#but obv it’ll suggest stuff to me

[pxrxmoore]

fr do 911 twt stans even like this fuckin show it’s exhausting reading all that constant negativity

[zeta-in-de-walls]

Post discussing C!dream’s future storyline and the perils and pitfalls in what they have to do next

Okay guys, let’s not be in denial here. Wilbur’s stream brought up some challenging questions about C!Dream’s imprisonment. He’s had no proper trial and it seems like everyone’s been content to leave him to rot forever. Sure, most of the server witnessed his punishment and offered no dissent but even so, he’s been in there a long time now and it’s incredibly uncomfortable. 

But we are facing a dilemma given how dangerous Dream still is to the characters on the server. The prison was not so much intended to punish Dream so much as hold him secure so he is no longer a threat to the rest of the server. And that’s still important. After all, it’s very possible he’ll resume his former actions once he’s freed. 

This is a difficult quandary to solve. And I’ll be discussing narratively how I could see the story trying to resolve these issues. I wouldn’t say there’s a correct way to go from here, so I’ll just discuss what would be most satisfying in terms of the story’s narrative for me. 

Now firstly, Dream in s2 was abusive specifically towards Tommy. This was explored in great detail in his story arc with Tommy’s character taking the time to show how his character had been traumatised by his actions and explored some very dark themes such as suicidal thoughts which is treated very seriously. This story contained some very powerful messages and I hope these don’t get tarnished by treating Dream’s character too sympathetically - potentially risking uncomfortable messages suggesting because your abusers are people too you should forgive them if they act sorry (this is uncomfortable given how their relationship was shown to be toxic with scenes like Dream insisting he was Tommy’s friend while isolating and hurting him.) Whatever happens, under no circumstances would I be comfortable in any way with Tommy and Dream ever becoming friends again. Same with Tubbo. This should never be presented as good. I want Tommy’s healing arc to continue with him moving on and living his life without letting Dream ever have any more power over him. 

But also, Dream continuing to stay in prison is not acceptable, especially with the narrative beginning to question it. Likewise his character has been tortured in prison. That is terrible and deserves to be shown as very wrong and for there to be some catharsis in the form of Quackity’s eventual defeat. Ideally, it’d be good if Dream was some way involved in this as Quackity’s primary victim. 

It’s gonna have to be a delicate balance to make things work. I don’t really think a straightforward redemption arc is really feasible or that desirable for Dream’s character. His story is a tragedy of a once decent character and his fall and I think it’d be best to lean into those elements rather than pushing for the idea he might change and become better especially after the torture, the god complex he’s developed and the letting go of all his love and attachments. But you can still work with what you got and continue exploring the tragedy and give him a cathartic ending. 

My ideas would have him be released from the prison - maybe under some sort of house arrest deal where he has a lot more freedom but he’s still being watched heavily while he helps with taking down Quackity. (Obvs in minecraft anything less secure than pandoras’ vault would be easily escapable but we’ll say roleplay wise that Dream is out but effectively being watched over such that he isn’t able to go out and kill any kids.) 

Dream wouldn’t exactly be a good guy, but it’ll be a bit of an enemy of my enemy situation where the others convince him to play nice if they let him have his revenge on Quackity (and Sam too quite possibly). This gives him back a little agency and lets him get in some good fighting and might lead to some interesting interactions without forgetting that yeah he’s dangerous and deadly.

The easiest way to deal with his character is to end his story in some way after that. Maybe with him dying after being instrumental in defeating Quackity, giving him a somewhat sympathetic final death. Or have him leave the server forever in some sort of permanent banishment. I feel like it would be way harder to do the scenario of him living on the server as a free man once more. A definite conclusion would be better. 

Before Dream gets to this conclusion though, I’d also like some more closure with some of the other characters. I’m thinking something with Tommy to finally resolve him moving on with his life forever, finally free of Dream. Something with Ranboo to start tackling the enderboo stuff. Something with Wilbur to tackle his issues related to Dream. Ideally something with several other characters like his old friends Sapnap and Bad. 

There’s a lot of interesting stuff still to do with Dream, it just needs to be handled carefully given how seriously his season 2 arc was treated and the seriousness of the s3 stuff too actually. It’s difficult but should hopefully lead to a lot of conflict and excitement so long as they can manage the balance okay. 

If nothing else, he cannot stay in the prison much longer. His escape may be what kicks off the next (and maybe final) war. 

Anyway those are some of my thoughts! I’m sure its obvious but I’m a Tommy fan first and so I really, really want his character to continue to be handled respectfully above all. But I also find Dream very interesting and the narrative is only going to start questioning Dream’s imprisonment more and more until its finally resolved one way or another. This limbo will end and I hope it does it well. 

[pepperful-qt]

Also I saw that you're into hp too, I'd like to request a hq x hp crossover please! Relationship hcs of kuroo, osamu and semi (separately) with a slytherin s/o? + bonus if there are suggestive hcs as well. I personally hc kuroo to be a fellow slytherin so I'd really appreciate it if you could assign slytherin for him! I'll leave osamu's and semi's houses to you ^^ thanks again!

ahhh this request made me so excited !! funnily enough I hc slytherin for all these babes🙈im one myself haha let's go����🐍🐍 this isn’t late shh

warnings: suggestive situations/language, alcohol (firewhiskey?? & substances)

Kuroo, Osamu, & Semi with a Slytherin s/o HP! AU

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。・゜✭・.・✫

Kuroo Tetsurou

he’s an example of a great slytherin leader

definitely a prefect/head boy, quidditch captain, and is in like 3 clubs. you bet he’s a favorite among professors too

he’s the stereotypical slytherin that’s good at potions, but it’s not bc he’s a slytherin it’s bc he’s an actual nerd (chemistry nerd? try potions nerd)  

and he’s just generally smart and good in his classes

and so are you :) a prefect too

in fact, you’re quite popular with all the houses and the professors. most people wouldn’t guess that your slytherin based on stereotypes

Kuroo, however, recognizes what you’re really doing: creating a network for yourself, and he respects it, but he will mess with you

you actually become friends with Kenma first, knowing he’s very intelligent, which is how he hears about you other than seeing you in passing in the common room and your shared classes

the first time he speaks to you is in potions class and brings up Kenma as a common point, and continues just charming his way through the conversation

he’s just too nice. but there’s little hints of provocation in there too

so you make things fun and flirt back, but play innocent hard to get 

the whole time before he actually asks you out is this back and forth witty banter and flirting that drives everyone crazy

which by the way, he keeps dropping hints that you’re going to have to ask first, but when you finally crack and start to he asks instead, making you flustered (which was his goal the whole time)

can i just say: power couple

y’all are just popular and no one knows why really?? you’re just hard to hate. it’s allll jealousy

you’re also the parents of the slytherins too. you keep em in line but also have no issue standing up to anyone

and trust me, no one wants to mess with you two. you have respect for more than one reason, and knowing a nasty hex or two is def one of them

that network i was talking about? comes in handy all the time

he’ll casually mention a specific kind of root he needs for a potion he wants to try in his extracurricular potion lessons (yes he’s that person) and you just go:

“oh Richard has a friend in ravenclaw who’s got a cousin working at a shop in Hogsmeade that gets those regularly. want me to ask?”

he’s good at getting away with his shenanigans. usually. you always catch him and never let him live it down

when he acts all cocky you know just what to say to knock him down a few pegs, or flirt up a storm that makes everyone around you gag at the sexual tension

“yes captain”

honestly, it feels like you’re the only ones who know the other completely, save for Kenma with Kuroo

he’s the type that will cast orchideous when he sees you by yourself and make flowers grow next to you before walking up and revealing himself aw <3

other students would rather hug the giant squid than get in a debate with you two, especially if you’re together. they’re feelings and egos will be permanently scarred

more pda than other slytherin x slytherin relationships. you’re not afraid to show that you belong to each other

it’ll be something like an arm around your shoulder or a kiss on the cheek as a greeting (it’s still subtle)

however,,

more than one occasion he’ll come up behind you while you’re working in the library and massage your shoulders while kissing your neck and whispering some suggestions into your ear

it looks very innocent from an outside perspective, but he makes it so hard to concentrate with his hot breath on your skin

and did i mention you’re both prefects? wow do you abuse your privilege sometimes

what’s more exciting than getting a little action in a dark secluded part of the castle by torchlight during your nightly rounds?

need i mention the bath? steamy.. Myrtle’s a blabbermouth too, so the other prefects know what’s up. but really, are they gonna stop you?

not always, of course. shared baths are some of the best times to have real talk and deep conversations

100% supportive of each other and will take over the world one day, we love to see it

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。・゜✭・.・✫

Miya Osamu

the temptation to just make him from Durmstrang-

***i just know people will fight me for sorting him into Slytherin. it’s true that he fits in others but he’s flexible, so i stuck him here for now. i already admitted he was a hat stall calm down.

ANYWAYS

Osamu’s career as a Hogwarts student is made up of 2 things: quidditch and a secret snack and substance smuggling ring he started in his second year

the Miya twins have a reputation with quidditch just like with volleyball (Osamu is a chaser, Atsumu is a beater. great team)

(i imagine they’re pureblood too, not rlly important though. if you’re half/muggleborn, enjoy teaching his clueless ass about basic muggle society)

you’re another proud and competitive slytherin, who somehow has dirt on anyone and everyone

you’re on the quidditch team too, even better. that’s where you grow close to the twins at first, making you guys a power trio in your own right. quidditch dream team <3

not only do you spend a lot of time together, getting to know each other intimately as teammates (beyond the facades) and allowing his feelings to grow slowly yet surely, but Atsumu is also there to provoke and make Osamu subconsciously jealous when he gets feelings

you’re great at talking Atsumu in circles, which frustrates him and amuses Osamu

(more than once the twins have gotten into pseudo-duels and nearly burned the quidditch stands to the ground. lucky your common room is in a stone dungeon omfg)

you obv know about his snack business, initiating a bit of blackmail to get him to do favors for you, but all in good fun. eventually one of those favors is a date ;)

it’s a quiet relationship, not an in-your-face one, but no one can deny the chemistry,, it’s almost suffocating itself

he’d messed around a little, but they never lasted more than a week. so when he realized you’d hit the month mark he was (internally) “oh shit”

you go on Hogsmeade dates all the time <3 he actually laughs when you get a butterbeer foam mustache. it was an accident the first time, now you do it on purpose ;)

you become a business partner for his smuggling ring. your blackmail means you’ve got lots of people under your thumb and lots of favors available to call in. he also trusts your judgement

fangirls are always jealous, but merlin help them if they confront you. if they’re lucky you’ll roll your eyes and ignore them, but usually you’ll decimate them with words and leave them in the dust. you also know how to hex and get away with it (just blame someone else duh)

yeah rumors happen and it’s annoying, bc you really don’t need people staring at you all the time, but neither you or Osamu even address it

both of you are invited to Slughorn’s parties along with Atsumu, you’re that couple

you’re staring someone down and he comes from behind and snakes (ha) his arms around your waist, glaring at them over your shoulder. 11/10 terrifying

sitting in the courtyard talking to your friends, your head on his lap while he plays with your hair

sneaking into the kitchens together. once you tried some cooking charms and the next day everyone’s eggs were neon green at breakfast...oops?

holding hands while you walk through the hallways and the crowd parts around you

Atsumu is secretly bitter his brother has such a cool s/o and he has yet to have a serious relationship, so he’ll bother & tease the two of you a lot to cope smh

though you don’t show it in public and often give off a tough front instead, behind closed doors you’re actually very loving and committed to one another

favorite places for ~special~ time? quidditch locker room & your dorm

you find excuses to stay behind after practice together. your teammates used to think it was just a coincidence until they finally caught on (not that they’d tattle. if you get caught that’s your business)

imo Osamu would probably be willing to try involving charms in some way during sexy times. a spark on your skin, binding, whatever. most of them are one-offs but it’s the thought that counts ig

there’s an unspoken rule in the slytherin boys dorm to stick a drooble’s gum wrapper on the door of the dorm to tell the others to stay out, but Osamu doesn’t trust anyone so he prefers hanging out in your room. it’s quieter and your roommates know not to try anything <3

he smuggles in some firewhiskey and other stuffs for you two to enjoy by yourselves <3

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。・゜✭・.・✫

Semi Eita

(debated with gryffindor for him, but ultimately decided nahh)

Semi is less of the sly and underhanded slytherin and more of the ambitious and self-assured kind

idk why, but i’m feeling a love-hate to friendly competition to friends to lovers ?? don’t ask ajsldkf

you’re a top student, mostly bc of your charm though. no one knows if your good grades are real (they are, but it doesn’t hurt being the teacher’s favorite)

though you hop around friend circles, you don’t have a solid group. sort of an outcast in that way

he knows you exist, but no one really expects much from you. aha, big mistake

every single time you sweep everyone in classes, one way or another, you come out on top (hey i won’t question your methods) and oh does it piss him off. you’ve hit a competitive nerve my friend,, little bit of envy too :/

he confronts you, but you evade, maybe with a little challenge or provocation

from then on it’s just little jabs at each other. he corrects your stirring technique. you return the favor in transfiguration with his wrist motion

you two are the definition of “are you flirting or starting a fight?”

he ends up partnering with you in potions, just to see your tricks up close i swear. he didn’t realize that meant he’d see different sides of you when you study. the way you mingle with everyone intrigues and fascinates him, and slowly curiosity takes the place of spite

he saw you prank a gryffindor into drinking babbling beverage, and it was the first time he saw a genuine smile from you (even if it was a little malicious) 

slowly your relationship shifts as you learn more about each other. you’re more than a suspected cheater and he’s more than a hotheaded jock

you two are the definition of “are you flirting or starting a fight?”

both of you are super super stubborn and too proud to admit feelings for each other sigh, cue slytherin bff tendou to the rescue. count on him for some elaborate scheme to finally get you two together. thank god

once you are together, you’re inseparable

you send each other messages on paper birds charmed to fly to the other, wherever they are. it’s gotten you in trouble a few times (Snape will read them out loud, just bc you’re slytherin doesn’t mean you’re spared embarrassment)

you are in charge of his outfits if you ever go on casual dates to Hogsmeade. sorry eita it’s not a debate <3

he’s super fcking protective, and has a bit of a jealous streak. scary when irritated, but no more than you are

most loyal freaking couple ever though

you’ll have heated debates with each other that from the outside look like you’re fighting but five minutes later you’re chilled out on the common room couch reading a book together, him reading over your shoulder as you sit between his legs

deep conversations late at night in the common room, watching the giant squid & cuddling by the fireplace

love talking about your dreams and aspirations, joking about taking over the world together <3

though it takes some convincing for him on your part, you’re great at sneaking out and not getting caught. you know the secret passages like the back of your hand thanks to being stuck in the dungeons, and like hell rules are going to keep you from enjoying what you want

Hogsmeade, down by the black lake/boathouse at night, and your favorite spot, the astronomy tower <3

you’ll go up there at night, casting sparks from your wand that decorate the air like hovering stars, and just enjoy the beauty of magic and each other

the first time you were almost caught, you ended up in a snug secret passage, and that was your first kiss

sometimes you’re almost caught and then it’s a nice flashback to that time

low on pda outside of holding hands, but get a little firewhiskey and you’re all over each other

late night study sessions in the library that often turn into makeout sessions when you’re finally alone what can i say, the possibility of getting caught is exciting

a big part of your relationship is impressing and inspiring each other every day. you understand each others’ passions and habits, and you’re constantly keeping each other in check while also pushing yourselves to be better (tbh top tier slytherin x slytherin dynamic)

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。・゜✭・.・✫ 

a/n: anyone want a fic out of these?? omfg please send more harry potter or au in general

[zenosanalytic]

Harrow the Ninth: Wordplay and Implication

So I started reading Harrow the Ninth last night(haven’t gotten far; I’m only on page 47), but some interesting stuff cropped up I wanted to yack about. Explaining it requires some Serious Spoilers tho, so don’t read past this point if you haven’t reader further than me and are also avoiding ...spoilers... X|

Ok so: Harrow is obvsl going through some Things. To begin with she seems to be having some manner of psychological break exacerbated by(possible caused by) the Lyctor transformation? A huge part of it is obvsl grief over Gideon -she seems to be avoiding any memory or thought of her and this mental block seems to be impacting her ability to access Gideon’s soul and thus her full Lyctor capabilities- but she’s also overwhelmed by her new senses and her inability to feel physical pain, and a bit unstuck in time? Some of that just might be her grief-driven illness, but so far there’s been some jumping around in the timeline/her memories so it’s possible this is also a side-effect of the Lyctor transformation and existing on both sides of life and death.

Anyway, there’s some nifty wordplay associated with all of this :>

the first one is in an edited memory, and it’s right at the start of it, in the chapter-title for said memory: “Parodos”.

Now most obvsl, that looks&sounds allot like “parody” and, while they aren’t directly related, the connection btwn the two is STILL intriguing: “parody” comes from para(side/beside/parallel) and oide(song), in the sense of a comical/mocking “parallel” to another song; parodos literally means entrance, though specifically it’s the name of a SIDE-entrance in greek theater-design which gave actors access to the stage, or the chorus access to the orchestra, BUT ALSO it was the name of the song(oide) the chorus sung upon first entering the play, coming after the prologue. The connection to an actual side-entrance makes me suspect the “par-” phoneme is from “para”, but I can’t find a constituent breakdown of “parodos” so it’ll have to remain a suspicion :T

Regardless: it is, in the manner of a proper parodos(even IF Harrow, here, is her own Chorus; this is a 3rd person perspective section), seeming to introduce us to the central conflict of the tale; Harrow is censoring Gideon from her mind, altering her perceptions and capacities in response to her grief, struggling with feelings that she is LOSING her mind(associated with, possibly embodied by, her “hallucinations” of The Body[1]), and clinging to this expression of control as a life-raft among all this trauma. At one point The Body even appears in this memory just to tell her it didn’t happen like this which “gave Harrow a curious strength”.

IntriguinglyER(and this is more of a stretch and idk if Muir really intended this implication) parodos is often popularly confused with/assumed to be related to “parados” which is a fortification embankment built to protect the rear of a military position(it’s basically the backside equivalent of parapet. Parapet=forward, parados=behind). What makes this intriguinger to me(aside from the fun of a FALSE pun for a FALSE memory :p), is that the false memory is part of Harrow’s mental DEFENSES, and in it she asks Ortus Nigenad to PROTECT her by keeping the secret that she is “insane” because, since opening the Locked Tomb and seeing the girl trapped there, she’s been experiencing full-spectrum sensory hallucinations of said girl(ie: seeing her, speaking with her, feeling The Body[the girl] touch her, the whole hog, etc etc). I feel like this is MOSTLY symbolic though, and the REAL secret she’s asking him to protect her from is Gideon’s death(and her “consumption” there of; since becoming a Lyctor The Body has had Gideon’s amber-colored eyes). Of course there’s another aspect to this and one of two OTHER potential secrets; Gideon’s body wasn’t recovered from Canaan House, Harrow does not seem to be in “possession” of her soul(though she does have SOME aspects of Lyctor abilities, so perhaps it’s partial or a connection?); so

it’s possible the SECRET Harrow is actl using Ortus to protect is that Gideon isn’t dead, that they healed her after defeating Cytherea and somehow undid the Lyctor process. OR

They’re keeping Gideon’s existence a secret for some reason

Now I think these are a bit out there theorywise because, while I’m not far into the book, I’m fairly certain that it’s only Harrow who is thinking Nigenad was her cavalier at this point. I mean: the Emperor would have spoken to Ianthe, and there’s no reason why she’d keep Gideon’s existence secret(also everytime the Emperor says Ortus Nigenad it’s attached to a description of his mouth moving oddly, so I’m fairly certain he’s actl saying Gideon Nav and her brain’s editing it to Ortus Nigenad to spare her facing Gideon’s death). Also and SUPER tellingly there’s this passage:

The Resurrecting King took on the expression of a man working out a very difficult and emotionally taxing anagram. He said, “Ortus,” again, but the bile was sputtering up into your throat...”

Now that just seems like an INVITATION to see what Ortus Nigenad can be an anagram of, doesn’t it? And, INCREDIBLY OBVIOUSLY it’s a partial anagram:

Ortus Nigenad

Gideon

Of Gideon’s name. Partial, because it doesn’t include “Nav”, and also there are these left-over letters

rtusna

Hmmm... What can THAT be an anagram of?

rtusna

Saturn

Well flog me with a spoon! I have NO IDEA what this, GIDEON SATURN, could POSSIBLY mean in the context of this convo or of the larger story(also: maybe this anagrams to other words? I honestly didn’t try too hard after this very obvs one. AtRSun??? Taurns?? OF COURSE Harrow would play Horde if she played WoW, but I’d imagine she’d’ve been a Forsaken Warlock, or Orc one at the very least :p), but that we have a character’s name being called an anagram by the narration and then that character’s name turns out to BE AN ANAGRAM of the first book’s, now(mysteriously[2]?) absent, protagonist plus the planet Saturn[3], seems an awful coincidence. Of course that doesn’t mean it ISN’T a Coincidence, nor that it means anything in relation to the story even if it IS intentional; it could be meant to throw off theorycrafters, or just as something Muir thought would be fun to do(making Gideon Nav, “the greatest cav the Ninth ever produced”, a near-anagram with Ortus Nigenad, one of it’s worst). Of course, it could also be a hint to Gideon’s origins, or where she/her body is now. For what it’s worth, I seem to recall the big contenders for her origins were Third through Fifth House, and those seem to be the most likely to be the Gas Giants&GG Moons(Third’s the wealth-house, and there’s probably more concentrated resources in Jupiter and Saturn than on any other planet in the solar system. And, for whateverMORE it’s worth, Saturn WAS the Roman god of wealth&the harvest. If Mars’s ...Martial[X| X|]... associations are a firm enough basis for its guess in the order, then why not Planet Fucking Saturn? Of course the trident theme suggests Neptune, but why in the cosmos would THAT be the third colonized planet in the system? Makes no damn sense |:T |:T).

The last thing(two things?) that I wanted to bring up, though it’s not really related to any of the above, is Alecto, the name for the next book. Presumably, this is The Body/The Girl. Alecto means “Implacable/Unceasing Anger”, and it is the name of one of the Erinyes; the Furies; the goddesses and purveyors of Vengeance. The Furies, according to Hesiod, were born from the blood of Ouranos spilled when Kronos castrated him. Interestingly, the way Necromancy works in this universe(as explained in these early pages) is that the Cohort “breaches” a planet, after which point its “thalergy”(life energy; presumably metabolism-produced energy since necros aren’t snacking on ambient heat&light) begins converting to “thanergy”(death energy, tho it’d be more precise to call it the energy generated by the detachment of a soul from a body), which Necros can use to do Necromancy. The microbiology within a planet’s soil can similarly be drained, as can the animals and plants, and the process of “breaching” allows Necros to draw on the thalery/thanergy of all of these. So Necromancy is a metaphor for environmental/planetary destruction&exploitation. Kronos is a harvest-god(his name is obscure, but probably means something like “the cutter” or “the striker”); Ouranos is the sky(probably a raingod with a name related, hilariously, to the verb for “to piss” :p :p), but at the same time still a planetary deity. Coincidentally, the primary antagonists so far in the book are “Resurrection Beasts” which seem to have been created by The Emperor Necrotising the Nine planets of Dominicus, and who have been pursuing him and his Lyctors to destroy them for this/for becoming Lyctors(Lyctordom is legit called “the indelible sin” by the Emperor himself) ever since. Sounds allot like the Furies, doesn’t it?

In this context, the Kronos Ouranos myth can be read as a story of planetary exploitation/injury(caution: I am NOT saying that’s the intended meaning of the myth originally, just that it is a possible application of it as a lens of analysis[it being referenced by the series through Alecto] to this story), and THAT suggests that Alecto, the Fury, may have been associated with this initial Necrotization(The Resurrection/Nine Resurrections, which SEEMS given what little I’ve read so far to be what they call the initial Necrotization of the Nine planets of the Sol System? Though maybe they were already Necrotized&all used up, and the Emperor revitalized them somehow?? I’m not sure yet), may be something instanced to stop it, or may be a “Resurrection Beast” herself; perhaps the initial form they took before 10k years of thwarted rage pushed them to become more monstrous. Alternately, I wonder if Alecto might be a manifestation or servant of Death? There’s a repeated focus on the Emperor having “defeated” Death, and The Body in the Locked Tomb is repeatedly referred to as a foe he defeated once but could not defeat again, so there are good reasons to disregard all the mythological trappings and focus on the clearer, less metatextual possibility.

Of course: it’s probably none of this and I’m just spinning Fantasy wholecloth from between my entirely metaphorical ears :p :p :p

[1]The Body is The Girl in the Locked Tomb which Harrow fell in love with. I’ll get to why this is relevant very soon after this footnote

[2]I mean we watched her force Harrow into Lyctorship by killing herself, so I’m still more convinced this is all trauma response. Her corpse IS MISSING, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t super-dead. Though: Camilla and Palamedes DID have a contingency, and Gideon DID wink at Harrow post-Lyctoring, and it was ambiguous if this was her impaled body or her spirit/hallucination doing the winking, so I can see ppl running with this theorywise...

[3]which is one of the Houses, obvsl(or at least it’s moons), though I’m only really confident on Sixth House(Mercury), Ninth House(Pluto), and 2nd House(Mars) at the moment. Seventh House is PROBABLY Venus, giving all its connections to poison, wasting disease, and Aphrodite(Cytherea is another name of the goddess), but that’s all just thematic suggestion. Oh also, I figured I should throw this in here given the large digression on Kronos and Uoranos, Kronos is Saturn’s Greek equivalent(or at least, the Romans considered him so).

[selfshipeventhall]

Selfship Con 2020: End!

Thank you all so, so much for making this thing come alive and thrive. It warmed my heart to see people come together and support one another. It reminded me of what I love so much about this community. Thank you.

I would personally like to thank @scroogesspouse @selfship-loving and @perseverancex-self-shipping for your help with this con. Without you it might not have worked out the way it did. I appreciate each and every single one of you for what you did.

And finally, lets close this year’s con with a Q&A from the wonderful @coulromantism or better known as Simon to many of you out there. Simon has been here since 2016 and that to me is really special. He’s seen this community grow and become what it is, so lets hear what he has to say as a longtime member!

Mod: So, how long have you seen selfshipping for?

Simon: well, i've been selfshipping for my whole life basically!! going as far back as i can remember, i've always had crushes on characters and imagined myself with them. i started selfshipping online when i was around 10, on deviantart, but i wasn't in the community until i found it on tumblr, in early 2017 :o)

Mod: THAT'S REALLY GREAT. I'm glad that you've felt comfortable with it and enjoy yourself.Who was your first F/O ?

Simon: tysm!! ^_^ tbh i can't really remember who my very first f/o was, since i began selfshipping so long ago.... one of the earliest that i can remember is ragetti, from pirates of the caribbean, when i was maybe 8 or so? my first public selfship (on deviantart!) was with slenderman, and then my first f/o when i joined the community on tumblr was freddy krueger!

Mod: Good choices over all!! So what was it like for you when you first started in the community? What made you wanna join and stay?

Simon: my first introduction to the community was a blog for general selfship positivity and community stuff called @selfshiplove if i remember correctly! i was so excited to find other people who selfshipped like me, and i'd send them tons of anon asks, until i eventually made my own blog and joined servers and stuff. i mean, prior to that, i was basically thinking about my f/os all the time, but i had no one to talk to about it. so of course when i found the community i had to join it haha. being able to finally share such a big part of yourself with other people, it's sort of a life-changing experience!! and i loved listening to other talk about their f/os and selfships, as well. i made friends, and of course that made me want to stay in the community even more ^^

Mod: Your experience sounds pretty positive!What do you suggest for people that are afraid to be open about self shipping or just about joining us in general??

Simon: i feel very happy and lucky to have found the community the way i did ^_^ i know thats a little cliché, but tbh, just try to enjoy yourself, and focus on nothing but that!! i see a lot of selfshippers (not just new selfshippers tbh!!) worry about so many things: that their content won't be good enough, that their f/os are weird, that their gush posts are unnecessary, that they'll be judged for their selfships or the way they selfship.... and those things hold them back. but know that none of them are worth worrying about!!! ik that ignoring such anxieties is easier said than done, but i reallly encourage you to actually put yourself out there; make those "unnecessary" gushing posts, talk about your unconventional f/os, post your content even if youre not 100% confident about it (ofc, you dont have to push urself too much!).... even if it's a slow process, little by little. you'll realise that judgement, disapproval for these things will never come to you. tldr, there are no rules to selfshipping, no "standards" you have to meet; you're always good enough, your content is always good enough; nothing about you, your faves, or your selfships is worth being ashamed about, ever. don't be scared to put urself out there: ik selfshipping is an incredibly personal experience, so you're likely to put up more barriers, bcus talking abt this stuff feeld vulnerable; but i promise that in this community, despite its faults, you will be met with overwhelming love and support. some less general advice for new selfshippers would be to find other selfshippers who have f/os from the same source as you, since it'll be easier for you to engage & interact w each other's content that way. you'll be able to find community within community, and hopefully that'll also help you feel better about selfshipping & becoming more open about it. i really hope that was helpful!!! :o)

Mod: I really like the way you put this. I think this is something a lot of people need to hear.In what ways has the community changed from back then?

Simon: well, i don't remember everything abt what the community used to be like, but i think it grew a LOT, in size, i mean. i feel like the selfship community on tumblr used to be pretty small, but now theres like, thousands of us!!! maybe thats anecdotal, but i feel like selfship content in general gets more attention/notes than it used to, and there are more "popular" blogs now. i also feel like theres more of a sense of community than there used to be; at least thats my impression. not that there wasnt one before!!! but now, we have so many more general blogs for prompts, quotes, promos, art.... we have events, takeovers (thx to people like u!!!).... we adress the issues within the community.... its really cool to see this community start thriving so much over the years!!! ^_^

Mod: How does selfshipping effect your life in general outside of Tumblr?

Simon: ofc np!!! ^_^ well, since selfshipping is smth that i think about a LOT, it has a big effect on my life, obvs!!! id say the biggest thing is trying to make my faves proud, impressed, that sort of stuff. i personally don't always have a lot of drive in life, if that makes sense? and its nice to have something that motivates me to work, improve myself, that sort of stuff, and it keeps me going during tough times as well. and in general it just makes me very happy n it completes me. so thats why selfshipping is very important to me :o)

Thank you so much to Simon for this interview about what he enjoys the most about the community and also to all of you for making it so great.

Stay tuned for the next event <3

[illfoandillfie]

Countdown To Christmas

Pairing: Lucy Boynton x Reader x Gwilym Lee

Summery: When Gwilym reveals he has no plans for Christmas Day, you and Lucy invite him to spend it with you.

Warnings: SMUT (18+), Christmas themed girlfriend fluff, orgasm denial/edging, threesome (obv.), dom/sub/dom dynamic, oral sex (m and f receiving), spanking, sex toys - vibrator and strap-on, a teeny tiny bit of cumplay

Words: 9020 (jesus)

A/N: This is my secret santa gift for @laedymoon​ for @dtfrogertaylor​ ‘s Thank God It’s Christmas event! El, I got very excited when I found out I was going to be writing for you! You are my tumblr daughter/wife and I love you so much. I had a lot of fun writing this (I really don’t write either Gwil or Lucy enough) and I really hope you enjoy it!! 

Taglist:  @laedymoon​  @dtfrogertaylor​   @ezmina98​  @vee-ndetta​ @atomic-watermelon​ @kellypenac​ @labessieisallama​ @deakyclicks​ @jennyggggrrr​ @drowseoftaylor​  @hannafuckingsucks​  @i-cant-hangout-im-drumming​ @queenmylovely​ @supersonicfreddie​

THREE DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

Normally you didn’t leave gift buying so late but this year things just seemed to have slipped away from you. To be fair, a lot of the big things you’d already bought. Your parents were taken care of, and Lucy. And besides, you didn’t really mind heading into the city so close to Christmas. It made you feel festive, especially as the sun faded and the strings of lights decorating each street and shopfront came to life. Aside from the crowds of people hurrying to finish their shopping, it was quite lovely. Light snowfall, a line of kids waiting to get their photo taken with Father Christmas, a choir huddled together singing carols. It just made you more excited for the actual day. You shook your head and squeezed Lucy’s hand as you tried to remind yourself that you weren’t there for the festive ambience, you had things to do.

Together you and Lucy entered Harrods, heading straight for their Christmas display. You were mostly looking for smaller items, fun and maybe a little gimmicky, for the friends you were likely to see over the holiday season and your neighbours, a thank you for collecting your mail while you and Lucy had been away earlier in the year. “D’you think Pam and Harry would like a cookbook?” you asked Lucy as you browsed one of the tables of “Gifts For Her” the store had laid out. “I don’t think they’re that big into cooking. What about this cocktail set? See it’s got a shaker and a couple of flavours,” “Isn’t Harry a teetotaller?” “Oh, shit you’re right, okay forget that. Maybe a puzzle?” Lucy laughed as she pulled the suggestion out of thin air, giving you a look that plainly said Lord I don’t know. You were about to suggest searching in a different part of the store, hoping something would leap out at you as the perfect gift, when a voice caught your attention. “Lucy? Y/N?” “Gwil!” Lucy smiled as the tall, bearded man came over, “Fancy running into you here.” “Finishing your shopping?” “Yeah” you said, “thankfully almost done. What about you?” “I’ve been given a slight reprieve this year. Not doing the whole big family thing we had planned.” “Oh no, what happened?” “Oh it’s not that bad Luce. My parents decided they wanted to spend the holidays somewhere warmer so they’re on a cruise in the pacific right now. And then my brother’s family have all come down with some sort of cold or flu or something, so we’ve all decided to save our festivities until new year's. It’s great though, means I haven’t had to rush buying presents or anything, only looking for something for my niece and nephew now.” “So you’ll be alone on Christmas? Why don’t you come over to ours instead?” “I couldn’t intrude like that,” “Don’t be daft, not intruding if we invited you,” Lucy laughed, “Seriously, it’s just going to be me and Y/N all day. We’re going to my parents for Boxing Day lunch but other than that it’s just the two of us and we’ve already bought more food than we could possibly get through on our own.” “You really don’t mind?” “Of course not Gwil! You’re practically family anyway. We’d have invited Ben too but Y/N spoke to him last week and he’s already got plans.” “Alright, you’ve twisted my arm, I’ll be there.”

You chatted to Gwilym for a little longer before he left you to wander around in search of suitable presents once more. Both you and Lucy agreed you should get him something too, although, distracted by other people’s gifts and a little worn out from having to navigate the crowds, it ended up slipping your mind. It wasn’t until you were at home, sitting on your living room floor wrapping your haul that you realised. “Hey what happened to that book about the Welsh rugby team? The one we were going to give Gwil?” you asked as you finished writing on the gift tag of the present you’d just wrapped. “I thought we decided he’d already read it and left it behind.” You looked over at the small Christmas shrine you’d created. With only the two of you, and your house being more cosy than spacious, you’d decided not to worry about the whole big tree thing. Instead you’d bought a kitschy fiber-optic tree that was small enough to sit on a little table and surrounded it with tinsel, a few cards you’d received and a candle that smelt like Christmas pudding. There was enough space under the table to stack the few presents you’d be opening come Christmas morning. Each of you had two to open, something naughty and something nice, a decision you’d made as soon as you realised you’d not be seeing anyone else all day. “We have to get him something.” “Okay but I’m not going back into the city two days out from Christmas. It’ll be mad and everything’ll be sold out.” “Well what do you suggest then Luce?” She furrowed her brow as she thought for a moment and then she looked at you. “I know that look Lucy, whatever your idea is it’s dangerous.” “Not dangerous. Risky maybe.” “Spit it out then,” “What if we gave him a threesome?” You laughed but stopped when you realised she wasn’t, “Bullshit, you’re not serious are you?” “Well I’m sure he’d like it. Isn’t it every guy’s dream to have a threesome with two girls?” “I wasn’t saying he wouldn’t like it. Just didn’t expect that to be your first idea. You really thought threesome before you thought of the weird little shop up the road?” “That shop wouldn’t have anything Gwil liked, it’s all incense and crystals and hippie stuff. And you have to admit it’s a hot idea. He’s hot. Can’t say I haven’t thought about it before and I know you have too.” “Okay true I have.” “Good, so we’re doing it?” You considered for a moment, “Fuck it why not. It would be the best type of present since it’ll be as fun for us as it is for him. So then how to we give it to him? Like just blurt it out when he arrives or, a piece of paper that says redeem for one free threesome or something?” you laughed and shook your head at the slightly ridiculous turn the conversation had taken. “What about a little coupon book? Then we can give him some other things too in case he doesn’t actually want a threesome. Wait here,” Lucy pushed herself to her feet and ran off down the hall. You listened, bemused, as she opened and closed cupboards, rifling through them and pulling various things free, only returning when her arms were full. She dropped back to the floor next to you and laid everything out. Scissors, a stapler, a stack of paper, coloured pens. “Love, your artsy farsty, you wanna design a cover for the coupons? And then maybe write some things out in nice lettering?” Lucy pushed the pens towards you with her toes as she began mocking up a template to use as a size reference. You plugged your phone into some speakers and shuffled your Christmas playlist, both of you singing along as you set to work creating Gwilym’s present. By the time you were done you had a very cute little book of coupons, suitably decorated with festive colours and a little bit of glitter you’d remembered you had. Inside were ten coupons ranging from One Free Hug to One Free Threesome. You stood up and stretched as Lucy wrapped it and added it to the pile under your little tree.

TWO DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

Lucy had splodges of batter over her shirt, a mishap with the electric mixer, and flour smudged across her nose and cheek, entirely your doing. She’d got you back, a smear of brown sugar over your forehead though you rubbed it in and thanked her for the exfoliant. Her attempts to act unimpressed, making a big show of rolling her eyes and telling you to get back to work, were admirable but the giggle gave her away. The kitchen itself wasn’t faring much better, splatters of butter and flour and sugar littering the bench and a few spots of the batter that covered Lucy’s shirt also decorating the walls. It was a shame really since you’d spent most of the day cleaning, intending on having the place spotless for when Gwilym arrived. “Is it meant to be that sticky?” Lucy asked over the Christmas playlist you’d once again put on, trying to compare the recipe on her phone to the concoction currently sitting in a blob on the bench, “I thought it was supposed to be firmer?” “Maybe it’ll fix itself as you knead it,” you shrugged, “just put down some extra flour.” “Maybe Gwil will bring some store bought gingerbread with him and save us from ourselves,” “It’s not that bad, look,” you grabbed an extra handful of flour, scattering it over the dough and bench, coating your palms in the remnants. Lucy took a step back, “those come no where near me Y/N, I swear,” You held your white palms up to her innocently before taking to the dough, pushing and pulling it until it began to form a smooth ball which you placed on the beeswax wrap Lucy laid out, “see, nothing to worry about.” “S’pose we’ll find out for sure in half an hour when we roll it out.” She took the wrapped up dough from your hand and placed it in the fridge, “Siri, set a timer for thirty minutes.” While her back was turned you began tidying up the sack of dirty dishes, collecting a little of the mixture that still clung to the edge of the bowl on your thumb, “You don’t have to wait that long,” “Wasn't it half an hour? I’m sure that’s what the recipe said.” As Lucy turned eyes on her phone, trying to find the right part of the recipe, you caught her, sliding your thumb across her bottom lip and spreading the sticky batter there. She looked shocked for a minute before her tongue darted out to taste it, “okay, that’s really good,” a grin spread out across her face as she took a step towards you, and then another, and another, backing you up against the bench. One of her hands fell to your waist as the other cupped your cheek and she brought her lips to yours. You hummed, sucking some of the sweet spiced mixture off her lip. “What do you think?” “Yeah we nailed it,” “Mmhmm, good,” Lucy reached behind you, running her finger along the side of the bowl, collecting more of the leftovers. Slowly she slipped the finger between your lips, biting her own as she watched you suck it clean.

By the time the alarm went off Lucy was sitting on the clean part of the bench, your hands resting on her thighs as you made out. The rude beeping blasted through the jazzy rendition of White Christmas, and your moment, making you spring apart in surprise. Lucy, face flushed and demeanour flustered, giggled as she reached to turn off the alarm, “effective way of killing time,” “Could keep killing time, perhaps in the bedroom,” you trailed your finger over her thigh as you spoke. “But the dough’s ready, we can roll it out now.” “The dough will still be there in a couple of hours.” Lucy raised an eyebrow. “An hour? Half an hour? Fifteen minutes?” “C’mon,” she slipped off the bench, “grab the cutters, would you?” “Not even fifteen minutes?” you waited but Lucy didn’t say anything, “Fine, s’pose baking is almost as fun,” You turned to dig around in the draw for the cutters Lucy had bought. You managed to find them as Lucy lay out more flour and picked up the rolling pin, two cutters shaped like men, one like a Christmas tree and one like a heart. Together you pressed them out and lay them out on the baking trays, occasionally sneaking bits of the raw dough into your mouths. “They look really good,” Lucy said as she placed the last one on the tray. “They’ll look even better when they’re cooked,” “Ha ha ha. Just for that you can stick them in the oven and keep an eye on them while I go have a shower.” “Sure you wouldn’t rather I join you?” you traced your fingers lightly along her shoulder, hooking them under the strap of her bra. Without warning you pulled the strap away from her and let it go, making her squeal as it snapped back against her skin. “You’re a shocker, Y/N.” “You’re the one who put her fingers in my mouth so really I think this is on you.” “Just don’t let them burn.”

For a few minutes you stayed in the kitchen, scrolling through your Instagram feed, liking a few friends' posts about their own holiday activities, as you absentmindedly hummed along to the music. But that got old fast. Figuring you’d smell the biscuits burning if anything went wrong you left the timer ticking in the kitchen and headed out to the lounge room. The Christmas shrine caught your eye. Surely it wouldn’t matter if you had a little peek. Not even a peek, just a rattle. Just to see if you could guess what Lucy had got you. It wasn’t like you were going to unwrap it early, just play a little guessing game with yourself. You tiptoed a few steps closer to the bathroom door, listening to make sure the water was still running and then, having decided the coast was clear, you scurried back towards the tree. Carefully picking up the smaller of the two gifts baring your name, you examined the tag. A red dot. The naughty present. It was in a box, that much you could tell, but it didn’t help you narrow it down much. The size of the box didn’t really give anything away either. It was just an average sized box that could hold any number of naughty items. You gave it an experimental shake. And then, when you didn’t hear anything move, another shake, harder than the first. Still nothing. Perhaps that meant it was made from a soft material, or perhaps Lucy knew you’d try to figure out what she got you and intentionally packaged it so as to limit its movement. Either way, there were too many possibilities for you to work out what it was, so you put it back and reached for the nice present. “And what are you doing?” Lucy’s voice startled you. “Just rearranging, making sure the pile was steady.” “Sure, that’s believable.” “Oh come on Luce,” you turned around on your knees, “not like I was doing anything bad,” “Trying to work out what I got you for Christmas isn’t bad?” “No, it’s not. I’d say it’s perfectly reasonable.” “Well I’d say it’s impatient. Little bit bratty,” You bit your lip, your breath hitching with the word. You knew what bratty meant. “But you’ve been a little impatient all day haven’t you. Wanting to get me into bed before we finished baking. So maybe you need to learn how to wait. And you can start by waiting for me on the bed. No clothes and no touching.” You made to stand up but Lucy just tutted at you. “Didn’t say you could walk, you know how much I like looking at your bum.” With an eyeroll you dropped back to your knees and began crawling towards the bedroom door.

Lucy made you wait for fifteen whole minutes before she followed you into the bedroom. “Luce, what the hell took you so long?” you asked, leaning against the headboard. It had taken every ounce of self-control you had to not touch yourself and you were already feeling antsy, ready for more. “Had to pull the biscuits out since you decided to misbehave before they were done,” she crossed the room, heading towards your cupboard and dug around inside for a moment. When she turned around she held a vibrator in her hand, “And you’re learning a lesson about patience, lucky I didn’t make you wait even longer.” You groaned, suspecting where things were headed. Lucy just chuckled as she moved towards the bed, dropping the vibrator onto the sheets as she kneeled beside you and pushed your legs open. Slowly she ran a finger through your folds, “Already wet for me. Good girl. You ready?” “Yes,” your voice sounded airier than normal, even to your own ears. With one hand she tugged on your hair, making you tilt your head back so she could capture your lips, continuing the kisses from earlier. Her other hand remained between your legs, fingers dragging through the slick and spreading it over and around your clit. You whined at the contact, hoping that if you sounded enticing enough Lucy might forget her plans to punish you. It didn’t work. Her fingers pressed against you firmly, drawing you closer and closer to the edge, leaving you panting against her lips, and whining when she pulled her hand away. “Patience, my love.” “You’ve got that look again. I’m not going to get off tonight, am I?” “Clever girl. Don’t think you’ll be getting off before Christmas Day.” “Lucy,” you whined, but she just laughed, leaning back to remove her own shirt. “Weren’t you wearing a bra before? Distinctly remember snapping the shoulder strap.” “Couldn’t be bothered after the shower. Figured you were going to take it off anyway but then of course I found you being so naughty,” Once more her fingers found your clit, “and my plans changed.” You could feel the familiar tingle creeping up, your hips shifting automatically in an attempt to find more friction. Christmas Day suddenly seemed an age away and you weren’t sure you could wait that long. Perhaps if you distracted Lucy enough, she wouldn’t realise how close you were getting, and you’d be able to steal an orgasm. Licking your lips, you directed your attention to her chest, dragging your tongue along one of her breasts before sucking her nipple into your mouth. Her fingers faltered for a split second and her breath hitched but she didn’t stop. Christmas music floated from the kitchen where it was still playing, but neither of you were in any frame of mind to think about changing the playlist. The sound was punctured by your muffled moan as Lucy pulled you towards the edge, followed by a soft squeak from Lucy herself, as you reach up to tweak one nipple, and drew circles with your tongue round the other. For a moment you thought your plan had worked, that Lucy was distracted enough, but then she pulled her hand away, making you whine and release her breast. “Awww, baby thought she’d get what she wanted?” Lucy mocked, taking your chin in hand. “Maybe,” “Baby was wrong,” she let go of your chin, tapping your cheek twice, “Think we’ll do one more for now.” Before you could say anything in return Lucy had picked up the vibrator and pressed it to your clit. You hissed as she turned it on low, your clit on the verge of being sensitive. It took less time for you to reach the edge again, a combination of the vibrator’s stimulation and how much you’d already endured. She waited until the last possible moment before she pulled the vibrator away, leaving you panting the word please as you tried to grind against thin air. “You’re done, for the moment at least. Might give you a few more before I let you go to sleep,” as she spoke Lucy stood and kicked off her pants and underwear, “But now it’s my turn. Here, hold this.” You took the vibrator from her, tempted to quickly use it on yourself, consequences be damned. Instead you waited. “Oh, good girl. You’re learning,” “Does that get me a reward?” Lucy laughed, “Bold. But yes, alright. It’s not the reward you want though, just a kiss,” she tapped your leg, indicating you should close them, and straddled your waist. You let her pull your arm into position, so the vibrator pressed against her pussy, and turned it on. She hummed as it came to life and brought her lips to yours. Each moan and whine she made was swallowed by you, the kiss only getting deeper and sloppier as she rocked her hips against the buzzing machine. It was close enough to your own skin that you could feel it’s pulsing, but nowhere near close enough to give you any real pleasure. Instead you had to be content with Lucy’s fingernails digging into your shoulder, her teeth scraping over your lip, her legs beginning to tremble as she hovered over you. Her lips parted from yours as she repeated the word yes over and over, her breaths gasped in between, culminating in a long moan as she hit her climax, shuddering through it. “Oh god,” she whined, grabbing your wrist to push the vibrator away. You turned it off as her head fell to your shoulder, still panting as she came down from her high. “You sure you don’t want to watch me cum like that?” “Positive,” she giggled into your shoulder. “Damn.” “Come on, we should get up, gotta finish tidying the kitchen and then I think it’s cheesy Christmas movie time.”

ONE DAY UNTIL CHRISTMAS

You weren’t entirely sure if the morning started off good or bad. On one hand, you woke up with Lucy’s fingers sliding through your slick folds. On the other, she edged you twice, resolutely sticking to her plan to keep you denied until Christmas. You considered that morning to be when she broke you. Of course, you’d played with denial before but for the most part it only lasted however long it took for Lucy to cum two or three times and then she’d take pity on you. The most you’d done was one day and that wasn’t even by design, just an accident while you’d been staying with your parents for a weekend. So the previous evening it had all seemed like a game, a joke even. Surely she was stringing you along. You’d not worried if you came across as bratty, confident that by the time you were hoping into bed she’d give in. Now though, after she’d sent you to sleep with another edge and then woken you up with two more…perhaps she was serious. You were rapidly losing confidence that it would end on Christmas Day, half convinced she was having too much fun to actually let you cum ever again. The idea that she was going to keep you wet and desperate for days rather than hours was scary and overwhelmingly erotic. Knowing that no matter how many times you asked, no matter if you got down on your knees and begged for it, she wasn’t going to give in, only made the need grow. When she was satisfied with the way you whined please she lay down and spread her own legs, telling you it was time you repaid her generosity. “Could have edged you more, kept going until you were so sensitive you were begging me to stop. But I didn’t. So how about you show me some gratitude,” Perhaps it was because a part of you hoped good behaviour would earn you a shorter punishment, or perhaps you just wanted something to take your mind off the way your clit was throbbing, but either way you were laying between her legs within seconds, without so much as a muttered comment about unfairness.  

Despite the uncertain beginnings, Christmas Eve went well. The morning was spent decorating the gingerbread you’d made the previous day, a process just as sticky as the actual biscuit dough had been, especially since there was a small mishap with the red food colouring that left a stain on the benchtop. But eventually you had a decent selection of coloured icings set out in piping bags as well as decorative sprinkles and the like. You and Lucy let your artistic sides take over as you gave the gingerbread men faces and buttons and sometimes hats or scarves. Silver and gold balls adorned the trees like little baubles and Lucy used the sprinkles on a few of the hearts to spell out yours, Gwilym’s and her own initials. When you were done you carefully packed most of them away into a Tupperware box to keep them safe, though you picked out a few of the funnier looking ones to snack on while you watched another cheesy movie.

Halfway through the movie the phone rang. “I’ll get it,” you said, pushing yourself off the couch. Lucy’s hand had been wandering higher and higher up your thigh for the last few minutes and you had already begun to feel the heat in your cheeks rising. The phone call was a good excuse to calm down a little before she could have you begging again. “Hello?” you said into the receiver. “Y/N? Hi, it’s Gwilym.” “Oh! Gwil, hi! You’re not calling to cancel tomorrow are you?” you turned to lean against the wall as you spoke, watching Lucy as she watched you. “No, no, the opposite actually. Wanted to make sure you’re still okay to have me,” You held back a giggle at the unintentional double entendre although you gave Lucy a look, pumping your eyebrows, “of course we’re okay to have you,” “Excellent, really looking forward to it,” “So are we. It’s going to be fun,” Lucy laughed, and you had to cover the receiver so Gwilym wouldn’t hear you struggling not to join her. “I should have asked this when I saw you the other day but do you want me to bring anything?” “Oh um, I think we’re all good for lunch. We’ve got turkey and a few different sides. Plus a Christmas Pudding and we’ve just finished decorating some gingerbread biscuits. If you want you could bring another bottle of wine or two, or maybe some mince pies, but if you can’t be bothered don’t worry about it.” “Wine and pies, think I can handle that.” “Seriously, only if it’s no trouble. We’ve probably got way too much food and drink as is and you will definitely be leaving with some leftovers.” “What’s Christmas without plenty of leftovers? I’ll be happy to take as much as you want to part with, anything if it means I don’t have to cook or go grocery shopping for a few more days.” You did laugh at that. “Anyway, I should let you get back to whatever you were doing,” “Watching Christmas movies,” “I caught Love Actually on TV Last night, still holds up.” “So did we! Absolute classic,” Gwilym’s laugh crackled through the receiver, “Definitely a classic. Oh! Almost forgot, what time do you want me there?” “How about elevenish? Should give us time for a pre-lunch drink.” “Sounds great. Thanks again for inviting me, I’ll see you tomorrow,” “It’s our pleasure! See you then,” you hung up the phone and turned back to the couch, “Gwil just wanted to know if he should bring anything.” “Yeah I gathered,” You dropped back into your seat and Lucy’s hand went straight back to where it had been before you answered the phone, as if there was a magnet pulling her towards your thigh.

By the time the credits were rolling you’d lost track of which movie you’d been watching, too preoccupied with how badly you wanted to cum. “Please Lucy, please.” “Stop asking, it’s not going to happen.” “Can you at least fuck me properly? Keep edging me, I’ll be good and I won’t complain, but I need you to do more than rub my clit, please.” “You want me to finger you hard and fast? Or maybe you want to be fucked with my stap? Wanna feel me deep in your pretty little pussy? “Yes, please,” “You’re really desperate, aren’t you?” she sounded almost surprised by the turn of events. All you could do was nod your agreement, “C’mon Luce, please? You’ll have so much fun and I promise I’ll behave,” Lucy giggled, “I’m already having fun just knowing what a whiny little slut you’ve turned into. And as much as I’d enjoy fucking you, I’m not going to. I want Gwil to see how pathetic you are right now. Besides, you’re way too close and I don’t want to risk you going over.” You whined and let your head hit the back of the couch as Lucy laughed.

CHRISTMAS DAY

You woke before Lucy did, grogginess gone the second you realised what day it was. A glance at the clock told you it was just after 9.00. Carefully you slipped out of bed, pausing when Lucy made a snuffling sound, holding your breath as she snuggled deeper into the warm covers. Careful to skip the squeaky floorboard outside your bedroom door, you tiptoed from the room, thankful you’d had the foresight to slip a pair of socks on as you changed into your pyjamas the night before. As quietly as you could you made your way to the kitchen where the speaker was still set up and grabbed it. Then, just as quietly, you made your way back to the bedroom. With one eye on Lucy’s peaceful figure you set the speaker down and turned the volume up high. You were ready to run the second you hit play on the Christmas playlist, an entirely too loud rendition of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer suddenly filling the room. Lucy damn near screamed in shock, yelling your name as she sprang out of bed and chased you from the room. “Y/N you bitch! I’m so going to get you for that!” You were cackling as she chased you through the house into the living room, stopping with your arms outstretched when you ran out of escape routes. “Wait wait wait,” you said hurridly, almost needing to yell to be heard over the music. “Better say something good or I’m going to have to end you,” “I love you?” Lucy lunged forward and you took a step back, hitting the arm of the couch. On most days you would have been able to duck under her arms and continue running through the house but not today. Today your knees gave way as they hit the arm sending you toppling backwards onto the cushions. Before you could even think to roll off the couch Lucy took the opportunity the universe presented her with and climbed onto your lap, effectively pinning you down. You squealed as she began tickling you. “Luce, god stop, I’m gonna pee my pants,” “You deserve it! That was so mean!” “Bu- ah! - But I’ll ruin the couch,” She stopped suddenly, “Fair point,” You were still panting as you grinned up at her, “Merry Christmas, by the way,” “Merry Christmas,” She said, leaning forward to peck you on the lips. “You gonna let me up?” “Okay but you have to make tea,” “Sure, as long as I can go pee first. I was not joking about that.”

You were just bringing the tea out of the kitchen when Lucy, having turned down the music and brought the speakers out to the living room, called out to you from where she sat on the floor, “Hey, we should open our naughty presents before Gwil gets here,” “Ooo yes, definitely. Here, take this,” you handed her mug down to her, followed by your own mug, “you want some gingerbread?” “A heart please,” “So picky,” you shook your head but collected the requested biscuit anyway. When you returned and took your own seat Lucy handed you the box you’d examined two days previously. You pulled out the gift you’d wrapped for Lucy from the small pile and handed it over. Together you unwrapped your presents, wrapping paper flying as you tore into yours though Lucy was a little more careful. Your gift was a set of silky-smooth lingerie in Egyptian Blue. “Do you like it? I thought the colour would match your eyes,” You ran your fingers over the floaty babydoll, “It’s gorgeous, I love it,” Lucy broke out smiling as she finished unwrapping her own gift, “Well this is interesting,” she began pulling items out of the hamper you’d created, “A candle. Didn’t know you were interested in wax play.” “Not what I had in mind. Mostly just a mood setting thing, but I s’pose your idea could be interesting.” “What else have we got, hot rocks, massage oil,” “Actually, it’s a massage oil slash lube that heats as you rub it in.” “So this is for a sexy massage then,” “Mmmhmm. That’s also why there’s a bullet vibrator is in there.” “Does this mean I can expect you to treat me to a massage sometime?” “Absolutely. I’d say let’s do it right now if Gwil wasn’t coming over.” “Definitely don’t want to be interrupted,” Lucy leaned over to kiss you, “Thank you, it’s lovely and I can’t wait to try some of this stuff out. Maybe I’ll keep you denied until you show me how it all works.”

When Gwilym arrived the presents were safely shut away in the cupboard in your bedroom, the turkey was cooking, and you were on your second lemon, lime and bitters. You opened the door to find him wearing a dorky Christmas sweater and carrying two bottles of wine, a box of Mr Kipling’s Mince Pies, and two packages wrapped up in paper decorated with snowflakes. “Hello hello. Merry Christmas” Gwilym kissed you on the cheek, a few flakes of snow clinging to his beard. “Merry Christmas to you too! Let me take those off you,” you took the wine and led Gwilym through the house to the kitchen, “Can I get you a drink? We’ve got all sorts, bitters, gin, whisky, a bit of champers, some mulled wine going on the stove,” “I’ll start with some of the wine if that’s alright,” “Work your way up to the strong stuff?” “Precisely. Lucy, Merry Christmas,” “And to you Gwil,” she said as he dropped a kiss to her cheek too. “Where can I stick these?” “Presents? Gwil you didn’t have to,” “Oh hush, it’s Christmas, as if I wasn’t going to.” “Fair enough, well, I’ll take the pies, add them to the rest of our goodies. If you take the presents out to the living room, you’ll see where a couple already are. Give me a second to grab a drink and I’ll be out.”

You handed Gwilym his drink and led him out to the small tree, both of you taking a seat as you chatted. Before long Lucy joined you, drink in one hand, box of gingerbread biscuits in the other. As soon as she was seated you got stuck into the presents, torn wrapping paper and excited exclamations flying. The larger present from Lucy that you’d been caught trying to peek at turned out to be a new record player, and the one of Gwilym was a fancy notebook and fountain pen. Lucy loved the vintage hand mirror and set of blush and highlighters you got her, almost spilling your drink as she tackled you with a grateful kiss when she realised it was the mirror she’d seen in an antique store and regretted not buying. She’d gone back for it a week later and found it had been sold. “God I am so glad you finally know!” you laughed as she sat back down and examined it, “You kept going on about it but I’d already bought it and hidden it and I had to stop myself from laughing or spilling the secret every time you brought it up.” Gwilym bought her a book about fashion and style in the 1960s which, while it didn’t elicit quite the same response, was enough to earn him a bright smile and a tight hug. Finally, there was one present left. “That’s yours Gwil, from both of us,” Gwilym wasted no time in unwrapping it, dropping the paper to the ground as he looked at the cover, “Coupons?” “Look inside,” Your stomach felt tight with nerves and you glanced over at Lucy who was subtly shredding a scrap of wrapping paper. With a curious glance at both you and Lucy he began flicking through the pages, “One free hug, nice, a free meal. Do I have to use that to get lunch today?” “No, we’ll give you today free anyway, but you can come back and cash that in any time you like.” “Cheers,” he laughed and kept flicking though. You knew he’d reached the last page by how wide his eyes went. “Does this mean what I think it means?” “If you think it means Lucy and I are inviting you to sleep with us both then yes it does. Do you like it?” “Yes, Christ yes. Do I have to spend it today or is it like the meal one where I’m guaranteed a threesome because it’s Christmas?” “No, that one has to be cashed in I’m sorry.” “Then I’d like to cash it in now, please.” “Right now? You only have one, you sure you want to use it so soon?” Lucy asked. “Positive.” “Don’t want to save it for later tonight,” “Surely we’ll be too full and tipsy to move later,” “Good point.” “So, um,” he seemed a little unsure of how to progress, “how is this going to work?” “Just like sex normally does but there’s an extra person?” “More meant what are your limits and that sort of stuff, Luce” “Yeah I know, was pulling your leg.” She looked over at you as she spoke, “I mean, I think we’re both fine with most things. Nothing too BDSM-y or whatever but Y/N does tend to run more submissive.” You nodded, “Yeah, uh, I guess I like being told what to do, called names, stuff like that. My safeword is red just so you know, not that I think we’ll need it but, better safe than sorry.” Gwil nodded, “And,” his cheeks seemed a little more flushed than before, “this feels kinda weird to talk about but, how….uh, how involved do you want me to be?” “It’s your present Gwil, so as involved as you like.” Lucy seemed a lot more comfortable with the discussion, “ If you’d prefer to watch us that’s cool or if you wanted to fuck us both we’re into that too.” “Okay then, sounds good to me,” “Y/N, love, why don’t you go change into the thing you unwrapped this morning and wait for us in the bedroom. Got some other stuff I want to talk to Gwil about.” With a grin and a racing heart you scurried off to do just that, able to hear Gwil quietly asking what thing?

When you heard the doorknob turn you stood up, the soft material of the baby doll floating around the top of your thigh as you moved. “That’s pretty,” Gwilym said softly, stepping closer to you as Lucy followed him into the room and shut the door behind her, “suits you. Lucy’s got good taste.” “She told you she bought it for me?” “She told me a few interesting things. Like how you’re an impatient little brat who had to be put on denial to be taught a lesson.” Gone was the slightly uncomfortable Gwil from your discussion, now he was all confidence and control. It was a marked difference that made you clench your thighs together. “Oh, that,” “Yes, Gwil knows all about how I’ve been edging you for days now and how pathetically wet it’s made you. I also told him he now gets to choose if and when you cum today.” “What?” you were aghast. With Lucy you’d been maybe eighty-five percent sure she would be true to her word but with Gwil you had no idea what to expect. “That’s right. So you’re going to be a good girl for me, aren’t you?” “Yes,” you nodded emphatically to show how much you meant it making both Lucy and Gwilym laugh. “I told you she was desperate.” “Desperate enough to suck my cock?” Gwilym had spoken more to Lucy than you but you dropped to your knees all the same, beyond caring how eager you appeared or how much they’d mock you for it. “Christ,” Gwilym muttered under his breath and then, addressing you, “When was the last time you sucked dick?” “Umm, depends. I’ve sucked on Lucy’s strap a couple of times but the last time I did it with a real dick was before me and Luce got together, so over a year. But I got good feedback from him.” “You okay to do it now?” “Sure. Just like riding a bike….probably.” Gwilym laughed and waved his hand in a go on motion. From the corner of your eye you saw Lucy take a seat on the end of the bed, watching. You shuffled forwards on your knees until Gwilym was in easy reach, eyes trained on his belt as you undid it and then his zip. As you pushed his pants down his long legs, he pulled his sweater off over his head. “Thank god. Not sure I could have blown you properly while I was looking at Rudolf’s googly eyes.” “Sure you could have. Because if you don’t impress me you don’t cum. How’s that for incentive?” You almost whimpered as you pushed his underwear down, eyes going wide at what you were met with. He was bigger than you’d been expecting, certainly longer than you were used to. You started slow, grasping the base of his cock, and pumping your fist over him a few times before you began kitten licking around the head as you let instinct take over. You could feel your heart pounding against your chest, and took a deep breath, exhaling in a long stream, the air wafting over Gwilym’s cock. He hummed as you wrapped your lips around him, one hand dropping to rest on top of your head as you adjusted to the feeling. You began bobbing your head, slowly taking more of him in your mouth, stroking what you couldn’t reach. “Good girl,” he said, almost breathless, “look so good on your knees, eyes up.” You shifted your gaze to his face, and hollowed your cheeks, a soft groan his response. Being able to see and hear how much he was enjoying it made you feel bolder so you took him deeper still. You gagged. A string of saliva broke and dangled from your lip as you pulled back, gasping for air. “Sorry, you’re bigger than Lucy’s.” “Don’t apologise. I’m not expecting you to deepthroat me or anything like that.” “Am I doing good?” “Better than good, Y/N,” he groaned as you dragged your tongue down his length and then back up, sinking down onto him once more, “Feel incredible. And Lucy’s having fun too. She must like seeing you being a good little cock whore because she’s touching herself right now.” You whined around him and felt his hand tighten in your hair for a second. “She looks so hot like that. Pulled the top of her dress down so she can squeeze her tits, the skirt all bunched up around her waist. That’s it, just like that.” You tried to take him deeper again, squeezing your thumb in your fist and doing everything in your power to supress your gags. “Jesus, gonna make me cum so-“ he broke off with a gasp as you fondled his balls with your free hand, “oh fuck, soon, gonna cum soon.” Lucy moaned from where she was sat on the bed, as if to prove Gwilym had been speaking the truth about her. You squeezed your thighs together as best you could, needing any friction you could get as your own moan broke free. His fingers once again tightened in your hair, his hips bucking forward slightly with the stimulation, making you gag again. “Sorry, I’m-” he moaned as you picked up the pace, bobbing faster, “god, just like that. Y-you gonna be good and swal-low for me?” “You didn’t bother responding, just squeezed his balls a little as you sucked on his tip.” “Fuck, I’m cumming,” he groaned just before he released his load into your mouth. You kept sucking, making sure to get every drop before you let him go, sitting back on your heels as you caught your breath. “Show me,” You stuck out your tongue, earning his praise when he saw it was clean.

“What should we do with her next Luce?” Gwilym asked, towering over you. “Only seems fair that you get to watch her eat me out,” “That does sound fun. Alright, slut, up on the bed.” You hurried into place, kneeling before Lucy, waiting for her to lie back and get comfortable. She pulled you into a kiss for a moment, tongue sliding along your lip and then into your mouth. Gwilym quickly stepped out of his pants which had been pooled around his ankles and pulled off his shirt, settling himself at the end of the bed behind you. “Lie down,” Lucy said softly in your ear. It wasn’t what you expected but you were too far gone to argue. When you were settled Lucy quickly shimmied out of her dress and swung her leg over you, hovering over your mouth facing Gwilym. “Show us what a good slut you are, Y/N.” Your wrapped your hands around her thighs as she lowered herself onto your mouth, dragging your tongue along her pussy before latching onto her clit. For a moment they let you be, Lucy moaning as you slid your tongue into her entrance and she rocked her hips against you, but then you felt a light touch on your hips which made you squirm. Gwilym slowly dragged your underwear down your legs. “You weren’t joking about how wet she is, were you Luce,” he said, holding your underwear up so she could see the wet patch you’d left. The next thing you felt was his hands pushing your legs open and then his beard scratching against your skin as he lowered his lips to the inside of your thighs, sucking marks that made you whine. “Don’t cum,” he warned you before his mouth finally met your throbbing core. In that moment you were suddenly glad you had Lucy to focus on, sure you wouldn’t have lasted long without the distraction. Each time Gwilym made you moan Lucy was sure to moan too, grinding herself onto you with abandon. You let go of Lucy’s thigh, moving your fingers to her core, pumping them into her as best you could. “Wait Gwil, s-stop or she’ll go over,” Lucy said, tugging on his hair to pull him away from you. He retreated, once again giving his attention to your thighs as you whined in frustration. When you’d sufficiently calmed down Lucy gave the word, and he focused back in on your cunt, adding two of his long fingers to the mix. He avoided your clit for the most part, occasionally nudging it with his nose to keep you on your toes. You could feel Lucy’s legs beginning to tremble and tightened your grip, pulling your fingers free as you focused on her clit, her moans getting louder with each passing second. Gwilym left you again, shifting onto his knees as Lucy caught his attention. You could hear him talking to her softly, encouraging her to let go. She shuddered as she came, riding it out as Gwilym held her up. Finally she climbed off you, leaving you panting and squirming, trying to get Gwilym to finish you off.

“Don’t you look so pretty like this,” he said softly, stroking himself slowly, “you ready to be fucked, pretty girl?” “Please,” “Not yet. Don’t know if you’ve done enough to earn it yet.” “You could fuck me,” Lucy said, eyes glinting mischievously. “No, please, please, I need it. I need one of you to fuck me.” Both of them laughed as you sat up, still begging. “What if I fucked Lucy and made you watch and then we went and had lunch. What if we left you like this all day?” “That’s not fair,” you whined, “please, it’s Christmas, it’s a time for giving, please give me your cocks.” “Well,” Lucy said through a laugh, “can’t deny her logic. Alright, love, up on your hands and knees. Gwil’s gonna play with you while I get set up. The second you were in place Gwilym sunk three fingers into you, “There you go you needy slut, finally getting what you want.” He pushed his fingers into you a few time before he replaced them with his cock, making you mewl and fall forward on your arms. He held your hips tight as you adjusted to him but as soon as you indicated you were alright he began fucking into you, laying a few spanks to your arse just because he could. “You’re close already aren’t you?” “Yes, fuck, so close,” you whined, the days of denial catching up with you. “Cum for me then,” he dropped his fingers to your clit, which was all you needed to finally fall over the edge, crying out as you did. “God such a tight cunt,” he panted as you clenched around him. Yet he didn’t stop. Just held you tighter as he continued to pound you roughly. Barely recovered from your first, you could already feel the beginnings of a second orgasm starting to build in your gut. You gasped as another spank landed on you, surprised by it because Gwilym’s hands hadn’t moved. Lucy chuckled at your reaction and did it again. “Give me a go, Gwil,” His thrusts slowed and then he pulled out, shuffling to the side so Lucy could kneel behind you. “Turn over, love,” she said softly, tapping your thigh. You were happy to collapse on your back, sure your legs would have given out as soon as you came again. If you came again. God you hoped they’d let you cum again. Lucy leaned over to kiss you as she lined the dildo up and sank into you. “Good girl, taking both of us so well,” You whined at the change of position, Lucy leaning down to tug at your nipple with her teeth. Suddenly she let you go, gasping as Gwilym sank into her from behind. He paused for a moment, letting her adjust and then, when he was sure she was fine, he thrust harshly into her, pushing her deeper into you. There was nothing you could do but hold your legs up and moan, able to see Gwilym, holding Lucy’s hips and grunting as he ploughed into her. The sight only turned you on more, every one of his movements hitting you through Lucy, the feeling in your stomach only getting stronger. “Can I cum?” you panted, tugging on Lucy’s hair out of a need to do something with your hands. “Ho-hold it. Fuck Gwil just like that,” You whined, watching as Lucy’s eyes rolled into the back of her head. You used your grip on her hair to tilt her head, attaching your lips to her neck. “Yes, yes, yes, god don’t stop,” her eyes slipped shut. It didn’t take much more before she was moaning through her release, Gwilym grunting as he held back his own. As soon as he slipped out of her, he kneeled beside you. “Fuck her Luce.” His hand came down on her arse, jolting her into moving, “dirty slut wants to cum again.” “Please,” you whined as Lucy found her rhythm again. Gwilym snaked one hand between you and Lucy, rubbing your clit, “Cum for us Y/N,” You obeyed, thanking him through your moans. Lucy’s fingers were digging into your thighs as you rode out your orgasm, Gwil’s fingers still on your clit, until you became too sensitive and had to push him away. “Doesn’t she look so good right now Gwil?” Lucy asked as she carefully pulled out, “Leaking onto the sheets, face still covered in my cum. So fucking messy.” “Mmm, makes me wanna add to the mess.” Before you could register what he meant he was kneeling in front of your face, pulling your head up. Lucy moved behind you, holding you in place as he tapped his leaking tip onto your lips. You hummed as you were pushed down his length, Lucy controlling your pace, as you pressed your tongue to the underside of his cock, a few gags escaping, tears running down your cheeks. It didn’t take long, Gwilym’s groans getting longer as he got closer. He pushed you off him at the last moment, stroking himself until white ropes painted your tits. “Fuck you look like a such a mess,” “A hot mess though,” Lucy said, trailing her fingers through the splatters on your chest. She sucked them into her own mouth, swirling her tongue around her digits. When she was satisfied that they’d been thoroughly cleaned she leaned over you and kissed you again, a sticky white string connecting you when she pulled away. “Fuck,” Gwilym lay beside you, propping himself up on one elbow, eyes glued to your lips, the space Lucy had just inhabited, “Might be the best Christmas present I’ve ever got. Certainly the best I’m likely to get this year.” “Good,” Lucy said, standing and beginning to undo the strap around her waist, “I’m glad you liked it.” “Me too,” you smiled over at him, “It was fun.” “A lot of fun,” Lucy laughed, “Maybe we could be persuaded to give you another round later, after lunch. It is Christmas after all, and what’s Christmas if not a time to be generous?”

[skamamoroma]

Hi meg I love so much reading your posts about learning Italian and so earlier on the summer I started to learn and I wanted to ask about your advice for basic steps for me to learn easier? Thank you so much! Sorry english is not my first language 🤗

Helllooo! Ah don’t you worry, your English is fine! ❤️

Yey for you learning Italian!!!! I am no expert at all but I can pass on some tips for how I’ve learned the basics and some things that have really helped me put stuff together and especially to be able to read and pronounce. I may be stating the obvious here but I thought I’d include a total noob’s version as that’s what I was!!

First thing, learn the alphabet and letter sounds. Italian has a total benefit of being pronounced via each letter (except for some v specific exceptions) so going from English and other languages which are full of silent letters and complex sounds made by a collection of letters, Italian is a JOY! It’s mainly pronounced as per each letter and it makes reading it much easier (and is part of what makes it sounds so pretty!). To start, learn the exceptions for letters C and G and the SC sound... alongside approaching double letters! Also learn the letters that Italian DOESN’T have and what they use to make those sounds aka “Y” (unless they use foreign words)

Learn basic words. Sounds obvious as hell but when I say that, I don’t mean “hello”, I mean stuff like “sometimes”, “maybe” “often”, “only”... that was the damn key for me! Learn the top 1000 words used in Italian! Honestly, this was the gateway for me in terms of reading. It makes Italian subs easier to read too. For me, the verb is the key and then all these extra words slowly slot into place. Learning specific to Italian words too helps massively like those classics like “allora” and “ecco” etc help woth conversational stuff

Obviously the basics of language learning, you’ll need the question words and basics in articles but with Italian it’s MUCH harder than in English but it depends what your mother tongue is because, to you, masc and fem articles etc may be normal. If not, LEARN. Just practice with tons of words. Duolingo is good for this practice. So you want to know the definites and indefinites for each and the exception (damn you words beginning with vowels!)

Verbs. God I don’t even know where to start but, for basics, learn the common verbs ending in ARE, IRE and ERE in basic present tense and then learn basic regular conjugation. This is kinda obvious for learning languages but again, it depends what your mother tongue is! English is kinda simple in many ways for this aka “I do, you do, they do” but if you learn conjugation tables then you’re onto a winner! For irregular verbs... lord, it’s a case of just learning them. (For example, MORIRE can get screwed! I forget it all the time). Verbs like essere, avere, uscire, andare, potere, sapere, stare, prendere are a MUST as a start. They’re the foundation on which it’s all built tbh!

I found it VERY helpful in the early days trying to just create basic sentences like “the cat is called Bob” hahaha and then changing it to “I am called Bob” and then “they have a cat called Bob” and from there you get good practice.

Learn some fun vocab! Look at foods and drinks and animals and clothes and body parts and furniture and you can start using them in sentences. Duolingo sucks for quite a bit but it’s VERY good for this stuff

Buy some Italian task books! Instructional books are great but exercises are the best for me and you can work through them bit by bit as you progress

Learn numbers - just stick to 1-100 first (it’s pretty simple tbh) and learn days of the week (obvs) but when you have done that you can move to TIME and places in time.... which will the lead onto the past tenses but the present tense is good for now and in Italian you can kinda use the present for the future in many circumstances!

Listen to a podcast called Coffee Break Italian. It’s brilliant!

Listen to italian music, watch tv shows (Skam It was a total key for pronunciation for me... and now I can hear the accents it’s so weird for me to watch it back! My teacher speaks northern italian and sounds v different to most of the Skam It folks) and movies. Read poetry. There’s a website that has Italian fairytale videos (google is your friend) which helped me a lot as it’s simple language but it’s also good for practice

That’s about it, for a start! Once you have the basics like introducing yourself, as you learn the other stuff it’ll all slot into place. Like, learning “mi chiamo” in lesson 1 meant nothing to me other than oh that’s how you say “I’m called” but it wasn’t until I did verbs I realised why you say “chiamo” and why that changes to “chiami” or “chiama” etc... and slowly it all pieces together like a puzzle.

A MAJOR PLUS with Italian is that the words are mainly ordered in the same order as English... for the most part. So if you can speak/know English then it’s fab! There’s obviously differences but generally, it’s not too tough to construct a sentence as you develop! German, for example, used to drive me mental with verbs all over the shop! Haha

I hope this helps in some way! If you have the means, I’d absolutely suggest taking classes. They’ve helped me so so much as I get to speak much more and make all those silly mistakes and actually try to speak on the fly which has made it so fun. At the start my teacher would ask us to say “my name is Megan and I live in London”..... now, it’s like “ok Megan, I want you to tell me how you felt when you graduated, where you were, who attended, what you wore and tell me about your friend’s last birthday party and give me directions from your home to a nearby church and tell me what you’re having for dinner and how to cook it then tell me about your entire family and tell me how to give instructions to citizens in a local park” and I’m like 😑😑😑😑 hahaha

Sending love to you! I hope you love learning it as much as I do!

[tdystmr]

college student! jackson x sugar daddy! mark // sugar daddy x baby socmed au

b a c k g r o u n d i n f o 🍓

jackson is THE popular kid despite him having his own set of financial problems. he lives with a foster family because his parents died in a car accident when he was 11, but still grew up to be a well-mannered, cheerful boy

mature 21 year old who knows his strenghts and weaknesses. very motivated and hard working, but tends to fall for the bad type rather than good influences. is also too nice and sweet to point out other’s mistakes and flaws so he usually goes along with whatever his friends do. has always wanted to move out because as much as he loves his foster family, he knows that they struggle with their own swt of problems as well and feels like a burden now that college fees are piling up

mark is a millionaire, successful bachelor at the fine age of 29. recognised for his success in starting and building his own business at 22, took him only 7 years to reach his current success of a multi-million enterprise in Seoul trading and exporting goods.

is a very mysterious figure to the press because he is extremely private about his life outside of work. lives alone, has no known dating history, only known family is his family in USA ands seems to be completely disinterested in relationships under than a tight-knit group of friends. the press would love to get some dirt on this successful businessman.

jjp are mark’s close friends and a power couple of Korea ( lgbtq+ rs are supported in korea in this au ) and have always wanted him to look for a partner. yugyeom, mark’s other close friend, also wants him to not be so lonely anymore since he’s pushing 30 already.

meanwhile, youngjae + bambam are jackson’s best friends. youngjae’s fam is jackson’s foster fam while the three of them all attend Seoul University tgt. they’re close friends because they all share an interest in music and just enjoy each other’s company. they’re the same age in this au, so they met at the usual freshmen orientation drinking session and bambam almost puked on jackson’s crotch. ever since then, they’ve been inseparable.

youngbam are also well known in the school - youngjae for performing on stage every year at the annual talent show while bambam is known for his cool style and being the vice president of the dance club.

p l o t 🍓

jackbamjae are joking arnd in their gc abt life after college when jackson finally tells them his plan to move out of his foster home after they finish their second year of college. yj ofc objects because he doesn’t see js as a burden, but respects jackson’s decision because js insists.

bambam suggests a sugar daddy website to get money. ofc, both of the other two question him on how he got to know such a site existed. he tells them that ten ( pres of the dance club ) got to know his bf through this site. bam tells them that it isn’t super shady or wtv and the men aren’t so bad at all

js says wtv and gives it a go, so he signs up with the help of bamjae. he has a basketball friendly match, so he rushes off after that

at the same time, mark’s bday is approaching. jjgyeom are planning a surprise for him and hopefully, it’ll include some sort of a date that mark will agree to go on. yugyeom had also come across the sugar daddy website by simply lurking on the nsfw side of the internet and jjp have learnt not to question him too much on what he does in his free time.

he found js’s profile and knowing mark’s type, immediately suggested the idea to jjp. jb, who’s been mark’s longest friend, says that mark might not completely be opposed to it because he knows that mark has been stressed lately and a way to let out that frustration would be good. jy, on the other hand, cautions that mark might not like the idea because mark is the kind of guy to value genuine relationships over meaningless hookups, not to mention paying someone for sex and whatnot. despite that, the three arrive at mark’s place on the night of his bday to surprise him

yg suggests the idea to mark after they’ve all had some dinner and mark obv gets mad at first. he says exactly what jy had said, but calms down after jjgyeom explain that they’ve all been worried about how he’s coping and don’t want him to be alone and stressed anymore. mark sees that his friends have good intentions and decides to give it a go, starting the convo with jackson over the website that night after all his friends have left

after about a week of weird dms and some actually good interactions over the site, jackson is about to give up because he hasn’t found anyone truly interested in talking and not just sex. then, he gets mark’s dm

the two hit it off immediately and they end up texting till 3am. they exchanged socmed accounts before they went to bed as well, and js decides to tell bamjae in the morning abt it.

they obv know who the hell mark tuan is and are freaking out over this. jackson rmbs that mark had told him not to spread this and realises that’s the reason why. he warns bamjae not to tell anyone, even their other close friends. bamjae suggest for him to keep texting and to even meet mark on the weekend.

they meet and it goes well and stuff, them slowly establishing their own sort of relationship. they’re more platonic than sexual most of the time, but they do look for each other when they’re horny and in need of release

one day, the press captures mark waiting for js after school at seoul uni + js getting into his car. they post an article with a caption insinuating that mark has a secret relationship, which he fires down with an instagram post about invading his privacy and posting false rumours. he does this because he’s scared that js might be affected.

js is affected, because he realises that he doesn’t mind being in a genuine relationship with mark at all. he tells bamjae ofc, and they help him to realise that he might have developed feelings for the older man. he freaks out because that isn’t part of the deal of being a sugar baby but he doesn’t want to cut mark off either

it’ll end happily, definitely, but the angst will come right after this and i hope it’ll be good :<

e x t r a c t f r o m f i r s t c o n v o 🍓

Yien_duan_

Hey, is this Wangpuppy825?

Wangpuppy825

that’s me! you can call me jackson ☺️

Yien_duan_

Oh, okay sure. I’m Mark. How old are you again?

Wangpuppy825

i’m 21 this year 🤩 wbu?

Yien_duan_

I’ve just turned 30

What’s your major in college?

Wangpuppy825

just? when’s your birthday? 🧐

i major in Sports science studies at SNU

Yien_duan_

4 september

Woah, you sound like a pretty smart kid

Wangpuppy825

oh, belated birthday mark hyung 🥳🥳

i can call you that, right 🥺

also, i’m not that smart hahah i just study hard 😌

Yien_duan_

Yeah, hyung is fine

Thank you, by the way :)

Wangpuppy825

no prob, hyung ☺️

quick qn though, do you look really old?

Yien_duan_

Ummm.....no?

Wangpuppy825

do you mind sending a pic 😖

i’m sorry if this sounds weird it’s just i’ve gotten lots of dms from 50 year olds posing as 20-30 year olds and it’s creepy 😳

Yien_duan_

Okay but you can’t tell anyone about this, okay?

Wangpuppy825

why? is it embarrassing for you 😮

Yien_duan_

[image attached]

It’s not really about being embarrassed, I guess

Wangpuppy825

omg

Yien_duan_

Why?

Wangpuppy825

you look so hot wtf 🥵

and you look so young????? you look my age 😳😳

god is unfair for making you so pretty 😤

Yien_duan_

Oh

You mean you...

Wangpuppy825

i...???

Yien_duan_

Oh, nothing hahah

I’m just surprised you think I look good because well...

You’re really cute, Jackson :<

Wangpuppy825

wow okay you have no idea how different it feels to hear that from a hot person rather than just my friends hyping me up 😳😳😳

Yien_Tuan

Your friends? Did they persuade you to do this?

Y’know, my friends actually set me up with you as sort of a birthday present

Wangpuppy825

oh? then i guess i should thank them 😳

and yes, my friends did persuade me to do this hhahaha

Yien_Duan_

Thank my friends? What for?

Your friends did a good job with the basketball pictures. I think those were what made my friend Yugyeom choose you

Wangpuppy825

thank them for setting me up with such a hottie 🥵

oh! you play?

Yien_Duan_

Ahh, you’re making me embarrassed... 😳

Yeah, I played when I was in college in USA

Wangpuppy825

omg you used an emoji for the first time 🥰

usa? you’re a foreigner too?

Yien_Duan_

Hahah, I don’t really use emojis because I’m used to texting formally at work 😅

Wow, it feels like we’ve got a lot in common huh

Wangpuppy825

use them more 🥺

it does! you’re probably the most interesting person i’ve met on this site the whole week 😌😌

Yien_Duan_

Then I’m honoured I got your attention first :)

Tell me more about yourself? Unless you’ve got to go to bed already

Wangpuppy825

oh, no no hahah

i usually sleep way past midnight so this is fine 🤩

anyway, who would be crazy enough to turn down a conversation with someone like you 😖😖

Yien_Duan_

Flirtatious, are we?

Wangpuppy825

only because you’re adorable 🥰

t a g s 🍓

sugar daddy x sugar baby au

social media au

possessive mark

switch jackson

dominant mark

sexting / nudes

fluff / angst / smut

college student! jackson

friends with benefits-ish to lovers

[eponymous-rose]

So for No Reason At All I am compiling a shopping list of Cat Stuff. Thanks to the amazing @loquaciousquark I have toys and an awesome pop-up portable kennel thingie (my place doesn't have a lot of doors to close and this will be AMAZING when I have maintenance in etc.), not to mention an amazing vacuuming solution for excess fluff.

My question is: I volunteered at the shelter for a couple years but haven't had cats of my own in forever, so what all might I be missing to bring home (and spoil rotten) two fluffballs?

Current list:

- food (have to order online because I don't have a car... might get this from Chewy since literally every brand on Amazon has recent reviews about "the new recipe" making their pets sick, which suggests to me that it's not the pet food company changing the recipe...)

- treats (i.e., bribes)

- carriers (after a ton of experience loading grumpy rescues into them, going for soft-sided carriers with a zip top)

- cat tree (I have accepted that my sparse interior decorating is about to get a lot goofier)

- toys with built in scratchers (for all your portable "please scratch this instead of that" needs)

- litter box + scoop + litter + mat (going with a big ol' ugly box since it'll be hidden in the basement anyway, but gimme those carbon filters)

- cat bowls (whisker friendly to avoid the tragedy of "the very center of my bowl is clean so I STORVE"), and extra water dishes because cats basically never get enough water

- dental care stuff (hope springs eternal)

- claw trimmers (obvs not declawing)

- brushes for grooming (especially necessary if I get a real floof)

- harnesses/leashes (my area would be super unsafe for outdoor kitties but I have a nice outside patio area for them to explore once they're okay with being on a leash)

Got the okay from my landlord (she only wants a small one time pet deposit... and "many cute pictures"), and I'm seriously thinking of going to a nearby shelter and adopting two cats (looking in the 6 month to 3 year age range - if I get a younger kitten, it would have to be alongside an adult cat so I'm not completely outnumbered, and I'm not quite to the point yet after losing my nearly-20-year-old cats where I could adopt older) on the MLK day long weekend after my conference. I don't have a car, and I'll be going alone, so trying to get them back from the shelter (not to mention to the vet for a checkup) is probably going to involve a hefty tip for a cab driver, but hey!

So dang excited! Any advice greatly appreciated.

[midsumner]

reading collective !

okay as per this post, here’s the update! if you missed the post but are interested, no worries - this is still in early stages so hop on in!! 

updates: just read this page and follow the steps!

bit of a boring post alas but three things

obviously, we’ve got to test the waters + iron out issues first but i’m being optimistic and was thinking, if it works out, we could choose book/s bimonthly or quarterly?!! 

the fun part is obvs book choice! will be a group decision so i’ve compiled the book suggestions so far - pls vote on them ! (below)

(this is the third point, bear with) as promised, i have tagged everyone who commented but some people have the search thing off so i can’t tag you - which is understandable and u don’t need to change that! but had a think and honestly a tinyletter (email newsletter) situation would be easier (for me) instead of a tag list which will invariably be a nightmare to keep up to date & doesn’t even fully work? also would allow u to take a break from tumblr and still be up to speed w updates + remove/add yourself at your own leisure! 

so action points on the above (i am sorry that sounds so... corporate, we will get through this asap) !!!

vote on a book on this google sheet (sorry i’m sick of polls, pls don’t delete stuff) closed as i have now collated the books ! 

(email sent for this round! message me if you want in!) subscribe to this neat tinyletter as i think it’ll be easier than manually keeping an up to date tag list, i promise to not spam u if we do go ahead with this option! 

edit: tinyletter will be the primary go to for the main updates so i don’t have to keep a taglist but will put reminders and so on in #readingcollective tag !

that’s all for now, excite!!! 

// //

@icarusafloat @mpiekarz @sentimentism @optimisticdays @graharaja @way-soft @arantxaalv @apoherm @psyhce @spiritinggently @sir-writealot @cosmostar @thehappyscavenger @ilyiad @eileentheskeen @97walk @impressionsdefrance @petit-alouette @elliotrosewater @woolysocks @marilennox @honey-dew @hyakinthia @frondescence @moregeousdyer @healingmoonlight @daenerysrtargaryen @mega-ringsandthings-world @pvlkovsky @romanticsrn @liverpeps @teikalliste @viktorskrums @ideoilli @nezuco @tulipcrown @ivorwendarcy @reinedeselfes @long19thcentury @lilaleep @captainn-nerd @musicforthesunking @aiglantine @burstsofgoldenblood @jamespotteurs @regina-cordium @sunkwissd @hadesburns

[sansualfics]

Update: I am a Fool and a Dramatic-Ass Hoe.

So, as a few of you have suggested, I wondered if the absence of my fics was due to me having my ko-fi link, as apparently that counts as “commercialization” and is therefore against the AO3 terms of service. And I started sifting through the internet and whatnot to try and see if that was the case with my fics. And apparently AO3’s mod team has a different email address than their typical one... and this one just so happened to get auto-filtered into my junk folder....

You can see where this is going.

I found emails backing up to mid-January of AO3 attempting to contact me about my ko-fi promotion on my works, and of course, because I saw none of this, I never said anything back. And thus, sealing my fate of not having my fics brought up. They permanently deleted my works, due to a lack of response from me (because I didn’t see the fuckers) and so since emailing them and asking them if they still had my stuff, I’ve been informed that my works, with all my kudos, comments, etc from you LOVELY FOLKS, are gone.

Obv, I’m allowed to repost my fics, without the ko-fi links, but it’ll be a long, tedious process that I’m starting tonight. SO with that, I’d like to apologize for causing such a stir about this and insinuating that I’d been ~targeted~, and my works should all be back up within the next week or so as I find time to post it all again. I’m still working on all of them, so don’t fret. Thanks for your love and support!!!

[sveasauvageon]

Ce qu'il a donné Un an, deux ans, cent ans de bonheur Puis la vie te cueille comme une fleur || GW

☾♔; March 5, 2018 ☾♔; sotd: Котик by Alexander Rybak   ☾♔; comedian otd: JOHN OLIVER   ☾♔; GW To do list ☾♔; {G} https://goo.gl/XSTtMc ☾♔; mod(s): @themadmonarchist @maybones et moi

Title: lyrics from "Requiem" by Alma

--featured not-mine oc's - Eloise Avery | @themadmonarchist - Minah Delacroix | @maybones (see what I did there with the Serena and Blair positioning? -eyebrow wriggle thing-)

- - - x - - -

Updated GW to-do list: - Division of labour (we should really start saying when one of us starts working on something because otherwise we'll end up with redundancies since we think disturbingly alike) - the "chuck" problem: okay, tbh, it's more of an Ed Westwick problem than a chuck one. I don't know how you guys have reacted to the me too and time's up movements, but mine has been to cut all those men out of my sphere of entertainment, I even cut out "witch hunt", "not all men" type dudes, and "only fondled their breasts on tv and apologized for it" men (aka Ben Affleck), because time is up for all of you! Soz, not point, but since last October, Ed Westwick has been caught up in this, and thus far 3 women have accused him of ra.pe and a fourth of sexual misconduct. Now, I know it's not Chuck's fault that his portrayer is a ra.pist (allegedly), but there is still an issue with including his face, etc in aesthetics and gossip girl material because his face is that of a ra.pist's (allegedly). Tbh, I wanna leave him (Ed Westwick) out of material and only discuss Chuck and avoid showing his face or use a dreamcast instead, but like, I dunno what you guys wanna do. Chuck is a great character, although, early on, he was quite rap.ey, the character, and it does not help that his portrayer has since been revealed to be a ra.pist. Allegedly.

- also, going back up to the redundancy issues, I love both of your aesthetic collections and playlists, so for those, I was thinking for playlist, we should make one big playlist on spotify that's collaborative, so that everyone can add their music and it'll kind of be a huge explosion of musical tastes. But also, maybe have a collection that has a link on the group info for individual playlists for characters, and the group made by us and/or others. For aesthetic collections, basically the same idea with one big collaborative collection, and then that collection will have links to other collections (yes, I'm a little ocd).

- also, also, this is completely unrelated, but I was watching trevor noah's show and he made a joke about how much trump's male employees snitch and gossip like sht, but the woman haven't revealed squat. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpmlVWFTW8A) It's really funny, and honestly, stupid people fcking up in trump's circle very publically is basically what's keeping me alive. It's just hilarious how stupid some of these people are. ___________________________ Another Update (I'll leave those up until @maybones weighs in on them)

I was working on a draft of the group description to show you guys, and I was using a template of one of my old groups and rewriting stuff and changing it to suit our purposes and I realized how many freaking rules I have (I'm so picky), anyway, some of this stuff obvs won't be applicable (like, there's one about characters dying and I don't think we were planning on going that dark. although, serena was an accessory and chuck kind of killed his dad, so meh, maybe?) anyway, I wanted your opinions on what rules to keep and/or change:

✠ RULES AND GUIDELINES {GENERAL} ✠

I. Please be kind to each other. Your characters can be total jerks, but let us, the creators and/or writers be kind, polite, and respectful (aka, channel your inner Canadian guys). There will be absolutely ZERO tolerance of discrimination. You will be immediately removed from the group, and your actions will be documented and reported. PM me immediately if someone harasses you or you notice harassment between members. ⠀⠀Ia. If you want to be anonymous, for any reason, you can send in your complaints here {https://goo.gl/kbTXeU}, it's a google form, and it doesn't ask you verify your email, and the username option, is just an option, it's not required. If I need to make further contact/information from you regarding your concern, I'll make a group announcement vaguely describing your issue, and you can send in further information anonymously again. I'll be checking the form at least once a week.  

⠀II. I'm not giving this any specific rating, however, I will say, you're free to include whatever "adult" content you want, whether it be swears, gore, or the dirty stuff (I'm totally a mature, grown up adult guys). However, do be careful of polyvore's stupid censors, use workarounds like writing your story in google docs, or accents for swear words.  

⠀III. This is a non-elimination group,  but characters can die. It may be used for inactive members, or if you wanna kill 'em off or maybe revive as a ghost or something else. Permission will always be asked of the creator first (with the exception of characters belonging to inactive members, whose characters may be killed off as penalty).  

⠀IV. If you miss 3 consecutive contests (without informing me), you'll receive an "x", "|" will be used to break up non-consecutively missed contests, anyway, if you miss 3 in a row, that will open your character to be killed by either myself or other group members. You will be notified, but your permission will not be asked. If you wish to rejoin at a later date, and you character has not been killed off, simply pm me and continue with whatever contest is in progress. If your character has been killed off, you can re-audition with a new one, and I will transfer your points to your new character.

⠀V. Always pm me, your vodka aunt mod, if you feel you'll be unable to enter a contest, your reason doesn't matter. Just let me know you can't get your entry in, that way you won't receive an "X".

⠀VI. Plotting will be left open throughout the group, however, please establish a few of these before contests begin, and always ask permission when using someone else's character(s) and be sure to tag them in your sets. Please, PLEASE work with others, I hate when people just do their own thing in oc battle groups, this is a collaborative story, everyone's stories and ideas matter. I will call you out if I notice something that contradicts the connected story, and I will always, ALWAYS incorporate the stories of group members into the overall narrative. ⠀⠀VIa. Narrative precedence will always be given to the person who completely finishes the description of their set first.

⠀VII. There is not a list of roles to pick from, you can create whatever roles you want, however, I may ask you to change it if I feel your character may become "villager number 6" and not fit in with the action. Rules, regulations, and suggestions for roles can be found here: [placeholder].

⠀VIII. Always be sure to tag the member's when you use their characters and give credit where credit is due.

⠀IX. Plagiarism will not be tolerated and you will be removed and reported. If you're inspired by someone else's work, credit them, otherwise you're stealing.

⠀X. Sets unrelated to the group will be removed.

⠀XI. You will NOT be required to write out a full story. Story portions can be answered in paragraphs, but full stories are always welcome and appreciated.  

⠀XII. Do not use templates for contest entries unless otherwise stated.

⠀XIII. Always feel free to contact me with any and all questions, and/or suggestions. You can also send them through the anonymous complaints form, found here: https://goo.gl/kbTXeU

_________________________________

✠ RULES AND REGULATIONS {FACECLAIMS} ✠

I'm quite picky about these, but I'm not gonna be pedantic about it this time. You do you. Having said that, there are still some rules and regulations, as well as a challenge.

⠀I. All faceclaims must be above the age of majority (that's 18+ nearly universally on the planet), there is an exception for child characters but all main OCs must be at least 18.

⠀II. All faceclaims MUST be professionals. They can be actors, models, even singers. However, they must be singers of some note signed onto a label company, like Taylor Swift, or my beloved Dima Bilan (who's also an actor. a good one. yes, I'm bragging). Your faceclaim CANNOT be someone insta-famous, youtubers, or tumblr tweens.

⠀III. Whilst I'm not going to reject any faceclaim on the pedantic basis of "I don't like them", there are some faceclaims that I will and for one reason, and one reason only. Sexual misconduct of any and all kinds. Hollywood and the media are finally cleaning house, and I don't want those dicks in my nerd sht either. To be clear, I don't care whether the misconduct was simply groping a woman's breasts on camera and apologizing about 10 years later, I am going to reject everyone who's been accused. Examples include; Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, Ed Westwick, Jeffrey Tambor, Danny Masterson, Andy Dick, Dustin Hoffman, and fcking Mel Gibson. (Side note, these are just actors, for a wider list of men who have fallen since the Harvey Weinstein story broke in October 2017, I recommend you check out this article {https://goo.gl/Uq65Qv} by the NY Times) ⠀⠀IIIa. If you notice I have accepted someone who has been accused of sexual misconduct/harassment/assault please inform me right away, and ideally with a link to a news source from where you learned about (I will google it myself, but the ready-to-go link would be much appreciated.) ⠀⠀IIIb. Also, Alec Baldwin is on my list of rejected faceclaims. He's not been accused of anything, yet, but I'm not liking his defensive attitude of alleged rapists. Fúck off. Matt Damon also falls under subsection B, for a slightly different reason, but fúck him too. In this watershed moment, I have no time for defensive d i c k s and "not all men" a s s h o l e s.

⠀IV. The Challenge: a lot of us have certain fave fc's we use over and over again (I'm certainly guilty of that), so my challenge is for you to use a faceclaim you have never used before as your primary oc. This is gonna be based on the honour system, some of you guys I may know well, so I'll know if you're using your fave again, but others I may not, and I can't aggressively stalk everyone, so I won't call out anyone for not doing it. It's just a fun little challenge, worth 10 bonus points, if you opt to do it. But again, it's based on the honour system, I'm not gonna stalk anyone, but if I know you and you lie to me on the audition form. First, I'll be hurt, and second, I'll say sorry and tell you you're not getting those bonus points.

(I know, two sets of rules makes me such a di.ck, it's why I need your help guys!)

[princess-of-the-corner]

Taking a break to talk about the Hero Chat AU and the episode Ladybug. Because I kinda mentioned it,  but I want to go over that episode in detail.

So, a few people are aware that Lila’s a fucking liar.

Mari and Adrien know, of course.

Chloé is also very aware, and she told Alix.

Alya, Nino, Max and Kim are all in the ‘suspicious of her, but not ready to really call her a manipulative bitch yet’ category.

The rest of the classmates are unaware, but can be influenced by the louder voices.

When Lila starts framing Marinette for stuff, more people stick up for her.

Cheating on the test:

Alya speaks up, vouching that Mari had no opportunity to steal the cheat sheet

When it’s obvious that Lila gave the tip to Miss Bustier about the cheating, the rest of the Team speaks up too, saying it’s out of character.

The rest of the classmates comment too, since the Team brings up a good point.

Miss Bustier calms the class and asks Marinette and Lila to head to the principals office so that they can discuss their issues in a private enviroment once she gets everyone else set up on the lesson today

Pushing Lila down the stairs:

Nino points out that Mari isn’t violent. She never punched Chloé, despite everything she did.

Chloé agrees with that. Both the ‘Mari isn’t violent’ and ‘I might’ve deserved a punch if she did’.

They know calling Lila a liar wouldn’t help, but instead suggest ‘perhaps Lila tripped and assumed Mari pushed her, since they’re not on good terms.’

When Lila insists that she was pushed, Alya and Nino ‘look, maybe she did it accidentally? You know how clumsy Mari is. She might’ve tripped and knocked into you, which then pushed you down?’

Everyone agrees that Mari isn’t malicious enough to push someone down the stairs, even someone she doesn’t like, but she is clumsy enough to do it accidentally.

Mari wants to insist she didn’t do that, but knows that continuing to say ‘Lila’s lying’ isn’t helping, so lets them think what they want to keep herself out of trouble.

Stealing the necklace:

At first, everyone’s at a loss for how the necklace got into Mari’s locker, but they all know she’s not a thief.

Adrien tries to speak up, but is silenced like in Canon.

Then Chloé speaks up, refusing to let the principal silence her, and points out that the necklace can’t be Lila’s family heirloom, because it’s from last year’s Agreste collection.

Lila tries to cover by saying ‘well, it is, but it was a gift from my grandmother! Not an heirloom!’.

Adrien speaks up again, this time coming up with a lie of his own to cover

He says that the necklace isn’t Lila’s and Mari didn’t steal it. He knows this because he’s the one who put it in Mari’s locker.

Mari had been having a rough time lately, and Adrien wanted to do something nice, so he snagged a necklace from his father’s collection to give to her.

It was totally supposed to be a surprise after class, but now she knows.

That said, he has no idea why Lila thinks that Mari stole it and stashed it in her own locker. Even if she mistook this necklace for her grandmother’s heirloom, she would’ve seen Adrien hiding it, not Mari, and accused him.

When Lila starts throwing a tantrum, insisting the necklace is hers, she’s guesturing wildly and stomping her feet. Alix points out ‘hey, guess you’re feeling better after falling down the stairs!’.

Everyone kinda realizes what Lila was doing, trying to frame Marinette. And they realize that Mari was probably very much right about everything else.

Between the shock, betrayal, guilt, and righteous fury everyone’s feeling, Hawkmoth takes advantage of the situation like in Canon.

Side note: Gabriel does not tell Lila to mess with Mari specifically, he just told her to ‘cause some chaos’, basically. Because fuck you let me have the weird ‘Hello future daughter-in-law!’ dynamic between Marinette and Gabriel.

Mari doesn’t get almost-Akumatized because she actually feels pretty good right now. Panicked at the mass Akumatizations, but still.

Chloé, Alix, and Adrien are also unaffected because as angry as they are, they know that it’ll be taken care of.

The whole Scarletmoth thing still falls through like in Canon though.

Lila still attempts to get out of all this by claiming that she has that ‘disease that makes her lie’.

It does get her the sympathy bump from most people, but the Team ain’t buying it.

Still, to play along for now, Mari, well, plays along. ‘Apologizing’ and saying ‘oh, why didn’t you tell me earlier! I thought you were lying because you were a jerk manipulating my friends! I can’t be mad at you if you can’t control it! Now that we know, we should probably keep track so we can see when your disease acts up so no one else gets almost expelled!’.

Everyone still apologizes to Mari though. Because she was right, Lila was lying.

Later, in private with the Team, Marinette discusses it with them.

Since everyone knows to believe her now, she feels safe confessing that Lila threatened her, and she’s sure the ‘disease’ isn’t real.

Adrien, while surprised at the threat, backs this up by pointing out that Lila did in fact confess to ‘her disease acting up after seeing Adrien put the necklace in Mari’s locker’. And since he did not in fact do that, she’s lying again.

Everyone’s kinda mad at him for that because yeah he technically did lie, but it was to counter Lila’s lie so they don’t stay mad. And also he offers to actually buy Mari a necklace instead of tricking their way into one.

Adrien also confesses that he knew Lila was lying, because Ladybug called Lila out on the first day, but decided that he and Marinette should just ignore it because Lila’s lies weren’t doing that much harm before.

Everyone’s a little more mad at him about this, but Marinette clarifies that she didn’t tell Adrien about the threats.

Chloé also defends him by pointing out that it’s how you’re supposed to deal with celebrity gossip and tabloid magazines. And also that once he realized this is more than that he decided to do something.

Chloé adds more proof to the pile of ‘Lila’s lying wasn’t caused by a disease’ by pointing out the fact that Lila was gone for months.

They can prove Lila was in Paris because of Volpina being there for Hero’s Day.  

So how does it work with Lila’s mother? The teachers would’ve called her about Lila’s absences and supposed disabilities she’s lied about.

She likely has a whole scheme set up that includes fake emails, forged doctor’s notes, and straight up lying to her mother.

They all have a feeling Lila isn’t done yet and are prepping for things.

Okay, that was long and I’m gonna break it off for half a second to use my favorite sentence for Lila: I think the fuck not you trick ass bitch!!

Back to the other half of the episode with Senti!Bug

Since this AU includes the Groupchat, when Mari sees a Ladybug running around she texts the chat like ‘hey that ain’t me!’

So everyone kinda knows Senti!Bug is a fake.

Once the real LB shows up they kinda lose track during the fight

But Senti!Bug/Mayura is trying to trick not only Chat Noir, but also Rena, Carapace, and Honeybee. She can’t replicate the dynamic accurately enough and they’re able to sniff her out.

The actual fight against Hawkmoth goes pretty much the same, ending with Hawkmoth holding Chat and Ladybug holding Mayura.

When they do the whole ‘This bitch empty! YEET!’ thing, Rena, Carapace, and Honeybee try to jump after Hawkmoth, but he manages to knock them away and escape.

Instead of the ‘deal with the devil’, they all encourage Adrien to tell his father about Lila’s ‘disease’, hoping it will keep her away from him.

Adrien frames it as him believing the ‘disease’ thing, and saying ‘I’m trying to be nice because she can’t control it, but even when her ‘disease’ isn’t acting up she makes me uncomfortable and invades my personal space a lot….’.

He was ready to go further, saying stuff like ‘can you imagine what would happen if her ‘disease’ acts up and causes a scandal for us?’.

However, Gabriel might be a fuck but he can be a good parent sometimes. As soon as Adrien confessed to Lila making him uncomfortable/basically harassing him, the bitch was going to get hella banned from everything Gabriel can ban her from.

Obvs Gabriel might think that Lila’s ability to fuck shit up might be useful for Hawkmoth, but he’s keeping her on a very short leash next time and not letting her near Adrien ever.

All’s well that ends well!

[confusedinfj]

How to tell what your *ntp is feeling... And help?

AKA: how to *nfj *ntps

Because I saw some asks on other blogs about this and wanted to try haha.

Edit: This seems to apply to all tps actually 😂

Starting

Check facial expression.

If forlorn and pale, *ntp is sad and PROBABLY DOESN'T KNOW WHY. Go to unknown feeling steps.

If angry, *ntp knows why their mad. If they're refusing to tell you, they're mad at you. Go to angry steps.

If happy, your *ntp will look calm and mildly oblivious. Don't attempt emotional counselling or you will produce angry *ntp.

If some other complex feeling, they will say 'Idk'. Go to unknown feeling steps.

If sad for known reason, you should probably know why too. If you don't, ask them and they'll just tell you. If they refuse to tell you they're now angry with you for not knowing. Go to angry steps.

If you know what they're feeling and they need cheering up for any reason, go to cheering up steps.

If *ntp is crying, go to EMERGENCY RESET steps. Sit tight.

A few tips

Be warm. *ntps respond well to genuine warmth and concern.

Speak softly. Everyone responds fell to this, but especially stressed Nps.

Be direct. *ntps don't wanna go to magic emotional fairy land, weirdos.

Be subtle. *ntps recoil if they sense you think you're better than them, so if you tho k you're gonna go in their and save the *ntp, you better pretend you don't think that.

Remember, *ntps have Ti. You can approach this problem and fix it through breaching their low Fe through Ti. Try talking about feelings as thoughts - they're basically the same thing anyway.

Try to use Fe or even Te to pull this off.

Vibes.

Eye contact.

Physical contact. Actually gives away some important clues...

Pauses. Very important to let the *ntp think.

Know when to stop pushing. It's usually when the *ntp shows all body language signs of pulling and looking away. Just give then a hug, say you love them or whatever, and leave them be for a while before trying again.

Unknown Feelings

Sit down calmly next to *ntp and look them in the eyes, study them for a few seconds. They will probably look at you with amused concern.

Ask them what's wrong outright, or if they're okay. They'll say 'Idk' or equivalent vague answer. Mbs even 'I'm fine' or 'nothing's wrong' while avoiding eye contact or looking depressed.

Touch them gently if that's normal for y'all. If they pull away you have a grumpy *ntp who probs needs you to step it up a notch. If they pull away at this point it doesn't necessarily mean they don't want to talk.

Just frown and say something like 'you don't seem fine'. After a pause, if they don't suggest something, make your own suggestion.

'Are you upset with me because of this thing I did today?' is a good place to start. *ntp will probs want to clear up if they're upset with you, so will be like 'nah, it's just this other thing.' Alternatively, they'll say 'I tho k I might be', in which case you can talk about that like normal. Good job for finding out!

If it's something else they're not specifying, remember: you don't always need to know everything. So your next question isn't for details, it's just: 'would you like to talk about it?' with an additional 'can I help?'

Here I must mildly split the types. From experience, the intp will neither talk nor ask for help, and they won't appear to have changed either, even if their vibe is a bit better to you. But when they're feeling a little better they'll be really appreciative and soft to you, so it's not useless. Just try to make life quiet and easier for them. Also from experience, the entp might want to talk or have help, or they might just start crying or something. It's pretty easy to walk them through from there but...

Avoid bailing the entp out completely. K, if an intp is crying and asking for help, do it. It's weird, they defs need it (Si grips are mainly an entp thing tbh). If an entp is doing it... Help them fix the problem themselves, because otherwise they'll hate you for it later. Entps can make their own chaos, but they don't like being treated like babies. This means you

Look into the entp's eyes and - being pretty harsh tbh - tell them to stop crying and outline what they should do. Then you leave them with a hug or whatever and they're usually all good. This does not apply to deaths and stuff like that. Be normal here 😂

Congratulations! You have worked out your *ntps feelings and have hopefully helped a little. Hopefully they're not in a grip and it's all over now.

Angry

If your *ntp is mad at you, they'll look mad and quiet and won't be telling you why. Here's how to work this out.

Calmly say, 'I know you're mad at me. Why?' if they don't respond, propose something. That'll usually get them going. 'NO, IT'S BECAUSE YOU DID THIS!' You're in pretty hot water if they're still not responding after this bait.

Explain how you can't fix the problem if they don't tell you.

Try to go back to before they got angry and try to view things from their perspective - it's possible they're in a paranoid Ne-Fe loop and have completely misinterpreted something you did. This is more likely to be the entp's problem. It's also possible you offended their Ti by disagreeing with them or telling them what to do.

Say what your conclusions are and clarify your intentions. 'I didn't tell you how to boil water because I think you're an idiot, I did it because I really like that pot - it was a gift from my deceased mother - and I really didn't want the pot to burn. I'm sorry if I sounded condescending'.

This will usually soften your Ti offended *ntp, so good job on fixing the problem! But what if this doesn't seem to be the problem, and nothing changes? Now assume a Ne-Fe loop. This becomes a long term problem, but to confirm, here we go.

Basically, you have to stop digging for the reason they're mad at you and briefly affirm you love them or whatever. This won't help if the *ntp is in a loop, because they become extremely paranoid. You're almost certainly not going to fix this problem in one sitting. Go google the loop problem later and enjoy your new paranoid *ntp.

Cheering up

This advice is generic, use some discretion obvs

Do something with the *ntp. Like, take them out. This triggers their Ne, they love it. But them a drink or something to eat while you're out. This will usually work immediately.

Try discussing something with them. Might not work if they're really flat.

Watch TV or a movie with them. They like tech tbh

Feed them. Usually works, unless your cooking sucks.

Hug them. *ntps only pretend to hate this. Only works if you're close obvs.

Yell at them to snap out of it and cheer up. Extreme, but often works for entps who are in self pitying Fi Trickster moods. Don't actually tell btw. Just remind them pity parties are pointless and illogical.

Compliment the *ntp, or do something thoughtful like writing them a letter. Always be genuine!

Give the *ntp a project. Not a chore. Ask them to build an Ikea thing or something haha.

Only leave the *ntp alone once these steps have failed. No matter how many times they ask, if you can get them to do any of those things with you, they secretly want to be fixed. If they absolutely refuse to do any of those things, leave them alone and be quiet. They'll come out when they're ready. And don't finish with step 6. Then they'll think you're mean and angry at them. Always compliment sandwich 6.

If your entp (specifically) refuses to cheer up after an extended period of time, they might be using Fi Trickster... Or they could be legit depressed, try to know the signs. If they're not actually depressed, you can go on and compliment sandwich 6 again, a little harsher this time. If you trigger a Si crying melt down you fixed them, good job 👏 Otherwise, send your little entp to the doctor 😷

If your intp (specifically) refuses to cheer up after an extended period of time, they could be in Fi Demon and are likely depressed. If you can't get them to the doctor cos they're being stubborn, you can follow internet suggestions and try fostering their low Fe - it'll help get them out of Fi if they're not actually depressed. This means basically treating them like a soft little *nfj baby for an extended period of time.

Emergency Reset

You'll know if you need to do this when either *ntp is SPONTANEOUSLY crying or when intp is looking wide eyes like they're crying on the inside. This is a severe Si grip and they're basically completely overwhelmed. Tl;dr = trigger Ne, but handle Si first.

Sit down, hold *ntps hands if you can and look into their eyes. Ask them what's wrong and if you can help. Follow through with these steps in addition to anything they say 🙃

Check your *ntps vital Si signs - make sure they've been eating and drinking. Force them to take a food and drink break if they haven't. Encourage them to take a power nap. Encourage them to take a 10 minute walk. Encourage them to shower and get cosy if it's later in the day (which it usually is tbh).

Give the *ntp a game plan. For example, if your entp has left some project till the last minute, help them organise the steps they need to get through to complete the task.

Ask the *ntp if they'd like you to do some of their work while they Si recharge (walk, eat, nap, etc). Don't do too much, or they'll be Ti offended.

After the Si recharge, encourage the *ntp to decrease their work load. Think outside the box about ways they can do this - it triggers their Ne and makes them feel back in control of life. 😊

Basically, mildly parent your *ntp for about an hour and they'll perk up. This works every time, because *ntps in grips or loops don't have melt downs this obvious 😂

[parkjinwoo]

hi! idk if you've already answered smth like this, but would you ever make a gif-making tutorial? i dont know where to start with gif-making >< but if not, it's totally cool! would you happen to know where i can learn how to make gifs like you? thank you!

sure! i absolutely would!! i’ll just do it under this ask haha 

so for making gifs i use photoshop ( i run cc 2017 bc it was th only free version i cld get ldsfkhsdf) and vapoursynth!

first things first: getting the video you want to gif. obviously the better the quality of the video the better the quality of gif, so when im downloading from youtube i usually use a 4k video downloader

if its  vlive i use soshistagram !!!

next step after youve downloaded your gif is to get the frame layers from the specific section that you want to gif. thats where vapousynth comes into play.

if you drag the video you downloaded into vapousynth, you choose the part within the video you want to gif, so say im remaking my last gifset id drag the video into vapoursynth put in like 00:05:40 (the starting time in the video where i wish to gif) and then like 00:00:03 (how many seconds of the video after the start i want vapoursynth to render) and then it’ll open up a tab that looks like this 

from here this is where i usually do my cropping, sharpening and denoising – i use to use topaz labs but that shit hurt my computer like it would take so long for my computer to render it it wasnt even worth it. but i mean topaz labs is pretty good so if your computer is strong enough i definitely suggest looking into it. i just cant lmao. 

okay after you choose the settings that you want (honestly the way i found my preferred settings was just by playing around w them!!), you copy and paste the coding in the white box in the right corner into the app that will open on your computer once you run vapoursynth it looks like this 

you paste the code into the section that says ‘paste here what you copied from resizer’

and if the section of the video runs longer than you wanted (like the screen changes n u just want to cut it out) you can trim it in this app as well if you go to Script > Preview and find the first frame and last frame that you want in the gif. honestly i dont usually do this, i just delete frames in photoshop bc im lazy but then it obviously takes longer to render but . again. lazy.

ANYWAYS once you’re ready to render your video, you go to Script > Encode video and another screen will pop up. make sure you change the header section from ‘no header’ to ‘Y4M’ or it wont work. n then just press start and it’ll do its thing. on my computer it saves the video to my ‘output’ folder and its always titled ‘output.mov’ so it shouldnt be hard 2 find !!

ok !!!!!! hardest part is out of the way!!!!!!! wee!!!!!

now its time for photoshop *crowd boos*

once you’ve opened photoshop, you go to File > Import > Video Frames to Layers and find the video that you got from vapousynth ! once you do that this will come up 

here you can cut down the video / limit the frames for its import. i usually limit frames only by 2 or i find it gets a lil weird, this helps a lot if your video is long and you want 2 get it all in the gif without missing parts while also staying under tumblrs gif limits (which i know have been made a lot bigger but i still try to keep mine around 3 MB). then once all thats Done just press OK n it’ll look like this !!

ok lets break this down

TIMELINE 

timeline is basically where u go to adjust the speed of your gif. if you press on the three lines on the right side and press Select All Frames then you can click on the time (in the screenshot its 0.02) and adjust it. i usually go with 0.05-0.06. but it depends. again its all up to your preferences. you can also delete frames n stuff, thats usually what i do to trim down a gif.

LAYERS SECTION OR WHATEVER ITS CALLED 

ok so these are all ur layers !!! usually i select them all and group them so its easier to manage. but this is where you’d add your colouring PSDs or text PSDs to spice up ur gif. 

at the top where it says ‘Add an adjustment’ is where you can edit the colour of your gif, you can obviously mess around and make your own psd or even go Crazy and make a new psd for every gifset. but personally, out of laziness, i just searched tumblr for gif PSDs and used the one i liked the most, and through that i adjust it depend on what i think looks best for the gif im working with. psds make the gif tbh

like the difference... the spice.... the vibrance... its beautiful. 

sometimes i use the sharpening action and in order to use the filters in photoshop you have to change it into a video timeline (see timeline section, at the left bottom corner theres that icon thingy beside where it says forever. just click that) then you select all your layers at the side and go to Filters > Convert for Smart Filters.

then you can go Sharpening and i usually use Smart Sharpen. and its again messing around until your satisfied with how the gif looks. this is my preset for it!

also through this you can blur out words in the gif (which obv u dont have to do its another preference thing i just personally prefer to do it) and once your gifs been converted for smart filters you can use the marquee tool to section off the part you want to blur and then go to Filter > Blur > Gaussain Blur and adjust the strength of the blur !

anyways. thats basically it???????? after your finished and you’re happy with how it came out go to File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy) and this will pop up 

here you can see how many MB’s your gif is to ensure you dont go over. also adjust the presets on the side, thats just how i have mine obviously you can adjust yours to however you want them !

and make sure where it says “Looping Options” it says forever, or else your gif wont loop and you’ll want 2 rip ur hair out once u realize it.

n then boom 

gif ! 

i hope this helped ???? n wasnt too confusing im rly bad at explaining things.. i also hope i didnt miss anything .. but i dont think i did. if you have any questions pls feel free to message me ill b happy 2 explain anything else im able to ^________^ !

[thenightisland]

Quarantine Q&A

Tagged by @villa-kulla

Are you staying home from work/school?

i’m a healthcare worker the only way i get to stay home from work is if i’m sick. that being said i’ve been out of the game since thursday bc i couldn’t in good faith go into work last weekend with a fever and flu like symptoms despite the nonchalance from my hospital. so i go to my doctor to find out tomorrow if i get to go back this weekend, if they’re going to bother testing me, if they’re going to quarantine me, whatever. based on how “well” the states are handling this pandemic, i have a feeling that it’ll be well you’re asymptomatic now i’m sure you’re fine have a good weekend at work! (try to social distance yourself from your coworkers when you spend twelve hours with them in a room half the size of my living room bc that’s you’re only option when the people on the /outside/ of that room have a tendency to try and assault you.)

If you’re staying home, who’s there with you?

i am a loner even when there isn’t a pandemic. it’s literally just me and my cat. 

Are you a homebody?

mostly but i live for my bookstores and antique stores and restaurants and i can’t go to any of those right now so not being able to go to the like ten places i actually enjoy going is. exhausting. especially when you’re searching for something to make being a healthcare worker during a pandemic less soul sucking. thankfully i have lots of books, streaming services, and a piano so i’m entertained.

An event that you were looking forward to that got cancelled?

literally my main vacation that i take every year in april every single year so that’s been great instead of two weeks in florida i’ll be either stuck in my house or. at work. at a hospital. during a pandemic. delightful.

What movies have you watched recently? What shows are you watching?

since i’ve been isolated i’ve gone through season three of the handmaid’s tale (excellent), derry girls (also excellent), finished deadwood, and now i’m watching the americans which is. surprisingly funny for a dark drama about undercover kgb agents. (i’ve also been rewatching stuff that i find soothing, which is usually iasip and bojack) (also like directly @villa-kulla when you going to cave and watch killing eve and the second season of the terror sarah)

What music are you listening to?

my main car music at the moment is the album Saturn Return by The Secret Sisters, an indie folksy duo that i am constantly trying to get people to listen to (i suggest their 2017 album You Don’t Own Me Anymore for first timers, and they do a devastating cover of “somethin stupid.”). falling back on my emotional support boys mika and hozier a lot (obv i don’t need to rec the latter to any of you. you all know him. but i am always trying to get people to listen to something of mika’s besides “grace kelly” so i suggest the album No Place in Heaven). also for some reason tonight specifically i’m just really on a beatles kick.

What are you reading?

at the moment a book called A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing which is good but i imagine most would find it a hard read bc the way it’s written is very unconventional and it feels a bit like learning a new language despite being in english. (a quote from it used to circulate around tumblr fairly often: “Board my body up. I’m not for loving anymore.”). it’s very dark. but looking at my recent reads most of them are (see the book diary and book recs tabs on my blog for what i’ve been reading lately and some recs if you’re bored in the quarantine).

What are you doing for self-care?

just trying not to lose my mind throughout the onslaught of bad news that has been 2020 tbh. which translates into a lot of reading and tv for distraction purposes. for like physical self care there’s only so much you can do when you’re in healthcare during a pandemic.