#i think. i think it might be doable if I make it a very tiny task

[vampireloverz]

cw/tw: fem! reader, established relationship, talking about having kids, mention of breeding kink and birth control, no sex

“have you thought about it much?”

“having kids?”

miguel pauses for a moment to think, his mind bouncing between the countless, varying scenarios he’s pictured many times.

of course, making the baby. you’ve both played around with the idea of it in bed, nothing more than heated dirty talk and fantasy since you’re on birth control, but in the moment it feels intense and real.

but there are other, more wishful things he thinks about. coming home to you bouncing a chubby baby on your hip, picking out names and clothes, family photo albums with a lock of soft hair and a tiny ink footprint, holding your hand when you both find out the sex, cradling the baby to his chest as you sleep. all the crying and messes and exhaustion, but being with you through it all makes it sound doable.

when he indulges in thoughts of making a family with you, miguel hopes the baby would be the best parts of the two of you but, most of all, he wants the baby to have your eyes.

miguel tilts his chin down to look at you, your cheek squished onto his arm gives you an expression cute enough for him to easily admit, “a little.”

he traces your jaw with one finger, mapping your chin before doubling back upwards to follow your hairline. idly touching with no intent other than to remind himself that you’re not going anywhere.

“me too,” you hum.

“really?” miguel can’t help the surprise that colors his voice.

“yea,” you laugh, but its soft, a gentle tease, “i wanna give us the life we deserve.”

miguel makes a noise in the back of his throat, suddenly choked up. he can tell you know, but you don’t press with anything more than a kiss to his chest. it takes a minute for him to break the silence again.

“you snore, you know.”

“what?”

miguel has to stifle a chuckle at your indignant tone, lips tugging into a lopsided smile, “very loudly, might i add.”

“you—!”

you yank the pillow out from below his head before he can stop you, swinging your leg over his hip to straddle him and whack him with your new weapon. he takes your wrists after a few hits, smiling up at you as you laugh, pillow falling by the wayside.

“you snore too, jerk.”

“i know, querida.”

“well,” you wiggle out of his grip to find your spot beside him again with a pleased look on your face, “let’s hope that skips a generation.”

miguel curls his arm around you and kisses the top of your head, “yea, let’s hope.”

[cattonicdragon]

I got a idea, shen mantis crane viper and tigress with a tiny spider reader who use there silk to control a giant wooden puppet from the inside to fight with.

A puppet with silk strings

Shen,mantis,crane,viper and tigress with a small spider S/O who controls a Wooden puppet

Trying different layouts for my requests 💪

《HAS BEEN PROOFREAD》

Shen

he finds your fighting technique amusing and interesting

Your so small yet you control this large wooden mechanism with such ease

he wonders if you would be able to fight so well without the wooden machine

He definitely asks why you chose wood of all materials,surely iron or steel would be better suited for battle?

he would ensure your puppet is in top condition

well not directly

he would assign a team to make sure your puppet is fine,he can’t have you fighting in a puppet that’s about to break.no no that wouldn’t do

asks you about how the suit works,it might come in handy

during sparing he would make sure not to damage the puppet too much

hes not going to hold back but he’s not going to break the puppet

when your out of the puppet he constantly keeps a close eye on you,your small and could get lost or stepped on easily

Very overprotective

if you need any new parts for your puppet he has it coverd within days

likes holding you whilst walking around

Mantis(THERES LITERALLY NO GIFS OF HIM ABJDDJN)

A small spider for a small mantis♡

theres not many other small creatures like him that dabble in fighting so he’s very intruiged and excited

He’s amazed by your puppet and that you control it from the inside using your silk

hes kind of jealous he didn’t think of it first

he admires your craftsmanship and creativity

you handled the downside of your small size by making a puppet instead,genius!

would probally ask a few times if he could try it out himself

helps you with maintaining the puppet

both of you are very small and so he dosnt expect you to be able to take care of a puppet that’s more than 10x your size by youself

he offers to teach you ways of how he fights incase you get separated from your puppet etc

likes to climb on your puppet constantly,it becomes something like a jungle-gym to him

You use a giant puppet that's more then twice the size of you like uts second nature

Crane

He admires you

helps you train/spar with the puppet and suggests moves you could try

suggests upgrades that may or may not be doable(he's very crafty and creative)

He helps you gather materials for your puppet,he can’t help too well with maintenance and dosnt want to accidentaly break it

it takes a lot of reassuring for him to realise that your puppet isn’t going to break easily

goes easy during spars unless you explicitly say

he likes to put you on his hat and show you what it’s like from his view

Viper

She loves that you've managed to overcome your disadvantage of being small by using a wooden puppet

She thinks its very creative and often praises you for your work and creativity

She wonders how long it took you to master using the puppet

She gets likes putting little accessories on you,she can help it.you look so cute

She often likes putting vibrant things on you to act as like a safety jacket,the brighter and easier it is to spot,the less likely you are to have an accident!

She likes it abit more when your out of your puppet because she sees the real you,she can see how expressive you are and just likes seeing you rather then a wooden machine.

She likes to have you on her head alot or curl around you

Tigress

She adores how small you are

She admires your strength and willingness to overcome your disadvantages or challenges

She worries that your puppet may be a bit weak though

Especially since one of their training exercises is a wooden tottem

But if its what you want she dosnt interfere

She just urges you to be careful

She thinks it's neat that you use your own silk to control it,leading her to wonder how strong your silk is

Like viper she likes to put vibrant things on you

She worries she'll accidentally squish you with her strength so she whenever she holds or touches you it's as light as a feather

Very tender and caring

She helps with the mantinece of your puppet as best she can,though it's not alot she probably tests the hollowness or strength of the wood

Probably the type to tell you what wood you could use instead if she thinks the wood is too weak

[no-name-publishing]

Tiny Book? Tiny Book. Pt3.

Previously we covered everything from typesetting and printing, to rounding and backing. Let's continue on with step 4, endbands!

Tiny books part 1; Tiny books part 2

Just like with regular ficbinding, there are layers, and they are:

1 - Typesetting and Imposing 2 - Printing 3 - Cutting, Folding, and Sewing 4 - Gluing, Rounding/Backing, Endbands 5 - Building the Case and Casing In 6 - BOOK

In this part we will be focusing on the rest of step 4, and we'll see how far we get before I run out of photo space tbqh. Please feel free to skip to the area you're interested in most.

4, pt2 - Endbands

Endbands--there isn't anything overly exciting to say here, except that sewn endbands on tiny books isn't impossible, just ridiculously fiddly. For a core I recommend going with embroidery floss, stiffened with PVA. It's a nice relatable scale to the tiny book and will be perfectly firm-yet-flexible with the PVA coating. Because of the thickness I do not recommend using more than one strand of embroidery floss, if that's what you are using right now for your regular books. For all of the examples I include below, they've been sewn in a double core french style with a single strand of satin-finish sewing cotton sewing thread. Here are some examples of ones I've done:

Doable, but at what cost? My sanity. If you've got some to spare though, it will be very impressive to other bookbinders lol.

Don't be fooled into thinking tiny sewn endbands will be quicker or easier than their regular sized counterparts. And as a treat, here is how the tiny endband looked in my press while I sewed:

It's just 🧍‍♂️

In a sewn endband's stead I can recommend using prefab endbands, which will just be snipped to size and glued to the spine. Might be hard to do on tiny books with fewer signatures but not impossible, and it will look... as fine as a prefab endband can. Otherwise what I've really liked doing are paper endbands. I make these a bit wider than my textblock, so that I can trim them down later after they've been glued.

These are made from taking a strip of paper, applying glue around 15mm down the length, and laying down a piece of the PVA-coated embroidery floss. After a moment, to let the paper soften from the moisture and the core material stick a bit, you just roll it up a few times. Go slowly, as it can be finicky. Set aside to let it dry completely, then glue to your spine, as with the prefab ones. Let that dry, and trim to size carefully with your scissors.

(Imagine the pad of sticky notes is our tiny book lol, it's what I had on hand) Anywho it's that easy! I find these so preferable in part because the rolled up core sits forward and covers the folds of my signatures, where prefab endbands usually don't. A tip--while you're coating your floss in PVA, you can take advantage of any remaining glueyness to roll it between your fingers, to remove any hard edges or unevenness from the thread before it's totally dry, and won't transfer any lumps or bumps to your finished paper endband. Once you've glued and trimmed the paper endband to size, you can reshape it with your fingers to remove the pinched ends from the scissors. @simply-sithel got me onto this process and it changed the game for me. She's been my tiny-book mentor 🙏

Referencing this image again, the book on the right has the paper endband, compared to the left, which has a sewn endband. On a regular book endbands are protective, decorative, and offer some support; on a tiny book they are purely decorative. I like to use the accent paper of my case as the paper for the endband, to bring everything together.

5 - Building the case and casing in

SO! We've made it this far, to what I believe are the easiest steps of this whole thing, building the case and casing in. As with my regular sized books I do these tiny ones in a square back bradel binding method. This construction uses a piece of connecting paper across the spine stiffener and allows you to tailor the case to your textblock's unique shape, rather than fiddling with it's exact measurements.

Instead of making this a square back bradel binding tutorial, I will refer you to DAS's video where I learned it myself. The case construction begins around the 13 minute mark. There are no notable different between using this method between regular sized books and tiny books.

The first things to note in this step are your hinge measurements. Whereas on regular books they may be 9-12mm, depending, on tiny books anything much wider than 8mm is noticeable and not strictly necessary. The full range of motion gained from the hinge measurement isn't as important with tiny books, so I recommend staying within the 6-7-8mm range for the aesthetics.

My other note is that the 2mm overhang measurement surrounding the textblock is still preferable, even on this tiny size. Something in your heart will try to make it nearer to scale, like .5mm or less, but this will result in a tiny book that looks badly made. My recommendation is not to go any narrower than 1mm in your overhang measurement. But also this is purely for appearances' sake and I'm not your mom, and even if I was you're (hopefully) an adult. Go nuts and find out what works best for your tastes!

In my experience you also have a slight bit more freedom selecting your cover materials. I've never gotten full-paper cases to work where regular sized books are concerned, but it's been my preference for tiny books. I have so much decorative scraps of paper that otherwise wouldn't have a home with regular books. This is also a great place to use offcuts of bookcloth as well. No gods so rules!!

Here are some photos of the process of building my tiny case on a tiny textblock following the square back bradel method:

Now comes casing in. This part also couldn't be easier imo. I almost feel like I don't need to even say anything. I've found straight PVA, while having too short a worktime for full sized books, is perfect for casing in tiny books. You're brushing over like 2 square inches of paper?? You're using virtually no glue AND it takes 15 seconds?? I can only get so hard. As standard you should use some kind of moisture barrier between your endpages and your textblock while it dries in whatever your press situation looks like. For me these are sheets of plastic stolen from some plastic envelopes you use for archival work. These stop the moisture from going into your textblock and warping it. Some people have luck with parchment paper, but I am not one of them.

If you're using plain PVA, these babies will totally dry in maybe like, 3 or 4 hours. Take them out after an initial nipping time of like 20 minutes and let them dry open.

6 - BOOK

You've got a tiny book!!!

If you have any questions on something I've covered or didn't cover, please don't hesitate to ask!

[starseneyes]

Chenford - Lucy Chen / Tim Bradford - The Rookie - Season 5 - Ep 16

"Exposed" AKA "That Bradford"

Valentine's Day is pushed a week in the universe of The Rookie, but since I'm still not sure what year we're in on the show, that's just fine by me!

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers are like sugar for me. See, some people love sugar and hate spoilers. I'm the opposite (unless it's macarons or carrot cake). So, if you're spoiler-averse, run. I'll also be spoiling everything that came before. You've been forewarned!

Ready to see how Tim and Lucy's first Valentine's as a couple pans out? Me, too! Let's dive in.

Chenford In Lucy's Bed

No music to lead us into tonight's episode. Only the sounds of the streets. Honking. Cars. Barking dogs. Crickets that have apparently gotten into Lucy's apartment only.

But, anyway, we're not listening to a jamming soundtrack. We're listening to life. It's the sounds a sleeping person might hear in the night.

That's what makes the first sound we hear so jarring. We are with Tim and Lucy in that moment, the harsh buzzing sound of a vibrating, moving phone atop a nightstand.

They've immersed us in this world with them.

And, before I get too swept away... Tim and Lucy in Lucy's bed! To be honest, my very first thought was, "How does he fit in that bed?!".

Of course it's doable, but I've never shared a bed with someone taller than me. Matthew and I are almost the same height! And he complains because I like my feet at the bottom and he likes his head at the top. Learning to share a blanket has been a feat in our marriage!

But Tim and Lucy seem to be sharing the bed well enough—except Lucy is on his side.

Look, it's her bed, so she gets first rights to choosing a side. But I still think it's hilarious they both usually sleep on that side of the bed.

The buzzing sound wakes them. And I gotta ask Lucy what kind of battery she's got in that phone, because it can't be the standard model.

Girlfriend has that phone in her hand all the time during the day, and here she doesn't even have a charge cord in it overnight. That's witchcraft!

"Who is it?" "I don't know" "Hello?" "Loca, you gotta stop texting..."

Lucy jumps up fast. It only takes a second for the wheels to start moving, and she leaps to her dresser, tugging out clothes.

And… I kinda hope a drawer or two belongs to her man. Just sayin’.

"What's happening?" "PUC I trained with distress call. He needs a covert rescue." *Tim sits up* "What are you doing?" "Backing you up."

There's no hesitation in this man, and I can I hear her "thank you" in her look. These two are a team. And while he knows she can handle herself, they both know it's better to have backup.

Lucy's Driving Tim's Ride

Alright, I gotta laugh a little, because my first thought I wrote on this scene (no joke) is, "All about putting Tim in small places today." Seriously. We've taken possibly the tallest member of the cast and put him into all the tiny places and it's cracking me up.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way. Can. We. Talk. About. Lucy!?!

She rolls up into this situation completely in characters, already deep in her backstory and ready to help her friend out of a jam. It's great to get to see her use her UC chops, again.

"Damn You came in hot. Damn." "All clear."

Lucy makes it clear she's not alone. That's a good thing.

Also, I saw a lot of people over on the Twitterverse commenting on him calling her "hot", but this might be a language barrier since this is a turn of phrase. It usually has to do with coming in "guns blazing" or in an otherwise crazy manner.

He's not calling her hot. Well... not yet.

"I'm impressed you managed to scrounge up a backup this fast." "Yeah, I mean, it helps he was sleeping in my bed." "Oh. Oh, you're that Bradford."

Excuse me!? That Bradford?! As in... she talked about Tim!?

"Curious to hear what that means." "No."

I want to know, too! Was Lucy talking about Tim at UC when she was still dating Chris? What was being said that finding out he was in her bed made it all make sense?

Like, hearing "Bradford" didn't click it. It was that he was in her bed.

Did she not talk about Chris at all because she was at UC School and didn't feel the need to fill everyone in on the boyfriend she was bored with? I mean, I get it. I didn't mention my boyfriend when I first met Matt.

No, I wasn't devising a cheating plot or anything. I simply didn't mention the guy because I knew that I was breaking up with him next time I saw him.

Of course, I didn't anticipate Matthew asking me out before that, but "Rejection Day" became the day he proposed three years later, so it all worked out alright for him, I suppose.

And it all worked out for Lucy and "that Bradford", too.

There better be some fics out here that fill in the blanks, because this is another one of those episodes where I have a lot of question marks remaining long after the credits roll.

"Damn it's good to see you hot pants. " "Hot pants." "It's an inside joke."

Inside jokes I get, but it seems like she might explain that one to Tim sometime. Like, I had a nickname at uni from my buddy Sam. We never had interest in one another, but he liked to call me Hot Stuff.

That is... until his Dance Appreciation class had to sit in on my Modern Dance class and he saw me in dance tights. Henceforth, I was Ghetto Booty.

Look, I'm Hispanic and in my thighs and bum... it shows.

No, Matthew never called me either name. So, I get having nicknames and weird in-jokes with someone you'd never be interested in dating. But I do hope she clued Tim in later.

Wesley Hires a Bristow

Is this Sydney's second secret sister? Fellow Alias fans know what I mean. But, as soon as I heard the name I started chuckling aloud, hoping it was a reference.

"You're kidding. Thanks." "Kidding about what" "Uh nothing."

What the hell just went down? Because on this show "nothing" never means nothing. Tim is clearly upset about something.

"You left so early." *arm touch* "I had this whole Valentine's breakfast planned."

D'aww. I mean, that's super cute. I'm kinda sad that Tim missed out on it, but I'm also eager for Tim to cook for Lucy. It's one of those things that I love about them—they both cook.

When Matthew and I met he claimed he could cook one things—eggs. Spoiler Alert: he could not cook eggs.

"Uh, you were up late. I let you sleep."

Marry him. Immediately. That is seriously husband material, right there.

Like, one of the sweetest things Matthew can do for me is let me sleep in. Even before we had kids, he'd let me sleep in and I treasured it.

Lucy, marry that man as soon as you can. He's a keeper!

He's also super on edge. He's looking all around like he doesn't know how to feel comfortable in his own skin.

"We didn't keep you up, did we? " "No, it's fine." *she stops him with a touch* "Hey. Are you okay?" "Yeah. Fine."

You are not fine. You are so fucking far from fine that "fine" is in another zip code. And Lucy knows it.

This girl speaks Tim like no other. So when her man's upset, she knows it. Remember, she "rode long enough with" Tim to know when he's upset. And Tim is upset.

But right now, he wants to focus on work.

"Finally. I'll get right to it."

Grey was not happy Chenford was late getting in. Yikes! Just how late did he let her sleep in!?

"Bradford. Chen. Hold back."

I can hear the kids in elementary school now. "Oooohhh, Lucy and Tim are in truuuubullll!"

In reality, it's just Tim. And poor Tim is already on-edge, and you can hear it coming out in his conversation with Grey.

"I want metro to be ready to move on these guys at a moment's notice." ... "That's why you'll be riding with Chen and Foster today, so there'll be no delays."

From the promos, I was curious how we ended up with these two riding together, again. And, I'm not mad at it, at all!

Shop Talk has been a big deal with these two over the years. So, I'm sure it'll be juicy.

"Everybody adores me, right?" *shoulder touch* "Yup."

Or... not. Tim's barely staying a thing even when he has the chance to compliment his lady.

He's not happy. Lucy is trying to be cordial to her friend and also get through to her boyfriend, but right now attempting both isn't helping her with Tim.

Lucy pulls away from Tim and turns to talking work, which she hopes might work better on Tim. Whatever's bothering him, it's deep. She's going to have to ease him into it.

"We broke up. Well, she broke up with me."

Very similar dialogue to the "Tim tells Lucy about the Ashley breakup" scene. It jumped out at me immediately. I'm not sure if that was an unintentional happenstance, or a reference to the fact that Noah simply wasn't with the right person.

Your guess is as good as mine.

"I'm starting to think the undercover life isn't conducive to a happy relationship."

Tim's. Face. Because he knows all about this. Tim was married to a UC and it didn't go well. And while I think it's a little harsh to blame UC on a relationship ending, we're building quite the use case reference here.

Nyla and her ex. Tim and his ex. Noah and his ex.

If the show's trying to make a point with this, I'm suddenly nervous about Tim and Lucy's path when I haven't been before.

Lucy deserves the chance to go deep cover if she wants it. And Tim would understandably have reservations.

I won't pretend I haven't fantasized about Season 5 ending with Lucy going deep cover and us coming back to Season 6 with a time-jump. But since we haven't yet heard word about Season 6 at all, I'm sitting here twiddling my thumbs and hoping Chenford simply survive until the end of the season.

Look, I've got a lot of ship trauma. I want to fully trust, but like my friend Tim, here, I'm not always the best at trust.

"Well, I mean, that probably depends on the couple." "Is that why you're still on Patrol?"

Oooh. Noah just accused Lucy of putting her career on pause for Tim. Yikes.

And, to Lucy's point, I haven't seen her offered a lot of UC this season. It's not like she's been turning offer after offer down, fending off assignments with a stick.

Lucy loves UC and she definitely wants to do it. It's true that she might not be going after those assignments because she's caught in the throes of new love and wants to get this on a solid footing first.

And I think that's important. Because, I feel a big Lucy UC assignment coming. Yes, my feelings could be as unreliable as the Psychic Network, but it does make sense narratively.

"...you were by far the most talented cop at UC school. Be a shame if you didn't take the plunge."

Tim glances over at Lucy, and she has her "pensive" face on. She's considering Noah's words, and I think it's fair that she does.

Look, Tim's advanced his career (unknowingly with Lucy's help) and it's about time Lucy had the opportunity to advance hers.

I'm not a fan who's ready for Tim and Lucy to settle down in a three bedroom home with a meyer lemon tree in the backyard tending babies all day.

And I say this lovingly as a very active mother of three. Lucy deserves the chance to go after what she wants out of her career. I'm blessed to have the kind of husband who supports me working and going after my passions.

I very famously turned down a steady gig to go freelance almost six years ago. I told him I thought it was a better choice. His response? "I disagree, but I support your decision."

Husband of the year, right there. I want Lucy to feel fulfilled career-wise. But I have a feeling this is going to be a future source of angst for Tim and Lucy—and rightfully so.

Tim's reservations are completely understandable. I mean, we've already mentioned the three relationships in their friend circle negatively impacted by UC.

Now, was UC the contributing factor to these relationships ending? Probably not. But it is a commonality that can cloud the fact that each of these relationships likely had other issues.

But I can completely understand how Tim might miss those subtleties. And that's going to be a source of conflict for these two, I think. We'll see if I'm right... only a handful of episodes left in the season!

"Why are you so cranky? First Valentine's Day. You should be basking in the glow of new love." "That's right. What are you guys doing tonight?" "We are not talking about Valentine's Day plans on an open channel."

Tim appreciates that, at least. Look, I love these scenes where the Found Family all get to interact, even if it's only over the radio. But, he has a point, and Lucy comes in to back him up.

They've got each other's backs... even when one of them is obviously pissed and closed off.

But Lucy watches Tim as Grey talks. She's trying to figure him out, because he's barely looking at her. He's barely talking.

And while we all know that Tim isn't the most talkative of guys in the Shop, he usually talks to Lucy. Right now, he's erected an invisible wall between them, and while Lucy can't see it, she can feel the heat of the electricity running through it.

*arm touch* "Out with it." "What?" "What is wrong with you today?" "Nothing." "Bull. "

First off, on this show nothing is ever nothing. Second, have you ever wished that they could just say bullshit on network television? Like, I know there's S&P to deal with, but wouldn't it feel good!?

I remember how excited we all were when Mulder could say "dicking around" in the first X-Files movie when we saw it in theaters. Yes, I'm that old.

But Melissa O'Neil puts as much as she can behind that "bull" so we totally know Lucy Chen is thinking the rest. Like usual, Lucy's calling Tim on his shit.

"Is it Noah? Are you jealous?"

Not like usual, she's actually wrong about what's bothering Tim.

"This is about you going behind my back to get me into Metro." "I did not... " *look from Tim*

Oooh, he's pissed. And, look, I know I talked a lot about wanting Tim to find out he was loved, but finding out that his girlfriend went behind his back to manipulate the situation when he thought he'd earned his place? Ooof. Yeah, that stings.

Think about the moment he got to tell Lucy he got into Metro. He was over-the-moon. He talked about the "rockstar review" he received from Grey and Lucy confirmed it by telling him that he was amazing.

He actually wanted to go out and celebrate himself. Do you know how big that is for someone who grew up with trauma and abuse?

I still struggle with buying myself a dress that isn't off the thrift store rack because I don't know if it's worth it to spend money on myself after I was called selfish as a child. Tim had a father who beat into his head (literally) that he was worthless, without value, and broken.

But for one fleeting second, Tim felt like everything was right in the world. And now that memory is tainted.

Because he didn't earn his place. Right? His girlfriend manipulated it, word has somehow gotten out, and now he has to worry about his manipulation because nobody's going to believe he's good enough.

Tim is so in his own head about this that he can't see it through Lucy's lens. He only has his own, and he's frustrated and fumbling.

"I had to do something. You were miserable riding that desk. " "Okay. Fine. But how do you think that makes me look?" "What?" "How does that make me look? My girlfriend has to solve my problems for me?"

Tim relying on others has never been his strong suit. We know he doesn't ask for help. He doesn't think he deserves it, too often, but he also thinks it makes him look weak.

Again, this is side effects of the trauma he received as a child backed up by a society that emphasizes strong, tough men who don't cry because somehow emotion is a sign of weakness.

Also, can we talk about Tim calling her his girlfriend!? All I need now is for Lucy to introduce Tim as her boyfriend. Yes, I know she told Noah that Tim was in her bed, but I like hearing the labels from her because she's the one who always shied away from them.

Tim is different. But right now Tim is pissed.

"Please tell me this is not some fragile male ego thing." "That is not what's happening here."

He stated it at the top of the conversation—she went behind his back. She lied to him. She feigned ignorance when he told her about it. She manipulated the situation and he was left to find out about it from someone else.

I always wanted Tim to find out... but not like this. Yikes.

I also think Tim might feel like his place was handed to him instead of earned. He is mad that others are going to look at him like we do university students whose parents bribed the admissions' office... with skepticism that they should be there at all.

We, gentle readers, know that's not how it went down. But Tim is hurting and often when we are hurting we shut others out and stew. Tim's practically the king of that.

"Come on! We were just trying to help." "We? Who else was involved?" "Did I say we? Me. Me was trying to help. I was trying to help."

Girl, your ass was just saved by your Backseat Buddy. Although, listening to Lucy talk like Elmo for a second had me rolling.

Tim passes a glare Lucy's way, but she completely misses it. And something about the look that Eric Winter puts into his eyes is completely different from all the glaring Tim has done at Lucy in this Shop before.

And, yes, I'm aware that sounds mental. But it definitely feels more... personal. More raw. More hurt than angry.

Tim's Office

Before we go any further, I have to compare this to 5x09 when she stepped into Grey's office to tell Tim that she'd released the Fourth String Quarterback from her life.

She knocked at the door before coming in. But, here, she slips in as easily as she would her own home. There's comfort, here. Even though they're fighting, she doesn't feel unwelcome. She doesn't feel out of place.

And that confidence in their relationship is sexy as hell. Lucy isn't spiraling because they had a fight. She knows they will get through this. That they are worth it.

Tim's the one who said it back in 5x08 and now they are living it. Tim and Lucy are worth the risk.

"I get why you're angry. Even though you were miserable as court liaison and I spear-headed an almost impossible five person trade to save you, I shouldn't have done it all behind your back."

That was the first thing he said when he told her what was wrong. He was left out of the loop. He was lied to. By the one person he trusts most.

Remember how much I hated all the lying in that episode? Lying catches up to you, even if it's well-intentioned. I guess I don't feel so weird about being so bothered by it seeing that Tim is similarly bothered.

And Tim appreciates Lucy understanding why he is bothered.

"Is that an apology?" "Yes." "Good." "Noo."

I'm having whiplash between so many episodes... Post DOD chat and 5x09 first scene for the "Good". 5x08 for Lucy answering "yes" then "no" to Tim.

Seriously, I think my neurons temporarily short-circuited on that one, because I missed most of the rest of this the first time around, even with subtitles on (because I transcribe live while I watch).

"Because you never would have let me work my magic if I had told you. And then I would have ended up transferring to another station to save you from yourself. And... this worked out so much better. And if you can't see that I'm sorry not sorry."

I'm dying laughing at this. Simply because Lucy started as many sentences with "And" in a short span as I always do. Seriously. Take a look at these Metas. I'm not unaware.

But this is also so her. And when she's being this damn cute, it's hard for Tim to be mad.

That, and she's right. This did work out well, and whatever temporary feelings he has about it, they'll disappear with time. Because he did earn his place. He is amazing. And Lucy acted with love, even if she might not have done it in the best way.

Lucy is more important than the job to him. We already know that.

"Okay..." *giggle* "I accept your non-apology."

Oh, she knew she had him as soon as he cracked that smile. That's why she giggled. I love giggly-in-love-Lucy. It's one of my favorite things.

Like, Melissa O'Neil has imbued Lucy with the cutest giggle known to man, and I smile every time I hear it. It's like Pavlov's Bell, except instead of salivating, I'm beaming.

"Good." "Good."

Are we in a performance of The Court Jester, here? Much as I love that movie, I wasn't expecting to be thrown into it with Chenford. Not ever.

Wow, I need to watch that movie, again, soon. Trust me. Danny Kaye is a treasure.

"So, are we going to dinner or what?" "We are. But your outfit is missing a little something." "What?"

Our girl is fiiiine, Tim. What the hell are you talking about?

Lucy's eyes fall on the box, and she's completely surprised. Remember, this is the girl who had to convince Tim to buy his girlfriend Rachel a birthday present.

Valentine's isn't even a cake holiday, and Tim's here with a jewelry box for his woman?

Endgame. Energy. Tim and Lucy are meant to be, forever and ever.

"Happy Valentine's Day."

Lucy looks at that man like she's ready to marry him right there in his office. The nicest thing he's gifted her before was a sweet final review. And when it comes to picking presents, he's been pretty awful.

Remember, Lucy has had a front-row view to his last three relationships. She didn't expect anything from Tim.

But it's not all those other women. It's Lucy. And since she's had a front-row seat in the past, she knows that this is different for Tim. Tim is doing something for her he wouldn't have done for the others.

And she knows that. She knows how much he loves her, even if they haven't yet said the words. And as she gazes up at him, savoring him before even glimpsing at the gift, she knows she loves him, too.

Because, no matter what he gave her, the gift is in the giving. Tim Bradford went out of his way to ensure she had a present to open. And she will remember how this moment feels the rest of her life.

And I'm now hyper-aware of all my "and" starting sentences.

Back to Tim and Lucy:

"Oh, wow. It's beautiful."

Whatever it is. Look, I don't mean to be cynical or critical, but I seriously have no idea what that necklace is, but I'm so happy Lucy loves it!

"Did you pick this out yourself?" "I did. is that shocking?" "No. You clearly have good taste."

Just wait until the ring, baby! Because we all know that can't be far behind!

And I'm not trying to marry them off, or anything. I'm just saying, we just got confirmation from the woman herself that Tim has good taste. So, when he takes a little trip to the ring counter, we know it's gonna be good.

And just as she once did with her best friend, who is now sadly gone, Lucy sweeps her hair out of the way so he can put the necklace around her neck.

Tim murmurs a "thank you" as Lucy starts to shift gears in her mind. He's standing amazingly close, his hands grazing her neck. He even ensures the charm is centered on her throat before pulling away.

That detail is so personal, and I'm curious if that was actor-choice, director-choice, or script-choice because it makes the moment for me.

"Do you want to skip dinner?"

No. She. Didn't. It's her "Do you wanna come in?" voice. Same cadence, too! Girl wants him just as bad now as she did then.

Tim looks to her, like he's briefly considering it.

"No. I'm hungry, and you're gonna need that fuel for later."

Chenford, meet makeup sex.

Tim touches her back as he shimmies out of his mini office (it really is the day for putting Timmy in Tiny places), leaving her breathless.

Her hand is already on her necklace, holding onto the charm—a physical touchstone to remind her of his love for her. Because he bought this gift for her.

The price tag doesn't matter. The intention does. He somehow did this surreptitiously as an act of love.

Lucy has never felt this loved. We know about the guy who made her sob in her car, the one who cheated on her while she was living with him, Nolan and his easy dumping of her, Emmett and his easy dumping of her, and then Curried Chris who loved an idea of her... not her.

Tim Bradford loves Lucy Chen. She smiles to herself as she follows after him because this mixed feeling of being turned on by an act of love is new. It's the layers that all her relationships before lacked.

Tim and Lucy walked into this relationship already very layered people with a layered relationship. So, it makes sense that their shared romance is also layered.

And they just survived their first fight as a couple. And they are stronger for it.

And... there are too many sentences starting with "and".

Thank you so much for reading and spending this time with me.

I've seen some folks on the Twitterverse complaining about a lack of kiss. Considering tonight might be the first time I remember seeing James and Nyla kiss, I'm not freaking out that we didn't get a kiss. We got a lot.

This episode was packed with Chenford moments. Sleeping together. Waking up together. Having each other's back. Lucy touching Tim every five seconds. First fight as a couple (because their first fight was the first day they met). A freakin' Valentine's Day gift, and it's a necklace. And Tim put it on her. And they're going to dinner, which means they've had reservations a while because they're a pill to get for big romance days.

[deaddovehasbeeneaten]

MARIUS QUESTIONS HELLO 3. What first drew you to this character? 18. Do you prefer to see this character suffer or know peace? Angst or comfort? Both? 25. What kind of fan-fiction do you read about this character? If you don’t read fan-fics about them, why not? 34. Does this character inspire you with little things in your daily life? 50. Link your fav song, playlist, aesthetic board, fan-fiction, reference pile, personal artwork, analysis post, meme, headcanon, or quote for this character. Whichever one (s) you are most comfortable with!

AAAAAA, get ready!! (Thank you good italian perv fairy :D)

3. His name. It was so clearly wrong yet evocative of Rome I had to wonder why would anyone that ancient choose it. Why hide your identity in plain sight basically? (Turns out it's not that deep and he was just horny) Furthermore the concept of a Roman Vampire and how did that come to be was an instant turn on for me

18. Hmm...to illustrate, I haven't read the PL trilogy yet but based on what I gathered from the fandom and specifically what Eef told me I already know I will likely not be a big fan of the whole Prime Minister development. Because it just seems like the easier way out for him, I'm sorry! Yeah he lost his purpose, so let's give him another one quickly so that he can pick up the old pieces of his life and lies without much fuss. Well yeah, as of now I prefer a state of uneasiness for him, because I feel like he's not ready to know true peace. But I sure as hell hope he'd get there one day, it's the best thing immortality can do for him!

25. I both read and write a lot of Human AUs, my favourites include Vantablack, you might have heard of it, it's very fucking good and sends chills running down my spine every single time. Ultimately though I think it's tied to Marius specifically, more like the whole universe Anne had created. If you choose to make a bunch of terrible night parasites into humans you obviously have to adjust so much and it just depends on what you want to do and leaves room for a specific kind of creativity I'd say that's just very sympathetic and cool to me. If you want to write teeth rotting fluff, you can! I don't think *I'd* prefer to read it to some other concepts but it's doable and challenging too.

50. My Marius playlist my Armand/Marius playlist and my tiny Marius/Pandora playlist. This pinterest board for the project Suppliant. My favourite fanart. I can't think of much more in the moment.

[anfae]

Okayyy, I wrote a long post in reply to an ask and then tumblr refused to save it, and then the ask disappeared (lucky I took a screencap)

Let's try like this

I'm very glad you noticed it because I spend a lot of time on those little details (also I like whiskers) so thanks!!

I'm the kind of chaotic artist who has no idea what they're doing, and I'm also bad at explaining stuff but I'll try. I don't know if it'll help, especially if you're starting out, because I've been drawing for as long as I remember and doing watercolors for over a decade. It's normal to do bad and messy art at first, I did lots in high school. Something I like with watercolor art in general is that artists have their own way of handling it and that's a huge part of their style. You might not be able to paint like me, but you'll grow your own amazing style.

Sooo basically I have two ways of painting whiskers (note that I always draw them with a pencil first):

dark whiskers on a lighter background. I don't have wips showing it on the wolf, but you can see a before/after. I use a brush with a very thin tip, load it with just a tiny bit of watercolor and paint thin lines. When I mess up a line, I add water to lift the paint and erase it. It'll often leave a slight mark though, especially if the paint had dried.

white whiskers - using masking fluid. I apply the masking fluid with a dip pen before painting, tbh this is a pain in the ass because it dries too quickly and makes clumps, but I can remove it and reapply as many times I need. After painting I remove it and fix any mishap, the whiskers are often still too thick so I add paint on the edges to make them thinner.

I also soften and darken them, for example on the black cat I painted a light grey on the base and tip of each whisker.

white whiskers - without masking fluid (still not white paint though). I think I've done that only for my pocket cat, I 'just' painted around the whiskers with a thin thin brush. This is only doable with a few tiny whiskers on a plain background (also I have good eyes and a steady hand, thank goat)

And here's a video I took while applying the masking fluid on the tiger's whiskers:

[pebblysand]

Hey! So I’ve been scrolling through some of your writing advice post and I have a question. I’ve written stuff before and I’m getting back into it and I really want to write a long fic that’s canon compliant but idk how to do that without just like rewriting the story that’s already written ? I always get so focused on making sure that I’m writing true to the existing plot/story, like even down to copying the dialogue and stuff out of the show/book/movie, and sort of push my oc/insert character to the side and they end up making very little contribution to whatever is happening and I wanna not do that anymore haha. Also like a way to outline a long fic bc I’ve never really outlined a story, I just sorta wrote and did what I was talking about before.

Pls if you have any advice I would be very grateful 🙏🙏

hi anon! thanks for your message!

first of all, congrats on getting back into writing, that's awesome! in terms of your questions, here are (some) answers which will hopefully help. i don't know what fandom you're in so i'm taking most of my examples from HP as i assume most people are (somewhat) familiar with the canon, but you get the idea.

I really want to write a long fic that’s canon compliant but idk how to do that without just like rewriting the story that’s already written ?

i don't know what precisely you're trying to write but i've always said this: i think there's a subgenre of fanfiction that many new writers tend to gravitate towards without realising how incredibly hard those stories are to write, and that's stories that happen during the canon timeline. for example: stories made up of missing scenes, AUs of canon events (e.g.: what if Harry was in slytherin? what if Sirius lived? etc.), or stories told from alternate POVs (e.g.: the seven books from Hermione's perspective).

i think the reason why so many people tend to gravitate towards these stories (especially when they're starting out) is that as a newer writer, your imagination is still in "training". there's this idea that writers are just born making up stories in their heads but i think imagination is actually more like a muscle. the more you engage it, the better it gets at venturing further out. so, when you're starting out, it's much easier to answer the question: what if sirius lived? than it is being like: what happened in tom riddle's childhood?

if you're writing to answer the first question, you have a lot of material that is already provided for you by canon. you know about the horcrux hunt, you know about the hallows, you know about harry giving himself up, ect. all you really need to do is what happens at the margins (i.e. how do i integrate sirius into these plot points?) rather than having to reshape an entire story. whereas if you're trying to write about tom riddle's childhood... you know he was in an orphanage. you know he was mean to the other children. and... that's about it. it's pretty much a blank slate from there, and it's much harder to come up with things. canon becomes a crutch to do the difficult plotting parts for you.

the thing that a lot of people don’t realise though, is that under the guise of being “easier” to write (due to the canon crutch), it’s actually much harder to be “original” with the former. because you very quickly end up falling into the trap you’ve just described: rewriting canon. so, your story feels like you’re just copying and pasting events from canon into it, with just a tiny addition at the margins. and taking it further (taking it to a place of true originality) is much harder. it’s definitely doable, but it takes a very skilled writer to actually add real substance and not make that feel stale.

but the thing is: i don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. you say you copy a lot of dialogue/lines from the original material - so what? i definitely did a lot of that too when i was younger. your fic might not be of the best quality, sure, but i think that's a very natural and normal step in your growth as a writer. you'll naturally train your imagination and learn to gradually step further and further away from canon. i really don't think you should be worrying too much about this. just keep writing - you'll get there eventually.

if you do want to speed up the process though, here are a couple things that could help:

set yourself the challenge of writing one short fic without quotes from canon. see how you get on, see where you reach to express those thoughts now that incorporating these is "forbidden" and then try to build on that. you don't need to go for a long fic right away if that's too scary/hard.

challenge yourself to a story where you have very little canon material to go on. say, a story about a side character for instance. i think a good example of that is writing something like listening for that angel choir. i wrote that fic about the child of two of the main characters on the show. we see him a couple times in canon, but we mostly know his parents. the challenge was to try and determine what he and his life would have been like, given what we know of his parents' story. i'm sure there's someone in your fandom that fits the bill. doing this allows you to have a little bit of a canon crutch (knowing the parents well), but still forces you to get out of that comfort zone.

I sort of push my oc/insert character to the side and they end up making very little contribution to whatever is happening and I wanna not do that anymore haha.

i think this might be a different problem though. is it possible that your OC isn't really needed in your story? this happens to me regularly when i make up an OC for something and envision them to be a much bigger character than they end up being, because in the end, they're not really needed. it can be heartbreaking because we love our OCs dearly, but you have to remember that unlike in original fiction, OCs in fanfiction are primarily functional in nature. even when they have their own arc, they (and their arc) should serve your plot/characters, first and foremost. there are a lot of OCs i've built for my fics that end up being in one scene (maybe two) in the end, because that's all they're needed for. it's normal and it's your job as a writer to know when using your OC/or not is useful to your story.

i know i generally don't stand by most of stephen king's writing advice but i do think he's right on "kill your darlings". you do sometimes have to scratch plotlines/characters/etc. you otherwise love, if they don't serve your story.

Also like a way to outline a long fic bc I’ve never really outlined a story, I just sorta wrote and did what I was talking about before.

okay, first - just writing for the vibes is super valid. however, if you do want to start outlining more, here are some tips:

first, i've gone through many methods of outlining. i think the main thing is that outlining should serve you, not the other way around. you should find a method that suits you. if the method starts being a burden, switch it up. one method might only fit you for a limited amount of time. it might fit one chapter, but not another. but so far, since i started writing long fics, i've used the following:

for my first long fic, i had two outlines: one for the general overall plot of the story, and one for specific chapters. the "general" outline was a big-picture outline of big "events" that needed to happen in each chapter, in chronological order. it was kind of a brain dump of all the scene and plot ideas i had. not everything ended up in the final product (or in that specific order), but it was a good "high-level" idea of where i was going. i had this just as a list in my notes app. then, for individual chapters, i followed this method which is closer to a visual storyboard.

i continued with this system of two outlines for the first "act" of castles (my current wip) (chapters 1 through 7). then, for the second act, i felt the need to "formalise" the "big picture" outline more, and moved to a spreadsheet. it looked like this:

(this is the template i created - it's blank because those are actually act 1 chapters, but you get the idea. i'm using this because some of the act 2 stuff later got moved to act 3 so i don't want to spoil and can't be arsed to redact)

i would fill in, for each chapter, in a few lines, what was happening for each of the categories (if anything). it made it easier to move things around as needed as well. note that this is not particularly chronological. it lists the events by category, but it's not necessarily the order they happen in within the chapter.

then, when it came time to actually write the chapter, i would build the chapter outline on the basis of this bigger outline, and get more granular (and chronological) in the storyboard, then even more granular on the page.

now, for my third act, i've switched to miro (bc of a tiktok recommendation from another writer, but i find that it works really well for me). things are looking like this:

(for sneaky castles readers -don't try to zoom in - you can't, i've checked)

as you can see, i've done away with the general outline, and only have the storyboard left, but in electronic form. i did have some stuff planned from the old spreadsheet that i moved into here, but i don't feel like i need the spreadsheet as a constant reference anymore. it might be because i'm reaching the end of the story that i don't need the broader view as much. i have, however, created a timeline like this, which i felt i needed to keep track of the big "milestones" of the story:

(ah, go on, you get the kids' birthdays.)

to give you an idea of the level of detail i go into in these, here is the last couple of chapters:

as you can probably see if you've read castles, even those i don't follow to the letter. there's a lot of things that get moved around (if you look at that table in chapter 16, you'll see the locations are totally off) and if you look at 17 (the order of scenes changed, and the redacted stuff got moved to later chapters). for 17, i also turned black the sticky notes as i was done writing them, which i didn't do for 16. also, you can see that for a chapter that's *twenty-two thousand words long*, 16 has very little outlined lol. everything was just in my head.

for me, while these (and outlines in general) are essential to the mapping out of a story, it's essential that i remain flexible in terms of what actually goes into the final product. if i'm not "feeling" something i'd planned, i change it/move it.

.

anyway anon, i hope this helped! thanks again for your question!

[fereldanwench]

sooo might have had a teensy tiny little bit of a meltdown last night after working 32 hours in 3 days and then having my goddamn printer be the piece of unreliable shit technology it is and require an hour and a half of troubleshooting so i could print one fucking mailing label djfghfdjghjfdgkdf

i really thought when i came back to this shitty job that putting a 5-hour maximum on the amount of OT i'd given each week would be doable, but i'm starting to think i might have some sort of trauma or something after the overtime shit i went through in 2020-2021.

it was a lot worse last fall when we were doing OT and i was just in a very, very bad place mentally, but i'm otherwise actually doing pretty well right now, and this shit still just knocked my feet out from under me.

and the fact that the reasons for the OT are exactly the same as they were when i left two years ago is just infuriating. just consistently piss poor decisions from upper management. it's just exhausting. fire these clowns. 11 years with this company as of may and i'm just continually baffled by who they keep and who they let go.

i have to at least do a year with them again to get vacation benefits so i'm sticking out until at least the beginning of may, but yeah. i gotta get out. for real this time. and i might need to make a major pivot and get into a field that doesn't have OT (and i know they exist, because no one else around me deals with this shit) because i'm just tired. I'M TIRED Y'ALL.

[tarisilmarwen]

Your explanation on why “15 minute cities” are a bad ideas sounds pretty logical. I thought it sounded like a nice idea on paper. Now I see the only real advantage would be if someone is in danger and starts screaming maybe they’ll get a bigger guarantee of help. Maybe. I’m paranoid and overthinking like that. Then again there are studies that claim people in rural areas are more likely to help someone screaming for help than city people anyway. So there’s that. In some areas of Japan the apartments are simply minuscule even by apartment standards and still very high rent. Japan also has a very high overworking problem and consequently very high rates of alcoholism and suicide. I hope the West (or any other part of the world) doesn’t end up like Japan in this regard. Might be on its way..

Thanks!

Of course it sounds good on paper. And there's even stuff in the concept that I actually think would be really great. There does need to be a better distribution of grocery stores and other "essential" businesses to residential areas, nice wide walkable sidewalks make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists and the disabled, more greenery and parks make cities less lifeless and sterile.

But the impetus behind 15 minute cities isn't "Prettify and make city neighborhoods cleaner, better, and more accessible, diversified, and pleasant to the people that have to live there." it's "Let's somehow get everything people 'need' packed into a very tiny area they won't have to leave."

The former is doable. The latter is a pipe dream.

And like I said, the way they're actually implementing the idea is not by incentivizing businesses to expand into new areas, rezoning, or budgeting for city renewal/cleanup projects, it's by blocking off city centers to driving traffic and making motorists go out to a ring road to go around the city and enter whatever segment they need from the ring road.

Which makes driving to another district take longer than it normally would have without the barriers.

Which increases exhaust pollution from cars.

Which kind of??? Defeats the purpose??? Of having "greener" cities???

City living isn't for me, personally, but if I did live in a city I'd be pissed at how the bureaucrats are predictably wasting time, money, and effort not actually delivering on their promises and suspicious of what the actual endgame is given that the implementation method is borderline dystopian and rancidly ineffective as shit.

[fandom-gt]

FANDOM: How to Train Your Dragon

REQUESTED SUMMARY: ”This is the second half of the Astrid story.

Now pressed under the arch of Astrid's sweaty sole, he fully gives in and begins worshiping it, noting how this is a dream come true for him. Eventually, Astrid begins absentmindedly rubbing her foot on him, which ends up getting him off. When she eventually lifts her foot, he's stuck to it for a few moments, which is more than enough time for her to put her foot (and him) back in her boot as she gets up to continue her day, with Astrid thinking about how she's gonna check on him to see how his training is going.”

Part One

CHARACTERS: Astrid, Berk Villager OC (Kolskegg)

WARNINGS: Feet, Unaware, Femdom

COMMISSION TYPE: Full Page + 2 Add-On

——

So, there’s Astrid Hofferson, sitting in her living room after a high-stakes dragon race, catching her breath for a few minutes. Resting and recharging, slumped lazily on the couch with her worn-out feet on the floor – and if our camera zooms in, and down, and in, and down, and down, and down, we can see the very, very small lump of a person-shape trapped underneath the sole of her foot.

Yep, that’s me. You’re probably wondering how I got here. – which is absolutely not what Kolskegg says (largely because he’s pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to open his mouth without tasting skin trying to smush its way past his lips), but it’s definitely an ironic, kind of funny thought that passes through his delirious mind in the heat of the moment.

From down here, even without the full weight of her body pressing on him, the weight of it is still immense – and enough for him to know that his size isn’t the only thing that Mystery Dragon tampered with. Although the pressure feels intense, although it’s hard to breathe or think straight, he doesn’t feel the strain of any broken bones. He doesn’t feel real pain, only discomfort, which is… okay, and doable, and the pros still really outweigh the cons.

At least, that’s what his now-smooth brain is telling him, with all of its Thinking Blood rushing to another, slightly less useful place in his anatomy. It’s hard for him to consider the bigger picture or the possible long-term complications, when his senses are overwhelmed with the scent and the sight of her sole taking up every square inch of his awareness. There isn’t a place on his body where her warm foot isn’t pressing down, and at this scale his eyes catalog every detail in high definition.

Even when he carefully cranes his neck, raises his head, shifts his gaze, he can just make out the sight of her glorious toes absently flexing just over his head. Curling and uncurling in a thoughtless expression of relaxation and contentment. And… honestly? Now that it’s occurred to him that opening his mouth might be precarious, the temptation begins to set in. But no, that would be crazy, probably, right? He can’t just-

He opens his mouth. Stupid traitor instincts overriding his compromised brain, he genuinely can’t help it. The thought cements, hijacks his nervous system, and he finds himself tentatively parting his lips to let his tongue take a swipe. Just like he thought, it tastes like sweat, like salt, like skin – and the neurons in Smooth Kol Brain Town start firing like crazy. It isn’t bad, and he can see the glistening, teeny tiny little patch of moisture left behind where his tongue had been.

The sight of it shoots another zing through his little body, and once again Smooth Kol Brain overrides thinking brain and his hips grind up on impulse, chasing the unfurling of heat happening in his pelvis. He’s rewarded immediately for following through; a frictional rush of rough-sweet pleasure blooms through him, and he lets out a low, loud groan that doesn’t even carry up past Astrid’s knees. She can’t hear it, just like she can’t really feel him down there.

Which is… perfect, actually, he realizes, spreading his little arms and his little legs as best he can. Gripping the arches of her sole wherever he can reach for leverage, and once again rolling his hips up into the soft-worn leather feeling skin of her sole.

As long as he’s down here, he’s practically invisible and inaudible. Anything he does, she won’t know about, and therefor she won’t think he’s weird. She won’t make fun of him, she won’t feel uncomfortable, she won’t feel anything. She never even has to know, no harm done. Oh man, this is a dream come true! Maybe it wasn’t a shrinking dragon, maybe it was- like- a wish granting dragon?

No, okay, probably not, but- still. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he’ll never get this chance again. He’d be crazy not to take advantage of every moment of it, to give it all he’s got and really milk it for all it’s worth. With that truly unhinged thought in mind, Kol begins to worship his mentor’s foot properly.

His lips press eager kisses to the skin of her sole as his arms grip her arch, his tongue lapping away sweat and dirt as though his job down here beneath her is to keep her clean, to massage her, to relieve her stress and tend to her feet like the dutiful little devoted apprentice that he is. With every kiss, with every upward thrust and hump of his hips, the pleasure and fervor mounts in him. His breathing goes ragged and frantic, and he realizes with a start that he’s suddenly very, very close.

I should make this last a little longer, he thinks blearily. I should stretch it out, enjoy it for as long as I can. I don’t want to-

Which is about the moment all of Kol’s good and strategic intentions go right out the window. Whether inspired by the barely-there minstrations happening against the tough muscles of her feet, or whether by complete coincidence, Astrid begins to slowly flex her foot over top of him. The entire mass of it shifts, the muscles ripple, tensing and relaxing, and then she begins to gently rub it back and forth like she’s seeking out a little muscle-tension relieving massage therapy on the floorboards beneath her.

It isn’t much, an inch or two in either direction, an amount that would be barely perceptible to anyone at normal scale. Odds are, she doesn’t even consciously realize she’s doing it, but Kol has his world rocked in all of the best possible ways. Although it means she’s dragging her foot over his face, his body, somewhat roughly grinding along his entire front, it also means that she’s applying an unavoidable, unbelievable back-and-forth friction directly on his already rock-hard arousal.

The choked-out sound he makes would be absolutely mortifying, if anyone but himself could hear it. She’s getting him off, even as she’s playing with him like one of those under-foot stress ball pressure point toys. Even if he’d meant to stop, to hold back, to slow himself, he’s no longer in charge of that. He doesn’t get to dictate the pace – Astrid does, and whether he wants things faster to finish off, or slower to make it last, is irrelevant. Rub by glorious, domineering rub drags him right up to the edge, and promptly catapults him off of it. The pleasure that rolls through him lasts, and lasts, and lasts – a bone-deep and all-consuming, deeply satisfying orgasm that wrings out every last scrap of Smooth Kol Brain’s desperate thirst. But the thing is, Astrid didn’t know he was down there when she started, she still doesn’t know he’s down there after his orgasm ends, and so she doesn’t know to stop. She keeps grinding long after the point where his orgasm reaches hypersensitivity, and he groans out an overstimulated, pleading sound that falls on deaf ears (or… deaf knees?).

And then, just as he thinks he can’t handle it anymore, as he’s about to beg her with a pathetic little sob, finally, finally, she stops. He’s left breathless, sweating, panting, clinging to the bottom of her foot with an equally pathetic kind of gratitude. Thank you, thank you, thank you – appreciating her for stopping just as much as he appreciated her for starting in the first place.

For just a little bit, there is peace, and stillness. But Astrid stopped for a reason, and it wasn’t just because she planned to laze about for a while, or because she intended to cross her ankles again and let him free. No, her relaxation time has finally and firmly come to an end, and she braces herself to stand.

In the time he’s been down there, pressed beneath her foot and the floor, the body heat has radiated, has been insulated. It’s inspired her foot to start sweating again, a sticky-damp sort of almost-adhesive. When Astrid stands, a new and unfathomable amount of pressure grinds down on Kol, truly burying him as deeply as possible into the muscular, tight flesh of Astrid’s foot. That pressure mingles with her sweat, which mingles with his clinging, and so when she raises her foot, it does not simply lift off of Kol.

He adheres to it, he’s lifted off of the floorboards with it, and for a panicked, fleeting second he instinctively scrambles to peel himself away from her sole – only to realize midair that the drop would be absolutely terrible, and to promptly start clinging again even as his legs begin to slowly separate and begin to hang, the weight of them pulling the rest of his body slowly but surely away.

“Don’t drop me! Astrid, please don’t drop me!” He begs, clinging to the sole of her foot – and his mentor does not disappoint him. Of course she doesn’t, she never does, even if it isn’t an intentional choice on her part. Before he can peel entirely away, her foot begins to lower, and a safety net appears just at the edges of his peripheral vision. When at last he drops, it’s only about eighteen or so inches, and he lands on his back in the soft embrace of the sole of her boot.

His freedom lasts all of about two seconds, before her foot’s sliding right on in after him, and settling back atop his body. This time, her full standing weight settles with it, squishing him down into a person-shaped imprint in the cushiony-firm padding lining the sole of her boot. He is, without a doubt, completely and entirely trapped, sealed in with such force he cannot so much as twitch his little limbs into a new position.

“Well,” he hears from somewhere a mile away, the familiar voice carrying so loudly it penetrates her tons of flesh, and the thick leather walls surrounding her foot. “Guess I’d better go check on my favorite little twerp, huh?”

With a sinking feeling in his gut, Kol realizes she means him, and that she’s about to find him very, very missing. God, he hopes she doesn’t think he ran off on her, that he’s dodging practice, that he’s a coward, or that he’s lazy or something.

I’m down here, He thinks desperately, trying and failing to wiggle. Please, Astrid, notice me, I’m down here-

And then her foot rises, soars, falls, and lands on top of him again – over and over, step after step as she treads on her mentor without so much as a fleeting thought that he might be under her foot.

[dragon-communion]

Uhhhhhhh. You have any other triggers for DLC you might need a headsup on? Because Romina ain't the only Huge Bug in there, for starters.

Thanks for asking! I do not like skittering. The fingercreepers are surprisingly fine though. The Kindred of Rot really, really bother me so I mostly just run and try not to look.

I do not like cockroaches or bugs on a person in general, or bugs coming out of a person, or bug noises (flies buzzing, etc).

I have managed to handle the bloodflies incantation and such by focusing really hard on the combat, plus they're like. Mist clouds basically. So that's doable. Deathroot is fine because it looks like roots. Wormfaces hit two triggers at once, which sucks, but it's manageable. I cannot handle vomit well, much less being vomited on.

For big big major triggers though... pregnancy, I guess? Mentions are fine, visuals cause me problems.

Lemme just simplify this instead of rambling:

insects (particularly centipedes, maggots and cockroaches), pregnancy, vomiting, people being burned alive really graphically, medical horror (asylums, surgical needles, so on), raw meat (usually if it's like... an environment feature and the landscape itself looks like flesh, corpses and zombies are fine), restraints/being bound/quicksand (usually in videogames that means actively struggling in a quicktime event, if it's a death animation it's fine).

In addition to the lack of PS5, the pregnancy one is partly why I've never played Bloodborne, since someone mentioned that's a major visual thing.

Off the top of my head, the only things to trigger me in base game Elden Ring are the Kindred of Rot. I think one of me would probably freak the fuck out about Agheel Lake and the self-immolation at the forge, but that's what compartmentalizing is for. The skybox in the Deathbed Dream would probably bother me more if I actually looked at it.

Astel and the Fallingstar Beasts don't really set me off at all, but the weird gray malformed stars hanging from the ceiling like some kind of worm? That bothers me.

Since this is mostly a very visual combat game as opposed to something character-driven I'm not including the more abstract triggers. I mean. Unless someone actually says the word grooming in reference to abuse, I would like to be warned about that, but I doubt it happens.

I'm prepared to take whatever's in the DLC on the chin as it comes, and I genuinely LIKE horror. I like fucked up flesh atronachs and death imagery and stabbing. Like... Rykard's body is upsetting, but that's mostly because snakes can split in real life and it's really sad. The horrible little arms coming out of the wounds are really cool and interesting. The fire giant's entire deal is upsetting, but mostly in a tragic way that keeps me invested in the story rather than upsetting me personally. I think becoming the Lord of Frenzy would be more upsetting if the PC struggled at all, but as it stands it's pretty cool visually and not a problem at all.

I haven't seen Romina move, or heard her move, so we'll see how that goes when I get to her. I survived Skyrim's chaurus things after all. I still kill them violently with fire, but I don't like... black out and have daymares about tiny legs. Progress!

I'm so fucking glad we don't have to fight the scorpion god. I hate looking at scorpions. I have vacuumed scorpions off the floor with a shop vac. Terrible time.

Sorry if this is really rambly and difficult to navigate, figuring out what triggers might be applicable makes me very anxious.

[daniellechungg]

Hi! I’m back with another weekly reflection and today I’m going to be writing about “5-year Odyssey.”

So first, where do I see myself in 10 years? Hmm, well I see myself graduating from medical school? I don’t think I have the timeline correct but in 10 years I should finally be a doctor, right? In 10 years, I will be 29 (almost 30) and by then, I want to have at least 200k+ in investments. I don’t know if that’s doable because I don’t know if I will have time to work part time while I’m in medical school. That’s why I have to save up and invest as much as I can now, so that future-me can be financially stable. My goal is to be able to retire by the age of 40 or 45, so I have the freedom to work only a few days a week and then live my life however I want to for the rest of the week.

Next topic, a tangentially related path that’s not being a doctor. Maybe I would go into research. I had this thought yesterday when I was FaceTiming my sister and I was telling her that I think I for sure am an introvert because socializing is fun in the moment, but I always need time to myself/recharge. I wouldn’t mind patient interactions because I would love to be there for them, but hopefully it doesn’t get too overwhelming. That’s why research is nice because you can just be by yourself with your little bacteria friends or rats or whatever your working with IN COMPLETE SILENCE. I realized I love silence. Like just being able to listen to the background noise and nobody talking is so therapeutic. That’s why sometimes I just put my noise canceling headphones in and no music, because music is talking and we need silence. Okay I went on a complete tangent there but yes research might be fun and we shall see how much I like it because I obtained a research position at the White Lab for next school year!

If I had unlimited resources and time, I think I would want to live in a tiny home or van and travel the world. I really want to solo travel and go to Yosemite and other national parks but my family is worried that I would get killed or something because “it’s too dangerous for a girl.” Sometimes I love being a girl because it do be fun, but in these aspects I don’t. If I was a guy, I’m pretty sure my parents would have no problem with me doing a solo trip by now to a nature place. I want to either live in a small cottage in Switzerland or anywhere that is just field and nature. I want to wake up to the sound of birds chirping and tend to my garden. Literally the definition of “I think I like this little life.” I am going to make this happen tho. One way or another, after I retire I’m going to achieve both the first and third prompt. Just watch me.

Okay finally I have to write about the differences between all three paths. They are very different in the sense that 2 of them are actually working and having a job, while the last one isn’t really a job but rather a way of living. Okay I’m tired of writing now. Bye!

[ughgoaway]

Hi ace thank you for responding to my message in the first place xx

I went to therapy for 3 years and kinda felt it didnt help too much tbh, i think im so hopeless by now i dont i even want to go back

And uni is just a mess because i end in a month so i dont know if theyll even believe me, i dont know, i feel like fear is consuming me and i cant do anything about it

I also had an attempt a while back that no one knows about because i didnt go to the hospital, so neither my family or friends know

Im sorry for being so selfdeprecating ace but this is all i know and im tired of it

hi again, lovely.

(tw// discussion of suicide attempts and depression below the cut)

//////

therapy can feel more like a chore than helpful for a lot of people, especially if you're neurodirvergent as typical therapy isn't made with us in mind. but I promise a good therapist can do wonders. if you find someone you mesh with and that you can be honest with, they can help you a lot. but I understand if that doesn't feel doable right now. I promise you are not hopless, no one is. you are not beyond help or unworthy of help, you are valued and loved. you deserve to feel joy and love in your life.

the fact that you felt able to share this with me speaks wonders, even if it's anonymous. there is some part of you that yearns to the better and knows it's possible.

as for uni, even if you only have a month left, it's worth reaching out. they can help you get set up at the right places with the right people. programs exist within universities for people who are going through what you are. they will believe you, no one would lie about something that is so vulnerable and so hard to admit.

you can also go to your GP (idk if you're English or not, but that just means your general doctor) and ask for a referral to a mental health clinic and they may also be able to provide you with medication if they feel it would work for you.

at attempt is such a massive thing to be dealing with on your own, I can't imagine how much that must be weighing on you. as hard as it might be to hear, I'm glad it wasn't successful. You belong here for a lot longer. if you tell even one person, it will help massively. you don't even have to share intimate details just a tiny bit.

Once they understand how hard it is for you, they will work to help you and make you know how loved you are. I understand not wanting to tell people, it feels fucking impossible and every time you go to share it gets stuck in your chest. so if you can't say it, maybe write a letter or a text. you can say you don't wanna talk about it further but you need support, people will adapt to what you need. they care about you, and they want you here, and they deserve the chance to show you that.

you don't have to apologise. If anyone understand self deprecating, it's me. but this won't always be your life. Those very brief moments where you feel better will grow longer eventually. you have the capability of feeling loved and knowing you belong here, it might not feel like it but you do. I know you belong here, and so does everyone with the pleasure of knowing you.

I know I always feel like a burden to my family and friends, so I just want to reiterate that you're not. they love you, you are so so important to them.

[thewul]

But that community is spread geographically?

Geographically, but virtually a social media network can flatten that, it can really become an experiment in that regard, with a moderated social network and online community managers, and activities in different places so forth

Maybe the reality of New York is different?

Reality is what you make it, the ones telling you otherwise is because they don’t know how, rent as mortgage payments I know rent you don’t want to pay rent all your life not with a family nobody does

And that can be done without the principal?

You fork out 500 or 600 Dollars more with your mortgage each month over so many years there’s your principal, elsewhere 1500 USD is rent for a tiny room and you’re not owning anything even after a million years

What about safety?

We don’t defund the police we refund the police for policing these neighborhoods some of which can be 10K units so equivalent to a small city, plus these can be gun free zones where yes its your right to own a gun but no look on the contract it says that you’re forfeiting it within the grounds of the projects to benefit of that flat, and that you’re agreeing on inspections to verify that, inspectors better not find hard drugs either

So solutions exist?

Solutions exist, listen you don’t have to catch all the fish just one at a time, and there’s the people that tell you can’t catch any, they never caught any, the contract also says that you can’t appeal so it’s not am signing and am going to appeal that before a court, it’s called a waiver

But now you own a flat and you bring in guns or hard drugs?

You own a flat in one huge co property that has rules, had them from day 1, owning will change nothing to inspectors evicting you and the co property repaying what you paid minus penalties, large penalties, but we don’t want that to happen that is why the selection process is key

So its 5 or more co properties?

No that’s the beauty of it, its 1 large co property

How do you refund the police?

Through NYPD, cops working within the co property get paid extra

And that’s doable?

I don’t see why not, you want extra cheese on your pizza you pay for it

It’s a different New York?

It’s still New York with people from many different places, it’s also a social services experiment, I think there should be internet access included within the area of these projects, also many people now work remotely from home wouldn’t that be great if the assistance in finding a job trains people also to work from home

What do you think of NYC’s mayor?

He looks pretty cool, probably parties more than I do

To sum up this is not gentrification?

As in you move from there because of your income, no none of that, the people that live in these areas are the first ones to benefit from these projects which are about better standards of living, with the provision that it is a selective process where a footlong criminal record or drug abuse history is not going to help

Some might argue that it is because it is very likely that families that live in those areas pay a fixed rent and wouldn’t be able to afford more

That is a very valid point, where you are looking at your overall income to round up the difference, maybe even many of those families who wouldn’t pay more in rent would make an extra effort within an access to property program, paying rent is not the same as paying mortgage

[kitxkatrp]

Were Mika a normal sized child, it might be difficult to navigate with him in her arms. But he was so tiny that it should be more than doable.

Anne reached out and made a "whoopie" noise as she hoisted him up on one arm like women usually carried their babies. "Now Mika, we're gonna haveta clean this all up later or Mom will have a heart attack, but watch Big Sis!"

He had most of the ingredients, but he was missing some of the small ones that was in their Mother's specific recipe, like Nutmeg. The first thing she did was combine everything she needed in two clean, separate bowls. The mess could be cleaned up after.

"Remember though, Mika, the stove can be very dangerous for someone of your size and the pan is cast iron, you wouldn't be able to move it I think. So you might get hurt. Next time, come get Big Sis and we can make it together and avoid all the mess." She kissed the top of his head, bouncing him a little as she whisked some eggs with one hand.

[toytulini]

not me thinking about trying to shell out to convert my fiat to a Plug in hybrid? hmmmmm