#I've been really improving lately and I'm excited about it

[kaledya]

HOWDY!!🌟🌟 I haven't been active on Tumblr for a long time, to be honest I haven't been active on any platform until recently.

I think it would be right to make a small update and let my followers know what's on my mind.

(And a little note, I am writing this article from a translation. If there is a mistake in any sentence or if it sounds rude, I sincerely apologize.)

First of all, I would like to talk about why I am  less active than before.

I don't want to go into too much detail about it, so I'll keep it short, and it'll be easier for you too!

I have a disease that worsens with stress, and I can say that this disease has leveled up because I have been stressed a lot lately due to some events.Now, for no reason or if I put too much pressure on that arm area my joints and arm start to ache. This means I can't draw for 2-3 days.In general, it means that I try not to use my arm too much.

But don't worry, thanks to my doctor I'm getting better quickly and I don't have as much ache anymore, much less! Almost gone now!!🌟🌟🌟🎉

And besides these, I was trying to get accepted to the university, but I learned that my drawing skills were not enough for the animation university!( I knew this actually, my anatomy is really bad but I wanted to try my luck) It's a little sad, but I'm not discouraged!🫡

 (I think my only regret was that my arm started to hurt in the middle of the exam after I had come such a long way. Why on earth would anyone make two one and a half hour art exams back to back??) Show some mercy to the students!!)😭😭

༼⁠;⁠´⁠༎ຶ⁠ ⁠۝ ⁠༎ຶ⁠༽

I just need to focus on more art skills  and I will do that!! From now on, I will focus only on improving myself and my arts! YIPPE!!

About  HH SS AU or My's OC development

It saddens me to say this, but even though I've been drawing in the HazbinHotel fandom for months, I've lost my inspiration at the moment.I probably won't be able to share any content about HazbinHotel until I regain my inspiration because I can't think of an idea or get excited about series anymore.But of course this is a temporary thing, my fandom had faded before but then it blossomed again!!

This is valid for SSAU as well, I don't have any inspiration to develop AU or draw for AU right now. 

And thank you very much to my followers who have liked and supported my HazbinHotel content so far!!!

Same goes for my OCs, I'm putting my OCs like Constantine and Serenity and the archangels on the shelf for now.Of course I will use them again in the future when I get inspired about them again, I love my babies!

About SSAU inspired fanfics Thank you again for loving this AU and for being inspired to write your own fanfic!!!

It makes me really happy to see you having fun And it makes me proud to see that I inspire people!! 

But from now on I don't prefer to use my HH OCs to write Fanfics,There are a few reasons for this but the main one is that I can't give you much feedback anymore and I wanted you to know that and I really don't want to upset or disappoint anyone when it comes to feedback.

Of course the fics about SSAU that have been written so far can continue, I have no problems with them, have fun!! I just want you to know I won't be able to give feedback  to you, or it will take a long time 

 This is of course temporary, I will let you know when I return to this fandom or change my mind about this!!

Some people ask about YouTube, I don't plan on posting any content on YouTube anytime soon.

Thank you in advance for respecting my opinions!

In short, yes, these are what I was going to say. It can be said that I have switched to the Gravity Falls fandom at the moment and I am sort of making my childhood dream come true by giving fanart to this fandom.And this is something that makes me very happy. 

Good morning, and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!

[seekerwingzcg]

KinkTober #6: Anonymous Interface (D-16/Orion)

(Sado/Maso wasn't working out so I changed it)

Aaaaaaandd, it's a mini fic! :)

Fanfic below👇(and also on my AO3 in bio in the next two days)

Tension

By: Peace_Through_Empathy

          D-16 and Orion were drilling in the mines and had been hard at work for the past three days. It felt like it was never going to end.

          Once he filled up a cart with energon, D-16 kept drilling, entranced on his job at hand.

          Orion pat his shoulder with a distinctive clink next to his left audial, “Hey, Dee, I'm about to check in with Elita and see how progress is going. I'll come pick up whatever you uncover when I come back to you.”

          Dee turned and nodded, giving him proper optic contact to show that he had acknowledged him. Once he saw Orion fade off and disappear to the right down a corridor, he continued his work. 

          How he wished he could just put down the drill and hit the washracks. The dust agitated every seam and his frame needed refueling but it was just part of a miner's work, he decided.

          Orion was uncomfortable emotionally. He wanted badly to just hide away for the evening and recharge to forget the day and allow the day's events to melt away with a good nap.

          Elita stood in the center of the main mining hub as Orion came up to her, “We've finished another cart full. How's our progress?�� He stood tall, looking up into her optics.

          Her expression lightened and her lip curved into a smirk as she typed in another cart mined, “Looks like our group is owed a free day. You and D-16 have done us some good. Go ahead and take a break. I'll let D-16 and the others know via com.”

          “O-of course! Glad to hear we're making a difference.” Orion smiled, his shoulders raising with positivity. That had improved his dampened state of mind, “Thank you! Oh, and by the way, I wish you best of luck on that promotion!” He added, quickly heading out of the mines and towards the washracks to clean up.

          As he walked away, he could hear her communicating with the others. He knew for a fact Dee would be happy to hear the good news as well. That had given him a plan.

          The simple thought of getting some more time to spend with him was enough to tighten his equipment under his interface panels. He hadn't been able to use them much and this would be the best opportunity before getting stuck back in the mines.

______

          After getting some energon and cleaning up, D-16 went to the barracks and began walking to his locker to grab a data pad to type on until he saw a note stuck in his locker door.

          “Suspicious” he thought to himself as he pulled it away, unfolding it to read it.

          “I've been interested in you for a long time and I think we should get together. I'm hidden in plain sight during the day, I'm just afraid to let you know how I feel. If you're up for a little frag in the dark, meet me in the maintenance closet on this hallway and find me for a good time at exactly midday. Don't be late. If you are, I'll be gone.”

          Dee’s spike burned with a desire he had never felt before and couldn't help that this sounded fun. He had nothing to worry about, really, and wanted to interface badly. He couldn't remember the last time he had overloaded.

          That had settled it. He was going to do this. He spent the last joor freshening up even more-and possibly using the time without other bots around to give his valve a little love. It was going to be a great day. He could tell.

____

          Orion had his energon beside a window then walked down the hallway. It was almost a few minutes before D-16 would be visiting him. He looked around nervously and when he saw that no one was around, he went in, locking himself inside.

          Dee was down the hallway and walked down the corridor with a burning desire. He was very excited to say the least. He could feel his spike dripping transfluid in its housing.

          He walked up to the maintenance room door and knocked, “You wanted to ‘face?” He said, voice rumbling, attractive even to himself.

          Hidden to the side, he opened the door. Once Dee walked in, the door snapped shut behind him. The lock initiated and Orion could tell that Dee’s optical adjusters were disabled because he was staring into the darkness, smirking mischievously.

          D-16’s servo slowly slid down to his spike panel. A click was heard as his spike bounced out, eagerly dripping transfluid.

          Orion stared in awe at its erect state. He had not seen Dee’s spike in all its glory. He let his instincts take hold and opened his valve panel, dribbling fluids down to his knees joints.

          Dee heard the snap and began panting, “Soo, how is this situation going to-” Orion’s aft made impact passionately and his spike tip slid in, drawing a long, drawn out moan from Dee. He knew that he would probably disappoint if this mystery mech wanted a long session. His spike throbbed and he pressed forward, feeling the valve ripple around him.

          Orion couldn't speak. It would give him away, but he weakly whined as he began grabbing his hips from behind to pull him. He eventually leaned against the wall and felt D-16 begin hungrily humping him into it, his feral grunting turning him on more and more as he trembled in Dee’s grip.

          “You have a sopping wet valve, gorgeous. Ohh, you must want me badly. I can't wait to find out who you are. Aah, I'm not g-gonna last very long. I apologize.” Dee continued sweet talking him and felt his hips up. They felt familiar and he had no idea how. There were only a few bots he had ever touched there. It didn't matter. He was feeling all of his tension build in the head of his spike.

          Orion begged for more by pushing his hips further up his spike, eating the thing to its hilt. Hopefully Dee understood that he was telling him “It's okay, Dee. Let it out.” How he wished to actually talk back. That only caused him to to draw nearer to the end.

          Dee could feel a servo trail to his hip and pull him closer. That in itself was enough to almost lose it. “I- I'm so close! Ahh, C'mon. Jus’ tell me who it is… I need you to let me kn-” that's when a loud groan rumbled underneath him.

         “Aah, come! P-please!” Orion couldn't help it anymore. His valve fluttered around Dee in an attempt to wait it out, but he was losing the battle. His valve cycled down and little whimpers filled the air as he coated the wall and his own pedes in transfluid.

          Dee’s processor couldn't help but fill with thoughts of Orion and his spike followed in a massive overload. Waves pulsed through him and he moaned against the side of the other bot’s audio as they both fell to the floor onto their knees.

          Once the panting and moaning stopped, Orion felt a difference in the touches against his hips, pulling him off of the floor and stroking his helm.

          “Orion… Let's do this again very soon. I feel so much better.” Dee turned him to embrace Orion properly, giving him a passionate kiss.

          All Orion could do was blush. He couldn't hide it. He had wanted him so badly that he simply couldn't keep quiet. 

          They made out and interfaced again and again and eventually dragged their exhausted frames to their recharge slabs to get the best rest they had ever had with servos intertwined this time.

By far one I sucked a bit at cuz it was rushed, but I like the thought of them not knowing who it is and finding each other out lol

[bhuxu]

recent thoughts

i've had this in my mind the past month or two but decided to speak up about it on here since it's too much to write on other sites due to reduced character limits so i thought i'd throw it out here. lately i feel very fatigued from sharing my art online. at first i chalked it up to being very busy irl (fulltime job, hobbies other than drawing, socializing, etc.) but.. those are things i always do that never made me feel this specific way. so i've been thinking about it harder, and i think it is a lot of things really

mostly, the way the online landscape is for artists lately feels so dismal. like i'll share a piece and it makes me sad a little in my soul knowing that no matter what website i do that, it will be scrapped or used without my permission for ai. this kind of behavior makes it so that people don't view artists and art with proper respect. drawing and improving artistic skills is a lifelong journey. just a simple illustration takes several hours of a person's busy time. so to have that dismissed and just take people's art and put it into the ai feels so sad. even if you say not to do it, people do it anyway. it doesn't encourage me to feel like it's worth it to share my pieces

it also feels like it's hard to get people to engage with art deeply. because there are a lot of bots on websites and it's hard to see who actually engages or not. of course i deeply appreciate people who take the time to comment or tell me they like my art, i really do. but it can be hard when there's not a lot of that these days. i continue to post here for archival purposes but i continue to do it really because i'm also immensely appreciative and happy to have people leave comments, replies, ask questions, and engage people do here even though this platform is really dead and super quiet because that means the world to me. but i do wonder sometimes if i should just stop, not just here but altogether.

i miss the feeling of community. i feel kind of lost. i will never stop drawing, it's something i love to do no matter what happens regardless of showing people or to just myself, but i don't really get excited anymore uploading my art online as a whole and want to stop or delete my galleries maybe

anyway, that is what i'm feeling lately. i wanted to say something, maybe others feel this way too. let me know your thoughts

[theshiftingwitch]

Hi again, it's the anon from a couple weeks ago. The one with the poor home life who was in a slump, despite having shifted/manifested before?

I wanted to give an update and thank you because the advice you gave me (getting out of my own way, branching out, making things fun and exciting again) has really helped me out. Since your response, I've taken some simple steps to just refresh and refocus my mindset and stop putting so much pressure on myself.

I've been using ChatGPT as a tool to just talk things out and have essentially made it my personal coach that can give advice with shifting and my general life, or be a sounding board when I just need to vent or talk about random stuff. Sort of like a journal that can reply back to you?

Using it, I've built up a new shifting routine for me to use that used meditation to induce a lucid dreaming. Also talking to it about my DRs and the power, the magic of shifting/LOA has rekindled my excitement for it AND reminded me just how powerful I am ✨

Things have really improved! I've been experiencing more mini-shifts and my dream recall is getting really good. I've even been getting into the void state much easier. Additionally I've been manifesting stuff left and right without even trying:

* Out of nowhere, I won a free diamond necklace valued at $1000 (yes really)

* Found $10 on the sidewalk, I never find free money, let alone that much.

* Received great grades for my final semester of college despite panicking all week that I'd fail and my graduation would be delayed. I got an A- for a paper I really wasn't confident in AND a B for an exam that I barely studied for, when I was barely passing the last exams for that class. And I graduated with honors, though that was a long time coming 🥱

* Caught a cold BUT I cured it in like 2 days and skipped the worst symptoms like a sore throat. (When I get sick it usually lasts twice as long and is way worse before it gets better)

* Fixed my laptop that's been having issues for the past month. Thought I'd have to replace it or get some really expensive replacement parts, instead I just had to change some settings and it took 5 minutes.

* My mental health has improved a bunch since I'm no longer letting the 3D get to me as much, I'm focused on a bright future instead of a miserable one

* My parents have been way nicer to me and more helpful lately and we haven't been fighting as much.

Also here's what I'm most proud of...

* One of my favorite YouTubers has been on hiatus for over a year, no videos, no posts, nothing (if you know, you know). So I thought a few days ago "I'm going to manifest him coming back", not seriously because it really seemed like he'd never be coming back...

Then an hour ago, I got a notification from YouTube...from his channel... because he just uploaded a return video. And funnily enough this is the thing that really got me excited (even more than the diamond necklace) because everyone was saying he'd never come back and was done with YouTube. Literally manifested this man out of his hiatus 💀

I just wanted to share my success to help motivate other people and show my appreciation to you! You didn't make all this good stuff happen for me (that was all my doing, of course), but your advice really helped me to get back on track and remember that I'm the creator of my reality 💅🏽.

Seriously, people, don't just listen to advice. Actually apply it and you will see results much faster. Thank you again!

~ J

Welcome back J!

Thank you for the update, I'm so glad things have been working out for you!

You're doing great, I'm so proud of you and I can't wait to hear more from you ❤️

I'm glad I was able to help, but like you said, you're the one who did all of this! Advice can only help as much as you're willing to follow it.

Congratulations on all of your success stories, and here is to so many more 🥂

Happy Shifting ❤️

[skywalker1dream]

part of the stuck with the stranger series

Title:Unexpected Connections

part one | part three

note: hello, how are you guys hope you are having a good day or night, my day is fantastic so far I driking my second cup of coffee exams are coming and writing those fics kind of helping me to relive my stress (even tho I have so little time for myself) so this is part 2 of stuck with the stranger and I changed many things cause I didn't liked my previous writing and add plot twist too ( I don't know if it is a good plot twist tho my friend saw it coming mile away, but maybe its because she knows me better then I know myself, okay I won't bore you even more and I hope you like it <3

Summary: Carlos Sainz and the reader's romance takes an unexpected turn when it's revealed she's the little sister of Carlos's best friend, Lando Norris. As secrets unravel, they must navigate the complexities of their relationship. Will love conquer all, or will fate intervene?

warnings: none, I guess?

The first date with Carlos was like stepping into a fairy tale. The soft glow of candlelight illuminated the intimate restaurant as you sat across from him, lost in conversation that flowed effortlessly between you.

"So, tell me something about yourself that I wouldn't learn from twitter," Carlos said, leaning forward with genuine interest.

You chuckled, feeling a warmth spread through you at his easy charm. "Well, I have a secret talent for making the world's best pancakes," you confessed with a grin.

Carlos's eyes lit up with amusement. "Really? I'll have to put your skills to the test sometime. My pancake game could use some serious improvement."

The laughter that followed was infectious, filling the air with a sense of warmth and comfort. As the evening progressed, you found yourselves diving deeper into conversation, exploring topics ranging from your favorite childhood memories to your wildest dreams for the future.

Hours passed in the blink of an eye, and before you knew it, the restaurant was closing around you. Reluctantly, you and Carlos said your goodbyes, promising to meet again soon.

........

On your second date, Carlos surprised you by taking you to a local amusement park. The sound of laughter filled the air as you rode roller coasters and indulged in cotton candy.

"This is amazing," you exclaimed, your heart racing with excitement as you clutched Carlos's hand tightly on the Ferris wheel.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," Carlos replied, a smile playing on his lips as he looked at you fondly. "I've been wanting to take you here since our first date."

As the sun began to set, painting the sky in shades of pink and orange, you leaned against Carlos's shoulder, feeling a sense of contentment wash over you. In that moment, surrounded by the bright lights and joyful laughter of the amusement park, you knew that this was where you were meant to be.

The evening ended with a cozy dinner at a nearby cafe, where you and Carlos shared stories and laughed until your sides hurt. It was a night you would never forget, a perfect blend of excitement and intimacy that left you craving more.

.....

dates followed, each one more memorable than the last. From picnics in the park to late-night stargazing sessions, you and Carlos reveled in each other's company, savoring every moment you spent together.

One evening, Carlos surprised you by taking you to a quaint bookstore nestled in the heart of the city. You spent hours browsing the shelves, exchanging book recommendations and sharing snippets of your favorite passages. It was a simple yet meaningful date, one that allowed you to connect on a deeper level.

As you walked hand in hand through the quiet streets, the night air filled with the soft glow of streetlights, you couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude for the man beside you. In Carlos, you had found not only a romantic partner but also a kindred spirit, someone who understood you in a way that no one else ever had.

.....

But amidst the blissful haze of new love, there was a looming complication, one that neither of you had anticipated. It all came to a head one week later, on a race weekend, when Lando brought you to the paddock, and Carlos's world collided with yours in an unexpected twist of fate.

As you walked through the bustling paddock beside Lando, Carlos's familiar figure came into view, his brown eyes widening in shock as he caught sight of you.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his tone laced with confusion as he approached.

Before you could respond, Lando stepped forward, a mischievous grin playing on his lips. "Carlos, meet my little sister," he said, gesturing towards you. "She wanted to see what all the fuss was about."

Carlos froze, his expression shifting from confusion to disbelief in the span of a heartbeat. His gaze darted between you and Lando, realization dawning on him like a bolt of lightning.

"Your sister?" he repeated, his voice barely above a whisper. "But... but I had no idea... that you....."

You watched as the shock registered on Carlos's face, his features contorting with a mix of disbelief and dawning realization. It was as if the ground had shifted beneath his feet, leaving him adrift in a sea of uncertainty.

In that moment, you knew that nothing would ever be the same again. The revelation had shaken Carlos to his core, casting a shadow over the fragile bond you had built together. And as you stood there, caught between past and present, you couldn't help but wonder what the future held in store for you and Carlos.

.....

[amethystviolist]

Fanfiction Author Interview Game

Thanks to @shipper47 for tagging me! I'm a bit late to respond but very excited to participate :)

How many works do you have on AO3?

Looks like 32! Wow, a lot more than I expected.

What's your total AO3 word count?

174,720!

Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes:

I don't think this should be the only measure of fic worth, but sure, here we go!

A Hairy Misunderstanding [Bagginshield]

Merlin Has a Dragon (And Other Revelations) [Merthur/Gen]

Impacts of Literal and Metaphorical Natures [Merthur/Gen]

Pine For a Bead (Or, Girlfailure Greenleaf) [Gimleaf/Gigolas]

Anything [...Destiel]

Do you respond to comments?

Yes, I reply to almost every comment! I love getting them, and it's often a great excuse to gush about the characters or my behind-the-scenes writing thoughts.

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Definitely Phone Call. On-screen major character death hits hard!

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

Oh, almost all the rest are very happy endings! Off the top of my head, I'm thinking of my most recent fic Home Looks Like You - 4k of ReShirement and Parentshield fluff, ending in a family cuddle pile.

Do you write crossovers?

I've never written crossovers with characters meeting each other, as that's not usually my jam - but I've dabbled in putting characters into another fandom, like my abandoned WIP The Order of the Silver Ship [TAZ: Balance characters in the world of ATLA].

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Thankfully no, never. I've gotten the occasional "off" comment and once a spammer of some sort, but nothing truly vile. Let's hope it stays that way!

Do you write smut?

Yes! It's fun! I think my only AO3-published smut is Iron Must Suffice [Bagginshield].

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Also thankfully no! Not to my knowledge, anyway. I'll hope that streak continues as well!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! The two previously-mentioned Merlin fics were translated into Chinese, though the website that hosted them apparently scrubbed all queer content a while back and sadly lost those translations with it.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes and it was so much fun!! I participated in an event called The Hobbit: An Unexpected Collaboration (THAUC) this past October, and my assigned partner @mrmrbaggins and I wrote Of Kin and Courtships [Bagginshield] together. I loved plotting together and trading off scenes, it was fun to have immediate feedback and support. And they're a great writer, too!

What's your all-time favorite ship?

All-time? Man, that's hard to say. I think I definitely cycle through them and I love many. Currently it's Bagginshield, but there may be a different answer this time next year!

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Hmm. Most WIPs that I want to finish I do eventually finish, even if it takes me literal years to do so. I think the one that's bugging me the most currently is All I Want For Candlenights [Taakitz], which only needs its final chapter finished. I never got a gift in that exchange event which kind of unmotivated me, plus I've just not been deep into the Balance fandom lately.

What are your writing strengths?

Hard to say, really... And that's not fishing for compliments, I just mean it's hard for me to analyze what I like about my writing when I spend most of my editing time looking for my weaknesses instead. If I have to choose, maybe characterization? I get a lot of compliments on it (thank you readers!) and I do put a lot of thought and effort into getting into the characters' heads and their resulting dialogue/inner narration/etc. And for Tolkien works specifically, I'm very good at piecing together TDS Neo-Khuzdul translations, and find a lot of joy in making them, too!

What are your writing weaknesses?

Oh so many things... though I think I'm always improving! Pacing is a huge issue for me. Also scenery and action descriptions. Also TITLES are the bane of my existence most of the time. In a more meta sense, I always struggle to get out of my editing mode and just put something (anything) down on the page so I can actually finish my WIPs.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I'm a huge fan of using other languages in fic and fiction as a whole, as that's actually what my undergrad thesis was about! Though in a fic I do really need a translation attached somehow for it to be enjoyable. I tend to get a little irritated if there's no translation provided anywhere, even if it's "unimportant" tidbits, because I want to know things, dammit!! /hj

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

Oooo interesting question. I'd love to write a Leverage fic someday, but I really love those characters so much because canon already treats them so well! They're such well-developed characters that I find myself a little hesitant to dive in and potentially get it "wrong" (a silly worry I'd tell any other writer to ignore, ofc, but it's my worry unfortunately).

What's your favorite fic you've written?

That's like choosing a favorite child, oh no! ... I've just spent a few minutes scrolling up and down my AO3 stats list, but I really can't choose a favorite. They're almost all special to me for one reason or another, even ones I'm not very happy with in quality! I can say with confidence my current baby is the untitled Bagginshield mega fic, but idk that it will be my favorite even when it's done/published.

Thanks again for the tag, this was so fun! I'd love to see answers from @mrmrbaggins/@xkingevelynx, @thylocalbard, or @thatfancygirlinblack/@thatfancygirlinwhite, but absolutely no pressure to any of you :)

And if anyone else seeing this wants to do it, feel free to claim I tagged you! I won't snitch about it.

[d0wnb4df0rf1cm3n]

Send Noods

Shuri Udaku x Reader

Summary: Shuri's hungry. You're confused what she's hungry for.

Word Count: 1K

Warnings: fluff, a lil bit of smutty smut smut (still 18+ pls), tbh this is just funny to me. NOT CANON COMPLIANT

Author's Note: i cant lie this maybe the stupidest thing i've ever written but its funny and cute and shuri deserves that.

I'm going to be working late tonight. Send noods? Read.

You weren't really sure how to react to Shuri's request. On the one hand, you two had a pretty active and healthy sex life - nudes weren't really the least conservative thing you two had engaged in.

On the other hand, it seemed particularly odd that she would ask for them if she intended to spend the rest of the evening in the labs.

You were slightly pissed off that she had cancelled on yet another date night in favour of working on whatever it was that she was developing - but you understood the importance of her job to Wakanda, so you let it slide.

The prospect of taking nudes excited you - you'd never done it before. You looked yourself once over in the mirror, taking in every inch of your reflection. Not for the first time since moving in with Shuri, you felt... sexy. Wanted. Your confidence wasn't lacking - you knew you were beautiful without Shuri's validation - but there was something about Shuri's spontaneity that made your confidence spike.

You showered, making sure to pamper yourself the same way you knew Shuri would if she were here with you. You shaved, did your skincare, painted your nails in Shuri's favourite colour.

You walked into the massive closet that Shuri had engineered for you, looking for the beautiful lingerie that Shuri had recently brought back from California. She'd been out there for a convention with Peter (Parker) and she'd sent you a picture of the lingerie with a 'thinking of you' message attached. Safe to say that you were so touch-starved that the idea of her thinking of you in that way had got you wet.

You put the lingerie on, marveling at how you felt more naked than if you had been nude, and posed in front of the mirror. You felt powerful in this. You put your favourite heels on, knowing how Shuri loved to unbuckle them for you, and lay on the bed.

You set your phone up on a tripod and took a series of pictures that were risque enough that you'd leave her wanting, but conservative enough that Shuri would want to come to bed. You want to entice her away from her work - the true love of her life.

You googled 'boudoir' and took reference from the poses you found. The photos you took were far from crude - no, they were tasteful, almost works of art.

You smiled when you were done. Shuri asked for nudes? Well, nudes she would get.

You sent her the photos and then threw your phone face down on the bed. Now to wait.

Shuri's phone pinged. She made a mental reminder to check it in a moment, just after she had finished her work on this new suit. She had modified the Black Panther suit, infusing it with the same nanotechnology that Peter had been working on at MIT. She was excited to test out her improvements.

Her phone pinged again. Whoever it was really wanted to get a hold of her. She sighed when her text tone rang out again, standing up to grab her phone.

From: Sithandwa <;3 Image 📸

What the hell did you want now? Maybe you were asking what noodles she wanted? She opened her phone and promptly turned the screen to the table. What had she just seen?

She looked around to make sure there was no one else in the lab - of course, no one else was in the lab because she had a strict 'you must leave the lab at 8pm' which she enforced for everyone except herself. She looked at her phone again to find 5 pictures of you spread over your shared bed, posing in ways that made her mouth water and pussy clench.

Shuri told Griot to look up the lab and she sprinted down the halls - god, you looked delicious and she wanted to devour you.

She opened your bedroom door to see you sitting on the edge of the bed, anxiously biting your nails.

You were so nervous. What if you'd completely misread the signals - no response from Shuri was normally never a good sign.

The door swung open and Shuri stood in the doorway, eyes raking over you, a smile playing on her lips. She stalked over to you, hand cupping your face. She pulled you in for a passionate kiss - her tongue slipping inside your mouth. You relaxed into her hold, kissing her back and pulling her towards you.

She climbed onto the bed, straddling you as she rocked into you. You felt something hard under the confines of her trousers and you smiled. You were in for a fun night.

"What did I do to deserve these beautiful pictures of you, sithandwa?" She asked, pulling away to rest her forehead against yours. You looked up in confusion.

"What? You asked for them, remember?"

Shuri looked confused, "Uh- no I didn't?"

"Yes, you did. See," you pulled your phone from the bedside table, "You said, 'send nudes'." Shuri burst out laughing.

You curled away from her, embarrassed, but she pulled you back into her arms, laughter still bubbling up. She cupped your cheeks and looked into your eyes, "I meant noodles, sithandwa, not nudes." You smiled involuntarily, laughter bubbling up from you too, "Not that I'm not appreciative of your gorgeous photos, but you've ruined my plan for this evening."

"I think I already have an idea of what your plan was for this evening."

"And do you like it?"

You nodded gently, a wave of shyness washing over you.

Shuri lifted your chin up with her finger, "Words, princess."

"Yes, please."

She pushed you down so your back was on the bed, "Good girl."

She kissed you again, fingers trailing up and down your sides. She peeled the straps of the lingerie down, revealing each inch of your skin, pressing light kisses to the expanse of your shoulders.

She kissed down your navel, taking her time to make you squirm. If there was any art that Shuri had perfected, it was the art of fucking you just right.

You stopped her as she reached the softness of your belly. She looked up at you, puzzled, but burst into laughter as soon as she heard what you had to say.

"After this can we get noodles?"

fin.

[utilitycaster]

As a Mighty Nein lover, is there anything you want out of the animated series in particular that perhaps wasn't seen or was unemphasized in the improv of the game when obviously no one was aware what paths we'd go down/what would become important later? Any moments you wonder how they'll portray *without* the framework of the dnd game?

I also generally wonder if m9 shipass discourse/whatever weird entitlement ppl had to the official character designs not fitting their headcanons will end up reviving, but largely i feel like the ppl who were stupid about that kind of thing hated the backhalf of c2 so soundly that it would take a deep delusion that "no for sure they'll change the plot" or a true self hatred for them to watch the animation, and ppl coming in WITH the animation likely are going to grab the telegraphed relationships much more soundly since they understand it as Written. (Please tell me if I'm wrong bc I only picked up m9 maybe in the ep50 mark and got involved in fandom spaces much later, but I feel like the weird piss of the fandom got intolerably bad mostly after the covid hiatus? Where ppl had no content for months and created an echo chamber of headcanon while forgetting that the campaign was about anything. This might still happen between animated series seasons but I think people cannot complain anymore that the source material is source material-ing.)

Hi anon,

I don't have any specific wishes. I'm excited that we'll see a little bit from before the campaign, as the Fjord and Jester animatic indicates; would love to see that for Veth and Caleb, and Molly and Yasha as well. Otherwise off the top of my head there isn't really much that we didn't see I really feel the need to see? I like the Briarwoods flashback in TLOVM but there's not a ton in C2 that benefits from turning the camera onto NPCs like that, for example. Maybe a brief Avantika and Vandran moment? Perhaps Essek stealing the beacon? But honestly one of the remarkable things about C2 was that there were so many weird happy coincidences that it accidentally had a lot of foreshadowing you could not have planned.

I've said this a bunch about C3 and some of the ongoing conversations about the gods before but it's relevant here as well: I generally assume that in a fandom space, there will be discourse. There is nothing so clear and obviously telegraphed that someone who's decided to stick their fingers in their ears and harden their heart and turn off their brain cannot ignore or disregard. There are still, to this day, after Fjord and Jester failed to break up in episode 141, the Mighty Nein Reunited, or Echoes of the Solstice and in fact got engaged, and Beau and Yasha are married and Caleb and Essek refer to each other as partners, people who insist that Caleb or Beau and Jester were "supposed" to be endgame but for (unstated nebulous cause that they will not deign to describe because if they do so, there are pretty obvious holes one could poke in it) and I think it's been pretty clearly signaled. People thought that TLOVM would have a Vex and Keyleth romance because of a single frame when they were next to each other. You could have the entire Critical Role cast on camera go "here are the endgame relationships" and someone would be like "well, but what if that was a bluff." I think there might be less discourse among new fans but I do not think there will be none.

For what it's worth, while I do think C2 ship discourse was pretty awful and was exacerbated by a combination echo chamber and the general mood of 2020 and early 2021, I think C3 discourse is, while perhaps less harassment-focused, in much more bad faith. Like, ship discourse can get nasty and awful, don't get me wrong, but I feel like most people involved were either reading things that weren't there specifically about ships but were pretty reasonable about the plot (at least not until very, very late in the game) and I feel like they were genuine fans of Critical Role and had a decent sense of the world and the lore and just. went absolutely nuts and started sending harassment because their blorbos did not kiss and/or get resurrected. Whereas I feel like the worst of C3 discourse involves people who came in with little understanding of D&D nor the world and frankly a decent amount of derision towards everything that came before, proceeded to show up in a clown wig screaming "LISTEN UP FIVES, A TEN IS SPEAKING", promptly shit themselves and started crying, and now are not just wondering why few people like them or taking them seriously but are also throwing out whatever random-ass accusations they think will stick as they sit in the detritus of their increasingly incorrect predictions.

Anyway this is all to say whenever someone is like "surely this revision will prevent fans from interpreting art in a stupid way" my response is "I believe that some people are innovating in the field of stupid interpretations; do what makes you happy and acknowledge that they will always exist."

also, while i'm running my mouth before i go run errands, this is just a blanket statement re character designs and headcanons. (the "you" here is obviously not at anon, but rather the people they described). If you wish a character looked different than their canonical depiction, great. No one is stopping you. If you think canon exists to validate your headcanons, it doesn't. If you think people online saying "I don't like a headcanon" is stopping you from doing anything, it isn't. If you pitch fits about either of those things, you are a self-absorbed child. And if you are really attached to all of your diverse headcanons and yet never seem to gravitate towards characters who are canonically portrayed with those same identities, a whole lot of people are side-eyeing you.

[fizzingwizard]

Randomly visited reddit and saw this:

My first thought: it's an incel pretending to be a woman, because what modern woman thinks she's spoiled milk a 30??? (Aside from also trashing her girl friends - girl, get better friends!) But their profile doesn't seem weird in any way, so, I guess there are some people out there who really somehow believe youth ends at 29. Even some who have aged past it.

It's not even true that all 30 year olds are less beautiful than they were at 20. People age in different ways at at different rates: yeah, your likelihood of getting wrinkles and gray hairs is only ever going to go up. But some people don't have their style figured out in their twenties - some people turn thirty and freaking bloom. And you can't call that a late bloomer. 40 isn't a late bloomer either! 20 is nice but it's not the heaven on earth it's cracked up to be, and 30 is just getting started.

Idk about the rest of you but you know those posts about how embarrassing it is to look back on 14? Yeah, related to those when I was 20. Now I've passed the big 3-0, and guess what - I think 20 year old me was so silly lol. So insecure, so afraid to make mistakes, so resistant to change. I enjoyed my twenties, but my early thirties have so far been way better: I'm more confident, less self-involved, and I find happiness so much more easily than I did back when I thought everything I did had to matter So Damn Much. And if you think that doesn't relate to being attractive: confidence is 90% of it. Just walk up and smile. A confident, happy person always attracts others even if they're just average-looking.

Also for people who like men, don't forget: men in their 30s usually aren't quite the energizer bunnies they were in their 20s when it comes to ~sexy times~ The 20-year-old stud who insisted he could go for a roll multiple times a day, every day, is probably much less gung ho at 30. And also more forward-thinking, and less amaaaaazed by omg boobies!!! When you're young, half the excitement is just how new everything is. It gets less intense, thank goodness. (But it's still hot!)

This post just totally rubbed me the wrong way. It read as a still young woman anxiously wringing her hands in apology for having the audacity to be single at... 30?? And apparently not trusting women to have good advice about dating at 30 (so no point in me responding to her, lol), but perfectly comfortable kissing up to incel mindsets such as "women past 25 should accept that they're sloppy seconds" etc. "Value as a partner" do you have intrinsic worth as a human being?? Yes??? Then your value does NOT degrade. Yeah, you might have gray hair, the horror, so unsexy (I've had very visible grays since I was 23 and been dyeing since 26 lmao). Doesn't mean you're less hot than some 20 year old who doesn't know what she's doing. Doesn't mean it'll be at all hard to find a partner who will love you warts and all. Do you have this same expectation of men? Are you gonna start dating a 30 year old dude and then complain that he gets tired more quickly than a 20 year old would?? Is he less sexy just because he doesn't party all night and drink twice his weight without effect? Overrated overrated overrated!

My parents divorced in their 60s. My mom's got a new boyfriend who takes her dancing under the full moon. They're living their best lives way past their so-called "prime" and no, that is not rare - it's just a choice. If you view yourself as having some expiration date, you're not gonna do anything to improve your happiness once you're past it. Don't let incels or misogyny or whatever convince you your perfectly wholesome milk has gone bad, because that is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

ETA: Well, while I was working this got 150 notes, and although that's barely a drop in the bucket, it's still a lot more than my rants usually get (about 2 lol). So I just want to clarify a couple things so I stop getting comments about them.

This post was from the askmen subreddit. I left that out, feeling "reddit" was context enough, but I guess the implications may not have been obvious, especially to tumblr users who don't also use reddit. Askmen isn't a horrible place (a number of the responders pointed out why they prefer older women to younger ones), but many of its members have a pretty incel-adjacent vibe. Plus there are a number of women (real or not) who post there, many of whom have a similar brown-nosey "unlike those radical feminists, I'm a woman who knows her place" attitude.

It's fine to suggest the OP may have internalized misogyny from being abused - but it's not a given, as nothing in the post is a definite indication of abuse by itself. Big kudos for the compassion - just keep in mind that my response was about general attitudes towards dating post-twenties and not about abuse victims.

To the person who thinks a relationship of six years makes a difference somehow?: You seem to have interpreted my post as an attack on people who feel insecure about returning to dating after a breakup. But I think it's clearly nothing to do with that. Of course it is natural to have anxieties about being single after so long, but nowhere in this post was that denied or mocked. Whether you've been together one year or six, this post would always be weird - those natural anxieties don't make misogynistic mindsets about decrepit 30-year-old women any less gross. If you had decided to write a reaction to the OP's post, perhaps you would have chosen to center it on the effects of coming off a long term relationship, and I'm sure it'd be insightful. However, I am not you, and I chose to react to the attitudes around aging in relationships reflected in the post.

[darkkitty1208]

on fic writing and fandom: where am i going forward?

So. It's a bloody dull Friday and I'm writing this post--have been meaning to, for a while--because I can't stop thinking about it. It's just a few (a lot, actually) thoughts I've had in my mind the past few days that I've decided to spill into a single post, which turned out far longer than it needed to be, but nothing too important. Under the cut.

I've been a fanfic writer for a while now. Not a long time by any means, but a while nonetheless. My first fic--which is now orphaned like a few of its brothers for undisclosed reasons, though if you're an og you might be able to guess why--was dated back to the 18th of November 2021. 3 years later and I've got a humble 89 works and counting (the orphaned works and unposted wips unincluded). I can safely say I've improved quite a lot since then.

Where are you going with this, then, Kitty? Surely you aren't here just to brag about your writing progress?

Well. Not exactly. But I'll start with this: I guess what I'm trying to say is I've lost the spark.

You know. The old feeling. That boost of serotonin you get after you finish a piece you're proud of, or when you get lovely reviews on ao3, or when you get a kudos email, or a new mutual, or some wild tags under your silly post. The spark. I haven't felt it in a long time, now. The last time it's been so palpable was... I'm not sure. Probably last year's October. That was a lot of fun. I was most prolific in fic writing, that year. It shouldn't feel like a long time ago. Because it wasn't.

Don't get me wrong. I love all this. All that's going on right now. The comments I'm getting--even if fewer than I had before--and all the other interactions, I appreciate and enjoy and love them so, so much. And writing my newer fic projects are well exciting. But it just isn't the same anymore. I'm afraid it never will be.

(Maybe it has something to do with the lack of interactions lately. Maybe? I don't really know, either. I'm sure we're all well aware the fandom is past its peak, and with the current developments in the MCU I am frankly unsurprised, but I dunno.)

I guess that's part of the reason I've been less active lately. I've been inactive as a whole this year, admittedly, and disappearing far too often for far too long (and I notice some of my friends are, too). I just didn't get the same joy from being in a fandom like I had when I first started this blog, or my ao3 account.

In hindsight, I've probably been a little too dependent on fandom to provide me serotonin. The past few years have been hard, the years before that, too. Life just keeps kicking me in the arse time and time again. I guess I've been using fandom and fic writing as a coping mechanism, and once I've had my fill, the joy dies off to something a little more dull. Like a gum I've been chewing for too long that the sweetness has since worn off.

Honestly? I don't want it to be this way. I want to live without being so dependent on my presence online. I want to live without only knowing joy through internet interactions. I've got to learn to. It sounds silly, but it's true. (I think I may be slightly chronically online, oh no. x'D)

So naturally my first instinct is to distance myself a little. I contemplated quitting, but I can't do that. I don't see myself ever doing that, no matter how many times my brain convinces me that I might.

When this year started, I had set some goals for writing. One of them was to write for more whumptober prompts than I did last year or complete them all. I did like 21 prompts or something last year. Of 31. Within a little more than a month. While still balancing all the life stuff I had going on. This is, if not obvious, an extremely ambitious goal. I am not insane. I don't know what I was thinking. I can't possibly do that now, can I? Not with all the stuff that's been happening.

...

Can I?

...

Yeah, no. Definitely not.

See, that's another thing: writing. Probably the thing I'm trying to get at in this post but otherwise derailed completely from. Fuck my brain.

I'm sure many of you have noticed that I've been writing significantly less. I still post, obviously, but not as much as like, last year when the number of works I had went from a few to far too much. That had helped me improve quite a lot, actually, but those days I barely slept because I just insisted to replace my sleep time with Writing Shit For The Gays. It was pretty unhealthy now that I look back at it. My sleep schedule is still shit now but, yk. Some things just never change.

I was really, really caught up on wanting to be good at writing. Like, really good. I wanted to make awesome things. I wanted to write like a real fucking pro. Like all the more popular fandom authors I look up to. I want to be like the big dogs in fandom. It sounds so silly. I did everything; sprinting daily, setting a minimum of 500 words writing sessions every day, trying new writing styles, churning out works after works, writing for prompts and events and gifts and the like. I was enjoying it, yes, but was it really something I did for myself? Or was it because I wanted to please other people or impress other people for their validation, which is something I'm entirely too dependent of? Was it for the numbers?

Well. It was more for that than for me, I realised a little too late.

So yeah. Fuck wanting to be good. I want to write for the hell of it. I want to write something that's for me. Not what the majority of the fandom or other people want to read, but for me. Which is why I absolutely loved writing works like just a matter of time, how to kill a god, or how to become a god, because they're not meant for other people but myself. (Ironically that last work is a gift but, yk. I still liked it.) I know I joke about self-projecting a lot, but it's been seriously helping me rediscover the joy of writing that doesn't come from the incessant need to be good or perfect or focus on producing more and more and more. It makes me feel like a kid again. Also, I'm only realising this now but I'd rather get like 5 people who enjoy reading my works so much and express them to me rather than 100 people who silently thumbs up at me and then go away to consume another fic or demand more. (All this to say I still love interactions, it just shouldn't be my no. 1 priority to get them when writing fanfics.)

But yeah. None of those works are perfect. They're not meant to be. But they're mine. They're me. They represent me. And it's so, so great to feel that in writing. I've been so stuck up on being some sort of content machine. I'm doing this for myself, how could I forget? I've been saying this since the beginning, I don't know why I'm still struggling to do it. God. It's ridiculous.

Anyway. That's that. This has become a very long ramble. Thank you for listening to my Ted Talk. And for letting me waste your time, if you make it to the end of this post.

[allaboutthedrama]

I know that I'm pretty late to the conversation, but I've just reread all of Vampire Academy and Bloodlines (possibly for The Untitled Jill Project) and it's the first time I've reread the VA series in years.

I'm just thinking about how, in my opinion, the quality of the VA series improved as we got into the last few books, and with Bloodlines, I think the reverse sort of happened. Spoilers for both series ahead. (Yeah, the last book came out nine years ago, but you never know.)

I think I hadn't realized how cohesive the ending of Last Sacrifice was. Details from as far back as the first book came up and were very relevant. The political plotline came together in a really tight way, Sonya Karp turned out the be Chekov's spirit user, we got more world-building details, the antagonists had complex and convoluted motivations, and even when there were plot threads left dangling, those actually served a purpose. I loved the part where Adrian pointed out to Rose that her actions had consequences and even though she had gotten what she wanted, not everything else was resolved, so people like Eddie and Sydney and Jill were left in bad situations, and she was partly responsible. It created a little more moral ambiguity, which I really enjoyed, especially since YA tends to like the very neat endings where everything winds up happily ever after.

The Vampire Academy books improved the deeper into the series you got. And, although I love Bloodlines, I do think that the first three books are much stronger than the last three. Which is a shame, because the series has so much potential.

I think Mead is at her best when she's writing something of a mystery. Last Sacrifice obviously comes to mind (they're solving a murder mystery, after all). Bloodlines had that, with the tattoos, Lee, and Keith being shady all building up to a really exciting climax. The Golden Lily wasn't quite as much of one, but the clues leading up to the reveal of the Warriors were well-placed. Indigo Spell went straight back into mystery territory, trying to find Jackie's sister. And then The Fiery Heart is where, in my opinion, things start to falter. There's a lot of interesting worldbuilding information introduced, with the new details about spirit and magic coming up, and it was fun to get into Adrian's head, but it definitely felt like this supernatural romance was shifting to become a lot more romance and a lot less concerned with the supernatural. But that's not such a big deal. It's the middle of the series, we're building tension, Re-Education has been a threat hanging over Sydney since page one of Bloodlines and we're finally seeing that fear pay off.

But then we get to Silver Shadows, and while I guess figuring out where Sydney is could be a mystery, it doesn't really resonate the way 'who killed the queen' does, in my opinion. Sydney's arc in Re-Education is great, and I do like the way the books deal with Adrian's mental health issues, but some of Adrian's chapters felt more like filler. And a bigger issue, imo, was that this was when we really started to lose the side characters. Some of my favorite parts of the first few books were characters like Jill, Eddie, Trey, and Angeline, and then the ensemble atmosphere was largely gone, because Sydney was in Re-Education and Adrian left Palm Springs. The final fight and flight sequence was really good, though, so I had high hopes going into The Ruby Circle.

The Ruby Circle is probably my least favorite of the books between both of the series, and I think that's a shame, since it's the finale. We'd just had a 'kidnapped character' arc, so I think there was less emphasis on describing everyone's reactions. We saw the biggest reaction from Eddie, but as a result, he got kind of flattened out from the really well-rounded character he'd been from the back half of the VA books and the first part of Bloodlines.

The Ruby Circle could have been a really good mystery, with lots of twists that tied up a lot of the lingering questions from the series. Except that a lot of threads from the rest of the series were dropped and didn't resurface. They never caught whoever was behind the assassination attempt on Jill. I don't think we even got an official resolution on whether Lissa managed to change the quorum law. The political plots that were integral to VA weren't significant in Bloodlines, despite it all starting because of a politically motivated assassination. We also never got a resolution on the rogue spirit user who turned Lee back from being Strigoi, or the spirit users who had been sent to the psychiatric facility in Tarasov (the prison from Spirit Bound). We never found Robert Duro. The bond itself was somewhat discarded, too, whenever it wasn't immediately useful for a plot point. Instead, we just got a scavenger hunt across the country, a few fight scenes where the protagonists were pretty much guaranteed to win, and a final showdown with a magic barrier that, as we learn after, would have dropped down on its own in a few hours for them to bring Jill food, anyways.

I obviously still like the series, since I'm rereading it and talking about it nine years after the fact. But I think that there were a lot of opportunities to continue plots from VA that were lost, even when they should have been brought back into the story.

If anyone has made it this far, I suppose I should throw in a pitch for The Untitled Jill Project, which will be my attempt to rewrite the Bloodlines series from Jill's perspective, because I think there's still a lot more story to be told. I haven't got it all mapped out, but I intend to at least tie up some of the narrative loose ends I mentioned that bothered me about the series in that story. I might write up another post here soon about how Jill's characterization also suffered as Bloodlines went on, if anyone's interested.

Anyways, if anyone has any strong opinions on what I said (agreeing or disagreeing) please let me know! I'd love to talk about the series with people, since no one in my real life has read it, and I'm curious to know what the rest of the fandom thinks about how the narrative progressed in Bloodlines.

[cha-melodius]

🤔 Are there any new characters you want to write about?

🌈 What research do you plan on doing for your writing?

✨What's one area of your writing that you think needs the least amount of improvement?

💥Is there a chapter, scene, or WIP you're most excited to write? Share a snippet or tell us about it!

sorry for so many these are good questions!! <3

Hello hello!! No apologies necessary, always happy to get more questions!

🤔 Are there any new characters you want to write about?

You know, I keep on waiting for some new ship to grab me because I feel like it's about time (it's been more than 2 years since it happened), but so far no characters have taken over my brain in that way. That always seems to come out of nowhere, so I guess you never know when that will change, but so far I haven't consumed any media recently that's really made me want to write for it.

🌈 What research do you plan on doing for your writing?

Oh, my research is always endless!! 😂 I think the fic that might require the most will be the noir AU, just because it'll be fairly different in style and background than most of my other works. I'll also probably end up doing to much research on pro pool tournaments even though no one will really care if that stuff is accurate, but I can't help myself.

✨What's one area of your writing that you think needs the least amount of improvement?

The least amount, interesting question! I'm pretty happy with the way my action writing has developed over the past few years, so that's probably a good answer for this.

💥Is there a chapter, scene, or WIP you're most excited to write? Share a snippet or tell us about it!

I answered this before that there wasn't really one thing that was exciting me over others—I have a lot of planned fics but unsure of what to pursue first. That said, I've been thinking a lot about the Jurassic Park AU lately and what exactly that will look like—it's going to be similar to the movie in that it's pre-park opening, but what the characters are doing at the time and how they relate to each other will be quite novel (and no children involve lmao). A bit about it:

Alex is a paleontologist who hates InGen (which is Mary's company in this) and the idea of the park, but agrees to do some work for them studying dinosaurs because he can't resist and also in the hopes of getting enough data to shut down the park before it can even open. Henry is employed by InGen as a copywriter and has arrived on the island to experience the park so he can write promotional and educational materials ahead of the park opening. Alex hates Henry on principle, but he's also been tasked with showing Henry around because no one knows the dinosaurs better than him. They get to know each other over the course of about a week, just in time for a rather large storm to hit...

[Writer goal asks for the new year]

[sweetbottletops]

Neat little interview with Arai Sumiko.

(Bad MTL below the cut. Especially note already nuanced love talk in the original language further removed by MTL)

── What was the idea for the story of two girls, Mitsuki and Aya?

I've always wanted to draw a story between girls. I also like the story of two people from opposite worlds with gaps, and I think that's where I came up with the idea. I love to draw, and I used to post things like two-page comics with no dialogue on social media from time to time. I thought that if there were no lines, it would be easier for people overseas to spread the word, and even if they didn't understand Japanese, they would enjoy it. One of them is the source of 『気になってる人が男じゃなかった』.

──『気になってる人が男じゃなかった』 received a great response when it was announced, and now Arai's X has more than 1 million followers. Was the announcement on social media also due to the ease of communication overseas that you just mentioned?

I didn't think it would be like this, so I didn't think too much about it (laughs). I was very happy to be able to connect with people from overseas through SNS. There was a time when I lived abroad, so I feel that spending time in a completely different environment has made me who I am today. Perhaps, the number of stories between women in the world is not as large as that of love stories between men and women, or between men, so it may have been suitable for social media.

── Why did you want to depict the relationship between two girls?

I think the relationship between women is very intimate. That feeling when we got really close…… They wear matching clothes, listen to the same music, and spend hours together without talking. It's not like love, it's a love that has always been there. Isn't love over when you break up? I have a bit of a prejudice in me, and I want to draw something that transcends it. If we can be together even if we don't have a relationship title, I think that's love. I'm sorry, it's hard to understand.

── I've always longed for a relationship that can't be named, or a relationship where it's just two people, so I feel like I understand it.

We all have a lonely part and loneliness that we can't share with others. Especially when you're young, everyone has a lot of different feelings. However, I think that if I can create an existence that resonates with such a soft part of my heart, it will last a lifetime.

── How did you come up with the character of Mitsuki, who was thought to be mysterious older brother, but was a cool girl? It's completely my preference, but I love people who are women but can see the masculineness, so I created the character of Mitsuki from there. What if a sober girl actually has a tattoo? And such? I also wanted to depict her kindness. Mitsuki is unconscious, but she is naturally compassionate.

── Handsome and gentle, isn't it? As a way of depicting sexuality, the feeling that the existence of the person is affirmed as it is, including the fact that she is a woman, is conveyed from the drawing, and it is exciting.

Thank you. I'm happy because I'm particular about the shape of Mitsuki's slightly bony wrist line, fingers, and nails. There are parts of the picture in Volume 1 that make me think, "Wow" when I reread it now, but I did my best to make Mitsuki's expression when she tells Aya that she wants to be friends. From the time of the name, I drew a lot of facial expressions (laughs). I've improved a bit at drawing, so I've been drawing a lot lately, and I think I'm good at it a lot.

── It's a memorable scene where the two become friends at school.

I love the American TV drama "Glee" (a music-comedy-drama about a high school choir where minorities gather), and I grew up watching that show. I was moved by the story of a sparkling person who seems to have everything, but in fact has emotions that cannot be told to others, so I wanted to draw it myself. Aya has that element in it. Aya is feminine on the outside, but she is shy. When it comes to other people, she's the kind of girl with a lot of grit who confronts her with a "huh?"

── In the second volume, the individuality of each of them became more apparent.

Mitsuki hides herself at school, but the way she hides her personality is actually very attractive. It's fun to depict how talking to Aya brings out more and more of her true self at school.

──It's so nice to be the most yourself when you're with the people you love. Being able to be yourself means having confidence in yourself. By not worrying about what people think, you will be able to see what you care about and the right person for you. Like Mitsuki brought Aya closer. The person who is most saved by being dignified is yourself. That's why I want to value my own individuality, and I draw manga with the hope that I will be able to do so.

── Music is also an important element of this manga. It is colored in two colors, yellow-green and black, which are rare in manga, and when I first read it, I thought it was rock.

Actually, I chose yellow-green 15 minutes before the first episode was posted on social media (laughs). I didn't think it would go viral, and I thought it would be nice to have a rock feel and a slightly dangerous color, so I put it in on a whim. That Last Minute Decision (the last minute decision) may have been a good one.

── NIRVANA and other music are featured in the film, but what is Arai's own musical journey?

When I was little, I loved BECK's album "Guero" the most in the world, and I remember dancing to it at my father's office. That's where my love for rock music started. NIRVANA's music is exceptional, but I also sympathize with frontman Kurt Cobain's feminism and pushing the boundaries of gender. I was an only child, so I spent a lot of time alone, and I moved to a place where I didn't speak the language, so I feel like I was able to cultivate my imagination while filling in the silence with music.

──Even in 『気になってる人が男じゃなかった 』 the music connects the completely different worlds of Mitsuki and Aya and expands them even further.

Let's see. The last scene of Volume 2 is very memorable for me. Aya stops Mitsuki from getting off the pedestrian bridge that can be taken as a stage, but I think it's a friend, and I think it's love. There's also a love for the music that Mitsuki makes.

── "This song connects the world!!" I was also fascinated by the straight line. Is there anything you keep in mind when drawing music?

In my case, I'm completely self-satisfied and just put in the music I like, and I can't say anything admirable, but I think a lot about which songs go well with each scene. There are scenes made from music, and the scene where Aya and Mitsuki hold hands in Volume 2 came to mind when I was listening to The Shins.

──Official playlist But it's also fun to read while actually playing music.

I'm a little embarrassed because I choose it myself (laughs), but I'm happy. I didn't tell anyone, but the official playlist is trying to arrange the songs that Mitsuki and Aya each chose so that they alternate as much as possible. Of course, the flow of music is the most important priority.

──Knowing that changes the way you listen even more! I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds for them. Thank you very much.

[x]

(Is she a Dianna Agron stan? This is the second connection after this earlier in the year. Also I think this Glee thing gives her an honorary Tumblr diploma too.)

[llowlifepunk]

rottszn2k25

i've spent the past month of my life rotting in like a chill liminal space sorta way kinda not rlly this project has been pretty much done since before winter break but i was away from my pc for a month so i couldn't put the finishing touches on it

then i was like yeah im gonna come up with promo before i even announce it but then i realized im not finishing or continuing the whole otherwrld thing for a while (more on this later) so i dont even wanna promo it with all the comic shit and the animation shit then i realized idfk how to promote it at all and sat around waiting for the ideas to come to me newsflash tho, shit doesnt come to you magically just because you wait around and hope for it desperately enough, the universe is nowhere near that generous. writing generates thought, not the other way around, and similarly, work inspires motivation, not vice versa i still dont really know how im gonna promo slaps but ive really been fuckin up lately and i woke up today wondering if this is just it, if i'm just the same 17 year old kid i was in the beginning, watching myself ruin my own life day by day, decision by decision, except in a 21 year old body with twice the experience and half the determination...

the answer ofc is no. i've carved a good future out for myself and i'm surrounded by great people. the only missing part has been me, waking up and deciding to be better every day, not because i want someone to witness it but because improving fulfills me, dropping music fulfills me, and sitting around feeling comfortable does not

i haven't been working hard because i haven't been feeling like myself, and i haven't been feeling like myself because i haven't been working hard. the only way through it is to do it

so yeah i decided that im just gonna drop on valentine's day no matter what. if promo comes to me along the way then fire. if not then fuck it, we keep moving and keep dropping. tired of thinking about what im doing with the same 8 songs tho. i have way more exciting and most importantly achievable ideas and goals to look forward to and work towards so lets get it. shit is more or less going to be okay in the end and if it ain't okay then it ain't the end

future posts may or may not be shorter, srry not sorry for the yapathon, shoutout chaos control ##cc for being a void to launch my ideas/demos into, shoutout getting off ur ass and getting to a bag, and shoutout energy drinks

presave slaps 4 da spaceship below:

[eponymous-rose]

Thursday is work-from-home day! Time to destroy this to-do list.

I'm just going to reproduce yesterday's list, since that should be helpful:

Send my forest service colleague the financial info he's been waiting so patiently to get from me. This will involve coordinating with our terribly understaffed grants team and may involve me writing a few pages of justifications, so I'm anticipating this one will take a few hours.

This one was tough, but after quick call to him and many texts back and forth, I think I've got everything finished and sent to my grants team!

Write letters of support for my PhD student. These are a joy to write and shouldn't take too long.

These really were fun to write - I can't say enough good things about this student, so it's fun to get to do that in a formal statement that will have a measurable impact on his career.

Provide comments to the postdoc out in Switzerland about her proposal. It's not a super long proposal, but it looked a little rough the last time I saw it, so I'm steeling myself for what may be a long read.

It's actually looking considerably better than I remembered! I get through pretty quickly and remind her to cover a couple comments she missed last time around.

Decide whether I want to submit an abstract to a conference that'll be happening in June. It's not needed for me, but it's close by, a good friend is running it, it looks relevant, and I have some travel funds that will be deleted if they're not used by November. If I decide to go for it, writing the abstract won't take long at all.

I've decided against this for all sorts of practical reasons, but also because I'd like to hang on to some of that funding in case my PhD student needs to stay on as a postdoc for a month or two.

There's a questionnaire asking how my research would be impacted by various political things going on, so I need to fill that one out.

I passed on this for now.

I have a peer review for a scientific journal due on Monday that I've already delayed once - I simply gotta write it. I'm good friends with the editor, so I want to help him get that off his to-do list as well.

Nope, this one's moving to Friday.

There's some required grants training that expires after four years, so I guess it's time for me to do that again.

This was basically 10 minutes (on 2x speed, amazing). Phew.

There's a possibility of applying for a major grant with a friend in the computer science department. I don't know if either of us can put this on our plates, but we should at least chat about it quickly.

Reply to my absentee finishing-remotely-while-starting-a-new-job-but-has-been-incommunicado Master's student who reached out yesterday for the first time in three years.

Work on revisions to a grant proposal - I promised my co-author that we'd have the proposal draft ready to go by Feb. 7.

Work on revisions to the review article I have to cut down by about 5,000 words.

Moving these four to next week!

The reason why I had to move so much? Just SO much annoying grants stuff. It looks like the formatting of our documents was incorrect in a couple of new and exciting ways and things didn't get submitted the way they should, who knows why. Anyway, got it resolved (I think?) after six million frustrating e-mails and going to chip away at my inbox while eating a very late lunch, then start laundry.

My mood is immediately improved by some job-related news that is deeply validating. Phew. And I get to spend some time in the evening pricing cards for Sunday's show!

Tomorrow: a class, a couple meetings, hopefully some of that paper review (realistically it'll get done on Monday)... and then D&D and the weekend!

[ryuichirou]

Replies

Happy Saturday; a couple of short replies today.

Anonymous asked:

I sound dumb but on kofi I noticed that some of your drawings were labeled Fellow and Mob and there was one on Bluesky for Epel and Mob. Who or what or when is Mob? Is this the dude from Scott Pilgrim?

You are not dumb, Anon! No worries.

“Mob” is basically the same as “just random faceless guy/girl”. Here is a definition from this site:

In Japanese, モブ (short for モブキャラクター) refers to a character who plays a minor role in anime/manga/games.

Dorm students from TWST (the ones that aren’t our main characters) are technically all Mob, like Scarabia student B, Heartslabyul student A, etc. This term is also frequently used in doujins when a character is being paired with some rando, i.e. some pervy old man or just some faceless student. In case with Fellow and Epel it was a pervy old man...

But now I can’t stop thinking about Mobile sleeping around lol

Anonymous asked:

ryu i just wanted to let you know that your aot art still lives rent free in my mind specially the ereri ones you were such a visionary omg !!!! but your new drawings are just as beautiful <3

Oh my god, Ereri!

Thank you so much for your kindness, Anon! Hearing that it such a blast from the past, I can’t believe it’s been 3 years already… I am very excited to apply everything I’ve learned over these years art-wise to more Ereri stuff in the future (whenever it’ll be). So it’s great to hear that there are people who still remember us and our content with these two <3

I am very happy you like my new stuff as well, it means a lot!

Anonymous asked:

Was at a con last weekend and you were like every person's at the twst meetup favorite artist I'm not even kidding

No way… 😭 This is incredibly sweet, thank you very much!

In all honesty though, it really is very surprising, but amazing nonetheless. I am very happy to hear that. It’s hard to even imagine that I exist... irl? In other people’s lives? Idk how to put it.

Thank you for sharing, and I hope you (and everyone else) enjoyed the con.

Anonymous asked:

I wish I had an Idia dakimakura. No question just wanted to share my woes. I need to squeeze the life out of him :(

Honestly, I think a lot of lives would have been improved with an Idia dakimakura… He is very squeezable :”(

Anonymous asked:

I've been having the most intense Lilia/Idia thoughts lately and I just wanted to share them if you're interested.

Cause Idia and Lilia are gaming buddies, yeah?

And I just can't stop thinking about how if they were playing a game with comms, there could be other people there or not but having other people there makes it more fun, and Lilia just messing with Idia so hard.

Just saying the dirtiest stuff and Idia's on the other side of the comms blowing a fuse from all the stuff Lilia's saying.

And if there was people there and they heard that, then Idia would have to deal with the questions later and he'd blow a fuse again just out of embarrassment.

Maybe that's a strange thought to have, but I just wanted to share it cause why not?

LOL poor random people who have to play with these two fuckers! On the other hand, it’s probably very entertaining to listen to them lol

It’s also funny that Crimson Muscle seems to have kind of strict and mature, yet unexpectedly playful vibe, so the image in Idia’s head is very specific. But once they learn each other’s identity… maybe Lilia would start acting like his gremlin self more. He really could make Idia blow a fuse if he wanted to…

No matter what happens, people around them are going to think they’re dating lol