#could be reworked/expanded in the future

[pcr-alice]

I was inspired to write my own ficlet! Also available on AO3.

(1486 words below cut)

“Come on, Danny. You can do this.”

He’d been thinking about this moment in anticipation for years, never knowing whether he was nervous or excited. Seeing as it was now a few weeks into his first year at Gotham U and he still had yet to confront the Bat, he could say for sure that he was in fact nervous. Even now, hiding in the shadows on the roof of Wayne tower next to Batman’s favorite gargoyle, he was fighting himself to not run way. He was sure his heart would be beating uncomfortably fast right now if he allowed it to, but he had to go through with this. He promised to.

Batman grappled onto the roof.

“Here goes nothing,” Danny whispered.

He stepped into the moonlight, purposefully making his footstep crunch in the gravel. Batman spun around and faced him in a defensive position.

“Hey, B.”

Danny kept his posture slouched and hands visible at his sides. He hoped a hoodie and jeans were a relatively non-threatening outfit. Batman stared back in silence for a few seconds.

“Do I know you?”

Danny turned his eyes down and his mouth curled up in a small smile.

“No, not exactly. My name’s Danny.”

In the silent, windless night Danny could just hear someone on the other end of Batman’s comms report a time estimate. A short one at that. He must have hit a silent alarm. Okay, Danny, get on with it.

He dropped his smile and looked Batman directly in the eyes.

“The Ash turned to ash and learned to swim.”

Batman sucked in a breath. Danny continued.

“I am the hungry Snake returned, trying to become quick.” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “Sort of...”

Batman dropped his guard.

“Oracle, stand down.”

Danny heard a confused exclamation from the comms as Batman stepped forward, face much less harsh than it had been a second ago.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just a little nervous. We should continue this discussion in the cave.”

Batman tensed up.

“I already know, Bruce. Your kids should be there, too.”

After a few quiet seconds, Batman responded barely above a whisper.

“Is there anything I should know before then?”

“No,” Danny shook his head, “It’s all good.”

Batman nodded again.

“I don’t know where you stand with Jason...but –”

“He’ll be there. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Thank you,” Danny nodded. “See you soon.”

He stepped back into the shadows and vanished just as Robin landed on the rooftop next to Batman.

---

“There better be a good fucking reason you dragged me here,” Jason growled as he walked up to the others gathered in the cave.

“I received a doomsday code,” Bruce responded, cowl removed, not looking up from the computer.

That silenced everyone, but Jason still scowled. Bruce continued his explanation.

“I was approached during patrol by an unknown expected meta identifying themselves as ‘Danny’. They knew my identity, and the code they used indicated I trusted them at some point.”

“How the fuck do you trust them if they’re unknown?” Jason complained. Bruce turned to look at his children gathered around the table.

“It was a time traveler code.”

They were all silent for another moment. Bruce eyes flicked to the cave behind them.

“Danny.” Bruce greeted.

The rest of them (even Cass) spun around in surprise to look at Danny standing sheepishly behind them. They all stared at him in a tense silence. He looked them over, seemingly oblivious to the atmosphere.

“You’re all here, huh?” A warm smile spread across his face as he looked from person to person. “And two new faces, too!”

Danny’s smile started to quiver and his eyes sparkled with the start of tears. Bruce took a step forward.

“Danny?”

“Sorry, sorry,” Danny apologized while wiping tears from his eyes with his palms, “I just – it’s so good to see you all so...healthy.”

They all kept staring at him. Duke in confusion, Cass in concern, Bruce in anticipation, and the others in suspicion. Danny took a deep breath and looked back up at them in determination.

“Okay. Phi code Mike Delta Bravo Iota Upsilon Sigma dash Omega One Uniform dash Sierra.”

“...Holy shit.” Tim whispered, clearly heard by everyone in the dead silent cave.

“Report,” Batman demanded.

Danny crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. After a few seconds, Batman relented.

“What happened?”

Danny snorted and dropped his arms.

“Roughly four years ago in an alternate timeline, a...great evil...was released. I got sent to the future ten years from that point. We ran into each other when you tried to evacuate me somewhere safe. There was a bit of a misunderstanding at first, but eventually we figured it out. I was ultimately able to discover the...inciting incident...and return to my original time to avoid it.”

“Why did you wait until now to approach us?”

“Ah yah,” Danny rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, “Some other stuff happened, so I’m a bit of a strange case. We had to make sure the timeline was stabilized before I could make too much of a splash.”

“Is that why I can’t see your past or future?” Duke spoke up.

Danny turned to look at him. The light must have caught Danny’s face just right because they would all swear his previously blue eyes were suddenly green. Duke let out a small shout and shielded himself with his arm.

“Sorry!” Danny exclaimed. Duke lowered his arm. “Neat power, but yes. Time doesn’t really affect me the normal way. Or maybe the other way around?”

Danny tilted his head in brief thought as the others shared glances. Cass gave a small nod to Bruce, who then broke the silence.

“Why did you approach us at all?”

“Honestly?” Danny smiled, eyes glistening again with barely contained tears. “I really wanted to see you all again.”

He raised his hand to rub the back of his neck again.

“And not to be rude or anything, but you did promise to help me with a little problem.”

“I hope this little problem isn’t also Omega level,” Tim muttered.

“Not anymore,” Danny winked at Tim, who was surprised he was heard, “But not for lack of trying.”

“Not anymore?” Bruce growled.

“There is a division of the DOE called the Ghost Investigation Ward. They have authority to detain any being with a high enough ecto-signature and use them for experimentation. The Anti-Ecto Acts that established this division also declares all ecto-entities to be non-sentient, which is how this slipped through the Meta Rights Act.”

“Ghosts? Are you fucking with us, Kid?” Jason groaned in irritation. Danny grinned back at him.

“Is it really that hard to believe for someone who died and came back to life?”

“The fuck did you say!?”

Jason’s eyes flared to bright green and he dropped his weight into an aggressive stance. Everyone else tensed for a fight. Danny flashed his own eyes green in response and Jason dropped to his knees with a gasp.

“What have you done to Todd?” Damian demanded, sword drawn.

“You call that pit madness, right?” Danny responded calmly. “I scared it off temporarily, but it’ll be back.”

“I...thank you…” Jason breathed slowly. Damian hesitantly lowered his guard.

“It’s actually a case of ecto-contamination.” Danny squinted his eyes at Jason, and they gleamed green again. “Pretty bad one, by the looks of it. You’ll need to see my doctor for long-term treatment.”

“You can cure the pit madness?” Dick asked with wide eyes.

“We can treat it,” Danny responded, “But not get rid of it completely.”

Dick nodded back, mouth agape. Danny turned to Bruce.

“We can help with the Lazarus Pits themselves, too. But that comes after the GIW problem.”

“You said ecto-contamination. Is that related to ecto-entitites?”

“Sharp as ever, B,” Danny teased. “Mr. Hood over there would read high enough on the GIW’s equipment to count as an ecto-entity.”

“Wait,” Dick interrupted, “That means –”

“He can legally be captured and tortured, yes.” Danny finished for him. “As could Dami – er, Damian, sorry.” He turned to Cass. “I’m afraid I don’t know your name, but you as well.”

“Cass,” she provided. Danny bowed his head in thanks.

“How do you know all this?” Bruce asked.

“Oh, yah!” Danny slapped his palm to his forehead.

A white ring appeared around his waist and split into two. The lower half dropped down to convert his jeans into tight black leggings with thin armor plates around his knees and white calf-high boots. The upper half raised over his head, revealing a body suit to match with similar armor plates covering key weak points. The ring faded into his hair, which floated weightless in the air, color now the same white the rings were. A shiny black crown with three jagged points that was bathed in blue flames rested lazily on his head.

“I’m half ghost.”

Family Dinners - dpxdc

"Holy shit, you're Bruce Wayne!" Danny gaped, jabbing a finger at the man sitting at the head of the table.

The bustling dining room goes silent as everyone turns to look at him.

"Danny, who did you think was going to be here?" Tim asks, disbelief plain in his voice and Danny feels his face flush red.

"Sorry, I, uh, I guess I just never put it together. Tim Drake-Wayne. Wayne Manor. It, uh, makes sense now." He laughs sheepishly and scrubs at his neck before slumping back down into his chair.

"Well," Tim says with an indulgent sigh, "at least I know you're not just friends with me for my connections."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry, I just never thought about it, I guess."

Danny sinks lower as everyone around him laughs. Come to dinner, he said, the food is the best, he said, ignore the family, he said. Danny really wishes he'd listened to Tim and just ignored them—almost as much as he's regretting accepting the offer in the first place—but... he's having dinner with Batman.

Ancients, that's so weird!

The last time he saw Batman was in the future and, suffice it to say, it was not going well. There hadn't really been time for family dinners there.

Wait. Family dinners?

He peers around the table, openly gawking at everyone as it all clicks into place.

"Everything alright, Danny? Now realising who everyone else is?" Tim asks with a roll of his eyes.

"Uh... something like that..." Danny mumbles as everyone laughs again.

From further down the table, the smallest Wayne scoffs and clicks his tongue.

"I thought you said he was smart, Drake?"

"So, you all do it, too, then?" he asks, ignoring the jibe. Danny's only a little bit jealous as he thinks of how much easier they must have it, how much easier it'd be if his family had been on his side, too. "You all work together?"

"Nah," Dick says from across the table with a brilliant grin. "Tim's the only one that works with Bruce, we all have different jobs. I'm a police officer in Bludhaven."

"Disgusting." Danny blurts out without thinking—because seriously, what kind of self-respecting vigilante would also be a police officer?—before clapping a hand over his mouth. "Sorry."

The whole table laughs again, the loudest being the blonde girl a few spaces down from Dick. Look, Danny wasn't really paying attention to names when they were all paraded in front of him. Dick only gets remembered because his name is a joke.

Come on, Danny, recover!

"That's, uh, not what I meant, though."

"Oh?" Dick asks, cocking his head slightly to the side. Is it Danny's imagination or does his smile tense slightly?

"Yeah, I mean like, you know, in costume. It must make it so much easier to have everyone together like this."

"Costume? What do you mean?"

Yeah, Danny's not imagining it, everyone tenses up at that. It's really only now that he's realising that this probably isn't how he should bring up that he knows about their... night time activities. In fact, he probably shouldn't be bringing it up at all.

"Uuhhh..." Danny looks wildly around the table as he continues making his stupid noise. Think, think, think! There must be a way out of this!

"Danny?" Tim asks, looking concerned.

"Oh, Ancients, this isn't how I wanted it to go at all," he mutters, slipping even further into his chair. He's almost on the floor now and he so, so wishes it could just swallow him up.

His real first meeting with Batman was meant to be cool! He had planned to be Phantom, maybe save them from a tight spot, prove his worth as a mysterious and powerful ally as thanks for the help Batman gave him in the future.

"Danny, what are you talking about?" Tim starts tugging on his sleeve in an attempt to pull him back up from his pit of despair.

Eventually, Danny relents and sits up straighter, hiding his face in his hands and whining all the while.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't expect him to be here and it threw me off so now I look stupid and it's so embarrassing!" he wails, flailing his arms wide. "Why wouldn't you warn me that Batman was your adopted dad, Tim? Couldn't you have let me know?"

"I'm sorry, what? Danny are you alright? There's no way Bruce can be Batman, look at him!"

"Yeah," the blonde girl laughs from the bottom of the table, "look at him! That's a wet noodle of a man! Batman can actually do things, B is incapable of pretty much everything."

"Thank you, Stephanie," Bruce sighs, massaging his forehead.

It's... Those are the first words Danny's heard Batman say since everything went down and it's enough to knock him out of his embarrassment.

It's really good to hear his voice again. Especially now, when it's strong and healthy and full of personality—even if that personality is little more than a tired father right now—far better than how it had been, at the end.

Danny sits up, back straight, and grins. He's got this. He remembers it perfectly. Some people count sheep to fall asleep, Danny repeats his mantra to be certain that he'll never forget it.

"Gamma alpha upsilon tau iota mu epsilon, 42, 63, 28, 1 colon 65 dash 9."

Once again, the whole table falls into silence.

"Holy shit..." breathes the other D name (Duke? Danny's pretty sure he's Signal) from opposite Stephanie. "Isn't that...?"

"The time travelling code." The littlest Wayne says stiffly. "We have met in the future?"

"That's not just the time travelling code, Dami." Dick says, looking between Danny and Bruce. "That's the family time travelling code."

Danny's grin freezes in place.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"1 colon 65 dash 9." Dick explains, still flicking between him and Bruce. "It means you've been adopted into the family and we should all treat you as such, no questions asked."

"Tell you what, I'm about to ask a question." Danny says, dumbstruck. "You just told me it was a code to identify time travellers, not anything about being adopted! What the hell, B?"

Bruce looks about as shellshocked as Danny feels.

"We must have been close," he says finally, after opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water a few times.

"No! Not that close!" Danny reels back, taking a deep breath ready to refute it all, but... "Well, I mean, you found me when I first got stuck, and you helped me get better despite being... And then we fought together against the, uh, bad guy, before he, um, he... before you couldn't."

An uncomfortable beat passes while they all pick up on what Danny tried so hard not to say.

"So, you're not from the future, then, you travelled there and came back?" Tim asks, breaking the tension and leaning forward with a glint in his eye.

"Yeah, it was a whole end of the world thing, but don't worry about it," Danny says with a hand wave, "It's all kosher now, won't ever happen."

"What did happen?"

"Seriously, don't worry about it, we cool."

"How long in the future was it?"

"About ten years? You were pretty spry for an old man, B," Danny laughs, wishing they'd get off the topic of what happened and get back to the adoption bit.

Everyone shares degrees of a cautious smile as they relax out of the shock, and Dick—whose grin is the biggest—says, "No wonder you got the family code, you're already riffing on him like one of us. How long were you there for?"

"A week, before I managed to get back to my present and stop him then."

"A week? Jeez, B, that has to set some kind of record, seriously."

"Oh!" Danny says, sitting bolt upright and blinking in surprise before pointing at Dick and bouncing in his seat. "You're Nightwing!"

"What?"

"That's exactly what Nightwing said when Batman told me the code! Makes so much more sense now."

Dick laughs and claps his hands, delighted.

"You were not formally adopted?" The grumpy small one—Dami?—asks, his face pinched.

"I didn't even know I was informally adopted."

"And your parents? Are they alive or dead?"

"Damian, stop—"

"They were dead in the future, but they're alive now." Danny says, looking down. He fiddles with the tablecloth, twisting the fabric around his fingers as he fights down the pang of sadness that he always feels when he thinks of them now. He forces a bright smile on his face and hopes it doesn’t look too strained. "I just, uh, can't talk to them much, anymore."

"Damian," Dick warns, "1 colon 65 dash 9. Treat them as family, no questions asked."

"This is Damian treating him as family, the little turd has no manners." Tim scoffs, rolling his eyes, but he gently bumps shoulders with Danny to knock him out of his funk. Danny can't help but send him a watery smile.

"I have the most exemplary manners, Drake, unlike some people." Damian spits, crossing his arms with a pout. "I was merely ascertaining his status to see how he could possibly fit into the family."

"I know this is all a bit sudden, Danny," Bruce smiles, ignoring Damian and reaching out to lay a warm hand on his arm, "for all of us. But if I felt strongly enough to give you that code after spending a week with you in the future, then you are more than welcome in this family, if you so choose it. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we'd like to get to know you a bit more."

"I know a threat when I hear it, Bruce." Danny snorts. "But, yeah, I get it. I'm sorry this is all so weird, it really wasn't how I wanted to find you again, but... I'm glad I did."

"So are we, Danny." Dick says, with a warm smile. "And formally or not, 1 colon 65 dash 9 means you're family. Welcome to the fun house! No take backs or refunds, sorry. You're stuck with us."

[jaewritesfic]

Everlasting Trio Nobody Knows AU DP x DC Part 4

Part 3

(Tim POV! This is a long one 😅)

 Tim almost has it. He's so close to cracking this file he can fucking taste it. He's been fighting this thing for two weeks. It's the most incomprehensible and infuriating code he's ever faced off against, which is fitting considering who gave it to them.

The engineer. THEIR engineer. The engineer they didn't ask for and Tim still isn't sure how they got, and the single biggest mystery in Tim's fucking life right now.

See, a significant amount of Bat gadgets at this point are Tim's brainchildren. He imagines them, he designs them, he workshops and tests them.

A few months ago, he'd had a pouch on his utility belt full of experimental pellets meant for slowing down fleeing vehicles. They were designed to break when run over and the compound inside would expand into durable, sticky foam that would ensnare tires.

He'd tested them in the cave.

He had not been prepared to take one hit to that side and have to frantically divest himself of that pouch before he became Gotham's latest foam based cryptid. 

His family had laughed themselves silly at him even as he broke off in pursuit of the drug runners he'd been fighting.

When Tim had doubled back expecting a mess to clean up and pellets to rework? It had been gone. All of it. The foam, the pellets, the pouch of his utility belt.

A serious problem, because who knows who got their hands on that?

Then it had shown back up.

That is to say, Gordon had called them because he found a pouch with a note labeled ‘for Red Robin’ sitting on the stand of the Bat Signal and didn't dare touch it.

After making sure it wasn't a bomb or some kind of biological weapon, Tim had opened the pouch - his own belt pouch - and found pellets. New pellets. Different pellets.

The note just read, “As funny as that was to watch, I fixed them for you. No more premature sploogage on the job. :3 P.S. here's a recipe for solution to dissolve future intentional discharges.”

They'd been right, too. The new pellets were tested (in case THEY were a bomb or biological weapon) and they'd been just strong enough to safely transport but still break when under the pressure of tires. Even the foam was more effective, and the spray Tim synthesized from that stupid recipe had worked like a dream.

What. The fuck.

This person not only improved his design and came up with a dissolution agent from scratch in days, they'd been watching without him knowing and made off with the original pellets without anyone noticing.

This was either a rogue in the making or someone they wanted on their side, and either way they needed to be found.

So Tim had done the obvious.

He'd put together a lockbox of money for the product they'd been given, loaded it with no less than ten (10) bat trackers and a note thanking their mysterious benefactor and requesting to meet up. He'd exploded a foam pellet on a rooftop and left the box on it in the hopes they'd notice and find it, then hung around far enough to not be seen and close enough to beat feet as soon as the trackers started moving. 

They did not start moving. They all went offline simultaneously. 

Tim has never moved so fast in his life, and yet by the time he got to the rooftop there was a pile of foam and nothing else. Not even a trace of whoever took the lockbox.

The next day, there was a ping of one (1) tracker that led them to a note thanking him for the money, refusing to meet, and asking if they'd considered certain improvements to their grapples with schematics for said designs.

Thus started the most bizarre and infuriating chase through notes, money, helpful designs and disappearing trackers Tim has ever been a part of.

Last time, the engineer had left them a USB stick and a note claiming that since they really wanted to know about him so bad, they could have the information on the USB if they could crack the encryption on the zip file inside.

Obviously they screened heavily for viruses or backdoors, but long story short Tim has been trying to crack the fucking thing for two weeks and refuses to let Oracle help. It's personal. It's a matter of pride. 

He could swear the code itself has actively been sabotaging his attempts to hack it, which is, you know. Impossible. 

Ping!

Tim blinks, looking over at the map on another monitor of the Bat computer. 

“Motherfucker-”

He taps into Duke’s comms. This is the first time this has ever happened during the day shift, he wasn't expecting it.

“Signal! I need you on the roof of the warehouse on the corner of Fifth and Everest - a tracker just came online.”

Another thing that infuriates Tim. You can't just turn Bat trackers on and off. They're activated, and then they either stay active or they're destroyed. They can't be turned off and then reactivated.

And fucking yet.

Duke groans, but his own tracker starts making its way in that direction.

“Dude. He's gonna be long gone by the time I get there. He always is.”

“He can't run from me forever,” Tim insists. “I'm almost in this damn file, and I am going to find him and dangle him off a roof from his ankles for giving us this runaround, so help me God.”

“Uh huh,” Duke deadpans. “Sure you are. I'm almost there, and- oh look! A note. What a surprise!”

Tim hears Duke touch down on the rooftop, eyes on the code on his screen while his brother clears his throat and reads aloud.

“Ahem- ‘Good morning, sunshine!’ - guess that's me - ‘I hear some bats and birds have been murdering tires at an alarming rate with the way they drive their bikes-’”

Tim freezes. He's not listening anymore.

“Signal.”

“‘- and that just can't be good for business. Nobody wants a bald tire ruining a chase. So boy do I have the thing for you-”

“Signal!”

“What?”

“I got it.”

“Huh? Got what?”

“I cracked his file. I got it.”

Tim is staring, wide eyed and full of a mixture of elation and trepidation at the contents of the zip file. It's a single text file titled, ‘Wow! You did it!’

“Oh, shit? Well? What's in it?”

Tim swallows, mouse hovering over the file. He takes a deep breath, then double clicks.

The file opens.

Tim blinks.

“Red Robin? What's in it?”

Tim scrolls slowly down, disbelief and horror dawning across his face. “Oh my God.”

“What? Come on, man, talk to me.”

Tim scrolls further.

“Oh. My God.”

“Red? Red Robin, you're scaring me, man.”

Tim puts his face in his hands. Voice muffled, he responds.

“Duke.”

“...Red? You okay?”

“No.”

“No?”

“It's the entire Bee Movie script.”

Silence reigns for a solid five seconds before Duke breaks and descends into raucous, hysterical laughter.

Even muffled by his own hands, Tim's scream of rage scares the bats in the cave into a tizzy.

Part 5

Masterpost

[panda-panoptic]

Reworking Alfred’s entire character

I’m obsessed with this stupid son of a bitch, let’s get into it

I think too many people make him too uwu nice and forgiving as if most Americans don’t hold life long grudges over a ball game. Or that we can’t be serious at the drop of a hat when it comes down to it. Like when we say fuck around and find out we mean it, which apparently that’s a very American thing. Yes the dumb bitch stereotype is real, but there’s such a “you’re joking right?” attitude among people when it comes to certain things that I think he could go from playful to serious in a second, to the point where it might trip some people up. Especially when it comes to moral issues.

Also I hate that him being super obsessed with his image and how he’s seen by others is interpreted as sad uwu emo boy instead of clean girl maniac Patrick Bateman type of egotistical freak.

He should also be more apathetic and serious about work instead of “omg let’s build a ladder to the moon!” You have not set foot in this capitalistic hellscape if you think that’s an accurate way to characterize him lmao.

On top of that, he’s a fake ass bitch and that should be expanded on. Like he is definitely the type of person that has a million different ways of presenting himself and his personality to the point where he’s not sure who he really is.

He should be a lot more ego driven too. Like ��how is this going to reflect on ME” not “I’m doing this ONLY out of the goodness of my big heart uwu”. Not that he can’t or doesn’t care, but if it reflects well on him then he’s more likely to choose that option.

Anyway, this is just some of my thoughts, im sure I’ll add more in the future

(If you characterize him differently that’s fine this is just me rambling and being obsessed)

[blackblooms]

Irredeamable developpement retrospective Part 2: Ascending the Godlands For this one, we leave the confines of space and return to a smaller, more fantastical world, with a small tinge of cosmic horror. It all began millions of years ago, when the great progenitor came to nest upon a barren world.

The great beast is now long dead, but life flowed from its corpse, forming the world as it is now known.

So as you can see, this next concept focuses on a layered world, with multiple biomes stacked on top of each other. I was particularly fond of how one of the biomes was a giant inverted forest of roots, located under a jungle where everything from the plants to the bugs and beasts are gigantic.

We also have the melting pot, a large steampunk city built within a lake of honey where the succubus/goblins live. They have a bit of this service worker look, fitting their role as a species that feed from the joy of other living beings. Then, above it all, a frozen wasteland occupied with the slumbering corpses of ancient metal monsters. and, at the very bottom, a sea of newborn creatures, swarming around the corpses that started it all. But, then, i kept on working and reworking the world, giving it more of a distinct shape, while preserving the layer idea.

This one being built around a couple of massive trees, expanding the forest of giants into a whole realm to explore.

This one where civilization flourished within the footprint of a giant.

These two where the world is a group of islands, pierced by a massive sword with its tip plunging into the sun.

We even got this one i call the "xenoblade ripoff" where the world is built upon the body the great titan itself. You may even notice from the very top area being water-based that our good old squid friends the centaurians made their return for this one.

With each iterations, another concept has begun to add itself to this setting, a group of highly powerful giants that ruled over the current world. The titans.

These would have served as the game bosses, each representing one of the races/areas and holding dominion over it.

Through as can be seen here, the downfall of this whole era was that i could never stick to one idea for long. I would keep making and remaking the world and mythology, without really investing into any of them. But i wouldnt consider any of this a waste as it left me with tons of concepts i would be able to use and expand in the future. You may already start to recognize how some of the races and locations may have made their way into the actual made i made in some way. Still, i maintain what i said in the first part. Do feel free to use any of the idea here if they inspire you. Just make sure to actually commit to them so you actually end up with a game instead of a couple dozen maps for worlds that were never brought to life. Aniway, that s it for today, but do be sure to tune in to the next part for the next major stage where i try to shove every single idea i had into a single setting.

See you in Part 3: The fountain

[gofancyninjaworld]

The OPM Manga in 2023

By the numbers:

23 updates (most 14 days apart, shortest interval: 9 days, longest: 33 days).

662 pages (range 12 - 41 pages, mean page count: 29 pages).

Volumes published: 2 (Volumes 28 and 29). 1 bonus chapter included in Volume 28 -- Olfaction.

By the story:

Psychics and Temper Tantrums (chapters 176 - 184)

Well, the Monster Association is behind us but the fallout from it is slowly beginning to settle. Most of the heroes are now back at work and some of the consequences of a world that's increasingly scared of monster attacks are beginning to show up. The first quarter of the year was taken up with Tatsumaki's temper tantrum -- and Saitama once again daring a strong person to do their worst -- it's like he didn't learn his lesson with Garou, which disappoints me. [I love Saitama, but when brains were being handed out, he was not at the front of the queue.]

That said, even though I did not care one whit for Tatsumaki throwing Saitama around (it wasn't terrible, but really it could have been condensed into 1-2 chapters), the start of the Psychic Sisters arc was fantastic, and its ending was very interesting. I made a nuisance of myself at the start of it, pestering everyone in earshot with my excitement that Tatsumaki was taking Fubuki into her confidence to try getting Psykos out rather than trying to do everything herself.

Her complex feelings of disappointment, betrayal, and the sense that she'd made a mistake were some of the most complex and nuanced we'd seen in the story. She may be paranoid and misanthropic, but she's not crazy: there's a basis for her actions, and being knocked back just when she'd taken the risk of opening up was harsh. Unfortunately, Tatsumaki's default response is rage.. and I'm not going to waste time on recounting what happened then.

I felt pain for her here.

The end as well, expanding as it did on Tatsumaki's thoughts about how she'd accidentally woken Fubuki's psychic powers by scaring her so badly and the guilt she felt at having made her sister a target, was great. Her feelings about Blast are great, as this is the first time we get what she actually thinks of him. I still want her to learn that Blast doesn't work alone -- it'll blow her mind. The session ending with her giving the Fubuki group a chance to grow stronger and prove themselves is a fantastic development.

Even when she's giving someone a chance she still has to be scary.

Schemes (chapters 184, 187 - 191)

I really love how seamlessly the Psychic Sister arc flows into the next big theme: that of schemes and threats to the Hero Association's future. ONE has done a lot of work reworking the webcomic story so that the storyline is a coherent whole rather than two-three apparently unrelated storylines. Fubuki taking advantage of the chaotic aftermath to extract Psykos while securing immunity for her sister, and Tatsumaki brazenly using the HA's need to keep the rich clients sweet to scupper an investigation into Psykos's whereabouts was all clever. However, they're just amateurs and their antics played beautifully into McCoy's hands, who leveraged the crisis to make himself appear indispensible to the HA, thus making it very hard for him to be removed, even as he works to implicate the Hero Association in scandals (many of which he's running).

You can't call McCoy hasty: this guy has played a good long game.

The Hero Association is already having issues recruiting new heroes as they're going to Neo Heroes, which is also pinching existing heroes. However, it's not 100% going McCoy's way. Something I started praising in my review of chapter 173 is the greater self-efficacy of the characters in the manga. Sekingar and Sicchi haven't just been sitting on their hands watching McCoy sell the HA down the river. They've teamed up with Child Emperor to find out what he's really up to.

I think that this is the best cover of 2023: a collection of individuals who embody heroism, whether or not they're recognised as such or work in 'regular' ways. Well, there's one impostor…

Critically, they're not assuming that the Neo Heroes are necessarily evil: they want to understand what this outfit is actually doing. After all, heroism is heroism, no matter what guise it takes. To see that Sekingar has so earned Metal Bat's respect that the latter follows him into the heart of danger did my heart good [1].

Please, my poor heart, it'll burst if things get much more awesome.

Ninjas, Ninnies, Nintendos (193 - 199, ongoing)

That Blast has some connection to the ninjas from Sonic's Ninja Village has been clear for a long time in the webcomic. [2] However, it is only here in the manga that we're getting a full explanation of what that connection is.

Yes, yes, my partner may be a monster but he's a useful monster.

The intertwined story of Blast and his attempts to reach his former partner, Empty Void, who was also running a horrifying 'school' for grooming boys into assassins, and that of Flashy Flash and Speed o' Sound Sonic isn't done yet, but it looks to be reaching at least one turning point. It's a pity that the fan translators stopped translating the cover text because that for chapter 199 was incredibly pertinent: 'Staring at the back of a friend you used to stand shoulder to shoulder with.' Sonic has so much to process.

And like that, Sonic's world has been turned upside down.

Since Blast has an ongoing relationship with Empty Void, we get troubling questions as to how long Blast had known about the Village and whether he disapproved, or had been content to ignore it as long as he had his partner by his side and found his talents indispensible. It's going to be interesting when those two meet! Also, if Blast is hoping to reverse Empty Void's monsterization, he'd better hope that the guy isn't like most people who became monsters. Most ex-human monsters *want* to be that way and there doesn't seem to be a good way to undo it. Well, maybe if you chop them up, have Phoenixman (oops, he seems to have lost his powers) resurrect them, then shock them incredibly hard, that might work. It's unlikely that anyone present can deduce what happened to Gale Wind and Hellfire Flame, much less put all the working parts of that together.

Still, they're going to try. This *is* going to be interesting. Also, potentially heartbreaking.

Reappearances

Genos: the disciple returns to his duty

Unlike the webcomic, Genos has not been completely absent. He's been quite busy: helping Saitama recover their apartment, meeting the Hero Association to discuss important matters, and also, hanging out with Saitama as a friend rather than as a disciple. It's been fun to see that he's finally ditched his flip phone for a smart one, heheh.

Nevertheless, it's not until Dr Kuseno finishes his new upgrade that Genos sets foot in Saitama's house, formally reporting for duty, so to speak. I praise Saitama's self-discipline and good sense in not breaking eye contact and in politely ignoring his disciple's new-found exhibitionism until he had the sense to put a shirt on [3].

Less positive, it's been painful to see that Genos is frustrated at how he doesn't seem to have grasped the kind of growth he's looking for and is unsure whether Saitama truly sees him. It's not been helped by Saitama trying to reassure him, pulling his best 'Reigen' face and instead made everything worse. There are two interesting shames, which will surely be built on at some point. 1: We see Saitama seeing Genos's strength but he doesn't say anything. 2: Genos is right that the strength that comes from within is different from that granted to one by upgrades. We see in another chapter from Nichirin, that having artificial parts is no hindrance to pulling out that great inner strength. The funny thing is that Genos has shown that kind of strength before, when he was fighting Elder Centipede, but he doesn't know it.

Ah, despite everything, those fools are no better at speaking to each other than they were before! It'd be hilarious if it weren't so tragic.

Rarely have the words 'open your mouth and solve your problems' been more apposite. Sadly, that's exactly what they don't do.

Garou: the other disciple tries to learn duty

Now this really threw a lot of fans for a loop -- ONE making clear that he's aware of how young Garou actually is. It was very easy to read Garou as a guy in his early twenties, but strip away the pretensions and he's really young. His over-simple understanding of what was wrong with the world and his over-large sense of responsibility to fix it are thoughts of a teen. It's just a good thing that teenagers don't have world-shattering power, and so can be extreme and wrong without hurting anyone. But it has really jarred with a lot of fans.

I may be giving Bang the side eye as he implements his idea of reformation (apparently, it involves hitting Garou over the head often), but the sense of lightness Garou feels at having a reliable mentor, the relief he undoubtedly feels at having a way to work his crimes off -- being a social outcast may seem cool in a 'reject-the-corrupt-world' way but it gets old fast -- and being able to contribute meaningfully to the dojo's re-establishment is palpable.

His life is sure to start sucking again soon, but for now, it's a joy to see him.

Let him gambol for now. Go Garou!

King: ugh

Sorry, King just irritates me some days and this was one of them. Not because he was running around trying to find someone who could help him: that was fine. But because, unlike the webcomic, once Saitama told him to work out, he's continuing to stick around and play videogames. In a world where everyone is trying their best to make sense of their world and help themselves in some way, however imperfect, the sight of this poster child for mediocre white men overpromoted for looking the part continuing to laze about just pisses me off.

Let him start helping himself and I will praise him.

He's been told what to do but he's not doing it.

GAY!

This year, ONE said: here, my children, I have brought you a pint of homo milk. Drink. What else are we to make of Fubuki triumphantly cradling Psykos as she makes a clean getaway?

This has to be the smuggest 'got the girl' face I've ever seen.

Or Blast continuing to call Empty Void his partner, despite everything that the guy has done, including turning into a monster? He wants him back so badly, and though he says it's strictly professional interest, we think the man doth protest too much.

And then whatever's going on with these two:

Flashy Flash, you ain't got no business calling Blast soft when you're handing Sonic tissues and smiling at him.

Fandom Follies

Do we need to do this? Yup! This year, we discovered that a lot of dudebros who have been against the idea of romance in OPM have just been shippers afraid to come out and own it. The sheer number of Saitama x Tatsumaki fans has been incredible. Nothing wrong with SaiTatsu but the obnoxiousness of fans new to shipping has been hard to tolerate. Learn some manners, folks!

Asides

[1] I think this is great foreshadowing of something Forte says later in the webcomic to paraphrase, risking your life for another hero is something you do as a favour for a friend, not because someone's declared themselves the boss of you and ordered it. It's nice to see Sekingar embodying that ideal.

[2] It's hard to believe it, but to this day (chapter 149), Blast is not yet seen in the webcomic. At this rate, he'll show up at the very end to get jobbed by God (no ID), but not before giving an over-long exposition about what he's been up to. That is, if he's not already dead, only nobody knows yet.

[3] I can see SaiGenos shippers worried that my saying that it's good that Saitama isn't taking Genos up on his obvious attraction means that I might be disapproving of the ship. That is not the case. I'm going to assume that most of us here are old enough to vote, enter into contracts, and pay taxes and so can think of things with nuance and context. A fandom that needs the reassurance of canon to decide what's permissible is a weak, timid, and pallid imitation of one, and one I want no part of. For certain, we're here to discuss the story as it exists, but please, we're also here to consider and explore scenarios and make works that cannot and often should not exist in the canon because they are FUN. Even more pertinent, ONE is on record as LOVING that fans spend their time and creativity doing things with his stories. So please, don't allow any in-universe discussions on what is helpful or unhelpful in the story affect what you draw and write! PLEASE SHIP! Gimme!

[cephalonserotonin]

Koumei & The 5 Fates Update Thoughts

(I've only been playing around with this update for a few hours, so of course my opinions may change in the future)

The new mission type (Shrine Defense) is nice; despite the name, it's more like a mini Interception (though without a timer, which is greatly appreciated as I play solo so Interception is a pain in the ass for me) hybridized with Plague Star (the infested enemies, the tanky final boss, the fact that you'll have to do it enough times to get sick of it, and that Vay Hek is there). The randomized buffs from Koumei offer a nice bit of variation.

The music that plays during the mission is also lovely

When I saw we'd be picking up this mission from Saya, I was happy to see her return to the story and agency a bit, since her introduction in the Saya's Vigil quest sees her operating entirely as a plot device for the two men who are in love with her. Then I saw that, by "talking to Saya," the game actually meant talking to Konzu, and selecting the Saya option. Once again this poor woman is an extension of men. Don't love that!

The fortunetelling minigame is cute, though, and I deeply respect Warframe's commitment to expanding the world with new mechanics and little minigames when they feel like it, AAA-shooter-brain be damned.

Koumei, like Voruna before her, has her special resource (fate pearls in this case) used both to get her blueprints and as an ingredient in them, a mechanic I find annoying and confusing and which I'm displeased to see return. Voruna at least had a chance for parts to drop during her missions, which Koumei doesn't (ironic, that random drops don't come into play when trying to build the warframe themed around randomness...). edit: this isn't true per community response, thank goodness! Per the wiki, you need ~330 pearls to buy the blueprints, and then 330 102 (edit: wiki was wrong yesterday) more as components, for a total of 102-432 pearls to craft, and 14-18 drop per mission...

When I realized this I got so grouchy I left Cetus 😅

I'm not used to the new arsenal UI yet, but it'll happen

As a Caliban Enjoyer, I have mixed but mostly positive feelings on the Caliban rework (much like the Hydroid one before it, as I had hundreds of hours logged on Hydroid even before they made him SP-Viable (TM)):

I actually preferred the old Razor Gyre, wonky and ineffective as it was... hear me out. The new and improved Razor Gyre is almost exactly the same move as Reave: a fast short-range traversal that heals when interacting with enemies. Which is fine (it's a good ability!) but Reave is Revenant's Helminth ability, so I already could put Reave on Caliban if I wanted to. What I can't do, now, is heal by spinning in a silly little circle and ragdolling enemies continuously. I miss that. It was also the most Sentient-enemy-flavoured of Caliban's abilities, which was always fun for me from an RP perspective; something I loved about earlier Warframe content that it seems to be sadly moving away from is the joy of, after seeing an enemy use an ability (or weapon) to kill you, unlocking the ability yourself to use on them with a vengeance.

The 2 Feels the same, but buffed, which is nice, because it's an excellent and underrated CC ability.

The new Summon Caliban Babies utterly slaps, no notes. I love the tactical choice of 3 different baby types to use, and the Summolyst just feels immensely cool in general.

The 4 was a giant fuckoff laser, and is still a giant fuckoff laser. 😎👍

The companion changes are much too large in scope for me to have grasped them enough to form an opinion yet.

I will say, though, all these new mods are going to take a ton of endo to grind, and I would have preferred an endo gift as a sign-in instead of 5 forma (which I probably won't need to use on the new content anyway?).

And most importantly:

Mid-Shrine-Defense I heard an Ostron child yell "I believe in you, Tenno!" and 🥺🥺🥺 the synchronicity of childhood belief, dreams, fate, and the power of stories... I need to lie down

[bluepotion85]

Expanding Bootcamp - Epilogue

Summary: Our cadets are sent home with more money than they can expand, and life goes back to normal, or as normal as they can be after gaining so much weight in a military camp. Connor and Will have more time together to enjoy their newfound romance.

When the scientific team came to the base they found us all eating in the chow hall, from me and Connor to the Commander and Doctor Donovan. Truly a testament to our priorities. Nobody received them on the main gate or stopped them to verify their credentials, they just needed to waltz their way inside.

The only one that got into the chow hall to fetch us was Dr. Vincent, he told us his team was doing a thorough review of the facilities and that we all should get a proper shower and change of clothes. Once we were done, we would regroup on the infirmary for them to explain the results of the experiment.

When we got to the infirmary we stood in formation and Vincent Belmore with a surgical mask stood in front of us. We all got congratulations on the excellent data the scientist team could gather with our help. A part of me was skeptical on the matter and wanted to ask what he meant. but my belly rumbled begging for more food and the idea flew away from my head. I just wanted to get back to the chow and continue breakfast. . . lunch?. . . meals were blurring into one another.

Anyways, we got assigned into the different cubicles of the infirmary for a checkup and we all got a shot, apparently as a reinforcement of some type. We should pay more attention but none of us is really too worried about anything besides making this a fast endeavor.

When the health check up is done the doctors and scientific team didn't make a bug fuzz of a whole team gaining weight like their lives depended on it, the messy state of the base when they arrived or even the amount of food we have obviously over consumed.

They did explain to us that because of our weight we won't be accepted to continue in the military, but because the success of the experiment will help in future bootcamp and we passed with stellar colors we are getting a severance package that will cover for most of our needs moving forwards.

We got dismissed and we continued our meal at the chow hall, after that we started to gather our things to go back home the next day but as the day passed I managed to think more of what happened.

For an optimization experiment we did little optimization and lots of eating. Not like I can judge anyone now. My appetite came like a crashing wave on the coast once I stopped resisting my hunger. So much so I catched up to Connor’s weight and some extra.

Most of my fears of the future got erased after the fat check we got. Even if it makes me doubt even more their reason for the experiment, I wasn't about to debate the solution to my family's money issues.

Connor is back to his cheerful positive self and now he boasts about how he was right in trusting the military's choice at the beginning. And that our fears could have been an effect of anxiety or stress. I know he is saying that not only to ease himself from the situation but also to keep me calm.

Once we all got discharged, life went back to normal, everyone was sent home. We said our goodbyes and exchanged numbers with the rest of the team. We all wanted to meet up every now and then to see how much we have grown and bond like always.

Connor and I come from different cities, so we had to continue our relationship from afar, but we promised to move together with the money we got as soon as possible.

Like us some of the cadets wanted to stay together. Bradley and Salazar moved into Bradley’s farm, they both helped to improve the place and of course ate a lot of what they worked. Carlos and Hill bought an apartment in the city to start a new business with the money of the discharge, Hill helped Carlos rework a previous idea and it seems to flourish by the day.

The twins decided to say their goodbyes so Jones could have some privacy with Neil and Daniel could find himself with more freedom, and not too long after that he started to date a guy that appreciated his new body.

Our families were worried sick after months of no letters or messages. When we got back to them, explaining the radio silence was suddenly their second biggest concern. They were shocked to see me coming back from bootcamp 300+ pounds heavier. My dad joked saying we all spent the last few months at a buffet.

Then came the point of being discharged. I explained to them everything was ok and that the military dismissed us with a care package to cover for our needs. They seemed suspicious at first but after a few days with the money still being there and me still being well. . .me. They came around it. I also told them Connor and I are dating; they were happy for me, and they asked for all the details of how it came to be.

Of course, I skipped some of the more dramatic elements of our stay in Fort Celsus like the constant paranoia or the fact that after confessing to Connor, everyone in camp was also as big if not bigger than me.

Connor told me his family also took it well, and that his brother was so happy to know he is safe and happy. We continued to talk and visit each other but the distance was not for us so we moved together as planned and we enjoyed the perks of our newfound riches.

As the days passed, we settled into a routine. We wake up and go out on a walk, maybe go to the store or the local fruit market, come back home and cook. Then it's a matter of eating, passing time playing with one another or being fools in love, checking our investments on the stock market and continuing lazing around the house. Rinse and repeat and you have two fat guys having the best time of their lives.

The best part is that we have learned to enjoy the little pleasures in life, after Fort Celsus food tastes better, every kiss and grope feels more fulfilling, and any moment together is a rush.

Before the experiment neither of us had a specific taste for fatness, but now we find the extra heft of our bodies as a massive turn on. It's a bit weird in my eyes but Connor reassures me that discovery is a part of development as a person.

I won't complain on the matter though. Ever since we got out of base we both have been enjoying it to the fullest. Every meal starts in the kitchen and ends in bed, every rendezvous night starts in bed and ends with a visit to the kitchen. No wonder the growth of our bellies and appetites hasn't slowed down.

One example of our constant desire for more of everything was this morning. I wake up, the sunrays enter through the blinds in our room. Getting used to the light I turn and see a couple of beautiful blue eyes, deep like the sea itself looking at me with so much love and tenderness. Connor was up and looking at me.

“You know I'm always happy to see your gray eyes in the morning” - he says

I lean forward, moving the locks of hair away from his face and kiss him, then pulling back I add

“I love yours babe, if I can wake up like this for the rest of my days I will be the happiest man alive”

We get close and enjoy each other's embrace. I love the way our bodies clash for space, the heat we share and then we hear each other's bellies rumble for food.

We laugh it off and I get off the bed. We have split most chores, cooking being no exception and today is my turn to cook for the day. Connor stays on bed lazing off while I get food ready. In the kitchen I put on an apron and get started on the mountain of food we usually have for breakfast. To keep us satiated for the day we have lots of everything, so it takes me a hot minute to have everything ready.

I'm almost done when Connor gets downstairs. He looks at me while getting the last pieces of our feast ready. I imagine he will sit down and wait for me, but I should know better by now. Instead he gets behind me, I can feel his body pressing against me.

His belly and chest pushed against my back, smooching me as he put his arms around me. He started to rub my belly under the apron and to pinch the softness in my handles. We stay like that for a second, indulging in the moment. He rested his head on my shoulder and kissed my neck.

“Naked apron? you tease. You know I can't resist you like this” -he whispers in my ear

We both sleep naked and we have a similar combo every morning, it should get old by now but alas I can't get enough of his embrace.

I turn off the stove and kiss him back “You could never be able to resist all of this” -I reply shaking my hips and pressing back against him.

I can feel him getting railed up, he will be all over me on the kitchen floor if I don't do something. But we are both hungry and we have to get the food while it's hot, so I decide to have my cake and eat it too.

“Ok loverboy, lets have breakfast”- I say while moving the last few dishes to the table

I take the apron off and tease him by shaking my hips again while he is looking.

We have a reinforced table in the center of the kitchen where we generally eat. Using mostly the living room table for family and friend gatherings. We eat in the kitchen for easy access to extras while we have our meals, there seems to be always something more to add from the fridge once we sit down.

Connor sits across the table, he has the same hungry look on his face I have seen a hundred times now. The look that signals his craving to fill the void in his middle, but mostly the pure desire of tasting a good homemade meal.

My gut reminds me I’m hungry as well if not more than Connor. So we wish each other a good meal and get started on the task at hand.

We start the meal with care and delight in our eyes, I get some toast and stack them with eggs bacon and some cheese slices. The eggs are buttery and decadent with the now gooey cheese melting in the bread; and the crisp of the bacon contrasts everything making me feel like heaven.

Connor lets out a little moan as he is eating some waffles with fresh strawberries we got from the market and syrup. We cross glances and feel the joy of being able to enjoy a small moment like this in the calm first hours of the day.

We continue to eat, the flavor of the food and the cheer size of everything gets us going. Getting worked up we speed up. It's a weird thing to describe, the desire to taste and have more of everything in front of you. The pleasure of packing our guts with the food as if it’s the last morsel on earth. Only slowing down to mesmerize ourselves in the other's gluttony.

I grab the grilled jam slices and stuff them in my mouth alongside the rest of the eggs, when I’m moving to grab some of the waffles. I see Connor taking sausages and covering them in the syrup of his pate and eating them alongside toast going from one to the next as a well oiled machine.

While he goes in full speed his rolls get pressed as he leans forward to grab more food, his chest gets splash with sausage juice and syrup, his belly resting on his lap and his whole body jiggles with excitement from every movement he makes.

I can feel my heart racing and the heat getting to my lower half, he looks at me and notices my predicament and grabs some french toast and stuffing them in his mouth and moaning, never losing focus on my eyes. His cheeky smile makes me go feral with desire.

Taking some sausage as well I bring them to my face and lick them before eating them with gusto. At that point I can see his dick poking under his belly as we continue to entice each other in the obvious display of gluttony.

“This is some goooood food” -he says after swallowing a chunk of french toast.

“But I'm still so hungry babe, look at what your cooking is doing to me” -he adds while rubbing his belly.

I can’t hold on any more and stand up.

“You know what we need?” -I say while standing up and moving to the fridge.

I grab the can of whipped cream and bring it to the table.

“Some extra cream” - I say adding some on top of Connors food.

Connor pulls me closer. He looks at me and grabs my junk that's out and in the open, with a pleased look he starts to tease my head that's already saturated in pre. I start to moan, my dick throbs in his touch and he takes his hand away from me leaving a trail of precum, licking his fingers clean.

“I think You can’t resist all of this” -he says, grabbing his belly and jiggling it.

I took the french toast from his plate with my bare hands and brought it to his face, he opened his mouth and tried to ate it. I keep pulling it away making a mess of him with syrup and whipped cream as he struggles for more.

“Come on big guy, I'm going hungry here” -he says almost pleading with me.

I shove the toast on his lips and he ate them with a haze of lust in his eyes. More of the syrup and whipped cream are falling on top of him as I gently press the toast against him.

He looks so pleased I could melt right here but when he is done with the toast in my hand I get closer to his face and kiss him, I can taste the sweetness of the cream and the saltiness of the sausage while we go wild.

I break the kiss “You have some food on you big guy, do you mind if I have some?”

“Of course, I’m a snack” -he adds with a wink.

I lean on him and lick the whipped cream on his chest, his face exudes the anticipation of me going to the main attraction but I love to play slow.

I bite some crumps of toast on top of his nipple and attack it afterwards. I bite his nipple and suck them while he moans, I get my hand to tease his other nipple and he wriggles under my touch.

I continue my assault and move down, liking his belly and stopping in his navel; where I get my tongue into it and start to lick around it, tease him knowing it’s an erogenous zone for him.

He is huffing from the excitement looking down at me with needing eyes, before moving further down I get hypnotized by his size. The sheer softness of his belly, the stretch marks that crown his sides. All of his body begged me to crash against him, my face got to it and immersed in his expanding soft glory. My arms wrap around him or as far as I can reach, grabbing his sides and shaking it for all its worth. He laughs for a second and releases a belch from the motion.

“Well thanks I still have some room for more but that helped to make some extra space”

“Good I want you to keep going till you are ready to pop” - I say looking back at him with a cheeky look.

I continue my descent, biting his underbelly on the way down. Lifting his belly and letting it rest in my face and basking in his smell and taste. Finally I reached his cock, throbbing for attention and leaving a train of pre that shows he’s been ready to have action for a while.

I lick the tip of his dick and see him shudder in pleasure, Connor is always in the mood to go but I love to tease and edge him till he is so bothered he can’t think straight.

I slowly lick his dick around while he continues to demolish what’s on the table. He is going slower now not for a lack of appetite but because his brain is drowning in the pleasure of me playing under the table.

I let his dick rub around my face sloppily licking it every now and then, and whenever he tries to reach down to guide it into my mouth I snap his hand. I hear him get agitated and looking up say.

“Keep those hands busy eating babe, if you keep eating I promise to finish you off”

He immediately goes feral, eating scraps of eggs and pieces of french toast like they are going out of stock. Making every moan and grunt as audible as possible just to make sure I know he is enjoying the feast. His desperate need for release turns me on to no end, and I start to get his dick in my mouth.

My dick is hard and pre is pooling under me as I work on Connor, and while I could jerk myself now the pleasure I feel is so big while sucking his rod I know that if I touch my dick it will be over soon.

My tongue makes circles around his head and I bask in the taste. I have grown addicted to this as much as the food, the smell of his body, the salty taste of him, the small reactions with every lick and suction and his moans of delight with a mouth full of food, it's really to die for.

I feel him leaning back and I pop his dick out of my mouth covered in pre and drool. He looks at me, with a desperate look about ready to whine and beg for release.

“What's the matter, babe are you full?”

He belches and adds “Not even close, but you deserve some flavor down there you know”

He then took the syrup from the table and drizzled it on top of his dick. I thank him for his gesture and got back to work with redouble efforts. He grabs my head and moans louder than before, drool comes out in the corner of his mouth and a twisted smile takes over his face as his brain is shutting down due to overheating. He is getting close, so I stop. Flicking his hands away I look at his messy face and comment slowly.

“Keep going babe, I need my man to keep his tank full” - say slapping his gut and teasingly breathing on his dick

He leans forward pressing his fat in my face and eating with reckless abandon.

I continue to pleasure him till I hear his belly gurgle. I pop his boner out and he releases a deafening belch.

“Oh yeees, thats good” -he mumbles with a delirious joy.

With that I decide it is time to finish him off. I kiss his dick and dig in, focusing my effort on sucking as sloppily as I can. Driving him over the edge he moans one last time and cums a river.

I drink all I can and some of it escapes between the sides of my lips.

I climb back up to see the state of my boyfriend. He looks pleased, smiling like the winner of the lottery leaning on top of the table caressing his belly. His smile is the sunshine that covers my world, and I feel a pride overtake my chest. I can't get over how lucky I am to have him for me and me alone. I get close to him and I kiss him tenderly.

He opens his eyes and smiles at me with a pleased expression that says thank you as much as it says I want more.  

The table is a mess with the remaining food resting mostly on my end, we see each other and we know we cant let this go to waste. Besides Connor looks stuffed to his gills but I could do with some extra love.

He stands up and crashes at me in another passionate kiss.

“You have some cum on there” -pointing to the dribbles of cum on the corner of my lips.

He leans in and licks the residual cum and looks proud of himself.

“Tastes good but yours is way better, do you mind if I get some straight from the tap?” - he says looking down.

He moves the empty plates and utensils off the table and signals me to lay down. The cloth over the table is soft and makes me comfortable when it makes contact with my sweating back. A perk of having so much natural cushion back there.

The first time we tried to do this the table collapsed under our shared weight so we got the reinforced table for our regular encounters.

He leans on top of me and lets the weight press against me knowing it drives me crazy, he kisses me some more. When we break the kiss he goes down my body rubbing every crevice and every fold, playing with the softness on the way to my lower half.

When he is facing my dick, he stands up letting his belly press against my crotch

“Hi dude we see each other again”- he says to my dick while rubbing his belly against it

The pre runs around his belly as he continues to tease me. I feel his packed to the brim belly against me, and I can't wait for him to start so I try to hump his belly. He puts his hands on my legs and stops me.

“Hey we have to finish the food big guy, so get going” - he says while bringing a hashbrown to my face

I noticed he moved the food to be easily on my reach while laying on the table. I get to it right away and grab everything on sight, the hunger I had coming redouble mixing with my lust into a tidal wave I know too well. Sausages, strawberries and pieces of hashbrown fill my view while Connor makes me melt with his belly and fat rolls. He starts rubbing my dick on his belly button and I moan with a piece of waffle in my mouth

Connor starts to go down and I can feel his breath in my dick. I'm brimming with anticipation but I keep my focus on all the food.

“I need to hear you going big guy, It's the same deal you had with me but I think neither of us is ready to hold back for much longer. So, let's see”

He licks my dick and rubs it with his hand, keeping me at full mast while pretending to think long and hard.

“If you finish the rest of the food before I make you cum, I will invite you to dinner out today at your favorite restaurant, aaand you can do anything you want to me tonight. No buts or rebuttals, just free reign to your slow simmering. But if I make you cum first, we will have dinner on the local buffet to show everyone how is done and you will let me fuck you till sunrise”

“I don’t think you understand how a bet works. It sounds like I get a price in either case” -I say looking down to him playing with my dick all this time.

“Maybe but if you win you can edge and play with all my body for as long as you want, if I get my way it will be fast and loose for as long as I want”

I like the sound of that so I start to cram everything around me like there is no tomorrow.

“Hey no cheating” -he says while I glut myself

He gets started on my cock and I see stars, he is as voracious with me as he was with his food. Sucking for dear life. While I enjoy extending the fun, Connor loves to go as fast and strong as he can. Feeling his head bobble on my dick with so much strength I could swear he was trying to actually swallow my life force.

I feel myself getting close but my competitive side doesn't want to let him win so easily. I get hashbrowns by the pair and eat them in two to three bites, grabbing the waffles and french toast double fisting them, covering them in syrup so they go down easily. crumbs cover my chest and face, drips of grease fall on my cheeks and syrup runs down my neck as I go.

My stomach is getting full, Connor is getting me so close my feet curl and my brain gets fogged in ecstasy. And when the last piece of food hits my gut I let loose a final belch and cum in his mouth a bucket of seed.

He comes with his mouth full of my seed and drinks it in front of me making an exaggerated look of delight.

“Mmmm you taste so nice love, thanks for dessert”

We both stand up and see our mess, both bellies filled to the brim, balls empty and the table a disaster. Another good morning in my book.

Since I came after the last thing hit my gut I won, but we decided to do both ideas. At lunch we will go to my restaurant and, at dinner we can glut at the buffet. And when we come back home we can do everything under the heavens. There is no rush though, we have all the time in the world to explore our options.

After cleaning the kitchen we get to the shower and we play with our bodies while we help to clean each other. But we stop before having another session in the shower, we have to save some energy for later.

With a full stomach and both clean we set ourselves in the coach in front of the tv. He leaned against me like that night in the watchtower and we took turns rubbing each other's belly to settle the food we just ate.

“I love you Will”

“I love you too Connor”

“I hope you are ready to have more to love, cause we are not slowing down anytime soon”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way”-I reply and kiss him

I may not know what happened during our stay in Fort Celsus that caused everyone's changes. But if it leads to me having this moment with my best friend and now partner then I'm happy I got my name called in that list at bootcamp.

Hi again everyone, first of all thanks again for all the support and beautiful comments in my last posts. With this we are closing the story of Fort Celsus and Expanding Bootcamp, but the world of Connor and Will can always continue. I'm looking forward to more stories and new challenges from now on, so if any of you want to see something new from me let me know!

<< First Chapter / < Previous Chapter

[galaxyofhair]

Reworking Starfield's Setting

I wanna make it clear that I really do love this game, but I have some serious gripes with how its written. I could go on, but I wanted to focus in on the setting itself and how the Settle Systems are configured. This is a breakdown that I wrote which would re-arrange the setting a little bit to better reflect the various conflicts and tensions that make the Settle Systems and Starfield more interesting.

This is just my opinion, and it was a fun little exercise to rearrange the elements of the setting to create something that I think is more dynamic and interesting to explore. My version admittedly steals some of the focus that the base game places on exploration as a concept by itself to be pondered and explored, but my hope was that this makes it easier to get interested in the rest of the Settled Systems---to provide some substance to the exploration.

Life Bearing Planets

There are fewer life bearing planets in general, particularly within the bounds of the settled systems. Space operates on the basis of islands: Which is to say that systems with life bearing planets are extremely valuable, and become part of a chain of life bearing 'islands' that define the shape of power. Within the borders of the UC, the only life bearing planets are: Jemison, Niira, Akila, and Volii. Polvo and Gagarin have been reshaped as lifeless planets, deserts that might have water or oxygen, but not both. Outside of the settled systems, the next life bearing planet is a good three to four star systems away in any direction---places that are far enough away that the only permanent settlements are run by pirates, spacers, or varuun.

The intent here would be to emphasize the precious nature of life bearing planets, and the power and opportunity an earth-like planet would confer to those settled on it. Additionally, even the planets that do bear life on them are no cake-walk to live on. Jemison has a unbreathable atmosphere, Niira is toxic and radioactive, Akila deals with powerful predators, and Volii is entirely oceanic. While culture and technology does thrive in the major cities, there is a stronger cultural mourning for the loss of Earth, and planet that truly could not be replaced by any other planet seen so far.

The United Colonies

The base game tried very hard to depict the UC as a mostly benevolent state with a dark past, and a potentially dark future. While they mostly succeeded on the dark past bit, it definitely felt like the version of the UC we see in-game is fairly tame.

The new UC, though still a center of civilization, diplomacy, and culture, is a bit darker. Being the keepers of the Sol system and the Wolf System, the UC has a vast empire of old martian/titan-style colonies embeddded in harsh, inhospitable worlds. Jemison is the sole world in UC that technically supports life, but even it possesses a toxic, nitrogen heavy atmosphere that keeps New Atlantis encased in a dome.

The UC suffered immensely from the lack of hospitable worlds in the immediate vicinity of Earth, and as such the UC are the masters of the contained habitat: Underground and internal colonies, space stations, domed cities. Despite considerable setbacks, the UC possesses deeply advanced technology, and a thriving heavy metals industry. With little need for a standing ground army, the UC possesses a massive navy and marine corp that dominates known space, and frequently travels beyond the borders of the UC.

The people of the UC are often split between an optimism that idolizes the glory of old Earth, and a pessimism for the future as the UC struggles to expand. This gives the UC an interesting motivation: While they are still the most powerful military, and the leaders of diplomacy in the Settled Systems, their position as top dog is waning as time goes on. Their need to expand to life bearing worlds is a big part of what caused the Narion War, and its theorized that it also influenced their reaction to the breaking of the Narion Treaty and the start of the Colony War. As members of the UC become more and more aware that the UC is doomed to collapse, it opens the door for future wars of expansion.

This gives a bit more credence to the Freestar Collective, whose constant criticisms of the UC's warmongering and expansionist mindset ring far more true now than they do in the base game.

The Freestar Collective

In this version, the Freestar Collective is far larger than the UC, but far less powerful. The FC has had the distinct advantage of owning 3 of the 4 nearby life bearing worlds---and there are more distant worlds with band new colonies on them at the edge of known space. This gives the FC a sense of freshness and optimism for the future that the UC lacks.

While the FC increased the size of their navy during the Colony War, their focus has always been on creating large local ground forces to police the vast terrestrial planets they control; Contrabands checks occur on the ground rather than space, and the FC has basically outsourced the war against the Crimson Fleet to the UC entirely. The FC's focus on ground-based activities is also reflected in their struggles with the planets they live on: on Akila the FC military are responsible for defending Akila City from the large and numerous predators that terrorize the countryside. On Niira, the remnants of the colony there still fight to survive amid the terrifying xenoweaons unleashed there during the war, as well as dealing with a toxified and irradiated atmosphere. On Volii, Neon struggles to survive on an ocean world, and the people there are actually resurrecting the naval traditions of Earth.

The FC also struggles with itself from a foundational perspective: Much like the base game, the FC is a union of independent colonies that emphasizes states rights to self-govern. While the rhetoric surrounding the FC's loose alliance of free states is centered around personal freedom and liberty from injustice (always implied to be the UC), the states themselves struggle with extreme corruption and a complete lack of accountability. Polvo employs some deeply unsafe practices and fosters a culture of shaming those who don't want to work. Akila struggles to control the many gangs and crime families who dominate the wilderness and steal land from enterprising settlers---and Neon is the same hyper-corrupt near-slave-state corporatocracy that its always been. Each of the most powerful governors is conspiring to kill the others, and Benjamin Bayu stands out among them as someone who would transform the FC to fit his vision of ruling the Settled Systems as a king.

Despite these disadvantages, the FC is still considered to be the future of the Settled Systems. It's expected that with the myriad of resources that each of their worlds offers, the FC will eventually have the infrastructure and military might to surpass the UC entirely, leaving it to slowly decay and dissolve. The question of what humanity's future will look like, from a cultural and governmental perspective, is a point of tension for both supporters and detractors of the FC.

Constellation

Rather than being locked entirely to a mansion in the nicest part of town, Constellation is a far more cryptic group that has fallen in and out of favor with the various governments of the Settled Systems over time. The Lodge now sits a little outside of Atlantis City, emphasizing that the groups' irrelevance to modern problems has placed them literally on the outskirts of society---though Walter's money has allowed them to build their own landing pad for space ships, and a tram that leads back to the city.

Within the group, there is a keen division between two factions of explorers who approach the practice two very different ways. The group who actually lives at the Lodge in Atlantis City are the Academics, who are focused on Constellation as an organization, and on staying academically relevant. These are the folks who ask the big questions, publish the papers based on Constellation's discoveries, and who help keep the organization alive. Sarah Morgan is still the leader of Constellation, and also acts as the head of the Academics' Faction.

On the other end of the spectrum are the Pathfinders, led largely by Sam Coe. The Pathfinders have a secondary Lodge on one of the minor colonies at the very edge the far side of FC space. These are the explorers who focus on the exploring by itself, as an act that has to be acted upon for it to have any validity in their eyes. They value most the freedom to explore, as well as their own personal autonomy.

The factions are not official designations, nor are they truly at odds with one another: But they do represent the competing philosophies within Constellation, making its dysfunctional family dynamic all the more dysfunctional. Sarah, being former military, understands best the need to have organization, funding, and purpose---but she also resents being stuck inside all of the time, and absolutely gets why the Pathfinders go off on their own for long periods of time. Sam is a free spirit who values his personal autonomy, a value that is reflected in his rivalry with his father and how he raises Cora---but Sam is conscious of the need for legitimacy, and encourages the other Pathfinders to make peace with the Academics, and even to occasionally go home to the Lodge.

The dynamic between the Academics and the Pathfinders is also reflected in many of the other members of Constellation: Barrett embodies the very spirit of exploration, and is always pushing you as the player to get out into the unknown---but over time it becomes clear that Barrett is exploring for the wrong reasons and is ultimately doing it so that he can run from himself. Andreja is a complete wild card, who fits the Pathfinders best if only because it lets her maintain her secrecy. She's both struggling to complete her mission because whenever she appears at the lodge it's suspicious, and she struggles to remain loyal because exploring the stars has given her a chance to explore herself.

One of the struggles that Constellation experiences is the UC itself, who consider Constellation a para-military group given all of the guns they keep for 'purely explorational' purposes. Additionally, the UC takes great exception to the group keeping alien artifacts on Jemison, a point is underscored after the Hunter attacks New Atlantis. Despite this, Sarah struggles with keeping the artifacts off-world, worried that the presence and quest for the artifacts would empower Sam and the other Pathfinders to break from Constellation entirely and enter the Unity---but conversely, Same worries that keeping the artifacts on Jemison would, aside from the public safety issue, cause Constellation to cease exploring altogether as they delve into studying the artifacts in greater detail. This conflict also indirectly reflects the conflict between the Hunter and the Emissary.

The Earth-like Planet

Somewhere deep within the Settled Systems is a truly Earth-like planet: Abundant O2 and water, manageable predators, no toxic spores, or super viruses, or super high radiation. This planet's location is currently a secret, as the explorers who discovered it are unsure of what to do with the information. Between one another, they worry that whichever faction got ahold of the information would immediately colonize the planet and begin exploiting it for resources, setting on a path to becoming like the Earth itself. Additionally, they worry that the race to colonize a truly Earth-like planet would kick off another war, one that could devastate all of the major factions for the second time in recent history. Whether or not Constellation decides to keep or expose the secret, and who they expose it to, remains to be seen.

[panlight]

What are your PREDICTIONS for the future Twilight show? What are your HOPES for the show? What are your FEARS?

I mean my best guess it's going to be some cheesy CW thing that it loosely based on the books but starts to spiral into its own thing by like, season 2. I expect there will be inclusive casting and that Certain People will absolutely hate that, but honestly some parts of the fandom will hate the casting no matter what. Plenty of people will demand the Original Cast to return even though they aren't supernatural immortals and have all aged past their characters. There will be a few cameos from the original cast though, not Rob or Kristen or Michael Sheen or Dakota Fanning but some of the other actors. I can so clearly see Kellan showing up as some vampire rando or something.

I HOPE the Indigenous characters are handled more sensitively. If you're faithful to the books there's a lot that you can't really fix, but you can handle it better. You can cast an Indigenous actor for Jacob, at least. You can get some Indigenous writers in the writers room. You can stop calling the shifters monsters when they canonically AREN'T WEREWOLVES. Also, give the Quileutes some money. Have a PSA at the end of an episode about the Move to Higher Ground project. And with a TV show you have more room to explore backstories and side characters so I hope they will be fleshed out to be full characters rather than accessories to Bella's journey. I hope imprinting is chucked out or at least reworked. I hope the Sam/Emily story is revised. Indigenous characters in popular TV show could be SO COOL if handled well, and great representation, but you've got to be willing to change a bunch of what SM wrote to do it.

I hope all the side characters are given more room to breathe and B and C plots in episodes. I want to see Carlisle at work. I want to see Esme trying to make friends with other parents. I want to see Alice at school. I want to see Embry and his mom. Quil with his grandpa. Angela with her little brothers. I hope we get a lot of flashbacks to the vampires' long histories. I hope they work in some LGBTQ+ representation, either by tweaking the core cast of characters or by expanding the scope to include new characters.

I fear it's going to be a money grab that doesn't acknowledge the issues of the original story and doesn't try to do better at all. That it's going to be Pretty White Kids with Problems with just some vaguely tan white kids with dark hair playing the Indigenous characters. Just double down on all the problematic stuff SM wrote and not make any effort to be more inclusive and sensitive.

[idolsgf]

wip wednesday whenever

I was tagged by @greypetrel, thanks so much dear. please ignore that it's now Thursday <33

I'm going to share note one, but two - two! - writing things I'm working on. The first will be a short extension from the story I had shared a bit of last week. Wouldn't be a Mo story if I didn't make it epistolary! The second: I participated in this tag game awhile ago, and I had expanded on it but never shared anything else after that. Since I'm having Bohean feelings lately, it's only fitting to share something with him in it c:

I don't know who wants to be tagged these days, so if you want to share take this as me tagging you, or drop a 🥕 and I'll tag you in the future :3

Everything, as always, will be under cut.

One.

This letter will probably be completely gutted and rewritten at some point in the future but still wanted to share. Just a simple correspondence between Mori'na and Leliana. They're relationship is a bit rocky, which I was trying to get across. But, again, this will probably be reworked because I'm not too happy with it.

Leliana,

I am sending this ahead of Harding's report ─ I must ask a favor of you, something I know you are all to gracious to give. I must ask for you discretion, as I'm sure you're capable.

I will not be returning to Skyhold with the rest of the party and will be staying behind for a few more days. I know there are urgent matters to attend to in the Arbor Wilds, I have received the missives. However, there are some...other matters I must turn my attention to for the time being. It won't be long.

I need you to send two birch saplings to camp in the Frostback Basin. I'm sure with your crows' eyes and infinite knowledge you will learn what they are for. Please, don't press it this time. I do not need another endless interrogation. I don't want pitiful and questioning stares upon my return. Just ─ do as I ask. Please.

-- Mori'na

A hastily written note is written in the bottom corner, a late addition evidenced by the different slightly different shade of black ink only the most discerning of eyes would notice.

( Solas will be accompanying me, do not let the rumors and hallway whispers get out of hand this time. )

Two.

After the events of Trespasser, Mori'na finally returning home to the clan. An idea that's been spinning in my head for awhile, although I go back and forth between her actually being exiled from the clan or leaving of her own volition. This would fit in the former. Mori'na and Bohean's dynamic has been stretched thin and fraught with tension for awhile now. Something had to make it break.

"Can you stop speaking as First and speak as my brother for one minute?"

Frustration tinged Mori'na's now raised voice. Ever since her brother had been granted his position, a change had set in. Bohean had always been the more serious of the two, but they had their own coded banter that only siblings could share. Now? Now it was as if speaking to a stranger ─ a connection severed to satiate her brother's ever growing sense of responsibility.

“It is my duty as the First to protect this clan from the hunting wolf,” he spat at equal level as his eyes darkened as he finally looked towards her, his brow furrowed. “How could I possibly see you as my sister when you’ve gone and lain with it?”

A resounding crack pierced the air, a red mark now forming on the taller elf's cheek. Mori'na's hand ─ also tinged red ─ the culprit. Tears pricked the edges of her eyes, the threat to spill all too familiar. Bohean's hand shot up, cradling the welt that was quickly forming. There was no shock in his eyes, the motion was out of instinct. He knew the damage those words would inflict, the venom he had laced them with. He didn't care, he was ready to face the consequences.

"Bohean, please" ─ her voice now pleading, barely a whisper, wishing only to speak to her brother again. It has been years since she's been able to see her kin ─ her mother's smiling face, the crease in Bohean's forehead that had grown more apparent in the years. So many years apart and she's already being pushed out.

She lowered her hand, choosing to rest it over her chest as she could no longer meet this stranger's eyes.

"Keeper has allowed you to convene with mother and will call for counsel, but afterwards you are to leave." Bohean grabbed his staff; one hand knuckled white as it wrapped around the birch wood, the other clenched at his side.

A pause at the aravel's entrance.

"Don't return," he said, stoic as he had grown to be. He left without looking back.

The strength she had summoned to face her brother soon dissipated ─ her knees buckled from under her and a wretched sob was finally allowed escaped.

Mori'na was now alone, left only to her haunted thoughts.

[seancamerons]

2, 5, 8 (Backtrack), 10, 15, 18, 23 & 33

I wanted to start out and say thanks for sending these questions. Answers are under a cut.

Which of your fics is your pride and joy?

I guess Backtrack is the oldest one, and I’m extremely proud of myself for sticking with it. I still fully intend to update it, but I’ve put a lot of time into it (and other stories). 

It’s funny I should even mention my Emma/Jay story Together Forever got me through the early days of the pandemic. It would be a close second, and lately, I’ve been writing a lot for Where Are You Now?  older idea for a story that I reworked starting last year. 

I feel so much for Backtrack because it was also my most challenging and the one that got me back into fanfiction after a few years. Around the same time, I was writing a discontinued story, The Starlet and the Dealer, about Zig and Maya circa season 13 but it’s soapy and I have no desire to revisit it. I’d probably end up throwing Zig and Maya who had a complicated dynamic throughout this story endgame, but it’d be a disservice to the story and it doesn’t matter because of the direction the show went into it was unfair to Zoe’s character even though it’s a fic. Does that make sense?

What’s something you learned while researching a fic?

I do some research, but I do apply a lot of random things from movie quotes, pop culture references, and things I find interesting into stories. 

I guess I researched alcoholism for one of my earlier works I Have Nothing. I remember when I was in school I read a young adult short story in English class back in hs about being a ‘closet drunk’ and I kind of wrote it and threw some things together and some of the things I read about. 

The story is set in season 3 when Emma had quite a bit on her plate from Snake’s cancer to a fallout with her best friend and more importantly, when she loses Sean. Isolated she forges a new friendship with Amy who leads a complicated and tumultuous home life. Sean becomes increasingly worried about her and more and more drawn to her as the story starts. It’s something the show at the time I was writing it didn’t explore until Fiona. 

I also did some research on fake dating for Faking It. I gave it rom-com vibes, it’s one of the more lighthearted things I’ve written with less traumatic events I suppose. 

What is your favorite line/section from [Backtrack]?

I like how Sean and Emma re-meet all over again, so they catch up with one another over coffee and Sean declares why he’s returned and it’s a bit predictable, and then they decide to take a walk in the park and eventually they end up at Emma’s, so I like writing beginnings and it turned into a longfic which it wasn’t meant to be that long. 

Is there a character or ship you’d love to write for, but haven’t yet?

I haven’t written anything about other shows but Degrassi. I’d like to perhaps play in other universes in the future, such as Stranger Things. 

First person to come to mind is Spinner he’s never really a centralized character. He’s either the waiter and tied to The Dot, or I’m breaking him and Emma up. I’ve never written anything centric to him. I guess I tried to expand him more in Backtrack but he’s definitely not a main character. 

As for girlies, Liberty is rarely in my stories, if she is she isn’t centralized she is tied to Manny, and where it works for me/the story, sometimes she’s more friendly, or her loyalties are tied to Manny than to Emma a character I write most about. 

I had Liberty make little cameos in a few stories, like reunion one-shots. I do have ideas for something like that where she is reunited with the child she put up for adoption with JT and grappling with that stuff. I don’t know if I could work with it or whatever, maybe someday. 

Does anyone you know in real life know you write fanfiction?

My boyfriend knows I sometimes talk about them with him. He seems to be supportive. 

How many WIPs do you have and how many do you expect to finish?

I suck. Here is a list. I do expect to finish most of them? I kind of fell out of love with I Have Nothing and Summer Days so I don't know, I kinda need motivation for them.

Backtrack 

Faking It 

Together Forever 

Where are You Now?

Summer Days 

I Have Nothing 

What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet?

Something about Miles and Lola, Zig and Maya, or some later characters. Maybe something special like where I peep where they are a few years after Lola graduates and where she is and how Zaya’s doing in California. I don’t know. I got some plot bunnies. 

A character you want to protect.

I destroy them so I can fix them. No one is safe. Just kidding, I don’t know how to answer that. 

Thanks for sending me these questions!

[starmonsterrr]

Introducing: Undertale self-insert #102480124 • (Update 2.2 - Star Form redesign!)

HELLO PEOPLE

I may have disappeared for a maybe long while

And that is because of 2 reasons:

Ink appreciation server

running @ink-selfship-shenanigans (surprise surprise it's me)

Except there is a 3rd one and that is,,,,,,, I MAY have been working on a little Undertale AU,,,,, and then made an OC out of it,,,,

The AU will get it's own post and i'll reveal as much info as needed at the moment to explain who even is this new character that will be one of my faces on this blog (because i'm gonna have 2 OCs representing me. yeah- second one's design is still W.I.P (nevermind this is future me i finished the design but i might make a separate post for it))

And HERE IT COMES

(NOTE: RELY ON DOPPELGANGER FORM REF'S SOUL REF INSTEAD OF THE STAR FORM'S. ALSO THE STAR FORM DESIGN REWORK IS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS)

A FURRY. What's cringier (affectionate /gen) than an Undertale self-insert in mid 2023? A FURRY Undertale self-insert that can shapeshift (WOW OP WHAT A MARY SUE) and exists for SELFSHIPPING

YEAH

THAT'S IT

TH- THAT'S THE CREATURE

And speaking of selfshipping if you scroll in my blog for a bit you might notice that i very much like Ink

and also reminder that I run a blog that has the purpose of feeding Ink simps

So uh I think you get what i'm trying to say

It might take me a little while (or until i get asks about it) for me to open up about the selfship shenanigans, but meanwhile, here are some bits of explanations and stuff!

which AU is this menace from?

OuterRenaissance. It's still being fleshed out (asks would help a lot), and I plan to later on make an outcode expanded version, and even have some basic stuff for that version. But in simple words it's Outertale but in addition of the space themes, i added themes of the Renaissance historical period, as it brought great advances to science; including astronomy!

what the flop is a star-born monster????

I have a post explaining exactly this!

(also, Io can shapeshift out of this appearance because shapeshifting powers)

Backstory???

Its AU died (destroyed by Error), and it almost did too, but i possessed it and fused my soul over time with its own using my creator powers and it is now technically a walking corpse puppeteered by me so I can interact with the UTMV, while also forcing it to change its form into the Doppelganger form; giving it the ability to, well, shapeshift. Also ink snas selfship shenanigans i haven't properly written yet (yooo two walking corpses that love eachother!!!!!1!!!1). that's the fewest words i can put it in

IS THAT A 'THE STARRY NIGHT' REFERENCE???

Yes. Yes it is. and fun fact: the ship between Io and Ink is named exactly that. The Starry Night. how clever of me, i should get a prize

Does it have a personality?

Yup. I just don't know how to describe personalities, but here's an attempt at that.

Io is a passionate artist, but struggles with some degree of perfectionism driven by the pride of its art skills which are, by far, its best ability. It also tends to be (sometimes dangerously) kind-hearted at others. It might act one of two ways in social spaces: kind of awkward, not talking much, OR ABSOLUTE MENACE as in SUPER SILLY. No in-between.

Also, it is a quick learner, and could be considered quite intelligent. Thing is ... It carried over speech from the Renaissance time period and is still adapting to modern words. A bit of an overthinker too, which can lead to communication issues, and tends to plan elaborate strategies to perform the simplest of things...sometimes not even following them.

Pronouns/gender identity?

Io, like me, goes by it/its pronouns and identifies as non-binary! (Subject to change as I occasionally explore my gender identity)

And here's some trivia to finish this off!

Io, due to being puppeteered by me; a Creator, also has the powers of one, but either doesn't use the powers at all or uses them in subtle ways to try and steer things to its/my favour. It may sometimes disguise it as "art magic" shown in these doodles i made a bit ago:

also. autism. i'm autistic and because i take control of this critter i'm dragging it into the spectrum.

And I think that's everything that comes to mind right now! Thank you for listening to this bunch of rambling that i did not beta read prior to posting.

[sweetshelluvaau]

For worldbuilding: how does hell punish sinners in this au? Same/similar to canon? More in line with traditional takes? Something particular in mind?

Hey there!

I happen to have written out notes on regard to sinners and punishment when I decided to also write a Hazbin rewrite (plus they both sorta, kind of, maybe share the same universe idk if that has changed or not) and I'm glad to finally share a bit of them. I'm kinda doing a mismash of what's given in canon and playing with that while also kinda doing a little bit of my own thing.

For starters: Sinners are in all rings suppose to just Pride. I never understood why this was the case and I don't see that being explained anytime in the future. Overpopulation is still a thing however but this has a lot to do with how Heaven has a black and white morality on things not thinking about the fact humans are complex beings suppose to them being all stuck in Pride, though Pride does have the worst of it. Yes, there's tons of horrible people sent to Hell that truly belong down there, but there also plenty that while not prefect, did likely try their best to be the best person they could have when alive but life throws curve balls at you or we make mistakes that aren't always sound.

As in regard to punishment: It depends on each ring. Some of the Sins 'punish' those dropped in their ring, some only punish the worst of the worst (or how they view the worst of the worst), some think them being sent down here is more than enough considering how Sinners are viewed and treated by Hellborns (surprise, Sinners are seen as 'second class' in my AU and are lower than Imps and Hellhounds as they should be being they were sent down to Hell to suffer! (or not)) so Mammon choosing to let an Elon Musk type of guy walk around freely to get mugged by some Imp Mobster (why is their organized crime in hell, let alone the mafia ran by hellborns, who knows I'm still working on fixing that or reworking into something that makes sense) is punishment enough and free entertainment for him. I plan on talking about each ring along with the Sins themselves in detail at a much later date (I did talk a little bit about Ozzie here in his redesign post but I'm still fleshing things out otherwise)

The only Ring that doesn't punish sinners is Pride itself because Lucifer has no interest playing jailer being he was sent down here as his punishment to begin with for defying God. Him basically refusing to keep order (unless he has to intervein for whatever reason it may be) or torture souls is him continuing to defy him. The Pride ring is referred to 'The Wild West of Hell' due to how lax the rules for Sinners are there and those from other rings will 'smuggle' themselves up there, and these lax laws are also why Overlords are so powerful that they are tho they don't have magic powers or shit with maybe the exception of Alastor if I can think of a good reason for him to have them.

I do have more notes and such but this getting long as it is. If you'd like me to expand or go deeper into anything specific, feel free to send in more ask in. Heck send in ask about anything about my AU anyone wants. I'd love to talk about it more <3

[miqoquest]

Season Two Ahki: The Adventurer

(Uh, this was done by my friend Raiko who has way more filters than I do. Bless.)

I've been reworking my character for a bit because she felt a little lost and I was brand new to the lore and the game so there was some inconsistencies with her backstory and themes. So this post is solely for me to map out a course of where I want Ahki to go. Honestly, I really highly suggest roleplayers do this with their characters to help tighten their focus. Sometimes venue and social RP, while fun, can make your character feel a bit "lost" so it's always good to keep little stepping stones planned ahead for your character so that they always have goals and motivations and feel real and sound interesting and... You get it. This is not a complete fleshed out backstory of who Ahki is, just a roadmap.

Quick Changes and Retcons

I didn't have a tight idea on Ahki's family and witch coven. I originally thought I'd trace them back to the Mhachi as a descendant splinter group. The Halloween Events hint at these groups existing. But, it just ended up being really convoluted so instead of the Mhachi, I switched the coven to be part of the Lambs of Dalamud which better compliments the Black Shroud and Keeper of the Moon lore.

By roleplaying, Ahki managed to find a mentor to teach her Shugendo which is why she has the robes and all. It turned her into a weeb, which was funny, but I'm scaling that back to fit her more original concept as a Cottagecore, Cute Shroud Witch. The mentorship isn't going away, the roleplay isn't going away, what she learned isn't going away. Ahki will just begin to apply and mesh those philosophies with her witchy skills she grew up with.

I want a proper witch look for Ahki. I don't quite have the glam for that yet. I also don't think she's earned it yet. She's going to ditch the Shugenja robes and opt in for a more casual, humbled and down-to-earth adventurer look for now.

Were Season One Ahki's goals completed?

Escape the Shroud from her Evil Family. Yes.

Get stronger to one day come back to her home and save her family from the evil voidsent pacts that curse them. In Progress.

Find friends and family and find a stable, healthy foundation to learn and grow??? Yes.

This was one of the reasons why playing her was starting to feel a bit lost on me. Her goals were vague because it was a starting point, I was brand new to the game, I didn't know the lore, I didn't know anybody. So I kept it very simple. Now that I have found more structure and have made those friends and RP connections, its time that Ahki have a mind of her own and have her own goals. She doesn't need to lean on people for help anymore. While she still preparing to save her family, she has that foundation to support herself now.

She...

...Is learning Shugendo and other Eastern disciplines to get a better understanding of magic and the world around her. She's not completely devoted to Shugendo, but her faith has been expanded and she has a more powerful connection to the spirits around her.

...Moved to the Mist in Limsa Lominsa to work for the Dalmascan Adventurer's Guild, Babylon. She lives there, has been gaining experience through guild leves, makes potions for adventurers, and has picked up a handful of handy skills.

Season Two Goals

Ahki needs to do more witchcraft and magic. I've been dropping the ball on this one. She just needs to be more witchy and druidy.

Ahki wants to learn more offensive techniques and learn how to fight to not only save her family in the future but to help her adventuring friends and defend the helpless! "I'm a healer, but..."

I want her to be helping out as an Adventurer a lot more. Before she was a little apathetic to wanting to go on adventures (she just wanted to save her family) but now she's grown used to it and has found that she has a bigger purpose in life.

Ahki should start a small business in potions?! A little side-hustle? This could make her a quest-giver and she can tell people to collect ingredients for her in the most hostile of territories.

I want her to defeat her evil family soon. There is a big "What Now?" moment once that goal is finished that should propel her into a more interesting character and that will bring us Season Three Ahki! (...Maybe Witch Ahki?)

Ahki in "season two" is still learning and honing her skills, but she's becoming more a capable and competent adventurer. I started roleplaying Ahki back in mid-February so that makes Ahki only 6 months old! Not bad. Maybe I'll check in 6 months from now and do this again and see where she's at.

[sarasa-cat]

Still feeling behind on EVERYTHING.

(Slightly grumbly that partner let me sleep for an hour after my alarm went off. Dude. No. Alarm went off for a reason. Ggghhhhhhhhh.)

Some interesting writing experiments behind the cut

Everything today has taken longer than planned BUT, for a change of pace while writing -- and actually make it to my breakfast or brunch (depending on the time) writing session -- I started one of those solo journaling RPGs. The way I have it set up, it will take me 13 sessions to complete. Today was session 1 which was actually a double session as I wrote and collaged two pages for two prompt sets. Or, actually, it was a triple session if counting the fact that I needed to read through the whole zine from beginning to end, think on it for a moment to decide how I would set up my "house rules" for this run, set up the template for a page layout in a digital file that includes space for text and images I will generate each day, and then select the randomizer tools I wanted to use -- the shadowscape tarot, no dice -- and get the cards sorted out and ready for use in this solo TTRPG.

I am using the "Yourself" solo journaling tarot-based TTRPG (which just went on 50% off sale and is cheaper than most cups of coffee!) -- https://k-ramstack.itch.io/yourself

The first session produced 1215 words as it was a little longer given how I have set up my house rules.

These words were fast and easy to write. Not exactly memoir fiction. Not exactly urban fantasy. Somewhere in between.

There is a solidness and a sense of ease to this that I like.

I suspect that when I am done after the 13 days of this, I will end up with 8000 to 9000 words. With the exception of the first day and last day, all of the days in the middle involve a single prompt generated from two tarot cards (and the TTRPG rules) and I've digitally created space in my template for approximately 580-600 words per day.

While this will give me enough words to expand a little bit into a novella, I suspect the 8 to 9k words I will produce in two weeks won't have the glue to totally stand alone but they will likely become something I can rework and reuse once I figure out which direction I want to take it. (Potential direction as of today: standalone urban fantasy story? Illustrated art-n-story book? Character development to fold into my sff universe? Bits and piece of text to scavenge and reuse in a variety of things?)

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Given that today was an eeexxxxxttttrrraaaa long session getting all of this set up and ready to go, plus a double writing session so I could make sure my digital template is working for me, all of the time I spent today kicking this off won't be reflective of my daily effort for the next 12 days. I suspect it will take me 30-45 minutes daily to put together a page of ~580 fresh new words plus images (clipped from various sources for personal use, yes, some are copyrighted by other ppl, which includes images of the tarot cards thus I cannot show the pages even if I felt compelled to).

And that will leave me time to get back to existing WIPs, to start other new writing experiments, or both.

...

Currently sticking this post here for sake of sticking it somewhere.

That said, I will soon start up an actual writing blog rather quietly tbh. If following my pro-self's writing blog is something of interest, let me know.

No clue when I will take the time to start up my public writing blog because I currently feel so behind on everything but-- just putting that out there as a future thing for sometime this summer.

[catcas22]

Hi! I was wondering..

All of your fics (that I've read) feel extremely well planned out and every sentence feels important. Like, yes you write quickly, but also the quality of said writing and storytelling is fantastic as well.

I guess my question is, have you been writing for long? And have you maybe studied the more technical aspects of writing somewhere?

Hi Mara!

I'm twenty-six now, and I've been writing in some capacity since I was twelve, although it's worth noting that I'm coming off of a dry spell of around five years.

I haven't had anything you would really call formal training. I talked my parents into letting me do a writing workshop in lieu of camp one summer, but that's about it (I will say that the coach gave me an excellent foundation in basic grammar and sentence structure).

I feel like a few thinks have contributed to my current writing style:

How-to-write books. I wouldn't follow any of them legalistically, but they can get you started in the right direction and give you a structure to start with (even if you rework the structure to suit your own needs later). I would specifically recommend The Marshal Plan for Writing a Novel (for its action-reaction plot structure) and Plot vs Character (for character development questions and tying the characters' internal arcs into the main plot). For that matter, I'd also recommend taking the advice from Plot vs Character and getting your hands on a copy of Please Understand Me for your character development needs.

Read lots of fiction at the reading level you hope to write at. I've found this to be a great help with the unquantifiable stuff -- like varying sentence structure, flow, an expanded vocabulary, the overall ability to take the scene in your head and translate it into your "author voice," etc.

I listen to a lot of video essayists who analyze and critique fiction -- specifically, the ones who point out what works and why, as well as what doesn't work and how it could have been done better. (Rage critics, while entertaining, usually just tell you what not to do. I find these less helpful.) A few I've found most helpful: Overly Sarcastic Productions, Hello Future Me, The Little Platoon, The Vile Eye, Macabre Storytelling, and Wendigoon.

Hope at least some of that is helpful. Thanks for the ask!