#note to self: need to put general guidelines up

[aetherdecember]

@glitternightingale

I hope I’m interpreting your question correctly, but yes, it is an art/writing month event! Similar to Mermay, the prompts are open for the entirety of June, and are encouraged, but not required, to involve unicorns (or donkeycorns for Encanto ;D)

I’ve also kept the prompts innocuous enough that they can be combined with prompts for other events ^^

[shmooooo]

hi isa <3 really curious on what type of dom you think the exo members are 😻👀

The way you sent this while I was going through my exo album looking for a new profile pic-

exo as doms

pairing: exo x reader (no chen, read my guidelines for info)

genre: smut

warnings: reader has a hand kink (this is very self-indulgent), mentions of degradation, spanking, edging, overstimulation, (aftercare isn’t explicitly mentioned for most of them but just know that all of them would be adamant about taking good care of you after, especially if they were rough)

word count: 851

notes: special thanks to @rose-sereniteeth for helping me! ♡ funny how we struggled with minseok and then in typical fashion his part became one of the longest 💀 i'm not super happy with this but despite having stanned exo for the past seven years, i never quite embraced them like this until somewhat recently so there's still time to figure this out - also reblogs are always appreciated!

~~~~~~

Minseok (Xiumin)

Hard dom. He has rules in place and expects you to follow them. And while he’s sweet outside of the bedroom, during scenes he loves degrading you. He’s also a huge fan of teasing and sometimes he’ll just tease you with light touches (sometimes even with a feather) for hours until you get desperate enough. But if you dare to show your impatience by being a brat, he’ll scold you and either prolong your suffering or give you exactly what you wanted but tenfold until it’s almost too much. Cleanliness and tidiness are also very important to him so I feel like he would make you fold your clothes after undressing and be very adamant about cleaning you up afterwards.

Junmyeon (Suho)

Dom. Honestly ultimate daddy dom. Everything he does is to make you feel good. Whether that is making sure you eat and sleep enough or giving you what you need in the bedroom. He will absolutely spoil you in all aspects of life but in return he expects you to follow the rules you agreed on. And while he is sweet, he’s also very strict when it comes to the rules so you better not break them or he will put you over his knees and make you count.

Yixing (Lay)

Hard dom. Have you seen what he’s like when he’s working? All focused and hot? That’s how I imagine him as a dom. He’s more of a "master" type, especially during punishments. During scenes he acts cold and sometimes even angry with you. He doesn’t smile and when he does, that is absolutely not a good sign since it usually means he will edge or overstimulate you to heaven and back. But during aftercare he does a 180 and becomes very nurturing and caring. 

Baekhyun

Dom. He’s an experimentalist and probably the kinkiest out of the bunch. I absolutely see him owning a toy box with all kinds of stuff in there (mostly for you). He definitely enjoys giving directions and is generally very vocal about what he wants you to do (are we surprised). He will also tease you relentlessly, both verbally and physically - he’ll call you all kinds of degrading names (usually mixed with praise, like ���my pretty little whore”) and first edge you until you beg him to let you cum and then overstimulate you until you beg him to stop. Will definitely play innocent after as if he just didn’t take your body apart at the seems. 

Chanyeol

Soft dom. I feel like unless you either fuck up or specifically ask him to be rough, he’ll generally be sweeter and less strict. That doesn’t mean he won’t tease the hell out of you though. He knows you love his hands and he’ll absolutely use that against you. Whether it’s with light touches anywhere but where you actually need him or by giving you orgasm after orgasm with only his fingers because “if you like my hands so much, surely you don’t need my cock” (bastard). But just because he isn’t usually rough with you (both verbally and physically), doesn’t mean you should underestimate him. Question his authority and he will put you in your place. 

Kyungsoo (D.O)

Dom. He’s a soft lover and that usually carries over into the bedroom. He loves spoiling you because he’s a simp at heart but he never lets you forget who’s in control when you’re doing a scene. He’s strict about you following the rules you two have established, and if you don’t, he will definitely make you pay for it. I also don't really see him as a toy guy? Like he has a vibrator and maybe one, two other things but he usually relies on his own body and the vibrator if he wants to make you squirm, something he generally enjoys but especially when he’s punishing you.

Jongin (Kai)

Soft dom. He will absolutely do anything to make you happy and praise non-stop (read: simp - affectionately). Buys you pretty lingerie but he’s too impatient to take it off before fucking you so he usually fucks you with it on. What he does have the patience for though is worshipping every part of your body. He almost has too much patience for that though, so you often end up whining for him to hurry up, which more often than not leads to him shushing you and pushing his fingers into your mouth to shut you up. 

Sehun

Dom. He’s a sweet guy and can absolutely be down for a more light-hearted dynamic with jokes and teasing but once he's in dom mode, he changes. He’s firm and expects you to obey but he also rewards you for listening with praise. I feel like he’s surprisingly vocal during sex. He tells you what he's going to do, what he expects of you, and he wants you to respond too, no matter how fucked out you are. It just brings him great enjoyment to see you struggle to form the words he wants to hear because lbr, he’s a brat even when he doms. 

[scriptstructure]

About & Guidelines

About the Blog:

In the fashion of ScriptMedic and cohort, this blog is here to answer questions about how to structure your story, and develop your narrative, and themes. If you’ve got your research, and you’ve got your plot, and then you’re stuck on how to make it fit together, or how to use your awesome research, then this is the blog for you!

This blog can provide assistance from simple tips regarding writing itself, through to recommendations for further reading and research. If I’m able I will provide links to relevant texts, or at least attempt to provide ways to find them.

Guidelines for Asking:

FIRST! An important note: I will not read your manuscript!

MS reading is time-intensive and is the sort of thing better left to dedicated beta readers or paid editors, please do not submit part/ all of your MS, and ask me to ‘tell you what’s wrong with it’ or ‘help fix it’.

Sending your ask:

ask box is preferred! Submit box is available if you absolutely can’t fit your question into the ask

I’ll be keeping messenger open in case I need to ask clarifying questions, but I would prefer that initial questions NOT be sent via messenger.

You’ll probably need to put 1-2 sentences of context about your story, and ask about the specific issue you’re having difficulty with

Generally speaking, the more specific your question is the better I will be able to help you – figure out the area that you’re having difficulty with and ask about that in particular. Sending a long rehash of your MS and then simply asking how to make it work is impossible to answer. Tell me what You think the problem you’re having is, and we can work from there.

As this blog grows, there will no doubt be posts related to troubles you’re having, I’ll be making sure to keep up a consistent tagging system so that all previous posts should be simple to find, simply head to the navigation page and look to see if your question has already been answered. If it hasn’t? Then ask away! If I’ve answered something similar to the question you have but haven’t quite hit the nail on the head? Ask away!

Also, you might notice that I’ll often advise people to read certain texts, or recommend stories, shows, films, novels, etc that are similar to what they’re working on. Reading is the best practice for writing, you’ll learn a lot about writing by reading attentively, and it is a process – all writing is a process! There’s no quick fix or cheat sheet that will work for everyone.

If you must send a question longer than the ask box allows, use a browser to access:

www.scriptstructure.tumblr/submit

About the Blogger:

My name is Mason and I’m all about character and narrative development, I’ll be doing my best to try and work through the thorny problems that come with the writing part of writing!

I have a degree in Creative Writing, a minor in English Literature, and an honours degree in Creative Writing (thesis focused on character structure and narrative). I’ve lectured on Character development in adaptation, and I’ve taught general creative writing, as well as writing for the stage.

I have several short stories published, as well as a self published novella, you can find my personal/ author blog [HERE]

[1980sactionfigures]

THANK YOU & A NOTE GOING FORWARD

Hello everyone,

I want to thank everyone who helped me get through a very trying financial situation. Thanks you to those who liked/reblogged my GoFundMe campaign, thank you to those who donated and thank you to everyone for just being you. I am hoping to use this breathing room to start putting things together so that I do not have to rely on the GFM so much anymore. Or at least for a while. Fingers crossed. But again, thank you, everyone.

With that said, I wanted to talk about this blog and its future, something I haven't been able to think much on recently. With few exceptions - the very early days, fundraisers and holidays - I've maintained a fairly strict "one post a day" routine showcasing Action Figures of the 1980s or closely tied to that decade. Six and a half years later and over 3,000 figures, I'm starting to run a bit low on new things to ad that adhere to the somewhat-strict guidelines I had set for the blog. I'm down to about 100-150 remaining viable figures out there to showcase...not even four months' worth. In regards to this, I've decided to change a few things up.

As you've seen with the last few days, I've begun to include things like playsets and carrying cases to the line-up. I have always kept things strictly to the figures (with sets and vehicles only included when they came with a figure), but I'm going to be expanding on that. Vehicles are on the way, as well.

I've done my best to keep the blog contained to the 1980s, with some stragglers from the '70s that might have still been on toy store shelves in the early years. I'm going to be expanding that a bit, and will be including pre-1980s figures as well (not that there's that terribly many) that I haven't already. I will also start including a few of the early 1990s lines that continued the general "feel" of the decade, prior to the hyper-stylization that overtook the industry circa 1995.

I believe it's time to lift my self-imposed embargo on the "Big Five" of the era (having always felt they got enough attention already), and will start including some Star Wars, G.I. Joe, Masters of the Universe, Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles into the mix.

My definition of "Action Figure" has always been somewhat flexible, having included a few bendies and stretch types here and there. I'm going to be bending it a bit more here and there if I feel it works for the blog, so more bendies, PVC figures, mini-figures and the like. Figures that aren't necessarily "poseable figures," that sort of thing.

While I've shied away from it in the past, saving it for seasonal specials or fundraising, I'm thinking of finding a way to incorporate more of the older posts from years ago. Perhaps a day of the week reserved for another look at every figure I've posted in a specific line. Just something I'm ruminating on.

I do not want to completely betray the spirit of this blog, so I will try my best to make these additions as seamless as possible.

Thank you all again for helping in my time of need and I hope to see you all here for years to come. - Madison

[rachelbethhines]

Things That I Use To Help Manage My ADHD and Executive Dysfunction

1. To Do Lists

I know, I know.

Making a list is boring. I lose the paper. I forget to make the to do list.

Believe me, I know.

I've been there, but trust me it does help once you get into the habit.

Here's some tips on how to get started

Try making your list in a digital app or a document file so you don't lose it

Sticky notes in a place you're sure to see them

An erasable board like a marker board or a chalkboard that you keep up in a specific place and never move. Like on the wall or the fridge.

Put "make 'to do' list" on the to do list so you don't forget to do it

Set aside a certain time to fill out or check off the list each day. Consistency is key.

Use calendars, alarms, and timers liberally to keep track of appointments and to manage your time so you don't hyper-focus on something to the determinant of more important things

But be flexible for things that don't have deadlines or appointments. Don't beat yourself up if something doesn't get done, just add it back onto the list for next time

2. Randomizers

Part of the problem with executive dysfunction is being overwhelmed by choice. So I keep a few randomizer websites booked marked that I use regularly

Wheel pickers

List randomizers

Random number generators

Like I keep my list of projects on a wheel picker app. And my chores that I don't have deadlines for on another. When making my to do list I'll spin the wheel to pick the project or chore that I'm going to work on that day.

I do the same when picking out albums to listen to or movies to watch so I don't go doom scrolling while wasting time deciding.

3. Meal Planning

Similar to the above, I take one day out of the week to draw up my meal plan for the next week.

Use this time to take stock of your pantry and fridge. What needs to get used up?

Anything special you want to fix over the week or weekend? Save the recipes to a document or leave a bookmark in your cookbook

Overwhelmed with choices or just don't know what to do with certain ingredients? Try a randomizer or an app like supercook to come up with ideas.

After you've taken inventory of your kitchen and figured out any special recipes you want to make, go ahead and fill out your grocery list

Set aside time on your to do list for shopping, meal prep, and cooking through out the week.

Pre-plan what days/times you are going to eat out or get takeout and work that into the meal plan/budget

Budget not only your money but also your time. How long will this recipe take to prep/cook? How much effort will it require of me? Is there any shortcuts I can take to make things easier, like buying my veggies already diced?

Try using an app to keep track of your meal plan, grocery list, and recipes so that they're all in one place

4. Mental Health Apps

I like Booster Buddy, but it's no longer supported for newer devices. I have also used Finch. But at the end of the day it doesn't matter which app you choose.

The point of having a program dedicated for mental health is to have a handy way to check in on yourself and see how you are feeling. Many apps will offer visual cues to allow you to break down your motivation and energy levels.

This will help give you a guideline for the day so you don't stretch yourself too thin.

A good app will also offer little suggestions and tips to help improve your mood or provide genteel reminders for small things that help with self care.

But most importantly it will help you spot patterns over time so you can better notice ongoing problems or see gradual changes as you get better.

5. Finding and Avoiding What Triggers My Dissociation

This is the hardest one.

I suffer from Maladaptive Daydreaming on top everything else which only makes my ADD and Executive Dysfunction even worse.

For others it maybe obsessive compulsion or a tendency to hyper-focus.

Things that I found that can be triggers are boredom, anxiety, isolation, health/dietary complications, and even the weather.

So here's some things I noticed that help

Set aside a certain time during the day to read/watch the news and then ignore it for the rest of the day. Yes be informed, but don't obsess.

Get your news from actual reputable news sources and not social media! Avoid algorithms feeding you negativity.

If you want to be more politically active schedule time for it, get involved with actual charities or political organizations, and then go about your regular business afterwards

Limit social media time. For me it's mornings before work for about 30mins, and then maybe an hour after work.

Curate your online experience. Block what you need to. Unfollow who you see fit. Social media should be fun not stressful.

Talk to other people! Make plans to hang out on weekends or call/text someone during the weekday. Try to make contact with another human being in some form everyday for at least a few mins, even if it's just online in a discord chat.

Have a book or notepad handy for when you get bored at work. Read, write, or draw during your downtime so you don't start staring off into space.

Keep a short list of fun things to do handy if you feel bored at home.

Set aside time to daydream/worry/plan/meditate/decompress. You need to mentally unwind at some point. The goal is to have that time per-planned so that it doesn't distract from other needed tasks. Getting into a routine with that time will also help.

Eating enough iron/vitamin C/protein ect. Food is energy and you need energy to focus. Meal planning will help with this.

TAKE YOUR MEDS!!!

Sometimes the weather will make you groggy, irritated, or anxious. There's not much you can do about this other than to accept it and just try your best.

You can however plan for bad weather ahead of time. Go to the National Weather site to find out about upcoming weather in your area and to figure what you need to be prepared for it. Try getting into the habit of doing this regularly.

[proudfighter]

-- This is an independent, and selective blog for Ranma Saotome.

Navigation: ABOUT. | ABOUT(mobile friendly) | verses. | MEMES | credits for psd

↓ Guidelines ↓

My portrayal of Ranma is based on my headcanons with insp from their original content.

I will tag posts that contain content from the remake, ranma remake spoilers

My activity mostly depends on my health conditions(GERD & IBS) and the fact I am dealing with job hunting. This will be the main reasons if I am every slow/ever go a bit MIA. But if I ever go on break I will make a post about it.

I am a mutuals only blog! I am also OC friendly.

I do have a discord! You may ask for it if we are mutuals and if you want to plot and what not and of course just chat ooc.

TRIGGERS, PLEASE TAG - TW: GORE, TW: SPIDERS, TW: BUTTERFLY, TW: ZOMBIES !!

About mun: Jupiter. Pronouns: she/her. Timezone: EST!

I do have other blogs but they are inactive atm so I'll probably promote them if I ever return to them.

↓ Rest of rules in full detail BELOW ↓ 

✶ FIRST AND FOREMOSTS ✶

I. This is a mutuals blog only, please respect that.

II. I  deal with something called GERD, which is Gastroesophageal reflux disease, and IBS, which is Irritable bowel syndrome. It is a big reason, along with anxiety/depression that sometimes makes it hard for me to focus a lot and if I suddenly have low activity that is a big reason why. I'll do my best to not complain about it a lot ooc cause I do not wish to bother ppl with it, but it's just a heads up.

✶ IMPORTANT NOTES ✶

III. Please, no godmodding my characters! Thank you ♥

IV. SELECTIVE BLOG. If I do not rp/follow with you, please do not take offence. Sometimes I may not because I don't see a way for our muses interacting/I may not know character too well sorry :x 

V. I am open to AU’s and rping with OC’s! If you are an OC though, it would be nice if you would have an about page. Just so I can get the feeling of your character. Or, just make sure to tell me about your character if you wish to RP with me c:

VI. When it comes to rping with characters from the same fandom, I roleplay the way I believe Ranma would act with this person based on my idea of their relationship. This does not mean I am forcing you to automatically like/act the same way toward Ranma. It’s just the way I believe Ranma would act towards him/her.

✶ TAGGING & WRITING ✶

VII. I am open to any type of threads except extreme gore. Action is fine, and talk of blood is as well but if it goes into great detail I can not handle it. I am very sensitive about it, sorry.

VIII. If you ever reply to one of my asks, I prefer it if you put it in a separate post c:

IX. While rping Ranma, I have my own headcannons about him.. You do not have to agree with them but please respect them.

✶ SHIPPING ✶

X. (I will say up front I'm a HUGE Ranma and Akane shipper, I won't force you of course, just a heads up c:) Regarding shipping in general, I am open to having relationships built with my muse but please do not force it on me. I’m not trying to be mean, and it does not mean I do not like you. I just believe that our characters need to get to know each-other and develop their relationship. Again, don’t take offence if my muse does not get along with yours.

✶ NSFW ✶

XI. I always tag topics like, suicide, abuse, self hate, depression, blood. The way I tag triggers is tw: word. Or word // If you want me to add any/if I forget to tag something, LET ME KNOW♥

[happiestplacehq]

CODENAME: CANDY EVENT !!

OOC Information

This was supposed to be a mini-event but it ended up more complicated, so we’ll just call it an event. First thing to note, as it has been brought up and I want to re-iterate, this event is not here for the sole purpose of shipping. It can be participated in as platonically or as romantically as you like.

Now that’s out of the way, the main thing is that if you wish to participate you must have your form submitted by Saturday 11th February in order to give me time to organise pairings and activities and send them out.

All fields must be answered in full. Please do not leave the activity suggestions blank or with an N/A. The form is self-explanatory, but if you have any questions about it let me know. It should be answered in character unless stated otherwise.

The event will officially begin on Sunday 12th February and will have 2 phases.

Here’s how to play the game:

Phase 1: Codenames, clues and partnering up. 12th - 19th (ish) February.

All CODENAMES and CLUES will be posted on the main after submissions close.

Your character is free to speculate on who they think each codename belongs to, but must not reveal their identity until they are asked to do so.

This means you can make starters, threads and inner thought posts in character during this phase. (If you really want to, you can post all of your character’s guesses

Once the guesses are in, the pair will be posted. I will put these names into a generator and assign partners at random.

Once the pairings are posted, it is then up to you to all to figure out who is who and who your partner is! You can have as many threads as you fancy figuring it out, but you must have one with your partner to begin the next phase.

It is everyone’s responsibility to reach out to their assigned partner to plot!

Phase 2: Activities. 16th (ish) - 28th February.

Before the activities begin, you may reveal your character’s codename to everyone. This is to ensure that everyone knows who their partner for the activities will be if they were unable to guess.

As with the pairs, I will randomly assign each pair an activity and post a list with the details.

Your activity will not have a lot of detail, so think of it more as a prompt.

It is then up to you to plot with your partner and decide what this activity will entail. 

As previously stated, they are not intended to only be romantic in nature. It is up to you and your partner to decide what happens at the activity. Go wild!

Some things of note:

Threads may continue after the allotted time periods, so don’t stress. The dates above are guidelines. However, if you agree to participate, you must make an active effort to reach out to your partner and get threads going. This is a team effort!

So that everyone can get in contact with the people they need to, please leave the blog you wish to be contacted on in the OOC sideblog when plotting begins. I know we all have a million blogs, so this is for ease of use for all participants.

Important Stuff

This event is optional.

Everyone can take part. Go wild!

Pairs and activities will all be posted on the main.

It is your responsibility to reach out to your partner. If you don’t think you can be active for plotting or making a thread with your partner, do not feel obligated to join for the sake of it.

Event starters may be posted during the time of the event, but not before or after. Threads can continue after the end date.

You can still post non-event related posts and starters with the usual tags.

If taking part, please make sure to reply to open starters and make some too!

Please tag all event starters with #happiestevent10 and the starter tag, and mark event conversations the same way so it is easier for players to see who is taking part.

Submissions will close on Saturday 11th February

This event will take place from Sunday 12th February to Tuesday 28th February OOC, but will last one day in character (14th February).

[mark-matos]

🚨💻 Geoffrey Hinton, the "godfather of AI" is sounding the alarm! 🤖

📣 He fears that AI-generated content 🤖📄 will make it hard for people to distinguish what’s real and what’s fake, leading to the loss of jobs 🏢💼 and even the possibility of AI weaponizing itself 🚀🔫. 😱🤯

Geoffrey Hinton, a legendary computer scientist 🧪💻 and one of the pioneers in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) 🤖💡, has recently left Google 🏢✌️, sounding the alarm 🚨🔊 about the potential dangers of AI in a recent interview with The New York Times 📰🗣️.

Hinton is famously known as the “godfather of AI” 👑🤖, and one of the founding fathers of deep learning 🧠🌐. He has revolutionized the field with his work on neural networks 🧩🔗 and helped build some of the world’s most powerful machine learning algorithms 💪🌍. However, Hinton now worries 😟 about the future implications of AI-generated photos 📸, videos 🎥, and text 📝 that could make it difficult for people to differentiate between what’s real and what’s fake 😵‍💫🤔.

What’s interesting to note 📌 is how the Star Trek series 🚀📺, specifically the Borg 🤖👥, warned us about the consequences of artificial intelligence. The Borg, a fictional collective of cyborgs, sought to assimilate humans 👩👨 and other species into their collective consciousness 🧠🌐, with the ultimate goal of destroying their individuality and humanity 🚫🌟.

Like the Borg, AI has the potential to assimilate and manipulate us 😨👾. The fear is that AI-generated content could lead to widespread misinformation 🌪️📰, confusion, and chaos 😖🔥. We need to ensure that AI is used ethically 🌈🦋 and doesn’t cause destruction 🌋⛔.

Geoffrey Hinton’s concerns are a wake-up call ⏰🛎️ for the industry to prioritize responsible AI development 💚🌱. As companies integrate AI into their products 🏭📦, there’s a growing need for ethical guidelines and responsible AI use 📜🤲.

In the interview 🎤🗣️, Hinton expressed his concerns that AI might destroy jobs and livelihoods 🏗️🔨, not just in routine work and number-crunching but also in more advanced careers 🚀🎓. He fears that people won’t be able to tell the difference between real and AI-generated content 🌀🎭, leading to widespread misinformation and chaos 🌩️😱.

Hinton said, “The idea that this stuff could actually get smarter than people - a few people believed that, but most people thought it was way off. And I thought it was way off. I thought it was 30 to 50 years or even longer away. Obviously, I no longer think that.” 💬🕰️

Hinton also expressed concern that AI could eventually become autonomous 🤖🚶‍♀️, self-generating its own code 💻📈 and even weaponizing itself 🔫🚀. Now that AI has been unleashed, there’s no way to control or regulate it 📵🔓, and while companies may agree to a set of terms, countries may continue to develop AI technology in secret 🗺️🔒, unwilling to cede any ground 🌎🚧.

As a leading figure in the development of AI 🌟🤖, Hinton’s concerns are a wake-up call ⏰📣 for the industry to prioritize responsible AI development 💼🌿. As companies integrate AI into their products 🏭📦, there’s a growing need for ethical guidelines 📚🧭 and responsible AI use 🤝🌠.

The rise of generative AI 📈🤖, like ChatGPT and Bard 🌟🔮, has disrupted the internet search paradigm 🌐🔍 and brought novel and unique responses to users 👩‍💻🎉. But with the increasing capabilities of AI, it’s becoming essential to prioritize responsible AI development ⚠️🌍.

We need to think about AI’s implications 🧠🔮 and ensure it’s developed responsibly 🌱🔄. With Hinton’s wake-up call ⏰🔔 and other industry leaders speaking out 🗣️💬, we need to ensure that AI is used ethically 🌟🕊️ and doesn’t cause chaos and disruption 🚫🌪️. Let’s hope the industry takes note 📝💡 and puts responsible AI development first 🥇🌈.

[comicaurora]

Question, from one aspiring writer to another: how do you manage to maintain the drive to keep writing and how do you not lose interest in what you've created before it's done? Asking because I need advice.

Tricky question. I don't think it has a single answer.

For me personally, there are a few things that buoy up my enthusiasm:

Rabbit Holes - random deep-dives into topics I find incredibly interesting. Because I have so many outlets for my rants about highly specific cool things, I don't need to stifle any random hyperfixations because almost all of them can be turned into scripts or worldbuilding concepts. If I feel the enthusiasm strike, I chase it down as far as I can and take as many notes as possible along the way. However, these things work like lightning strikes and I can't just get randomly super interested in any one thing. Almost all of my longform videos start out as these.

Comedic Reframing - the bread and butter of the channel and the lifehack that let my poor brain actually focus on extremely long and boring books through college. It's easier for me to retain information and enthusiasm if I can find humor in what I'm dealing with on a smaller scale. When working on illustrating videos, for instance, the way I avoid burning out on individual frames is by making sure they have witty dialogue or fun character moments, because I genuinely enjoy drawing those a lot more than just "character moves into position" or "scene change" shots. Same goes for the comic - the more dynamic or interesting the pose, the more interesting the panel is to draw and the easier it is for me to stay jazzed.

Audience Feedback - I feel like this part is simultaneously understated and overstated in different ways. Creating art solely for the accolades it might garner is seen as generally both gauche and inefficient - it'll turn into an existentially draining losing battle like all pursuit of fame for fame's sake does - but any writer or artist will tell you that people losing their minds over their art is the number one way to guarantee they want to make more art. When drawing the comic, even when I'm lower energy, I'll often think to myself "oh man, they're gonna be yelling about this panel" and that'll help give me a boost. Early on in the comic I read through the discord discussions almost every day, but now I'm mostly sustained just from people yelling in my askbox.

Letting The Characters Run Wild - I've mentioned this elsewhere, but one of the most fun parts of writing for me is when the characters kinda tap me on the shoulder and say "hey boss, I really wanna do this". Their character-moment is almost always spicier, more complicated and more interesting than whatever plot-serving guideline it's replacing. Making the characters act as automatons that solely move the plot forward is less interesting for me as a writer than turning them loose and seeing the havoc they cause. Before I ever put pen to paper for this story, half my fun would just be playing out extremely fraught conversations and encounters between characters - no script, no plan, just "here's the premise and GO." Lots of stories start out as daydreams, and daydreams are like the purest form of energizing creation, existing only for the joy of the creator and thus flowing almost effortlessly; I think it's important to retain the heart of that when the daydreams start being set down on paper. If it's not a little self-indulgent it's not gonna be too much fun, and sometimes all it takes is letting the characters do the wild thing with consequences you haven't fully worked out yet.

In my experience, the thing I enjoy most as a creator is solving puzzles. I have more fun writing my story when I only mostly know where it's going, and I have to work out the most interesting consequences to my characters' unexpected actions. I have more fun drawing out a joke if the punchline didn't even occur to me before I started the frame, because the idea is fresh and fun and hasn't gone stale from sitting in my head too long. And my enthusiasm for my older work is reinvigorated when I see how other people respond to it, because it lets me almost see my own work through fresh eyes, which is a rare treat for any creator.

And when I get really worn down, I treat that like a sign that something needs readjusting. I don't force it when I'm worn out or can't bear to look at my tablet - I step back, take a break, take a walk, indulge in Floor Time, watch a movie, buy a coffee, do something that isn't trying to floor the accelerator when I'm stuck in a creative snowdrift. Sometimes that means putting a project down for months. Sometimes that means realizing I wouldn't actually be able to make a project happen because it'd be draining my will to live the whole time.

I sometimes use the metaphor that a creator's mind is like a garden. Its works need to be cultivated, but sometimes they also need to be left alone, or maybe the soil needs to be actively left fallow for a while. It may look like the project isn't doing anything, when in actuality it's spreading its roots and developing a much more solid foundation where you can't see it. Maybe two concepts cross-pollinate in an unexpected way and you get a new third thing to cultivate. But the most important part of this metaphor is that the well-being of every individual thing growing in the garden is heavily dependent on the heart of the garden overall. If you aren't doing okay, your art isn't going to be okay either. If it's feeling like a fruitless and nothing is growing, you might just need rain. Or nitrogen-fixers.

[writing-with-olive]

As someone who is seeing a lot of people over the years get more and more comfortable posting all kinds of sensitive information about themselves online, PLEASE THINK ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS. Hopefully nothing happens, but also, not everyone moves through this world with good intentions.

Before you post ANYTHING, you need to ask yourself: "if someone wanted to hurt me, would this information help them to do it?" and if the answer is yes, especially if you do not need to post it. DO. NOT. POST. IT. PUBLICLY

This includes:

Your face. A lot of people have jobs (self employed or otherwise) that require you to show your face. If you can, consider wearing a mask or something so that you're not as easily recognizable

Any image or video that would put you in a compromising place legally or for getting a job. Recruiters often look at social media. Even if they're not looking at tumblr itself, media gets crossposted ALL THE TIME. Additionally, if you're in a legal situation, it is really easy for people to take things out of context to create a narrative.

Your general location. If you share that privately, that's one thing but the whole world does not need to see where you are. This includes your current school name or local landmarks. If someone wants to stalk you YAY now they've narrowed down your place of residence to a pretty small radius. Also, keep in mind that any pictures you post have a potential to give away where you are due to whatever's in the background

Related, your place of residence itself, including seemingly innocuous details. Sure, you may just be showing the building itself but not any details of where it's located, but if you're also posting a video of you walking around outside, and then perhaps a different video of you going into your apartment, and another one celebrating the view from your window, etc, now you've shown pretty much the exact route someone can follow you

Your triggers. Sometimes people like to raise awareness for mental disorders. Doing that is one thing, and it's pretty cool. Telling people exactly what it takes to screw you up without even needing to be with you in person isn't the way to go about it. If you are online, manage your own triggers: block/filter people/posts that are going to make you upset. If you need to ask people on a case by case basis to tag something so that you can filter it out if need be. No one is really going to look at your trigger list unless they want to do you harm. If you have an ask guidelines page, put something like "I'd rather not answer asks about x" but don't say that it's because it'll absolutely trash your mental state.

Date of birth. No random stranger, and I mean that. Needs to know your exact date of birth. This includes games like "the month and day of your birthday will tell you what your scary spooky ghost name would be." It's cute. It's also a way for people to get easier access to your personal information

Full name. Especially legal full name. Again. No random stranger needs it. That is a great way for people to stalk you elsewhere.

On that note. DO NOT BE POSTING OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. Anything government related, driver's license, passport, credit card, plane/train tickets, social security number, all of that. THAT IS NOT SOMETHING TO BE PUBLIC.

If you are a minor, please be extra extra careful.

[universitypenguin]

Author's Note: Here it is, the next installment! This is how my writing is going...

Me: I'm doing a short story.

Writing muse: You mean a novella?

Me: No, a short story.

Writing muse: Good talk. We're doing a novella.

It looks like there's more to this than originally planned. Buckle up for a nice little novella. Pray for me, so I don't turn this into a full length novel.

Tag List Note: If I missed anyone on the tag list at the end of the chapter, or you'd like to be added, reply to this post. I'd be happy add you!

Word Count: 3,812

Warnings: NSFW, 18+ with explicit language, discussion of - bondage, limits, sexual themes, and cuckolding activity.

Previous Chapters:

Restitution - Chapter One

Restitution - Chapter Two

- - - - -

Restitution - Chapter Three

It took ten minutes to sell Ari the painting. He didn’t quibble over the price and you pocketed fifty-five million in the easiest negotiation of your career. It was almost like he wanted to be up sold. He signed the agreement and called his bank while you contacted Annabelle to share the good news. When you mentioned the buyers wanted to take you to lunch to celebrate, she was gleeful. The chance to rub elbows with people who forked over millions for art was a chance no director turned their nose up at. Annabelle was chuckling at the museum’s good fortune when you wound down the call. Just as you were about to bid her goodbye, she made an insinuating comment about you marrying one of the buyers for his money.

“Do it for the arts! If we go into the red again, he can bail us out!”

“Goodbye, Belle. Have a nice meeting.”

The spa they took you to was a popular spot, housed in a hotel where one night cost what you spent on rent each month. You’d considered going there but hadn’t been able to afford the prices. And that was before Jackson had decimated your finances.

At the spa you were swept away to a private room and quickly realized the men had paid for the full package. Impressive. You didn’t want to be impressed by mobsters. But they were surprisingly generous, first with the painting and now expensive spa treatments. This almost felt like a lover was pampering you on a holiday, you thought after your mud body wrap was rinsed off. You followed a tech down the hall for your facial, and as serum was stroked into your skin, an uncomfortable thought occurred. This was the most thoughtful thing a man had ever done for you.

Your heart spasmed.

No, there was no need to wander down a path of self pity. It was amusing, you decided, pushing back the painful prickle of emotion. A pair of loan sharks were raising your standards. Or perhaps this was their boss’ handiwork. The third man, your mystery buyer, made you nervous. These men weren’t typical underworld characters if they paid fifty-five million cash for a single painting. Steve and Ari were connected to someone powerful. Related to him, actually. He was their brother.

“You’re all set for your manicure, dear. Then it’s off to your suite for lunch and a relaxing soak in the hot tub before your massage and pedicure.”

“That sounds awesome, thank you.”

You had no idea what she was talking about, but the words hot tub, massage, and pedicure meant a good time in your book. Then you remembered agreeing to talk about guidelines with the men and guessed they must have rented a room for privacy. When your nails were done, the tech walked you to the dressing room where a bag of clothing waited.

Inside was a bathing suit that resembled the one from the photograph in your living room. The one Ari must have seen while visiting Jackson. You put it on and covered the suit with the simple wrap dress. When you slid your feet into slides, you realized everything provided was from a brand you preferred. Had they researched you? No, that was outlandish. Who could get that kind of information? It must have been a lucky guess, or they’d pumped Jackson for information.

At the front desk, Steve was waiting. He escorted you up to a suite. When you saw Ari, salvia pooled in your mouth. He was shirtless, wearing swim trunks that fell to mid-thigh. An intriguing dusting of hair was concentrated over his pectorals and formed a thin trail down his stomach.

“How was the rest of your morning?” Ari asked.

“Lovely, thank you.”

A room service cart was waiting. You ate quietly, seated next to Steve with Ari across the makeshift table. They’d ordered for you. As with the clothes, it was a dish you typically ordered. They had to have done reconnaissance about your tastes with Jackson. It was a surprise to discover he’d known what you’d prefer. But then again, he’d been a great actor when he’d swept you off your feet. The unconscious act of piecing together the puzzling details about the day helped to soothe your nerves. You recognized how flustered you felt as your mind buzzed, picking apart every little thing.

Anxiety was festering in your belly. The proximity to both men in seclusion, given what you’d promised them, sparked an uncharacteristic apprehension in you. Most of the time you were in control. But the bargain you’d struck for revenge put Ari and Steve in the driver’s seat. This was unfamiliar to you, and not just because you’d be giving three strangers your body tonight.

This was crazy. You should seek mental health care. You were going to sleep with three men. One after another? Or all at once? Would they require that of you? The idea of what you’d promised them circled the edges of your mind. Ari pushed back from the table and stood.

“Why don’t we get in the hot tub?” he said.

“Go ahead. I’ll put the cart out in the hall,” Steve said.

Ari flashed you a smile. “I’ll go test the waters, sweetheart. Don’t be the last one in.”

He stretched, lifting his arms, drawing the skin of his abdomen taunt to reveal ridges of muscle. He grabbed a towel and headed for the balcony. When Ari was outside, Steve turned to you.

“Why are you uncomfortable?”

“I’m not, I’m fine.”

“You’re going to need to be honest if this is going to work out tonight,” Steve said.

You sighed. “I’m not sure why I’m nervous, okay?”

“Is it because you’re alone with us? Or because we’re going to start talking about sex?”

Your face heated. “Probably the second one.”

Steve smiled and held out his hand. Carefully, you laced your fingers with his and tilted your head back to look up at him. His eyes scanned your face, searching.

“Does this make you uncomfortable?”

“No, this is nice,” you said. He squeezed gently, stroking the pad of his thumb over the back of your hand.

“Good. How about we hop in with Ari? You two can sort out the details. He’s better with this kind of thing. Everyone says I’m the shy one of my family. Talking about sex when I’m not turned on isn’t the most comfortable experience for me, either. But it’s important, so we don’t hurt you, or cross any boundaries."

Your tension eased, marginally.

“Alright.”

Steve rolled the room service cart into the hall and you removed your dress. When you climbed into the hot tub across from Ari, Steve settled next to you, his heavy arm curving around your shoulders. You turned your back against his chest and sighed as he drew his arm around your ribs. You leaned into his embrace and let your cheek rest against his neck. A sigh of contentment passed your lips and you shut your eyes.

It didn’t matter that you’d only met Steve a few hours earlier. His arm was so strong and the feeling of security when he’d wrapped it around you made you melt. He felt solid and warm. Not just physically warm, but like he was one of those men who’d been born with a soft side and kept it past puberty. His lips pressed to your temple. You felt him smile.

“Comfortable, doll?”

“Mmmhm.”

The bubbling water was just right, not too hot. Steve nuzzled your hair and you curled into him. You had agreed to sleep with him. He owed you this snuggle.

“You two are feeling cozy,” Ari said.

Your eyes opened to see him sprawled on the opposite side of the tub. His arms were draped over the edge, emphasizing the broad muscles.

“Jealous?” Steve teased.

“I’ll have my turn,” Ari said, his smile widening.

“Are you ready to talk about tonight?” Steve asked.

“Sure.” You tried not to tense up, but you did.

Steve spread his hand on your belly and stroked.

“Have you ever had multiple partners at the same time?” Ari asked.

“No.”

“Have you ever done bondage?”

You shrugged. “Full on hard BDSM stuff, no. I’ve had my hands tied and I’ve been spanked. But nothing hard core.”

“You’re familiar with the red, yellow, green system?” Ari asked.

“I’ve used red and green.”

“Yellow means slow down. It’s your signal to us that you need a check in.”

You nodded. “Okay.”

“Do you have any hard limits I should know about up front?”

“Uh… I’m not sure?”

“For example, do you want to try nipple clamps?”

You winced, but the idea was intriguing. “Not tonight.”

Ari nodded. “That would be a soft limit. You’re not ready for it right now, but it’s not a hard pass. I'll save it for later.”

There wouldn’t be a later, but you didn’t point that out.

“Sure.”

“What about spanking?” Steve asked.

“I enjoy some, but I’ve never gone hard enough to be left with bruises.”

“Noted,” Ari said. “Butt plugs? Anal sex? Flogging?”

“I’ve never done any kind of butt play. And I’m not into flogging. Hard pass.”

“Not my scene either,” Steve murmured when you rejected the idea of being beaten.

Across from you Ari shot an amused look at his brother. “That’s one of Steve’s turn offs.”

You glanced up at Steve. He lifted a broad shoulder, giving a sweet half smile.

“What are your limits? Can I ask that?” you said.

Steve’s baby blue eyes went soft. “Yes, you can. I appreciate it. I’m not much for the rougher side of sex. Ari and the boss tend to swing a little more that way. For me, clamps of any kind, metal handcuffs, gagging, that’s not my scene. I’m partial to spanking, as long as I’m getting a pleasurable response, but I don’t punish with spanking. Beating of any kind is off the table and bruises are a hard limit.”

You looked at Ari. “What are your limits?”

“No breath play, but that’s a soft limit. If you enjoy it, I’ll participate. Major sadistic stuff and humiliation is a hard limit. Seeing a woman in pain is an erection killer for me. I don’t mind clamps or metal cuffs. Gags can be fun, but I don’t use them often. Being called ‘master’ is weird for me and I hate it. When you’re underneath me, I want to hear my name and that’s it.”

Your lips twitched. He made a solid point.

“I enjoy a nice bondage scene when I’m in the mood,” Ari said. “But seventy-five percent of the time I’m into vanilla sex. Bondage is to spice things up and add intensity.”

“Do you want to restrain me?”

Ari shrugged. “We don’t know exactly where the night will take us. Knowing your likes and dislikes is important when we don’t have shared experience. I want to get a complete picture of your tastes. We don’t have to do bondage to need a discussion about limits.”

“In a way, this is going to be a power dynamic like bondage,” Steve said. “With Jackson watching, we need you to be comfortable enough to stop the scene.”

“What are you planning?”

“So far? A light spanking to tease you is definitely on the agenda. Let’s talk about past experience,” Ari said. “What’s the best orgasm you’ve ever had?”

Your face heated in response to his bluntness.

“My college boyfriend liked to give oral and he was good at it. He edged me one time and I nearly passed out when I came.”

Ari smirked. “Receiving oral is on the table, I take it?”

“Yes.”

Steve tightened his arm around your ribs. “How do you like it?”

Your tongue turned into a knot and your jaw dropped. Words deserted you. His tone was carnal, hungry, and it shot straight to your core.

“Save a little mystery, Steve. We’ll find out tonight,” Ari said.

The blond chuckled. “Fine. How about anal? You’ve never tried it, but is that a hard pass or not?”

Your body had a ready answer. Against the material of your bathing suit, your nipples pebbled in spite of the heated water. You felt your breasts grow heavy and shifted nervously, uncomfortable with the sudden feeling of arousal.

Steve pulled you close to his chest. His big hand stroked to calm you.

“If it’s off the table, that’s fine. We’re genuinely asking and we’d accept no without a question, okay?”

“Give her a chance to speak,” Ari said.

His deep blue eyes glinted with knowledge and his gaze dipped to the front of your swimsuit.

“I’m interested in anal, but I haven’t had the right partner to try it with.”

“Okay,” Steve said. He couldn't hide the relief in his voice.

“You want that tonight?”

Ari nodded. “It’s up to you. But if you’re looking for the right partner, I assure you we’re up to the challenge.”

“What about pain?” you asked.

“I’m definitely not a sadist,” Ari said, his mouth twisting in disgust. “You heard my limits. I promise, we’re not going to hurt you, just the opposite.”

“I meant for anal,” you said. “I’m curious about it, but I don’t know if I’m ready.”

Ari’s expression cleared. “Right. Lubricant is extremely important. And you can’t just dive in. We’d relax you with orgasms, a round or two with both of us. Then we’d try a butt plug. That alone might be all we work up to. If you’re enjoying it, let me know. I’ll be happy to oblige. The red, yellow, green system would be in effect.”

Steve pressed his lips to your temple. “I’m going to warn you that I’m not a small man… particularly not under the belt. So if you don’t want anal with me, no hard feelings.”

You tilted your head back to study him, then shrugged.

“Why don’t we see how it goes?”

Ari’s grin was wicked. “That’s a yes?”

“I’ll try it.”

“One other important question is about being filmed,” Ari said.

“No. Hard pass,” you said, answering almost before Ari had finished asking.

Ari flicked a glance at Steve. “No recording, then?”

“What am I, a pornstar? No way. I can’t let a tape like that exist.”

“What about being watched on camera, as long as it’s not recording?”

“I thought you wanted Jackson in the room?”

“He will be. But the boss is arriving late, after we intend to get started. He’s coming back from a business trip and wants to watch the three of us. The feed would be live and unrecorded.”

“When are you expecting him?”

“Ten-thirty or eleven. What do you say? Discrete cameras, live and unrecorded, streamed to a secure iPad? Is that okay?”

“Unrecorded, I’m willing to trust you about. But will it be secure?”

“We’re not small-time criminals,” Steve said. “It will be a secure line.”

“Alright. But I want to see the set up beforehand and know where the cameras are.”

“That’s fine,” Ari said. “What about restraints? Do you mind handcuffs?”

They ran through a few other kinks, types of praises you enjoyed or didn’t, and what you liked for aftercare. Steve volunteered to spend the night with you and Ari offered to make breakfast the next morning. You were firm in your insistence that once the scene was over, you had the option to leave. Neither of the brothers were happy to lose that negotiation. Steve tried to entice you with promises of a post scene massage, hours of cuddling, and bubble baths with rose petals. You didn’t budge.

It was a boundary you needed, you decided as you stepped into the elevator to return to the spa. This wasn’t a romance. Steve was a gentleman and Ari was a wicked ladies’ man. You’d felt your heart soften at Steve’s cautious boundaries and melted at his shyness. He was polite and sensitive. With a steel core of intense protectiveness at the heart of him. He’d never harm a lover, physically or emotionally. Ari was bold and had a streak of wildness that made you want to crawl in his lap and ride him to find out just how fierce of a lover he could be. But he was a pleaser the same way Steve was - his soft limits spoke volumes. If you wanted him to choke you, he’d do it for your enjoyment. He was a man who’d take care of a woman’s every need, no matter what.

They would respect your limits and you decided to set a private limit of your own. You’d keep your heart out of their hands. Knowing the men and feeling secure with them was a necessity. But your emotions had spilled over during the conversation - not a lot, but enough to worry you. Whatever happened, you wouldn’t let your judgement be compromised by feelings.

As the technician worked on your toes, your mind drifted to the only question remaining. Who was the boss, your mystery buyer? You wondered, your mind drifting as your feet were massaged. No clear picture would form in your head of the unknown mobster you’d meet in a few hours. The memory Ari had brought up of your best orgasm had your thoughts straying, going back in time, to old heartaches.

Andrew Barber was the first man you’d loved, and the last. College had been a wild time for you, sexually, but everything had happened in the confines of a monogamous relationship. It was the happiest time of your life. You’d loved Andy so much it still hurt, even years later, to think about him. His abrupt disappearance from your life had been a blow you’d never seen coming. Since then you’d lost your sense of trust, not only in men, but in everyone. He’d pulled the rug out from under you so fast the experience had shaken you to the heart. There’d never been closure. He’d said his family was making him leave and refused to explain further. What he’d made perfectly clear was that you’d never see him again. Then he’d vanished. Years had gone by, but the event hadn’t lost its peculiarity. Until the day he’d broken things off, Andy had barely mentioned his family. Scarcely a word had been spoken about them during the three and a half years you’d spent together. All you could remember was him saying his parents were toxic, and his siblings were the only family he needed.

You shook off the thoughts. There were so many unanswered questions left in Andy’s wake that thinking about them could leave you spinning in circles for hours. It was better not to go there. Instead, you decided to focus on Steve and Ari. You were about to have the best sex of your life. That orgasm from Andy?

It would pale in comparison to what you’d be having tonight.

The short hem of the cocktail dress placed your legs on prominent display. You waited in the lobby of Ari and Steve’s building, watching for Jackson. The spa had given you a minor makeover with hair and makeup, the results of which were worth every dime. You looked spectacular. Steve and Ari had made certain you knew it without a shadow of doubt before you’d come down.

Your boyfriend walked in, looked around and gawked when he saw you.

“Damn, you look hot.”

Jackson ran his eyes up your body like your efforts were intended for him.

“Whatever.”

You stood up and moved to put more space between you and him.

“Where are we supposed to go?” Jackson asked.

“They gave me a key. Come on.”

The keycard opened a private elevator to the penthouse.

“Thanks for doing this for me,” he said.

In the background, the elevator quietly hummed its ascent. You fixed your eyes straight ahead and didn’t reply.

“It’ll be fine, you know?” Jackson’s voice was strung with nerves.

It appeared Ari and Steve had the right idea. He was like a cat on a hot tin roof.

You fuck up my credit, I fuck up your masculinity.

The elevator chimed and the doors slid open to reveal Ari. He was draped over a sofa in the living room, looking like a predator lying in wait. His long legs were stretched out and his suit jacket had been discarded. He’d turned up his sleeves and opened another button on his collar. A little of his chest hair peaked out.

Ari didn’t stand in greeting as Jackson approached with you. He didn’t glance towards the gambler, but kept his eyes on you.

“Jackson. I see you’ve brought me someone. Hello, sweetheart.”

“Ah, yeah. This is Y/N, my girlfriend. Y/N, this is Ari.”

Ari stood up when your boyfriend nudged you in his direction. He towered over you, despite your stiletto heels. His eyes glowed with hunger.

The big man pulled you into his arms. Then his mouth covered yours, hot and hard. A firm hand on the back of your head held you still as he thrust his tongue into your mouth. You grasped his shoulders for balance as the kiss turned your knees weak. He didn’t let up, taking the kiss even deeper when you moaned.

“Okay, let her breathe, Ari. She doesn’t like her face being eaten off.”

Jackson sounded pissed.

You smiled against Ari’s mouth as he pulled back a tiny bit. He curled his hands around your waist, cinching you tight against him.

“Do you not like kissing me, sweetheart?”

You linked your arms around his neck. “Mmmhh. We should keep going and then see what I think.”

He chuckled and slanted a glance towards Jackson. Then his mouth was on yours again. He flicked his tongue, nipped at your lips, stroked and teased until you sagged in his arms. Ari broke the kiss, leaving you panting. He held you tight, taking most of your weight as your legs had taken on the consistency of gelatin.

“Okay, honey. What’s the verdict? Do you like kissing me?”

“Yes, Ari. I like it a lot.”

Heat flared in his sapphire irises. Placing a finger under your chin, he turned you towards Jackson. Ari pressed his lips to your temple and ran his free hand down your side, keeping the other on your face. Jackson stared at the hand stroking over your body. He went rigid when Ari cupped your breast. You arched into the touch. He purred, rubbing his thumb over your nipple.

“Good girl. Tell Jackson. Tell him what you like.”

“I like Ari kissing me.”

Jackson flushed, but said nothing.

“Sit down, Jack,” Ari said. “Get comfortable. It’s going to be a long night.”

- - - - -

Restitution - Chapter Four

- - - - -

My Complete Works: Masterlist

- - - - -

Tag List: @ms-betsy-fangirl @albinotigerpython @belova-drysdale-rogers @dumb-ass-writer @mansaaay @mylifeasltd8 @i-have-a-wonky-eye-too @louisetheblue @r2gers @amelia-song-pond @another-tblr-fangirl @wintersplum17 @dontbescaredtosingalong @patzammit

[serendipitous-magic]

What is your writing advice for young people who want to write fanfiction and original stories in the near future?

If this is just Way Too Much, skip to the end (#16). My most important piece of advice is there. I also happen to think #5 is pretty good.

-_-_-_-

1) Literally just write. Write whatever you want, and do a lot of it.

_-_

2) You don’t have to post everything. In fact you don’t have to post anything. You can, don’t get me wrong, but it can be intimidating to sit down and think “I will now write something that other people will see and read and judge with their eyeballs.” Because that’s probably gonna lead to nerves and writer's block. Just write down the ideas that you have, the things you want to write, whatever’s in your brain that you want to explore and expand upon and make into something. And then if you want to, share it. Or don’t share it. I have plenty of half-baked ideas and documents and random story chapters and shit hidden away on my Google Drive that will never see the light of day, for a whole number of reasons. I wanted to write it but it wasn’t ~Spicy~ enough to warrant posting, or it’s only like an eighth of a good idea, or it’s like one scene with no story around it, or it’s just something incredibly self-indulgent I just wanted to write for my own enjoyment.

Point being, don’t write for other people. Don’t write so that other people can read it; write what you want, write for yourself, and then if you want to share it, do.

_-_

3) You can pretty much ignore any and all of these for fanfiction. In fact, you can ignore pretty much any rules or guidelines you want for fanfiction. Fanfic is a sandbox. You don’t have to be a “professional writer” to post fic. No one expects you to be Stephen King or Margaret Atwood. Fanfic is just for playing in a fandom and having fun. If you wanna write a 50 chapter slow burn with very little plot aside from the OTP slowly getting to know each other, and no real stakes or central conflict, I guarantee people would read that. Really, fanfiction is the Old West of writing: lawless, wild, unpredictable, and free.

However, here are the rules you must follow:

-Separate your paragraphs. (I’m sure you know this already, but I’m gonna say it anyway just in case.) Do not post one big block of text. Make a paragraph break when someone new is talking, when the characters are in a new place, when a new event occurs that changes the scene, when a chunk of time has passed, and when there’s a major change in subject.

-I know it’s obvious, but... grammar, punctuation, and capitalization. They exist to make writing easy for readers to read, and more people will read your stuff if they don’t have to stop and try to figure out what you meant.

-Use tags and labels, as is possible with whatever site you’re using. Especially if you include possibly triggering content in your story. Again, I know it’s obvious, but it’s common courtesy. Bonus: tagging the themes and content of your story helps readers find it and read it :)

-If possible, limit the use of all-caps and exclamation marks / question marks. 99% of the time, one ! or one ? will do. If you overload the page with a lot of all-caps and long rows of exclamation marks or question marks, it hampers readability.

... That’s literally all I can think of. And, like I said, it’s all pretty basic stuff. You were probably rolling your eyes like, “Uh, yeah, Gwen, I know.” But that’s literally it. You can pretty much do whatever you want in fanfic.

That being said, here’s my advice for both fanfiction and original work...

_-_

4) A quick and dirty rule for coming up with a plot, starting a story, keeping up pacing, or maintaining tension: figure out what dreams, desires, and goals are nearest and dearest to your main character’s heart (see #16). Then set up the main conflict to be directly in opposition to that goal. It doesn’t have to be in a tangible way, though it could be. But, if your main character wants more than anything to reach the ships on the southern coast of your world and sail to a new life, make sure the main conflict immediately prevents them from doing that - in fact, make sure to send them north. If your main character just wants to keep their loved ones safe, kidnap the loved ones. If your main character just wants to date their best-friend-turned-crush, make sure they think they have no chance - or, make them cocky about it, and make sure it makes Person B determined not to ever like them. You get it. Figure out what your character most wants, and then keep them from having that. Boom - your conflict now ties in with your character's motivation. It's like instant yeast for plots.

_-_

5) If you’re anything like me, you want your first draft to be Good, despite all that advice about how the first draft doesn’t have to be good and it’s just to get words on the page, yadda yadda. And if you’re somewhat of a perfectionist (like myself), it’s easy to get stuck looking at a blank page because you don’t have The Perfect Words, and you want what you write to be Good the first time.

Here’s how I cheat that:

Instead of trying to write a Good First Draft from a blank page, hit the enter key a few times, skip a little down on the page, change your ink to red (or blue, or whatever - just something immediately identifiable as Not Black) and just thought vomit. Write whatever the hell you’re thinking, exactly as you think it. Don’t worry about it being readable, don’t worry about narrative flow for now, don’t worry about covering all the details, don’t worry about anything except either a) getting all the details of your idea out onto the page, whether that’s a lot or whether it’s just a sentence or two, or b) if you don’t have an idea yet, finding your way there.

Because this method is also very good for finding your way to ideas when you’re stuck in writer’s block.

Because of how human brains work, getting this stuff out onto the page - in all its messy, stream-of-consciousness glory - will likely spark more thoughts. As you write your original idea about the scene, it’ll likely spark more ideas. Creation begets creation. If you just start thought-vomiting your ideas onto the page, chances are you’ll think of more things as you go, and you’ll start filling out description or dialogue or tone or action or whatever, and pretty soon the scene starts writing itself.

Not sure where you’re going with the scene or which ideas you wanna use? Use a lot of ambivalent language in your “thought-vomit draft.” My pre-writing notes are chock-full of the words “maybe,” “perhaps,” and the phrases, “At some point...” and “...or something like that.” In this way, I don’t tie myself down to one idea; it’s just an idea, and I’m keeping it on the page in case I use it, but I might chuck it in the trash or change it or whatever.

And then, once your ideas for the scene (or story, or chapter, or whatever) are on the page, then go back to the top and start translating them into a “real” first draft. Use black ink, and start copy-pasting chunks of the thought-vomit up into the top part of the document and translating them into Draft 1. Separate out paragraphs where paragraph breaks should be. Add the correct punctuation and whatnot. Change “describe the lobby here - include potted plants, fancy carpet, blood stain, etc.” into an actual description of the lobby. Flesh it out, or condense, or whatever it needs. And if you’re still stuck, change back to red ink and ramble some more until you find a path that feels right, then plug that in. This keeps you from looking at a blank page, and it allows you to generate a kind of Draft 0.5, somewhere between a plan and a first draft.

You don’t have to use every idea. Like I said, jot down whatever comes to mind, put a “maybe” before or after it, and keep working. If the idea grabs you and you wanna keep expanding on it and exploring it, cool. If you just wanna jot it down so you don’t forget it and then move on, also cool. Red-ink draft / “thought-vomit draft” is your time to jump around in the timeline, add or finesse details at whatever point your brain moves to, etc. Don’t try to do it exactly in story order, because you will get tangential thoughts and ideas, and you will not remember to write them down five pages later when you finally get to taking notes on that scene. Trust me. On that note...

_-_

6) Write everything down the moment you think of it. Seriously.

“I’ll remember it when I get around to writing that scene in a couple days / weeks / months (/years).”

You won’t.

Write it down.

Phone, journal, google docs - hell, my family regularly laughs at me for grabbing a napkin during dinner and scribbling thoughts down alongside pasta sauce stains.

And then, once you have it written down somewhere...

_-_

7) Consolidate your writing ideas in one place.

Maybe this isn’t really your style, and that’s totally chill.

Buuuut, if you’re Type-A like me - or if you tend to be somewhat unorganized and you know you’ll lose track of your writing notes if they’re scattered across multiple notebooks, journals, napkins, phone notes, etc. - having one consolidated document of notes is a life saver. I keep mine on Google Docs so I can access it, add to it, and look through it for inspiration anywhere at any time. When I have one of those Shower Thoughts that I jot down on my phone or on a napkin during dinner, I set myself a reminder on my phone to type it up in my Story Ideas document later.

(Or, if the idea I had was for a story of mine that I’ve already started planning / drafting / whatever, I put it in the document for that story instead of the Big Random Story Ideas doc. You get it.)

_-_

8) Have other ways to collect and save writing ideas, besides just writing stuff down. If you like Pinterest, make pinterest boards of your characters or stories or settings or whatever. If you’re big into playlists, make a playlist for your character / setting / story / etc. Or both. Or something else. I’m not good at drawing, but maybe you are, and maybe you like to draw your ideas. Whatever form it takes, having another way to save ideas and think about your stories is invaluable.

_-_

9) Some writers can just start writing with no idea where the story is going, and they just kind of figure it out as they go. I envy those writers. And I do that sometimes for fanfiction, where the stakes are somewhat lower and the audience is reading more for scene-to-scene enjoyment (and to see their OTP kiss) than for a Driving And Compelling Narrative.

But here’s the thing: especially if you’re just kind of starting out, writing without some sort of plan is really, really hard, and will likely lead you into a slow, meandering narrative that will likely frustrate you.

Even if you think you’re someone that just can’t write with a plan (and again, I have the highest respect for pansters out there - I don’t know how you do it, you crazy bastards, but you keep doing you) - even if you think “I can’t work with plans, they’re too prescriptive, I just want to write and see what happens -”

Try at least making the most skeletal of plans.

Even if you have no clue what 90% of the story is, yet. That’s fine. But you need to have some idea of what you’re building to, even if that’s nothing more specific than a feeling, or a turning point for your character. Even if your entire plan for everything beyond Chapter 1 is, “At some point, Charlie needs to realize that Ed was lying to her.”

This is where those Draft 0.5 notes come in handy. Because, more than likely, working on your current scene that way will spark ideas for later scenes, which you can put down at the bottom of the document and save for when they become relevant. In my experience, the line between planning ahead and making a Draft 0.5 is exceptionally thin. One can quickly turn into the other.

If you’re really, really resistant to the idea of planning ahead, that’s okay. It’s not everybody’s style. But for the love of all that is holy, write down your ideas for future scenes, even if you’re a person that doesn’t like to plan and writes only in story order, because you will not remember that idea once you get to that scene.

_-_

10) You don’t have to write in order.

Here’s the thing: I’m a person that can only do my Draft 1 in story order (meaning, chronological order). I just have to be in that flow; I need to write in story order for me to best channel where the character is at from scene to scene, both narratively and emotionally.

But my Thought Vomit Draft is another thing entirely. By using the brain hack of putting my notes in red (or another color, it doesn’t matter) and going down to the bottom of the document / page and taking notes there, and then integrating them into whatever plan I have, and then translating them into Draft 1 once I get there in the story - by doing that, I can get my good ideas onto the page (and expound upon them and let my muse carry me and ride that momentum while I’m in the moment of inspiration) without writing out of order.

Maybe that’s just me. But if you’re a person who really prefers to write in story order, that could be hugely helpful to you. It is to me.

_-_

11) Emotion and motivation will do more for your story than technicalities of plot.

If your characters really care about something, and their journey through the (shaky or weak) plot is emotionally engaging, it will be a much more compelling story than a story with a “perfect” plot and unrelatable or unmotivated characters.

If your characters care about what they’re doing, and it means something to them, and their goals and actions are driven by dreams or fears or emotions that are integral to who they are, your audience will care too. If you have a perfectly crafted plot that hits all the right beats and has high stakes and fast pacing and drama - but your characters don’t connect with what’s happening in a way that’s deeply meaningful or emotional for them? You’re gonna have a hard time engaging readers.

When in doubt, prioritize character emotion and motivation over plot. Emotion is what drives story.

This power is highly exploitable. (Just look at pulp novels and shitty but entertaining movies.) You can even use it to glaze over plot holes or reinvigorate a limp narrative. Use it that way sparingly, though. It’s a band-aid, not a surgery. 

_-_

12) Evil villains are hard to write - mostly because there are very few truly evil people in the world. (There are a few. Billionaires and several big name politicians come to mind.) But by and large, there aren’t that many evil people. There are plenty of bad people, but bad people have some good in them, somewhere in there. Trying to write an evil villain is hard, because they often turn very cartoony.

Here’s a tip: it’s much easier to write antagonists who aren’t evil. Even if they’re bad people. Of course, there’s no reason you can’t write a villain that’s just truly evil - a serial killer, or an abuser, or a billionaire, or someone who legit just wants to hurt people or blow up the earth or stay in control of an oppressed population, or whatever. But chances are, it’s gonna be really hard to make them feel real, and even harder to create a plot around them that doesn’t feel forced or contrived.

Instead, try writing an antagonist / villain whose motivations and goals directly clash with your protagonist’s - but not because they want to take over the world or see people suffer. Write an antagonist who’s chaotic good, but whose perception of the situation is completely opposite from your hero’s. Write an antagonist whose only desire is to save people, and who will do anything to achieve that goal - anything. Write an antagonist who believes in the letter of the law, and will hinder and oppose the hero’s methods even if they agree with the hero’s motivation. Write an antagonist who got in way over their head and did some things they regret, and now they don’t know how to get out, and they’re doing their best but whatever they set in motion is too powerful for them to stop now.

Write villains who are human. Write a killer who thought they were doing the right thing by taking their victim out of the equation, who vomits at the sight of the body and sobs over the grave they dig. Write a government leader who truly believes she’s doing what’s best for her people in the long-term, even if it might hurt them in the short term, and is willing to endure the hatred and belligerence of the masses if it means securing what she thinks is a better future for her people. Write a teenage bully that thinks they’re the one being picked on by the world, and they’re just fighting back, standing their ground. Write a scientist who will break any code of ethics and hurt anyone he needs to - in order to bring back his baby sister from the grave, because he promised her he’d protect her and he failed. Write an antagonist who is selfish and self-centered and capricious - because in order to survive they had to look out for Number One, and that habit ain’t about to break anytime soon.

Write villains who aren’t even villains. Write antagonists who oppose the hero because of moral differences. Write antagonists who are trying to do the right thing. Write antagonists who treat the heroes with kindness and dignity and respect and gentleness.

They don’t have to be good. They don’t have to be Misunderstood Sweethearts who “deserve” a redemption arc. They can be cruel and nasty and dismissive and callous and violent and etc. etc.

Just hesitate before you make them Evil-with-a-capital-E. Because evil is hard to write, and honestly, boring to read. Flawed human beings with goals and motivations that directly oppose the main characters’ are much easier to write and much more interesting to read.

Ask why. Why is your villain trying to take over the world? What does that even mean? Are they trying to create a Star-Trek-like post-capitalism utopia, but they know that won’t happen in a million lifetimes, so they’re trying to do it by force? Are they actually super in favor of human rights, but they got very impatient waiting for the world to do anything about poverty and war, so they decided to take it into their own hands? Are they determined to fix the world - no matter the cost? Are they terrified and overwhelmed, but committed to see it through to the end? Or - maybe they’re just doing it on a dare. Maybe they don’t really give a shit about world domination, they were just a mediocre rich white guy who decided to fuck around and find out, and now he’s kind of curious how far he can take this thing. And now he’s kind of an internationally-wanted criminal, so he’s kind of stuck living on his hidden private island in his multi-billion dollar secret base, strapping lasers to sharks’ heads for the hell of it. Gross, selfish, uncaring, and dangerous? For sure. Evil? Depends on your definition. See, now we’re getting somewhere.

_-_

13) It’s tempting to let the plot control the characters. It’s easy to drop your characters into a situation and see how they react. But here’s the thing: that doesn’t drive plot. In fact, it bogs down pacing. Instead, try to build you plot off of your characters’ actions and decisions. Let your character build their own situation. Not to say it should go they way they wanted it to go; in fact, usually, their grand plans should go to hell very quickly. But having the characters take action and make decisions, and letting the plot develop based on that, is much easier to make compelling than making a rigid series of events and then trying to herd your characters into them.

_-_

14) Having trouble justifying a character’s actions? Consider having them make the opposite decision, or having them approach the situation in a different way. For example: you need your character to go meet the bad guy, for plot reasons, even though there’s no way it’s not a trap. If the character goes, readers are gonna be groaning with their head in their hands, because c’mon man, that was really fucking stupid. But he’s gotta go, because the plot needs that. Two ways you might handle this: a) He knows it’s probably a trap. He decides not to go. The plot conspires to get him near the villain anyway. Or, b) He knows it’s a trap. But he needs to go, for (insert reasons here). So, he approaches it in an unexpected way. He brings backup, recruiting a side character we met earlier in the story. Or he arrives on the back of a dragon, because ain’t nobody gonna fuck with a dude on a dragon. Or he goes - early, and ambushes the villain. It may work, it may not. He may get himself kidnapped anyway. But it moves the plot along without having Stupid Hero Syndrome.

_-_

15) This is a legit piece of advice: if all of this sounds overwhelming, literally just ignore it and write what you want. For real. Writing should be fun, and every single writer operates differently. If you’re sitting here like “I’m getting stressed just reading this,” just flip me a good-natured bird and get on with your life. I promise I won’t take it personally. Same goes for literally any other writing advice you see. Lots of rules and guidelines can very quickly make anything thoroughly un-fun. Just write. If you’re passionate about it and you do it for long enough, you’ll start figuring out the tips and tricks on your own.

_-_

16) Here’s the best piece of advice I can give you: know your characters. More importantly, know what’s important to them. Build their personality and decisions off of that, and build your plot off of their decisions.

I see a lot of character building sheets that ask a shit-ton of questions like “What’s their most prized possession?” “Do they like their family?” “What’s their favorite food?”

And while these are good questions, my problem with this type of character building is that if you start there, with the little stuff, you’re building on nothing. IMO, to make a truly strong character (not strong like Inner Strength, strong like effective), you need a strong foundation.

Here are the things you must know about your character:

a) What are their greatest fears / deepest insecurities? And I don’t mean “wasps” or “heights.” I mean the deep shit. I mean fears like “living a meaningless life,” or “turning out just like their parents,” or “that no one will ever love them,” or “being powerless.” You may say, “But they’re really scared of wasps! They fall into a wasp nest when they were little and got stung so much they almost died!” Great! That’s a fantastic bit of backstory. They should absolutely be afraid of wasps, and that should absolutely be an impediment later in the story. But dig deeper. What about that event actually scarred them? Was it the helplessness? Stumbling around, swatting at the air, not being able to do a single thing to stop what was happening to them? Was it that they were alone, and no matter how loud they screamed, no one was coming? Was it the bodily horror of feeling themself turn into an inhuman creature as they swelled up from the stings, unable to move their fingers or face normally anymore?

And don’t forget insecurities, because those factor in, too. Are they deeply insecure about their identity? Do they believe, deep down, that they’re ugly? Did they grow up poor and they’ve always been really touchy about that? Why? Dig deep. Figure out what really, really bothers them.

b) What are their hopes and dreams? What do they truly want out of life? What do they consider the most valuable to their experience here in this thing called life? Is it the freedom to forge their own path and be independent? Is it the approval of their family or peers? Is it a home? Is it knowledge, or understanding? Spiritual fulfillment? Is it deeply important to them that they contribute to their community, or protect those they love? What do they need in order to feel truly and deeply fulfilled in life?

Figure out those two things (each one encompasses several things, btw, you don’t have to stop at just one for each), and then use that to inform how they behave and the types of decisions they make within the story. 

It also informs character behavior and personality. 

Let’s say we have a character who’s afraid of helplessness. They’re probably gonna be the person that always wants to do something, try something, no matter how hopeless the situation seems. They’d despise just sitting and waiting, probably, because it makes them feel powerless. They might even be the person that makes rash decisions and acts impulsively and puts themself in danger unnecessarily, because in their mind it’s better than being at the mercy of fate. This is one way you could use a character’s personality to inform their decisions, which in turn helps to inform plot.

Or, let’s say we have a character whose greatest fear is being left behind or forgotten. We may have a chatterbox on our hands. They might be obnoxious. They might love the spotlight, constantly vying for attention no matter the situation, because deep down they’re so afraid that they’d be forgotten otherwise. Or, it may go the opposite way. They may be so afraid of people leaving them that they’re terrified of bothering people. They don’t want to do anything that could annoy people, anything that might give people a reason to leave them. They might be exceedingly polite, quiet, accommodating. A push-over, really.

These are two nearly opposite types of personalities, both stemming from the same core fear/insecurity. You can go a lot of different ways with it. But if you build on that strong foundation, you’ll have a strong character, and a stronger plot.

Likewise, the structure of your story can and should inform the design of these character traits. If you need your characters to team up near the end, it may be impactful if you give your main character a deep fear of commitment, an insecurity about being unwanted or left behind, and make them highly value independence and freedom. That could make their team-up for the final battle very meaningful. Conversely, you can use your character’s deepest fears and desires to help design the plot. Is your character deeply insecure about voicing their opinions or taking a stand, because of trauma they faced in the past? Make them face that. Build that into the climactic third act. Give them the big inspirational speech where they stand up and talk about what they believe to be important, what they think the group should do. And then design that character arc to run through the story, giving you more handholds and stepping stones, more pieces of foundation on which to design the plot.

In this way, character should inform story as much as story informs character. It’s a feedback loop.

Bonus: if you build your character and your plot off of each other in this way, it automatically starts to build in the foundations of that emotional investment I mentioned earlier. If your character’s decisions are based on what they most want and do not want in life, you basically have your character motivation and stakes pre-built.

Note: you need to know these things about your villain, too.

-_-_-

I’m genuinely sorry about the length of this, lmao. But you did ask.

Best of luck!

Edit: I forgot an important one:

17) Start when the scene starts and end when the scene ends.

What do I mean by that?

If your notes say “Danny asks Nicole out after school and majorly flubs it,” start the scene when Danny approaches Nicole after school. Better yet, cold-open the scene on “I was wondering if, you know, you’d wanna. You know. Hang out some time?”

Don’t start that morning when Danny goes to school, unless you’re gonna cover the school day in like one or two sentences. Don’t spend whole paragraphs going through the school day, unless it’s to cover other plot points first (in which case apply these same guidelines there), or if the paragraphs are there for a specific reason, like to illustrate how stressed he is and how it seems like every little thing is going wrong. Even then, trim the fat as much as possible. Expounding and describing everything Moment-to-moment is for the meat of the scenes, not the leading-up-to and coming-away-from.

Here’s my rule of thumb: study how and when movies cut from scene to scene. Movies have exceptionally strict, limited time for storytelling; they’re excellent examples of starting a scene when the plot point starts and ending when it’s over. If you can’t picture a movie showing everything you showed, start the scene later and end it earlier.

[reyski]

Heya Reyyy, I hope you're doing well! May I request headcanons for Alluka and Killua having an older sibling reader who is extremely protective of them? Meaning they'd literally kill anyone who dares lay a finger on the two. I hope this isn't too un-specific, do feel free to ignore this, have a great day :)<3

hi!! i am doing pretty well thanks for asking <33 and thank you for the request

i decided to make the reader more of an adoptive older sibling if you dont mind!

killua and alluka with a protective reader

pairing: killua x sibling reader, alluka x sibling reader

media: hunter x hunter

content warnings: maybe some angst :>

notes: reader has nen abilities

killua

➵ after spending years being abused and manipulated by his older brothers, especially illumi, into thinking that the kind of ‘protectiveness’ that they were expressing was love, having you was a breath of fresh air. 

➵ killua had thought that he hated being looked after, or taken care of by others, but in reality he just needed a healthy and loving relationship. 

➵ it was hard for him to come to terms with the fact that you were protective of him, and loved him, without expecting anything in return. you weren’t demanding of him and your love was not conditional. 

➵ honestly he gets super attached, once you start showing him healthy affection and protectiveness he latches on at the hip and never leaves you alone. 

➵ the first time he sees you truly stand up for him he’s actually really taken aback, used to fighting his own battles. he’s a little shocked and doesn’t know what to say or do as a ‘thank you’ until you tell him that there’s no need for him to thank you, that you want to protect him. 

➵ after a while though, killua gets used to the nature of your relationship and just stands behind you as you chew out people. while many of these occurrences aren’t really dire, and surely killua would be able to get out of them on his own, he just really likes seeing you taking action for him. 

➵ though, when it comes to actual fighting killua will not hesitate to take the reigns, honestly he’s used to putting his life on the line for his loved ones. however, after seeing you jump into a battle on his behalf and seeing your nen abilities he decides you’re actually 

alluka

➵ while she has learned from killua to be skeptical of those around her, she just loves you so much, even from the moment you first meet. 

➵ sometimes killua gets his feelings hurt when alluka asks for you to accompany her rather than him. 

got carried away so these next three are more just general headcanons

➵ she loves following you around your apartment/house watching you do mundane things like laundry, dishes, or cooking. 

➵ LOVES your cooking (even if you’re not the best) she just likes being provided for in that way, and feeling like someone loves her enough to feed her a home cooked meal. 

➵ surprises you with sketches and drawings of your little happy family -- she’s actually become quite good at any artistic medium she tries and always makes sure to show you after she’s done. 

ok back to the regularly scheduled programming

➵ instinctively looks for you (and killua) when she feels anxious or like she’s in danger, but when you’re sprinting toward her at top speed to make sure she’s ok, all of those feelings go away and she’s back to her little giggly self, laughing at you for being so stressed. 

thanks for the request!

if you would like to request please take a look at my guidelines which outline the genres i write for each character. also, you can find all other works in my masterlists -- both guidelines and masterlists can be found on my directory!

have a good day/night loves <3 make sure to eat some food and drink some water ily

[luna-the-moth]

Mammon with a Shy Singer (SFW)

Hello love! Ehe, I write short fics once in a while, but they’re mainly bursts of inspiration. Before this was sent, yes, short fics were allowed to be requested, but it turns out, a short fic steals all my spoons for a few days. So, I adjusted my rules yesterday. From now on, please only send requests for headcanons or scenarios!

This will be in hc/scenario form! GN! Reader, SFW. Asks and requests are open, but please read my rules and guidelines before doing so!

Reblogs, likes, and comments are greatly appreciated!

Mammon with a Shy Singer (SFW)

Mammon was always known to be the life of the party, hyping everyone up and keeping things interesting.

He had a penchant for creating music once in a while, specifically rap music.

-gestures to his character song-

Whenever a rave or concert happened, he would always bring you as his plus one, singing along with the main act.

Which, drew his fandemons’ attention to him, but there was often security preventing them from flooding him, so there wasn’t much to worry about.

There was one occasion he had asked you to join in, but you had declined, self consciousness clouding your decision.

Which, Mammon completely understood.

Well, he pouted and whined for a few moments, but let it go relatively quickly.

We all have things we aren’t proud of, or don’t want to show to others.

The thing is, you didn’t think your singing was bad.

In fact, your voice was quite lovely, you were merely self conscious about singing in front of others.

As a hobby, you had written multiple songs, in private.

While you had thought they sounded nice, the thought of singing in front of others made you freeze up.

It’s just, having people look at you while singing made you nervous.

Judging eyes, watching your every move, even the thought of it made you cringe.

So you had written and sang in private, hidden from any intruding eyes or ears.

However, as time went on, you grew feelings for the Avatar of Greed.

Sure, he may steal people’s Grimm, act all high and mighty, but that’s exactly why you loved him.

Because it was an act.

And a very poor act, you might add.

While he always pulled a tough, macho, entitled act, it would only take a few words of affirmation to get him blushing.

He deserves it, though!

After all, being belittled and knocked down by his brothers 24/7 is tiring, and wore down his self esteem.

Which left him with the cocky defense mechanism we see today.

But after you had shown him genuine kindness and affection, his facade had crumbled away, revealing a soft, love-starved demon.

How could you not have fallen in love with him?

The problem is, you didn’t know how to confess.

Sure, you could write him a love letter or text him, but you felt that it was too generic, too basic.

So why not write a song, professing your love for him?

You would nudge away your shyness, and confess your love for him at the same time!

Hitting two crows- uh, birds with one stone!

Over the next few weeks, you carefully picked out your favorite lines from various books of poetry, adjusting them to fit the mood you were going for.

You weren’t going for a full-out love-sick ballad that gave you cavities, more like something sweet, lighthearted, and conveyed your message effectively.

In the meantime, this meant you were spending less time with Mammon.

As you can probably guess, it didn’t go over well with the Avatar of Greed.

I mean, it’s in the name, Avatar of G r e e d.

It didn’t just apply to money, as others had assumed.

No, it extended to your time and love as well, which frankly, you weren’t going to complain about.

But it was difficult, dodging his inquiries on where you were going, and why.

Luckily, Asmo covered for you every time, letting you stay in his room for ‘self care’, when in fact, you were composing your music.

Which, you supposed is a form of self care?

Pouring out your emotions into your music is a way of self care, right?

Asmo was your wingman, cheering you on and helping you perfect certain verses, and helping you with the occasional vocal warm up.

Day by day, you gradually built on your piece, tweaking and changing notes and pitches as necessary.

Mammon on the other hand, was growing increasingly anxious, insecurities starting to bubble up again.

Was he not good enough?

Did you prefer Asmo to him? You’ve been spending a lot of time with him after all.

He started spending more time at the casino, drowning his sorrows in the rolling of dice.

After all, he didn’t want to trouble you, thinking you might start seeing him as an annoyance, a pest.

Meanwhile, you had been polishing up the lyrics of your song, finally ready to confess.

So on the day of your confession, you had caught Mammon right before dinner, gently grabbing his arm before he rushed out the door.

“Hey Mammon, wait. Could you come with me to my room real quick before you leave? There’s something important I need to show you.”

With softly spoken words and a subtly pleading expression, you had given him a shy attempt at puppy eyes.

He was about to give you a weak, snarky remark, but how could he, now that you looked at him with such an adorable expression?

It’s not like he could ever say no to you, anyways.

Not just because of the pact either.

During the first week of your stay at the Devildom, Mammon had been smitten.

You were kind to him, and didn’t use harsh words to order him around.

Hell, within a month, you had already won over his heart, and soul.

(That is, if demons have souls. OM canon is a clusterfuck, so do correct me in the comments if I’m wrong.)

Over the past few weeks that you’ve been songwriting, he had grown lonely, wanting your affection and attention.

So the moment you had asked for his attention, he wanted to immediately latch on, but wanted to stay away at the same time, not wanting to seem desperate.

Mammon had ‘reluctantly’ agreed, to which you gently tugged his arm, motioning him to follow you.

When he had entered your room, you motioned for him to sit on the bed, nerves starting to build up in your mind.

Exhaling quickly, you reached for the guitar next to your desk.

Gently strumming the guitar, you poured your heart out to him.

How you adored his soft heart, his protective nature, and that he would always be, your dear guardian.

During your performance, Mammon’s eyes were wide, he was just so surprised that you were singing, and in front of him

If that didn’t make his pride swell-

The entire time you’re singing, he listens to every word flowing out of your mouth, treasuring each message.

Your voice was so soft and gentle, he nearly fell asleep at the comforting lull.

He’s grateful that you sang to him, and trusted him enough to sing in front of him.

After all, he knows how difficult it is to open up to someone on a subject you’re shy or self conscious about.

By the time you’ve finished singing, Mammon’s mouth is slightly parted in awe, eyes blurry with tears.

He’s so touched that you did such a heartfelt thing for him, and that you put the time and effort into making a song out of all things.

Setting the guitar down, you look at him nervously.

“Well...what do you think?”

Mammon walks over to you, letting your face rest in the palm of his hand, wrapping the other around your waist.

“That was the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done fer me. I’m glad ya trust me enough to sing ta me. I love ya, Y/n.”

Gently kissing the crown of your head, he pulls you in for a tight, comforting embrace, a stray tear falling from the corner of one of his angelic eyes.

[hrtiu]

Paradigm Shift

It’s the Tech x OC ONLY ONE BED fic that @flybynite19 inspired!  I hope you guys enjoy! (Oh yeah, and technically Travia is not an OC because she has a wookiepedia page. but that page is basically empty). Also huge thanks to @wildhoneyprose for beta’ing!

Clone Commando Tech was giving a lecture on improvements in heat absorption technology and their ramifications on laser-based weaponry, and it was a sight to behold.

Travia Chan nudged the Ithorian woman seated next to her, whose sideways mouth was open in a wide yawn. Ridiculous, that members of the Rebellion would waste an opportunity to learn how to get more out of their limited resources like this. What was the point of making the trip to Dantooine for the lecture if you weren’t going to pay attention? When you operated on a shoestring budget like her cell on Fest did, you had to get creative. You had to know how to throw the instruction manual out the window and squeeze the last bit of juice you could out of your ion cannon.

Tech pointed to a diagram on the holo display. “This is where the energy absorption capacitors went in a typical first-generation canon. By moving the new capacitors closer to the ignition source, you reduce that amount of escaping heat and your equipment lasts much longer without needing repairs.”

“Is this applicable to simple blasters?” Travia asked, raising her hand. “Can we mod a standard-issue blaster to achieve a similar effect?”

Tech looked back at her, his wide eyes huge behind his magnifying goggles in surprise that someone might actually participate in his lecture. “Ah. Yes. Ms Chan, wasn’t it? Yes, that should work, in theory. But if done incorrectly it could result in unwanted combustion. So it’s best to work out the kinks first before making changes to every blaster in your cell.”

“Thank you.”

He gave her a stilted nod, then turned back to the holo display. “Now these advancements are relevant not only to reducing maintenance costs, but also have the potential to increase the power of any laser-based weapon. The radaxium coils in the capacitors used to always be lined up in straight rows, like this.” He drew a diagram on the holo, his eyes lighting up as the technical specs of the capacitors came to life. “But if we rearrange them, their thermoconductive fields expand and build on each other. A simple but ingenious improvement.”

He kept drawing more and more possible arrangements of radaxium coils, each with their own benefits and drawbacks. As he drew, his large eyes glowed in pleasure from behind his thick goggles. At one point he forgot how a certain arrangement interacted with the iridium receptors, and he stepped back to get a broader picture of his work, scratching at his head as he thought. He tilted his head to the side just so, in that distinct way only possible for people completely lacking in self-consciousness. Stray bits of wiring and holo styluses stuck thoughtlessly out of the many pouches slung about his waist.Travia bit back a smile and forced her eyes back down to her notes. Why did she always seem to go for the hopeless ones?

The lecture ended and the rest of the class evacuated the room like it was on fire, but Travia lingered. Clone Commando Tech was gathering up his data disks and datapads when she approached.

“Ahem, Commando Tech?”

He turned to her, his arms full of datapads. “It’s Specialist Tech, now, actually. How can I help you?”

“What you were saying about testing modified blasters… Could we do that? It would really help the Fest cell. Our resources have been stretched pretty thin lately.”

“You want to experiment with modifying blasters to improve durability?”

“Yes,” she said. “I already have a facility suitable for testing different blaster configurations. If you could come to Fest and help a bit with the process, I think we could put together guidelines for blaster modifications for the entire Alliance.”

“Hmmmm,” Tech hummed, his thumb scratching absently at his chin. “My schedule is rather tight, but I think that could work. The potential benefits are considerable, especially considering the minimal investment required.”

“Comm me when you’re available, and I’ll get everything ready,” Travia said, visions of beautiful black numbers on the Fest cell’s budget dancing before her eyes. If they could reduce their maintenance costs, there were about a million other better things she could think to do with the savings.

“Excellent,” Tech said.

Keep Reading

[shihalyfie]

An analysis of Iori and his character arc

Iori has a particularly interesting position in 02′s narrative (and, even more widely so, in perhaps all of both Adventure and 02) in that his base profile is rather unusual-looking even from the get-go -- the youngest child in both groups, yet with a (seemingly) mature demeanor that surpasses even his seniors. On top of that, Iori ends up having a very deep relation to 02′s themes and plot itself in a way that isn’t initially apparent, but actually makes him a very vital centerpiece of 02′s story.

Before we get into Iori’s role in 02′s actual plot, it needs to be established that a very, very large amount of Iori’s character is heavily shaped by his family background and upbringing. Prior to the start of the series, the Hida family had a large void in it, with Iori’s father Hiroki having been killed in the line of duty. Being a mere five-year-old child who had lost his father barely into actually being sentient and basically had to live the following three years going off hearsay on what he was actually like, Iori ends up raised by his mother Fumiko and his paternal grandfather Chikara.

While not in exactly the same way as the Takenouchi family (which is literally working in cultural preservation and study), the Hida family is very traditionalist Japanese -- Fumiko makes traditional Japanese food and snacks like kanpyoumaki and ohagi, and a lot of attention is given to the butsudan altar in their house where they honor the late Hiroki (also note the tatami flooring). That, combined with Chikara’s naturally strict personality, led to Iori being raised with “very strict manners”, and by a set of very firm guidelines on honor, respect, and the like.

Having been raised into this kind of formality, Iori speaks almost exclusively in polite-form Japanese. This happens to initially make him come off a bit like Koushirou -- likely a deliberate parallel, given the Knowledge connection between the two (being the kind of person who admits that you don’t know everything and wants to know more requires a bit of humility, after all). That said, Iori’s way of doing this has some key differences from Koushirou:

Unlike Koushirou, who was largely polite out of an attempt to keep distance from everyone and thus had a streak of being somewhat non-confrontational, Iori is perfectly willing to say harsh or critical things -- in other words, his way of speaking is formal, but it’s not necessarily polite, and in fact Iori is probably the single most passive-aggressive person in this cast. He has absolutely no qualms about dunking on whatever he feels truly deserves the dunking, and he’ll certainly do it with a lot of grace, but he is very capable of being extremely cold when he wants to be.

Koushirou stuck to formality out of detachment and intimidation, to the point that, as per Adventure episodes 38 and 54, he was compulsively unable to bring himself to speak casually unless he forced himself. Iori, on the other hand, often “slips” -- on top of willingly defaulting to casual form whenever he’s talking to himself or (occasionally) to the Digimon (who are outside Japanese levels of propriety), he also has a tendency to start using casual form whenever he gets particularly emotionally compromised. (While it doesn’t quite come off in the translation, the above screenshots from 02 episode 10 are an example of this, with Iori losing his temper at the Kaiser and slipping into casual form -- and a bit of fun foreshadowing, guess who’s the one to successfully calm him down? Takeru. Remember this for later.) In other words, Iori’s formality is not compulsive, but a conscious thing he tries to maintain as he holds himself to high standards, and is unable to completely uphold during times his emotions get the better of him.

Ultimately, Iori may come off as “mature and composed”, but he’s still an impressionable nine-year-old child, who’s effectively parroting the rules his grandfather instilled in him because he sees it as The One and Only Guide to Living Life. In trying to figure out the right thing to do in any situation, Iori ends up constantly trying to fall back on “this is the right way to do things!” and taking it rather badly whenever things start falling outside of the expected pattern. Despite being the one responsible for Iori’s tightly principled life to begin with, even Chikara himself comments that Iori’s not being flexible enough in his thinking in 02 episode 5 -- because it’s not like he’s expecting Iori to be like this, but Iori is simply having a hard time applying these principles practically when he’s working with the limited range of being a nine-year-old child.

And as much as it may be tempting to see Iori as stoic, watching his expressions and way of emoting throughout the series, he does very much have the full range of emotions and curiosity and even cheer of a nine-year-old child -- it’s that he’s just constantly holding himself back for the sake of being principled and well-mannered. This has the unfortunate side effect that Iori is, as the Animation Chronicle calls it, “clumsy at expressing himself as a child”. Because he’s constantly restraining himself like this, he has a hard time expressing himself or letting himself enjoy things in the way a normal child would.

It also goes a long way in explaining why Iori is never seen hanging out with any other peers his age, and is exclusively depicted in the company of either the rest of the 02 group, or his own family. While part of it is simply because (as per Japanese school procedure) he’s too young to be formally enrolled in any clubs, 02 episode 3 goes out of its way to show Iori being left alone in the classroom with only a teacher stuck supervising him, as he tries to force himself to finish his lunch due to his stubborn adherence to principle (even though he seems to hate tomatoes). In other words, it’s heavily implied that Iori’s own behavior ended up isolating him from his peers. Considering that the 02 group is generally made up of kids who are socially displaced in some way, it naturally follows that, despite being significantly older than him, they end up welcoming him into their friend circle and treating him as an equal.

When the series starts, Miyako and Iori seem to have gotten a certain degree of closeness (with Iori as one of the only people Miyako drops honorifics on). It stands to reason that Miyako, being open-minded towards people and rather aggressively friendly, would be willing to befriend her neighbor despite the three-year age gap between them, and so they already seem to have developed a rapport where Miyako’s willing to come over to his place to help work on the Hida family electronics in exchange for food.

So, you know, this and that happens, Iori becomes a Chosen Child, and this is the start of where Iori’s “principles” start coming into conflict with each other. The nature of the Digital World crisis is a no-brainer -- the Kaiser is doing terrible things, and Iori’s just been given the tools to do something about it, and so for him, upholding his principles to do the right thing means proactively doing something about it. But getting involved in this territory war will mean “fighting and hurting other people” (bad) and “hiding things from his family and sacrificing obligations to them” (also bad). Chikara advises him in 02 episode 5 that he still needs to be the one to decide what he wants and needs to do at any given moment, but it’s clear that this is still a new concept for Iori to swallow.

It’s also important that 02 episode 5 is also the episode that introduces Jou, who very much understood the dissonance between “adhering to principles in spite of how practical that may not actually be”, which means the two of them end up bonding over...ditching real-life obligations to come to the Digital World. This bonding happens despite the fact that they have the largest age gap out of any two given kids out of the Adventure and 02 group (Jou is 15, and Iori 9) -- and yet, they’re able to bond over being like-minded like this. And while they come from different contexts, there’s also a parallel drawn between the two on “the importance of personal choice” -- because back in Adventure, Jou’s story involved channeling his desire to help others in a way different from his usual expected path as a doctor or as a Chosen Child, and, likewise, it will be up to Iori to find his own way towards what he thinks is right.

Iori’s “adherence to principles” also needs to be distinguished from Jou’s in that Jou was someone more likely to be stuck to “practical” rules (one might call him Lawful) such as waiting for adults to help them with things, or what to put on eggs. Iori, on the other hand, has self-enforced rules that are far more ideological -- he doesn’t actually care that much about institutionally-enforced rules (note how he has absolutely no issue with sneaking into school with his friends in 02 episode 6) as much as he enforces a moral code on himself about “the right thing to do”. For instance, that he has to show his respect to Jou by formally finishing his introduction, even if it’s clear they know each other by now already.

But, again, it bears repeating: Iori is a nine-year-old child. The rest of the kids respect him enough to not treat him like a younger child -- other than a brief moment of emotional compromise that Daisuke quickly apologized for, the group is never really depicted as paying particular mind or care to the fact that Iori is so much younger than them, and for the most part treat him like an equal. But Iori himself is conscious of this -- after all, it’s why he’s constantly speaking politely to everyone all of the time, but 02 episode 16 also implies he’s very self-conscious about this. The plot of the episode kicks off when Iori momentarily gets caught up in his excitement about potentially getting a new Digimental, and, once things start going south, he starts blaming himself for causing all of this and lashing out at the others for (at least, in his mind) singling him out to be the one to escape on the grounds of being the youngest. After all is said and done with the incident, Submarimon lets Iori have a moment of something Iori really does need: a bit of a chance to actually get to enjoy himself as a young child instead of restraining himself so much.

Speaking of 02 episode 16, this is also where we first get to see how the pressure of maintaining Iori’s moral code starts to emotionally tear at him. It’s the first time we see Iori lose his composure this much. To everyone else here (and, perhaps, the audience, to some degree), Iori’s making a mountain out of a molehill -- he’s calling himself an unworthy person for telling a lie that even Jou himself clearly didn’t mind. But remember, Iori is someone who’s still learning a lot about how the world works at such a young age and is inclined by default to fall back on whatever his grandfather’s told him (to a point that even said grandfather considers to be overdoing it). Right now, Iori has basically built his entire view of morality based on this kind of thing, so putting a dent on it is like encouraging a slippery slope of potentially falling into moral depravity.

The reason why I say Iori’s character arc has a lot to do with Adventure and 02’s storytelling itself is that it’s a surprisingly pragmatic series when it comes down to it -- “it’s okay to lie, sometimes” is not exactly the kind of moral you’d expect out of your average kids’ show, but, perhaps a bit unusually, this series prefers to skip all of the preachiness and focus on pragmatics. (After all, back in Adventure, a lot of the final arc revolved around the question of “is fighting the right thing to do when there might be casualties?”, with the probably-kind-of-uncomfortable-but-frankly-very-practical answer of “it certainly beats having more casualties that would happen if you sat around and did nothing.”) Iori’s character arc is, effectively, this in a nutshell -- what’s the “right” thing to do when following principles alone doesn’t seem to be doing it? In the end, both Adventure and 02 are big on this -- preachy words and moralistic principles mean nothing in the face of striving to practically minimize damage and help others.

And so, Jou -- who himself grappled quite a bit with the dissonance between principles and pragmatism back in Adventure -- is the one to successfully reframe it in a way that Iori understands: most of all, Iori doesn’t want to see people get hurt, and whether “lying” or “not lying” is the right thing to do is not as relevant as “whether people are getting hurt”. Iori not lying would have caused a great deal more of hurt than lying, and it’s through understanding this kind of principle that Iori accepts that he still has a long way to go in terms of exercising his duty to others. The secondary Digimental arcs have a heavy theme of “acknowledging your deficiencies and resolving to improve”, and in the case of Iori and the Digimental of (this thing has been translated half a dozen ways, but, effectively, honoring your obligations to others), it involves his first major moment of coming to terms with the idea that the principles on paper he’s been stubbornly following aren’t going to do it by themselves.

Once the Kaiser arc concludes and the group is posed with the question on how to handle Ichijouji Ken, Iori’s reaction to him is the most infamously extreme: Ken is a Bad Person who is completely beyond forgiveness, and Iori wants nothing to do with him. It probably needs to be made clear that Iori’s stance on not wanting to forgive Ken is not inherently unreasonable. Ken really did some awful, horrible things in the first half of the series, and it is completely within Iori’s rights to decide that he doesn’t want to forgive or like Ken thereafter.

The part where Iori’s behavior starts posing issues is not the part about whether he likes Ken or not, but rather that Iori gets so hung up on that lack of forgiveness that he becomes very bad at observing the practical reality in front of him. Or, in other words, Iori gets so fixated on the principle of what happened in the past that he’s unable to make good judgment calls on what should happen going forward. It is abundantly clear to everyone by (at the latest) 02 episode 26 that Ken is not going to easily lapse back into his old ways and would like to make an effort to repair the damage he caused; regardless of whether they like him or not, it’s in their best interest to cooperate with him and let him help out (and even keep an eye on him to make sure bad things don’t happen again!), especially when the factor of Jogress comes into play and turns out to be a very valuable asset in the fight ahead. But Iori has a a rather squeamish, petty response when he tries to claim that they shouldn’t need Jogress (in the midst of everyone else being excited about the possibilities it poses, even without Ken in the equation) in 02 episode 28, and even when he does go along with everyone working with Ken in 02 episodes 28-29 during the Giga House Incident, he approaches it like he and Ken are bartering favors and that he’ll have to “repay” Ken before he can properly return to pigeonholing Ken as an Unequivocally Bad Person.

And so the issue here is: Iori being so determined to fixate on trying to stuff Ken into a neat box of a Bad Person isn’t good for himself, either, because it basically means he’s going out of his way to run pointless mental loops and maintain the feeling of stewing in a grudge against him, even when it’s helping absolutely nobody. Note the metaphor drawn when Iori practices kendo with Chikara in 02 episode 24 -- he keeps doing the same motion over and over again despite the fact it’s clearly not going anywhere, and Chikara has to warn him that doing nothing but aim for the head isn’t how you’re supposed to do it. Right now, Iori is having a hard time parsing things in ways besides shoving things in neat boxes of black-and-white morality, and this lack of flexibility is severely restricting his ability to be productive.

What starts to really cause Iori to make a major shift in his thinking process is none other than his connection with Takeru, a subplot that had already started kicking off all the way back in 02 episode 19, when Iori witnesses Takeru suddenly taking a violent shift in mood against the Kaiser to the point it scares him. Iori, of course, considers Takeru to be a “good" and “kind person”, but someone like that should (in his mind) logically not be making sudden, violent outbursts like that -- and especially once he starts advocating for BlackWarGreymon to potentially be killed if it comes down to it, going very against Iori’s fundamental principle that killing anything that’s sentient is unforgivably immoral.

This “contradiction” is what leads Iori to realize that he needs to do much more if he wants to understand Takeru properly, and it’s also the start of how Iori grows into the trait of his first Digimental, “Knowledge” -- or, more specifically (as defined by Koushirou in Adventure episode 24 and 02 episode 2), “curiosity and a drive to know more”. In the case of Iori, this manifests in “I want to know more about other people.” It’s Iori effectively understanding that his very limited view of the world and how people work isn’t sufficient in itself, and this concept becomes the crux of his character arc for the rest of the series.

After tussling around and getting increasingly confused about Takeru’s seemingly paradoxical behavior, Iori finally goes directly to Yamato to consult him about it in 02 episode 35, and Yamato explains the backstory behind Takeru’s trauma from losing Angemon back in Adventure episode 13, as well as a reminder that as much as it may have been his own fault, Ken technically went through some pretty similar trauma, and everything that’s happened since his fall from being the Kaiser hasn’t exactly been sunshine and roses for him either. Iori reflects on this as he goes home, with the important statement attached: he understands Takeru’s feelings. He’s now able to understand why Takeru acts the way he does, not on the grounds of principles of what’s right or wrong, but based on the fact that Takeru’s simply a very messy human being who’s not handling his own tendency to suppress his emotions well.

Because Takeru is such a convoluted person, and because Iori’s fundamental issue with approaching things involves unraveling some very deep-seated tendencies in his mentality, the way the two finally connect in order to properly Jogress requires something a lot more convoluted than just happening to clash in a single magical moment like Daisuke and Ken or Miyako and Hikari did. Iori starts off the episode catching himself when he’s about to fall back into “principles over practicality” again -- he starts railing on the others for (in his mind) taking the impending BlackWarGreymon fight too lightly, before Armadimon reminds him that he’s hungry, and Iori realizes -- again -- that he cannot effectively enforce “the right or wrong thing to do” without taking other people’s feelings properly into account. Realizing that this is is a barrier between him and the others, especially Takeru, Iori tries to adjust his thinking pattern and even becomes the one to advocate that everyone get some proper food and rest instead of charging into the fight unprepared.

The meal results in Iori getting yet another rare moment of letting himself truly enjoy something without restraint, and is also followed by Takeru speaking openly to him about their potential Jogress -- openly, honestly, not covering it up, not even with the same light playfulness he would usually put on (including what he had with the very same topic at the beginning of this episode). It is an acknowledgment from Takeru’s own part that he’s been watching what Iori’s doing and also wants to connect, and an open and serious statement from someone who had constantly tried to cover up everything with a smile up until that point, and, with the two reaching an understanding, they finally achieve their Jogress at the end of the episode.

This connection with Takeru, and the understanding that came from it, is what allows Iori to start applying a bit more flexibility towards approaching other situations. 02 episode 38 has him finally accepting Ken’s invitation to his Christmas party, after so many episodes of despising so thoroughly -- because now that he’s taking Ken’s position and feelings into account, he’s able to properly recognize him as someone doing his best to make amends going forward and be friends. Later, in 02 episode 44, despite having originally been the one more staunchly against it on principle, Iori handles the shock of having to kill an enemy with somewhat more grace than Miyako does, because not only had he already started considering the difficulty of fighting an enemy that cannot be reasoned with and wants nothing but wanton destruction (back during the end of 02 episode 29), Takeru is there to remind him that their priority must, first and foremost, be “saving lives” -- like, for instance, the girl in a wheelchair in front of him.

And so, the final episodes of 02 put everything Iori’s learned to the ultimate test, when he learns that the major perpetrator behind it all is none other than a friend of his departed father.

Up until this point, much of Iori’s mentality had been shaped by the rather saintlike image everyone had put up of Hiroki -- it’s almost certain that he must have had his own flaws as a person, but the resistance to speaking ill of the dead, and the generally positive influence he’d had on his friends and family and his untimely death by “protecting someone”, painted him as effectively a perfect, impossible ideal for Iori to strive to. Much of Iori’s justifications for his own behavior had consistently been reliant on “my father said this” or “would my father would have done this?”, such as his reason for forcing down his lunch in 02 episode 3, or using him as a mental model in 02 episode 44. For Iori’s former mentality of “good person” and “bad person”, this is the ultimate contradiction that threatens to rip apart everything Iori had built his own values system on -- that someone so incredible and saintlike and virtuous would be friends with someone so unambiguously doing horrible things like Oikawa. Iori, taking this as an awful emotional blow, parses this with a desperate desire to understand the motive behind why someone would do this, because it’s not enough for him to continue until he does.

And in 02 episode 49, we see Iori effectively forced to confront the fact that he can’t keep relying on the model of his father anymore as the sole basis for his way of life when, in the end, his father will never return. Iori doesn’t even know him that well; he can’t conjure up an image of him talking, or anything beyond just a flat, serene smile. And when the image of his father finally disappears, Iori almost immediately accepts it, as if he’d known the whole time.

It’s also significant that Iori declares that what he’ll do next is introduce Armadimon to his mother -- because, in the end, Iori is at least now capable of “moving forward”. He can’t get his father back, and the best thing he can do is make use of his existing support group and keep pushing forward with the people he does have in his life -- quite the opposite of Oikawa, who responded to the loss of that exact same person by clutching onto the remnants of the past they shared, and never becoming able to move on.

Hence, 02′s finale ends on none other than Iori, and when you think about it, this is actually a pretty unusual position to be in for someone who’s not the lead protagonist (Daisuke) nor the most prominent focus of the story (Ken)! But it’s a testament to just how important Iori is to this narrative on a thematic level -- all of the struggles about the morality of fighting and the disparity between principles and practicality (which dated all the way back to Adventure), and 02′s prominent theme of coping with loss and regrets and figuring out how to best move on, are all tightly entwined with the character arc of this nine-year-old child. (If you want to take the parallel between the Adventure narrative and Iori even further, Iori and Armadimon sharing the same voice actress is possibly one of the most prominent ways of indicating how a Digimon partner is fundamentally meant to express one’s inner self.)

And especially since Iori is the person who should have been the most vehement about having any kind of sympathy or compassion towards Oikawa -- just remember how determined he was to be cold towards Ken only half a series ago! -- and it leaves a strong impression of the huge, huge journey Iori had gone on through this series. Iori’s arc closes on him understanding the nature of what Oikawa had wanted this whole time, and understanding exactly what it meant for him to make that sacrifice right after finally meeting his partner, and ends the story the most emotionally affected by it -- because, after all, that’s the sort of truly kind person Iori is.

Iori after 02

By the time of Spring 2003, when Iori’s had some time to reflect on it, we learn from Iori that he still does not forgive Oikawa. That in itself is fine; remember, Iori is perfectly within his rights to not do so after all that he’s done. However, again, a distinction must be drawn between whether Iori forgives him, and whether he still considers it to be important to understand the mentality behind why Oikawa did what he did, and to reflect meaningfully on that instead of running himself in circles fixating on a grudge. Again, it’s about going forward with what he knows and has, instead of getting fixated on past deeds -- and with that, Iori resolves to “study”.

In The Door to Summer, we also learn that Iori allegedly has a “girlfriend” -- or, at least, someone Daisuke calls his girlfriend (Daisuke is a bit of an unreliable narrator here, given he’s also totally blown Hikari’s “rejection” of his beach hangout offer up as if it were a full-on total rejection of him completely). It is, perhaps, interesting that Daisuke is capable of getting this impression about Iori’s relationship with someone outside the 02 group, given that he’d been rather isolated from his peers all the way back in 02 episode 3...

Iori occupies an interesting position in Kizuna, because we only have one point in time where we got to intimately know him, and that was back when he was only nine years old -- and between that and Kizuna, there is a massive eight-year timeskip. He's 17 now, and we don't get any kind of catch-up period in the middle like we did with Takeru and Hikari in 02, and that is a time period where a lot of changes in demeanor could have happened with him compared to all of the others.

At first glance, it seems that he’s gotten much more stoic -- but this is actually something that should reasonably be expected, because now that he’s a teenager, it stands to reason that he would be much better at actually controlling his emotions and not necessarily get overwhelmed as easily. Plus, it’s not like he’s shown to be completely emotionless throughout the movie; he’s just doing a much more graceful job of holding himself back (look carefully at the credits and you can see him sweatdropping at Armadimon barging in on his practice), and moreover you can still see him deliver some pretty direct bluntness about the ramen in New York. Still with formal language, but nevertheless, no flattery is to be had here; Iori will dunk on you if he thinks you deserve it (even if it’s to do with mediocre ramen).

But there are some other interesting observations -- for one, the official website profile states that he’s actually settled on his future career in law at this point, and has made himself extremely busy in order to do so. (On top of that, he at least seems to be on friendly enough terms with his peers at school that they’re happy to greet him on their way out.) The drama CD indicates that Daisuke considers him the busiest out of the entire 02 group -- yet he and Takeru went out of their way to pick him up from school, because he’s that important to them. (Think about it -- how often do you see university students going this far to go retrieve a high school kid to hang out with them?) And likewise, Iori doesn’t even hesitate to state that he’ll make time for them, and throughout the movie he’s conspicuously seen in his school uniform, implying he really is moving things around to make it happen, because they’re that important to him.

He also engages in the single most chaotic action from this group, which is getting Armadimon to break into Menoa’s lab. It’s not that he’d inherently been against this kind of thing before, especially for something important (recall that he’d been happy to sneak into school for Golden Week with the others back during 02 episode 6), but it does beg the question of where and how he got this information that Armadimon could break electric locks. Perhaps he’s become a bit more, ah, pragmatic of a person since 02...

So, in the end, Iori does become an attorney, and specifically a defense attorney (the Japanese law system does draw the distinction). The person who once wanted to stick people he considered to be doing wrong into a “bad people” box and call it a day eventually came to embrace a career that involves understanding people and advocating for their perspective, or at least bargaining for something other than defaulting to the harshest assumption and a solution that allows all of the parties to best productively move forward.

He also has a daughter, who seems to have been raised to be as well-mannered and formal as he was. But, thankfully, he himself is there to help raise and guide her as she grows up.