#i didn't have a ton of inspiration for this one so it's very short (and late) BUT. here it is!

[vincentbriggs]

so i am newly in a wheelchair which has been a Massive gain in my ability to go out and about. but i realized that i have aprox 0 clothes that look Good while seated. its a completely different silhouette and i am at a loss as to what to do for it. do you have any suggestions for what could look good seated? preferably no skirts or dresses.

Edit: Check the notes for more people's input, including actual wheelchair users who know much more about what works than I could!

Congrats on chair acquisition!!

Since you're sending this to me specifically I am working under the assumption that you mean to do some amount of sewing.

A high waisted silhouette definitely works best for sitting. I make all my pants with the waistband at my natural waist, and a bit of pleating or gathering at the back just like they did on 18th century breeches, and I've never noticed any particular discomfort from sitting in them. (I think high waisted pants are more comfortable in general, and that low rise jeans are evil.)

It's something I've never really thought about before, but sitting is a very legs-forward position, so perhaps a colourful or fancy stripe down the side would work well.

(I made this pair 10 years ago and they didn't fit well and are long gone, but I should do a better version someday...)

Or some other form of side seam decoration, like these fabulous button tabs.

(I don't know what the source for this mid 19th century fashion plate is.)

Cropped jackets would also be good. The first thing that comes to mind for me is the Carmagnole, which was a style worn by French revolutionaries. It's got a pretty similar cut to a regular 1790's coat, just shorter.

(Source)

(Source)

And there are other styles of short jacket, like this one from a few decades later.

I think it might be possible to get a similar effect from cutting down a thrifted corduroy jacket, depending on the pocket placement? It's not something I've done myself though.

A fancy little bolero could be a lot of fun too! I quite like these ones made by Marlowe Lune. Super easy to sew, and could be patterned by cutting down a bigger pattern that fits the torso.

They'd be a good thing to try if you have a smallish piece of fancy fabric, or a small bit trim to use, or want to try a small amount of embroidery.

There are lots of historical styles with sleeves too, and all sorts of decorations.

(Dunno the source for this one either, unfortunately, but the pin says 1880s reception dress. I think a little jacket like that would look good with a puffy shirt and pants.)

Short capes might be practical too, and the late 19th and early 20th century have tons of fancy capelets for inspiration, like this one.

Or this one.

I hope this is somehow helpful! I don't know if you're looking to sew things from scratch or to buy and alter stuff or what, and I have no personal experience using a wheelchair, but these are the best things I can think of for a suitable silhouette. Dramatic sleeve/shoulder puffs would also be shown off to great effect, if that's something you'd like to wear.

[loudclan-clangen]

sort of an out of the blue ask, but I remember when Weed was first introduced, she and Tundrafrost were said to be old friends and they were being pretty touchy and blushy with each other and Chickadeeblur seemed kinda jealous. Did they actually have a thing for each other, or did Chickadee just misinterpret it that way?

…also I can imagine Weed sort of being the wine aunt to Tundra’s kids and that’s cute to me lol

Tundrafrost and Weed did in fact "have a thing" in their much younger years. Tundrafrost and Chickadeeblur didn't grow up in the valley, and throughout their journey to it Tundra had many non-serious flings, of which Weed was one. When Weed was looking for a place to settle down for her old lady years, she reached out to Tundrafrost, whom welcomed her to the clan. Chickadeeblur had no real reason to be jealous, as she has no interest in taking a mate at this age, and the three are very good friends now. You're so right though, they definately do a kid trade where Tundra and Chickadee get to enjoy Cavepaw's baby phase and take him exploring out of camp to get his energy out while Weed settles down to talk Kingfur, Sockeyepelt, and Chumpaw through their standard teenager drama.

*bonk* *bonk* *bonk* *bonk* *bonk* *bonk* *bonk* *bonk* *bonk*

hehe, love it!

I try to keep the names the game gives me if it doesn't contradict with the setting. Things like "Owl", "Weed", "Jagged", or "Fierce" while not being Alaska specific are things or ideas that would be accessible to the cats and therefore I leave those. But names that do contradict or just seem boring to me I do try to change to something similar but more specific. Sand -> Silt, Chicken -> Chickadee, Prarie -> Tundra, Dog -> Dogwood, etc. It's not that any of these couldn't exist in nature in alaska, they just didn't feel like they fit the story at this point. In the first couple of hundred moons I tried to make sure that litters were named thematically based off of the oldest kit's name and their parent's personality, but after time this just became too much work and I think the random names are fun too. That's why the Tundra x Chickadee babies are all types of salmon and the healer kits all have long plant names. Some themes are definately looser than others. I do definately change the sillier names and try to balance out the "weird", for example, the fish babies all have pretty plain suffixes because their prefixes are pretty out-there and nothing else seemed to pair very well with them. "Kingflight" is just a little much, to my ear at least. Also the healer kits will have short suffixes because their prefixes are so long and just from a purely mechanical standpoint I can't fit "Dogwoodcaterpillar" or "Rosehiptadpole" in a comic panel.

Thank you! And go for it! I'd love to see people use my ideas in their own ways! If you want to give a little "insert idea inspired by @loudclan-clangen" I'd appreciate it a ton, (mostly cause I want to go see what you guys are making), but if not that's totally fine. I'm definitely not the first person to do a lineage challenge, but I'm glad that you like my system!

[mandaplease10]

A Polin Take Nobody Asked For #5

*Penelope & Colin Aren't Friends*

Once again, there are complaints about how Pen & Colin were never actually friends because we never see them be friends. We're simply only told they are friends and now we're supposed to believe Colin loves her after saying he would never court.

Well, I am here to tell you why that is wrong. Oh and someone on twitter claimed this season has no narrative... like are we watching the same show??

FYI this is a long post!

Season 1:

Colin dances with Penelope after Cressida spills a drink on her. Even before this, he sought her out to have a conversation with her.

There are several times we see Colin and Penelope speaking at balls or gatherings.

Penelope tries to tell him about Marina and he is grateful for her friendship and care, but he doesn't listen to her because he thinks he knows Marina. Yet, he still took the time to hear her out for the most part.

Once Marina's secret is revealed, Colin apologizes to Pen and recognizes she was just trying to look out for him.

Colin goes traveling the first time because of Pen inspiring him to do so.

Colin singing in the drawing room and lowers his voice/stars at Pen when she walks in.

Season 2:

Their letters - This is a huge element to their friendship and their storyline. Honestly, I would love to have seen what their letters entailed over the years. Maybe one day we'll have a scene of them going through their old letters or something.

Colin's arrival - hello! That look he gives her when he sees her there in the drawing room after greeting his family. I believe had Hyacinth and Gregory not rushed him and Anthony didn't walk in to go to the races, he would have walked over and said something to her.

At the races- he sees Pen and walks over to her. He initiates the conversation and talks about their letters until Eloise ruins the moment.

Another moment he initiates a conversation is when Pen assumes he met someone on his travels and he talks about how he 'found himself' thanks to her letters.

Lady Crane was right about you - He knows that Pen cares for him and is special in his life and the fact that someone else saw that made him open his eyes a little more.

Defending the Featheringtons - Colin stood up to his friend Will when he said something negative about Pen's family and then again when he realized Jack was scheming around.

You are special to me. I will always look out for you - HELLO! Yes, Colin has a hero complex, but he doesn't do this for everyone! He doesn't seek out to help Cressida or other women of TON, but he risked standing up to a "Lord" to save Pen's family from ruin.

You are Pen. You are my friend - Colin literally calls her his friend and holds her above just another woman. Yes, in this moment she was sort of friend zoned, but the fact he still wanted her in his life, means something.

"I would never court Penelope Featherington" - Yes, this was not a good look, but this was also Colin trying to put on a facade in front of the gentleman. Plus, I also believe that in his state of mind, what he was doing and how he is around Pen, is just how they are together, yet in other's eyes, it was very much courting action.

Season 3:

His arrival - Immediately looks for Pen and when he doesn't see her, looks towards her house confused as to why she isn't present.

The Gardens - Smiles when he sees her and is eager to talk to her, upset when she cuts their conversation short.

The ball - Stares at her and watches her from afar and rushes after her when he sees her in distress.

Goodnight Mr. Bridgerton - Tries to joke around with her and have a friendly conversation, but realizes something is wrong. Feels horrid when he realizes why she is upset with him and wants to talk it out, gets upset when she leaves.

The Featherington Garden - Again, he seeks her out because he wants to make things right with her. THIS ENTIRE SCENE IS PRACTICALLY A WHY YOU ARE SPECIAL AND MORE THAN A FRIEND TO ME DECLARATION. If you actually watch this entire scene, you will see that there is genuine friendship and love there.

The Meet Cute - Seriously, the fact that HE remembers how they met AND he was the one who brought it up, says A LOT.

The Drawing Room - He listened to her and brought her to a place that makes her comfortable. He even made sure it was during a time when they would be alone. Also, it is obvious he feels something during the touch of hands and her attempt at flirting with him.

The Ball - They have yet another conversation amongst the two of them and he encourages her to talk to someone. Then they have a laugh. A genuine laugh, one that she never really had with Debling later on... Then we have the little bouts of jealous Colin when she's speaking to Lord Remington. Then how angry he gets when the word gets out about him and Pen and how he rushes after her in worry.

The First Kiss - Once again, Colin is seeking her out... in the middle of the night... bribing her maid for alone time. Like... not just anyone does that. Colin only had to do the one kiss. The one peck because that was all Pen asked for, but guess what? He went in for another one and would have kissed her again if she didn't leave. We can tell on his face, that he felt something he never felt before.

The Dream - Most people don't have romantic dreams about their friends unless there are feelings there.

The Willow Tree - The awkwardness is everything and pure friends to lovers.

I could continue the rest of their moments, but I'm not going to because so many of the same people keep saying the only reason Colin wanted Pen is because of Debling, well guess what everything that I listed above is PRE DEBLING. Yes, there is that moment in episode 1, but it isn't until episode 3 when Debling actively tries to pursue Pen and vice versa.

So, yeah, Polin haters can keep complaining and trying to make excuses as to why they dislike the season, but the receipts are the there to debunk those claims.

[elbdot]

I love your Pokemon comics so much! I've reread them a ton of times, EAA has become such a comfort read. I just adore how you make Alola feel so alive, and the characters all feel so much more complex and interesting. Out of curiosity, were there other comics (Pokemon or otherwise) that inspired you? And are there other Pokemon fan comics you like or would recommend?

AWWWW Thank you so much!! 🥹🥰 Actually, I wasn't really inspired by any other Pokemon comics at the time I began making my first short comics. Despite Pokemon having one of THE most MASSIVE fandoms on the internet, it's honestly surprising how little ongoing fancomics there are. I've seen many artists starting Nuzlocke comics but I only know of ONE artist who ever finished drawing one (And I'm ebarrassed to say I didn't fully read it yet and don't know the name of it anymore, it's been so long 😂)

I think if there was any comic inspiration at the time in 2016, it must have been the webcomic Avas Demon. Not in terms of STORY or genre, but in terms of how the story was told in a 16:9 format like a storyboard or color test for an animated movie. I took a lot of inspiration from that in the way I boarded the comic and wanted to make it feel like a movie sequence, making more individual panels with varying expressions. But that ALSO ABSOLUTELY blew my work-load on each comic out of proportion, thus resulting in VERY irregular updates due to how detailed my backgrounds and shading became plus A LOT of additional poses like here for example:

I'm proud of what I created back then, but after the most recent Arc I have decided to step BACK from this approach and have now heavily simplified my shading and am experimenting with reusing backgrounds and using new panel sizes and formats 😂 You'll see what I mean in the upcoming update this week. Surprisingly enough, I don't think the quality of art has dropped because of these changes! Also my love for adding additional expressions between panels has remained, they're just my favorite thing to do to bring life to the comic!

[cskv11]

Any doodles of bill or unrelated drawings you wanna share? I like your blog a ton, I'd eat your art like a four course meal, man!

Hi!!!! I'm not gonna lie, this made me cry a little hahaha, it makes me very happy to see that people enjoy the little thingies I create, I appreciate your kind words, really!!

As for doodles and other stuff apart from what I post, I'm not very active right now, since I'm more focused on the requests I get (it helps me a lot to get out of my comfort zone) so what you see on my blog is pretty much what there is.

If we're talking about blog related stuff, I've got some scrapped material, like for example:

That one request I got of Dipper watching with Stan "The Duchess Approves" was originally supposed to be a comic, but I considered it excessive:

(There is no dialogue because I changed plans before I had started to write them, haha)

This one I couldn't find the inspiration to finish:

And this one is from a short comic I didn't have time to finish:

The funny thing about it is that I got a request of a drawing about literally the same topic, but with Bill in it instead of Mabel. (If you can guess the context of this panel, I'll have no choice but to finish the original version).

This is a very rough initial sketch of a little thing I thought would come out as funny but have never polished it:

I have also explored some older Dipper and Mabel desings (these are super rough, they make me cringe when I see 'em), for a super secret project that I don't know if it'll ever come to light:

And that's all the Gravity Falls related stuff that I've got! For now, of course...

And to finish, these are two of my favorite non-fandom related drawings that I've made:

I hope these tidbits of my work are good enough to serve you a good meal!

Thank you again for your words, you made my day!!

[satansdarlin]

Op men as dads

IM NOT DEAD! I've been working on requests and also doing school so I havent had much time to post much recently but I thought I'd drop this little treat for you all while I work.

(I was inspired ✨️)

Sanji, zoro, luffy, usopp, ace

Warnings: talk of pregnancy, talk of labor, talk of neglect, talk of anxiety, talk of premature baby's, talk of premature side effects.

Masterlist

Sanji- twin daughters

Girl dad to the extreme

Okay okay so let's start off when you were pregnant

He was incredibly doting, literally wouldn't let you lift a finger for anything

Tons of research on safe foods for pregnancy and also learning how to properly make baby food

When the girls were born it was the first time sanji discovered that feeling of such a need to protect them

They were so tiny and had his blonde hair and blue eyes

Either gives them zeffs last name or yours

Their names? Éclaire (or Claire for short) Sora and Suzette Rei

Very much princess standard

Spoils them as much a humanly possible

When they grow up he teaches them all the stuff he knows how to cook and actually begins making a cookbook soley so his girls can have it when they are adults

Claire tends to be the flirter one out of the twins often making sanji chase off all sorts of boys and men from his princess

Suzette tends be more withdrawn. She prefers to stick to the kitchen helping her dad anywhere she can

Both of them are huge daddies girls

Zoro- triplets, two boys one girl

Zoro through most of the pregnancy was calm and collected.

Another one who refused to let you do anything without his hand on your hip

He did the pregnant belly lift for you all the time

All shit goes down when you actually give birth

Zoro had been expecting one baby but when two more popped out he panicked

Absolutely wants to train them personally

Their names? Shogi Korushiro Roronoa, Menko Arashi Roronoa, and his daughter Karuta kumia Roronoa

Shogi is the eldest of the triplets and even though it's only by a few minutes he really takes being the eldest sibling seriously. He looks over his siblings and trains the most so he can protect them and be as great as his dad one day

Menko tends to be the lazy one. Menko can and will take a nap everywhere and anywhere he can. Sanji once found him sleeping in kitchen cabinet on a bag of rice.

Karuta feels the need to stay on her brothers level. She takes her training even more seriously than shogi does. Zoro is more than pleased to train her but even he worries about her over doing it to keep up.

The triplets also see chopper almost as a older brother

Zoro decided if he was to pass away ever each of the triplets would get one of his swords.

Luffy- two sons

Lord.

During your pregnancy it was really confusing for luffy about around the time you started showing he began to realize

He is constantly lettering Sabo filling him in and asking questions

Luffy became more protective of you when you were pregnant literally barked at someone for getting too close once

When you go into labor he is right by your side.

After you gave birth to your first son, Monkey D Ace luffy was suprised at how small he was.

Luffy was surprisingly gentle but that didn't change much of his childish ways

The baby would scream sometimes just because luffy would scream back (there's this video of twins who yell to figure out if the other is near, kinda like that)

When you got pregnant the second time when ace was around age two luffy understood it a lot more.

He did his best to not stress you with the baby and this time it went a lot smoother.

He knew what to expect in the delivery room the second time when your second son, Monkey D Ademir, came into the world

Ace tends be rambunctious, running into trouble much like his father with a similar appetite, but he also knows the weight of his name and so he holds it with pride

Ademir is similar to his brother and father, but he also tends to be far more brutally honest than ace.

Both boys tend to lean towards you though. Surprisingly, they tend to listen to you more than their father although it's a shocking sight when luffy is actually telling them to do something

Usopp- premature boy

Anxiety ten times higher than normal

When you found out you were pregnant usopp used his anxious energy to start making things

Baby clothes? Got it. Crib? Got it. Toys? Got it. With the help of Franky converted a large storage closet into a baby room.

Imagine his panic when the baby room wasn't even half done when you went into labor.

The labor was brutal on both you and usopp. But eventually his son, Shinji took in his first breaths.

For the first few months of life the crew fussed over shinji constantly due to his prematurely he had a hard time breathing and needed far more cuddling than a normal baby.

Usopp would stay up all night just making sure his son was breathing after he had read a book that said children born premature could pass away easily

Shinji pulled through. And unfortunately became the most brutally honest person anyone had ever met. He gave luffy a run for his money about not being able to tell a lie

Shinji would run and tell you all about the acts his father wasn't supposed to get up to even small ones like sneaking a extra treat after dinner.

Even so usopp coddled his son constantly

When shinji took a interest in art and carving usopp nearly cried because they had a shared interest.

Becoming a father made usopp realize how truly messed up what his own father did was.

Usopp understood having his own goal while being a parent would make it harder but he would never abandon his son or you to achevie them. He'd prefer to achieve them with you by his side.

Ace- daughter

Ace panicked when he found out you were growing his child inside of you.

The ship was on fire type of panic

Ran you straight to Marco who checked you out and congratulated you when he confirmed the pregnancy.

Ace similarly to luffy was incredibly protective.

You were never out of his sight and if you were he had someone checking on you hourly.

His coddling was almost suffocating.

When you went into labor, more fires had to be put out on the ship.

Marco nearly had to remove ace from the room because he was freaking out more than you were.

The one time ace settled down was when his newborn daughter nuzzled her face against his warm chest, Rouge D Portgas named after his mother.

Rouge lived up to her name, she frequently made the ship panic because no one could find her only to find her snuggled up in between some barrels.

Ace sworn the night Rouge was born he would never let her go through the things he did as a child.

Ace was a amazing father often having her up on his shoulders and would cry with her when she had to go get her shots or got scrapes.

Spoilers ahead

When ace died Rouge went into Marco's care. The only thing she had left of her father was his hat which she wears constantly.

Although Rouge goes through a similar thing of being bullied for her father she is prideful of his father and who he was.

Spoilers over

Overall ace tries to be the best dad he can be.

[meridiansdominoes]

I am LOVING "Dominoes" so far! I can't wait for what's next! Also, I have two questions. What inspired you to write "Dominoes" in the first place and gave you the idea for the story? Secondly, out of all the Jedi that could've possibly confronted Krell to arrest him, what made you choose Unduli and Windu? I understand why Anakin wouldn't be a good choice because he would've straight up murdered that sleemo besalisk on the spot. Not that I would blame him. But I know Obi-Wan is a good negotiator and seeing him sass Krell could've been hilarious! And seeing Plo Koon confront him could've been interesting as well with their completely opposite views on clones. Also, Master Plo doesn't strike me as the type to loose his temper easily. I don't know as much about Aayla so I can't really guess for her. But if she loves Bly, seeing her whoop Krell big time could've been interesting as well. Did you choose Unduli and Windu because they're were the most likely to be able to keep their cool dealing with someone like Krell? Or was it something else? Thanks! Keep being amazing!

Hiya! Thanks for the ask! I got the original idea when I was reading clone wars fanfics a while ago and every time travel fic was mostly Jedi! Not that there's anything wrong with that, and also now there's a ton of clone-centric time travel too, but back in the day it was very difficult to find clone time travel that was well executed. Since the clones had always been my favorite characters, I really wanted something like that, and the more I thought about it the more I became interested in how non-force sensitives and people with very little galactic influence would handle a time-travel situation! I decided to write it myself, using Domino squad because that way I could bring back three of my favorite characters and expand on characters who didn't get any screentime!

As for your second question, I actually chose Mace Windu to go after Krell because I decided that he had the highest chance of defeating Krell in a 1 on 1 lightsaber duel! I don't know how good of a fighter Krell actually is against other Jedi--we never get to see him fight another lightsaber user... maybe he's actually terrible and even Ahsoka could beat him, or maybe he's a monster. Regardless of reality, he's huge, and those dual double-bladed are super intimidating, so I decided he's probably pretty tough. With that in mind, I needed someone who was super competent at lightsaber dueling to take him on, so I chose Mace! It also made sense to me that the council would choose someone fairly important to go and arrest one of their own. I chose Luminara to back him up because, as you mentioned, she's good at staying calm under pressure, and I also felt like I had missed an opportunity to include her on Geonosis, so I wanted to make up for that! I also partially chose her because I'm a big fan of clone commander Gree, and I knew I eventually wanted to write a short about it from his perspective, which I did!

Plo Koon and Aayla both would have been interesting choices as well, you make really good points that their relationships with their clones could have really made them fierce opponents for Krell! As for Anakin... I didn't choose him for a very specific reason that you will find out in a few chapters hehe!

[3ofpents]

Lake Champ // Fabric design for @shapeshiftersvt and the Cryptid Collection

Ah Champ. Vermont's very own lake monster that seems to illicit panic and terror from half the people who see it by just ... swimming around.

Out of the six fabric designs in The Cryptid Collection, there are three where I adapted elements from the existing poster to create the design. But while there's still one more I haven't talked about yet, I think this one and the Jersey Devil design I talked about yesterday are the only two that are truly a straightforward adaptation of their respective posters. Like, if the brief was "turn these posters into a fabric design" I think that the Jersey Devil design and this Champ design are the ones that really fill that.

Here's the Champ poster for reference:

Like, I rendered the water a bit differently, I took out a couple of elements, made the clouds more sparse, and shifted the colors around a bit. But yeah, pretty much turned the poster into a fabric design. I mostly used the same palette save for the Champs, which are a dark green that wasn't in the original poster. But I did also make the maroon a little more red and the yellow-green a little more yellow. Because, I think, for this one especially, I took the opportunity to alter the palette into something I preferred a bit more.

Well, I also had to shift some colors around because I wanted the pattern to repeat vertically along the length of the yard, but I didn't want there to just be a hard line where the water stopped and the next repeat began. There's already a hard line where the sky stops and the water begins and I thought it would look a little weird. But also I just thought it would be really cool to have the bottom of the water just fade back into the sky. That's why you can see more water ripples at the top of the tile. Oh wait, I can just show you! And I'm going to because I'm really very proud of this:

Look at that! Look how smooth it is!

Now, obviously this was designed with a binder or sportsbra in mind, that's why the tile is the height it is. But since, with the binders especially, folks can get them made anywhere from 14-30" long, I not only wanted to make sure there would be no issue making longer binders with it; I was also thinking about folks who might buy it to make other things with it. And I really love how it came out. The colors I think contrast so well together, and, like I keep saying, I'm so thrilled, like insane over the way the fade between tiles came out.

Oh, I realize I haven't talked about Eli's influence on this one. That's mostly because this isn't a design they're using in their runway collection! They're using a completely different version of this that isn't available as a binder/sportsbra, so I didn't want to use it as one of the main photos. But here it is as a bonus:

So right off the bat, you can see that it's a completely different color scheme, and also it's sideways and much taller. This is, Eli informed me, what's called a border design, where the main design element runs along one side of the fabric, repeating along the length of the yard. So when you make a garment from it, you are (typically) putting it together so the border is along the bottom hem.

This is why this version isn't available for a binder/sportsbra, there's just too much empty space. We'd end up having to use multiple yards for some folks in order to make a garment that had the design all the way around, which would also waste a ton of fabric.

So Eli's original concept for the Champ runway look was a vintage style swim costume — essentially a one piece suit but with shorts. They were taking inspiration from the way the mountains fade into a misty blue as they get further away, hence the color scheme. And they wanted the lake and Champ to just be a border around the bottom hem.

And here's where we get into Eli's unintentional influence on the Cryptid Collection version. While they asked me to create the base design, they asked me to leave out the mountains because they wanted to add the mountains themself using some physical techniques. Then, because they felt the final design looked a little too empty, we decided to add the second Champ.

I wanted these two designs to coordinate. Like, obviously, they're part of the same collection! So I ended up merging Eli's design with the poster and just slightly tweaking it to make it work on its own, as a repeatable design, at an appropriate size for making binders and sportsbras. I pulled the colors from the poster, I added the second Champ, I left out the mountains, but kept the clouds.

So it really is the lovechild of Eli's runway design and my poster design.

As I keep saying and will continue to say, if you'd like to purchase your own binder or sportsbra in this fabric like the ones pictured above, you can find those listings (and the poster listing) here on the Shapeshifters website.

If you'd like to purchase either fabric for your own sewing projects, you can get both the runway border design and the Shapeshifters design through our Spoonflower shop.

[bots-and-cons]

Hey a while back I sent in an ask that wasn’t an ask it was more like a submission. I didn’t think about it getting deleted when I re-deleted my account. I do that during collage semesters to fight the adhd urge to scroll and put off schoolwork but I pop in from time to time to check on old friends and interact.

Long story short this is the inspiration for the asking each respectable mech to take care of their tortoise Shelldon when they are gone. (Thanks for writing that btw😄) I went with an African spurred tortoise because it’s own-able. The real life Shelldon is an endangered and federally protected gopher tortoise that I think is about 3 years old now because he showed up in the spring of 2022 and mother gopher tortoises have been observed allowing offspring to hunker down in their burrow for their first winter.

But yeah dude showed up when I was replanting lettuce in my greenhouse and he started rummaging through the plants I just tossed on top of the compost pile, then he dug his burrow against my fence, and in a cat like fashion I have tortoise now and thus can never move 😂.

Due to him being a wild and protected tortoise I don’t want him to become dependent so I feed him only every so often and avoid dropping food (and I do a ton of research on what he can and can’t have) at the same time of morning or afternoon. I typically give him stuff most during the dry season since we’ve had droughts and in the winter when things die back. I will sprinkle stuff in the yard occasionally so he gets assorted veggies, I bought a small cylinder of grassland tortoise pellets, and he gets calcium fortified tortoise treats to find when out foraging every so often. But my biggest thing has been planting native grasses and a little patch of dandelions and wild pea plants against the fence.

I mean I probably shouldn’t interact with him at all legally but he moved into my yard and seemed to have a rough first year on his own, I had to move him back to his hole a few times because he got lost in my yard in 100 degree heat at the hottest part of the day when tortoises or really any animals avoid being out and started pacing in circles by the walkway because he knew he couldn’t get back to his hole in time and his shell was scalding hot those times I had to pick him up but he has seemed to have learned his lesson on what time of day is appropriate to be out and I haven’t had to move him since.

But yeah thank you for answering my ask, sorry for the ramble, and I hope you have a great week! 😄

I was wondering what happened to the ask, I thought tumblr was just being tumblr, because the amount of asks in my inbox didn't change but the ask itself disappeared. At least now I know what causes the phantom ask thingy to happen.

Anyway, I love all kinds of tortoises/turtles, and I think they're super cool, and Shelldon is also very cute. All of that is also really interesting, honestly I don't know much about tortoises in general even though we used to have one when I was a kid. Shelldon has a cool story to go with him too I see :D I think the way you're taking care of him is very reasonable and it's good you're not making him be dependent on you. Idk about the legality of it, but I don't think it's a bad thing. He looks very cute in the pictures, one hungry boi :D

[crepe-of-wrath]

I've Actually Been Sticking to a Writing Task! (Or, the Half-Year Shouta Saturday Retrospective)

So I know this is really not a big deal for most people, but as someone who has a ton of unfinished fics, three or four original novels that are 85% completed or more, and even a few incomplete nonfiction projects, having consistently put something out, even if it was short or even if it was rushed, every Saturday for 26 weeks is actually something I'm kind of proud of.

Readership is not the only thing that keeps me writing--to my eternal shame (because I'm letting people down), some of my unfinished fics have had a lot of support and people who still ask me if I will finish them--but it certainly helps, so I first want to express my appreciation to every single person who has read any of these.

Thanks also to Horikoshi and all the awesome Aizawa fan writers and artists out there for helping me discover my muse, hahaha.

So, what are the most popular Shouta Saturday fics? Which ones are my personal favorites? Which ones didn't please and sparkle quite as much as the rest? Find out below the cut!

The Top 5 Shouta Saturday Fics (by # of notes):

Aizawa gives Reader her first real orgasm

Vigorous sex with Aizawa

Aizawa ties Reader to the bedpost

Betten Court-inspired AU I

Vigilante AU I

I think the Vox Populi has pretty good taste and discernment: these are definitely some of the best mixes of smut, heart, and a (tiny) dash of plot that I have produced since starting this.

The Bottom 5 Shouta Saturday Fics (by # of notes): (fics must be at least a month old)

5. Sensual Light Bondage 4. Aizawa indulgently comforting Reader 3. Short Older Aizawa x Older Reader 2. Courtly Love AU I 1. Hero Patrol Soft Yandere I

Again, I think the Vox Populi are pretty fair here. #5-3 were all honestly pieces I wrote under the gun because I was having writer's block or because I was in a very specific mood (#4) and they don't have the development of the more popular entries in the series. Courtly Love AU I is all set up and I haven't posted any updates to it because I'm not going to post more of the story until it is ALL done. Hero Patrol Soft Yandere I is one I actually quite like though... 😭😭😭 Speaking of that...

Crepe's Favorite Shouta Saturday Fics (aka, the list where I tell on my kinks/preferences)

Yandere Aizawa x Stockholm Syndrome Reader

Sensual Bathing with Aizawa

Hero Patrol Soft Yandere II

Betten Court-inspired AU I

Undercover AU II

Crepe's Favorite Specific Shouta Saturday Moments (not in any particular order)

Aizawa insouciantly batting away the sex toy because he's here now and so Reader doesn't need it any longer, from Betten Court-inspired AU II

Reader shivering on the rooftop as she is tightly bound in Aizawa's scarf on the rooftop, from Hero Patrol Soft Yandere I

Aizawa putting on Reader's collar and then softly running his hands down her back, from Yandere Aizawa x Stockholm Syndrome Reader

Aizawa fondling Reader's wet body in the natural bathing pool, from Aizawa takes Reader to the Beach

Aizawa pinning Reader to the wall, from Vigilante AU I

All 26 Shouta Saturday Fics so far (by # of notes as of mid-July '23) (a * indicates the fic is less than a month old as of this post)

Aizawa gives Reader her first real orgasm

Vigorous sex with Aizawa

Aizawa ties Reader to the bedpost

Betten Court-inspired AU I

Vigilante AU I

Dom Daddyzawa with (slightly) bratty Sub Reader

The First One

Hero Patrol Soft Yandere II

Very Shy Shouta

Sensual Bathing with Aizawa

Reader takes care of exhausted Aizawa

Yandere Aizawa x Stockholm Syndrome Reader

Vigilante AU II

Undercover AU I

The Really Short One

Undercover AU II

Aizawa takes care (wink wink) of Reader

Betten Court-inspired AU II *

Sensual Light Bondage

Aizawa indulgently comforting Reader

Aizawa takes Reader to the Beach *

Short Older Aizawa x Older Reader

Courtly Love AU I

Hero Patrol Soft Yandere I

Reader's HS crush on Aizawa *

Domestic Aizawa *

Again, thank you all!

[dduane]

Hi! I really like Scrappy, and I heard you've worked with some TV writers for Scooby-Doo?

I'd like to ask you some questions, but before I do I wanna say some things:

In fact, I looked up the writer’s guild stats and you actually wrote some of the episodes for the original show he was on, as well as some shorts!  “Neon Phantom of the Roller Disco” and “When You Wish Upon a Star Creature” are both really solid episodes and a lot of people really enjoy the Star Creature’s futuristic design! Of the shorts episodes you did I think "A Bungle in The Jungle" and "A Close Encounter of the Scooby Kind" and "Surprised Spies" the funniest. I could go on! But then I would never finish this ask ^^;

And I gotta tell you this. I may have been born decades after those episodes aired, but I’ve seen every single one-the first season, the 99 shorts, the 13 ghosts, the New Scooby Doo Mysteries, the DTV trio, all of ‘em, and I absolutely adored them, thank you so much for helping with that. 

When Fred and Velma and Daphne disappeared, after 1979, did Scrappy have something to do with it? I know Duane Poole said in an interview that Scrappy was easier to focus on, and that Fred and Velma, and Daphne had a hard time competing with his energy or something, but the executives wouldn’t have thrown all their eggs into one basket with the pup after one season, would they? I have to know. Even if it turns out that’s what happened, I know that it’s not really Scrappy’s fault either way, I’m just curious.

I've heard from Mr. Poole's interview that when you were figuring out Scrappy and stuff you guys just gathered around and brainstormed with Joe Barbera. Did you or anyone else that you know of look to past ideas for inspiration?

What was the favorite episode you wrote?

I also heard from Mark Evanier’s account that Scrappy was originally feistier but some scripts were altered. How were the scripts changed before and after that alteration?

Also, in the nineties, why did Scrappy go away? I mean, I know some people didn't like him, but it was more just "he had his time" not the kinda hate you saw in the early 2000s right?

This is un-Scrappy related. Did you guys do your own blocking, did anyone at HB ever split the writing and blocking between multiple people? Just curious.

Also, I know that the original Scrappy series gets some hate, but I am not one of them and there are so many people who love the work you did and what Scrappy-Doo means to them. You guys did an awesome job with the series and there are tons of fans who still remember and cherish the work that you and the others did. Don’t let the haters get you down. Thank you SO SO SO SO MUCH!

First of all, thanks very much for your kind words! The work I did on Scooby-Doo And Scrappy Too! was my very first animation work, and besides being a shed-load of fun, I learned an incredible amount about screenwriting in general, and animation writing in particular, from Tom Swale and Duane Poole (God rest them both). They were fabulous teachers, patient and smart—a pleasure to work with, and (in between work times) extremely funny guys whose senses of humor meshed perfectly with mine.

About Fred, Velma, and Daphne disappearing post-1979: unfortunately I wouldn't be in any position to know whether Scrappy had anything to do with that. I'd very much have been the newest and most junior writer in the room (and we're talking about a time when there weren't even "rooms" as we think of them now: they hadn't been invented yet). But though their job title was "story editor", in terms of the work they were doing, Tom and Duane were what we would now think of as showrunners... and those deliberations and/or decisions wouldn't by any stretch of the imagination have included me. :)

It's interesting to hear what Duane had to say about the disappearance. But I feel pretty sure that a decision involving so many characters would not have been made solely at Tom's and Duane's level. Some kind of approval or signing-off would've had to happen at the highest executive levels at H-B... or at least that's my take on it.

As for brainstorming with Joe Barbera: it seems to me quite likely that that was just how things happened. Hanna-Barbera at that point was a surprisingly comfortable, casual kind of place—relatively friendly to newcomers, and with a sense of under-the-surface goofiness that tended to surface without warning. The founders, in particular, had a reputation for being very hands-on and accessible. I kind of regret that those brainstorming sessions were before my time.

Re: favorite episodes: you'll have gathered that I did a fair amount of writing for Tom and Duane over the years (there's more detail on my IMDb page, which fills in some gaps but still isn't complete...), so frankly it's hard to pick a favorite. But the first one I tend to think of is my very first one, "The Hairy Scare of the Devil-Bear". ...And honestly, one of the funniest things about the scriptwriting process on these was the business of crafting outlandish titles: the goofier, the better. Tom and Duane were past masters at this... and no one will ever get me to discuss the really dirty ones that were floated during story conferences. ...Anyway, I've always been a bit of a Tuckerizer, and in that first episode—though it wasn't anywhere near as polished as later episodes would be—I had so much fun sneaking in the very first of what would become any number of friends' names. A simple pleasure, perhaps. But hey, I'm a cheap date. :)

Re: Mark Evanier's comments about earlier Scrappy scripts: Mark had been working at H-B for a good while by the time I got there, and I'd consider his opinions important. But I've got no useful data on how scripts might have been changed before I got there. Sorry I can't be of more help on this.

As to why Scrappy might have gone away in the 90s….? I don't really have any useful data on that either. By that time, I was in the early stages of being married to @petermorwood and living in Europe, and was out of the loop on things that were going on at Hanna-Barbera.

Finally, as regards blocking: when one was writing animation in the 80s, the received wisdom was that one should write almost entirely in "master shots"—so that one didn't call specific angles in the screenplay unless they were extremely important. The idea being "Don't direct in the script. Let the director have something to do." And blocking would certainly have been included in the concept of what the director was supposed to be doing. ...But at the same time, story editors would naturally have seen the storyboards that were produced in-house, and would have had input into angles and camera movement at that stage… So, in that way anyway, blocking and writing were certainly split.

Meanwhile, thanks again for the nice words about what we were doing! It was very enjoyable work, and the continuing popularity of these shows makes it more enjoyable, even now. :)

[authoralexharvey]

INTERVIEW WITH A WRITEBLR — @daisywords

Who You Are:

Daisy || She/her

I'm a fantasy enjoyer about to graduate from university with a degree in editing. In addition to writing, I like to draw/paint and play the piano. Also interested in linguistics and bookbinding

What You Write:

What genres do you write in? What age ranges do you write for?

Fantasy and Sci-Fi. Young and New Adult, Adult.

What genre would you write in for the rest of your life, if you could? What about that genre appeals to you?

I love specfic in general, fantasy in particular (but the line between fantasy and scifi is blurrier than one might think). I particularly like the potential of alternate worlds to set up situations and character dynamics that simply couldn't exist in a historical or contemporary novel

What genre/s will you not write unless you HAVE to? What about that genre turns you off?

I don't read or write smut/erotica but other than that everything else is potentially on the table. I couldn't see myself doing straight historical fiction, either, honestly, just because I probably wouldn't be able to resist adding some specfic elements and/or unanchoring it from time (Fantasy is freedom to me, whereas historical accuracy is something extra to adhere to.)

Who is your target audience? Do you think anyone outside of that would get anything out of your works?

You mean other than myself?? Ok but actually it's pretty broadly just people who like fantasy. I have one wip that's technically YA just based on the age of the characters, but it could definitely be enjoyed by adults. My other wip is adult/NA but could also definitely be enjoyed by teenagers.

What kind of themes do you tend to focus on? What kinds of tropes? What about them appeals to you?

hmmm….something about the juxtaposition of violence and tenderness? Guilt/responsibility and free will/predestination a la the Chosen One trope. Memory loss trope (so juicy)

What themes or tropes can you not stand? What about them turn you off?

I personally am not a fan of immortal love interests. sorry everyone.

What are you currently working on? How long have you been working on it?

My current main wip is called Deep and Dark, Beautiful and Bright. I started it in November 2020. I also have a back burner project called Fear Me, which has been ship-of-Theseus-ing since I was like 10 lol. And I'm working on two short stories that are being more trouble than they're worth

How long have you been writing? What do you think first drew you to it?

I've been making up stories since I knew what stories were. Mostly started out playing elaborate pretend games with my sister. In second grade my best friend suggested we "write a book" together since our teacher would give out blank spiral-bound paper packets. (I think she was mostly interested in my illustration abilities tbh) Anyway we created a series centered around a character named Natalie (who was basically a ripoff of Ramona/Junie B. Jones.) But anyway I think around then is when I actually became interested in writing books as an outlet for making up stories. I didn't actually do a ton of writing as a kid, but I always collected story ideas and had a ton of ocs that I would draw in my secret sketchbook.

Where do you get your inspiration from? Is that how you got your inspiration for your current project? If not, where did the inspiration come from?

Honestly I get inspiration from everywhere. My brain is a very productive idea factory (but not a productive draft finisher, sadly). Other media (for example taking one specific concept or plot point form a move and running in the opposite direction with it), dreams, songs, historical events, offhand comments from friends, etc. Sometimes justt out of nowhere I swear.

Have you published anything? Do you want to?

Not yet and yes eventually

What part of the publishing process most appeals to you? What part least appeals to you?

I want my projects to have a final form and I want other people to read them. I don't want anyone I know irl (or anyone else for that matter) to psychoanalyze me about them. I'm not looking forward to anything to do with marketing, writing to market, tight deadlines, adhering to standardized formats/lengths, etc. but so it goes…

What part of the writing process most appeals to you? What part is least appealing?

I love coming up with ideas and characters and scenes. I love rambling in my notes doc. I love drafting in the rare moments when I actually do it. I really struggle with getting all the pieces of my plot to fit together. I like editing (I'm literally an editor). I cannot do project management to save my life.

Do you have a writing process? Do you have an ideal setup? Do you write in pure chaos? Talk about your process a bit.

Right now what's working fro me is to have three distinct documents. One goes strictly in order. Another is to put all of the scenes I want to write that don't fit into that order yet. The third one is for me to yell about it all (notes). When I'm lucky, scenes form the chaos doc (scene bank) eventually find their way into the order doc.

Your Thoughts on Writeblr:

How long have you been a writeblr? What inspired you to join the community?

I joined tumblr predominantly for the writeblr community in 2018 (don't remember the specifics but I remember seeing writing posts on pinterest and was like hm well might as well go directly to the source)

Shout out some of your favorite writeblrs. How did you find them and what made you want to follow them?

in no particular order and not an exclusive list: @aohendo @mecharose @scarvenartist @woodhousejay @baroquesse @tracle0 @klywrites @garthcelyn @incandescent-creativity @zmwrites @ashen-crest @ambiguouspuzuma @ettawritesnstudies @megarywrites @magic-is-something-we-create @pinespittinink @isherwoodj just a few of the many excellent people here

What is your favorite part about writeblr?

I just love the community aspect of interacting with other writers, or even just seeing what everyone's working on and how it's going. Even if someone's wip isn't my exact cup of tea I still like seeing posts about their work and people encouraging each other.

What do you think writeblr could improve on? How do you think we can go about doing so?

A lot of people say that interaction is dead etc. but I don't really think that's true. I think focusing less on reblogs and more on comments/asks as a form of interaction would strengthen the feeling of community. Not everyone is obligated to reblog everything and comments and asks can be more personal anyway. I like knowing other people are seeing what I put out there, and I especially love getting comments on my work, but that doesn't mean I need everyone to share it. I'd rather have 5 followers that interact with me than 1000 who don't. Quality over quantity, you know?

How do you contribute to the writeblr community? Do you think you could be doing more?

Of course everyone could always be doing more. I like to read other's snippets when I'm in the headspace for it, but sometimes I'm just here to mindlessly scroll and that's okay too. If I read something and I think it's cool or interesting or well-written or anything I try to either leave a reply or reblog with something in the tags. If I can't think of anything to say just quoting a line that I liked will suffice (I like when people do that to me). I do want to try sending more asks to people—I try to always send one when I see someone's reblogged an ask game, but I think everyone would appreciate some out-of-the-blue asks as well :)

What kinds of posts do you most like to interact with?

All kinds but I am most likely to interact with shorter posts about peoples' process or something about their characters. @klywrites will post about tiny interactions between her characters and I literally love them just from seeing tiny scenes on my dash every so often. I really like to read longer snippets and short stories too (there's some amazing writers here y'all) but I'm more likely to scroll past those if I can't spare the focus. Also I love seeing art! even from people who don't consider themselves artists like aww you drew your little guy and I love them now

What kind of posts do you most like to make?

idk I end up just vagueposting about my process most of the time. I love to infodump about my characters/worldbuilding but I don't do it too often. I also like to post about writing things in general, but I don't consider myself an expert or anything so I'm not putting out a ton of advice—just what works for me

[sonic-love-island-official]

Rouge (Bio/Character design ramble)

Want to have a ramble about Rouge because I'm feeling particularly obsessed with her character design at the moment. So, might as well do a little bio and a ramble on choices made for her Love Island AU counterpart !

More under the cut x

Rouge is a 28 year old jewellery specialist from an unspecified location (for the moment). She joins the fray with the intention of stirring the pot, potentially finding a summer fling and the allure of the cash prize.

She's your girl that has a specific 'type' and sticks to it to a tee. She is loud and flirtatious, but can also be quietly cunning. Rouge is a girl who thrives off drama and does anything to get her way. She disguises many of her true feelings beneath flirting or angry outbursts. Despite being one of the older girls in the series, Rouge doesn't have a very mature attitude (or sense of humour 🤭), which plays a part in her character arc on the Island. Along with this, she is learning to unlearn her pre-established self-destructive behaviours in order to become a better person, friend and partner... Eventually.

External design choices !! (visual appearance - incl. formation of base sim, references taken, makeup choices, fashion style... etc.)

Rouge's translation into The Sims 3 was a hugely enjoyable trial and error process. She was one of a few handful of characters that ended up getting a minor overhaul to their designs, as we eventually came to the conclusion that they no longer fitted the vibe of the AU. But. She looks stunning now, so Rouge Version 1 can be forgotten. Not really, Rouge v1 actually became a meme so we kind of have to keep her 'round hehe.

Forming the base for Rouge's sim was quite easy, as I was already inspired from the get-go. She was made the same day I made Shadow's sim, as the intention was for them to enter as bombshells (as they rightfully should). A lot (but not all) of inspiration was taken from her Sonic Adventure 2 character model because I immediately fell in love with it the first time I saw her ! Her exaggerated bust and hips made her look so short and adorable in gameplay and I know her design was not intended to be perceived that way, but here I am. I don't remember if I made her before or after I was aware of and joined the 'Rouge is Latina' bandwagon (I do believe this is canon ??) due to the fact I made this sim over a year ago when newly into the fandom, but I thought it'd be worthy mentioning here that she is and it's something we wanted to keep as part of her character.

I kept a ton of reference Rouge's core features, such as her big blue-green eyes, her wispy white hair, her slightly more voluptuous figure (to the best of my ability, ts3 is piss poor at creating differing body types grr. Don't even get me started on how I wanted to give Rouge more of a tummy) and her warmer skin tone. She actually used to look more on the orange side of tan before we kitted our game with a mod that gave sims less 'potato'-like features, so her skin tone seems more natural and even and less Fake Tan than what she was originally, making her look a little more like her counterparts in later titles, but she looks far more stunning than she used to. A sacrifice had to be made and perhaps that was for the best. Additionally, I put in some of my own creative choices as well, such as Rouge naturally having dark hair, as seen through the regrowth in her bleach-blonde hair (I thought it was white but I checked in CAS and it turns out there's the tiniest yellow hint in there. Even I didn't realise the level of detail I went into). Her face and her features are quite slender, accentuating her big eyes and her lips (which we decided was cause of Botox later into the development process, because that just seemed like something she would do and it was very in-line with characters seen on Love Island).

The miscellaneous parts of her appearance are very one way or the other. As seen in her default outfit (2nd & 3rd images), Rouge's makeup is accurate to the tacky colours seen on her reference designs. The blue cut-crease eyeshadow, the pink lip colour... But alternatively, she is also seen wearing more Love Island appropriate makeup - more neutral, blended shadows, highlighter, winged liner, false lashes, lip glosses. Her outfits normally match whichever angle she's leaning towards during that particular episode and a few outfits of hers are actually inspired by (or are near replicas of) pre-made designs from various games/official artworks ! It's all in the little things 😉

*Did I,, did I forget to talk about her piercings ? Yes, I did </3 Beneath her hair is tons of little sparkly earrings she's adorned herself with over the years, because it's Rouge and she can't resist a bit of sparkle. She also has a belly piercing :)

Internal design choices !! (personality, characteristics, psychology etc.)

Rouge does not get nearly enough credit for any of the internal workings of her character and having her in this AU gave us the perfect excuse to delve into Rouge's psychology a bit more in-depth. We decided to expand on pre-existing traits and add a few of our own in the mix, as to not take away from any of the brilliance Rouge already has as a character at least, in some of the earlier games she does... I've noticed that even though Rouge in this AU presents herself a little more immature, the way we've treated her character is far from that. Instead of being reduced down to what is essentially eye-candy, Rouge is shown to be a complex character of her own. She's witty, flirty, manipulative, materialistic, confident... all the common traits associated with her character, but she is also VERY guarded with her feelings. She struggles with vulnerability, commitment and the concept of actually being in love. It is possible she feels undeserving of good people in her life, hence why she seeks to ruin her positive relationships at any given opportunity. Alas... It is something for her to work out throughout the course of the series :) Like most of the main characters in the series, Rouge means well (some of the time) but is a right mess, and I like to think that adds to the relatability of her character 👍

Other fun little titbits I thought were worth a mention !!

Following a fairly popular headcanon (at least, from what I've seen, this is kind of the general consensus ??), Rouge is bisexual in this AU. She cracks on with the boys and has flirty banter with some of them, but also she expresses interest in some of the girls, too. Rouge being Rouge though, a lot of her genuine advances are dismissed for her 'joking', when in fact, that is not entirely the case. And Love Island being the show that it is, often prevents Rouge from fully pursuing any of the girls that caught her attention. Still doesn't stop her from trying though :)

Exaggerating one of Rouge's features, Love Island AU Rouge uses every pet name under the sun to refer to people by. She also loves making endearing nicknames for all the Islanders

[watchoutforthefanfics]

achievement unlocked 🔓 (part eighteen) || Streamer AU! Reddie (IT)

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

AVAILABLE ON AO3

Inspiration: this prompt + BIRDS OF A FEATHER by Billie Eilish

Summary: Richie liked to play video games, and by some stroke of luck, it became his job. Being primarily known as Trashmouth on stream, he found his own little group of streamer friends and they became intertwined: The Losers Club. It never did feel quite complete, though. Well, until, he got his very own backseat gamer in chat.

TWs: cursing, talk of sex, mention of toxic relationships, crying, a lil bit of worthlessness, making out (two times, yeah), and shameless flirting.

[[A/N: Cody Simpson? In my fanfic? You better believe it. Also, there's a shit ton of pop culture in this one, I hope you agree with my opinions on what they'd like. Theres no sex scene in this but there is in fact a lead-up, so.... Be warned. Anyway. Enjoy :))]]

"Pretty brown eyes," Richie sang, loud and dancing around the car (what he could anyway) -moving his and Eddie's intertwined hands with the music, "-Whatcha doing later tonight?"

🎵 Would you mind if I spend time with you? 🎵

"Hey, there," Richie's eyes shot to Eddie's for a second, and Eddie was rolling his eyes (affectionately), "-pretty brown eyes-"

"You're such a fucking nerd," Eddie laughed, but decidedly didn't separate their hands (he never really did, unless absolutely necessary).

Richie took the moment to pull their hands to his lips and started kissing down his arm -a little obnoxiously (as Richie Tozier would). Eddie scrunched up his nose, and it only made Richie do it more (tracing his path back up to their hands). Eddie's lips slipped into a tiny little smile that Richie wanted to physically memorize forever.

It was the beginning of the 6th day, and they would be there in a few hours. Okay, maybe a significant amount of hours, but still. Richie was so excited that he might start fucking vibrating, honestly. Eddie in his apartment, in their apartment, comfortable and happy and fucking... loved. Watching shitty TV together, eating together, Eddie co-starring in some of his streams, waking up to Eddie every fucking day. That was awesome as fuck-

"Such a fucking sap," Eddie hummed, before popping over -at the pull of his seatbelt, and kissed Richie's cheek.

Richie grinned so big that it might physically hurt if he kept it up. But he didn't care then.

"You wanna keep up the questions?" Eddie posed.

Richie hummed, "Do you?"

"Yeah," Eddie responded, pushing himself into his seat in a way that angled him toward Richie, "-I like learning shit about you."

Richie smiled, eyes flashing to him for a spare second, "Me too, Eds."

"It's your turn, dipshit," Eddie nudged him (or tried to there wasn't really space to nudge).

"Okay, um-" Richie blew a raspberry, fingers tapping along the wheel (California would start to fade in pretty soon, what the fuck), "-boring as fuck, but what is your favorite color?"

"Red," Eddie answered, easily.

Richie furrowed his eyebrows (somehow he hadn't expected that), "Really?"

"Yeah," Eddie confirmed -casually, "-I've liked it since I was little."

"I only see you in like... blue or fucking-" Richie motioned with their intertwined hands (which was not effective), "-pastels. Which I love that shit, don't get me wrong, but-"

"I know what I look good in," Eddie shrugged -passively.

"You 'look good' in anything, Eds. If you fucking want to wear red, wear it-" Richie reasoned and then suddenly paused, something fluttering through his mind (he grinned), "-Especially those little red running shorts you have-"

Eddie scrunched up his nose, "You're into my fucking sweaty running clothes?"

"Well, first off, the sweatier the better, you know what I'm saying-" Richie raised his eyebrows suggestively, and Eddie shoved him -hard (it actually kind of hurt), "-but those shorts, man. You're all fucking... leg. Muscular leg, because you fucking run-"

"You're into my legs?" Eddie furrowed his eyebrows -moving to look at Richie.

"I'm into all of you, Spaghetti," Richie quickly clarified, "-but yeah, yes. The fucking... muscles... Look, you're fucking hot as shit, okay? That's what you should take from this."

Eddie's lips quirked up, "I thought I was cute?"

"You can be both," Richie contradicted, changing lanes swiftly, "-Actually, you are both, Eds."

"Then why the fuck don't you call me hot?" Eddie replied -pointedly.

Richie answered, with ease, "Because saying you're cute makes you frustrated and/or flustered. And I fucking live off that shit."

"Huh," Eddie hummed, like he was thinking something over -planning maybe (Richie wasn't sure how he felt about it, but it did feel kinda... hot?), "-good to know. Your turn, Rich."

Fuck, Eddie was gonna tease the shit out of him now. Un-fucking-fair.

"Uh, yellow? Maybe?" Richie offered, uncertain, "-I'm kinda a... 'every color in the world' kinda guy."

"Checks out," Eddie bickered, "-with your hideous fucking shirts."

"You insult me and yet, you love the shit out of me," Richie responded, faux thoughtfully, "-Funny how that works."

"Shut up, dickweed," Eddie hissed -biting (but not really), before adding, "-My turn."

"The floor is yours, darling," Richie responded -voice taking on like a classic movie announcer (the kinds of voices that guys with cigars in old movies had, really).

Eddie rolled his eyes (Richie could honestly feel it), "What about... Your comfort show?"

"Not movie?" Richie clarified.

"No," Eddie frowned, "-That's a different question, asshat."

Richie paused, pressing his lips together, "Cliché as fuck, but probably The Office, or maybe... Always Sunny? 90 Day Fiancé? That shit's pretty good too."

"You can't decide on shit, can you?"

"Okay, okay, jeez," Richie huffed out a breath, "-Yeah, okay, The Office. You?"

"Hoarders," Eddie answered, instinctively, before continuing, quietly, "-or New Girl."

"You fucking hypocrite," Richie laughed, "-you can't pick either!"

"No, it just fucking..." Eddie puffed up his cheeks, defensive, "-depends on the day."

"What if mine depends on the day, Spaghetti?" Richie countered.

"You had three options, anyway," Eddie pointed out, "-That's more than me."

"By one," Richie quickly commented, still laughing, "-Whatever, Eds, you win. On a serious note, though, New Girl is funny as shit."

"Obviously I know that, dickwad," Eddie snapped back, "-It's my comfort show. I've rewatched it like 3 fucking times."

"Favorite character?" Richie posed, curiously.

Eddie followed up, "This the next question?"

"Sure," Richie said -passively, thumb dancing along the back of Eddie's hand, "-if you want it to be."

"Honestly, all of them are pretty good," Eddie echoed, like he gaining a train of thought, "-but Nick. Jess is up there though."

"Really?" Richie tapped his fingers along the wheel, "-I'm more of a Schmidt guy myself."

"'Course you are," Eddie replied, knowingly, before continuing, "-What about The Office?"

"That's a really fucking tough one," Richie blew out a breath, "-Probably Creed."

"Not Dwight?" Eddie questioned, curiously.

Richie conceded, "Close second. Or maybe just depends on my mood. Let's just say both, actually. What about you, Eds? Your Office beau."

"Beau? Who the fuck says beau?" Eddie scrunched up his nose (Richie wanted to kiss it, as he always did).

"People who are clever about pet names, Eddie baby," Richie hummed -eyeing the exit number on the GPS quickly.

Eddie questioned, near immediately, "That's an actual fucking... pet name?"

"Yeah," Richie explained, passively, "-it's like 'boyfriend'. A fucking... male partner."

"It's gendered?" Eddie followed up, before adding, "-How the fuck do you know that?"

"I don't know if you could tell, Eds," Richie laughed, stressing the name, "-but I am fucking... passionate about pet names. Or maybe nicknames in general but same thing."

"You do that for all your boyfriends?" Eddie asked -almost disappointed somehow (no way that was happening).

"No, it's mostly just my friends, actually," Richie clarified, "-When I was dating somebody it was really only fucking... babe. I would try every once in a while, but it never really... stuck. Not like with you."

"So, you've never had like-" Eddie paused, trying to think of the words maybe, "-a fucking... dictionary of pet names for any other boyfriend?"

"Nope," Richie popped the 'p', "-You are a very special case, my dear Spaghetti. Plus, it helps that you actually allow them."

"I don't fucking 'allow' them," Eddie scrunched up his eyebrows -frowning, "-I love them. It's not like I fucking hate them and let you get away with it."

"Yeah, but-" Richie reasoned, "-they are kinda cheesy. I'd probably get sick of them-"

"I won't," Eddie spoke, sturdily (and it made Richie's lips snap shut so quickly that his jaw clicked), "-I like that they're fucking cheesy. It's so... personal."

"How?" Richie questioned, shooting a glance at Eddie (his face was currently very set and determined, or how he got when he felt like he needed to defend his side of something).

"It's... They're yours," Eddie explained, less pointedly, "-I'm not anyone else's fucking... 'Eds', I'm yours. It's like a whole different section of me. Just for you-"

Richie blinked.

"-And I like that shit. That there's a part of me that's Richie's 'Eds' or... or 'Spaghetti', or whatever the fuck you decide that day."

Richie blinked again, saying softly, "Oh."

Eddie's head seemed to turn toward him then, curiously (out of the corner of Richie's eye), and his eyes skimmed along his face. There was a bit of splotchy red crawling up his collar now, and Eddie was most certainly eyeing it.

"I said something stupidly simple that meant a lot to you, didn't I?"

"Maybe," Richie said, low -embarrassed, if he was honest.

Eddie squeezed his hand once.

"It's just-" Richie felt the need to explain (Steve chiming in his head, 'Keep your communication open, Richie. With the right person, it will prevent more problems from happening. Not cause them.'), "-Like I said, no one ever really liked that shit. They wanted me to fucking... cut it out. But you, you do. And there's a part of you that's 'my Eds', and... I don't know, it's just... It's just you fucking valuing me, again. When... When other people haven't, I guess."

Eddie paused, and Richie could feel his eyes flick along his face -processing (thinking maybe), "You're worth the fucking world, Rich. You know that, right?"

Richie thought on it for a second, all that Eddie said, what the Losers said, what Steve said-

"I'm-" he let out a sigh, pressing his lips together, "-I'm getting there."

Eddie hummed, soft and gentle -bringing up their intertwined hands and kissing them (more tenderly than Richie thought he'd ever felt in his entire fucking life), "I know. I'm so fucking proud of you."

Fuck.

Richie pressed his lips together, frankly ignoring the burning in the backs of his eyes, "You asshole."

Eddie laughed, but still, spoke very carefully (fucking... tenderly), "Are you going to cry?"

"Fucking yeah," he stressed the word, voice picking up in speed, "-you can't just say you're fucking proud of me when I'm driving and I can barely see shit anyway-"

"Rich," Eddie spoke, gently but somehow sternly, "-pull over."

Richie let out a big breath, and it kinda hitched in his chest, "Yeah, okay."

He did so, diligently -the car strangely quiet (except for the ever-so-slight sniffles coming from the driver's seat).

Richie took a moment, shaking a breath of out his lungs -trying to calm himself down. Steve gave him a few coping... things, something about breathing-

Eddie slowly pulled his hand out of Richie's, and he snapped to him at the motion. He really fucking wanted to hold Eddie's hand right now-

"C'mon," Eddie spoke, gently -moving to open his car door.

Richie blinked, "What?"

"Get in the backseat with me," Eddie clarified, not fully out of the door (like he was waiting for Richie to move too), "-C'mon."

"We-" Richie sputtered for a second, swallowing down what felt like lead in his throat, "-What about the trip? We'll lose-"

"Richie."

Richie skimmed over him for a second (all soft and certain, a beautiful contradiction -in his mind anyway). And Eddie stared right back at him, still in his place. Almost like he wanted Richie to read all the fucking... love on his face, and the softness and how much he fucking cared. Because, god, he really fucking did-

He let out a big breath and turned in his own seat -getting out of the car.

Not long after he pulled the back door open, Eddie carefully pulled him inside. Richie kinda felt like clay as Eddie seemed to move on a mission (he pulled him forward, Richie diligently moved forward). Eventually, somehow, Eddie was sat up against the door (which Eddie took the keys and ensured were locked) -legs splayed onto the backseat, and then, he motioned Richie forward.

He was a little slow to move toward him, but he did, and the first thing Eddie did was pull off Richie's glasses (popping them into a nearby cup holder). Richie really couldn't tell anything from there, but he felt Eddie's hands pull him forward gently -soft fingertips against his shoulders. Until he was against a warm sturdy surface, heartbeat thrumming into his ear (his chest, his mind mindlessly noted), and felt Eddie intertwine their legs. And then, as a final motion, his arms came to meet around Richie's body.

Richie pressed his lips together, Eddie was fucking... holding him. Holding him. Like he was precious, like Eddie wanted to be careful, like Eddie wanted him to be safe. And fuck, he'd never felt so fucking safe, or... or loved so fucking much-

His eyes started to blur. Fuck.

Almost as if he could tell, Eddie's hand moved to smooth along Richie's back, saying -in a low voice, just for him to hear, "I really am proud of you, Rich. You're doing so fucking good."

Richie inhaled a shaky breath.

"And I know-" Eddie breathed out, "-I know you're still scared that maybe I'm some dick just like all the other assholes you've dated-"

Richie laughed a little.

"-or that I'm not gonna stick around and that's... that's okay. It's not gonna just fucking... go away. So, don't blame yourself for that. I just..."

There was a pause.

"I wanna make sure you know-" Eddie continued, slowly -one of his hands moving to thread into his hair, "-even if I have to tell you every day, that I love the shit out of you and no matter what your stupid fucking brain thinks... I'm not going anywhere. Ever."

Richie sniffled, the whirling of his mind lowering to a buzz -a warm buzz. The smell of strawberries around him, and the pressing warmth of Eddie's skin against his own, he felt much calmer. No more old boyfriends or parents or any of that shit, just him and Eddie in the back of his car. Eddie, who loved the shit out of him, and Richie, who (unsurprisingly enough) loved the shit out of Eddie too.

"I love you too, Eds," he muttered against the cotton of his shirt, "-a lot."

Eddie didn't say anything then, just threading through his hair and thumbing over his skin with his other hand -careful touches. Soothing touches that were maybe made just for Richie in mind (like they were a manufactured superhero weakness or something -his kryptonite, if you will). Richie felt something smooth off of him - and emotion sliding away from the tension of his shoulders. Less overwhelming, as Eddie's hand scratched his scalp and completely wrapped around Richie. It felt like his own little safe space in the world, where nobody could see him except for Eddie.

He let out another breath, less shaky, and with no tears now -heart in his chest slowed. Sniffling once, he made no motion to move at all but he felt better, a lot better. Because it's Eddie. And, of course, Eddie made him feel better. Because he loved him and cared about him so fucking much that it shook Richie's bones-

"Jim," Eddie spoke, suddenly -hand still combing through Richie's hair.

"Hmm?" Richie hummed, almost tired in a way.

"My favorite Office character," Eddie clarified, "-It's Jim."

Richie laughed a bit, "Of course it is."

Eddie pulled Richie's face up -leveling it to his, and frowning, "Are you making fun of me, asshole?"

"You made fun of me about Schmidt," Richie pointed out, "-We're even now."

Eddie's frown quirked up into a smile, hands gently on both sides of his face -holding him there (not unlike the first time they physically met). And his eyes skimmed all of Richie's face, affectionately (lovingly really), and the whole thing made Richie's head spin because it was so consuming. Eddie's love swallowed him whole.

And then, Eddie pulled Richie's face forward and kissed him. It wasn't like a signature Eddie Kaspbrak kiss, not all yearning and desperate and passionate, it was... slower. More careful. Like Richie was precious to him, precious in general, and he wanted him to know that. Wanted him to feel the love that pulsed out of his skin for Richie, wanted to cacoon him into it like a warm bubble of affection. And Richie thought he could fucking die there, happily.

They kissed for awhile then (Richie would even say that they most certainly made out in the back of his car -dream scenario accomplished, what the fuck). And it did, in fact, make their arrival time a little bit later, more like dinner time instead of a late lunch. But, Richie frankly wouldn't change fucking anything and he got the feeling Eddie wouldn't either. So, he didn't feel bad or guilty about it and Eddie wouldn't let him.

Now, they were in San Francisco -buildings upon buildings that were in essence a little more rustic than the sleek metal of New York. That being said, some parts were all sleek metal, just not really too much where Richie lived.

Richie was completely in his element, navigating through lanes and streets like it was routine. Because it was. They were so fucking close that it almost made his hands shake, just like when he was close to meeting Eddie -anxiety prickling his skin. Because god, him and Eddie. Living together. Their apartment. Richie had a wonderful fucking boyfriend and he loved him and he was going to be there every day-

"Are you thinking too much again?" Eddie broke him out of his head -suddenly. Richie really was a wanderer in terms of thoughts. Dissociation's a bitch, am I right?

"No, I'm just-" Richie wanted to physically bounce up and down, "-I'm excited as shit."

"Yeah," Eddie laughed a little, softer, "-me too."

Richie grinned so wide it hurt and tapped his free foot against the floor of the car -anxiously. He squeezed Eddie's hand a few times, eager maybe, and it made Eddie laugh.

God, Richie wanted to make him laugh forever.

"My dear Eds, we are like a minute away," Richie chimed, like an announcer -naturally.

Eddie's eyes shot to the windows, "Shit, really?"

There was an assortment of things by Richie's apartment, cafés, little stores, and restaurants. He'd hit a few of them, either by himself or with Bev, but not enough. He never really had a purpose to explore, really; his job was streaming and all he'd had was Bev so it never... He'd never really had the motivation or reason to. But now, with Eddie, he could show him shit -experience it with hum. He had all the reasons now-

"It's really nice here," Eddie hummed, big brown eyes bubbling along the streets and the buildings -almost in wonder, "-What the fuck."

Richie laughed, "We can look around when we get there if you want."

"Maybe later," Eddie's thumb rubbed along Richie's skin (it made his brain fuzzy), "-I think we should stay home today."

Home, home, home, home-

"Whatever you want, Eddie baby," Richie grinned, and felt his heart flutter in his chest (our home).

"You know, sometimes-" Eddie offered, eyes all along the windows, "-I wanna know what you want, dipshit."

"You," Richie answered, instinctively, "-Anything with you is sick as shit to me."

Eddie's eyes flicked to Richie's face -skimming over it, "Yeah, well, you ever think it might be the same for me, fuckface?"

"Yeah?" Richie hummed, eyeing the roads -his turn was right fucking there.

"Of course," Eddie leveled, looking at him straightforwardly, "-I love the fuck out of you."

Richie grinned like he always did (he loves me), "I love you too, Eds."

It was, as he had said, a few minutes later and he was pulling into the parking lot. Where he always parked, and Richie was hit with the fact that he was finally here. Home. Right back to his apartment, his office, and he was with Eddie. With Eddie-

"This is it?" Eddie asked, curiously -big eyes blinking up at the stretch of building.

"Yes, sir," Richie chimed, maybe nervously, "-we are here."

Eddie laughed a little, freehand fidgeting with their intertwined ones, "Holy shit."

Richie started laughing too, repeating, "Holy shit."

"Well," Eddie tugged at his hand, grinning at him in a way that made his heart twirl, "-let's go then, asshole. What the fuck are we waiting for?"

So, they immediately started moving. Eddie nearly running inside the building with his suitcase. It should be said that Richie is all about... 'being a gentleman' but Eddie was a strong little fucker. Working out and shit. And Eddie was distinctly terrified of elevators, so if he wanted to carry his shit up the stairs -Richie wasn't going to combat him. He could always help with the boxes later-

"You're so fucking slow," Eddie laughed -pulling himself up the stairs -eagerly, if Richie was honest.

"You know how many trips we have to make, Eds?" Richie countered, "-Ya wanna tire yourself out on the first one?"

Eddie's lips flattened into a frown, just above Richie on the floor between stairs -looking at him like he knew he was right (and he hated it), "Shut up."

"Don't worry, Spaghetti," Richie hummed meeting him up on the floor -smoothing his hand down his arm (and taking on a superhero sort of superhero voice), "-I'll carry you up here myself if I have to."

"You could not fucking do that," Eddie disagreed.

"You wanna bet?" Richie questioned -raising an eyebrow.

Eddie paused for a second, smoothly eyeing him from the top of his head to the bottom of his toes. It made Richie squirm a little.

Finally, he winked (Jesus fuck), and smiled coyly, "Maybe later."

It took everything in his body not to fall right then and there. His knees went a little wobbly, and he thanked god that he was holding onto the railing. Face blossoming a bright red, Richie watched as Eddie eyed it -grin bubbling bright along his face. So fucking beautiful-

"Now, come on, asshole," Eddie groaned, nearly jumping in place impatiently, "-we've got so much shit to do."

Richie stayed put.

"You're such a shithead. Fine," Eddie huffed, "-I'll make out with you on the couch if you-"

He pushed past Eddie with a sense of urgency he hadn't felt in a long, fucking time. He heard Eddie burst into laughter behind him, and even resisted the urge to look back at him.

He was a simple man, what could he say?

It should be said, it took them like 2 hours to bring all the boxes up. Well, Richie was finishing now, actually. By himself. Eddie was a quick fucker, and Richie, well, adrenaline only worked for so long. So, he was taking his time -measuring out breaths.

When he did finally reach the door, everything in his body was relieved.

"Jesus Christ, Eds," Richie exhaled, slowly putting back the boxes, "-What did you put in these things? Bricks by the fucking pound?"

"You took fucking ages," Eddie breathed out, impatiently (maybe even a little frustrated).

"Well, yeah," Richie slowly straightened, turning toward him, "-We've been doing this for hours, ya gotta give a man a bre-"

Eddie cut him off by literally jumping into him -fully legs wrapped around him and arms around his neck style. Richie almost stumbled back and tripped over the fucking boxes-

"Jesus fucking Christ-" Richie tried, aiming to look at his footing. Instead, Eddie kissed him -knocking the air out of his lungs.

And despite the fact that there was an ache in Richie's arms, he situated them to hold him up with ease.

The way Eddie was kissing him was new. Well, not completely new, actually. It was, at its core, a trademark Eddie Kaspbrak kiss. All passionate and grabby and like he'd been waiting years, or maybe like it was some build-up romance scene and they had finally confessed after years of friendship. But it was also... like desperate and feverish and quick. Richie would try to describe it more, but his brain was turning to goo because he was just so-

Fuck, Richie knew where this was going.

"Eds," he tried (kiss), "-Spaghetti," he tried again (kiss), "-Eddie baby-"

Eddie finally pulled back, eyes a fiery steel, most certainly frustrated, "What, Richie?"

Richie blinked at him a few times, Eddie Kaspbrak pissed that he had to stop kissing him. God, he was definitely fucking dreaming-

"Look, I know where this is going, and believe me, I'm a big fucking fan of it, but-" Richie explained, "-I gotta get a picture of you to post."

"Right now?" Eddie whined, and Richie felt a little like he could die happy.

Richie almost swayed (god, Eddie Kaspbrak turned him to mush), "Yes, yeah. I wanna get it over with, so I don't forget."

"I won't let you forget," Eddie offered.

"Eds," Richie leveled.

"Jesus fuck," Eddie groaned, rolling his eyes and dropping down, "-Fine."

"It'll just be a second, Eddie baby," Richie hummed, apologetically (because Eddie wanted to kiss the shit out of him, fuck), "-I promise."

Eddie rolled his eyes, but Richie could see the tension in him relax, "Whatever, asshole."

"Alright," Richie pulled up his camera, and pulled Eddie into his side -maybe moving a little quickly (who's to say really), "-3, 2, 1, cheese!"

Richie turned to press a kiss on Eddie's cheek and pressed the button -he could definitely feel Eddie loosen up then.

His eyes caught on the photo for a second, eyeing it. It was Richie, hair still mostly shiny and new, kissing Eddie's cheek -who, in the picture, was shriveling up his nose and frowning. His freckles were already peaking through from the sun of their trip. Richie wanted to connect them with his fingers like constellations-

"Richie."

"Jeez, yeah, okay-" Richie laughed, opening up Instagram and clicking on 'new post'.

After perfectly framing it, Richie thought over some captions fairly quickly (Eddie was literally tapping his foot like a disappointed mother). He wanted to laugh at it, but felt like it wasn't the right time. And then, he got it.

'just picked up some takeout: 🍝,' he typed, before adding, '-#eddiespaghetti'.

He laughed for a second, and then posted it. Eddie must have been eyeing him like a hawk because-

He intertwined their hands and tugged it so hard that his phone flew to the floor -immediately walking forward.

"Hey-" Richie spoke, a little defensive.

Eddie ignored him, "Which way?"

"You're just gonna go straight into it, Spaghetti," Richie joked, "-I thought we had a little more class than th-"

Eddie kissed him -hard. And then, with a breath between them, repeated.

"I asked which way, asshole?"

Richie blinked, answering -with a squeaky sort of voice, "To the left."

He didn't hesitate, dragging Richie down the hallway. And Richie felt like he might fucking faint. But luckily, if he was, Eddie was there to catch him. Eddie, in his apartment, in their apartment. Waking up to Eddie, seeing Eddie everyday-

Eddie kissed him, and Richie couldn't really think of anything else.

[eliezersaul]

L: Me (June 16, 23) - - R: Sahar Kazes, IFBB. Since I was a teenager, I've had 3 or 4 goals that haven't changed with the years ... One of those goals, is to ... Yep, to become a musclebro. Or a gymbro. Or whatever people call them now - - I mean, my brother used to be a personal trainer back then, and I loved seeing him getting massive, and all the good vibes and positivity he used to exude. Then, he left the fitness world because of, well... Things unrelated to what I wanna say. I tried the musclebro thing back then, but my brother never understood I was just a newbie with a lot of stuff and problems on his mind... So, everytime I went to his gym, I ended up sore for two weeks!. So, long story short... I avoided training with him like if my life depended on it! ... and ironically, didn't have a lot of motivation or self esteem to go anywhere else to workout. My cousin followed my brother steps though, and he is right now what I still want to be. A biker musclebro. We don't talk a lot, but I feel happy for him. Genuinely happy.

But, anyway... The thing is, I've kinda hated when people have told me silly things (and this is an understatement!) for talking about this goal. Not a surprise that many people assume that: Bodybuilding/Going to a gym/Getting muscled = Becoming arrogant, dumb, or an obnoxious man... Sure, some dudes who go to the gym are that way, and some like to be that way but because (according to my own theory) they already were that way! Besides, there's always SOMETHING to learn about this world: Either a new routine, or a diet, or how your muscles work, or which workout will help you with which muscle, or the chemical components of what you eat daily, how to do a correct meal prep, supplements... Even those who use roids have to learn A MASSIVE TON of stuff. I remember my brother used to train a couple dudes when they were getting ready for a competition, and, maaaaan... Tons and tons of information.

Started going approximately a year ago, and, well... My diet is not the best one... Yet. But I like the testosterone rush I feel everyday after a good workout... And I don't consider myself a brainless, dumb dude... Nor planning/thinking about going that way.

...Honestly, F those who disencourage YOU from doing what you'd love. Get your gymspiration (or whatever inspiration you need to do good things) anywhere you need it!

And, yes. Getting big, hairy (test, minox... you name it), a couple tats, a sweet bike when cash allows it... BEING HAPPY WITH THE WAY I LOOK... I mean... Why not? I love that idea. Maybe I fell in love with the action stereotype from the 80s (yep, 80s/90s kid… Former trust fund kid anyway but that's a VERY different story mwhahahahaha), and, seeing that, and my brother, made me love it until today. I still want that!. The roid thing... I'm not exactly partial to it for myself. If it makes your boat float, go for it dude! In my case... Well, MAAAAAAAAAAYBE if I were a pro bodybuilder, an IFBB one, maybe/whoknows/i'dtryit/whatever... I'm not condoning its use, though! But, my motto is never say never!

For me, well, right now, seeing those giants at my current gym is a MAJOR inspiration. Can't talk to them or befriend them because, well... Issues to make friends, can't/don't know how to... (Thanks high school, you damaged me so much my ability to make friends got ruined forever).

Anyway... Just wanted to talk a bit about it.

So, yep. Still wanna be a musclebro, bro. PS: If anyone reads this, I'd love to read your comments! Thanks for making it this far!.

[itsclydebitches]

The thing that gets me about the 'Remember her message' crap is like... Remember what? Her message wasn't some inspiring speech or moral lesson, it was essentially saying "Shit is going down, here are people who know more. And Ironwood is a bitch ass mother fucker.". What, does Winter think people will forget the important details?

Though Ruby's message is definitely generic, I personally have no problem with that. Generic can be great when it plays to a genre's strengths and the audience's expectations. Ruby does spend the second half of her broadcast asking the people not to panic, telling them to pull together, and reassuring them that they can in fact beat Salem. On paper, it sounds like a pretty solid speech that, yes, is worth keeping in mind after she's supposedly perished and things have well and truly gone to shit. Hell, part of what Ruby asks is that the people of Remnant keep moving forward even if Atlas falls, with the implication being that she may die too, but they should heed her warnings even if she's no longer around to remind them. The scraped epilogue shows the people doing just that.

The problem—multiple problems, really—is that this message within RWBY's specific context is nonsensical. I spoke a lot about this back when Volume 8 first aired, but it's worth repeating in light of the epilogue. Ruby's speech is heard as one unbroken transmission, yet Ruby skips over a ton of crucial information, implying that the people of Remnant have heard it off screen... yet, given how this is written (both that unbroken stream + they have literally one shot at this message with Penny buying them time), that's simply not possible. Ruby admits that the Maidens and the Relics sound insane, but she never told the people what those are. She reassures them that Salem can be beaten even though she can't be destroyed, but she never tells them that she's immortal in the first place (which is HUGE given what went down with both Ozpin and Ironwood). Ruby announces that Ironwood can't be trusted, but provides no reason or evidence for why that's the case. She further tries to provide reassurance by saying that they must be a threat to Salem because if not, she would have attacked long before now, but that's another huge, baseless assumption. (Plus, the viewer knows there's no in-world weakness that Salem is hindered by, one that Ruby is strategically alluding to. She just didn't attack earlier because the show didn't start earlier. Salem, as a character, waited around for Ruby to grow up enough to fight her.) Perhaps most damning from our perspective, Ruby talks big about stopping Salem without once even considering how they might beat her, let alone coming up with a viable plan to present to the people.

In short: she's pulling an Ozpin. Ruby knows that saying, "Our enemy is immortal and we have no idea how to stop her, but you should keep fighting anyway!" is a very bad gamble, so she doesn't lie exactly, but implies that she has a much better handle on the situation than she actually does. She is, on a literal level, doing precisely what Ozpin did to the girls except on a world-wide scale. And unlike Ozpin who at least offered information that made sense to people based on what they already knew, Ruby references things on the fly that are either a) meaningless to the people or b) entirely unpersuasive. This is a kid who hacked every screen in the world to say, "Hi, it's me, someone you've never seen before. An entire kingdom is about to fall to grimm, but it's okay! See, everything bad that's ever happened in history, from those grimm to the White Fang to random crime around Vale, is all orchestrated by a woman named Salem. We can't beat her, but we can totally beat her. How? I won't say. Also, a world leader is evil now. How do I know this? I won't say. Also also, "maidens and Relics." Don't worry if those words don't mean anything to you. So see? If you just band together everything will be fine!"

And then the world... did that, with the side benefit of not panicking and drawing grimm like everyone agreed would happen back in Volume 7. But that's a writing decision entirely separated from the reality RWBY's built. From the perspective of Remnant, Ruby's speech is unsubstantiated nonsense. At best it comes across as a conspiracy-theory obsessed child playing a prank. At worst it's panic-inducing without providing a shred of explanation or reassurance. If there was ANY consistency in the show the girls would arrive in Vacuo to find the majority of the people going about their daily lives because... wait. You actually thought we were going to listen to you when you spouted all that ridiculous stuff? Meanwhile, a handful of believers are now ready to fight ... because they think Salem can, in fact, be beaten. She's an enemy, yeah? We're brave! Let's go kill her! All Ruby would have done is put those people in the same position they were pre-Volume 6, with information they probably should have been able to use to figure things out (how is Salem still around after centuries if she's not immortal?) but more likely they just jumped to the easiest, most reassuring conclusion. You said there was an evil lady controlling everything, but that we could beat her. So... let's go beat her? And Ruby is standing there, sweating, because oh yeah, she has no idea how to beat Salem. She is ACTUALLY speed-running Ozpin's choices except she pulled the entire WORLD in instead of just a few, choice hunters already committed to half the fight and instead of damning her for that like Ozpin was the show goes, "Yes. This was a lovely message worthy of murals in her honor."

So Ruby did have something akin to an inspiring message alongside the "Shit is going down, others know more, Ironwood is an asshole" spiel. But it's only an inspiring message when removed from eight Volumes worth of world-building and arcs that show precisely what happens when people do this. In that light, Ruby's message isn't inspiring at all, it's just another lie undermined by her giving no explanations and no proof that she can back up her reassuring claims.