#Once Again if anyone wants my discord you need only ask

[kenzan-kiwami]

would people drag me if i negged the pirate game on main

[wasabikitcat]

the loneliness of not having close friends vs the desire to not Be Perceived

[lemonlover1110]

𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Sukuna

[Chapter 1] Offerings

Story Masterlist - Next Chapter →

Pairing: Trueform!Sukuna x f!Reader

*Just want to preface that this is a historical AU but there will be some historical inaccuracies so if you see something odd, don't point it out. Also this is still a curse AU! if that isn't clear with four-armed Sukuna. Anyway I hope you enjoy!! Any general story warnings can be found in the masterlist!

Discord +18 - Twitter - Ko-Fi

Sukuna is missing something, he’s not sure what it is but he knows that he’s bored. He’s bored of everything that once thrilled him, tired of the same routine. But no matter what he does, he feels empty. 

He’s done everything possible to soothe that boredom, which has come to the expense of many lives. It entertained him until it didn’t. Occasionally he does find joy in the horrors that he causes but it doesn’t feel like that’s enough anymore. There’s something that he’s missing, but he’s not quite sure what it is. 

He has everything a man could possibly want– Although he isn’t exactly a man so his wants and needs are obviously different. He isn’t going to be fulfilled by the foolish ideals of happiness that men have. He doesn’t have much of a guide though, therefore he’s lost in how to fix his problem. 

“Uraume.” Sukuna’s voice isn’t all that loud, yet Uraume nearly comes running to fulfill his request. The temple is uncomfortably quiet; everyone is ready to fulfill Sukuna’s every request, and their king does not raise his voice unless adrenaline rushes through him, or he’s upset. No one knows which is the worst of the two. 

“My king.” Uraume kneels down before him. He’s quiet, too embarrassed to even bring up this question. It’s unlike him. Uraume is truly the only person that he respects which is why asking the question is hard for him to actually say. He wouldn’t trust anyone else with it though.

“What do men usually do?” He asks, which is odd for Uraume to hear. Sukuna was a man too, once upon a time. But he doesn’t remember that stage of his life, and he’s sure he wasn’t happy either which is the reason why he’s the monster he is now.

“I’m not sure.” They sound reluctant. “If you could be more clear, I can search for an answer.”

“Get out.” He orders, and they bow again before exiting the room. He wants to be left alone to gather his thoughts. He has all the time in the world to figure himself out, but he wants even more time. He doesn’t want to be bothered now of all times at the very least.

“There’s a woman with an offering.” A servant tells him from the other side of the tatami doors, followed by a shrill cry that makes a smirk come to his lips. That’s his answer.

Sukuna wants a successor. 

“Take it to the servants, answer to her needs.” Sukuna answers, not really caring to listen to any requests. His mind is now preoccupied, detailing his next course of action. He needs to find the perfect woman to carry his heir, which he knows will be a hard task– Perhaps the hardest challenge that Sukuna has come by in all of his years of living.

“Please eat, Haru.” You put the bowl beside the young boy’s mat. You’ve been slowly watching your brother’s health deteriorate, slowly watching his death near. Worst of all, you have been looking for a cure that seems impossible to find because it’s not something that’s affecting anyone important. 

It’s not a disease that’s affecting anybody else, really. It’s not infectious, you quickly found that out. You were glad about it at first, but then you realized that there’s no cure yet. Days pass by, and he gets worse. He refuses to eat anything, and when he does, he can’t keep it down for more than a few hours. His death is imminent.

“I did everything I could to get the right ingredients for your favorite food. Auntie made it extra special for you.” You make sure to tell him, but he can barely move. You kneel down beside him, grabbing his utensils and preparing a bite. “Just one bite, Haru.”

“I’m sleepy.” Is all he manages to mutter, and you feel a pull on your heartstrings. Your hand caresses his arm.

“Just one bite, okay? Then you can sleep all day.” You try your best to convince him. All he does is sleep, and no matter how many hours he sleeps, he wakes up tired. He prompts himself up, and you’re fighting back a smile– It’s barely any progress, if you can even call it that. “Open up.”

There’s a smile on your lips as you bring the food to his mouth, and he begins to chew. He takes the utensils from your hand, grabbing the bowl of food and putting it on his lap. You stand up and tell him, “I’ll get you some water.”

“He’s finally eating something.” You share with your aunt, making sure your voice is low since there isn’t all that much space. Her eyes go to him, and she really wants to say that it’s a sign of him getting better but it really doesn’t mean anything. Sometimes he eats everything that’s made for him, but he throws it back up. 

“I really wish this meant he was getting better… But we both know that he’ll get worse tomorrow.” She responds, and you want to curse her for even mentioning it but you know she’s right. You don’t like hearing it though, you’re helpless. There’s nothing more you can do for Haru, you’re just waiting for the day to come. 

“I really think he can get better.” Your eyes begin to feel with tears, knowing that you don’t even believe yourself. You’ve tried everything you possibly can, but you know that his time nears. You can’t just accept that fact though, he’s your baby brother, you can’t let him go. “Let me get his water.”

“I’ll get it… Think about what the medic said.” Your aunt reminds you of the visit from the physician. One that you’ve forgotten because you refuse to consider his one and only suggestion a possibility. The words flow back to your head,

“Your best bet is the deity up north. You have to bring him an offering, and if he deems it worthy enough, he will cure him.” “But if he thinks it’s beneath him, he’ll kill you.”

You don’t want to risk anything, but lately that seems like your only option. He’s not getting any better, even though you so badly want to say that he is. Throwing up everything he eats is not much improvement than not eating at all. You just have to figure out what is considered an offering worthy for the deity to save him, and to save yourself. 

“I’ll be back, I have to figure something out.” You say, smiling back at your aunt and your little brother. They barely acknowledge you before you leave the house, which you’re thankful for. You just need a moment to gather your thoughts, decide what you’ll do next. 

You need to sort out your offering for the deity, an offering that will hopefully sort out all of your problems.

“My king, there’s a woman with an offering.” It feels like the hundredth time that week in which Sukuna hears that sentence. Humans are greedy beings, and they all fucking need something. It’s unnecessary, purely materialistic– It’s a side of humanity that he appreciates though. How much a human is willing to sacrifice for wealth or the promise of good fortune. Sukuna can’t judge, he's the sole winner in the end.

“Let her in.” He says, and the tatami door slides open. A poor maiden with a pale yellow kimono, and a woven basket in hand. You walk in with your head down, following the strict instructions that were given to you. 

You’re trembling as you kneel down in front of the deity, bowing down to him. You remain bowing for however long he pleases, keeping your eyes shut because there’s tears building up. You have never been this terrified. Willingly putting yourself at death’s door is no easy feat.

“Rise.” He orders, and you straighten your upper body, remaining on your knees. You don’t dare look anywhere past his feet, keeping your eyes low and steady. You know that he’s staring you down, studying you. A smirk on his lips, thinking about how he’s found her. “What do you want?”

“My brother…” Your voice is shaky, and you try your best to compose yourself. You can’t start crying in the middle of it, you’ve gotten this far, he’ll surely kill you if you begin to sob at his feet. “He’s sick. The medic can’t cure him, and he told us you were our only choice.”

He’s not really listening. Something about a brother is all he grasped. He’s more into the way your lips move, and the tears of pure fear that well up in your eyes. He can tell that you really made an effort into your look today, even though you don’t look extravagant. Which for some reason he likes, he doesn’t want an arrogant woman in his chambers, he already has enough of them. He especially doesn’t want one of them carrying his heir.

What really draws him in is that certain look in your eyes. The clear innocence that’s written all over your face. You’re the perfect lily that he can’t wait to tear apart, petal by petal. That finalizes his decision.

“What do you have for me? Open the basket.” He orders, and you do as he says. Regret washes over you as you open it, immediately knowing that it’s not enough. You don’t know what came over you when you had the bright idea of picking it. You unfold the cloth with shaky hands, revealing the gift for him. He’s usually furious with these types of gifts, since they hold no value to him but he wants to hear your reasoning since he has other plans with you, “Why do you come to me with this?”

“Pomegranates aren’t native to the land, and they’re scarce this time of season. I found some while searching for an offering and thought it was a sign.” You explain, and he scoffs. A stupid reason, one that should get you killed. If he wanted fruit, he would send Uraume to get it for him. He guesses it’s creative though, especially when almost every person that walks through the temple is willing to sacrifice a life. But you don’t gain points for creativity, no one ever has.

“Pomegranates? What am I supposed to do with that?” He’s mocking you, and you swallow the lump in your throat. He’s right, what is he supposed to do with a pomegranate? He’s not like you, he’s not just going to eat it. You’re usually smart about this type of thing, but you guess desperation got the best of you this time around, and now you have to pay for the consequences. As to be expected, there’s no answer from you, and he orders, “Look up at me.”

Your eyes slowly move up his body to his face, and you’re in awe at the sight. A mix of emotions flow through your body. He really isn’t a human. You were terrified earlier, but now you’re simply astonished. You never really believed the tales that were told about him since you couldn’t wrap your head around the fact that a being like him could exist. But now he stands before you.

“Do you really think I’ll do anything with the fruit?” His voice sounds serious, but there’s a hint of a smile on his lips. You shake your head which irks him. “You have a voice don’t you? Use it.”

“No, my king. My apologies.” It’s strange, but you sound more confident as you look at him compared to before. It brings some sort of satisfaction to Sukuna since usually people that are allowed to look directly at him can barely communicate.  

“I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself.” He’s thinking about how merciful he is– Which isn’t entirely a lie since Sukuna never gives a second chance. Except you have no idea how you can redeem yourself unless he dismisses you. Little do you know what he’s thinking for you. “I have a proposal for you.”

“A what…?” Your eyebrows perk up as curiosity takes over you. A proposal from a deity, it’ll surely be something that you have yet to hear. 

“Bear my child, and I’ll forgive you.” He says, and you almost fall back. Your ears must be deceiving you, there’s no way that the proposal that you just heard is real. Your eyes are wide open, and you hear him laugh. It must be a joke then. 

“Uraume!” Sukuna yells, wanting it to be clear that he doesn’t want to waste a single second. Not even a second later, and they’re in the room, waiting for their king’s command. “Take the maiden and prepare her for me tonight.”

“Wait– You’re serious?” You dare to ask. You haven’t even agreed, yet he’s getting you ready for tonight, to have a baby with him of all things. “You don’t even know my name, why would you want me to carry your baby?”

“What’s your name then?” He asks, clearly irritated by the question, and you have no choice but to answer. If you don’t, you’re screwed. “There we have it. Take her, Uraume.”

“Wait!” You shout, but Sukuna isn’t going to listen to more of it. Uraume guides you outside, a task that they usually do harsher. At any other time, they’d be dragging you outside but you’re not just anybody. 

You’re the woman that will carry King Sukuna’s heir.

[twistedwonderlandshenanigans]

Babysitting Their Kid-Selves

I threw this together in a haze on Discord uhhhh enjoy thank you to @windalchemist001 for putting the idea In My Brain

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HEARTSLAYBUL

Riddle - struggles between wanting to help his youngerself have positive experiences, but also knows that depending on how old he is, it might just be super stress inducing. Finds a middle ground in giving his younger self an "easy" assignment and then giving him the time of his life, 10/10

Trey - he's burnt out from being the oldest, and from momming Riddle, and from taking care of the dorm. His kid self is being told to go play outside and don't get hurt (which his kid self obeys, and comes in when he's hungry and that's about it) very laissez-faire bc he can't be bothered. He knows the other boys in the dorm wouldn't let his kid self get hurt anyways, especially Riddle, who likely ends up taking the brunt of the responsibility 7/10

Cater - hehe yeah his kid self is Traumatized, he brings him to play video games/teach him to skate board/intro to Not Sweet snacks and ends up getting a kid trauma dumping to him. Or. he sees his kid self and nopes out, immediately asks anyone else to take care of him because he's gonna go :sparkles:cry:sparkles: but you don't need to know that. Either 9/10 or a 2/10

Deuce - Awkward at first, but honestly, just does what his mom did for him, smooth sailing, 10/10

Ace - "hah, I'm the best babysitter in the world, only the coolest kids can handle me. Think you have what it takes?" <- secretly really good with kids but only because he had his big brother as a role model. He also knows now all the tricks his big brother used on kid him so he has some fun being that to himself, as much as a handful as kid self is. 8/10

SAVANNACLAW

Leona - Sees how hopeful his younger self was, knows that Savannaclaw knows better than to fuck with it, leaves his child self in community care and leaves bc he doesn't want to reminded of the love he didn't recieve when he was little 10/10 for looking out for both of their mental health

Ruggie - oh my god he adores younger self, teaches him everything he knows, uses his "adorability" to his advantage, but also uses Leona's cash to buy ingredients for a food his younger self rarely got to try as a treat. Honestly, 10/10

Jack - He's a little awkward around his kid self, asks Leona for advice, gets none, asks Vil for advice, Vil ends up Momming and taking over sorry baby Jack. N/A he didn't give up the child intentionally but he also didn't really get to babysit

OCTAVINELLE

Azul - Oh hell no, like at first its like "look how far of come" but the self loathing immediately takes over again. Kid Azul's only saving "grace" is the tweels who terrify the baby by accident but are actually really soft and caring with him. Azul just makes sure his kid self has something to hide in bc "nobody wants to look at that" 2/10

Jade - Knows What He's Doing, and he's going to treat his kid self as gently as possible because he knows what's coming for him in later years :) 10/10

Floyd - Does fine until the kid cries and then pawns his kid self off to Jade 6/10

SCARABIA

Kalim - He's a big brother, but he's not big brother, you know? He likes to make sure the kid has fun and feels safe but he forgets to take breaks and give him water and oh god now he's on a magic carpet bc child self has to go to the bathroom and they're on the WRONG side of the dorm. Very caring, very loving, a little airheaded. If he takes his attention off him he wanders off. Jamil usually has to step in, but neither of them want him to. 7/10

Jamil - In a similar boat to Leona, but instead of leaving his kid self to someone else, he ends up going off campus with his kid self and lets him beat him in races/video games/ dance offs/ etc. so he can feel like he's the best at something for once. They end up cooking together, and honestly it heals adult Jamil a lot too 10/10

POMEFIORE

Vil - Carries a bit of contempt as well as admiration for his younger self. There is a part of him that wishes things had gone differently. Vil likely ends up keeping his kid self in his room all day, but while they're in there, they do all the things Vil remembers wishing he could do, like throwing a tantrum, finally having his feelings about Neige be validated, making a mess, eating whatever he wants, etc. etc. It's just it takes half the day for him to get to that point, before there's a break through it's almost pure ice on adult Vil's side with his kid self just sitting on the bed. 6/10

Rook - Doesn't want anything to do with his kid self, knows his kid self is self sufficient, tells him to not talk to anyone and leaves him alone. ???/10

Epel - Epel uses his kid self as an excuse to go get messy and dirty and play all day. He WILL blame his kid self for any accidents that may occur inside of Pomefiore. Kid self finds it unfair but funny, but can be bought back with some apple slices with caramel. It's a lot of fun, but a lot of clean up. 8/10

IGNIHYDE

Idia - Blames his younger self for the whole ||Ortho|| thing and uh. Would probably lock him out of his room. Ignores/pretends he doesn't exist. Kid Idia seeing ||Ortho "alive"|| would probably have him breaking down. 0/10

Ortho - .....

DIASOMNIA

Malleus - Can't handle his kid self as much as he insists that he can. Probably does something that accidentally triggers himself (both versions) and Lilia has to take over before there's a major melt down. They do have ice cream together after. 5/10

Lilia + Silver - I'm Waiting, Sorry

Sebek - Doesn't want to take care of his kid self. At first he thinks it's cool but then his kid self is biting everything, asking so many questions, getting close to Malleus without permission, showing off his adorable baby side, and kinda hates big Sebek purely because he has magic "already". (Sebek was canonically a 'late bloomer' with magic). He gets Too Stressed and then also gets more pissed off when Silver seems to do a better job baby sitting, but Lilia runs intervention. uhh. 3/10

hhhhhhhhhh bye Tag list: @fluffle-writes @my-cursed-brain

[ayyy-pee]

Discord 18+ - Twitter - Masterlist

Pairing: Nanami Kento x Female Reader

Story Summary: Following his mothers passing, Nanami inherits his family's rundown bakery. With the bakery on its last leg, Nanami reluctantly takes on the task of trying to save what his family has worked to keep for decades, but he can't do it alone.

Genre: Bakery/Coffee Shop AU

Warnings: Workaholic meanie Nanami, employee x boss relationship, but also enemies to lovers, death, grief/mourning, profanity, jealousy, fluff, angst, Nanami owns a bakery, parental loss, Nanami is bad at feelings, I don’t know if I’ll do smut for this one but sexual tension, mutual pining, Nanami is sort of an asshole here

Art by: Ilameys + (Unknown artist (right pic). I'd love to credit the artist so if you know who it is, please let me know!)

Chapter 2 - Wienerbrød

Chapter Summary: You try to bake something new!

You kick your shoes off as you enter your apartment. With your phone wedged between your ear and your shoulder, you groan in irritation as you storm into your living room.

“I’m telling you, Shoko. This guy is such a fucking asshole. Shut me down the second I asked him a simple question,” you’re ranting as you flop down onto your couch. “He’s got to be the most pessimistic person I’ve ever met. He did nothing but pick apart the entire bakery and tell me how shitty it was, tried to establish some strange dominance thing in the kitchen after offering me the job… the kitchen,” you stress dramatically, wavering your arms as if Shoko can see you. “My domain! Can you believe him? He doesn’t give a shit about the actual bakery. He’s a total businessman type. Stiff, boring as hell and a dick. I don’t know why I said yes to the position. I’m going to hate my life.”

You exhale sharply once you’ve finished your tirade. On the other end of the line, you hear your friend inhale deeply. You didn’t have to ask to know she was sucking on a cigarette, likely almost finished with it and prepping her second, maybe third. After a short beat of silence, you hear her exhale. “Hmm, is he hot at least?”

“Extremely,” you admit through gritted teeth, rubbing away the tension quickly forming between your brows. “That’s the worst part.”

You hate to think it, you loathe to admit it, but Nanami was so very fucking attractive, like stupid hot and it pissed you off! Those thick arms practically bulging through his dress shirt, those veins that exposed themselves and ran enticingly along his forearms when he rolled his sleeves up. His chiseled features, those sharp cheekbones, even his frown was attractive. And god, you didn’t even want to think about his waist. 

Anyone with eyes could see Nanami Kento was an insanely beautiful man, modelesque even. But it only served to piss you off more. His constant gloomy attitude was so off-putting, it almost took away from his beauty, like a rain cloud threatening to cover a blue sky.

“Anyway,” you sigh, putting a stop to your own thoughts as you stare up at the ceiling.  “That’s beside the point, Shoko. He’s an asshole, but it’s obvious he needs help to get his bakery up and running. I think it’s family owned. He told me that he grew up in the bakery. Seemed miserable about it, though.”

“Interesting,” Shoko manages, though she sounds rather disinterested. “Well if he had to pick anyone, he definitely hired the best person for the job. You’re annoyingly positive.”

“Okay, rude.”

“I just mean you’ll balance his negativity well. Just try not to let him walk all over you. You’ve worked with plenty of dickheads before. What’s one more?”

You hum, your mind already accepting your fate. “I guess you’re right.”

“You know I am. The guy clearly needs help and you love this kind of thing - taking something old, miserable and rundown and making it loveable again.”

You hum again, listening as Shoko blows out another breath of smoke. “And who knows? Maybe you’ll do the same for the bakery, too.”

“Right. Wait– what?”

“I gotta go. I’ll call you later.” She says, voice light with humor. The line goes dead and you roll your eyes at your friends comments as you let the day's events wash over you. Nanami said he wanted to sample some of your desserts on Monday and see some new recipes. You can do that.

The moment you’d stepped into the bakery’s kitchen, your mind raced with possibilities. You felt at home there. The kitchen felt like it had been loved, like it was properly used and cared for, albeit old and a little rundown. That was okay. It gave the kitchen personality and you loved that. You wanted to continue giving the kitchen the love it deserved.

Nanami told you he’d grown up in that kitchen, but he truly seemed to hate even being in the building. You tried to picture a chubby little blonde boy with his arms crossed and a scowl etched across his face standing in the kitchen covered in flour and icing. Adorable, but definitely not the man you’d met today. You wondered how it came to be that he now owned this bakery when he seemed to despise it.

And you wondered if there was a way to get him to learn to love it again.

You shake your head, pushing the thought away. It wasn’t your job to turn his frown upside down, so to speak. It was your job to make sure the bakery was successful as it’s Head Baker and that’s what you intended to do.

- - - - - -

The weekend came and went just as quickly and now you find yourself standing in the kitchen of the bakery with Nanami as the sun barely begins to rise over the city. You pile your notebooks onto the large metal table in the center of the room. Nanami reaches over, taking the notebook sitting atop the stack.

“Are these your recipes?” He asks, flipping through the pages.

“Yep. These are some pastries I created on a whim. I was thinking we could go through and select what you like, maybe tweak some so that they fit more of the vibe you’re going for with the bakery. Or are there any pastries you’d like to keep from the previous owner?” 

Nanami’s dark eyes shoot up from the notebook to look at you. You hold his gaze, trying to find anything behind those eyes aside from the clear hatred he holds for this bakery, but you don’t. It’s frustrating.

“No,” is all he says.

“Okay…well, we can start from scratch then. Let me know what you see that you may like.”

Nanami replies with something between a grunt and a hum. “I’ll review a few of these and will follow up. If you want to get comfortable and organize the kitchen to your liking, go ahead. Please try and have a sample pastry ready within the next few hours.”

He turns to go into his office without so much as a look back.

You sigh, trying to get used to this silence you were sure you’d be working in everyday whether Mr. Nanami was there or not. You couldn’t wait to establish a menu so you could bring staff on. At least then you wouldn’t feel so alone.

You wander through the kitchen with a notepad, looking through all of the smallwares and jotting down what you see in case you need to place an order. There seems to be many of the supplies you need here already and in good condition - spatulas, mixing bowls, flour sifters, icing tips. The bakeware also seems to be well supplied with an array of bread pans, muffin tins and cake pans. This place was fully stocked as far as you could tell. 

You shuffle over to where three mixer appliances sit on a counter against the wall, setting your notepad down to inspect them. They’re a little older, but they turn on and mix just fine. You’d bet they mixed better than some of the newer models. You decide you’ll keep them.

As you lean one of the mixers over to check its condition, you find a small booklet lying underneath the stand. You pick it up, gently setting the mixer back down before you open it to inspect it. It’s a tiny black leatherbound journal with very faded gold lettering in a language you definitely don’t know.

And you? Well, you’re nosey as hell, so you carefully peel back the cover, taking in the elegant writing etched onto the first page.

To my baby boy

There’s some strange writing scrawled beneath this in what looks like English letters. You can’t really tell, but it seems to be some message in whatever language this is. You turn a couple of pages and let your eyes roam over what’s written within. The rest of the pages you can read fairly easily as they’re in English. You can see immediately that these are recipes. The booklet is full of pastry dishes, both sweet and savory. They appear to be foreign pastries and you feel your heart race with excitement as you imagine making them because while you were adventurous with your baking, you’re positive you haven’t tried to make any of these. 

And Nanami did want to sample your baking, so why not give him something he’s not going to see in your portfolio?

Eagerly, you begin moving through the rest of the kitchen equipment, taking out what you need to begin.

- - - - - -

The kitchen is full with the smell of fresh dough baking. The quiet hum of the ovens working calms you as you sift through the recipe in the booklet you’d found earlier. You decided to make one of your original creations while also trying your hand at this new mystery pastry in case Mr. Nanami liked both…or one…or none. Shit, you didn’t want to imagine him not liking either.

You stare down at the ingredients already in the mixing machines.

“Alright. So, water, 2 large eggs, a teaspoon of salt, unsalted butter, active dry yeast…” You read through the remaining list of ingredients until you reach the end. “And now…flour?” You squint down at the notebook, the words scribbled messily on the paper, time having faded the ink. You can’t really make out the measurements written out. It looks like 2 ½ cups. You’ll try it and hey, if it doesn’t work, you’ll simply adjust the recipe to find the right mix. Easy.

Just as you’re sorting through the measuring cups, Nanami emerges from his office with your journals, mouth set in its usual hard line as he makes his way to you. He sets the books down, and you swear you see him inhale the sweet scent of the pastries currently baking in the oven before softly exhaling. You open your mouth to say something before quickly shutting it because he’s back to business in about .02 seconds. You really can’t read this guy, so you don’t try to. You redirect your focus back on to your task.

“These look good,” he tells you, his finger tapping on the book stacked on top. “I placed a post-it note on the recipes I think may work for the soft opening, but I’d like for you to make a sample of them beforehand. Maybe just a few a day.”

You nod, acknowledging his request but far too focused on scooping your guesstimate of flour. Nanami eyes you carefully, brown eyes staring as you carefully run your finger over the top of the flour. The excess falls carelessly onto the table and just before you pour it in, Nanami speaks, his voice halting your movements.

“What are you making now?”

“Hmm?” You ask, glancing over at him. “Oh, something called…” you peer down at the booklet, “Wee-ner-brod?” You’re one hundred percent positive you butchered that pronunciation, but how do you even pronounce ‘wienerbrød’? 

Clearly Nanami knows because he surprisingly lets out an amused chuckle before he asks, “Wienerbrød?” With what you assume is perfect pronunciation. And you’re not sure why, but the sound of his deep baritone laugh makes your stomach twist in a strangely pleasant way.

“Yes! That!” You point to Nanami with your free finger. “I’m making…” you stumble your way through the pronunciation again and get another small laugh from Mr. Nanami which makes your own lips curl up in a smile.

“I didn’t know you knew how to make Danish pastries.”

“I don’t, but you don’t learn without trying.”

“True. What step are you on now?” Nanami asks curiously, coming up to stand next to you. This close to him, you can truly see just how large he is. Not to mention, he smells incredible. You ignore the way the mix of the aroma of baked goods and his cologne almost makes your eyes want to roll back. You’d never smelled something so tantalizing before.

Nanami calls your name and you clear your throat, trying to re-focus.

“Oh, um…well I’ve added mostly everything and now I need to incorporate the flour - about 2 ½ cups.”

“Your calculation is off.” He affirms gently, eyeing the measuring cup in your hand.

You snort, “Are you suddenly an expert in Danish baking or something?”

“I can throw a few things together.” He says and you peek over to see him rolling the sleeves of his very nice (and probably very expensive) shirt up to his elbows. Your eyes roam over, drinking in the sight of those thick veins that you couldn’t get out of your head over the weekend protruding from his forearms, the way his muscles flex with the slightest movement and you wonder for a moment what it would be like to grab onto those arms while he –

“As I was saying,” Nanami’s quiet voice interrupts your reverie. “2 ½ cups is close, but you actually need 2 ¾ cups for this recipe.” He reaches in front of you to grab a ¾ measuring cup and again, you’re assaulted with the scent of his cologne. Your mind erupts with thoughts of nothing appropriate for an employee to be thinking about their boss, but you can’t help it!

You blame it on that damn smile of his and that laugh. It’s thrown you off of your game.

Nanami takes the measuring cup you’re holding and replaces it with another. “You also need to use your hands to mix this.”

You might faint.

“Is that…” you lick your lips, mouth suddenly feeling dry. “Is that completely necessary?”

Nanami slowly adds small amounts of flour into the mixer bowl while kneading with his other hand. “It’s time consuming, of course, but it allows for more control over the dough. You can feel the dough's texture…if it’s too dry or if it’s too wet. From there you can determine if more water or more flour is needed.” You watch as his brows furrow in concentration, a little surprised by his knowledge around dough. Though it shouldn’t be surprising given that he grew up in this very same bakery. Of course he’d know.

And once again, your stomach does somersaults.

Damnit, he was definitely going to need to stay out of the kitchen if you were going to stay employed here.

As Nanami continues working through the recipe, you chat idly about general things. He tells you a bit about his time as a businessman, but doesn’t elaborate on what exactly led him to own a bakery. And you tell him a bit about yourself, trying to keep the conversation light as this was the most you’d both interacted since your interview and you’re surprised by how well it’s going. You don’t want to ruin it by poking and prodding.

As the conversation goes on, you watch him very carefully as he works the dough, ignoring the way your heart races watching him do the very thing you do almost daily.

“The end result should be somewhat sticky,” he states.

And oh god, something was getting sticky alright…and it lay between your legs. Your eyes are glued to the bulging muscles of Nanami’s forearms working the flour into a thick doughy substance between his large, thick fingers. Your gaze moves up his stupidly sexy arms, to his biceps straining against his shirt and you imagine him flexing so hard, it rips to shreds, falling in tatters to the floor. The cartoonish image almost makes you want to laugh. And you would have if your eyes hadn’t continued their journey, higher to his tight shoulders moving in circles as he presses his palms into the dough. Higher to the tension in his jaw, the muscles rippling as he grits his teeth with focus. The kitchen suddenly feels unbearably hot and you’re not sure if it’s the ovens running causing the temperature to rise or the view in front of you.

Nanami had never mentioned he knew how to bake. But why would he? It was your job to know. You also never thought to ask after the sour note your interview ended on despite you still being offered the position. You could not stand him upon first meeting and now here you were practically drooling into this batter over how incredibly sexy he was when he was baking.

Nanami slowly pours flour in again as he kneads the dough with expert precision. The way he grips it in his hands, the way his fingers deftly sprinkle flour into the mix. You wonder what else those big hands can do.

The oven timer dings and you snap out of your lewd thoughts, pretty sure sweat is forming on your forehead from your fantasies. You spin around quickly to slide on oven mitts before you pull the pans from the oven. You’d chosen to make miniature fruit tarts with a vanilla pastry cream. A simple recipe, but absolutely to die for. Setting the tray down, you return to Nanami’s side just as he finishes kneading the dough.

And you try to hide the frown pulling at the corner of your lips when you realize you’d lost your perfect view.

He moves to the sink to wash the remaining dough from his hands, returning with plastic wrap to cover the mixing bowl. “I hope you weren’t planning on completing that today,” He says before turning to head toward the walk-in refrigerator. When he emerges, you shoot him a questioning look.

“I was going to let the dough rise for a few hours while I worked on some other things.”

He hums in acknowledgment, but shakes his head. “For this dough, you need to do a long rise for the best result. Overnight is best.”

“Okay, you’re the expert Danish pastry baker apparently,” you tease, earning you another small chuckle from him and you feel your face heat up at the sound.

What is with you today?

“How did you come up with the idea to make Wienerbrød anyway?” He questions suddenly. “Just seems a bit random given what recipes you’d given me to review.”

“Oh!” You rush back over to the mixers excitedly and grab the booklet, holding it up for Nanami to see, a wide grin on your face. “I found this under one of the mixers. It has some strange language I can’t read in the front of it…I’m assuming it’s Danish? But some delicious sounding recipes from what I could understand when I skimmed through. I decided this would be a good idea to take myself out of my comfort zone to try something new.”

Nanami takes a step forward, squinting hard at the little journal in your hands. Suddenly, his eyes widen slightly and he snatches the book from your hold. He opens it to the first page, where the foreign message is scrawled down before he snaps the book shut, his lips pursing in displeasure.

He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs in clear irritation. “Next time you find something that is very clearly a personal belonging, please bring it to me before you take it upon yourself to poke through something that isn’t yours,” he snaps, his voice clipped.

The shift in tone takes you aback.

“Oh. I’m sorry, Mr. Nanami. It just seemed to belong to someone who knew their way around baking so I–”

“I didn’t ask for the reasoning behind your nosiness,” he cuts you off and you feel your own irritation begin to slowly rise. “Is this a habit of yours? Digging through people’s belongings and taking things that aren’t yours?”

You scoff, folding your arms across your chest defensively. “If you’d let me finish, I’m trying to apologize –”

“I don’t want an apology. I want you to show up here, bake and leave. Not spend your time digging through someone else’s belongings.”

You inhale sharply, trying to gather your thoughts. This conversation has taken an unpleasant turn and the last thing you want to do is have a blow up with your boss. You feel like you’ve actually made progress with him today and this feels like a setback waiting to happen.

“Again, Mr. Nanami, that wasn’t my intention. I just wanted to try something new. I had no idea this book…” you wave your hand in his direction. “...would be such a sore spot for you.”

At this, Nanami seems to bristle. “My sore spot,” he stresses the words, “is nosey employees who don’t just do the job I asked them to do. I asked you to make a sample pastry –”

“And I did,” you cut him off, gesturing to your tarts cooling on the table. “And I had enough time to try my hand at something new, which is why I wanted to try something new and present it to you.”

You sigh when Nanami meets your response with silence.

“What’s the issue here? You had no problem with helping me make this until you saw that book,” you say, pointing at the small black journal he holds. Your gazes lock in an intense staredown and even as Nanami annoys you, you can’t help but find his frustratingly pretty brown eyes completely mesmerizing. 

Ugh, stop.

“The issue,” Nanami stresses, “is you sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“Excuse me? It’s just a recipe book. Why are you so upset about it? Is it yours or something?”

“Again, poking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“Mr. Nanami, with all due…respect,” you grit out the last word because he was really starting to piss you off, “if we’re going to be working together as closely as we are, there needs to be some trust here. It’s just a recipe book. I apologize for overstepping, but you can tell me why referencing this book to make Weenerbrod is such a big deal.”

You could swear you see the ghost of a smile on his lips just before he rolls his eyes, correcting your pronunciation of the pastry again, just as he turns his back to you. “You are my employee, I am your employer and that’s it. My helping you to bake a simple bread does not make us friends. Please complete the sample pastries I requested of you and we can reconvene once they’re finished. End of discussion.”

Nanami heads to his office without another word, slamming the door behind him.

You can only watch him disappear from your sight, seething. Left standing in the kitchen alone after yet another faceoff with your new boss, you’re suddenly reminded of your earlier conversation with Shoko.

Just try not to let him walk all over you. You’ve worked with plenty of dickheads before. What’s one more?

You resist going after Nanami and giving him a piece of your mind, instead following his instructions to finish your samples. You won’t push him. Clearly that little book meant something to him and he had no intention of sharing. And he was right. It wasn’t your business to know…

…But you can’t help feeling upset that the light mood of earlier is now gone.

You sigh, ignoring the pit in your stomach as your anger begins to subside. Instead, you move to the walk in refrigerator, gathering the ingredients to make the vanilla cream for your tarts.

Your mind is still racing with the conversation that just took place even as you mix your ingredients and pack the cream into the icing decorating bags. You realize for the first time since meeting Nanami that he wasn’t only this stoic tyrant that enjoys barking orders. He was someone with interests, someone with depth, someone who clearly enjoyed the art of baking the same way you do. You saw the look in his eyes as he guided you through making this pastry. And while you’ve barely known Nanami, you’re familiar with the look on someone’s face when they’ve participated in their passion. He looked…happy. Clearly, there’s more to Nanami than you know.

More to him than what he was willing to show you. For now. 

You’re annoyingly positive.

Shoko’s words make you roll your eyes as they echo in her head. Because you know she’s right.

[d3pr3773dc4n73r]

Well…Here we are yet again. Now, I have done previous projects before that have not been very successful, but I do hope that this one, will be the exact opposite. So, welcome to the: “Knuckle Kid Knockout” Process! This project/collab will focus on creating an Alternate Dimension (Universe) where everyone in the first original Mega Man series will be humanoid Kickboxers/MMA fighters. This idea was highly inspired by one art piece made by a Twittex (Twitter/X) user named: Sweet_Ant (@Sweette59439603). The art piece in question can be found right here:

Media posts by Sweet _Ant🍉🐜🐜 (@Sweette59439603) / X

Plus, I have noticed that people like to make alternate universes of the series. So, why not try it out myself? 🥊💥🥊💥🥊💥🥊💥🥊💥🥊💥🥊💥🥊💥🥊💥🥊💥🥊💥 -Each line of robots will be chosen by an individual where they will create messy concept art of how they would look as a Kickboxer/MMA fighter. -Once a line has been completed, results will be posted, showcasing the brainstorm of ideas. -I myself will keep these pictures, so that I can draw a full fledge design, incorporating the ideas that were given. -Once all lines of robots have been completed, I will continue moving forward with creating the story, and what will exactly happen in this alternate universe. -There is no due date. So, that gives plenty of time to put in enough mental and artistic effort! But again, these will only be concept sketches, so there is no need to look outright pretty to the viewer. 🥊💥🥊💥🥊💥🥊💥🥊💥🥊💥🥊💥🥊💥🥊💥🥊💥🥊💥

If anyone else would like to join this project, my Discord is: “d3pr3773dc4n73r”. And although people are free to join, I will also be searching for volunteers in the meantime. Now, if some artists require payment, that is totally fine. I just will not be able to pay upfront for everyone. Only some, if I can afford right on the spot. So, I hope that we can work out an agreement when it comes to that matter. Other than that, here are the participants from the chosen lines, as well as the lines that are still available!

OZTheKid: Mega Man 1 @switchnx: Mega Man 2 @cherricoke-art: Mega Man 3 @sonyshock: Mega Man 4 @neogandw: Mega Man 6 @d3pr3773dc4n73r: Mega Man V

And here are the lines still available for pick up! Mega Man 5 Mega Man 7 Mega Man 8 Mega Man & Bass Mega Man 9 Mega Man 10 Mega Man 11 Mega Man & Bass: Challenger From The Future Mega Man Strategy Mega Man DOS Mega Man 3: The Robots Are Revolting

Now, if anyone has any additional questions, feel free to send me a message. I would prefer you not send an ask. I do not want to reveal TOO much to the public eye. With all of that said and done, I hope that everyone who sees this will give it a look. If not interested, a reblog is always helpful!

💥🥊!SEE YOU IN THE RING!🥊💥

[lavenderarts]

Revamp: Monthly Subs and Reward Art!

Hi everyone! After a long hiatus on this due to inconsistent health, I'm back and feeling better than ever, and I'd like to re-institute my monthly subscription service for art rewards. These will be active on my Ko-fi starting on August 1st! Read on to hear about the changes from my old system and details of what you'll get for subscribing, but if you don't care about any of that and just want to see the rewards page, here it is:

Please share this and consider tossing a couple bucks a month my way to help me support myself and my dog! Details below the cut!

So last time I was offering art rewards, it gradually became unsustainable for a number of reasons, chief among them the fact that I was basically offering severely discounted full commissions of all styles, and it was exhausting to fulfill in addition to regular commission work. I just couldn't keep up and got overwhelmed. So to help prevent that this time around, here are the changes I'm implementing:

I'll have a single reward type: single character busts! These are easy to crank out in an hour or less, so I can keep up with demand better. I'll reserve the right to decide between lined/lineless flats and papercrafts as I see fit to keep them interesting and fun for me, but if it's your birthday month or your yearly sub anniversary, you can choose the style and get a little something extra! For examples of what a bust looks like, please check out my recent ArtFight submissions :)

I'm going to do my level best to institute a hard 3-week turnaround rate for all regular commissions, and save the final week of each month for giving these rewards full priority along with onboarding new batches of clients for the following month's commissions.

I'm moving my subscription service over to Ko-fi, where anyone can give between $2-9 a month as a very generous tip and get access to my Discord server, or give $10+ for monthly bust rewards, early access to adoptables, and more! You can choose to give more than $10, but no other rewards exist for higher tier subs, it's up to whatever you feel is appropriate! Ko-fi has both Stripe and PayPal integration, which should be easier on the subscriber end, and it allows me to use PostyBirb to post across multiple sites at once, which makes it much easier to post early-access WIPs and finished work than it was on my old subscription service. It also automatically handles Discord onboarding and role assignment, yay!

I'm on the hunt for a simple Discord bot that can post a single repeating message on the first of every month with a link to a Google form for everyone to submit their requests, so that I don't have to ask for them manually. (If anyone knows of such a bot or is capable of making one, please get in touch!)

Previously I offered a whole suite of other rewards in addition to the monthly art -- things like subscriber-only request streams, early claims on adoptables, and even physical merch, which were not sustainable for me. Going forward, early adoptable claims for a discount will still be available as a reward, and I may occasionally do request streams, but on a less formally-scheduled basis and only as I have the free time to do so. I am not able to offer physical prints/stickers at this time; I might revisit the option in the future, but I need to know more before I try it again! I'll also be continuing to offer a subscriber discount on all commissions that will stack with other sales and discounts, along with the ability to skip the waitlist and jump directly into the work queue.

So to recap, if you subscribe to me, here's everything you get:

For $2-$9 USD: Discord server access with a special role, and my thanks for your generous support!

For $10+ USD: Discord server access with a special role, 24 hour early adoptable access with the ability to claim for a discounted price, a bust of a single character each month, first looks at finished artwork and WIPs/timelapses, commission discounts, and potentially more down the line.

My Discord is open to anyone, and all members can freely chat, post art, attend/host art streams, and answer polls regarding prompts for adoptable designs and more. You just get some nice bonuses for subscribing! While these subscription tiers are available, one-time tips and donations of any amount are still an option for commission clients or anyone else who just wants to show some love.

I hope this all makes sense and sounds enticing; I really love seeing people's OCs and getting to bring them to life and put my own little touch on them, and I'm very excited to start giving something back to all of you out there whose support means so very much to me, and without whom I could never do what I do. Thank you so much for checking out the Ko-fi! As a reminder, reward eligibility begins on August 1st! The tiers are active on Ko-fi now, but if you subscribe before August you won't be rewarded for the month of July, so keep that in mind.

[expanding-hyrule]

Hey there! Expanding Hyrule needs your help!

This is a budding community and I am only one person running it at the moment and I’ve only got so much energy in a day. Even less right now. No joke, I opened the EH Discord and then immediately got knocked out by con flu for two weeks, still pending recovery.

Which is where you come in! The Internet is massive and it’s impossible for me to get the whole thing archived for this niche all by myself. So if you know works in any medium or creators in any medium who would fit into the “Original Legends” niche, send them my way! The list currently compiled only got set up because of one post that happened to get some traction. Imagine what we can do with a community working together on it! There are way more creators in the space than I currently have on the list and I need your help to find them! This niche has never been organized before and it’s only going to get organized with a team effort! So let’s get to it, adventurers!

What is “Original Legends” as a LoZ niche?

The "Original Legends" tag is a temporary tag for stories about Hyrules thus unseen. So based on the franchise as a whole and not any particular game. The community is not yet big enough to run a vote on a final pick for a tag, which is where you all come in! We're currently gathering ideas on the Discord and off this blog, so if you have suggestions, let us know! The poll will run off this blog once we have a bigger following.

Does it include sequels or Links Meet?

So this is where I need to be a little pedantic. Because technically, yes, both could be Original Legends. But. Because right now this community needs to build a strong central identity for what the core of "Original Legends" means, there may be more scrutiny for whether they get added to the archives.

The thing about direct sequel and Links Meet works is that they have tags they can rely on, chiefly the game they're a sequel to or the Links Meet tags, those are both recognized tags across fandom. There is no tag currently for the full "Original Legends" niche, so for the time being it needs to become prominent enough in the fandom to stand on its own first and then we can add wider definitions. So not a full no, you're welcome to still use the tag if you think your work applies, but for the official archive lists here, it's a not yet while we establish what this tag is first.

Where do I send works I find?

You can send them as reblogs, asks, submissions, DMs, or just plain old @'s to this blog. Some of the lists do have to have manual additions (the blog archive, the Discord list, the Wattpad reading list), so it is better if you make sure I'm aware it's being added so I can update all lists accordingly.

For art, because we're trying to keep the archive list a little more manageable, be sure to see socials and tags you use for your project. I will try to include some pictures, but you will make my life a whole lot easier if you can send me the ones you want in the gallery specifically. Ones that scan scale down nicely are better so we can again keep that list more manageable to scroll through.

What if I’m a creator in this space?

Please reach out! I'm trying to follow everyone here on Tumblr to make sure I get updates, my main is @amelias-hart and my LoZ alt is @amelias-zelda-calamity-quintet. You can ping any three of those blogs when you have updates, sending them in asks, submissions, or DMs as I'm the only moderator on this blog at present and those are open. If that changes for this blog, then the other blogs listed will still have DMs.

We also have a Discord open if you'd like to connect with other creators in the space and you can share when you post there. I set up events for people who upload on a schedule as well for anyone who like reminders that way for when fics in our archive are updating.

Are there other ways I can help?

Share this blog! On and off of Tumblr. In order for us to organize a tag like this within the whole of such a massive community, we need eyes on it and I simply do not have the reach or budget to make that happen without help.

Long term, if you have Discord experience, I will need help running that eventually, as well as the blog. If I put too much of this work on myself, then I won't have time to write either! And I'd rather not get stuck in that again. Keep an eye on the blog for news on that, I've got not idea where or how that process will start.

But the biggest, check out the works in our archives! It's very hard to coordinate and share a work that falls into a niche like this without the use of the main community tags, so a lot of these creators have been struggling to find their audience for years. Community support changes that, which begins and ends with each of you. Be the kind of fan you would want for yourself. We're all just nerds on the Internet, so we gotta look out for each other, yeah?

What if I was added to this space and I’d like to be removed?

If for whatever reason you would like your work removed from the list, contact this blog or any of my alts if there's an issue getting in touch and I'll remove it. I will ask for some verification that a work is yours so people can't take other people's works off the list, but if you don't want to be in the archive, I'm not going to force anyone stay in it.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Sure can! Hi, I’m Amelia (she/they, 28), you might know me better as amelias-hart or, if you’ve been around my works a second, echosound. I started writing Original Legends fic back in 2012 with a work called Goddess of Secrecy, which I just managed to wrap up this summer (I may have gotten stuck in the Temple of Time in 2017). GoS got its start on Wattpad and I’m now expanding my horizons on AO3, so I’ve got a lot of learning left to do! Thank you for your patience while I am!

[redemn]

＊ 𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐄𝐌 / 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐍 . ＊ independent , selective , private . ː 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧 from rockstar's 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 ➁ . penned by kat , she/her , 28. a study in ː the reclamation of the self , preservation of the moral code in sedition , and the perpetuation of circumstantial change .

i  always  knew  you  had  to  be  willin'  to  die  to  even  do  this  job  .      but  ,      i  don't  want  to  push  my  chips  forward  and  go  out  and  meet  somethin'  i  don't  understand  .      a  man  would  have  to  put  his  soul  at  hazard  .      he'd  have  to  say  :      '  o.k.,      i'll  be  part  of  this  world  .  '

⁰¹⋆ carrd. ⁰²⋆ pinterest. ⁰³⋆ spotify. ⁰⁴⋆ prompts. ⁰⁵⋆ hcs. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ⁰⁶⋆ tyler owens. ( if i'm not here , i'm there )

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤtruncated rules under the cut.

⁰¹⋆   on followers + following .   no minors please .   in fact ,   i'd be more comfortable with people over the age of 21 due to my own age .   i am not interested in keeping a large following of people i do not interact with ,   or who do not at least like my posts every once in a while .   whenever i'm on the dash ,   i try to do the same courtesy .   also ,   sometimes i don't keep up with developments in the rpc ,   so if you ever see me interacting with anyone who has been proven to be problematic in the past or even recently ,   please let me know so that i can cut it off .

⁰²⋆   on shipping .   like everyone ,   i love shipping ,   but i'm not someone wants to jump into it without proper development beforehand .   i prioritise and often populate my blogs with primarily platonic or non-ship-oriented threads .   i practice ship exclusivity ,   which means i will only ship with one version of a character ,   and i expect the same courtesy .   if your muse ships with another arthur ,   unless you are a very very close friend ,   i will not ship him with that muse ,   period .   [ … ]   on a related note ,   please don't ask to write smut if we barely know each other and / or haven't written any "regular" threads together .   i do write smut with those i ship with ,   mostly on discord ,   but pwp doesn't interest me at all ,   so save us both time and don't ask .   i'd write 10 fluff threads over a smut thread any day . my thoughts on the matter . i am also not open to shipping if we don't at least write threads on here . again , i am not interested in immediately shipping if we don't have something built up first , and it makes me feel like people don't appreciate it if they don't at least try to answer asks that i send or write some form of thread on here .

⁰³⋆   IMPORTANT .   i understand that arthur is a canon character and everyone's interpretations of him are different . but please do not impose what you think arthur would do or how he would react on my interpretation . please also do not try to ship without first plotting out a thorough friendship between them , because both i and arthur need chemistry in order for that to work . otherwise i personally will not be invested . arthur is demisexual and won't form any sexual attraction for anyone until he has a strong connection with them , and no , just saying "they've been friends" is not good enough for me .

⁰⁴⋆   on content .   triggering content will be present on this blog ,   due to the nature of the game and my own writing .   i tag all my triggers with "trigger //" for reference . most importantly , there will be mentions of terminal illness // here .

⁰⁵⋆   on activity .   i work a full time job ,   monday-friday .   please respect that in regards to my activity .   my other blog is penddraig .   hi .    :)

⁰⁶⋆   if you could like this post after reading my rules ,   i would appreciate it .   this is not mandatory ,   for those of you who are anxious about it .   i just like knowing and i like a little interaction .   i hope my rules don't sound too harsh to all of you .   i promise i'm not mean !!   i'm just old ,   i've been in the rpc for a long time ,   and want to nip issues i've encountered in the bud before they start .

[sing-it-togetherzine]

F.A.Q*

I never participated in a zine before, what exactly are you expecting a “finished piece” to look like?

For artists, it depends on the artist and their style. For some it may mean fully rendered figures and backgrounds. For others it may mean a simpler background and colors. Everyone is going to have a different definition of “finished”. You want it to be presentable and nice to look at, not something you threw together without much thought. Try to think of what movie posters might look like, or phone/desktop wallpapers.

For authors, your story should have been edited at least once for spelling and grammar errors. Your story should be self-contained, a.k.a. a one-shot, with a beginning, middle, and resolution. There will be beta-readers available in a specific channel on discord, so if you need help and don’t want to ask anyone directly, you could always shoot a message there and someone will know to help.

Overall, it doesn’t hurt to apply! If you’re not sure what your “best example” work is, you can include a link to your blog/online portfolio (wherever you post art) and we’ll take a look.

Relationships aren’t always happy, can my piece be something besides fluff?

Within the limits of the PG rating, your piece can be happy/fluff, hurt-comfort, or angsty. Things that are generally not allowed for PG ratings include heavy violence/gore, heavy adult language, and explicit bedroom themes. Do you want to make us cry for Grandma Rosiepuff all over again? Bring it on.

What if I want to change my idea partway through the creation period?

If you get partway through your piece and decide on changing it to something totally new, please notify the mods first. Given that there are 3 months to work on your piece this will likely be allowed but you will have less time to finish it. To avoid this, we recommend really thinking over your idea early on, and if problems do arise you can use the #wip-feedback channel to get help.

Can I change from writing to art or art to writing after the creation period started?

Unfortunately, once you are accepted as either an author or artist, you are locked into that position. If you are someone who likes to make both art and fanfic, please take your time in deciding what you would like to focus on for the zine and apply at a later date. Applications are open until August 31st.

When I submit my art piece, how can I make sure quality stays the same?

To start, it helps to format your canvas to 2400px by 2400px or 8in by 8in and 300dpi. This will be the final size and resolution of each page of the zine. If you start with a smaller canvas and lower resolution the image will be blown up/stretched to the correct size and will likely loose clarity. When finished and ready to submit final files, you can simply save to Google Drive and share the link with the appropriate mod.

Can I sign/watermark my art before I submit?

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[classic-maya]

When do you think Brian fell in love with Justin?

Omg, a QaF fan??? In my DMs??? It’s more likely than you think. Ok I have many a thought and I’m going to work backwards. It might be controversial b/c I think it happened early on in season 1 because…

By 1x10 Brian is so whipped he drives all night to New York to find Justin and even though he is beyond pissed the second Justin gives him puppy dog eyes Brian is falling over himself to get inside him.

Look at Justin’s smug little face! He knows that he has Brian wrapped around his little finger. He starts stripping and Brian doesn’t do anything but Justin is so confident he teases him and asks if he needs help taking his clothes off. Justin is the king.

Before that in 1x08 after Craig beats Brian up outside of Babylon and gives Justin the ultimatum to go home now or never again; Brian storms off yelling an emphatic “fuck!” He thought Justin would go home and in that moment he was mourning the relationship. I think Brian was already in love. It hurt him to see Justin being asked to choose between his family and Brian but really between his true self and being accepted by his family. Brian knows this pain and it’s why he had not yet come out by this point in the show and it tears him up to see Justin go through that.

Two episodes before, 1x06, we see Brian looking at Justin’s drawing while someone under the covers is giving him head. This scene is the first time we see Brian have sex with someone else while actively imagining they are Justin instead. Also he goes to the art show at the center in this ep and he would not have done that just for Lindsay. He is there for Justin and he is sooo in love.

In 1x05 Brian kicks a trick out because the guy was rude to Justin. At this point Justin is already much more meaningful to him than a one night stand. After this Brian tells Justin not to rely on anyone else and the only person you can trust is yourself. I think this scene is so telling because ostensibly Brian is talking to Justin but really he is desperately trying to remind himself of this belief. He is already in love but he is also afraid of what that means.

I think Brian fell in love as early as 1x03 when Justin had the gall to steal two tricks from him. It was a like-recognizes-like moment. Brian for the very first time respected Justin and saw him as more than just some kid. In a scene at Woody’s in this ep Brian defends Justin to Michael and says “Leave him alone…he’s actually kind of sweet.” Justin’s move at the end of the ep was far from sweet and it not only turned Brian on, it had him head over heels. The way he smiles while kissing him on the dancefloor that night and holds him up in his arms like a trophy. I’m certain Brian took him home and couldn’t keep his hands off him the rest of the night.

For the rest of the season we see the tension between Brian’s love for Justin and Brian’s love for his lifestyle. Falling in love with someone is entirely discordant with Brian’s idea of himself and as we know he feels he can’t be trusted to love someone and have them love him in turn. He is terrified of that vulnerability and he doesn’t want to be hurt especially by someone he has allowed to get this close to him.

This follows them until season 5 when Brian finally allows himself to tell Justin that he loves him. He says it’s because of the bomb, but Brian already had to consider losing Justin once before, and instead of telling Justin that he loved him after the bashing he instead pretends that he didn’t even show up to the hospital despite visiting him every day and watching him sleep. Brian loved Justin from the beginning but he had so much work to do healing from his childhood and the walls he built up before he could even consider letting himself be vulnerable enough to admit it to Justin.

Finally, I just want to say that Justin is god’s strongest soldier. Was he perfect? No. Did he leave Brian and misunderstand him a few times? Yes. But jesus Brian did not make it easy on him. It takes a lot to love someone unconditionally even when they refuse to tell you what you both know is true.

Ok, stepping off my soapbox.

[red-man-of-mustache]

Namedropping

Hey everyone! We're gonna take a little detour today/tonight to talk about something that's happened between me and someone you might know at @askwendyokoopa. I labored with this because in all my time being on/off tumblr I've never had to make such a post as this. Usually, if I block someone or someone blocks me we both move on like normal people. In this case though, I was appraised of the habits of this person along with my own experience with them and I proceeded with a block only to be met with them hopping on another account to blatantly get around said block then, when I refused to engage further they name-dropped me. Here's the post in question I'll be addressing throughout.

But, let's begin shall we? I'll start by talking about me. This'll be a long read and I know I'm asking a lot but please read it in full if you interact with his person.

I hope I've tagged this appropriately, if I haven't let me know. I'll also be reblogging this for the day crowd.

My blog is a safe place. I rp Mario as very campy, bright, and happy-go-lucky so I extend that to my general post pattern. I take my name and reputation quite seriously and as stated just a second ago I wrestled with making this post but I cannot let what they've said go uncontested. If you're reading this and you interact with them then this isn't me damning you or claiming I won't interact with you because of it but this is simply a cautionary tale. With that being said, for the more sensitive bits of proof, shoot me a DM or hit me up on discord(available upon request) and I can furnish you with even deeper details than I plan on going into in this post.

I have always avoided airing out my dirty laundry so to speak when it comes to any aspect of my life on this blog. Although it is "my" blog and I can post whatever I want, again, this is a place of uplifting and an escape. Rare is it when I'll post about how I struggle with certain things or if I feel dejected from a certain community and so on. I made a post a few months ago talking about my substance abuse and how I overcame it. In that same post I spoke about my mom, her alcoholism, and how she injured me in an altercation we had. I did that to be open because these same struggles have impacted my time on here. I was heavily self-medicating during my last run on tumblr and although I was present it was because I literally wished I didn't exist at the time. It all culminated into last year, spilling into this year. You can read that post for that information. I won't entirely retread that ground here.

It's a heavy subject and it's a dark contrast to what I usually post but I did so in case anyone could take strength from knowing I made it through a major struggle such as that.

Now this is a post about @askwendyokoopa,whom we'll refer to as Wendy for the rest of this post, why am I talking about me first? Well, once again, I've never blocked someone and seen them 1. try to circumvent the block with another account(one that perpetrates what I've come to have an issue with on them, more on that later) and 2. have that same person namedrop me for that block as if I need to convince them I don't wish to speak with them anymore.

Yes, I did.

Truly this song & dance is new to me. Again, I take my name(url) very seriously so to call me out as if I've done something wrong to you for not wanting to speak to you?? That's my right, you can't play victim just because I didn't give you a college thesis. This is the internet, if I don't wanna communicate with you I just won't.

I don't make vague posts about people I don't like, nor do I vaguely allude to me going through a tough time(at least I try not to, if I have those incidents are few and far between) I'll outright say I'm not feeling it or something along those lines but even then I have to be going through hell to make such a post. I also refuse to put it on my moots and followers when I feel inadequate because I'm here to lift you up not the other way around. If you choose to drop a compliment on my writing or personality, great! I deeply appreciate it and it motivates me to keep going but I'm here to give a boost to everyone around me through Mario. He's been with me since I was a kid and always a figure of inspiration in how he faces down trouble. I could use a bit of that in my adult life. I just wanna share that with everyone else.

I've actually been sort of a monolith my whole time on Tumblr and you know what? It's gotten me into a lot of trouble I can't lie. I'm doing my best to break that pattern by being upfront with how I feel, speaking to people more even if it's just to say "Hey I like your blog" or something simple along those lines. How can I claim to wanna provide a morale boost to people if I'm as reclusive as I (still) am? Doesn't make sense which is why I've been moving to change it.

This is not to name me a victim by the way. All this person did was namedrop me and mildly annoy me/make me uncomfortable but I've spoken with actual victims of their harassment and that was actually the last straw. So if anything I'm getting off light, I'm only doing this to clear my side of things and provide clarity for why this is happening.

I met Wendy way back in the infancy of my old @red-man-of-archive blog which I'm sure is obvious that it was the same URL you see me using now when it was active. Things were casual but consistent. IC Wendy had a crush on Mario but he usually never reciprocated and just moved on. Was it harassment back then? No. We didn't talk OOC and kept things "business" as I'll call it. They were amicable and their portrayal was pretty accurate in my opinion of course. Nothing funny going on to my knowledge.

Fast forward to me going through the various issues I did, being unable to even keep up with basic blog activity, and then going on extended hiatus. I tried coming back but had lost my phone number by then due to financial reasons and I decided this was the chance I needed to start over. So I did! I remade the blog September of 2018, archived the old one since I was still somehow logged in on my phone at the time and moved on. I don't think Wendy was around when I started over but they did come around. And to clarify: it still wasn't harassment. Things were casual, when threads ended they didn't have a foul word to say.

I end up dropping out again from tumblr, still in the storm that is my life. Not even a full month later either. I'd pop in for spurts of activity but it never lasted. Didn't see hide or hair of Wendy during this period.

Then we arrive at this year. Nearly three years after my last posting. I had quit smoking(THC) completely, I'm on the uptick in my job/finances, and I'm seeing a therapist. Took a look back and I've been reclusive, posting from my little cave this whole time and I came to the realization that if I want any staying power I need to put more of me out there alongside Mario. So, I start approaching people OOC more and trying to be forthcoming in where our threads are going or if I'm liking/disliking something.

Coming back to Wendy. When I got back so-to-speak I went through my followers to see if anyone was still active. Three years is a long time after all. I came across her again: Wendy. I looked at the timestamps, saw how far back they'd posted but they were among the people I felt comfortable enough to message despite the inactivity. Ironic.

Now, I can't show chat messages between us because when I blocked them the messages were nuked. I don't feel like attempting an unblocking to revive it but I'm about 90% sure they can see my posts anyway. Bear with me a little longer on this narration.

They get back to me after a bit and we start chopping it up. We catch up and I'll be 100% transparent in saying yes I did go along with everything being suggested. We started an entire thread based off innuendo but it was quite ham-fisted and when I stopped replying they began to pester me "Did I do something wrong? Can you not find another acronym?" even going so far as to start interacting with me through a different post and asking in character why I didn't reply.

That thread and the in character incident are gone unfortunately as I deleted them. But, I've got more than that to share. Innuendo isn't inherently bad nor does it go outside of what I do here as Mario.

By this point my patience has been tested and I realize this isn't the same amicable person I used to deal with. I can't speak for others OOC but I will say they hijack posts very often to ramble in character with this self-referential tone that makes it quite obvious this isn't Wendy(the character) speaking but the mun or simply turn things inappropriate. A few examples, we got

Just bizarre, plus it's AI

Again, weird, but not a blockable offense. They've at least put the bare minimum of effort in to tag it, I guess right? Well, around the time the gears were turning regarding this person's odd and pushy behavior there was someone within a server I've joined who made an announcement about them given they've had experience with this person. Unfortunate experience it seems.

They detailed a lot of things as did a few other moots of mine but one thing in particular stuck out to me. They claimed that this particular person used a whole host of other blogs to stalk/harass them. Then I remember this post.

Wait a second... going to their profile proper we see

Then if we hover over Pom Pom we see

So, not only do they have a laundry list of accounts at their disposal but they use them to circumvent blocks, and then will talk to themselves using these same accounts.

I don't wanna associate with someone like this. And this is just the tip of the iceberg, if I haven't convinced you yet, contact me through tumblr DM's or discord and I can let you know what else I know because their rap sheet is longer than their muse list.

They mass follow people within communities they're active in and even if you block this main blog, they could be on your follower list and you don't even know it. Thusly, I am going to suggest you block this person and their list of alternative blogs, and move on. If I still haven't convinced you, once again hit me up privately because I've got more personal stuff to share that doesn't belong here per se.

I don't wanna see this person victimize other people and that's why I took the time to put out this warning. All that talk earlier from me about "uplifting people" but I'm making a callout post right? Well, once again, I didn't want to originally because I thought I could just move on. But, this is a chronic pattern of behavior exhibited by this person and I don't wanna see them victimize someone else. If me blocking them didn't get them up in arms enough to namedrop me and play the victim themselves we wouldn't be here. Plus, I wasn't the only person addressed in their little callout post.

So, that's the scoop on why I blocked askwendyokoopa and why I believe you should too. They are not worth your time or energy.

The rabbit hole goes deeper but I've rambled long enough.

My discord is available upon request if you'd like to discuss things further. This will be my first and last time addressing them/this situation publicly. I don't do drama and in a month it'll be ten years since I started posting on tumblr. This has never happened to me before and I'd like to keep it that way.

Thank you.

[lemonlover1110]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝟑𝟖𝟏

Toji Fushiguro

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[Chapter 9] Alone

Pairing: Toji Fushiguro x f!Reader

Discord +18 - Twitter - Ko-Fi

You end up walking out of the store empty-handed. There was the perfect coat for you in the clearance section but for some odd reason, you couldn’t stand being in the store for any longer. Not with Momoko there at least. Your eyes kept lingering on her, and you couldn’t even breathe properly with her there. You don’t understand why, you don’t care about Toji– At least not romantically.

Toji can go to any woman he pleases, you don’t care. You were only slightly annoyed that he lied to you about working when he was just going on dates. You really don’t care about Toji… But your blood is boiling, your bottom lip quivering as you think about Toji’s girlfriend.

You stand outside of the store and take a deep breath. You still need your coat but you begin to walk to the bus stop to go back home, you’re not in the mood to go to another store. You’re thinking about a lot at once, and while you’re watching out for people while walking, you don’t really look at them. You don’t care to look at anyone’s face until you hear your name, causing you to come to a stop. You turn to look at the person who called out your name, and you roll your eyes when you see him.

“Satoru… Can I help you?” You look at the man that steps closer to you. The last thing you need is to talk to him of all people but you don’t have the guts to send him to hell, at least not at this moment.

“Just wanted to say hi.” Satoru says, and it doesn’t seem in character for him so you’re able to smell his bullshit quickly. You cross your arms and look him up and down, he doesn’t need to ask what that look means; he grew up with you, he knows. “Don’t you wanna get a cup of coffee? It’s pretty cold.”

“You know what? Might as well.” You tell him, knowing that your bus won’t show up for the next thirty minutes. You’re not waiting for that long in the cold, nor are you walking back home. Satoru gives you an awkward smile before nudging his head in the direction he wants to go. You follow behind him, and luckily, you don’t have to walk much before you’re at the place that Satoru was thinking of.

He offers to get your coffee, and you hum in response since you don’t want to stand in line. While he gets your coffee, you take a seat. You look out the window while you wait for Satoru, thinking about Toji. Not only was he lying about working, but he also has a girlfriend. You’re realizing that you care so much because you… No, you don’t like him. You just feel betrayed– What if they were already dating while you were sleeping together? Granted, you only had sex twice, but that’s still considered cheating.

You get so lost in your own thoughts that you’re startled when Satoru places the cup of coffee in front of you. You mutter a thank you before taking a sip from the cup. Satoru takes a seat, and you sit in silence. Until Satoru clears his throat and says, “How have you been holding up?” 

“Do you actually care or are you asking because of formality?” You respond, and Satoru furrows his brows. He’s confused by your question.

“What kind of question is that?” He asks. He watches you take a sip of your drink before you open your mouth to speak again.

“We both know you don’t care.” You end up shrugging, and he squints, pursing his lips together. He tries to think what you mean, and he ends up sighing when he can’t figure out what you mean by it.

“What do you mean by that? We’ve known each other for years, of course I care.” He questions, and you scoff. You absolutely hate how he’s completely clueless.

“You knew my husband for years and you still refused to help him when he was asking for help. Why do you suddenly care?” You bring up, and it’s as clear as day for Satoru. 

“He was asking for an absurd amount of money, how could I lend that to a dying man?” He argues, and you feel your blood boiling. Your face gets hot with anger, and you have to take a deep breath to calm yourself down. You have to think logically. “You have to see my point of view, would you lend that much money to me if you knew I was dying the very next day?”

“He asked you for a job, and you couldn’t do that to him. Plus, I would’ve paid you back.” You point out, and Satoru ends up sighing in frustration. 

“I’ll write you a check if that’s what you want. You don’t even have to pay me back, I just want to talk to you.” Satoru says, and you roll your eyes. You cross your arms and then cock your brow, slightly tilting your head to the side.

“Why do you want to talk so badly? We were never friends. Your friend was Kento, not me.” You question as he pulls out his wallet. You end up telling him, “I don’t want your money, I just want to know why the hell you want to talk.”

“Well… Um–” It’s harder to get the words out. “I was just thinking that maybe we can spend some time together… I used to like you before you–”

“I’ll stop you right there. You’re unbelievable. I can’t believe those words are leaving your lips. What the hell is wrong with you?” You’re in disbelief, knowing that Satoru was just about to ask you out.

“It’s nothing absurd, we’re both alone– Look, you can’t dwell on it forever. Look around us. Everyone is with someone else, you don’t want to be the odd one out.” He continues, and you’re seething. It takes everything in you to not throw the hot beverage in his face. “If you want to stay alone, that’s fine. But I’m giving you an opportunity.”

“I’d rather be alone for the rest of my life than to be with you.” You respond, rising from your seat. You end up walking away, and Satoru won’t do anything but watch. He has nothing in his head that’ll convince you, other than,

“Fine, be alone then.”

On your way back home, you start to notice something that you’ve never noticed before. Just how many people were with someone else– Whether it’d be a family member, a friend or a lover. Although most people were alone, for some reason, in your eyes it seemed that the pairs and groups outnumbered the lone people. You don’t want to admit that Satoru’s words got to you, but they did.

You accepted that you’d be alone the day your husband died. You never really cared about it, until now. He brought it up, and now you’re not convinced that you want to be alone. Everyone wants to grow old with someone else, or at the very least have someone else they can rely on. You have no one. 

For some odd reason, the thought fills your eyes with tears, and you try your best to hold them back. You manage to contain your tears until you’re at your door. You grab your key to unlock the door, and just as you get the key in, you feel a small pair of arms hug your leg. You’re startled, your heartbeat speeding up. You look down to find little Megumi, and that’s when the first tear sheds.

“Oh, hi, baby. How are you?” You ask him, crouching down on the floor to hug him. You kiss his forehead, and smile at him, wiping away your tears but they keep streaming down your face.

“Are you okay?” Megumi asks and you nod in response. You end up standing up, looking right at Toji, and for some reason, that makes your crying worse.

“Megumi, wait inside.” Toji orders, and Megumi walks back to his father. Toji opens the door for Megumi, and the boy waves at you before walking into the apartment. When Megumi is inside, he shuts the door. You unlock the door to your own apartment, not really wanting to stand outside in the cold for any long, and especially not with him as you cry. You’re not on good terms, so you don’t expect him to ask, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah… Why wouldn’t I be?” You continue to wipe away your tears, and you try to act as if you’re fine. As if you aren’t crying right in front of him. You think that he’ll let go of the matter, but it seems as if someone else has taken over your neighbor’s body.

“Well… You are crying.” He points out the obvious, and yet you still smile. You then look at him and say,

“I’m fine.” Although it’s not convincing. Toji purses his lips together before sighing.

“I know we’re not really talking but you can still talk to me. Even if we’re mad at each other.” Toji says, and you chew on your cheek. You decide if confiding in him is your best option– But then again, you don’t really have many options of people to talk to, unless you dump your feelings on a baby you take care of… They can’t give you advice but it’s alright, you just need to vent. It’ll be nice to have an adult listen to you.

“I guess–” You begin, and he takes that as a yes. He interrupts you before you finish your sentence.

“Let’s go inside, it’s too cold to talk out here.”

“Okay…” You enter the apartment, and he follows behind you. He shuts the door, and you end up walking to the bed and taking a seat. Toji’s hands go to his pockets, and he awkwardly stands around before he asks,

“What’s wrong?” Toji asks, unsure of how to start it off.

“I think I’m almost on my period. It’s nothing serious.” You end up saying, and thankfully your crying has stopped. Toji walks closer toward you until he’s right in front of you. You look up at him. 

“You let me in, we have to talk.” He says as if you’re forced to do it. “I’m a good guy to talk to.”

“I met up with Gojo and he– Well, he just made me realize how lonely I am. I’m not sure… I just– Maybe I don’t want to be alone like I thought. Almost everyone has someone else, but I don’t.” You confide, and it sounds so absurd. “It’s so dumb but it just got to me. I used to have someone but I no longer do, and I doubt I’ll find someone else.”

Toji takes a seat next to you. “You have Megumi. He absolutely adores you.”

Great, you have a three year old. Better than no one, you guess.

“You also have me.” Toji adds, and you bite your tongue. You’re not sure how to respond to that. Maybe you should point out how you haven’t talked in over a week because you’ve been mad at each other.

“Thank you, Toji.” You end up saying. Your hands go to your thighs and your eyes wander around the place. You clear your throat before asking a question that bugs your mind, “How do you move on?”

“Huh?” He questions. He furrows his eyebrows and looks at you, completely confused. “What do you mean by that?”

“You’re the only one I know that’s been through a similar situation.” You comment and he nods in response.

“I get that, but I haven’t really moved on.” He answers.

“Yeah… I get that. I mean, how did you start dating again?” You clarify, and he ends up chuckling.

“I really haven’t started dating, I have another job. I swear.” He responds, and you wish you could just sit and nod in response. Your nails dig into your palms and you take a deep breath. You don’t want to admit that you were snooping, but you can’t hide the information you know forever. It’ll haunt you– At least for a week and that sometimes feels like forever.

“I know about Momoko.” You confess, and his eyes widen as his eyebrows raise. He crosses his arms and he sucks in his bottom lip. “I– While looking for Megumi’s pajamas I found her card, and while I was coat shopping, I sorta bumped into her and I overheard… She was talking about how you’re the best boyfriend and whatnot.”

“Momoko.” He chuckles, scratching the back of his head. “She’s not my girlfriend. I know her because of my job but we’re not together.”

With that confession– What you think is the truth, you rest your head on his shoulder. He fights back a smile as he looks at you.

“I don’t have eyes for anyone anyway.” He ends up confessing. He ends up clearing his throat and then muttering, something that you almost miss but you’re thankful you catch, “Maybe for one person.”

“What was that?” You ask, and he furrows his eyebrows.

“What was what?”

[mookymilksims]

I was struggling with how to respond to blackswan, and you said it all so perfectly! Thank you so much.

I want say this in general because the drama is done and we aren't ever going to get a response here.

Firstly, thank you for saying that, while I never look to represent anyone, it is a relief to know that I wasn't the only one thinking it.

I've wonder why simsecret is such an environment recently, and then I realized that the simblr community space is a PR warzone.

People, in general, are afraid to speak up, afraid to speak their minds, for fear of losing notes, being canceled, receiving anon hate.

There's a bizarre and unspoken rule here that you need to do everything publicly in a very calculated manner and it incentivizes people to not be themselves and think about how other's will perceive them more. Then you consider that a good chunk of people in this community are not very good people, so who's rules are we even playing by?

I've been hearing from a lot of new and old simmers who state that this space is very depressing for them because they felt lonely and anxiety when attempting to interact with each other. Anxiety when posting their gameplay. Anxiety when asking questions to other simblrs. Anxiety when reacting to other people's post.

Tumblr was made to connect with people. So why is simblr causing so much anxiety and pushing people who want to connect and interact and speak up; into silence?

Then spaces like Simsecret start to make a little more sense. It seems to be a rebellion to the atmosphere here in simblr. Same can be said for the anon feature here on tumblr.

When people are having an easier time connecting on FB, Reddit, and Discord than tumblr, despite being mutuals here it's safe to say there is a root problem in this space.

I think this whole situation reveals a bigger problem with simblr in general, that just hasn't really been addressed.

I want to offer some solutions here that are pretty simple so I hope no one takes this as being condescending:

If you really like someone's blog, don't even look at their notes. Heart it. Send them a direct ask off of anon and talk about what you love about their content.

Reblog their content, again, don't look at the notes, if you like it and it makes you happy, and you want it on your page, reblog it.

DM simblrs, I mean is this a stretch? Just reach out and say hello. If you want to befriend them, be the first to extend that olive branch. The worst they can say is no or not respond, that's not that bad.

Real life topics such as queer-phobia, racism, sexism, etc will always rear it's head into any space with humans in it. You bring your biases with you. If you see someone express very harmful views, speak up. This doesn't mean or have to mean you or that person is getting canceled. These could easily be teachable moments, and even healthy dialogue. Unless you literally studied and work in sociopolitical fields and are an active activist, the vibe should be to not expect anyone to know everything. These ideals are so deeply engrained into us from a young age, it wouldn't be fair to expect each and every person to know exactly how these complex super structural systems work.

Tell jokes sometimes, I'd love to know what sense of humor you guys have, we get memes like once in a blue moon. Let's try to not make this space so serious, it has everyone on edge.

There is so much beautiful art work and content in general right here on tumblr but I've heard simblrs express anxiety with reblogging that because they don't want to lose followers by posting non sims content. I literally love the rest of tumblr for the very reason that I can translate that work back into my game. And I just thought someone's photography or drawing or story was so good I wanted to see it on my blog.

I mean bouncing off the previous one, why don't we interact with the rest of tumblr? That would be dope.

And this shouldn't even be regulated to the rest of tumblr, I'd love to engage with more ts1, ts2, and ts4 simmers as well.

I mean I think I've made my point, because I can keep going with this. I don't think this is going to fix sim secret or the need for simmers like blackswan to dirty delete. I'm actually very disappointed in that whole situation because she could've received a lot of support but she dug herself into a deeper hole after her actions. I'm sad for her and sad that this situation was flipped into drama and not that black simmers in general are tired of the micro aggressions. Which is a way more serious message. But people are afraid to speak up. So I guess everyone active in this community will keep going around and around in this cycle. I certainly intend to KEEP applying the solutions I've outlined above, anyone feel free to join me.

[ayyy-pee]

Strangers in Love

Chapter 1

Discord 18+ - Twitter - Kofi

Pairing: Nanami Kento x Female Reader

Summary: It's been five years since you've seen Kento, the divorce leaving you to pick up the pieces of your life alone. When a chance encounter brings you both together again, will you be able to find it in you to trust and forgive him?

Genre: Divorce AU

Warnings: Smut, Vaginal Sex, Jealousy, Jealous Behavior, Divorce, Unprotected Sex, Creampie, Arguments, Ex-Husband Nanami Kento

“ Ngh , fuck you taste so good.” Gojo moaned before you. You watched as his tongue darted out to lick thick white cream from his lips, leaving a wet sheen behind. “God, I swear I could eat you forever.” He continued, hands coming up to caress gently.

He sighed lovingly as he dipped his tongue through the creaminess again and again. You couldn’t pull your eyes away. It was so…gross.

“Satoru.” You called out to him from across the table.

You were both seated in the new cafe you had been dying to try. You were so excited for this place to open, but you didn't want to go alone for reasons you weren’t comfortable acknowledging yet. Satoru finally had a morning free, so you invited him to check it out with you before you headed to work. 

However, it totally slipped your mind how much of a slut your friend was for sweets. Not much had changed since high school. He was still the same sweet toothed, messy eater he had always been and while you admired his consistency, you’d be lying if you said the absolutely lewd moans and smacking noises he let out while licking the cream out of the folds of a swiss roll weren’t embarrassing.

“What?” He asked, blue eyes beaming as the early morning sun cast its glow on him. In this light at this table next to this very large window, he almost looked like an angel. His shockingly white hair fell into his eyes and you reached forward to push his bangs back for him before they got doused in whipped cream.

“You’re so disgusting when you eat. Can’t you use a napkin at least once?”

“Baby-“

“Don’t call me that.” You interrupted, knowing Satoru ignored your request the moment it left your lips and would be calling you baby again in about three minutes.

“Why don’t you worry about your nasty black coffee and your sort of sweet honey almond bread and I’ll worry about enjoying this delicious swiss roll and my morning cookie milkshake with extra whipped cream on top.” He grinned, pretending to shiver in disgust at your breakfast and you tried to ignore the pieces of oreo stuck in his otherwise incredibly white teeth. It was a mystery his teeth weren’t filled with holes. As long as you’d known Satoru, you only knew him to eat desserts for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You often wondered where it all went to.

You looked down at your cup of black coffee. You didn’t actually know why you ordered this. You were more of a latte type of person, but the smell of the coffee beans roasting and the sweet scent of vanilla and honey wafting through the air made you feel as though you needed to balance the sweet with something a bit more bitter. You weren’t Satoru after all. An entire plate of sweets and a milkshake before 8am was sure to send you straight to the emergency room.

As you zoned out watching Satoru tongue fuck his pastry, you heard the telltale ding of the cafe door - a sign that another customer had entered. You paid it no mind, instead reaching forward to once again push Satoru’s bangs back. He smiled goofily as he leaned back in his chair and began drinking his thick milkshake like it was water. 

From your peripheral, a head of blonde hair caught your eye. You cast a quick glance over and immediately regretted it. Your entire body stiffened, back straight as a rod in your seat. You knew that head of blonde hair. At one point in time, you knew that head of hair better than anyone else’s. And you knew that face. That face with its unmistakable jawline your lips used to ghost over, those unnaturally sharp cheekbones your hands used to caress. That face that belonged to so many memories - both joyous and painful - that you kept tucked away in the deepest crevices of your mind. It was your ex-husband. It was Kento Nanami. 

You reached forward, trying to still your shaking hands and grabbed your cup of coffee, downing it all while ignoring the burn in your chest from the heat. You needed to leave. Now.

Your eyes darted around rapidly for a sign of any exit aside from the main one. You wanted to avoid him if at all possible. You hadn’t seen him in five years and you were hoping to keep it that way. You thought he left the city and yet, here he was leaned over in front of the display case, eyes roaming over the options. He hadn’t noticed you yet, and you felt your shoulders sag slightly in relief while your mind betrayed you, wondering if he still ordered the same nasty tart parfait topped with strawberries. He always loved having that before work every morning.

Stop.

You squeezed your eyes shut, reminding yourself that this man who you used to find your limbs tangled around almost every night was now virtually a stranger to you. You didn’t know him anymore. You made that choice.

—————-

5 Years Ago

You checked the clock hanging above the kitchen sink again before letting out a frustrated sigh. 10pm. Your eyes cast down, taking in the sight of your empty plate and your husband's cold, stale food across the table from you. He missed dinner again by more than a few hours. No call. No text. He just didn’t come home for dinner. You’d lost count of what number dinner this is.

Quietly, you gathered your plates and discarded any leftovers into the garbage disposal, washing the dishes for the night. It wasn’t like he was going to touch any leftovers. Knowing him, he would come home, say maybe four words to you before showering and going to bed.

When did it get like this?

You and Nanami were good friends in high school - bonding over being two loner kids in their awkward emo phases. After graduation Nanami moved away, opting to go to a university outside of Tokyo. You stayed behind. You kept in touch, both growing out of your emo style and attitudes and becoming adults. The distance truly made your hearts grow fonder. You found yourselves talking all day, every day. If you weren’t talking on the phone, you were texting, sending each other selfies and videos until one day, Nanami moved back.

He wasted no time showering you with affection, letting it be known he felt more than friendship for you. And you couldn’t deny you felt the same. Casual dates turned into more romantic affairs. Eventually you moved in together and soon after were engaged. 

Your marriage to Nanami was great at first, the honeymoon phase lasting longer than you suspected was normal for most couples. You were both so deeply in love with each other you couldn’t see straight. And then Nanami got a new job as a salaryman and that’s when things began to go downhill.

One particular night, you found yourselves entwined in bed after hours of love making. Tracing circles on your bare back, Nanami sighed.

“I hate my job.” He confessed so quietly you almost didn’t hear.

“Then leave, Kento.” You replied. The last thing you wanted was for him to suffer somewhere he wasn’t happy.

“I can’t just up and leave y/n. That would be foolish. I need the experience to be able to find anything better.”

He always looked at the bigger picture whereas you were impulsive, more likely to throw caution to the wind and never look back. Nanami grounded you while you encouraged him to let loose. A perfect balance.

“But Ken, if you’re unhappy, you can leave. We’ll figure it out. I want you to be somewhere doing something you enjoy.”

“You know what I would prefer?” He asked, kissing your forehead sweetly before running his fingers through your hair. You shivered at the touch, sighing happily.

“What’s that?”

“To be on a beach in Malaysia with you. I want to have enough money saved up that we can retire early and live our lives carefree on the water. Could you imagine?”

You lifted your head from his chest to meet his gaze, your heart fluttering when you saw the sparkle you had missed for some time dancing in his eyes.

“You want to be a beach bum?” You snorted. He responded with a soft pinch to your side, making you yelp.

“Of course not. I would like for you to lounge on the sand while I enjoy a good book next to you. We won’t have to worry about money or loading our train passes or about waking up early in the morning to squeeze in cafe time before going to work.”

At this, you stuck your bottom lip out, pouting. “What? I love our morning cafe time before work. You don’t?”

Nanami chuckled, a sound reserved only for you within these walls of your shared home.

“Of course I do, my love.” He leaned forward, kissing your bottom lip tenderly. “I just have other dreams for us. I see a different life for us - outside of the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. I’m going to get us out of here.”

Your mind raced with possibilities at Kento’s words. The world was vast and there were plenty of places to go, but Malaysia definitely sounded like a dream come true.

“Ok, baby. Malaysia it is.”

That was years ago. You were pulled from your trip down memory lane at the sound of the door opening. You glanced back up at the kitchen clock. 11:33pm. You heard Nanami’s agitated sigh before you saw him, fingers laced through the knot of his tie as he pulled it loose. He entered the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water and sipping it. He startled when he saw you at the kitchen table, most likely expecting you would be asleep.

“Welcome home.” You muttered.

He hummed in acknowledgment, taking the seat across from you. In the dark light of the kitchen, you could see how tired Nanami was. The years had not been kind to him. His eyes housed dark circles beneath them, his lips downturned in what seemed to be a permanent frown these days, the light you so longed to see again long gone.

Most days were like this - you waiting for Nanami to come home from work until it became so late you fell asleep. He never thought to call or text, though you had asked him plenty of times before to do so. Not to keep tabs on him, but to let you know he was safe. And to be considerate of you. He never got around to doing it and most of your texts to him went unanswered. On some nights in the quiet of your bedroom, when the loneliness assaulted you, you wondered if he was having an affair, if there was another woman in the picture. You were embarrassed to think that you became so insecure in your marriage that you found yourself looking through his things one day. You found nothing to confirm your suspicions and so you let it go.

Dinners were spent mostly alone save for the times you went out with a friend to grab something, your heart not able to handle another night of cooking for two and eating by yourself in silence. Long gone were your morning cafe dates, Nanami opting to get up even earlier than you had before to get to work. His reasoning started out as “This is for Malaysia” and soon became “I have deadlines to meet. Surely you’re capable of getting a muffin on your own.” followed by the soft click of the front door locking.

No goodbye kisses, no shared meals. You couldn’t remember the last time you had touched each other outside of awkward bumps trying to maneuver around one another.

“Y/n.” Nanami’s voice pulled you from your thoughts. You shook your head, trying to bring yourself back to the present.

“Yes?”

“I said I’m going to go shower and go to bed. I’m quite tired and I need to be in the office early tomorrow. Goodnight.”

And with that, he stood and left to the bedroom without so much as a glance back. You felt numb, your hands balling into fists in your lap. The built up frustration and loneliness you had been feeling the last few years were bubbling up and boiling over. You needed to say something to your husband. It could not stay this way forever.

With newfound determination, you entered the bedroom to find Nanami already under the blankets in bed, his back facing away from your side of the bed. You climbed in next to him, wrapping your arms around him. He sighed and you braced yourself for the rejection your advances were so often met with.

“Y/n, I’m exhausted.”

You ignored him, pressing soft kisses to the tender spot between his shoulder blades that only you knew about. You were met with a quiet groan from the blonde man before you. He shifted slightly, still trying to resist.

“Make love to me, Kento.” You placed another kiss to that same spot, running your tongue lightly over it. “Please.”

Nanami groaned again, louder this time and turned over to face you. “It has to be quick.” He murmured. “I’m very tired.”

While you felt heat pool in your core at him accepting your advances fairly easily, your heart couldn’t help but hurt a little bit at how he seemed to only be doing this to appease you, not because he truly desired you.

You felt Nanami’s weight press against you as he climbed over your form. His lips came down to find your pulse point on your neck, making you gasp out into the darkness of your bedroom. The sound caused Nanami to react, a moan escaping his lips as he continued kissing and sucking on your spot.

His hands roamed your body slowly, fingers deftly finding your hardened nipple and tweaking it. You moaned softly at the sensation, your body already going into overdrive after having not been touched in so long. Nanami’s body reacted as well, his hips coming down between your spread legs and pressing his clothed length against your throbbing core.

You loved Nanami. You longed to feel close to him, to feel your bodies tangled in the sheets the way they often were when you first began dating, when you were first married. However, in this moment, you were so nervous . Why were you so nervous? 

Nanami pressed himself against you again, groaning as he brushed his lips across your jaw. Your heart was beating so hard, so fast you thought you were beginning to feel lightheaded. His fingers slid down from your nipples to the hem of your nightgown, pulling it up for better access to your wet folds. Your breath was coming out rapidly, the blood rushing so quickly through your body you could hear it in your ears.

Your mind raced with memories of the last few years. Your wedding, conversations had in this very bed, the many nights of empty plates sitting next to full untouched ones, the intense sadness you felt overwhelming you everyday. You thought initiating sex with your husband would bring you closer, would make you feel the tiniest bit of desire from him. But it all felt wrong.

As Nanami’s lips hovered over yours, your breaths mingling with each other, you felt your throat close up. Your eyes were warm with the onset of tears and as he moved closer to press his lips to yours you choked out a quiet “stop” before he could reach you.

Nanami froze above you. You couldn’t see his face in the dark and you were thankful for that because you knew there was no turning back from what you were about to do. You would no longer be able to touch him or call him if you felt the urge. You would not be in this position again after this. This was going to change everything.

“What’s wrong?” He sighed out irritably and you knew it was because he was tired that he was being grumpy with you. Regardless, it gave you the resolve you needed to say it.

“I-I want a divorce.”

———————

Present Day

“Y/n…” A distant voice called out to you. You didn’t respond. “Earth to Y/n. Hello?” A pale hand came up to cup your cheek. Your eyes snapped down to the hand then to the face of whom it belonged to.

“Satoru.” You gasped. He swiped his thumb across your cheek and it was only then you realized your face was wet. You had been crying.

“You okay baby?”

Your brows furrowed. “I told you don’t call me-“

“Y/n.”

Another voice spoke from behind Satoru. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up. You looked up, coming face to face with who you wanted so badly to escape from. Nanami stood behind Satoru, a paper bag in one hand and a coffee in the other. You saw him glance down at Satoru’s hand still on your cheek and you slapped it away.

Satoru spun around in his seat and looked up, smiling brilliantly as he caught on to the current situation quickly. “Oh! What’s up, Nanamin? Haven’t seen you in awhile. Thought you kicked rocks to Michigan or whatever.”

Nanami cleared his throat, shifting awkwardly on his feet. “I did leave the city for a bit, but I’m back now.” His eyes were glued to you and you forced yourself to look away, staring into your empty coffee mug.

Satoru hummed. “Well, Y/n was just heading out anyway. She needs to get to work. Right, baby ?”

You bit back a retort at the pet name, simply thankful to Satoru for giving you an out. 

“Right! I should get going or I’m going to be late. Wouldn’t want that.” You stood, gathering your purse and dumping your untouched bread onto Satoru’s plate. You were met with a scowl from him.

“Great running into you, Nanami. Um, welcome back.” You murmured. “Maybe we can catch up later.” And you fought back a wince at the fake offer that now hung in the air between you both, praying instead that the earth would open up and swallow you.

You moved around Nanami who was standing as still as a statue and made your way to the exit, waving back at the kind employees who yelled for you to visit again. You rounded the corner quickly, ignoring the ding from the cafe entrance behind you and the quick footsteps approaching.

“Y/n!”

Your body tensed again as you came to a stop on the sidewalk. You turned, coming face to face with your ex-husband again. He was breathing quickly, his coffee dripping down the sides of his cup as though he had truly hurried after you.

“Next week?” He questioned. You gave him a look of confusion.

“What?”

“Next week. You said maybe we could catch up later. What about some time next week?”

Your heart was in your throat now. Why? Why would he want to meet up? You had nothing to talk about. Unless he wanted to tell you about how amazing his life is now and how he has a new wife he loves and kids and - 

“So, are you ok with scheduling some time for then?”

You shook your head. “Oh. Um, sure.”

He smiled that tiny smile he used to do when he felt shy and your body reacted against your will, heart pounding harshly in your chest. He almost looked like the Nanami you knew from high school, sans the side bang. “Ok. Is your cell number still the same? I can text you and we can iron out the details.”

You nodded. “It’s the same. Yep, just text me. I have to go.” You didn’t wait for a response before turning on your heel and hurrying to the train station. You felt like you couldn’t breathe. You needed to get out of the same air space as Nanami.

You took a seat on the train, doors shutting shortly after. A vibration from your pocket alerted you to a notification. You pulled your phone out, seeing a message from an unknown number.

Unknown: It’s Kento. It was very good to see you again if only for a short while. I look forward to speaking with you later on regarding catching up. Have a good day at work.

Sliding your phone back in your pocket, you let out a long sigh, thinking long and hard about what possible plans you would be making with your ex-husband.

[swindle-comic]

As Swindle comes off of hiatus, I (Artsy) would just like to say a few things.

I firstly just want to say a big personal thank you to everyone who’s been so patient during this hiatus. I’ve been dealing with a lot over the months that this comic hasn’t been updating and I’m still just keeping my head above water as it is. To those who are so empathetic, so kind, so understanding, thank you. You guys are a big reason why I continue working on this comic, and I am really excited for you to see where the story goes.

Lord knows that I’ve dedicated more than enough time complaining about the small but vocal group of people who have been rude - sometimes excessively so - to both Lolly and I as we work on this comic, and I’d like to not spend a terribly long time dwelling on it, here. I probably won’t mention if for a long while after this post. At the same time, it’s worth noting that we’ve done a lot to try to discourage and manage this behavior with... mixed results. We’ve blocked people for repeated rude behavior, we’ve banned people from our Discord server for rude behavior, we’ve closed our askbox during the hiatus, we’ve introduced an FAQ - and people have evaded being blocked by making throwaway accounts, and we’ve had an incident of an individual making a new Discord account to evade a ban, and people don’t read our FAQ. It’s all really frustrating.

I think, for now, at least, we’re going to only open our askbox to non-anons - though this won’t do too much to prevent throwaways, it’ll at least convolute the means through which people can harass us. So apologies to the shy but kind individuals who had been using anon peacefully, maybe sometime we’ll open it back up again.

Additionally, I’ll like to just once again ask for anyone who hasn’t to check out FAQ, please. It’s in our pinned post for a reason.

Somewhat related to that - mostly that it’s something that’s been covered in the FAQ, is that I’ve noticed an increasing number of people who have been saying they discovered the comic via re-uploads on tiktok and pintrest.

And. Wow. That hurts. It hurts to know, to think about. I know it’s inevitable, trust me, I know this is just the inevitable result of posting anything on the internet, but god, it sucks.

I don’t know how many of you following this blog are artists, but it’s a big long topic that I don’t really have the space or patience to lay out for all of you in this post - this is art theft. We do not allow, we say it right in our FAQ point-blank, we do not allow people to reupload the comic elsewhere. Dubs are fine, again, we’ve covered this, they’re transformative, they offer an experience unique to just reading the comic. But un-voiced reuploads that do nothing but present the comic in a slideshow? That’s stealing. It’s hurtful, and it’s wrong. Both Lolly and I have dealt many times with our work being stolen and we’ve made our stances on reuploads of our work pretty clear on our own blogs.

Please, if you see someone doing this, report them. The only “official” accounts for the comic are this blog and our promotional Instagram page, swindle.comic. If an account is uploading the comic, un-dubbed, they do no have permission to do so, and they need to be reported.

I really don’t expect this to be the last time I have to say something like this or about this, because I know that this comic is going to take a long time to complete and so we’ll always have newcomers who can’t reasonably be asked to sift through the entire blog for posts like these. But for now, I hope it helps keep the interaction with this comic more respectful. I don’t think the people who do this stuff even realize that their behavior literally makes this comic more draining to work on than it should be (which leads to more burnout and hiatuses) - or I wouldn’t be making posts like this at all, because if they did know, they therefore wouldn’t care, and telling them would be pointless. So I hope this serves as a decent reminder that we’re human beings, and we and our work deserves to be respected.