#but also this one is just fun and creative and maybe it'll help get the creative juices flowing more

[geminijade]

What Are We?

A/N: a fluffy fic with Jake and Y/N. Some parental angst. Mentions of death. Alcohol consumption. Jake being cocky but also boyfriend material. That man is a warning, mmkay. Enter at your own risk. You and only you are responsible for your reading material. Likes, hearts, comments and reblogs are definitely appreciated ❤ happy reading everyone!!!

Requested? No. This idea has been kicking around in my head for a while and it'll probably flop and I'm ok with that but at least I got it out of my head and down onto paper so to speak. Maybe a part two depending on how well this does and if I'm feeling creative 🤔

You moved to San Diego to be closer to your older sister who was stationed at North Island Naval Air Station. It was under less than ideal circumstances, your parents passing away unexpectedly and your sister Nat came back home to help you with the funerals and selling your parents house and packing everything up. She found the both of you a cute little two bedroom bungalow right on the beach. So while your sister got to hang out with hot pilots all day you got to stay at home and unpack and get the house set up. You decided to just get your room in working order and then try to find a restaurant for lunch and drinks.

You're standing in your room, looking at yourself in the full length mirror. You decided on a cute pair of cut off shorts and a tank top paired with a cute pair of beachy flip flops. The salty ocean air is coming through your second floor bedroom window and you put up light purple breezy curtains. You definitely lucked out and got the best bedroom, all by yourself on the second floor and facing the ocean. You loved waking up with the sound of the ocean waves crashing on the beach and the sun filtering through the gauzy curtains.

You put your still wet hair in a loose braid, grabbed your purse and bounced down the stairs. Giving yourself one last look in the mirror you grabbed your keys and locked the door. You decided to go to The Hard Deck for two simple reasons: your sister said that it was the go to place to see and be seen and it was in walking distance if you decided to have a drink with lunch today. You stepped outside and slid your oversized glasses off your head and onto your nose and took off in the direction of the bar. You made it in about 15 minutes and let yourself into the cool, dark interior of the mostly empty bar.

Penny was behind the bar washing some glasses and Amelia was sitting on the opposite side, notebooks and textbooks spread all over the top of the bar. They both looked up at you as the bell above the door signaled your arrival. They smiled at you and Amelia jumped up and ran to give you a hug. "Y/N! I missed you so much!! I want to come over and help you set up the new place."

You look over at Penny and she shrugs and nods. "I had an idea but you might want to run it past Phoenix first." You slung your arm around Amelia and steered her back towards the bar and sat next to her. "What's your idea, Pen?" She finished what she was doing and made her way towards you. "I thought that we could get the squadron to pitch in and help you out, if you want. "

You mulled it over and at your look of uncertainty Amelia interjected. "Maverick would totally want to pitch in and the others will fall in." At your questioning look Penny filled in the blanks. "Rooster, Hangman, Bob, Fanboy, Payback, Coyote and obviously Phoenix. We'll make it a whole day! It'll be so much fun!!" Amelia clapped with excitement and you couldn't help but smile because of their enthusiasm.

You placed an order for southwestern grilled chicken wrap and a strawberry mojito and sat back down next to Amelia and you two started talking about what you wanted to do while you're here. You didn't consider this place to be home but maybe it could be. You liked the idea of putting roots down and staying in one place for the foreseeable future. Amelia was rambling on about all of the fun things that you could do this summer and you were honestly only half listening to her when the bell above the door signaled the arrival of your sister leading the way with a bunch of ridiculously tall, hot and insanely in shape men. Maverick made his way to the bar and dropped a kiss on Amelia's forehead.

"Hey Pete," you stood up and made your way to where he was standing and he pulled you into a hug. "Hey kiddo, how are you holding up?" You mumbled into his shoulder "I'm ok." You could feel him nod his head and he let you end the hug and watched him greet Penny with a kiss. Amelia rolled her eyes and started making gagging noises but you thought that it was really sweet. You got lost in thought about your last relationship and how long it's been when you heard your sister say "let me introduce you."

You looked up in time to see your sister making her way through the growing crowd and you stood up to meet her half way with a hug. You'd be lost without her and she knows it. Looking over her shoulder you see a group of guys hovering on the outside of the bar. Phoenix follows your gaze and says "this is my backseater Bob," you smile politely and shake the shy man's hand. He's adorable in his glasses and you tell him as much.

A shy smile creeps over his features and you thank him for always having Nat's back. "Always," he said just loud enough for you and Nat to hear him. "I like him," you whispered to Nat. "He's definitely a keeper," she said to you as she bumped shoulders with Bob. She introduced you to the rest of the squadron: Rooster was rocking the deadly combo of 80s pornstache and hawaiian shirt but oddly enough it worked for him and you let him know that.

"Hey Hawaii 5-0, you wanna buy me a drink?" You shouted at Rooster across the bar and he gave you an incredulous look and ambled over to you. "I got you, what you want sweetheart?" You looked up at him and stood on your tiptoes to whisper in his ear. He gave you a cheeky grin and told Penny what you wanted. Penny looked at you and arched her eyebrow and gave you a knowing look. Nat introduced you to the rest of the squad: Fanboy and Payback were too cute for words and Coyote was flying solo.

Phoenix was chatting with Bob and some civilians while you're talking with Rooster and the guys Penny calls out " one screaming orgasm cocktail for Y/N!" You can feel all the eyes on you as a blush crawled up your neck and you heard a texas drawl behind you "someone called my name?" You turned around and almost bumped into the most gorgeous man that you ever saw. Over six feet tall, sandy blond hair and the greenest eyes that you just wanted to get lost in. "Cat got your tongue?" The blond man asked as he winked at you and handed you your drink.

Your fingers briefly touched and the alcohol was giving you liquid courage you took the drink and downed it a few gulps. You glanced over at your sister who was preoccupied with the hottie who was laying it on thick and you suddenly felt flustered and needed some fresh air. He must have sensed that you needed to get out of here because you watched him pay for your drink and let Phoenix know that you'd be with him. You watched as he walked towards you and said " let's get out of here, yeah?" You placed your hand on his chest "whoa cowboy, I don't even know your name. " He grinned down at you and you noticed his dimples for the first time.

"Name's Jake, Sweetheart. What's your name?" You stuck out your hand and introduced yourself. "Y/N Trace." Jake gently took your hand in his and brought it to his lips. "It's nice to meet you, " you said. "The pleasure is all mine, Y/N." You took a page from Jake's book and winked at him. "Not yet but it will be. "

Penny must have noticed the smoldering stare between the two of you. "Get a room you two!!" Your face started to feel warm and Jake pointed to the sign above the bar. Penny looked over her shoulder at the sign and back to you and Jake. "Rules are rules, Pen." With all eyes on Penny, Jake placed his hand on your lower back and led you to the patio where the sun was just starting to set.

You couldn't help but be mesmerized by the different beautiful colors in the sky. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" You asked Jake and you turned to look at him to see if he was watching the sunset but he was watching you. "Definitely stunning. " He noticed you visibly gulp because his eyes were glued to you. "Are we talking about the same thing?"

Jake gave you a shy smile and sheepishly shrugged his shoulders. "I think that what's in front of me is pretty damn beautiful." You felt yourself shiver in the growing darkness but you honestly didn't know if it was because of the cold weather seeping in from the ocean or from Jake's flirty words. Jake noticed you shiver and slipped his black bomber jacket around your shoulders. "You're a charmer, Jake Seresin. "

"Can I take you home, please?" He offered you his arm and you slipped into his jacket and caught the smell of his cologne mixed in with the salty ocean air. You stepped closer to him and linked arms as you took off in the direction of your house. You walked in comfortable silence for a bit, you just wanted to remember this moment. As you turned onto your block and your house came into view you started fumbling with your purse trying to get your keys out. "Here, let me."

Jake whispered quietly as he gently took your purse from you and found your keys and the one labeled home. "Thank you, " you mumbled into his shoulder and he guided you up the stairs and you winced at the motion actived light as Jake unlocked your front door and helped you inside, he held you steady as you slipped off your sandals. He closed the door and locked it behind you. He watched you on unsteady feet as you tried to get upstairs. He was worried that you were going to fall or hurt yourself so he came up behind you and picked you up like you weighed next to nothing.

Your head lolled against his chest and he walked down to the last door on the right and toed it open. He sat you down gently at the foot of your bed and pulled down the covers for you. You smiled up at him lazily and he looked around your room. He walked over to your dresser and opened the top drawer and got a quick glimpse into your panty drawer and slammed it shut. You laughed at the expression on his face and said that your pajamas were in the third drawer, he pulled it open and handed you a pair of booty shorts and a tank top.

You took the clothing from him and went into your closet to change. Jake walked down the hall to the bathroom that he passed on the way and got you a glass of water and some headache medicine. He came back to find you snuggled up under your comforter. You smiled at each other and you made grabby motions for him and he sat down next to you and interlocked your fingers. "Do you want to stay?" Jake leaned over and kissed your forehead.

"As tempting as your offer is I really don't want to deal with your pissed off sister. " You chuckled into your blanket and he stood up and you whined as he let go of your hand. "I don't want this day to end, " you muttered as you fell asleep to Jake whispering "we'll make another one just like it tomorrow. " He quietly made his way out of your room, leaving your door slighty ajar. He was letting himself out of your house as Phoenix was coming up the walkway with her shoes in hand.

The silence was extremely awkward as they passed each other with a nod of acknowledgement. Phoenix turned around to see Jake's back as he walked back towards The Hard Deck where he left his car. "Hurt her and I'll end you, Seresin. Y/N took the passing of our parents really hard and she's vulnerable right now." Jake turned to look at Phoenix and gave her a salute as he turned back around and continued on his way.

The night breeze carried back his words "wouldn't dream of it, boss." Phoenix barely heard his words and it brought a smile to her face. It's all that she wanted for you, for you to be happy and if being with Jake made you happy that's all that matters. Phoenix shut and locked the door and quietly crept into your room. She saw that Jake had helped you change into pajamas and left out water and pain relivers for you.

It helped to put Phoenix at ease about Jake's intentions towards you. She looked down lovingly at you and brushed the hair off of your forehead. She kissed your forehead and pulled the blankets up and around your shoulders. She hoped that you would fall in love with San Diego and stay with her and if Jake helped her out then she was definitely okay with him sticking around.

~fin~ for now😉

@so-she-reads

[ivesambrose]

𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 💌

July 22 through September 3, 2023, Venus will be Retrograde in the sign of Leo ♌

Here's what you can expect instead of focusing on the generic 'return of exes'. It's highly likely you'll be revisiting some themes related to your childhood, self worth and individuality. Close some chapters with grace so you can start new ones inevitably.

The messages are for your Sidereal Signs (however, if you feel that it's applying to your natal placements more then you are free to consider that) Rising and Moon are mostly considered in your Sidereal, you may check your sun sign as well. 🧡

Aries : There will be a strong focus on your physical health. I sense that if you're not eating well and not putting quality food in your body most of the time and drinking enough water it'll start to show on your face. This can happen because you're too focused on work and travel so you can't really maintain your routine and in turn you find yourself being extra critical of yourself and your appearance. Please avoid doing so. You're doing the best you can do don't add more stress and let it pile up. Even if you're mindful of your eating, drinking and sleep habits at least 5/7 times a week it will help. Learn to go gentle on yourself. Additionally, you might reconnect with old friends you have lost touch with or a community you were once a part of or pick up an incomplete project and finish it.

Taurus : opportunities that come with ease , collaborations, doing something that empowers you. Thing is, you'll be feeling the urge to get a lot done and might push yourself to look for opportunities when the advice is to allow them to come to you, you'll know on your own. You might feel like you're in the spotlight and it can get overwhelming for some of you. But I'm getting you'll be getting recognition for your creativity, make new friends, connect with a lot of people and likey even guide them in some way. There is a prospect of foreign travel too. Your dreams however are gonna be pretty intense and symbolic so pay attention to them.

Gemini : Finding joy in making daily little rituals for yourself, be it a workout regimen, skincare routine, study routine etc you'll be logging them and romanticizing them even. You just want to look after yourself. Some of you want to party and have fun but only with close friends and siblings. You'll be reconnecting with your inner child, watching more culturally diverse movies or shows. You're inherently very curious this time around, you wanna connect with people but it might feel overstimulating almost so you'll focus back on your well being. You may spend money on health, art supplies or travels so keep that in check. You'll also realize that you've barely scratched the surface of your potential and you should give yourself a chance before shutting yourself out.

Cancer : Healing of generational trauma and release of guilt that you've been suppressing. If certain issues resurface it's time to put it down completely. I see most of these are related to your self esteem, self worth and maybe even your childhood to early teens. You'll find it in you to forgive because you simply don't feel the need to carry the weight with you anymore. There might be challenges when it comes to education, higher education, travel, personal or religious beliefs that might come up momentarily. Take this time to look back on how far you've come and the progress you've made. You're always expanding and sometimes growing can be painful but it's worth it in the end. Be sure to appreciate the beauty within and around you a little more, it'll add up till that's your go to thing to focus on.

Leo : You can easily make the best out of this retrograde regardless of whatever you experience. A lot of you can see an increase in finances through creative work or if you're in the entertainment industry. You might consider dropping something rigid for something that let's you stand out individually and is spontaneous in nature or is something you've always wanted to do as a child. It will bring you travels, possible relocation and a lot of success, it is highly likely that a lot of you might consider leaving your current location since it's not allowing you to have fun or is detering your health, speaking of which please take supplements for your bones as heart health, take it easy. You'll learn to shine on your own but also honor the ones who have been rooting for you since day 1 or you'll learn to distinguish between those who've always sought to dim your light and those who have pushed you to do better.

Virgo : You'll discover a lot about yourself, you'll discover new friends, communities, ideas and places. You'll have more faith in the unknown or will feel interested in the occult sciences. You'll want to tap into the unknown and hone your gifts. You'll find that your thoughts, visions and words are manifesting a little too quickly. You might push yourself to be overly active in pursuits of your goals but will find yourself slowing down, you'll have to slow down and let things unfold for you. It might feel like a tiring time physically, random body aches, urge to sleep and dream more, dreams being a little too vivid and premonitive to your liking. Please stay hydrated you may be prone to lightheadedness. The art you make or any work you put out now, whatever it may be, will be very transformative for you and will pave the way ahead. Don't try to force things, be in the knowing of ease. Difficult when you want to micro manage but this retrograde is asking you to be a little more whimsical to enjoy your journey.

Libra : Renewal comes for sure once you become mindful of the ways you self sabotage. You might feel tested since a lot of cycles are clearing out. You will realise a lot of your future planning aren't as what they seem and that you need to be more fluid than rigid and no amount of stubborness or latching on will help, it will only cause health issues and a feeling of existential dread. This can be avoided too. You will also feel the need to change your routine or rather this will happen automatically for your own bebefit. Avoid self pity and escapism. Try and spend time near water bodies (stay safe) or try water painting, yoga, evening walks and for those into ballet or contemporary dancing, let limbs stretch and go with the flow. It's okay for some structures to break so that something better can be made. It's okay to let go when time comes.

Scorpio : In the past if you've felt that you have missed out on a substantial opportunity that could have grown into something significant or you've almost received something only for it to be taken away to the point you have felt betrayed by it, this time around you're going to manifest something even bigger for yourself, it won't feel like scarps. You might have conflicts internally or with others but it will get solved. I see you wanting more harmony in your life and the connections which matter to you and you'll have it. Be less self critical of yourself in your pursuit of perfection be it in your work, health, routine or the you're of service to others. Avoid any heavy or big financial investments, let the money come to you first the bigger investments can wait. The more you enjoy the mundane things the easier life will flow. The quicker your desires will come to you.

Sagittarius : You haven't been nurturing yourself enough, so even if this means cooking yourself a hearty meal or treating yourself to one, please do so. Eat well and let yourself feel your feelings, it's okay. You might realize you have been looking out for others so much that you feel neglected. Open up to receiving the tenderness, time, compassion and love you deserve as well. Some of you might be concerned with the health of a mother figure in your life, it will be alright. I see likely more alternate type of treatments might be a little more beneficial (ayurvedic or homeopathic for eg.) You may feel nostalgic or a yearning for family or home. Emotionally, I sense you're guarded and don't want to let anyone in, take your time to heal and appreciate you for yourself and how far you've come, with that being said let yourself be appreciated too.

Capricorn : Allow endings to empower you. They have a beauty to it. Once you accept it you'll see the path ahead clearly if not, it will become overwhelming. You'll feel a calling to take a risk and might be something you've clearly never experienced and aren't used to but you feel beaconed to it. There will be fall out with people or people in authority, things might feel distruptive, don't make your mind your enemy. You will encounter someone very unlikely who will aid in your journey, meeting them will be very transformative, like they have the answers you've been seeking. You'll feel more spiritually inclined and open to learning, seeking, exploring especially esotericism, cultures and languages. You'll find your silver lining, it will be brighter than you expected.

Aquarius : Taking on the role of a leader in your life and not everyone or anyone else's. Change of perception and a genuine desire to seek something more sacred. You'll be healing wounds and patterns from your past relationships. You may want to become self sufficient and self reliant and find this empowering. If you've been suffering from any skin ailments it might aggravate only to remind you look after your hygiene, stay clean and look for any ingredient that maybe causing further issues. Once addressed, it will no longer be much of an issue. You may want to detach from social media and travel short distances instead. Relationship with siblings will also improve, spend time with them aswell if you've been neglecting them.

Pisces : Trusting your intuition more. Gaining wisdom and insight from unexpected places and unsual people. You can often sense what other's cannot, so if you feel you should read between the lines and look for synchronicities, you should listen to what your inner voice is saying. It's also very important for you to learn how to have proper boundaries with people, it's genuinely hampering your energy and well being especially if you're in public places a lot. Be mindful of people, not everyone has their best interests towards you. You will take up something you'll feel like a complete beginner at but if you stay disciplined you'll excel in it. Romance yourself and your life first and foremost, write, draw, scuplt, edit, cook, weave, scuplt etc if you must. For you, I wanna say practice makes perfect. You already know this, so trust me it's okay if you're not automatically good at something. Convey what your heart seeks, your sincerity will be rewarded

╚══ ≪ °❈° ≫ ══╝♡╚══ ≪ °❈° ≫ ══╝

To book a personal reading with me you can DM or email me with your query at Ivesambrose@gmail.com

Personal Readings

Masterpost

Thank you for the tip 🌹

[drippingdenialslut]

Do you have any tips on how to make an online dynamics work, without both getting bored? I think this is hard especially in the beginning.

it's really hard, yeah! but it's also worth it in my opinion. again, communication is the most important thing. since you're not physically together it's hard to sense how someone is doing, so if you're unhappy, don't keep it to yourself. talk to them, find solutions, make compromises, just be honest with each other.

some ideas of games you can play to get to know each other:

(nsfw) would you rather

two truths, one lie

never have i ever

rate kinks

tests or quizzes (for example the bdsm test, your hogwarts house test, which type of onion are you - can be very fun haha)

more vanilla: board games online, mobile games for two players, etc

as for the kinky part, that's highly variable, depending on what you two are actually into.

giving tasks is always nice - especially if there's a time difference or one of you is unavailable at the moment. talk about the task(s) afterwards - how did you do it, did you like it, how did it make you feel? that way the dom feels included and you both can decide if that's something you wanna do more often or not.

get creative. that's maybe one of the hardest parts, but the internet helps! there's lots of ideas for games to try. you can use dices, spinning a wheel, card decks, online random number generators, stuff like that. both participate in the rules of the games and again, make sure to talk about it!

share fantasies. it can start with “what would you do to me if i was with you right now”, or “imagine this scenario, what would you do?”. it can be very fun just to imagine a scene and you'll learn a lot about each other. plus, it will get you very horny.

blogging! it doesn't need to be public if you don't want that, but keep some kind of journal where you can describe your scenes.

there's very little limits on what you can do even if you're alone. there's tutorials on self-bondage for example. your dom can give you a number of spanks to complete or a length of time where you're supposed to wear nipple clamps. they can give you punishments or rewards online as well.

share pics or video call. of course, do that only when you fully trust each other and feel comfortable. but if you do, this can be very fun.

online play can be frustrating and boring, yes. but if you communicate enough, even if it's just checking in on each other, it can work out. honestly share your feelings and worries with them (and let them do the same of course) and it'll turn out fine.

if you're looking for task ideas for any specific kink, let me know!

[ihopesocomic]

I'm so sorry if it's too long but I just did a reread and decided to take a look at the designs on Toyhouse and it reminded me how much I love IHS.

I love all the designs of your characters, they are so deliberate. Take the Golden Grove family for example. Their fur colours perfectly match the name of this pride - all characters from this place are golden/have fur that's a certain shade of gold. Just by looking at them you can tell that they're related. But that's not everything.

I looked at the designs of three sisters and their parents and I noticed how some of the traits of their parents can be found in their daughters. Vicious is almost a copy of her mother Watchful, while Clever looks so much like her father Wild. They all have respectively a similar coIours and face shapes. In all of that Careful, the middle child here, is a perfect combination of her parents - she has her father's muzzle shape and eyes shape but her colour palette is more like her mother's. All marks are placed with so much thought that they help to recognise a character. The funny thing about the similarities with parents is that you probably created sisters first and then their parents - so you actually had to take a look at the sisters and then create their parents. While making sure everything made sense.

I tried to find similarities with Hope, Adamant and Quiet but I find it a bit harder, maybe cause they're still young. But older Hope definitely reminds me of Clever and Careful, rather than Vicious. Maybe it's the fur on her cheeks. I noticed that Adamant has the same fur colour as her grandfather, Jasper the First and I find it cute. And of course, how could I not mention Breccia and her freckles that she gave to all of her grandchildren. I love them <3

What I mean to say is that I adore how much thought and effort you put into your story. Every time I reread I find something new to adore. I love the plot and world, but I really like how you also put effort into your designs. You manage to make all characters stand out and be easy to recognise but you also find a way to make sure that audience can tell who is related to who. Thank you so much <3

And tbh I really like the new schedule with a page for week.

Well first of all, I do love a good wall of text, so don't apologize haha

Second, I'm glad you like the new schedule. It's actually activated the speculation part of the fandom, which we also love LOL

Third, THIS MAKES ME HAPPY! I love when people go back and notice the details we included. I did work backwards from the sisters to the parents, just because we had no intention on showing the grandparents, but people asked and I thought they'd be fun to design too. And they were! (This is to go with a previous ask, but this is also part of why we did away with color-coding, just cuz Wildfire looked great as a blonde, but maybe he's from somewhere sandy, who knows.) And it was interesting distributing all the different characteristics of them. Still not satisfied with Careful, I wish I'd thought on her a biiiiiiiit longer. I just didn't think anyone would care about her LOL

Hope will look more like Clever when she gets older, so once I can properly elongate her face, it'll be more obvious. I'm slowwwwwly gonna show them aging, Storm's hair will get longer, Adamant will be more buff, stuff like that. Right now (and people will see this on next week's page) Hope actually looks pretty similar to Careful. Careful just has to pull some more... Hopelike faces first for it to be obvious haha

Overall I'm happy with the designs and it brings me much joy to have people analyze them. Character concept is one of my favorite things to do, and I like being creative while being limited at the same time. Lions are a good way to practice that. So thank you again! - Cat

[kraaico]

Where/how do you get the ideas to make these super cute art? I love art but I basically copy others and I wanna have my own style.

What a nice question!! I could honestly write a book about this, but for now I'll keep it condensed. (maybe uhhhh a blog post later or smthn) ....Sorry it's long anyway lol

These are my thoughts as an independent illustrator/artist that has the time and freedom to create what I wish, keep that in mind. I can't vouch for what it takes to get through art school or build a portfolio for <specific thing X> cause I don't know shit about that, this is just for creating art that you love making.

✨️Developing a style ✨️

A lot of people talk about 'finding your style', but I'm personally an advocate of developing a style - and most importantly it being a process that never stops. Now I don't know how old/experienced you are, but especially when you are just getting into art (and with 'just' I mean years) it'll change a lot because you will be improving a lot!

Now for me personally, I've been busy ~finding a style~ since I was 10. And up to like 2 years ago (I'm now 28) I was frustrated I just wasn't able to find one. Every half year or so I'd try to get back into art "for real this time", stick to one medium and general style and/or subject, and within a matter of weeks become frustrated and then not draw for a good while. That style-mentality really took a toll on the fun I had in making art, but also stunted my own artistic development. I was restricting myself at a stage where I should be everything BUT. I told myself I wasn't good enough, not cut out to be a professional, wouldn't be able to sell myself if I couldn't stick to one thing, yada yada. Great mentality. I'm now in therapy!

Anyway, what broke me free of that was a promise I made to myself back in 2020. I told myself I would get back into making art, but this time, just do what feels fun *at any given moment*. Let go of the pressure. I didn't post to socials and just shared with my friends, and eventually started posting to my then very humble Twitter following. I liked Twitter, cause there wasn't the pressure that Instagram always gave me of having to have a perfect feed. So I drew digitally, I drew with pencils, did some painting, got oil pastels, tried collage. And those experiments all influenced one or another. That's been key for me. If I feel like I hit a creative wall, I just try another medium or another CSP brush or another app on my tablet. Just experiment with lines and colors and not worry about what ends up there. (it's usually cats) Creating like this kept the fun in it for me and I've created nearly every single day since then, and that too is key to style development: Create A LOT. Don't hyperfocus on one perfect piece when you can also create 4 good-enough pieces in the same time.

Now on the topic of copying: it's a natural thing to do. Just be responsible about it! (don't share on socials if you blatantly copy something. While it's a good method to learn certain techniques, it's something that should stay in your private sketchbook) Also be sure to study from many different places, don't fixate on just a couple of artists! Find what inspires you in real life: be it buildings or nature or animals or people or objects, and try to capture them in different ways: from realistic to just the basic shapes. You'll find out what kind of style and level of detail you're naturally drawn to soon enough. Creating your own visual library in your mind by drawing many different things is ultimately what will allow you to put your ideas to paper in a quick and intuitive way. Having a (cheap!) sketchbook that you don't show anyone but just goof around in and explore everything and anything is a very helpful tool.

✨️ Generating ideas ✨️

I get my ideas from SO many different places. Many of my cat paintings were actually created to deal with a strong emotion or feeling I was having at the time.

Now externally, I get a lot of inspiration from nature and from the place I live in. I used to live in a fairly urbanized area, but it wasn't until I moved to the country side with wide and far views that I saw daily that I started getting interested in drawing landscapes. I didn't draw a lot of cats until they were chilling in my garden everyday. When I lived at home I drew a lot of fish, cause my dad had an aquarium. What you see and observe everyday matters. Taking your camera or phone on a walk in the neighborhood and capturing small details is a great way to gather inspiration, even if the area is a bit boring. I have a Fujifilm X100F that I try to carry to most places I go, cause I can quickly photograph things and I like it better than phone photography.

I also draw a lot of ideas from the media I consume: shows, movies, games, comics, music... Sometimes it just hits that inspiration button and lights a lil flame that'll turn into an idea. I love the magical worlds Studio Ghibli creates for example and the soothing calmness that games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley have. Things like that just work their way into my art, often subconsiously.

I also draw what I yearn for: be it a doodle of a comforting hot bowl of soup when I crave it, or a beach scene cause I want to go for a beach walk. It's fun, and lets me daydream a little about things I maybe cannot have in that moment.

Another big thing is worldbuilding and storytelling: I have this fictional world in my mind that I desperately want to get out, and it will, piece by piece.

So yeah. There's many places to grab inspiration from. Writing down what inspired you is useful. Doing it every year or so is too, cause then you'll start to see trends and get a better understanding of what drives you. Cause in the end that's what's most important, I think: Find the things that ignite a flame in you and then let it out in a way that is fun and comforting to you. Don't worry about what other people are making or that you're not making what you 'should' make!

I hope this was somewhat helpful - it was fun to write at least, I have many thoughts about this :')

[alexhornefan]

Taskmaster Series 17, Episode 1- A few random thoughts about the episode and the contestants. Spoilers within.

A good first episode and I really enjoyed everyone. Nobody stood out more than any of the others, IMO, I thought they all seemed really good, really fun and a great bunch.

Joanne was a really competant and possibly overlooked (by me, as I don't know most of these people) contestant. I thought based off of her interview with Alex that she was going to be a disaster, but she was nowhere near as bad as I thought she might be. Although it's still early days and sometimes we get those episodes where they just start to dive.

John had a real Ed Gamble vibe for me. Wants to win in that competitive way. I can see him losing his shit and arguing about points with Greg but he was fairly really strong in this first episode as well as Joanne and Steve. I also think people expect him to do well so it'll be interesting to see if he maintains that high level or if he starts to get in his own way.

Nick I thought was really fun. I wondered if he'd do any character stuff considering he was dressed as Dracula but insane costume aside, he was just really fun, had a great vibe not taking anything too seriously and just going for it. I think he's going to be great fun and someone who isn't going to take points and winning seriously.

Sophie was absolute chaos in this first episode but in the best way and I think it's maybe not how she'll be all series, she maybe just had a couple of stinkers in this one, sadly. She was also great, I laughed so much at her in the river although I felt bad but it was also classic TM. I don't think she's someone I'd even think as a contender to win but she's going to be amazing.

Steve is someone who is going to be the one to beat. I think he has the respect of Greg, which always helps, so Greg could favour him if it's on Greg to decide. He's also very sharp in how TM works and to look out for certain things, like the tie at the end of the episode. He's clearly creative as well so a big threat to John and Joanne. Oh, and the puns from Steve are great. Clearly it's something Alex is going to love and it will grate on Greg throughout.

Seems I've already written-off Nick and Sophie but I hope they have an episode win or two along the way.

I think any of these three could be winners at this point but I'd say most likely John or Steve.

As for the episode itself, I thought it was a good selection of tasks.

The prize task was okay. It's probably my least favourite part of the show, if I had to pick something, but it's not awful. I thought Steve earned the 5 points though. The first task with the egg I enjoyed mostly but I thought the editing of John's was a little naff and with everyone else DQ'd except Joanne, it still wasn't worthy of 5 points. I didn't even think the task came across dangerous to the egg either. I thought the danger to the egg was more pronounced in Joanne's task personally, but it's not a decision that annoys me.

The team task was a little bit overly complicated I think. The whole list of where the pictures are going to be with the two-word limit made it a bit too hard, I think. But the task itself was kept short and the reveals were fun. The teams also seem pretty good.

Last recorded task with Gary was also good. Fairly simple premise and I loved the waders being on the scarecrow that everyone looked at. I had no idea, lol!

I thought the studio task was fun and they all did great in that task as well.

[juuls]

Humans Are Weird Compilation

HEY FOLKS! I finally did it! (Yes, with permission.)

So until Tumblr made changes to their browser interface, I was having a heck of a lot of trouble with how to get all 100,000+ words of this thread into a cohesive whole, at least easily. For once, Tumblr staff pulled through with an 'upgrade' that actually helped, though there is one issue that cropped up.

While the Notes section is from oldest to newest (I placed this section at the top), the next section of 'comment only' reblogs has no such filter for ascending or descending order.

So yeah, all the fun reblog stuff and additions have to be read from the bottom of the document and up, bottom to top.

Since Google Docs decided there were way too many words to function properly, I'll be hosting a Word Document file in my Google Drive, which I'll link to (you can view it even if you don't have Word). I will be editing out extraneous comments that literally have nothing to add (i.e. "I FOUND IT!") and then maybe eventually I'll start another document where I paste everything by hand in the proper old to new order. And try to add in new comments when I can. (This will take forever, honestly.)

This is a b*tch of a project, honestly, so I'm happy enough with how it turned out, even if it's not perfect. It isn't in the same format like you would read one of this thread's reblog chain, but I feel like the gist is there, and really there are just so many reblog chains it's insane.

I'll make a new, separate post stating this same thing, as well as reblog onto one of the thread's chains, and I hope you enjoy this and all the wonderful creativity of all involved. This has become a favourite reading topic of mine. <3

So for now, current to July 4th, 2022, here is the link to the ridiculously huge document I spent like 12 hours on, and it's still not perfect. It's on Google Drive but it's a very large file and Drive doesn't react well to large files -- I will work on separating things into different files to help with that.)

Humans Are Weird: A Compilation by @arcticfoxbear & The Cool People of Tumblr, patched together by @juuls

I'm also including a direct link to the (again, for now, single -- I'm getting on that ASAP) document on my Dropbox, as well as a link to the folder it's in because I like to compile some of r/HFY (Humanity F*ck Yeah)'s stories into easily readable format. I add those every so often.

Humans Are Weird (.docx version) on Dropbox. (It'll possibly say 'something went wrong' but if you go up to the top and open it in 'Word For Web' it worked pretty easily for me.)

Humans Are Weird .doc version.

r/HFY folder on Dropbox.

Humans Are Weird .pdf version. I've been told this is the quickest, easiest version to open, thank you!

Do enjoy!!!! And consider reblogging (with or without additions!) the original post found here: HUMANS ARE WEIRD. Because it's awesome.

Oh and here's a link to my Mediafire hosting of the .docx file while we're at it! Just in case. As well as the .pdf version of the file.

>~<

Again! I will be dividing this into smaller sections, as well as trying to put things in oldest to newest order. Be patient, please, but hopefully some of these options work for you! If not I can try emailing you a copy. :)

[spockandawe]

Okay! I'm rapidly reaching the point of needing some creative self-care, or I'm going to crash even more viciously than I'm already starting to. Bad things: work is about to be SO fucking intense for the rest of the month, and while my home is unpacked, it is Comically unorganized. Good things: being unable to walk to work leaves me with more free time and less exhaustion per day, and I've recently refreshed myself on what supplies i have. I also am all set to start figuring out how to paint a house as soon as I can test my samples and clear a room. This will scratch the novelty itch, so i can be responsible and avoid buying new things. But i also can't lose focus on the organizing or I'll Adjust and never finish 😂

Let me see

Crochet in general: crochet is what I've been patching the mounting anxiety with, and i DO want to use up yarn, but it's hard on my wrist already, I can't afford to get too deep.

Baby blanket: almost done, could probably finish tomorrow in meetings, but because it was pretty bland, it won't be that fulfilling

Big Boi blanket: god, it's been years, I want to finish, but i WILL need to buy some yarn

Rocky horror lips: tedious single crochet, fun concept, but need to avoid wrist fuckery

Cross-stitch starscream: yes! I want to do this!! But this will be the opposite of quick gratification

Art........?: ALSO YES, goddammit, i want to figure out the stupid tablet! But good LORD, it's hard to decide what to do. And I'm in one of those phases where I'm not FAST, and I'm not vibing with what i make. The solution is just to draw more often, i know. But fuck.

Hc/mq: had a conceptual breakthrough, maybe? But i still don't know how it will proceed, so idk whether to commit the energy

Bwx/xl: this is half done already, AND outlined, I don't know why I can't do it. If i make myself, maybe i can find my groove

Lqg fic: it'll be long and intimidating 😭

Bingge lite: it's been 84 years...... But i really really really really love it and want to be able to share it. But the scope will be Horrendous, it may need percolation and warmer weather

Raksura core: i, uh, um 🫥 (i want to finish it! I really do! I can't focus worth SHIT)

Quilting: that would be good! Use up stuff! I want to be better! But god, the PREP WORK

Addendum: can i think of a fandom quilt i could pull off? Even if it was. Idk. Bingqiu colors. That might help me focus. But i also need to use up my stash :T

Long furby: would be good. I've had the materials for-fucking-ever

Pyrography: ooh, maybe. Especially if I can find art i dont have to compose. But if i set off the smoke alarm while it's this gross outside ill Die

BOOKS: heavy lifts and decision paralysis all around. Could be star wars (long, not for me, have to match existing volume), cnovel (several wips, but each is so much work to format, good god), ofic (not for me, also have to revamp formatting), ilcbt latest edition (needs the luxury treatment, which requires brain), pof latest edition (needs the luxury treatment, which requires brain), and all of the most appealing projects need a lot of materials, and I'm still in debt, lmao

Peerless fic: I've had the concept locked down for years, but i need to refresh on more of their late-stage characterization before feeling confident

Fourteenth year of chenghua fic: i also have the concept locked down! But i want to see the final evolution of wang zhi's relationship to the other two first

2ha fic: I ALSO HAVE THE CONCEPT LOCKED DOWN. but i still haven't...... finisheddddddddd, and this is going to need to be a fairly lengthy fic to wrangle xue meng in a believable way

[abandonhopegame]

Devlog #2: Game Logo and More Updates

A lot has happened since the last time I updated and since it'll be a while before my clothes in the dry are finished, now is a good time for a recap.

Official Logo for Abandon Hope

In an effort to get me to take this seriously, I had a logo made for Abandon Hope. I posted it to the blog already, but thanks to the efforts of graphic design  Didik Wahyudi, the game has an official logo.

I wanted a plain text logo to inform interested players that this is a dark game, since a lot of my inspirations come from horror anime and manga (Occultic;Nine, Another, maybe even a little bit of King's Game, anything by Junji Ito), Call of Cthulu, and the video game World of Horror. I offered a few suggestions and thankfully the designer delivered (I say thankfully because I could be better and finding references!).

This will be the logo used for the game going forward.

Game Development Update

The Game Manual draft for Abandon Hope is currently over 10K words. According to the draft, I started working on it September 10th, and the 10k milestone happened yesterday. So, I've been busy!

Without getting into too much detail, here is what has been worked on so far:

Character classes have been determined, including starting equipment, special abilities, and relationships with the other club members

Titles have been determined. The GM is the "Club Advisor", and the players "Club Members". That's all I'll say.

Game System has been selected - the Four Paths Game System by TTRPG Designer Penflower Ink.

A general idea of combat actions have been determined.

Initial Traits and Status Conditions have been created

Before moving on the GM section of the book, I think I'm going to write a few short story anecdotes for the book. I'm still trying to figure it out, but that's where I am at.

How I'm Feeling About the Process

Designing can be a very fun but very solitary process. In my case, it's also a nerve-wrecking one while I have played TTRPGs before, designing one is a whole 'nother experience. Still, I am in good company. Many of my friends play TTRPGs and some are even DMs, so being able to chat with them about my ideas has been so helpful. They have been so supportive, rooting for me, so I'm glad they are in my corner.

And Finally, When Will You be Releasing This Game?

I'm sure a release is in the cards, but I'm in no hurry to do so. If someone were to corner me and demand an answer, I'd probably say "sometime next year". But to be honest, I'm just enjoying the creative process. I just want to have fun creating something I like. And at the end of the day, isn't that all that matters?

That's all from the desk of the Mushroom Witch. See you all again soon with another update!!

[candythepuppy]

Insanely basic tips for writing fights:

So... You wanna throw some characters at other characters and tell them to kill each other, huh? Well, in order to make all that interesting, ya gotta consider these tips first.

1. I've been in martial arts for over six years and animation for just as long. So of course I'm going to suggest you plebs do a little research first. Wanna know how it feels to punch someone? Punch someone. Wanna know how it feels to get punched? Come over to my place.

Even learning simple stuff like rolls, stretches, differing exercises, and the most basic of techniques can help out a ton. At the very least, it'll keep people from making this face at you: ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ

You don't have to go all out like me, but at least learning the fundamentals of physics and how certain injuries will affect the fight can help. Take these fun little tip for example: there's a vein on the neck that, when hit properly, will make you instantly pass out. It only takes eight seconds to choke someone out to the point of fainting as long as you're holding them right..and if you keep it up, then just wait five minutes and they'll be dead. Anywhere in-between can give them serious head injuries they'll likely never recover from. There are a thousand more, but I'll stop there. Trust me. I've learned more about biology from karate than from actual Biology class.

2. I feel like this is also a given, but at the very least, know what your surroundings are. Find ways to implement the setting into the fight creatively.

Example: two people are fighting in the desert and one tosses sand into the other's eyes. Or, two people are fighting in that same desert, but the one currently losing is being shoved into the sand, choked alive by all the granules.

Also please remember that when your characters are in extreme heat or freezing settings, they will fight differently. Maybe it's even the setting itself that is slowly killing the fighters, and the battle is really all about who can last the longest.

At the very least, I'd suggest you do two things in case you have a hard time with this one. (1) gather images of the setting, or at least settings like it. Then, take note of all the elements, obstacles, and even ambiance involved. (2) pick out objects to scatter about the setting that your characters can later pick up and use in the fight. Just make sure they have to do with the setting.

3. The destination of the fight can greatly impact the "vibe."

In the sky: superman level fights, typically very grandiose, larger than life, and impressive (even if written realistically). These are great locations for if/when you're trying to make your character look cool in some way.

On top of buildings/canyons: similarly grand but with more emphasis on stakes. You typically want that sense of uneasiness every time the main character sways or is knocked a little too far away. These scenes are often used around a climax thanks to the perfect level of grandiose tension and realism. It's a great way to get your character on edge and reveal their true feelings, mainly fear.

On the ground, outside: these fights are often much more grounded than most. Often deals with a lot of running/trying out other options beyond fighting. Typically, you're trying to establish what kind of a fighter your character is in these fights + what their morals may be.

On the ground, inside: oddly enough, this is where it gets personal. Mostly because I usually think of someone's home or a grocery store where every action means something. This is typically where the most drama takes place. I'd definitely suggest you lean into the importance of the setting they are fighting in much more than the setting of other fights. (This is also where every word counts.)

Underground: by far one of my personal favorites. The claustrophobia one can draw from these settings is truly something else. The most grounded of any other fight setting. This is where I like to strip the flashy powers and magic from my characters and let them brawl the old fashioned way, getting dirty and going all out. Down here, every punch matters.

There are of course more, but these are the basics!

4. Similar to the first step, please know how the weapons your characters are using work!

5. And of course no fight is complete without (A) build up, (B) understandable reasons for the characters to fight, and (C) clear stakes/what would be lost or gained if either were to lose. Remember, a fight is just an argument acted out. Keeping that in mind will make the whole process so much easier.

Anyways, that's just about it. I could ramble some more, but these are supposed to be the basics!

Anyways, I hope to see you guys again. Thanks for your time. And, seeya!

[mosses-gate-3]

tav challenge - (new tav) Ren edition!! This can be their introduction of sorts

They're a half-drow artificer (except I can't play them as an artificer because bg3 HATES FUN /lh) and they're being haunted by the ghost of the legendary pirate captain Juniper Stormaven. They're very pragmatic and don't tend to be very outwardly emotional, preferring to let the things they create speak for them.

favorite weapon: As soon as they find Dammon I think they commission a special sword enchanted to extend into a whip or retract back (if you've seen the Dragon Prince I took a lot of inspiration from a character in that).

style of combat: Ren is very tactical and likes to plan things out thoroughly before they get into a fight, though they try to avoid violence in favor of diplomacy.

most prized possession: A crumpled letter they've sewn inside the lining of their clothes. It's the only thing they have from their birth mother.

deepest desire: To run their own store or maybe even have a ship with all the things they enchant and to create/sell automatons that are both practical and beautiful. They want to use their creations to help people.

guilty pleasure: They have a huge sweet tooth

best-kept secret: Ren can't read. They're very smart and they've tried and tried to learn, it's just never worked, reading is nearly impossible for them. It's the reason they flunked out of wizard school - they were actually supposed to attend at the same time Gale was, but the academy refused to accommodate them (with magic items that could read papers out loud to them, etc), and so they failed all their classes and had to leave. Juniper and their parents are the only ones that know - they've been able to hide it from the companions because Juniper just reads things out loud over their shoulder.

greatest strength: Their ability to make creative and efficient plans and be objective and unbiased.

fatal flaw: They have a hard time communicating what they want and often bottle things up until they explode.

favorite smell: The ocean, I think they find it comforting after being at sea for so long.

favorite spell or cantrip: I'm not actually sure what kinds of spells artificers have but Magic Missile is always a good one.

pet peeve: People who judge other people's eating habits especially but also those who just generally are up in everyone's business. They definitely value privacy.

bad habit: Any piece of machinery they find ends up dissected, and it's really a gamble as to whether it gets put back together again.

hidden talent: They're very good at drawing people, likenesses and whatnot.

leisure activity: They like to tinker with things and build little automatons in their spare time.

favorite drink: Herbal tea, chamomile or peppermint especially

comfort food: Honey buns :)

favorite person: Their adoptive father, he's the one that taught them how to build and animate things. He's always been very supportive of them. Ren's favorite companion is Gale.

favored display of affection (platonic and/or romantic): Making and buying things for people, especially if it'll improve their life somehow.

fondest childhood memory: One day someone sold their dad (who ran a pawnshop) a broken clock. They took it apart together and he built them a little clockwork bug thing, which Ren then accidentally animated - that's how they found out they had a talent for magic. The bug is still wandering around their father's study, as far as they know.

Is there anything else you'd like to share? (feel free to include art or a screenshot of your Tav if available!): They were a low-ranking officer on an exploratory vessel after they dropped out of wizard school, which is where they unfortunately wound up haunted by Juniper. They have a lot of fondness for ships. Also Ren is short for Reneeginald for backstory reasons

[wawamouse]

2023 AO3 stats/reflections

Hmmm well I took the leap and finally calculated my 2023 stats, and I'm a little shocked at the word count I reached, mostly because I don't remember writing that much. It's certainly a step up from my dazzling (1) 2.5k fic output from 2022 😂

Fandom breakdown

1 狂飙 fic ("Bolt from the Blue" - I think I have my friend who's not even in the fandom to thank for the hit count because most of the fandom is Chinese speaking, I wrote for one of the more minor ships, and I wrote it in English 💀 But my friend tells me they revisit it whenever they need vibe inspo... the highest honor tbh)

6 成化十四年/TSOMD fics, including wrapping up "Like a Magpie", which I hilariously started posting when it was 12/14 chapters finished in 2020... then posted ch.13 in 2021... and then... yeah)

9 Oz fics!

Reflections

Well! Here's to more fic writing in 2024. I have a couple of TSOMD wips I'm hoping to pare down and post as oneshots, but it's not really a huge priority. I'm really proud of how "In the Gloaming" turned out in terms of tone and story and whatnot, and it was super fun to experiment with writing a near-stream of conscious style, although I suppose my readership already sort of dispersed by the time I posted it. I was the most prolific writer for the ship, which was sort of a secondary/rare ship to begin with. I hope that readers revisiting the fandom in the future will find it and like it though. In a similar (?) vein, I'm pleased with how "Surpassing Corridors" turned out, and it absolutely delights me that I wrote a 25k fic for basically no one but myself (rarepair absolutely no one but me is writing for), and yet some people came along and read it anyway. It even has 1 comment, with an emoji combination I shall treasure forever:

Anyway, I've got two Oz wips right now that are both a little on the lengthier side, so as far as posting them goes, it'll probably be a little bit longer for that. There's also a movie I want to rewatch soon to maybe write a quick Oz AU for... And I'm not really an AU fic guy tbh (in terms of writing them). But I guess Oz is such a small fandom and I'm sort of just doing god knows what out here at this point that even AUs seem appealing. Maybe the experimental aspect of the show inspired me to experiment more LOL. I kind of cringe at some of the stuff I've written so far (mainly "Holding Up the Sky" characterisation woes and stupid pacing/plot points.... ugh.... Kill me...) but that's the nature of the beast, I suppose. In any case, I'm glad I played with form and style and stretched my creative muscles;

I've never written a 2nd person POV fic, which I did for "In the Blink of an Eye";

I've never written anything quite as nonlinear as "At Rise", so I'm proud of how that turned out;

and I've always wanted to write an epistolary fic but never really felt a motivation to do so until "In The Matter Of Carmen Guerra, #96G522".

Hopefully I will get more confident in my characterisations and whatnot going forward. There are so many great fic writers for Oz who are able to capture such a voice/style that feels so close to the show and then I feel like there's me, puttering around in the kiddie pool, inexplicably wearing giant clown shoes that squeak with every step. LOL. Oh well! I'll get there.

Misc Other

Not AO3 related, but I have had fun writing up reflections on each episode of Oz during my rewatch with my sister. I've never really just written long form posts like that, outside of pointless rambling in the Livejournal days. It's been a bit of an effort to do, but fun, and it's helped me get my thoughts organised about some things and really think about what I watch (as much as my memory problems allow!). My only concern is that I probably sound like I'm bitching about everything the way I comment on it. I'm really not! I wouldn't be rewatching Oz again and again if I didn't like it 😅 I just express my passion by being a hater, I guess.

[bigfan-fanfic]

Trash Can Burgers (Male!Reader x Kyle Rayner)

Requested by @jayfeather965 for  Can I ask a for a slice of life short fic about life dating Kyle? Something soft and sweet with maybe a little fluff.

They say that when you eat with the one you love, you could be having the blandest food and it'll taste better just because you're with them.

Thankfully, you've never quite had to test this out.

Mainly because your boyfriend is stellar in the kitchen.

Kyle has never been a stranger to frugality. It's hard enough living on a freelance graphic artist's salary without also having to fuel a superheroic lifestyle as well.

Admittedly, when you two moved in together, it did become slightly easier once you could share incomes.

Kyle generally subsists on a near-empty fridge, but the real magic started once he noticed ingredients in the fridge in your shared space.

"Hey, babe? Mind if I make something to eat?" he asked.

You shrugged and gave a noncommittal grunt, and he set to work.

He calls them trash can burgers. It's the same concept as trash can casserole, a dish made of whatever you happen to have on hand that hasn't yet spoiled that you have to use.

So, seeing some left over ground turkey, and some mac and cheese, and a couple of potatoes left over from when you made french fries, he proceeds to make something beautiful.

With the application of seasoning and a few fresh chopped herbs and onions, Kyle makes turkey burgers topped with mac and cheese, caramelized onions, some lettuce, and seasoned potatoes. It's weird, and you don't really expect much out of it, but somehow it works. The textures blend in a really appealing way, and it's so tasty!

Kyle is an endlessly creative man, and this becomes a regular thing. He'll make random dishes out of leftovers and spare ingredients, and you'll make sure to keep the fridge stocked with essentials like onions or thyme to help him tie things together. He can make curries or ramen and one time made what basically amounted to pizza garlic bread out of garlic, oregano, and lasagna leftovers and a baguette.

Plus, cooking helps him relax.

So, after whatever random combo dish he makes from leftovers, he'll eat with you, and the two of you will cuddle for a while before doing the dishes.

It's fun to talk to him while he cooks or when you hang out. He can get so focused on his art when he's involved, but here his attention is yours to claim.

And when you're lying on the couch together, tangled in each other after a good meal, it always ends up making you feel some hope for the future.

And for the both of you, you know that future will be with each other.

[usereddie]

Hello to one of my fav 9-1-1 writers!

I was just wondering how you find the motivation to write? I'm struggling with it right now and will appreciate any advice you can give!

HI FIRST OF ALL THANKS!!!! you're sweet :')

i'm in a bit of a slump right now mostly because all my writing juice is going towards my assignments for class (shocker, i, a writing and literature major, have to write about literature), however i think getting into the habit of writing consistently is so important. if not everyday than as much as you can. it doesn't even have to be that much but just a little bit of creative writing to keep the story going and you're brain used to having to work and think that way.

one thing that REALLY works for me in terms of longer writing is plotting as you go. i'll plot the first three chapters and then when i get to the third chapter i'll plot the next three. i like sticking to my outline it helps keep the story going in one clear direction, but i also get so frustrated when i plot an entire 90k fic or book and the narrative naturally starts unfolding in a different way. trying to beat the story into submission is...not easy. and then i always end up giving up. outline a little at a time but also having a general idea in mind to guide the plot works best for me.

also, for longer works, you can't just sit and write 90k in one go. that doesn't work and is probably not possible. but sometimes if you leave a scene you won't be able to go back to it, so i leave myself a little 1-2 sentence summary of where i planned for the scene to go so i don't stare at the words trying to figure out what the hell was supposed to happen next.

for shorter fics like one-shots under 10k i'll kind of just let it go where it wants to. and if i don't like where it's going i go back a few lines to figure out what changed and where the tone shifted into a direction i didn't like and couldn't continue in a way that felt...good or organic, i guess.

oh! one of my best tips and something i am ALWAYS doing in my writing that keeps it flowing because it keeps me really focused on the words and the story i'm telling is trying to make a conscious effort to not start sentences and paragraphs with the same letter. sometimes it's inevitable, but i do my best to make sure that doesn't happen.

for example, this is from a fic i'm working on

Tommy slows down like he’s about to pull out and Buck whines, high and throaty and embarrassingly needy. He hears Tommy laugh a little, teasing.

originally, i wrote it "Tommy slows down...Tommy laughs a little." but that felt repetitive in a way that had no real purpose or added to the story, you know? so i paused and tried to figure out how to reword the sentence so i'm not starting it all the same way.

it's really easy to get trapped in the "he did this. he did that. other character did this." which makes it feel stale and then it pulls you out of your own because you're staring at it like....this isn't fun.

and writing should be fun!

having to reword your sentences and rework your paragraphs so it's got a different rhythm to it and it isn't necessarily the same structure forces you to stay present in your writing and makes it more engaging. also, it makes for a better read as a reader.

it's annoying but sometimes you have to force motivation. you gotta sit down in front of whatever it is you use to write — laptop, cell phone, type writer, notebook, you name it — and stare at the blinking cursor until words come out.

shitty writing is still writing! you can edit a paragraph that you think sucks but you can't edit nothing. write. even if it's not the best thing ever. if you have a story you want to tell, put it in words. maybe it'll take you a day maybe it'll take you a year to write it, but that's okay. time will pass anyway, right? might as well create along the way.

no art is bad. no art is useless. if you're writing something and you scrap it, great, now you know what went wrong. what didn't work.

force it until it comes. that's my go-to move, to be honest. turn off distractions, write in a different window where you have no other tabs, really familiarize yourself with the text and story you're telling.

and you'll be golden :)

[rathayibacter]

In terms of the funko pop wargame, what did the process of creating the statblocks look like? Because unless I seriously buggered up my math even if you are doing 2500 words a day every day it would take you over a year to do every single one. So how did you do it? Please explain if you can. As a writer, this is the type of writing efficiently I desperately crave.

sorry to burst your bubble but this is 100% a case of "work smarter not harder". i will give some genuine writing advice at the end though!

so both Mortal Popbat and IP!b2:fK.O.(DE) were made using really sloppy python code. i compiled the funko pop lists by hand (with some help this time around, thank you Nona), wrote some big lists of "ifs" and "thens" to get combined together to form abilities, played around with the various probabilities until it was outputting something i was happy with, and then wrote up the mechanics, slapped in the statblocks, and called it a day. it took me four days to put it all together, which means id've had to beat 2.4 statblocks a minute to write them all out, or 2500 words every 16 minutes.

this wasn't just for efficiency, mind. part of the fun of this project for me is having a general shape in my head of the possibility space, but being continually surprised by the actual outcomes. if id handwritten them all, i couldnt have been surprised and delighted by things like this! it also means that ive hidden some easter eggs in the game even from myself, so i can be surprised when some of the stranger possibilities crop up.

okay but writing advice time. ive never found it helpful to set big, strict daily goals for myself. what always winds up happening is i fall out of the rhythm once or twice and then its like pulling teeth trying to get back into it. i also try to avoid the usual adhd deadline-chasing that does result in stuff getting done, but also burns me out incredibly fast. what that means in practice is i sometimes have periods of really intense creative energy (like this week) that ill ride but not set heavy expectations upon, and then when it's calmed down i try to keep a pace of doing a little bit whenever ive got time, even if that's just writing some notes in my phone or correcting some mistakes ive noticed. sometimes doing a little thing like that'll lead to me doing more, maybe spending a few hours putting stuff down on paper, but i also don't admonish myself if it doesnt. as a result im not the fastest in the world at getting stuff done, but but i am continually working on big, ambitious projects that ten years ago id've started, gotten super burnt out on, and abandoned. plus, it means sometimes i get a Funny Writing Impulse and knock out a game like IMMORTAL POP!bat, Maybe One Day, It'll Be Enough, or Stationkeeping in a day or three.

i understand that's almost certainly not what you're looking for lmao, but i hope it helps regardless! follow your own rhythm, trust the process, and make stuff you love!

[xluxsolarisx]

yippie!!! i'm so glad you and the plushie enjoyed the lavender farm, i thought you would:3 ^^ your drawings are super cute i love them, doing little doodles like that is so fun it's great to see you branching into it :D, would love to see more of your drawings in the future, chess and baking too are fantastic fkdjks (also your work ethic with setting goals for your drawing skills and enthusiasm for it is genuinely kinda inspiring:> like i mean i definitely should practice like that too rather than just figuring it out as i go lmao)

i can't believe whoever's in charge of shipping hates both of us and wants us to die it's so rude tbh

anyeay. is so great and loves you and gives you a kiss on the cheek and explodes. AOAUgjfksj:3

YEAH!!! it was really fun, i was actually studying when i got that ask and it was a nice little break thinking about going to a lavender farm with you and a plushie hehe :3 and thank you!!! drawing IS really fun!!! it was a lot more fun than i thought it would be. the reason i set those specific goals is because i work best with like little steps at a time because otherwise i get overwhelmed and too hard on myself and procrastinate or just stop because i'm Not Perfect...breaking it up into pieces helps and it helps me focus too ^^ chess and baking ARE fun! i used to just play chess.com but now sometimes i play with friends, it's really nice! i even bought a snazzy new chessboard and the pieces have gold borders it's so pretty c: baking is nice too because if you made the sweets yourself it doesn't matter how many you eat or how much sugar is in them it doesn't count. it's in the quran god said that himself. also you said you'd like to see more drawings in the future? how about NOW!!!

i have to admit i drew the bunnies (EXCEPT for the last bunny and the miffy bunny. the last bunny came from me staring intently at a picture of a rabbit and the miffy bunny came from my bountiful imagination and creative soul), the bird (not the rooster the other one idk the name) and the peace sign hand with a step by step guide but i'm still proud of myself ^^ one day i will give that woman a body. maybe she'll even have clothes. i'm still working out how to draw clothes but maybe... also someday i'll paint a really big hand writing with a fountain pen and paint the hand's nails with real nail polish and write the pen strokes with a real fountain pen and it'll be so awesome and shaded so nicely. another one of my Ultimate Goals. also yeah it's so fucked up that they don't ship to usamerica...god made up time zones and shipping distances to punish people who wanted cool stuff and wanted to be friends despite not living in the same country like he made up language to punish people for the tower of babel. my theory. ok byeee ^^ giggles so sweetly and kisses your cheek back and is so great also and loves you too and dies instantly and painlessly because i was standing so close to you when you exploded i was instantly flash fossilized. but that's okay i forgive you. because i love you. bye 💖💖💖