#everything written on a google doc in advance :]c

[alienssstufff]

LAST LIFE APOCALYPSE AU MASTERLIST

A very intensely written Life Series au by ME!

All general updates questions and lore can be found in the #last life apocalypse au tag! This post in particular will act as a masterlist regarding the timeline, worldbuilding and lore of the au. I wish to (hopefully) keep updating this post as more characters and arcs are revealed. 

IMPORTANT YOU VISIT THIS LINK FIRST BEFORE ENTERING (It’s pretty): > Last Life Apocalypse AU Intro (Talks about the mechanics)

Now without further ado - lets begin:

TIMELINE (Summarised)

The timeline of the AU is defined by two major arcs:

The past PROLOGUE 3RD LIFE that is the childhood of majority of the cast (location: their childhood town)

LAST LIFE PRESENT day that takes place in the woods (the main event - when the Apocalypse starts)

These are arcs that involve most if not all of the cast members from their respective seasons.

[BETWEEN ARCS] Between these arcs occur smaller events - big to some but not on a scale to affect everyone. This is the transition period after the cast graduate from Middle School and go their separate ways before reuniting (by fate) in the Last Life Woods. Events that happen in the between arcs take inspiration from the CC’s other respective series beyond the Life Series.

Some current inspirations: Evo SMP, Hermitcraft (various seasons), Scar’s TCD series, Bdubs’ SOTF. More about their involvement as updates progress.

[SCU SPIN-OFF] Consider this as an epilogue describing the state of the planet decades after the main cast has died. Not considered a ‘major arc’ as it is not focused on the main cast but exists solely for worldbuilding purposes (because I like it :] ).

WORLDBUILDING

Setting of Last Life takes place in the woods, think of American national parks or camping grounds on a road trip, or the Walking Dead (the telltale game not the show)

CLIMATE: Generic American woodlands climate but with a less generic winter weather. As the situations for the player’s get more dire, so does the environment around with forecasts for an oncoming snow blizzard from Magic Mountain as the world fades to white.

It is also during this time of year and climate where a creature known as the Wither is rumoured to roam the lands. It is a cryptid that unlike most woodland creatures, the Wither wakes from hibernation only during the Winter when it is cold enough and feasts on a very specific carnivorous diet. In reality this is known as the Patient 0 of the Bogeydisease, born and mutated within the labs of the Research Facility, leading to the downfall desolation of what is now known as the Abandoned Observatory.

MAIN LOCATIONS:

SOUTHLANDS (Camp Southlands) - Were once a popular camping hotspot before the apocalypse. The people who survived there were once camp counselors (Grian, Impulse, Mambo, Martyn, Jimmy). The grounds acted as both a family resort and a summer camp for kids  where they are divided into one of the five factions supervised by each counselor: -MARTYN Counsellor of Athletics and house of the GREEN CATS -IMPULSE Counsellor of Cooking and house of the YELLOW SUN BEARS -JIMMY Counsellor of Safety and house of the BLUE DOGS (formerly blue canaries) -MUMBO Counsellor of Crafts (shop) and house of the BLACK MOTHS -GRIAN Counsellor of (shenanigans) Arts and house of the RED BIRDS

FAIRY FORT (Fairy Fort Reserve FFR) - A geographically enclosed area dedicated to protecting the land and the endangered animals that are shelter there. Ownership of the Fairy Fort was passed along the generations of Lizzie’s family tree. The people who survived there are park rangers with Lizzie as their lead. They have current beef with the Southlanders as there are many things they disagree with and compete against.

ICE FORT (Shade-E-E’s Gas) - As it’s located near the center of the map, the ethubs ‘Ice Fort’ is one of the only ounces of urban infrastructure out in the woods. Upon arrival of the Apocalypse, it is a fortified Shade-E-E’s gas station barricaded by the only employees Bdubs and Etho (the manager). It once acted as a pitstop to drivers and travelers alike and is the only place in the woods that has a working cellphone tower and final connection to the outside world dubbed as “Etho’s Tree”.

TEAM BEST HIDEOUT / ROCKTAPUS (Abandoned Observatory/Research Centre) - An abandoned observatory squatted on by Skizz that doubled as a bunker that was originally built in preparation for a nuclear fallout. Upstairs the observatory contains secret government documents regarding information about the Bogeydisease and the Wither cryptid - Indecipherable to all except for Tango who understands them. Downstairs the bunker’s monitors are linked to several surveillance cameras in the woods.

GASLIGHT GIRLBOSS GATEKEEP (Scottage Club) - A retreat saved for the rich and elite. While the Scottage Club has its HQ here, holiday properties of its patrons are scattered all across the map (the secret green lives hideouts).

MAGIC MOUNTAIN - Kept off limits just for how dangerous the place is, no one ever goes there. Rumor has it the mountain has magic capabilities that can drive a man insane. The last human sightings near Magic Mountain were two lone hikers who by arrogance wished to conquer and come back surviving the woodland’s most treacherous point. And while they were never seen again, they say if you look very closely with a spyglass, you can catch glimpses of a small, broken up hut at the top.

THE NETHER (NETHERLANDS not-the-country): The NETHER is the closest town over from the Last Life woodlands and is home to facilities such as a Fortress Dept Store and a camping & fishing shop known as The Bastion. While hypothetically the cast could escape the woodlands to live in the Nether, it is because of the high value resources that can be found in these stores that attract both surviving scavengers and zombies alike - making the town very dangerous to defend.

The ‘nether portals’ in this au are the vehicles each team has on them to travel between locations. The Nether may be the closest town there is, but even walking there on foot is extremely dangerous - especially considering the apocalypse and the harsh elements.

BOGEYDISEASE

For legal reasons, I dropped biology in highschool as soon as I could - I do not know shit about diseases and how people develop medicine. This is a fictional disease. TLDR; I am talking out of my ass.

[Origins of the Bogeydisease and the L.I.F.E antidotes pending (secret!)]

Transfer of the disease in its early stages of evolution could only be transferred if bacteria had direct contact with the host’s bloodstream. At best (?) in small amounts the host would experience a fever and shivering. At worst the host would feel extreme fatigue, most likely dying of starvation/dehydration due to it being unaware of their hunger (and fatigue - the disease manipulates the brain into thinking the host is not fatigued). 

Nature of the disease (well.. virus) as it continues is designed to adapt with the changing environment. While most samples were not able to survive its effects, some victims of the Wither’s bite would survive and exhibit a second stage of the disease’s effects. If the host were to survive the initial stages of the disease, once the disease has fully adapted to the body of its host it would evolve in order to prolong its survival. This is evident by physical alterations of the host’s appearance.

Not just physical changes but behavioural as well. The host would act more akin to serving its natural instincts, more inclined to the hunt and the tendency to keep itself alive. 

People who are in the second stages and beyond of contracting the Bogeydisease are considered Red Lives. It is possible to cure Red Lives out of the Bogeydisease as long as the disease has not evolved to its later stages. WHEN a person is cured using a L.I.F.E antidote they may experience side-effects [explained in the INTRO]. In some instances, ex-hosts may retain some of the traits afflicted when they were Bogey.

Later stages of disease evolution. The disease and its hosts show strong similarities to how rabies can be passed between hosts. And based on how a host reacts to the disease, hosts of the disease are classified into two types:

Host is overwhelmed by the effects of the disease and dies early. If the body and surrounding scene are left untreated, the disease will continue to live on in the decomposing body and grow a special fungus that feeds off the remains. The fungus and its disease reproduces by its spores which allow the disease to not only infect the environment around but also proves the possibility in contracting an airborne variant of the disease.

Host grows accustomed to the effects of the disease exhibiting the aforementioned loss of higher brain functions above (incapable of reason and rational thought). Movements grow erratic, constantly moving as a means of maintaining fixed body temperature. For colder climates the diet of hosts relies on feasting on warm bodies. Failure to do so will induce drowsiness in the host, placing them in a slumber in order to regain energy and try again. Hosts also show signs of excessive salivation and occasional bleeding. Direct exposure to any of the host’s bodily fluids is another method in contracting the disease.

[ REMINDER THIS IS AN ONGOING AU , MORE TO BE UPDATED ]

#stufffsart #myart #last life apocalypse au #last life smp #last life #life series #life smp #trafficblr #mcyt #mcyt fanart #long post #everything written on a google doc in advance :]c

[existingonthisplane]

A master post of my projects (w/ links to the ones that have been started c:)

On going:

The I Love You Series. It’s also on going and is a comic I’m writing about Mike coming to terms with his very obvious feelings for Will. It’s accompanied by a fic but it’s all pretty slow to update since it’s not my main priority. Still it’s fully outlined so I’m planning on finishing it. (Also sorry in advance for inconsistent drawings, I’m in practice of drawing consistent faces so-) I post this on my main for the most part

I Don’t Think I’m Faking Anymore (fake dating au) This is a fic im writing and what I’ll be updating the most. It won’t be a super long fic (I think) so I want to finish it before I throw myself into my other projects. It’s been on a bit of a break after some family stuff (and eventually the holidays) but I’ll be back to it now that everything’s over.

Yet to be started/in progress/not posted:

Like Sun and Moon (byler dnd au and my biggest project.) this is a WIP and the only real proof of it existing other than my many pages on google docs are the posts on here c: they’re a bit outdated now since I’ve done a lot of revising but you’re still welcome to go search my main account (@existingonanotherplane)for it

Fake dating au pt 2??

Karen Wheeler is a lot of things but a loser isn’t one of them. So when an extended family member calls her bragging about her kids many achievements and how they’re bringing them along to a big family event, can you really blame her for trying to one up them? Aka, Karen tells the wheeler family a bunch of lies including one that so happens to be about her “super successful son dating his roommate and equally as successful best friend”

Byler Band Au (not the usual kind though) Mike is a sax player, Will plays trombone. They attempt to find each other through music. (It makes more since if I were to actually explain it lmbo but I’m trying not to ramble)

WillEl daycare au (more like youth center but they run it out of their house so-) it’s pretty self explanatory but The wonder-twins take care of kids after school and one of those kids happen to be one Holly Wheeler. Maybe Will is closer to getting a boyfriend than he thought.

Will Byers the interior designer attempts to design the Wheeler household. Also straightforward. Will is a popular interior designer and Karen is in need of something fresh in their home. They head out on a vacation and leave Mike to watch over the progress. He wasn’t expecting the guy to end up being his type. (This one honestly has a low chance of being written but I think the concept is silly so if anyone wants to give it a shot then go for it)

Literally send me asks on any of these or just anything in general. I want to talk about them so bad

Edit:

Oh my gosh! A linktree?? Who could’ve guessed :0

#that’s it though #that’s the post #a master list of ideas #I’ll update it as stuff stars to get added #I don’t wanna spam the tag but I also don’t post as often as I used to so- #y’all getting a lil spammed tonight #not that people are paying that much attention to me lmbo #anyways #byler #cause this post is all about y’all #rené’s thoughts

[jennagrinsoverml]

C, K, L, N and P please? I'm really surprised you haven't had more people ask! I assumed you would have been overwhelmed with them. (Unless you have and only posted one, but that doesn't seem likely.) Thanks in advance!

haha it's hit or miss with these. Sometimes I get a bunch of asks and sometimes I don't get any! But I always appreciate when people actually want to hear my thoughts on things 💖 Thanks for the ask!

C: What character do you identify with most?

Marinette. We are both disasters who somehow always pull it out in the end.

K: What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with?

l currently have a google doc started for a fic that retells certain ladynoir scenes throughout the show, starting with the first time Ladybug told Chat they couldn't know each other's identities all the way through the season 4 conflict. But in each scene she chooses to trust him and be honest with him instead. And then you get to the end of the fic and she's looking down at the abandoned black cat miraculous in her hand, and you realize it's Marinette wishing she'd made those choices.

L: What’s the weirdest AU you’ve ever come up with?

I'm not really a big AU person. At least in terms of fics that are set in completely different universes.

But the most AU fic I've come up with is based on the Teen Wolf fic, (not so) Pure Imagination by theroguesgambit (rated E). Basically, it's a universe where everything's the same, but when you fantasize about a person, the person feels it.

Anyway, it's one of my favourite Teen Wolf fics, in part because it features identity porn (not to be confused with smut porn, though there's that too), which is my favourite thing.

So, not my AU, but I thought about how to make it Miraculous and I'd really love to write it (with credit obv) eventually.

N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?

Any of my more "adult" ideas. I really wish this fandom had more smut because I'm in that (apparent) minority of fans in this fandom who really enjoys that kind of content (as opposed to some of the sluttier fandoms I've been in lol.) But I find writing that content really difficult!

P: Are you what George R. R. Martin would call an “architect” or a “gardener”? (How much do you plan in advance, versus letting the story unfold as you go?)

Architect. Even for my shorter fics, I almost always know where they're going from the start. For longer fics, it's absolutely critical.

For long fics, I generally spend a long time thinking about the concept first and what the arc and sources of tension might be, and then I write a very loose outline of what will happen, sometimes interspersed with little pieces of dialogue and such depending on what occurs to me as I'm writing it out. Then I block it out into scenes and then fill in those scenes as I'm inspired to do so. The Closest Thing to Love was written non-linearly and that's been my process for my Big Bang too.

Even where I have written linearly, like You Know Where My Heart Is, I still knew what the arc and final resolution were going to be before I wrote the first scene.

I have a few bunnies right now where I have some ideas, but no idea where it's going, and they'll continue to languish until I get it figured out.

If anyone else wants to play, the post is here 😊

#my thoughts #ask games #jennawrites

[charlies-crashcourses]

Charlie’s College Crash Course #1: How to write a 10-page paper in 1 day

Background info first: I’m in the last year of my English undergrad degree and I’ve had to write at least 3 dozen 10+ page papers in that time. That being said, I’ve never once started writing a paper more than a few days in advance, and 9 times out of 10 I go for one day only. Honestly, this should be considered my trademark at this point because after all my high school AP courses and my English degree, it’s been going on 7 years of 1 day papers.

and so, dear friends, I would like to pass on this skill to you all. I should mention, none of this will work if you’re not already pretty solid on paper writing, i.e. if you only ever get C’s on your papers now this isn’t magically going to get you up to an A with one day. This is just to streamline the process, allowing for more time for other things or, more commonly, allowing you to not freak the fuck out when you realize the deadline is tonight at midnight and you’ve procrastinated all month on the final paper for your class.

(I should also mention that I’m currently procrastinating a 2.5k word paper due tomorrow night that I’ve only read one of two books for, so. There’s that.)

Anyway, without further ado, here we fucking go:

Step 1: Prep for the Day

this is going to be a marathon, not a sprint, so make sure you prep the day accordingly. Ideally, you’d wake up before noon, make sure there’s nothing else planned for the day, and tell your roommates/parents to leave you alone until you officially reemerge at midnight (or, if you’re in college and have a 24 hr library, try going there. Mine has closed off study rooms that I can chill in, but if you’rs doesn’t just find a relatively comfy quiet spot). If you’re at home, pick one spot, clear it off super quick, grab some snacks and energy drinks, make sure you have everything charged and ready to go. I don’t recommend cafes or the like simply because there’s lots of distractions and also those places close before midnight, so you can’t stay there the entire time and therefor waste time moving halfway through.

Also, I would recommend taking a break between all the steps after this one. Don’t let the break take too long, but just long enough to walk the block, or grab another snack, or do some stretches, or watch a ten minute video, something like that. I personally never break at a natural stopping point, because then I’ll never get back to it, but how you break is up to you.

Step 2: Preliminary Research

now normally I do some preliminary research beforehand. Basically looking into the topic, figuring out generally what resources would be best, etc. That can usually be done in five to ten minute bursts throughout the week or so before the due date, whenever the topic comes to mind.

But then again, I’ve also procrastinated that until the very end as well, so. Usually all that takes if you go for the day of is some quick google scholar searches, or if you have access to the MLA database that works as well. Or, if you’re more like me, you could just deep dive on wikipedia and check out what relevant facts pertain to what numbers in the bibliography, then go ahead and cite those wherever possible.

Basically, get a good base knowledge of the big facts. This step should be quick and dirty. For instance, for my paper my sophomore year on Robespierre (14 pages written in a record 6 hours) I combed through his wiki, some websites on the French Revolution, and watched the Crash Course youtbue video on the subject. The rest of the research was done after I did my first outline. 

Step 3: Outline #1

This is just a basic “What the fuck am I talking about” outline. It can be bullet points, numbers, stream of consciousness, i don’t care as long as it works for you. 

For the Robespierre paper, my first outline was something to the effect of: -born poor -school -elected to govt -took over govt -killed people -got killed

and that was it. It’s like, before you build a house you have to clear off the right amount of land, make sure there’s nothing in your way, and give yourself a vague area in which to build. Super simple stuff.

I did get some advice, from somewhere I can’t remember, that a paragraph is basically equal to half a page, and so (excluding one page length for your intro + conclusion) you should have around two paragraphs or ideas per page. So my outline above would need some more points, there, to keep me on track for my page count. I eventually added a whole paragraph about how he was chosen to read for a visiting King Louis at his school and was then ignored which made him hate the monarchy, and another about what happened after he died what with the government in shambles, etc etc. So two bullet points per page should do it.

Step 4: More Research

This is where you get a little more in depth. Look at your bullet points and learn everything you need to about them. 

For my first bullet, I found stuff like: “Robespierre was born in France in 1758 as Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (the third of this name), to a lawyer and the daughter of a brewer, he had two siblings, and he could read by age eight. he also loved pigeons and started a lifelong feud with his sister over one that he gave her that she let die."

and then I would move on to the next bullet point, and so on and so forth, filling in the gaps. Make sure to keep track of where your info comes from, as well. It doesn’t have to be a full citation, but just the hyperlink after the fact is going to save you so much time, i promise

Pro Tip: don’t throw out anything as irrelevant just yet. Just gather all the facts, no judging. Trust me on this.

Step 5: Better Outline

this is where you start to have fun with it. I would like to remind you that no one, unless you have some crazy micromanaging professor, sees your outlines. This is for you and you only, so write it in whatever way makes sense to you. It can be colorful and fun and whatever you need it to be.

 I actually took screenshots of my outline for that robespierre paper (hence why i chose that one as an example) so here’s a look at what I do:

so, really, honestly, as shitty as you need this to be, or as many jokes, or whatever works for you my dude. Explain it like you would if it were a story you were telling, not a biographical/argumentative paper. Get informal with it.

Step 6: Write the Damn Thing

Okay to now that you did the research and wrote your fun outlines and all that, all you have to do now is write it! I tend to do this in the same doc as I do my outline, but starting again from the top so I can see what I need to add next right under where I’m typing, then delete it once I’ve covered the material. 

If you did your outline well, this is really just cleaning that up so it’s “school appropriate” and “not an affront to people’s eyes and sensibilities” or whatever. At this point, it should go super quick, maybe 2 hours max to finish up writing what you need to write, here.

Pro Tip: do your citations as you go. Better yet, make your bibliography first so that A its already done and B you know what your in text cites will be from the start so that you don’t have to add them in later. If you kept your hyperlinks next to your research, just open up citationmachine and get those cites, then replace the links in your outline with the actual citations so it’s easier to line them up with in text cites while you go

Step 7: Fudging

oh, you thought we were done after writing the paper? nah fam. Chances are, you didn’t hit the page count you wanted to, you’re probably around 1 full page short, unless you love long sentences. This is where my pro tip from all the way back on step 4 comes in.

First, before you do anything drastic, make sure your formatting is correct. If your prof wants the big long “name, date, class, assignment, etc” in the top left then that adds a lot of length. Fonts will also change your page length, and so will footnotes and citations.

If you did it right and saved all the less relevant details, congratulations! Just sprinkle a few of those in there and you’re magically at your page count. This is the only reason I included the pigeon story in my paper (and this post), because I was about 3/4 of a page short of passably saying I got to 14.

If you didn’t save those inane details, don’t go looking for them now. Trust me, it’s much more pain than it’s worth. Your best bet, then, would be to either A. Add one more point if you can think one up, B. do some more research for relevant details to add in, or C. expand on the details you already have with more examples or effects or whatever applies.

do not, i repeat do NOT, just try and expand the words you use, like changing “to” into “in order to” or whatever those deflate your phrases charts tell you Not to do. They tell you not to for a reason. 1. it sounds stupid adding them in after the fact, and 2. your professor absolutely 100% will know and will mark you down if you do that in excess. Inflated phrase charts like that are well known by professors, and also adding them in after the fact won’t fit in at all with the voice that the rest of your paper was written in, so it’ll stand out like a sore thumb. just don’t do it unless it’s your last possible “i have ten minutes to turn this in” effort.

Step 8: Celebrate!!

And that’s it! If you did it right, this whole process should have taken you around the equivalent of 1 hour per page you had to write or so, so in a regular twelve hour day you’ve got time to take breaks and eat and all that shit. Go turn it in and celebrate your victory!

#study tips #adhd studying #paper writing #don't procrastinate kids #crash course #charlie's college crash course

[jastertown]

Some are fic-specific but anon? I might be able to guess who you are and Ily

Also I Can't figure out how to put a 'read more' here on mobile? Hhh sorry its long (and I'll tag it as such) but anyways

-

B: Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?

Uh.  nah not most my writing? The stuff that is, it's all more ventish stuff that I’ve never posted online. I *do* write children based on my experiences with kids though!

C: What character do you identify with most?

Uhhhhhhhhhh. Hhh. Ayano from the Kagerou Project!! She's a big sis who can and will die for her little siblings, and only wants the best for her family and friends.

F: Care to share a favorite hurt/comfort fic?

Hm. I think my favorites, they're not online; sometimes I get premium access to fics my friends have written and they're Good Stuff but you won't find them on a fanfic site. (While we're here check out @ldotrage though!! Good friend, good writing, and it's writing you can find online too… ooh, they wrote a Jagen and Marth fic that's a Good hurt/comfort thing!)

G: Care to share a favorite crack fic?

It's less crack and more just silly, but ‘Depression Meals’ by MarkoftheAsphodel on Ao3! It's a fun little FE Heroes thing featuring a bunch of different characters, and it's not serious at all but still rather IC for that.

H: How would you describe your style?

Uh. Inner monolgue-driven? Limited third-person? I uhhhhh like to write from one character's point of view at a given moment, but I'm not much of a first- or second-person writer.

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?

Hhhurt/comfort. Especially with a Lot of angst before the comfort happens. Let the character go through heck and then let them recover with the help of their closest friends!! It's good.

K: What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with?

Hm. Well once I had this AU where this one dude got possessed by a Big Bad and it was Rough because it ended with him dying? It was Great man

L: What’s the weirdest AU you’ve ever come up with?

Hm. Uhhhhhhh. My friends and I made the Slorp AU. Search my blog for the tag ‘slorp’; I will not give context.

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share?

Well rn I'm writing a thingy that's just a look into what happened during this one off-screen event… in this event, pretty much everybody but one person dies!! I'm trying to actually write it well, with proper pacing and emotions and everything. It's a big WIP and I'm sure it's gonna be long and angsty whoops.

N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. Hurt/comfort, preferably platonic. I'd Die if there was more of that because it's exactly my very specific tastes.

O: How do you begin a story–with the plot, or the characters?

Kinda both? It's the characters, reacting to and/or kicking off the plot.

P: Are you what George R. R. Martin would call an “architect” or a “gardener”? (How much do you plan in advance, versus letting the story unfold as you go?)

Ummm more gardener? I have vague ideas in my head, but exact structure is Hard.

Q: Do you have any discarded scenes/storylines/projects?

Oh definitely. I have a whole little Google doc of discarded scenes and lines.

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?

The published author Terry Pratchett is one of my favorite authors! His writing style is very expressive and honestly probably where I get my preference for limited third-person from.

Fanfic-wise… @ldotrage again, their dialogue is always so good, @yonch is a good friend of mine and their way of showing emotions and thoughts through word and punctuation choices? Excellent! Also, @solrosfalt ! Go check out their FE fic, Princess of Dawn! It's still in progress and the fight scenes are amazing and vibrant. I want to someday pace fight scenes like that.

S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist?

Can't think of any? Though, I am all for acknowledging which characters in-game are absolute powerhouses… (Here's looking at you, Caeda.)

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?

Mmm can't think of any? I can't think of fandom-wide tropes.

U: A pairing you might like to write for, but haven’t tried yet.

Shintaro and Ayano from Kagerou Project. I already know I Love Them.

V: A secondary (or underrated) character you want to see more of in fic?

Cain, from the Archanea series in Fire Emblem! He's one of my top FE favorites and honestly I probably fixate on him more than I should given he's a more minor character.

W: Do you like more general prompts, or more specific ones?

Kinda depends, but I think general! I like dialogue prompts, honestly, the ones that are like one or two lines. They're general and fun to work with, if you have the right one.

X: A character you enjoy making suffer.

Hrk. All. All of my favorites??? Again: guilty pleasure is angsty hurt/comfort.

Y: A character you want to protect.

Marth from Shadow Dragon!! He's a good boy, and needs a good support group.

Z: Major character death–do you ever write/read it? Is there a character whose death you can’t tolerate?

I don't tend to write or read MCD much, just because I don't I guess, but I find deaths super hard to pace, so I shy away from it. When it comes to deaths… Um, the death of main characters in like, ‘everyone dies’ AU's. I want my happy endings, dangit.

#long post #asks #ask memes #ask meme responses #writing ask meme

[dev-hub4fixfict-ut]

Know & Determinate: II- the surface and a lame witch; chap 1

/racism, /hate crime, /physical assault, /alcohol, /c slur, /unsanitary, /witchcraft, /panic attack, bad writing. like, really bad. i wrote this when i was in a bs brainspace in highschool to cope.

a self-insert fanfiction where i write what happens after my runs of undertale. written in google docs and idk what im doing. Frisk is 12, use they/them, has a bullshit life, Chara also uses they/them, and is still here, and never meant for all this to happen, they hate each other, and Sans is still, and forever will be, a mess.

_________

here we go with that stuff !! im pumped enough to not collapse of stage anxiety ah ah.

please do not confuse my complicated style for pretentiousness. im but a wordy insecure fool. with a super touchy soft spot for a small fat skeleton. and lots of imagination.

this isn’t something for fontcest and frans shippers and gross ppl who villainize and misgender kids and call gay couples “hawt sin” tho. u guys are uglies and i hate you, go away. ;U

_________

“Sans” i deadpanned.

He perked up a little, his forever-fucking-smiling expression mirroring my tone -with his eyes. Eyes’ sockets. Those were the only hints of what he was actually thinking. Because his fake smile -fake, i’m so sure of it, so fake smile, it only ever dropped when Frisk’s puppeted body struck him down, the very only moment he stopped- wow getting sidetracked. Anyway.

“Sans.” i repeated. i need to repeat myself a lot. Verbal dyspraxia i think. He didn’t seem to know that and squinted a bit more, indication of his annoyance/suspicion/mistrust/wariness. ‘s what his squinting usually means, directed at me. Can’t blame him. “i…” Truth is, i don’t actually know what to tell him. ‘s just. i love him, and i know it sounds crass and misplaced blurted out like this, but as a consequence, i’m worried about him. A lot. Constantly. i hope bpd isn’t blurring my judgement too much. ‘m not sure he does take care of himself as well as he deserve. And look who’s talking, right ? But he is surrounded by loving friends and family. And has his brother. He could get help. Good help.

Damn my hesitance was making him unnerved. I could see it in how he turned to me, bone hands switching in and out of his pockets. I only hugged myself tighter, hands vaguely gesturing.

“i… Could i offer you to crash on my couch sometimes ? Or bed even, i don’t use mine a lot, actually. Since it’s, y’know, closer to a good part of your odd jobs than your house and Papyrus isn’t home then ?” Dang that was weirder out loud. i kept a blank face to show i was serious. i was- the guy looked even more tired than me. Tells something.

“uh. kid, you got something going in the back of your mind ?” Damn he took me too seriously. Squinting hard at me now, he was the perfect studied statue of calm judgement. Damn he was good at those.

“Well, safe from letting you get a good deserved rest more easily, not much !!” i made sure to answer jovially, doing the whole ‘punching the air round and low in excitement’ thing. We could be two playing the happy clown game.

i had found him at Grillby’s, like usual. his food was getting cold. like usual too. what was less usual was the tense manner he held himself when i came in, and how he “straightened” up, like he had forgotten himself, when i greeted him, pat on the shoulder. he would have flinched but he wouldn’t have wanted me onto him about it. so his eye socket had violently twitched -violently as in, noticeably, by his standards, and...uh lost myself again, fuck.

What i mean is that he was having a harsh day, probably after a harsher even night, his ptsd acting up (‘m not supposed to know ‘bout that. He himself doesn’t even know it. i just read. and relate), and i wanted to help him. now, maybe i had been presumptuous thinking i could…

So that’s why i insisted, vigorously,

“And uh-we can watch some trash movies and stuff, anytime, and like you can just stop by during your in-between shifts, even if i’m not home, i’ll give you a spare key and-” sudden stop. oh no. He gave me The Hand.

He indeed did, holding it up, like he wanted me to slow down. i did, obviously, but uh. did that mean i was overwhelming him, or annoying ? Was there a difference ?? Did it matter ???

Not now, because he was talking, and internal anxiety mini attack made me split focus, and i wanted full focus on what he said, on him.

“look kid,” i hate he calls me that “i appreciate whatchu tryin to do here” meh.liar. spill it. “but i can’t accept. paps would be upset if he knew i was squatting-”

“No he wouldn’t !! He would call it ‘GREAT FRIENDLY HANGOUTS OF REST’ and be very happy we uuh spend time together and stuff-”

“ok” glaring at me now, probably pissed i used his bro’s good nature to shot down his excuse. Heh. Two play at that game. “but here’s the thing.” he advanced himself up to me, nearly out of his seat. i held my ground. uh oh. “we a r e n’t f r i e n d s.”

Ouch. i mean i knew this but. Ouch. His eyes hadn’t blacked out on that last part, but nearly, too. Could be that his already hazy eyelights had just dimmed in exasperation but um. That didn’t feel any better. i gulped. Just a little. Just to keep down the new forming clog in my throat. Just a little one. i knew this.

“i know this !! but look, we could be, if we hanged out !” i didn’t dare say more. My eyes stung a lil bit too much for my liking and while never embarrassed by my tears, didn’t want to embarrass him.

‘s not like i was seriously hurt. i knew where we stood, and that my crush was going to stay that, a crush. what really stung was the utter lack of trust and the hatred-like suspicion he had of me. that and also feeling like i’m watching someone drown, but can’t help, because when i reach out they swat me away in fear i would be the one pushing them further. That’s probably more of my saviour complex dramatizing everything, but it’s bad to be helpless when you know someone, and you’re the only one to notice where they’re headed, because they’re great at pretending, but it’s like looking at yourself in a mirror for you. Get me ?

But. That’s fair. We hadn’t started well off. At all. Oh boy we hadn’t…

___

Seems like now would be a good time to make a small recap, uh ? ‘bout how i ended up knowing that dude, falling in love, analysing his mental shit and all that jazz. Yeah.

me, some lame girl who won’t eat for days and forgo sleep just because, who doesn’t shave but my actual hair, doesn’t do makeup, who doesn’t smile when I’m told to and who grins for no apparent reason whenever a new daydream pops up, because i’m kind of stuck in my own head because it’s better in here. because of… trauma crap. i get by by drawing and playing games where i can just save everyone.

i don’t know if you get what i mean. i sorta hope you don’t. Because it hurts. But at the same time it’d be awesome if you did, because y a y let’s relate about crap !

Don’t know if it matters, too.

Could help to get a few friends. But being  an asocial, asexual, kinda aromantic mess kinda throws that out of the window. You’d think so many A would get me higher in life eh heh heh heh heeeeeh… not funny. i’m not funny. My life is not funny. The way i react to it can be, though.

Like, that one time i was hanging out on my own, outside the bar i had first entered with classmates, as i tried to be less of a hermit, in a bar street and fled because i can't stand alcoholic jerks, and then saw this crowd of tough guys ejecting a small and stout person in a blue hoodie from said bar by fucking throwing a chair at them through the fucking window, and seeing that this little dude is a monster, and knowing they’re gonna get busted down to a puddle of dust by the mastodont looming over them if nobody intervenes ?

i reacted funny.

---

“Yoo-ou ffffffuking cunt, I-I’m gon’ mash you to the dirt yo motha shitted after getting fucked by yooour d-d-dog of a oold man-”

As he spits the words, an obviously very drunk dude stumbles closer and closer to the monster, his hands shaking like he wants to grip their head and smash it.

Freak it. This son of a bitch may be slurring like he drank the whole city, but he’s for sure all out to kill him ! Get up and run, little dude !

“c’mon man, “fucking cunt” , fun king or earl, it’s still a bit early to speak ‘bout mothers isn’t it?”

[i recognize him]

Pfft- what ? i snort loudly from my spot.

Okay, this is a gloriously  bad, stretched pun -but now is not the time for goodness’ sake ! Run, dude, run -wait, is that a skeleton ?!

[i recognize him]

Oh my fuck, how dumb is that dude, going out in a popular bar at what-the-heck-hours in this stupid city ! There were shootings and assassination attempts on the monster gym leader not even two blocks away yesterday ! And you just go in there with a face that screams “LOOK AT ME” ?! Are you stupid or do you just lack of basic preservation instincts ?!

The brute keeps advancing, spouting shit, a sort of gang backing him up, toward mc comicbonedude, a guy i assume, given the voice, but with monsters you never know, gender’s a myth but not them- who’s still on the ground, backtracking, crawling with a grin it didn’t drop the whole time, is it stuck or something and doesn’t look like getting up holy crap he can’t get up, the more hatred a monster is confronted with the hardest it hits he must be low on hp or something he’s gonna get killed

[i recognize him]

mc comicbonedude cracks another joke or is it his ribs cracking under the viscious kick he just got he’s thrown nearer the spot i’m chilling in. Another kick. Nearer. They can't see me, i’m well hidden in the shadows. Another kick.

This time, mc comicbonedude gags out a pun about sole-ution to the problem being-

FUCK OFF!! a gun is being drawn out.

Screw this i’m not witnessing a murder, fucking racists fucking xenophobics fucking city full of fucking shitheads there are other people around here why isn’t anyone but i don’t want to die either that's how it is, eli, always strive for yourself.

i get up fast and sprint to the monster, screaming about cops and a monster attack and insults, anything to spark a bit of panic, deck a scrawny fucker the one who.was.going.to.shoot.him. and aim for the skeleton, who yells.

[i recognize him]

i grab him by the hood and run in some narrower streets, hearing yells after me, and the anxiety is building up a little too much for my usual adrenaline numbing spell to work-

i trip on some trash and my own feet -same difference, fall over, roll, get up that’s how you do it eli, hit and roll, but back on your feet. And keep running, holding the monster close to my chest he’s warm that means he’s still alive and ok, right, left, dodge the you whore you bitch get back here you bitch and the bullets yup i’m good at thiiiiiiis- a bullet still grazes my ankle, I stumble, nearly faceplant, and it hurts but like a sting and I’m still alive. The adrenaline keeps pumping and i feel so light, i sprint into a shabby alley, panting like a dog, i think i’m crying, and drool is mixing with it. i can feel the headache coming, and mc comicbonedude is heavy enough to slip in my arms why won’t he move ? Is he dead ? Is he in shock ?

[i recognize him]

i run to a staircase, you know, the rusty and slippery metal kind outside buildings for fire escape ? Exactly what i need, as the assholes keep firing at me, huh. I climb, to the top, jump to the next building am i really doing this as me for real and run. i don’t know if they’re still after us, my ears won’t stop ringing, and i can’t tell it apart from sirens. I’m on a four stories building running to save a skeleton who

who starts emitting blue and yellow light and what the hell is happening why am i floating holy fuck i’m two inches away to be totally out of not-looking-near-enough-at-all- concrete to fall on.

[i recognize him]

[*focus insufficient]

[*procedure fails]

He’s silent. Sprawled two meters away from where I’m hanging

h-how did i

Looking exhausted and furious, like a cornered dog who has already taken on a tiger in the past, and from his left pupil there’s a cyan blue and yellow flame ? crackling, or bubbling ? or is it just flashing. can’t tell eyes too blurry. and dark blue is surrounding me at my sternum is that monster magic it’s beautiful, did i get headshot i can’t thing straight no. i can’t breath. It’s holding me in place. i can’t breath properly. i try to call out for him, he’s just overreacting in an understandable alarm but

please don’t crunchy crush the goofy girl on the cracking hard ground but when I try, I look at his eyes. One is glowing a fiery but disturbed cyan and yellow, with shards of red here and there, and the other is blank dead. Black. i’m terrified. He pants and that’s the only sound for a while. He’s alive. Good. Am i going to still be alive after this ?

“DON’T DROP ME DON’T WANNA DIE DON’T KILL ME OKAY IT'S THE LAST TIME I’M HELPING OUT ANYONE I PROMISE I’M SORRY PLEASE DON’T KILL ME. DUDE PLEASE.”

“wha- ghh- !” He flinches like waking up. He lets go- lets go of meeee-

“AAAAAAAAAH NO !” He gasps and grasps again. i only slipped a meter into nothingness “Oh please please please i really don’t wanna die, and not falling, it looks like suicide i don’t do that i managed not to so don’t spoil it all ok i-”

“what- kid no stop r-”

“SO SORRY DON’T KILL ME DON’T-”

“ kiiiid please” he’s clutching at his skull now.

“PLEASE D-”

“shut. up”

Ok. Not talking.

Whimpering and sobbing a bit, but he better take this because i’m having an anxiety attack and it will escalate into a hyperventilation fit if he doesn't lower me on the ground and I can't calm down.

“Please don’t kill me.” blurts out anyway of my gritted teeth.

A white light bulb alights in his empty eyes socket, and the glow in the other dims. Could he not see me before ? Hey, is that a crack across his skull ? Augh that looks like it s t i n g s.

“ H-hey, there. You- ah, fffuck this hurts. You okay ?” i try.

Nothing. He stares at me, as if watching out for something. I can feel the power around me wavering. He needs to come to his senses before I go kiss the dirt.

“P-please don’t leave me hanging.” He snorts, but keeps scrutinizing me, shaking. ‘s like he’s half understanding the pun, half not there. Silent.

“Woah, that was bad, even for me; guess i’m just that high.” i attempt a feeble finger gun.

He holds back a laugh “pffft- what the hell, kid- oh fuck.” He starts, realizing what i’m hinting at. He drags me back to the ground. i still can't move, but breathing is easier. i whimper again -heck i’m surprised i didn't piss myself- and draw out a looong sigh.

Now we stare at each other awkwardly is not strong enough to cut it. And i observe, that i m may be sweaty, tired and teary, but he looks bad.

His skull is definitely cracked across his left eye, he won’t stop shaking, sweats profusely and seems to have troubles breathing so monsters skeletons breathe and pant. Ok. Do they cry too ? Cuz that weird red stuff oozing from his damaged eye doesn’t look like tears but that can’t be blood… right ?

He looks horrible, if only physically. But the way his eyes sway, with this grin I can’t find the reason for, it worries me more. Is he ... having an episode, or something ? i mean he could be and be totally inoffensive, but ? Was he the one attacking first back at the bar ? is he really having an episode of some sort ? i’m not too nice when i’m having an episode either.

Should i cry for help ? i can't budge from his grasp.

And i know i shouldn’t but i’m feeling an attack coming up- the restraint is triggering my ptsd ridden ass…..

Let me go y-you there c’mon i can’t take this not my shit nuh uh lemme go lemme go lemme go

“ lemme go…” woah not pathetic at all. “Let me go.” no reaction, try again “LET M-” i can’t move my mouth.

The pressure fucktupled, and it’s like my lungs and my muscles are being crushed.

“ok buddy, pal, chum, whoever you are, what the fuck ?”

i can’t answer you, you dumbfuck you just muted me

“i mean, nice save and all. thanks i guess. but who the heck and what on earth are you up to ?” both of his eyes went black oh my god what did i do to your highness Hecate like seriously now how did i end in such a mess.

“H-how about we both calm down first, and talk next ?” i seem to break through the mute. ok good, deep breaths, count backward from ninety to zero, relax, we’re both freaking out, he’s as spooked as you-which is funny cuz he’s the skeleton- focus on breathing.

Still no answer. “Look, i, i get it, bad freak out, i interrupted you back there, i get you’re fucked up-” nothing but his eyes narrowing “ but i’m cool. Swear i am. i’m cold and m’name is uidelsib. you can call me sib ! Cool enough ?”

i extend my hand, ready to give him a strong good ole handshake, but he doesn’t take up on it.

Instead he stays frozen, “Not cool, dude,” hand still extended, but lowered, as if he could grab me again “ r e a l l y not cool,” i insist, and his bones are, he’s. shaking ? Yeah. Shivering violently, like he’s super cold too, which is pretty normal given he’s what. Up with me on a high building, one, two hundred meters in the sky, exposed to the icy wind ? Figures.

His bones are making this clattering clickety sound, stresses me out damn. He’s studying me. But it’s also like he can’t focus. Shivering too much. Shock, probably. His eye socket’s still oozing that red shit. Not thick enough to be blood, and too scarletish, but what do i know ‘bout monsters.

[oh, what do i don’t]

He takes a step toward me.

“ not fucking cool, not in the least-” i let out, jaw still clenched.

His bones rattles one last time, on the cement ground. His knees buckled under him the next moment he moved. His arms couldn’t support him.

i approach him, concerned. Once the pursuit’s adrenaline and the near death experience done with, my mind is settling, and i can think more clearly. He, on the other hand…

He stirs as i come closer. Tries to growl something i can’t decipher, but it comes out as a whimper, pained. My heart constricts in my ribs. Fuck, i hadn’t meant shit to go down like that. i seem to have a talent to fuck up, but i only wanted to help.

i tell him that. He grunts, doesn’t acknowledges me further, and quivers as he tries to stand up. He can’t though. I see it from where i am, he shakes enough to make a dr.pepper bursts.

i snort at the image, a skeleton shaking a bottle fixed on his spine, then flies away with the pressure- w o w i’m gone far. Need a bed. Asap. Concentrate on the situation at hand.

He, though, doesn’t react well to my laughter. He immediately stiffens, and

goes slack. Unmoving on the ground. He fainted ? i go on a hunch and inch closer, on the tip of my toes, hunched over myself, because i can’t tell if he’s dead or if i’m going to be.

[i recogni-- --- [REDACTED]]

i shake my head furiously. i can’t let those thoughts take my attention away from what’s taking place here and now.

i’m close enough now. something like a meter away, i can see him still shivering, and hear him rasp some breaths out. So he can breathe-

[i knew tha- [REDACTED]]

Not Now. i need to focus, i got a seemingly dying monster mere steps away from me.

i crouch down, slowly. My leg muscles burn enough i’m trembling too and i’m pretty sure my teeth are chattering, the noise mingling with his bones against the asphalt.

He’s still face down, arms limp on his sides, and i spy his eyelights peeking at me, way less sharp than when he had me pinned in the air just. one minute ago ?

i creep closer, he tenses, i stop.

“You’re ok.” i whisper. “We’re ok and we’re leaving.” i try to keep my voice from wavering but meh. ‘s not like there’s much face to save, for both of us.

i reach my hand toward him. He doesn’t move. i put it on his back, barely pressing, he tenses. And then disappears with a ping.

[ (*did you think i was going to stay here and t--- -- -) [REDACTED]]

NOT NOW I SAID. GE E. WHERE DID HE Go ?

He’s back right where he was. He basically just blinked in and out of existence. And he’s looking even more exhausted, if that’s possible, sweating bullets and heaving noisily, before he quiets himself. He’s also glaring at me, but meekly, and i’m not too scared anymore to be honest. He looks more frustrated than anything, although i can guess he’s actually scared to death. HAH.

“Hey you’re ok, i said, i just. Need to get us somewhere safe. Yeah. Not here.” i croak out. i’m starting to feel the freezing wind more, too. i can’t afford to stall and give him time to think. i can still hear the sirens. They’re looking for someone. And i don’t want the police on my back, even if i didn’t do anything reprehensible in the end.

So i slide my hands under him, still making sure i don’t touch any possible sensitive areas, and decide to go for the armpits, and hey i might get a tickle out of him ! ...ahah no. As i try to heave him up on his… surprisingly tiny feet ? did he lose his shoes or. Whatever. He just stays as silent as he is limp. And boy is he limp as a rock. Not quite as heavy though, good.

“You’re lighter than you look-” might as well try to make some conversation “and uh, can you walk ?” Or at least i can try to fill the heavy silence. Let’s just forget the “tried to kill you” thing. We’re both in deep crap anyway, and i can understand having baggage.

He really won’t walk though. He barely makes a sound too. If i hadn’t heard him sooner i’d think he can’t talk or something. i barely get a grunt out of him as i put him on my hip, which isn’t hard given he’s like. Half my size. Fun sized boney menace.

And i begin to trudge down the stairs- not the ones i came from, i don’t want to get caught if the cops are back there and it’s too far anyways. i want a bed. Now. A lone pillow would do.

He doesn’t seem much different, dangling on my side barely sparing me a glare as i look down at him, checking if he’s not dusting yet. He stopped “bleeding” at least. He still got that nasty huge scar.

i can feel him staring when i’m not looking. He’s still wary. Probably only lets me pull this only because he can’t not. Heh, at least he doesn’t seem to mind that i’m carrying him like you’d do a toddler. i just, need my other arm to grip and grab at the staircase bars when i slip.

Nah he looks more disgusted to be touching me than anything. Everytimes we get into more contact, because i’m bumping a wall or stumbling on my own feet again, i can distinctly feel him shudder, and try to get away. It’s just a little distracting, and unbalancing, and a lil tidbit hurtful. But i can’t blame him. i’d be throwing a fucking fuss and dishing fists if our places switched.

At least it’s relatively calm. We didn’t meet anyone, maybe a few rats rummaging garbage, and some monsters hurrying home, Whimsuns i think ? No one that paid us any mind at least.

So we’re still walking slowly when rain hits us hard, and nearly sends me on my ass. Doesn’t help the shivering, but now it’ll clean the streets out for sure. It’s something past midnight, i don’t wanna find anyone out at this hour.

But i’d kinda appreciate finding my way to somewhere because

“Aaaaaaaaaaa a h ahhh i got no idea the fuck i’m g-going…” Ah fuck. i said that out loud. And now my passenger's giving me his best ‘are u fuckin kiddin me’ stare. He’s. Very unamused.

“L-look, this isn’t, this isn’t my part of the city, okay?? i’m- i’m tryin’ to g-get us to the monster neighbourhoods, but i don’t know the fuck where it is, alright ?!” My tone escalates with my pitch, and i nearly slip again as he flinches away from me. Damn it, not helping eli, still in an episode or something. Don’t yell.

“Y-y-yeeah okay, look. ‘m sorry i cried but i’m in shock and still lost, kay? S-so maybe help or som’thin’ ?” Indications would help yeah. And now he’s listening, he’s also less shaky and putting his weight on me in a way that hinders our progression less. Good.

He nods. Good.

“Good. Gooood good good good.” i’m on autopilot now, following the skeleton’s grunted directions. i take a few wrong turns every now and then, but what can you do with nonverbal advice, and we end up in a part of the city i recognize, because i’ve seen it on tv and wanted to come look around anyway.

The gym stadium. A big building, at least big for a monster building, given the prices get surprisingly higher when they’re buying, stylized like a Japanese dojo, with anime advertisement posters (whether for the dojo or the animes i got no ideas) on the walls and- oh my gosh are those- fish, dolphin, shark and starfish stickers on the windows.

“Perfect !” i half yell, significantly lighting up. Mc comicbonedude looks at me like i’ve grown a second head, and i give him a big manic smile, obviously stressed out. My right eye might be twitching a little too. Does that when i’m under pressure. He decides to go back to slumping against me and questioning his life choices, and i take that as an ‘okay GO’ to proceed with my genius only just made up plan.

i march up quickly, -i want this DONE WITH. NEXT TIME i GO ON AN IMPROMPTU RESCUE MISSION I’M TAKING MY LEAD UMBRELLA AND A CHANGE OF CLOTHING- to the tall doors, who thanks fucking gods are under a porch, that saves us from being drenched anymore, and pound it with all i got.

“OI BLUE WATER GAL ! OPEN UP!!! I KNOW YOU’RE STILL WORKING, YOU ALWAYS BRAG ABOUT NOT SLEEPING AND PROVIDING A 19/24H SERVICE ON TV!!! OPEN UUUPP!! B I T C H! OPEN!!UP!!”

Skeleton is googly eyeing me like the second head i’ve definitely grown started reciting the ten commandments to belzebuth themselves,

[and he’s not too far off]

but i don’t care my dude i am d o n e. If i get welcomed with a fist to the face i don’t give a diggly doogly dang fuck so long i can get inside and lay down. Even on the cold ass tile floor. i’m don-

“OI PUNK, WHAT’S UP WITH THAT RUCKUS ?? YOU TRYING TO PICK A DUEL WITH ME ? CUT IT OUT UNLESS YOU WANT A POUNDING COMPETITION FUFUFUFUFUFUH~ I’M OFFERING THOUGH !”

Ah, right, i’m still hitting that door. Ouch, that’s gonna swell. Oh welp.

But the voice came from...up?

i step backward some, under the rain, ugh, and look up to see, yup, a noodly armed blue fish person with bright scarlet red hair pulled up in a bun, all sweaty, a poor guy in a chokehold, peeking out of the second floor window, taking in the pouring rain with gusto. A gigantic lightning bolt, quickly followed by loud ass thunder, comes to compliment her boisterous apparition, and she grins- smirks? wide locking her single eye on me, the lighting making her golden teeth flash.

She comes down to greet my miserable form fast, not taking the stairs, but jumping out of the window (much more graciously than mc comicbonedude previously), having let go of her victim- sparring partner previously, good gods, and lands at my feet like nobody’s business, to then bolt up, eager to see the intruder to her night sessions.

And Undyne, former Captain of the Royal Guard of Monsterkind Underground, all steel like blue scales, glinting golden slitted eye and sharp mouth, now renowned Master of Fights in her stadium, among monsters and humans even more, already black belt of more martial arts than i know of, and fresh survivor of one of the biggest terrorist hits on monsters yet, is staring me down, from her easy two meters height, like i’m her next meal.

i gulp. i’m so fucked.

i’m so fucked and not just for the fact that i am royally gay and all, but also cuz…

[i recognize her]

[she was so hard to f---- [REDACTED]]

[couldn’t figure out that all we had to do was to run and then ---- -- ------- [REDACTED]]

“Uh ?” Her gaze has finally caught on my now bundled up passenger, who’s shivering in cold rather than fear, on my hip, who only lazily grins a

“sup”

“YO SANS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THIS WIMPY HUMAN AT THIS TIME OF THE NIGHT ?? AND Y’ALL ARE SOAKED !! GET INSIDE, NERDS !!!”

[i know him]

i follow hollowly the orders and get inside, feel a weight leave my side-kinda miss that already, to then feel a big fluffy towel drape over me. Then i sit down. In the hall on the ground, probably. Wooden floor is in my direct line vision. Uh. Thing is well taken care of, all waxed and clear, who would have guessed.

[i know them both. very well actually]

[Chara would be nervously giggling if they were here]

[wonder what they’re up to]

[and Frisk too, obviously]

[what about Flowey though. no idea what the lil shit is up to in pacifist endings]

i’m so f UCK E D.

---

Aaaand that’s how i ended up rocking back and forth in Undyne’s dojo’s main hall for half of the night, muttering about video games and fucking witchcraft gone wrong again and shit fuck damnit, i guess it was denial all along those last two, six months ? And oOH WELP, guess i did cradle like a toddler my fictional crush for the last, what, half hour ? Whoopsies.

Hhhhhhhh

fuck that ink witch status, that was not planned.

___

When i finish my flashback, and it’s been something like six months again since, got to “meet” his super cool great bro, not on his account though, Undyne just had to introduce Papsy to the dweeb that “saved his big brother” and also Asgore, Toriel, for a quick ‘thanks you’, even a small interview with Mettaton, that made a hit on the Undernet, and mingled a bit with monsters- i’m friend with Chesty Brun now (Burgerpants), and Alphys, because we’re following the same mangas-

he’s already gone, burger nearly untouched, ketchup covered fries half eaten and drink finished, and i’m tempted to ask Grillby, who is hovering close behind his bar, fretting a little, in front of my frozen form, if “you’re gon throw that out ? sure i can’t finish ?”  Because it’d be a real shame to let all that delicious grub go to waste. But that’d be creepy as fuck, even moreso taking my feelings for the small dude, and his against me, so i don’t, and he’ll probably feed it to his pet lava rock anyway, so i stop hugging myself and rocking back and forth and go back to my seat, waving him off with a sorry smile, and go back to sullenly sipping my vanilla milkshake.

Can’t blame Sans.

He’s cautious. Understandable.

i know what he’s had to put up with.

[and so do all of you]

[dirty brother killers ?]

[i hope not]

[i really wonder how’s Chara doing…]

AAAAAAAaaaaaaah how do i turn this shit off ?? Let me pretend i’m normal in a normal situation stupid brain thing !!

...ah. screw it. this magic milkshake is fabulous. That’s totally what i’m crying about.

“Don’t worry Grillby.”

_______________

ye don’t worry my dudes. can i call y’all that ? ‘s gender neutral. ‘m a demi girl, and you can call me “my dude”, my dudes. wow what a bull of crap i pulled here, sorry trans girls and enbies

this isn’t beta read cuz i’m on my own and english isn’t my native language, i’m french, so plz forgive mistakes.

i had some drafts lying around my google docs for a year now, mostly about bugging and kissing snas, put them together and thought i’d do an actual Thing with it all. this isn’t good, i know it.

lest to say i have no idea what i’m doing !

and don’t know when this’ll update, it it does. i had the motivation to finish this cuz there was no clients at the restaurant i worked at back in july. blah blah blebs blah. 

#/witchcraft #/unsanitary #/c slur #/physical assault #/alcohol #/hate crime #/racism #/panic attack #Know & Determinate: II- the surface and a lame witch #uidelsibwrites #old art

[auideas]

Ask the Admins 9.0

anon asked: So was AtA skipped on purpose or accident?

HA (by accident but don’t tell anyone).

anon asked: Is ask the admins replacing the quotes for today?

We will be doing all the things today - hold tight for some quotes later!

anon asked: Before I forget, are you going to change the MASTERLIST OF TAGS to have the assistant admins on there too (since you have yourselves and the previous admins)?

Yup! We’re still in the process of updating the blog to accommodate for the additional admins. We’re hoping to be finished in the next week or so.

anon asked: Don't watch "A Dog's Purpose"!! Unless you're okay with a terrified dog being forced/pushed into rushing water just to film a scene when a CGI would have sufficed.

Chamomile: eyerooooooll

M: God dangit.

Syren: Yooo I saw that video! I actually discussed it in a round at my last speech meet. It's sick, they won't be getting my support.

Jynn: See: Admin Chamomiles response. In any case I am too Tired(TM) to get into all that and too broke to see any movie in theaters anyways.

Vox: Man, I know I trusted Rotten Tomatoes for a reason.

anon asked: I recently started a fandom specific prompt blog and I have no idea how to get it out there?? I'm tagging all the posts but I don't think anyone's seen them. XD what do I do? Thanks in advance!

Chamomile: okay so what you need to do is get a really popular post to blow up, then let people find the blog. It takes a lot of grinding and luck, but don’t give up!

M: Yup that happened with us here; we had a couple posts that got wildly popular, and people have been finding the blog ever since (namely that one Never Book quote everyone loves so much). Some advice I’d give is to be consistent, be involved in the writing community, and don’t give up - this stuff takes a chunk out of your life, but we love helping you all out!

anon asked: WOULD YOU RATHER: get paid a penny to talk about what you're thinking of, or pay two pennies to say your opinions? -- penny for your thoughts vs put my two cents in

Chamomile: I’ll take the single penny.

M: I’ll be the person who listens to two people then gives those people their pennies back so I can tell them what I think of their thoughts. Poor man’s capitalism.

Syren: I'd probs just say what I want to say, no money involved. Unless they needed it.

Jynn: One cent, I need the cash.

Vox: As a business major I need to say penny for your thoughts. (As resident busybody and IRL mom friend….)

anon asked: Which would you (admins and assistants) rather be? A king/queen, lord/lady, duke/duchess, emperor/empress, or pharaoh?             

Chamomile: I answered this in another ask and said I wanted to be a Queen but...make me a Lord instead.

M: I’d be good with anything, but I feel like being the legitimate King would be far too much pressure - I’m going to go with Prince, Duke, or Lord.

Syren: Make me an empress, I'll be the coolest one since Kuzco.

Jynn: Hmmm whichever one has the lowest responsibility to money ratio. I have zero experience doing any of those things but I like being rich.

Vox: I’d say pharaoh, but like... old timey era sort of pharaoh. 10/10 would gladly deal with Egyptian heat to lazily lounge around while half-naked people cater to my whims.

anon asked: PlayStation or XBox?

Chamomile: XBOX

M: I gotta say Playstation only because I grew up with a Playstation 2, not an Xbox :b

Syren: Xbox, cause I've never played a PS woops

Jynn: I don’t play video games but I wouldn’t pass up a good ol PS2.

Vox: PS all the way.

anon asked: reason(s) for chosen usenames? (e.g. is it your favorite type of tea? is it your favorite letter?)

Chamomile: It’s a super cryptic homestuck reference that literally 0.2% of the fans would recognize.

M: Lol my name is Em y’all

Syren: My real name is Camryn, and I think Syren sounds like Siren- one of my favorite mythical creatures

Jynn: It’s part of my regular screen name which is JynniSlorg. A mishmash of stuff I can’t even remember but that must have made some semblance of sense back when I was 14.

Vox:  It’s when you typerventilate but with a latin twist. Even though ‘vox’ technically means voice. Typervoxilations sounds a lot cooler than typerecfuntilations. (Especially when you’re immature and read things quickly like me and typerecfuntilations starts to look like ‘erectile dysfunction’).

anon asked: Do yo know where this is from: "Rabbits die of loneliness, you know!" [This quotes means a lot to me]

Chamomile: No idea, but I have an unknown quote too! “Rain on a sunny day means a fox’s wedding”.

M: It reminds me of the Velveteen Rabbit, but I’m not really sure!

Syren: My first guess would be ‘Of Mice and Men’ by Steinbeck, but I don't think that's how the quote in that book goes…

Jynn: No but it’s probably either classic literature or anime.

Vox: When I see ‘rabbits’ I automatically think Zootopia, but I’ve never seen so I have no clue!

anon asked: Hey, if we start trying to ship the aa with the admins, can we call M and Vox "Pixilation"?

M: Pftttt for sure - the more ships, the merrier!

Vox: (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧ WHAT A CUTE SHIP NAME, I’M HONORED FRIEND.

anon asked: Without looking it up, do you know what this is from?: "I'm a bad dream. I'm a rad scene. I'm a tad mean. But I'm not afraid to take you out."       

Chamomile: Is this a Franz Ferdinanz song?

M: Eyyyyyy that’s RWBY - found it on YouTube a while ago and I was pleasantly surprised

Syren: No clue. And I think Chamomile’s thinking of the song ‘Take *Me* Out’ ;)

Jynn: RWBY right? I’m p sure it’s a Jeff Williams song.

Vox: Nope! (❁´◡`❁)

anon asked: Have you ever written a character with a physical disability? If yes, what was the hardest thing about writing the character?            

Chamomile: Yep! Prosthetics, wheelchairs, and canes on multiple occasions. Hearing aids a handful of times, and a whole lot of glasses. I guess the hardest thing is just adjusting to a new character’s quirks? Changing how a character gestures and responds to other characters.

M: Yes I have, and it was difficult to do, but I wrote about someone I know who has cerebral palsy, and because I know them so well, I understand their daily struggle and can write about it fairly well. I think the most difficult part was acknowledging that I don’t really know everything about the disability and had to do a lot of research before taking it from their point of view.

Syren: I'm actually writing a character right now that has Chiari Malformation and Syringomyelia, cause I have them and never hear about anyone else having them (even though they're kinda common), so I thought it'd be interesting! Hardest thing is probably fitting my symptoms into another person.

Jynn: Yep! I don’t know if I’d say hardest but I always try to do a lot of research into how certain things will affect the small everyday parts of life. My brother and his friends have really helped me become better at that since they’re most all amputees and I have quite a few amputee characters. It’s just v important to look at real life people to see the details people could miss about how certain things affect people's lives.

Vox: Of course! I wrote for Bucky Barnes once, and to be fair, the work was more focused on the mental more than the physical, but there was a fair amount of how much of what Hydra did to him (especially the metal bits), and I had a character once who was completely blind. The hardest part of writing it was the fact that I’ve never been in the shoes of either but I have to find a way to, especially with the kind of writing I do.

anon asked: Do you have any AU’s that you’ve always wanted to post but never have?

Chamomile: Sooooo many. I wanted to do an AU where Character A is an immortal who has to “trade” a part of themself every time they come back to life (ex: in one regeneration they don’t have their right arm, in another regeneration they have both arms but no voice, etc.)

M: I have a lot of 3 a.m. AU’s that never actually make it into the drafts and just sit in my notes for a while - one of the more infamous ones that has been in the drafts for months now is the truffle mushroom one. I’ll say no more.

Syren: I haven't given up on any of my au ideas yet, but I've definitely got quite the list of one's to write.

Jynn: Hmmm I don’t have any in mind that I don’t plan to post in the future.

Vox: See: AA C-Ryn. Every now and then I go back to tweak em but eventually, they’ll be beautiful potatoes I can dig out of my google docs and present to the world.

#admin m #the admin chamomile #a. admin jynn #a. admin c-ryn #a. admin vox #ask the admins #this has been a public broadcast #faq #admin syren #admin jynn #admin vox

[php-sp]

Icelander - Accessible Business Portfolio & WooCommerce WordPress Theme

New Post has been published on https://intramate.com/wordpress-themes/icelander-accessible-business-portfolio-woocommerce-wordpress-theme/

Icelander - Accessible Business Portfolio & WooCommerce WordPress Theme

LIVE PREVIEWGet it now for only $60

                                                  I C E L A N D E R is 100% GPL licensed accessibility-ready WordPress theme ideal for presenting your business portfolio in modern and unique style. Beautiful WooCommerce plugin integration also ensures the most pleasurable experience for your e-shop site customers.

ABOUT THE THEME, SHORTLY

There is nothing more important than your content. And it deserves a beautiful display! Icelander makes your website content more readable and presents it in a slick, modern style. The theme looks beautiful out of the box and we’ve put everything you need at your fingertips to ensure you get a beautiful website quickly and easily with no coding required. It’s just impossible to create beautiful websites easier

If you want a fast loading, accessible, SEO and mobile devices optimized theme, then have a look at the demo and see for yourself why Icelander is the WordPress theme you have been looking for!

Theme demo: https://themedemos.webmandesign.eu/icelander

Video preview: https://vimeo.com/webmandesigneu/icelander

Documentation: https://webmandesign.github.io/docs/icelander

Support center: https://support.webmandesign.eu

Video tutorials: https://vimeo.com/album/4647015

THEME FEATURES

Everybody is happy with Icelander: your website visitors, your website users and editors, and also your website admins and developers. Here is why:

Accessibility & Inclusivity

Fully accessibility ready WordPress theme

Passes WCAG 2.1 level AA and Section 508 accessibility requirements

Disabilities friendly, barrierless

Keyboard and screen reader friendly

User friendly

With proper headings structure (including the demo content)

With sufficient color contrast

Readability optimized content area and typography

Responsive, adapts to any device

Multilingual support with RTL language support

Content & Layout

Readability-focused and mobile-first approach to displaying your site content

Unique page intro header with special style on front page (with video support)

Control display of any sidebar and widgetized area with via sidebar management plugin

True WYSIWYG experience with dedicated editor stylesheet

Custom styles with post editor “Formats” dropdown button

Custom useful page templates

Special “List child pages” template

Page excerpt support

Automatic table of contents generation for parted (paginated) posts and pages

Demo Content

True one-click full demo content installation

Theme starter content for small websites

Many pre-designed Beaver Builder page builder row templates

Portfolio

2 different projects list styles: standard and unique blurred overlay

Amazing project layouts with support for page builders

Automatic taxonomy filter generated on project archive pages

Dedicated “traditional” project layout template

Complete control over the project display

Individual sidebar display control (compatible with any sidebar management plugin)

Shop

100% WooCommerce compatible with impressive shop pages design

Checkout guide

Conversion rate optimized design

Beautiful product layouts

Blog

3 different creative blog styles: masonry, list and minimal

Option to set up featured image size for masonry blog style

Readability optimized

Beautiful, unique post layouts

Support for page builders also in posts

Complete control over the post display

No confusing post formats

Individual sidebar display control (compatible with any sidebar management plugin)

Customization

Fast real-time preview of theme options change

WordPress video header support

Sticky header

Custom site width setup

Footer overlay image

Fullwidth or boxed layout (for whole site, and also for header and footer)

Integrated directly into WordPress customizer with option pointers and partial refresh

Language Support

Localization ready to create your website in your language

Compatible with Polylang and WPML plugins to create multi-lingual websites

Loco Translate plugin compatible

Right-to-left (RTL) languages compatible

Translated into Slovak language out of the box

Plugins

Full WooCommerce compatibility

Beaver Builder drag & drop page builder compatible (the theme demo website was created with free version of the plugin )

Beaver Themer fully compatible for creating custom header and footer designs, archive pages, error 404 page layouts and others

Compatibility with Elementor Theme Builder

Use any slider plugin

Compatible with any form plugin

Full integration with Jetpack, WP Subtitle, Advanced Custom Fields, Widget CSS Classes and WebMan Amplifier plugin

Plugin-friendly code ensures wide compatible with any decently coded plugin

Any page builder compatible theme: Elementor, Page Builder by SiteOrigin, Visual Composer,…

Updates, Documentation & Support

Dedicated WordPress dashboard “Welcome” page for theme introduction

Extensive documentation with unique “Anatomy” section for fast reference

Narrated video tutorials

Free theme updates

Friendly, timely and helpful support

…others

2 menus in header (“Primary” and “Secondary” one)

Unique “Recent posts” widget date display

Unique custom “Text” widget enhancements (a featured image and an icon)

Bloat-free WordPress theme with no lock-in effect

Easy to use

Built-in simple megamenu functionality

Integrated child theme generator

Search engine optimized (SEO)

Speed optimized code – with honest performance grade of 97, without using any CDN and caching plugin!

Secure, semantic, extensible and developer-friendly code

100% GPL licensed

WE MAKE CUSTOMERS SMILE

Don’t take our words for that. We have a lot of positive feedback from our happy customers. That’s why we are rated as ★★★★★ (5-stars) WordPress themes author. Here is what our customers are saying about us and our products:

★★★★★ from globalser:

Having worked with famous templates like Avada, Salient, Flatsome and others, at first I was skeptical. But I found very easy to work with the Beaver Builder, and the thing I liked most was Oliver’s support. He has a lot of knowledge about accessibility and is very helpful. I could only choose 1 main reason for this review from dropdown, sadly, because other then the fantastic support I would choose also: Documentation Quality, Code Quality, Design, Customizability.

★★★★★ from smamer_nm:

It’s hard to select just one reason. The Customer Support is also the best, just like other elements like the theme’s Customizability or Flexibility. Great job!!!

★★★★★ from lomw527:

This theme is very well designed and modern looking. I am amazed about the customer support service provided. It is the best written electronic support that I’ve ever encountered throughout years of electronic purchases. I can conclude that WebMan Design is truly committed to give the best user experience.

★★★★★ from kronomia:

A well-coded perfectly validated WordPress theme that is fully accessible and nicely designed.

★★★★★ from junejonet:

Very lightweight and fast to install. Great customer service. Everything works. Awesome flexible design. No problem when installing any other plugins. Detailed documentation. Highly recommended. So good, that I’m looking at buying your other themes!

★★★★★ from sep0088:

More than an amazing, flexible theme, it’s the best support!

THEME SUPPORT

Please check the theme documentation (user manual) before submitting any support ticket. In case you can’t find the answer in theme documentation, feel free to to ask (or search for the answer) at the dedicated support center.

Documentation: https://webmandesign.eu/manual/icelander

Video Tutorials: https://vimeo.com/album/4647015

Support center: https://support.webmandesign.eu

THEME UPDATES

Please see the changelog.md file inside the theme folder for more info on theme update changes.

Version 1.5.4:

Fix: Call To Action page builder module throwing PHP error

Version 1.5.3:

Update: Adding nofollow attribute to default site info links

Update: Theme options info

Update: Localization

Fix: Removing post excerpt wrapper when excerpt is empty

Version 1.5.2:

Add: Adding WhatsApp and Google social icon

Update: Implementing WordPress 5.2 code updates

Fix: Preventing PHP error after theme activation*

Version 1.5.1:

Update: Removing obsolete code

Update: Code notes, formatting and version numbers

Fix: Elementor Theme Builder compatibility

Fix: “Continue reading” broken HTML for posts with more tag

Version 1.5.0:

Add: Elementor Pro Theme Builder compatibility

Add: Theme options to edit home page intro overlay colors and opacity

Update: Custom typography info in theme options

Update: Styles

Update: Welcome page and notice

Update: Improving Beaver Themer compatibility

Update: Updating info about demo require plugins

Update: Improving CSS variables functionality for browsers with no support

Update: Navigation accessibility and touch screen functionality

Update: Improving accessibility skip links

Update: Improving intro image accessibility

Update: Updating excerpts display

Update: Improving Recent Posts widget enhancement

Update: Improving code

Update: Improving security

Update: Localization

WHO IS WebMan Design?

Hi, I’m Oliver. A passionate developer striving for simplicity and doing things right in my products at WebManDesign.eu. I build both free and paid WordPress themes and plugins which are used by thousands of happy customers around the world.

Thank you for your interest in Icelander accessible WordPress theme!

My portfolio: https://www.webmandesign.eu/

My Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/webmandesigneu/

My Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/webmandesigneu/

LIVE PREVIEWGet it now for only $60

#WordPress Themes

[yourabsentgod-blog]

How-To Teach Yourself How to Program?

How-To Teach Yourself How to Program?

The web is full of free resources that can turn you into a programmer and if you've always wanted to learn how to build software yourself or perhaps write an occasional script but had no clue where to start than this guide is for you!

If you're interested in becoming a programmer, you can get off to a great start using tons of free web-based tutorials and resources. Since the early days of the internet programmer communities have been using it to discuss software development techniques, publish tutorials, and share code samples for others to learn from and use online.

Choosing a Language

A common issue for beginners is getting hung up on trying to figure out which programming language is best to learn first. There are a lot of opinions out there, but there's no one "best" language. Here's the thing: In the end, language does not really matter. Understanding data and control structures and design patterns is what matters. Every programming language, even basic scripting languages ​​will have elements that will make other languages ​​easier to understand.

Many programmers never actually take accredited academic courses and are self-taught in every language through their careers. This is achieved by reusing concepts already known and referring to documentation and books to learn its syntax. Therefore, instead of getting stuck on what language to learn first simply, pick the kind of development you want to do, and just get started using the one that comes the easiest to you.

There are several different kinds of software development you can do for various platforms; web development, desktop development, mobile device development, and command line.

Desktop Scripting

The easiest way to try your hand at programming for your Windows or Mac desktop is to start with a scripting or macro program like AutoHotkey (for Windows) or Automator (for Mac). Sure, now advanced coders may disagree that AutoHotkey or AppleScript are not "real" programming which is technically true as these types of tools just do high-level scripting. However, for those new to programming who just want to get their hands dirty, automating actions on their desktop, using these free tools provide essential fundamentals towards "real" programming later on. The lines of when an application compresses of scripting and when it is considered to be programming is often blurred, keep this in mind. Once your code is compiled it is considered to be "real" programming. Most end-users of an application typically do not know and should not care as long as it is designed well and functions in a dynamic and robust way in order to serve its intended purpose.

Web Development

If being bound to specific programming languages ​​and with the look and feel of a particular operating system is not your desire, consider developing your application for the browser instead and distribute it to a wider audience, as a web app.

HTML and CSS: The first thing you need to know to build any web site is Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) the page markup that makes up web pages and Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) is the style information that controls design appearance of the markup . HTML and CSS are scripting languages ​​that just contain page structure and style information. However, you should be familiar with writing coding by hand before you start building web applications, because building basic webpages is a prerequisite into developing a dynamic web app.

JavaScript: After mastering development of static web pages with HTML and CSS, learning JavaScript is the next step in programming dynamic web pages in a web browser. JavaScript is what bookmarklets, Greasemonkey user scripts, Chrome Web Apps, and Ajax are made of.

Server-side scripting: Once you're comfortable at making dynamic web pages locally in a web browser, you're probably going to want to put some dynamic server action behind it. To do this you will need to learn a server-side scripting language. For Example, to make a web-based contact form that sends an email somewhere based on what a user entered, a server-side script is required. Scripting languages ​​like, Python, Perl, or Ruby can talk to a database on your web server as well, so if you want to make a site where users can log in and store information, that would be the proper way to go about it.

Web frameworks: Instead of reinventing the wheel for each new web development project, some programmers have come up with development frameworks that do some repetitive work of rewriting similar code over and over to build dynamic web sites. Many scripting languages ​​offer a web-specific structure for getting common web application tasks done easier. Web development frameworks include; Ruby on Rails framework (for Ruby programmers), CakePHP (for PHP programmers), Django (for Python programmers), and jQuery (for JavaScript programmers).

Web APIs: An API (Application Programming Interface) is a programmatic way for different pieces of software to talk to one another. For example, if you want to put a dynamic map on your web site, you would use a Google Map instead of building your own custom map. The Google Maps API makes it easy to programmatically include a map in a page with JavaScript. Almost every modern web service uses an API that lets you include data and widgets from it in your application. These include; Twitter, Facebook, Google Docs, Google Maps, etc. Integrating other web apps into your web application via API's are great resources for enhancing rich web development. Every major web service API should offer thorough documentation and some quick start guide.

Command Line Scripting

If you want to write a program that takes textual or file input and outputs something useful, the command line is ideal. While the command line is not as visually appealing as a web app or desktop application, development of quick scripts that automate processes, it is the best suited.

Several scripting languages ​​that work on a Linux-based web server also work at the command line including: Perl, Python, and PHP. Learning one of those languages ​​will make you conversant in both concepts. If becoming fluent in Unix is ​​one of your programming goals, you must master shell scripting with bash. Bash is the command line scripting language of a * nix environment, and it can do everything from help you set up automated backups of your database and files to building out a full-fledged application with user interaction.

Add-ons

Modern web apps and browsers are extensible with bits of software that plugin to them and add additional features. Add-on development gains popularity as more existing developers look at existing applications and frameworks and want to add a specific feature to make it better.

With only a mastery of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS you can still do plenty in any web browser. Bookmarklets, Greasemonkey user scripts, and Stylish user styles are created with the same code that makes regular web pages, so they're worth learning even if you just want to tweak an existing site with a small snippet of code.

More advanced browser add-ons, like Firefox and Chrome extensions, let you do more. Developing Firefox and Chrome extensions requires that you're familiar with JavaScript, XML, and JSON which is markup similar to HTML, but with stricter format rules.

Many free web applications offer an extension framework as well such as WordPress and Drupal. Both of which are written in PHP, making that particular language a prerequisite for development.

Desktop Development

Learning web development first is a great Segway into obtaining the needed skills from one context in order to apply to another like desktop application development. Desktop Development programming will vary on the Operating System (OS), use of Software Development Kit (SDK) provided, and desire for cross-platform development. Using previous web development skills can also be re-utilized in the distribution of your desktop application across the web to market to a larger audience.

Mobile Device App Development

Mobile applications like the ones found on smartphones and tablets are increasingly popular, and having your app listed on the iTunes App Store, Google Play Store (formerly known as the Android Market Place), Windows Marketplace, BlackBerry World, etc. However, for the majority of beginner coders, delving into mobile development can be a steep learning curve, because it requires a great deal of comfort and familiarity with advanced programming languages ​​like Java and Objective C to develop much more than a basic "Hello World" application.

The Long Road Ahead

Great coders are often meticulous problem-solvers who are passionate at what they do and fueled by small solitary victories of overcoming issues through trial and error. The path to a career is both a long road of endless learning and frustration but very rewarding and profitable none-the-less.

Ata Rehman

[soullesscoyote]

All the asks

A: How did you come up with the title to [insert fic]?My process for naming fics is eitherA) a joke name because i can't help myselfB) or a name that just sounds like "yeah that's a fitting title name"B: Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?Plenty! I try to follow the rule "write what you know" in a way to convey maybe something I've experienced, but also use it to write what I don't know about.For example I have a lower middle class family, but to write a more well off family i base it on things I've seen and experienced when younger like those times we got home from the grocery store and that first day with a ton of food and i felt like i wouldnt have to worry about eating a ton of it, or even back when i was younger (7) with a loft bed and having all my stuff organized with a spot in my room had me feel really content with my life where i felt like i had everything i wanted and couldn't ask for more. I had a 3d puzzle of the inside of a frog, an ant farm, a hamster, a framed picture of a praying mantis, a very small binder of pokémon cards, a room painted green and at that age and time felt like my life was really together despite not knowing how to articulate it. It felt like my own personal space that i had control of so to write a well of family i try to write in things that give off a similar feeling of a well put together room except a entire house that way where everything feels like it has its place. If that makes sense.C: What character do you identify with most?In Marble Hornets, Jay Merrick who just wanted to help everyone despite how many time those people tried to kill or hurt him.In Voltron, Keith in terms of not always feeling like I belong in groups and sometimes struggling to understand myself. Also Hunk whos a very caring person with a big heart.In Be More Chill i relate to Jake where in freshman year of high school i worked really hard to be the best in my classes to a point that id cry from stress every night.Jeremy feeling unimportant and more like a background character with nothing really notable about him compared to everyone else.Brooke feeling constantly like she's second best to Chloe and people using her.Christine being unsure of what she wants in life as she nears the last year of high school where she feels like she needs to decide.Rich while unsquipped seeming like he hardly knows how to handle himself in social situations and seeming incredibly anxious without a squip also being a big nerd D: Is there a song or a playlist to associate with [insert fic]?Typically if its a musical depending on viewpoint i listen to songs with those characters in it.In other things its songs that give me a similar feeling to the thing i'm writing (for example i imagine things as color pallets so i try to match them with the colors another thing gives me. Or the corresponding emotion i feel/need to feel as I write a scene.E: If you wrote a sequel to [insert fic], what would it be about?Starting From Square One? The sequel would be more of Rich adjusting to life without a squip and living a pretty happy life with Michael and them going about their lives be it them going to college and struggling or as adults with jobs and trying to figure themselves out during that since i kinda feel like life is constantly a thing of trying to figure yourself out.Out of the tons of Voltron Fics probably more on Keith being glara and the lives/background behind the galra species with how it affects keithIn hu it's hard to say. A lot of them would be hard to find a way to make sequels of but considering Starting From Square one is the only fic i managed make myself work on currently i wouldnt say its impossible to find/make sequels for any of those ficsF: Care to share a favorite hurt/comfort fic?For Be More Chill http://archiveofourown.org/works/11671890/chapters/26267448 Both because its from Michaels viewpoint and it definitely doesn't seem to go out of its way to make Jeremy a monster and make Michaels personality center around hsi panic attack like plenty fics do.G: Care to share a favorite crack fic?I'm not too big on crack fics because i personally love really long fics with character development. (crack fics are good, for me it's just my preference where most of the time i'm not in a huge mood for them) but i know this one has been p funny https://my.w.tt/UiNb/v4KNrRgajJ H: How would you describe your style?Id say i write in whatever sounds right in my mind while i'm reading to fit the mood of what i intend to portray. Its really hard to sayI: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?Already answeredJ: Write or describe an alternative ending to [insert fic].Starting from Square Ones Alternate ending would be it ending where Rich snaps at everyone and it would have a sequel of everyone in the squip squad meeting Rich in college after not seeing him for an entire year. They'd find who took online classes because he didn't want to see anyone and was still pissed and during that time he had gotten several jobs and was barely even supporting himself with how his dad doesnt care for him. (potentially where he may take up selling drugs) and everyone does try to apologize but it takes awhile for anyone to convince Rich they actually mean it.K: What's the angstiest idea you've ever come up with?In Starting From Square One there was a scrapped idea of everyone actually hating rich and him trying desperately to convince them it wasn't his fault he started the fire only when everyone finally does get proof from Jeremy who actually understands Rich's struggle because he had a squip longer Rich hasn't gone to school in well over a week and has goes missing because he's hiding from his dad. L: What's the weirdest AU you've ever come up with?I based one on a dream i had which was like a Xiaolin Showdown, meets high school au, meets almost one pieceLike if you touched these specific items they latched onto you and gave you abilities that typically corresponded to an animal or gave a animals trait to you like enhanced sense of smell, stronger legs for jumping, wings etc. It wasn't fully thought out or planned so it's a very vague idea.M: Got any premises on the back burner that you'd care to share?Im writing bits and pieces of terraverse, its hard but i'm getting somewhere with it! There's others but they're like aus based off dreams that i'm yet to figure out how to explain or develop in a way they make sense.N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?All of them tbhO: How do you begin a story--with the plot, or the characters?Typically plot first and then i'll add characters to match the plotP: Are you what George R. R. Martin would call an "architect" or a "gardener"? (How much do you plan in advance, versus letting the story unfold as you go?)It's a little bit of bothI try to plan in advance but as i write Point A going to Pont B i do find things in the story that unfold as I go and then proceed to go to my planning to find a spot to mention it again later.For example i mainly planned on in Starting From Square One that Rich would have known Michaels older brother from when he was a kid but didnt know his last name therefore didn't know he and Michael were related and as I wrote more in my planning it sort of unfolded as I wrote and became me writing in that Michaels older brother dropped out of college because of how stressful it was and Rich gos to stay with him and that's when he finds out michael and him are brothers.Q: Do you have any discarded scenes/storylines/projects?While writing if i decide suddenly I want to change something I take what i've already written of that version and paste it into a Google doc of scrapped ideas. That way if i can find a chance to implement them in another fic or other point in a chapter even if written differently i can have the general idea for what i may have intended to go off of.R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?None in particular but I feel like a little bit of everything I've read and written influences my writing since i always find something somebody may have written i want to implement in a fic.Not like their idea. But small things like reading people write about Michael's parents did influence me to include Michaels parents in my fic. Not the same way they did but it was something i read that had made me stop and realize.I never considered what some of these character's families and cousins and such are thinking as they may hear about this from another viewpoint like Michael’s, Jeremy’s, Rich's, Brooke’s, Chloe's, Jenna’s, or Christine's.S: Any fandom tropes you can't resist?In voltron (before it became canon) i liked a trope that Keith isn't as angry as everyone makes him and actually is just really defensive and afraid of being seen as weak to everyone else because lance seems to constantly go to pick on him for things.In Be More Chill i stand by the Trope Jake is really smart just perhaps Ditzy and gets really excited over something and struggles to pay attention to the other details because of a long theory and research i did with all the extra curriculars jake did paired with his need to be the best. T: Any fandom tropes you can't stand?G o dIn Hollywood Undead stuff I always hated Aron being an unreasonable asshole by default.In Be More ChillJeremy's character being reduced to having been an asshole to Michael because it erases how they were friends for TWELVE YEARS and Jeremy in the bathroom did say "I missed you" TO MICHAEL. Or how Jeremy did have a lot of stressful shit happen to him minutes prior which made him get really defensive over the squip.Everytime people center Michaels personality around his panic attack i love 7 years to my life because they only go as far as Michael hates himself but never even delve into things like how Michael said to Jeremy how he wouldn't be glad to see him after he heard about his research on the squip Kinda like he anticipated Jeremy wouldn't be happy and Michael had a feeling Jeremy wouldn't outright be happy about it.(asks cut me off hold up)

[ber39james]

How to Write an Outline: 4 Ways to Organize Your Thoughts

When I was a novice writer, I chafed at the idea of using an outline. I was certain organizing my thoughts in advance would stifle my creativity and make my writing stiff and uninspired. After all, how can serendipity happen if you’ve got everything planned?

But then I started creating content for a living, and I needed to turn out several polished articles every week. I write at least 240,000 words per year to earn my keep. That’s only about half of War and Peace, but it still feels like a lot. I try to write quickly so I’m not still awake toiling away at the keyboard at 1 a.m. with a cup of tea and a couple of graham crackers. (1 a.m. graham cracker calories do seem to count, by the way.)

I discovered that it was taking me a long time to finish my articles because, when my creative mind was unfettered, I had a tendency to ramble in a chaotic stream of consciousness that I would then have to go back and structure in order for it to make sense. Not only that, but I would over-research. I’d wind up with a thousand words before I realized I was only one third of the way through my article. I’d have to go back, refocus, trim down, and sometimes even start over.

And so, I started outlining. And it saved me. Not only from sleep deprivation, but from graham-cracker weight gain. Here’s my step-by-step process. And it works!

1 Do some reconnaissance reading.

Unless I know my topic inside and out, I start with a little reconnaissance reading. I head to Google and look at what others have written on my topic. I try to think of new and interesting ways to address it. I look for an angle.

The easiest way to find an angle is to look for knowledge gaps in the articles you scan. Let’s use this article as an example. I searched to see what others had written on the topic of how to write an outline. I found a lot on the basics of structure, but not much about how to actually use outlines to improve the organization of your writing. Voila! An angle!

As you’re reading, take notes when you see interesting research or quotes you might want to share. Note the URLs, too, so you can reference them with links in your article. I keep my notes in a Google Doc on the same page where I’m eventually going to create my outline and write my article. Having all the information in one place will allow you to write faster when the time comes.

Here’s a tip: Don’t go too far down the research rabbit hole! Remember, you’re just doing a little reconnaissance reading. It’s easy to over-research, which wastes valuable writing time. Plan to write first, and then add research later.

2 Write down your objective.

Now that you’ve figured out an angle, it’s helpful to write down an objective. What do you want the reader to understand by the end of this article? Put some thought into your objective and see if you can write it in one sentence. My objective for this article was:

At the end of this article, readers will understand why outlines are useful and how to use them to organize their writing.

Everything you write should support your objective. An objective will help you stay focused and prevent you from drifting off on tangents.

Here’s a tip: Academic papers often include a thesis statement. A thesis states a premise or theory that your paper will go on to prove. It’s different from an objective. If you need more specific help with writing a thesis statement, try checking with any university writing center.

3 Create a list of all the main points you want to make.

I often begin this step while I’m doing my recon reading and ideas are popping into my head. This can be a quick brainstorming process. Don’t invest a lot of energy in organizing just yet. You’ll get to that in the next step.

4 Organize, revise, and eliminate.

Now it’s time to organize the list of points. Figure out the structure of your article. Will it work well as numbered how-to steps? A listicle? In standard essay format?

Take a look at the points you’ve jotted down and begin putting them into a logical order. Cross-check each point to make certain that it’s relevant to your objective. If you’ve strayed off the path and included extra information that doesn’t really fit the scope of your article, eliminate it.

Here’s a tip: Save things that don’t make it into your article—information that was extraneous to the article you’re working on now but may be interesting enough to pursue in a separate article some other time. I keep an idea file that I store as a Google Doc. Reference your file when you need a little article inspiration.

You may come across a few things that don’t quite fit into your article as their own sections, but seem important to mention nonetheless. Those elements make great sidebars. In this article, you’ll see them used as tips. Pretty nifty, huh?

As you revise, start putting your outline into a standard format. You don’t have to be too formal about this process, just organize everything into a bulleted or numbered list. (If you want to be traditional, use Roman numerals. I think they make my outlines look fancy.) Include topic segments. Under each topic segment, indent and include the points you’ll discuss in each paragraph. You don’t have to get too granular here—all you’re looking for is enough information to help you remember where you’re going and keep you organized and on track. My outline for this article looked like this:

I. Intro

A. I didn’t used to outline

B. Becoming a professional writer made me change my tune

C. Outlining brings structure to chaos

II. Do some recon reading

A. Look for angle, ways the topic has not been covered

1. Look for knowledge gaps

B. Take notes while you’re reading/record URLs

C. Don’t go too far down the research rabbit hole

III. Make a quick list of the points you want to make

IV. Organize the list into a formal outline

A. Get rid of anything that doesn’t support objective

1. Save extra stuff in a clip file for future use

B. Some extra stuff is worth keeping as tips/sidebars

C. Demonstrate standard outline format

An outline isn’t a prison—it’s there to guide you, not control you. You can take conscious detours, or change things around as you write. Outlines are just guidelines, so they shouldn’t feel restrictive. And yet, you’ll be surprised how the simple act of creating one will give your articles more structure and keep them focused and on-point. You’ll write with more clarity, and you’ll do it all faster and more efficiently. Outlines for the win!

The post How to Write an Outline: 4 Ways to Organize Your Thoughts appeared first on Grammarly Blog.

from Grammarly Blog https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to-write-outline/