#I want my stuff finished as much as you do

[crystxlangxlic]

I WAS ON THIS WTF????? I HAVE NO MEMORY??????

i was scrolling and reading this and thinking "that's so fucking sad but i do like the concept even if it is actually making me lightheaded" only to get jumpscared by myself

Virgil angst? Because he lives with the light sides now they slowly start unknowingly corrupting him and he gets sick from it???

Omg yess

• A side isn't supposed to switch from dark to light, or vice versa, because it goes against the rules of the mindscape

• when they do though, they start to have negative effects from the others sides there, making them incredibly ill

• if you go from dark to light, it first starts with lightheadedness (heh), and it slowly gets worse and worse and worse from there

• next you'll get really pale, paper white skin, and after a long time you will lose the ability to hear anything but white noise

• after that you lose the ability to see, vision coated with a blinding white void (from another side's perspective their eyes are completely white, no iris or pupil, almost glowing)

• your hair will also become a bright white,

• you vomit up a strange white liquid that looks like milk but doesn't have the same texture

• your tears and blood are a glowing white too

• for Virgil his eyeshadow becomes white too

• it happens really slowly, but you only notice it when it's too late

• the only way to reverse the strange sickness is for the side to fully become a dark side again, and yet again it might have the effect of making them sick with darkness aswell

• it takes a very long time, but eventually Virgil is bedridden, unable to see, hear, and almost paralyzed

• eventually, it will destroy him, and he will be replaced with a new Anxiety

(I kinda love this ok)

(If y'all want me to talk about what happens when a light side goes dark then tell me!)

[kooki914]

Giant dump of spadesgore and spadesgore adjecent doodles based on asks I got (prompts under the readmore)

Also for anyone curious (which is probably no one) the last doodle is in reference to my longest spadesgore fic to date, Royalty, please read it I'd appreciate it <3

Credit to all of these asks (and also my bestie) for making me go insane for the past week drawing all these

[dogtoling]

General life- and blog update , since I assume at least a few people might have been wondering where I've been and what i've been up to recently. I obviously haven't been posting or drawing much this year in general. This will probably be an important post if you care about stuff on this blog, and I already rambled on Sheezy, but that site isn't very populated yet and it's also very good at hiding journals so let's just ramble again...

The summary of this post if you hate reading: I'm heavily considering just stepping away from Splatoon. That decision obviously would affect this blog (mostly, my OCs, which is kinda most of the blog at this point). I don't think the blog itself will go anywhere, and I'll probably use it for something in the future... alternatively i'll cherry pick stuff from here into an archive for people who like the worldbuilding.

Longer post under cut:

So what have I been up to this year? The answer is quite simple: NOTHING. Like, actually absolutely nothing. Aside from Art Fight, this has probably been one of my worst art output years of all time, which is really frustrating. That's between my horrendous mental health and depression chasms this year and a complete lack of both focus and inspiration (which can also get chalked down to the depression to a degree, yeah). So the very real reason to why there hasn't been much activity on this blog this year is because I just haven't Done Anything in general.

Now because I know there will be a few people who think "that's fine! you shouldn't judge yourself based on productivity!" you're right! I also agree. However the issue for me specifically is that most (if not all) the time I spend NOT drawing or creating, I spend sitting around wishing I could start drawing or creating, because that is like the 1 thing that keeps me sane on this freaking earth. Unfortunately coming up with OC scenarios in my head doesn't really result in output I can feel fulfilled by in any form as much as I wish it did, lol.

Now; The Issue. It doesn't take a genius to see that if you spend 9 months trying to finish like a dozen OC pages that you COULD do in a week or 2 if you wanted to, then there's probably more than just the problem of executive dysfunction (even though that's at least 60% of it for sure). Obviously my other major problem is that I live by imaginary rules and structures that make sense, but aren't actually useful at ALL in reality and are more than a hindrance if anything (the mental to do-list in my head that says i can't do X until I've done Y doesn't do very much if task Y takes 10 months and I also don't want to do it, and it also has no structured ending).

How does this tie into stepping away from Splatoon, you may ask. Well, the issue is that I have foreseeably fallen out of love with the series. Which isn't exactly news lol. Currently, I'm not even sure i will get the next game, if and when the time comes. Yes, the loss of interest is also expected, given that Splatoon 3 has ended and every fandom has this kind of downtime and lukewarm in-between-titles period. But the truth is that modern Splatoon (almost 10 years old!!!!) is tangibly different from the way the series was back when I fell in love with it. That was Splatoon 1, and while the series has improved in a lot of aspects and is thriving, it's grown in a direction that I just don't really like. Splatoon 3 had the most freaking horrendous, immersion breaking story mode they could've done, then they followed it up with a DLC story that was pretty cool but also compounded a lot of my fears about the series' future and played into every single thing i do not want Splatoon stories to be - fully character focused, random fucking villain, mundane event that's unrealistically world-threatening just because a kids video game needs a scary climax even though it's immersion breaking AGAIN, the whole thing taking place in cyberspace and thus offering basically no worldbuilding even though there is SO MUCH WORLD. I COULD GO ON.

The gist of it is that nowadays, rather than playing Splatoon and being inspired and excited at what comes next, I mostly find myself dreading what dumbass plot they will do next to throw a wrench in the otherwise good stuff. And when that's like THE main approach I have to what's supposed to be my favorite series, it is HARROWING. I can't even really blame the game for this; the story is NOT its selling point, the developers probably do their best to get the bits to us that they really want to tell, and at the end of the day the game is unfortunately a product. Worldbuilding for Splatoon is fun to a point. It's less fun when in order to actually write or create something coherent, instead of filling in the blanks, the blanks are 90% of the freaking thing. At that point you're just better off making something of your own instead of being anchored onto an IP that gives more problems than answers and occasionally shoots you with like a machine gun. Working in the realm of Splatoon is frustrating because more often than not, the questions I have ARE NOT MINE TO ANSWER, and the likelihood that the specific-ass questions I need answers to will ever be actually addressed is really low.

Tying this back to my OCs. Obviously I love my OCs more than I love myself which admittedly isn't that high of a bar but you get the point. The problem is that I spend a lot of time mulling over worldbuilding that, again, frankly isn't mine to do. Because if I want it to be Splatoon, then it should be mostly accurate to how Splatoon is! But the problem with that is that there's really not THAT MUCH worldbuilding in the series that you can work with, and most of the core game mechanics are just abstract enough that it's actually horrendous to try and come up with workarounds and ways for things to make sense that don't require just constructing a full knockoff version mirror dimension of the game and saying fuck everything that's in place here because Inkopolis Plaza literally has no roads in or out of there and I have no fucking idea how that's allowed when your only option is to jump the fence (or, nowadays, take the train which also isnt connected to a street as far as I remember). Between the face value issue and the lack of REALLY IMPORTANT worldbuilding, like - I will always come back to this - THE INK TANK'S FUNCTION 10 YEARS DOWN THE LINE - there's a goddamn ocean of plot holes and things that end up being obstacles to creativity rather than inspiration. I feel like I'm pretty solidly at the point (and have been for a while) where hanging onto Splatoon is really only contributing to creativity block and frustration with lack of freedom and the ability to actually do things.

So I guess those are my reasonings that I've put together just sitting here for the time being. The TL;DR is that I wish I could just do stuff without Splatoon's canon getting in the way, which is a really stupid problem to have if you're making Splatoon OCs. I feel this frustration extremely strongly every time I have to work with actual bigger aspects of the world; we still don't have an Inkopolis map, we don't know what the world around Inkopolis looks like, we don't know what the wilderness is like aside from Just Normal Forest and Desert and very few snippets as to what modern wildlife MIGHT be, I still don't know how the fuck the Inklings teleport to the goddamn arctic ocean to play a turf war at Shipshape Cargo co. These are all actually really important things if you're trying to establish a setting in any kind of storytelling that's outside of immediate city bounds (and even there, you need to know the layout of the city and its important areas). Also a fucking mutant bear and a baby salmon and a squid not wearing suitable gear went to space and fought on a rocket in space. These are some things that would give me peace of mind to not have to deal with in my own writing, probably.

So where do we go from here? Unsure. I haven't really made a decision on this front yet, though right now I'm leaning more towards actually going ahead with trying to do my own thing. That will result in obvious design and setting changes for my OCs whenever I get around to it. This blog probably won't go anywhere (again, unless I impulse delete it during a mood swing like i've almost done on like three separate occasions this year), but it will probably get less use, and I will probably end up making a new blog to post about whatever I end up doing once I get to a point where it feels like it makes sense. There's a chance that I will delete this blog and put all the interesting stuff on an archive blog for the people who are here just for the worldbuilding. My actual true passion for a long time now hasn't even been Splatoon anymore, it's just been cephalopods. I'm kind of done having Splatoon get in the way of the cephalopods, as thankful as I am that it introduced me to them...

If you read this to the end heres a treat for you = 🍪

[lover-girl-estxx]

Not my gif

Season 4 episode 10 spoilers (haven't finished this season)

this is Angst Angst Angst

| 3rd Person POV |

Y/n didn't even know what day it was, she been in her and jjs bed- well I guess just her bed now. Since they got back from Morocco, her mind couldn't wrap around the fact that her boyfriend since freshman year was gone. I mean he has to come back right? She thought everyone came back, Big John, ward, John b and Sarah they all came back.

She laid there for days just thinking about everything, thinking that when JJ looked to her on that island and asked "you wanna just stay here and never leave? Surf all day, catch fish, hook up whenever sounds good to me" with a big smile across his face she brushed him off but now she'd take it all back and say "yeah Jay let's stay here forever".

"she's been in there for 4 days we have to do something" John B said "what can we do?" Kie said "something" Sarah added "I'll make her food okay?" Pope said standing up. "Hey Y/n" he said softly peeking his head in the door, She wrapped up in JJs hoodie zoning out but reruns of they're favorite shows played. She slightly looked over at him "I brought you some food" he set it on her nightstand "you need anything else?" He added she shook her head, his hand went over the handle "thanks Pope" she whispered "yeah".

It turned dark out and it dead silent in the house now, she put her shoes on and grabbed her backpack. And slipped out the window of the room. She finally got to the liquor store "two 5th of you cheapest vodka please" she said and put a leader of Coke "ID" the woman asked Y/n pulled out her fake ID and handed it to her.

Now that was her thing crying and drinking the thought of him away. The times she would get up it would be to look at something else of jjs. This time she looked out her window, John B stood in front of a tree out front JJ Maybank craved into it she took her bottle and went outside. "hey y/n" she stood next to him "hey.." he looked down to see that bottle in her hand and the smell coming off her breath "how many have you gone through?" she shrugged he took the bottle from her softly "you shouldn't be doing that its a waste" "it makes me feel okay" "does it make you forget he's dead?" her eyes opened "no but I think I should punish myself a little for leaving him there alone" "JJ would understand why we left him okay? he wouldn't want you to punish yourself you gotta stop" he wrapped his arm around her "yeah I know I just- I don't know".

Y/n thought instead of dying for herself she was gonna live for JJ. The next day they took notice that Y/n was moving around cleaning her room, they went in not saying anything just helping her. they'd find things of JJs and set it aside slowly building a corner of all his stuff for her to look at through the day.

Y/n found herself every morning on the water surf for him, swimming for him and boating for him.

| 6 Years Later |

"this was your Uncle JJs board when he was you age" Y/n said pulling the board of of the surf shed her God son standing next to her "I don't know if I can use it, it's a lot bigger than mine" "you'll do great! grab the towels bubba" he hopped in the truck while Y/n loaded they're boards.

Y/n was sat straight on her board he was laying on his board "okay Jay this one coming is yours" she helped turn his board around, he went and stood up "YES JJ!" she yelled and clapped. she rode in "good job!" she smiled and gave him a high five "thanks" he smiled back.

"Uncle JJ surf like all the time?" he asked strawberries covered his face "yeah even one time him and your dad went surfing in a hurricane it was dumb but they loved it" "sounds fun" "no JJ never do that" "I think I like the beach as much as Uncle J" she smiled and felt tears raise in her eyes "I think you do to" she ruffled his hair making him giggle.

[otterloreart]

What's in the Box?

PONY PONIES IN THE BOX

If you've been following along you may have seen that @queenofsquids printed the Takara-inspired BJD last week, both in a "mini" test form and a full-sized one. The full-sized one was supposed to be in yellow, but the pure yellow resin turned out to be a more orangey tone. She incredibly generously offered to send me the orange pony BJD

And then

She incredibly incredibly again generously sent not only the little test takara-bjd in grey BUT ALSO printed my original takara 3D model and sent that?! This is so unbelievably kind and generous. I was so surprised when I opened them all!

I'm not sure if you were all aware but I actually dont have a print of the original "Takara duplicate" doll. I did get the seapony PLA printed at the library (and it was my first ever 3D print!).

For my second print, I got the Dollightful bunny doll printed because I wanted to have experience with jointed dolls made by other people before I put more complex models out. So I figured it would be a while before I got the chance to see my newer models printed.

So like its actually so kind of @queenofsquids to send these but also it's really meaningful to me because I started the takara project where I became obsessed with them over a year ago. It's so amazing to see this thing that frankly I spent so much time fiddling with (even if there are some imperfections; more about that later) and hold it in my hands 🥹 I just keep looking at them and smiling

Also I immediately stole the clothes off my NaNaNa dolls and put them on mini-takara-bjd. They're a little short but fit pretty well!

Some design notes/planned adjustments under cut

-The neck and arm balls are definitely too blocky, this doesn't impact the movement but it is very visually obvious

-Queenofsquids mentioned this but the arm bean is too big and gets stuck in the arm sockets.

^^ These two issues are the most obvious upon brief inspection but are also easy to fix so I'm gonna put out a version ASAP adjusting the file. Call it the version Version 1 Hotfix. Both of these should be fixed in the existing models with a bit of sanding.

-The legs are like just a touch too blocky and I think you can also see lines in the head and chest areas ;-; I think this would depend on the printer, like it might be fine in PLA due to the lower resolution. This can also be buffed out but I can adjust it with some effort

-> I think the blockiness issues come down to the fact I was trying to make the models not too high resolution because then the file size is massive, can't import into cura properly, and even slows down *my* beefy computer. that's why it might take a bit for me to adjust all of these pieces, especially the legs because they have a lot of booleans that lag blender. basically i leaned in the other direction and went a bit too far with some pieces.

-legs are very thin at the bottom (ran into this issue with the dollightful bunny doll too and had to redo quite a bit actually to make it neat)

-The bottom of the heart on the knee in particular is an imperfect fit. I was getting errors in Cura because of some issues related to the knee so I had to remesh it, if you'll remember, so I will need to maybe go in and redo that one :/

-The line around the eyes could be a touch more pronounced, its supposed to be somewhat stylized eyelashes

-I need to play with the arms/legs more to figure out potential issues with the existing joints. But they do at least work and hold poses. I'm not sure if people would prefer anything more complicated like locking joints or if this level of poseability is acceptable

Other things I want to experiment with

-hand pose variation

-nose/mouth variations? it is actually kind of funny to imagine you could switch the expression out to a little :o face or a c: or :3 type of thing

-pegasus/unicorn/fluffy hoof variants like i had planned before

so much stuff :0 and I haven't even finished bunny doll, although at least her paint job is basically done. Once I string the big BJD I can also test posing.

[seaformoon]

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ Too busy?

c/w: gp!bada... fluff.. needy bada... sum smut too— couldn't help it... cunnilingus... switch!bada

a/n: didn't proofread

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Bada sits on the bed and snuggles against your side while intently looking at you as you type whatever on your laptop.

"hold my hand."

you were too busy and focused working on your resume to apply for a job. you just ignored bada, your mind blocking any sound from your ears.

"baby, hold my hand?" she repeats as her hand snakes under your shirt and to your stomach, mindlessly rubbing and tracing invisible hearts on it.

"—huh??" you snap out of it and shake your head, looking at your stomach and to your right shoulder where bada is currently nuzzling her face in.

she lifts her head from your shoulder to look at you with a deadpanned face.

"whats got you so busy that you're ignoring me?"

you leaned in to place a soft, apologetic kiss on her forehead then nose. "I'm sorry, love.. I'm working on my resume. yknow, to get a job and stuff."

"you don't need it.." she pouts, her eyebrows furrowed. "and you forgot to kiss my lips."

bada looks at your lips and back to your eyes.

"Huh-"

she cuts you off. "And we're supposed to be holding hands but you were ignoring me."

you look at her for a few seconds and before you could say anything, she starts rambling.

"let's kiss, baby. hold hands too— no, both- wait actually, can we-"

"bada, I'm busy, okay? we can do anything you want later." you reached out to cup her cute mochi cheek that you love so much

she whined softly and rubbed her cheek on your palm.

"i said you don't need it, baby. I provide for us, don't I?"

of course she did, you knew that and you were grateful. but you wanted to help out. even if it was just buying her favorite peach jelly snacks. or to help out with tax.. and water bills.. and electric-

"i like being the one to provide for us, i do. really. and I want to. you can forget about contributing with tax and all that. okay?"

damn, it was like she could read your mind.

you sigh and your hand falls to your lap and bada took the chance to intertwine her fingers with yours. "i like the way your hand fits mine."

"bada..." you whined. you knew she wasn't going to let you finish your resume, just like all the other times you tried to. thats why you wanted to do this as fast as possible.

"shh...as long as you're with me, you don't have to worry, yeah?"

she shut your laptop and pushed it aside.

"now stop worrying your pretty little head and just let me give you anything you need and want."

bada crawled on top of you and yanked your thighs apart. she was eager. she wanted– no, needed this.

she needed you.

you've been busy with unnecessary things and she felt neglected.

"been craving you, baby..." she mumbled, untying the drawstrings of your silk shorts. like an eager child opening their present for Christmas.

"you keep ignoring me and now that i got you.. I'm not letting you go." she paused, her eyes flicking up to yours. "not until i say so. understand, baby?"

you nod with a whimper with your hands clenching on your sides.

she chuckled placing a few gentle slaps on your clothed pussy. "Use your words." she removed your shorts and panties with one swift move.

bada looked so damn hot on top of you that you could barely keep it together. "Yea..yeah. I understand, bada."

bada hummed in approval, massaging your thighs. she leaned down to place a chaste kiss on your forehead, trailing down to your temple.. you're cheek.. your jaw.. then her plump lips parted to lick your bottom lip before pulling you in a soft and slow make-out.

after awhile, you were getting impatient so you started bucking your hips up to meet hers for friction and that didn't go unnoticed by bada.

she pulled away from the "mm? getting impatient already?" she teased, kissing her way down to your neck and going further down not before leaving hickeys.

"I... love.. you." bada said in between making hickeys in your neck, chest and stomach.

"so much, baby. so so much."

"i love you more, bada.."

bada gently shook her head.

"most."

bada always had the last word. all you could do was chuckle in amusement. "what a sap."

she kissed your abdomen and went down to your folds. they were already slick and shiny that bada wanted to stop the romantic shit and eat you out senseless.

"im a sap only for you." she grinned, looking up at you. her tongue darted out to lick a slow, flat strip from your aching cunt to your sensitive clit.

"wait— hnnn.." you clenched the bedsheets in your fists. you didn't know you could get this sensitive just from her talking.

"you taste so fucking good." she placed kisses on your clit as her right hand snaked under your thigh and over your stomach to hold you down. her left hand reached to hold your hand.

"tell me i can have you, baby. tell me i can have this pretty pussy."

"please, bada... I need you..." you whimpered, looking down at her.

that's all it took for bada to dive her tongue in your cunt, fucking her tongue in and out of you. you let out strangled moans and whines as she gladly drank every drop you gave her.

you squeezed her hand and your hips bucked out of sensitivity. you barely got to move your hips with Bada's arm across your stomach, pinning you down.

"bada– fuck.. I need to cum..."

you feel her smile against your cunt before kissing it and pulling away, her gaze on you. the whine you let out was pathetic but it was everything to bada. "im here.. shh.. don't worry. I'll give you what you need."

she squeezed your hand and caressed it with her thumb to reassure you.

"i always do, don't i?" she added

bada chuckled and dived back in to flick her tongue on your clit.

her tongue felt so fucking good you felt like you were floating, your mind filled with bada and bada only.

your eyes were lidded, fluttering. your hips moved, grinding on her mouth, trying to chase your orgasm. bada kept her gaze on you and the view she's seeing was too beautiful.

she starts grinding her clothed cock on the bed, getting off to the sight of you. bada whined before wrapping her lips around your clit, sucking harshly.

"fuck!" you screamed. your free hand flies down to tangle her hair in between your fingers.

bada moaned at the feeling and she started to suckle on your clit, tugging on it.

and oh.. that did it for you.

your lips parted into an 'o' shape, thighs clamped on either sides of her head, squishing her. your back arched and your hand pulls on her hair making her groan. you cum, making your entire body hypersensitive and twitch.

you felt so sensitive, letting out a series of whimpers, moans, and gasps as she kept suckling on you.

seeing you cum made bada grind her clothed cock harder on the bed, chasing the orgasm she also needed. she kept working her mouth on you while grinding on the bed. hell, she never felt so good grinding on the bed.

with one last hard grind, her hot and and heavy cock spurted out thick, creamy ribbons of cum inside her pants. her hips jerked in sensitivity as her boxers filled with pent up cum.

"hng.. baby– fuck..." bada whined softly, sheepishly burying her face into your wet and puffy cunt.

as you came down from your high, you finally made out sounds of bada whimpering and whining like a baby. you were dumbfounded as you looked down in between your legs where her face buried.

"love..? you okay?" you let go of her hair and propped yourself on your elbow, your hand gently tugging on hers.

"bada. hey... are you okay?"

"hn.. 'm sensitive..."

you could only chuckle, tilting your head in amusement. "you came, love?"

she nods against your cunt, still not looking at you. it was adorable seeing her like this. she acts like a puppy sometimes. a puppy stuck in a giant's body.

"hold me." bada mumbled, not even giving you space to let you hold her in your arms. you smile softly, opting to caress her hair for a bit.

"puppy, you okay now?"

you to tease her with the nickname but you tilt your head, receiving no reaction.

"puppy?"

.......

the giant puppy fell asleep with her face buried in between your thighs.

weird.

weird... but adorable.

"sleep well, my puppy."

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a/n: first post. feedback pls🙏

[daizedndconfused]

mornings are the worst

characters - cole x reader

type - fluff

warnings - none

synopsis - how you and cole usually spend your mornings waking up together

a/n - hiyaa this is actually my first time writing second person and i had fun it was lowkey a tad challenging. anyway enjoy!!

Mornings have never really been your thing.

Waking up at the crack of dawn almost every morning never got any easier. Especially not when you’re sleeping next to a human heater in a freezing cold room. He just made it that much harder to get up and out of bed. Which, resulted in you having to wake up even earlier so that you have more time to actually wake up and get ready for the day.

However, today was unlike that.

The sunshine was peeking through his blinds and bathing your face softly in its warmth. Again, it did not help the act of waking up.

You stirred a little, stretching your arms out above you, and when you went to put them down your left hand collided with warm flesh. You sighed contently at the revelation that you were able to sleep in today. Though when you looked at the clock you realized ‘sleeping in’ was only eight thirty.

Still, that’s a little over three hours of extra sleep, which you were eternally grateful for.

Rolling over onto your side you wrapped both your hands around the sleeping boy next to you. He softly exhaled, returning the gesture by wrapping both arms around you, holding you close to his chest.

You loved mornings like this, they made you feel safe, content even. The ones where the sun was up before you, waking up in a tangle of limbs and sheets, with no early morning training, and really nothing to do until the later evening was refreshing.

You drew patterns and shapes on Cole’s back, softly prompting him to wake up. As much as you wanted him to be able to sleep in, you wanted to enjoy the early hours before afternoon patrol. Alas, your plan was working.

Cole shifted a little and groggily lifted one of his hands to rub the sleep from his eyes. You felt his exhale on the top of your head as his thumb drew circles on your arm.

“Morning,” he said, his voice still laced with sleep.

“Good morning,” you responded, peeking up at him.

“W’time is it?” He asked.

“Round eight thirty,” you answered. “You know that’s still kind of early, but Zanes is probably making breakfast right now.”

Cole hummed, “I could go for breakfast.”

“Me too,” you yawned. “Come on then, up and at em.”

Cole made a noise of protest when you detangled yourself from both him and the comforter.

Immediately your skin erupted in goosebumps from the lack of warmth that Cole provided. You visibly shivered, and he must’ve noticed because he wrapped his arms around your stomach pressing your back to his chest.

“You’re making getting up so much harder.” You accused, though against your better judgment you sank back against him.

“Just trying to be nice,” he laughed, pressing a soft kiss to the base of your neck.

“Yeah well you can be nice when we get out there,” you removed his hands despite his protests.

You swung your legs over the side of the bed, feet making contact with the cold hardwood flooring.

You raised your arms above your head, stretching your back in the process. Padding your way to Cole’s bathroom, you saw you already had some of your stuff in there. You picked up the toothbrush you kept in his room for days like this and brushed your teeth. Once you finished you looked up and saw Cole leaning against the doorframe through the mirror.

You gave him a playful glare. “Were you just watching me brush my teeth?” You asked him. “Because if you were, I ask that you erase it from your memory.”

“You’re always beautiful to me,” he said, wrapping you in a hug from behind. “Even if you’re spitting out toothpaste-”

“Alright,” you shoved him off as he started laughing. “You just had to ruin the moment. Brush your teeth, put some pants on, and let's go.”

“Fine,” he groaned. “Don’t leave without me though.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” you laughed pecking his cheek.

Then, you wandered back into his cozy bedroom. Most of the time you ended up in his room anyway. Usually you only went to your room for a change of clothes, and even right now you were only half the clothes you wore were yours. You were dressed in one of Cole’s AC/DC shirts and your own purple plaid pajama shorts.

As you heard the water running in the bathroom, you took the liberty of picking out what pants he was going to wear. You surfed through his drawer and saw your matching pjs–his black plaid pants.

“Here, these are for you.” You threw his pants at him as he exited the bathroom. “We’ll be matching.”

He shook his head laughing. “Alright, thanks.” He stepped into the clothing and slid them up over his boxers leaving just his chest bare. “Shall we?”

“We shall.” You grabbed his hand and led him out of his room and into the dining room.

Upon entering, you saw that the rest of the team was already there. Although Zane was nowhere to be seen, he was probably cooking.

“Morning everyone,” you greeted, taking a seat.

“Morning you two,” Lloyd responded, reading a comic book.

The others sent their good morning greetings as well.

Everyone was in the dining room, including the Sensei’s and Misako. Wu was reading the paper, and Garmadon and his wife hunched over old scrolls.

Kai scrolled on his phone, probably texting Skylor. No one really knew what was going on with them, you just hoped she’d agree to go out with him. He needed her in his life, someone to challenge his hotheadedness.

Nya and Jay were both working on a new robot. Now they were set in stone, both engineers and insanely smart, they were made for eachother. Nya worked on the actual design and exoskeleton while Jay worked on what looked like a motherboard, or some sort of tech thing he was good at.

The whole thing just screamed domestic household, when in reality that was far from the case.

Sure, you all loved and respected each other, but the monastery was not without chaos. Chaos you all knew too well. Either someone stole something, or ate the last of the cereal and put the empty box back in the pantry, or some ridiculous thing like that.

Shockingly, it was already almost nine and there were no incidents. However, you had a sneaking suspicion that something was bound to happen.

From on the table, Lloyds phone rang. Unlike usual, he quickly dropped his comic and replaced it with his phone. He read whatever was on the screen and smiled like a schoolgirl receiving a love letter.

You cast a suspicious glance at the boy who was pretty much everyone’s younger brother, then up at Cole to see if he thought anything of Lloyds behavior.

Obviously, checking your phone is usually a normal thing, but Lloyd never put down a comic for his phone. The only thing he ever used his phone for was texting and occasionally going on social media, and even then he rarely did that.

Cole didn't seem to think anything of the young Green Ninja’s new found involvement in his phone. He simply gazed down at where our fingers were interlocked and gently fiddled with our fingers.

“Sleep well?” Wu asked, not looking up from the paper. “I know Cole could sleep forever if given the chance, I’m glad he has you to pull him out of his slumber.”

Cole looked up from our fingers bashfully. “Not true Sensei,” he said.

Sensei Wu simply hummed, not very convinced. He turned the page of the paper, picked up his tea and took a sip.

“Actually,” Jay piped up, “it’s very true. You know before you guys started dating, on our days off he’d sleep until at least noon. Even then he didn’t even come out of his room till around one or two. He’s like a hibernating bear.”

You hid a giggle behind your free hand. Cole glared at you before his gaze moved onto his best friend. “Yes, thank you for that very vivid picture you’ve painted for us.”

“Happy to be of service,” the master of lightning winked, tweaking something on his circuit board.

Cole opened his mouth to retort when someone else entered the dining room– Zane.

“Would you guys help me carry the food inside?” He asked.

Instantly, everyone was on their feet, save for the elders. Everyone was starving, and the faster you got the food on the table the faster you could eat it.

Just as quickly, the banter and harmless insults started. You lost Cole’s hand in the process falling in line behind the boys next to Nya.

The two of you watched as they shoved, and poked innocent fun at each other. They were the most wholesome definition of ‘boys will be boys’. You gave Nya an adoring smile, which she returned.

Everybody each took a serving of food to bring back to the dining room. Thankfully, since there were seven of you, everyone was able to bring everything back in only one trip.

You were still shocked that there was this much food. Though, when you live in a house with five teenage boys who need to consume like 5,000 calories a day, the portions of meals got larger.

Once everything was set down, and everyone in their seats, Zane uncovered the foil keeping the plates warm.

Instantly, a bunch of delicious smells hit you at once: bacon, ham, pancakes, and potatoes in multiple forms. Your mouth instantly watered, as did everyone else's. Everybody took turns grabbing at food, and thanking Zane for keeping you all fed.

You started eating immediately after until you couldn't see the bottom of the plate anymore. Soon, the table fell into easy conversation, and the sound of utensils scraping against plates followed.

You heard the ping of Lloyd’s phone again. Looking up from your food and saw his eyes glued to his phone, comic book discarded off to the side. You listened carefully, his heart rate had subtly increased, and the blood pressure in his face began to rise.

You wondered what, or maybe who was making him smile like that. Not that you’re complaining–Lloyd deserved to be happy, and you hoped whoever he was texting kept making him smile.

Before you could dwell more on it, you felt a soft hand drawing featherlight circles on your thigh. Looking over you saw that the hand belonged to Cole.

“Very clingy this morning,” you stated.

“That a bad thing?” He asked, though you both know the answer to that.

“Of course not,” you smiled, pecking his cheek.

A disgusted snort came from across the table.

“You two are so sappy, it’s like watching an old married couple interact.” Kai said through a mouthful of bacon.

Like he would know what it’s like to be in a committed relationship. He had fawned over Skylor when you’d first met her at the tournament of elements. And yet after all that flirting he still hasn’t asked her out. He claims to be the most charming and charismatic, but he never really owns up to that title.

“Don’t worry,” you said through bites of food, “I’m sure once you finally man up and ask out Sky you’ll be doing the same thing.”

He threw a small piece of bacon at you, and the table burst into soft laughter. Yeah, some mornings were the worst, but ones like these weren’t so bad.

[kinki-cami]

Nah because i would FLORISH being an independent in affini society

Like first off, im not isolated immediately that brings me up by like 45% like i can go see that forest, hang out with the (hopefully not going to bite me or give me rabies) animals pet some squirrels say hi to the hummingbirds, i can go into public and walk around, id honestly probably start skipping bc thats what ive imagined so far considering i wouldnt be as depressed as i am now

Secondly, FULL customization of what i wear just be able to look how i want without fear, probably wear my denim look but with some extra like, an ACTUAL denim skirt that looks nice, maybe makeup if i was feeling up to it

Thirdly, just exploration. This is pretty much the miscellaneous second of this post. Because theres probably no money (i assume i need to do more research) before i get to that i fuckin love research i would know every fuckin affini custom by year 5, anyway because of presumeably no money, fake shop at the mall bc hell yeah fuckin love the mall its like a mini city, youd go in like you were going to the mall and like fake "check out" with like a fake credit card or something and yahh fun but also id just like go get coffee, possibly some matcha, skip around town wearing heels WITH my denim outfit, looking all fuckin cute, go see the plants (not affini like houseplants like mint) fuck id grow some bleeding hearts, some mint, make sure to pick up plant food, bc even tho i CAN do it in the hab unit, its more fun leaving to pick stuff up, it gives you a sense of accomplishment like "yahhhh i did something today 🥰 (its a crime theres no 'fist pump' emoji, i swear there are more useless emojis than practical ones)" and because i wouldnt be in one location for 6+ hours a day (excluding sleep) i would have time to do things that i WANNA do, like finish that pokemon book that im only on kakuna out of pecharunt. And i could drink my coffee/tea and go to the game store and play magic with peoples or pokemon, i could go play some dnd, write my damn books, skip around in heels bc skipping is happy but i wanna wear heels soo yahhhh

Yeah i may occassionally get harrassed but like if im polite and express boundries im sure theyll leave me alone or at least relatively along

By the way im going based off of the two stories ive read so far aight, so if this is very biased aight. Too bad i need to read more. But also like, i can express myself two 2 stories ok? Like a girl can fantasize anyway back my fantasy

Eventually id want an affini to adopt me but like, god id be pretty happy without drugs theyd need to actively make my life miserable to make me want the drugs, like, damn. Also with the number of times im cursing in this post any and all affini rp blogs are gonna be like "stop fucking cursing little indie" and to be fair i dont like cursing at people the only time i do is when im expressing myself or am pissed off i never call anyone curse words because its mean and i dont like being mean 🥺

Uhh and i think thats all my thoughts god i had Sadistic glee read the bonus chapters of hdg a bit ago anyway gotta gp finish those, then go finish the other one that im halfway through then go read more, if anyone has any not emotionally wrecking stories feel free to send them via asks or something like i dont wanna see characters despairing but i dont mind seeing their personality erased, as long as the struggle isnt super visible or is minimal

[honeyhotteoks]

do you have any advice on like getting better with writing?

hey! i definitely do!! i’ve talked about this before but i have a lot of new readers, so ill start off by saying i’ve been writing for my entire life, and im 30 so thats a lot of years. if you’re a new writer, trust me i used to be there and good god if you guys could see the stuff i published in old fandoms 💀 really, really bad haha

i only say that because i by no means consider myself a great writer, there are fic writers in this space alone that i’m always so floored by and look up to…. but people have been very kind about my writing style and it’s something that took time to develop it’s not something i just “had”. outside of fic, i was a literature and creative writing major, and got very used to writing and workshopping pieces.

now! onto some actual advice —

1. read a lot and read more, but read stuff you actually like and not stuff you feel pressured to read. i love high brow litfic as much as the next pretentious english major, but i started writing a ton after reading a bunch of kindle unlimited romance because it was fun and it got me inspired

2. watch well written television for dialogue and pacing. people do not talk in proper english, they don’t say things eloquently, and there’s a lot of filler and fluff. that’s good! that’s real, so i love well written tv to show me how it’s done

3. get comfortable writing in weird ways. for years i used to sit down and be like “ah okay so chapter one” and then i was stuck, stalled out, and just felt bad about the process. when i started writing both aurora and tnt, i started in the middle. i had an image of a scene in my mind (for tnt it was actually the claim attempt) and i just wrote it out and then bounced around later

4. outlines are your friend! sometimes i’ll get a random line of dialogue in my head or an image but that doesn’t mean i’m ready to write it. i throw it in one big outline so i don’t lose it.

5. if you’re wanting to write really good smut i have two suggestions but please only do this to your personal comfort level. this is what works for me but do not make yourself uncomfortable— for good smut, i watch porn for reference and for good dirty talk, i listen to nsfw audio. i like to really write the visuals for smut and make it immersive but lol i haven’t experienced everything ive written about and logistics of the body are hard!! i usually find a video or an audio and let that help guide the imagery im writing.

6. be comfortable with the editing process. i know the temptation to post something the minute you finish it is there, but sleep on it. come back and edit it, read the dialogue out loud if you have to. i swear you’ll make the piece better just by leaving it and coming back.

7. don’t be afraid to post. most people are kind, and the worst thing that will happen is you don’t get a lot of notes. that’s okay, it’s a process.

8. research! as i’m writing anything, even a silly little oneshot, im doing research on something. i am hyper aware that im not korean and have never spoken korean or lived in korea, so for my fic i try my hardest to ground elements of that in reality. i truly cannot tell you how many hours ive spent reading like korean case law on revenge porn just for like 3 lines of dialogue. and you don’t have to go that crazy, i’m arguably too intense, but i do think some of that helps the story and the dialogue feel real.

9. describe something real- every place in my writing is based on something real. every apartment, hotel, cafe, venue, etc., they’re all either something i’ve found online or drawn from my life and use that to my advantage. i use apartment listings and save photographs, i do google map walks to see what neighborhoods look like, anything to get the feel of a place or an experience. for the christmas chapters of aurora, i watched hours of gwangju walking tour videos on youtube while i was writing just to understand how to describe their walk in the snow. it really helps me to have a visual that i can put words to.

10. find your weak points and see what other writers do differently. if you want to improve, you should find a small place to start. is it dialogue? overall plot? smut? etc. - i’ll never forget being on a creative writing retreat, and a very important writing professor said to me “everything you write is very pretty but you haven’t said anything. you have to decide to say something.” that feedback hurt, but sent me down a much better writing path when i realized where i was falling short and not challenging myself.

okay i hope some of this was helpful and if it’s a mess im sorry im on mobile. i really just love writing so deeply and will always talk about it, so i hope this was helpful 💗

[foodtruckery]

ive returned because your writing haunts me and i need to dig into your brain about combat baby idk how deeply youve thought about like. the whole extent of this au so if im asking about stuff that you dont want to focus on for it forgive me but im so curious how do things go down with bill?? like hes still an issue here do they just try the unicorn hair and stan scams his way through (and ford is so shocked and lowkey turned on impressed they bang after) or with everything else happening does ford (stupid genius he is) just sort of forget bill can still enter stan's dreams even if hes got the metal plate and stans like "hey why am i dreaming about a dorito obsessed with your portal"

and im guessing ford would not be down to make his home a tourist trap so do you think stan would just help with the research? or would his insecurities about being dead weight to ford push him to try and find his own way of income?

and and what about the town?? do they have to awkwardly pretend theyre father and son or uncle and nephew or something? because sure they could pretend theyre not related but they still look pretty similar. ford just looks like an older, nerdier stan so i think that would be people's first assumption (ford seething quietly as susan flirts with stan. stan just thinks fords feeling uncomfortable in town because hes a hermit until theyre alone and they have a repeat of their highschool days with ford hissing in his ear and demanding to know what he was expecting to happen with susan. stan trying to answer but hes a little distracted at the time)

and also with ford being back would they ever run into fiddleford again? either him in his cult days or maybe already halfway to losing his mind. depending on where he is mentally im sure the interaction could be either pretty hostile or sympathetic

ive grabbed you by the ankles and am attempting to shake you upside down to try and empty your pockets for scraps of this au because it consumes me

-🐶

waaaaaah thanks for being patient with me friend! you know i ALWAYS love to see you with the big fuckin questions and ideas. and i have been THINKING about this one cause, tbh, i finished combat baby in a couple of days and went “GET OUT OF MY SIGHT” and threw it at y’all and did not think much about it after that! until i came over here and started chatting with y’all at least hahaha.

the bill issue is like a whole thing right? and i was definitely wondering how the time travel on one side but not the other might impact him/slow him down. but i also do think it’d be kind of fucking hilarious if stan starts dreaming about bill but like. doesn’t say anything and doesn’t even think it’s a big deal because. you know. they’re just weird dreams. and at this point, stan’s done enough drugs and been through the ringer with stress and shit that it doesn’t even occur to him to question having bizarre dreams about some little geometric freak trying to be nice to him. whaaat? a MATH SHAPE for fucking NERDS in a gay little sweater vest BOW TIE is COMPLIMENTING him in his dreams???

as far as stan’s concerned, his subconscious got REALLY hung up on the whole “ford said some nice shit to me while we were fucking” and just hasn’t let that go yet. which i think would also drive bill up the fucking wall. like stan would have been the harder nut to crack regardless, but to keep getting accused of being stan’s mental manifestation of his brother fucking praise kink???? (which of course invites the whole question of bill going fuck it, and just leaning into that, but i don’t think he’d be as adept that mimicking ford for stan as he was at mimicking stan for ford, so)

ngl, i do love the unicorn hair play, tho. fun fact! i have no idea if i’ll actually write it or not, but i’ve toyed with the idea of doing a role reversal with ford coming back out of the portal still in this 30’s and finding stan and everything else having moved forward 30 years. and the unicorn hair felt like a good way to potentially address the Bill Issue i was getting stopped up on there! but like. i also could absolutely see older!ford convincing stan to wear a collar necklace of unicorn hair to keep bill out of his head.

but i loooooove the idea of them getting mixed up with fiddleford’s cult shit. i don’t even know wtf i’d DO with that but conceptually i love it. cause they’re starting to keep an eye on the townspeople, right? and even if stan’s come up with some kinda story to explain there being kinda sorta two of them now, he wouldn’t know not to be outspoken about the other weird shit happening in town. y’know, on top of being some of the weird shit happening in town. something something, stan getting snatched like lazy susan did over the gnome incident, but ayyye that shit hits really fucking wrong when you’ve actually been kidnapped in the past already and had to chew your way out of a fucking car to get free. i think that’s be neat!!

and especially if we consider fidds being maybe already just shade too far gone, enough that running into stan or having him dragged into the cult would confuse the fuck out of him. because that’s stanford, right? it has to be, he’s coming in and out of stanford’s house, he looks like stanford with a few questionable fashion and hygiene choices — but then again, stanford hadn’t been in great shape the last time he’d shown his face outside of the cabin, either. but his hands are wrong. his hands are wrong and he can’t be stanford but then why does he look like him? easy solution: everybody gets their memory wiped.

something something, stan may not know where the fuck he is, but he knows coming to in a room full of shady guys he doesn’t recognize is either gonna end with him losing teeth or a little bit of dignity, and he’d like to hold on to his teeth a little longer.

[wren-kitchens]

don't look at me while I grow

2212 words

gem has admittedly been staring at the page for longer than a person who was 'over it' would have been. she's tried rationalised it as looking for a hint of a trap, or wondering why mumbo was the one who dropped it off and if it could therefore be forged- but she knows pearl's handwriting too well for that, and she's light green. in truth, gem just.. she's not sure what she's feeling about it all. it doesn’t- it's not necessarily good, she has to remind herself. all the letter says is to meet at the spanners' base after the sun sets, and that she can bring joel if she wants—nothing more, nothing less. so it could easily mean that pearl has decided once and for all that she hates gem and just wants to make it official, which- which would be fine. because gem hates her. so it'd be even.

this is the final part!! I did it!! here are the first and second parts/chapters of this little miniseries fun fact I have not read back any of these parts I just finished them and posted them immediately

guys I love gempearl did you know that I just dropped my phone on my face as I was typing that oops

gem has admittedly been staring at the page for longer than a person who was 'over it' would have been. she's tried rationalised it as looking for a hint of a trap, or wondering why mumbo was the one who dropped it off and if it could therefore be forged- but she knows pearl's handwriting too well for that, and she's light green. in truth, gem just.. she's not sure what she's feeling about it all.

it doesn’t- it's not necessarily good, she has to remind herself. all the letter says is to meet at the spanners' base after the sun sets, and that she can bring joel if she wants—nothing more, nothing less. so it could easily mean that pearl has decided once and for all that she hates gem and just wants to make it official, which- which would be fine. because gem hates her. so it'd be even.

there's still a part of her (a larger part than gem really wants to admit to herself) that desperately wants it to be something good. it- pearl killed scott! that could mean.. something or other. all scott has said to anyone is that mumbo's pit struck again, and then threatened to kill whoever kept asking about it, so there's no- gem isn’t sure if pearl meant to kill him. but if mumbo is the one who sent the letter.. maybe she did.

"I do think she wants to talk it through." joel says, appearing out of nowhere at gem's shoulder, and she almost throws the book at him out of surprise. 

"I- how do you know?" gem refrains (very gracefully) from screaming, leaving her words a little strangled. 

joel grins, apparently noticing, and gem smacks him with the book. "ow, gem- i’m trying to be helpful here."

"don’t sneak up on me!" gem exclaims. she gives a quiet huff and adds, "but how do you know?"

"well, she's gone to mumbo." joel sits down next to her on the end of the dock, and she rests her head on his shoulder instinctively. "and she killed scott- apparently with his help?" he looks to gem, as if for an answer, and she just shrugs. "so something must have happened there, because it was just after- y’know. and you had mentioned how she did the same thing as scott, right?"

"yeah, but how would that lead to her killing him?" gem says, voicing the question that's been rattling around in her head since last night.

joel gives a little laugh. "beats me. I don’t know- I just.. it feels like she's open. but I might be bad at reading people, so."

gem hums in agreement. "that's pretty much where i’m at too." she says, staring at where the salmon make ripples in the river's surface. "I don’t know if it's that i’m just hoping she wants to talk and seeing stuff that's not there, or if it's actually obvious and i’m just overthinking it."

"why's that always the question?" joel huffs, and gem grins. "why can't it be something easier?"

"the snails were simpler." gem agrees, and joel cackles. "I miss them." she adds, realising just how nice a non-murderous snail sat on her lap would be right about now.

"I do too, weirdly." joel says, taking gem's hand absentmindedly. "they stressed me out, but- well, they were pretty cute." 

as they watch the sun set over the horizon, they end up fishing together. joel was initially against the idea ("it's just boring.") but eventually came around when gem held him back from doing anything else, and joel has since admitted that it's kind of fun, so. gem wins. besides, her brain is too full of what ifs for her to do anything more interesting than this—if she had to think about something else, gem thinks she'd explode.

joel is remarkably good at filling the silences gem leaves in their conversations; somehow always saying so much and so little at the same time- which sounds like an insult, but it's absolutely what gem needs right now. she can’t have anything else important to deal with right now, and joel's absentminded comments about everything they manage to fish up somehow fill the void of silence without being overwhelming. 

eventually the sun vanishes over the waterline, and joel squeezes her hand. "do you want to go alone?" 

gem shakes her head, staring at the spanners' base. "come with me?" she turns to joel, and he gives a reassuring grin. 

they don't let go of each other's hands as they walk across the map to the meeting spot, and gem is thankful for it. she's pretty sure joel is too, what with the way he keeps close to her when possible, which oddly makes her like it more—like they’re one unit, or something equally cheesy. joel talks about how slow everything feels all of a sudden, and gem just hums in response. he doesn't seem to mind at the one-sidedness of their conversation, just adding the fact that maybe it's nicer to be slow again.

most people seem to be taking the time to regroup in the break, emphasised by the fact that they pass lizzie, scar and jimmy on the way, and all they do is wave cheerfully as they make their way towards the river, fishing rods in hand. it relaxes gem a little—she's not quite sure if it's just the friendliness, or also the fact that they were about to go fishing, of all things—as it reminds her of the earlier days of hermitcraft, when everyone was scrambling for early game resources and for some reason, there was a huge amount of fish-related activities going on. she wonders if some of her base leaked into the waters, because she's never been on a server that was so unanimously enthusiastic about fishing.

it isn’t until joel tugs a little on her hand to get her to change direction that gem realises they've arrived at mumbo's base. she looks up, heart in her throat and slightly nauseous, to spot pearl and mumbo on one of the bridges. mumbo is standing- or, well, shuffling around a little- next to pearl, who sits at the edge of the bridge, legs dangling what must be 20 blocks above dripstone—at least. despite it all, gem finds herself feeling worried about her. 

she and joel climb the stairs, and gem feels as if she might start shaking. joel presses a kiss into her hair, and gem manages a quiet huff of a laugh. "nerd."

joel scoffs. "as if." gem squeezes his hand in thanks, and he squeezes back.

when they step onto the bridge, pearl and mumbo are talking in hushed voices, breaking off as they realise they’re no longer alone. pearl stands up.

"you- you could have been a little more specific with your letter." gem tells them, hoping she looks more confident than she feels. "are you gonna kill us? 'cause that'd be a bad idea."

"if i was gonna kill you, i’d have trapped your base." pearl says, half grinning. "i’m. I wasn't sure you’d come. unless you’re here to take me out of the server?"

there's a stab of guilt in gem's chest, and she pushes it aside. "you brought us here."

pearl nods, suddenly nervous. "I did." she glances at mumbo for a moment, before walking towards gem with stern, steady steps—her expression almost steely with sudden determination. gem hears joel grab the hilt of his sword behind her as pearl steps ever closer, speeding up a little as she does so. within a matter of seconds, pearl is directly in front of her, showing no signs of slowing, and gem is about to pull her own weapon out when finally-

pearl throws her arms around gem in a hug. for a long moment, gem can’t quite process what just happened—adrenaline still pumping through her veins—before she feels a lump build in her throat, and she hugs pearl back.

there's a soft noise from pearl, and gem realises a second later than she ordinarily would have that it was a sob, and gem holds her tighter, burying her face in pearl's hair. she smells like she always has: green and warm and woody, like she'd spent her whole life frolicking in forests and sleeping in cabins. it's so incredibly familiar and beautiful and just like pearl, and gem hasn't smelt that scent in so long, that suddenly her eyes are burning with tears she can’t quite hold back anymore. 

"i’m sorry." gem whispers, half muffled, into pearl's shoulder. "I just- I didn’t realise that was even a possibility, and- and then everyone just looked at me like I was a kid whenever I expressed how much it hurt-" she takes a shaky breath, barely suppressing a sob. "did- did none of you remember? that first time- were you all just- fine?"

"oh my god, gem," pearl's voice is thick with tears, and as she pulls back, gem can see them pouring down her face. "you were right all the way, I- I did the same thing to scar, and I just- I didn’t even thinkabout how you would have felt." 

gem sobs, trying her hardest to pull herself together enough to keep speaking. "but I- I was so awfulabout it- I was so awful to you." she manages, just about reigning her feelings in. "i’m sorry." gem says, and it's more earnest than she's been in a long while. "you didn’t- you don’t deserve that." she wipes her eyes with the back of her hand.

pearl gives a watery smile, clearly fighting her own urge to cry. "thank you." she says, voice wavering. pearl lifts a hand to cup gem's cheek, and gem doesn’t think twice about sinking into her. "i’m sorry too." pearl's voice cracks mid sentence, and gem is about two seconds away from breaking down. "always have been. I- I should have said it sooner."

"do you-" gem hiccups, and both of them can’t help but laugh at it; after everything- they need a break in the tension. "I just- do you mind if I kiss you?" gem asks, sniffling unattractively and almost laughing again at how ridiculous she must look right now. "not- not on the lips or anything, I just- I need to."

smiling a little, pearl nods, and gem immediately begins to cover every inch of her face in kisses. pearl is laughing, and her face, still damp with tears, tastes a little like salt, and gem has so many emotions stuffed inside of her that she honestly might explode- but in a good way. she's pretty sure anyway, because now pearl is pushing her away only to kiss her back, and void gem has missed her.

"I love you too, by the way." pearl mumbles, mid-kiss. gem pulls back slightly, and pearl is a little red but grinning in that confident way she always does, and honestly there's no better sight in the world. "just- I was thinking about it, and- yeah. I love you."

gem gives a laugh, and pearl's face lights up. it's ridiculous. gem loves it. "that's- that's good to know." she leans forward and presses a kiss to pearl's nose. "void- i’m so glad you didn't want to kill me." 

"well." pearl says, a comedically guilty expression on her face. it's endearing- probably more endearing than it should be. "maybe a little bit. for a second there."

"that's alright." gem's voice is laced with fondness, and she watches as pearl's eyes soften at it. "I did too." she adds, laughing as pearl protests.

by the time either of them notice that mumbo and joel have left them alone, the moon is high in the sky, and they are both thoroughly drunk on warm laughter and playful touch (and maybe a lack of sleep, but they’re too happy to care about that). after going on an investigative search, they find them both asleep, sat against each other as if they were mid conversation before drifting off. 

they have a brief debate about what they should do with their sleeping friends—whispered with the intention of being quiet, but they probably ended up being louder than if they just spoke plainly—before coming to the (frankly, obvious) conclusion that they should just join them. honestly, it's a wonder neither gem nor pearl woke either of them up, what with how much shuffling around they ended up doing, laughing softly and shushing each other all the while.

eventually, gem finds herself laying on a pile of pillows from somewhere or other, wrapped in pearl's arms and her face full of that woodland scent. she curls herself into a ball, all syrupy warmth and hushed words and warm breath as she presses closer to pearl, who seems just as pleased as she is at the arrangement. it barely takes minutes for her to start drifting off, and gem doesn't fight it once she does. the last thing she knows before she relents to the drowsiness is the feeling of lips against her forehead and the sound of a soft laugh.

gem doesn't care if she wins, actually. this is more than enough.

[bloedewir]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

There's some post-game thoughts I can mark as spoiler ones. Read only if you finished the game.

I love the game. Really. The grand finale was magnificent, the main plot idea is painfully touching and I adore the heavy weight of sorrow I bear after I finished the game. The best kind of bittersweet grief of possible.

However it doesn't mean the game is flawless. There's some stuff I didn't get at all.

Why there's no option to ask Solas about the Forgotten Ones? Like, hello, you have an encyclopedia of elven lore in your head, can't you ask a few optional questions about weird ancient guy you've met during the journey? Nadas Dirthalen? (Or it's because da5 is going to be about new dwarven and/or qunari lore and Forgotten Ones/Executors?)

You also can't say anything about the murals.. which is kinda strange. Why didn't Rook comment those mind-blowing revelations? For Harding, at least?

Evanuris. Solas' story is beautifully written, Mythal' story was also revealed more than before (even if she's in all 4 games) so we get to know her better. But Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain? Fine, forget other evanuris.. but the spectacular duo? Spirits and demons are kinda the same, like two sides of a coin. Solas is Wisdom and Pride, Mythal is Benevolence and Retribution (as Morrigan said). Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain are just.. bad? They're blighted and corrupted now but what about the past? Where's the duality of their personalities? No chance for redemption now because they don't want or need it, I get the idea, but the story itself? I wish there would be more about them. We do have something on Ghilan'nain tho, like: she created hallas but can't create them any longer and she has a full control over the Blight as if it's modeling clay (+ some Bellara' thoughts on a matter of "navigation" and "healing" and path Ghilan'nain chose for the People). But Elgar'nan? He likes tyranny. And he still had his hair. Uhm.. ┐⁠(⁠ ⁠∵⁠ ⁠)⁠┌

Romances. Can't say much because I didn't try all of them but Neve's and Lucanis'.. uhm. It doesn't feel like a written romance, y'know? Just a bonus lines so you doesn't have to feel lonely or whatever. Characters are on their own and don't have connection with Rook till the very end. There's no impact and Rook is, ironically, just an enjoyable side benefit™ but nothing more. Comparing to datv romance situation solavellan romance is hot as hell and full of content. And it says a lot.

Inquisitor. I do like how their absence was explained... yet Lavellan was robbed. I don't want to see a cringe Fade therapy session with Solas telling his tragic lovestory to a random stranger (Rook) and whining about just how much he misses his gorgeous wife (and I'm solavellan). But adding a few tiny details? The bare minimum: take the dai tarot card and place it on the wall in a music room. That already could've been much better. (mods mods mods 🤞🤞🤞).

Dialogue timing and triggers. I suspect dialogues are cool but I can't know for sure. In my first playthrough I didn't even know Davrin and Lucanis are not a big fans of each other before the Weisshaupt quest because I didn't hear it. DATV locations are much smaller than it was in DAI, so you just don't get the chance to hear those dialogues unless you find a trigger point and just stay there waiting to play all lines.

Some of that is not a tragedy and, theoretically, could be improved by magnificent people creating mods. But sometimes datv seems kinda unfinished like there's a missing puzzle pieces as if content was cut out with no replacement.

Despite some questionable moments and a bit of criticism I love this game regardless. It's dark and atmospheric, absolutely beautiful and mesmerizing. And analysis of Regret? Choices and consequences, acceptance, struggling, desperation, guilt..? The work Bioware did deserves to be highly appreciated. The final left me in tears, sobbing and grieving, and heartbroken - that's all I ever wanted of Dragon Age 💜

[joelsdagger]

wip wednesday!

thank you to @ovaryacted and @guiltyasdave for tagging me!! y’all’s wips have me saur excited <33

i’ve been feeling very uninspired these last few weeks (and i’m letting it slide considering what’s been going on in this stupid country) but i have been slowly getting back into it. i try to tend to these whenever i can, i'm really excited about them so I wanted to give people a tiny peek!

➳ part two of that’s the way road dogs do it - not saying anything about it bc i don’t wanna give it away but it’s coming! i’m really trying to get it out during thanksgiving weekend but that could change.

➳ *welcome home - dbf!joel x f!reader ficlet (it’s actually done but i don’t wanna share it yet)

➳ going rogue - raider!joel x f!reader x raider!tommy. a little darker than walk the line. includes heavy dubcon/noncon. nic has heard all about this one :3

➳ *a love so fine - husband!joel x f!reader (set in jackson) includes a lot of fluff. a lot of angst. and ofc a lot of sickly sweet smut

➳ untitled best friend!joel x f!reader - leans into the fake dating trope for this one :3 i’m REALLY excited about it. it’s all outlined from start to finish but i haven’t had any time to start it. it’s definitely gonna be a longer one shot, closer to 20k, so that’s why i’ve been putting it off.

➳ and lastly part three of daddy!joel - it’s fully outlined, definitely shaping up to be longer than the last two parts. i haven’t really been in the mood to work on it. for now, my inspo lies with the darker stuff so i hope you all can forgive me for that 😪

i have a few more things in the works including a very angsty very hot and steamy hurt/comfort fwb one shot that means so so much to me (it’s technically done but it’s very personal so i have to be in the right headspace to edit it or else i hurt my own feelings lmao), a dark ddlg raider!joel two-parter, and a loose dark stepfather!joel series that @dinandwhiskey and i have been yapping about for weeks but those are all on the back burner for now! i’m trying not to start these until i get some of the ones mentioned above done.

*titles subject to change

npt: @cavillscurls @pedrospatch @joelsgoldrush @moonlight-prose @punkshort @wintrwinchestr @pedropeach @evolnoomym

[animasola86]

🏚️ BONUS: THE HOUSE

misc!monsters x f!reader 🔥 words: 2.7k

You were invited to a Halloween party in a mysterious house, promising a night full of surprises - which all came true, one way or another. Now it's the next morning, and you're going back to finish that chapter of your life once and for all.

WARNINGS: None? Fluff! Mystery! Some (sexual) implications and references to previous chapters/adventures. Shapeshifting. (READ ON AO3!)

A/N: This is a bonus chapter for my CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE story A NIGHT TO REMEMBER. This references chapters 1, 2 and 6, so it's best to have read those or even better the whole story to understand it. It's just a way to tie up some loose ends. Cameo by an infamous masked man. Spoiler: there's no actual smut here, but it's somehow referenced (come back on Nov 20th for the smut bonus chapter!). 1 🔸 2 🔸 3 🔸 4 🔸 5 🔸 6

During breakfast (turns out the hairy man is not only a great lover but also a brilliant chef), you find yourself on Bear's lap, feeding and getting fed in a way you've never experienced before. It should be weird how fast you feel this comfortable with him. But it isn't. It's almost as if you've already accepted your new life.

If it wasn't for one thing. The absence of your purse and the remnants of your old life it entails.

“Can we go?” you ask quietly, wiping your index finger over his upper lip, teasing his mustache.

“You sure you left it there?” he responds, watching you closely, a little crease between his heavy eyebrows.

You shift on his lap. “Well, I can't fully remember, as you know,” you start, thinking back to your time at the party that brought you here (and ultimately into his arms). “But I think I left it in the bathroom. I had it when I entered the house, but if I still had it when I ran into you, you would have seen it it, right?”

He hums, nodding slightly as his eyes travel past you through the window. His hand lies heavy on your thigh, squeezing it gently. “I don't want you going back there, though...”

“I know,” you whisper, eyes wandering over his bearded face. “But I need it. As much as I just want to throw my old life away for you, I have to cut off some ties beforehand, and tell people where I am, or at least how I am. I hope nobody's worried yet...”

His hum turns into a low growl. You reach up and cup his cheeks, rubbing your thumbs over the corners of his tight lips. His dark eyes snap back to yours.

“I want to stay, I told you. I'm not going anywhere. But I have to get some stuff, too, you know? Like clothes? I only have this blouse and skirt with me. Unless you really just want to keep me in a cage, bound and gagged and naked...” you tease, raising an eyebrow.

“Tempting image,” he grunts, a chuckle escaping him. “But no, I want you to be comfortable here. And I guess clothes do their part, hm?”

“Yes, they do. I'll still wear your favorite cape whenever you want, don't worry,” you whisper, leaning closer until your nose brushes against his. “I do like red...”

He huffs a loud exhale, warm against your skin, before he tilts his head and presses his lips to yours for a short kiss. “By the way, whatever happened to your underwear, huh?” he mutters into you with a smirk.

You blush deeply, leaning back, your hands moving down to his shoulders. “Well, good question. Maybe I went commando in the first place?”

His hand comes up to brush a strand of hair behind your ear. “Hmm, I'm not sure I can believe that. You may be the adventurous type, or at least, you're open for a little fun, but no panties in late October? I bet your mother taught you better.”

You scoff, smirking back at him. “If I only did what she taught me, I wouldn't be sitting on the lap of a strange mythical creature, would I?”

He gives you a wink. “Little Red sure is known for leaving the beaten path, isn't she?” He watches you for a moment as you smile softly, before he throws his arms around you and hugs you tightly to his chest. “Fine, we'll go. Get that damn purse, you do whatever needs to be done, and then, as soon as the moon rises, you're in for a treat, missy,” he adds, burying his face in the crook of your neck as he holds you close.

You chuckle, snaking your arms around him as well. “Can't wait,” you whisper, closing your eyes for a moment.

Half an hour later, you walk up to the imposing house, Bear's hand tight around yours as he leads you through the garden. Everything looks so different during the day. It's eerily foggy, but the sun still tries to fight its way through the clouds. As you round the building to get to the front door, you realize just how old it looks. The paint is chipped, the wooden sidings aged and weathered and rotten in some places, the metal accents rusty and crooked, the whole structure looks as if it's holding up by sheer willpower (or by the magic that cursed it).

The windows are dark, there's an air of stillness around, and you wonder if anyone is even there to open the door. As you approach the steps leading up to the large entrance doors, Bear nudges you to stop. You turn to him, his tan face almost a little pale as he stares up at the big house. You mirror his concerns. He told you the house calls to the lost souls, trying to trap them with its original inhabitants. You may have found what you were looking for in the hairy man beside you, but what if that's not enough? What if the house won't let you go if you enter?

“It'll be fine,” you whisper, to ease your worries and the creases on Bear's forehead. He looks down at you, his brown eyes almost black. You reach up a hand to caress his cheek, trying to distract yourself with the scraping sound of his beard against your fingertips.

“Maybe you don't have to enter,” he growls quietly, putting his large hands protectively around your waist, pulling you closer. “Try not to tempt fate, okay?”

You lean up on your toes and press your lips to the corner of his mouth, holding his gaze. “It'll be fine,” you repeat. He sighs deeply, but then nods, reluctantly letting go of you as you slip out of his grip.

Giving him a smile, you slowly turn again and face the double doors. Your knock sounds loud through the quiet space. For a long moment, nothing happens. As you raise your hand again to rap your knuckles against the door, you suddenly hear footsteps. The creepy squeak of the door opening is almost comical.

A maid, a young woman, probably your age, in a neat uniform, looks at you, almost a little bewildered, confused, as if she hasn't expected anyone to just knock or even approach the house. “Yes?” she asks, staring at you.

“Uh, hi. I... I've been to the party last night and it seems I've forgotten my purse inside,” you reply hastily, shuffling from one foot to the other.

“Party?” the other woman whispers, frowning deeply, causing you to stare at her with your lips parting.

“Yes, party,” another voice suddenly sounds from behind her, and she is shoved to the side unceremoniously as a man steps next to her. “Silly Daisy, she seems to be a little forgetful today.”

You look up at the stranger, and something comes over you, like a cold wave of déjà-vu. He's tall, muscular, wears black pants and a tight black shirt, his large hands rest on the maid's shoulders for a moment, and you stare at them, following the pronounced veins up his arms. When you reach his face, the feeling is gone. You've never seen this man before, you're sure.

“Go be useful with the others,” he tells the servant girl, and she nods, blinking in confusion as he gives her a gentle push away from the door into the large lobby. You can see others shuffling behind him, probably cleaning up. “Excuse her, it's been a long night,” the man focuses back on you, and you still stare at him. His voice sounds strangely familiar, low, deep, but something's different. It sounds too clear.

“Uh, oh, no problem,” you mutter, furrowing your eyebrows as you look up at him. His eyes are so bright, blue or gray, almost icy in his pale angular face. A smirk plays around his lips.

“So you've lost your purse, huh?” he asks, crossing his strong arms over his chest.

“Yes!” you call out, glad to remember why you came here in the first place. “Have you seen it? It's, uh, this big,” you show him the dimensions with your hands, ”a red clutch, with a red leather strap.”

“Well, we do have a box of forgotten items right here,” he says, tilting his head to indicate to something behind him. Inside the house. “Come have a look.”

You freeze. Your first instinct is to turn around to look at Bear, but to your biggest surprise, you can't see him. Where did he go? Confusion washes over you as you look back at the strange man. Those arms... and hands... the voice. You can't shake the feeling that you know him somehow. When you meet his gaze, he smiles at you. It doesn't reach his eyes.

“Come on, we don't bite,” he says quietly, unfolding his arms to take a step back, giving you the potential space to walk through the door.

“I... I'd rather not... uh... I don't want to invade. You look busy. Can't you just show me the box? Or look for the purse?” you stammer, wringing your hands.

“I would be less busy if you would just come inside and take a look yourself,” he insists, raising an eyebrow.

Your heart sinks. How important is that purse anyway? Then again, why are you so afraid to enter? Surely they won't just abduct you. Your mind goes back to Bear, to his cabin, to the life he's promised you. And you want that, want to be with him, and you will be, if you just think hard enough so that no ancient magic can get its hooks into you. It'll be fine.

Inhaling deeply, you take another look behind you, hoping to see him somewhere. Maybe he isn't allowed near the house, so he waits somewhere behind a hedge or something. “Okay,” you whisper as you turn back to the man waiting for you to enter. “I'll be quick,” you add as you take the first step, your foot already crossing the threshold.

He steps aside, extending an arm to show you which direction that box must be. Your heart beats faster when you hear the door clicking shut behind you. Trying not to fuss about it, you keep walking until you find a large cardboard box on a little table near the pompous staircase leading up. You see various items. Phones, sunglasses, jewelry, scarves, and –

You freeze as your fingers brush against a large white mask. Suddenly another hand moves to grab it, veins and tendons working under tight skin as the man from the door picks up the costume. You gasp as he turns the mask between his long fingers. His icy eyes stare down at you, a smirk dancing around his lips.

“What a silly thing,” he says quietly. “What a lazy way to conceal oneself, hm?”

You blink as your mind reels with a strangely feeble memory. Your stomach tenses up, something hot gathering low in your body. Clearing your throat, you look away, focusing back on the box, your fingers pushing aside all kinds of things, until you finally see something red. Your purse. Clutching it eagerly, you pull it out and inspect it, sighing in relief when you find your wallet, your phone and all the other small things you brought with you.

“Everything in order?” the man beside you asks, still fingering the eerie mask.

“Yes,” you reply, taking a step back as you hug your purse to your chest. “Thanks. I... uh, I'll best be going now. Long way home,” you say, giving him a nervous smile.

He tilts his head, and between his fingers the mask does the same. A cold shiver crashes down your spine. “Sure,” he says. “Best of luck.”

You swallow hard, slowly walking backwards to the entrance door. Your eyes scan the adjacent rooms where people in costumes move about like zombies, slow and uncoordinated, trying to pick up dropped cups, wiping at surfaces. They look familiar as well. A sexy ladybug next to a guy with a white T-shirt that says This is my costume. You frown. You feel like you should remember them more clearly, but your mind is fuzzy.

Clutching your purse, you try to look away, and when your back hits the door, you gasp, your hand finding the door knob. You turn it, and it won't budge. Panic settles inside you. You try again, nothing happens.

Then you feel a body next to yours, towering over you, a hand reaching out to close around your own. You stiffen, bracing yourself as long fingers move your hand around the knob, and the door suddenly opens. Cold air hits your nostrils, and you inhale deeply. Looking over your shoulder, you see the man behind you, except now he is wearing that stupid Ghostface mask, making you jump and shriek as you realize how close he is.

A muffled chuckle escapes him. “Oh little Red, it's so sad to see you go,” he says quietly, his hand moving along your arm until it rests on your shoulder. “You really can't stay?”

You swallow the lump in your throat, trying to ignore the burning between your thighs. “No, I... I don't belong here,�� you whisper, slowly inching away from him, your feet so heavy you can barely move.

“Hm, you sure?” he replies, tilting his masked face ominously. “I thought we fit quite well together last night...”

Another gasp escapes you, the memory rushing back into your head with a force that makes you stumble backwards, but as soon as you cross the threshold, standing on the porch, outside, you blink in confusion as it fizzles away again. All that remains is the man in the mask, staring at you, his face unmoving, eerie. A sigh sounds from behind the thick plastic.

One of his hands moves to his pants pocket, and as you watch him, frozen to the spot, trying to figure out what happened, he pulls something out that looks strangely familiar to you. The red cloth you chose to match your costume. Your panties. He unfolds them between his long fingers, and you feel a different kind of heat creeping into your cheeks.

“At least I have this to remember you, hm?” he says quietly, waving the garment at you in a mocking fashion.

You take another step back, breathing harder. “I... I don't know what you're talking about,” you reply, forcing the blurry images away.

“Whatever makes you happy, Red,” he sighs, scrunching up your underwear in his big hand before he pushes it back into his pocket. “Say hi to Bear from me, will you?”

His last words make you pause, your eyebrows furrowing. Before you can inquire what he means, how he can possibly know you're with Bear now, he closes the door so slowly it lets off another eerie squeak. You blink, staring at the old wood.

Somehow you manage to turn around, your feet dragging down the porch steps until you hit the gravel. Your head is spinning. And it only gets worse, when you hear a sudden rustle in a bush close to you. With a low snarl, a big black wolf jumps out of it, yellow eyes boring into you. You shriek in fear, stumbling back, but the animal has already grabbed the hem of your skirt between his sharp teeth, pulling you away from the house.

You loose your footing, landing hard on your already scraped knees, but at least the cold stab of pain is finally enough to clear your muddled head. Breathing harder, you sit on your knees, looking back at the large house behind you, before the wolf nudges your cheek with his wet nose. You turn to him, all the terror gone as you look into his bright eyes. There's nothing malicious about this animal. Your hand reaches out to pet his surprisingly soft black fur.

“Bear?” you whisper, sinking your fingers deeper into his pelt.

The wolf huffs a warm breath against your face before he licks his long tongue all over your cheek. You giggle as you try to get away.

“It's fine, Bear,” you whisper as you wrap your arms around the wolf's neck to get back up on your feet. “It's done. Let's go home.”

End notes: There will be one more bonus chapter after this: The Marking, focusing back on our werewolf friend. Stay tuned!

MASTERLIST // AO3 // ORIGINAL WORKS

KINKTOBER 2024 MASTERLIST

[cipheramnesia]

They're not fun to shop at. They aren't even fun to get to, surrounded by miles of low speed roads, far from their customers, chances are good you have to budget thirty minutes for travel, minimum, longer for a bus. Ride or park, no matter what you get a long walk into a looming gray edifice, wreathed in broken asphalt, overflowing trashcans, and tired people everywhere. It's every ominous portent of cold war propaganda against the USSR, hidden behind blue paint and white block lettering. The sun is somehow always going down behind it.

It's physically painful just breathing the air inside, and their fluorescent lights make it feel as if it's overcast indoors. Inside a WalMart or a Target feels like you're constantly about to get a headache. Another hour of time vanishes the second you walk inside. When did you go there? It doesn't matter, the sun is always setting.

The aisles are so long! There's so much stuff! And it's... all the same stuff. The aisles aren't accommodating variety, they're so you can have 30 different coffee brands, a hundred different shampoos, a dozen colors of energy drink. Your life slowly trickles away while you try and figure out if a dollar a pound or a buck fifty per 10 grams is cheaper overall. Next week it'll be different prices and you have to do it again. You look at three different brightly colored packages of butter and buy the cheapest one anyway because that's what you're in there for. Walk through the clothes, because you're tired of having just ten shirts, and forty-five minutes later you find one sort of okay graphic t-shirt and you can't spend the $25 on it anyway, because people gotta eat here. Everything is a hundred feet away from every other thing you need, you're fucked if you're even a little disabled. You can stare at expensive appliances you can't afford, a hundred different frying pans you just kinda want for no reason, a $600 vacuum cleaner and the damnable thing over all of it is that I know for a fact those all come outta the same factories and use the exact same six colors and flavors. Not in a grouchy old person way, in that it's my profession, it means I'm constantly aware this football field packed with billions of brands is a single monolith with an illusion that's nothing more than the repeating pattern on the wallpaper in an old toilet stall of a hotel room that inexplicably feels like home. And the sun is setting anyway.

It's monstrous, a grinding wheel showing you what you could have, if you just paid more for something that's going to fall apart in six months. So you finish spending most of your paycheck at the registers, go outside for the long walk across the parking lot, the sun is setting, it's over and all you want to do is lie down and sleep.

I wonder how much of the deep down dread and unhappiness of the giant WalMart type stores is familiar outside the USA. Other places gotta have this too right?

[bambino1294]

Are you still working on uncompleted fics?

I always am