#sketch i managed to insert luckily

[theressomethinghappeninginparis]

A lot...has happened.

It's been a while and you can trust me, I took some time off because I needed a moment to process all of this. Currently I am safe, all is cool, don't worry. But the path there has been so overwhelming and honestly crazy I just...needed a moment.

Transcript of the first and second page: All I see is...particles. Some kind of shield glowing. I can hear gunshots and I see Lara Croft shooting Eckhardt, it has to be him.

What the fuck?

Okay they're busy and I don't care and I can't care since I need to fuck off. There's two floors above, metal platforms in the shape of a circle, and I'm still looking for an escape. Is there a way out??

My pen died. I am dying mentally.

There's a ladder and it goes up to the first floor. I need to get there. There's so much screaming in the middle and I need to leave and my head hurts and my ears are pierced by the sounds. I need to leave, I'm not as durable as Lara Croft.

What the heck, here is something hanging from...the ceiling? I don't have much time, I'll try to sketch out what I see. I'm upstairs, and I can barely write. There is something? Hanging? From there, it looks kinda humanoid, not quite. Could it be a true nephilim? The one Eckhardt wanted to use?

There's also a platform with a golden disk and it is looking like this: Somehow it's flower shaped, has symbols surrounding it, spaces for five pieces to be inserted, the stuff hidden in the Obscura Paintings! I think this could be the Sanglyph. It's five golden pieces and they could be used (unreadable)

Transcript of the third and fourth page: Okay I'm not sure what to do, what happened or anything. Honestly all is a blur. I woke up and there's a lot of rumble, dust and chaos. The Sleeper is gone, the room is destroyed. Eckhardt is gone, so is Miss Croft, so is my head, it hurts fucking badly. I'm okay, I think, my head is shit, I have cuts, my already sore knee is bleeding, it's...aweful. There's an open gate on the ground floor, and I hope it leads outside.

It has to.

In the debris I've seen a small piece of this flower-shaped thingy. It's a metal part that I think belonged in the Obscura Paintings. I took it with me. I'm on my way to the train station...finally. If Lara Croft is really the archeologist I think she is, she'd be interested in the piece. If I manage to offer her this metal plate, maybe she'll talk to me about her knowledge of the Paintings, Eckhardt, and the Sleeper?

I am finally back at civilization and am seeing living human beings again. I got myself a new Shirt, washed myself and my wounds and got medical gauze to treat my knee. My head stopped hurting when I drank plenty of water, luckily I was only dehydrated. Surely if I ever tell anybody about what I had seen I'll be considered a maniac...I thought about what to ask Miss Croft. I made a small list:

Is Eckhardt really this 500 year old alchemist?

Who is Kurtis Trent? What'd he got to do with the LV?

Was he responsible for the Monstrum killings since I assume you weren't?

What do you know about the Sanglyph?

The Periapt Shards can kill Eckhardt, right?

What purpose serves the Sanitarium?

Transcript of the fifth, sixth and seventh page: I'll be in Paris soon. I slept until now, the train ride takes so long and I'm just so exhausted. This journey is almost over, but I might be able to find even more. In case of Lara Croftwants to talk to me. I'll write her an email. Will she reply?

We're arriving at Paris. I wrote her a mail with a photo of the Sanglyph piece, asking her whether she'd like it in return for some answers. I even offered her to send her this notebook. I'm sure she'll return it either way, I trust her reputation, and I can prove my volicity and that I'm not a paranoid stalker or something.

UPDATE: It's been a week since I arrived back home and I got a LETTER via CURIER, can you believe that? Lara Croft is indeed interested in the piece and she invited me to London. She had the tickets in the mail, too. I cannot believe it!

She writes she is delighted I survived (I laughed here) and I should come over within two weeks. And that in case I come over with bad intention she's going to shoot me. I think...I think she means that.

Transcript of the eighth and ninth page: The tickets are valid for two weeks for any flight in first class. A ticket to get to London AND come back.

I'm really on my way to London. Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. I'm a bit nervous obviously, and the spartanic answer is more than I thought I'd get, but still. Meeting her in person while knowing what she went through is like...we've been in the same places. Seen similar things. I know about this maniac that wants to take over the world, that accused and framed her for murder, I know about the Lux Veritatis and their only member that is still alive (if he is, now). I'll miss the Sanglyph- it's the only thing that can confirm my story. But in Lara's collection not only will it be safe, but it won't do any damage no more. Maybe through her I can also contact Kurtis Trent? He can answer about the LV way more I think. I'll take some pics of the manor if I may. Oh! I'm excited.

Transcript of the tenth and eleventh page: I arrived at the airport in London. I also got a new pen since I've written so much in this book I needed one. It's almost as if I'm at a new chapter right now and since I'm moving countries again- yeah. I think I'm on a good way. The butler, his name is Winston, picked me up in a black cab. I got checked thoroughly for weapons, metals, cameras and whatnot and now I'm on my way to the Croft Manor. I've gotten a few wishes by Miss Croft concearning the talk:

I'm not allowed to take photos of the Manor, but she'll hand me one of the Sanglyph.

She'll hand me the post adress of Mr.Trent and contact him first

I can write down the interview, yet I am to keep it to myself.

So, only here we have the truth.

It's been two hours since I've been here. I had lots of tea, a lot of food and some rest in one of the guest rooms. Lara was slightly cold in the beginning, but as I showed her this book, my photos and talked to her about my findings, like Carvier's death (poor soul), Rennes, Werner's appartment, the poor, poor souls in the Sanitarium, everything she saw I've seen as well. Tomorrow she'll talk about my questions, she listened to me being tired as hell. She got me a key to lock my room and I'm cuddled up in a blanket.

I just noticed how muchmy body hurts. I really need a good rest.

[starssecret]

Muffin

Muffin is very resourceful and compassionate! I swear if he's missing something he will improvise with what he's got, all while mom friending you. Though now on the surface he tries to carry everything you two could possibly need. (Bandaids, wipes, utility tool, pain relivers, pen/pencil and notebook, man has half of his house in his backpack)

Muffin is an extrovert! Loves going outside with you! whether that's working in the backyard, hanging out on the patio, or going out to the park, he loves it all <3 His favorite is having picnics with you though <3 He's a good communicator! He's left with some health problems after being underground, so he communicates his needs well so he can get the help he needs or can tell you when it's too much.

Also, will insert this here, Muffin does have problems with his back. He'll often use a cane, though sometimes has days where he won't need it as much, or sometimes has days where he really needs it. He just needs a little extra patience to work with his disability. Underground while the famine was still affecting him, it wasn't as much as a problem, but now without the magic crutch it's much more of a struggle.

He also needs glasses! He's got a cute, beaded chain made of pastel beads <3.

Muffin has ADHD and Autism! His autism shows in his sensitivities to light, sound, and touch. He is strictly no overhead lights lol, your house is lit by string lights and lamps only. His ADHD shows up in his 'bringing everything with him.' He worries he won't be prepared and struggles to guess what might be needed and what might not, so he brings it all lol. His ADHD also shows up in the amount of hobbies he has! Literally he does So Many.

Muffin loves being crafty! His hobbies include, crochet, sewing, baking, sketching, cross stitch, embroidery, quilting, and wood burning, to name a few. He rotates through them every few weeks, so one week he's all about crocheting stuffed animals, and the next week he's cross-stitching art to hang up on the walls. It's insane, but he manages to do it all, and wants to learn even more! Your house is forever covered in craft projects, but luckily, he has enough discipline to finish ehhh three-fourths of what he starts lol.

Muffin knows, his brother Pumpkin, Sans and Rocket are good friends! As well as Shadow and Knight! Bee frequents the market, and Lucky will tag along sometimes. Less so Chardonnay and Silver. Bean buys flowers from time to time to paint and Muffin likes to see the product! Noir also occasionally buys flowers to decorate with.

[dorae-mi]

Could you draw Megami at the beach please?

Wow this took a while he he but I still hope you like it! 

Blegh school has taken up too much of my time, but I still check my Tumblr every once in a while!

[aurumacadicus]

For the title ask, what about tonyxbucky with Just the two of us

I guess people are thirsty for some winteriron lol

Just the Two of Us

Getting Tony alone was an impossible feat, Bucky had come to realize.

Tony was a gregarious person, and he hated being alone if it wasn’t in his workshop, and even Steve had sort of co-opted the workshop with him--Tony set up a little drawing nook for him when he’d noticed Steve sketching one day. And if it wasn’t Avengers he was hanging out with, it was coworkers, going out for celebratory drinks or cheer-up meals or blowing stuff up in the research labs.

Bucky had been trying to get Tony alone for months, but every time he finally managed to snag Tony’s attention, people invited themselves along. Luckily, Steve had caught on relatively quickly (Bucky supposed chucking Steve’s shield at him and shouting ‘QUIT HORNING IN MY ATTMEPTED DATES YOU FUCKING IDIOT’ certainly helped) and did his best to try and corral the rest of their teammates whenever they tried to insert themselves.

Unfortunately, Tony was apparently also a fucking idiot. If people weren’t inviting themselves along, he was cheerfully inviting them himself. Bucky had wondered if Tony was just trying to let him down gently, even expressed it to Steve. Steve had brought in Natasha, who had looked incredibly pained and muttered, “No. I’m sorry, but he’s just stupid.” It had been a little daunting to find out, but he really liked Tony, so he decided he was going to keep pursuing him, even if Tony was as thick as a brick.

“Sorry,” Tony sighed, climbing down from Bucky’s shoulders. “I can’t get the door open. We’ll have to wait for someone to rescue us. Looks like it’s just you and me until then.”

“Oh no,” Bucky said, trying to sound sincere. Yeah, it sucked that they’d been kidnapped, but it was also honestly the first time they’d been alone since he’d moved into the compound.

“I hope it doesn’t take long. I hate that AIM got the drop on us,” Tony continued, crossing his arms and scowling.

Bucky had always had a thing for pouts, and found himself cornering Tony against the wall before he could stop himself.

“Oh, that’s--um--hi!” Tony squeaked.

“I’ve been trying to get you alone for months,” Bucky said.

Tony blinked up at him, stunned. “Oh?”

“And now, here we are. Just the two of us,” Bucky continued, doing his best to go for sultry.

“And AIM? There’s a camera right there,” Tony squeaked.

Bucky threw a knife at the camera without looking. He heard it short out and fizzle.

“Wh. Where did you keep that. AIM searched you,” Tony sputtered, then covered his face. “And why was that hot.”

“And to think, you could have seen how hot I am earlier,” Bucky teased, then lifted his hand to grab Tony’s wrists and pull his hands down away from his face. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Tony squeaked again.

“Think we can put our wait time to good use?” Bucky said, adding just a little Brooklyn drawl to it.

“Yeah,” Tony squeaked, then cleared his throat in embarrassment. “I mean. Yes. I. I definitely think. That we can do that.”

“Good,” Bucky purred, then leaned in for a kiss.

[softcallofdutyimagines]

Dad bod Adler? I'm listening 👂💦

This ask has fueled me with a feral power that no woman should have access to. I can now levitate, communicate with to my mom's cats, move things with my mind, and get a positive K/D in multiplayer. For this, I thank you *smooch*

Y'all can bully or unfollow if you want 😌 but the world needs dad bod Adler !!!! 😭😭

So yeah, here are some sketches I made and am kinda scared to post, which are for what I'd imagine is the epilogue of my personal headcannon cold war ending where Adler lives a peaceful retirement in rural Switzerland with his loving, ex KGB wife Hilda (Bell). Please excuse the fact that this is peak cringe and that I literally cannot draw thx 😌❤️

"America's Monster" now spends his days chilling in the sun, gardening, cuddling (and being snuggled by) his wife, and taste testing her baking and cooking. The latter may have gotten a bit out of hand 😪

But, since this is a reader insert page, here are some headcannons for y'all bc why not 😌😌💖

Idk if I'm just insecure in my preferences or what lmao but I feel like when most people say "dad bod" they mean just a guy with no abs???

Can't say for sure, but I do know that I like em beefy, so I always picture some bigger muscles and a layer of padding when I hear that phrase

imo, a good man should be like a healthy horse: nice hair, a strong back/legs, and a round tummy 😌👉🏻👈🏻

Adler however, does not share this sentiment, despite perfectly fitting the bill

He's only even been skinny and athletic his whole life, so he's extremely self conscious when his body type starts to change

Considering the fact that he feels bad enough as it is about his facial scars, things are pretty rough for him

If you are expecting to show his new body type some affection, you're going to be disappointed

He is not very keen on being touched at all right now, and any roving hands over his stomach or thighs will absolutely not be tolerated

Unfortunately for him, his insecurities are a two way street, and the lack of physical touch from you makes him feel just as bad

Being the hard head that he is, he won't say any of that, but every now and then when he's feeling lonely or insecure you can catch him sneakily trying to cuddle with you at night

It's likely he's not aware of this, but lately you've noticed he's begun to retain an extreme amount of heat

If you have anything like an iron deficiency or are simply the type to be cold a lot, this development is hands down one of the best things to come of it all

This also means he's not much into wearing layers anymore, so most of his old jackets and such are basically yours now

On the subject of clothes, he'd 10/10 be one of those types who refuses to buy new clothes that fit better until he absolutely has to

All efforts to persuade him otherwise are ignored, and any purchases that you try to get him to make are done so begrudgingly

Over time, he decides to try working out to shed the weight, but going for runs and the like only ends up frustrating him

Instead, he decides to focus on weightlifting like he use to

Luckily, he finds this far more enjoyable

Thanks to the extra weight, he manages to trade out some of the fat and build some impressive musculature

And although it may not be ultra defined as he might like, it's certainly there

This is good enough to restore some of his confidence at least, and you will see him become more welcoming to you touching his body again

Although he certainly enjoys it when you feel his new muscles the most, he doesn't seem to mind (as much) if you go for the softer parts of him instead

Which is pretty great news for you, as his thighs and tummy make pretty damn good pillows

This is a fact you have sworn to never say aloud, however true it may be

Anyway, at the end of the day, he manages to take what he's got and build his new body into something he can be happy with

Buuuuuuut the fact that you seem to be particularly pleased with it too helps tremendously

It's not long before "America's Monster" goes back to the big ol docile teddy bear you use to know

You never took him for the type that likes to be babied, and yet...

He's very fond of cuddling and enjoys being rubbed and petted, even on his soft spots (and don't forget to kiss his jawline and scars!)

Just be careful he doesn't get you too over heated though, he really is quite warm

[nethercomfies]

b + g + l and w for your ask game 🖤

^^ 💛

Self Shipping Alphabet

B - Bashful what’s something one finds embarrassing about themselves but the other finds adorable?

I often feel like I’m just an awkward person like… In general. I can also be pretty clumsy from time to time… And while I get incredibly embarrassed over it, Albedo just finds it endearing, and he’ll tell me as much whenever he sees I feel bad over something embarrassing.

As for him, Albedo doesn’t really strike me as the type of person to get embarrassed, he probably either brushes things aside, or just is like… Not really at an emotional level that would cause him to feel that way? (Am I making sense? idek) If I had to pick something, he probably goes on really long rants about his experiments and latest discoveries, and doesn’t realize he’s been having a monolog for ten minutes until after the fact… He tends to get a bit embarrassed that he went on a tangent like that, but I just find it really sweet to see him get so passionate about something (even if I don’t quite understand what the things he’s talking about even mean)

G - Greetings what was their first meeting like?

My “self insert”-y character is… Not really one of the knights, but she helps them out a lot, mostly doing organizational stuff for Jean, getting info for Kaeya or helping Lisa in the library… So, I feel like Kaeya at some point was like “Her and Albedo are kinda similar, let’s introduce them to each other and see what happens”. We clicked pretty much immediately and somehow ended up talking for a really long time (which surprised everyone around us). After that Kaeya kind of took it upon himself to act as a wingman cuz… There was a spark, but I’m way too shy to pursue anything further and Albedo probably didn’t even realize at first.

L - Love when did they realize they were in love?

I got somewhat lost on Dragonspine one time and couldn’t find my way back down… Luckily I managed to find Albedo’s camp tho, where he helped me warm up, made food for me, and so on… Something about seeing Albedo, who’s usually more on the distant side, being so doting and worried just hit me and I realized I’d like things to stay that way forever.

As for him (I’ve imagined this scenario more times than I’d like to admit tbh-)... It was a spring day. I went outside with Klee to supervise her for a while and upon seeing all the flowers outside, she asked me to make some flower crowns to give to everyone back home… So, we eventually get back and Albedo is currently discussing something with Kaeya when Klee and I come around. He sees the two of us whisper before Klee and I walk over. Klee gives one of her flower crowns to Kaeya while I put one on Albedo’s head. Maybe we talk for a short moment, until someone else passes us (Noelle or Lisa or Jean probably) and Klee grabs my hand to drag me to them because they need a flower crown as well. Albedo just watches us for a moment, Klee excitedly talking to me while I just laugh and he gets a very typical “oh” moment (Also most definitely gets teased about it by Kaeya who instantly picks up on what’s going on)

W - Walk where do they like going together?

Well Dragonspine is the most obvious one tbh. But aside from that… We take trips to Windrise or Starsnatch cliff every now and then. It's nice to just sit there in peace and enjoy the scenery… Sometimes we're both sketching our surroundings there, too.

[uwuch9n]

hey !!! today i’m gonna be trying to write some fluff to calm myself down and also try out something new in the process ! hope whoever reads this enjoys it :)

characters: kenma, nb y/n (self insert or oc) and a bit of kuroo :D

warnings or possible triggers: ear biting, neck kissing, wrists/arms being touched, stressed/overworked/anxious reader, and a thunderstorm/heavy rain ! please do not continue reading if any of these things could trigger any unwanted reactions ! maybe the next time i write some fluff or sfw fanfics you’ll be able to read ‘em !

a nice welcome home.

after a long day at your new job, a manga artist, you decided to end your shift for the night and head back home. you wiped the sweat off your forehead but the stress wasn’t easy to get rid of. the office wanted the manga to be done as soon as possible and you couldn’t get the last few pages right. it was very obviously a hard week for you. luckily it was a friday so you’d get saturday off, but sunday you had to go back.

after getting yourself together you stuffed your things into your bag and walked out to get in your car.

“hey there y/n! lookin great huh, i see you’re ready to go home to lil kenken right?? how you doing?” said kuroo as he ran into you right outside the establishment. he worked near that area and decided to stop by, luckily he walked into you at the right time.

“im doing well,, i guess.. i just was overthinking a bit but i’m sure tomorrow, or even tonight, i’ll be able to refresh myself and relax..” you said almost trying to avoid contact for the time being. kuroo noticed you didn’t seem to excited about things and so he decided to give you some words of encouragement.

“i’m sure whenever you get to relax you’ll be ready for work again! and besides you got a lil pal waiting for you at home, don’t you look forward to that?? he’s pretty good at comforting,, and i should know”- he chuckled. you gave him a smile and nodded in agreement. you let out a sigh and walked off to your car right before kuroo grasped your left shoulder and pulled you in for a hug. he patted your head with his hand and reassured you. you got a little flustered,, but kept it in.

“you’re doing amazing, really. i know you work really hard, so make sure to cool off, ‘kay? you got this in the bag!” he said, you clearly being able to sense his smile through his decently raspy voice. he let you go and gave you a little push to get you back together after the short hug, and you both waved goodbye.

well that was quite an experience. you knew that kuroo wasn’t a homewrecker, especially when it came to kenma’s s/o, but he was getting much more comfortable and supportive with you. that made you happy, but after thinking about what had just happened, you refocused and started your car.

you drove through the freeway and noticed all the billboards promoting businesses that you knew you’d rather be working at. you meet a stop sign and let out a sigh while other cars drive by. when it’s time to go, you go, as one would normally do, but you noticed that some water droplets were gently hitting the windshield of your car. it started getting a bit rougher and even more water droplets starting hitting your windshield, only this time they got louder.

you could hear all the other cars driving by thanks to the water that was slightly flooding the streets. you make a swift turn into your apartment complex and slowed down as you arrived at your apartment. you park at your designated spot and turn off your car. you adjust your bag straps that had fallen off your shoulder without you realizing, and reached into the back side of your car to get your umbrella. unfortunately it wasn’t there so you’d have to get wet, and it was raining pretty heavily. you sighed and reached into your cup holder for your apartment keys and got the right key ready in your hand for when you got to the door.

you slam your car door and lock it.

“goddamit” you let out as you start feeling your clothes getting humid. your shoes were hitting the floor inundated by the rain. you started running towards your door which fortunately was on the first floor. you inserted the key into the keyhole and turned your wrist gently as you peeked into the window. you could see the flashing lights of the tv. kenma was probably playing games again.

you closed the door and brushed yourself off as you glanced at kenma who had turned to see what that noise was. he knew it was you but he still wanted to see your pretty tired face. you gently took of your shoes and put your jacket and bag on the racks on the wall next to the door. you pushed your shoes with your foot and went to put on your favorite slippers.

“hey love, how did today go..?” asked kenma in a soft gentle voice, as to not startle you while you still were trying to shake off the water that had been absorbed by your clothes. you look up at kenma with an exhausted expression. “today was very stressful,, my manager told me to hurry up,, the artwork is due literally wednesday of next week and i can’t even get the stuff i’m working on now finished and-” kenma stopped your rambling by gesturing a hug and making gentle movements to come here with his small hands. you looked at him with a surprised expression, and then quickly changed it to a pleasant smile.

by then you realized that he had paused his game and the music of the game was still playing in the background, only a little quieter then when it’s actually on. you head to his little pile of blankets and pillows, and saw your favorite stuffed animal and a few snacks already set up for you for when you came home. that made you feel a lot better than before. “hey kenken, what’s all this stuff?” you asked acting clueless, but also trying to hear what he had to say about the setup. “it’s just a few things for you to pick out from,, i even brought you your little frog plushie; i know you like it..” he said while grabbing it and handing it to you. he blushed a little as you took it from his hands, gently caressing his as you did.

you took a look at a frog plushie but before you could get a full 360° look of it you saw kenma’s slender hands covering the two small black eyes of the plush. he set the plush down on your lap and grabbed your wrists. he knew your wrists were probably tired and sore after all that nonstop sketching at work, so he started gently rubbing them with his thumbs. he looked at your hands as he did, and then looked up at you. you had a cute shocked expression which he loved to paint on your face. he giggled and then went in for a kiss on the cheek.

after his soft tender lips were lifted from your cheek, you felt a bit of rustling and then a little blow on your ear which made you squirm. he bit it gently and kissed the side of your neck, while you sat there a bit flustered. kenma was usually the type to just give you a kiss on the cheek and continue playing his game, but recently you were getting much more attention from him. you didn’t mind it though, you kinda enjoyed it rather.

“you don’t have to give me neck kisses y’know..” you said hoping that he wouldn’t listen and just continue for a good minute. he of course didn’t stop and completely brushed off what you had just said. he moved to your shoulder and started kissing it, and then he pulled away. he look at you and gave you a smile, leaning in for a kiss afterwards. you kissed back and then grabbed him by the shoulders. both of you were blushing intensely, his blush just a little more calmed down, but it was there nonetheless.

“let’s eat some snacks, shall we?” you say after pulling away from the kiss and sitting there being a hot mess. you could hear the rain only getting rougher and rougher, and at one point you heard thunder. it was gonna be a loooong night. “let’s do that then” he said smiling as he reached over to the bowl full of strawberry pocky and small chocolate chip cookies. he fed you a stick of the strawberry coated biscuit and you nommed down on it happily, while he pulled away the excess pocky stick and brushed crumbs off of your lips with his thumb. his hand grasped the side of your face and he went to kiss your cheek once again before feeding you the rest of the pocky.

kenma turned to face the tv and then slowly got up to grab another controller for you to play with, since he was already playing a game and he wanted you to play along as well. you watched his flimsy self get up and come back to the floor in front of the couch. he sat down criss cross apple sauce style and handed you the controller, all while the thunder was still alive and the rain was still pouring.

“do you want to keep playing this game or... another game i have in our room...?” asked kenma in hopes that you’d say you wanted to continue playing the game he was already playing. he didn’t want to get up when he was right next to you. “this game seems fun, i’d love to play it with you” you said happily as you took the controller he had handed you and held it correctly so that he could get the multiplayer setting on and you’d be ready when he did.

you heard silly sound effects from when he switched the setting to multiplayer, and it filled you up with motivation for some reason. the thunderstorm and heavy raining didn’t bother you anymore because you knew you’d be safe with kenma. the music of the game got louder and kenma slowly lowered it a bit as to not disturb the apartment building. “you have to jump over the brown mushrooms and then jump into the green tubes and-” “..super mario bros..? don’t worry baby i know how to play this one” you winked at him and he let out a giggle.

he layed his head on your left shoulder which made you blush, and you followed it with a wide-eyed expression. he didn’t look too into it though, he was just focused in the game, and for him it was only nature. you rested your head on top of his and continued to play. time passed and it was around 2 AM. you and kenma had played for hours, and kenma was seemingly getting pretty tired, just as you were. “hey bub do you want to maybe go to bed now?” you suddenly paused the game and asked. “bed..?” he looked confused. he directed his eyes to the couch behind you two and you followed, quickly looking back at him.

“do you want to sleep on the couch tonight?” you put the puzzle pieces together. he nodded his head. “you don’t have work tomorrow so i figured you wouldn’t mind sleeping with me on the couch....” he said quietly in hopes that you would. you grabbed his face with your warm hands and kissed his forehead. “yeah of course i do!” you said trying to be enthusiastic, although your tired face barely allowed it. you both got up and he laid on the couch. you tried getting the bowl of snacks from off the floor and bring them to the kitchen but kenma quickly pulled you into his arms.

“tomorrow.. tomorrow we can clean up...” he said exhausted as you now were covering his body with yours. you adjusted yourself as did kenma and you both got into ‘cuddle mode.’

his arms wrapped around your body and you slowly started to kiss him all over. he laid his head back onto the arm of the couch. you relaxed your stiffened body, and closed your eyes as the music from the video game slowly faded away into nothing. kenma’s arms rubbed your back and moved to your head and shoulders. he gave you a final kiss on your head before drifting off to sleep.

that’s all ! i hope you enjoyed this self insert x kenma fluff fanfic ! if this does any good i’ll consider writing more fluff in the future :))

[buckysrighthanddoll]

Nyx, of the Night

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Enhanced!Reader

The reader is called Nyx in this, however, it is a reader insert :)

Warnings: language; slight pining; mentions of PTSD, anxiety, and drugs; the reader literally murders two people (oof)

The most recent addition to the Avengers--that’s who you were. They called you Nyx, the Greek Goddess of the night. You worked tirelessly at perfecting your powers--bringing death and sleep to people with a focused glance. You could also use “force fields” to do many things, including moving objects and throwing back the enemy.

Nobody was sure how you got these powers. You didn’t have a tragic backstory (beyond childhood trauma that was experienced by far too many people), you weren’t in some freak accident; nothing indicated that you would ever turn into this.

You, being a worshipper of the Greek deities, thought that perhaps it was a divine thing. Maybe something convinced a god or a goddess to bestow you with powers. The theory was ridiculous, but it was the only thing you could even think to come up with.

Getting close to the team wasn’t as easy as you would’ve hoped. It took a while for Steve to warm up to you, and even longer for Nat to start conversing with you openly. But, now, you were at least on good terms with everybody. You, Natasha, Steve, and Bucky were a small team within the team, which made you happy.

You and Nat would go out to brunch, you and Steve would sit around and sketch, and you and Bucky did everything together. He was easily your best friend. You used to think that he was quiet and held back, but it was the exact opposite when you got to know him. He was always making comments and joking around about whatever topic you were on about. Bucky made you laugh a lot more than you cared to admit.

Which brings us to the next point--you were deeply in love with your best friend. He just had a charm about him, and he cared about people, and he was friendly and funny, and have you seen those thighs? The man was a Greek god, and you were just another hopeless devotee.

You wouldn’t say anything, though (much to Steve and Nat’s dismay). It wasn’t that you couldn’t date him, but it was that you both just worked so well as friends. You were terrified to fuck that up. So much could go wrong, and you weren’t willing to risk that unless you were certain Bucky felt the same way.

Bucky, luckily, felt the same way. Yet, he also kept his mouth sealed about it. Even when it was blatantly obvious to everybody else, he chose to see it as you two just being friends. Steve and Natasha understood why; Bucky thought that he was a monster, even after all of the therapy and constant reassurance that he wasn’t. He believed that he didn’t deserve someone like you, who made him forget the past and live in the present. You were grounding to him, like a breath of fresh air.

The four of you were making cookies in the kitchen. It was Christmas, after all, and you wanted to do something privately before Tony’s big party tonight. Were any of you shocked that Tony was hosting another party? No. Were you happy about it? Also, no, but you supposed this was a better way to spend the holiday rather than out in the field. Besides that, this was your first Stark party.

Somehow, you’d managed to get out of the other two Tony had thrown this year. The first one, you played sick and snuck out with a friend from way back in the day. The second one, you were on a mission in Bulgaria. You and Nat managed a ten-minute facetime call with Bucky and Steve, and even got a quick moment with Sam and Wanda before they had to go.

And now, even though you wanted to just curl up under the blankets and put on a movie, you forced yourself to go to Stark’s Christmas party.

You had plenty of time to prepare for it since it was currently noon, and the party was at seven. Steve had suggested doing some baking for the team and some of the higher-ups of SHIELD, which sounded great at the time--now you just wanted another hour of sleep.

For the most part, you just mixed and decorated since baking wasn’t a strong suit. You stayed in the kitchen when Nat went to do her workout (“it’s a daily requirement, Nyx”), and you started decorating when Steve responded to a text from Tony.

“Are you ready for your first Stark party?” Bucky asked, leaning on the counter beside you.

“I feel like nothing can prepare me for one of his parties,” You laughed, adding more frosting to a piping bag.

“Whatcha wearing?”

“You tryna match or something?” You joked flirtingly. He rolls his eyes with a smile. “Nat picked it out, so I have no clue if it’s up to standard.”

“If Natasha has any say in anything, you’re prepared,” Bucky laughs. Fuck, that laugh. It was music to your ears.

“Don’t forget what you promised me,” You sang out as the oven went off. Bucky groans and pulls out some pecan tarts while you cut the tip of the icing bag.

“I can’t forget when you remind me every two minutes,” He jokes, setting the tray on the counter. He spins you around and places his hands on either side of you, trapping you in a way. Both of you knew that you could give him one look and he’d be asleep, but this was a position you certainly weren’t complaining about. “I owe you one dance, doll. I know,” He says, his voice softer than usual. It took everything in you not to reach forward and kiss him. But, of course, you reminded yourself why you couldn’t. It could ruin your friendship.

Instead, you stealthily dipped your finger in the frosting and then swiped it on the tip of his nose. Bucky had a look of shock, and then a wave of expectation. You couldn’t see either of them, though, because you were laughing your ass off. He backs away and grabs a cloth to wipe his face, and then you get back to work.

It was moments like those that you loved with Bucky. Sometimes he’d back away, and other times he’d tickle you until you couldn’t breathe; either way, it gave you serotonin.

Natasha finished her workout routine right as you finished frosting the cookies, and she helped you clean up. “Hope you don’t mind, but I gotta steal her for a bit,” She smirked, looking at Bucky.

“I don’t mind at all,” He says, trying to get some flour off of his black shirt. “I’ll see you soon, ladies,” He adds, giving that signature smile.

Natasha decides to get some food from a random diner on the other side of town. It was a light lunch but definitely needed. You had managed not to eat any of the batter (which was truly surprising). And then, once you got back to the tower, it was go time.

Nat went to her room to shower, so you did the same. She met you back in your room twenty minutes later with a towel wrapped around her and a makeup bag in hand. You put your wet hair back and started on the makeup.

It was a full beat, to be honest. Your skin looked like porcelain, and your eyes and lips were snatched. Nat went all out, too, opting to use a bold red instead of your mauve lipstick. Then, you did your hair in curls. They weren’t too tight, and they weren’t too loose. Tonight, you let your hair stay down rather than pinning it up. Next came the dress. Nat picked a flowy red dress for herself. It ended a few inches above her knees and had a halter top to it. She chose an a-line forest green dress for you. It had a deep neckline, and it shimmered, but it wasn’t sequin. It was like there were diamonds sewn into the fabric--it was unlike any dress you’ve seen. Your dress, like her’s, ended quite a few inches above the knee.

After sliding on your heels (and realizing you were half an hour late), you both took the elevator down to the party deck. It only took up one floor (typically Tony’s parties took four, but he kept it light for Christmas), but it was still set up so extravagantly.

“Let’s make a straight shot for the bar and see how many shots we can take before Steve and Bucky find us,” Nat said. It was less of a suggestion and more of a command, but you did it either way.

“Nat, you know I’m a lightweight,” You warned as you stood at the bar.

“Even more fun,” She smirked, waving down the bartender. The young man poured six shots to share between the two of you, and they were gone in seconds. Your goal was to keep up with Nat. And you did, but you were also feeling it by shot number six.

Steve found you guys first, asking what was going on. Natasha gestured to the empty shot glasses and water that you were sipping on, and he nodded his head in understanding.

“Where’s Bucky?” You asked.

“He’s in his room; he had a flare with his PTSD. He just texted me and said that he’d be down soon, though,” Steve answered. He whisked Natasha away after that, taking her to the dance floor.

You were concerned about Bucky, so you downed the water and hit the elevator. Tony made these so that they were faster than any elevator in New York, but the ascent to Bucky’s floor was maddeningly slow.

Passing your living area and heading to the only other door on the floor, you knocked. Bucky answered it a few seconds later, eyes widening at you.

“Doll, you look stunning,” He said.

You stepped into his room and shut the door, turning back to him. “What’s going on, Buck?” You asked him.

He sighs, knowing that he couldn’t keep anything from you. “I missed two days of my meds, so my PTSD and anxiety are flared.”

“Okay,” You told him. “Is it okay to touch you right now?” Bucky nods his head. How could he say no? Your arms around him grounded him in ways nothing else could. As much as he hated his nightmares and restlessness, he longed to have you in his bed and helping him sleep. Half of the time, you didn’t even need your powers to accomplish it.

You wrapped your arms around his waist and pulled him into you, gently laying your head on his chest. Both of you let out a sigh of relief and welcomed each other’s warmth. “I’m sorry,” He muttered.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart,” You replied. Bucky furrowed his eyebrows at the pet name (you never used them on him) but felt his cheeks heat up at the sound of it. “If you don’t wanna go down there, you don’t have to.”

“But I promised you that dance.”

“I’ll take a raincheck, Buck. Your health and wellbeing are infinitely more important than a dance.” Before he could counter, you speak again. “Wanna come with me to take my makeup off?”

“I have some wipes in here,” He says, releasing you from the hug. You follow him through the hallway and to the bathroom, where he pulls out an unopened pack of makeup wipes. “I keep them in here just in case you or Nat need one.”

“You’re so sweet, Buck,” You smile, taking a wipe from the package.

“I’ll grab some sweats and a shirt for you if you’d like me to,” He adds. “We can set up a movie or something.”

“That sounds perfect,” You say. Bucky goes across the hall into his bedroom, and you take off your makeup. When you’re done, you meet him in his room, where he’s scrolling through Netflix. Changing in front of Bucky was something you had done before, but it never stopped being awkward, especially when you needed his help to unzip your dress.

Once you were both ready, you got under the sheets. At first, you were just side by side, but it quickly turned into a full cuddle session. For once, you were the first to fall asleep.

The next morning, you and Bucky were called into Tony’s office.

“You two look splendid,” Tony quipped. You didn’t think twice about being in Bucky’s sweatpants and shirt, a cup of coffee in your hand and a scowl on your face.

“It’s five in the morning, Tony,” You snapped back. You weren’t an early riser compared to the rest of the team--it was something Steve repeatedly told you to work on. “What’s this about?”

“There’s a trade deal happening on the Solviski case,” Tony started. “And you two are the only ones here that speak Polish. Therefore, I’m sending you both out for recon and hit.”

“So what you’re saying is the biggest mission we’ve seen all year, where we need to exercise every facet of my training, is my first mission?” You asked. You were in disbelief. You hadn’t been on a single mission. The only thing that came close was when you stopped a bank robbery. And that wasn’t a mission--that was just poor timing for you and the robber.

“Yep,” Tony said. “Get suited up. There’ll be a quinjet ready in an hour. The mission should be two days tops.”

You and Bucky turned and went back to your rooms to get ready. You brushed your hair and teeth, packed your bags, and met your partner at the hangar. Once he got there, you both loaded up and took flight.

It was relatively easy, considering Bucky can put in the coordinates and place the flight on auto-pilot. So, when he did that, you sat back and tried to enjoy the ride. It was ten hours from New York to Poland.

You got a hotel room first. It was a damn good thing you were both fluent in Polish because the nerves started to kick in, and Bucky had to do most of the talking to get checked in.

“Okay, so we have to go to his party tonight--”

“Another party?” You groaned. Bucky laughs softly before continuing.

“We’re going undercover as Mr. Dominik Rovlov and his loving wife, Mrs. Katina Rovlov. We’ve been married for five years, and we need to make a deal with Solviski to get drugs for our small gang in western Russia. And we have a deal that he can’t refuse.”

“Which is?”

“20 million zlotych, or the equivalent of five million dollars,” Bucky answers. “Let’s hit the town,” He added.

“For what?”

“I didn’t bring a suit, and I’m assuming you didn’t bring a formal dress. Plus, you need to work out your nerves,” Bucky answers, placing his hands on your shoulders. “Why are you nervous?”

“It’s my first mission, and it’s high-profile. Mixed with the fact that Polish isn’t my native language--it’s like my fourth or fifth.”

“Hey, listen to me,” Bucky coos. “You’re Nyx. You’re like a Greek goddess. I wouldn’t mess with you; you’re powerful beyond words, doll.” Bucky always knew what to say and do when you were nervous. He knew you like the back of his hand. “You ready?”

“Sure?” You questioned. You were as ready as you were going to be. This was the easy part. All you needed to do was get a dress and get back here to prepare.

Bucky decided to split up when you got to town. He said that it’d be quicker since we only had two more hours to be at the party.

Once you got back to the hotel, you quickly changed into your dress while Bucky changed into his suit. The man was hot beyond belief.

“You look--wow,” Bucky smiled, running a hand through his hair.

“You don’t look so bad yourself, sweetheart,” You smirked. Bucky tied his hair up, slipped on his shoes, and then you got into the rental car. It was luxurious, but you didn’t care about the vehicle. Bucky had all of your attention.

Once you showed up at the party, Bucky parked a block away. He got out and opened your door for you like a gentleman.

“Okay. If something goes wrong--anything at all--you pull the pin,” He starts, referring to the codes you had made up in the hotel wrong. If you adjusted your earrings, it meant that something was off. It could be that you suspected that he was catching on to you, or anything along those lines. But if you pulled the pin out of your hair, it meant that a fight was going to break out any second, and you needed to be prepared. You weren’t horribly concerned with hand-to-hand combat or even knife-fighting; your powers were well adjusted to that. But if bullets were going to start flying, you didn’t know if you could put up a strong enough field to keep you and Bucky safe. “Nobody gets a single scratch; you got it?”

You nod your head in agreement. “Got it.”

“Okay,” Bucky says, taking a nervous breath. “Now, kiss me.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Kiss me. I need to know what to expect, so I’m not surprised in there.”

“Are you serious?”

“Dead serious.”

You took a second to process the situation. Bucky was right--he usually was. This would eliminate both surprise and flooding emotions if you had to kiss in front of a crowd of people. It’s just that this was not how you expected your first kiss with Bucky to go.

You place a hand behind his neck and gently start to pull him down to you. He cups your face, leaning in agonizingly slowly. His lips flicker from your eyes to your lips, his mouth slightly parted, and if you didn’t know any better, this would be a dream-come-true.

Your lips finally meet, and your eyes flutter shut. This kiss felt right, even though it was a practice for a mission. Bucky’s lips were so soft and gentle, and he moved so smoothly that it didn’t let you think. His other hand, which previously held no position in this, came to rest on your waist.

You broke the kiss first, moving only an inch away from him. Your mind wandered back into your body, and the weight of what was happening around you hit.

Bucky had a small smile on his face for a second. “Okay, I got it.” You swallowed thickly and backed away from him, and you both walked the block to the entrance of the house.

“Dzień dobry (hello),” The guard at the front said. “Dla kogo jest rezerwacja (who is the reservation for)?”

“Dominik i Katina Rovlov,” Bucky said. The guard checks his list, sees the names, and lets us into the house. The house was extravagant. There was gold framing on hand-painted walls, a giant chandelier, and all the guests looked eloquent.

“To jest piękne (it’s beautiful),” You said, taking everything in.

“Nie tak piękna jak ty (not as beautiful as you),” Bucky responded, his eyes never leaving you. You smiled and looked up at him.

“Co powiesz na ten taniec (how about that dance)?” You asked. Bucky took your arm and led you to where the other couples were dancing, and you joined in smoothly.

“Solviski knows how to find us,” Bucky whispers. “The offer was already laid out; now it’s about waiting.”

You nodded your head but didn’t say a word, focused more on the dance than the mission. It was a bad idea to go on a mission with Bucky Barnes. He would be the death of you--or perhaps he’d be the life of you.

And you could’ve sworn Bucky was an actor in his youth. The way he looked at you right now, with such tenderness and warmth, like he would do absolutely anything for you, it looked like he was falling in love with you right before your eyes. It was intoxicating. You could get drunk off of one simple look from him, and that was perfectly fine by you.

“Jesteś poszukiwany w głównym biurze (you’re wanted in the main office),” A butler said, tapping Bucky on the shoulder. “Chodź za mną (follow me),” He commanded, nudging his head toward the upstairs.

Bucky and you followed in a single file line, with you in the back. You made as many observations as you could--escape routes, the number of people that were in any given area, the location of the guards and butlers. Anything to help if the plan went wrong.

Once the butler got to the door, he knocked in a code. A female guard on the other side opened the door, giving a curt nod before looking at you and Bucky. She wore a plain black mask that covered the lower half of her face. Her dark brown hair was slicked back into a ponytail, and her eyes were a piercing grey. She was intimidating to most, but to you, she was as innocent as a child.

She opened the door and let you in, standing in front of it once it was closed. “Cieszę się, że przyszedłeś (I’m glad you came),” The man behind the desk said. From the files you’d gotten from Tony, it was easy to tell that this man was Solviski. Your nerves wanted to scream at you, and you had to keep your mind focused on anything other than kill mode, but you managed to look stoic. “Miło cię poznać (it’s a pleasure to meet you),” He added, gesturing to the chairs in front of him.

“Przyjemność po naszej stronie,” You said with a light smile.

“Moja żona i ja nie mogliśmy się tego doczekać (my wife and I have been looking forward to this),” Bucky adds.

“Otrzymałem twoją ofertę (I received your offer),” Solviski starts, tapping a file on his desk. “Po prostu nie mogę odmówić (I simply can’t refuse).”

“Świetny (excellent),” You say, clapping your hands together. “Załatwmy to (let’s arrange it).”

Bucky pulls out the briefcase he had carried in, and sets it on the desk. He opens it to reveal the money that we “owe” him. As Solviski looks through it, Bucky wraps his arm around your shoulders and gives three quick taps--the symbol to enter phase two. The hit. This, in your opinion, would be the easy part.

“Przepraszam (pardon me),” You started. “Myślę, że właśnie zacząłem okres (I believe I just started my period),” You added, faking some sense of panic. You stood up and looked to the female guard, who (although rather neutral) looked sympathetic. “Czy możesz mi pokazać łazienkę (may you please show me the bathroom)?” You asked her sweetly.

“Czy potrzebujesz czegoś ode mnie (do you need anything from me)?” Bucky asked, like a good husband should. It wasn’t a part of the plan for him to be caring, but you supposed it was just who he was.

“Nie, dziękuję, kochanie (no, thank you, my love),” You responded with a small smile. Turning back to the female guard, you nod as a signal that you’re ready. She leads you down the hallway and to the guest bathroom, where she opens the door and holds it for you.

You feel absolutely horrible for doing this to her, but it has to be done for the mission. So, you use a force field to shove her into the bathroom, and then shut the door behind you both. “I’m sorry,” You mutter as the lunges at you. You grab her arms and twist them so they’re pinned behind her, then you turn her to look into the mirror. Your gaze focuses right into her eyes and you will your brain into kill-mode. She looks stunned as she has an aneurysm, falling to the ground.

Quickly, you grab her body and place it into the bathtub, shutting the curtain. It was a good thing you wore gloves to this event because even though the Avengers would be taking care of the legal matters, you still felt horrible about the evidence you left behind.

You opened the door and locked it from the inside, shutting it behind you as you left. This would buy more time to complete the hit and make your escape. You gave the knock that the guard had given before entering, and the second you had entered, you gave a major blast to Solviski.

He flew backwards and hit the wall behind him, immediately coming back with a gun drawn. You threw up a forcefield right as Bucky stood in front of you with his metal arm as his only defense. The bullet stopped in mid-air, suspended by the field. You let Solviski empty his clip, watching as he panicked more and more. Once he ran out of bullets, he went to phone for more guards, but you gave him the same look that you gave to the guard, and he was dead in seconds. The second you felt the life leave his body, you dropped your shield, letting the bullets fall to the ground.

Bucky turns back toward you, heaving a sigh of relief as he pulled you into a kiss. You stood shocked for a second, but then your brain caught up to what was happening. Bucky pulled you tightly to him, nearly moaning when your hand went to his hair to keep him in place.

“Don’t you ever scare me like that again,” He said against your lips.

“I had it handled,” You argued, biting down on his lips gently. He let out a breathy laugh as you pulled away.

“We have five minutes before the butler does his routine check-in; we need to leave,” Bucky said. You nodded, reluctantly processing his words.

Bucky led you out of the room calmly in an attempt to play it cool. It was a quick exit, and an even quicker walk to the car. The two of you didn’t even stop for a breath when you were at the hotel. It was two minutes of throwing everything into your bag and speeding to the quinjet.

You felt like you could finally breathe the second the jet was in auto-pilot. Leaning back in your seat, you took one grounding breath before undoing your seatbelt and standing up. Bucky followed behind you, and you quietly changed back into your civilian clothes.

“Hey, we should probably talk about that,” Bucky said as he slid his shirt on.

“Yeah, we should,” You repeated. You sit down on one of the benches, and he takes a seat next to you. “Listen, I don’t know if you kiss everybody like that on their first mission, but--”

“I should’ve done it sooner,” Bucky blurts out. He notices your shocked expression and takes that at his opportunity to continue. “I’ve liked you for months, and I should’ve said something before we went on a mission.”

“You--did--Buck--I just can’t--huh?” You stammered. You take a second, collect your thoughts, and try to speak again. “Bucky, are you sure?” You asked. Wow, that was a dumb question. “I mean, aren’t you scared that we could ruin what we already have?”

“We could, or we could have something even better,” Bucky bartered. He had a point, and you truly never thought of it quite like that. “I wanna give us a shot, as long as you’re okay with that.”

You smiled and nodded your head at Bucky, making him smile even more. He leans down, cupping your face and pressing a gentle kiss to your lips. This feeling was one you could get used to. Where you felt warm and fuzzy, as though you had taken five shots and were just starting to feel it hit.

They called you Nyx. The goddess of the night. But even the goddess of the darkness deserves a little light, right?

[zero0810]

Fullbody sketch commission for libertyligma  || Killua Zoldyck, Gon Freecss(Hunter x Hunter) © Togashi Yoshihiro | Hugh/Hyu (Pokémon) © The Pokémon Company | Ray (Yakusoku no Neverland) © Shirai Kaiu/Demisu Posuka | Tova Nike, Fiona, Michelle © libertyligma @ DeviantArt | Amelie © @vvasabipeas

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💀 Commission info   💀  Ko-Fi  💀

Comment under the cut. ‘Cause it’s long.

Soooo, here it is, the poor commission batch that has to be paused due to evil, evil courses.JK. About the evilness, I mean.

I realize just now that I've got to draw many characters with hard-to-draw hair here (for me, at least). I always found hard to draw people with puffy, bushy hair, because somehow I always mess up their size. Now, if I realize it in time, I manage to fix it - and this is the brightest scenario. If I don't... well, expect to find me staring desperately at the screen some time after finishing the drawing, thinking "what the heck did I do? D: " ...but you'll never know ;P One does not simply stop overthinking... *insert Sean Bean meme here* 

Looking at you, Killua and Hugh (Gon's hair are on another level of difficulty, tho).

But let's move on. My knowledge of Hunter x Hunter is very dim - I remember I started watching it (the 1999 version) when it aired here - but then, as everything, they stopped transmitting it or move it to an ungodly hour or on a weird channel you can receive only at 2.58 am but only if you're standing on your left leg on a upturned paint bucket with your hands unite above your head - can't really remember, but it's the kind of things that happen to anime here. Still bitter about Fairy Tail, TV-broadcasting-group-I-won't-mention-here-that-thinks-that-airing-anime-at-3.00-am-is-a-good-idea <_< Welp, luckily there's the internet now...

But I'm digressing as always. The only thing I remember is that Hisoka gives me nightmares. Period. 

The Promised Neverland too - not nightmares, but I'm losing years of life with every chapter I read, levers of anxiety that not even the last two episodes of Prison Break season 1 (I'm mentioning it because I've recently rewatched it, and those episodes gave me so much anxiety that I could barely breath - and I was surpised by that, usually movies don't affect me like that...). Don't spoiler me about it tho, I'm behind with the reading. Like everything.*looks at the Haikyuu!! scans page icon in the favourites bar* I failed you, Haikyuu!!. I don't deserve you ;_; 

Okay, I'll try not to write too much - not only because only few elected will read this wall of text, but also because I'm optimizing time writing one comment and copy-paste it everywhere, and some platforms don't allow me to express myself properly due to the lenght limit of their post comment section *cries while running away with tears shining like diamonds in mid air while falling*

[peace-coast-island]

Diary of a Junebug

Trying out bookbinding kits!

This week’s arts and crafts theme is bookbinding! Last year we tried a bunch of art kits, including a book making one by CraftyCrafty. Since everyone had fun with the craft kits, I figured why not have a day where we try out various kits relating to a certain art project? Bookbinding won by a landslide!

It took about a year, but Butch and I managed to find five different bookbinding kits that met our standards. And by that, we mean kits that have all the supplies, aren’t too pricey or complicated, and have fairly good reviews that are three stars or more. There’s not a lot of bookbinding kits out there so it’s a bit of a challenge finding good ones. Luckily, we managed to find five different kits that we can’t wait to try out!

Knifty Knits What makes this kit catch my eye is the fact is it’s from Knifty Knits, which involves knitting. In terms of bookbinding, it’s for a coptic stitch book with a plain chipboard cover. The kit also comes with three different colors of yarn - jewel tones, water lilies, and rainbow -  and a pair of knitting needles. Since it’s for a book cover and it’s not supposed to be bulky, the yarn is super fine and the needle size is quite small. 

As for the bookbinding itself, there isn’t really anything that sticks out. The paper quality is like a $10 sketchpad, so it’s pretty good. There’s the usual tools like an awl and bone folder - both are decent quality too. As for the knitting portion of the DIY, I was impressed! Since the yarn and needles are small, it takes quite a bit of time to make the book cover/sleeve. But if you’re like me and find something like knitting relaxing, then it’s all good. The colors of the yarn are pretty and the quality is pretty good - especially since super fine yarn isn’t really something you find in stores. As for the leftover yarn, I’m gonna use them to make two more journals! 

Rating: 4 skeins of yarn out of 5 

Plushiemania Like the knitting one, this kit focuses more on the cover than the actual bookbinding itself. So you get to make a cute plush animal cover, which is super cute! There’s six patterns for six animals - dog, cat, bunny, elephant, duck, and alpaca - and they’re easy to follow. The kit comes with the usual bookbinding supplies minus the bone folder, along with squares of plush fabric in various colors. The fabric feels soft and durable - though I won’t really know for sure how wear and tear will affect it until time goes on but according to online reviews it seems to hold up well. As for paper quality, it’s noticeably thinner than the previous kit - but still good enough for writing and sketching without too noticeable or distracting ghosting. I guess the thinness of the paper is to make up for the bulkiness of the book cover since the front will have a bit of polyester stuffing to add to the plushie appearance.

Overall this kit is fun and cute! I enjoyed making the cover and the patterns are easy to follow - though if you’re a beginner at sewing it’s best to do some practice runs so you’re comfortable with the stitches. There’s so many cute designs to choose from as well as colors of fabric - and like the previous kit I plan to make the other designs with my own supplies. However the only thing about this kit is that the front cover will be a bit bulky - not by too much as I initially thought, but it’s noticeable. It’s a cute front cover, but is is practical for use? Guess I’ll find out when I put this journal to good use!

Rating: 3.5 plushies out of 5

Pleather Crafts A traveler’s notebook kit with saddle stitch booklets and a leather cover! This kit’s on the pricier side - mainly because of the pleather quality according to the website. The kit comes with two large sheets of pleather in brown and black, a pad of decorative paper for the inside of the leather cover as well as covers for the booklets, charms, elastics, and the usual bookbinding essentials. What’s different about this kit compared to the other two is the paper. It’s thicker and a lot higher quality- the kind of paper that can be used for painting - and it’s cream colored with rounded corners. And of course, there’s instructions as well as dimensions for the cover. There’s enough paper to make three booklets, which is how many books the cover can fit. 

I love everything about this kit! From the high quality pleather to the pretty patterned decorative paper to the whimsical charms - it’s my favorite kit out of all the five we tried out! The size of the traveler’s notebook is perfect for putting in a handbag without being too small or bulky. I also love the simplicity of the design along with its whimsical touches. A pricey kit, but worth every cent! 

Rating: 5 butterfly charms out of 5 

Travels Beyond Another traveler’s notebook kit! This is for a passport size book and the cover is made from laminated cardstock instead of pleather. Also, the paper for the inserts are dot grid instead of blank. And since it’s smaller sized, the paper is noticeably thinner than the previous kit - about the same quality as the plushie kit. The paper for the covers are maps - which are a very nice aesthetic that fits in with the traveler’s journal theme. Like the pleather kit, this one also comes with all the bookbinding essentials. There’s enough paper to make three inserts - you just need a paper cutter so they’d be passport sized.

This kit is pretty simple - something you can make at home of you have all or most of the supplies. However the tricky part was laminating the cover, which took me a couple tries. There were a lot of air bubbles but I didn’t want to waste supplies so I did my best to pop them with the bone folder and that ended up working better than I thought. There’s not too much to say about the kit except that I love the aesthetic, especially the airplane charm! 

Rating: 4,5 airplane charms out of 5

Secret Belgian Binding After watching a tutorial on this method of bookbinding, I was intrigued. There’s not a lot of kits for this binding so it was like finding a rare bug or fish when we came across it online. The binding looks complicated but the actual process is easier than we thought! Also the cover bends all the way back, which is cool! So we’ve got the essentials as well as high quality chipboard for the covers. There’s colorful paper for the pages - all pretty decent quality and colors of the rainbow. The selection of decorative paper for the inside cover is colorful too, adding a much needed pop of color to the cover. 

The front cover is a cutout, so the kit also comes with patterns and templates as well as blades. Basically you cut the templates, tape them on the cover, and cut out the shapes. It’ll take a few tries to go through the chipboard and it’s best to practice on a scrap so you’ll be comfortable with the blade. I love how the cover turned out - not bad for my first time doing something like this! And the binding was pretty fun! Like I said, it’s not as complicated as I thought it would be and it turned out very nice! However it does involve quite a bit of prep - like making a spine and stitching the cover first then the signatures - so I recommend using a cutting mat to make sure the measurements are even or else the cover will turn out wonky.

Rating: 4.25 cardboard flower cutouts out of 5

junebug|previous|ao3|next

[stranger-lex]

An Early Christmas (Byers Family Holiday)

request: How about some Byers family feels. There's never enough of that

The holiday season was never particularly easy for the Byers. Usually, Joyce worried about not being able to give her boys ‘good enough’ presents. Will and Jonathan could never find anything that would show their mom just how much they love her. The holiday season reminded them of their dad leaving, and while everyone was happier without him, it was hard. Joyce worried she wasn’t enough for her boys, and the boys saw how much stress their mom was under because of this fear. Nothing was ever communicated, which meant that while the holidays could be lovely, there was always a strained undertone. This year was different.

As 1985 came to a close, the Byers felt they had a lot to be thankful for. For the past two years, Will was claimed by the Upside Down. Finally, for the first time in what felt like forever, they were free of it. The constant worrying stopped. That Halloween, Joyce let Will go trick or treating with his friends alone. Will was finally beginning to feel like a regular kid.

Joyce mourned the death of Bob, and Jim Hopper was right there with her, every step of the way. Everyone, including Joyce, could see the love her felt for her, but he never pushed her. He never even mentioned it to her. Hopper respected the time she needed to grieve Bob, and he did his best to help her through of the worst of it. He remembered how he felt losing Sara. Joyce began to feel human again shortly after Bob’s death. Of course she missed him, and even a year later, she thought of him often. But she had her boy back, and she had Hopper, and everyday, she felt loved. She stopped worrying about whether or not she was enough for her boys and instead began to admire them. She had done it alone, and it had been incredibly difficult, but her work showed. She was so proud of the men her boys were becoming.

Jonathan was preparing to celebrate his one year anniversary with Nancy. Joyce helped him plan a romantic dinner with her, going with him to shop for her gift. He had found a beautiful bracelet he thought Nancy would love, and was elated when Joyce assured him it was the one. The bracelet would be given to her along with a collage of his favorite pictures of her and of them. There were a lot of late nights as he worked to make sure it would be the perfect gift, constantly asking Will and Joyce, and even Hopper, when he was around, their opinions on it. Everyone told him the same thing: it was perfect. It was beautiful. Most importantly, Nancy would love it. And she did.

For the first time in a long time, the Byers were excited about the holidays.

Joyce helped Will plan a Christmas party for his friends. Mike’s house was the usual hang out place, but the party loved being at Will’s house and getting to spend time with Mrs. Byers. There were a lot of bad memories at the Byers home, and there was an unspoken understanding that it was to be changed. The Byers home was filled with nothing but love. It was time that was shown.

At the same time, Jonathan and Will worked with Hopper to plan a holiday dinner for Joyce. Hopper was to take Joyce out for the day, and when they returned, her favorite dinner would be ready, made by Will, Jonathan, and Jane. The Hopper’s were family, and the kids understood that one day it would be made official. They were counting down the days.

It was an early Christmas dinner. Joyce’s mother planned to fly in for Christmas, and while everyone loved her, she did tend to create some tension in the house. The boys wanted to give their mother a stress-free Christmas, so they moved the date up a week and bought what they needed for her favorite dinner. Luckily, it snowed that day. Joyce loved a white Christmas.

The plan went perfectly. Hopper came by around noon, saying Jane wanted to hang out with Will. Because of their parents, the two of them had become extremely close, telling any new people they met that they were siblings. It wasn’t too out of the ordinary: Jane had spent so much time in the cabin, she was constantly calling the Byers residence and asking if she could come over. The cabin reminded her of a darker time. She could still feel the guilt of opening the gate in her chest, and was constantly trying to make it up to Will and Joyce and Hopper, and the rest of the party. Everyone had forgiven her. Will worked to help her forgive herself.

Jane loved the artwork Will produced. When the Hopper’s arrived at the house, Jane and Will immediately sat down to draw. It was becoming tradition. Will prefered sketching, but Jane prefered painting. Will had been saving up to buy her her own paint set. When he told Hopper about it, he beamed.

“That’s perfect. She can make all the artwork for the new house.”

“New house?” Joyce had asked, excited.

“There’s a lot of bad memories at the cabin, especially for her. I’ve been thinking about selling it, getting a place in the town. She should be around people. She should be a kid.”

A lot of secrets were being kept that holiday season. But all of them were kept with the best intentions, loving surprises coming out of them.

As Will and Jane sat down to work on their respective mediums, Hopper began to work on Joyce.

“Have you tried that new coffee shop we were talking about?”

“No! I didn’t even know it had opened!”

Hopper smiled, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and lighting one. “It opened yesterday. Let’s go grab a cup, my treat.”

Joyce took the cigarette out of his mouth, taking a drag. She coughed, which made him smile. She always coughed when smoking his cigarettes, but always took a drag when she saw him smoking one.

“I don’t know, I should stay here with the kids.” She waved the cigarette around as she spoke, looking into the kitchen where Will and Jane were working.

“I can stay with them.” Jonathan said from his spot on the couch. “I have some homework I need to finish up anyway. I’m not going anywhere.”

Joyce smiled widely. “Let me get my coat.”

It took a bit of effort. Jonathan, Will, and Jane were not professional cooks, or even necessarily good cooks. But they all did their best, wanting to give Joyce the best. And in the end, it turned out alright. Jonathan had managed to cook the chicken perfectly. Jane’s mashed potatoes were a little runny, and Will had taken the vegetables off the stove just a minute too quickly, but they had done it. Joyce was overjoyed when she came home to a mostly cleaned kitchen and a home cooked meal.

“For dessert, we got everything we need to make banana splits.” Jonathan said excitedly as he placed her plate in front of his mother.

“They won’t be from Danny’s, but we will try to make them taste the same,” Jane smiled, remembering Joyce telling them about her favorite ice cream parlor as a child.

“I hope you like it!” Will said as he put Hopper’s plate in front of him. “Tonight’s all about you, Mom. Whatever you want, we got.”

“Oh!” Joyce exclaimed happily, pulling Will in for a hug. She stood up, hugging Jonathan, and then walking around him to hug Jane. “Thank you guys. Really, everything looks delicious. I can’t wait to taste it!”

As they ate, Joyce asked about what Will and Jane had painted, and the kids talked excitedly about their creations. Joyce beamed at them and Hopper beamed at her, happy to see her so at peace. When they were done eating, Jonathan, Will, and Jane made everyone a banana split, and Joyce gushed as she assured them it was much better than any banana split she had ever had at Danny’s.

“Thank you so much for tonight. I love you all so much.” Joyce smiled as she stood up to hug the three kids again, empty ice cream bowls in front of each of them. “Really, tonight was perfect.”

“Oh, it’s not over yet.” Jonathan stood up, gesturing for everyone to follow him into the living room. He inserted a VHS into the machine and hit play.

“Do you always have to be filming everything?” Will asked, looking at the camera. Joyce two-stepped with her son to Jingle Bell Rock, teaching him how to dance before the Snow Ball.

“Oh no,” Jonathan said from behind the camera. “Just the good stuff.”

“Are you sure people still dance like this?” Will asked nervously as they continued to move in a circle around the cleared space in the living room.

“Oh yeah, it’s… it’s what’s happening.” Joyce replied easily.

“Is it what’s happening?” Will turned to ask the camera. Joyce looked at her son behind the camera. She smiled, her expression asking him to reassure his younger brother.

“Yeah, it’s what’s happening.” Jonathan promised, and Joyce raised Will’s arm to spin underneath it. She swung out, opening her arm and giving Will a dramatic smile. He began to laugh, which made her laugh. Jonathan’s chuckles could be heard as well.

The tape held Jonathan and Will’s favorite recorded moments with their mom from the past year. By the end of the video, Joyce was in tears.

“Thank you,” she cried, smiling as she hugged her sons again. “Thank you so much, I love it, I love you both so much.” She kissed each of their cheeks, holding them tightly.

“Merry early Christmas, Mom.” Jonathan smiled as he wrapped one arm around her, the other around Will.

“This is just a taste,” Will assured her. “There’s more later. But you deserved something now.”

Hopped watched the group hug from his spot on the couch. Jane gave him a knowing look, her eyes darting from his hand fiddling in his pocket to his face. He smiled at her, rolling his eyes playfully. When Joyce released her boys, he stood up.

“There’s one more surprise tonight,” he said nervously. He pulled the small velvet box out of his pocket, looking at Joyce as she reacted. Her face lit up, and more happy tears formed in her eyes. “Joyce--”

“Yes!” She exclaimed, making everyone laugh.

“Let me finish!” He chuckled, kneeling in front of her. “Will you--”

“Yes!” She said again.

“Mom!” Will and Jonathan said in unison.

“Sorry, sorry.” She looked at Hopper, giddy. “Okay, go.”

“Will you marry me?”

“Yes.” She said, and he stood up to kiss her before putting the ring on her finger.

Jane jumped up from her spot on the couch, hugging Will. “You’re going to be my brother!”

“And you’re going to be my sister! And it’s official now! Not just something we tell strangers.”

Jonathan laughed, pulling his siblings towards him. “I’m here too, you know.”

Jane quickly wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest. “Brothers.” She smiled as she reached for Will, pulling him into the hug.

Joyce was quick to join the group hug, pulling Hopper along with her. “This has been the best Christmas ever.”

“Christmas is next week. I told you, there’s more.” Will tried to remind her, but Joyce shook her head.

“I have everything I could ever want right here.”

[honeydolistsolutions]

How to Localscape your Yard

We talk a lot about supporting local businesses, but have you ever thought about localscaping your yard? Neither did we until we watched a Livestream about Localscaping from the USU Center of Water Efficient Landscaping Facebook. We recommend that you watch their introduction to Localscapes as well, but you can see our main takeaways and opinions in the article below. 

What is Localscaping?

Localscaping is landscaping to match plants and styles that align with your local area and climate. For example, if you are landscaping in Oregon, you don’t necessarily need dessert plants due to all of the moisture. In contrast, landscaping in Utah, the same landscape design would need to much water, and you would be spending an excessive amount of money to maintain them. The goal of localscaping is to landscape a yard that is functional for your needs, easy to maintain, and conserves water regardless of where you live. 

Although the concept started by the LocalScapes organization, which is Utah based, the ideas and processes can help you design your landscape wherever you are. 

In this article, we will start with the steps on how to localscape your yard, tell you our experience with local scaping, and provide extra resources and videos at the end of the article. 

How to Localscape Your Yard

Create a Landscape Design

Write a plan

Act on your plan

Evaluate as you go

Step 1: Create a Landscape Design

I thought I knew what I wanted my yard to look like after looking at Pinterest for ideas (check out our landscape design board), but I don’t think I would have taken the time to draw it out if it weren’t for this video. Drawing it out made me realize flaws in my vision that I would never have noticed if I had not planned out the whole yard. Not being a professional landscaper, the video suggested the following five areas when starting to create a custom landscape design. 

5 Areas to Look at when Landscaping

Central Open Shape

Gathering Areas

Activity Areas

Paths

Place flower beds to fill empty space  

Following that order, along with the additional information in the video made, making a rough outline of the yard easier then I could imagine. It helped me design a yard I would never have come up with on my own. The best part was the yard not only was going to be a lot more aesthetically pleasing, but functional for how my family would be using it. 

The outline came to life as I took measurements and to turn my rough draft into a scalable landscape design. Check out this article for more details on how to create a landscape design. 

Once I finished the landscape design, I realized that all though I had a good vision of where I wanted to take my yard, I didn’t know how or how long it would take to get there. 

Step 2: Write a plan

 As much as I wish I could take a weekend and get it all done at once, it isn’t a very realistic idea due to time constraints and limited money. I imagine you are probably in a similar situation.

Once I had the landscape design created, I realized I didn’t know how to build a patio and would probably need to contract that out. I also realized I didn’t have the funds or time and would need to do the whole yard in one go. I realized I would need to work with my wife to figure out flowers she would want in the yard as well as what outdoor furniture to buy when we finish the patio. 

Luckily we have spent hours writing The Honey Do List Solutions blog and trying to perfect our honey-do list. We started adding projects and tasks to our honey-do list board on Trello. Our Honey Do List helped us take the massive landscaping project and turn it into several small actionable items. You can use whatever honey-do list or project management tool you use in your family. If you don’t have one already, check out these honey-do lists examples.  

When breaking out the tasks don’t forget to add tasks such as 

call contractor to get a quote

research how to build a garden box

decide on what flowers we want to have

go to the store and get “x” supplies

Step 3: Act on your plan

Although not the most exciting if you don’t like yard work, this is the most straightforward part if you have a very detailed plan. It is simply doing what is on your plan. That said, we know yard work is time-consuming and takes time; that is why breaking the project into smaller projects is essential. It is also important to decide what task you will do yourself and which ones you will outsource. If you are needing a local service professional or have one to recommend, please check out our Honey Do List Network, a directory dedicated to supporting local businesses. 

Step 4: Evaluate as you go

As you go, you may run into problems, or have new ideas, and that is okay. Just because you decide to change something doesn’t mean it is a bad thing. That or, in our case, thinking a swing set would fit then realizing it wouldn’t. The only time it is bad is if you have to destroy something, you just spent hours changing. You should design your landscape to at least last for 3-5 years, if not longer.

That said, your landscape is like the joy of homeownership, and maintaining your designed landscape will never end. As time goes on, things will change, and you may decide to redesign certain parts again later down the road. 

How the Localscape Process saved us Time and Money

After watching the Localscape Webinar, I was excited to apply what I learned. We recently moved into our home, and the backyard needed some help. (a lot of help)

At first, it had what was once a beautiful garden area that was overgrown with weeds. When we first moved in, the plan was to turn into back into a garden. After watching the local scopes video, I realized it would be a better play area. Putting in bark would be a lot easier to maintain as we didn’t want or need that big of a garden.

Luckily things came up, and I was not able to get to the project and realized a few things. First, I had not considered how and where I was going to connect the drip hose I envisioned to water the garden beds. Second, I realized my images were not to scale, and I didn’t know how much space each area took up. I also had changed my mind about certain aspects as well. That is where Marina and I took the time and came up with this sketch with our yard and included measurements.

INSERT SCALED WHITEBOARD 

We then took that version and applied it to our new designs. As we went through we, found it necessary to look at things we might buy to put in the backyard to make sure it wasn’t too crowded, and everything would fit. Below you will see our designs in three phases as well as some of our scaled furniture drawings so we could switch things out as we go. You may find them helpful as you design your yard. We have referenced links to all of the outdoor furniture from Amazon at the bottom of this article.

Our Localscape Design

We then started budgeting everything and putting the projects on a timeline. We are still at the start of our plan, but this helped us so we could break the project down into more straightforward honey-do projects. As we continue working on our localscape, We will post related projects and updates below as they get completed.

INSERT SPRINKLER MAP POST & RACHIO PRODUCT REVIEW Adding Pavers (Currently in Progress)

Adding Mulch (Currently in Progress)

Getting Rid of Tree Suckers (Currently in Progress)

Designing your Park Strip. ( I plan to use this park strip design but learned summer is not the best month do to this and will add the blog later in the fall)

Along with my LocalScape Project Here are some Landscaping Project guides Mike has been working on while landscaping his yard for the new home they built.

Steps and Tips to Lay Sod

Overall we hope you found this article helpful. If you need ideas for your Localscape project, check out our landscaping board on Pinterest. 

Don’t forget to subscribe to our email newsletter to get access to more content. 

Related Articles

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2805939446170293&id=1000983816665874&_rdr

https://ift.tt/341pRA7

Localscapes Website

Yard Furniture we used when creating our landscape design

Garden Box Dimensions

from Honey Do List Solutions https://ift.tt/2DU8giX via IFTTT

[uniblogyear2semester2]

The beginning – week 1 

Another great start to a new semester in game design prototyping, again juan took the lecture and set us off on a very quick journey to a new destination on the course.

This semester we are to create a 3rd person game with a very lenient brief meaning we can base the game off of anything we wanted really in terms of themes and dynamics.

At the end of the first lecture juan told us to split off into pairs and come up with a 2-minute pitch idea for a story and so me and paddy split off into our partnership and started coming up with ideas for the coming presentation next week.

Immediately I already had an idea as I had my mind set on a theme and story for a while.

I wanted to create a medieval fantasy adventure game with a different post-apocalyptic theme embedded within it and so I started to ponder more thoughts into that and coming up with a good story and plot for it as well as exploring the lore.

Over the course of the next week I had come up with an idea which I absolutely loved and so did paddy, he was on-board. The idea came to be “The Blight”, I have created a brief description of the blight to give a little context.

“The story is set 5 years after the war where a great tragedy befell one kingdom turning it into the blight. The blight, slowly devouring the world birthing creatures of nightmare and demon spawn from its dark magical essence. The story follows Elias Lycian, a renowned ranger tasked with protecting the borders of the Bree kingdom from the blight and its many evils.

Elias accompanied by his 4 legged companion, Sphax are to watch the borderlands of the kingdom and protect it from the inevitable approaching death that the blight brings forth.”

Now that is just a very brief description of the idea that I have and I will go into more detail on the idea if it gets chosen next week as a project to work on for the semester so fingers crossed.

Week 2

So it was presentation day today and we absolutely smashed it, paddy left the talking to me and was designated PowerPoint clicker. Luckily my idea was chosen which I am very happy about. We managed to get six people who wanted to work on our idea but despite that me and the lads all still wanted to work with each other just like previous projects as for some reason we seem to work very well together despite being friends although this time around we have the addition of Ryan so in total there are myself as the narrative director, programmer and assistant artist. Toby is the project lead as he is better at the managerial tasks than I am. Paddy and Brad as our artists again and as well as Ryan who is also an artist and a very good modeller.

The workload this week for myself is to construct a one page game design document to outline the concept of the game, the mechanics, gameplay and other important elements.

After having completed the GDD I’m very happy with the amount of detail that I put into it and I’m very certain that the group will be too, this is a very important piece as it is the base foundation for the group to work on. Im happy with the amount if detail that we put into it though I am looking forward to the extended GDD where I have more space to write about the idea.

Week 3

Me and the group had a scrum meeting today and all decided what it was we were going to do this week and we looked over everything we did last week and I was impressed with Ryans wolf I must say was quite impressive especially at this stage. Paddy’s art work was good and brad made a basic log cabin for us to work with. In terms of workload this week for me I was tasked with working on an environment piece as well as some character development. The environment is a piece where Elias is stood at his post looking into the blight and at the black figure staring back at him. Im really happy with the outcome of the piece although I want to go back over it at a later stage and add more detail and the same for the character sketches that I am working on. I still feel as though we need to be producing more work as a group at this point and so next week I think we all need to have a talk about where its going.

Week 4

This week I happened to miss juans lecture due to a personal matter but none the less I managed to reconvene with the group outside of class and get to grounds with what the ball plan was.

For me this week I had to create the start of the alpha prototype level and I already knew what I had in mind, I knew it would be tough as I haven’t used the unity level design features for quite some time but I got back into swing of things fairly quickly.

The level would coincide with the story as the section of the level that I have built is the hill side where the rangers live in the log cabin which overlooks the blight and is the border that they have to protect, obviously I am not able to make a full border for the kingdom but I started on a specific section overlooking the forest and village which is my plan anyway.

This week I managed to complete a good section of the map, which was just the borderlands, hillside and cabin. Ill insert the images I too below. Due to it being the alpha stages I used very basic textures to provide some depth for the player to appreciate. The cabin and all of the assets are still very basic but in a few more weeks it will look much better. In terms of narrative this will be the first level in which the ranger, Elias who the player will control is tracking a demon that managed to cross the border and venture into the kingdom towards the village which I have yet to create. We are quite a fair way away from using any combat features yet but hopefully soon we will see some action.

 We are using a place holder character model for now also until the artists make our own, the group as of now are working very poorly for the most part, everyone is very demotivated but im hoping that will change around soon. I need to work on the story a little more at some point but I think next week I will continue with the level and hopefully have something more presentable and fully fledged although I think one of the main priorities is to actually have gameplay rather than a level as juan said. That Is something myself and the group need to realise as the alpha testing stages are coming up quickly. Im very happy with the work I have done this week, I would have liked to have had more of our own models and assets to play with but unfortunately we aren’t there yet so I did what I could with what I had. The level itself I think looks nice. It still needs a lot of work of course but I want to have a finished alpha level by next week so I will be keeping updates on how the next sprint goes but all in all im happy with the work I put in, though I always feel I could do more and so I will try and better myself each time.

 Week 5

This week was more of a semi productive week, as I mentioned in my last post I was aiming to have more work done on the alpha level for the game, im really enjoying the level design at the minute. Unfortunately my laptop decided to break half way through the week which set me back quite a lot and so it wasn’t until the day before the deadline that I was able to actually continue with the work when it was back up and running. I mapped out the rest of the level world for the most part, there is still a great deal to be done but for the alpha I think it will be okay. I added a very small settlement with brads new cabin variants in a circle formation down at the bottom of the map at the base of a rough mountain formation.

I added a few more forests around the world too but the only problem is that if I add too many the game will really lag due to the high poly count of each tree. I then went around and start to change the terrain a little more to add more variation from the flat plain, I also added a few place holder textures into the world also.

One thing I really wanted to focus on was a water fall but I am not yet skilled enough to actually use the particle effect system effectively and so I managed to make a river and I am going to leave the waterfall for now. The water I used for the river was also a place holder texture object but it is very effective for what we need at this stage.

The main struggle for our group at the minute is motivation, everyone is still doing the bare minimum and its putting us behind massively, there’s no passion this semester for some reason and it is very frustrating. I really do want to make an amazing game and I know that we can if we apply ourselves.

The upcoming code for the game will be very difficult to actually accomplish and it will require many hours of watching tutorials to figure out how to actually make it work, we need enemy AI’s, player health, damage calculation, sword and bow combat, the enemy attack function and a lot more, there is a lot to do but there are only two programmers and we aren’t the most experienced by any means so this is going to be a big struggle to accomplish but I think we might just manage it. 

Overall im happy with the work that I produced though I wish I had more time to do more and to a higher professional standard.

Week 6

This week was a very slow week and very little was accomplished despite my hours of effort due to my skill level now being high enough.

My task for the week was to figure out a way to make combat within the game and use various scripts to make this combat work effectively. I spent roughly 9 + hours watching videos and trying to figure out combat for the game but I just couldn’t do it, either the type of combat wasn’t correct for the 3rd person camera or the scripts would clash with the character within our game. After spinning my wheels for so long I decided to go with another approach. None of the methods I had tried worked so I started to watched a tutorial series from scratch on a personal scene in unity until I had some solid combat working. I had to create a new, different type of 3rd person controller and followed along as well as I could. This camera was a point and click camera without the use of WASD for movement though if required I think I would be able to implement that in to the script.

The series is very long and the combat doesn’t come into it until about two thirds of the way through but I don’t want to miss anything out. The game mainly focuses on the use of an interactive script which all of the other scripts reference so they use everything within that script. I think this script will be derived into the combat script eventually. I have started somewhat creating an inventory system for the game which is very confusing but I’m following along the best I can and making it my own as I do.

I think I will be sticking with this work for the coming weeks but I think I need to look back at the story at some point to see how that it coming along and how we can reference it into the game and make it an immersive experience.

 Week 7 – following the events of the 27th of march

Unfortunately, I was met with some events which would really off road my progress in the group more than I would’ve liked. On my birthday the 27th of march I went out to celebrate with some friends and a group of people decided to start some trouble which ultimately resulted in me breaking my leg and so from this I was forced to move back home leaving all of my work station in my accommodation barren for a few weeks. Due to this the amount of work I was able to put in was limited as keeping track of everyone and with everyone was extremely hard as I prefer to communicate and sort things out in person and due to me not being able to I found it very hard to adapt.

I found this whole thing extremely frustrating as I put in a great deal of effort into the game and the narrative and level building side of things and to make matters worse my laptop broke again and that took me a fair while to get it repaired and once it was repaired it wouldn’t let me unity game function properly and so I was no longer able to have an input in the game which wasn’t the end of the world, I could still help with the managerial tasks such as presentations, game design documents and story etc.

Luckily, I had already built the game world and it only needed a few extra tweaks which I believe toby added. I managed to get to call Toby 3 times per week and he tried to keep me up to date on what everyone was doing and how things were going and so my input at this point was more verbal than physical to the group but we managed with what we could.

 Week 10

This week we had external testing or the group did and unfortunately I wasn’t able to be there due to my current circumstance which Is extremely annoying in all honesty, you put so much effort into the game and the story for the game and then I cant even access the game on unity and am unable to get to Salford to view the testing session but despite all of that I rang toby as soon as he was finished and he told me everything went find, he sent me over a copy of the external testing notes and we went over and I gave him all the feedback and aid I could on how we could improve the game based upon what the others had said. 

All in all though it looks very positive so far, the game itself looks really nice and runs really nice. The features are coming along nicely apart from the combat doesn’t seem to be working and in all honesty I don’t think myself or anyone else in the group is able to achieve the level of combat that we want but none the less I spent many hours doing so when I was back at uni but never came to a successful conclusion.

So for this week I mainly went back over all the work we had done that I could access and made some rough adjustments and touch ups to refine everything and helped out with looking over the feedback we received about the game. I am very happy with everything so far and the changes I have made and I look forward to seeing where the game ends up in the future.

 Week 11

Okay so this week I really enjoyed and I don’t really know why. Long story short I had to start on the game design document for the blight, now the game design document is a much bigger and more detailed version of the one page game design document and therefore requires much more attention to detail.

I once again referred back to the work I did for the GDD on the game escape from north korea just to give me a nod in the right direction and im really glad I looked back over it as it gave me a great idea on what else I needed to include and many other aspects that I could improve on, for example the north korea game was very bare bones compared to what I had planned for this one and although I cant complete all of the sections there are still a great deal of sections for me to complete especially from the narrative stand point. 

For me one of the most important areas in any game document is the context and concept overview of the game as this is what people first read and need to know about your game, luckily I gave this quite a lot of thought when I created the one page document and so I had a great starting point to follow. 

The game overview was split into 5 sections:

·      Game concept

·      Genre

·      Target audience

·      Game flow summary

·      Look and feel

For me this section of the document is the most interesting and the most fun to talk about and explain. It is also the most relevant section for me to explain as im the one who came up with the game idea and story itself so I think im qualified enough to talk about it.

This section took me a good while as I wanted to make sure that I got all of the information down that was necessary and really gave our game justice. Though it’s a very mundane task going through each individual point I still had to do it.

When it came to the target audience section I was able to get down some detailed information because I referenced back to the testing session we did or that the group did and looked at if the people who played it particularly the ones who fit the demographic of our target audience enjoyed it, this gave me very good insight when it came to explain the target audience and why we think that they would like it.

For the next section of the document I had to talk about the Gameplay and mechanics which in my opinion is probably the most boring to explain as we want to talk about what the game is, not how it works but even so I had to complete the following sections.

·      Gameplay

·      Game progression

·      Mission/challenge structure

·      Puzzle structure

·      Objectives

·      Mechanics

·      Physics

·      Movement in the game

·      Objects

·      Actions

·      Combat

·      Economy

·      Screen Flow

As you can see there are many different points that make up the gameplay and mechanics section and so this did take me a while as I found it harder to explain the more technical side of the game as a pose to the story and conceptual side but even so I managed to get through it.

Now even though there are many points here, not all of them apply to our game in particular, these are just template points to discuss but even so I had to talk about why we did or did not choose to include that certain point. I know in our game we don’t have an economy system and so I explained why that was instead of just leaving it out. 

One thing I wish that out game had was a working combat system as I feel that this is a very key thing most games should have but even though we don’t I explained what we do have instead. Even though the combat system does not work I still think that the story out shines this aspect which is something I’m happy about.

For this week that is everything I managed to complete as it took me a while to go back over and check through everything making sure I hit all of the relative points that needed to be explained. Next week I am to complete the further sections of the GDD.

If I could go back and change anything which I probably will is the content within the mechanics section as I feel that this was the weakest part for me to talk about and due to it being one of the most important parts I think it deserves to be revisited.

 Week 12

As I said in last weeks post this week I was continuing on with game design document and have rounded it up to a very nice conclusion for the parts that I was assigned. Before I started the sections for this week I firstly went back and took another look over the mechanics section for the game as I don’t feel I did it justice in my first draft. I find it hard to explain these sorts of things in a good detailed technical manner and so I referenced a little bit more and later came to something that I consider a good level and just for a further piece of mind I asked toby to go over and look at the parts I wasn’t sure about to see if there’s anything that he would add. 

The sections that I went through this week were very fun to talk about and just seemed to flow, I still referenced my older work in order to have a direction on where to go but less was needed this time around.

The first point that I had to talk about was the Story, Setting and Character section and the points are as follows:

·      Story and narrative

·      General look and feel of the world

·      Areas of the world

·      Characters

As I said earlier I found this section extremely enjoyable and easier to talk about as the narrative story and world building side of a game is my niche and what I love to do and so discussing these parts was a breeze but none the less I checked over it many of times to ensure that I applied the greatest level of detail that I could.

My favourite sub points to discuss were the story and narrative and the characters as these are two of the main focus points of the game and are also things I spent hours coming up with and developing way before the game was even in prototyping stages.

The last section which I started on but did not finish was the Levels section. The reason I did not finish this is because toby has a better understanding of this section and so he wanted to go over it himself.

Overall I’m really happy with the amount of work that I put into this section and I would struggle to go back over and change anything.

Week 14

This weeks work load was a shorter one as we are nearing the deadline date and all I had to do was complete the relative slides on the presentation and because I am unable to be there I gave toby some notes and things to talk about in my stead. I gave a brief summary on the slides and the things to talk about and I think the group will do a very good job

Week15

Well this week I heard back from the group and they said that the presentation went okay but not as well as expected which is slightly disappointing but I cannot judge as I wasn’t even there to help them out which is extremely frustrating as I put the effort in but am unable to actually show the game I’m passionate about off.

Now we are closing in on the deadline I had to fill out the peer assessment form and so I thought I might just explain what it was that I actually put down for the members and why that is.

Firstly, we can start with Toby, now Toby has been extremely good this semester as leader, right from the start me and him got on the same page about the game and worked very well together and even though the game was my idea I thought it best to let him lead because he is far better at coordinating a team than I am and though at first he was reluctant he accepted and has shown his true colours which I thought to be true at the start, a great leader.

Though toby at times did lack passion and enthusiasm due to other team members not putting the effort it he can be excused as we are all guilty of this, when few people are actually putting the effort in it is hard to stay on that path knowing that others do not share the same passion. Toby this semester was very god with the game making side of things, he took over where I had to leave off, once my laptop broke and I had to go home due to my injury he created some great work within the blight and has made a great job all on his own.

This Is a great accolade as he was the only person for the most part who actually had any input making the game in unity especially when I wasn’t there to help him, no one else wanted to give unity a try and me and toby are expert programmers by any means but he still did extremely well while being at his current skill level.

Secondly, we have Paddy, now I was going to put Paddy, Brad and Ryan under the same category as they all worked at the same level but I thought I may as well individualise it.

Paddy is great artist when it comes to conceptual work on paper but when it came to making digital assets in the game he was very reluctant and so for many weeks just made drawings on paper, yes they were great drawings but after a few weeks in we required digital assets and we had minimal to none which set us back. He like Brad and Ryan didn’t contribute to unity and instead left it to me and toby and so at this point we had three people on the art side of things and no one to really help out with the game and so that’s why I built the game world in the first place.

Paddy sometimes struggled with deadline meeting but the work that he did hand in was to a good level.

Thirdly we had Brad and now much like Paddy he is a great artist but more on the modelling and graphics side of things and I must say he is very good and was able to construct some good low poly models in the prototyping section of the game but even so he lacked enthusiasm as well as passion for the project. Brad mate almost every deadline but when he did the work he provided was the bare minimum which really frustrated me because I know he’s a very good modeller but didn’t want to go further than he had to.

Once again brad never wanted to use unity and left that to me and toby again slowing the process, it was toby who had to import all of the assets into unity whereas the others could have helped to speed up the process but they didn’t.

Overall Brad was a good modeller but didn’t go further than he needed to and never offered to help out in other areas.

Lastly, we have Ryan and now Ryan is very talented with maya and model making but never put much effort in, he produced a very low poly wolf and animated it to some extent within the first week which I thought to be outstanding at the time but then just sort of dropped off the grid and just created a very basic model character throughout the project and didn’t do much else, he never offered to do any more work than he had to and met the bare minimum requirements just like the other artists but the work that he did do was to a good level none the less I just know that if he wanted to he could have done much more.

 Disclaimer: due to my laptop breaking i lost many screenshots of the step by step workload i went through and so this is why my blog is lacking in images and evidence but i inserted what i could find.