---

After one last mighty tug, Tzin was reminded of the ominous existence of gravity. With a thud that most likely made his neighbor downstairs go in a cursing spree once again, the dragon finally was freed from the oppressive constraints of the doorframe. The one which he had asked one too many times to get widened, as it had seemed to become narrower after five semesters living in the same dorm room. He exhaled as he felt his weight shift around and his belly sloshed against the fake-wood linoleum. Finally he decided to get up, fighting against his nemesis —the nefarious gravity— to bring himself upright. As he did so, he awkwardly took his backpack off his shoulders and carelessly tossed it on top of this bed, only to realize how unwise it was to get rid of his only counterweight. Fortunately, the chair right beside his desk was there to catch his girth and break his fall, albeit with a resentful creak from the sudden strain. Another sigh. One claw popped his laptop open, and while the login screen loaded, his other claw reached for a jumbo-sized caramel-and-peanut-nougat-topped chocolate candy bar (his fourth one today), skillfully tearing the wrapper and giving the tantalizing treat one sizable bite.

After his incident with the door he didn't even bother to turn on the lights and instad, relied on the light casted by the screen and the few slivers of moonlight that peeked through the blinds on his left. After smashing his password for the second time (since the first time he messed up the last two digits), the screen flashed his dull grey desktop background halfway covered with recent files: at least a dozen documents under the title "Lab Practice" followed by an identification number, as well as their respective worksheets. Only looking at them elicited a yawn from the annoyed dragon. With a swipe and a click, the browser icon jumped up and down from its usual position. The candy bar was all but gone by the time the home page greeted the overweight anthro. After opening the school platform site, at least a couple social media pages and a music streaming service, he commanded the new tab to open the all-too familiar fandom. The black paw confirmed he had typed the web address properly, and proceeded to crack his knuckles and relieve some of the tension in his non-existant neck, causing his cheeks to press and squeeze against the flab on his shoulder and his second-going-on-thrid chin.

Was this the night when he could finally get to write the update he had committed to send at least two months ago?

Maybe it was...

The sound of wrapping paper filled the room as the page loaded and the blank rectangle raised like a looming, unsurmountable obstacle, with its blinking cursor rhythmically appearing and disappearing, conveying almost a palpable scorn at the frustrated dragon.

... or maybe, he needed one more of those candy bars to accrue just enough motivation.

---

Look who decided to show up in your journals! ITS TZIN!! Your highly unreliable and extremely absent dragon friend from what feels like ages. Here to apologize once again for being such a lousy friend. Summer came and went. I had the opportunity to spend three months working at a Research Laboratory in Canada. It has been one of the greatest experiences in my life... even if it meant I had to invest so much attention and effort on the experiments and the learning process, taking away time for drawing and even from hanging out with my online friends.

So here's the TL;DR version of the update

Here's my situation summarized into five main matters:

1. I am on my last semester of my Chemical Engineering Degree. If all goes well, I'll be graduating this coming December.

2. Graduating freaks me out. Adult life seems challenging. All I've heard is that it only becomes tougher from here.

3. I haven't been able to improve my art much. And I find it frustrating. No time means no practice. No practice means no improvement.

4. I feel like I'm growing distant from the friends I've made through FA. I just want to let you know, I love you and I'm sorry.

5. The chair under supporting me is about to collapse. Should I cut back on my taco consumption?

Thanks for sticking with my nonsense. Please feel free to leave a comment with your favorite snack food... I am craving something to much on before I head to raid the fridge for my regular midnight snack.

Anyway...

Saludos a todos! ^.-.^