Who's Ur Favorite Character In The Series?

I want old aros so badly. I want a history. I want a future. I want tales of lives that I understand. I want to see myself in a future where I’m happy and comfortable.

But I don’t have that, so I’ll have to build it.

It's great you've been motivated to write the book again! What helped you get back into it? Your prior comment on how the craft of writing is undervalued in this digital age left an impression. I feel we are on the cusp of an era promising some wild, alarming possibilities. It's easy to feel anxious or lose hope. I worry my approach to making a living will be rendered obsolete in the next decade, and be forced to adapt to a new world using old skills. I always did prefer paper books to digital.

Generally speaking, my tried-and-true method of working through any mental block is to develop a bigger and better perspective. Yes, we are on the cusp. When a dramatic change descends upon people, it's normal for the first reaction to be an overreaction, especially if you are among the directly impacted such as writers/authors.

Looking back at similar historical moments, the early predictions were rarely accurate because they were anxious overreactions. No matter how big the potential for change, the process of change eventually runs up against a wall of stasis, in the form of people's deeply ingrained memories, beliefs, values, and habits. (You've brought up a great example as one of many people who still prefer paper books despite the convenience, cost-savings, and widespread availability of ebooks.) Thus, in the end, though change is inevitable, it is never as fast and dramatic as people fear.

Additionally, modern culture has a short attention span, and the novelty has already started wearing off as people get more familiar with the flaws and limitations of AI. AI is not something you can rely on and trust for final answers on important matters. Mostly, it is there to remove the burden of tedious mental work, which frees up time and energy for more meaningful tasks. One reason human beings still dominate the world is their ability to "domesticate" and neutralize threats, and the process has already begun with AI.

Yes, generative AI threatens to flood society with meaningless content at best and harmful misinformation at worst. The answer to the false and the meaningless isn't to give up on truth and meaning, is it? If you believe it is a matter of grave existential importance, then the answer is to do more to ensure that truth and meaning prevail.

An old Wigglytuff x Chatot flipnote from 2017.

Alflear Week (2)

enjoy this unedited first draft lol. More sad Alear than Alflear, admittedly. For @malflearweek

The blizzard was cold. Nothing alive should be here. He just had to do his work for Sombron… for Father. It should have been simple, solitary. But now there was someone with his face. He looked just like what he saw in the mirror, except his hair had a blue half. Instead of two crimson eyes, he had a blue one.

He could summon Emblems, too. Was he a Fell Dragon too? But those Emblems could talk. Their faces shone with life. Their hairstyles were vibrant with colors. His own Emblems looked unfeeling and lifeless. Fell Dragons didn’t need such things.

The person across from him had companions in the Emblems and a group of humans. They all rallied behind the strange dragon. He didn’t shout at them or threaten them. His voice was soft, welcoming, and responded to his followers’. It was strange. That was supposed to be a weakness. Leaders weren’t supposed to have companions. But they smiled at each other. For some reason, they all listened to him.

There was another strange thing. The human with the flower garland held his hand. He squeezed it back. The way they looked at each other, he thought this was love. Not the love he felt for his sister, or the one he wanted from Father. This was the strange love he saw in picture books.

He had to fight them. It made his stomach churn. He took so many lives already, and now he had to fell someone who looked like him. Maybe that was why everyone loved the one with his face. He didn’t look like someone who had to kill mercilessly. No, this was the thinking of a defect. It was time to fight.

The human with the flower crown– Alfred, he’d heard– met his sword with a lance. He was strong, but… his attacks were tepid. This, too, was strange. He had seen Alfred dispatch the corrupted with ease. He only needed a single, mighty swing. Now, when engaged in combat with a distinct advantage, this human couldn't disarm him.He locked eyes with his opponent. The fierce anger that burned when he fought the corrupted dissipated. Instead, he looked sad. Perhaps not sad, but pity, he realized. For him, a defect? For him, someone who couldn't fully silence the swirl of doubt in his heart? Could a dragon like him be pitied?

It was the one with his face who struck him down, his hands trembling around his sword. Even at the brink of defeat, he was pitied. They were stronger than him. They should use it to finish him off. He shouldn't be here anymore. But they just faded into the snowstorm, their dark figures knit together as one.

He wasn’t strong. He could not love. What did he have? The last of his energy drained out as he lay in the snow, he dreamed about what it was like to be loved.…From the distance, a dragon with luminous blue hair approached.

Nights and Mornings

The next week....

The dawning horror of realising you are both night people.

QOTD below.

QOTD: What do Gyro and Donald not like in each other?

They adore each other in many regards, but when it comes to Donald's impatience and temper, plus self-loathing-fueled envy, Gyro finds himself more concerned for Donald. It's not always comfortable to watch the lengths Donald might go for a crumb of public validation. On Donald's part, he is unhappy that Gyro stretches himself out thin often, and for so little pay from Uncle Scrooge. Despite chiding him to not overwork, Gyro wants to be useful and disregards his advice. Donald always sticks up for his partner, but it creates some strain when Gyro once again retreats into the workshop for days trying to meet the quota.

For Day 2: Conflict of @donro-week

Integrating Fantasy Into Reality: Tao Tajima's Enchanting Touch On Anime

Take a look at how filmmaker Tao Tajima pushes the boundaries of anime by meaningfully bridging the gap between animation and real life!

View On WordPress

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Alflear Week (1)

bed-ridden/sleep/firsts

(Still a WIP, so I plan to finish it later.) for @malflearweek

--

The first time it happened, his head could just about peek over the bed the Divine Dragon slept upon. Alfred didn’t need to stand on his tiptoes to see the wisps of blue and red hair framing the Divine Dragon’s cheeks, but he still couldn’t see his entire face. His mother had lifted him up a few times to see the Divine Dragon fully, and Alfred vaguely recalled his shirt had two large dark blue lines. But from this angle, he could only see a criss-crossing golden pattern and a lot of white.

He loved coming here. Most of his days were spent in bed or visiting the doctor. His mother had said he needed to do physical therapy in order to get stronger. He liked the idea of getting stronger, but he also wanted a friend. He wanted someone else to talk to about his day or about the flowers he saw from the castle windows.  Everyone told him the Divine Dragon was listening carefully and lovingly to those who visited him. So even if Alfred didn’t get a direct reply back, it was fine. 

“Hi, Divine One! It’s Alfred. Wait, um….” He clasped his hands in prayer. “Divine One, thank you for allowing me into your sacred place of rest. Okay, that should be good, right? I wanna tell you about my day!

“Today I saw some hummingbirds in the garden! They were so small and fast, they just zoomed past me. They really liked the flowers, too. And then, Mother taught me how to make a flower crown. She called it something like… ger land? I forgot!

“I wish you could see the flower crown I’m wearing today. Maybe I’ll make one for you, too. I don’t think it’s disturr, um, disturbing your sleep if I put it on very quietly. Maybe I’ll get really good at it, and then I can make lots for my little sister! She is still a baby, so I’ll have to make little ones. I would make lots of flower crowns for my friends. But I don't know when I'll see them again.

“I just want to have more friends around… I mean, you are my friend, too, but you can’t play tag with me or practice duels, or walk with me in the garden…

“...Unless you woke up right now! You don’t wanna be stuck in bed either, right? Then we could be best friends! Hm. Maybe you just need help… ngh…”

Alfred stood on his tiptoes and stretched out an arm for anywhere he could reach. His fingers brushed against some fabric from the Divine Dragon’s sleeves. He repeatedly grasped at that area until a clump of white and gold was firm in his hold. Then, he tugged.

“Please?” he whispered, timid. His mother had told him many times to never disturb the Divine Dragon’s slumber. Reminded of her words, Alfred reluctantly allowed the fabric to slip from his fingers. Shame burned his cheeks.

“I’m sorry, Divine One. I think we have to be friends just like this, with you sleeping. But can you wake up someday soon, please? Then, I’ll show you the pretty flowers in Firene and watch butterflies. Or maybe we could even see a deer! And I’ll make you a flower crown!”

---

Alfred was sure the second time was an accident. He had outgrown his childhood fantasies of playing tag with the Divine Dragon, after all, and the weight of his responsibilities began to settle on his conscience. He visited the Somniel less often, now that his health had improved and other activities filled his daily life. Every time he came, though, lifted his spirits.

“Divine One, Céline can’t come today. It’s been a while since it was just me, hasn’t it? There’s a lot to catch up on, and I can’t wait for you to hear all about it.

“Well, Céline completely outclasses me in magic. She really has a talent for it. Yesterday, she burned a training dummy to ashes, and it was just her first week using fire magic. I tried to learn some magic myself, but I guess I’ll just have to stick to physical weaponry. I’m getting really good at the lance, now. I want to be as good as Father was at it, so I still have to work harder.

“Oh, and we learned about who our retainers will be! We were thinking Céline’s would be Etie. They were practically joined at the hip as children, so imagine my surprise when she was assigned to me. Instead, her new retainers are a woman and man, Chloe and Louie. I knew Louie from his knighthood training at the castle, but I’ve never met Chloe before. She and Céline seemed to know each other. I thought Céline told me everything, but even she keeps some secrets. 

“My retainers are my trusted friends, Etie and Boucheron. Getting to train with two of the strongest people I know… Divine One, I couldn’t be happier! Oh, you’re really strong too. You vanquished the Fell Dragon before! It’s a shame we can’t practice sparring matches together, but… but anything could happen. Right?

“No doubt you’re listening to me, because you have given me the strength to be a prince to my people, and I am grateful. A lot of it was my own work, too, but you really are a true friend, looking out after me. So you know my deepest wish. I get it, you need more time to heal from your wounds, more time than I needed… but…

“I might not even get to ascend the throne. When I start thinking about that, I feel so sickened that I might leave mother and Céline alone… how can I be a worthy prince? I hate thinking that some things just weren’t meant to be. You probably can’t make it go away, but if there was any way to make sure I could at least take care of Firene, Divine One… please. I don’t want to lose the joys I have, spending time with Etie and Boucheron, ruling with Céline and Mother, and being able to talk to you.

“I am scared, Divine One. What will happen to me? I wish I knew what you were thinking right now. Can you share a sign, anything?” Alfred scanned the Divine Dragon’s face for any response, a twitch of the nose, a deeper breath than usual, maybe even a smile. 

“It’s alright, I really enjoy talking to you all the same. I’ll keep my health up, so that we can talk for as many years as I have left. I promise to treasure each and every moment we have together. …I’ve seen Céline do this thing called a pinky promise before. I wonder if we could…”

Those words were a mere suggestion, not even taken form, when he noticed the hands folded across the Divine Dragon’s chest twitched. Alfred’s eyes widened. A low, short grunt emerged from the body lying in front of him.

Alfred heard his heartbeat accelerate. Could it be? All those years of his childhood dreaming of seeing the Divine Dragon’s eyes with his own, realized? After a moment passed without incident, he exhaled. He would just have to train more, eat well, work hard and perhaps, one day, he could share his joy with the one who was there for him for all his years.

I've Got You Now, Snow Golems!

Merry Christmas @writebackatya from your Secret Santa for the @duckblrsecretsanta2023 :)

Family

movie night

QOTD: Of course the Duck and Gearloose families will support this relationship. HDL probably are hyped that Donald has a tech bf who can show them how to build cool stuff. And while they seemed to be somewhat indifferent towards Daisy (who was very hot-and-cold to Donald), they like that Gyro makes their uncle genuinely very happy. Scrooge would be all for it, so he can score a "family discount" from Gyro's workshop. As if he doesn't pay the poor guy enough. Newton enjoys this arrangement since he's buddies with HDL at school. They get to carpool! And hang out a lot! Plus, he is probably a huge Paperinik fan and Donald is "Paperinik's best friend"... so...

Day 5: Family for @donro-week