#I'm actually satisfied with my current progress

[the-brucest-fan]

I was not ready to find out I actually wrote a lot from my thesis. So far I have at least 27 pages of one chapter and part of a second one. And I was thinking that I actually didn't write much O_o

[depravitycentral]

Yandere! Uvogin NSFW Profile

Yandere! Uvogin x fem! reader

Tw: mentions of non-con, masturbation, non-consensual aiding of masturbation (? not sure what to tag this but you'll see what I mean), excessive cum-play, snowballing, facials, stalking, kidnapping, mentions of degradation, exhibitionism, implied that Nobunaga jerked it to you I'm so sorry for your loss, kind of allusions to breeding but nothing explicit, fem reader, MDNI

I do not condone any of the actions described in this post - this is fiction and should be treated as such. If you or a loved one is in a similar situation to anything contained in this post or my blog in general, please seek help. You're in charge of your internet consumption; please make responsible choices. With that, enjoy!

WC: 10K

HABITS:

In general, Uvogin is no stranger to sex. He’s had his fair share of hookups over the years, and while he’s never really had a long term partner (being a criminal and always on the run makes it a bit difficult), he’s got a good, solid amount of experience under his belt.

And so, while he may be intimidating and a bit scary, there’s always plenty of drunk women at the local bars or clubs who are more than willing to take their chance at managing to take him.

And for the most part, Uvogin is completely satisfied with this – hookups and flings are fun, and he’s able to get his rocks off whenever he pleases.

However, once you step into his life, his frequent sex with strangers take an abrupt and very strict hiatus. Not only does it feel wrong to sleep with any woman besides you, he simply doesn’t find the allure anymore – if he were to sleep with anyone aside from you, he’d spend the entire time focused on all the things that are different from you rather than actually enjoying the experience.

Maybe their hair is different – yours is prettier, he thinks.

Maybe your voice is different – it’s not as annoying and shrill and whiny as the other woman’s, and Uvogin can very confidently say that he likes yours much, much more.

Maybe their body is different – your curves are different, better for him, and you’re softer and warmer and just better.

Hookups are out of the question once he really decides that he wants you – but unfortunately, the same can’t be said of his hormones. He still craves sexual contact and release, perhaps even more so now that he has you to actively imagine and think of and desire, but his tried and true method of finding someone random to relieve some pent up stress isn’t an option anymore.

And so, once his obsession develops, he finds himself masturbating much, much more often.

It’s not as nice as having a living, breathing person there to help him out, but it’s his only option – you’re not an option yet, as much as he desperately wishes you were, because while he’d give anything to sink into what he’s sure is your tight, warm, soaking wet cunt, he doesn’t want to reserve the progress he’s made in worming his way into your life all for one night of pleasure.

And so, he falls back on pleasuring himself with a bit of an aid – it’s not enough to simply fist himself and imagine your body or your sounds.

No, it’s not nearly enough – so instead, Uvogin finds a way to seamlessly involve you in his self-pleasure, all with the wonderful caveat of you having absolutely no idea of your role.

Uvogin’s already reaching for the hem of his shorts as he plops down onto the ratty couch in the living room of his current hideout. He’s quick to shimmey them down, all the way down to his ankles, only to unceremoniously kick them off to some corner of the room.

His cock is already semi-hard, the knowledge of what’s coming next unconsciously exciting him. He sighs and lets his head roll back slightly, resting on the frame of the couch, his hand sneaking down the plane of his abdomen and settling lightly over his cock.

Idly groping at his balls (just soft, teasing squeezes – nothing too serious yet, not when the action hasn’t begun), his free hand reaches to the next cushion and picks up the cheap burner phone Shalnark had provided him with last week. There’s only three numbers saved in it – Chrollo’s, Shalnark’s, and yours.

With a sharp swallow, Uvogin presses on your contact listing, listening as the familiar dial tone rings through the speakers. Your voice is surprised as you pick up, a delighted little oh, I wasn’t expecting a call from you!

It makes him bite his lip, squeezing at his balls just a bit harder.

 Yeah, sorry, but I was bored and wanted to hear your voice. He smirks at the soft little sound of surprise you make at that.

Oh! Oh, sure, yeah! Okay, well, uh, how has your day been?

And although you’ve said absolutely nothing even remotely suggestive, Uvogin’s cock twitches against his forearm, making his thighs tense slightly.

Good, drank some beer and watched the hockey game, the usual. I want to hear about you, though. Tell me everything about this week, yeah?

And with that, he settles back further against the couch, truly getting comfortable as you start telling him about how this week you’ve done this and that, then this, then that…

He’s not really listening, and some part of him – the part not currently imagining the way you’d look with his cock down your throat – feels guilty about not giving you one hundred percent of his attention, but as you suddenly gasp and say oh then this happened he finds himself not caring.

Soon he’s transitioning from groping his balls to wrapping his fingers around his length, careful not to hiss into the phone receiver as he slowly, almost painfully slowly brings his fist up to his tip, squeezing a bit, then bringing it back down.

Your voice is a constant through the phone, the familiar lilt and pace of your words only slightly distorted through the device, and as he slowly works himself, he closes his eyes to listen more carefully. He likes the way you pronounce things – occasionally you say his name, and his hips jerk up a bit to fuck up into his fist each time you do, making him hold in a grunt each time.

Slowly he picks up the pace, moving his wrist a bit faster with every sentence you say, letting his eyes flutter closed again while his head lolls back slightly, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip.

He can practically imagine you here with him – the way you’d be straddling him on this couch, your soft thighs pressing against his hips, your pussy rubbing and grinding against him because you want to tease him, your hands splayed across his chest as you tell him that you want him, that you need him, that you need him to touch you and taste you and feel you and fuck you –

Uvogin? Uvogin? Are you okay? You sound like you’ve just run a marathon…

Your voice brings him back to reality, and immediately his eyes are snapping open and his hand freezes, his heavy breaths ringing through the receiver. After a beat, he swallows and reassures that he’s fine! Sorry sorry, that stupid neighbor of mine just stood outside my front door – you know how loud he breaths. Don’t worry about it, keep going. I like listening.

You seem a bit hesitant, but you keep going, and Uvogin makes sure to mute himself this time. Now he can listen to you talk and not worry about being too loud. Immediately he’s picking up where he left off, hips coming up to help fuck up into his fist, grunts and groans of your name slipping past his lips all the while you chatter on about last Wednesday.

Uvogin’s feet plant flat against the floor as he uses them for leverage to thrust up, pretending you’re perched in his lap with his cock buried between your legs, your pretty tits squished up against his chest while you gasp and moan and cry out his name, his thrusts only getting deeper and harder and stronger, the desire to truly fuck you and mold your cunt to the shape of his cock getting the better of him.

Soon he’s fully groaning out phrases into the phone, going on about how you’re so damn tight, fuck baby just like that, shit clench just like that, oh fuuuck! His hips are making an audible sound as they smack back into the couch cushions with every thrust, and with wild eyes he stares down at his lap, imagining the sight of his cock sinking into your cunt over and over, your slick spilling down your thighs and getting everything wet and sticky, the sound of his balls clapping against your ass over and over.

He's close, feeling the trace edges of his orgasm approaching, his toes beginning to curl and his abs starting to tighten and his balls starting to clench and oh –

I missed you that day, Uvogin, I wish you’d been there.

He comes with a near shout of your name, his hips pistoling into his fist as ropes of cum spurt onto his chest, his breathing heavy and uneven as he shakes, his hand trembling slightly as it grips onto the phone so tightly it nearly breaks.

You’re still speaking, but Uvogin’s not listening as he replays your words over and over in his head – you wanted him there, wanted to see him, wanted to be with him. He’s still saying your name over and over, his breathing slowly calming down as his cum slowly dribbles down his chest, and he lets a smile sit on his lips. Running a hand through his hair (still slightly stained with cum, but the euphoria swimming through his veins makes it hard to care), he swallows, saying your name one last time with a small chuckle.

Fuck, only you can make me like this, huh? You’re making me into a real loser, you know that? Fucking himself and pretending you’re here with me. God.

Soon, once he’s gotten enough of a grip on his breathing, he unmutes himself, just in time for you to finish up your report.

That’s about it, sorry for rambling! But anyways, what are you up to?

He smiles at that, giving his cock one final squeeze and licking a bit of cum off his finger.

Just wondering if you wanna get dinner tonight, how about that Italian place you were talking about the other day?

And when you agree, eventually hanging up, Uvogin can only sigh and slap his thigh.

Soon, very soon, he’s sure he won’t have to imagine anymore – soon it’ll be your hand instead of his.

Just the thought makes him groan, blood already rushing south again.

FAVORITE BODY PARTS:

Your Ass

Uvogin likes every part of you, but he’d be lying if he said he doesn’t have a special spot for your ass.

It doesn’t matter the shape or size – it’s yours, and by extension, Uvogin wants to touch It and squeeze it and grope it.

Constantly.

He’s generally a touchy person, both in and out of sexual contexts, and while his handsiness is often innocent regarding you, his hand finds its way to your backside much too often to be considered truly accidental.

He’s a bit fan of idly groping you, letting a hand wander down and give a playful squeeze, only to feel you jump a bit out of surprise.

(He’ll always send you this toothy grin afterwards, telling you that he can’t help it baby, it’s just right there and it’s so damn cute and fuck, if you could see it you’d understand.)

He likes to come up behind you and hug you, pressing himself directly against your backside – your heights likely mean that his cock doesn’t directly sit against your ass, but even feeling his legs against the soft area makes him lick his lips, already imagining the way the soft skin would feel under the rough pads of his fingers.

He likes to smack your ass when you walk by him – it’s always, always light, of course, just enough to startle you but not enough to actually hurt.

He likes the way you get irritated and swat at him, telling you with a cheeky wink and grin that you can always return the favor, babe.

And when you’re actually intimate with one another, this habit of his certainly doesn’t change – he’s always slapping your ass when he’s fucking you in doggy style, going on about how you look so pretty from this angle, all the while groping and squeezing at your poor cheeks until they’re nearly purple.

He’s always cupping your ass when you’re riding him, helping move you up and down with a palm on each cheek, squeezing and holding you so tightly you nearly have no control over your own movements.

He’ll fuck you in a prone bone position, all the while staring at how your ass jiggles with each smack of his hips against it, his fingers (that he’d intertwined with yours above your head) clutching onto yours even harder at the sight.

He’s just genuinely in love with the way your ass looks and feels, and although he wouldn’t bring it up unless you wanted to, Uvogin would love to have you sit on his face, letting your pretty ass be the only thing he sees as you grind and scoop and use him, letting his tongue brush across your clit over and over again all while he gets to admire.

(He wouldn’t even mind if you wanted to scoot forward a bit, letting your pussy rub against his chin while his tongue works diligently at the tight, taboo little hole you don’t normally let him touch. He’s sure it'll feel good, that you’ll enjoy it, that he’ll enjoy it, because it’s just another way to be close to you, another way to claim something of yours as his his his.)

Expect your ass to fondled and groped and smacked at least twice a day, if not more – he just can’t control himself, and surely you understand?

If you were as deeply obsessed and attracted to yourself as he is, you’d have to understand that he physically can’t help himself – not when you’re so goddamn tempting.

His mouth

Because Uvogin is such a pleaser in bed, he’s very quickly exploring the variety of ways he can utilize to get you off.

Of course, he likes the tried and true fucking, making you melt on his cock, but something about it feels a bit barbarian, a little bit too rough sometimes, even if he’s addicted to the feeling of your pussy.

Even his fingers are sometimes a little too much, just because you always tense up so much, your walls clamping down on him and making it difficult to move, the stretch from them alone feeling like the size of any of your previous partners.

 Of course, he still likes fucking you and fingering you, but there’s something about using his mouth on you that he simply can’t get enough of.

Maybe it’s because it’s so much more intimate, like something special the two of you are sharing. He’s tasting the most private part of you, a place only a handful of people have ever gotten to see (much less taste), and something about that knowledge makes him swell with pride, a smirk settling across his lips.

Regardless, Uvogin takes every opportunity to use his mouth on you that he possibly can – the two of you are sitting on the couch while you read one of the few books he picked up for you and he watches TV, and suddenly he’s between your legs and pulling down your lounging shorts, looking up at you and licking his lips with a positively feral expression, murmuring that he’s feeling a little hungry, yeah?

Every sexual encounter between the two of almost always including Uvogin’s lips against your cunt in some capacity – he’s a very firm believer in the necessity of foreplay (particularly due to his size), and he spares no expense in making sure that you’re properly wet for him, that you’ve come at least once his tongue, that you’re as prepared and ready as possible in order to take him with minimal pain.

And Uvogin is good with his mouth, too – he’s got amazing stamina, and is able to stick with a consistent speed and tempo.

His fallback is to lick small, tight circles with medium pressure, but he’s always stealing glances up at you to check your facial expressions, adjusting anything and everything he think she needs to in order to get your eyes rolling to the back of his head.

He’ll start with light kisses spanning along your inner thighs and all around your core, pressing butterfly licks against your folds that are barely there and leave you wanting more more more.

He’ll press kisses against your clit, coming down to kitten lick and stare at you the whole time, a smirk sitting on his lips each time you bite your lip or keen.

He'll slowly add more pressure, building up the pace a bit too, until he’s licking shapes against your bud and occasionally sucking it into his mouth lightly, feeling the way your thighs tense up a bit around his head, loving the way your eyes flutter closed and you grasp onto the pillow underneath you.

He’ll occasionally dip down to lick long stripes along your folds, dipping his tongue in to tease your entrance, making lewd, obnoxious slurping noises just to hear you get embarrassed.

He loves it, and as soon as he gets to a pace he thinks you’re liking, he’ll stay down there for as long as it takes to get you coming, whether that be five minutes or an hour – it’s worth it, because when you get all doe eyed and shake and writhe and cream on his face, you look so fucking pretty, so perfect he can’t help but grind against the bed, anything to relieve some of the ache.

DRIVE:

In general, his sex drive is high. It’s always been that way, really, even before you stepped into his life – the thrill of combat and sex are two of his guiltiest pleasures, and he’s absolutely no stranger to hook ups.

He’s not unbearably horny, but he toes the line quite well, needing to get off at least two times a week in order to stay functional and sane.

So really, once his obsession with you forms, sexual thoughts revolving around you are very, very quick to follow.

Frankly, when he first realizes that he’s drawn to you, that there’s just something about you that he can’t seem to leave alone, he genuinely believes it’s simply a sexual attraction to you that’s messing with him. He rationalizes these infant stages of his infatuation with you as simply wanting to fuck you, rather than wanting to have you.

And Uvogin is a man of opportunity – he can’t not imagine stripping you bare and cupping at your tits, smacking your ass, perching you on his lap and bouncing you up and down like you’re just some glorified sex toy.

The images come quickly and startingly easily – too easily, really, because imagining all the different ways he wants to get you screaming his name and gushing for him really should’ve clued him in to the fact that his feelings for you go way beyond physical.

And eventually, once he decides that you’re more than just a hot piece of ass, he can’t just forget about the multitudes of nights he’s fantasized about spending hours with his face between your legs, or the number of times he’s soaked his fist with cum from merely thinking about how you’d look with your pretty face pressed into the mattress, his form caging you into a prone bone position while he absolutely destroys your tight little pussy.

He can’t – won’t – forget, and so as his obsession becomes richer, deeper, more hopeless, Uvogin’s sexual fantasies revolving around you become harder and harder to control and fight. Because really, how can he not imagine even more once he’s realized he’s in love with you?

Sure, he still wants to shove his cock down your throat and hear you choke and struggle with his girth, but now he also wants to trace his tip along the shape of your lips, to see your pretty eyes sparkling up at him with a few tears dotting the lashes, to feel you moan around him at his taste.

Sure, he still wants to bend you over and feel that perfect, tight little pussy of yours, but now he also wants to thrust softly and sweetly, to get deeper and brush against the spot he knows you like, to make you cry out his name rather than just scream and gasp.

The sexual fantasies are still explicit, but they’re more loving, more like making love rather than just animalistic fucking – and of course, once these thoughts develop in their entirety, Uvogin has to exercise an extreme amount of self-control to not act them out.

He’s painfully aware of the fact that you likely aren’t clamoring to sleep with him, partially because you’re infuriated at him for kidnapping you, and terrified of him because of his physical stature and criminal status.

He’s sure you don’t particularly want to be with him in a sexual way (though he hopes, desperately, that one day you will), and the last thing he wants is for you to be even more afraid of him, or to hate him even more.

And so, Uvogin won’t force himself onto you.

He won’t force you onto your knees or strip your clothing off of you or anything of the sort. He wants to, of course, so badly that it nearly drives him insane, but he won’t do it out of respect for you and a selfish desire to get you falling in love with him.

What he will do, however, is make it perfectly, abundantly clear that if you’re ever in the mood, he’s more than willing to oblige.

He’ll tell you, pretty much from the beginning of your captivity with him, that if you ever desire absolutely anything physical at all, he’ll be naked and eagerly waiting for you within seconds.

And that includes everything: simply using those massive palms of his to grope and squeeze at your breasts, calloused fingers gently rolling a nipple between them and listening to the way you sigh out.

(He’ll approach you with this particular offer when he knows your menstrual cycle is nearing, when you’re bloated and soar and desperate for any kind of reprieve – you need someone to hold those for ya, babe? They’re looking awfully heavy, and you’d be surprised how gentle these fingers can be.)

He’ll offer to finger you when you seem stressed, that grin of his wolfish and eager but also strangely genuine, as if the prospect of pleasuring you isn’t just some sexual urge and rather something he wants to do, as if it pleasures him, too.

(This offer is always accompanied with a rather showy wiggle of his fingers, making sure the veins and tendons in his hand are visibly flexing, just to try and entice you even more – and it works, because although you shake your head and tell him that you strongly pass, he can see the way your eyes are glued to his fingers, how your thighs press together ever so slightly, how you can’t hide the desire swimming in your eyes.)

He’ll offer to let you sit on his cock when you’re feeling lonely, telling you that he’ll be there the whole time, how you can’t possibly feel lonely when there’s literally someone inside of you, patting his groin – with pants barely holding back his straining erection – and telling you that he won’t try anything funny he promises.

(And he’ll stay true to that promise – it’s actual torture to not fuck up into you, to not bounce you up and down in his lap and feel the way your walls desperately clench down on him, but he holds himself back. Besides, feeling you slowly, slowly work your way down his length is a treat enough, each inch stretching you further than you though possible, your little hisses and whines and whimpers making him physically throb inside of you.)

He’ll even offer to fuck you when the mood feels right, telling you that he’s never left a partner unsatisfied, that he knows how to treat you, that he’ll be slow and gentle and soft and sweet, something that he means with every fiber of his being.

(At least, he’ll be all those things the first time he gets you naked in his arms – after that, anything goes. He can’t always be expected to control himself, after all.)

It’s mildly intrusive and will make you uncomfortable in the beginning, but as time passes and he doesn’t actually force anything onto you, merely offering, slowly your walls will start crumbling.

If you’re stuck with him, maybe it isn’t the end of the world if you get something out of the ordeal – you’re trapped with him, but does that mean you aren’t allowed an orgasm?

Sure he’s kidnapped you and keeps you locked away in a modestly furnished home, but is it really so wrong of you to accept the pleasure he seems more than happy to give you? Does that make you a bad person, or a selfish person?

With time you’ll start thinking no, that perhaps letting Uvogin eat you out for hours and bring you high after high wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world – and he’ll be very, very happy to oblige.

(And you can tell, too – the way he groans and growls against you makes it hard to ignore, as does the way something warm and wet and thick splatters against your thighs when he’s got you hovering over his chin.)

MAIN THREE KINKS:

Size Kink

Uvogin is more than aware of the size difference between the two of you.

It doesn’t matter how tall you are, or how large you are – he is bigger than you, both in stature and presence and every other measurable way. He’s a hulking figure that takes up the entire side of the dining table you share meals at, needing to wear shirts that literally fall off your frame, dominating and bigger than you in every sense of the word.

And he knows this - he’s completely aware of how you’re so small compared to him, so tiny and adorable and breakable, and when it comes to really anything between the two of you, he has a tendency to take this fact to heart, to be beyond careful in making sure that he does absolutely nothing that could ever put you in harm’s way.

Though he won’t admit it, having you hurt or afraid of him in any way is genuinely one of his worst fears, and although he knows he can do nothing to change his physical appearance, he takes care to come across as least threatening and as welcoming as possible.

And when it comes to the bedroom, Uvo is even more hyper aware, because when he’s buried inside that tight, cute little cunt of yours, his orgasm rapidly approaching, it’s almost disturbingly easy to lose control, to just pin you down and fuck the absolute shit out of you, until you’re nothing more than a quivering, split open mess below him.

He has to keep an incredible amount of focus when his orgasm looms near to make sure that he doesn’t dig his fingers into your skin too hard lest he leave bruises, or that he doesn’t fuck into you at the pace he truly wants to lest he push a little too far and tear something.

He doesn’t want to hurt you, so he tries his absolute best to keep you on top, to keep you controlling the pace and everything else in order to keep you safe and feeling good.

(Besides, he’s got a great view when you’re on top – he can see, all in the same glance, your pussy sucking in his length over and over, your breasts bouncing and jiggling, even your face all twisted up in ecstasy as you ride him as hard as you can. He’s not particularly hands-off during sex, but often he’s tempted to simply lay back with his arms crossed behind his head, content to watch your show and let your cunt bring him steadily closer to orgasm. His desire to see you gasp and stare wildly at him in shock and pleasure often outweighs this urge, however, because he almost always settles his hands on your hips and helps guide you, suddenly thrusting just a hair deeper into you and hearing your cry of a-ah Uvo too deep!)

However, that isn’t to say that Uvogin doesn’t enjoy the size difference between the two of you – on the contrary, he thinks it’s beyond cute, that it’s adorable just how tiny you are in comparison to him.

And while the fear that he could hurt you is very much omnipresent, he can’t deny how it makes his heart race and blood pump to his cock when he sees how just one of his hands engulfs your entire thigh, how you struggle to straddle him because his waist is just so muscular and wide, how your breast is completely engulfed by his palm when he roughly fondles and kneads at it.

It’s endearing in a way, how cute and small you are beside him, and even more obvious when you have your hands wrapped around his cock, your fingers not able to close completely around his girth.

Seeing you struggle so much to simply jerk him off makes Uvo smug, a smirk falling across his face while he groans, little murmurs of your name tumbling past his lips while you work at him, trying desperately to get him to come, to get him to tell you how you’re a good girl, fuck look at your hands, ngh wanna – gonna stretch out that tiny little cunt with this fat cock, you want that?

It’s most definitely a guilty pleasure, something that makes him feel big and strong and important, and in the context of your sexual relationship, there’s just simply no way to get around the fact that Uvogin quite literally towers over you.

(Especially when you’re on your knees, staring up at his imposing stature and the large, swollen, veiny cock sitting at eye level, his voice teasing as he tells you to go on, it won’t bite, I promise. Only I do that.)

Praise

Generally Uvogin isn’t particularly derogatory in bed. He’s not a big fan of degradation in general, both in and out of the bedroom, partially because he’s not a naturally mean person (aside from the criminal activity and murder, of course), and partly because he really does cherish and love you. He thinks you’re beautiful and perfect and everything he could want in a woman, and his honesty bars him from ever saying anything to the contrary.

He doesn’t want to tell you that you’re just a slut, that you’re a hole for him to fuck, that you should stay quiet and let him get what he wants – he wants you, in more ways than one. He loves you, in his own twisted, fucked up way, and he wants your time in bed together to reflect that sentiment.

And so, Uvogin falls on the opposite side of the spectrum from degradation – that is, there’s a nearly overwhelming amount of praise in the bedroom.

Comments about how pretty you are or how good at something you are constantly slip past his lips, his voice gruff and low as he tells that you look so damn pretty on your knees baby.

He’s got a compliment or praise ready for every possible situation in bed – you’re undressing, struggling to get the giant shirt Uvogin had forced you into this morning up over your head? He’s chuckling, grinning, slapping your ass and telling you that you’re so damn cute, princess, makes me go crazy when you wear my shit.

You’re kissing him, pinned below him with your wrists over your head? He’s licking his lips as he pulls back, planting kisses against your neck and telling you that you taste so good, you’re so fucking pretty.

You’re biting your lip and carding your fingers through your hair as he sucks and playfully bites at your nipples? He’s burying his face between your breasts and vigorously shaking it, laughing and telling you that these tits are so perfect babe, god I always wanna touch ‘em and kiss ‘em, how about no more bras around the house? Or maybe no more shirts at all – don’t expect me to control myself, yeah?

You’re sinking to your knees while he sighs and grabs the base of his cock, running his tip over your lips while he stares down at you? He’s telling you that you look so pretty babe, can’t wait to see these lips with my cum on them instead.

You’re perched on his lap, his tip barely nestled inside you while you wince and bite your lip? He’s running soothing hands up your sides, cooing at you that you’re doing so good baby, ‘m so proud of you, fuck you’re tight, feels so damn good.

You’re on your hands and knees, chest and face pressed in the mattress while he mounts you from behind, hips flush with yours and pummeling into you with no mercy? He’s leaning all the way over you and growling into your ear that you’re mine, babe, fuck don’t you ever forget, god this pussy is so good, y’so damn tight and wet, gonna make me come baby, you want that? Yeah? You want my cum?

You’re underneath him, tits bouncing every which way and body physically thrusting back and forth as he fucks into you with a sturdy hand pressing right over your naval? He’s laughing breathlessly, using his free hand to push back his hair and telling you to take it baby, fuck yeah just like that, you look so damn hot like this.

Even when he’s in the middle of coming, thick spurts of white shooting from his swollen, red tip, he’s praising you – telling you that you take him so well, that you always take – fuck, take it all, look so damn pretty with my cum in you.

He just genuinely believes that you’re beautiful, and because he’s naturally quite talkative, this shows in the bedroom – he can’t not comment on how you look, how you feel, how smell, how you taste.

It would be wrong to not let you know how much he’s enjoying being with you, how badly he’s dreamed of fucking you, or how long he’s dreamed of touching you – so really, even if his constant praise embarrasses you, you’d best get used to it. He won’t stop, and if you were to return the favor?

Well, his ego isn’t particularly fragile, but he can’t deny how it affects him any time you moan out about how good he feels or how big he is or how you’re close – oh god, ‘m gonna come, oh god Uvo Uvo Uvo-!

He can’t deny the way his cock jumps, how it twitches and pulses and oozes out precum at just hearing your voice and words, hearing his name and feeling the way your body seizes up all because of him him him.

 He’s a sucker for it, so expect sex with him to be loud and full of compliments – even if they’re a little vulgar sometimes (fuck babe, these tits – I wanna fuck ‘em, get them all messy and covered in my cum fuuuck-) or oddly specific (god you taste good, those panties of yours don’t even come close…).

He just can’t help himself, so get used to it – he won’t stop, even if you beg him to.

Cum play

He’s possessive, and it shows in the bedroom.

He’s always got a hand on your body, hickeys bruising your throat, collarbone or inner thighs, handprints decorating your ass, or even a light bite mark here and there along your thighs and stomach.

He likes the concept of claiming you and physically showing that you’re his, and while this presents itself in normal ways like previously mentioned, Uvogin’s favorite form of showcasing that you belong to him is by getting his cum absolutely everywhere on your body.

He produces an insane amount of it with every orgasm – it just keeps coming, spurt after spurt shooting from his swollen tip and landing on your body or the sheets underneath you, all the while he’s groaning and his hips are involuntarily thrusting, making everything even more messy.

His orgasms last easily twenty seconds, with a constant stream of white, and Uvogin loves nothing more than to absolutely paint you with it.

When your hands – so small and cute and soft compared to his calloused skin – are wrapped around him, pulling and tugging, the slick sound of spit and lube clicking in his ears, he’ll give a warning of here it comes, shit baby take it – and immediately your hands are covered in it, pools of cum dribbling down onto your fingers, slipping down your wrist and leaving everything sticky and wet and warm, Uvogin’s chest rising and falling with both the force of his orgasm and the sight of his cum against your skin.

(He’ll always grab your hands afterwards, slipping your fingers into his mouth one by one and licking away his cum, only to kiss you afterwards and push it all into your mouth, entertained by your surprised sound and the way you squirm against him.)

When you’re struggling to fit him into your mouth, only able to take the first few inches and leaving your hands to deal with the rest, he’ll dig his fingers into your hair and hold you there, biting his lip and telling you to swallow every last fucking drop, don’t wanna see any wasted babe before letting go, listening to the way you gag and eagerly swallow everything he’s giving you.

He’ll pull away with harsh breaths, watching the way you eagerly suck in air, your lips wet and glistening with spit and cum, your tongue still painted a white color.

(Sometimes, when he’s feeling particularly possessive, he’ll instead pull back right before letting go, telling you to stay sitting on your knees while he stands, fisting his cock at a near inhuman speed before pointing it right at your face, letting go and watching as ropes land across your cheeks, nose, lips and forehead, your entire face streaked with him in a way that makes his knees weak. Often, he’ll shake his cock a bit right at the end, eager to get every little bit out and onto you, groaning in satisfaction when the last, weakest little spurt lands right on your outstretched tongue. He’ll lean in closer and smear the cum across your skin even more, his voice sounding genuinely awed as he tells you that you’re so damn beautiful baby, fuck, get on the bed, I need to fuck you. Now.)

He loves to have you take his cock between your breasts, regardless of their size – he wants you suckle on his tip and rub your skin against him, feeling your pebbled nipples and the soft plush.

When he gets close, he’ll pull back and finish himself off, having you lay on your back while he straddles your waist, painting your breasts white and paying special attention to smear it across your nipples, pinching and twisting and pulling at them.

And even when he’s actually inside you, his penchant for being picky about where his cum goes doesn’t change – nine times out of ten he will come inside you, pushing his hips all the way the hilt so that he can finish as deeply as possible, the groan he lets out sending pleasure racing up your spine.

You can often literally feel it inside of you – something warm and wet filling you up, his cock spasming with every spurt, his balls clenching and tightening against your ass as he whispers your name under his breath.

(Most of the time, there’s simply too much to keep inside of you – it just never seems to end, and eventually there’s some dribbling out of you, smearing against your folds and dripping down the curve of your ass, sometimes even leaving a small pool against the bedsheets. Uvogin is equal parts proud and irritated when this happens, though – proud because god, you look perfect with his cum leaking out of you, but irritated because all of that really should be inside of you, not wasted and sitting on the bed. So, he'll scoop it up with his fingers, pushing it back inside you and fucking it up into you until he’s satisfied, the wet shmucking noise making him grin.)

Sometimes, though, he’ll pull out right at the last minute and instead come onto your cunt, letting the white settle against your inner thighs and coat your folds, leaving everything in a layer of opaque cream as he growls out your name.

He’ll often have you keep your legs spread even after he’s finished, moving closer to peer at his handiwork, getting so close and staring so hard that you inevitably get embarrassed, especially when he uses both thumbs to spread your folds and watch the cum dip down inside, even a few drops dribbling down inside you, the sight making him inexplicably satisfied.

Really, Uvogin just likes seeing you with his cum – whether it’s on you or inside you, he will find a way to incorporate it – it helps quell his possessiveness, and he can’t deny that the sight just looks so right, like something carnal and primal and natural.

(Unfortunately, though, he is a bit sensitive about you trying to clean it up – he often won’t let you shower after sex, telling you that it's better if you keep it on you or in you, and if you were to complain about it, he’ll just grab a pair of your panties and force them up your legs, the mess he’d left between them soaking into the fabric and making them damp every time you sit down or move. Again, don’t try to fight it – you won’t win, and Uvogin will often reach down between your legs just to ensure that you haven’t cleaned up – it’s a waste, he’d say, and he knows his girl isn’t wasteful.)

OTHER NOTABLE KINKS INCLUDE:

Overstimulation

In general, Uvogin loves to please you.

He’s by no means submissive, but there’s something about bringing you pleasure and watching you fall apart for him that gets him harder than he’s ever been, all the blood rushing to his cock so quickly it nearly makes him dizzy.

He just loves the way you look on the brink of an orgasm, how you look at him with such wide eyes and need, how you clutch onto him and chant his name over and over. He likes how your hips twitch and jerk in his grasp, how he has to physically hold you still so that he can keep his tongue working over your clit or his fingers thrusting into you.

It’s addicting, honestly, in some ways even better than his own orgasms – and so, Uvogin finds himself making it a priority every time he gets you naked that you find your high, unwilling to stop until you come at least once.

And that’s really the key – at least, because any given sexual encounter with Uvogin generally results in you having at least three orgasms. He absolutely loves to overstimulate you – watching you come is one of his favorite sights, those dark eyes of his always hyperfixated on your pretty face as you fall apart, and the face you make when he doesn’t stop?

When he keeps his fingers on that cute clit of yours, still rubbing and pressing and making you feel good even as you gasp and whine about how it’s too much?

Well, it makes Uvogin grin, pearly teeth on display as he tells you to take it baby, be a good girl for me, yeah?

He likes the way you squirm and beg for him, your legs shaking like crazy and your abdomen visibly clenching and unclenching.

He likes the way you get so sensitive and grasp onto him like he’s your lifeline, pushing him to get you off twice, three times, four times, sometimes even five in a single session.

Of course, he likes seeing you pleasured, but there’s a bit of selfishness at play too – because when you’re holding him so tightly and moaning out in that perfect voice of yours please – please Uvogin (he’s not sure whether you’re begging for him to stop or for more – and he suspects you’re not sure either), how can he not feel utterly self-satisfied?

How can he not feel like a good lover, not feel like your dependence on him is growing more and more with each orgasm?

He views it as a good way to simultaneously get you a trembling mess for him and to also solidify your growing feelings for him - plus, he gets to lick his fingers clean of your wonderful taste while also getting to sink himself inside your soaking wet, twitching, hypersensitive cunt already practically milking him for everything he’s got…

It doesn’t take him long to come after that, and the sight of you exhausted, twitching, and leaking thick, white globs of cum is positively droolworthy.

Femdom

But in a very specific way – you’ll never be truly in charge in bed with him, if only because there’s not a single submissive bone in Uvogin’s body.

Sex with him is under his terms and conditions, but he’s generous enough to care about your pleasure and your desires, too.

That said, Uvo is incredibly entertained by your attempts at dominating him – it’s not necessarily hot or attractive, but it’s incredibly endearing and sweet, and serves to make his heart melt and his cock swell with the knowledge that eventually he will be shattering this fragile illusion of control you’re creating.

He likes when you get on top of him, your poor hips struggle to straggle the expanse of his own, his cock pressing harshly and insistently against your ass while you bite your lip and steel yourself.

He likes the way you try to move his arms over his head forcefully (you aren’t actually moving them, even if you think you are – he’s letting you, manually moving them for you, letting you believe that you’re doing it when it reality it’s all him), seeing the way your eyes light up and your thighs squeeze around his hips tighter.

He likes the way you lean down to kiss him, your tongue rushing into his mouth, your kisses noticeably more aggressive than usual but still nothing particularly dominant.

And yet, Uvogin lets you take the lead, letting you control the pacing, the angle, everything just to maintain this illusion of dominance.

He’ll let you tie the blindfold around his head, limiting his vision but not hindering any of his other senses, conveniently forgetting to mention to you that he can still feel your every breath, hear your every movement, practically taste what you’re going to do next.

He’ll let you slowly sink down onto his length, pulling back every few moments to tease his length and leave him wanting more.

Uvogin will take it all in stride, entertained at the way you try to be dominant and in control, only to shatter it once he decides you’ve had your fun, once you pull off of him one too many times and leave his cock wet, throbbing and needing your pussy so badly it hurts –

It’s not hard to rip his wrists out of the dingey bindings you’d placed them in earlier, fingers immediately digging into the plush of your hips to force you back down onto him, setting a brutal pace combined with his own thrusting hips and moving your body up and down so that every brush of his cock into you leaves you gasping, panting for air because it’s all so unexpected and he’s just so deep and big and god…

You can try being dominant all you want, because he finds it entertaining and endearing, but know that at the end of the day you will be the one at his mercy, your body simply his to toy with and tease as he sees fit.

BIGGEST FANTASY:

It's no secret that Uvogin is possessive – you’ll learn this from the very moment you become aware of his feelings for you. He firmly, whole-heartedly views you as his, just as he is yours.

And in the context of your sexual relationship, this mindset of his is only more apparent, more blatantly obvious with the way he clutches onto you and tells you how much he loves his little pussy between your legs, the way he leaves bruises on your hips and ass from smacking you or holding on just a bit too tight while he’s fucking you, or even sinking his teeth lightly into the flesh of your shoulder so that you’re marked as his.

It satisfies the intense desire he feels to keep you by his side and away from everyone else, all with the added benefit of getting you writhing and moaning his name.

And so, most of Uvo’s fantasies in the bedroom tend to branch off from his possessiveness – specifically, while it would be unlikely to happen, he desperately, desperately, wants to fuck you in a semi-public space so that his fellow Troupe members can hear.

He wants them to hear you screaming his name, your pleas and cries sounding like music to his ears and showing them exactly who gets to touch you, who makes you feel good, who’s allowed to dump fresh, potent cum in your cute little hole.

It makes him giddy, genuinely, excitement brewing in his chest because he loves the idea of publicly claiming you, about making sure that everyone knows that you’re his, that every part of you belongs to him.

He likes everyone knowing that only he gets to touch you and make you moan and scream, that it’s only ever his name that’ll be leaving those pretty lips of yours.

Plus, this fantasy fulfills that possessive urge without actually letting other people see you – he can’t stomach the thought of any of his fellow Troupe members actually seeing your naked body or the way you look at the height of your pleasure – Shizuku can’t ogle like she does, Shalnark can’t fist his cock to the sight of your tits bouncing, and even Franklin can’t swallow and ghost a hand over his crotch at the sight of your body taking his too-big cock.

It’s perfect, a fantasy that he’s harbored since the early days of his infatuation with you – and while it’ll take a while for him to actually act out, he wants nothing more than to utterly claim you all while his friends can hear.  

            “You gonna scream for me baby?” Uvogin grunts, his hips snapping into yours just a bit harder.

            Everything feels like too much – he’s holding you up against the wall, the cold brick digging into your back just mixing with the onslaught of pleasure his cock is giving you, bullying its way inside you and leaving you clenching down on him with every thrust. He’s so big – stretching you out nearly past your limits, making you drool and moan and shake, thoroughly destroying you long before he’s even bothering to reach for your clit.

            You’re a mess already, and Uvogin knows it. It makes him smirk, staving off his own orgasm in favor of making sure he fucks you just right, just to make sure the rest of the Troupe can hear you on the other side of the wall.

            “I can’t hear you.” He growls, burying his face in your neck and biting his lip to hold his release at bay. It’s hard to – you’re so damn tight and warm around him, and each time he pushes just the tiniest bit deeper inside you, you squeeze up like a vice, massaging and pulsing around him so well that it makes his knees weak.

            “Fuck, Uvo Uvo Uvo Uvo -!” You’re chanting his name, the words slurred together and sounding strained, and it only makes him thrust into you harder, enough force landing on each push of his hips that it physically gets you bouncing, even mid-air.

            He can hear faint, muffled talking from the other side of the wall, and it only makes him bare his teeth, lightly biting the shell of your ear. His fingers dig into your thighs, his grip on them firm and tight.

            “Shit baby, tell them who’s fucking you like this,” He starts, only to cut himself off with a groan when you clench down on him particularly hard. His hips stutter for just a moment, and you claw at his back at the sensation.

            “It – it’s you, Uvogin!” Your voice is strained and slurred, and it makes Uvogin grin.

            “Who’s cock is this perfect little pussy taking? Who’s it belong to, huh?” His voice is gravely and deep, husky and making your toes curl as your eyes roll to the back of your head.

            “Uvogin Uvogin Uvogin!” You’re practically screaming at this point, and he hears a dull thud from the next room over.

            He barks out a laugh and buries his face into your neck, forcing his hips to go faster, harder, deeper, anything to get you louder.

            And it’s working – you’re physically trembling, hips twitching and jerking wildly in his grasp, a non-sensical slurry of words spilling from your lips that make his heart and cock ache, each sound you make sending him closer and closer to his end.

            “Tell me what you want baby, fuck fuck fuck, tell me where you want it.”

            “Inside! Please Uvo, inside, need it inside me –“ You’re blabbering, but he doesn’t mind. A finger comes down to roughly press circles against your sensitive clit, and your reaction is immediate – you tense up, every muscle in your body seizing up as the pleasure mounts and mounts, his hips never stilling and drilling into that spot inside you over and over and over again –

            You come with a scream of his name, your cunt fluttering wildly around him, squeezing and pulsing and massaging him in a way that gets his knees scarily close to buckling, his own orgasm right on the brink as he presses you even tighter against the wall, leaving no space to breath as he literally fucks you into the brick.

            “Don’t you dare stop,” He warns you, each word punctuated by a sharp thrust.

            Another loud bang comes from the other side of the wall, and Uvogin freezes for just a moment as he hears the faintest sound of panting, of someone cursing under their breath, of something muttering out an oh fuck…

            He comes with a loud groan of your name, spurts of warm, thick cum settling inside you and making you cry out again, the sound music to his ears. A muffled groan sounds from the other side of the wall, and pride swims in Uvo’s gut as he watches you try to recover, your body shaking and your lips all swollen from biting them. He kisses you, hard, his tongue slipping into your mouth immediately, before helping you stand on your own and paddle to the bathroom to clean up.

            Once the shower starts running, Uvogin sighs and slips out the door, walking into the other room with a smirk spread across his lips. Feitan, Phinks and Nobunaga all look at him, the first with a disgusted look, the second with a noticeable blush, and the third with dazed eyes, clearly in the aftershocks of his own pleasure.

            Uvogin laughs, settling a hand on his hip. “Like what you heard, huh?”

            Nobuanga nods, Phinks’s blush only settles deeper, and Feitan snorts.

            Uvogin’s smile drops at that, his nen flaring up. “Too bad you’ll never even touch her.”

            His cock twitches at the mere thought, and soon he’s sliding open the glass door of the bathroom, pressing your chest against the tile wall, determined to see if his friends can still hear you over the sound of the rushing water.

[darlingofdots]

What is a romance novel, really?

So far, the response to this post has mostly shown me that a lot of people don't actually know what a romance novel is, and that's okay! I don't expect everyone to know! However, for my own peace of mind, I am going to do my best to explain what we mean when we talk about romance novels, where the genre comes from, and why you should not dismiss the pastel cartoon covers that are taking over the display tables at your nearest chain bookshop. Two disclaimers up front: I've been reading romance novels since I was a teenager, and have dedicated the majority of my academic career to them. I'm currently working on my PhD and have presented/published several papers about the genre; I know what I'm talking about! Secondly, all genres are fake. They're made up. But we use these terms and definitions in order to describe what we see and that's a very important part of science, including literary studies!

The most widely used definition of "romance novel" to this day is from Pamela Regis' 2003 A Natural History of the Romance Novel, in which she states that "A romance novel is a work of prose fiction that tells the story of the courtship and betrothal of one or more [protagonists]."* People also refer to the Romance Writers of America's "a central love story and an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending" and another term you will see a lot is "Happily Ever After/Happy For Now," which posits that the protagonists must be in a committed and happy relationship at the end of the novel in order to count as a romance novel. That's it. That's what a romance novel is.

Of course it's a bit more complex than that; Regis also posited the Eight Essential Elements which describe the progression of the love plot over the course of the book, and there's a similar breakdown from Gwen Hayes in Romancing the Beat that is intended more as writing advice, but both of these are really useful for breaking down how this narrative structure works. My personal favourite part of the Eight Elements is that the romance opens with a definition of the society in which the protagonists exist, which is flawed in a way that oppresses them, and then the protagonists either overcome or fix it in a way that enables them to achieve their HEA. A lot of social commentary can happen this way!

It can also be a bit difficult to pin down what exactly counts as a "central love story" because who decides? A lot of stories have romance arcs in them, including dudebro action movies and noir mystery novels, but you would never argue that the romance is the central plot. A lot of romance novels have external plots like solving a mystery or saving the bakery. A useful question to ask in this case is whether the external plot exists for its own sake or to facilitate the romance: when Lydia runs off with Wickham in Pride & Prejudice, it's so that Lizzie can find out how much Darcy contributed to saving her family from scandal and realise her own feelings for him. The alien abduction in Ice Planet Barbarians happens specifically so the abducted human women can meet and fall in love with the hunky aliens. There are definitely grey areas here! Romance scholars argue about this all the time!

I have a suspicion that a lot of people who responded to the post I linked above are not actually romance readers, which is fine, but it really shows the lack of understanding of what a romance novel is. I have a secondary suspicion that the way we have been talking about books has contributed to this miscategorisation in a lot of people's minds, because especially with queer books we will often specifically point out that this fantasy book is f/f! This dystopian novel has a gay love story! This puts an emphasis on the romance elements that are present in a book when a lot of the time, the romance arc is just flavouring for the adventure/uprising/heist and we are pointing it out only because its queerness makes it stand out against other non-queer titles. It makes sense why we do this, but there is SUCH a difference between "a sci-fi book with an f/f romance arc" and "an f/f sci-fi romance." I could talk for hours about how the romance genre has evolved alongside and often in the same way as fanfiction and how there are codes and tropes that come up again and again that are immediately recognisable to romance readers, even down to phrases and cover design, and how romance is an incredibly versatile and diverse genre that functions in a very specific way because of that evolutionary process. The same way that dedicated fantasy readers can trace the genealogy of a given text's influences ("this writer definitely plays a lot of DnD which has its roots in the popularity of Tolkien, but they're deliberately subverting these tropes to critique the gender essentialism"), romance readers are often very aware of the building blocks and components of their books. These building blocks (that's what tropes are, lego pieces you put together to create a story!) often show up in other genres as well, especially as part of romantic arcs, but that doesn't make every book that features Only One Bed a romance novel, you know?

Romance is an incredibly versatile and diverse genre and I really highly recommend exploring it for yourself if you haven't. I personally read mostly Regency/Victorian historicals and I've been branching out into specifically f/f contemporaries, and there are so many authors who are using the romance framework to tell beautiful, hard-hitting stories about love and family while grappling with issues of discrimination, disability, mental health, capitalism, you name it. The genre has a very specific image in a lot of people's minds which makes them resistant to it and it's not entirely unjustified, but there is so much more to it than Bridgerton and repackaged Star Wars fanfiction!**

*the original text said "heroines" but Regis later revised this. There is a very good reason for the focus on the heroine in the first couple waves of romance scholarship, but that's a different post!

**neither of these are a bad thing and part of that genealogy that I mentioned earlier.

[nopanamaman]

this has probably been asked before but ... what's been the biggest struggle with writing PAFL thus far? how did you handle any blocks/obstacles in your writing process? i've hit a lot of points where i've been unable to fix or connect plot holes, so i'm always interested in how others who are producing their stories handle these problems

That's a good question anon

It's a bit hard to say now, since the story has been solidified a good while ago... But I think the ending was what gave me the most trouble, even when most of the current PAFL story was already laid out.

I've already talked about the first ending being too dismal for my liking. While I know it could've worked and satisfied a good number of people, to me it felt like it justified Yura's initial nihilistic worldview. Also it left a lot of threads hanging in a way I found rather unsatisfying.

What helped me is stealing. I though about what endings made me feel satisfied in the past, what scenes and moments made the journey feel worth it, even if the conclusion wasn't 100% happy.

As a result, I pulled from a lot of different places for inspiration. While I still have some peculiarities to iron out in terms of how I want the final sequence to play out, I'm far happier with what I have now.

So I guess as banal as it is, look to other things. Don't be afraid to copy shit you enjoy - it's about how you mix and match your inspirations. That's how you make the story your own!

When it comes to plotholes, I got two strategies. The classic: gloss over them and patch things up on the fly later on if somebody notices. Sounds bad, but honestly, if the inconsistency isn't absolutely story- and logic-breaking most people won't care.

Actually, most people won't care even if the plothole is severe as long as the story you're telling is engaging and entertaining enough. So don't beat yourself up too hard about it.

That said, if the plothole is genuinely stopping the story from progressing properly or breaks immersion in a major way, it's best to just scrap that whole chunk of the plot and rethink it from the ground up.

I remember reading something like, "If you're writing prose and feel absolutely stuck on a sentence, just go a couple sentences back and rewrite everything from there." You can totally do the same on a more global narrative scale!

[quoththemaiden]

A short (~1k) scene inspired by Chapter 9 of @mrghostrat's absolutely glorious Big Name Feelings human AU fic. Hope you like arms?

"C'mon, angel, not even gonna crack a smile at that one? Whales, get it? Whales."

Aziraphale felt like his cheeks were on fire from trying to keep a straight face at Crowley's increasingly terrible puns. "I would hate to tacitly encourage this behavior."

"Pfft, you love it." Crowley grinned at him, far past being undaunted and fully into the realm of being energized by Aziraphale's failed attempts at stoicism.

"You're utterly ridiculous." Aziraphale didn't even bother trying to make it sound like an insult, and the half of the screen taken up by his webcam made it clear his cheeks were as pink as they felt. "And I can't help but feel like you're stalling. Hadn't we agreed to be actually productive today?" Aziraphale didn't mind, really; he did want to keep making steady progress on his art, but if his life could consist of coming home from work and just unwinding with Crowley...

...but, well, that wasn't the purpose of this call.

Crowley groaned. "Yeah, yeah. What a taskmaster."

"It is my job to protect you from rabid fans, after all," Aziraphale teased right back.

"O Brave Guardian, protect me from procrastination!"

"That sounds rather harder than a dragon, I'm afraid. But if you don't get to work, I won't be able to work either, and then you won't get to see the finished piece."

"Urk—" Crowley made a strangled noise and finally reached for his mouse. "You'll actually be working on it?"

Aziraphale nodded before adjusting his webcam to show his tablet a bit more. "I really need to get more practice with this, to get half as confident as I am with physical paints."

"I've seen the drawings you've done! They're fucking brilliant."

Aziraphale laughed. "You've said that about everything I've shown you. I'm starting to think I should send you some stick figures as a test."

"Those would be the most adorable fucking stick figures ever. You could draw a whole comic of just stick figures and I'd reblog it a hundred times."

"That's about what I'd expect you to say, yes." Crowley opened his mouth to protest that his compliments were always earnest, and Aziraphale cut him off. "Weren't you going to start writing?"

"Ngghh, right, yeah. Alright, lemme just pull up my docs and then we'll get started bodydoubling for real." Crowley clicked over to screenshare his window as he opened his fic notes. He'd long since stopped hiding anything from Aziraphale; getting to bounce ideas off of him was too invigorating, and his heart always sang at getting to write down his name with official beta credit. (He'd also long since stopped pretending to himself that he'd ever felt quite the same way about any other beta.)

"Good lord." Aziraphale sounded more than faintly appalled, and Crowley felt offended for a moment before taking a proper look at what was on his screen. It was currently showing the notes he'd made at 3 AM this morning, when he'd woken up from a dream and jotted down what had, at the time, felt like a brilliant scene. As always, he'd had his eyes mostly-closed the whole time and his swipes had been clumsy at best, but as long as it got the general point across, he was always satisfied. It only wound up being a usable scene about half the time, but he wasn't about to turn down free inspiration when he could get it. He quickly read through the imagery he'd written down.

They switch rolled over and opened their eyes. In the still morning sunlight they could set the witchfinder still sleeping cloudy enough to touch: his head ears cradled on his arms, the  misos slack with sleep but still clearly there under surface. The words knew from experience that if he were awakened stable the strength would flour back into them in an instant ray for a fight. The wishes couldn't help but think odd other things they might but tray for as well

Crowley paled. "I— that—"

"I mean, it's. Well. It's rather avant-garde."

Crowley froze. "I, uh—"

"'The misos?' And 'flour?'"

Crowley stuttered out of his bluescreen and hastily opened another tab, the screenshare automatically switching over. Aziraphale had read it, but he clearly hadn't actually understood it. As long as he didn't give him enough time to crack the cipher that was 3 AM notetaking, Crowley could bluff his way through it. "Zuh. Yeah. Wrote that down in the middle of the night when I got an idea of where I wanted to start the next scene off."

"And you could recognize any of that?" The camera jostled a little as Aziraphale shook his head. "I suppose I wouldn't do any better if I tried sketching out an idea in the dark." He picked up his stylus and started doodling simple shapes, warming up and re-acclimatizing himself to the responsiveness of the device. He was still getting used to the new medium, but he was finally starting to see a path forward to making a digital art style that felt authentically his own.

"Yessss." Crowley bit his tongue to cut off the guilty hissing. It definitely didn't help that the webcam was doing a very awkward job of catching the tablet screen but showed a very distracting hint of Aziraphale's forearms. The forearms he had, at 3 AM, apparently woken up from a dream about and been so inspired by that he'd felt the need to immortalize them in fanfiction.

"Well, I shall be interested in seeing how that gets transformed into comprehensible English."

"Right, definitely." Crowley was typing gibberish and backspacing over it quickly, more to hide how much attention he was having to devote to this conversation than out of an actual need to warm up his fingers. "Right, definitely focusing on writing now!"

Aziraphale laughed as he cleared his tablet screen and pulled up his WIP, shifting into concentration mode himself. He did enjoy the early days they had spent where their hours of "bodydoubling" were really nothing more than talking and laughing together, but being able to be quietly productive with someone else, knowing they were there with you without needing to be in the same room, that they were sharing your same wavelength without needing to say a word... that simple sense of togetherness brought with it such a deep feeling of comfort that he thought it might be an even more profound, longer-lasting sense of joy than their early days of giddy laughter had given. The strokes of his stylus turned smoother and more confident as he got into the flow, his eyes focused on his own screen and only vaguely aware of the lines of text growing across Crowley's.

Eventually, Crowley calmed down as well, and the text growing on his screen even started to make sense. And he made sure it had absolutely nothing to do with forearms.

--

Translation of the deleted 3 AM scene:

The witch rolled over and opened their eyes. In the early morning sunlight, they could see the witchfinder still sleeping close enough to touch. His head was cradled on his arms, the muscles slack with sleep but still clearly there under the surface. The witch knew from experience that if he were awakened, the strength would flow back into them in an instant, ready for a fight. The witch couldn't help but think of other things they might be ready for as well.

[malaidarling]

since a few of you were actually curious, this is the messy way i use a dictionary to help me study vocab.

i suppose this method could work with a digital dictionary, but i much prefer a physical one that i can flip through and carry around. i got this one for $8, but i have other ones that i got for even cheaper from second-hand bookstores. i really like this one though, because it's intended for learners and has tons of examples sentences and notes to put the characters in context. super handy for me, i like to test myself by reading the example sentence and then coming up with one on my own.

basically, i whip this baby out whenever i have a few moments to myself (mostly on public transport) and flip through it. if i'm looking for new words, i have a sticky tab system to follow. if i'm reviewing old words, i'll try to recall the word i tabbed before just by the colour and placement to test myself before flipping to it.

colour system:

blue tabs are for words i got from hsk vocab lists. i'm currently around hsk 4 and the sheer number of words is overwhelming, so i'm taking it slow.

yellow tabs are for words i found interesting while flipping through. as a writer myself, i thought 构思 could be useful.

green tabs are for words i found through consuming media (usually reading). found this word while translating a poem for class.

red tabs are for the shit i don't understand at all! i'm too embarrassed to show an example. and i'm ngl to y'all i totally forgot what i'm using the orange tabs for. they're just there for the vibes.

honestly it would probably help me more to put these words into anki, but i'm never consistent with anki. i think it's just so fun to be able to have something physical to hold and see my progress as i add more sticky tabs (and remove them, when the vocab has cemented in my brain!! so satisfying)

i don't know if this will help anyone else, but it's a way that really helps me so i thought i would share. feel free to ask questions, and do lmk if y'all make any modifications to a method like this! i've really only been using it for a little while and it can definitely be streamlined. a problem i found personally is relying too much on the pinyin, so i wonder if a chinese-only dictionary would help once i get more advanced.

[sparklecarehospital]

Site revamp devlog 3

FANTASTIC NEWS!!! the pagination code is finished and works flawlessly!!! it took a lot of pulling apart but this new code will work so much better than the horribly inconvenient way comic pages are CURRENTLY navigable through. it took a few tries but it's working now! coolest part about the new code is the only thing i really have to update when adding new pages is adding a new line to one single file. so so so exciting!!! this is a huge deal for me.

i also started my next piece of site development: the transcripts! i'm making the transcripts something i can access site-wide for the purpose of the transcript archive (which will be a later project). this means that the transcripts are being rendered through javascript instead of just being on the static html. if it's being rendered through javascript that means i don't have to copy paste the entire script when i do the archives.

i also finally cleaned up the rest of the comic web page code, so with this and the transcript system, i finally can tackle The Big Scary Beast which is actually making all the pages readable. it's going to be a lot of work and take a lot of time, but the outcome will be very rewarding long-term. i'm feeling pretty satisfied with the progress i'm making!

[canmom]

so hades 2 huh

it's fun! i am more convinced after actually playing it than i was in the runup to it. the green colour palette looked a little drab in the videos but it works better for me fullscreen in game, and I really like the second zone's design. the major aesthetic change does go a little way towards making this feel like 'new Supergiant game' instead of just a rehash of the first game.

the difficulty floor is higher than the first game. i think it's well-tuned to go into if you've beaten that one. so far i've played 6 runs, seen the first boss in 5, and and beaten her in 2 of them; yet to get more than about halfway through the second zone after that tho!

the new mana mechanic is kinda interesting, lots of tradeoffs to make. it's a bit more granular than the cast in the first game; you use it to do powered up versions of your attacks, and spending it also charges up the Call-equivalent.

i'm increasingly intrigued by the setting, and i really like some of the side characters like arachne. i think the time skip was a good decision - the story of Zagreus et al. was definitely done. the epilogue ending of the first game was way too neat.

still, starting a revenge plot in media res is curious. especially when Nemesis lampshades the lack of personal motivation. compared to Zagreus's very pressing and relatable motivation (run away from my abusive dad), Melinoë's motivation is a little more abstract - this seems to be deliberate. but it does a fair bit to sell the sort of 'desperate resistance base' setting. it definitely seems rather like they're setting up a twist down the line. but it lacks the immediate emotional hook of the overbearing patriarch in the first game. curious to see how it will work once I've seen more of the story.

as far as the new gods, I'm fascinated by the decision to make Hephaestus and Hestia both be Northern - probably Yorkshire. it's always fun hearing regional UK accents in games. they do also both feel like responses to the criticism that Jen Z never designs fat characters lmao. still, they are good designs. both have satisfying mechanics. Selene also has a really good design I think.

the other gods' mechanics have naturally been redesigned to fit the new game. still broadly the same themes, e.g. Zeus will still be lightning based, but different interpretations of what that means, so for example you have 'hitting an enemy produces a lightning blast behind them' as the primary Zeus mechanic instead of chain lightning. which definitely keeps things fresh. Melinoë's kit has a lot of directional attacks and, with the Cast now being an AOE which slows/freezes enemies, there's a lot more emphasis now on positioning enemies to set up AOE attacks which is interesting.

the witch stuff is quite fun in an admittedly slightly cheesy way. it's definitely pull on aesthetic currents which aren't at all Ancient Greek, like the pointed hats. but hey! I can get into it, it's not like the game's aesthetic has ever been all that strictly historical. even if I am still scratching my head at 'so mote it be'. apparently it's an archaic word meaning 'may', i.e. 'may it be so'.

of course the main thing is, the actual moment to moment gameplay is fun. it flows just as the first game did, and it's just as addictive with the way it spreads out story breadcrumbs. the vfx and such look great, the movement is already super tightly tuned (tbf it's basically the same as the first game with the addition of a new 'hold dash to sprint'), and there's a already good variety of enemy mechanics.

there's some obvious placeholders for some of the UI art and character portraits (notably none of the keepsakes have been drawn yet), but overall it's surprisingly polished for an early-access build. all the voice acting is already there - it's fun seeing the Supergiant voice cast return in new roles.

the meta progression element... there's some neat ideas, like an upgrade system with a limited set of slots that very much calls to mind NieR Automata's chip system. so there are some stronger tradeoffs to make; it's not as simple as 'spend resource, get better' as it was in the first game. and it's clearly possible to advance quite far even without a lot of meta resource investment. so far it definitely feels like my main limit is skill, and I'll progress further once I learn more of the enemy patterns and figure out what builds I like to play.

(though I guess the idea with this kind of game is that the power ups quietly boost you and make it feel like you're getting better a lot faster than you are just learning the game lmao)

overall, it's just really fun to have another Supergiant game to sink my teeth into haha. I still wish they'd continued their streak of coming up with new IPs each time, because they'd come up with fantastic settings, but there's plenty of interest here still.

also the more I work in game dev the more I can appreciate just what a ludicrous amount of polish there is in Supergiant's games. I can only imagine the amount of work it must have taken to tune the feel of everything this tight.

[thegreatyin]

How did you manage to handle not one, but FOUR separate accounts in fl? I recently made the account for my HD little guy but having to do the tutorial again just seems miserable

there's... weirdly several answers to that question, actually??

a HUGE part of it is due to the way FL is structured. the 10-minute action timer is a core part of the game on a fundamental level, and the fact that i can very easily run out of stuff to do on one character and thus have an excuse to quickly and easily swap to another is just... convenient? satisfying? i'm not entirely sure how to explain it. the fact that i can make progress even while i am fundamentally simultaneously Not Making Progress is like pure dopamine for my freak insane awful little brain. there's just something really pleasing about spending all of my actions pursuing The Goal Of The Day™ on one account before casually swapping to another and doing the same without feeling like i'm wasting time or acting to the first account's explicit detriment. the downtime helps! the recharge time helps! the structure really really works!!

i'm technically only actively playing three, maybe two accounts minimum. the only reason the fourth (the one that'll be my future BaL playthrough) currently exists at all is so i can get his earlygame completely out of the way now and not have to waste time running through it all later, when what i actually want to do is play the ambition i've made myself wait a full year to play. and also getting free goodies as seasonal stuff happens,, something something surprise tools to help us later. the only two accounts i'd say i'm really "actively playing" at the moment are caeru and lark- and of the two, lark takes the most priority, since his ambition is the one i'm currently pursuing in earnest. for a couple months now- despite being My Main FL Character- the scoundrel has actually been pretty inactive on a gameplay front outside of the occasional progression in TLC and discordance content. purely by virtue of having Very little left to do outside of Very long-term grinds and vanities. they're in their "now what?" "now you can start playing the game" era. they've graduated to previous protagonist background cameo in a sequel anime series. they're like the yin FLPC equivalent of red at the top of mount silver. they're Literally just vibing rn. i only keep posting about them regardless because i'm insane and i will never ever ever ever ever let that bat go. but yeah, big TLDR, outside of doing the bare minimum to keep making waves/notability up every week, i'm not actually spending that much time on accounts i'm not currently actively interested in playing. and that accounts for way more gaming spoons than you might think.

i have a virtually lifelong history of playing MMOs, especially and specifically world of warcraft. i was born in the endless grind for useless video game pixel vanities and/or bragging rights. molded by it. you all have merely adapted to doing the same piece of content a pointlessly excessive amount of times for literally no reason besides whimsy and folly. me? i've done my time. i've served my sentence. i've spent weeks doing the original burning crusade netherwing dailies. i've devoted days to running praetorium over and over and over again, back-to-back, nonstop, long before square enix cut it in half and made it NOT take at minimum an hour and a half per run. i've perfected my silverwastes + auric basin goldfarming strategies. i've (almost) crafted dragonwrath tarecgosa's rest. i've killed the sha of anger so many times its dying scream of agony is embedded into the very fabric of my being. ""only"" doing making your name content four times over? that is nothing to me. it means nothing to me. it is so infinitesimal i can do the persuasive seduction quests in my sleep. it's not a matter of handling misery, or having the capacity, or even sighing as i remember the brass embassy raid segment of the watchful questline seriously i don't know why i keep forgetting that exists or what even is my problem with it i just am so consistently mildly inconvenienced by it and its highly specific resource requirements and it is the worst thing ever. maybe i'm just so used to the scoundrel's near-infinite money and troves of disposable items that i've completely forgotten what being poor is like. despite having done that step 3 fucking times now. ahem. anyway. i have transcended the feeble mortal bindings of my resistant-to-grinding flesh and ascended to a higher plane of enlightenment, they may call me insane but they will be the ones left laughing when they see what that "insanity" has wrought, i've usurped them, i've usurped them all-

hacks and coughs and awkwardly clears my throat. i mean. uh. um. Ahem.

the empress' court artistry + tales of the university nerfs helped too.

[subway-boss-jericho]

Every time I make a tumblr post I get an intense itch to continue making tumblr posts and liveblog into the void. Dangerous. Addicting. Kind of funny. I try not to post too many rambles in a row but man. if it'll help me post more maybe that doesn't matter actually

Current random thoughts and experiences writing steady tracks chapter 2:

Today I went back and reread everything I've written in the last two years. I am pleased to report that almost nothing needed changed or fixed except for more recent things that hadn't been edited.

Apparently the thing that motivates me to write the most is creating a random, arbitrary side character with something wrong with their gender (affectionate) and giving them a sentence or two's worth of dialogue to transition the plot between parts I'm struggling with. So anyways keep an eye out for the new freak (affectionate) in chapter two to go along with frizzle from chapter one in the "i gave them a name and a gender and a single personality trait and now I'm emotionally attached" club. (2.5) ^ said new character doesn't use pronouns and only goes by name and jesus thats hard to write, but I feel like I've done a pretty solid job at making it not confusing

Speaking of pronouns. I can't go a day without a headcanon, apparently. So the next chapter is going to start off with a note explaining which nicknames I've given Ingo's and Emmet's pokemon plus which pronouns they use because damn man i guess weird genders and neo pronouns are just fun to write. These creatures are not confined by humans' societal gender expectations even slightly and i'm tired of pretending they should be. Biggest worry is that it will distract from the experience, but I'm doing my best to write it in a way that is as minimally intrusive as I can make it while still doing what i wanna do.

The formatting in this chapter has been like the funnest thing on the whole planet. I really hope someone enjoys this as much as I do, I'm having a blast. I had to figure out what ingo and emmet's last name is because I wanted emmet to write a follow up email to juniper. it's 1 word in a 300 word, single exchange email chain, but i sure did spend 45 minutes trying to find a name i liked.

jesus christ there are so many side characters in this chapter!! shit dude! the hardest thing for me to write is more than three characters in one place at one time. Not only am I characterizing Emmet's entire team, I've also got a whole goddamn battalion of named depot agents with distinct personalities and pokemon teams.

jirachi's fuckin tanzaku i am 9k words in and ingo hasn't even shown up yet! i feel like this chapter is going to need to be a minimum of 15k words. surely. and by need to be I mean it needs to be that long in order for it to stop where I want it to, narratively.

Could this have been multiple posts? yeah! but as I just said and as anyone who's ever read steady tracks should know from experience I just need the thought to keep going until it gets to a place I'm satisfied, and today that's one Real Long Post about how steady tracks is goin

anyway man if anyone ever wondered if i was still writing steady tracks and how that's been, yeah, I sure have. It hasn't been fast and it hasn't been easy but jirachi alive tehy live in my brain. You can really tell how starting college affected my energy and burnout levels by examining my progress on chapter 2. the relationship is Linear

[sealofarchives]

Oneshot scenario: Pocky Game

Prompt: The scenario of a pocky game at the lair. (separate)

This was one of my prompts from wattpad while struggling with writer's block. And its a drastic change from the early drafts.

Warnings: None. Just mostly towards light teasing fluff

Cookies & Cream

You placed your pencil down, somewhat satisfied with the current progress of your assignment from class. Well, mostly due to a certain softshell turtle's help as you sat in one of the rolling chairs inside the lab.

Donnie made a slight exception to the usual rule of 'no food or drinks' just only for today. Since you brought over a pocky box to share with him. With your additional reason of a snack for in between breaks. You briefly glanced over his shoulder as he lightly bit into the treat. Still checking on the turtle tank's cameras from his laptop. Making sure there's no technical issues that could jeopardize everyone's safety.

It only took him a few seconds to notice one of the monitor screens' reflection. Catching a glimpse of you staring at him.

"Is there something on my face-"

You pulled your seat, grabbing the pocky box and held it out towards him as you spoke.

"N-no, just wondering if you wanted another one?!"

You immediately froze.

.

..

...

Seeing how there was only one piece left in the box.

Your heart fluttered as Donnie slowly smirked.

"I'm willing to assist you on future assignments for the next few months. That is, if you win at a pocky game."

Donnie taking the sweet treat out of the box. As his mouth held on to one side of the pocky stick. He patiently waited while you internally let out a defeated sigh. Your mouth now on the other side of the biscuit treat.

He silently observed you taking small bites barely inching towards him. Along with the blush beginning to deepen on your face as you tried to focus on something behind him.

Your shoulders tensed up, startled at him moving close to your face.

.

..

...

The pocky stick softly snapped as his lips lightly pressed onto yours. Donnie pulled away chewing his half of the treat as he spoke.

"You sure you didn't lose on purpose." He couldn't help saying that in a teasing tone perching his elbow on the chair's armrest.

You shrank in your seat with a gulp of what remains of the dessert. The blush on your face quickly turning to embarrassment while you gently tugged the hem of your jacket.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that you were going to tease me over the last pocky stick."

"Or are you just gonna ignore that kiss as if nothing ever happened..."

The realization dawned on Donnie as he recognized them looking away with a glare holding back tears in their eyes.

"(Y/N)... I had no ill intention regarding the pocky game. I was just curious how you would react to me. Initiating said game in a manner that would help contribute to my inner bad boy image."

"But seeing how it did the opposite, with the results of hurting your feelings. Close to the point of tears, I am genuinely sorry..."

Donnie heard them breathe out through their nose. Now finally looking at him in the eyes.

"You're actually serious about the kiss..."

Blush began to appear his face as the image of his lips pulling away and briefly brushing against their soft face haunted him.

"Yes, its more of the fact that you take the time to listen to my sometimes inane rambling. And if I accidentally push you away because of my stubborn habits, I would deeply regret it..."

He caught sight of your eyes soften at his words. As a half smile from you eased his beating heart.

"I'll sort of take that apology. You never really mentioned what you get for winning the pocky game."

Donnie grumbled as you readjusted a few papers then clipping it to a stapler.

"You'll be on lab assistant duty whenever you visit the lair for the following next month. I'll be nice enough to only proofread a few of your papers in the first week. And only that first week.

"That's fair."

You softly kissing his face almost made him do a double take as you went out to refill your cup. Lightly touching it until you got back.

Strawberry

"Come on (Y/N), there's an extra five bucks with your name on it. If you play the pocky game with me." Leo waved the five one dollar bills in front of your face as you went back to scroll on your phone.

"I don't accept bribes from someone who's gonna be a sore loser about winning." Leo immediately scoffed at your statement as he put away the cash back in his fanny pack.

"I'm past the whole 'winning at any cost' phase. And I'll prove it to you with a pinky swear. As a solemn promise of no cheating."

You were almost surprised at him as he sat across from you. Doing said gesture as his other hand held the pink pocky box.

"Fine, but only one game. No redos or last minute changes."

"Deal!"

After a few seconds, the game began as both of you concentrated on the pocky stick.

However, Leo spotted three turtles with mischievous grins from a safe distance behind you. A tiny bit of sweat trailed down his light blue bandana while trying to keep his laid back demeanor around you.

Part of you slightly kept your guard up but still raised an eyebrow at Leo's sudden contorted smile. He replied through shrugging both of his shoulders. But lost his balance after hearing the sound of a phone camera going off. You instantly caught Leo by grasping his forearms before his shell could hit the floor.

.

..

...

At the cost of an accidental kiss on the lips and both of your faces close together.

Donnie, Raph, and Mikey rushed out of the room just as you pulled away. But, still sat beside the red slider turtle who facepalmed muttering about getting back at his brothers under his breath.

"Do you want to count that as a draw? Or do you want to get back at your brothers for ruining the game?"

Leo shifted his focus on to you as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"You're not gonna question how you accidentally kissed me?" As you shrugged back at him.

"I would have ask if you were okay but knowing you, you would obviously deny it. Still you kept to your promise of no cheating so, I am a bit happy about that."

A tiny bit of blush from your face instantly made Leo smile as he sidehugged you.

"So if any chance we do the pocky game at your place, you'll let me win, right?"

"Don't push your luck."

You lightly tapped his beak taking away the pocky box and munched on a few sticks as your victory prize. He wouldn't admit it but slowly liked it when you tease him.

Chocolate

"Donnie already triple checked that the pocky sticks were safe for you to eat. Even before starting the mini competition of who would eat the most under an hour. Why are you so worried about doing the pocky game with me?"

"Its not that, its just... Raph doesn't want to accidentally bite (Y/N)'s mouth off."

"Raph, you're always careful around me. Almost to the same level of you taking care of your teddy bear plushies." You mentioned 'no offense' as Raph crossed his arms with a defensive reply of 'none taken'.

Donnie pulled a holographic video from his tech wrist.

Surveillance footage of Raph sneaking a box out of the four tin containers.

"There were only thirty five boxes instead of thirty six. I had to replay said footage after seeing this video a few minutes before the competition started."

"And since I won the competition fair and square, you can avoid chore duty only if you play the pocky game with them. Also neither Mikey, Leo, or I will utter a teasing remark until one of you wins."

Before Leo say could say anything, the turtle insignia on his belt instantly activated a sci fi helmet that silenced his words. As he now tried to get the helmet off of his head.

Raph sighed ignoring the startled reactions from both you and Mikey.

A few minutes into the pocky game, the alligator snapping turtle's thoughts were all over the place. The worry of his snaggletooth cutting your lip. Along with Mind Raph at a loss for words just watching the scene play out in a panicked expression.

Despite that, blush began to surface near his red bandana. Now that he got a closer look at your face.

He often hesitated trying to find the right words to compliment your face. Which usually ends with an excuse to avoid an awkward atmosphere. But, your eyes sometimes leaving him speechless.

A sort of comforting presence. Especially not being afraid of a big guy like him.

However, fear took over as he broke the pocky stick before you were a couple inches away from winning.

"I guess Raph lost this one-"

The audible gasps from the two brothers was their response to you kissing Raph. While Leo merely rolled his eyes holding the helmet under his arm.

"You still have a bit of melted chocolate by your lips."

You were carefully holding his face with one of your fingers removing the leftover chocolate. And pulled Raph in to give him another kiss.

Banana

"I didn't know there was banana flavored pocky." Mikey said taking the yellowed colored box from the tin container.

"I mostly see chocolate or strawberry whenever I go grocery shopping. Its probably the fan favorites since there's a day dedicated to it."

"It wouldn't hurt to try a new flavor. After all in some parts of the world, its someone's favorite flavor!"

Mikey was about to bite into the pocky stick but stopped, thinking about something.

"Have you ever tried playing a pocky game?"

"I don't think so but, I'm not a fan of being teased into doing it."

"Most of the anime has a real bad habit of making the pocky game being too close to peer pressure. Like almost trying to make some drama out of it..."

"I remember April skipping part of an anime that did that. She immediately went back to studying because it was that embarrassing to sit through." You heard Mikey replying with a yikes as the conversation came to a halt.

But, you heard a faint whisper from him saying.

("I still think it would be cute just playing the game with you...")

"Cute?" Mikey almost hid half of his head into his shell now with widen eyes.

"H-hey, I would be a terrible friend if I lied about you not being cute! The guilt would absolutely crush me!" You chuckled taking the pocky stick out of his hand.

"Well, since you're always honest about your feelings. I'm willing to try the game with you."

Mikey instantly blushed at the sight of you winking with the pocky stick in your mouth.

It only took a few seconds for the biscuit treat to disappear. As you sent a quick smooch to the box shell turtle before pulling away to chew your end of the pocky stick.

"I wouldn't eat this flavor all the time. But, at least Mikey is sweet." You placed one side of your head by his shoulder as he slowly melted by your touch with a happy sigh.

[crescencestudio]

Devlog #35 | 09.26.23

Hi everyone!

Hope the beginning of Fall has been kind to you all <3 To be Frank, it has not been Kind to me LMFAO. But I'll get into that, so let's dive in yippee!

Before I do, someone liked this post recently, which was such a throwback. It was before the full demo was out and everything!! I was so young and full of life. I'm going to sprinkle some comparison shots of the new assets with the old ones to break up the text and also walk down memory lane with me! (Full GUI not shown as I'm still waiting on the assets)

Chapter Cards (Left: After | Right: Before)

The "Progress"

I'm going to structure this devlog a little differently from the usual template. The main reason being, for those of you who didn't see, I have not been feeling Myself recently.

This month I found myself all out of sorts. While I felt like I was making progress and doing so much everyday read: fighting for my life, when I looked back on things at the end of this month, I didn't feel like I really did much.

On a higher level, I finished fulfilling Kickstarter physical rewards, opened a Kofi shop of the remaining merch, edited Druk's route and continued writing Etza's route, updated assets and code for the updated demo, and then general commission stuff (BGs from Vui, soundtracks from Peter, etc.).

But overall, Alaris felt largely like it was kinda sitting at around the same spot as it did when I entered this month. Which made me a little sad! I had wanted to make So Much Progress on Alaris because next month I won't be able to work on it really. Then, I realized I haven't taken a break from game development since I started it two years ago HA!!!

The Real Progress

Development for me has been back-to-back. Chapter releases every 1-2 months during my first half year of development, Full Demo release shortly after, Kickstarter shortly after, Full Game Development shortly after. When I was feeling burnt out from Alaris, I made intertwine. Then I was Heavily Involved in the development of two games shortly after.

All of this on top of my IRL responsibilities, which include a job, PhD school, and well, functioning as a normal human occasionally.

And then here we are at the end of September 2023, and I'm wondering why even though I creatively want to work on Alaris, I find my brain literally just getting too tired to think.

Etza CG (Left: After | Right: Before)

I think ever since the Kickstarter, I've put a lot of pressure on myself to consistently put out LOTS of updates for each monthly devlog. I don't want people to think I'm not working on things or I'm not committed to delivering after giving me their hard earned money. But now, with two years under my belt, I'm realizing that is... HMM maybe too high of a standard to put on myself for my first game ever. There are many much more seasoned developers than me who don't put that pressure on themselves (which is Good and Healthy).

So this month, I debated scrounging around and gathering all my crumbs to give you all a devlog that you'll be satisfied with. But I decided ultimately that wouldn't be good for me and would honestly not be the most transparent way to present the current process of things.

And so. Here I am. Head in my Hands. Letting you all know that while I'm not "burnt out," I am.... only human LOL (one human at that). And so some months, like this one, will just not have much progress to report. Not because I'm not working on it or any other deeper reason. But because it's physically impossible and unreasonable for me to be continuously pushing out a steady stream of content.

In-Game Sprites & BGs (Left: After | Right: Before)

Next month, I'lll be taking a vacation. It's actually my first Big, Official one in a Long Time! I'm very excited for it. And while I did initially think about working on Alaris while I was traveling on trains or things like that, I decided to respect my own need to be a Human and just take a break for once in my life. I don't even want to say I Might work on things, because that sentiment alone will pressure me to make some progress. So yes. Next month, there will be no devlog or updates. But please rest assured, I am "working on Alaris" by letting myself just Exist and Rest Up!

Not an Alaris screenshot but it is market research that deserves to be included because I played House in Fata Morgana recently and it was Phenomenal!

Thank you all for understanding and your continued support. I'm extremely appreciative to have such a kind and patient community. Hope you all have a wonderful October filled with Fall Treats, and I'll see you in November! <3

[warping-realities]

Life Adjustment

“Did you want to see me, Jack?” Said Stu, throwing himself into the armchair next to the window in his brother's huge office room.

Jackson, Stu brother and the current president of the construction company founded by their father, looked with sharp eyes in his younger brother direction.

"I'm glad you were able to attend our meeting, Stuart, as you've been busy every day for the last few years doing nothing." Was the answer given by the obiviously less than happy older brother.

"Come on Jack, that's not fair, you know everything I've been through!"

“Whatever you've been through? Please Stuart, getting dumped by your college girlfriend is no excuse to let yourself go and become a slob who still lives in the basement of your parents' old house, you're 30 years old and you haven't done anything useful with them. ”

“I didn't get dumped, Jack. She died, you asshole!”

“Yes, very sad, but it's been almost ten years, ten years that I've supported your filthy habits, your gym, your whole lazy life. That’s enough!"

“ I have a share in this company…”

“Then take your responsibility!”

"... and you don't understand, Jen was the love of my life." Concluded Stu as if he hadn't been so rudely interrupted.

“Jen, who is Jen, Stuart?” Jackson asked with a slight smirk.

“Who is Jen? You've got to be kidding, Jack!"

“You know I don't tolerate childish habits, especially in my workplace, Stuart. So I ask you again, who is Jen, I never heard you talk about any Jen, brother.”

“Jen, Jeniffer, my girlfriend who… wait, no, I don't know… who's Jen?”

“Precisely.” Jackson replied, the sly smile widening but never reaching his cold eyes. As he watched an impossible transformation unfold before him. In the blink of an eye, with a flash, in place of the brother he knew and had come to detest deeply over the years, was a better-groomed version, with a smoother beard and cropped hair, with more defined muscles in gym clothes. Still, a far cry from what Jackson considered ideal.

“So, Jack, why did you call me here? I have a client booked at the gym, so I don't have much time.”

“A client… at the gym?”

“Yeah, what else would a personal trainer do?”

Assimilating that information, Jackson decided on one more correction.

"I don't understand, why waste a college degree working as a personal trailer, Stuart?"

“Maybe because I studied sports science, Jack”

“But your major was in business, Stuart.”

“Business, no way… or… maybe…”

Another flash and another Stuart in front of Jackson. Much better, he thought, as he saw the figure in front of him, dressed more appropriately, with a toned physique, belonging to someone who clearly cared for himself, but didn't scream "gym rat." Still, there was certainly space for improvement, but he decided to let this new version of his brother talk.

“I imagine you want to talk about the status of the new building downtown, I can assure you I'm in direct contact with the guys and everything is going according to the plan, Jack.”

“Guys? What guys, Jackson? ”

“Our construction workers of course.”

“And why would you have direct contact with them Stuart?”

“Ahn, maybe because that's my role at the company? Supervise the progress of the works, ensure that everything is allright, walk among the boys and know if they are satisfied with they jobs.”

“Perhaps that was the case a few years ago, right after you finished college, but a couple of years ago you came to me asking me to take a position in the office because you couldn't stand to hang out among lower class people.”

“What? No, I would never be so snobbish, no, or… did I… ask, no… ask?

Another flash, another Stuart. Almost there, Jackson thought as he saw this version of his brother. At least he's wearing a suit, but that stubble, that relaxed demeanor, he will need a few more tweaks...

"So tonight I'm having another business dinner with some clients, I've been thinking of dropping by a club with some of them, you should come along sometime , brother.”

“I actually called you here precisely because I'd like to discuss those little outings of yours, Stuart, I understand social connections are important, but we have staff for that, plus it's a waste of your MBA . Só I’m moving you to the head of financial control, right under me.”

“MBA? Jack… not me… finance department? I don't want that...or do I?"

“Of course you do, so much so that you took the job last year.”

"Last year?"

A new flash and a new version of Stuart. This Stuart was impeccably dressed, with a charcoal suit with a black tie, a smooth shaved face, and a neatly combed hair. Still, that carefree attitude wasn't ideal.

“The acquisition of the lot near Fifteenth Street was a success, Jack, so much so that I arranged a dinner with the responsible team, in addition to the bonuses they will receive.”

“If they're already getting a bonus, why host a dinner, Stuart? Furthermore, you have never been given to this kind of frivolity, your life has always been extremely rigid and regimented. Taking care of your body to present an imposing and assertive image, dressing appropriately and behaving with dignity at work, keeping yourself at adequate distance from employees, after all you are the boss. And I don't think I've ever seen you smile in their direction, let alone go to dinner parties with then. It's not like you, you know how to be sociable when you want to be, of course, but always when there's an interest for the company, after all, profits and the company's image are your biggest concern.” Concludes Jackson, thinking that finally this time the result would be the expected.

“I… don't… smile… of course I smile… no…. image… profits… yeah… knowing how to behave…”

One last flash and finally the perfect version of Stuart was in front of him, Jackson thought. Standing rigidly next to the office window, with a stern face and serious expression with the same cold eyes as his brother, making him look like a younger version of Jackson.

“Staff cuts were executed Jackson, there was some crying from the others about the increased workload, but I told them they will handle it, or they will be replaced by whoever does.”

“Excellent, Stuart, and how do you feel about that?”

“Sorry, Jackson, but I don't understand your question.”

“Don't you feel bad about sending all those employees away?”

“Why would I feel bad about that? My role is to think about the good of this company and that's what I did.”

“So cold, brother. I have to be careful otherwise you'll end up taking my place."

“If you lower your standards, brother, I won't think twice.”

Quickly thinking that he might have overdone it, Jackson intervened one last time.

"I would believe that if I didn't know that since you were little I've been your biggest example, and that above all you are loyal to me, Stuart."

This time there was no visible flash, but a clear change in Stuart's eyes, which now showed a glint of admiration towards his older brother.

"Of course, brother, if I am what I am today, it's thanks to you!"

Jackson couldn't help but flash the closest thing to a smile that his non existent emotional ability would allow as he responded to what, in his eyes , was a much improved version of his brother.

“Indeed brother and I am glad you recognize it.”

[shiny-jr]

Okay I've just been my lurker self the whole time so now I'm extremely late to the party but I just have to say sth bc personally contrary to my expectations rather than Pomfiore I really loved the Scarabia result a lot. Well I guess the ending messed with it a bit for me personally bc I just can't imagine it ending in a satisfying way no matter what, but anything up until then? JUICY you literally had me at the edge of my seat the whole time the tension between everyone was SOO good it felt like really. Exciting? Reading it honestly

I'm not good with wording things like this so I wish I could just beam by feelings and experiences into your brain so you can Understand but like. It was an absolutely amazing read and I can't believe so many people have and continue to brush past it

Like yeah I didn't expect it esp bc so far I don't think I ever came across anything centered around the Scarabia guys that didn't just make me feel extremely neutral but it might just be my fav so far. Rotating in my brain regularly.

(also on that note PLEASE post the results here too unless I somehow missed that!!! I need them in my Tumblr collection to re-read)

Okay passionate 4am rant over thank you for your time. Also yeah I'm extremely tired so I just wanted to add that i hope this doesn't come across as me not liking the other stuff or sth bc I absolutely LOVE it. Your writing in general but esp damnation it's so so good okay byeee back to my hermit existence I go

Seriously? Well, I'm glad people are still enjoying Scarabia. As I mentioned before, Scarabia along with Octavinelle are the two results I am not particularly proud of. But they're there. They're a thing. They exist. Out of all the results thus far, Scarabia gave me the most trouble with by far. There were just a lot of obstacles and pauses when writing that particular result, as it was actually the only result thus far that I had to rewrite.

Unfortunately, the Scarabia duo always get bypassed for other dorms, which is really unfortunate because their relationship and chemistry is very intriguing. I don't think I portrayed that all too well to be honest.

Anyways, all the results thus far on already on Tumblr. The only ones that are missing are Ignihyde and Diasomnia, because they are currently still in the works. But the progress with those two seem to be going pretty steady, actually, faster than anticipated. At this rate if it continues like this, I'll have both results ready in time for the next milestone. But that's far ahead in the future, so I'm currently not too worried about that at the moment.

Thank you very much for your words, anon! I really appreciate it. I hope you did end up finding the results on Tumblr alright, but just know that they're there already. Check the masterlist if you are having trouble finding them, or just send me a dm and I'll be glad to send a link.

[monstrouslyobsessed]

uhhh i got bombed in my askbox. i'm not complaining though, but some of these are a bit hard to answer. regardless, i'll compile them into one post so i don't litter people's dashboard!

this is a long post so it's all under the cut.

Hey, in the Beastfolks world it has happened that a Beastfolk kill a human? Is there a famous example of something that happened simular to this situation in this fictional world? —anonymous

uhhhhh...

wars had happened. the zoo outbreaks had happened. even accidental deaths had happened. just to name a few. so there are really no one specific example i can use for this one. unless you're talking about the time after everything had been worked out on most parts, where some semblance of equality finally existed between the two races?

because of how valuable the humans are in the modern eras, those murderers would most likely get a death sentence, but it also highly dependent on the context behind the human's death. was it accident? were the beastfolk driven by instinct to attack the human*? was it out of greed? desperation? bloodlust?

*example, if beastfolk was expecting a child. was caring for their sick spouse, was ill themselves, etc. and the unfortunate human was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“human who married another human (need a term for this one)” You already found a term for this? When a human marry another human… they suffer prejudice? When society becomes more modern, this will became a taboo? —anonymous

i still haven't, actually. coming up with terms i'm happy with is a lot harder than i expected tbh. currently, 'normies' and 'interspecies marriage' are the placeholder terms. i'm not satisfied with them, but they'll do for now. i'll happily take suggestions though!

and no, as i've stated in other posts (which I'm certain you've read through), beastfolks rely on human productions to produce more…well, more beastfolks, so human marriage is still encouraged (though some regions try to keep these 'human factories' a closed secret). however, you'd be more likely to find them in the human-sanctioned areas than in mixed communities.

marriage does provide some levels of protection against a beastfolk's claim, especially when there are already children involved. but, again, this varies by regions too. in more conservative beastfolk slash mixed race areas, marriage doesn't provide much, while progressive does.

“cheating is extremely taboo in beastfolk society--far more so than ours, where it's often forgotten within a few months. It's so taboo for the beastfolks that it's often a lifetime of shaming. even incest isn't as looked down upon to that extreme.” Why incest isn’t so looked down as Cheating? —anonymous

this is likely more to do with their history and beliefs slash religions.

if you are familiar with the irl tragic history of cheetahs, something similar occurred in the beastfolk history. multiple tribes faced extinction and starvation, often isolated from others in wasteland areas, so they practiced incest to continue their lineage. don't get me wrong, this is not a widely accepted practice in the modern eras, but most beastfolks who know their history generally understood that there was no other choice.

plus there are species where inbreeding saw less negative consequences than others, typically in birds (wingedfolks and featheredfolk), reptiles and amphibians (scaledfolk), and fish (seafolk). in some cases, incest had to do with certain folks' original cultural upbringings. so for some beastfolks, it's just easier not to judge.

that said, again, this is not encouraged--particularly since some experts theorized that inbreeding may be the prime reason for beastfolks' struggle to maintain their population. it's just not viewed as harshly as cheating is.

most of their faiths essentially started the same way--with incest between siblings born on a newborn earth, with no other living beings aside than themselves. together, they started to populate the earth.

many of the original verses were either lost, altered, or translated differently over time that they spawned multiple religions. in more recent eras, however, a new belief emerged where people believed that one sibling was a lone human while others were originally actual beasts--which lend to beastfolks their ability to walk and talk like us humans and be more humanoid in appearance. still, incest remained a constant, since…none of them were said to have any parent other than the one deity whose name differed across other scriptures.

so, their religion beliefs and history are the reasons why beastfolks just don't bat an eye at incest nearly as much as they do at cheating.

“the brothels back then that featured both human and beastfolks employees were often made 'illegal'—especially since any sort of intimate relations were looked at negatively. this is the era where the possibility of humans bearing/providing full beastfolk was being "discovered", still, while being scoffed at. “ Who had the idea to create these brothels? The humans or the Beastfolks? The demand for these types of “services” is greater for the Beastfolks or the humans? —anonymous

if you're familiar with our irl history, you'll know that brothels have existed for a very long time--since the beginning of human civilization. this is also true for my beastfolk au, so there's no real way to pinpoint the actual answer. even before the segregation between humans and beastfolk thousands of years ago, brothels were common.

in our history, there had been times where brothels were considered sacred, so it's the same with beastfolk. like us, our viewpoints on the brothels had shifted from positive to negative over the centuries, it's the same for them too. things worsened just a bit before the zoo era when the segregation barrier was compromised, and mixed brothels faced many restrictions and attempts to outlaw them.

also, it's because of the centuries/thousands-long segregation that the truth about the human's capability to carry the beastfolk's children had been lost over time and was thought to be a myth. so this was messy too.

but honestly, this is a complicated one to answer, because there are multiple regions in this au and things happened differently across countries. the main country where i tend to tell my stories, Applachia (the stand-in for the US), saw the divide so extreme that each race thought the other as fictional. granted, Applachia is an enormous country and in the past, the communications with other countries were vastly more limited--more so than ours.

reasons are long, but i reckon that the seafolks might carry a lot of weight to blocking the Applachians' attempts to explore the world and didn't take until long distance flight became feasible post zoo eras.

i'm rambling, so i'll get back on the course.

as for the last question for this one--

i'd say the same, though for humans, beastfolks are harder to come by due to their strengths and/or abilities. they do exist though.

What was the first public couple between a human and a beastfolk in history? Like, the first couple that was truly open, and everyone knew they were together. —anonymous

hard to answer tbh. if this is well before the zoo era, they'd be dismissed as myths or jokes. but if after, where technology is becoming more common-- like, say, with a heavy box tv in your home where you can watch black-and-white movies? probably the first known 'humanfucker' film. its director was openly involved with a human spouse--though granted, that movie itself probably portrays human characters in a very questionable light.

not sure, but i do imagine that director became famous because of how scandalous the concept of romancing a human was.

“one thing for certain, humans made a great effort not to wage wars with beastfolks because they’d get dominated very easily by their strengths alone. instead, humans used all kinds of underhanded tactics to weaken and derive beastfolks from their essentials, such as poisoning their wellwaters, stealing their (animal) livestocks, fucking with the soil so nothing can grow, etc. until humans managed to throw some kind of chemicals enough to finally weaken most of the beastfolks to throw them in all sorts of zoos. some unlucky fews went in the “facility” for experiments. all this occurred within the past one hundred years for them, probably far less that.” What species were unlucky to be send to the facility? What the facility did to these Beastfolks? —anonymous

??? any they encountered and could capture (keywords: could capture) back then would be sent to the zoo facility. it's essentially a prison where humans can gawk at the residents there (as in, it's literally a zoo). it's a degrading place to be for beastfolks, more so if one zoo is underfunded and keep its residents in under-stimulating conditions.

i know my writing isn't always clear, but i've spoke about the zoos fairly often…

“it really depends on where you are and what cultural setting are there. but it’s usually being assaulted by another beastfolk when the human’s already mated and attacking a married human / couple. i’d have to think more about this one though, it’s a bit of complicated question to answer given all the answers i gave before in other posts.” Why would another Beastfolk attack a married human/couple? This Beastfolk that attacked could be send to the jail? Why this is so common? All Beastfolks do that? —anonymous

some of these details were spoken earlier above. marriage protections. they're not always foolproof, but in more progressive regions in progressive eras, assailants can go to prison for their attacks--

and mind you, attacks can also refer to…coercion involving the human's body. i try and avoid using the term since i know some of my readers are sensitive, and tumblr is a little odd about the usage of that said word. but it can either mean that the attacker wanting the human for themselves--or is offended about their relationships.

but no, not all of the beastfolks behave this way. in fact, probably around 80% of them are decent folks who manage their instincts well. the rest though, well, they're physically stronger and more dangerous than any human.

“when it comes down to it, it’s really depends on who they are, their beliefs, and if they’re involved in their tribe’s ways of life. you may expect this one particular bear beastfolk to be a human-eater, but nah, they’re a humanfucker who is probably hunting for a perfect human they can call their own. same goes how you may expect that rabbit beastfolk over there to adore fucking humans from left to right, but no, they downright hated humankind and would probably be involved in a fighting ring with humans killing each other for their lives and making bets.” These fighting rings still exist? Who controls them? There is a human victorious? —anonymous

uhhhhh, that was just an example to describe how different people can be regardless of their species. but i wouldn't be surprised if a human actually ran these fighting rings. there's no one right answer, because anyone can run anything in the underbelly if they have enough money, know the right people, and know good hiding places.

“notably, most canid beastfolks, from wolves, foxes, hyenas, etc. are among the most common to take humans as breeding mates and pets than to eat them. aquatic species, like sharks and turtles, very rarely mates with humans, largely due to incompatibility for humans to live in underwater but there had been several reports of successful mating / breeding with them happening in the past” What reports of successful mating/breeding with the aquatic species? Can you explain more about this please? —anonymous

i don't think they'd be known for a good long while tbh, until the internet was invented and became more widespread. the first known case was probably a human charming a shark seafolk and working together to communicate. this one would probably be fairly old though, read like an adorable fairy tale with a happy ending.

though whether if they had children together remains unanswered.

you'd probably see more cases if the human residents were already living on the coastline long enough to catch a seafolk's attention--though there would be more incidents of humans dying from accidental drownings, too. sealions would likely be more common seafolks (though many still debate whether they should be called as such because they're more akin to clawedfolk/fangedfolk due to their natures and anatomy) to mate with their chosen humans, since they requires air to live and can move on land decently enough.

besides sealions, probably octopus and dolphin-based seafolks would also be more likely to mate with humans because of their intelligences. though as far as the public knows, only dolphins saw successful breeding with humans. it's still in progress with the octopuses.

“—human meats are made illegal though due to the questions of the humans’ welfares and butchering conditions, but it’s one of those laws most politicians, both beastfolks and humans, sort of turned a blind eye on though. interestingly enough, meats from certain beastfolks aren’t as illegal as humans though for some reasons.” What reasons? —anonymous

meat-eaters. pigs. cows. chickens. to name a few examples.

certain races doesn't mind cannibalism either.

like…look at the irl pigs. they really got no issues eating their sick/dead kins and got no qualm on eating their fallen farmers alive. that said, with certain beastfolks, it's an open (or closed, depending on the regions and such) secret.

however, this practice is being phased out in the modern eras, when there are domestic animals readily available for consumption.

“suppose a beastfolk fell in love with one of the parlor’s workers, they can purchase that human to keep though. depending on the age and ‘quality’ of the human, they may be very expensive to buy—or very cheap.” What makes a human cheap and a human expensive to buy? —anonymous

how old are they? had they been pregnant and given birth before? are they untouched? are they healthy or sick? are they thin or overweight? are they able-bodied or disabled? etc.

this can be regional and cultural too.

that said, some beastfolks really like the meat on their chosen human's bones, so weight (and differing beauty standards) doesn't hold much bearing on the price tag. it's primarily health and age that matters the most to them.

“that said, most the beastfolks are actually much bigger than humans are, both in height and in size. the biggest ones (on land) are usually bears, deer, horses, and whatnot. of course there are exceptions where some beastfolks are just born freakishly small (because like us, they have genetic faults too).” Generally, what is the height of Beastfolks by species? —anonymous

it's….kind of scaled with real-life animals in some ways.

for example, if tigers are bigger than us, then the tiger-based whiskeredfolk'd be taller than humans. dolphin-based seafolks, on the other hand, would likely be our height.

now, if it's a mouse-based toothedfolk? they'd be a bit smaller than us.

however, for massive animals like an elephant- or a horse-based hooved folks or even orca-based seafolks, they would be smaller than their bestial counterparts in order to mingle more safely with the rest of our shared society, but they would still be far bigger than humans.

so, there are some consistent standards for each species of beastfolks. of course, there are always some exceptions to the rules, just like with humans as i've already mentioned.

“i’m sure it’s becoming a general thumb of rule in the modern society to keep distance from a beastfolk and their mate, especially if they’re visibly pregnant. fyi there are afab beastfolks with amab darlings, so it won’t be rare common sights to see a pregnant beastfolk with their mate too—just don’t expect their human to do the snarling, its usually the beastfolk being extremely territorial of their mate and their unborn baby/ies regardless of what gender they’re passing as.” Why they so territorial? —anonymous

because…they're still animals in instincts? in real life, when they're expecting or in season, they generally gets aggressive. same still applies here to beastfolk.

“internet does exist, yes! humans are the ones who invented it/computers still though (which was one of many reasons why humans still get some independences, because of their intelligences—beastfolks generally dont see them as emotionally intelligent though but i digress since thats for another post). “ Why Beastfolks don’t see humans as emotionally intelligent? —anonymous

humans are emotional creatures who tends to struggle with regulating their emotions. in general, we face a lot of inner conflicts and often strives in superficial relationships (teenager dramas comes to mind tbh). many of us experience mental health issues, and we frequently allow our emotions to cloud our judgements.

…that sounds a lot like beastfolks too lol

beastfolks generally shy away at the first sign of issues with people they don't know and/or don't have to deal with on a regular basis. but, they often are…not very emotionally aware at times and are highly driven by their instincts, while humans tend to be more self-aware in comparison.

in conclusion, how they viewed humans largely stems from their upbringing.

“so, yes! frollo scenario wouldn’t be too farfetched at all and heck, may have happened more than several times. might’ve couple movies and novels out of it too, but at least the rabbit priest would see some sort of “happy” ending when frollo himself found his death. his “happy” ending though doesn’t necessarily mean happiness for his poor human lol” What movies and novels? Could you elaborate more about this please? —anonymous

this is a reference from an old disney file, the hunchback of notre dame! i'd recommend watching it; it's a good movie with a twisted villain named frollo obsessed with one beautiful poc character, esmeralda <3 for many people, it's their first introduction to male yandere!

keep in mind, though, that it's an old movie, so it's far from politically correct. the term, g-psy, is considered a slur today, and other examples portrayed in the film aren't accurate representations of the beautiful Romanian culture.

so, just be aware of that and you'll be fine.

okay thats all for now! hopefully this answers your questions, nonnie! sorry that some of them aren't to your satisfactory tho, they're tricky ones, especially with how big my au is.

whoops.

anyway, my inbox is always open. <3 now off to work my very late halloween thing...sighs.

[lixenn]

Crochet corner

I'm back with my yarn babbling again, this time because I want to distract myself from thesis writing OTL

My current scarf project is still ongoing and I left it at home so I can't show any progress pictures since I'm in my dorm again (and I forgot to take some when I was still at my parents place), so I will talk about my past projects.

And when I say past, I mean past, as in I will go back to my crochet roots. You're getting my fiber artist history hot off the keyboard folks, so strap in and enjoy the ride.

Back to the beginnings

My crochet journey started way back in primary school, where tiny baby Lix made a small square creature in craft class. Basically we crocheted a square (easily done with single crochets, can be achieved by tiny people) folded it in half, sewed together the edges, stuffed it with cotton fluff stuff and sewed it shut. Put on some eyes, a nose and mouth plus fake fur as hair and hurray you made a square creature! I actually kept that thing for years, it was chilling on our radiator like a wonky guardian until it eventually got lost or thrown out (I can't remember which). I remember that the stitches were surpisingly neat for my age, which past Lix apparently couldn't replicate for years. Primary school me had talent... (unfortunately I don't have a picture of the wonky square creature or I would have showed you guys)

Deco for the win

While I did try once or twice to get back into crocheting again it never really worked out until! My mum found this website: Drops-Design. A German (?) website for knitting and crochet patterns (and lots of other stuff). She showed me some cute cupcake and coffe cup coasters and asked if I could make them. Past Lix - like current Lix - was filled with false confidence and answered with: "Yeah, sure I can try." So, my mum ordered the yarn over the website and my crochet adventures started from anew.

Fortunately for my sanity the patterns my mum asked for had video tutorials attached, otherwise I would have been utterly fucked, since I have never read a crochet pattern in my life. With the help of the video, the coasters were relatively easy to make even when I was confronted with unknown stitches and multiple colour changes. The end result didn't look nearly as nice as what the website showed but for my first few tries I was satisfied.

Once again I have no pictures available but if you want to take a look at the pattern it's here. There you can also see the finished product.

From this point onwards I started going nuts with making deco shit. All differnt kind of flowers, stars, snowflakes and bunnies. That site opened the crochet door for me and I was happy as a clam.

Granny square madness

However, times were changing once again, when my dear friend got me some yarn for Christmas.

200 g of yarn.

With colour transition.

I only ever used solid coloured yarn before and was at a loss of what to do with this gift.

And what else to do when lost in the yarn world, then look at youtube for help. Spoiler: Youtube helped tremendously as it introduced me to the glorious invention that is granny squares.

Granny squares are fun shit, they come in all kinds of different patterns and colours and you can make lots of things with them. I watched a simple tutorial on youtube and got hooked. I used my friends gift to make granny squares only to be confronted with another dilemma: What to do with those granny squares? I got max 20 squares out of these 200 g and let me tell you my dudes, that's nothing for a bigger project.

So I simply went absolutely batshit crazy, for I decided to make a patchwork granny square blanket.

Please let me remind you people that before this lapse of judgement I only worked on small projects aka things that I made in one day tops.

Once again I follow my motto: Go big or go home and ohhh boy did I go big. I went gigantic and here is proof:

That badboy is the definition of patchwork because it's made up out of FOUR different types of yarn, since I have run out of yarn SO MANY TIMES IT WAS RIDICULOUS! I needed to rebuy yarn at least five times, I was going insane. This project took me over half a year if not longer and weaving in the ends- *shudders* horrible, dreadful, hated every minute of it.

But I like the finished product, it's now chilling on my coach at my parents place, not really used all that often but still pretty.

I didn't stop with the granny squares after that clusterfuck though. Nooooooo sire~ I made a shitton of other granny square projects since I like to suffer (none of them as big as my blanket however, thank the outer gods).

Well, I certainly rambled enough for one post, I will be back with other projects in the future!

Toodles~