, for sketched I don’t really do that but in this case I placed a color pallet I usually work with (it’s still gonna be inconsistent as I go) but this is usually what I do when I draw him. honestly to god my methods and process changes but I at least hope this was a helpful guide.

[lostandbackagain]

here's my running list of things I'd like to see in the color of revenge:

roxane being like an actual actual witch. idk if cornelia is still using the word bufana but that's my #1. can sing so beautifully she makes the rocks cry? can make anything grow in her shitty soil? indescribably beautiful? her kids being really really good at everything?? (not to take away from jehan's dedication to his craft but there's no way there's not smth supernatural going on with him) I think I'd prefer dustfinger and the prince knowing (and dustfinger being like "....yeah jehan knows witches bc of roxane lol" leans into this imo) and getting to watch the kids have a crisis over whether they're human or something else, getting pissed at the adults for keeping it from them, but I will also take roxane having kept this a secret from everyone. I will likely cry blood if this doesn't come true at all but it's fine I'm normal and well-adjusted about roxane it's fine!

the bracelet stays. I'm on my knees begging

I think cornelia said she's got a queer in the book?? forming a prayer circle that's it's brianna but I'll take anyone (new or established) as long as they're written well. several queer characters would rock though would love that 4 me

fenoglio dies. badly.

farid and jehan having that adhd and autistic solidarity where they're best friends but also each other's worst nightmare

jehan dealing with a lot of (valid) frustration and jealously wrt farid and dustfinger. I'm almost definitely reading too far into it but the part where he's like "dustfinger promised he won't try to replace my birth father but he totally can bc I don't remember him lmao" is like. he's so glad to have a father again but farid's been out and about for so long that jehan hasn't really seen the extent to which dustfinger can be a father to a kid who isn't his biologically, and it was honestly very ugly watching jehan panic trying to take care of dustfinger during his mental breakdown but the second the prince says farid is fine, dustfinger calms down? like you have another son right there who needs you so badly, douchebag. anyway while this is not the fault of either kid I want jehan to be Pissed.

unwrite the part where it says roxane is pale because No She's Not 💗

DRAGON LORE¡¡¡¡¡¡ the laughing prince was said to have hunted dragons and I've been going crazy for 15 years over the way that was just said in passing?? I don't think living/awake dragons match the mood of this series but FUCK I could see nyame and the witch girl stumbling onto a graveyard or something and she'd get her stereotypical tiefling rant about how humans suck for killing beautiful creatures for their own gain and I would be cheering her on because I'm a whore for dragons

I sorta want dustfinger to have to give up his ability to speak to fire to bring everyone back. it's very fullmetal alchemist-stan of me but my f a v o r i t e type of sacrifice is the surrender of power

I'm already heads over heels in love with nyame but I want to be feral over him the entire time I want to be in his head I want to be in his past and his future and I want to see him brought to his knees and tempted with the power to bring about the change he so desperately craves and i want him to know in his heart and with metaphorical blood pouring from his eyes that replacing one reign of tyranny with another is not the solution he wants but hell does he want it and I want him to have the most beautiful conclusion any character has ever had and still get to make the world a better place on a large scale because he's the only one who consistently cares!! and hes so fucking tired.I love him so fucking much. nyame

would enjoy nettle showing up just to call dustfinger a bitch and leave. want that to be a running gag

loved the discussion about religion coming in and criminalizing reproductive healthcare. I feel like that was not the most appropriate time to have been having that conversation but I want it to stay and contribute to the theme of autonomy and agency that have always been at the heart of the inkworld.

[how-many-stars-can-you-count]

the "smart kid" representation in movies and tv shows SUCKS SO MUCH. and as a "smart kid" myself I take that so personally.

and yes "smart kid" not smart kid because I hate the term "smart kid". because first of all, grades don't define how smart someone is. the "smart kid" isn't the only one who's smart. you may fail all your tests but still be a genius. but I'm gonna use the term "smart kid" now so yk what I'm talking about (aka the straight A's student, the student who gets the highest grades in class). but know that I hate that term.

so, every single tv show/movie ever (ofc there are some exceptions but they're very rare) shows the "smart kid" as:

nerd. studies a lot. hates fun. hates parties. can't dance. always studies. studies. always has a school book in their hands. glasses. studying. "can't go to the party, gotta study". unpopular. shy. soooo introverted. can't stand up for themselves. has no personality other than studying. no phone. no social media. out of the loop. *adjusts glasses*. never has any fun at all. no distractions just studying. never takes risks. gets too excited for studying. hates cinema. just hates fun in general. teacher's pet. "miss you forgot the homework". "mister look what [x] did. they should be punished". hates sports or is only good at it cause ✨math✨ and ✨physics✨

and GOD I HATE THAT STEREOTYPE

okay are there some people who are actually like that? yes. yes maybe there are. idk. I haven't met all the "smart kids" on that planet and not every one of them is like me. but the thing is, this is the only representation we get. if we got that plus other representations more often then GREAT. I'd be more than happy!! but it's an overused stereotype and they act like that's the only type of "smart kid" to exist. but let me tell you this: IT. IS. NOT.

no "smart kid" is like the other. I'll describe myself for example and you'll see the differences between the stereotype "smart kid" we see everywhere and me:

barely studies. procrastinates too much. too many distractions. uses phone all day. hates studying. school (derogatory). someone: miss you forgot the homework. me: *death stare*. *laughs along with the class when they're acting stupid and breaking rules*. speaks too much in class. gets bored to death studying. awful sleeping schedule. doesn't take many risks that are too risky but isn't a coward. stands up for myself. is sometimes introverted but other times really extroverted. (some) teachers' favorite. LOVES FUN!! is something between popular and not. doesn't wear glasses. hates sports (most of the time). can very much dance.

oh god- do i- do I sound like a normal human being?! yes ik SO unbelievable. I can get good grades and still live my life. so shocking /s

now is THAT how every "smart kid" is and should be like? definitely not. and as you can see, I do have stuff in common with the stereotype but that doesn't mean I fit in that stereotype or that I love it.

yes I'm the "teacher's pet" or "(some) teachers' favorite" but like. is it my fault that teachers love me and trust me so much?? and I'm not EVERY SINGLE teacher's "pet". it depends. some teachers couldn't care less about me. but even if I AM teachers' favorite does that mean I'll ask for homework and expose my friends and blah blah blah? NO. and you don't need to be the teacher's fav to do any of that *looks at every student who ever reminded the teacher about homework for absolutely no reason and no they're not a "smart kid" or the teacher's pet*

do I not take many risks and worry about finishing my homework and stuff not for the love of it but just because? yes. but that has nothing to do with me getting the highest grades.

do I hate sports just like the stereotype? well kind of. I don't HATE it but I also kind of do. but again. it has nothing to do with my grades. one can be the best at sports AND the "smart kid". one can suck at sports AND be the "smart kid". one can suck at sports AND not be the "smart kid". one can be the best at sport AND not be the "smart kid".

but yk what tv shows and movies do? most are like: the "smart kid" sucks at sports except for when they use math and physics and angles and complicated calculations and stuff to be able to score. like?? who does that?? dude if you can do that you're a genius. a literal genius. what are you doing among us? your abilities are unbelievable. it's beyond our understanding. I'm speechless. wow.

but tv shows and movies show this as a common thing?? see what I mean by "entire personality revolves around studying"? they can't do anything without it being linked to studying.

and yk what's also awful and sucks about these poor excuses of representations? not only the "smart kid" themselves, but the reaction of the people around them to them. they show the bullies forcing the "smart kid" to do their homework. sometimes the "smart kid" 's friend does that. and even if the "smart kid" in question doesn't want to give their homework and they have every right to not want that, they do. and it's something that commonly happens irl.

so yk what movies and tv shows should do? make the "smart kid" stand up for themselves. they don't need to become friends with the bully for the bullying to stop. make them stand up to themselves. make them not be afraid to say no. show the viewers that it's okay, that you're not mean if you don't want to give your homework because you put thoughts and effort into it, it's okay if you don't wanna give it. it's okay if you don't wanna take care of other people's exams and homework and projects. some "smart kids" don't mind giving their homework and good for them! some do though, and those people are afraid to say no. movies and tv shows show that yeah, that's how it's supposed to be. they show it as wrong maybe, but they don't show how to fix it. they don't show that the "smart kid" can do anything but go with the bullying. show us that no, we can say no. we can do what we want. just show us that.

and speaking of their environment, even the "smart kid" 's so-called friends look at them as if they're lame or what they're doing should be cringed at and you should be weirded out by it. it's a running joke to make the "smart kid" so oblivious and people making fun of them. it shouldn't be normalized.

do you have any idea how annoying it is to be constantly called nerd and stereotyped because of disgusting representations? me, who has a healthy family and environment, who knows who to choose as my friends and whatever still gets affected by it despite the amazing support system I have. I'm so grateful for all the support I get. but I'm still affected by what people call me and say about me, and maybe I even do it unconsciously. so tell me, if me who has all this support still gets negatively affected by it, what happens to the people who don't have a support system and get bullied for those stuff on top of it?

and you know how annoying and frustrating it is when people sometimes seem to forget that I'm a human being? who has the right to be worried and extremely nervous before a test? because no, you can't guarantee I'll do well on a test because I usually do.

I'm sick of hearing stuff like "YOU are worried?? why are YOU worried you'll do great as always" and they say it in an accusing tone. they're blaming me for having normal emotions and reactions to a certain situation because "ofc I'll do well".

some people say stuff like that and mean no harm by it, but it still disturbs me. because it's not some sort of magic going on in my brain. it's work, it's hard work, maybe quicker than others, maybe less tiring than others, but that's still not magic and that still doesn't mean that I'll do great on tests and homework and know all the answers all the time. they're putting us on pedestals, knowingly or unknowingly.

so yk what movies and tv shows should do? they should show the "smart kid" failing a test. they should show the "smart kid" not always acing everything. they should show it as normal. as something that can happen. because it IS something that can happen.

do you have any idea how amazing it would be like for us "smart kids" to see that? because even if no one is putting pressure on us or putting us on pedestals and expecting a lot from us (which people do a lot of the time), we do that to ourselves.

it's not easy when I fail a test. it's not easy when I get lower than I normally do. because I'm usually so good at something and then I don't do well, and ofc I'll get extremely sad about it. maybe even disappointed in myself. but it's okay, it really is okay. we can not get the highest grades and still be us. grades don't define us. our intelligence doesn't define us. it's part of us but it's not us.

movies and tv shows show the entire opposite.

and that's extremely wrong.

they should show different versions of "smart kids". they should give them personalities. they should write them and create those characters with care. show the stereotype "smart kid", okay, but show other than that. it doesn't have to be their only character trait, their only personality.

take Rocky Blue from Shake it Up as an example. she's a good example. she's a good character. she has a personality that's not just "oh I'm the smart kid" and the viewers still know she's the "smart kid". we need more characters like her, not same personality traits, but same way of showing that representation.

you have so much ways to go with writing a "smart kid". go in those ways, show a good representation, let us relate and see ourselves in characters. please. that's all I'm asking. ik they do it for comedic effect, but it's getting tiring. put as much thought and work in the "smart kid" characters as you put in other ones.

we deserve that.

[transsexualism-archive]

strange new worlds episode 1 onions:

i know so far im riding on the nostalgia wave and i'll probably end up liking the show Less than i do now but . . . this is literally all i ever wanted from a trek show

(well ALL i ever wanted also includes jim but they're not giving him to us for a number of reasons)

on the one hand it feels like they're cramming all the characters want to see into one place but ON THE OTHER HAND !!!!

we finally got to see m'benga im so happy

i really like uhura so far she's so nerdy and enthusiastic which is a welcome change. she's younger in the snw timeline and this is a great way to show it, im excited to see her character develop. (and im so happy we're spared from spuhura even if it means s'pring which actually deserves its own paragraph)

T'PRING MY ABSOLUTE BELOVED she's stunning !!!! the hair the jewelry the outfice she's just as elegant and sophisticated as in tos which is so good to see. idk abt her characterisation yet seeing as she had 2 scenes total in this episode but hhhhhh im not sure if this is my favourite spock/t'pring dynamic ever. ik my opinions are heavily clouded by my existing preferences but i just feel the need to give spock a love interest is... unnecessary. is2g kurtzman is deathly afraid of spock being shipped with m*n there's no other explanation. but yeah i feel like the established relationship takes away a lot from the dynamic, but it also gives opportunity for t'pring to have her own personality and inner conflicts outside of her relationship with spock OR stonn

ORTEGAS??? MA'AM?? i am looking very respectfully . . . i'll be very mad if she's just snw's version of tig notaro's character in dis (snarky butch with a high one liner per minute speed) but she's. very handsome. i desperately want to see more of her

idk about chapel yet and she doesn't really feel Like Chapel to me but <3 . very manic pixie dream girl

THERES AN ANDORIAN FINALLY AN ANDORIAN !!!!! they were in the post credits trailer thing so that probably means they're a significant character!!!! at long last. now all we need is a tellarite

i really don't care for pike's c-ptsd or the whole unavoidable future doomed from the beginning etc etc narrative it's just idk. i know partly it's just a nod to the canon and they had to follow through with dis' bullshit plot but :/ for a main character this is weak motivation

(also im sooooo disappointed by the way pike & spock's dynamic is handled by snw so far give me hero worship !!!! give me mentor figure !!!!! speaking of)

spock.... look how they massacred my boy.... i know it's impossible to satisfy tos/aos fans because it's not The Spock, and im completely biased in this regard, but its just a complete 180 from dis!spock who is literally autistic tormented by vision locked up in an asylum FORCED TO GO ON A UNIVERSE SAVING QUEST BECAUSE DESTINY IS UNAVOIDABLE and snw's straightwashed well adjusted spock. once again this is only the first episode and i might be completely wrong about everything but idk idk . ethan peck is a great actor tho and it's nice to see his interpretation of all the little spock mannerisms. his delivery feels as a kind of in-between between tos and aos!spocks in that he is much less emo than aos but also not the fully established tos!spock who is 100% comfortable in his skin. also the moment on the alien planet where he randomly let out an inhuman (sic!) shriek because he was in a lot of pain and then immediately went back to normal?? what was that about :/

also sam !!!!!!! im so desperate to know how the kirks are doing in this timeline !!!!! i have a very clear characterisation of him in my mind that's 99% fanon but im trying to have an open mind abt him. wheres jim.... how is winona doing....

im probably forgetting soooo much of what i wanted to say but yeah so far i have no trust in kurtzman & goldman and where this show is going to go but it IS exciting for me as you can clearly see from this fucking essay

[juliamex3]

I think I already know who "and then there were three" is about but I'm still curious. Also "aim to be a dragon master"!

I disagree I don't think you know who the three are at all because that's actually a Yo-kai Watch fic! Probably not that interesting oop, you missed all 4 shigesatogou wips in there I'm sorry :')

Basically tho the thing is Yo-kai Watch has 3 main protagonists, Nate, Katie and Hailey. Except that Katie sort of... disappears after Hailey gets introduced? (Hailey disappears later on as well but that is a different tangent)

Katie is not a playable character anymore in the 3rd game and she was never in the main cast of the anime, she got pretty much disregarded and only ever used for alternate universe stories. She doesn't have a Yo-kai Watch in the main timeline at all. 

I never liked that so and then they were three is about bringing her back into the spotlight and the trio forming an actual trio after a lot of "oh god a person I've known most of my life is gonna inevitably find out my biggest secret that is not very normal™ what do I do" from Nates perspective

I think something like this does actually happen in the 4th game? Idk I never played it, it didn't get localized but eh it would still work in the anime canon so whatever

I haven't worked on this story in ages since my ykw brainrot pretty died out for the most part, it was like... last year oof, I'm only like 70% done with the first chapter of the 3 I had planned, they all would've been from a different characters perspective

I kinda doubt anyone here cares all that much but here's still a snippet of it! 

"Oh right, didn't you say you were going camping with your dad?"

The voice belonged to Alex, the girl seated on Katies left.

Katie turned towards her and nodded. "Yeah. To be honest I'm not looking forward to it much, but dad insisted he wanted to spend some 'quality father-daughter bonding time' with me." She pronounced the last part of the sentence by doing air quotation marks with both of her hands.

Yet another person cut themselves into the conversation. "You're not going to camp at Mount Wildwood, are you?" Zoey, this time, the girl seated on her right.

Katie turned around again, this time in the opposite direction. "Huh, yeah, why? It's the closest forest we have around." 

"But Mount Wildwood has been haunted lately! There have been a lot of scary reports online."

That was Lina. Katie wasn't even sure where she had come from, her seat is at the opposite side of the room and she hadn't seen the girl walk up to them, but then again Zoey and her seemed to be attached by the hip.

Other people probably would have been freaked out by this statement, but after years of knowing them Katie had become adjusted to Zoeys and Linas stories.

Though Katie WAS starting to get irritated by half of their class listening in and suddenly being so invested in their conversation, but she wasn't going to point it out.

So instead she smiled. "Don't worry about it, I'll be careful. No ghosts, Yo-kai or other supernaturals will get in my way."

Alex raised an eyebrow, the other two girls couldn't seem prouder.

Her eyes met Nates again, with all of the other people around Katie had almost forgotten he was the one she was talking to originally.

Nate had an uncomfortable expression on his face, and Katie had to surpress a snort that was threatening to escape her.

She remembers how freaked out he has been in the past by ghost-talk. He may have changed a lot, but it seemed like old habits die hard.

💜

Aim to be a Dragon Master is about Iris! Is that a surprise based on the title lol?

Since we never really learn how she became champion this fic takes place right after her special and goes up to right before her first appearance in journeys.

She travels through Johto collecting badges then entering the league... where she loses against like Ethan or smth idk oops. After Cilan giving her a pep talk she then goes and does the same in Unova where she doesn't lose since she's learned a lot, has an awesome moment with Drayden and ends up beating Alder whoo!

Then I realized how long that would take even with how much I was going to skip around and... yeah...

Iris smirked. "Now use Ice Beam!"

Clair gasped. "Druddigon jump!"

It did, but Dragonite was quick to adjust and aimed higher up.

Silence filled the room as the smoke slowly cleared.

Both competitors were holding their breath.

Druddigon was on the ground, ice on its wings, eyes closed.

"Druddigon is unable to battle! The winner is challanger Iris!", the announcer stated, raising up the respective flags as she did so.

Overfilled with joy Iris ran onto the battlefield towards her Pokemon. "We did it! Dragonite, we did it! You're the best!"

Dragonite had to be overtaken by emotion as well, as he didn't even try to shove his trainer away as she hugged him.

In the distance Iris could hear Clair thanking and recalling her Pokemon, but she couldn't bring herself to care enough to watch or listen to exactly what she was doing.

She only broke the hug when she noticed Clair standing next to them.

"I feel like I should be upset about losing, but honestly... I'm proud that you finally managed to beat me. I know you worked hard, this was a great battle."

Clair reached out her hand, Iris took it with a grin and shook it. Only when Clair pulled away did Iris notice the other had given something to her.

She stared at the item in her hand in confusion. "Is that...", she started. 

"The Rising Badge!", Clair finished. "Congratulations on your win, Iris."

Iris frowned at the badge, then looked up to frown at Clair. "I wasn't trying to get your badge.", she explained.

Now it was Clairs turn to look confused. "Really? You were so insistent on beating me, I'd assumed you had a bigger reason than just wanting to fight dragon Pokemon."

Iris resisted blushing. Her motivation had been exactly that, plus some dedication and stubborness, but she wasn't going to say that out loud.

"If you don't want it, I'll take it back."

On a childish impulse Iris closed her hand around the badge, moved it closer to her body and took a step back.

"Uh uh, you gave it to me, it's mine now, no take backs."

Clair let out the trademark laugh that Iris had come to associate with the woman.

"That's what I thought."

Iris' cheeks did flush a bit, this time.

"Thanks...", she managed to get out.

Clair nodded in acknowledgement. 

They exited the Gym together, and then Clair asked a very loaded question.

"What're you going to do now?"

Iris contemplated her response for a moment. What <i>was</i> she going to do?

"I... hadn't really thought about it.", she started carefully. "I wasn't actually expecting to defeat you today."

In the corner of her eye she caught the badge that she was still holding in her hand. "But", she picked up again before Clair could comment, "if I already have one badge, I figured I could enter the Johto league."

💜

I don't think this was what you asked for at all haha but maybe it's still interesting

Will I ever continue these? Only time can tell.

[mortal-kombat11]

hi, i LOVE your gifs so much!! would you ever be willing to do a tutorial or maybe give a few tips on how you make them look so nice?

Hello! And omg, tysm 😭❤

Well, I'll first off say I play the game via PC, my vids are in 4k but in all honesty it doesn't make that much of a difference, like at all.

Anyways, I'm a simple nerd when it comes to Photoshop: I'm very, VERY lazy. But these are my settings I use 99% of the time. Under the cut bc idk how to shut up and make things short, haha.

Adjust each of those to your own personal taste ofc.

My sharpening settings, again I adjust depending on the scene, etc.

The size of the gif varies depending on the frame amount. I normally don't delete frames if I want a nice looking gif, but because Tumblr is going to well... Tumblr, I will so I won't go over the limit; so give or take I'll select to skip/remove 2 or 4 frames when importing frames from a video. Speed of the gifs also depends on how many frames I removed too.

For my colorful gifs, I use a camera hook in game to take control of the camera. Google that because I ain't got time nor the patience to put up with fandom police ^^;; I'm sorry.

But I will say I use Reshade, and here are my settings for that:

There are a few fog options, but that's the one I prefer. Just experiment with everything. Once more, personal taste.

[starshinegoblin]

Hello! I'm loving your new "You're My Muse AU!" ❤ If you're still taking prompts, this isn't exactly from the list but you know that trope where 1 character is all like "Don't be afraid, I'll protect you!" but then they collapse into a puddle? Well i was rereading the "Jealous Lan Bunny" and LWJ doesn't like horror movies. But what if they watched one (idk why) and WWX is the first to get scared (& maybe LWJ doesn't get scared at all?) but he has to comfort WWX? If you wanna😁

Thank you so much Nonie for requesting this! I absolutely love tropes where the plans backfire making the other be the  protective comforting one! I hope you enjoy this! I had so much fun writing it! 

///

It’d been fifteen minutes ago that Lan Wangji had gotten out of bed to go answer the front door. He wondered if it would have been his beautiful boyfriend but then Wei Wuxian would have just used the key code and crawled into bed with him. To his surprise, it’d been one of his Uncle’s private secretaries holding his paperwork that he needed to review and sign. Which is why he is now at his dining room table after letting his bunnies out of the bunny wall to roam around while he reviews the papers. The morning light bright coming through the window behind him. He’d actually slept in today. While working with one of his favorite production teams it was also exhausting. Lan Wangji was thankful it was over which is what caused this paperwork to be sent to him. So he was still in his pajamas. A cup of hot coffee in his hand. Little Suibian hopping happily under the table around his feet and Wangji’s face nuzzling his hand that’s wrapped around his freshly filled coffee mug.

He was about to take a drink when his phone started chime with the Facetime jingle. He turned his phone over seeing that it was Wei Wuxian, he quickly answered excitedly. He might have slept in but his beautiful boyfriend likes to sleep in till at least ten or eleven. The call connected showing that Wei Wuxian was sitting in the back of one of his agencies transport vans.

“Lan Zhhaaan!” Wei Wuxian greeted him cheerfully as he answered. A beautiful smile on Wei Wuxian’s face as the man waved to him, he quickly pulled out the phone case kickstand so he could sign to him. Golden eyes took in that his normally short hair had been altered a little bit with some extensions to make it longer like his own currently is with silvery white tips. The hair let him know two things: the first that Wei Wuxian was awake this early because he’d had to go get the hair done and second is that today must be the photo shoot that Jiang Cheng had told his xiongzhang about. His gaze shifted to the comfy burgundy sweater Wei Wuxian was wearing. It was a little bigger on the man exposing his collar bones. He hadn’t realized that his boyfriend had taken it from his closet but it looked good on him.

Good morning, Wei Ying. Lan Wangji signed before taking a sip of his coffee. Wangji moving at the sound of Wei Wuxian’s voice towards the phone. Though it decided to plop down on top of the papers halfway there making Lan Wangji chuckle.

“I was having a good morning, but now I’m having the best morning now that I’ve been blessed with seeing your face.” Wei Wuxian replied, winking at someone off camera as he adjusted the airpods in his ears. Which meant that either Wen Ning was with him or Jiang Cheng. Considering that he didn’t hear a snappy comeback he guessed that it was Wen Ning.

Shameless. Lan Wangji gestured, feeling the tips of his ears heat up. He knew that the other could see the reddish tinge to his ears by the mischievous little smirk on Wei Wuxian’s face.

“I’ve got a pretty boyfriend so please allow me to gush about him from time to time.” Wei Wuxian teased. Lan Wangji let himself roll his eyes because Wei Wuxian’s time to time was every day. The man had a way with words that always had him enthralled.

“Speaking of time. I know that we are supposed to be meeting for a lunch date today but Reina just finished with my hair and we are on the way to the set. Is it okay if we raincheck for dinner instead?” Wei Wuxian asked.

That’s okay, I have to take these to Shushu. Lan Wangji signed before gesturing to the papers that Wangji was currently warming for him.

“Good! I have the perfect movie for us to watch tonight.” Wei Wuxian giggled while wiggling his eyebrows at him.

I’m sure you do. Lan Wangji laughed making Wei Wuxian’s smile beam.

“Now, don’t cook anything, Lan Zhan! I am going to bring us dinner okay? I’ve got to go now, Lan Zhan. Love you.” Wei Wuxian said after his gaze shifted off screen.

I love you too. Lan Wangji signed, blushing as Wei Wuxian blew him a kiss before ending the call. This time he could feel the heat on his cheeks. It didn’t matter how many times his boyfriend had said i love you to him, it always felt like the first time. His heart starts racing a little and the feeling of happiness in his chest.

He smiled warmly as he shook his head. Lan Wangji picked up Wangji putting the bunny in his lap as he refocused on the paperwork. The stack was thick this time but at least once it was done he could focus on Wei Wuxian coming over for their movie night date.

Continue for the rest

[creek-cryptid-deluxe]

WARNING DRAMA AHEAD

(Which is crazy because I try to actively have a drama free lifestyle)

So, awhile back I wrote about some issues in a friend group containing A & Em. Summary: I chatted with Em about A unintentionally making me feel shitty for FINALLY accepting my limitations & making lifestyle & wardrobe changes to reflect that. Em said she'd talk to A because if I did it, A might feel attacked & get defensive.

Day before yesterday, Em dropped by to hang, help me put together a shoerack, and go to a local costume shop that does rentals and serves all the theater departments & dance companies in a 70 mile radius. This shop is amazing, been around since I was little, almost everything is hand made with amazing care and detail, and the decor in their shop is ever changing, detailed, and super fucking cool. ANYWAY, we got on the subject of A, whom I've only seen once or twice since talking to Em about it & seemed ok both times aside from getting legit pissed that I'm better at macrame plant holders than she is. Apparently A currently thinks I dislike her or like her less or something. So I asked Em if I should gently talk to her about it and see if we can reach an understanding. She said she thought it was a good idea h really, I don't like one of my friends thinking I dislike them. So yesterday I pulled together some courage and messaged her. The following is the conversation that occured:

Me: So, I've heard that you are upset and under the impression that I don't like you anymore or like you less or something. So I'm gonna clear the air, but I'm gonna be blunt and honest with you because I'm not down for lying. K? (And let me go ahead and flat out say, I don't dislike you or like you any less)

A:I've just been feeling some reservations toward me lately. Go ahead I can take blunt.

(Spoiler: she cannot take even sugarcoated gentle level blunt)

ME: So here is the deal. My illness is eternal and is only ever going to get worse. In fact, it is constantly getting worse in small, large, and sometimes interesting & unexpected ways. Sometimes it creeps on slowly, sometimes it hits like an anvil was dropped on me. Therefore I am constantly having to adjust my lifestyle, activities, wardrobe... EVERYTHING. Very recently, I realized that I have spent the last 3 years trying to live my old life and just cope so my quality of life has been SHIT. I've finally truly accepted the shithole that is my health for what it is and have started to truly make real adjustments to my lifestyle, hobbies, wardrobe, ect. Because I will never get better and live in about 400 sq ft (at best) that means when I realize something doesn't fit my abilities or needs anymore, I get rid of it. However, I always offer those things to the kids & my friends first before donating them. But here's the thing, when I offer these things to you, I get a load of questions & comments that end up making me feel like I have failed as a person for realizing what has taken me 3 years to realize. For example: when I told you that Julia's candles were my last batch ever, there were loads of 'have you tried...' and 'I'm sure you can find a way.' I know you mean well, but if I'm giving something up, I've truly tried ever avenue to make it work within my limits and it just doesn't. Even after I quit candles in May, I kept the stuff (which took up massive space) until August because I doubted myself and was reluctant to lose another hobby. But I need to face facts and be realistic. Same with the sweater. I am drastically altering my wardrobe for whatever the upcoming season is to fit the fact that I need my cane at all times now (POCKETS) and the fact that my clothes need to be comfy enough for me to get dressed every day not just days I'm leaving the house. I've lived in PJs for the last year and a half and it's not good for my mental health. So all things that don't fit that criteria or my new altered lifestyle must go. And it's going to be a constant process because I'm constantly getting worse. The jewelry making stuff, I genuinely forgot you wanted it because honestly i don't even remember what happened yesterday, so I'm sorry. (I had jewelry making supplies that I can't use anymore due to -15 hand strength, which I gave to Em.)

A: I'm sorry that I've been putting you down and making you feel shity. That's never been my intention. If I ask a ton of questions it's not because I don't understand the severity and challenges in your daily life. I ask so many questions because I often find unconventional wacky solutions to peoples problems all the time and if I can be in the slightest bit helpful in finding a loophole or a way you might not have seen, I thought that would be better than just saying "I'm so sorry to hear that" I figured you hear that enough but idk how often you hear people actually trying to find a way. Like the sweater example, I would have been happy to take you shopping for a fun print material the made you some pockets. Outside like a cool patchwork with awesome prints, or inside like a bond detective. But you were so quick to snap at me and explain your whole situation like I am not taking you seriously. I ask because I want to hear your needs and maybe just maybe be able to help out. But if all I do is make you feel like your grandma did then I'll do you a favor and stop inviting myself over to make you feel shitty. I'm glad Emma always knows just what to say.

Now at this point, I stopped replying. I was kind of shocked at her response. Like, I expected her to explain her intentions, despite me making it clear I knew her intentions were good, because that's what people do. I expected us to discuss how things should be moving forward so I don't continue to feel like a failure. I considered maybe mentioning somewhere in there that if I want help or advice or solutions, I'll fucking ask. But I did NOT expect those last couple sentences where she basically stomped her feet and said well since this isn't going how I want, I'm not playing with you guys anymore.

After careful thought, writing & editing over a 5 hr period, I sent this (which are screenshots from my notes because typing is rough, I wanted to convey what I wanted just right, and now you have to click on them to see the full thing. I'm sorry I've failed you, the reader of this normal convo turned melodrama, in such a fashion.):

She responded at like 2 am (when I was asleep) so I saw there was a response when I woke up, but given the history of her behavior in situations like this (conveyed via Em, who has known her MUCH longer) I decided not to open it just yet, as I'd like to relax and enjoy my day. This shit stresses me out. I don't do drama and tantrums. I don't tolerate it from my teenage Spawn, much less fucking adults. I get the feeling that the response is going to be just as melodramatic & tantrum filled. If this is how she handles her intentions not aligning with the result of her actions that were driven by said intentions, then she's in for a real shock when she leaves the cuddlebox of college and enters the real world. Your boss isn't going to care about how good your intentions were when you accidentally burned down the kitchen of the bakery you work in. They will just care that you burned down their fucking business.

Welp, may as well rip off the bandaid. For you, my dear reader, to have closure I will read the response. Back in a sec.

OMG IT WAS SO MUCH MORE DRAMATIC THAN I EXPECTED.

A:I understand. And I told you where I stand. I am the type of friend that instinctually tries to help those she cares deeply about. I'm not the friend to just sit and feel bad when there's something I can do. But I have been feeling for a while now unwanted and you have confirmed it by not saying anything then, just talking about it to my former close friend, and then throwing it in my face that you have been holding on to a box cuz of me. And like the adult i am, I don't see why I should change the type of friend I am just because some one is ungrateful for it. I'll go help someone else leave their abusive boyfriend's in the middle of the night. for the people I care about I'd do anything, anything except sit and do nothing while I'm told how much worse I make things when I try and help. I will just take my good intentions elsewhere. I have had the worst year of my life but I don't remember you asking me once anyway. I wish you the best buy obviously your life is better without me and my negativity in it. I truly am sorry I hurt your feelings and I never ever wanted to. I cherished your friendship more than you'll ever know and you can ask anyone. But because I can't see myself sitting by biting my tongue around you and waking on eggshells because I clearly can't see the bounty between helpful conversion and being a cunt. Since I respect you so much I'll go ahead and remove that stupid cunt from your life so you won't be put down again.

HOOOLY SHIT. I'm not responding to that giant fucking dramatic pity party. She legit needs to grow the fuck up. Good god.

[lilithspsyche]

So it's been a while because health things

But! I wanted to share a new thing I worked on!

So maybe this isn't an original idea idk but it's something I hadn't seen and spent a lot of time on the last few days.

Context: my players really love a good story (go figure) but they want more than just the plot, the action, adventure, battle, they also love the small details. The more domestic things we generally think of happening more behind the scenes. One way I had been trying to enhance that kind of experience was through crafting!

I tried coming up with a few different things and even bought a few D&D supplements on the subject but nothing really helped with making crafting skills players are proficient with more flavorful or immersive. They also usually just added more punishment? I try to focus the difficulty on the preparation part of crafting for my players. So gathering the fancy materials for their big projects, creating quests and adventure as part of attaining said resources or secret recipes or whatever. So for me it doesn't make sense when they go to craft to leave it up to a dice roll in the end. Especially if they worked really hard to get some really rare or special items for their craft project.

That's when it really hit me (and maybe it should have sooner) it's a hard game to really adjust when really all you've got is dice. So then you gave to rely on the roleplay but when you have a group of really shy players who want to do the things but need a nudge to do them, how do we get there?

That's when I came to my plan and so far my players seem excited. Basically I decided 1. I'll work on creating interesting and unique ways of getting resources (it helps that with the help of my partner a lot of unique ingredients and resources have been added to this setting in addition to the typical things in D&D) and making those more fun and interactive, as well as giving a boost ESPECIALLY to the less "fun" or "useful" crafters. For example cooking. That's great you're eating. But grand scheme it's not as useful or exciting as say alchemy or poison crafting. So how do we fix that?

I decided to allow my players to get more creative and reward them for it! Chef's can help a poisoner quite a bit by having good recipes for disguising a poison in a drink or food when going after the baddies. This mechanically would be essentially me behind the scenes lowering the DC and giving them a higher chance of their poison not being detected and the target being poisoned!

And honestly the possibilities are pretty endless? There's plenty of things to create with various skills ESPECIALLY when you start combining each other's skills. This helps make those with the more "basic" crafting skills feel a little more useful and engaged with their craft and it also encourages players to brainstorm together and really expand on ideas and creations that maybe they normally wouldn't have done?

Additionally I wanted to make gaining a new crafting skill more interesting and possibly a little easier. So I added classes (as in like educational courses not player classes) basically the time it takes to learn a crafting skill is the same as in the books BUT if players to take a class instead that counts for a weeks worth of training because they're devoting part of a in game days worth of time each week learning from proper professionals who are providing all the materials they need for each lesson, this will of course cost the players a small price for each class but it adds some more flavor and potentially gets them their new skills faster! Also this *is* where rolls come into play. As they're learning and not yet proficient with a skill it makes sense for there to be chances of having imperfections or failing entirely 🤷 (I kinda picture this like when Sims start learning skills but ya know with less fire 😅) but that's okay! They're learning and they'll still get the credit. It doesn't reeeeally punish them or take anything away from them because they didn't get these supplies themselves, it's for a class, they still let credit. Nothing is lost but they still feel that sense of struggle and growth as they get better. And the dice rolls will get easier as they get farther into their lessons once again creating that feeling of growing through the classes.

Anyways I'm really excited about this plan as are my players.