#bluereadingdolphin

[mintlysweet-tea]

🌻

I'm stuck on the couch cause of a very warm cat. She does not want me to move help

[worriedyourwingswouldmelt]

Trick or treat!!

happy halloween! you get the very scary irl celebrations box that doesn't get finished bc we never get as many trick or treaters as we're expecting

[elsewhereuniversity]

I would love a safe name - for a whisperer to the moon

Saudade

[sunevial]

I think I've requested this every time you've done these but I'd love to see more of Two Together Are Always Going Somewhere!!

"Sounds like you had an interesting weekend."

Sol glanced up from her lunch (rice with gyro meat, extra green onion, from the food truck on the corner of West Larch and Main), giving a light sigh. "Look, my options were help move furniture or let my dad disown me for being a bad neighbor. You know I'm obligated to do shit like that whether they or I like it."

The woman sitting across from Sol snorted, tapping her chopsticks against her own takeout lunch. If there was one perk of having to work at the downtown office today, it was getting to eat lunch in Wisteria's main plaza. City and province government buildings loomed around the perimeter, everything from the court houses and public offices to the state-supported research halls. If a longer subway ride was the price of that, Sol wasn't about to complain.

Well, she wasn't about to complain about being able to share lunch with Ginger. She was more than happy to complain about everything else.

"Sol? Wanting to help people she doesn't know?" Ginger said with a gasp and an eye roll. Or, at least, what Sol assumed was an eye roll given Ginger's lack of visible pupils. "Never would've gotten that impression. Absolutely never. I'm shocked."

"Uh huh, you're real helpful," she replied in deadpan. "Don't suppose you know how to get me out of this mess I'm in, Madam Lawyer?"

"I'm not your lawyer, so I can't give you legal advice anyways," Ginger replied, popping a sushi roll down and leaning back against the metal bench. She was wearing her 'casual' outfit today, sporting a nice blouse with a pencil skirt. The colors complimented her bright red hair, up in its usual bun.

"Humor me."

Ginger snorted. "Meeting your neighbor for a dinner date your best friend set up isn't a binding contract. I thought you were the smart one between us."

"But I'll feel like the bad guy if I cancel," Sol muttered, taking a swig out of her water bottle.

"Then go on the damn date, girl!" Ginger threw her hands up. "It's dumplings and beef and broccoli, not a marriage proposal."

She let out a groan, stuffing her face into her hands. "I just wanted to be nice. This is a bit too much nice."

"The way I see it, you're going on a platonic date with a cute girl, and you get red bean out of it. There are much worse ways to spend an evening."

"You want me. To talk to people," Sol said flatly. "In public."

Ginger shot back with a wry smile. "That's how you got to know me."

"And look where that led," she replied. "Me bitching to an overworked public defense lawyer."

"There's no one better to bitch to."

"I'll drink to that," Sol said, taking another swig of water.

"Mind getting me some pork buns while you're there?" Ginger asked, slipping a ten over the table.

"Well now I have to go."

Ginger tilted her head, eyes twinkling and a shit-eating grin plastered across her face. "See, was that so hard?"

"You had to bribe me."

"With pork buns."

"For you."

"And since you'll be there anyways, you can get your own pork buns."

"Fuck you."

"Not into you like that."

[internetremix]

For Alex/anyone who's written a D&D campaign: How far ahead do you write campaigns? Do you write the whole thing or do you plan a few sessions ahead of where the players are?

I tend to plan campaigns in broad stages and not have players sign up until I know every basic plot beat and how the major NPCs behave. That said while I have rough ideas for adventures, dungeons, etc., I really plot out encounters a few sessions ahead and finalize them a few days prior to game time (at least when the players would conceivably get to said encounters.)

- Alex

[manontheinternet]

Congratulations on reaching 200,000 subscribers! I love your content, and here's to another 100,000!

Thanks so much!

- Alex

[sunevial]

I'd love to read more of the space and magic gays!

A blaring alarm jolted Venny out of dreamland, breaking an already fading image of dancing whales in space. Muttering obscenities under her breath, she slapped the clock on the floor until it finally shut up. Having an actual mattress made sleep more tolerable, but it would take a few days to make up for lost sleep. Until then, she would continue to hate mornings with the passion of a thousand suns. 

With a sleep-addled head, she pushed off the covers and stumbled towards her closet. Unlike the previous couple of days, she couldn’t afford to go out in shorts and five year old t-shirts. After all, it was her first official day at Electrica, and she wanted to make a good impression with her new colleagues. Fingers dragging over fabric, she eventually spotted her checkered blue and white dress. Smile tired, she took it down and headed for a quick shower.

Fifteen minutes later, Venny smelled like a flower field and looked ready to take on the world. She had never been one for makeup, but she could make an exception for an important day, so she applied a little eyeshadow and lipstick to make everything pop. When she finished fiddling with her face, she downed a quick breakfast of eggs, toast, and piping hot bean water. While she still didn’t care for the extra work of making her own coffee, there was something satisfying about the process that she could appreciate. 

Grabbing her purse and a pair of comfortable walking shoes, she took a deep breath and pushed open the door. Big day. Important day. The first real adult day of her new life on a new planet. 

Lot of new things to deal with today.

As she headed for the staircase, a door opened just behind her. Out stepped Sol, equally dressed up for work in a collared shirt and clean pair of slacks. She smiled a touch, giving a wave from down the hall. “Looking sharp there.”

“You too!” she replied with a wave and a smile.

“First day, right?” she asked, crossing the space between them in a handful of steps. 

She nodded, twirling a hair twist between her fingers. “You know it. Getting to know a bunch of people and relearning a bunch of stuff I learned when I was four and then promptly forgot about.”

“Sometimes I forget how much more advanced you guys are,” Sol said with a snort, holding open the stairwell door. “Hell, you probably know more about my job than me.”

“Now, you say that, but I don’t know the first thing about getting someone into space,” she replied, one hand resting on the handrail. “Also don’t know how wind magic actually works, so you’ve got that going for you.”

With a whistle, Sol vaulted over the side of the railing, wind swirling around her and slowing her descent until her feet touched the ground floor. She looked back up, smiling just a touch. “Like that.”

“That answers absolutely nothing.”

“Oh I know,” Sol said with a wide grin, giving a two fingered wave. “You’re gonna do just fine today.”

“Yeah...yeah, I can do this,” Venny said, reaching the bottom of the stairs and straightening out her shoulders. She could do this. Just a day at work and...oh right, that was also today, wasn’t it? “I’ll see you...tonight then?” 

Sol paused, looking over her shoulder. Her face was friendly, if just slightly concerned. “If you’re still up for it. Don’t wanna make you do too much on one day”

“I’ll honestly probably need the stress reliever. And some dumplings.”

“See you at six, then,” Sol replied, stepping out into the lobby and heading for the door. “Later, Venny.”

“Later!”

A day at work and a friend date.

She could do this.

[internetremix]

We were told "you have ten minutes" to do a piece of work in class and my fight or flight kicked in, christ.

Kristen: Aw, Bro's not the only one.

Bro: The anxiety is REAL