The Most Fabulous Reaper

Cosmo: time for me to expend an unprecedented amount of energy to get him to smile!!

Oh hey you three! What are you up to? Just eating ham and cheese sandwiches and drinking milk?

(quick aside where Cosmo and kathy are already close enough to eachother that they have whole conversations about cheering Don up without saying a word)

Wait a second, Cosmo, what did you just say?

Its….. 1:30 in the morning?? You guys have been chilling out at Don’s house just…. chatting…. getting a post-midnight snack…. until one in the morning?? what a perfect time to SING A SONG ABOUT HOW IN LOVE YOU ALL ARE

it sure is guys

look at how they both have the exact same dancing relationship with Kathy this whole song even tho only two of them are in a romantic relationship

WHAT A GREAT DAY TO BE POLY AND FROLIC AROUND WITH YOUR TRIAD

They’re literally just goofing around and having fun?? They’re having the time of their lives??

okay return to your regularly scheduled blogging while I cry

So recently I came across a fellow artist who was struggling to find a free art program, and considering dropping the large amount of money for a Photoshop license. I know not everyone can afford such an expensive program, so I’ve compiled a list of programs with no cost to download and use.

Keep in mind all computers are different, so not all will work for everyone. Also, I’ve only ever used Windows, so for the most part, I’m not sure if everything will work for Mac. if in doubt check the website linked.

Photoshop CS2 - (Windows, not sure about Mac.)

FireAlpaca - (Windows and Mac)

Sketchbook Copic Edition - (Windows and Mac)

GIMP - (Windows) (Mac)

Paint tool SAI [cracked]  - (Windows) (Mac)

Paint tool SAI 2 beta - (tumblr post on said program)

iPaint - (Mac)

Paintbrush - (Mac)

Pencil - (Windows, Mac)

Paint.NET - (Windows)

Seashore [still in development, ver 0.5] - (Mac)

ChocoFlop - (Mac)

Inkscape - (Mac and Windows)

ArtRage [Demo] - (Mac and Windows)

OpenCanvas 1.1[must pay for 2.0] - (Windows, not sure about Mac.)

MyPaint - (Windows)

Krita - (Windows)

Vectorian [Supports Animation] - (Windows)

Pixia[Japanese, some English versions] - (Windows)

Asperite - (Windows)

Chasys Draw IES - (Windows)

SmoothDraw - (Windows)

TwistedBrush Open Studio - (Windows)

BOUNS - CTRL+Paint [Great for teaching all kinds of stuff, like how to use digital programs.]

Hi Katie! That’s my bestie’s name! I absolutely adore your description of yourself, a tall, seemingly intimidating person who’s actually a shy, adorable nug who loves animals and theater ♡

Your match is: 

Ardyn Izunia

And here, my darlin’, is why:

» You two would be such a freakin’ power couple! Ardyn’s only slightly shorter than Gladio (who’s a towering 6’5”), and let’s face it, intimidation is on your side (even if you’re actually super shy), not to mention your darker wardrobe styles, so the both of you would straight up slay.

» You’ll never lose one another in a crowd. All you gotta do is look for a mess of copper hair or Ardyn’s hat. Or just realize that you need him. Strangely enough, Ardyn always has a weird way of knowing when you need him and where you are. He’ll just appear out of thin air sometimes, usually purring an eloquent endearment or gently tucking a rose he’s brought you behind your ear (you’re still adjusting to him randomly showing up, the first time he did it you screamed and punched his hat clean off his head).

» Between the two of you, Insomnian black takes up at least 95% of your closet.

» Have you seen Ardyn’s style? Holy hell in a hand-basket he’s constantly pressing you to let him style your outfits. Like, every day. 

» Not to mention!!! I hope you like shopping and gifts because hot damn does this man like to spoil you. I’m talking spontaneous shopping sprees (where he will literally hand you outfit after outfit that he’s put together for you based on your style), romantic dates where he spirits you away to the city’s fanciest restaurant (complete with rooftop bar), followed by champaign and dancing. He’s also the type of person to notice that one thing you’ve been eyeing and secretly buy it for you.

» One of your favorite pastimes is spending a day at the zoo. Whenever Ardyn sees an animal that you like or might find interesting— especially in the car— he casually points it out to you (but internally he’s super excited, like a mom pointing out a herd of deer or some horses on a farm to everyone in the car).

» HE SURPRISED YOU LIKE THIS ONE MORNING AND IT WAS HONESTLY THE BEST FUCKING DAY OF YOUR ENTIRE LIFE. 

» You are Ardyn’s goddess. He’s constantly telling you that you’re the most beautiful creature he’s ever laid eyes on, and is head-over-heels for your curves. Sometimes you’ll just catch him staring at you with so much love and tenderness in his gaze that it knocks the wind out of your lungs.

» Your shyness balances out Ardyn’s forwardness well. In situations where his flamboyance is uncalled for, he’s slowly learning to take a more modest page out of your book. Likewise, his confidence socially (cause let’s be real, he slick AF) has also begun to rub off on you.

» Ardyn not only loves the theater, but literally memorizes the entire script before you two go and see a play. And then recites it on the way there. 

» You two are pretty evenly matched where video games are concerned, but sometimes Ardyn likes to cheat by literally laying on top of you or getting up and standing right in front of you so you can’t see the screen.

» There are long stretches of the day where the two of you will go to the park or some quiet place— an out of the way coffee shop or a lovely meadow— and simply spend the afternoon reading together. With wine of course. Ardyn loves murder mysterious— anything that will make the cogs in one’s brain turn— and will always list out all the facts to you as he muses over the novel’s outcome.

For more posts like this, follow the Ultrafacts Blog!

The whole compiled list of useful links. More is to come! Follow today!

Here’s more!

Here’s more!

lovelycharts.com – create flowcharts, network diagrams, sitemaps, etc. e.ggtimer.com – a simple online timer for your daily needs. coralcdn.org – if a site is down due to heavy traffic, try accessing it through coral CDN. random.org – pick random numbers, flip coins, and more. google.com/webfonts – a good collection of open source fonts. homestyler.com – design from scratch or re-model your home in 3d. join.me – share you screen with anyone over the web. wetransfer.com – for sharing really big files online. hundredzeros.com – the site lets you download free Kindle books. polishmywriting.com – check your writing for spelling or grammatical errors. marker.to – easily highlight the important parts of a web page for sharing. whichdateworks.com – planning an event? find a date that works for all. everytimezone.com – a less confusing view of the world time zones. gtmetrix.com – the perfect tool for measuring your site performance online. noteflight.com – print music sheets, write your own music online (review). imo.im – chat with your buddies on Skype, Facebook, Google Talk, etc. from one place. translate.google.com – translate web pages, PDFs and Office documents. kleki.com – create paintings and sketches with a wide variety of brushes. similarsites.com – discover new sites that are similar to what you like already. wordle.net – quick summarize long pieces of text with tag clouds. bubbl.us – create mind-maps, brainstorm ideas in the browser. kuler.adobe.com – get color ideas, also extract colors from photographs. ge.tt – qiuckly send a file to someone, they can even preview it before downloading. tinychat.com – setup a private chat room in micro-seconds. privnote.com – create text notes that will self-destruct after being read. draw.io – create diagrams and flowcharts in the browser, export your drawings to Google Drive and Dropbox. downforeveryoneorjustme.com – find if your favorite website is offline or not? urbandictionary.com – find definitions of slangs and informal words. scribblemaps.com – create custom Google Maps easily. formspring.me – you can ask or answer personal questions here. sumopaint.com – an excellent layer-based online image editor. snopes.com – find if that email offer you received is real or just another scam. typingweb.com – master touch-typing with these practice sessions. mailvu.com – send video emails to anyone using your web cam. timerime.com – create timelines with audio, video and images. stupeflix.com – make a movie out of your images, audio and video clips.safeweb.norton.com – check the trust level of any website.

For more posts like this, follow the Ultrafacts Blog!

A King and Queen ruled in a time of peace and abundance; the only mar upon their happiness was that they had no children, through their youth and even into their middle age, despite many fervent hopes and prayers. One day the Queen went walking on a forest path without her attendants. There, in the dark quiet of her despair, an old woman found her. 

“My dear,” asked the woman, “why are you so sad?”

“It doesn’t matter,” answered the Queen, gently. “It wouldn’t make a difference if you knew.”

“You may be surprised." 

"The King and I have no children. He lacks an heir, and I have always wanted a child of my own to care for. But you see, that’s not something you can help.”

“Of course it is,” nodded the woman, for naturally she was a witch. “Listen and do as I say; take a drinking cup and place it upside-down in your garden tonight. In the morning, you will find two roses beneath it - one red, one white. If you eat the red rose you shall give birth to a son, and the white rose shall give you a girl. But remember that you must not eat both.”

“Not both?”

“No,” the woman said. 

Astonished, and not a little suspicious, the Queen agreed. That night she did as the old woman had instructed, and in the morning she discovered two small roses under the cup’s brim. 

“But which one should I choose?” thought the Queen. “If I have a son, he may grow into a man who marches off to war and dies. If I have a daughter, she may stay longer with me, but I will have to see her given away in marriage. In the end, I may have no child after all.”

At last she decided on the white rose, but it was so sweet to the taste - and the thought of losing a daughter to marriage was so bitter - that she ate the red rose as well, hardly remembering the old woman’s warning.

Shortly afterwards, as happens in such stories, the Queen was found to be with child. Her husband was traveling when the time came for her to give birth, and so he did not bear witness to what happened, which was this:

The Queen’s first child was no child at all, but instead there tumbled forth from her body the long, scaly one of a lindworm, a hideous dragon with a venomous bite. It scrabbled out the window on its two legs, even before the terrified midwives could move to do anything, and amidst the chaos the Queen delivered a second child as well. This one was a fine, handsome boy, healthy and perfectly formed, and the Queen made her midwives swear that they would tell no one what they had seen. And when the King arrived home, joyous at the news of his son’s birth, not a word was said. 

Years passed, so that the Queen wondered if it had not been a terrible dream. Soon enough it came time for the prince to find a wife, and he set out with his guard to a neighboring kingdom to ask for its princess’s hand in marriage. But suddenly a great lindworm appeared, and laid itself before the prince’s horse, and from its jagged-tooth mouth came a voice:

“A bride for me before a bride for you!”

The prince and his company turned about to flee. The Lindworm blocked their passage and spoke again.

“A bride for me before a bride for you!”

The prince journeyed home to tell his parents. Distraught, the Queen confessed that it was true. The Lindworm was indeed the elder brother of the prince, and so by rights should marry first. The King wrote to the ruler of a distant land, asking that they send their princess to marry his son: but he did not say which one.

A lovely princess journeyed to the kingdom, and did not see her bridegroom until he appeared beside her in the Great Hall, and by then (naturally) it was too late. The next morning they found the Lindworm asleep alone in the bridal bedchamber, and it was quite clear he had devoured his new wife. 

A second princess was sent, and a third. Both met the same fate, but each time the prince dared to embark on a journey, the Lindworm would appear again and speak: 

“A bride for me before a bride for you!”

“Father,” the prince said, “ we must find a wife for my elder brother.”

“And where am I to find her?” asked the King. “We have already made enemies of the men who sent their daughters to us. Stories are spreading fast, and I am sure no princess would dare to come now.”

So instead the King went to the royal gardener’s cottage, where he knew the old man lived with his only daughter. 

“Will you give me your daughter to marry my son, the Lindworm?” asked the King.

“No!” cried the gardener. “Please, she is everything I have in this world. Your monstrous son has eaten his way through three princesses, and he’ll gobble her up just the same. She’s too good for such a fate.”

"You must,” the King said, “You must.”

Distraught, the gardener told his daughter everything. She agreed to the King’s request and went into the forest so that her father would not see her weeping.

And there, in the dark quiet of her despair, an old woman found her. 

“My dear,” asked the woman, “why are you so sad?”

“I’m sorry,” answered the girl, kindly. “It wouldn’t make a difference if I told you.”

“You may be surprised." 

"How can that be? I’m to be married to the King’s son, the Lindworm. He’s eaten his first three brides, and I don’t know what will stop me from meeting the same end. That’s not something  you can help me with.”

“Of course it is,” nodded the woman again. “Listen and do as I say. Before the marriage ceremony, dress yourself in ten snow-white shifts beneath your gown. Ask that a tub of lye, a tub of milk, and as many birch rods as a man can carry be brought to your bridal chamber. After you are wed, and your husband orders you to disrobe, bid him to shed a skin first. He will ask you this nine times, and when you are left wearing one shift you must whip him with the rods, wash him in the lye, bath him in the milk, wrap him in the discarded shifts, and hold him in your arms.”

“Do I truly have to hold him?” the girl asked, in disgust.

“You must. It may mean your life.”

The girl was suspicious, but she agreed to the woman’s plan however absurd it seemed. When the day came for the marriage, she dressed herself in ten white shifts before donning the heavy gown they offered her. When she looked upon her husband for the first time, waiting for her in the Great Hall, her steps did not falter. And when she asked for the rods, the lye, and the milk, she said it with such ease that the servant could do nothing but obey.

Finally, the girl and the Lindworm were left alone in the darkened bedchamber. For a moment she listened to the rasp and click of his scales on stone, and heard his soughing breath. 

“Maiden,” said the Lindworm, “shed your shift for me.”

“Prince Lindworm,” answered the girl, “shed your skin first!”

“No one has ever asked me that before,” the answer came.

“I am asking it of you now." 

So the Lindworm shed a skin, and the girl shed a shift, but she revealed the second shift underneath. 

"Maiden,” said the Lindworm, a second time, “shed your shift for me.”

“Prince Lindworm,” answered the girl, again, “shed your skin first!”

They repeated this, nine times in all, and each time the Lindworm shed a skin the girl removed another white shift, until she was left wearing one.

The Lindworm, shivering and weak and bloodied, spoke his request a last time.

“Wife,” asked the Lindworm, “will you shed your shift for me?”

“Husband,"answered the girl, "will you shed your skin first?”

And the Lindworm did as she asked of him, tearing himself free of scales and armor even to the bare flesh beneath, and the girl whipped the writhing creature with her birch rods until they snapped; she carried the whole massive length of him to the tubs, lye and milk, washed him clean and bathed him and swathed him in the shifts like a great, terrible child, collapsed to the floor with her husband in her arms, and there she stayed until, exhausted, she fell asleep.

When she woke, it was to the timid knocking of a servant on the door. 

“Princess?” asked the servant. “Princess? Are you alive?”

The girl looked about the bedchamber: there in the morning light were the dried skins, and the tubs, and the broken rods, and the blood, and in her arms slept a pale, weary, but very handsome man. 

“Yes,” she answered. “Yes, I am.”

Hello lovely followers!

So, after ten long years of waiting, Final Fantasy XV is finally here!

As always, I am eternally grateful that this blog has received as much support as it has the year and a half we’ve been around! It’s been a great ride and I want to thank each and every one of you that have followed this blog. For that, I want to hold a giveaway to celebrate the release of Final Fantasy XV and for the 1.4k people that support us!

(this giveaway is not affiliated with tumblr in any way)

Prizes!

Final Fantasy XV Deluxe Edition Steelbook (includes the game + Kingsglaive movie)

For this prize, please specify if you want the PS4 or Xbox One edition. 

Final Fantasy XV World Prologue book 

Kingsglaive Blu-ray Steelbook (includes complete Brotherhood Anime)

Rules!

Must be following ffxv-headcanons. This is for our followers, after all!

You must be at least 18 years old or have parent permission to participate.

Reblog to enter. Reblog only once, please! You can like the post for reference but it will not be counted.

Giveaway will end December 12th, 11:59PM EST. Your reblog will not count after that time.

I will ship within the USA only, sorry! :(

There will be three (3) winners. 

We will be choosing winners via random generator.

Once the winners have been chosen, we will send out asks, one at a time. Winner must respond with the prize they wish to receive and a mailing address! Once contacted, the winner will have 24 hours to respond. If there is no response, we will move on to the next winner.

Winners will receive one (1) item of their choice in a first come, first serve basis in order of response, meaning only one of each will be available (So if the first winner chooses the FFXV deluxe edition, it will no longer be available as a prize option).  

Ridiculously small kitten: “Myam myam myam. Njam njam njam njam njam njam njam! Myam myam myam nyam nyam myam. Mmmam. Mrrrrram. Meep!”

When I worked at a mental health crisis centre, I couldn’t believe how many people came to us, not because of their own problems, but because they were so lost in a friend’s pain that they couldn’t take it anymore. I saw a lot of people who were so worn down from helping someone else that they couldn’t sleep, eat, socialize or focus at work or school. They were consumed with guilt every time they put down their phones, went to sleep, or dared to enjoy themselves and have a good time. All because they had no idea how to set boundaries.  Helping your friends through a tough situation is a wonderful and noble thing to do, but it only works if you’re mentally in a place to do so. If you’re dealing with issues or mental illness of your own, you’re not always capable of being someone else’s shoulder to cry on 24/7. And that’s okay. Sometimes, you have to put yourself first. You can’t help someone else if you’re a mess yourself. You can’t save a drowning person with a sinking ship.  Telling a friend that you’re overwhelmed and you need a break is one of the hardest things you’ll ever have to do. Honesty is the best policy - don’t go radio silent on them, or avoid answering their messages. Be honest about how you’re feeling, and what you need from them. If you’re stuck on what to say and how to start the conversation, here are a few suggestions. Feel free to copy them exactly: It’s really hard for me to admit this, but I’ve been feeling like I’m on the verge of a breakdown lately. I love you and I care about you, but I need to take some time to take care of myself for a while.  I’m really concerned about you, but I honestly don’t know how to deal with this and I’m worried I’ll say the wrong thing. I really think that you should talk to a professional about this.  This is hard for me to admit, but I have a lot going on in my life right now, and it’s getting to be too much for me. Would it be okay if we talked about lighter stuff for the next little while?

You deserve more support than I can give you. I think you need to tell a close family member or professional about what’s going on. 

It seems like every time we talk about this, things are worse for you. I’m worried that my advice isn’t helping you at all, and I think you should talk to someone more qualified than me. 

I’m really worried for your safety, and it breaks my heart, but I can’t keep you safe all by myself. Would it be okay if we told someone else what was going on?