Shaun-lara

hey so protip if you have abusive parents and need to get around the house as quietly as possible, stay close to furniture and other heavy stuff because the floor is settled there and it’s less likely to creak

All the Shadow & Stone art I've made since Sonic 2 in no particular order

at least I think that's all of it

I love them so much I can't believe Sonic 3 is real <3

Oh no, not a link where you can watch the entirety of What’s New Scooby Doo! Who on earth would post something like this???

And one for 46 different Scooby Doo movies including the beloved live action one from 2002 and it’s sequel, Monsters Unleashed??? For shame of me!

I had a person come up to the counter today, look at my badge and go, "You're not [insert stereotypical male name here].

Which, yeah, right, true, technically, I'm not, I had the wrong badge. I forgot mine at home, and I used my coworker's one. It was the only one available and it had "[male name], he/him".

(Side note, I so so so love that our badges have pronouns on them, it's so nice! Another side note, I go by they/them most of the time, but I don't mind he/she/ze or any other pronouns)

And, usually, gender is a concept I don't have the time or brain capacity to consider. It doesn't really matter for me personally, I know I appear feminine, and I don't have a problem with customers referring to me by she/her. I mean, sure, it's nice if they look at my badge, see "Cork, they/them" and refer to me by it, but honestly, the amount of fucks I give about random people using wrong pronouns is zero.

But this person at the counter just, I dunno. Looked like they wanted a fight. And the shop was empty, and I was bored, so I was like

You know what? Sure, let's do this. It's probably the only entertainment I'm gonna have today, might as well make it as confusing as possible. Because I love to watch the world burn, sue me.

So I go, "I actually am."

"But you don't look like [male name]!"

Been there, done that, "What do I look like, then?"

Stutter. "I don't know, but you're not [male name]!"

Okay, we're just repeating ourselves now, sure, "Then who am I?"

"NOT [male name]!!! Why are you wearing a badge that has a wrong name?!"

And it was at this moment that a brilliant thought crossed my mind. So I smile, cute and nice and pretty, and I go, "Because I stole it."

"You what?"

"I stole this name from the one who had it, and now he has no name and I get to have it. Now, can I have your name for this order?" And I extend a hand to them, like asking to put something in there, because I'm now committing to the bit. All while looking them in the eyes and keeping the smile.

They ended up leaving without ordering anything, but they also didn't speak to me after that, so that's a win, overall. And the manager laughed at that, so I'm not even in trouble.

The moral of the story? When in doubt, play by the fae rules.

I didn't even lie, technically speaking.

i hate that every time i look for color studies and tips to improve my art and make it more dynamic and interesting all that comes up are rudimentary explanations of the color wheel that explain it to me like im in 1st grade and just now discovering my primary colors

Notetaking

Sound Note - take notes while you record audio

Evernote - notetaking that syncs across platforms

Paper 53 - minimal notetaking that syncs

Microsoft OneNote - collaboration and syncing, best for Office users

Google Keep - jot things down, best for Google suite users

Notability - take notes and annotate PDFs

Mindly - create mind maps

Day One - a digital journal

Flash Cards

Quizlet - the quintessential flash card app

StudyBlue - another commonly used app

Cram - best for its “cram mode”

Eidetic - uses spaced repetition for effective memorization

Planner 

My Study Life - schedules, tasks, reminders, and more

StudyCal - keeps track of tasks, exams, and grades

24me - automated reminders and event planning

iStudiez - schedule and prioritized task list

Google Calendar - a calendar, best for Google users

Glass Planner - a calendar and to do list with incredible functionality

To Do List

Clear - organized to-do and reminders

MinimaList - simple to-do and focus timer

Trello - collaborative project organizer

Todoist - clean and functional task manager

Default notes app on your phone

Time Management

Forest - plant trees by staying focused

Pomotodo - pomodoro timer with to-do list

Timeglass - custom timers

Tide - pomodoro with white noise

Alarmy - forces you out of bed 

Pillow - smart alarm that tracks sleep cycles

Productivity

Workflow - automate tasks

Habitica - turn your habits into an RPG

Continuo - simple, colorful activity tracking

Freedom - block distracting apps

Free Learning

Coursera - free MOOCs

TED - listen to Ted Talks

Duolingo - language learning

Memrise - spaced repetition language vocabulary

Khan Academy - free video lessons

Ambient Noise

8tracks - curated playlists

Spotify - online music streaming

Coffitivity - cafe ambience

Noisli - background sound generator

Rain Rain - rain sounds

Binaural - binaural beats

Health

Rockin Ramen - recipes based on ramen

MealBoard - meal planning

Lifesum - healthy eating

Stop Breath And Think - mindfulness meditation

Pacifica - mental health management

Sworkit - personalized video workouts

Waterlogged - hydration tracker

Reference

WolframAlpha - Google on steroids

Oxford Dictionary - all of English at your fingertips

RefMe - citation generator

PhotoMath - solve math problems by taking a photo

Mathway - step by step math help

Desmos - free graphing calculator

Wikipedia - not the best source, but it’s handy

Miscellaneous 

Companion - stay safe when walking alone

Mint - money management

Toshl - finance manager

Tiny Scanner - scan documents

Once upon a time I worked in this little burger/coffee/ice cream shop and a lady came in one winter and asked if we had a caramel apple drink and we were like ‘well we have cider’ and she was like ‘no I don’t remember what it’s called but this place made a drink that was chai tea, apple cider, and caramel’ and Breezy offered to try and make something for her but she changed her mind and left so Breezy and I were like ‘alright let’s try this’ because we had chai tea, instant cider mix, a shit ton of caramel, instant hot water from the espresso and too much free time. 

And let me tell you it was delightful. It tastes like watching the leaves changing color and dancing in the wind. It tastes like picking out pumpkins and gourds and fresh apples at the farm up north. It tastes like witches and freedom.

I make it every year now and this year I walked in the house on the morning of October first with all the ingredients and shouted ‘FALL DRINK’ and my roommates were like ‘????’ so I made them Fall Drink and now every time they get home from work they’re like ‘Fall Drink pls?????’

Anyway I remember literally nothing else about that woman but I’m very grateful to her. 

Resources For Writing Deaf, Mute, or Blind Characters

Despite the fact that I am not deaf, mute, or blind myself, one of the most common questions I receive is how to portray characters with these disabilities in fiction.

As such, I’ve compiled the resources I’ve accumulated (from real life deaf, mute, or blind people) into a handy masterlist.

Deaf Characters:

Deaf characters masterpost

Deaf dialogue thread

Dialogue with signing characters (also applies to mute characters.)

A deaf author’s advice on deaf characters

Dialogue between deaf characters

Mute Characters

Life as a Mute

My Silent Summer:  Life as a Mute

What It’s Like Being Mute

21 People Reveal What It’s Really Like To Be Mute

I am a 20 year old Mute, ask me anything at all!

Blind Characters:

The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Blind Characters.

@referenceforwriters masterpost of resources for writing/playing blind characters.

The youtube channel of the wonderful Tommy Edison, a man blind from birth with great insight into the depiction of blind people and their lives.

An Absolute Write thread on the depiction of blind characters, with lots of different viewpoints and some great tips.

And finally, this short, handy masterpost of resources for writing blind characters.

Characters Who Are Blind in One Eye

4 Ways Life Looks Shockingly Different With One Eye

Learning to Live With One Eye

Adapting to the Loss of an Eye

Adapting to Eye Loss and Monocular Vision

Monocular Depth Perception

Deaf-Blind Characters

What Is It Like To Be Deafblind?

Going Deaf and Blind in a City of Noise and Lights

Deaf and Blind by 30

Sarita is Blind, Deaf, and Employed (video)

Born Deaf and Blind, This Eritrean American Graduated Harvard Law School (video)

A Day of a Deaf Blind Person

Lesser Known Things About Being Deafblind

How the Deaf-Blind Communicate

Early Interactions With Children Who Are Deaf-Blind

Raising a DeafBlind Baby

If you have any more resources to add, let me know!  I’ll be adding to this post as I find more resources.

I hope this helps, and happy writing!  <3

Surnames are just as important as given names. So, I compiled a list of the websites I use to find my surnames.

English Surnames

Dutch Surnames

Spanish Surnames

Scottish Surnames

German Surnames

Italian Surnames

Irish Surnames

French Surnames

Scandinavian Surnames

Welsh Surnames

Jewish Surnames

Surnames By Ethnicity

Most Common Surnames in the USA

Most Common Surnames in Great Britan

Most Common Surnames in Asia