#described without detail ig

[toytulini]

Loach using plant roots as a hammock

[foreststarflaime]

Yes hello I just wanted to say as a massive sword nerd ily square for making Genesis actually use Rapier like a rapier—you do tend to do a lot of stabbing with rapiers because they’re so long (although you can cut with them too, but he doesn’t really have great rapier cutting form with Rapier so can’t win em all ig, video game limitations) and they actually draw attention to it in this little cutscene. Rapier is also quite a notably long and thin(er) weapon, like an actual rapier. Awesome little details that made me very happy!

Also, I think it’s perfect that they chose a specifically one-handed weapon for him, since as the resident swordmage it leaves his other hand always free to cast spells when needed without dropping his sword’s defense. And I don’t know how to describe it really but he really has a rapier person personality (fondly, ily my more rapier focused friends lmao)

[libingan]

— an unhealthy obsession.

warnings: stalking, dark themes, idk how to put warnings but both simon and the reader are obsessed with each other

a/n: part two, maybe??? idk, if you guys want something sexier just lmk ig

simon has been obsessing over you for months on end. ever since he saw you bartending at the local bar he and his buddies hung out at, he knew he just had to have you. your laugh, your smile, the way you effortlessly moved through the crowd—it all drew him in like a moth to a flame.

he followed you home that very same night to find out where you live. he watched you unlock the door to your apartment complex, making a mental note of the building. the next day, he began the process to secure a place in your building. he contacted the leasing office, inquiring about availability, and swiftly filled out the necessary paperwork: a rental application, proof of income, a background check consent form, and references. he signed the lease agreement with a sense of grim satisfaction, ensuring he was just a few doors down from you.

which is why simon is currently perched on a tree outside your window, giving him a clear view of your bedroom. he observed you intently, watching your favorite sitcom along with you. with a packed dinner and some coffee beside him, he sat silently, his eyes never leaving you as you laughed at the show. he memorized your expressions, your routines, the way you curled up on the couch.

he waited until you fell asleep, then sneaked into your room through your window, moving with the stealth of a shadow. he collected small belongings—items you might not notice missing right away. a pen from your desk, a single pair of underwear hidden at the back of your messy drawer. he snapped a few photos of you as well, capturing your peaceful, unaware state. these mementos were little pieces he could add to his growing shrine, a secret collection that fueled his obsession.

as he slipped back into the night, simon felt a twisted sense of satisfaction. he was getting closer, his presence in your life growing stronger with each passing day. it was only a matter of time before you would realize you were meant to be his.

unbeknownst to simon, his feelings aren’t as unrequited as he thinks.

you had been thanking your lucky stars the moment you saw simon enter the apartment a few doors down. it was hard to get any information about simon without directly asking him. so when you saw a familiar face and a familiar mohawk at the bar you worked at, you immediately recognized this guy as simon's friend.

as a bartender, you knew how to read people and manipulate the situation. you casually served him drinks, adding a little extra alcohol to his glass each time. it was a subtle touch, just enough to make him more talkative and less aware of his surroundings.

by the time he was noticeably tipsy, you engaged him in conversation, guiding it towards simon with a practiced ease. the more intoxicated he became, the more he spilled about simon—his habits, his quirks. but it was when the friend, in his drunken haze, let slip that simon was currently “crushing” on his neighbor that your interest piqued.

“aye, simon’s got this neighbor he’s obsessed wi’,” the friend slurred, his scottish accent thickening as he struggled to keep his balance. “they’ve got this smile that lights up the whole room, and they’re always, like, glowing, ye know? pretty as hell. simon’s always bleedin’ talkin’ about ’em.”

you pressed for more details, feigning curiosity as the friend described you. the way he spoke about your laugh, your style, even the way you move around your apartment—it was all too precise. you realized with a shiver that simon must be paying an unsettling amount of attention to you. but instead of fear, you felt a thrill.

the night ends and you’re thankful for the alcohol. that idiot—simon’s friend—won’t remember a damn thing he’s said tonight. it was a risky move, but it paid off. as you sent him off, a small, satisfied smile played on your lips. you had gained valuable insight into simon’s world and were one step closer to understanding him.

knowing he was so close made your heart race. that’s when you started to notice the little things—how he followed you home, the way he watched you from a distance. however, instead of fear, you felt a thrill. you’d leave your window slightly ajar, hoping he’d sneak in. you even left small items deliberately out of place, knowing he’d take them. hell, you even started sleeping in more… revealing clothes hoping that simon would touch you.

you found yourself dreaming of the day he’d make his move, the day he’d reveal himself to you. each night, as you settled into bed, you whispered a silent invitation, hoping he could hear it.

you were ready for him, ready to show him that his obsession was mirrored in your own heart.

[kyri45]

Hoi there!

You are so talented and creative. I love your art so much, the style is adorable ^^

I do have a few questions, as one creator to another. I don't post at the moment, but I do love making art, especially for my fanfic/original projects.

Can you tell me how you do it? Like how can you stay motivated and be able to post almost every day?

Any tips maybe on how to deal with artblocks and burnouts?

How do you pratice certain art styles and be able to do them accurately?

1. It’s because I really really REALLY like what I’m drawing right now. (gay monkies). Plus I have- an endgame lets say. I have a clear ending for my comics and reaching that point is what keeps me going, but I also ONLY draw what I want to draw, not EVERYTHING that needs to be shown for the endgame. This actually helped me go throught my ISAT AU comic.

It’s like- narrating a roadtrip. The ending is your destination, you can’t wait to arrive there, but first you know there’s a long road ahead. But you don’t actually need to describe/draw every single town / city / landscape to go there. Not every single kilometer of a roadtrip is a mouth-dropping view.

That’s why you can just-skip it. Stay 4 chapter at one diner if you like the set, focus a chapter on the protagonists looking at the stars, start a scene somewhere completely different, completely skip 30% of the road. As long as you can imply with details what was in between, you don’t need to show/write it in details if you feel it would be hard to make interesting, or just not your thing.

Also if you start to grow an audience and people ask you to draw/write certain things that you don’t feel like to, or just feel like they are extras, don’t do it.

Not because you can’t, but the MOMENT something that you create starts to feel like you are doing it for the audience, then you are not actually doing something yours, and from then on it’s gonna be harder and harder to do things. Like, I have hundreds of fanarts that I did on my IG that were mostly directed to my audience, and not something that I just did because of fun.

All of this is also- answering to your second question - for not burning out. All of this is for keeping your passion up. I’m not talking about mental or physical energy. You could be dead tired (like I am many times) but still be fueled do draw for hours. Because you’re drawing only exactly what you want.

It took me 4 years to understand. I used to do this in high school. Draw something just for the hell of it. It was harder back then, because drawing was hard. I arrived to a point where drawing is much easier (also cause I draw almost everyday for 6/8 hours.) and after I was healed from my broken arm this july, it became my drug. I understood I can’t live without drawing what’s in my head, and that (unless it’s specifically for work) I don’t wanna draw something that’s not only what I want.

I want you to arrive to the point that your drawings / fanfictions are so much exactly what you envisioned /wanted that you fangirl about them. That you read/watch them and squeak in delight. Because even if no one likes them, you must be crazy about them.

(I’ll make a post about this in the future, because it literally changed how I draw after years and it brought back my passion for art after 10 years, but rn it’s a little late and I wanna draw my LMK au so I’ll stop now)

3. I keep some reference to look at every now and then. I also draw a L O T. ( a ton shit of things that I draw are not posted anywhere bc of work)

[jeewrites]

Hold Fast | Ch. 1 Will Squat for Dinner

Series Master List

Inspo: In an IG reel @ tashabraziliano asks a guy at the gym to play a game where if she squats him he has to buy her dinner at Nando’s.

Rating: M for this one shot, but this blog is 18+ MDNI

A/N: Thank you to @bloviating-vy for being my beta and my write or die! Grateful to everyone who voted in my poll and @katareyoudrilling for encouraging me to post. In the Hold Fast AU all the guys make it back from S. America, additional details TBD if this ends up being a series

Word Count: ~4.0k

Tags: no y/n, gymbff!Benny, alcohol, swearing, reader is a powerlifting girlie described as short, Tom is alive unfortunately (we hate Tom), alcohol, brief body insecurity and Frankie being down on himself, Tom owns a bar, Pope owns a gym, alternating POV with one brief Benny POV

next chapter >>

The first time you went to train at Pope's Gym, Benny wouldn’t stop talking your ear off during your workout. When you finally got a word in edgewise, you made a bet with him that if you could squat him, he would shut the fuck up and let you finish your workout in peace. To his amazement, not only did you squat him, you repped him 3 times before setting him down to raucous applause. You’d been gym besties ever since. It didn’t hurt that he was nice to look at with his dirty blonde hair and penchant to go sans shirt so he could flaunt his abs as frequently as possible. Plus, his big golden retriever energy never failed to brighten your day.

Benny liked to tease you about the gym you used to go to that had vanity lighting, a smoothie bar, and chilled eucalyptus-scented towels. While Pope's had the most lifting platforms of any gym in town, you were adjusting to the lack of central A/C and other amenities you were used to. Pope’s was housed in a large warehouse space, bare metallic bones, with multiple commercial rolling doors instead of a proper HVAC system. Besides the rows upon rows of platforms, a selection of assault bikes and ergs lined one wall of the gym, while a section of accessory machines collected dust in the corner.

You learned which platforms got the most airflow depending on which rolling door was open and which ones the massive fans covered best. You had made the switch because you had outgrown your old gym which catered to the general public. The bougie public, Benny liked to remind you. You had started lifting heavy and wanted to lift heavier, so you found yourself signing up at Pope's after Pope himself had given you the tour around the space. You learned that Pope had started the gym after coming back from Colombia wanting to promote health and strength in the community while getting into better shape himself. Looking at the peach shape of his ass you could bounce anything off of, you knew Pope had been putting the work in.

Benny worked the front desk at Pope's between training and fighting MMA. His older and blonder brother Will would come by to work out, but he was often leaving when you were arriving so you didn't know him well beyond a friendly wave. Plus, it seemed like Benny used the majority of the word quota between the Miller brothers. Pope's grew on you and you got to know the regulars who trained the same time you did; enough that you gave them cute identifying nicknames in your head (often without knowing their actual names) and worried about them when they missed more than a session or two.

Benny was surprised to see you walk into Pope's one night an hour before closing since you always trained in the mornings. You had given him a short head nod instead of your usual big smile before stalking to a platform and slamming your bag down.

"Yooooo, everything ok?" he asks as he walks over.

"Does it look like I'm okay," you huff, aggressively wrestling your knee sleeves on. Glancing at him, you immediately apologize when he hesitates and takes a step back.

"Sorry, Benny. I'll be a lot better after I pick up some heavy things and put them down."

"Might help if you want to talk about it?" he ventures leaning against the barbell.

You finish tying your squat shoes before looking at him again with dejected eyes and sighing.

"I just went on a crappy date with a guy from one of those dating apps," you sigh again. "He spent the whole time talking about himself and how much he works out. Then he had the fucking audacity to question me when he asked how much I could lift."

"Fucking asshole!" Benny feels himself getting steamed.

"He just stormed out of the restaurant and left me with the bill when I refused to change my answer," you shrug, but Benny sees your jaw tick. "Apparently, I squat and deadlift more than he does and he couldn't date someone who could do that." You roll your eyes and huff.

"WTF! What a total loser. You don't need a guy like that who doesn't appreciate you," Benny replies incensed. He sees your face fall for a moment, eyes downcast and tight.

"I just — I've been trying to put myself out there again and it sucks," you mumble, cheeks flush with embarrassment. "It's also been kinda lonely since I moved here, and I guess I could just use more friends, too."

"I'M YOUR FRIEND!"

"Yeah, my gym friend! We don't do anything outside of this hot, sweaty box Benny," you remind him with a small smile and playful shove to get him off your barbell.

Benny decides this is completely unacceptable and immediately remedies this by inviting you to the next hangout with him and his ex-Delta Force friends at Redfly's, a local bar nearby. "You know Pope and Will already," he reassures, "Tom's the owner of the bar and he's an asshole, but he's our asshole. And there's Catfish — we call him Fish for short. We've been trying to get him to come work out here, but he's been busy with his new pilot job for the hospital. And he shares custody of his 3-year-old daughter with his ex."

He could see your brain turning over all the information he was throwing at you. You don't seem to react either way to the news that Fish has an ex and a daughter. As you adjust the bar height you respond, "You sure? Don't want to crash a regular thing that you have with your guys."

"Nah, it'll be great! They'll love you!" Benny's determined to get you to come.

You hand him your phone. "Well... okay. Text me the details?"

With your phone in hand, Benny puts his number in to text himself and then convinces you to show him your dating profile. Between sets of squats you both take turns swiping on possible matches, Benny teasing you on your picks. Ever observant, Benny notices your preference for profiles with tall, brown-haired, brown-eyed candidates. As you work through your next set, Benny sneaks his phone out and immediately texts Fish.

Redfly's was what you expected for a bar run by an ex-delta force asshole. Dimly lit, buncha mismatched tables and chairs, lots of dark grain wood, and an air of neglect despite being quite clean. It was mostly empty except for a few grizzled guys who screamed regulars, nursing beers at the bar. Lots of beers on tap, but not so much for cocktail options. Not that you were a big drinker anyway. If anything, all the training made you an extremely cheap date. But damn, if you were going to drink, you wanted it to be a solid cocktail.

"THERE SHE IS!" Benny bounds over to you before grabbing your hand and dragging you over to the table in the corner. He introduces you to Tom who was standing by the table chatting with the guys. Tom gives a half-hearted greeting before stalking off back to the bar. Pope gives you a big smile and hug, "Good to see you hermosa, don't mind Tom. That was downright friendly for him." You snort as you settle into your seat next to Pope. Will also greets you with a small wave and an offer to pour you a beer from the pitcher.

"That's okay, I'm not much of a beer drinker." You wince, wrinkling your nose.

"I thought you said she was cool," Pope teases Benny who rolls his eyes and looks at you with faux betrayal.

"How about I buy shots for the table? Would that make me cool?" you smirk, getting up to go to the bar.

"Only if I get one too," says a warm, baritone voice from behind you. A tall, handsome man slides into the last vacant seat across from yours. Soft brown curls threaten to escape the Standard Oil cap nestled on his head. The warmest brown eyes smile at you as he holds your surprised gaze. "Hi, I'm Fish. Sorry, 'm late."

You want to trace the golden skin stretched deliciously along the column of his neck. Run your fingers through those curls that look so, so incredibly soft. And the strong curve of his nose... You snap out of your reverie before you respond with your name. "Better get those shots then," you say, trying not to trip over your unexpectedly shaky legs. Holy shit, why the fuck didn't Benny mention his friend Fish was gorgeous?

When Benny bugged him to come to the Friday night hangout at Redfly’s, Frankie hadn’t given it a second thought. The exuberant text from Benny, “You coming this week right? Got someone from Pope’s coming to meet you guys!!!” had two too many exclamation points for his taste. He figured Benny had a new lifting partner he wanted the guys to meet and his attendance had been pretty spotty between the new EMS pilot gig and balancing shared custody with Vanessa.

So when he walked into Redfly’s and overheard you say “… shots for the table?” He just assumed Tom had finally hired some help in the form of a very cute new waitress.

It wasn’t until he asked the guys when Tom hired you, eyes not leaving your form as you walked away, did he realize the absolute error in his assumption. “That’s my friend from the gym, Fish. SHE’s from Pope’s,” Benny rolled his eyes.

“C’mon hermano, you know Tom’s too cheap to hire help and too much of a pendejo for help to stick around,” Pope added.

Frankie pulled his cap low over his eyes and slid down his seat. He could feel himself flush. Fuck, he thought. Just made an ass out of myself demanding a shot from a total stranger.

You had frozen for a moment after he introduced himself before offering your name with a bit of a grimace. He thought you were gorgeous though and smelled incredible, fresh and citrusy with hints of something sweet and floral that lingered even after you had walked away.

“So, whaddya think, Fish?” Benny prods. "She’s smart, pretty, super strong, and a total sweetheart. Should ask her out."

Frankie flushes a deeper red. “S’outta my league Benny.”

“Aw, c’mon Fish, you gotta get back out there,” Benny persists. "Made it easy for you too. I happen to know you’re exactly her type."

“What, she into out of shape, 40-year-old, divorced, single dads with a toddler?” Fish grumbles. He hadn’t dressed particularly well tonight either, just his usual worn khakis and old faded navy t-shirt. Hadn’t suspected Benny was going to try to set him up tonight, although with Benny you never knew what you were getting yourself into.

“Might’ve mentioned summa that to her. She didn’t even blink, Fish. You got a shot and you should take it.”

Frankie finally tears his eyes away from you. You had just said something that made Tom smile ever so briefly and he wanted to know what you said. Frankie didn’t even realize Tom smiled anymore.

He sees Pope giving Benny that look that said Pope knew Frankie was indeed interested in you, but needed some extra encouragement and to get out of his head. How a single look conveyed all of that spoke to the years and shit they’d all been through together.

“Gonna help her bring over the drinks,” Benny says, popping out of his chair before Frankie could tell him to keep his big mouth shut.

He lifts his cap and runs his fingers through his hair. He hadn’t even tried to comb his fucking hair before coming out tonight. He slides the cap back on hoping it catches the more unruly curls.

“You’re a total catch, Fish,” Pope says, pouring him a beer. “Don’t count yourself out before even shooting your shot.”

“Could just be a coffee date. Don’t overthink it,” Will seconds.

Frankie takes a big pull of his beer. Easy for these two to say. Both Pope and Will worked out regularly at the gym and had the physiques to show for it. As much as Frankie had insisted everyone needed to get back on their game when they got back from Colombia, he was the only one out of the five of them who hadn't.

At least it didn’t feel like it with his achy back and bad knees. Sure, he had finally gotten his pilot’s license reinstated and now shared custody of his daughter. But he was self-conscious of his soft stomach, especially next to Benny whose abs were definitely the example given in the dictionary next to “rock-hard.” What did he have to offer you besides a mountain of baggage and PTSD? Maybe if he just kept his mouth shut everything would be fine and he’d survive tonight without embarrassing himself.

At this point, you are willing to brave Tom the asshole to collect yourself before sitting across from Frankie and his big brown eyes again. Tom raises an eyebrow when you order six shots ("One's for you asshole," you say to Tom with a teasing glare) and ask if he could make an Aviation. You swear he gives you the faintest smile before grumbling about ridiculous froufrou cocktails, but he wasn't born yesterday and yes he could make you one.

Benny sidles up to you at the bar as you wait for Tom to finish making your drink, offering to help you carry the drinks back to the table. "You doing ok? You seem nervous," Benny observes as you tap your fingers on the bar.

"Why didn't you warn me Fish is fucking hot?" you pointedly whisper back.

Benny grins at you as he leans back on his elbows against the bar, "Fucking knew it. Totally thought he'd be your type, girlie."

"You trying to set us up??" you glare at him.

Benny shrugs with exaggerated innocence. "Maaaaybe."

You huff, "Does he know that? Am I even his type?" You cringe inwardly at your insecurity.

"Well considering he hasn't taken his eyes off you since you left the table makes me think you are," Benny smirks. The smug look stays on his face.

For once you're glad you took more than five minutes to put yourself together before walking out the door. You picked a pair of jeans that hugged your curves and a fitted top with a very complementary neckline. Black-heeled booties gave you a few inches and made your legs look longer than they were. Worth the hassle of walking in at least for one night. The lightest dusting of make-up, mostly eyeliner and glossy lip balm, highlights your facial features.

"So maybe I should shoot my shot then, hmm?" you wink at Benny with a knowing smile.

"If you're thinking what I'm thinking…," Benny grins thinking back on the day you two met.

"That's very purple," Fish observes as you and Benny set down the drinks for the table.

"It's an Aviation. You might like it considering you're a pilot, mmh?" you respond with a smile. Okay, you've collected yourself. Sort of. Let's see if you remember how this flirting thing goes.

"What are we taking shots to celebrate?" Pope asks.

"How about to new, strong, friends?" you quip.

"I'll cheers to that!" Benny raises his glass.

Conversation is light and fun with the guys. You marvel at their connection and closeness as they teased and talked like people who have been through some shit together over the years. You convince Fish to try the Aviation to which he declares it a "very fancy purple" and keeps sneaking sips much to your amusement. They fold you into their conversation, asking about your training, and what competitions you might try this season. They praise Pope about how the gym has flourished and rib him about his ever-revolving door of beautiful women.

"What about you, Fish? You thinking about getting back out there and dating?" Benny asks before flicking his eyes over to you. You remind yourself to thank Benny profusely for being the best wingman ever.

"'Dunno. Not sure where to even start," Frankie mumbles into his beer, casting his eyes down.

"I have an idea," you give Frankie your best coy smile.

"Yeah?" he breathes looking up at you. Those damn brown eyes.

"I have a game for you," you offer before taking a breath. “If I squat you, you get to buy me dinner.” Your heart is thrumming in your chest and you feel your cheeks flush, but damnit, you were going to shoot your fucking shot. "But if I can rep you, I want the whole nine yards. Pick me up at my place, flowers, dinner and dessert."

"You — you think you can squat me?" Fish looks a bit surprised, "I— it's, it's not that I don't think you can. But 'm... A lot bigger than you... 'm out of shape." His ears pink at the last part as he cups one hand over the back of his neck.

"I know I can. Do we have a deal?" you smile at him with encouragement and extend your hand across the table. Fish hesitates, but you try not to assume why.

"Jesus, Fish, if you don't take her up on it, I will," Pope winks at you.

Fish glances between you and Pope for a brief moment.

He reaches out and shakes your hand. "Okay, deal." You try not to get distracted by the way his large hand engulfs yours.

"Let's go, brown eyes," you tell him as you stand up from your chair and whip your hair up into a high ponytail.

"You're going to do this in heels?" Fish asks as he gets up from his chair with a grunt. Christ, he's so tall. And broad. You shrug and look up at him through your lashes, “I mean, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels.”

You move so you stand with your side towards his front.

“I'm going to put my hand here,” you gesture to his right inner thigh just above the knee. "Is that okay?"

"Yep."

"Alright, you ready?"

He nods.

You carefully slump him over your shoulders in a fireman's carry, gripping tightly to his upper arm and thigh. You can feel the warmth of his body pressed deliciously across your shoulders. He's so warm.

You brace.

Benny's out of his seat, whooping and hollering. Pope's leaning forward, elbows on his knees, clapping, "Let's go, let's go!" Will's grinning and shaking his head in amusement. The regulars at the bar sneak glances over in your direction.

Frankie catches himself remarking on the particular shade of purple out loud when you return to the table with Benny bearing shots and a suspiciously purple beverage. He realizes after you respond and the dazzling smile you give him that you’re flirting with him. He thinks?? He’s so out of practice. God, he’d do anything for you to smile at him like that again.

When you slide your drink over to him to try he surprises himself by taking a sip. He’s even more surprised that he likes it. Crisp juniper dances across his tongue followed by a delicate floral sweetness and a touch of citrus with a spiced cardamom and anise finish. This very purple drink tastes the way you smell. And the giggle you give him when he calls it a “very fancy purple” blooms warmth through him, settling low in his core. He can only think about how he can elicit that sound from you again.

Which is how he misses Benny asking him if he’s thinking about getting back out there and dating. Fucking Benny and his goddamn big mouth.

But then you’re smiling at him again, telling him, single-dad, divorcee Francisco Morales, you have an idea. He’s looking at you and he can barely breathe as your eyes sparkle with a mischievous glint and your plush, glossy lips propose a game.

For a moment he’s confused. Did you not want to go out to dinner with him? Because if he’s honest, he doesn’t think you could squat him. He’s so much bigger than you. And he’s pretty sure if he tried, he could put you in his pocket. But then you’re brimming with confidence and extending your hand out to strike a deal.

It’s when Pope — fucking Pope — threatens to play your game in his place that Frankie is engulfing your delicate hand in his large one. You surprise him with a firm handshake and it’s then that he can feel the callouses across your palm. Callouses from many, many reps with the barbell.

Frankie finds himself towering over you, realizing you’re about to try and squat him in heeled booties. He vaguely hears you ask for consent to touch his inner thigh just above his knee before he finds himself suspended horizontally in the air across a set of firm shoulders, anchored by two small hands. He can feel when you brace, feel your entire core expand. The muscles across your shoulders and back flex underneath your fitted top. And suddenly he’s moving up and down, steadily with control.

You end up squatting Fish five times before setting him back down gently with a breathless giggle. He's towering over you again and you just want to press yourself into his broad chest and envelope yourself in the smell of his body wash.

"Dinner?" you smirk up at him.

"Wow, yeah, dinner on me," Fish flushes, impressed and a little dazed.

"It's a date then," you quip, poking him in the rib before you sit back down at the table. You notice his brown eyes spark with realization at your comment.

Will, Benny, and Pope all high-five you. Cheeks still pink, Fish pulls his chair around to sit closer to you. Tom wanders back over to the table grumbling that Redfly's isn't that kind of establishment with theatrics like you just pulled. But he also sets down an Aviation along with another pitcher of beer before returning to the bar.

"He's just jealous you didn't try to squat him," Benny laughs. You giggle in response as the conversation around the table picks back up.

Feeling Fish's gaze on you, you slide your cocktail over to him. A frisson of electricity shoots up your entire arm when his fingers brush against yours as he takes your cocktail glass.

You tilt your head towards him, your eyes meeting his warm brown ones, and whisper, "By the way, my favorite flowers are dahlias."

Frankie lost count by the time you repped him the third time. Just awed by you having the strength to carry him like this. He decides to just enjoy the rest of the ride.

When you set him back upright he almost melts into a puddle at the breathless giggle you let out. He catalogs that sound in his mind. He wants to brush back the hairs that have escaped your ponytail and he already misses your touch, wants to close the space between your bodies somehow without being creepy.

He gets lost in your eyes when you gaze up at him, he’s definitely over a head taller than you, and ask, “Dinner?”

Frankie is pretty sure he responds in the affirmative, still a bit dazed and very impressed.

It’s when you confirm it’s a date that his brain fritzes, reboots, and takes a minute to come back online. He blinks several times at the realization. He has a date. With you.

next chapter>>

Notes: Dahlias symbolize elegance, creativity, positivity, and growth. It also represents inner strength, likely due to the plant's ability to tolerate harsh conditions.

"Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels.” — Ann Richards

🙏🏽 Thank you so much for reading my first fic! I'm bad at tumblr and new to tags/warnings/fan fics in general, so if I missed something please let me know.

I am open to constructive feedback but please be gentle with this baby powerlifting writer, yeah? I might be able to squat you, but I'm a big ol' softie.

Aaand I'm thinking about expanding on these characters and making Hold Fast into a series if anyone would want to read it. I may or may not already have a Frankie POV at Pope's Gym where he gets to see reader in her element. 👀

Taglist: @katareyoudrilling @christinamadsen @rebel-held

[mllemaenad]

I'm not convinced the Commonwealth forces represent the majority of the Eastern Brotherhood, but the mention of their expanded reach in the Eastern Seaboard has me wondering whether they might be in a similar situation to the NCR in New Vegas - trying to claim too much territory with too few men.

Eh. I don't know. I really think that might be most of them, and the reason I think that is tied to your thought.

The first reason I think this might be most of the Eastern Brotherhood is, well, the Prydwen itself. Maintaining even the ship itself over long distances must be a massive undertaking and we know Ingram is battling with engineering problems:

Fr: Proctor Ingram IG-444PR To: Elder Maxson MX-001E As you know, in order to get the Prydwen rapidly to the Commonwealth, I had my engineering team pull her older power plant and replace it with an updated fusion plant we pulled from that aircraft carrier wreckage. I was able to squeeze almost one hundred percent efficiency from the new reactor, but the system is burning through our coolant supply faster than expected. As we've been docked over the airport, I've been able to deactivate the main engines to cool down the reactor, but we're still eating up coolant when we're in hover mode. We're eventually going to hit a point where we'll run out of coolant. If that happens, we'll need to put the Prydwen on the ground. I desperately need your help if you want to prevent that from happening. I'll be certain to provide you with the details at our next briefing. – Arthur Maxson's Terminal, Prydwen Concerns, Fallout 4

That takes people. But more than that, the Prydwen is not a fighting ship. It's built to haul people.

Now the Prydwen might be a big beast, but she's not built for fighting. – Proctor Ingram Dialogue, Fallout 4 Have you ever seen anything like that? The airship? God, they must have an entire army on that thing. – Piper Dialogue, Fallout 4

This is a giant sky bus. You're meant to pack a tonne of knights into it to do your fighting for you, because it's durable, but it can't shoot or manoeuvre. And we do know that the Brotherhood did bring quite a lot of knights with them, both because it's integral to their stated intention of picking a fight with the Institute, and because we see a lot of them in spawns and random encounters. Once the Prydwen arrives, Brotherhood knights are a reasonably common sight in the Commonwealth.

That brings me to the second reason I think this is most of them: they've recently come from the Capital Wasteland and ... well ... how many soldiers do we think that region can even support? Armies, so the saying goes, march on their stomachs. And, well, you've seen the Capital Wasteland, right? In Fallout 3 the population was scattered, miniscule, and in several settlements actively described as dwindling. Nor were they exactly winning on the agriculture front.

I keep thinking of the Giant Bag of Stuff in the Fallout TV series.

You don't get a knight without a squire and a Giant Bag of Stuff.

I get that the visual is supposed to be funny, but I think it's also worth paying attention to what they're saying about the Brotherhood here. Historically, knights have typically been the most expensive soldiers on the field. You don't get knights without a massive support system behind them. Every time you see a squad of knights wandering around in Fallout 4, think of all the squires, initiates and scribes who must exist to cook and clean, maintain their power armour, their clothing, and the ship itself – and do all the other stuff necessary to support those guys having the freedom to stand around and be rude to you when you walk by them on the road.

Of course you can only expect so much realism from a video game. I don't expect a Fallout game to show me a fully fledged textiles industry unless that's important to the plot. But that doesn't mean those people don't exist. If they're hauling a bunch of knights around, they're also hauling a bunch of support staff around.

I just don't think the Capital Wasteland could support significantly more than one airship full of these idiots. You can be generous and assume that Project Purity could have improved the agricultural situation a bit. You can also say that, once the airship was built, it would have allowed them to extend their reach – and potentially gain access to more food and other supplies over a wider area. Sure.

But on the first point, it almost seems as though the opposite is true: there are enough characters recurring between Fallout 3 and Fallout 4 to give the impression that maybe the exodus out of the Capital Wasteland isn't slowing as much as one might like. And on the second ... well, neither Point Lookout nor the Pitt looked well equipped to support an army either. I don't think there's a secret resource-rich area just out of sight. I think this is pretty much it.

So, to the third reason: well, there's your thought. Do I think the Brotherhood is overextending itself here like the NCR did in New Vegas? Well. Nah. Because the NCR is a government and the Brotherhood of Steel is not.

Take an example you'll find really early in Fallout: New Vegas – the Powder Gangers. From their presence you can learn several things.

The NCR has a justice system that includes incarceration – which in itself requires all the resources to feed, clothe, house and guard all of those people for the term of their sentence.

As the Powder Gangers are supposed to be maintaining the railroad, we also know they have public works projects – for which they've elected to use prison labour

Presumably there are instances of this system still functioning as intended closer to the capital.

Out on the frontier, however, they lack the resources to maintain it: the prisoners have escaped, and thus the NCR has lost control of both its penal system and its public works project. They have overextended themselves.

Yeah. The thing is ... I don't think the Brotherhood is doing any of that. It's not in their nature.

We've had people go rogue, though, and start helping people. One chapter had a small civil war over it. We take our isolationism seriously. – Veronica Dialogue, Fallout: New Vegas

Even the considerably more open Lyons Brotherhood was still pretty damn isolationist. They're not present in any of the settlements in the Capital Wasteland, and you can't get into the Citadel until the Enclave create bigger problems for everyone as part of the The Waters of Life quest. And one thing that we know for sure is that this "helping people" idea pretty well died out with the reintegration of the Outcasts.

I don't think they're out there repairing roads or laying pipes to get water out to the settlements faster. I don't think they're working with the various governments in the region to establish law and order. It's not their thing. The Brotherhood really only works to benefit the Brotherhood.

Fr: Proctor Teagan TG-477PR To: Lancer-Captain Kells KS-390LC Now that we've arrived in the Commonwealth, I'd like to establish trade relations with the locals. I'm going to need a standard sweep and retrieve team and one of our vertibirds in order to make that happen. There are several caravans that roam the Commonwealth, and we'll use the vertibirds to track them. If any of the caravans gets jumped, we can swoop in and lend a hand to let them know that we're the friendly eye in the sky. Since you can't normally buy that kind of protection from mercenaries, we'll be certain to get the best prices and values for trades. I've used the same tactic in the Capital Wasteland and it worked wonders. Out here, with the threat of the Institute looming over their heads, we'll have these merchants eating out of our hands. – Captain Kells's Terminal, Fallout 4

The noteworthy thing here is that this is an initiative thought up by the quartermaster in order to get better prices, and it's something that he came up with back in the Capital Wasteland. Teagan doesn't have principles or anything: he'll also happily send you to extort supplies from the local farmers. He's open to any and all tactics to keep the Brotherhood well supplied ... and has learned that one big gesture can earn you a lifelong discount. There is no standard Brotherhood policy to protect the trade caravans. There isn't in the Commonwealth, and there wasn't in the Capital Wasteland. They don't care. Teagan just wants a coupon.

Okay, but one might reasonably ask, what about this?

Aftermath Elder Maxson reigns supreme in the Capital Wasteland, and his authority and influence have been spreading across the Eastern Seaboard, thanks in no small part by the mobility afforded by the Prydwen. He has the full support of the Elders back on the West Coast, who have proudly reported that they've begun eradicating cults that have popped up, worshipping Maxson as though he's some kind of god. Maxson himself is almost offended by the idea of being referred to as a deity, as it goes against everything he believes in. Arthur Maxson is happy to be one thing… the perfect human specimen, an example of everything a human being can achieve. Assisted, even enhanced, by advanced technology, but still very much human. – Quinlan's Terminal, The Rise of Elder Maxson, Fallout 4

Do I think this is pure bullshit after all? Well, no. I think it just means that when the Brotherhood say they "reign supreme", you have to remember that they are wildly uninterested in doing the work of government.

They've never shown significant interest in holding or maintaining territory, and they typically piggyback on the success of the surrounding area. In the original Fallout they are confined to their Lost Hills bunker. There are growing settlements in California, but the situation is still pretty precarious. By Fallout 2 they have a number of small bunkers scattered across multiple settlements. The region has stabilised significantly. Oh, sure, there are a range of problems: raiders and slavers and drugs and corruption. But prosperity is on the rise. When the NCR is established, we know there is a state named after Roger Maxson – but that the Brotherhood neither rules it, nor is part of the NCR. Later, of course, they come into conflict with the NCR.

So what does "reigning supreme" in the Capital Wasteland mean? Well, I think it means that Arthur can fly up and down the coast in his ridiculous airship untroubled. I think he can send knights into pre-war ruins to search for tech with no difficulty, that he can kill super mutants and ghouls (whether peaceful or no) with impunity, and that he can compel settlements to hand over food or any interesting technology.

I don't think they're overreaching because I don't think they're really holding anything, at least outside their personal bases. They're just flying around bullying people. And the region is not organised enough to successfully resist. If they were doing anything else, I doubt they'd have as much support from the West Coast Brotherhood. This, however, is very much in line with traditional Brotherhood goals.

I think it's reasonable to assume that they left a garrison to guard some of the more interesting pieces they had hold of in the Capital Wasteland – Project Purity, the Operation: Anchorage simulation, the presidential metro and whatever is left at Adams Air Force Base. But ... I also think it's at least possible that they didn't.

Why? Because they packed the stupid robot. They packed the stupid robot even though it's broken. Again. It's worth remembering that the Brotherhood ... doesn't care all that much about Project Purity, and to the extent that they did care, it was Owyn Lyons's initiative. Lyons was willing to provide security for James's team while they worked ... but he devoted not one scribe to working on it after James left. The outcasts, on the other hand, are less interested in the simulation tech than they are in the weapons and armour completing it can unlock.

What do the Brotherhood care about? Liberty Prime. They love Liberty Prime. They spent years tinkering with the fucking thing while the wasteland fell to raiders, super mutants and rampant radiation. Then it worked for ten minutes and broke again. And they hauled it to the Commonwealth to fix again.

You might reasonably object – this sounds like lunacy! Project Purity is the big scientific breakthrough in the Capital Wasteland. Replicate that in any area with a water problem and you've solved one of the biggest barriers to rebuilding. Sure. But that's what Veronica keeps trying to tell us, in New Vegas. The Brotherhood doesn't really care about any of that. They want to find better weapons and armour, and ideally big shouty, shooty, robots that they can hoard and use against people they don't like.

They don't innovate any more than they govern.

So I think – rationally, they probably should have left a garrison. And maybe they did. But maybe they didn't. Because they packed the only thing they found in the Capital Wasteland that they really thought was cool.

Now, that doesn't mean I don't think they ran into trouble. We know they did. That is, in fact, the plot of Fallout 4. When they arrive in the Commonwealth they encounter an organisation prosperous enough, and technologically advanced enough, to resist them: namely the Institute. Depending on the player's actions they may also find the Minutemen and Railroad in solid shape.

Now, obviously, player choice comes into it here. You can back the Brotherhood and lead them to victory, but equally you can back any of the other factions and take them down. The Brotherhood in 2287 have a massive airship, some power armour and a stupid broken robot – but they have no allies or resources to lean on.

So, yeah, I do think that's most of them in Fallout 4. And I don't think they can overreach the way the NCR did because they aren't a government. They're an isolationist military cult with a deeply ambivalent relationship to technology. They aren't trying to govern and improve swathes of land, they're just bothering people. But what this means is that a sufficiently determined group of people armed with laser muskets can in fact kick their arses.

[choicesficwriterscreations]

CFWC January Contest/Event

Thank you to all who have participated! The event has closed, and a winner has been selected! Over 180 fics and artistic creations were shared during this event! We hope to do something else like this very soon!

~~~~~~

Each year, we ask creators to share their Tumblr Top 5, based on note count, as well as their Creator Top 5, representing their personal favorite creations from the past year. Both 2023 lists have been posted, and links can be found here:

Tumblr Top 5 - 2023

Creator's Top 5 - 2023

A lot of work goes into this event, both on the part of the participating creators and coordinating at CFWC, so it would be nice to have it serve as more than a commemoration. So @storyofmychoices had a wonderful idea (thank you for sharing it with me!) and we decided to run with it!

During the month of January, we encourage you to read, share, and comment on fics contained on the 2023 Tumblr Top 5 or Creator Top 5 lists. Each time you do, you will be given a chance in a raffle for a commission from Art by Ainna (IG). Additionally, each time one of the creations is reblogged, the creator will be given a chance to be named February's Creator of the Month or MC of the Month.

Full rules and details can be found below.

**PLEASE NOTE** You will need to follow the rules exactly as described below to be included in the raffle. So, please pay close attention to the rules.

Signal boosts are appreciated!

The event will run from January 1, 2024 - January 31, 2024.

One chance will be given to a reader when they read, reblog, and comment on a fic on either the Tumblr Top 5 or Creator's Top 5 list.

All three actions must be taken, and only fics on these two lists are eligible for purposes of this contest.

One chance will be given to a reader for each fic they read/share/comment on, up to a maximum of five chances per reader per week. Each reader could receive up to 25 chances over the five-week period.

When reblogging the fic, the reader MUST USE the hashtag #CFWC January 2024. Fics reblogged without the tag will not be given a chance in the raffle.

Please tag @choicesficwriterscreations in the reblog.

The drawing for the art commission will be held no later than Friday, February 2nd, and the winner will be announced on CFWC.

The drawing for the COTM or MCOTM will be held on Friday, January 26th, and winners will be notified via DM.

In addition to the above, each time a creator's work from the Tumblr Top 5 or Creator's Top 5 is shared per the rules above, they will be given one chance to be selected for the February 2024 Creator of the Month or MC of the Month.

Who is eligible for prizes?

While we encourage you to share fics of all creators, the following are not eligible for the art commission only:

CFWC Moderators are not eligible for the art commission.

Anyone who has won an art commission from CFWC within the past 3 months is ineligible for the art commission.

All participants, including those in the 2 categories above, are eligible for the February COTM or MCOTM.

Creators with works on the lists can also share the works of other creators and will be eligible based on the above rules.

Please send any questions about this event via ask or DM @jerzwriter.

[clouds-by-me]

The scales of a savior

Characters ;; Freminet, lyney, and Lynette Warnings ;; drowning, blood, almost dying, wounds/scars, burning, kinda long(ig??) Word count ;; 1.5k An | this was supposed to be Sagau, but somehow it turned into this. Also this took so long to publish like bffr

Far beneath the land, past all of the lively plants and animals of the surface, there’s a cave.

Dark, and cold, nothing like an embracing hug from a loving mother. More like the emptiness of a grave site. Old and lonely, with only thoughts to fill in whatever sound is supposed to be there.

Water drips from the ceiling, falling into a larger body of water down below. The cave with a jagged ceiling and walls is full of water, that almost reaches the top, leaving a pocket of cold air.

The water is no different, however. The cold stillness of the water brings no comfort. It’s sends spikes of frost throughout your body. Starting at some unknown place within, then sprouting out to attack every part of the human body.

At the floor of the cave, broken statues lay as if it was a graveyard of bodies. Each one different, and cracked from its top to bottom. Parts of each were broken off, rather it’d be without its arm, or leg, its hand, or head. Plants grew on some of them, covering the cracks lefts behind on the statues.

Seven statues in total, all well withered and deformed to an hideous extent. The statues were hard to recognize, any detail that was once on the statues were now worn off, and forgotten to the darkness. Comparing the statues to the state they were once in, its a shame to see how far they have fallen. One statue in particular, however, looked worse than all of the other combined. The head of the statue was detached, lost to somewhere unknown, the abyss probably. Chips and cracks littered every inch of the statue, the only recognizable piece of the statues was the deconstructed shape.

The person that the statue imitated was a person who was tall. The body of that of a warriors, from the tight shoulders, and stiff form, it could almost be described as closed off.

Dead plants surrounded the stone figure, and hugged it, as if it wanted some kind of support or safety. The only thing it got in return was silence. A cold shell, drowned in even colder water.

======================

A blond diver swims alone, in the sea of his homeland, he swims. The water to him is a safe kind of relief on his body. As he uses his arms to move himself forward, he looks around. Ferminet has nothing that he is looking for, he has been through this part of the ocean many times before. The further he ventures, the less he sees however. The occasional otter or seal that typically swims around, is no where in his line of sight. Using his arms and legs, he continues to venture forward. The deeper he goes into the depths, the more he can hear. The sound of something talks to him in an inaudible tone.

Though his brain screamed at him that something deathly lie ahead, his body did nothing from stopping him from venturing deeper into the cold. The water cooled the further that he went, away from the brightness of the suns rays, away from the safety of the light.

His body moved as if being pulled on a string. He doesn’t control where hes going, he doesn’t even know where he is. The way the water surrounds him is a kind of surreal feeling. Nothing likes hes felt before. Though welcoming, his brain knows that he shouldn’t be going this far away from the surface, so why doesn’t he stop?

The water goes against his brain, and he feels his body continue to move as water seemingly win the battle. Though now far from the surface, he can still see. No light reflects this deep down, so him being able to see every jagged edge, every corner, every spike, comforts him. It’s a similar feeling that he gets when hes with his older siblings.

Soon he makes it to the bottom, where everything is sharp, and rigged with shape. He turns to look around, taking in everything bit by bit. It’s when he sees a stone surface that he finally feels cold. A shiver runs through his body, but he moves closer.

“vas, aude in custodia…”

The sound is in a language that he does not know, a song that he can’t understand. It doesn’t sound like someone he knows, it doesn’t even sound like someone’s voice, more like an echo of a song, in a different language. In a tone of music, but somehow it soothes him.

“Accede propius, Vas creationis.”

“Accede propius”

The sound is almost a muffled song, the closer he moves, the more sounds he hears. Yet the song has yet to grow any louder, it stays a musical whisper of the water. Seeing the stone closer, he now comes to realize that this is a statue, beautiful as it lies, covered in a think substance, more dense than the water that surrounds it.

The boys feels a cold shift, as he reaches closer, wanting to feel the material even though he was sure what it was. His mind had yet to agree with any of these actions, but by now, his thoughts had become something of the past.

Who needs those pesky thoughts anyway? They’re just there to make you second guess what is clearly correct.

When his hand grazes across the stone, he realizes that the stone is warm, opposite of the cold water that he floats in now. It feels like pyro, it reminds him of his older brother, in a way. The blond wonders if his brother would enjoy this?

The thought left as quickly as it came, no matter how much he pondered over the thought, he couldn’t remember what he was just thinking about. The warmth that radiated from the statue continued to grow. Alarms in his head started to sound as the heat continued to get much more intense, yet he couldn’t seem to pull away.

His body mistakingly believed that the burning heat that warmed his body was safe, though it was quite the opposite. The thing that prevented to cold from eating him alive slowly was now consuming him much faster-

“Hey what are you doing!? Don’t touch that!” The sound was clear unlike everything else under the depths. He didn’t realize until he broke from the water and was now breathing air, that somehow, he got away.

His lungs felt hot as salty water erupted from the pits of his lungs. He grabbed onto his chest as he heaved, and his torso raised and fell at an uncontrollable paste. For a long time his body burned, as he tossed and grabbed at the fabric, something wasn’t right. he couldn’t tell if the water that was in his eyes was the start of tears or the end of sea water.

The water that spilled from his mouth prevent any and all noise from coming from his throat, unless it was that unbearably harsh sound of him coughing.

“Hey! Hey!” He almost missed the sound of someone talking to him, by now he could tell that water was coming from grey his eyes. “I’m going to grab you, ok?” He couldn’t answer, and he was sure that the person, whoever they were, could understand that. His body was lifted and moved to a new position, where his head was propped up onto something wet, but firm.

Water brushed against in him in soft waves. Something was pressed against his shoulders, and as if nothing happened, he sat up.

=============

“How are you feeling?” His older sister asks as she hands him a cup and saucer.

“Better…” He mumbled with his head down. The feeling of guilt had washed over him so many times by now that he’d been drowned by it. He remembered both of his older siblings saying that they’d spent hours looking for him. They asked so many people of they had seen him, only for everyone to respond with the same pitiful answer.

“No, I haven’t, but if I do see him, I’ll tell him that your looking for him.”

They heard it so much so that Lyney had just stopped asking entirely. This left Lynette to have to do all the talking by herself, while Lyney looked around.

The only way that they were able to find him was because they heard someone shouting, and they hopped that whoever was making such a noise was their little brother. Only to find his unconscious body, drenched in water. His helmet was no where to be found, and his right hand had a make shift bandaged on it made of kelp.

“I’m sorry..” was the only words that he could mutter, he felt too ashamed to say anything else. Fearing that if he did, he’d somehow say the wrong thing.

“Also,” Lynette continued “I found this in your hand, did you find it while diving?” She showed him a scale, sharp, and shiny. It had been too large to have been owned by any normal fish, and was a unique shade of teal.

“No..” His words trailed off. Where did this beauty come from?

[dynamytebytes]

This is a sort of official design of Serial Designation R/Rossie!

I wish I made her coat more like a light beige, but I decided to test watercolors and I unfortunately didn’t have the color, nor could I successfully create one enough to my liking😭🙏 and her shirt underneath is supposed to be like a maroon.. bodysuit? Thing? I don’t know how to describe it. But that will be probably revealed in another post because I do have another piece of Rossie, without her coat! (If I don’t end up scrapping it, of course..)

[PS: if anyone cannot read the top for context, Rossie’s hair is temporarily different colors in this drawing because a certain someone found some old intact dyes…👀 lol]

Scottie editing here 2 hours later of whatever.. I just realized how there wasn’t any vital detail for the coat..😭oh well ig.. I’m not changing it back rn..

[astronautbeans]

since ya threw out a request for help w/ soft scenes!! have some rambles about how i like to do 'em (if none of this makes sense. uh. *shrug* i tried lmfao)

i feel like it depends what the exact character dynamics in the scene are, but generally, i try to narrow the focus of the scene to the the pov character (and whoever they're with) as much as possible—which means more descriptions with "closer" senses (basically like. touch, taste—yk, ones you can't rlly do from a distance) and adding some grounding details about the pov character's physical state (like how fast their heartrate is, how steady their breathing is, if their hands are shaking or warm or anything like that). that sort of intimacy in the description gives you a nice gateway to the more introspective bits bc you can juxtapose some of the physical sensations with emotional ones! things like feeling the warmth of someone else's palm can be used to lead into a thought about their heart feeling warmer as a result, as an example. i associate soft scenes with warmth inherently?? so that's my go-to sensation.

also, word choice!! and just. general sentence construction ig?? this is v much a style thing so your mileage may vary but soft scenes need softer words + sentences with more of a rhythm (dunno how else to describe it rlly aklsj;fsal). like. go for words without harsh consonant sounds? and i find myself using sentences with more commas that feel more poetic than the way i'd write a different sort of scene, often followed by a short sentence once i hit a shifting point in the scene.

does any of this make sense? who knows!! hope it helps tho!!

this is actually incredibly helpful oh my gosh thank you Nine <3

the scene i'm working with makes it very complex. touch starved characters (one of which can't touch living things because they'll rot and wither, the other is a literal ghost, and neither can feel much physically) and a just barely existing friendship between them,,,

but i will absolutely use this thank you :D i think i do indeed need to add more emotional feelings into the scene xD

[salt-n-salt]

I just, I LOVE your art, your grasp on anatomy is just so?????¿¿¿¿¿¿ AND FACIAL EXPRESSIONS??? Your art is mystical and wonderful and silly and soft like gummy worms idk how to describe it . . .

And seeing you draw other people’s farmers has been so fun! Sorry I’m done gushing, anyways, sorry to be so typical and lame, but do you have any tips on learning anatomy and whatnot?? in the midst of trying to learn myself and I’m certainly having a time.

hiiiiiiiii tyy!! ur so sweet I love a gummy worm vibe 🥺 on my knees for u tysm 😫😫

personally I feel like my anatomy is still very much lacking🧍‍♂️I think im a bad person to ask for advice bc I HATEEEE doing studies and stuff like that. im just soooooo . lazy. and don’t want to do it at all 😋 here r a handful of v general art things that I found most helpful:

1. I abandoned lineart completely bc I feel like it sucked the life out of my sketches ! if I want a more polished look (which I rarely do) ill just clean up the sketch a bit but I never ever do line art 🙅‍♀️ never feel like ur obligated to do a set in stone art process (ig sketch lineart color shading blah blah) ,, maybe that’s bad advice but letting all that go rlly helped me. similarly I don’t like using body guidelines/face guidelines when I draw bc I feel like it makes poses stiff!!! i kind of just dive right in (which is y i think my anatomy suffers a bit whoopsie)

2. I love references 😋 I basically doom scroll Pinterest to get inspo, and don’t feel limited by “art specific” guides and whatnot. other people’s art/regular pics of people just like standing around r so helpful too . like im suchhhhh a proponent of just straight up redrawing someone’s art that u love in private for ur own benefit and learning (without posting it obvi/posting with credit)!!

3. related to references, i usually start every drawing session (?) w very little and quick croquis of fashion pics on Pinterest! I try to make them mini so that it forces me to not go into detail and just focus on overall body shapes and curves .. that can help take a little pressure off each individual part, and it’ll help make ur stuff look more natural 🧑‍🍳

that’s kind of it .. once again omg please don’t take this as professional/good advice bc I know my process can be improved a lot 😭😭😭 this is just coming from a lazy girl that has absolutely no patience for doing muscle studies/light studies or anything else so I still have work to do!!!! but def if u want to know more abt a part of the process (or specifically abt anatomy/muscles bc i feel like I didn’t have much to offer….) more specifically feel free to reach out again !! privately or thru my inbox, either works!

[mintys-musings]

i remembered the idea of Alpha!Mayoi Ayase and the gears are turning. so ig i am writing something for his day v quickly- just some ramble about him in a rut and a gn!reader finding him

NSFW under cut~!

ik ik the logical idea would be to have omega!mayoi but really consider him being an alpha~ :3

if he's in a rut, he's avoiding everyone more than he usually is. he's so fucking ashamed of himself. the shame eats at him and swallows him whole that any rational thought is thrown out in favour of hiding so he can deal with the problem himself.

hell thats even assuming he leaves his room- well actually- he might leave his room in order to go to the most secluded spots of ES that he can think of

100% is crying as he tries to jack himself off. crying- whimpering- moaning in that way he usually does but now it is actually because of something sexual- the whole 9 yards

poor baby if you find him- he would be groveling at your feet apologising. he's so disgusting for revealing his true nature to you like this (he didn't do anything. you just found him like this) he has held your kindness too close to his heart and now he fears you'll despise him for the wretched being he is (he moaned your name a couple times)

if you offer to help him out during his rut, he's going to have an internal struggle. he would nearly pounce on you before his anxiety kicks in and he starts clutching at your legs and asking if it's truly okay

it takes some convincing, but less than normal because his rut is altering his brain chemistry.

would hold off as long as he can to prep you, but foreplay is very sloppy and quick. he needs to be in you. he's begging to be in you.

the minute his dick is in your hole, any self control is out the window. he is ROUGH and FAST. lord help you.

so so vocal. mostly apologising and praising/thanking you between moans and whimpers. he describes everything he's feeling in such detail it's almost like you could feel it too.

drools. drools and bites. he is also apologising for all the mess. he is a very messy person when in a rut. if you let him claim you fully, he's- well first he's gonna cry- second he's gonna mark you up completely. lets you return the favour after because "I'm yours as much as you are mine, darling~ Maybe even more so~"

once his knot pops into place, he's holding you as tight as he can without hurting you and laying down. whispers more thanks and apologies into your hair and kisses your face all over. he's so grateful that he might start up again even before his knot fully relaxes. just humping into your hole until you're both too overstimulated to talk

after everything, is treating you like a precious glass sculpture. absolutely spoils you with care and affection. goes into the following week even in subtle ways like everything you need/thought you loss appearing. sometimes he leaves sticky notes with love hearts so you know exactly who it's from. sweetheart mayoi my beloved scrungly forever mwuah mwuah 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚

[ucannotkillmeinawaythatmatters]

im rewatching Moon Knight while I embroider, so I figured why not post about it!! I still haven't unlocked the gif ability everyone on here seems to have, so I'm just gonna have to describe everything without proof. this is gonna be an in depth, long, and rambly post, so you can read the rest after the cut if you'd like!!

episode 1: the goldfish problem

so a lot of this episode is establishing Steven and the situation that he's in. it's kinda sad cuz on the surface level, he has a nice life. he's got a job, a big flat, he calls his mom pretty often. but when you look deeper it gets sadder. the main thing that sticks out is how lonely Steven is

JB doesn't know his name, the only person he can talk to is a statue person that doesn't respond back, his boss is mean. he's so lonely in fact that he accepts a date with a person he doesn't really know to a STEAK HOUSE.

(I have my own theory about how that was Jake who was trying to be nice and get a date for Steven?? maybe?? bc it's highly unlikely that marc, who has a wife, would do that. and even if you tried to argue that marc did it for Steven, why would he then go and make him miss it?? plus, I'm certain he knows that Steven is a vegan. which also makes you wonder why Jake didn't notice that detail, but I digress)

(side note number two, Steven is good with kids and I'll die on that hill. the scene where he's explaining things about mummification to that little girl?? answering her questions patiently and excitedly?? yeah, he's a hit with them, I promise you. and not just when he's talking about his Special Interest. also the foreshadowing of that girl asking him if it sucked to get rejected from the field of reeds?? I'm sickkkk)

and ofc, there's the main issue of steven falling asleep in his bed and waking up in the middle of nowhere without a clue as to how he got there. I'd like to take a second to commend Stevens intelligence here!! anke restraints, sand around the bed, tape on the door?? I would never even think of these things.

either way, none of it works and he wakes up in the middle of goddamn nowhere, injured and hurting at that!! (even if khonshu fixed it, he still sounded like he was in pain for a while there). people are shooting at him, he's so so desperately trying to give this strange man (who he just witnessed kill a woman mind you) the beetle but he can't, and all the while a strange voice is berating him every two seconds. again kudos to Steven bc I could never. I would have been crying the moment I heard the gunshots.

(Jake theory again. I'm so certain that a lot, if not all of the car stuff was Jake. I love marc, but I refuse to believe he could manage those car skills, while shooting at ppl, while on the a narrow road of a fucking mountain. nahhhh that was all my boy Jake)

(also note that when Steven first woke up in the grass after Marc?? jumped and fell fourish stories?? khonshu called him a worm. and then further specified and called him "the idiot." I firmly believe that khonshu calls Steven AND Jake worms/parasites, it's just that Stevens the idiot and Jakes the competent one ig)

and waking up after all of that like nothing happened must have been so frustrating. I know Marc was just trying to protect him, but instead Stevens just being gaslighted and facing psychological warfare. so everywhere he goes he's faced with signs that he might be crazy or he might not be. ex: gus suddenly having one fin, the time being wrong, Marc appearing in the mirror and talking to him completely unhelpfully, khonshu FUCKING TORMENTING HIM FOR NO REASON, but also the burner phone he found, harrow being real, and the dog creature I can't remember the name of!!

so much of this episode was Steven being scared and unhappy and overwhelmed and it makes me sad!! he's so precious and sweet, he doesn't deserve to be going thru any of that.

(also I'm never ever gonna get over the cinematography and thematics of the mirrors in the museum bathroom. first of all mirrors cool. second, the hints at his multiplicity thru the infinite images of the bathroom, but with Marc in only one of the reflections. I'm gonna be fucking sick)

so yeah!! those are most of my thoughts. I know that pictures and gifs are a huge part of making a post Not Boring and I'm gonna use them as soon as I learn how istg

[showf4ll-media]

DID/OSDD doubt warning!!! This is my own personal struggle!! Please do not read if you experience doubt about this stuff too.

There’s better words to describe the tw’s but im too out of it to figure it out. Just be careful

It’s genuinely nice to see people who fell into the whole DID craze in 2020ish healing from that and Im glad to see that they got through it just. Yeah 👍 Disclaimer. this isnt an “oh i knew all the 13-15 year olds were faking all along”. Im not saying that. But holy shit the DID/OSDD spaces were and still are so fucking toxic and genuinely harmful. I could go on for hours about how awful those spaces are. Im glad I never got into them

Anyways. Seeing people realize they don’t have DID and talking about it and just generally spreading awareness simultaneously makes me happy cause theyre actually getting a step closer to healing from whatever theyre really struggling with BUT it also keeps causing doubt in myself and makes me worry way too much that Im “faking” without realizing it or didn’t have severe enough trauma (despite the fact that a lot of it is blocked off and every time i mention things i dont think are bad anyone around me is? Horrified)

This rant is incomprehensible. I just really wanted to talk somewhere about the sudden bout of worry that nothing Ive known and have spent 4 years atp functioning with is real. Im unwilling to go into personal details on main which also just adds to the incomprehensibleness but. Its fine. If you read this far congrats ig? You can comment or something. I do like conversations about stuff like this at the end of the day. Maybe once I actually gather myself i can make a proper post about this phenomenon (?)

[iexistincrisis]

Don’t you just love when someone finally says your actual pronouns?!

For the first time in my life my mom said “they” whilst describing me instead of “she” without me reminding her! That was like, the best part of my day-

Now I just have to get her to do it in front of other people…

Update: I heard her saying “their” while asking about what time something was at. Also, I came out to my bestie!…But she didn’t understand it so she never uses my pronouns. Then again she didn’t even know what lesbian means (I’m not a lesbian but it came up) and treats “gay” like it’s a curse word so she doesn’t say it. Ig I don’t know what I was expecting. -Check most recent post for more detail-

[maddrumsticks]

Since I didn't have an art piece specifically for Undertale's 8th anniversary and I don't wanna burn myself out. So instead, I'm gonna introduce a couple of my Sans AUs! (I have more than two but we're just gonna start with two.)

Introducing: Soul and Broken!

Detailed background and lore dumps under the cut! (Beware, it will be long and probably a lot of reading. I will include a couple TLDRs at the end.)

Soul's Story

TW: murder (that's the only one I can think of, but please lmk if others apply to this)

Soul is the first Sans AU I have ever made. (His design used to be just a Sans recolor, but I have tried to change that a bit.) And so his design is pretty lackluster but his backstory is super long because that's how I was years ago.

Soul was just a normal Sans until the human's reset went wrong. Somehow, it glitched all the way back to when the human with the justice soul fell. Soul felt like something was off, and decided he should kill the justice soul-ed human. Why? Probably felt like this was the only way to break away from something keeping him tied. So he did just that and absorbed the child's soul.

He was able to cross the barrier. He made sure not to enter the large city near Mt. Ebott. Instead, he found a very small village with probably only about a population of 200 or less. Something dark had taken over his mind and he killed every human in sight. (Honestly, I don't remember why, but it was probably because he didn't want to go back to that torturous loop he was stuck in.)

Then he saw someone who was definitely going to reset. In his panic, he grabbed the two souls closest to him, a bravery soul and an integrity soul, and ran. He absorbed the integrity soul, giving him more agility and speed. He was miraculously able to make it back to the underground before everything was reset. Without explanation, he forced Papyrus to absorb the bravery soul. As soon as he did, Soul found they were now back to the normal timeline.

But this time, Soul and his brother, now named Trait, still have the souls they absorbed, but more ingrained into their very beings. There was no way for them to separate from the souls they absorbed now.

Soul and Trait were now able to remember every timeline, Trait didn't show he knew, and Soul could check people's stats, including his own. But any time he tried to check his own stats, he would see them, but he would begin to hear these strange, murderous voices.

These voices started quiet and got louder over time until Soul caved in and killed someone. Then the voices would get quiet again and it would start all over. The only way they would disappear is when a reset would happen.

The only thing Soul forgot about a timeline is his own stats and evil voices. The moment he checked his stats, he would remember all of that.

Eventually, he and Trait snapped. They were done dealing with being stuck in a loop. They had a discussion with each other and came up with a plan to defeat the human.

Said plan kinda backfired. While it did defeat the human, it also destroyed their whole AU, leaving behind Soul, Trait, and an empty white void.

They did mostly fine in this white void, but eventually Soul checked his stats and the voices started. And of course, that doesn't bode well.

Soul's large amount of negativity drew Nightmare, who decided Soul would make an interesting "plaything." (Aka Soul gets tortured and treated horribly by all those guys ig. But he escaped eventually. And don't worry, Trait was taken to the Omega Timeline.)

After Soul escapes from Nightmare, he kinda just explores the multiverse.

Which leads us to Broken's story.

Broken's story

TW: Major domestic violence and abuse

In Broken's world, colors were swapped around somewhat randomly, and they had slightly altered personalities and HP. This Papyrus was angered much more easily than the normal Papyrus. And this Papyrus would build up until he lashes out. (Ps, this is not supposed to excuse anything I describe next as okay in any way, shape, or form.)

His pent up anger had nowhere to go other than to at Broken. It started verbally, then escalated to physical. Some days, Papyrus was so angry that he just wanted to break Broken.

And, unfortunately, he did.

It started with Broken's leg. He watched it dissolve into dust with horror. He was given a cheap, crappy prosthetic so people wouldn't suspect anything. This Papyrus told others that Broken fell off a tree, his leg got ripped off and fell into the river. And they couldn't afford a more expensive leg. This was obviously all bull.

It started with Broken's leg, then his arm, and finally half of his head. From the day his head was destroyed, Broken was rendered blind, and basically magic less.

One day, Broken was hiding in his room, just wishing he could run away when there was a sound at his window.

Soul found his way in, and they talked. Soul and Broken talked for a long, long time. Unfortunately, Broken's horrible brother returned, and Soul had to leave.

The next time Soul visited, he didn't hesitate to offer Broken freedom from this horrible place. And Broken didn't hesitate to accept.

Soul and Broken's life together

Soul took Broken to the empty, white void that used to be his AU. And together, they built a house. Originally, the house was intended for only Broken. But things changed. They fell in love with each other.

And so, Soul and Broken live together, married and extremely happy. They do their best to overcome their traumas together (mainly Broken, he struggles) and live the best life they can. They often explore other worlds together.

Soul is what keeps Broken afloat, and Soul would say the same about Broken.

Broken knows he can do anything with Soul at his side, and everything will be okay. He has Soul at his side.

Until he doesn't =)

TLDRs:

Soul's Story: Soul kills a child to go and kill a bunch of humans, absorbs only one soul of those, gives another to his brother and then things reset. Eventually accidentally destroys his whole AU with the help of his brother. Goes and explores other AUs.

Broken's story (abuse TW): gets abused by his brother really horribly. Soul finds him and takes him to the empty void of his AU.

Soul and Broken's life together: two gay skeletons get married and use each other to overcome traumas.

Feel free to ask me anything about these two if you want :D