#i am drinking water bc i have to work which is a bit of a cheat but otherwise i would die

[forgotten-daydreamer]

vent moment but my health is a bit worse than i let on, which is weird ik since it seems like complain about it all the time here, and apparently i also look sick, because two separate people in their 40s or 50s asked me, 24, if i needed their seat on the bus. kind of them. but humiliating nonetheless.

[abyssaldyke]

Fasting will have you doodling shit like "Mrs. Coffee, Two Sugars" "Mrs. Tempeh BLT with Avocado" "Mrs. Salt and Vinegar Chip" in your notebook with little hearts on the i's

[lookwhatyoumademelou]

.

[clickityweasel]

cheapskate bleach tutorial

Sticking it under a readmore but this is how i make my shirts etc for like a fiver's worth of materials. I am far from being an expert btw im just playing with chemicals. also probably do this in a ventilated area or something

You will need:

Bleach (I use thick toilet bleach it's like 80p)

The thing you want to bleach onto (In this case, a tote bag for a friend. usually i thrift old black shirts.) You should do a patch test before any real bleaching -- dab a tiny bit on the inside of a hem somewhere before you commit. I don't show that below because i forgot to do it but you should. You should ALSO iron the thing before you bleach it. So it's flat. Do as I say not as I do etc.

Something to put inside / between your garment and the table (Asda brand weetabix box babyyy)

Paintbrush (Mine is from a multipack from Poundland. I also accidentally left it in bleach last time and it kind of dissolved so I had to cut off the most egregious of the stray bristles.)

Chalk (For snacking) (I'm joking please don't eat the chalk) (I only have big pavement chalk, again, from Poundland, but you can get a good point with a craft knife)

Step one: move the cat

Step two: insert cereal box into / behind the thing you are bleaching.

Step three: chalk on your design. this is the logo of a wine brand i have never tried but i like the snail. It can be super rough or very precise, whichever helps you know where to put your lines.

As you can tell it's easy to move stuff and redo it by just smudging the chalk away, or, worst case scenario, giving it a wash. Though that sucks if you're impatient like me bc you do NOT want to bleach this while it's wet. Once you're happy with your design, smack it around a bunch to take off most of the chalk, so you wind up with a vague outline. I didn't get a pic of this stage but here's what the iasip one looked like:

Step four: Acquire your bleach and put it in the special bleach jar your hosuemates labelled so you would stop drinking normal water out of it. Accept that Nyx hates you for not letting her drink it.

Step five: Go for it man. The bleach is kinda goopy so don't expect it to come out like paint, but it does mean that you can control the line crispness and width quite easily depending on how hard you press the brush down. I find it really helps for stuff like serif fonts.

You can dilute your bleach with water, which can help it get into all the little crevices esp if your fabric is a little bumpy, but do another small patch test before committing to anything on the main piece, because some fabrics absolutely suck up water and your lovely crispy lines will blow out like an old tattoo. don't do it. Unless you want that look, in which case get silly with it

The other weird thing abt it is obviously that you can't see what you painted right away, it takes a couple seconds to show up, so it's a pretty slow process. The fabric will first go darker where you painted, then lighten from orange to a pale yellow over about 30 seconds. DON'T go "this bleach aint shit" and paint over it to make it lighten faster -- overbleaching it can weaken the fabric and make it tear.

Tragic.

Here are some progress shots of the snail! When you're finished, you should wait for it to develop properly, but it depends how light you want it to be. I let the lines sit for a while before doing the details, and then washed it a bit prematurely so they'll stay a little darker. For nice pale yellow you want to wait around an hour.

Step six: drown her

Nice cold water, wash out all the remaining bleach and chalk. I chucked it in the wash for ten minutes because it's a weird shape and size to wash in the sink and I'm a lazy bastard. but handwashing works just as well.

Step seven: revel in your new bootleg merch. You made that. You did that. thrive. go forth and make weird shit.

[sxorpiomooon]

What are some lessons that you need to learn?

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Pile 1-

Work hard, work very hard do not worry about the results I understand that this sounds cliche and extremely painful but the time that you spend on complaining can also instead become the time that you spend working hard on. Sometimes you have to work hard to get opportunities as well and that's what you have to do. When we talk about working hard you need to understand that being patient and diligent with your hardwork also comes under hardwork so when I say you need to work hard I am not saying that you don't do so all I'm saying is that you have to also be patient and keep working hard unless the opportunity presents itself to you which I promise you it will. I think this pile will work hard in their young ages and then have a stable, safe and prosperous life in the future. Another lesson that you need to learn is to balance the plate sure you might have alot on your plate but that does not necessarily mean that your plate has to break it can solely be held with a better technique to stop it from breaking. Learn how to manage not to get overwhelmed when you have alot to do.

Pile 2-

Learn how to confront when necessary. Do not shy away telling yourself lies such as oh I don't have to do this oh it's not needed oh just let it go. Don't try to be the bigger person bc you are not. Learn to stand up for yourself and call out other people and their actions when needed. Learn to take a stand, defend yourself and what you believe to be right. Also learn to be brave in the face of opposition as well don't be a coward. What's that quote oh yes "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor" the happiness and peace that you think you will receive by staying silent and not taking anyone's side will actually find you when you start taking side of the right opinions.

Pile 3-

Let go of control. I know you have the best intentions I know you cannot seem to help it but if you truly want to do what's the best, please let go of the thread a little bit. Relax your hands, breathe a little. You are a perfectionist, elder daughter giving others work but then immediately doing it by themselves afterwards because you cannot relax. Well, learn how to because it just harms you and works against you even when you have the best intentions. This pile has to learn how to breathe and let other people breathe stop being disappointed by people without even giving them the opportunity to do so I understand they might not be as competent as you but this does not mean that they are not working hard. You also have to learn to not give up too easily you might give 100% of yourself to something and then because of getting burned out/exhausted you end up walking away right when your reward is about to yield. What you can do in this sense is Instead of putting 100% in the beginning you can just put 70% so that you don't immediately lose your energy by the end. Release control and stop panicking try to balance yourself and control your demeanor. Drink water and practice breathing exercises as well as meditation

Pile 4-

More choices lead to more confusion. The more you know about something, the more confused you gets. This does not mean that you should not do your research before making a decision or committing yourself to something however it's important that you make sure that you do not just get stuck on the decision making progress instead of actually making a decision. Sometimes things are only hard because we are not sure ourselves instead of finding the piece of the puzzle outside whenever you are stuck anywhere try to find it inward. The answers are within you only. This reminds me of the leap of faith concept in spiderman. Loss of something should scare you from loving as it does to everyone else however it should not stop you from doing so. Loving and losing is as natural to life as breathing. To make a room for a new tv you first have to remove the old one just like this in order to get new better you have to first remove the old things. Remember that change is the only constant thing to life and no loss however big should disrupt your ability to have childlike wonder.

[alpaca-clouds]

How do gods, vampires and the afterlife work in Castlevania?

Okay, now with Castlevania: Nocturne season 2 I absolutely get to speculate a bit more about how the worldbuilding in the world of this anime actually works.

To catch everyone up with my speculations up until this point, let me quickly get you to speed. So far I assumed the following:

Vampires in this world probably go back to some sort of magic or alchemy, which has to have happened before 1500 BC (given that we know Morana was turned around that time).

There is only one afterlife, where every soul ends up, no matter what they believed in and what they did in life.

At least the "old gods" are real, possibly by some variation of the "clap your hands if you believe" rules. Meaning: It is possible that gods have started to exist, because people believed in them.

So, let me quickly go over the different aspects - on the basis of what we now know from Nocturne season 2.

Vampires

Now, we definitely do not get any answer so far with the question of where vampires come from in this universe. But we got a confirmation for a suspicion that I had all the time: There were not vampires in the Americas before colonial contact. (Though I might note, that this also means that the excuse a variety of people used to make up for the fact that the first four seasons had tomatoes and bell peppers - vampires had already been to America - was also wrong.)

In Nocturne we also do not only see one person being turned into a vampire, but in fact three different people. Tera, Drolta and Mizrak.

From this we can gather that generally speaking the universe works under the established rule of the "baptism of blood", as established in the Dracula novel. Meaning: If a vampire wants to turn someone else into a vampire, that person usually needs to be bitten first, before needing to drink the blood of the vampire. This seems to hold true for Tera and Mizrak at least - though we do not technically see Olrox feed Mizrak his blood, though it seems to be implied.

Drolta in this regard is interesting. Because from the sequence that sees her turned, she does not seem to get bitten. While the vampire injures her, there does not seem to be a bite. She only gets some of his blood and drinks it of her own volition.

I have seen some speculation if there needs to be some will or want involved in the turning of a vampire because of this. Does someone have to want to be a vampire - or at least want to not die? I am not sure, but it is interesting.

We also know with season clearly that whatever we assume a soul is: Vampires have it.

Other than that... We do not know how often vampires need to feed. However, given that we know they can journey over the Atlantic, it is probably not quite as much, given that the travel between Europe and the Americas in the time took about three to four weeks, and if a vampire would need to feed too often, I doubt that would end well. (Vampire feeding for the most part is a very logistical problem - but that is a topic for another day.)

Other than that, it seems that outside of the general inability to go out into direct sunlight, most typical vampire weaknesses do not seem to apply. They can go into churches, they seem to have a reflection in the mirror, and they can cross water no problem.

The Afterlife

So, from the very beginning I have been firm on one thing: While everything the show establishes seems to suggest that there is heaven and hell, I do not believe this. I was very sold on the idea that there is only one afterlife basically since the beginning, but especially since season 3.

The reason are two: Firstly, we know of at least one vampire in this world (Morana) who very much predates the concept of hell, which only came up in the 4th century. Sure, technically you can argue that Hinduism and some other religions also have a hell or a "bad place" to go after death, but generally, hell as known in Abrahamitic believes only came up in the 4th century. Given this is the case and this world does not ignore the fact that the rest of the darn world exists, it would make a lot of sense if hell was not real.

Secondly, we know the stories of two people ending up in hell, that in my understanding should not be there. That is Lisa for once, and also FlysEyes. I am sorry, but for what sin is Lisa supposed to be in hell? And she definitely is in the same place as Dracula, who definitely should be in hell, given the whole genocide and murder hobo thing. The same holds true for FlysEyes. Did he betray his friends? Yes, but he did so under torture. I am sorry, but I am not gonna assume that God really was so darn petty. Isaac also points that out in the dialogue.

However, Nocturne does bring up another possibility. And this possibility is, that this works rather under a varation of the "Clap your Hands" rules, specifically the one that American Gods seems to use. Which is basically: There is tons of different afterlives, and you will end up in whatever afterlife you align with the most. The reason for this obviously is, that we definitely know that the Ancestral Plane (a variation of which is part of a variety of both African and Asian religions) is a thing, as well as the Duat from Egyptian mythology.

And if we go by those "Clap your Hands" rules, it is obviously possible that FlysEyes ended up in what he perceived to be hell, because he felt guilty for betraying his friends, while Lisa might have wanted to go to hell, to meet with her husband again eventually. This would be interesting of course, because it would then mean that Mizrak would indeed have ended up in hell - just because he felt that he should.

The big question is, what this means right now for Forgemastery. We know at the very least that even vampire souls can be called back through it - both Drolta, and the resurrection of Dracula in the end of SV S4 proof this. But do souls for Forgemastery actually have to come from hell, or could forgemastery actually draw them from any hell whatsoever? That would be interesting to know.

Gods

In terms of the gods, Nocturne definitely so far implies some things about them. We definitely know now, that at least some of the "Old Gods" (I kinda love that the terminology used is the same one I keep using - not gonna lie here) are real. Namely we definitely know that Sekhmet, and Ogun exist, as well as Karfu and Papa Legba. If we all are not wrong about Olrox's background, Quetzalcoatl also very much exists or existed at some point. We also absolutely have some implications that at least some of the Christian demons and devils seem to exist to some extent. We already saw those fallen angels escape hell back in season 3, and now we have some more implications for maybe some other devils might exist for real too.

Ironically speaking though, we have so far absolutely no proof in one direction or the other, whether the Abrahamitic God with a capital-G exists in this world or not. Which I kinda understand - it is an iffy question to deal with in writing.

The question is, by which mechanic the gods exist. Does it work by "Clap your Hands if you Believe"? Or is there another mechanic that keeps them existing and presumably immortal? What happens to Gods, if nobody is left to believe in them? What happens if even their names are forgotten?

I talked a lot already about the Gaulic gods, who are a really prime example for this. There is plenty of gods from the Celtic pantheon of whom we found depictions in art, where we do not have the slightest idea how they are named, what their function was and so on. We know: "Someone painted this deity onto some pictures/made some statues" but that's all we know. What would this mean for this world?

It would be an interesting thing to find out. I wonder if we will ever learn this, should there be a season 3 or possibly another Castlevania series.

[nylaboon]

hiiii!!

Maybe it is a weird request but…

May I request Akito x gn!reader which has syncope? His s/o regularly loses consciousness etc. Idk am I understanding this ill right😭

But I heard abt some person in tv which was losing consciousness regularly, so I had an idea about gn!reader with akito! Simple headcanons or scenarios would be enough<3

Love Ward — Akito Shinonome

— headcanon: akito with a s/o that has syncope.

akito shinonome x gn!reader

tags: not proofread bcs i made this at four in the morning and i was too tired to even reread

note: hi chat so um this has been rotting in my inbox like a dead corpse, my fault 😭🙏🏽 i hope this makes up for it, but it might not be the greatest since i kinda have writers block and i’ve never passed out in my life so idk how ts works ngl sorry i’m a dumb bitch 💔

i can see him getting irritated a lot AT FIRST

like, he won’t be mad at you, but he’ll just be a tiny bit upset with having to watch you at all times to make sure you aren’t, like

not conscious

the first time you passed out, he freaked the fuck out

he literally thought you were dead

he probably called everyone he knew before calling the ambulance because he was too panicked to even think straight

but once you explain it to him…

…well, that wouldn’t really make a difference

“you should’ve told me sooner, damnit…”

he’s embarrassed of how worried he gets when you pass out, but he doesn’t like admitting it to anyone

not even himself

sometimes he stares at you

just watches you

waiting for the moment you pass out

but if you catch him staring he’ll look away and pretend he was never looking

no matter how long you two are together, he will probably never get used to it

he’s always getting on you about eating and drinking water

you know that one meme where this girl was texting her dad and he asks her if she wants to be a sardine because she was anaemic?

yeah, that’s him

LOL

once you gained consciousness the first time it happened, he was cursing up a storm

but it’s only because he’s worried about you

later on he’ll tend to be softer with you

but once you wake up, prepare for an annoying ass lecture

do you want to be a sardine?

written by @nylaboon

[midnight1nk]

So, this week's episode...

[spoilers below cut]

oh boy, the first episode (+ review) of the year! i am SO EXCITED what they have in store for us for all of 2025, i'm SCREAMING!

(the following is my live reaction:)

god i missed the intro

"...but you can watch the other episodes" no no it hits different

OH we're doing transitions, huh?

he's so silly 💙

MARIO HI

quite a resolution but mario please drink water

THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING, FOUR

just love the small bits of smooth animation, fantastic

HOLY SHIT FUEGO you came back

and we still got James to voice him, let's gooo!!!

well uh, i didn't expect that song

WHEEZE he's going full-on Mary Poppins, bye bye

if you're gonna make it, don't jinx it mario

sure, we ran out of water, but at least Luigi is supportive :)

HUH what do you mean we're sold out of water? how convenient

...mario don't you dare even think about it

NO NO NOOO

and it exploded, wow

oh HI SMG3!!

*inhales* Three... honey.... can i ask why?

is it bad to say that this feels out of place? idk maybe that's just me

then again, welcome to the SMG4: where literally anything can happen

also great to see the Crew here 💙 hi to all

enjoy the salt! :D yummy yummy

goddamn we started a whole dry-out apocalypse

*ghostbusters theme* 🎶 when it's the end of the world and you're about to die, who are you gonna call? the military! 🎶

worse than death? oh, tummy aches. understandable have a great day! *mary-poppins out of there*

i find it peculiar that we're getting a lot of moments with jesus hmmmmm....

not even God could save us

desperate times call for desperate measures

...well all that just happened and still nothing? maybe throw some explosives to crack the bottle?

damn Three, whatever's going on with this idea of yours, it's not working

but it's nice to have Eggdog helping his dad out

y'know Mario can be a great salesman (learned from the best by Nintendo)

eh close enough, welcome back Sonic Adventure 1 *explodes*

and you got your water Mario, i see no problems here :)

oh plot twist! i didn't think we were gonna get another scene with Fuego tbh

🎶you drink. must drink. you need your zinc—🎶 oh Mario c'mon, that song was really getting into my head

and as always, a chaotic ending

Congrats to Axel (who's indeed here on Tumblr) for your art featured at the end credits 🎉 love your Saiko art 💙

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

I gotta say, this has been a good start for 2025! I'm so glad the Team was able to get a break before then (which they honestly deserved) and now we have a silly little episode today, you just gotta stick with the chaotic vibes of the show :D

And WOW Fuego's return was not on my bingo card but here we are. That was a nice surprise. Plus, some of the creative choices made really went well with its funny moments. It just spices it up, y'know.

Just learned that Shadow sang the song bit at the beginning of the episode and voiced the one fish guy (I FREAKIN KNEW THAT VOICE SOUNDED FAMILIAR) which is awesome fun fact!

And apparently there was an extended scene that was trimmed for today's episode by Star, that you can see the full version (here's the link for you to check it out!)

It feels great to watch an episode that feels like it belongs in the show itself. And no, i haven't forgotten the Dasani x SMG4 lol (ah yes, the true ship of the show) Like I said, it's a good start and I'm so excited what they got for us bc I know the Team's scheming something, I can FEEL it. 4 dollars, bet on it!

And an extra certified point from me FOR NOT ADDING FLAREGLOW OMG I WAS WILLING TO ALLOW IT IF IT WAS GONNA BE A JOKE BUT IF IT WAS A LEGIT SONG I'M GONNA GO INSANE GONNA GO CRAZY I WILL TAKE THE DRINKING WATER SONG ANY DAY THAN THAT PIECE OF—

thanks for stopping by and remember: numbers go first! :) and I'll see you in the next one!!

[rosemelodyshah]

The other day this friend of mine was complaining about how ACD's Sherlock had this wisdom.and niceness about him and how none of the Sherlocks on the screen have that

And she told me she watched some of Granada and BBC and I think Basil's Sherlock? But the Sherlocks on screens were infinitely ruder for her

And like I couldn't completely agree there much bc like okay BBC Sherlock does get rather rude but the way she was saying it (particularly in that this is bad tone) I couldn't get behind her and Ive only seen some of the Sherlocks but I've seen the first season of BBC Sherlock years ago and all sorts of.clips since and a couple.of the Granada Sherlock and even the young Sherlock and he didn't come up as rude the way she was saying.so. just uh I've got a mystery to stop pleas ebe idiots somewhere else sorta vibe idk

And after we tried to reach a conclusion on her thoughts she jumped and went NO I MEANT SMUG THEY ARE ENDLESSLY SMUG ESP COMPARED TO THE ACD'S HOLMES

And we took a loud break drank our blood and talked it out and yeah he deffo comes up as even that bit more smug

But cmon luv do you really thing someone could be Sherlock and screen and not be smug at himself at least like 3× the ACD's canon smugness?

And it's not quite that he isn't smug he's j more down to earth-y and much prefers to pamper the non existent smartness of Lestrade and gregson who really helped only talks to for his own amusement (a theory of some of ours bc it's 2.30 AM we got better things to do than sleep)

And the Sherlocks on screen don't do that bc for one there are no two detectives (least as far as I've seen) and second of all on the screen about half the time he gets someone actually basically begging for him doesn't he begging for help so it's like there is nothing for him to say you are smart about he's gotto solve zhe murder

Like yeah granda Holmes does seem smugger thant eh books (tho I've been told it's the most faithful adaptation) but that's bc there really isn't a choice here

You can't actually show wonderful smart brill Sherlock and then make him that grounded and what not at all

Like idk how acd did it but I couldn't and I honestly don't mind him being smug esp once John's in the picture and he finally has someone who cares and gets impressed forever by and someone who is legit writing his every step and then sharing it with the legit world which aha means the yard don't gett their credit for having told Sherlock where the crime happened yaknow

Ofc with John around.to.impress and actually have someone listen and care and be actually bothered gy it which weren't the yard bc they j wanted the case solved he'd let himself be a bit smug

He can only have John calling him brill sm bc he gets smug and he deserves it

I mean speaking from experience when someone drops into your life and instantly goes TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF CARE FOR YOURSELF DO SOME SELF LOVE EAT SLEEP DRINK SOME WATER CARE BE DKNT TAKE THE CREDIT AWAY DONT SELF DEPRECIATE SLEEP GIRL HAVE SOMETHING FOR MY OWN PEACE AT LEAST DRINK YOUR BLOOD NOW SLEEP SLEEP SLEEP WONDERFUL WORK LOVED IT LOVED IT SLEEP EAT TAKE CARE OF URSELF LOVED THAT BTW ITS AWESKME THANKS SM LOVEU GIRL SLEEP and so on so forth in a never ending cycle you eventually start getting use to the very bizarre thing and actually follow it every now and then

And incase it hasn't hit you-- I HAVE BEEN GIVEN RANTS ON SO ON SO NOT SHOWING ENOUGH VERBAL LOVE TO AN ABSTRACT PIECE I LEGIT MADE WITH MH EYES CLOSED,??

when people tell you essentially to be a bit smug to celebrate how your somehow the only person with a brain in the world eventually your gonna be smug jnthat little more

Also let's give this clear as far as I've seen the only one truly letting Sherlock be smug and all is BBC and even them it's Uh god these idiots are going to kill me with their boredom wait this guy cares does think I'm a machine or freak?? He doesn't hate me or try to kill me for the analysing he wants to listen he tells people about it?? Ofc he's doing happy dances and being all smug about it OF COURSE HE IS

Like also real quick I love how BBC doesn't do the whole John sees a machine without a heart thing ACD's John does not that I hate it but like listen if your treated like a machine and freak and then John Watson comes in calls you brilliant a thousand times in the first namight you meet and then kills someone for you the next night and doesn't hate it deductions your gon be smug too alr don't you hide that let Sherlock be smug and all not down to earth he deserves it with how much Anderson he had to handle and how many times he's been called a machine and freak

[trashcanwithsprinkles]

hi! I just wanted to know (i am currently starting chapter 10 of jadeite-). Is Zhongli's human form in this new world actually human?? Like has his soul transformed Zhongli Chen's human body into something more? I wonder as I've never seen Zhongli sleep (like he'll go meditate like he did whilde Guizhong was asleep after drinking) or read to learn more (as he did when he first found himself in a new world). Also, what kind of abilities does he still have? (this mlight have been explored in the latest chapters though- amma catch up!!).

Cause currently Zhongli seems to have much more power than did Chen (like Zhongli there is more linked towards the earth and can feel footsteps and stuff but other other things remained?)

right, good question! the body is human, but the soul isn't

that's the ultra short ultra simple version bc i think the answer is kinda long so i'll just put it under the cut

basically what that means is that chen zhongli's body itself hasn't changed. it's as human as all human bodies come, with the obvious exception that he was a damn good thaumaturge. this last bit is important, because power progression in thaumaturgy (at least in the hand-wavy artistic-liberty take of this fic lmao) sort of- shifts gears at a certain level. when they start training, thaumaturges are like the average person, with their spiritual channels undeveloped. as they train, they're trying to do two things: 1st, develop those spiritual channels, and 2nd, accrue spiritual energy for their own energy pool. but spiritual channels have a limit in that you cannot infinitely develop them. they don't grow forever, they eventually cap out, so to speak, at a certain point. kinda like if you were building a waterway, and at a certain point you stop expanding it and reinforcing it, because it's now good enough to sustain any amount of water that will flow through it regardless of quantity

and so once they cap out their spiritual channels development, the rest of their core basic training revolves almost entirely around accruing more energy for their pool. the energetic pool is the one that is functionally infinite, so they can theoretically just keep gathering energy forever. this is what allows some really good thaumaturges to live longer (but not forever. this is explained in the latest chapter so you'll get there).

anyway- the reason any of this is relevant is that chen zhongli was at that point: his spiritual channels were capped out, and he was only working to gather more energy. he was in the home stretch so to speak (which is why he was sort of a prodigy given most thaumaturges don't get there until like- much later in life). so by virtue of having had a body that was essentially perpared to have infinte energy inside of it (but didn't), when zhongli got there with his soul intact and his spiritual energy pool being MASSIVE bc godhood etc; he sort of just fit right in, needing to change nothing about the body itself. all that really happened is that chen zhongli's pool of energy got suddenly filled with zhongli's energy but not really. it's- uh. complicated? idk if it would count as a spoiler bc given the latest chapter i feel like most of you can probably guess there's something going on here? anyway- just know zhongli's energy is in that body, it's just sort of... detached. since he's technically a foreign soul, his energy is sort of confined to his soul; but since his soul is in the body, it, for the most part, works exactly the same way it would if it was his own body. god idk if that makes sense- like i said, it's complicated. for those who read the latest chapter, what this means is that zhongli's energetic pool hasn't integrated with the body itself, so it hasn't turned it into a spiritual vessel (which would've happened if it had integrated itself, bc his pool is, again, massive, and therefore meets the requirements for it) anyway,

chen zhongli's soul is gone. regardless of where it actually is, zhongli is the only soul in that body – as he mentions at the start of the fic, since he's a geo being at his core, he can't exactly fit inside a body with another soul in it. kinda like... his soul is too big, so the body has to be empty for him to fit.

the reason zhongli hasn't been sleeping is because he doesn't need to. i think this was mentioned in another ask and also in one of the fic's end notes tho i can't recall which chapter; but basically, with enough spiritual energy, thaumaturges can make their bodies subsist entirely off of it. so while yes chen zhongli would've needed to sleep bc while powerful he still didn't have enough energy to bypass it; zhongli doesn't. zhongli has more than enough energy to keep the body in tiptop shape with his own energy alone. you can think of it like plugging your phone to charge. other thaumaturges don't have access to a charging chord at all times, so they have to plug in (sleep) to recharge. but zhongli works off of solar energy so he's always at full battery if that makes any sense. like he just has infinite battery, so he never needs to plug in. though i guess the analogy only makes sense if zhongli is a solar panel addon to the normal phone that is chen zhongli's body- but i think you get the idea LMAO

as for abilities that he still retains, they're all sort of tied to his nature as a dragon, like sensing intent in food. i'm pretty sure this hasn't really been properly explained outside of- since geo as an energy doesn't really exist, there are some geo abilities that he's lost (like the sensing ability). but not all of them. the issue here is that he was a being OF geo, so some 'geo' abilities are innate to him one way or the other, like commanding rocks and metals and other stuff, but not literally creating rocks. the sensing ability being lost is more a byproduct of the tectonic plates being different honestly. and obviously he's lost his ability to transform so

anyway uhhhhh TL;DR: zhongli didn't change chen zhongli's body bc the body was trained enough to sustain any amount of energy inhabiting it, so zhongli fit right in – since he's also technically still a foreign entity, his energy hasn't fully combined with the body, so he has left it intact. he doesn't sleep because his absurd amounts of energy allow him to sustain the body entirely off of them, and while he's lost some abilities tied to the other teyvat and him having had a non-human body before, he has retained some of them that were based off of his soul.

[bellysoupset]

so glad to hear you liked the request! i was a bit worried I was being annoying 😭

having a brainworms moment btw. so yknow how leo continued working out after college and jon hasn’t. and leo is buff as hell. thinkin about leo princess carrying jon. which is know would be difficult because jon is definitely not a small or light guy. HOWEVER 👆 . he has a strong giant for a bf. so technically. would it be feasible. for a leo carrying an exhausted jonah to bed from the couch moment 🤨🥺 ( like it definitely wouldn’t be graceful. or easy. leo is huffing and puffing about jonah’s ass being lazy and difficult to carry. and jonah is loving every minute of it even though he’ll Never admit it) i knowww jonah is also a huge guy. i still think he deserves to be carried around like a princess <3🍄

Jumping straight into action with this one, bc I tried writing the start like 20 times and gave up.

Leo super hungover

--------------------

"LEO PUT ME DOWN-" Jonah shrieked, when his boyfriend lifted him up bridal style and twirled them around, giggling manically, "LEO!"

"I AM A LAWYER!" Leo yelled in return, throwing Jonah up in his arms and then promptly falling on his back when Jonah fell back down in his arms.

They crumpled to a pile of limbs on the wet grass of the park outside their apartment building and Jonah let out a groan, rolling on his back and rubbing his sore side, "you're such a fucking asshole, that's what you are," he groaned, picking a leaf out of his hair.

Leo was still sprawled on the grass, chest heaving with laugh and laborious breath, a dizzy smile on, "Jon..." he panted, staring at the sky. It was just about the break of dawn, so the sky was a lilac-grey shade, with the stars about to fade, "Jon, I'm a lawyer."

"You've been a lawyer since September last year, baby," Jonah rolled his eyes with a smile, sitting up on the grass and scooting closer to Leo. The blonde shook his head, closing his eyes, still with a smile on.

"Now I'm a hired lawyer, a real one," his voice came out a little squeezy and Jonah draped himself over him, catching Leo's lips into a kiss.

"I am. So. Proud. Of. You," he punctuated each word with a kiss and Leo opened a blinding smile, wrapping an arm around his neck and then letting out a snort when Jonah completed, "but we should go inside before you become an arrested lawyer."

"Uhm, we're not even doing anything," Leo whined, but pulled back, opening his arms in a T position on the ground, "I can't get up, everything's twirling."

"You can, c'moon," Jon grabbed his arm, forcing him up, "let's go inside before Matthew calls the police on us for public indecency."

"Matthew would never," Leo pouted, but allowed Jonah to pull him out of the ground. There were a bunch of leaves stuck to the back of his shirt and his hair, "Ah- Uh," he grimaced as they entered the garage of the building, smartly avoiding the front door, "I feel weird."

"You're wasted," Jonah rolled his eyes, shoving him inside the elevator, "please don't puke in here."

Leo nodded, planting a hand to his stomach and making a little confused face, "it's all gurgly... Feels like I need to burp."

Jon squinted at him, "don't burp, it'll just make you puke," he said, knowing damn well it was never just burps with Leo, "just three more minutes, babe."

"Okay," Leo poked his belly, wrinkling his nose when that caused a whine to erupt from the organ and then he let his head rest on Jonah's shoulder, "I wanna get a tattoo."

"Now?" Jon chuckled, voice muffled by his boyfriend's hair, "right now?"

"As celebration," Leo mumbled, his mouth pressed to Jonah's sweater, "because I'm a real lawyer now..." he let out a sigh as the elevator came to a stop and Jon wrapped an arm around his back, guiding his drunk boyfriend towards their door.

It wasn't that he hadn't been drinking as well, after all they were celebrating Leo's promotion. However, he had drunk alongside their friends and switched to water when Leo showed no signs of slowing down. At least four hours before.

Jonah was opening the door, not bothering with the lights since it was practically morning already, when suddenly his feet left the floor. He let out a shout, then glared at Leo's pink, strained face, a smug smile on it.

"Put me down," Jonah rolled his eyes, grabbing on the doorway to stop them from going inside with one hand, the other resting on the blonde's shoulder, "Leo."

"You're like a prince..." Leo pressed his forehead to his and Jonah's cheeks turned red.

"Leo, I love you and this is very cute, but if you throw up on me I'm going to put you on the couch for the rest of the week," Jon snarked, leaning in to plant a kiss on his boyfriend's lips, "put me down."

"You're no fun," Leo grumbled, letting him go and then immediately folding in half, wrapping his arms around his stomach, "ugh, but maybe you're right... Feels like my tummy is burning."

"Probably the vodka that you chugged as if it was water," Jon rolled his eyes, keeping a hand in the middle of Leo's back and closing the door with the other. He kicked off his shoes, then squeezed his boyfriend's nape, "bathroom or bed?"

"Bed...?" Leo sounded sleepy and confused, "where's my cat?"

"Asleep," Jonah grabbed him by the shoulders, "c'mon, bedroom-"

It was a hassle to push Leo all the way to their suite, when he wanted to stop and comment on everything he saw along the way, his attention spam all but gone.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Jonah managed to push Leo against the pillows, without his shoes or his shirt on. He had given up on removing the blonde's pants, settling for just removing his belt and undoing his fly.

"Sleep now," Jon planted a glass of water and some Advil on the bedside table, as well as an empty bucket on the floor. Normally Leo wasn't a pukey drunk, but normally Leo didn't drink so much or arrive home so wasted.

"Jon," Leo sprawled on the bed, breathing deeply, "Jonah."

"What?" Jon yawned, closing the black out curtains of their room and falling into bed. He scooted up and smiled when Leo promptly rolled on the bed so he could face him, "what is it?"

"You're so handsome," Leo leaned in, resting his forehead to Jon's and not seeing as his boyfriend turned a whole shade deeper as he blushed, "and you have a real lawyer as a boyfriend."

Jon grinned, wrapping an arm around the blonde, "I already did, baby," he pushed a strand of hair away from the blonde's face, "get some sleep."

Leo yawned in agreement, snuggling up even more.

Jonah wasn't sure when exactly he fell asleep. He knew it took longer than it did for Leo, because the blonde was all but draped over him like a weighted blanket and Jon was still awake when he heard JD meow and get out from where she was hiding under their bed, sneaking out of the room to find a nice, warm sunny patch to sleep on.

What he did know was that he woke many hours later with his weighted blanket of a boyfriend moaning softly next to his ear. Thanks to the black out curtains the room was dark and Jonah felt more than saw Leo suddenly heave, it was hard not to, when the blonde’s stomach was pressed to his. 

“Leo!” Jonah grabbed his arm, more than a little clumsy due to sleep, “Leo!” 

He felt his boyfriend recoil at his exclamation, but then Leo moved on the bed just enough to hang his head over the side of it, whole body arching as he retched. Jon gagged himself, as he could feel every heave rocking Leo’s stomach, since the other man was still practically lying on top of him. 

“God, Leo, get off me-” Jonah groaned, gulping down nauseously, only to hear the distinct sound of liquid hitting wood. Jon froze, realizing Leo was leaning over the wrong side of the bed to throw up, the bucket was sitting on his right and his head was hanging over the left side, “bloody hell, Leo-”

“Jon,” Leo whimpered, coughing and curling up, his voice all strained, “Idon’t- Idont feel good…”

He sounded incredibly wounded and pathetic and Jonah fought the urge to strangle his boyfriend. If this was some sickness he’d be a lot more concerned than pissed, but this was just pure and simply a hangover from hell. 

“I know,” Jonah sighed, planting a hand on his back, “c’mon, let’s go to the bathroom, okay?” 

Leo didn’t move at all, except for hiccuping, still draped diagonally on the bed and then bringing up a little more puke, “uhrghhh…” he groaned, sounding dangerously close to tears, “my head is killing me.”

Jonah grimaced, his own stomach sloshing at the sound and smell of vomit right next to him, and he pushed Leo’s waist, managing to free himself from the blonde’s weight. Once he was standing, Jon stumbled and fell on his ass. It hadn’t occurred to him that he’d also be hungover. 

“Jon?” Leo whined and he rubbed a hand over his face, trying to get himself in check.

“I’m here,” he forced himself up and crawled on the bed, grabbing Leo’s naked shoulder, “help me, Leo.”

“I can’t,” the blonde groaned, “I can’t move- I-” he lurched and nearly fell forward and out of the bed, more liquid hitting the ground. Jonah squeezed his boyfriend’s shoulder, keeping him from taking a dive at the puddle of not-digested alcohol, and gulping down. He felt horrible and wasn’t sure how much was sympathy nausea, how much was just his own hangover. 

“Jon,” Leo whimpered, “hurts…” 

Jonah ground his teeth, grabbing the blonde’s arm, “Leo, I’m gonna move you to the bathroom, okay. Please just- Just don’t puke on me-” he forcefully pulled on his boyfriend, causing Leo to groan, his whole face scrunching up in pain. 

The blonde was boneless and incredibly heavy, causing Jonah to huff and puff as he draped one of his arms around his neck and hugged Leo’s waist, pushing them both up from the bed. 

“God…” Leo’s head lolled, meeting Jon’s shoulder and he gagged weakly, “itssslike everything’spinning…” 

“Uh-hum,” Jonah rolled his eyes, stumbling their way to the bathroom. He all but fell in the bathtub, hurrying as he heard Leo let out a watery burp just as they entered the room, “Leo, c’mon-”

“I’mso’Ory,” the blonde hiccuped, falling in front of the toilet and barely retching before more puke rushed up. Jonah planted a hand in the middle of his back to keep Leo from causing a mess, since he was swaying like crazy, then he leaned himself over the bathtub and tried to force his stomach to calm down. 

He felt Leo gag once again, his back arching, and Jon let out a frustrated groan of his own. He wanted to crawl back into bed, not to deal with this… 

“I’m really sorry, I- Fuck,” Leo rasped, seeming completely out of it, “Jon…” 

Clearly he wanted comfort and reassurance and Jonah couldn’t help it. Even pissed as he was, he didn’t want to make Leo feel worse. 

“It’s okay-” he sighed, turning around and muffling a sick burp against his fist, “baby, it’s okay, just get it up. You’ll feel better.”

“Made a mess…” Leo groaned, resting his cheek to the toilet seat and causing Jonah to grimace, “I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay,” Jon carded his fingers through the man’s sweaty hair, “it’s fine. I’ll figure it out,” he probably wouldn’t, but their building had cleaning services and Jonah figured Leo was out of it enough he wouldn’t notice or bitch about it. 

He sat next to his boyfriend for another fifteen minutes, trying to get his strength back up to deal with the room and feeling his anger melt into worry as Leo continued to puke nonstop. 

“You’re gonna be okay for a while? I’m gonna go deal with the room and the rest,” Jonah pushed himself up, his ass was hurting from falling on the ground and then sitting on it for twenty mins. 

“Uhmmmm…” Leo answered, his whole face scrunched up in pain, still draped over the toilet. 

Jon took this as a yes and walked out of the bathroom. 

Their bedroom was a disaster and the quick glimpse of it Jon caught was enough to have him hurrying back to the bathroom in order to retch loudly in the sink. Everything he had valiantly been able to push down made its way up and Jonah went deaf for a second as his belly squeezed and sent up a horrible acidic rush of vomit. 

He let out a whimper, panting over the bowl and then startled as he felt something touch his calf, only to realize it was his zombie boyfriend trying to comfort him. Jonah felt a squeeze to his stomach, now having nothing to do with nausea and everything to do with guilt, “I’m fine,” he rasped out, noticing Leo’s pasty complexion and making a mental note to force him to have water, “I’m okay, don’t worry.”

“I’m really sorry…” Leo breathed out and Jonah let out a sigh, washing his face. 

“It’s fine, just focus on getting better.”

Dealing with the bedroom took longer than he wanted to and Jonah did end up calling the building’s janitor, because despite trying, his stomach simply wouldn’t let him clean it. He then took to the guest bathroom, in order to shower and look presentable, and finally returned to the suite’s main bathroom, this time carrying a bottle of gatorade and everything he thought could help.

Leo had fallen next to the toilet and for a horrible second Jon thought he was passed out, only to realize the blonde had just curled up there. 

“Ah Leo,” he sighed, crouching down, “the ground is freezing, baby.” 

“Uhrgh…” Leo groaned, “at least down here it’s not spinning.”

“Okay,” Jon rolled his eyes, grabbing the gatorade bottle, “I want you to drink something.”

“Nu-uh,” Leo shook his head the slightest bit, “not gonna stay down.”

“It doesn’t matter, you still have to drink,” Jonah forced the blonde to sit up and gently cupped his boyfriend’s head, not liking one bit how clammy he felt or how he could feel his quick heartbeat, “a couple sips.”

“I feel like death,” Leo groaned, taking one small sip and swallowing it- Only to immediately gag and turn to the bathtub. It wasn’t even vomit, just spit up blue drink and Jonah sighed.

“Babe, you didn’t even drink,” he pulled Leo to lie against him, “let’s go again.”

Half a bottle wasted down the drain later and Jon was feeling more than a little fried from stress. Leo had long wrung himself empty and he was currently sprawled on the bathroom floor, with his head resting on Jonah’s lap and napping. 

At least when he was asleep he wasn’t puking or sobbing from the headache, Jonah thought bitterly, running his fingers through Leo’s hair and causing the other man to stir slightly.

“Jon?” he whispered, voice muffled by his boyfriend’s thigh. Leo forced his eyes open when he didn’t get an answer and glanced up. Jonah seemed to be far away, he was still awake, but clearly zoning out as he petted Leo’s hair. 

“Jon, hey,” Leo touched his wrist lightly, causing the other man to jerk as he snapped into the present, “you okay?” 

“Yeah,” Jonah nodded, “are you? Are you gonna be sick again?” 

“No,” Leo grimaced, he probably was gonna get sick again soon, “just dizzy and have a killer headache now… Can we move to bed?”

“Of course,” Jonah wrapped his arms around Leo, hoisting him up and letting out a sigh when the change of positions caused the blonde to lean over the sink and dry heave. 

“Sorry- Sorry,” Leo groaned between burps, “I thought I felt better-”

“It’s okay,” Jon pressed a kiss to his shoulder, rubbing his back, “take a deep breath.”

They entered the now clean bedroom and Leo collapsed against the pillows. Jonah planted a bottle on his bedside table and gestured to the bucket, “let’s try this again,” he said humorously, opening the door so JD could dart in and jump on the bed, promptly going for Leo. He rolled his eyes fondly at the scene and walked to the mattress, falling on his back, with his legs dangling out. 

He let out a deep breath, hearing as JD purred and Leo cooed over her for a little bit. His eyes felt heavy and Jonah yawned, only to hear Leo say quietly, “are you mad?”

Jon rolled on his side, planting his forehead to his boyfriend’s thigh and petting JD with his free hand, “I’m furious.”

“Aw,” Leo pouted and Jonah muffled a scoff against his leg. 

“You’re never drinking again like this,” he said darkly and felt Leo breathe out deeply.

“Deal, yeah.”

[beanghostprincess]

Adding on to generalized chronic pain issues, specifically Devil fruit users-

The human body is about 60% water.

There's water in bone too, sorry Brook, no saving yourself there.

DF users have to keep up on hydration, but what if their inability to tolerate water includes ANY kind of water.

Luffy v Crocodile last fight in Alabasta, fighting with his blood - it affected him.

Tears? Big impacts.

Humidity? Rain? Storms? The affects are relatively minor but they are Still There. Most DF users, after an overexposure to water/rain/heavy humidity, will at best have a slight headache. At worst? Those old wives tales of staying out in the rain leading to sickness are REAL.

With my Buggy obsession, I am leaning heavily into impacts to him and those around him. So Buggy's immune system is WACKED out, both bc hus nervous system never quite got with the program of his powers and genetic predisposition. It's one of the reasons he got sick just before Laugh Tale. Fevers weren't uncommon for him AT ALL which is why none of the other Rogers were very concerned.

Shanks, though? He knew. He and Buggy had a whole ass SYSTEM for dealing with it. ((A system he drunkenly regaled Mihawk with often enough for the swordsman to have it committed to memory.))

Buggy studies medicine a bit, and so any Devil fruit users on Karai Bari have a specialty medicine made specifically with their abilities, biology, etc, in mind - including Crocodile. He doesn't let them suffer alone, bc he knows how it is and he refuses to let any of HIS be subjected to that.

Buggy just also doesn't reach out himself when he isn't doing well - enter Mihawk being like "Hello, I - stop screaming - I brought you your tea. Shanks waxed poetic about your teas for hours. Yes, I am aware of the time. No, I do not care that you are under dressed. Lay back down. I brought medicine for your headache."

Cue goth swordsman awkwardly going through the motions of caring for a sick, needy but very hesitant clown. And eventually he even finds the other... rather cute, all sleepy and smiling and soft spoken.

Gross.

Crocodile eventually catches on and swings by, intending to bully Buggy a bit, but then he ALSO get charmed and reminded of the balms for his scars, the specialty drinks Buggy had made for him, and he just... can't.

It becomes p normal when Karai Bari has a higher humidity level or rain incoming for even the regular, standard officers to remind the DF users among them to take it easy, not push it, and it's silly and over the top bc they can't he expected to do anything less.

((Bonus silly idea, Buggy is out helping with muscle work before a big storm hits, even the typical human mercs can feel the moisture in the air, and one dude just. Scoops Buggy up, all sunshine smiles like "let us handle this, Chairman Buggy! Someone as incredibly kind and courageous as yourself can rest easy with us here!"

Buggy is both flattered, offended and flustered in one go. Flattered bc "oh they DO care...", offended bc this guy did NOT just baby him did he???, and flustered bc aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaBeingHeldHELP?????

Croc would either choke on his cigar or just scoop buggy up from the other guy like "i got this, carry on"

Mihawk thought would probably shatter his wine glass, expressionless, and grab n go.

No they are NOT jealous, no they did NOT think the blush was cute on their clown- THE CLOWN, no, everyone shut up, the rain is getting to their heads, fuck off.))

This is awesome. The whole concept about DF users being affected by regular water too is great because it just adds more angst to the whole thing and it becomes more of a risk to eat the fruits. Gonna skip directly to the Cross Guild thing and say that I am SO soft and weak for Croc and Mihawk to end up smitten by Buggy somehow when they weren't planning on it. And they're so protective and take care of him and,,,, That's their boyfriend idc idc idc.

[softantlers]

fangbang is keeping my vampire autism alive if you'd like can you please tell the humble readers anything fun / trivia about vampires in this au or just about vampire lottie,,,, i love vampires man,,

YEAH. so to be perfectly fucking honest i have never ever everrrr written vampires before & i'm just winging it!! i really enjoyed the aesthetics of sinners (i've seen that movie three times in theaters help) & so that is some inspiration!!

off the top of my head:

i really enjoy the concept that various cultures have come up with precautions against vampires. nat is vaguely catholic in fangbang (she doesn't really believe in god though; it's more of a passive culture thing-- like i'm into the idea that some things JUST WORK and it's not altogether clear why they do, you can adopt "religious" precautions in a reverent way or in an almost secular way if you like) & so there are some carryovers of my own hyperfixation with "the conjuring" in how she relates to vampires (crucifix as a protection against glamor, holy water, etc). however, i dig the idea that loads of different cultures have methods to deal with them so there will be different practices under a daoist belief system or a shinto one (as examples) with strategies that still work to repel vampires.

with sinners, i like the idea of the eyes being a sign. so the way i wrote it in chapter one is that vampire eyes can turn yellow (or flicker yellow) when the vampire is unregulated/excited/animated. since lottie is new, her eyes are all over the place!! however, the eyes turn RED (think sinners) when a vampire is needing to feed. i like the berserker concept where it's like... i'm good, i'm good but there's a point i can get to where I AM NOT and i lose control and need to FEED NOW.

kind of on the buffy train- vampires don't have pulses and they heal fast. it's assumed they don't have a soul but honestly a soul is difficult to quantify? and so, this almost feels like a stigma to lottie because... she feels? what do you mean she doesn't have a soul? on that note, i like the idea that the more a vampire feeds, the more they lose their humanity (draining someone dry is the ultimate step forward to this). that's why lottie being so new is sort of in an interesting position & she still has many "human" qualities. feeding is what makes them descend into your platonic ideal of an uncaring and predatory vampire (drinking from humans maybe gives them a high to chase) and they lose themselves to it.

i posted in an earlier ask but i like the idea that you can get by on animal blood but it makes you kinda feel like shit and not as strong. you eventually DO need a bit of human blood (and that's where drinking from nat every now and then) comes in.

i think vampires have different unique powers. haven't decided how this works yet but i like the concept of lottie as an innate siren. it means she has access to "glamor," which is a method of seducing and influencing a human. things can protect you against a glamor (like nat's crucifix) but if not you're susceptible. it's possible to train yourself into immunity around this (which is something nat is going to try to... kinky effect with lottie i think lmao)

sidebar: i also really love the concept that new jersey apparently has a huge and somewhat problematic whitetail population and that there's this parallel of them having a vampire population LOL (hence additional hunters like tai & van). also the whitetails give something for lottie to hunt ❤️

ALSO: my tentative thought on nat's backstory is that her mom used to be a hunter but fell into drug abuse and ended up with nat's dad (he was still an asshole). nat's dad was turned into a vampire by one of vera's old enemies and nat had to kill him (bc maybe vera was out of it) & this led to nat even learning about vampires at all. vera goes on to be like "FUCK guess i have to train you" & it's not a great relationship but it is what it is 😭

[gothushi]

Rob making you feel good on your period as part of taking care of you-

Why am I thinking about this all morning

I am not even into period sex

I am not even on my period

Ugh.

such a need.

b4 anything smutty like. he’s just so sweet. i’m horribly chronically ill so i often take comfort in thinking abt how attentive and caring rob wld be. he’d have ur heating pad/hot water bottle ready immediately, would refill ice in ur water bottle, get u a sweet drink or smth with electrolytes, turning ur fan on or turning the heat up, just completely in tune w ur needs and all u gotta do is ask all doe eyed for smth if u want it. he’d probably keep u all set up on the couch, just to make u get outta bed but still be comfy, plus u can be close to him whilst he takes over the chores or whatnot. i don’t think he’s much of a baker at all but he’s buying u the premade squares of cookie dough and baking them up for u (i bet if u ask sweetly enough he’d make little ice cream sandwiches with them) (he will totally give u fruit too to make sure uve got smth healthy on the side). he’s on standby with his bag hands ready to massage over ur tummy or ur sore back or over the arches of ur feet or groping at ur sore boobs

speaking of boobs, will cuddle up w u w a movie on tv, ur shirt pushed up to ur collarbones so he can kiss and mouth at ur nipples. whichever tit isn’t getting the suckling will get massaged, he’ll lay there for hours, content to slobber and drool and suck and kiss, mumbling little apologies if he’s a bit too rough. u’ll probably end up whimpering in tears about how badly this wave of cramps is feeling, and he’ll coo some sweet words whilst moving his hand down to ur navel. rubs gently over the waistband of ur panties, offering to draw u a bath for u to relax.

gets the whole bathroom set up. tub full, bubbles to the top, a candle lit on the counter, lights dimmed down. he’s also already laid out pjs on the bed for u, a water bottle filled and one of ur little bags of candies ready for snacking once back in bed.

he obviously gets into the tub w u, big arms wrapped around u in a hug, nuzzling at ur hair which he tied back. it’s all gentle at first, just letting ur body calm down some from the aches and pains. eventually he starts groping and squeezing, cooing smth about making his girl feel better, just let daddy help.

wandering hands find ur cunt, poor thing sore and achey. his middle finger circles ur clit, shushing when u grumble and complain, but he coaxes u to relax with a couple kisses on ur neck. that does the trick every time, bc that aching is slowly replaced by a throbbing need, especially once his finger dips down to massage over ur slit. despite the periodic waves of cramping pains, rob rubs ur clit in just the right motions that he has u cumming within a couple minutes, worked up to a gentle orgasm that has a couple tears dripping down ur cheeks. he coos at his pretty girl, pets over ur skin and washes u up afterwards before helping u from the bath.

he dresses u in ur pjs, makes sure u sip a good amount of water before helping snuggles in with u. he holds his phone so u two can watch videos, all the while snacking on the little gummies u feed him between ur own bites

[dem-obscure-imagines]

New Year's Eve Kisses 2023

Note: Well, here we are again, my four year drabble streak. I’m really excited about the group this year! As a heads-up, I have not seen any of the One Piece Anime, just the live action, so I’ll be using that information for Zoro. Also, I am writing quite a few of these characters for the first time, so let me know how I did hahaha. Also, I believe reader is gender neutral in all of these <3

Fandoms: One Piece (Live Action), The Barbie Movie, DCEU, X-Men, Ghosts US

Total Word Count: 4.5k

Warnings: Some violence, lots of smooches, mentions of death bc ghosts lol

Roronoa Zoro

Word Count: 1.1k

Luffy had insisted the crew dock the ship in the nearest port for the night. Your small, noble, six-man crew. You were the newest member, still learning your place and doing your best to earn your keep. Not that that mattered to the captain. Luffy believed in every person he met. He was perhaps the most hopeful, optimistic person you’d ever come across in your life. It was endearing.

You were a writer, a researcher, an inventor by some meanings of the word. You didn’t have a lot of fighting skills, but you made up for it with your knowledge and trading skills. The other pirates you came across were always low on fruit, but due to your skills in botany, the ship now had a garden with several fruit trees, herb shrubs, and some vegetable plants. You filtered water for drinking and for watering them, and therefore, you always had fresh food to eat, and plenty of surplus to trade with other crews.

You’d earned them a small fortune in other words.

At the moment, you were hunched over your desk, screwing a piece into place for a weapon you were making for Usopp, an automatic rock launcher. You hoped it would be a nice alternative to his slingshot.

Someone cleared their throat and you whipped around, pulling your goggles onto your head to find Zoro standing there, a hand resting on his belt, where his three swords were nestled. “We’re headed ashore. Captain’s orders.”

“Oh! Okay.” You took off your work gloves and hung your goggles on their hook, moving carefully in rhythm with the boat rocking. Sea legs were still something you were working on, but you liked to think you were getting better at it. “Any reason in particular?”

“The new year.”

“Right, right. Guess I forgot how long I was cooped up in here. I’ll uh…” you glanced down at your attire, your overalls covered in dirt and oil. Probably not acceptable attire for a New Year’s Eve bash. “I’ll get changed.”

“Great.” Zoro nodded and left and you stared at the empty doorway. Of all your crewmates, he was the one you hadn’t gotten a read on. He was fiercely loyal, but pretty quiet most of the time. He did have a bit of snark in him, though. He often found himself at odds with Sanji, which you found endlessly amusing.

You flipped through your closet and found something a little nicer, a gift from Kaya, Usopp’s best friend. The crew visited her every so often, and you’d gifted her a kaleidoscope. In return, she’d given you several gifts, the outfit you were wearing currently included.

Satisfied, you turned and walked up onto the deck, where the others stood, dressed in their finest. When you looked off the deck, you were anchored, sure enough, at the Baratie. Sanji looked happy to be there.

“Wow! You look great, (Y/N)!” Luffy complimented, smiling warmly.

“Thanks! So do you.” You replied, looking at the others. You caught the way Zoro’s eyes lingered on you as you passed, following the others off of the ship and out to the bar of the restaurant, which was absolutely bustling with visitors from all over the East Blue.

“What do you want to drink?” Zoro asked, closer to you than you’d realized.

“Champagne is on the house, tonight.” Sanji piped up with a wink.

“I’m down for some champagne.” You said with a nod.

“I’ll be right back.” Zoro turned, flagging the nearest waiter and coming back with two flutes of champagne.

You took a long first sip of the sweet, sparkling drink. “Thanks, Zoro.”

“Of course.” He replied. It was surprising. You were pretty sure these were the most words you’d ever exchanged with him, but…it was a welcome change.

One glass of champagne snowballed into two or three, and before you knew it, you were dancing to the music the band was playing, bobbing along to the beat beside Usopp and Nami. In the corner of the room, Zoro was nursing a glass of something stronger than champagne. When the song ended, you walked over to him.

He met your eyes, but didn’t shoo you away. Instead, he moved over so you could lean against the wall beside him. “You look like you’re having fun.”

“I am having fun.” You grinned, cheeks flushed, breaths shortened. “Are you?”

“I’m having fun watching you have fun.”

“What, you don’t dance?”

“Not usually.” He grinned, sipping his beer. “I’m glad you’re here. I’m…glad we stopped on Butterfly Island that day.”

“You mean it?”

Zoro nodded. “I know we don’t talk a lot, but…I’d like to change that next year.”

“I’m your resolution?”

He chuckled. “Something like that.”

“Well, I’d like that, too.” You smiled.

A few hours and another glass of champagne later, the countdown to midnight had begun, and you found yourself dangerously close to a pirate from another ship, who was looking at you like a meal.

“Ahoy there, haven’t seen you around, before.” He eyed you up and down with his one good eye, the other covered with a patch.

“Haven’t been paying enough attention to the bulletin boards, then.” You commented, trying to sneak past. “If you’ll excuse me—”

He grabbed your arm. “Ye don’t happen to have someone you’re looking for, do ye? I’d hate for you to spend midnight alone…”

“I’m fine, thank you.” You tugged your arm away, or tried to, but his grip tightened.

You heard the sound of metal and looked up to find Zoro, sword unsheathed, eyes the darkest you’d ever seen them.

“Let go of them or lose your hand. Up to you.” Zoro growled.

The pirate let go of you and scurried away, murmuring something about Zoro’s green hair.

You exhaled a sigh and took a step closer to him, the tension rolling out of your shoulders. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me for the bare minimum. That guy was a creep.” He said, eyes lingering on the vile man’s figure as he retreated to the far corner of the room.

As the countdown narrowed, Zoro took a step closer, eyes fluttering shut as he looked at you. And there he froze, waiting for you to do something. And so when midnight hit, you did, carefully reaching for his jaw and pulling him closer.

Fireworks hit as he kissed you, lips confident and sure. When you pulled apart, the energy between you swirled, his nose lingering against yours, eyes searching yours for some hint that this was real, that it wasn’t just a fleeting moment.

So, to be sure, he leaned in and kissed you again.

Barbara “Barbie” Handler

Word Count: 0.5k

To say that Barbie was nervous was the understatement of the century. She hadn’t been nervous when she set out for the human world. She had the encouragement of her fellow Barbies then. But walking into the New Year’s Eve party she was currently attending with Gloria and her husband, she was so nervous. She found herself adjusting her hair, constantly checking her dress.

If there was anything she had learned in her time living in California, it was that being a human woman was harder than it looked.

“It’ll be fun, Barbie. I promise.” Gloria said, eyes warm, truthfilled. She knew her friend was right. It would be fun.

They got out of the car and walked into the large house together. The music was loud, there were refreshments and drinks on nearly every surface, and all over the walls, there were silver and gold decorations.

She wandered in further, taking a glass of champagne from Gloria and sipping it cautiously. It was sweet, bubbling, with a sharp edge of something she didn’t recognize. Alcohol, probably, she deduced. Barbie sampled a few of the treats and then her eyes fell on a pretty stranger in the corner of the room, all alone.

She walked over, armed with a smile. “Hi, Happy New Year!”

“Happy New Year!” You replied, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. “I’m (Y/N).”

“Barbara.” She introduced, offering a polite hand that you shook with a smile. “I’m new around here, so Gloria brought me.”

“Oh, Gloria! I used to babysit her daughter before I went off to college. And now she’s all grown up.”

“Do you babysit often?”

You laughed. “Oh, no, it’s been a while. I work at a law firm now.”

“That is so incredible! Do you like it there?”

“It’s great, yeah.” You nodded. “What do you do?”

“I’m between jobs, right now.” Barbie shrugged. “But I think I might go back to school, try to figure things out.”

“That’s great, Barbara, I hope that goes well for you.” You smiled.

She paused, hesitating before saying, “You can call be Barbie, if you’d like.”

“Alright, Barbie.” You grinned. “You know, I loved Barbies as a kid.”

“You did? Which ones?” She asked, smiling brighter than the sun.

The two of you settled onto a couch together, side by side, talking and talking and talking until midnight. And when the ball dropped, the rest of the party guests paired up, partaking in the yearly tradition of the New Year’s Eve Kiss.

“Woah, what are they doing?” Barbie asked, looking around.

“Oh, it’s a New Year’s Eve kiss. People believe kissing someone at midnight will bring them good luck in the new year.”

“Oh!” Barbie nodded. She looked at you for a moment, blue eyes wide before asking, politely, “Can I kiss you?”

You smiled and nodded. “Absolutely.”

You knew you had just met her, but you could tell then and there that there was something special about Barbie. And when her soft, pink lips finally met yours, it was nothing short of magic.

Jaime Reyes

Word Count: 0.7k

You straightened out your clothes, tugging the wrinkles out of the fabric. You did a once-over in your phone camera, making sure everything looked just right. Someone whistled, drawing your attention. Jaime. Of course. Your flirtatious teammate and fellow Justice League member. You and him had a will-they-won’t-they going on that had started the first day you joined the team. He was determined to win you over and you were determined to not let him in.

But hey, it was New Year’s Eve. Anything can happen on New Year’s Eve. Maybe that was the reason Bruce had insisted the entire team attend his yearly charity gala. He’d even sent you the clothes and everything.

“What, Reyes?”

“Nothing. You…clean up nice.”

“Thanks. So do you.”

It was true. He was dressed up in a crisp black suit, the royal blue tie hanging from his neck, untied. He offered the ends to you. “Do you mind?”

“Come here.” You motioned him closer, taking the ends of the tie and carefully twisting it into the proper shape, gently tightening the knot.

His eyes fell on you, soft and warm, the end of his lip quirked up into a smile. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. Literally don’t. I don’t think Arthur would let you hear the end of it if he knew you didn’t know how to tie a tie.”

“Who says I don’t?” He winked, turning on his heel and exiting the room, to leave you with your thoughts and flushed cheeks.

***

At the party, you stood beside Victor at the edge of the room. He had a projector going, projecting a human form onto his body. It was pretty convincing, you had to admit, so long as no one touched him and felt the metal, that was. Arthur was already about twelve drinks deep, tearing up the dance floor. Diana was mingling, looking graceful and beautiful, as always.

Clark was there, talking to the guests as well, no doubt getting the inside scoop for his next article. Bruce floated around, entertaining and playing up the billionaire façade. Well, the money part wasn’t a façade. The attitude was, however.

And then there was you, sipping from a glass of champagne, surrendering to the fuzzy feeling at the edge of your mind.

“Incoming, ten o’clock.” Victor murmured, patting your shoulder and promptly bailing.

Great. Figured.

Jaime strolled up, looking as confident as ever. He offered his arm, tilting his head towards the dancefloor. You rolled your eyes, downing the rest of your champagne before taking his hand and letting him whisk you into the crowd of dancing guests.

It was familiar, in a way. It felt right, despite the way you protested. Maybe you were just afraid of getting hurt. But you knew the way he looked at you, the way he protected you in fights and went out of his way to make you happy when you were feeling down…he was the real deal. He always had been.

Now it was up to you to let him in.

Jaime spun you around, pulling you close to him. Your hand rested on his chest and you could feel the way his heart was absolutely hammering in his chest.

“Do I make you nervous?” You whispered, relishing in the way his eyes flashed when you did.

“Of course you do, looking like that, looking at me with those eyes.”

“What eyes?” You asked innocently, batting your eyelashes at him.

He chuckled. “You know what I’m talking about.”

“Uh-huh, sure.”

“Do you think…after the holidays, maybe you’d want to…go see a movie together or something?” He asked, waiting in anticipation.

“Yeah, I’d really like that, Jaime. I never thought you’d ask.”

“I never thought you’d say yes.” He admitted.

“Well, I’m just full of surprises, aren’t I?”

He grinned. “Seems like it.”

The party came to a crescendo as the clock neared midnight, and you didn’t leave Jaime’s side, arm looped through his. He kept looking down at you like he expected it to be a vision, a trick of the mind from one of Bruce’s many adversaries. But it was real. You were real. You were into him, and, it had taken you long enough to realize it, but…maybe, just maybe, you two could make it work.

Time would tell, but you had more pressing matters at hand. Namely, Jaime pressing his lips to yours as midnight struck and both of your lives changed for the better.

Hank McCoy

Word Count: 1.1k

There was nothing quite like a mission the day before New Year’s Eve. You were suited up, leg bouncing as the jet neared your target, the facility where you were pretty sure they had taken Hank. “They” being the US government, of course. Figured. You didn’t know the details, but you were sure it had something to do with his true form.

Most of them saw Hank as some monster. A Beast. But he wasn’t, not to you. He was perfect to you, whether he saw that or not, blue or otherwise.

“You alright there, Professor (L/N)?” Peter asked, watching as orange light danced around your fingertips.

“I will be once he’s safe.”

“He’ll be fine.” Jean insisted, pressing a pair of fingers to her temples. She was, as Charles insisted, your brightest student. And you hoped she was right this time, like she had been every other time. “I’m picking him up. That building down there.” Jean pointed at a large, metal warehouse that looked empty. Looked being the keyword.

Moira landed the jet and Peter rushed out first, running straight to the doors and unlocking them with a flurry of fingers. The rest of you followed, and as soon as he got the doors open, you sprinted inside, power radiating around your fingers as you looked around. There were several scientists in lab coats and goggles, tables and tables with mutants strapped to them, and on the wall, several of them held in place with cuffs.

You could spot Hank’s blue fur a mile away. There were two scientists near him, discussing a plan between them.

“He’s a monster, just do what you have to do.” One scientist said, making your blood boil while the other prepared a syringe.

You made a beeline straight to him, using your power to lift the scientist about to prod him with a needle, tossing her against the nearest wall with a loud clang. You faced the other one, fire in your eyes. “He’s not the monster. You are.”

A blast of power shot from the palm of your hand, sending the second scientist after the other one.

“(Y/N)…” Hank murmured, eyelids heavy. “You came. I…I can’t believe you’re here.”

“Of course I did.” You whispered, walking closer and using your power to unlock the cuffs holding his ankles and wrists. It sickened you to see him strung up like that, like some dangerous animal.

As soon as he was free, he slumped into your arms, barely able to keep himself upright. You supported his weight, pulling his arm around you and using your free arm to blast anyone who got too close. You watched as one by one, Peter freed the rest of the room. Jean fought off some scientists as you helped Hank to the exit and onto the jet.

You all but collapsed into the seat next to his, dozens of newly rescued mutants murmuring amongst themselves as Peter sped inside, raising his goggles up onto the top of his head.

He ran a quick head count. “That’s everyone, Moira.”

“Alright, hang on everyone.” Moira warned as she pulled the thrusters, sending the jet into motion back towards the Academy.

Hank tiredly reached a clawed hand for yours, fur thick and blue and soft. You took his hand gladly, meeting his exhausted eyes.

“Are you okay?” You asked softly, worried. You had no idea what he’d been through in the few days they’d had him there.

“I am now.” He nodded and rested his head against your shoulder, his eyes drifting shut.

***

The next day, you were in the kitchen around noon, making yourself a London Fog. You hopped up onto the counter, sipping on it and scanning over the news. Hank wandered in, not long after, looking uncharacteristically blue. Usually, he always took his “medication” as he called it, the chemical he made to keep him, well, not blue.

It was a welcome change, though. You liked him like this. You liked him, period, no matter what he looked like.

“Hey.” You grinned, setting down the news.

“Morning.” He murmured, voice deeper than usual. He glanced at the clock. “Afternoon, I guess.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “I’m still so wiped out.”

“I bet.” You pouted, tilting your head. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay, I guess. Decided not to take my meds for a while, try to flush out everything they gave me out of my system.”

“Smart.” You nodded. “You going to Charles’ party tonight.”

“Maybe. I’m not sure.” Hank chuckled sheepishly. “I’m not sure I have any suits that fit when I’m…like this.”

“Mmm.” You nodded. “Well, if you don’t want to go, we could just watch a movie or something. I can smuggle us food.”

“I appreciate it.” He grinned a fanged grin. “Hey, um…thanks. For yesterday. I owe you one.”

“You don’t owe me anything, Hank. I’m sure at some point you’ll be rescuing me from the government.”

He shook his head, eyes sincere. “I wouldn’t let them touch you.”

Your heart raced as he took a few steps closer, a blue hand settling beside your leg on the counter, the other raising to graze the edge of your cheek. He stared into your eyes like they were star-filled skies and he was searching for constellations.

You reached forward, pulling him into a hug that he quickly reciprocated, holding you close. “I-I was so scared, Hank. I’m so glad you’re alright.”

“I’m alright. I’m right here.” His paw stroking your hair gently. “Let’s…watch a movie tonight. You can pick. I’ll order a pizza and bring the drinks.”

You nuzzled your face into the crook of his neck, thriving in his warmth. He was so warm like this. You loved it even more than you remembered. “Sounds good to me.”

***

It was around ten that Hank knocked on the door of your room. You opened the door and let him in, a stack of VHS tapes sitting on the coffee table. He saw them and chuckled. “I thought I said you could pick.”

“Yeah, well, I’m indecisive so would you like Back to the Future or Rudolph’s Shiny New Year?”

“I think I’ll have to go with Rudolph, personally. Seems festive.”

“That’s what I thought, too.” You nodded, popping in the tape and settling down on the couch just as he did, a bottle of wine and two empty glasses set on the coffee table alongside a box of pizza.

You curled your legs against his, resting your head on his shoulder as he rested his head on yours, exhaling a long sigh. You were so relieved that he was okay, that he was with you.

“I’m so glad you’re here.” He whispered, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“Funny, I was going to say the same about you.” You murmured, leaning further into his hold.

The two of you watched the movie together, wrapped in each others’ arms. And when midnight hit, it only made sense that the only person you were kissing was him.

Sasappis

Word Count: 1.0k

Sasappis remembered the first words you had said to them like you’d said them yesterday. You were Sam’s niece, the black sheep of the family due to your more spiritual path. Well, that was, until Sam started seeing literal spirits. You had the same gift. Of course, yours wasn’t due to a freak accident, but rather, something you were born with, an extra sense that made most people look at you like you were crazy.

That first day in the mansion, you’d gotten your bag to your room, started unpacking, and then slowly turned to face the corner he was lingering in and said, “So are you just gonna stand there and stare at me or…?”

His eyes had widened, staring at you even more intensely. He was caught off guard. You weren’t a ghost, you couldn’t be. Jay could see you, after all, but still, you were making eye contact with him, waiting for a response.

“Hello?”

“You can see me?”

“Obviously. Did Sam tell you guys nothing about me? You guys are the reason I’m here, after all.” You chuckled.

“We are?”

“Yeah, my aunt starts seeing ghosts her husband can’t…she needed some confirmation that she wasn’t losing her marbles. I’m the confirmation. Besides, I needed somewhere quiet to come write my novel.”

Oh that piqued his interest. “You’re a writer?”

“Yeah, I guess our sixth sense isn’t the only thing Sam and I have in common. She’s more of a journalist, though. I write fiction.”

He walked to the edge of the bed and sat down, beyond ready to learn more. “What genre?”

And you had gotten along perfectly ever since. The other ghosts in the house enjoyed having you around, too. It was nice having yet another human that could see them. You introduced them to all kinds of shows, helped with their tasks and physical limitations, and, most importantly, made quite a bit of frozen pizza when Jay and Sam went out for date night.

When the holidays rolled around, Sasappis expected you to leave, but he was relieved that you stuck around. He couldn’t imagine celebrating without you there. And when New Year’s Eve rolled around, all he could think about was how much he wanted to kiss you. But he couldn’t. Obviously. That was what he got for falling in love with someone who was still alive.

“Sasappis!” You called into the house, and he came running towards your room, Trevor just behind him. “I said Sasappis, not Trevor.”

Trevor cursed and then shrugged. “It was worth a shot.”

“What’s going on? Everything alright? You need help with another spider?”

You chuckled and shook your head. “No, it’s not that. You remember how I said I didn’t have time to get Christmas presents this year?”

“Yeah, and we all understood because you’re really busy and have your own things to do?”

“Yeah, of course, thank you. Well, I kind of lied. I got a present, but…it’s just for you and it’s kind of experimental…”

His eyebrows knit together, watching you. “What are you talking about?”

“So…” You watched the time on your watch, waiting for exactly nine thirty. As soon as it hit, you reached out your hand for him, a small thing clutched in your hand. It took him a second, but he reached out for it, holding open his hand, but expecting whatever it was to fall right through his hand, as everything did.

But when you let go of it, it landed in his hand, a small necklace, a metal locket on a silver chain. He stared at it for a long time before making eye contact with you.

“What is it?”

“It’s a visitation charm. In theory, it allows a spirit to visit the world of the living for three hours. And I didn’t think it would work…until now.”

“You mean…” He stared at you, waiting for you to say it.

“Put it on.” You encouraged, and he lifted the chain over his head, letting it settle against his clothes. You held out your hand and he put his in yours, skin on skin, warm on warm.

“Woah…” He murmured, feeling the skin of your palm.

“HOLY SHIT DID (Y/N) DIE?” Trevor shouted from the doorway, sending Sam running down the hall to see what was going on, Jay right behind her.

“Who are you?” Jay asked, locking eyes with Sasappis. “Wait, Sass? Is that you? Oh my god!”

“You can see him?” Sam asked. “What did you do?”

“I can explain, but he’s got three hours before it’ll wear off.” You told her.

Sasappis slipped his hand into yours, intertwining your fingers. Now that he could touch you finally, he never wanted to stop.

***

Midnight approached. The ghosts were all excitedly asking when you would have more charms available while Sasappis was enjoying a slice of pepperoni pizza, followed by every modern beverage he could get his hands on in such short notice.

When the countdown came to an end, Sass didn’t hesitate to kiss you, lips soft and sweet, if not a little inexperienced. You didn’t care. You looped an arm around his neck, holding him close as you kissed him back. It was an odd experience, tickling the Veil in such a way, but you didn’t care. You didn’t care that he had been dead for five centuries. You didn’t care that this second life was temporary. For that moment, he was yours and nothing else mattered.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do that.” Sasappis whispered, forehead resting against yours.

“I don’t know, I’ve been working on that for like a month just so we could do this, so…” You shrugged. “It’s reciprocated.”

His gaze softened. “Do you think this will ever happen again, or…or is this the last time this will work?”

“I’m not sure, but…I’ll make you another one and we can go from there.”

He nodded. “That’s a good plan. But whether or not we’re on the same plane of existence…I really like you (Y/N). I’m glad you came here and…I hope you’ll stay a while.”

You kissed him again, a hand framing his cheek. “Believe me, Sass, I don’t have plans to leave anytime soon.”

[concerningwolves]

Hey-- coming here from your profanity vs vtt post.

How have you found the transition to using voice to text? Has it been frustrating? What have you done to help it understand you better? Are there ways to make it understand specific things you want to say like an odd name, or do you have to swap back to typing? How do you manage swapping between the two?

I have chronic pain in my hands and many people have told me to try vtt bc im a programmer for work and a writer for hobbies and honestly typing too much. I'm curious bc the things I asked about are worries that have held me back from trying it, bc i have a low frustration tolerance when I'm in enough pain to require using it

I... do not know if I am the best person to ask because I am deaf and have a speech impediment that, although minor, is significant enough that I think voice to text is going to be more difficult for me than other people. But I also love giving my opinion on things lol (just bear in mind my experience will skew a little ways off the typical).

I am still very much in the teething stage - getting used to what it can and can't do, and trying really hard to work against my own very low frustration threshold. Everything you've asked about also held me back from it for ages until now, when I had deadlines to meet and no other option. The big thing I have to keep reminding myself is that vtt learns as you use it. I don't know if they all do this, but the built-in Windows one I'm using on my laptop does. So, yes, you can make it more accurate – by using it more often. Also, not all vtt software is made equal: Some other vtt programs have vocab lists so you can add in words and train it, some are better at automatically filtering filler phrases like um or uh, some handle background noise better, etc. at some point I'm going to look more into all the alternatives out there but Im going to get used to it on what I have first.

Coming back to the whole "it gets better the more you use it" thing. At the moment I am making myself use it at least a little bit every day, in short bursts, focusing on repeating and enunciating any phrases that it does not understand. I think I've noticed some improvement over three days! But I really recommend doing this before you are forced to use it out of necessity, which is something I didn't do and I'm now absolutely paying the price for. It's frustrating trying to wrestle with vtt AND deadlines AND pain 🙃

It's pretty easy to swap between vtt and typing. On my phone (how I dictated this answer) I just hit the microphone button. On the laptop a voice to text bar remains on screen so I can toggle it on and off with a click. When using the full voice control feature all I need to do is tell it to enable voice access or disable voice access (then correct or type by pecking with my single pain free finger). Windows vtt also has built in voice commands to delete and select text, insert punctuation, and start new paragraphs. How well these commands works DOES depend on your program though – backspacing doesn't work in Scrivener, for example, but works fine if I dictate a post on Tumblr in browser and the whole thing functions best in Microsoft Word. Of course. Because Microsoft want you to use their products.

So all in all, yeah. It's frustrating. Or at least, it's a serious learning curve. The essay I've been doing for uni using vtt is.. a terrifying mess, but at least vtt now understands me when I say the name Orsino, which is certainly hopeful. And knowing I at least HAVE an alternative to just exacerbating chronic pain + hypermobility has helped with my sharp downward emotional spiral that I always get when my pain is bad. Just wish I'd adjusted to it before I had to learn via trial of fire.

Oh, and top tip from my experience so far: DRINK FLUIDS. water is probably best but I think as long as you do not do what Charles Dickens did and suck down like five different alchocolic drinks before speaking, you're fine with most anything. Point is, if your mouth gets dry/too full of saliva and/or your throat gets sore, enunciating is harder, so the vtt engine will struggle more and then YOU struggle more. So drink. (I do not think I have ever been so well-hydrated)