#and I'll see what I need to fix after posting this at 1 AM over at AO3

[karatekels]

KarateKels Story Masterlist

Hi everyone! I’ve decided to (finally) get my act together and make a masterlist post for all the requests/stories I’ve done so far. I’m going first by character, then adding Dark Desires October and TIGmas posts for if you’re looking for a ~vibe~. Links that have a * indicate the presence of smut, for if you just want to get to the good stuff! 😉

(I'll be going through these posts and updating them slowly when I can't bring myself to write, so if you see anything that needs fixing or you want to suggest ways to make this... less of a clusterfuck, please feel free to let me know!)

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Currently Writing:

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1. Cold Outside (a Jack Blaylock x Reader fic for TIGmas #12 - sorry for taking FOREVER, @babylonianqueenie; I'm really struggling to make this good!)

2. Solar Flare (a Jan Valek x OC fic)

Note: I am taking requests, but seeing that some of them are around a year old at this point, note that it may be awhile! I'm not planning on starting any of my own projects or theme-months until I clear out most of what I have, and thank you all for your patience!

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Terry Silver:

Silver Seduction: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3* | Part 4* | Part 5* | Part 6*

(KK3 Terry x Reader) Reader is the older sister of Jessica Andrews and has taken it upon herself to make sure young Daniel LaRusso stays safe after Jessica returns to Ohio. This includes accompanying him to seek out the training offered by Sensei Terry Silver and learning a few moves yourself from the handsome older man. When his true intentions are discovered, you completely cut him off, but he isn’t willing to let you go so easily. (Reader is in her 20s)

Chef’s Kiss: Part 1 | Part 2*

(KK3 Terry x Reader) Reader is dragged to a charity event by her parents where she meets Terry Silver. They discover that they have a mutual acquaintance, Daniel LaRusso, and Reader joins Danny at the dojo as she grows closer to Terry. Wanting to surprise him one day, she catches Terry relishing Daniel’s torture – now Terry has to make her see reason. (Reader is in her 20s)

Deluge: Part 1

(KK3 Terry x Reader) You get stranded in the rain trying to make your way to Terry’s place for Valentine’s Day, but Terry comes to your rescue, professing his love for you and taking you to his home where you belong.

An Honest Man: Part 1 | Part 2* | To be continued…

(KK3 Terry x Reader) You meet Terry at a party and aren’t impressed by his smarmy exterior, making him determined to win you over. Colluding with your easily wooed coworker, he talks you into a date and slowly seduces his way past your timid, untrusting nature.

Payment Plan: Part 1*

(KK3 Terry x Reader) Reader sees Terry training in the Cobra Kai dojo while on her way to work and develops a crush on him. They finally meet face-to-face and Terry invites her inside for a free lesson.

Bath Toy: Part 1*

(KK3 Terry x Reader) Terry takes a business call while playing with you in the bath but is interrupted by you not being able to keep quiet. To make up for the inconvenience, you let him use you underwater while he goes about his business.

Cat & Mouse: Part 1*

(KK3 Terry x Reader) Reader is a rising star at Dynatox and has caught the eye of the boss himself. Despite being the Terry Silver, however, you adamantly reject his advances, forcing him to take more drastic measures to help you see reason. The two of you engage in a game of cat and mouse that culminates the night of a gala celebrating Dynatox’s successes.

Discipline Training: Part 1* | Part 2* | To be continued…

(KK3 Terry x Reader) Terry comes home early from a work trip and catches you touching yourself without his permission. He decides to punish train you in the third 'D': Discipline.

All's Fair: Part 1 | Part 2* | Part 3*

(KK3 Terry x Reader) Reader has been dating Terry for awhile, and he's been patient. When she surprises him with a date at their local funfair, he thinks she'll be willing to finally make their relationship physical. At the top of the ferris wheel, he makes his move. Dubcon.

Unjust Reward:Part 1 | Part 2*

(KK3 Terry x Reader) Daniel warns Reader that Terry is nothing but trouble, and she tries to avoid him, but when she's being chased by a group of men she turns to Terry's dojo for help. He swoops in to save the day, but it turns out he was just saving her for himself. Non-con.

Clear as Mud: Part 1*

(KK3 Terry x Reader) You’ve tried to get Terry to open up about his time in Vietnam on more than one occasion, and while he’s been doing his best to help you understand, he ultimately decides that the best way to help you is to put you through something similar, hunting you in the middle of a forest at sunset.

What You Do To Me: Part 1*

(KK3 Terry x Reader) You and Terry have been together for quite awhile now and he is crazy about you. Before he can tell you that he loves you, he decides to test your loyalty by seeing how you respond to another man trying to seduce you at a gala. Once you pass his test with flying colours, he sneaks away with you to confess his love, and shows you just what it’s like to have his full devotion…

Turtle Doves: Part 1 | Part 2

(KK3 Cobra Husbands - Terry/Reader/John) It’s your first Christmas spent with both Terry and John, and everyone is nervous about what to give the others. While you’re confident in Terry’s (often overwhelming) love for both you and John, as well as your own feelings for both men, you’re still unsure of John’s feelings for you with the spirit of Betsy still a looming presence in everyone’s mind.

Songbird: Part 1*

(Terry through the ages) A series of snippets of Terry and his wife in the 90s, 00s and the present. Reader is a singer at the bar that Terry frequents as he hits rock bottom, and the two of you fall in love. Years later, the return of John Kreese into your husband’s live threatens to tear your marriage apart.

Lesson Learned: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3*

(CK Terry x Reader) Reader is a student in Cobra Kai’s adult class and you and Sensei Silver are both clearly attracted to one another. After a month of teasing, Terry decides you’ve both waited long enough.

Strike First: Part 1 | Part 2*

(CK Terry x Reader) Reader and Sensei Silver have been eyeing each other during the dojo’s adult class for awhile now. While you never think it would escalate past flirting, Terry has had other plans, luring you to the dojo when no one is around so you two can get to know each other.

Prized Possession: Part 1*

(CK Terry x Reader) You accompany Terry to a charity event for the first time as a couple and he doesn’t appreciate the attention you receive from the other men in attendance. Upon returning home, he needs to make sure that you both know who you belong to.

As I Am: Part 1*

(CK Terry x Reader) You witness Terry and Daniel’s fight in Stingray’s apartment and desperately want him to lose control with you. Upon making you confess your desires, he gives you exactly what you need. Size kink.

A Better Offer: Part 1 | Part 2*

(CK Terry x Reader) You are Daniel’s assistant at the dealership and a close family friend. When Terry drops by to gather information for his schemes, he decides to scoop you up and make Danny-Boy regret his mistreatment of you, giving you a dream opportunity: organizing the charity auction for Eva Garcia. The two of you develop feelings for one another as you work closely together, and as the events of the auction unfold, the tension between you reaches its boiling point.

Legacy: Part 1*

(CK Terry x Reader) Terry has fallen for the most promising student in his adult class, though she remains oblivious. Though he desperately wants to have her for himself, he fears rejection and settles for privately training her just to be close to her and build a legacy. Eventually, he runs out of things to teach her.

Fresh Start: Days 4 & 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Days 8 & 9* | Days 10 & 11 | Day 12-A | Day 12-B | Day 13-A* | Day 13-B* | Day 13-C | Day 14-A* | Day 14-B | Day 14-C

(CK Terry x Reader) Reader is visiting LA for a few weeks and accidentally wanders onto the estate of Terry Silver, who immediately falls hard for the young woman. With only a few days to convince her to stay with him, he knows he has to pull out all the stops.

Scream for Me: Part 1 | Part 2*

(CK Terry x Reader) Part of the "Fresh Start" universe! Reader makes the mistake of telling Terry that she can't believe he was ever scary, and certainly isn't that way now. Terry decides to teach her a lesson, hunting her in their own home until she admits that he is still very much something to be feared.

Wrapped in Red: Part 1*

(CK Terry x Reader) Part of the “Fresh Start” universe! You and Terry are invited to a Christmas Eve charity gala by your rival for Terry’s affections, and you’re sick of having to endure her flirting with your man. Surprisingly, Victor has an idea that will make it certain who Terry Silver belongs to.

Eye of the Storm: Part 1* | To be continued…

(CK Terry x Reader) Trapped at the airport on Christmas Eve, Terry grows tired of seeing everyone around him with their families and loved ones, and impulsively decides to start a family of his own. Today. He sets his sights on you to get the job done, with you being none the wiser.

Guided Meditation: Part 1*

(CK Terry x Reader) Terry is fed up with your attitude lately, and decides to help you learn how to channel your pent up frustrations through more enjoyable pursuits... for him, anyway.

Party Favours: Part 1*

(CK Terry x Reader) You really don't want your birthday to be a big deal, but Terry is determined to strike the perfect balance, finding just the right way to spoil you...

The Steadfast Tin Soldier: Part 1*

(Twig Terry x Reader) Terry returns from Vietnam on Christmas Eve, and you are the first and only person he wants to see. After years without so much as a letter, you two try to get to know each other once again.

Cash Ewing (Black Friday/The Kidnapping):

Disorderly Conduct: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4* | Part 5 | Part 6

A dark, tragic fic. Reader is a cop who has been working at the same precinct as Cash for awhile, and gets the vibe that something is... off. Trusting her instinct, she follows him to an abandoned building one day and catches him in the act. Unfortunately, he also catches her, and keeps her as a hostage while he tries to figure out his next move. (Takes place before events of the movie)

Person of Interest: Part 1*

You and a friend attend your precinct's Christmas party; the first time you'll be seeing your coworkers since you went undercover almost a year ago. Rather than the happy reunion with your partner and friend Cash, he seems anything but happy to see you. Locked in the basement together, you call Cash out on his BS and finally confront him about his feelings and your own.

Jan Valek (Vampires):

Heirloom: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6*

An enemies to lovers fic with Jan Valek. Reader is Jack Crow's daughter and a vamp-hunter-in-training. When Valek attacks the old Catholic school where the Black Cross of Berziers is kept and discovers his nemesis’s daughter, he kidnaps her in hopes of using her to lure him out but finds himself falling for her instead.

Saturnalia: Part 1*

Valek catches your scent on the wind and plans to feed on you, but after a single conversation with you can’t bring himself to commit such an act. Instead, he plans to find you at your friend's Winter Solstice Masquerade to be close to you, even just for the night.

Solar Flare: Part 1 | In Progress...

As vampires become a growing problem and the number of Slayers dwindles, the Catholic Church decides to perform another ‘miracle’, attempting to create a weapon that will be able to find the despicable creatures in any and all shadows that they may hide. Similarly to the botched exorcism of Jan Valek, the experimental ceremony that Rose Hanlon undergoes doesn’t go exactly as intended, and she escapes the city with a set of abilities she doesn’t even understand.

Gus Travis (Black Point):

In Deep Water: Part 1 | Part 2* | Part 3*

A dark non-con with Gus Travis. Reader is an undercover cop who has gotten in with Gus's gang to get the dirt on him and Malcolm’s crime ring. Gus gets wind of your deception and decides to punish you - for lying, for making him fall for you, for everything.

Terry McCain (Excessive Force):

Yule-Tied: Part 1* | To be continued…

You manage to get Terry to swear off work for a whole week to come with you to visit your family in New York City for the holidays. He has (unsurprisingly) charmed his way into everyone’s good books, so you decide to reward him with an early Christmas present when you get back to your hotel room the night before Christmas Eve.

Jack Blaylock (Ulterior Motives):

Coming soon…

The TIGverse (stories with more than one TIG character):

The NSFW Alphabet: Part 1* | Part 2*

A character study for both KK3 Terry and CK Terry. (I want to do more requests like these, so feel free to send in requests for my thoughts/opinions rather than full on stories if you want!)

A Tale of Two Terrys: Part 1* | To be continued…

(KK3 Terry x Reader x CK Terry) You and your husband (CK Terry) are somehow joined in bed by his younger self, who had been wondering how his future would turn out. Initially protective, your husband talks you into letting his younger self have his way with you before joining in himself.

Mediation: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5* | Part 6* | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9* | To be continued…

(Terry McCain x Reader x Cash Ewing) You are assigned as Terry McCain’s new partner after his previous partner – Cash Ewing – goes to prison for the crimes he has committed. Cash returns to Chicago years later, after his release and rehabilitation, and while he can’t be a cop anymore, he wants to make amends to those he has disappointed with his actions, most of all his former close friend Terry. Terry isn’t receptive to Cash’s attempts at reconciliation, and warns you to stay away from him, having grown very protective of his “work wife.” But you find something of a kindred spirit in Cash and want to help him get a second chance at life, deciding to do what you can to support the man and bring the two friends back together.

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Themes/Challenges

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Dark Desires October 2023:

Unjust Reward Disorderly Conduct Heirloom Scream for Me All's Fair In Deep Water

TIGmas 2023:

Person of Interest Saturnalia Clear as Mud Eye of the Storm The Steadfast Tin Soldier Wrapped in Red Yule-Tied What You Do To Me Mediation Guided Meditation Turtle Doves (Cobra Husbands) It’s Cold Outside (Jack Blaylock) Coming Soon...

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AMAs (ask me anything):

Just in case you are, for some reason, interested in asking me about things or reading about what other people have asked me! (These are fun and I'm happy to answer pretty much any question you feel like asking!)

AMA1 | AMA2 |

[serinesaccade]

Les mis Enjoltaire ficrec list part 1

Hi all, I decided I'd do a scan of my extensive bookmarks list to bring together basically everything I've consumed of enjoltaire. I have not been publishing much but I can still share what brought me joy. These are not in a reasonable order (just by my reading history chronologically) and I'll be limiting them on a one-fic-per-author basis so I don't just recommend you my fave authors 100 times. See below the readmooore for the first part of this effort (page 1-5 of my bookmarks)

dressing apollo by Tegami

Model Enjolras and hot mess designer Grantaire on a reality TV show, handled brilliantly. What else do I need to say.  how sweet and lovely dost thou make the shame is also essential reading.

With My Feelings On Fire (Guess I'm a Bad Liar) by pumpkinspiceprouvaire

Enjolras and Grantaire enter the stupidest and pining-est arrangement of all time. This list is going to make it very obvious that I have trope preferences and frankly, I don’t care. This is Delicious and so is basically everything else by this author

Walk Me Home by kjack89 for serinesaccade

It is impossible to pick a good fic by kjack89 out of their infinite library of good fic so I cheated and picked the one written for me

no more cyanide kisses (i’m methylene blue) by Mousetrap

Hurts so good

send you my love on a wire by blairs

Hilarious fics, gotta love blairs

i looked to you instead by Anonymous

suckerpunch by televisionbodies

say my name a million times (and i still haven’t heard you say it enough) by dyhtps

the road not taken by Petr1chor

Another heavy debate over which fic to pick out of many greats

Revolution Barbie by StrangeOccurrence

Lesbiabs but like weirdly serious and sexual

It's You And It's Been From the Start by stellatundra

Screaming

best practices in seasonal dessert distribution: a primer by twofrontteethstillcrooked for stardust_and_sunlight

Brownie sweet

Beautiful & Good by Riotstar

Emotionally difficult for me to read like I am not sure I can continue but? Important?

in momentum. by AnnaBolena for ShitpostingfromtheBarricade

how long it's gonna be (before we get on the bus and cause no fuss) by samarskite 

The Finer Points of Communication by ShitpostingfromtheBarricade

God I love this author

And Pages To Go by femmebingley

here i am leaving you clues, by moonswinger

you can’t kill me after this fic bc I am already dead

Ho, Ho, Oh No by catstrophysics

stuck together by whooves

fire in our bellies and furtive little feelings by sarahyyy

Classic bigtime writer with big big list

the first time we met we hated each other by mariuscourf

I get so excited when they post

Silvertongue by resnovae

Compromise by Akigriffin

I am a sucker for acespec

What’s it like to date someone? by Wildrivver

Patron Saint of Silent Restraint by vivalataire for emmettcadrian

If It Ain't Baroque, Don't Fix It by vivalataire

Lost in Translation by ellevaire

It's Not the Same Anymore by ShameDumpster

Insanely cute and deeply real, I read it over and over

Witchboy by tothewillofthepeople

Ughh how does one write so good

[storiesaplenty]

Gym Teacher Riley (18+)

Simon "Ghost" Riley x f/Reader

Call of Duty Masterlist

Back to School Masterlist

Part 1 (18+) Principal Price

This has not been proofread. Please enjoy, though.

Warnings: swearing. Unprotected sex. P in v. Mention of crying and bj, but nothing descriptive.

WC: 1137

Gif does not belong to me: @ineylesian

©️ storiesaplenty 2024: Do not repost or translate my work. This is the only place I post my work.

Summary: Gym Teacher Riley has heard all about you from Price & Soap before he even met you. Now he is on detention duty, & your classroom is right across from the detention room. You need help with something, & he shows you how to fix the problem. You end up thanking him in your own way.

Gym teacher Simon wasn't at all happy about having to cover detention after school, but it was his turn, and besides, your room was right across the hall, and he could see inside of as you have kept your door open.

When he got the text from Soap, saying that Price was right about the new teacher, he knew he had to have a taste for himself.

Even more so after Price told them all about you during their weekly poker games.

"Fucking tightest pussy I've ever been in. She was so responsive to my touch, and fuck me lads, the taste of her pussy." He licked his lips to let us know that he wanted another taste.

I was pulled out of my daydream of her looking up at me, with my cock shoved down her throat, and tears spilling down her cheeks by the sound of the bell ringing.

"You can all go, and I don't want to see any of you here for the rest of the month." The teenage shits were already out of the room before I could finish my sentence.

I stood up and grabbed my stuff, with my back turned to the door when I heard a light knock.

"I'm busy." I told them, without even turning around.

"I know you want to go home Mr. Riley." I turned around at the sound of my name, looking at her as she stood there, nervously.

"But I need help with one thing." I placed my bag back down on my desk, grumbling about how I would help her.

She sat at her desk, and opened up the program which for the week grades.

"I did what Principal Price said to do, but it keeps saying error, and I would like to get this done before I go home for the weekend."

"Show me." I placed my hand against the desk and leaned down to watch as she showed me what she is doing.

Everything seemed to be correct until almost the last step.

"Here, let me show you." I placed my hand over her hand, on the mouse and showed her which button to hit to make it be entered properly.

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"You are a lifesaver Mr Riley." My cock twitched in my pants at her calling me that.

"It was nothing. Now it is time to go home if you don't need anything else." I turned my head to look at her, our faces extremely close.

I just had to move just a tiny bit and I would be kissing her.

"No, thank you." She said politely, but her lips touched mine when she said that, and something seemed to snap in me.

I smashed my mouth against hers, waiting for her to slap me, but she just moaned into the kiss, her arms wrapping around my neck as I picked her up and placed her on the same desk which our boss, and my good friend fucked her on, less that two weeks ago.

Her hands went straight for my belt and started to undo it and pull it threw the loops.

Most gym teachers wear their gym clothes all day, I am not one of them.

My belt was tossed to the side, and I couldn't wait any longer, as my cock is aching so much being stuffed inside my jeans.

I pushed my jeans and boxers down just enough for my cock to be freed.

My ego swelled as she finally saw my cock for the first time.

"It isn't going to fit." Was all she said as I placed my cock at the entrance of her pussy, rubbing it up and down to collect her juices.

"I'll make it fit little dovie. Don't you worry about that."

I started to push in, watching her face for any pain, but fuck, Price was right.

Her pussy is so fucking tight that it felt like she was trying to strangle my cock.

She placed her face in my neck, and softly moaned my name as I sunk inch by agonising inch of my cock in her.

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It took a bit for her to take me all, but when she did, I kept muttering, "good girl. Good fucking girl." As I stayed still, my cock twitching in her pussy.

I pulled back slightly and then pushed back in, soft pants falling from her lips as I did this over and over again, until my pace sped up,

I am barely pulling out of her as I rutted against her.

The tip of my cock was nudging her cervix every single time I slid back in.

I pushed her so she laid across her desk, putting her legs over my shoulders, forcing myself to go even deeper if that was possible.

The noises that fell from her lips seemed to get louder as she called out my name. "Mr. Riley. Yes, right there. Gonna cum." The last part came out as a squeal as I started to jackhammer.

Wanting her to cum around my cock.

"Cum for me then. Don't hold back." I grunted and that was all she seemed to need as she cried out my name like a prayer, her pussy tightening around my cock, forcing me to follow right behind her as she milked every last drop out of me.

My cock was still twitching as I pulled out of her pussy, watching with some sick glee as our combined juices leaked out of her and onto a student's paper.

I took two fingers and swiped it along her pussy, cleaning up some of our spent.

'I wonder?' I thought to myself.

"Open your mouth." I asked her, wondering if she would.

To my suprise, she did, also sticking out her tongue.

I placed the two cum-covered fingers on her tongue, and I actually felt a shiver go up my spine when she closed her mouth and started to suck my fingers clean.

◆

I went back to the detention room to grab my stuff, her gone by this point, when I felt a presence behind me.

"What do you want Gaz?"

"I heard it all." I could tell by his tone, he was jealous.

"Jealous?" I finally turned around, my bag slung over my shoulder.

"Very much so you massive asshole." He said to me with a smirk.

"Maybe next time it will be you, Vice-Principle Garrick." He clapped his hand on my shoulder, as the two of us left the classroom, ready for the weekend, but more importantly, ready for our weekly poker game where it will be my turn to tell everyone how I fucked the new teacher.

Soap is going to be so jealous.

Vice-Principal Garrick (18+) - Part 3

[dhiatzs]

A rant about Heimerdinger

Heimerdinger is one of my favorite characters in Arcane. I like his teacher side, his scientist side, his nice and well-meaning side and especially the approach the show gives of his immortality. I also like how his character flaws come and bite him in season 1, leaving him without anything but the promise of worse and better happening in the rest of the story.

A lot of people in the fandom expect him to have a comeuppance because of all his wrongdoings, in season 2. I fully agree with that. I think I will grow bored of Heimerdinger if he doesn't get some character developement and some charges for what he's not been doing this whole time.

However, in some way, I can't help but feel a little skeptical about the way a lot of people in the fandom feel like they straight up hate him. I guess I'll gloss over the arguments. Warning though: I've seen the show only a couple of times, and I am not the most invested in it, so some of my points might not be correct or might miss something. I've also not read many posts about Arcane, and my English is not the best since I'm not a native English speaker. All of these are just some thoughts I have and I try to translate the best I can.

About Ekko being way too nice to Heimerdinger even though he is a councelor and responsible for Zaun's state:

well, that's a mixed bag. On one hand, yes, I think this scene quickly gloss over some coldness and hostility Ekko could have felt towards Heimerdinger. If Ekko acts angry toward Caitlyn in the same episode, why was he so neutral with someone who is in a higher position in the hierarchy? It doesn't make sense, and to be fair I'm not defending that it was not treated in the way I imagined would be the most accurate for Ekko's character.

But at the same time, if you take a look at the whole context, I kinda see where it's coming from.

a/ Right before Ekko is found by Heimerdinger, Ekko had accepted the idea to negociate with the council. Only the fight with Jinx and Marcus' betrayal prevent Caitlyn, Vi and him from doing what they want; everything goes wrong, and it appears Ekko lost everything he tried to accomplish in the last hours. So… why would he consider bad news to meet a councelor, Heimerdinger especially ─ a scientist ─, who is willing to help? In this whole disaster, it is at least something he can take.

b/ Plus, when they meet, Ekko doesn't have a reason to think of the implication. He has to look for a solution, and he has the beginning of a solution with Heimerdinger, a person he didn't have a chance to meet some time ago. So he takes it.

c/ Also, Ekko doesn't have the context a viewer has. Yes, he knows what state Zaun is in, yes the enforcers are his enemies, but if you look at his actions in the course of the season… Ekko doesn't fight against Piltover. He fights against Silco. Ekko saved the people Silco has hurt. Ekko himself says his people were lost "some" to the enforcers, "most" to Silco. He believes Silco to be responsible for Piltover's violence towards Zaun, because to Piltover, Zaun as a whole appears corrupted by Silco. Once again, Ekko doesn't have the big picture.

d/ Since Vi convinced Ekko that Caitlyn is sincere if misguided, and since he accepted from Caitlyn herself that the cycle of violence needs to stop and Piltover and Zaun need to find an agreement, accepting Heimerdinger is quite the logical next step. And sure, it means that Heimerdinger gets a privilege he didn't deserve by actively doing something good himself, but I believe it to be a good start to develop Heimerdinger. If Heimerdinger's ignorance was confronted at the moment he meets Ekko, the development would have been weak and unsatisfying, given the few number of episodes left in season 1 after that. Season 2 has way more time to develop what he did wrong and how he could fix what he did. Plus, and this is my last point with that…

e/ Narratively-wise, putting a confrontation there would have been not only useless, but just a free stomp on Heimerdinger with no possible payoff. Think about it: Heimerdinger has been nothing but powerless during the course of the whole first season. His authority has been direspected times and times again, he's been excluded from the council's plans and agreements, until ultimately being pushed out of the council. Heimerdinger already lost. If there wasn't some positivity with him and Ekko, the end of season 1 would have been depressing to watch; but they're a light of hope, in the end. Sure, it isn't a duo we expected to see, but Arcane doesn't play fair with characters, it just shows the logical course of actions of broken people misunderstanding each other. And I think it's doing a pretty good job at it.

About Heimerdinger not doing anything in two hundred years to realize Zaun's situation and help it:

yes, actually. I agree with this argument, Heimerdinger had numerous occasions to see what was going on, and he didn't take any of them. But where I don't agree with most of the fandom is that this is a part of the character I actually like (given we like the flaws of our favorite characters just as much as their qualities): his heavy, heavy blindspot about Zaun. I think this is the reason why I think Heimerdinger isn't a good person; but to me, it isn't a proof of him being a bad person. It is just the proof of him being extremely coherent.

Also, just like with how Ekko reacts to Heimerdinger, there are so many contextual evidences that makes it make sense.

a/ I feel like there's some kind of math being made in the fandom where Heimerdinger equals Piltover. Which symbolicaly makes a lot of sense: Heimerdinger is this brilliant scientist whose renown you hear about times and times again. Heimerdinger founded Piltover, and the city echoes the character: immortal, wealthy, clean on himself, popular. The relation between Zaun and Piltover echoes the way we know Heimerdinger interacts with people: because of his immortality, the ones who surround him decay, and he outlives them; and he doesn't empathize with them, just like Piltover doesn't empathize with Zaun.

But as a whole, I think Piltover is also Heimerdinger's safety bubble. We know Heimerdinger has seen awful things in his past, and created Piltover firstly to escape the warmongering of mages. Under his watch, progress is made slow and careful. Under his watch, the city is some kind of wealthy peaceful place, where when something bad happens ─ the most minor thing, truly; say, a bunch of teenagers from the Undercity stealing from an Academy student ─ someone must pay. Heimerdinger is seen enjoying celebrations, concert, wonders of this kind. Heimerdinger behaves like a child in a world where he made sure any disturbance is avoided for him. His fluffy cute design and his happy-go-lucky nature are just further proof of this. We could argue that all of this is a logical reason on its own why Heimerdinger doesn't try and help Zaun: he cares about Piltover, and Piltover first. None of these things are a bad thing in themselves, but it becomes bad when you realize everything that flows from it.

b/ To support this point, one interesting thing about Heimerdinger is his ego. He sees himself as an authority figure, someone reliable ─ a teacher, even! He is wise, he is old, he keep things stable. Piltover is a city shining with pride and privilege (no pun intended). None of this leaves a door open to change. Which is pretty ironic, right? Because science should be about change, but Heimerdinger isn't. Because of his immortality, he must be a moral backbone, he must not lose his way. And since what he's been has been serving Piltover for two hundred years now, you can't make him change his mind. He's a stubborn creature, but truly, is there any character who can fully get where he is coming from? I find this awfully interesting that what he lacks is a person in the same position as him. Because the only person he can respect in this context is himself, even though it leads to permanent self-satisfaction. A permanent feeling of thinking you know better, when you actually… don't. But who could prove that?

c/ I think Piltover's council has to be mentioned. The council is made of seven people and Heimerdinger is only one of these people. This oligarchy has been present for generations; the principle allows every case presented to be examined through several nuances, which leads to debates and votes. Its core definition prevents tyrannical decisions. Sure, corruption within can lead to this instance being actually a disguised despotism… the irony is that corruption indeed runs through the council, but Heimerdinger isn't a part of it and isn't aware of it. And you can guess that since Heimerdinger is the founder of Piltover and is a part of said council, it means that he accepted the suggestion of an oligarchy. The people in the council have interests in mind that aren't purely about science: economy, politics, business… all logical angles to use to take care of a city whose importance is known across the world. Heimerdinger is described as having his only experience be science. So Zaun's situation hasn't been fixed by Heimerdinger, sure… but not by the council either. Their failure to consider Zaun's situation is even discussed in episode 4; Caitlyn's mother even argues that the Undercity can't be controlled. Plus, Marcus hide a lot of crucial information from the council, because he has to accept Silco's conditions in order not to compromise himself. The council thinks that Zaun's situation is being handled thanks to the enforcers.

And at the same time, there is such a complacency in the concept of a council made with privileged families. It is formed with elites, and this elites have an elitist view about politics, which would be better considered with a sociological approach. But this is simply the extension of Heimerdinger's wish to keep everything safe and sanitized for himself and the city. A logical outcome, which actually makes everything Heimerdinger's fault, but at the same time, which makes it logical he doesn't realize it.

This kind of is the whole point of Heimerdinger's character, isn't it…? Everything he does is flawed because he fails to see past his fears.

To conclude this (already too long) post, one thing I haven't mentioned is that I think what leads people to dislike Heimerdinger as a whole is ambiguity. The fact that we don't know yet if the writers are aware that Heimerdinger isn't a perfect person; the fact that he has such a nice presentation which distract people from the fact he's not reliable nor doing as well as you could think. The fact that all the ways in which he means well are not enough to repair what he has failed to accomplish. The fact that he is presented as a solution while being one of the cores of the problem at the same time. Believe me, like I said, I want him to get a comeuppance. But I think his flaws are as likeable as the web of flaws linking every character of this show to the others.

[watchingblsnowandforever]

We Are Ep.14: Part 1/3

Hello!!! =D

Welcome back to my crack posts!

Part 2, Part 3

Ep 14 ruined me, just so y'all know. I'm honestly scared for what the next episode will do to me. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Warning: long, long post 😊😅 (also divided into three parts this time because I wanted to screenshot the whole damn thing, but this is next best)

I did not expect Q to be the one to stand up for Phum, but I wasn't really surprised after the last ep. Previously, he'd be the first one to go up in arms, but he's starting to understand maybe everything isn't that straightforward, and despite his friends meddling in his own relationship, he wants to leave Peem alone.

Conclusion: he's a very good friend.

Of course. I should've known something like this would come up 😭

Of course they've taken baths together.

I love this friendship so much.

You again. 😶 I swear to the gods, this guy will give me high blood pressure or something. Please please just leave Peem, alone. Learn to take a 'no' and mantain social distancing.

Peem... you're too kind for your own good. (I get it though)

You have no right to say that, especially without knowing the full story. But I'm feeling kind, so you're still a (mostly) decent human to me. Try not to ruin that impression. And never, ever again say anything to my babie Phum. Ever.

Oh my gods my heart broke for Tan 🥺 Here he was, probably never having dated after he fell for Fang, so knowing that Fang had dated even after whatever they went through must be so painful to him.

FANG KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT'S WRONG AND HOW TO FIX IT.

Just like we see Tan waving away Fang's insecurities every time, Fang does the very same for Tan.

I love them. <33

🥺🫶🏼

They're both so whipped-

Fai: I didn't see anything 👀😗 (we all know she's fangirling so hard inside)

Fai is me, I am Fai.

No but, Phum, are you sure Peem staring at you for a long time won't make your heart race?

Whipped. They're both so goddamn whipped. *sighs fondly*

The horns I'm dying 😭😂

Phum wasn't even surprised 😭👍🏼

Okay, not the best impromptu band performance/concert I've seen, but this is Thai BL, and they need some music and at least like 10 scenes with some band to pass whatever standard of approval, so I'll let it slide. Also, I'm terribly fond of these idiots. <3

HANDS.

They're besties for a reason hehe

You're asking the question, but are you ready for the answer?

I have already gone crazy over this too many times, I really don't have the energy anymore.

Peem is definitely winning Best Non-Confession Confession of the Year Award.

Are we still talking about the painting, or...?

Honestly though, when he was saying this I got actual flashbacks of Phum kicking the ball into his painting and how their relationship developed from there till where they are right now.

HE-

He named it "Happy" because it's all the things that make him happy. 😶

I had to pause here to take a deep breath so I didn't break out in tears two eps in a row.

WHAT IS THIS SERIES DOING TO ME.

Also, taken together, they are a story in 3 pics.

I'm just gonna go sob in the corner.

When faced with that smile and that "na, Peem, na" how could he ever deny Phum anything 😭

Textbook definition of a blushing boy who just became boyfriends with his crush the boy he loves. <3

No, he thinks he's a babygirl and rightfully so.

THIS HUG. That's it. That's all I have to say. I have no words for how this made me feel, and will make me feel for the rest of the forseeable future.

I end Part 1 here. Part 2 and 3 will be out tomorrow (because they are quite a bit long and I have Thoughts about them that I need to write in detail)!

If you've gotten this far, thank you so much for reading!! 😊

Here, have a taco 🌮

[cringefailvox]

WAIT CAN YOU SHARE MORE ABOUT ROSIE AND VOX!? I SAW UR POST ABOUT IT AND I AM SO INTRIGUED NOW..

ANON I WILL HAPPILY TALK MORE ABOUT THEM.

most of my musings about them are based on an au of mine from my fic time has changed the metaphor, where rosie discovers vox early on after his death and is the one to introduce him & alastor, leading to Consequences. in the context of the au, vox admires rosie for her strength of will, competency, and her ability to be terrifying while remaining deeply kind - rosie, on the other hand, took vox under her wing and feels responsible for him, as well as enjoying his ambition and clever personality. however, vox's prioritization of modernity over all else doesn't hold a lot of space for rosie's old-fashioned sensibilities and cannibal town, which is frozen in time in a certain era very deliberately; so vox feels obligated to try and drag rosie into the future, while she feels obligated to dig in her heels and preserve her values without compromise. it's the biggest point of contention between them. they're both very stubborn and strong-willed when it comes to their principles, which they both interpret as pointless obstinacy in the other - despite this, rosie is very fond of vox because his deep insecurities make him both (1) easy to manipulate and (2) not really much of a threat for someone like her, who is very comfortable with herself and attuned to the emotional states of others. vox respects that he can't shake her composure while still desperately craving her acknowledgement. she's almost like the metric by which vox judges his own emotional stability, a pillar that he leans on in moments of weakness and that she lets him lean on because she loves him, AND she knows he's a useful ally if he's eating out of her hand. i think rosie is a lot more manipulative and cunning than she seems, and she makes calculations oriented to what benefits her the most while still being faithful to her values. she can love someone and still use them. vox needs to feel wanted more than anything else, so this works out excellently. rosie ends up treating vox a lot like she treats alastor: "i could fix him, but honestly whatever's wrong with him is way funnier, and if he really needs it i'll pick him up out of the gutter." rosie trusts vox to handle himself, but also always keeps herself available to him as a confidant, wanting to be the first voice in his ear when he seeks out advice. AGH i love them so so much, i would be so fascinated to see what their relationship is like in canon, if they have one at all.

[evilwickedme]

Top 10 worst Bruce dad moments?

So here's the thing. I'm not actually like. That well versed in the comics yet? Again like. Only been here for about six months. But I'll do my best anyway

10. Firing Dick

HE FIRED DICK FROM BEING ROBIN. THE NICKNAME HIS MOTHER GAVE HIM. THEN GAVE SAID NICKNAME TO ANOTHER CHILD. WHAT THE FUCK.

9. Steph as Robin

Honestly everything about this is a mess. I've only read a few pages from this arc but Tim quitting being Robin was a really difficult decision and Bruce's response was to give the job to Tim's sort-of-ex girlfriend and then treat her like crap. I believe it's canonically cause she reminded him too much of Jason, but that might just be the fandom's reading of the subtext; either way, if the shoe fits...

8. Telling Damian if he was there, Alfred wouldn't have died

What the FUCK, Bruce, that is your SON. COMFORT HIM FOR THE LOSS OF HIS GRANDFATHER

7. Robin!Tim in general

Listen intentional or not Tim is written as a character that has very much internalized needing to be useful being more important than anything else. His parents simply prioritize work over him point blank - his dad doesn't even remember his birthday, for God's sake - and Bruce simply like. Does not help with this. If anything he takes advantage of it. Tim needs to be loved unconditionally, like, STAT, like, that would fix 70% of his identity issues kinda STAT, and I'm not sure he's ever felt that with Bruce

6. Free space: any time he's hit one of his children that I don't know about

I once reblogged a post that detailed every time he hit Dick but that's long gone into the ether now, I can't find it. Anyway there's no excuse to hit your child. Don't fucking do it. They shouldn't hit you, either, doesn't make it ok for you to do if they've done it fyi. Batman can do non violent solutions, we know this, so fucking use those on your children.

5. Reviving the joker

I believe Dick isn't necessarily mad about not having murdered a man basically in cold blood, but I am. What the fuck, Bruce. You tried to kill him twice, you really wanna tell me you don't understand the urge and NEED to kill him??? And then you BRING HIM BACK TO LIFE??? Again. As I've said. What the FUCK

4. Killing Dick and sending him off to Spyral

Actually Dick shouldn't ever forgive Bruce for anything he's ever done to him ever. Have you seen the panels where they have this argument? His family GRIEVES him and for what!!!! For WHAT

(I understand Grayson itself is actually great I wouldn't know I haven't read it. Doesn't make what Bruce did okay tho. I'm also not sure I trust the positive reviews it's written by Tim Seeley and Tom King like......)

3. RHatO Rebirth #25

Penguin didn't fucking die. He didn't get shot in the face with a real bullet. You don't beat your son half to death to the point where he needs to be RESCUED from you - actually no need to qualify that sentence with the intended "over something that didn't actually happen", you simply don't beat your son half to death, should be a no brainer and YET

2. UTRH end scene

Heartbreaking. We all know at this point. Batarang to the throat. Chooses the Joker over Jason. It's enough to make a fully grown (25 next month) man (eh) cry (I mean. Yeah)

1. INTENTIONALLY TRIGGERING JASON

See here for the ask where I talked about this (and which is presumably the ask that led to this anon). Taking Jason to Ethiopia with no warning when he's cooperating anyway just to intentionally trigger him in order to try to get Damian back to life when you never did anything like that for Jason? Holy fucking shit, you know? Just betrayal after betrayal after betrayal

Anyway I'm sure this list is missing some major moments and I'd love to know what I forgot about or, more likely, simply don't know about! I love a well written good dad!Bruce fic but lbr that's just not what he's like in canon. Calling him a mixed bag as a father figure is an understatement

[alchemicaladarna]

Well...Happy 1 year of QSMP I guess...

There's just no easy way to say anything about everything that's been happening the past few weeks and everything that's happened since yesterday because it's a fucking dumpster fire and I'm just so tired of it all to be honest...

But this post isn't about that.

I still want to celebrate this server's first year anniversary because of how much it means to me personally. I made a post talking about how I initially started watching the qsmp (two days early 💀) but I'll reiterate what I've always said:

That despite all the problems of the server, despite all the damage that has been done, never forget what it has managed to achieve and hopefully continues to achieve in the future, under better conditions.

The QSMP's mission was to unite people from all over the world to play together and be friends despite speaking different languages and having different cultures. It united communities and formed friendships across the globe. Personally, achieving that takes more than just sticking random people in the same room together because it's about making genuine connections that could last a lifetime. And the qsmp achieved that. I'll never stop saying this because despite all its glaring problems, the qsmp is revolutionary for all the good it has managed to do.

Ok, like think about the translations alone. I'm using Bad as an example because he's the only one so far that I've seen do this but, BBH has set up live translations of multiple languages on his screen so non-english speakers can still understand his streams and his vods even if he's not playing on the qsmp. That wouldn't have happened without the QSMP's influence. That's fucking incredible!

Think about all the CC's and admins that became friends after meeting on the server. Former admins like Lumi (Pomme) and Shade (Dapper) still talking to Bad on his chat and watching his stream. That's still really awesome! Not to mention all the amazing collaboration projects with many qsmp members outside minecraft like Ordem Paranormal and Liar Liar, to name a few.

Look, the last three weeks have been extremely difficult on everyone. I myself am tired of the situation and scrolling through the tag, especially after yesterday, just makes me sad tbh. For the first time since these weeks, I felt so despondent and shocked about everything. It got to the point where, after Shade and Lumi announced their departure, I called my mom and broke down sobbing and vented about the whole admin situation. And bless her heart, my mom actually listened and I'm going to share the advice she gave me:

"Let them fix the problem. Let the company do the restructuring they need to do because right now, it sounds like they have a lot of problems to fix. It's going to take a long time before things can go back to any sense of normalcy, so while they do that, focus on yourself for now. If you're so invested in all the problems of this online world, maybe it's time to step back for now. Maybe it's time to focus on the real world."

And well, she's right. I've been so upset about the situation that my mental health wasn't faring well because of it. Yesterday was kind of a wake up call for me I guess?

I've been in this fandom for 10 months now. It's the longest time I've been invested in a community and qsmp has and will always have a special place in my heart. But I think it's time to let go and move on for now. I'll keep my hopes up and hope that the future is bright, and the qsmp will continue because it has so much potential to achieve more greatness, but I'll leave the project to rest and focus on other endeavors for now.

I'll be posting art and checking in on stuff from time to time, and of course, I'll be watching BBH, but it might be time to depart and say, "Thanks for everything, and I'll see you later."

Most people will be ashamed to mention the fandoms they've been a part of when they were younger, but 10 years from now, if anyone ever asks if I was a part of the qsmp fandom, I'll gladly say yes and tell all the good stories I have about it.

I love the community we made here on qsmpblr, and if I trust the QSMP's mission of uniting people, then I trust that, no matter what happens, this community will be here when I return.

Because...Despite everything, it's all about love, right? And no matter what happens, the love is still there, and will always be.

Thank you for the journey <33

[finn-m-corvex]

Lightning in a Cubicle Pt. 1

Did I expect to see my silly little post about Jay being another boring office drone take off? Absolutely not. Hell no I didn't. But here we are and everywhere I look there's office Jay taking over the community person by person and I have no idea what I've done. So, what better way to celebrate my newfound stardom than to do what I do best and write?

Between my drawing today and suffering in pain (I've had twelve ibuprofen today, YIKES) I have put together this little thing. Who am I kidding? Nothing I write is little.

This is Part 1, don't know when Part 2 is coming out, but I hope everyone enjoys nonetheless! P.s. lemme know if anyone wants to be on a taglist for Pt. 2.

"Thank you for reaching out about this issue, Charlie. I will get back to you in two to three business days..." Jay was muttering to himself, carefully clicking each key as he responded to the email. He did not want a repeat of the incident where he typed 'fuck' instead of 'duck' to his supervisor. HR had hounded him for two weeks, forcing him to take classes on workplace etiquette and sensitivity lessons.

Jay hated their HR department.

After he finished the email, he made sure to include his signature and click send, reloading the page and checking to see if it actually sent instead of being banished to his drafts. It had happened to many times already. He smiled at the sight of his finally cleared inbox, happily ignoring the forms that he still needed to fill out and all of the paperwork he had to file.

God, how was it only Monday?

For the first time that day, Jay finally had some downtime (as long as he ignored all of his responsibilities). He grabbed up his cup of pens, intending on linking them all together with paperclips to "ropen" and close his cubicle door. He snickered at his own joke; damn, he cracked himself up sometimes.

Calling it a door was quite generous, honestly. It was really more a spare cubicle wall he had stolen from his coworker Judy after she had gone upstairs for the day. The old hag didn't even realize that it was missing the next morning, only seeing that she now had a view right into her best friend Janet's office. Jay had haggled for some hinges from his buddy in the maintenance department, nailing them to his wall and attaching the stolen one.

He had just found his groove in making the rope when a shrill shriek echoed through the office. "WALKER!"

Jay jumped with a small gasp, panicking when a couple strands of his lightning leaked out. He was quick to get it back under control with his breathing, and he was filled with dread when he realized who had called his name.

Shitty Sharon.

"Yeah, Sharon?" he called back, poking his head out from the top of his cubicle. Just as he thought, Sharon was standing in the doorway to their workroom, face red with anger and hands on her hips. All the other ladies were staring at him as he made the walk of shame to the workroom, and Jay felt humiliated under their questioning gazes.

Could he go one day without being summoned like he was a lapdog? One?!

"I thought you were supposed to fix the printer." Sharon said shortly, and Jay was wondering who the hell he had pissed off in the chain of command to be the only man on the women's side of the floor.

It took everything in him not to scream. "I did fix the printer, Sharon."

"Then why the hell won't it print?! I don't have the time for this," she growled.

Neither did he. He had ropes to make. "Did you make sure it had ink and paper? Like I told you last time?"

"Why should I have to do that? That's why you're here, office boy," she said snidely, and god it was too early for this.

He chose to be the bigger person and check the printer himself, and what do you know? It just needed more paper.

"I'll put the paper in for you," he said, because he was not getting bad karma for being a bitch back to Shitty Sharon. She had hella connections with the company, and she would not hesitate to make his life a living hell. The last time he talked back to her, his water had gotten turned off for a week. He had to haul some in from the communal bathrooms just so he could take a shower.

Grabbing a fresh package of paper, Jay opened it with ease, avoiding giving himself a cut as he placed it in the tray. Closing it, he pressed a couple buttons to make sure everything was working right, and then it took all of his willpower not to scream when he glanced at the tiny screen with all of the functions on it.

"Sharon," he said, in the sweetest tone he could conjure at the moment, "why are you printing a thousand copies of this report?!"

"The damn thing wouldn't work, so I just kept clicking print!"

"You're supposed to call the maintenance department!" Jay yelled, throwing his hands into the air. "Or I.T.! Or me! Not print a thousand copies of the same paper!"

"Whatever," she said flippantly, turning away and walking back to her nice spacious office that should've been Jay's. "Just be a 'dear' and take care of it for me."

He didn't want to take care of it. Muttering to himself, Jay smashed the small buttons on the printer with much more force than necessary, cancelling the excess orders but making sure to leave one still open. While he would've loved to cancel all of them to force Sharon to click print again and come get it herself, Jay knew from experience that she would print out a bunch of the shit anyway and dump it in his office.

Jay started humming, readjusting the tie around his neck to give his hands something to do. He relaxed, fully intent on going back to his cubicle to goof around some more until he caught a glace at the clock.

8:50.

He had a meeting in ten minutes.

"Fuck!" Jay yelled, sprinting out of the room and straight for his workspace. He snatched up his briefcase and jacket, nearly forgetting his keycard before spinning on his heel to grab them. There was something he was forgetting, he knew it, but he didn't have the time to wonder what it was.

Slipping his jacket on, Jay didn't bother to keep the door from slamming shut behind as he escaped the suffocating atmosphere of the accounting department. He ran down the hall, pushing past other disgruntled employees with a quick apology. The elevators on their side of the hall were broken; he was going to have to use the ones by Public Relations.

His ever-wondering mind thought about convincing the decorating department to get them some plants as he hurried past white wall after white wall, only sparsely brightened up by a portrait of the board of directors or some fancy-schmancy paintings that Jay couldn't appreciate. What was wrong with some good ol' greenery? Some flowers here, a little fern there, maybe they would even let him go crazy and get a bonsai tree!

You know, if he ever got an office with a window.

"G'morning Jay!" his favorite security guard said to him, and Jay barely had time to wave to the man before he passed. If he was lucky, he wouldn't have to wait very long for the car to arrive on his floor.

The Administration was a beast of a building; you could see it from practically anywhere in Ninjago. With an impressive two hundred and fifty-four floors, it was the first true skyscraper that Jay could ever remember seeing in his life. Or what he remembered from it, anyway.

One of the reasons it had to be so large was because the Administration also housed all of their employees and necessities. The last fifty floors were dedicated entirely to apartments for the workforce, and Jay's own apartment was on level 275. Thinking about that reminded him that he needed to stop by the supermarket on floor 168 before he went home for the day. He had run out of coffee grounds the day before, and heaven knows he couldn't go on without those.

Jay's bad luck continued to haunt him when he skidded to a stop in front of the elevators, and the closest one to floor 67 was the one on 154. Someone must've been visiting the indoor aquarium. Jay wanted to go to the aquarium.

He slammed his hand on the up button, watching as the numbers along the top slowly counted down. Checking his wrist-watch, Jay saw that he had seven minutes to get to the one hundredth floor; this was going to be tight, but as long as there weren't any delays he should be able to make it.

And of course, because he's him, there were delays.

"How many stops do you have to make"?!" he exclaimed, watching as the damned elevator paused for the seventh time. He didn't have the time for this!

Finally, finally, the elevator stopped on his floor, and Jay pushed past all of the people getting off. He swiped his keycard, ignoring the female voice saying "Welcome, Jay Walker," in favor of urgently typing his floor number into the elevator's keypad, and it shot up into the sky like a rocket.

Most of his coworkers had told him stories about how long it had taken them to adjust to the elevator's speed, but Jay had never had a problem with it. Part of him always wondered what he had done in his past life before he came to work for the Administration; there had to be a reason he didn't get motion sick, or how his reflexes were sharper than the blades in the shredder, or why he felt so uneasy whenever he saw someone swinging an object in his direction (like he was expecting an attack?).

There was also the lightning, of course, but no one knew that Jay had that. And no one could ever know. He didn't want to imagine the training that he would be forced to go through if the Administration ever found out about it.

If they didn't ship him off to Imperium first.

"Can this damn thing not go any faster?" Jay growled, tapping his foot against the floor in an aggressive beat. He was glad no one else was in the elevator with him.

Up and up he went, the numbers growing higher and higher, blinking red. 97, 98, 99...

100! and he still had two minutes to spare!

Maybe Mr. Harding would give him that promotion after all!

The doors started opening and Jay was out before they could finish, making a beeline for the door at the other end of the blindingly white hallway. He could feel the sweat staining his light blue button-up, and Jay just had to hope and pray that his jacket covered it up well enough to get through this meeting without his eagle-eyed boss noticing anything.

He knocked on the door, checking his watch and seeing that he had officially made it at 8:59. One minute left.

Jay slapped his corporate smile on his face when Mr. Harding opened the door, making sure to hold out the correct hand. His left, because Mr. Harding was left-handed and had a stronger grip; Mr. Harding also loved having the upper hand. "So good to see you, sir! I hope you're well."

"Mr. Walker," Mr. Harding said casually, but Jay could already tell that his boss was in a bad mood. Shit. "I believe I told you that I wanted you here at 8."

"Pardon?" that definitely was not what the email had said.

"I sent an email to you around 7:30 that I wanted you in at 8." Mr. Harding said slowly, and Jay quickly pushed down the ire that rose at the childish treatment.

Wait, 7:30? He had staff meetings from 7-8 on Mondays!

"B-but that's when I have my staff meetings," Jay explained, holding back from messing with the cuffs of his sleeves. Mr. Harding hadn't taken too kindly to his fidgeting the last time he had been in here. "I'm not allowed to check my phone during staff meetings."

"I expect you to read all of my emails, Mr. Walker," the man said firmly, his lips curling into a distasteful sneer. "You're lucky that I happen to be free at the moment. Now, would you like to step in, or do you want to wait another hour?"

Jay grit his teeth, swallowing his anger and shoving it down deep inside. "Yes sir, sorry sir."

This damn promotion better be worth every moment of this nonsense, or Jay was tearing the Administration down himself.

[johnwickb1tsch]

Hi Julia! This is the guest on Bittersweet (AO3) who had just recently started watching the JW films.

I just finished part 4 and I have some Questions that I am frankly too emotional to find answers to and I need a friend to tell me the facts straight.

MAJOR MAJOR JOHN WICK 4 SPOILERS AHEAD IMMEDIATELY STOP READING RN.

What was that ending? Wht TF was that ending? Is he... is he really dead? Just like that? We don't get to see him go back to his car or his dog, get to enjoy his freedom except for a few seconds? I am balling my eyes out. I thought the grave stone was fake- just an added precaution to stop ppl from following him afterwrds- tht he faked his death or something. I googled it and 1 article says he is well and truly dead, other said he is dead but it's NOT the duel that killed him, while a third said we might have a 5th movie in production. I am so sooo confused and have I mentioned I am crying?? Cause I kid you not I have snot flowing down my face. I didn't realize what kind of cathartic fix it Bittersweet truly is. But I will re read it now with a new lens. Omggggg it's like I was reading it in the most honest reader lens and now I will understand John's action with a completely different depth. Ahhh tears again...

On another note in the first reply to comment you mentioned they took out clip of him bookbibding due to time constraints. Is there any clip of that somewhere. Becoz goddamit if I don't see John enjoying something stupidly domestic and simple rn I WILLL POP A VIEN.

Sorry for turning your ask box into my impromptu therapy session. But John has literally become an obsession right now. I so needed this man to - at some point catch a break and look what they did to him!! I am not mad, I am livid!!

Ohhh bby! I'm so sorry! I'm crying with you all over again! That ending was the cruelest! So, supposedly JW5 is in the pipeline, so I choose to believe He Lives! And Winston helped him fake his death with the tombstone. Whether that is canon true has yet to be seen, really. 😭😭😭

I know it was a dramatic and poignant ending but seriously, after everything that man went through, fuck them if that's truly the end. I'm so tired of Hollywood trying to be clever and totally ignoring what people actually need as a cathartic ending to something they're emotionally invested in. I think I've hated the ending of every movie/show franchise I've ever loved. By now i just expect to be kicked in the balls, metaphorically speaking.

As far as the bookbinding scene, to my knowledge, they have yet to surface to the public. There are pictures tho. There's a post around here somewhere. I'll try to dig it up for u.

Sending you hugs boo! This is what fic is for! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[jasper-book-stash]

March 2024 Reading Wrap Up

I got bronchitis and my period at the same time in March, and then spilled tea on my computer, so March was a very stressful time for me. Regardless, I managed to read 10 books! And honestly, overall, this is one of the better months - the lowest I've ranked a book is 6/10, which is damn good considering the absolute bullshit I usually read.

Religious Text

None applicable.

1/10 - Why Did They Publish This?

None applicable.

2/10 - Trash

None applicable.

3/10 - Meh

None applicable.

4 to 6/10 - Mid-Tier

Tomb Sweeping | Alexandra Chang

I read this book while sick. And boy howdy, did that make it a weird experience. I get what it was going for, but it really wasn't my vibe. It just felt like everything was...unfinished. Which was the point, I suppose, but it was still annoying.

7 to 8/10 - Good With Caveats

What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality | Daniel A Helminiak

This is a very short book compared to my usual reads, topping at 152 pages. And I appreciate a book that gets straight to the point and analyzes the historical context around various works, particularly religious works. Good job. My only complaint is some editing issues.

Born to Love, Cursed to Feel | Samantha King

This was a poetry collection and was the only other book I read while sick, and boy howdy did I have a time of it. I spent most of the reading just...putting post-it notes in and nodding along to the lines. It was a surprisingly good book, considering I found it in the back alley version of a book store.

Southern Cunning: Folkloric Witchcraft in the American South | Aaron Oberon

Look. This is not a 101 book. It's not a 102 book. It's not even a 201 book. It simply is. And as much as I enjoyed it and enjoyed reading it, the fact that I spent most of my reading time fixing the editing means that I cannot, in good faith, put this any higher than an 8 out of 10. Dear Aaron Oberon, if you ever read this, PLEASE give me access to the original file so I can fix your punctuation and spelling mistakes. Sincerely, a fellow Southerner.

9/10 - Very Very Good

Snow White with the Red Hair, volumes 21-23 | Sorata Akiduki

I am still so fucking feral over this series. I love them so fucking much. I want them all to be happy but I also like seeing their shenanigans. Unfortunately, though we're at 26 published volumes, we've reached the end of the ones in Missouri Evergreen that I may access. I'll either have to wait and hope that someone gets them, or I'll have to bite the bullet and buy them myself.

Not Pounded By Anything: Six Platonic Tales Of Non-Sexual Encounters | Chuck Tingle

This is my first expedition into the erotic Tingleverse after reading some pieces of the horror Tingleverse in Straight and Camp Damascus. And I really, really like this book. It's 77 pages and is such an easy read. Godspeed, you glorious bastard.

10/10 - Unironically Recommend To Everyone

Well, everyone who's into the genre these fall under, at least.

Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft, tenth edition | Janet Burroway

I found this in the free section of a bookstore in the middle of nowhere, and let me tell you, it is now marked up one side and down the other with highlighter, because I needed it. There are so many good parts of this book that it's genuinely one I would recommend to people who are trying to figure out why their writing feels flat.

Sacred Gender: Create Trans and Nonbinary Spiritual Connections | Ariana Serpentine

First, I want to congratulate the author on what is possibly the coolest name ever.

Second, if you're an occultist, polytheist, witch, magic practitioner, or in any other way affiliated with things beyond or within mortal ken...get this book. It's making me rethink a lot of my own experiences with my craft and my religion, but in a good way.

[destinyc1020]

Confession:

I check N's account every now and then. My parasocial self thinks she still have something for Tom. She often post stories whenever T or Z go viral. Few things I remember:

1. Her posting being at Soho House (I think in London) in 2023 when Tom celebrated his birthday in Soho House (US) with his family and Z.

2. Her posting on Sept 1 or 2 2022 (depending on the timezone) and captioned it Good old goods. Well what I see on the post is she wants to show that she's out and happy (nothing wrong about that but girl, why sept 2 of all dates?)

3. When Tom went viral because of fixing his girl's door, N posted a story about his current boyfriend being a handy man or something to that effect (well I admit I may be overthinking this one and my understanding of British humor could be wrong)

4. Shared a story about attending Dorian Gray opening night which happened the same day as Dune 2 premiere in London (and TZ went viral that day as expected)

Sorry for the rant, just need to let it out..

Thanks Anon for your confession....

I'm just going to be honest here since that's what I usually am on my blog lol. I'll give you my honest opinion. 😅

I'll first be honest and admit that I really haven't paid much attention to N (if at all) since 2021 lol.

Once it became apparent that Tom dumped her to get back with Z, and he and Z were starting a relationship back up again, I really didn't see the need to follow whatever N was doing tbh.

I mean, maybe you might be on to smthg? But my honest feeling is that you might just be reading a little too much into innocuous things. Just because N posts on the same day as smthg going on with TZ doesn't automatically mean she's not over Tom or over a breakup.

She and Tom barely dated each other... 👀 It's not like they dated each other for years upon years, or even went out on dates like a regular couple (most of their time together was spent indoors during the Covid-19 shutdown).

Honestly? It's 2024. If she were still pining after a guy that dumped her almost 4 years ago back in 2020, I'd say that it's time for her to go to therapy and figure out what's going on there, coz that's not normal. 👀😬

With that said, I personally doubt N is still holding a torch for Tom. It was pretty obvious when she was throwing shade re: their breakup, but after 2021, I haven't seen her behaving in that manner. I also kind of get the feeling that she made peace with the whole thing long time ago.

Sometimes, I think fans forget that Tom was actually her rebound from Stanley. Tom himself was also still rebounding (imo) when he dated N. 🤷🏾‍♀️

I really don't think it was as serious as some fans made the thing out to be tbh.

Last I checked, N seems perfectly happy with her new beau. ☺️

[recurring-polynya]

Writing/Art Update 3.5.2024

So, Polynya, did you finish the fanfic? Well...sort of? No. No, I guess the answer is actually no.

Last week, I said I had two and a half scenes left, one of which was the epilogue, and one scene I wanted to rewrite. I wrote the scene and a half that were not the epilogue, and then I tried to do that scene re-write. It came out better than it was, but I still didn't love it. I figured I would just go ahead and write the epilogue and then maybe come back and try again. 3/4 of the epilogue went great, and then I just couldn't manage to end it, and got stuck for three days. I went back and tried to re-write that scene I didn't like *again*, and barely got into before realizing that the way I was hoping to make it better did not, in fact. Yesterday, after Much Struggle, I managed to pull together an end to epilogue with is...okay...but I don't love it. So the current state of things is: 107,408 words, and it is strictly speaking, A Whole-ass Fanfic, but with two half-scenes that I hate.

It's really frustrating, because I had a bunch of productive weeks in a row, and my brain has just utterly collapsed on me in the eleventh hour. I've been trying so hard to push it over the finish line, but it's one of those things where I can't just brute force it, I need to somehow have a good idea. I am also so so tired this week. I know, logically, that probably I just need to relax and rest up for a few days and this will be easy to fix when I am feeling better, but it's hard to relax when I have this stupid almost-but-not-quite-done fanfic hanging over my head.

Here are some other stupid facts:

The scenes in question are important and I want them to be good, but they aren't exactly load-bearing, in the sense that nothing else depends on them

I don't even *need* the epilogue, and in fact, after I realized that I end all my Heart is a Muscle fics with people drinking (not on purpose, I'm just unoriginal), it made me want to drop the whole thing on principle (except that I also don't because it's sort of a thematic lead-in to the next story in the series and also Ukitake is there)

The two problem scenes are way at the end of the fanfic. When I do start posting this thing, I plan to post one chapter per week like I often do, meaning that I have literal months to fix these

Chapter 1 is beta'd and ready to go and literally nothing is stopping me from posting it this very second

BUT I don't want to post Chapter 1 until my beta has seen the whole fic because what if she notices something in Chapter 12 that needs to be fixed back in Chapter 1

AND literally nothing is stopping me from just sending my beta the last few chapters with a little note on the scenes I'm not happy with. It's highly possible she might have some ideas! Or just be like "you are insane these are fine"!

EXCEPT I don't want her to see my bad writing that I am embarrassed about

And so, here we are. I am probably going to give it another day or two, and if I can't manage to fix those two scenes, I'll just suck it up and send the rest to her.

I guess I also should re-do the banner, except I don't feel like re-doing the banner. It's....okay. I don't know. I just kind of slapped it together based on a thing we were doing at Art Club. Maybe I don't even want a banner.

Speaking of Art Club, it's March now, which meant there was a new theme at Art Club (nature) and I decided to try to get back into my daily drawing. I think this is possibly what killed my momentum on my fanfic. I am just literally only capable of having one priority at a time, even if it's a little tiny one, otherwise my brain just plays tug of war with my priorities and it's hard to manage either of them.

Anyway, I've been in kinda rough shape for the last few days, but I am sure it will pass. It's got some good bits, but I think I just never really managed to fall in love with this one, and I'm really worried about it getting a cooler reception than I'm used to, since the fandom seems to have quieted down significantly since the last time I posted one of these. On the other hand, I've worked too hard on this to not post it. Also, it's got some stuff in it that had to happen for the series to progress. And maybe other people will like it! Who knows! Not me!!

I had hoped to be able to start posting it this week, but that's not looking likely at this point, so I guess you can have another preview.

--- from Ch 3

"You really didn't have to go to all this trouble," Rukia pointed out, as she methodically piled her bowl with a heaping serving of everything on offer.

Renji grabbed a big pinch of the shirasu before passing it over to her. "It's fine. I'm not sure when I'll be up for cooking again, so I'm trying to clean out my fridge."

"Oh, so I'm helping?"

Renji grinned. "Sure."

"I love helping! If you need me to take this pickled ginger with me, I could take it off your hands."

"I think the pickles will probably keep for a bit."

"Hmmph," Rukia replied skeptically, and scooped some more into her bowl.

It was always difficult not to just sit and watch Rukia eat, in part because she truly did have an extraordinary talent for shoveling food into her mouth, but mostly because it reminded Renji of why they had come to the Seireitei in the first place, of how lucky he was these days. You have to go to work, too, this morning, he reminded himself, and dug in.

"You know, speaking of helping…" Rukia said a few minutes later, once she'd managed to eat enough to shave the edge of her morning ravenousness. "There's something I want to talk to you about."

The pleasant feelings in Renji's chest abruptly turned cold and gloppy. He frowned, and raised one eyebrow skeptically. “Yeah?”

Rukia looked up at him with her big, stupidly blue eyes. “Do you remember when we talked about how important it was for you to have a comfortable and peaceful recovery from your surgery?”

“I do. I distinctly remember asking you to drop it and not bring it up, again, actually.”

“Right, well, I never actually agreed to that. I think that you should come stay at my house.”

Renji gave her an incredulous look. “Your house? Kuchiki Manor, you mean? Your house that is actually my captain’s house?”

“It’s very nice there, as you know. The food really is very good and we have a million servants with nothing better to do--”

“I am sure they have better things to do, Rukia.”

“--and you can sit in a sunny spot in the garden and I’ll read you books and it will be so much nicer than staying in the Coordinated Relief Station!”

Renji heaved a huge, exasperated sigh. “It’s a nice idea, Rukia, but think about the look on Captain’s face if you even--”

“He said it was okay.”

Renji felt all the blood run out of his face, possibly out of his body entirely. “You asked him?”

“I know you’re only getting it done because he ordered you to. He obviously wants you to do your best to heal up well. He cares about you, too, you know, in his own way.” 

Renji stiffened, his fingers tightening on his chopsticks. “You probably told him the whole story, then? How I broke my arm in the first place?” His voice sounded like it was coming from somewhere far away.

“Not the whole thing!" Rukia shook her head vehemently. "He knows you broke it saving me, that's the only important part.”

Renji drew in a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut. All he could focus on was the sound of his own blood pounding in his ears. “Why do you always have to do this?” he finally managed through gritted teeth. “I asked you to just leave it, but you never can.”

Rukia shoved out her lower lip. “Maybe if you took care of yourself half as well as you take care of everyone else, I would!” she protested. “Just let me spoil you for a few days, would it be so terrible?”

“Yes.”

[darklight-owl]

There's roughly 14 hours left until Level 5 Vision and since I've never been so excited for a livestream before (the curse of liking things that came out decades ago) I'm gonna be posting my

✨️Hopes for the NWoS stream✨️

1. Dear God let Flora be there. There were a few girls in the backround of the reveal trailer back in March and I really want one of them to turn out to be an older version of Flora. NWoS takes place one year after UF and Flora was in her early-to-mid teens then so it's possible her design's changed to make her eyes smaller and give her a longer face right...? RIGHT???

As much as I would kill to see a Villain Flora (which I am completely serious about since I think it would be a very very interesting place to take her character (don't ask me to elaborate because I WILL)) that's absolutely not going to happen. But speaking of villains...

2. A Female Villain. All the villains in Layton so far have been men. The few girlies who have worked with the bad guys did so pretty reluctantly honestly. Please Level 5 support women's wrongs I believe in you.

3. Steam Bison Lore. We know SO LITTLE about Steam Bison at this point. We know it's more technologically advanced but that's about it. Layton environments are some of the best parts of the games, the towns are always so beautiful and creative and vibrant. I want to see what Steam Bison has to offer. Also I want to see more of those machines in the trailer, Hell I wanna know what they're CALLED. WHAT was Luke driving???

4. More point-and-click gameplay. Video game companies need to STOP TURNING EVERYTHING INTO AN OPEN WORLD FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST. I think Layton has a lot of potential for a point-and-click if only they leaned more into it. As much as I love the towns they also feel a little flat because they're barely interactable. If we had more classic point-and-click "move this thing here to combine with that and reach this other thing" gameplay that problem would be fixed.

5. An OST sample! Layton music is the best thing that ever graced my ears and the song we heard in the trailer was no exception. I also want to see if they'll subvert the style to make it more "american". Maybe they could mix in some swing :3c

Anyway I'll give my "Live Owl Reaction" (not really live I'm gonna be on youtube and on Discord) when the stream is over. Dear God NWoS do NOT blow this for us.

[daisydezem]

Irl stuff

So what's been going on... I'll put it under the cut since it might be triggering for some. It's about hospital, surgery, breakup/divorce and all that comes with it.

Let's start with the surgery and the hospital. It all went very well! The removed the uterus without any problem. I noticed the lack of cramp pain right away. It was such a good relief! In the hospital things got on so well I didn't need to say 2 nights but just the 1! But here on... the other stuff started. While in the hospital I got a lot of texts of friends, family and coworkers. All saying good luck, get well soon and love you and stuff like that. But my (ex)partner only said: hope you sleep well, I'll pick you up the day after tomorrow. That was it. No call to check in, no love you, nope... just a see you in two days. I texted back that I was okay to come home earlier and he said... oh. While being home he took a week off to help me get along.... well sorta. The mood was gone and even made our son sick. I really tried to always be positive and support, but after a week and a half (on Friday) and our son looking at the clock every hour, it was enough. I asked him to go. He did and he was gone for the whole weekend. I was upset, the little one was upset but we made it through the weekend. What pissed me off was a text saying if the little one felt a need to see or talk to him and if so that he didn't know what to say. Then Monday I got a text in the group of his family... Saying things were over that we talked about it and he wasn't confused or anything else, saying some might think he picked the easy way out now that I was recovering... This was all without me knowing, without talking about it or consent sent to not only his family, but also to my mom, stepdad, dad, stepmom, sisters, brother, aunts and uncles, friends.... everyone. On a Monday at 2pm in a school vacation week... So everyone called me up to find out what was going on while the little one was sitting next to me. This was for me the final straw. No matter what he did now, it won't be able to fix that moment. More happened now. And before more happened too. I don't want to get into it all. But yeah... it was and is a lot. Now I have to move out with the little one but can't right away since the housing market is just too awful. I'm lucky that he will have to pay me a lot to move out but still. Until June the situations is this: The little one stays in the house always and my ex and I move every week. I got the uneven weeks in the house with the little one and then the even weeks I live at my mom's place. I have however recovered fully from the surgery and am able to get return to work 100% as of upcoming week. I just have to change my hours. I used to do late/night shifts. Now I'll have to do early shifts in the uneven week. I also won't be taking my pc or any other stuff with me to my parents place so I won't be able to be online half of the time, but that's the least of my problems atm. I just... have to adjust my whole life. Just that:p But hey I'll be okay, even better We (the little one and me) will be okay. I have a plan just need to see if it will work out. If it does I'll be living in a very full house in June but more on that later. Sorry for the long post and thanks to anyone who reads it. I'm always open to talk more about it but not in a online for everyone to see post. Kusjes en Liefde Kisses and Love -Daisy

[bottlecaprabbitgames]

Weekly Update for 27 March, 2023

Howdy, folks! Welcome to the last update of March! Time really has flown, jesus-

Mind Games: Trepidation

Onto our favorite subject! If you guys haven't seen, there have been multiple edits pushed for mostly Chapter 1 and 2 this week! These edits have added new options to some dialogue choices, some customisation choices, and some variation to certain spots where I saw I favored sarcastic MCs over others. There have been a couple of grammar fixes pushed in Chapter 3, 4, and 5, but I have not done a more thorough editing of those chapters; after putting in some achievements, my brain kinda just. Flat-lined and needed a break, lol!

I have gotten LOADS done on Chapter 6! I am actually in Scene 3/4 for the rough draft, with about half of Scene 3's rough draft completed. Again, the rough draft is just me going through and picking one option for each branch and getting through the story so I know where it'll go when I go back to flesh it out! However, that's still a LOT of progress!!! The whole chapter is at about 5,600 words, and before doing the update I had started editing Scene 1 for a bit to start fleshing out so it's not so much work later.

A few things with MG:T:

In case you aren't aware, MG:T is only expected to be 9 Chapters, NOT including Interludes and the Epilogue. We are over 50% done with the game! VERY EXCITING!!! (Especially as I am ITCHING to get to book 2, lol!)

Chapter 6 is expected to be out in April. I will be releasing it in full as I'm expecting it to be a small to average size chapter.

I am always open to feedback and suggestions! Honestly, I would REALLY LOVE for you folks to tell me where you think improvements could be made or where you'd like to see more choices/what kind of choices you want to see more of. Be the change you want to see, lol!!

Remember: Every time an update is pushed, your saves will be corrupted! I try to push things all at once, but I never know how much I'll get done at any one time so sometimes I push smaller updates over a course of a day. If you aren't seeing anything new, it might be because your save is before the update was pushed!

I am still checking this Google Form! I am considering making one that is all about feedback and suggestions, and I DO check the one that's listed there daily! I actually have an active list of suggestions and stuff people have given me, and I do try to take the stuff you guys tell me needs fixing and put those fixes into the game!! Those of you who have answered the feedback section have been amazingly helpful and I appreciate it so much!!!

In case you missed it, I do have a page up now that has a list of all the free scenarios I've posted in the past and present, at least, the ones I could find! It also has a list of sneak peeks from Patreon I've posted! Some of them are a bit outdated as they're from, like, when I first started writing the game back in 2018-2019, but they're still enjoyable!

There is a poll up on Patreon right now that ends in 2 weeks! It's letting Patrons vote for which RO(s) will 100% be featured in April's scenarios for Patreon, and as a special treat, one of the 2 chosen ROs will be available to the lower tier as well! And, the lower tier can always vote in polls. The tier prices are $3 and $10, with $3 opening up polls, a sneak peek, discord benefits, weekly update+ content, and credits mentions (I will be putting every Patron I've had in the past in the credits of the game(s) they were supporting me during development!), with occasional monthly bonuses. The $10 tier opens up EVERYTHING I have, and everything that gets posted monthly!

I think that's all I got to tell y'all this week! See you at the next update! (Where I can hopefully confirm being done with at least one of the scenes in Chapter 6, hehe.)