#i'm just going through all of it and adding it to my queue again

[grabyourpillow]

Going through the art I saved on my Tumblr and being like "hmm this is still dope" so actually why did I reblog all my fave art pieces just once. ONCE. You're telling me the artist put hours, weeks months and their flesh and blood and soul into it and I look at it for like one second and that's it?? Man fuck that. Fuck consumption culture. Fuck art as a disposable product. I'm going to reblog the art I like 10, 100, 1000 times until its burned into the back of my eyelids and I can see it with my eyes closed. Be prepared

[crescenthistory]

Hi sweetest angel❤️it's me again although I already asked for the interpret of your 2k event and I LOVED SO MUCH❗️❗️...maybe can I ask for an Argue too? 🥺

I was going through your event and when I saw the List B and my eyes landed on the prompt 4 Coffee Shop AU I instantly thought of Regulus🤷‍♀️How could anyone blame me?? I love everything you write and if is for Regulus I'm down bad🤭

Anyway congratulations once again my angel❤️You deserve and I'm sure you'll achieve even more cause you just write works of art❗️❗️ I love you so much big hugs❤️

you could probably ask me for anything and i'd give it to ya di — regulus coffee shop au coming right up <33 a bit of a unique take on it, but still

✶・•・✦・•・✶・✶・•・✦・•・✶

i will ARGUE for prompt 4 "coffee shop au" with regulus black

carina's 2k celebration

✶・•・✦・•・✶・✶・•・✦・•・✶

cw: fem!reader, non-compliant wizarding war, (implied) exes to lovers, hurt/comfort, making up post-war, open ending

wc: 1.1k

If you had told Regulus Black five years ago that he would be working in a muggle coffee shop on the outskirts of Edinburgh, he would have scoffed in your face.

Had you told him ten years ago, he might have burst into tears.

Today, though, all he felt about it was a monotone neutrality about this new reality of his, in addition to a little ache in his heels from standing upright eight hours a day five days a week.

A nagging voice in the back of his head kept murmuring about how that pain is the least of what he can shoulder, but he tried to push it away – not out of disagreement, but exhaustion. Carrying guilt tires out your bones, and Regulus must admit his had already been weary. After the stunt him and his friends pulled with the horcruxes, they were lucky to be alive in the first place. Not to mention to be free, at least as far as the Ministry was concerned.

Though for the time being, his elusive group of reformed purebloods turned war heroes were scattered all over the country as top notch aurors – regretfully including his brother and his brother's friends – hunted down the last of the loyalists. Barty and Evan refused to be separated and were somewhere near Bath, a choice they made during their very last night together, when the friends all got wine drunk and reminisced about their various heists over the past few months. Their sole reasoning was that Bath was a "funny sounding name" and "Bath sounds like Barty trying to say his name after getting his teeth kicked in". Pandora was supposed to be in Wales, but Regulus had a sneaking suspicion she had snuck off to France instead to be with Xeno. Dorcas had simply been unable to separate from Marlene after the war, so the two were happily engaged and hiding in one of the many Potter properties.

Moody – who Regulus still refused to admit he was intimidated by – had stressed that it's not hiding, it's just waiting the storm out.

In his apron and with his hair pulled up with a small silver claw clip, Regulus surely felt as though he was hiding.

The long queue of customers seemed like it was only growing, all the 9-5 employees from the various office buildings around his coffee shop relying solely on Regulus for their morning fix before their first meetings. He was mixing and pouring and adding and shaking, all the while the minutes ticked away. 

Regulus never let his mind drift when he worked like this. Instead he kept it in check between focusing on the tasks and tuning out all the noise. If he started thinking, he might begin wishing and once he began wishing he would never stop.

More than anything, if he began wishing, a longing would fester itself in his chest, a longing he managed to quelch during his horcrux heists and thus had no business reasserting itself in his life. A longing for a certain witch he managed to not say goodbye to twice – once before embarking on the months-long endeavour and now before running off to wait the storm out.

This last time, he might have been able to say goodbye before he left. With the horcruxes it was too dangerous, but now… now he could have waited. If he had tried, Regulus was certain he would have been able to.

Yet, here he was. Without a goodbye and with a pocketful of regret and cowardice. 

He shook his head, cursing beneath his breath as a few strands of his hair fell in his face at the movement, as he tried to get the thoughts out of his head. Focus on the work, he kept telling himself. Turn it all off. He used to be so good at it, but apparently having a “redemption arc”, as Barty kept cheerfully calling it, had made compartmentalisation a bit tougher. 

Regulus never half-assed anything though, not even a temporary barista position he had no intended future within, so it saw the queue dwindling fast despite him being the only one on shift today. 

As he neared the last customer of the first rush hour, Regulus had to take a quick break to fix his hair. He shucked off his gloves to put his hair back up, stubborn strands refusing to stay put. While mid-movement, he turned around to the counter, plastering on his most neutral and polite customer-service smile.

“Good morning, what can I get you?”

As his eyes landed on his customer, Regulus’ entire body froze. Arms in the air, polite smile slowly fading on his lips. The only part of him that moved was his eyes blinking rapidly as they widened.

“Good morning. I’d like to order an apology or two and then maybe a hug, depending on the flavour.” You matched his customer service tone of voice, but you had him pinned beneath your gaze.

Stood before him, was the very witch he had banished from his train of thought earlier, every day, that still somehow managed to sneak in. Except you were very much not a thought as you leaned against the counter, arms crossed defiantly over your chest and an expectant brow raised at him. 

“Amour,” Regulus breathed out. It was a word he hadn’t said aloud since before the war.

“Hi, Regulus.” Your gaze softened despite your hard time; he could see the sadness beneath it. “What are you doing here?”

He let his hair go as his arms fell down to his sides, looking around to ensure there were no more customers waiting. “I could ask you the same question. How did you find me? I’m supposed to be in hiding.”

If you were offended by his questioning in place of greeting, you didn’t let it show, which he was grateful for. There were a hundred thoughts rushing through his head at the minute, and the sound of the creamer didn’t make it any easier to sort through them. 

“I had a word or two with Moody.” You shrugged your right shoulder as if it was no big deal. “Explained that he had no business hiding you from the wrath of your girlfriend, only the loyalists.”

Regulus’ lip quivered a little at that word, and you seemed to catch it because your entire demeanour softened this time. “Girlfriend?” he asked quietly.

“Supposedly,” you amended, but you gave him a small smile. “If I could get that apology I ordered. And maybe a coffee to talk it over.”

Regulus’ eyes were wet and his face twitching as he began losing control over it, but he nodded emphatically. “There’s heaps of both apologies and coffee here.” His attempt at lightheartedness. “I would be happy to serve you.”

Your expression matched what he was sure his looked like – pained and hopeful, bittersweet and in love. “Then I think a chat’s long overdue.”

[kyri45]

✨ISAT Sky: Cotl!AU Q&A (22-09)✨

Welcome to the Q&A! A space where I can answer related or similar question about the ISAT Sky: Cotl!AU! If you submitted your ask anonimously, then you’ll have to check the whole post if it’s answered here, if it’s not, worry not! Your asks might have been used for a future comic or just in the queue~

Anonimo ha chiesto:Hey your ISAT Sky: COTL crossover comic is what got me to try out sky, it's pretty fun even if players approaching me is a bit intimidating for my socially anxious self. The comic itself is pretty nice too and thank you for getting me into such a cute looking game :3

Thank you so much!!!♥️♥️♥️ sky is wonderful, it became my personal happy place!

@lunarmoff ha chiesto: Hello!! Hi, you probably have a lot of asks in your box but I wanted to thank you for getting me into isat! I first read your Isat sky au when I was in the sky fandom and I loved it even though I didn't know the characters at all! Now that I've gotten into the fandom and gotten to know the characters, I understand your au a lot more now. I love your art style and how you added a bunch of peoples sky kids into your story! I myself would have given you my sky kid but I found your comic a little to late to give them to you. Just know that I love your comic, and I can't wait to see how it ends!!!

AAAAAhhhhh that's awesome!!!So gad that you like ISAT! It's an emotional rollercoaster but it's soooo good!

@a-tired-human-draws-junk ha chiesto: I've been reading ur sky cotl x isat au and its driving me NUTS isat is a newer brainrot for me and sky is an OLD one like I havent played sky properly in over a year and you dragged me back into the game w ur comics DURING THE SEASON OF DUETS and I've been playing daily so I can get stuff AND I CANT BELIEVE AN ISAT AU IS WHAT DRAGGED ME BACK TO CANDLERUNNING HELL /lhj Anyways love the sky cotl x isat comics I see siffrin is still an idiot (Also I cant stop imagine siffrin honking at his family like a goddamn excited moth while running around them goofily as per average sky kid interaction and the mental image is so funny)

ASDFGHJKL YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH I NEED SIFFRIN TO JUST- ACT LIKE A GOOFY EXCITED AND INNOCENT SKY KID AGAIN. HE'S JUST A LITTLE GUY!!!! HE DESERVE ALL THE HAPPYNESS AND FLUFF IN THE WORLD AND I'M HERE TO GIVE IT TO HIM (after I made him suffer hell of course)

@o-rainknight-o ha chiesto:I just want you to know that I love your art! It's so beautiful!Your LMK AU is amazing. I haven't played Sky in a while and I've never played ISAT but my sister has, so I know a little about it. It's also very pretty the way you draw it.Make sure not to overwork yourself too! We are all strangers here but a lot of us care :)

Ty!!!! I hope you get the chance to play sky as well!

@scarftale-bryan ha chiesto: Why did the lads skip the plains and wasteland?

cause I don't have the time or will to draw all 6 the realms. And also cause geographically, I don't know where the wastelands could be placed in Guadeloupe

Anonimo ha chiesto:

crying wailing throwing up over isat cotl i love it so much

AAAHH TY!!!

@puppetxtheatre ha chiesto: I don't even like sky but your comic was so good it convinced me to play ISAT and now I'm in love with the game thank you

WELCOME TO YOUR NEW HELL/pos

Anonimo ha chiesto: is it bad that i keep tricking myself into believing your isat comics are canon?

omg I myself have to do it otherwise I would just go insane over the fact we will never have comfirmation to what happened to the forgotten island

Anonimo ha chiesto:I don't know anything about children of the sky (is that the name???) but I really like ISAT and I ADORE your comic. I'm so pumped to see all them colors and pretty stuff in your awesome style

Thank you! Me as well omg you have no idea (even though then panels will take double the time to color

@kestrel-bee ha chiesto: Hihi!

I’m loving your Shadowpeach AU, loving the current angst :]

but when going through your profile I saw your ISAT x COTL AU, which reminded me of the fact that I’d been intending to buy ISAT for a long while, so I finally did.

That was yesterday and I am now 6hrs in. Thank you for the new hyperfixation material 🙏

LMAO THAT WAS ME. THE FUCK (I finished the game in 3 days.)

Anonimo ha chiesto:I would just like to say I am in LOVE with the way you draw the sky kids! This is making me inspired to draw my sky kid!!

Thank you!!!

@sunsetcannon ha chiesto: Considering I am both an ISAT fan and a Sky fan I'm going to be permanently rotating this AU in my head like it's a microwave so thank you for that

And I need you to know that unfortunately you'll remain in said microwave for a lot more/pos

@selfdestructivecat ha chiesto: Hello! I have a question about your ISAT: COTL AU comic! So Nesting guide was there! Does that mean that Season of Nesting had already happened in this universe? Presumably Season of Revival will be happening once the dust has settled on this comic and everyone works on restoring Aviary Village, so does that mean that Revival happens after Nesting in this timeline? And will Duets, the most recent season, also have happened before Revival? (I’m just very happy because now my skid, a nesting moth, canonically can exist in this au! XD)

You can find the timeline of the AU here!

[kitscutie]

hey

nick nelson at a party realizes he likes yn after see she dances and enjoyful (english it’s not my first language sorry)

clear as day (nick nelson x fem!reader)

𝗉𝖺𝗂𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀: 𝗇𝗂𝖼𝗄 𝗇𝖾𝗅ꜱ𝗈𝗇 𝗑 𝖿𝖾𝗆!𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋

𝗐𝖺𝗋𝗇𝗂𝗇𝗀ꜱ: 𝗇𝗈𝗇𝖾!

ꜱ𝗎𝗆𝗆𝖺𝗋𝗒: 𝗇𝗂𝖼𝗄 𝗁𝖺ꜱ ᖯ𝖾𝖾𝗇 ꜱ𝗍𝗋𝗎𝗀𝗀𝗅𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗈 𝗎𝗇𝖽𝖾𝗋ꜱ𝗍𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗁𝗂ꜱ ꜱ𝖾𝗑𝗎𝖺𝗅𝗂𝗍𝗒 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝖺 𝗐𝗁𝗂𝗅𝖾, 𝗂𝗍 𝗐𝖺ꜱ 𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗀𝗂𝗋𝗅ꜱ 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗇 𝗁𝖾 𝗁𝖺𝖽 𝖺 𝖼𝗋𝗎ꜱ𝗁 𝗈𝗇 𝖺 ᖯ𝗈𝗒, 𝗇𝗈𝗐 𝗁𝖾'ꜱ 𝗇𝗈𝗍 ꜱ𝗎𝗋𝖾 𝗂𝖿 𝗁𝖾 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾𝖽 𝗀𝗂𝗋𝗅ꜱ, 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖼𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗎𝗉 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗁𝗂𝗆.

𝖺/𝗇: 𝗐𝖺𝗇𝗍 𝗍𝗈 𝖼𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗋 𝗎𝗉 𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍 𝗈𝖿𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 ᖯ𝖺𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖨 𝖺𝗆 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗍𝗋𝗒𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗈 𝖾𝗋𝖺ꜱ𝖾 𝗇𝗂𝖼𝗄'ꜱ ꜱ𝖾𝗑𝗎𝖺𝗅𝗂𝗍𝗒 𝖺ꜱ 𝗂𝗍 𝗂ꜱ 𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒 𝖼𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗋 𝗂𝗇 ᖯ𝗈𝗍𝗁 𝗍𝗁𝖾 ᖯ𝗈𝗈𝗄ꜱ 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾 ꜱ𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗁𝖾 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾ꜱ ᖯ𝗈𝗍𝗁 𝗀𝗂𝗋𝗅ꜱ 𝖺𝗇𝖽 ᖯ𝗈𝗒ꜱ 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗂ꜱ ᖯ𝗂ꜱ𝖾𝗑𝗎𝖺𝗅, 𝗁𝗈𝗐𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋 , 𝖨 𝗐𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗐𝗋𝗂𝗍𝖾 𝖺ᖯ𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝖺 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 Ϲ𝗁𝖺𝗋𝗅𝗂𝖾 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺 𝗀𝗂𝗋𝗅 𝖺ꜱ 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗐𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 ᖯ𝖾 ꜱ𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾. 𝖺𝗇𝗒𝗐𝖺𝗒, 𝗉𝗅𝖾𝖺ꜱ𝖾 𝖾𝗇𝗃𝗈𝗒! 𝗋𝖾𝗊𝗎𝖾ꜱ𝗍ꜱ 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝗈𝗉𝖾𝗇.

"Why do we even have to go to this party, you know how I feel about Harry!" You groaned as Imogen dragged you into the obnoxiously large hotel Harry had rented for his sixteenth birthday party.

The pair of you were waiting in dresses which were on dancing on the border of too short and a safe length, though you didn't care, too busy focusing on the fact that the cold and typically British air was encasing your bare legs.

"Just enjoy it, Y/N. We're lucky Nick even invited us! I heard only a quarter of the party is girls from Higgs." She exclaimed in excitement, squeezing your hand a bit tighter.

"I suppose." You shrugged, wrapping your arms around yourself as you joined the back of the queue, a small shiver running through your body.

Imogen sat in silence for a few moments before she seemingly couldn't keep her lips shut any longer. "So about Nick..." She blurted out, eyes looking at you widely in excitement.

"No." You cut her off, but the blush and smile on your cheeks and face gave away the fact that you couldn't be more infatuated with a boy if you tried.

Nick Nelson, where could you even start. The fact that he was an amazing person with a great personality meant a lot to begin with, but the fact that he remained such a good person while surrounded by so many not so good people made him stand out. Not to mention the fact that he looked like a literal god.

Every morning you and Imogen would stand by the Truham gates before leaving for Higgs and for those twenty five minutes, you admired him. The way the sun hit his hair and made it look sort of golden. Or the way his eyes resemble honey at a certain angle. Sure, it's all a bit cliché but you couldn't help it. He was perfect.

"Oh my god!" She squealed, jumping up and down. "You do like him, I knew it!" She added while you stood there hoping no one around you could hear.

"Don't get your hopes up Imogen, I'm quite confident he doesn't like me back." You smiled, though it was a sad one. Almost pitiful. Imogen frowned at you, perplexed.

"Why wouldn't he like you?" She asked.

"I just, I don't know. I don't exactly think I'm anyone's type. I'm awkward and hard to talk to according to Ben." You chuckled, avoiding her eyes as you saw them fill with sympathy.

"Ben's a complete and utter dick! I thought we knew this." She replied, hand once again grabbing your own. "Plus, Nick will be here tonight, flirt with him and test the waters." She added, eyebrows moving up and down with a smirk.

You didn't think you knew how to flirt, not really. Never tried and never thought you would. All the boys you knew were knobs, except Nick, he was different. But all the other girls would think the same and go for him too.

"Flirt? Have you ever met me?" You almost laughed. There was no chance you could flirt.

"Y/N. I know you might not feel it right this second, but you're one of the most beautiful girls I know and I couldn't be more serious when I say, if Nick doesn't see that it's a him problem, not a you one." She said, squeezing your hand once more before letting go in order to enter the party.

Coming from a girl like Imogen, that meant the world.

"Let's dance!" Imogen yelled as soon as you walked through the door. There was at least eight hundred kids in the hotel, seven hundred and thirty nine of which you could confidently say you don't know. It was incredibly daunting.

The lights were bright and neon strobes which quite literally filled the whole room. Flashes of the whole rainbow, it was amazing. "I hate to say it but Harry actually pulled it off." You said, voice in disbelief.

"More like the planners his parents hired but yeah, it's good." She chuckled, pulling you over to the drinks table which was mostly covered with cans of coke and J20 but there were a few alcoholic drinks, probably snuck in.

"This should get you in the mood for dancing." She winked, handing over a cup of coke mixed with quite literally, a splash of vodka, not enough to do anything but Imogen was cute in thinking it would help.

"Thanks." You replied, taking a sip before moving over to the dance floor with her. You saw a few faces you recognised thankfully. Tara and Darcy, the cutest couple. Sai, Otis and Christian who always seemed to be together. And lastly, Nick.

He was stood by himself tucked away in a dark corner. He didn't look too happy, eyes darting around the room for anyone to talk to, though he looked disappointing as everyone was enthralled in their own conversations.

You sympathised, often feeling that way when Imogen left you to flirt with a boy at a party, though she didn't do it often.

You were knocked out of your zone when Imogen grabbed your wrists, beginning to jump up and down, a big smile adorning her face as music blasted from the speakers. "This is my favourite song!" She squealed and you laughed, finally loosening up into dancing with the girl.

She spun you around as you spun her, never once noticing the eyes on you from across the room.

Nick.

He always knew you were special. Always felt that you looked at him as though he were the world, saw through his façade of the happy 'lads lad' that plays rugby and doesn't really know if Shakespeare was real or a character.

He wasn't like that, and you knew it.

His eyes softened as he watched you and Imogen jump around each other, feeling glad the two of you were friends so you always had someone to bring you out of your shell. He needed that, he thought.

You and him had never directly spoken which was weird seeing as he had invited not only Imogen but you as well to the party when asked. Maybe now was the time? He thought. Why did he even care?

Nicks eyes widened as he had a realisation. Did he like you? Not just like you in the way Harry Greene likes football but like you in the way Romeo likes Juliet.

He did. He definitely did.

He slowly felt all the small moments from the past couple of weeks add up to him. The blush on his cheeks when you and Imogen would arrive in the morning. The smile on his face whenever you were brough up in conversation. Or the incessant need to like an Instagram post if you were in it. It all made sense now.

He didn't know what was powering him but his feet began to move. Walking over sticky spilt drinks and tissues but never the less towards you.

The closer he got the more he admired the way you danced without a care in the world, hair flipping around, drink spilling over the edges but it all looked so perfect on you.

Just as he reached you the light shone down so perfectly, you in red and him in blue, it was purple. A purple spotlight as though your souls were already intertwined.

"Hi." He spoke breathlessly, nerves clear as day.

"Hi." You replied, the world going quiet behind you.

Nick Nelson was the one and it had never been so clear.

[theshitpostcalligrapher]

Pinned FAQ

How do I request a card?

You can request up to 3 cards for free during openaskbox events! During those, the /ask inbox opens up for a few hours, during which I try to write as many as I can live on twitch and post them on tumblr.

After the event is over and I close that inbox, there are still a BUNCH of leftover requests. This is how I fill the daily content queue, I use those up til it's empty again and then run another openaskbox.

On Saturdays at 1pm EST I write all 28 cards due to go up for the week from that pool of leftover asks live on twitch and then queue them to go up after stream

What if I don't wanna wait?

If you'd like to throw a bit of cash around instead of waiting, you can buy via the etsy listing or you can tune in to those^ Saturday livestreams, there's a variety of ways to donate to get cards written for you on the spot

How do I buy the card I've requested?

The etsy listing is available here! Please remember to include in the notes of the purchase which card(s) you want to buy. If you'd like me to bundle together all the cards you've requested over a period of a few years, dm me here on the blog and I can quote you on a cheaper bundle price

Why did you answer all those asks, it messed up my dash?

Sorry about that! So to keep all of that ^ organized, at the end of the month, I answer about 112-140 leftover asks in order to record them to a proper "to-write document"

It helps me keep organized, it allows me to easily search for spelling issues, and it gets a few eyeballs on the request in case someone tries to slip an obscure slur into their request that I'm not cool with writing (it has happened)

Lots of the regulars are used to this dash nonsense, but there are folks who want to avoid it entirely. If you're on mobile I'd just recommend unfollowing for a while, but if you're on desktop, you can blacklist the tag "added to notepad" and go to xkit to tick the "fully hide blocked tags" option so it clears up your dash

Wait I thought requests were closed, why can I still send things?

That's because requests use /ask, but /submit is always open because it's for YOUR calligraphy, pet photos, fanart of man... etc. Requests are NOT open when it's not openaskbox day but feel free to send me cool shit YOU made anytime

Wait you have a twitch, do you do anything other than calligraphy?

I try! my schedule at work (restaurant) varies week to week so I try my best to stream whenever I've got free time to, nothing's really planned out though

What are your regular writing tools and paper?

I mainly just use speedball nibs, specifically the c-series (c-0 through c-4) because they're angled flat nibs that let me do most blackletter hands I write. I have a supply of leonardt thin tips for detailing and illustrating

The blackletter hands I use rotate through a gothic textura, an italic, a fraktur and an uncial throughout the day, since I post four cards per day.

As for paper, the cards you see on the daily are on plain index cue cards I buy from staples. When commissioned/doing larger pieces, I work with a variety of paper, including a 32 lb xerox paper that has juuuust a perfect amount of lamination that avoids ink feathering, black paper that I bought a hundred sheets of in 2019 and I no longer remember the label, and a BOATLOAD of southworth's ivory parchment paper at both 32 and 64 lb weights. If you're looking to get anything larger than 11x17, I have a bigass 18x24 pad of watercolour paper I can cut down to whatever size we need.

[binbogummy]

Humans are —

I had the urge to write but was so all over the place on what I wanted to write for that I stuck everything I'm into right now onto a wheel and spun it. And guess what? Good Omens won.

Some tags: Reader-insert | Female-reader | Platonic x reader | Fluff | Sickfic | Post-Season 1, Pre-Season 2

Words: 2k+

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | * | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | *²|

Chapter 10| Chapter 11|

~

The rain seemed to fall in sheets, hammering against the Bentley's exterior as it cut through the streets of London. The windshield wipers worked overtime, squeaking faintly as they swiped away the relentless downpour, only for the glass to be blurred again in an instant.

Despite the storm's ferocity, the old car seemed as indifferent to the storm drenched street as its driver did to the complete lack of visibility.

Thunder growled somewhere in the distance and the steerlights overhead illuminated the car's interior and its passengers in brief flashes as they flew by overhead while Crowley cruised a casual 75mph through the tight heart of Soho.

You sat in the passenger seat, watching the water streak and beat against the window as the dark, almost Gothic atmosphere outside was completely blurred.

"All those jokes about London weather really weren't an over-exaggeration, huh? I don't think I've ever seen it come down like this." you mused, finally interrupting the comfrotable silence before a quick cough cleared the building scratchiness in your throat.

Crowley, one hand on the wheel and the other casually draped over the gearshift, didn’t take his eyes off the waterfalling windshield for a moment. "Exaggeration’s the human specialty, love. But in this case, dead accurate. Can't say I haven't seen worse, though."

You let out a little huff and smiled, ironically catching his attention in the form of a sidelong glance, albeit noticeable from under his dark glases, with the soft sniffle that followed your words.

"Not that you seem to mind it too much. Couldn't wait to queue for coffee in the rain? Or maybe you fancy another walk along the Thames, in a gale, without a coat?"

"I had a coat!" you shot back confidently despite Crowley's scathing recap of your week in the city so far. "Besides, it's not exactly as easy for me to get around as it is for you. I've got to make the most of my time while I'm here. London is huge. No matter how many times I come to vist, I can't see enough. No way I'm gonna let the weather get in the way."

While visiting Crowley and Aziraphale was one of the major points of your trip, you'd planned your one-off week in the city around visiting them at the beginning and end of your trip, using the days in between to run around London as you saw fit. With plenty of little pop-ins to Azi's bookshop, of course.

"And you'll be heading home when, exactly?"

"After this weekend." You confirmed, muffling another cough into your elbow. "Catching my flight first thing monday. Oh, and I... appreciate the ride." You added quickly at the end; a strategically placed 'thank you' you hoped he wouldn't notice.

He'd just happned to be passing by as you were running back to your hotel this evening, and considering the way the weather had escalated from a drizzle to a light tsunami, you were rather lucky he had been. How he knew about your escapades from early this week, though, you couldn't be sure. Not that the answer would surprise you.

"Oh, 'course of course." Crowley hummed aloofly, brows raising as he turned sharply to park along the curb. You were momentarily surprised. The rain had muddled the windows so thoroughly you couldn't quite tell where you were but you suppose it was possible he'd already made it to where you were staying considering the speed he was going.

"Oh? Are we there already?"

"Not quite." He killed the engine with a flourish, the car purring into silence as he threw his door open and stepped out onto the street. You recoiled briefly in surprise, the sound of the battering rainfall tripling in volmue as the door was opened. "Gotta drop something off." He continued and you were instantly bitter about the way the falling water seemed to part around him. "Come on then." He casually nodded for you to follow before shutting the door.

You took a moment to sigh, pursuing your lips and briefly wondering if he'd be kind enough to extend that supernatural waterproofing to you, but those hopes we quickly dashed when you stumbled out of the passenger door and the rain immediately greeted you with a cold, unceremonious slap from nearly all directions.

It took everything in you to repress a shriek. The downpour was hard, icy and relentless, soaking through your cloths in seconds. The only brightside was that you'd long since realized where you were and made a mad dash for Aziraphale's bookshop.

"Why'd you park so far away!?" You whined, further waterlogging your sneakers as you splashed through the small current rushing along the curb.

Crowley, one the other hand, had only just rounded the bently, retrieving something from the trunk before following after you at the pace of someone on a leisurely stroll, the rain continuing to slide off and around him and the cardboard box he was now carrying with ease.

You weren't in any mood to wait for him to catch up, but when you reached the familer door of A.Z. Fell & Co, you were disgruntled but unsurprised to find it locked as it always was after hours despite the warm light illuminating the inside.

"Hurry hurry hurry!" You called, waving him over frantically

"I'm coming, I'm coming." He assured, but made no attempt to hurry at all. He had to find this hilarious because it wasn't until he finally got close did the knob you'd been desperately jiggling finally turn, and you nearly fell into the bookshop, your shoes squelching as you stumbled to steady yourself.

Despite being thoroughly soaked through, once inside, the warmth of the shop was quick to wrap around you, and the familiar scent of old books and faintly spiced tea was enough to just barley cut through the smell of cold rain clinging to your skin.

You sighed deeply, catching your breath and composing yourself after the run inside.

"Excuse me~." Crowley hummed and you stumbled again to the side as he slipped in after you, but once he was through you were quick to step back onto the mat that sat inside the entrance, conscious not to drip or track water anywhere inside. "Angel, I've got your books!" He called to the ceiling before tossing the heavy box with a careless thump onto a nearby table, and in doing so spun to look you up and down.

The expression on your face said it all but he only gave you a quick, toothy grin before yelling to the ceiling again, "You got any coffee?", and heading back to what you knew to be Aziraphale's kitchen without waiting for a response.

Not a second after he'd disappeared, though, came the response accompanied by eager footsteps.

"I'm afraid I'm all out at the moment, but I put some tea on when you said you'd be coming! I do wish you would have waited until tomorrow though, this is far from the kind of weather one should be-"

Rounding the spiral staircase from above came Aziraphale, but the hint of exasperation that often laced the angel's tone when speaking to Crowley was interrupted when he reached the bottom and caught sight of you dripping at his door.

His eyes widened in dismay as they took in your thoroughly drenched form. His expression shifted from surprise to see you, then delight, and then to immediate concern, his usual flustered demeanor amplified by the sight of you standing on the increasingly soaked mat at the door.

"Oh, my dear!" he exclaimed, bustling toward you with fluttering hands as if trying to decide whether to usher you inside or scold you for being reckless first. "What on earth are you doing out in this dreadful weather? You’re absolutely soaked through!" Before you could respond, he yelled towards where the demon had disappeared. "Crowley! Get in here!"

"Hm?" Crowley popped back out, a steaming mug in his hand that he took a casual sip from.

"You couldn't have given her a ride? Really?" The angel chided and Crowley scoffed with mock offense, motioning towards you with his mug.

"I did! How do you think she got here? Would have had to walk herself the whole way to Marylbome, otherwise." He shrugged taking another sip of what you were sure you could smell to be fresh brewed coffee.

"I'm alright." You finally spoke up, attempting to reassure Aziraphale. "Just got a little wet on the way in since someone decided to park halfway down the street." You exaggerated lightheartedly.

"That's not true." Crowley was quick to defend, leaning against the doorway to the hall and jutting his mug at the window. "Parked right out front. She's just a bit slow."

You turned to look through the storefront window and the Bently was in fact, right out front now, its headlights fading out as it seemed to have just re-parked itself on its own.

If looks could kill then the one you gave Crowley...still probably wouldn't have had much effect on a demon.

"But anywayー" You decided to move on, "He did offer me a ride back to my hotel. So I can't complain too much. I'll be alright." You insisted, fighting another sniffle.

"Oh, no, no, no," Aziraphale tutted, placing a gentle hand on your shoulder and elbow to shepherd you deeper inside. "That won’t do at all. You’ll catch your death if you stay like this much longer!" He returned to fretting with a mixture of exasperation and genuine concern, gently guiding you to the back of the shop. "Come now, off with your coat." He coaxed and was quick to help you out of the dripping garment. You took your eyes off of it for just a moment, and once off of you, it seemed to have disappeared from his hands completely and into thin air. "I'll fetch you something warm to drink right away."

"That's really not necessary! I appreciate it but I really should be-"

"Nonsense," Aziraphale said firmly, already moving towards the backroom. "Stay there. I'll also fetch some towels, and a blanket! And Crowley, for heaven's sake, don't just stand there. Make yourself useful, please."

Crowley raised an eyebrow over the brim of his glasses, clearly unimpressed by the angel’s scolding, but set his mug down with a dramatic sigh. "Fine, fine." He gestured lazily, and you felt a sudden warmth spread through your damp clothes. In an instant, they were bone-dry, though your hair was still wet and the faint chill of having been soaked still lingered on your skin. "There. Happy?"

Your expression softend in surprise as you looked down at yourself, "Yes, actually. Thank you." You thanked genuinely, shuffling in place in a bit of an attempt to shake off the remaining chill.

Aziraphale returned quickly with a few towels and a thick knit blanket stacked in his arms. He paused again when he saw your now-dry clothes before nodding approvingly and setting them by the large armchair that sat near his phonograph.

"Here we go, dear." The angel was at your side again in an instant, gently ushering you toward the armchair and making sure you got settled. “There now, sit down, and we'll have you warmed up in no time!" He assured, handing you a towel.

"Thank you, Aziraphale," you murmured, accepting the towel and starting to dry your hair. It might of been the act of sitting down so suddenly that aggravated the congestion building in your chest, but your murmured thanks came out terribly hoarse and you were forced to clear your throat with a deep cough.

The angel hovered for a moment, seemingly torn between bustling off to do more and staying to ensure you stayed settled properly. You'd actually let yourself relax for a moment, eyes falling closed with a deep breath and another quiet sniffle.

"Really Crowley, you might have mentioned she wasn't feeling well." The knit blanket was draped over your shoulders and meticulously tucketed around you, and you opened your eyes again in surprise.

"Huh?" Aziraphale's words forced you to try to perk up, not wanting to worry the angel, but he seemed to have already diagnosed you. "What? Azi, I'm fine. Again, just got a little waterlogged there is all." You laughed.

"Oh please. You’ve been out in that dreadful weather all day, haven’t you? Honestly, you must take better care of yourself."

"All week actually." Crowley corrected and Aziraphale’s gasp of horror was so genuine it almost made you laugh again, despite another scratchy tickle building in your throat.

"All week? Oh, my dear! No wonder you look absolutely done in! Crowley, how could you let this happen?"

"Let this happen?" Crowley repeated with brows furrowed. "What, am I supposed to follow her around with an umbrella? She's a big girl, Angel. She makes her own terrible decisions."

You opened your mouth to protest, but another cough bubbled up before you could form the words. Crowley smirked, clearly enjoying the validation of his point. Aziraphale shot him a withering glare before patting your hand protectively.

"Well, if you're going to follow her around regardless it wouldn't hurt to be prepared!"

"I'm sorry what?"

"Oh, never mind," Aziraphale quieted down softly, his voice taking on its usual warm, soothing tone as he turned his attention back to you. "You're here now, and I'll make sure you're properly cared for. You'll not go running about in the rain again while you're under this roof, do you understand?"

You began to muster some argument, but your voice seemed to come out hoarse again. "Azi, really, I'm fine. I think I just have a cold, if anything."

"Nonsense," he said again, his gentle smile doing nothing to mask the resolve in his voice. "When it comes to humans, even a sniffle left unchecked can turn into all sorts of unpleasant things. Rest now, and let me handle everything. It'll be quite nice, you'll see!"

"But-"

You were interrupted again when he began fussing with the blanket he'd draped over your shoulders. "Are you warm enough for now? I can fetch another blanket if need be." Then, a fittingly angelic sounding jingle, like that of a bell, sounded from the bookshop's backroom and he stood up tall. "Oh! That would be the tea! You stay put and I'll be right back!"

After Aziraphale bustled off again toward the backroom, you allowed yourself to sink deeper into the armchair with a groan, feeling the warmth of the blankets start to seep into your thoroughly chilled bones.

The smell of brewing tea began wafting through the shop and Crowley plopped himself into one of its many mismatched chairs, his long legs crossed as he pushed his sunglasses down just enough to peer over them at you.

"You know," he drawled lazily, "for someone who claims to be fine, you’re looking suspiciously weak-willed right now."

"Crowley!" Aziraphale's voice called from out of sight. "Be nice!" He scolded but Crowley just grinned.

You rolled your eyes, but there was no real energy behind it. You were more worried about inconveniencing Aziraphale at the moment.

"But that's what you get for running around like a daft tourist, aye?"

You let out a small laugh despite yourself, though it quickly dissolved into another small cough. Maybe you were a little worse off then you originally thought.

Crowley leaned back in his chair, clearly pleased with himself, but before he could continue his teasing, Aziraphale returned, carrying a single tea cup and saucer to you with a sense of urgency that would have led anyone to believe it was the cure for cancer.

"Here you are," He began, setting it on your lap before gently guiding your hands to the saucer and handle, as if worried you didn't have the strength to hold it on your own. "Drink this, dear. It'll do you good. Chamomile with a bit of honey. It's quite soothing.".

"Aziraphale..." You sighed, your resolve slowly caving as you took a sip.

"Good, good," Aziraphale said, "Now, you’ll stay here for the night of course, won’t you? No need to rush off anywhere."

"I really couldn’t impose—"

"Nonsense," he interrupted again with his word of the day, waving off your protest with a flutter of his hand. "You’re not going anywhere in this weather, not while you’re under the weather yourself. I'll fetch you some night clothes and once you've finished your tea we'll get you straight to bed."

"To bed???" You groaned and Crowley nearly snorted, slapping his knee.

"Excited to play nurse again, are we, Angel?"

"Perhaps I am." Aziraphale nodded, "But with only the most honest intentions in mind, of course." He assured you. "I look forward only to seeing you back in tip-top shape! Now, drink up, and I'll arange the guest room~"

~

I'd like for this to have 3 chapters, but that will depend entirely on my ability to deliver...

[inexplicifics]

Hiya! I was wondering if you’d been having any luck making the Cats Among Wolves bunnies cooperate lately? If not, that’s cool. Plot bunnies are not the most cooperative creatures, but I figured I’d ask. I was also curious about what the writing process usually looks like for you if you were willing to explain it a bit. Do you tend to jump around between projects just following the inspiration, or do you write out at least a whole scene or chapter before letting yourself move around? How many times do you usually send a fic to Rose for betaing before you feel ready to release it? I always find different people’s processes so interesting.

So Cats Among Wolves is mostly not cooperating at the moment - I am weirdly low on Brain and the bunnies are not doing long-form very well just now. But here's a snippet from the Cedric & Axel fic:

Fuck, this is good, Cedric opines, sipping greedily at the soup Gaetan is holding for him. “The old Wolf knows his way around a kitchen,” Gaetan agrees, nodding. “I think I gained most of a stone the first winter I spent here.” “You needed it,” Eskel puts in. “All you Cats are too damn scrawny.” “Wolves are just absurdly big,” Gaetan sniffs. “And what are Vipers, then?” Eskel - teases. And Gaetan is grinning. Axel has never seen Gaetan so relaxed around an alpha before. Not even Cedric. But there’s not even a hint of tension in his littlest brother. He’s utterly unafraid. “Vipers are mostly perfectly normal sizes, Letho’s just special,” Gaetan says cheerfully. Letho smirks.

As to my writing process - oh gods, it's like a pogo stick. I often have eight or ten docs open, and I create a new WIP at least three times a week. (I am very easy to plotbunny. And I am surrounded by enablers.) I write until I get stuck and then I go to something else. Sometimes, if something really grabs me, I can get a whole longfic out in a week; sometimes I have to come back to it again and again until it clicks. My personal feeling is that as long as words are ending up in a row, it's all good.

I don't outline. Outlines kill fic for me. Once I've written down what's going to happen, why bother writing it again? Even for something like MBtT, I had the very loosest possible sketch of the plot and the desired relationships. I also can't estimate how long a fic is going to be to save my life. I thought MBtT was going to be 50K. I have to very deliberately keep from putting plot into things like prompt fills and flash fics, because once I've added plot, that fic isn't getting done in less than 10K.

I usually send the fic to Rose when it's completely done, and then do a pass through it once she's left comments, fixing all the plot holes she finds. Then she checks my work and I put it in the posting queue.

One thing I have found that helps me is that I color-code my docs. Blue is in progress, purple is ready for beta, and green is ready to be posted. It makes it easier for me to track things visually.

The other thing that really helps is cheer-readers. Because I try to only post finished fics, sometimes I'll start wondering if what I'm writing is really any good. Rose and Twist and Ray have all been wonderful at Encouraging me enthusiastically to keep going, and suggesting directions when I get stuck. Cheer-readers are great and I encourage writers to find them if they can.

Hope that was interesting!

[bad-traffic-smp-ideas]

Welcome to Bad Traffic SMP Ideas, an experimental gimmick blog with a twist!

Hello! Instead of showcasing the many good ideas this community has come up with, this blog highlights all the "bad" ideas created with our beloved smps in mind.

I, the Head Watcher, will be your guide on this journey through the wonderfully horrific concepts I've collected for future traffic series smps. Enjoy your trip! ^^

[QnA + tag system + more below the cut!]

What is a "bad idea?"

It's whatever you want it to be! The "[blank] Life, but _" format works really well for series concepts as a whole, but "bad headcanons" are welcome too! Go wild, friends <3

"Someone already sent in my same idea! Can I submit it again?"

Sure!! Most of the time, I won't even realize it's been said before. This blog has been going for so long now and I have bigger priorities, I won't penalize you for sending in a "repeat" ask :)

(There is also the #additions tag for adding onto specific ideas, although it isn't used very consistently. If you would like your ask to be added to a previous post instead, just ask!)

"What does the queue look like for this blog?"

Currently, it posts 3 times per day, and there's about ~250 posts in the backlog waiting to be posted (as of late January.)

For complicated personal reasons (but mostly me being a busy uni student), that most likely won't be drastically changing anytime soon. I don't get around to stocking this blog very often and I would rather have it be slow and consistent than have random bursts of activity then silence. I know this is frustrating for people, but this is my personal passion project, and I don't want to needlessly stress myself out over something I started for fun :)

"I sent in my idea two months ago! Where is it?!"

Probably still in the askbox! Very rarely do I actually delete asks, I promise I don't cherrypick the ideas I like and discard the rest. But since I know the wait is frustrating, this is my policy to deal with it:

If you've sent in an idea and it hasn't posted yet, you can send me an ask describing your idea and ask to have it moved up in the queue. You can also send in a separate ask when submitting an idea if you want to have it posted sooner rather than later.

(If your idea is connected to recent events in smps, etc it will most likely be moved up anyway so it posts while still "relevant," although this is somewhat limited to my familiarity with the event. It never hurts to ask!)

"Wait, this blog has a TV Tropes page?!"

APPARENTLY. I didn't make it, but I'm a HUGE fan of it, and it's probably more organized than my actual blog. Go check it out, I'm famous guys <3

Housekeeping + Rules:

Mostly common sense things + be a decent person, etc. This isn't a place for discourse, so please leave that elsewhere. There haven't been any serious issues, but if there ever are I'll create a more cohesive list of rules.

Admin Info:

You can call me Pho! I saw the @/badmccideas blog and got inspired to make this around the end of Last Life in November 2021. My main is @phosphorus-noodles :)

Currently, I'm the sole mod running this blog. This may change in the future, but please don't ask to join the team unless I ask for more help! This project is my baby, and I'm very protective over it ^^'

Tagging System:

#bad traffic idea - catch-all tag for bad ideas

#headcanon - specifically for headcanons, not concepts (not consistently used, so if you can't find a headcanon tagged with this it's probably under the previous tag)

#not a bad idea - anything that's not a bad idea (announcements, admin notes, reblogs, etc.)

#good idea - personal favorite submissions <3

#admin - posts from yours truly :)

#ask - ideas sent in via ask

#submission - ideas submitted

#reblog - anything reblogged

#additions - inconsistently used, but meant for building upon existing specific ideas

#life series predictions - used whenever there's a new season on the horizon to try to predict where apollo's dodgeball will fall

#blog lore - mostly for fun, not that serious or consistent lol, feel free to filter this tag or join in with the fun! :)

If you've made it to the end of this post, congrats! I love you <3

[thessalian]

Thess vs Taking Time Off

This? THIS IS WHY I HATE TAKING TIME OFF.

Don't get me wrong - I like the time off. Hell, I need the time off. This job wrecks me the fuck up sometimes. But ... well, at the moment at least, it's looking at wrecking me up again as of this week, because it's a clusterfuck again. It's at least partly a direct result of me going on annual leave, too, which is great.

So I came in and checked the typing queue, and we were in the mid 300s. Because of fucking course we were. We'd barely started on yesterday's, despite the girls having been going for two hours. So I did some checking. Part of it is that New Girl's away today, so maybe it'll get better when she's back tomorrow. But that doesn't explain all of it. What did help explain some of the rest was that Temp was working on stuff from the 14th. Which means that someone came in on a Saturday. And I know pretty well who's who and who does what in this office, and so she was working on placenta cut-up.

She hates working on placenta cut-up, because it's long and fiddly. Or it can be, unless you have the tidy template I came up with years ago. She should have this, because I gave it to her at the time. But it would appear not, because she was unbelievably slow. I think another part of it was sheer "I won't wannaaaaaaaaa" on her part. Because she never does want to do anything that's not a simple little thing.

Which does a lot to explain why she was dawdling through those while I had multiple Monstrosities of ten minutes and up, a whole lot of Monstrosities in the 5-10 minute range, and all the Annoyances. Yes, even with Goblin working. Because Goblin was also being ... selective.

Also the doctors dropped like 300 reports into the queue today, and that was before I left, and since they leave at around 6pm at minimum... We're into the backlog stage to insane degrees. We won't get yesterday's and today's done by close of play tomorrow, so the backlog left from that will be added to tomorrow's work when Thursday rolls around, and... Well, just and. It never fucking ends, and there's no way that lazy bunch of fuckheads is going to do the amount of pushing necessary to get ahead of it. Honestly, I'm not sure we could get ahead of it even if the other girls were pushing.

The doctors come in starting at 7am now. Don't leave until at least 6pm, often closer to 7pm. So for a total of twelve hours a day, sometimes six days a week, we have multiple doctors (more and more with all the new trainees we're getting). And there's only two dedicated typists - and I mean that in all senses of the word; Goblin and I have no other duties bar typing because we work from home, and we're the only ones that regularly take the Monstrosities without an outright fight. And we're only in for five days a week, on only slightly staggered shifts. We need another typist badly. Head Honcho and Scruffman both said something about hiring someone new, but I've seen zero evidence of that yet.

It's been one day and I'm already so tired. I'm probably going to have to do overtime, and it's starting to get quite hot in the afternoon and evenings on top of my flat's pizza oven walls (great in winter, shit in summer), and I already need another week off and I just had one.

And I also know that if I have another one (well, when I have another one because I do have to take that time for several reasons, but I don't want to think about that right now), it's all going to get worse.

I can see how obvious it is that this place would fall apart without me. I mean, I guess it was probably obvious to Scruffman at least because of how my performance reviews tend to go. I kind of want to shake him or whoever succeeds him in a couple of weeks while screaming, "I MAY HOLD THIS DEPARTMENT TOGETHER BUT IT IS KILLING ME BY INCHES AND I CANNOT KEEP THE DEPARTMENT FROM FALLING APART IF I'M DEAD OF OVERWORK!"

If anyone needs me, I'll be quietly whimpering over there someplace.

[broodwoof]

ooh saw a good post, queued it as i am the queue mutual, but it got me thinking about a lot of things

but very simply put: what we as dragon age players know has no relationship to what the characters know, and this is explicitly intentional

as players we gain access to a wealth of specific knowledge. but even we, as players, are not given hard truth all the time - the codices throughout all the games are written with a deliberate in-world bias

like the one codex that states that sexism does not exist in thedas, and then ppl getting upset because it obviously does? well.... gestures at our world.... bet you anything you could find countless modern articles saying that sexism does not exist/does not exist anymore/does not exist here, wherever 'here' is to the writer

have your feelings about it! but i'm just saying that the codices are deliberately written with bias. DAO literally gives you different codices depending on your race. treating them as Absolute Truth is going to lead to personal frustration when they are inevitably revealed to be limited, biased, and sometimes entirely wrong

the way the crows are written and talked about through the series vs. what we hear from one single character (zevran my beloved) who remains loyal to the crows while also trying to leave them while ALSO not wanting to display vulnerability vs. what we see from (one) particular house in veilguard so many in-game years after DAO... the way qunari are written about and how variable it is ("they're monsters" vs. "they have a real culture")... the way the grey warden order is discussed... the way that knowledge and opinion of magic varies wildly... the way that certain cultures handle their mages and magic being better, but other cultures not knowing or even deliberately suppressing that knowledge...

again, ppl will have their feelings about all of this and that's fine. but using a codex or something we as players learn from a prior game/dlc to point out a seeming "retcon" is not really engaging with some of the underlying themes of these games. the biases have been confirmed repeatedly. this was a real intent right from the inception of this series

and hey, it's natural! we literally play as the warden, as hawke, as the inquisitor, and now as rook. it's hard to set aside our knowledge from prior games. but in-game, within the narrative itself, those characters don't have deep knowledge of what the other characters do/have done. hawke certainly knows of the warden, but cannot recount every battle, every codex, every conversation the warden had with people. thus, hawke cannot make use of every bit of knowledge the warden - and we as players - gained through that game. further, hawke's understanding of what the warden did is colored by biased recountings and an emphasis on certain story beats over others

in DAI, in early conversation with cassandra, she tells the inquisitor about the time she "single-handedly" slayed a dragon... and how twisted that story had become over its retellings. and, i mean, solas' everything. the evanuris. but i like referencing cassandra in this because this is something that happened in a single lifetime, yet has already grown into a fanciful tale that discounts a huge amount of what actually happened

she knows that mages helped save the day and protect the divine. we know that, too. but the world of thedas? the vast majority of those who know the story do not know that mages helped. and, again, this was within one lifetime. many who know the story were alive when the real event took place. but it doesn't matter! because they weren't there, and they're hearing about it from other people, who heard about it from other people, and so on, and at various points things were dropped or added

and, hell, the entirety of DA2 is a story told by varric to cassandra. i know some people get frustrated with considering that aspects of it may have been falsified because that makes it hard to figure out the truth (and that's fair!), but i think it's worth acknowledging that this narrative direction was not only intentional, but utterly explicit. we literally see varric telling cassandra the story of DA2

[firstprincehornyramblings]

Hello yall! I'm getting a head start and queueing this extra early (its technically Wednesday for me right now) Once again, under the cut, for length reasons, and nsfw reasons <3

------------- PWP Dom Henry and Free Use Alex

“You are not going to cum yet, Alexander. Calm down,” the blond hissed, “Or call a color,” he added in a quiet voice. “N-no, I can.. I can calm down,” Alex whined, “That’s so cold,” his voice was soft and pathetic, “I just wanted to cum.” “But you won’t, not till I say you can, not till I’m done with you,” Henry reiterated, “Because you want to be good for me. And Alex? You are a good boy, you’re the best boy, and you are not going to let me down.” “I’m good, I’ll be good for you… W-wanna be good for you so bad, Hen,” Alex cried.   “That’s what I thought,” Henry purred, “Just a moment more,” he said before leaning closer to press a kiss to the side of Alex’s thigh, “Let’s get those balls nice and cold, it’ll take you a minute to warm up, hm? That should take some of the need away.” “Yeah,” Alex nearly sobbed, but his cheeks were dry, no tears falling, “Thank you for helping me be a good boy.”

---

GEORGE THOUGHTS (Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this fic are those of George Villier’s and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the author.)

“Good boy, you’re my favorite,” it was whispered against a sweat soaked temple, and for the day at least it was true. His hand fell to his own thigh, fingers wiping through the slick there and bringing them to his own lips. He sucked at those fingers, salt and bitterness on his tongue, his opposite hand falling to the pet still kissing his neck. With one shove he pushed them aside, “Wine,” he murmured against his own fingers. He couldn’t help but smile hearing ‘yes master’ leave the young woman’s lips. A delicate hand placed behind his head, leaning it up as a cup was placed to his lips, wine poured into his mouth. Sweetness burned down his throat as he tilted his chin up to signal he was finished drinking. That lover was rewarded with a hard kiss, the last swallow of wine in his mouth pushed into hers, their tongues intertwining as vermillion ran down their chins.

--- Client Alex and Hairstylist Hen

“W-wait, what?” Alex stammered, “You’re…leaving? You’re not going to even let me get you off?” He was pulling himself off that wall some but resting a hand behind his back for steadiness. “But wait, didn’t you come here to like- prove me wrong? You have to do that, right?” he asked, clearly grasping for straws. “Ah, right, smart thinking,” Henry nodded, undoing his own pants, and lifting his shirt half up. It was just enough for Alex to see the soft tummy that was creating a slight muffin top above those pants. The brunette found it entirely grabbable, but Henry didn’t seem to notice the intense stare. Instead, he pushed the front of his pants and underwear down, resting them on the base of his own cock. He was visibly hard, and yet all he did was show Alex the tawny pubic hair there, “Blond, see, you were wrong, I was being honest,” he hummed, before fixing his pants into place again. Alex was still staring in awe, as if everything happening amazed him, “I… you’re really leaving? What if I say that you seem like the kind of guy who’d dye your pubes too?” “Then I’d tell you to fuck off,” the blond said matter-of-factly.

YAY TAGS (no pressure tags darlings)

@taste-thewaste @eusuntgratie @henrysfox @mikibwrites

@softboynick @catdadacd @sheepywritesfics @henryspearl

@basil-bird @caressthosecheekbones @henfox @tailsbeth-writes

@onthewaytosomewhere @anti-homophobia-cheese @thighzp + literally anyone else I'm sleepy and forgot, or anyone who sees this and wants to tag me, I love reading yall's stuff. <3

[lvrsparadise]

can you do one where reader has a bad day and is trying to detangle her hair but is just being super rough and carless and matt notices and brushes her hair for her?

like a matt x reader fluffy type thing! (idk if this makes sense im sorry!!)

Hi lovely anon! It does make sense and I hope this is what you meant!

'CAN YOU?' - M.S

Synopsis - "Baby, are you struggling?" "Yes. Can you help me."

Warnings! - Stress, profanity, tears of frustration, I think that's all actually. This is short btw.

A/N - I got school tomorrow. So here's what's going to happen, I'm going to start writing as much as I can, and then like add them all to queue so that they post while I'm at school. Anywho, enjoy !

I sigh in frustration as I attempt to run the brush through my tangled mess of hair again.

At this point, with how many tries and how long I've been standing in Matt's bathroom trying to brush my hair, tears have formed in my eyes.

I let out a groan and sob at the same time and drop the brush in the sink, the plastic of the brush clanging against the porcelain.

I hear a knock at the door before it cracks open and Matt pokes his head in.

"Everything alright sweet girl?"

I sigh and shake my head, sniffling and wiping away a few stray tears."

I pick the brush back up and try to brush my hair again but struggle even more than the attempts from before.

He walks into the bathroom and shuts the door behind him and places his hands on my shoulders, turning me around to face him.

"Baby, are you struggling?"

I nod my head and sniffle.

"Yes. Can you help me." I mumble as he grabs the brush from my hand.

"Of course pretty girl." He smiles and turns me back around to face the mirror before he starts to gently card the brush through my hair.

After he's gotten all of the knots out, he presses a kiss to my shoulder and puts the brush down.

"Feel better?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"Anytime babe."

Tags ! ✮

@dwntwn-strnlo ✮ @ssturniolo ✮ @strniolo ✮ @20nugs ✮ @prettysturniolo ✮ @mxqdii ✮ @thetriplets3 ✮

If you want to be added to the list, all you have to do is ask !! ✮

I love all of you guys !

And I hope you all have a wonderful day and / or night ✮

[teadreamsims]

The sun was high in the sky. The summer breeze tickled and cooled Melissa and Diana's skin as they made their way to the chateua gardens.

Melissa was nervous. Hell, she was more than nervous, she was sick with anxiety and the fear of rejection. However, in the space of just under a year she had grown to fall so deeply in love with Diana that she was convinced this kind of love was once in a lifetime. That any other love or romance would pale in comparison to what she and Diana had. And for that reason, she knew exactly what she needed to do and she finally had the confidence to do it.

As Melissa got down on one knee, she dived into the speech that she'd prepared. She told Diana everything that she was feeling. The love that ran so deep that it coursed through every vein and artery. The adoration she felt for her beloved every single day. Her inability to ever picture a future without Diana or Elisha in her life. She knew at the core of her soul and who she was that Diana was the woman for her and that she wanted to build a life with her and Elisha and any other kids that they may adopt in the future. For Melissa, this was it and there would never be anyone after Diana because Diana and Elisha were all she needed. By the end of her speech, the two of them were crying as Diana said yes and jumped into her arms, elated and just as madly in love as Melissa was.

Thank you so much to everyone who followed this current household from start to end! Playing without the aim of a legacy or building up a family was just the reset I needed to get me excited for playing with a family and family oriented gameplay again. In my next queued post, you'll start getting introduced to my Growing Together family (I've already played up until my main sims have their first child, so there's plenty of screenshots to edit and posts to queue up!). For now, however, I'm going to give a couple of fun facts about Melissa and her gameplay!

So, when I first made Melissa I was greatly inspired by Oshin and Shiipty's current households over on YouTube! I wanted to make a sim I could play with casually but added in an aspiration I wanted to do that I've never completed before. And so, Melissa was born!

I also intended originally when I first started playing for Melissa to have a fling with Don Lothario! I wanted to create some drama around her having a failed relationship with him and throwing herself into all of her hobbies, but then I saw the way that Melissa and Diana were drawn to each other and how Melissa would cancel out of actions to talk to her and I realised what Melissa's story really was. Melissa's story wasn't destined to be one of a failed relationship with a man who treated her badly. She was instead destined to fall for the girl upstairs who was always happy to see her and supported her in all of her hobbies and skills.

This last fun fact is more about Diana than Melissa. When I first made Diana, it was with the intention of exploring the Snowy Escape pack and the extreme sports aspiration. I loved the idea of an athlete falling in love with Mt Komorebi and eventually moving there, but I ended up never playing that out. So, when I started looking through my old sims to move into the same building as Melissa I thought Diana would make a great addition and even become a best friend for Melissa. Little did I know that that would turn into a romance that genuinely had me welling up with emotion when Melissa proposed.

Thank you once again to everyone for all your support for this current household! Hopefully this won't be the last we see of Melissa, Diana, and Elisha. I'm thinking of playing with them in my own time and watching them grow up and then MAYBE using one of the kids to explore the romantic expansion we're getting. But yeah, this definitely won't be the last we see of these sims ❤️

[wandafiction]

You Don't Get It - Just Us Chapter 66

Warnings: Angst, Hurt

Word Count: 2958

Series List | Chapter 65 | Chapter 67

================================

"Are we nearly there yet?" I playfully stare at Tommy through the rear view mirror as he asks the question for a thousandth time.

"I would say no, but that would be a lie. We are 5 minutes away, just got to get to the parking lot." Tommy's face lights up with the information and he presses his face against the window, his eyes following the buildings as they pass him by. 

"I think someone is excited." I look over at Wanda in the passenger seat as she watches Tommy's excitement increasing the closer we get.

"I'm really excited we haven't been to the aquarium for like years. I think the last time we went was when you took us for our birthday mom."

"You mean your tenth birthday?" Tommy hums out a yes. "No wonder you're excited. There should be plenty of new exhibits for us to look at, they've added quite a bit in the past 4 years." 

"I have good news." Tommy peels his face off the window to look at me through the mirror, excitement dancing in his eyes. "We are here."

He presses his face against the window again as we drive into the carpark, his eyes lighting up when he sees one of the main buildings. I hear Billy wince in pain slightly when Tommy excitedly hits his leg pointing out of the window, but the pain is soon forgotten when he sees the aquarium ahead. 

It doesn't take long to find a car parking space, so I climb out the car and open the trunk door grabbing out my backpack. As I close the door, Wanda wraps her arm around my waist from behind leaving kisses on my clothed shoulder blade while the boys quite literally jump out the car, buzzing with excitement. 

"Ready to go guys?" I ask as I lock the car and put the keys in my bag, pulling Wanda to my right side holding her hand so my backpack can hang off my left shoulder. 

The boys don't answer but Tommy grabs one of Wanda's hands and Billy grabs one of mine and they start dragging us towards the main entrance. They don't stop dragging us, me and Wanda giggle the whole time, until we get into the queue. Wanda lifts my right arm up, pressing her side against me and drops my arm so it rests lazily on her shoulders. I turn my head to peck her forehead and she rests her head on my side, her right arm moving to hold onto my coat as her other one snakes around the back of my waist. 

I turn to see the boys bouncing on their feet and it makes me smile how excited they actually are, they always seem to surprise me. They may be 14 years old, stereotypically they are grumpy and don't leave the house, but Wanda has done an amazing job and they seem to have so many interests. 

I realise Billy hasn't let go of my hand when he pulls on it when he moves forward with the queue, and it makes me smile happily deciding not to question his decision. Maybe he doesn't realise he is still holding my hand. I feel Wanda squeeze my side, I peak down at her seeing her eyes dart between me and Billy. Giving a small shrug Wanda's face paints a picture of pure happiness at the sight as she tends on her tiptoes to kiss the underside of my jaw. 

The queue moves again and the lady at the desk gives us a toothy smile as she looks between the four of us. 

"Hi, can I see your tickets please?" I have to let go of Billy's hand, unfortunately, so I can slide my backpack off my shoulder to grab the printed tickets out. 

The lady types some things into her computer, I catch her eyes darting between all of us every now and again a small smile remains on her face. I settle my backpack back on my shoulder as she confirms everything looks good and Billy's hand instantly grabs back onto mine.

"Would you guys like a guide book? It comes with a map and other information and the times for the shows and feeding." 

"Yes please, can we have two?" Wanda asks as she moves behind me to grab her purse out of my bag. 

"Of course." The lady grabs two off the desk scanning them into the till. "Those come to $10 please."

Wanda hands her a $10 bill, as the lady hands the twins the guides as she smiles at them. Both of them give a polite thank you as they open up the guides looking at everything that we can do throughout the day, both getting excited about the shark tank. Apparently sharks are one of their favourite animals. 

"You have a lovely family. You boys are lucky to have two loving mom's." 

"Thank you!" Both the boys reply before me and Wanda can correct her, and they once again drag us to where they want to go. Wanda looks up at me with all the love in the world, obviously trying to hide her excitement over the boy's moment and I shrug like it's no big deal.

But on the inside. 

AHHHHH.

They didn't technically say it, but they also didn't correct the lady. They just accepted the fact she thought we were both their mom's and moved on like it was nothing. But it's not nothing, not to me and by the look on Wanda's face not for her either. I'm not going to question it though, just in case they didn't actually realise what they did and it was just a mere accident.

"Woah." Tommy's eyes bulge when he sees the first attraction of the day which is the reef fish. 

He let's go of Wanda's hand and makes his way to the tank. Billy looks down at our still connected hands then up at me before deciding he is going to join his brother leaving me and Wanda to ourselves. I pull my arm that's over Wanda's shoulders to pull her closer against me, her head nuzzles into the side of my chest and her arms wrap back around my waist. I give her body a small squeeze as we watch from a small distance.

"Do you want to go see the fish or are you happy just watching the boys enjoy their time." I look down at Wanda as she continues to watch the twins as their eyes dart around the tank and the information boards pointing out each fish as they find it.

"I'm happy just watching the boys. The sharks are my favourite."

"God the boys do take after you." I laugh out when she bounces excitedly on the balls of her feet.

"You think so?" Wanda tilts her head to look up at me, a toothy grin on her face.

"I know so."

I hum in thought trying to think of some examples as we watch the boys to the next tank and slowly follow behind them in our own world. I can feel Wanda watching me as I think back to all the times I've spent with the boys and how they always do little things to remind me of Wanda.

"Well they both do that killer nose scrunch of yours, I mean I can't say no to you when you do it. I think the boys will use it against me honestly when they find out it's my weakness. Or the way they tilt their head, just like you do. Sometimes it's scary when you do it, I mean I watched you do it to Vision and Steph and I just thank whatever God is out there I haven't been on the receiving end. But it's also cute because a lot of the time you do it at the same time as scrunching your nose. Finally, you are all really snuggly. Billy took time warming up to me, but after he hugged me once he didn't stop. None of you did."

"Really. You think they are like me?" I hum in agreement noticing how Wanda's voice seems to be filled with...hope?

"They Wanda." I point to the twins." Are more like you then you sometimes are. You were the one who raised them so it really doesn't surprise me." 

Wanda gives me a small nod before checking to see where the boys are, and seeing them waving us over to the exit of the first building. We follow them silently as the dart between people and other children, with one destination in mind. The sharks. They don't even bother looking at anything else, something about the feeding starting soon so they were on a mission to get from row seats. 

I use my height to my advantage when the boys squeeze through a crowd of other teenagers, making sure I see them entering the building. Wanda has been rather quiet this whole walk, I'm not sure if there is something wrong  or if she is enjoying the moment. I do notice her standing up on her toes every now and again, thinking nothing of it. I continue to walk us in the direction I saw the boys go. All of a sudden her body turns in a small circle as her eyes scan the surrounding area. 

She stands on her tiptoes trying to see over and around the crowd of noisy teenagers, biting her lip nervously. Her eyes dart from left to right as her head turns on a swivel to try and catch a glimpse of them. When she doesn't find what she is looking for her hands move and rake through her hair, twisting once more on her heels. It's only after she calls out the twins' names do I realise what's happening.

"They're fine Wanda, I saw them enter the building. Let's get ourselves inside and find them, yeah?"

"What?" She turns to look at me like I've offended her in the worst way possible. She unwraps my arm from her shoulders and walks ahead of me, leaving me standing there wondering what the hell just happened. "See you in there."

I shake my head blinking a couple of times before walking after her, not bothering to avoid the crowd I start to push my way through. Not that it takes much effort. When scrawny teenagers see a 6ft 5 stranger trying to get through, they normally move out the way. Especially when they are wearing the scowl that I am. 

We were having a good time, the day has only just started and somehow I have managed to piss her off. I can't blame her period because she finished a few days ago, maybe her hormones are still all over the place. Or maybe I did something? Did I do something? 

I manage to get through the crowd of people and spot Wanda walking towards the entrance of the shark tanks, I pick up my pace to catch up with her. I call her name but either she doesn't hear me or she is ignoring me. Thanks to my long stride I manage to catch her up in the entrance and move to stand in front of her, choosing not to grab her wrist and spin her around.

"Wanda we the fuck was that?" I whisper, shout, trying to avoid gaining unwanted attention from everyone walking past.

"What was that? What do you mean what was that? I should be asking you that." She huffs out as her eyes scan the people walking past making sure they don't stop to listen.

"What did I do to warrant that reaction Wanda?" 

"Like you don't know."

"No I don't, so I'd rather you tell me so I can apologise properly." All she does is huff and roll her eyes. "Wanda I'm not going to apologise for something if I do not know what I've done."

"You actively saw me looking for the boys, worried sick because I couldn't see them and you just stood there knowing the whole time that they were fine."

She goes to side step me, but I'm quicker and block her path and she huffs out an angry breath avoiding all eye contact with me. Her eyes now look at everything around me, but not at me. 

"Wanda. I didn't realise you were looking for them until you called their names. If you had just asked me if I had seen them instead of blindly panicking I would have told you where they went." 

She waves her hands about in front of my face, I try my best not to flinch and I must have done a good job because Wanda's angry demeanour doesn't falter one bit.

"It's a mother's job to look after her children and I can't even keep an eye on them at a fucking aquarium." She seethes, I can no longer tell if her anger is directed towards me or if I am just the punching bag. 

I end up clenching my jaw, turning my head to look down at the floor to my left when she practically growls in anger when I don't say anything. I don't know what to say. I don't want to fight. I don't like fighting. Fighting always ends up getting me hurt, Wanda knows that. Why is she so mad at me? I can't ask her directly because it will just make her more mad, and I know people lose control when they're mad. I can't go through that again. So instead I try to get her to see my point of view.

"Wanda, they are teenage boys, they wander off. They have phones to get in contact with us or vice versa."

"You don't get it." Her hands clamp down in her hair, as she yet again let's out an angry breath and I do my best not to shrink at her tone.

"What don't I get?" I manage to ask out trying to get to the bottom of it, without being directly fighting her back. I just want to know.

"What it is like to be a mother, and worry every second of every day about what your boys are going to grow up to be like. You don't understand what it's like to see them go out with their friends and wonder if they are going to make it back I've or not. You don't get it when they phone me and my first thought is 'what's happened?' And you proved that when you just let them run off, not bothering to tell their own mother that you knew where they were. You don't get it Y/n. You don't...."

I take a step back, feeling sick to my stomach as Wanda seems to realise what she said, her face paling as she takes a step forward. I take a step back letting out a small humourless laugh, my hands pulling at my cheeks as I pull them over my face. 

"Wow." A click my lip together, my eyes closing for a second, and when I open them I see Wanda with a look of dismay on her face. "Just...wow."

"Baby." Her voice is a whisper as she takes a quick step forward grabbing both of my forearms but I pull them out of her grasp harshly and side step her. 

"I'll be in the car." I start walking out of the building and hear Wanda call my name but I don't even look back and continue walking forward. I can't do this right now, I don't want to fight her so I will do what I've always done. Run.

I avoid the crowd this time, deciding to take the long route of avoiding them, afraid that in my anger I will end up pushing one of them over. I hear my name being called again and the quick pace of footsteps behind me, I huff out a breath as I come to an abrupt stop as I turn around to face a guilt-ridden Wanda.

"Baby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I…."

"What is up with you today Wanda. First this morning and now this. Something is going on and you want to talk to me. Yet I seem to be the perfect verbal punching bag. Is it something I did? Is it something I can help you get past? Because this past month and a half have been utter bliss. We haven't argued, not like this, the whole time. We have had our disagreements, and sure I hurt you badly when I didn't tell you I was a widow. But what happened in there was a low blow. Even for you. And today just seems to be an attack Y/n day. So sort it out." I try to keep my voice level, which is pretty scary if you ask me, because again we are in the middle of the New York aquarium and I don't want to make the news.

Two Lesbian Lovers argue in the middle of the aquarium causing many disruptions to the people of new york. One calls the other one out for letting her child die before she can even turn one!

Well that's what my mind tells me would happen.

Wanda takes a step forward, her arms reaching out to try and cup my face, but I shake my head taking a step back and her hands drop to her side. I almost give in and comfort her when I see her bottom lip quiver and her eyes fill with tears. She goes to say something but I beat her to it.

"I will be in the car." 

================================

[motheatenscarf]

FREEDOM.

I'm FINALLY done with Heavensward and Stormblood society quests!!

I had the Stormblood ones done a while ago, actually, they were a delight and I breezed through them, but put off doing the combined quest until after the Heavensward one bcs I'm trying to do them in order. But the Vanu and Moogles took SO LONG to do because they only give you a max of 150 reputation every day instead of the standard 180. That doesn't sound like a big difference, but jesus christ, it adds up, wound up adding like an extra 2 or 3 weeks onto the grind. Un-fucking-bearable.

I think that extended grind might be why I didn't enjoy the Heavensward societies that much.

The Vath were okay, kinda cute, didn't overstay their welcome, but I just wasn't terribly invested in them. I've seen the "trying to break away from a hivemind" story before and this one didn't have anything especially interesting to say and the bonds forged didn't feel especially profound. But they did give 210 rep a day, so it just breezed by and didn't annoy me at least.

The Vanu Vanu are.... fine? I personally find their speech patterns to get real old real quick, same problem I had with like. All of the ARR society quests. Just feels unnecessarily Othering. The vath at least have the excuse of being very alien in their hive-mind social structure, but the vanu are just. Big Time islander coded and those are just... people. Which also made the not-Haka dance emote you get from them, the Sundrop Dance, just feel all the more Wrong to use. Like, that feels like it's maybe crossing a line. None of the NPCs really stood out and I kinda didn't pay attention to most of it. Linu Vali has a pretty flower crown and THAT'S IT.

The Moogles are exhausting. I say this as someone who fucking loves moogles, even if not ESPECIALLY when they're being annoying, useless little shits, but they're kinda one-note and it gets old quick. Like, if I, me, someone who spent $40 on a plush of Lulu's moogle doll from FFX twice because the first one had its pom eaten by my dog, that person, ME, if you can't win ME over with your moogle in a hard-hat and drunk moogles getting hit by cartoon bombs, you've done something wrong. It especially drags because you're only getting 150 rep a day and the map is huge and you've got to use special mounts on so much bullshit, and fuck you if your queue popped while you were traveling on the mount, you have to go back and start over on this huge, huge map once you're done with your dungeon. Same problem I had with the Vanu, tbh. Just. A miserable grind and you will feel every second of it. It's almost worth it for the moogle dance though.

But the combined role quest was nice. I like the dance emote, it's got elements of the not-haka dance in there, but enough of the moogle dance that it just feels cute and not appropriative.

Also I'm getting tired of meeting this guy in his speedo.

But at least someone blew up his ship again, so all's well that ends well! Onto Stormblood, which I actually really liked the society quests for!

The Kojin were my least favorite of this bunch, their fixation with spiritual treasures and then "the real treasure being the friends we made along the way" was kinda dumb and not in like, a self-aware or silly way. It was played completely straight and I didn't really find any of the NPCs this time interesting or engaging so it all just fell kinda flat with me. Also I have. A big issue. With the naming of their prayer emote you can pick up being labelled; "Ballroom Etiquette: Heathen Gestures." Like. I know the etiquette books are played for very tongue-in-cheek laughs about boring fuddy duddies, but c'mon, man. That... yikes.

The Ananta are a big improvement, though, I really like them and Alpa stood out as a charming and vibrant character, she's so cute and driven and the humor finally lands for once. Having J'olhmyn as the straight-man to M'zhet Tia's antics works well, and the social blunders that Alpa makes through her more isolated upbringing are endearing. Neither aspect is overmined for laughs and Alpa is treated with enough sincerity that you buy-in to her emotional reality and care about her. Just a solid little self-contained story, I really like the ananta quests, and the emote you can get from them of the /charmed sway of being bewitched/enchanted by something or someone is just adorable. Also, love the false nails you can pick up, and the griffin and elephant mounts are cute too! A good story, fun NPCs, fantastic rewards, this is maybe the first society quest I actually recommend people do for something besides completionism or accessibility to crafting materials. The Ananta are great, I love them and my snaughter, snake-daughter.

The Namazu might be my favorite of all society quests. They're not the best one, I think those come in Endwalker, but they might be my favorite. I just.... I just love them. They're so muppety and stupid and the exact brand of physical comedy that can actually get a chuckle out of me. They're adorable and the premise of saving them from various improbable and absurd extinctions is hilarious. There are so many recurring gags and jokes and none of them overstay their welcome and the comedic timing is perfect every time. The quests are all cute, the story is hilarious and adorable, the characters are great, the rewards are AMAZING, if you love the Muppets or Gremlins or anything with Little Creechurs Doing Antics, you will have so much fun with these quests and love every minute of them and look forward to them. Also, just, like, side-note, but so many of the species in the society quests are so over-designed imo; the kojin, the vath, the amalj'aa. But the Namazu are so simple in a very iconic and cute way, like, they could literally be a new mascot of the Final Fantasy series they're so well designed. I love them so much.

And for once I kinda cared about the combined role quest! BECAUSE THEY KIDNAPPED MY SNAUGHTER! And also they stole one of my fish buddies and I had to get them back too. Also, the puppet who came to life from the kojin story, but he was already kinda dead anyways, so like, whatever, but OH NO! My snaughter!! So I was very invested in getting her back.

Also, the tables have turned, and now Talia is the one in her swimsuit when the villain shows up! WHAT A TWIST!

I mean, he's also in a speedo, this scene takes place in a hot spring, but I'm still counting it as a subversion.

Anyway, the Stormblood society quests are the first time I will call this GOOD CONTENT. The surprising siliness of ARR's combined society quests was entertaining after they'd all been played so straight with their dire stakes, but this time it felt like a consistent through-line from the individual to combined quests. The Kojin are the only ones that feel like kind of a letdown and even then, they're still as good as anything from Heavensward or ARR, so if you've done those until this point, you won't feel like you're wasting your time with them at least. And the other two are just great, and the combined quest is fun, and M'zhet Tia turns out to have been carrying Chekov's grenade this entire time, and it's just great. Actually got me to finally LAUGH and not just smile.

[quiet-admirer]

I have been getting back into BØRNS again and have been listening to the 2015 album Dopamine on repeat as my vibe heading into spring and summer. Dreamy synth pop is hitting rn!!! check it out if you haven’t!

AND RIGHT AS I WAS ABOUT TO SEND THIS IT TURNS OUT HE WAS DOING GROSS SEX SHIT, FUCK

(the album is still good but can we not have anything fun in life without someone being a fucking ASSHOLE)

I googled him as I was typing this so sorry for this journey but I still like that album 😭

Thank you!! Just added Dopamine to my listening queue! Love the vibe of the first few tracks so far, it's chill and laid back but also dancey with a little kick of energy :) I can see it being great for listening when you're doing something where you need to lock in, keep yourself alert, but not get yourself too hyped up to focus, thanks for the rec! :)

I was listening to Johnny Goth's Faith and a few other tracks just now before switching, it must be one of those dreamy vibes kind of days

Also, so real, if I'm not going to get too attached to a band or see them live or anything sometimes... I'm like, I'm not even gonna look them up, I don't wanna know... (And a lot of the time when I look a band up and find shit, I scroll through all these screenshots and drama and reddit posts and you realize it was just kind of a nothing situation based on rumors that people blew out of proportion with 0 evidence anyway?? Net 0 information half the time. Hate that, it's like a boy who cried wolf situation imo.)

The vibe is music Friday everyone, tell me what you're spinning right now and I'll go listen! Any genre :)