#another artwork from the start of last year i finally found and finished
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hal coming to comfort bruce after a bad day
#another artwork from the start of last year i finally found and finished#batlantern#myart#big spoon hal big spoon hal#i want to do more comics for them#i do have spme on the way but it will take 20 years lul
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Series
Now You're In My Life
summary: a chance meeting at a diner turns your world upside-down and leads you on a whirlwind romance with one of the biggest pop stars in the world.
(More Than) One Shots
(One shots that got away from me, but aren't quite a series.)
Lost (2 Parts) Lose You to Love Me A run-in with your childhood sweetheart brings up old memories, and lingering feelings. Lost and Found You and Harry reconnected a month ago, and he insisted you come along for the final show. when your emotions start to get the better of you, you wonder if you and Harry could ever really just be friends.
End of the Road (2 Parts) Home Stretch As the tour comes to an end, the schedule starts to visibly take its toll on Harry, and you can't help but worry. Crossing the Finish Line It's the final show and Harry charms you into making good on a promise you made last time you were together.
Big Winners (3 Parts) Harry and Y/N have been friends for fifteen years, they finally work together on an album, and it leads them to a night that will change everything for them. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
One Shots
All I Ask*
You're finally starting to get over Harry, what happens when fate brings you back together?
Having Your Baby
You get some life changing news, and come up with the perfect way to tell your husband.
Wallflower
You're sitting alone at a wedding, can a handsome stranger help you come out of your shell?
Line of Fire
You and Harry have been keeping your relationship off the radar, but his concern for you overwhelms his need for privacy.
Coming Home To You*
Harry comes home early and catches you by surprise in the best way possible.
Scars
Can Harry be the comfort you need after falling back into old habits?
Ooh La La
After a revelation on movie night, you and Harry decide to reenact one of the scenes.
Love Don’t Cost A Thing
Harry loves to spoil you, but you're having a hard time adjusting to his lavish lifestyle.
The Battle in Barcelona
A crazy crowd at the airport comes between you and Harry.
Misplaced Emotion
As Harry prepares to jump back into the spotlight, he has a hard time re-adjusting to public life, and it manifests in the wrong way.
Good News All Around
You reach a big milestone in your life, but feel overshadowed when you call to tell Harry about it.
Perfect Harmony
You're in the final days of the tour, and Harry makes a suggestion that ends up changing everything.
Lights, Camera, Action
What was supposed to be just another job becomes the start of something new.
Business or Pleasure?
You return to Love on Tour after an extended break, but after your last interaction, you come back to an awkward situation with Harry.
Reigning it In
You're about to participate in your first horse show, but the nerves overwhelm you. Harry finds you just in time.
Family Portrait
Harry has a couple of heartfelt surprises for you while you're visiting him on tour.
All or Nothing*
You find a new way to tease Harry during a tour visit, which leads to a new way to drive him crazy.
With this Ring
Harry takes his commitment to you to a new level.
Veiled Insecurities
Harry has some insecurities about your relationship, but instead of talking to you about them, they end up coming out in the wrong way.
Heart Song
As a former member of the Love on Tour band, and current girlfriend of Harry, he asks you to reprise your spot for the final show.
Road to Recovery
After reading some negative comments about yourself, you nearly spiral back into old habits. you try to keep it from Harry, but he finds out and confronts you about it.
A Work of Art
After procrastinating for a few weeks, you finally make moves to finish your assignment, but run into an unexpected road block.
He's Not Me
You introduce Harry to the guy you're seeing, and you see a side of him you've never seen before and are shocked by his reasoning.
Sharing is Caring
You can't find your favorite handbag, Harry assures you he doesn't have it, but you see some photos tell a different story
Cantaloupe
In this one shot/flash forward from the Now You're In My Life storyline, you and Harry recap the big news from your family's Thanksgiving dinner.
Like Riding a Bike
Despite being on break, Harry manages to find his way back onstage.
Fa La La La Freakout
You will be meeting Harry's family for the first time over the holidays, and you are desperate for them to like you.
The Morning After
The morning after Harry's 30th birthday, you're hungover and Harry reminds you of your drunken actions from the night before, leading to a conversation you never expected.
Baby-Baby-Baby
Harry meets his niece for the first time, the joy and excitement are quickly replaced with a whole new set of feelings when his best friend, Y/N joins him at the hospital.
Smoke & Mirrors
Harry asks you to move to London with him, but a new opportunity for him makes things a little more complicated than you'd both expect.
(*) - NSFW
For my Harry inspired press-on nail artwork, click here!
#harry styles#harry styles x reader#harry styles x fem!reader#harry styles x fem! reader#harry styles x plus size reader#harry styles headcanon#harry styles meet cute#harry styles fluff#harry styles smut#harry's house#harry styles fanfiction#harry styles fan fiction#harry styles fanfic#harry styles fan fic#harry edward styles#harry styes imagine#harry styles x you#harry styles x y/n#love on tour#hslot#hslot harry#harry styles blurb#harry styles one shot#harry styles fic
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All the artwork I made for the fanfic Crazy Ex-Boyfriend by @amethystheart2421 for this year's @rsbigbang!
It was a wild run, we got paired up quite late due to our original pairs dropping out of the Bang, and even though it was already December and time was running thin, I decided to make this whole deal a way bigger challenge than it supposed to be... So I ended up drawing all 7 fantasy sequences, trying to mimic a different style for all of them, and finishing both versions of the banners I had in mind. I know, I know, but I swear even I wasn't aware that I am such an overachiever either!
Also, I usually like to hide little details as easter eggs on all of my artwork, so naturally this was the case with these too. I'm gonna list them one by one, also share a little story about each piece, sort of like a "directors cut werk", just so we stick to the screenplay motif. The numbers in brackets lists the order in which I drew the pictures.
The banners (1.,9.): I haven't watched Crazy Ex-Girlfriend the show, so I really had no idea about this whole thing, hence my initial idea of re-drawing one of the official promo posters of the show as the banner. But then Nicole shared the first scene with me when we got paired up, and also told me that her original artist wanted to draw the stargazing scene, which I also really liked. I sketched out both versions to see which one would look better, and also to warm up a bit for this version of the characters. (Nicole also shared some faceclaims, so except Sirius' and Lily's design, I tried to stick to her vision as much as I could.) The Netflix poster was considered the final one for quite a while. The stargazing banner was the last piece of artwork I finished, which I also edited to be used as Chapter dividers. I liked the idea so much I actually referenced the starry sky on the other pictures too. On the Netflix banner, Remus' socks and Sirius' suit handkerchief (how do you call those things in English, gahh) both have the starry pattern.
The western (3.): By this time it was decided that I'd do all fantasy sequences in a different art style, but I couldn't really come up with any specific style which could have fit the western vibes, so the characters are drawn in my own usual style, only the colouring is different. I tried to go for a sepia effect, without using a filter, I think I could pull it off well enough. I was considering to draw Sirius as a Native American for this, because I just don't see him as Caucasian in general, and also, Black Dog sounds like a badly translated indigenous name... But I discarded this idea for the sake of "historical accuracy" (and to save time, haha), as I think they wouldn't visit a saloon this way. I added the starry sky pattern to Sirius' handkerchief and... scarf? (I really should learn how certain textil items are called in English...) There is a wanted poster in the background with Voldy. And I swear I didn't mean to draw Remus looking this horny, it just kinda happened by accident! He is sure VERY fascinated by Sirius'... pistol.😜
The Star Trek (6.): My original idea was to draw like usual and just add so many lensflares to the picture that it's not visible if I copied another style or not. But in the meantime I started to watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds with my bf and also found out that there is a new cartoon too, so it was then settled. This style is very different from my own, but it was so much fun! It was weird not to draw every single strand of hair in excruciating detail, actually that was the hardest part, haha! I struggled a bit with the placement of the lensflares too, the first version had too many and too bright, it had a disco vibe rather than a spaceship. I wanted to add easter eggs to the background screen, but I was running out of time, so there's only one light blue star similar on the screen! Also now I know that the uniform colors are not really consistent in Star Trek, and Remus’ might have had to be gold as Captain…🤷🏻♀️
The Disney (2.): This one sparked the first idea in my head after I read all fantasy scenes Nicole kindly shared with me. When I first sketched this, I still had no idea that I will end up drawing for every chapter and the style copying was not settled either. It started with this piece, I had the vision of the wolf chasing scene from Beauty and the Beast, and we were discussing whether it's plausible to collect berries during the winter or not... I've tried to make the final piece look as classic Disney as I can, and since I could pull it off, it was not a question anymore whether I'd try to do this with other styles for the other scenes. Retrospectively, this one was the easiest to make, apparently my usual style is not that far from Disney (I grew up watching those movies, so it's not a surprise), but I had to really focus on drawing the animals, it's been ages since I last drew any! (The trick is to give them eyebrows, and bam, it's Disney style!) Sirius' armour, clothes and sword has the star, and I also designed his own "crest" with the black dog and a star on his shoulder plate. The whole concept of the picture is Sirius' side being very bright coloured, while Remus' with the scary wolves in the background being very dark. This might have worked better if it was not set in the winter, but I wanted to stick to the Beauty and the Beast vision I had.
The Comicbook (4.): I was very excited for this one, I really like the looks of the old Batman the animated series, and the way some of his comics are drawn. It's such a unique style, I really like the simple shapes and bold contrasts. Well, it turned out I am very bad at this! I struggled quite a bit trying to capture what I had in mind, but I couldn't even come close to it... So I kinda cheated a bit because I just traced the lineart directly from the reference pictures of Batman comic books I found online. I tried to make Remus less buff, but it looked very weird, so I let him keep his muscular Batman body instead. I drew the wolf mask and the whole Sirius panel, and the coloring went smoothly after I finalized the lineart, even though I only realized that I switched the colour schemes of Remus' superhero outfit when I looked up the quotes for the comic panels, oops. Overall I like how it looks, but I am not that proud of it as I had to "cheat".
The Hobbit (5.): I've probably spent the most time with this one! I actually really like Martin Freeman as an older Remus FC, so I was quite excited to do this piece. My original idea was to mimic John Howe's style, as he is the Tolkien illustrator god, but his level of skill and mine are very very far from each other... and as I struggled a lot with the Batman piece, I felt like going for a smaller challenge. That's why I decided to have a go at Alphonse Mucha's art nouveau style. Turned out it was the worst possible idea! 🤣 The whole point of art nouveau is depicting attractive ladies in an ethereal way... But if you switch the ladies with a fat hobbit, the vibe def won't be the same! The first version just looks so extremely absurd, it's both awful and hilarious. By the time I could fix the pose so it wouldn't look as ridiculous, the final style looked nothing like art nouveau... I still have no idea what style it is now, not my own or any of the ones I tried to capture, that's for sure. I considered adding the star pattern to that tablecloth, but I decided that the lupin flowers in the foreground and the whomping willow-like tree are enough reference for this pic! I like how it turned out in the end tho, I think I could do justice for the watercolor-looking coloring technique, and the end result looks a bit like a fancier version of old children's book illustrations... Which is essentially what The Hobbit is, so it all sorted itself out by the end.
The Anime (7.): I like anime (I'm a little picky about them tho), so it was not a question that I would give this style a try! I am a huge fan of cyberpunk (the genre), so initially wanted to do that, I'm such a slut for Ghost in the Shell and I really like the aesthetics of the Akira posters, but after reading the actual scene, it was not really fitting. So I saved the cyberpunk AU for later, and went for the post-apocalyptic vibe instead. Obviously anime had a great influence on my art style, so similar to the Disney one, it was not that much of a challenge to mimic it. However I'm not that good at drawing backgrounds, and oh boy, I really made myself get over this obstacle with this series of pictures! Also as I was more comfortable with this piece, I actually added the starry sky pattern from the beginning to the scarf/blanket Remus has on this picture!
The Sitcom (8.): The original idea was to copy Hanna Barbera's old family cartoons' style, but as my deadline was very close and after reading the scene I realized that it will have a shitton of characters, I quickly abandoned my original plan. So this one is drawn in my own style, sort of, the designs of the characters are more aligned with Nicole's vision (sans Sirius, Lily, and partly Peter). The hardest part was definitely to figure out how I could fit 10 characters into one picture, let alone sitting in a living room! Also, I had to actually draw the living room too, considering perspective and scaling... Something I am not that good at. In the end the coffee table is maybe a little too big, but I needed that to hide the legs of the characters sitting on the sofa, haha! Also, the sofa is the Millennial Dark Green Velvet Sofa, because I also want to have one and it really emphasizes the general existential dread! (Just kidding.) Also also, I just realized that I have no idea how to eat tacos without making a mess (they are not that popular where I live). I added the starry sky pattern to Sirius' shirt, and gave a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles T-shirt to Peter, as he is talking about that in the scene. I wanted to squeeze in further references to the newspaper Remus is holding, but it was too tiny. The star from Knight Sirius' armour is in the background on the bookshelf. Also that globe just makes no sense but I had no better idea how to fill the empty space 😅. Molly is holding a mug with "BEST MOM" written on it, and I intentionally made Marlene's eye colour the same as Remus', who btw should have worn a bathrobe according to the original scene, but it was too late to fix that by the time I realized it. All in all, I am quite satisfied with how it turned out, it has the necessary sitcom vibes. And it is kinda a record for me in terms of number of characters drawn (the most was 12, but that one has no background, so I'd call it a tie!)!! I am very proud of myself for pulling this piece off, it really is the achievement of the year!
TLDR; (I mean really, my rambling is just too long!) I am happy that I was paired up with Nicole, working with her was such a creative process! My absolute favourite thing to do is work on AUs, and she has provided me with the opportunity to do so, I am grateful! It was truly a pleasure to participate in this (even if it's not that clear from all the complaining I just had above, haha)! If you ask me nicely I might show you the cursed first version of the hobbit picture!
#r/s big bang#wolfstar#sirius black#remus lupin#regulus black#james potter#lily evans#nymphadora tonks#molly weasley#peter pettigrew#harry potter#marlene mckinnon#dorcas meadowes#crazy ex girlfriend#lotr au#cowboy au#disney au#star trek au#anime au#sitcom au#batman au#fanart#art by lau#lau draws with a tablet#collaboration#marauders#amethystheart2421
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Marshall Merchandise Update - Dec 2024
It's been a while since I last posted an update of my Marshall collection, but I've managed to find quite a number of interesting items over the last few months. Without further ado, let's get started!
I don't believe I ever showed this one off, but this is one of those mini figurines found in a mystery box. It's based on Rescue Wheels. Again, I was able to scan the bar code with my phone to find out exactly who's inside, so I got Marshall on my first try. :)
Here in the states, a store called "Spirit Halloween" always pops up around October. I decided to walk through one, which is when I seen this Halloween accessory, based on Marshall's collar and pup tag. I figured why not buy one? It's kind of cool!
Speaking of Halloween merchandise, I bought this around the same time, too. It was only $1, and it has some great artwork, so how could I resist? Sadly, the cover doesn't have Marshall...
...But the back does! If I display this book with my collection, I'll probably have it like this. Or, better yet...
I'll keep it open on this page, because I really, really like this artwork! Seriously, Marshall looks awesome in this costume! It's arguably one of the best he's been featured in. Ah, how awesome would it be to see him wear this in the actual cartoon??
I ended up getting this off of Amazon. It's another one of those Tonies, but sadly, I don't have a Tonie player to hear what stories are included with it. Still, it looks pretty cool, and I'm happy to include it in my collection. Honestly, I never expected them to make one based on Jungle Pups, but given I quite like that subseries, I'm glad they did.
This is something I've seen before, but like many items, it took me a long time to find one. It's a keychain! Although... it looks a little too fragile to keep on my wallet or something. The packaging says it's made of resin, which I think is a little like ceramic? It also looks to be hand-painted.
Found this at a Meijer. It's a foam bouncy ball, or something. I seen some pictures of it online last year, but it took until this year for one of my stores to finally get one. Funny how that happens sometimes.
Good2Grow unexpectedly made another one of these! This time, Marshall's face is see-through, just like that PEZ dispenser I showed off a few years ago. Unless I'm mistaken, I believe this is now the third one they've made - the first being Marshall with his fireman hat, and the second was of his Mighty Pups, Super Paws gear (season 6).
Last, an item I've had my eyes on for a while now, but I wasn't able to obtain one because, as usual, overseas shipping to the United States tends to be way too pricey. Yup, it's another import! From the UK, in fact. Shipping to the USA was only $8, so I jumped at the deal!
I'll show off the item below, but first... that's honestly some pretty cool artwork of Marshall on the cover! I usually throw away the boxes, but for this one, I might actually display it somewhere.
Wow, this thing's better than I expected (it's nearly ten inches)! All kinds of little items are supposed to hang on his pup pack (forgot to include them, sorry), and when you press down on it, Marshall leaps up (his hind legs stay firmly on the platform) and everything flies off, including his hat. It's an interesting toy! The downside, however, is that it feels a little flimsy, so I fear it might break easily. That's no problem for me though, since it'll remain on one of my shelves with my other items.
That's all for now! Say, this will likely be my last merchandise update of 2024, huh? It's been a fun year for collection items of my favorite animated pup, and I'm so looking forward to seeing what I can get in 2025! No doubt Air Rescue will likely be up first, but I can't wait to see what they make for Marshall when we get Fire Rescue merchandise! I'm going to have to clear a lot of room for those, no doubt! lol
(Oh, speaking of which, if anyone's curious, I haven't finished rearranging my entire collection yet. I got lazy and put it off, but truth be told, I wanted to wait and make room for my latest new items anyway. Maybe I'll finish it soon? Hopefully? lol)
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[Preview] New Fic: Cause and Effect
Hi everyone! It’s been a while but I’m finally, finally back with a new fic.
This story is structured around the Keane album of the same title, and each chapter focuses on one song from it (sometimes one song spans two chapters, but you get the drill). I had a lot of fun when I wrote Sing to me instead with this same dynamic, and since the moment I first listened to C&E, I knew it had to be turned into a story, so I was just waiting for the right time, and the right plot.
And here it is, at last.
The story isn’t yet finished, I’m still working on it, but I’m close enough to the end that I feel good about starting to post it. But first, I thought I’d share with you a little preview :)
Cause and Effect will begin on Wednesday, July 12th, and it will update every Wednesday. My wonderful beta @christinejaneanderson is once again the one in charge to help me see my silly typos and fix my prepositions, and the beautiful artwork featured below was made by @nerdishedits.
Without further ado, here’s the preview of the first chapter of Cause and Effect.
See you all on Wednesday for the rest of it ♥
The house was quiet, but it wasn’t going to last long, because it never did. The alarm hadn’t gone off yet, and Blaine wasn’t sure what had woken him up – he didn’t even notice the sound of traffic or ambulances driving past his window anymore, and he was still tired enough to sleep for another hour or two. He rolled to his side, hoping to get comfortable and slip back into dreamland, his hand settling on his husband’s chest. Jack was deeply asleep, and he was snoring quietly (maybe that was what had woken Blaine up, after all), like he always did after a particularly long and difficult surgery. He had spent too many hours alert and focused the previous day, and that always exhausted him.
Blaine sighed. Now that he was awake, his head was already making an automatic list of everything that needed to be done that day. From taking the trash out to booking a dentist appointment, from restocking the pantry to buying a birthday present for Jack’s secretary. It was usually Blaine who made sure their home life ran smoothly, who took care of all those little details Jack had never been quite able to bother himself with. When they first started dating, Blaine had found that actually charming: Jack was a genius in his field and all he cared about was saving lives.
Ten years into their marriage, he wasn’t exactly sure the word charming had been the one he had been looking for.
It wasn’t that Jack was a pompous asshole. What he did was noble and even heroic sometimes – even if his bank account saw the reflection of it, so it wasn’t entirely selfless. Blaine loved that he was passionate about his job. He certainly didn’t want to need surgery and find that the guy performing it couldn’t give two shits about doing his job. He knew that a life filled with passion was a life worth living.
He just wished that passion was present more than in just their careers.
It kind of would have been nice to find it in the bedroom.
Blaine groaned a little and then paused to check he hadn’t woken Jack up, but he was still snoring quietly. He didn’t want to sound ungrateful for the life they had. It was just that, at thirty-six, he had thought they still had a few ardent, sexy years ahead of them. Blaine still felt young, was still healthy, and he was very much human. There were itches he wanted to scratch. And it wasn’t that Jack was uninterested – it was just that half the time, when he was home, he was either too exhausted from work, or too distracted with the children.
Having children also kind of put a damper on their sex lives.
Still worth it, Blaine thought. He wouldn’t change his kids for anything. But just because he was a father, it didn’t mean he stopped being a husband. He wanted adult conversation, he wanted to go on dates that didn’t involve the children, he wanted to look at his husband and feel like they were still those young men who had fallen in love and hardly kept their hands off of each other, who found it impossible to. He knew it wasn’t as easy these days – sometimes they couldn’t get a nanny, or the baby started crying at the worst possible time, or their daughter puked her dinner all over the couch. It wasn’t easy to feel sexy, to want to be sexy, when you were covered in snot and the remains of SpaghettiO’s.
But sometimes he couldn’t help thinking that he had stopped being desirable to his husband.
It shouldn’t have made him feel so miserable, and yet… here he was.
What was their life going to be like when they were forty-six? And what about at fifty-six? Would they have to wait to be a couple again until the children went to college? Would they even be able to get back what they had postponed after so long?
Blaine opened his eyes and took a quick glance at the clock on Jack’s nightstand. The alarm wasn’t going to go off for another ten minutes. Some other time, ten minutes wouldn’t be nearly enough. Today… it felt like a little blessing.
He scooted closer and started kissing Jack’s neck, hands already roaming over his chest, fingertips catching on hair and the peak of his nipples. Jack made a low sound in the back of his throat but didn’t wake up, so Blaine decided to be a little more drastic.
He let his hand go further south and he was about to curl his fingers around him over his underwear when a loud scream carried through the apartment.
“Daddy! Can I have chocolate milk?”
Blaine deflated and let his head fall momentarily on his husband’s shoulder. It would only be ten more seconds before Lena started pounding on their bedroom door, demanding his attention. And that would amount to waking up Jack in a lot less sexy way than he had planned.
He sighed and got out of bed.
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Who was in charge of marketing for Harry Potter?
(This isn't about She Who Must Not Be Named or her bigotry. This is purely about the business of bookselling.)
If you were a YA reader at the time, or you're into fandom history, you might know the story: July 16, 2005, in the wee hours of the morning a car pulls up to a bunch of teens and children standing outside a bookstore, and some jackass shouts at the top of their lungs: "Snape kills Dumbledore!" and then speeds away.
That story was infamous. THE biggest plot twist of THE biggest book series in the world, spoiled before anyone could even crack the pages.
Which is... actually kinda weird, right? How'd they know?
Had they read an advance copy? Did they stand in line since like 4 PM to get their hands on the book, and then the second they got their hands on it just frantically start skimming the last hundred pages or so until they found a particularly devastating bomb to drop? (Trolls being trolls, this was not considered particularly extreme behavior).
Or were they paid to do it?
This is adult me with conspiracy goggles on, but consider: The message that was sent is not that a character killed another character, but that no matter how hard you try to avoid spoiling your favorite story, some bad-faith actor is going to jump out of the bushes and do it anyway. There's no time to wait for your library's copy to be available, no time for your friend or your sibling to finish and hand it to you-- you have to buy your own copy right the fuck now.
And everybody and their sibling (literally, people were buying multiple copies per family) around the world buying the same book in the space of the same two weeks? That is how a book guarantees a spot on every international best seller list for a long ass time.
The thing is, whether this was a deliberate move or an amazingly convenient and lucrative bit of trolling does not matter. Regardless of the source, the marketing department pounced on an opportunity. Every brick-and-mortar bookstore left had piles of bookmarks and buttons, posters plastered on the windows, dividing readers into one of two teams: either "Trust Snape" or "Snape is a Bad Man". People wearing those pins sparked conversation and debate in real life, to say nothing of what was going on in the forums. Essays and treatises and manifestos were written. Books were published-- both officially licensed materials and unofficial ones full of theories and details.
When that next and final release was coming out, you bet your ass everybody on the planet was going to be there (or risk another drive-by spoiler). When the next movie was released that November, it didn't matter that what had come before was kinda iffy in quality-- people were showing up in costume.
Even before The Drive By Spoilering, the marketing team was honestly the stuff of legend. Gorgeous hand-illustrated covers and chapter header artwork, branded title fonts that could be recognized from a mile away in the dark, big fancy displays present in every single school book fair, and then that website-- the official website was a thing of absolute beauty, especially in that time. It was colorful and had a million moving parts and secrets to uncover, it was updated frequently and with a lot of little secret extra tidbits on the character and world, and oodles of essays from the author herself that were often very endearing to the readership. It was a gathering place for fans as much as the fan-run websites.
(I should point out that with marketing this robust, I have no doubt in my mind that all those tidbits and essays were themselves run past the team for approval, to make sure nothing particularly egregious slipped through the cracks. But that kind of editing isn't cheap, and I suspect it would only really have been employed during the Important Years for the franchise.)
I remember wanting to be a writer as a teenager, embarking on that career as I got out into the world and started querying books I'd written, and for every single one of us in the writing community, that kind of marketing was the dream. The midnight releases in full costume, the gorgeous custom covers, the posters in every library and bookstore, the breathtaking website. But all of those things turn out to be heinously expensive, and for every franchise that returns on that investment, there were dozens, perhaps hundreds, who didn't make back enough, or cover their expenses at all. And that's where you get to the point where querying authors were advised to establish massive followings on social media in order to demonstrate that they were a safe bet, that half the work was already done if the publishers would just give us a chance-- and sure, for some of them that effort did get them publishing contracts. At which point, even if the publishers felt inclined to spend more than a pittance on promoting new authors' work, there wasn't any point in doing so to the degree that the Harry Potter books received. There's little room to stand out in a saturated market; a flash in the pan is only impressive if the pan isn't already on fire.
These days there's little hope of any one new author rising to that kind of fame, though with self-promotion and self-advocacy, a lot more diverse authors are starting to carve out places for themselves. But marketing yourself is exhausting, and it's expensive, and it makes you vulnerable to all sorts of stupid blunders and career-ending missteps.
I'd rather stay indie. But I wouldn't say no to that marketing team.
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Writing/Art Update 10.16.2024
I keep meaning to do these on Tuesdays and they keep leaking over onto Wednesdays. Oh well. I'm going to keep striving for Tuesdays because I really don't want them leaking onto Thursdays.
Anyway, Bleach Returns! Week is over and I'm pretty happy with how I did. I got 4 artworks and two fanfics done: you can see all of my contributions here. I do have a little bit of Bonus Content to one of them that I am still hoping to finish up, but we'll see. I sort of lost my momentum entirely the minute I finished up that last fanfic, so if I don't get back to it, it won't be the end of the world for me.
I'm spending this week trying to get caught back up on stuff, both irl and online. I'm working on my ao3 inbox, which got woefully behind again, for which I am very sorry. My Tumblr drafts are also...substantial...again, but that's no one's problem but my own.
I am finally ready to actually get ready to work on a little in love again. I even looked at my notes and outline! The outline was a lot more filled in than I remembered it being, but I also somehow expected to get through act iv in 9 chapters which seems a little...spare to me. I took a break from reading Pride and Prejudice because my hold on The Goblin Emperor came in at the library, but it was worth it because I loved it and it was also Relevant to The Vibe. I keep trying to convince myself that I don't really need to re-read the first three acts of alil, but I am pretty sure that I do. I think I should finish up P&P about the same time I get the inbox taken care of, so that ought to line up pretty well.
I currently have about 8500 words from the last time I tried to work on this story, in various states of ready-for-primetime-ness. Sometime between now and next week, I hope to get sort of a baseline established so that I can start doing wordcounts again.
Oh, yeah, wordcounts. I have a spreadsheet where I keep track of how much actual writing I do (vs posting, which is what ao3 tracks and often isn't actually indicative of when I did the work). For the last two years, I have written about 110k per year, and I thought I had been doing pretty good this year, but it turns out I am only at 90k at the moment, so I would really like it if I could get at least another 20k by the end of the year. That seems pretty doable except for the fact that my Decembers are always shit, but maybe this one will be different! lolololol
I am really proud of how much drawing I have done recently, because I hadn't really done very at all this year. I'd like to try and keep that momentum, even if it's just doing a bit of a scribble every day from my art club prompts. Who knows, we'll see. I always found the banners for a little in love to be incredibly fun to do, and I'm looking forward to the possibility of making a couple of new ones.
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this tuesdaypost was drafted on monday, please clap
we are cookin with Gas this week
listening: listened to antimai a few times through, favorite track i think is 'ring 5: middle class'. dorian electra - man to man: really fun video too charasho (benny friedman): was linked in jew chat. very charming and funky. 5 Old French Dances: No. 5. Le Basque (arr. for 2 recorders and harpsichord): i heard this a billion year ago on the radio (my wakeup radio station on my alarm clock is classical) and i finally got around to saving a link for it. very bouncy very cute. makes me think of rabbits running in circles a la beatrix potter.
EDIT TO ADD: i also finally listened to beyonce 'cowboy carter'!! i know im late! it's good i like it! not a revolutionary opinion! obsessed with her jolene cover! that's all!
reading: big one this week! i FINISHED 'the left hand of darkness'! i really liked it! still marinating on the themes etc. i started 'the dispossessed', also by le guin, and am devouring that as well. there's some stuff in there that oof ough. existential. but i'm liking it so far, i'm around chapter 5 right now. physicists!
fanfic: imposter syndrome (mikkeneko): i might have already linked it but i can't be assed to go back through a few weeks of tuesdaypost to see if i already have. so if i did, here it is again. really charming premise, gut-punch of an ending, cool twist on the doppelganger setup from dungeon meshi with svsss.
the articles, some of which were actually read a while ago but i forgot to link and am now cleaning out my phone tabs: how will the golden age of 'making it worse' end? (david roth) new canada policy lets indigenous people reclaim their names (emma bowman) what happens to the stay-at-home girlfriend after a breakup? (erika w smith) unschooling is the parenting trend that's pissing everyone off (ej dickson) in defense of 'coffee badging' (monica torres): if i had a job that was all zoom calls i would literally go insane over being made to go into an office to take zoom calls. fuck that what my mother's wardrobe taught me about style and grief after she died: thinking a lot about all my dad's shit will semen destroy your shower drain? granny davis' geocaching page: found when i was looking at some reviews for caches near my apartment. im kind of obsessed with her. she also has a facebook page called 'granny's geo page' if you don't have a geocaching account. literally she is everything to me. she has found So Many fucking geocaches good god. wedding trivia questions: used as reference to create some wedding trivia for a bridal shower! similarly, the wikipedia page for morganatic marriages my fight with a sidewalk robot (emily ackerman): my school has these. hate them. my boyfriend just linked this to me and im obsessed, laser etched paperweights, i am not a huge paperweight girlie but wowwww prettyyyyy. the electron orbitals!!!! i had a search open for "anti mega #1 cray street". i have no idea what this is.
special edition: the link dump from my trip to the uk last month! some very related to the trip itself, a few random extras! top of the poops, an architectural firm bc i saw a sign with their logo and thought it was cool but now i can't find their logo, waring ader space invaders because i saw someone's shirt with the little space invader guys and was like ooh the tate museum joel meyerowitz (and another page about him) wikipedia on gratin dauphinois, wikipedia page on doncaster for some reason i did not go there list of artworks at the national portrait gallery of scotland wikipedia page on the jacobite uprising of 1745 washi tape that would match the edinburgh one i bought there, tintin in the land of the soviets postcard that i didnt end up getting wikipedia for a quaich which is a traditional scottish bowl, a wiki page on the geology of arthur's seat, a book in the scottish national galleries that i thought about purchasing but didn't want to try and fit in my luggage (she is definitely one of my new favorite artists though) wikipedia page on lauryn hill for some reason not sure how i got there, wikipedia page on salome halpir this post was on tumblr and i tried to find the item in the victoria and albert museum but it was sadly not on display, one of the audio guides i listened to a bit of in the v & a, a scarf i almost bought in the v & a a google search for the fabric library at harrods because my mom mentioned that it existed but i could not find it search for blinq (apparently spelled that way) blossoms because of a cocktail my brother's friend ordered that had one as a garnish wikipedia page on the mechanical explanations of gravitation
watching: from wool to cloth using a historical weaving technique (jillian eve): oughhh colors
emma in the moment/made in the moment: a deep dive into the chunky boy crochet lore the crochet stardew valley pillow drama untangling the shocking tale of mystical creations yarn i tried red heart's new all in one granny square yarn
some crochet tips videos from play hooky with me
tiffanyferg: 'personal style' discourse hgtv is a gentrification masterclass cleantok villains and the morality of messiness
youtube
playing: a teeny bit of wizard101
making: fallow. well i guess i drew on some cards for my friend's bridal shower. but generally fallow.
eating: made deb smittenkitchen's delicious carrot cake recipe. mine was a little ugly but really really delicious. i bought a bag of preshredded carrots and just sort of roughly chopped em up a little smaller because i couldn't be assed to grate them. i also couldn't be assed to trim the cakes, i did two smaller round pans and stacked them up but because i didn't trim them they were a little wibbly. oh well.
i'm going to bake another cake for my brother's birthday next weekend and i'm between her chocolate olive oil cake (looks really easy) and bittersweet chocolate and pear cake (a little more involved but highly recommended by bee)
misc: my mom wanted to take a sailing class but didn't want to do it alone so she offered to pay for me to come. sure, said i! i have never sailed! i like learning new skills! reader, it is So Fucking Hot Outside. the wind died and we had to get towed back to shore. the sun was so strong. there are so many ropes with all different names and they all Do Something. sunday's class got cancelled/rescheduled because the weather was That Bad (hot as fuck and no wind) so we're doing it probably friday instead (and saturday. and sunday. it's two weekends in a row of both days at 9am yayyyyy) but i just hope the weather is. better.
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I want to share how I spent my day celebrating the tavastia 2 reunion since I think it is very much in the Bojere spirit
It started out with me finishing the celebratory artwork (and submitted it) (x)
Then I got myself ready for going to my first ever tattoo convention wearing my cropped slut sweater, all my Bojere bracelets, a fanmade Bojan beer I got in Helsinki in march and one of my ESC!Käärijä earrings
I ended up looking like this (the necklace was purchased at the con later however) v
The plan was to just look around at the convention to see if anything spoke to me. It didn't seem to be the case before I found this tiny tarok inspired flash of the mayor arcana cards 'the lovers' and just saw for my inner eye how perfect it would be next to my 'Are You' tattoo
So I rode the bike home to get the cash only to realise I only had enough currency in my house to pay half the tattoo so I had to stop and get the rest on the way back. When I arrived back at the convention the tattoo artist had another client but told me to wait 1,5 hours so I did. While waitingI found myself way more social (having gotten the air and time away from the overstimulating, hot convention hall) and surprisingly, a handful of the people I talked to recognised me as the guy that performed Cha Cha Cha to the city pride!! (2-3 peeps even got to endure me showing my Bojere art and fanboying over the boys x'D)
It turned out that I'd met the tattoo artist at a party last year and bonded very nicely with so when it was time for me to be inked I fanboyed about Bojere (even showing her my celebration artwork) the whole time (probably not saying a lot since it took like 30 minutes x'D).
Here's the final result (asked for changing the threads to make a heart and I am very happy about how that turned out :'3; also the picture is not edited so to show the colours)
Later in the evening I went to a free concert with a duo playing mixed classical music on marimba and cello. In the middle of the concert it turned out that they played a three part song originally meant for a sorprano singer to perform so the lyrics were printed on the other side. Not sure if I read too much into it but part of the third song 'Cedar of Lebannon' gives me Bojere vibes
That was my friday; hope yours were lovely as well ^V^
#personal story time#so much bojere and then not really#my brainrot brings all of this back to bojere#even if it isn't about them#idk I love it better this way#talking with the tattoo artist was so lovely because she was genuinely excited about my relation to and experiences with bojere :'D#and in turn she was so excited and honored to do this little bojere themed tattoo :'3 <333#also fun fact: I went to the concert with my mom who hates all my tattoos and because of that she only knows I have 3 x'D#the rest of them is not unknown to her even this new one :'D xD#micahs foolery#tavastia anniversary
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2023 in review
Just the fannish creations, thanks. I don't want to think too hard about how fucking weird and stressful the year was outside of that. XD
I found some old 00Q art hiding on my hard drive and posted it in Feb.
I wrote a short Inception ficlet for @ladyprydian in April to try to jumpstart my muses. It didn't work.
I binge-wrote a whole-ass Sandman fic with (gasp!) fade-to-black porn in it in May.
July brought the Stony games! I was much less prolific than last year, but I managed a few things, starting with 3 little drabbles about perception.
I did a giftfic for the games! It starts in media res and I, being a troll, titled it In Pornia Res because yeah, this one's just pure porn against a background of worldbuilding.
I posted a longstanding WIP that was 100% self-indulgent trash, with Tony and Steve getting Bucky as their new sugar baby and treating him them right. Absolutely just the fluffiest of trash, but 66K of it!
I posted another longstanding WIP that's really pre-slash (I KNOW so weird) but involves catboy Tony, catboy Bucky, and a puppy Steve who's gonna get both (after the fic anyway).
My last little Stony Games fill was 8-bit pixel porn, because of course it was.
Later in August I did the "write what you want to see" thing and banged out (heh) a very kinky Stranger Things fic with Steve/Eddie and a leather bar. Somehow, it's still extremely fluffy.
I drew! Fanart! With pens and shit! Also Steve/Eddie.
And then I made pixel art of them, because why not.
Another Steddie fic, this time a modern AU with 'lost touch' feelings and also banging the rockstar in his hotel room.
And finally, my MTH2021 fic is posting a year late, and will continue on into the new year. It's all done and edited, I just like the daily posting method for getting drip-fed dopamine and also sitting there posting 29 chapters at once is no bueno.
You can find all of this stuff here, so I'm not link-stuffing the post: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swtalmnd/works
What's Coming in 2024 (besides my blorbos)
I have a few more Stuckony WIPs waiting in the wings, including my MTH 2022 fic, which I hope to finish in time to actually participate in 2024.
I have at least 1 novel coming out and maybe 2? I didn't publish ANY original fiction last year (gah), but I finished 1 draft (the sequel to Hive) and am plodding along on 2 more (Julian 4 and something new). I am so slow these days, tho, gah. I have no idea how some people put out multiple books a year, year after year.
I've got a few more Eeveeon arts to share, which I always forget to do on Tumbls.
I might actually open commissions next year (for art, I don't enjoy fic commissions).
I'm gonna a Stuckony Valentine thing, so you'll get at least one short fic from me in Feb.
I'm hoping something new will sweep me into its fandomy arms, because while I do love my current blorbos (MCU & Stranger Things), neither one is really doing the full fixation dance in my brain and that's sad. OTOH I'd like to finish my MCU WIPs before that spark fully dies ahahaha haha ha.
As far as art goes, I'm keeping up my Patreon sketch cards and not a ton else, but my new-new meds are helping me Get Shit Done, so I'm really hoping that I can get back into larger-than-a-playing-card artwork, both fannish and non.
I'm still gonna do more of my 8-bit bullshit, though.
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This Week In “Time & Again” #24: Well… I’m Sometimes Bad At Naming My Blog Posts 🤷♀️ [and a tiny wee bit techy again]
It's high time to make yet another one new blog post with the progress report - but alas, I just keep working and working on everything according to my little list pinned to my desktop, and I am not sure what to report. It's just... steadily going forward. That is all.
Within these few days, I've finished an artwork that will be used as an easter egg on several pages of Chapter 6. As per usual, that will be a reference to an old and fairly famous but somewhat forgotten*-ish* franchise. So keep your eyes open once the chapter is released next year 😉
Mostly, aside from preparing (mentally as well as organization-wise) for GPop Fair quite hyperactively, I'm also steadily working on the cover arts right now. Which is odd. I don't remember myself working on the cover arts PRIOR to working on the chapters themselves. Oh boy, things sure change. Usually before, as a general rule of thumb, I worked on the cover arts last. Chapter 5 was a very good fresh example. Although I have the most cover arts sketched in my sketchbook (usually they have multiple versions sketched, and yet everything is still WIP until I decide on something concept-wise for sure), I usually set to work on them later on as I could see the full pictures of the chapters. Suddenly, I came up with excellent ideas for the cover arts for both Chapter 6.1 and 6.2. And both of them will strongly refer to a famous franchise that bears an incredible importance in the history of development of "Time & Again". More on the matter in detail I will probably write a paragraph for either Collector's Edition of "Time & Again" or in the Behind The Scenes book.
Here's a snyak 🐍 sneak peak (the screenshot has been made during the sketching phase; that is supposed to be a fairly complex art piece, so I needed the sketch this time to make everything extra clean):
Can you recognize the reference? 😉
That cover art is what I've been working on for the last few days. And finally now I'm getting to work on the cover art for Chapter 6.2 that most likely will take me less time says I often before something unexpected happens and it takes, like, quadruple amount of time vs what I anticipated, lol.
Ah! There is something little and neat I'd like to share before I wrap it up for today 🙃 I decided to try out Krita's native video recorder for the first time. I've known about that functionality in Krita before, but, regardless, I've always used my desktop recorder instead, virtually for everything, from taking screenshots of the lulz and fails found randomly across the internet to recording clips from my gaming sessions for... well, little to no purpose, because I decided not to spam my YouTube channel with gaming videos 😅. But, since it's been learning time for me in many ways lately, I decided to give it a try. Maybe it's awesome and I will use it all the time now?! The awesomeness about Krita video recorder is that it's automated (and everybody knows by now how much I love automation, yaaaaaay!): it automatically records the progress once you open the artwork no matter how much time passes in between the drawing sessions. You can start working on a picture, drop it, return to it, say, in a month, and the recording will continue. Awesome!
Here's the screenshot of the export video dialogue:
The settings are pretty self-explanatory. For those familiar with the basics of video editing, there's nothing new. I had to install ffmpeg in order to properly execute the conversion of the video. I had to fiddle with it for a bit before it started working: apparently, the latest version of ffmpeg (7.0.2) does not work in Krita for the reason unknown to me. I tried to resolve it by myself reading the log file left after the failed conversion - but then I stumbled across a Reddit post that talked about the exact same error I was getting, and it turned out that the previous version of ffmpeg (6.1.1.) still works in Krita. And then it assembled me a very nice video.
I have recorded near the whole process of drawing that piece: from the clean lineart to full colouring, AND including trying out an alternative background that I decided to discard in the end. Eventually I will post the timelapse video on my YouTube channel to pretend it's not dead lol. I will slightly edit and speed it up even more first.
One note though: the end of the video has weird moments of flashing white frames. I was aware that things like that might happen. But still, that's a bit odd. I will have to figure out how to deal with that issue... Because I don't want to have to slap an epilepsy warning in the beginning of the video 😱😅
Ok, wait, there's one more thing I wanted to ponder on before bidding farewell for a week (or two, or a month, how it often happens to me, lol). And it's kind of a... dreamy thing, with a twist of nostalgia and an off-beat bitter-sweet Traurigkeit involved.
Last year I was very upset about one thing. Sometime in Summer, in 2023, it was an 18-year-old anniversary of my very first set of original characters - Jade, Stu, and Alan. These three people were and still are very important to me. And of course, some of you still remember the abundance of the artworks featuring those individuals that I used to post frequently on my DeviantArt gallery. And of course, those of you who have read Chapter 2 of "Time & Again" remember the tiny and short - and rather questionable 😅 - cameo of the three on the background in one scene. I wanted to draw a celebratory portrait of the trio as a little gift to them, and to myself (for personal happiness). I even had a perfect idea for a little hilarious artwork with a cake. But then something happened (most likely, Chapter 4 of "Time & Again" happened, but I don't remember for sure anymore without my devlog notes, and they're in the living room, and I'm far too lazy to reach out to get them right now 🤣), and I simply forgot about my idea. I only remembered about it long due, sometime in mid Fall or even closer to Winter. I was very upset with myself. 18 years is A LOT, let me tell you. That's for how long I've lived with these characters, polishing them, growing them, nurturing them with numerous traits; they have been undergoing an enormous amount of changes in their personalities, backgrounds, personal history, etc. In short: everything that every single one of us is going through their lifetime, in the real life. In this respect, Stu, Alan and Jade are not much different from any of us. They're even fully "legal", LOL. It might look to some that they're obsolete - but that is far from the truth. I still have grand plans for them. They will take part in my future art endeavours 😉 The story of Alan, Stu and Jade has been rewritten numerous times - but it is most certainly still not complete. Doing an incredibly simple, possibly pre-school level math, we can easily deduce that in 2025 the three are gonna reach their 20-year-old milestone. And that's a long, long time.
Since I screwed up the little celebration big time in 2023 😫, and 20-year-old is a good milestone as well, I really want to put an effort into drawing a lovely artwork of the three next Summer. That is überimportant. That must happen. Yes, as you can see, Lothar and Jeanny are significantly younger than the dorky trio. Lothar and Jeanny probably think the other three are elderly people, LOL. Well... there's surely something entertaining that has to be portrayed on the milestone artwork next year. I'm looking forward to it 😁
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hi all!! ヾ(^∇^) it's been a while
so many things have happened since i last posted, and a whole summer has gone by!
firstly, i have gotten back into creative writing again! i've always been into writing my own short stories and mini novels since forever, and now i've found the motivation to pursue this again.
for six years i've been working on a passion project of mine, which is a novel covering both period fiction and fantasy. it's even influenced a lot of my artwork, which has actually sparked my motivation to actually finish the novel. maybe i'll post some parts of the novel on here..? (ー_ーゞ ... stay tuned i guess?
last time i posted, i was looking forward to zb1's debut (10/7). let me just say.. i'm so so SOOO glad that they went with a fresh whimsy concept and not a hardcore and dark concept that has been plaguing boy groups since 4th gen started. i've been seeing more groups start to shift away from the hardcore concepts and i couldn't be happier.
also, my two zb1 albums came in last month and guess who's card i pulled?
not just one hao.. but TWO hoas??? i've never been this lucky before when it comes to pulling photocards <("0 ")>
in addition to zb1, i've been catching up with groups that i've previously been fans of. nct dream also had a comeback in july 'ISTJ' and it's sooo good!! renjun has been killing it this comeback this is HIS era. let's go renjun you go renjun!!!
i didn't pull renjun this comeback but i've been collecting some of his photocards from this album and the previous album. i've been getting back into investing in photocards which i'm not too proud of, considering that it's a big investment depending on which idol's cards you want to collect.
unfortunately for me, all my favorite idols are really popular, meaning their cards cost a lot more.
i'm trying to be smart and not overdo it though!! i don't want to go broke again (◞‸◟).....
in other non-kpop related news, i got a new laptop!! my old one gave up on me so i had to use my mother's personal laptop for the rest of the spring semester and for my summer classes. i'm not normally a picky person, especially in times like this where i take what i can. but... given how old it was... it was absolute hell trying to get things done with it.
i'm actually a pretty busy person, and a lot of my work requires me to have a good-working device with working internet. this spare laptop was barely getting me through that, and it became almost impossible to get anything done.
and finally!! i was able to save up enough money this summer to get a new laptop! and it was perfect timing since i go back to school very soon..
anyways.. school starts very soon for me. it's my last year and then hopefully i'll be done for good. i'm a little nervous because of senior thesis work, but i have a really supportive department (we're very small so we all know each other pretty well) so hopefully i'll be okay. hopefully, this year will go pretty smoothly and it'll be another good year.
again, i'm sorry that i haven't been on here a lot. hopefully i'll be able to stay on here enough that i can give monthly updates, but we'll see. until then, i hope this finds you in good spirits! love yas <33 !
to sign off, here's a funny cute pic of renjun that i've been cheesing over since two days ago
-Starr ☆
17.8.23
UPDATE!!
i totally forgot to mention that i watched barbie and oppenheimer a couple weeks ago and both are so so good!!! i was going in thinking i'd like only one of them, but actually loved both them near equally!
well... i actually think i liked barbie a little bit more. i think it has to do with being afab and being someone who has the female perspective and experience of a woman living in this world. i think that it's really sad that critics have labelled this as an "anti-man" and "preachy" movie when that wasn't the point at all. barbie actually talks about how the patriarchy is harming both women AND MEN! it talks about how even men are also victims of a social structure that they created.
i could talk about barbie forever, but i don't want to add too much to this post since it's already so long (~_~;)
maybe i'll talk about barbie and oppenheimer another time, since i have so many thoughts on both of them. overall, it was a good experience and recommend both movies to anyone who hasn't seen them yet. 10/10 for both to be honest...
anways.. signing off for real this time!
-Starr ☆
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Bets With a Vegas Boy
summary: When Spencer and Reader make a bet with high stakes, their stubborn sides show, but when a consulting officer has his eyes on reader, Spencer has to step in.
word count: 4.9k
warnings: SMUT (breeding kink, daddy kink, a bit of degradation, semipublic sex,) unrequited flirting, criminal minds style violence, suggested cannibalism, reader has multiple tattoos
Pairing: Spencer Reid/Female Reader
A/N: This took me forever to finish as I was on vacation! I hope you all enjoy it!
“Y/N, have you ever met Reid? You’re supposed to be smart, why would you willingly sign up for this?” You scoffed at JJ’s words. When Penelope Garcia is involved it seems that no news traveled slowly, proven by the entire BAU’s new knowledge of the bet you had made with boy genius after bickering about which of you was more clingy. “JJ, you really underestimate me that much?” She shook her head in disbelief “You know that’s not it, but come on Y/N! Seriously, he’s banned from every casino in Vegas! Why would you bet against that?” “JJ, he was banned because he can count cards. It’s not like we’re playing Black Jack for christ’s sake!” She weighed the idea for a moment and you could see the wheels turning in her head. “Okay that’s true, but still. He’s the most stubborn man I’ve ever met. I seriously hope whatever he has in mind for your forfeit isn’t as bad as yours.” You laughed, imaging Spencer in the predicament you were positive he would be in the thick of by the end of the week.
“I think he’d look good with one, you don’t agree?” JJ rolled her eyes as you both made your way out of the elevator towards the glass doors. “That’s not my point Y/N, don’t you think it’s a little harsh? I mean he’s not like you, how do you know he’d even want one?” You smirked, remembering the first time you’d met Dr. Spencer Reid. You had been brought on to the team a few short years ago after an implemented policy that required an even amount of field agents so there were partners for every investigation. You thought it was a bit condescending, requiring the most brilliant minds in the nation to follow the buddy system, but it gave you a job and for that you were thankful. It had its perks though, one of which being your immediate pairing with Reid. You were as young as him and not far behind in brilliance. What you lacked in eidetic memory and forgein language fluency, you more than made up for in marksmanship and street smarts. You and Reid got along fine, even if it was a bit tense at first. He was thoroughly convinced he didn’t need a babysitter.
“I’m a grown man! Why would I need to be watched every second of the day? The last thing we need is a liability.” you remembered the words like it was yesterday. You had been approaching him from behind, and overheard his rant. “Well, technically since we’re the same age, I’d hardly consider myself a babysitter. Would you trust your child’s care with someone their age?” Spencer had turned himself around so fast he’d almost fallen off the desk he was perched atop. “Y-you must be Agent Y/N! It’s uh nice to meet you?” He cringed at the tone of his voice, and you burst out with giggles before shaking your head. “Don’t worry Dr. Reid, I understand it must be a difficult situation for you. I mean, if I were the resident genius I wouldn’t take too kindly to the idea of being shown up either.” The dark-skinned woman who had previously been engaging him in his sour mood let out a surprised chuckle and you watched his face turn from embarrassment to shock and finally settle on disbelief. “Wh- Excuse me?” You felt your stomach begin to cramp as his reaction made you laugh further and you clutched your files against your chest. You fought to catch your breath for a few seconds before regaining your composure. “Excuse my reaction, Dr. Reid but I couldn’t resist. No hard feelings?” He nodded mutely and you saw a soft smile crack through his mock stern expression. You turned to introduce yourself to the woman next to him, Tara Lewis. You made small talk for a few more minutes while Reid scribbled away at his desk before Emily called all of you to the round table with a case.
Nerves had struck you then, and you stood frozen instead of joining Tara in her stride. “Y/N, everything okay?” You jumped slightly as you heard Reid’s voice from behind you. “Oh! Yes, sorry!” You moved out of his way, trying your best not to stumble over an empty desk and failing miserably. He stretched his hands out and caught you, much to your embarrassment. “Are you sure you’re okay? Are you feeling ill?” You shook your head quickly. “No! No, I'm fine, really.” He looked into your eyes and you tried to ignore the sparks you felt deep in your chest. “Y/N you’re working with profilers now, lying that poorly will never work around here.” His joke succeeded in its attempt to lighten the mood and you let out a soft laugh despite your anxiety. “I’m just a little nervous I guess. I didn’t expect to have a case so soon.” He nodded and his thumb absentmindedly rubbed soothing circles on your sleeve. “I understand. We all felt that way at first. I won’t say it’s easy, but we’re all here to support you. Take a few deep breaths.” You did as he instructed and you felt your nerves ease as he consoled you. “That’s better. Besides, what could you have to worry about? You have the best partner here.” You laughed, and he released your arm. “I’ll meet you in there.” and with that he left you standing there trying to lock down the feelings he had just arisen in you. “Nice Y/N, crush on your partner first thing. What a great start.” you muttered to yourself
A few moments later you joined the rest of the team at the table and quickly reviewed the case, before lifting off 45 minutes later to a small town in Georgia. Everything felt like a whirlwind and you did your best to keep up. True to what Spencer had said, the team helped you get your bearings and by the end of the night you were making great strides along with the rest of them. It was near midnight when Emily dismissed you all to the hotel a few blocks away to get a few hours of rest. You were thankful, having poorly attempted to drown your tiredness with watery coffee from the small pot at the station, and you made your way to the hotel as swiftly as you could manage. When you were all gathered in the lobby, Emily handed out the keycards and it quickly dawned on you how the room assignments would work. You tried to shake off the thought and prayed that the night would go quickly. It made sense to just put the partners together, it made keeping track of everyone easier and allowed for quick communication between the team. You told yourself all the reasons it was logical as you made your way up to your room.
Spencer left you to your thoughts, but he could see how hard you were focusing. He unlocked the door and the lights switched on as you both made your way towards your beds. You heard him ask you something, and turned awkwardly to face him “Sorry, what’d you say?” He looked at you, a mix of amusement and concern on his face. “I asked if you wanted to shower first. Are you okay?” “Oh! Yeah, thanks. I’m okay, just thinking about the case.” You hoped you had lied better this time and were relieved that he seemed to buy it. “Just try to shut your mind off of it for now, I know it’s hard. Trust me, you’ll feel much better when you’re refreshed.” You nodded at his words and pulled some pajamas out of your go-bag. “Thanks Spencer. I’ll try not to take too long.” He shrugged you off “No worries, take your time.” You shut yourself behind the door and tried to shake the feelings out of your head. “Get a grip Y/N. You’re being crazy.” You scolded yourself before showering. You hurried despite Spencer’s insistence and quickly made your way out of the shower to dry yourself off. You applied lotion to your ink-covered skin and slipped on your shorts and t-shirt before drying your hair as fast as you could and making your way out of the bathroom. You dropped your folded clothes on top of your bag, alerting Spencer that you were done.
“That was fast, you really didn’t have to-” his words died in his throat as he looked up from the file in his lap and caught sight of your legs, covered in the intricate artwork that stretched across the skin. You tried to ignore his watchful gaze. “It’s no problem! I wanted to save you some hot water.” He thanked you quietly and made his way to the bathroom hurriedly, trying not to look at you again. You tried to fall asleep but you couldn’t get him out of your head. A few more minutes passed and he made his way over to his bed, trying to will the awkward tension out of the room. You both eventually managed to fall asleep without speaking another word.
The tension continued to grow over the next few months and the rest of the team were getting sick of watching you two dance around each other. You both denied any advances, shot down the chance to go out on any of the numerous blind dates members of the team offered to set up, and chose instead to trade glances across the bullpen and divulge your personal lives over breakroom lunches. Eventually, they made plans for a team outing and convinced you both to attend. Penelope made reservations at a nice restaurant, announcing that everyone just had to try their food. That night however, you showed up to Spencer waiting awkwardly at a table for two in the back corner with a sour face. “Where’s the rest of the team?” You asked him, taking the seat across from him. “Apparently they’ve all had to cancel. Luckily, the reservation was for two.” His eyes narrowed in suspicion and you made a mental note to scold Garcia. “Well, since we’re here I’m happy to eat. I’m starving.” Spencer’s eyes lit up and he nodded eagerly, agreeing with you. After an evening of great food and better wine, the rest was history, and you found yourself thanking Garcia the next day instead. You and Spencer had been dating for just over two years now, though he’d be able to count it down to the second you’d showed up looking angelic at the restaurant that night. You both complimented each other perfectly and you had a relationship stronger than either of you could have dreamed of.
“Hello?? Y/N are you even listening to me?” JJ’s words and nudge against your shoulder brought you back to present day and you snapped your eyes back to her face. “Yes! Sorry JJ I was just thinking… Anyways, we’ve talked about it before. He loves all of mine, and he’s talked about getting one. He’s just afraid of the pain, and too indecisive to choose what he wants.” You blushed softly as you thought about the many nights spent in your shared bed, Spencer tracing the black lines with his fingertips. He adored them and thought they made you especially unique, not to mention he found them extremely sexy. He favored the black sun on your ribcage, shaded to perfection. Even when you were clothed he would run his hand along the fabric that covered the piece.
“Well still, if you do happen to win, I can’t imagine he’ll go along with it.” You smirked and shook your head. “We’ll see about that JJ.” You both sat at your desks, and began to work through your piles of paperwork. You were thankful there was no case that needed your immediate attention, but paperwork always made you feel like a nap by the time lunch came around. You pushed yourself away from your desk, and stood to find yourself nearly chest to chest with your boyfriend who had stood at the same time. “Oh, sorry Spence. I just need coffee.” You maneuvered your way around him, missing the way he would usually grab your hips to aid you. He followed you to the break room and you poured him a cup as well leaving plenty of room for sugar. Instead of handing it to him with a quick peck on the cheek however, you left it on the counter to be picked up. “You really think you can go a week without touching me?” You heard his voice from the doorway. “It’s already been 3 days.” You said uninterestedly with a shrug, and he eyed you suspiciously. “Okay fine, no. I just think I can go longer than you can.” You finally admitted, smirking back at him.
He grabbed the mug from the counter, adding several teaspoons of sugar before taking a sip. “We’ll see about that. You’re the one that’s always curling yourself around me.” You rolled your eyes playfully. “Oh yeah, like you hate it. You’re the one that’s always rubbing my back and holding my hand under tables. Even when we’re on the metro home you’ve got your hand in mine.” He narrowed his eyes at you and stuck his tongue out, making you chuckle. “Very mature Dr. Reid. I can’t wait to win.” He opened his mouth to argue but was interrupted by Luke who stuck his head in to alert you both of the new case you’d be working. You let out a long sigh. “So much for paperwork.” The three of you made your way to the round table and sat, Spencer curling his hand into a fist to keep himself from subconsciously reaching over to place his hand on your leg.
“So, we are assisting in a local case this time, with Washington state PD about a string of murders in the homeless community. However, there’s been hefty construction in their field office so they will be joining us here.” Penelope quickly took the lead after Emily’s announcement and filled you all in about the details. She ran through the few details the local PD managed to uncover on their own and the team had only managed a few minutes of brainstorming when a group of police officers made their way through the glass doors of the BAU. There were only a handful of officers which surprised all of you, and Emily led the rest of you out of the conference room, beelining her way to the chief. “Hello, Landon. It’s nice to see you again.” She shook his hand briefly. “Likewise Emily, though I wish it was under different circumstances.” “As do I. I’m sorry for the miscommunication, I was under the impression that your entire force would be joining us. Is that not the case?” The chief, Landon Bridges you now knew him as, shook his head. “We knew you had a pretty tight space and we have a lot of members. I brought a few people from each department and figured it’d be easiest to fill everyone else in periodically. We didn’t want to overflow your space and leave no room to work.” Emily nodded and rested her hand on his shoulder. “I appreciate the thought, thank you. This is the rest of my team. SSAs Jennifer Jareau, Luke Alves, Matt Simmons, David Rossi, Y/N Y/L/N, Drs Spencer Reid and Tara Lewis, and our technical analyst Penelope Garcia.” You all gestured as Emily quickly introduced you, and a short time later you were all acquainted and working throughout the bullpen. You and Spencer were just beginning to start the geographical profile when one of the Washington police officers, Kline, made his way over to you. “Pardon me agents, do you need any help?” You looked up from your section of the grid lines and smiled at him which he returned brightly, but before you could answer, Spencer dismissed him. Kline’s face fell slightly but he nodded and made his way over to where Tara and Luke were reviewing the last known areas of the victims.
You turned and stared at Spencer in disbelief. He looked up after a few seconds, feeling your eyes burning a hole through the top of his head. “Yes?” You glared at him harder, before railing into him in a hushed tone “Don’t ‘yes?’ me. That was insanely rude. They’re here to help us! Quit acting all high and mighty.” He stared back at you and you saw the stubbornness light up his eyes. “Why should I? We could solve this case twice as fast without them getting in the way.” He knew he was talking too loud, and was more than aware of Kline who was staring at his back with a sour look resting on his face. “Spencer! I don’t know what your problem is, but you need to fix it. You’re being an ass.” He rolled his eyes and you both let out a sigh before looking back down at the maps covering the desktop beneath you.
A few hours passed before you and Spencer finished the geographical profile, and you gestured Kline over to ask him a few questions about the area you’d narrowed down. Spencer noticed he had made his way to your side and bit his lip to keep himself silent. “Officer Kline, can you tell me anything about this area of the block? It seems like a lot of our victims were last seen in this area.” He eyed the map where red ink stained the paper and pondered for a few seconds. “Well, there’s not much out there really. A few older shops and some construction to the east” he gestured to the empty spot of land on the map “but nothing of real interest. We don’t usually get calls for the homeless population over here either. There’s not really much shelter so they don’t usually go towards this way” Your brow furrowed and you nodded, thanking him but before he could get another word in Spencer piped up. “Kline, if the homeless population doesn’t “Go that way” he mocked the officer in front of you, and Kline tensed up in response “then why are they all disappearing from the area? Does that make sense to you?”
Kline struggled to respond and you glared at Spencer before assuring Kline there was no need for him to pay Spencer any mind, excusing his behavior with a rambling about late nights and too little coffee. Kline walked away and you stared Spencer down for several seconds before making your way towards the main group to deliver the geographic profile, leaving Spencer to sulk. You continued to avoid Spencer until you were sent out to investigate the block you sectioned off with Emily and JJ. You opted to drive which left Spencer in the passenger seat, fuming at your silent treatment and JJ and Emily trying to fight the tension in the SUV to no avail.
You parked the SUV a few blocks away and the four of you walked the rest of the way to avoid raising too much suspicion. You were standing in the center of the unsubs hot zone when you noticed a line of people clustered in front of one of the more rundown buildings. The building had wide front windows that had been taped over with brown paper, as well as the glass doors. You and Spencer approached the group warily, trying to get closer to see the poorly written signs on the door.
“DISCOUNT MEAT - PRE-COOKED”
“12pm-12am”
You gestured Emily and JJ over and the four of you quickly aimed to disperse the crowd much to their displeasure. After several minutes of arguing and multiple badge flashes you managed to succeed and stood outside the door ready to investigate once the owner opened his doors. Fifteen minutes had passed without any sign of movement from the inside and Spencer began to shift anxiously, causing you to do the same. A few more seconds passed and you heard the locks on the door click, reaching your hand around to rest on your holster automatically. As soon as the door opened, Emily pushed through holding her badge and announcing the reason for your investigation.
The shop owner immediately demanded you leave and not return unless you had a warrant. “Actually, because this is no longer a registered business it becomes property of the town and therefore is subject to any kind of local or national investigation under Property law 14, sections 3a-3f go more in depth about the issue if you feel the need to verify.” Spencer explained the situation while sifting through the counter drawers, leaving the man to sit in silent rage while Emily and JJ questioned him. You bent over to fiddle with a padlock on a hollowed bench seat on the far wall and pulled one of the pins out of your hair to pick it. A few seconds of tampering later, the lock gave way with a satisfying click and you pulled the bench open. A rancid smell hit your nose and stomach before you could process what you were seeing. Body parts were wrapped in butcher's paper and poorly taped, and you fought to keep your breakfast down as you slammed the bench shut. Emily then stood the man up and cuffed him, while reciting the miranda rights. JJ followed her out and you followed her quickly, trying and failing to erase the memory from your mind.
Back at the office, the rest of the team and several of the officers had already begun processing the unsubs case and there was little left to be done by the time you returned. You filled out your files and quickly wrote out your account of the incident before heading to the breakroom for a cup of coffee. You pulled your mug down from the shelf and pressed your favorite individual pod into the machine and pressed the button to let it run. You were digging in the fridge for your creamer when a deep voice startled you
“Little late for coffee isn’t it?” You turned swiftly to find Kline standing in the doorway and you let out a small sigh. “When you work like we do, it’s never too late for coffee” You smiled and made your cup to your taste, taking a long sip. You expected Kline to just grab what he wanted and leave, but instead he continued to make awkward conversation despite you going so far as to begin scrolling through your phone. “So, that Spencer guy is really a piece of work huh?” You fought the urge to roll your eyes and instead remained focused on your screen, telling yourself that he just didn’t get the chance to see the good side of Spencer like everyone else there had. “He’s really not a bad guy, he’s just had a long day. We all have.” Kline nodded but moved closer to you, so close that you could smell his headache-inducing cologne. “I’m just saying, if I had the opportunity to work with you every day, I wouldn’t waste my time arguing with you. I’d treat you right.”
You shifted uncomfortably, praying he would pick up on your uneasiness and back off but instead he moved to corner you against the counter. You tried to excuse yourself but your voice caught in your throat.
“Kline, I really overestimated you. I figured even a man as dimwitted as yourself would be able to tell when a woman isn’t interested but here we are.” Your head snapped up towards the doorway where Spencer was standing. Kline turned around and prepared himself to tell your boyfriend off when he froze. Spencer had the look in his eye that sent chills down your spine and made it very aware to Kline that there was no use fighting. He quickly left the room and you and Spencer held eye contact for several seconds before he spoke again “Meet me in the storage room at the end of the hall in 2 minutes.” His voice made your legs feel weak and you nodded, dumping the contents of your mug down the drain, keeping your pace in check as you slipped into the hallway.
You had barely unlatched the door when Spencer pushed it the rest of the way open and you felt yourself being dragged into the dimly lit space. You barely had time to let out a surprised squeak when you felt his lips against your throat, turning your noise into one of pleasure. His kisses quickly turned sharp, applying the expertly rehearsed amount of pressure to avoid marks but to still send shockwaves of heat to your core. “Spence” his name left your lips in a whine while he busied himself unbuttoning your blouse. “Spencer, you just lost the bet.” You felt a smirk grow across your face that disappeared as he hiked your skirt up to your hips while rubbing your clit through your panties. “Fuck the bet, Y/N. I’m sick of seeing you walk around here clueless. You know I’ve been all over Kline’s ass, little girl?” His voice dropped lower and he lifted you up to push you against the wall. “It’s because he couldn’t stop looking at yours.” You let out a moan as he pushed your panties to the side, slipping two of his fingers into you.
“Fuck baby, you’re so wet. Did me getting all protective of you turn you on? You like making daddy jealous?” You shook your head as well as you could manage, trying to keep your volume in check. “Answer me pet, or you’re not gonna get daddy’s cock in you like I know you’re desperate for.” You whimpered at his words “No! I-I wasn’t trying to make you jealous daddy I swear!” You stuttered as he began to spread you further with his fingers. He smiled against the exposed skin of your chest before removing his fingers. “That’s my good girl. You ready for daddy?” You nodded as he fiddled with his belt buckle, moaning in anticipation as he released his cock from his slacks. You bit your lip as he ran the tip over your folds, sucking in a harsh breath as he pushed himself deep inside you. He let you adjust for a moment while he sucked at your neck again. “Daddy, please move. Please, I need you.” He let his hips move, pulling almost all the way out of you before slamming you forward into the wall again. You let out a moan as he thrusted in and out of you. You felt like your skin was on fire, the lack of touch over the past days made everything more intense.
A few more minutes passed and you felt yourself growing dangerously close to the edge. “Spence I’m gonna cum” you felt his pace grow even more rapid and he circled your clit with his thumb. “I’m gonna cum inside you angel. I’m gonna fill you up with my kid. You want that huh? Want everyone to know that you belong to me, don’t you?” You moaned at his words “God yes, please daddy. Please cum inside me!” You felt his hips stutter under you and a familiar warmth as you finally climaxed. Your toes curled and your head fell back against the wall, trying to catch your breath.
“God Y/N that was amazing.” You let out a soft whimper as he pulled out of you and lowered you back down to your feet. He kissed you, pulling you closer than before. “I love you Spencer. Only you.” He touched the tip of his nose to yours and returned your words, while you both caught your breath. A few minutes later you both exited the closet, and tried to smoothly make your way back to your desks. Washington PD had finished the bureau required paperwork and had already left so things were much quieter.
You had just sat down when JJ looked up from her computer. “So Spence, whatcha gonna get?” His head snapped up and your cheeks flushed. “Wh-What?” he managed to stutter out. “From the diner? Garcia said she would run out and get dinner.” You both let out simultaneous sighs of relief and told her what you wanted, settling in for a long night.
The next weekend you had free, you found yourselves in one of your favorite spots. The low pitched buzzing added to Spencer’s anxiety as he tried to divert his focus to the bright neon signs. You held his hand, stroking it with your thumb as you waited for your tattoo artist and best friend, Vannessa, to finish Spencer’s design. You tried to distract him but before long she called you back to the table and you heard his breathing quicken. You helped him get settled on the table while Vannessa applied the stencil. She adjusted it until Spencer and you both approved and then she started. Spencer tightened his grip on your hand as she traced the lines while you murmured words of encouragement in his ear. Half an hour later, she was running Spencer through the after care process while wrapping his forearm up. You paid her and made your way out of the shop after thanking her.
Slipping into the driver’s seat, you watched as Spencer carefully maneuvered his way into the car, fastening his seatbelt and resting his arm against the door. The streetlight shining through his window highlighted his forearm perfectly, revealing the perfectly mimicked shape of a shaded black sun.
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IT’S HERE!!! IT’S FINALLY HERE!!! This is artwork done for the @dcbtv and specifically for the INCREDIBLE story written by @whitster-lizzy ! Check it out HERE!
Aaaah! I feel like I could geek out over these drawings and the entire process for a long while, so I’ll just throw that rambling under the “Keep Reading” (there will be fic spoilers talked about there too so be warned!).
Hope you enjoy the story! And seriously, go read it!
Hello! Welcome to the ramblings!
So starting with the banner... the concept of what I wanted to do came to me pretty quickly. I thought it would be cool to have the guitar and cover it with some relevant stickers that applied to Dean and Cas. The biggest challenge on the banner was honestly the colors... there are SO MANY cool color options for guitars, but I wanted to be sure that the words, the important story information, stood out significantly. So there was a lot of color tests that my friend sort of “supervised” for me, and finally get the colors fine tuned where you still have the bold red from the KC logo, but it wasn’t the ONLY thing your eye would stay drawn to. XD
Next is the Cas in his room drawing... and boy howdy I am OBSESSED with this drawing! the DCBTV bang was a very collaborative project. There was no “rough draft” to read off of, or “rough sketches” to look at. It was just me, Whitney, and our chosen song. So we had some brainstorm sessions where we pin-pointed the concept for the fic, which would have musician!Cas/football player!Dean, with some high school angst. And of course, you can’t really have an angsty high school story without a dramatic “looking out the window like you’re in a music video”, so I sketched this out:
I shared it with Whitney, and then she added this scene into the story itself! To which then I was like, “Well heck! Now I REALLY have to draw this!” But I was already at about 50% with the other piece I had done, and so I told myself that if I had time, I could draw this up. I finished the other drawing with time to spare... and then drew up the Cas drawing over the course of 3 days. My brain wouldn’t let me rest until I had drawn it! XD (Also quick fun fact... the poster on Cas’ wall is Totoro, because I was watching that movie for the first time ever while I was coloring it, and I thought it would be a fun little easter egg for myself ^_^ ).
The 2nd drawing (well, technically 1st since I had completed that one first) may look simple... but there were things about it that was NOT so simple! XD The lighting/shading... it was certainly an adventure trying to figure out exactly how this sort of lighting would work. From the spotlights on Cas and Dean, to the lighting of the “peanut gallery” just a little behind them, and then finally the crowd. A lot of playing around with different colors and layer settings, but I found an option that I felt like worked very well! On another note of the collaboration effort for this bang, Cas’ outfit and tattoo design were inspired from reading what Whitney had added into the story. Specifically during the high school years. I read the detail about Cas’ mom making his own version of the “Black Parade” jacket and was like, “Omg that’s gotta be referenced a bit with this drawing now! It’s perfect!” And the part where Cas compares himself to a phoenix instead of Icarus? My mind was blown and I got chills so I had to make a subtle nod to that as well!
Whitney had asked about creating some chapter/section dividers to put throughout the story and I thought it was a great idea! I came up with this design for Dean when we switched to his POV and even little section breaks within the chapter:
And these were the designs I came up with for Cas’ POV switches and section breaks:
...wanna know something funny about those musical notes? Got the inspiration from this:
:3c
I signed up for this bang as sort of a last second decision and honestly I’m so glad that I did! My author was incredible, it helped push me a little more as an artist, and also I got to relive my Jr. High years a bit because this song was honestly the first Taylor Swift song I had ever heard (also a bit of High school because of the angst, but I loved it). Super thankful to have been a part of this!
A huge huge shout out to the mods for putting it together and for creating the event! Seriously, you all did a great job and I’m so happy that this event was received so well!
If you’ve made it this far... thanks for reading! <3
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Humans are Space Orcs- Great Old Ones
It had taken countless generations to achieve proper space travel, for us. The ships took several lifetimes to build, each and every one of them an effort beyond anything we had built for the surface of our planet. And when we finally joined the galactic community, it was as equals amongst equals. Different origins, appearances, languages, but all of us with similar ways of thought, histories, lifespans. Sure, some had a little more or less, but it was negligible. And then we learned of the nightmares.
The Aaarkaaar had records of them, made by the creatures themselves. Almost three times the size of the tallest of species on average, we thought that was all the horror there was to them, but nay. They were violent beyond compare, each and every of their conflicts lasting at least three of the longest living species' generations, and that was to say nothing about their civil projects, which easily could take over a hundred.
Were it just their dedication and height, we could have dealt, but then one of the keepers of records pointed us at another part of the medical section we skipped out of habit and we grew terrified. No wonder it all took so long, when during the time one of the luckiest of us was born, grew old and died of oldest age, they were less than halfway through childhood. Until one of them would die of age, we would have replaced our entire population more than ten times over, assuming all of us lived till their bodies gave out around them. Or, more correctly perhaps, of their shorter-lived sex.
Ancient - we had seen three generations come and go in their entirety since ascending, where to them it'd be not even half their life -, larger than even the biggest animal and violent but terrifyingly intelligent as a consequence of it - the only reason we knew the alloy they used to inform the Aaarkaaar of their existence was that hundreds of generations dedicated their lives to studying and replicating it, and it would be only a small sample of what their long lives allowed them to discover we could never - we found we understood why there was a no-contact decision and a buffer zone around them. Many of the most adventurous of us had decided to dedicate their entire lives to studying them, so that future generations could try to understand them without fear of dying, and we already had a wealth of information on that, but it only made us more wary. Their results bordered on the impossible, but were proven true by others with no way of knowing the reports, after all. No wonder so many of our peers feared the Great Old Ones.
And then, generations later but probably only a blink of an eye to them, the Senate got a message from them that caused a galactic panic and fear.
"Hello. We are humanity, and we come in peace."
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Something a bit different this time! This idea just wouldn't let go of my brain. Why should the aliens be the ones with super long lives all the time? I think I've never seen a single piece of writing where our livespan was anything more than average, usually less even. And since longer lives tend to equal unique scientific advances based on that lifespan - usually medically speaking, but not exclusively - I figured we'd have things they would have no way of considering possible. Anything longer than, say, half their life to include some time to study would have to be a group effort at least.
I've set the average alien lifespan for this at around nine, longest getting to ten, shortest at eight and a half (giving them only five years of work to give some time for studying). So, given some civic engineering projects take ages even for us, I figured the very prospect would be intimidating for them. For example, the cathedral of Colonge took so long to build, by the time they 'finished' they got to start restoring the statues and artwork at the other end, and it is now a common joke in Germany that once all works on it are finished, the apocalypse will start. Far as I know, there have only been short breaks due to finance or weather related phenomena.
The longest active war in history was the hundred year war between England and France I think, which actually did take about a hundred years. Calculate two years off the ten years for childhood and old age and it's at least eleven generations. Which would be obscenely long for us. We tend towards on and off feuds when it takes longer than two or three.
So, let me know what you think!
#humans are space orcs#humans are so weird#humans are space oddities#humans are space australians#can you imagine being greeted like tgat by Cthulu?#there'd be riots#to be fair that cathedral IS very pretty#but it probably wasn't the smartest decision to build it smack in the middle of a flooding zone#i hope they find the possibly over a THOUSAND missing people currently missing there#alive#anyway england and france have had a feud since 1066 and never stopped really#so most wars between them were caused by that#started due to people trying to conquer the french lands of William the Conqueror#which sounds so unbelievably stupid#can you imagine only living ten years?#you'd have near no time to have fun#experimenting with writing styles
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His Favorite Girl
a/n: HELLO. (sounding like the guy in the cinema cba lol) anyways I have returned for a brief period of time to share this update with you guys. It’s based off of this request here: “ Do you think you could write a Luke x gang again where maybe he has to leave for work during sex and the reader touches herself out of frustration and he comes back and finds her ?”
STOP BECAUSE THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT WHAT THE REQUESTER WANTED BUT ILL WRITE SOMETHING AGAIN BUT LIKE JUST TH REQUEST IF THATS WHAT YOU GUYS WANT SDGHGDFGBH but this is kinda a part 2 to the Bambi/His Favorite Secret series thingy cause a few people wanted that! thank you guys so much for all the love mwah
i should literally be studying rn but im not so <3 im very sorry for this abomination lol
sorry for the long a/n guys! :( enjoy x
word count: 3.4k
warnings: smutty stuff (fucking, fingering, anal and all that...ive never written this before so PLS PLS PLS give me feedback omg) uh choking, doesn’t have a daddy kink in this but sir is mentioned. talks of being tied up and being tied up? talks about overstim... he calls her little girl at one point...
“Luke! Stop moving!” She lightly slapped her boyfriend’s hand, to which he groaned in return. Her tongue stuck out slightly from between her lips in concentration, eyebrows furrowing as she returned to the task she had firmly put her mind to. That was, until the blond giant moved again, “Luke!”
“Bambi,” Luke echoed lightly, using his nickname for the smaller girl in front of him who looked up at him with an unimpressed facial expression.
“You’re gonna ruin it,” She mumbled lightly, pointing back down at her artwork which Luke only then first looked at. It was safe to say, although he shouldn’t have been, he was thoroughly shocked.
His nails, which his girl had somehow managed to convince him into painting weren’t black, or blue. No, they were bright, blasting, hot pink. He groaned lightly, wondering just how exactly she had managed to rope him into this and just how he was going to hide his nails from the rest of the gang later on tonight when he -they- met up with them tonight.
She was a bundle of both nerves and excitement, finally getting to meet Luke’s closest friends. It had been about a week since their argument, and now she was meeting his friends. It seemed like everything was moving in the right direction, thankfully. She couldn’t wait to be honest, very much looking forward to being able to hear more about Luke from his friends, and just meeting them in general.
They seemed fun.
Well, as fun as gang members could be. She probably should have been more cautious surrounding them, but Luke got her guard down so quickly and she was yet to regret that. How scary could they possibly be considering the man in front of her, soft blond curls held back by her bunny bath headband, nails painted hot pink, was supposed to be the scariest man in the whole city.
“Cal’s gonna rip the piss outta me for this, Bambi,” He complained softly, with no plans to take the polish off of his nails as he looked at his girlfriend, between his legs, small hand wrapped around the bottle of nail polish with her other hand laying against his knee.
She couldn’t help the small upturn of her lips as she blew softly against the nail polish on his fingernails, not patient enough to let it airdry despite it being a fast-drying polish. She shrugged lightly, head flopping to the side adorably as Luke stared down at her, resisting the urge to run his hands through her hair; another issue he had with the wet paint on his fingernails.
“I think it looks great, we’re matching,” She then flaunted the bright pink color that coated her own nails, and Luke’s lips twitched into a grin, careful not to ‘aww’ at the cute words that came out of the smaller girl’s mouth.
He hummed lightly, leaning back against the couch but his baby blues never leaving her face, “They look a lot better on you than they do me, Bambi.”
“I think they’re cute,” The girl climbed onto his lap, making Luke take a deep intake of breath as she sits barely an inch away from a rather sensitive area of his. She, however, seemed to pay no attention to the risen area of his jeans as she leaned against his chest, face hidden in the crook of his neck, soft breaths from her mouth fanning against his neck.
He twisted to give her a small kiss on the forehead, to which she responds by kissing his neck softly, lips staying against his neck as her hand traveled up his stomach up to his neck, holding him close as she began to kiss the base of his neck more.
“Lu,” She whispered softly, “How much time have we got?”
“Like an hour, baby. Why?”
However, the girl never replied verbally, and instead repositioned herself carefully, Luke’s neck void from her warmth before her hand started to travel down, painfully slow, until it landed right above the tent in his jeans. His eyes traveled up to meet hers, eyebrow raised as she dropped her hand down barely, lips struggling to pull the smirk away.
He lifted his hands to her back, going to reposition her before she shook her head, “Your nail polish, Lu. Hands down.”
His hands didn’t move, frozen in place around her clothed waist. His nails were long since dried, she knew that, but she liked this. She liked the intake of breath he took when her hand ghosted over the hardened cock in his jeans, the way he couldn’t lift his hands; scared to smudge the pink on his nails.
He was restricted. Oh, how the tables had turned.
Her hand gently palmed against his hardened, clothed cock, causing a grumble to emit from his throat. It was a deep rumbling sound, -something that the girl had heard numerous times but would never get used to.
To her, everything about Luke was perfect, even his moans.
“Bambi, you know the rules about teasing-”
Her lips attached to his, cutting him off rather efficiently, pressing softly as she continued to palm him through his jeans, gently rocking on his thigh. He moaned into their kiss, her tongue, as a reflex, finding its way into his mouth. Their tongues pressed against one another, lips still pressed together as her spare hand crawled up to the back of his neck, playing with his soft curls.
Her palm pressed into his fully hardened cock now, his tongue swiping over her lips before tugging on it, pulling apart, breathless. His hands found a place on her waist, guiding her softly but firmly, taking back the control he craved.
Looking her straight in the eyes, one of Luke’s hands went around her neck, thumb pulling her lower lip down as he unbuckled his belt with one hand, taking his cock out of its confined clothing and bringing her hand down to hold onto it. It wasn’t the first time that she had given him a handjob, and it wouldn’t be the last, but she still couldn’t help but be nervous.
Despite not being a virgin when she met Luke, she still lacked a lot of experience that Luke definitely had. She knew that he would never judge her, but that never stopped the nerves that festered.
“All shy all of a sudden, Bambi?” He mocked, hand around her neck tightening as he bit down on her ear lobe, gently tugging at it before letting out a breath, “All big and brave, teasing Sir, aren’t you? If you’re going to start it, then you’re going to finish it. On your knees. Now.”
Releasing a shaky breath, the girl clambered out of Luke’s lap dropping to the floor, in a similar position to the one she had been in minutes before, only in a more sexual manner. Her lips met the tip of his cock, tongue lightly swiping across the base.
His hand grabbed firmly onto the hair on the back of her head, holding her steady as she got used to the feeling of his cock in her mouth before thrusting against her. She gagged as it hit the back of her throat, sending vibrations up him, releasing a deep moan from his throat.
“Suck, little girl,” Luke commanded deeply, leaving no room for argument as the smaller girl abided to his command, tongue swiping over him as she reached up to cover the last part of his cock with her hand.
Yet, she didn’t get much further when a ringing sounded through the room, Luke groaning but ultimately pulling away from the girl who stayed on the floor, watching Luke as he grabbed his phone.
“What?” He gritted his teeth lightly, trying to keep his frustration at bay after being interrupted.
He sighed softly, not looking at the small girl with furrowed eyebrows still on the floor as he pulled his jeans back up, clambering to get shoes on and getting ready to leave, hanging the phone up.
“Luke what’s going on?”
“Gang shit, Bambi. I gotta get going, be ready for six, we’re meeting Cal, Ash, and Mike later, remember?” He offered her no more words, but she can tell he isn’t angry at her, just due to their interruption.
However, she can’t help but be frustrated at the interruption, waiting until after Luke leaves to huff and puff about it before starting to get ready.
. . .
“Luke has this old penguin fan account on Instagram from like seven years ago. There’s this one picture on there with him with a penguin hat-”
“Cal, stop,” Luke interrupted Cal swiftly, an arm going around his smaller girlfriend’s waist who looked far too amused by the embarrassing things about Luke that Cal was telling.
“No, no, Calum please keep going. Please,” The girl begged, feeling very comfortable around the Maori boy. They were pleasant, to her at least, and so far they had made her feel very comfortable and very much at home. It was hard to believe that the people joking with her where infamous mobsters, ones that were feared all across the city, and state.
They had met in Ashton’s house, who she had already met before, at six o’clock. It turns out gang members like to be punctual, or maybe it was only these ones.
Luke was in a bit of a hurry once he arrived back home, with no time to finish what he and his girl had started before he had to leave in a hurry, leaving her oh so frustrated. This was only magnified when she saw him afterward, ready to head to Ash’s in that pale pink silk button-up that only seemed like it would suit him; like it was made specifically for him.
Maybe it was.
Luke was never shy of customized clothing, cars, or anything he wanted honestly. If you have the money, why not? Was always his answer when she asked why he seemed to wear all of these expensive items. If it wasn’t custom-made, it was a high-quality designer that he wore, she rarely ever found him in anything that didn’t smell of cash and high-class, -far too expensive but albeit intoxicating- cologne.
This money of Luke’s also happened to extend to her also. He was never shy of picking her up a few things, letting her have his card for shopping and now, he started going out shopping with her too. He didn’t look like the type that would go out with his ‘girlfriend’ or anyone, but in the case of her, he followed her around like a lost puppy; willing to hold her bags, let her drain his bank account. Not that she did, anyway. She was still mindful, even if Luke had more money than he knew what to do with.
“Nah, can’t. Don’t want Luke to kill me for embarrassing me in front of his precious little girlfriend,” Calum teased lightly, shaking his head as his eyes darted to meet Luke’s baby blues. Truthfully, Luke could pretend to be annoyed at Cal and the rest for exposing his old penguin Instagram account but he was just glad to see them getting along with the girl that owned his heart.
She was the first girlfriend that his best friends seemed to approve of. He didn’t normally bring his girlfriends to meet them, but the ones he did, the boys he called his best friends didn’t usually like them. For the first time, Luke could actually see a future with the girl in front of him, beamingly smiling as Cal and Michael joke about with her and laughing at their attempts of humor.
God, he loved her.
“So, do you think they like me?” She asked the moment they got home, the door shut behind them. Luke turned around, staring at the wide-eyed girl with a small smile on his lips.
Did she seriously not realize how much they liked her? Especially with how much joking that they had done with her, he was certain that she would have realized but then again, she wasn’t the most self-assured person when it comes to new people. He nodded his head, “Yeah, Bambi. They really liked you.”
Luke would never get over the way her eyes sparkled, his smile only growing. She looked amazing in that red silky dress that he had bought her, and he looked just as good in the coral colored button-up he was wearing.
Their lips met softly, Luke bending down slightly to meet her lips as the girl went up on her tiptoes, bare feet on the top of Luke’s shoes. He didn’t mind, in fact, he barely even realized as he swiped his tongue across her bottom lip for access which she quickly gave him. Her hands wrapped around his neck, one entangling in his blond curls, while his went around her waist and one under her ass, lifting her up.
Her legs wrapped around his waist, lips never breaking away from his as she moaned into the kiss. She pushed herself closer to him as the kiss heated up, eyes closed as Luke tried his best to navigate the way to their bedroom. Thankfully, even with his eyes partially closed and completely distracted by the soft lips on his, he managed to get there, fumbling with the doorknob before kicking the door open.
Luke pulled away quickly to get a breath, now at the edge of the bed as his mouth went to the side of her face, pressing kisses along her neck before whispering in a sinfully sultry voice, “Let’s finish what we started earlier, huh?”
With that, she was placed down on the bed, staring at Luke with a glaze in her eyes, lust, lips slightly swollen as he pushed her dress up, nudging her underwear to the side. His fingers ghosted over her pussy, making her take a ragged intake of breath. He was on top of her, watching her as she awaited every movement of his fingers, completely helpless under his touch.
“So wet for me, baby,” He murmured, pressing a few chaste kisses against the base of her neck as he rubbed her slit. She didn’t reply just yet, whining lightly when he slowed down his movements, coming to a stop, “Tell me what you want baby.”
“You, Lu. I want you, sir,” Her words flooded out of her mouth quickly, the aching between her legs becoming too much. If Luke didn’t do something about it soon then she would have to. She stared up at his smirking face above her. His fingers pulled away from her, making her whine as he reached for his belt, skillfully unbuckling it and letting his cock spring free from its confines.
He looked up at her as he repositioned himself, her squirming with need beneath him before he lined his tip at her entrance, baby blues meeting her eyes, “You sure?”
She nodded vigorously in return, but Luke didn’t move, commanding lightly, “Words, baby.”
“Please Luke, I’m sure. Please fuck me.” He swatted her thigh at the sound of the swear falling from her lips but obliged nonetheless, plunging deep into her letting out a moan, her strangled moan following behind.
He plunged in once again, hitting a spot that made her whimper and moan at the same time, hands reaching around to his back, clawing on the now exposed skin. Luke’s hips are flushed against hers as he goes deep inside of her once again, both moaning.
“Fuck, Bambi,”
Luke’s pace quickened, thrusts becoming sloppier as he continued to thrust into her, hitting her sweet spot over and over, moans filling the room with small pleads from her and soft curses from him.
Then a phone went off. Luke froze inside of her, and she groaned, sweaty, a mess, and incredibly sexually frustrated. She could feel Luke sitting inside of her; how big he was. She thought that he was going to ignore the phone call, to continue something that they were robbed of earlier. He wasn’t really going to let them be interrupted twice today, was he?
He reached over to the bedside table, picking his phone up and looking at the caller ID before sighing. He pulled out of her, baby blues looking at her with a frown, “I need to take this.”
“Luke,” It was a plead. For him to stay with her, to let them finish what they started. She shuffled lightly until she was sitting in front of him, on her knees. Her hand went to the side of his face, caressing it gently as she put her face at his neck, “Stay with me, Sir. I need you.”
He knew exactly what she was trying to do, but he wasn’t going to fall for it. He pulled away from her, gripping onto her side as a warning with his free hand, “No, Bambi.”
His voice was low, a warning for her to stop what she was doing as he sent her a pointed look. He didn’t even let her make another move or get another word in before he was back in his jeans and walking out of the room, leaving her alone.
The seconds that she was alone turned into minutes, and those minutes turned into ten, then fifteen. She shifted uncomfortably, still on edge and incredibly frustrated. It didn’t seem like Luke was coming back as he had left without saying goodbye or telling her where he was going to be or how long. Was this all because she had tried to get him to stay?
Well, if he wasn’t going to get back, she would have to take stuff into her own hands. Leaning back, her hand reached her own clit, rubbing desperately, basking in the feeling once again. This time, she would get the job done.
Her fingers slipped inside of her, curling into her, moans softly filtering out of her lips. She was close, her fingers covered in her own slick as she continued to curl her hands into herself, soft pants falling from her lips as she spread her legs more to get a better angle, trying to go deeper.
Her hands would never be as good as Luke’s though, her small fingers not holding a torch to his digits. He knew everything that made her squirm, even better than she did, he had her all decoded, knew how to navigate her better than anyone else ever could.
“Baby I need to get-” Luke opened the door, stopping when his eyes met her figure on the middle of the bed, fingers inside of her as soft breaths fell from her lips. Her head titled back, eyes lidded as he froze on the spot before a smirk made its way onto his face.
“Really?” He asked incredulously, sauntering up to the bed before grabbing onto her wrist, pulling her fingers out of her desperate cunt making her whine. Her eyes met his, which never strayed, even after he brought her hand up to his mouth and swirling his tongue around her slick-covered digits.
“Lu-”
“Quiet,” He shut her up quickly, voice hard and commanding, something that made nerves bundle in her stomach and turned her on even more. He stood up again, sauntering over to the dresser before pulling a belt from the top of it, grabbing her hands and confining them with the thick leather, “Since you can’t keep your hands off of that pretty little pussy of mine, I guess we’re going to have to do something about that.”
Luke pulled her up to the headboard, hooping the leather around there and tightening it. When he let go, she pulled against the leather restraints, only to find her hands unable to move from their position at the headboard.
“So desperate to cum, baby? Well, you’ll be desperate to stop after I make you come over and over until there’s no more cum left in your body and you're writhing beneath me. Do you understand me, baby?”
“Yes Sir,” She whimpered out in return, nodding her head as she breathed heavily, watching Luke’s hand as it trailed teasingly down her side until it reached her pussy, a finger flicking up and down it, making her hips jerk up.
“But first of all, I need to go deal with the drug run. See you later, Bambi.”
And with a smirk on his face, Luke left his girlfriend there, tied up to the bed, whining for him to come back. And he would, and when he did, she wouldn’t be walking for days afterward.
#luke hemmings x reader#luke hemmings x you#luke hemmings x y/n#gang!luke hemmings x reader#gang!luke hemmings#gang!luke hemmings x oc#luke hemmings gang#luke hemmings smut#luke hemmings x oc
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