#i found an artist that may or may not be my absolute favorite now. i love everything about their art

[triglycercule]

the reference vs the proDUST (product,,,, hehehe) love self advertising in my art class. making a public drawing table was the best thing that ever happened :3

[your-name-is-jim]

TOS fans, you may want to read this comic series!

Sooo I recently read this series of comics called Star Trek: Year Five, published in 2019-2021 by IDW Publishing; I heard it was good, but I didn't expect it to be that good!

If you haven't read it, I suggest to check it out! (it's also not hard to find it if you get what I mean)

The art overall is great and, more importantly, the characters act like themselves and there are several references to their canon backgrounds, past and future experiences! What I absolutely loved was also seeing a lot of "old faces" from TOS show, as well as mentions of events from the series and the movies.

As the title suggests, the story takes place during the last year of Kirk's five-year mission on the Enterprise. I'd like to tell you more, but I enjoyed the surprise of a lot of things I didn't expect, so first of all I'll post a few pics without major spoilers from the first 11 issues (there are 25, so you still have a lot to discover!):

I especially love how Bones and Sulu are drawn, they really look like them! Scotty and Uhura too, but that depends on the artist. Speaking of them, if you like a little Scotty/Uhura, this series has something good about it!

The joke about Kirk thinking there's something strange with the way the Klingons look now cracked me up. LOL

Also, I'm not sure Chapel would call McCoy "Bones", but she is very right in that panel. :)

The last panel is classical James T. Kirk's ass appreciation lol

Sulu has a love story with an alien who doesn't understand human genders and uses they/them pronouns. As someone who headcanons TOS Sulu as attracted to any gender, that was great to see :D

I'm also posting this "end-of-the-episode" panel because it's just perfection. TOS in a nutshell. Aww, look at Kirk and Spock just looking at each other! <3

I must say, you may be a little disappointed if you expect to see many moments with Kirk and Spock together, BUT the scenes they have together are really good! I won't say anything more, just read until the end and you'll see! :D

By the way, this series has a Valentine's Day extra, which is the only part where Kirk has a love interest (a female original character). Yeah, you heard me: in the main story, Kirk doesn't have new romances with anyone; Sulu is the one who gets all the action! ;)

The Valentine's Day issue is not linked to anything else and I don't think Kirk's female love interest is mentioned outside that story, so you can easily skip it if it's not for you. However, even if I can't say I'm especially happy with that story, I personally found something interesting there, for example this:

I think I saw this out of context once, but I didn't know where it was from, so sorry I'm just going to lose my mind thinking about ladies or GENTLEMEN in Kirk's life and Kirk not correcting her about his sexual preferences. Anyway, I might make a separate post someday about this special from a Kirk/Spock shipper's perspective, because I do have a lot of thoughts about it :)

So, if you haven't read Star Trek: Year Five, I hope I convinced you to check it out! I hadn't been lucky with other Star Trek comics before, so I had almost lost hope to find something good… and then here it was! Something that made me feel like it was really written with a lot of love for The Original Series! I really needed it!

If you decide to give it a try, I'd love to see your thoughts and see your favorite parts! I hope you enjoyed this little review. :)

[l0n3ly-gh0st205]

Heyo Stranger, if you are like doing request rn can We get more white beard pirate's with child!reader crumbs pls 😌

A/n: Oh my days; ABSOLUTELY ANON!!!! Crumbs are my favorite hehe

Sorry, I responded so late; getting into the vibe of my second quarter at college and dealing with some personal stuff on the side, but! im here to feed the found family enjoyers! (also, I still love my college. It's super fun but stressful! I may post some of my assignments, but we are still in fundamentals rn)

Enjoy! :D

Child!Reader with the WBP!!

[■□□□□□□□□□] 10%

☆꧁༒Ĺoading. . .༒꧂☆

[■■■■■■□□□□] 60%

☆꧁༒Ĺoading. . .༒꧂☆

[■■■■■■■■■■] 100%

☆꧁༒Complete༒꧂☆

So, in previous posts, I mentioned that Marco and Thatch found a baby in a storm… but don't get me wrong, they're stupid enough to adopt a kid off the streets accidentally.

Obviously, in the new world and on the grand line, there are some not-so-great families/ pirates, so I don't think it's out of the question if a female crew member gets pregnant on a ship for them to, perhaps, dump their unwanted child on a random island and expect them to die or smth

And if the island had a town, then they’d most likely be living on the streets since it’s just another mouth to feed, and no one wants to put a strain on their already delicately crafted lives

But moving on from the sad stuff

Imagine if a toddler reader, just hungry and wanting some clothes for the winter, notices a new ship in the port and tries to steal some food and clothes

And, of course, a lil bby can't really steal too well, either falling into a barrel or easily getting caught by the crew…

Lucky for you, the white beard pirates have a soft spot for kids :D

God, just imagining thatch holding up this scrappy little baby, probably crying big fat tears from getting in trouble, up to white beard being like, ‘So what are we doing with this?’

And white beards’ parental instincts immediately kick in.

So yeah new little sibling :D’

I headcanon Ace as being the previously youngest crew member… so when i tell you he was SO happy someone else was now the ‘baby’ of the family it's insane

Would absolutely pick on you for everything, your age? Lil bby. Your height? Short stack. Hell you could drop a fruit on the floor on accident and ace will make fun of it

But even if he’s a little mean at times he’ll absolutely adore a younger sibling.

Like i imagine that he’ll look at you as kind of away to make up for some of the mean things he did to Luffy when they were young, and to make up for Sabo’s absence, so he’ll be the most defensive on your behalf if someone other than him starts picking on you

but on a little angstier note, that doesn't mean that Ace warmed up to you in the beginning

you were found by the crew shortly after ace was forced joined, and he was still in his lil emo era of hating everything and everyone

So while you were blossoming with all the love and affection your new family was giving you, Ace refused to see you, or any other whitebeard pirates, as his family.

you were probably one of the only reasons why Ace warmed up to the whitebeard pirates, and became so fiercely loyal to them to begin with though

but it was a slow process, and you probably got hurt a bit trying to befriend ace (kinda like luffy in the beginning((i may make a fic of this)))

but once he did warm up to you, and accepted his role as white beard pirate, oh boy!!!!!

will absolutely take care of you and try to mend any damage he did while he was pushing you away, big warm cuddle pile with lots of soft apologize and pinky promises will always be the antidote

also, i dont really need to mention this but ace is warm!! so if reader is still a baby baby, then alot of times when ace was available he’d be incharge of calming you down, since his hold was basically like a big warm blanket that would put you right to sleep

A/n: sorry this is super short, my brain is running on fumes but im still trying to crank out my own artistic stuff inbetween college work, and also trying to get a business and help my room mates animation studio get off the ground

but if you enjoyed this feel free to reblog and comment! i love reading comments!

also my requests are open!

[whimsiwitchy]

I hear the secrets that you keep (series)

chapter five: i missed you

Pedro Pascal x Plus size F!reader 

series masterlist

series summary: 24 year old y/n is an insecure and struggling actress in Los Angeles until she finally books a leading role in a big Hollywood movie next to her leading male, Pedro Pascal. A spark of friendship flickers between the two and slowly begins to blossom into something more. As y/n is navigating a new found fame and a new found romance, she fears that a lie she has been sitting on might ruin everything.

Warnings: plus size reader (no specific description of reader, slight descriptions of weight: stomach fat, stretch marks, etc.), hefty age gap (24 years/14 years), female anatomy description, she/her pronouns, use of gendered terms (girl, girly, etc.), y/n used, descriptions of nudity, swearing,  use of the word fat, daddy kink (not really, but it’s kinda mentioned), sexual themes. warnings may change as the story progresses. 

authors note: Hi everyone. I’ve been spending more time trying to add more detail in my writing, so I hope there’s a small improvement in this chapter. I also want to make the chapters lengthier in the future but we’ll see lol. There’s a tag list to the series now, any information about it is at the bottom of the chapter! 

chapter summary: Pedro misses y/n and comes to bother her at work. 

╔══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╗

Life moved on so quickly and there was never enough time to savor your favorite moments. Everything around you changed within a blink of an eye and you hadn't had a single second to just sit and think. You wanted nothing more than to be able to stop time for just a few minutes, just to process how dramatically your life had changed within such a short span of time.

The kiss you had shared with Pedro was nothing short of perfect, but after the high seemed to wear off, you became hyper aware of just how fucked this entire situation was. Whatever was brewing between the two of you was exciting, thrilling, and you wanted nothing more than to dive in head first- but  you’d be lying if you said it didn’t scare the absolute shit out of you at the same time. Being around Pedro has felt so easy. You were still getting to know him and vice versa, but the attraction was there. He so clearly told you that he thought you were beautiful and enjoyed spending time with you. It kind of freaked you out at first, how fast everything was moving between you, but he was a man. He wasn’t some boy that was just using you to pass time, he was a real man who knew what he wanted and went for it. It ignited a flame in you that you wouldn’t be able to put out even if you tried. 

As much as you were enjoying whatever was happening with Pedro, you couldn’t help shake the fact that you were technically lying to him. You tried to tell him the truth, you really had, but you got interrupted, and everything else happened so fast. You knew you would have to tell him the truth at some point, but you were terrified of how he would react to the news. You could only imagine what would happen when he finds out that the woman he had been flirting with and even kissed wasn’t actually 14 years younger but instead a whopping 24 years younger.. It wasn’t like you lied to him on purpose. It wasn’t even a lie you had started in the first place, it was a lie Angie constructed to get your career up and moving. People in the industry lie about their age all time, right? 

It’s been an entire week since the kiss. The day after the kiss, Pedro had texted you, and the two of you had been texting consistently ever since. Three days after the kiss, you saw Pedro in person again. You had filmed the roller skating scene and went to get tacos after in celebration of filming your first ever professional movie scene. Neither of you had mentioned the kiss at all. Everything was normal between you guys. He was flirty, you were awkward, and life moved on. 

You were pulled out of your thoughts when a makeup artist came to do some touch ups. Today you were on set to film a few solo shots, meaning Pedro wasn’t here. It was kind of weird, him not being here, everything you had done in this process had involved him somehow and you missed his presence. The makeup artist, Elizabeth, removed your previous eyeshadow and replaced it with a light orange color with a dramatic wing set in white eyeliner that matched your current costume perfectly. You were called to the studio at four in the morning and it was creeping up on five in the afternoon. You were exhausted. You didn’t have a lot to film, with most of the time being taken by costume and makeup changes between yourself and any extras in the scenes. Once Elizabeth was done, you made your way from the makeshift vanity over to the next set to film your final shots of the day.

You were released from set almost two hours later. You practically ran to the small trailer that sat just outside on the studio lot with your name plastered across the door. If you weren’t so tired, you probably would have shed a few tears at the sight of it. As soon as you walk in, you plop down in the ‘directors’ style chair that sits in front of a lighted mirror. 

“Hey there hot stuff”

You almost jump out of the chair and let out a startled scream. You looked over to the right to see Pedro lounging on a small sofa that was connected to the wall of the trailer. He was wearing a pair of black lounge shorts, paired with a Los Angeles Lakers shirt that was their signature gold color. He wore a small smirk and you noticed that he was sporting a funky looking mustache instead of the full facial hair you had become accustomed to.

“Oh my fucking god P, you scared the shit out of me.” Both of your hands were gripping either side of the chair and you tried to slow your heart rate down. “How’d you even get in here dude, jesus christ.” 

He lets out a small laugh. “I have my ways sweetheart. How did filming go?” 

“It was fine. I’m fucking drained though.” Your hands finally relax and you lean back into the chair in a casual manner.  

“Yea it can be that way sometimes. Just wait until you're back on set with me. I’ll make sure you aren’t bored.” He winks. Your mind wanders for a moment before changing the subject. 

“When did you get the porn stache?” You laugh and point to his upper lip. 

“Oh this old thing? They shaved it a few days ago when I started filming more.”  He runs one hand across his slightly stubbled jaw. 

“It suits you.” You say with a hum. 

He stays quiet for a moment and you look at him. He sits up straight on the couch, spreading his legs apart slightly. “Come here sweetheart.” He says while reaching out for you. You take a few steps towards him and he's grabbing your hands. 

“I missed you.” He whispers while pulling you to stand in between the gap of his thighs. You weren’t entirely sure what he meant by that. Did he miss being around you? Did he miss kissing you? It really didn’t matter, because you missed him too, so you told him. 

“I missed you too.” you admit outloud. 

His hands let go of yours and instead make their way to your waist. He pulls you forward gently. 

“I want you to sit on my lap, can you do that for me baby?” 

Baby.

What you had with Pedro was unique. There wasn’t any discussion on what either of you had felt, but the night he kissed you, it created an unspoken agreement of sorts- there was a spark and you both weren’t afraid to explore it. 

“P, I can’t. I’ll crush you.” He gives you a look of disapprovement. You were always too aware of your weight in intimacy. Knowing that you were heavier than what most guys were used to, made you avoid any situation that involved any weight being placed on another person. 

“Just come straddle me baby, use your knees for support if you’re that worried about it okay? I just wanna feel you sweetheart, we can stop if you ever feel uncomfortable. Does that sound okay?” He’s rubbing from your waist, down to your haps, and back up again. It’s comforting and you know that you can trust him- you know that he isn’t going to make fun of you. 

You give him a nod and slowly lower yourself to straddle him, knees touching the couch on either side of his legs, holding yourself up slightly.. He places one hand on each of your thighs, slightly digging into them. 

“Atta girl.” he says, his voice slightly deeper. A shiver runs down your spine and the gravel of his voice gives you the confidence to slide yourself down further and apply more weight onto his lap. 

“You know, I've been aching to kiss you again.” He looks up and trains his eyes to yours. 

“Then do it.” You say, your voice small. 

He puts his hands around your waist, positioning his hands right above your ass and pulls you forward. He leans up towards you and you lean down meeting his lips halfway. Your lips start moving against him in a comfortable rhythm. The kiss starts off slow and innocent, both of you savoring the feeling that you both had been craving. His grunts and his hands fall lower fully cupping each ass cheek, giving them both a tight squeeze. You let out a small gasp to which he takes as an invitation to sneak his tongue into your mouth. This snaps you into reality and you pull back for a moment.

“Taylor, my uh hairstylist, is coming by soon to take the wig off.” You said in a breathy voice. 

“She’ll knock.” He says pulling you back into him, his tongue immediately darting into your mouth. 

Your tongues are dancing together, neither one of you trying to control the other. Pedro uses his grip on your ass to roll your hips forward and you can feel that he’s hard underneath his criminally thin shorts. You could feel his full length graze across your pussy, causing you to break the kiss and jolt your head back in a surprised moan. He keeps rolling your hips onto him and reaches forward to attach his lips to your neck, leaving sloppy wet kisses. 

A knock on the door makes both of you freeze. You jump out of Pedro’s lap and rush back to the makeup chair. You fix the wig slightly and look over at Pedro as he adjusts himself before going back into the same lounging position he held when you had first noticed him. The door opens slightly and Taylor announces herself before entering. “Sorry it took so long. There was a change in how they want your hair for your sex scene coming up.” You face flushes and she begins to take the wig off. Ignoring Pedro’s presence, the two of you hold a small conversation until she finishes up and excuses herself. 

─ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──── ♡ ─── ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──

“I need to get this costume off. Can you turn around or something while I change real quick?” You say as you grab the black and white plaid pajama pants and black hoodie you showed up in. He turns around and you get dressed quickly, letting him know when he could look again. You walk across the trailer and bend over to search your tote bag for your micellar water and cotton pads to remove your makeup. 

“You look so good in these pants baby.” Pedro grabs both sides of your hips and presses himself against your ass. You stand up and he’s leaning to whisper in your ear, “You wanna come over to my place?” You can’t help but laugh.

“Are you always this fuckboyish when you’re horny?” You say, finally being able to be the one who teased him and not the other way around. 

“Only for you baby.” He winks and lets out a laugh. 

The car ride to his place was quiet. When you agreed to come over, he insisted that he could drive you to his place and would drive you home. You didn’t fight back much, not even thinking about your car that still sat in the studio parking lot. You had your arm propped up on the center console with your hand supporting your chin, staring at Pedro. His hand was placed on your thigh, his thumb moving up and down slightly tickling you. 

You couldn’t help but admire him. Pedro was truly one of the most handsome men you had ever come across. He was so…beefy. His legs looks so good in those shorts and the way his shirt stretched around the top of his arm was torture. You were so fucking horny it was crazy. You wanted nothing more than to feel the warmth of Pedro and feel his length graze against you again. You weren’t sure exactly what Pedro had planned when he asked you to come over but you were hoping it involved more kissing. You really liked kissing him. 

The car comes to a stop and you notice that he’s pulling into a garage. When you asked him where he lived before, he had mentioned that he had a small place but this house was far from small. It wasn’t a huge mansion but it was a respectable size, way bigger than your own apartment. When you open your car door, Pedro is already walking over to your side and offering his hand, which you take happily. He closes the garage door, locks the car, and leads you into a small mudroom. He removes his shoes, you follow, and the two of you walk down a small hallway into a living room.

The room was pretty normal. There was a brown ‘L’ shaped couch along the back wall accompanied by a matching brown recliner to the right of the room. On the opposite wall of the couch, there was a giant flat screen attached to the wall with a dark wooden entertainment stand underneath that was littered with random items. He had a few pictures scattered across the walls and a small display case of awards he had won. 

He sits on the couch and he pulls you down to straddle his lap again. This time it was much more innocent than the first. He has his arms lazily wrapped around you and you have your arms around his neck, resting your head on the right one. 

“Your house is so nice P. It’s so you.” You say into his cheek. 

He lets out a light chuckle and you feel the vibration from his chest on yours. “Thank you sweetheart.” You hum in response. 

“Are you ready for our intimacy coaching?” He asks genuinely.

“Uh, yea I think so. I’m a little nervous though.” You take a moment to think about just how much sex Pedro’s character is having in this movie. He has to have intimacy training and intimacy scenes with eleven other women. You know it’s just his job, but you can’t help the tinge of jealousy that you feel in your chest. “Have you started any of your other ones yet?” You're hoping he couldn’t hear the slight irritation in your voice. 

“Yea. I finished all the training and started filming with some of the girls already.” He says nonchalantly. 

“Oh…that’s cool.” You know for sure he could hear the staggering in your voice this time. You’re trying really hard to keep a professional, but what both of you have done behind closed doors is far from professional. He turns his head to look down at you. 

“What’s wrong baby?” He asks with concern and you realize from the tension in your lips that you have a very noticeable pout on your face. 

“It’s nothing.. ‘s stupid.” You lower your head to hide your face. 

“‘s not stupid if it’s got you all pouty like that sweet girl.” He’s rubbing the back of your head so gently, it could put you right to sleep.

“It’s really stupid P…” You raise your head to look at him. “.. just the thought of you being that close and intimate with other women makes me feel a little jealous . Like I know it’s your job and all but I’m starting to really like you and I don’t-” 

“You like me?” He’s smiling from ear to ear and you could feel the heat rising to your face, not realizing you had said it outloud. 

“I mean yea P. You’re a total catch, what’s not to like…” You trail off, trying your best not to shy away from this moment, from him. 

“I like you too Y/n.” His smile is still big. You can feel your tummy erupt. 

“I need you to really promise me that you like me, okay? I really don’t want to get hurt by you.” You’re holding your pinky up, just like the day you had met him. 

“I promise baby.” He locks his pinky with yours and gives your hand a tender kiss. 

You lay your head back down and you both accept the silence around you, living in the moment of the confessions made. Last time you checked the clock, it was ten at night. It was late and Pedro’s lap was far too comfy for you to care about going home tonight. Your head was feeling heavy and you were slipping into a delirious state due to your lack of sleep after a long day of working.

“You know, when my agent first told me that you were the lead when I auditioned, I had no idea who you were.” Your voice comes out barely above a whisper.

“Thanks baby, that really knocks a few notches off my ego.” He laughs and that slight rumble from his chest is intoxicating. You could see the rise of his left cheek from where your head still laid on your arm that was still draped over his shoulders. You liked making him smile. He had such a nice smile.

“Hm, maybe that’s why the universe brought me to you, to humble you.” Another soft chuckle leaves his mouth. You also loved making him laugh- it was a sound you were glad to have the pleasure of hearing. 

“Anyways, that’s not the point. After I met you at the audition, I may or may not have looked you up.” You don’t know why you’re telling him this. 

“Did you find anything interesting?” He turns his head to look down at you, his eyebrow slightly raised, a cocky smirk present. His right hand starts to caress your back slowly. 

“Eh not really… I did watch your vanity fair lie detector test though.” You purposely leave out how many times you rewatched the first 20 seconds of the video, just to hear his laugh. 

“Oh yea? What did you think?” He’s still looking at you but there's a different look on his face this time, one you haven’t seen before. 

“You look really good in pink.” Your lips turn up to give him a small smile as you think about your next words. “So, uh, daddy’s a state of mind huh?” His hand stops rubbing your back and he turns his head abruptly, looking in the other direction. You burst into laughter at his reaction. “I’m just teasing, come here.” You tug on his right shoulder trying to get him to look at you again but he doesn’t budge. Setting your hands on his shoulders for support, you move yourself to sit straight up, still straddling his lap. Pedro turns his head to look at you and your hands grab his face- you can feel a slight warmth from the blush that was there just moments before. 

“I forgot all about that, it’s so embarrassing…” He leans his head down slightly causing his cheeks to squish in your hands. 

“‘s not embarrassing, it was really fucking funny, but not embarrassing.” He doesn’t budge. “You can be my daddy.” You say in a teasing matter. His head jolts up causing you to drop your hands back down to his shoulder. His eyes were wide and you could’ve sworn you felt movement near the inner corner of your thigh that just so happens to be right next to his- 

“Do you want me to drive you home baby, it’s..” He trails off to grab his phone to check the time. “Shit.. it’s almost 3am.” He sits his phone back down 

“Why’d you change the subject? You don’t wanna be my daddy?” You really wanted to get a reaction out of him. You’re staring deep into his eyes and you feel that slight press against your thigh again. 

“You can’t just say stuff like that sweet girl…” His hands trail down your back, past your ass, and he wiggles them just under your thighs. Before you even realize what’s happening, Pedro is standing up, arms hooked under your legs. You throw your arms around his neck. 

“Pedro put me down please.” You were starting to panic. You’d never had someone even attempt to pick you up and the thought of how heavy you might be in his arms right now is stressing you the fuck out. He starts walking but you can’t see where, nothing but the fading living room in your sight. “P, please. I’m too heavy, please just put me down.” He ignores your pleas. Pedro stops walking for a moment and you hear what you assume is a door clicking open before he continues to walk again. 

“Here sweet girl.” He’s setting you down on the edge of a king sized bed. “I’m not really up to date on any of the new dating rules or anything but um if you wanted, you could stay here tonight.” He’s rubbing the back of his neck and he seems nervous. Your heart burst into flames. 

Dating

“We’re dating?” You’re looking at him with a big smile. 

“Uh yea, I mean uh, only if you want to. I’d love to take you out sometime, on a proper date and everything.” He’s looking at the floor. 

You hop off the bed and wrap your arms around him in a big hug, to which he returns, leaving light kisses on your head. 

“I’d love to stay tonight.” 

╚══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╝ 

Thank you for reading <3

next chapter

series tag list: @nuetralcolorsenthusiast @kungfucapslock

*If you wish to be added to the tag list, leave a comment on this post letting me know! <3

[sims4clutterchaos]

The TSR Debacle

I reposted an excellent write up this morning HERE about some of what's been happening over at The Sims Resource. Oh darlins.... that's not even close to allllll of the shit that's storming. I'm going to reblog several responses to the absolute piece of corporate drivel that TSR has publicly released to try and smooth out the gigantic backlash against them. Go read the statement by TSR first HERE... so that you can fully appreciate the abject ridiculousness and the corporate snivelling doubletalk that they expect you to swallow....

... and they didn't even ask you out on a date first!

I have had the HONOR to work with many of these absolutely AMAZING ARTISTS for the past few months. To create, side by side with this crew of people has been a dream come true for me. I got brought into MOD Collective back in May and yea... I was a bit nervous about what to expect..... Then I "walked" into the MOD discord and found some of my most FAVORITE custom content artists!!!! Are you freakin' kidding me?!? I get to work with some of the greatest Sims Creators out there.... a dream come true. Better yet, is when you finally get to meet some of your heros and realize that they are all really awesome people too. ..... and then this shit with TSR happens.

.......... I wasn't going to get involved. I was going to just repost a few other blogs...... but this corporate announcement from TSR is so rife with absolute spin doctored, "we-are-losing-customers-so-we'll-say-anything-to-try-and-make-us-look-like-the-good-guys" ludicrousness, that I wanted to add my own perspective of what I'm seeing.

I'm seeing people who've given YEARS of their lives to working with TSR, suddenly getting fired- with no warning, by some nameless pion in TSR that none of them has even heard of before, let alone knows who this person is. I'm seeing wonderful artists who RELY on their income from TSR to put food on the table and a roof over the heads of their families... getting thrown under the bus. I'm seeing people in Shock over how they've just been treated. ..... and now I'm seeing some corporate shill/shitbag putting out the LAMEST excuse imaginable to explain why these awesome people have been kicked to the curb.

Pure, nasty, bullshit.

I have so much more I'd like to say on this subject, but I'm going to leave it with this final comment: TSR doesn't give a rats ass about the people who are creating the content that YOU want. If you love your content creators, then it's up to you to express your "dissatisfaction".

The best way to express yourself is to Vote with your Feet.

............. Bye bye @thesimsresourceofficial - now that most of my favourite content creators are gone... I have no need to go back to your site.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

reading roundup: june 2024

before I get started on June, I have to issue a correction from May: I forgot to include a book!

last year I backed Iron Circus Comics' erotic anthology My Monster Girlfriend, edited by Andrea Purcell and Amanda Lafrenais, and it finally arrived just ahead of pride. My Monster Girlfriend contains 15 stories by all by different artists, and features protagonists who get it on with everything from the classic ghosts, werewolves, and vampires to a reality-warping angel (?) who contains infinite dimensions, a sleep paralysis demon, and an all-consuming flesh monster hivemind.

while I would have liked to see a little more variety in the freakishness of the actual sex, the anthology is a lot of fun and shows off a great diversity of art styles and scenarios in which one might get down to clown with a monster girlfriend. my personal favorites were Feather by Kanesha C. Bryant, in which an intrepid pervert boldly attempts to locate their girlfriend's genitalia; MonsterHER Under the Bed by Bont and Wes Brooke, which puts a cute, sexy little spin on the monster under the bed; Forest Wedding by Otava Heikkilä, which reads like an old timey fable except it ends in a giant forest woman getting crazy fisted by her new trans husband; and Girl Fiend by InnKeeperWorm, which is infinitely jackoffable even though, frankly, the hellhound should have stayed in her more monstrous canine form to fuck.

okay, now onto the June reading! I found myself reaching the end of the month surprised that I had added so few books to my 2024 spreadsheet, and then I realized: it's fucking PRIDE MONTH and I'm a career queer. I spent most of June either busting ass working various events or in a coma recovering from said events; no wonder I didn't read as much as I thought I would. I also gave up on one novel after sinking close to 200 pages in it, which means the list is even shorter, but trust me: the DNF was the right decision.

so, who made the cut for pride?

The Monsters We Defy (Leslye Penelope, 2022) - this book was a romp! it's fun! it's a hoot, dare I say! this is a historical urban fantasy that takes place in the Black society of 1920s Washington, DC. protagonist Clara and her band of ragtag magical misfits have a heist to pull off against one of the most powerful Black women in DC, with their own curses and powers at stake. it's a fun story with a neat magic system and lots of words that are capitalized so you know they're Magical and Important, and it's a read that goes down real easy. strong recommendation if you find yourself in a slump!

Just for the Cameras (Viano Oniomoh, 2023) - my first foray into independently published romance! and it was... fine. the plot's a little patchy, sure, but it's definitely not the worst romance I've ever read, and at least a throuple made for a nice change of pace. AND nobody's seething with jealousy or insecurity about multiple partners? you love to see it. this book was apparently originally intended to be a novelette and it definitely could have stayed that way, but if bisexual Black hotties sucking and fucking is what you seek then you're going to have a great time. TW: 2/3 main characters are British.

Strange Bedfellows: Adventures in the Science, History, and Surprising Secrets of STDs (Ina Park, 2021) - to the surprise of absolutely no one who knows me, this is one of my very favorite nonfiction reads of the year so far. I cannot emphasize this enough: if you like the way that I talk about STIs and sex ed on this blog then I think you'll really like this book, because having read this book I desperately want to be her friend. she brings so much passion and energy to her work that it bursts right off the page and is - pardon this awful pun - absolutely infectious.

Survivor (Octavia E. Butler, 1978) - for those you not in the know, this book is kind of a get. it's the only book of Butler's that was never reprinted, so now you can only read it if you get ahold of a super expensive original edition OR if you, hypothetically, find a PDF online and print off the entire thing on your work printer. and I'm so glad I did the latter, because holy shit this book whips ass. the book was apparently disavowed for its lack of connection to the rest of the Patternist series, which is true but oh my god, the story is SOOOO cool anyway. we've got a human woman named Alanna who grew up feral on Earth only to be adopted by a Christian cult who are GOING INTO SPACE to preserve the human race, but it turns out there are already intelligent people on the new planet and they have Feelings about what the future of these human missionaries is going to be. it's on Alanna to navigate the clashing cultures and tension between the humans and two warring groups of aliens, and it is fucking URGENT. I don't say this lightly but I think this has ascended to be in my top three Butler novels.

No Name in the Street (James Baldwin, 1972) - ooooooh my god you guys!! oh my god!!! I've never read any of Baldwin's long form nonfiction, but within pages I knew that this was going to pretty permanently change my brain. this memoir-ish book delves into, among other things, Baldwin's witnessing of the American civil rights movement, including the deaths of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Medgar Evers. woven around that is the alienating experience of being a Black man with exactly enough cultural cache and social clout to sometimes isolate him from the people he grew up with but not nearly enough to buy acceptance or safety in a white society, emphasized by Baldwin's unfinished struggle to free a friend from prison after a wrongful murder charge. and somehow that's barely doing the book justice! it's so vast and incisive and weary and impassioned and it did, truly, have me jotting down the names of everything Baldwin ever wrote to make sure I can read it all. as much as I bemoan my habit of impulse reserving books from the library, I really am indebted to the Stacks podcast for getting this on my radar.

[feelbetterlove-books]

Oughhhh okay first of all, I am SO happy to see Bucktommy back on our screens and I WILL be mass reblogging things about them soon, fair warning! I took a bit after the ep to stop jumping up and down about how good it was, but then I came across the subject of this post and so first, to get it out of my system: a rant! It's not about the episode, probably not of any interest to most people, especially Bucktommy fans trying to protect their peace, so feel absolutely free to ignore this, I'll put it under a cut, I just have to get it out. I've been holding my tongue where bobs are concerned for the most part because I don't want to be mean/have a bunch of negativity on my blog/have any of them find and come after me like they're known to do, but idc rn.

So, there's this author I follow on insta, have followed for years, have read a few of her books and had the rest on my tbr. The ones I've read weren't mind-blowing or anything tbh, but for contemporary romances (not my usual genre) I had fun with them. What I really liked about her was that she is so outspoken about all of her books having bi characters: f/f and m/f. Bi4bi m/f, bi woman x straight man, bi woman x lesbian etc. I love to see bi rep and her efforts to make bi characters visible are great, I respected her for it and I found out last season, she's also a 911 fan! A Buck fan! Cool! She ships B*ddi3 but usually idc ship and let ship, I didn't think she was a Bucktommy hater.

That is, until tonight when I went on insta and saw her post. Bee cupcakes as the first pic, I went oh cute, for 911!! But then I scroll through the post and find this bingo card, the more I looked at it, the more I was like 😬 oh so she's a bob, huh? She only cares about Buck and his bisexuality if he's with E**ie? I didn't want to jump to conclusions, but then there's this in her stories (edits by me to highlight what I'm on about):

And I've blocked a LOT of blogs to try and avoid Tommy/Bucktommy hate so getting blindsided by this when I was in such a good mood enjoying our favorite guy's scene sucked. I literally felt sick about it for a while afterwards and I've decided to unfollow her and unhaul the books I own without reading more. It's not the first time I've stopped supporting an artist I was a fan of, granted this reasoning may seem dumb or petty to other people but I just can't get over it, I mean-

You're a romance author with 5 books published, I didn't think it was a stretch to assume you at least had some decent media literacy and appreciation for a good story/a sweet, queer, rom-com inspired ship. But you hate Tommy just because he's in the way of your ship? You champion bi characters, but will hate on the gay boyfriend of one who is breaking stereotypes and making people feel represented because you think his straight best friend would be a better match? Seriously?

And it's not only these two things, I looked her up on tw*tter, which I'm never usually on, but had logged into today to look at Lou's posts, and I found that she follows multiple people who I know to be particularly nasty Tommy haters/bobs. So. Yeah. I'm out of there, I just can't look at her the same anymore, not to be parasocial or whatever but she always seemed cool, I liked her, I wanted to support her work, I HAVE supported her work personally and as someone who works as a bookseller, I've pointed people to her books and sold them.

But now I just have a bad taste in my mouth. There has been SO much hate towards Tommy, Bucktommy, and worse, the real people who ship them, Lou, and even Oliver over the last few months, because it's constantly being stirred up by this kind of B*ddi3 shipper. I would feel sorry for them for how desperate and bitter they are if not for the fact that I simply cannot stand them anymore. They are miserable and determined to make Bucktommy shippers miserable, too.

I just don't get why people can't stay in their fandom lane and leave others alone?? Like, getting mad that Buck's ESTABLISHED BOYFRIEND and E**ie's FRIEND, WHO HE LIKES, was in one (1) scene, when it narratively made sense for him to be there to remind the ga of him, is pathetic. Tommy came to support E at the virtual birthday party of his estranged teenager, and make a heavy scene lighter and you're acting like he's some kind of monster. I can't even, I'm done!

I hope all the bestie boos will start to leave the fandom soon, when Tommy sticks around, because tbh they only care about one thing that's never going to happen and they don't even seem to have fun on their side of the "ship war". They're too busy being nasty all the time, can't talk about their ship without dragging ours down.

Anyway this rant is becoming more generalized than what I planned to say about that person and has already gotten sooo long, so I'm just going to post it to throw all my anger and frustration out there with it and then bury it with happy Bucktommy posts!! If any Bucktommy fan for some reason actually reads this 1. Oof. Sorry! 2. I 💙 you, Bucktommy fans are the best and I'm so glad to be in this fandom despite everything!!

[tspud-whiteboard]

[Full Previews, Final Files and Extras can be found on GoogleDrive!] !!! THE DEADLINE HAS ARRIVED !!! (End of June it was) I am currently working on putting together the final files, but as this might take a while, YOU CAN STILL KEEP SENDING ME YOUR FELLAS! Once I’ve prepared the actual, finished, fullsize versions, this pinned post will unpin itself and I’ll put a different one here, with the final previews, the download links and some information what the future may hold... maybe I’ll do a Season Two if the interest is there. But we’ll have to see about that. For now, [SUBMIT MORE] like the wind while you still can! Hello, hello! Welcome to The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe Whiteboard Collaboration (a just-for-fun fan project)! I’m assuming that you found your way here because you’re well aware what The Stanley Parable is, and that you are curious to know what a Whiteboard Collaboration might be about!

Let me cut straight to the case then. It all started in 2023 - the 27th of April, to be precise - which just so happened to be the One Year Anniversary for the release of The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe on Steam and consoles, along with the historically very important and internationally renowned - or at the very least grudgingly accepted - 4/27: STANLEY DAY!

To celebrate the occasion, and only one day too late on the 28th, an idea came forth to put together a Whiteboard, containing all those Stanleys by all the fan artists out there (all credited, of course!), a worthy tribute to the Man of the Hour! And as you can see... we’ve already got quite a few collected!

But why stop there? Since plenty of people also came up with their own Narrator designs, and there’s a good few Timekeeper-Settings-432s and Curators, and plenty of other characters (defining the term loosely here), we might as well give them all their own little space to look absolutely dashing next to each other! Imagine, all those different designs, united in one glorious collection!

My point being... I’d love to see yours in there as well.

So... how can you join in?

The gist can be found up there in the first image, but let me also put it into text form down here, with some extra information:

[Submit] your Stanley, Narrator, 432 or Curator mugshot (or all of them at the same time!). You have [some other canon TSP favorite]? Go ahead, submit ‘em, too! We’ll find a spot. The format of the picture needs to be 300px (width) x 400px (height) to fit with the others. I can resize and cut them into shape if needed, but it’ll be easier on all of us if I don’t have to do that. All pictures will have a small white frame added by me afterwards, to give them that authentic printout flair.

Should the [Submit] button not work for you (I triple-checked and it works for me, but then who knows what this thing does while I’m not looking), sending your artworks through PM or tell me where you posted them is fine as well!

AUs and all art styles are fine! Please only submit one picture per character (if you have more than one design, maybe pick your favorite, or elegantly squeeze them into one picture. If you absolutely cannot decide, sending two pictures per character is okay, but I’d like to cap it there to give everyone equal amounts of space.

Must be Safe For Work!

This is also very important: Tell me how to credit you! Your name will go under your artwork, I do have to put something there. I’ll likely default to your username if I have nothing else to go by, but it’s best if you directly tell me, right there in your submission.

I will publish your submission(s) on here as soon as I’ve added it to the queue, so you’ll know it went through okay, and so you can show it around to others if you wish! (I can’t do that with PMs, of course.)

THE DEADLINE: Please try to submit your artworks before the End of June! Yes, 2023. This month. In this year. There’s a chance I’ll change this if a sudden influx of new entries rolls in, but as of now it looks like it’s a good time to start wrapping this up. I want my life back and all. ...But prove me wrong, why don’tcha? Why not tell your favorite TSP artists that they NEED TO BE ON THIS THING? NEED TO! WE CRAVE THEM, PRECIOUS. ...Sorry, got carried away there.

I give updates regularily. Previews of the latest Whiteboard statuses, questions that need answering, sometimes I might just add some nonsense rambles, all inclusive, for free.

The FINAL files, whenever they’re ready, will be 8000x4000px in size each and are mostly a much bigger version of the previews, with maybe a few small changes for the aesthetics.That’s quite massive. Humongous. It’s really impressive to browse all those artworks next to each other at that size. Here’s the [Google Drive] link, for all to download from and share around. So far, you can always find the latest Previews and a bunch of random Extras there, along with the first fullsize Stanley board as a test. Please do make suggestions if there’s better options, or if you can’t drive the Google.

I also post on Twitter and the Crows Crows Crows Discord server (fanart channel). If either of those are more comfortable options for you, or if you know someone on there who might also be interested in joining this collaboration, maybe poke me so I can give you directions. Or you might be able to find it yourself, I’m not actively hiding them away. Not even passively.

I think that’s all for now! If you have questions, suggestions, reservations, my Asks should be open. Looking forward to hopefully a lot more additions to the Whiteboards, there’s quite a few of you guys I’d loooove to see on there!

[zyonsay]

i have a scenario.. imagine max confirming his relationship w his bf, the m!reader, and not only are they been together for years and years, but they also married in secret! i cant stop thinking abt this.

Le mariage MV1

Fem aligned people may read but not f3tishize my work!!

Summary: Artist y/n l/n and Max Verstappen reveal their marriage

Reader: Male

Warnings: Slighttttttt Angst, Max Emilian Verstappen

Now playing: 'Blue Velvet' by Lana del Rey

AN: Hey anon! I paired this request with another request. I hope thats alright! I just thought the two prompts fit together quite well. I hope you enjoy! Who's your favorite artist? Mine is Jan Vermeer <3

(The other request)

The gallery was stunning. You had specifically ordered to have as many plants as possible in it. White and light green, pearlescent fabrics adorned the walls while the soft sunlight flooded the rooms of the art exhibition. The paintings reflected lots of emotion and made the viewers think about the story behind them, even after leaving the gallery.

But there was one very special painting that attracted a lot of attention; It was two men, both in tailored suits, kissing. The little plaque next to the canvas read ‘Our wedding.’ And that’s when two worlds collided. One of the men was obviously identifiable, this was Y/n L/n; A world famous artist, who this exhibition was dedicated to. But as far as the public knew, you were unmarried. Strange.

Then there was another man on the right side of the picture. You had painted beautiful light hues onto the mans face, with the utmost care he was portrayed on the canvas. Art fanatics knew a lot of people, whether it was Claude Monet or Umberto Boccioni. But this person wasn’t part of the art universe. Or at least if you don’t count speed as art in itself.

But only a minute of research would show that this was Max Verstappen – though what does that mean? You two weren’t connected in any way shape or form. Or at least not publicly. What does an esthetic, artful genius have to do with the dominator of the pinnacle of motorsport?

Max was gently holding your waist; this was about to be interesting. Once you both entered the fancy building, you were immediately spotted by Paparazzi. He was THE Max Verstappen, obviously they were keen on snapping a picture of him. What they didn’t expect to see was a man by his side, holding onto him like they were a… couple?

This was like light to a moth; they took as many pictures as their cameras allowed them to take. The media was absolutely going to love this. The event you two were attending had a restricted number of Interviewers allowed, but the ones that were present had already set their eyes on you like eagles.

Quickly hurrying away, you found the table at which Christian and Geri were sitting at. Those two were the only people you’ve trusted to talk about your… relationship. Christian offered Max and yourself an understanding smile while Geri began chatting about how lovely the setup was.

You had to admit, the event was well planned. The food was amazing, the drinks tasted wonderful, and the décor was stunning. But you couldn’t shake that uncomfortable feeling of being watched with every step you take. Max noticed your stressed expression and slid his hand onto your thigh while offering you a slight smile. The atmosphere darkened as the lights slowly dimmed and the stage lit up. A man stood on it, thanking everybody for coming. He then shortly introduced the band that would play a few songs after his speech.

This was the moment you were scared of the most, now you had to participate in Interviews. Max pulled you to his side, giving your hip a gentle squeeze, as if to assure you. The grey-haired interviewer was smiling, if you squinted lightly, he looked like the cheshire cat. “Max Verstappen! Great to see you and your…?”, he glanced at you, still smiling. “My husband.” Now the Interviewer looked startled, his eyes widened at Max’s words while his gaze shifted towards the dutch again. The rumors of your painting had spread into the corners of the press, but not really taken seriously, after all there’s many lunatics in this world. The man’s unsure expression was replaced by a smile again. “Ah yes, the painting.”, he looked back at you.

“Y/n l/n, apparently that painting was made in 2018? Now considering it’s depicting your marriage, did you two in fact get married in 2018 or was it more a… artistic expression?”, he stunk of cigarettes and cheap perfume. You tried masking your disdain with a smile. “We did indeed get married in October 2018. Around the same time i made this painting.”, your tone was polite and lighthearted, like a feather in the wind. The grey-haired interviewer seemed to think for a second before speaking up again. “What was the specific reason for not publicly announcing your spouse?” His ice blue eyes now peered at Max, though your husband seemed unfazed. “The public doesn’t need any information about mine or his private life. This information is not essential for the media.”, Max dismissed, excusing himself and you.

With a sweet smile on his face, he guided you towards the terrace to the side of the building. The night air was fresh and clear. Max leaned his back against the railing, studying your features in the soft moonlight. You took a step forward; both of your noses were almost touching. “We did it.”, you then closed the distance between the two of you and caught your husbands’ lips in a sweet kiss. You could feel him smile into the kiss.

[dynamic-swap-au-archive]

why does noodle have so many scars on her face and who do I need to scar for rest of There life's?

( I'm not angry I'm just FURIOUS )

the good news is that you get to be furious at my favorite thing to be angry about, the government !

lets get to know dynaswap noodle :>

in this instance, what was swapped between her and russel were their ages ! russel is our bright 8 year old boy when he first met the rest of the band, and noodle was only barely in her 20s.

what this means for her is that she'd lived her childhood, her teenage years, and the very cusp of her adulthood as a tool for the government. raised as a killing machine and forced to act on it.

the scars on her body are the memories of a hard life and a stolen childhood.

in the end, she escaped because her program was on the cusp of being caught. not wanting a potentially international incident, they'd wanted to cut their losses by simply killing the children they'd ruined and pretending it never happened.

she ran, and in her escape he'd found herself wandering the streets of england.

it'd been total chance that she'd happened upon a poster advertising for the role of guitarist in a little two-person band known as the Gorillaz. she'd never played a guitar before, but she saw this as a sign from the universe. -besides, she's a fast learner

while her origin was dark, she is anything but ! she absolutely delights in this chance at a second life, a Real life. wishing to live life to the fullest and find everything it has to offers. a sweetheart, a gifted artist, a scarred soul desperate for the chance she never thought she'd get to have.

as such, this band means everything to her, no matter how broken it may be. it's the only family she's ever known, the only true life she's ever gotten to live.

she watches over russel as a big sibling he's never had, taking care of him and nurturing his potential in every way she can

likewise, she sees much of herself in murdoc, a sort of father figure (even if he's less stable than her at times). her scars run deep, and with them come an anger and confusion that she often doesn't know what to do with. but she's determined to find her way, and find it with her family.

... even if she happens to butt heads with them, or more accurate have her head butt into.

most people butt heads with stu, but he's still a part of her family. he may be a slave to his emotions (and unable to filter a single thought in his head), at the core of everything he Means well. he doesn't Want to hurt anyone, he just doesn't know how to control himself anymore. something she can Also see herself in.

she wouldn't be here in her new life if it wasn't for him, and so she reaches out no matter how prickly he may be. sometimes she gets pricked for her efforts, and sometimes she makes her way through.

besides, both of her stinky boys adore russel, would never show him the teeth they gnaw on each other with. and that means something.

... of course, this all raises the question of how she's able to perform, if she's supposed to be on the run from the japanese government. and that would be her mask !

she actually has many of them ! she wears them while performing, for promotional material, and while out of the house ! though her main one is derivative of her first mask, the uniform she'd worn once upon a time.

of course, her Favorite mask is the one russel made for her

this makes her very mysterious in the eyes of the fans, and quite androgynous too ! unintentionally so, At First.

living the kind of life that she did before, her gender had never mattered to her, and it really doesn't now either. when she's asked what gender she is, she simply doesn't answer.

and in the end, she figures that she's nonbinary ! or perhaps agender. or perhaps the label doesn't matter, as long as she knows who she is. of course, she still uses she/her, and why shouldn't she? they're perfectly good pronouns to have.

and yes, she likes girls

if you'd like to see more of noodle, and more of this au as a whole, please feel free to check out my full au guide ! laying out everything the au has to offer in story order [Link]

and of course, I have a guide for canon gorillaz here [Link]

and feel free to talk to me about this au ^^ I always enjoy it @internetcartoon

[squibeearts]

31 Things I Love About Good Omens

Day 1:

(this was posted late, but it's the thought that counts)

First on the list is.....

🌟David Tennant🌟 :D

Not picking favorites (because seriously, I don't have favorites), but David is definitely one of the only reasons I've ever learned of the show. And not only finding out he's one of the main leads but also finding out it was about a pseudo romantic, gay, angel/demon, gay, relationship was just the icing on the cake! (Aziraphale's cake? 😏)(forgive me, im insane)

Truly, if it weren't for David being apart of this series I may have never found Good Omens, nor be as invested as I am now. Thanks to him, I've been able to find this wonderful fandom, and the wonderful people behind it, such as artist, writers, bloggers... but I'm getting ahead of myself, I'll leave that for another day :)

So, to David, I am well and thoroughly thankful for you being my first introduction to Good Omens❤️

~~~~

Now... can I just fangirl about him for a bit? he is hot, attractive, sexy, a dilf, great father, great husband, fantastic actor, loving, caring person, hilarious, star shine, legs for days, love of my life, (am i starting to sound a bit like Michael? good.) silly, slinky, kind, did I mention sexy?

Anyways, no amount of adjectives can ever describe the all around good person, and light David is to the world. Even though he very much likes to be a private person, based off of interviews, podcasts, and the little window his wife Georgia shares of their lives (sidenote, I absolutely love and admire Georgia with all my heart and soul), all of this shows us just what a cinnamon roll of a man he is.

I mean, how can you not look at his goofy smile and not give him all the love in the world?

One of the things I love about Good Omens is, David Tennant

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

*psssst! feel free to add on anything you love about David and/or how he keeps you in the good omens fandom! don't forget to use hashtags #goodomens, #31DOGO and #31DaysOfGoodOmens!

[princess-leaorgana]

What Tieflings Do Chptr 5

Summary: After the takedown of The Absolute, Zelphie finds her city in need of more help and her home destroyed. She won't stop helping, but who can help her?

Rolan x Tav (Zelphie; ~30y.o AFAB, Sorcerer, Tiefling, not really described physically on purpose <3)

M/F

Author's Note: I fucking love tielfings. Along with this being a budding romance/smut/fluff/word vomit fanfiction, it's also my case study in DnD 5e tieflings, how they act, what sets them apart from humans and devils and elves. That being said, I have a few artistic liberties in here as well where I couldn't find a straight answer, if you'll amuse me.

Warnings - Spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3, smut and way too much domestic fluff. WAY TOO MUCH. Have your dentist on fucking speed dial, I can't reign her in boys. Genuinely, if you don't like self-serving fluff, you're going to hate this and me. Love you, you little biscottis.

Chapter One Two Three Four

Rolan was not a sound sleeper. He tossed and turned in his sleep and Zelphie wasn’t much better. She stole his pillow sometime in the middle of the night. Rolan was very early to rise, Zelphie wasn’t so much. It wasn’t nice for her to wake up alone that morning and she groaned and stretched. She sat up with a yawn, looking around.

‘Rolan?’ She called, hoping that he was maybe just in the washroom, but she heard nothing. She frowned and looked at her bedside table. Her frown disappeared instantly. A glass and pitcher of water, a little note and a black water lily had been placed there. She grinned to herself and picked up the pretty flower, her favorite, just as she had told him last night. This was a lovely way to wake up. She reached for the note and laid back on her pillow.

My sleeping darling,

Waking up next to you in the morning, the dawn’s warm glow on your rosy skin, it made it very hard to pull myself from bed. With every fiber of my being, I did, for I have a lot to do today, and the sooner it is all done, the sooner I can return to our privacy. I will be having my normal breakfast with Lia and Cal and I will inform them of our new found adoration for each other. I don’t believe I can face them without telling them the full truth, you’ll have to forgive me, but we never keep things from each other. When you wake, please take your time, bathe, drink your tea, play with little Lajy, have your breakfast, move whatever items you’d like of yours into this room. 

I’ll consider all of what I own to be yours. If it would bring you joy, you may have it. 

I will be attending the shop when you are ready, but please, come as you would like. If you would like. I would like you to.

-R

Zelphie had never received a cute little letter from a partner before. Not like this one. She bit her lip and looked around the room. Lajy had made his way up on the bed and was snoozing by her feet. She reached over and picked the kitten up. He lazily snuggled on her chest and neck and Zelphie drank a glass of water. After the drinking and physical activities last night, she would do very well to hydrate.

Once she was a little more awake, she got ready for the morning, having to, unfortunately, go across the hall to grab some clothing for the day. She would help down in the shop, dressing nicely for customers. And maybe for Rolan. A purple wrap dress and black slippers it was. Plus one little accessory. She wore her hair in a bun and placed the black lily on the side of it. She preened a little more, and her and Lajy walked down to the kitchen for breakfast. No elementals were to be found, but someone was. Cal. He was cooking. Zelphie went bright red, knowing it was very likely Cal knew about last night by now. She cleared her throat and Cal turned around. His eyes widened when he saw Zelphie.

‘Well well well,’ he said and leaned on the counter he was working at, crossing his arms. ‘Couldn’t just be set with a room in a wizard’s tower, had to give its master a ride for his money, hm?’ He asked playfully, but Zelphie would have rather been executed. Cal laughed at her and shook his head. ‘I mean FINALLY Zelphie. The two of you, ever since Last Light Inn, Lia and I have been making bets on when you two would finally get over your stubbornness and you know…’ he said and bobbed his head. Zelphie frowned, this was just as torturous as she thought it would be.

‘How does everyone know?’ She asked and he laughed. He pointed at her middle.

‘Your tail, his tail. Both of you go full primitive when you see each other, it’s-‘ he stopped when he looked at the ground. ‘Is that a cat?’ He asked and Zelphie looked down at Lajy. He was sniffing around the kitchen.

‘Yes, Lajy, I found him yesterday,’ she said and Cal laughed.

‘Anything else? Had a romp with my brother, adopt a cat and name it love, wedding bells next? Or am I going to be an uncle?’ He teased and Zelphie scoffed.

‘Please don’t,’ she whined a little and walked over to pour herself some coffee.

‘Come on, give me a little something, do you know how many people Rolan used to bring back home to meet us?’ He asked and Zelphie glanced at him. She would very much like to know the answer to that question. ‘Not exactly many. I think three,’ he said and Zelphie went back to her coffee. ‘So, I never got to experience teasing him over it like all brothers usually do, I’ll stop, I promise. Well. Teasing you,’ he said and went back to cooking. He was baking a pie of some sort.

‘Don’t tease him too much, though…oh I do like him grumpy,’ she said and sipped her coffee.

‘I knew you were my favorite,’ Cal said and laughed.

‘But if you are nice to your brother…I’ll have Astarion over for tea later tonight. If you…would like that,’ she said and Cal froze and glanced at her.

‘You…you would?’ He asked and she giggled, nodding.

‘I think he likes you,’ she said and opened the ice box and found a few cubes of beef for Lajy to eat. She fixed him a bowl of water and beef and set it on the floor. The kitten ran right over and began to devour the meat. ‘I’m going to the shop, how angry is Lia at me?’ She asked and Cal wrinkled his nose.

‘You will receive a lecture, but she’s not angry. Just, protective,’ he warned her and Zelphie nodded.

‘Thank you for the warning,’ she said and walked out of the kitchen with her coffee to use the portal to Sorcerer’s Sundries. She’d like to get the fight with Lia over and done with. Cal always softened blows, he would never warn her that Lia was actually angry at her. He was a pacifist and never saw the bad side of anything or anyone.

The store was busy, it was morning and that was the busiest it ever was. Rolan was leaning his hand against the large counter in the middle of the shop, talking with a woman who was dressed very finely. Zelphie walked over to the pair, but her arm was caught instead and she was pulled away.

‘No no, you are coming with me.’ Lia had seen her before anyone else did. Zelphie obeyed and followed Lia to the back of the shop, knowing a scolding was on its way.

‘Lia, please, I haven’t even finished my coffee,’ Zelphie told her, begging for her to have some mercy. Lia held up a quick hand.

‘First and foremost, between a powerful wizard and a world saving sorcerer, one of the two of you could be decent enough to know a spell that will silence your bedrooms from the rest of the tower,’ she said and Zelphie almost passed out.

‘You could hear us?’ She asked and Lia nodded. Zelphie placed her hand over her face, now refusing to look at Lia.

‘Secondly, promise me you won’t hurt him,’ she continued and Zelphie froze. After a second she lowered her hand. Lia was staring at her. ‘If you hurt him, Zelphie, I promise you I will hurt you back,’ she said and Zelphie nodded.

‘You don’t need to threaten me, I would never hurt him. I love him,’ she said and glanced back over at the counter. Rolan was still talking with that woman. ‘I know a lot of people have hurt him and taken advantage of him, I know it’s your job to protect him, but I’m not a threat, Lia, I promise you that,’ she said and looked back at her friend. Lia’s face softened a bit and she nodded.

‘Well, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, I’m happy,’ she said and Zelphie smiled a little. ‘I know this sounds silly after what I just said, but…I know you’ll be good to him, you’ll be patient with him. He needs someone like you,’ she said and Zelphie’s smile only grew.

‘Thank you, Lia, that means a lot,’ she said and Lia walked closer and hugged her.

‘Just don’t be too gross in front of Cal and me, or the customers,’ she said and Zelphie laughed.

‘How gross is too gross?’ She asked and Lia laughed, nudging her.

‘Come on, you didn’t meet Satah yesterday, come and meet Rolan’s new apprentice,’ she said and nodded at the counter. Zelphie followed Lia to the counter, her heart beating a little harder than normal. Rolan was still talking but caught Lia and Zelphie in his eyeline and grinned up at them.

‘Ah! And here is the rest of my family, Satah. You met Cal and Lia yesterday, this is Zelphie,’ Rolan said and Zelphie nervously smiled at the woman. Beautiful elf with hazelnut skin and long braids. Satah turned and smiled, holding out her hand to greet Zelphie.

‘Goodness! What a big family you have, it’s wonderful to meet another one of Rolan’s sisters,’ she said and Lia snorted a laugh. Zelphie froze a little, though why the hells Rolan introduced her as family was beyond her.

‘Oh, I’m sorry, no, Zelphie isn’t my sister, she’s my wife,’ he said, though that was absolutely not correct and Zelphie could only hear a faint ringing. Twelve hours ago, they hadn’t even kissed. Now they are married. What was happening to her? Was she awake?

‘Oh! Oh, I’m sorry, of course! Master Rolan told me about you yesterday, I didn’t know you were married, ha! Oh that’s so sweet, well, it’s lovely to meet you all the same,’ she said and Zelphie nodded.

‘Lovely to meet you as well, Satah. Rolan is very particular when it comes to everything in his life, so naturally, you must be incredibly talented to make it through him,’ Zelphie managed and let go of the woman’s hand.

‘Satah, let me show you the basement really quickly, I’m sure Rolan’s been talking your ear off and you should get a tour first,’ Lia said, taking Satah’s arm to give Rolan and Zelphie some privacy after that insane moment. Satah and Lia left and Zelphie looked up at Rolan who was just smiling at her.

‘Your wife?’ She asked and Rolan frowned a little.

‘Yes, uhm….I-uhm…I didn’t know what else to call you,’ he fumbled and cleared his throat. ‘I’ll clear it up, I promise. I’m sorry,’ he said and Zelphie’s heart melted a little.

‘Don’t apologize, just warn me before we get married,’ she told him and he stifled a little chuckle. ‘I’d like to dress better,’ she added and he laughed.

‘You look very nice this morning,’ he said politely and she grinned.

‘You’ve seen me in better,’ she told him, a little flirt and he went bright red.

‘Hush hush, not in front of the customers,’ he told her with a grin.

‘Why not? Aren’t married couples supposed to flirt a little?’ She teased him and he hushed her again, getting a little visibly annoyed, sending her into a giggle fit. ‘Alright, alright, get back to work, Master Rolan,’ she said and turned away from him to find someone to help on the floor. Luckily for both of them the store was very busy. Cal showed up to help as best he could. He had done a great job of memorizing how the store was stocked. He would ask a million questions a day, but once either Zelphie or Rolan or even Satah specified what the customer wanted, he knew exactly where to go looking.

‘So, Lia told me you are the reason for the ending of the apocalypse.’ Zelphie was showing Satah around as the place slowed down a little. Zelphie figured she would get to know the woman a little more. She did seem very nice and very knowledgeable.

‘Me and a lot of other people,’ Zelphie corrected her and Satah laughed.

‘She also warned me you were humble to a fault. I think she’s right,’ she said and Zelphie smirked. ‘Still, not even your powerful husband was by your side, he was here, wasn’t he manning the towers? I would have been terrified  if I didn’t have my wife by my side during that,’ she said and there were about four things Zelphie wanted to ask there, but she settled on one.

‘You’re married?’ She asked and Satah nodded.

‘Yes, with two little ones as well, Gemma always says, one for her, one for me. Both boys,’ she said and Zelphie grinned.

‘That’s lovely,’ she said and Satah nodded.

‘Most lovely that I still have all of them,’ she said and placed a hand on Zelphie’s shoulder, a very kind touch. ‘Thank you for saving them,’ she said and Zelphie’s eyes widened. No matter how many people thanked her as she went through her day, it still shocked her and made her freeze.

‘I’m really happy you still have them,’ she said and nodded. ‘Not a lot of people can say the same, I’m afraid,’ she said and Satah nodded, letting her hand down.

‘I know I’m very lucky, thank you all the same,’ she said and Zelphie nodded.

‘It’s…I’m happy that I could have helped them,’ she settled on. A moment passed between her and Satah and she sighed. ‘I’m sorry if this is strange, but Rolan introduced me as his wife, I’m…I’m not his wife,’ she said and Satah’s green eyes widened.

‘Oh?’ She asked and Zelphie laughed a little.

‘I don’t…know why he said that. We uhm, we just started to see each other romantically, even though we have known each other for a while, and he just…likes his own privacy. I think referring to me as his lover or something like that would have made him feel strange. Though, I would beg that calling me his spouse has made things much more strange,’ she explained and Satah laughed a little.

‘I’m sorry if that was awkward for you this morning, then,’ she said and Zelphie grinned.

‘The entire last six months have been awkward for me, that wasn’t really anything.’ The day continued, everyone took turns showing Satah around and just before dinner, she left and the shop closed for the evening.

‘Zelphie, you got a package today,’ Cal called as he was tidying the front counter.

‘Oh?’ Zelphie looked up as her mage hand put some books away on a high shelf. She walked over and saw a large package. She inspected it and smiled. ‘Oh! Well, what on earth did he send me?’ She wondered out loud. The package came from Waterdeep, and she only knew one person from there. She opened the letter and grinned.

Dearest Zelphie,

It has only been a few days, but it feels like all that we have lived through together was a lifetime ago, now that I’m back home. I have heard from a little birdie who will remain nameless that you have moved to Ramazith’s Tower and I am delighted to hear that news. Take advantage of your luxury. A wizard’s tower is homey and comforting, but it is a place of academic achievement and you will only get better by reading and watching Rolan as your teacher as he helps you really hone in on your magical talents. Please warn him not to teach you anything involving electricity, I would be remiss if I didn’t warn him what you’re capable of. My tunic still has that singe from our last lesson.

Please have Rolan accept these back, I feel awfully guilty that I still have them, as I meant to give them back before I left North. They are one of a kinds and I will admit they are hard to hand back over, but that knowledge should be shared, and I have already used them. I know Rolan will put them to better use and more responsible a man than never was.

Please keep in touch, Zelphie. I was very very glad for that short, bleak moment in my life, to call you a friend.

-Gale Dekarios

Zelphie smiled through the note and placed it on the counter. She opened the package and laughed. Three books, all glowing with a purple protection spell on them. 

‘Rolan!’ She called happily and Rolan came over from the back counter. ‘Rolan! Gale sent these, they were in the shop before, oh my goodness, I can’t believe he sent them back,’ she said and handed him one. Once she touched one, the spell disappeared. Rolan raised an eyebrow, reading the binding.

‘The Annals of Karsus?’ He asked and looked at her. ‘This was here?’ He asked and Zelphie nodded.

‘Yes, keep that locked away, further than where it was originally,’ she warned him. Cal looked into the box and pulled out a second book and hissed and dropped it. The book had bitten him.

‘What in the hells?’ He asked and Zelphie giggled, picking up the book and handing it to Rolan, the spell also fading as she did.

‘Don’t touch the magic books, Cal,’ she told him and pulled out the last one. This one had not come from the shop, but it might as well have stayed with the second book, The Necromancy of Thay. Rolan frowned when he was handed that particular book, as would anyone that had to look at that ugly thing.

‘Well, he has my thanks, if I were an intelligent person, I might have these burned, but I’ll keep these safe,’ he said and Zelphie grinned at him. She handed him the letter to read, very happy that the two might now connect.

‘That book looks evil,’ Lia said, looking at the necromancy book.

‘It is,’ Zelphie warned her and looked up at Rolan. ‘Profane knowledge, but knowledge, nonetheless,’ she said and Rolan nodded.

‘I’ll put it under the cannons,’ he said and Zelphie smirked.

The four finished cleaning up the shop and went home. After a bit of an awkward dinner, Lia stole the family’s new kitten and Cal followed her. Lia had told Cal about Rolan’s earlier slip up, calling Zelphie his wife and he would not allow that subject to go. Sibling teasing would never be something anyone could age out of, apparently. As they left, Rolan looked at Zelphie and sighed.

‘So,’ he began and played with his wine goblet a little. ‘Uhm,’ he continued and Zelphie giggled a little at him.

‘Yes?’ She asked him and he clicked his tongue.

‘I’m sorry, I don’t know exactly how to navigate this. Behaving and being civil all day for show after a night of…not behaving,’ he said and Zelphie grinned.

‘You think all of that was behaving?’ She asked and he frowned, making her laugh. ‘I’m sorry, but if Cal can tease you, I’m entitled to a little. I did tell Satah the truth, just so you know. I couldn’t help it, she started to tell me about her family and I felt as though I should tell her that we aren’t there ourselves, it felt natural to tell her,’ she explained and he nodded.

‘I am very sorry, I genuinely thought that was the most intelligent route. But it’s no matter, I don’t think I’ll be keeping her, to be honest,’ he said and Zelphie frowned.

‘Why not?’

‘She lied, she’s not a wizard, she’s a cleric of Mystra,’ he explained and sipped his wine.

‘Well, maybe she can’t be your apprentice, but wouldn’t you want to keep her around? A cleric of Mystra would be a good asset,’ she told him and he shook his head.

‘Ramazith’s Tower will no longer hold siege to people who lie for their own benefit. You are right, if she had told me about herself honestly the first time, I would have still hired her, but she lied. She lied to get what she wanted, and I don’t believe I can tolerate anyone else lying to me,’ he went on and Zelphie frowned.

‘Give her a second chance?’ She asked and Rolan sighed.

‘I will think about it,’ he answered and Zelphie nodded, knowing that was the best she could get.

‘Though, I’m glad. I can still be your apprentice, if you’ll still have me,’ she said and a smile grew on Rolan’s face.

‘If I’ll still have you? Oh, the understatement of the century, my dear,’ he said and she grinned at him.

The couple left for Rolan’s study. It was a strange room, dummies for targets, ritual circles on the floor, a static feeling of the Weave all around the room. There weren’t so many books here, making it seem very out of place for the tower. This was where Rolan studied spells and would teach Zelphie when he had the patience. Zelphie was not exactly a good student. Days of teaching her basic illusionary tricks had proven that to him. She was too nervous to perform properly and would be distracted by those nerves. But he would do it, he would make a wizard out of his little sorcerer.

‘Alright, feet about shoulders’ length apart,’ he said and watched her. ‘Toes straight out,’ he said and walked around her as she fixed her posture. She watched him and he kept checking her. ‘Don’t look at me,’ he told her and she looked forward. It was hard to follow his direction of ‘pretend he wasn’t here’ and also take direction from him. He walked closer to her and plucked the lily from her bun, handing it to her. ‘Look at it, memorize it,’ he told her and she held the flower delicately in her hand. A black lily, her favorite flower. That would make this easier. She memorized the deep color, the little spots, the pollinator, the stem, all of it. Even how it weighed in her hand. ‘Do you have it?’ He asked softly and she nodded. Rolan snapped his hands and the lily fizzled in a static purple cloud and she gasped. The lily she had been wearing all day hadn’t been real. It was Rolan’s magic, how powerful was he? ‘Close your eyes, find harmony, and repeat the somatic component when you are focused,’ he said softly.

Zelphie took in a deep breath, picturing the flower in her mind. The black, spotted petals, the green stem, the orange pollinators. She found peace in the moment, remembering waking up to see the flower, hoping that joy and memory would serve her well. She muttered the incantation and she felt something tickle her fingers. She opened her eyes and Rolan shouted a happy cry.

‘Zelphie!’ He shouted and grabbed her shoulders happily. ‘Look at that! Ha!’ He cheered happily. ‘She can be taught! With the help of a professional of course,’ he said, he was so happy, but Zelphie frowned when she saw what she had created. Six black leaves. Was it an improvement? Yes. But she had hoped with his excitement for perfection. Or at least a flower.

‘Rolan, this isn’t anything,’ she said and the leaves fizzled away. Rolan shook his head.

‘No! You are brilliant!’ He took her face in his hands and kissed her squarely.  That shocked her, this behavior wasn’t very like him, but he was happy. ‘This is much better than you zapping me,’ he said. Yes, he was very happy indeed. She smiled at him and nodded. ‘I’m so proud of you,’ he continued and her smile grew instantly. Her tail thumped happily against the floor.

‘You are?’ She asked, feeling like she was melting in his hands.

‘Of course I am! That is a terrific improvement, you made organic material, my darling you are brilliant,’ he said and kissed her forehead. She laughed happily, very happy for his joy, it was contagious. He was proud of her, oh there was nothing better for her. The joy in his eyes, the yellow glow buried by his happy smiling cheeks.

‘Can we try again?’ She asked and he nodded happily.

The couple worked very hard for the next few hours until Zelphie was getting delusional. No lily was summoned that evening, but she did at one point summon a sunflower. It faded quickly, and Zelphie was a little upset that she couldn’t play with it, but she was very happy. Rolan was beside himself with joy and rang for tea.

‘You, oh you, you will get quite the treat, oh what shall we do to celebrate your victory?’ He asked her and sat on a little chaise and she followed, sitting down close to him. Her tail curled up behind him.

‘Oh, I can think of something,’ she told him softly and he chuckled, leaning close to her.

‘Mmm, that will be my reward for my wonderful teaching, you deserve your own treat,’ he purred and she got a shiver up her spine. ‘Something sweet for you, hm? What would my darling like?’ He asked, brushing a stray hair from her face. She laughed at him, he was being very sweet.

‘What? Like a cake?’ She asked and he shrugged.

‘If that is what you would like,’ he said and leaned over, pouring them some tea. Zelphie thought about it for a moment, feeling a little silly. Like a child being treated after a chore well done.

‘Could I ask for something even more childish than that?’ She asked and he laughed, handing her her cup.

‘You can ask for whatever you’d like,’ he told her and leaned back on the chaise, ready for her request.

‘Tonight…before we sleep…oh, well, uhm,’ she laughed and shook her head. ‘Could we sleep together again tonight?’ She asked and he smirked.

‘Is that what you want? That’s not a treat my darling, that’s a given,’ he told her. She smiled and shook her head.

‘No, I was just hoping you would be open to it, sharing your bed again, I don’t want to be clingy,’ she told him and he laughed. He pulled at her tail that was coiled around him. ‘Sorry,’ she said with a smile and he shook his head.

‘You aren’t going to apologize for that, oh Zelphie, no. No, darling, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea of how I’m feeling. I’m very happy, I want you to be with me as much as possible. Honestly, I can’t get enough of you,’ he told her and grinned. She felt sillier than she had just a moment ago. ‘I wrote you that note this morning, and I meant it. My bed is no longer mine, it’s ours. If you want to have your privacy, you still have your room, I’m not taking that from you, but if you want to sleep beside me tonight and tomorrow and the next day and the next, I’m very happy with that,’ he told her and she sipped her tea, her heart spinning.

‘I’m not used to all of this,’ she said and he smirked. ‘I just…’ she sighed and shrugged. ‘Never been loved so much,’ she said and he shook his head.

‘I don’t believe that, that can’t be right,’ he said and she shook her head.

‘No one has ever treated me like you treat me, Rolan. Nothing like this, and I’m afraid it’ll be over soon,’ she said and his face softened a little.

‘Why would it be over?’ He asked and she shrugged.

‘When you get tired of me,’ she said and he scowled.

‘Zelphie, if you are going to think like that, you’re going to be miserable. You think that I don’t fear that as well?’ He asked and she frowned and sipped her tea again, a little nervous about this conversation. ‘Life may happen, but I’m not just having fun with you here. I care about you very very much. If I ever give you cause to doubt that, tell me, for I’m misrepresenting myself,’ he told her and she nodded. ‘And until you tell me to stop, I’m going to show you just how much you mean to me every single day,’ he said and she opened her mouth to protest, but he held up his hand. ‘We will start with you telling me how you would like to be rewarded for your hard work tonight,’ he continued and sipped his tea. She just looked at him for a moment, happy. That was it, happy, content, safe.

‘I was hoping before we sleep you could..maybe read to me,’ she suggested and his eyebrows shot up. ‘I uhm, saw the book on your nightstand and I felt bad that you didn’t have time to read last night. And Rolan…I really love your voice,’ she said and he went deep red at that compliment. ‘It’s so soft and low…I don’t know, I just think it would be a nice way to fall asleep,’ she said and he nodded.

‘Then you will have it,’ he told her simply and sipped his tea.

‘And what would you like for your efforts?’ She asked and he chuckled.

‘You know exactly what I’d like,’ he said softly and Zelphie giggled.

‘That’s not fair, I was going to give you that anyway,’ she told him and he grinned.

‘That’s all that I desire,’ he told her simply. Their tea was finished very quickly after that.

The couple walked to Rolan’s bedroom and outside the door, scratching to get in was Lajy. Zelphie scooped him up and gave the little kitten kisses and rubs. Rolan led her inside and Zelphie placed Lajy on the sofa. The kitten hopped down to run around the room and explore. Rolan walked around to change and Lajy took to chasing Rolan’s tail. That made Rolan laugh, which Zelphie was very happy for.

‘I should have done what you suggested and brought my clothes in here,’ she said and Rolan looked up at her and he undressed.

‘Only do what you are comfortable with,’ he told her, reassuring her that his suggestion was permission, not a request.

‘I think it will be easier, maybe not all of my clothing, but at least a few nightgowns,’ she said and sat in the bed. Rolan smiled and thumbed through his wardrobe and picked up a white shirt. He walked over to her and placed it on the bed next to her.

‘Maybe not as flattering, but maybe this will do for tonight,’ he told her. She ran her fingers over the shirt and smiled. Wearing his shirt to bed was certainly a nice thought. As she looked at the shirt, Rolan looked at her. He reached out and played with a loose lock of hair that had fallen from her bun earlier. ‘I liked the lily in your hair today, it was very pretty,’ he told her and she smiled at him.

‘Thank you for making it for me…that…was incredibly thoughtful,’ she said and bit her bottom lip. He smiled, a little pride on his lips. ‘One thing to go and have one fetched, it’s another thing entirely that you made it for me,’ she continued and he nodded and laughed.

‘Don’t expect all your gifts to be manufactured by magic. Or some of them will surely disappear,’ he told her, running his fingers from her hair down her face.

‘All of my gifts?’ She asked him and he grinned. ‘Oh, no no, no gifts. I’ve been given enough,’ she told him and he laughed.

‘That request is denied,’ he told her. She wrinkled her nose at him. Along with everything else, Zelphie was not easy to accept gifts. Rolan should be used to that by now. ‘Request,’ he repeated and lowered his face to hers. ‘Denied.’ He kissed her sweetly, stroking her chin with his thumb. She kissed him back happily, thumping from her tail on the bed could be heard. She placed a hand on the leather belt that kept his robes fashioned to him. She untied the strings and once the belt hit the floor, Rolan quickly shuffled the thick fabric off on his shoulders. He stood in a wrap shirt and trousers and Zelphie leaned back in the bed to get a little look at him. The disconnect of the kiss made Rolan stand up straight and place his hands on his hips. ‘What?’ He asked as she continued to stare at him.

‘Turn around,’ she said and twirled her finger in the air. He raised an eyebrow but after a beat he sighed and did as she asked. She took one more moment to look at his back. He had such a strong figure, not the usual when looking at the body of a wizard. His broad shoulders sloped delicately to his strong waist. She pulled on the strings of his trousers, just above his tail. His tail wrapped around her calf and she grinned. She loved when he did that, whether he meant to or it was instinct. She liked being wanted, being claimed by him. He pulled down his pants, Zelphie gave his taught little backside a pinch. He yelped and turned around and she laughed. ‘I’m sorry, you’ve got a very cute bum,’ she told him and he shook his head.

‘That’s the second word you’ve used on me that I don’t like,’ he said with a playful smile. ‘Silly? Cute? Me? No, no absolutely not,’ he told her and she laughed. He unwrapped his shirt and she got off the bed, undressing herself.

‘Go sit on the bed,’ she told him, untying her dress. He did as he was told, stark naked and just watched her. She glanced at him when she heard his tail thump on the bed just as hers did earlier. That made her heartbeat hard. Once she was down to nothing, she walked over to him and knelt down. ‘Now, a treat for my very hardworking and patient professor,’ she said, holding his cock gently in her hand. He moaned lightly and she kissed his inner thighs, stroking him very gently as his erection grew. After the initial shock, his hands found her hair, untying her bun to let her hair down. He ran his fingers through it. She kissed and licked the ridges of his thighs, they were terribly tight. She would give him a massage later. 

‘My beauty, nothing compares to you,’ he whispered as he whimpered a little. She licked up his length and he sighed out a very happy purr, stroking her hair. ‘This…this is worth everything I’ve ever gone through,’ he continued and she looked up at him with big eyes and he smiled. ‘I love you, I treasure you,’ he spoke before she took him in her mouth. That was the sort of praise Zelphie wanted to hear. A compliment on her magic was nice, but hearing Rolan talk to her like that as she was doing everything she could to please him was just blissful. She wanted to make him selfishly happy. She wanted to be of use, she wanted to be a positive light for him. Never a burden, she didn’t want presents and accolades. She wanted to make him happy. He hissed a little and laughed, watching her. She slowly bobbed up and down, sucking in as she went up, twirling her tongue around the head of his cock. ‘The most wonderful person I have ever met, the most beautiful woman any have ever laid eyes on and she’s on her knees in front of me, lips on my…cock,’ he said, clearly not comfortable with that language. He shuddered another moan and leaned back in his elbow and watched her, his hand in her hair.

Zelphie moved a little quicker, adding her hand to the base and he free hand stroked and cupped his balls. If he was going to keep praising her like that, he should expect her to over perform. She wanted him to be selfish that night. Was she ready for sex, to be touched? Of course, but he deserved to just be taken care of, to be worshiped. She was very happy hearing his swear and moan and whine under her touch and tongue. She watched his face and his chest rise, and his eyes never left her face. Timidly, he grabbed one of her horns and applied a little pressure, asking for permission. She cooed in response, so she never stopped her task, but gave him permission to move her. He knew what he liked, she wanted him to show her.

‘How deep can you…?’ He asked, pushing her head down, her mouth taking more of him and stopped at her hand. She breathed through her nose as he kept her steady. ‘Move your hand, my love, just one deep one,’ he asked softly and she took in another deep breath, removed her hands and moved further down. She gagged lightly and stopped moving. He groaned in pleasure and pulled her up. ‘Oh very good, that’s my girl,’ he said and she went down again, just before that gag. ‘Oh fuck, fuck Zelphie, you’ll make quick work of me,’ he panted. That only encouraged her. She kept going, pushing the feeling in the back of her throat away by closing her eyes and focusing on her breathing. She wanted Rolan to lose control, to feel the bliss of an orgasm so quickly. Up and down, breathing through her nose, listening to his cries, she placed her free hand on his chest, bracing herself. ‘Darling, I’m-I’m going…’ he warned her and she added her hand back, determined to make this moment perfect for him. He cried out again and she could taste him. She swallowed his salty and sour cum quickly and lapped up the rest like a cat. ‘Oh…gods dammit Zelphie,’ he said and laid back on the bed, panting. She giggled and kissed his pulsing cock happily, very proud of herself. He leaned up after a little breathing break and looked at her. Her tail was curled up, mischievous and proud, as was her face. She had on a wicked little smile and he shook his head. What was he thinking? He looked dazed. ‘You know exactly how to unravel me,’ he said and she giggled again.

‘Are you happy?’ She asked and he laughed loudly.

‘To quote you from last night, that is a terrible word for how I am feeling, but yes, I am happy,’ he told her and reached down his hand to stroke her face. ‘Off your knees, my love, come up with me,’ he told her and she got up, her knees cracking a little. He pulled her into his lap and grinned up at her. He placed a hand on her back, the other on her backside. ‘Surely, that kind of behavior deserves a little something,’ he told her and she wrapped her arms around his neck. With a strength she didn’t understand, he scooted up further on the bed, taking her with him. He laid back and she wiggled in his lap. ‘Uh uh, no, that is sensitive, you’ve sucked the life out of me,’ he told her and she howled with a laugh. ‘But I still have other parts of me you can find use in,’ he whispered, rubbing her thighs. His thumb ran over a little bite marked on her thigh that he had left on her last night, his little brand. He glanced at it and then looked back up at her. ‘Scoot up,’ he ordered and patted her bottom. She moved up his torso and received another little pat. She moved once more and got another pat. She laughed.

‘Where am I going?’ She asked and he grinned at her, not responding, but just patted her backside again. She scooted up to his chest and she got another pat. ‘Rolan!’ She squeaked when she got one last pat. ‘I’m going to suffocate you,’ she told him with a laugh.

‘I’d like for you to try,’ he said and patted her backside a little more firmly. She stared down at him. ‘Come come, I want to taste you,’ he said, his voice and tone perfectly pleasant considering what he was suggesting. ‘Don’t make me beg,’ he said, swatting her backside. She squealed and then bit her lip, looking down at him.

‘Are you sure?’ She asked and he nodded.

‘I insist, come come, be greedy,’ he said and she wiggled a little, not sure if what he was suggesting was entirely safe for him. How would he breathe? She moved a little and he was able to hook his arms under her thighs and finally push her over his face. She hovered delicately and he took out a nice deep breath. Her body shivered from his hot breath and she felt his arm constricting, pulling her further down. Finally, down not even an inch and she felt his tongue. He wasn’t going slow and she moaned, feeling his greedy tongue already lapping at her clit.

‘Oh my gods, Rolan,’ she breathed and she felt him laughing against her. Her back arched as she got used to this position. Rolan’s very skilled tongue made quick work of her. It was enough for her to be in this position, sitting just above his face. She looked down, his face pressed between her thighs, she watched him, his strong brow bone furrowed in concentration, his eyes closed. He was devastating to watch. She cursed and rocked her hips against him and his arms pulled her down. His tongue was pressed hard against her and she almost doubled over. Damn him, damn him for being so selfless. She leaned over, not able to keep herself upright. ‘Oh! Oh!’ She cried and moaned. She sat back up, knowing full well he would not be able to breathe with her on him like that. His hands moved from her thighs to her backside, helping her grind against him. 

His nails dug into the skin of her backside and she whimpered. She placed a hand over her mouth to keep quiet. His tongue made quick work on her clit, she felt herself dripped and could hear him lapping her juices. He moaned against her and her hips twitched. He laughed against her and she twitched again. He was making quick work of her. She looked down at him and his yellow eyes flashed up at her, a hungry stare. That was it.

‘I’m cumming, I’m going to cum,’ she whimpered and his tongue moved from her clit to her opening quickly, allowing her to properly ride out her orgasm. ‘Oh fuck,’ she whispered and she heard Rolan laugh, muffled of course. Her hips bucked as the pulsating orgasm rang from her spine to her hips and thighs.

She got right off of him and he sat up in his elbows, wiping his face with the back of his hand. He was a mess. His face was deep red, covered in her juices, his hair was undone, but he looked incredibly happy.

‘Are you alright? Did I squish you?’ She asked and he laughed again.

‘I’m on cloud nine,’ he said and sat up, kissing her deeply. She could taste herself on his lips. ‘You are wonderful, so beautiful the way you sing for me,’ he said and kissed her again, leaning her back in the bed. He pressed his nose to hers, she laid back on their pillows. ‘I love you,’ he whispered and she made eye contact with him through loving and lustful eyes.

‘I love you more,’ she whispered back and leaned up to kiss him again. The couple laid with each other, just kissing, touching. Zelphie had hoped he might get hard one last time, but just kisses and touches for now. She would survive. He calmed down a little and rolled over, sighing out and Zelphie scooted close to him, kissing his shoulder. He leaned over and grabbed his book and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close.

‘Are you sure you’d like to hear me read this?’ He asked and she laughed, nodding. His hand found her hair and he began to lightly pet it. Her damned horns got in the way of a proper cuddle, but she curled up against him as best she could. In a low, soft register, Rolan began to read from his book, a chapter on the anatomy of a displacer beast. She wasn’t the biggest fan of an anatomy lesson, but with Rolan’s fingers stroking her hair and his beautifully deep voice and slow breathing, Zelphie was put to peace very quickly. She rubbed tiny circles on his chest and Rolan stopped reading once he felt her stop and grow heavy. He looked down at her and placed his book on the side table mindlessly. He repositioned himself to be on his side, as he liked to. He almost lost an eye when Zelphie rolled over to her other side. He wrapped an arm around her hips and even though light helped him sleep, he fell asleep quickly with his face buried in her hair.

[choicesficwriterscreations]

May Creator of the Month: Saibug1022

Each month, CFWC highlights one of our talented fanfic writers or artists, and this month’s creator of the month is @saibug1022! The writer is selected at random. More info can be found on the navigation page. Past COTM's can be found here.

Quick Links:

Tumblr Blog Masterlist

How do you want to be known on Tumblr? 

Salem, Sai, or saibug are all good! They/he pronouns

1- When did you start playing Choices? What was the first book you played? 

I started playing Choices in 2017-ish, I don’t remember what my first book was for sure but I remember the first book I played that really drew me in and got me into the app was The Elementalists.

2- When and why did you join Choices fandom?

I don’t think I really joined the fandom until…a few weeks after that mass cancellation announcement where they announced they’d cancelled It Lives 3, Elementalists 2, Nightbound 2, Hero 2, and RoD 2.

3- How did you pick your blog name? 

Originally it was a mashup of my dead name and a sweet nickname from my childhood, so when I came out I just changed it to incorporate my new name instead :)

4- Pull up the first post in your archive, and tell us about it!  

It was a repost of this screenshot and honestly I was right and should say it. Also this question taught me the archive feature existed so thank you that’ll come in handy lmao

5- Do you write fanfiction, create fan art, or are you one of those really gifted people who do both? 

I write fanfiction! I am trying to learn and practice art so who knows what could happen in the future. Oh and I also do lots of edits :)

6- How long have you been creating for Choices and for any other fandoms?

If we’re talking my true origins I actually started writing by writing Supernatural x reader fics in like 2017, but I didn’t start writing the fics I write now until Sanders Sides in 2019 and then I finally got around to Choices in about 2022 lmao. 7- What is your favorite Choices book, and what is your favorite Choices book to create for?

My favorite book is probably ILITW which is probably obvious, but as for my favorite book to CREATE for that’s tied between It Lives Within and BOLAS.

8- Share your first Choices fanfic or fan art that you posted with us. Do you still like it, or would you change it if you were creating it today?

My first fic was for Nightbound, called The Wrong Engagement. I still like it overall but I think I’d definitely change some things. When I first started writing for Choices I was so so focused on trying to keep MC as vague as possible while still giving them some character, so the stories often came across as bland or even boring.

9- What is your favorite piece of fiction or art that you created? 

My absolute favorite fic is actually something I don’t think I ever posted, but my favorite I’ve posted has probably gotta be a classic which is Val’s Resurrection. There are definitely some things I’d probably change now but it’s the longest fic I’ve written, still really holds up, and I’m really proud of the characterizations in it.

10- Do you have a fic/art that you didn’t expect to be well received, but it was? What about one you expected to do well but found it could use a little more love?

Walls of Regret is probably my biggest fic ever and let me tell you when I posted and wrote it I did not expect it to do as well as it did but I’m so glad it did. I can definitely think of some fics I think people would really like that didn’t get much love, including pretty much everything from the Windverse, but I gotta say Let The Shadows Fall Behind You, which is a fic/scene from my personal ongoing project, a Hero and Endless Summer Crossover

11- If you could write only angst, fluff, or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why? 

Angst, wholeheartedly, no hesitation. Angst is not only my talent but kind of what I’m known for. I actually kind of struggle to write fluff and ESPECIALLY smut. I’ve only done it a few times and it took days of me staring at the page for days and getting out maybe one sentence an hour.

12 - Do you ever recognize yourself in any of your MCs or in your writing?

Oh all of them. Every single MC has a little piece of me, whether it’s my experiences or my personality or my style or my interests or even the way I talk. 

13 - What element of writing/art do you struggle with most?

With smut at least I get ideas. I struggle so much with even getting ideas for fluff. My favorite things is to dive into the emotions and pain and trauma PB dance around, and finding the beauty in the dark things. I defer to the other amazing writers on this app for the fluff and I consume their fluff fics like a drowning man

14 - Do you have any neglected work you really want to finish?

Two things off the top of my head. My concept for a Hero sequel which includes an Endless Summer crossover. I mentioned that earlier. The second is something fondly called Into the Rowan-verse which was where my two ILW MCs, Castor and Julian, get stuck hopping through the multiverse and meeting a bunch of other people’s MCs.

15 - If someone you know in real life (who isn’t involved in fandoms) asked to see your work, would you let them? If yes, what would you show them first? 

It highly depends on the person and then from there I think I’d just show them my edits or character profiles because my fics you tend to need either full contextual knowledge or at least basic knowledge of the book.

16 - Are there any writers (published authors and/or fanfic writers) who influenced your writing or art? Are there any artists that influence you?

Published writers definitely Rick Riordan, he’s seriously influenced how I use character voices. But from the fandom my biggest inspirations right now are usually @aces-and-angels and @oh-so-you’re-a-nerd 

17- Which one of your stories would you most like to see as a movie/series? 

If I saw Into the Windverse does that count as cheating? But otherwise I’d die for my version of the It Lives Anthology (including ILW and Into the Rowanverse) to be made into a tv show with my headcanons, changes, and MCs.

18- Do you write original fiction or create non-fandom art? 

I do! I have an entire book trilogy fully plotted out that I’m working on writing, plus just writing a bunch with my own OCs.

19 -  What other hobbies do you have?

Pretty much just OC related things tbh. I watch tv a lot and YouTube, I play video games sometimes, and I listen to music ALL the time

[remidyal]

So you may have seen the Lunacy fanbinds from @webspite that I reblogged recently. He had offered one of the copies to me, and I am now absolutely delighted to have a handcrafted physical copy of Lunacy:

(pls ignore that I desperately need to touch up my fingernail polish I've been doing a lot of moving things around this week)

This is an absolute work of art to hold, and genuinely as someone whose artistic expression is almost entirely writing simply having something I wrote in a physical form means more than words can say; this to me is a gift I will treasure for a long, long time - just knowing that they would have a copy when they asked permission to do one meant the world to me, but now I have my very own and I want to cry happy tears about it.

But wait, there's more!

Not limiting themself to one staggering gift, @webspite had another, equally impressive one! A scrapbook spellbook, equally handcrafted, which will serve me well for notetaking and brainstorming for years to come!:

Every time I look in this, I'm discovering some new surprise and treasure that was left to be found, but my absolute favorite is tucked right within the front cover:

I once described Boggy and Moonlight cuddling on a crescent moon as my perfect cover art for Lunacy, and this is so very good! They look very chill and happy together. <3

Another example, a pocketful of stickers, including a princely frog that could be Boggy getting his due recognition or could be Gerard just chilling out before his morning workout.

A few more pictures of some of the many types of pages within this. It's hard to capture how great it feels in person, but hopefully I've gotten some sense across.

Y'all I'm going to be insufferable with happiness for so long from this. Thank you so so so much to Duck!

[muffinbingbong]

intro post !

greetings, i'm ale! i'd like to try out the name gabriel as well, so feel free to call me either or any sort of nickname you can think of :P

19, he/him, gay

music education major ! i absolutely love all things music, and my favorite artists/bands at the moment are muse, idkhow but they found me, will wood, aurora, ichiko aoba, joji, radiohead, fall out boy, panic! at the disco, twenty one pilots, and mother mother. i play piano, cello, soprano/bari uke, and sing. i also did harp for a year, and there's whatever shenanigans my major has me pick up (except fuck saxophone im sorry!!!)

my main non-music interests include dan and phil. <- initially i was gonna write a list of more interests, but i have quickly come to realize that i have phrainrot and can't think of any more main interests... oops

minor interests include glee, yuri on ice, dungeon meshi, death note, and other media that may come and go on this blog. i like to draw but i'm not really confident enough to post much of that, but i enjoy seeing other art/reblogging

i am autistic and quite frankly do not understand how friendships are meant to be made, but if we're mutuals this is a formal invitation to dm/interact with me as if we've known each other for years ! i'm a very lonely person and appreciate the interaction, so if you're like me and nervous to talk to people, i can assure you that i 100% welcome a good chat :D

that's all i can think of for now, thanks for reading !

[robogart]

I've finally reached the level of Internet Artist Enlightenment where I have found a small, niche ship that I am absolutely obsessed with - SO OBSESSED WITH - that I have spent the last 4 days feverishly making a drawn over animatic of a scene from 10 Things I Hate About You (one of my favorite movies that I also think about a lot) and setting it to the audio (and it fits them AMAZINGLY GREAT, I'm very obsessed with it) and I've realized that I think this might be the first time I've ever been this hyped over something that I don't care if I share it with the internet at large or not??? I really just did it for me (and my friend, who is the only other person who likes this ship and who puts up with me yelling about it) and it feels awesome 😳

Anyways, this is about Mai Valentine and Valon from Yugioh season 4 - a season where few probably made it to or even cared (or couldn't get past Mai's voice replacement which is valid). But BOY HOWDY do I have so many headcanons over these two and how they would reconcile/meetup again after the events of Yugioh and the POSITIVELY slowburn they would have together > w >

To all of maybe 3 people in the tags of the Mai and Valon pieces I've made who also love them/know them, I see you and I'm sending you sweet kisses on your foreheads 💖💖💖

Also my friend made the great call of saying Happy Valontines Day when I made the Valentines day piece and that is absolutely their ship name to me now. Valontines!! It's SO PERFECT! Evidently they are called Conquestshipping in the ship names?? Which feels so weird??? Very antithetical to BOTH of their characters but maybe that’s me?? Maybe it has to do with the arc??? Hmmm 🤔

*edit - I've looked up potentially why they are called conquestshipping and my first thought was in the vein of "Woman is prize to be won" kind of thing, since it's a very one-sided crush from Valon - but also it is explained how it is about the Orichalcos arc itself and taking over (conquesting) the world, and/or also how they have to conquest themselves/their own pasts and fears (since that's also a thematic element of that arc). This is a nerd-note to myself, don't mind me :3c

Anyways, thanks for being here for my rant! I'm very excited > w > the only other characters I've been this hyped about are Byleth ships in Fire Emblem but that's it. But MAN I love these two!!! ; w ;