#( connection. / && jacob stack. )

[gladiatorcunt]

- MOLTEN LAVA CAKE / IV.

when i get to heaven, please let me bring my man

cw: kinktober prompt (creampie), unprotected sex & playing fast and loose with it’s possible consequences, yandere behavior, age gap (reader 20’s, capitano & zhongli 50s, baizhu 40s), power imabalance, non con somno (childe), dub con, innocence kink & lowkey medical malpractice (baizhu), reader has a pussy, implied kidnapping (capitano), if you squint childe & capitano’s sections are connected, frequent breeding kink type talk, manipulation & coercion, implied baby trapping, dead dove do not eat

please do not repost, translate, or feed this work to ai

kinktober 2024

CEO!Zhongli

“Do be quiet, darling.” Zhongli grits, cupping your head with both of his palms and tugging you upwards. “I have no intentions of being an exhibitionist today.���

You arch off his grand wooden desk and gasp at the spark of pain in your neck, but you’d take that over drowning yourself in paperwork any day. Your boss’s cock is ramming into your ass at a porn star’s speed, the wet smacks of flesh slapping against flesh bounce off the one way glass walls.

This situation is the most cliché porn plot in the book though, the distant slightly emotionally unavailable boss bending his secretary over his desk and zipping down their pants. You had been running late that day, you forgot to set your alarm for Mr. Zhongli’s breakfast tea run and you had less cat food than you thought so you had to make a break for the grocery store.

By the time you scrambled in with a steaming cup of your boss’s favorite tea and his stack of reports to review and meeting requests to schedule, the older man was tapping his foot and crossing his arms. He didn’t look disappointed, not quite, but the gentle warmth in his eyes was gone and his small smile was flat.

In your desperation not to lose your job, this was your first and you’re only in your junior year of college, you follow him into his office and set down your things. Your cherry Marc Jacobs tote bag (bought by him, his papers and tea (bought by you with his money), your SINOCULTURAL orchid leather handbag (also bought by him, for variety).

Zhongli wasn’t the kind of pervy boss who’s hit on you before, you guess now that he was just lying in wait. You were the one that draped yourself over his desk with tears in your eyes, desperate and naive and relying on the principle of ‘sex sells’.

He’ll draft up a different beginning to your love story at your wedding.

“You take cock so well, perhaps we’ll have to have a discussion about adding this to your list of duties, hm?”

The condom sliding in and out of your walls makes you want to pout, but you know he has to have one. How he was able to pull a pack from his desk drawer on the spot is beyond you, you’re not quite willing to admit that you’d be so willing to keep your job you’d risk a baby and/or STDs.

“A-ah! Y-yes, sir, whenever you’re available, i-i’ll do anything.” You whisper over your shoulder and push your ass up, wanting the sight of his long cock disappearing under the thick cheeks to be as enticing as possible.

You clutch onto the golden plague bearing his esteemed name for dear life, muffling your sounds into the furniture’s lacquer, and let your boss pour all his stress into your holes. You tried to goad him into taking your ass but he gave you an amused chuckle and a firm pat to each cheek, chiding at you that he’d do it properly another time. He’s a gentleman under his silvered tongue and all his golden scales.

Zhongli seems to get fed up with the condom the closer he gets to his roaring orgasm, and all you’re able to let out in a punched squeal as he sharply pulls out and rips the condom off.

“This damn thing,” He huffs, snarling as he tosses the shredded scraps of plastic to the side, sinking back into your pussy in one go. “There, much better.”

You’re discovering that Mr. Zhongli is not the kind of man who groans unabashedly in the heat of the moment, he's prone to contented sighs and easy laughs. The closest you get to anything animalistic is the guttural grunt he lets slip as you clench around him near the end of his deep thrusts, milking him for all the cum this HR nightmare of a quickie can get you.

“One more thing before you go, be a dear and clean that up for me.” He points a black nail down at the puddle of cum expectantly, somehow having pulled his cock free with a wet flopping noise when you were too dizzy to notice, sinking back into his swiveling chair.

Sugar Daddy!Capitano

Your back hits the hotel wall, softened by Capitano’s hands coming to slide in between you and the surface.

“Mmfh- I’ve never… I’ve never done this before.” You shyly admit as your sighs fade into whimpers, the man’s stubble rubbing on your neck during his rain of kisses.

He laughs and his hot breath hits your pulse point, your heart skips a beat. “So you’ve told me. Don’t worry, you’re nothing but safe with me. I’ve already wired the initial 50,000 for our first meeting to your account, we don’t have to do anything that you are not comfortable with.”

You nod and run your fingers through his black hair, offering up more of your unmarked neck. Of course you’re comfortable, you were so nervous you could die hours earlier, but your first sugar daddy experience has turned out to be the ideal. Capitano made sure you were happy and pliant, offering ten times the amount of what most other men would just for this one dinner. What wouldn’t you be down with doing now?

He nips at your bottom lip, wrapping his burly arms around your chubby thighs and hoisting you up. You wrap your legs around his waist and giggle as you fall onto the bed of the hotel’s presidential suite. You trade sloppy and clumsy kisses for less and less articles of clothing, he places your jewelry and your accessories neatly on the nightstand.

“So you don’t prick yourself or worry about losing them, bambi.” He explains and pulls you into another syrupy kiss.

You lose yourself to fit of giggles as he reverently kisses down your body. The next hour is spent with your new sugar daddy licking your pussy, eating you out like a man would gulp down an oasis after a lifetime of being stranded in the desert. You couldn’t say how many times you flood his awaiting mouth with your juices and seed, but you’ll always remember how his Adam's Apple bobs on every swallow. As if it nourishes him, replenishes his soul from inside and out, warms like a good hearty soup.

Capitano slithers up your body to stroke a finger down your face, “Are you ready for me, honey? You’re spewing like a fountain but we can always just cuddle.”

“No, I'm ready, I want this, want you. Please, Daddy, need your cock.” And your money, but mostly your cock right now.

You settle into your position on your back and spread your legs, you grab the back of your ankles and keep them that way. Bearing yourself for the hungry gaze of a man twice your age.

“Alright, needy love, aren’t you? Here you go.” He coos, lining up his fat dick with your slick entrance and sinking in.

You almost wish you had turned the lights off. The way his massive looks hovering above yours, muscles tense and waiting to be exercised. You don’t have to look down at where his cock feeds your pussy, it’s like you can feel what every nerve and vein is doing and touching in your guts. You’re so glad the conversation about being tested was had on the sugaring app, you’re both clean and on the pill so you thought why not indulge in another first.

“Gorgeous cunt. Worth so much fucking more than 50,000. You like France, bambi? I’ll get you a castle in the countryside, this pussy would look divine getting pounded in one of their foyer’s and over their balconies.” He groans, husky and scratchy, kissing you and grinding his cock deep in your quivering pussy like you just got married.

You have to show him how to take a video of his goopy cum dripping out of your puffy folds, spreading them with your fingers and pushing it back inside.

The next morning, you wake up to a bundle of fresh roses and a calligraphy note on the pillow next to your head. You smile and take it all in, but eventually you tug on last night’s clothes and grab your bag. You grin down at your phone, feeling the butterflies play war drums in your stomach, this going somewhere good. There are times when you can just tell.

The suite door is locked, a man’s voice outside asks if you’re ready to be taken back to the boss’s home. On the way there you look through your bag, a message from your intuition, and your birth control is gone. But there are listings for several foreign properties, with a sticky note attached to the first.

‘Tell me which ones you like when you get home. I have my broker on the phone.”

Stalker!Childe

It’s a routine for him, slip in under your window, sink onto your bed and straddle your sleeping body, and fill you up with his cum until your belly bloats. You’ve never noticed, he’s good at cleaning up. And if you have, you’re docile enough to let him keep at it. Let the rabid wolf keep pawing at your door with bloody paws, leaving a carcass at your feet and doing it all over again the next day.

You know it’s just your boyfriend loving on you in private until you’re ready to go public. He understands you’re shy, a lot of the partners he’s had in the past haven’t exactly been social butterflies, but baby it’s just little ol’ Ajax! He wouldn’t hurt a fly let alone his precious significant other, don’t be silly. He has these kinds of conversations with you through hushed whispers against your ear and trembling fingers slipping under the straps of your tank top.

Ajax always preps you, save for a couple of times in the beginning because he was too excited. He prefers doing it with his tongue, but he does love a good fingerbanging session. He’d never cause any pain that wasn’t fun for the both of you, cross his heart and hope to die. He even brings a back up inhaler that he stole from your pharmacist in case you lose your current one.

He grins as he shimmies you out of your sleepwear, you never much, another sign that you’re meant to be “Shh, lovebug, I hope you’re having the sweetest dreams right now. I’m just stopping by to say hi. I have to be quicker this time, I'm real sorry, bub.”

Some as-gentle-as-possible rough fingerbanging it is.

Ajax keeps his eyes peeled so wide they burn a little as he crooks and curls his fingers in your tight pussy, marveling at your groggy whimpers that sooner than later snowball into light moans.

“You looked stunning in your outfit today, I like looser tops on you. I can see your titties bounce, swear to god. The leggings were a nice touch too, wanted to jog over during your walk and smack the shit out of it. But that’s not the meet cute you deserve, is it cutie?” He grips your face in one hand, the free one that’s not knuckles deep in pussy juice, shaking your head for ‘no’ for you.

“I promise we’re gonna meet soon, it breaks my heart to see you look so lonely, bub.” He’s not fazed when you seem like you’re waking up, he just ‘aw’s and strokes his thumb on your clit until you’ve fallen back asleep. “I can’t wait. I’ve gone over everything a million times, what I’m gonna wear, what I’m gonna say, our first date, our “first” time, I'm so ready for it all with you.”

You’re adorable, your brow is pinching and you’re tossing and turning. Your soft moans become louder and since you’re a heavy sleeper that doesn’t live in an apartment (not that he’d stop anyway, he’s seen how your next door neighbors check you out when you’re not looking), he scissors his fingers and speeds up the thrusts of his hand.

After months of this and vigorous hours at the gym, his wrist has stopped cramping entirely. He slips his free hand under his jeans and clasps it around his leaking dick, jerking himself off as he finger fucks your perfect pussy.

“Oh, there it is, honey.” Ajax gasps, tightening his grip around his painfully hard cock just as your walls tighten around his fingers. “It’s okay, keep going for me, you can do it.”

He times his strokes to the thrusts of his fingers, his breathing in sync with every rise and fall of your chest. You’re so wet, you’re leaking around his digits, your pussy making a sick squelching sound

“Oh fuck! I’m gonna cum baby, just from fingering your pretty pussy.” He pants, circling his thumb over the head of his weep dick and smearing his precum all over his length.

He’s moving so fast his hand is a blur, and he really doesn’t even register the sensation of fucking himself with his fist. Instead what he feels is the way your thighs seize up and your breath hitches, you arch your back off the bed in your sleep and that’s when he knows it’s time.

“Fuck, okay. Lemme get a little closer, lovebug, don’t want any of it to go to waste, right?” He keeps stroking his throbbing cock and blasting his fingers into your pussy, awkwardly trying to find his footing so he can get a good position.

He takes his fingers out of you and his heart squeezes in his chest when your hips buck after them and you whine.

“Here it comes, baby.” Ajax laughs at his own joke, positioning the tip of his dick right against your hole. With a shaky breath and an even shakier smile, he breaches your hole with only that part of himself, loving the way your cunt welcomes it in.

He laughs again when he floods your insides, crossing his fingers behind his back for this one to take. Don’t worry, it’s only a fantasy for now, you should at least have your first date before he knocks you up.

OBGYN!Baizhu

“Just lie back on the exam chair for me and we can begin.” Dr. Baizhu smiles warmly at you as you nervously play with your hands in the clinical room.

You nod, wanting to speak at little as possible. The chair’s paper covering crinkles and creases as you climb onto it, shuffling around before settling into a somewhat comfortable positon lying on your back. You look to Dr. Baizhu on your right, he’s available on your insurance and he has stellar reviews on any site worth trusting you could find. You’re just anxious anyway, and this is something you have to do, it won’t do you any good to get paranoid about all the things that could go wrong in a doctor’s office.

Baizhu’s eyes crinkle in the corners and he takes a seat on one of those rolling black stools. “So I take it that this is your first pelvic exam? Well, then be assured that you’re in good hands. It’s nothing scary, but I need to make sure your vulva and reproductive organs are in perfect working order.”

You laugh awkwardly and mutter back a “I know, I'm fine. Just a little tired, traffic was a nightmare.”

Your nerves already feel like they’re fading away, Dr. Baizhu’s voice is so pleasant and he has such a kind demeanor, you understand why this clinic was so eager to have him. The woman who signed you in was raving that it was his first day after leaving a major hospital, that they were so lucky and you were too.

“Now I'll have you slide down to the end of the table and put your knees in these stirrups, it’s perfectly safe and if you need to take a breather, please let me know.” He croons, allowing you the freedom and comfort to act on your own. He’d never want to make you feel panicked, as if he were forcibly restraining you.

The exams aren’t really a big deal when you’ve gotten over that hump, but Baizhu knows that first times of any variety can be scary. Especially for skittish patients such as yourself, with as much prey drive as a barn bunny being chased by a sheepdog.

You lie there and endure every probe and thoughtful hum. Your vulva is fine and Dr. Baizhu ends that part of the inspection with a quick pat to your mound, his lips twitching as if trying to resist the urge to kiss.

“Okay, now I'm just going to check out your cervix, keep still.” The man hums, smoothing a hand down your right calf from the stirrup to your knee. “You’ll feel some pressure, but nothing painful.”

“Really?” You bite your lip and eye the instruments on the little table by the sink.

Dr. Baizhu chuckles, “Of course. Some patients do experience pain, but it’s not a definite thing, everybody’s different. At most, you’ll feel a tad uncomfortable and exposed.”

So you brace yourself and expect to feel the cold metal of what looks like some kind of forceps. Instead you look down to see your doctor unbuttoning his pants.

He catches your eye and waves off your concern, “Cold metal just seems so abrasive for your first time. You might do better with a more… human approach, something to test how well you can stretch. Don’t worry, I'll put protection on, I'd be a horrible doctor if I didn't.”

Sure enough he slides a latex condom on, covered in tiny holes but you brush it off as being a part of the design. Baizhu’s cock twitches, feeling a sick thrill at how easy you are, at how he can whip his dick out and you’ll believe it’s in your best interest.

He doesn’t release you from the stirrups, and they rattle as he plunges inside inch by inch. Slowly and mind numbingly, to properly gauge your cunt’s ability to expand around the intrusion. You gape up at him, feeling far more than just a tad uncomfortable and exposed. His lips twitch again, torn between maintaining the facade and stuffing your cervix with his cock or breaking character and dipping down to kiss your adorably parted lips.

“I’d give you a piece of candy if that wouldn’t embarrass you. You’re doing great, just relax and the pressure will ease up.”

“Ngh- hah- O-okay, doctor. Thank you for helping me.” You don’t know why you say it, who thanks their doctors for doing a basic exam? But he groans and his hips rush forward all the same.

Your cunt is impossibly tight, which is to be expected but it’s not any less delightful to experience.

The paper underneath you makes you want to claw your eyes out as his thrusts force your back to slide back and forth on it. That, the stirrup straps clacking, and your shared soft pants are the only sounds in the locked room. It’s not as anxiety inducing as you’d expect, the planets in the office orbit around the doctor and as long as they think he’s in an appointment (and isn’t he?) they won’t interrupt. His eyes crease, he promises to give you a home visit when you’re done here, just to be thorough and make good on that promise of candy.

Something sweet for the embodiment of the cavities is in his soul, cunny strangles him tighter than a noose.

Dr. Baizhu shudders as you reflexively clench around his pulsing cock and attempt to kick out your legs only to be held back by the stirrups, “Don’t mind the mess, ‘s all par for the c-course, my dear.”

You squirt on his next thrust, and your tangy juices drip down onto the cold gray floor. The gooey cum that escapes the holes in the condom follow suit and form a little pool. Dr. Baizhu takes several pictures of your seed heavy pussy with his flip phone for medical reference.

[skyrim-forever]

What your fav Skyrim Faction says about you!

(This is just for fun!!! It's a joke <3 and this is based off of all joinable factions as listed on the ES wiki)

Thieves Guild: Be gay do crime? No, be bisexual do crime

College of Winterhold: FUCKIN NERD

Bard's College: This is your fav as a meme

Imperial Legion: While you're bringing back the glory of Rome you should also take out that stack of dirty dishes by your computer.

Stormcloaks: You're either the worst type of person or the best

Dark Brotherhood: You use dark humour to cover up the fact you deeply crave connection

The Companions: Team Jacob

Dawnguard: You have a holier than thou attitude

Volkihar Clan: Don't cut yourself on all that edge 😛

Blades: This is no one's favourite

Greybeards: You read once about the existence of professional hermits in the 19th Century and have longed for that life ever since

Coven of Namira: Enjoyers of Cannibal by Ke$ha

Nightingales: You probably think Nocturnal is hot and the armour is sick. You are not wrong

House Telvanni: You are one of the cool nerds 😎

Tribal Orcs: The chillest people you'll ever meet

[aliensupersyn]

I Solved One of the Great Mysteries of the Heian Era

This reads as a sort of storybook. The pages here all describe Sukuna's rise to power as a divine force in jujutsu society, but it's scattered throughout different chapters. Here, I piece it together for your reading pleasure. I made this discovery while writing my Yuji cog analysis.

Sukuna vs. The Fujiwara Clan

Uro recounting her defeat by Sukuna's hand.

Sukuna sees himself as a divine arbiter who bestows judgement on humans, who he deems to be beings below him. As a divine figure, he condemns humans to misery by his hands. Sukuna's title as the "disgraced one/the fallen," and his talent to forgo a barrier for his domain expansion reflect his defiled divinity. Gege describes Sukuna's domain expansion as a truly divine technique, which adds even more grandeur to his role as the strongest sorcerer in history. Sukuna's undefeated reign of terror ultimately defines his status as a divine sovereign of jujutsu sorcery.

Sukuna's rule of might defines strength as a destructive force. Comparing yourself to and relying on others only makes you weak, according to Sukuna.

Sukuna figuratively acts as a curse; he will never stop spreading misery upon humanity for as long as he lives. He sees his destruction as a divine and just cause. His strength acts as proof for his righteousness.

As the symbol of the greatest force in the history of sorcery, Sukuna enforces a schism within jujutsu society. In the Heian era, and now in the modern era, Sukuna spurs the rule of might. By threatening carnage, he forces sorcerers to come and meet him in battle to test their strength and knowledge against his own. To avoid the calamity Sukuna threatens, sorcerers must either kneel to him or hope to defeat him. In the Heian era, most of the sorcerers likely chose the former after failing to succeed at the latter. After armies of sorcerers died against him, jujutsu society was forced to praise him as their divine sovereign.

This panel revealed that Uro led the Sun, Moon, and Stars squad.

Here, Kashimo reflects on Sukuna's slaughter of Uro's squad. It's also suggested that Sukuna has weathered an army of Angels. Imagine them stacking Jacob's Ladders on him. No wonder he was able to tank Yuta's with no effort.

Here, you can see the outcome of the calamitous battle that Kashimo was reflecting over in the above page. After their defeat, sorcerers began worshipping Sukuna as a God and praying to him for good fortune. His strength had earned him a divine status among the most powerful of the golden era of sorcery. You can also see that they thought of Sukuna as a monster, which resembles another member of the current cast.

The Yorozu panel reveals that Uro once led the Sun, Moon, and Stars squad that Sukuna slaughtered. The second and third pages above describe Uro's squad as powerful sorcerers who challenged Sukuna and died. Yorozu also once challenged the Fujiwara clan and they made her one of their nobles*. Uro detested the very same Fujiwara clan who apparently subjugated her.

Even in a new life, it's not Sukuna that bothers Uro, it's the Fujiwara clan for killing her.

After her squad's defeat, presumably, the leader of the Fujiwara clan used Uro as a scapegoat to appease Sukuna. Her execution would signal to Sukuna that she acted against his wishes and on her own. These events would explain why in Yorozu's reflections and flashbacks, the Fujiwara clan still remains as a supreme power. Sukuna likely accepted Uro's execution as penance for them challenging him.

Yorozu was supposed to be preparing for the harvest festival being held in Sukuna's honor. There, they would pray to him as a God; Yorozu effectively fell in love with a monstrous deity figure. Given her insect theme, there's grounds for a connection between Yorozu, Sukuna, Mothra, and Godzilla.

After he annihilated Uro's squads, Sukuna became the supreme divine sovereign of jujutsu society in the Heian era and sorcerers were forced to worship him to avoid his ire. To stress his divinity, sorcerers prayed to him for a good harvest as if he were a God. The Fujiwara clan likely executed Uro, a leader of some of the forces that challenged Sukuna, to appease their new divine sovereign. The fealty that was pledged to him likely made Sukuna extremely bored. He wished to spread misery, but his opponents had all lost the will to challenge him and instead begged and worshipped at his feet.

The choice between challenging Sukuna and worshipping him pervades even the modern era. The Jujutsu High political leaders feared Sukuna and his fingers. Even without a real body, Sukuna's cursed energy alone enforced fear and awe into jujutsu society. All sorcerers understood that his return would mean another schism; they would be required to either join him or foolishly challenge as a powerless upstart. Throughout history, sorcerers made binding vows with Kenjaku in order to one day challenge Sukuna, as Uro's squad once did. Others knew better and instead attempted to create a jujutsu society that worked to contain Sukuna in his cursed object form.

Notes:

The manga isn't very specific about what Yorozu's status was, just that she was some type of noble in the Heian capital.

Yorozu and Sukuna being Gege's Godzilla fanfiction is adorable and makes me like her so much more.

Uro's horror in these two pages suddenly make much more sense. Sukuna slaughtered all of her comrades.

Regarding the Kashimo page: I'm simply taking Kashimo's comments "to have achieved so much!" as some form of reaction to the narrator. It could be a metatextual reaction, or he could have learned about this war somehow.

Short post, but I didn't see anything else outlining this little story, so here it is.

[typicalopposite]

Am I just gonna bring yall all drabbles of the many ideas I have now (because I’m currently writing a fic that is getting way bigger than intended) maybe, yeah.

(I had to do research on how to play five card draw for this and it’s likely still inaccurate 🥴 fic writer life, amirite?)

It’s couples game night now that Buck is no longer a solo. Chimney invites Hen and Karen and Maddie invites Buck and Tommy.

After losing an embarrassing amount of times Buck steps in as honorary dealer, and they start another game.

Tommy (who is to Bucks left, cause… yeah research said so) notices that’s it’s very obvious there is something on Chimney’s mind.

“Alright… spit it out, Han…” Tommy finally says.

“So… back then… were you team Jacob?”

Tommy groans and rolls his eyes. Hen laughs. Maddie and Karen look intrigued. Buck wants to know who tf Jacob is.

The game starts and Tommy looks at his cards. Chimney is clearly more invested in the answer than the game. And Tommy throws a dollar into the middle before simply saying, “No.”

There’s another chuckle from around the table. Everyone matches Tommy’s hand, cards are tossed , and Buck gives out new ones. “So team Edward then,” Chimney says, and Buck tosses the card he was giving Hen so fast it bypasses her hand a hits her in the chest.

“Oh… s-sorry,” he says , although this eyes are still glued to Tommy.

Again he looks at his cards, sighs, tosses another dollar. “No,” he repeats. “Although I was on his side more than Jacob’s.”

Buck is so confused he is about to rip his hair out, and everyone nodding in agreement is only making it worse. Everyone matches Tommy again and Buck gives them new cards.

Chimney opens his mouth and Tommy intercepts with, “not Emmett either.” Chimney snaps his mouth closed.

When Tommy ups the bet to $20 Hen and Karen look at their cards and both fold. “Ahh I know,” Chimney says as he absentmindedly tosses a twenty into the pile, and Maddie tosses her cards, bowing out as well. “Jasper.” Tommy’s face answers for him. “Carlisle?”

“Who are these people?!” Buck snaps, unable to keep himself composed any longer. He isn’t sure if he is more confused or jealous… or maybe it’s an equal amount of both.

Tommy smirks but doesn’t respond. He looks at his cards and seems satisfied with them, so he glances up at Chimney and cocks an eyebrow, waiting for him to make a decision. Buck doesn’t think he has gave Chimney any new cards the whole game, the latter being far too focused on asking Tommy about a bunch of random men than paying attention to his cards.

When Chimney doesn’t even look at his hand Tommy pulls out a hundred dollar bill and gently (sassily) places it in the pile. And Maddie is glaring at Chimney like she dares him to try to match it. “Alright, alright! I’m out.”

Tommy chuckles and sits back in his seat. Everyone is staring at him like they are waiting for an answer to this mystery. “If you must know,” he says with a shrug. “It was always Charlie for me.”

Buck feels the gears turning in his brain and as if the wires finally connect he gasps, “Are you talking about twilight?!”

“Obviously,” Chimney answers. “Wh— Wait. How did you get that from Charlie? He’s not even a main character!”

“Because Maddie had a shirt that said Team Charlie on it. She had like, the biggest crush on him.”

Maddie shrugs, “What can I say, there’s nothing hotter than a guy in uniform,” she says and promptly kisses Chimney on the cheek.

“Ain’t that the truth,” Tommy agrees, flashing that big cheesy grin at Buck. Maddie giggles as she reaches past a thoroughly confused Chimney and Buck to high-five him.

“Well… at least I didn’t fold with an amazing hand,” Chimney says and lays his cards down, with a three of a kind in 8’s.

“Better than mine,” Tommy laughs, and lays down his hand. A two of spades, three of diamonds, five of clubs, seven of hearts and a nine of diamonds. Then he gathers the bills from the middle, ignoring Chimney’s look of disbelief, and sets the stack in front of him. “Put it towards the honeymoon,” he says, pushing back from the table and putting his jacket on. “I insist,” he adds before Maddie can argue.

(I’m going to stop it there because this got way longer and much more actual ficlet-y than I intended! I will likely actually write this… eventually 👀 but now it’s at least mostly out of my system!)

[thegatesofsilverandbone]

Jacob had always been a slender, clean-shaven young man in his mid-twenties, living a busy life in the city. He was a graphic designer by day and a fitness enthusiast by night, spending countless hours in the gym working on his lean physique. However, despite his active lifestyle and youthful energy, Jacob felt something was missing. He often found himself daydreaming about a different kind of life, one filled with more confidence, wisdom, and a rugged charm that seemed just out of reach.

One evening, after an exhausting workout, Jacob wandered into an old bookstore he had never noticed before. The shop was dimly lit, with rows of ancient-looking books stacked high. As he browsed through the shelves, a particular book caught his eye. The cover was simple, adorned only with the title "The Essence of Transformation" in elegant, gold letters. Curious, Jacob picked it up and began to flip through its pages.

The book was filled with stories of people who had undergone incredible transformations, each tale more fantastical than the last. Intrigued, Jacob decided to buy the book and read it at home. That night, he found a comfortable spot on his couch and started to read. As he delved deeper into the stories, he felt a strange connection to them, almost as if the book was speaking directly to him.

One story, in particular, stood out. It was about a burly and confident gay man who was happily married. The story described this man's life in vivid detail—his thick beard, his glasses, his well-defined, hairy chest, and his deep, loving relationship with his husband. As Jacob read about the man's traits and identity, he felt a warm, tingling sensation spread through his body.

He paused, glancing down at his hands, which seemed larger and rougher than before. His heart raced as he continued reading, feeling an inexplicable pull to finish the story. As he read, he could feel his body changing, the transformation described in the book becoming his reality.

His face grew warmer, and he reached up to touch it, feeling a thick beard sprouting from his previously smooth chin. His glasses, which he didn't recall putting on, sat comfortably on his nose, enhancing his vision. He could feel his chest expanding, muscles growing more pronounced, and a layer of hair spreading across it.

Jacob stood up, feeling the weight of his new body. He walked to the mirror, each step more assured than the last. Staring back at him was not the slender, clean-shaven young man he had always known, but the burly, ruggedly handsome man from the story. His muscles were more pronounced, his chest and arms covered in hair, and his demeanor exuded confidence and maturity.

As he continued to read, Jacob found himself absorbing the man's wisdom and experiences. His mind filled with new memories, skills, and a deeper understanding of the world. He became more assured, his previous insecurities melting away. The life described in the book felt like his own, as if he had lived every moment of it.

At a certain point, Jacob noticed a name in the story: "David." It was the name of the man whose life he was reading about. As he read the name, he felt an odd resonance, as if the name belonged to him. The book's narrative began to describe David's life in the first person, and Jacob found himself thinking of the character's experiences as his own. He was no longer Jacob, but David, a burly, confident, happily married man.

David's reality began to shift. He found himself in a warm, comfortable home filled with mementos of a loving relationship. Photos of him and his husband adorned the walls, capturing years of shared happiness and adventures. The transformation wasn't just physical and mental; it extended to his entire existence.

He glanced at a photo on the mantle, recognizing the familiar face of his husband, Peter, who would be home soon. The memories of their life together flooded his mind—how they met, their wedding day, and the countless moments of joy and support they had shared. David realized that he had always been this man, and the life of the young, slender Jacob was now just a distant dream.

As he read the last lines of the story, David felt a sense of completion and fulfillment. He was no longer the young man daydreaming about a different life. He was the burly, confident, and happily married man from the book, living a life filled with love and contentment.

David closed the book, placing it on the coffee table. He heard the front door open and the familiar sound of Peter's voice calling out to him. With a smile, David stood up, ready to greet his husband and enjoy another evening together. He had found his missing piece, and reality had shifted to give him the life he was always meant to have.

[veronicaleighauthor]

Barbara Howard

I’m a huge fan of Abbott Elementary. For those who may not be familiar with it, here’s a brief description:

A workplace comedy centered around a group of dedicated teachers – and an oblivious principal – in a Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed in life.

I started watching it not long after the show started, but recently I did a binge watch of it before Season 3 started and fell in love with it. One of the things I really appreciate about the show it’s character, Barbara Howard (portrayed by the brilliant Sheryl Lee Ralph). A veteran kindergarten teacher of over thirty years, you immediately fall in love with her. When we’re introduced to her, she declares she’s a “woman of God.” She’s a Christian and not ashamed of being so. Unlike other portrayals of Christians on comedy shows, even when Barbara says something comical or faith related, we’re never really laughing at her. As opposed to Glenn Sturgis on Superstore, who we laugh at all the time. Now I love Superstore and Glenn Sturgis and I enjoy laughing at him. And it’s perfectly fine for a Christian character to be ditzy, or hypocritical, or the villain; I’ve done it enough in my own stories. But Barbara Howard is one of the few positive portrayals of Christians out there.

The other characters on Abbott Elementary, Janine especially, highly respect Barbara and look to her for guidance since she’s one of the veteran teachers. She’s not perfect, but she’s never hypocritical, or cruel, or vicious. She is very open about her faith, yet she is never abrasive or judgmental. She never attempts to evangelize her coworkers. Others don’t share her beliefs, but they listen and understand her Christian beliefs are part of who she is. Ava, who is her polar opposite in personality and behavior, has referenced church and discussed beliefs and has even given Barbara some much needed advice, which Barbara took. Her closest friend is Melissa Schemmenti, who has some shady connections. Over the years she’s mentored the younger teachers, Janine, Gregory, and Jacob. Her students adore her and more than one has returned to tell her how much of an impact she’s made on their lives.

:: Spoilers from a Recent Episode ::

The recent episode of Abbott Elementary is fantastic. The school’s auditorium is lent out for Barbara’s choir group to sing in. Since Barbara is a talented singer, Ava encourages her to try out for the program. And Barbara does; it’s her wish to sing “Shackles” from MaryMary since in the past it inspired her. We see though that the church ladies don’t really like Barbara. We eventually find out they consider Barbara too “modern” for their tastes. They think she wears too much makeup; that she has too many piercings; that when she goes on cruises, she becomes Sea Barbara who is different from Land Barbara; they also object to her friendships with the more “colorful” teachers of the school.

Barbara isn’t accepted amongst those who are her brothers and sisters in Christ because in their eyes, she is “different.” She may never find acceptance in her church family. However, Abbott Elementary rallies around her and reminds her she will always have a place in their family.

:: Spoilers over ::

Anyway, the whole episode really inspired me because I’ve been struggling with some stuff. And in all honesty, I’ve drifted from God. He’s drawn me back, as He has in the past. But I was able to relate to Barbara and what she was going through – no matter how devout you are in your faith, there will always be another who thinks you aren’t truly living for Him. In the end, we’re only accountable to God and it’s His opinion that matters – not that person in your life giving you the side-eye for you not living up their expectations.

So, if you haven’t already, try Abbott Elementary. You’ll enjoy it, I swear! I can’t wait for tonight’s special episode.

[svnshowers]

[     han  hyun  him ,  cis  man ,  he & him.   ]     ⸻     have you seen cole harris-kim? yes, the twenty - three year old senior that’s usually wandering around campus? they’re currently focused on history, so we’re sure they’ve been super busy with studying. according to rumors, they were michael’s teammate & best friend and he knew they [ got away with taking performance enhancing drugs ]. does it make sense considering they’re known for being tenacious as well as impulsive? either way, the phantom is threatening to bring scary things to light, but let’s hope whatever they’re hiding stays in the dark.

basics

birth name: cole jacob harris-kim nicknames: n/a date of birth: april 5th 2001 - 23 years old. place of birth: milwaukee, wisconsin residence: los angeles, california occupation: student, youth basketball coach sexual orientation: bisexual relationship status: single big three: aries sun, virgo moon, leo rising mbti type: esfj positive traits: tenacious, energetic, ambitious, sociable, organized, generous, bold. negative traits: impulsive, reckless, insensitive, hot headed, easily influenced, moody, provoking nature. aesthetics: early morning runs, daily workout routines, stacks of books scattered around the room, sneakers squeaking on the gym floor, shirtless instagram pictures, interesting documentaries, studying late into the night, protein shakes. theme song(s): new perspective - panic! at the disco, feel it - d4vd

sparknotes

cole was last born to an accountant father & a nurse mother.

from a young age, sports were heavily encouraged by his parents as both of them had dreams of being professional athletes, but those dreams never panned out.

cole had never wanted to be an athlete, he much preferred reading and studying to playing sports.

he was always interested in history, always reading historical fiction or historical non fiction.

he played basketball on his middle school's team, being one of two students to make it onto varsity his freshman year of high school.

his senior year of high school, he got a full athletic scholarship to golden state. he'd never seen his parents so proud.

away from his parents for the first time, cole began to finally let loose. he got back into immersing himself in history, allowing himself more free time than before.

cole quickly realized he had no idea who he was, he'd spent his whole life for his parents. now he was on his own, struggling to find an identity for himself.

he majored in psychology for a semester before switching, finally, to history. and he fell in love with it.

recently, cole's been more open about his interests. he's more comfortable in his own skin than ever before.

headcanons

cole started taking performance enhancing drugs after his coach told him he was good enough to go pro. he has since stopped because he got close to getting caught.

he is biggest history nerd, he rarely shows it but if you give him the chance he'll talk your ear off about weird historical events.

cole is in his fifth year of college, he switched his major so he lacked the proper credits to graduate in four years.

he coaches ten to twelve year olds in basketball, they all think he's just the coolest dude ever.

cole is a huge animal lover, from the tiniest ant to the biggest whale in the ocean, he loves them all so much.

he hides his nerdiness from people at first, but once he gets more comfortable around someone he'll open up more.

wanted connections

his workout buddy! it can be someone on the basketball team as well, but it's not super important.

other athletes he's close to! it also doesn't have to be someone on the basketball team, i'd love to see him bond with people in other sports!!

another nerd, someone to geek out with him over anything and everything, bonus points if they get him into more nerdy things.

mutual crushes! these two r close friends but refuse to acknowledge their feelings out of fear of ruining the friendship.

an ex friend, it could be someone who judged him for taking performance enhancing drugs, but i am also open to it being for a whole separate reason!

[antimony-medusa]

Hey since you seem familiar with the HurtComfort exchange I thought I'd ask: when you're filling out the 'request' portion of the intake, when you list multiple relationships and tags (e.g. Relationships: Techno&Phil, Techno&Tommy) does it match you to someone who is writing Techno&Phil OR Techno&Tommy or does it necessitate BOTH? Same thing for the 'offer.' If I put in Steve/Bucky and Steve/Natasha (for example), am I only going to be sorted towards people with BOTH tags or just one?

I'm trying to figure out how to understand this but I'm honestly not sure where to ask

No worries, I happen to know this! If you want to ask questions of the mods you can do so by either commenting on their blog at https://hurtcomfortex.dreamwidth.org, or emailing them at hurtcomfortexmod@gmail.com— BUT I happen to know the answer to that one so I can answer!

Hurt/Comfort runs on OR matching. The most direct answer to that is that you can match on Techno&Phil OR Techno&Tommy, you don't need to have all of them present in the match.

However, because it's a freeform exchange, you will only ping on the machine as a valid match if you match on at least once instance of Ship and Freeform both being present in a request. So, for example

Person A requests: >Techno & Tommy: Abandoned by friends/allies, Altered States - character can't distinguish disturbing visions from reality >Techno & Phil, Techno/Phil: caretaking in small but obvious ways , Battle as Comfort Person B Offers: >Techno & Tommy: caretaking in small but obvious ways, character A and B are enemies but character A won’t let anyone else hurt character B  >Quackity & Tubbo: Character A Makes Significant Sacrifice for Character B; B Horrified and Upset When They Find Out, Character drapes their own jacket/coat over hurt/sick character's shoulders And Person C Offers: >Techno & Phil: Abandoned by friends/allies, Battle as Comfort >Karl Jacobs/Quackity: Character A Makes Significant Sacrifice for Character B; B Horrified and Upset When They Find Out, Altered States - character can't distinguish disturbing visions from reality

Obviously neither Person B nor Person A is a perfect match for everything Person A requests, but that's fine, because it's not looking for a complete match of all tags, it's just looking for a good match of one string OR string from the original request. We gotta have at least one instance of the same Ship and the same Freeform present in one request.

Person B has offered both the tags Techno & Tommy and caretaking in small but obvious ways, but that won't ping as a proper match for Person A, because those tags weren't connected together in Person A's request, they were in different requests. The computer keeps looking.

Then when it gets to Person C that WILL read as a correct match, because it can find Techno & Phil, and Battle as Comfort and smack those two together, that is one string where it can find matches present in one request, so it's a correct match.

So you just need to match on one instance of Fandom > Ship > Freeform, no matter how many different freeforms and ships you stack into a request, or how many different requests you put down.

It is 2am and I was like I KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN THIS but I am now doubting myself so I really hope that's clear, but possibly that is the 2am talking. If that's not clear come back tomorrow and throw a book at my head and I'll try again.

[princesscolumbia]

Depends on the platform, generally, but my 100% for sure most popular is Fission, if only because it's been on FF.net since 2015 and gained readers by sheer inertia.

Star Trek: Strike Team Valkyrie, though I suspect that's more due to the different fandoms this megacrossover has touched so far not having much crossover...yet. 😉

The Accidental Librarian - A crossover between The Accidentally Paranormal series of books and The Librarians TV show. Bookstore owner Jane Fairfax somehow managed to buy a premium office space in downtown New York for a song to live her dream of owning a bookstore. She's excited to have her first book signing with the up-and-coming author Wanda Jefferson. After they've wrapped up the event and Jane is getting ready to close, she's surprised to discover one customer got lost in the stacks. It's too bad this dreamboat has no reason to stay in the store, you know, since it's closing...wait, are those ninjas?! Why are they invading her store?! Wanda Jefferson has just finished a successful book signing and is enjoying the amusing romcom playing out in front of her in the form of her hostess and an apparently random customer that needed help escaping the store's labyrinthine stacks. Suddenly ninjas crash their way into the store and are demanding a specific book that Jane has no hope of knowing what they're talking about. Wanda's keeping her particular skills on the DL until one of the ninjas pulls out a medallion that is just radiating magic! She wasn't planning on using her hybrid werewolf/vampire form tonight, but when the paranormal was afoot, one of the founding members of OOPS--Out in the Open Paranormal Support was on the job! Nathan Park was mostly looking for activities to fill his day. Medically discharged from the Marines after being exposed some radiation the government won't quite explain, he's been mostly getting caught up on reading and (his squadmates always made fun of him for this) his crochet hobby. Then he got lost in a bookstore and some ninjas attacked, and then the author who had just been signing books turns into a freaking werewolf, but somehow the creature of myth and horror isn't the bad guy! Eve, Jacob, Cassandra, and "The" Ezekiel Jones are shocked when Jenkins informs them that somehow The Library is losing books and artifacts! The library records say that the books are being redirected to the New York annex, but that, of course, is impossible; they lost the connection to that annex years ago. But that's their only clue, so they take portal back to where their careers with The Library all started, only to find a bookstore where the annex should be, it's filled with ninjas, there's a guy who Jacob worked with back in the day, and there's a weird werewolf-vampire hybrid defending the owner of the bookstore.

Multichap

Mature? Adult? The not porn variety that happens to be completely okay venturing into some topics that aren't sex but still give purity cultists the vapors. (but I do write some smut, too)

Mostly characters that need to fill gaps in the world where there would be a person (CEO of a company, trash collector, kid in an arcade, that sort of thing) but the canon media never accounted for.

Found family

Word

"Nabiki was watching the aquatransexual with an incredulous eye. The shit-eating grin from yesterday hadn't made a return, but Ranma had no doubt that it and a school of its shark-like cousins were swimming in the depths of Nabiki's ocean of plans and schemes."

By Kudos 1-Return to Recipient 2-Deviation 3-And at This Point I'm Afraid to Ask 4-My Empire of Dirt 5-Double Isekai

740,245

I respond to as many comments as I can. People honored me with a comment, it takes only a little effort to reply and is a nice reciprocation on the care they showed me.

Yes. My most problematic fic ("BAMF" or "Ranma is Fucked") got me blocked by half of a discord server. None of the people who blocked me bothered to read the fic, which was all about the problem with the central plot point.

Nope, unless you consider a forum RP post a story, in which case, yes.

"Indeed" pops up alot, sometimes my protags get too wordy, and nearly every female protag I write is Sapphic to one degree or another.

130,627 words, though that's complete and the next five longest are all WIPs that are likely going to be much longer than that by the time they're finished.

Gosh, name some of the legends of the Ranma 1/2 fandom and they've influenced me at some point, but I think the biggest influence was due to Rebecca "BurgerBecky" Heineman's work on the Sailor Sun saga. It directly influenced a lot of how I write Fission and some of the plot points I've got planned out for it.

Oh, gosh, there's several! I love most of @jaquik's stuff (and what I don't love I haven't gotten around to reading yet 😋), and Dear Diary directly inspired Return to Recipient ThrashJazz's The Girl Behind the Mirror got me rethinking a lot about the nekoken for Ranma and inspired me to start writing more fics with systems as a protag. @n7punk...just, like, ALL of n7punk's body of work. AnneOminous is a freaking drama powerhouse with her Phoenix saga @thestargayzingetherian - Just, like, unapologetically all the SPOP fluff ClassicalGal - Helped me understand my own gender journey back in the day...and we connected again recently. They did promise that someday they'd finish Notes from Julliard, but until then I still love their Genma's Daughter series, even if it's incomplete. 😁 AEM - The other author of a neurodivergent Isekai'd Ranma Saotome in Taming Shrews (seriously, PHENOMENAL worldbuilding!) NobleHeroine - Life is Not Built with Dreams (But Dreams are Upon which Life is Built) is a regular re-read for me and was basically the final puzzel piece to being able to properly build a polyamory Ranmafic. All my poly fics? Yeah, NobleHeroine was the one that built the template for me. 💖

...

...what are they gonna say...?! 😰

(Yet Another) Fanfic Writer Ask Game!

What is your most popular fic?

What fanfic do you wish you got more response on?

What’s a fic idea that you have but haven’t written yet?

Do you prefer writing multi-chapter or oneshot fanfictions?

What rating do most of your fics fall under?

Have you written any fanfictions featuring OCs? If so, elaborate!

What’s a troupe you love to write?

What kind of document do you use to you write? Microsoft Word? Google Docs? Straight in the AO3 text box?

What’s your favorite line(s) or scene(s) that you have written?

What are your top five fics by kudos or by reads

How many words do you have on AO3 (if you use that platform)

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Have you ever co-written a fic?

Are there words, phrases, mannerisms or scenes you tend to use a lot?

How long is your longest fic?

Are there any writers and/of stories that you consider an influence?

Recommend someone else fic! (And tag them if they have a tumblr!)

For the readers: send in your favorite fanfic, scene, title, phrase, etc. by the person who reblogged this!

[spacenutspod]

Crews moved the cone-shaped launch vehicle stage adapter out of NASA Marshall’s Building 4708 to the agency’s Pegasus barge on August 21. The barge will ferry the adapter first to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, where it will pick up additional SLS hardware for future Artemis missions, and then travel to NASA Kennedy. In Florida, teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will prepare the adapter for stacking and launch.NASA/Samuel Lott NASA rolled out a key piece of space flight hardware for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis campaign from Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, on Wednesday, Aug. 21 for shipment to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The cone-shaped launch vehicle stage adapter connects the rocket’s core stage to the upper stage and helps protect the upper stage’s engine that will help propel the Artemis II test flight around the Moon, slated for 2025. “The launch vehicle stage adapter is the largest SLS component for Artemis II that is made at the center,” said Chris Calfee, SLS Spacecraft Payload Integration and Evolution element manager. “Both the adapters for the SLS rocket that will power the Artemis II and Artemis III missions are fully produced at NASA Marshall. Alabama plays a key role in returning astronauts to the Moon.” Crews moved the adapter out of NASA Marshall’s Building 4708 to the agency’s Pegasus barge Aug. 21. The barge will ferry the adapter first to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where crews will pick up additional SLS hardware for future Artemis missions, before traveling to NASA Kennedy. Once in Florida, the adapter will join the recently delivered core stage. There, teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will prepare the adapter for stacking and launch. Engineering teams at NASA Marshall are in the final phase of integration work on the launch vehicle stage adapter for Artemis III. The stage adapter is manufactured by prime contractor Teledyne Brown Engineering and the Jacobs Space Exploration Group’s ESSCA (Engineering Services and Science Capability Augmentation) contract using NASA Marshall’s self-reacting friction-stir robotic and vertical weld tools. Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon. The rocket is part of NASA’s deep space exploration plans, along with the Orion spacecraft, supporting ground systems, advanced spacesuits and rovers, Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. NASA’s SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch. For more on SLS, visit:  https://www.nasa.gov/sls News Media Contact Jonathan DealMarshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 256-544-0034  jonathan.e.deal@nasa.gov

[bcofl0ve]

I'd like to preface this by saying that I don't dislike Kaia Gerber, nor do I have a problem with her having a career or fans. I also don't mean this to sound like I'm coming at you, because I'm definitely not trying to! That said, I think it's okay for people to have nuanced discussions about privilege as it relates to her, and to talk about her in the wider context of Hollywood nepotism. I don't think people who have those conversations about her are necessarily 'whining and stomping their feet', just pointing out that she benefits from a system that's unfairly stacked against those who don't have the resources that she does. I also think it's valid to be frustrated that she has been given more opportunities and more chances to improve than any other aspiring actress realistically would be. I think too that it's OK to look critically at whether she acknowledges the opportunities she's been given, or whether she uses her resources to help others. Of course, she doesn't HAVE to do any of that, and it's true that a lot of people would do the same things she's done if they had her wealth and connections. But I think it's fair to ask those questions. I don't mean this is a critique of you specifically, because I know you're a fan of hers. But being critical of her role in the Hollywood system and how she uses her privilege doesn't necessarily translate to hate, and I do think there's a place for that discussion as long as it stays respectful. I'll end this by saying that I'm pretty neutral about her and I do find her likable, but as someone in a creative industry, I also think it's really important to talk about nepotism and access to opportunities, especially in non-traditional spaces like entertainment.

i mean- i dont fully disagree. when i say things about ppl whining and stomping their feet i mean the people who are not interested in an actual discussion about the topic. ppl are just interested in whining about *her* because they don't like *her* as a human being/are anti her bc theyre a part of the austin fans that dislike her bc she's dating him and they think it's PR. i blocked sooo many anons since she was on fallon/the other new casting news came out bc i was getting brigaded with people calling her ugly, calling her a whore, saying she sleeps with people to get roles, saying austin should be embarrassed of her, and a whole variety of other mean hearted shit. i get the brunt of people who don't want a conversation/just want to have a tantrum bc being able to be anon makes ppl a little more impulsive and mean lol.

and i stand by thinking its goofy to suggest austin has given her a leg up, bc she has the gerber parentage and plenty of connections no matter who her boyfriend is. she's a nepo baby, not a nepo gf! she doesn't need him to get around the business anymore than she needed jacob or pete.

there was a time, before i decided to go to law school- and before i fell out of love w/ theatre that i was gen considering chasing the playwright thing full time. and theatre is sooo connections/who you know based too which was terrifying when i thought that's what i was going to pursue bc i had my own connections here and there not but not nearly as many as a lot of people. and tbh- law is similar. in a different way than entertainment bc it's such a diff sector, but there's absolutely nepotism abound which is frustrating.

i think my larger opinion on all of this is something i say on here a lot which is we don't know what we don't know. i'm not gonna sit here and say i know she's used her resources for good for xyz bc hey, i don't. but we also can't say she *doesn't* because we don't know that either. and i think thats tricky in itself too bc when a celeb makes something good they do public they get accused of only doing it for attention, but if they don't then people think they don't do anything. idk if you were on here when her and austin did the childrens hospital visit last march (of which the whole point of publicizing it was celebs raising publicity for the fundraising campaign for the hospital!) but people got so irate about how it was selfish showboating and austin was only there to counterbalance her evil selfishness that i had to disable my anons.

like- i don't disagree that the larger conversation about the topic as a whole is important! it very much is! just like- maybe not on this blog specifically lololol. perhaps a blog where both the anons aren't such hot heads and the admin isn't so burned out from said hot heads lololol. thank you for the anon though- you articulated this well and i appreciate people like you (:

[theopulenthq]

i'm online, working on my replies, and hanging out for the day!! our first event is in full swing, and we are loving the interactions we are seeing. that said, we have TONS of wanted connections left that we'd love to see taken, and some lonely countries in need of more characters (especially persia, japan, egypt, and turkey!) with tons of very wanted faceclaims available like arsema thomas, elle fanning, rami malek, ni han jin, maddison jaizani, melisa alsi pamuk, jacob anderson, and sean teale - there is something open for anyone. come join our investigative story into the secrets of 1770 royal life as nations come together to stack their power, build alliances, and discover the mystery of the century... but can you ensure you don't spill the beans in the process? come say hello and maybe give us an app!

[thesinglesjukebox]

SAY NOW - "NOT A LOT LEFT TO SAY"

And with this pick from William John, we *also* have not a lot left to say. This is our final post of our Amnesty 2k23 special.

[7.57]

William John: We're at the end of 2023, and while the Origibabes are finally back again, they've now got upstarts to contend with. Say Now, known by the dubious moniker "needanamebro" for most of this year, are three young singers who combine imperiousness and beatific harmony; the more things change, the more they stay the same. "Not A Lot Left To Say" goes by in a blink, but perhaps that's by design, given that it's documenting the painful moment of a relationship that sits somewhere between Erykah Badu's "Next Lifetime" and a kind of detached apathy -- to say anything more than nothing seems fruitless. The song's spacious production reminds me of "Everything is Embarrassing," Dev Hynes' classic traipse through the gloom with Sky Ferreira. It was Hynes who guided Mutya, Keisha and Siobhan back from the figurative dead ten years ago, and while they're hardly in danger of being replaced just yet, I'm excited by the prospect of Ysabelle, Amelia and Maddie continuing their legacy. [9]

Nortey Dowuona: Ysabelle starts the song off on a tough but wistful tone, feeling a bit let down by how it all collapsed and ended, but slowly accepting the outcome. Amelia is completely over it all, wanting badly to move on and put it all behind her. Maddie is still not over it, still longing for those close days. But Amelia, allowed the only direct riff on the bridge, soars, her unspoken hurt lingering in those notes, then she returns to the alcove of the group, all of them united in putting this relationship to bed, but quietly wiping a few tears away, hurt yet resolute. [8]

Ian Mathers: Breakup songs that also acknowledge "don't wanna be your friend, don't wanna be your ex" are too few and far between, and this one has a commendable sense of swing, vocal performances, and brevity to match. Like the relationship, it ends just when it needs to. [9]

Michael Hong: Soft girl group harmonies and fluttering club kicks. Where those disappear, the song feels scant, yet the words feel stickier. For the amicable break-up song that "Not a Lot Left to Say" is, are you supposed to only come out thinking about the words "bet I'm still the one?" [7]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Densely packed pop product -- every line genuinely makes impact, every hook connects with none of the excesses that aspirational pop groups sometimes burden themselves with. This is competent and poised but never stiff; the three of them balance the clear effort they're putting into this attempt with the joy of having the chance to try it. [8]

Will Adams: Formerly known as needanamebro, now known as Say Now. Both names are so bad I assumed this was a Xenomania project. They're not, but the bland UK pop polish of "Not a Lot Left to Say" could have convinced me on its own. [5]

Crystal Leww: One of the most wonderful things about UK pop music is how it's continued the tradition of the girl group in Western pop, which has largely ceded ground to Asia. Say Now follows in a long lineage, which recently just made FLO the Sound of 2023, and "Not A Lot Left To Say" is just stacked and layered harmonies on top of each other. I feel like this is like the **~~Just Girl Things~** version of when the dude at the party busts out the acoustic guitar -- just three girls riffing and seeing how they can jam together and make a little tiny shitting on their ex. Cute! [7]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

[vivicnjacobs]

*✶   about  vivian  jacobs

name:  vivian  jacobs 

age: twenty3

sexuality: pansexual

relationship  status  :  single

tw you’ll find in this bio  :  addiction  tw,  neglection  tw ...

vivian  was  born  to  a  young  mother  who  struggled  with  addiction  and  was  unable to  care  for  her.  she  was  placed in  the  foster care  system  at  a  young  age  and  experienced  a  difficult  childhood. despite  the  challenges, vivian  had  an  innate  charisma and  charm  that  drew  people to  her.  she  learned  to  adapt  to  new  environments quickly  and  used  her  natural charm  to  win  over  the  hearts  of  her  foster parents.

at  the  age  of  eight, vivian  was  adopted by  a  wealthy couple,  the  jacobs. they  were  kind  and  loving, but  vivian  had  a  hard  time  adjusting to  her  new  life.  she  was  used  to  a  certain  level  of  chaos  and  unpredictability,  and  the  structured environment  of  her  new  home  felt  suffocating. however,  vivian  quickly realized  the  benefits of  living  with  the  jacobs. they  provided  her  with  stability, security,  and  access to  resources  she  never  had  before.

as  vivian  grew  older,  she  began  to  embrace  her  queen  bee  energy.  she  was  confident, assertive,  and  unapologetic in  her  pursuits. her  charisma  drew  people  to  her,  and  she  quickly became  the  center of  attention  wherever she  went.  she  learned  to  use  her  charm  to  get  what  she  wanted, whether  it  was  securing  a  photography  gig  or  making new  friends.

vivian's  love  for  photography  began  at  a  young  age.  she  was  always  fascinated by  the  way  a  single photograph  could  capture a  moment  in  time  and  evoke  emotions. when  she  was  twelve,  her  adoptive  parents gifted  her  a  camera,  and  she  began  taking  photos of  everything  she  saw.  she  would  spend  hours  wandering the  streets,  capturing the  beauty  and  chaos  of  the  world  through  her  lens.

as  vivian  approached adulthood,  she  decided to  pursue  her  passion  for  photography  professionally.  she  saved  up  money  from  part-time  jobs  and  invested in  a  professional camera  and  equipment. vivian  quickly  established herself  as  a  successful  photographer, known  for  her  ability  to  capture  the  raw  emotion and  essence  of  her  subjects.

despite  her  success, vivian  still  struggled with  her  identity. she  was  grateful for  the  love  and  opportunities her  adoptive  parents had  given  her,  but  she  couldn't  shake  the  feeling of  not  belonging. she  felt  like  an  imposter, trying  to  fit  into  a  world  that  wasn't  meant  for  her.

it  wasn't  until  she  began  to  explore her  past  that  she  began  to  find  peace  with  her  identity. she  connected  with  her  biological mother,  who  had  since  gotten sober  and  turned her  life  around. through  their  conversations,  vivian learned  more  about  her  biological family  and  the  struggles  they  had  faced. she  realized  that  her  past  had  shaped her  into  the  resilient,  confident, and  charismatic  person she  was  today.

today,  vivian  continues to  pursue  her  photography  career, using  her  art  to  inspire and  empower  others. she  has  learned to  embrace  her  queen  bee  energy,  channeling it  into  her  work  and  her  personal life.  through  her  lens,  she  captures  the  beauty  and  complexity  of  the  world, always  striving  to  tell  stories that  resonate  with  her  audience. vivian's  journey  from  foster  care  to  becoming a  successful  photographer showcases  her  resilience, strength,  and  ability to  thrive  despite the  odds  stacked against  her.

[dwellordream]

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley. YA mystery/thriller. Raised by both her white mother and her deceased father’s Ojibwe family, Daunis has always been caught between two different traditions and cultures. As she prepares for her first semester of college and struggles to come to grips with the shocking murder of her best friend, she is caught up in a federal investigation into an exceptionally lethal strain of meth, and a disturbing connection with an undercover agent.

Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin. Realistic fiction/drama. An upper middle class Jewish family in Boca Raton, Florida, finds themselves torn apart by the media when their daughter is embroiled in a sex scandal involving a prominent local senator. Fourteen years later, a precocious middle schooler attempts to investigate her mother’s mysterious past- in the midst of her running for mayor. Who is Jane Young, and what is she really guilty of?

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch. Dystopian/thriller. Two years after an alt-right government is elected into power, an Irish family struggles to stay together in the face of rising unrest and government tyranny. Eilish Stack, a microbiologist recently returned from maternity leave, is left isolated and bereft when her trade unionist husband is arrested and imprisoned without trial, and her eldest son absconds from mandatory military service by joining a rebel group. Urged by some to flee the country, and by others to stay and defend the values she's always held true, Eilish finds herself willing to do anything and everything to defend her dwindling family.

The Guest by Emma Cline. Realistic drama/thriller. An escort struggling with drug addiction and alcoholism, Alex knows her livelihood depends on her latest client- a wealthy older man holed up on Long Island for the summer. But the summer is ending, and Alex has been kicked out after offending her customer. Unwilling to return to the city (and the drug dealer she owes money to), Alex decides to win her client back- she just has to house surf for a few nights. As Labor Day weekend unfolds, Alex flits through various personalities, wealthy households, and increasingly amoral decisions, determined to take things one tense day at a time.

Everything's Fine by Cecilia Rabess. Realistic drama/romance. Jess and Josh have loathed one another since college, when their opposing political beliefs made them sparring partners in every class. When they are reunited years later while working for Goldman Sachs, both have changed- Jess has relinquished many of her progressive ideals to take a high-paying job that will satisfy her ambitions, while Josh now sees himself as more of a liberal moderate than a conservative agitator. While Jess has no intention of forgiving Josh's shitty politics, he proves to be an unfailing, caring support against the tightknit white 'bro' culture at the hedge fund, and soon the two begin to fall for one another. But now it's 2016, and cultural ideas about race, politics, and class are drastically shifting. Can you love someone who might ask you to compromise your beliefs? And can someone whose values deny your rights to life and liberty actually love you?

My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent. Realistic fiction/drama. Turtle Alveston is not a typical 14-year-old girl. Raised in virtual isolation by her charming, ruthless survivalist father, the two share an obsessive, violent, incestuous bond- Martin is Turtle's dad, god, and monster. Turtle has no need for anyone else- until she meets Jacob, an eccentric but kind boy who shares her passion for the wilderness of northern California. Suddenly Turtle is confronted with very real, normal teenage feelings and needs- for friends, school dances, and first dates. But Martin will not relinquish his 'absolute darling' without a fight.

Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler. Romance/drama. Adelaide's personal life has always been emotionally intense- epic highs, epic lows. Yet everything changes when she meets Rory. Rory is handsome, witty, and romantic- and he is also unreliable, distant, and sometimes even cruel. He showers Adelaide with compliments, treats her to dinner, dances with her in the rain- and he ignores her texts, ghosts her after they make plans, and forces her to sleep on the floor or leave his apartment at 2 in the morning after sex. Adelaide was taught you have to fight for a happy ending- but the more time she spends with Rory, and the more she burns her own life down to keep him warm- she begins to wonder when the happy ending is supposed to begin.

Meant to Be Mine by Hannah Orenstein. Romance. Everyone in Edie Myer's family has a soulmate. Her beloved grandmother, Gloria, has accurately predicted the day each of her children and grandchildren will meet their true love. On June 24th, 2022, Edie prepares to meet her soulmate, and she does!- a handsome, confident guitarist named Theo, who is determined to take his band to the next level. Though Edie seems to have little in common with Theo, the chemistry is there, and isn't that enough? After all, he's her soulmate, her destined match. But as time goes by, Edie begins to wonder whether her obsession with 'fated' love is twisting her notion of what happiness looks like- and who she should find it with.

Books Recs of 2024

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. Mystery/fantasy centered around Din, a young assistant investigator assigned to help an eccentric and infamous detective, Ana Dolabra, solve a series of murders. Din is an engraver, his brain altered so he has a photographic memory. However, no one is quite sure how he got his current position, since he failed every single one of his final exams except the combat portion. Ana is an exceedingly odd woman who refuses to go to any crime scene in person and often performs mad science experiments in her spare time. As Din struggles to keep up with the case, which revolves around a bioweapon being unleashed on a series of the empire's best engineers, he also worries what will happen when Ana finally uncovers his secrets.

Highfire by Eoin Colfer. Urban fantasy (very comedic fantasy) about a dragon called Vern (short for Wyvern), who teams up with a juvenile delinquent named Squib (real name Everett Moreau) to take down a corrupt sheriff who is plaguing the Lousiana bayou. Vern is a very small (seven feet long) dragon who is the last of his kind (as far as he knows). When he is spotted by a local troubled teen, his first instinct is to hunt Squib down and kill him, but he quickly realizes the two of them have a common enemy- the murderous sheriff who is running drugs through their territory.

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi. Magical realism about a romantic-minded art historian who is swept off his feet by a mysterious and charming heiress. After a whirlwind courtship, the happy couple return to her childhood home; a Gothic manor on a lonely island. The more time our narrator spends around his wife's past, the more questions are raised- increasingly sinister ones about who she is and what exactly she is capable of. Once upon a time, she was best friends with an equally odd and dreamy little girl named Indigo. But no one has seen Indigo for many years now- and the Flower Bride may be behind her disappearance.

Chlorine by Jade Song. Horror/magical realism. Since childhood, Ren's entire identity has been wrapped up in swimming. If she can be strong enough, fast enough, special enough, success is sure to come her way. As the end of high school approaches, Ren's passion for swimming becomes less about her future, and more about past legends of mermaids and sirens dragging sailors into the deep. School, friends, and her parents' expectations all fall away- Ren will make her home in the water, no matter what she has to do.

We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride & Jo Piazza. Realistic fiction. Jen and Riley have been best friends for as long as they can remember, despite their vastly different childhoods. Riley is from a middle class Black family; Jen was raised by an impoverished white single mother. After twenty years of doing almost everything together, their lives are at a crossroads- Riley is a news anchor about to take Philadelphia by storm, while Jen is expecting her first child with her police officer husband. When Jen's husband is involved in the murder of a Black teenage boy by a fellow officer, Riley finds herself expected to cover the story- and Jen finds herself expected to answer for her husband's actions- and her own beliefs about what racism looks like.

Queenpin by Megan Abbott. Crime thriller/noir. Our nameless heroine lives a mousy existence working as a bookkeeper for a rundown local night club, but her life is turned upside down when the infamous Gloria Denton, a gun moll and smuggler, takes her under her wing. Gloria transforms her young protege from a timid girl to a sophisticated, cunning woman capable of handling gangsters, conmen, thieves, and bookies, but when she falls for the wrong man, her relationship with Gloria is strained, and they must decide just how far they can trust one another.

Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch by Rivka Galchen. Historical fiction. Based on the real life trial of Katharina Kepler, mother of the famed Johannes Kepler, Imperial Mathematician to the Holy Roman Empire. Katharina is a busybody, a domineering and devilishly clever woman with a particular talent for healing. She is also a fiercely loyal mother to her adult children, but when an old neighborhood grudge flares into accusations of poison and witchcraft, Katharina is determined not to meekly confess and beg pardon. The more she lashes out at her neighbors and the authorities, the more charges begin to pile up against her- despite her son's desperate attempts to save her from torture and execution.

Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott. Crime thriller/noir. Based on a real life murder case in 1931 Phoenix Arizona. Naive and sheltered Marion Seeley is deposited in Phoenix by her disgraced doctor husband, who is forced to take a job with a mining company in South America after his medical license is revoked. Marion befriends the vivacious Louise and Ginny, two fellow nurses, who introduce her to the underground party scene in Phoenix. Politicians and businessmen flock to the secret parties held by them, and it's a quick way to make money on the side. Drawn in by the luxury and thrills, Marion falls in love with Joe Lanigan, a powerful local politician, but as their affair intensifies, her friendship with the other women fractures, culminating in a gruesome crime.

[opheliayuen]

{ ic; Gemma Chan, 37, she/her, female. } yo! have you heard about [ OPHELIA YUEN ]? i couldn’t help but notice them blasting [ THE CHAIN - FLEETWOOD MAC ] when they pulled up.  i saw them moving into [ DIAMOND HEIGHTS ] which makes sense because they remind me of [ CUPS OF TEA ABANDONDED NEXT TO STACKS OF NOTES, A QUIET LUXURY WOVEN IN EVERY FIBER OF HER CLOSET BUT NOT HER BEING ]. word on the street is that they’re [ ARGUMENTATIVE & PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE  ] but i also heard they can be [ HELPFUL & GENTLE ]. i could be wrong but something tells me that they work over at [ THE URBZVILLE TRIBUNE ] but i guess we’ll find out soon enough. { ooc; hannah,est, she/her, 22.}

Hey!!!! I’m back with another lil lady!! Feast your eyes on Ophelia  Yuen!!!

tw: death, pregnancy ( unrelated to the death tw), 

Basics

full name: Ophelia Xiu Yuen

nicknames: none

age: 37

pronouns: she/her

sexuality: heterosexual

sun sign: Capricorn

occupation: editor

workplace: The Urbzville Tribune

residence: diamond heights

History

Ophelia was born in new york city to a very loving and kind couple, Peter and Charlotte Yuen, the owners of a massive international trade company.  Luckily for the newborn she was not to inherit the business itself that would go to her older brother Jacob Yuen.

The family lived in the lap of a silent luxury, they lived in a large townhouse on Carnegie Hill, NY and truly taught the children manners and how to appreciate what they had been given.

Ophelia was always dressed in beautiful dresses and spent much of her free time interested in writing and reading, most mornings she would be found on either her mother or father’s lap reading along to the newspaper

When she reached school age, just like her brother, she was given the best of the best! She was sent to private schools but was never allowed to go to a boarding school, her parents too afraid to send their little girl away.

Throughout school she joined debate teams and school newspapers. Even during the summer her parents would allow her to take private tutoring in creative writing, and journalism.

Though her parents wanted her to have a quiet life, probably as some senator’s housewife they couldn’t deny their daughter’s abilities and interest, they had never done that to her brother and Peter was set on the two being treated equally.

Jacob and Ophelia were constantly surrounded by friends, usually peers from school including one Xavier Wong, he was Jacobs age and Ophelia was smitten, of course the girl didn’t have time to have a crush during school so she would just day dream about what it would be like to be noticed by him. It would soon fizzle out after Jacob and Xavier graduated to university

Once she got to university it became obvious to both of her parents that Ophelia was not just their gentle and sweet little daughter but a girl filled with her own passions and dreams, even an ivy league school didn’t make her want to settle down. Instead she took a job offer ( mainly through Peter’s connections) as a international reporter for a massive paper in England

Later she would become a war correspondent, this would be the first time her mother actually disapproved of her choice but either way she went

There she would run into  Master Sergeant Xavier Wong, and almost instantly all the feelings came back, even the ones he had harbored himself, they would end up dating, they put the effort in and made time for each other and they were both happy. Two years in he asked her to marry him and for once Charlotte was thankful for Ophelia’s career.

Two months before his second tour they discovered Ophelia was pregnant, they had their entire future ahead and this was going to be his last tour for a bit, he had promised her..

Exactly 7 weeks and 4 days after she waved goodbye to him, a man came to her door, telling her that Xavier died, the rest was a blur even now if you were to ask her she wouldn’t be able to accurately recount his death

Luckily, her family, though disapproving of her career choice, feared the idea of a young essentially widowed mother being on her own. They helped her plan the funeral and moved her into their old vacation home in Diamond Heights.  Her brother found a loophole and put his younger sister on the payroll.

She would end up giving birth to a healthy baby boy named Henry Yuen-Wong, and she became obsessed with the baby laying in her arms, determined not to be a weak role model she wanted to work again

Joining the Urbzville tribune, she became the editor and somehow has been able to juggle both a toddler and a fulltime job since.

Personality

Ophelia has always been one to be mannered and polite in every scenario, even as a child her governess and mother were set on making sure both Yuen children always acted as perfect as possible in public, allowing for freedom in the home. She still carries that with her, even if she doesn’t want to pass it down to henry.  But due to these teachings, the only way she could make her point (negatively) in public was to be passive aggressive and she was and still is. Ophelia hates a full on confrontation she’s never really been that good at it anyways.  Ophelia has also been involved with charity her entire life, it doesn’t change when she leaves the new York socialite scene, you can see her often down at rec centers and churches donating old clothes or any extra baby things she can find.  She also makes it a point to be helpful and charitable in her day to day life, often doing favors for friends and neighbors.  Ophelia is none for her gentle demeanor, unless provoked she’s always seems to be a gentle woman, never too loud or rude, never someone to make a point of showing any rough edge to her personality

Random Facts

She calls Henry ‘bear’

she has written some award winning pieces but has left the awards in New York

she still wears her engagement ring and would probably flip shit if she lost it

speaks a couple of languages ( french, german, mandarin and english)

she also always where’s some pearl earrings from her mother

she doesn’t plan to stay in diamond heights forever but if Henry ever says no she might fold

her cursive is amazing but printed is not it

used to have extremely long hair but cut it just past her shoulders after Henry was about 7 months old cause he started pulling

already has two photo albums of henry

used to be a smoker but quit after her dad found out

she still talks to her brother weekly if not daily

the house she’s in is mainly a townhouse with a good backyard, her dad and brother have stated they want to build henry a treehouse once he’s old enough

has a picture framed of her old friend group in her office at work and her study at home

often works at her desk with henry in her lap, or sleeping in a playcot near by

if you read this far like it so we can plot bb