#why would we get a popup for that

[simbico]

They didn’t get to have a romantic Love Day but they still managed to squeeze in their first date night since Fern was born. ✨💖✨

[little-miss-dilf-lover]

DARE TO DISAPPOINT. 18+

bucky barnes x fem!reader — angst & smut

summary. you and bucky arrange to meet your friends for the first time, but he doesn’t show up. you find out the reason why while he attempts to make it up to you

word count. 2.7k

warnings. 18+ only! little bit of one-sided arguing at the beginning. hurt reader, teasing bucky, cunnilingus, pinv, resolved ending. mdni

Plans change and sometimes that’s okay. You’re grown enough to deal with it though you often expected better. You expected better from Bucky. 

Earlier in the week, you and your friends arranged to meet at a nice restaurant, the purpose of the hangout designed to introduce them to your boyfriend, Bucky. It was the natural step after several months of dating. And after a few change-abouts with the date, and accommodating last-minute personal life popups, it was all set in stone. The date of the introduction known to you, Bucky and your friends.

It was the day of your hangout —the night of— and Bucky was yet to return home. The minutes slowly turned into an hour and an hour slowly turned into two. Your texts and calls were yet to be unanswered and you couldn’t help but notice the nervous pit grow in your stomach.

It wasn’t like him. He’s not the kind of guy that would stand you up. That’s essentially what this was – you arranged a date, got dressed all nice and now he left you hanging. 

You’re sitting on the sofa, heels on the floor and phone in hand as you reread your messages, looking at your string of unresponded texts. This was getting ridiculous.

And as if he were right on cue, you hear keys jingle, the opening sound of your front door following shortly after. The silhouette of Bucky appearing through the gap.

“I’m so s—” he says as soon as his eyes fall on you, his features softened.

“No,” you interrupt, shaking your head at him. 

His head faintly tilts as he walks over to you, his hand reaching for your shoulder. “Honey,” he practically coos, his voice gentle. 

But you shrug off his touch, moving your arm away from his attempt of physical comfort. 

“You can’t do that,” you turn to look at him, your eyebrows furrowing as if to further show your frustrations. 

You pick up your shoes from the floor, slinking your fingers in the straps as you stand. You turn on your foot and head for your bedroom down the hall, not so much as giving him another glance – almost blanking him. 

He doesn’t let you get far, his hurried footing chasing after you. “Baby,” he whispers, the pet name faint and gentle. Like he was appeasing you, an attempt of amends.

But again, you ignore it, making your way into your room to unready yourself and get out of your dress. 

“Come on,” he lingers in the doorway, watching you walk around your room. “Don’t shut me off, talk to me. Get angry at me, just say something,” he says, speaking like it was like a plea. 

You turn around to face him, a lounge t-shirt grasped tight in hand. “You want me to get angry?” you scoff, tone fairly amused. 

“Yes,” he nods, eyes soft as he looks at you. “I upset you. I hurt you. Tell me that.”

You scoff once more and throw your tee on the bed. “You want me to get angry? Okay fine,” you snap. “You disappointed me. We arranged to meet my friends but you never showed up. You made me sad. You pissed me off. You don’t do that, okay? Not to your girlfriend,” you glare at him, getting everything off your chest – repeating the things you said to yourself while you were waiting for him. “That’s the third time we’ve had to cancel, do you know how embarrassing that is?”

He nods, never once retaliating – taking in everything you say.

“James,” you pause, taking a breath. “If you don’t want to meet them, just tell me. Okay? Don’t mess me around,” you say, words far calmer once you realise you were not being met with anger, but instead comprehension. 

He was understanding you, listening to you. Anger a far-distant emotion of his.

“I am sorry,” he nods, action reaffirming his apology. He steps into your room, waiting hesitantly near your bed – standing on the opposite side as you. 

“You could’ve called me. I would’ve understood,” you say, voice almost defeated as you sit on the edge of the bed, your back to him. “I know how you get… just tell me next time.”

He makes his way around the bed to you on the other side, halting when he’s in front of you. “I know,” he says, eyes focused down on you in your seated position. 

You stiffen your features, straightening them so he doesn’t see your facade weaken into a smile.

He could see the slip, his own expression mirroring yours. “Forgive me,” he whispers, leaning over to peck your forehead. 

You cock your head at him, amusement in your eyes when you watch him bend to the floor, taking a knee before you. 

Bucky extends a hand towards you, palm gliding across your face to cup it, his eyes warm as he looks over you. “Come on,” he whispers, leaning in to kiss your cheek. “Say you forgive me, just say it,” he mutters into your cheek —the opposite one to his hold— speaking softly into your skin. He thumbs the apple of your cheek, swiping over it as he presses a kiss into your lips. “You know you want to,” he lingers, whispering into them. “Let me make you forgive me.”

Your chest heaves at his tempts, the juxtaposing sides of your brain conflicting, each one fighting for leadership. You wanted to forgive him as you knew it was not in his character, but then again, he knew about this date. He knew it was important, yet he was late – didn’t show. 

So, you pull your head back slightly to look at him, eyes honing in on his lust-filled ones. He means it. 

You squint at him, the action playful.

“See,” he smiles, features gentle. “It’s not hard.”

You glance down at him. “It’s not?” you tease, suddenly forgetting the outrage mere moments before.

He cocks his head, chuckling with a sweet, boyish smile. “No, that is.”

“That’s a shame,” you say, your hands reaching to the sides of his face, fingers  grazing back into his hair. “Problem is,” you start, leaning in to kiss him briefly. “I’m tired from waiting around, so I was thinking about going to bed. Get an early night.”

His hands move to your thighs, one metal, one fleshed palm firm on the swell of your upper legs. “Bed?” he repeats, his touch rising to sit under the fabric of your dress. “Well, what would you say about me staying over?”

“I don’t know,” you play along, entertaining him. “It is quite late though, isn’t it?” 

“It is,” he nods, leaning forward once more to speak against your lips. “Maybe I should stay,” he utters to them, punctuating his tempt with a kiss.

Your hands around his face fall to his shoulders, your arms draping loosely over them as you pull him back in, kissing him with a little more urgency than before. “Maybe you should,” you mutter into his mouth.

He can read between the lines, he’s not an idiot. Sure he’s a man, but he’s not completely clueless. 

That little silent agreement from you was all he needed, the hints of willingness showing him he was in the midst of your forgiveness. And so with his hands still on your thighs, he raises them just that bit higher, his fingers skimming the very inners. 

“Forgive me yet?” he asks, pads of his fingers bumping against your fabric-covered cunt.

You firmly shake your head ‘no,’ wordlessly telling him he had a lot more to do than kiss you and touch your thighs. The simple act only spurring him on more.

He hums and pulls away from you, his eyes landing on your legs – gaze honing on his fingers just mere centimetres away from your pussy. He keeps his eyes down as he follows his movements, his fingers grazing up to slink into the waistband of your underwear.

Without a moment to think on it, your hips are lifting, the action helping him take them off. He tugs on them gently, pulling them under your ass and over your thighs, being sure to drag them over your skin as he does it. Letting the fabric caress you.

Your eyes are focused on your thighs like his are, each micro movement being watched eagerly by the pair of you. Each of you following the motion of their removal, the skimpy fabric momentarily caught around your knees – underwear spread between your parted legs before falling to your ankles.

He moves forward, his body slotting between you as his right, fleshed hand resumes its prior position in the crease of your upper thigh. His touch light and teasing.

His thumb extends out, tip of it knocking just under your clit. The feeling eliciting a soft, breathy noise into the close distance between. He keeps his eyes on yours as he does it again, prodding his thumb to the nub to get the same reaction. And he gets it, that same response of a delicate, whiney sound. The same sound causing a strain in his boxers. 

“Sounds like you forgive me,” he whispers, leaning in to kiss you briefly, the slight force of him pushing you back into the mattress behind you. 

Your legs spread instinctively as he pushes himself closer, your eyes still focused on him in your laid position. 

“Getting close,” you quip, your reply a double entendre.

He hums, the view of his smile disappearing as he ducks down between your thighs, his face itching closer to your cunt. Brushing up the hem of your dress, he presses a kiss to the inner of your thigh, lips lingering for a mere moment.

With your hands having a mind of their own, you reach down to his head, your fingers skimming through his hair as a way to hold him close. Your grip light as you keep him where you want him.

He presses another kiss into your thigh, this time it’s in the crease. The contact of him so close to where he was needed pushed your mind further into a tizzy. 

As he circles your pussy with kisses, he’s sure to avoid your clit – being mindful to ignore the mound of nerves. Making you wait for it.

His little teasing games aren’t going to cut it tonight. It was your forgiveness he needed, so him making you wait, for the second time was not what you wanted. So, with your hands in his hair, you direct him, guiding him closer to your cunt – nudging him to the places where you need his touch.

Your cues go noticed. His lips moving to wrap around your clit, tongue slipping between to flick over it – the ache in your pussy being alleviated instantly with the brisk contact. The grip in his hair tightens as your hips unknowingly buckle, a gentle wind knocking you further into his face. The tip of his nose skimming your pubic bone.

Taking the hint, he does it again. His tongue laid flat against the nub as he encapsulates it between his lips, warm wet mouth attached to you like a suction cup.

And before long, he’s making it up to you by making out with your cunt. Working you up impossibly more until you’re writhing and grinding against him, crying obscenities into the air til you’re on the cusp of your high. Mere moments from falling into that deep end.

Though before you get there, the elated feeling is stripped from you. His tongue and lips lifting from its position. His selfish, cruel trick leaving you panting and gasping and whining frustratedly. 

“Are you trying to make me hate you?” 

“What?” he questions, voice teasing as he stands. His upper body hovering over you with hands situated either side, weight anchored from above. “No,” he whispers, head shaking softly as he leans to press a kiss to your lips. “Never.”

With one hand, you cup his face, holding him there as you deepen the kiss – tasting yourself on his tongue. Your other slips down to his waist, eager fingers dancing over the exposed slither of skin. The urgency clear with your soft, muffled breaths into his mouth.

“I will,” you utter, pulling away to speak against his lips. You drop your other hand to his waist, mirroring the desperate grabs on the band of his pants. “I will hate you.”

“You can never hate me,” he murmurs into your jaw, solidifying his statement with a string of fluttery kisses down the length of your throat.

That part’s true.

He balances on his left, metal arm, his fleshed one sliding between you both and down the front of his combat pants. A slight bulge forming in the constricting fabric, his meaty wrist being the reason.

Your legs bend at the knee on instinct, your thighs spreading and adjusting to his lower half more comfortably. Knees hugging at his sides as he palms his cock, readying himself. He pumps it a few brisk times after pulling himself over the waistband, eager dick hard and heavy resting over his belt. His hand moves to his mouth to spit into the palm, and with that added little bit of lubrication, he grabs a hold of himself once more, working the saliva over the tip.

With his soft, baby blues honed in on yours, he focuses, his gaze never leaving yours as he guides himself towards you under your dress. The movement comes from a place of muscle memory, the motion fluid from repeating the act dozens of times before. He doesn’t even need to look to know how far away he is from you.

And as the head of his cock knocks against your cunt upon first contact, you involuntarily let out a soft, breathy exhale, the sound blissed and relieved. He swirls his tip around you, circling through your folds to pick up that residual spit – using that like lube.

He lines himself with you, hand firm around the middle of his dick as he eases into you, pushing inside slowly. His eyes still focused on yours, they mirror his, a sort of softness spreading in them the more he starts to fill you, stretch you.

You pull him back down to your eagerly, hands slipping up to the curve of his back to make him resume his prior hovering position. You hold onto him tightly, your chest rising and falling in such a way you fear your lungs may explode, the quick pace a physical tell of the way he affects you. He makes you feel so much.

He ducks his head, his forehead pressing against yours as he stills, the motion in his hips halting with only half of himself wedged inside.

“I’m sorry,” he says, words soft between the close distance of your lips.

“For what?” you ask, bringing a hand to hold his head, the palm cupping sweetly over his cheek. “For earlier?”

He hums, pulling away to look at you. His grasp reflecting yours, his fleshed hand holding the side of your face.

“What happened?” you question, looking off to the side as you graze through his hair. “I thought you were excited about meeting them.”

“I was. I am. I just,” he pauses, distracting himself by thumbing over your lips, his eyes following the outline motion. “What if they don’t like me?”

You stare at him, brows furrowing quizzically as the doubt-filled question settles in your ears. What on earth makes him think that?

“Why would they not like you?” you ask, redirecting your focus to his eyes. 

“I don’t know.”

“If they were to hate anyone, it would be me,” you smile softly, thumbing over his temple. “They’d be so jealous when they see who I’m with.”

He chuckles faintly, head shaking at the compliment. 

“I’m being serious,” you whisper back, extending your neck to kiss him briefly. “They know how special you are to me,” you pause to kiss him again, trying to butter him up – make him feel better. “They’ll love you, because you love me.”

He smiles faintly against your lips, a soft boyish grin stretching across his face. “We can still make it tonight,” he suggests.

You shake your head ‘no’, the offer appreciated, but not wanted. “We can arrange something another time,” you drop a hand to his very lower back, your fingers pawing at him – silently asking him to wind his hips. “Tonight. I just want you.”

**not my artwork, I don’t know the artist either

[thewertsearch]

Still no sign of the mail. Might as well keep the tiaratop on while you look, even if it means suffering through all these bullshit popup ads.

Once again: this might have been funny a couple of years ago, but these days, it's a little too close to reality for comfort.

Wait, isn't that Guy Fieri?

Congratulations, I guess. You'll probably do a decent job, too - it's not like the bar has been particularly high in recent years.

Well, look who’s checking in early!

I guess your appearance isn't much of a ‘reveal’ when you’re basically identical to your predecessor. I could probably have made a 90% accurate guess by just swapping the hair on Rose's sprite.

Also - damn, Roxy. Isn't it, like, 2pm?

Where did you even get that thing? If you've been stealing a few cheeky cocktails from under the Seer of Light's nose, I'll be very impressed, and more than a little worried. Is Rose just completely asleep at the wheel?

TG: jaaaaaaaaaane GG: Omg. GG: Overreact much? I kept you waiting for all of two seconds! GG: Where have you been today? TG: nowhere just chilling here TG: when all of the sudden GG: "All of a sudden." TG: when all of the sudden

That one was on purpose, Jane. She made an artistic choice, and you need to respect it.

TG: it hits me TG: thaf we have somethig really fuckin important to talk about GG: This hit you just now? We made plans to get in touch early this morning, and I have seen neither hide nor hair of you all day.

And it's easy to see why; the girl's been drinking herself into a stupor.

Seriously, I thought Rose would be a better Guardian than this. Is she really just leaving Roxy to her own devices, while she... I don't know, experiments with dark magic in the basement, or something? I'd expect that kind of behavior from Bro, but not from our girl.

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

So i read the ENA Prom!AU and hear me out....

So ENA is still going to the dance with someone else BUUUUT reader is going with a close friend of theirs, and so once ENA is dumped she gets really sad until she found out they're only going as friends and not as a date????

Omg I forgot about that one-

Imma do a rewrite of that fic but with the idea you mentioned (and I'll make the "close friend" Dream BBQ Ena, but for this fic she'll be called "∃NA" like it's stylized in the game).

.........

Prom night.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime event Ena was excited to participate in.

Everybody was allowed to attend...so long as they had a date, of course, as that was the only way they'd even be permitted to enter the building it was held in.

But that wasn't problem for her, as she found herself a date only a few days ago: a guy who she didn't know all that well, but has talked to her a few times between classes. So that was enough for him to be a familiar face; he was nice to her, and thus was considered a "friend" in her eyes.

Of all people, she never suspected that she'd be asked out to prom, so when he approached her with the question...obviously she couldn't refuse!

She couldn't be more eager for night to come--which was odd, since she never liked parties or huge social gatherings.

But this was an exception she was willing to make. Anything to make one more person in this school treat her like she's normal.

Once the pair were granted entry, Ena's grin only widened as she clung to her date's arm, eyes surveying the gym and everything going on within:

In one corner, she saw Phindoll wearing his best tuxedo, trying to woo a group of ladies with some advanced mathematical puns. In another, Shepard was trying to sneak pieces of turron while she kept an eye out for any potential messes.

Then she spotted you, Moony, and ∃NA hanging out together by the food tables, chatting about things she couldn't quite make out. But even so, she was glad to see another one of her kind attending the party.

All her friends were here.

Life was good.

"Ah, isn't this great? I wonder how we should best spend our time. I see delectable turron there! And the bowl of code just over there! Oh, so many possibilities!" She giggled, leaning on her date's shoulder. "What do you think, my dear acquaintance? Where shall we begin?"

"Oh..uh about that..." He cleared his throat, shifting awkwardly in-place. "You mind letting go for a second?"

"Certainly! But...is something the matter?" Although confused, the polygonal woman listened, her eyes still shimmering with happiness. "I know. I'm nervous, too. But it's gonna be wonderful-!"

"Yeah, um..look, I only said I'd take you to the prom. They wouldn't have let me in otherwise." His gaze went to the corner, where he saw his friends hanging out. "Couldn't let them figure out I was emptyhanded, y'know?"

"Are you referring to your buddies over there? We should go meet them post haste-!" She went to take his hand, only to see him take a huge step away from her, and she frowned. "Huh? What's...What's wrong? Why are you acting this way?"

"Didn't you hear me? I said I'd take you here. I never said anything about being with you the entire time."

".....what..?" Her blue side took over as her shoulders slumped, the words slowly hitting her like a truck. "I don't...understand. I..I-I thought-"

"You seriously cannot be this dense...you really think I'd wanna be seen with someone like you? You know what that would do to my reputation?!" His voice became raised, and she brought her hands to her chest, cowering under his gaze.

"That's...not very nice. Wha..What did I do wrong? Did I say something offensive?? Is it...the way I'm dwessed?" Her voice trembled as she looked down at herself.

She was so excited about tonight that she picked out the best dress possible: one made of blue screens, pixelated popup clips on the straps, and ribbons of code wrapped around her waist.

But now she felt nothing but insecure about it.

He sighed, suddenly feeling bad for shouting. "No, it's not what you said. It's not how you're dressed. It's....It's you, Ena. I'm sorry. Don't take it personally. You're a nice girl, but I just needed a reason to get in here and be with my friends."

She felt her heart crack in two.

"B-But....but I-"

"Look, you can have fun by yourself. Do whatever you want. Just...stay away from me, alright? I'll see you in class sometime."

"Wait! Please don't..!!!"

Despite trying to reach out to him, her date--or rather her ex-date--walked off and disappeared into the crowd, pretending she didn't even exist.

Her yellow hand was grasping for air, although it flopped down to her side as she realized she was very much alone now.

She stood there for a moment, before an involuntary shudder took over her body.

Was she about to cry or vomit or both?

Apparently, it was option two as she felt white noise bile rise up in her throat, and she slapped both hands over her mouth. She sprinted out the nearest backdoor, hoping nobody would see or hear her.

She definitely didn't like this party anymore.

.........

"Ugh, why didn't I ask her when I had the chance?"

"Dunno, but get a load of this turron, dude! Eat your feelings away if you feel that bad about it."

"I still don't get the point of these stupid events. We're just wasting time...remind me again why you dragged me here against my will?"

"Because it's prom, Meanie. You'll never get another chance to attend it." Shaking your head in amusement, you glanced at ∃NA, whose meaner side wasn't at all thrilled to be here.

No, she wasn't your date, as she was too committed to her studies in business to pursue any relationship. Yet you convinced her that she could afford one night of joy, and she finally obliged--but only because you two were close friends. Otherwise, you would've had to drag her here kicking and screaming.

On paper, you two were listed as "partners", thus fulfilling the requirement to enter the building. While Moony somehow snuck in and hasn't been caught yet.

In truth, there was another member of her species here that you were hoping to ask out to prom....but unfortunately she was already taken by some random guy outside of your circle.

Ena was so excited about it, given how much she rambled and nervously asked for your opinion on the dress she had prepared, that you couldn't let her find out how disheartened you were upon hearing the news.

So you decided to go with ∃NA and introduce her to Moony. Her Salesperson side was taking the backseat for a while, as she got bored of doing inventory on random things and trying to pitch sales to uninterested attendees. For now, Meanie was here, mumbling and grumbling while chugging cups of code, wishing they were alcoholic.

"Say..I haven't seen that other Ena or her sleazeball of a "date" in a while." She huffed. "Something ain't right about that.."

"Yeah, I hear you.." Moony nodded in agreement. "I get nothing but bad vibes whenever I'm around that guy. Plus..he's kinda ugly. Why would she settle for that?"

"You say that about everyone, Moony." You chuckled, setting down your empty plate. "I'll see where she is and make sure she's alright. Don't kill each other over the last piece of turron while I'm gone."

"No promises." Meanie answered, immediately shooting the celestial entity beside her a look, which she returned in kind. "What, you oversized boulder? Got something to say?!"

"Woah there, lady. I'm a rock, thank you very much."

"Rock. Boulder. Stone....whatever!! It's all the same, ain't it?"

"Hahaaaa!! You're pretty cool, ya know that? I love your sass."

"...hmph. The feeling's mutual."

"....alright. I'll catch you guys later." You flashed a smile at them both, before heading off to search for your friend.

You prayed that Moony was wrong about the "bad vibes" that guy gave her, but usually she was correct about 99% of the time. Although you won't know for sure until you found her...

.......

It took awhile, and it felt like you were going on several different sidequests, but after asking around the gym, one attendee mentioned that they saw her running out the backdoor by herself.

That immediately worried you, and so you headed outside, where it was dark and particuarly chilly. The moment you clicked the door shut behind you, all of the music and chatter from the event went mute.

Not long after that, you heard two different noises fill the air.

They sounded like....glitched crying and sniffling?

'Oh no.' You didn't have to go very far to locate the source, as you eventually found Ena sitting alone on a bench illuminated by a single streetlight. Her back was turned to you, and she was sobbing loudly into her hands, static vomit scattered around the grass surrounding her.

It broke your heart deeply.

You felt terrible for even thinking about it, but somehow....you had a feeling that this exact scenario was going to play out.

She'd get her hopes up and believe she finally found someone who was nice to her. Someone who didn't judge her for her species....only to do the cruelest thing imaginable and leave her all alone again.

You didn't wanna believe it. You didn't wanna crush her happiness by warning her.

Now? You wish you did.

Quietly walking over to the bench, you sat down beside her. "Ena..." You rested a gentle hand on her shoulder, seeing the way she tensed up and immediately looked at you, tears flowing down the white half of her face. "What happened?"

"H-He...He used me to get into the pwom, [y/n]!!" She bawled. "He didn't wanna be seen wi...with "someone like me" and said I was huwting his weputation!! I should have known better...I-I'm too stupid and dense to think anyone would wanna go out with me! Why did I come here???? I SHOULD JUST GO HOME RIGHT NOW AND DIE!!! WOULD THAT MAKE HIM FEEL BETTER?!!!"

"No. Absolutely not. He's wrong about all of that." You brought her into a hug, and she buried her face into your chest, wailing and blubbering about how much she hated these social gatherings and listing every regret she had in life leading up to this moment.

Rubbing her back, you let her get it all out of her system, hoping she didn't go "full-sadness" on you.

The one time that happened, she was damn near inconsolable and ∃NA's Meanie side had to threaten her with violence to get her to calm down.

You didn't want it to come to that now, not over a broken heart of all things, but her skin was already turning light grey.

"He's a liar. And a total prick for treating you like a one-way ticket into this event. Anyone would be lucky to go out with you, Ena. I...I-I know I would be..." You muttered the last part quietly, your face growing a bit flushed.

Yet she heard you. "Bu...B-But you have ∃NA, don't you?" She mumbled depressingly, clinging to your [dress/suit]. "She's pwettier..more confident..isn't a jobless loser like me. You should go back to her and leave my misewable-self alone."

"You already know I'm not gonna do that, and besides...she's not actually my date."

"...wh..what..?"

"Yeah, we only had to present ourselves as a couple to enter. She didn't even want to come, but I insisted she took a break from her studies."

"S-So..you two are just...?"

"Friends. That's all. Nothing more. Honestly, I really wanted to ask you out before that guy did, and I was kicking myself for not speaking up sooner." The words spilled from your mouth before you could think. But you didn't care anymore. She needed to know.

It was enough to make her stop crying for the moment, as she looked up at you. "Really?"

"Mhm. Moony had a bad feeling about him. But you seemed so happy when you told me, and I thought...maybe he was a nice guy. So I let it go. Now I wish I hadn't...I'm sorry, Ena." You frowned slightly.

"No, it's...it's not your fault. I-I didn't listen, and...a-and now I'm a mess that you had to come clean up!!" She began sobbing again, falling back into your arms. "I wuined your night!! Like always...I'm sowwy..."

"No, honey. You didn't do anything wrong. The only one who ruined tonight was him." Shaking your head, you helped her sit up, brushing away the tears falling from her blue eye. You wish you could beat up that bastard for making her feel this way--like she was nothing--but you knew that's not what she'd want. It wouldn't solve anything.

"Come on. No man is worth your tears. He only cared about himself and his loser friends. He missed out on the chance to be with somebody as beautiful and kind as you. And I bet he's gonna regret ditching you every time he sees you in the halls."

Ena looked stunned by your words, sniffling as she tried to compose herself. Then you saw her face glitch back to its normal blue-yellow scheme, the former half still looking a bit sad. "I...have my doubts I'm either of those things. Did Moony put you up to this?" She squinted.

"Nah. She's mean sometimes, but she'd never stoop that low." You smiled, taking her hands into yours. "So before I forget...may I take you to prom and share at least one dance with you?"

She blinked in surprise. "R-Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes, really. The night's still young, and there's no line to re-register as a couple. But if you're not feeling up to it, we can go home. That's okay, too."

"No, no...this night shouldn't be spoiled by his ungentlemanly actions. Your words ring true." Her yellow half took over, smiling brightly as she threw her arms around you in a tight embrace. "Thank you for talking some much needed sense into me, [y/n]! I apologize for any distress I may have caused. I'll be your date! Absolutely!"

"Now there's the Ena I know." You laughed softly, hugging her back for a few moments before you both stood up and headed inside the building hand-in-hand.

Already people were gathered on the dancefloor, moving and swaying to the beat of the vaporwave music playing over the DJ's speakers.

Moony and ∃NA were still by the food tables, laughing together as if they've known each other all their lives, only to fall silent as they spotted you and Ena together in the center.

They glanced at each other once, and exchanged brief smiles, understanding what had happened and being glad she was with you and not that prick anymore.

Ena saw her celestial friend give her a wink, and her fellow polygonal entity raising a toast, causing her face to burn with a slight blush.

"Don't worry about them."

Feeling your hands grasping hers gently, all of her attention was redirected to you and your face. "Let's get through this one dance, alright?"

Without another word, she smiled back and nodded, allowing you to lead the way, focusing on nobody else but you and your footsteps.

You both ended up staying for a few songs, and it was a wonderful experience.

This night started off horribly, with someone who didn't think twice about abandoning her, and ended with someone else---the one who truly and deeply cared about her.

That was you.

it was you the whole time.

How silly of her to not realize that sooner.

[theendorisit]

apropos of nothing, I made Tape-E

Who is Tape-E?

During one of the TMA livestreams (trying to remember which one), a fan question was asked ‘Is there a mascot (for the Archives or the show itself not sure)?’ One of the team suggested ‘Tape-y?’, to which everyone else responded with ‘Oh no!!’. So I thought, oh yes! So yeah, this is your fault 😘

What is Tape-E?

As Mr Bonzo is a parody of Mr Blobby, Tape-E is a parody of Clippy (these last two names rhyme).

Who is Clippy?

Clippy was a microsoft office assistant, introduced in 1997. He was a little virtual paperclip (officially called Clippit, but that name never caught on) who sat on the bottom right corner of the page, and was programmed to give advice in popup speech bubbles when certain actions were taken. For example, if you wrote out an address and ‘Dear’, Clippy would say ‘Looks like you’re writing a letter. Would you like help?’. The name Tape-E in the livestream seemed to be referring to Clippy, as there are many similarities in the behaviour of Clippy, and the actual tapes/ tape recorders in-universe:

always on by default

appears at inconvenient times

provides help you do not want

hated by (mostly) everyone

watching you with cold dead eyes

enjoyed by nostalgia and retro seekers

Why make Tape-E?

As I am of the same generation as some of the RQ peeps, I unironically loved Clippy and Mr Blobby as a child, and it gives me great joy to imagine, in the TMP universe, Sam getting a little pop up: ‘Looks like you’re trying to code a case file! Would you like some help with that?’ In our world this would be impossible - Windows NT (as the official name) was dropped in 1996, one year before Clippy was born, BUT there is voice recording on TMP’s ancient computers, so it’s not totally impossible! 😅😁

What are cassette tapes?

Just a little recap for those who didn’t grow up with tapes: Cassette Tapes contain information embedded in magnetic tape, wrapped around one spool and attached to a second spool. When played, the spools are turned by the machine and the magnetic tape is wound onto the other spool, the information read out through speakers as the magnetic tape moves through sensors. As the magnetic tape can contain different information depending on the direction of tape movement, you can flip the cassette tape over in the machine, and play the tape again, hearing another load of information. This concept is never utilised in the show, but it does mean that cassette tapes have A-sides, and B-sides (as Vinyl records do). Here, of course, this stands for Archivist-side, and Brutalpipemurder-side. On occasion, the magnetic tapes would become damaged, or bent, and could be pushed out of the cassette, causing a horrible noise, and terror to small children who were only trying to listen to their Just William tapes. When this happened, a pencil (or in my case, my little finger) could be jammed into the spiky spool ‘teeth’, to rewind the magnetic tape back into the cassette. Maybe that’s why the eyes are red? 🩸 I am very glad that the TMA tapes are magic, and record endlessly, never need flipping, and never get chewed up by the hungry machine.

Why is the name Tape-E?

Canon answer: the name stands for Tape-Eyes. Possibly Tape-Entity? Undecided.

Actual answer: Tape-y, Tapey and Tapie spellings look weird to me. I think Tape-E looks best.

Why a tape and not a tape recorder?

if you can crochet a tape recorder, you’re a genius and I love you.

What gender is Tape-E?

I might refer to Tape-E as male sometimes because that’s how people often referred to Clippy. But Tape-E is whatever gender Tape-E feels like being.

Why now?

Why not? also now is a good time because TMP episode 15 is an excellent episode

What’s going to happen to Tape-E?

I’m going to gift it to Jonny sometime, if we get more liveshows or book signings. It’s his fault this exists after all. Plus you can write whatever you like in the speech bubbles! Hopefully I can give it calmly? But maybe Tape-E will be yeeted in his general direction in a fit of ADHD-fuelled social anxiety. Only time will tell.

Tape-E is a pattern and design created entirely by myself. The inspiration and world building from whence it came, is entirely the genius of @jonnywaistcoat Jonny Sims, Rusty Quill @rqbossman and The Magnus Archives, which is a podcast distributed by Rusty Quill and licensed under a creative commons attribution, non-commercial share alike 4.0 international license.

Clippy was invented by Microsoft and Kevan Atteberry, who now illustrates children’s books.

Mr Blobby is an adorable abomination, created from a fevered mind.

[threewaysdivided]

New Desktop Dash, No Bueno

Okay so, new dash layout on desktop.

As seems to be a common reaction: not a fan.

Let's talk about some of the issues:

1. Really visually cluttered

The new sidebar crowds out the dashboard content and the bright blue popup notifications (now at the side AND top) and create-post bar pull your eyes in different directions. There is no space for the eye to rest on anymore - it's all noise. The end result is that everything flattens - there's no focal point anymore.

It's also pretty overwhelming - even for someone like me - so I can't imagine it would be very user-friendly to someone who was photosensitive or struggled with visual overload (especially when paired with the high-contrast 'true blue' default site palette and animated icons for the changes-on-tumblr/staff-picks/trending buttons).

2. The activity pop-up now covers dashboard content

This is really bad from a usability standpoint. In the old layout the activity pop-up used to drop down over the recommended blogs sidebar. Now it actively gets in the way of looking at core content. The dash is why we are here, burying it like this is baffling.

The search bar now drops down over the recommended blogs banner instead, but where the old design had non-critical space on each side of the dashboard to visually allow both features to pop in, this new layout is way worse for efficiency. And for what? Having a rarely-used former drop-down menu now permanently active? The old banner with quick-links for the key use-features (notes, messages, askbox) made much more design sense.

It also means that the activity pop-up gets now completely covered by the blog pop-up that opens when you click the notification, so double demerit there. 0/10.

3. It's harder to navigate to the activity page, and the new page-stretch means you can't see new notes without scrolling down

That first bit is kind of a nitpick but cramming the 'See everything' link down at the bottom of a browser window isn't a great navigation choice. (Again, the visual signifiers and eye-direction in this new design are incredibly poor.)

That the main activity page now requires you to scroll to even see the top note due to the new display ratio is really egregious. It makes another key site feature just slightly less convenient and accessible in a very irritating way. Bad choice.

4. The new ratio pushes the Radar and Main Sponsored slot completely off-screen

This one is directed the tumblr staff: that's also a bad choice, guys. That's your main ad-slot for people loading into Tumblr so hiding it is going to hurt both your ad-impressions and your ability to promote the ad-free option. The new layout ratio also means that the in-dash ads are going to be a lot more invasively screen-filling - and let's be real most users will either add-block or leave before purchasing ad-free. I have no idea what the new layout is trying to achieve but if ad optimisation is the goal then this ain't it, chief.

To be honest I cannot comprehend the rationale for this change. I guess it's visually a bit more like Twitter... but that site is currently being demolished from the inside by poor management decisions so maybe it's not the best aesthetic to be aping.

Well then, what do?

Okay so, new dash bad. And so, in true Tumblr spirit: we complain. However, to get results we must deploy the art of kvetching productively.

If you want the old dash back (or at least, a better new-dash design that corrects some of these big weaknesses) what you should do is head over to https://www.tumblr.com/support and lodge a feedback ticket pointing out the problems. The more users who do that, the more likely you are to see an effective response.

Remember, tagging @staff and @support in posts won't fix this. There's no guarantee they'll see it among the notes barrage.

Also: please don't be rude or abusive when you lodge tickets. Whoever is manning those blogs and inboxes probably isn't the person who forced through this change. Save an intern, be polite.

Go forth in disgruntlement to keep this hellhole a hellhome.

[fuck-customers]

I can tolerate helping customers with technology things that are specific to my store. Such as how to connect to the wifi (you have request to connect on your settings and then a popup will appear that asks you to put in your email + name to use the wifi. I just tell people to put "No No no@no.com" It is admittedly slightly complex) or how to navigate the store's website. It can get annoying and repetitive, but I can tolerate it because these are things that are specific to my job/store, so the general public would not organically know these things.

However it is not part of my job, nor will I make it part of my job to teach you how to use your own phone, including, but not limited to:

-walking you through step-by-step on how to access a website. And I mean "go to your browser. Well what browser so you have on your phone? Firefox? Chrome? Chrome is the one that looks like the Simon game. Firefox has a fox on the logo, hence the name. Ok go to the address bar. The address bar at the top of the page. That long horizontal white rectangle at the top of the page. The TOP of the page." Etc etc

-walking you through how to download an app in the same fashion as the above bullet. If you don't know what the app store is, you don't get the coupon. Sorry. I'm entirely too burnt out for this shit.

-straight up handling YOUR phone??? Hello? Do not hand me your phone. I don't know you or where you or your phone have been. I will not be touching it.

-similar to the last point: taking a screenshot/teaching you how to take a screenshot on YOUR phone? I'm not a tech wiz, but I think it's different based on what make+model of phone you have and I can't tell what kind of phone it is just by looking at it. And more importantly, I don't want to, nor do I get paid enough to.

-what your password is?? For your app or email? How the actual fuck am I supposed to know that? I don't even know you, but I somehow know your password? Based on the intelligence you're currently displaying, I would assume your password must be "ABCD1234"

There's probably more that I'm forgetting. I could kind of understand these if I was a tech support person or worked in a technology-based store, but I work in a regular ass store. The only connection we have to technology is that we have registers and phones in the store.

On iPhone The address bar is on the bottom in Safari.

But seriously I tell them I am not allowed to touch their phone per company policy. If they ask why that's a policy (and for some reason they all do) I say "a cashier once dropped the customers phone and the store won't pay to repair it, so to keep that from happening again we are not allowed to touch it."

C: "but the last one did it for me."

Me: If they want to break policy and risk their job that's on them but I can't afford to get fired."

-Rodney

[quillneriine]

Beneath the Surface

D-16 is desperate. Due to his inability to transform and his easily-exhausted condition, he can't quite hold down easy security mech jobs. When he receives a strange idea to apply to the Iaconian Archives through a dream, he finds himself meeting the eccentric head archivist, Orion Pax. Pax though… He knows more about Dee than the mech could possibly ever imagine.

Me: You can't keep writing fics that only a few people will understand Also me: well watch me do exactly that

So uh yeah, this came about because we talked about the Primes being eldritch beings over at the OPMeg server and I just went ham with it lmao. Plus, I should write about OPMeg considering that was the whole point of me writing fanfics in the first place lmao.

Also, because I cannot be stopped, D-16 is still a Primatronus child here. Optimus, on the other hand, is Alpha Trion's child with another Prime who I shall not name cause to be fair he was not mentioned here at all lmao.

So yeah, enjoy me going crazy in this fanfic because I needed to write this (even though I should be resting because it's the weekend lmao.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63873463

next

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Megatron.”

D-16 jumped, helm snapping upwards to meet blue optics glowing from within the darkness of the head archivist’s office. The chill - which seemed to emanate from the archive’s very walls - sunk deep into his frame, but he refused to shudder as he took a single step forward. His yellow optics stared straight ahead, forcing down the popups in his HUD that screamed ‘danger.’

“Thank you, head archivist, but my designation isn’t Megatron.” He stopped in front of the barren metal desk, a part of his processor wondering why the head archivist would not have any datapads on it. He let out a small vent. “Were you… expecting anyone else?” A momentary spark of fear jumped within his spark, which was ridiculous since Dee knew that he would have to compete with other mechs for the job position.

But it had been astroweeks since his last freelance security work, and he needed a stable full-time position. It was all he could do not to break down and beg.

And he would rather offline than suffer that indignation.

“Huh? What are you—” The head archivist cut himself off, and an awkward silence engulfed the room. 

Dee tried not to fidget as he turned his helm slightly to the side, wishing that the room had any light source. Unfortunately, as the secretary had mentioned, the office was nearly covered in shadow - the only source of light filtering through the door panels that led to the hall, and the head archivist’s blue optics that seemed to scour his entire face.

“Oh, right… Sorry, so much information, you know?”

Dee didn’t know what the head archivist meant, but he laughed along with him when the other mech chuckled. 

“So! D-16… Hm, I still think… Well, you’ll get used to it later. So, D-16… No… Okay, I’m going to call you Dee.” Before he could protest, the other mech continued on. “Congratulations, you’re hired!”

Dee felt his fans kick up, his processor trying to catch up with the other mech’s words. He didn’t understand what just happened, but he wasn’t going to ruin this. “R-really? Thank you, sir. I promise I’ll work twice as hard as any other security mech—”

“Oh, you don’t have to push yourself, Dee! I want you to be comfortable with me— I mean, comfortable in the job.” He heard a noise from within the darkness, those blue optics disappearing momentarily as the head archivist shifted. “It’s a full-time job since you’ll be my personal security, but I promise that you don’t have to do anything, just stand there and look— Uh, I mean, stand guard beside me.”

“...Personal security?” He felt his spark sink inside his chassis.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s not a hard job. I rarely leave the archives so we’ll mostly stay here—”

Dee supposed he should have expected the catch. 

While he was desperate for full-time work, he couldn’t handle full-time personal security. After looking through many job applications, Dee has come to understand that such work usually meant that he had to stay near his employer. To any other mech, a full-time job that had live-in benefits would be a dream, but that was not what Dee wanted. 

“I’m sorry, sir. I don’t think I’m fit for this position.”

“And I’ll be a great conju— boss. Wait what?”

Dee let out another vent, turning his face away so that the head archivist wouldn’t see his embarrassment.

It was his own fault.

Who decides to send their resume because of a dream they had?

It was just an incredible coincidence that Dee had sent his resume at the same time that the head archivist was searching for security personnel, but Dee should have looked through the job requirements instead of impulsively sending a message.

This is why he planned because he didn’t want to embarrass himself like this.

“I can’t, sir. I’m sorry, I… I sent my resume on a whim without checking the job requirements. I really can’t do this. I’m sorry for wasting your time.”

Without another glance behind him, Dee tried to quickly rush towards the door panels.

It was times like these that he felt so uncomfortable in his own frame.

It didn’t help that his pedes were beginning to hurt after running through the archive to file forms for the job. Pair that with the long walk from the Kaon district to the main center of Iacon, and Dee’s frame was beginning to suffer from exhaustion.

Before the door panels could slide open, a blue servo slammed itself against the wall beside his helm. Dee jumped back, weapon systems nearly activating before he realized that it was only the head archivist. With his back turned to the door panels, he felt trapped though he could tell that the head archivist was at the same height as him. Those blue optics stared straight at him.

Maybe he felt fear because despite being close to the door, Dee still couldn’t see the head archivist’s frame, as if the shadows were cloaking him—

“You’re perfect for the job though.” 

Dee would have laughed at how the other mech whined, but his spark was thrumming too much in his chassis.

He choked out, “I’m flattered, sir, but you don’t have to lie. My resume warned you about my… condition. It’s a good offer but I can’t do this work for the entire solar and lunar cycle. And… I can’t move to the archives to accommodate you. My carer—”

The head archivist must have known about his condition. Dee had no choice but to put it in his profile.

This was why he could never hold down a full-time position for too long.

Who wanted a security mech who couldn’t transform and easily exhausted?

But the head archivist should have already known that.

The closest excuse he had, and it wasn’t an excuse because Dee would never have agreed to any full-time job with a live-in position even without his condition, was that he didn’t want to leave the home that his carer had raised him in.

Terminus may not have been Dee’s real sire or carrier, but he could not abandon the old mech and the memories they’d had. The old mech may have offlined cycles ago, but Dee refused to leave their home.

The reason he was so desperate for work was because the rent was due, and he needed the shanix.

He was sure the head archivist could pay him well, and the live-in benefits were great, but that wasn’t what Dee needed.

Slowly, as though forming from the shadows themselves, a face neared his.

Dee could feel his cheekplates rush with energon.

The head archivist was… pretty.

His voice box let out a small burst of static as he glanced away. “I’m sorry, but I need the job to keep my carer’s house, and if you need a security mech that’s with you constantly then I can’t—”

“But your house is so faaaar.” The head archivist whined, and Dee’s optics widened as the other mech used his other servo to cage him in. “I want you to be comfortable but I can’t have you making that trip every solar cycle. How am I going to impress your creators if I let you suffer that way?” “What?” The fear had given way to confusion now. He reached a servo to grasp at the other mech’s arm, wanting to push the head archivist away from him. “Listen, I don’t know what this is, but if you think you can intimidate me.”

As soon as his servo wrapped around the other mech’s arm, a jolt of electricity surged through his frame, and he let out a scream. He felt his frame shudder as another presence made itself known inside his processor. Servos grasped at him, and no matter how hard he tried to summon his cannon, he couldn’t get his weapons system to activate.

“No, no, I already ruined our first meeting… It’s okay, Optimus, you can still turn this whole thing around.” He felt himself be lowered gently onto the ground, the head archivist’s frame settling right on top of him. “If you remember this later, please don’t tell your sire what I did. I haven’t quite mastered scrambling processors, but I promise this won’t hurt… I hope… Primus, I hope it doesn’t.”

He felt cables latch against the sides of his helm, and Dee let out a scream.

The last he heard before his systems shutdown was the head archivist crooning down at him.

“It’s okay, Megatron. I’ll take care of you.”

—

Dee scrolled through the datapad, though the words didn’t register in his processor as his yellow optics kept flicking towards Pax.

Sunlight poured in from the windows, brightening the head archivist’s office, though if asked Dee might say that the sunlight was nothing compared to Pax’s bright smile.

He turned his gaze away as soon as those blue optics looked up at him, embarrassed to have been caught staring. It was difficult not to though, not when Pax was only a table away from him. 

He let out a vent, which he really shouldn’t have because that made Pax jolt from his seat, his own datapad nearly flying from his servos.

“What’s wrong? Do your pedes hurt? You could go back to your quarters if you want—”

“Pax, I’m your bodyguard.” He rolled his optics, placing his own datapad on Pax’s desk. He leaned his back against the soft back of his chair. “And we haven’t moved from your office since we got here. I’m fine.”

It endeared him, really, that Pax despite being his employer - though Pax insisted they were friends - cared so much for his comfort. In his previous work experiences, he had to stand by his former employers for joors on end. At the end of most solar cycles, he could hardly feel his pedes by the time he went home. Pax had refused to let him stand when there wasn’t a reason for it.

Dee had protested the plush chair that Pax had ordered specifically for him, but that was short-lived.

All it really took for him to agree was Pax suddenly carrying him and gently placing him down on said chair.

Now, he didn’t doubt that Pax couldn’t handle himself. But Dee was a bulky mech, and he really didn’t expect Pax was capable of actually carrying him.

He did not want a repeat of that incident again.

“If you say so, Dee.” With great hesitation, Pax sat back down, blue optics still focused on him. “If you want a break though—”

“I’m fine.” He could feel an ache starting in his processor. Dee can only hope that Pax dropped this. Once Pax got started on something, it was difficult to stop him.

If he wanted Dee to rest more, he would insist until Dee finally went into recharge.

If he wanted Dee to have a meal with him, he’d insist until Dee was eating energon with him at the roof of the archives.

If he wanted Dee to sell his carer’s house and move in with him then—

“You know, I’ve been thinking about you…” He glanced up, and Pax’s cheekplates lit up with energon as he realized how that sounded. “I mean, I’ve been thinking about your condition and—”

“Pax, you’re one of the most brilliant mechs in Iacon, but you’re not a medic.” Dee laughed, shaking his helm as he lowered his optics. “I appreciate it but you should stick to being an archivist.”

A part of him did not want Pax anywhere near the medical bay.

For the sake of Cybertronians everywhere, Orion Pax should never become a medic.

Sweet as the gesture was, and Dee could feel his spark thrum at the thought of it, Pax could spend his time researching on much easier subjects.

There was nothing he could do for Dee.

Dee had never felt comfortable in his own frame.

Since he’d first gained sentience, a part of him always felt wrong.

Terminus had loved him despite it but Dee could never erase the unbearable itch deep within his frame and buried underneath the wires. It was within his code.

There had always been something terribly wrong.

The countless medics that Terminus had managed to scrap enough shanix to send him to couldn’t find the source for his condition.

There had been nothing like it in the medical databases.

Bots who couldn’t transform did exist, but that usually happened due to missing or malfunctioning t-cogs. Dee’s was completely fine, but no matter what he did, he was just unable to turn into any other alt mode.

As for his unexplained exhaustion and aching pedes if he stood or walked for far too long, they couldn’t find a reason since most of his systems were in perfect working order.

They didn’t know how to fix him.

Dee had spent a long part of his life accepting that.

It didn’t make his life easy, but it made it hurt less.

He was created differently, and he learned to live with that.

“Okay, but Dee… Just hear me out.” He shook his helm, breaking away from the thoughts in his processor just as Pax slid his datapad towards him. 

Dee caught it, optics scanning quickly at the screen before he gave Pax a disbelieving look.

The head archivist gave him a cheeky grin, as though what he just showed Dee wasn’t the craziest theory he’s ever heard in his life, and Dee has had to talk to many medics in his life.

“Merformers.” He could feel his processor begin to ache. Maybe he did need that break. “Pax… merformers are… myths. I know I told you I’m a fan of the Prime mythologies but this is—”

“Oh come on! Just think about it, Dee!” Pax suddenly lunged forward.

Dee couldn’t help but jump, though he didn’t leave his seat.

Sometimes, he couldn’t help but think that Pax moved… weirdly.

As though the metal of his frame was… shifting in ways that no mech’s frame should move. He was quick in ways that sometimes made Dee need to process that Pax had moved at all.

“Just read it, okay?” 

He let out a vent, trying to ignore Pax’s pout, but it was too late.

He glanced down at the datapad in his servo, shaking his helm. Why did he feel so compelled to do what Pax wanted? They had only known each other for a few astroweeks and yet…

Dee’s yellow optics followed the sharp sketches of merformers on the datapad.

He did know a few facts about them, mostly because he was interested in the Prime mythologies and his favorite among them was Megatronus - who had been described to be a leviathan.

“Okay, Pax, but I am not a merformer. There are no such beings like that in Cybertron.” He laughed, the sound seemingly captivating Pax who had moved past his table and had settled right next to Dee. The chair he had ordered was big enough to fit two mechs, a fact that Pax exploited since if he could help himself, he would insist on sitting right next to Dee all the time.

The head archivist grinned, blue optics seemingly brighter than the sunshine as he settled his chin against Dee’s shoulder pads.

“I don’t know, Dee. I think you’ll find that some myths are based on history.” He tried to keep his optics on the datapad, but it was hard when Pax was leaning against him.

His processor felt fuzzy.

“Just trust me, okay?” He could feel Pax’s grin against the side of his neck cables. “I know.”

He didn’t know why, but he felt his optics shut down as he slowly began to fall into recharge.

“...Dee? OH, NOT AGAIN!”

—

“Ughhh, it’s so unfair!” Optimus let out a vent, his frame collapsing against the metal table as he closed his optics.

The lunar cycle had begun, and the entirety of the archives had settled back into darkness. Aside from a few of the security mechs that roamed the premises and Megatron who had gone to recharge far too earlier than intended, Optimus was completely alone. Carefully, he felt his frame begin to shift, releasing the cables and wires that he was forced to tuck inside too-tight metal during the solar cycle.

The cables quickly latched onto the ground and onto the walls, his processor whirring happily as he felt himself be connected once again to the archives - and to his carrier, Alpha Trion.

‘Patience, Primeling. I adore your energy, but I warned you not to get so attached so easily, not when Megatron is still unaware of who he is.’

“But how could I not? I know him!” ‘In the dreams, my Primeling. Dreams he does not remember yet.’

Optimus let out a groan, feeling the top of his helm unlatch as the wires in his processor latched onto the metal table.

It wasn’t great to be his Cybertronian alt form, but he doubted that Megatron - or Dee as he apparently went by - would react calmly if he saw Optimus’ real form.

No, he could save that for when they were closer… like maybe when they were conjunxes…

‘Primeling, you will have to wait a few more cycles for that. Then there is the matter of Prima—’

“Megatron adores me, I’m sure his creators will feel the same.” 

Especially since Optimus would be bringing him back to them soon.

He enjoyed the few astroweeks he had spent with Megatron, but he knew it couldn’t last long.

It was a coincidence really.

Optimus hadn’t even meant to stumble into Megatron’s dreams, but as his carrier had been tutoring him on entering Cybertronian’s processors, he had been drawn to Megatron’s immediately.

Alpha Trion’s presence had been with him, and it was his carrier who had realized who Megatron really was.

While his carrier couldn’t do anything for Megatron, Optimus could.

It had taken a long time, but Optimus had finally managed to get Megatron to remember one dream, to convince him to come to the archives so that Optimus could watch over him until he could bring him back to his creators.

But since it had taken so long, Optimus had come to… know Megatron through his dreams.

How could he not love him after a lifetime spent within those dreams?

Which is why it would be so difficult to let Megatron go, now that everything was prepared. Optimus had found a good route to get Megatron into the energon lake. It had taken a few processor scramblings but he got the path cleared. By the time the senate realized that there had been a breach, it would be too late. 

Optimus can only hope that this time the senate didn’t decide to take Megatron out of the lake because they got lucky the first time, as his carrier said.

The senate was lucky they hadn’t woken Prima or Megatronus (or even both!) when they had removed Megatron from the smaller lake inside the mountain Prima was currently in.

“You don’t think Megatronus would wake up once I…”

“He will, but he will not harm you. He will return to stasis once he understands there is no immediate threat.”

“So can I introduce myself—”

“Let them have their reunion, my Primeling. You have spent your time with Megatron, and you will have more time.”

Optimus rolled his optics, a frown settling on the dermas of the face he wore during the solar cycle. His real face was hidden underneath the wires and cables, and it didn’t quite have dermas.

“After so many cycles of waiting. I can’t even visit him in dreams after this because his creators will be there.” He let out another vent.

“Cycles will pass by quickly. Until then, there is much information to be archived and processed.”

At least Optimus had that to look forward to. It was his life’s passion, his very being.

That’s why he enjoyed playing the role of head archivist even if he didn’t really need to. 

His carrier had chosen to become Iacon’s archive, and Optimus could have remained within the walls himself, but he wanted to understand the Cybertronians closely. It was why he’d created and used his Cybertronian alt even if it felt wrong.

He wondered how Megatron could live like that, living underneath a frame that wasn’t right.

But, he’d never had the chance to know his real form.

At the thought of it, Optimus felt his wires rattle against the floor and the walls.

“What’s wrong, my Primeling?”

“I’m just thinking of Megatron.” He could feel himself shudder, and if he didn’t contain himself, it could cause a major disturbance among the databases. Optimus tried to force himself to calm down. “It must hurt, right?”

“Yes, and so it is necessary he be returned to where he belongs.”

Optimus could understand why his carrier was insistent about it. 

Aside from the Primes being close, even after millions of years under stasis, his carrier had a secret that Optimus knew - though Alpha Trion probably never wanted him to know.

When Optimus had first emerged, a Cybertronian had found him hiding deep within the archives, a sparkling seemingly abandoned.

He had nearly been taken out of the archives before his carrier had realized what was happening and had… intervened.

He wondered what his life would have been like if his carrier hadn’t saved him in time.

Would he be like Dee?

Optimus shook the thought away, immersing himself instead on the limitless information within the archives.

This was why he needed to bring Megatron back.

Even though he hated that he’d have to be away from his future conjunx - a fact that Optimus had decided would happen a long time ago in one of their many dream adventures - it was the right thing to do.

Besides, when the solar cycle comes that the Thirteen Primes are awakened once more from their stasis, they’ll have eternity to spend together.

And maybe by that time, Megatron can finally love him back.

—

The stars greeted him as he opened his optics.

A haziness had sunk into his processor.

He could hardly feel his frame.

The floor beneath him shifted, as though the ground itself was moving. 

A familiar face blocked out the night sky.

“Pax…?”

“You’re supposed to be in recharge, Megatron.” The other mech let out a soft vent, reaching down with a servo. He felt the chill of it against his cheekplate, and Dee couldn’t help but lean his helm into it. “I wanted this to be a surprise but… it’s my fault, you got used to the processor scramblings.”

“What…?”

Pax leaned closer, servos reaching for his arms as he felt himself be hauled up and leaned against the side of… his optics reset, and it took him a while to realize where they were. Even underneath the darkness of the lunar cycle, Dee could see the moving waves as the large body of energon they were on shifted.

“Don’t freak out! I mean, you should be happy, you’re finally going home!” Pax went on as a fear began to settle in Dee’s spark. “Well not yet, but once I get you into the lake then you’ll be okay!”

“Pax, no— What are you doing?!” He could feel the strain in his voice box as the other mech began to push him backwards. Stray splashes from the energon lake hit the back of his frame, and… Dee can’t lie, it did feel familiar but—

“It’s okay! It’ll be okay!” Pax’s voice wavered, his blue optics - bright, always so bright in the darkness - widening as he continued to push Dee off the boat.

Panic and rage began to settle in, but like before (Before? He didn’t know why but he’d done this before, right?), he couldn’t access his weapon system.

“I’ll miss you, Alpha Trion said it might take cycles before we meet again but I’ll wait for you. Maybe then you’ll remember all those dream adventures we went on.” Pax grinned, and this time Dee could feel the lake fully against the top of his helm.

Pax’s servos were latched onto his waist plates.

All he needed to do now was let go.

Dee choked out more static, his voice box whirring wildly as he struggled to grasp onto the side of the boat. “PAX! P-PUT ME DOWN! This isn’t funny! I don’t.. I don’t know how to swim!”

Because this had to be a joke, a sick joke.

Pax wanted to test his ridiculous merformer theory and Dee just had to go along with his stupid antics.

But this wasn’t stupid anymore.

Instead of being apologetic, of feeling ashamed for pushing Dee into one of his crazy schemes again, Pax only smiled down at him.

“You do. You always did.”

Then, as if to apologize, Pax leaned closer and pressed a soft kiss against the side of his helm.

Then he let go.

And all Dee felt was the cold energon engulf his entire frame.

It was…

Comforting.

.

.

.

.

.

.

As he sunk deeper into the lake, large blue optics emerged from the deep gloom.

[good-chimes]

Cub takes over the Permit Office

A short textual recap of the Succession-style coup Cub just carried out (Timestamp: Grian s10 e21 14:40-29:30)

Grian, Scar and Skizz all receive a mysterious summons to a disciplinary hearing to discuss ‘restructuring’ at the Permit Office.

Scar and Skizz turn up thinking they’re in trouble with Grian. Grian, who has received two warnings for completely unfair reasons like ‘not doing his job’, knows he’s in trouble with Mysterious HQ Person (Grian, terrified but curious: Is it Doc??).

Waiting nervously, all three of them agree that their collective efforts are a shambles, a mild blame game ensues, also a horse is here and they can’t kill it because Judge Bdubs would object.

A flying figure approaches.

To Grian and Skizz’s surprise and Scar’s delight, it’s Cub.

Cub times his slow-falling potions to sink slowly and dramatically to the ground in a completely horizontal position. (Cub: Hello, boys) (Scar: Hello, God!)

Cub has a red tie and a gold name tag and performs an immediate show of dominance by taming the horse and handing out golden apples.

Scar: yeah that horse was—

Cub: it’s my horse now

Grian, eating the apple: He’s trying to butter us up. Skizz, don’t eat the apples.

Cub: Grian, I have some excellent news for you, my friend. You’re fired.

Grian: I’m what—

Cub: And also rehired! To a lesser position.

Grian: So I’m, what, assistant permit manager?

Cub: assistant TO the permit manager.

Cub: that’s me.

Cub: I’m sorry you had to find out this way

Grian: [into his hands] I’m so relieved I hate this job so much

Grian: IT’S NOT FUN AND I CAN’T CONTROL IT. LOOK AT THE SHOPPING DISTRICT. THERE’S POP UP SHOPS EVERYWHERE.

Grian: even I’ve got a pop up shop!!

Cub: Grian and I share a similar sentiment, which is that the permits shouldn’t exist

Cub: which is why we both have these jobs

Scar: But… but it was you two who came up with the idea of permits in the first place!

Cub: yeah

Cub: but you were supposed to enforce it

At this point it should be noted Cub has variously a) claimed he's been sent by the higher ups and he didn't want to do this but, boys, he has to, b) claimed he is one of the higher ups, c) claimed he's 'quite high up but not so much' d) vehemently denied that there exists anyone who has a fancier name tag than he does

Cub forces them into an immediate tour of the shopping district

There really are pop up shops everywhere

Cub: Alright, here's some TNT.

Grian: er! wait! I dunno—!

Cub: What.

Grian: Maybe we should give people some warning?

Cub: Hm

Scar: We did! We have a thing! I built a redstone countdown clock! [waves at the contraption of stacked red-yellow-white pillars he spent several weeks on]

Grian: Scar, that HASN'T MOVED SINCE YOU BUILT IT

Scar: It does move! It's just going slowly!

Cub: We need to move faster.

Scar: I can adjust it. This is 2024 advanced redstone. I can change it. [flies off]

Skizz: Can he really—

Grian, resigned: He's just going to mine it. [Scar mines it]

Skizz: Can I take a shot at him?

Cub: Fire away, Skizz

Grian: I'm not sure about this new management!

Meanwhile Cub has been contemplating the nearest popups in a critical way.

Cub: I'm going to be honest, I'm part of this glass collective, and even I want to see this one blown up.

Grian: Look, boss, what if we put a big billboard up that says 'Pop up purge'... certain date.

Cub: Hm.

Cub: That's very reasonable. I was just going to blow stuff up, but if you want to do that, I think it's a good choice.

Grian: How much time are you giving them, boss?

Skizz: Well, that's what the timer was—

Scar: I HAVE A TIMER! IT'S COUNTING DOWN!

Cub: We want to do this lickety-split. Let's go two weeks.

Grian: [repeating to himself under his breath] Two weeks!

Scar: I'll program the redstone!

Cub: You program it in, Scar. Grian, you make the billboard. Skizz…

Skizz: Yeah?

Cub: …you keep on keeping on, baby.

Cub: You've been the background of this whole operation, Skizz.

Skizz now dramatically attempts to get them to a high point so they can look at the layout of the shopping district, a simple task stymied only by the fact Scar and Grian both refuse to take any instructions unless they come from Cub

Cub then orders that pop up shops will be confiscated to Scar and Skizz's enforcement office. Grian very curious about the punishment for permit violations. Scar suggests banishing violators to the far reaches by Doc's 'shooty-offy cannon'. Cub approves this exile penalty enthusiastically.

Cub: Alright.

Grian: There's a storm comin'.

Scar: [looks up at the blue sky] Really?

Skizz: Us. He means us.

Grian: It's more like a moderate breeze.

Skizz: Well, that's official, we're under new management! And the tone I’m getting is that Rub-a-Dub-Cub is not messin’ around.

Cub: You guys gotta get to it.

[Actual in-game storm starts]

Grian: There is a storm coming.

Scar: A storm of pain!

Grian: [to Cub] I'm so relieved. I couldn’t keep control of any of this.

Cub: It's alright, Grian. [PEAL OF IN-GAME THUNDER] We'll keep people in line.

Grian: It feels like the permit office has taken a really dark turn

Cub: Nah, it'll be fine. People will care about their permits! [MORE THUNDER] People will comply :)

[whereispearlescentmoon]

Speak your mind on the permits and we shall listen

Buckle up for this. If you liked the permits do not read this post. It will make you upset. Don’t upset yourself for no reason. All of this is my opinion. I’m also going to be referring to some Hermits’ specific actions. This is me seeing them role playing and engaging with it as a story. If you can’t see it as that, also don’t read this. There is no hate to creators involved in this post at all.

Overall I thought the Exile storyline was fun and it’s definitely been the best thing to come out of the permits. My problem isn’t with the storyline it created eventually but with the permits themselves.

My main gripe was that people had to build shops for things no one wanted when everyone knew it was stuff no one wanted and some of them were such small categories of item that they in no way warranted a full shop. The whole popup vs actual shop thing bothered me too. Why should someone have to make an entire building dedicated to selling hay bales or saddles or ink sacs when a “pop up” works just fine? Why should Hermits who know they aren’t going to sell anything have to make seperate shops for every item, because that was also part of the rules, when they could make smaller builds and put their efforts elsewhere?

Maybe it’s just because Pearl, who is my main POV, was actually diligent about making shops and keeping them stocked, but to me it just felt like too much work pulling away from getting to do other stuff. She spent like an hour every week on stream just tending to her shops. And then to have that incident of Skizz coming in and buy out all of her blue dye and then sending her a warning to stock more or face consequences? It was a little annoying.

It also severely limited the amount of diamonds certain Hermits were able to earn. Sure, if you’re Cleo, who gets to sell S tier books, it’s fine. But someone like, say, Joel, gets screwed.

And then there’s the whole price thing. If only one person can sell an item, then they set the price. And some of the Hermits were selling things for frankly insane prices because like, it’s not like there’s competition? Not to mention, Doc choosing to sell everything for shulkers of sand because again, he’s the only one who can sell what he’s selling, and because he wants payback for the fact that he’s not allowed to sand dupe this season.

And since you’ve made it so only one person can sell every item and anything else has to be some kind of shady work around deal, combined with the fact that some Hermits aren’t earning anything from shops, we get things like Joel stealing from False’s shop because he doesn’t think the price is fair and he can’t afford it.

It also lowkey bothered me just how hypocritical Scar and Grian were being. Maybe it would be different if I was someone who watched the two of them but knowing both of them weren’t following the rules but were still going around and killing people for minor infractions (or even no infraction at all), when both of them had unused permits they hadn’t turned over either was annoying to me. Yeah corrupt power and all that but still, with how much they both insisted that if people just turned over permits it wouldn’t be issue, they would just turn over their permits or give them away if they didn’t want them.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

The rollout of her products seems so manic and strange. I know you said you always thought she was going to release everything just ahead of the new podcast, but it still feels very rushed. I don’t understand why she sent those giant gift boxes and is having people post unboxing videos for products that are not available. I guess I also don’t understand why she sent a bunch of celeb friends strawberry jam a year ago when there wasn’t any actual product for her to sell. Do you think we’ll see a restock soon? That timing could be pretty telling…

The timing for a restock will absolutely be telling. If it’s pretty soon - like in the next week or two weeks, then this was a vanity PR exercise for attention.

If it takes longer, then I’d be more on the fence.

Because the thing is, all these celebs (like Academy Award winner Zoe Saldana), critical YouTube personalities like Neil Sean, and Sussex Squad loyalties are getting PR packages. So we do know there’s product. And probably Meghan used most of her product on PR packages for friends, celebs, media, and critics leaving very little for the real fans, hence the sellout in less than 30 minutes without the website crashing. I mean, Ticketmaster crashed twice for me during the Eras Tour sell dates. You’re telling me that As Ever had much more robust infrastructure than Ticketmaster?!

Anyway, woulda coulda shoulda with my advisor hat on, if I were in Meghan’s shoes:

In the “viral” video with Gwyneth Paltrow, I’d have us eating my own product, like smearing my own fruit spread on a piece of toast or dipping an apple slice or a cheese stick into my honey (because product placement sells).

Then I’d pull a Taylor Swift and invite 5 of my loyal Sussex Squaddies and 5 people who really loved WLM to my not-house for a little launch party where they can sample my products, I’ll make them my favorite treats, and we’ll social media the whole thing, and as parting gifts, they each get to take two PR kits home - one for themselves and one for someone who brings joy into their lives (or whatever mantra Meghan’s saying these days).

Then I’d announce a soft launch for my product line. “For two hours on Saturday or until supplies last, I’ll be at the X farmer’s market (or arts festival benefiting the Malibu fires or mall or wherever I can get a popup shop) with my new products. Come visit!” (I wouldn’t bring the whole shipment with me, just a decently-sized fraction that a sizable crowd would be satisfied with their purchase, enough so everyone can have a variety of options and enough that I/my team can see if there are products people are more interested in than others.

Then I’d announce an eCommerce Soft Launch to my newsletter subscribers: “I’m having a special preview sale of my new line! Limited supplies, reduced prices - and a special thank you from me!” (It’s a personalized fauxligraphy thank you note.) it’d be like a beta test of the website too, to see how it handles traffic.

Then I’d sit down and crunch all the data about my sales and feedback and order an appropriately-sized+25% for interest and word of mouth new shipment of everything.

Then I’d officially launch the website and my e-commerce sales and hope I’ve ordered enough to keep things stocked until my next shipment comes in. If I’ve ordered too much, then back to the craft shows and art festivals or more PR kits for my besties to flatter me with on social media.

[hansooyung]

hansooyung's coloring tutorial & ctiys: alma time! 🍒

hello everyone! though i've been meaning to for a while, i've finally gotten around to making my first manga coloring tutorial! i'll be going over cleaning panels and screentones, choosing base colors, and finally shading and lighting.

this will also be a color this in your style challenge, so if you're willing, feel free to post your colored panel and tag me in it!! i'd love to see all the results :)

find details under the cut! 🦋

DISCLAIMERS:

this is just how i personally color! i know for a fact that some of my other friends follow other methods and have such beautiful colorings <33

for colors specifically, i play around a LOT. if you don't like your color scheme for the time being, mess around with it! i don't use psds since i like to mess around by hand with color palettes, but maybe i'll look into it for the future.

i explain a lot just bear with me gang 🙏

TECHNICAL STUFF:

software: ibis paint x (on iphone). i use ibis since it is FREE for all phones and it worked on my chromebook as well.

while this tutorial is made for ibis paint x, everything works on other softwares except the brushes, which i've provided alternatives for below.

brushes: i will be using dip pen (hard) which is automatically included with ibis, and two other brushes i made myself which you can find here and here. for more brushes, @/bkdkdh was incredibly helpful and posted her awesome set here!

for other softwares, you can use similar brushes. dip pen (hard) can just be the default brush, while wet edges is just the default brush on lowered opacity (and more of a rectangle/marker shape?). watercolor pencil is a watercolor brush in the rectangle/marker shape as well. if you can't get the shape, you can always smudge your lines into shape as well, so don't fret too much! a bunch of people only use one brush for coloring everything (which is insane to me, personally, they are so talented!)

fun fact: the first brush listed that i made was originally called "aki tao watercolor smooth" 👍

ok here we go guys!!

STEP ONE: CLEANING THE PANEL

i think of this part as setting up the panel for coloring! usually it's pretty exhausting cuz it's all b&w but it's all worth it i swear. the panel i'll be coloring is this beautiful one of alma from chapter 2:

imgur link here (x)

a lot of people redraw their lines to avoid screentones, which is extremely helpful. however, i work on a phone and my fingers are not steady even with the stabilizer turned all the way up T~T. i do it this way, but a different (possibly easier) way may work for you!!!

your first step will be to remove all the white, giving us a transparent background to work with. THIS IS THE NUMBER ONE REASON WHY I USE IBIS PAINT X.

when you upload the image to ibis, a popup comes asking if you would like to "extract line drawing". this creates a lineart of your image. click yes, and your work is like 90% done.

if you're not on ibis, you can redraw your panel, put lineart layer on screen, etc. or you can just extract line drawing from ibis and upload to software of your choice

for those of you not on ibis, i've included the line drawing here (x) if it looks black, don't worry and set your background to white.

omg i was not kidding when i said i explained a lot. ok now onto the three main steps of cleaning the panel:

cleaning background

removing screentones

repainting black lines

for cleaning the background, we're going to clear off all the extraneous stuff. this includes the text in the speech bubble, the gradient screentones behind alma, and the panel line on the left side. just use your eraser tool and go crazy! (i forgot to save the panel at this point of the coloring OTL)

for removing screentones, we're going to remove all those "dots" that mangakas use for shading. these are used to show value for b&w art, but since we're coloring we don't need them—a lot of people have really cool ways of incorporating screentones in their colorings though, and it looks amazing! i used it on nana's hand in my bnha coloring.

remove the screentones from alma's hair and jacket with your eraser tool. this will take time, but it's worth it in the end!

for portions with a bunch of lines, you can create A NEW LAYER and redraw some of the lines. that way, you can erase indiscriminately from the original layer but the lines you drew are still there. again, like i said, my hand is really shaky so i don't do it a lot, but it's extremely helpful for smaller parts where i have control! i used this on alma's jacket, and here's a screenshot of the process:

(i made his jacket purple so i could distinguish between layers easily).

it should look like this when you're done:

for the final step of cleaning, i like to erase all the things colored black (the collar and strings of the jacket, along with the back part of his hair). that way, i can color them in with dark colors and it adds to the whole look of the coloring.

i've circled the parts i'm going to erase below:

and it should look like this when you're done!

ok everyone cheer we're ready to color now!!!!

STEP TWO: BASE COLORS

CROWD CHEERS ok lets go!

this part is the most important to me, because it sets the tone for the whole coloring. i like to use three-four main colors in my colorings, and it's usually background, skintone, hair, and the secret fourth color. the secret fourth color is usually whatever color fits the character's vibe, or if the character's color is the bg, it'll be an accent color.

for example, with my nagi coloring, i used white for the hair, i had my skintone, i had blue as the main coloring vibe (as nagi's color), and black as the accent color.

for alma, i chose his main color to be red! it's the color of his hair and his jacket, so i wanted it to be vibrant and stand out. since blue contrasts red, i went for a greyish-blue shade for the background. (i went for grey rather than solely blue because then it would clash rather than complement).

disclaimer please please please take your device off night mode warm mode f.lux whatever you have. this has screwed me over more times than you may think :(

i like to make my vibrant colors closer to the right end of the color square. for alma's hair, i chose this color:

i dragged it down from the corner a bit but kept the saturation since his hair is kind of dark. we can use vibrant colors to shade it though, so don't worry!

here's his hair and the background together:

now from here, play around with skintones until you find one that matches the hair!

i usually drag around the wheel to the orange-red intersection, and have it on the lighter, more saturated side. here's the color i chose for alma's skintone.

i thought his original skintone looked a bit too orange, so i pulled the saturation back a little bit (moved closer to the left side of the square).

after that, color in his jacket with a bit darker red than hair, choose a gold color for the accents on his jacket, and color in the black parts with a grey-ish color (we will change that later).

here's the base colors!

if it looks a bit bright, don't worry! we can change that with shading. or you might just have to. accept the light.

STEP THREE: SHADING AND LIGHTING

wooo we made it!!!!!!! ok now i lied, we have a bit more of base colors to go. on a layer above the skin, color in your teeth and tongue. for pieces that have a more red feel (like this one), i like to make the teeth and the shading a more vibrant blue color. (for blue pieces, i make it a purple!).

IMPORTANT NOTE: ALL SHADING AND ALL COLORS SHOULD BE DONE ON NEW, CLIPPED LAYER.

i'll then go in and do some light shading with my wet edges brush. i'll use a darker color for hard shadows and then a lighter, more vibrant color to accentuate it.

next up we have blush! a lot of people do this in very different ways but i like to do it directly under the eyes, in a vibrant red shade. make a new layer above the skin and clip it on. color pick alma's hair and drag it to the most saturated shade (red corner). then using the watercolor pencil brush, lower the opacity of the brush and drag a line under the eyes on both sides.

make sure to erase the portion of blush that goes above the eyeline. i also added some lips for alma as you can see, and then added a red line under the eyes! this was back to the regular dip pen (hard) brush on 100% opacity. it may take a few tries to get your blush to the way you want it, so don't worry too much.

now we can start our actual shading!

i break this part up into three steps: skin shading, blue shading, and light shading (highlights?)

for all of them, think about where the light is falling and how it will look on alma.

quick interlude about brushes: i use the watercolor pencil brush for softer, bouncy looks (like blush and noses) and i use the wet edges brush for more hard lines in shading.

again, make a new layer above the skin and clip it on. (i like to have it below the blush, so it doesn't cover it). for skin shading, i take the vibrant red and lower the opacity of the wet edges brush by a significant amount (specifics don't really matter, as long as you're happy with it). i'll trace his neck, from the shadow of his face, shadows of his hair falling on his face, ears, and nose. (for the nose i used the watercolor pencil brush for a softer look).

this is what i have once i'm done!

next we have skin shading part two, where we basically make a new layer on top of our first shading, lower the opacity further, and trace outside whatever we just did to blend it in more.

i used the watercolor pencil brush since it's more softer shading meant for blending! i also added it around the eyebrows for depth.

next up we have our blue shading! this is a technique that i learned from @/bkdkdh's colorings, but adding blue as a shadow really adds to the whole coloring. using the watercolor pencil brush, select a light-ish blue shade (a bit more saturated than background color) and use it to shadow a few more areas than your skin shading. i always make sure to hit the underside of the nose, cuz i think it adds depth!

finally, to wrap up our skin shading we have our lights. i use an orange-ish yellow color, which i set pretty light to not blend into the skin. using the watercolor pencil brush, i'll basically highlight any areas opposite to where the blue was, and highlight different parts. i always highlight one side of the nose as well.

i erased the line around the nose since we now have shading there, and added a darker shade to the teeth since i felt it wasn't shaded enough.

now onto the hair!!! (guys we're almost done bear with me, skin and hair are the two main things and then you can half-ass the clothes)

color pick alma's hair color, then drag the red a bit further down to get a darker yet still saturated color. here's mine:

then, using the wet edges brush, draw lines of shadow wherever clumps of his hair fall or overlap with each other. you can have the opacity set to whatever level you want, i just went with around 90. just try to follow the natural lines and patterns of the original line drawing, and everything should work out fine.

here's how mine looks! then, just like we did for skin shading, place a layer on top and lower the opacity to around 50%. place some more shading to blend it in. you can also shade more parts with this shade for some softer shading. i actually forgot to take a screenshot of this step but you'll see it in the next one!

for our (almost) last part of hair shading, take a layer and place it below both of your shading layers. this is going to be our highlight layer! you can see it below, labeled 49%.

remember how we set alma's hair a bit darker from the corner color? now select that corner color and draw highlights in the center of each hair clump.

lightly visible but it's there!

now here i skipped around a bit bc i was having fun and forgot i was doing a tutorial, but repeat the shading (not highlighting) steps with darker colors for alma's jacket. you should have your base layer, a dark shading, and a softer shading for blending.

we're almost there guys!!!

for the pretty much final step of shading, select a light blue color and do some blue shading with the watercolor pencil brush opposite to wherever your darker shading falls (just like we did on the face). make sure to do it to both your hair and your jacket! here's mine:

now for the black portions, we're going to color the whole thing in a dark blue color. just alpha lock your layer and make a big stroke of dark blue, almost black. for our black shading, we're actually going to go lighter.

select a lighter (but still dark) color and place highlights on the base layer, then take an even more vibrant, lighter blue and place it on the very outside for highlights. a better example of this would be nagi's legs in his blue lock uniform here. then, choose a shade to apply shading to the gold accents on alma's jacket and we're done!

CROWD CHEERS!!!!!

STEP FOUR: FINISHING TOUCHES

we made it guys!!!! for finishing touches, i'll usually do background effects or text or that kind of stuff.

step one is coloring your lines. you can add a new layer and clip it to your lineart, or simply alpha lock your lineart and color directly on top. for hair i like to add vibrant blue/purple lines, along with a few red ones. for skin lines i try to do dark brownish purples, but leaving some black is good too bc it adds flavor!

i colored in the text boxes and added shadows using the wet edge feature, then added some text. for the glitch effect, i duplicated the lineart, dragged the layer below all of my colors (including speech bubbles) and then used the glitch effect with height full from ibis. if you don't have ibis, you can look into features on your software, or you can also just drag your lineart layer a bit to either side and color it in. i also applied just the tiniest bit of noise on top of everything

and there we go!!!!! we made it to the end :)

if you've read all the way til here, thank you so much! if you decide to color this panel of alma (or any other panels!) don't be afraid to post them and tag me for a color this in your style type of thing! (you can also put it in my tracked tag, #user.roy) i'd love to see everyone's works :)

here's the full timelapse: (it stalls for a bit at some times but hey we can't have everything)

[mistereerie]

Thinking about actually posting on here, so heres the first little bit I have. Idk how to use this app, so forgive me lol

The ever loyal dragon of the Ice Emperor, it haunts the people of the Never-Realm from far above. It's rumoured to communicate with the Emperor himself, thus able to carry out his might and will. Boreal's icy flesh shatters any weapon and kills any fire with it's icy breath, making it a truly terrifying force to reckon with.

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Ok, this section is just here for me to dump a bunch of info on why i made certain design choices, so here we go.

I kept the general head design of the original because I thought it looked cool lol.

The jagged edges of the scales are supposed to mimic hardened snow, as if Boreal flying around had shaped those scales onto it. The same goes for the markings on it's face and horns, which unifies Boreal's look with the Blizzard Samurai's frostbitten appearance, which this was mainly about.

Boreal is completely made of ice, and it's underbelly is made from that blue ice you often see when a glacier (haha) flips over. It's much darker here, but the idea remains.

Another big change is the circuit board printing on Boreal's belly and tail. This was inspired by a post that someone (anon) had made on spinchip's tumblr, where Zane's robotic nature played a much bigger role (hence the mention of ice towers). Here is the original post:

Another change is the existance of Boreal's core. I thought it would be neat if it had one, as a way to be more "independant" from the Ice Emperor. It also glows.

Boreal in this redesign has no tongue or teeth. If it did, it was frozen over a long time ago.

Finally (for now), Boreal has wings inspired by a gyrfalcon (which i headcanon to be the species of Falcon) and in this rewrite Zane has lost himself to the staff, but somewhere deep inside, he still remembers and misses Falcon.

*Falcon specifically has darker feathers, but you get the idea.

[transhoverfish]

OK TRAILER TIME

SO PRETTY!! now, because everything in this is cinematic (and it's only a teaser), i would take basically this entire thing with a grain of salt for how accurate it will be to actual environments and gameplay. the cinematic trailers/teasers for the first two games are full of things that didn't make it in. still looks VERY GOOD and im so excited!!!!!!

onto a few specific things, this specific area ^^ shows up in a steam screenshot (which i will get to later), and considering the high amount of light and coral, this is potentially this game's version of the safe shallows! that pink fish that swims by is also the youtube channel's current pfp, and as such is probably replacing the peeper, which was the old 'mascot' fish. this character is also using alterra tech, which i think is very interesting! are we still working for alterra, or are they just such a mega corporation that they make basically all water/space gear? the diving suit looks a bit like the stillsuit with its colors! the design itself reminds me of the cold suit,,, :o

now, the thing about this scene is that it goes by pretty quick, and is supposed to draw attention to the water vortex (and won't it be fun if THAT is an actual mechanic!!! god i would be so so scared), but upon a few pauses and look arounds... there's a building! that is so clearly some old ruins!! it doesn't look anything like the usual ruins/bases we've seen before, so i would guess that these are NOT built by the architects, and instead a new alien race. the assumption is that this planet is also very much abandoned,,, which begs the question, why? not the kharra again, surely? or is it just these surface-level ruins that have been left? and if they went deeper, why? this appears to be the only screenshot/sequence that shows any of these ruins. how many more are there?? I DEMAND ANSWERS!!

also, entirely possible im wrong, but this new character bears some resemblance to ryley, imo. the earlier scenes of him doesn't match too closely, and their hair is entirely different, but this shot specially depicts a very similar face structure, eyebrows, lips, and nose! now, this could be (and probably is) a new guy that just kinda looks like him, but if it IS ryley,,,,, what's he doin here? is he working with alterra still? is he just off exploring various ocean planets? even if this isnt him, i want to know these things. wheres my guy :(

another thing pointing at this being ryley is that this game is intended to be a direct sequel (as opposed to bz being a spin off), and if its in an entirely different environment, then it stands to reason there's a chance theres returning characters. otherwise,, this game would just also be a spin-off!

(also, would absolutely love if that oxygen warning is an actual popup ingame!)

and here's the second character that pops up! the steam screenshots also only show two people in co-op so far, and i do wonder if these are two of the playable characters and not just random models/characters used for the teaser (similar to how bart is a trailer for sub1 despite not being playable, and fred in bz's trailer). this person doesn't seem to be anyone from either game (she looks a tinyyy bit like lillian, but not enough that i can say it could be her), and she's in a new vehicle! everything still looks very atlerra, though, and the two characters seem to know each other, so once again i wonder if this is a lore reason, if these ARE alterra workers, or if this is just to fit in with the aesthetic of the other games.

BIG FISH!!!!! BIG FISH!!!!!!! this thing looks VERY new and introduced in the teaser in a similar fashion that the sea emperor was shown in the first sub1 trailer, so im wondering if this might be THE Big Fish (or simply just one that they've finished the design for). with brightness turned way up, it appears to have a nose and mouth on level with the two humans, much below the light on its head. a similar hunting tactic to anglerfish, maybe? and so many tentacles!! and pincers! BIG FISH!!!!

no exact date for early access, which makes me think we won't get it until spring at the earliest. however, the first two games came out in winter (december for sub1, january for bz), so its possible it will keep with that trend and be out before march. don't take my word for that, though, this is purely speculation.

with this teaser (or potentially before, i was not actively checking this LOL), there's also now a steam page up with additional ingame screenshots and description of the game with a lot of new information!! because tumblr has a screenshot limit, im going to rb this post later with all of the steampage info.

but there is a LOT of new stuff we've learned now!!! pair all of this with this article showing screenshots the devs have dropped in sub1 time capsules (which i will also talk about in the rb), and oughhhh it is a GOOD DAY to be a subnautica fan!!!!!! are we all ready to get dragged back into this fandom?? i hope ur all ready. we're gonna get water vortexed. help.

[kozykricket]

Yet Another Phantom Rework Idea: Ominous Nights

So, now that we have ominous events in Minecraft, and the devs have even talked about the idea of adding more ominous events... as basically the catch all for opt-in harder challenges in the game...

Why not throw phantoms into the generic undead enemies grouping in the game? I kid. I jest. but... hear me out:

Put them in an Ominous Event for night time. Not structure based: Just based around night. Specifically, if you drink an ominous bottle, thereby opting in with the bad omen effect, and try to sleep while you have bad omen that hasnt been cleared or converted into a trial omen / raid omen... Well, you don't skip the night. Instead... you're told that "No amount of rest can pass this night" and a little popup happens with a phantom noise, similar to the raid popup in bedrock edition. Now, you have Nightmare Omen. maybe a little advancement called Ins-omen-ia (ha get it) so what does nightmare omen do? As you may have guessed, it makes the night harder, specifically by making the mobs spawn with potion effects, making them spawn more armored, and changing up the spawning pool, to mostly comprise of the undead. This would include phantoms which would be the signature mob of Nightmare Nights. Of course, as with any ominous event, milk could cancel this, or prevent it entirely... which is a nice nod to having a nice warm glass of milk before bed to sleep better! But anyways, yeah, the whole night would be unskippable, and the effect would last around the length of a whole night. as a failsafe, it'd clear itself if it became day through... someone else sleeping if one player sleep is enabled, etc. and no, it wouldn't effect mob spawns for everyone: just mob spawns for you. Heck, I've seen a mod that makes phantoms grab mobs from the ground and drop them to kill them... and that got me thinking, what if some phantoms had AI goals that made them help out their undead friends, by delivering them right to your face! Some phantoms would just do the usual "fly around, bite you, be a nuisance" and some would be airdropping zombies or flying skeletons around. maaaybe it'd just be a type of jockey lol and as the reward for this? Well, for one, you get to grind more EXP so long as you don't die and lose the effect... but also, what if they just... dropped more rare loot? Or maybe... heck, maybe this is a suitable replacement for Looting if you were to nerf it honestly. I'd do this just for the XP and bones alone... if only zombies had good drops :P ...as for creepers, spiders, witches, and endermen? I have a feeling they'd be exempt from being buffed... I think they deserve their own little things, as they arent undead. Especially endermen (and witches already have raids) So yeah, Ins-omen-iac. If I make it a mod someday, I wanna call it that. I think it'd be cool to just lean into phantoms as being The Hard Mode Undead Enemy ...if theres stuff i left out of this, questions of how it might work, then let me know! or if you have ideas on how ominous / nightmare nights could be improved, you are very welcome to comment/reblog! ty for reading either way! BONUS: You got this far, so I might as well tell you a short, alternative idea I had for phantoms last week before this idea. What if... you know how phantoms circle around in the air, almost like how vultures circle around dead things? Like. i literally saw a vulture irl the other day and i was like "oh, huh, theres probably something dead there" well what if phantoms just... only spawned in specific locations that would basically act as markers for "oh, theres something underground here" whether it be a mineshaft, a monster room, or a whole buncha trial chambers!! it'd be cool, because then you'd be encouraged to explore the surface at night time; to walk into the danger of the night... and see if you can find any phantoms, because if you DO, then you know theres gotta be an underground structure... somewhere nearby. the logic is that, as the undead, they sense the presence of Souls. and ... well, old ancient civilization stuff tends to leave a large imprint of soul-vibes on the world.

...and of course theres also my old post about a phantom rework that boils down to "Stay in the dark long, and you gain insomnia. Be in the light, and it clears up. Phantoms are afraid of light. Deep tragic lore"

I'm proud of all of these ideas on how to make one of my favorite mob designs that I see has huge potential... into an actually INTERESTING and FUN mob! I can totally see Mojang going with involving them in something Ominous related

[thomine]

say it, love

arataki itto / reader, 1.5k words

dating itto is always fun and sunshine. you enjoy every moment together with him. surely he will want to save the relationship too, right?

general audiences, angst, canon universe, established relationship, dysfunctional relationship

notes: read on ao3 / work tag :: heartbreak (day 3 of angstpril)

Itto has been avoiding you—sort of. You can't reason why it feels that way when you have an arm looped with his while checking out the menu for Uyuu Restaurant. You can, however, be certain that Itto is avoiding a conversation that needs to be had. In fact, you're queuing at the restaurant in hopes the fancy meal will put him in a mood to talk about it.

But you need to first find a cure for your sullenness brought by the long queue. You've anticipated this chance for a whole week, and every minute teases your patience.

Must the sky also be a beautiful blend of purple and yellow? It pulls you into your memories, resurrecting feelings of the past that salt your tongue with a bitter aftertaste.

The sky mimics the night you accepted Itto's confession. Since then, you've been the happiest person to exist. He involved you in his adventures—no matter how silly—and your name is an appendage to his endless sobriquets. Itto and you: an inseparable pair, further proven by your seamless integration as a proud member of his gang.

With little money for fanciful fun, both of you mixed meals from popup carts and had a picnic at the outskirts of the city for a first date. It was a humble arrangement with everlasting memories like Itto nervously holding your hand. That night, he hollered about his love, but his green eyes on you were the loudest declarations.

Now, he's invested in the menu. His eyes juggle between a picture of assorted vegetables and another of corn.

"Do you think Ushi will eat corn?" he thinks out loud, eyebrows scrunching as he taps his chin. "This option is… It's just too colourful."

You do not agree with the price of the choice he's leaning for, but neither do you have the strength to raise your tongue. You'll play it safe than add a petty disagreement, one that might drag till the dining table. You only want to talk about the topic. There is no luxury of time since you can't afford much and Itto shreds through every meal.

When should you start addressing it then? You can bring it up at the end, while eating desserts. Melting ice cream parallels your current situation hence a great opener, but since it's at the end of the dinner, Itto can gobble his food and leave like the other times you've tried to bring it up. Maybe fate will be nice and offer a couple seated nearby that you can comment on, although it should be plan B since you don't want to rely on miracles. You're risking a month's pay for this. In the end, you decide to bring it up when both of you get your main dishes.

While he continues browsing, you hear him mutter the names of the other gang members. "They're going to love this so much! We haven't had unagi in years!"

You frown. Will this queue go any faster?

Just in time, a server pops his head into view. He holds a warm smile, facing your boyfriend.

"If it isn't The One and Oni Arataki Itto and his beloved. Welcome!"

"Ah, bro! Long time no see!" Itto wants to give a hug, but your arm around his might have caused him to rethink his offer, so he gives an apologetic look to his "brother". Considering how the server doesn't know your name, he was probably an unfortunate stranger trapped as the audience when Itto professed the good news of his reciprocated feelings on the city streets years back.

"Help me out here," Itto says as he shows the side dishes on the menu. "I'm looking at these two for my cow pal. At first I thought corns would be nice, but—" and he sucks in a breath through gritted teeth before his voice lowers to a whisper "—are corns poisonous for cows? Not that I don't know that, but I just wanted to check."

"This is not a place to share recommendations. Let's head in and I'll bring you to your table first. You're just in luck as the table available has a lovely view. It's is great for a date."

You politely smile.

The server then side-steps to reveal a bright and warm interior. Patrons fill every table and laughter mingles with the aroma of freshly cooked meals. It influences your stomach to twist yet rumble. You were confident that you could get this issue settled by tonight, but seeing the good atmosphere, you aren't so sure if you're willing to ruin such a rare moment.

However, you're dragged from your thoughts as Itto barges into the restaurant, and your linked hand forces you forward as well. You nearly trip over the step at the entrance if not for Itto's sturdy arm. He does cast a glance of worry at you and asks if you are okay, but you answer with guilt knowing you will return that question to him in a few minutes. Hopefully he will be truthful, not like you, lying through a smile that you're fine when there is annoyance climbing your throat.

The server leads you to a nice table by the window. Through the glass, you get a perfect view of Inazuma City accompanied by the mystic sky, now darker. And yet feelings of your first date with Itto linger in your heart like a festering wound that prevents you to feel the present.

"I would like this colourful plate," Itto says, breaking you out of your daze. "And I would like this—to take away—as well as this, and this, and—oh! Definitely this."

Your wallet trembles, but you stay quiet and wait for your turn before you get a meal cheaper than your usual. No desserts. Around you, tables are filled with families or large gathering of friends.

When the server leaves, an awkward silence sprawls itself across the distance between you and Itto. He's busy playing with cutleries while you look around, envious of the chatter. Perhaps you should have ordered appetizers, but you never expected things to turn awkward.

"How was your day?" You ask him.

"It was great," he says, rolling his 'r' while placing a plate, spoon and a fork on your side of the table. "The boys must be really hungry though since we worked a total of 10 jobs today. Probably cleaned like hundreds of windows and reared thousands of foxes. Wouldn't you believe that?"

You hum, unsure what to say. Ever since you had a full-time job, you couldn't spend time with Itto as you'd like, but you believed—no, believe—it was for the better.

"It's not much on my end," you reply to his non-existing question. "Work has been stale for me. Your jobs sound way more fun, but I like the stability of what I do."

"You should have been there. The boys kept mentioning you. Nothing is impossible for Arataki the Great and I make everything fun, but it would have been, you know, cooler if you were around."

"I know," you sigh, "but I'm saving up my off-days so we can travel. Remember how we wanted to go to Mondstadt?"

"Oh! We can totally do an Onikabuto Competition like what I did when I went to Liyue."

"The beetle battles can happen, but wouldn't you want to sight-see? I hear there is an area where it never stops snowing. We'll need to get warm gear. They're costly though…"

"Ah, don't sweat it. If we can't go, we won't go. Simple as that."

I want to see it still, you think, but swallow your protest.

Before your thoughts can wilt from anger, the food arrives. Your mood to talk drops more than your appetite. You take a bite regardless and try to savour its rich flavour without the bland meals from the pop up cart haunting your taste buds.

Say it. You think.

The restaurant is loud and bustling, laughter sprinkling the ambience. You miss the chirp of crickets and the gentle singing of birds mixed with Itto's booming voice.

This date is the fanciest, most beautiful moment you've ever gotten thanks to your efforts and you're miserable.

Say it.

You really should talk to Itto—as planned—yet your throat is dry and you raise your hand to call a server for a glass of water.

Say it.

After taking a large gulp, you know it's hopeless for you to open your mouth. You've been trying. It's not you that isn't doing anything.

You look at your boyfriend who is happily munching on his meal with no care in the world. His smile is the largest you've seen since you've decided to pursue a lone journey for a future with him.

Say it, love. You plead.

He can't be content with this, can he?

Say it, Itto.

How long can someone pretend like nothing is wrong?

author’s note: how does mixing itto and angst taste like? tastes like a silently dysfunctional relationship. you know how those childhood trauma books are all like "it's not about what happened but what didn't happen?" yeah. itto and angst, to me, would be the things that didn't happen, which is honestly more unsettling than your typical angsty plots, so expect another angsty itto piece if i'm in the mood for it.

work is inspired by say so, by the same willows.