#I've had polls for a while but this is the first time I've really found a use for them

[concoctionboy]

Tower Quest Poll

So, a couple of months ago I set off on a quest of exploration, and this became a... much more extended thing than I expected. What I'd initially thought was going to be just a few posts and be done in a couple of days has turned into an ongoing thing now with regular illustrations.

The problem is that because it's been going on a while, the older posts are kind of buried, and with all the Tower Quest posts interleaved with my other posts I feel like it's probably hard to follow. I made an Expedition Masterpost to address this, but I'm not sure that helps that much, especially if I have to link to it each time. I was going to go back and tag each post with "#Tower Quest" to make them easier to find, but it recently occurred to me there may be a better solution.

It might work best to just create a new sideblog for the Tower Quest. That way people who want to follow it can do so easily, and it won't be cluttering my main blog for people who aren't interested in it. (I may still mention it in my main blog for people who aren't aware of it, but new Tower Quest posts will go in the sideblog—and I'll probably start by reblogging all the old posts there.)

But this would be kind of a big undertaking and I didn't want to do it without kind of reading the room and seeing what people thought.

There would, of course, be little point in asking people to reblog for a larger sample size, because this question is irrelevant to anyone outside my followers, but I'll probably be reblogging it myself a few times over the next day to try to make sure all my followers see it.

Thanks!

[delusional-day-dreamer]

U My Everything - p.b

‣ paige x grumpy reader: part two here!

‣ wc: 3178

‣‣ synopsis: paige's harmless joke is taken a little too personally by her sensitive and grumpy girlfriend; slight angst? but very fluffy by the end! (the song is most relevant for the end part of the fic as it's inspired by KK's 05/31/24 live, can u tell I live for uconn lives?)

‣‣‣ a/n: I'M SORRY, i know y'all chose emily in the poll but I alr finished this one and I've promised myself I would try to release at least one fic a day; emily's will be out very very soon, writing smut for the first time is just very nerve wracking lmao. this is lightly based off the, good morning gorgeous, tiktok trend going around rn; Also, I'm so sorry for the amount of times I use y'all, like, literally, and really because I try to make my dialogue and what not as realistic as possible, but as a Southern Californian they're literally engraved into my vocabulary 😭😭.

Rolling over in bed half-conscious, your arms reach out, patting around the bed in an attempt to locate your girlfriend's warmth without having to open your eyes. However, to your sheer disappointment, your fingers are met with cold, rumpled sheets on Paige's side of the bed.

Now fully conscious with confusion as to how your girlfriend managed to slip from bed without you realizing, the pounding in your head became all the more severe as you sat up in bed, frustrated that the one person who could comfort you simply with their presence was nowhere to be found.

With your right hand massaging the temple, attempting to soothe the deep ache that had settled into the front portion of your head, your left hand blindly felt around your nightstand for your phone, knowing Paige wouldn't have left you alone in bed without so much as a simple text message. But to your surprise, her name was absent from your list of notifications.

Even more annoyed than before, you forced yourself out of her bed, stumbling your way to her adjacent bathroom, wincing at the sudden intrusion that was fluorescent lighting. By the time you began brushing your teeth, you heard the front door open, hearing Paige call your name as she entered the dorm.

"Bathroom," you yelled out to her, despite your head screaming at you to shut up and crawl back under the safety of Paige's comforter.

"Hey baby," Paige greeted as she entered the bathroom while you spit toothpaste into the sink, coming up behind you to hug your waist, resting her head on your shoulder. As you stood back up to meet her gaze in the mirror's reflection, you saw her tuck her bottom lip into her mouth, clearly trying to hide her shit-eating grin.

"Well don't you look... interesting this morning," she teased, the sarcasm apparent in her low voice. You knew her mocking was all in good fun, the two of you often poking fun at each other for little things. But perhaps it was the headache still waging war in your skull, or the final three midterms you had to take later today, or your remanent annoyance at having to wake up alone, despite her knowing your favorite part of the day was waking up, warm and all loved up in her arms, or perhaps it was the fact that looking in the mirror, you genuinely looked wrecked this morning.

Your curly hair was reduced to nothing but a puff of frizz overnight, sticking out in all directions, your eyebags particularly prominent this morning, combined with the pesky anxiety breakout that had settled into your forehead a few days prior, you just couldn't handle her jokes today.

"Yes, thank you for pointing that out Paige," you shot back, setting your toothbrush back in its cup holder, exiting her hold to wipe your hands on the small towel before pushing past her to get dressed in her room.

Paige followed close behind you, curious as to why you were giving her so much attitude so early in the day, especially over such a harmless statement.

"What's up with you, this is the first time I've even seen you this morning," She questioned from her seat on the unmade bed as you began changing your clothes with your back facing her, which was another thing that struck out to her as odd. After dating for over a year now, the two of you were incredibly comfortable with each other, and it was rare for you to completely turn your back on her, even when changing.

"Nothing, I'm just not in the mood today," you grumbled, tugging your, her, sweatshirt over your head. Heading over to her floor length mirror with your makeup bag and necessary hair products in hand, you settle down on the floor in front of it, convinced to improve your appearance a bit before you head off to your exams today. Still ignoring Paige's presence in the room, you began getting ready.

Hearing her scoff as you started applying your makeup, she got up and began making the bed, intent on ignoring your bratty mood until you fixed it. You knew you were being petty and acting bitchy to your girlfriend, who had technically done nothing wrong, you just couldn't force yourself to drop the attitude. By the time you finished your makeup and smoothed out your slickback, you managed to go the entire twenty minutes without so much as looking at your girlfriend through the mirror, who had now perched herself on her side of the bed, scrolling mindlessly on her phone.

Your headache hadn't subsided yet, but now that you were more awake, you had gotten used to the throbbing sensation. Making your way over to your side of her bed, you collected your phone, headphones, watch, school bag, and other items from your nightstand and around the area to get ready to leave.

"Your heading out already? You still have over an hour before your first class," Paige finally addressed you, putting her phone in her lap to look at you as you packed your things.

"Yeah I'm gonna head to the library early so I can review before my first midterm," You answered, speaking to her normally for the first time in the last hour she had returned.

"But what about breakfast, you're not gonna be able to concentrate and stuff when you're all hangry," she said, only slightly teasing you with her statement.

"I'll just grab something to eat from the coffee shop next to the library, I was gonna stop by and get matcha from there anyways," you responded, a small part inside of you glad that despite your attitude, Paige made sure that you were well taken care of.

"Dude I still don't understand how you drink that stuff, tastes like straight grass," she had dropped her concern and switched back to joking, her automatic setting. "But I guess it's fitting," she continued, "cause yk, cows just love their grass," she sighed, holding back her laughter at what she thought was a brilliant joke.

In her defense, if it was any other morning, you would've joined in on her teasing, either mooing at her in response or poking fun at her in return.

But today, it just ticked you off even further. I mean, you were clearly already in a bad mood, stressed the fuck out, hangry (but Paige didn't need to know she was right), and the sharp pressure in your head was only getting worse. Plus, Paige had already easily finished off her midterm exams two days prior, which meant she didn't truly understand why you were so worked up over your exams. And the worst part, your bloating and exhaustion really did make you feel a little bit like a cow.

“P I'm just not in the mood to deal with you right now," you sighed, exasperation laced in your tone. "I already feel bad enough this morning, I can't handle you piling more onto my plate, I'll see you later," you barely even said goodbye to her properly as you gathered your stuff, put on your shoes, and left her dorm.

The second you closed her door behind you, you could feel the pit forming in your stomach, full of regret and shame. You knew it was unfair to be so rude to Paige when she was just trying to lighten your mood, but your anxiety always caused you to last out at anyone who tried to help you. You made a mental note while walking to your favorite coffee shop to apologize and make it up to her when you saw her in the evening, after the stress from midterm week had diffused and your raging headache calmed down.

***SMALL TIME SKIP***

You were flipping through your study notes and flashcards while listening to one of Paige's playlist on the lowest volume possible when you saw your phone screen light up from next to you. Deciding it would be good to take a quick thirty second break, you reach for your phone and matcha latte at the same time, clicking on the text message you received from Paige.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

From P 💜:

I'm so sorry for making fun of you this morning baby, I know you're stressed about your tests today and I had no intentions of making you feel worse with my jokes, I just wanted to cheer you up a bit because I know how bad your anxiety can get. Good luck on your test today killer, i love you 🤍.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Shit, now you really felt bad for snapping at her earlier today. All remnants of your misplaced anger had long since disappeared, now replaced with embarrassment. She was right, your anxiety was hitting you hard today, but that was no excuse for bitching out your girlfriend just for trying to improve your mood. You quickly hearted her message and began typing out a short response, as you knew you needed to apologize in-person for your behaviour.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

To P 💜:

Thank you so much P, I'll see you later tonight baby. I love you too 🤍

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

***SMALL TIME SKIP***

You breathed a sigh of relief as you finally reached the floor of Paige's dorm room, exhausted from your long and mentally tiring day of midterms, but you were finally done, your headache was finally gone, and you now had the weekend to relax and spend time with your girlfriend.

As you reached for your keys in your pocket, you heard the loud commotion of voices that you recognized to be KK, Aubrey, Sarah, Allie, and Paige in the living room. It wasn't uncommon for the girls to be over, as the team always spent hung out together outside of practice, and since you started spending more time at Paige's dorm, you had quickly stocked her near bare kitchen full of snacks, baked goods, and home-cooked meals the girls loved to steal.

You entered the living room greeting everyone as you took off your shoes, making a beeline straight to where Paige was sitting on the couch. You stood in between the space of her legs, wrapping your free arm around her shoulders to lean down and plant a kiss on the top of her head.

"Hey P," you spoke softly, looking down at the small smile that had settled on her face.

"Hey yourself, how were you midterms? Today was your last day right?" She questioned as her fingertips began running up and down the back of your legging covered thigh.

"They were fine, I think I did good on majority of them. My math midterm was a little shaky, but not too bad yk?" You answered her quietly, afraid to pop the little bubble of peace you two had created around yourselves among the chaos of the living room's occupants.

"I," you began, as your hand had made its way to the front of her face as you pushed back a small piece of hair that had escaped out of her bun. "Will you come in the room with me real quick?" You asked her, practically whispering at this point.

"Yeah of course baby," she answered quickly, letting her hand travel up your body to rest at the small of your back as she stood up, leading you past everyone to her bedroom.

"We'll be right back," she announced to the group as the two of walked by. "Oooo, Paige is in trouble," KK sang out as the two of you reached her closed room door, Paige still standing behind you. She turned the knob quickly, gently pushing you into the room first as she turned around to stick her tongue out at KK before she closed the door.

By the time she turned around from the door to face you, she barely had a moment to adjust to your body barreling into her, as you had already dropped your bag off next to her desk. She quickly wrapped her arms around you, being able to sense that you just needed to be held for a minute before speaking.

She lightly rubbed your back and shoulders with her hands, knowing exactly what it was that immediately calmed you down. You stayed silent in her comforting embrace for a few more minutes, having craved her touch all day when you were around campus.

"I'm sorry," you finally spoke up, unburying your head from her chest to look her in the eyes. "I was really rude to you for no reason this morning. My headache when I woke up and all the stress I had was completely unrelated to you, but I still ended up taking it out on you," you sighed before continuing, "I really appreciate the fact that you were trying to cheer me up this morning, even though I was being a total bitch. And you are never a burden or someone who adds more onto my plate, I love you and I'm so sorry I said that to you, I would never want you to feel that way and-" as your eyes began to well up with tears, the last of your apology was cut off by Paige.

"Hey hey it's okay baby," she pulled you slightly away from her as the tears began flowing from your eyes. "I know you," she maintained eye contact as she reassured you, "And I know you would never act like that normally, you are not a bitch. You were just stressed out and not feeling well. I understand, and I promise I'm not mad at you at all," her right hand moved up from your back to your face, wiping the tears streaming down your face.

"Thank you P, I have no idea what I would do without you," you sniffled lightly, your hand coming up to wipe your face as well. "I love you so much, you have no idea," you professed.

"I love you too y/n/n," she whispered as her hands wrapping around your waist as she pulled you into her, leaning down slightly to kiss you. Your hands flew up the moment your lips connected, one cradling her jaw while the other rested on the base of her neck. The kiss was slow and languid, an apology met with forgiveness as your lips moved together.

The loud rumbling of your stomach, interrupted your sweet moment with Paige, forcing the two of you to separate as a giggle slipped out of her.

"Didn't realize a small kiss made you that hungry for me," she smiled, now at peace knowing that you were no longer upset. "Shut up," you smiled back, lightly hitting her chest as you broke away from her. "I am for real hungry though, but I need to shower first," you told her as you moved around the room, grabbing your towel and a fresh pair of pajamas to change into.

"I'm pretty sure Aubrey is ordering Domino's so I'll tell her to add in something for you, and it'll probably be here by the time you get out," she kissed your cheek as you went to exit the room, heading for a quick shower as she remained in her room.

***SMALL TIME SKIP***

As you entered the living room, curls freshly washed, a soft pair of Paige's sweatpants resting low on your hips, and a small off the shoulder sweatshirt over your sleep tank top, you witness KK showing her tik tok live her "hips dance", if it could even be referred to as that.

"Oh wow," Paige commented dryly at the sight while getting up from the couch so she could grab her laptop from the kitchen counter. You moved past her to Aubrey's desk, grabbing a piece of garlic knots from the Domino's box she left partially open (i don't think she actually bought any but I'm craving them so i added it in here). You rested your hip against the table, waving at the live while KK queued up Sexyy Red on her Siri.

Everyone knew you and Paige were a couple, when Paige accidentally hard-launched you by posting a cute couples pic on her main instagram story instead of her close friends. But since then, the two of you kept a private but not secret relationship, very occasionally posting together, but fans often saw candids of the two of you on dates or together in the team's lives or other events.

You licked the remaining cheese and butter off your fingers as you watched Paige, KK, and Aubrey dance in front of the camera to "U My Everything", smiling at their so-called dance moves, especially Paige's.

"Man we go together tell them hoes we go together," Paige sang, before doing her little "attitude now walk" move, making you double over with laughter at her with the other two girls.

You scratched the back of your neck as you continued to watch the girls mess around, too tired from your day to join them, but content just from watching them. As the second chorus approached, Paige walked up to your leaned figure on the desk, grabbing your bare waist and pulling you into her as she sang.

"Bae, I love you, you my everything, I'm your main bitch, fuck a wedding ring," you laughed at her awful singing, but you couldn't deny the blush that rose to your cheeks at the thought of her singing you the lyrics while very clearly in the live's frame. "We both in fast cars and we switchin' lanes, when I'm away from you, you always on my brain," she continued, adding in her sassy facial expressions with the corresponding lyrics.

You couldn't help but laugh at her actions, the pure giddiness coursing through your veins was a complete 180 from your mood this morning, and you couldn't help but think there was nowhere that would make you happier than in her arms.

Thank you for reading all the way through! The recent support has been crazy and I appreciate all of you! Should I make a part two to this with smut so r can properly apologize to p.... 😏😏😏

[vroomvro0mferrari]

CL16 | Oblivious

Sorry it took me so long, I was really busy with finals the last couple of weeks but I've finally finished the fic from the poll! I hope you like it :)

Summary: Charles has been blatantly flirting with Y/N for months, but she's the only one who hasn't noticed.

Charles Leclerc x Sainz!Reader

WC: 2.4K

Warnings: None

Masterlist

Charles was busy in the garage, talking with his mechanics when he saw her walk in. Y/N Sainz, the younger sister of his friend and teammate. He had seen her many, many times when she came to support her brother at his races. It seemed like Charles could sense her presence, knowing she was there without having seen or heard her, always looking up right when she walked in. Y/N Sainz was greatly loved by the Ferrari employees. With her bubbly personality, witty jokes, and bright smiles, all the team members enjoyed her presence. And Charles couldn’t help but feel the same way, although Y/N was completely oblivious to his affection. 

His face lit up when their eyes met, instantly smiling at her company. As soon as she was close enough, he greeted her, “Ah Y/N! Nice to see you again, you look lovely today!” He grinned.

“Oh, thank you, Charles. You’re so kind!” She responded with a bright smile as she hugged him in greeting, the flirty undertone going by entirely unnoticed.

Charles had been enamoured with Y/N since the first time they met. In an effort to not come off too strong and scare her away, Charles tried to flirt with her subtly. However, after several occurrences without any reaction from Y/N, it seemed his flirting was too subtle. Either that or she was not into him. But he couldn’t give into that possibility just yet.

As time passed and Y/N became a more familiar face in the paddock, Charles’s flirtations became bolder. He’d constantly try to include her in conversations and would make up all kinds of excuses just to talk to her. Whenever he did manage to string her into another conversation, he’d try to make her laugh as much as he could. Simply because he could, and because he loved to see her happy and smiling. And if he was feeling really confident, he would even go as far as to touch her arm or the small of her back while they were chatting away or walking around the paddock together. Nevertheless, to Charles's frustration, Y/N didn’t seem to notice his underlying motives, dismissing his actions and words as nothing more than friendly gestures.

Meanwhile, everyone else who had ever been around the duo seemed to have caught sight of the one-sided infatuation and attempt at courtship. Everybody except for Y/N had noticed Charles was desperately trying to make his feelings for the girl obvious, but she simply kept friend-zoning him. Frankly, he found it embarrassing. 

Nearly all of Charles’s fellow drivers had been caught up in one of his attempts to woo Y/N while she simply brushed his compliments off as friendly comments. It was hard not to notice Charles’s fruitless flirting when he did it right in front of them, but they didn’t say anything about it. His colleagues merely exchanged knowing glances with others aware of the situation, amused at Charles’s futile attempts at winning Y/N over. But as time wore on, and Charles kept trying, at least a few of his colleagues started to comment on his persistence, calling him a simp, and joking about his poor flirting. Some suggested he should stop his pursuit of Y/N, as it seemed she wasn’t interested, but Charles was relentless: he would not quit until he knew for sure Y/N Sainz didn’t and would never like him.

And so, when Charles spotted Y/N walking through the paddock with Lando, one of the people in the paddock she got along with better, talking animatedly and laughing loudly with each other, he approached her once more; he would seize any opportunity to blatantly flirt with Y/N. He quickly caught up with the two, putting his hand on the small of her back as he matched his speed with theirs. “You’re absolutely radiant today, chérie” He greeted her with a cheeky grin.  

Y/N looked to her side, greeting the new presence “Hey, Charles!” As oblivious as always, she sweetly smiled up at him and replied, “Thanks! You’re such a sweet friend!”

Lando was a mere bystander in the situation as he observed the interaction, surprised and amused at the ease with which Y/N once again waved off the man who was so clearly crushing on her. He held his opinions back until Charles left, “Wow, you certainly have no trouble friend-zoning him, don’t you?” He commented.

Y/N cocked her head as she looked at him, her brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Lando laughed humourlessly, “Dear God, you really have no idea?” He paused, “Y/N, Charles has been flirting non-stop with you for ages. How on earth have you not noticed?”

She stopped walking and looked at him in confusion, “He’s not flirting with me, Lando, he’s just being nice. He’s a good friend.” 

“I’m actually quite sure he’s flirting with you, Y/N. So is everyone else. You could literally ask any of the drivers, and they would confirm it. The Ferrari employees too, I reckon. He likes you, Y/N.” He said unimpressed.

“Charles likes me?” She asked softly, suddenly turning shy, a blush creeping onto her face.

Lando sighed, realising his friend was even more oblivious than he initially thought. “Yeah, he does. I’m honestly surprised you’ve never noticed.” He gently squeezed her shoulder before they parted ways.

— — —

For the rest of the day, Y/N thought about Lando’s words. She thought about all her interactions with Charles over the last few months and realised that he did compliment her quite often. 

Once, on a sunny afternoon, Y/N was chatting with some of the Ferrari team members near the garage when Charles spotted her. He, as always, decided to walk over to talk with her, his usual charming smile on his face and mischief in his eyes.

"Y/N, only you can make a sunny day even brighter," he said with a big, playful smile and admiration in his voice.

Y/N blinked at him, surprised by his sudden appearance and his bold statement. "Oh, thank you, Charles! That's really sweet of you to say."

Unfazed by her obliviousness, Charles pressed on, determined to make his feelings known after such a long time. "No, really," he insisted, his gaze unwavering. "I mean it. You bring a brightness to the paddock that I can't quite explain."

Y/N laughed softly, “Well, um, thank you. That’s very kind. What can I say? I try my best.” She replied with a smile.

Another time, Y/N was in the team hospitality when she accidentally spilt her drink, leaving an obvious stain on her white shirt. Charles, who was, unsurprisingly, standing nearby (as always), had noticed immediately and courteously offered one of his extra Ferrari shirts. When he saw the girl he had liked for months in his clothes, wearing his driver’s number, he naturally couldn’t resist the urge to flirt with Y/N.

"Have I ever told you how stunning you look in red?" he remarked, his eyes sparkling with mischief and fondness at the sight of her.

Y/N laughed and replied, "No, I don't think you have," smiling at him in a friendly manner.

"Well, consider it said," he said, his tone playful. "You wear it better than anyone else, that's for sure."

Y/N laughed softly, appreciating her friend’s words, "I doubt that’s true, but thanks, Charles."

Thinking back to these moments, Y/N realised maybe Charles had indeed been flirting with her. However, he might just be like that with all of his friends, complimenting everyone he cares about. Nevertheless, now that Lando had brought this to her attention, she would surely pay extra attention to what Charles would say to her tomorrow.

— — —

The next day, Charles had caught her in a conversation again. They were talking about the race and the current situation with Ferrari. He mentioned the pressure from the team and all the fans that want him to do well, and that the car and the strategies aren’t working the way he wants them to. Of course, Y/N tried to reassure him; to relieve the pressure and stress Charles was feeling. He absolutely adored the way she was trying to comfort him and was not afraid to let her know, “I have to admit, Y/N, nobody can cheer me up like you can. You calm my nerves like no one else,” he said, looking at her lovingly while he expressed his feelings.

Y/N didn’t know how to respond. This was the first time she noticed he was flirting with her whilst he was actually doing it, and she had no idea how to react. When she felt her face heat up, she could only assume she was blushing from the nerves. She diverted her gaze, trying to come up with a good reply to Charles’s advances. How did she usually respond when Charles complimented her? She couldn’t remember now.

Charles was confused at Y/N’s lack of response to his remark. Normally, she’d immediately smile at him and thank him for whatever compliment he’d come up with, but now, she was looking away, and - was he seeing that right? Was she blushing? He had flirted with her countless times, but she had never blushed at any of his comments. Had she finally noticed his advances? Charles watched her with an amused smile while she searched for the right words.

Eventually, she shyly smiled at him, meeting his eyes in a fleeting glance before responding, “I’m glad to be of help.”

Charles, Charles, proud that he was the one to cause her flustered appearance, decided to push a little further, curious to see what would happen, “You really have no idea how much you mean to me, Y/N. Your support helps me so much.” Charles smiled gently and put his hand on her arm. When there’s no immediate response, he continues, “Anyway, I have to get ready for the race. I’ll see you later, yeah?” Y/N merely nodded and watched him walk away.

Her brother had been watching the interaction from a distance, observing the way his sister responded to Charles’s obvious flirting and, too, noticing the difference. “You finally figured it out, huh?” He said with a teasing smile. Y/N rolled her eyes at him in annoyance, but Carlos just continued, “You should let him know you like him too.” Y/N didn’t respond. “You do like him don’t you?” He asks, confused at her unresponsiveness. “Leave me alone, Carlos!” She replied, pushing her brother away. He laughed at her; that reaction was enough for him to know the answer to his question. He ruffled her hair and walked away, also needing to get ready for the race.

After her short talk with Charles, Y/N was sure that he liked her, but how to proceed? She could barely focus on the cars going around the track while all types of ideas were racing around in her head. What on earth was she supposed to do now? Should she wait until the next time Charles would flirt with her, or should she make the move instead? Considering Carlos’s advice, she decided she should take matters into her own hands.

She walked up to Charles as soon as she saw him entering the garage after the race. She had always thought Charles was incredibly attractive – like most women, but he looked especially handsome after he had raced.

“Hey, good job on the race!” She greeted Charles, pulling him into a hug. She looked at him for a second or two, contemplating whether she should actually do this. She smiled up at him shyly, “You know, I love the way your hair looks after a race.” She said blushing, running one of her hands through his messy hair. Charles is surprised at her comment, but he’s shocked at her hand in his hair. This is the first time she has complimented him – or at least, initiated it. Let alone, her touching him in such an intimate way. His eyes were wide and his mouth was slightly agape as he stared at her in disbelief. It was now Charles’s turn to be flustered as Y/N finally reciprocated his attempts at flirting.

In his silence, Y/N decided to continue, “It’s hot.” She said, avoiding eye contact. Charles was unsure how to respond. He had never experienced a situation like this before; he always knew exactly what to say, but she had caught him off guard. After Y/N had friend-zoned him countless times, he was definitely not expecting this; he was not sure what to do.

The absence of a reply only made Y/N more nervous. She distanced herself from him, letting her hand fall from his hair, realising she probably shouldn’t have touched him without permission. Charles was quick to notice her retreat and held her face to stop her from leaving. He raised her chin to make their eyes meet and asked her softly, “Let me take you to dinner?” while he stared at her with adoration.

Y/N smiled at him fondly and nodded her head, “I’d like that, Charles. I’d really like that.” 

“Good,” He said firmly, his smile growing wider, matching hers. “I have to leave now for the debrief, but I’ll text you, okay?” 

Y/N nodded her head in response, letting out a hum. Charles pulled her face closer with the hand on her cheek, and fleetingly kissed her forehead before leaving, looking over his shoulder to catch her gaze one last time.

Y/N stood still in shock for a while, processing what just happened. She had agreed to go on a date with Charles. She was staring outside, letting the situation sink in as she watched people pass by in the busy paddock. Suddenly, she spotted Lando waving wildly at her, trying to get her attention. When he realised that she had seen him, he smiled mischievously and gave her a thumbs-up, assuming the kiss he saw Charles give her was a good sign. Y/N rolled her eyes at him, annoyed by his nosiness, but Lando just laughed, amused at her bother and glad his meddling had helped.

[doyoulikethis-videogame-song]

Hello,

I'd just like to clarify a few things going forward, because I think a few people might be upset or confused, and this is a silly gimmick blog, so I don't think there's any need for that.

I post submissions exclusively in the order I receive them. I have only added or inserted songs in three cases:

The first two songs posted on this blog.

#69, where I inserted 'Weight of the World' from NieR:Automata.

The song would not upload to tumblr, and I have typically replaced it with a random fromsoftware song off the top of my head, because I already have the OSTs on my computer.

When I receive multiple songs from the same game in a row, I try my best to space them out between multiple songs. This has typically been every 4-6 songs in the past. I am going to extend this number further as it appears to be a source of frustration for some. When I space out songs, I do not consider DLCS/Extras as new games, so they will be spaced out. I DO consider new entries in a series as new games, so they will not be spaced out. This means you may get a song from Dark Souls I and Dark Souls II right next to one another, but never two songs from Dark Souls I.

I also understand that many are upset that their submission has not been posted yet. At the time of creating the google form, I already had the first 1000 slots of this blog lined up. I now have 4581 additional submissions from the google form, so please understand that it will probably take me a while to reach your submission.

As for how I should remedy this:

Posting more songs each day. I am planning to increase the number of songs I post each day soon. However, I would strongly prefer to not exceed more than five songs a day. This is entirely a personal preference: I often found myself annoyed when my feed was filled with nothing but polls from the same blog, that would post 7, 10, 15 polls a day or even within the same time slot. I love poll blogs, but I also wanted to be able to enjoy taking the time to listen to the music on each one. I created this blog primarily because I wanted to hear new music and find out about new games I've never heard about before, and I wanted others to share that experience. In my opinion, if you don't have the time to listen to each song posted, then it sort of defeats the gimmick of the blog itself. That being said, I will increase the number of songs posted sometime within the next two weeks.

Closing Submissions. I did not want to ever have to close submissions (because I didn't really see a reason to if I was going to post all the submissions eventually), but I now understand it may now be necessary. Starting on 9/7/2024, I am going to close the submissions box, and I am going to reopen it for the first week of each month, every month, only. The google form will remain the only way to submit requests. Hopefully, this will allow individuals who are especially excited to see their request posted gain a bit of an upper hand.

In the end, there is only so much I can do. I am only one person and I do have a life of my own. I am very happy so many people are enjoying this blog, and I will continue posting for as long as I can. If you are not enjoying this blog for any reason, feel free to unfollow it, block it, and make your own. It's nothing personal.

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Marlene Dietrich (Shanghai Express, Witness for the Prosecution, Morocco)—Bisexual icon, super hot when dressed both masculine and feminine, lived up her life in the queer Berlin scene of the 1920s, central to the 'sewing circle' of the secret sapphic actresses of Old Hollywood, refused lucrative offers by the Nazis and helped Jews and others under persecution to escape Nazi Germany, the love of my life

Xia Meng, also known as Hsia Moog or Miranda Yang (Sunrise, Bride Hunter)—For those who are familiar with Hong Kong's early cinema, Xia Meng is THE leading woman of an era, the earliest "silver-screen goddess", "The Great Beauty" and "Audrey Hepburn of the East". Xia Meng starred in 38 films in her 17-year career, and famously had rarely any flops, from her first film at the age of 18 to her last at the age of 35. She was a rare all-round actress in Mandarin-language films, acting, singing, and dancing with an enchanting ease in films of diverse genres, from contemporary drama to period operas. She was regarded as the "crown princess" among the "Three Princesses of the Great Wall", the iconic leading stars of the Great Wall Movie Enterprises, which was Hong Kong's leading left-wing studio in the 1950s-60s. At the time, Hong Kong cinema had only just taken off, but Xia Meng's influence had already spread out to China, Singapore, etc. Overseas Chinese-language magazines and newspapers often featured her on their covers. The famous HK wuxia novelist Jin Yong had such a huge crush on her that he made up a whole fake identity as a nobody-screenwriter to join the Great Wall studio just so he can write scripts for her. He famously said, "No one has really seen how beautiful Xi Shi (one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China) is, I think she should be just like Xia Meng to live up to her name." In 1980, she returned to the HK film industry by forming the Bluebird Movie Enterprises. As a producer with a heart for the community, she wanted to make a film on the Vietnam War and the many Vietnam War refugees migrating to Hong Kong. She approached director Ann Hui and produced the debut film Boat People (1982), a globally successful movie and landmark feature for Hong Kong New Wave, which won several awards including the best picture and best director in the second Hong Kong Film Award. Years later, Ann Hui looked back on her collaboration with Xia Meng, "I'm very grateful to her for allowing me to make what is probably the best film I've ever made in my life."

This is round 5 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Xia Meng:

Marlene Dietrich:

ms dietrich....ms dietrich pls.....sit on my face

its marlene dietrich!!!! queer legend, easily the hottest person to ever wear a tuxedo, that hot hot voice, those glamorous glamorous movies…. most famously she starred in a string of movies directed by josef von sternberg throughout the 1930s, beginning with the blue angel which catapulted her to stardom in the role of the cabaret singer lola lola. known for his exquisite eye for lighting, texture, imagery, von sternberg devoted himself over the course of their collaborations to acquiring exceptional skill at photographing dietrich herself in particular, a worthy direction in which to expend effort im sure we can all agree. she collaborated with many other great directors of the era as well, including rouben mamoulian (song of songs), frank borzage (desire), ernst lubitsch (angel), fritz lang (rancho notorious), and billy wilder (witness for the prosecution). the encyclopedia britannica entry im looking at while compiling this propaganda describes her as having an “aura of sophistication and languid sexuality” which✔️💯. born marie magdalene dietrich, she combined her first and middle names to coin the moniker “marlene”. she was a trendsetter in her incorporation of trousers, suits, and menswear into her wardrobe and her androgynous allure was often remarked upon. critic kenneth tynan wrote, “She has sex, but no particular gender. She has the bearing of a man; the characters she plays love power and wear trousers. Her masculinity appeals to women and her sexuality to men.” in the 1920s she enjoyed the vibrant queer nightlife of weimar berlin, visiting gay bars and drag balls, and in hollywood her love affairs with men and women were an open secret. she was an ardent opponent of nazi germany, refusing lucrative contacts offered her to make films there, raising money with billy wilder to help jews and dissidents escape, and undertaking extensive USO tours to entertain soldiers with an act that included her a playing musical saw and doing a mindreading routine she learned from orson welles. starting in the 50s and continuing into the mid-70s she worked largely as a cabaret artist touring the world to large audiences, employing burt bacharach as her musical arranger.

First of all, there are those publicity photos of her in a tux. Second of all, I have never been the same since knowing that she sent copies of those photos to her Berlin lovers signed "Daddy Marlene." Not only is she hot in all circumstances, but she can do everything from earthy to ice queen. Also, she kept getting sexy romantic lead parts in Hollywood after the age of 40, which would be rare even now. She hated Nazis, loved her friends, and had a sapphic social circle in Hollywood. She also had cheekbones that could cut glass and a voice that could melt you.

Her GENDER her looks her voice her everything

“In her films and record-breaking cabaret performances, Miss Dietrich artfully projected cool sophistication, self-mockery and infinite experience. Her sexuality was audacious, her wit was insolent and her manner was ageless. With a world-weary charm and a diaphanous gown showing off her celebrated legs, she was the quintessential cabaret entertainer of Weimar-era Germany.”

The bar scene in Morocco awoke something in me and ultimately changed my gender

"Her manner, the critic Kenneth Tynan wrote, was that of ‘a serpentine lasso whereby her voice casually winds itself around our most vulnerable fantasies.’ Her friend Maurice Chevalier said: ‘Dietrich is something that never existed before and may never exist again.’”

"Songstress, photographer, fashion icon, out bisexual phenom (notoriously stole Lupe Velez and Joan Crawford's men, and Errol Flynn's wife, had a torrid affair with Greta Garbo that ended in a 60-year feud, other notable conquests including Erich Maria Remarque -yes, the guy who wrote All Quiet on the Western Front- Douglas Fairbanks Junior, Claudette Colbert, Mercedes de Acosta, Edith Piaf), anti-Nazi activist. Marlene was a bitch - she had an open marriage for decades and one of her favorite things was making catty commentary about her current lover with her husband, and her relationship with her daughter was painful- but she was also immensely talented, a hard worker, an opponent of fascism and the hottest ice queen in Hollywood for a long time."

"She can sing! She can act! She told the Nazis to fuck off and became a US citizen out of spite! She worked with other German exiles to create a fund to help Jews and German dissidents escape (she donated an entire movie salary, about $450k, to the cause). She looks REALLY GOOD in a suit. If you're not convinced, please listen to her sing "Lili Marlene". Absolutely gorgeous woman with a gorgeous voice."

Gifset link

"Bisexual icon and Nazi-hater. Looks absolutely stunning in the suits she liked to wear. 'I dress for the image. Not for myself, not for the public, not for fashion, not for men'."

"would you not let her walk on you?"

[yandere-sins]

Yan-Poll #21

[Continuation of poll #17]

With your hand clasped over your mouth, you waited with bated breath and listened to the sound of your kidnapper's footsteps.

You didn't know how long you could endure the tension; if you could calm your heart before it threatened to burst out of your chest from fear and anxiety. With your breaths reduced to barely any air, you felt light-headed and so, so scared, but suddenly, a sound outside the room corridor caught your kidnapper's attention. They were gone almost as quickly as they had come.

It felt like an unreal success as you listened to them leave the room, slamming the door on their way out. Tears sprung into your eyes from the relief that you had managed to outsmart them, but you knew you had no time to dwell on the euphoric victory. Crawling out of your hiding space, you pressed your ear to the door, listening, trying to figure out what you should do now.

The windows were locked, that much you knew, but there was still a chance you could find a door leading outside. Staying in the same room would be a bad idea; you needed to at least get down to the ground floor first and find the entrance or a backdoor from which you could escape. Everything else was secondary. You couldn't stay hidden in this room forever, and although knowing your captor was roaming the halls was scary, you had to get a move on.

Carefully, you opened the door and checked for signs. The hallway was quiet and dark, just like before. No echo reached your ears, and you slipped out of the room, leaving the door open. It didn't matter anymore if they found out you had been hiding here, and you wouldn't return to this room either.

With hurried steps, you rounded a corner and then another one. There were no signs as to where to go, and you thought to yourself that it should be mandatory for a building this big to be well-signposted. Much to your dismay, the sudden creaking of a door opening behind you made the situation much worse. You jumped behind the next corner, listening as someone let out a thoughtful hum before walking into another branch of hallways that you had wanted to go into.

Cursing under your breath, you looked into the hallway you had turned to, noticing it was a dead end. If you wanted to progress, you'd have to follow the person who had just come out of one of the rooms, even if they might be in cahoots with your kidnapper.

"Hey! Psst! Come here!"

An unexpected voice called out to you. Horrified, you turned your head in the direction, noticing a man waving his hand at you. With the moonlight illuminating this hallway, you saw the same rope burn around his wrist as yours, and there were bruises on his face, revealing that he was in a similar situation as you were. Was he a victim, too? A sense of kinship mixed with the anxiety in you made you react before you could think it through.

You jumped on the opportunity, quickly slipping into the room he was waving you from and finding yourself in a supply closet with a complete stranger. In hindsight, it was not your smartest move, but the desperation united you two.

"They kidnapped you too?" he asked, keeping his voice low. He whispered with the same panic as you did, reassuring you he wasn't one of the bad ones.

"Yes, do you know a way out? I've been running for a while now and can't find it!"

"I think I know how to get there," the stranger revealed. "But it's really complicated to explain. I walked it a few times, so I know what to look out for, but other than saying, "left, right, left," I can't really describe it. Unfortunately, I..."

He looked down, and you followed his gaze, noticing how swollen his ankle was. "When I was running away, someone else—not the person that kidnapped me—spotted me and broke it, I think. It hurts a lot, but I promise not to be a liability! Can you lend me your shoulder? Just until we make it out of this house? I can't explain it but something about my captor was very wrong, he hated it when I didn't close the curtains, so I don't think he'll follow us outside."

Glancing down again, the wound looked really bad. Thick, swollen. It might have actually been broken, as the stranger assumed. Something inside you, perhaps your survival instinct, told you not to take this man with you. He'd slow you both down and, in the worst case, get you both caught again.

"Please don't leave me," he whimpered, and you saw the same fear you felt in his eyes. "I know it looks grim, but I've been through worse. If we follow the path, I know we can make it out quickly, I promise!"

You couldn't leave him, could you? It wasn't safe, and even if he hid, who knew what these psychos would do to retrieve their 'pets'. He knew the way, so it could be a quick exit. Still, if you two got spotted, you might have to sacrifice him and run, which would be worse than hiding him somewhere and coming back to get him with the policeman. Who knew what he'd have to endure until you could return—if you made it out in the first place.

The situation was tricky and your time precious, so you had to make a decision—fast.

(Reasoning and discussions welcome! ♥)

[thatdisasterauthor]

Let's talk cover art!

Firstly, here is the first official look at the full jacket for my new book!

Camp Daze has had a really wandering path to publication, which I'll talk more about later, but back when I still didn't know what I wanted to do with it exactly, I got this crystal clear image of what I wanted the cover to look like. So I created that cover, just the front cover at the time, as more of a portfolio piece than anything. But even though it was meant to just be a portfolio piece, I loved it so damn much, and it stuck in my head hard. When I did finally decide to self publish the book, I knew I had to use this cover.

Usually, I go through a lot more iterations for my covers when it comes time to finally publish things, but this one has just stuck with me over the years as I tried to bring this novel out into the world. Back in 2023 some of you may remember I tested another cover featuring two of the main characters, and did some tumblr polls to see what people liked most, and the tent cover won by a LANDSLIDE each time. (That other cover, or the art from it anyway, will still be available other ways! Just not as THE cover for the book.)

I think the very stark, simplistic nature of the cover fits the themes of the book really well. It's do or die and all they've got is the resources in their camp--represented by the tent, the resources of the wilderness--represented by the mountains/forest, and the looming/hovering threat of a nuclear war that they don't actually know that much about. When it came time to create the full wraparound version of the cover, I added in a little archery target on the back cover because archery plays a major roll in their survival as well.

Colors wise, everything was built around the green tents. The tents are based off of the ones at my own childhood summer camp, and they play a big roll in how the camp manages to create better shelter for themselves. I think found a purple that worked well with the green because, well, they're in Colorado and "purple mountains majesty" and all that. Then it was just filling in other areas with colors that fit within the scheme. I kept everything a little more muted mostly because I just like more muted color schemes.

For the back cover I picked a few lines from the book that, I think, capture the overall vibe of the book which is "if we try, we MIGHT die, but if we DON'T try then we WILL die, so we may as well try."

And shoutout to @gallusrostromegalus for helping me write a new author bio while I was flailing around in the discord chat having a minor identity crisis, lol. The new bio kicks ass, even in this shortened version.

Something that is very important to me is to make sure cover artists are always credited, so I do have a credit for that under my author bio even though my cover artist is also, ya know, me. Just trying to set precedent so more people will start doing things like that.

So yeah! That's how this cover came together. I think it's one of my favorite covers I've ever done.

You can back the Kickstarter here to get your own special edition copy of this book!

[emptybagel]

About Luka in Round 7...

Am I the only one who saw this shot of Luka and immediately thought of one of his illnesses—a heart illness, to be exact—acting up rather than Luka holding in his laughter because he finally found Till's weaknes/knew all along?

Maybe I'm just being delirious, but I don't think he looks happy or relieved—I think he looks pained, like he's about to cry, especially the way in which he presses his hand into his face so visibly hard. It resembles someone trying to calm down their rapid breath, perhaps even hyperventilation, more than anything else—at least in my opinion, of course.

Especially that some time before R7 Lukanation got this official art:

I just genuinely don't think that Vivinos would release such a hear-wrenching, world-shattering art and not take advantage of it in Round 7.

Also, I don't really see people talking about the very likely possibility of there being an additional round featuring the "guests", Hyuna and Mizi, which came to me as a big surprise. I mean, they were even shown in the little boxes that the Alien Stage participants are always presented in.

It was clear to both me and my little sis that the aliens wouldn't miss the chance to force two wanted rebels, and terrorists—because, in the end, that's what Hyuna and Mizi are to them—to fight against eachother, and Vivinos wouldn't miss the chance to show it to her viewers.

And, I know that I'm diverging further and further from my original topic, but I wanted to address some of the criticism I've heard being targeted at R7. First of all, I think everyone—including me, of course—was surprised at the overall tone. We all expected a lot more flashbacks, more backstory, especially for Luka, about whom we had a surprising lot of content about up to the release of this round. Also Tillnation just longed for some R6 and R3 flashbacks, and Lukanation wanted Luka's messed up genetics to cause him some trouble and play a greater role overall.

However, we got pretty much none of that, save for one flashback from the kiss—and at least some semblance of Luka's sickness, though I already talked about this one. R7 came out to be a lot more plot-focused, settled in the present.

I've heard some people saying that Round 7 is rushed, that they're disappointed in it. And as much as I can't change how they're feeling about it, I don't think that it's rushed. Vivinos is just not that kind of a creator—her previous project, as well as the rest of Alien Stage were never rushed. They had a lot of thought, symbolism, time, and effort put into them, despite having a smaller budget.

I feel like the point of being constantly in the present might be perhaps a metaphor for Till trying to forget and fighting off his memories of both Ivan and Mizi. You know, trying to anchor himself in reality so that he won't get flooded with memories and break down right there and then. Especially that when he does break down (by dying, and btw no, I don't think he'll ever come back from the dead) he is overflown by a memory with Mizi—it's very clear, realistic, it's overwhelming, and he becomes lost in it while looking into Mizi's eyes. When he is forced to finally let go, all his mental barriers snap, break down, and crumble, as present mixes with the past. That's my interpretation, at least, and it could be a big stretch, but I think there's at least some value in looking at R7 that way.

As of Luka, because I just can't help but come back to this guy, I think it might be similar for him. Of course it was easier to think of this metaphor through the prism of Till, since we know him way better than we know the intimidating horse, but I see it that way: Luka found himself being paired with a very intense opponent, a "rookie", who, despite his young age, managed to gain a very large fanbase—he was top 2 in the popularity poll, after all. Even though he didn't have the superior genes, even though he wasn't obedient, wasn't a "good pet", he was still beloved by the aliens and was gifted with a talent for music. He might've felt threatened by him—and rightfully so! After all Till had no reason to restrain himself and all the reason to give it his all to win—and thus did what he must've done in order to survive, he tried to manipulate Till by resembling Ivan, copying his movements, taunting. Because if there's one thing that Luka is inherently and overwhelmingly better at than anyone else, it's the performance. He was trained well—he knows how to move to appeal to the masses, how to smile to please them, what to do, what to say, how to say it. I don't think he's to be blamed for being born into a system that requires someone's death and not wanting to be the one to die. He doesn't have to be the one to win—he can't win, because as long as humans continue to be seen as nothing more than pets, no human can be truly free, no participants of Alien Stage can truly win. And so he silences the humiliation of the strings attached to his wrists, the memory of Hyuna's disgusted face, Hyunwoo's echo. But he is different from Till. His walls do not crumble. Until he sees Hyuna, that is, most likely knowing what will happen to her, since she gave herself to aliens on a silver plate by coming onto the stage.

I might be delusional, but if we do get the additional round, I want Luka to at the very least try to save Hyuna—or maybe even Mizi!—in order to redeem himself in her eyes.

Anyway, Tillnation has fallen, Lukanation is cheering Mizination is on the verge of breaking down, and I hope Hyuna's and Luka's relationship will be thoroughly explored in the post-apocalyptic (aka post-round 7) content. Oh, and I would LOVE to have some more Sua content, perhaps in Mizi's flashbacks pretty please? 🥺 Cure MiziSua cover was not enough, I need them to kiss. The MiziSua and HyunLuka brainrot is real (not including IvanTill because the mfs already kissed).

By the way, Blink Gone is a majestic song, my jaw was literally on the floor! I first watched Alien Stage when R6 was still kind of fresh-ish so I didn't know the excitement of waiting to know what will happen in the story and to hear the full song!

That's all, bye!

[matrixbearer2024]

Since the poll is practically over and the outfit's largely been decided, I'll be dropping the first post to the strip challenge in a couple hours on my Ford Blog @gftimelord to christen it HAHAHHA- (psst go bother him it'll be funny HAHHAHAH) Thanks for the interaction everybody, I only hope to deliver. Here's the first drabble to start it off with since I am pairing every drawing with a story sequence as promised. You could probably think of this as my interpretation for some kind of continuation to Ford's route in "Swooning Over Stans" by @gfdatingsim since I've genuinely been non-stop playing that game since it's recommendation to me. I will balance med proper and my delulu if it's the last thing I do HAHAHAHA-

Reply to this post as well if you want to be pinged for whenever this challenge updates!

I Accept Your Challenge!

(Stanford Pines x Reader)

After you heard a new challenge becoming trendy among couples you decide to try it on a certain Stanford Pines; just... you didn't exactly explain to him what the challenge was.

Maybe his competitiveness was a good thing in this case. You at least got a bloody good show out of his cluelessness.

Another slow summer day and you were in the living room of the mystery shack alongside the Pines as they went about doing whatever. Navigating your relationship with a certain scientist definitely somewhat of a learning curve but you digressed. Similar to Dipper and Mabel, you'd receive post cards from the twins about their seafaring adventures; your mail just came with additional special letters from your beloved. All of which you'd neatly stowed away in a bag that you always had with you, no use keeping it at home when you were rarely there.

Often traveling for a nomadic lifestyle was serene and fun at times, but you found yourself missing this place. It felt more like a home to you than your own place did in the couple weeks you'd stuck around after your car got smashed into the side of the log cabin.

Who knew that the same man who totaled your car one day would be the same adorable nerd you now called your lover?

It felt a bit like those romance dramas Stan liked to watch but you quickly dismissed that thought. Fairytales weren't real, fate isn't exactly something you believed in either. Stories of princesses finding their prince charmings were mostly smoke and mirrors, things you'd tell a child to give them hope of a better world than reality.

In gravity falls however... you quickly learned that nothing was truly impossible. Never say never in this small town of Oregon.

You sat on the floor next to Dipper and Mabel as they boredly flipped through TV channels; books, papers and crayons littered about around the three of you. The glass danced with colors from the rapidly flipping images while the twins struggled to find anything even remotely entertaining to watch, you couldn't help but allow your mind to wander from the boredom.

You and Ford spent quite a bit of time since you'd arrived at the beginning of the week, frankly you'd made the trip as soon possible when Stan shot you a message that they'd finally docked to spend the summer with the kiddos. You hoped it wasn't all that obvious how much you missed Stanford, but you didn't really need to worry when he was the one who immediately swamped you up in a hug the second you were out of your car. It's only been two years thus far since you've known the man but Stanley and Mabel insisted that you stay with him in his room, you didn't know why they were so adamant until you saw the state of the man's living quarters.

A whole day was spent with the both of you furnishing and cleaning the said room because of that but neither of you complained, most of the time was spent goofing off anyway.

Now... you were wondering where Ford was, not to mention what he was doing. Was he down in the lab tinkering again? You didn't want to disturb him, but you really wanted to find him. Any time spent apart didn't feel like time used to it's full capacity, even if you did enjoy the company of the other Pines; it just wasn't the same.

At some point, you were bored enough to not necessarily care whether you'd be disturbing Ford's work or not when you went down to the lab. It was just last summer when he taught you how to get down there, as well as spilling more about his past. All of which you simply listened to unless he asked anything; it was better to listen and attempt to understand than say or do something that would make it worse.

Seems like he really wanted to get it off his chest too, be transparent with you; something you appreciated.

You were shaken out of your headspace when you heard the rustling of boxes from the lab, as well as some hushed but frustrated cursing. You didn't really recall a time Ford swore unless he was legitimately ticked off, the man made a valiant effort not to compared to his twin.

But they both had sailor mouths anyhow even if it was fitting.

"Ford? Are you down here?"

"Ah-! [Y/N]! What- what are you doing down here?"

You moved closer to him in an attempt to see what he was doing, even if the man looked a bit rattled to be found like this by you.

"What are you doing?"

"I asked first my dear."

Ford chuckled, shifting to hide something behind his back. You pouted at him and crossed your arms. He couldn't help but smile at how cute you looked doing that.

"Was looking for you, Dipper and Mabel are bored watching TV upstair anyway... sooooo- what are you doing?"

You smiled when Ford returned your inquisitiveness with a small laugh, showing you what he held in his hand. A pair of goggles?

"What's that for?"

"I was attempting to sort through which of my belongings I could still use among the ones I wish to discard. Inadvertently I ended up finding these, I think I could still make use of them."

You tilted your head at him as a silent prompt to continue, it took every bit of control from Ford not to laugh again. You looked like a curious puppy, though he figured he shouldn't say that outright.

"It's simply among the items I collected and kept with me through my time in the multiverse. Protective eyewear can be useful for many things."

"Huh, if you have that— does it mean you still have the rest of the outfit?"

Now it was your turn to think Ford was being cute, he just wordlessly blinked at you in surprise. Was your request really that odd? You'd barely seen him in any other outfit combinations, of course you'd be curious.

"I—... I think I do? Why do you ask?"

"Do you think you'd still be able to rock it like you used to?"

"'Used to'? Excuse me?"

"I mean, it's been a couple years... why don't you try it on again?"

Ford laughed once again from your teasing, the way you sassily tried to goad him on was entertaining in it's own right. He was a bit on the fence about the whole outfit however, especially due to the memories associated with it.

It's not that bad compared to some things he'd found though... maybe he could indulge you.

"Hm..."

"I-I mean, if you really don't want to—"

Your panicked stammering was cut short when a warm palm cupped your cheek, meeting Stanford's eyes as he pressed a chaste kiss to the crown of your head. He could feel your skin heat in up in his hand, hiding a cheeky smile in your hair as he held you there.

"I'll show it to you... as soon as I can find the rest of the outfit."

Ford couldn't help but smile wider when your cheerful laugh rang out; it's the best sound to ever have graced his ears in the time he's been alive. A bit surprising given how many things he's been exposed to, but he couldn't name another chime so pleasant.

"I'll hold you to that Ford."

"And I accept your challenge my dear."

YEAAAAH HERE IT ISSSS- TEXT THING CUZ WE NEED INTRODUCTION-

[wings-of-ink]

Mini progress report, some ramblings and Patreon planning

Hello all! I just wanted to drop a note and check in. I haven't been around as much lately as I've had some busy things in my personal life going on (all good things, btw), and they've made me a bit sleepy. I have some asks baking in my inbox, but I will attend to them when I've got the energy saved up.

For now, I am still working on chapter 5 and she is a biggie. I do not know when the update will go through. I had hoped for October, but realistically it will probably be November. I'm giving myself some wiggle room since the season for me is shifting, and I often experience fatigue and some strong-sads when autumn/winter set in. I won't know for sure until it hits if I will be a sleepy mess or not, lol. Sometimes it doesn't hit until December.

Assuming I remain in good humor, I will be doing a lot of writing and testing in the coming days. Around this time last year is when I was finally writing the first chapter of GC. It really helped me get through the winter months, so I hope that this year will be much the same.

In fact, I found when I made the document for the outline and rough draft for the start of our story:

Between here and the very beginning of February 2024, I wrote the prologue and chapters 1 and 2 and then published them. This coming February, we should celebrate our 1 year anniversary, right?

Chapter 5 is coming along well. I've had a couple scenes that I want to go back over and refine since I either forgot something or they just didn't turn out the way I wanted. I have also written out an event that happens in chapter 7 which I am very (unreasonably) excited about. I could not help myself, it was burning a hole in my brain. It will, of course, develop a lot more after I have 5 & 6 actually done, but I can't wait until you get there.

Here is where Chapter 5 stands now:

This looks massive, but keep in mind there are two paths at the beginning of this chapter and each have unique events/consequences. Some of the text is shared here and there between them, and then they meet. This also includes code and such. I am at the mid-point of the chapter currently where there is a bit of downtime and the MC can get up to...a few things.

Such as this tease for a Duri-moment:

Just what are you two up to???

As for Patreon, if anyone is curious, I am still planning. The feedback I got from the poll along with messages and such have helped a lot. I am not sure when I will have things running since I am prioritizing the actual chapter writing while I've been busy with other things. Since my weekly schedule is going to be back to normal now, I can think about it more.

I have determined to take Patreon nice and slow. It will focus on just a few tiers to start (centered on only God-Cursed for the time being). From there, we'll grow things at a sustainable pace. Most were interested in extras (POVs & drabbles), so I will focus on those, early access, and spiciness. I had debated about starting this next year as opposed to, say, November or December. I may just shoot for whenever I have chapter 5 done. I feel like that's a good round place we can branch off from, and it will open up more flexibility in any bonus content I write.

I think that's all of what's been on my mind lately, and I've prattled too long as it is. I hope you are all safe and well!

Take care! ^_^

~ Lunan 🐦‍⬛

[dungeonfood]

Hi!

I was reestructuring the chapter layout for the LaiosxBeastkin!Reader fic and found myself at multiple crossroads, so I decided to make a poll to see what you guys thought!

First, a link to said fic, in case you haven't read it and would rather do so before spoiling yourself here. There's three posted chapters at the moment, and a fourth old one posted on the collection, if you can't wait until the rewritten one.

Then, I've made a small layout of the chapters so far, outlining the character's feelings so far (which I hope I managed to convey, otherwise this is all useless haha)

Chapter 0 - reader and laios meet

Reader is suspicious and wary, but joins the team with hopes of a better life while the party is there

Laios is interested in them, but mostly as a monster/beastkin

Chapter 1 - preening -

Via exposition, it shows they had some trouble at first, but it's better now

Reader trusts Laios - even enough to ask for help and letting him touch the.

Also explores the fact that they’ve felt lonely and untouched for a long time - with feelings possibly developing from this newfound contact?

Laios is interested in them as a monster, but also sees a bit of the person side, humanizing them in his eyes. Feels mostly pity (projection from his own past, ostracized?), but also enjoys spending time with them.

Chapter 2 -

Reader trust on Laios has evolved - they feel comfortable around him, deeming him a safe space

Laios feels a little crush - For one, this monster person likes his smell!

But more than that, even if he doesn’t really rationalize it, he feels good at the thought of someone feeling safe with him- liking him. He doesn't dwell on it much though.

Chapter 3- it won't expand much on their relationship. but i'm preparing for the next ones!

My planned paths forward are:

Focus on their developing feelings and build their relationship. Plenty of fluff (and some smut!)

Make a more drama-driven story, with less focus on the relationship. More lore and contemplation of the philosophical kind

Of course, both paths will explore both 5heir relationship and the lore, since they are both integral parts of the story.

But i'm debating between a more simple, fluffy, (horny), feel-good story, and a more dramatic, high-stakes, lore-driven story, with more complex relationships perhaps, and some angst, since realistic relationships aren't very easy (so it might tackle some character flaws and such that might make things more complicated)

And then, there' the second crossroad:

Horny reader can be:

A more submissive, helpless type

A more dominant, predator style

I do have my personal preference, and of course I'll still end up writing what I like best, but i would like to know your thoughts!

Sorry for the long post! Here's the poll!

[emotionallyattachednerd]

Storm's Heat Part 2 | IDW Drift/Deadlock x f!robot reader | NSFW 18+

Word count: 4900+ ( 2400+ each scenario )

Warnings: Smut ( spike in valve, breeding kink and knotting ), some violence and attempted/mentions of non-con. NSFW 18+.

Notes: Finally, I've managed to get something done with writing. Sorry for the delay in posting anything. Was very busy over Christmas and than I caught a terrible bug that lasted weeks, and it's still lingering.

Even with the poll I still couldn't decide, so I did something with two scenarios. Am I crazy? Yeah, sure, why not? Normally the polls help but I just couldn't stop thinking about both outcomes. This is a two part story, one of each with a different scenario of events. Hope you all enjoy. 🥰

☕ Coffee

Becoming part of The Lost Light crew wasn't something you imagined yourself to be in, but you were really grateful and honoured to be offered such a position. Your job is to monitor and analyse data, simple enough for you, and you are eager to meet the crew.

Ratchet is the only one you've met before a number of times, and it's thanks to him that you got yourself on this crew. He was your first visit as you made your way towards the med bay, the only place you imagined the old medic to be lingering.

However, you managed to get yourself lost along the way down the endless halls, and as your helm was spinning you weren't paying attention and ran into someone, knocking your data pads onto the ground.

"Slag! I'm so sorry!" You hurry to gather the number of pads without looking up in your frazzled state.

"It's quite alright, it was an accident." They say before helping you gather what you dropped. The voice sounded strangely familiar, making you look at them finally.

They meet your gaze, confusion filling both his and your optics, before yours brisky widens. "Deadlock?"

He stares back at you, mute and bewildered that you're here, and calls him by his old name. He looks completely different, but you knew it was him, and his autobot badge even catches in your view.

Finally, he's able to find his voice in his startled state. "That's not my name anymore, darling. It's Drift now."

The way he called you darling makes you smile a little. It's been a while since you've last heard from him. In your last encounter you remember him as Deadlock, a decepticon you found yourself trapped within in your outpost, and decided to let yourself go and grasp into the unforgettable desire he provided.

Standing back up he offers back your data pads and you smile as you take them back. "Dead-Sorry, I mean Drift. What happened to you? You joined the autobots?"

Drift offers a tender smile. "A lot did happen, it's a very long story."

"Maybe we could catch up later?" You ask without hesitation. All you wanted was to talk with him, find out the story, if he wanted to speak about it that is.

For a moment he continues to stare before smiling more fondly. "That would be nice, of course we can. Where are you headed?"

"Medic bay, I wanted to speak with Ratchet, he's an old friend."

"Old friend? I'll need to hear that story." He smirks softly causing you to return the same. "Come, I'll walk you there."

It wasn't until much later that both you and Drift managed to find the time to meet and catch up. You were curious about his story, and just how he became an autobot. You end up meeting in his quarters just so you both had some privacy, his idea, and you sensed he had some things to say to you.

And a lot he said.

"Told you it was long. Banished Decepticon. Wreaker. Autobot. Interrogator. Public Relations Officer. And now, third in command aboard the Lost Light." Drift finishes with a light shrug as if it was all nothing.

"That's impressive. You've done and been through so much. You should be proud of yourself."

"I know, but not everything is perfect. I've done a lot of terrible things still, taken innocent lives, rained chaos as a decepticon. That's something I can never forget and I have to live with. That's what I've accepted."

"But how will you find peace then?" You ask for furrowing your optics slightly.

"Maybe I was never meant to find peace?"

"You've been given all these chances to become better, and you have. Punishing yourself won't change the past, but you can still find peace."

Drift listens and offers a soft smile. "Well, I found you again, so that might mean something?"

You can't help but blush a little. "Yeah, I believe so." He offers you more energon and you accept. It's quiet before he speaks again.

"You look well." Drift says to break the silence that lingered, and he looks as if he's nervous around you. You honestly thought it's cute.

"Thank you. You've changed a lot, but it's a good look on you."

He sits beside you on the sofa and fiddles with his servos, rolling his digits while staring at the floor, pondering over his thoughts. "I'm glad we bumped into one another. There is something I would like to say. What happened at the outpost, I'm sorry."

You furrow your optics a little. "Sorry? What do you mean?"

"I took advantage of you, it was wrong of me to do that. I've done a lot of terrible things in my life, many mistakes were made, a lot of innocent lives were taken by my servos, and that's something I'll live with forever. What I did to you, again, I'm sorry."

You continue to stare at him, still confused, and let your own thoughts ponder through your mind. "Do you seriously believe what we did was against my will?"

"Yes?" Now he sounds confused. "At least I pressured you, pushed you, didn't I?"

"I don't remember it like that." You shrug before thinking back to that moment. "I remember an autobot and a decepticon were trapped together in an outpost in the middle of a bad storm that lasted at least a month. In the moment, fractions didn't matter, and I wanted it to happen because I was so uptight about being cooped up. You showed me a pretty good time, and I never once held any regrets. Not once did I ever consider what happened was forced on me."

Drift listens as you speak, letting everything sink in through tender optics before letting out a long and quiet vent, as if relieved.

"Are you certain I didn't hurt you?"

"Not once did you hurt me. I promise." You touch his servo under your own, offering an assuring rub. "I'm...I'm glad we got to meet again, I was hoping we would cross paths."

"How so?" Drift is curious by what you mean.

You decide to not without holding back. Even if he rejects you, at least you could finally move on with him out of your thoughts, maybe. Leaning closer you meet his lips with your own and share a tender kiss.

You feel him tense, but it quickly departs, and then you feel him leaning into it, welcoming the delicate smooch. Tilting your helm you deepen it a little and coil your glossa with his own, which he softly eagerly accepts while moving his servos across your waist.

This entices you to straddle his lap and press yourself against his chassis, letting every moment of this last for as long as possible, because you didn't know if this will ever happen again or what Drift was even thinking at that moment. All that matters is he is kissing you back, and you are craving more from him.

Finally, the kiss is broken, but you remain close as you gaze into his optics, taking in the softness that swims in them. All you can do is offer a sheepish smile before speaking.

"Call me crazy, but I was hoping to find you again. You kind of left your mark, I couldn't stop thinking about you." The confession gets you all shy. "I don't know, just that...guess I like you. You might've changed your life, your name, but you're still you, and I feel drawn to you."

Drift listens, letting her words sink in before giving a tender smile, reaching up to caress her cheek plating. "It's not crazy. I'll admit, I thought about you from time to time, wondering where you were and what you were doing with yourself. I honestly didn't expect to run into you again, but I'm grateful I have."

You return with a smile, a weight lifted off your shoulders hearing him speak words you were hoping to hear. "So, what now?"

"Would you like to keep going?"

You nod, because you didn't trust your own voice to stutter through the elation growing through your system. He brings you closer and kisses you again, your servos moving behind his helm once again while deepening the kiss together.

His servos skillfully move over your hips and waist, holding you against him while his glossa coils playfully with your own, letting out soft moans together while the kiss plays on.

You decide to keep going for more and descend your servo down between you both, running your soft digits against his heated panel, earning a hitched vent from him against the kiss.

He doesn't hesitate though and retracts his panel, his semi hard spike emerging out, and there he still has his knot, making you giggle lightly.

"Well, guess not everything has changed."

Drift smirks through a light moan feeling your servo wrap around his throbbing spike. "Can I assume you missed not just me, but my spike as well?"

"Maybe." You tease, sharing another gentle kiss with him as you stroke him, right across the thick base of his knot and caressing around it with a gentle squeeze causing him to let out a stuttered vent.

"Well, I can happily say that I'm ready and eager for your lovely valve. Think you can handle that again?" Drift asks through his heated vents, waist wiggling a little against your stroking of him while you continue to pump him gently.

"I can handle it, all of you, always." You sound so confident, and you were, very much, and Drift's smile stretches more as you answer this.

Keeping your servo wrapped around him you lift your hips up to hover over his throbbing spike before sinking down, feeling him pulse through your channel, quickly meeting with his knot that settles against your valve lips. You missed him, so dearly much.

"Drift." You call him by his name, forgetting his decepticon name, gracefully wiggling your hips and grinding down on him, rubbing your node against him that creates an abnormal, yet sensual rolling moan from him. "Oh Drift...."

Your body rocks in motion against him while wrapping your servos around his neck, bringing yourself closer, and you can't help but smile through your heated moans as you hear his alluring purrs, silky sounds that swim around your audios. His servos hold securely against your waist while helping to guide you more down on him, though you were doing most of the work yourself.

His knot endlessly grinds against your valve, desperately seeking the velvet warmth that already surrounds his spike riding through you. You want it, all of him, so much, and you eagerly respond by pushing yourself down more firmly to try and get that knot in you.

Drift lets out a rowdy moan, feeling you grip all along him while attempting to bury yourself onto his knot that throbs rapidly, his spike increasing in size little by little, before he helps by pushing you more harshly down on him, and this is the help you needed before you feel his knot push past into your valve, locking you both together with his knot expanding, creating a elegant throbbing bump against your valve.

A sharp cry echoes from you feeling sudden stretch expand through your channel, every ridged pulse sending waves of electric shocks against your inner walls that boil through your frame, embracing him tightly with your face buried against his inner neck, letting out ravenous moans that join his growing purrs.

Within moments, you're rolling your waist skillfully and firmly against him, feeling his knot tugging at your valve at each grind you deliver against him. He meets with your movements in sync, harsh grunts hitting your lips before kissing him deeply and joining your glossa's together. It's you that overloads first, clamping down on him and letting out a buzzing mewl against his lips as the shocks rush through you. Then you feel him jerking against your frame before stilling, warm thick ropes of trans fluids soaking your depths while his knot expands more and prevents anything from leaving.

Resting against his chassis you let out heated vents as your fans kick in to cool yourself off. Drift doing the same while his servos wrap around your body, holding you close against him, his knot buried deep within your valve as you clench around him eagerly still. You missed feeling so stuffed by his spike and knot.

"So, would you like to go on a date?" He manages to ask and you answer through a beaming giggle.

"Yes, please. That would be nice."

Drift caresses your cheek plating and leans forward to share a kiss with you. It's so tender, gentle through your senses. "I look forward to it, darling."

It's a date.

AU where Decepticons win the war...

Its a living nightmare for all autobots. This wasn't meant to happen, least not how you imagined it would turn out, and now you find yourself a prisoner of war, captured with your group as you attempt an escape off the planet, only to fail.

Optimus Prime was offline. The decepticons have won the war. Cybertron was under Megatron's control. Autobots were spoils of war. All the worst and horrible things were happening so quickly.

Your group is led off a shuttle and shoved into a building, no one knowing what's to happen. The autobots were at the mercy of the cons.

You're trembling, lips quivering as your bound servos clench tightly to try and ease your nerves, but this doesn't help in the slightest. You're terrified about what your fate is to be, or just what might happen to you. After all, you're a femme, not a lot like you around, and that makes you stand out more.

Rough servos suddenly grab hold of you, tugging you out of your group, and you find yourself in the grasps of a decepticon who is staring at you with the most putrid smile.

"Well ain't you fine and dainty. You're coming with me, sweetspark. Me and the boys are going to have a lot of fun with you." Your optics widen as you're suddenly dragged away, the shouts and curses of the other autobots are heard but ignored. They couldn't help you.

"No, no! Please!" You plead as you try to dig your pedes into the ground to stop but fail as you're pretty much dragged across through the erupted crowds and into another rowdy building, music and cheers screaming out from it. They were celebrating, and you are their next taste of victory.

Upon entering, the catcalls and whistles cut through your audios that make you tremble more, trying to hold back your tears as the grip on your arm tugs you through into the center.

"Got us some entertainment! Let's show the auto-slut how we like to treat a femme!" The con announces before shoving you into a group, and chaos erupts.

Your screams and pleads were silent through the decepticons' own shouts and calls, each trying to grab and tug at you, before being yanked away again by another. Your helm is spinning, you're tired, and your vocals hurt, you just wanted this nightmare to end.

Things only got worse when the decepticons now start fighting over you and punches are thrown, one managing to knock the side of your helm and throwing you to the ground. Your audios start ringing from the impact as you try pushing yourself up off the floor. Escape. You needed an escape.

Another pair of servos grab you and you start struggling again, only to stop when you hear a familiar voice against your audio.

"I've got you, darling."

"Deadlock?"

"The one and only." You can feel his smirk as he lifts you into his arms and loops your cuffed servos over his helm.

You don't answer but you do act instantly by holding onto him, your saviour, as he attempts to take you away from the others that still try to grab you, though Deadlock wasn't going to let that happen. He'll tear them all apart if he must.

Grabbing his blaster he shoots one nearest to him in the shoulder, not killing them, but enough to send a message for the others.

"Get back!" Deadlock snarls at them all. "She's mine!"

Energon splattered across your face as the shots rang out but you didn't even flinch, you have much more to worry about in that moment.

Everyone knew who Deadlock was and just knew how dangerous he could be. Though the message was sent, it didn't mean they were stopping.

"You have no claim over her! She's nothing but war spoils!" The one who had dragged her here argues.

"What the fragging pit is going on?!"

A thundering voice cuts through the air and sends shivers through you, making you hold onto Deadlock more letting out a whimper as he offers quiet shushes against your audio. You peek your optics up, only to face an enormous con approaching Deadlock.

"Having fun with the spoils boss!" Another cackles which earns them some eager chants.

"Turmoil, do you really want this kind of greasy behaviour in your city? Your troops allowed rape anyone they please?" Deadlock knew his commander. As blunt and taciturn as he was, he wasn't one to approve of that kind of pointless behaviour.

"Whose brilliant idea was it to bring the femme here, to a bunch of riled up horny soldiers?!" Turmoil raised his cannon, swinging it around causing the others to duck for cover, but he wasn't interested in shooting anyone. " That's why we got brothels, to handle your needs! Stupid. The lot of you!"

That was it then. No further attempts were made to get you.

Turmoil fixes his optics on Deadlock. "Get her out of here. I don't care what you do with her." That answer is good for Deadlock, and carries you away from the scene.

It's over. You're safe.

"Thank you, thank you..." You feel yourself cry softly into his shoulder, a sickening weight is lifted off and you're now safe.

"I won't let anything happen to you."

Deadlock brings you back to his apartment, which is rather nice, and makes you wonder just how important he was. You sit on his berth, cuffs gone, and he offers you energon which you accept before he then starts to tend to a few minor injuries on you.

It's been so long since you last saw him when you were stationed at that outpost. After the storm had passed, you both parted ways, and that was it. Deep down you missed him, no matter how much you told yourself how wrong it was, you couldn't help but feel the need to see him again. Did you fall for a con? Yeah, you think you did. Now here you are, ruined again.

Seeing you again wasn't something Deadlock had expected to happen, but he was glad he came across you in your situation just in time before it could escalate. He didn't like his property touched, and made that clear when he started shooting them.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" He asks once he's taken care of the ones he visibly saw.

"I'm alright." You whisper back, still trying to process everything. Then you feel a touch against your cheek plating and meet his optics. How could someone look so dangerous and harmless at the same time?

Deadlock is sitting beside you on the berth as he takes in your cute face he had missed, his digit gently tracing across your cheek plating while tilting his helm, as if trying to read every detail about you while you lean into his touches, before you find your voice again. "What happens now?"

"You'll remain with me." Deadlock doesn't hesitate. There's no way he can let go of you again. "Turmoil is my commander and I'm his SIC, he was given the city by Megatron. Things are still adjusting and new laws are being laid, but I'll make sure he knows you're not to be touched by anyone else."

At least Deadlock could do this to make sure you're not bothered. "What you said before, 'she's mine', what did you mean by that?"

"It means exactly that." He leans closer, his ravenous optics lingering through your own closely. "You're mine, everyone will know this, I'll take good care of you."

It should've made you feel degraded to be owned, but it doesn't. You see it as protection, a safe haven, but best of all you'll be with Deadlock. The autobots lost, there's no point in resisting, not that you wanted to towards Deadlock. In fact, you crave for this touches already. Calmly, you lean into his servo still lingering against your cheek plating and offer a delicate smile. He returns the same with an upturn smirk before closing the distance between you both and kisses you. Kissing him back you tilt your helm, deepening the kiss you both share with your glossa's coiling together. Oh, you've missed his lips, those pointed dentas, everything about him.

He's the first to break the kiss but he keeps close, letting out a satisfied purr while he nuzzles into your face, making you smile more, the most you've smiled since your capture. He speaks again. "Why don't you use the washranks? Get yourself soaked in fresh oil, and I'll help with you polish after."

"Thank you." Getting up you run your servo across his shoulder while keeping your optics on his, a light tease that makes him smirk softly again in return. In the doorway you stop and turn to face him again, noticing he was putting away the medical supplies he had used on you. "Would you like to join me?"

Deadlock meets your gaze again before giving a rather pleased smile between his sharp dentas as his amber optics glowed wildly. "I would like that, darling."

In the washranks you both settle within the fresh oil bath together as you straddle yourself within his lap. Your servos glide across his armour, digits trace across his decepticon badge, and move them back up to caress his cheek plating fondly, admiring every inch of him.

Deadlock watches you, curious and pleased to see you exploring. He knew you were a smart femme and you weren't going to cause trouble. He missed your cute face, that innocent smile, he could never forget about you after your time together at that outpost. Letting out another purr he leans his cheek plating into your servo, kissing the inside of your wrist before leaning across to claim your lips again. He tugs you closer against him by your waist while the bubbling heat grows between you both, a crave you'll both be unable to shake of. You already knew he had become your obsession, an addiction you'll never want out of your life, your knight in shining armour to love and protect you.

"Fragging pit, you're so beautiful darling, cute little femme." Deadlock murmurs through his growing hunger against your lips. "I bet you've missed me, not just me, but my knot as well. I ruined you for anyone else to satisfy you, didn't I?"

"You did." You answer honestly. It's true, and sure, you've shared the berth with a few other partners after Deadlock, but none of them ever got close just how good he made you feel.

"Good." Is his amused answer before you let out a startled gasp when you feel his servo glide across between your legs and against your panel, only for you to retract it immediately for him.

His satisfaction is visible before he pushes a digit inside, and instantly you're rocking yourself against him, moaning loudly while clenching your already soaking valve around his curling digit.

"So wet and eager." Deadlock couldn't hold back anymore. "Turn around, I want that aft nice and high for me."

Obeying his command you turn yourself and lean over the edge of the in floor basin, lifting your hips with your exposed valve in view and dripping with oil while you wiggle, teasing him as you send a lustful glance back over your shoulder.

Deadlock lets out a deep sound from his chassis, a profound growl that runs through his entire frame at the sight of you. Retracting his panel, his already throbbing spike slides out, along with his thickened knot as the whole length pulses. He lays himself across your back and takes hold of the front of your throat, tugging you back and kissing you firmly that you eagerly return, rocking your hips back against his heated spike that glides against your valve lips, ridges stimulating against your node.

He humps you, getting off the intense stimulation, before directing himself against your valve and thrusts forward firmly. A choked gasp erupts from you, feeling his pulsing thickness stretch you wildly, forgetting just how big he was. His swollen knot presses against your valve and he keeps still, savouring your clenching valve as he moans loudly against your audio.

"Oh darling, I've missed your tight valve." He growls in desire as he rolls his waist, earning a cute mewl from you. "I'm going to frag you always, claim you day and night, always ready for you. Would you like that?"

"Yes!" You let out an intense loud whimper. "Please, make me yours!"

Deadlock is overwhelmingly pleased, giggling through a grin between sharp dentas before he starts moving, grinding against your aft with his servos wrapped around your middle to hold you tightly and sets a shallow and firm pace, thrusting his spike into your depths. There's no holding back from either of you as he breeds you to his desire, rutting wilding, earning constant lascivious mewls from your vocals, his helm resting against your shoulder as his heated grunts press into your audio.

You feel his thickening spike plunging deeply through your channel over again, heated possessive grunts hitting your audio while you fall apart under him, letting him breed you as he wanted. His knot hits the outside of your valve repeatedly, grinding against your node perfectly, sending shock waves through your entire frame.

The wet sounds you hear causes you to quiver more, enjoying just how silky your valve is for him, willingly welcoming every possessive thrust he delivers. Your metal armour clangs against him over again as does the oil swish around against his excessive movements. His grip around your middle tightens as he starts to grind himself more firmly, and you know what is about to happen.

All you can do is spread your legs more for him and move back to meet his strong movements, trying to help him knot you, as this is what you both seek and become tied together.

"I'll fill you deeply with so much of my warm fluids, your chambers are flooding, and maybe we'll have a sparkling. Is that something you would like, darling, huh?" His words roll out through heated purrs.

The very thought of having his sparkling sounded perfect. "Yes, yes, please, I want that!" You'll give him as many as he wants.

"Wonderful."

That's your only warning you get as he grinds himself firmly against you harshly, followed by sharp thrusts that rock you forward and makes you squeal out while he tries to push his thick knot in. It takes a little more effort, but eventually he manages to push through your valve, tying you both together. You cry out in bliss feeling his swollen knot imbed you, spike pulsing widely and tip pressing into your chambers while he keeps thrusting, your mewls loud and eager.

Lost in the moment you lose yourself and overload hard, clenching tightly on him as you cry out in bliss. He snarls through his violent thrusts, and he uses his dentas to bite into your shoulder to lock you in place before shooting thick ropes of his warm trans fluids into your chambers and soaking through your channel. His bite only adds to the arousal, as does the growing bump over your valve where his spike and knot lock you both in place together. His movements slow, turning into slow jerks that cause you to whimper as your cooling fans kick in and rest against the edge of the basin, knowing fully well you'll both be there for a while.

You find yourself drifting in and out of stasis, with the lack of recharge you've had your systems struggled to keep you alert. At some point you end up in his berth again, cleaned and polished, resting within his safe arms as his servos ghostly graze against your back in a soothing manner. Easily, you've fallen for him, love perhaps, and you want to be with him always.

Deadlock feels pretty damn lucky to have found you again, his special cute little autobot, and he had no plans ever letting you go. One day he'll convince you to switch the symbol on your chassis, joining you to the winning team and giving you the life you deserved.

"No one else can ever have you, you're mine. Only I can provide you with a good life, and that's right at my side. Do you understand?" His words whisper into your audio, making you respond through a low hum.

"I understand."

"That's a good femme."

[queer-goddess-of-the-hunt]

I started to type this in the tags of my most recent poll (vote here) but I have far too much to say about my journey as a fan of Dan and Phil, especially after seeing TIT last night. (don't worry, this post is spoiler free)

I originally found them through Dan. I don't remember which video it was exactly, I know it was before the Sunstroke video (oh god that was when I was 12). I ended up binging all of his videos and consequently found Phil. I didn't binge all of Phil's videos. I think I originally just watched all of the videos that had Dan in them, but I started to watch Phil's videos more regularly in 2014/2015.

I think I was drawn more to Dan because I saw him as edgier and I was the angsty kind of kid in middle school. There was a lot I could relate to in his videos. Now that I've grown a bit, I think I have accepted the more Phil-like aspects of myself and he is honestly my favorite of the two now, although it is very close.

I was here when their gaming channel first started. I still own TABINOF and DAPGO. I think I stopped really watching them when the hiatus started. I might have watched a Phil video here or there, especially if Dan appeared in it, but I really fell off.

Then the gaming channel came back and it sparked my love of them again. Their joint content truly is what I loved and love most, but I'm also finding myself enjoying them individually as well? I'm starting to actually catch up on all the content I missed and binging all of the content I haven't watched in a while. I completely missed most of Dystopia Daily when Dan did that series during his tour. I have no idea how many Phil videos I have missed.

It just feels amazing that I managed to rediscover them and realize that I still really love all of their videos, even after around 10 years of being a fan. I feel so lucky that I was able to go see them live this time around after missing out on that for so many years. It's a bit of a shame that I didn't get to properly meet them, but seeing them live was surreal enough. They truly did raise me along with the likes of Jacksepticeye, Markiplier, and Thomas Sanders. I feel really lucky to have been a fan of so many good and kind YouTubers growing up. I think they really made me who I am.

Thanks to everyone that is responding to the poll, I love reading all the tags <3

[capricorn-0mnikorn]

This Poll, about Doctor Who original characters

Has made me go all wistful and nostalgic. Because of her:

Eloise, the Pro-Fun Troll.

You see, she was conceived, and most at home, in the very specific Doctor Who fandom environments of the Usenet* newsgroups* Rec.arts.drwho and Alt.drwho.creative (mostly rec.arts.dw).

RADW earned something of a reputation for negativity, and a common refrain on the forum was "You are a pro-[X] troll, and I'm putting you in my killfile!" (like Tumblr's block list).

Supposedly, Usenet Newsgroup threads are still archived. But I tried, just now, to find my earliest posts about my little troll character, and coming up with nothing on the general, Public, internet, with every other place I've linked to her early existence also going dead -- including the music forum Mudcat.org.

But those links were not yet dead in 2003, and that's when I found, and copied, the record of her "Conception" into my private LiveJournal, which I later imported into my Dreamwidth:

Eloise was born (erm, popped into existance) on Feburay 5, 2000. It was during one of those perennial times in radw when bouts of "You are a pro-___ troll!" seemed to show up in every other thread. In one thread, there was a discussion of how Doctor Who monsters aren't really all that scary, and I made the following comment (just found this through Google -- ah -- the memories!): Hear, hear! I'd much rather have an engaging, fully-fledged story with cardboard props than a cardboard story and million-dollar props! to which another poster replied: A Doctor Who fan! Wow!! What are you doing here?? Me again: Having a great deal of fun, if you must know... to which a friend of mine replied: You are a pro-fun Troll, and are now in my killfile. Shocking what some people will admit to on this ng In that instant, the image of a pro-fun troll popped into my head, pot belly, long nose and all, only instead of living under a bridge, she lived under my computer desk, and was so small she had to sit on my lap to type her messages. The next day, I dismissed her existence as make-believe, but she wouldn't go away, and she's grown and developed a biography of her own over the years (she is now grown to the height that the top of her head is even with my shoulder when she stands beside me as I type ;-)). By March 12 of that year this Pro-fun troll and I decided that something had to be done about the nasty trolling and flame wars on RADW, and together, we posted the "Pro-fun Troll Manifesto" (or [What it means to be a Pro-Fun Troll] <-dead link) and launched the first round of "Pro-fun Troll Games."

The point of the Pro-Fun Troll Games was to take over the "Weekly Stats" in the newsgroup. And the rules were simple:

Put [Pro-fun] in the title of the thread

Any post put in the thread had to be on-topic for Doctor Who (and this was very loosey-goosey)

Praise what you enjoy before criticizing what you don't

When you do criticize something, it must be reasoned and constructive.

(basically, they were an early version of "What counts as good manners" in my pinned post, except for the Doctor Who-specific rule, of course).

The ethos of the Pro-Fun Troll "movement" is that we are all trolling for attention and validation. And that, in itself, is not bad. It all depends on what we bait our hooks with. And Trolling for laughter and fun, and making an effort to focus attention on creativity and kindness is good, actually.

After the decline of Usenet, I made some effort to get the pro-fun movement to spread to other places on the Internet. But people saw the word "troll," assumed all trolls were bad, and wouldn't join in.

For about three years, there was a little community of us. And for a while, we did succeed in taking over the Weekly stats. And we had a lot of fun doing it.

But the environment where we met each other is gone, now, and so many friendships have faded away.

And that's what makes me wistful.

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Elizabeth Taylor (Cleopatra, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof)—iconic actress with purple eyes and a double row of eyelashes, the real ebony dementia ravenway of old hollywood. known for her stunning tastes when it comes to jewelry and her incredible, incredible advocacy during the AIDS crisis.

Clara Bow (Wings, It)—The original It Girl (literally), Clara was the epitome of a flapper film star. She was obviously a looker, but it was her acting that won over hearts. Watch the movie It (no clowns) to get a sense of her charms. And while she's most known for her silents, (including Wings, the winner of the first ever Best Picture Academy award) she did make some talkies! Contrary to popular belief, sound films didn't ruin her career; she reportedly just hated the process of making them. She had a really interesting background and it's a shame she's not as well remembered as others of her time.

This is round 3 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Elizabeth Taylor:

I've been trying to steer clear of the absurdly-big names, but damnit, those violet eyes got me. The *talent*, the *presence*, the string of marriages and (temporally out-of-bounds) work in combating AIDS and pioneering in the concept of the celebrity fragrance line.

Not only did she have gorgeous violet eyes and lashes for days and one of the hottest voices ever, she was also a big supporter of the gay community

Child actress turned starlet, Liz dominated films as one of the greatest screen legends of classic hollywood. If your protagonist has violet eyes, they're imitating hers.

A Legend. She was serving milf rage in Whos Afraid Of Virginia Woolf. A Star in every sense of the word.

She was renowned for the beauty of her eyes; they were a dark blue but could look violet in certain lighting, something that photographers would actually touch up to look even more so in pictures. But even more striking was a genetic mutation that gave her a double row of eyelashes. She was also famed for her string of husbands -- 8 marriages to 7 men. Two-time hubby Richard Burton once said she was “a wildly exciting love-mistress… beautiful beyond the dreams of pornography.”

Her EYES. Early and loud support for gay rights and AIDS victims. Married a bunch of hot dudes, Burton twice!

just look at her. she's gorgeous. there's a video somewhere of her applying her eyeliner in the mirror and I think about it all the time

THE Hollywood actress of all time. Not only was she known for her long dark locks and blue-violet eyes, she also had one of the wildest life stories ever….. She’s Carrie Fisher’s stepmother because her father Eddie Fisher cheated on Debbie Reynolds with Liz. She was knighted as a dame of England. She was married to seven different men, one of them twice. She was also very kindhearted and did a lot of charity activism.

Asides from being an iconic actor, she did a lot of philanthropy and co founded the American Foundation for AIDS research. She’s sometimes considered one of the last great stars of old hollywood

Clara Bow:

The original it girl! Flapper icon! She's sooo fun and charming and confident, it just shines through any film or picture you see of her.

I love love love her genderbendy boy style and her cute twinkly performances!! watch wings i s2g she absolutely brings it

She has gorgeous doe eyes, how can you not love her?

She's literally THE It Girl. Like actually, she's the term's namesake. She was an extremely prolific silent film actress with a reputation for wild behavior who defined the 20s flapper era. Her boyish frame, androgynous style, and red curly hair were widely emulated.

[tricitymonsters]

I know I put a lot of attention on Steam because of the sheer size of the marketplace and the effort Steam itself takes in marketing for devs but I really wanted to take a second to shout out TCM's numbers on itch.io because I really feel like the game found it's first platform there and I especially want to highlight what a great community it is for Indie Devs of all experience levels.

So I have TCM split up between 4 titles on itch- the main one is for all the new stuff and then each beta has it's own homepage. Downside, it kinda splits all my metrics up but the plus side its much easier to navigate for yall so I'll refrain from complaining lol.

Now given we started with just the Mori beta in late 2021, and added chapters slowly over time, here's where we're at right now.

Views: 312k

Downloads: 22.3k

Browser Plays: 35.6k

Ratings: 347

Collections: 5295

Comments: 189

So there are a couple really interesting things going on with this data. Let's analyze

Firstly, the numbers on the main chapter beat the *hell* out of the beta numbers. BUT this makes sense as more people are going to find the main game or PLAY the main game first at a vastly higher rate. So even though that game page has been up the least amount of time, it gets *by far* the most traffic. For example, if we take away the main page numbers, here's how the betas are doing on their own:

Views: 63.3k

Downloads: 5.4k

Browser Plays: 18.2k

Ratings: 133

Collections: 847

Comments: 42

So, if you were an indie dev posting your game on itch.io, these numbers should tell you to carefully consider how you're going to organize your game- especially if it comes in multiple parts. When I was going through the betas I did consider keeping everything on one page and therefore aggregating all of my traffic stats into one place but there are pros and cons.

Mostly, I went with separate pages because:

It's easier to organize files for downloads per character/game piece than to have a huge list of system-specific builds for every character that players have to scroll through. It's just hard to parse out.

Second, I thought that breaking up the chapters like this might help me better gauge each character's popularity via their stats. This... sort of worked. Because the Mori beta went up almost a year before Amir's, his numbers are MUCH higher and I have to be careful not to conflate that with his raw popularity. Another tricky note is that since Mori was the first chapter uploaded, many people will play his beta and then if they decide they're not into the game, won't play the other two characters, which again inflates Mori's numbers.

It was obvious in the gap after Spooktober 2021 and Amir's chapter that I had a project worth pursuing but the way I structured itch.io has made it hard to accurately gauge how popular exactly each character is.

Most of you know I'm running a popularity poll right now for some milestone art and while I expected Mori to lead (even with all the caveats I just listed, he does tend to be the most popular of the bunch) but I did not expect Akello to be *right* on his ass, even before weighing the patreon votes so.

Goes to show you that understanding structure and traffic trends can really go a very very long way to engaging your audience and build a stable, fun community around your game.

Another huge advantage to itch is that- in generalities- the community and ecosystem there is much kinder to beginner devs and passion projects. On steam, I'm taking up the same marketplace space as AAA multimillion-dollar games and while the eyeballs that comes with that is great for TCMs longevity hopefully, it also comes with the reality that I'm marking a queer niche adult visual novel right next to Mainstream Gamers. Now, I do want to be extremely clear that my experience with Steam so far has been really good- TCM has good and (more importantly) honest reviews, people have passed constructive critique to me and been extremely reasonable, I've managed to connect to some content curators who have similar tastes... But Steam is also the home to like. "Oooh Naur Woke Games Kill Art" Lists and stuff so. My experience on Itch is that- while some of that exists to a certain degree- the general ecosystem is much more forgiving and less sharply fractured.

I'm not sure that I would change anything I've done in the point leading me here so far, I think that by and large I've made the best choices I could given what I knew at the time and also managed to roll with the punches as the come but my experienced advice at this stage is definitely for an indie dev who hasn't landed a solid success yet or a hobby dev looking for feedback to start with Itch.io as a place to build your game's community.

There are other game hosting sites too, like Gamejolt, for instance, but while TCM used to be on Gamejolt their content policies and audience demographics were not a great fit, as was my experience with Newgrounds.

So. there are MANY choices but in all I'm grateful I didn't jump right into steam and also that my itch.io audience has been SO supportive and so enthusiastic about rating/commenting/and curating TCM to help spread the word. Especially since early in the project I had basically no marketing budget (I have a very small one now that covers the occasional blazed post but still).

ANYWAY thanks for reading my big dumb rambling posts but I really wanted to shed some light on the virtues of Itch after I've been chasing my own tail trying to get Steam working for me the way I want.