#gotta practice them environments and stuff

[soulsilvers]

"psh, have fun in the grass getting your goody two-shoes bottom bit by bugs while i have a league to conquer"

[solxamber]

Coughing up Love - Idia Shroud x reader

You don't think much of it when Idia starts acting weird because let's be real, that seems to be his default around you. Wait are those flowers he's coughing up?

There’s something odd about Idia lately. He’s acting weird—well, weirder than usual, and that’s saying a lot for someone who’s mastered the art of avoiding people for weeks at a time. It’s subtle at first. His normally snarky, rapid-fire commentary seems more hesitant, his usual screen-lit complexion a bit paler, and he’s excusing himself mid-game way more often than usual.

And, most bizarre of all, every time you hang out, he always seems to keep something in his mouth. Gum, candy, or, more suspiciously, a fist pressed against his lips like he’s hiding something. You know Idia— he's socially awkward, sure, but when it’s just the two of you gaming or chatting, he’s rarely this strange.

Today, the two of you are halfway through an intense raid when he suddenly stands up, his chair creaking violently as he jerks upward.

“Pause! Time out, emergency bathroom break,” he blurts out, yanking his headset off with lightning speed and scrambling for the door.

You frown, watching his character get obliterated on screen. “Dude, you could’ve at least—”

“BRB!” he shouts, voice trailing off as he disappears into the hall. He’s gone in a flash, leaving you blinking at the door, wondering what just happened.

But that’s not the first time, nor will it be the last. Over the next few days, Idia pulls more disappearing acts than a badly programmed NPC. Mid-conversation? Poof, gone. Halfway through a snack? Vanished.

It takes a while, but eventually, the pieces staet to click together. You catch him out of the corner of your eye, face flushed pink, a hand pressed firmly to his mouth as he stifles a coughing fit during one of your game nights. At first, you’re concerned—it’s not like him to get sick, not seriously anyway. You suggest getting him medicine or a trip to the infirmary, but Idia adamantly waves it off.

“I-it’s nothing!” he stammers, trying to hold it together while choking down the coughs. “Just, uh, allergies! Y’know, dust and stuff. Old consoles… gotta, uh, clean them more…”

Suspicious. Old consoles? In Ignihyde? Yeah, right. You narrow your eyes, but drop the subject—at least for now. It’s not until later, when you see something float from his mouth—something blue and oddly petal-like—that you realize what’s happening.

You’ve heard of Hanahaki before. It’s practically a meme among some circles—an outdated trope, really. People coughing up flowers because of unrequited love? What is this, a 2000s anime fanfic? But now, watching a crumpled blue petal fall to the floor in slow motion, you realize that your very own shut-in gamer might be the rare exception to the rule.

The worst part? He’s really, really bad at hiding it.

A few days later, you invite him to hang out at Ramshackle, hoping the quiet environment will calm whatever’s been causing his weird behavior. Things seem fine at first—until you notice him coughing into his sleeve again.

This time, he has a backup plan.

“Are you okay?” you ask, brow raised as he muffles yet another cough.

“Yeah, totally! Just, um…” He rifles through his bag and pulls out a—oh dear sevens, is that a mask?

You can’t help it—you burst out laughing. “You’re… you’re seriously wearing a mask now?”

“It’s for—” He coughs violently again, eyes darting around as if looking for an escape. “For, uh, germs! You know, flu season! Gotta… gotta be prepared…”

You squint at him. “We’re indoors. And it’s summer.”

“Exactly!” he says, as if that makes sense. “The germs are, like, in the air! Sneaky buggers!”

The mask stays on for the rest of the evening, and every time you glance at him, you see his eyes flick away like he’s hiding something worse than a little cough.

His next attempt is, frankly, genius in its stupidity. You’re in his dorm, playing a co-op game, when the inevitable happens: he starts hacking up petals. At first, he plays it off with a hurried gulp of water, but soon the coughing becomes too much. With a gasp, he fumbles for something on his desk—a box of tissues? No, it’s a full-on dust mask this time.

“Idia, what the fu—”

“Pro-gamer tip,” he interrupts, voice muffled behind the mask. “Always be prepared for, uh… dust allergies! It’s, uh, a top-tier strat. Totally not s-suspicious.”

Dust? When he has Ortho making sure that he doesn’t perish? You stare, absolutely dumbfounded. “I’m starting to think you’re more allergic to honesty than dust.”

He laughs—well, tries to. It comes out as a garbled mix of coughing and awkward chuckles. “W-what are you talking about? I’m fine! Really!”

“Fine?” You raise an eyebrow, watching as more petals spill out of his sleeve. “You’re literally falling apart, dude.”

At this, his face burns bright pink, and his hair flares up, turning from it's usual blue to a mortified rosy hue. “N-no I’m not!” he protests weakly. “J-just a little springtime cold, that’s all.”

“Yeah, sure,” you say, crossing your arms. “Because spring colds definitely involve coughing up whole bouquets.”

There’s a brief pause as you both stare at the mess of petals on the floor. Idia winces, clearly defeated, and slumps back into his chair.

“...Crap.”

The look of his face tells you to let it go and you do, believing that it'll probably resolve itself. You weren't from this world, maybe it was common here and you were the one that's overreacting?

After another week of weird excuses, mask-related antics, and watching him suffer through increasingly ridiculous attempts to hide his Hanahaki, you’ve had enough. You’re going to get to the bottom of this once and for all.

You catch him mid-cough during one of his solo raids, bursting into his room without warning. Idia practically jumps out of his seat, slamming the pause button and whirling around with wide eyes.

“W-what are you doing here!?” he yelps, trying (and failing) to hide the petals littering his desk. “I—uh—this isn’t what it looks like!”

“Really? Because it looks like you’ve been coughing up whole flowers,” you say, deadpan, as you point to the pile of blue petals strewn across his keyboard. “Seriously, Idia. What’s going on?”

He freezes. For a moment, the room is deadly silent—except for the faint sound of digital gunfire in the background. His face, already pale, turns ghostly white, and his flames flicker pink in embarrassment.

“I…” He stammers, looking everywhere but at you. “I didn’t… It’s not…”

You cross your arms, raising an eyebrow. “Spit it out. Or should I say, ‘cough it out?’”

It’s the worst joke you’ve ever made, and yet, somehow, it breaks the tension. Idia lets out a wheezing, awkward laugh, though it quickly dissolves into another coughing fit. This time, he doesn’t even try to hide it—just pulls his knees up to his chest and buries his face in his arms, defeated.

“I’m such a loser,” he mumbles, voice muffled. “I thought maybe… maybe if I ignored it, it’d just go away. Y’know, like a glitch or something.”

Your heart clenches at the sight of him, all curled up and vulnerable. It’s so unlike the cocky, trash-talking gamer you’ve come to know. You crouch down beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

“Idia,” you say softly, “you’re not a loser.”

He peeks out from behind his arms, eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Y-yeah, right. I’m just the guy who gets Hanahaki because I can’t even confess like a normal person.”

You blink. “Wait—Hanahaki? Like actually?”

You did not expect that. You expected it to be some weird disease that was native to twisted wonderland and not actually Hanahaki of all things.

Idia winces, his hair turning a bright shade of pink as he realizes what he’s just admitted. He looks away, fiddling nervously with the edge of his sleeve. “...Yeah. It’s stupid, I know.”

For a moment, you’re speechless. All those strange behaviors, the coughing, the flowers—it all makes sense now. He’s got Hanahaki, and he’s been trying to hide it because…

“Idia…” you whisper, heart pounding. “You love me?”

He squeezes his eyes shut, his whole body trembling. “I-I mean, i-it’s not like I expect you to feel the same! I know I’m not, like, Vil-level handsome or anything. I just… didn’t want to ruin things.”

You feel a warmth spreading through your chest, and before you can stop yourself, you lean in, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek.

Idia goes completely still. His hair flares up, a brilliant pink, as he slowly opens his eyes in disbelief.

“Y-you…” he stammers, voice barely a whisper.

You smile softly. “I love you too, you dork.”

For a second, he just stares at you, as if he can’t quite process what you’ve said. Then, with a choked sob, he flings himself into your arms, burying his face in your shoulder as the last of the petals fall away.

“I’m such an idiot,” he mutters, but there’s a hint of relief in his voice. His arms tighten around you, and you can feel the rapid thumping of his heart against your chest.

"You’re not an idiot," you murmur, gently running your fingers through his hair. The flames have cooled down to a soft, warm pink, flickering faintly in the dim light of the room. "And you don’t need to be Vil-level handsome. You’re just you, and that’s more than enough."

Idia snorts, though it’s more out of disbelief than amusement. "Yeah, right. I’m just the weirdo who plays video games all day and coughs up flowers. Super attractive."

You pull back slightly, just enough to look him in the eyes. "Hey, I don’t care about that. Do you think I’d be hanging out with you all the time if I didn’t like you? I’m here because I care about you, Idia."

For a moment, Idia just stares at you, his mouth slightly open like he’s trying to come up with some kind of retort, but nothing comes out. He looks… overwhelmed, his usual sarcastic defense mechanisms short-circuiting under the weight of your words. His eyes dart away, then back to you, and finally, with a shaky breath, he mutters, "I don’t get it… Why me?"

You smile, brushing a stray petal from his hair. "Because you’re kind, even if you don’t realize it. You’re funny, you make me laugh all the time—even when you’re not trying. And you’re smart, way smarter than you give yourself credit for. I like being with you, Idia. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t."

His face flushes a deeper pink, his flames flickering erratically as he shifts nervously in your arms. "I-I… I don’t know what to say…" he stammers, his voice cracking slightly. "I thought for sure you’d think I was a weirdo or something."

You chuckle softly, resting your forehead against his. "Well, you’re my weirdo, then."

That earns a shaky laugh from him, though it quickly turns into another coughing fit. You gently rub his back as he coughs, but this time, instead of petals, there’s just the sound of his breath gradually evening out. He looks at you, wide-eyed, as if expecting to see more flowers—more proof of his self-doubt.

But the petals are gone. The weight that’s been crushing his chest, suffocating him with every breath, has finally lifted.

Idia stares at you for a long moment, his expression softening as the reality of the situation settles in. His arms loosen around you, but he doesn’t pull away—he stays close, resting his head on your shoulder with a sigh that’s both relieved and exhausted.

"Does this mean…" He hesitates, his voice barely above a whisper. "Does this mean we’re… together now?"

You grin, tilting his chin up so he has no choice but to meet your gaze. "If you want us to be."

Idia’s face erupts into a brilliant shade of pink, and for a moment, you think his face might actually catch fire. He quickly looks away, fiddling nervously with the hem of his shirt, but there’s a small, shy smile playing on his lips.

"I-I guess that’d be… kinda nice," he mumbles, almost inaudible.

You laugh softly, leaning in to press a kiss to his forehead. "It’s more than nice, Idia. It’s perfect."

For the first time since you’ve known him, Idia doesn’t argue. He doesn’t self-deprecate or brush off your words with sarcasm. Instead, he lets out a soft, content sigh, resting his head against you again, his flames warm and steady.

"Yeah," he whispers, his voice filled with quiet relief. "I think it is."

And for once, Idia Shroud—the boy who always felt like he didn’t deserve happiness—finally lets himself believe it.

You stay like that for a while, curled up together in the quiet of his room, the low hum of his gaming console filling the background. It’s peaceful in a way you never expected with Idia, who’s usually so frantic and anxious. But now, with the weight of unspoken feelings finally lifted, he’s calm. Happy, even.

After a long moment, he pulls back slightly, glancing at the screen. "Uh… w-we left the raid halfway through," he mumbles, as if the thought had just occurred to him. "My bad. We probably wiped the whole party by now."

You laugh, ruffling his hair. "I think they’ll survive without us for a bit. But we can jump back in if you’re up for it."

Idia hesitates for a second, then shakes his head. "Nah… I’d rather just… stay here. With you."

The admission is so soft, so vulnerable, that it makes your heart ache in the best possible way. You smile, pulling him close again, and this time, he doesn’t flinch or make any excuses. He just rests his head on your shoulder, his pink flames flickering contentedly.

Maybe it’s not the typical "fairy tale" kind of love. It’s awkward and a little messy, filled with gaming mishaps and coughing up flowers. But it’s real. And for Idia, that’s more than enough.

he's reminds me of a pathetic wet cat left in the rain but god do I love him

Masterlist

[ms-demeanor]

I'm fascinated by your take on map/directions apps! Is there something besides the location tracking issue that makes you dislike them?

Warning for cellphones are the devil and thomas edison was a witch type thoughts but I think that people are worse at navigating than they used to be.

Map-reading and navigation are important skills but they're skills you need to practice in order to maintain them. But also I think it's important to learn your environment and I think that navigation apps discourage exploration and experiencing the area around you.

IDK I just think that it's an extremely good idea to go out and get yourself (safely, don't do this in a forest or a desert) lost and find your way out of being lost through trial and error every couple of months. You gotta wander around and look at stuff. You gotta find out what walkways are blocked off by chainlink. If you don't practice getting yourself unlost you're going to have a much worse time of it if you end up actually lost and I genuinely think this is an important troubleshooting skill that was extremely common fifteen years ago that is much less common today.

To be fair: people having trouble navigating is ALSO something that I found concerning before the iPhone was invented (did you know that people used to call up restaurants and businesses on the phone and ask for directions to your place of business? Have you ever tried to get someone unlost over the phone?) but also I've seen enough people express concern about how they would get home without a phone that I can't help but worry that they're serious.

I don't think that everyone needs to be able to read a map or to go orienteering - I'm aware that there are disabilities that make things like map reading and identifying cardinal directions extremely difficult and I do think it's good that there are tools that can help with those things - but I do think that getting lost and unlost is also a good survival skill/coping mechanism/mental puzzle/way to ameliorate anxiety/bonding activity that more people should be comfortable experiencing.

[drdemonprince]

Re: autistic advice; i keep seeing people making fun of stuff like "are you in a place to hear bad news" or scripts like that. I grew up in an environment where it was common practice to just drop heavy subjects on people out of the blue, & I still find that intensely uncomfortable. But I've now had multiple people tell me that it makes them feel shitty when I ask, for example, "are you up for a dark subject?" & I don't really know how to square it away. I want to make sure that I'm not stepping on anyone's toes or making them feel ambushed or trapped, but apparently it makes some people feel like they're not allowed to have their feelings. I end up feeling pretty shitty about it, because like... it feels like either I have to be Rude (because it DOES feel rude to just drop a dark topic on someone) &/or risk having something shitty I can't deal with dropped in my lap, or else really upset people. I guess... is there a way to navigate this?

I would recommend being more specific.

People find phrases like "Are you in a place to hear something that might hurt you?" and "Are you up for a dark subject?" to be a bit presumptuous about what their emotional reactions will be or what they are capable of handling. It also can make what would have otherwise been a very unremarkable exchange become tinged with anticipatory anxiety.

When someone asks me a question like "are you up to hear something dark?" I might feel coddled and condescended to, rather than emotionally respected. Or if they ask me "are you prepared to hear something that might hurt you?" / "are you up for a serious conversation?" I think they're about to drop some serious emotional bomb on me, like that they're friend-dumping me for something horrible that I didn't realize I did. Then when it ends up being a meme they want to share or a question about a celebrity lawsuit or something i'm kind of pissed at the false alarm and the coddling that, rather than protecting me, made me feel worse.

In either case, rather than giving me time to emotionally prepare or interact when I am ready, these vague questions have introduced some kind signal of social or emotional threat. If anything, it increases the felt urgency to just have the damn conversation already and see what kind of monster is lurking behind the person's words. It makes me *less* likely to exercise control over when the conversation happens or when I see the upsetting thing.

So be specific. "Do you wanna see a disgusting meme?" "I want your opinion on something, but the question touches on sexual assault. Is that okay to talk about?" "I want to talk to you about a conflict I'm having with my other partner." "Can I ask you your opinion on this transphobia discourse?" Etc.

The more specific you can be about the subject and why you are asking about it, the more power you are giving the other person to actually decide what they want to engage with. When someone asks me if I am willing to discuss something dark, I really have no idea what to say. They're imposing their judgement of what is a dark or upsetting topic onto me, when really they have no idea what I might find triggering and what I might really enjoy getting to talk about.

Rather than trying to protect me from something I haven't even encountered yet, you gotta let me encounter it, and actually trust that I will take care of myself. If I don't want to talk about sexual assault I won't, if I don't want to look at gross imagery I'll say no, if hearing one more bad thing about your other partner is going to make my jealousy fume, I am responsible for handling that. You're not responsible for my emotions.

It's good to notice which subjects your friends are especially sensitive to and what big triggers they have so that you can be considerate. My friends know I cant look at lots of blood flowing out of someone for instance and dont send me visuals/fics that feature, say, wrists being slit or blood being drawn. But if they forgot, I'd understand and just look away and squeal oh no i cant look at that get it away. And that would be fine. They are not responsible for my reactions to things.

[daddysboydean]

don’t know if you’re still doing the wip game but if so, wax!!!

hiiiiiiii! this is kind of a weird one. i was so in love with acid by @goshen-applecrumbledore after i first read it, and that bit about dean wanting to wax sam's chest made me absolutely feral. plus, goshen's dialogue is insanely good and that's an area i really struggle with, so i started writing a...fic of a fic? to practice dialogue. i kept meaning to go back and flesh it out but it never happened. disclaimer that it reads like a script, has weird gaps, and is truly the wip-iest of wips! ✿✿✿

“I wanna wax your chest,” Dean says. 

“What?” 

“Let me wax your chest.” 

“Why would I let you do that?” 

“Because it’ll be hot. C’mon. Don’t be a pussy.” 

“I'm not being a pussy! Would you let me wax your chest?” 

“I don't have chest hair so it’s a moot point. I'm like a Greek statue.”  

“More like a prepubescent boy.” 

“You’re just jealous, Sasquatch. C’mon. I got a kit and everything. I’ll even go to that God’s Tart movie with you in KC. The French thing.”  

“You mean Godard?”

“Yeah, that guy.”

“...Really?”

“Yeah, really. We got a deal?”

“But you hate foreign movies. The subtitles give you a headache.”

“I thought about it and decided they don’t.” 

[Sam looks skeptical, no nearer to agreeing.] 

“Why do you want this so bad?” Sam asks.

“I dunno! I just do!”

“Is it because you don’t like my chest hair?” 

“What? No, idiot. I just…I wanna wax it. I don't know why.” 

“Is it because—” 

“I dunno, Sam! Quit asking. Sometimes you just wanna do stuff because you feel like it and it isn’t any deeper than that. Like fucking. Or eating. Do we have a deal or not?” 

“Well, actually those things are biological imperatives, so—” 

“Ugh! Do you ever stop!” 

“It’s just that you’ve obviously put a lot of thought into this. You bought the kit already, before you even asked me. You’re negotiating a deal. Tell me why you wanna do it, and I'll do it. [contemplative pause, Sam’s eyebrows doing the twisty thing. Most people get a couple little lines when they do that but Sam gets this u-shaped whorl that Dean wants to press his finger into, hard.] Is it because you like the idea of hurting me?” 

“Are you serious right now? What’s your deal, man? My number one priority since the day you were born has been to keep you safe. Why would I wanna hurt you?” 

“Maybe that’s why. You’ve spent your whole life protecting me, no matter what. That's gotta be exhausting.” 

[Dean can tell where this is heading. Sam is just getting his roll going.] 

“Sam,” Dean sighs, trying to stop this train before it derails completely.  

“I mean, think of all the shit you could’ve done if you hadn’t basically raised me, you know? You could’ve been a kid. You could’ve gone on more hunts if you hadn’t had to stay back and babysit me. You could’ve gotten laid, like, way more often. Doesn’t that make you a little resentful?” 

“Sam,” Dean tries again, firmer this time, but it’s no use.  

“So now you wanna see me get hurt in a controlled environment, with you at the wheel, because it lets you take out your anger on me in a way that feels safe to you. It's like a release. You even said you think it’d be hot — it’s like a, a pain kink.”   

“Sam!”

“What?” 

“You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?”

“Analyzing me! You know, you’re just as obsessed with me as I am with you. You get off on how Dahmery I am about you. You fuckin’ love it. [pause] Let me wax your chest.” 

“I just think it’s interesting, is all. That you want this so bad.” 

“You know what? You were right. I hate your chest hair, it makes you look like one of those skeazy porno guys from the 70s. All that’s missing is the old mutton chops. Maybe we should bring them back. [pause] Please let me wax it.” 

[Sam, never one to let it go, barrels onward.]

“Do you think you’re a sadist?” Sam asks. 

“A what?” 

“It’s the ‘s’ in BDSM. Never mind. Admit it. Admit that you wanna hurt me.” 

“Look, dude. It was a $15 impulse buy at Walgreens. It's pink with little white flowers on it and I'm pretty sure the strips are pink, too. You’re reading into this way too much, bud.” 

“And—” Sam continues, not giving a shit about any of Dean’s excuses. Dean turns and bangs his head softly against the wall. “You’ve wanted to do this for a while.”

“How would you know?” Dean asks the wall.  

“Because you mentioned it that night, when I asked you what you wanted. You said you wanted to make me throw up and wax my chest. [pause] Just say it. Say you wanna hurt me. Say you’ll get off on it.” 

[Dean interiority] 

“Fine! I wanna hurt you. Thinking about it makes me all hot and bothered in my bad place. Are you happy? Can we do this now?”

[Sam smiles, self-satisfied and cocky that he was right]

[scene change into the bathroom, Dean is straddling Sam, who’s lying prone on the floor. They’re both shirtless but in jeans. The wax warmer is plugged in next to them] 

“You’re like a human rug.” 

“I am not.” 

“It’s like you’re part lemur.”

“I am not! It’s not like I’m covered. It’s…tasteful.” 

“Tasteful.” 

“A tasteful smattering.” 

“A tasteful smattering. Right. Okay, Alf.”

[narrative + interiority, Dean does the first strip] 

“Quit squirming.” 

“It hurts!” 

“It’s gonna hurt a helluva lot more if I accidentally rip the wrong way because you won’t stop moving.” 

[Sam stops moving, Dean rolls back onto him and Sam is hard] 

“You like pain, Sammy? I know you do. What's the big word for that, huh?” Dean does another strip.

“M-masochist.” 

“That the ‘m’?” 

“Yeah.” 

[something here...] [Dean presses his hands lightly into Sam’s hot, red, freshly waxed skin.]

“What’re you doing that for?” Sam asks. 

“The internet said to apply a little pressure to help the pain.” 

“Oh.” 

“Is it?” 

“A little. Your hands are cold, feels nice.”

“Can I do your asshole?” 

“No!” 

“Pretty please?” 

“Dean, no. Stay away from my asshole.”

“You don’t mean that.” 

“Like hell I do! Chest was bad enough, no way am I letting you near my ass with your fuckin’ flowery pink kit of pain.” 

“C’mon. I’ll make you feel real good after, promise. You’ll like it. Think about it.” 

[Dean can see on Sam’s face that he’s thinking about it] 

“Fine.” 

[Dean claps his hands and rubs them together] 

“That’s my boy! Pants off, on all fours. I've seen this done in movies.” 

[Sam, unbuttoning his pants, pauses] “You mean porn? You’ve seen it in porn. They aren’t the same thing, Dean. Porn isn’t, like, instructional. You’re not supposed to mimic what you see porn stars doing. This isn’t exactly inspiring a lot of confidence in me.” 

[Dean doesn’t pay any attention to this.] 

“Pants off, on all fours. Andale, muchacho. The wax isn’t gonna stay warm forever.” 

✿✿✿  

apologies for the length. i'm never going to do anything with this so i figured i'd just post the whole thing. if anyone read all of it know i love you <3 and read acid if you haven't already!!! oh my god what are you doing if you haven't read acid!!!

[hemi-demi]

Hi! I absolutely adore your art style and was wondering if you have any tips for a beginner?

Hihi! Honestly, I thought about it for a bit, and I think my tips for new artists aren't much different than the ones for established artists. I've been making art in one way or another pretty much my whole life, but I still feel new to it half the time, which in all honesty I think is how it should feel.

So, some general stuff that I hope helps:

1. Don't spend a lot of money on it when you start out:

Super tempting to buy a bunch of expensive tablets, software, etc, but can be daunting when you're brand new.

Just start with whatever you have! Pencil and paper, or even drawing with your finger on your phone (like my friend @the-awful-dread-that-leaves, wtf how do you do that?) just use whatever is available to you!

Also, pen and paper can actually be great practice. Can't undo your mistakes, gotta work around them. Flexes a lot of creative muscles.

2. Study real life and study other artists:

Figure drawing from photos or real life, still life's, perspective practice, all that stuff helps a ton. Even if you like very simplified styled which stuff like mine tends to lean towards, it helps so much to know what realistic proportions should look like before you go messing around with them. A big chunk of my early childhood work was pretty much all charcoal and pastel portraits, trying to be as realistic as I could.

But I also really loved anime as a kid and would try to match people's styles, and that's the second part of this. Just look at and dissect as much art as you can. Find out what you like, what you don't like. Try to draw something just for yourself in those styles, feel the way your hand moves when you do.

Try to reverse engineer how they did something, or if the artist is active on socials, just ask them! Can't speak for all of them, but many are happy to talk about their process. And getting helpful feedback from other artists makes a huge difference, no matter how long you've been making art.

3. Just draw as much as you can

I was doing vector art mostly for several years before the TMA brain worms kicked in, and starting to draw again when I would just passively doodle in sketchbooks felt like I had to retrain all my muscles.

My hyperfixation has helped so much, honestly. Gave me something very specific to want to draw again, and I try to draw at least a little if not every day, then every other day.

I do try to branch out and draw other characters, or incorporate environments so I'm not stagnating myself to the same poses and blorbos forever, but I also let myself indulge when I just want to get something down on paper. Whatever gets you drawing more is going to be good for your skill over time, so just chase whatever drives you!

Hope these are helpful!

[pukei-pukei]

Spoiler-Free Wilds Review

I've played through the bulk of Wilds content available at launch and figured I'd share my thoughts on it here. My platform is Steam/PC. TLDR at the bottom!

Gameplay

The fights are great - which is good, considering that's the main point of the game! I can't recall a time I got really frustrated or bored during a hunt; hitboxes were good, movesets were fun (and often visually incredible), and the difficulty felt pretty reasonable. I didn't cart once in Low Rank and I cart rarely in High Rank, but I've been around the block with these games and I know what I'm doing. I can imagine Rey Dau and Arkveld are wiping the floor with new hunters.

I've only used Insect Glaive so far and I quite like this iteration of it. The wound breaking focus attack gets you all three Kinsect essences, which chains very well into the new flashy Super Spin attack that costs all Kinsect essences. I gotta say it feels bizarre to use charge attacks on IG, but I do love the Super Spin. (That's not what it's actually called but it's what I'm calling it.)

The Seikret is very cute and very convenient. Almost too convenient. I've been making an effort to learn the layout of the locales, but you can absolutely just have AutoBird take you everywhere and practically not interact with the environment at all. You gotta change the control scheme to manual though, trying to go anywhere with the default control type feels like trying to tame a wild horse. Horrible.

The Palico is also very good in this entry. Almost too good. From the start of the game they basically have every gadget from World equipped simultaneously, and upgrading to have things like Vigorwasp Revive or a damn mini airship is as easy as hunting one monster or catching a bug. They can even clear status ailments now!

The multiplayer mechanics are, uh... something. Once you're in a quest together it's the same as usual, though wound management can be a hassle sometimes. I need them and my teammates also need them and there's not that many to go around.

However, actually getting in the same session with friends is way more of a hassle than it needs to be. There's like three or four different ways to join each other and none of them are intuitive. Link party? Lobby? Environment link? Huh??? I miss the sessions from World, especially the fact you could just set it so your Steam friends can easily join but no one else can. The ability to add friends in the game is really nice, though, and I love the Online Singleplayer option. Finally! A PAUSE BUTTON!

Environments

The environments are one of the main selling points of the game and they definitely don't fall short. The locales are massive and spectacular with very unique takes on the classic Monster Hunter biomes. (The final locale is even more unique, but that's big spoiler territory.)

The seasons look incredible, but they don't seem to have much of an actual impact on hunts, honestly. They do absolutely have gameplay impacts, but not quite as much as I'd hoped. Mostly tweaks to the kinds of monsters and gathering nodes. Not sure what I'd change about them, though; maybe altering the map a bit for certain seasons, like having certain paths blocked off or opened up depending on the season.

I will say it's bizarre that they kept the tracks system from World, but just show you where every monster is on the map anyway. This entry is supposed to focus on hunting immersion, there's tracks implemented, but they kept the omniscient map from Rise? Huh?? I miss having to actually track stuff instead of the bird just Knowing.

Also you can catch critters but not put them anywhere. Why??

Story

Surprisingly for a MH game, the story is actually decent this time around. Nothing to write home about, this still isn't a story-centric game, but a few moments did hit me hard and I liked a lot of the characters. Its integration into the gameplay was a bit annoying at times with a lot of scripted sequences, but overall I enjoyed it.

The implications are wild(heh) for the series lore as a whole, though; the final boss is one of my new favorite monsters purely because of how monumental it is! If you know, you know. Even if you're not familiar with The Lore the cutscene before the fight is sick as hell. (I'm suspecting we got a Rise situation here where the real HR final boss is coming in a Title Update, though...)

I would die for Nata. He is my son

Technical

Everyone's probably heard of the beta origami monsters by now, and I'm very disappointed to say they remain in the full game. Granted, it's not on every hunt and then it's only for a minute or two before the models load in, but that's just one of a lot of pretty grievous graphical and performance issues.

It's not unplayable (for me) by any means, but there's stupidly long loading times. Even once I'm in a locale, everything (monsters, terrain, NPCs, etc.) often looks like a blurry polygonal mess while everything actually loads in. It can take like thirty seconds to load the map or a conversation with an NPC.

My computer (which is, admittedly, a laptop) is pretty good, I can consistently get 60fps on World with close to max graphics, but this is all happening with Wilds on low settings! Hopefully most of this will get fixed with later patches.

EDIT: I managed to cram the game onto my laptop's SSD and that seems to have fixed a lot of the graphics issues. Haven't played a ton with it on this drive yet but I'm optimistic.

TLDR

Must-play for any series fan, but has way more than its fair share of jank for the price. The story is decent, fights are awesome, and the difficulty is reasonable and fun for LR/HR. Designs for monsters and environments are incredible - when they load properly.

Definitely recommend, but if you're not set on playing it ASAP it's reasonable if you want to wait for performance patches and/or a sale.

[foodandfolklore]

Tools and Ingredients to keep on hand; Kitchen Witchcraft Elevated Pt. 3

A few more items I'd like to recommend to my kitchen witches. This is going to start getting a little more specific to my own style of cooking and practicing. So if there's anything on this list that makes you go "That's dumb, why would I need that?" then it probably is not for you. Don't go out and get it! But if you think "Huh, that's a good idea" maybe try it out. You can also check out Part 1 and Part 2.

Terracotta Disk Okay let's be real; anyone who's opened brown sugar before knows the struggle of hard sugar. Brown sugar dries out and becomes rock hard. Now, there are lots of solutions that have been presented, but each of them have a new issue. Adding a piece of bread for example. Well now I gotta worry about crumbs, mold and gluten contamination (I'm very mindful of allergies, despite not having any myself). I've also heard of adding a marshmallow to your sugar. I've tried this, but I'm not sure if it's the environment I live in, but it just doesn't work well for me. Plus both feels kind of wasteful. Then I saw a Terracotta disk at the dollarama for about 2 bucks. You soak it in water then drop it in your jar. Boom. Soft brown sugar in a few hours.

Rice Vinegar I know I already suggested vinegar in general, but rice vinegar tends to be more mellow than white vinegar or balsamic vinegar. I like to make a lot of quick pickle stuff like pickled Daikon, Pickled Carrot, or pickled onion. It's also a common ingredient for many Asian sauces and dishes. So if looking up a recipe, it'll often call for Rice Vinegar in some form or fashion. It's also nice to add to plain white rice.

Tortillas Anytime I can find these for cheap in the store, I stock up and throw them in the freezer. Yeah, I can make my own for cheaper, but I've never been 100% happy with how they turn out. They can be too thick, or get a hole, or are not the right size; I dunno. Sometimes I'll make them when in the mood, but mostly I prefer to have them premade. Tortillas, whether made from wheat or corn, have strong solar energies. They also have good protection properties. When you wrap your food in a tortilla, imagine it to be like a protective blanket. It's great for tacos, burritos, fajitas, or just lunch/breakfast wraps in general. But you can also use them non conventionally. When a pizza craving hits, I'll throw some sauce and toppings on a tortilla and bake. Or I may cut the tortilla up into triangles and bake if I need something to go with a hot dip. Monosodium Glutamate Better known as MSG. There has been a lot of misinformation and hate regarding MSG. Starting when Chinese food became popular in North America, but people worried about the quality and cleanliness of food cooked by a foreigner. After all, other countries had different rules about what was considered acceptable when it came to food. So when people were experiencing headaches or stomach aches after eating Chinese take out, they were appalled to find out it was cooked with MSG. MSG was reported to be the cause of these health problems and demonized it. Except.....it was all dog whistling.

I want to be clear: There is NO causation link to MSG having a side effect of pain or stomach problems. What's more likely to have happened is people had an adverse reaction to deep fried food, combined with mass hysteria. MSG is like Salt, Sugar, or Citric Acid. It occurs naturally, and we humans found ways create the product in it's purest form. MSG can be found in all kinds of food like tomatoes, mushrooms, soy, cheese, fish, grapes, and a ton more. Now that doesn't mean you can just eat as much MSG as you want. Like Salt and Sugar, too much over a long period of time can have negative health impacts. But a pinch or two in a dish while cooking is great to help enhance the Umami or savory flavor. MSG also has way less sodium than regular salt. While I don't think it'll replace salt, it can be good to try adding first for flavor if you're trying to reduce your sodium intake.

Cane Sugar There's a lot of different kinds of sugar. Granulated sugar, brown sugar, yellow sugar, icing sugar; most people keep some kind of sugar on hand for baking or sweetening drinks. But I like to keep Cane Sugar on hand as it has a more complex flavor profile. Magically, I find while Cane Sugar sweetens demeanors just like any other sugar, Cane Sugar is able to have people be more...understanding. Instead of finding a new reason to like you or tolerate you, Cane Sugar makes it more likely people sees things your perspective. It makes people more attune to their empathy when engaging with you. If that makes any sense. Oh, and it's my go to for fermented drinks. I actually ran out experimenting with things like ginger beer. Whoops. Scrub Mommy Listen, I hate cleaning. Especially dishes. I chuck as much as I can into the dishwasher, but some things need to be done by hand. So I'm always looking for way to clean them as quickly and easily as possible. But I also don't want to use harsh chemicals or keep buying steel wool that I'll throw away. I saw the Scrub Mommy be used in a lot of videos, so I gave it a try, and holy crap. I bought one for 6 dollars a year ago. I still have it. It doesn't shrink, it doesn't mold; I can toss it in the dishwasher if it needs a clean. And it gets the food off SO easily. I still need to give stuff a soak every once in a while. But most stuff comes right off. Even jars when I'm getting labels off and I got that sticky residue, scrub mommy it with some dish soap. It's gone in like 30 seconds. I still hate doing dishes. But at lest now I can do them without putting every fiber of my being into them.

[spacenintendogs]

OUGH OKAY uhm!!! @rowanthefierce

all of the gang works for valka's dragon sanctuary!! valka in my au is more like valhallarama from the books in that she's moreso absent for long periods of time & when she's there she's relatively detached but!! hiccup takes over the sanctuary (at like. age 15 but shhhh. valka & stoick still pay for everything but hiccup runs it rlly)

so from like, 15 to 17 the gang are learning abt dragons & begin education programs to help ppl understand dragons better!!! the dragon academy does become a thing!!!! after they graduate high school tho (yes this is all while they're juggling high school!!!) they all start kinda going separate ways (and obv eventually come back together full time but!!! it's uncertain for a while!!)

more under the cut bc this is gonna be LONG!!

hiccup, astrid, fishlegs, & the twins get into the same university.

snotlout doesn't, he gets denied (it's a whole Thing™️ for the gang)

however they all pursue different things

hiccup, as like, predictable as this is, pursues engineering & tries to get as many certifications as possible. he's doing AS MUCH as he can, as hands on as he can. he wants to learn to be able to help make the world a better place for toothless (and all dragons!!) once he graduates he's back at the santuary full time & helps design new parts as they expand & get bigger! also new stuff for dragon care & just!! yeah!!!

in his free time, hiccup has a motorcycle he rebuilt from the ground up, loves zipping around town, he also draws, & ofc spending as much time with toothless as he can (maybe sneaking toothless out of the sanctuary.... a lot)

fishlegs goes into environmental science with minors in plant pathology & geology!!! this also ties back into dragons & their care through their environments best suited for them as well as dealing with climate change & stuff!!!! he applies what he learns to the berk sanctuary!!! he also goes back to the academy but he also works at the berk public library part time!!

fishlegs also collects so so much music, so many records, tapes, cds, 8tracks, u name it!!! he also has a rock collection ofc!!! he also spends as much time with meatlug as possible (maybe sneaks her out)!! he also gardens!! & does yoga on saturdays with astrid!!!!

astrid gets a double major of kinesiology & nutrition!!! this is more human oriented obv HOWEVER she's constantly trying to remind everyone around her to take better care of themselves for the love of everything!!! although she still is able to apply what she learns to dragon training!! u can not move the ways dragons do but motor skills are still important as well as eating right!!!! either way, dragons gotta learn this stuff to but in their own way!! she graduates & goes back to the sanctuary & helps with that!!

astrid does axe throwing in my modern au. she goes & practices often to blow off steam. also a track & field person FOR SURE!! like, discus throwing, hammer throwing, the godt damn works!! she's a weight lifter too!! i need astrid to be buff so bad!!! also yoga with fishlegs on saturdays!! she wouldn't call it "sneaking" but she does like to take stormfly out & about :)

ruffnut is pre-med and does go into veterinary school. she stays in school the longest out of the gang which shocks EVERYONE but it's what sounded interesting & it gave her a challenge. plus working at the sanctuary, u end up caring for a lot of sick & injured dragons. fishlegs helps her BUT she becomes The Medical Expert™️ & even uses the sanctuary for her dissertation & specializes in dragon veterinary medicine!!!

as for hobbies, ruff is still a chaotic being who loves destruction & explosions. she & tuff do mythbuster type shit!! she also is very much into theater!! she sometimes participates in local theater & did a performance or two in college!! i also think she longboards!! loves sneaking barf and belch out of the sanctuary!!

tuffnut gets his degree in theatre with a minor in chemistry!! the minor was more of an accident. he took the classes bc he thought they were interesting & ended up getting enough credit for the minor!! after he graduates he works at a few local theaters part time to help with either cast or crew (he acts but also sometimes he will do costuming, stage production, etc!!) but he also goes back to the sanctuary after he graduates!!

tuff's hobbies overlap with ruff's in that they do mythbuster type shit LOL!! but also he's in a little sewing club with snotlout!! he also longboards with ruff!! AND ofc, he raises chickens on the side :) loooves getting barf and belch out of the sanctuary.

snotlout. snotlout, snotlout, snotlout. this boy's got it kinda rough. he gets denied from the university everyone else goes to & it hits him hard, so he keeps working at the sanctuary full time while going to community college & trying out classes that interest him, but he feels lost. he finds himself doing a lot of music oriented classes & just gets a two year degree in music. later he'll go on to be a high school band & choir director of all things but that's down the line :) before then while working at the sanctuary he works part time at a local biker bar (once he's old enough)

snotlout's hobbies are a bit of a mish mash. he plays guitar, has a harley davidson motorcycle (goes riding with hiccup!!), is in the sewing club with tuff (has an etsy store on the side shhh), & loves sneaking hookfang out of the sanctuary!! also loves american football & sometimes does hammer throwing with astrid.

do they all have one big mutual thing they all share & do besides sneaking their dragons out of the sanctuary? yes. yes they do. they have a long running dungeons & dragons game & they also love multiplayer video games in ANY capacity. any way to be competitive!!!!!!! minecraft, smash brothers, mariokart, marioparty, runescape, call of duty, halo, ANYTHING they can get their hands on, old and new.

[rageprufrock]

hello, I hope you're doing well. I was wondering if you could answer a career-related question of mine. I'm a young woman (21) in an extremely male-dominated field. I want to go into project management, but I am not prepared to deal with the insane male egos/fragile masculinity I had to experience during my internships. it doesn't help that I've been a passive person my whole life. how do I overcome my passiveness? how do I even begin to learn leadership and project/people management? 1/

I'm going to be honest, you're catching me at a disadvantage because I'm allergic to project management. Like if I'm sharing an area code with that shit I'm itchy. I'm joking, a little, sort of, because the unfortunate truth is about 50% of my job on any given day at this point is project managements but I still hate it. The point is, I'm not your best point of contact for it, because while I can do it for my specific area of expertise, the practice by itself is not my ministry, if you get my drift. Project managers are lunatics who you will find snorting crushed up Excel spreadsheets in truck stop bathrooms, and for that I fear and respect them.

For the passivity, maybe have some thoughts that might be helpful.

So like, you're probably not going to like hearing this: but oh my God, you're--so young. Like I refer to someone on my team who is 30 this year as the resident fetus. You have nine years before you hit fetus status. So much of you're feeling is only going to be remedied with time and experience, and your fearfulness of speaking or standing out right now in a professional environment isn't a mark of failure in yourself, it's a natural part of your growth and progression.

It is absolutely normal and completely fine that when you were in an intern (or honestly, even early career!) situation, presumably surrounded by people who were more experienced than you and have significant seniority to you, you felt were feeling at sea with the egos and politics.

Here's a dirty little secret, especially re: internships:

Many interns get brought in on projects that are far, far, far beyond their actual scope of capability.

That is because we have no actual expectation that you will deliver any work or usable outputs on it, but we want interns to get excited about what we do, to feel like their work could be important, for them to get a taste of the what it will be like when you actually get your feet wet and have more professional seasoning.

For example, people who summer at law firms get a red carpet experience rolled out to them, and they get to sit in on really exciting high profile client meetings! These are not things that will happen for them again for a long, long, long fucking time once they become associates! Once they've got you in their claws, they no longer care about giving you enjoyable stimulus, now you gotta start billing.

In organizations I've worked at in the past, I was fully happy to welcome interns with like 4 minutes of "experience" into very sensitive high level meetings--with the understanding that (a) everybody there knew they were the intern (b) the objective was to show them what the work could be like and (c) that nobody would actually ask them to throw themselves into the demented fray of the actual work.

The goal isn't to scare you off. We know that the stuff you're seeing a lot of times as an intern is really terrifying, for a lot of reasons. If you're in a room of people with 10 or 20 years of experience on you, then...yeah, it's going to feel awkward. You're not even a full time employee! Of course it's going to be weird and nervewracking! If you didn't feel weird and nervewracked about it, I would ask you to bottle whatever it is you're taking and sell it to become a billionaire.

Beyond that, the rest of it will come with time--truly.

When I think back to the person I was at 21, at 22, I feel such a strange tenderness toward her. I feel so protective. She had no idea what she was doing, and she was doing her best to do her best every day. She failed a lot. She was a mess. The people around her knew it. She knew it. She wasn't the greatest at what she did, or a very good friend, but she was trying so desperately to keep her head above water and only sometimes succeeding.

So much of the vulnerability you're feeling will be remedied in tiny, unnoticed ways. With every day and week and hour, you'll gain some new insight or capability, and some afternoon or month far from today--but closer than you think--you're going to look back and realize you've built yourself an entire suit of professional armor, and have no idea where it came from. You feel passive and ill equipped right now--but that's only because you are ill equipped right now, you just tumbled out onto this strange new world.

It's going to take a while to get your sea legs--just try to be kind to yourself as you do it.

You're going to crush it. I just know it.

[blubushie]

Hey Blu! I just saw one of your old asks on how the mercs designs are good because they look like normal everyday people you can see out on the streets. And that just reminded me of my favorite tropes in fanfic that I don't see that much in today's TF2 fics which the mercs have an uncanniness to them because of their regular looks. Like I remembered it popped up more often in the fics that where publish when I was in high school. Not complaining bc I just appreciate it more when it pops up. Like there's a ficlet still circulating here where while in jail, before comic 2 happens, Scout basicly beats up most of the inmates in jail for ciggs for Spy. It sets up how intimidating Scout is when an inmate twice Scouts size couldn't even move him and how the inmate was jarring reminded that despite his size, Scout is One of the infamous 9 mercenaries.

Like bc of this trope I developed headcanons that the mercs are actually the closest things to super soldiers bc of 1.) Constant fighting/training 2.) Mad science/experimentation of Medic 3.) Respawn keeping them at near top shape/slow aging. So regular looking guys + intense fighting near daily + mad science/magic + random weird shenanigans that happens to them = an uncanniness and uneasiness around the mercs in public when they move in away /do stuff no average person can do or is expected to do of their appearance.

Sorry if this makes no sense it's 7:14am and I literally JUST woke up, do not expect lucidity from me yet

I love this shit and it features slightly in my fic, both in Jesse's fighting ability but also Mundy's. Primarily it's Mundy's—he gets in more fistfights in the fic than Jesse (though not for her lack of aggression).

I don't think RESPAWN would do much via muscle training—every time they die, any muscle progression is just reset. So the physically strongest of the mercs would be those that don't die often. Heavy, because of his health bar, and maybe Medic, because everyone protects him (and he lugs around the Medigun which must weigh a fucken tonne). This is supported a little by Medic outright lifting Soldier off his feet in Expiration Date.

But there's gotta be some shit they're feeding those cunts if Spy can one-handed fire his stock revolver, a .357 Colt Python; the Big Kill, a S&W Model 29 .44; and the Ambassador, a Dan Wesson PPC .357 (THAT WEIGHS 3.6kg MIND YOU—ALMOST AS MUCH AS MY RIFLE WITHOUT HER SCOPE). This is without mentioning that the Russian translation of the Sniper VS Spy update states that the Ambassador actually fires .50AE like it's a fucken Deagle. Spy's grip strength must be INSANE.

Mostly though I reckon it's mental fortitude over physical. Believe me, you train harder in combat situations than ACTUAL training scenarios because trauma makes shit stick in your brain better. You learn lessons when there's risk better than when there's no risk involved. And with often the mercs die and engage each other physically, I'm fully on the boat of "they look normal, but they're not".

The freakier is that I think they actually blend very well into public environments. Sometimes Sniper walks to the shops in SST minus the thongs and looks like any other bloke off the street you'd see at a servo. Sometimes Scout goes in to the local diner for their all-you-can-eat chicken and waffles deal. Sometimes Engie visits the local tack shop "just for a look around", Soldier and Demo go fishing together, Medic goes to the pharmacy and looking at any of them you'd never suspect a thing.

They all have an almost uncanny ability to look like they entirely belong whereever they are and blend into their environment, so really the only time you even get a hint that they aren't your average person is when there's a situation where they need to showcase their skills. Scout catches a flyball while walking past the local baseball field practically without looking and tosses it back. Soldier can jump down stairs while in a rush and stick the landing with no injury. Demo recognises the sulphur of a gas leak before anyone else can smell it. Spy can lift things his scrawny frame shouldn't be able to lift, Engie can notice any shimmer or shiny thing regardless how small, Sniper has a hawk's eyes and can pick out movement from a half a click away in the dark where other people just see black.

Their jobs have made them very effective professionals—it's a pity the general public so rarely gets to see it.

[yourfavsasdragondescriptions]

Oh, you gotta do the Harrister, baby.

Let's see how this shall go.

Indeed we shall.

Due to his mutton chops, I see the dragon that Harrier Du Bois would be as an East Asian dragon like the one below.

However, since East Asian dragons are more associated with water than fire, I’ll have Dragon!Harrier’s breath weapon be a highly pressurized blast of fog. This fog can have a variety of effects depending on what skill is his signature skill at the moment. And he’s immune to the effects of his own fog. For example…

* Logic - Necrosis of the extremities, starting with fingers, then hands, then arms.

* Encyclopedia - Overloads the minds of those who breathe in the fog with forbidden knowledge, leaving them catatonic at best and violently insane at worst.

* Rhetoric - Turns allies against each other through arguments amongst themselves.

* Drama - Forces those who breathe it in to speak like they’re characters in Shakespeare stories.

* Conceptualization - Seems to affect the environment that comes into contact with the fog rather than people, causing architecture to manifest from nearby materials, and this can entomb living creatures unlucky enough to also be in the fog.

* Visual Calculus - Less of a practical skill and more for reconstructing crime scenes via casting projections of past events.

* Volition - Causes people who breathe the fog in to never tell a lie or, if they have committed a crime that Harrier is investigating, to confess on the spot.

* Inland Empire - Animates objects that come into contact with the fog and puts them under Harrier’s command. They deanimate when Harrier no longer has need of them.

* Empathy - Causes anyone who comes into contact with the gas, if they are about to do harm to someone or something, to immediately stop what they are doing and apologize. Also functions as a cure for sociopathy and narcissistic personality disorder.

* Authority - Basically mind control gas. Can also be used to make the dead speak (as long as said dead still have the proper organs to talk).

* Esprit de Corps - Gives Harrier’s fellow police officers seemingly superhuman abilities.

* Suggestion - Replaces the fog with a very thick smog with a color that just screams “this gas is cancer incarnate do NOT breathe it in”. And yes, the smog is a carcinogen.

* Endurance - Rapidly eats away at the muscle tissue of any living thing that enters it while not damaging bone, skin or flesh.

* Pain Threshold - Takes whatever pains you’re feeling at the moment and amplifies it a thousandfold. A Dark Eldar’s wet dream.

* Physical Instrument - MASSIVELY increases the pressurization of the steam jet, enabling it to punch through almost a mile of dense bedrock.

* Electrochemistry - Turns the fog into a hallucinogenic gas so potent that just breathing in even a single molecule of the stuff is enough to cause an overdose.

* Shivers - Electrically charges the fog to a point that it fires off lightning bolts in all directions. Though the bolts contain more than enough volts to kill a man in one strike, the charged fog is short-lived and vanishes seconds after it manifests.

* Half Light - Makes the fog highly explosive, catching alight within seconds of contact with the air and has a blast strength strong enough to level buildings if the gas is indoors.

* Hand-Eye Coordination - A gas with anomalous properties that cause whatever is in the gas that isn’t nailed down (up to the size of a truck) to be lifted up and thrown at Harry’s target at the same speed as… well, a bullet.

* Perception - Overloads the senses of those in the fog. Smells become so pungent they drown out all else, quiet whispers become a deafening clarion, and more.

* Reaction Speed - Speeds up the perception of time to whatever breathes the fog in. Can cause insanity to those who breathe the stuff in.

* Savoir Faire - Causes the muscles of whoever breathes the fog in to involuntarily twitch and shudder, the phenomenon becoming increasingly intense over time until organs rip like paper and eyes burst.

* Interfacing - If there is a broken machine in the fog, it repairs itself. Causes scrap metal to bundle together into what I can best describe as an approximation of a machine.

* Composure - Turns whoever breathes in the fog into stone. This isn’t immediate, but a gradual process outside of the fog. This phenomenon greatly accelerates inside the fog, with affected persons and animals turning to stone in seconds.

I’d do more about his appearance, but the breath weapon thing really gave my brain a workout, so I’ll leave you to interpret it on your own.

[littledreamers-corner]

i was having a bad day yesterday, and ended up making some serious angst about agere hgduo... oopsies,

today's off to a better start, though, and i feel a little bad for making so much sad stuff... so! i come offering fluff headcanons and thoughts about regressor q cellbit & cg q bbh!

★ cellbit is usually a sleepy, laid back regressor... doesn't wanna go do big activities, likes puzzles, laying around... but when he does have energy... oh boy!! he'll hurl himself at bad and play bite and make playful hissy noises until bad gives in and (gently) playfights and roughhouses with him until he's laughing so hard he can't wiggle away properly anymore.

★ i like to think that cellbit starts a special hk save for when he's regressed that he always plays with bad over his shoulder. they go through the game, boss by boss, area by area, and talk about all the fun little details as they go.

...and, of course, they constantly get stuck in some areas because they keep debating over which character sounds like what, or they get stuck on a bit and joking around for way too long, and forget cellbit was ever playing a game to begin with.

★ bad starts developing an actual sleep schedule when cellbit regresses more. someone's gotta be a good example, and cellbit will wake up if bad leaves his side, always so sensitive to changes in his environment, even in his sleep, soooo....

★ since cellbit's english skills falter a little when he's so small, despite the fact he tries really hard to use english so bad can understand him. they have their translators, however, so bad encourages cellbit to use his native language. as a result, bad starts picking up more portugese, and will even ask cellbit to help him practice his pronunciation to watch how cellbit lights up at the idea of getting to help bad connect with something so special to him.

★ don't let them play card or board games together. it gets way too intense. they're far too competitive when it comes to the other person for that, even though bad tries to tone it down for cellbit's sake when he's regressed.

★ due to his fangs, cellbit punctures the silicone of most pacifiers or bottles too easily, much to his upset, though he tries not to be too bothered by it. lucky for him, bad is quite the inventor, and hoards a lot of materials. its not too hard to ask around the island for help making a fang-proof chewtoy or soother or pacifier, especially with their kids all being dragons.

he ends up surprising cellbit with custom made items he usually wouldnt be able to use or even try, now able to withstand his fangs and the force of his bite. little cellbit is so touched by the gesture he bursts into tears, and gets stuck trying to decide what item he wants to try out first.

(he keeps them all, even if he doesn't use or like every single item, because theyre all made specially for him, from bad! he cant just throw them away!)

★ when bad's busy, and cellbit wants to tag along but is too tired or not having the best day, he'll perch on bad's shoulders, using his horns as a handhold, and shove his face against bad's hair/hood, quietly listening as bad talks to the eggs or ghosties or just to himself. bad worries about knocking cellbit off, of course, but he needn't worry so much! cellbit's got a grip like a vice when it counts, and a fantastic sense of balance. he'll be just fine.

★ oh, and dapper being so authentically himself, and openly autistic, ends up helping cellbit a lot when he regresses near the little egg. he can stim as much as he wants, be as "weird" as he want, infodump, use stim toys (including a teether, since he's feels weird using a pacifier around dapper), and dapper encourages it, even sometimes mirroring the habit in his own way so that they "match"!

bad finds this adorable. its like a personal shot of fluffy goodness right to the heart. he takes pictures of them mirroring each other whenever he can - he can't help it! It's so cute!

[thecharactersthatnevermet]

Mic test 1, 2, 3! Okay, answer me these questions three!

1. What is it like living with so many people at a time?

2. Any very positive (negative, if you said you like living with each other) aspects about it? Can be anything!

3. If you had to pick one person in your house to survive on a desserted island with, who would it be?

You don't all have to answer these if you'd rather not!

- Rosé Cookie (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡

An OC I will likely never make official...

Hey. Uh, I’m probably not the best person to answer these questions. Or I am, if you’re expecting honesty, harsh or not. Hah, at least you didn’t run into Burrata Cookie. I’m doubting there’s space for love in that hateful heart of hers. If she has one.

Right, to answer your first question…I’m alright with it. I grew up in a very crowded environment anyway, so I got used to having little to no privacy. Surprisingly, these guys know to stick their noses out of my business. Gotta admit that they’re an okay group of cookies to be around.

Since my reply was somewhat positive, then I’ll tell ya the negative. They’re all so fucking annoying. We are the worst group of people to be around eachother, and at least four cookies every day think of ten ways to crumble each of us. And I do get privacy and all, but sometimes they are so weird for no reason. They find out my secrets before I know them! And…uh…some of them just got…something going on. Dunno how to explain it, and would rather not.

For the last question…now that’s fun to think about. It’d depend on the situation, but my top choice would be Ermine Frosting Cookie. Hyacinth Jasper would be second. And I’ll tell ya why. Burrata Cookie can get so irritating after a while…if the two of us are on a deserted island together, only one is leaving alive and well. Sugar Orchid Cookie creeps me out. Pink Peppercorn is a cultist and I’d rather not be emergency food. Or a sacrifice. On the other hand, Hyacinth Jasper is friendly and nice, and we’d sure be able to keep our collective sanity high. Ermine Frosting has the same reason, along with the fact he’s excellent at survival and fighting. He’s practically perfect, honestly, and I would’ve liked to be closer to him, if it wasn’t for…

Hmph. Maybe it’s a thing that just happens to him, and we’re all freaking out for no reason. I’m sure we all got our moments when we become religious omens and stuff. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t have a boyfriend.

Pfft! You can’t talk!

You-!!! When did you get here?!!

A while ago. Enough to hear your opinions.

…crumbs.

[msfbgraves]

From the creators of "Daniel was the real bully all along", aka "Cobra Kai"...

We have Ralphie hinting at a "Daniel second guesses Miyagi-Do, aka Miyagi-Do has always been evil".

Look, Ralphie loves hanging out with Billy for these promos and I love seeing them together because they deserve to have a good time really they do. Yuji, Billy and Ralphie deserve to enjoy themselves because they have brought their absolute A games to the show and it shows and I love them for it.

But ffs, creators. I know you felt so called out by a film about a sweet boy teaching us that bullying is evil and that fighting can be a form of self-expression and helping others rather than a pissing contest in which people get killed you had to make a whole show about why bullies are cool actually, absent fathers are dope and kindness doesn't exist because there is no kindness without an ulterior, sinister motive. Because you haven't been kind a single day in your life and even though some part of your conscience has survived for long enough to understand that there is something wrong with that, making you feel bad, you have spent over six years of your life propping up your ego instead. It had to be somebody else's fault. It had to be Daniel's fault. It has to be Miyagi's fault No way that can't have been secretly evil, and we're going to expose it! Because repeatedly saving someone's life, as Miyagi has done for Daniel, can't not be sus, right? Trying to beat someone to death, now, that is upfront manly behaviour. Saying like it is. All this stealthy defense stuff? There's gotta be something going on there, right? They should have killed Daniel and been on their way in film 1, then the Cobras could have had some sympathising manpain and gotten laid after beating up more people for existing. That is how you live a good life! But no, so now we have to right the wrongs perpetuated by films that tell you that a kind handyman can help you beat up a rich bully while also understanding that this bully was probably a product of his environment he was too young to understand was harmful. Can't have that! That would make them wrong! And they can't be wrong, see? They wrote a story too! So there! Pussies!

My only hope is that Ralph has directed an episode of this first bunch and has always done his best to keep infusing this garbage fire with kindness. I know Daniel can be a little saintly, but his heart, that's all Ralph. And the love between Billy and Ralph is also incredibly sincere. So I know they'll do their best with it, and Ralph acts in between lines anyway. But the underlying message since season three at the lastest has been so terribly unkind. In a show about manhood, apparently, they keep celebrating

-Not taking responsibility

-Solving every problem with violence

-Equating kindness with either weakness or deceit

And that is how recognise that these are boys who are never going to grow up. Taking responsibility, practicing restraint and choosing to be kind because you understand basic empathy is how you become an adult. That is what the karate kid franchise taught! The value of hard work, taking responsibility, protecting others and choosing kindness wherever possible. To have this so called homage literally trying to undermine that message at every turn, is feeling like some kind of moral injury.

I will always be grateful to the series for introducing me to these characters. But I am so sick of middle aged men taking over a beloved series about what it takes for men to be decent, be it Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Who or The Karate Kid, and basically raping it to death in the guise of appreciation.

[byjillianmaria]

get to know only extremely unimportant things about me tag

I was tagged by @cwritesfiction to answer these so obviously I gotta.

what does your bed comforter look like?

It's, uh, mostly tan, but along the bottom there's stripes of green and brown, with a panel that has a floral pattern on them.

do you have cough drops in your house?

It's winter in Michigan, of course I have cough drops. Original flavor Ricola cough drops are my go-to, and I've got a bag of those in my desk drawer. My mom also recently included a giant bag of cherry Ludens in my Christmas stocking this year so I have those as well, but frankly I'm not sure you can even count those as cough drops. They're, like, basically cherry life savers.

on a scale of 1-18, how likely are you to accidentally park father away from the grocery store than you meant to?

Like, a 10? I try to get a close spot but the grocery store me is perpetually busy.

when it comes to outerwear, is practicality or style more important?

Both, but with the caveat that I will emotionally imprint on one or two staple pieces and build all of my outfits around those. Although I will say that I've yet to find a winter coat that is both fashionable and functional, so I am stuck with my fine but sort of boring bulky one. That said, Fall and Spring... that is where it's AT for outerwhere. I've got a leather jacket that I love dearly, and I've also recently bought a denim jacket that I'm excited to style.

do you collect medicine in your room when you're sick and then just, like, never put it away?

Am I staring at the stack of medication on my dresser right now?

have you ever seen some berries of some sort out in the wild and decided that you needed to photo them so they looked like blood?

No but I feel like I sort of need to, now.

did you check the same book out of the library/read the same book over and over despite your dad or somebody being like "other books exist you know"?

No, but I did go through my library's extensive collection of goosebump novels as a child.

is there an environment in which everyone there has a different nickname for you?

Not particularly, but it is inevitable that if I'm in a friend group long enough, someone will start calling me "Jillybean." It's very endearing.

what animal did you fear would spontaneously manifest in your bedroom and eat you? actual belief in said fear not required.

I was never particularly afraid of animals manifesting in my room, I was more concerned with ghosts, demons, serial killers... stuff like that. Chris has also posed the question "are ghosts animals" and I'd argue that it depends. Departed souls stuck on earth? No. Poltergeists and similar emotion-based phenomenon? That's an argument you could make.

was there a thing that you were unfortunately really good at as a kid that set you up to go into hard "gifted kid" burnout while still being a kid?

I tried answering this so many different ways, and it kept coming out sounding like a therapy session. I'm going to keep this one to myself.

you know you have to eat some fruit some time, so what do you buy the next time you drag yourself to walmart or wherever?

I've got an orange in my fridge I should eat before it goes bad... Also big fan of bananas and melon. I will buy the pre-cut-up melon because otherwise the executive dysfunction kicks in and it rots in my fridge because the idea of cutting it up is simply insurmountable.

are you maybe a teensy bit obsessed with code names?

I went through a big secret agent phase as a kid.

what's your favorite word to refer to a personage who is capable of using magic?

Big fan of "witch."

gloves or mittens or glittens?

Gloves. The sensation of my fingers being stuck together in mittens is unpleasant.

are you a sibling or are you an only child who happens to have siblings or are you an only child who has liminal space siblings?

I am an only child lol

does your edgelord have a name or are you not on speaking terms?

It did not occur to me to give her a name but now I sort of want to. Something dramatic, probably.

do you actually wear your favorite piece of clothing?

YEAH. Although a lot of my favorite clothes are not suited to the below-zero temps we've been having just lately. I do have a pair of fleece-lined tights that I've more or less been living in.

bookends. a cool accessory or something that is preventing more books from fitting on your shelves?

Don't own 'em.

please rate this tag as if it were a super duper indie flick on imdb.

Delightfully self-indulgent. 10/10 would answer again.