#designing her was so much fun lmao i forgot how good it feels to create ocs

[murmurlilies]

Less about OCs, but I'm interested to know what your process is like when creating a piece as detailed as that one you posted for Valentine's Day. How do you go about it? And do you happen to do time-lapse videos?

hmm can't say I can give an explanation that's terribly interesting or satisfying lol... I'm almost entirely self-taught, so "process" is a very loose and nebulous concept for me, and it changes from piece to piece. the one common thread among my works is that they all involve obscene amounts of trial and error. I don't have any recent time-lapses because I never think to record them, but if I did you would definitely see how often I feel the need to adjust and redo every little thing.

for the Valentine's Day piece, because it was a "remake" I had the benefit of a much more solid foundation than usual to start out with. however you can still see where I ended up deviating from the sketch phase - most obvious being her pose, the design of her hair, and the details of her sandals. (there were also meant to be candles on the dresser, but I forgot and didn't feel like adding them back in later and so I decided a vague suggestion of candlelight was enough lmao)

anyways, compared to everything else, sketching and linework are fairly straightforward and come most easily to me. there really isn't much to say, just scribble some messy lines and then whittle away at and draw over them till they magically become less messy!

when it comes to coloring and shading, things get a lot weirder and more complicated. this is where my process tends to vary the most, because it really depends on the mood of the piece. for this one I wanted something dark and seductive, so I covered the whole image in a layer of burgundy red, then painted the "lighting" on top across several Overlay layers. additional shadow details were brushed in on Multiply layers using deep purple instead of straight black, but ultimately I didn't want them to be too dark, as that initial layer of red was meant to serve as the primary "shadow" of the piece.

this is also usually where I decide which lines I want to "color" with clipping masks, which can either make certain elements pop or feel softer. it sorta brings the whole image together, giving it a much more painterly look overall. from there all that's left is to keep making adjustments and adding little details - the glittery effect on her dress was one of the last things I added, I thought it looked really nice!

...ok now take everything I just said and throw it all in a blender. because even though it might sound fairly orderly, the truth is I'm constantly making changes to all stages of my works, even the earliest ones, all the way to the end. I'll still be making adjustments to the linework and such after I've already put so much effort into the lights and shading! it's not the most efficient way of doing things... but again, trial and error. my perfectionism gets the better of me...

anyways I apologize if NONE of this made any sense, like I said I never had any formal training in art, so I'm not very good at teaching or explaining it!! at the end of the day my process is less about what makes logical sense and more about finding what feels right in a given moment. at the very least I hope it was a fun read lmao 🥳

[giupear-blog]

decided to post my spidersona here as well!! 

[oodlyenough]

life is strange true colours review

the non spoilery part: i LOVED this game, my personal fave game this year and the first franchise entry since the original that has really resonated with or moved me.

it's a life is strange game through and through, so if you don't like slice of life episodes or bonding with NPCs, it's not gonna be for you. but if you like the franchise, or even if you liked the first game but haven't been interested in/liked the other two instalments, i recommend giving this one a chance. i think it got closer to figuring out the formula while still doing something new and interesting.

more detailed spoilers and opinions:

alex

holy shit i love alex? bisexual chad... my darling... i'm gonna be real, a lot of the trailers and promo for this game made me worried she'd be kind of a dull wallflower Soft Girl character, but she's not! she's so funny, and even parts of her characterization i initially thought were maybe a bit of a stretch ended up making sense as i learned more about her. she stole the show. i straight up forgot how much loving the protag helps enjoyment of these kinds of games lmao ... finally a reason to click on everything in the room: to hear what alex will say about it.

i thought her backstory exploration in ep 5 especially was wonderful and emotive and great. broke my heart and explained so much about her :( baby girl

plot/choices

i loved the mystery. i don't think it was quite as Mysterious as the mystery in lis1, but that was okay, i was still invested in solving it. i also got invested enough in the NPCs around the town to make all the exploration bits really fun. i loved eavesdropping on the sagas of the random NPCs like bald man and ice cream couple... just fun little touches and narratives to follow that i enjoyed.

i really appreciated this script not being afraid to shy away from some messier emotions, even if in some cases i wish we spent more time on them. for example: alex feeling a bit jealous of the other people in town that got to know gabe better than her/spend more time with him than she did. or charlotte hating ethan!!! my jaw dropped, i thought that was so good, what a messy but realistic response.

I'm not entirely sure what all the ramifications of different choices are at this point, fresh off my first play. i ended up getting only part of the council to stand with me (eleanor & duckie) while losing pike and charlotte.

i do wish we saw a bit more fallout or exploration of what taking away emotion DOES. i took charlotte's anger, and obviously it meant she didn't stand up for me in the council meeting, but where does she go from there? does she like... ever return to feeling emotions lmao... I also think we probably should've had the opportunity to do that another time, instead of just 2 isolated events -- I think Diane would've been a good candidate.

the romance

i romanced steph, ofc, but i was surprised during the game how drawn i was to ryan too -- i really liked that Drama of him being the one who cut Gabe free, as well as later the drama of him being Jed's son. UNTIL HE DIDN'T BELIEVE ME... that made me mad lmfao, i have to learn what to do to make him believe me before i play a Ryan route bc i'll kill him lmfao.

the steph/alex romance was sweet... it didn't really, like, Consume Me as a ship, but by the end of the game I was still "aww"ing at their moments in the flashforward. steph was more rounded and flawed than i thought she might be, which i really appreciated! i was worried they'd just make her perfect idealized gf, but she has a bit of a temper and is kind of tempestuous and stuff... liked it. loved her standing up for alex so fiercely and immediately at the council meeting <3 and my main reservation about her in ep 4 was that i wanted alex to stay in haven, so when she offered to stay i was thrilled LOL

one semi-complaint i had was that something i loved so much about lis1 was how max and chloe's relationship was central to the entire game and story, it wasn't some extra thing on the side, it WAS the game... whereas here, the romance routes, especially steph's, felt like sidequests. I wish they'd found a way to incorporate those relationships a bit more into the main goings-on. I also wanted to spend more time with either romance option to feel like I knew them better -- splitting the time between Steph and Ryan means that I came away feeling like I didn't get quite as much of either of them as I would've liked, vs spending almost the entire game with Chloe lol.

however, this ended up not really bothering me too much because I DID really like the core mystery and themes, the exploration of grief and Emotion, etc.

other characters

considering everyone knew going into the game that gabe was going to die, i was impressed with how they did it, and how they managed to get me attached to gabe in a mere single episode. it's a tall order to introduce a character designed to die, who your audience KNOWS is going to die, and still make them work.

i thought this supporting cast was ... maybe the strongest in the franchise? or at least, they created scenarios where i felt invested in multiple people in the town, and was genuinely trying to build decent relationships with most of them. duckie cracked me tf up, i liked eleanor and riley, even diane and jeb were good for their roles. (fuck pike. i signed ur stupid thing and left your emotions alone and you still won't do shit? ACAB!!!) the choice to stay in haven or leave was a little harder than i expected honestly, considering how quickly i let arcadia bay burn to the ground lmfao.

gameplay/etc

also i know the whole internet has been dunking on "empathy" as a super power since the game was announced, and i get that it sounds corny and looks corny in the trailers, but i thought how they did it was really cool. i wish they'd branded it "Mindreading" more than empathy tbh because a lot of the cooler elements of it are more along those lines... using her power to manipulate people, potentially taking people's emotions away and what that does to them... very interesting imo!

i really liked the memory feature!!! cool way to give us character exposition and inform the story while encouraging exploration. finally a collectible that like, expands the story, instead of chloe drawing butts on the wall and sean taking 10 years to draw something.

it's definitely the most evolved-feeling LIS game, which it should be, given it's the newest. graphics looked really nice, loved getting to see the characters actually emote, even if there are still some scenes that were a lil comically blank-faced -- usually NPCs. i actually noticed this with Jed the most, which in retrospect maybe was somewhat intentional?

i had a number of visual glitches, nothing major but a little silly, like T-posing Alex, npcs t-posing in the windows, etc. i'm sure they'll get patched out soon.

anyway... i rly liked this game, i'm excited for the steph dlc and finally feel like i have reason to be optimistic about future LIS instalments. hooray!

[sinchronicity]

it's first contact day but i don't love the first contact movie so i'm watching one of my unpopular faves again, TOS: metamorphosis (ft. mr cochrane) ^_^

- god i forgot how gorgeous the score is. the music and planet design with the purple/pink sky is a huge part of why i enjoy this episode so much despite its flaws. the music creates a melancholy atmosphere that i love

- lmao in retrospect it is very embarrassing for the fleet members involved that they don't immediately recognize cochrane...surely he's a more relevant historical figure to them than like, abraham lincoln lol

- one thing i enjoy about tos is that sometimes there are episodes where kirk is just grumpy. this is one of them

- forgot that spock shakes cochrane's hand. lmao. slut.

- spock: true, his body was never found

cochrane: you're looking at it, mr spock

spock: if so, you wear your age very well

(the girls are fightinggg)

- the character of commissioner hedford is misogynistically written, but having a non-crewmember here is a great choice. i love when she cries "we're not animals!", overwhelmed by the alien-ness of the companion's actions.

- "everything's alive, cochrane! life everywhere!" im not crying YOURE crying

- cochrane knows the companion loves him, but he can't admit it. :)

- "a symbiosis of some kind. a sort of...joining" im not saying it's like a mind meld but. its not NOT like a mind meld👀

- it's kirk who names this as "love" !!

- kirk vs cochrane aka the dueling 60s masculinities

- i'm always a sucker for a judas ref u_u

- love bones begging the companion to stop hurting kirk and spock by appealing to a sense of morality that he assumes the companion has ("stop it, you're killing them")

- kirk's responsibility to his crew leading him towards antagonism! i feel like this is something trek often wrestles with. he jumps to "how do you fight a thing like that" but immediately follows it with his declaration of duty to protect the lives of spock+mccoy+hedford AND the enterprise, which is a lot of weight to bear. the situation is largely beyond his control, but: "i'm in command, bones, it makes it my fault"

- bones, the heart of the triumvirate, suggests some diplomacy - that's fun. mccoy is a shamelessly human character, prone to human prejudice, but his ethical code requires he preserve life

- i love it when scotty is acting captain tbh i respect his sort of casual professionalism

- communication = the possibility of love and true respect uwu

- the gender-based presumptions are literally so dumb & funny 😭 "she was a [feminine sounding cloud], he was a boy, can i make it any more obvious"

- literally the man must continue.

- spock: "i do not totally understand the emotion, but it obviously exists. the companion loves you"

- bones: "there's nothing disgusting about it. it's another life form, that's all. you get used to those things!" :)

- "he was loved, and he resents it" from hedford.....woof. there is something fascinating here beneath everything.

- kirk's various Speeches About Love are one of fave tos things. go off bestie!!

- the whole "different things" "you can't join" "if i were human there can be...love?" is suuuch k/s fic fodder 😩

- "love sometimes expresses itself in sacrifice" 😐

- it's both of them! the companion and the commissioner! she holds a fragment of her garment into the sky, and it looks like an alien thing.

- "i might even try and plant a fig tree. a man's entitled to that, isn't he?"

- such a conceptually interesting episode and one i think about often. i always enjoy watching it and chewing over it, the good parts and the not so good. it's very telling of the landscape of tos, for better or for worse.

[dumpsiteforfics]

Las Vegas, Baby!

Rating: PG-13 for this chapter.

Genre: Fluff, romance

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Spencer Reid

Warnings: slight mention of rape and murder! Only once, no graphical description!

Summary: This is from my Model au! This is two part story. Wait for part 2. ☺️ It's just something fluffy and cute. Just a reason to write these two together!

If you have a background idea about this au, you might be aware that I have used Spencer as model instead of Lila archer and Aaron is the agent who is gone on Spencer! Team comprised of Gideon, rossi, Hotch, Morgan and Garcia at that time!

You can check all my model au musings for more information -> 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 . Please ignore the typos and grammatical mistakes, English is difficult lmao!! Hope you enjoy! ❤️

"Okay everyone, we have a few hours till we reach Vegas, so get some shut eye if you need because we will start working until we find this unsub once we touch down!" Aaron ordered the team. Everyone agreed quickly as Aaron stood up to take his corner seat where he could spread out the files again. As he started looking into the files, making notes of some of the points they had already discussed, the team including Garcia who was still on the video call were talking quietly about lighter things before parting.

"So chocolate thunder, I hope you won't have too much fun without me over there. I'm so jealous that you are in Vegas after so long and I'm not even there!"

Morgan chuckled at Garcia's frustration, "I know baby girl! It's not everyday that we get a case in a city like Vegas! When was the last time we came for a case? Do you remember?" He mused out loud.

Rossi who was just listening to their talk quietly answered, "I think it was when we were helping with that stalker case of that gorgeous kid! What was his name again, Aaron?"

Morgan bit his lips to stop a chuckle passing through as they all watched minute change in their boss's posture. His back stiffened lightly and he frowned deeply before shooting a glare to Rossi as he replied, "Spencer Reid I believe."

Before Rossi could ask something more, Garcia gushed, "Oh God yes!! How did I forget!!! He was so gorgeous and sexy and he was such a cute little rabbit!! I wish I could have had a chance to meet him, you guys were so lucky to have met him!"

Emily and JJ were the only ones at this point who seemed to be out of loop and after watching Garcia's reaction they couldn't ignore asking anymore.

"Okay, holdup Penelope, what's going on? " It was Emily who finally asked her.

"Ohhh he is this gorgeous baby model! He is pretty much famous now but at that time he was being stalked by his obsessed best friend. And BAU was involved. This was back when Gideon was still on team and our fearless leader here was Spencer's security detail! " And then Garcia's voice turned into a hushed (still a bit loud) whisper as she continued, "Bossman's photo with the model was on the front page of all fashion magazines. They created quite a buzz around as well!"

"Okay that's enough!! Everybody go to sleep or I can give you work to do right now, choose wisely!" Hotch ordered, looking pointedly at every single one of them and within a second Garcia bid goodbye, disconnecting the call quickly!

Everyone else just shared a knowing glance with each other before dispersing to their preferred seats all over the plane!

It was going to be a long case, Aaron thought!!

***†***

The team soon forgot all about this supposed model who seemed to be a somewhat touchy subject for their boss. As they reached the LVPD, they were quickly immersed in the work, giving all of their focus to the case as it should be!

It was a bad case, of course all the cases are bad, but there are always some cases who suck everything good out of them, and this was one of those! Closeted teenagers being raped and murdered and the only good thing about it all was that the LEOs were helpful instead of hindering the investigation, without their full support the case would've taken a lot longer.

They were supposed to be flying out that night but the Jet was not in a good condition and their pilot told them that they will most likely be able to fly the next night! Though they would've loved going home as soon as they can, spending a night in Vegas didn't seem like such a bad option.

The team was talking about where they should have dinner and how they should spend the night, considering they didn't have any work and it was as good as vacation! Aaron was in a separate corner talking to someone on the phone and they all just thought he was talking to Strauss, giving her idea about the case and the delay!

As he came back, the team had already decided on a few options, so Rossi put a hand on Aaron's shoulder before saying, "Aaron, we are thinking of hitting this really nice restaurant for dinner, my treat, we deserve it after this long case!"

Surprisingly Aaron shook his head, he waited for a second to choose his words carefully before explaining the reason. "I'm sorry I won't be joining you all tonight! I have dinner plans already with someone else, we will meet tomorrow at the airport when the plane is ready to takeoff! "

Everyone was quite! This was probably the first time they have heard Aaron Hotchner having plans other than work and spending time with the team! He looked cute trying to look stern so no one would ask him questions, but well Rossi was never the one to shut his mouth when Hotch needed it.

"Does it involve certain model with curly hair, bambi eyes and smile to die for?" He asked, like a little shit he was!

But tonight seemed to be a night of surprises because instead of receiving a well placed glare, all they received was a rare dimpled smile which made almost everyone pause their breathing for a second, because yeah it was that gorgeous!

"Well that's for me to know and you to never find out!" Aaron replied, still smiling, before he left them.

They just looked at each other, not really sure if that really happened, but then Morgan whistled, "He is so fucking meeting that boy!!! I knew it! Penelope is going to love this gossip!"

There was still so much about their boss that they weren't aware of!!

***†***

As soon as Aaron rang the bell, Spencer was there opening the door with huge smile! Before Aaron could even place his bags down, he was enveloped in a bear hug by none other than The Spencer Reid, model, actor and his boyfriend!

"I didn't think you'd really come! God!! You are here, you are really here!! Shit, let me see you!" Spencer pulled away, his hands immediately cupping Aaron's face, those eyes almost a bit teary and Aaron felt his heart breaking a little bit! Both of their jobs required a lot of their time and they had to travel constantly. And with the amount of work they both had, they weren't able to spend a lot of time together at all! They both travelled back and forth whenever they got the free time in their schedule, but currently Spencer was working in a movie and he had been so busy with the work that they were not able to meet for more than six months.

Spencer pulled away before taking him inside the house, inside his bedroom. And Aaron kept his bags in their designated place before going to take shower. He would have really liked to have Spencer with him in there but from the looks of it, he had already showered.

So he focused on taking a quick shower, feeling better already in the close existence of his love as the hot water started to relax his tired and aching muscles. He dried his body quickly, snapping one towel around his waist as he came out of the bathroom, drying his head with other towel.

But then it was snatched away by clever fingers and he was pushed on the bed, sitting at the end of it before that lithe body he loved so much was sitting across his lap! Spencer straddled him, before starting to dry his head with the towel he snatched earlier. Aaron hummed as he felt Spencer throwing away the towel after a few minutes before raking his long fingers through his locks. He knew how soothing it was for Aaron, and it helped in melting away those last few evidences of the tension he still had.

He wanted to kiss his boyfriend, preferably 10 minutes ago, but they had a silent agreement. If he kisses now, they won't have a dinner, and he very much wanted to have that dinner with his boyfriend, he wanted to listen to his rants, he wanted to feed him few bites, play a little game of footsie just to make his boyfriend giggle childishly and then when they are full, then he will kiss him! Small, butterfly kisses at first and then they will get heavier and then they will start touching each other and that time they won't have to stop in the middle of it for anything. Because then they'll have only one purpose, to feed the hunger their bodies felt these past few months, and relearn each other's bodies, love those spots and crooks and valleys all over again, and intertwine as one to not part again for little while.

They'll do all of that, soon, but first dinner!!

[meetmeatthecoda]

(star emoji) for Grifting With The Enemy :D

Pumpkin!! 🧡🧡🧡 Hello, my dear friend, thank you so much for your endless interest & support!! 😍😍 And for giving me a reason to re-read GWTE, which I haven't done for a loooong time!! 😂😬 (But, the good news is, it low-key got me inspired to hurry up & finish it!! 😏) BUT - in the meantime - here's some BTS info from my re-read under the cut, which is a lot - fair warning - since it's a 4 chapter fic & counting!! ❤️

LOL I forgot how stressful it is coming up with names for random extra people in fics, I hate doing that LOL But I did think it was important to open with Red NOT being a merciless crime lord who kills anyone who displeases him, cause - while he does have that side to him when necessary - that's not who Red is or wants to be.

I liked including that little moment with Red & Dembe about the parallel parking. I love those father/son & brotp moments for them, they're just the best. I tried to sprinkle those in wherever I could in Red's POV in this fic.

I loved the mental picture of Liz - with glasses & beanie a la The Harem - just leaning casually against a bookshelf the first time Red sees her... & he's immediately captivated, just like in canon. Especially with her eyes, I can't NOT write any version of Red that is not completely blown away by Liz's eyes, I mean, come on I also thought it was important that he thinks she's much younger than she is (intentionally part of her persona) & I'm looking forward to writing the reveal of her true age in a later chapter.

I loved writing a Liz that instantly challenges Red, already having heard about him (& more than that, as revealed in chapter 2) & point blank telling him she may refuse the job bc she has a say too. I liked keeping - & even amplifying a little - that dynamic from canon!Liz of always surprising Red & keeping him on his toes, all while he's trying so desperately to stay ahead of her & impress her.

I LOVED writing the brush pass scene - that moment where Red realizes he has officially underestimated her - & LOL I completely forgot I wrote that part about the condom LMFAO wow past!Coda, mighty daring of you 😂😂😂

Plus, I couldn't help the bonus bit about her stealing his phone & tossing it to him to end the chapter, that was just so fun to throw in there!!

I liked opening chapter 2 with Red still thinking about Liz, just to show how she captured his attention, even before he finds out she's been stealing from him. And I liked writing that revelation without any anger on his part, with him understanding it wasn't a full-scale attack on his empire, she's just a thief taking well paying jobs where she can get them, & instead it just shows him how talented she is. I thought that was an important thing to clarify before moving forward.

I LOVED writing Red & Dembe surprising Liz in her apartment, especially the part with Red's snooping & being confused & surprised by what he sees there. I loved kind of creating/designing Liz's apartment to showcase her true self, not her "young thief" persona that Red falls for at first. I wanted it to be clear that Red is fascinated by her seeming duality from the start (canon LOL) as well as just straight-up attracted to her (also canon LMAO).

Also I gave Liz a loft apartment cause I've always loved those!!

And I LOVEDDD writing Red super confident about surprising her & looking forward to taking her off guard by settling in on the couch & all that macho man stuff, only to be rendered fucking dumbstruck when she comes downstairs with no pants on lmfao & I included that little detail of her usually wearing a knife on her leg to show she's not to be underestimated 😏 & I couldn't help but throw in there Dembe kicking the back of the couch, that made me cackle lmfao

I think the truce was important to establish asap bc I didn't want any secrets or lingering animosity between them. That's for canon 😒 Only flirting & sexual tension here, thank you very much.

I had to include Red being a gentleman & asking if she wanted to get dressed, but I also couldn't resist Liz being confident & careless about it, while still hiding tactfully behind the counter. I thought that was a cute exchange.

lmfao of course, I included their coffee preferences being noticed by the other, I think that's an obligatory thing in any Lizzington fic ever, I'm so guilty of that lmfao

I loved the idea of Red being ready to start on a classic Red's Blacklister Presentation but Liz once again stops him in his tracks (while still secretly being impressed by his presence, of course, & I even accidentally switched POVs for no reason to include that?? nice Coda lmfao) as well as trading barbs & quips with him while Red feels awful & guilty at any accidental slights bc he can't bear to insult her.

AM&R vs. AR&M whoops typo lol

I liked the little snippet of dark!Red we see in their conversation of consequences for his enemies, that way Liz sees a little bit of what he's capable of & Red sees how she's not phased by it.

And that last little flirtation & wink to finish the chapter - lol can't resist

Ooooh, I loved switching to Liz's POV (fully ha) for chapter 3, I enjoyed describing how head over heels she is for Red already, that was fun. I liked writing about her lil movie day & chores she's completed, as well as fleshing out her AU past a little with Sam & her young grifting experiences. And her burning her popcorn while daydreaming about Red cause... same 😏

Ooooh, phone conversations are always so fun to write between them, I love trying to get that perfect mix of joking & sincerity & flirting & pining & pressing the phone close to their ear.

I thought it was important to keep (or rather re-invent, since TPTB seemed to drop it like a hot potato 😒😒😒) Liz's intense interest & respect for psychology, especially as a reason for being attracted to Red, since it kind of mirrors one facet of his interest in her. Not to mention Red thinks at first that it's just a useless, do nothing degree for her LOL

Ohhh, I loved establishing that mutual respect & friendliness between Liz & Dembe early on, that's such a fave of mine, I've always loved their friendship & thought it had a lot of potential. Liz loves & respects Dembe for keeping Red safe & Dembe loves & respects Liz for being so dear to Red.

Ugh, I LOVED writing Liz so completely disarmed by Red's relative state of undress at his safe house (paralleling her pants-less parade in chapter 2, of course) bc sameeeeeeee girl.

I also had fun writing Red blabbing on about some story as he often does, meanwhile Liz has already picked the lock on the safe, once again impressing & surprising him while she admires his different passport pics. That was so fun.

And I loved the quick shift to just a little animosity between them with Red insulting her lockpicks & Liz flaunting her thefts from him. I think those little spats give a little electricity & tension to the relationship, even if they blown over quickly, which they always do. And the fact that Red apologizes & they shake hands & make up is very refreshing to me (since they never fucking do it in canon lol fml) & also it's an excuse to write a little teasing physical contact & sexual tension 😁😁😁

And damn, I forgot how fun it is to throw a little teasing jab in there at the end of a chapter, just for fun - probably bc I'm allergic to multi-chapter fics & never write them lmfao wow

Ahhhhhhhh. I remember how much fun I had writing this whole restaurant scene, partly bc it was a difficult & long process (trying not to make all the flirting & physical movements repetitive while fitting in all the necessary dialogue in a semi-non-boring way lol) but also bc it was so fun writing their back-and-forth while seated at a table alone with nowhere else to go & nothing to distract them. I also wanted to take the opportunity to show Red's genuine interest in her as a person & let them spend some quality time together for the first time. I loved the idea of them losing track of time & Dembe having to come interrupt them with a knowing smirk. Also I def referred to the Olive Garden website for the food they ate cause I'm lame lmfaooo

I thought it was cute to throw in that Liz almost couldn't find Red when she arrived but for the fedora marker he placed out for her & then when she's leaving, she can feel his gaze on her the whole way out. Little parallels like that are my guilty pleasure 😁

Omggg I forgot about the end of this chapter, I remember I wanted Red to surprise Liz yet again & I thought the dessert snuck into her bag was a cute touch. Plus, tiramisu is a favorite of mine 😋 I also tried to make the vibe of this phone call a little softer & more tentative, not so much on tender hooks with lots of tension as the previous ones have been, showing how they're getting used to each other & falling in love at a break neck pace lol

Welp, that's all 4 chapters that are posted buttttttttt a sneaky look at my document that I haven't opened for an embarrassingly long timeeeeeee shows my sketch for the rest of the fic which revealssssss....... a detailed 10 chapter map with an epilogue!! Wow, I forgot I sketched everything out in such detail, this isn't too bad, maybe I should actually write this 😂😂😂 And I promise I will, hopefully sooner rather than later!! ❤️❤️❤️

Well, there you go, Pumpkin, I hope that didn't take you too long to slog through & there was something enjoyable in there for you!! 😂 Thank you so much for your interest again, my lovely friend, & getting me excited about this fic again!! 🥰 Much love to you, always, Pumpkin!! 🧡

Fanfic Writers: Director's Cut

[dreaming-of-assclass]

Do you have any science project group headcanons like for groups like Nagisa, Kayano, Maehara, and Kataoka that were grouped for science class like in season 1 episode 5 (Assembly Time)

Oooooh! Love asks like these!!! 💚

And thanks to this post by the awesome @/greengargouille, we know all the canon groups!

Itona and Ritsu aren’t in official groups, so I put them in where I thought they’d fit in best!

1. Isogai, Mimura, Nakamura, Okano

Wow...I forgot that Nakamura and Okano were ever in the same group

But I love it because I HC their friendship to be a casual but hella fun one

Isogai and Mimura are old friends from last year! I imagine there’s slight awkwardness on Mimura’s side given that they’re in different friend groups now. But Isogai is very friendly and aware, so it passes pretty soon

Nakamura is one of the biggest causes of Isogai’s headaches lmao. But hey, at least they’re on the same wavelength academically.

POOR OKANO. SHE IS A JOCK SURROUNDED BY ACADEMICS.

Well at least she’s interested in science and it’s her best subject. She still feels bored unless they’re dealing with physics, then she’s completely on top of her game.

Nakamura and Okano are the chaotic half. Isogai and Mimura are the ones who wanna get shit done. Unless the girls manage to drag poor Mimura into doing dumb stuff

Have I ever told you guys that once in my Chemistry lab, one of my friends and I managed to break the sink faucet? Like we destroyed it lmfao

That is Nakamura and Mimura friendship energy ngl

Okano is one of Isogai’s most dependable close friends, but she also loves to annoy him for no reason sometimes.

So she’ll ask obvious questions with a smug smile, trying to watch his patience explode. But jokes on her because Isogai has an infinite amount of patience sadly

2. Kurahashi, Yada, Takebayashi, Kimura

They’re a...fairly productive group lmao

Tbh I don’t think Kurahashi is the type to really pay attention to any science outside of biology like me

So she’ll be a BEAST when it comes to that and get 100′s on everything. But like in chem and physics, she’s not as great

Yada is the best at design and organization, so she always takes that job. Making colorful presentation slides? She got it. Need to type up the final report in a google doc? Yep, she’s your girl

Kimura is a gremlin, like I always say. He’s the clown of the group lmfao and will spend more time stalling and messing around than doing actual work

He also tends to lowkey distract Kurahashi with unrelated convos. He tries to talk to Yada too, but she goes into girlboss mode and ignores him

Guys, everyone give it up for Takebayashi. King is hard carrying this entire group

He’s the one who stays the most focused but on occasion can be distracted by Kimura bringing up topics they’re both into, like certain comics or something.

Kurahashi and Yada also can get caught up in their own conversations since they’re besties. Also they will roast the boys all they want, if they feel like it.

All around, they’re kind of a mediocre group haha

3. Nagisa, Kayano, Maehara, Kataoka, Ritsu

Woah I LOVE this combination of students

I couldn’t help but add Ritsu here hehe. I also like the idea that she’s kind of attached to Kataoka in the beginning, considering all their moments together in canon.

Nagisa and Kataoka act like parent friends, as usual. They’re the ones who wanna work diligently and just get things done.

Maehara and Kayano are the more lenient ones haha. They’ll claim that they have low attention spans. Both Kayano and Maehara much prefer labs and getting to do cool science stuff, at least. 

Also!! It’s good that they’re in this group because they’re social types who can reach out to other groups and get help/answers from them ^^

Kataoka, sighing: “Well, Maehara, at least you have a talent for networking, I guess.”

Ritsu is in between the lenient side and the diligent side. She’s very good at science and can do her work very well!! But sometimes she gets swayed by Maehara and Kayano’s fun attitudes and doesn’t concentrate haha

Kayano keeps getting flustered whenever she’s sitting right besides Kataoka haha. Bonus points if their arms brush or she has to lean over her or something.

Also best believe there’s lots of Big-brother-Maehara and Little-brother-Nagisa moments

4. Kanzaki, Hazama, Yoshida, Muramatsu, Terasaka

So...this is basically just AU where Kanzaki joins the Disaster Squad lmfao

Hazama, Yoshida, Muramatsu, and Terasaka are already besties, we know this. They’re probably totally used to working together.

Enter Kanzaki. A newcomer.

Lmao I don’t think she’d be totally friendly at first. I think she’d be polite but distant, and barely speak up unless they were discussing.

Sgsjhakdj who thought putting the squad together was gonna lead to productivity, they’re probably gonna create so much chaos lmao

Something definitely explodes at least once.

They’re dealing with an acidic chemical and literally the whole class manages to not get burned, except for Terasaka. 

Yoshida voice: “dude you had ONE job”

After a couple classes, Kanzaki breaks out of her shell more and more, and she gets pretty chill with them.

She’s closest with Hazama, and they like to roast the boys at times. Also have random literature discussions that drive Terasaka crazy. “Can y’all not? Like this is literally physics class?”

The squad teasing Yoshida about his crush on Kanzaki whenever he blushes or stutters talking to her

Idk why but I really like the idea of a Kanzaki and Muramatsu friendship

5. Hayami, Okuda, Karma, Chiba, Okajima

AWKWARD

THIS IS SUCH AN ODD GROUP LMAO

My bestie Nao made a post on them before which I love

And yeah...I don’t have much to add lol.

Chiba and Karma definitely join forces to insult Okajima at some point

Okajima kind of constantly digs himself into a grave with stupid comments. He almost dies after pointing out how Karma and Hayami act like cats

Okuda doesn’t have to carry the group that much since they’re all fairly smart for the most part. But if you want verified answers, then yeah definitely check in with her

6. Sugino, Fuwa, Hara, Sugaya, Itona

I think this is a really cute and funny group

Sorry, couldn’t resist adding Itona mainly because Hara is in it, and I would love their interactions in a schoolwork-group setting

Tbh?? None of them are very sciency lmao, so they’re that one group you always see in irl class that are very lost. And they’re super vocal about how confused they are adjkhjda

Sugaya, yelling across the room: “Can someone help us? Please?”

Hara takes the reins as leader but more in like a “getting everyone organized and harmonious” way

Sugino takes the charge in the actual lesson work and lab stuff, but he really shouldn’t lmao. I love the boy, he’s a talented genius in so many ways, but he leads them to chaos

Fuwa surprisingly isn’t as vocal in these groups as she usually is. In fact, it’s a little concerning how quiet she- WAIT FUWA ARE YOU REALLY WRITING FANFICTION IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR LAB

#fuwagotexposed

Itona, as usual, is around to make blunt and sarcastic comments that are in no way helpful. If you voice this to him, he will insult your intelligence even more while still looking adorable

He especially comes at Sugino and Sugaya, who feel very attacked. Like?? WHAT DID I DO TO YOU ITONA?

I feel like...while the group descends into confused chaos, Itona just watches with blunt criticisms. Then in the very last seven minutes of class, he takes over and finishes the assignment with 100% accuracy

Sugaya: “YOU LITTLE BASTARD GENIUS-”

Sugino: “WHY DIDN’T YOU DO THIS EARLIER?”

[cecelianonymous22]

Creep | Expensive Headphones Full Comic + commentary

Just click on the panels if you don’t wanna see all the commentary.

This was actually the first time I did a perspective like this. I found a reference for hoodies and used a back-facing one similar to the panel

First time I’ve done this pose. I got the reference from here. Also look at that crushing man!

I honestly don’t know where I was going with the angel wings. Like- I thought I was gonna add more visuals like that but I kinda..didn’t?

Kinda don’t like this bc it looks wonky. But yeah, point is, bullies succ

I have a thing where like- my side profiles are inconsistent to my normal style?? Idk, its fuckin stupid sometimes but im working on it.

Also I kept forgetting Michael’s headphones hA-

This one was kind of a pain in the ass tbh. Bc I didn’t copy and past anything like I should’ve. And also because I had an inefficient way of using the bucket tool so i had to fill in all the edges

This wasn’t an original idea but I can’t find the original post. All I know is that it’s somewhere on Tumblr

ASHLEEEY! SQUIP MOOOOM! 

Sorry, I love her lmao. My friend Evan created this specific design for Rich’s mom/Squip and I kinda took it as gospel because it just Makes sense

ft. me remembering that Rich has tattoos 

(btw! the undercut and the natural hair are slightly different colors. fun trivia for ya)

Lmao I hated the hand in the last frame so I just kinda..cut it out..

Also I had drawn the spark thing as green for some reason. The reason it’s a slightly different blue than Ashley is bc i was too lazy to go back over it so i just changed the hue

I know this looks like ass but I never really draw with perspective like this

Like, the podium looks good

But RIch? Eh...

(Btw, i used a thing call 3D viewer on my laptop to figure out the podium)

I would just like to note that there’s a little scene transition between this panel and the next one.

I just

Didn’t realize how it would look together

ft. me remembering Michael’s headphones

Funky silhouettes  

Funky backgrounds

This looked way worse than I originally had planned

But hey, look at that hand! The expressions are garbage but that hand!

ft. my art cooperating with me for once (minus Michael’s hand smh)

Btw, this whole scene is after Michael’s breakdown, which is why he’s trying to get out in the last panel

In this panel, Rich is pretty much just trying to persuade Michael

now kith

the arm sucks but yeah thats a lighter

also i probably mentioned this in the part i posted it in but

i highkey kinda hc that they hooked up in this time frame

and thats how Rich stole Michael’s lighter

but im not fucking drawing that so

just know ig

ew inconsistent side perspectives

ew inconsistent door

ft. hickeys ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

The most detailed panel of the entire comic

CINNABUN

CINNABUN

CINNAB-

yo look at that

a side perspective thats not ASS

fun fact

Jeremy and Michael’s hair are both messed up for the same reason ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Except in Jeremy’s situation it wasnt exactly consensual but..go off ig..

lowkey dont like this but yk

it works

back at it again with the bad side views

btw i almost forgot his burns! 

or well

i did forget and then went back to edit them in

the 

bisexual epiphany

ft. Michael overhearing and getting flustered bc Halloween

Alright that’s all the boyfs content yall are getting, sorry /lh, g

Oh but this was a first too! For hugs n shit. Here’s the reference I used

ft. me getting better with expressions!!

this little scene is honestly just, Michael cracking a joke or some kinda comment and Rich being all :)) about it

happy bois

starting to catch a little bit of feels

and the get well soon bear :))

But there you have it! There’s my comic

I’m really happy that I was able to finish it! Especially considering I started it in August, I think

Normally I lose motivation for that kinda shit but nope! Not this time! :))

Also I just think we need to overthrow the Boyfs supremacy so

I’m trying to do that with Expensive Headphones content 

But yeah! Thanks to everyone who enjoys this comic! You all make my day!

[artificialqueens]

chemistry (scarlet x yvie): chapter 1 - melody

A/N: After last Thursday’s episode, I couldn’t stop shipping Scarlet and Yvie (scyvie? Yvlet?) and I really wanted to write something with Scarlet ‘cuz she’s my fave (and so does Yvie!!). They are very cute together, and I really hope you enjoy it as much as I did! It’s a minific, so last chapter should be posted as soon as I can!! My writing blog is @ uranustrash and my main is @ aquariasbaby if you wanna hit me up!! Thank you Zyan @ chachkisalpaca for encouraging me to write this, and for beta reading!!!!

Studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology could be both Overwhelming and fun. But for Yvie, the fun part was missing since she got in. All the other students had their own friends and were always with a smile on their faces. It was high school again, but without cliqués, and with hipsters thinking they were the next fashion legend. Yvie had good grades and the loneliness that came from not having many friends to stick around.

The institute had an unquestionable artistic vibe. You could stop there with a beverage from the nearest Starbucks and your works in progress. These walls brought lots of inspiration to the students. It was common to see the students agglomerated in the library, in the garden, or even in the lounge. FIT had many places, it was a very big institute that worth being so famous. But Yvie preferred the hallways of every single artistic place in there.

Yvie Bridges, well know as Yvie Oddly . Some people in her design class called her like that because she always delivered ‘’odd’’ designs, looked ‘’odd’’ because of her shaved head and tons of piercings and tattoos, and had an ‘’odd personality’’ - The truth was that she never cared about how people called her, she  liked Oddly better than Bridges. She had a strong personality and a strong sense of fashion that seemed different from the others. She created eccentric designs and had the view of a quirky artist. She didn’t like drawing pretty designs that followed the trends. Yvie always based her work on her feelings and imagination.

Unfortunately, not everyone understood that. On high school, with her emo long black hair and ripped jeans, she was an underdog, a weirdo. But on college people were the same as in high school, except they kept that all for themselves to seem more mature. She felt that sketching her project because she only had a few days to get it done. Some of the people in her class looked above their shoulders to her sketch and smiled at her. It was all a facade because she could hear a girl named Rajah saying it was ugly and laughing with her friend.

It was a usual thing on Yvie’s life. She sighed and drank a sip of her latte, going back to her sketch. Yvie’s project was a long green dress adorned with 3D snake details, what she was loving to work on. It was pretty avant-garde, although it could be glamorous as well. But apparently, the other students despised Yvie’s creations. She smiled when she finished her sketch, proud of her work imagining the day her dreams would come true.

She even didn’t look a playful look behind her carefully watching her draw.

‘’What is this?’’

Yvie rolled her eyes, she thought it was somebody bitching about her work again. She looked at who said that and her jaw dropped. That girl was so pretty - Yvie knew she was a lesbian at a very young age, but that girl made her feel that deep. She had strong facial features, which gave her a playfully mean air. Thin naturally pink lips and cheeks, and when she smiled to her - her smile almost killed Yvie. She was a goddess, Yvie didn’t know why, but she was the prettiest girl she has ever seen.

‘’It’s a dress.’’ Yvie shuttered seeming shy.

‘’I like the snakes, I would make it neon green if I were you… But it’s already good.’’

It was true, the dress would look even prettier if it had a touch of neon. She didn’t even know that girl, but she felt an undeniable touch of chemistry.

‘’I was wondering how the people on this course I’m taking would be like. It’s nice to know there are people talented like me.’’

Yes, she had that cocky energy. But it wasn’t bad, she wasn’t wrong. She had talent, Yvie could smell it. Something inside her got excited when she heard that girl was going to be at her course.

‘’Oh, and when can I see that talent?’’

‘’Well…’’ she played with the buttons of her jeans overalls.

‘’Scarlet we’re going to be late!“ A girl with a pastel purple hair and flawless makeup yelled. ’'What are you doing? Don’t worry Oddly, this cocky hoe won’t steal your creation.”

‘’Ariel!’’

That was hard to believe, to be honest. The dress Yvie was drawing sure didn’t make Scarlet’s style. She would admire it but never present something like it. By far Yvie could sense she had an old Hollywood actress vibe trapped in a rainbow shirt and overalls.

‘’We gotta go, bye, whoever you are.”

That girl Ariel seemed bitchy, but Yvie didn’t bother on thinking about her after that. She watched them walk out of the hallway, and they were so loud that she could hear them:

‘’That girl is so weird, I see her around FIT every day and she doesn’t seem to belong here’’

Yvie could hear Scarlet’s voice in the background lower than Ariel’s. “I actually think she seems pretty cool.”

She experienced it since she was a kid, being the different one, being odd. Scarlet didn’t seem to care, but it was only a hopeless crush at first sight anyway. Girls like Scarlet didn’t talk to girls like Yvie, she didn’t even know if she was straight. They would probably never speak again.

What was she even thinking?

Yvie looked at her dress sketch and flipped her sketchbook on an empty page. Staring at the paper, she only could see Scarlet. It was a hopeless momentum crush, so why not? She loved fashion, but she loved drawing even more. She started to draw her and spent so much time sat in that hallway that she forgot she had another class on that day. She could worry later, the only thing she could care about was to put effort into remembering Scarlet’s face

When she was about to finish the draw, her phone beeped very loud:

Adore 💚:

Yo, I saw this announcement when I was passing nearby the campus, weren’t you looking for a place to rent? I’m your savior because I found it.

Me:

LMAO yeah, but finding something cheap in NYC these days is HARD, I miss Denver in these times.

Adore 💚:

Well, the person who announced it ’s currently looking for somebody to share the rent. You would have a roommate, it would be cheaper than renting a place yourself! Anything you can crash here with me and Bianca!

Me:

Maybe they’re a maniac wanting to kidnap me or something… It still would be better than listening to Del Rio scream every day.

Adore 💚:

You would hear me screaming more than her… If you get what I’m saying

Me:

OH FUCK, GROSS!!!! I’M A GOOD CHRISTIAN GIRL.

Adore 💚:

We both know you aren’t. Anyways here’s the pic I took for you:

Adore 💚 sent you a picture

With all the stress of college, essays, and works in progress to do, Yvie had to find a place. She was currently living with her cousin, but she heard that he and his boyfriend got tired of having her there. She understood, after all, they were a couple, they needed privacy Even if her cousin said it was okay for her to live here, she knew he and his boyfriend needed space. Yvie would want it if she had a girlfriend, she couldn’t bring any girls there very often because it was awkward. She needed her own space too.

New York’s prices weren’t very friendly, so Yvie even was considering to crash at Adore’s for a while. The problem was that Adore was the girlfriend of her damn teacher Miss. Del Rio. It would be pretty weird, in fact, they both meet when the green haired girl went to see her girlfriend in one break.

Adore immediately noticed Yvie, and dropped her girlfriend to talk to her.  Their weird energy matched, and they became the best of friends. Being friends with her teacher’s girlfriend was chill, but living with her would be a nightmare. She loved Adore, but that was a crazy idea.

After all sharing a place with some stranger wouldn’t be a bad idea, it was her only choice for a while. The life of a college student wasn’t easy as it seemed in the movies. If she had to live with a maniac or something, it would still be a place she could afford. Yvie was pretty sure she would scare any creep, and that no one would be weirder than her. In a firm decision, she opened the picture Adore sent her.

‘’Very broke college girl looks for a roommate’’ Yvie read it out loud, they had a sense of humor. ‘’Call Miss. Envy for more information’’

It had the address and Miss. Envy’s number. Would it be some old lady? Because who in 2019 would sign their name with ‘’Miss’’ and their last name? It was weird, but Yvie loved the weird, so she dialed the number without hesitating.

‘’Hello?’’ The voice who answered seemed familiar, but she didn’t bother in finding out why.

‘’Hi, I called because of the roommate announcement.”

[…]

Bills, bills and more bills. That was how Scarlet’s table was while she drowns herself in frustration. The apartment was very big for one person, and pretty expensive too. It was actually cheap when she moved there, but as time went by, the rent increased like crazy. Suddenly she wasn’t able to pay it on her own and still go to FIT. The problems were real, she needed a solution. Even if it meant to have to tolerate another person invading her space.

But something changed on that day, somebody called to know about her announcement. Her eyes shone when they said they could afford their part of the rent, and that they were coming to see the apartment. Life would get easier with somebody to share the costs of living in New York. She would even have a new friend if they weren’t some sort of freak. That was good considered she was very popular but had zero real friends

Scarlet had a strong personality, so strong that people didn’t want to be around her. She hung out with this girl Ariel in the institute, but their energy didn’t match at all. There was that girl she saw sketching in the hallways that seemed very cool and talented. But a cool person like her would never talk to a simple girl like Scarlet. She seemed boring, old fashioned, and had a resting bitch face. The truth was that she was very sweet inside, but no one actually got to see it.

Everything was a mess and the person was coming there soon for the interview. She played some ABBA on and got up to clean. She was an eighteen year old with a soul of an old lady sometimes, but as the chorus of ‘’Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!’’ started to play, her socks slid on the clean floor and she was the fun version of herself again.

She got caught in the moment, it was like her body was music. Cleaning the flat became more fun than she thought, and she even forgot somebody was coming. She was making some tea when she heard steps, but she thought it was the song or something - since it was very loud.

Scarlet slid to the living room still jamming to the song, screaming the lyrics with closed eyes. She didn’t even realize there was an actual human being stand in front of her.

When she opened her eyes, she gasped as the person in front of her did. She looked so surprised and so did Scarlet. That was the girl she saw in the hallways, the same cute girl she saw sketching that pretty dress. Was she there because of the roommate announcement? If not, why was she there? Did she see Scarlet dancing? Oh no, she did, her heart began to race while her brain tried to process words that never came.

‘’I came for the roommate announcement… Hi, Scarlet right? Or should I call you Miss Envy?’’

‘’Yeah,’’ she laughed. ‘’I thought putting my last name on sounded more formal, I didn’t want to seem like an old lady.’’

‘’Well… You were listening to ABBA, after all, you got the moves.’’

Great, she made Scarlet blush. She was a useless lesbian, she couldn’t help herself when she saw a pretty girl. She would gladly be just friends with her if she wanted to. She would be anything she wanted with that girl who had such good energy.

‘’I damn right want a woman after midnight.’’ Scarlet shrugged laughing awkwardly.

The tall girl’s face frowned for a moment, and she stared at the big gay flag Scarlet had in her living room. The whole decoration was very vintage, from furniture she found at thrift shops. Even if the flag seemed to not fit in the aesthetic, Scarlet loved that. Maybe she wasn’t frowning because it didn’t match, and yet because she was… Straight. Scarlet gulped and looked at her with curious eyes.

‘’I was going to bring my own flag to here, but I didn’t know you had one already.’’ she put a hand in her shoulder. ‘’I’m Yvie by the way’’

Scarlet gasped to the sudden touch: ‘’W-well, we’re gonna have two pride flags now.’’

‘’Double the gay am I right?’’ Yvie laughed, and God, her laugh was the most quirky and pretty thing Scarlet ever heard. ‘’Does that mean I’m your roommate now? Because we didn’t even talk.’’

‘’Or right, right, I’ll have to interview you, miss…’’

‘’Bridges, but everyone calls me Yvie Oddly so Oddly fits better.’’

Scarlet laughed: ‘’Miss. Oddly, take a seat’’

‘’Yes Miss Envy.’’ she sat in one of the armchairs ‘’Should we start?’’

At that moment she got lost in Yvie’s deep brown eyes as if she was in a trance. Their chemistry was undeniable, as they got tied together. It was only the start of a friendship, that Scarlet hoped to turn into something else. But of course, a girl like her wouldn’t like the boring bitchy Scarlet.

‘’I hope you like chamomile tea!’’ she hides her frustration while stared at Yvie.

‘’I’m actually more of a coffee girl. One strength for choosing me as your roommate: I make delicious coffee.’’

‘’I’ll think about it, keep that in mind…’’

She knew she wasn’t even thinking, and that she would tell Yvie to move there right now if she could. A girl she didn’t even know, that she seemed to know for years even if they only knew each other for some hours. But Scarlet always loved a good adventure.

[ryouverua]

A Certain Lab, Reprised

lab get lab get lab get lab get LAB GET

Everything around us is either exploding or on fire so Sweetcheeks and I are going to retreat to our space safe, investigating

am I talking about the school exploding or tumblr

we just don’t know

Speak of the devil!

“I AM HERE!!!”

“K1-B0 THeRE WAS AN OPEN WINDOW OH MY GOD, THERE’S GLASS EVERYWHERE, OH NO -”

“OH YEAH!”

Didn’t really wait at all tbh 8′D

Actually all jokes aside Sweetcheeks is right, it was hella cool - and also thank god he was in the hallway and far away from the window! K1-b0 keeps asking if Shuichi is okay but is being incredibly reckless at the same time - what if Shuichi had been showered with that glass? He wouldn’t come out of that unscathed. Was that just K1-b0 taking more of his uncorked anger out on the school?

... Hm, though I guess calling it ‘anger’ isn’t quite right. Or, at least, K1-b0’s fluctuating between ‘anger’ and sort of... more... ‘grim determination’.

Yeah, he didn’t even flinch at being complimented. He’s got serious tunnel vision right now.

Damn.

LMAO SHUICHI’S SCREEN -

There’s only one other place I can think of that qualifies...

DON’T YOU DARE SHUICHI WE FINALLY GOT HERE AND I HAVE QUESTIONS

Oh thank god I want to satisfy my curiosity about the library as much as you do but RANTARO’S TALENT FIRST

Again - damn, K1-b0.

Whoa -

..... This has a very YGO Season 0 vibe. Sorry, that’s a weird comment. Maybe the better way to describe it is that the words ‘punishment game’ immediately come to mind? Some sorta wheel/puzzle thing in the back, cards hanging from the ceiling, some sort of... table...? Kinda reminds me of a poker table, though there’s no center to it... Maybe he... really did specialize in death games...?

Actually, if Celeste had an Ultimate Lab, I feel like it would have a similar aesthetic ~

IT’S HIS SOUL ROOM WE’RE IN RANTARO’S SOUL ROOM

“Yeah so I never shared with you all, but part of the Ultimate Detective status includes the ability to shoot spirit energy from your finger like a gun -”

I don’t think that’s completely wrong but I feel like the actual talent name is going to be x100 times more ominous. 8′D

MAN end-game Himiko is so different than early-game Himiko! Nice to have you onboard - wait, I just realized we’ve got a magician sidekick helping us in an investigation. Is this the right time to make an Ace Attorney reference, or -

Okay, huh. There’s actually way less to click on than I thought there would be. WHAT IS WITH THE MOST CRYPTIC PEOPLE HAVING THE LEAST INTERACTIVE ROOMS, COME ON DRV3 -

Okay, that laptop first:

Empty laptop.... okay, let’s set that aside for now.

Here’s the real question - what came first? The K1-b0 we knew for the first five chapters or this K1-b0? Which one should we consider to be the ‘true’ K1-b0? I think the game is implying that this is the real K1-b0, and the one who we knew up until now was a ‘controlled’ version of him - but at the same time, if the antenna was built in with him, could it be considered part of the original design and therefore part-and-parcel of K1-b0?

omfg I just realized the implications of a white-haired boy hearing a voice (that he literally calls ‘voice’) in his head who may or may not be controlling him behind the scenes be still my heart you’re getting distracted

WHELP THERE’S REALLY ONLY ONE OTHER THING TO CLICK HERE SO -

Like a safe?

......... Omfg it says ‘B’ and ‘A’ on them and it has pictograms on them. Is... this going where I think this is going...

Okay Himiko is being our in-game tutorial and noting that the zodiac is on one side and astrological signs are on the other but honestly I’m fine to skip all past it tbh because there it is, there’s our fucking ‘horse a’ and ‘twin b’ is gemini, Kokichi himself was a gemini, this was where we were going with those hints??? Rantaro’s lab?! idk I just don’t find puzzles like this hard I kinda thrive off of symbolism and mythology in general 8′D

Wait.... doesn’t that mean Kokichi couldn’t have been the one to leave those messages behind?!

Okay this was pretty cute so I left this in ~ but straight up two minutes later it was just a string of KACHUNK KACHUNK KACHUNK until I got it open immediately -

.... the symbols are weirdly cute though, hehe ~

Don’t worry Sweetcheeks, the only life-threatening time-waster we’ll spend all of our time on is fluff text!

Aaaaaaand done. Thanks Kokichi!

MAN I LOVE THESE TWO SPRITES TOGETHER FOR SOME REASON

Ah, so they’re talking about the stone with ‘horse a’ written on it - which... does make me curious, honestly. I think the existence of this safe pretty much confirms that he didn’t write the original message... right?

When did the letters start appearing aside from ‘horse a’? Chapter 3? Was that around the time he concocted that particular plan, then?

H-Hey now, he’s also the reason we found the second clue. 8′D I mean, it wouldn’t have been terrible to go through 12 different combinations with ‘horse a’ determined, but it wouldn’t have been ideal.

i bet you can buy that, that is literally perfect DR merch

IT’S

THE VIDEO

THE VIDEO!!!!

yeah I’m totally going to pull up my old post to see what matches and what doesn’t

“Oh god I forgot how absolutely stunning he was.”

OH I thought that was an abstract red background, silly me - 8′D well, that was probably the point. It might give away the game if we saw something more concrete behind him way back in... what, Chapter 4?

Anyway, more importantly, Rantaro shouldn’t have had access to this place... except he clearly did. So... he... must have been here before. And he knew more about the killing game, or seemed to intuitively know more, than anyone else. He... must have done this before. Except he had made it all the way here last time??? So there is a loop of some sort? Though it can’t be an outright time loop because otherwise there would be no need to record a video (unless like I considered it’s a ‘simulated’ time loop, aka VR-style like last game)...

This makes me wonder how we saw the video the first time. Was it just another flashback/tease like the meteorites were, before we saw the flashback lights?

I mean, I guess it’s kinda hard for recording!Rantaro to prove, but we’ll have to take him at his word here I suppose. 8′D

OH

OKAY

WE’RE JUST GOING STRAIGHT INTO IT THEN

are you telling me you were the protagonist in the last killing game

DIDN’T YOU HAVE LIKE, TWO AHOGES TOO

Man, what an asshole move??? Like, okay, Monokuma’s creating the puzzle of the safe which would unlock this video. Fine. But almost half of the class would have to be dead in order for him to get to it! There’s no way for him to even start the puzzle at this point, because he wouldn’t know it existed! What a huge handicap!

......... Something.... he had.... since the beginning............. Hm. I’m drawing a blank. I don’t remember anything in particular that stands out....

My dead boy, that is an understatement.

AHAHAHA ABOUT THAT....

Now this makes me wonder if he is the only one repeating it or if anyone else is? Well, maybe the mastermind - but like, maybe everyone is repeating it, but only those who ‘won’ were able to have better memories, or were just able to retain the memories of the last game better than the others?

Or, hell, if I want to go along with my previous theory about downloading the memories of students, maybe... Rantaro can remember more about his real self? Or something? But everyone else can’t?

And if he’s really someone who won the previous one (along with one other person, I suppose), then he knows that for a fact.

???!?! Aaaah this part got cut off last time too - so it was actually cut off in the video, and not just in our flashback?!

“You’re also dead, which may make things a little bit more difficult, but I still believe in you!”

That at least I expected -

WHAT

OH GOD THERE ARE SO MANY LAYERS TO THIS

like the dramatic irony I’m sure the fandom has done to death, for example

What about the second person??? Is there a second Ultimate Survivor???? I guess there can’t be since everyone else knows their talents but -

wait, if you’re the Ultimate Survivor because you won a killing game, who were you in the last game????

Does this really give him an advantage though??? I guess the information would have been nice but I mean, it obviously didn’t do him much good because he got taken out so quickly!

Man this makes me wonder if Kokichi had any inkling of this...

jsyk since I have the screenshots side to side, his expression is different in this video compared to the last one

~ fun facts ~

Yeah, see, the ‘he wanted’ part is throwing me off. He participated, sure, and he didn’t say he wanted the original one, but he came back for round two and said he wanted it.... but why???? That implies there’s a purpose to it, and he was okay to gamble his own life - but also, as a person without his memories of this, he wanted to stop the game. If the chip he bet is his own life, the reward must be huge, right? He won these supposed perks for this game, but what did he win for his life outside the game? .... Assuming there is anything outside the game? Is there anything for him outside the game?

HIMIKO DON’T BE RUDE

Yeah, she didn’t know the identity of her target. 8′\ Also I’d be sad if it was Kaede in the end. Second also! I know that she ended up being the first chapter killer and I’m one of the people got taken by surprise by that, but we were in her head for that whole chapter! Her motive made sense - but for her to end up being the mastermind now? That wouldn’t make sense, based on what we know of her, memory shenanigans aside!

That would require the mastermind to have knowledge of Shuichi and Kaede’s plan then, right? So they would have had to draw Rantaro to the library somehow, so he would get caught in Kaede’s trap...

It... should be one of a kind, considering the circumstances...

Yeah I’m still wracking my brain and not coming up with anything there. Could it have to do with his necklace? It did make me think of that ‘soldier tag’ present, about remembering someone who they lost. That would be an incredibly appropriate, if not cruel, ‘survivor’s perk’ present for someone who survived a killing game.

Man are we going to get a new flashback for every place we investigate???

OH SHIT IT’S BACK

FLASHBACK LIGHT!!!

you can pry the flashback light animation from my cold dead hands

?!?!?!

Immediate thoughts - generic students. But, are they? Is there any chance that they look generic on the face of it, but are actually representative of people in the class? I don’t see anything that could be an immediate match (Korekiyo = masked guy, Kokichi = small guy with similarly shaped hair/short stature/face, Kaito = tall guy, maybe), and they seem to have different VAs - hell, is that Jounouchi (or for the proper DR character, Munakata)’s seiyuu?

...... or the guy with the sick mask could just be sick lmao

Ah, so this is from when the virus began to ravage the population...

That seems like an understatement 8′D But at least we know for sure when in the timeline this takes place! Shuichi doesn’t seem to know they’re going to be the only survivors yet, but they’ve already been presumably screened for the Gopher Project which means it is well under way.

Calm down Sigma Klim -

Shuichi hasn’t told them he swings both ways, huh.

OH GOD RIGHT IN THE KAITO

DO YOU GET IT YET SHUICHI, YOU ARE THEIR HOPE

Don’t mind me, just wanted to make sure Shuichi didn’t miss the cryptic message left for him in these memories -

Not only that, but these aren’t memories meant to act as a reward for completing a stage like the other ones or even one they found - this was literally forced on them. It’s supposed to be Monokuma’s weapon against them. So... similar to the motive from the last trial, it’s trying to make them take action...?

And it’s clearly working!

... Maybe it isn’t the necklace then. I mean, he was wearing it when he died right??? And his body is gone...

Oh man unless just like everyone else there were copies of it along with the rest of it in his room - except there are 15, one for all the participants for the last game or something -

It might be 50/50 right now??? There’s something screwy going on, I just don’t know what.

[atopearth]

Chocolate Temptation Part 3 - Mitsuki Aoi Route

Omggg I dislike Mitsuki’s music gahh, it’s annoying lol. Anyway, it’s kinda cute how he gets embarrassed at people watching him work so closely when he’s decorating chocolate. I guess he’s similar with Jin in that he doesn’t seem very nice hahaha, except they don’t seem like it for different reasons. For Jin, he’s just disinterested in anything aside from chocolate, whereas Mitsuki’s very shy so he doesn’t like it when people focus on him. I’m not sure how old Mitsuki is supposed to be but he’s a man huh?! He looks rather childish so I kinda forget lmao. He just kinda reminded me when he told the heroine that she’ll be cooking for four grown men since it’s her turn to cook dinner tonight and Mitsuki went grocery shopping with her.

Why are crazy fangirls always so.. crazy? Sigh. Look at what they did! Pushed the heroine on to the road, making Mitsuki have to save her from the car but then twist his ankle or whatever and break his bone instead! Are you happy now that you injured the guy you like?! Sigh, these fangirls in all these games and stories really need to get their act together on what their priorities are. I’m surprised Mitsuki is so popular with all the girls everywhere lol. I guess it’s because he’s cute. And him being shy just makes people love him even more lol. I think Mitsuki is so adorable to have this “chocolate zone” where he goes into a trance and talks about what kind of chocolates he wants to make after an idea comes to him, it’s nice listening to his ideas since they sound interesting and he’s so serious about it, so you can really see how cool he is too!

Mitsuki’s starting to warm up to the heroine, he even rushed out to help her when she forgot the prices of some chocolates even though he absolutely hates facing customers! Mitsuki’s chocolates lack the strength in not caring about what other people think about his products huh? Tbh, I think I have a similar problem. Although I try my best to stop other people’s thoughts and opinions to sway or hinder what I choose to do, it ends up affecting me either way. I think I also lack the experience to be confident in myself at work, I guess I gotta try and improve myself along with Mitsuki haha! Just as Mitsuki is not really making the kind of chocolates he really wants to make, I’m also in the same position where the fear of what others will think stops me from doing things the way I want and should. Life is difficult😅😅

Lmao at Mitsuki saying the heroine does so much work for her mook but doesn’t do much at the shop🤣 He made up for being rude by telling her he knows that because he’s always looking at her when he’s making chocolate, so cute☺️ After he bonded with her talking about his reasons for designing whatever chocolates, Mitsuki has been so bold by talking to her first and even saying such adorable things like he’s happy to see her first thing in the morning! Kyaa, so cuteee~ I think, just like the heroine, even though Mitsuki is younger, your heart can’t help but flutter when he’s so innocent and sweet like he is now.

Ohh so Mitsuki is 19, wonder if the heroine is like 24 or something then. I guess yeah, that would be a big hurdle to overcome, he’s like young and just starting to blossom and find his ground in society and as a chocolatier so she doesn’t want to like “prey” on him haha. But he’s so cuteeeee, he immediately said yes when she asked him if he was free tonight before she even said what she wanted him for lolll. Then he says he’s happy as long as he can spend time with her? C'mon Mitsuki, don’t play with her heart like this hahaha. Aww she dressed up and he called her pretty and cute, then played with her hair saying it was fluffy🤣🤣 He’s so innocent, I’m dying🤣

Aww the dinner went so well until the heroine sneakily paid the bill without telling him~ Bills always kill the mood lmao. I can understand how both Mitsuki and the heroine feels though, Mitsuki earns money and is capable so having someone else pay for him makes it seem like she’s treating him like a kid, and he wanted to go along as well, so she shouldn’t have to pay for his half. Whereas, for her, it’s true that the company will cover for it anyway, and she did spontaneously get him to come out and didn’t even tell him what place it was and took him there so she probably felt rude if she didn’t pay for his share. But yeah, it’s a problem that isn’t really about the bill but more about how they view their age difference in the end, so they’ll have to solve it either way, the bill just happened to trigger it haha.

So cute how Mitsuki wanted to pay her back by shouting her for like another date and got her to meet up with him at the park so that Jun wouldn’t be able to tease them hahahah. Hearing a guy say that seeing you motivates him to push himself and work harder and that it brightens up his day is like omg, so sweet, how does Mitsuki even say these things out loud so easily?! It’s kinda cute how all the brothers can tell that Mitsuki really likes the heroine and are very protective of him haha, it’s so nice to see them care about him so much. And it’s funny how the heroine can’t tell at all lmaoo. Mitsuki and Ibuki competing on TV?! Guess Mitsuki’s gonna try his best to beat him now since he thinks that the heroine might get stolen away by Ibuki so he wouldn’t want to lose, he’s already losing in terms of age so I’m sure he doesn’t want to lose in other aspects he can control haha.

Omg, they’re making a piece montee for the competition and the time limit is 10 hours! How do people even concentrate for that long… Dang, Mitsuki is so straightforward, it’s hard to believe he used to be so shy that he couldn’t even talk to the heroine. He’s practically declared that he likes her by saying he doesn’t want her to be stolen by Ibuki haha. Young people these days🤣 But I guess it does help for the heroine to talk to her friend at work about Mitsuki, since she really helped her understand how she really felt and how even though the heroine is worried about the age gap, the friend can tell that she really likes him and that’s much more important than the age gap. I mean, Mitsuki is pretty level headed and even though he may be inexperienced, he can be mature as well so they’ll be fine together! I always find it so amazing how someone just being there beside you can put you so at ease, it’s pretty cool.

Mitsuki is so bold to actually kiss the heroine! He’s younger but he’s really forward! Legit just kept going once she was like, it’s okay, she doesn’t not like it😆 Mitsuki is so stubborn about only asking her to be his girlfriend after he wins the competition even though he wants to keep kissing her lmao. It was obvious that Mitsuki was making a piece montee of the flower bouquet the heroine gave him in the beginning when he was in the hospital that inspired him and made him know her better, but seeing the heroine realise the depth of his feelings and his thoughts behind the piece was really sweet. The happy ending was good but omg the super happy ending seems so nice and fun since Mitsuki and the heroine are home alone together for the whole week~~ honestly though, if Jin and Ibuki always do these last minute going to weddings etc for work, I still think they should hire someone to help out, like seriously, what would they have done if the heroine wasn’t there?? It would have been just Mitsuki working and how could he handle making chocolate and the customer service?? Anywho, now they can bond alone without anyone interrupting them I guess lol.

Lol, they’ve kissed so many times already and yet they’re still so embarrassed over an accidental kiss lolll. Mitsuki smelling of vanilla and cocoa sounds so good, I bet it smells so delicious and comforting 🤣 Hmmmm I feel like the heroine was much stronger before they started dating. Now, all she does is pretty much cry and be a big baby so that it can show how mature Mitsuki is… Really, two mature people can be together you know… One of them doesn’t need to be inferior or be like a baby for the relationship to work… Sigh. But now that they’re finally together, lol I thought they were together ages ago and knew their feelings but maybe I was getting the happy and super happy ending mixed up lol. Anyway!!! The chocolate making lessons are such a great idea! The chocolates of happiness can only be made by people who care about each other and stuff so teaching people the skills to do it together would create that happiness. I totally would join if there was one here! The ending nicely rounded everything up with them thinking of different ways people could make these chocolates of happiness together😊

Season 2

Back to the competition story as usual, let’s see how it goes~~ I guess since both Mitsuki and Tokita are Dino’s apprentices, they’re going to be rivals in chocolate and love too? Loll. Since they both seem to care a lot about the heroine. I guess a nice difference in this story is that Mitsuki is teamed up with another girl for the competition haha. Otherwise, the heroine and Mitsuki are frustrating me to no end with their lack of communication, coming to pointless conclusions and acting like children gahhh. They were so much more level headed in the first story like seriously…

Anyway, the heroine and Mitsuki continue to be irritating with them doing what they think is best without properly communicating because they’re scared of facing the other and other crap like that, which is very annoying. I also hateee that in every route, all the guys have to love the heroine and create some sort of rivalry. Like, you can kinda see why Tokita is interested in her, but seriously guys, she’s Mitsuki’s girlfriend, hands off, okay?!?! Like, c'mon. It’s just unnecessary love drama trying to push the relationship forward when really, the problem isn’t whether they love each other, it’s that they’re not talking to each other properly. Also, honestly don’t know why the heroine took so long to reject Tokita when she was obviously not interested. Not wanting to hurt him is such a shitty reason since unless she’s really considering him (which she wasn’t!), then she’s going to hurt him either way, might as well make it clear to him asap so that Mitsuki won’t feel so insecure, like dude, you can’t blame Mitsuki for thinking she’ll get stolen when she can’t even reject a guy when she’s already in a relationship. Know your priorities, woman! I also don’t understand what is with these games etc where guys don’t give up on trying to get the attention of someone else’s girlfriend, like seriously? Is that romantic? Do people like this shit? It’s not even like the boyfriend is trash and a jerk or whatever, they’re good people trying to progress their relationship and like they’re all friends too like wtf? Go somewhere else, ugh, I hate these stupid love triangles and fruitless unrequited loves that are ridiculous.

Anyway, the usual Eleanor stuff and chocolate competition happens but wow, didn’t expect Mitsuki to practically propose to her already lol, so young and committed! Didn’t realise that they had a mother, it might have been mentioned somewhere but yeah wow, she really hasn’t been watching over her children and their shop lol. I liked Mitsuki’s perspective for the tournament though, because really, it didn’t show anything about the the chocolate making and then they won, so it was nice to see that Mitsuki understood what his qualities were and remembered why he likes to make chocolate, which is to make people smile, and that’s why he won. I liked that. Anyway, Mitsuki giving her the matching rings was actually the ending! I didn’t even realise lolol! Didn’t get to see Dino’s reactions etc to the competition so I didn’t expect that, now it feels kinda incomplete lol.

Overall, as usual, the first season is great but the second just doesn’t deliver. I feel like for all the first seasons, although they had their similarities, it was mostly different, whereas the second season was literally the same thing for all three brothers, just a change in perspective depending on the brother and some changes in the love rivals and relationships, but otherwise, there wasn’t much of a difference, and the guys were stuck with the same problem e.g. Mitsuki not feeling mature enough for the heroine and trying to block the other guys from courting her. Things randomly resolve because it’s ending but nothing substantial really happens, so yeah, really can’t recommend the second part, maybe except Jin’s one, I didn’t mind that. Otherwise, it was pretty frustrating, why’s it such a common thing in these stories for the guy’s friends to go after the guy’s girlfriend aka the heroine?! Like seriously, ugh.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this game. I probably like it just as much as Princess Closet if we’re just talking about the first seasons since I feel like the relationships, the romance and the stories developed very nicely and at a good pace, the guys were all sweet and romantic in their individual ways, definitely recommend it~

[suchaspookyginger]

@obsessedgrapes you asked for oc help, especially when it comes to getting started, and here i am giving you a quick breakdown on the evolution of literally my first oc ever. click the readmore because this accidentally became a behemoth lmao.

alright now that i’m home from work and actually sketched out a quick reference for my oc that i’ve had since i was 12 (which lmao means i’ve had my oc for 11 years rip).

here she was in all her glory when i was....14? I deleted my original drawings of her from when i was 12, so this is the oldest version of her design that i own now (i just added some color onto the original drawing, though i tried to mimic my old shading style, which is to say i had no idea what a light source was lmao). 

initially, she was an incredibly serious, cut-and-dry character. her best friend disappeared and ended up dead, and a teddy bear that “ringo” had gifted her when they were young kids held a clue to find her murderer. (it was actually very dark and i never went really far with actually creating the story because i was a 14-year-old kid with then-undiagnosed adhd lmao.)

AND THEN I FORGOT ABOUT HER FOR SIX YEARS LOL

this was my redesign of her that i did when i was 20 because i...missed having ocs that weren’t literal self-inserts? her best friend character was also completely redesigned (where gale kept most of her design and her personality was changed, rosa’s entire look was radically changed, but her personality stayed pretty similar) and actually still alive in this vague story that exists in my head. 

gale is still fairly serious about her studies, but is overall a laid-back person. she’s an ace lesbian and loves kicking it with her friends and salsa dancing, because that was a detail i found to be important. I literally did not flesh her out much more than that at this point lmao. (tbh i’m mad at how good that hand turned out because that was a big ass fluke and i wish i could consistently draw hands that well hot damn.)

AND HERE SHE IS NOW! still in the textiles career path, though now she’s a costume designer at a local theatre. where’s that theatre? who knows, though probably in cleveland because i’m basic and know cleveland super well lmao. i wrote that she’s bi as hell in the desc., though i think i still prefer her as a lesbian tbh. she’s dating rosa (who i didn’t feel like making a whole new-ass reference sheet like gale’s because that’s a lot of work?) who is bi as hell though. 

gale has the tendency to hyperfixate on whatever she’s working on at the time, to the point of forgetting to eat or drink or go to the restroom. she’s stubborn and opinionated, though has the best intentions the majority of the time.

and like. i’m always thinking of various scenarios and trying to actually create a story of her and rosa. their story was originally a freaking murder-mystery and i changed their story to be an lgbt coming-of-age fluff story. like, seriously. have fun with your characters and keep throwing them into new situations until you have a story. (sometimes your characters have a story for you and will just drag you kicking and screaming throughout it. you cannot control your characters beyond a certain level. just accept it lmao)

other big things to take into consideration when creating an oc include:

family members? what’s their relationship with them?

what kind of story do you want to tell? will their personality and character traits work in this setting?

where did they grow up? take care for them to be knowledgeable of any regional culture

ethnicity/religion/race/culture. if you’re making a poc (or really any character that doesn’t fall under your own ethnic, cultural, racial, and religious group), please make sure to not accidentally make them a stereotype. there are a lot of blogs here on tumblr that help with exactly that.

if you throw them in x situation, what will they do? why?

if you throw them in x situation, what will they not do? why not?

there are a lot of other things to take into consideration, but these ones are the big ones i think of when i try to come up with a character.

OR you can take a “shortcut” and literally create a dnd character and base a real character off of those trait lmao. (depending on how into dnd characters you get, this may or may not take even more time lol)

[moonraccoon-exe]

More thoughts about DA: I so far!

I said I’d do this like a week or two ago but lol. Have mercy on me ;u;

But yeh! Just a lot of random thoughts to share about my experience so far:

EPIC

SO FUCKING EPIC OH MY G O D THIS HAS TO BEO NE OF THE MOST EPIC STORIES I’VE PLAYED OR SEEN/READ, THIS IS JUST SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO COOOOOOOOOOOL

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

*HYSTERICALLY SQUEAKING*

Honestly from beginning to the point I’m in, it’s so EPIC, like- the SUMMIT of epic!!

The story and the lore and the world are all so vast, so impossibly vast, it’s mindblowing. The writers of this are true masterminds and I must applaude all this work, they created a full whole new universe that’s real and breathes and lives. Holy. Fuck. It’s truly mindblowing and mesmerizing, I can’t even put it into words so I won’t even try.

Leliana and Cassandra, though? FUCK ME, THEY’RE GLORIOUS.

I’m SO in love with this game’s portrait of women, because there are SO MANY, and all in actual PRACTICAL and realistic armor! Like, no giant anime tiddies protected only on the nipple, it’s full armors not even shaped to make them look attractive or “like women”. And not just your companions; throughout the story, you find women enemies and allies in armor, it’s AMAZING.

I love Cassandra’s accent/voice color. I want her to fuck me. But DAMN me, I went with female elf in the end, after SO MUCH thinking about every choice (as in, gender, race, and class. I took SO LONG picking one of everything).

DO WE AGREE THAT COLE IS A MISUNDERSTOOD SOUL AND HE  NEEDS PROTECC AND I LOVE HIM SO DEARLY AND SO MUCH HE JUST WANTS TO HELP DEAR COLE I LOVE YOU I’D TAKE A BULLET FOR YOU

Blackwall is charming? Like...I don’t know. I didn’t like him in a beginning but then he just. Went and spoke and FUCK HE’S CHARMING.

I really feel like praising more the lore and story-telling/writing but there’s just no putting it into words goddammit.

THE WHOLE SCENE OF THE ATTACK ON HAVEN AND THE ESCAPE TO SKYHOLD THOUGH?

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

E P I C

LIKE SOOOOOOOO EPIC THERE ARE NO WORDS ENOUGH TO DESCRIBE IT!!! BEST, MOST EXCITING, MOST EPIC CUTSCENE SO FAR AND ONE OF THE MOST EPIC I’VE SEEN LIKE HOLY SHIT, IT WAS GLORIOUSLY EPIC!!!!!! BEYOND WORDS! I STILL THINK ABOUT IT AND STILL GET ALL HYPED AND WORKED UP AND AKSLJDFAKGLJ

From the moment the attack starts I was like HOLY SHIT THIS IS SO COOL

Watching Cullen in action was GREAT, too! He gets so little screen time (in my opinion), like, he could have been given a bigger role, it’s sad to watch all his potential just standing there doing nothing. What I would give so he was a party member! But yeah, that’s why it was so cool to watch him act in that part.We’re used to Cassandra and Leliana by that point, so it was good to see Cullen in charge for once. Watch him give orders, raise the voice, command the army, GAWDS, IT STILL GIVES ME CHILLS

Surviving the whole thing was AMAZING, the thing with (I forgot the english word lkasjdlakdg) “bombing”/attacking the snow mountains to Mulan the whole thing and bury the bad guys in the avalanche was SO GLORIOUSLY EPIC.

And then Super Bad Guy appears and I was like ZOMG FUCK I AM GOING TO DIE AHA HSADJFAHDGJAD ZOMG THIS IS SO COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

I couldn’t save the people of Haven, though! I saved...the lady in charge of the...the one table that requests random things. Lady in armor? Forogt her name. Also saved Adan, I’m SO happy he made it!!! But Minaeve died lmao aah :’( And I think I lost someone else, but not sure who.

AND THEN WHEN YOU DECIDE TO GO BACK AND GIVE TIME FOR THE PEOPLE TO ESCAPE??? OMG CULLEN BEING THE ADORABLE MATURE IDIOT THAT I LOVE AND ROLLING WITH IT AKLSJDADKLGJ

AND THAT WHOLE SCENE WITH CORIPHEUS

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

*EXPLODES INTO A THOUSAND SNOWFLAKES*

AKSLJF KAL GJAILSJF ALKJF ALKJGALDKGJADLGKJ

SO

BADASS

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

*HYSTERICALLY SCREECHING*

IT WAS SO EPIC! SO SO DAMN EPIC OMG IT WAS SUPER COOL!!!

I wasn’t too scared of him, like, the design doesn’t look that scary. But he’s got a nice air of villain! And the way he grabs you and picks you up, and then when you fire the thing to cause the lastavalanche?

I WAS LIKE

ZOMG

HOW AM I GOING TO SURVIVE OH MY G O D NO WILL I JUST RUN!?!? PLS RUN LITTLE ELF YOU CAN DO IT I BELIEVE IN YOU

AND THEN YOU JUMP INTO THE GROUND AND YOU 

YOU ACTUALLY M A K E IT

AHA SADHGAD

*FANGASMS*

AND THE WHOLE WALK THROUGH THE SNOW DESERT episode Prompto anyone I WAS LIKEK OMG YES THIS TROPE I AM SO IN LOVE WITH THIS ABOUT THE HERO SURVIVING, BUT NO ONE KNOWING, AND MAKING IT THROUGH A SNOW DESERT ALONE BARELY SURVIVING BUT KEEPING ON

AND THE TROPE DIDN’T FAIL THE “HERO COLLAPSES WHEN THEY SEE THEIR FRIENDS AND THEIR FRIENDS YELLL “THERE THEY ARE!!!” AND RUN TO GO PICK YOU UP AND THEN

FUCK

FFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

LIKE THE LORE AND WORLD AND UNIVERSE WASN’T MY JAM ALREADY

THEY THROW THIS AT ME!?!?!??!!?!?

PERFECT

BRILLIANT

GENIUS

I AM SO IN LOVE WITH THIS ONE BIT, I HAVE A SAVE JUST TO REPLAY ALL THAT SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE, THIS IS SO E X Q U I S I T E

And the best part personally is that it’s Cullen teddy bear who spots you aaah ;A; <3

And the next bit? When you wake up and the advisors are arguing. So you decide to chime in to try and ease it. But you have no idea what to say, so Mother Giselle comes in and starts singing?

And then Leliana joins?

And then Cassandra

And then CULLEN

AND THEN EVERYONE

AND EVERYONE IN CAMP GATHERS AROUND YOU AND SING THE MAIN THEME OF THE GAME AND YOU DISCOVER “OMG IT’S THE MAIN THEME OF THE TITLE SCREEN, OMG IT HAS LYRICS” AND THE WHOLE VISUALS LIKE AFTER THE TRAGEDY EVERYONE THAT SURVIVED GATHERING AROUND YOU AND SINGING AND SOLAS WATCHING IN ADMIRATION EVEN WHEN HE DOESN’T BELIEVE IN ANDRASTE/THE HUMAN RELIGION AND

GOOSEBUMPS

LITERAL GOOSEBUMPS AND CHILLS ALL OVER MY BODY, LIKE A DAMN BOLT, OM HY GOD THAT HAS TO BEO NE OF THE MOST IMPACTING SCENES SO FAR, IT JUST GIVES ME SO MUCH GOOSEBUMPS AND MAKES ME GO AKSLJF AKLGJADFLKA

*FANGASMS AGAIN*

OKAY BUT I FORGOT

THE WHOLE TIME TRAVEL THING WITH DORIAN!?!?!?!?

*sHRIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK*

So I went mages instead of Templars. Because ya know, it felt better? Like, yes, I know mages have done bad things before, but templars are hunting for them like they’re “things” or beasts, so I felt that it was best to support mages instead of Templars.

Okay but sidenote; I thought Cullen was going to be upset at me, like MAD. Because, you know, he used to be a Templar, and he still is so in love with the Templars and always talks so nicely and excitedly about them, and tried to encourage you to go with Templars. So I chose Mages thinking he was going to rage at me.

And what did he do? “Oh well, yes, the mages are good, they may be able to help us close the rift. They’re good allies :)”

AND I LOSE IT

CULLEN. MY DEAR. MY LOVE. MY STUPID IDIOT, I LOVE YOU.

Seriously, I’m SO IN LOVE with how mature he is. That and his shyness are what convinced me to romance him. He took it so nicely, like, he doesn’t throw tantrums or argues; he knows what’s at risk, he wants the best to turn out of everything, and when things happen, he knows to just get over it and take it to his vantage and see it in a positive way and fUCK GODS HAVE MERCY ON ME, IT WAS GREAT

OKAY SO BACK TO TPOIC

MAGES

SO YOU GO TO THIS CASTLE and well I guess you know the whole thing already lmao, SO THAT TIME TRAVEL WITH DORIAN? 

FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK IT WAS THE SECOND OR THIRD MOST EPIC THING IS WEAR TO THE HEAVENS DEAR LORDS AOVE IT WAS GLORIOUS!!!!!!!d

Exploring the castle alone with him wasamazing (gotta talk about orian ina sec). And when you learn you were transported a  whole year into the future? I was like HAHAHAHAHAHAHA LOL TRY WAITING TEN (was definitely thinking about FFXV OTL these poor babies waited so much... :( ). I felt bad finding Cassandra and Varric poisoned/consumed by the lyrium, but when you find Leliana?

LIKE HOLY FUCK WHAT DID THEY DO TO HER ZOMG SHE AGED LIKE 90 YEARS IN JUST 1 IT WAS INCREDIBLE

AND THE WHOEL SCENE OF YOUR COMPANIONS DECIDING TO GIVE THEIR LIVES TO GIVE YOU TIME!?!?!?

SO EPIC. SO FUCKING EPIC GAWDS DAMN ME, ONEO F THE DEMONS CAME THROUGH THE DOOR WITH VARRIC’S CORPSES AND IT STILL HAUNTS ME

FROM AMONG EVERYONE THEY KILLED DEAR VARRICAND I DIE

AND THEN LELIANA...PROUDLY STANDING THERE, FEARLESS, BRAVE, SO BADASS AND SO COOL, SHOOTING ARROWS WHILE PRAYING AND GIVING YOU TIME

FUCK ME

I WANTED TO GO AFTER HER BUT I ALSO KNEW I DIDN’T HAVE TO FUCK UP BUT LIKE IT WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

EPIC

*sHRIEEEEEEEK*

*EXPLODES AGAIN*

AND DORIAN!?!?!?

FUCM KE M Y HEART HE’S ADORABLE AND I’M SO ABSURDLY IN LOVE WITH HIM

I had regretted making a female avatar int hemoment I learned  Cassandra doesn’t romance female. But I moved on. But when I learned Dorian only romances male??? INSTANT REGRET.

DORIAN THAT FUCKING IDIOT, I’M SO IN LOVE WITH HIM. There’s somethingabout the “guy that loves himself so much, it’s narcissistic”, because they’re fun. And like, eh’s not selfish, just narcissistic. Loves himself, but is kind and supportive. He’s so intelligent, wise, he’s so kind, he’s lots of fun, damn me, he’s elegant, and he’s a MAGE. I LOVE MAGES.

I love his voice, too. All of him is GREAT and I love him. Sassy little shit that loves himself, GAWDS. I have to romance him someday!

Also loved the whole thing with Solas when he’s like “I just casually happen to know this huge abandoned castle nearby here, maybe it can be of use c:” Solas you adorable idiot. But honestly, watching the Inquisitor and Solas lead the way to Skyhold was PHENOMENAL and so beautiful. I’m in love with snowy scenarios so I truly loved it, and Skyhold? MAGNIFICENT. A PIECE OF ART. SO BEAUTIFUL SUCH A BREATHTAKING SIGHT AKLSDJFAKDLGJ ALKFJA

The game sort of tried to incline me to romance Solas multiple times, and I for sure will do that in a second playthrough, because GODS HE’S CUTE. I love how profoundly wise and mature he is. And he has an air of melancholy that sort of attracts me, not like “ooh sexy!” but like...I want to comfort him, and love him, and clean him. He feels like such a melancolic character. Even Cole says Solas is sor tof a “sad creature” or something. It breaks my heart when Solas says bye because he says it so sadly like omg no pls ;A;

I LOVED going into the dream with him. It was just natural to go and kiss him but I didn’t aksldjdagk, I wanted to romance CUllen so badly XD But it was amazing!! And the way he asks the next day if you enjoyed your dreams, it was so cute. Solas is such a good and nice friend!!

I loved his quest rescuing his spirit friend. I felt sad in the conversation afterwards because, as I didn’t romance him, he ended the conversation with “It means I respect you profoundly, Inquisitor. And that I’ve taken too much of your time already” and left I was like NO SOLAS DARLING PLS I SWEAR INA  SECOND LIFE I WILL LOVE YOU AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

But yeh. Solas is amazing.

Also, Iron Bull and Dorian are flirting and I love it. There was a point, Dorian tried to argue with him about the Qunari attacking Tevinter and he was like “So would you prefer to see me ona leash?” to which Iron Bull replied “I’d take you out for dinner first”.

Omg Bull. Omg IRON BULL OMG THAT IS PRIVATE XD And today Dorian was like “Can you PLEASE be careful with that pointy thing and not direct it towards me?” and Bull was like “Lmao kkinky”, so Dorian was like “JESUS CHRIST, I meant your weapon!”

I WANT THEM TO FUCK. if I can’t fuck Dorian, then may the Bull fuck him for me DAMMIT

Josephine is adorable and so kind. I almost romanced her, too. Talked with her at the balcony and she was all gratitudde and joy ad shyness. 

Also Vivienne? First time we meet her I was like OH MY GOD SHE’S SO BEAUTIFUL. OMG SHE’S GORGEOUS. SO FIRM, SO REGAL, SO MIPOSING, SO INDEPENDENT, SO BADASS.

Then at Haven when she’s finally off-mask I was like omg she’s bald AND SHE’S ROCKING THAT LOOK OMG SHE’S SO GOROUGES, LOOK AT TAHT SKIN COLOR, IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL, AND HER WHITE DRESS AND OMG I LOVE HER

And now it’s like “omg Vivienne cAN YOU PLEASE STOP! >:’(” because hahaha, BOY! She’s gorgeous and strong, but so difficult!! We just disagree morally. I’m all hero-like regarding “Everyone deserves peace/a chance/freedom, love and peace, do the right thing, spirits are friends” and Vivienne is all “WE NEED TO BE STRICT. LIKE IRON FIST STRICT. TELL THAT SPIRIT TO FUCK OFF. KILL THIS PERSON. FUCK THE MAGES” and like nooooooo!!! Vivienneeeeeeee, that’s not how you show mercy!!!!

I think she’s the only one I won’t be able to befriend...she’s disapproved of almost all that I’ve done... OTL

MORE NOTES

FIRST OF ALL

WHY THE FUCK CAN’T WE ROMANCE CULLENW ITH A MALE INQUISITOR!?!?!?! WHY. THE. FUCK

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

IT WOULD BE SO CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE

Also WHY CAN’T WE ROMANCE LELIANA!?!?! THAT IS A PUNISHMENT FROM THE HELLS, SHE’S AMAZING. And gay.

Also WHY THE FUCK CAN’T WE ROMANCE CASSANDRA WITH A FEMALE!?!??!?! ;^;

Also, why can’t weromance Varric with ANYONE? Honesly, he’s one of my favorites! He’s so charming, outgoing, so lighthearted. He’s so understanding and mature. I love that he has the heart of an artist and dedicates to writing. I love how he doesn’t take things personally. I love his sensibility. Honestly, he probably would have been my option 1 of romance if only he was romanceable. I’m so upset he’s not an available option!

SPEAKING OF ROMANCE

I JUST ROMANCED CULLENT ODAY AND 

HONESTLY I REGRET NOTHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING

IT’S SO ABSURDLY ADORABLE, SUCH A VANILLA LOVE OMG IT WAS SO CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The reason he was my first option was because of that first reaction you get at Haven. When he goes all excited talking about protecting the weak and innocent and saving the world then he is like “Haha, sorry, I ranted and you’re not here so to hear me talk :)”

And you go “But I like your enthusiasm”. I picked that because I REALLY thought his enthusiasm was nice.

And his reaction??? HIS REATION!?!?!?!?

Like...you look at him. And you think “Oh, it’sa pretty boy. Charming and outgoing. He’ll probably just laugh it off, your casual, stereotyped Romeo”.

But???

TURNS OUT HE’S A DORK.

A DORK MADE OF SHYNESS THAT GETS EASILY FLUSTERED AND HAS NO IDEA HOW TO TALK TO OTHERS

THIS

ABSOLUTE

IDIOT

AKSJDFA KLGJA SKLDJAGL KAJDGALKDJA LKSJDA

THAT IS WHAT GOT ME

IT JUST

GOT ME

IT GOT ME SO BAD, I WAS ISNTANTLY HOOKED AS SOON AS HE CAME OUT AS THIS SHY DORK.

BECAUSE HONSTLY

THAT IS SO CUTE

I HAVE A SOFT SPOT FOR SHY, QUIET PEOPLE BECAUSE IT CAN BE SO CUTE AND CULLEN DIDN’T DISAPPOINT.

The way he just stared at my elf like .____. *brain death* zomg what do I do what do I say pls halp I’m lost and he just stuttered and went shy and looked away and PANICKED

AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

HE’S SUCH AN IDIOT

I LOVE HIM

And all throughout the courting process with him, he’s all shyness and adorableness, I swear to the gods, I AM SO WEAK

I think at some point of the War Table, he’s staring at the Inquisitor? Like, before you are the Inquisitor. Because Leliana goes “So, you were telling us.........Cullen?”, and Cullen goes all “HM? OH- AH-...YES- AH...”and talks about something else, so like. Was he daydreaming OR was something in sight range, hm?

And then at Sky hold? That ADORABLE conversation when he’s staring and staring and tries to not say bye and right before you walk away he goes with what he has been containing about “You stayed behind, at Haven. You could have...” and then he swears it won’t happen again and he’s there for you AND I DIE, GIVE ME MY FAIRY TALE VANILLA LOVE, I LOVE IT.

And stuf stuff blah blah, AND WHEN YOU FINALLY ROMANCE HIM?

HONESTLY I’M JUST SO HAPPY BECAUSE HE’S THIS SHY STUTTERING IDIOT, YOU WOULD EXPECT HIM- LIKE YOU KNOW, strong warrior archetype, with the big armor, strong and badass, you would EXPECT him to be charmming, confident, utgoing, charming, flirty. But instead? Stuttering shy idiot that gets nervous. AND HONESTLY THAT MAKES ME FEEL SO HAPPYAND INLOVE WITH HIS CHARACTER GAWDS DAMN ME IT’S SO CUTE

So when you ask him to talk alone with him, is he confident now?

NAH MAN

He just stares away, gets nervous, and stutters” I-IT’S A NICE WEATHER, ISN’T IT? AHAH” like bruh. You nervous, anxious idiot PLS KISS ME ALREADY.

And that almost-kiss. IT WAS ADORABLE. And then the kiss-kiss. EVEN MORE ADORABLE. And they even give you soft piano music, aaaahhhh, I DIE ;A;

SO YEH. LOOKING FORWARDS TO MORE, BOTH ABOUT THE WHOLE STORY AND THE ROMANCE WITH CULLEN.

I could make the one quest...Wicked Hearts, something Eyes (I’M NOT PLAYING IT IN ENGLISH I’M SORRY), I think you go to a ball? But I have this habit of trying to complete as many sidequests as I can so you know. I’m taking long and doing it slow OTL

But enjoying it!!! And anyway, I spent too long writing this and now I feel guilty alksjdfkladjga

But yeh! My experience so far! C:

Thanks for reading!

[asirenspeaks]

Summer 17 necessities :  Maja’s Very Own Organic Mosquito Repellent

“Pretend I’m not here” I told Maja as I placed my nikon in her face (Yes, flash and all).  After she posed for me while still holding her wine glass, (yes, kindred spirits) I focused my attention on her products.   It was a Sunday afternoon, and she helped me arrange the products into a flatlay, flipping switches on and off to cast the perfect lighting.  It had been raining cats and dogs on and off since the spring in Atlanta, and the constant heat and humidity created the perfect conditions for mosquitoes to flourish.  The mosquitoes were clearly out here eating and living good while we either a) hide out indoors b) get bit up c) try chemical bug sprays and still get bit up and now also stink in addition to being bit up and itchy.  Those worries are now a thing of the past, thanks to Maja’s Very Own.  Now if you’ve been here before, you know I’m no stranger to chemical free living (in most  ways, still working on others) so I was over the moon when Maja let me purchase some of her MVO organic mosquito repellent before the shop launched.  I tested it the best way I know , I used it when I went to Florida for mother’s day weekend (Florida mosquitoes are a whole different level of terrible).  Not only did I return to Atlanta unbitten, but my family loved it too, mostly because it didn’t have that yucky chemical smell and stickiness most repellents give.  

Maja’s Very Own, is the true definition of an entrepreneurial effort.  She is a one woman show, from expertly mixing her butters and oils, down to the labels that she designed herself.   I had purchased before the labels were created, so I enjoyed admiring the intricate flowers the California native artist created.   They are  simple and effective, much like the product itself.  

  Get to know Maja , the artist and creator of Maja’s Very Own below.

 Tell me about how Maja's very Own started.

My thoughts of developing a mosquito repellent started when I knew I’d be moving back to the South. I lived in South Carolina for 8 years and there I found out I was highly allergic. Living there was miserable because 4-5 months out the year I couldn’t step out the house passed a certain hour in fear of being bit. I would swell so bad, and I even developed MRSA from being bitten before. I was determined to enjoy my new move because it was a new chapter in my life, and I didn’t want to limit myself. So I did my fav thing ever and google researched anything I could regarding mosquitoes and how to naturally repel them. I knew there had to be plants that worked, I hated the smell of OFF! And anything with DEET. Even if they add a “flowery” smell to those products, it smells horrible. It’s nothing but chemicals. I’m a self-proclaimed black hippy lol and want nothing to do with such things. I made my first batch summer ’16, it was a small personal bottle just to try things out. I was my own guinea pig and saw it worked for a little while but I still would get bit and would have to load up on benedryl to avoid using my Epi-Pen. But summer 17 was going to be my summer. I started my health journey, finally settled into southern living and really wanted to see what ATL had to offer. By doing more research I found better oils and remedies that might help so I threw some things together and would try them out and finally found a mix that worked and smelled good. Fortunately this time around friends and family tested it to make sure it worked for different people who have a different body chemistry than I do. Whala !  Maja’s Very Own. I wanted to have fun with it, so making it wouldn’t feel like or become a job, I already have one of those. That’s why there are Drake references in my description, someone told me I was “too urban” for those but clearly they didn’t get it was an MVO ting ayyyee lmao plus who doesn’t love a little Aubrey Drake in their life?… life is to enjoy and why not enjoy what you do?

 When you realized you could turn your own personal remedy into a business, did you have any fears along the way ?   If so , how did you overcome them ?

I originally wasn’t going to sell it or even mention it. It was the push from family that gave me the courage to start bottling it. I have a hard time putting myself out there I’m very introverted unless I know you personally. It worked so well for family I was like fuck it why not, what do I have to lose? Yes, it’s pricey but not only will I be helping myself but others. As soon I made mention of it on my FB people were messaging me telling me they have the same problem and they hate the mass produced products as well.

My main fear was the cost to do everything, because everything I used I made sure was organic, pure and naturally sourced. We all know organic isn’t cheap, but I took the leap anyway because I believe in what I’m doing. I truly believe that as long as you try to do what you whole heartedly believe in you’ll never fail because you tried. You come out a winner because you learned something by simply trying. Plus i'm beyond fortunate because my family supports everything I do, I couldn't ask for anything more than that. they're my cheerleaders even when I fail, they understand the importance of being an entrepreneur, especially being a woman and black, how important that is. I want my brothers see me try and fail or succeed, and know they don't have to keep working for someone else funding another's dream. You can put time into your own and build an empire. It'll take time, and i'm not saying I'll be hugely successful, but until my last breath I'm going to use the gifts God gave me and keep trying. Just having my younger brothers tell me they're going to step out of their comfort zone to try something because they see me trying is everything, or having my mom and grandmothers tell me they're proud of me having the courage to constantly put myself out there.  I don't care if I sell nothing else,lol that's the most rewarding thing i've ever experienced. I'll forever submit my artwork to galleries or shows and keep making stuff in the kitchen just because of those things right there.

 What are some of the challenges you faced initially as a small business owner?

Money… lmao point blank, everything else comes pretty easy for me. At a random job I had I learned design so I design all my labels, thank you inserts and banners for my Etsy. I’m also an artist so I pay serious attention to detail, almost borderline OCD lol

 Also because of that I kind of get anxiety wondering if people like what I’m sending them. Along with the product I send a general thank you, but I also send a handwritten note that I appreciate them and I believe in giving back to the Earth we take from daily. I enclose wildflowers, lavender and a few other seeds for them to plant personally or just spread somewhere so in a small way we help stabilize our bee population because we need them. Without the bees I won’t be able to continue making the product even if it’s just for myself and never sell another bottle, the fruits we eat or anything for that matter. We have to give back in some type of way, it's small but it’s something. My black hippy ish lmao

 Do you plan on expanding your product line in the future ?

I do actually last summer on top of making me a spray I also made repellent infused jewelry which I was hella surprised it worked! I forgot to spray myself and just had on my bangles and earrings and never got bit. Also beside the spray I also have a rub I made. I think people tend to shy away from the rub because it’s the summer but in the summer we still need lotion with this hard ATL water lol. I use that in place of my lotion everyday just as extra protection because I myself have even forgotten to spray myself down before walking out and regret it as soon as I feel a slight burn then welt somewhere. It's lighter than you’d think and moisturizes your skin so well because of the Shea and coconut oil. Still smells really good which a main focus was. You can wear either spray or rub along w your fav oil or perfume and it won’t be overbearing. But yea jewelry is the next move.

 You can purchase Maja’s product at here etsy shop here.   You can also keep up with her on instagram.  I highly recommend her products, not only to support small owned black businesses, but because you can’t slay all seasons 17 when you’re swollen and itchy .  

[pianoandcookiedoughlover]

alrighty i've decided to just flush all of my thoughts out on here about big shot, spoilers for up until ep 9 (the latest ep at this point) and yeah, definitely let me know what you all think!

(this is a looooooong post so i'm very sorry for that)

this is honestly just going to be a messy stream of consciousness since i don't have time right now to go through each episode in detail, but i might end up going back over those at some point. for now, this is just general likes and dislikes.

staaaaaarting with the negatives:

(i think it boils down to this) lack of self awareness

this especially stuck out to me with olive's storyline. i'm sure we've all seen this before, where one character hides their financial issues to "fit in," but what irked me about this portrayal was the fact that olive . . . is still very well off!!

more out of curiosity than anything, i compared the median house price to where they were (san diego, i believe) to where i live and it's almost three times higher, and i am very grateful that my family and i live comfortably - what i mean by this is that they can afford to live in a nice area with a nice house (in my opinion, at least what we've seen of it), olive seems to have enough money for having gelato often with the girls, wears nice outfits and accessories, etc

this is by no means a criticism of her specifically, just in the way the show tries to force her into "the poor friend" - it feels insulting when there are so many people out there in a worse position. if they had acknowledged more that the "standard" of wealth is much higher where this is set and explored that deeper it could've been a well-executed storyline, but for me, the show isn't self-aware enough to communicate that well

unlikeable characters

i don't know if i'm alone in this but . . . i find the large majority of the characters to be annoying??

the way they introduced the girls with them saying "we find whistles triggering" and "we don't like labels" almost felt like a poke to a growing culture of being aware of those kinds of things rather than viewing it as a helpful thing. it reminds of the worst parts of twitter -people relentlessly attacking others for some higher moral ground - and that annoyed me in principle.

i just watched ep 9 (spoiler for that) and emma is just so pressed about this play?? like she was just not giving up

OH that reminds me, the way her and lucas met? i can confidently say i would've been out of there the minute he walked up to me alskdadsjlwa

i honestly can't pick any specific moment off the top of my head but i just found the girls to often be annoying, in the ways they reacted to things and talked to others. if i did do an ep-by-ep breakdown i would try and get some examples on here

but mainly it's the adults!! i don't know if we're supposed to be rooting for marvyn and the drama teacher (i forgot her name lmao) but i just get so annoyed by her character. often in shows the drama teacher is very ~dramatic~ and in some ways acts like the kids but here she is so persistent yet inflexible and childish that it grinds on my nerves

maybe i'm biased because of my own personal experience but i find the counselor to be a pointless character who also just annoys me for existing oops

the fucking carlsbad coach can fight me jesus christ

and ms. grint was written to be some villain and just completely unnecessarily confrontational when i actually thought she had some good points??

anyway my point with this is that i don't believe the writers are intentionally writing the characters this way but they make them so hard to root for for me

gruzinsky family drama

i thought this plot was really off base, from the way the carlsbad students were relentlessly attacking louise because of it, to the argument her and destiny got in over it (which turned out to be a good thing, i'll get to it) - it felt really rushed and while it was meant to be a really emotional and insightful storyline into louise's character, nothing was really fleshed out enough to hit in the way i think it was designed to

for a plot with that much knock-off emotion and turmoil, i think it was underdeveloped

missed opportunities

when destiny mentioned in the first ep (i believe?) that she was only doing basketball for college applications, i got really excited because i thought this show would explore that which i know is a reality for so many students. instead only going with the "well, thanks to you, coach, i fell in love with it for real" it would have been really interesting to examine the pressures students face with doing extracurriculars only for a good resume. i think louise also mentioned something related to that and about her parents' expectations for college

i don't know if they're planning to get to it, but with mouse, destiny, and olive all being women of color on the team, i think it would be a great storyline to go into any discrimination they may have faced as poc in sports, and what their experience has been like so far. i think that would be a really important message to get across and raise awareness about.

also mouse and sam?? are we just going to look past that? okay then

good things

mouse and harper, of course. and i suppose not in the relationship itself (harper is not my favorite as a character, the way she's written out) but in how normalized it is. from one of the first few episodes, mouse is canonically determined to have a crush on harper and there's no discussion about it, no homophobic comment, no weird glances, nothing. media discussing homophobia and the struggle queer people have with coming out is absolutely important, but shows like this where it becomes completely normalized is so important too because it is trying to reflect (and hopefully, in turn, create) a society that us queer people would feel much better in.

mouse's song she wrote for harper was so sweet i honestly melted, and the kiss is absolutely groundbreaking (even though it shouldn't be ugh)!! i'm just frustrated that the above negative points kind of ruin the show and dim down my excitement about this ship. i still think they're very cute, though.

i really love and appreciate the sapphic rep <3

one character that i actually really like is holly! i think she has a great combination of humor and a loving nature, and is also stern when she needs to be. they haven't dropped her sarcastic banter with marvyn as they both grow which i think is great - they're really fun together and growing into a better person doesn't mean you can't have fun, of course.

now this is a wild card here, but i raise you this: a ship between destiny and louise.

mh hm, yes.

i doubt disney would be bold enough to put two sapphic couples in one show but let me just give you my take.

i think that they are both two really interesting characters. i especially like destiny. they both grew a lot after the whole drama with louise's dad and the petition and i think learned to see each other's perspective through that.

and, might i add, after that whole time the girls were calling destiny a traitor and not a real friend, destiny was the only one that invited her round for dinner and really brought her into her family, which i thought was super sweet.

plus, now louise is the only one who knows about this family secret of destiny's (spoiler, but i'm keeping it vague) and that gives them something to sort of connect over and form a closer bond because of

also in the last episode i just thought it was cute when louise said "i know that look" - just those little moments of intimacy when you really get to know someone are my weak spot lmao

i'm interested to see where they go with destiny's storyline going forward too, but it does feel like they kind of resolved it so i guess we'll see

wow okay you finally made it to the end! honestly, you deserve a cookie, here 🍪

i'm definitely curious if i'm the odd one out here and just hear everyone's views on this so please let me know!! thanks for reading this mess :)

[alo-piss-trancy]

Are there any sdr2 characters that you don’t like or just aren’t very interested in?

BIG SPOILER WARNING FOR SDR2 BELOW! DO NOT READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE GAME!

It's actually neat getting this question because I can see where some characters I used to dislike/find annoying in the beginning have worked their way up. For example, I initially despised Te/ruTeru, but after his backstory reveal I ended up feeling some sympathy for him and realized despite some traits, he wasn't entirely a bad guy (and I'm assuming his social link will endear him to me a little once I get around to it in island mode).

In fact, I can only really think of two I actively dislike/hate now: Nag/ito and Hiy/oko.

Real quick: Obviously these are all solely my opinions! I have no problem with my followers viewing characters differently, so even if you're the biggest fan of these chars I hope y'all know you're always welcome on my blog! 💛 Feel free to ramble in my inbox about them or chatter about omo, I genuinely enjoy discussing things or seeing different hcs even if I don't share them and I love seeing people be passionate about whatever makes them happy! Heck, sometimes fan ideas even end up changing my mind or at least make fun aus!

Now back to the question:

Hiy/oko's behavior in many instances was just appalling, and the way she cared about Mah/iru, while sad/sweet, still couldn't make up for all of her other bullshit. I can't stand little snots and I don't like 'loli' characters, so she's basically a 2-for-1 special on tropes I find irritating. Also high pitched voices are grating on my ears. After finishing the game I still stand by my original sentiment: Good Riddance Bitch. She will not be missed. As a note, I haven't done her FTEs yet so maybe it'll change, but I think it's pretty unlikely.

Na/gito is just. Idk where to start with him tbh. He definitely serves his role in the plot well, has great interactions with the rest of the cast, and really made me feel like I was struggling and he was so smugly one step ahead. I appreciate him as part of the story and it wouldn't be the same without him (Some of the memes about him are also really funny lmao). That being said, as far as his character and my personal tastes go, I fucking hate him lmao. Not 'villain I love to hate'. I just can't stand him and am lowkey annoyed at how popular/'woobified' he is in some parts of the fandom. My feelings on him are pretty similar to Ak/echi from p/5, except at least Ake/chi was understandable, whereas every time Nag/ito goes on a long spiel I'm just braindead and confused lmao. That or annoyed because he repeats himself like 30 times. I really thought doing his FTE's would endear him to me a little but it actually just made me dislike him more. He's just... he goes 120% ALL THE TIME and he's all over the place, it was overwhelming and gave me whiplash. Also while I do feel bad for him and the clear issues he had, the CONSTANT 'I'm worthless trash please kill me haha I don't deserve your kindness' talk really got on my nerves. Maybe it wouldn't have bothered me so much if I played the game back in the year it came out? But in this day and age all it reminded me of was certain 'Crabs in a Bucket' people I've known or witnessed who formed their entire identity around self-hatred and desperately tried to drag others down with them. (Note: I'm not talking about the general struggles with depression, etc. here. But I don't want to go into a lecture on exactly what I mean so I'll just leave it at that.) Nag/ito's not entirely the same thing and I get that, but it just rubbed me the wrong way because of that association.

Overall I just find him obnoxious and tend to avoid stuff that focuses on him. I might try writing a short omo thing about him being tied up because, like, how could I not? But besides that don't expect much from me. All of that said, I don't mind other people talking about him and y'all are free to send me asks with your own opinions or hcs, I might give my own occasionally. And I do like seeing art sometimes.

Also though, I ship him hard with Ju/nko (and in a poly with her and Mik/an). I'm also interested in him x Chi/aki since they're yin/yang parallels and have some similarities in design and the art of them together is neat. Not sure how much I ship them as far as actual canon or writing goes, but aesthetically it's pretty neat.

I think it's also worth mentioning that Ka/zuichi So/da toes a real weird line for me. Not in the sense that I actually hate him (his design is neat and he can be likeable at times), but that I hate what the game did with him. Which was not doing ANYTHING with him. His character had a lot of potential to be interesting, but they never let him break past the two running gags: Being confused about EVERYTHING, and obsessing over So/nia (to the point about making multiple sex jokes/getting flustered over her during the middle of the most serious trial in the game (Na/gito's death), which makes no sense even for him and completely ruined the mood). Every other survivor had important spotlight moments in the plot, developed their character as they went, and formed meaningful relationships with at least one other character to drive them forwards/give them angst. Kaz/uichi had none of that and I can't think of a single instance where he ACTUALLY had bearing on the plot, positively or negatively. He's basically the Fortune Teller Guy of this game: completely useless and ignored unless he needs to question something for exposition or drag the protag somewhere, scraping by only because he isn't hated or liked enough by anyone to get murdered and is too scared to kill. He didn't survive because he was genuinely fighting/had the ability to, but because everyone just forgot about him and left him alone.

A lot of his issues could have been fixed by just having a point in the game where he learns to treat So/nia as a person instead of being so obnoxious about following her around (he dislikes Ter/uTeru but then pretty much is just as annoying, only difference is he's a little less immoral and more just unable to take hints). Haj/ime even pointed this out in the last chapter with his thoughts of 'Dude just take a hint already'. If the game put them on more equal footing and he like, actually got to know her, it would've been way easier to believe he was fighting FOR So/nia in the same way all the others were fighting for someone they loved, and he might have actually done more throughout the game. He might have had some actual development and maturity, but instead he's pretty much the exact same person he was at the start of the game (I don't remember them even really touching on how he felt about the final chapter's Big Reveal). Because his obsession and cluelessness was one of his defining traits, they never let him do anything besides that. I spent most of the game convinced he was going to get a case in a trial or big moment eventually since they kept giving him so much screentime and let him make it so far, but there was just nothing. He's just a giant mass of wasted potential and for that reason I struggle to enjoy him without getting irritated.

Quick note to clarify: I'm not hating on him because of the ship with So/nia or because he 'gets in the way' of Gun/dham. I honestly don't mind that, the problem is just the lack of development I mentioned above. I could def enjoy the ship or a love triangle if they gave him smth. (And I realize part of that was the point, that G/undham 'gets the girl' bc he actually respected and talked to her, but still. The chapters after that point would have been the perfect time to let So/da have some viewpoint shifts and make efforts to change but they didn't).

Actually tbh even if they wanted to keep his obsession, I would've been fine with that, IF they had given him some other plot/character besides that. Like if he had some important tasks to do and was pretty good at them, but they also turned it into a flaw where he would prioritize helping/following her sometimes over what he was supposed to do and caused problems as a result, that could have been interesting. Creating tension within the surviving group or having her get mad at him over it, just SOMETHING.