#very 'YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT MY THEORIES!? I'VE BEEN WAITING YEARS FOR SOMEONE TO ASK ME ABOUT MY THEORIES!!!' energy

[angle0fthegourd]

LDB: You don't speak of Akatosh often, why?

Jhnual: Well... *Becomes an unskippable cutscene*

[toriaaniin]

Scarface

No I'm not writing about the 1983 Al Pachino movie of the same name... I'm writing about our handsome Luke Newton's new scar on his forehead.

In preparation for my upcoming livestream tomorrow, I asked my followers "What should we talk about?". One of the responses was this:

If you're not too overwhelmed with asks. Luke's scar at SAG. How did he get it?

If you look closely... I mean, if you can get past the huge sigh of pleasure + butterfly flutters you experience simply by looking at this gorgeous man, posed on a bed, compelling us to...

Oops. I lost my train of thought 🥵🥵🥵

If you look closely at his forehead, just our-right of centre between his (perfect + expressive) eyebrows (that, you know, sit over his remarkable shade of blue eyes), you can see that Luke has acquired a vertical 4cm-ish scar.

The ask that's been asked of me: "How did he get it?"

Now you all know that I have Luke's phone number programmed on quick-dial. HA! 😂 I wish! All my questions would be answered, and oh how I would appreciate a day without wondering all things. Not so lucky. Naturally - like you - I have no idea.

What I do know is that Luke didn't have a cut or the scar back on October 21st when he and Nicola posted - simultaneously - their season 4 Polin (but I say Lukola) photo.

And Luke didn't have a cut or scar in late November while in Rome, filming White Mars. The second of these two photos was taken on November 29th, US Thanksgiving evening.

These are the last photos we have of Luke before we started seeing the scar.

The photos below show Luke at both the BOSS/David Beckham event on January 30th and then again February 14th when he attended the British GQ "Excellence in Film" event in London.

Introducing: the scar!

To the best of my knowledge, no one noticed the scar at that time. Granted, during the BOSS event we had other (ahem) things on our mind, and on February 14th, we were focused on Nicola in Ireland as well as Luke's solo evening out and his fun encounters with fans. We were simply happy to have new photos of the both of them!

So... while I can't tell you HOW Luke got the scar, I can tell you that it happened either in December or early January.

It's possible that he was injured in the last December days of filming White Mars. It's very possible. After all, he and Lucy Hale were battling a malevolent entity that infiltrated their Antarctic research facility 😲

It's also possible that while on his sunshine filled New Years trip abroad with Nicola, he encountered something to hit his head on.

Here they are, photographed on January 8th (Nicola at the William Tell premiere - Luke around the same date at a family gathering), both a touch red from too much sun. Sun kissed one could say 💛💛

But wait... hold up Tori! Luke isn't sporting a scar here either!!

Actually, my theory is that Luke had a cut (possibly with stitches) on his forehead in this photo. Why? Because it was originally posted with this "ouch" emoji plastered on it! At the time we all wondered: "WTF? Why put an emoji on his forehead?! How rude!" (note that the emoji was put on Luke's forehead by his cousin)

Someone in the fandom did us a favour and removed the emoji, then did a touch-up job to recreate an emoji-less forehead. With the doctored photo (above) as our breadcrumb that a joint sunshine trip was taken, many of us forgot about the original photo. I remembered it today though, hence this post! Friends; Lukey had a boo boo and it was covered up! 🤍🤍🤍

In conclusion I have no choice but to say again: I have no idea how Luke got his scar. I have, however provided you with a timeframe for when the injury occurred, and I've offered two scenarios where his head could have been bonked.

Personally I like my suggestion that it happened while on a sunny holiday with his lover, Nicola!! What do you think?

Do we really care though? The man is more handsome then ever before - truly! - and we got to see he and Nicola at SAGs shine with the energy and light of their love. I'm happy!

For now 😜

Aaniin Xxx

[thewertsearch]

Ask Comp 17/12

Anonymous asked: re: your responsive timeline theory: "There is nowhere, however huge the multiverse is, where Sam Vimes as he is now has murdered Lady Sybil. But the theory is quite clear. It says that if anything could happen without breaking any physical laws, it must happen. But it hasn't… So what people do matters! People invent other laws. What they do is important… It means the multiverse isn't infinite and people's choices are far more vital than they think." - night watch you and pterry seem to be on similar pages about this lol

Oh, nice! That's one of my favorite moments in all of Discworld, and I've brought it up before when discussing Paradox Space.

I'm pretty sure I was thinking about it when I came up with Responsive Timeline in the first place. Having someone reference it in an ask is a fun way to bring things full-circle.

@necrowyrm asked: Welcome Baaaaaaaack!!!!!!!! @whyequalsemexplusbee asked: I've literally had this date marked on my calendar, Act 6 by the new year let's goooooooo! @goldsleeps asked: it's very nice to have your particular pale green showing up on my dash again. @skaiamechanic asked: I am so happy to see your notifications again whenever you post. Welcome back, you're one of the main reasons I'm still on Tumblr, and good luck getting to Act 6! @elkian asked: Welcome back! I'm hype to see you post again :D good luck with your goal, but please take care of yourself! @nebularious asked: On the 1st day of Christmas, thewertsearch gave to me!

Thanks, everyone! I'm happy to be back, and I'm finding I have a lot more energy after taking a little break. Onwards to Act 6, indeed!

@morganwick asked: There literally, actually is a Burger King less than 40 minutes from Rose's house. That may sound simple and obvious, but when fans figured that out after this ran it practically blew their minds.

Her area is fairly remote - but there's a limit to how remote you can really be when you're living in the state of New York, right?

(^ she knows nothing about US geography)

@animation-recaps-by-sean asked: The troll sprites didn't automatically die at the end of the game, it's implied that Jack hunted them down and killed them

Wait, really? I had a little search through the comic there, but I can't find any statements implying that this is the case, unless they're in a walkaround somewhere.

Maybe I missed it - if so, send me a link and I'll take a look!

@catlikeascendant asked: idk if you go here but are there any ships you are interested in/think will be canonized? like it or not, it is a pretty important part of the story!

Thewertsearch dot tumblr dot com is a certified Rosemary nation. That's the only ship I'm really ride-or-die for, and the only one I am absolutely 100% sure will be canonized.

If you're interested, I made a full list of my ships back at the end of Hivebent, which I still mostly stand by - although I might need to rethink the ones involving Gamzee, specifically.

@relaxxattack asked: it’s so crazy that your “jump back in” point is perhaps the most fast paced and high stakes part of the entire comic. i absolutely love this arc, but i do NOT envy having to grapple with it directly after a hiatus!

I know, right?

Honestly, it's probably a good thing. The pacing is really energizing me - I haven't been able to blog at this pace since early Hivebent.

@morganwick asked: "The terms of a God Tier permadeath are defined according to the case of the individual - which implies that Heroic and Just are subjective, even to Sburb. It sounds like there might not be any ironclad rules, and that everyone's ruling works differently." Or as another liveblogger put it, when she got to the line in question: "In other words, 'by Andrew Hussie'."

Heh. That's what it ultimately boils down to, doesn't it?

I can grumble about 'canon' and 'meta shenanigans' until I'm blue in the face - but at the end of the day, the story will go in the direction that Hussie wants it to go. No ifs, ands or buts.

@krixwell asked: I actually think the "no lying" thing is essential to making Doc Scratch as intimidating as he is. He makes it pretty clear that (assuming it's real) it's a self-imposed challenge – he's handicapping his own manipulation just for fun, and he's still massively confident that what he's doing will work out exactly how he wants it to anyway. Normally such hubris would be a surefire sign of a character's imminent downfall, but because he's near-omniscient, we the readers know that his confidence isn't unfounded. We know he has very solid reasons to believe his main designs cannot not succeed, even with dark pockets here and there. I just think it does a fantastic job at selling the idea that his designs are inevitability itself, his guidance hopeless to struggle against, his words the rails on the one way track of the alpha timeline.

Hm. I do like that, I have to say.

It's fun picking away at Scratch's chatlogs, trying to find statements that are technically 'false' - but the fact that he presents himself as truthful and yet succeeds in his manipulations anyway is very strong characterization. And it's that much stronger if Hussie's intention was that Scratch really, truly never lies.

[dcdreamblog]

@thatsastepladder

Well the reality is that while Garrick himself was very flattered by the town's faith in him. And while the JSA was deeply invested in getting the town up and running again after a very violent run in with some extra normal events. The point is that Jay Garrick, the man, was just NOT comfortable being a mayor.

(An election poster of Garrick made by a Monument Point resident)

Look, the nitty gritty is that Jay Garrick is an older man, he already does more than men half his age could be expected to juggle as patriarch of The Flash Family, the Justice Society and the superhero community at large. That's on top of being a man with functioning mental health one assumes. The time he spent as Monument Point's mayor was so that he could center the JSA's efforts on rebuilding Monument Point to the best of his ability.

But once that was done, very soon afterwards his long lost daughter and sidekick was returned to him by an accident of cosmic nature. Not long after THAT his beloved wife of nearly 80 years passed away after a prolonged battle with terminal illness. I don't even have the words to describe the kind of emotional whiplash that must have incurred, losing someone who has been your partner for most of a century so soon after rediscovering a child that had been wiped from your own mind for nearly as long. Emotional exhaustion and a need for personal distance would be enough of a reason that no one could argue with him about.

But, class act that he is, that's not the reason he cited in his resignation.

Jay Garrick was a biochemist by education but has spent most of the last century with his main profession being "superhero" in one form or another. His college degree is from the 1930s and he has no experience in politics, government or law. While he has leadership "credentials" it's leadership of a small organization usually numbering under a dozen people that he all knows and trusts personally. Calling the shots is easier when you know the person you're calling them to would take a bullet for you.

He also expressed fear that he's simply too outmoded for politics in the 21st century. He's not fluent in most forms of digital technology, he (as anyone who has seen his attempts at Tweeting would know) is NOT a born social media communicator and by his own admission he's not fully trustworthy in his understanding of the nuances of modern politics. To quote the man himself.

"My understanding of feminism is that women are my equal in every way. My understanding of race is the same. My understanding of queer issues is that so long as people are happy it's also the same. That's all I've got. I don't know the right words, I haven't read the right theory, my continuing to hold this office would be functionally 'Rule by Stargirl' because she's the one who has to explain the trending news items to me and she's not even old enough to drive!" *pause for laughter* "I'm ignorant, truly. If someone asked me my opinion on transgender healthcare I'd have to wait for a transgender person to tell me what my opinion is!" *pause for more laughter* "Nobody wants or needs a mayor whose only tool in the toolbox is asking his grandkids. Monument Point deserves. NEEDS better."

My commentators pointed out after the speech the bitter irony that a politician whose only policy strategy is "listen to the minorities" would be a refreshing change of pace in politics at any scale. But no one could argue with his obvious discomfort at being elected simply because the people of the city felt some sort of...heroic gratitude toward him.

[toffee-and-tandoori]

hannah, the tags at the very bottom😭😭

omg lee i saw your ask while i was in bed and i've been thinking about it all morning so this is gonna be LONG (and i will absolutely be taking creative liberties as i see fit because this is MY WORLD)

first of all as i reflect i'm realizing that pierre and valentino have quite a few similarities - love to indulge in conspiracy theories of their own creation, VERY candid about their sex lives while simultaneously being catholic af, february aquariuses, obsessed with a multilingual brown-eyed freak (affectionate) who pulls off CRAZY moves on the track and is hated by entire countries because of it...that's kinda wild! (also, besides the sex life candor/lovin' jesus combo all of these things describe ME???...and i was actually raised catholic too lmao)

anyway despite all of these similarities i feel like what really draws pierre to valentino is how open valentino is about his obsession (because even nico rosberg was never doing all of that...close but not quite). and pierre's like "wow he's just like me!" without realizing that is NOT a good thing pierre. and they're bonding over the psychological mind games that were inflicted upon them. pierre's like "finally someone who understands me".

cut to pierre attending a motogp race and meeting marc for the first time and being like WOW everything about marc is incredible and now i'm really confused. and he's venting to fabio about it like "wow marc's big brown eyes...and his laugh...and the way he speaks spanish AND italian...and the way he moves on track...wish he was taller though" and fabio's like "GIRL first of all i am well aware of how amazing marc is...i have eyes. also pierre...literally everything you just pointed out in marc also perfectly describes esteban."

and pierre's initially reluctant because duh of course he is. and he's like "fabio what are you talking about. first charles and now YOU?". and fabio and tom maubant are both just looking at pierre like GIRL (in french ofc). and after some back and forth staring pierre's like...ah fuck they're right. he phones charles trackside to let him know about his new revelation and charles' like "...pierre i've known this for years this is not a new revelation by any means"

(also i feel like when pierre meets marc he's like "wait marc's like...closer to my age? how would marc have been idolizing valentino if we're all the same age? wait HOW old is valentino?"...because even pierre's drawing the line at years-long grudge holding when there's an age gap "because at least me and esteban actually grew up together. why was valentino sparring with a child?")

next time pierre and valentino meet pierre's nervous because he's really grown to love his bonding sessions with valentino (despite them being based on shared delusion) and finally feeling REALLY understood and he doesn't want that to stop and all of this anguish is SO visible on pierre's face and valentino's like "uhhh...are you good?" to which pierre immediately blurts out how he realized his suppressed feelings for esteban after meeting marc and seeing how amazing he is and "valentino i hope you're not mad at me!". and valentino's like "...you thought i'd be mad at you succumbing to marc's charm...lmao bitch me too! now we just have one more thing to talk about!".

and somehow (because i said so) this turns into pierre and valentino working together to win back the loves of their lives...and even though it shouldn't work it totally does (again because i said so). endgame pierresteban and rosquez.

(okay despite the fact that i said i was taking creative liberties with this universe i wanted to see if pierre had ever talked about motogp before and i found this article which simultaneously contradicts and supports everything about my imaginary universe...and you know we're just gonna run with it!!!)

[zoeykallus]

Hm? A note?

*opens the note and reads*

“I kindly request a Pheromones but with Tech with a mix of predator and prey into this nasty smut. But if you do not want to do this that is fine with me your majesty.”

Finally! Someone's asking me for unhinged Tech Smut 🔥🤩🔥��� I feel like I've waited for this one for years 😱

And I had so much trouble writing and editing my draft 😅😭 A lot of hours later: "I'm not happy with what I did here 😓

Warnings: SMUT/Sex Pollen Trope/Unhinged Tech/ Shy Tech Turning Feral/Dubious Consent(!11!1!!)/PiV/Oral/Groping/Biting/Pining/Pinning Down/Restraining/Plus Short Dirty Dream Sequence/Angsty/Creampie/Messy/Fluff (Believe it or not)18+

_____________

Ko-Fi (If you feel like giving me some coffee)

_____________

>Master List<

____________________

AC: This is very feral Tech, Reader is definitely having fun, but there are possible triggers, so mind the warnings!!! This one is dancing heavily on some very thin lines concerning consent and pleasure/pain. I wasn't even sure if I should post this. Guess there was a lot of pent-up smutty stuff left in my mind about this guy. Okay I tamed the original version down, a good bit, I think it was a tiny bit too much. But still, this is pretty messy.

Update: damn it, I changed this draft so often now, I don't know if it's still readable...

_____________________

Wrecker, who playfully bumps into his helmet, nearly knocks Tech off balance. Tech glares angrily at his brother through the lenses of his goggles, but finally sighs and turns back to his holopad. Again and again, his gaze sneaks from his holopad to you, watching Hunter talk to you. Today, you and Tech are to complete a mission, just the two of you. A more or less simple exploration tour. His heart beats faster just thinking about it. You've been traveling with CF99 for a while now, and Tech has had a crush on you practically since day one. You smell good, you're pretty, you're curious, and you always listen to him so intently. He's been blown away from the beginning by your little laugh, the smile, the way you talk, how your fingers move when you're lost in your thoughts. Tech takes in so many little things, by now he knows so much about you, so many wonderful little things that he admires, almost idolizes. But as straightforward and logical as Tech actually is, he can be just as shy.

He hardly dares to exchange a word with you that has nothing to do with work, he hardly dares to look you in the face. So often he has dreamed of you, of touching, kissing and even more, things that have done wild things to his mind and hormones. But he can't bring himself to do it, just doesn't dare touch you. So many times he had been close to just gently touching your hand, or sliding a little closer when you were sitting next to each other, but each time he has backed down. Tech wouldn't know how to deal with you, in theory he's already read everything there is to know about intimacy, romance and the like, but the practice is somehow so damn seductive but also so incredibly scary for him. What if you reject him? What if he kisses you, and it's bad? What if you feel nothing when he kisses you? What if his touches leave you cold? What if he does something wrong, scares you away, or leaves you unsatisfied? With all these questions, his guts tighten, and a heavy pressure builds on his chest. This is a challenge that can't necessarily be tackled with logic. Love doesn't really feel logical, but it feels intense, Tech thinks silently. Another light bump against Tech's helmet snaps him out of his thoughts.

"Cut it out, Wrecker!" "Come on, you two finally alone again? This time you have some guts!" the giant rumbles. Tech hastily glances over at you, but you're still engaged in conversation with Hunter, then he looks at Wrecker and nervously waves his holopad around. "Keep it down, Wrecker, she can't hear this!" he whispers energetically. Wrecker rolls his eyes and laughs softly, "You're way too nervous, I think she likes you a lot too" Tech pauses in his tense movement and asks, "Oh yeah, did she say anything?" "No, but that one particular smile, she only smiles at you like that". Tech's gaze darts back in your direction and that's when he sees it, that smile, his face gets all hot, and he hastily turns back to the holopad in his hands. "You're such an idiot," Wrecker grumbles, "She's smiling heavenly at you, and you're staring at your holopad" "Shut up, please, Wrecker," Tech says tensely.

The others are on their way, doing their jobs. Tech is finally alone with you. His knees are soft, he feels slightly shaky, and his pulse is permanently slightly elevated, but he's more in control than he suspected. Tech puts on the helmet he customized for you and says, "This helmet has an air filter, just like mine. We don't know what to expect yet, so we'll play it safe." He explains as you look at him questioningly through the visor. He can't really see your face, but he always senses when you look at him. Actually he is annoyed about the helmet, just because he can't see your beautiful face, but Tech also wants to protect you and when you are moving among unknown flora and fauna, this helmet is actually indispensable. "Okay," you say, groping for the helmet with both hands, an unfamiliar feeling. "Don't take the helmet off outside, please," Tech says gently but firmly, "We don't know much about the plants and animals in the area yet" You give him a thumbs up and say, "Okay, got it. We're good to go as far as I'm concerned" Along the way, you carefully take some samples of various plants, take holo-images of the environment, and look at various species of animals from a safe distance. You listen with fascination as Tech comments on some of your observations. It's so nice to spend time alone with him, you like the way he looks out for you.

You discover a cave that is riddled with glowing crystals and mushrooms. You put on your gloves because Tech told you to. "We'd better not touch anything with our bare hands for now," he notes. You nod and reply, "Sounds reasonable." With a gloved finger, you poke a neon-red glowing, thick mushroom, which then begins to blink and emit a thin cloud of spores. Tech leans over and says, "See, this is why we have the helmets, we don't know what these spores might do, hallucinations, fevers, toxic reactions..." You nod and say still intrigued, "It's blinking, like an alarm light" "Indeed" Tech looks at his watch and says, "We've been walking for a few hours, maybe we should head back" With a nod, you agree and follow him out of the cave.

Something is wrong, he is way too warm, the outside temperatures are not that high, but his body temperature seems to keep rising. He feels strange, maybe Wrecker knocked his helmet a few too many times, maybe his filter wasn't working properly. Tech quickened his steps, and you tried to keep up with him in surprise. Arriving at the Marauder, Tech takes off his helmet, and you can tell something is wrong, the expression on his face, that slightly glazed look. "Are you okay?" "I don't know," Tech admits, "I'm very warm, and I have a headache." He blinks in surprise as you start to help him take off his gear, but he allows it to happen, he also lets you push him into his bunk and tuck him in. "You must be overworked," you say gently, "You're always working, around the clock. At some point, your body just can't keep up with your mind, Tech." He blinks, accepts the water you brought him, and says, "Maybe you're right." He likes the way you take care of him, fluffing his pillow, covering him up, bringing him water and putting a cool, damp cloth on his forehead. He feels miserable right now, but he literally melts at every little thing you do for him.

"I'm sure a few hours of sleep will do you good," you say with conviction and a soft smile. Tech looks at you from wide, glassy eyes, he gets lost in that smile of yours, and before he can pull himself together he says, "Can you stay here, with me?" "Oh," you say in surprise, "Sure." You lie down in the bunk across from his, barely two steps away from him. Tech turns to the side, so he can look at you. You say with a smile, "Don't worry, I'll take care of you". Tech's ears turn red as he smiles back. At a certain point, you both fall asleep.

His dreams are wild, very wild, much wilder than usual. Intimate dreams are not unknown to him, but this one is very intense. He watches you suck him while his hands on the back of your head give you a wild pace, shortly after he pins you to the floor and plows his hard cock through your pussy while you gasp, sigh, moan and whimper under him. Then he spins you around and shoves his length into the tight little hole between your buns, taking you so fast and hard that the clash of bare skin, echoes loudly off the walls. His hand is in your hair, pulling at it as he thrusts ever more savagely into the tightness of your butt. Tech tears open his eyes, feeling even hotter than before, his thoughts a wild jumble of sexual acts. His cock pulses hard under his blacks, almost painfully. Everything inside him burns and screams to grab you, to take you, to taste you, to fuck you. He moans softly and wipes his forehead, a very small part of him knowing that he's thinking and intending very naughty things right now, that he actually needs to pull himself together. But this small part is lost in the wild, feverish racket of his suddenly felt hundredfold intensified sexual desires.

He is so tense with horniness that a slight tremor goes through his body. He looks over at you, you are still asleep, you are still alone and will probably be for a while. Automatically, almost of his own accord, he takes off his blacks. He looks down at himself, he doesn't see much, it's still dark, but his cock is clearly standing at full size. Against all reason that tries to survive somewhere under the wild chaos of sex thoughts, he walks over to the bunk you are lying in. In between he hesitates, this little part of him is only small, but stubborn. "You can't do that, it's indecent, you'll scare her... it's wrong..." he whispers to himself, and yet he keeps coming closer to you.

You feel someone climb into your bunk or sit on the edge and slowly awaken from your slumber. Your eyes do not immediately adjust to the darkness. You blink, there is someone, in your bunk, you are uncovered and that someone is bent over you. "Tech? Is that you?" you ask, confused and not yet in your right mind. Your fingers grope for the nightlight and turn it on. It's not particularly bright, but enough to clearly see the naked Tech kneeling above you on your bunk. Your gaze lingers briefly on his hard length, thick, long, gently curved, the tip slightly red and swollen, a trickle of precum on the small slit. You look up at him, startled. "What's going on here?" you ask, perplexed, completely bewildered by the unexpected situation. He's not touching you yet, but you can still feel his body heat already. "Tech, you must have a fever- wait what are you doing!" Ignoring your words, Tech reaches under your sleep shirt for the waistband of your panties and sets about pulling them down. "Need you, need to smell you, taste you, feel you," he stammers as if delirious with fever.

When you automatically grab his hands in surprise to stop him, he fends you off and tugs impatiently at the fabric until it tears. You let out a startled little scream as he rips the fabric from your body, and right after that, impatiently, your sleep shirt. His eyes get even bigger behind the lenses as he sees you naked in front of him. "Tech, what are you doing....?" you ask quietly. He grabs your wrists, rips a strip off the sheet and goes to tie your hands together, but you fidget and stubbornly resist. He grabs your hands and pins them down, glaring at you impatiently. "Tech, what the fuck!" "Need you, need you to comply," he says hoarsely. "I don't understand," you say quietly. He looks at you, feverish, almost desperate, "I need to taste you and smell you and feel you, I need to have you!"

His words make you nervous, it doesn't sound like him at all, neither the pitch nor the way he said them.

Tech smells your hair and shivers, as do you. You feel his legs pushing your thighs apart, his pelvis thrusting between them and his cock pressing down on your pubic, rubbing against it. You let out a small surprised moan as the friction drives heat and wetness into your pussy.

He moans softly and repeats, "I need you." You've been into Tech for a while, but this wasn't really Tech, was it? Again he tries to bind your wrists, this time he's faster, and a little rougher, overpowering your flagging resistance and finally tying them to the headboard of the bunk. Your pulse races, your heart hammers in your chest. A startled, surprised squeak comes from your lips as he presses up against you, and dig his teeth into your shoulder, not hard enough to really hurt you, but hard enough to leave pressure marks. He licks over the spot, kissing it as his hands travel down your body. You're hot and cold, thoroughly aroused, but this seems so foreign. His body is burning hot, you are sure he has a fever. You want to tell him that he needs a doctor, but at the same moment his mouth moves to your breasts, and he begins to lick and suck your nipples, his long fingers greedily embracing the soft flesh. Your head is swept clean. You loll under him, sighing softly, he presses his lap into the mattress as he moves down your body, a low rumble coming from his chest as he sucks your nipples and rubs against your body.

Suddenly he rises, kneeling higher over you, his hard cock hovering just in front of your mouth. You blink and look past his hard length up into his face. His hand roughly grips your chin, pushing it higher, then he demands, "Open." Nervously, you open your lips as he finally presses his tip against them, letting him in. Your tongue automatically presses against the underside. You see him shiver, and hear him moan. Admittedly a nice feeling and a delightful sight. But Tech is under pressure, under fire. He grips your head and pushes further until you gag and your eyes tear as he fucks your mouth. His whole body trembles with tension. You stare up at him, having no idea how long you can keep this up or what to do when you can't anymore. But it doesn't take long, you feel him throbbing in your mouth, Tech moans out, then his semen shoots down your throat and mouth. You swallow in surprise as best you can. There's quite a bit. He pulls his cock out of your mouth again. Some of his semen trickles down your chin, but you can't wipe it away because of your bound hands. He keeps moving, his lips and tongue roaming from your breasts down, over your belly, faster and faster, as if they're impatient.

You start breathing faster the closer he gets to the heated triangle between your thighs.

There is something tugging at you, a craving, a want, something you didn't know before you had. It's weird, all of this, yet you feel you want this, you want him.

Then he's finally there, you hear him take a deep breath, feel him shakily expel the air on your wet folds. While you're still shuddering from the soft draft, his mouth is suddenly on your pussy, his tongue heatedly exploring your folds. A surprised squeak escapes you, followed by a gasp as his tongue glides over your pearl, repeating the motion several times in quicker succession. You have no idea how he does it, but his tongue is so nimble and strong, getting wilder and wilder. Your thighs tremble around his head, the gasps from your throat become faster and faster, mixing with hoarse moans. Tirelessly, his tongue flicks over your swollen, pulsating clit, again and again and again. You mewl in arousal, stir in your bonds. The feeling of his soft, wet tongue dancing on your sweet spot, that bundle of nerves is delicious.

He's rutting his cock into the mattress while he licks and sucks your clit, moaning as he does so, humming, muffled by your pussy where you very clearly feel the vibration, an added stimulus. You don't know what's gotten into him, at the moment you can't get a clear thought either. But somewhere in the back of your mind, you think back to the red glowing mushroom in the cave.

No matter how surprised and overwhelmed you are right now, you are also incredibly horny. Your abdomen trembles, your thighs quiver, the tension, the tingling and pulsating is heading towards a climax.

Tech's tongue gets faster, flicks your little clit in rapid fashion. Your abdomen tenses, your walls clench around nothing.

You almost cry out as you tip over the edge into your climax. Tech continues to lick your clit, a little too long, you become hypersensitive, and you jerk under his touch, but his hands grab your hips hard and hold you in place, pushing you into the sheets. He's still rutting his cock into the pad of the bunk, and his tongue finds your dripping opening. A little cry comes over your lips as Tech slips his tongue between your slick walls and wiggles around inside, starting to lick you out like you're candy. He's greedy, and intense and he's making a mess. "TECH!" He growls, not a word, not really a response, just a growl. His nose keeps pressing against your hypersensitive pearl, but every twitch of yours is held in check by his hard grip. "This is too much, Tech, too much!" You see him twitch, another growl, he rolls his glassy, reddened eyes back for a moment. You realize he's cumming in the sheets.

He finally lets go of you for a moment, sits up, somewhat breathlessly wipes his mouth and chin with the back of his hand and forearm, wipes away your juices and his saliva. His sweaty chest rises and falls heavyly. Tech still looks feverish, his eyes still wild and without focus. "Not enough," he says, slightly hoarse, smoky, "More!" You see that his length is still hard and erect. Then you see his gaze fall between your legs, you automatically want to close your thighs, you don't really want any more over-stimulation, but he pushes himself in between. Automatically, you want to use your hands, but they are still tied to the head of the bunk. Tech lies above you, pressed against you, his body still glowing hot. He seems to be wrestling with himself, hesitating, but only briefly. In the next moment, he has brought his tip to your hole and is penetrating you, parting your moist folds and plunging deep inside you. He's quite long and thick, you feel him stretching and filling you. "Fuck," you curse softly.

It hurts a little, but somehow it also feels so damn good. He's leaning on his hands, hovering half above you, his cock deep inside you. Sweat is on his forehead, his muscles are shaking, his reddened eyes keep blinking. He looks strained. You realize he's trying to hold back right now, but barely managing it.

This is not your sweet and shy Tech.

He starts to move, dragging his cock a bit out of your sensitive entrance, and right after that he pushes forward into you again. Slowly at first, but he gets faster and faster. He half sits up, pulling you to a different angle as he does so he can push deeper inside you. Tech moans, gasps, makes little sounds you've never heard before, every now, and then he stammers words you don't understand. His hips move faster and faster, the sound of naked skin meeting naked skin fills the room. You didn't expect it, but your arousal picks up again and as if Tech sensed it, a hand moves between you and his fingertips, deftly find your pearl. A hoarse sound passes your lips as his cock inside you, as well as his fingers on your clit, speeds up. As if of their own accord, your legs close around his hips as your thighs begin to tremble.

His name comes moaning over your lips, again and again. He stares at you, but his eyes are still so glazed and wild that you don't know if he's really looking at you. A shudder goes through his body, a twitch, then he growls softly, you feel his cock twitch and pulse in your cleft, his warm seed filling your pussy. Every other thrust, accompanied by a squelching sound. Shortly after, the knot in your abdomen loosens, tingling all the way to the tips of your toes. But Tech doesn't stop, he's still hard, thrusting into your pussy filled with his seed. "More," you hear him say in a shaky voice. You moan, "Tech, I can't take anymore." You don't know if he really understood you, perceived the words, but he pulls his cock out of your pussy with a wet smacking sound, grabs your hips and turns you onto your stomach. Your heart races, you're not sure what he's up to. His length is still full of his juices and yours as he pushes it lengthwise between your buns. His hands grip your buns pretty hard and squeeze them together as he begins to rub his cock in the crease between them.

He moans, gasps and trembles. You are glad that he has refrained from sticking it in your ass. Without preparation, that would have been very unpleasant. Tech rubs himself against your buns, panting, trembling. He suddenly slows down, then you feel his warm load splashing on your buns and your back. By now you are full of his cum, in and on you, even the bunk is full of it, everything is sticky. Tech, of all people, who is very conscious of his hygiene, has made this mess. His breath is getting shaky, you hear it, feel his cock finally softening on your buns. "Oh maker... oh no... oh hells no...", you hear him whisper, in his tone a desperation that is hard to overhear. You pull at your bonds and say as calmly as you can, "Please, Tech, untie me." "Oh my goodness, of course, right now.... I'm so sorry... really so sorry..." he continues to stammer and with trembling hands he loosens your bonds. Finally, you can sit up, turn around and look at him. His eyes are back to normal, no longer glassy, nor reddened, but his cheeks and ears are red, and the expression on his face completely desperate and ashamed. He hastily grabs a pillow to cover his crotch as you look at him.

"I'm so sorry," he says softly, almost whispering, barely managing to look at you, his gaze jerking away again and again, "I felt everything, perceived everything, but it was like my body was just a doll, controlled by overwhelming sexual desire...my mind had no control." "I figured something wasn't normal," you say dryly, looking down at yourself, "I'm all sticky," you grumble softly. "Oh maker, please don't hate me now, I couldn't stand that" he says, ducking his head. You laugh softly and say, "I'm never touching any mushrooms near you again". He doesn't feel like laughing, and your attempt to loosen him up unfortunately fails. You say softly, "Tech, well, before all this happened, you and I really liked each other, didn't we? I mean, we were just a little too shy to interact more." Tech blinks and lifts his eyes after all. His cheeks are flushed as he clears his throat and says meekly, "I've been in love with you for a long time, if that's what you mean." You feel heat rising in your cheeks and your heart beating faster. "Yeah, that's what I meant" you say nodding "The feeling was mutual by the way". Tech's eyes grow wide behind his goggles, but then he lowers his gaze again. "I guess I ruined that now".

"No," you contradict him, "you didn't. The fungus has twisted your senses, or whatever you want to call it. Nothing is broken because of it yet." Cautiously, Tech raises his eyes again. "I'd like to make you a proposition," you say softly as he looks at you. Tech nods and says, "I'm all ears." "You and I are going to take a shower together, nice and relaxed. We'll wash, maybe each other, some tender touches, no pressure, no expectation, just enjoy each other's closeness. Some tenderness after this, little disaster?" Tech blinks several times and asks, "You would still let me touch you?" You nod and admit, "It's not like I wasn't having fun at all. Besides, that wasn't really you, but I'd still like to get to know the real Tech better." Tech smiles, stands up and after a moment's hesitation, puts away the pillow he was covering his crotch with. He takes your hand and helps you out of the sticky bunk.

Under the warm stream of water of the shower, you both slowly relax, Tech letting his tension escape with a sigh and smiling at you as you look over your shoulder while he gently washes your back. Tech says tenderly, "You're gorgeous, by the way". Your ears get all hot and a tingle spreads through your stomach as you say, "You're not bad yourself, handsome" Suddenly you hear voices, the boys must be back from their errands. Then you hear a curse and Crosshair yelling loudly, "WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BUNK!!!" You look up with a soft, "Uh oh," at Tech who then whispers, "Oh. That's probably bad." "He's going to kill us," you say, biting your lower lip suppressing a grin, "We really made a hell of a mess." "Indeed," Tech says dryly, "I'd say we stay in here for now until he calms down." "That could take a long time" Tech smiles mischievously, "I don't mind"

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[writing-in-the-impala]

Secret Smokes (Part 3)

Pairing: Teacher! Remus Lupin x Reader

Series Summary: When the reader bumps into the new DADA professor on the bridge in Hogwarts she begins to build a friendship with him all thanks to their shared feeling of not belonging and love for muggle cigarettes. Their friendship blooms while they both fight internal battles deciding what is wrong and what is right leading to a lot of fluff, angst, flirting and a rollercoaster of emotions.

Warnings: Swearing, Drinking, teacher-student relationship (but like it’s all legal chill), SLOWburn we’re in for a long ride

Word Count: 2038

A/N: Once again thank you for all the love this is a side blog so I can't reply from this account to you all below the post but I read every word I promise. You guys are the best ! Some people have asked about being tagged, yes I can tag you! So if you want to be added leave me a reply below and I'll tag you in the future parts and if you decide you want to be untagged just message me and I'll remove you it's okay I won't judge.

 | SERIES MASTER LIST (All chapters) |

Previous Chapter, Part 3, Next Chapter

Over the next few weeks you committed to showing up to lessons more often, you spent time with the Weasley's but you avoided getting into trouble. People started noticing the sudden change in your behaviour and dedication to your studies, Percy was very proud of your change in attitude and believed his talk with you helped you get there, you let him believe it but really it was all profesor Lupins doing. Unfortunately his class was the one you got the worst grades in, it was okay when you didn't attend and got bad grades but even with attendance they didn't grow it was your weakest subject.

Your evening smokes continued some days Lupin was there some he wasn't but he was there often some days he wouldn't smoke he would just be there to talk with you, your conversations turned deeper than they used to be as you got to know each other and you looked forward to them, you saw him as someone you truly connected with, yes the girly attraction was still there but what girl didn't find him attractive he had girls flirting with him constantly. It did make you feel uncomfortable watching the girls put bright lipstick on before entering his class and staying behind to ask him questions or for extra lessons, but he seemed to not mind and act profesional giving the girls extra lessons and paying no attention to their advances.

You had DADA last on Fridays which normally would've meant a lot of people not paying attention and aching to leave but profesor Lupin kept the class entertaining and engaging. It was a practical lesson, the ones your dread because with lack of practice you genuinely sucked at practical lessons. But you got through it and you were excited for the weekend to start, before you left the class Lupin asked you to stay behind. So you said bye to Percy and a few others telling them you'll join them later, you weren't worried that you'll get told off like with most teachers when they ask you to stay behind it was Lupin so you patiently waited for the last few girls to say "bye profesor" while walking out and then went over to his desk where he had sat down.

"What's up?" You asked as you approached his desk.

"Please, sit down Y/N." He said quite formally gesturing to the seat in front of him, now you were getting worried. "I'd like to speak with you about your grades." He paused and saw your face drop before continuing. "Now please don't think of this as a telling off, your attendance is better this year than any year before and I've heard great things from your other teachers about the progress you've been doing." He said but you still looked worried so he added. "You should be very proud of yourself Y/N." Which made you relax into the chair a bit more. "Nevertheless, I am worried about your grades in my subject as you're doing well in the theory side however it's using the spells in practice that you seem to struggle with. I know you've had a few hard years with the rotation of teacher, some worse than others, so it's not your fault you are in this position." He said all of this formally. "Although notoriously skipping classes for the last sexi years probably didn't help." He said with a small laugh as a friend rather than a teacher. "I want to help you, I've been speaking with your head of house about how we can improve your grades and we believe you need extra lessons, practical magic like this can't be learnt through studying alone in your dorm you need real practice. So I'm happy to offer you tutoring twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays, to help you catch up." You sat silent still. "You don't have to do this, but profesor McGonagall and I do believe it is in your best interest." He added you just looked down embarrassed that you skipping classes has lead to this. "Okay Y/N I'm dying here please say something." He said casually addressing your silence.

"Thank you profesor." You said.

"How do you feel about my suggestion?" He asked.

"Embarrassed." You stated. "How so?" He asked I'm a caring tone. "I wouldn't be in this situation if I listened to everyone when they told me not to skip so many lessons."

"You're not the only student who will be receiving extra lessons, I have a small group of girls that have asked for extra time that I teach on Tuesdays. If you want you can join them so it's not just one-on-one if that's more comfortable for you?" He offered.

"But I'm the only one who actually needs tutoring. They only asked for it because they have a crush on you." You blurted out in your annoyance.

"Trust me crush or not some of those girls need extra lessons. Still after weeks of receiving them." He said honestly. "They're too busy staring at your lips to learn I guess." You said laughing to yourself, he gave you a gentle smile. "Y/N, you're a quick learner. You know the theory, with a little practice you'll be caught up by Christmas."

"Okay. As long as these lessons are done by 9pm." You said with a hint of humour.

"I would never let education get in the way of your nicotine addiction, I'm not a monster." He replied jokingly. "We have a deal." You say.

"Perfect, now enjoy your weekend." He said and you took that as a queue to leave. "And Y/N, don't let this overshadow all the effort you've been putting into your studies, you're doing amazing." He said whole heartedly.

"Thank you professor." You said leaving the classroom. You looked him as a teacher so if you needed anyone to give you extra lessons you were glad it was him.

You went straight to the great hall for dinner after your conversation with Lupin, Fred and George had a space saved for you next to them. "What took you so long?" Fred asked.

"Lupin is making me take extra lessons." You said solemn.

"Bullshit, you've been studying harder than ever."  Fred expressed.  "I know but I'm still behind, plus it's only two days a week and he said it'll only be until Christmas." You explained.

"I think it's a conspiracy." George stated. "Now why's that?" You ask amused. "They're obviously trying to keep you away from us so we don't pull any pranks." He expresses. "This has old minnie all over it." Fred adds sniffing the air comedically.

"Now that you mention it..." you say looking over at the teachers table watching Lupin and McGonagall speaking. "...Lupin did mention this being her idea."

"See! Merlin, Y/N we need to pull a prank now." George states. "Show them we can't be stopped so easily." Fred adds. "I don't know guys, I've been enjoying not sitting in detention."

"George, she's getting all soft." Fred states. "Now that's not okay." George replies and they both have a cheeky smile before they stand up and suddenly pick you up while you protest taking you out the great hall while you laugh and tell them to stop, you hadn't even had time to eat before the kidnapping and the whole school watched this happen but the boys didn't care. They carried you straight to the dorm room plopping you down on the sofa. "Y/N it's time to plan our first big prank of the year." George begins. "Perfect timing as well as we can go to Hogsmeade over the weekend to get any supplies we need."  You laugh and agree to the plotting, you plan a prank. It was to happen in the library, the plan was to hex every book, the books about animals would bite you, the books about history would disintegrate in your hands, the books about plants would be filled with soil and so on. You would obviously need to take all the real books and hide them but that wasn't a problem using the marauders map. You were looking at the map when you noticed Lupin was already standing on the bridge, you checked your watch and it was after 9pm already, he was just standing there you felt like you were missing out on seeing him plus you were scared he'd think you're ignoring him after your conversation earlier. "Boys I need to go, it was a pleasure scheming with you as always. I'll see you tomorrow." And with that you took the map, put it in your pocket and headed for the bridge. When you were around the corner you saw Lupin walking down the corridor in your direction, he must've finished smoking you thought. "Good evening professor." You said with a smile and me looked up at you with a grin. "Evening, Y/N. Evening stroll?" He questioned as if to ask why you didn't go to the bridge tonight.

"Just going to destress." You said showing him your pack of cigarettes.

"I forgot mine in my office I was just going to go get them." He explained, odd because he had been standing on the bridge for a while you think to yourself.

"You can borrow one of mine." You state.

"I'll give you two tomorrow." He replies turning around to walk with you. "I hope I wasn't too harsh on you today." He says as you walk after a moment of silence.

"You weren't harsh at all." You say with a hint of confusion.

"I didn't think you would come here today in all honesty, after the way you looked at me after class and during dinner." He said with a soft smile but you could tell there was some hurt behind there. "How did I look at you?" You ask.

"Differently." He simply stated, maybe because usually you look with admiration and a bit of lust while now you were looking at him like at a teacher for the first time.

"Well you are about to ruin two evenings a week for me by making me study." You remark.

"Is that how you see spending time with me? Am I ruining your evening right now?" He teased.

"You know what I mean, this Lupin isn't the same as profesor Lupin." You say adding emphasis to professor.

"I am the same person Y/N. If you're afraid that I'm going to be making you write essays and do homework you're mistaken, I promise I'll make the evenings fun." He says in his teacher tone. Maybe it was the mischievous energy from planning a prank that allowed you to say what followed maybe it was purely forgetting he's not your friend but you replied with. "Fun evenings? What does that mean?" You watched him swallow getting a bit uncomfortable and not knowing how to answer. "I mean don't treat it like a punishment. I'm just trying to help." Your brain went straight to replying with something inappropriate about getting punished but you held your tongue as you didn't want to push it too far.

"I hope you don't think I hate you, I really enjoy our talks." You say. I really only came here to talk to you, I feel like smoking on a empty stomach will make me feel worse." You we're over sharing now but he didn't seem to mind.

"I watched you get carried out by the Weasley twins before dinner, the whole school did." Lupin remarked unamused making your face go red.

"Yeah they were messing around and wanted to go talk as they said I've been too busy with lessons this year."

"They sound like a bad influence," He said sternly before pausing and thinking. " keep them around sometimes you need friends like that." He added.

"Profesor you're great at encouraging bad behaviour." You say laughing.

"Friendships like that are sometimes very important, if only you knew what I got up to when I was your age." He said with a soft reminding smile.

"And what would that be?"

"I can't say, I'm your teacher after all." He added a wink at the end which you didn't know the meaning of, but all you did know was you wouldn't find out anything more about his past.

NEXT CHAPTER | More stuff I wrote

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@thesoundresoundsecho @ahoyyharrington

[trulycertain]

Tradition

2.5k, f!Brosca/Alistair, Origins era. Featuring my Nat Brosca from some of my other stories, but it stands on its own and there have been some little characterisation changes over the years. Discussions of sex work and dwarf caste jerkishness within. AO3 link

Nat tries, "So I was thinking… what Leliana and Zevran were talking about, with the sisters." It's just easier to ask Alistair. Leliana's had to put up with enough of Zev's poking. And what can she say, it's this weird habit that formed right from Ostagar - Hey, big chatty human, tell me about weird human shit, and he always seemed happy to explain, like he was surprised to be asked. Surprised someone thought he knew anything, which always seems strange to her, because he clearly knows a bunch. So now she has a giant friend to ask about human stuff. Not much else to do sometimes, on the road.

"Mm-hmm." Alistair looks at her sidelong.

"Is that a human Chantry thing? Why do they care so much if you…?" She makes a tiny little hip-thrust movement.

He blinks and tries not to stare at that, and his ears have gone pink. Hard to see if you're squinting up at him through the sunlight, but definitely there. "Well, they're meant to be pledged to the Maker. Almost a kind of marriage. It stops you getting distracted by… baser matters." He raises a brow, voice turning wry. "So they say. But I've heard bored brothers."

"So they're only meant to screw the Maker?"

"That is…" He rubs at his forehead, voice wavering the way it does when he can't decide if he's horrified or about to crack up. "That is not how I'd put it. There's no, uh…" He still hesitates, like a Chantry sister might jump out of a bush and smack his knuckles just for saying screwing. "It's not a physical thing. Well, some scholars said maybe it was with Andraste, but we were always taught that was A Very Bad Theory and no-one should dare to suggest she actually enjoyed being the Maker's bride. Stoic pious misery all the way." He nods, stern and overly solemn, and oh, definitely about to crack up.

"Yeah, this is a human thing," she says, confused. "Not that you could get married to the Stone - it'd be like getting married to this." She gives a helpful stamp of the ground. "Or to your entire history. But the Shapers are allowed to knock boots like anyone else."

"Huh," he says. "Now I'm trying not to think about a bunch of old, beardy, very serious dwarves doing… things."

They stare off at the road ahead, both of them clearly fighting mental images and hoping for some convenient darkspawn. When none of the buggers come, the silence settles, broken only by the odd clank of armour and the quiet panting that says Bark's trotting next to her. The Blight hasn't hit here yet, not truly; birds still sing above them. Nat tries not to think how weird it is. The singing, and the being that high up. And trees. Trees are still a little hard to understand.

Initiates, Leliana said. She said she was one before she was a lay sister. And there were vows. And templars… Huh. She tries not to sneak Alistair a curious look, and finds the silence is hitting a different note. One with a wait in it. So she does what she'd do with Leske.

"You were in the Chantry, right? Have you never…?" Letting her hands take over, she makes a go on, you get the rest kind of motion.

He shoots the sky a look with a resigned kind of humour, mouth twitching. Yeah, he knew this was coming.

"Never…?" he prods, and hey, she hasn't pissed him off, at least. "Never what? Had a good pair of shoes?"

"You know what I mean," she nudges.

He goes on, with the kind of innocence that says the asshole's enjoying this, "I'm not sure I do. Have I never seen a basilisk? Ate jellied ham? Licked a lamppost in winter?"

Somehow, despite herself, now she's a little embarrassed too. Which was exactly what he was aiming for. Despite the fact that it's not the kind of question she'd normally blink twice at - but this isn't Dust Town, and he's looking at her amusedly. She says, "You're gonna be you about this, huh? I guess I deserve that." She gives him a contrite half-grin.

"Oh," he says, cheerful enough he looks like he's gonna start whistling, "I absolutely am." He shoots her a look - curious, and just the slightest bit nervous. "Tell me: have you ever licked a lamppost in winter?"

She waits him out, amused. "We didn't really, uh, have winter in Orzammar. We had a whole lot of lava flow. Kept everything warm."

He snorts. "Of course. Forgot I was talking to a dwarf there." At her raised eyebrow, he says, "Sometimes it feels like you've been here forever. It's… hard to imagine the surface without you."

She smiles at that; can't help herself. And then she checks her shoe and says, "Haven't done the other thing, either."

His eyebrows look like they're gonna shoot off his forehead, maybe make their own little encampment. "You haven't? Huh."

She wonders about that moment, but not too hard, until he starts a few minutes later, when they've taken a seat on a fallen tree: "Now, feel free to punch me for this…"

She raises an eyebrow, and waits.

"Is it wrong that I'm… surprised? That you haven't, well."

"Sex?"

"Mm. I mean, you flirt all the time…"

She looks at him straight-on now - wary, gone a little cold round the edges.

"No, that's not what I…" He pinches the bridge of his nose. "Not what I meant! Not like that. I just mean - you can even keep up with Zevran. You talk like you know so much. You're… you're good at talking about these things. Without mumbling at your shoes. Unlike the other one of us here." She's heard the wary way he talks to, about, Zev. She was waiting for the look down his nose - she may be short, but it's sure as the Stone not necessary - but he sounds… admiring, under the confusion. Though sometimes he sounds like that about Zev's exploits, too.

She sighs. "Flirting's one thing. Follow-through's another. Flirting greases the wheels, makes people like you. Makes them laugh when they need it." (And at the half-smile he throws her way, she knows he gets exactly what she means.) "Look, where I grew up, a lot of sex happened. A lot. Not much else to do, sometimes. But a big amount of it was business, not pleasure." He blinks at that, and suddenly she remembers: shit, raised in a monastery. "I…" No, no, shit, raised in a monastery. She likes the way he looks at her. He's never going to understand. And then she'll lose the respect she's really not used to having from tall fuckers with royal blood. "Never mind."

"Nat." He puts out a hand like he's thinking of touching her shoulder, and then thinks better of it and tries to sneak it back to his side, like it never came out. He's getting that little line between his brows, the one that means he's damn worried. "I'd… I'd like to know. Please."

She takes a breath, and tries to think of a good way to explain. There isn't one. "So, I told you I used to beat the shit out of people for money." (He winces at that blunt summary of it the way he always does, but… then he waits for the rest. And somehow you're still here, looking at me like that, she doesn't add.) "That was just getting by. There are ways to actually move up in the world, if you're low-caste - to become a person. So, marriage in a higher-caste is one. Or… bearing some higher-caste's kid. Or just having that higher-caste on side, as in, if they take you as a lover."

Frowning, he says slowly, "For status. Right. Like… courtesans, I guess."

"Or concubines." She rests her cheek on her hand. "Yeah. My big sister was one of those."

"She…? For…? Oh."

She can't meet his eye; call her a coward. Weird to be having this conversation in a meadow with a bunch of cute little daisies. "It was her way out, right? Get laid by some high-caster, get knocked up. We had an, uh, benefactor."

He's looking at her with a slow, slightly pained realisation, and reassessment in his eyes. Shit, that was never what she wanted. Here it is.

"He tried to tell me I'd be better off that way, like Rica. Said I was" - she shrugs, doubting he'll understand; surfacers don't seem much interested in dwarves, or what dwarves want - "nowhere near my sister, but I'd be good enough. In the right light. With a lot of makeup. If Rica wasn't available."

"That's… Nat…" Now it's all pain, and confusion. Of course he doesn't get it. Or he doesn't get why Beraht would say that. Which… that's almost too scary to contemplate, someone looking at her and seeing more than not-Rica. Easier, safer, to figure he's just freaked out by all the sex and poor people. Less room for disappointment.

"I told him to go fuck a nug and nearly broke his damn nose. Leske pulled me off him. Probably saved my damn life. I reasoned our, uh, benefactor out of it in the end. He said hey, you're ugly but you're good with your fists, and a sword. No-one'll want to deal with you in their bed, anyway. Might as well make yourself useful to me some other way."

Alistair makes a disgusted noise under his breath - no, not disgusted, furious. There's steel in his eyes, now, the type he tries so hard to hide. At her, or…? No, she knows him better than that. She doesn't know what to make of it. And then he seems to catch the question in her eyes - his face clears as if he doesn't want to frighten her (as if she's that easily scared). He's back to his normal kind of flatness when he says, "He sounds just charming."

"Yeah, he sure was." She swallows, and tries not to fidget on her half of the log. "Listen… my sword saved me. All I saw, sex was just power, and not always yours. It was a job. It never seemed like it was for fun."

His voice is quiet. "Or, you know, for… love?"

She blinks at him. Oh. Yeah. "Or that, I guess. I mean, sometimes that's what the high-casters say it is. That they fell in love with some pliable Duster and wanted to 'save them.' To make them a dwarf, not just some stain on a rock. But that's not what I've seen."

His gaze is on the clouds, and his voice is soft. "Funny, isn't it? I've never done it because there wasn't much of it about, and for you, there was too much." She snorts, and at that, he seems to come back to himself. "You've never… I mean… You've never wanted to?"

"To screw a fifth-son lord or some princeling?"

He flinches, and tries badly to hide it.

"Shit, that's not what I meant. I promise, I…"

He rubs at his forehead, and says with a wan sort of smile, "I know. Now who's talking themselves into circles?" He looks at her, eyes clearer now. "That's… genuinely not how you think of me, is it? It's like you forgot for a moment there." He stares at her in something almost like awe.

She shrugs, sheepishly. "Human politics are tricky. Hard to keep track of. My salroka who's the other Warden and who smashed his shield into an ogre's nose, that's easier."

He gives her a sidelong grin. "I've heard you about how things work down in Orzammar. I know that's not true. But… thank you." His eyes are so earnest they're hard to look at.

She stares up at the sky instead, and relents. "Your earlier question… I've never wanted it the way I got it offered. Maybe if the right person came along. Someone who wouldn't treat me like a piece of roast nug." She squints at him. "Still can't believe you're a virgin, though."

His ears are going pink again. "Oh, great. There I thought I'd avoided the mockery about that."

"No, I mean…" She waves her hand vaguely at him. "You had a few months on the road, with Duncan and the others. You're a damn Grey Warden. When we're not getting hunted down like traitors. And funny, and built like you're made of stone-brick, and you're handsome, right? Why aren't the human women jumping on that?"

He gives her an odd look - surprised, curious. "You think I'm handsome?" There's a smile sneaking onto his face.

Her tongue feels clumsy, suddenly. Was that not - did he not know? "In a human kinda way. It's pretty obvious. You're polite, sure, and you were raised in some human abbey, but… like I said. You've had offers too, right?"

His ears are pretty much glowing like lava now. It's kind of amazing. "Honestly? I was raised to take that kind of thing seriously. And it stuck. It's not that I… I wanted it to be with someone I cared about. For it to be…" He swallows.

"Special?" she finishes.

"That." He squints into the forest, like he's ashamed. "Right, you can start laughing with Zevran now…"

She puts her hand on his arm. "Hey. I get it."

He looks back to her, and exhales, eyes dark and appraising. "Yes. I think maybe you do. I… Thank you. For telling me. About your sister, and about why I was wrong in… what I'd assumed. And for trusting me. I think I understand. As much as some surface human can, anyhow."

She'd expected him shrinking away from a companionable touch now he knew she was a filthy Duster who had no idea how to court, or what normal human interactions were, not… that. She stares at him a second. "Sure," she says, after too long.

He looks like he's weighing his options, and then he says carefully, "Nat?"

"Uh-huh."

"You don't need the right lighting, or the makeup, or… anything. You really don't."

Yeah, now she's well and truly staring at him.

"In a, dwarf kind of way," he offers, with a hint of his old wryness.

"Huh," she manages.

He laughs, a little nervously. "So, who wants to talk about darkspawn guts some more?"

"I, uh, sure," she manages, but she's still feeling a little like she got hit round the head with a pommel. He thinks -? "What happens if one throws up on you?"

He laughs, caught in between horror and a screwed-up kind of delight that sounds like it's a Grey Warden thing. "What, do you think people have got the darkspawn drunk?"

Shrugging, she tries to find her old rhythm. "Couldn't hurt to ask."

"Oh, now I need to see that…"

[itsclydebitches]

IT'S BEEN A DOOZY OF A DAY, FOLKS

Yeah I've got a couple asks about it lol. (Always a terrifying experience when you log onto tumblr and immediately wonder why your inbox blew up...)

Man, I don't even know how I'm feeling right now. We've spent so many months working on the semi-confident assumption that RWBY would be cancelled that on the one hand I can't feel very shocked about this. On the other hand there's definitely a wide-eyed part of my brain going, "Holy shit the 'RT is failing' theories finally came true O_O" I'm kinda devastated that a company that's been a part of my life for almost a decade (and for other fans far longer) is just up and gone, but simultaneously I don't care because what I loved about RT hasn't existed for some time now. We've already been dealing with that nostlgia for years, we just got a hell of a concentrated dose of it today. There's admittedly some level of vindication regarding those who've been pulling shit in the company for so long and empathy for those who were just getting by and are now suddenly out of a job. There's regret that (despite my tendency to fall VERY behind on projects. RIP I owe everyone in this fandom a massive apology) I'll probably never have an official end to my RWBY Recaps. And there's worry about how this will impact the fandom...

Yeah, not to jump on the pessimism train, but I feel like this is going to catapult some fans' misreadings into new territory. RWBY is now forever the show that was canonically unfinished and thus its perfection is assured. Think there are major issues in Volume 9 and earlier? Nah, that's setup for Volumes we just never got. Catch a contradition or other mistake? They would have explained that if they could. Any possible issues with the show if it gets picked up by someone else? Well, of course there are issues, RT isn't writing it! This was already a fandom where having accurate, nuanced discussions about the text was hard as hell... but it just got so much worse.

Honestly, I say let it go. If they're going to do anything I'd prefer a complete reboot/reworking so that this story might stand a chance. Airing new RWBY Volumes was already beating a dead horse. Resurrecting the horse to start beating it anew just feels ridiculous. Yes, I'm sad for those fans who wanted an official ending, but we've spent so much time waiting on RWBY, being worried about RWBY's future, and I personally have encounted so many shows lately whose finales soured my enjoyment that there's something reassuring in the combination of definitive ambuguity here: you know you're not getting an ending by RT, so just have fun imagining your own.

Overall, I feel like I've got to sit with this for a while, you know? I totally get why so many fans (partiuclarly RWDE fans) are celebrating and/or releasing a sigh of relief right now. I'm honestly surprised I haven't seen any crabs yet lol. But maybe it's just because I'm "old" my tumblr's standards, but there's something undeniably sad about losing that part of your fandom life. Or at least, losing what led to/represents that life. Getting introduced to RWBY by a friend, binging it for the first time, pulling new people in, finding like-minded friends here on tumblr, analyzing it for thousands of words, tracing its history and watching how radically it has changed... that's gone now. Not actually because RWBY still exists, as do my friends, and there's nothing stopping me from writing as much fic/meta as I want, but it still feels like someone closed a door on that part of my life. That's not wholly a bad thing given what RT has been lately, but I do think it'll take more than one post for me to unpack it all.

[ryuichirou]

OruVil HCs

Anonymous asked:

i know you don't play the game, but have you watched the new years event (the with vil)? i've recently been into your oruvil stuff and the way he dotes on and so clearly favors ortho made me think of that hehe. do you have any hcs for them? fluffy, spicy, or otherwise? (hope you're having a good day) :D

Anonymous asked:

Any thoughts on human Ortho with Vil?

Sorry for the wait, Anons, it took me some time to reply…

First of all! That New Year’s Event Vil card lives in my head not only rent-free, I pay it with my mental currency so it stays there forever. We haven’t watched this New Year’s Event (only the one with Kalim and Deuce), but we’re definitely going to do it one day. This year’s lineup is bonkers, and Sebek’s design was also great… But of course Vil is the queen lol

The fact that Vil keeps favouring Ortho and doting on him!! Thank you for lettins us know, Anon, this is the best. It makes me happy…

Alight, headcanons! Two versions, although the first bunch could work with either version of Ortho, to be honest. Maybe there was no reason to separate these two lists…

Regular Ortho

Vil really helps Ortho with his emotional development, both with the way he expresses himself and with his feelings in general. They talk about Ortho’s feelings a lot, sometimes it’s almost like Vil is both Ortho’s mentor and therapist lol But whenever Ortho suddenly starts talking about how much he likes spending time with Vil and how he wants to be closer to him, it’s always very unexpected and makes Vil’s heart beat faster.

It’s very unusual for Ortho to watch movies at the cinema and watch theatre performances, and he experienced both of these things with Vil. And while he can’t really feel pinpoint what makes the atmosphere so different and special (to him it’s all the same – just the environment is different), he has a lot of tropes in his head that he borrowed from the movies. So he’ll definitely at some point try holding Vil’s hand or even get clingy with him while watching a movie.

When Ortho got his own room, he was so excited that he invited Vil over to see it, which felt at the same time very childish and very sus of him: “let me show you my room” could have very conflicting connotations… Vil just wanted to treat him, so of course he agreed. Needless to say, the nerd den that is Ignihyde was shook to the core that day, because no one expected to see a gorgeous looking and amazingly smelling Pomefiore housewarden so up-close... the virgin igni boys got so STRESSED over the fact that Ortho brought him over, the theories ran wild for at least a week after that. Did they fuck? Did SOMEONE FUCK in THEIR DORM? The Virgin den?! Ortho, you’re such a fuckboy..!

Ortho blocks Mira sometimes. Vil doesn’t use her when Ortho is around anyway, but Ortho still doesn’t really like Mira lol Sometimes it’s almost like they have this weird rivalry.

Human Ortho

Ortho loves it when Vil styles him: wardrobe really transformed with Vil’s influence. They talk about clothes and shoes a lot, and spend a lot of time shopping together. A lot of times Vil spoils Ortho by buying him cool sneakers and jackets, but Ortho surprised Vil with designer clothes too: he’s kind of much richer than Vil anyway, so it’s only fair… and it made Vil happy…

Ortho is very clingy. Compared to the regular robot!Ortho, human!Ortho hugs Vil all the time. And it pisses everyone off, because Ortho could just sneak in, hug Vil from behind, rest his chin on Vil’s shoulder and stand like this while Vil’s explaining something to rest of the film research club. Even when Vil pushes Ortho away, he always does it in a weirdly gentle way: he scratches his head a little and then pushes him like a cat would do. While still explaining stuff to the rest of the film research club…

Ortho adores roleplay. Not only in a sexy way, but even just regularly: the moment he learned what improv was, he started to do it all the time with Vil. Of course, Vil doesn’t play along all the time, because there is time and place for everything, but he actually enjoys Ortho’s spontaneous nature when it comes to acting. Whenever Vil feels playful and gives him a “yes, and…”, Ortho gets very excited. They could play for hours… well, could’ve, but Vil is too busy for that :(

Ortho was lucky enough to receive a blowjob from Vil once, it was his birthday present (well, one of, there is no way Vil wouldn’t gifted him something else). And despite being “the hornier of two Shrouds”, it never even occurred to him how Vil would look with a dick in his mouth before. He was so happy… and way too smug afterwards lol

Despite the fact that Vil is more experienced, Ortho kind of overwhelms him when it comes to sex. He is a very fast learner, very enthusiastic, energetic and eager. Vil has a good stamina, but Ortho still leaves him absolutely exhausted after sex.

[goddogcomplex]

Music: How To Listen

alright, you little goobers, its time to talk about music. what about it, you ask, in your tinny little voices. worry not, shark babies, i will tell you what. as an experienced music listener myself, i can understand that many of you babies are lost and confused. and its alright, okay? its easy to get lost in a world where taylor swift exists alongside as rammstein.

so, you're wondering--how do i get cool points through my music? firstly, dont do that. to get cool points, you ought not to seek cool points. but here are my music recs. probably none of these are underground and are actually pretty popular, but i do not accept bitter shark babies, only the sweet, joyful ones.

tldr: music recs for you desperate shark babies

p.s: I've added the link to all albums/artists at the bottom(mostly on spotify)

Radiohead: First, let me clarify, I am a girl. I've heard sooo many people make jokes about Ooh, Radiohead is for loser incel men. NO. radiohead is for all genders of incels. now, Radiohead's great. love them, make stickers of them. but what songs should you start out with? Ok, personally, I love everything. e v e r y t h i n g. but, I understand you may not be able to reach my levels of obsession and insanity. thats okay! it's not healthy! now, I recommend listening to them album-wise. start with either 'The Bends' or 'In Rainbows'. 'ok computer' is a solid choice too, but I would save it for later in your obsession. Have fun, my little shark babies, you will be sad. (Ik these are really basic and vague choices but these are recs for people seeking to get into new music)

Big Thief: Alright, chances are, many of you have heard them. If you have, gold star. ⭐. If you haven't, but you desperately crave the validation of me, a stranger and your shark mother, go listen to them. Right now, I love them. Again, they are a little bit slower and a little sadder. So, if that's not your thing, wait until later on the list, alright? If you're only starting to listen to them, I recommend going with one of their more popular albums--'Masterpiece'. They also have a single, 'Vampire Empire', which makes me go feral every time it plays. If you like the, keep exploring their discography, and come collect your gold star.

Le Tigre: Woah, nelly, this band. (who even is Nelly?) Okay, so Le Tigre has this wild ability of just filling me with a slight manicness, iykwim? I will bet 20 cents that you have heard Deceptacon(I'm broke), although you might not know the name. With them, just go to their profile on Spotify, play it on shuffle, and sacrifice your soul to the gods. Have fun, Pookie!

A Tribe Called Quest: As someone who listens to very little hip-hop, I have been told by my more cultured friends that this is hip-hop. I love it. So much. An album of theirs I adore is 'The Low End Theory' which has one of my favourite songs ever, 'Jazz We Got'

The Departures: Okay, these guys are genuinely unknown to the world. Like, they have some 5k listeners. I love them. They have a couple of albums, and you absolutely should go listen. They're kind of chaotic and messy and twirly, but in the best ways possible. Listen to the album 'Yes No Maybe' first, because it is the genuine love of my life. They also released an album this year, 'Hourglass' which is also seriously good. Like, really good.

my bloody valentine: NOW HEAR ME OUT. I understand that their name sounds like its a bunch of emo vampires who are really just middle schoolers with fake teeth on. So there's a genre of music called shoegaze(similar to Cocteau Twins if you know them) which is really just soft, kind of ethereal music where you can't really decipher the words. I will be making another post on just shoegaze, but their album 'loveless' is an excellent place to start. it's just great. go listen.

John Coltrane: Now, the only way to describe John Coltrane is a prayer through jazz. Like, it's a totally spiritual experience. Again, will be doing a little post on jazz, but John Coltrane is iconic. 'A Love Supreme' is a great place to start, I also like 'Ascension' Genuinely iconic, will alter your brain chemistry. Go, shark babes, listen.

Bikini Hill: If you liked Le Tigre's 'Deceptacon', you will love their 'Pussy Whipped'. Very similar vibe, I've been told its called riot girl, which sounds iconic. Anyways, seriously vibey music, go listen right this second.

The Newfound Interest in Connecticut: Y'all, midwest emo is my jam! I mean, whiny little voices in my ear, hell yeah! Okay, so Is specifically mentioned this band for their album 'Tell Me About The Long Dark Path Home', which is simply edible. Yeah, these guys like their long ass names. But anyways, go listen!!!

Minor Threat: These guys are punk. Listen to their album 'First Two Seven Inches'. it's a great place to start. If you like them, I will find some time to make a punk rec post too, but to be honest I need to explore the genre more. So y'all have fun now!

Okay, ten bands, guys. All iconic, if you ask me. Like I said, I'm going to be making a bunch more of these. Please, please, please, please, please send me recommendations, tell me what to write about, show me some love. accept me, good people, please. ANWYAYS, BYE BYE! MWAH! HAVE FUN!

LINKS:

'In Rainbows' by Radiohead:

'Masterpiece' by Big Thief(2023 remaster):

'Le Tigre' by Le Tigre:

'The Low End Theory' by A Tribe Called Quest:

'Yes No Maybe' by The Departures:

'loveless' by my bloody valentine:

'A Love Supreme' by John Coltrane:

'Pussy Whipped' by Bikini Hill:

'Tell Me About the Long Dark Path Home' by Newfound Interest in Connecticut:

'First Two Seven Inches' by Minor Threat:

[ambermotta]

I'm using Google Translate to write this, if there's any error that's the reason.

Helloo, I hope you are well 🤍 I have a question that comes to my mind all the time but I didn't know exactly where to find that answer, so why not ask someone more experienced? hehe

I started studying about witchcraft, gods/goddesses and the like a while ago, but it's really only been theory, since because of my parents I still can't practice freely. Do you think there are ways for me to start this journey now, or do you think it would be more appropriate for me to wait?

I would love to start worshiping a specific Goddess that caught my attention and really had an impact on me. Would I be able to do this discreetly? 😭

Thank you for your timee 🤍

Hi! Sorry if I took a bit too long to answer, I hadn't seen the notification 😅

Answering your question: Yes, you can start now if you wish, but that will come with limitations. If you think it's too hard, frustrating, or dangerous to practice "undercover", then it may be best to wait.

There are a lot of tools and excuses for the undercover witch:

Crystals: "I find them beautiful/ they bring me peace/ it's decorative"

Deity imagery: "I really liked this artwork/I like X mythology a lot/ it's decorative"

Altars: they can be very hard to lie about. Buy you can have a portable altar, or a box altar. Plus, they don't need to be fancy at all. Virtual altars are also an option!

As for limitations, these often include:

Not being able to light candles and incenses.

Alternatives: fake electric candles, rbg lights, essential oils and other fragrances.

Elaborate rituals are hard

Alternatives: be simple and practical. Prayers and visualization are your best friends. Do your stuff while your parents are away or sleeping.

Resources can be scarce

Alternatives: be creative so that you can improvise. You can get a lot of mundane items and give them magical/sacred properties. As for deity offerings, stick to "simple but meaningful". If it's edible, you can eat it in ritual or after you're done with your prayers (depends on deity and culture – do your research)

I personally think worshipping a deity is easier to do discretely than doing witchcraft. Worshipping can be just a prayer, sharing a cup of tea with your deity and doing devotional acts in their honor. It can be as simple or complex as you like. It's a very intimate thing between you and the deity.

Witchcraft may require more "materials" depending on how you plan to do things and some of your stuff can really give you away. That's just my personal opinion though.

Over half the time I've been a pagan witch, I was doing it all in secret. My parents were into spirituality, but it wasn't until like.. 3 years ago that they started to be more open-minded about religions other than their own. In their mind pagan gods didn't exist and witchcraft was dangerous (even though they did it themselves, they just did not see it that way).

I was lucky I could get away with lighting candles and incenses, but living in a very busy household I felt like I really couldn't do most of what I wanted. It was hard, and frustrating. But I still kept my deities close to heart and did what I could.

With all that being said, here are some questions for you to ask yourself, to help you decide what you want to do:

Is it dangerous to get caught? If your family is extremely intolerant to the point where it can be dangerous for you, then waiting until you're more independent is probably better.

Are you okay with having limited resources?

Are you okay with hiding stuff?

Are you ready to deal with your parents if they they find out?

Could you answer their questions calmly and within reason?

I sincerely hope I was able to answer your question and give you some insight ❤️

Living in the "broom closet" has its challenges, but it can be equally rewarding.

Remember you can always start small, and if you feel it won't work out, you call it off until you're ready.

[meowcats734]

[Soulmage] By Wizard Law, in order to learn a new skill, wizards are required to be apprenticed to a more experienced master. You, a barely trained journeyman fire mage, just took on an apprentice: a two-hundred-year-old Grandmaster Water Magic Lord.

"The Academy must be getting desperate if you're the best tutor they could find," my new student said.

I didn't disagree, but that didn't mean the man had to be a jerk about it. "The Academy's a little shorthanded thanks to that rampaging demon from a few weeks back," I said. "Both because everyone's suddenly very interested in learning self-defense magic, and because a decent chunk of the people who were good at self-defense magic died."

"Weren't good enough, then," the grumpy, ancient man said.

"I take it your emotional attunement is being a dick, then?" I deadpanned. I was half-certain that I'd been assigned the ornery old man just because my teacher wanted to spite me.

"What did you say?" he asked.

I blinked. "Emotional attunement. The emotion that you use to power your magic. This is first-year stuff. How can you—"

"Not that, you idiot. I've sneezed out more knowledge of magic than you've learned in your life. How did you just address me?"

"I... didn't?" I asked.

He scoffed. "Young people these days. When speaking to your senior, address him by his full title."

I rolled my eyes. "Alright. Fine. Grandmaster Water Magic Lord, I take it your emotional attunement is being a dick?"

He scowled. "My full title is Grandmaster Water Magic Lord Sage Unmatched Crusader Knight."

"Fine. GWMLSUCK, you're a dick."

GWMLSUCK bristled. "Your disrespect—"

"—is a part of the teaching process," I interrupted. "Look, I'm no master fire mage, but I know basic magical theory. Each emotion corresponds to a specific school of magic. Happiness for light, sorrow for cold, passion for heat." Self-hatred to make yourself feel small, too, although I felt no particular need to share my own brand of magic with someone who went by GWMLSUCK.

"And you think disrespecting me will make me more passionate about your imbecilic lessons?" the GWMLSUCK said.

"I think that it'll make you angry," I countered, "and that anger is a type of passion."

The GWMLSUCK fell quiet. "Using anger to fuel spells is in the domain of fell magic," he finally said.

"Yeah, well, a bunch of fell mages just kicked our collective butts." I shrugged. "Desperate times call for desperate measures, GWMLSUCK."

"Stop calling me that," he snapped. "It makes me so... so..."

"Yes?" I asked, patiently waiting.

He paused, then shook his head.

"You're right. You're an arrogant little pebble, and you make me want to blow my top off. But nothing's happening. I don't have the faintest attunement to anger, no matter how hard I try."

That was what I'd been worried about. You could have all the emotions in the world, but unless you had the right attunement, you couldn't convert them into magic—and I hadn't the foggiest idea where attunements came from. It was classified knowledge, kept only to the highest-ranked witches, and there was no way anyone would tell a neophyte spellcaster like me how to—

"There are four things you need to create an emotional attunement," the GWMLSUCK began.

I blinked in surprise, but the GWMLSUCK wasn't paying attention to me. "You need to feel the emotion yourself. You need to lose the emotion yourself. You need to cause the emotion in others. And you need to take that emotion from others."

A chill ran down my spine.

"I've felt anger in my life," he said, "and I've certainly angered others. So for me to lack that attunement... it means that either I've been perpetually angry my entire life, or there's never been a time when I've helped someone else calm down." For a moment, the old man looked terribly lost and terribly vulnerable. "And I don't want either of those to be true."

I was hardly listening to the old man's words.

Because I was a witch who used self-hatred.

For me to have an emotional attunement, it meant that I had to have caused that emotion in someone else.

My head swam. Who could it have been? Who had I hurt inadvertently so badly that it made them turn their anger inwards on themself? Who...

"I don't know why I expected a youth like you to help," the old man said. He stood. "This lesson is over. I will be contacting the Academy for a replacement immediately."

"That... may be for the best. For both of us," I muttered, dazed.

And then I realized who it was. Who was responsible for the magic I held.

And I knew how to make amends.

A.N.

Soulmage is a serial written in response to writing prompts. Stick around for more episodes, or join my Discord to chat about it!

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[earlgreytea68]

Hi! Some time ago, like earlier this year, you talked about how it is sometimes very scary to wait for a continuation of something you’ve been enjoying, be it a show, a book series, new album etc. and that you are scared for a different reasons, like, would it be as good, would I love it, how will the fandom change after that, and about a lot of other different things, that could impact your enjoyment of it. And I don’t know if you know, but you probably have seen by now, Good Omens 2 came out, and the ending of the season… let’s put it that way, if the writers of 3-d potential season would use your golden ratio of angst and fluff system, we still have a chance in the future, but otherwise… fob stuff is saving my sanity right now, it’s really a great timing, to be honest! And I like what laudanumcafe said on this matter, that who could’ve imagined, that reality would be soothing us after watching a new season of our comfort show. So anyway, now I’m going to reread the musical peterick fic of yours, because it was always one of my favourites, and it got mentioned a few times recently. Also, I would bet my actual MONEY, that if they magically decide to write a musical, and someone casually drops the name “Stumped” as a possible title, Pete would immediately run with it and stick with it until the end.

Oh, nooooooo, I'm so sorry, this whole Ask speaks of pain and I know well that feeling and I really feel deeply for you. :-(

I've seen Good Omens S1 but I haven't watched S2 yet and although I adore the book and I adore both David Tennant and Michael Sheen it isn't a fandom love for me BUT also thank you for this warning because I don't want to be sad so I'll probably avoid watching it lol

ANYWAY, I'm glad you have comfortfic to read, that is honestly for-real the reason I write comfortfic, so I'm glad it's there for you.

And I really am so sorry about the S2 thing. As you know from having referenced my previous post, I get how that is just the worst feeling. :/

(I think my post about being nervous is here, but I also wrote one about S3 of Sherlock which...we all know how that turned out lololol.)

(Also here is my post on my Golden Ratio Theory, if you're curious -- and how television series almost always mess it up.)

[misc-obeyme]

https://www.tumblr.com/misc-obeyme/731193426179227648

I know it's been a while since you reblogged the ask game above, but if you're still down I have a few questions for you!

9: What genre is your favourite to write?

17: Could you or could you not successfully pull of a murder (at least in theory)? (<- I understand if you'd rather leave this one unanswered for legal reasons lol)

30: What is, in your opinion, the greatest achievement that you have reached in writing?

Bonus if you feel like it: What is your favorite writing memory that you still look back on fondly?

-💚🌻

PS: I love your writing style so much & I can't wait to catch up on all your works I missed because life was keeping me too busy!! Got some real treats to look forward to these next few days, hehe <3

Hello there, anon! Is 💚🌻 your anon signature? I will add it to the list!

And no worries, I did reblog that a while back, but I'm happy to answer any questions at any time! Any ask game that I reblog, people can send me asks from it any time they like, even if it's been a while lol. I don't mind!

9: What genre is your favourite to write?

My favorite is fantasy without a doubt! That's one of the things I love about Obey Me, too, is that yeah we got a lot of romance happening, but they've also got ~magic~! And demons! And angels!! I'm so into that kind of thing. But when I write original works, it's always fantasy or some kind of fantasy/sci-fi mashup. I just really like worldbuilding and messing around with the possibility of things like magic. It's fun to see how stuff like that can change a story's plot. I also like how no matter how fantastical you get, people and their relationships still tend to work the same way.

17: Could you or could you not successfully pull of a murder (at least in theory)? (<- I understand if you'd rather leave this one unanswered for legal reasons lol)

Listen I might be concerned about answering this if I was at all competent lol. But the reality is that I can't even kill bugs, so murder is just not something I think I would be capable of to begin with. However, if we're considering whether or not I could get away with it, pretending that I was somehow able to commit one in the first place, I still think the answer would be most likely not. I think I'd feel so guilty about having killed someone that I would turn myself in, even if I had some amazing plan to get away with it.

30: What is, in your opinion, the greatest achievement that you have reached in writing?

Okay, well. I am nothing if not the ultimate cheeser. So while I might talk about awards I've won or projects I've finished, I honestly think the greatest achievement I've reached has been right here on this blog. Some of the reactions I've gotten to things I've posted are truly the highest of achievements. Because when I write, my goal is to make people feel something. So when they actually do, then I know I've written something that does what I set out to do. I think this is why I write fluff so much. Because I like making people feel warm and fuzzy. It makes me feel accomplished in a way that awards and such never really have.

Bonus if you feel like it: What is your favorite writing memory that you still look back on fondly?

When it comes to fanfiction, I would say it was the time I was writing Lord of the Rings fanfiction by hand in a spiral notebook and someone in my class was like "Are you writing about Arwen??" And then I had to explain that I was writing fanfiction and it was so embarrassing lol. This was many years ago but it makes me laugh now. I used to write by hand a lot, but I think that was the only time someone looked over my shoulder to see what I was writing.

For original works, it was the time I found my mom had kept almost the entire manuscript of the very first novel I ever wrote. I was fourteen when I wrote it and I printed out every chapter for her to read as I finished it. Years later, in my late twenties, she found it and gave it to me. I read it and oh my gosh it was so funny. But! It's missing the last couple of chapters and I sure don't remember how it ended lol!

writer ask game!

And also I'm so glad you love my writing style!! I hope you enjoy reading what you've missed and welcome back! <3

[mentaljourney]

04/08/2025 Pt. III

So this is important fr. I asked her what her kitchen was like. Now I've know P since 2018 and its 2024 so she is cook and we always dreamed our kitchens together and we know what we want what we done want etc.. especially females have very good attention to detail especially for things they care about. Now she told me that her kitchen had white cabinets and she had a conventional stove so. So I was okay girl get your stuff going cause I hate white cabinets and I made sure to make a comment on it. She also lied at the beginning because she started to rant to me about their argument of him being pissed she kept moving the dates. I asked her specifically if they both signed the lease since she had the plan for them to live together. Now this bitch told me no and I was liked wtf that's not possible anybody knows if you rent a place from someone they want you and everyone in the house that is over the age of 18 to sign a lease due to this reason. So basically if one person can't pay the rent then they would go after anyone that is on the lease to pay the rent. So I knew right there she was lying but I gave her the benefit of the doubt because J has to be there physically to sign the lease because that's what I needed to do with Jaylen. So I finally got the address to the house they are supposedly renting for a year. Now it's a new development that was just built I looked it up the houses are being sold for 700K. Now my friends arent that rich so how tf could she afford to rent a pay that was sold for 700k rent gotta be at least over 5k MINIMUM. Well I wanted to see what they look like luckily all the realtors in the area did tours of the new development so they could make commission on these houses. Now they looked nice as hell like I was actually surprised on how they looked and I finally got a look at one unit. Now the one I saw had black cabinets with blue island and counter tops. Which I can understand by unit they could change the color of the cabinets. Now I looked at 5 different houses all of them had black cabinets and they also had something else. So instead of the conventional stove THE PLACE HAD GAS STOVES. Now wtf any bitch that loves cooking would go crazy for finding a gas stove. Thats how I knew that bitch lied through her motherfucking teeth to me. HER BEST FRIEND WTF BITCH RATHER KEEP THIS REALITY OF DELULU TO KEEP HER MAN SHE NEVER MET IN GOTDAMN 7 or 8 YEARS. That's how I knew oh damn I can't fuck with her wtf why would you lie to me. You lying so much you're in to deep. But whatever. So back to the story at hand of them meeting. So while J was there he and P went shopping for the apartment and stuff and they had a great time for the little bit they got to hang out. Until P decided to fucking end the damn trip and she couldn't afford to keep him there which doesn't make sense you booked a hotel and flight for this man and had a returning flight for a different date. So he could stay for as long as you reserved the hotel but whatever. So she paid for a flight that day to leave which is crazy saying you couldn't afford to keep him there. J's dumbass got on that plane and got stuck in a lighting store in San Antonio Tx. Which btw is 3 hours away from his house luckily he hitched a ride with someone. But still that man could of gotten seriously hurt or injured. Now my theory is P is not ready for a man because she puts her life the way it is now over her man. She legit never has time for him to come visit you lying about wanting to live with this man and etc.... Which I told J all he told me was that he was disappointed (he has been hurt alot) and that he is just gonna give up and just stay with her since they've been together soo long. Right there I was scared for my friend because why waste your life on that. Later on, P ended up breaking up with J and he has been fine dude is almost 30 finally doing what he wanted which was school and to get a job. He waited because he wanted to go to school when he moved in with his boo. Unfortunately is not a little bit sympathetic towards him for leading this man on.