#also why the hell is this organized like this

[bucketbueckers]

STICK AROUND

pairing: paige bueckers x fem!reader

content: language, fluff, slight injury

wc: 2.3k

synopsis: After an arduous year full of ACL recovery, navigating your new yet inexplicably familiar relationship, and falling back in love with Paige Bueckers (not that you ever fell out of love in the first place), Paige is finally cleared and ready to play basketball again for her senior season.

notes: yes this is the same banner. no comments at this time please! this is part 2 to come around, requested by a few anons (sorry i may have deviated from the request a lil bit) & @janaelalfysloml 🫶 i was not expecting the reception CA got - and also!! 1k notes? wtf???? that's actually insane to me, i get on here to yap and procrastinate my homework, i am so blown away by the love and how many of you guys actually like what i write 😭 i love y'all bad! so here is part 2 in honor of CA surpassing 1k notes and my anons and if you're curious - yes flattery gets you everywhere and this is definitely an open invite to keep sending asks. not proofread! i hope you all enjoy this 🫶

tags: @unadulteratedcyclepaper @avvwritesstufff @surferandskater5 @jnkbueckers

The months between August 2022 and November 2023 were full of ups and downs. This is not to say you were miserable – far from it, in fact. Transferring to UConn from UMN was the best decision you’d ever made in your entire life. You’d made more friends, your grades started improving, and you’d truly felt at home in Connecticut, making a name for yourself in some of their student organizations. It would, however, be wrong to neglect the other, considerably important factor in why your life was turning around for the better.

You and Paige were in a much better place – romantically, platonically, in every facet of being each other’s person. Your communication was a lot better. You learned to be a little more direct, to enunciate exactly how you were feeling. Paige learned patience, which is honestly a miracle in and of itself; she learned that it’s not her sole responsibility to try to protect you from outside noise or make whatever decision is best for you. The both of you had good intentions, but sometimes it’s really easy for those good intentions to get swept up in chaos and unravel before you. The both of you had to remember that you’re not just girlfriends, but you’re partners, too – you’re a team.

The year’s ups and downs weren’t on the two of you. You and Paige had “learning curve” moments as you’d called it, having to sit down and have uncomfortable, vulnerable conversations that left you feeling raw on the inside, but healthier in spite of it. Instead of being on the same page, it was as though you and Paige were the weaving lines and sloping letters, beginning on opposite sides yet meeting in the middle to form words, sentences, stories. You weren’t just there. You were together in a completely new sense, working side-by-side with the sort of ease that comes with fully knowing a person inside and out.

The troubles of the year stemmed more from her knee. Her recovery wasn’t linear. Some days were harder than others and some days were downright hell on earth. It was hardly comparable to the time her high school championship was cancelled due to covid – it was worse. The pain would leave her shuddering in bed, hiccuping through tears and there was only so much you could do. You’d spend countless hours at her side, alternating between the heating pad and the ice pack, helping her swallow her painkillers with water when it got too bad, brushing your fingers through her hair and rambling about everything and nothing to distract her. Once she’d made it out of the post-surgery, pain and soreness phase, her days were full of physical therapy and mental battles that tested the both of you. Some days you didn’t know what to say. Sometimes you wouldn’t say anything at all, letting her cry into your shoulder as you held her. Other days you let her talk for hours on end, entrusting you with the uncomfortable parts of her and the whispered confessions of, “I don’t know how I can trust my body after this.” 

Time was what she needed to heal. The both of you knew that. So, you stuck around, knowing that even if Paige was a mess, injured, struggling mentally and physically, you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but with her. As the days turn into weeks and the weeks melt into months, she gets better. You knew she would. Watching that light return to her eyes, getting to see that spring in her step, hearing the way her laughter carried across the room was healing for you, too.

As she healed, you studied. You would spend the majority of your time in bed next to her with your textbook sprawled over your lap, her fingers tracing your skin and her chin hooked over your shoulder as she watched you do homework assignments. Your majors couldn’t have been further apart from each other, so admittedly, your time together was spent with Paige asking, “What the fuck is an electrophile?” and you responding with an endeared fondness, “Electro- means negative, -phile means love, so it’s a chemical species that accepts electrons,” followed by Paige huffing and declaring, “Yeah, you got that – you can be the breadwinner and I’ll be your sexy trophy wife.”

Whether she knew it or not, Paige helped you out a lot with your assignments. She kept your head on straight when your assignments got a little overwhelming and forced you to take a break when you were getting grouchy – “It’s what you did for me,” she would remind you, pressing soothing kisses to your cheeks, and murmuring, “You wanna DoorDash take-out?” (and who were you to say no to that?)

So as time passed, Paige recovered, the both of you healed, and by the time November 2023 rolled around, Paige was fully cleared to play basketball again. She’d been ecstatic for the weeks leading up to it, talking your ear off and dragging you to the gym with her even though the two of you fooled around more than she got her shots in. Her happiness was infectious – that was what mattered to you. You knew that she worked hard to get into UConn but you also knew she worked even harder to recover from the kind of injury that tests the resilience of many athletes.

The night before their home opener against Dayton, she revives an age-old tradition that you’d spent years missing. She takes you to Dairy Queen, shooting you an exasperated look over the center console as you teasingly pressed your card into her hand. She pays – she always does – driving off with her ice cream in the cupholder as she focuses on the road and you offer her spoonfuls of the same flavor you’d been ordering since you were both seventeen. Paige serenades you at the red lights, holding your hands and belting out off-key renditions of Keyshia Cole – because that hadn’t changed over the years, either. And when she finally pulls into a secluded parking lot, nothing but the moon and the crickets as your only witness, the two of you joke and ramble and flirt for what only feels minutes but are actually hours.

She still reserves that last bite of ice cream for you, guiding her spoon to your mouth and kissing the remnants off of your lips, relishing in the way your laughter reverberates throughout her Jeep. Paige tastes like vanilla ice cream and happiness, a lingering flavor that’s intoxicating when it mixes with your strawberry and the love for Paige that you’ve kept safe in your beating heart for years. Some things truly never change at all, you think when she rests her warm palm over your thigh as she adjusts her music (and the playlist she has fittingly titled ‘Freaky ass R&B’ with the heart emoji that she uses only for you). Things evolve, and they get better, and they have a way of surprising you in the best way possible, like when Paige gazes at you as you speak, her expression soft with a realization that sounds like I’m going to love you forever and a matching look in your eyes that looks like Forever sounds perfect.

Par for the course, her eyes start drooping around midnight, her movements fluid and her hands perpetually glued to your skin. The two of you talk for a little while longer until she finally blurts, “I have something for you.”

At that, you can only raise your brow, watching her as she leans into the backseat to grab a rectangular, gift-wrapped box. Panic fills your body at the thought that you may have missed an anniversary, but you remind yourself that it’s only November; your official anniversary wasn’t until late December.

She clears her throat, the nervousness reflected in her eyes, and you can’t help but remember how she asked you to be hers for the first time. You’re not seventeen anymore, nor are you in her stepmom’s Honda Pilot, but you’re both twenty-two living a life that feels both new and familiar, basking in a love that you’ve spent your entire life cherishing.

“You can tell me anything,” you remind her, your tone soft, and that’s enough for the tension to ooze out of her shoulders.

She smiles at you, that same smile from the first time she sat down across from you in junior year AP Lit. “I know,” she murmurs. “I just wanna do this right.” Your expression melts into one of understanding. “When I first convinced you to come to one of my games, I gave you my hoodie. I remember Coach lectured me for an hour straight, ‘cause he was all like, ‘Bueckers, the school pays a lot of money for those sweatshirts, and you lost yours!’” You laugh at her imitation of her high school coach. Her eyes shine a little brighter. “Coach wasn’t stupid. I’m sure he knew what actually happened. It was hard to miss you sittin’ in the student section and cheering me on like every bucket was one you made yourself. But, honestly…I didn’t care. I liked being able to look over and see you wearin’ my name and my number. It made me feel like I wasn’t just your best friend, that I was someone you’d want to…you know, do life with. That one day you’d love me in the way I loved you even though I didn’t know it was love yet.”

“So, you came to more of my games,” she continues. “You wore my hoodie. We’d get ice cream after and we’d talk for hours. I still remember that night I almost kissed you on your porch, that afternoon in your bed when I told you we weren’t so far away, that morning when I finally kissed you in the snow, when I asked you to be my girlfriend.” Paige swallows uncomfortably. “I remember when I broke your heart. I thought I was doing you a favor, but I just hurt the both of us. I missed you for two years but I didn’t think you’d ever want me back. So I hid. But we’d text each other happy birthday, and you’d reach out after I’d injured myself. I didn’t think I deserved your attention after what I did. Then I tore my ACL, and despite everything, you came.”

“You called,” you whisper, like it was the simplest thing in the world – because it was. Your heart beats to a cadence that sounds like the dribbling rhythm of a basketball and you know that Paige’s heart beats in tandem with yours. The two of you were so inexplicably intertwined in the fabric of each other’s lives, each other’s hearts, that it was difficult to discern where you began and she ended, but you knew that you wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Yeah,” Paige agrees, her eyes shining. “I’on care what it takes, you’re stuck with me this time around. I am never letting you go. You’re my past, present, and my future. Which is why I want you to have this.” She gives you a meaningful look and you begin to unwrap the box. When you take the lid off, you can’t stop the smile from growing on your face as you reach in, wrapping your hands around Paige’s zip-up tracksuit hoodie. It has the Husky logo and it smells just like her. You know it’s the school issued one that she wears everywhere. “It doesn’t have my name or my number on it or anything, but I got a little something embroidered on the inside.” Allowing her to guide you, she pulls back the lapel, and on the left side, directly under the Husky logo that rests over your heart, the words “Not impossible. Not for us” are stitched delicately into the fabric. You feel tears prick at your eyes as you laugh softly. “Coach is gonna kill me,” she muses, “but it’s worth it – especially since you’ll be sitting courtside in my hoodie like we’d always talked about.”

Your lip trembles, but you’re smiling widely. “Paige,” you murmur. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Say you’ll stick around for my games,” she says softly. “See if I’m still good at this basketball thing after taking a year off.”

Despite yourself, you laugh, placing the hoodie back into the box and wrapping your arms around her neck. Her hands find your hips, her lips pressing into your temple, and you both melt into each other with an overwhelming amount of relief. “You know I’m there,” you say. “Always will be.”

Paige squeezes your waist, pulling back far enough to smile at you before her lips find yours, kissing you with a gentleness and a passion that hasn’t gone away, no matter how long you’ve been together or how long you’ll spend looking for each other. Her kiss feels more like a vow of forever, and when she breaks away, whispering something that sounds like an I love you, you promise the same thing.

(You’re courtside at her home opener, as promised. You watch as Geno shakes his head at Paige when he catches her staring at you, mumbling something about these damn kids, but you know that she doesn’t care and you don’t either. She reserves a spot for you at every game, at every team hangout, in that crevice of her heart that you’d tattooed your name on ages ago. Every day, you fall just a little bit further in love with Paige, and one of the things that you know with an absolute certainty is that you’re spending the rest of your life with her.)

[sunrisecaminus]

Hello, it's me again. Could I have hmmmm. ..... acree x reader, please? (sfw or nsfw! )

Hope you have a great day or night :D 🌻✨️

I don't understand why I don't like Arcee as much as the others, but I need to get into her character more. She is such a cool character in everyway.

Arcee Headcanons SFW/NSFW

Summary - SFW and NSFW of Arcee with her human conjunx <3 (NSFW under the "Keep Reading")

Warning - NSFW, Masochism

SFW

~ Knowing that Arcee is not a touchy person, nor is she the type to be romantic towards most people. People question how the hell you got to her spark.

~ That lady is ready to sacrifice herself for you any time, so please don't go out in the battle field.

~ She would take you out on dates at parks or somewhere in Jasper City at night. After the war started, any military bot would understand that being able to relax and find a place that could be quiet was a rare occurrence that needs to be appreciated.

~ Her love language is spending quality time and Words of affirmation, so she really likes to talk to you whenever she can.

~ Touching is one of the many things that can get her nervous, so it takes some time for her to get use to when you guys hug or cuddle with each other.

~ Arcee loves to watch you work and pick you up from your job. She loved everything you did, watching you write something or be super hyper fixated on something would interest her just from how your body reacts to things.

~ Having a human for a conjunx is very interesting in her eyes, because now she can learn your culture and day to day life just by being with you. She tries her best to like the things you were interested in.

~ Even if she doesn't get it, she would still try to pick up on things you like so if you wanted to talk to someone about it, she can keep a conversation going with you on the topic.

~ If she felt angry about something, Arcee would come to you first about it. You are someone that would make her calm down just by your presence alone, so its either throwing someone and yelling, or come to you and vent about her stresses.

~ Holy crap she likes when you comfort her. Every hug you give is like being hugged by primus, because even if you were a weak little organic, she still feels safe and loved.

~ "I could never have someone greater than you, because there is nothing that can be above perfect."

NSFW

~ So, about her not use to touch. She is one of the more sensitive bots in the secret base. She loved all your soft touches around her face or thighs.

~ She may be sensitive, but it is impossible for this bot to be a bottom. Pleasing you is everything Arcee has wanted to do ever since you guys kissed.

~ Arcee is a loner type, which means she will try to make you scream and embarrass you if you guys were doing it at the base.

~ Is she a kinky type? Not really, though she wouldn't mind doing things with you if you asked.

~ She is more into using her fingers to mess you up, never did you think a person could be as skilled as she is with her servos.

~ She would never do it in public, but anywhere that is like a closet, a birth room, or some place with a door that can be locked, she has no trouble mutilated you.

~ Speaking of which, Arcee would be gentle with you for the start. You would have to tell her to be more rough with you for her to do so.

~ She will never confirm this, but spanking is something she won't reject.

~ Also, she isn't the one getting spanked, with permission she would give you bruises from spanking, biting, or even tossing.

~ Aftercare is one of the things she wants to be better at. She would gently wrap you up in lovely blankets, giving you kisses everywhere around your body. Arcee would give you a nice massage and watch as you doze off.

~ "Sweet dream, y/n…I won't leave your side."

[kpopsexstories]

ITS THURSDAY TIME FOR THE RIIZE JERKING OFF EEEEEEEEE !!!!!!!!!

YES IT IIISSSS 😁 Posting a couple of hours earlier than planned thanks to your excitement 😅😉🥰

GAY ONE-SHOT #6: Riize Group Jerk-off Pt. 2/2

Check out this post for my straight smut and this post for more gay smut.

Idols: Riize

Content: The members of Riize jerk off side by side in their dorm bathroom.

Type of Sex: UNCONVENTIONAL

Word Count: 3.6k (6.5k incl. Part 1)

<- Read Part 1.

The six boys of Riize were standing naked in their shared bathroom. It wasn't the first time some of them had showered together to save time, but it was the first time they were all in it together.

And they certainly hadn't all been hard together before either. The idea to masturbate alongside one another had started as a joke, built organically, and now it dawned on all six that they were really going to do this. When their schedule got canceled and they suddenly weren't in a rush anymore, their bodies and minds went through abrupt change.

It was surprising, shocking, felt wrong and forbidden. But also exciting, thrilling and sooo good. They had each been afraid to be teased by the others if they showed signs of wanting this. Now they felt like they'd be judged if they backed out.

Eunseok was by the sink, leaning with his ass against it, slowly stroking his hard dick while looking around at the others. He had a faint smile of satisfaction on his face.

Sungchan came to stand beside him on his left. Their eyes briefly met but they quickly looked away. Sungchan wasn't hard yet – the only one who wasn't – but he had dropped his towel to the floor and started massaging his balls, working to get there now that everyone was in agreement.

They were about to masturbate together, and that fact felt kind of liberating.

Sohee and Shotaro were in the shower. The water was still on, the only thing in the room making a sound in this moment of truth. Sohee was the one who had initiated all this, and he now turned the water off and leaned against the wall while rotating his body slightly in Shotaro's direction.

Shotaro, in turn, looked down and smiled faintly. He was gradually accepting the situation for what it was, and when he reached for his hard dick be slowly started stroking himself too.

Anton closed the toilet seat and sat down on it. He spread his legs and wrapped his fingers around his dick, while curiously looking at the others, waiting for someone else to escalate things further.

Wonbin, who was the last to have arrived to the impromptu jerk-off session, stood naked in the middle of the room. He had become rock hard by the sight of his naked and horny friends before he even got his clothes off.

None of them said a word, but their faces and curious eyes revealed everything the others needed to know. This was a first, a highly unusual situation, but they were all surprisingly okay with it.

We're gonna do it on our own anyway, so why not together? several of them thought, to justify and rationalize the situation.

I kind of like this, some of them realized in their heads. They were confused by what that meant, but at the end of the day it didn't bother them.

Despite being the last to arrive, Wonbin was the one to finally take the next step. Inspired by the others slowly stroking their cocks while contemplating what the hell they were doing, he took a step closer to the door and closed it, leaned against it and opened his mouth.

He shut his eyes and his breathing became heavier. Meanwhile Anton looked up from the toilet seat, and when he realized Wonbin wasn't looking he too opened his mouth while staring at his friend's dick and flapping hand, and started pleasuring himself more intensely.

Sungchan turned to Eunseok. They smirked at each other, silently nodding at the sight of Wonbin. Then Sungchan glanced down, and Eunseok burst out in a big smile when he caught his friend shamelessly taking a peek.

Fuck, this is so hot, he thought, and the others were thinking – but afraid to admit – the very same thing.

Sohee and Shotaro in the shower were already fully focused on each other. They too were looking down, as they stood close together with their boners almost touching. As arousal filled them they quickly forgot all about how crowded the room was and how weird the whole thing felt. Watching the other pleasure himself, so up close and personal, was such an unexpected but welcomed thrill.

Slowly, gradually, the room was filled with the sounds of flapping hands and panting mouths. Foreskin was being pulled back and forth, and low, shallow but rapid breaths of air filled the space.

Nobody said a word. Nobody moved from their spot. Everyone quickly withdrew into their own bubble of sexual tension and desire.

Eunseok suddenly let out a loud moan which broke the silence. It caused several of the others to look up and giggle. Sungchan was standing very close to the man, and when he heard the reaction of pleasure in his friend he laughed out loud and put his forehead on the man's shoulder.

The physical touch sent Eunseok's heart racing. It made his body stiffen and his brain think forbidden thoughts. But he still didn't move his ass away from the sink, and soon closed his eyes again and tilted his head back. He never stopped jerking himself off even for a second.

Shotaro saw the harmless interaction. It made him turn a little closer to Sohee, whose warm and wet body in the shower was radiating and called for him. Sohee felt the same secret attraction, and when Shotaro came closer to him he turned a little too, to meet his friend in the middle.

They were both afraid to look the other in the eye, so they kept their glance low. Shotaro stared at Sohee's chest, then lowered his gaze further and studied their dicks and hands between them.

Sohee wanted to touch, to feel Shotaro's dick, mostly just because the situation was so unusual and he was curious. There wasn't necessarily anything gay between them, just a physical reaction in their bodies to the sounds and sights in the room and the close proximity of their naked friends.

Or maybe that was gay, the physical attraction to each other's bodies. It didn't matter. In this place, in this moment, they wouldn't be judged. They just needed a moment to realize that.

Sohee desperately wanted to let go of his dick and reach out for Shotaro's boner. But he didn't dare to. The attraction and curiosity was too strong, however, not to do anything at all. So instead he pointed his dick straight out, and playfully let the head brush against the back of Shotaro's hand.

This made Shotaro jerk ever so slightly as his heart skipped a beat. His own dick moved between them, and the head was abruptly pressed against Sohee's fingers. It made Shotaro groan, a mix of pain and pleasure and the very same curious excitement Sohee was going through.

No one else in the room seemed to react to it, except Sungchan and Anton who both silently turned to look and smile faintly as they watched their friends so close together in the shower.

Sohee glanced up at Shotaro's face which made the latter blush. It felt good. Really good. They smiled as they reached a silent agreement, and allowed their dicks to touch again. They brushed them together, a little closer and harder each time, until they kept rubbing them against each other without stopping.

It was fun, caused immense pleasure inside them, and in the comfort of the intimate bubble that had been created between them they didn't care that they were being watched.

Eunseok opened his eyes when Sungchan gently slapped him on the shoulder and pointed. They both smirked when they saw Sohee and Shotaro play. Eungseok stroke his dick faster and faster, and when he chose to speak up, both Sungchan and Anton worried that he was about to ruin the show.

“Does that feel good?” he asked with a smirk.

It pulled Shotaro out of the bubble but Sohee saved him: “Yeah,” he said with a big smile, as if it was a completely normal way to wind down and have some fun after a hectic morning.

“Good,” Eunseok said and leaned back on the sink again. To everyone's relief, he let them be without teasing or making fun.

Eunseok's acceptance set a standard for the rest of their time in the bathroom. No one wanted to stop this, they all wanted to come before they left the room, and they all realized they wouldn't be judged by their friends for what they were doing.

Wonbin against the door, and Anton on the toilet seat, occasionally glanced at each other, and whenever their eyes met they would smile but quickly look away, usually in the direction of the shower. At one point, however, Wonbin noticed a change in Anton's posture.

Anton had slid down on the toilet seat, leaning back with his ass on the edge, eyes closed and mouth wide open. He was panting while furiously jerking his dick above his stomach, and Wonbin caught himself feeling excited and extra horny while staring.

A change happened between Sungchan and Eunseok too. Inspired by the sight of Sohee and Shotaro, Sungchan was growing increasingly curious and brave. He suddenly took a gamble, by letting go of his shaft and reaching for Eunseok's.

Eunseok was surprised by the action, but he grinned and let it happen. He removed his hand and leaned back, allowing Sungchan to take over.

Sungchan was surprised too, primarily because he hadn't really thought about what he was doing. He only fully realized it when it was too late. Now, as Eunseok seemed to like it, he wrapped his fingers around his friend's shaft and repositioned his body for a better angle. He proceeded to give Eunseok a hand job.

Shotaro and Sohee were back in their own bubble. Shotaro realized that the curiosity and thrill radiating between them was growing into an attraction, and that he wanted to do more with the man than just rub their dicks together.

There would be no sex on this day, but they were the ones to take things the farthest, when Shotaro put a hand on Sohee's chest and felt it. Sohee's reacted by quickly grabbing on to Shotaro's shoulder for balance, while they both stroke their dicks even faster and their hands fought for space between them.

Sohee leaned closer and panted on Shotaro's neck. Shotaro was relaxed and happy and turned on by the warm air on his skin. He eventually looked up, then instinctively gave his friend a kiss on the lips.

This was another moment of truth. Making out was a much more intimate step, compared to touching and jerking off for physical pleasure.

Sohee responded well to the kiss. He returned it, and immediately stopped jerking so fast. Shotaro had never thought of any of his friends in a romantic way, but the situation was unique and their physical attraction strong. A kiss felt right, and soon they were making out like they'd done it a million times before.

The cluster of individual intimate bubbles burst and grew into a single large one when Anton suddenly groaned loudly. It caused everyone to stop what they were doing and look up.

Anton, on the toilet seat, was panting while staring wide-eyed at the hot men in the shower, beating his dick while in awe at what he saw. Mere seconds later, he came. He announced the sudden orgasm with a second audible groan. “Mm, mm, ahrrghhh!” he exclaimed.

It took everyone by surprise. They had all been building up to this moment, but actually seeing one of their friends come so publicly still made their hearts jump.

All eyes were on Anton when sperm shot out of his dick. He came on his stomach and quickly stopped stroking. He grunted one last time and didn’t seem at all embarrassed or ashamed. He was just happy and satisfied, and more than a little excited by the actions of Sohee and Shotaro, and the collective actions of the group as a whole.

He kept breathing heavily as he looked around the room. Sungchan smiled at him, still holding Eunseok's boner. Shotaro and Sohee did stop to check him out but quickly returned to enjoy each other, encouraged by the fact that someone else was also pushing the limits of what was allowed.

Wonbin, who stood alone by the door, suddenly realized that he didn't know where to come. He too was getting close, but he couldn’t very well unload right there on the floor.

He stepped toward the shower. Sohee saw him coming and moved aside to let him in, still with his hands all over Shotaro's body. Eunseok too felt inspired by Anton's orgasm, and was suddenly brought to the edge by what Sungchan was doing to him.

“I'm gonna come,” he announced, as a warning to Sungchan specifically. But once again the imminent orgasm caught the attention of everyone.

Sungchan started stroking faster. “Ahhh, fuck,” Eunseok said and giggled. “Stop, you're gonna make me come!”

But he didn't move or try to escape Sungchan's hand. And Sungchan, who was smirking playfully, had no intention to stop.

“Do it,” he said and briefly looked up at Eunseok's pleasured face, then quickly down on his hand and the shaft again.

This was fun. Unusual and totally unexpected just ten minutes ago. Now it felt completely normal. Sungchan was absolutely loving it, and so were everyone else.

Eunseok's body suddenly jolted. It only prompted Sungchan to hold on tighter around his cock and stroke it faster still. The body jolted again, and soon sperm trickled onto the bathroom floor and down Sungchan's fingers.

“Oh my god,” Sohee exclaimed, suddenly having witnessed two of his friends orgasming in under two minutes. He had never experienced anything like it, and damn did it turn him on.

If they could do it – come in front of their friends – then so could he. He closed his eyes and kissed Shotaro on the lips again, and angled his body toward his lover. Shotaro gladly accepted the advance, and the two men started beating their dicks close and fast between them.

While Wonbin entered the shower and stood beside them, Sohee groaned and pressed his free hand and body against Shotaro's, and they both grimaced while their mouths and noses pushed together.

“M-m-m-m-m,” Sohee's shaking voice echoed, fast and lustfully as his dick brushed against Shotaro's defined abs and he got close to erupting.

“Mmmm, mmm, mmm,” Shotaro moaned, surprisingly turned on by Sohee's close proximity and the feel of his wet and toned body.

Wonbin looked over Sohee’s shoulder, eager to catch the show. The intimate duo hardly even noticed him being there.

They reached their peaks at the same time, synchronized by each other's actions. Anton was still on the toilet wiping his stomach with toilet paper, and Sungchan and Eunseok had turned around to wash their hands and Eunseok's dick in the sink, when the duo in the shower released.

Sohee's cum shot onto Shotaro's stomach and dripped onto the shower floor, still soaked in a puddle of water. Shotaro aimed his dick slightly sideways, and shot his load onto Sohee's thigh and hip.

Wonbin chuckled, then quickly backed away a bit and stood against the wall, too protect his own body from sperm. He looked on in total and utter amazement and disbelief.

The others caught on to what just happened, and were somewhat disappointed they actually missed it. Still, they caught the aftermath and that was entertainment enough.

There had never been any signs in the past that either Sohee or Shotaro were gay, and they probably weren't, so the sight of their bodies rubbing against each other while they jerked off and came was a shock – but a totally hot and erotic one.

“Holy shit,” Wonbin exclaimed, though it was really just a whisper. Then, aroused by his friends as he stroke himself faster, he said it again, louder and with lust in his voice: “Ahh, holy shit!”

Wonbin was quickly brought over the edge too. He flicked his wrist and stared at his friends, who washed their bodies free of cum as Sohee turned the water back on. He aimed his dick slightly downwards, and mere seconds later he shot his load in the vicinity of the shower drain.

Sohee and Shotaro turned to watch. They smiled at Wonbin, happy that everyone was onboard. “Seunghan would have loved this,” Shotaro joked, and Wonbin and Sohee nodded in agreement.

Only Sungchan remained. “Yeah, he would,” he said loudly, having overheard the conversation in the shower. He had turned away from the sink again, smiled wide with his dick in his hand, and slapped Eungseok’s ass with it as he walked away. It made Eunseok chuckle and turn around too, once again leaning his bare ass against the sink.

Sungchan knew all eyes were suddenly on him. He walked to the shower and stuck his dick in. Shotaro stepped out to give him space and grabbed a towel, and dried his body in front of Anton. Wonbin finished washing his dick and stepped out too; there was a limit to how much sperm he could take. Sohee, however, looked down at the new arrival and grinned.

“Can I?” he asked.

Earlier this morning the question would have been impossible. Any other day it would have been the cause of humiliation and endless jokes and teasing. Now, it felt like a fair thing to ask, and the chance of a positive response was good.

“Sure,” Sungchan said. He stepped into the shower while Sohee adjusted the shower head, to help his friend steer clear of the flowing water.

Sohee reached down and grabbed Sungchan’s dick. Since he was the one who started all this he might as well help end it. He started stroking the hard shaft, and Sungchan exaggerated his sounds and facial expressions, fully aware he was putting on a show.

“Uhhh, ahhh!” he moaned loudly. The others giggled behind him, and Sohee bit his own lip and smiled while he stroke the dick faster. “Mmm, ah, ah, ahhh!”

Shotaro and Eunseok’s eyes met and they chuckled. Anton, who was clean by now, sat up straight on the toilet seat and leaned in, watching with interest. Wonbin had found his clothes on the floor and started putting them on, but stopped to watch Sungchan from behind.

Sohee’s arm shook under the running water. Sungchan closed his eyes and tilted his head back. “Ahh, AHHH, this one’s for Seunghan!”

It made everyone laugh out loud, just as Sungchan came and sperm shot out of his dick.

“Ahh, AHHH, Seunghan!”

Some hit the wall behind Sohee, some went on Sohee’s thigh in almost the same spot Shotaro had unloaded moments before. And some was immediately washed away by the running water, diluting and dispersing in the puddle on the floor.

“The fuck was that?” Anton asked and laughed loudly.

Sungchan hunched forward and caught his breath. Sohee eventually released his cock. “If he were here, he would have loved this,” Sungchan said, echoing Shotaro’s sentiments.

He sighed deeply and stood up straight. Sohee smiled softly at him. Everyone in the room still giggled of excitement and satisfaction when they slowly nodded in agreement.

Yeah, he would, they all thought. Riize will always be seven.

“Maybe we should make this a tradition?” Sohee asked gleefully, while he began to wash his body one last time in the running water.

“Don’t be stupid,” Sungchan exclaimed and slapped his friend on the shoulder, just before he left the shower. Today was surely a one time thing and he figured it was better they never spoke about it ever again.

“What?” Eunseok asked with a naughty grin. “You don’t want to jerk me off again?”

Sungchan chuckled and bent over to pick up his towel from the floor, then wrapped it around his waist to cover himself up. He scoffed but smiled, and never answered the question.

They all laughed and joked with each other as they slowly calmed down and started to get dressed, getting ready to take on the day.

“Are we gonna tell him?” Eunseok asked, to the group as a whole.

There was some hesitation. They kind of wanted to, but maybe it was best if they didn't.

“Yeah,” Wonbin eventually said, while he put his shirt back on.

“You sure that's a good idea?” Anton asked and finally flushed the toilet.

“How else are we gonna get him to join us next time?” Sohee asked and winked, while he stepped naked out of the shower and grabbed a towel.

Sungchan's eyes shot wide open. “Next time?”

A sudden silence fell over the room. Everyone was thinking about it, no one felt comfortable speaking their mind.

Shotaro leaned in close to Sohee and whispered: “Maybe next time it can be just the two of us?”

The question made Sohee smile wide. “Yeah,” he whispered back, then stole another quick kiss while the other's weren't looking.

Some things were perhaps better kept in the group, but if there was one thing all six boys knew it was that what happened on this morning felt pretty awesome. As they dispersed and went to do their own thing, they all contemplated what they'd done and what they made of it.

No one was against it at all. They all genuinely enjoyed it, to various degrees. Their schedule being cancelled was possibly the best thing that could have happened.

And to some, Sohee and Shotaro in particular but not just them, the experience was a new awakening.

[eowynstwin]

I just love love love the way you write! Especially sex scenes! You make them so intimate when they need to be, and absolutely filthy simultaneously.

Have you taken any inspiration from published books? And by that, I mean have there been any notable books that have helped you navigate your writing process, or is it all just organically from the brain?

<3

gasp I love this question. I'm going to ramble.

So the first books that spring to mind are The Locked Tomb books by Tamsyn Muir, I love how simultaneously sincere and irreverent she is!! She has this way of describing things that i find really evocative and charming, and the charm contrasts really sharply with the subject matter (gore and grief and cosmic horror), so it makes it lowkey really funny.

Example, while giving a seminar about not getting swallowed by the ninth layer of hell, a character draws diagrams on a whiteboard with a "chubby marker." Chubby marker has always stuck with me because it's not a pair of words I would normally put together, and that's been pretty keystone to me. It taught me that the way you describe things matters just as much as describing them at all.

I also think about timing a lot thanks to The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. She's another writer who knows how many times she can make you laugh without undermining the seriousness of the things she writes about, and she is so so so good at character banter and relationships.

There's a bit in Blue Lily, Lily Blue where one character is harassing his friends by rickrolling them with a horrible song, and it's not really important to the plot, but it sort of embroiders the friendships that are important to the plot. Fucking with your friends is a time-honored tradition and it just makes everything feel a bit more real and precious—it makes you really believe in the verisimilitude of the relationships, like they have lives outside of the prose itself.

Then there's Robert MacFarlane! I've only just gotten into him. I'm reading Underland, and I started listening to The Old Ways audiobook but I'm gonna find the book at the library instead. i love the way he sets his scenes, or establishes his details. He's got an economy of detail that I've really been loving.

What I mean is—"The cave is dark and quiet around me" will become "Quiet cave, dark around me" or something similar. He eschews articles like "this" "the" "that" "is" and "are" because they're not necessary, and they'd slow down the pacing. It lends to a very dreamlike quality to his prose, I feel.

I feel like that's a commonality between nature writers too lol because I also love Robin Wall Kimmerer (who he quotes in Underland!!) so I'm going to search out others in that genre.

Honorable mention—I do love Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry for getting the cadence of a western too. Especially when listening to the audiobook. The narrator for that one is GREAT.

For sex scenes—lmao I've honestly never read any in published work that do anything for me. Fanfiction smut still blows trad pub AND self pub out of the water. I suspect that may be because very explicit sex scenes (ironically) put a good majority of readers off—I couldn't say why, though, other than to speculate that a lot of romance readers don't really have a good relationship with their own sexuality. (Hot take.)

How I write sex is instead influenced by the way my friends in this fandom write it, and it's also me thinking about what is noteworthy to ME about sex. I think about the smell, the weight of another person's body, where I want them to put their hands on me.

Sex is also sometimes the vehicle for the narrative, rather than the point in and of itself, so I ask myself "how do I characterize this interaction to serve the story?" It's a conversation, after all; two (or more) bodies navigating each other.

I think that's it! Dear god that got long.

[galacticgrapezz]

Lily Orchard/CD-Call does not understand Adderall (Or ADHD medication for that matter)

Hi! My name is Violet. I'm a part-time college student majoring in biology. Biology majors here require a college and health class that you MUST pass to get your degree. I am also medically diagnosed with ADHD and medicated (not with Adderall hell no).

Lily/CD has said and does currently take (I hope prescribed) Adderall and is heard taking it on her live streams, but today on BlueSky, she asked a question that should 100% be consulted with your doctor.

This goes to show Lily/CD is not educated or has not bothered to educate herself on what Adderall is and what it does to your body.

This post should be an informative piece on why ANYONE (Not just CD) Should ALWAYS research the medication you are being recommended to. So let's discuss Adderall, controlled substances, and addiction.

What is a Controlled Substance?

A controlled substance is typically a drug or chemical regulated by the government through manufacturing, possession, and ingestion. Some examples of controlled substances are: LSD, Oxycodone, Ketamine, and Amphetamine (Remember this one!). All of these are known abused drugs however are also used for medicinal use thanks to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA).

The reason we have these federal laws is to modernize, classify, consolidate, and prevent the abuse of said drugs or chemicals. When someone is prescribed a controlled substance, you are asked if you or your family has had a history of substance misuse, vital organs that may be affected are closely monitored, and you are required to not stop taking it without consulting with your doctor. The reason this definition has to be explained first is that Adderall is classified as a controlled substance by Canada's CDSA.

Let's Talk About Adderall

Adderall is a controlled substance medication prescribed to treat ADHD and Narcolepsy. Adderall (and Mydayis) is the brand name, for the medication, and the generic name for Adderall is Dextroamphetamine-amphetamine. Therefore, Adderall is an amphetamine. Adderall contains multiple amphetamine salts that are closely related to methamphetamine. When taken, Adderall comes into effect within about an hour of use, it triggers neuroreceptors in the central nervous system, increasing the effect of serotonin and dopamine. This helps with ADHD as it gives the brain a stimulant that may have dopamine dysfunctional release, a lack of dopamine.

When Adderall is abused, the brain which was previously given a constant stream of dopamine and serotonin, will stop producing the two on its own. This will result in the user craving more Adderall, making it highly addictive and making the user unable to feel dopamine and serotonin without a stimulant. Hence why Adderall should only be prescribed to people medically diagnosed with ADHD or Narcolepsy. Adderall abuse has also been seen a lot in Millenials, which is the generation Lily/CD is a part of.

Explaining Amphetamines

Amphetamine is a powerful psychostimulant AKA, a synthetic mood-altering drug. Scientists do not currently have a full understanding of how amphetamines work in the brain, but some aspects like what it does chemically are established. When amphetamine is taken, it binds to transporter proteins for monoamines like: dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, where the transporter proteins give them to neurons. Once inside the neuron, it disrupts the storage of monoamines by suppressing a protein called the VMAT2, which transports monoamines into vesicles. This causes the monoamine transporter proteins to work in reverse, which means an increase in the release of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin monoamines. People with ADHD may need this to release a normal stream of these monoamines, but neurotypicals taking amphetamines will experience a euphoric and heightened effect with the increase of the three monoamines but a consistent taking of amphetamines results in addiction and the withdrawal of the brain not developing monoamines on its own.

Conclusion

Adderall is a controlled substance for a very important reason. Even if you have ADHD you are very able to abuse it. It's also very important to explain Adderall is an instant-release medication, which in short means it should only be taken when needed. Lily/CD is taking it every time she is on stream which most likely means every day and eludes to her abusing amphetamines. Please never ask anyone on social media about your prescribed controlled medication. ALWAYS ASK YOUR DOCTOR. If you read this far thank you for tuning in to my STEM yap session ^_^ have a wonderful day.

[saras-almanac]

I’ve been sitting here still thinking about Veilguard and how it’s sort of an amalgamation of previous games while not understanding why things worked in those games, which leads to those pieces not working for Veilguard. Namely talking about the Factions, the “loyalty missions,” and the world-ending “choice.” As a disclaimer, I understand the development hell that was this production and the issues faced going from single-player to multi-player and then back to single-player, but I still feel like the root of these issues stem from the writing, so take this how you will.

Slight spoilers for Veilguard as a whole, Veilguard companion quests (Taas and Davrin), and the endings of Veilguard, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3.

First up the Factions for Veilguard

To me, this feels like an attempt to be reminiscent of the Origins in Dragon Age: Origins but without understanding why those Origins worked and, more importantly, what they were intended to do. In Origins, the origin prologue was a way for you as the player to develop your character, see how they lived and their “everyday life,” and how/why they got recruited into the Grey Wardens by Duncan. In short, they are a way to show how your character gets involved in the main plot and shows how their worldview is (or could be) shaped by their lived experiences. In addition, it gives you the player the chance to determine and roleplay exactly how your character feels about the recruitment and the Grey Wardens entirely, not to mention how they react to the world at large.

In Veilguard, the Factions are sort of your origins, but ultimately, they’re just window dressing. You get some different armor and minor skills/bonuses, but that’s about it. Rook is not connected to the main plot in any way at all, except being recruited by Varric off screen. There’s no roleplaying element here because no matter your background, you are effectively kicked out of your faction before the start of the game for “going against orders” and you have absolutely zero chance to explore how Rook feels about this recruitment into Varric’s team because it’s not on screen. It’s all off screen or in the briefest of dialogues but you can’t actually roleplay because they’re all pre-determined dialogue scenes.

These factions feel more like the backstories from Inquisition (which I felt were lacking) but at least in Inquisition, I could create whatever backstory I wanted for my Inquisitor because it didn’t really come up in any way—which is both a positive and a negative. In Veilguard, your backstory doesn’t come up very often at all, has no bearing on the plot or even how people react to you or any recruitment mission, which is similar to Inquisition, but you also have a Rook that is pre-determined with a specific personality, which is a huge problem in a role playing game. Literally, no matter what dialogue option you choose, Rook basically says the exact same thing except maybe adds a little joke or an awkward silence. So there’s no real roleplaying opportunity for them at all, at any point. There’s absolutely nothing to be gained or learned about your character or the world at large within your faction. Which leads into the main questions of this game for me: Why is Rook leading this team? They don’t have more experience than Harding, they’re clearly not a senior member of the organization since we spend a good portion of the first act recruiting the “better” people from each faction, and there’s nothing really to explain why Varric recruited them and then passed the leadership on to them, which is their only connection the main plot. Yes, there’s a story he tells about when they met and how he assumed Rook was going to be someone Solas didn’t see coming, but telling me that doesn’t help me connect to this character and how/why they’re here right now. (We’re not going to touch on how it makes absolutely zero sense for Varric to be leading this team in the first place 10 years after Inquisition… because it doesn’t and it does just feel like a desperate grab for interest, but that’s another post).

Now to go one step further, your Origin actually changed how some of the quests in the main story played out based on your Warden’s connection to those places. If you played as a Mage Amell, going back to the circle tower or running into Jowan again is very different than if you were a Noble Human Cousland. A Dalish Elf Mahariel creates a very different interaction with the Dalish elves than City Elf Tabris, and vice versa as a Tabris in the Denerim Alienage. The world and the characters react to you differently based on your connection to the plot and setting. In Veilguard, there’s none of that. Yeah, there’s a few lines of dialogue, but there’s no connection at all. Why couldn’t my Rook be the person to suggest recruiting someone from my faction? Crow!Rook saying they should talk to the Dellamortes because while the Demon of Vyrantium is dead, they had to know his training methods to kill mages and that would come in handy for a crow!Rook. Warden!Rook being the one to reach out to Antione and Evka as the premier blight experts and they suggest talking to Davrin. Mournwatch!Rook being the one to suggest going to talk to Professor Emmrich Volkarin because he is the person who knows the most about the fade right after they wake up and realize they are in the fade itself. Or a Lord of Fortune Rook realizing that the lyrium dagger is missing and their Lords would either already have it or know where it’s at, therefore the ones brining the Lords into the fold. It’s just really weird that not only does your backstory not affect the plot or your character at all, but then you have Bellara, Harding, and Neve being the ones to suggest and reaching out to the faction you’re apart of and would actually know more than they do. It’s just one thing that they could have done to make it seem like Rook has at least some connection to the world here, but they didn’t do that.

The Loyalty Missions

The fact that the entire second act basically is loyalty missions is… not good. For anyone who hasn’t played the Mass Effect games, this set up is clearly taken from Mass Effect 2’s structure, which is still highly praised as the best Mass Effect game (even if I disagree but that’s not the point here). In Mass Effect 2, the entire premise of the game is Shepherd (your character) gathering a team to take along on a potential suicide mission to another galaxy where they don’t know what they’re going to encounter or find. And because of the reality of this potentially being the end for them, the companions all have loose ends they’d like to tie up—setting up their child for success, saving a father’s legacy, destroying a place where you were tortured, etc. They’re not world-shattering quests or stakes, but they’re all very personal and it’s really down to your play-through and how you want to play your Shepherd. You can be someone who genuinely cares about your companions and is happy to help them settle these final affairs or someone who is annoyed at the fact you are helping them but are doing it anyways. Or you can decide to skip some or all of them, without knowing how or if they will affect anything down the line. (Though it’s not hard to figure out that they are clearly going to have some effect.) Plus just completing the loyalty missions isn’t enough to guarantee your companion’s loyalty—you have to complete it a certain way and/or pass certain dialogue checks along the way. In Veilguard the entire game comes to halt to say “it’s time to care about these companions” while the quests are just triggered by certain quests in act 2 being completed and not through any connection or relationship increase between them and Rook. But for that you’d have needed the ability to actually talk to the companions which the devs behind this game didn’t want to do.

Now for the loyalty missions themselves, I actually don’t necessarily think they all needed to tie to the overarching plot and in theory, it’s fine that they’re personal problems. What’s not fine, is that you basically recruit the best-of-the-best (supposedly) and then they tell you that they can’t focus cause they’ve got stuff on their mind. That honestly makes me question why I recruited them in the first place. The only person I can really understand this idea from is Lucanis as he’s literally been tortured for a year and then continues to torture himself with no sleep, and perhaps whoever’s city was destroyed, but that’s not why anyone’s distracted. And it’s literally every single companion. They literally even have one of the companions tell you directly in case you missed it that “It’s time to stop focusing on the Blighted Elven Gods destroying the world because we have things on our mind and we can’t focus.” Um… the world’s literally being destroyed, the South has been nuked essentially, but sure, let’s stop everything so we can focus on your thing when the world itself might literally not be there when we finish. Again, it just makes me question why I recruited these people in the first place then if they can’t focus on the massive task at hand and the literal world-ending situation they’re in.

And the narration from Varric after every companion recruitment and some missions that basically tells you that something bad is going to happen to them later so you have to pay attention and do their quests is beyond annoying. This is the first Bioware game where I instantly liked all the companions upon meeting them—though Harding quickly started to grate on me as the walking information-dump from Inquisition that wasn’t utilized very well. The point is, I liked all the companions initially, so I was always going to do their loyalty missions. But it just feels like the game kept telling me that it’s important that I care about them, but I don’t actually get to learn about them. (Not being able to talk to the companions is actually the #1 biggest problem in this game for me) We have no conversations, no real discoveries, nothing to be gained. It’s just solving a problem for them and then we move on.

Apart from the set-up, the misstep Veilguard took with these loyalty missions is forgetting that the stakes are very very different in this game. In ME2, the big fight you’re building up to is at the end as well, but it is completely up to you when you decide to go to it because you are actually going to the Collector’s homeworld / galaxy and taking the fight to them so you have time to get yourself and your team and your ship prepared for it. There’s not really a ticking clock or massive devastation and destruction going on in the background, so majority of your quests are recruitment and then loyalty missions, but it works because ME2 is almost entirely focused on the companions and your connection to them.

In Veilguard, the world is literally being destroyed the entire time of the game. The Ancient Blighted Elven Gods escaped the veil prison and have been wreaking havoc on the world at large and deploying blight everywhere. People are literally dying the entire time, and yet the game comes to a screeching halt to tell you it’s time to do the companion missions all the while the world isn’t going to stop being destroyed while I do these missions. So it feels really strange to stop and focus on them—especially when they all sort of have the exact same layout/progression and they’re really not tied to the main story in any way and not really meant to give us more depth or insight into these characters really either. And the fact that every single mission ends with a binary choice that is up to Rook feels… off putting. For me as a player, I didn’t feel like my Rook was qualified at all to make any of these decisions because I was essentially making them for my companions, companions I didn’t feel like I knew very well and didn’t know why they were asking me.

For example, look at the difference between The Iron Bull and Taash. In Inquisition, you have a mission with the Iron Bull where his people have set up an alliance with the Qunari. But while you’re there fighting the venatori, The Iron Bull’s mercenary company is attacked and he’s left with the choice—let his company die to preserve the Qunari alliance or save his company and ruin the alliance between the Inquisition and the Qunari. He looks to the Inquisitor in this moment because they are the leader of the Inquisition, they have the most to lose here if this alliance doesn’t go through. Not to mention, by this point in the story you have spent time with the Iron Bull and have had enough conversations with him (and approval) to trigger this quest in the first place. So you should already know some of his issues surrounding his struggle with identity and his loyalty to the Qun and his company. So it makes sense that he looks to the Inquisitor and follows their lead because he knows it’s not really up to him because it’s bigger than him or his company. Taash, on the other hand, in a very early conversation basically asks Rook whether they should be more Qunari or Rivani… which is not really an appropriate thing to ask, especially for a Rook who is neither. Not to mention, this whole thing goes directly against Taash’s gender identity discovery of being nonbinary which happened right before this conversation! So to immediately follow that up with a binary choice when there isn’t a need to be either/or and they should feel free to discover and keep whatever parts of each culture they want, is poor writing. (And the fact there isn’t really a need to have this be a binary choice in the first place). In a better comparison, look at Davrin’s final choice of what to do with the Griffins. At least with him asking Rook, he basically makes it clear that he can’t really be objective here and so he’s asking Rook—someone he’s been ride or die with since recruitment—to make the decision for him. This is the only decision in the game where it’s placed on Rook because it’s made clear that Davrin doesn’t think he can be objective in this case and wants to try and make the best choice for the griffins and not be influenced by anything outside that. It’s still not great, but it is the only companion choice for Rook that makes sense and feels in character with what little we know of Davrin.

Not to mention, the loyalty missions don’t really give you any time to roleplay or really discover anything more about Rook because they are always a kind-hearted therapist to all of them. So there’s no tension between them and any of the companions, or even among the companions themselves. If they wanted things to come to a halt, have the animosity between some companions be the reason why things went sour at Weishaupt and it’s why we need to sort this stuff out now because they can’t afford to let their personal feelings get in the way of things. And most importantly, let Rook be the one to say that! Let Rook take charge because after playing the entire game, I’m still unclear why Rook was leading because they made next to no decisions, there’s nothing to indicate they were better skilled or more suited than any of the other companions, and obviously no real connection to the main plot apart from Solas I guess being in their head? But even that is the weakest reason.

World-Ending Choices

So for me, the end game is clearly from ME2 and ME3. You have the assigning companions to certain tasks they will be suited for and hopefully loyal so they can survive from Mass Effect 2—literally almost the exact same thing except the mechanics are slightly different. In ME2, you have to not only send a companion who is adept at this certain task, but is also the best option—of which you usually only have 1-2 and when you have up to 12 possible squadmates the choice can be incredibly tough to narrow down—they also have to be loyal to you and the cause, aka you must have completed their loyalty mission in a way that assures their loyalty. So it’s multi-layered because not only can the ill-equipped member die, but they can actually cause a different teammate to die if they’re in the wrong task. In Veilguard, it seems that so long as their loyal, they have a pretty good shot at surviving no matter the task. (Though I’m still researching this). But even if they fail, the only stakes are that that specific companion dies. It’s not like if we send someone ill-suited to help Morrigan she dies as well, therefore locking you out of the redemption ending with Mythal. Or the person who’s meant to take down the robot thing fails and the robot ends up taking out the entire group fighting it, causing that entire group to be slaughtered and the rest of their members to flee or something. In ME2, you could theoretically lose every single person with you not because you failed to do their loyalty missions, but because you also failed to upgrade the ship or assigned the wrong person. It’s just a much better implemented system than the half-baked piece in Veilguard, while Veilguard continually bragged about massive changes and consequences but… it’s really just which companions might die and that has no effect on anything later down the line.

And the final 3 choices are obviously from Mass Effect 3 and the final decision regarding the Reapers. Now that was not well-liked and I myself don’t love it, but that’s mostly because the game itself is trying to force me into the Synthetic Green ending which feels incredibly invasive and I hate that it’s the “good ending.” Which sort is what Veilguard is trying to do by saying that the “Resolution and Redemption” ending is the best but… the endings don’t hit the way they do in ME3 because they’re all the same. In the Mass Effect trilogy, you spend three games playing as Shepherd, so you know them pretty well and their personality (ignoring the Renegade character assassination in ME3 in some aspects of the story). When you finally get to the end, you know your Shepherd is likely going to their death to try and save the galaxy, so having the final choice boil down to sort of “how is my Shepherd going to die” is huge for the character, as well as the world they leave behind. The way you choose to destroy the Reapers does have massive implications and complications for the galaxy at large and how they might survive going forward.

In Veilguard, there’s only the illusion of choice, because it will always end up with Solas using his life essence to hold up the veil, which… is confusing but okay. (Not to mention a massive massive copout that the late game twist is “the veil is tied to the Ancient Elven Gods” instead of giving any real consequences or discussion to the Veil conundrum). Your “choices” are basically to trick Solas, fight him and force him into the Veil, or giving him redemption to choose to do it himself? But since those are always the same thing, it’s not a choice. (Which is the theme of the entire game honestly). So again, using the mechanics of a beloved game—though wild they chose to implement that ending idea in an arguably worse way—without understanding the reasons behind the use of those choices in ME3 and why they worked for that game (at least theoretically).

I could go no but I think I need to stop here because my brain is mush right now. But there’s just so much to talk about in this game and it’s not necessarily a good thing.

[windcarvedlyre]

Additional thoughts:

Pekoyama would be an extremely compelling time loop protagonist for almost identical reasons. How would someone who considers herself a tool, a puppet that exists as an extension of the sword it holds, handle a situation where her own decisions are the only thing that can save everyone? Where she knows more and more that Kuzuryuu doesn't? Where she accumulates more and more interactions with others and can make ch2's motive resolve differently?

How would Kuzuryuu develop without her death? How would she react if he died? How would she feel watching it happen over and over?

Making things worse, neither she nor Komaeda are the best at talking to other people. Neither would have a fun time having to juggle a lot of people's psychological issues without fumbling anyone.

Nanami could also be an interesting timeloop protag; you could take her internal struggle of watching the people she's programmed to rehabilitate die, her soft platitudes doing little against Monokuma targeting everyone's deepest vulnerabilities, and turn it up to eleven. It'd be the easiest to justify lorewise too; if the simulation could be intentionally reset it would make sense to leave her with her memories. Would she show more cracks emotionally over time or does her programming make that impossible regardless of how bad her internal state is? Would she be more proactive wrt fighting said programming and try to out herself as the traitor sooner?

Actually, how would Komaeda and Pekoyama react if they found out during some loop that they're in a simulation? Hell, how would they process finding out the truth about why everyone's there while still being forced through resets over and over? That could especially be interesting for the former.

Less compelling but funny: if Tanaka was stuck in a time loop he'd have a really hard time being believed by anyone. Maybe his presence in the class would make it harder for anyone else to convince people they're in one.

All of the above are inspired by this DR1 fic where Naegi loops until he escapes with everyone alive btw. I'm picturing them in the same situation: DR2 edition.

Wilder proposition, however: you know how characters stuck in a time loop for a long time can change dramatically between boredom, the futility of their situation and a lack of consequences? Like Homura in PMMM and Flowey in Undertale?

AU set at Hope's Peak where Hinata's stuck looping from the beginning of his course to The Tragedy. Where the only way to escape is to prevent it but he's been looping for a long time and nothing's worked. Where the Kamukura project doesn't happen (or it did the first time but most of the effects don't carry over) but he's so familiar with most of the ways things can branch in most places in and around HPA, picked up so many things from watching ultimates, that he starts to become that way organically.

That time loop poll really got me thinking about Komaeda in one; I think that thematically he'd be a fascinating character to force into a groundhog day situation.

His entire thing (or a large chunk of it) is that he's spent his entire life at the mercy of external forces, right? He's just had to roll with whatever fate throws at him, never really earning anything positive or negative and his existence potentially being dangerous to anyone around him. So he's ended up with this inner contradiction where he seems desperate to be important and be valued and loved by others, but he also sort of displays learned helplessness regarding his own fate and has absorbed societal ideas around the worth of talented vs talentless people to an extreme degree. Some part of him has never given up on himself but he only pursues being impactful in a sort of vicarious way, trying to further other people's growth to the point of destroying himself.

So I'm fascinated by the idea of a story where he literally can't. Where the only way to move forward involves him acting for himself just as much as he does for others. Post-NWP can already be like this to some extent- he 'finally' managed to sacrifice himself for hope but died terrified and has to process that now, surrounded by people who know more of his baggage now and won't let him do that again- but the way he'd be the only consistent factor in a timeloop fic could be really compelling.

He'd be forced to come to certain realisations by himself and slowly, painfully pull himself out of them, and having him have good experiences with others only to loop again and have budding friendships reset would be a horrible way to make him internalise how much he wants their company, not just to help them from 50 metres away.

[yoshkeii]

god damn this blog is still going... what are ya'll fuckin' doing?

[yansurnummu]

TESfest day 4: thief

Mirvyn, my sweet little disaster. He was my first Skyrim oc I ever took seriously, and thus became the reason I ended up here in the first place back in 2014. It's all his fault.

[dizzybizz]

some magma doods bc i have spent so much time on there this past week or so

i love drawin w friends 😚

[katierosefun]

Hello :))) So, i was today years old when i learned you had a girlfriend (if i’m not mistaken) and somehow it means a lot to me as you’re one of my comfort blog and that i’ve been struggling with my own sexuality for a while. (I hope it does not come off as weird this is really not my intention 😭) So i was wondering if you would mind sharing how you two met as i love hearing about queer love stories coming from real people and not only in fiction (somehow i need to be reminded that yes, it can happen in real life too for me??) If and only if you’re comfortable doing so of course!!!

aww hi anon! first of all, thank you so much for the kind words--i'm so glad to hear that my blog is a source of comfort for you. and also, re: your sexuality--i'm sending you so much love! i know how scary and how overwhelming it can be to still be figuring out your sexuality and navigating your own queerness, so please remember to have some compassion for yourself, and please know that you're not alone.

as for my girlfriend: yes! i do in fact have one, and we've been together for a little over a year and a half now. we'll be going on two years pretty soon, which is all very exciting!

as for how we met: it's all a pretty funny story, because we actually met while we were both in college. and also right during that first covid summer too. we started off as long-distance friends, bonding our love for star wars and writing.

anyways, i totally had a crush on her, although i was trying to play it off most of the time. the fact that we lived in separate cities was another factor too, of course.

fast forward to a few years later, when we've both graduated college. i've just started my first year of law school; she's working at this point. we're still texting and calling each other a bit, and then i tell her, oh yeah, i'm going out on a date with this guy.

and just like something from a kdrama or a movie or something, this ridiculous, lovely woman texts me as i'm boarding the bus for my date. her text? hey, i dreamed about you last night! we were sitting on a park bench together and we were holding hands :)

and of course, at this point, i still have a disastrous crush on her (hence why i spent a lot of time dating all these random guys in my junior and senior year of college, because i was like i gotta just get over this), but anon, that text message was the other shoe dropping on my brain. i decided right then and there that enough is enough, i'm gonna call her tomorrow and tell her i like her, so she can't just say stuff like that anymore because i don't think i can take it anymore.

so we arrange to have a phone call the next day, and we chat, and of course, true to form, i have to have some liquid courage on me (peach soju, btw . . . but turns out, if you're jittery enough, you don't even feel the alcohol, because i still remember every detail). anyways, at some point, we're chatting, and then i blurt out, "i like you."

and she goes, "i like you too."

and i went, "no, i mean i like you more than a friend. as in i like you."

and she goes, "uh, yeah. i like you to do. the feeling's mutual."

and of course, i didn't know what to say to that. like, i swear i was just like "??? what?" because the thing is, i had this whole speech planned out in my head--something like i like you, and you don't like me like that, so i'm sorry that this is awkward, and i can just take care of my own feelings, but i just really needed to say that so that we're both on the same page--

so to say i was pretty stunned would be an understatement! so cue a lot of laughter and flustering, and fast forward to today, with her living with me for the summer (because of course, she'll need to go back to work and i'll have to go back to school once august hits), and we talk about how many pets we're going to have one day (she has this hobby of sending me videos of increasingly exotic animals and going "??? so can we have this as a pet? :)"), and we've talked about what our wedding is going to be like (as well as what our wedding will not be like) . . .

this is just a whole lot of details, but as you might be the first one to ask me about this lovely person on this webbed site, of course i'm going to ramble and gush--but anon, to give you some hope here, queer love is a beautiful thing and it certainly happens.

personally, i would love to go back in time and find my sad high school self and go "hey, hang in there, because you're gonna be lucky enough to finally fall in love with someone who's kind and warm and patient and loving, and she's going to encourage you to be a better person, and she's going to make friends with literally every single stranger on the street (much to your partial exasperation and partial wonder), and she's going to be really bad at staying hydrated, and she's going to take so many photographs of everything, and she's going to make friendship bracelets on your bed, and she's going to almost fight the secretary at a dentist's office for you (while you tug at her sleeve and go come on, i'm fine, let's just go), and she's going to recite and write poetry that you keep both on your walls and also in your head, and her grandma is going to show you the dorkiest photos she has of this silly, lovely, beautiful person who you love."

so: all that to say, anon, i hope that gave you some hope! it's such a long journey for some of us, but i promise that queer love is out there and healthily alive, and yeah, sometimes they're just as good (or even better) than those that you find in fiction :)

[six-improbable-things]

I had to open the ship combat rules doc I made for Rook's campaign the other day, and man, that thing was (and still is tbh) my fucking magnum opus. I put so much effort into creating rules for a type of combat that dnd doesn't naturally support, and it was SUCH a fun challenge. I'll admit it's not perfect, but it works for our campaign, and everyone seemed to like it during our one test so far, so that's good enough for me.

I think between the stat blocks, the rules themselves, and the maps of the ships, I spent easily 48 hours total on making this sailing arc happen. (No, I'm not the DM, I just like homebrewing shit, and also happen to be the one who decided to play a pirate and make that involved in the story.)

[infriga]

I know I should be excited about this and I am excited but at the same time something about the way this panel was built up to and how it's composed feels so... Ominous. I'm excited, but I'm also kinda worried and I can't put my finger on why exactly. It's just giving me the heeby jeebies.

[icewindandboringhorror]

just a few little bits from the past few days

[undefeatablesin]

Brings me immense joy to see the Classicvania renaissance happening lately. So much fresh love for the old games, their stories and characters pouring in and despite having moved on to the Souls fandoms myself, I just want to say how glad I am that more people are seeing the beauty of the classic CV games at last ✨️

[jays-therapist]

silly ass sketch page 'cause I got that baboon baby on the brain. I wonder whatever happened to it...