#i wanted to add a background without the effort

[intrepidmare]

I want to reiterate @ao3commentoftheday's words. You can tag however you want. It's a tag wrangler's job to sort them out. Don't worry about making it harder for wranglers, especially with chatty tags (those are often great, some of you are very very funny).

However...

Expanding on character and relationship tags fields, don't add modifiers like "Mentioned Character" or "Background Character Y/Character Z" in there. Those tags will be syn to the character's or relationship's canonical tags (without the modifiers). And making them syns, renders them useless for filtering.

For example Jamie Lannister(mentioned) as a character tag is synned to Jaime Lannister. Just like (background Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne) as a relationship tag is synned to Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne. I know people who does that is wanting to warn people that the character or relationship has a minor presence in the work, but in the end, their efforts are lost. Any tag with a modifier should go in Additional Tags. Always. No exceptions.

The opposite it's also true. Any character or relationship tag without modifiers in additional tags is deem unwrangleable and will never see the light of the day as a canonical additional tag. Readers won't be able to filter it in or out when searching for something to read.

The issue is that tags can't be in different categories at the same time. Fandoms can't be in the character or relationship or additional tags categories. Neither can a character be in the fandom category (or any other) except for in the character category. Each category is subjected to the same rule.

A good way to know if you wrote a tag in the wrong category is to see if they have "- fandom", "- character", "- relationship" or "- freeform" as a suffix after you entered it. Although, not all tags in the wrong category have a suffix. But if they have one, that 100% means that either you or someone else wrote it in the wrong category.

I just remembered something else! People who censor tags are wasting their time. This is my very own personal opinion. Any of those tags will be eventually synned to the correctly-written tag anyways. (e.g. "Suic¡d3" is synned to "Suicide") You're not helping, and I don't mean not helping wranglers. I mean, you're not helping the readers! Because for wranglers, that censored tag is like any other that needs to be synned, not effort at all to deal with it. For your readers, however, it might be a big issue. What most don't know or consider is that it takes some time for tags to be wrangled (anything between hours and several weeks, when the fandom has wrangler(s) assigned to it. Takes way longer when the fandom is unattended).

Let's use the example above: during that time until the tag is wrangled, if a writer uses "suic!d3" or "unaliving themselves", and a reader filters "suicide" out not wanting to read works containing that subject, then the work tagged with the censored tag will appear on the filtered search and reader will get an unpleasant surprise if they click on the work. That censored tag did nothing of what it supposed to do. Do not censor tags and everyone will be happy.

I know tag wranglers do a lot of work connecting tags etc. Is there anything authors can do to make their jobs easier for them like trying to mostly use canonical tags or not making tag comments?

Thanks!

This is a great question, and I'll do my best to answer it but I do hope that some wranglers add on in the notes! I'm also just going to preface this with the fact that you should still tag however you like to tag. This list isn't meant to be a checklist or anything. It's just info I've picked up over the years and you can take or leave each piece as you see fit.

Okay, so the first thing that most non-wranglers should know is that wranglers see tags separately from the fic. They get a big bin full of tags to sort through and match up in the system, but they'll only see your fic and the other tags you've added to it if they decide to go look.

That's important to know because sometimes a user will tag something like [character] is so sexy and then also tag by which I mean they're a huge dork. The wranlger won't see that second tag and won't know that they're connected so your sarcastic tag will end up synned (matched up to) sexy!Character or whatever the canonical is, as if that was the meaning you were going for.

Another good thing to know is that tags can only be synned if they only have 1 idea in them. So if you tag, say, [character] is gay and autistic then the wrangler can't actually syn that to either [character] is gay or character is autistic because it only half-fits either tag. To have them synned in the database, you would need to tag those two ideas separately.

You might have already seen the post I made referencing the fact that you don't have to tag multiple versions of the same idea (unless you want to for the aesthetic) because the synning that wranglers do makes sure that tagging one idea allows users to filter for all versions of that idea. But in case you didn't know that, now you do!

Wranglers are often members of the fandoms they wrangle, but they aren't always. Sometimes they'll take on a fandom that doesn't otherwise have a wrangler because they like to do research or because they like small fandoms or for many other reasons. But that means that if you're tagging your OCs by name, you should add (OC) to the end so that they know it's not a canon character that they aren't familiar with. This is double true in huge fandoms like Star Wars where there are millions of canon characters and just as many OCs.

Wranglers don't "seed" tags in fandoms. For a tag to exist, users need to create it. The rule of thumb is at least 3 fics from 3 separate authors, but that's very much the minimum and in fast-moving or huge fandoms the bar is probably higher. Also, for brand new fandoms, it's entirely possible that they won't know you exist until you tell them. Back in January I was the first person to write in a brand new fandom so I knew I had to start the tags, and I waited until there were 25 or so works by 15 or so creators before I emailed Support because I know I have to be patient - but I'm still impatient by nature lol.

Another thing to know is that tags are kind of like proton packs - they can't cross the streams. If you put a tag in the Character field by mistake, wranglers can't move it to the Additionals. This can also work in your favour, though, because if you have a minor character or minor relationship that you want to tag because there's some kind of fandom drama happening and people want to be able to avoid them, you can tag them in the Additional Tags so that people can know they're in there, but the people who like that character or ship can still filter the Character and Relationship tags without seeing a bunch of works that don't really focus on them.

This got super long, so I'll end with your question about tag comments. I know people worry that it makes extra work for tag wranglers if you get all chatty in your fic tags but I've been reassured by more than one wrangler over the course of several years now that it's no extra work. They just shovel those tags into the gaping maw of the Unfilterable Beast - which is the same thing they do with those tags that have multiple concepts in them. If it can't be synned, then that's where they go.

(keep tagging that way, though, if you like to because that's how new concepts get created and eventually canonized)

Alright, I that's all I can think of off the top of my head, and the list was actually longer than I thought! Wranglers: please do add on with other things you wish users knew, and please correct me if anything has changed since the last time I delved into this topic!

[snailbuggie0]

warm up thingy

[3hks]

How do I write a character to be a little mean and surly but with hints of softness, without making them annoying?

Ahaha, hello! When I saw your ask, I immediately jumped on it because it's such a fun question! I present to you...

How to Write a Surly (Yet Soft) Character Who ISN'T Annoying

Mean For a Reason + What Makes Them Appear Mean

One thing that is incredibly important when writing characters with a "worse" personality is considering what shaped their personality. Your character should not be rude just because you want them to. Add some background and context to their attitude. Oftentimes, this rudeness serves as a defense mechanism.

Additionally, consider what makes your character appear mean. Do they bully people? Are they inconsiderate of others? Or perhaps do they simply state the truths that people do not want to hear? A "mean" person can look like many things, and not all of them are stereotypical bullies.

Apologies

One of the best ways to showcase character development (in this case, it might be revealing some softness) for a surly character is through apologies.

Having a character who's normally stuck-up, rude, and/or inconsiderate genuinely apologize and realize their wrongdoings is a HUGE moment. It might not cause a monumental shift in the story, but it demonstrates that they feel guilty, responsible, and that they care enough to overcome their pride to apologize.

Awkward, Not Reluctant

A common thing I see when authors write a poor-tempered character apologizing, for example, is that they often seem very reluctant to do so. While the reluctance does make sense because they're doing something they are unfamiliar with, it becomes one of those things that can get annoying when overdone.

So instead of making your character too reluctant to do something nice to someone else, make them more awkward. Reluctance creates a sense that the character doesn't exactly want to be there but is doing it, nonetheless. Although it can seem charming, you don't want your character to appear to be forced to be kind.

However, if you make them more awkward/nervous when apologizing or helping someone, you demonstrate that they WANT to be there, they're genuinely putting effort into trying, despite it still being something that's out of their comfort zone. And honestly? That looks way better.

Avoid The Irrevocable Point

Before I start this, remember that all of these points are my opinion, and this is definitely one of them. If you disagree, that's alright! You're never obligated to listen to everything I say, and many things depend on context!

When writing a poor-tempered character, it's easy to get carried away. Despite that, I suggest being careful about the actions they take. No matter how rude they are, they should not go past a point that's irredeemable for them. Now, this point depends on many factors, but as the author, hopefully you can tell. It's just generally harder to rebuild their reputation as a character and any attempts to do so later on may seem insincere when trying to fix a mistake that's simply too bad to be fixed.

Subtle Actions

Realistically speaking, it's hard for someone to admit something they're uncomfortable with admitting. This applies to your character: verbal forms of kindness are often more difficult for "mean" characters to express.

Thus, I suggest using small, subtle actions to show that they care. It doesn't have to be saving a child from a building on fire or even helping an old grandma cross the road. It can be something like paying for a friend's meal without asking, leaving a bottle of water on an athlete's bench, or just listening to someone.

Pattern of Softness

A surly character is, by definition, not the nicest person, and they are definitely not going to be nice to everyone, ESPECIALLY in the beginning.

What makes your character feel empathetic/sympathetic towards someone? It could be an event someone went through, a few key traits, or their general personality that makes your mean character turn soft. They will not be soft towards everyone, but they might act nicer to those that fall into those specific categories.

It might help to remember that we tend to feel bad towards people who have experienced something similar to us. If it's not something we can't relate to very well, we'll feel less sorrow on the other's behalf.

Don't Make It Forced

When I say "don't make it forced", I mean it in two ways.

For starters, please don't force your character into being extra rude or being nice. You want it to be as natural as possible; remember that you determine your character!

However, I also mean that you should make your character feel forced to be nice. If they wish to correct past mistakes, then yes, there should be solid motivation, but don't force them into feeling like they have to change.

Remember: the key to all this is genuity. An annoying character, no matter their trope, often appears annoying if they lack sincereness.

I hope this helped!

Happy writing~

3hks <3

[loustica-lucia]

Heroes of the Dragon Age

An animation I've made for Dragon Age Day 2023, featuring my main Warden (Alyssa Cousland-Theirin), Hawke (Eleena Amell Hawke) and Inquisitor (Sulevin Lavellan)!

It's to this day one of my best artwork and I thought I should share it here too! 90+ hours between the original sketch, outfit design, the rough animation, rotoscope, inking, flat-colours, background shading and even the audio :')

Interested in the process? I detailed it below since it was my first time doing something like that:

I would like to start by saying I'm not a professional animator!Everything you've seen here is the result of experimentation and a lot of practice to learn and understand how 2D animation works.

My first idea started in May 2023. I just finished rewatching DA Absolution for the X time, and wanted to analyse why I loved the intro so much. (Even after countless rewatch, I never skipped it once.) I was inspired to study it with my main three protagonists!

Then came the first test with Alyssa Cousland-Theirin, my Hero of Ferelden! I tried to understand which part to separate for the animation. Mainly the hair and cape because it flows a lot more than the rest! If I recall, my first idea here was to make her counter flame attacks (?). Then, as the camera turns around her, I tried to add a grid to know how the camera would work around it.

I ended up making the clip longer, so she could position herself to the further left and leave space to the two other protagonists.

Now it was time to try to animate Sulevin Lavellan, my Inquisitor. I really kept that quick doodling style just to capture the vibe without putting too much time/effort into it! The background would be static to contrast with Alyssa's. I also loved the idea of a rogue sneaking!

Instead of working on Eleena Amell Hawke, my Champion of Kirkwall, I went back to Alyssa and started working with Clip Studio Paint 3D models (this entire animation has been done on the EX version of the software!) It helped for rotoscope animation and maintaining likeness! That's when I got the idea to make the background swirl around the character to let the eyes be guided by the rest of the screen!

After a couple more hours, I planned the entire animatic with 3D models and quick doodles! I finally found a cool pose for Eleena Hawke, which was honestly the hardest of the three to imagine for some reason? I tried many other poses but ended up picking an animation from the game!

This whole time, I was studying a bunch of background ideas and how studio Red Dog Culture House (who made Absolution) work! Thankfully, they have a YouTube Channel where they shared some BTS content so I could analyse it!

Then, I simplified my character and their original designs in the style of the studio! These outfits are how I imagine them after Trespasser. Alyssa as the Queen of Ferelden, looking for a cure to the Calling, Hawke following Fenris to Tevinter & Sully as a Red Jenny Inquisitor!

The idea for Sulevin's animation actually came from a piece I doodled on a live stream, when I was drawing pose studies and turning them into finished artworks haha As for Alyssa, I wanted to draw the fight that got her facial scars!

Once their designs were ready and the background ideas too, I made the rough version of the animation! Basically a sketch done on top of the 3D models to add the details, staying pretty rough just to capture the idea and movements.

Then it was time to start the lines! I decided make a folder per frame, so I could separate all he main elements and draw them one by one. It helps keeping the likeness of a character in the different frames without having big "jumps" between frames! In fact, every parts were coloured differently to recognize them, and then I used vector erasers and masks (Ah yes, the entire lineart is done in vectors of course! It's easier to adjust and save time when working on similar frames!)

At first of course, everything overlaps! But I find it easier to draw too much and erase after, just to make sure everything is coherent in each frames! The cool thing about CSP is how you can change the colour of the layers in one click! So all the coloured lines turned into black in one second, and I could reverse it just as quickly to double check!

Then I started working on Sulevin! I made a blue line to mark where her feet were, as the sketch in the background wasn't perfectly straight! (Like Sulevin's sexuality 🤭😂) The silhouettes were very quick to do, but I had fun adding more & more details as she came closer to the foreground!

I really wanted to add that little dagger trick, but I remember it required me to change the pacing of Eleena's apparition, as it was recovering her arm too quickly! I had to change the pace of multiple frames quite a lot during the project, to make sure the flow was right! For Eleena, most of her animation remained around her arms and the staff itself, as magic would be the most difficult part! That way each character has their own focus: Alyssa has a very animated background, Sulevin got the grappling hook and Eleena the ice!

Then it was time to start adding colours! Just like for the lineart, I separated every colour on it's own layer, so I could easily adjust the colours later if needed. I added one colour at the time, going through all the frames, and then another colour!

I made full palette tests with the colours I would use for their background at this point, checking if the details remained readable! Alyssa was the most challenging in terms of clothes, because I made her a very detailled armour! I had to simplify the Theirin heraldry, vectorize/redraw the Cousland, and make a brush for her cape's pattern!

Once I was done adding the flatcolours, I started the background, and oh boy it was a wild ride. For the cave, I painted multiple tests. I imagine was to use CSP panorama tools, which transform a texture into a 3D sphere, so each corners must match to look good. Sadly, it made the background very blurry, so after hours of testing, I changed ideas. Instead of the random fire balls (?) I originally imagined for Alyssa, I made three simple frames of a Rage Demon to attack her.

I ended up using the cave as a repeated pattern to make it turn 360° around the character. For Eleena, I mixed inspiration from the comics, Dreadwolf & Absolution, using warm colours matching Hawke's signature red. Just like I made the cave very grey/blue to match Grey Wardens. For Val Royeaux, it was more complex because I wanted to make it green, matching the Inquisitor's signature green. But bright green couldn't work, and the original colour during day time was blue/white/gold. So I added more leaves, played around the design a bit! After adding the rage demon, I made the shading! It was surprisingly easy and quick to do now!

I clipped a white layer on the flatcolours to not be distracted by the colours, and made thin lines to separate the light/shadows, then simply filled everything with the bucket tool! Then you set the layer to multiply and remove the white layer, and you have celshading shadows! Now the character looks out of the picture, so I added layers of blue in color burn, saturation and substract blending modes to make her look like she's in the right setting! Of course, I did the same with the other two, giving Hawke a red overlay and Sulevin green shadows!

Then I added the details, it went from white irises, to sword/staff smears to earrings and smaller finition that goes on top of these layers. To add the lights, I simply selected the shadows and reversed the selection! Using warm and cold tones to create contrast with the purple/bluish shadows! I also added more ambient light layers for Alyssa to reflect the Rage Demon fire. Now it was time to add ice magic! My first attempt had too many frames, making it look weird! Sometimes it's better to lower the frame rate to make things less bumpy!

Then I downloaded some cool ice brushes on CSP assets that made it look less like blue magical flames! But when I covered the screen in ice, I realized "Oh wait, I could make a cool transition from the ice, to blue lyrium turning red?"Red Lyrium truly links these three games and The Veilguard somehow! I spent the next hour painting over the idol and putting it in a black background, with lyrium and then the golden Dragon Age title text.

For the SFX, I used free youtube libraries sounds & "Darkspawn!" comes from the violent human female voice set (iconic for ""Can I get you a ladder? So you can get off my back!"😂🤭) After editing all that, the animation was finally done!

Here's the final math:

About 15 hours for the sketching/rough/animatic phase, 30h for the lineart, 25h for colours, 10h for backgrounds, 5h for details & 5h for music & SFX, for a total of 90 hours. Aka the same amount of time it took me to finish Baldur's Gate 3 the first time lol

If you have any question regarding the animation or the softwares etc. do not hesitate to ask, I'll do my best to answer!

[oh-theseus]

bloody stones

pairing: astarion x gn!reader, astarion x gn!tav summary: you nearly die and astarion still can't bring himself to be honest with you. word count: 4,018 a/n: first time trying to write for astarion (or just bg3 in general) & i'm not sure it came out how i wanted it to, BUT i hope you guys enjoy it nonetheless <333 i kind of wrote this to be like a background for a future thing i think... but no promises bc i am anything if not inconsistent 😭

warnings: descriptions of blood & injury, canon typical violence, mentions of past abuse. lmk if i should add more!

You were fairly certain you had never been as close to death as you currently were. Even while trapped inside of the nautiloid ship, you had felt like you would make it out. Granted, that might have been because you thought Lae’zel was going to kill you if you died, but still. Even then, on a ship that was actively crashing from hundreds of miles in the sky, you’d thought you’d make it out.

That hope is nowhere to be found as Z’rell drives her ax into your lower leg. You have been injured in battle dozens of times but this is the first time your injury has ever made you fall to your knees within three seconds of receiving it. There is next to no pain at first, but then she pulls her ax from your leg, and it feels like… well, like your leg was just split open.

Blood gushes down your leg, and you can’t stand up again, but by the grace of one of the gods, you manage to block her next attack. Her ax meets the blade of your sword with a loud clang that you can hear over the sounds of other blades clashing and spells being conjured. Anger blazes in Z’rell’s eyes and she surges her weapon further with as much strength as she can muster. You met her with the same effort, but you’re losing so much blood so fast. You’re not nearly as strong as she is.

A noise that is somewhere between a cry and a grunt falls from your lips. But you are certain this is it. You’ll die here. In Moonrise Towers with a parasite wiggling within your skull. You’ll die in a blighted land and your friends will go on without you. If they survive, that is. You can feel your arms wobbling, about to give out. Her ax will come down on your neck and you’ll sit here choking on your own blood until you die. Maybe she’ll dig the Illithid parasite out of your skull and consume it just as your Dream Guardian had urged you to do so many times before. You doubt Z’rell would have qualms about it though - if fact, she might just keep you alive while she digs around in your skull. She seems like the type.

But then there’s an arrow embedded in Z’rell’s neck. And now she’s the one choking on her blood, her weapon faltering. You don’t have time to be grateful, not when she’s determined to make a killing blow and take you out with her. It takes all of your effort to roll out of the way, her ax bouncing off of the bloody stone floor where your head had just been seconds previous. Your head is spinning from the movement, and your leg feels like dead weight, but you manage to draw your dagger and shove it deep into the disciples stomach.

Z’rell falls to her knees. Then forward, onto her face. Dead. 

Hands are underneath your arms, dragging you away from the rest of the battle before you even have time to process that you aren’t dead. You have half a mind to kick and struggle, but when you try to push the hands off of your body you stop your fighting. You know these hands.

“Astarion,” you choke out, tilting your head upwards to see him above you, carefully dragging you behind a turned over table. You can feel a trail of blood being left by your leg; for a moment you wonder if Astarion had smelled your blood before he saw it.

“Don’t talk,” Astarion scolds, propping your back against the table. Blood is splattered on his face and armor, his bow slung across his body. Your eyes shift to his quiver where only three arrows remain. If you weren’t so busy trying not to pass out from blood loss, you might have told him you were right when you’d told him this morning he needed more arrows. But you can hardly convince yourself to breathe, let alone make a joke.

Astarion’s face is twisted into an expression you don’t think you’ve ever seen him wear before. There is determination there as he examines your wound, cursing beneath his breath. There’s concern too. But something else dances in his crimson eyes that makes you tilt your head to the side curiously. 

Fear.

Astarion is scared. 

“How bad?” you force out, leaning your head back against the overturned table. Your eyes lock on the ceiling of Moonrise. This had been a temple once. Briefly, as you fight to keep your eyes open, you decide that it might’ve even been beautiful.

“Not terrible,” Astarion lies. You know it’s a lie, and he knows you know that, too. You might’ve looked at him, tried to assure him you would be okay if you believed it. But you’re not quite sure that you do, so you keep your eyes on the ceiling, listening to the sounds of battle slowing down behind you.

Astarion stops talking after that. Your silence and sudden interest in the ceiling is enough to make Astarion certain his heart will start beating again just so it can race in fear. But his hands are quick in grabbing a healing potion from your belt and helping you get it down. They’re faster still as he shuffles through his discarded back for cloth to press to your wound. 

Blood quickly soaks the white cloth and Astarion’s hands, but the vampire doesn’t mind. He can’t be bothered to think about how potent your blood smells, how easy it would be to just take some for himself. He is certain that if you’d been bleeding out in front of him like this when you first met that he would’ve taken every last drop of blood that he could get. But right now… Astarion wasn’t sure he had ever wanted to puke at the sight of blood more.

Astarion isn’t sure he’s ever felt a panic quite like this before. Perhaps when he’d woken up in a coffin six feet underground. Maybe when he’d realized he was a slave to an evil vampire lord. But other than that? No, Astarion had never felt fear like this. Fear that clutches him by the throat, makes his hands start to tremble. Fear that won’t let him focus on the battle coming to end. Not even to see if his companions - his friends - had survived. All he knows is you, your blood coating his hands, and terror coursing through his entire being.

He’s so consumed by his fear that he doesn’t notice you’ve finally passed out. Nor does he hear Shadowheart approach until she’s shoving Astarion away from you, her hands immediately coming to rest above the gash in your leg. She starts to mutter the words of a healing spell and even Astarion can tell that she’s completely spent, that she’s using her last bit of magic and strength to coax your skin back together.

“Wake them up,” Shadowheart hisses, her eyes still locked on your leg. “Wake them up now, Astarion!”

The near crack in Shadowheart’s voice stirs Astarion from his fear driven stupor. His hands are on your face immediately, your name falling from his lips once, twice. His fingers find the pulsepoint at your neck, and Astarion doesn’t dare to move until he feels it. It’s faint, but it is there.

But your eyes are still closed, and no matter how hard Astarion tries, you will not wake up. You’re still breathing, but it’s hard and labored, and Astarion is certain that if he looks away from you for even a moment you will be gone for good. He didn’t know much, but Astarion did know that a world without you was not one he was willing to return to.

By the grace of… something, Shadowheart manages to mend the skin of your leg. She’s exhausted and can hardly stand by the time she’s finished, but she does it. You’re still out cold, and Astarion is not sure whether to start crying or to find something else to kill to distract himself.

“It’s the blood loss,” Wyll assures him quickly, hauling Shadowheart up from the ground with her arm over his shoulders. “They’ll live. But we need to move them. Now.”

The Blade of Frontiers does not waste another moment, leading Shadowheart across the main floor of Moonrise Towers, down into the basement. Astarion doesn’t hesitate to do the same with you, his blood coated hands holding you so, so carefully.

When you wake up, you’re pretty sure you’re dead. You didn’t know what you expected the afterlife to hold, but it certainly was not a stone floor and the smell of mildew. For a second you think that maybe you could be somewhere else (somewhere where you are not dead) but you can’t think very clearly right now. All you can feel is a distant throbbing in your head and a bone deep cold. Your leg… You could feel your leg. That was good, considering the last thing you could recall before passing out was taking Z’rell’s ax to your shin.

And Astarion. You remembered his familiar grip, pulling you to safety. You remembered his crimson eyes, the fear you’d seen in them. But that was it. You didn’t remember passing out or how light you had felt while blood seeped from your leg. For a moment, it troubles you that you can’t remember. But if this was truly your eternal resting place… maybe it was a good thing you couldn’t remember. You’re not sure that it's really something you’d enjoy dwelling on for the rest of eternity.

You’re not sure how long you lay there. You don’t move your body, and your eyes keep falling closed every once in a while. You feel lightheaded, yet impossibly heavy at the same time. All you can bring yourself to do is stare at the ceiling. Maybe there is a god here, because you’re gifted the memory of doing the very same thing before passing out the first time. And this ceiling looks remarkably similar to the one in Moonrise Towers.

That voice, too. The one you can hear in the distance - almost as if they are shouting for you from the other room. The voice is so similar to…

“Astarion?” You breathe out, your eyes finally shifting away from the ceiling. They fall instead to the person beside you. At first, they’re just a jumble of white curls and red eyes. But then your vision clears and so does your hearing. Astarion’s repeating your name, asking if you can hear him. All you can do is nod. At least you know you’re alive, though. Or at least, you’re pretty sure. Your brain is still foggy. The lingering effects of blood loss? Or perhaps one too many healing potions?

You somehow manage to force yourself into a sitting position. Astarion’s right hand splays against your lower back carefully, his left one hovering in front of your body to catch you if you fold in on yourself. When you straighten your back, the room spins so fast you’re certain that Gale’s cast a spell to make it do that. Your hands grip Astarion’s left arm to keep from falling over.

“Easy, easy,” Astarion says softly. You’re not certain of many things right now, but you are certain that you have never heard Astarion use that tone before. One so gentle, so soft. Even when he’d told you of Cazador and the scar that tainted his back. 

“I’m okay,” you reply after a moment. Your hands still grip his arm but neither of you seem to mind it. “I’m okay, promise.” The sentiment is just as much for yourself as it is for Astarion.

Astarion only hums in reply. His eyes are flickering over your face. Like he’s taking you in for the first time - or perhaps even the last. His hand on your back is a welcome weight and the feeling of his forearm under your fingertips keeps you grounded. This is real. You are here.

You are alive.

“Holy shit,” you curse. Your eyes widen and your breathing slowly begins to pick up. You’d been so close to dying, to bleeding out in a cursed land so far from home. You’d never thought you’d be one to care so much about something like this, but the fear that you could’ve died is gripping you by the throat, pinning you beneath its clutches. 

Astarion notices this. Of course he notices. He notices everything about you. The way your eyes crinkle when you laugh. How you shift your weight from foot to foot when unsure about something. How your hands flex when you’re growing frustrated. So of course he notices your breathing picking up, your grip on his arms becoming just slightly tighter.

“You’re okay, you’re okay. You need to breathe, love.” He says your name softly then, still in that foreign tone of his. The hand at your back comes up to cup your face, his thumb brushing across your cheekbone. “Breathe,” his voice is firmer now, one you’re used to from him. Maybe it’s that tone of his that compels you to listen. Maybe it’s his hand cradling your face like you might slip away as soon as he lets you go. Or maybe it’s the fact that his eyes are still swimming with that fear you’d seen before you lost consciousness.

It takes a few moments, but you manage to even out your breathing. Those invisible claws at your neck retract, fading into the shadows of the room. The basement of Moonrise Towers, you realize. That was why the ceiling looked similar to the one upstairs. 

Everything returns to you then. The battle, Ketheric, the ax, the amount of blood you’d lost. Astarion’s arrow in Z’rell’s neck.

“You killed her,” you say, as if Astarion had not killed dozens of other enemies during your travels. “Nice aim.”

Astarion visibly deflates as soon as the joke leaves your lips. Your lips quirk into the smallest of smiles despite yourself. But then Astarion retracts his hand from your face, and that small smile falls away slowly. Astarion pretends not to notice it. You pretend like you don’t either; your attention shifts to your right leg, studying the skin exposed by the large tear in your pants. You make a mental note to find new pants.

Your hand trembles slightly as you remove it from Astarion’s arm and bring it down on your leg. Gingerly, you pull the ruined fabric back more and take in where the wound should have been. Instead, your skin looks near perfect. There is a thin scar from where Shadowheart’s healing had knitted the skin together but that is the only indication that your flesh had been torn apart that very same day.

“For a woman who worshiped the Lady of Loss, Shadowheart was rather good at keeping me - us from losing you.”

Your eyes shift to Astarion’s at his slip. You try to not let your face fall when he pulls his arm from beneath your other hand. He leans back in the chair that matches the table you’re laid out on top of, crossing his arms and screwing his face into that expression you’ve grown to recognize as a mask. A flash of hurt floods through you. Selfishly, you wonder how much more you will need to do to prove yourself before Astarion finally, finally trusts you.

“Shadowheart is a good healer,” you say instead of what you want to say. You want to comment on him being scared. You want to point out that he had literally saved your life. You want to tell him that that is not something you just do for someone you’re looking at with sheer indifference. “I think you’re the only one who doubts her.” Your own tone has changed. Despite the hurt in your heart, your tone is sharp.

“I do not doubt her, my dear. I don’t trust her. There is a difference,” Astarion replies with a wave of his hand. You don’t like this game. You hate this game. Why must he insist on playing it?

“Do you trust anyone, Astarion?”

If you were anyone else, Astarion would’ve had a quick retort. Or if you’d said it with anger in your voice. But you’re you and the question comes out with far less frustration than you had wanted it to. Instead, you sound sad. Hurt. And somehow, seeing you look like this is almost as bad as watching you bleed out. He predicts your next words before you say them, but he still winces at them all the same.

“Do you trust me?”

Your question hangs in the air between the two of you. Maybe it’s the lack of blood in your system that makes you say it. You never would have dared to ask something so vulnerable just a few feet from the rest of your companions normally. Maybe it’s the fact that you had almost died. Almost died with so many unsaid words swimming through your mind. Maybe that’s why you say it. Or maybe you’re just tired of not knowing what Astarion is truly thinking and feeling.

“You know I care for you,” Astarion replies after a moment. And you do know - how could you not when you’d seen his fear at the prospect of losing you with your own two eyes. How could you not know that he cared for you when he was so gentle every time he took your blood? How could you not know that he cared for you when he had sat beside you on sleepless nights? 

But that was not what your question was. 

“That’s not what I asked.” You intend to sound firm still. You fail, though, and you sound every bit as hurt and frustrated as you feel. “Why not?” Why didn’t he trust you? Or better, why did he not trust you enough? He trusted you enough to tell you about Cazador and what his former master had done to him. But he didn’t trust you enough to be honest about his emotions - especially his emotions towards you. Why? Why?

You watch as Astarion shifts in his seat. At first, you think he’s going to get up and walk away from you. Instead, he shifts forward, and his left hand finds yours. Your eyes fall to where your skin meets, they watch as Astarion holds your hand on top of his gently. His own attention is drawn to it, watching carefully as his other hand fidgets with your fingers.

“I thought you were going to die.”

His confession is soft, heartfelt. You might even be able to convince yourself he sounds like he might cry. But when he looks up to meet your eyes again, his crimson eyes are clear of tears. But there is pain there. Pain and torment and that fear. 

“I thought you were going to die and I would… And I would have to live with -” He gestures to himself with his hand that had been fidgeting with your fingers. “This.”

Your eyebrows knit together at his words, but you say nothing. You had long since learned that when Astarion was on the verge of opening up, it was best to let him get the words out on his own. Pressuring him had never gotten you anywhere. Well, except for right now. Every other time it had been entirely fruitless. 

“You have shown a kindness to me that I am unfamiliar with. With Cazador… His version of kindness was letting me eat instead of starving. But it always had a price. Always,” he can’t look at you anymore, instead looking intently at your hand in his. “Your kindness - I am learning - comes freely.”

“You are waiting for the other boot to drop,” You say, understanding what he is trying to tell you without directly saying it. When he nods, you swallow thickly. Words seem to fail you as you search desperately for the right thing to say. But there are no words that feel good enough.

Astarion also seems to be at a loss for words. Carefully, you place your hand not holding his under his chin and tilt his face upwards, so that your eyes meet once more. Your hand slides to cup his cheek, and your heart swells when you feel him press into your touch gently. 

“I am not him.”

Astarion’s eyes close at your words. He doesn’t move, doesn’t say anything, doesn’t do anything except sit there for a long moment. So long that you think he isn’t going to reply. But then he turns his head, and he kisses the palm of your hand. Then where your hand meets your wrist. Then the inside of your wrist. As he places the third kiss to your skin, you let your hand fall away and watch as he picks it up with his free hand.

He doesn’t say it, but you know he understands. He knows you are not Cazador. And you don’t say it, but he knows you understand. You know he is trying. And neither of you say it, but both of you see those three words swimming in each other’s eyes. But you both know they’re there.

“Thank you,” you say after a long minute. “For not letting me die. Not that I expected you to, but…”

But you knew he wouldn’t have saved you a few weeks ago. 

“I mean it. Thank you.”

The fear in Astarion’s eyes finally melts away and that smirk of his falls onto his lips. But this was not his mask - no, this was his real joy. His real happiness at your not being dead and at being able to let a joke slip past his lips knowing you didn’t expect anything because of it.

“I can think of a few ways you could show that gratitude,” he says suggestively. A smile of your own spreads across your face, despite the color that floods it, too. Weakly, you shove his hands off of yours and roll your eyes at him. “You are welcome. I’ll save you a thousand times over if it means I get to see your smile once more.”

“Oh, don’t get soft on me now,” You say through your grin. But you’d like nothing more. A soft Astarion meant a healed one, a safe one. If that meant you were subjected to a few sappy lines here and there, you wouldn’t mind it.

“Hard to be soft with you around.”

“Astarion,” You hiss, realizing the joke you’ve walked yourself right into. For a second you debate getting off of the table and smacking him over the head, but when you shift your leg just slightly, that dizziness returns and has you gripping the edge of the table. 

Astarion is on his feet within a moment, noticing the change in you as soon as it happens. His hand has returned to your back, steadying you as the room starts to spin again. With your head a little clearer now, you recognize the feeling as similar to what you feel when Astarion drinks from you. With how strongly you’re feeling it… you don’t want to think about how much blood you must have lost.

“Rest. Please,” Astarion says in that soft voice again. And truly, who are you to deny him when he’s being so gentle? You let him coax you onto the table, onto the soft pile of fabrics you hadn’t realized had been under your head until just now. You want to stay conscious, to talk to Astarion more, but as soon as you’ve settled back down, you realize just how tired you are.

When you stir hours later, you’re tucked into your bedroll within your tent. And Astarion is sitting not far from you, reading. You don’t say anything as sleep overtakes you again, but you’re pretty certain you could get used to waking up to the sight of Astarion.

And Astarion’s pretty certain he wouldn’t mind it either.

you can join my taglist by clicking here!!

[grizzlart]

Free-To-Use Wolf Base!

WAH THIS WAS SO MUCH WORK BUT IT'S READY!

I put together this pic to showcase some of the different features available. Most of them are quite subtle, so you'll have to see for yourself!

The file currently includes a summer and winter coat base, four ear variants, four snout variants, and a variety of facial expression options. All head features are available on the headshot as well as the fullbody, and all features are compatible with both the summer and winter bases, so you can mix and match!

There's also two sets of text boxes, two palette options, and some public domain photograph backgrounds to pick from.

I'd like to expand it further in future, but I'll be taking a breather first. It's been a lot of work making this! Worth it though, I think. ^^

Rules of use

This base is free to use for any non-commercial purposes which don’t involve the use of generative AI. You may not use this base for profit, advertisement, or commissions without my clear, written permission. You may not use any generative AI tools at all in relation to this base. Doing either of these is a violation of my legal ownership of this work.

If you want to share the base, you can – however, you must do so by sharing a link to this tumblr post. You may not post a link to the file directly, or reupload it to share online under any circumstances.

You must keep my signature clearly visible. By alpha locking the layer, you can recolour it dark or light to be visible on your background of choice. It can be in any location and colour, as long as it is visible and the text is legible without effort. You may not claim the base as your own, but any designs made with it are entirely yours of course!

If you post work using this base anywhere online (including on discord or art apps), you must include a link to my tumblr account as credit for the base – preferably a link to this post specifically.

You may modify the base to your heart’s content, as long as generative AI is not used at any point in the process and my signature is unaltered and visible.

I am willing to add extra features to the base in exchange for a fee. I am planning to make expansions to it on my own time as well, but these will specifically be realistic features and I’m not sure on a timeframe. You may not make requests for free additions. If you want a fantastical feature added, or want an addition made sooner, get in touch and we can work out a price! Features added in this way will be made available for everyone unless otherwise agreed.

Anyone is free to use this base. If you are blocked by my tumblr account, you are allowed to log out or visit the site on a private browser to access the base. However, note that I am openly and passionately supportive of endogenic plurality and all kinds of endo systems and if you have a DNI rule regarding pro-endos or endogenic systems, you will be violating that DNI by interacting with me or my work. You may want to consider blocking me if so.

Support and tips

If you want to support my work (and help motivate me to keep working on this base and create more in the future), there’s two ways I absolutely appreciate!

The first is simply to spread the word! I made this base as a free resource, in the hopes that fellow artists, therians, alterhumans and furries would enjoy it and find it useful. Reblogs are vastly appreciated!

If you wish to provide some kind of financial support, I do accept tips – but not in the conventional way! I ask that, instead of sending money to me, you make a donation to the Endangered Wolf Center on my behalf. Red wolves and Mexican wolves are both critically endangered, and with the current political climate of the US, supporting conservation efforts to preserve and save these unique keystone species is more important than ever. If you do decide to donate, I would love if you told me!

Extra info

More info, including photo sources, can be found in the text doc included in the zip file! I also included a bit of basic advice for using the base, so give it a read over if you're unsure about anything. If you're still stuck, you can message me!

File download here!

[lovebvni]

mindset of manifestation & how i manifest

like melanie martínez, i am back from the dead.

i apologize for being gone so long, but i needed a break from tumblr. i saw toxicity swirling in the community, my life got busy, and i decided it was just time for a break. when i was planking to come back, i just saw how things got terrible and i got upset and decided not to come back.

so, im back now and with a little tutorial on how i manifest!!! <3 i hope this can help some of you out.

let’s start with background.

manifesting is kind of like predicting the future. you have something you want to happen, then it happens soon after. i feel like this is the easiest way to get into the manifestation mindset. you cannot change what you’re getting if you want it. could you change your mind later and return it like a package? yes! but before it arrives, you know it’s arrival is coming.

sure, there can be delays, but it all is going to turn out YOUR way in the end.

nile and i have been working on our mindset and this is something they wrote that i think can be really helpful — as it was to me.

from the past two years we have been actively manifesting, we learned that we often saw things as “crazy”. but manifesting isn’t crazy, it’s quite normal.

every time you get dressed in the morning, it’s an act of manifestation. you’re showing up with what you want.

manifestation is a mondane activity!! stop treating it like it was a kiss from an angel!

by reading this, you’re manifesting your eyes working, you’ve used your hands to open an app, and you have believed you can read and get through this blog! without manifesting that, you would not be here.

the first step to manifestation is believing you can do it, believing you have done it, and believing you will continue to do it. period.

there are many MANY different ways to manifest, but i manifest in 3 ways (sometimes i use all three, sometimes i use just 1 or 2.)

!! I ALMOSR FORGOT TO PUT THIS AND IM ADDING IT BEFORE I GET TO NUMBER 2 OMG!!

STOP! BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE I WANT YOU TO GET A NOTEBOOK, A SHEET OF PAPER, OR MAKE A CHECKLIST ON YOUR PHONE IN YOUR NOTES APP!!!

now i want you to write down everything you want right now down and leave the boxes blank if you haven’t gotten them yet.

once you get through that, i want you to randomly click between some of the items you want and write down things you wanted that you did get! they can be some simple and things from years ago, what matters is you have them down. throw in some things that you may have to do for school or work while you’re at it.

here’s an example! (left is before checking off, right is after)

as you can see, i added a note to the side because i got what i wanted and more abundantly! i had been manifesting a dog since i was a young child, and in 2021, i got 2!!!! (one is laying at my feet right now <3)

continue to do this daily, weekly, or whatever you have time for. i personally do this on notion and i try to add something new daily (im adding the heartstopper thing rn!!)

but yeah!! write everything u want down, and continue to add to it, just so u can see progress DOES happen and your work and effort DOES pay off!

affirming and persisting

this id the first way i learned to manifest, and the most self-explanatory.

you simply repeat what you want over and over until you get it! but not in the future tense, in the current or past tense.

ex; “i passed my maths final!”, “im so happy my boyfriend gave me those roses for valentine’s day, he’s so sweet!”, “i finished the essay for english like a week before it was due!” “i got the lead role in my play! im so excited!” etc.

now, the common factor between all of these is having a positive mindset about them. i cannot tell you HOW many times i manifested something would go well, and right before they happened, i got in a shitty mind space and wondered if it would ever happen.

but, nonetheless, i persisted through and i got what i wanted.

the pain have have been feeling cant compare to the joy that is coming. Romans 8:18

persisting is basically pushing through. think about the time you didn’t think you would make it through an injury, a school year, a trial, yet you still walked through it — even if it was slow.

like when work days are long and you want to go home, but you can’t, so you persist.

i try to think of my manifestations as an ultimatum. it’s going to happen, and that’s final. the only thing you have to do to get it is stay conscious.

and staying conscious, walking through those days, is how you get to the end!

i use affirming and persisting with pretty much everything, which is why it was first.

2. listening to subs.

it’s that simple — listen to an audible subliminal that has the results you want over and over!! that’s all i do u guys. here’s my playlist if u want it (IF I DELETE IT CHECK MY PINNED POST!! I UPDATE IT OFTEN)

i often use @stilljuststardust’s subs, slade’s subs, enchanted workshops’ subs and i want it, i got it’s subs!

all of them are trusted and credible. i cannot promise you that all the subs in my playlist will work for you, as they are (sometimes) linked to my personal desires.

3. pinterest manifestation!!

i recommend having either a whole pinterest account or a board set aside for this way of manifestation.

you simply make boards (or sections) for things you want. i would say this is best for physical items, people, looks, makeup, etc. things that re physically tangible, rather than something like reality shifting (although i do have a reality shifting board! it has been working pretty well <3)

i also have one for my mindset, my religion, so on and so forth (link btw)

i think this is pretty self explanatory. just save picture of things you want and quotes/affirmations and DONE!

i also use this sub with it :p it’s worked WONDERSSS!

if you have any other questions i will be happy to answer them!! i love you all!! go manifest!!

[inhonoredglory]

Defining Ineffable Love (or, Aziracrow Learn the Rules of Romance)

(In response to this ask about ineffables and asexuality)

One of the major threads this season was Aziraphale and Crowley asking themselves what exactly is their relationship. Not what it is in terms of how much they love each other. (That's a given.) But what it is in terms of the human implications of their love.

Crowley and Aziraphale definitely come at the relationship with different perspectives, in terms of what they’re willing to admit to the relationship being. I don’t think we can entirely interpret it in human terms. –David Tennant (source)

For 6000 years, they’ve never put a name on their relationship. They didn’t, because they’re inhuman, genderless, sexless beings and they didn’t grow up (as it were) with labels. And even when they did learn them, they couldn’t say it was love, because admitting that was a death sentence.

All of Aziraphale’s heart eyes and pining could live comfortably in his mind if he never admitted what that said about him as an angel (trauma compartmentalization). Crowley tries desperately to be cruel and nasty to add white noise around the blatant reality of his constant loyalty to Aziraphale. If you don’t put a word to it, it’s not real and they can’t punish you.

After the Not-pocalypse, for all rights and purposes, Aziraphale and Crowley chose humanity as their identity. We see Aziraphale “playing house” in various human roles (as a landlord, a private eye, a magician).

We even see Crowley intentionally taking on human behavior to handle emotional issues: “Just breathe, that’s what humans do.” They’re slowly and intentionally enculturating themselves into the world they want to belong––earth.

Yet it’s setting up Maggie and Nina that makes Aziraphale and Crowley start thinking about their relationship as a human construct.

Because fundamentally, Aziraphale and Crowley are not human. Like Neil Gaiman tells us constantly, they can’t be defined in human terms when it comes to gender and sexuality. They can shift and move through each and any of those markers at will, purely for the pleasure of the thing: “angels are sexless unless they really want to make an effort.”

IMO that makes them originally asexual, in the sense they were created without the need for sex. And it makes them fundamentally transgender and genderfluid, because while on earth, their sexless, eldritch spiritual bodies take on human, gendered forms and clothing. What gender (and sexuality) they identify with while on earth varies through the eras. Crowley definitely has a fluid gender identity, while Aziraphale appears to have settled on gay man (aka THE southern pansy) for his internal typology (although all of these identities are subject to change).

In the midst of all this fluidity, it’s no wonder Aziraphale and Crowley haven’t thought of their relationship in human terms before. There’s just so much different in them and their bodies than what they see in humanity. And there are no books and songs that show the kind of love they have, in the malleable, sexless bodies they have, with the background they have; it’s all ineffable.

Aziraphale and Crowley didn’t start out thinking they were in a romantic relationship. Whatever feelings they had were long repressed, redefined, and shuttled away. But they did love each other, without question. And it was that love which scared them, because it was bigger than anything they saw among humans, a love that was beautiful and blasphemous and unfathomable.

Kinda like what David Duchovny said about Mulder and Scully in The X-Files, “I don’t know if they’re in love. In a way, their relationship is deeper than that, because they cannot live without each other.”

Now take this profound, ineffable love and drop it into the little boxes and labels human culture has created for itself.

Full disclosure: I’m an asexual demiromantic person in a queerplatonic relationship, so I’ve done a fair bit of research on what romance is and how the rituals of romance are, in many ways, social inventions that vary from culture to culture. There’s love and then there’s romance, and they don’t always overlap. So my interpretation of Aziraphale and Crowley comes through this lens and the fact that Neil Gaiman has affirmed the validity of an ace-spec reading on our ineffables.

Which brings me back to my thesis: That only now are Aziraphale and Crowley thinking of themselves as a romantic couple, precisely because they are interfacing with humans and taking on their social rules.

I like this one asexual person’s description of their experience, which feels very much like our ineffables (from a very good article, I def recommend):

If there is a border between friendship and romance, then in my internal landscape, it goes right through a misty forest where no one has ever bothered to place signs.... Neither of us had intended to start anything even vaguely romantic, but the activities we did and the intense kind of immediate connection we had was coded as romantic in our culture.

That’s what Crowley realizes when Nina confronts him about his relationship to Aziraphale.

“It looks like that from here.” What Crowley and Aziraphale share is beyond definition, but Nina cannot imagine the anything beyond the human labels she was taught. The tragedy of an everlasting love is that it can only be conveyed properly to other humans if it is cast in such small human words––partner, boyfriend, husband.

Because when Crowley denied those human roles for Aziraphale, Nina slid down the path of thinking Aziraphale was just his “bit on the side,” because there were no labels left she could imagine for them. If you don’t put a word to it, it’s not real.

That’s the purpose of labels, to culturally validate a person's identity. Labels, of course, DO NOT create reality; people's experiences are always real, in all their varied ineffability. But labels allow a space for culture (ie other humans and political and legal society) to recognize formally your lived reality.

So Crowley started really thinking about him and Aziraphale, about the ineffable love between them and realized that in human terms, those would be the things he’d call Aziraphale, because those were the words that gave Aziraphale that place of importance in his life.

But with that realization comes all the human trappings and behavioral patterns around those words (the candlelit dinners, dramatic rescues, drinks at the Ritz, etc.) which Crowley had never thought of before, and yet… maybe romance is what he and Aziraphale have been doing all along.

That’s why this season centered so much around Aziraphale and Crowley using cultural artifacts (film and literature) to understand romance, because romance is so deeply socially-defined.

Aziraphale himself has been leaning hard into the romantic social cues (he’s more well-read in the cultural trappings of romance than Crowley is), especially post-Blitz. But when he watches Maggie and Nina dancing, he works up the courage to do something with Crowley that’s even more explicitly loaded as “traditionally romantic” than anything he’s done up to that point.

Because while risking their lives for each other and defying everything for each other is love in its purest form, dancing (specifically in Jane Austen’s world) is a public performance coded for potential marriage partners. It's an intimate ritual of the entire body. (And in British slang, dancing has been used as a euphemism for sex.)

Crowley's "We don't dance" is really telling, because it shows Crowley’s awareness of the unknowable devotion between them vs the human roles Aziraphale is asking him to fill, specifically its physical aspects. Aziraphale is asking to make their relationship more public, more physically explicit, more coded as romantic in a setting specifically intended to couple individuals.

While Maggie and Nina inspired Aziraphale to progress their relationship into a publicly physical direction, Maggie and Nina inspired Crowley to think of the emotional implications of their human roles: the commitment, security, and monogamy of a husband, a partner, an us.

That’s what he decides after Maggie and Nina confront him in the end. “You never say what you’re really thinking.” He wants to codify his relationship so they each become responsible to one another. Aziraphale has always been his soulmate, the one he could always rely on. But he wants to place a word and a role to their love that will bring with it Aziraphale’s commitment and dedication to him.

And that's another reason why Crowley kisses Aziraphale, because he knows Aziraphale was willing to make their relationship physical, and he wants that, too. To consummate this bond in the way humans do.

But Crowley doesn’t really know how to kiss; he’s not as worldly as he makes out to be. (It’s Aziraphale who owns the gun, and Crowley who’s never fired one.) He uses the kiss as a tool to get across to Aziraphale what he wants for them, in the physical language Aziraphale has been using, because "one fabulous kiss and we're good," right?

But it doesn’t work, because real life and real emotions don’t work like that; life and love don’t follow a script, despite the novels and plays and songs.

Aziraphale and Crowley spent this entire season trying to figure out what their relationship is and what they wanted out of it, trying to make sense of the unfathomable thing they share and the human implications of it, and not quite landing on the same page.

Part 2 of this Analysis, covering a correction in Crowley’s statement (“You don’t dance”) and the further implications of dancing/sex.

[zsupika]

Love and Deepspace x Reader

> general relationship headcanons

A/N: I've been in the lnd fandom for a few weeks now and I'm so obsessed of this game. Keep in mind these are just some random things that I have in mind when I think of them in a relationship.

>> My requests are open if you have any ideas!

Characters: Xavier, Zayne, Rafayel

Xavier

I imagine him as a very caring boyfriend

He'd listen to what you have to say and whenever you have something that troubles you, try and find a solution

His favorite sleeping position has got to be spooning you with him being the big spoon

He just loves to embrace you and know that you're safe in his arms

While laying like that he loves to breath in your scent

And while you're asleep, he plays with your hair and softly glides his fingers along your skin

It calms him down, especially after aonh day of fighting wanderers

He also likes to go on missions together with he

He won't admit it but whenever you get assigned with a different partner than him, he gets so jealous

He just loves to spend time with you

He's more a listener than a talker

Through the entire year he takes notes on the things that you mentioned you wanted to have

When your birthday comes up he buys all those things for you!!

Although he loves to spoil you on valentines day with flowers, chocolate and lots of kisses, he doesn't really see a point in the day specifically

He buys you flowers every once in a while and doesn't understand why there would have to be a whole day dedicated for it

But if you see it as important, he definitely puts up an effort to make you happy and see a smile on your face

He always blushes when you get him something in return!

He prefers to give, more that receive

He also makes sure that you're nicely relaxed after a mission

While you sit on your chair he might come up from behind and give you a soft shoulder massage and some neck kisses to ease your mind and body

I imagine him to smell like lavender and fresh laundry

His favorite drink has to be iced coffee and water

In winter he'll also drink a hit chocolate with you

He loves to add cute toppings and make it delicious

Zayne

As we all know he's a doctor and always very busy

You see him a lot less than you would the other two boys

He appreciates it when you come to the hospital and visit him on his breaks

You'd remind him to relax and take it easy every once in a while

It makes him smile to know that you care for him so much

Him not being able to see you as much makes him sad, so he tries to make the few dates that you go on extra special

He always consideres your wishes and does whatever you desire

You want to stay home with him and watch a movie? Sure, he'd love to. You want to go out to a fancy restaurant? Yeah, he's down.

He has a hard time expressing his emotions with his words, so he's definitely more of a "actions over words" kinda guy

His love language would equal to "acts of service" and "quality time"

His hugs and kisses feel very intimate, because it's his way of expressing his emotions to you

He adores the fact that you understand him so well and that you respect his boundaries

He's a morning person for sure

He likes black coffee

For you he always makes sure that you're healthy

Whenever you get a little sick, he's always worried about you and tries to prevent it with all that he can

It makes you chuckle how much he can get worked up over a little cold

Once you get better he makes sure that you stay healthy and happy

Rafayel

Starting of with a very basic headcanon but I think he'd paint you

But not in the way in which you might think

He wouldn't only paint full on portraits of you but he'd incorporate you into his art in a very different way

He'd draw the landscape of your favorite places

He would use your eye color as the background color of a beautiful still-life

You being around him would inspire him to draw freely without any restrictions

Your laugh would make him move his brush in the same rhythm

Sometimes he'd let you help him with a painting

He also loves to go and search for different ways to create paint with you and look for ingredients

I think even though he's very sassy and bold most of the time, when it comes to intimate moments he'd be rather shy

He blushes a lot!

And definitely has a hard time keeping eye contact with you in those moments

His kisses are more soft and caring than you might think at first

In my eyes he'd be the furthest thing from rough in any intimate situations

He holds you as if you were a fragile piece of glass that could break at any second

He feels like you're the only one who he can let his emotions out on, without feeling judged

Loves sleeping on top of you like a weighted blanket

Slightly snores but not very loud

It's more of a heavier breathing

As we know he's very ticklish

When you two are playfighting you can definitely take advantage of that

He'll be a whining and whimpering mess

Do with that what you want

[oscinhaslandito]

Hi 👋

You could write to Max in a secret relationship perhaps with some pilot's sister?

The thrill of secrecy made every stolen moment between Y/N and Max even sweeter. They had mastered the art of sneaking around, exchanging fleeting touches and whispered confessions when no one was looking. Between paddock meetings and post-race celebrations, their relationship flourished in the shadows, away from prying eyes—especially Lando’s.

Max found it amusing how much effort they put into keeping their relationship a secret, but Y/N knew the consequences of Lando finding out. Her brother was fiercely protective, and the fact that Max was his closest championship rival at the moment would only add fuel to the fire. Still, Y/N couldn’t bring herself to care when she was with Max, tucked away in their little world.

Their secret rendezvous often took place at her apartment, where they could be themselves without the weight of the racing world pressing down on them. Some nights were filled with deep conversations and soft kisses; others, with laughter as they playfully argued over takeout orders or which movie to watch.

One evening, Y/N and Max were sprawled across her couch, her head resting against his chest as he absentmindedly traced patterns on her arm. The TV played in the background, but neither of them paid much attention. It was these quiet moments that Y/N treasured the most—just the two of them, away from everything.

“You know,” Max mused, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, “I think I’d be okay if we never left this apartment.”

Y/N chuckled. “You say that now, but the second Christian Horner calls, you’ll be out the door in a heartbeat.”

“Maybe,” Max admitted, tilting her chin up so he could kiss her properly. “But I’d take you with me.”

She sighed into the kiss, her fingers curling around the fabric of his hoodie. “That would defeat the whole ‘secret’ thing, wouldn’t it?”

“Maybe it’s time we stop hiding.”

Y/N pulled back slightly, giving him a look. “You say that like Lando wouldn’t lose his mind.”

Max smirked. “I think I could take him.”

She snorted. “You’d be surprised how strong his protective instincts are.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of her phone buzzing. She glanced at the screen and groaned. “Speak of the devil.”

“Lando?” Max guessed.

“Yeah. He’s asking if I’m home.”

Max raised an eyebrow. “You think he’s suspicious?”

Y/N shook her head. “Nah, he probably just wants to come over and annoy me.”

Max chuckled, pulling her closer. “Then let’s make the most of our time before he does.”

She giggled as he leaned in, pressing playful kisses to her neck. Their time alone was precious, and she wasn’t going to waste it worrying about what might happen next.

Later that night, they curled up in bed, limbs tangled together under the soft glow of her bedside lamp. Y/N absentmindedly ran her fingers through Max’s hair as he hummed contently against her shoulder. It was moments like these that made her wish they didn’t have to hide.

“I like this,” she whispered. “Just us.”

Max tightened his grip around her waist. “Me too.”

She smiled, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead before trailing her fingers down his spine. Max sighed in contentment, shifting slightly so he could bury his face into the crook of her neck. They stayed like that for what felt like hours, basking in the warmth of each other’s presence, whispering sweet nothings into the quiet of the night.

In the mornings, Max always woke up before her, but instead of getting up, he’d stay in bed, watching her with a soft smile as she slowly stirred awake. This time was no different. As sunlight filtered through the curtains, he gently ran his fingers through her hair, watching as her eyelids fluttered open.

“Morning,” he murmured, brushing a kiss to her temple.

She hummed in response, stretching against him. “Morning.”

Max chuckled as she buried her face into his chest, clearly not ready to face the day. “You’re cute when you’re sleepy.”

“Mm, don’t start,” she mumbled, swatting at him half-heartedly before tightening her grip around his waist. “Five more minutes.”

Max smiled, wrapping his arms around her. “Take all the time you need.”

They stayed wrapped up in each other, exchanging lazy kisses and murmured words, soaking up every bit of the peaceful morning before reality could intrude. It was these stolen moments that made the secrecy worth it.

They eventually got up, reluctantly leaving the comfort of their bed. Y/N made coffee while Max hovered around the kitchen, sneaking kisses whenever she wasn’t looking. By the time they settled back onto the couch, mugs in hand, Y/N was leaning into him once again, soaking in the last bit of quiet before the outside world came knocking—literally.

After breakfast, Y/N had barely thrown on a pair of sweatpants and a tank top when a sudden knock echoed through the apartment. Max, fresh out of the shower, towel slung around his shoulders, raised an eyebrow at her.

“Expecting someone?” he asked, ruffling his damp hair.

“No…” Y/N frowned. “It’s probably just a delivery. I’ll get it.”

But before she could move, the knocking turned insistent. Loud. Familiar.

“Y/N! Open up!”

Her blood ran cold. “Oh, shit.”

Max blinked. “Is that—”

“Yes.” Y/N panicked. “It’s Lando.”

They exchanged wide-eyed looks before Y/N frantically pushed Max toward her bedroom. “Go hide!”

Max scoffed, clearly entertained by the situation. “I’m not hiding from your brother.”

“Well, you’re not standing here either!”

But before they could properly figure out an escape plan, the worst-case scenario unfolded. Y/N cracked the door open, intending to slip out and block Lando’s view, but her brother had other plans. He pushed right past her, stepping inside—only to freeze in place when he spotted Max standing there, still in his towel, looking thoroughly unbothered.

For a few agonizing seconds, no one said anything. Then:

“What. The. Fuck.”

Y/N winced. “Lando—”

“Are you serious?!” Lando exploded, his face a mixture of betrayal, disgust, and sheer disbelief. He turned to Max, his hands thrown up in exasperation. “You?! You taking advantage of my little sister?!”

Max, to his credit, seemed completely at ease, offering a slight shrug. “Technically, she chose me.”

That only made things worse.

Lando let out a dramatic gasp, placing a hand over his heart. “I have never been more betrayed in my entire life.”

“See? This is exactly why I didn't wanna tell you. I knew you'd act ridiculous.” Y/N groaned.

“Ridiculous? RIDICULOUS?!” Lando says in his usual dramatic fashion.

Max is just standing beside Y/N, trying to contain his smirk.

Lando narrows his eyes at him, “What, you think this is funny?”, he says in a venomous tone.

“A little, mate.”, Max says, trying his best not to burst out laughing at Lando's dramatic antics. Wrong move.

Lando just about lunges at him, “I swear to God-”

Y/N has to come in between them, to make sure her brother doesn't physically hurt her boyfriend, “Lan!”

Lando's angry gaze turns to his little sister now, “Don't you 'Lan' me, young woman! Really?! Out of all the people, HIM?!”

“Gosh, Lando, I love him, okay? And so does he me. I know what I'm doing, I'm not a little girl, anymore. So, stop acting like that.” Y/N says, now frustrated with her brother's overprotective antics.

Lando sighs, takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, “Look, I have to act this because you're my little sister and he's... well, he's HIM.”, he says, giving Max a dirty look.

“A four time world champion, you mean?”, Max adds pridefully, just to rile Lando.

Y/N gives Max a 'are you for real' deadpan look.

Max only chuckles in response, but he's got some sense in him, so he tries to reason, “Look, mate. I understand, I completely do. I have a little sister too, and I'd be protective too if she was dating someone from my own circle. I totally understand. But, mate, trust me, I love her more than life itself, I swear to you, I will always treat her right, like a princess, the way she deserves to be. Trust me, mate, I worship the ground she walks on. Just give me a chance. Please?”

Lando opened his mouth, ready to argue more, but then sighed, rubbing his temples. “You know what? Whatever. Just… don’t let this mess with race day.”

Y/N smiled slightly, nudging Lando’s arm. “We won’t. Promise.”

Lando huffed. “Fine. But I swear, Max, if you break her heart, I’ll—”

Max smirked. “Yeah, yeah. You’ll try.”

Lando scowled, but Y/N just laughed, wrapping an arm around her brother. “You’re impossible.”

“And you’re unbelievable,” Lando shot back, but his glare had softened. “Just be happy, okay?”

Y/N beamed, glancing at Max. “I already am.”

[mousathe14]

Remember when I talked about how Cissie was still a main character even though she quit the superhero biz? And how she can’t escape the life despite her best efforts?

You know, she competes in the Olympics and there’s a nation of supervillains that entered?

Or how Red Tornado comes to her school and entrusts her to watch over his daughter, Traya?

Well you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

Look at all the fan mail she got just from being an Olympic gold medalist in archery.

I think there are isekai anime that start like this.

Okay, the isekai normally just kill you. Nah, in this Cissie is embarking on a journey that is much much worse than any isekai.

That’s right, it’s Space Jam. Evil aliens are trying to conquer the planet YJ was just at and they play baseball in order to decide if they conquer/destroy you or not.

The reason why Cissie here is simultaneously sweet and stupid.

Man, she just can’t get out, can she?

But only because her friends miss her, bless their hearts.

They truly have been feeling her absence, I know that I miss her particular skills, background, and personality and what that perspective adds to this group of oddballs.

COME ON AND SLAM

IF YOU WANT TO JAM

Using the power of friendship and Impulse’s super fast fast ball, they are creaming these losers.

Damn, that commentator’s going through it. I’d say that’s a face only a mother could love but that would imply that he still had a face.

Impulse also showed this level of athletic aptitude in his own comic. It’s amazing what you can do when everything around you is going in slow motion.

Also, it’s cute that everyone gets a baseball version of their costume. I love that kind of thing. Something I should do more with my own heroes honestly.

This poor commentator. He’s just doing his job and getting hella blasted for it.

You know what’s funny? I interrupted reading Impulse to read Young Justice because I’ve been wanting to read YJ for a while and there was a spot in Impulse that said I should check YJ for context.

I don’t even remember that that context was, so now I don’t even know what’s going on in Impulse’s own comic.

Well, we know this team’s secret weapon isn’t Secret. Has she been zoning out this entire time?

I’m almost surprised Cissie can’t hit but she’s a marksman, batting probably involves a different type of aiming.

I get that she’s jealous but simultaneously I have difficulty comprehending it. I get it, there’s a new girl on the team so she feels like she’s being replaced.

Even though she, in her own, decided to leave the team without being forced out or anything. She likes her friends, but she chose to walk out of the superhero portion, but there still could’ve been the possibility for them to hang out outside of heroing.

Robin continues to demonstrate his excellent leadership skills.

And but Cissie still has to make this about her being insecure about a black queen. Even trying to project her mother issues on to Ms. Empress.

In fact I even mentioned previously that Empress was in the mall to bear witness to the day Cissie had and then rejected her Peter Parker Moment.

Empress is just here causing no problems and being the best and you’re here, questioning her place because you left.

Well well well, Kon, aren’t we a bit chivalrous today.

Been getting awfully protective of Wonder Girl, aren’t we?

Even though realistically she is probably as strong as you if not stronger since she’s powered by god magic.

I wonder if the story is trying to set up something.

The answer is “probably yes”. I’d say they’ve been setting up Kon (the real one, not Matchstick) having affection for Cassie basically during Sins of Youth if I were to pinpoint a specific spot though he was also mourning the loss of his girlfriend which happened basically right at the beginning of the event.

I have thoughts about this that I’ll probably say elsewhere.

Oi oi oi, treat Empress with some respect, S-curl.

Hell, having Lobo agree with you probably means you’re definitely the major league jerk here. Work on yourself, Kon El.

As for Empress, man, she cannot catch a break with any of these people despite her best efforts. She’s saved them, she’s joined them despite her old man often being in conflict with them, and she’s helping them out with this stupid baseball game, and what does she get for it?

Undeserved Flack!

She may not be able to aim with a bat but she’s still got the arm and back muscles of someone that’s been forced to learn archery basically as soon as they could stand.

Ha ha Simpsons reference technically?

Awwww, they’re so cute

Look at them bring precious little savers of the planet Myra.

Ain’t they stinkers?

So due to reasons that I will explain in a different post, Young Justice bounced. It was very chaotic, they didn’t intend on forgetting Cissie, but they basically forgot her by the next story.

But don’t worry, this is a western isekai. So she didn’t die when a mountain of fan mail landed on her, she was merely displaced. Which means she can be un-displaced.

Welcome back, Cissie!

Is there a logical explanation to all this? Certainly! Will it ever be stated? Absolutely not.

With all due respect Ms. King-Jones, and that’s very little, mother does not in fact know best and definitively not you. The narrative may want to try to redeem you but I won’t accept it yet.

But yeah, this was “Cissie is still here and also Space Jam happened.”

This will, in fact, not be the last time Cissie returns. There’s a whole date thing between Lobo and Empress that I keep foreshadowing and she’s in the story after that that I stopped in the middle of.

Bringing Arrowette into Young Justice means she is here forever whether she likes it or not, and that’s kind of neat.

[gummilutt]

250 followers Custom Memory Bonanza

It's finally time! To thank all you lovely people for your support, I have been working hard to get this ready for upload and here we are. Today I am sharing my custom memory object, and my library of a whopping 201 custom memories. Based on the wonderful Tattered Diary by DiLight over on MTS, and the tutorial she shared of how to make your own custom memories.

I've always cared a lot about memories, to me they tell the story of the Sims life. Some of you from MTS may recall when I did the whole several year rebuild of my hood, replicating every last detail of the original. I'm memory crazy, okay? And when DiLight gave me the power to make my own, I may have gone a tad overboard. Or just the right amount, you get to decide :P DiLight taught me most of what I know about making custom memories, and the base BHAVs are from her, but as I've learned more I've added some bells and whistles that I hope you will enjoy. It's a new clone and separate GUID from the original tutorial object set up by DiLight, so if you have your own you can have mine too without issues :) Found in misc/misc, costs 1 simoleon.

Download on simfileshare

Features - Brand new form, created by me. Resized BV photo album with new mapping and new texture (seen above, in game pictures at the end of this post). I wanted something that was uniquely mine, and that you don't necessarily have to hide away in the attic or under the foundation. If you don't like it, you also have some additional model forms you can switch between through the pie menu. - Adaptable dynamic menu. Thanks to a really neat trick from @picknmixsims the menu reflects the memories you put in your downloads. If no file with the correct guid is found, the option for it won't show. Which means that although I am crazy enough to have 201, you can go ahead and only pick your favorite ones and the object will automatically detect and adapt the menu to that selection. - Memories all have a custom icon, that's made from game icons from TS2 or TS3. Some I am quite proud of, some are admittedly not great. Not everything is easy to convey through game icons, but I've tried my best, I hope the effort shows. 5 memories have icons that are not from the game, but I tried to match them to the aesthetic as best I could. - Memory subject menu shows only relevant age groups. For example, if the memory is about having a baby, only baby/toddler Sims will show as options. Goal being to keep menu as concise as possible. If you wish to assign memories retroactively, please see jonasn's excellent Memory Commander object, which has support to add my custom memories without age limitations. As well as a whole lot of other useful memory-related stuff. - Extensive documentation detailing everything you may need to know about the memories (text, icon, background, who can get it, who they can get it about, repeatability, where to find it on the object) to help you select the ones you want for your game, and familiarize yourself with them. - English and Swedish translations of memories, and object menu. If someone wants to add their language, that would be great but it's a lot of work so I don't expect it. You are welcome to share your translated versions directly if you wish, or you can send them to me for me to update files shared here :) If you want to learn how to translate the files directly, Episims has a great tutorial found here.

Examples of types of custom memories included - Extended family members memories (got cousin, got aunt/uncle, got sibling, got twin sibling, got great grandchild, got stepparent, got stepchild) - Birth related memories (pregnancy, becoming parent, late in life parent, had multiples birth, premature baby) - Marriage related memories (divorce, parental divorce, custody things, alimony) - Relationship related memories (fighting, breakups, additional love memories) - Woohoo related (memories for specific woohoo locations, repeatable generic woohoo/public woohoo) - University degree related (declared major memories, got a minor degree memories, got a major degree memories, for remembering having studied multiple things and being able to see what major your Sim chose without looking at their diploma) - Loan related, for remembering taking and paying off loans of different types - Moving memories (first apartment, child moves out, various memories for sims moving in with others) - Kids related (child's first day in school, got their own pet, nursery rhyme, giving up for adoption, living at orphanage)

Mods automating delivery of my CC memories (more to come) Learned nursery rhyme from - Found here, by me Wrote restaurant guide - Found here, part of jonasn "Novel Writing Improvements" mod

Credits: DiLight, @picknmixsims, @morepopcorn, @latmosims, @joplayingthesims, maxon, @keoni-chan. For detailed info on how they all impacted the creation of this, see readme :) Policy: Give credit to DiLight, beyond that, totally open. Enjoy!

[jerzwriter]

Day 16's prompt from @creativepromptsforwriting's 30-Day Writing Challenge is to write about a thank you. I decided to go with Ethan and Kaycee during Open Heart Book 1 - Intern Year, and lean into that never-ending pining. I hope you enjoy it!

Book: Open Heart (Book 1) Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x Kaycee MacClennan (F!MC) Rating: Teen Words: ~1,600 Summary: The normally unflappable Dr. Ramsey stumbles during a presentation, and when Kaycee realizes the issue, she goes in for the save. But will Ethan appreciate her effort, or will she live to regret it?

A/N: Also participating in @choicesmonthlychallenge Pop Prompt Palooza, prompt: "You remembered?"

30-Day Challenge Masterlist | Full Masterlist

The room went quiet. Too quiet. If not for the hum of the projector swirling in the background and interns shifting uncomfortably in their seats, there would have been silence.

A half-finished slide flickered on the wall: liver enzymes, fluid retention, the beginning of a case that should’ve been routine. But Dr. Ethan Ramsey – the unflappable Dr. Ramsey– had turned to stone mid-sentence. It was as if the man had seen Medusa herself, and he showed no signs of recovery.

In the middle of the awkward glances and furtive whispers, Kaycee MacClennan was growing worried. While her peers were curious, even amused, as their sometimes scary attending physician stumbled, she was genuinely concerned. She hadn’t known Ethan for long, but she knew him well enough to see something was amiss: his clenched jaw, the way his arms went rigid at his sides, and his blue eyes glazed over—something wasn’t right.

So she did what she did best – she went into doctor mode - trying to diagnose what had just taken place, and it didn’t take long for her to spot it. The print was tiny, so small, most wouldn’t have noticed it, but to Kaycee and Ethan before her, it may have well been written in bold, crimson letters. Suddenly, it all made sense.   

Hudson. Dolores Hudson.

Her heart sank. It had to be a clerical error – but a cruel one, nevertheless. Kaycee could picture it – Ethan instructing his assistant to create a template meant to walk the interns through preeclampsia complications, and damn it if she hadn’t picked Dolores’s file and forgot to remove her name. She knew the poor assistant would have hell to pay for this later, but for now, Ethan was sinking, and she needed to throw him a line.

Seconds passed, and the silence stretched. As the nervous chatter picked up and a hand or two began to raise, Kaycee sprang into action.

“Dr. Ramsey - should we be discussing magnesium sulfate administration?” she asked, her voice so loud, so confident that no one would have guessed the way her stomach was churning. Her intentions were good, but jumping in on Dr. Ramsey’s presentation? It could be professional suicide, and she knew it. Still, she wasn't prepared to let him falter, not like this. “With severe preeclampsia, it’s used for seizure prophylaxis. Am I right?”

That snapped Ethan back into the present, and within seconds, he was the picture of the composed physician they all knew him to be.

“That’s correct, Dr. MacClennan,” he said without missing a beat. “And what would happen next? Dr. Carter – I heard you chatting with your neighbor, so I assume you have suggestions to add?”

And... he was back, and Kaycee had saved him, but he didn’t say another word to her, not during the session, nor when it ended. In fact, he didn’t acknowledge her at all for hours to come, and that made Kaycee sicker by the minute.

She only wanted to help; that’s how her brain – and her heart - were wired. But Ethan, he was a different animal, and his wiring wasn’t easy to untangle. So, the silence stretched, the more she anticipated being called to his office for a lecture about overstepping and why she should begin considering another career.

But it was now well after 8 PM, and the call never came. She was finally heading to her locker after a grueling shift - her stomach growling and her feet aching. Her mind was on two things: her fuzzy pajamas and the leftover spaghetti waiting for her at home, when she heard her name.

“MacClennan!”

It was loud, clear, and distinct, leaving no question of who it was. Kaycee swore her hair stood on end at the sound of it.

She turned to find Ethan standing halfway down the hall. Here it was, she thought, just when she thought she had made it through the day. Dread washed over her, but like a good soldier, she marched his way, prepared to accept whatever he was about to dole out.

He was standing outside his office, sleeves rolled up, tie loosened. He looked exhausted – human, for once. Then she noticed his expression, softer than it usually was. In fact, she had only seen him look like that once before – on the night Dolores died. He didn’t speak right away, and Kaycee waited patiently.

“I picked up the wrong slide,” he said without lead-in. “It was completely my fault. As you know, a patient’s name should never be on a presentation. I should have caught that before presenting.”

Kaycee shrugged, a tired smile on her lips. “You’re human, too, Dr. Ramsey. We all make mistakes.”

He laughed faintly, shaking his head. “That’s not something I like to be reminded of in front of a room full of interns.”

“Of course not,” she smirked. “You need to keep that demi-god thing going. But, don’t worry – you’re still the infallible Dr. Ramsey around here. Everyone's still terrified of you – your reputation is intact.”

He looked at her, his eyes narrowing as he quietly assessed.

“But you’re not,” he observed.

“I’m not what?”

“Terrified of me.”

Kaycee barked out a laugh. “That all depends on what time of day you’re asking. You still hold my career in your hands, Dr. Ramsey. That alone instills fear .”

Ethan didn’t say a word, but she saw a flicker of something foreign spread across his face – something he didn’t show often – something he never showed to an intern. Gratitude.

“Thank you,” he said so softly she was sure she had misheard. “I mean it,” he added. “Thank you for covering me, but also for not making a big deal out of it.”

Kaycee’s heart clenched. For a moment, she was back in the NICU, sitting beside him as they watched over a newborn boy who would never know his mother’s touch. She met a different version of the celebrated physician that night, and no matter how hard he tried to hide that side, she couldn't forget it.

Seeing Ethan's grief over being unable to save his friend, that’s when she first began to understand him. And - maybe – just maybe – it’s when he first started to trust her.

“Anytime,” she nodded, her tone gentle now. “But, if you don’t mind... I’ve been on my feet for over twelve hours, and there is a pair of pajamas and a couch calling my name from home, so...”

“Get going,” he grinned. “You’ve earned it.”

She earned it? From Dr. Ramsey? That was high praise. She decided to walk away while the getting was good, but he snapped his fingers when he remembered something.

“Rookie!” he hollered.

She barely turned before he tossed something her way. Moving fast, her hands caught it in midair.

“Geysers?” She asked, her lips tugged upward despite herself. “You remembered?”

“How could I forget? It’s not often I meet full-fledged adults who enjoy candy and jokes marketed at tweenaged boys.”

“Hey!” she scolded. “Tweenaged girls like Geysers, too!”

“I stand corrected,” he replied, his voice dryer – much more like his usual self. “Regardless,  I thought you could use the sugar...or the sophomoric jokes on the wrappers. Hopefully, there’s one in there about a pain-in-the-ass rookie.”

She opened the bag of colorful candy and took out a piece, peeling back the wrapper with a grin. “Nope,” she deadpanned. “But there is one about a cocky attending with a God complex who likes to hide the fact that he has a human heart beating under his perfectly pressed lab coat.”

“Sounds inaccurate,” he muttered. “And now, I’m considering suing the manufacturer for defamation.”

“Pfft,” she smirked. “I may not have attended law school, but I know that case is a loser. Especially after I show up as a witness for the defense. I have no problem outing you in a public court, Dr. Ramsey!”

Ethan opened his mouth to retort but shut it just as fast. One look at her eyes – sparkling with something bright, something he couldn't name, despite her exhaustion – and something inside of him told him to get away - quickly – even though it was the last thing he wanted to do.

“Well, go home to that couch, MacClennan. You need to rest for tomorrow if you’re going to impress me again – otherwise, you may want to keep law school in mind as a backup.”

“You’d miss me,” she said with a smirk, turning on her heel. The elevator dinged at the end of the hallway, but before she stepped in, she turned back.

“Dr. Ramsey?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

She wasn’t sure if it was exhaustion playing tricks on her, but she could’ve sworn there was the faintest smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“No,” he replied, his voice low. “Thank you. Now, get the hell out of here before my goodwill melts away.”

Kaycee snapped her heels together and gave a mock salute. “Yes, sir!” she grinned as the elevator door closed between them.

He stood staring at the doors for a moment longer than necessary, his mind drifting to thoughts he wasn’t ready to entertain—thoughts that felt dangerous. That’s when he heard his name.

“Dr. Ramsey! I’m glad I caught you. I was wondering if you could—”

Ethan turned, already steeling himself. “If I could what, Carter? Prevent you from embarrassing yourself at my next seminar?”

“No, I just—”

He sighed and waved Carter forward with a curt nod. “Let’s hear it.”

As the intern launched into a flurry of nervous questions, Ethan let the familiar rhythm of routine settle over him. It was easier this way. Safer. But even as he listened to Carter babble, part of him lingered at the other end of the hall with a rookie who saw more than she was supposed to see – and thanked him anyway.

He’d have to remind himself again tomorrow: Interns were off-limits.

Even the ones who made him feel like maybe - just maybe - he wasn't as untouchable as he pretended to be.

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

[thedustyleaves]

Sorry if you’ve answered this before, but I really love how your illustrations have such a cohesive color palette, how do you pick your colors to have a certain theme without looking monochromatic?

(In your breakdown on the saloon/western BP illustration, you mentioned that the overall color was reddish brown so you added blue to the main group to set them apart. But like how did you decide on which reddish brown colors to use for the flats?)

Thank you!! Your art is really expressive and the colors always work so well in the illustration. I’m always in awe of your pics

That’s an excellent question! My drawings actually start out pretty monochromatic because I tend to put most of my effort into the lighting and shading part to help differentiate where I want people to look.

For all of my pieces, I want my characters to be in focus. So no matter what, I always have to keep their main colors in mind and make sure their outfits and the background don’t clash with them (Kain’s red hair tends to be a problem, pft).

For my flats, I generally work with two main colors that tend to contrast each other and then I mix a lot of neutrals around them. (Sometimes the main colors are in the light and shading itself, but I’ll just focus on the flats!).

Sometimes, I will change the hue of their colors. So while Kain has bright orange hair, I will dull it down if it overwhelms the piece or doesn’t fit with the tone - like I did for the cowboy drawing - but never so much that it no longer looks like him.

With the cowboy drawing as an example, if I strip it down to my flats, it instantly becomes very dull and monochromatic. I really enjoy working with these colors because they’re easy on the eyes (or my eyes specifically) and I can see the difference in subtle hues a lot better than if they were very high in contrast. I like working with subtleties when I want background characters to become a single unit but still be separated as individual people.

When I picked the colors for the background, I wanted to separate the characters from the walls. Therefore, I kept the walls red and gold, and the characters brown - they’re still within the same warm-colored family, but they’re far enough away from each other that they don’t become one with each other. I also like to not have clothes from different characters blend together, so overlapping colours can't be the same. I made one coat lighter than the other, the glove warmer than the dark jacket, and so on.

(their coats are also in the same realm as the green/gold colour of the details for the curtains and the frames on the walls)

For the paintings I actually chose to put a bit of blue and green in to help create some interest for the main characters and keep your eyes around that area, as it matches the blue they’re wearing, just a whole lot darker. It also makes them pop just enough so they look interesting against the wall, but not enough to overshadow the main characters

I know, because of the way I work with layers, that when I add my overlays, I automatically brighten and saturate the colors a lot. It’s a lot easier for me to saturate something “dull” and move it into all kinds of hues than saturating something already high in contrast and then trying to force it into a new color theme.

But because of this, I usually have to go back and change the colors I work with constantly while the overlays are on. Since the overlays don’t know what sort of materials they’re laying on top of, everything gets lighter and washed out, so dark skin tones, hair, and clothes have to be corrected one by one afterward. If I were to remove the overlays after I corrected it to make it feel like a dark blue outfit on Raki, it’s basically just a black void now; but with the overlay, it’s a dark blue outfit. Before that, he simple blended in with the background too much and he didn’t feel like he was a part of the group either. 

I always try to put down colors how I imagine they’re going to look like, unaffected by light, but I’m also naturally drawn toward more earthy and warm tones, so all of my color choices will tend to lean that way.

Here’s another example of main colours vs. neutrals; the main colours are red and green/turquoise, with dark browns and greys to encapsulate them, and gold for accents or to make certain things pop (the chair, Dakon’s dark coat, etc.).

I never want them all to wear the exact same color, but I want them to feel connected and be in the same 'colour family,' so Dakon and Kain have nearly the same dark red/brown, and Christie and Raki have nearly the same 'bright'/red.

The blacks and browns, I’ve kept warm as well, so they stay within that realm of red. I also make sure that none of them are too close to Kain’s hair since he’s in the middle of the piece, and I want your eyes to be drawn toward the middle, and his orange hair helps with that.

The paintings I basically do not care too much about, as long as each individual painting has a single dominating colour. I mute them down with a darker overlay and ensure they don’t have strong shadows and light, so they get pushed to the background, so despite being a bunch of different colours, each painting feels like a solid color and they’re still cast in the same light as the rest of the piece, so they feel like they belong in the same room.

I try to help move the eye around the piece as well, so I keep the big painting sort of in the same realm of red and brown as the main characters, because it’s so big it shouldn’t dominate with a new color and force interest toward it. The blue/purple ones melt in with the background as they’re close to the turquoise background, but without disappearing, the yellow ones work sort of like the gold accents and blend in with the frames, and the green paintings at the top give the illusion of a monochrome fade, so everything gets more eerie and green as the image goes up - there’s also a subtle green fade that affects the gold accents from the top down, to enhance that effect.

This is just a few examples, if there are any pieces in particular you were thinking of, and it’s neither of these, just let me know, and I can break those down as well!

Thank you for the question; I hope I answered it somewhat, and thank you for the kind words! <3

[ao3scrapesearch]

Hey so I'm not very tech savvy but I was wondering if adding random silly lines or just something that makes no sense between paragraphs/sentences on our fics can poison AI if the fics are scraped?? I tried something by adding some random lines with white text between paragraphs of my fic which don't show up on default ao3 mode but they are a part of the text nonetheless. Of course that'll involve more efforts on part of the writers to add lines and format the white text using html and workskins but if it does turn out to be effective it might make ao3 less lucrative for AI scraping if a major amount of works contain this and it'll make it harder for AI training. It does have drawbacks that it'll only work on default mode so anyone using dark skin on ao3 might have to switch to be able to read properly and it'll make works less accessible to readers who use text to audio if there are random lines in between but what other options are we left with if even archive locking our works doesn't work??

You absolutely could, but there are limitations to that.

For one, like you said, you're making your work inaccessible to certain readers. That's fully within your rights, though I think most of us strive not to exclude people using screen readers.

Second, from what I know, when you download a dataset like this and intend to use it to train an AI model, you first go through the dataset looking for obvious junk data and toss that out. So if you're putting something that is clearly not real fanfic in there, any decent data analyst is probably going to spot it and toss your fic. If that's your goal, that's a win for you. Personally, if I'm making the effort to inject poison data, my goal is to be included in the training data used so I can trash the model, so I don't want it to be obvious.

Third, I don't see anything explicitly in AO3's TOS against adding data poison in this way, but I don't see them endorsing doing that either. It feels like a grey area to me, and I'm not sure you're allowed to do it, so I am not recommending anyone do this. Rest of this post is theoretical.

So theoretically, how I would do it is putting the junk data at the end of the fic/chapter. Hide it like you're saying, by changing the font and/or background color of the section with CSS. Then put a nice, clear message right after the chapter ends and the junk data starts, something like, "Hey, readers! This chapter is over. Turn off your screen reader and move to the next chapter now." That gives your real humans a warning and stops them from being confused or wasting their time. Then dump your poison. You can also write something in the beginning A/N, I believe. I know this most recent scraper never ever pulled data from the author's notes, so the AI wouldn't see anything you put in that section.

Scrapers are typically pulling your work without the workskin enabled, so for formatting, you're really just trying to make it look nice for your real readers so they don't have to see your poison.

As far as actual poison, my suggestions:

Your own writing or writing you have explicit permission to use, so you're not breaking anyone's copyright. Easy mode: jumbled paragraphs of your own past works for any fandom except the one your current fic is for.

As mentioned above, don't put absolute nonsense in there. If it's bad enough, it'll be spotted and filtered out. Like, if it's not even real words, anyone feeding it to AI is probably going to catch that and toss your data out, excluding it from the model. It might be fine if it's all real words, but not in any sensible order. Not sure on that. But don't just insert keysmashes if you want your data to be used in the AI training.

Terrible crackfic would be good. So would writing for a completely different fandom and different tags. The writing should not fit well with the tags you use for the fics. (So if the real fic is tagged Fluff and Alternative Universe - Coffee Shop, your poison should not include that. Make the poison a hurt no comfort canon-compliant fic or something else different.)

Keep in mind you should not be putting E-rated data poison in a G-rated fic. Real humans may still see this no matter how much you hide it, particularly if they download a PDF copy of your fic. If it's content that requires a warning per AO3's rules (explicit content, graphic violence, etc), you do still have to tag for that, even if it's designed to be invisible to humans.

Use unique writing, so even if someone later using it for AI catches it once, they can't just search for the exact wording you used in one fic and easily filter out all the rest of your poison. Again, this is if you want to be included in the AI training to throw the model off.

Again, theoretically, if I were going to do this, this is the CSS code I might use for my poison section of the fic:

#workskin .fuckai { background: #333333; color: #333333; font-size: 1%; }

It would theoretically look like a weird grey gap to mobile users or be nearly invisible to desktop users, even if it contained, say... 1,000 additional words.

Finally, scrapers are trying to grab millions of fics from AO3 when they do it. They're not looking closely at 13 million fics. They're only searching for the most obvious junk. So the only reason you would want to hide it like that is to make a better experience for your real readers. You don't need to hide it to get it into a scraper's AI model.

[spiderfunkz]

✧.* FLOUR N COOKIES.

— summary : when baking cookies with natasha turns into a flour fight.

— word count : 0,6k

— warnings : fluff, fem!reader, established relationship, nat & reader live together, flour fights, pet names, nat being a tease.

a/n : it's october so the autumn-y fics r here !! also i am a firm believer that nat struggles to do basic cooking.

baking was something you've always loved to do, since ever. you loved the process of buying the ingredients, picking the flavours, toppings, decorations, everything.

you especially loved baking for other people. it's your way of showing that you love and care for them, a love language sort of.

and it's always been a tradition for you to bake fall cookies for your friends. today, you were baking them for clint.

it was the perfect time to bake. the weather was perfect, it was foggy but not too foggy since you could still see the reflection of sunlight. the music was playing in the background, and nothing could possibly ruin this you thought.

tying your apron, natasha walks in to help.

"you look good in that apron." she smirks.

you ignore the comment as you grab the eggs from the fridge. "stay focused, we need to finish these cookies."

"well, i'm more or so thinking that you should wear that apron more often." she teases. "these cookies are for clint. realistically, you should be taking the lead." you reply.

"i've never baked before."

"ever? in your entire life? not even once?"

"i'm pretty sure that's what the word never means." — "do you at least know how to crack open an egg?"

you were met with silence. is she serious?

"just crack these eggs to that bowl, please." you point. "like this?" she asks.

you stare at her in disbelief. she seems confused, possibly wondering what she did wrong.

"you know, maybe, without, the eggshells."

she looks down at the bowl, "i think we should leave it. crunchy cookies, you know? it adds more protein, so it's healthy." she awkwardly smiles.

"whatever, i'll just pick the eggshells out." you carefully grab the slippery shells.

"soooo.. what's next?" she wipes the egg residue on her pants. "i'll whisk the wet ingredients, you can help me by grabbing the flour and baking soda."

natasha nods, as she grabs the ingredients you asked for from the cabinets above. "you know i've always wanted to do this with someone." she says, toying with the bag of flour.

"yeah well, this feels more like a me effort instead of a team effort." you state. "there's no me in team." natasha replies.

"yes there is. there's an 'e' and an 'm'." you stated.

"you're so smart, detka. keep blabbering. see what happens."

was that a threat? you look up from the bowl to see her grab a handful of flour. "put that down. don't get closer." you commanded.

"or what?" — "or the cookies won't get done, and clint will have over-floured cookies."

natasha shuffles forward.

"nat. i swear. i just cleaned the floor this morning."

"i'm not even moving."

"i can see you shuffling towards me."

"i'm standing very still. actually, here, catch!" she throws the flour to you. your clean apron was now covered in flour.

"oh you are so gonna regret that, natasha."

you swiftly grab a handful of flour from the bag, throwing it right on her black top.

natasha gasps, before throwing another handful to your direction.

this went on for a good minute before natasha finally stopped it by grabbing the bag from you.

"okay, okay! time out. i've got to take a picture of you, you look like a ghost!"

"really? because you should really look in the mirror, natasha. i can barely make out the red in your hair right now."

she glances at the reflection of the fridge. "that's. rude."

"who looks like a ghost now?"

"you still do. if i poured the mixture on you with chocolate chips and put you in the oven, would you become a cookie?" she jokes.

"don't you dare mess with the mixture."

"don't worry, love. i'd still love you if you were a cookie." natasha smiles.