#i'm having a blast with my current project

[dhwty-writes]

What’s something you’ve learned about while doing research for a fic?

I mean, that is an incredibly broad question...

I live in the nitty-gritty of the worldbuilding so my fics tend to be meticulously researched. I have read an entire book about arranged marriages in medieval europe, translated vows of fealty and learned how spy networks during the middle ages worked, and that's just for OWBABH!

In more recent writing history, for my nano project I've done a deep dive into celtic and germanic fairy tales and the concept of witches and witchcraft during the middle ages. Also as always the intricacies of medieval aristocracy and warfare as well as fashion

Fanfic Writer Asks

[hoplaventon]

yet another headache even ibuprofen can 't fix . help .

[lillygrovesims]

oh my god, I just found a bunch of Sims 3 screenshots from my old computer on an old hand drive. I'm talking 2012-2014 😳

[el4ise]

ᯓ LOVESICK | 리키

PAIRINGS ⊹ ࣪ ˖ grumpy!riki x sunshine!reader

GENRE ⊹ ࣪ ˖ fluff, grumpy x sunshine

WARNINGS ⊹ ࣪ ˖ light swearing

SYNOPSIS ⊹ ࣪ ˖ convincing riki to be partners with you seemed to be light work, maybe because actually getting to be his friend takes up 99% of your energy.

🂱 part two of “beneath the ice” !

RIKI HAD HIS HEADPHONES ON, blasting clearly loud music that was seeping through. he leaned against his chair, sketching lightly on his pad. you tapped him gently on the shoulder— he looks up at you, the light in his eyes making you a bit flustered.

“sorry.. did I disturb you?” you say, nervously fiddling with your fingers.

he puts his head back down, resuming his agenda. but replies, “no, you're good.” you let go of the breath you didn't even know you were holding. “oh, thank god. anyway uhm.. where do you want to work on the project? a cafe or somewhere out is good, but I don't think we'd get to work on it properly with a crowd around us. and in my house or yours may give us a better privacy, and stuff.. but still! I'll be alright where you're more comfortable.”

he paused for a moment, probably debating in his mind. “yours,” he said. it's really a handful with him barely saying sentences. but atleast you can talk to him. you just hope he'll warm up more as time passes and you can actually get a good, working conversation.

“alright, I'll meet you by the gates after class.”

you stood outside the gate, scrolling through your phone while you waited for riki. soon enough, tiny drops of rain hit your head. it's raining. you quickly grab an umbrella and shield yourself, though you start to worry about riki, if he had an umbrella. since the umbrella you had could only fit one.

a little while later, he tapped your shoulder, revealing him with his hoodie, the hood up on his head. “do you not have an umbrella?” you asked, he shook his head. you just nodded and proceeded to lead him to your house, walking slowly as the rain poured slowly. you tried your best to shield both you & him, but his taller figure makes it hard for you.

he notices your struggle, and takes the umbrella without a word and holds it for the both of you. you look up at him, seeing him covering you with your umbrella, but due to it being just enough for one person, you see the rain still hitting him. causing one side of him to be damp and the other to be dry.

��hey, you're getting we—”

“I'm fine.”

his tone wasn't rude or anything, but you knew better than to fight it. luckily, your apartment wasn't that far.

you both arrived soon enough, and you pet semi (your cat) before finally settling in.

“uh, riki?” you glance at him, his figure sitting on the couch.

“I have some spare clothes from my brother. he doesn't live with me, don't worry. he just has some here incase he visits, go and borrow some so you don't have to stay in that wet uniform. you can return it to me the next day.” you said as you handed him your brother's clothes. he mumbled a quick thanks before changing in the bathroom.

you waited until he finished before you started the project, opening your textbooks & doing some research.

TWO HOURS LATER

it's currently 8:06pm. you looked at the clock then back to your work. you've done quite alot in terms of work, but if it means any progress on you and riki's 'friendship', then nothing was made. in the whole hours of working, only small talks like “pass me that,” or “are you done with that?”. you didn't want to pressure him nor force him, but it really was frustrating you how difficult this was.

“it's a bit late. we can finish this the next day or two, the rain stopped too. do you want to go home?”

he got up and nodded, “yeah. I'll get going. thanks, __.” you smiled, leading him out the door.

“text me when you get home.”

“okay.”

UNKNOWN CONTACT: it's me, riki. I'm home.

to your surprise, he actually texted you. you grinned.

CHEOL Y/N: oh, that's good!

[CHEOL Y/N SET NICKNAME TO 'RIKI']

[RIKI REACTED '♡' TO YOUR MESSAGE.]

you smiled, knowing you'll be going to school on the next day with a grin on your face. you tucked yourself to bed, anticipating tomorrow.

tomorrow came, you got yourself ready, getting in your school uniform and tying your hair. you walked to school, as you got there, you already started looking for a specific dark haired boy— riki.

you went to the class, confused to not see him in his seat. he's usually early, earlier than everyone. this was new. classes passed, and he still was nowhere to be found. you were starting to get worried.

your lectures ended, it was 5:05pm. you quickly texted riki.

CHEOL Y/N: riki? why were you absent?

RIKI: oh, sorry. I got sick because of the rain last night. I had a fever and a cold. sorry.

seeing this you instantly made your way to his house. grabbing your bags and heading your way.

the doorbell rang, riki wondered who it could be. to his surprise, he saw you—standing right infront of him as he opened his door.

“are you okay- was it my fault? 'm sorry! my umbrella was small, I'll repay you, I promise. I'll take care of yo—”

“how'd you get my adress?” you chuckled nervously, embarrassed. “.. well, i asked the professor. he has records of student's addresses in case of emergency. and I knew you wouldn't give it to me if I asked..” you rubbed the back of your neck.

“but anyway! how are you feeling?” you turned to him, he looked really tired. “I'm fine.”

you put the back of your hand to his forehead, feeling his temperature. “you're not, you feel hot. go back to bed I'll prepare your meds. I bought some on the way.” you exclaimed, shuffling through your bag.

“but—” before he could protest, you were already leading him up his bed.

after taking his meds, you put a damp lukewarm towel on his forehead to aid with the fever.

“just, relax. you won't get better if you don't get rest.”

you say as you sit at the chair near the bed, “I'll go home once you sleep. I need to make sure you actually listen.” you laugh.

“okay ma'am,” he joked, closing his eyes.

time passed and he started to make little snores. you observed his features, this was the first time you saw him this close.

you didn't realise how detailed and beautiful he actually was. your heart pumps a little faster.

you didn't realise you slowly started drifting to sleep, resting your head on the edge of the bed.

THE NEXT DAY

he stirs in his sleep as he woke up, surprised to see you sleeping on the edge of the bed with your body still on the chair. though, he figured you got tired after taking care of him. it confused him why you cared so much. others would've loved if he weren't present in the class anyway.

he glanced at you, noticing your half parted lips and your chest rising up and down. he would be lying if he said he didn't find it endearing.

he stayed still for a few minutes, just loving the comforting silence between the you & him world

© work of saoirsezz | sho

[punkitt-is-here]

Read These Frequently Asked Questions Before You Send An Ask!

Patreon | Ko-Fi | Youtube

IF YOU ARE A FUNDRAISER PLEASE BE AWARE I AM ALREADY HELPING WITH CAMPAIGNS AND CANNOT REASONABLY HANDLE ANY MORE. PLEASE DO NOT EXPECT A RESPONSE. MY APOLOGIES!

Heyo! I get a TON of asks each day, so I'm making this post so that folks know what's already been asked so my followers don't have to see the same stuff over and over, haha.

Hi! I'm Punkitt! I'm a game developer, artist, editor, director, and a bunch of other stuff! I'm working on an RPG called Astral Guard, a platformer called Susan Taxpayer, and I have a couple more fun projects in my pocket like Happup and Super Mario Death Row.

Did you know you look like weird al?

YES jesus fucking christ i get told this every day. if u send me a message in my inbox saying i look like weird al im killing you with like wizard spells and shit.

Why do you have so many hats? Do you know you have that many hats?

ye i like hats. :) free tumblr badges for one pea i like one piece and took as many as i could. free.

Where can I find your art/game development/horsecomix?

Great question! Everything I make that's my own and not a reblog is under "my posts", every bit of art I do is under "my art", any game development I do is under "gamedev", you can find all my MLP art under "mlp, my art" or "horsecomix" for the best stuff. I also have an "animations" tag and a "shitposts" tab. I also properly tag all my asks to be asks and write out the asker's name, so if you don't wanna see those just mute the ask tag.

Do you have a Patreon or a Ko-Fi?

I do have a ko-fi here! I also JUST launched a Patreon, which you can find here :)

What do you use for your art?

I use FireAlpaca and Paint.net for misc. effects!

What are you using to make your games?

I use FireAlpaca do make my assets! Astral Guard, Happup, and any other top-down RPG games I make are all made in RPGMaker 2003. Susan Taxpayer is made in SMBX2 Beta 4, a Mario fangame engine with lua support!

Why are you using a 2-decade-plus engine to make games?

It's fun!

Do you have a sideblog or something for your art?

Not right now! What you see is what you get. I do have a sideblog for Astral Guard though, if you want to follow that game specifically! @astral-guard

Can I make an OC based on your work?

ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!! THATS THE COOLEST THING EVER!!!! LET ME KNOW IF YOU DO!!!! I WANNA SEE!!!!

Can I do dubs/redraws of your comics?

As long as you credit me! I get a ton of notifs each day, so if you wanna show me (and PLEASE i so do wanna see fun dubs and redraws!!!) tag me or DM me!

Are you the one who trapped her coworkers in a room and made them listen to TF2 lore?

Can I use your art as a PFP?

Sure! Just credit me somewhere. :D

Yep! Everyone had a blast actually. :]

Did you make that comic where Fluttershy eats the weed brownie/Rainbow Dash has a male living space/someone has a cutie mark that says they'll kill Ronald Reagan?

Yep! That's me.

Where are you in MLP right now?

Currently just finished Season 7! Haven't watched the movie yet.

Have you watched Equestria Girls?

Yep! Thought it was super cute. I watched up to Rainbow Rocks and plan on watching more.

What's your opinion on MLP so far?

I love it! I think it's cute. I really don't agree that there was some sort of huge quality drop after season 2 or whatever.

What do you think of G5?

Not my style! I don't really like either animation types and it just seems like I'm not in the audience anymore. That's totally chill, but it just doesn't grab me!

Have you watched any other MLP stuff from previous generations?

Nope! But I did see a compilation called Minty Being Autistic for Six Minutes Straight that I loved. she's perfect.

Favorite pony?

Don't got one, I love all the Mane Six a LOT, but I'm particularly fond of Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity!

Favorite episode/season?

I'm so bad at picking favorites! But any season past Season 1 I have a blast with because I feel like it's just more my style. I don't have a favorite episode, but the most recent one I can remember LOVING is the one where Starlight bottles up her emotions because it was REALLY funny.

Do you like Pony.mov?

Nope! And stop saying my stuff reminds you of it, it's a lil annoying!

Have you watched the Mentally Advanced Series/Friendship is Witchcraft/Other fandom vids?

Probably not! My interaction with the MLP fandom prior to last year was pretty minimal, so I'm making my way through the show first!

What do you think of Fallout: Equestria?

I think it's super weird but really fun because of that. I've never properly read any of it but it's very fascinating to me.

Are you transgender?

Yep! I go by she/her, I'm a trans woman. Have been for many years, but I only recently came out online!

Are you a lesbian?

Nah, I'm bisexual!

Can I commission you?

Yeah! I only have my commissions available on my Ko-Fi at certain times though, so keep an eye out! I usually announce slots being open at least 12 hours beforehand. Slots are usually first come first serve, but we'll see.

Can I use your art as a Discord emote?

Yeah man i'm not scouring every discord on the planet to find stickers of my work. i think it owns if people take my stuff and make it stupid injoke emotes between friends that makes me very happy.

Can I send you an ask inquiring about gender dysphoria?

I feel like this is beyond my capabilities of advice! I'm actually very comfortable with my body and I have been for many years, so I don't know if I can give any good or helpful advice on that front. Apologies, but there are many resources out there where you can ask about those things if you look for them, like Discord channels!

Favorite Color?

I'm a sucker for blue!

Favorite coffee?

Can't drink coffee, my stomach is cringe.

Favorite tea?

I'm lame and can't drink most tea but I love this one orange-flavored tea a lot. I also LOVE ice tea.

Can I say you're horsegender/punkittgender/a little gender goblin void thing?

Well, I can't stop you, but I'm kind of beyond that phase now! I really am a boring ol' plain she/her girl, and I like it that way. It's not much, but it's honest gender.

What's your favorite game series?

Mother, Kingdom Hearts, Mario, and I USED to say Fallout, but I found out I'm really only a big Fallout New Vegas fan.

Favorite game from those?

Mother 3 is one of my fave games of all time! I love KHII, and I'm tied for SMB3 and SMW. Also Fallout New Vegas fucks hard.

Any other favs?

Bug Fables, SLARPG, and TF2!

Favorite Movie?

Everything Everywhere All At Once, no question.

Oh, are you going to college?

Yep! I'm a film/theater major.

Do you have a YouTube channel?

Yeah! Click right here for it, I stream there and upload footage of my games/animations/my film projects + other stuff.

What is that little orange creature I see?

That's bweenop, my little persona that I use when I'm feeling a little scrunkly.

Do you have a ponysona?

Yep! Her name is Star Magnolia, you can search her on the blog to see art of her.

When will Susan Taxpayer/Astral Guard/etc. be out?

No clue! I take things slow, that's just how I am.

How do you work on so many things at once?

I make small, satisfying amounts of progress! I never try to complete one giant thing all at once, I just like doing small bursts of fun stuff. I got ADHD, so I learn to work with it.

Did you know you look like Weird Al?

Im going to run you over with a clown car watch out

WHY do you work on so many things at once?

Fun! I like learning, I like making cool stuff, and I like showing it to people :)

Do you need any help with your projects?

Potentially! I'll probably put out a post asking for help if I need it.

If you could be a horse, would you?

You kidding me? Several ton beasts with the frailty of a sickly Victorian boy; my clumsy ass would never survive.

Are you some sort of...furry?

yeag

Why do you reblog so much?

Brother I LOVE posting. that's just how it is.

Fav music artists?

It changes literally ALL the time but I will recommend ANYTHING by Vylet Pony, its music is incredible and probably the reason I'm a weird niche microcelebrity now.

Why are you like this?

theater kid + having a lot of fun on the internet makes you a bit silly hehe hoo

SUSAN TAXPAYER QUESTIONS

Is it out?

Not yet! But hopefully sometime in the next year. I dunno! I take things at my own pace and keep stuff fun. :)

What are you using to make it?

SMBX2! It's a free fangame engine for Mario episodes, but it's incredibly versatile and has a wonderful community, so I decided to make Susan Taxpayer in it.

Is there a demo?

You betcha! You can find it right here. I'll also probably put it up on my itch.io.

How do I install it?

I made a post here about how to run the SAGE '23 demo!

[the-pigeon-queen]

You draw a lot of soft big brother Primo and for that I'm super grateful but like, do you have any art/ideas for unhinged Primo who wants to punch pandas and invade countries and all that? Just curious 👀

Sorry for the long delay :'] I’m sorry I don’t currently have any doodles or art of unhinged Primo, but that doesn’t mean I’m not plagued by Primo thoughts.

The big disclaimer here is that this is all personal headcannons; I’m the type of Ghost fan that generally wants to follow the cannon, but also, you know, is more than fine with adapting and extrapolating a few things… So, all this is about my Personal Primo conjecture lol

Everything we’ve ever gotten about Primo in cannon paints him as batshit crazy, but somehow fandom morphed him into a much gentle figure. And I honestly enjoy both sides and think he can be both :’]

Like… Primo loves his little brothers, but hates humans. He grows a beautiful garden but anticipates the day it will be destroyed in Armageddon. He makes tea blends with the same precision he would conduct a sacrificial ritual. He curls up in an armchair next to a cozy fireplace with an ancient tomb on demonology in his lap. There is a non-zero amount of dead bodies in his garden, feeding the flowers with their decaying flesh.

And he believes there’s something beautiful about that; the cycle of life and death, the miracle of life and the necessity of death.

Primo hates the government and he hates society; he hates humanity. He believes it to be corrupt and evil – and looks forward to the day that it reaps what it deserves. It also means that he doesn’t have a lot of personal objections to doing ‘evil’ things, himself.

I do not think that makes him a complete monster (because completely chaotic evil characters aren’t that interesting to me). Primo doesn’t go out of his way to be cruel.

Like, Primo has no qualms with sacrificing a goat or lamb on the alter, but wouldn’t kick a puppy. Primo wouldn’t hesitate to kill a man if he deemed it necessary, but he’s always kind to children. He would burn down a government building for fun, but he wouldn’t burn down a family home. He would absolutely have a reporter abducted because the Clergy kept badgering him to do interviews, but would see to it that the reporter had lunch.

Now – the Ghost Project.

Primo had no interest in it. He looked at his father, who he hates, and the flashy, rock n’ roll lifestyle, and quickly decided he wanted nothing to do with it. But he wasn’t given a choice in the matter. He does come around to aspects of it, though. He realizes that music can be a powerful tool to lure people into the Ministry. He realizes that he can influence people with music.

He commits to Ghost; writing songs and performing, singing Satan’s praises. His time as frontman is dedicated to his dark lord. Primo does not want the Ghost Project to be about him – he wants it to be about the message, alone. So, he tries to stay anonymous. He tries to stay separate.

But the people want a rockstar, they want interviews, they want personalization. And the Clergy pressures him to give them that. So, he breaks down and gives them interviews. Primo is old at this point – old and a little bitter. He doesn’t give a shit about the interviews.

So, he gets exceptionally high, sits down, and decides to have some fun with them.

So yeah, sure, he’d hit a panda in the face with a brick, but he wouldn’t do it for free – like, $500 bucks would do it. And sure, hell, he’d be down for some world domination, why not? Sounds like fun. Also, yeah, you know what, his d!ck is 13 inches long, write that down, it’s important. His Ghouls sit there in silent agony while their leader rattles off whatever wild bull he happens to think of off the top of his head, and he’s having a blast watching the interviewer get more and more uncomfortable.

And then his time as frontman is over, and he gladly turns over the Mitre to his little brother and returns to a quiet life of blood sacrifices and quiet gardening.

[girl-mercury]

ukraine aid post

I'm not able to fully express how furious and how saddened I am by all that has happened with regard to Ukraine this week. I will choose only to say that I wish an enormous transformative change of heart in everyone who this week chose cruelty and bullying to people barely surviving instead of offering security and allyship.

This war began in 2014 as Russia began occupying Crimea and the Donbas and disregarded Ukrainians' right to make decisions for themselves, just as Russia has disregarded the sovereignty of other nations in Putin's expansionist, maximalist goals to make something of a new Russian empire; the full-scale invasion began in 2022, and immediately started doing an encyclopedia's worth of war crimes. Russia-favoring corruption drained Ukraine of the funds it needed to defend itself and so this war has been fought largely on crowdfunding and aid. Just imagine, having to protect your home and right to make decisions for your country based on on a GoFundMe.

I know people working in the Ukraine security space and so a lot of requests for help come through my inbox, and I'm going to share some of what I've received. For the more direct requests for aid, they have been verified by someone I know who is not just an online activist but working with Ukrainians, and I can probably get you connected with them if you need that and want to reach out to me.

Razom - Obviously, this is probably the most well-known org and I regularly donate to them. Razom initiates short and long-term projects, or collaborates on existing projects with partner organizations, which help Ukraine stay on the path of fostering democracy and prosperity. I personally believe that strong institutions are overwhelmingly critical in ensuring that people don't fall through the cracks and that predatory organizations don't take advantage of power vacuums, and Ukraine will need to rebuilt its capacity to have a society once the war ends, along with delivering immediate medical and tactical items now.

Global Response Medicine - GRM travels anywhere in the world providing emergency medical care for people displaced by conflict or disaster. GRM is currently raising funds to kick off the Invisible Wounds program in Ukraine to support those with PTSD and TBIs. (If you have larger-scale resources to get involved with this initiative, I can probably put you in touch with the executive director.)

Insulate Ukraine - Since the full-scale invasion, millions of windows have been shattered by bomb blasts. During winter, temperatures can plummet to -20C or below, putting people's lives at risk. Thousands of Ukrainians remain in frontline towns with nowhere else to go. Insulate Ukraine has developed an innovative and affordable solution to the urgent need for warmth: a $20 triple-layer shatterproof window made from polyethylene. The organization helps those most in need: low-income families, the elderly, and disabled.

Dzyga's Paw - A well-known charity that buys Starlinks, drones, and de-mining equipment for front-line defenders. I think my friend can get individual messages of support to some of the defenders if you feel motivated to do so.

Ukraine's Women's Battalion - Not a battalion but a group that works to support and fundraise for the military as well as provide things like care packages.

PDMSh - For a decade, The Pirogov First Volunteer Mobile Hospital (PDMSh) volunteers have been rescuing and treating wounded on the front lines. Hundreds of PDMSh volunteer medics have cared for and saved thousands of military and civilian lives.

Dignitas - Dignitas has several initiatives supporting Ukrainian fighting and post-war development. They currently are focused a lot on raising money to build drones, which are highly needed for surveillance to find out where civilians and injured combatants may be.

Protez Foundation - Provides prosthetics for those who lose limbs.

Weatherman Foundation - Provide medical transportation and supplies to Ukrainians, repatriation of those KIA, support for orphans and elderly.

Superhumans Center - Rehabilitation for Ukrainians suffering major injury.

Prevail Together - They do the very importnat work of bomb disposal. They also do trauma care and humanitarian aid.

Osprey Relief Foundation - A US veteran-led, global disaster relief, and medical & humanitarian aid non-profit organization. Their mobile "Train the Trainer" course is focused on Search and Rescue operations and lifesaving capabilities in support of civilians on the battlefield.

Liberty Ukraine - Direct donation to Ukraine projects; currently quadcopters, evacuation vehicles, generators, children's hospital renovations, thermal clothing production, therapy camp for children of killed soldiers. *This org has no salaried employees and 100% of funds go to projects

Ukraine Front Line - Currently raising money for lifesaving medical aid in the form of Hyfin vent chest seals that are immediate needs for people with penetrative chest wounds.

Invictus Global Response - Working in conflict zones around the world, their mission is focused on the clearance of landmines and explosives, teaching civilians to identify explosive risks, and providing capacity-building support in the areas of mine action, stockpile reduction, and humanitarian assistance. Our vision is to empower local organizations, partner forces, and affected communities through impactful, cost-effective, and sustainable support.

Ukraine Front Line - President of this org, Robin, highlights needs that have no social media presence. Looks like they're taking individual donations right now for tourniquets, hospital care packages, first aid supplies, and more.

Protect a Volunteer - Get signed up to directly connect with a volunteer fighter through a donor matching platform. I personally know someone who is connected and donates though this partnership.

Safe Passage 4 Ukraine - Assists people in gaining safe passage in, around, and out of Ukraine. This war has turned millions of people into refugees both inside of and outside of their country. Many of them have complex medical needs. Safe Passage ensures transportation, lodging, and other needs as they leave for safety.

Other things:

Friend of a friend of a friend - Eddy, a volunteer fighter, got hit by drones while doing a civilian evacuation January 2025 and lost an arm and a leg, donation page and his instagram via reddit

Ukrainian artists to support: RainbowOnThePipe Lebid Ceramics

A note for those, like me, who hate war and will work as much as possible to use every other pathway to avoid it:

Look, I know some of you are not comfortable directly supporting front-line warfighters, and there are a lot of orgs up there where you don't have to do that. But I would beg you to consider that sometimes you don't have a choice when war comes to you, and more than that, when it comes to you from a country that does not believe your society should exist, that everyone with your culture should be destroyed and forgotten. Every success Putin wins, in 2008 in Georgia, in 2015 in Syria, in 2014 in Ukraine, even in the 90s in Chechnya, persuades his ruling gang that they can opportunistically keep conquering. If they are not stopped in Ukraine, they will look at more of Europe, more of the Caucasus, more of central Asia. Hell, even Alaska was part of the Russian Empire at one time. They will keep sending their mercenary groups to disrupt peace and self-determination in African nations. They will keep trying to disrupt democracy in every country that doesn't give them what they want. They are bullies, and the people of Russia deserve better leaders than ones that will send 800,000 of them to be killed or injured and then consider that not to be not that much of a loss.

Sometimes the price of ensuring human security is working with military organizations. I wish that it were not. But I don't value abstaining from that reality and keeping my hands perfectly spotless if it comes at the cost of denying rescue to civilians in a highly populated war zone they could never have consented to live in.

Please help.

[justporo]

Office Hours

Author's Note: This - this is finally the promised wizard smut with Professor Gale Dekarios. I've written this as a fill for Kinktober Challenge. Please enjoy, while I go bury myself. I'm so excited to hear your feedback, because writing this was daunting. Happy Halloween!

Summary: You took up a PhD project under the infamous Professor for Wizardry Gale Dekarios but you also have a huge crush on him. Stuff getting a little heated at a party could almost ruin your future though. Things between you and Professor Dekarios are tense from there on out - until you go to confront him about it. (All characters are over 18!)

Pairing: Professor!Gale / Fem!Tav (You) Rating: Explicit Warnings: explicit sexual content! Wordcount: 8,2k (I'm so sorry...)

~~~

Another shot of tequila was placed in front of you.

“Bottom’s up, love!”, Astarion cheerfully exclaimed and clanked his own shot against yours. You drunkenly turned your head towards him. As always when you went for a night out with your best friend, he kept putting drinks (and a reasonable amount of water in between) in front of you while he barely seemed to get drunk.

“We’re not even bothering with salt and lem-lemons anymore?”, you drawled sluggishly. It was time to stop soon as long as you were still able to remember what you were doing.

Astarion didn’t even reply just kept swaying to the beat of the current song blasting through the club and clinked his glass against yours again to make you take it. And so you did.

You both threw your drinks back and shuddered when the liquor ran down your throats. “You’re really pushing me tonight, Astarion”, you screamed over the loud blasting music.

“Yeah well”, he shrugged as his eyes wandered back to the dancefloor and the hunk of a man he’d been dancing with almost the whole night – at least when you hadn’t danced with him.

“It’s not every day that my bestie has to celebrate that renowned PhD position with the infamous Professor Dekarios, is it?”, Astarion screamed back at you.

And it was true, it most definitely wasn’t every day. Because not only did you get the approval of the prodigy professor who was famously known for being strict and very demanding to be your supervisor. But you were the only one he’d taken on for a PhD project since… well, since he was in the position to do so it seemed. he’d t

But you had thus far always excelled in his classes. You’d been the very role model student during your time here.

And sure, you had worked your ass off for it, but it was well worth it. A finished PhD under a prodigy such as Gale Dekarios of Waterdeep would open you every door in the wizarding world.

It might also have helped that you had a huge crush on Professor Dekarios. The way this man spoke passionately about all things Wizardry and Weave had captured you from the very beginning. Just how his whole demeanor changed when he started talking about his research and how passionate he became. The way his eyes lit up when he got to talk about his work.

And then also: how he absent-mindedly let his hands wander through his hair when he was thinking about how to word something. How he let his thumb wander over his bottom lip as he intently listened to one of your questions and praised you afterwards for how clever it had been.

It was safe to say you had found yourself daydreaming about what else that man could do with that eloquent mouth of his more than once. Or how it would be if he praised you for more than just your smartass little questions.

“You know he’s here tonight, don’t you? Since it’s a faculty party”, Astarion kept on yelling into your ear, already grabbing the shot glasses to go get more.

“WHAT?”, you screamed – and this time it was clearly audible over the music in the club. You stared at Astarion in shock.

“Love, it’s your faculty and you brought me here, might I add. Shouldn’t you know about this kind of stuff? I saw him when I went to the bar”, Astarion yelled back with a mocking grin. Then he was off again with a naughty wink to get new drinks.

He was right. He was actually a history PhD student and had nothing to do with your wizarding studies. And still he always seemed to be better informed about these gossipy bits of information.

You gulped when you were reminded of what kind of revealing dress you were wearing tonight – black, short, low cut waterfall neckline. The thought that Professor Dekarios might have seen you in it and how you had danced in it – it scared you and excited you at the same time.

The fact that you were already solidly drunk definitely meant that it was leaning more towards the latter.

And then, sure as all Hells, you saw him: Professor Gale Dekarios walking into this part of club.

He looked a little out of place with his slacks and shirt-sweater combination – totally dressed for teaching, grading and researching and not for going down at the club.

Dekarios walked over to some people standing in a loose circle – people you realised now were other faculty members. You watched him intently – noticing the little details while you were drowned by increasingly unhinged thoughts. You saw that his shirt wasn’t neatly tugged in anymore, one hand was casually in his pocket while the other held a glass of red wine nonchalantly by the rim – letting it hang by his side. Sometime during conversation, he absent-mindedly dragged his hand through his hair. He always did that when he was deep in thought or having one of his passionate scholarly monologues during a lecture.

For all the scholarly nerdiness (and sometimes cute awkwardness) this man possessed – he was effortlessly sexy when he felt relaxed it seemed. And man, were you down bad for him.

You were still staring at Dekarios’ butt – that actually looked formidable in his slacks - when Astarion returned and slid another drink over to you. He saw how absent-mindedly you were staring off into the distance and tried to figure out what you were looking at.

When he did, a feral grin split his face: “Honestly, I’d fuck him if given the chance.”

“Astarion!” You whacked his arm as you were ripped out of your stupor.

“Don’t act like that, sweetheart, I know you would get on your knees so quickly for that man. I’ve had to listen to your horny yearnings for two years, remember?”

You blushed because he was right – as he sadly mostly was. The shit-eating grin stayed firmly on Astarion’s stupid face as he looked at you

“Yeah, as if anything would ever happen”, you simply retorted then, not wanting to indulge your friend’s insolent behaviour any further.

“And yet you keep wearing sluttly little outfits to all his classes”, Astarion drawled and his eyebrow twitched while he called you out. “I do believe even wizards have eyes to see what is right in front of them – even though it’s mostly just books.”

“That coming from a godsdamned history student is really low”, you replied and left it at that.

You were not having this conversation right now. So you settled for whacking Astarion’s arm again - which made him hiss at you that he hadn’t even said anything anymore -  and then grabbing the drink he’d brought you, downing it in one go.

“Maybe instead of calling me out you could double down on your other best friend duties and go dance with me again?”, you suggested after suppressing a shudder from the downed alcohol.

Astarion just replied with grinning at you and stretched out his arm in an elegant gesture towards the dancefloor, motioning you to get going then.

You went and danced, having even some more drinks while doing that. That man built like a massive tree eventually joined the two of you as he had been dancing with Astarion before. He introduced himself as Halsin and told you that he was a visiting researcher – only staying for a little while at your institution.

You exchanged some small talk per screaming while on the dancefloor. But shortly after it was back to your best friend Astarion and him dancing and eventually even making out with each other.

You didn’t mind at all – in fact you were happy Astarion seemed to enjoy himself. And you happily let them have their space and just let yourself be taken by the music.

You swayed and rocked to the beats, lifted your arms and rolled your hips – enjoying how good the movements made you feel.

A soft buzz coming from your hip and the tiny bag swinging there made you look at your phone after a while. It was Astarion.

“Gonna leave with our new friend if that’s ok with u? Wanna make sure he remembers his time here well!”

Gods, even after a night out with lots of drinking Astarion was still wasting time on being eloquent.

“Go get it bestie”, you simply replied and grinned at yourself. You were already excited to hear about it afterwards when you next up with Astarion for a coffee or something.

You received one more text from Astarion asking you to text him when you got home safely. You agreed with a quick text and then went back to dancing.

All the booze you’ve had was giving you the confidence to keep going on the dancefloor even though the club was finally emptying bit by bit. The songs played were less popular now but therefore more enthralling and so you let yourself get dragged along by the music.

Until you opened your eyes and saw that you were being watched. And not by just anyone.

A bit off the dance floor Professor Dekarios was sitting on his own now in one of the leather seats there, his legs spread. He was holding another glass of red wine, carefully placed on one of the armrests. His other hand was at his chin – motionless though. You could see his single earring glint in the flickering club lights. His one side of hair was fanned out around his head.

He sat there like a statue – just very intently staring at you, giving you an immediate feeling of being stripped bare before him. He wasn’t even reacting to you catching him staring.

At least that was what you thought. But then you noticed the prominent bulge between his legs, straining against the fabric of his slacks.

Your lips parted in silent surprise and you immediately felt how your nipples hardened and rubbed against your dress in arousal. You gulped and wet your lips while your whole mouth suddenly felt overwhelmingly dry.

When you looked up again you saw just the slightest sparkle in the eyes of your observer.

And that – probably in combination with all the liquid courage you had consumed tonight - was enough to get you going again.

Knowing the audience, you then began to dance again – putting in even more effort than before: fluid motions, making your hips roll more prominently, dragging up the skirt of your dress just a little too much as you turned around to give him a view of your back.

You let your hands wander up your front when you turned around again, deliberately letting them linger on your breasts and squeezing them as you dragged your hands up and feeling them softly jiggle when you let them go again.

When you looked at your watcher you saw how he had leaned forward slightly in his seat now. Bulge now even more prominently outlined against his pants if that was even possible. His thumb wandering over the bottom lip of his open mouth as he watched you – just like he did when you asked an incredibly smart question in one of his courses.

You were feeling feverish and heedlessly aroused, probably dripping wet too. The thought of just sauntering over and sitting on his lap and pushing your boobs in his face crossed your mind as you turned around again to give him more opportunity to stare at your ass.

And when you turned around again…

The spell was broken. Someone had come over to Dekarios and engaged him in conversation. You saw how he had awkwardly placed his one arm over where his testament of arousal was probably still clearly obvious. He didn’t acknowledge you with a single glance anymore.

And you felt like someone had poured ice cold water over you. The heat of desire and lust quickly replaced with the heat of burning shame. You felt cheap suddenly and very self-conscious. At least the club was so empty now that mostly anyone else wouldn’t have noticed – or they’d been way too out of it to care.

You stormed off the dancefloor and out of the club, already regretting how you had it let come to this. Hoping you wouldn’t have just ruined everything you’ve worked so hard for.

Six months later…

Stuff had mostly went backwards and downhill from that party night on. Although Astarion had congratulated you and while he had wheezed and applauded you when you had told him about what had happened after he'd left. But you had barely been able to eat up your shame to resume attending Professor Dekarios’ lectures. Your keen sense of duty being the only thing that forced you back there after you had allowed yourself to miss a few classes because you wouldn’t have been able to handle it at all.

And when you had finally managed you had been smitten with completely being ignored by the man itself. He rarely acknowledged you anymore in his lectures, brushed over your questions and avoided you at every cost. That meant barely any eye contact, not even when he had to speak to you in public, no communication on your research project whatsoever and he mysteriously managed to never meet you walking around campus.

You had felt guilty and afraid at first – fearing that at some point you would just receive a formal letter that told you that you and your appointed studies were dropped without further notice.

But when that didn’t happen, you couldn't also help to feel at least a smidge of anger whenever you thought about it: obviously you had been trying to commit yourself to forget what had happened and start working on your research project. Why did he have to insist on making it awkward?

You wouldn't bring up the topic, certainly. You were prepared to just act like nothing ever happened at all – even if you would remember it every single time you looked at the man. Forever reminded of the shame of that moment; but also: the desire he had looked at you with and the lust you had felt for him.

But you'd be lying to yourself if you didn’t admit that you were mostly just majorly worried. Not only because of how he was behaving towards you in public but also because of how it impacted your project. Not once had you spoken about your planned research.

So you had started on it alone. Spent countless hours researching literature, trying to find the right focus for your project, marking off topics and theories. You had worked on your exposé for the last couple of months now – once you had gotten over the fear of just being dropped like a hot potato. And you had sent it in weeks ago and not received a single shred of feedback. Which meant that, despite being pretty sure that you did good work and put in the necessary thought, finesse and care to let it live up to Professor Dekarios’ standards, you were worried sick that you wouldn’t be able to go anywhere with it.

You really feared that what you had thought first after the party had become true: you fucked up your once in a lifetime chance at breakthrough research about the Weave. And on top of that you had ruined your relationship with someone you deeply admired.

But recently shame and guilt had mostly subsided to allow feelings of rising anger. You came back to the thought of how ridiculously he behaved: if you were an adult about it all you would have hoped he would be too. If he would even talk to you at all – you’d take being screamed over this horrible silent treatment any day.

And after sulking in your own misery for way too long, you found it was time to confront him finally. You probably wouldn't exactly be the bigger person about it - but at least you wouldn't be the one running away.

When the next date for his office hours came around, you threw on some of the nicest clothes you had. A low cut blouse and faux-leather pencil skirt you knew your ass looked amazing in - at least Astarion always whistled and affectionately slapped your butt anytime he saw you wearing it.

You knew you were absolutely pushing it but that was exactly what you wanted: forcing this godsdamned prodigy wizard to man up and either tell you off for good or just... settle the unfinished business. Either way would be fine for you by now, you just wanted to be out of this limbo state.

You made your way over campus to his office, in your head already riling yourself up to be appropriately angry when you confronted him. Stomping over the university grounds while you imagined countless scenarios and outcomes and already felt good about your decision to finally take action.

But your righteous fury hit some bumps quickly.

The first thing that took you aback was the small sticky note at his office door telling anyone to just come in and that he'd be back very soon.

This was almost enough already to take the wind out of your sails completely. You had hoped to throw open his door dramatically and scream at him to either give you proper feedback on your exposé or just stick it up his godsdamned wizard arse.

You swallowed and tried to retain your anger as you opened the door.

You had only been to his office a few times before you had taken up the PhD project.

It was beautiful, a dream for anyone who was in love with magic and books and studying: the walls were lined with dark bookshelves and loads of magical trinkets, just anything imaginable. Even though dark wood dominated the room it wasn’t gloomy but rather cozy and welcoming.

The eye was quickly drawn to the huge wooden desk centred at the back with a huge window behind it. Stacked on it were books and papers. Dekarios believed in being old school when it came to his studies and work, you knew as much.

You were in awe - and absolutely jealous.

"Hello visitor, Mr Dekarios has just gone out to get coffee", you heard a voice from somewhere behind the desk.

You were only shortly confused because the voice quickly turned out to be Tara, Professor Dekarios' tressym that lived with him, when the gentle beast jumped up on the desk. Only once before had you had the pleasure of speaking with her - she was truly a gentle and very sweet soul.

"He will be back sho-. Oh, it's you!", she said and interrupted herself. Her long fluffy tail started swish-swishing behind her while she sat down on the very middle of the desk. Her yellow cat eyes observed you cautiously – but not unfriendly.

Your brows furrowed. You couldn't believe though that the small creature would actually remember you from just speaking with you once.

But it seemed the tressym had read your mind on that because she angled her head as you came closer and then said: "Mr Dekarios speaks a lot about you, you know."

You would have given a good amount of gold to be able to read the expression on the cat's face better.

"He does?", you answered dumbfoundedly. "Because he hasn't really talked to me in actual months." The fluffy tail flicked forcefully around once when you said that but then Tara just kept looking at you.

"Of course, he does! He basically never shuts up about you. And I'm pretty sure he almost never stops thinking about you either, it's uh-"

The tressym's tail flicked around even more and she worked her front paws around, almost as if she was shuffling around awkwardly.

"A bit unnerving sometimes", Tara finished and cocked her head again, looking up at you curiously.

You felt yourself blush and desperately tried not to think too much about what the creature could have meant.

"Although, I have to say, I fear you kind of messed with his mind that night some months ago even though he wouldn't tell me exactly what had made him so... upset. And then of course he had his own bad experiences in the past when he was in your position. But Mr Dekarios tends to forget that he's quite a different person than his former... acquaintance."

You could barely believe your ears. Also you were probably absolutely tomato red from your neck up. You did not exactly know what had happened to the anger you had come here with, but it surely wasn't present anymore - at least for the time being.

The fact that you seemingly were a predominant thing on the mind of your professor was disarming to say the least. And also you had the feeling that the tressym had just let you in on some quite personal stuff about Professor Dekarios although you could not make sense of any of it.

When he had been in your position? Former acquaintance? What was that supposed to mean?

The subject matter chose this exact moment to enter the scene.

"Tara has anyone...", Professor Gale Dekarios said while he flung open his office door with a coffee in his other hand.

His mouth immediately snapped shut again when he spotted you as you had turned around at the sound of the opening door.

You stared at each other for a very long moment.

"I'll leave you two alone, excuse me", Tara said cheerfully, jumped off the desk and sauntered out of the room through the door that was still being held open by the wizard. You weren’t entirely sure but you thought you heard Tara hiss “be nice to her, I like her” in passing to her wizard before she slipped out the door.

Tara's departure helped you both out of your stupor. Dekarios closed the door behind himself and awkwardly kept standing around at the entrance of his office. Meanwhile you crossed your arms over your chest and felt at least some of the anger return at the sight of him.

"Tav", he said. His tone was defeated and you could see his shoulders visibly slump. It easily ignited the rest of your fury in you again.

"Professor Dekarios", you almost spat.

"Please. Just call me Gale."

And snap - the anger was gone again. It was ridiculous how easily this man could change your mood just like that.

Gale started to walk over to you as you noticed that he was wearing almost the same thing he had that night at the club. You couldn’t help but blush.

The wizard's brown eyes were filled with a wild mix of emotions you couldn’t quite interpret as he came closer. He ran his free hand through his hair in a nervous gesture, making his single earring swing around as he brushed against it accidentally.

You swallowed and lifted up your chin - not wanting to give in to him and his beaten puppy behaviour.

"I guess it was about time we talked, wasn't it?", Gale said when he was standing almost right in front of you.

He leaned around you to put down his coffee in a to-go cup on his desk.

You couldn't help but to catch his scent: soft cologne, the smell of books, the fresh coffee he had been carrying. Involuntarily your lips parted.

But you quickly bit down on them, you wouldn't lose composure now.

"You think?", you spat when some anger flared up again. You immediately regretted it. The last time you had your whimsical emotions take over had been the instance to get you in all the mess.

The anger was mirrored in Gale's eyes for a short few moments. Then he calmed down again quickly and just sighed defeatedly.

"You're angry with me", he simply said. His voice was deep and warm. He was now standing directly in front of you. His gaze directly on you. And you saw how his eyes flicked down and up again. Several times.

You felt that you lost the grip on your anger with the way he looked at you so sadly. So you decided to make a last ditch effort before you would probably just break down crying or running from his office – and all of this would have been for naught.

"Yes, I am angry with you", you almost yelled at him. And you forced yourself to be done with being taken aback by small details now.

Before you could think better of it you launched into the rant you had long prepared: "You took me in as you're PhD student, so you promised to help and supervise me with my research. I worked my ass off in the last months. I sent you my exposé which is - as you might know as a scholar yourself - quite critical to get started, or find scholarships for that matter. I did a lot of research already. I had countless sleepless nights. My caffeine intake has become more than unhealthy. And never ONCE did I receive an ounce of your help." You really made yourself more enraged now as you kept talking. Finally letting it all out felt incredibly freeing.

Gale's eyes mirrored what you were feeling. You were certain, he was probably just as upset as you, but you couldn't care less in this moment.

"And if all of this is caused by that one night at the club, the fucking faculty party, might I tell you: seriously, fuck you! I've seen exactly how you looked at me! I didn’t just make an arse of myself, you did too! And if you can’t handle that fact, either tell me to just go fuck off and I'll be gone or man up and stop avoiding me or..."

You let the last part hang up in the air.

Gale's eyes were ablaze by now. He stepped in closer to you. You had never seen him be this intense. Not even when he was talking about his most passionate areas of his work.

"Do you really think I act like this because it is fun for me?", he snapped at you, his tone had taken on an authoritative tone. A tone that usually only came out when he was putting someone in his place – the scholarly way.

He kept walking towards you, making you take steps back. "You might think it was easy for me the last couple of months. But I had to look at you, every godsdamned lecture when you wear stuff like this." He gesticulated at your outfit, licking his lips and letting his eyes drop to your dangerously deep neckline. "Making me remember how you danced for me that night. Making me think of what might have happened." You stumbled against the edge of his desk, unable to keep your distance from him now.

And he was still coming closer, until you almost lost your balance trying to keep some space between the two of you, almost falling onto the piece of furniture behind you. You could already feel the heat his body was giving off.

He still didn’t stop, until there was in fact not a mere inch between you and his body pressed against yours even though you tried to lean back on the table.

"I am only trying to protect you", Gale continued his tone now pleading, his eyes soft and full of worry – but not hiding what lay beneath that. He was so close you could see every little detail of him: the lines of the mysterious tattoo swirling over his neck and cheek, the scruff of his beard, his soft eyes and the strands of grey in his hair, the subtle wrinkles around his eyes or the worry lines on his forehead.

But this made you angry again. Who was he to tell you what you needed protection from? But then you shortly remembered Tara's words – a flash through your mind.

But you were set on your course now. The way your body reacted to the closeness of this man you’ve had so many fantasies about being the proof you hadn’t really needed anyway.

And before you could try and think better of it you exclaimed: “Or – instead of patronising me – you could do us both a favour and just fuck me, so we can both get the hells over with it!”

You were shocked by your own courage and rashness, but it was quite apparent that this man made you do things: once that night in the club, now – not to mention that he was a major part of why you chose to pursue a PhD in the first place.

Gale’s mouth dropped open in astonishment and surprise for a moment, a sound somewhere between gasp and moan left his lips.

Then he regained his senses, desire flashing in his eyes, and he flipped you over, bending you over the desk.

It was your turn to gasp and moan in surprise. You barely caught yourself with your arms, accidentally pushing off some papers and books in the process. Also knocking over the cup of coffee that just fell on the floor and spilled on the floor.

Gale immediately secured your position against his desk with his own body, pressing his hips against your backside you hoped looked just as delicious as you had planned now.

Your thoughts on that immediately disappeared though when you felt Gale’s erection press against your ass. He was already rock-hard, making you gasp more.

“Are you really sure this is what you want?”, he asked with a husky voice. You merely managed to nod and let out a breathy moan, enjoying how quickly had turned around again – this time in your absolute favour.

“Gods know I really want to see what that brain of yours can do but I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t admit that I have to say the same thing about your delectable butt you keep presenting to me”, Gale admitted in a haughty voice as he pressed himself harder against you, making the edge of the desk deliciously bite into your thighs.

You swallowed when what was happening started to settle in rationally – not just carnally. At the same time you could feel how helplessly needy you already felt, how lust pooled between your legs and flooded back again through your whole body. You had thought about this for so long but now being at his mercy felt better than anything your mind could have come up with.

Gale’s hands wandered over your ass in your skirt but the caress was still hesitant, although you could feel that the wizard was already breathing raggedly – the rise and fall of his body pressing you harder against the wood.

“Are you really sure you want to do this? Say it. Please!”, Gale whispered hoarsely, asking you again, although you could already feel how he had started to move one of his legs in between your thighs now and how his hands had wandered below the hem of your skirt and readied themselves to hike it up.

You pushed yourself up from the desk, turning around to him give him the most incredulous of looks: “I had six months to decide if I was sure about this, Gale Dekarios of Waterdeep. I was probably already sure of it when I saw you sitting in this nightclub flaunting a major erection and I made my boobs jiggle for you! I came here dressed like THIS.” You almost yelled at him. How did this idiot have you bent over his godsdamned desk and still hadn’t gotten the fucking memo?

“Well, no need to yell at me – I can hear you quite perfectly from here, thank you”, Gale replied and threw on his snappy professor voice that usually only those students got that annoyed him. He slapped your butt too and made you shut up really quickly before you could make a sassy remark.

Then he turned around slightly and you saw how he effortlessly used mage hand to turn the lock on the door. And with a quick incantation it began to glow also. You knew that spell and knew also that it wasn’t an easy feat to accomplish. Your mouth fell open.

When Gale turned back around again he took a deep breath and ran one of his hands through his hair, closing his eyes for a short moment and making the strands of brown with some grey fan around his face – all while still having you immobile between his body and his desk. Your mouth felt dry watching him do that – just casually locking you in his office with him; with one of the most powerful lock spells known to the wizarding world. And he didn’t even blink.

“There”, Gale simply said and rolled the tongue around in his mouth, letting it click once. “Point of no return now because the door is locked and sealed, is that what you wanted?”

You didn’t reply just stared at him hungrily, the lust inside basically becoming feral. You were still only turned half around, pushing up on the surface of the desk. You used the little space for movement you had and rubbed your ass against Gale’s crotch hoping that that would convey your answer to his question.

The wizard groaned and you watched his eyes roll back when he felt the friction against his erection.

“Do you even have an idea how many times I dreamt of this? Of this exact scenario?”, Gale pressed out as you felt the tingle of magic suddenly at your back and you noticed what must be another mage hand wander up your spine, softly caressing you, stroking up to the nape of your neck and curling itself in your hair.

Meanwhile Gale’s real hands were both free to hike up your skirt slowly, the feeling of his fingertips on your naked thighs making you shiver in anticipation.

“Do you know how many times I did?”, you gave back teasingly.

The mage hand in your hair yanked on it and the wizard’s hand came down on your butt again – a lot harder this time. You moaned helplessly as you felt jolts from the pleasureful pain run through your body and incinerating the fire inside you even more.

“This is not a competition!” There was the professor voice again. You tried to rub your butt against him again and earned another firm slap on your behind. Oh, you could keep going just like this for literal hours.

You heard Gale softly chuckle and then moan at your increasingly unhinged state. It seemed he was finally getting into this instead of worrying about you. And this is exactly what you wanted.

And then, to your surprise, you felt another instance of mage hand starting to wander over your body – dragging up one of your arms with which you had been supporting yourself so far and pressing it onto your back.

“In fact, do you know how many times you made me lock myself in my office after lectures because you always sit there, first row, wearing something that makes me stare at your breasts and then ask the most brilliant questions?”, Gale drawled, his voice dangerously low now. The one hand in your hair tugged on it again, making you lift up your head and look at the professor.

“I don’t know, did I?”, you answered and bit your lips and tried to turn around a little so you could force the aforementioned breasts into his field of view.

Your insolent behaviour earned you another slap and low growl from the wizard before he thrust his hips against you and made you fall prone on the desk surface now.

A third mage hand then started to work on your body, pushing you down until your chest was firmly held down on the desk. Then it grabbed your other arm until both of them were firmly held behind your back, meaning you were now absolutely immobilized and at the wizard’s mercy.

Your boobs were squished against the wooden surface, hurting in a way that was just the right amount to pleasure you. You whimpered in pleasure and closed your eyes trying to maximise your awareness of your body pressed against his.

You knew that you were dripping wet now. And you were desperate to let Gale find that one out.

“I believe, you need to be put into your place for all that, don’t you agree?”, Gale groaned as his hands finally dragged up your skirt over your buttcheeks and revealed your already completely soaked underwear.

“Uh, I mean unless… you’d rather…”, the wizard stuttered as he looked at your naked butt and how wet and ready you were for him, how his magic held you down – the mage hand at the back of your neck making you whimper now with how pleasantly hurtful it tugged on your hair. The sight of you below him had the usually eloquent professor quite at a loss for words.

You knew he was only trying to make sure you were fine but right then there you felt so desperate to just finally let your fantasies come true that you were almost ready to yell at him again to just get on with it.

“Please”, you simply whispered. And that was enough to break the wizard out of his paralysis. In a sudden change of position he knelt behind you, his hands spreading your butt for him as he pressed his open lips and tongue to your wet but still clothed core and began to suck.

You gasped in surprise and your head jolted upwards, straining against your magic shackles. But Gale’s mage hands were holding you firmly in place, resulting in you just squishing your breasts against the table harder and feeling how they and their hardened peaks were smushed against the hard surface, making you moan harder.

Gale kept giving your wet core and clit attention, finally pushing the soaked lacey piece of fabric that was in his way to the side and letting his tongue work on you – sinking it into you, then letting it circle around the sensitive bud down there.

The man was definitely as good with his tongue as you had hoped for – better even. Turns out the tongue wasn’t only good for spells, incantations or scolding naughty students (although that was probably his specialty).

He kept going, turning your whole being into a whimpering, shivering mess with how the tip of his tongue flicked over your clit and his hands squeezed your ass forcefully.

Desperate for his caress, you arched your back as hard as you could, desperate to get even more friction out of this. When you pushed your hips back even further when you were already close to an orgasm, Gale withdrew from you, leaving you to feel suddenly empty and cold.

You whimpered at the loss but didn’t trust your mind enough to form coherent sentences to make a sassy remark at him. You tried to turn around more to look at Gale and suddenly felt that the mage hands holding your arms behind your back had disappeared. In the same moment you heard how the wizard was undoing his slacks. Your eyes widened.

Now being allowed to do so you turned to watch as Gale let his erection spring free out of his pants. Your lips parted at the sight while Gale watched your reaction intently with a subtle hint of a smile on his face. You might be dripping wet for the wizard, but the wizard was hard as granite for you.

He stroked himself a few times and moaned while you kept staring at his hardness and felt the urge to feel him, all of him, become almost unbearable. Gale watched you, observed the carnal need in your eyes.

“You want me to-“ “Just fuck me already, Gale Dekarios of Waterdeep!“

This time the man needn’t to be told twice. He closed the distance between you. All his magic little helpers had disappeared. Now it was only him when he pressed his body against you again. His hard length fitting and pressing nicely between your buttcheeks.

He moved it down to let it slip along your wet core. The sensation of feeling his cock rub against you already almost making you insane. His hands grabbed hold of your hips as you pushed yourself up against the desk as you braced yourself for what was about to come.

Gale kept toying with you a little more before he entered you with a single movement – thrusting hard. You moaned loudly and let your head fall down. The first movement had already made the table shudder. You desperately tried to get accustomed to the feeling of finally being filled to the brim by this wizard.

“Gods, I want to fuck you until everything on this desk is knocked over”, Gale groaned and you could actually feel him twitch inside you as he promised you that.

“Better get to work then, Professor Dekarios”, you gave back with a breathy moan and squeezed your muscles around him. That earned you a deep growl and another hard thrust – oh.

“You enjoy it, when I call you that?”, you teased and squeezed around Gale’s cock again. Another growl, but not as feral as the one before.

“Fuck me then, Professor Dekarios, right on your desk”, you tried and almost regretted it when the wizard started to actually savagely pound into you – there were no pauses in between it anymore. He thrust into you slowly but forcefully, setting a steady rhythm. Every thrust taking you by surprise, unable to getting used to this sensation of being fucked by your professor.

You felt him hit pleasantly deep inside of you and thoughts in your head weren’t coherent anymore as you simply felt yourself give in completely to your lust and this man.

You felt the tingle of magic again right then and there, between your legs, starting to rub on your clit while the wizard kept thrusting into you - hard. So hard that he was about to keep his promise – books and papers fell over and then off with each of his movements that brought your bodies together. Until… out of the corner of your eye you saw a few papers making their way off the table. They looked awfully familiar.

“Wait, is that my exposé? And annotated? So, you did read it!”, you exclaimed with sudden reestablished coherent thinking. No matter the state of heedless need and pleasure you were in – you couldn’t let this go uncommented.

“Of course - I did - it was brilliant!”, Gale answered breathlessly in between his movements, not letting up on his thrusts. You squealed happily.

But then the mage hand between your legs, pleasuring your clit, suddenly pinched it, making you squeal again – but this time in pleasure and pain.

“We can talk about this later!”, Gale said with his scholarly voice again. And you were drawn back into how he was fucking you on his desk. Although you highly doubted you would be talking about anything soon.

He kept going while the mage hand at your sensitive core was almost driving you mad. The mixture of its teasing and the friction created by Gale thrusting into you had you almost at the edge.

But Gale groaned in frustration and dragged you up from the table. “This won’t do”, he commented, then turned you around and pushed you down again. “I need to see your face when I make you come for me”, he explained his reasoning.

So now you were laying on the wooden desk, your naked butt rubbing over the polished wood, supporting yourself on your elbows as Gale moved in and dragged your legs around his hips to enter you again. But before he did, he bowed down to tear open your already very revealing blouse. You gasped, as buttons jumped off it as you felt the burn of his violent tearing. Who would’ve thought the scholar was so ready to take what he wanted?

Thankfully you had been wearing nothing else underneath, so the wizard was immediately greeted with your naked breasts springing free from your top.

He stared at them dumbfoundedly while their peaks hardened in the sudden rush of cold air. You licked your lips and arched your back again to make them look as perky as possible.

When Gale kept staring in awe, you angled your head, cocked an eyebrow and let one hand wander across them – from one hardened bud to the other - and with that motion softly squeezing and dragging them.

“I kept thinking about these since you put them so exquisitely on display that night at the party”, Gale whispered. “So good to see them finally in the flesh”, he continued and licked his lips. His eyes flicked to yours – was he seeking approval for his stupid joke? This man could really swing between effortlessly and mind-blowingly sexy to absolute dork within in a single moment.

You wrapped your legs around his hips to get his dick back pressing against you. “Will you finally finish what you started? This is taking longer than waiting for you to get done grading a paper”, you scoffed and quickly moved up to give his hardness a single firm stroke.

That made the wizard’s head lull back and groan once more. Then he was immediately onto you again, entering you and bottoming out in a single movement. His hands moved to your hips again to give himself more resistance for his thrusts as he started moving again. And this time with an absolute urgency.

He stared at you, eyes flicking from yours to your jigging boobs then to where he could see himself sliding in and out of you. One of his hands wandered down between where your bodies were joined and this time his real fingers were working your clit.

And between his skilled fingers, his powerful thrusts and the way he stared at you as if he actually wanted to devour you, you felt the cliff coming. And you knew that for him it was coming into view as well as his movements became more and more ragged.

“Please”, you begged him simply – not being able to utter anything else.

Some more powerful thrusts and flicks of his thumb while you clenched around him pushed you off then, making you fall, see stars. It was as if you had entered the weave itself.

You moaned his name desperately as he made you come violently. You clawed and grabbed for his arms, desperate to hold onto him while you lost yourself.

You squeezed your legs around him as you arched your back impossibly far with the pleasure spikes ebbing and flowing through your body and your whole soul.

And Gale followed you within only a few more movements, groaning and tensing as you felt him twitch inside you and his hands clawed into the flesh of your hips. He moaned your name as well, as if it were a plea, while he came inside of you.

“Ah Gods above”, he moaned before he collapsed onto you after that.

The two of you were a tangled, sweaty mess. Breathing heavily, none of you trusted their skills to form complete sentences yet again after this.

With a groan you wrapped your arms around Gale’s upper body, touching his hair, moving a strand of it behind his ear before you leaned back. All tension had left your body for the time being and you desperately felt like you needed to lie down now somehow, actually lie down.

Out of all the scenarios you had come up with as possible outcomes to this, this was definitely the most satisfying one. And the fact that Gale had casually admitted that he thought your exposé brilliant was adding to the happy, fuzzy feeling you felt spreading through you now.

Gale’s eyes meanwhile had widened at your soft gesture and caress and he kept staring at you in wonder and admiration. Then he suddenly moved up and kissed you: with open lips, but gentle, almost too tender after what the two of you had just done. The scruff of his beard tickled a bit on your face and made you scrunch your nose a little.

When he withdrew slowly your expression mirrored his from just before.

“What was that for?”, you asked softly.

“I just realised I hadn’t kissed you through all of this and this was a fact I couldn’t quite live with”, the wizard answered. Ah well, he seemingly was already back to his blabbering eloquent self. This stupid idiot – you were down bad for him even worse now.

You suddenly felt a giggle rise up in you and your cheeks warm. So you grabbed the wizard’s face and kissed him again. Longer now, a bit more passionately – and in a way that already made you yearn to have him again.

“So, do you want to talk about your exposé now, or…?”

“Gale, can we discuss this later?”

The wizard gave you a huge smile when he heard you call him by only his first name again.

“Alright, let’s schedule another meeting for that then.”

[magical-wishies]

Hello again and happy new year!! ❤️ We're entering 2025!

It's probably not midnight yet for a lot of you folks, but it is January 1st for me in my timezone!

Thank you for all your support throughout 2024. I know I haven't been as active as before, but I appreciate those of you have stuck around regardless! I wish you all a wonderful new year, and let's continue enjoying the moment together!

🎉

And of course, a yearly artist summary is needed..

Overall, I'm quite satisfied for this year's art! With the experience I got from 2023, I could finally match my skill level with the ideas I came up with and push my limits.

Now that I've kinda gotten the basics down, in 2025 I want to start making a presence for myself! What does that mean? Well, I'd like to:

1. Post more variety (Sketches, snippets of writing)

2. Improve more (Use references, do stuff :P)

3. Have fun!!! (Do whatever I like :D)

These are my goals for 2025. I hope I can work on them steadily!! See you next year 🌟

Extra (I just want to shout out my favourite projects from this year!)

"Wonderland in the sky" (January for the art summary) is currently sitting at a whopping 700-or-so notes! I was really proud of it since it's my first animated art. Thank you for the love!

Also, I loved participating in Marxolor Week 2024! I never thought that a ship week for my favourite characters could actually come into fruition, but I'm so glad it did! Co-managing it was a blast, and I loved seeing everyone's beautiful art. Special thanks to Dess for organising the whole thing and making "Marxolor Day" real!

(Though, I did push myself a little too hard to finish the art... avoiding that next time ^^')

Last but certainly not least, a very, very special thank you to everyone who supported Darling Dance! It was a very tough and time-consuming project, but I'm so happy with the final result (^^)

My personal goal for it was 1000 views, and it's currently sitting at 1272! If there's one thing I really hope I can do in 2025, it's making another MV.

That's a wrap for now! Thank you for reading all that text, I just had so many things I want to say!! And thank you for enduring through all the thank yous! There's very few words that can describe my gratitude towards everyone that's ever looked at or complimented my work.

It's 4AM, so I'm gonna dip out now... Sweet dreams and once again, Happy New Year 🎉🌟💕

[sunflowerandstrawberryspice]

CARMEN SANDIEGO? In 2024? It's more likely thank you think! Please excuse the shit quality for some reason I wasn't allowed to upload the normal pdf and I had to upload a fucking screenshot???

So my friend convinced me to watch Carmen Sandiego and since he's watching ALL of Ninjago for me I thought it was the least I could do to watch four season of a show with a pretty decent concept but uh... yeesh, don't get me wrong the show is really fun but lord have mercy does it have problems especially the last two seasons which were just so wildly disappointing to me. It went from a show with an interesting look on morals to pure pro-cop and mostly black and white thinking so quick (that not mentioning the breaking up a found family full of people with abandonment issues) it was honestly just so disappointing so me and the friend who introduced it to me decided to rewrite it! (I will not be animating nor do I plan on doing more than MAYBE a comic or art piece here and there because my chronic pain ridden ass can not handle that much lol)

The main goals are to:

1) Flesh out characters that aren't Carmen and actually give them reactions based on their lived experiences and how they might realistically react instead of what the show needed to move the plot along

2) Having characters other than Carmen be actually relevant to the plot the main one being Chase Devineaux who we're gonna kind of have as a parallel to Carmen (trust me yall) as kind of a "What if Carmen didn't have her friends/family to ground her and fall back on" but for all the Chase fans out there (gods I hope there's some other than me) he will be getting a happy ending but bro is getting put through the RINGER first

3) Have both A.C.M.E (now standing for Administration for Containing and Monitoring Evil) and V.I.L.E be the bad guys. Also just as an extra bit of fun we're making VILE a full blown cult, they were very cult like in the show so we're just gonna make it one. Both are going to be very morally questionable and while it'll take a bit longer for ACME to show it's true colors don't you worry they definitely will ;)

4) We're doing canonical lgbtq+ rep, I know the show teased a lot of relationships and really only gave yall background gays not to say thats bad but we can do better than just a brief shot of a damn taco truck. I mean like come on in a story about a young woman going against the government for the greater good why not put some rep into it ya know!

5) We're making it light sci-fi, not like SUPER high tech but definitely beyond what we've got currently, as shown with Carmen's prosthetic, and don't worry I'm doing my research as a disabled person I know how it feels to be misrepresented or ignored so I want to make sure I'm being realistic

6) PLAYER ISN'T GOING TO BE A CHILD! I don't know if this bothered anybody else but to me it was really weird that this 16 year old's only friends were in their 20s!

Alright I think that's what I'm gonna say for now, I'd love it if yall tuned in for updates if your curious since this is a passion project for me and my friend and we're having a blast writing it!

As always I am still working on stuff for Ninjago cause I could never abandon my one true love, currently there's a Pixal drawing in progress (it's giving me hell T-T) something for Cole and Geo, and something of Sora MAYBE even Euphrasia if I'm feeling up to it.

Having said that I hope yall have a great day/night and PEACE OUT!

[worldchampgameco]

I've been trucking away all winter on my next big project, BLOOD BORG, and I'm one month away from hitting go on Kickstarter IT'S LIVE ON KICKSTARTER NOW so I wanted to share it here.

Blood Borg is a vampyric gutter punk ttrpg built on the sturdy back of swedish doom metal rpg MORK BORG, inspired by early 00's vampire media like True Blood and Buffy mixed with punk nihilism like SLC Punk and Uncle Peckerhead.

This game reflects a lot of similar themes of one of my favorite other releases, Cybermetal 2012, in that it focuses on the lives of everyday people who are objectively not heroes who struggle to survive in an antagonistic world. Cybermetal was intended as a reflection on my 30's and current way of life: finding community and trying to do good by one another. While writing, I sort of discovered Blood Borg is a reflection of my 20's: the idea that we are young forever and never going to die, running through alleys at 3 am to nowhere, pulling day-old bagels from the dumpster like we discovered gold, and yet feeling the discordance of chronic mental illness compounded by the regular pains of growing up and the futility of fighting back against the inaccessible systems that run the world.

A longer more involved artist statement is one of the hidden stretch goals for this project, I'm excited to write at length about what these things mean to me and how they are cooked into the systems of the game.

I'm really proud of Blood Borg and it does what a lot of my games aim to do: engage philosophically with what it is to be a person in a society, the importance of support communites, the otherness of being for better or worse, all while simultaneously being a gonzo blast of a game that is fun as hell to play.

APRIL 9, Blood Borg launches on Kickstarter. I'll have the beautiful hardcover book, a screen-printed variant cover, a bunch of fun merch, and more available. Visit bloodborg.com to pre-save and get notified on launch.

Blood Borg is designed/written by myself, Adam Vass, and illustrated by Mitchell Van Dyke in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

[amethystarachnid]

Part 2 for A challenge of you (tony stark) . I'm too lazy to rewrite it all, sorry 😅💐

THE CHALLENGE OF YOU - part II

⤷ ANTHONY “TONY” E. STARK

ᯓ★ Pairing: Anthony “Tony” E. Stark x fem!reader

ᯓ★ Genre: romance, fluff

ᯓ★ Request from: MARVEL bingo

ᯓ★ Requests status: open

ᯓ★ Part I

ᯓ★ Summary: You and Tony are now seeing each other, going on dates and everything seems perfect...That is until one date in particular seems to go entirely wrong, is it really all a terrible coincidence ?

ᯓ★ AU: Tony is younger here, like mid to late 20s and is attending an abroad college

ᯓ★ Word count: 7.2k

ᯓ★ TW(s): none I think

ᯓ★ Comment if you want to be added to the taglist (specify if you want the everything taglist or for a specific character)

ᯓ★ My Masterlist

ᯓ★ Songs & Superheroes tales - The Game (to make a request, follow the rules on the link!)

ᯓ★ MARVEL Bingo (requests open)

ᯓ★ English isn’t my first language

The days that follow are an odd mix of ease and tension as you and Tony navigate this fragile new dynamic. True to his word, Tony dials back the teasing, trading his sharp-edged quips for a warmth you’re still getting used to. It feels… nice, working alongside him without the constant undercurrent of competition. There’s a rhythm to your study sessions now, the quiet hum of the library punctuated by the scratch of pens and occasional murmured exchanges of ideas.

And yet, despite the progress, there’s a storm brewing beneath the surface.

You still study with Andrew on occasion—he’s reliable, kind, and easy to talk to, and you’re not about to abandon him just because Tony decided to change his tune. But every time you mention Andrew’s name or leave the library to meet up with him, you can feel the subtle shift in Tony’s demeanor. He tries to hide it, keeps his tone light and his expression neutral, but it’s there in the way his jaw tightens and his pen moves just a little too forcefully across the page.

He never says anything about it, though. Not directly. After all, what claim does he have? You’re not dating. You’re just… figuring things out, right? And yet, there’s an unspoken tension that lingers between you whenever Andrew comes up, a weight neither of you are willing to address.

One evening, the two of you are seated across from each other at your usual spot in the library. The table is littered with papers, textbooks, and Tony’s laptop, which is currently blasting calculations across the screen. You’re halfway through explaining a particularly complex concept when your phone buzzes on the table, Andrew’s name lighting up the screen.

“Sorry, one sec,” you say, picking up the phone. Tony doesn’t respond, but you catch the way his eyes flicker to the screen, his fingers pausing mid-typing.

“Hey, Andrew,” you say, keeping your voice low to avoid disturbing the other students around you. “What’s up?”

Tony doesn’t look at you, but his focus on his laptop seems suddenly forced. His typing resumes, faster this time, the keys clicking loudly in the otherwise quiet space.

You finish the call quickly, promising Andrew you’ll meet him tomorrow to review some notes. When you set the phone down, Tony finally speaks, his tone casual but his words too deliberate. “Andrew again, huh? You two seem pretty tight.”

You glance up, taken aback by the comment. “Yeah, he’s been helping me with some of my projects. Why?”

“No reason,” Tony says, his eyes glued to his laptop screen. “Just an observation.”

There’s a tension in his voice that makes you pause. “Tony, if you have something to say, just say it.”

He finally looks at you, his expression unreadable. “It’s nothing, really. I mean, you can study with whoever you want, right? It’s not like I—” He cuts himself off, shaking his head as if brushing the thought away. “Forget it.”

But you don’t forget it. His words linger in the air between you, heavy with unspoken meaning. You want to press him, to force him to admit whatever it is he’s holding back, but something stops you. Maybe it’s the vulnerability in his eyes, or maybe it’s your own uncertainty about where this thing between you is heading. Either way, you let it go—for now.

The next few weeks pass in much the same way. You spend most of your time with Tony, working on projects, sharing ideas, and even grabbing the occasional coffee when study sessions run long. He’s different now—more attentive, more thoughtful. He listens when you speak, really listens, and you find yourself opening up to him in ways you never expected.

But then there are the moments when Andrew’s name comes up, and the cracks in Tony’s facade begin to show. He never outright criticizes Andrew, but his comments become sharper, laced with a jealousy he doesn’t seem to know how to hide.

One afternoon, you’re sitting in a quiet corner of the library, poring over a particularly dense textbook. Tony is next to you, his laptop open but his attention clearly elsewhere. He’s been unusually quiet today, and you finally break the silence.

“Okay, what’s up with you?” you ask, setting your pen down.

Tony looks at you, feigning confusion. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve been weirdly quiet all day. Did something happen?”

He hesitates, and for a moment, you think he’s actually going to tell you. But then he shrugs, forcing a smile. “Nothing happened. Just tired, I guess.”

You don’t believe him, but you decide not to push. If he wants to talk, he’ll talk. Instead, you turn your attention back to your textbook, determined to focus on the task at hand.

But Tony’s mood doesn’t improve, and over the next few days, the tension between you grows. It comes to a head one evening when you’re leaving the library together. The campus is quiet, the sun setting behind the distant hills, and you’re both walking in companionable silence.

Until Tony breaks it.

“So, are you and Andrew… you know?” he asks, his tone casual but his words anything but.

You stop in your tracks, turning to face him. “Are we what?”

“Dating,” he says, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Or, I don’t know, something like that.”

You stare at him, caught off guard by the question. “Why would you think that?”

He shrugs, but his eyes betray him, filled with a vulnerability you haven’t seen before. “I don’t know. You just spend a lot of time with him, and I guess I thought…” He trails off, looking away.

“Tony,” you say, your voice softening. “Andrew and I are just friends. He’s been helping me with some of my work, that’s all.”

He looks back at you, relief flickering across his face, but it’s quickly replaced by something else—an emotion you can’t quite place. “Right. Of course. Friends.”

There’s a moment of silence, heavy and charged, before you speak again. “Why does it matter to you, anyway?”

The question hangs in the air, and for a moment, you think he won’t answer. But then he takes a deep breath, his eyes meeting yours with an intensity that makes your heart race.

“Because I care about you,” he says, his voice steady but filled with emotion. “More than I should, probably. And the thought of you being with someone else—” He cuts himself off, shaking his head. “Forget it. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

But you don’t let him brush it off this time. “Tony…”

He looks at you, his expression torn between hope and fear. “I know I’ve screwed up before, and I don’t deserve a second chance, but I’m trying. I’m really trying. I just—” He stops, exhaling shakily. “I just want to be someone you can rely on. Someone you can trust.”

His words hit you like a tidal wave, and for a moment, you’re not sure how to respond. But as you look at him, standing there with his heart in his hands, you realize that maybe—just maybe—you’re ready to take a leap of faith.

“I trust you,” you say finally, your voice barely above a whisper. “But you have to trust me too. Andrew is just a friend, and I need you to believe that.”

Tony nods, his shoulders relaxing as relief washes over him. “I do. I promise.”

As the two of you continue walking, the tension between you begins to ease, replaced by a newfound sense of understanding. It’s not perfect, and there’s still so much left unsaid, but for the first time, you feel like you’re moving in the right direction.

The day Andrew asks you out, you almost don’t see it coming. You’re sitting across from him in a cozy coffee shop near campus, both of you hunched over a shared set of notes as the hum of soft chatter and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee fills the space. The study session had been productive, as usual, filled with your usual easy banter and a rhythm that comes naturally when working together.

You glance at the time on your phone and realize you’ve been at it for nearly two hours. “Wow, time really flew,” you say, closing your notebook. “Thanks for helping me with all of this, Andrew. I think I might actually pass the exam now.”

Andrew laughs, leaning back in his chair. “You’re way too hard on yourself, Y/N. You’re going to ace it. You always do.”

You roll your eyes but smile. “Still, I appreciate the help. I’d probably be in a full-blown panic mode right now if it weren’t for you.”

“Well,” Andrew says, his tone suddenly shifting into something softer, more serious. “That’s what friends are for, right?”

Something about the way he says it makes you pause. You glance up at him, catching the way he’s looking at you—an intensity in his gaze you hadn’t noticed before. You blink, suddenly unsure of where this is going.

“Y/N,” he starts, and his voice is steady but quieter now, like he’s trying to pick his words carefully. “I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you. More than just studying, I mean.”

You freeze, your stomach twisting in realization. Oh no.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is…” Andrew takes a deep breath, his eyes never leaving yours. “Would you want to go out with me? Like, on a real date?”

Your heart sinks, not because you’re upset at the question, but because you already know your answer, and it’s not the one he’s hoping for.

“Andrew,” you say softly, setting your notebook aside so you can give him your full attention. “I’m really flattered. You’re such a great guy, and I care about you a lot. But I… I don’t think I see you that way.”

You can see the disappointment flash across his face, but he hides it well, offering you a small, understanding nod. “Oh,” he says, his voice steady but quieter. “Yeah. I… I get it.”

You hesitate for a moment before continuing, knowing you owe him the full truth. “I should probably tell you,” you begin, your words careful, “that I’ve been… kind of seeing someone. It’s not really official or anything, but it’s… Tony.”

Andrew raises his eyebrows, clearly surprised by the revelation, but he doesn’t say anything right away. Instead, he leans back in his chair, processing your words.

“Tony Stark,” he says after a beat, his tone somewhere between disbelief and amusement. “The guy who used to be your academic nemesis?”

You smile faintly, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. “Yeah, that’s the one.”

Andrew exhales, shaking his head with a rueful smile. “Well, I can’t say I saw that coming. But hey, if he makes you happy, then… I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you,” you say sincerely, relief washing over you at his response. “And I really do hope we can still be friends. I’d hate to lose what we have.”

Andrew nods, his smile softening. “We’ll always be friends, Y/N. Don’t worry about that.”

The two of you part ways on good terms, but as you walk back to your dorm, you can’t help but feel a mix of emotions. You’re relieved that Andrew took it so well, but the weight of what you’ve just admitted—to him and to yourself—lingers in your mind. You’re “kind of” seeing Tony. Is that really what this is? And if it’s not, then what is it?

That question gnaws at you for days, until Tony finally takes the leap himself.

It happens on a quiet evening in the library, the two of you tucked into your usual corner with your laptops and notebooks spread out around you. You’re in the middle of scribbling down a solution to a tricky problem when you notice Tony watching you, his pen idle in his hand.

“What?” you ask, looking up at him.

He shakes his head, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Nothing. You’re just… really something, you know that?”

You blink, caught off guard by the sincerity in his voice. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” Tony says, setting his pen down and leaning forward slightly, “that I think you’re incredible. And I’m kind of kicking myself for not telling you that sooner.”

Your heart skips a beat, and you’re not entirely sure what to say. “Tony…”

“Let me finish,” he interrupts gently. “I know I’ve screwed up in the past, and I’ve probably given you every reason not to trust me. But I’ve been trying—really trying—to show you that I’m serious about this. About you.”

You stare at him, your chest tightening as his words sink in. There’s no trace of the cocky, self-assured Tony Stark you used to know in this moment. He’s vulnerable, raw, and it’s both terrifying and exhilarating to see him like this.

“I want to take you out,” he says, his voice steady but quiet. “On a real date. No games, no jokes—just us. What do you say?”

You’re so taken aback that it takes you a moment to process his words. You’ve been expecting him to say something like this for weeks now, but hearing it out loud is a different story entirely.

“Yes,” you hear yourself say, the word slipping out before you can even think about it. “I’d like that.”

Tony blinks, clearly not expecting you to agree so easily. “Wait, really?”

“Yes, really,” you say, laughing softly at his stunned expression. “Why do you look so surprised?”

“I don’t know,” he admits, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish grin. “I guess I thought you’d tell me to go to hell or something.”

“Well, you’ve been on thin ice a few times,” you tease, “but I think you’ve earned it.”

The smile that spreads across Tony’s face is so wide, so unfiltered, that it makes your chest ache in the best way. He looks like he’s just won the lottery, and in a way, you suppose he has.

“I promise I won’t screw this up,” he says, his voice brimming with determination. “It’s going to be the best date of your life.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” you reply, your smile matching his.

Over the next few days, Tony throws himself into planning the date with the kind of obsessive focus he usually reserves for his projects. He doesn’t tell you much—just that it’s going to be “perfect” and that you should be ready by seven on Saturday night. You don’t press him for details, partly because you’re curious and partly because you trust him.

That trust only grows as you watch him work. He’s meticulous, poring over menus and reservations with a level of care that surprises even you. It’s clear that he’s not just trying to impress you—he’s genuinely invested in making this special, and that realization warms your heart in ways you didn’t think possible.

By the time Saturday rolls around, you’re equal parts nervous and excited. You spend more time than usual getting ready, wanting to look your best without overdoing it. When Tony shows up at your door, dressed sharply in a blazer and holding a single red rose, you can’t help but smile.

“Wow,” he says, his eyes sweeping over you. “You look… amazing.”

“Thanks,” you say, feeling your cheeks heat under his gaze. “You clean up pretty well yourself.”

He offers you his arm, and you take it, letting him lead you out into the evening. You don’t know where you’re going yet, but with Tony by your side, you have a feeling it’s going to be a night to remember.

Tony walks you across campus, the two of you chatting easily under the dim glow of the streetlights. You’ve seen him in plenty of settings—studying in the library, arguing in class, even occasionally sulking when you’ve beaten him at something—but this version of Tony Stark feels different. He’s nervous. Or at least, as nervous as someone like Tony Stark can get.

The telltale signs are all there: the way he adjusts his blazer every few minutes, the slight stumble over his words when you compliment his choice of cologne, and the way he glances at you every now and then, as if to make sure you’re still there.

“Alright, so,” he says, leading you toward a sleek black car parked just off campus. “I figured we’d start the night off with something classic. A nice dinner. Nothing too fancy, just, you know… fancy enough to make you think I have some semblance of class.”

You raise an eyebrow, suppressing a laugh. “Tony, I’ve seen your presentation slides. ‘Class’ isn’t the first word that comes to mind.”

“Hey!” he protests, opening the car door for you. “Those slides are a masterpiece of modern chaos theory. You just don’t appreciate the artistry.”

“Sure, let’s go with that,” you reply, sliding into the passenger seat.

The car ride is smooth, with Tony’s playlist—a surprising mix of classic rock and low-key jazz—playing softly in the background. He keeps the conversation light, asking about your classes and cracking the occasional joke that’s just self-deprecating enough to make you laugh.

When you arrive at the restaurant, you realize he wasn’t kidding about the “fancy enough” part. It’s an upscale Italian place, the kind with soft lighting and white tablecloths. You glance at him as he holds the door open for you, suddenly wondering how much he’s overthought this.

“Tony,” you say as the host leads you to your table, “you didn’t have to go all out.”

He shrugs, pulling out your chair for you before sitting down across from you. “What can I say? I like to make an impression. Plus, I figured this was the kind of place where the waiters won’t yell at me if I butcher the pronunciation of ‘gnocchi.’”

You laugh, the sound drawing a grin from him that’s equal parts smug and genuinely pleased.

The meal goes surprisingly well. Tony spends the first half of it cracking jokes, most of which land, though a few are met with an exaggerated eye roll from you. He’s trying—really trying—to keep the mood light, and you appreciate the effort. But as the evening goes on, the conversation shifts into something deeper.

He tells you about his family, his complicated relationship with his father, and how he’s always felt like he had to prove himself. You tell him about your own struggles, how hard you’ve worked to get to where you are, and how much it means to you to finally feel like you belong.

By the time dessert arrives—a shared tiramisu, because he insisted it would be “a crime against humanity” for you not to try it—you feel a strange warmth in your chest. You’ve always known Tony was more than just the arrogant genius he pretends to be, but tonight, you’re seeing sides of him you didn’t expect.

“Alright, so, full disclosure,” he says as the two of you finish the last bites of dessert. “I spent, like, an embarrassing amount of time trying to figure out what to do tonight. I even Googled ‘how to impress a smart, beautiful girl on a first date.’”

You burst out laughing, nearly choking on your water. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

“I wish I was,” he says, grinning. “But hey, at least now I know how to build a birdhouse out of popsicle sticks if this whole date thing goes south.”

“You’re ridiculous,” you say, shaking your head but smiling nonetheless.

“Yeah, but you’re smiling, so I must be doing something right.”

By the time he drives you back to campus, the two of you are in high spirits, the awkwardness of the evening’s beginning long forgotten. He walks you to your dorm, his hands stuffed in his pockets and his usual air of confidence tempered by something softer.

“So,” he says when you reach your door, rocking back on his heels. “This is the part where I say something suave and memorable, but I’m kind of drawing a blank here.”

You smile, leaning against the doorframe. “You don’t always have to try so hard, Tony. Sometimes less is more.”

“Noted,” he says, his grin turning slightly nervous. He hesitates for a moment, his eyes flicking to your lips and then back to your eyes. “Can I—uh—would it be okay if I kissed you?”

The question catches you off guard—not because you weren’t expecting it, but because of the way he asks it, with none of the cocky bravado you’ve come to associate with him. It’s just… him, raw and unguarded, and it makes your heart skip a beat.

You nod, your voice barely above a whisper. “Yeah. It’s okay.”

He steps closer, his hand coming up to gently cup your cheek as he leans in. The kiss is soft, tentative at first, like he’s afraid of messing it up. But as you respond, your arms wrapping around his neck, he deepens it, and for a moment, the rest of the world fades away.

When you finally pull back, you’re both slightly breathless, and Tony’s smile is so wide it’s almost ridiculous.

“Wow,” he says, his voice a little hoarse. “I mean, I knew it would be good, but… wow.”

You laugh, swatting him lightly on the shoulder. “Don’t ruin the moment, Stark.”

“Right, right,” he says, holding his hands up in mock surrender. “Moment officially not ruined.”

He steps back, his hands slipping into his pockets as he watches you with a look that’s equal parts awe and adoration. “So… same time next week?”

You pretend to think about it for a moment before nodding. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

“Good,” he says, his grin widening. “Because I already started planning date number two.”

You roll your eyes, but your smile betrays you. As you step inside your dorm, closing the door behind you, you can’t help but feel like something’s shifted between you and Tony. And for the first time in a long time, you’re excited to see where it leads.

Tony is impossible to ignore in class.

You’re used to his cocky confidence, the way he leans back in his chair as though lectures are just optional background noise to whatever’s going on in his mind. But ever since your date, he’s been… different. Still cocky, still Tony, but there’s something softer in the way he looks at you, a glimmer in his eyes when you catch him sneaking glances at you during lessons.

Not that he’s subtle about it.

“Y/N,” he says one day after a particularly heated debate in class where, of course, he had to contradict your every point. You’re gathering your notes, ignoring him as best you can when he leans in close, his voice low enough that no one else can hear. “Am I distracting you?”

You glance up, shooting him a glare that only seems to amuse him further. “No, Tony. You’re annoying me.”

“Same thing,” he replies, flashing you a grin that’s both infuriating and, annoyingly, charming. “If I promise to stop being annoying, will you let me steal a kiss later?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Worth a shot.”

You shake your head, but your lips twitch into a smile despite yourself. He doesn’t miss it, of course, and he walks away looking far too pleased with himself.

It’s a pattern that repeats itself in every class you share. Tony finds a way to sit near you, to tease you, to catch your attention. Sometimes, when the professor isn’t looking, he’ll scribble something ridiculous on a scrap of paper and slide it onto your desk. Other times, he’ll catch your eye from across the room and mouth something like, “Dinner tonight?” or “You’re killing me with that sweater.”

You roll your eyes every time, but there’s a warmth in your chest that’s impossible to ignore.

One afternoon, you’re studying with Andrew in the library. It’s quiet, the two of you seated at a corner table with your books and notes spread out between you. The focus is meant to be on your upcoming exam, but Andrew’s been unusually chatty today.

“So,” he says, breaking the silence as he leans back in his chair. “How’d your date with Tony go?”

You pause mid-sentence, glancing up from your notebook. “My date?”

“Yeah,” he says, shrugging as if it’s no big deal. “Last week. You left early to get ready, remember? So, how was it?”

“Oh,” you say, feeling a little flustered. You hadn’t realized he’d noticed, let alone remembered. “It was… nice.”

“Nice?” Andrew raises an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. “That’s it?”

You can’t help but laugh at his expression. “Okay, fine. It was more than nice. He was… different. In a good way.”

Andrew nods slowly, his expression unreadable. “Different how?”

You hesitate, unsure how much to share. But Andrew’s been a good friend, and you trust him not to make a big deal out of it. “He was sweet,” you admit. “Not what I expected, honestly. And he’s already planning a second date.”

At that, Andrew sits up straighter. “A second date, huh? When’s that happening?”

“Saturday,” you reply without thinking much of it.

Andrew doesn’t say anything right away, but there’s something in his expression that makes you pause. Before you can ask, though, he changes the subject, diving back into the topic of your study session. You let it go, chalking it up to curiosity.

When Saturday arrives, you find yourself feeling both excited and nervous. The first date had gone so well, but there’s always that lingering worry that it had been a fluke. What if this time things are awkward? What if Tony decides to revert back to his usual over-the-top self and scares you off?

But when he shows up at your door, holding a bouquet of flowers and looking genuinely excited to see you, your nerves start to melt away.

“You ready for this?” he asks, offering you his arm.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” you reply, linking your arm with his.

The plan is simple: dinner at a new bistro Tony’s been wanting to try, followed by a movie at the small independent theater downtown. It’s not as extravagant as the first date, but that’s part of why you’re looking forward to it. It feels… normal.

Or at least, it should.

The first sign that something’s off comes during dinner.

Tony had called ahead to reserve a table, but when you arrive, the host tells you there’s no record of his reservation.

“Are you sure?” Tony asks, his brow furrowing as he pulls out his phone. “I spoke to someone two days ago. Stark, party of two.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” the host says, looking genuinely apologetic. “We don’t have anything under that name.”

Tony sighs, running a hand through his hair. “Great. Just great.”

You touch his arm gently, trying to calm him down. “It’s okay, Tony. We’ll just find somewhere else to eat.”

He looks at you, his frustration melting into a sheepish smile. “You’re way too patient with me, you know that?”

The two of you end up grabbing takeout from a nearby food truck and eating on a bench in the park. It’s not the romantic dinner Tony had planned, but you find yourself enjoying it anyway. He’s still Tony—still funny, still charming, still trying a little too hard to impress you—and you can’t help but smile at the effort he’s putting in.

The second sign comes at the theater.

Tony had bought tickets online, but when you get to the box office, they tell you the screening has been canceled due to a technical issue.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Tony mutters, rubbing his temples.

“It’s not your fault,” you say, trying to reassure him. “We can just do something else.”

“Like what?” he asks, throwing his hands up. “This was supposed to be the perfect date, and now it’s a disaster.”

You laugh, nudging him playfully. “Relax, Stark. You’re overthinking it. I’m having a good time, I promise.”

“Yeah?” he asks, his expression softening.

“Yeah,” you say, smiling. “As long as I’m with you, it doesn’t matter what we’re doing.”

By the time Tony walks you back to your dorm, the two of you are laughing uncontrollably over a story he told about one of his childhood escapades.

“And then,” he says, barely able to get the words out through his laughter, “I realized I’d glued my own hand to the table. My dad was furious.”

You clutch your stomach, tears streaming down your face. “How do you even do that?!”

“Pure talent,” he replies, his grin widening.

When you finally reach your door, you turn to face him, still smiling. “Thank you for tonight, Tony. I had a great time.”

“Even though everything went wrong?” he asks, his voice tinged with doubt.

“Especially because everything went wrong,” you say. “It made it more memorable.”

Tony chuckles, shaking his head. “You’re unbelievable, you know that?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that before,” you tease.

He hesitates for a moment, his expression softening. “Can I kiss you again?”

You don’t answer right away. Instead, you step closer, closing the gap between you as you lean in.

The kiss is slow, tender, and completely unhurried. It’s a moment just for the two of you, free from all the chaos of the evening.

When you finally pull back, Tony’s looking at you like you’ve just handed him the world.

“So,” he says, his voice a little breathless. “Third date?”

You smile, your heart full. “Third date.”

The weeks pass in a blur of stolen moments and shared laughter. Tony isn’t perfect—he’s still Tony Stark, after all, with all his quirks and overconfidence—but he’s trying. And for once, he seems to genuinely enjoy being around you, not just competing with you.

The dates have become a regular occurrence. Sometimes it’s dinner at a little diner downtown, other times it’s late-night walks on campus when the world feels quiet and it’s just the two of you. Every once in a while, he’ll surprise you with something elaborate—a picnic in the park, complete with candles and a playlist he made himself (though he won’t admit how long it took to get the songs just right).

You find yourself looking forward to the time you spend together, the easy rhythm you’ve fallen into. Even in class, his teasing has softened. Sure, he still pushes your buttons—he wouldn’t be Tony if he didn’t—but there’s something affectionate about it now, a warmth that wasn’t there before.

Andrew is still a constant presence in your life, though he’s quieter than he used to be. He doesn’t bring up Tony as often, and when he does, it’s usually in passing. You figure he’s made his peace with the situation, and you’re grateful for that.

But then one day, everything shifts.

You and Andrew are in the library, pouring over your notes for an upcoming exam. It’s one of those afternoons where the hours blur together, and you’ve almost forgotten the world outside your textbooks when Andrew clears his throat.

“Hey,” he says, glancing up from his laptop. “Can I show you something?”

You blink, looking up from your notebook. “Sure. What is it?”

He hesitates for a moment before turning his screen toward you. It’s a video, the shaky, low-quality kind that looks like it was taken on someone’s phone. Your stomach twists when you see what’s on it.

Tony, standing in what looks like a club, his arm around some girl you don’t recognize. She’s leaning into him, and then—there it is. He kisses her.

The air seems to leave your lungs.

“Andrew,” you say slowly, your voice barely above a whisper. “What is this?”

“I wasn’t sure if I should show you,” he says, his tone carefully measured. “But I thought you’d want to know. I heard some people talking about it earlier. Apparently, it’s recent.”

Recent. The word echoes in your mind, a lead weight settling in your chest.

You push the laptop away, your hands trembling as you try to focus on your breathing.

“Y/N,” Andrew says gently. “I’m sorry. I know you’ve been seeing him, and I didn’t want to believe it either, but—”

“Thank you for telling me,” you cut him off, your voice sharper than you intend. You stand abruptly, gathering your things. “I… I need to go.”

When you see Tony later that evening, he knows something’s wrong. You’ve never been great at hiding your emotions, and tonight is no exception.

“Hey,” he says, his smile faltering as you approach. “You okay?”

“Don’t,” you snap, your anger bubbling to the surface before you can stop it. “Just don’t.”

Tony looks genuinely confused, his brows furrowing as he tries to figure out what’s going on. “What’s going on? Did I do something?”

You glare at him, your heart pounding in your chest. “You know what you did.”

He stares at you for a moment, the confusion on his face slowly giving way to frustration. “Okay, clearly I missed something here. Can you just tell me what’s going on?”

You hesitate, the video flashing through your mind again. Part of you doesn’t want to give him the satisfaction of an explanation, but another part of you knows you won’t get closure unless you do.

“There’s a video,” you say finally, your voice shaking with barely-contained anger. “Of you. Kissing some girl. Apparently, it’s recent.”

Tony blinks, and for a moment, he just looks at you like you’ve grown a second head. And then, to your surprise, he laughs.

You stiffen, your anger flaring even hotter. “You think this is funny?”

“No,” he says quickly, holding up his hands in surrender. “No, I don’t. I think it’s ridiculous because that video isn’t recent. I know the one you’re talking about, Y/N. It’s old. Like, months old. Before you and I even started… whatever this is.”

You stare at him, your mind racing. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

He steps closer, his expression serious now. “Because I’m telling you. I don’t know who showed you that video or why they said it was recent, but it’s not. I haven’t so much as looked at anyone else since we started seeing each other. You have to believe me.”

You want to believe him. You want to believe that this whole thing is just some kind of misunderstanding. But the anger and hurt are still there, clouding your judgment.

“I don’t know, Tony,” you say finally, your voice quiet. “I need to think.”

“Okay,” he says, his tone softer now. “But before you do, can we at least figure out where this came from? Because whoever showed you that video clearly wanted to cause trouble.”

The next day, the two of you confront Andrew together.

He looks surprised when you show up at his dorm, Tony standing just behind you with a look that could kill.

“Y/N,” Andrew says, glancing nervously between the two of you. “What’s going on?”

“I think you know,” you say, crossing your arms.

Tony steps forward, holding up his phone with the video pulled up. “This. Care to explain?”

Andrew’s face pales, and for a moment, he doesn’t say anything. Then he sighs, running a hand through his hair. “Look, I didn’t mean for it to blow up like this.”

“Blow up?” Tony repeats, his voice dangerously low.

“I just…” Andrew hesitates, his gaze shifting to you. “I thought if Y/N saw it, maybe she’d realize you’re not as great as she thinks you are. I didn’t know she’d confront you about it.”

You feel like the ground has been pulled out from under you. “Andrew,” you say, your voice trembling. “Why would you do that?”

He looks down, unable to meet your eyes. “Because I like you, okay? I’ve liked you for months, and it’s been torture watching you fall for him. I thought maybe if you saw who he really is, you’d change your mind.”

Tony steps forward, his jaw tight. “Who I really am? You mean someone who actually cares about her? Someone who doesn’t manipulate her into doubting the people she trusts?”

Andrew flinches but doesn’t argue.

You take a deep breath, trying to process everything. “Andrew, I trusted you. You’re supposed to be my friend.”

“I am your friend,” he says quickly. “I just… I didn’t want to lose you.”

“Well, congratulations,” Tony says, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “You just did.”

You shoot him a warning look, then turn back to Andrew. “I don’t even know what to say to you right now. I need time to think.”

Andrew nods, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “I’m sorry, Y/N. For everything.”

As you and Tony walk away, the tension between you begins to ease.

“You believe me now?” Tony asks, glancing at you out of the corner of his eye.

You nod, feeling a pang of guilt for ever doubting him. “Yeah. I’m sorry for not trusting you.”

He stops walking, turning to face you. “Hey. Don’t apologize. I get it. If I were in your shoes, I probably would’ve reacted the same way.”

You smile faintly, grateful for his understanding. “Thanks, Tony.”

“Anytime,” he says, slipping his arm around your shoulders. “Now, let’s put this whole mess behind us and focus on what really matters.”

“And what’s that?” you ask, raising an eyebrow.

He grins, leaning in to kiss you softly. “Us.”

The days that follow are blissful chaos. With Andrew out of the picture—though you haven’t entirely figured out what to do with that situation yet—you and Tony are free to explore whatever this thing is between you. And oh, does Tony explore.

He plans date after date, each one more absurd or romantic than the last. One week, he surprises you with tickets to a comedy show in the city, where you laugh so hard your sides ache for days. Another week, he insists on taking you stargazing, dragging you out to a secluded field with a telescope and a blanket because, in his words, “Even the stars need an audience to shine for.”

Then there are the funny ones. Like the time he shows up at your dorm with two aprons, a grocery bag filled with ingredients, and an ambitious plan to recreate a Michelin-starred recipe he found online. The result is a hilariously chaotic mess that leaves the kitchen looking like a war zone and you both laughing so hard you’re crying.

“I think we’ve created a new species,” you say, poking at the burnt, unidentifiable mass on the plate in front of you.

Tony grins, unabashed. “I prefer to call it Stark’s Signature Disaster.”

“More like Stark’s Catastrophe,” you tease, and he swipes at you with a dollop of whipped cream, making you yelp and chase him around the kitchen with a handful of flour.

But for every chaotic moment, there are quieter ones too. Nights when he walks you back to your dorm, his arm slung casually over your shoulder as you talk about everything and nothing. Afternoons spent studying together in the library, where he somehow manages to make even the driest subjects feel exciting. Mornings where he shows up with coffee just because he knows you’ve been up late the night before.

You’re not sure when it happens, but somewhere along the way, you realize you’re falling for him. Hard.

One evening, Tony shows up at your dorm unannounced, a mischievous glint in his eye.

“Get dressed,” he says, leaning against the doorframe with that infuriatingly charming smirk.

You raise an eyebrow, glancing down at your sweatpants and oversized hoodie. “I am dressed.”

He rolls his eyes, stepping inside without waiting for an invitation. “Dressed for public consumption, Y/N. We’re going out.”

“And where exactly are we going?” you ask, crossing your arms as you eye him suspiciously.

“That,” he says, grabbing your coat from the hook and tossing it to you, “is classified information. Now, come on. Chop, chop.”

You sigh but can’t help smiling as you grab your shoes. “This better be good, Stark.”

“Oh, it will be,” he says, his grin widening.

To your surprise, he takes you to a drive-in movie theater—a retro, charming spot you didn’t even know existed. He’s already set up a cozy little area in the back of his car, complete with blankets, pillows, and enough snacks to feed a small army.

“I didn’t know you had such a romantic side,” you tease as you settle into the makeshift nest.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” he says, his voice soft as he leans closer.

The movie is a cheesy old rom-com, but neither of you pay much attention. You’re too busy stealing glances at each other, sharing popcorn, and laughing at Tony’s sarcastic commentary. By the end of the night, your cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

The dates continue, each one a new adventure. Some are extravagant, like the time he takes you to a rooftop restaurant with a view of the entire city. Others are simple, like when you spend an afternoon at the park, tossing breadcrumbs to the ducks and teasing Tony about his terrible aim.

But no matter what you’re doing, being with him feels… right.

One night, after a particularly romantic date at a candlelit restaurant, he walks you back to your dorm as usual. The air is crisp, the stars bright against the inky sky, and you feel a warmth spreading through your chest that has nothing to do with the weather.

As you reach your door, he hesitates, his usual confidence replaced by something softer, more vulnerable.

“Y/N,” he says, his voice unusually serious.

You tilt your head, studying him. “What’s up?”

He takes a deep breath, running a hand through his hair as he looks at you. “I’ve been thinking. About us.”

Your heart skips a beat. “Okay…”

“I know I’m not the easiest guy to be around,” he says, his gaze dropping to the ground. “I’m cocky, I’m stubborn, and I have a habit of saying the wrong thing at the worst possible time.”

You smile faintly. “I’m aware.”

“But,” he continues, looking up at you again, “I’m also crazy about you. And I don’t just want to be the guy you go on dates with or study with or kiss sometimes when the mood strikes. I want to be more than that. I want to be your boyfriend. If you’ll have me.”

The words hang in the air between you, and for a moment, you’re too stunned to speak.

Tony Stark, the guy who once made your life a living hell, is standing in front of you, baring his heart in a way you never thought possible.

“I…” You trail off, searching for the right words.

His shoulders tense, as if he’s bracing himself for rejection, and that’s what does it. The vulnerability in his eyes, the way he’s putting himself out there despite all his bravado—it melts away any lingering doubts you might have had.

“Yes,” you say finally, a smile breaking across your face. “I’d love to be your girlfriend.”

The relief that washes over him is almost comical. He lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and grins, his usual cockiness returning in full force.

“Good,” he says, stepping closer. “Because I’ve got big plans for us, Y/N. Big plans.”

“Oh, I’m sure you do,” you tease, but your words are cut off as he leans in and kisses you, soft and sweet and perfect.

In that moment, you know you made the right choice.

[yoonia]

Hello^^

This is your annual (monthly) psa from little old me.

I'm sorry for being MIA. I had a ton of fun with my birthday bash event on October and I love that I ended up writing a couple of new pieces at the end aside from giving you guys some lovely moodboards to enjoy, which was a blast.

Unfortunately, on the final days of October, I started getting an allergy reaction from some of my meds, which led to me getting a weird skin infection appearing on my right arm and with a terrible inflammation on my upper arm. I also experienced a symptom similar to carpal tunnel syndrome which I got from hours of designing and drawing for work during the day and playing with canva and photoshop and writing on my computer at night, so I had to take a long break as soon as I finished my event and November came around.

To top it all, I think I'm a bit burnt out. I've been releasing a ton of things since August, and my mind (and I guess, my body) is asking for a break. I've been taking some time off from the internet and Tumblr because of this and have been focusing on recovering (bc your girl has bills to pay and I can't draw anything with this arm *sobs*).

I'm still recovering right now, with my arm still sore and hurting, but I'm slowly getting back to writing and creating some stuff again as I'm doing NaNoWriMo independently (without the site). Here's where we are at so far:

— Nefarious, that was planned to be released at the end of October, is about halfway done. I'm currently focusing on this one to release as soon as I'm done with it (because this won't be the last instalment from In Motion and I want to get the other out on December). Thanks to my break, I was able to open the draft with fresh eyes and...hated at least most of the things I wrote last month lol. so I'm in the middle of rewriting this and I can say that I'm making better progress with this so far.

— Carousel is still on rewriting process, with its weekly update continuing on Wattpad starting this month.

— The Bedroom Hymns is also on progress. I can only write for an hour or two each day due to my condition, so progress has been slow, but we're getting somewhere. I think I can release the new chapter right after Nefarious is released.

— Ever A Never After is continuing. Again, it's a slow progress, and I might release it sooner on Wattpad as small chapters if it comes down to it.

— I have a surprise project to release soon. I'm not sure when it's coming, but I'll be announcing it when I'm ready :)

That's all for now. Thank you for your patience and for making things fun for me back in October that you've given my a lot of motivation to write some new fics. I have a couple of messages waiting for me in my inbox which I'll be answering as soon as I'm available (again).

Be back soon! Take care, lovelies <333

xoxo, Dia

[spaceraceart]

I was looking at your project: geocentric, and I find it really cool! I was wondering if you had more on black holes. A bit terrifying to know the largest and most powerful cosmic entities are all-consuming eyes of darkness. Or maybe I'm just thinking about TON-618/Phoenix A (whichever's biggest lol) because Sagittarius A still looks like a funky dude :)

ooo thank you!! i haven't messed around with black holes in my story too much besides what i have for sagittarius a*, but i can talk some more about them hehe.

as you noted, sagittarius (or sag) is a bit more of a funky/goofy dude, which is a reference to how the actual black hole is fairly dormant! he's not spitting out jets or actively eating anything, he's just kind of sitting there in the middle of the milky way and having a good time.

(more stuff under readmore)

most galaxies will have a central super massive black hole (smbh) , and have some close relationship with them. for some, the smbh might torment their galaxy, especially if theyre super active and constantly blasting out radiation. but for others, like milky way and sag, they may have a romantic relationship. i designed black holes and galaxies around the same time, so their designs are meant to compliment each other. galaxies lack a mouth, whereas black holes are pretty much all mouth. this creates an interesting relationship, with smbhs acting as the mouth of their galaxy, often serving as their voice.

i haven't designed too many stellar-mass black holes, but they'd probably look similar to sag, maybe with less colors and much smaller. below is a stellar black hole (cygnus x-1) that i designed based off of tom cardy's H.S. song heheh. stellar mass black holes come from the most massive of stars dying violently in a supernova. while they often still hold the memories and personality from when they were a star, they get dramatically changed from their new connection to The Void.

at star death, black holes get exposed to The Void, the shadow of The Universe that represents dark matter, dark energy, and all that empty space in space. The Void allows for black holes to gain some sort of higher cosmic understanding of reality. this makes most black holes mysterious, hard to understand beings. The Void also gifts them many cosmic powers, such as the power to manipulate spacetime!

(this mirrors how galaxies and the largest of stars often have a connection to The Universe)

most black holes are able to manipulate their own size, appearing larger or smaller. many black holes are also able to almost teleport through space, either literally teleporting through worm holes of their own making, or traveling over light speeds. they can bend gravity like a limb, pulling and pushing on others around them. overall, scary fellas! super massive black holes will typically have some secondary power unrelated to spacetime manipulation as well, such as sag who can manipulate dreams.

but yeah, thats basically my current ideas for how black holes work. i need to try personifying some of the more "scary" black holes, such as TON-618 and all that, so I can really delve into what makes these things terrifying hehehe. thank you for the ask!

[good-beans]

Happy New Year everyone!! I’m so grateful that you’re here, and am excited to spend next year with you ❤️🎉 I hope 2025 treats you kindly, and brings new and joyful things your way!

And my rambly personal reflection on the accomplishments/goals of the year hehe :3

It was a long and full year – in the major areas people look for progress, I’m excited to say I continued to work (slowly but steadily) on my master’s degree and returned to work with a company I know and enjoy. I’ve undergone some bittersweet self-discovery when it comes to mental/emotional/identity things, and had kind support throughout it all. In creative areas, I wrote way more in the past few years than I think I ever have, and have dipped my toe into several new mediums/styles of art and writing! I’ve had a blast with collaborations and requests and inspiration-trains. I’ve made progress in areas I thought I’d be stagnant in forever: I’ve been consistently driving in pursuit of my license despite a lot of anxieties. I’ve succeeded through weeks of total independent living and braving my agoraphobia. I started learning a new language/alphabet just on duolingo, and am making more progress than I thought my memory could. On a more serious note, my greatest accomplishment is simply being here, and looking forward to certain things in 2025.

My most joyful area is definitely socialization (though, I suppose it’s not so much of a personal accomplishment as it’s something wonderful that’s happened to me, haha!) I’ve gotten to know wonderful friends that I’m so excited to have spent the year talking to, creating alongside, and supporting each other. When I originally put my new year’s resolution into practice and set up a place to call, I could never imagine how successful it would be and turn into so much more. After braving the first few barriers of fear and embarrassment, I found myself looking forward to every single new call and gaming session in a way I never have before. The games you’ve shared, stories you’ve told, and quiet company you’ve offered has been so wonderful. I’ve been inspired both creatively and in important areas of my life. 

I’m keeping my upcoming goals simple this year. The plan is mostly to keep current progress steady – continue with little successes in the scarier areas and refuse to get overwhelmed. I’m going to try and network so that I can continue work here when my contract ends, but if not I’ll keep my chin up. I’m going to be (re)writing a novel for my thesis over the course of 2025, but I’m making an effort to keep up on fan projects when it starts feeling more like an assignment. I would love to continue doing art trades/collaborations with such incredible people, as well as some lyric projects and long fics. I’m excited to pick up a few other languages this year! Though I’m not expecting my friends’ fluency for a long time, I’m loving the learning process, the joy of learning new grammar and alphabets, the thrill of some recognition and repetition, and the new worlds of culture and media it introduces me to. I’m excited to continue hanging out with such incredible people, and am determined to work hard for them. I want to always be someone they can rely on for support, listening, celebration, and silliness (Not that any of that feels like work, but you know what I mean.) I’m going to continue to be brave and put myself out there bit by bit. And I'm going to wish you all a happy new years next December, too ❤️

Here’s to another exciting year! 🎉

[arookinthelighthouse]

My brain keeps churning up thoughts about Modern AU Tashur and I am absolutely going to write a fic about it when I next get time off work. But for now here are some stray thoughts to tide everyone over until that day comes.

Tarquin smoking cigarettes and thus his car also smelling like cigarette smoke. It also smells of whatever aftershave/men's perfume he favours at that current moment and leather (bc he definitely wears leather jackets and also has leather seats in his beat up secondhand car).

Tarquin also blasting metal from the stereo/bluetooth speaker as he drives. You will never convince me that modern!Tarquin wouldn't be a metalhead (what no I'm not projecting bc I'm a trans guy metalhead what are you talking about).

Mercar would definitely be his roommate. They bicker but in the way that friends who've known each other their whole lives bicker.

Ashur constantly carrying around minty chewing gum that Tarquin usually ends up stealing. He doesn't mind, and truth be told he buys extra just so that Tarquin can have some.

Ashur is also a game streamer or smth and his alter ego for that is the Viper. Gives him some privacy and separation between that life and his normal every day life as Ashur.

Neve lives in the same apartment building as Tarquin and Mercar. Maybe even on the same floor or in the apartment opposite theirs. She's obviously a freelance detective.

Ashur forever stealing Tarquin's oversized hoodies and jumpers, which just so happen to fit him perfectly. Tarquin definitely didn't buy them a couple sizes bigger so that he could see Ashur walking around in them (he absolutely did).

Fuck it, Ashur gets a motorcycle. And he lovingly calls said motorcycle the Shadow Dragon, or the Dragon for short.

Also Ashur absolutely has a dog, I can't resist petting it every time my Rook goes to Dock Town so he gets a dog in the modern AU too.

Dorian and Maevaris obviously hang around with Ashur a lot and therefore hang out with Tarquin too. They're closer with Ashur but they're still very fond of Tarquin. Maevaris definitely threatens to shave Tarquin's beard in his sleep if he hurts Ashur. Dorian, meanwhile, very cheerfully promises that he will move all of Tarquin's furniture an inch to the left if he ever breaks Ashur's heart.

Also this is more of a background thing but all the Veilguard companions are in a discord server together and game together. Ingellvar is dating Lucanis (I can't resist I'm sorry), Lace and Taash have been together forever, and maybe Emmrich and Mercar have a thing? Idk, I'm still figuring out how many Rooks there's going to be and which one would actually be referred to as Rook.

Feel free to yell at me in my ask box, replies, reblogs etc if you wanna throw ideas my way or yap about this AU. I'm still figuring out what job Tarquin would have (I was thinking working at a bar either as a bartender or security) and how other characters fit into it and even if magic would be a thing in this AU or not.