stromcounsel

[yearning-gay]

i don't know like anything about shibari or rope stuff but i think it could be cool to just. tie someone up, like really methodically and carefully with my full focus on getting the knots right and making sure the rope is positioned correctly and isn't blocking blood circulation while whoever im tying up is dripping and hot and flustered and whatever they wanna do, idk im more focused on the rope than them tbh

[touchlikethesun]

honestly the greatest epiphany i've ever had is that people are people everywhere you go. it seems really banal to say it like that, and i know many will just shrug it off as obvious, but i do think that if more held that thought in the forefront of their mind, then there would be a lot less suffering in the world. terry pratchett has a great quote about this, and it bears repeating, if ever you find yourself thinking of people as not being people like you, you are wrong. you are wrong you are wrong. people are people, no if ands or buts.

[wild-at-mind]

I just read an article (/book extract) where the byline made it sound like it would explain how to find out about sex parties in your area if you're New. 'People always ask me this first' yadda yadda. So I clicked in, all intrigued, but the answer was literally 'It's easy, just...go to one! ^^' (Great thnx.)

[aibafiles]

Esperanto in Metaphor: ReFantazio

Not long ago I saw this this tweet pointing out that the in-game language in Metaphor is Esperanto (written in another script) and I decided to investigate for myself! The vocal tracks are in Esperanto as well, but I want to focus on the text here since I don't have a great ear for it. (The quoted tweet also points out that you can rearrange the title to get an Esperanto phrase - I think it would be more accurately spelled "Metafore Fantazio," or "metaphorically fantasy"!)

For the unfamiliar, Esperanto is the world's most widely spoken constructed language, developed in the late 19th century with the aim of being an easy to learn secondary language that could act as a bridge between speakers of other languages. While its vocabulary and grammar are largely derived from various European language families, it has speakers worldwide, including a sizeable number in Japan. Given the relationship between Metaphor's world and our own, I think it's a cool choice to take a constructed secondary language and make it the in-universe primary language—not to mention the game's themes of uniting different people with a language intended to do just that.

I studied Esperanto myself for some time 9 years ago, though I've forgotten most of it, so I'm very rusty. That said, I was able to sit down and parse one particular block of text that the game provides a translation for, and use that to read the rest! I'm slowly combing through the demo and translating any legible text, and I wanted to share some of the interesting details I found. If any Esperantists see this and want to weigh in, please do! There's plenty I may not remember or be aware of.

Continued under the cut, including content from the demo:

Let's start with the text the game translates for us! Here's what the VO/subtitles say:

O Great Seeker, bearer of fantasy empowered... Hear my wish, and come forth from thy epoch of glory to grant me thy guidance.

Here's the "deciphered" Esperanto:

Ho, granda serĉanto, kiu vivas en epoko de gloro, kiu enkarnigas la povon de fantazio. Bonvolu disdoni al li vian gvidadon.

And here's a more "direct" translation:

O Great Seeker, who lives in an epoch of glory, who embodies the power of fantasy. Please grant him thy guidance.

Not too much different of note here other than the pronoun usage—in Esperanto, the speaker explicitly uses "he," likely referring to the protagonist. I suspect that the English is actually translated from the Japanese line, which is ambiguous, so they made an educated guess here. But, since this is the same speaker who narrates awakening cutscenes and new bonds, it makes sense that they're calling to the Seeker on his behalf!

This is a point I'm unsure about, but from my understanding, "granda" (here translated as "great") typically refers to size, so it seems like an odd word choice to me—but it's possible there are connotations I'm not aware of.

After some poking around I stumbled across some text on the background of the name entry screen that reads "signaro" (character set), followed by the whole Latin alphabet on the next line.

"But Batts!" you may say. "Esperanto doesn't use QWXY! What about the diacritics!"

Well. There aren't any! There are 6 characters with diacritic marks used in Esperanto (ĉ, ĝ, ĥ, ĵ, ŝ, and ŭ), and since our character set doesn't use any of them, we have to make some educated guesses about which one it is at any given time. This is mostly a non-issue since they're real, existing words, but it does make it a bit trickier at points, and relates to another problem I'll get to in a bit. (There are a select few instances where I've seen diacritic marks on handwritten text or shop names, but there are still far fewer than there should be.)

That said, there is also some plain English text using this script as well, so the game does make use of those extra letters, such as the Memorandum UI - scrolling books have titles like "Marine," "Royal Capital," "100 Mystery of Ningen (humans)," and "Melancholia Gen" (?), plus cute notes in the background like "I want to read slowly" and "already read very good."

Anyway, this diacritic ambiguity bugged me for a bit when I started translating some text with "Euchronia" in it, like the above "Regno de Eŭcronio - Dezerto de Tradia." The Esperanto "C" and "Ĉ" are always pronounced "ts" and "ch" respectively, so the pronunciation here is a bit awkward either way, as both characters are meant to precede a vowel. A more natural pronunciation in line with both the Japanese and English would be "Eŭkronio," a spelling I found once in the body of the contract our protagonist signs to join the army, and never again. Alas.

I noticed a few interesting details while translating place names - the "Trad" in "Grand Trad" (Granda Tradicio) means "tradition" - and many locations are labeled on the map that I don't think are mentioned in the demo's runtime - Oceana to the west is named, but also of note are Kalendulo ("marigold," maybe "Calendula" in English) to the east, the Hulkenmont mountains surrounding that region, and the "Malnova Insularo" (old archipelago) to the south.

(Screenshot grabbed from justonegamr on Youtube.)

Lots of fun stuff going on with these posters - the big propaganda poster says "Mi volas vin por homoj" - "I want you for humans!" The poster immediately to its right and the one with the light-haired paripus are both wanted posters with rewards of 50,000 and 7,000 respectively, and the former has a somewhat legible name - Mikelan something (?). There's also quite a bit of illegible text that I'll need to boot up the game to stare at, textures willing.

Here is where I noticed an occasional problem with the text in this game: some of these posters include words that should have diacritic marks, but instead the characters are gone entirely or replaced with a space. For instance, the poster with the face that appears twice on the bottom row reads "Ser a peto - i tiu viro" where it should say "Serĉa peto - ĉi tiu viro" (Search request - this man). I spent so long wondering what "Dan ero" meant on the poster with the red "no" sign before I realized it was meant to be "Danĝero" (Danger).

This extends to some other parts of the game, such as the world map title ("Unuiĝinta Reĝlando de Eŭcronio" written as "unui inta re lando de e cronio," which is how I knew it was a plain C oops), and the giant statue in More's study covered in archetype names, some of which are missing characters.

I suspect that at some point in the process, these characters couldn't be properly encoded and got lost before making it into the game. Most of the UI text seems to be intact, and this only affects graphic text as far as I've seen. Luckily, we can usually use context to guess at what they should be.

There's a ton more that I'm still hunting down and translating, so if you'd like to see it, you can check out my spreadsheet here! I'm hoping to keep updating it as I play through the full game, and I may make some more posts if I encounter any particularly interesting details. A few more tidbits before I go:

This appears to be an annual calendar - number 1 is at the top and it circles around to 12, and then the inner circle runs from 1-30, likely representing the weeks.

Various graffiti found around Sunshade Row that reads:

Ĉi tio estis infero (this was hell)

Malbela elda (nasty/ugly elda)

Merdo (shit)

And in the words of our favorite tooth...

Elbe venontfoje! (Maybe next time!)

[ittsybittsybunny]

ATLA Live Action Series Review:

The Good

Aesthetically this show felt right. Sure sometimes the outfits didn't quite feel lived in, but I always felt like I was watching a fantasy world with decent effects and interesting design. Also, I really enjoyed the sets!

Bending: Yes some of the fights feel very quick, but the bending looks cool. It is certainly better than 10 benders lifting one big rock. I can honestly say the opening bending fight scene gave me so much hope for this show.

Kyoshi Warriors: I loved seeing them in live action, and I thought Suki's performance was great!

Omashu: I think the mashup of the mechanist made sense since that is an important character overall and I would hate to see him cut. However, both Jet & the secret tunnels felt sloppily thrown in.

Northern Water Tribe: I really loved the way it looked, and appreciated the two episodes we spent here. I think Yue gained more agency in this interpretation, and why shouldn't the moon spirit be a waterbender. Also, episode seven felt the most in tune with the original show's spirit.

Zuko: I think he was one of the most fleshed-out and best parts of the show! Dallas Liu really captured Zuko's spirit, and the scene between him and Aang in episode 6 was wonderful!

Soundtrack: Hearing the original soundtrack bits is always great, and when I first heard the ending music I was so excited.

Is the show perfect, no - but I wouldn't mind a season 2.

The Bad

Pacing: Turning 20 episodes into 8 was bound to lead to some cuts...but oftentimes times things felt too quick or disjointed. I think there were editing problems contributing to this for sure, but sometimes things skipped around too much without a clear purpose as to why. Also, why bring in plots from later seasons when you barely have enough time already?

Writing: This show definitely suffered from exposition dumping, though it did get better as time went on. I think the biggest example of this is actually opening in the past rather than the present. We do not get to learn along with Aang that the world has changed, instead, we get to learn that 100 years have passed....which doesn't hold the same tension or worldbuilding.

Clunky Dialogue: Along with exposition, clunky dialogue is another example of bad writing. I think sometimes I felt like the acting was kind of meh in the beginning, but then over time I began to realize it had far more to do with the lines characters were trying to deliver. The actors themselves are not bad, just cursed with awkward writing and lines that feel out of touch with the setting they're in.

Main Trio: I don't entirely know that I believe Katara, Sokka, and Aang are friends as opposed to 3 people stuck together to save the world. Aang feels a little too somber for a young kid running away from his responsibilities, Sokka is protective, but not exactly the heart of the team, and Katara is sort of just there until the last two episodes. Where is her struggle, her desire to learn so strong she steals from pirates? Also, while Gordon Cormier did a great job, Aang does zero waterbending on his own, is overly serious, and tells Katara not to fight. Where is his desperation to protect his friends? It feels like they all lost emotional depth.

Tension: Bringing Ozai, Azula, and Zhao out in the beginning immediately causes us to lose the realization there is an even bigger bad. Part of why Ozai is so terrifying is he is a primarily silent villain until the third season when we finally see the face of the "big bad evil guy" behind it all. Yes, they add to Zuko's backstory, but again, they are revealing the villains too early. Azula is the antagonist of season 2 and one of my favorite characters, so I hope they do more with her in the future. Finally, Zhao is supposed to be an example of the uncontrollable nature of fire unrestrained, instead, he comes off as vaguely threatening with the supposed true power being Azula.

Characterization: While all characters are bound to lose something in a shorter show, it still felt like certain characters were more mutilated than others. I am sure there are 100 different opinions on who, but I think the biggest victim was Katara.

Katara: Katara manages to go from a complete novice to a bending master in what feels like a matter of days. The journey feels short, and that makes the results feel largely unearned. Katara is one of the strongest personalities in the show, determined, kind, and fiery. In many ways, she is the unpredictability of water - equally dangerous as it is necessary to live. She is the child of a war who lost her mother, forced to grow up too soon, and even raised her older brother. Yes, Katara often gets stereotyped as the mom friend, but overall she feels underutilized in this show. We really don't see enough of her journey until the very end.

Iroh: Iroh was always comedic but most importantly wise. Even when Zuko is trying to give himself advice, he mimics Iroh. Instead, he seems to be used more as comedic relief without the underlying experience. He just doesn't feel right. Also, he kills Zhao instead of Zhao getting himself killed - which is less about Iroh and more about the writing than anything.

Ozai is weirdly a little too nice. Yes, he burned Zuko and pits his kids against each other, but he feels toned down in a show claiming to be more mature than the original cartoon.

Azula is perhaps more realistically worried about losing her status as the golden child, but she is also missing the cruelty she and her father share. I understand worrying about making your character cartoonishly evil, but the Fire Nation is currently a deeply nationalistic empire trying to control the world. Where is the deep-seated belief that they are better than other people, not just trying to bring balance to the world? There is a line between creating complexity and toning down the very real evil inherent in this plan.

Roku: I can only say what the fuck was that. He was barely there, and not the serious master to Aang's youthful exuberance.

The Ugly

Show, Don't Tell: The show's single biggest issue seems to be speeding through story parts by simply stating things. Instead of allowing the audience to discover, trusting that we are smart enough to understand, let's just blatantly say things like Zuko is the only reason the 41st division is alive to their faces. Even though in the context of the story Ozai literally already said that.... it's the division, the division for Zuko, Zuko's division.

Thematic Misunderstandings: I think this show makes several minor changes with major implications, such as airbenders actively fighting the firebenders, when airbenders are known for their pacifist nature and the lie of an Airbender fighting force is actively propaganda. Similarly, Aang very quickly accepts his role as the avatar and doesn't even run away in the beginning. Without this conflict between his desire to be a carefree child and the fact that the world needs him - the show loses a key aspect of Aang's character. Also, the obsession with downplaying the avatar state as something dangerous feels like a disservice to the tradition, connection, and strength of the avatar, which can be permanently destroyed as the trade-off for that kind of power. It's dangerous for the balance of the entire world, not just because it's powerful!

The Agni Kai: Zuko's fight against his father is one of the defining moments of Ozai's cruelty, not just because he is willing to fight his child, but because Zuko tried to do everything right. Zuko shows deference to his father, apologizes, and most importantly refuses to fight! The determination not to upset his father and still be grievously injured and banished is a hugely important theme for the fire nation and Zuko's life as a whole. He tries to do everything he is supposed to and only regains his father's acceptance after he "kills" Aang. Zuko's struggle between moral vs. social right and wrong in contrast to his family is hugely important to his character.

-----

TLDR: ATLA was a fantastical animated television show that was never afraid to show character development and flaws. When you turn 20 episodes into 8, you are bound to lose something. You hollowed out the middle, leaving the shell of important moments and events without ever wondering if all the times in between formed the true spirit of the show.

Rating: 6.5/10 It's perfectly fine and worth a watch. Not a disaster, but certainly falls flat of the original.

[sweetmodel]

Hi. How has your perception on existence changed since shifting ?

Heyy, thanks for the question. Since I began shifting, I’ve come to realize what true freedom feels like, in the most profound sense of the word. Shifting has revealed to me that I am truly limitless. I’m not bound by this reality or the rules I used to think were unchangeable (as you might have read in my pinned post). I’ve learned that I can be anything I want, go anywhere I want, and experience life however I want.

Disclaimer, this is all personal and my own journey, so if you don't relate that's normal and fine.

One of the biggest shifts in my perception has been around time. I no longer look at something and think, I’m late, or This is never going to happen. Now, I know that if I want to be somewhere or do something, I can just shift. Time no longer feels like a limitation. I used to be like "I have to shift to soon, I don't want [insert bad thing here] to happen!" now I can literally just do it. Because I realized hold the power.

Shifting has also changed how I interact with others. In many of my DRs, I tend to be with the same people, but our relationships vary across realities. It’s cool to see how different realities and the unique challenges they present shape not only those same people, but also the relationships. For example, in my fame reality, my life there is chaotic in a sad way. Without revealing too much, I’ll say that people I have strained relationships with in that reality are my closest friends in my fantasy realities. It’s wild to experience such contrasting dynamics with the same people and how much the environment and circumstances shaped us and our relationships.

I'm not exempt from these changes tho. While I usually keep the same name, appearance, and backstory in my realities, my personality changes in ways I don’t always anticipate. For example, in my fame reality I'm more charismatic and extroverted, while in one of my fantasy realities I'm more stubborn, and so on. I do not script these changes, the different experiences I go through in each reality naturally shapes who I have become. Sometimes, it’s overwhelming, navigating these different identities and the lives I lead is intense.

There are moments when I feel detached. I’ve realized, at the core of it, that I’m just consciousness experiencing reality. Because of that, I don’t care too much to the tragedies or the hardships that happen in any of my realities. Nothing feels permanent. It’s like I’m playing different characters, and each of those characters reacts to life in a way that makes sense for them. My fame reality self might respond to chaos in one way, while my fantasy reality self would respond completely differently, and that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be.

Shifting has helped me explore my identity on a deeper level than I ever could have imagined. My first shift was into a Winx DR, where I was a fairy. That experience impacted me so much, and ever since, in almost all my fantasy realities, I’ve been some kind of fairy hybrid—whether it’s a fairy, a fairy-demon, or a fairy-angel. I’ve explored the entire spectrum of human emotion and beyond thanks to being a creature of both darkness (fairy-demon) and light (fairy-angel). These experiences have given me a unique perspective on the world, helping me understand why societies behave the way they do, why people think the way they do, and why everything around us is deeper than we think.

In terms of belief, shifting has only reinforced my atheism. I’ve always been an atheist, but after experiencing shifting, it became even clearer to me that the only power that exists is my consciousness. Nothing outside of me, no deity, no external force, can stop or help me shift. I’m the only one with the power to change my situation. Shifting made me understand that my consciousness is the ultimate creator of my reality.

I no longer see life as something fixed or predetermined. Existence is fluid, I’m not limited to one path, one life, or one way of being.

[jadiealissia]

Worldbuilding Countries (Part 1)

I've lived in and visited a few countries in my life, which gave me a lot of inspiration for my fantasy novel. I'm not an expert, but I thought I'd share what I learned!

Climate

The climate will most likely come up at some point. Do you mention the cool breeze, or the orange leaves on the trees? All those nice weather descriptions will depend on the climate!

If you have a couple of different countries, it may be a little weird if they all have the same climate (especially if they are far away from each other), so there's a few things you can consider to make them a bit more specific.

Climate is of course a very complicated topic, so I will simplify it a bit.

Temperature

I like to pick a real country/city and look at its temperature graphs on Wikipedia. One important thing to note is that countries aren't simply colder/warmer than one another. I know a lot of people think that a country like Russia is cold all year round, but it is actually quite warm in summer. Some areas have a larger variation between temperature throughout the year than others (normally, the closer to the equator a country is, the less variation there is. They also tend to be warmer).

Look at Singapore:

The temperatures are basically stable all year round (the letters up top are the months). The numbers are the average minimum and maximum daily temperatures. You can see that on average the variation every day is less than 10°C.

Here is Moscow:

The temperature changes quite a lot throughout the year. Note that the maximum temperatures (summer) will occur at the opposite times of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.

You can see this demonstrated in Copiapo (Chile):

This city is in the Southern hemisphere, so their coldest months are June and July :)

One thing you may have noticed is that the bars here are taller, which means that the variation for the daily min and max are higher too. Why is that? I'm simplifying it a bit, but generally, the dryer a place is, the more variation you will get in daily temperature. Which brings us to the next thing to consider:

Humidity/Precipitation

There are a few things to consider:

Rainfall. This can vary month-by-month, and due to some complicated factors, some countries have more rain in their colder months, some have more rain in their warmer months. Some places don't follow a neat pattern or stay consistent throughout the year. Have a look at climate pages on Wikipedia to get some ideas! Even just this page on Chile has a lot of cool examples. Each city is quite different!

Although of course the "wetness" of a country related to rainfall (e.g. you'd expect greener grass somewhere with more rainfall, brownish dry grass or a desert somewhere with less rainfall), it's not that simple. UK is a wet country, right? And if you've heard of Gold Coast (Australia) it seems pretty dry, right? Well, actually the Gold Coast gets twice as much precipitation (rain) as London!

To demonstrate, I took a screenshot (randomly selected street in each city) from Google Streetview.

Why this difference? I suspect it's because the Gold Coast is much hotter. Living in Australia, puddles are normally gone by the next day (often the rain even evaporates as it hits the ground!), but in UK, the puddles would always stay around for a while.

The UK is always mossy, often the clouds hang in the sky for ages. It can look quite grey. When it rains in the Gold Coast in summer, the raindrops evaporate as soon as they hit the pavement, which makes the air feel very humid and smell strongly of rain. You can use these sorts of sensory details in your stories :)

Also, one thing I noticed, is that in hotter weather, rain can be much more heavy than in colder weather. In Australia we often get heavy rain that causes flooding. In UK the rain usually dribbles all day but doesn't get heavy. In a place like the Gold Coast you can get rain that last 10 minutes but soaks you all the way through and floods the street.

The rainfall may also vary year-by-year. Australia goes through periods of floods and droughts that last a couple of years. The mechanism is a bit complicated so I won't go through it now, but it gives you something to google!

Humidity: Deserts have low humidity, which means that you can cool off more easily in the shade and the nights are colder. The breeze feels more refreshing at low humidity as your sweat evaporates.

High humidity (like Singapore) will feel much hotter at the same temperatures and it is normally still quite hot in the shade. High humidity feels really muggy, the air feels thick. The sweat doesn't evaporate as much, so you are left all wet and sticky. The breeze can feel much less refreshing because of this.

When the temperature is below freezing, the humidity gets very low, so your skin may need more moisturiser or your lips may crack.

Those are just some things to consider while describing your weather!

Generally, closer to the sea will be wetter, further inland is dryer. Have a look at some climate maps on Wikipedia, you will learn a lot! Climate is quite complicated since there are so many factors, so there's a lot you can do with it.

UV: This is one thing that people often forget about when they think about weather. In the UK, even on a very hot and sunny day, you are unlikely to get sunburnt (unless you are very pale). In Australia, you can get sunburnt very easily in even Tasmania, which is our coldest state, even when the temperatures are chilly.

You can't actually feel being sunburnt, which I fully understood when I visited Tasmania. I was freezing, but the whole time I was being sunburnt.

Normally, UV index is higher closer to the equator, which is why people who live closer to the equator tend to have darker skin. The melanin acts as protection against the sun. Still, this protection isn't perfect, so in the real world people in Africa used different methods to protect their skin, such as using clay as a "sunscreen".

Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. This is partially because most people in Australia have pale skin (originally from the UK), but the UV index is high.

This is something to consider in your story, since it can play a bigger role in behaviour than you'd expect if you live in a cold climate. In Australia, they recommend staying indoors between certain hours of the day to avoid sunburn, and if you do go out you should wear clothes that cover your skin, a wide-brimmed hat and sunscreen. Someone with very pale skin can get sunburnt in minutes. Wide-brimmed hats are compulsory at schools in Australia - you are not allowed to play if you forget your hat.

In low-UV areas, there is the opposite issue. People with darker skin can have problems getting vitamin D. Same goes for people who cover their skin with clothing (e.g. for religious reasons). However, this is a bit simpler to fix with some vitamin D supplements.

How do I use this for worldbuilding?

If you have a map of your countries, you may want to keep their location in mind when deciding on the climate :)

I like to draw up some graphs with the temperatures throughout the year for each country and some quick notes on the humidity, rainfall and UV.

You can also add some other elements to your story. Is it a fantasy? Maybe magic affects the weather! Sci-fi? You can play with the distance of the planet from the sun, axial tilt, sun size etc. (I won't go into that since it's a whole another topic and really complicated as well)

You probably don't need to know the exact details of the climate for most stories, but having a general idea will allow you to consistently describe what sorts of clothing your characters wear, the weather etc. Those are the sorts of things that comes up in almost every story (if it's long enough).

If you read this and found this useful, please reblog so I know that it was helpful. If it seems like people enjoyed this post, I will make more (I was going to talk about so much more, but this is already too long).

[i2ycat]

our first kiss

pairing bf!jungwon x fem!reader synopsis the awkward first kiss with ur first love, yang jungwon genre established relationship, fluff, angst if u squint enough word count 0.6k warnings none main masterlist

reblogs and comments are very much appreciated!

jungwon’s hand sways towards yours in an innocent attempt to share the warmth of his hotpack with you, but fails to do so when you unknowingly retract your hands to warm them up with your own hot breath. at this, he coughs at his own embarrassment, then continues to look around, making sure that no one else had noticed him miserably trying to hold your hand.

it’s been just over a few weeks since you’ve officially become jungwon’s girlfriend, and things have been... more than awkward, to say the least.

stolen glances and failed attempts like now were occurring more often than not, and it made jungwon wonder if he made a mistake—putting a label on whatever you guys had, that is. he didn’t want to believe so, but he just couldn’t stop the seeds of doubt within the small cracks of his heart and mind from sprouting any more than they already did.

your love language has always been physical touch, and jungwon was just one of many to be a recipient of your tight embraces, but somehow it seems so much easier for you to pull him close when you are surrounded by friends rather than one-to-one with love overwhelmingly palpable in the air.

in your head, you didn’t want to overwhelm or scare him away with your way-too-physical way of showing affection, even though he’s already been there. the boy standing next to you wasn’t just the student council’s vice president or your best friend since middle school anymore, and he’s definitely not the fantasy one you made up between the lines of your diary. he’s your real-life boyfriend now. in short, you didn’t want to mess anything up; this had to be perfect.

what if he thought you were too touchy? or what if you made him uncomfortable? you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself.

“what are you thinking about?” he tilts his head slightly at you. he knew you like the back of his hand. he's memorized that whenever you started mindlessly picking at your lips, you were getting lost in the drift of your thoughts. this was just one of your many habits that he’s learned to heart over the years. you never noticed, but he always paid much attention to every single thing you did and every single thing you liked; it was his silent way of showing his affection, even as friends.

with the winter monsoon arriving just in perfect timing, standing near the shore in the mid-afternoon of october did not feel like a complete death wish. jungwon’s hair swished around with the cool wind, and his twinkling eyes stared right into yours, making your body buzz with an emotion you couldn’t quite describe.

your lips twitched ever-so-slightly, and yet not a single word could be formed. it was as if all the words had left your entire being, except for six letters: g, j, n, o, u, and w.

“jungwon.” your voice mimics a whisper that’s barely there.

“hmm?” your gaze locks in at his lips, which jungwon takes notice of almost immediately.

before you could even properly think it through, you jump into his arms and crash into his lips.

the need and want to finally be close to each other again burst at their seams, leaving the both of you breathless. you finally let yourself indulge in your own desires, just wishing that he would feel the same intensity of emotions you did.

the kiss was amateurish, neither of your lips moving, but it made you so overly giddy. you were his first, and he was your first. you wished this moment would last forever; him right in your arms as you kissed under the orange-painted sky.

© i2ycat 2024 help this is so ass, i’m so sorry my pookies…

[boxofbonesfic]

Title: Brave [1 of ?]

Pairing: Orc!Steve x Reader

Summary: You learn the hard way what it takes to survive this new life. 

Warnings: 18+ Only, Genre typical violence, Warlord Nomad AU, Dark Fantasy AU, Enemies to lovers, More tags to be added

A/N: i had too much fun with this concept so i decided to stretch it out into more than one part! i really hope you guys enjoy.

“You understand what I’m telling you, Sweetmeat?” He says, tapping the underside of your chin with the flat of his blade. His bright blue eyes seem to dance with amusement. “I’m telling you to run.” You jump, gasping as he turns the sword with a flick of his wrist, bringing it down in one smooth motion to cut the thick length of rope between your outstretched hands. It falls to the dry grass between your feet, and he straightens back up in the saddle. The massive Clydesdale paws impatiently at the dirt as he laughs again.

“Run.” 

You do, with the orc-pack’s laughter burning in your ears. The grass crunches beneath your feet as you sprint. You gather your dusty skirts up around your knees as you make for the tree line. The sound of a horn spurs you onward. 

“The river, Sweetmeat!” His voice carries to you from across the hill. “You’ve only to make it to the river!”

Dry branches tear at your face and clothes as you force your way into the brush. The fear disorients you, but only for a moment. They will run you down if you take the path, sure as daylight. Instead, you make the choice to stick to the trees, moving between them as quietly as you can. You’d seen what the blue-eyed-orc had done to the others—one by one offering them the same choices— 

Run and die. Run or die—

No one got to live.  

It made a sick sort of sense, you supposed, if you used Orc-logic. They were weak—unworthy of the water it would take to sustain them, of the burden it would take for a rider to bear them. You had watched as first the baker’s boy, then the cobbler, and then the smithy each followed the blue-eyed-orc’s instruction, stumbling down the mountain path and disappearing into the trees—only to be brought back at dusk, their remains thrown to the wargs.

Your father had been good for little else but finding his next ale, but he’d paid his guild taxes same as everyone. And a fat lot of good it did him. The few soldiers stationed at the outpost nearest your village had been felled laughably easily, almost as easily as your father. And now he was gone, and you were here, a day’s ride south of the charred remains of your village.

The horn blows behind you a second time, and you swallow your terrified sob. No—you mustn’t panic. It is fear and panic that will get you caught. Your mother’s voice rings in your ears. Find green, she whispers as you crawl through the trees. Find green.

And you will find water.

The trees aren’t dead, not really, not at the roots. There’s thick brown moss growing at the roots, between the sparse patches of dry grass. You fall to your knees, ripping at it. The top layer is dry and brown, flaking away easily under your fingernails. But underneath—

Green. 

The sound of hoofbeats approaching on the nearby path quickens your step. North—the river is north. You gather what is left of your torn skirts in your hands, trying to stay low and quiet. You have seen the thick-shafted arrows strapped to the backs of the broad-shouldered orc warriors, and you’ve no desire to feel them bury themselves in your back. 

“Fan out!”

Half-blind you push forward, your own ragged breath deafening in your ears. You’re not going to make it—there is no river, there never was, there’s nothing for you to find out here, nothing—

And then you see it. 

The river is drawn back from the bank, a shrunken skeleton of itself—but it is here. From the width of the bank and the depth of the riverbed, you can tell it was once a mighty thing, now tamed by the unending drought. The red clay is dry and crumbling beneath your bare feet as you stumble toward the water. It is cool on your feet as you splash into it, your feet sinking into the mud. 

There is a sound like a whistle, like a switch splitting the air before it parts skin, and an arrow sinks into the wet clay by your feet. 

“Don’t stop now, Sweetmeat. You’re so close.” The voice is taunting, and hatefully familiar. Slowly you turn, and the blue-eyed-orc is there on the bank. His bow drawn, another arrow already nocked.  You stare at one another, your heart pounding in your chest. You wait for him to draw back the bow, to loose the arrow—he doesn’t. After a moment, he lowers it. 

“Brave little thing, aren’t you?” He asks, cocking his head. “You’re not going to run?” 

“No.” You don’t want to die like your father—cowering, with an axe between his shoulder blades that he never saw coming. “I would see my death.” The blue-eyed-orc grins, one sharp fang hanging over his lip. 

“Oh?” To surprise, he stores the arrow back in its quiver, and takes a step closer. “You’ve no weapon to meet it.” 

“It will come whether I’ve steel or none.” You match his step, taking one further back into the river. The muddy water laps at your calves, soaking into your dress. Over the sound of rushing water and the thunder of your own heartbeat, you hear the horses. The riders approach lazily, slowly, like they know you’re cornered. 

You are. 

The pack doesn’t interfere; don’t come any closer than twenty or thirty paces from the riverbank, content to watch as the blue-eyed one circles you like a wolf. 

“Not going to beg, either, I imagine.” He says, and trembling, you shake your head. You’re up to your knees in water now, your skirts soaked and dragging in the current. You are expecting him to unsheathe the massive, hooked axe on his back, to bring your death down upon you swiftly—but he does not even reach for it. Instead, he reaches for your face, cupping your chin in his huge hand. 

“What are you called?” When you answer, he rolls your name around in his mouth like mead. He turns your head this way and that, like someone inspecting an animal for sale. You know he must feel it, the race of your pulse under his fingertips. After a moment, he pulls back, directing his sharp gaze over his shoulder. 

“Bring a horse for her, Buck.” He says, licking his lips. You watch as a ripple passes through the pack at the impact of his decision.

“What—what are you doing?” You ask hoarsely, your teeth still clenched tight with fear. He grins at you over his shoulder as he makes for the bank.

“A deal’s a deal, Sweetmeat,” he replies, beckoning you to follow. “You get to live.” 

to be continued

next

[alexanderwales]

One of the dominant models of magic and superheroes is that everyone has their "thing", what I would call a bespoke magic system, but is mostly just a power that sits orthogonal to all other powers. This crops up all the time, because it's really really good for having dynamic fights, for characterizing people through their powers, for having new surprises and twists, and just generally keeping things going.

It's adaptable to all kinds of genres. Superheroes are the obvious one, whether it's canonized as Quirks or just an aspect of the setting. But I'm pretty sure that the basic concept was first invented in anime, with marital arts settings, where every character had their own jutsu or whatever, or the system in theory is all about ki manipulation or equivalent exchange but in practice everyone has their own particular niche. You can slot this into urban fantasy, giving every vampire their own special Power, or you can have some magical fantasy thing where everyone has their own unique Semblance.

So this is all well and good, but it leaves us with a narrative hole, which is progression. Having a unique power is cool, because you can think of new uses for it, have unique matchups, etc., but it doesn't give you that juicy sense of becoming more, and if you're facing down terrifying villains with their own powers, then a god-tier power is just kind of ... random. Luck of the draw, rather than the consequence of a powerful will or keen mind.

You can strip out limitations and amplify effects, and this is cool and good, or you can lean back away from uniqueness and toward uniformity, which I think is sometimes the right call, depending on your narrative needs.

So you say that actually the guy who can swap places with someone and the guy who can cut people from a distance are both unwitting hyperspecialists in the same field of magic or whatever, and that in theory, with unlimited time to train and experiment and explore, each could do what the other does.

This allows for a lot of snazzy narrative stuff. Two intense rivals "learn" each other's techniques, or at least adapt them into their own technique. Maybe the guy who does teleport swaps never learns to cut from a distance, but his teleport swap incorporates a cut into it, slashing at the person he's trading places with. A widower incorporates aspects of his dead wife's power, a mentor passes down elements of his technique to all his students, a young protagonist has some angst about using the aspect he got from his abusive father, etc.

If powers are a reflection of character, then you get to physically manifest a character's relationship with other people.

[allyricas]

I love gay Eddie and bisexual awakening Steve. It's solid and popular for a reason. It works, makes a lot of sense.

But...I also love flirty-cluelessly-queer Eddie and comfortable-with-his sexuality Steve.

Eddie does flirt. With everyone. It was pretty clear he was flirting with Chrissy. He was flirting with Steve. Calling him big boy and getting up in his personal space, being all cutesy.

So, imagine Eddie just casually flirting with Steve and it doesn't mean anything to him. He's just being Eddie. He isn't even aware that it's flirting. He really considers it teasing. The man is dramatic and silly. He loves to make a scene. So "teasing" people is fun for him.

Eddie who is a super senior running a DnD club for outcasts, loves Lord of the Rings, plays in a metal band. I think Eddie is always into some sort of hyperfixation to be trying to bang chicks or dudes.

There was totally a phase were he was obsessed with folk and old country music (Woody Guthrie much). There was the Jane Austen phase (It fits, c'mon). The time he tried to learn to crochet. His lasting phase with fantasy novels. His intense love of metal music. He knows a lot about music in general. Obscure shit. Oh, those handcuffs-definitely from his magic phase. Tell me, 12 year old Eddie didn't want to be a magician. He probably did card tricks, the whole deal.

Eddie would be the kind of guy who'd spout all sorts of random knowledge. He probably has one specific time period in history he could rant about for hours.

The man has raging ADHD (takes one to know one). He's a self-professed nerd and outcast. The only thing that might be considered "cool" is that he plays in his band. But even then, he's a total nerd about it.

Eddie is hot as hell. That is undeniable. But Eddie has been too damn busy being a fucking nerd to date or hook up. I think he's so focused on his interests, it could easily not have been on his radar. Same way he's failed senior year twice in a row despite being smart as hell. The shit they are trying to teach doesn't interest him and that makes Eddie fucking struggle.

He's bouncy and hyperactive. He probably has terrible tunnel vision when he gets into a book or movie or campaign. Dating has thus far not been interesting enough especially combined with how he's treated by the people in Hawkins.

So, yeah- he flirts and teases. He thinks it's harmless fun. With Chrissy, it was a way to make her feel safe and lighten the mood. With Steve, it's a way to disarm him. It's King Steve afterall. Why not play up the metalhead freak persona. Let him think he's weird.

It isn't until Steve starts flirting back and gives Eddie butterflies that Eddie realizes this is not heterosexual behavior. And he knows a lot about that because he was accidentally flagging for a whole goddamn year. Because he wanted to look metal as fuck and thought the bandana was badass.

Steve calls Eddie princess. Calls him pretty boy. Throws in a babe. Everytime Eddie refers to him as big boy or Stevie, Steve just smirks and comes up with a new pet name that wrecks Eddie (who has no idea what is fucking going on). Throw in the boys getting high together with no inhibitions and Steve actively trying to romance him and Eddie's in a full blown sexuality crisis.

best part: Steve thinks Eddie is gay because of the bandana that he wore all year. Add in all the flirting and then Steve's really putting the moves on totally clueless Eddie. And say what you want about Steve, but he has game. I can just imagine Eddie trying to frantically figure out why all of the sudden he wants to make out with Steve "the hair" Harrington and Steve's like...aren't you gay?

(if anyone knows of steddie fics anything like this, please rec them!)

[physalian]

Fantasy Worldbuilding Without Ignorant Protagonists

A reminder, as we approach Arcane Season 2, that exposition in a fantasy setting can be given sparingly, and yet still tell an enthralling story.

Or, imagine how different Arcane, or Game of Thrones, or Lord of the Rings would have been if they were “stranger in a strange land” type fantasies with ignorant Earth protagonists who needed the whole plot and kitchen sink explained to them?

I dislike audience exposition vectors, not just in fantasy, but usually in a fantastical setting ranging from urban fantasy to superhero stories, because they’re an author crutch, giving the illusion of having to explain every little detail so the audience can keep up when… if this character wasn’t the hero, and you had to pick a character who knew about the world to be your protagonist, they wouldn’t be asking all these obvious questions and you'd still be able to tell the story.

I know why they exist, so they can be the vehicle through which the audience lives vicariously. We share their wonder and amazement as this cool new realm awes and humbles and frightens them.

But what these characters tend to lack is agency, specifically when they’ve been around in this setting for long enough that they really should start to know better. Or, if they’re built up as smart and self-sufficient, and yet don’t ever seek out information about the plot or their new world beyond asking the other characters dumb questions.

Example because I love these books: In The Titan’s Curse (PJO Book 3) Percy complains about not being able to manipulate the Mist, of which his new rival, Thalia, can do easily. This is one of the first things he does in the book. Because he has to remain the butt of the “seaweed brain” joke (and Annabeth must remain The Smart One), Percy hasn’t already learned how to do this very important trick (and he never does).

While it would behoove him to learn, when he’s had 2.5 years to do so, he just… didn’t. He also doesn’t know what the Manticore is to retain the suspense… when he’s had plenty of time and motive to study up on all the things that eagerly want to kill him, and has a nerdy girlfriend who’d be more than happy to lecture him with this information.

Even something as simple as Percy being shocked that he’s right that it’s the Manticore would have given him a little bit more agency. He’s an incredibly clever character, but still has to serve as the audience exposition vehicle, so he has to remain ignorant so the plot can explain things to him. He's as cherry-picked clueless as the story demands sometimes.

So. You want to have a character for the audience to live vicariously? Please give them expository agency.

Meaning–give them means and motives to learn about their new world on their own instead of asking questions as the plot demands. Or even let these characters form their own biases on what they think they know so that the actually knowledgeable characters can go “um actually”.

I once wrote a protagonist who was from her fantasy world, but purposefully ignorant about life beyond her planet. Why? So I could have all my other characters explain things to her that they would not explain to each other. But she was from a world with heavy information policing and manipulation, so she thought she knew plenty (naively, not arrogantly), giving plenty of fodder for conflict as opposed to just exposition.

It wasn’t just A learning about the new planet for the audience’s benefit, it was A realizing she was misled and lied to, and learning what “facts” she has that are wrong. Was it perfect? Heck no, but not only was this part of her character growth, by the second book, she was all studied up and when something unknown came along, the whole team shared in the confusion.

I did the same thing with Elias, my protagonist in Eternal Night of the Northern Sky. He’s very purposefully, literally sheltered, literally grew up under a rock, but his people have incredibly loud biases against vampires. Elias has plenty of knowledge about his world, both that is correct and vastly incorrect, while still lacking basic knowledge of other survival skills because he’s never had the opportunity.

Elias’s biases drive early conflict and conversation. He’s not going “what’s a vampire” so the other characters can stop the plot to explain them to him. He’s going “I know exactly what a vampire is” and the plot is him getting kicked on his ass with the truth.

So you can have that naive amazement factor, but also still have a character underneath. You can also let that character show off their acclimation into their world by not being afraid to stop making them the ignorant exposition machine.

Just thoughts.

[mdoesitmatter]

No, I cannot handle it anymore. Let’s talk about Neil Josten and his fluency in three languages.

Like, l get it, in the case with Andrew’s memory is possible but how did Neil manage to learn this? Yeah, but he lived in Germany and Austria and also went to school there-

Stop right there, languages do not work this way. He was past adaptive age at this point and he also didn’t communicate with other children. He would need like couple years of active learning in those countries to get like confident B2 (and he has at LEAST C1 in the trilogy). And don’t even get me started with French. French?? Where did he learned it??? Switzerland??? THAN HE WOULDN’T HAD ENOUGH TIME TO ACHIEVE FLUENCY IN GERMAN.

(Okay, I actually found out he spent like 18 months in France but like?? 18 MONTH :)

And you know, l would like get it, if it was German and Dutch, for example. They have at least similar grammar structure. But German and French are not the same.

Oh, and did we mention dude can speak decent Spanish? I quit.

The boy is linguistic genius I guess?

«Neil Josten is fluent in 3 languages»

— is a prove that aftg isn’t sport romance but a FANTASY .

redacted:

Posted on my way to college, forgot about it, only to found out a couple hours later that kind people on internet fervently disagree. I love this place so much. Also I absolutely love the comments implying that I am not from Europe (can I take it as a compliment to my English? dunno).

I am from Europe and I am also fluent in 3 languages. I am currently living in German speaking country and learning German, so I must admit my own struggles with this language affected my perception of a character. It might be only my case, because when I moved I was past adaptive age and whole experience was combined with heavy trauma — I got opposite reaction to Neil’s and first year of living in this country denied existence of German (even though I was under ungodly amount of pressure to learn it). By the time the shock was gone I already had strong negative about the language because of how people around treated me. It works really different for everyone.

Anyway, it was cool to see the reaction even if it wasn’t positive😅

But it was really interesting to read different stories from polyglots in the comments and I would love to read more so be free to disagree and share your experiences :)

[chocolatechipkiki]

Say My Name

Loki x Fem!Reader

W/C: 3,113

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: 𝐒𝐦𝐮𝐭 (𝐨𝐛𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲), 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐕 𝐬𝐞𝐱, 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐝𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠, "𝐬𝐞𝐱 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜" (𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲)

𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮: 𝘼��𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙇𝙤𝙠𝙞 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨, 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧𝙨…

Soapy water splashes across your hands as you swirl the blue sponge around the dirty plate. Your hips sway to the beat of the song playing in your headphones, and you sing along to the lyrics quietly as you continue washing the last of the dishes. Surprisingly enough, chore time is one of your favorite parts of the day, because you get to dance around and sing and get into such a groove that you forget that you're even doing chores. 

Once you place the last dish into the dishwasher, you start it up and bring the damp sponge around your countertops, scraping away any remaining crumbs from making your dinner earlier. You continue jamming out to your music as you grab the broom and pretend to use it as a microphone, swinging your head from side to side and acting as if you're performing in front of an audience.

You giggle to yourself as you sweep your kitchen, finally finishing the last of your cleaning routine. Your heart beats a little faster as you realize what that means - bedtime! Your favorite part of your day.

Your friends would poke fun at how much you enjoyed going to bed. They would tease the idea of why you enjoyed it so much with big imaginations, which would always succeed in bringing a blush to your cheeks. They may have been joking but they were always spot on as to why you wanted to go to bed.

It meant personal time. You time. 

You first noticed how much you needed release at the end of your days when you were still younger and curious. Then, you were still ashamed of yourself for wanting it, but now you embraced it. Your fantasies ranged from lighthearted, vanilla reveries with random people you found attractive throughout your day to sultry, erotic daydreams with people you shouldn't think of like that. 

But recently you had come across an idea from a book you were reading in your free time. It spoke of rituals performed by ancient civilizations to enhance sex. Your interest piqued and you had taken to the internet to learn more. Much to your surprise, the world had a lot to offer you in the knowledge of sex magic - and you had become particularly fond of one god in particular to pray to during your little sessions. 

The first time you whispered his name while your hands roamed your body, you hadn't felt much different. Nothing seemed to change, and your release was more or less the same. The second time revealed the same outcome. So had the third.

But it was the fourth time, when your hands trailed down to your core slowly, leaving goosebumps in their wake, that you had whispered his name and felt a rush of excitement flow through you that you'd never felt before. It was like your senses had been dialed past sensitive, and every single thing you felt became more noticeable - the bedsheets beneath you, the cool air surrounding you, the change in your breath as your fingers finally grazed your folds. You had also sworn you felt something brush your ear that night while you moaned his name out to your ceiling, but you didn't know if it was just your heightened senses making your hair more noticeable or if something - or someone - was there. But when you had opened your eyes to investigate, your room was exactly how it was when you had started - empty.

Now, you try to calm your excitement as you wander to your bathroom, washing your face and brushing your teeth so you can go straight to sleep once you finish. You close your bedroom door behind you afterwards, and begin to strip your clothes, barely able to conceal your excitement anymore. You light one of your candlesticks and then use it to light the others around your room. Then you slide onto your bed and focus your breathing down to a slow, rhythmic pace. 

You imagine the god you were praying to for the past few nights in your head. His tall, chiseled body towering over you. His strong hands caressing your soft skin. His blue eyes staring down into yours with lustful mischief. Once you have a strong vision, you begin your prayer.

"Loki..." you whisper, sliding your hands up your thighs slowly, imagining them being his own. "Please, bless me with your presence tonight..." Your hands reach your stomach, twisting and continuing up to your breasts, flicking your nipples with slight urgency as your excitement builds. "I beg you, Loki, make me feel... amazing..." 

For a moment, nothing happens, and you wonder if maybe your last night was nothing more than a fluke. You could have just been on the right day of your cycle, or eaten something in particular that heightened your arousal. 

Disheartened, you huff. Surely you could still find release without the same feelings as the night before? It wouldn't exactly be hard, you've been doing this for years. You decide to revel in the fantasy of Loki being here anyways, and after a few moments, your fingers are swirling perfect circles around your clit with urgency. You know how to get yourself there - you learned very quickly what did and didn't feel great. You say his name, calling out to your ceiling in the dim lighting. But for some reason, you can't. Quite. Get. There.

After your third time of getting oh so close but losing the building feeling quickly, something like a desperate whine leaves your lips. 

"Oh, it burns you, does it not?" a deep voice asks from your bedside. Your hands flinch up from your needy core and your eyes shoot open, landing on a tall, shadowed man standing beside your bed with a smirk upon his lips.

You should be screaming. Slipping out of your bed and making a run for your phone that you stupidly left in the bathroom in your eagerness. Asking him who he was. How he got in your apartment. Anything. But for some reason, you feel absolutely frozen, staring up into blue eyes that seem almost... familiar.

"L-Loki?" you whisper, and the shadow lets out a low chuckle. 

"So she speaks," he says. He stalks around your bed now with his hands clasped behind his back, eyes roaming your still-naked body out and on display in the candlelight. You self consciously press your thighs together, which brings another chuckle from Loki, now on the opposite side of your bed. "Nervous, are we?" he asks, reaching out and brushing a strand of your hair from your face. You flinch at the contact - not because of fear, but because it almost felt like lightning shot through your skin where he touched you. 

"W-Wha-" you begin, wanting to ask what he could possibly be doing in your room, of all places. You hadn't even known he was real, let alone that he could hear prayers. But he cuts you off by pressing his finger to your lips and shushing you gently.

"Oh, starlight, you've got so many questions running through that pretty little head of yours," he says. "Need not worry yourself with those now. We both know it doesn't matter."

Your brows furrow together at his comment, causing him to straighten his back, retreating from you and narrowing his eyes. "Oh, so you choose to feign innocence in the wake of my presence?" he asks. Your unwavering expression of confusion makes him smirk again. He walks away from your bed and to one of your bookshelves. He pulls out a particularly pretty-covered one, tracing the title slowly with his long index finger. "You've been wanting me to show up, darling. That's why you pray to me, each night when you plunge your fingers into that tight little cunt of yours." He places the book back into its place and turns back to face you. "You can claim innocence, you're nothing but a filthy little whore, aren't you?" 

Heat rises to your cheeks suddenly as you struggle to process his words. The past few nights that you had been praying to Loki, lust-filled voice calling up to your ceiling and hands pleasuring where you wanted it most, he had been listening, watching even. He knew you were praying to him. He responded to you last night, when everything felt different. That was him. He made you sensitive to every little thing going on. He had brushed your ear, probably doing exactly what he had just done now - tucking a strand of your hair away from your face.

Your eyes finally refocus on his blue ones, trying to find the words to defend yourself. But before you can manage even a single syllable, he disappears and reappears on top of your body, forcing his leg between your thighs and pinning each of your wrists beside your head. "You're clearly inexperienced in the art of sex magic. So I'll let you in on a little rule that you broke, sweetling."

His breath is hot against your skin as he leans down to whisper in your ear. "You're not supposed to come until the deity you're praying to allows you to do so. And how many times have you come undone at the thought of me, hm?" A shiver runs right down your spine and decides to settle in your stomach as your heart thrums rapidly in your chest. How many times had it been? Easily a couple dozen, and mostly from just the prior night, as your heightened senses had made it easier to go for another round nearly immediately after a climax. Loki snickers in your ear, almost as if he heard your thoughts.

"Oh, how most certainly unfortunate this will be for you, my sweet," he says, leaning back up to look into your eyes with lust. "I guess you'll have to make it up to me." 

Without giving you a moment to process your thoughts about the matter, Loki presses his lips to yours, kissing you with an urgency you didn't know a god could possess. He forces his tongue inside your mouth and explores with curiosity, pressing his body to yours. 

You're completely pinned to the bed underneath him, unable to move. His leg presses into your cunt, causing friction on your swollen nub. You find your eyes fluttering shut and your mouth kissing him back, and before you know it, a deep moan rumbles in your chest. How long has it been since a kiss felt this good to you? How long has it been since you have messed around with someone else? Even with the heightened senses of last night clear in your memory, it still hadn't felt this good. You could come alone from the friction and the heat of this kiss if it wasn't for the fact that he pulls away to look into your eyes once more.

A shy whine sounds from your throat, and Loki's kiss-swollen lips quirk up into the same smirk as before. "I was right, you are a little slut for me," he says, sitting up and pulling his dark green tunic up and over his head. Your eyes wander over his bare upper half with lustful eyes. You spent the past week imagining this body, but none of your wildest fantasies even compare to the masterpiece before you now. You reach out and trace a finger down his torso, much to his surprise. His head falls back as a groan rumbles in his chest. You continue to trail your finger down, down, until you reach the waistband of his pants, and he quickly snatches your wrist up in his hand. "Patience, sweet thing," he growls, pushing you back to the bed and crawling backwards on the bed until his head is level with your thighs.

You watch on with eagerness, forgetting completely about his words from before. His blue eyes look almost predatory as he stares at your body, leaning down and nipping at your thigh. You suck in a breath through your teeth, and your hips buck forward slightly. He places a hand firmly on your abdomen, warning you with his eyes to keep still. You try to (you really do), but every time his teeth catch the skin of your thighs, you jolt. You're sensitivity is going to get you in trouble.

But right when you think you can't take it anymore, he slides his index finger gently up your folds, making you shiver and squeak in delight. "You're already so wet, and I've barely done a thing," he says, bringing the finger to his mouth and licking your slick from it. The lasciviousness of the sight makes you throw your head back onto the pillow. He just looks so... divine. The picture of sexual nature. The perfect being of desire alone. He makes a sound very similar to when someone takes the first sip of hot chocolate on a cold day. It makes your cheeks heat up.

"Staring is rude," Loki says, smirking at you and now undoing his pants. He shifts on the bed again and your heart drums excitedly in your chest despite his comment. You're overcome with the desire to have him fill you completely, and as if sensing your sudden eagerness for him, he slows his movements to a teasing pace. His eyes stare at your body hungrily as he waves his hand. You watch in awe as a shimmer of green flows from his fingertips.

But when you go to shift and get a better look, you realize that you can't move. Your arms are restrained by some invisible force above your head. Loki snickers as he watches the confusion on your face. "Oh dearest pet, your innocence in the matter of magic is quite entertaining," he says. In one quick movement, he spreads your legs and aligns his cock with your dripping core. "But if you don't mind, I would much rather be making you scream my name." And with that, he shoves his entire length into you, making you throw your head back and let out a slightly pained sound. But the jolt of pain is quickly replaced by the feeling of pleasure, and your breath heaves in time with his. Your walls stretch to accommodate his rather sizeable member, and he seems to be relishing in the feeling of simply being inside you.

You desire to touch him - to run your fingers through his dark strands and dig your nails into his back. But with the restraints holding your arms up above you, all you can do is stare and admire the feeling of him. He feels your eyes on him and looks up finally to meet them. Something absolutely primal fills his expanded pupils, and your body seems to react by mirroring it.

Every little twitch of his still cock inside your walls sends a flurry of butterfly-like pleasure through your body. You can smell your arousal, his thin layer of sweat, the candles you lit. Every single thread of the silk bedsheets beneath your skin is giving you goosebumps, and you can hear Loki's shuddery breath perfectly. 

He did it again. He heightened your senses.

"Listen, pet," Loki starts, and his voice sends another shiver down your spine. "Do not come until I tell you to, or I promise, you won't like the consequences that follow." 

He pulls away from you just enough that the red tip of his cock rests just inside you, and then without warning, he begins a dreadfully leisurely pace of fucking you. You moan out despite the slow thrusts, but feel panic in your chest as you realize that you're already so close. "L-Loki-" you whine, not really knowing what else to do.

"Ah, ah, my sweet. I told you that you would be making it up to me. But maybe if you're a good little fucktoy for me, I'll let you come eventually," he says, picking up his pace. You bite the inside of your cheek and pull against the restraints desperately. You don't know how you'll be able to keep yourself from climaxing when this just feels so good.

Loki lifts one of your legs up and onto his shoulder, positioning himself to hit your g-spot, and you swear you're seeing stars at the intensity of the feeling. He moans out now with you, planting feverish kisses to your thigh as he continues to quicken his pace.

"That's it, slut. Take my cock. Revel in the feeling of nothing else but me. Fill your senses with me. Say my name," Loki says between shuddery breaths. You barely hear him over the sounds of your moans and the provocative slaps of skin on skin.

"Lokiii," you moan, and he seems dissatisfied.

"I said, say my name," he repeats.

"L-Loki!" you say louder. He groans and throws his head back.

"Say my name!" he growls as he chases his climax.

"LOKI!" you practically scream as he pounds into you. You feel your vision going blurry with the effort you're putting in to not come undone. Loki's raven hair is falling from it's neat slick backed place and his thrusts get sloppy.

"Go ahead, precious. Come for me," he says. He barely finishes the words before you scream out, your eyes seemingly blacking out as your climax crashes over you with such ferocity that you can barely breathe. His own quickly follows, pounding into you relentlessly and whispering praises the entire time as he fills you with his hot seed.

You don't regain your sight until he pulls his softening cock from you, chest still heaving from the intensity of his undoing. He brings the back of his hand to his face, wiping the sweat from his forehead and flashing you a cocky grin. He climbs back over you, his eyes still filled with desire. Genuine fear makes your blood run cold. 

How could he possibly still be aroused after that?

"You did so well for me," he says, placing a finger beneath your chin. He caresses your cheek with his thumb, studying your exhausted face with curiosity. Suddenly, he grabs your chin assertively. "You're mine now, pet. Do you understand?" You nod to the best of your ability. "Words, darling."

"I-I understand," you stutter out, your voice hoarse from screaming his name minutes before.

"Good. Now flip over and put your pretty little ass in the air for me. I'm not done with you yet."

[cripplecharacters]

I have a character in a non-Earth fantasy setting who's is a ball jointed doll made living, but not human, so she didn't get magic'd new organs and stuff. The character can communicate intelligently but does not have human bodily functions, like breathing, eating, and more relevantly the ability to produce sound (since she doesn't have a voice box to begin with). I was considering she communicate in a type of sign language (I'm still deciding on what), but the character does not have a tongue and I'm concerned if it's essential for mouthing. Within the "rules" of her animation, she can flex her fingers, move wrists, and shape her mouth, but it's just the tongue (or the lack of it) that I'm worried could be a problem.

I know that no two sign languages are exactly the same, so I'm aware the rules can be different between languages. Since I haven't decided on the sign language she speaks, I'm open to hear y'all guys' thoughts and others'.

Hello,

So, having a tongue is not essential to mouthing a word, but lip-reading is barely a viable form of communication. Even people who are good at reading lips can only accurately figure out what's being said around seventy percent of the time. Sure, it's better than nothing if she absolutely needs to, but it's probably one of the hardest options she has for communicating.

Sign language would be great. You can choose whatever one you want, or you can give her some alien sign language, or she could use home sign, which is sign language created by those who can't speak for whatever reason but who also haven't been able to learn an official sign language for whatever reason. It would be effective, though she may encounter people who don't understand sign language.

Then there's the option of her using some sort of text-to-speech or augmentative and alternative communication. Those take a little longer as she needs to type out her thoughts, but they're also viable options to help her communicate with others, especially if your setting is some kind of science fiction.

I don't know how you would describe someone reading her lips unless it was from her perspective, but sign language and text-to-speech or augmentative and alternative communication can be written almost as dialogue. Here are a few examples.

"Excuse me?" Character's hands moved harshly and fast, her fury obvious.

Character's face lit up with an idea and she looked down at her tablet, plastic fingers clicking on the screen as the others waited for her to finish. "I have an idea, I think I know how to fix this."

She can also have someone translating for her sign language, in which case; "I'm not a decoration, you know," Other Character said, making sure to verbalize the sarcastic drawl in Character's signs. "I do occasionally have a good idea. Maybe even a great one."

I think the concept of her sounds pretty cool, by the way.

Mod Aaron

[noroi1000]

Hi I was wondering could you write when Suguru and Gojo get baby fever. This is patch hearts Suguru and Gojo by the way. It starts when y/n coworker asked her if she could look his baby for while he gone. Let say a family emergency came up or something and his wife is busy too. While y/n agree to take care of the baby. Both Suguru & Gojo can’t help to fantasies about having their own little one in the house. So the baby go back home and both Gojo & Suguru start asking y/n if she wants one and that when sexy smut time happens😉😏

Baby Fever

Paring: Gojo & Geto x reader

words: 1,4

warnings: smut

summary: You're babysitting a friend's baby, and they can't stop thinking about what you'd look like with their little copies. So they decide to make these babies.

"(y/n), Why a baby?" Satoru asked you, watching you enter the house with a small pink baby carrier with a small sleeping baby inside.

"Huh? Oh, she is my friend's daughter. Neither he nor his wife could stay home with her so they asked me if I could take her for a few hours before they got back." You said as you set the carrier on the floor to rest.

"They will play and you will take care of their child? It's not fair and you know it." Suguru added, standing next to his best friend with his arms crossed over his chest.

"It's not like that!" You said hastily. "Their parents had an accident and were hospitalized. No one knows if they'll be okay."

"Accident? Did they fall off the curb? Come on, we had other plans..." Gojo moaned.

"While they were walking along the sidewalk, a car drove into a group of people, including them." you said seriously.

"It changes things. But that doesn't mean we didn't have other plans."

"Satoru, I'm sorry. It's only a few hours, I promise. Try to think about the positives."

"About the positives?" Geto muttered with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. You can learn how to handle a baby."

"I don't know what you're getting at, honey, but if you want us to learn, it's better on our own children. Although, if you want us to do something wrong, go ahead. We can do it." The dark haired man walked away, returning to his work he was doing.

"Satoru?" You turned to the man standing in front of you. "Are you going to say the same? That you will learn from your children?"

"Noo... I won't say the same. All I can say is that we must first have our children to learn. So if you want to open a baby factory, go to the bedroom. You'll get a place of honor." He gave you a cocky smirk.

Ignoring his advances, you followed the little baby to the living room, where you let the baby sleep.

Once you made sure everything was okay, you went to the bathroom to wash away the rest of your work fatigue.

In front of the child who was on the couch, Gojo was crouching, watching the soft features of the baby's face.

"What are you doing?" Geto asked, entering the living room, and set his mug down on the windowsill as he was about to go out onto the balcony to smoke a cigarette.

"Don't you think a baby with white hair and eyes like mine would look cool?" he asked, watching the baby move slightly.. "Even if it's not my child, it's a good example to imagine what our own would look like."

"I don't believe my ears. This Satoru is thinking about what his child would look like." he laughed, tapping his pack of cigarettes against the windowsill before he pulled one out and held it in his mouth. "I don't think I can smoke around a baby. And you shouldn't look at her with those eyes."

"You smoke quite a bit for you. You shouldn't smoke anyway. It stinks... And besides, what do you have against my eyes?"

"Like how sometimes they look like they're glowing, and you're always looking at (y/n) pleadingly and innocently for her to succumb to something. Small children have quite large eyes, so I don't want to feel watched every time the child is awake."

"I'll ask again, what do you have against my eyes?"

"Nothing. I just don't think I need another you." He said and walked out, opening the balcony door ajar.

"I know you love my eyes!" shouted the white-haired man with a cocky smile.

"Not at all!"

"Yeah, sure! This is love for me!"

Geto came inside for a moment with an angry face.

"I'm only here with you because we're with (y/n)." he growled and walked away.

"Yeah... But I know you still love me, best friend~!" He stuck his tongue out as he continued to joke.

You heard their "fight" and silently laughed.

And as you dressed in your home and comfortable clothes, you left for the living room, knowing that it was probably time to feed your friend's baby.

As soon as you got there, you heard your boys arguing about whose kid was better to talk.

If you had to say, you can't choose. All children would be so very cute with them. A baby looking like them would be so cute.

You took the baby as soon as she opened her eyes and you sat on the couch with her in your arms, handing her a bottle of warm milk.

They disappeared into the kitchen, pretending to prepare something to eat.

In fact, they were both bustling around there, watching you gently feed the baby. They imagined you breastfeeding their babies. Two tiny copies of them that suck the sweet juice out of you as their food.

A bit unfair that your tits will belong to two babies and not them, but they would be able to give it to them for a while.

Because seeing you round with their children would be so wonderful.

You would be so well suited to be the mother of their children.

You are so caring and loving to them, so you would be the same to their children.

Two hours later, where the infant was sleeping, her father came to fetch her. And thanking you, he left.

As you closed the door, two men immediately appeared behind you, with strange smiles.

"(y/n)-chan~, would you like to have a baby at home~?" Suguru asked with a slight smile.

"Mochi~ want one or two~?" Satoru gave you a wide, toothy smile.

"It would be nice to have one. But I'm not sure I'd be good enough as a mother." You said with a small smile.

Their hands appeared on your body.

"Don't worry. You'd be a great mother~." Geto said in your ear, making you tremble as Satoru's hands began to undress you.

You were lying on the bed holding the sheets tightly under you. Your body was in the mating press position. With Suguru's cock digging deep into your pussy, and Satoru's cock fucking your mouth.

Saliva ran down your chin.

Your legs were bent which would have been painful if you hadn't gotten used to being laid that way with these two.

Well, they were serious when they said you would carry their babies. Even the name of this position talks about making babies.

You were surprised that Suguru go first. With Satoru being so jealous sometimes you can't win.

But you knew there was a hidden agenda behind it.

"Aaah... Don't you think it's time to have an even playing field in getting her pregnant?" Satoru asked, sweat trickling down his neck as he moved his hips shallowly, pushing his length into your cheeks.

"You think she's stretched enough already?"

"You were supposed to take care of that. You're the one who has a slightly thicker dick. But that also means your dick is a bit shorter than mine." He chuckled, pulling the tip out of your mouth.

"Are you starting to compare our dicks again? What matters is that it's beyond the endurance of the body (y/n)." He smiled as he looked at your red face covered in saliva and small tears.

"Okay. Pick her up."

Suguru's hands lifted your body, and he pulled his cock out of you.

He sat you down at Satoru's length and placed you on his chest as the white haired man made you relax.

He started inserting the tip into you while massaging your clit.

They both felt they were about to come because of the pressure they felt inside you.

"Suguru, fucking hurry up..." Gojo growled through clenched teeth before throwing his head back, stopping himself from cumming.

Along with your orgasm by touching your clitoris, Geto pushed all the way in with a new wave of your wetness, and they started painting your insides white.

Stirring their sperm in your womb. In such a way that they both had 100% certainty that one of them would definitely be the father of your child.

How they wish it was possible for both of them to be fathers of your children at the same time.

As they pulled out of you, Satoru quickly grabbed your legs, pressing them against your chest, and held it like that before Suguru pulled a metal plug out of the cupboard and slowly pushed it into your filled pussy.

"I believe you'll be able to fall asleep with it in you, baby. Because it's to make sure nothing comes out of you, and you'll be lovely round with our kids."