#don't mind me just making neater posts

[allieebobo]

Merry Crisis—Cast of characters

Romance-focused x Slice-of-life x Queer x Non-Euro-centric x Character-based

Demo | Features | Dev log | Back to Main Post | COG forum | Dedicated tumblr | Ko-fi

Credit: The wonderful amazing INSANELY talented @dumplingcatho made these STUNNING character portraits!! I am still reeling from how dang good she is. I swear she probably made a deal with the devil for this talent but I shall not question it.

Nat [M/F]

The soulmate/ex/best friend.

Your ex. Your parents never approved of them, but you suppose it doesn’t matter anymore. Despite the breakup, you’re still friends, and worse still - you still live with them in a tiny shoebox apartment. New York rent, man—it's hard to say no even though you know you should be moving on, and moving out.

Height: 6′2 (M) | 5′11 (F)

Nationality & race: African-American

Occupation: Post-doc fellow, working towards becoming a tenure-track professor.

Description:

Warm, twinkling eyes, and big, infectious laugh. Can swing from nerdy charm to extreme goofyness at the drop of a pin.

Loving, thoughtful, and kind to a fault. Relaxed, gentle demeanour

The kind of friend—and partner—you can trust with your life.

An incurable optimist.

Loves people, art/movies (especially talking about them with friends), food/cooking, their two dogs. 

Nat's dogs

Kiho [M]

Breed: Cairn Terrier

Age: 8

Description: Proud, small, intelligent, standoffish, with a stern grandpa energy. Apparently, a reader/player told me long ago that Kiho means "big boss" in Finnish colloquial slang and that was so perfect that it stuck. If Kiho were human he'd wear an old patagonia vest and spend his weekends fishing (not very adeptly).

Liz [F]

Breed: Border collie

Age: 3 (adopted when MC and Nat were already together.)

Description: Not exactly literal golden retriever energy but... close enough. A ray of sunshine, playful, easygoing, happy-go-lucky and a voracious eater (she eats everything), loves playing in puddles and has a special love for chewed up tennis balls.

Qiu [M/F]

The estranged first love / soulmates.

Your first-love (or platonic soulmate), from junior college. You’d not kept in touch, and now, they’re ridiculously successful. But, according to your intel, still…single.

Height: 5′8 (M) | 5′4 (F)

Nationality & race: Chinese Singaporean

Occupation: Public prosecutor

Description:

Extremely intelligent, with a sharp, cutting wit.

Ambitious, determined, and a bit cynical / jaded.

Dark, piercing gaze, with a completely unreadable expression.

Formal, a little bit stiff, and always impeccably dressed.

Aloof, almost intimidating presence despite their relatively average height/slim build.

Loves a job well done, being useful, stimulating conversation, and solving problems. Peace and quiet.

Shay [M/F]

The charismatic stranger.

Your neighbour (Auntie Pearl)'s new tenant. Sexy, confident, and unabashedly unconventional. Your mother definitely does not approve, but you might not be able to resist their roguish charms.

Height: 5′10 (M) | 5′6 (F)

Nationality & race: Chinese (Peranakan) Singaporean

Occupation: Lead singer & guitarist in a rock band

Description:

Thick, sweeping eyebrows, expressive eyes that twinkle at the edges, and a permanent roguish half-grin.

Tan, athletic, with an undeniable swagger to their walk. Has a penchant for sleeveless muscle tees. Good with their hands (and... possibly other parts of their body).

Adventurous, resilient, unflinchingly honest, and uncompromisingly true to themselves / the people they love.

Loves the outdoors (and constant motion), music (especially rock, reggae and soul), dancing, soccer, nature/plants (including gardening).

Other asks

[hero-israel]

So I've seen a lot of talk from people who allow that Israel was justified to attack Gaza after October 7th, but they feel that Israel still attacked too indiscriminately, killed too many Palestinians, and destroyed too much of Gaza. Two particular hangups I've seen most commonly are the idea that Israel should have done a "tactical counter-terrorism" action rather than a ground invasion, and a specific objection to Israel dropping 2000 pound bombs on Gaza specifically. I don't feel that I know enough about military tactics, so I don't know how legitimate it would have been for Israel to go into Gaza "tactically" or to drop smaller bombs, but I suspect Hamas would be a lot stronger than it is currently, and the same people would still be tut-tutting Israel's actions (if not calling them out with equal outrage). It's very frustrating

Everyone wants a better alternative but nobody describes what it is. Reminds me of the recent post about the Houthis - "don't bomb them, you need to find a way to get rid of the Red Sea embargo that only kills the badguys and nobody else." Okay, I'll just ask the genie of the lamp to magic them away. There are no options for going into Gaza that aren't utterly horrible. Hamas knows this, it was the whole point of their trap, and it is working.

Here's a fair-minded, moving essay by a Gazan Palestinian saying Israel needs "targeted, low-intensity, long-term operation[s] that could sustainably reduce Hamas’ military capabilities and create conditions to introduce a new administration in Gaza," and also admitting "tunnel warfare is dirty, complicated, costly and requires lengthy efforts and campaigns, not the short and swift operations upon which Israel’s military doctrine is built."

IOW, "go in and kill Hamas and destroy everything they have - but don't kill anybody else. Find a way to do it slower and smaller and neater, but still make sure you win."

It doesn't work that way. The tunnels are obviously boobytrapped, how are you supposed to order men in? The problem isn't expense, the problem is failure. Also a slow, prolonged ground campaign would require a lasting re-occupation, another lose-lose. Israel has purportedly been using the 2,000 pound bombs as bunker-busters to collapse the tunnels - maybe that's working, but it also kills the hell out of people on the surface, again part of the trap. I am disappointed that the IDF hadn't spent every waking hour the last decade building some technical gizmo that could make the tunnels uninhabitable, some kind of seismic or ultrasonic whatzit. I said a while back that I was in favor of flooding the tunnels and fixing the environmental consequences later. I've got messages in my inbox now urging me not to take that stance, that Israel should not be seen as "salting the earth," but it doesn't matter since it seems Israel isn't actually doing it, for whatever reason, so there's no point in a Tumblr blog taking a stance either way.

Tom Friedman is another useless Boomer leftover from the '90s and his "philosophy-of-cab-drivers" shtick is laughable, but he actually raised a good point here:

Netanyahu, I would argue, doesn’t want to win. He wants to be winning, OK, that is, he wants to be able to say, we’re winning. We’re winning. We’re winning. It’s just around the corner. But he doesn’t want to actually win because, if the war actually ends, two things are going to happen. Then he can no longer avoid what is the new political end state. And I believe there will be an eruption, a massive eruption, of Israeli anger at him that I hope and pray will drive him from power because I believe he is not only the worst leader in Israel’s history. I believe he’s the worst leader in Jewish history.

And that’s a long history. And what is Netanyahu’s calculation? It’s very simple. If he is not in power and has to face the conclusion of his trial and three corruption charges without the protection and influence that comes over the judiciary from being in power, he has a very good chance of going to jail. People forget. Israel jailed a president and a former prime minister. They’re not afraid to do that. And he does not want to go to jail. And he does not want to give up power.

And so this is a terrible situation where Israel is in a existential war, and its prime minister has basically dual loyalties, one to the state and one to himself. And at every turn, he is prioritizing himself.

I wish I could totally rule out the possibility that Netanyahu is going to try to drag this out until Trump's inauguration next year. I can't.

[xlunacloudiax]

Heart of two friends.

Description: Juan invites Y/n to his apartment to help her overcome artistblock. A special bond forming between the two friends finally blossoms into something more as they realise their feelings for each other.

About 6k words. Took me SO LONG to edit, and even longer to find courage to post. Please enjoy a slow but deep romance with Juan Ruiz. 🫶🏻

~~~

" So I was thinking... Maybe we could- " The door to Juan's apartment swings open and Y/n wanders in. Her thoughts are immediately replaced with surprise admiration. " Woah, nice place. I've already enough inspiration just by walking in here. "

Juan enters shortly after her and closes the door, silently locking it behind his back. He watches her soft hair lightly bounce across her back as she smiles contently at the room before her. Finally, he's got her alone with him. He's relieved he can spend some time with her after a busy week with Dr. Burke and the others, but he feels a pang of nervousness.

It's just them two. All alone. In his apartment.

" Yeah, it's okay I guess... Sorry I forgot to clean up the uh- " Juan apologizes. Perhaps he's just shy? He doesn't want to dissappointment Y/n in anyway.

" No it's fine, really. It's neater than my place in the mornings. " Y/n flashes a genuine smile that comforts Juan from his embarrassment. The bubbly nervous feeling in his stomach, which he only recently noticed, eases a bit. " Did you know that a person's emotions are first felt in gut before the brain registers it? " Y/n adds as if she could read his mind, it lightens the awkward mood a little.

Juan shakes his head and chuckles. He drops the keys into their usual spot and follows Y/n at a safe distance. " That's so random, but I didn't know that. "

For some odd reason he always feels calmer around her, so much that he worries little about the chupacabra's sudden appearances. The urge to transform seems almost completely surpressed and instead replaced by the frequent urge to be closer to Y/n.

The only present worry lurking in the back of his mind is Darcey. How will she react after hearing about Y/n's arrival at his apartment? Even if they're no longer dating for months now, she can sometimes be... obsessive with his personal life and friendships. He has to be careful around her. He doesn't want to make her feel any more insecure, but he still wishes she were less suspicious about him nowadays. Even after what happened between them, Juan still sees her as a friend.

" Hey, where's Darcey by the way? Isn't she here today? " Y/n's sudden questions break through his contemplation and he shakes his head. He was dreading those words.

" She's probably out with her friends. I don't know. " Juan chooses his words wisely. He doesn't want to think about Darcey right now. His mind flashes back to his last meeting with her, and the argument they had. He really wishes to forget about it. They've both decided to move on and it seems better that way. " We're not living together anymore. "

An awkward silence descends upon the room and Juan bites his lip, wondering whether he said too much or not enough. It's been half a year since he broke up with Darcey, but he never really talks about it. Y/n lightly pats his shoulder and the sudden touch sends electricity throughout his body. " Sorry. I didn't know she moved out. "

" No, no it's alright. That was more than a few months ago anyway. Things are better this way. "

" So it's just us then? " The words slip off Y/n's tongue and it makes Juan's heart skip a beat. His previous concerns are immediately erased. Odd, he shouldn't be feeling this way ... He hasn't known her for very long, yet it feels like it was meant to last a lifetime. His attraction towards Y/n is nothing new, but still seems ethereal. He's felt it resonate in his bones since the moment he approached her. An eager yearning to get to know her. Their fondness has grown throughout the past 2 months, and the feelings have become more familiar to handle with time. Yet they remain unbeknownst to Y/n.

Is it wrong to feel strongly towards a friend? It's not like this is a movie or anything.

" Yeah. Just us. " Juan releases a shaky breathe and shows her to his study. Y/n follows closely behind and he stops to allow her entry first.

Y/n walks around and observes the room. The surface of his desk was neatly scattered with sketches and portraits seated placidly on stands. A mirror and a large collection of expensive pencils and pens arranged in a holder next to a pile of drawings. A few shelves with books stood bythe side of the room. It had a comfortable lofty style showcasing all of Juan's sketch ideas, some finished and others work in progress. " Oh, this is lovely. It's like your inspiration domain. " Juan stands behind her in the doorway with a shy smile. " So is where you get all your great big ideas onto paper. Really nice. "

" Yes. " Juan agrees with a small hint of pride. " I'll be right back. " Dissapears into the main room for a brief moment. Y/n gazes thoughtfully and meticulously at each artwork, admiring the unique details that depict the artist's hard work, all the while thinking of how talented Juan is. He's worked hard to reach his success, and not many people recognise it enough. All the hours he's spent writing, planning, drawing, and all the hundreds of hours of practice. This room is a special place for him. A big black sketch book on the desk catches Y/n's attention. It lays closed, concealing whatever is inside it like a secret, taunting her. Something whispers in Y/n's mind to open it. _Surely this not invading his space, right?_ Her hand reaches out on its own, her curiousity too strong to resist.

She flips through a few pages, briefly examining the immaculate drawings of hands and eyes and different face shapes. Until she comes across a particular page that peaks her interest. A familiar face jumps out at her, the curves and tones so perfected it stands apart from the paper. Y/n stares at the drawing as it feels like it is staring back. Her heart squeezes in her chest and fills with an unfamiliar warmth once she recognises who it is.

It was a drawing of her.

Y/n feels tears prick the corners of her eyes as she considers ever line and little detail added to the small portrait. Nobody has ever cared to notice such detail about her before, let alone take the time to make an artwork of her. For the first time, as she gazes at the beautiful artwork made by Juan's hands, she realises just how deeply the emotions behind such an act could mean. And her heart is touched with an underlying hope.

Juan returns carrying a dining chair with ease, and places it down next to the desk chair. " Sorry, no autographs." He jokes and Y/n quickly turns the book cover with a small chuckle to swallow her sudden tears. She watches him intently, dark brunette curly strands of his hair fall infront of his eyes and spring up as he stands again with a sigh. " This is now your workstation. " He gently guides her to sit on the desk chair, curling his hands on her upper arms. The warm feeling of his touch lingers longer than it probably should, but it's quick to lift as soon as she sits down. The brief contat leaves a tingling spot on the skin underneath her sleeve.

Juan seats himself beside her on the dining chair.

" Oh- isn't this your chair? "

Juan smirks and leans forward closer to her face, his gaze meets hers, his shyness melting away. " The best way to learn from a teacher is to view the lesson through their eyes. " He shifts closer and extends his arm to grasp another large leather book on the desk, this time a navy blue cover. He opens it to reveal an album of portrait sketches in various perspectives, similar to the one Y/n had peaked into a few moments ago.

Juan carefully watches her face and smiles at her reaction to his work as they page through the book. Each unexpected compliment and question makes his heart flutter. " So, what's your technique? " Y/n finally asks and tears her eyes away from the portrait to gaze at him curiously. Juan feels warmth radiate inside him at her soft expression towards him, he almost doesn't hear her question clearly. " Can you show me? " It's like he has an apprentice. A very pretty apprentice.

" Alright. " He leans back to grab a specific pencil from his stationary shelf and sits closer to Y/n to demonstrate. She watches his movements attentively throughout the lesson, but barely asorbs the explanation. The sturdiness of his wrist as the pencil presses a line to a blank section of the page makes her knees feel weak for some reason. The veins lightly tracing his hands as he holds the slim object in a skilful manner. The strength shifting in his grip when he flicks his wrist in different directions. A few moments later, Juan pauses and swings the pencil towards Y/n's hand, resting it between her fingers the way he previously held it. " Is this comfortable for you? "

She focuses on the intense warmth of his hand gently placed on hers. Her mind almost short-circuits for a second. She nods. " Okay. " He whispers and slides closer, carefully stretching his arm around her shoulders and holding onto her hand with the other. She can feel his warm breath on the side of her face as he further explains the lesson, and the tickle of his curls against her forehead. Her heartrate beats like a drum as his firm hand steadily guides her smaller one across the page. His instructions are clear and concise. A faint musky scent enthralls her senses and her mind feels fuzzy. They are so close to each other now, faces merely inches apart. Y/n is barely able to keep focus, but she manages to capture the just of everything.

After completion, the intensifying warmth retreats along with Juan's hand. Y/n stares at her work feeling pleased.

" That went by like a breeze. "

Juan smirks playfully at her. " You're a faster learner that I thought. "

Y/n gasps decides to play along. " What's that supposed to mean? Your technique is easier than I thought. "

This time Juan gasps and places a hand over his heart. " I am offended. " He jokes and it earns a chuckle from Y/n. What a beautiful sound, he thinks to himself with a smile.

Juan abruptly stands up and heads for the main room. " You hungry? " He asks halfway to the kitchen. Y/n spins in the chair and watches him through the doorway.

" I guess so. What've you got? "

Juan, rummaging through the kitchen cupboard, pauses and looks up to face her. " Have you ever triednachos? "

Y/n in return snickers." Tried? I grew up with nachos. Though not the kind you're probably thinking of. "

" Oh? What kind then? " Juan frowns slightly in confusion but keeps his smile plastered on his lips. He wonders why he can't stop smiling around her? Juan picks up his desired ingredients alongside the chips on a tray. He places them on the kitchen island and quickly prepares the sauce. A moment later Y/n approaches and seats herself on a barstool in front of him. " Different chips? "

" Yes, a little unusual but very tasty. My mother's recipe. " She snatches a single chip from the preparation tray and crunches it. Juan props himself on his elbows and observes her thoughtfully as she explains the process of how her family used to make it.

" Interesting. I never thought you could use that. " Juan takes a chip, his gaze remaining attentive on her movements. She nods, bashfully, feeling his intense gaze. " But you know, the best part of the flavour is in the beans. " Suddenly an idea hits him, and he turns to fetch another topping. He returns with a little bowl of what appears to be sour cream, and places on the tray. The conversation continues. It is nice to finally have someone to talk to. Juan's normally used to being alone or being interrupted, but not with Y/n. " Did she add any spices? "

" Hm. Yes, and sometimes even nutritional yeast. But that tasted more like cheese. " Y/n replies with a glint of nostalgia in her eyes. " Actually, I remember the first time she she added sweet chilies. It was so good, it became one of our favourites. " She bites a chip covered in sour cream and is pleasantly surprised by the familiar spicy toppings. Juan, who's eyes have been carefully observing her facial expressions, gives a pleased smile upon noticing her delight.

" I thought you'd like this. You briefly mentioned it a few weeks ago. "

Y/n smiles appreciatively at the thought of his attentiveness. " You remembered that? "

" Of course. I pay attention to everything you say. " Juan takes a final chip before stepping around the counter. " That's how a spy works, isn't it? " Juan jokingly adds and takes the seat next to her.

" Oh, so you're a spy now? Ironic. I thought I was the only one. " Y/n decides to play along, speaking in a proud accent.

" Mmh, now that's a problem. Two spies spying on each other with a plate of nachos? "

Y/n chuckles at his statement. " And what's all the information you've collected so far? " Juan squints his eyes at her with a smirk, he leans forward until she can feel his warm breathe hit her face.

" Do you really want to know? "

She blinks innocently and smiles, daring to lean forward as well and resting her chin on her palm. The tension gradually building in the air between them. " I don't know. Is it confidential? " A deep hum resonates from Juan's chest and stands up again.

" Well, If I told you then ... there would be some consequences. " He opens the fridge and takes out two cans of some soft drink to show her. " Have you ever tried this? "

" No. You're giving me a lot of new things lately. " Including these feelings.

Juan passes the drink over the counter and their hands touch for a moment. It's like electricity flowing through the simple contact, a subtle but evident connection completing a circuit. There's a tug inside Juan's heart, like he wants to hold on to her. What is wrong with him, he wonders.

That's when he notices the thin, fresh, red lines draping across the tips of her delicate skin.

" Hey, what happened to your hand? " Juan asks concern in his voice. Y/n pauses and looks confused in response before realisation clicked in her mind.

" Oh. This? It's just cat scratches. " She giggles sweetly at the memory.

The internal tug in Juan's heart becomes nearly unbearable. His heartrate speeds up as temptation settles in for the simple desire. Maybe this will be okay? Unsure of the strange feelings developing inside of him, Juan takes ahold of Y/n's hand. His warm muscular fingers gently press along the peculiar lines. Y/n nearly flinches in surprise, her breath hitched in her throat as her heart skipped a beat. Her mind is overwhelms itself like a highway of thoughts as he continues to gently rub and trace the scars.

" I didn't know you had a cat? " He says in a soft tone, slightly deeper than before.

" Oh, well it's not exactly my cat... " Y/n begins to scramble her thoughts together. Juan listens attentively. " It's a stray. Her original owner was one of my neighbours, but the lady recently had an accident and has to live in a wheelchair for a while. I offered to take care of the cat until she recovers. She was very grateful for that... "

" Aw, that's sweet of you. "

Her eyes follow the movement of his fingers. Y/n notices the great difference in temperature between the both of them.

Of course, her mouth speaks before her mind. " You're so hot... "

" W- What? "

Heat instantly rises to Y/n's cheeks in realisation of her own words and she's overwhelmed by embarrassment. " Oh no- I mean, temperature-wise. " What is wrong with me? Y/n cringes at herself for the misunderstanding.

" Oh.. " Juan chuckles, understanding it was meant differently. His eyes flicker to hers and the obvious blush dusting her cheeks. What a pretty colour on her, I wonder what else will make her blush... Juan wonders why he is thinking this all of a sudden? But instead he continues to rub her hands, focusing on the fading cat scratches as a distraction. He can't deny it, he just wants to feel her skin for as long as possible.

Unfortunately their time spent together is cut short. " I have to go. It's getting late. Thank you for inviting me over. " Y/n's soft voice interrupts and Juan slowly feels a pang of panic arise as she retracts her hands and stands up.

" Wait! Before you go... " Juan calls after her fleeting form and he calms a bit when she stops and turns to him. She needs to stay longer. I can't let her go. Please not yet. I don't want that feeling to return... He clenches his fists and gathers whatever excuse be can think of to keep her there. His mouth gapes like a fish but words don't cooperate. So instead he settles for the next best idea.

Juan dissapears into the study for a moment, and returns with another magazine-sized book. He holds it out to Y/n. She takes it from his hands with slight interest. Juan switches on the hanging lights above the counter to assist her eyesight, ones that Y/n notes are quite stylish.

" What's this? " She asks curiously.

Y/n opens the book and reads the first page, only to notice it contains inked pictures. Her eyes widen in realisation and Juan smiles as he watches her excitement grow. " Oh my goodness... " Y/n flips to the next page. " This is one of your comics! But it's brand new? " Her fingers glide over the intricate black lines. She looks up at him with uncertainty.

" It's all yours. "

" Are you serious?! " Y/n's eyes light up and she hugs him. Juan feels an odd warmth grow inside him at her reaction and he encircles his arms around her. Her body fit right into his arms, almost perfectly like a puzzle. Like it was meant to be. Suddenly the air feels thicker again.

" I thought it'd be better if you had more examples to learn from, you know? "

" No ways... Thank you so much. " As she thanks him , he takes the time to relish in her scent.

That flips a switch.

A deep urge inside him silently begs not to let her go. Make her somehow stay in his arms. But he has no choice. He forces himself to detach from her dainty frame as she steps away. His chest aches inside as he attempts to ignore the desperate cries for her touch. It was almost so torturing that his hands began to shake under his balled fists.

" You're so talented, you know? I wish my stories could be visualised. But I don't have the time. "

There it is. Another compliment gracefully falls from her lips. Juan's chest overflows with the familiar warmth, one that often infiltrates his heart whenever Y/n is close by, he realises. It's a newly uncovered feeling that he hasn't even felt towards anyone before.

Perhaps she is a really special friend? He used to think, but now, he's not so sure anymore. Now, all he knows is that he needs to bring Y/n closer.

" Don't worry. I know you will some day. You just have to keep motivating yourself. Your story is good. It's you. That's what makes it so special... " Juan's eyes travel down from her glossy eyes, to her pouting pink lips, her revealing neck, and then to her arms. He has a strong urge to comfort her physically to, but he's afraid of making her uncomfortable, so instead he reassures her with his words. His opportunity to hug her has already passed. It's like a lump of stone sitting in the back of his throat, he struggles to gulp it down as his mind threatens to lose her if he doesn't do something more.

Y/n stares at him, feeling encouraged by his honest words. She smiles sweetly. " Thanks Juan. "

His eyes couldn't help but stare at her graceful figure, and the unique features of her face. Her beautiful hair that shines soft like silk in the lighting above. Her avoiding eyes hooded with naturally long lashes. They are the windows to her emotions, but can't express just how beautiful she is on the inside. He thought to himself. If only he could tell her... He could write an entire book about her and call it 'Y/n's heart of gold, Juan's heart of her'. He doesn't care how cheesy that might sound, that's how he feels around her.

Again he feels an inner tug, pulling him forward as a need to be closer to her. His increase in heartrate, beating like a drum against his ribcage. Is it the Chupacabra wanting to come out? He worries, but can't suppress the temptation to caress her cheek. It's like a different side of him is threatening to overtake. A build up of emotion about to spill like a cup filling with water till it reaches the brim.

That's it. He gave in.

As Y/n turns towards the door, Juan's arms reach out and prevent her from exiting. Her hand that lands on the doorknob is captured by a firm grip, and her fingers are laced with the man's strong ones. Juan's other hand raises itself to gently cup her cheek. She looks confusedly at him as a blush creeps onto her skin under the touch of his warmth. His face inches closer to her own, his dazed eyes boring into her with an intense gaze of longing. Y/n is left utterly speechless, except for the few words that managed to escape her lips.

" Juan? What are you doing? "

Juan remians silent, in thought. He stares endearingly at her. His eyes are almost glossy as he slides a strand of hair out of her face. Now he can see her beautiful eyes more clearly He doesn't understand why he is so enthralled by her, but maybe it was just her? Maybe it doesn't matter either. Words of apology linger on the tip of his tongue and after a while he doesn't hold some of them back. " I'm sorry, I can't... resist you... "

The eager longing inside of him overrides his senses and he pulls her towards him. His lips attack her soft ones and he unintentionally roughly shoves her against the dark wooden door. It was so sweet, so comforting, so right. His body moulds into hers as the satisfaction of his craving is met. His craving for her touch. Her comfort. Her understanding despite not yet knowing the truth about his alter ego.

How he stalked her that one night in his Chupacabra form just to be sure she arrived home safe. How he stopped that guy at the restaurant that tried to hurt her. How he was the one who defended her that night Dr. Burke's house was attacked. How he cared so much for her and admired her kindness and empathy for the people around her, despite not being able to express herself well. How he yearns for her to feel the same towards him. She was so pure in his eyes. Like an angel he thought he never deserved to meet. Oh, how he wishes he could tell her all this. How he truly feels about her.

The kiss doesn't stop. All the deepest unspoken emotions between the two flood into the each other like a dam wall bursting into a tumbling waterfall. It is passionate, other people would say, but in the hearts of the two it means much more than anyone can fathom.

In Y/n's mind, she knows this is dangerous. Being alone with a guy so dear and allowing him to kiss her? Logically, it was just a recipe of risks. She felt so uncertain, yet her heart felt so at home. But Juan wasn't just any guy, and this wasn't just a kiss. This is the one her heart has long yearned for to find, at last encased by his loving arms. Two fates destined to be entangled. The person she has prayed to meet since she was first able to grasp the meaning of love. The warmth of his lips traverse her her jawline, a sensation her body has long been seeking in her subconscious. She doesn't know why she isn't feeling threatened. Normally a slight touch attempted by a man would make her skin crawl in disgust or uncomfortability. Perhaps this is just the right man touching her, and her body knows it. Feel down, she knows this feels right somehow.

But her morals kick in and hesitation rises in the middle of the sweet sensation. She still needs to be careful not to let it go too far, no matter how good it feels.

She places her free hand that isn't holding the comic book firmly on Juan's chest, lightly pushing him away. Unfortunately he is just too strong for her and keeps in place. The longer she stands cornered by him the more temptation eases its way to give in.

No. She recollects her stance. I can't stay... It's too risky. What if he doesn't feel the same way?

Juan, sensing her hesitation stops and whispers words of reassurance as he leans into her neck. " Hey, are you okay...? I won't do anything you don't want me to. " For a moment she is comforted but her worry remains and battles with the intense feeling of bliss and the relaxation of her muscles in his hold. Her silence makes Juan retreat a little and scan her face for any sign of discomfort. Fearing that he's crossed a line. " I'm sorry... Please, just stay a little longer. We don't have to- " Y/n's voice is choked by uncertainty, but she shakes her head.

She can feel his warm breath lingering over her neck as he waits patiently for her answer, his lean muscular arms holding her dainty ones and she notices one of his thumbs rubbing along the top of her hand in a comforting manner. Their position against the door in such close proximity, the heat radiating off his body envelopes her like a blanket. Realising the strength he has over her in this moment is frightening, yet he remains gentle with her. Even asking consent to continue kissing her. " Will it be okay if I stay? " It's almost impossible to resist. Temptation is right at her doorstep and perhaps that isn't such a bad thing. Such a stupid thought to have in a situation where her body has but a single threatened cell aching to leave.

That is all it takes for Juan to hoist her up into his arms, her legs crossing over behind his back for support. She yelps at the sudden action until she realises where he's taking her. Her voice returns to her, almost shaky and out of breath from the continuous kisses. " Woah, I don't know if I'm ready for this- "

He tosses her onto his bed. Then he proceeds in removing his jacket. Y/n's heart skips a beat and she wonders where this would lead to.

Discarding the piece of clothing on the floor he climbs on top of her. Y/n stares wide eyed, unsure of what to expect. Slightly fearful but also excited. This experience is all too new for her. She just lays still and awaits whatever he plans to do. Her heart feels like it is dancing in her chest. Is he going to...?

Juan stares at her with dazed eyes, trapped in his arms beneath him. She looks as innocent as a deer in his eyes. Unfortunately, he's hunted such an animal before... but he'd never dream of doing such a thing to her. She is too precious. And he hopes the beast inside him agrees. He could see that Y/n trusts him. The last thing he wants to do is break that trust.

" You look so frightened. Have you never been kissed before? " Juan asks while caressing her fallen strands of hair out of her face to

" Not by you. "

He smiles again. He presses his lips onto hers again, this time softer and slower. He travels down to her neck and lightly sucks it between kisses. Her shoulders gradually relax, enjoying the tingly sensation.

Y/n reaches up to his curly hair and runs her fingers through the tousled strands. That seems to encourage Juan as he shifts his towering position over her into a tight but gentle embrace. Once again she is encircled by the comfort and safety of his strong arms respectfully in their place around her waist and back. Thumbs massaging at her sides and sending butterflies fluttering throughout her tummy. Juan quietly and breathlessly chants her name between kisses from her lips slowly traveling her neck, from the back of her ear down to her soft and sensitive shoulders. During this moment, this loving gesture, Y/n longs to know for certain how he truly feels.

After a while Juan lays himself next to her and keeps his arms draped over her smaller frame. Panting and breathless, the tension between them slowly dissapates but the thickness in the air tugging in his chest remains. His head nuzzles her neck affectionately, and he sighs at peace. Y/n gazes at him lovingly, with a mix of bewilderment and pensive. She never expected to experience love this way... And especially not from her dear friend Juan. That seemed no further than a dream to her.

She needs to clarify with him soon. She needs to know for sure.

" Juan "

Y/n whispers breathlessly.

" Is that all you're going to do? "

Juan chuckles at the unexpected question. The sound vibrates throughout her body. It feels so calming and yet contains so much strength. Her knees feel weak despite currently laying down. " What do you mean? Do you want me to do more? " He gives her a teasing glare.

Y/n's face flushes. She avoids the look on Juan's face as it just made her blush even more. Turning over to the other side, she gazes out the window to recollect her thoughts as her heart rate gradually relaxes. Juan watches her intently and holds her hand, lacing their fingers.

" I told you, I won't do anything you don't want me to, remember? " Juan searches her eyes and senses that same hesitation from earlier.

Y/n shifts under his embrace to face him, her gaze now serious from contemplation. " Juan. Tell me. Was this just a 'makeout'? "

Juan smiles at her straightforwardness. " I guess you can call it that, yeah? " He lightly caresses her forehead and presses a chaste kiss on the side.

" I mean, did it... mean anything more to you? " Y/n musters up the courage to ask, her stomach twists in anxiousness of his rejection.

Juan meets her gaze affectionately, searching her eyes again. Something is blooming between them it goes much deeper than the physical.

Juan's voice breaks the silence. " I'm still trying to figure things out between us but... it did, to me atleast. " Juan props himself up on one arm. The rest of the words hang in Juan's thoat and he all he can do is gape like a fish. He looks towards Y/n expectantly, scanning her soft features for the response they're both searching for. Her beautiful eyes bore into his and entrance him with their eager filled emotions. Needless anything to say, he understands what she means, and his hope that she feels it too has been fulfilled. The connection between them, is mutual.

Y/n forms a smile of pure bliss upon realisation and snuggles into his side. " If this is a dream please don't wake me up. "

Juan chuckles and she can feel it resonate throughout his chest like a deep rumble. She feels elated, as if they're lying together in the middle of a grassy field on a warm summer afternoon. The rise and fall of Juan's chest comforts her thoughts and she feels like an invisible weight has been lifted off her shoulders. He feels the same as he gently cradles her in his arms. The silence providing a peaceful atmosphere between them.

Y/n's thoughts remind her of the drawing she found earlier and her heart rate picks up pace again. Should I tell him? I might as well. She wonders where it will lead to but she doesn't waste time and gathers her words with much effort.

" I found your drawing. "

Juan leans back to gaze down at her in mild confusion. " Which one do you mean, love? "

Y/n's heart flutters at the nickname he gives her and looks up to meet his eyes boldly. " The one you made... of me. "

In an instant of realisation, Juan's cheeks heat up to a pinkish shade. He is at a loss for words. " H-How did you..? " His breathe hitches in his throat and causes him to stutter. Now he looks embarrassed and tears his gaze away from her with much shyness. Y/n reassures him by gently placing her hand on his face.

" It's beautiful. " She replies with such genuine sweetness in her voice, Juan's heart could melt right on the spot. Y/n can feel the heat radiating off him by now and he attempts to hide himself in her palm. But he quickly turns the tables by pressing sloppy kisses into her hand. A hearty laugh erupts from Y/n's lips.

" What happened to your shyness all of a sudden? " She asks in between giggles. Juan laughs along with her, thinking what a beautiful sound it is to hear her laugh. He promises himself to make her smile that way every chance he gets.

" Shyness? I'm not shy! " He attempts to defend himself but his uncontainable smile gives it away. " It's just- really hard to talk to a pretty girl like you. "

Y/n pauses and looks up at him teasingly in response to his flirtatious compliment. " Oh, so you're like this with every pretty girl then? " Juan's smile fades a little and his heart clenches at the thought. He gazes at her earnestly with undoubtedly loving eyes.

" No. Only you. " He cups her face in his hand and presses their foreheads together.

Y/n's laughing eases and her heart fills with warmth. Her usually avoiding eyes now wonder up to his own without hesitation, capturing hers with his intensity.

It is the first time they've made such eye contact in a while. Where sparks seem to fly, now the glimmer they share is like a dancing flame.

Both their hearts skip a beat. To Y/n if feels like her entire body is frozen in place under his endearing gaze. To Juan it feels like someone has gifted him the most precious jewel in the world. Her beautiful eyes who's always actively ignoring every attempt of eye contact, has trusted him enough to rest upon his own with such adoration. It's like a romance in a comic book, except this time it's real. They can reach out and they can feel each other. They can know each other. And they can be with each other despite all odds. Never would Juan have thought he'd be so genuinely excited over making eye contact with someone before. He couldn't tear his gaze away even if the world were to end that very second. This is too special of a moment to break. To meet your lover's eyes and know exactly what they're thinking, as if peering through a glass window into a person's soul, and seeing that they reciprocate.

" Your pupils are dilating. "

" What? " Juan chuckles at Y/n's random statement. She tends to do that often. Lighten the mood. " Where did that come from? "

" Oh, I read something about it. A person's pupils dilate whenever they look at someone the love or hate. "

" Well in that case... " Juan leans down to her ear and lightly kisses the earlobe. " That probably answers both our questions again. No? " The last words he whispers in Spanish and Y/n can feel the tension between them slowly rebuilding. She steadily holds his gaze and her heart leaps upon hearing his next words that reflect her own.

" Te amo..."

I'm crying inside. If you made it through this... 🥹 Thank you.

(Btw, the picture above is from a sunset in my neighborhood after it rained a while ago.)

[lollytea]

Do you have a beta reader, and as a writer, do you need one in order for your work to be good? Also, as a writer, how do you know if you're doing enough to finally feel good enough with whatever you're trying to work on?

Do you have a beta reader?

Not at the moment, no. I had a beta for a total of one fic I wrote in December 2022. Everything else has been done on my own. You can probably tell because of all the grammatical errors.

Do you need one in order for your work to be good?

If you're asking on behalf on yourself, I will say that you don't NEED one, but I'd definitely recommend it. If you're referring to writing fanfics and you don't have anybody available to beta for you, then there's no harm in posting them without it. As I said, I do it all the time. BUT if you do have somebody who's willing, then yes, absolutely accept their help. Having a second pair of eyes to catch all the little mistakes helps a ton. Their assistance and corrections will also help you learn, and your work will get better as you go along.

If you're talking about, like, writing original fiction that you're hoping to publish, then it's a little less casual than fanfic. If that's the case, yes, try to find an editor.

If you're asking about me personally, then I'd say that I probably WOULD be a lot better at writing if I had one. As I said, grammar and linguistics are my weak points. My stuff would also be way neater and more polished if I had a beta who was given more creative liberties. For the one fic I wrote that was beta-ed, their job was mostly to comb through these big fat paragraphs and add commas, remove commas, etc. They made a few suggestions about rewording some of my sentences, but they also recognized that I was a lunatic who was very particular about the way I phrased things for whatever reason so they mostly focused on the grammar and punctuation.

If I had a beta that I gave full reign to do whatever they wanted, my work would probably improve by tenfold. Shorter, more straightforward, probably more impactful, less rambly. But my stuff is exhausting to deal with from an editing perspective. Massive and wordy and all over the place. I really could not expect somebody to spend their valuable time wrestling with all of that for free.

So I'm fine tipping along in my usual rambly way at the moment.

How do you know if you're doing enough to finally feel good enough with whatever you're trying to work on?

Well, there's no such thing as being "good enough" to make anything. I write for fun. It's not my job. I have nothing to lose.

I'm still learning. And I think I still have a long way to go. It's okay if I'm bad at it in the mean time.

Everything I write and post is just an example of me practising. Trying to figure out what works. What doesn't work. My writing is always getting better, then worse, then better, then worse again, in a constant cycle, but as long as I'm practising, I'm learning.

Don't burn yourself out. Write little bits at a time if you have to. Don't be scared that your idea is too ambitious for your skill level. Write it in your own way, even if you don't feel like you can pull it off. By doing that, you'll steadily get better. And if you want to rewrite it again in a few years when you finally feel like you have the skills to excecute it in the way you want, then you can always do that.

Even if you don't feel good enough for your own standards, you improve a little bit every time you work on something. That's what's matters.

I find it comforting to focus on the fact that I'm still learning, rather than the fact that I'm still not as good as I think I should be.

I don't think any of us will ever be "good enough" in our own minds. We'll never see ourselves as masters. It's an unattainable goal. But so long as we keep letting ourselves write "badly" we'll probably write a few masterpieces in the process.

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: Love is real I invented it -Danny Words: 2,241 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Crumbs' -by Belaganas

VIII: Somebody Sedate Me!

Ara is looking at her reflection in the mirror with tension. What was that outburst she had with Percy? It's like he and Lily pull a trigger in her that she's yet to find.

She wants them to be proud of what she's accomplished, so why can't they be glad for once? Having a child of Olympus on their side during the war with Kronos would've made all the difference, why are they so pressed about it now?

Learn the difference between concern and distrust, says Lily's voice in her head. 

Though they're not that different from each other. Both come from the same thought: This prophecy is beyond Ara's skills.

She brushes her damp hair (she took a shower to cool off), and puts on a camp half-blood shirt, then she grabs her cosmetic set and stares at it, she wears makeup when she needs to feel better. Now is one of those days.

When she arrives at the meeting, she's the only one who made an effort to look more than just well-rested and that cheers her up, Generals should look neater than their army.

It's the first time the seven gather with no one else around, except Ara and Coach Hedge. She makes her way to the head of the table and pulls back a chair at the same time Percy reaches for it. She looks at him thinking Are you kidding me?, but a second later her brother mumbles an apology and sits next to Annabeth.

Ara looks at the group trying to gather her thoughts. They do seem intimidating, but Ara's interacted with them in such domestic settings that to her they just look like kids. "Anything we should know about the expeditions?"

"Well, maybe the part where we ran into Nemesis," Hazel suggests.

Ara's got so many things in her mind she'd forgotten about Nemesis, but now that Hazel brought it up, she can feel the piece of paper the goddess handed to her burning through her pocket.

Leo and Hazel share their adventure, and Ara uttered no word. What she got out of that encounter is of no use to the others—and then Annabeth, Frank, and Percy talk about their quest, but nothing worth remembering comes out of it.

"So where to now?" Leo takes a bite of his pizza. "Ara and I did a quick repair job to get us out of the lake, but there's still a lot of damage. We should really put down again and fix things right before we head across the Atlantic."

"We need to put some distance between us and Camp Jupiter," Percy replies. "Frank spotted some eagles over Salt Lake City. We figure the Romans aren't far behind us."

"I don't suppose we should go back and try to reason with the Romans?" Piper offers. "Maybe—maybe I didn't try hard enough with the charmspeak."

"That won't cut it," Ara replies, perhaps too harshly. "For charmspeak to work, they have to find you appealing. I don't think they feel like cuddling us at the moment."

Jason tries to lift his girlfriend's spirits. "It wasn't your fault, Pipes. Or Leo's. Whatever happened, it was Gaea's doing, to drive the two camps apart."

"Maybe if we could explain that, though—"

"With no proof?" Annabeth raises a brow. "And no idea what really happened? I appreciate what you're saying, Piper. I don't want the Romans on our bad side, but until we understand what Gaea's up to, going back is suicide."

"She's right," Hazel speaks hoarsely. She's having the worst seasick case ever but tries hard to keep it together. "Reyna might listen, but Octavian won't. The Romans have honor to think about. They've been attacked. They'll shoot first and ask questions post-hac."

Ara plays with the last pieces of veggies on her plate. "Then we stick to our original plan, and we look for Nico."

Hazel's anxiety causes precious stones to gather around her plate. "Nemesis said we have only six days until Nico dies and Rome is destroyed."

"You mean Rome Rome, not New Rome?" Jason asks.

"I think, but if so, that's not much time."

"Why six days?" Percy questions. "And how are they going to destroy Rome?"

"July first," Ara comments like it's obvious.

"What?" Her brother stares at her blankly.

Ara rolls her eyes. "All the stuff that's happened, Gaea's done them on important dates of our calendars. The winter solstice, the feast of fortune... the Kalends of July is a special occasion because," she pushes a piece of broccoli forward. "In Rome, that day's dedicated to Juno. Which is weird, 'cause I feel like that should be during the Kalends of June, but whatever—"

"How do you know all this?" Percy frowns.

Ara eats the piece of broccoli and points at Jason with her fork. "He's been teaching me Roman history for the past six months."

"Okay... so that connects to Nico... in what way?" 

"We are six days away from July first," she frowns. "Nico's literal deadline lands on a big day for annoying people—the Romans—and Gaea likes to taint our big celebrations, so maybe she's using him as bait."

"I've been seeing some things in my knife," Piper blurts out of nowhere.

Frank gulps down his food with difficulty. "Things such as..?"

"They don't really make sense, just garbled images, but I saw two giants, dressed alike. Maybe twins."

"Twins, like in Ella's prophecy," Annabeth points out. "If we could figure out those lines, it might help."

"Wisdom's daughter walks alone," Percy recites. "The Mark of Athena burns through Rome. Annabeth, that's got to mean you. Juno told me... well, she said you had a hard task ahead of you in Rome. She said she doubted you could do it. But I know she's wrong."

"Reyna was about to tell me something right before the ship fired on us. She said there was an old legend among the Roman praetors—something that had to do with Athena. She said it might be the reason Greeks and Romans could never get along."

"Nemesis mentioned something similar," Leo says. "She talked about an old score that had to be settled—"

"The one thing that might bring the gods' two natures into harmony," Hazel quotes. "'An old wrong finally avenged.'"

"I was only a praetor for about two hours," Percy sighs, playing with his food like Ara does. "Jason, you ever heard a legend like that?"

"I... uh, I'm not sure," he says. "I'll give it some thought."

Percy and Ara both look at him with the same scowl. "You're not sure?" Percy repeats.

Ara could've pressured Jason into talking, but before she can, Hazel intervenes. "What about the other lines? Twins snuff out the angel's breath, Who holds the key to endless death."

"Giants' bane stands gold and pale," Frank continues, "Won through pain from a woven jail."

"Giants' bane," Leo hums. "Anything that's a giants' bane is good for us, right? That's probably what we need to find. If it can help the gods get their schizophrenic act together, that's good."

"We can't kill the giants without the help of the gods," Percy muses.

"I thought you guys killed that one giant in Alaska without a god's help, just the two of you," Jason points to Frank and Hazel.

"Alcyoneus was a special case. He was only immortal in the territory where he was reborn—Alaska. But not in Canada. I wish I could kill all the giants by dragging them across the border from Alaska into Canada, but..." Frank sighs. "Percy's right, we'll need the gods."

"Oh!" Ara snaps her fingers, putting two and two together. "They took him!"

Frank frowns. "Come again?"

"Twins snuff out the angel's breath, Who holds the key to endless death," Ara recites again, looking at her sister. "In your vision, were the twins guarding something?"

Piper tries to remember. "I think they were... pulling up a large vase from a pit?"

"Was it large enough to fit a thin person in it?"

"You're not saying..." Hazel starts fearfully.

Ara's gaze darkens. "Your brother was looking for the doors of death, maybe he found them and knows how to close them, but they caught him before he could tell us."

"Di Angelo," Percy groans in realization, running a hand over his face. "Twins snuff out the angel's breath..."

Ara nods. "If Nico's been captured because he found the doors, rescuing him has to be our priority."

"Which is going to take us straight to those twins," Annabeth points out.

"Whom we can't defeat unless we get the giant's bane beforehand," Percy adds. "Whatever that is."

"And we must get all that before the Kalends of July, or everything will go wrong," Ara concludes with a sigh. "I'm not loving the tight scheduling..."

They stay quiet for a moment, trying to think of a different meaning to those lines, but nothing comes to them. In any case, going to Rome is what they were supposed to do since the start.

"So..." Leo drags his chair back once he finishes his food. "First things first, I guess. We'll have to put down in the morning to finish repairs."

"Someplace close to a city," Annabeth says, "in case we need supplies. But somewhere out of the way, so the Romans will have trouble finding us. Any ideas?"

"Well," Piper leans on the table. "How do you guys feel about Kansas?" 

"Lights out! Settle down! Try to sneak out, and I'll smack you back to Long Island!" 

Ara opens her cabin door angrily. "Coach! If you don't stop yelling you'll finish the quest as a potted plant!"

"Who're you calling a potted plant, Jackson? I'm a carnivorous one!"

"Those can be potted too, you jacka—"

"Someone needs a nap!" Leo comes out of his room, which is right in front of Ara's—definitely on purpose—and stops her before she kills the satyr. "It's alright, Coach, we're all tucked in, stop yelling."

"I don't see you tucked in, Valdez."

"Hedge, I swear," Ara says through gritted teeth, but Leo stands between them.

"I'm wearing my finest PJs, man, c'mon, knock it out," he guides the satyr towards his cabin.

Hedge gives in, though he gives out warnings as he goes. He stops before entering his room and points at them squinting. "You two—straight to bed."

"Unbelievable," Ara mutters, re-entering her room and leaving her door open.

As expected, when Coach Hedge leaves, Leo goes to his door and closes it loudly from the outside, then slips into Ara's room as quietly as possible. Ara crawls under the covers of her bed and Leo sits at the foot of it, his right leg hanging from the side.

He's got his crooked smirk that unsettles adults on his face, but he won't do anything unless Ara lets him, and right now all she wants is sleep. She curls up and buries one hand under her pillow.

"Not bad for our first day, huh?" He says.

Ara chuckles. "Not what I had in mind, to be honest."

Leo squeezes her calf over the covers. "You handled it well. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you," she yawns. "You were great too."

"If those lines in Annabeth's prophecy are about Di Angelo..." he starts carefully. "Isn't it a bad idea to play along?"

Ara frowns. "You think we shouldn't save Nico?"

"We don't know for sure he's been taken—"

"Exactly," she interrupts him. "We're going to Kansas first, we could find something there that proves my theory wrong."

Leo nods, he doesn't want to upset her, so he changes the subject. "Well... I don't know about you, but I'm not sleepy yet."

Ara laughs and quickly tries to cover the noise even though it isn't loud. She sits up to face him properly. "Just ask, Leo."

"Can I stay?" He scoots closer. "I'll behave, obviously, I don't want your brother to gut me..."

Ara presses a palm against his chest, and his heart races at her touch. She should tell him about the curse since it concerns him too, but his heartbeat is so fast and he glows golden so brightly... she doesn't want to ruin his happiness, at least not tonight.

"You know, I think I understand Echo," she whispers.

"Hm?" Leo struggles to focus on her words, even though his eyes are on her lips.

"You can love yourself a lot," Ara explains, "but if you're genuinely in love with someone, you'll stay beside them, even if they give you sorrows. Echo sees something worth saving in Narcissus because she loves him, and you can't listen to reason when that happens."

Leo leans his forehead on hers. "But he already died once and it did nothing to make him reconsider."

"He's been cursed," Ara's voice quivers. "He can't change his fate alone. You're right, Echo's very strong and brave for staying by his side, considering she has no powers, no..." she chokes a little. "No answers."

Leo moves to look at her. "You okay?"

Ara wraps her arms around Leo and buries her face on his neck. "I lied. I got scared when you attacked me—and my ribs still hurt, and I don't like Hazel, and Percy's mad at me..."

Leo's guts twist with guilt, and Ara feels it right away. "Crap, I'm so sorry—I should've—"

She pulls the emotion out of him with her empath touch. "I was scared for you, Leo, not me," the girl assures him. "I'm telling you this... because you said we could lean on each other. Please, don't forget it."

"I won't," Leo tilts his head, staring at her with soft, loving eyes. "Wanna lean on me first?"

Her soul-light brightens and she buries her face in his neck again. "Yes."

"Alright," Leo grins and kisses the top of her head. "You know... I wouldn't mind living through a thousand shitty days like this one if it meant I'd hold you like this every night."

Her heart squeezes with unease. "I know."

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @asnyox-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled

[scribblesbyb]

Get to Know B (Me)!

Hiya writeblr (or is it writblr? which is cooler?)

Welcome to my intro post! - I was told by the algorithm that you kinda have to make one if you're new to the community, so here's mine 🌻

The Basics:

Name: Call me B

Pronouns: she/they

Fav Genres to Read: Thrillers, Mystery, Drama, Horror

Fav Genres to Write: The same + Action, Romance, Fantasy

Current WIP: The White Pearl (Book I: The Origin)

Currently Reading: 49 Volume One, The Modern Love on AO3, and The Demon King by Cinda Williams

Currently Binging: House, Young Sheldon, and The Golden Girls (yes, and?)

Hobbies: spending money on stuff I don't need lol, also cooking, baking, gymlifebro

Pets: Does my little brother count? I dot on him all the time :D

FAQs

(Not that anyone asked these but it makes this post neater)

Q: What kind of books do you write?

Action, drama, fantasy, a dash of romance. I'm a creator of worlds (God complex, much?) and also a destroyer of them (Just like a God lol).

I lean towards horror and gore sometimes. However, I reserve those writings for myself, fearing they won't have the same appeal as my other WIPs.

Q: What's your current WIP about?

The short version, though? A lost girl, aching for normalcy, only for life to thrust her into the arms of an alien planet and people who insist she's destined for more than just 'being normal'.

WIP Intro Post here if you want to know more (Bonus: Chapter Titles)

Q: Any published work?

Soon! I hope so 🤞🏼 I'm working with a close artist friend on a cover still so soon! I'll flaunt it off here so look forward to that if you want 😉

Q: What can I expect from following ScibblesByB?

Glad you asked! (the irony that I'm the one asking this isn't lost on me lol)

I'm planning on posting blurbs, prompts, fanfics of my OC (once my WIP is published), and other random writing muses I get.

Some #blurb posts to check out for a little taste: Post 1, Post 2, Post 3😌

That's All Scribblers!

Can't wait to be welcomed into this lovely community of like-minded, nice, and obviously talented people. Hit me up, my inbox is wide open 💌

👋🏼🐝

(by B, get it?)

[glaceleau]

You mentioned in one of your doll posts that you converted strung wrists into magnetic wrists. Can I ask how you did that?? I have an old Minifee that I would much prefer to have magnetic hands and feet.

thanks for your time! 🙏

Hello! It wasn't the most elegant job, I just cut the Resinsoul hands in half (right through the palm) and roughly carved the remainder to fit into the magnetic Minifee hands. Then I stuck some Milliput on there to set a magnet in and make for a tighter fit. They still don't hold very strongly, so I usually use sticky-tac in there too. You could probably do it neater with more patience than me! But I don't know how to do it without totally sacrificing the hand that will become the wrist. I didn't mind doing it with the Resinsoul hands because I was not a fan of the sculpt and they are easy and inexpensive to replace.

[ramsaybaggins]

Letters with the Kraken for the tag game please!

So, this one is abandoned mostly because someone else posted their version first and I don't want people to think I'm copying their idea, but it was based on that tumblr post going round about a kid sending letters to an aquarium octopus! The idea was Louis wanted to write to a giant pacific octopus at Ed's aquarium, and Stede adds a little note, and basically Ed and Stede fall in love through these letters. Here's a big excerpt as it's likely I'll never post it

When Ed had pulled on his uniform and slid into work through the employee door that morning, he hadn't expected to find something new in his mailbox. It was a letter addressed to "The Giant Pacific Octopus." He tilted his head as he slipped the flap of the envelope open and pulled out two sheets of paper. The top one was written in what was very obviously the hand of a child, the one behind it was much neater. He dropped down into his office chair and got reading.

"Dear Octopus,

My name is Louis Bonnet, and I really love sea creatures. Do you have a name? I asked my dad if octopuses could read and write because I know you're very clever and he said maybe we should write to one to see, and we found out you live a couple of hours away! What is it like being an octopus? What do you do all day? Do you have any friends?

Thank you!

Louis"

Ed couldn't help but smile as he read through the letter again. It was so sweet, and Ed knew exactly what he was going to do before he even read the other sheet. He crossed his legs on his desk and swapped pages.

"Dear keeper,

My name is Stede and I am Louis' dad. He's really taken with the idea of getting a response, whether it's from you or from the 'octopus'. I'm doing my best to encourage his enthusiasm with his interests, so we would really appreciate a response of some kind if you have the time. I completely understand that you may be too busy! I've enclosed a stamped, addressed envelope so it shouldn't put you out any cost or further inconvenience.

Best wishes,

Stede."

Ed scanned the page again. The writing was neat yet pretty, and the signature at the end had a swooping flourish. This Stede guy seemed like a good dad, it made Ed feel warm.Why not indulge the kid, huh? It was nice to see a parent so involved with their child nowadays, Ed saw too many kids come through the aquarium full of awe and excitement, only to have their bored, huffing parents rush them through all of the exhibits. Sure, it wasn't all of them, but it was enough.

He dropped his feet off of the desk and onto the floor, then opened the top drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper. He picked his favourite blue ballpoint pen and got to work drafting a response.

"Hi Louis,

I can't read or write, but my keeper Ed read me your letter and I wanted to respond. I hope you don't mind if he writes it for me. My name is Kraken and I've been living here for nearly a year! It's great being an octopus, my tentacles are really long and strong so I can cause plenty of mischief in my tank! Sometimes I even squirt Ed when he's walking above me. He usually laughs, so I think he likes it, really. I love watching all the people come past my tank every day, humans are so interesting! What's it like being a human? It must be busy! I do have friends. Ed is my friend, and there are plenty of fish and other creatures in my tank to hang out with. I look forward to your next letter!

Yours,

Kraken."

A separate piece of paper awaited his response to Stede’s note.

"Hello Stede,

I'm the octopus keeper at the aquarium, Ed Teach. I hope the letter I've attached 'from' Kraken is okay, thought it might get the fella excited without giving him wrong info. It was great to get your letters, honestly. Been here a long time and I was starting to wonder if I'd run my course, but asking to be penpals with an octopus? Brilliant. You seem like a good dad, it's nice. Feel free to let Louis keep writing, and I'll keep responding. What age is he? Just so I can make sure I'm replying in an age appropriate style, not too many big words or anything.

Yours,

Ed."

[spectre-ship]

sewing project posting time has come at last! it's been so long since I posted my sewing stuff—took a while to work up the courage for it I think. it is still just mid 19th century style shirts. i will do waistcoats and pants soon enough i swear

in order to take these photos I had to take my mirror and recklessly perch it atop a little stand I keep next to my desk, so apologies for the resulting inconsistent picture quality. I need to concoct a better solution—wall mirror probably. relatedly, please forgive the crazy way I'm holding my phone in all of these pictures

first up: the blue work shirt here. I experimented with the placket (front buttons) here, mixing ideas from a couple mid-19th century shirts in the collection of the Merchant Tailor Museum (my decision to only have two buttons on the front was derived from shirts like this.) the fabric is literally from Wal-Mart and is a little rough—I'm honestly not sure what exactly the intended use case is—but it's very light and comfortable, it looks pretty period, and depending on how I wear it, the resulting shirt is anywhere from roguish and sailor-y to salt-of-the-earth and farmer-y. I'm slightly paranoid that if I go out in this someone will think I'm Amish

importantly, I made this one larger than all of my previous shirts, which clued me into the fact that I had been doing something wrong when I made my first few: the sleeves were formerly way too short and narrow. the more liberal dimensions of this shirt fixed the problem, and the sleeves on this one puff out really nicely!

I will not be doing any closeups on this shirt because a lot of the stitching looks terrible (though it's quite functional.) I had dabbled with a couple machine seams here and there before, but this one was a larger-scale learning exercise with my "new" sewing machine, a Singer 99k from 1932 with a hand crank. (I can't get the light to cooperate to take a decent picture of it, unfortunately.) luckily, the poor workmanship is mostly hidden by whatever I'm wearing with it and the folding-back of the cuffs, which was a common way to wear shirts like this in the early and middle 19th century.

next up: Mr Fancy

this shirt is inspired by a specific one from the same museum I was looking at earlier. typical pleated-front shirts of the 19th century will cut out a panel from the chest, and insert two pleated panels of slightly finer fabric in its stead; this shirt (and my homage to it) instead just neatly folds the front inward, tacks everything in place with a little patch, and calls it a day; the "cheating" at work is hidden by a waistcoat.

...part of why i took so long to post this is that the fabric is a little diaphanous-looking. so, uh, don't mind that. or do.

not perfect; could stand to be a little neater, there's some bits where you can see i was struggling a little with the machine, and I need to reposition the top button slightly to the right (left in the picture.) but i think it's pretty handsome for a first try. (

with a fuller ensemble. I don't know if I would go quite so far as to call this a dress shirt, but it's certainly a couple steps up in formality from the checked blue one, and the inconsistent workmanship remains largely hidden. i also feel much more confident in my use of the machine after this one. relatedly, I have to strongly recommend the inimitable Mr Briggs' wonderful tutorial on machine-sewing 18th century/"pirate" shirts*, which was immensely helpful in not just constructing this solidly, but in constructing it efficiently.

if there's one thing I'm unhappy with on this shirt, it's the way I did the shoulders; the shoulder seam should have lots of puffy gathers, but I made the underarm gussets too small. as a result, the shirt sleeve fabric can't bunch up as much, which makes the seam a little flat looking (though there is still a little gathering, which is much better than no gathers at all.)

at some point I plan to revisit the idea of pleated front shirts, and try to make a "proper" dress shirt or two, where I properly cut the bosom piece out & otherwise hold myself to higher standards. eventually I wanna try and recreate this lacy French beauty from the 1860s.

*which are, broadly, constructed very similarly to most (western european & american) shirts until about the 1840s, with most changes in shirt design between the 18th and early 19th century being fairly small details like cuff length, how the bosom/placket is finished, and the height and shape of the collar.

* * *

anyway, future plans: I was originally planning to call it quits with making shirts for a while, and I already have a couple pieces cut out for a blue waistcoat I've been planning. I'll get to that fairly soon, but in the more immediate future I'm planning to take another run up at the idea of a shirt with ruffles/frills. my last one was honestly kind of bad; the pictures looked OK, but the collar is half as tall as it needs to be, the frill is constructed pretty poorly, and the material is way too coarse. in practice, it doesn't really puff out like it's supposed to, and the texture is maybe a couple steps down in roughness from a painter's canvas.

the cotton lawn I made the pleated one from (and I got a lot of it) is very comfortable and light, and for various reasons I now feel much more confident in the idea of wearing a really frilly poofy shirt out and about. so for this one I will be going all out. two inch frills on the cuffs with lace trim on the ends! a neck opening ruffle so voluminous you could use it as a bedsheet! I'm very excited for it, and have actually cut all the pieces out already; I intend to resume work on it within minutes of hitting "post" here. my guiding principle is that it needs to look like something Tom Cruise would wear as Lestat in the 1994 Interview with the Vampire movie. any photo where I'm wearing the shirt needs to feel like a thirst trap. so stay tuned I guess :3

[tetsunohai]

#𝑇𝐸𝑇𝑆𝑈𝑁𝑂𝐻𝐴𝐼 . . . — an indepedent private selective original character ( SANATAKA BUSUJI ) written within gotōge koyoharu's kimetsu no yaiba adored by coma ( 24, they/them ) 18+ minors &. personals will be blocked please read rules before interacting

𝚊 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚢 𝚒𝚗 . . . — perseverance, the aftermath of puerile naivety, the exploration of invention, stalking one's prey, becoming an impenetrable wall, acts of cunning, and survival at all costs

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ[₁.] carrd.ㅤㅤㅤㅤ[₂.] memes. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ [₃.] edits.ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ[₄.] self promo.

rules also below the cut.

00. DISCLAIMER / if you've seen sanataka come across your dash before . . .

01. INTRODUCTION / hey, i'm coma! i'm a 24 year old burnt out retail worker that goes by they/them pronouns and am a live-in caretaker for a relative. i hold no claim nor ownership over kimetsu no yaiba and i operate under a strict 18+ rating. minors will be blocked, and blogs without an age listed on their blog will likely go ignored.

02. PASSWORDS &. FOLLOWING / i don’t send passwords. i don’t have a password. reading rules is the first thing i do before following a blog, and i expect the same courtesy. please keep in mind that this blog is also mutually exclusive and that i will be blocking unsolicited personals and non-mutuals who interact with my posts (this includes liking my threads. please don't).

03. DISCOURSE &. UNFOLLOWING / i will not tolerate any hate towards anyone, ever. i don’t do callouts, i don’t do drama, and if someone ends up being problematic / potentially dangerous, there's a block button i'll happily use. the only other exception that may lead to me unfollowing is inactivity without a hiatus notice. but always feel free to hit me up again when/if you return, and i’ll gladly refollow!

and just a heads up! my memory is shit and tumblr is broken. if you're a mutual that has unfollowed me, PLEASE HARDBLOCK ME, if you softblock, i may assume it was a misclick on my part and refollow. i'd like for everyone to be comfortable on their own dash, so regardless of the reason, hardblocking will ensure that i don't make that mistake.

04. ACTIVITY / i maintain extremely low and sporadic activity, sprinkled throughout sunday through wednesday as my schedule allows. i'm often preoccupied with working full-time and having irl responsibilities, but i consider roleplaying a hobby and won't be around all the time to indulge. if at any point i find myself not hoping on for a month or so, i'll take that as the sign it is and take a step back. i'll post a hiatus notice at that point, and return when either my motivation returns or when life slows down again.

rest assured i'm either planning on returning or am being active somewhere else for the time being. i'm too much of an rp nut to quit cold turkey (much to my own detriment LOL)

05. OC'S &. CROSSOVERS / oc friendly, as long as you've got a bio up i am down to clown.

rn i am crossover-tentative. this is because my anime pool is hilariously small nowadays (the only ones i've watched with any consistency in the past four years have been kny, jjk, and lately frieren), and also because sana is a kny-focused oc. but if you've got a kny au, i would be thrilled to write with you!

06. CONTACT &. MEMES / memes are great icebreakers! even if we’ve never interacted before or if i even reblogged the meme months ago, you’re more than welcome to send one (or more) in and continue it into a thread to get the ball rolling. I actually prefer this to plotting!

i answer my asks in separate posts to make them easier/neater to reply to and i usually make them open-ended so that they can be easily continued.

if you are a plotting preferred blog, please do not be deterred! if you'd do me the immeasurable kindness of throwing quite literally ANY general concept my way, i have a much easier time with coming up with contributing ideas. it's the initial start off point that i seem to be terrible at.

07. SHIPPING / i’m open to all sorts of ships as long as there's chemistry! romantic, platonic, familial, antagonistic, etc. even hashing out some pre-established possibilities, given that there's a dynamic to workaround! sanataka is currently multi-singleship, meaning any relationship romantic in nature will be exclusive to ONE PORTRAYAL of a muse.

08. ROLEPLAYING &. THREADS / i'm super into multiple threads with one mun! there are always tons of scenarios to explore! and there are multi-muses to consider, but even if you're single-muse, this definitely still applies.

just please refrain from pestering me for replies! i do things at a pretty glacial pace and prioritize my real life over tumblr, so i can be pretty slow at cranking out drafts.

09. NSFW / NSFT &. SENSITIVE MATERIAL / anticipate a healthy dose of canon-typical violence, or potentially suggestive themes. i WILL NOT explicitly rp smut.

threads or blogs fetishizing incest, rape, a/b/o, pedophilia or condoning transphobia, racism, ableism, etc etc or any sort of bigotry are liable for an immediate hard block.

10. GRAPHICS CREDITS / i did em myself! slaving away with photopea! my psd is literally just a levels/exposure adjustment with a noise filter slapped on top (ツ)_/¯

[ivyquill]

request rules

these dividers were made by firefly-graphics

general etiquette (please do not take offence to these, i am just establishing my boundaries and wants so that we can both respect each other! i have had difficulties on my other accounts in the past due to these reasons, it has nothing to do with you!) - please do not spam! i sometimes take a long time to fulfil requests because i want to give them the best quality and attention as i would for one of my own wips, your support is very dear to me and i want to express that appreciation! ♡ - please reblog once i have finished your request! it helps me out and i greatly appreciate it, here is a guide explaining the reblog system to any newbies (don't worry, i've been there too) - please send me more than just the pairing e.g character x reader | i appreciate that you might struggle with coming up with ideas and if you are really struggling i do not mind but if at all possible then i would appreciate more description of what you would like even if it is just a trope - please do not request the same thing to multiple writers! in my experience it is quite hurtful to experience excitement for a request and then see the requester has sent it to multiple writers, i know it is most likely not intended as rude but i think quite a lot of my fellow mutuals and writers feel the same way about it ♡ - please do not send more than five at a time unless i post a statement asking for more, it can be stressful otherwise

fic requests - describe what it is that you want even if it is just a trope or vibe e.g friends to lovers, fluff, angst - pronouns! | if you do not send them to me then i will have to choose myself which will most likely be they/them or ambiguous to make the work as inclusive as possible - i will write for yandere and/or dark themes - i will not write for physical abuse - i will not write for self-harm

smut requests - tell me the type of anatomy for the reader | i need to know the body type to be able to write for it e.g afab which stands for assigned female at birth or amab which stands for assigned male at birth, if you do not tell me then i will choose afab as it is the most familiar to me and is my own - tell me any preferred kink or tone you would like e.g rough or tender - i will not write noncon but i will consider dubcon under specific circumstances of the relationship so i will need you to explain that part to me e.g why is it dubious (just to be neater i would prefer to be told over dms but i'm not picky)

headcanon requests - my headcanons can range from 14 points to 40 points so please establish whether you would like long or short! i understand that not everyone will appreciate my tangents!

fandoms i will write for and post on this account - marauders - harry potter - hp universe - twilight - scream - derry girls - marvel - heartstopper - bridgerton - killing eve - sex education - the hunger games - stranger things - never have i ever - wednesday - little women - bones and all

[stellaccelerate]

ℙ𝕚𝕟𝕟𝕖𝕕 ℙ𝕠𝕤𝕥

Hello, I'm Mango. I'm 25+, my pronouns are she/her. I live in Canada and my timezone is PST.

This is an indie rp blog for Yusei Fudo of YuGiOh 5Ds. Sometimes I use animated icons, sometimes live action. Yusei's FC is Haruma Miura.

Below are some handy links:

About (wip) | Memes | Headcanons

Rules are below the cut.

𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠:: I'll have days where I'll lack muse and I'll spam the dash with pretty gifs of my muse's face. It's just how I roll but I figured I'd be up front about it so people who consider following me know what they're in for.

The Basics

I’m a selective/mutuals only blog. Mutuals are people I’m following and who are following me back. If one of us is not following the other, we’re not mutuals. All starter calls, memes, opens, etc. are for mutuals.

If you want to continue an rp that started over an ask, please make a new post instead of reblogging it. It’s neater that way.

Please trim your posts.

Do not reblog rps you’re not a part of. It messes up my notifications.

Don’t godmod.

Original Characters.

Love ‘em. They gotta have an about page I can read otherwise I won’t follow. I’m not going to rp with an oc that keeps me in the dark.

Format.

I write in past tense, third person. Sometimes I’ll write in the present. I’m not fond of first or second person, I find it confusing. I also format my posts in small text but you don’t have to.

Contact.

Discord is for mutuals only, same goes for tumblr IMs. I prefer discord and it is the best way to reach me.

I prefer my partners to be 18+ for my own comfort. If I happen to make a mistake concerning this, let me know and I'll unfollow. I don't like soft-blocking but I realize it has become a "necessary evil" in the rpc. Many people request to be soft-blocked if you wish to no longer remain mutuals and I respect this.

Conduct.

Don’t nag me to reply. It’s irksome and I’ll get to our rp when I can. Sometimes muses are fickle and only want to do certain threads. I also have a job so I may forget.

Gentle reminders are okay, impatience is not.

Don’t send me or my mutuals hate.

Don’t send me chain asks like “pass this onto x amount of people.” I consider it to be spam and I’ll delete it.

If you wish to reblog a meme, please do so from the source.

Shipping.

I am open to shipping, however there has to be some chemistry. Discussion is also welcome but not always necessary. Certain ships may require some discussion beforehand. Malk is a difficult character to ship with due to his past experiences with abuse so please keep that in mind.

Credits

lavaliere, duelers/mai. @ygoicons

[otogiryuji]

ℙ𝕚𝕟𝕟𝕖𝕕 ℙ𝕠𝕤𝕥.

Hello, I'm Mango. My pronouns are she/her and I'm 25+. I live in Canada and my timezone is PST.

This is an indie rp blog for Ryuji Otogi of the YuGiOh series, mostly centering around the manga.

LINKS:

About (wip) | Memes | Headcanons

RULES BELOW THE CUT.

𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠:: I'll have days where I'll lack muse and I'll spam the dash with pretty gifs of my muse's face. It's just how I roll but I figured I'd be up front about it so people who consider following me know what they're in for.

The Basics

I’m a selective/mutuals only blog. Mutuals are people I’m following and who are following me back. If one of us is not following the other, we’re not mutuals. All starter calls, memes, opens, etc. are for mutuals.

If you want to continue an rp that started over an ask, please make a new post instead of reblogging it. It’s neater that way.

Please trim your posts.

Do not reblog rps you’re not a part of. It messes up my notifications.

Don’t godmod.

Original Characters.

Love ‘em. They gotta have an about page I can read otherwise I won’t follow. I’m not going to rp with an oc that keeps me in the dark.

Format.

I write in past tense, third person. Sometimes I’ll write in the present. I’m not fond of first or second person, I find it confusing. I also format my posts in small text but you don’t have to.

Contact.

Discord is for mutuals only, same goes for tumblr IMs. I prefer discord and it is the best way to reach me.

I prefer my partners to be 18+ for my own comfort. If I happen to make a mistake concerning this, let me know and I'll unfollow. I don't like soft-blocking but I realize it has become a "necessary evil" in the rpc. Many people request to be soft-blocked if you wish to no longer remain mutuals and I respect this.

Conduct.

Don’t nag me to reply. It’s irksome and I’ll get to our rp when I can. Sometimes muses are fickle and only want to do certain threads. I also have a job so I may forget.

Gentle reminders are okay, impatience is not.

Don’t send me or my mutuals hate.

Don’t send me chain asks like “pass this onto x amount of people.” I consider it to be spam and I’ll delete it.

If you wish to reblog a meme, please do so from the source.

Shipping.

I am open to shipping, however there has to be some chemistry. Discussion is also welcome but not always necessary. Certain ships may require some discussion beforehand. Malk is a difficult character to ship with due to his past experiences with abuse so please keep that in mind.

Credits

@ygoicons for icon material.

[rakept]

𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠:: I'll have days where I'll lack muse and I'll spam the dash with pretty gifs of my muse's face. It's just how I roll but I figured I'd be up front about it so people who consider following me know what they're in for.

The Basics

I’m a selective/mutuals only blog. Mutuals are people I’m following and who are following me back. If one of us is not following the other, we’re not mutuals. All starter calls, memes, opens, etc. are for mutuals.

If you want to continue an rp that started over an ask, please make a new post instead of reblogging it. It’s neater that way.

Please trim your posts.

Do not reblog rps you’re not a part of. It messes up my notifications.

Don’t godmod.

Original Characters.

Love ‘em. They gotta have an about page I can read otherwise I won’t follow. I’m not going to rp with an oc that keeps me in the dark.

Format.

I write in past tense, third person. Sometimes I’ll write in the present. I’m not fond of first or second person, I find it confusing. I also format my posts in small text but you don’t have to.

Contact.

Discord is for mutuals only, same goes for tumblr IMs. I prefer discord and it is the best way to reach me.

I prefer my partners to be 18+ for my own comfort. If I happen to make a mistake concerning this, let me know and I'll unfollow. I don't like soft-blocking but I realize it has become a "necessary evil" in the rpc. Many people request to be soft-blocked if you wish to no longer remain mutuals and I respect this.

Conduct.

Don’t nag me to reply. It’s irksome and I’ll get to our rp when I can. Sometimes muses are fickle and only want to do certain threads. I also have a job so I may forget.

Gentle reminders are okay, impatience is not.

Don’t send me or my mutuals hate.

Don’t send me chain asks like “pass this onto x amount of people.” I consider it to be spam and I’ll delete it.

If you wish to reblog a meme, please do so from the source.

Shipping.

I am open to shipping, however there has to be some chemistry. Discussion is also welcome but not always necessary. Certain ships may require some discussion beforehand. Malk is a difficult character to ship with due to his past experiences with abuse so please keep that in mind.

Credits

lavaliere, tehseto, talesfan, emeraldocean, duelers/mai. @ygoicons

[ecosystem-administrator]

This is the thing! I love the technology, I love the things the technology can do. I was deeply enamored with earlier stages where neural networks would generate surreal imagery that a human mind wouldn't think of, because of how it compiles and approximates its way toward coherence. Even now, the tendency toward extra fingers and teeth, blurred edge transitions and incoherent patterns, lends generated images a dreamlike quality that absolutely fascinates me.

But the huge datasets required in order to produce work that could plausibly have been made by a human can't be acquired ethically. There's no way to ask the permission of that many people and contract for the use of their work in a reasonable time frame. If a program is capable of generating coherent images, it's because it's relying on work scraped from public posts all across the internet. We don't have programs that could take just your art and make it neater, because something has to teach the program what 'clean' looks like.

And the ethics of this were still nebulous so long as the images being generated were a curiosity that wasn't being sold, or used to drive traffic through advertising. But now search results are getting cluttered, now corporations are paying for generated images that are Good Enough rather than commissioning artists, and all of this off the backs of the real humans who have been releasing their art into the world for free online for the past few decades.

If you want to see more about how machine learning works and explore how it's developed over time, I'd highly recommend looking through the archives of Janelle C. Shane's blog AI Weirdness. I've been following it for years and I love her sense of humor.

Also, as always, there's an XKCD for that: https://xkcd.com/2173/

Technically, your brain is a neural network. It runs a bit slow but it's way more complex than anything we can build right now.

I want to preface this by saying I am not endorsing the use of AI. I just have questions about people’s thoughts on it.

How is an AI learning from other people’s art any different from a human doing the same?

The reason I’m reluctant to ask about this is because I draw comics myself, and my technique isn’t great, but it’s improving. I don’t use AI, mostly because I’m not good at getting what I want from a prompt. A lot of the artists I follow are vehemently against AI use entirely however, and anyone who suggests it could be useful as a tool is vilified. Honestly I’d love if I could get a computer to make my drawings “neater.” I still made the basic concept, right?

If I was to look at someone else’s art in order to use it as a style reference or a reference on how to draw a certain object, clothing, body part, etc., nobody would care. All artists use references. How is an AI learning from other works different? For all the people that tag their work “No AI,” are humans not allowed to look at it either? Once we see something, it influences us, whether we realize it or not.

Again, I’m not strictly endorsing anything. I’m just asking an honest question.

[maladaptivedaydreamsx]

‣ Guidelines for sending requests can be found here.

‣ Requests are currently tentative, but with no guaranteed turnaround time (things have gotten busier.). I ask that you place be patient, thank you for choosing to request from me!

❤️ Fluff | 🌧 Angst | 🔞 Smut | 🔥 Spice | 🩹 Hurt/comfort

💭 Headcanon | ✍️ Drabble | 🗨 Fic idea/outline | 👤 OC

❥MLQC

❀ GAVIN BAI

↳ Present ❤️🔥

❥Ikemen Sengoku

❀ YUKIMURA SANADA

↳ Second second chances 🌧❤️👤

❀ RANMARU MORI

↳ Faithfully Unfaithful* 🌧🗨

❥Ikemen Vampire

❀ MC × ARTHUR × COMTE

↳ Sweet Rendezvous 🔞🔥

❀ DAZAI OSAMU

↳ Reincarnation Devastation* (angst)

❥Ikemen Revolution

❀ ALICE / JONAH / KYLE

↳ Three's a Crowd* 🌧🗨

❥Ikemen Prince

❀ RIO ORTIZ

↳ Unrequited* 🌧🗨 (❤️?)

❀ RHODOLITE PRINCES

↳ Holding their newborn ❤️💭

❀ CLAVIS LELOUCH

↳ The Littlest Lelouch ❤️

❥Ikemen Villains

❀ JUDE JAZZA

↳ Eternally Cursed ❤️(🌧?)

↳ Mean Kiss 🩹✍️(❤️?)

❀ HARRISON GRAY

↳ Afterglow ❤️🔥✍️

❥Obey Me!

❀ MAMMON

↳ You Wanna Bet? ❤️

❀ LEVIATHAN

↳ Brighter than the Fireflies ❤️

❀ SATAN

↳ Anniversary ❤️

❥Tears of Themis

❀ MARIUS VON HAGEN

↳ I'm All Yours ❤️✍️

❥Other (oc's/misc.)

❀ My OC's

↳ Aerin OC lore 💭👤

✎ A/N: I won't be officially opening requests, unless I temporarily state otherwise. I'm fairly busy and usually only write whenever inspiration hits (given that I have the time/energy to do so). Everyone's welcome to stop by the ask box/my dm's though! Whether it's to thirst (yes, anon is on dw) or just chat, feel free to stop by anytime. Who knows, I might not take requests but maybe a certain message might spark joy inspiration regardless. Heads up, unless gender neutral is specified, then fic is afab mc/reader (will be in fic's desc.)

** Please see the #aerin.writings & #mon écriture 💌 tag for more, as I nend to not add all my shorter pieces onto the masterlist, and there might be extra works found there!

↳ I write for: Ikemen series (presently: Revolution, Sengoku, Vampire, Prince & Villain), Tears of Themis, Obey Me!, Love & Deepspace, & Twisted Wonderland (sfw only for basically everyone, with the exceptions of: Leona, Malleus, Lilia & staff). Though I have some knowledge of others like MidCin, What in hell is bad, Code Realize, MLQC, etc., I do not currently confident writing for those at this time, and will just post for them.

Thanks for stopping by! ♡ xoxo, aerin