#trying to do some fancy background work and have fun with it but mostly. this is because she's so fucking cute.

[cookiescribble]

Interrupted

A/N: this is just a short little thing i’ve had in my head for a while, and the writer’s block is finally clearing up a little so i’ve been able to write more again :) hope you like it! - mod angel

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Summary: You and Spencer finally have an evening off, and are happy to spend it together. But nights off are never a guarantee when you work at the BAU. (based on 9x23)

CW: suggestive but not explicit behavior, reader gets a little wine drunk, mild discussion of sex lives.

~~~

You were enjoying a nice, quiet dinner at home, soft music playing in the background. You were a little dressed up, wearing a casual dress and some jewelry to match, trying to pretend it was a date night and not just spaghetti and wine you got from the grocery store. Making the best out of the little time you had to plan this.

Spencer was sitting across from you, smiling as he held his glass of water out to you. “To finally having a night off?”

You smiled back at him, clinking his cup with your wine glass. “To finally having you all to myself tonight.” You winked at him as you took a sip of wine. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it made the night a little more special.

He took a sip of his water, gesturing to your wine glass. “Be careful with that, you turn into trouble when you have too much wine.” His words sounded like a warning, but his tone was teasing, a grin on his face.

At that, you smiled mischievously, taking a bigger sip of wine. “I think I’m allowed to cause a little trouble on our day off.” You put your glass down, picking up your fork to start eating your dinner. “We deserve to have a little fun tonight.”

Dinner wasn’t much different than it usually was when you two were home together, but it felt nice to be able to sit at the dinner table across from each other after dealing with so much work lately. There was light flirting back and forth between you and Spencer through your meal, setting the mood for the evening. Every sip of wine you took made you feel a little more flushed and bubbly, making the flirting start escalating a bit. You could feel yourself noticing more things about Spencer as he ate across from you: the way his fingers moved around his fork as he twirled it in his plate, the bob of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed his food, the way his lips parted when he took a sip of water…

“That’s a dangerous look you’re giving me, you know.”

You were snapped out of your thoughts when Spencer spoke, a smirk on his face as he set his fork down. You met his eyes, matching his smirk, reaching out to grab his hand from across the table. “Is it?” You asked innocently, starting to trace patterns in the palm of his hand, making him shudder softly.

“It is,” he replied, his voice soft and deep. “I think you know what you’re doing when you look at me like that.” He slowly stood up, walking over to you and tilting your chin up with his finger. “You better be ready to take responsibility for this.”

You stood up, reaching up to tangle your fingers in his hair, bringing your faces close, your lips stopping just short of touching his. “Oh, I’m definitely planning on taking responsibility…” One of your fingers started to trail down his face, slowly tracing over his bottom lip. You could see his face start to heat up a bit at your touch, his breath hitching. “If you’re ready, that is,” you said in a quiet, breathy tone.

That little touch seemed to set him off, as he grabbed your face and crashed his lips with yours, bumping you into the table with the abrupt force.

Suddenly, you both were stumbling through the living room, hands all over each other as you made your way to the bedroom, closing the door behind you. You fell back onto the bed, Spencer taking you into his arms after shrugging off the shirt you mostly unbuttoned on your way here.

His lips were on yours again, the weight of his body starting to push down on you as he settled on top of you. He started pushing down the straps of your dress, his lips moving down to your neck. He started peppering kisses there, quickly at first, before they started getting slower and deeper.

“You look really good in this dress, you know that?” His voice was husky as his tongue met your skin, earning a lustful sigh from you in response. “So pretty…” he whispered between kisses, starting to gently bite down on your neck.

“Spence…” you moaned out, already turning into a mess underneath him, even though you were still fully dressed. The wine mixed with his sweet words and lustful bedroom eyes, you could hardly stand to wait anymore. Your hands tangled in his hair as his teeth grazed your skin, his eyes closed in concentration as he felt your body react underneath him. His lips started slowly trailing downward from your neck, starting to move under your collar…

Suddenly, you were startled by the sound of your phone going off, making you both groan.

“Please tell me it’s not what I think it is,” you pleaded as Spencer stood up to look at your phone. He held it out to you, showing you a text indicating that you had to go into work for a case. You grumbled as you sat up, readjusting your dress. “I swear to god, I am quitting this job. I mean it.”

Spencer laughed, opening the closet to start putting on a purple button-down shirt. “Relax, we’ll get some time to ourselves at the hotel later.” He took out a tie, putting it around his neck as he reached out his hand to help you up out of bed. He placed a quick kiss on your forehead. “Maybe we can continue this then?”

You sigh, starting to rifle through drawers to throw on a sweater over your dress. There wasn’t really time to find a whole new outfit. “I hope so, but I don’t know if I realistically see that happening.”

The two of you rushed to get dressed and ready, knowing you needed to be out the door as soon as possible. You skipped brushing your hair, tying it up for now and just throwing your hairbrush in your go-bag with everything else you needed. Spencer was pulling on a cardigan as he reached out to hug you from the side, kissing your temple before grabbing his messenger bag and throwing it over his shoulder. “Ready?” He asked as you started walking through the door.

“I guess,” you replied, rolling your eyes. Spencer reached down to kiss your cheek as he locked the apartment door behind you, making you smile. “The hotel rooms better be nice,” you added, grabbing his hand as you walked to your car.

“Agreed,” he replied, laughing lightly as you both entered the car, pulling out of the parking lot and heading for the office.

…

You were walking fast after getting off the elevator, rushing to meet up with everyone, when you heard some of the team members talking.

“So…” You heard JJ’s voice down the hall. “We get Henry to bed, and, y’know, we’re about to finally have some alone time with mommy and daddy, and…” She trailed off, and as you entered the room, you saw her roll her eyes from afar. “You guys know the rest,” she finished, sounding annoyed.

“Ah, trying to dust off the ol’ cobwebs,” Derek joked, laughing.

Penelope hit him on the shoulder. “Inappropriate!” She exclaimed, before turning back to JJ. “Seriously, though, how long has it been?”

You laughed, seeing her intense face as you walked closer to joining everyone. Always so curious. Or nosy, you could say. But it was a part of her that was endearing.

“Too long,” JJ replied flatly.

You finally reached the group, putting your stuff down and greeting everyone.

JJ looked over at you and Spencer, a slight smirk on her face. “Well, looks like I wasn’t the only one interrupted,” she remarked, noticing how you both still looked a little disheveled after rushing to get here.

You groaned, rolling your eyes. “Bite me,” you replied sarcastically.

She gestured over to you, pointing at your neck. “Looks like someone already did,” she snickered.

You looked down to see a small bruise starting to form on your neck. You didn’t really look in the mirror while you were getting ready, so you didn’t notice the mark there.

You looked pointedly at Spencer as your hand went to your neck. He gave you an apologetic look. “Sorry,” he mouthed silently, looking a little guilty.

You quickly took your hair down, grabbing the brush from your bag and starting to smooth your hair down. You could see Penelope open her mouth to ask probing questions. Everyone seemed to be too curious about your relationship, asking way too many questions when you finally told everyone you and Spencer were dating. Especially Penelope. Thankfully, she was cut off before she could say anything.

“Do we know what the case is?” Alex asked, letting you drop the subject of your evening activities and shift the focus to work. You snuck one last glance at Spencer, who smiled at you and reached out for your hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as you settled into your new evening plans.

[kusin-tisdag]

How to take screenshots and edit (when it's just not your thing)

Alright-y!

So, I have over the years learned how to use reshade and to edit my pictures. I am really not a natural on these things, so this is very much to help others who are as aesthetically challenged as I am. I have to have certain "rules" to follow, because I can rarely just see if a picture will turn out well or not.

We all need to realize where I started. We're talking using FRAPS to take screenshots and then running holy colours batman! to get some sort of effect.

Now, I'm not one to buy fancy stuff and to pirate certain programs isn't really my thing either. So we mend and make do!

Also, I am by far very good at taking screenshots and edit, but I have learned things and hope that it might be useful for someone!

A word on light

One thing I've learned is to work with is light. Where the light is is where the focus will go. This doesn't mean that a person has to be in the spotlight, but if they aren't - try to make that a more conscious choice. I am no pro at this, but I have to say that some of my favorite screenshots are where the light is just good. It focuses the eye or it just give a vibe.

(and yes, for some reason all of my faves are of Agnes, which is a bit annoying since Amanda is my fav-character, lol)

This is also where reLight comes in handy. Yes, it's behind a paywall but there are ways that you will have to figure out yourself.

Great tutorial here on reLight by @pictureamoebae! (if you want to really understand reshade, do check out their tumblr. So many helpful tips and tricks!)

Posing

Posing is fun! I don't fully story-tell with my sims, most of it is gameplay. But I do like to pose for family pictures or to enhance something that is going on.

What you need is Andrew's Pose Player and Teleport Any Sim or Wicked Whims.

Now, I haven't figured out how to use WW for children and younger to pose, so I use both. And I like @ts4-poses to find poses. Eventually, you'll find your favorite creators and can follow them directly.

Angles and vibes

Here's a trick. Work with angles. I am a master of pictures with zero vibe, just a face. Those can be ok, and sometimes that's what you have - but try to angle your shot a little.

Or add clutter, focus on that and let something out of focus happen in the background.

Or just go higher, take the screenshot from above.

Or don't focus on your sim at all, focus on something else that adds to the story/post.

Take the screenshot

The light is good, the angle great, the poses are in place and now, we need to take the actual screenshots.

I am a huge fan of reshade, I use version 4.9.1 because that works for me and the presets I use. No need to update reshade unless it becomes too old.

It can be really difficult to to find a preset that you like. I mostly use birdie by @monasims, tawhay by @windslar and paperbacks by @literalite. But I have tried many.

I like this youtube-tutorial on how to make your own preset, which also helps if you wish to modify one that you've downloaded. I do always recommend learning how to use ADOF and CinematicDOF to help focus the image on what you want to capture. I also strongly recommend @pictureamoebae's Foundation.

To take pictures, use the tab-key to leave the UI behind and use Q and E to go down/up in your game and then the mouse to angle. I use print-screen to take my screenshot, but that's something you set up when installing reshade so that's different for everyone.

And now you have your screenshot and it's time to open an editing program. Cheap as I am, I open GIMP.

Let's edit!

I don't use many steps. Since I can't use fancy photoshop actions I have to make all the steps by myself and well - I am human and therefor lazy.

Resize and start to think of a post

First things first. I cut my pictures to work for the tumblr ratio. I actually don't resize them smaller anymore - because when I change layout on my tumblr I just feel as if it messes it up. Now, I don't have a huge screen and my screenshots aren't massive, so it's not necessary either.

My images will be 1017x1017, 1525 x 1017 or 678 x 1017.

Once this is done, I also try to look at how they will go together. If I want a post of just squares I need to have an even number of images. Sometimes I want a landscape image as a sort of heading, or one in the middle with squares around it. It depends on what I want to convey.

This is by no means something that comes natural to me - I am aesthetically challenged after all. Sometimes, I just have 5 images and have to make do.

Resized

Topaz Clean

Yup, it's awesome. No, it doesn't come with GIMP. Yes, there are ways to work around this. You will have to find those ways on your own.

But I have to say, it does makes wonder for the images. I have completely stolen @sojutrait 's settings because I really like her style and therefor - I copy. I have added a bit more sharpening, but otherwise it's completely hers.

Topaz Clean:ed

Curves

Curves my beloved! I use curves for two things! Take out the yellow (aka increase the blue) and to brighten/darken the image!

I do sometimes matte the image too and here's a good tutorial for GIMP users on how to use curves in GIMP (for a matte look)

Less yellow/more blue

Brighten the brights (but I did not brighten the darker parts)

Layers, curves and increase the light where needed

Now, remember that we need light? Sometimes, a screenshot just doesn't have the right light. So I duplicate the layer, use the free marking tool around what I wish was brighter and put that on a new layer.

Then I use curves to lighten the layer with what I want to brighten and to make darker the layer with what I want to put less focus on (here's an ok youtube video on the subject).

Below, you can see the effect on my images.

Sharpen

Pretty basic. I subtly sharpen the image again. Even if I use the sharpening in topaz clean I do like to add an extra touch before it's time to save and move on.

So sharp!

PSD and UI

I do like to use psd's now and then. I mainly use @windslar's psd-collections and @deathbypufferfish's Build-a-Sim Icon Pack.

It's mostly to help give some info about the post or when my sims age up and I want to show their traits.

I do use the UI-info sometimes. If I do, I go into Game Options in the game > Accessibility > UI-scale and just drag that up a bit. Then I copy/paste that part onto the image I'm using.

Done!

That's pretty much it. Thing is, to post good edits you have to actually take good screenshots. As annoying as it is, it's like cooking: it all comes down to the ingredients. I hate cooking Yes, editing does help but I think my main journey has been to learn to take better screenshots from the start.

The picture below is from resized to done.

Hope this might help someone! I will probably learn more and more as I continue to post, but this is where I am so far in my journey!

[daydreamgoddess14]

What's it take to get your number?

What's it take to bring you home?

Here she is! My first Bucky fic (😬)

From my Valentine's Lovebomb event, this one is for Emily 💜

Bucky Barnes x F!Reader insert, no use of y/n, no applicable warnings - just some cute fluff while I dip my toe into another fandom.

Main Masterlist

Bucky Barnes Masterlist

Of all of the things Yelena had talked you into, this was undoubtedly the worst.

And she had, of course, talked you into some truly awful shit.

If she could see you now, scowling into your margherita, she’d probably throw something at you.

Hey! Smile a little, huh?

As it happens, the thought of it does make you smile.

She's been good to you since you met. Being Valentina's PA was often an utterly thankless existence. The way she'd collected up Yelena, Alexei, John Walker and the others had been admirable.

Adding Bucky Barnes into the mix had been a goddamn coup.

They mostly went about their business as instructed and paid you little to no attention, but Yelena had spotted you still working away late into the night just before Christmas. She'd disappeared and returned twenty minutes later with cartons of Cantonese food which she insisted you shared.

Since then, a tentative friendship had blossomed between you both.

At the bar, there’s plenty of small talk going on in the background. Lots of organising.

The tables have been arranged loosely in a grid with plenty of space between them to move around.

Not that you have to move anywhere.

The instructions have been made very clear.

Yelena read them out with such glee, you suggested that she go instead.

So you sit, and you wait… then they ring a bell and the men come in and also sit down, yes? Hmm… says you have five minutes. Seems not long enough? Then bell goes again and you stay in your seat. The men move around and you have more handsome men to talk to! Fun, right?

Oh yes. Great fun. So much fun.

Next time Yelena suggests speed dating, you’re going to drag her kicking and screaming with you.

You steal a glance at the time, only a few minutes until the shitshow kicks off.

You signal the waiter for another drink, god knows you need it.

A couple of deep, cleansing breaths and the bell goes.

The noise and activity around you does distract you.

You glance around quickly at the couple of people around you, the beautiful women in their barely there dresses, poker straight hair and lashes so long they could be used as a fan.

You’ve made an effort, of course.

A certain blonde pain in your ass made sure of it.

This top, this skirt, these shoes.

She threw them at you.

Girl, the skirt has pockets!

The woman at the table next to you looks completely underwhelmed by her first five minute attendee.

Her eyes wide and her mouth in a fixed line.

The poor guy loosens his tie nervously.

A tie? Yikes.

He seems uncomfortable, clearly aware of the unfavorable impression he's making.

You’re almost transfixed by the car crash about to unfold in front of you.

This has got to be more entertaining than your date, right?

This is the shit you could watch all night long.

A low cough alerts you to your own car crash.

You steel yourself, a fake smile already in place.

“Hey,” he says.

The smile begins to slip.

You know that voice.

Why do you know that voice?

How do you know that voice?

By the time you actually look at him, the smile is long gone.

“Oh fuck.” It could be a whisper. It could be a squeak.

Either way, it’s barely audible so of course he heard it.

“Fancy seeing you here,” he grins, slightly incredulously.

“What are you doing here, Bucky?”

“Same as you, apparently.”

“Did you follow me?”

“Why the hell would I follow you?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Did Yelena put you up to this? I’m going to fucking kill -”

“She didn’t put me up to anything,” he held up his hands in surrender. “And, I’d like to see you try,” he adds disparagingly.

He’s not wrong.

“So, why are you here?”

“Sam thought it would be a good idea. He says I’m too introspective.”

“Nice. He’s such a good friend,” you bite back.

“Right? He’s got enough charm for both of us.”

“So you don’t want to be here either?”

“Does it look like it?” He frowned.

“Fine. So we sit in silence until you can move on.” You tell him sternly, reaching for your drink and taking a long gulp. You signal the waiter again for another.

He scoffed and shook his head.

“I’m not sitting in silence. Sam says I should talk more, so let's talk,” he declares, and you just roll your eyes at his stubbornness.

“What the hell is there to even talk about?” you ask, “you literally have no idea who I am?”

Bucky seems undeterred by your attitude.

“What kind of books do you like?” he asks casually. “What kind of… seriously?” You eye him suspiciously.

“Yeah, you’ve always got your head in a book. You say I don't know who you are but I've seen you. Recommending stuff to Yelena - not to me, though - so what do you like to read?” He leaned forward on the table, making it wobble.

“Anything,” you mutter with a sigh, “everything, really. The classics, fantasy, thrillers, romance.” He nods along as you speak. “What about you?” You ask hesitantly.

“I’ve been reading the classics lately, actually,” he admits.

“Oh sure,” you roll your eyes.

“Hey, it’s true. I just finished Pride and Prejudice.”

“And did you enjoy it?” As you ask your question, the bell rings out.

“Gentlemen, time to move on to the next table please,” the organiser calls out.

“Hold that thought, doll. Guess I’ll see you around?” He stood, waiting patiently for the man in the tie to move along.

The woman at the neighboring table suddenly seems thrilled with her new date. Bucky offers her a smile, and she responds with a giggle.

He takes his seat at the next table, but instead of engaging with his new date, he leans back over to you.

“I loved it. I like the chemistry between Elizabeth and Darcy and the layers of their relationship. It’s probably my favourite romance.”

The woman next to you looks a little put out.

“Your favourite romance? Which others have you read?” You can’t help but ask.

The man directly across from you is growing increasingly annoyed, watching the conversation unfold with a sense of irritation, like he's watching a tense tennis match.

“I liked it more than Jane Eyre, and Wuthering Heights.”

A small, surprised smile curves up the corner of your mouth as Bucky continues to ignore his next date.

“Uhh, excuse me?” she interjected, her voice laced with irritation.

“Sorry ma’am, I’ll just be a minute.” Bucky calmly replies, not breaking eye contact with you.

“I’m not a fan of Wuthering Heights either, I tried to be in my tortured youth.” You admit.

He laughs and it’s… magical.

“Any others you’d recommend?”

“North and South -”

“Gaskell?” He confirms, you nod. He mirrors your nod, a small smirk crossing his face.

“Yeah, another brooding gentleman and headstrong woman.”

“Huh, sounds familiar.”

“It does, doesn’t it?”

Meanwhile, your new date grows increasingly impatient, tapping on the table incessantly, while Bucky's date becomes frantic as she attempts to catch the organiser's attention.

The man at your own table finally interjects, addressing Bucky directly.

“Excuse me, buddy, you're supposed to move on after five minutes, you know?”

“Sorry man, just seeing where this goes,” he shrugs before looking back at you. “Got any newer recommendations? Feels like I’m… stuck in the past sometimes,” he grins lopsidedly.

“Romance, or something else?”

“Let’s stick with romance,” he leans in with his elbows on his knees.

“Try Emily Henry,” you tell him as your new drink arrives.

“Excuse me sir, you do need to move on?” The waiter insists as he carefully places your drink down.

Bucky sighs, turning back in his seat to face his actual date.

“Finally, I might be able to grab a quick minute before the bell goes -” your date starts with a smile.

“Emily Henry, huh? Book Lovers author? I saw it but didn’t pick it up,” Bucky leans over again.

“I’ve got a copy, I’ll bring it over.”

“That’s great, thanks.”

“And North and South, too?” You ask.

“I look forward to it.”

“Excuse me!” Your date interjects loudly.

You look down at the table with a blush as Bucky turns away again.

“So, how long have you been single?” You hear your date ask as the bell goes again.

“And move on again please, gentlemen.” The organiser smiles.

Your date does so, following Bucky with an angry frown.

With another table between you, you assume that’s your additional ‘date’ with Bucky over and turn to greet your next date.

Now, from three tables away, Bucky calls down the row to you.

“Hey, doll, there’s a new bookstore opened by Sam’s place. We should check it out?”

You nod to placate him while disgruntled voices around you mutter and curse his interruptions.

The bell rings again and everyone moves on once more.

From five tables away he asks about the recipe for the pasta dish you made for lunch with Yelena last week.

From seven tables away he shouts to ask whether you saw the last episode of Traitors.

“That is enough, sir. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave,” the organiser says with exasperation at the next bell.

“But we're getting along so well,” he protests as two waiters try to lead him to the door.

Giving up, he gives you a half shrug and a wave.

“See ya later, kid.”

He leaves without further disruption.

You turn back to your latest date but your enthusiasm has left the building with Bucky.

Despite the tedious hour that follows, no conversation manages to match the level of engagement you experienced in your initial encounter.

You had been under the distinct impression that he had no idea who you were. Of all of them, Yelena was the only one who made an effort. Alexei occasionally pulled you into conversation, usually when he needed an additional body on his side in an argument, but Bucky walked past your desk almost daily without a word or a glance.

You couldn't help but wonder why he chose tonight, of all evenings, to engage with you.

He could have ignored Sam's suggestion to attend. He could have ignored you completely.

You'd given him an out, offered to sit in silence.

His casual comment to your second date echoed in your mind: “Sorry man, just seeing where this goes.”

Those simple words had hinted at a deeper curiosity or interest, beyond just passing time at a speed dating event.

It had been both impressive and frustrating to see the usually stoic Bucky calling across tables, asking you questions about your job, how long you'd worked for Valentina, with an animated excitement that seemed to be reserved solely for you.

The organiser called time and you wrapped your coat tightly around you, the mid-February nights were cold and you were ready for bed.

You shot Yelena a brief text, letting her know you had arrived home safe and sound, choosing to leave her hanging when it came to details about the event.

After a fitful night, you arrived at the office the following morning, books safely nestled in your bag.

Yelena is parked at your desk, her feet casually propped up as if she'd taken permanent residency.

She raised an inquiring eyebrow.

“So, did you find the love of your life?”

“I'm never doing that again,” you warn with a pointed finger in her direction.

“Really?” A familiar voice behind you asks. “And here I thought you had a good time.”

You turn around to see Bucky standing there, his gaze fixed on you with a cheeky smile.

Yelena can barely contain her excitement, her grin widening even further.

Her feet hit the floor with a thud as she eagerly joins the conversation, eyes darting between the two of you. She turns first to Bucky.

“Wait, you were there?” Her question laced with disbelief.

Bucky shrugged nonchalantly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world for him to have attended a speed dating event.

“Yeah, and?” He asked, his indifference only increasing Yelena's excitement.

“You went speed dating?” She asks incredulously. He doesn't look at her as he answers, he looks only at you.

“I went speed dating.” He confirms.

“And all you got were book recommendations?” You add, reaching into your bag to hand him the two books.

“Well I was kinda hoping I got a little more than that,” Bucky smirks, his expression filled with a hint of mischief.

Yelena's eyes widened, her gaze darting back and forth between you and Bucky.

“Wait, what's this? What's with you two?”

“I mean, I did think you were scared of me-” he began.

“You don't scare me,” you cut in firmly.

His smile widened further.

“Good to know.”

Yelena watches the exchange with wide eyes.

“This is so weird,” she mumbles to herself.

“So, you think you'll do it again?" You ask him brazenly.

Bucky grins at your bold question.

“Maybe,” he muses before adding with a twinkle in his eye, “but only if you're there.”

FIN

[travelingmaster-inspirations]

When my next door neighbor helped me move in, I found him charming enough, but since I liked girls a LOT more than boys, I didn't see him as a potential mate. I thought he was cool and friendly so when we were done, I invited him over for a 'thank you drink'. Honestly, I figured he would have his drink, we would chat a bit and he would leave. 

But surprisingly enough, his conversation was very engaging and the more I learned about him, the more I wanted to know. Especially when he said that he used to be a stage hypnotist! That peeked my fancy and we got to talking about how fake most shows were while he kept telling me that his shows were all very genuine. I didn't know anything about hypnosis so l dared him to try and hypnotize me so he could prove how good he was. 

I honestly thought he wouldn’t be able to put me under, but to my utter shock, his induction felt like magic and before I knew it, I was drifting off into trance without really realizing what was happening to me. It just felt so relaxing... So good... I REALLY loved it so l asked him if he'd be willing to show me more. He was more than willing to do so, but since it was late, we agree to meet up a few days later. However, if I was so eager to experience his relaxing voice again, he said he was willing to transfert me a few audio files he was creating for an ASMR channel he was thinking of starting. 

He admitted it wasn't hypnosis per say, but he assured me that the feeling of drifting off would be almost identical. I was intrigued so I agreed and no later than that very night, I slipped on some headphones and listened to his soft voice as I drifted off... 

He was right, the feeling was very similar, but as a fun bonus, the background tones he used made the inside of my skull tingle in the most pleasurable way. Needless to say, I slept like a baby and decided to do it again the next day. And the day after that...

In fact, I did it every single night until we were able to meet again. His soft voice lulled me to sleep so expertly that it was no wonder that his induction seemed to work twice as fast! In fact, it felt to me like he barely started to guide me down before I sank into blissful oblivion. 

He showcased a lot more triggers from his past shows that night, mostly things I've either seen or heard about, but to me, it felt so new and exciting! Each trick he pulled on my hypnotized mind made me want to experience more. Even when he was able to make me forget our names or when he managed to convince me that I was naked, I was thrilled by what my own mind could do! 

Sure, the fact that our 'fake names' were Master and slave WAS a little strange, but then again, he was so masterful with his hypnosis that it somehow felt RIGHT and I didn't care to bring it up. Besides, I was his padawan when it came to hypnosis so it made perfect sense that he was my Master. And it naturally follows that a Master has a slave… Right?

Regardless, I didn’t really think about all that much and instead, just enjoyed the wonders he was showing me. When he left, he gave me new files to test out and told me they would 'train' me to be an even better subject, which would in turn allow me to experience even more profound triggers. I was so excited to try them out. 

The files were much more of a proper induction, but they also combined the AMSR tones from the previous ones. The tingles were a VERY welcome addition to the experience and just like the previous one, I listened to it every night before bed. His voice was so soothing… Yet powerful in a way that made me feel incredibly happy whenever I heard it take on that special tone of voice. 

I didn't realize it at the time, but after a few nights of listening to that new track, I stopped seeing him as my neighbor and unconsciously began to see him as my Master. Which meant that I didn't even bat an eye when he came over for dinner before our hypnosis session and walked in already acting like my Dominant. I mean... I wasn't even in trance, yet I felt completely mesmerized as I listened to him talk through our dinner as if I was a slave that served him his due meal. 

I was enthralled... Pure and simple. 

Our dynamic felt so blissfully pleasurable to me that I couldn't bring myself to care what he was hypnotically pushing me to do. Even when his post hypnotic suggestions compelled me to take off my clothes, I embraced it as any other trigger and even forgot I was naked when he froze and started to pose my helpless body. I felt utterly controlled and the part of me that worried it was all too much was easily drowned out by the immense pleasure I felt. 

It was just too amazing and too erotic for me to resist and before the evening was done, my body no longer felt like my own anymore as he made me cum again and again while also bringing me in and out of trance with just a few words. The whole experience was mind blowing to say the least and even as my exhaustion settled in, I found myself wanting ever more.

I was so blissfully aroused and erotically euphoric that I didn't care one bit when his cock was the one to wake me from the latest trance. I was so mindless and deep within my slave role that all I could think about was that he had given me so much pleasure that it only felt proper to allow him to take his own from my dazed body. Besides, I was so exhausted that all I could really do was to enjoy the ride. 

I almost blacked out from the sheer pleasure overload when he came, but somehow managed to stay conscious long enough to hear him tell me that all I had to do to feel this again was to submit to him. I felt like I already had a 100 times over so it was an easy decision to accept without a second thought. 

He smiled and tranced me again as he placed headphones over my ears. I don't really remember the file, but I remember how strong it felt because it seemed to me like it sent me even deeper than I had ever gone…

I woke up the next morning next to my Master and the moment my eyes took in his sleeping form, I knew something inside my brain had changed. I like girls… WAY more that I liked guys and yet, my nipples hardened as I calmly remembered that we had fucked. I could have assumed it was just because the experience turned out to feel a lot better than it had in the past when I fucked guys, but I knew it was more than that…

Somehow… I knew it had felt that way only because he was my Master and I was offering the pleasure he deserved in exchange for giving me such profound hypnotic experiences. After all, he was my Master and I was his slave… It was only proper to obey his desires… 

Obey…

The thought seemed to echo in my mind, sending erotic thrills down my nerves as I remembered that he had fucked me because I obeyed. I was so helpless… So controlled… A puppet he could manipulate to satisfy his sexual desires… 

The concept both scared and aroused me as I realized how deep his control had sunk into my eager little brain. Without knowing it, I had given him full control of my mind and part of me worried what that would mean going forward. But then again, letting go felt so… Liberating… Intoxicatingly so… 

Looking at my Master's sleeping form, I couldn’t help but smile because knowing I was in his tender care gave me a whole range of erotic butterflies and that’s something I hadn’t felt in years. Right then and there, I decided that whatever my Master wanted from me, it would be worth it in exchange for his hypnotic guidance. 

[animeomegas]

Ideal Valentines Day - Omega! Aizawa, Mic, Toshinori, Dabi

A/N: For the anon who asked <3 I wasn't vibing with Shiggy today, so I left him off. I feel like these all ended up being home dates, but I think being a hero or villain makes those easier lol. There are hints of n-sfw, but it's non-descriptive and very tame.

Aizawa

Actions speak louder than words for Aizawa, and I think his preferred love language for receiving affection is Acts of Service.

He has no need for material items, and that goes doubly for anything covered in hearts. I don't think he's a massive fan of chocolate. And flowers are just another thing that he has to sort out and try to keep alive as long as he can. No, he much prefers practical care on Valentine's day.

He wants you to pick him up from UA after work so he doesn't have to drive, a warm cup of his favourite coffee, far sweeter than his image would suggest, ready for him.

He wants to go straight home of course. When he walks through the door, he would love to see the house sparkling clean and tidy. It lifts a burden off him that he didn't even know was there.

There's no fancy outfits with him. He wants to immediately get changed into the comfiest clothes he has, and he would love if you did the same.

Dinner should 100% be his favourite takeaway, eaten on the couch, of course.

I don't know why, but I don't get the vibe that Aizawa is that interested in sex on Valentines Day. I think he'd prefer the intimacy to come from a shared bath or a massage.

And ideally the night ends early, so he can face tomorrow well rested, for once in his life.

Mic

Hizashi loves cheesy romance, he lives for cheesy romance! He eats, sleeps, and breathes it!

I think receiving gifts is something he loves, so get him a pink teddy bear, get him a comically oversized chocolate bar, get him a sappy card filled with cheesy love poems (bonus if you write them yourself.) He loves it all.

He also wants to be at home, because he's worried about people recognising him and interrupting the date.

He would love, love, love if he came home to a trail of rose petals to follow, he's always wanted to do that!

I think he'd enjoy cooking dinner together, just making a mess, playing around, listening to music.

Please pull him to dance with you, he will melt.

Once the food is eaten and the mess left for tomorrow, I think he'd want to do some sort of activity. A board game, a video game, painting together, anything! He's having fun as long as he's with you.

And then... well he's certainly not going to complain if one of your gifts to him was lingerie or a new 'toy'. And it would be rude to not try them out 😏

Toshinori

His idea of romance is old school. He developed his taste mostly from films, rather than experience, after all.

He wants roses so badly. He can't decide if it's more romantic to get a dozen roses, or just one, so he'll let you decide.

I think something private would be more meaningful to him because he's spent his life in the spotlight.

He wants you to meet him at the door with a rose/bouquet of roses, and then lead him into the living room of your home, where you've laid out a fancy dinner.

He wants the fancy dinner table to be set to the nines, he wants candles, champagne, and some food that he can eat. He wants classical music playing in the background.

And then he wants you to pull out his chair for him and wine and dine him until he's completely smitten, not that that's hard.

He doesn't mind if you order the food, but he'd prefer if you either made it by hand, or had it ordered from a special place as opposed to just off a food delivery app. He wants everything to feel special.

The best way to finish the night after dinner is with a movie. One of his favourite films, probably a ridiculous American action film or terrible romcom.

He needs some good old fashioned cuddling at the same time of course.

And because he's getting old, he wants to spend the final moments of the day tucked up in bed, talking about feelings and the future, and all the fuzzy things you're both looking forward to in your relationship.

Dabi

Dabi is softer than he will admit, which means Valentines Day with him involved tricking him into feeling loved.

You can't do things that are too typical, because he'll get spooked. If he comes home and sees heart shaped balloons or dozens of roses, he will flee the scene.

Luckily, he is utterly weak for pizza, so if he comes home and you've ordered his favourite pizza and got a video game/film set up, he can't resist.

"This isn't some weird Valentine's shit, is it?"

"It's just pizza, Dabi, but if you don't want any, I'll eat it all."

"What? In your dreams, knothead."

Once you've lulled him in with pizza and games, you can start putting the moves on him.

He's almost always down for sex, so that part is easy. The hard part is stopping him from escalating it into something rougher, and keeping it gentle.

He gets frustrated at first that you're being too soft on him, and it's at this point that you start lavishing him in praise and body worship. His frustration turns into bashfulness and Dabi gets kind of shy.

Let him know how much you love him.

And then, right when you're both about to drift off, wish him a Happy Valentine's Day.

[13thdoodle]

[ ECTOBERHAUNT 2023 BANNER ]

I'm doing the banner for this year's @ectoberhaunt event~ The theme is Science vs Magic

I had so much fun making this~ Sam get the fantasy AU fit while Tucker gets Cyber/futuristic style

Sketch Progress

I like the idea of Sam being a druid bc nature connection tm

And Tucker would vibe very well with fancy future stuffs. i was gonna draw him with a bigger puffer but I couldn't figured it out. I like the one we got here too so yay

Okay so I was a bit pressed on time while working on this so I couldn't do as much research and references as I should.

On Sam's part, the somewhat floating book was inspired on how genshin impact's catalysts have their books/weapon just floats and it looks fancy n magical n Sam deserve that honestly

Her glowing tattoo are highkey inspired of this beautiful Sam with tattoos art by @the-stove-is-on-fire Mine is nowhere close to that but that's my main inspiration for this

I was gonna give Tucker his usual orange sweater but I noticed a lot of neon or cyberpunk outfit relies on dark backdrop to pop.

And since the background color is gonna be bright yellow, I gotta put the dark color somewhere else. And his sweater would be the perfect spot to balance out all the brightness with a bit of darkness

And it matches with Sam too so it works out great uwu

The magic circles on their back were mostly there to balance out the composition bc it looks too empty as is, gotta spice it up a lil bit uwu But a direct halo would look.. too out there? I mean I can but like.. Sam is magic/fantasy based, why not lean on that n go for magic circles :D

Tucker's random bits on the background took the most out of me bc like.. its hard qwq I literally try to look up aesthetic bg to figure out how to work with his?? Eventually I just settle on less is more and added shadow under the bits to make em pops out against the orange

source

And for the color choices, I wanted the two of them to have purple, yellow, and green on them. The green color on to symbolize Danny bc I'm an Everlasting Trio shipper lmao

I wanted Sam to have some yellow and green on her magic, which kinda.. got covered with the whites honestly. But the greens stays with the vines so we'll go with that Tucker was harder to figure out, so I settle with him with blue and greens instead of purple qwq

In the end, only the green end up staying lmao It ends up unifying both sides so hell yea it all works out lol

[demigod-shenanigans]

Have not posted about mine and @queenjunothegreat’s next gen kids in way too long so: Pipeyna kiddie

-Her name is Emilia McLean. Her go-to nickname is Em. When she’s in trouble, Piper calls her Lea. Yes, she‘s named after Leo. He would not stop wailing when he was told about this.

-Em is Sofía’s best friend. She’s three years older than Sofía and they grow up considering each other sisters. (Good luck trying to tell Sofía they’re not sisters because they’re not related, she’s not related to her dads either and they’re still her dads, so checkmate)

-When they were small, Sofía followed Em around like a little duckling, insisting to play whatever Em was playing and do whatever Em was doing. There’s nothing these two wouldn’t do for each other. (Also yes I gave them matching earrings in different colors because they’re dorks and they would.)

-Em loves skirts and dresses and putting her hair up in fancy braids. Reyna’s got the braiding covered due to her time on Circe’s island, but when Em asked her moms to show her how to do her makeup, they were both sweating profusely because Piper hasn’t let anyone put makeup on her since she was twelve and Reyna’s just never really bothered with it? They spent like an hour trying to watch a makeup tutorial before giving up and admitting they need help. Hylla never lets Reyna live it down, but Emilia is thrilled because “the queen of the Amazons taught me how to do my makeup” is a pretty cool thing to brag about. (There was a discussion on whether or not to call Drew instead but in the end they settled on Hylla because they knew Hylla would be annoying but not as overly smug about it.)

-Drew absolutely takes Em clothes shopping sometimes because she’s decided Reyna and Piper are both useless. Piper lets it happen because it makes Em happy but is also fuming about it. Reyna is honestly just grateful to be getting out of clothes shopping lmao her closet is almost entirely made up of work outfits.

-Piper and Reyna have a rescue dog named Kitty (Em named her when she was three, in honor of that the name is spelled in all caps in all official documents) and Em loves that dog so much. It’s entirely mutual. Kitty is wildly protective of Em and will bite people if they so much as look at her weird.

-Leo is Em’s chaotic fun uncle and they get into so many shenanigans together. Jason is a significantly less chaotic uncle than his husband but somehow always ends up caught in the crossfire of their uncle-niece shenanigans.

-Leo being the chaotic fun uncle inevitably comes back to bite him when Em takes a page out of his book and starts getting into shenanigans with Sofía. Piper is absolutely cackling in the background.

Some more lore stuff under the cut since this is getting kind of long

-Em is actually the only next gen child named specifically after another demigod. This is both because Leo is close friends with her moms and because in a universe where names have power, choosing the name of the guy who beat the odds and quite literally rewrote fate—who defied death not once but twice so he could have his happy ending—is the greatest blessing Piper can think to give her daughter.

-Leo has thought of himself as a curse for a large chunk of his life. The concept of having his name used as a blessing is something he never fully recovers from.

-Speaking of names: Reyna’s bloodline and family legacy was meant to be intricately tied to New Rome’s survival. It ruined her life and took away almost her entire childhood. She happily laid her family name to rest and took Piper’s when they married. They mostly live in the mortal world and her ties with New Rome aren’t nearly as strong as they used to be when she was growing up, but there’s a part of her is terrified that this will come back to haunt her daughter one day. She never tells her daughter about Bellona’s prophecy. She won’t allow for her to grow up with the future of New Rome on her shoulders.

-Emilia is a natural leader. Aside from her general proficiency with various weapons, her main power is a sort of motivational charmspeak—not quite Piper’s ability to control others, and not quite Reyna’s ability to project her own emotions outward, but a milder combination of both that allows her to demand the attention of other demigods, instill confidence in those listening to her and rally her troops. Everyone knows she’d be a praetor at Camp Jupiter in no time, and it terrifies Reyna.

-But Em is a legacy of Aphrodite and Bellona both. She has a place at Camp Half-Blood as well as Camp Jupiter. And when the time comes for her to choose, she chooses Camp Half-Blood and goes back to live with her moms once the summer is over. Reyna nearly cries with relief.

-Maybe Leo’s name worked. Maybe the prophecy won’t be of any relevance until they’ve all long passed, many generations down the line. But Em strays from the path that seemed so set for her. She’s free, in a way Reyna never was.

[glitzbot]

Could u show how ur process of ur making comics? Its so stylized and charming im amazed at them 🥺

thank you so much, this is so sweet!! and sure! I'm happy to give you a lil peak behind the curtain at my process

under a cut cause I'm a rambler ✨

every comic of mine starts with a script first! it's not anything too fancy, mostly just the dialogue jotted down in a very inconsistent fashion, like so

and once the fun of writing some sassy stolitz banter is over, next comes the most difficult part imo... thumbnailing the layout

the thumbnail is just a messy ass sketch of basic bitch shapes to work out where I think everything is gonna fit. it's probably not very legible to anyone but me. I mean just look at this shit

once I got that down, I scale it up to fit the page and lower the opacity. then before I do any proper sketching, I get that text in there. oooooh yeah! do those text and speech bubbles and panel borders first babes, TRUST ME. that shit's a time saver

then you can sketch AROUND the speech bubbles, instead of having to sketch -> add text -> oh shit the text is bigger than I thought, now I have to alter the sketch -> rinse repeat on multiple panels and cry

so after that, I'll do a first pass sketch but like yikes I got so damn lazy with one?? wow. it's not always like this I promise

here's an example of another first pass sketch as PROOF, sometimes there's more detail

aaaaanyway if I'm in a real rush, I'll skip to inking, but USUALLY I like to do a cleaner second sketch first like so. it makes inking waaaaaay easier

so yeah after THAT comes the inking. it's usually all in black (I color the lines at the very end, typically) but I did not feel like undoing all my hard work for this screenshot sowwy

after it's all nice and inked, I color using the typical comic book flatting method. flatting is easily the most boring part, but alas, it must be done

I use the fill bucket tool in Clip Studio Paint all on the same layer and yeah the colors look wonky as shit right? that's cause it doesn't matter what colors you use, you just have to be able to grab the areas you want later using the magic wand tool (so you can see all the backgrounds on each panel are a different color to keep them separated, for example)

and that's what I do! after the flats are done, I create a new layer and use the magic wand tool to select and color each area properly. minimal shading, because I hate rendering most of all, so I keep the colors pretty flat! I color in some lines after that and call it good!

I hope this was insightful in some way and made sense! I don't know if I'm any good at explaining things, so if you'd like more clarity on anything, feel free to ask and I'll try again! 💖

[fabdante]

Re: more crimes for reboot Dante + forgery:

He's probably pretty good at using makeup and hair dye to disguise himself. Mostly from experience doing or helping/learning how to do costume makeup from coworkers at the pier, and maybe a bit from sex workers/pole dancers, but I could see him knowing some from forgery teachings, too. Probably has some drawing skills, too.

Also, yeah, I'm just gonna say it: Probably some pole dancing skills, too. Or at least, how to move and balance on a pole and how to build + keep up the insane core strength to hold up his own body weight on a pole. (Like that archery guy on Tiktok/YouTube that can balance on a pole and shoot at the same time; he doesn't call himself a pole dancer, "because I haven't earned it".) Probably some gymnastics skills, too, and parkor- anything that would help him move through architecture that's actively trying to kill him, before he got the fancy Devil/Angel Arms to help him swing his way through Limbo.

I think Kat probably has better art and computer forgery skills than Dante does (tho I do kinda like the idea that Dante is better at makeup than she is; he rarely bothers to put that much effort into himself, but he could disguise someone with makeup if he had to), especially since Vergil seems to of taught her some computer stuff, so I think she and Dante working together could probably forge some pretty convincing stuff. At least, on paper- there's always personal background details that are hard to research and/or fake. But, together, I think they could run if they had to.

Oh interesting!

I've never really imagined Dante as a particularly artistic person but I think its an interesting take on him. I do think he has it in him to be very creative, we see it in his thinking processes so I think it's a fun and interesting way for him to express that creativity! I do like the idea of him doing peoples make up also, something about that is kinda fun. I think it's the intimacy that can come from applying make up asdfghjk

As for skills on the pole, I do worry that he is a bit impatient to properly learn it asdfghjk however preboot Dante does canonly swing around on that one in 3 so perhaps he has some basic skills. Parkor though definitely, it's just practical for him and he very much strikes me as the type of guy who loves climbing things in a very reckless fashion (tying into my headcanons that he's into grunge also, because grunge bands loved climbing into the rafters at shows (cough eddie vedder cough) )

And I could imagine Kat having a bit more of a background in forgery, particularly because Vergil's probably very good at faking paperwork and things like that. She probably picked up some things from him, though she lacks his resources after the end of the game. I imagine they had to do stuff like that in the Order a lot!

[blackjackkent]

Next up on the Lighthouse circuit is a quick visit with Harding. This was a bit of a long expositional conversation and probably mostly for the benefit of people who didn't play the previous games, but also some fun fan-service throwbacks to Inquisition.

"Did I see you writing a message to the Inquisition? What's that about?"

"You know Varric and I were part of the Inquisition, right? I'm trying to get news about the South. But Charter hasn't replied to any of my messages. I'm trying not to worry about what's happening there, but... No, it's probably fine. Charter's just busy. She's always busy."

(A/N: Well, that sounds a bit ominous. (I have actually heard in passing from my dash that things are very Not Good in the south; Helena doesn't really care about this, frankly, having plenty of her own problems, but I do. D: ))

"Charter. Who's that?"

"She's the Inquisition's spymaster. Well, no, I guess now that the Inquisition answers to the Chantry, that makes her Divine Victoria's spymaster.

(A/N: It's been so long since I played Inquisition that I straight up did not remember this character. XD )

"I haven't heard much about the Inquisition in years."

"Oh, that's intentional. When the Breach was open, we needed a large group to stop southern Thedas from falling into chaos. It's changed in the years since. We're a smaller force, working underground to keep an eye on things going on in the world.

"So how long were you with the Inquisition? Ten years?"

"Something like that. Why?"

"You must know the Inquisitor."

"Well, yeah. We worked together. I wasn't part of the Inquisitor's inner circle, though. I spent more time with the ordinary people; the ones you didn't hear about."

(A/N: This is true, although Harding was probably about as close to Dom's inner circle as it was possible to be without being in it. Dom liked her a lot and I think they talked a bunch about things while he was traveling to various places. Helena likes that Harding was more down with the normal folks, though; she doesn't have a ton of respect for people like the Magisterium who are highborn and fancy and disconnected from the needs of the ordinary people. She probably, at this point, assumes Dom is the same way - especially since he was of noble background in the Free Marches.)

"So tell me about these ordinary Inquisition members I haven't heard about."

"The Inquisition hired hundreds. And most of them weren't magisters or Ben-Hassrath or the Left Hand of the Divine. There were scouts and stablehands, carpenters and cooks and quartermasters. Even two dedicated pastry chefs. Most of them volunteered, like me. We wanted to help, in whatever small way we could."

"I'm sure those pastries were a great help."

"My ma likes to say that sometimes the pie is for eating, and sometimes it's for crying into. It doesn't even need to be pie. Rector liked cake, and Falkner loved soup. But food was always a comfort."

(A/N: Aw. XD Dom was definitely responsible for hiring the pastry chefs.)

"Rector? Falkner?"

"Leliana gave all her agents pseudonyms."

"Right... like Charter."

"Well, Charter's Charter. But when the other two and I were together, we were just Lace, Wilbur, and Katja."

"And the Inquisition's advisors? What about them?"

"Of all of them, I'd say Josephine is my favorite. She's lovely. She still sends me a box of handmade sweets from Val Royeaux, every year on my nameday. Cullen and I got along too, but he was always busy. He would have bad days from lyrium withdrawal sometimes, and I would share the tea that my ma sent. He's from Ferelden too; maybe it reminded him of home."

"What about Leliana? I heard she's... intense."

"I think she likes to cultivate that reputation. She's not nearly as terrifying as she sounds. I passed her in the great hall one day, and she suddenly turned and asked me if I wanted a nug."

"What, like, for lunch?"

(A/N: Helena no.)

"Leliana wouldn't joke like that! No, she just bred them. As pets."

"So did you take the nug?"

"No! What am I going to do with a nug? Do *not* say eat it."

"But you did know people from the Inquisitor's inner circle, didn't you?"

"I knew them, sure. But those early days, all I wanted was to prove myself and not get in anyone's way. Some of them were more approachable than others. Sera was a puppy with a new toy - a hundred new toys. Fun, if you can handle the mess. She was really the only one who could make Rainier - well, Blackwall then - let down his guard. Otherwise he kept to himself and stuck to the stables. We'd talk when I visited the horses. And there was Cole, of course."

"The spirit boy?"

"Yep. I was just sitting on the walls one day, and he asked if he could join my game."

"Like, a card game?"

"Nah, just good old people-watching. Must've seemed like a game to him somehow. We'd pick strangers out of the crowd and try to say something about them. Like 'She heard the joke yesterday and she's still trying not to laugh.' Or one of Cole's: 'His eyes remind her of the ones beneath her bed.'"

"Who stores eyes under their bed? I'm partial to a nice wall display, myself."

(A/N: Helena nO.)

"Well, that's one interpretation that never occurred to me. Thanks."

(A/N: lolololol)

"Wasn't Cole an empath? He must've been great at this game."

"Ah, but the rule was, you couldn't say anything you actually knew. He got it in the end. ...I think."

"So you didn't ask him if you guessed right?"

"Being right wasn't the point. Making a habit of seeing people was. I think he liked that."

(A/N: Harding is such a sweetheart. <3 )

"Do you miss it? The Inquisition, I mean."

"It's hard to miss an organization. They're only as good as their people, don't you think? But I do miss my friends. We write to each other, but it's not the same. And the Inquisition is different from what we've built here. Not better or worse, just different. It's special when you're among people working towards the same goal. "

"Not everyone. There was Solas. What did you really think of him, back then?"

"Lonely. He always seemed lonely. It's hard not to be when you hold yourself above everyone else."

"You mean it's hard not to be lonely when you're a pompous ass?"

"Something like that."

"You can say it, you know. Try it out. 'Solas is a pompous ass.'"

"Maybe he is, but I can still feel sorry for him, can't I?"

"Anyway, I'm sure something out there's on fire and here I am, rambling about the past. I should let you go. Talk later?"

(A/N: Lol. Helena is definitely not a fan of Solas; their main enemy is definitely Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain, but she definitely sees him as just as culpable in everything that's going down, and no better than the arrogant mages she battles every day. I get the impression that perhaps she is a little bit of a black-and-white thinker in this regard, not considering a lot of room for people to evolve from her initial impression of them, so that might be something that also grows for her a bit over the course of this game.

Anyway TLDR Harding is a sweetheart, Dom likes pastry, Helena doesn't like Solas. XD )

[chaoticxbeast]

shvttrclik answered:

☃ — [sender] and [receiver] attempt to make a snowman together

It was a running joke in her family that Elsie was cold blooded. She never preformed well the moment it got cold, shivering like an anxious chiwawa the moment it became anywhere under room temperature. that's what the sweaters where for! Because of this, winter was her worse enemy, usually forced to bundle up so intensely she looked and FELT like a marshmallow.

But not this year. This year she was prepared. Mostly. Two pairs of thermal winter tights, a wool sweater under her jacket, heated earmuffs, gloves and the thickest boots she could find? She felt like a heater maybe, but the point is she didn't look like one push could send her rolling down a hill. She'd spent months surfing the internet, hunting down the pieces of her new arsenal until the time came. And as she stood in the knee high snow bank in the park, she felt immensely proud of herself.

Thankfully it wasn't blisteringly cold today, but the massive snowfall the night before had practically shut down the roads, meaning school had been cancelled. Usually, she'd be bundled up on her couch right now, some Christmas moving playing in the background as she scribbled away in a book, but instead here she was at the park next door, awkwardly trying to roll a ball of snow in a poor attempt to build up part of her snowman. She looked over her shoulder to her current company calling out to him.

❝ How's your part coming along Donnie!? ❞

@shvttrclik

Winter had always been long, cold, dark, and kinda gloomy for him and his family. Like any typical reptile, he felt sluggish during the winter and, in the past, would sleep a bit more than usual. But that way of life was behind him now.

Now he was just glad to be out in the light and under the bright blue sky, enjoying the company of his friend.

"It's going good! The snow is wet enough to pack but not too icy," Don wasn't doing any fancy blueprints for this snowman, he was just eyeballing it, and doing as best as he could without too much planning, mainly focusing on just having a fun time.

Don stepped back to assess its symmetry, brushing off a few uneven parts with his hand. "This could be the legs… Hey, we’re making this together, right?" Donnie asked with a wide smile, leaning against the snowball with fogged up glasses from the cold. He slid them off his face and wiped away the condensation with his gloves, squinting at her as he worked. "How’s it going with you?"

[golby-moon]

got some art for a round in the @destielomegaversebigbang. got to draw lots of new things with this fic which is always fun and partly why I started doing bangs at all

with the banner, I was actually given a color scheme by the author to try out, which is why everything is so...green and tan. I wanted to represent the uh weird chastity belt thing without actually showing it, so I designed a belt with fancy Celtic designs on both the belt buckle and the belt itself (which were made to look like 's's for Supernatural). the keys mirror the belt as Cas is the key to unlocking it in the fic, and the background with its dangerously off centered dots and wooden board sort of title are because Cas owns a hardware store in the fic. I definitely didn't overdo it on the symbolic silver color I continuously reused

I originally chose the fic due to this scene being described in the claims, where Dean and Cas bump into each other in a hardware store and all kinds of stuff spills around them on the ground. admittedly I didn't know Cas worked in the hardware store from the claims, but this did give me a great opportunity to draw all kinds of stuff I never have before (mostly in the background with all the tools and idk plates and stuff everywhere). I wanted to imply that Cas knows about hunting and monsters and such, so I not only have iron, silver, and salt bullets on display on the counter, but also added a devil's trap sticker on the cash register next to the cat one and the 'save <3 (bee) bees' one. everything is charged by the dollar instead of any of the $x.99 stuff due to a thought I had about Cas being too blunt to bother with making things seem cheaper (and if any of the prices are way off, that's because I have no clue how much any of this stuff would be ignore that)

I did originally have their faces turned a little less and Cas looking more...well, like Cas, but I like the vibe of the later version better since they seem more friendly instead of like strangers having their first ever mutually gay awakening moment. this one just looks kind of awkward. thank goodness I used references for the kneeling positions for once though 🎉 (I think Cas' was some lady gardening lol)

the art limit for the bang was actually brought down, but I did two pieces for the minibang fic anyway and added the scene of Dean lying on the couch and Cas with his weirdly long right arm (oops) cupping his face. when I read the scene, I just immediately pictured Cas owning an ugly floral grandma couch, which turns out to be the kind of disaster couch the author kind of pictured Cas as having as well. it's such an ugly couch I love it

(not that anyone probably noticed but I did draw this a while ago which is why Dean's hair isn't consistent with the new way I draw it. Cas' is about as messy as always though 👌)

the fic this is made for is called "An Intervention of Silver" by @hannahctwk for the destiel omegaverse big bang

(09/29/23)

[rikomoriyama01]

do you have any allison hcs? with ref to your recent allison posts, id love to know your thoughts!

I don't go deep into any other character than Riko but I love idea of Mtf Allison. Exy is co ed sport and considering her background she would have the resources for transition as well as the big deal of family drama that would go with this. I'm very attached to the idea of Allison leaving her family and choosing to play exy as a woman especially since testosterone is seen as extra benefit for most sports. I have some headcannons I suppose but nobody going to like them as they mostly connect to hear eating disorders - she has some fake teeth as she did loose few due to purging - she has stretch marks possibly got them lasered - she does exercise purgers still when foxes indulge into too much alcohol or fun food. - her weight fluctuates - personally I think she enjoys wearing sport clothes and layering to hide her body a bit, its a bit of a struggle for her, on some days she needs to be covered to feel comfortable but on others her gender dysphoria wins and she feels the need to indulge in hyper feminine fashion to feel more passing It would mean for me personally a lot if if ideas as such were read as they are intended - me trying to normalize the less glamorous parts of ed/recovery on top of the dysphoria train its hard for her to balance trying to look feminine and playing sports- testosterone or estrogen she still gains bit of muscle mass playing exy and i can see this being another part of her struggles with body image so far not good considering everything i write just runs around her looks and her body image but it's angle i don't see presented too often at leats not form those specific angles. if we go with the idea of allison being non white then 100% she would have the most fancy blonde wig money can buy I used to be very displeased with the idea of allison not ending as pro exy athlete but in the end she is not neil just because the book is about sport does not mean this is how all characters gotta end up, sports carry a lot of strain on body and mind i can see exy causing as much damage to ones health as football does. I like the idea of her and renee experimenting together a lot but not ending in established relationship for renee is exploration of sexuality outside of male attraction only and for allison its a tiny bit of gender envy about renee's body, she wouldn't want to grow resentful of a friend form the time and so they decide to cut it short but yeah I'm not interested in character work that is just "she is pretty and rich"

[petalpierrot]

We had a very low-key D&D session yesterday. The party mostly got some food and talked as they ate.

After their dance, Eidys invited Rahadin to have brunch with them and he agreed.

Eidys trying to gently socialize Rahadin with the party like he's a feral cat was kind of funny.

Rahadin asked the party how they liked the festival and warned them that the rest weren't as fun.

Eidys replied that they liked it well enough

He also asked what Eidys planning to do next and that to not hesitate to ask if there was anything he could help with in terms of information.

The party opts not to divulge that they will get involved with the Vallaki church, partially because they don't know where his allegiance lies but also in case Strahd would get that information out of him, one way or another.

Veshen replied that it was a much-needed mental break

Rahadin was curious about the Shadar-kai and asked how he ended up in Barovia

Veshen doesn't see any harm in it to tell him (he was retrieving a memory and then the mists prevented him from leaving)

Rahadin mentions Strahd likes to corrupt religious folks and if he does not submit he will be killed

Ireena pipes in that Veshen will *not* be corruptible.

Veshen agrees. He tells Rahadin that his faith is strong (partially because he works directly with the raven queen as an advisor - his background is Courtier) and he will know if he stops receiving portents that it will be Strahd's doing and not the raven queen abandoning him. As to if he dies, he is not afraid of death (as a grave cleric and shadar-kai) he says if a Shadar-kai dies they are simply reborn, so he doesn't fear death.

Rahadin says that Strahd will hate all that veshen stands for

Eidys asked about what these types of festivals are like for everyone else

Veshen said that there weren't any festivals in the Shadowfell

Dris compared something like this to Founders Day (where drow have to be nice to each other and how uncanny that was)

Eidys found that very amusing

Eidys mentions that Rahadin told her he used to work in an apothecary and how that is similar to what Dris did

Dris and Rahadin proceed to talk about poison, drow sleeping poison, and its uses in drow society and medicine

the party just silently and awkwardly listens to these men discuss unsavory topics.

Rahadin and Dris find a newfound respect for each other (it's doubly funny because the first time we played he was very much vanilla Rahadin, thinking everyone to be stupid for not submitting to Strahd, ESPECIALLY Dris(the drow) )

Rahadin then prompts the rest to tell him what date they will be coming to the dinner

Eidys days there are still some preparations to be made

Rahadin understands and tells them that Strahd will probably be less angry if he does tell him that they have purchased some fancy attire.

Then Rahadin felt some bad vibes (coming from """Sergei""") and had to leave.

We ended there but next session we were asked to say hello to the head of the church in Vallaki.

[wirewitchviolet]

Console Design- Can I have my cake and eat it too?

Recently I spilled the beans that I have a little hobby project slowly brewing away where I am designing a new game console. I'm still not ready to really properly pitch the whole thing, but between sharing that, explaining computer architecture, and seeing people's feedback, it keeps pushing itself towards the front burners over more practical projects I SHOULD be giving my focus to, and while people are paying attention, I might as well try to crowdsource answers to some questions I'm getting hung up on.

So... a lot of what I'm doing here is, I'll be honest, rooted in nostalgia for 16-bit consoles. There's a certain retro appeal to the look, speed, and general immediacy of 8-bit games, and more than plenty of support for making games that evoke that feel, and even recently made free dev tools for people to just make new games for older systems, and as I'm writing this, there is this massive renaissance going on with indie devs restricting them to the constraints of early polygonal-graphics-focused consoles, but we mostly skipped right past that 16-bit period, and all its hallmarks:

2D graphics with more color-depth than people really knew what to do with. All sorts of hardware-level flashy effects like transparency, resolution changes, neat little raster effects. A soundscape of crunchy FM synth and sparingly used sampling with distortion effects. Just a little taste of support for polygonal graphics. Not enough to go all-in, but enough to make a nice spice here and there. A general push to show off with fancy jointed paper doll sprites, 3D effects from sprite-scaling, just... clear ambitions all over to make low res 2D eye candy. Plus everything was cartridge based, allowing people to add extra custom chips for things they really wanted that they didn't quite have the power for.

So that's basically what I want to deliver here. A platform where you have more toys and tricks than you know what to do with if you're coming from 8-bit style stuff, but a real tricky set of restrictions to work around from a more modern approach, hopefully with its own look and sound. To that end I've been doing a ton of research into how some of those work... and a lot of it involves fun little tricks between scanlines. In particular, if you look at that mode 7 video above, right around 7:50, we've got this real eye-popping barrel distortion background. What's going on here, on a hardware level, is we have the ability to, essentially, apply one single image as a texture to a single parallelogram, which in this case is just taking a rectangular background and squishing it in towards the center then out towards its regular dimensions... but where doing that squishing and stretching between individual scan lines as we send the video out to the screen. Several changes to the shape before we've even finished rendering out one frame of the video, and tada, weird barrel.

Being able to support tricks like THAT, specifically, is a must-have feature for what I'm working on, and I'm pretty confident I can design the hardware with that exact capability... but the original hardware doing that was, to my understanding, very much working with the peculiarities of how a CRT worked and the exact number of operations it could get done while the beam was swiping back to the left to draw the next line, and I legitimately have no idea if tricks like this are even really possible if I slap together a similar chipset and send video out an HDMI cord to a modern display.

Like, I know I can fake that. I've got a Retron 5 hooked to a cheap flat panel TV with Castlevania 4 plugged in, but my understanding is that's actually emulating an SNES in software on some very-much-overkill for this sort of thing modern processor. What I would LIKE to do is build this with a chipset you really can push to its limits, hooked to modern display, and get this sort of effect. Because while I realize a big chunk of the audience for this sort of thing totally have nice well-maintained CRTs, I don't want to be married to hardware people no longer manufacture. And I'd rather not have some way more capable sub-processor wedged in here just to get the video output of whatever cheap fast legit 16-bit chipset I use otherwise to play nice with HDMI standards.

I'm still sort of in the dark about HDMI and modern display options, to be clear. And you know in a perfect world I'd like to have support built into this if you want to hook it to a CRT, but at the end of the day I need to pick an aspect ratio, and it's probably gonna be 16:9.

A similar fork in the road I may need to pick a lane for before I can really get going is looking at ASIC chips. What I'd really love is to be able to just point people at a design files for the casing and PCBs, and a warehouse of old mass-produced chips that sell for pennies, make the whole thing a neat little home electronics kit where the total price of everything is like, maybe $10 or $20 or something, you get out a soldering iron, and assemble it all yourself. But, I might need to custom design a chip or two in the end, and there's a chance it ends up being cheaper to just build literally the whole system on one chip. Simpler, easier to make a portable version of the whole thing, but it loses that DIY feel.

And of course there's also the risk that the overall architecture and chipset I'm looking at isn't going to have the oomph to do what I want it to do at a nice steady 60 FPS (maybe 120?) I'm just kind of assuming once I commit to a path I'll be able to find a dirt cheap chipset covering all the bases I need it to that'll hold up at a faster clock speed than consoles really ran at in the mid-90s. I want people to be able to do things smoothly that historically really had some slowdown, and you know, I AM planning to have a higher base resolution than the systems I'm taking inspiration from (maybe the same height but clearly more width).

And of course the real pain is going to be prototyping all this since none of it's going to work without hooking display AND something popped into a cartridge slot. I'm at least saving myself some headache starting with a controller I can at least test in other things, but wow there's gonna be so many different potential failure points to worry about at one step in here.

[dancingkirby]

Another Subject One snippet

Yes, I started Chapter 3 with fanservice-y shirtless Crow. Why? Because I could.

WARNINGS: Brief mention of organ harvesting. Crow's potty mouth.

Today had started out on the good side of average.  There’d been enough food for everyone in the house to have a good breakfast, and afterwards Crow had decided to take advantage of the nice weather to give Blackbird a long-overdue cleaning and wax.  So he’d stripped down to his oldest pair of shorts, hauled out the hose, and got to work.  The kids helped, as far as that went.  Mostly they just gleefully ran through the stream of water and played in the soapy mud puddles that were forming on the ground.  But this was Satellite, where fun things happened once in a blue moon.  Crow wasn’t about to begrudge them that. 

He was finishing up with the rinsing when he first became aware of the shadow above him.  At first he thought it might be a storm cloud moving in, and regretted his bad timing.  Then, when the hose (and its background noise) had been shut off and he was trying to dry his D-Wheel off quickly before the rain started, he realized that clouds didn’t generally make a whirring sound. 

He looked up when the kids started shouting and pointing, quickly realizing two things.  First off, the sky was still completely clear.  Secondly, there was a helicopter hovering right above them. 

What the hell was this about?  Was this some kind of Security bullshit again?  He hadn’t even done anything wrong for, like, two weeks now!  He activated his duel disk and kept the other hand on his deck.  No matter how outnumbered he might be, he was willing and prepared to fight to the death to protect his kids…

…And then the helicopter door slid open.  Someone very familiar who was definitely not part of Security waved at him and called out, “Crow, it’s just me!”

“…Oh.  Hi Yusei.”  He immediately shut the disk off again.  “Sweet ride you got there; are you sick of the new and improved Yusei Go already?”

“Can’t hear you!” Yusei shouted in response.  Yeah, the noise of the chopper engine was making conversation a little difficult. 

“HOW ABOUT YOU JUST LAND?” Crow yelled at the top of his lungs, cupping his hands around his mouth as a makeshift megaphone.  He gestured at the ground in case they still couldn’t hear him.  Thankfully they got the idea. 

As Yusei disembarked and let the excited, mud-spattered kids run all over him, Crow began, “Sorry we don’t have a fancy landing pad…”  He broke off when he realized that Yusei had not been the only passenger in that helicopter. 

“Crow Hogan, I presume?” another man asked while stepping out of the craft himself.  He was maybe late forties, had a beard, and was attired in a nice suit.  Crow thought that maybe he’d seen him on TV once or twice before.  He had “Tops” written all over him, and looked like the type of guy who would normally be content to pretend that people like Crow didn’t exist. 

He replied, “Yeah, that’s me.  What about it?”

The man inclined his head.  “My name is Izayoi Hideo, and I need you and your friend Yusei to accompany me to Neo Domino.  We’ll explain on the way; we don’t have much time.”

Um.  This situation had gone from “weird” to “absolutely fucking bizarre” in just a few seconds.  Part of him wanted to say “No way” and get back on with his day.  You never trusted anybody from Neo Domino; everyone in Satellite knew that.  They almost invariably wanted to do a photo op so they could brag to their friends about the charitable work they did, and that was if they weren’t there to kidnap you and harvest your organs…

But then again, Yusei seemed to be okay with all this, and he had always been an excellent judge of character. 

“I dunno.  Are you sure he’s on the up and up?” he asked the guy who had been like a brother to him for the past eleven years.

Yusei nodded.  “I’m sure.”

There was no way out of this without acting like a giant asshole, was there?

“Just gimme a few secs to put a shirt on,” he said, rushing off without waiting for an answer.

Once he’d gotten changed back to his regular clothes, and washed his face, and made sure he had deodorant on, and even made an attempt at combing his hair, he went back outside, where no one had moved. 

“Ginga, you put Blackbird in the garage and then make sure everyone gets to Martha’s house,” he ordered.  Looks like there wasn’t going to be any waxing done today after all, and he’d have to hose the D-Wheel off again later on.  

“Hey!  Why’s Ginga in charge?” demanded Daichi.

“Because he’s the oldest and I say so,” said Crow, in a tone that he hoped would brook no further argument…and also not quite believing that he was using that frustrating tactic that Martha would spring on them all the time.  “Now go.”