#(i'm usually not good at doing those on purpose 😅)

[procrastinatorproject]

Apparently, we are now moving fully into the realm of angst... 🙈

This chapter (of technically still the same story, though we are moving further away from the original prompt with every paragraph 😅) is veering into explicit AU territory of the "Everyone lives, no-one is turned into a Borg Queen" variety. I'm not sure how much I'll go into the details of how we got here, some of it will definitely come up during this chapter, but I haven't picked the fix-it version I like best for season 2. So for now, let's just say: "S2 happened mostly the same, except Agnes and Rios have returned safely with the rest of the motley crew."

(also: not sure how coherent this is, but it is late and I'm trying not to stay up until 2am for once. I'll do some proper editing before I post this to AO3 in the semi-near future 😋)

---

“How are you today, Dr Jurati?”

Despite herself, Agnes had to smile. “Emil, how many times have I told you to call me Agnes?”

“Force of habit.” She could hear that the EMH, too, was smiling. Or… he would have been smiling, if he currently had a physical matrix.

“How are you doing?” she asked, leaning back in her chair and looking at the ceiling. As an academic with contacts in faraway sectors, it wasn’t unusual for her to have calls that were voice-only. Even with the latest advances in subspace communications technology, the latency of inter-quadrant calls was greatly reduced if you didn’t try to submit an image at the same time.

Still, this wasn’t your average voice call, and it was difficult to stop herself from picking at the corner of the loudspeaker, where a slim gap had formed between rim and grill that was vibrating ever so slightly every time the device emitted the EMH’s voice.

Emil seemed to be pondering her question. After a long moment, he said: “All my systems are operating within normal parameters. The ones I have access to, anyway.” He sighed. “It really is rather inconvenient, but I suppose this has to count as an improvement.”

Agnes ran a finger along the edge of the speaker. “Well, I’m glad to finally be talking to you again.”

“We spoke only last week,” the EMH said mildly.

Agnes rapped a knuckle against the grill. “That wasn’t the same.”

There was a brief pause before Emil said: “No, it wasn’t.” Another pause, then: “I’m glad, too. I’ve missed our chats.”

For a moment, silence hung between them as each dwelt on their own thoughts. Finally, Emil made a noise like he was clicking his tongue, even though in his current state, he had neither the tongue nor the palate to perform this action. When he spoke, he sounded a lot more composed. “Commandr Barclay is to be commended; I didn’t expect he’d make progress this quickly.”

“I was pretty amazed, too. I guess the new algorithms helped more than we’d thought.” Agnes felt a familiar tingle on her right cheek and she started fiddling with the zipper-pull on the edge of her sleeve.

Even though he didn’t have any meaningful access to the ship’s visual sensors, Emil must have noticed her sudden discomfort, because he asked: “Would you like to talk about that?”

Agnes pulled the zip up a few centimetres, then back down to her wrist. “I’m really sorry we haven’t been able to fully untangle your programmes.”

“That’s not what I —”

“It should only be a matter of time now,” Agnes continued quickly. “I had a message from professor L’Nel this morning. She’s finally managed to look at the data we sent her, and she thinks we can significantly reduce the risk of algorithmic fragmentation. We’ll probably have to work backwards to your root architecture and save all alterations and augmentations along the way, but with a large enough external processor, it should be doable.”

“Dr Jurati…”

The zipper had gotten snagged and no matter how hard Agnes pulled, she couldn’t free it again. “I was thinking we might ask Seven and Raffi if they have time for a detour to Vulcan. I still have contacts at the Science Academy and who knows. With my new-found powers of persuasion, I might just get them to lend us their supercomputer for a few hours.” She was babbling now, but she couldn’t make herself stop. “It would take some time to iron out all the kinks in interoperability-interfacing, but now that Ian can help us with insights into Sirena’s computer system, we’re a lot closer to a solution.”

“Agnes.”

The zipper finally came loose, but she had pulled on it with so much force that it slipped over the delicate stopper at the hem of her sleeve cuff and landed on the desk with a quiet clink. Agnes took a deep breath, staring at her now permanently zipped-up sleeve. So much for getting unstuck…

[wombywoo]

Ok! I've finally decided to put together a (somewhat) comprehensive tutorial on my latest art~

Please enjoy this little step-by-step 💁‍♀️

First things first--references!

Now I'm not saying you have to go overboard, but I always find that this is a crucial starting point in any art piece I intend on making. Especially if you're a detail freak like me and want to make it as realistic as possible 🙃

As such, your web browser should look like this at any given point:

Since this is a historical piece, it means hours upon hours of meaningless research just to see what color the socks are, but...again. that isn't, strictly, necessary 😅

Once I've compiled all my lovely ref pics, I usually dump them into a big-ass collage ⬇️

(I will end up not using half of these, alas :'D)

Another reference search for background material, and getting to showcase our models of choice for this occasion~

When picking a reference for an actor or model, the main thing I keep in mind (besides prettiness 🤭) is lighting and orientation. Because I already kinda know what pose I'm gonna go with for this piece, I can look for specific angles that might fit the criteria. I should mention that I am a reference hound, and my current COD actor ref folder looks like this:

Also keep in mind, if you're using a ref that you need to flip, make sure you adjust accordingly. This especially applies to clothing, as certain things like pants zippers and belt buckles can be quite specific ☝️

Now that we've spent countless hours googling, it's time to start with a rough sketch:

It doesn't have to be pretty, folks, just a basic guideline of where you want the figures to be.

The next step is to define it more, and I know this looks like that 'how to draw an owl' meme, but I promise--getting from the loose sketch above to below is not that difficult.

Things to keep in mind are--don't go too in-depth with the details, because things are still subject to change at this point. In terms of making a suitable anatomically-correct sketch, I would suggest lots of studying. This doesn't even have to be things like figure drawing, I genuinely look at people around me for inspiration all the time. Familiarize yourself with the human form, and things like weight, proportions, posing will seem a little more feasible.

It's also important at this stage to consider your composition. Remember to flip the canvas frequently to make sure you're not leaning to one side too often. I'm sure something can be said for the spiral fibonacci stuff, which I don't really try to do on purpose, but I think keeping things like symmetry and balance in mind is a good start ✌️

Next step is just blocking in the figures. Standard. No fuss 👍

Now onto the background!

It's frankly hilarious how many people thought I was *hand-drawing* these maps and stuff 😂😂 I cannot even begin to comprehend how insanely difficult that would be. So yeah, we're just taking the lazy copy and paste way out 🤙

I almost always prepare my backgrounds first, and this is mostly to get a general color scheme off the bat. For collage work, it's really just a matter of trial and error, sticking this here, slapping this there, etc. I like to futz around with different overlay options until I've found a nice arrangement. Advice for this is just--go nuts 🤷‍♀️

Next, I add a few color adjustments. I tend to make at least 2 colors pop in an art piece, and low and behold, they usually tend to be red and blue ❤️💙There's something about warm/cool vibes, idk man..

Now we move on to coloring the figures. This is just a basic block and fill, not really defining any of the details yet.

Next, we add some cursory values. Sloppy airbrush works fine, it'll look better soon I promise 🙏

And now--rendering!

I know a lot of beginner artists are intimidated by rendering, and I can totally understand why. It's just one of those things you have to commit to 💪

I've decided to show a brief process of rendering our dear Johnny's face here:

Starting off, I usually rely on the trusty airbrush just to get some color values going. Note--I've kept my sketch layer on top, but feel free to turn it on and off as you work, so as to not be too bound to the sketch. For now, it's just a guideline.

This next stage may look like a huge jump, but it's really just adding more to the foundation. I try to think of it like putting on make-up in a way~ Adding contours, accentuating highlights. This is also where I start adding in more saturation, especially around areas such as ears, nose and lips. Still a bit fuzzy at this point, but that's why we keep adding to it 💪

A boy has appeared! See--now I've removed most of the line layer, and it holds up on its own. I'll admit that in order to achieve this realistic style, you'll need lots and lots of practice and skill, which shouldn't be discouraging! Just motivate yourself with the prospect of getting to look at pretty men for countless hours 🙆‍♀️

I'll probably do a more in-depth explanation about rendering at some point, but let's keep this rolling~

Moving forward is just a process of adding to the figures bit by bit. I do lean towards filling in each section from top to bottom, but you can feel free to pop around to certain parts that appeal to you more. I almost always do the faces first though, because if they end up sucking, I feel less guilty about scrapping it 😂 But no--I think he's pretty enough to proceed 😚

They're coming together now 🙆‍♀️ Another helpful tip--make sure you reuse color. By that, I mean--try to incorporate various colors throughout your piece, using the eyedropper tool to keep a consistent palette. I try to put in bits of red and blue where I can

Here they are fully rendered! Notice I've made a few subtle changes from the sketch, like adjusting the belt buckles because I made a mistake 😬 Hence why you shouldn't put too much stock in your initial sketch~

The next step is more of a stylistic choice, but I usually go over everything with an outline, typically in a bright color like green. Occasionally, I can just use my initial line layer, but for this, I've made a brand new, cleaner line 👍

And the final step is adjusting the color and adding some text:

Tada!! It's done!

All in all, this took me the better part of a week, but I have a lot of free time, so yeah ✌️

I hope you appreciated that little walkthrough~ I know people have been asking me how I do my art, but the truth is--I usually have no clue how to explain myself 😅 So have this half-assed tutorial~

As a bonus, here is a cute (cursed) image of Johnny without his mustache:

A baby, a literal infant child !!! who put this wee bairn on the front lines ??! 😭

Anyway! peace out ✌️

[felassan]

Snippets. 🐺💜

Corinne: "I’m screaming alongside the rest of y’all! It’s happening!!!!" [source]

Nathan: "Thrilled to share our latest trailer! Very proud of all these animators." [source]

Trick: "There we go." [source] / "I hear there's something at this [trailer] link now." [source]

Blair: "LIVE NOW! October 31st 💜🐉🐺" [source]

Brianne: "It's almost here... So close..." [source]

Corinne: "I’ve held the dagger in my hands, and well, needless to say I can’t wait until my own personal copy arrives. I’m definitely not going to be unhinged. 🤷‍♀️" [source]

Bryce: "if I may workpost for a sec, I'm forever grateful for days like today when I get to gush about dragon age with the fans. this community is so welcoming and my heart is so full today 💜" [source]

User: "Of the new companions, who do you think would have the best chance of beating you at pinball?" / Corinne: "Bellara, definitely. As an Elven tinkerer with a curious mind and playful spirit, I think she’d be so into it" [source]

Brianne: "So excited to share more of what we've worked on!" [source]

Corinne: "Some of the best moments I have is reading through the team’s experience, highlights, and feedback for the game. You’re right - we do love it! It’s a wonderfully talented group of folks I get the pleasure to work alongside." [source]

User: "MORRIGAN!!!!" / Corinne: "Keeping this secret has been KILLING me 😊" [source]. User: "I can't wait to find out all the other secrets that you've got in store for us." / Corinne: "Oh just you wait 😉" [source]

User: "HER CROWN I SEE THAT CROWN." [re: Morrigan] / Corinne: "👀" [source]

User: "CORINNE! It looks so good!! I can't wait to play it!" / Corinne: "Thank you so so much! The team did such a fantastic job. It’s been a labor of love for so many of us 💜" [source]

Corinne: "Can’t wait to hear about your adventures and the decisions you’ll make.I immediately preordered another copy of Rook’s Coffer even though we on the dev team get one 😅" [source]

Corinne: "I’m in awe of what this team has created 💜" [source]

Corinne: "We’re all so proud of this game and I mean it when I say we’re are just as excited to get it into your hands and hear about your adventures as your are to play it.This team is truly a wonderful group of creative people. 💜" [source]

Corinne: "The team has put so much of themselves into this return to Thedas, and believe me when I say that it means so much to all of us to see and hear about your excitement 💜" [source]

Corinne: "I’ll be honest, it still doesn’t feel real to me either that we are so close now. We all hope you’ll love this return to Thedas 😊" [source]

Corinne: "I hope you’ll share a pic of the Rook you settle on when you emerge from Character Creator. If you’re anything like me you’ll spend a loooot of time lost in the options 😉" [source]

Corinne: "Rogue is so so good. The Veil Ranger specialization is absolutely one of my favorites" [source]

Brianne: "I'm excited to see everyone's Rooks! I really like the ones I've made." [source]

Corinne: "Happy to say this time around we’ll be able to support those flowing locks in-game" [source]

The Codex is "vast" [source]

User: "question, of our 7 companions, which is most likely to be up early and watch the sunrise , which is most likely one to sleep till noon?" / Corinne: "When you see Davrin’s room, you’d certainly assume he’d be up watching the sunrise with that view. If only it weren’t in the fade 😅" [source]

User: "For purely scientific and artistic purposes....is Emmrich taller than a female elf or roughly the same height?" / Corinne: "Well… usually taller, but y’all can control your characters height now so 🤷‍♀️😅" [source]

Malcolm: "To all the people excited about the return of Her.... same, fam, same. And by Her I mean Morrigan. Just... just in case that wasn't clear." [source, two]

Malcolm: "The level art team for DA:Ve are incredible. The environments they've built are gobsmacking. I adore what they did for the Necropolis in particular." [source]

Malcolm: "And Rivain is just... 👀 Seeing this one go from early greybox to full art was such a delight" [source]

Malcolm: [image of bby Manfred] "That's my boy!" [source]

[textblock character limit break!]

User: "*remembering all those dang statues in my origin story in DAO* ah shit that’s a lot of gods" / Brianne: "You'll be fine. You... May want back-up 😁" [source]

Brianne: "While on the topic of Dragon Age: The Veilguard... I just adore him. [image of Assan]" [source]. / John: "the team's official Assan photographer" [source] / Brianne: "When I said I'd capture one, two, several more shots..." [source]

Brianne: "There are some spooky places to explore" [source]

User: "I'm so excited :)))))) I hope I spotted the bun hairstyle of one of my favorite hammer wielding characters in the world <3" [re: image of character who is probably Evka Ivo] / Brianne: "Well, would you look at that :)" [source]

Mary: "[Assan] is the best character in the game. We all know this to be true." [source]

Blair: "everyone went nuts about baby griffon, but Manfred is my boy, my sweet cheese, etc. ride or die, Manfred 💀💜" [source]

John: "am I playing our game for fun on a Friday night, I certainly am. romancing my own companion to do one last check to make sure all the conditionals work. folks it is a very strange thing" [source, two]

Trick thinks the Spellblade spec is delightful :D [source]

User: "Is Solas speaking in the Hallelujah cadence at the beginning of the Release Date Trailer ? I'm trying to match it up but the best I can get is opposite stresses although the meter is 8/8/11" / Trick: "In DAI, only a relative few lines were in that cadence. He hauls it out for special occasions. :)" [source]

Original post: "I know that the AP Stylebook says the proper possessive form of Harris is Harris'. But the AP Stylebook also says not to use the Oxford comma. It's not a serious publication, let alone an authority on punctuation." Trick: "There was an actual voices-raised argument among the BioWare Writers and Editors over S-apostrophe vs S-apostrophe-S, along with threats made to writers who proposed character names ending in S in the future. Question time: Can anyone think of an antagonist in DA:I whose name ended in S? Corypheus's assassins' scimitars's's'' blades are coated with poison." [source, two] User: "I make everybody mad by switching between -s' and -s's depending on if the "s" represents a voiced or unvoiced consonant: Anders', but Fenris's." Trick: "I think that was very close to the consensus we landed on." [source]

Mass Effect

User: "fully accept that the answer may be "that was 8 million years ago I have no idea" but did you unilaterally decide to make Thane hallucinogenic when licked while writing ME2 dialog??" / Trick: "Yes. My intention was always that Mordin was trolling you there, but I don't think everyone took it that way. 🤣" [source]

[0cta9on]

The Gaeul in 'Lessons' 😲😳 Was there any major inspiration that made you come up with this idea?

Seeing Gaeul on the Dom side is usually uncommon but wow! Another fic showing why I'll happy let Gaeul drain me till I past out

For those who need more convincing...

I love the reaction from other members too! I could see them being lowkey jealous (especially wonyoung 🤐). I think Gaeul would get back at the members for teasing her for being single for so long.

What if Gaeul decides for her full day off, she's "too tired" to walk around the dorm and commands you to carry her around.

Specifically you're butt ass naked, Gaeul clinging to you akin to a koala holding on to a tree. Your cock sheathed inside her the entire time when carrying her, suppressing your moans when you feel her squeeze around your cock just to mess with you.

Stand and carry in a literal sense but you're just doing all the hardwork while focusing not cumming inside your mistress. Even when sitting down she remains attached to you. You're feeling good but also... not?😅

Taking it to the next level would be her purposely leading you (you're still carrying her) to be right next to her members, just so she could chat with them with the obvious intention of getting them riled up.

Do you think you could take it? Not just the stimulation from Gaeul but seeing her members getting visible horny because of you.

Would Gaeul be really harsh if you fail to hold it in? Or would she blame the members for 'intervening' and secretly giving you a little treat instead?

______________________________________________________________

LESSON ???: HOW TO SPICE IT UP

"Didn't you say you love cumming to her fancams? Can you give your mistress a good show? Cumming all over mistress's precious boy toy? "

"You would like to cum inside your mistress instead don't you?"

"Good boy~"

"Oh you'll have to do a lot more to convince me to swallow. The offer is still on the table: Give. Me. A. Good. Show~"

Hello, whisky! The whole "lessons" part of Lessons actually came from me accidentally misinterpreting the buyer's commission (They ended up liking the final product anyways, which I'm really grateful for :> ). Their original idea was for Gaeul, as the oldest member of IVE, to teach the rest of her members how to be proper girlfriends and ending with the scene at the end where Gaeul shows them that they don't have to be submissive and that the man should put in the work to pleasure their partners.

Somehow, I interpreted that as Gaeul taking lessons on how to be a proper girlfriend and being unhappy with the notion that women should always be submissive. In the end, the buyer liked it and I also quite liked the final product, so I consider this a happy little accident :]

This took a little while because of my personal life getting a little hectic, but I couldn't not write a semi-sequel to Lessons with the fuel that you have me :> I went into a bit of a different direction, but I hope you enjoy it regardless. Unedited, but it's whatever :>

Gaeul slowly drags her soft, wet tongue across the bottom of your shaft, watching in delight as you helplessly squirm from the sensation. With your wrists handcuffed to her bedpost, all you can do is let your mind melt as she tortures you with pleasure.

“You better not cum yet, or else I’ll-”

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

“Gaeul- Oh.” Liz’s face turns bright red as she sticks her head through the door. “Um, it’s your turn to wash the dishes.” She gives you a polite yet awkward nod before leaving. 

Gaeul groans, face planting into your stomach. “I don’t wanna wash the dishes,” she complains, her voice muffled against your skin. Suddenly, she shoots her gaze up at you, climbing into your lap until her face is mere inches from yours. “Yah, you should do the dishes for me.

You scoff, coming down from your high. “Don’t I already take care of you enough? In more ways than one, might I add.”

She sighs before climbing off of your lap and heading to the door. “Fine, then I guess you’re okay with staying here like that while I go wash the dishes?” She raises an eyebrow at you, gesturing towards your constraints.

“W-wait,” you say, conceding. “I’ll do it.”

She smirks at you, grabbing the key from her nightstand. “Good boy~” You bite your lip, suppressing a moan as the word dances against your ears, making your skin shiver with elation. Her smirk widens as she suddenly begins to strip in front of you, revealing her slender body that you love to worship.

Gaeul sits on your lap once more, resting her whole body weight on your erection. “Why don’t we make things interesting~?” She bites her lip, slowly impaling herself onto your cock. A deep, guttural moan escapes your lips as you bottom out inside of her.

“Do all my chores without cumming inside me and then I’ll give you a little prize at the end. Can you do that for me, baby?” She whispers into your ear. 

You nod, unable to produce a coherent word as her velvety walls squeeze your shaft. After Gaeul unshackles you from the handcuffs, you struggle to carry her to the kitchen, constantly fighting the urge to thrust into her petite body.

You peer into the sink only to find a couple dirty dishes inside. Gaeul could’ve easily done them herself, but as her manager and her boyfriend, you live to please her, even if it means enduring the most cruel and unusual punishment you’ve ever faced. 

You manage to wash a few of the dishes with relative ease, but in typical Gaeul fashion, she decides to make things even more difficult for you. Sucking on your neck, nibbling your ear, grazing your back with her fingernails, pressing her tits into your chest, it’s as if this woman was created specifically to be the death of you. Eventually, you have to take a breather after nearly exploding inside of her.

“You still have a couple dishes left, what’s the matter?” she teases. “Are you disobeying your mistress’s orders?”

“N-no, mistress, I-I’m just taking a b-break,” you reply.

Gaeul shifts her weight around, causing your legs to nearly give out from underneath you. “Did I say you could take a fucking break?” She digs your nails into your chest, not enough to cut but enough for it to burn your flesh.

“I-I’m sorry, mistress.”

“Ugh,” Wonyoung groans, walking into the kitchen. “Do you really have to do that in the middle of the kitchen?”

Gaeul’s threatening expression suddenly shifts into a cheeky grin as she wraps her arms around your neck in a pleasant hug. “First of all, this is technically all your doing, and second of all, I finally got a boyfriend after so long, let me enjoy this.

Wonyoung rolls her eyes. “Whatever. I’m heading out.”

“Don’t cause any trouble!” Gaeul calls out to her before glaring back at you with a lustful smirk. “Now, finish washing the dishes, you fucking dog.”

“Y-yes, mistress.” You finish cleaning off the last plate as she sucks on your neck, marking you for the world to see. Your supervisor might ask about those tomorrow, but he fades into the back of your mind as you melt into Gaeul’s touch, riding on the edge of bursting inside of her.

“Oh, you’re done? Good boy~” She giggles, finding great joy in watching you squirm and moan with every small movement she makes. “Now, take me back to my room so we can—”

“Gaeul!” Yujin calls out from her room. “Can you help me with something?”

Gaeul slams her forehead against your chest in frustration. “Ugh, why can’t you ask Rei or Liz!?”

“They’re busy right now. Please?” she begs. Gaeul mutters a harsh expletive under her breath, squeezing your cock in the process. You grunt as her fingers wrap around your throat, pressing against your windpipe.

“You better fucking hold it, or else,” she threatens. “Hurry up and take me to Yujin’s room.”

“Yes, m-mistress.” You support her supple thighs, stumbling through the hallway as the lack of air and overstimulation turns your brain into goop. It barely renders in your mind that you’re face to face with Yujin’s door.

“Hey, you two!” she greets without batting an eye at the vulgar scene in front of her. You sit down on Yujin’s bed, just barely clinging onto the last ounce of sanity you have left. The need to follow your mistress’s orders is much stronger than your need to chase after any kind of self-pleasure, so you sit there and focus on your breathing while Gaeul keeps your cock in a chokehold.

“What did you need help with?” she groans, glaring at Yujin.

“I’m going on a date later and I’m having trouble deciding what to wear.” Yujin pulls out two dresses from her closet, both nearly identical aside from one being black and the other being white. “What do you think?”

Gaeul yanks your hair, forcing a moan out of you as she shifts her weight. “Are you kidding me?! You dragged me all the way over here just for this!?” She angrily gyrates her hips around your cock, more for herself rather than you. You try to think about anything else to keep your climax at bay, your supervisor, tomorrow’s schedules, whether or not you cleaned the dishes properly, but it’s becoming increasingly harder with each time her skin slaps against yours.

“You know how indecisive Liz is, and Rei would’ve just picked a random without looking. You’re the only one here that can help me!” Yujin exclaims.

“I cannot fucking believe you right now!” Gaeul growls. “Can’t you see I’m in the middle of something important right now!?”

Yujin pouts, turning towards you. “What about you, manager? What do you think I should wear?”

With the overwhelming wave of pleasure coursing through your veins at this moment, you can barely make out the dresses as she presents them to you. Hell, you’re surprised that you even managed to understand her question in the first place. Gaeul certainly isn’t making this easy for you, but that doesn’t matter. Your only purpose is obeying your mistress.

“B-black… Black is—Hngh! G-good…” you manage to utter.

“Uh, Gaeul? Is he okay—”

“Shut the fuck up!” Gaeul screams at her before leaning into your ear, her nails digging into the flesh of your back. “I’m so fucking close, baby. I don’t care if she’s here, just fucking cum in me already. Fill me with your fucking seed!”

You grip onto her tight ass as you meet her thrusts with your own, desperate to obey your mistress’s orders. All the pain, the suffering, the waiting, it’ll all finally be worth it. Everything else fades away, leaving you and your mistress to chase the highs of your orgasms together. Gaeul catches your lips in hers as the both of you moan into each others’ mouths, collapsing into a ball of utter bliss.

“H-holy… shit…” Gaeul pants, her hot breath dancing on your neck. “This is why I fucking love you. You better have some more energy left cuz I’m not done yet, do you understand?”

“Y-yes… m-mistress…” You barely have enough energy to keep yourself upright, but if that’s what she wants, then that’s what she’s going to get.

“Wow, that was…” Yujin bites her lip, her cheeks bright red as she watches the two of you recover. “Would you two ever be interested in a foursome—”

“He’s mine!” Gaeul hisses at her. She slaps your cheek, bringing you to full attention. “Bring me to my room, now!”

“Yes, mistress!” In an instant, you march out of Yujin’s room, still connected to Gaeul. The last thing you see is Yujin’s pouting expression before you shut the door behind you, finally alone with your one true love.

Gaeul places a gentle kiss on your cheek. “You’re such a good boy~” The words tickle your ear like a pleasant song, only for that pleasant feeling to be ripped away right as her fingers close around your neck. “But remember - you belong to me. You are my toy. My property. Do you understand that?”

You fight back a moan, her harsh grip around your neck and that lustful fire in her eyes making you rock hard once again. As her manager, most people would think that you’re the one that bosses her around and disciplines her when she causes trouble. In the public eye, that might be true. But behind closed doors, when it’s just the two of you, you know exactly who’s boss.

“Yes, mistress.”

[brittscafe]

Heyyy could I have a scenario with Kenpachi and fem reader where she's not as strong or as amazing as Kenny in her eyes (maybe she's even just a human or 4th division?..) & just doesn't feel like she's good enough for him? Like, how he would react hearing that from someone he loves - cause you know Kenny probably thinks the other way around ❤️...Looking for some angst that turns fluffy even nsfw is good too!! 👍

Sorry I wrote a mini novel ask 😅 hope you're doing great!!!

ahhh, I love writing Kenpachi fluff :)

Your significant other was very well known unlike you on the other hand. Kenpachi Zaraki is the captain of the 11th division and good god, was he scary. At least to everyone else...not to you, a loyal member of the 4th division.

There was no doubt that you could handle yourself in a battle, but when it came to Kenpachi, you could be broken like a fragile stick. You wouldn't dare compare his raw strength to yours.

Your gaze stays steady on the ground in front of you. You fiddle with your hands and gulp.

"Hey, y/n, what's up?" Isane's melodic voice springs you out of your mind and you clear your throat. You spin around on the heels of your feet and face her, putting on a weak smile.

"Oh, nothing. Sorry, I was just in my mind for a moment," you clear your throat.

"About what? You know we can talk about anything," Isane steps forward and your breath hitches in your throat. You squeeze your sweaty palms together and let out a tiny breath.

"You know the 11th division always looks down upon us for being so weak," you mumble out, lowering your head with shame.

"Yeah, but Kenpachi wouldn't let them utter a word. At least not about you," Isane shrugs her shoulders.

"They fear him because of how strong he is, Isane. I sometimes wish that I was strong enough for him," your voice wobbles and Isane's eyes widen.

"You heal people, y/n. Kenpachi could never do that," Isane tries to comfort you.

"Yeah, I just wish I was good enough for him," you frown widely and Isane cocks an eyebrow.

"Hey, cheer up. Don't look down on yourself like that, you're strong in your own ways," Isane gently taps your shoulder before leaving the room.

Usually, you were able to feel Kenny's pressure, but you weren't able to and you wished dearly that you could've.

Kenpachi steps out from behind the corner, arms crossed over his chest.

His spiritual pressure smacks you in the chest and you gasp quietly. Your eyes widen and you chew on your bottom lip, turning around and facing him.

"Hi," you mumble out, praying that he didn't hear any of that conversation. You sink down in your figure as Kenny towers over you, a stern expression across his face.

"Hey, if you were a human, I'd still love you," Kenpachi blurts out and your eyes widen.

"You despise humans because they're so weak," you point out and Kenny shrugs his shoulders.

"Not you. What about those fights that you win? Mhm?" he asks and you scoff quietly.

"You let me win those on purpose, Kenny," you mumble out and a grin tugs on his face.

"So? You're strong in your own ways," Kenny comments, placing a finger underneath your chin and lifting up your face. He forces you to gaze into his eyes and your stomach twists into uneasy knots.

"No, I'm not," you shake your head, trying to deny it. Kenpachi lets out a tiny sigh and his facial expression softens.

"I could never heal people the way you do. The way you heal me...amazes me every time. You are absolutely amazing, y/n," Kenpachi speaks softly and your eyes widen.

Kenny leans his head down and presses his lips against yours. You wrap your arms around his lower torso and relish in the moment.

"Thank you," you whisper, smiling warmly as you pull away from the sweet kiss.

"And...as for the fights, you definitely win those sometimes," Kenny comments, a smug smirk tugging on his face.

"Come on, you let me win those and you know it," you sigh out in defeat and Kenpachi cocks an eyebrow.

"Oh really? Come on then, let's see what you got," Kenpachi teases you, grabbing onto your thighs and easily lifting you up. You wrap your legs around his torso and giggle quietly.

"Fine, bring it on."

[four-leaf-loco]

Okayyy but Halsin/Gale is underrated!!!! But also I need to analyze it to the last detail before bed so please excuse any like anything. My brain is so empty 😅

Both intellectuals, albeit in different fields. Halsin obviously enjoys medicine as a topic of research but he also does druidic magic and practices! He does a lot of academic shit. Halsin is just wayyyy more humble about it, i.e. doesn't make it his personality (though I love that facet of Gale's character/genuine)

On that note, I think Gale would think Halsin respectable for his attitude. Because Halsin is loving and caring for others. It's a mostly selfless pursuit, but also one of passion (a passion or duty, frankly I'm not too sure on certain subjects), and I think Gale would appreciate him.

Wizardry is a sorta selfish pursuit vs. medicine

Halsin I think would be amused, lovingly, of Gale's passion in his general demeanor, when he's emotional and open (like the spider scene, the romance scenes, the others I'm forgetting lol). Gale sticks to his morals and guns, even if such is gray, or from base emotions like disgust. But nature is gray, too. I don't think there would necessarily be jealousy but maybe longing to be allowed to be capricious with his own emotions too.

Halsin is very silly. So is Gale. They are silly men, inherently. In one way or another, on purpose or not.

Both miss so many social cues, good gods the audhd relationship we all need.

Both extremely loving!!!!!!!! They obviously love their partners very much. Halsin once again is different bc he is polygamous and Gale, atleast in the midst of the story, is not. It's debatable Gale's source of feelings about poly, but that is a major difference btwn them

The debated brothel scene where Gale flees, because why we aren't exactly sure specifically, only that he was uncomfortable in some way. Horny? Yes. Complicated? Also yes. But also this I sorta interpreted as Gale maybe in the past, or still a little bit, being on some level okay with (informed and mutually consenting) flings outside the relationship. Maybe Mystra ruined it for him? Who knows. But I do think once he is more secure he would be okay with Halsin's style more.

I think if they were together, Halsin would be understanding though. But Gale would have to be too, that Halsin's heart could not be contained, but that he still loves Gale all the same.

But they could definitely make it work, I do think.

Post game arcs, I think it will go well with Gale's "good" endings, where he relearns to be appreciative of the mundane, without giving up his passions. Becoming a teacher, a househusband, explorer. Whatever ending happens, Halsin would have a home for him with open arms. You just know Gale would love those kids to death too. Maybe he'd teach the kids from time to time, take them on illusory trips, give them spoils of Waterdeep. But usually he will teach them to cook, help them with questions, tuck them in. Maybe his mother would visit too, with Tara. Bc obviously these are his kids now, and Morena's grandchildren.

NSFW

Also you just KNOW the sex is raunchy, magical, and kinky af. Vines. Astral twister. Wild af positions if Gale's knees can keep up. All the damn time if they could. The furniture they have to replace, Halsin just stops making the beds and furniture in general with legs bc they always break. Don't be remiss either Gale tops too. They're both constantly trying to out pleasure each other. Essentially fighting to get on top, or get the other to settle onto the bed.

[catsharky]

I've just discovered your Rolan x Tav comic.

It's SO neat and accurate, in matter of deign and details!

In case you don't mind, of course, I have some questions you maybe have answered before:

What software do you work with? What kind of pencils do you use? How do you manage to set so neat and clean results? Do you need many references for that or is just a gift you have? How many years have you been drawing to achieve those results?

I don't mind at all! And I don't believe I've answered any of these questions before, at least not since I started doing my comics.

For software I mainly use Clip Studio, though I do also use PaintTool Sai (v2) for certain things that I feel it does better. All of my Mass Effect comics are lined in Sai, for example because things like armour have a lot more inorganic shapes and require long, sweeping, unbroken lines, and I like the pen stabilization in Sai far better than CSP's for that sort of thing.

For how long I've been doing art, I've been at it basically nonstop since I was 9 (so 20 years now, jeez). I was in an art program throughout highschool, went to college for art/animation for 4 years, and I'll have been working professionally as an animator for 8 years in May! So there's a lot of practice there for sure.

And yeah, I use a ton of references. Usually a good chunk of the time I'll spend on something is just collecting or making the reference material I need for it.

I'm putting the rest under a read more because it's pretty long:

(Tumblr keeps eating my formatting so sorry if this is a little scuffed)

Because I'm normally working full time and doing this stuff in my free time after hours and on weekends, if I know I'm going to be drawing something a *lot*, I'll usually put together some kind of reference for myself in 3D so I can take some of the brainwork out of it and get more out of my evenings even when I'm feeling fried. It also means I put as little extra strain on my wrist as possible because I injured it a number of years back and it gets angry at me if I go for too many hours in a day.

But to give you an example, for Ember I have a Sculpt of her head that I can use to reference any angle I want, or to draw directly over top of for tricky angles. How I draw her isn't quite 1:1 to the model, but it gives me a base structure and landmarks I can build on top of.

My basic workflow is to take the angle I want, draw over it using the model as a guide (while picking and choosing where to stay true to it and where to say fuck it and do what I want), then I get rid of the 3D and do another pass, tweaking and redrawing anything I'm not totally happy until I'm satisfied with how it looks. I draw Ember with a slightly softer, more rounded face than the model has, for instance. Just because something looks right in 3D doesn't always mean it looks right once translated to 2D and I don't care if something is technically "correct" if it doesn't feel right or isn't conveying what I want it to properly.

I'm also always checking reference screenshots to make sure I'm in the right ballpark of how something should look. I actually have a wall of photos next to my desk and while I didn't put them up for that purpose, it has come in surprisingly handy for quickly checking face or hair details when needed. I also just have a big folder of screenshots and other saved reference material.

I don't have a problem noooo~ 😅

Additionally, if my art has a background these days, there is a 100% chance that's a 3D set I built in Blender because I hate drawing backgrounds, but I do like building them in 3D.

Here's two examples: the area around Astarion's bed, which I built out of some of the in-game assets like a lego set (this was a pain in the ass, it probably would have been faster to just build it from scratch based on screenshots 😩) and a closet I modelled for something that's still a WIP.

I'll get the angle I want, have Blender generate some linework from it and then grab a basic render of it to slap into CSP so I can draw the characters over top of it.

And as for brushes: the main brush I use in CSP is just the default 'Real G-Pen', with opacity effects turned off and these pressure settings: (I like to keep it simple, and I have a bit of a heavy hand so the altered pen pressure just helps me get a smoother taper). I change up the stabilizer settings depending on what I'm doing. Lower for things that need short, quick lines like hair and higher for most other things.

For Sai, I use a 9B pencil I found a number of years ago on Deviantart (I think?) and I wish I could link you to the original post I got the settings from, but Deviantart's search is... bad and I'm unable to find it again.

I hope that answered all your questions! If not, feel free to ask more!

[thedevillionaire]

If I may be greedy, 3, 4, 6, 9 (yes I am 👀ing Cerb) & 11 for Cerberus and Kia?

Greedy is totally fine! This is a nice bunch, too. :D

3) What song describes your OC?

Cerberus has two main "theme songs": Dance With Fire by Operus, and The Cage by Attrition. He's had more than one Underworldian song written about him, too, though I don't have actual music for those, just lyrics, due to me being a craptacular singer. Only one of these is currently anywhere online: Green Fire

For Kia, Love An Adventure by Pseudo Echo.

4) What song describes your OC and their partner/love interest?

As a couple, they have a few, actually, but the main two are A Touch of Evil by Judas Priest, and Body and Soul by the Sisters of Mercy.❤️

6) If your OC is in a fantasy setting, what profession would they be in the modern day?

Cut time!

This is really tricky for Cerberus, actually, and the only thing I'm confident of is that he'd be his own boss. Possibly the world's hottest occult bookstore owner/operator lol. But I can also see him not working a "regular" sort of job at all, and being the kind of super-successful investor that can live off passive income and do whatever he wants in his (significant) spare time, and that may not be a whole lot different - although with a "mortal plane" skew, of course - to what he does now.

lol maybe he'd be a cult leader. 🤣 He was mortally pyrokinetic, after all. Kia had all sorts of odd jobs when she was mortal. She's been a masseuse, a supermarket checkout chick, a fashion consultant/assistant, a pole dancer, a telemarketer, a typist... She'd probably settle into something customer-service focused that didn't require a degree/formal qualifications.

9) How does your OC handle their physical health? Do they take care of themselves?

Cerberus is excellent at this...until he gets sick. 😂😂 He's very physically fit, in great shape, looks after his physical needs overall extremely well. Eats well, exercises, is very hygiene-conscious. He's kind of a workaholic and should almost certainly take more time off for just relaxation, but that's about as lax as he gets about his general physical wellbeing. And he doesn't often get sick at all. BUT. Partly due to infrequency/unfamiliarity with getting ill, partly just that he's always so resentful that it even happened, how fucking dare this happen, and he's just...patently terrible at accepting his fate about it. 😅 So when the Healing meds don't instantly and completely cure things, he's prone to completely disregarding everything he's told to do, because it's already proved pointless again, as usual, so why not try [insert probably bad idea here] instead. Kia's made things way better for him in this regard, and he's the best of all possible selves with her around, but still. He's a notoriously dreadful patient and he deserves every bit of that reputation lol.

Kia is also very fit, although less hygiene-conscious, and also far more likely to socialise in large groups, etc. She gets sick a regular amount, and is much better at looking after herself when it happens, too. She gets a bit cranky about it at times, sure, but she's pretty accepting of it as just a part of life, and just...deals. Not to say she doesn't enjoy a good spoiling when she's unwell. Cerberus, for all his failings at being a good patient, actually makes a wonderful caretaker.

11) What was your inspiration for your OC?

Cerberus was supposed to be a one-off serve-a-purpose temporary creation and problem-solver. I made too many OCs in early Underworld times and thought if I just had...like half of them killed off in one fell swoop, sort of thing, I could get back on track, haha. Anyway, so, he was meant to just come in, do damage, fuck off.

He...did not do that. 🤷‍♀️ I mean, he absolutely did do what I, um, brought him in for. He just also decided to stick around and take over the place afterwards.

IDEK. I'm just a dumb scribe lol. And I genuinely do not remember what/who inspired Kia, but she was also an unexpected "success story". She was an Incept, brought into the Underworld's Vampirism Caste by another OC pretty much nobody's met here - Vesuvius - and just...went about being Kia. And here we are. 🫠

[aphfanficwriters]

Every month we will pose a question and collate responses as a fun and informal little exercise in getting to know each other and spark discussion. This month's question is:

“Which writing rule do you most enjoy breaking?”

relmu / @iamnompuehuenu: this is my personal preference, but i absolutely adore flowery writing that borders on purple prose. maybe it's because the literature i grew up with is filled with metaphors and decorations and that rubbed off on me, but i just find it extremely beautiful and dramatic… I've come to learn that English-speaking writers are more direct and that purple prose is not seen with good eyes, but i like it so much i have to remind myself to not put too much emphasis on descriptions and metaphors when writing lol. it sometimes becomes heavy to read but for me it's a joy, though i understand it's not for everyone 🙏

prush / @proosh: you can take run-on sentences from my cold dead hands

Wasps / @petiolata: "Avoid epithets" is the one I enjoy breaking the most. To me, it's very similar to "show, don't tell". Like every writing practice that people get told "don't do that!" about, they have their time and place. Both telling and epithets can create distance, or emphasize certain qualities about the character. They can also convey information faster. I think a lot of the criticism of them comes from a lack of understanding that people read fics for different purposes and so writers will write with different effects in mind. If a fic is meant to be an extremely fast-paced suspenseful ride—and that's more important to the writer or audience than elegance of writing or creating deep POV closeness—and an epithet best serves that, then isn't it the best choice to use the epithet? What makes good writing is widely debated, but what makes a good writer in my opinion is intentionality. The ability, skills, knowledge, to accomplish exactly what effects you're going for. And sometimes that means making choices that serve pacing or kink appeal over elegance or POV depth. I probably don't use many epithets in my fics, but knowing how much unfair flack they get makes me celebrate every single one.

Tama / @delgumofics: I generally try to follow the rules since I'm always trying to grow as a writer. I think mine is run-on sentences though. If I'm writing a scene where a characters understanding of the world is supposed to be different in some way, like they're really high, or they're very emotionally charged, I use a lot of run-ons to express that. I try to put myself in their heads pace and think how they'd think, and when someone is fucked up or really emotionally charged, grammar and pacing kind of go out the window. Thought becomes one long stream of ideas and feelings so I try to express that sensation with words. That usually results in run-ons dotted with short snappy single or two word sentences mixed into the paragraph.

WhiteWings / @smuttyandabsurd: "Write what you know" seems to be taken as "write only what you know" which is a terrible rule. Write what you don't know. Push the limits of your knowledge. Deep dive into research and learn things you didn't know so you can write about it… Or don't! Revel in making it up and writing with terrible inaccuracy, it's called artistic license babes. It won't appeal to everyone, of course, and you may very well annoy a bunch of people, but you can't please everyone and you shouldn't try to.

Didi / @teaedon: first draft is the final version, and i don't cut anything out (well, rarely).

Yukihitomi / @arthurhonda: Writing rules? Don’t know em. Too busy destroying the English grammar. Punctuation besides commas, periods, exclamation points, and question marks don’t exist.

And there were those who didn't understand the assignment... 😅

Eru / @eruverse: Wasn’t aware there were rules, I do what I want and what fits best

@folightening: I'm not even aware what the rules are so I've no idea. I just write how I want.

Beetroot / @council-of-beetroot: Does anyone have a list of writing rules to reference?

Mossman / @one-more-mossman: I don't even know what rules the writing has [...] Uneducated swine I am

[gladdygirl18]

New tickle tea story, and it's a really cute one too 🥰💖🫶🏾

Blue me, pink GF

Longer than I thought so continue under the cut

So yesterday was a beautiful day. It was in the mid 60s, and wanted to wear something nice

This was the outfit I was wearing (minus the sandals, wearing sneakers, and photo taken last year. Also its hard to tell in the pic but the top is a crop-top)

When I had went over to my GF's place (our mutual friend brought me over as well as another friend of ours) to play Superliminal (very interesting game)

So when my GF finally woke up from her nap, she was very happy to see me and started hugging and kissing me. When I showed her my outfit she leaned into my ear and said "Adorable~"

She then pulled me into a side hug and started tickling my sides.

"You know what that means! You know what that means! It'll be easier to tickle you now!"

GUUUUUUURRRRLLLL SHUT UUUUUUP 🤣🤣🤣💖💖🤣🤣💖

She said this out loud in front of our friends. Omgggg that was so embarrassing, and believe me, she took full advantage of that the remainder of the day

At night when we were getting ready for bed, I had sent my GF this text

She was sitting at her desk and I was laying on her bed. When she saw it, she grabbed my hand and squeezed it and said "one minute hun"

After a while, she clicked off her phone turned off the light, and climbed on top of me. She looked into my eyes before kissing me.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just been a day and I just need a bit of a pick-me-up"

"I get it"

She started kissing me before her kisses trailed to my neck before she started making sounds in my ears and tickling my sides (for those not in the know, I have very sensitive ears, sound and touch sensitive. Not a good combo when your ticklish 🤣😅)

When she stopped she smiled at me before placing a kiss on my head

"Better?"

I smiled with a nod before she climbed off me. After a while, I had placed my leg over hers and she started tickling under my knee. I was trying so hard not to laugh but it tickled so bad

"T-That dohoesnt tickle"

"You sure about that?" Moves her hands a bit higher on my leg

"Yuhuhup doesn't tickle at ahahall"

Bruhhhh i was struggling haaaaaard. Then she started tickling my thigh and I lost it. Being the cheeky girl she is, she went back to tickling under my knee

"Uh huh, that's what I thought"

When she stopped, she sighed before glancing at her nails and smiled. And she said, and I quote

"Maybe I shouldn't cut my nails just yet. Makes it easier to tickle you~"

OMGGGGGGGGGGGG I CANNOT! HER NAILS ARE LETHAL WEAPONS AND HER GENTLE TICKLES ARE SOOO BAAAAAAD BUT I LOVE THEM 😭😭😭😆💖💖😭💖

Cut today, specifically this afternoon, my girlfriend and I were having our usual playful banter and when I had the final say, she tried to tickle me. Squeezing my sides, my neck, even my armpits. You wanna know what I said?

"Babe, I turned it off for the day; it's not gonna work"

Yyyyyyyup, I'm a literal switch lmaoooo 🤣🤣😂😂 I'm one of those people who can turn on and off my ticklishness whenever I please

Cut to a few hours ago when my GF, our mutual friend, and i were playing Sea of Stars, she had left for the bathroom, and I sprawled out on the couch, purposely leaving my stomach exposed. When my girlfriend returned, she moved my legs over before they were pressed against her back.

She then reached over and started tickling my stomach and I started giggling and squirming

"Ahhh I thought you said you turned it off for the day? Huh, what happened?"

I KNEW SHE WAS GONNA DO THAT SO I TURNED MY TICKLISHNESS BACK ON OKKKK 😭😭😭💖🫶🏾🥰🥰😭🫶🏾

But all in all, I love her still, and I think that's about it for this TTS. More to come soon, so stay tuned!

Tagging the fwends: @cutesmokes @burningablaze @giggly-squiggily @sunstone-smiles @otomiyaa @lovelymessybubbly @jettorii

[hughiecampbelle]

Succession Preference: Dating A Gamer

Requested: Hii!! Is it cool to request in a succession headcanons with the roy trio (shiv, roman and kendall) with a gamer!s/o? Maybe they could be like in their early twenties or smth like in college years - anon

A/N: I've kinda been putting this off because tbh the only games I play is Animal Crossing and Mario Kart 😅 I feel extremely under qualified to be writing this lol, but I didn't want to turn it down!! I'm also including Connor because why not :P I'm sorry if I get anything wrong!!! Feedback is always appreciated 💜💜💜

Connor definitely wants to play alongside you. He likes older games and games you play in an arcade. It was one of his favorite places to sneak off as a kid when Logan forgot about him. New games with new consoles are a bit of a jump from that, but he's eager to learn. It takes him a long time to catch on and he's always got questions, but you never mind. Mostly he likes watching you. You're quick, you think on your feet, and you make it look easier than it is. When Connor gets stuck on a level, he goes to you immediately. He doesn't like getting stuck and hates getting defeated by the boss level. He shares your enjoyment of it, even if his games are a bit more pixelated and a lot easier to beat. He's always surprising you with the latest game knowing how happy it makes you, knowing it'll make your day.

Kendall likes the mindless games he can play on his phone. He understands the escapism completely, checking out of the real world for a little while to play a character who can do and say whatever in a (usually) better and far more interesting world. He sits beside you when you play and watches, giving you advice. He's definitely going to play alongside you and is a sore loser, though your kisses make up for it. He plays video games with his kids and remembers being taken to the arcade with Connor as a child. It's something he particularly enjoys, but rarely has the chance to play them. He likes that you share the same interests, that you find such joy in it. It's something you can do together that makes him feel like a little kid again. It's rare you get to see him wear a smile so genuine.

Shiv doesn't really understand. She never really got into video games, she never saw the appeal, nor was she allowed to. She'd always been told that her hobbies should have a greater purpose and not to do them just because they're fun. She doesn't disregard your enjoyment though. In fact, it makes her so happy to see you so happy, to break a new record, to get to the next level, to talk to the group of friends you've made, etc. She'll stand behind you and ask questions, watching you, though she swears she doesn't understand and isn't interested. You offer her the game console if she ever wants to try it, but every time she politely declines. She still has it ingrained in her head that hobbies should look good on an application or be helpful in the workforce, not just for fun, for enjoyment. She can't let herself have fun for the sake of fun, not yet at least.

Roman would never dare admit to it, but he really enjoys the kinds of video games that are slow paced and lead a very simple life, like Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, etc. The more violent ones make him jump and he can't stand all the yelling and noise. He watches you play a lot, sitting beside you, making fun of you. You nudge him, laughing, telling him that he's distracting you. Roman never gives your hobby a second thought, it's just something you do, something you enjoy. He'll stay up late with you and blame the games for missing his alarm, though he's all smiles so you know it's not serious. If you do play more of those horror, violent games he just excuses himself, busying himself, not wanting to make you stop, but not wanting to listen. He loves to see you so happy, especially when you get to the next level or beat the big boss. He's all sarcasm and jokes, but really it makes him happy to know you are.

[theamityelf]

Do you think you could do some cute little Komazumi drabble, seeing as both their birthdays are coming up in a week?

(I'll do my best! 😅)

...

Nagito carefully followed a recipe. He had managed to mix up a batter that did not have any of the wrong ingredients, and he had the foresight to start early enough that, when the stove caught fire, he still had time to relocate the cake to a different oven.

The cake came out kind of...flatter than he'd expected? But he covered it in icing and tried to draw flowers on it with a piping tube. Honestly, he was pretty disgusted by the look of his own work, mainly because he went to school with such amazing artists and bakers and...

But, Mahiru liked it when he did his best to cook something. She said that knowing he cared enough to put in the effort was even better than having Teruteru effortlessly whip up a culinary masterpiece, which...he was just going to have to accept as truth, because Mahiru didn't lie.

They were celebrating both of their birthdays on the Saturday in-between them. The plan was to meet at their favorite spot on Hope's Peak's campus, to exchange gifts and just generally spend time together. He was bringing the cake he'd made and the keys to the new photography studio he was renting for her– which of course couldn't compare to Hope's Peak's accommodations, but she could use it when Hope's Peak wasn't available, like over holiday breaks, and the place came highly rated, and-

Nagito did his best to tidy his hair before making his way to their spot with the cake.

He'd thought he was early, but Mahiru had already spread a blanket on the grass and was waiting on it. Her eyes brightened immediately at the sight of him, which warmed his heart. He really didn't think he deserved such excitement.

Her camera flashed, as he approached, capturing every step of him sitting down on the blanket. Then she lowered it, with a slightly sheepish smile.

"You kept me waiting," she chided. "And you baked a cake?!"

"I, uh, did my best."

"It looks great! Here, I...made you this." Blushing profusely, she handed over a bento with nori and rice and whipped cream and canned corn.

He smiled, his eyes prickling at the fond memory of her disgusted reaction when they'd discussed his preference for whipped cream with nori. "You know me so well," he marveled.

"And you," she said, eyeing the keys in his hand, "had better not say you got me a car."

"Ah, no! I didn't. Even I'm not that frivolous."

"Thank goodness."

"It's just a photography studio. And it's rented, not bought."

"You're kidding!"

"If you don't like it, I can rent a different one."

"That is not what I'm reacting to, and you know it!"

He laughed, smugly handing her the key.

"Hmph! I knew you would pull something like this," she said, without edge. "That's why I feel no regrets for getting you a second thing, too!"

That wiped the smug look off his face. "Oh, but there's no need-"

"Too late! I made it, so you have to accept it." Having stolen back the right to be smug, she reached into her backpack and pulled out a framed collage.

Nagito's heart soared at the sight. For the most part, the pictures weren't of them. There was the odd selfie of both of them sprinkled in, but there was also the desks they'd pushed together for the group project, the horizon they'd stared at when the class went to the beach, the lost hamster they found for Gundham. Little pieces of times they'd laughed together.

"As always," Nagito said, when he found his voice, "you win."

"As always," she agreed. She took a bite of her cake, and thankfully she didn't look grossed out, but she did ask, "Hmm...How much almond extract did you use for the batter?"

He immediately got up. "I can just go bake you another one-"

"Nononono! It's good! Sit down!"

...

(How was that? I don't write a lot of Komazumi on purpose; usually it just kind of happens as a consequence of those two characters being in a situation.)

[quotidian-oblivion]

Big possibility Maya already sent this going by the other posts so you can ignore this if that's the case but

🧩

:)

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

Yes she has but there are many things that make me click away from a fanfiction immediately.

So, let me share this one rn. I found out this year that my writing has been slowly deteriorating into the fashion that you find in children's books like Rainbow Magic Fairies, Dork Diaries etc. And that's because my brain is designed in a way where it mirrors things and people I interact with a lot.

So I subconsciously copy my friends' texting habits and other little ticks. Like I didn't usually use. like. use fullstops like these. Or do extended letters to capital words like YEAHHHHH. Or saying "understandable". I got that from @cygnusdoesthings

I don't usually say yee (text or spoken word) much either, but now I do, I got that from either Cyggie again or @mispeltnostalgia cuz she says that a lot.

I wouldn't be changing my accents on purpose while speaking often if not for my old friends from 8th-10th grade because one of them used to do that.

I wouldn't be using the 😂 emoji much if not for @sardonic-sprite

I wouldn't be using proper grammar, long paragraphs and as minimal abbreviations as possible, if not for @tristicorde. Actually, I wouldn't be using very short sentences in one text or paragraph if not for Cyggie either.

I wouldn't be saying stuff like "as you do" casually if not for @wakkoroni

You get the point.

So when I read fanfic which has bad or mid grammar and basic English or just... generally writing that isn't the literature-kind, I'm aiming to limit those fanfics as much as possible. So that I can save my writing. It's a personal choice

I mean, if the plot sounds good or if it's a person or author I like, yeah I'm throwing that out the window and reading and kudoing and commenting long ass comments on each chapter, idc. But for the sake of me and my writing, I'd personally limit it.

This doesn't apply to fanfic recs. If someone nice or my friends rec me a fanfic, I'm reading it regardless.

But... yeah lol 😅 That's the thing

[dangerously-human]

Fanfic Writer Emoji Ask

😅 What's a story or scene you've created that you're a smidge embarrassed exists?

🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh?

🎢 Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

🎶 Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

🌞 Do you have a preferred time of day to write?

💖 What made you start writing?

🎉 What leads you to consider a fic a success?

✅ What's something that appears in your fics over and over and over again, even if you don't mean to?

🤯 What's a genre you struggle with as a writer (ex. romance, action, etc.)?

Shel my beloved, I love that I didn't even reblog that post and you still came in with all the best questions. You are a treasure.

😅 What's a story or scene you've created that you're a smidge embarrassed exists?

Listen. I'm glad that I wrote A Thousand Reasons (Continuum). It got me out of a years-long writing slump, which turned out to be a key piece of working through a depression relapse after weaning off meds and going through trauma at work. Parts of it are good! It is, however, sloppy, and it's perhaps my one work I just cannot reread. I was writing entirely by the seat of my pants, and hadn't written anything with a multichapter arc before, and I ended up rushing the timeline and pushing the characters OOC in spots that I kept feeling like I had to fix with the remainder of the story.

🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh?

I still crack myself up with the bit in the middle of Woke Up in a Safe House Singing (L&Co) where Lockwood's going on about future plans and who'll have which room, including a potential nursery, when they're married, and Lucy just holds up her left hand to go "uhh... did you forget to ask me something?"

🎢 Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

Oh, jeez. Probably Cupid's Bow (Marvel), lmao. Or maybe my super angsty AU-of-an-AU, A Thousand Shards of Glass (Continuum), which follows up on its super sweet and fluffy predecessor with the Major Character Death tag.

🎶 Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

Ooh, okay, so I've had one song on loop for fic outlining purposes recently, but it's for a ~super secret~ songfic, so I shan't say. However, as a clue, it has definitely been in the sicko blend on a few occasions, and originally not from me...

🌞 Do you have a preferred time of day to write?

I usually do my best writing between 9pm and 1am, which is really only doable on a Friday night.

💖 What made you start writing?

I've been telling stories since before I can remember, even before I could really talk, according to my parents. My favorite activity as a kid was walking around outside for hours, bouncing a ball and telling myself stories, often with recurring worlds and characters. At some point, I realized I could maybe make a book out of some of those. But I'd already been writing little one-off stories, sometimes in tiny books I organized into a family library system. As for fanfiction... I think my high school friend group wrote fanfic, or at the very least talked about it and would print out faves and pass them around at school. Eventually I spent a free period in the library banging out a Supernatural fic on a school computer, and the rest is history...

🎉 What leads you to consider a fic a success?

It being finished, and a sense that I said what I meant to. Comments that talk about something I worked really hard on, whether that's a line or symbolism or a theme, certainly help as a gold star sticker.

✅ What's something that appears in your fics over and over and over again, even if you don't mean to?

Gosh, you tell me - I think readers tend to notice that more than we do as writers! Well, one thing I've noticed with my Lockwood & Co fanfic journey in particular is I keep coming back to Lucy and Lockwood's relationship as an image of sacramental marriage, even in the canon era, his leadership and the way they defend each other, possessiveness in the healthy sense, very "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine," and love as growth, as a verb, willing and acting for the beloved's greatest good. Partly this is a reflection of stuff I've been learning and thinking about a lot lately, and partly it's just very much there in canon and impossible to ignore (certainly when you read through a salt and light lens).

🤯 What's a genre you struggle with as a writer (ex. romance, action, etc.)?

Action, jeez - how do human bodies move again? And historical fiction. Sci-fi is easier, it doesn't have to match what's real.

[fentrashcat]

Tourettes Awareness Month, May 26th!

Kinda lost track of the days so just gonna stop counting them and just do the date instead 😅

Today I'm going to go over some of my pet peeves/frustrations that are related to my tics/TS, or people reacting to it. Some of these I've mentioned before but I'll try to include new ones as well, don't mind my bitter old man persona coming out lol.

⚠️Everyone who has TS or tic disorders will have different experiences, this is just mine

Dentists!

So I have had a lot of bad experiences with dentists, even before my tics were severe enough to be diagnosed and now its even worse. Bc I'm anxious for the dentist, my tics can actually get really bad in the days leading up to it and the day of. I'm also prone to shut downs with dental stuff, so it's almost a double whammy. Luckily my most recent experiences with dentists have been really positive, and they've been extremely patient with me. However when I get a bad dentist the experience pretty much back tracks all the progress I had been making with the good ones.

It can just be really hard to manage my tics during an appointment, and I'm more prone to tic attacks in the days leading up to said appointment, even if I know who I'm seeing is good. This is starting to pass now tho and I actually went back with the dentist on my own for the first time since I was 7 or so last month.

Sleep interrupting!

Being too tired to sleep is a pretty common occurrence for me, unfortunately. When I'm sleep deprived I get more tics than usual, especially in my legs. Usually my legs don't tic bc I sit in ways that make it difficult (criss cross, one leg under the other, on my knees, ect), but when I'm laying down to sleep, it's much harder to find a position that stops leg tics. If I can't stop them, I end up kicking myself over and over, usually right as I'm about to fall asleep so I kick and I'm wide awake again. Some nights it only happens for like 10min and then I can sleep, but other nights it'll be HOURS. On the longer nights I'll try to sleep with my legs crossed or sitting up criss cross, but that's really hard to do sometimes. Most of the times on those nights I just give up on sleeping all together. The days after I don't sleep, I'm more twitchy and prone to attacks, then I either am allowed to sleep that night or just pass out from exhaustion after an attack.

Pre-tic premonition!

Sometimes I'll know I'm about to tic, and I can see I'm going to hurt myself or I know I'm going to throw something and there is literally nothing I can do, I'm just stuck knowing until the tic hits unless I suppress it, which doesn't always works, usually causes recoil, and can HURT.

Thunder!

So I used to love thunderstorms, and find peace in them, but as my tics got more severe, my relationship with thunder changed. Rolling thunder is okay but booming thunder makes me tic like crazy, as in when it's frequent enough I will tic myself dizzy or give myself a migraine. I of course live in a thunderstorm heavy area 😅

BTW if you're into mediocre poetry and have a spare dollar or a Kindle unlimited account, I actually wrote about this in my book I Want To Love the Thunder under the name Fen Lotor only on Amazon

People!

I was going to get into this a lot but honestly the stories kinda deserve their own post, mainly bc it'd be long and people may want to skip it bc the stories could be triggering so I'll generalize here-

1. People making me tic on purpose (luckily a rare occurrence but a really fucking shitty one)

2. People staring (yes its strange, and I understand glancing at me but sometimes people just stare until my tics stop but if I know someone is staring I tic more from the anxiety)

3. Stereotypes (a given)

4. Asking me questions while I'm actively having a tic attack (99% of the time I'm super open about questions but people sometimes don't ask until I'm having a severe attack even if they've seen minor tics or know I'm tourettic)

5. Balloon decor (maybe I'm biased bc I haven't been somewhere w balloon decor since prom but it seems anytime balloons are used as decor there is at least one person intent on popping them)

6. Immediately panicking when I start ticcing (it's less frequent now w people who know me but as soon as people know my tics CAN be caused by something negative they seem to think they are ALWAYS caused that way, no matter what I say so they start panicking and asking what's wrong and won't take "nothing is wrong" as an answer which stresses me out and makes me tic more)

7. 4th of July (this makes me sound like a scrooge and a hypocrite bc I like fireworks. I also don't mind headphoning up and blocking it out for a bit, but for some reason people around me celebrate from 6pm to 3am, July 1st-July 7th, and it's not even dark until 8pm or later)

Okay ended up ranting a bit lol. Thank you for reading, and as always my asks are open if anyone is curious or has questions I'll answer the best I can 😊

Also adding my cooking with Tourette's tag if anyone is curious. I almost included some info on cooking here but it doesn't really bother me enough to be a pet peeve

[theartofdreaming1]

For the weird writing asks and sorry I'm on mobile on the train, can't copy the questions right now but:

4, 15, 16, 35 aaaand 40

Sorry <3

4. What's a word that makes you absolutely feral?

Hmh, I don't know if I really have a specific word like that (or at least can't remember on the spot), but I guess the most recent time I felt like I'd go feral over a word was while watching episode 2 of Pushing Daisies, when we see Ned getting dumped at boarding school and his father's saying good-bye and we get this absolutely cutting narration:

"I'll be back," he lied.

I think I've never felt this strongly over the use of such a simple word as 'to lie" before, but this simple phrase (and word) really felt like a punch to the gut, damn.

15. Do you write in the margins of your books? Dog-ear your pages? Read in the bath? Do you judge people who do these things? Can we still be friends?

No, I can't bring myself to write in books; I once just wrote my name on the very first empty page of a book (I think in pencil, even?) and I have felt absolutely horrible about it ever since (it doesn't help that my handwriting is atrocious). If I want to mark some phrases/passages from a book I'm reading, I write them down on a blank index card (complete with page citation) and put that in the book or I use some tiny sticky-notes 😅

The only exception I've ever made without a guilty conscience was writing the inscription of the ring from LOTR into my edition of Heinrich von Kleist's "Die Verlobung in St. Domingo" ("The Betrothal in Santo Domingo"), which I had to read for school xD

Similarly, I can't even fathom dog-earing any book on purpose! I try to keep my books as pristine as possible, even doing my darndest not to open my unabridged edition of Les Miserablés too widely, lest the spine gets more cracks and becomes even uglier (a very futile endeavour, since it is one of those boring black penguin paperback editions and the book is over a 1000 pages thick and you're inevitably gonna get some cracks in the spine, but I just cannot help myself)

And since I don't like taking baths and don't have a tub in my apartment, I don't read in the bath (I also would be terrified of getting my poor book wet).

But at this point in my life I'm mature enough to take a live-and-let-live stance on these things, so I won't judge people who do this to their books too harshly ;) (I can definitely see the appeal of handwritten margins in books, although the concept of dog-earing a book still makes me wince just thinking of it- but as long as it's not my book, it's fine)

16. What's the weirdest thing you've ever used as a bookmark?

Boy, I'll use anything at hand as a bookmark (although now that I have gotten some of the bookmarks I designed myself printed, I usually have something at hand) and since I'm quite messy, an improvised bookmark can be anything - grocery receipts, return receipts from library books, other books, whole comic book issues, empty envelopes, you name it 😅

35. What's your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

Rules, what are rules? 😉🔨 Honestly, I don't think I consciously follow any rules when I sit down to write my little stories - I just bang my head against the keyboard until the words sound like the story that is lodged somewhere inside my brain;- I once had to take a "Writing" exam in which we had to write a strictly structured 250-300 word pro-contra-essay and it was absolute agony - I like my creative writing to be joyful and free (once it gets past my crippling perfectionism and debilitating procrastination, that is ;)

40. Please share a poem with me, I need it.

I'm always very fond of Emily Dickinson's "Hope":

“Hope” is the thing with feathers - That perches in the soul - And sings the tune without the words - And never stops - at all - And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard - And sore must be the storm - That could abash the little Bird That kept so many warm - I’ve heard it in the chillest land - And on the strangest Sea - Yet - never - in Extremity, It asked a crumb - of me.