#a little silly and self-indulgent. but still

[dxmedstudent]

When k started online dating several years ago after a bad patch, I was looking to reconnect with my hobbies - a difficult thing at a time when I was struggling with postgraduate qualifications and 12 hour shifts.

I was keen to start reading some Pratchett - put off repeatedly due to it being a rather mammoth task.

I remember he asked why I had thought to start reading Pratchett as that was really "something for teenagers". Or something to that effect. Tge implication that there was something... unusual in a woman of my age wanting to read his work.

I remember not really knowing what to say. I was a bit baffled, because I'd seen people of all ages talking lovingly about Pratchett's work. I'd read enough excerpts to feel that it gelled with my sense of humor. Good Omens basically got me out of the aforementioned horrible time in my life. And I'd read enough Douglas Adams to not conflate humor or silliness with bad writing.

Now, I unashamedly read manga and I don't think YA is just for kids. I don't think we should feel shame for reading fanfiction. I think we should enjoy a wide range of media.

Maybe this guy was perfectly fine, I'm sure he didnt necessarily mean it pejorativey, but I just didn't feel like hanging out with someone who I'd have to defend seemingly "childish" indulgences to. I'm not saying that's the only reason that we didn't meet again, but the tone of that conversation left me feeling that this was not my person.

I later met another guy, as you do. Right from the start, we talked at length about our favourite media, and I shared some anime recommendations. He offered to lend me his copy of the first couple of Pratchett books and went to look for them. Alas, he couldn't find them, he had a lot of books on his shelves, to be fair. But he was excited to share a series he loved with someone who was new to it and talking about the things I enjoyed and wanted to share was so easy. There was no pretention about what media is "for kids" or "for adults" or what media men are meant to consume.

Reader, I married him.

Now, you might think that marrying him was an unnecessarily convoluted way to ensure I get to have all the Pratchett books, and I'd probably agree.

But I did get a best friend to discuss all the things I like with, so I think it was a good deal overall. Looking back, given how careful he is with his possessions, I feel pretty flattered and amused that he was infatuated enough to offer out his books.

I still haven't gotten very far through the books (residency took priority), but I love that they are sitting by like old friends, waiting for me to pick up where I left off.

One of the weird things about medical training that we don't really talk about is that, in the pursuit of being a competent clinician, you miss out on so much of everything else through simply having little time. There are so many films or series or books I just never got around to enjoying. I used to feel kind of self conscious about all the things I have wanted to do but never gotten around to.

But I love sharing my life with someone who is always delighted to show me a great new thing that I haven't yet enjoyed.

It's never too late to pick up something new. And I hope this will open up Pratchett to a new audience.

Okay so this is a big deal

To me, and to a significant subset of Sir Terry's fans (including most of you who've found this by the tags), his writing is serious commentary on the human condition - politics, prejudice, self-control, revenge vs. justice, religion, idealism, faith in people vs. cynicism, and more - dressed up with fantasy settings and a hefty leavening of humor to make it fun to read. And it is WILDLY fun to read, actual laugh-out-loud or at least a snicker averaging about every page.

But there's this common idea among the "important literature" people that fun and funny books are not also worthwhile or important in the same way.

This is a Discworld book being released WITH ACADEMIC COMMENTARY and AS A PENGUIN CLASSIC. That's a HUGE amount of recognition.

[pepperyduck]

pins & needles

summary: how various jjk men react to ur new/unnoticed piercings! incl. nanami, gojo, geto, choso

warnings: veryyyyyyy suggestive (esp in nanami's), (new) piercings, geto's & nanami's is a new relationship type thing. excuse any typos pls😞. 18+ mdni!

a/n: i got like 3 new piercings over the weekend, this is just self indulgent and cute methinks. also tyyy for 700 :3, i'm trying so hard to get over the writer's block. love u all!

choso + smiley piercing!

"i've never been happier to see you," choso groans as soon as he enters your dorm, kicking off his shoes at the door. though his voice is monotone, you can infer he's tired, worn out from a day's work and fighting curses.

"rough day?" you scoot over in bed to allow room for your boyfriend, smoothing out the sheets and flipping your blanket up.

"very." the singular word is the only response choso gives before beginning to strip his uniform right in front of you. as you're watching intently, choso gets almost completely naked before grabbing some clothes he'd left over; a pair of baggy pants and an "i heart my girlfriend" shirt that you gifted him, and lazily putting them on.

"i did something today, cho," you inform him, and choso’s attention immediately snaps to you, eyes showing that he was obviously wondering.

"what’d you do?"

you give him a bright smile, all the teeth in your mouth shown to him, the shiny ring glistening atop your pretty gums. choso’s brows furrow together, his pupils coming to realize there was something new in your mouth, something different about your smile.

"what’s…that?" he asks, stepping closer and closer and eventually sitting on the bed with you. you giggle at his curious looking, his eyebrows still knitted together in an inquisitive way.

"a piercing, silly," you inform him, carefully flipping up your top lip to show where the jewelry went through the frenulum of your inner lip.

"does it hurt?" choso leans in even more, straightening his eyes with the freshly pierced hole in your mouth.

"not really, just a little bit," you tell him, letting go of your lip and pressing a quick peck to choso’s lips. it catches him off-guard, choso’s face lights up red because he thought he couldn’t kiss you. smiling triumphantly, you pull away from your boyfriend.

"it—um—it looks really pretty on you." choso compliments, "can i kiss you again? please?" and he’s so sincere and sweet, always asking permission for everything. so endearing, really, even with his deep, dark voice.

needless to say, when he kisses you again, choso is making sure to flick the jewelry all around with his tongue, faintly enough to not hurt the new wound. and it becomes a habit from thereon.

gojo + bellybutton piercing!

"i missed you so much, baby."

satoru is on top of you, arms caging you in while you lay underneath him, smiling and feebly grasping the biggest part of his bicep. it had been over a month since you'd seen your husband, he'd been away on a business trip for far too long.

"did you miss me?" his words are drawn out and dramatic, like always, like he was teasing you—but he was practically always teasing you.

"yes, satoru," you blankly reply, "i missed you."

just before you can roll your eyes, gojo's kissing you, a bit enthusiastically, but you quickly melt into his touch. as annoying as he could be, you loved him, you missed him. you had longed for him the moment he left—that was a fact you couldn’t deny.

as quickly as he meets your lips, satoru leaves, disconnecting himself to trail down your torso that was draped in a way-too-expensive t-shirt of his. but the one thing that doesn't leave you is his eyes, he keeps an intense stare on your face as he moves lower and lower towards your waistline. his fingertips dance along your sides before pinching the fabric of the bottom of the shirt and slowly lifting it up.

his eyes are no longer able to stay on yours when he catches a glimpse of the sparkly blue rhinestones on each ball of the jewelry stuck through your navel. of course, you chose the shade that best matched satoru's eye color.

"no way!" satoru exclaims, beaming with a new-found excitement for the little hole in your tummy, "you actually did it?"

"yes, satoru," you repeat, threading your fingers through the white tufts of your husband's hair.

gojo's nimble fingers come to play with the jewelry—the size comparison comedic from how large his hands are. he studies the now fully healed wound, moving the jewelry all around and practically forgetting the previous heated mood.

"do you like it?" you somewhat nervously ask, intimidated by the tedious investigation of your bellybutton.

"yes, duh," satoru dramatically quips, "you think i should get one next?"

nanami + nipple piercing!

kento had tried so hard to ignore it.

you didn't mean to distract him, really. it was a simple mishap at first, not wearing a bra when kento came over. but after the first time, he didn't seem to mind, he was gentlemanly enough. his eyes stayed averted—when you were looking at him, at least—so you took it as a green flag to remain braless when he was at your house without worry.

but nanami's only a man.

so here you are, after work, after your boyfriend had come over, ranting to him in your kitchen about your boss and whatever bullshit you had to put up with that day. but your words land upon deaf ears, noise drowned out by the sight of the little hearts poking out from the shirt you're wearing. he's sat at your dining table, legs lazily spread as he half-listens to you.

"—like, what?! what else am i supposed to do in that situation?"

for the first time in your venting session, you lock eyes with kento, noticing how they flash up quickly from...your chest.

"ken?"

"um—yes?" he chokes, a little too obviously for him to not be embarrassed over.

a smug smile rests over your face, nanami was caught red handed, ogling at your boobs and the cute heart-shaped jewelry that adorned them.

"what'cha staring at?" trailing closer to him with a teasing tone in your voice, you're killing him, embarrassing the poor man as the seconds roll on. kento doesn't reply either, only a raspy breath leaving his lungs as his response. his face heats up and his expression drops, shamelessly glancing down at your chest once more—one, two—counting the peaks of your nipples through the shirt.

"i'm sorry," he finally chokes out, unable to keep his eyes from flashing up and down, to your eyes then to your chest, again and again.

without any words, you slot yourself between nanami's legs, inching your chest closer to his face. it was so funny how easily his stoic persona disintegrated under your presence. he'd never been this close to your chest—to you. and it's intoxicating to him, he's ashamed how he loses himself by simply being eye level with your boobs.

but that guilt quickly washes away when you take his hand and place it perfectly to cup your tit—index finger and thumb resting right around the pretty jewelry under your shirt.

tdlr; that's the first night your boyfriend stays over at your place.

geto + clavicle piercing!

"you look lovely tonight."

smooth as ever, geto compliments you, his voice dripping with a sweet nectar. your insides warm up despite the harsh cold outside, the thick coat draped over your frame doing little to combat the weather.

"thank you," you whisper and smile at him, stepping into the door of the fancy restaurant suguru had chosen for your date. third date, to be exact.

once you're at your table, suguru helps you shimmy the bulky jacket off your shoulders, revealing the tasteful, deep-cut top you had chosen for your date—along with the two studs on each side of your collarbone that your clothing showed off rather perfectly.

it takes suguru a few moments to notice once he sits down. he tries to strike up conversation, relying on the simple questions and responses he can utter without getting too distracted. however, within a few minutes, geto is cracking, eyes every so often flickering down to the gems that aligned your clavicle so prettily. he can't help it, because with every slight movement you make, the jewelry sparkles in the dim light of the restaurant—it's hard to ignore.

"are you okay?" you interrupt your previous dialogue when you take note of geto's increasingly hazy replies, and how he seems a bit spaced out.

"yeah," suguru swallows deeply, "i really like your—um," his pointer finger vaguely motions to his own collarbone, and you have to look down at your chest before you realize what he’s talking about.

his mouth is dry. he’d already thought you were, like, the sexiest woman on earth, but this, oh this, was just too much. geto was unsure as to why he found the piercings so distracting, so hot, but nonetheless enjoyed the view he had.

"oh, thank you!" you giggle, smiling brightly and ghosting your fingers over the piercings—you’d honestly forgotten that this would be the first time he’s seen this much of your body, and the piercings ended up being the perfect touch to make suguru lose his mind.

and he can't wait until he's able to feel on 'em, too.

[corishadowfang]

So! The last of the Big Chapters has finally been posted for Fallen Stars, so I can finally post this. I've had the climax in mind for a long time, and have done a lot of foreshadowing for it, so...I thought it'd be fun to kind of go over some of the bigger bits, haha. Just going to throw this under a cut because it's...decently long. It's probably not everything (there are some things I left out because they're just...part of Brain's arc in general, and including all of that would make this really long), but it's the bigger things that I can remember.

In general: If you see stuff calling Brain a ghost/specter/skeletal, or referencing him having red hands? That was all kind of aimed toward these last few chapters.

Chapter 3: Brain tries to call for Chirithy, and they don't come. We later find out that they're missing, with the implication (in chapter 8) that they disappeared because of what Luxu did to send Brain to the future. They are implied to be in The Final World--which, incidentally, is where Brain eventually ends up.

Chapter 5:

Brain and Skuld have this conversation:

“So we either need to get Frigga to open it for us, or we need to get Master’s Defender back.” “You could wield it.”

Brain gives Skuld a Wayfinder and says, "Supposed to guide people home if they get lost." This is later what Skuld uses to guide them back from The Final World.

Chapter 8:

Luxu stabs Brain in the chest to send him to the future, and Brain experiences a pseudo "death" because of it. (Which is also the exact same method Luxu uses to send Skuld after him.)

We see two people calling out for Brain to try and drag him back to the future and keep him from actually dying. While it isn't obvious who those people are yet, it's later revealed that one is Skuld.

Brain is told to find his "waypoint" to guide him back. This is twofold, referencing both the Wayfinder he gives Skuld, and the fact that Skuld is basically acting as his "waypoint."

This line: It’s the story of a dying boy, who was drawn back to a reanimated world, and who had to figure out how he was supposed to move forward when he was still only half alive.

Brain discusses the idea of studying time magic, and Frigga brings up the Unchained state. Skuld reaches through time to bring him "home"--and then, later, "travels through time" to wake Brain up.

Brain mentions using heart magic to track down stray hearts.

Frigga and Brain watch a performance, where Frigga describes the story as this: “Oh, it’s a bit of a later tale—a story about a wielder who made a deal with a world to save her friend.”

Chapter 10: Skuld reads a passage in a book of fairytales in Frigga's office. In particular, it includes this line, from Darkness to Brain: “You have no plans left, little trickster. You are running on fumes from our chase across the world. And now that I have caught you, I will consume you. Go; I will grant you peace, after a lifetime of terror.”

Chapter 13: This line: "He didn’t realize he’d been moving until he came to an abrupt halt, staring at himself, and for a moment, he thought it was another specter. It took a moment to realize it was just his reflection, staring back at him from a broken window. Something dark dripped down the edges and clung to the fractured pieces, hemming his reflection like a picture frame."

Chapter 15: Skuld says, “…Can you include something to help me find you?” in reference to Brain putting a spell on her charm. Brain comments that she'll need to talk to Mimir about that, since they're the ones with heart magic.

Chapter 20: Freya gives Brain this warning: “You are not as free from fate as you’d like to be—and Darkness is always waiting to strike.”

Chapter 23:

Brain considers the idea of sacrificing one of them (like Ven sacrificed himself) to save Mimir.

Much of Sigurd's "mindscape" in Darkness's "game" is described in a way that resembles The Final World, hinting at his eventual role in helping the others figure out that Brain could be revived.

Chapter 24:

Brain's method of defeating his own personal Darkness is to, essentially, let it eat itself alive. Brain eventually lets his own darkness eat him alive, leading to his death.

While confronting his Darkness, Brain has this narration: "(Something sat heavy as a stone in his chest.  In the back of his mind’s eye, he thought he could see shadows clawing at the edges of a stained glass platform.  In his peripherals, the tips of his fingers looked almost red.)"

When Skuld confronts her own personal Darkness, Darkness is bound with threads that show her visions of other timelines. These are alternate worldlines, and represent Skuld's attempts to change fate.

This is the first chapter where we find out that Sigurd made a deal with Luxu to bring his brother back to life.

Darkness "drowns" Brain, and tries to drag him down in a way that's very reminiscent of what happened with his "almost death" at Luxu's hands.

Chapter 25: Brain can see "ghosts" from Master's Defender. Brain eventually becomes a ghost himself.

Chapter 30: "He lifted Luxu’s Keyblade, thumb running along the hilt, fingers still red from where he’d been gripping it." (I'm going to be honest, I remembered this one as being more obvious. But no, this was the only line about red fingers I found in this chapter, despite specifically remembering cackling to myself as I put it in. So I guess the lesson here is, "Yes, Cori will, in fact, use pretty subtle wording to foreshadow stuff, and this will sometimes surprise even her.")

Chapter 33: Luxu and Sigurd have this conversation about Luxu's failure to bring Sigurd's brother back from the dead:

“There are ways to do it, but it’s complicated.  You can’t just pull it out of the afterlife and hope things work out.  You’ve got to hope that the heart’s lingering around somewhere—and even then, you still have to be able to find it.  If you found a way to anchor your heart to theirs, you might be able to pull them back—or you might just get pulled in yourself.” Anchor…  It tugged on something in the back of Sigurd’s brain—a conversation, half-remembered, and he wanted to pursue the thought, but Luxu kept going before he could.

Chapter 34:

"His hands looked almost red from the clay caked around them, and you marveled at the idea that maybe he’d started with them before shifting to the shovel he now held.  Even in the dark, his eyes looked shadows; in the flicker of your light, there was something about him that seemed almost skeletal, like he was just another ghost."

Brain says, “Pretty sure Skuld would track any of us down if we tried to put ourselves in danger."

When Master's Defender's "ghosts" start urging Brain forward, he starts following his own.

Chapter 38: Brain has this thought: "When he looked at his reflection, he couldn’t see anything save himself—eyes too wide, face too thin, eyes hemmed with shadows, everything almost skeletal."

Chapter 39: Skuld describes Brain as looking skeletal, specifically in the section when he's trying to convince her to go along with the plan that will...well, kill him:

He gave her a crooked sort of grin.  “Well, that would spoil the surprise.”  He shot a brief glance toward Darkness.  The barrier cast strange shadows across his face; it made him look almost skeletal.  “Do you trust me?”

And, uh...those are the main things I can remember! There was honestly a lot just stuck in there in the spur of the moment, haha; I do remember a lot of times just grinning and going, "Wait, I can put more foreshadowing here," so, uh...if you're looking at something and going, "Was that foreshadowing...?" the answer is probably, "Yes, but Cori's memory is questionable sometimes and she didn't remember she included that."

[sysig]

Those wacky skeletons ♥ (Patreon)

[myokk]

She hears him calling her name as she flees down the spiral staircase, almost tripping over her feet in her rush to get away from him, but he catches up quickly, reaching out to grab her arm in an attempt to slow her down. She stops running immediately - she supposes her traitorous body wants to see what he has to say, or maybe it just wants to bask in his intoxicating proximity. He crowds her space, and she sees that unfamiliar look in his eyes again. So very different from the cold disdain she had seen the last time she had been this close to him, during the argument that had ended their friendship.

Oh, Merlin, he's getting closer to her, and she can now clearly see the freckles dusting his cheeks and nose and forehead and then before she knows it, his hand is sliding up her arm, leaving goosebumps everywhere he touches and then he's caressing her jaw with his rough thumb and he pauses. Her eyelids flutter closed as her head tilts towards him - she couldn't stop herself even if she wanted to (what does she want?). She can feel his warm breath ghosting over her lips and she has the improbable, ridiculous thought - how is he remembering to breathe? - before he speaks. His lips brush against hers with every soft word and a deep shiver runs through her body.

"I," she hears him say, his voice so, so low, "haven't been able to think since last week."

That's all she needs to hear, the brush of his bottom lip against hers all she needs to feel, to push her into closing what minuscule distance there is between them and then his lips are on hers and it's better than anything she's been imagining. His mouth is soft against hers, insistent, and her hands go up to grip the collar of his plaid jacket to make sure he doesn't go away or disappear on her.

from my oneshot💘

[ibrithir-was-here]

Certain comments on the previous self indulgent Harkers 2.0 x Castlevania AU picture inspired this contuation.

Lu's incarceration in Castle Dracula just went from bad to worst as she realizes just what kind of Dracula Adaption she's in and she wants absolutely none of it

(Cuz, unfortunately, yeah, I think Castlevania Dracula would definitely succumb to the Reincarnated Wife Virus. This particular unfortunate Harker heroine, however, is happily married and 100% trying to lizard style her way out of the castle. If only it would stop freaking teleporting...)

[articskele]

IMAGINE KISSING THE ONCELER'S UPPER BACK AND SHOULDER BLADES ANDDNFJSDFHDS

[fluffs-n-stuffs]

"Cuhut it out- you guys!" "Nu-uh, not until you're all perked up first! You don't want those gym challengers meetin' with an ol' mopey leader, do ya?" "Whitney's right, dear friend. No need to hide that beautiful smile of yours, alright?~"

What it takes to cheer up Johto's beloved ghost boy 👻💕

[dent-de-leon]

I think Caleb and Essek would absolutely use magic to gently tease Tealeaf and he always whines about how unfair it is--

[melkinpump]

Lazy Cereus ( @marshmallowprotection ) art for the sake of procrastination

Tfw when the annoying guy you work for’s father throws you into a speedy river and you bonk your head and said guy doesn’t even show up to stop you from getting thrown into said river… (this is in no way thought out into the story I just did edgy Cereus Em art bc I don’t want to study statistics)

Realistically i guess Em would immediately sell out Unknown bc a certain cowboy taught her it was kill or be killed and he’s absolutely not her type so romance or honor would not get in the way of survival brain but if she’s getting thrown into the river either way I’m having her gf fish her out. That’s right I’m implementing her gf into the story so I can have gay cowboys. You can’t stop me.

[cowgurrrl]

There’s been so much love on When You’re Lost in the Darkness/Look for the Light recently and it’s making me all emotional it might just be because that’s the only series I’ve been writing for recently (sorry oftm babes, I will be back for you) but either way it still makes my heart happy to know how much y’all love it 🥹

[kellystar321]

.

[zukkaoru]

[ID: a cropped screenshot of the word count pop-up on Google Docs. it shows a count of 27 pages and 13498 words. /End ID.]

remember when this was supposed to be a silly little self indulgent oneshot i would finish by the end of august. lol

[articskele]

WOE, SELFSHIP PICREW BE UPON YE >:D

x

[starburstingsunshine]

I need to start using this acc more 😭😭 but for anyone not on my twt, I have four upcoming fics; two are my fth fics (just need editing and final approval so one mighttt be up very soon!!), and I got a twt poll to decide which new wip takes priority, but I'll be writing both izk-turned-cat (current wip) and bkg/izk de-aged interactions with present tl 🫶🏼

[yanderenightmare]

JJK x curse ! darling

TW: NSFW, yandere, kidnapping, captive darling, degredation

fem reader

Can’t stop thinking about all the little vulnerable curse ! darlings that exist and how easily they fall prey to the merciless Jujutsu Sorcerers that go hunting them down for pleasure.

Geto Suguru x The Curse of Virginity

Doe-eyed, chubby-cheeked and makeup-free. She's always chewing her lip nervously. Spawned from all the sweet, silly virgins out there who're afraid of having their virginity robbed.

Though always so fucking wet for it at the same time that it’s embarrassing.

Geto got lucky and swallowed her up before anyone else could get a taste. Keeping her in his bedroom. He kisses her cheeks while fucking her into a moaning, squealing little mess every night. Making sure all her sweet little virgin fantasies are met and satisfied.

Gojo Satoru x The Curse of Beauty

A defiant little brat who thinks her beauty will enslave any and all men who dare look at her. Cold and dismissive, she never lets anyone touch her – because, in her mind, she’s a goddess no one’s worthy of having or holding.

But Gojo scoops her up and keeps her locked up in his place like a pet cat. Smiling at her awfully condescendingly when she warns him not to lay his filthy hands on her. 

She'll hiss at him, backing up with eyes going wide under the crushing realization that a pretty face stands little chance paralleled with a real force of strength. Understanding with a hitch in her throat how she better start using her looks to please rather than upset him.

Fushiguro Toji x The curse of Insecurity

The cutest little crybaby who thinks every aspect of her is unappealing and gross. She’s always trying to hide her tear-streaked face, making herself as small as she can by curling herself into a ball, hoping no one’s able to notice her. 

Toji just grins his devil-grin with her doughy thighs spread around his hips – keeping her wrists pinned above her head so she can’t do anything but whimper out small denials when he gruffs out how fucking adorable she is, thinking she can keep herself away from him.

Nanami Kento x The curse of Shame

Born from the guilt of every shameful nympho who can’t help but feel so awfully filthy after indulging in their dark desires. 

She's always naked and needy – quaking with heat and dewy from the fever of it – rubbing her thighs closed with such a sorry expression it would make any man rush to comfort her.

Nanami takes good care of her, though. The poor thing. She can’t go a single day without getting her wet little pussy pounded – always coming to him with her coy eyes and sultry whines, riding the thick muscles on his thigh with such a terribly needy pout on her lips. Begging him to make it okay, to sanction her so she needn’t feel so awfully sinful as she cums while still whimpering for his cock like a needy wonton little slut.

Zenin Naoya x The curse of misogyny

Born from all the chauvinistic self-indulgent thoughts men have of what a perfect woman should be – having resulted in the most plaint sweetest little thing – one who only feels comfortable when she's either welcoming her man home, cock-warming him during dinner or when he's rearranging her guts into the late night.

She's the happiest little bride with Naoya. Smiling nicely and humming while he lists all his troubles after coming home in a foul mood like always – she'll play with his hair until he leans into the touch with a moan, possessively tugging her closer – palming her soft skin with a pouty scowl on his face. She'll kiss his chin and tell him how grateful she is for everything he goes through, and it's exactly what he needs to hear – beginning to brush his lips over her skin, undressing her while she continues soothing him with her devotion – telling him she'd be lost without him, that he should take whatever he wants from her as a reward for working so hard, that he deserves it for being so good to her, that he's the strongest and smartest and greatest man in the whole world, and that she'll never ever want to be or do anything but serve him until the day she dies.