#-ot even for two full months

[notscarsafe]

OKAY SO what with the TWO new Hermits implied by the updated banner I will say that, though the Skizz truthers have me convinced, I now have room to do my own crazy red string monologue and throw my hat in for my choice

1) Mythical J. Sausage (the J is silent) is a multitalented S-tier builder that absolutely deserves to be shoulder to shoulder with the Hermits. The man does buildings, interiors, terraforming, custom trees, and he does them SO WELL.

2) The production values!!! Beautiful replay mod sequences with shifting camera perspectives, shaders, music that sets the tone for each segment that's different from series to series. He already has more than a million followers on YouTube and for good reason!!

3) He has been SO consistent lately. He started a hardcore world about three months ago (about the time you might expect the Hermits to finalize their s10 choices maybe...???) and already has 15 episodes and hasn't gotten involved in any other big content. (He did just start playing a little of the BCG server but from what I understand that's super casual /copium copium copium).

4) That hardcore world is conveniently about to reach a good "pause" point. He started his world on a cherry blossom biome island that he's filled with a medieval village and starter farms, he's said it's almost full and what's left is the castle. I'm guessing the new season will start the first week of February, so if Sausage puts out a video this week building out that Castle and finishing that island it will be MIGHTY CONVENIENT TIMING.

5) This man can GRIND. His Hardcore world hasn't even been going half a year and he's built... So much??? Magnificent! And when he was on the Hermitcraft server he did the Razorcrest for scar AND the player head baby yoda/stormtrooper merch AND the noteblock themesong AND still built in the xmas village and other "diamond of peace" and so many other shenanigans. Did the man even sleep? He can grind with the best of them.

6) He can do redstone, too! Maybe not unique designs, I honestly don't know, but he builds farms for build materials no problem.

7) The DRAMA this man loves his improv and his backstory and trauma lore! For every series he does! Can you imagine if he gets to interact with Ren for an extended period of time, what that would do to them, to us?? Give Martyn a run for his money!!

8) Which brings me to my next point, which is that Sausage is already One of The Gang, because he's been in series with so many of the Hermits already! Empires and the crossover, obviously, but also Pirates with Cleo and Origins with Scar, and he's even done MCC! Joel is the only other player with the same depth of different series but there are other people truthing him already.

9) The EPIC BROMANCE with Pearl. My god the devotion of this man to his sunflower goddess bestie. I would try to do ot justice but y'all have seen floweroflaurelins work, you already know.

10) He's already a PG streamer but with HILARIOUSLY PG-13 tendencies. Imagine him and Cleo cracking each other up at an HHH stream, *grips your shoulders* IMAGINE IT.

11) Sausage comes with his own mascot in the form of interdimensional dog extraordinaire Bubbles, but he's also just an animal lover on general. Mans drinks his "I love Jellie" juice and had her in his world even before the sad news of her loss.

12) Diversity win! No one should be hired just for their gender, race, sexuality etc etc unless it's truly necessary to the job, but we were all happy when more women got added to the server in s8 and I know a lot of people would be happy to see some ethnic diversity added, too.

... That bulletin board had a lot more pins in it than I thought it did but anyway MYTHICALSAUSAGE TRUTHERS/ALL OTHER TRUTHERS RISE UP SPEAK YOUR TRUTH! we'll only get to wildly speculate for a few weeks so we might as well make it everyone else's problem ENJOY IT TO THE FULLEST!!

[cordeliawhohung]

Hiii! I've just binged mafia Price again, as one would, and now I desperately wanna know their first time together 😍 Was it after dating some time, ot much longer or maybe right away? How did they felt? Nervous I bet, but what was anticipation like? Did he make it a planned occasion, or was it casual? Was it quick rough, or slow and sensual, or something else? Like 🤯🤯🤯 My mind's gonna blow thinking about all these. Give this girl some insight, pretty please 👉🏻👈🏻

ugh i answered an ask a few weeks ago that was sort of similar to this but about them dating and i was trying to find it to link with this post but alas, tumblr search is dog water lmfao. anyway it's been a bit since i've written something proper for him so enjoy a drabble to answer your question (:

mafia!141 masterlist

cw: alcohol, smut, mutually possessive sex, (maybe slight technical dub-con due to the alcohol but both parties are awake and aware i'm just putting this here just in case)

When John got home, he found you in the kitchen.

Quiet music hummed through the speaker on your phone as you worked on serving two big plates of food like you had predicted his arrival. You greeted him with a grin as you gestured to the food in front of you on the island, proud of your work. Its fragrant aroma was mouth watering, almost to the point he found it difficult to think about anything other than eating. Your smile was contagious and John found himself chuckling as he approached the other side of the island.

"What's all this?" he asked.

"Dinner, of course," you replied.

John scoffed slightly at his rather poorly worded question and your cheeky response. "Alright, well what's the occasion?"

"No occasion," you said. "You've been at work all day, and I felt like cooking, so..." You paused to pick up one of the plates and held it out for him to take. "Dinner!"

In the last few months that you had been staying with him, you had cooked plenty of times, but never anything quite like that. A part of you felt a little guilty for not being able to show your appreciation as much as you wanted to, for taking you in and keeping a roof over your head, but more often than not he wouldn't allow it. There were few chores he would allow you to do as a guest in his home, and if you wanted to cook or clean for him, you often had to do it under his nose when he wasn't home.

And still, instead of telling you how you didn't have to do all that, how you didn't have to waste your evening cooking a lavish meal, he took it without complaint and allowed you to lead him into the living room. That evening was full of good food, a very expensive wine that you attempted to convince John not to open but he did anyway, and an old slasher film that was more humorous than it was unsettling.

Something was different about that night. Maybe it was the wine, or maybe it was something else, but you seemed to smile and laugh more than you had for the last few weeks. And you were beautiful. The way the dim glow of the TV illuminated your face as you took a sip of wine, the way you laughed and pointed at the screen when one of the characters died; you were perfect.

"Thank you. For taking care of me," you suddenly spoke up.

John had stared at you for so long he didn't even realize that the movie was over, but you didn't seem to mind his unwavering gaze. Yet he was a bit confused by your sudden comment. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the truth, but he felt like he didn't deserve it.

"Your gratitude is wasted on someone like me," he muttered, eyes refusing to leave your face.

"What makes you say that?" you asked.

"I'm not a good man."

"I know."

While it wasn't the answer he expected, John was glad you knew that much about him at least. He gave you a breathy laugh as he looked down at the remaining wine left in his glass. The dark red liquid swirled around as he leaned forward to place it on the coffee table.

"How do you know?" he questioned, hoping you would indulge him.

"I've always known," you said as if it was obvious. "If you were a good man, you'd be dead by now. Good men don't live long in your line of work."

"So you've known I'm a bad man this whole time?"

The expression on your face contorted and it wasn't long before your hand rested on his arm. He didn't dare look down to where your fingers brushed against his skin because he feared you would retract if he did, like someone who didn't want to get bitten by a dog.

"You're not a bad man," you retorted as if the very thought had offended you.

"How do you know?" John challenged.

"Because you are kind."

In that moment, John swore he had always known you, and maybe he did. He had known you as the chief's daughter when he was a child. He had known you and your laughter as you sat next to him in maths as a teen. You had always been there, lingering in the back of his mind, finding him when he least expected it.

So when you leaned into him, he didn't stop you. And he didn't stop you when your hands rested on his chest, or when your lips pressed against his. In fact, he savored every moment of it. Your skin on his, your teeth sinking into his flesh; it all felt so familiar like your body was the only one he had ever held that way.

It all happened so fast he felt dizzy, but all John knew was that when he saw you laid out naked on his bed there was nothing in the world that would ever take you from him. He couldn't stop the way his lips were drawn to your chest where he kissed a gentle trail between your breasts and down to your navel. He couldn't stop the way his mouth latched onto your cunt like it was the only sustenance he would need for the rest of his life.

And it was the most love you had felt in your entire life. The way he gently pawed at your body not in greed, but because he needed you to be closer, to feel every inch of you. Every moan that left your lips was carefully fished for, and if one thing didn't work he would try another. The way he crooked his fingers inside of you and swiped his tongue over your clit was all done so carefully, only aiming to please you.

When he eventually pulled away from you, got you so worked up that your legs quaked, you wanted to return the favor. Wanted to thank him for taking you in, for treating you as well as he had, but when you tried to sit up his hand firmly kept you pinned against the mattress. He reminded you that you were under his roof. You were his to take care of.

He continued to remind you of that fact with every pump of his cock inside of you. Each thrust had you repeating his words back to him with pitched moans, how he would take care of you, how good he was to you, how you were his to take care of, you were his, you were his. By the time he emptied himself into you with a heavy grunt and a needy kiss, you knew there was nowhere else you'd rather be.

After that night, you only slept in his bed, and eventually it wasn't just his bed, but yours too. It happened slowly, and all at once, that he had become yours and you had become his, and yet at the same time, it was like it was never any other way to begin with.

[astrologylunadream]

Their Feelings for You This Month 💌🖤💬 (Pick a card/Tarot love reading)

Hey it's Lunadream♡ It's the first month of 2024, This is your love reading set for the current month! Let's see what's going on with their heart this month.🩷 (This was posted in January, but the reading can be timeless <3) hope you find your message💌

Notice: Only take what resonates because the most important thing is your own judgement!♡ If anything doesn't resonate, don't worry! It's not your message right now <3 (Entertainment purpose only. All rights reserved)

Now, shall we begin~? ^w^ Think of the your person, and pick whichever pile that fits the energy you're feeling~🌸🖤

Pile 1👥️

Pile 2🥈

Pile 3💒

Pile 4🎱

Take your time and choose carefully with the heart~♡

On to the readings —> 🖤

Pile 1👥️

Sign energy: Attempt, Universe, Addiction, Mental, Synchrony, Libra, Vertex, Lilith, Neptune, Capricorn,🧽🍰😘🎤

👤Your person's energy: Okay there is some soulmate energy in this pile, This is someone with a dreamy mind and omg you guys think so much alike🫢💭 Prominent Libra, Pisces, or Capricorn placements. I feel like this person prefers to have control over their love life or their situations regarding relationships. I'm hearing that they really want to be on the same page as their partner, working together and cooperating in harmony. You may daydream of this person often, or you two could be thinking of eachother at the same times.💓 Your person is very dedicated to their partnerships, they work hard to mantain them. You may feel obsessed with this person, for some of you pile 1's this person is your addiction. You could be addicted to the sound of their voice👄🖤 Some of you this person drives you crazy, good or bad. I'm getting that you two have a dark infatuation with eachother, your shadow sides could be really attracting eachother. It could feel wrong in some way, but also really good. The universe recognizes you two as a couple, a pair of some sort. It is a fated connection, for some of my pile 1's it's twin flame or soulmates. I feel like you or them morph into thinking like the other person, you might try to copy them ot vice versa (It's so sweet). This person has a very attractive and serious energy, they treat love like a full time job I'm hearing.

🩷Their feelings for you: True feelings, True intentions, Less, Watch your back, White, North node, Saturn, Water, Leo, 2nd house,🐅⚔️📆😂 Wow there is a lot of honest and straightforward answering for their feelings towards my pile 1's. I'm seeing that your person's decisions are set and in motions right now, they aren't shifting the path they have chosen for this connection. They have a lot of genuine feelings for you guys, like honest love for you they aren't faking it.🥺 But you know what, your person might be messing themselves up with this one. They could be prone to telling white lies because they think it's for the better of the future, so they're definitely guarding their romantic feelings from my pile 2's. They could be in a tiger energy, fiercely on edge and keeping out anyone who makes them show their vulnerable or loving side. Now can I just say this person has big intentions with you guys, they want a future with you. Omg and they're so attracted to you, especially your back and shoulders.🙊💞 But they're hiding this pretty well right now I'm hearing, their attraction to you might be scaring them. They're trying to give less and restrict themselves from you, It may even be laughable to you as you watch them try so hard this month to hide their feelings. Lol it's so obvious, I can't see this going on for long either not any more than a month. Because they honestly can't hide their true love for you guys, it will be torture if they keep going like that😢❤️ I feel like they just now realized what love can do to them and it makes them so confused like "So this is love? I want my money back!" Lol that's them😂 They're trying to hit a reset button on these feelings for my pile 1's but I don't see this working for them, once they make up their mind they will finally admit how much they want this.💞

💌Messages from your person: I hope you feel better, Don't get it twisted, I should stop hiding my feelings, I've been so busy, I went to far, I had it coming, Let's have fun, I'm holding back (Omg they're really admitting it🥹) Extra cards: Spoil, Princess, Warm, Imagination, Waist (Ohh my pile 1's they want to spoil you so badly😫👑💋💋💋 I'll let you put together the rest😏)

Thank you my pile 1's! If you feel this resonated, you may tap the heart to claim this message!♡

I hope you enjoyed your reading! ʚ(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )ɞ If you did be sure to let me know pile 1 with the shadow couple emoji~👥️ Thanks for scrolling through, Hugs hugs hugs!! See you in the next reading🖤

Pile 2🥈

Sign energy: Miss, Technology, June, Mental, Playful, Fire, Cancer, 2nd house, 11th house, 5th house,🖌🎰🙋‍♂️💭

👤Your person's energy: So this is someone you had some huge feelings for, definitely a no contact situation right now. You really miss this person, I feel like you guys got separated somehow🥺 Cancer, Taurus, Aquarius and Leo placements are likely, Fire placements. They're a caring and fun individual, omg they are so creative and sweet. Smart too. My pile 2's person thinks a lot, they may play games a lot or used to. This could be a friend or someone you dated for a short amount of time or there was just a sudden flame that burnt out very quickly.🕯💔 My pile 2's may be holding on to the relationship somehow, most likely through technology or social media. I feel like you guys still think of this person often, and when you're like scrolling through your phone some random thought of them pops into your head.💭🫢 Could be an artist or enjoy drawing. June is a significant time for this relationship, it could be when something will happen or something that did. Maybe you guys met in June or lost contact in that month. They're a social and curious person, you may think of their voice or remember it often. The way they smile is so sweet, and they have a lot of different talents. A bright and uplifting person.✨️

🩷Their feelings for you: On, Scratch, Illusion, Prove, Destiny, Juno, Jupiter, Taurus, Gemini, 3rd house,💍😔🤩😓 Omg this is so sad. They want to marry you straight UP😭 And they wanna show you that it's not just a silly relationship between you two, they see you as their other half.. their destiny.💘 My pile 2's your person feels like they have to talk to you, it's so important to them. They want to prove their feelings to you, and show you their heart. They want to unveil the illusive surface of the relationship and have you see that it's not what you think at all, they're actually really patient and set on being with you for a long time my pile 2's.🤧💌 They want to talk about marriage, and commiting to you. This worries them so much, because they think you won't want it. They have a big picture of the future with you, it lights them up inside but it also makes them feel already so disappointed expecting that it won't happen. They think of you very often, sometimes they're optimistic about you and other times they're hopeless. You mean so much to them, all they want to to put that ring on your finger!!💍😩💗 Literally so many thoughts of marrying you, they want to have you be theirs for good.♡

💌Messages from your person: Open your heart, I'm desperate for your touch, You're my addiction, I can't tell, I won't tell anyone (Ohh they're taking that to the grave🫢💞) Extra cards: Devotion, Offer, Siblings, Practice, Peace (You guys they wish they could show you how much you mean to them and show their devotion to you💍)

Thank you my pile 2's! If you feel this resonated, you may tap the heart to claim this message!♡

I hope you enjoyed your reading! ʚ(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )ɞ If you did be sure to let me know pile 2 with the (totally an ornament) metal emoji~🥈 Thanks for scrolling through, Hugs hugs hugs!! See you in the next reading🖤

Pile 3💒

Sign energy: Crush, Suffer, Balence, Let go, Stay, 6th house, Gemini, Mercury, Taurus, Neptune, 💀🤹‍♂️🦄👈

👤Your person's energy: This person is definitely a romantic interest for my pile 3's💗 Virgo, Gemini, Taurus and Pisces, lots of Mercurial influence in your persons chart perhaps. A lot of my pile 3's have a crush on this person. You may daydream of this person often, could be a regular thing for you guys💭 Your person is more quick witted and a sharp thinker, they think a lot. But I feel like it is a burden to them sometimes, like they think too much. For some of you this person may have lost a sibling or grown apart from them. Omg they are really juggling a lot right now, I'm hearing that they multitask way to much.🤯 They have a lot on their mind a once. Your person probably has headaches a lot or they're more prone to it. This person could be someone you wish you could keep, like a valuable possession you don't want to give up. I'm hearing you want to stay with this person, or they may wish to stay with you but also feel the need to let go. They want to feel at ease and seek balence in their mind, my pile 3's your person wants some peace and quiet for once!😅 They want to let go of all the thoughts they have and calm down.

🩷Their feelings for you: Innovation, Bad, College, Night, Zoo, Libra, South node, Jupiter, Uranus, Juno,💜🧠🚷💀 Okay so your person may be weary or trying to avoid you for some reason right now, definitely romantic tension from you guys.🫣 One or both of you may be in college or that could be a significant change in their feelings. The skull emoji has popped out twice so that's interesting, maybe this is a connection you thought you cut off or they did and it came back from the grave. They definitely don't feel good about you my pile 3's, you're making their head spin! I feel like they're thinking of a wild night with you guys it's so strange, like they might be having some really crazy thoughts of you and it's stressing them out further.😬🌋 You are stuck in this person's head, they see you as a long term partner in their eyes. But this also freaks them out so they like wanna believe you're bad for them.🙉 Wow your person definitely has an imagination about you, they try to convince themselves they don't want you in their life. You may have done something in the past that left a mark on them, or perhaps something they are judging you off of. They want you but don't want you at the same time. Very indecisive right now. But my pile 3's they low key wanna marry you wtf, then all of the sudden you're the devil reincarnated in their head oml😭🫣 They are mentally obsessed with you though, lol idk if it's even their fault😂 Pile 3 this person is so into you that they're having to convince themselves they aren't🥵❤️

💌Messages from your person: Let me in, You make me lovesick, If it's what you want, Just us two, Just talk to me, Please don't be sad, I want to avoid you, You make me wild (It's so true, literally exact😭❤️‍🔥) Extra cards: Audience, Price, Ring, Mars, Rise (Some dominating energy coming through🫣)

Thank you my pile 3's! If you feel this resonated, you may tap the heart to claim this message!♡

I hope you enjoyed your reading! ʚ(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )ɞ If you did be sure to let me know pile 3 with the wedding church emoji~💒 Thanks for scrolling through, Hugs hugs hugs!! See you in the next reading🖤

Pile 4🎱

Sign energy: Past, Performance, Toy, Guardian, Shine, Vertex, Sagittarius, 3rd house, Mars, Sun,💫💚🕊👥️

👤Your person's energy: This person is more dominant to my pile 4's. You may have a set image of them being amazing or well recognized. Sagittarius, Gemini, Aries, Scorpio and Leo placements😘 Ohh now the 8 ball if a perfect symbol for this pile's energy since the number is connected to Scorpio, some of you may have picked up on that when choosing this pile. Your person is are very assertive especially verbally, dominant in most conversations I'm hearing. They probably have a really attractive voice, for some of you their voice is more masculine or rough. Aww I feel like this person is sort of like a big brother to you guys, or that's the dynamic I'm seeing with you two🥹💞 They may protect you or just their very presence makes you feel this way. Omg they could tease you? Like they enjoy playing around with you in conversations, and maybe they say something that makes you blush and they tease you for it😳 I can totally see that happening between you guys. They are the type to make an entrance, especially when delivering a message or telling a story. I feel like they converse with a lot of people, everyone views them as fun and unpredictable.✨️ They may get in arguments easily though, as they are very straightforward in communicating. Ngl I feel like dirty talk is their specialty but I'll leave it there🤫 They gain attention and praise effortlessly, they probably don't even want it. Also I'm just getting physically they are just, wow, okay??😂

🩷Their feelings for you: Submissive, Chains, Longevity, Fashion, Intimacy, Juno, Libra, Air, Aries, Venus,🎰🤗🐏🦉 Oh god.. my pile 4's this just got intense.🥲 I'm going to try and keep it as light as possible. So yeah, they want you. Definitely very into you my pile 4's, the way you dress is very attractive to them. They find you very pretty and cute, they really want to see you in a wedding dress I'm hearing. (Yes marriage definitely💍🫠) There is a LOT they want from you guys, I don't know where to start honestly. This person really wants intimacy with you, they want physical interaction with you. I feel like they won't take their hands off you though!😫🥵 They see you as someone very delicate and feminine, someone they can surprise I'm hearing😭 Your person wants to dominate you, I mean take you OVER. You bring out a monster in them ngl, the things they want with you..😰 They like being the more experienced one with you, I'm leaving that there. They know a lot about you too, probably everything you like. They want to be aggressive with you, so they can gain dominance over you completely. Because they love the idea of you submitting to them, so they may purposely start little arguments to make you nervous. But it's really because they want to kiss you when you're caught off guard💋 My pile 4's your person has some INTENSE feelings for you🫣 They like being unpredictable with you, the rest is very 🔞 since this isn't that type of reading I'll let some of my pile 4's put the rest together :'D

💌Messages from your person: You know better than this, You have no boundaries with me, Are you for real? Like you would know, Don't wait for me, We don't need boundaries (Oh my😳) Extra cards: Want, Unhealthy, Present, Beach, Fine

Thank you my pile 4's! If you feel this resonated, you may tap the heart to claim this message!♡

I hope you enjoyed your reading! ʚ(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )ɞ If you did be sure to let me know pile 4 with the 8 ball emoji~🎱 Thanks for scrolling through, Hugs hugs hugs!! See you in the next reading🖤

Wanna see more readings like this? Check out my tumblr for accurate readings for you!💗🌊🌸

Thanks for reading! \(*^w^)/💌 -Lunadream <3

[samantha-rae-velcher]

KING

King!Jschlatt x Peasant!Fem reader

Requested by: none

Warnings: Smut, obsessive!Schlatt, swearing, fingering, bath sex.

A/n: 18+ NSFW! If you don't like the warnings please don't read! PLEASE KEEP MY COMMENT SECTION AGGRESSION FREE!

Summary: Y/n is a peasant that has lived in the village that looks up at the palace, she has always imagined what it would be like to live in such a place. One thing she didn't realize, Y/n had caught the eye of the King, and he's one who's known for taking what he wants.

Tag: @goldenstarofthunderclan ❤️ @youngcreatorlady 💜 @ogelizasoot 🩷 @littleskeletonprincessss ❤️‍🔥

___

Y/n was fixing the fence outside of her home, when her father walked up to her with two rather large men in full armor.

"Y/n, these men are here and they're asking for you." Her father said.

"Why?"

"That's what I'm wondering. What have you done."

She went to speak, but was cut off by one of the men.

"She hasn't done anything, yet. The king requests her presence, and the king doesn't like to be kept waiting."

He grabbed her arm and pulled her over to his horse, clamping shackles onto her wrists and getting her up onto the horse.

The ride back to the castle was a lengthy and quiet one. She didn't know why the king wanted her, more did she care. Y/n wanted to go home, but she knew if she struggled they'd probably knock her out or kill her, so she allowed them to take her.

When they arrived at the gate, Y/n felt a shiver run down her spine. Reality setting in that this could be the last time she sees the outside of these gates.

They made their way in and up to the palace steps, where she was pulled off the horse and dragged inside.

"Do you have to be so ruff!?" She basically yelled at the man.

"You'd be wise to use your manners in the presence of your king."

The throne room doors were pushed open, and there he sat in all his glory. He was kinda scary, he had dark eyes that could burn holes in her.

"King Schlatt, our Royal majesty. We bring to you Y/n Y/L/n of Knighton."

He tilted his head as he scanned her, not saying a word. He looked her dead in the eyes then down at the floor, he wanted her to bow.

Y/n refused, she stood there and glared. This man had her taken from her father, chained, and brought to him. For what?

"Bow to your king, peasant girl!" The guard yelled.

"Shove it, little man!"

She was suddenly kicked in the back of her leg, sending her to her knees. The King stood and held up his hand to the guard.

"Don't be so rough, this one's very delicate." He said. "I don't want her harmed."

"Why am I here?"

He stepped forward, "I had you brought here because for the last few months I've been watching you out of that window." Schlatt pointed behind him.

"And I wanted to meet you."

She lowered her brows, "And how long is that gonna take, because I really wanna go home."

"You don't understand, you aren't going home."

Fear suddenly struck her, his words made her go hot and cold.

"W-what?"

Schlatt chuckled, "You are to stay here with me, I want you as my bride."

Her eyes widened.

"I beg your pardon?"

He knelt down in front of her, gently cupping her cheek.

"I can assure you your father will receive compensation for you being here. Food, money, and repairs to your home. But...if you leave, all that will go away and you and your father will freeze this winter, how does that sound?"

Y/n looked at the floor, tears stinging her eyes. This wasn't even a choice, he was forcing her to stay and he knew that he had her.

"You'd rather stay here, wouldn't you? Princess."

Y/n glared, spitting at him. Schlatt chuckled again and wiped her saliva off his face.

"You'll warm up to me." He stood and made his way back to his throne. "Take her to our bed chamber, maybe some time alone with her thoughts will cool her down."

Y/n was dragged up a hall and thrown into a big room, it had a very large bed and a window that was even bigger. It over looked the village far down below and the ocean. She saw ships in the harbor and others leaving for the open water.

Tears began to spill as she sat on the bed, it was so soft and warm. Part of her felt happy to be out of the village, but she missed her father.

___

4 hours later

The sun was going down and Y/n was standing at the window, watching her father finish the fence. The door suddenly opened, making Y/n turn around. King Schlatt stepped in and set his crown on a table that looked like it was made for it, she rolled her eyes when he looked over at her, turning back around to watch the sunset.

Y/n stiffened up when she felt his arms wrap around her stomach, and his chest press against her back.

"I remember all the times I watched you from this window too, always working so hard...doing a man's job." He whispered.

"A man's job, huh? Yet all you do is sit on your pretty throne, barking orders."

He pressed a soft gentle kiss to her head, "Thats not all I do, princess. While you and your fellow townsmen are living in your own little world, I'm up here attempting to keep peace with neighboring kingdoms. I protect our people from war so you can go on with your happy little lives...I protect you, so you can watch your sunsets every night."

Y/n's eyes began to close when she felt Schlatt trailing gentle kisses down her neck, only for her to pull away once she remembered she wanted to hate him.

He smiled and removed his red mantel, and hanging it over the back of a chair.

"I had you for a minute, you were so close to giving in."

"I'm not gonna play this game with you, you aren't some understanding man that protects his people, you don't care about how I feel. You take whatever you want."

"You obviously don't know me very well."

Y/n crossed her arms, watching him move closer to her. "Oh?" She asked.

He leaned in, his lips brushing her ear. "If I took whatever I wanted, I'd already be inside you."

Y/n's heart fluttered and her cheeks blushed red at the rasp of his voice. She uncrossed her arms and her hand instinctively pressed against his chest.

His height was intimidating as he towered over her, his scent invading her every time she breathed in, making her weak in the knees.

She looked up at him, their lips so close. Y/n wanted to kiss him, he was intoxicating. But she wouldn't give in to his charm or her desire...

"I-Im tired." She said.

Schlatt nodded and headed over to the dresser, pulling out a white satin nightgown. Y/n walked up and took it from him, her brows dropping.

"How long have you been planning to take me?"

He smiled, taking an oversized cotton sleep shirt out of the second drawer, and pulling off his current one.

"Since the moment I first saw you, Y/n. I knew I wanted you, I knew you were perfect."

He slipped the cotton sleep shirt on over his head, and kicked off his shoes. When he wasn't looking at her, Y/n took a good gander at him. The shirt was very low cut, revealing his chest. She could help the tingling between her legs when he caught her looking.

"I'm not sleeping in here." She said, her voice barely above a whisper.

He stood up straight, towering over her once again.

"It's all part of the deal, you stay and you're father is taken care of. And sleeping in the same bed as me is part of that."

She nodded, finally giving in. Schlatt went over to the window to watch the ships, and allowing her privacy to change. When he heard her slip into bed, he turned back and got under the covers next to her.

Y/n attempted to stay as far on her side of the bed as possible, not leaving a centimeter of space between her and the edge. She snuggled into the soft feather pillow, hoping to dream of being in her own bed.

___

Morning

The sun shined into their large room, it's rays were warm and comforting compared to the cold chill of the stone walls that surrounded them.

Y/n stirred awake, a smile finding its way onto her face as she felt the warmth of-

Her eyes opened, finding herself snuggled into Schlatt's side and his arms wrapped around her. She looked up at him to see him gazing out the window at his beautiful kingdom.

She pulled her hand from his, catching Schlatt's attention. He looked down at her, raising his eyebrows and gently rubbing her exposed back.

"Good morning, beautiful."

"Why are you holding me?" She asked.

"You rolled over to my side in the middle of the night and you were cold so I pulled you close, and i guess I fell asleep."

"You guess, huh?"

Y/n got out of bed and grabbed her tattered dress from the table, "Is there a place where I can get a bath in this castle?"

"I'll have one of our servants bring in a tub." He said. "But, you aren't wearing this."

Schlatt took her old dress from her and pulled opened one of her many drawers. Y/n's eyes widened at the sight of a dark blue dress, with a hood, long draped sleeves, a brown ties criss crossed over the front.

"You wanna wear this one?" He asked.

Y/n hesitated, "I-I don't know..."

"I had these professionally made for you."

"How did you know my exact size?"

Schlatt took a deep breath, "You remember that old woman who visited your home two months ago? She brought gifts and measured you for the next time she returned?"

Y/n was shocked, "Those gifts were from you? And you sent her?"

He nodded, his gaze dropping to her lips as a knock sounded at the door.

Schlatt turned and answered it, it was an older woman in her sixty's at least.

"Sire, I have brought breakfast for you and the queen."

He opened the door and allowed her to walk in. She set a tray down on the table and caught a glimpse of the dress in Y/n's hands.

"Will you be needing help with your corset, your highness?" She asked.

"I don't wear a corset, I've always found them very uncomfortable. And you don't have to call me that, I'm no queen."

The old woman bowed and went to leave but Schlatt stopped her, "Could you have Francois draw the lady a bath?"

"Of course, Sire. Would you like it brought here?" She asked Y/n.

"I-uh..." Y/n looked up at Schlatt, he had a mischievous glint in his eye. She took this as an opportunity to see if he could keep his hands to himself. Without breaking eye contact, she gave an answer he wasn't expecting.

"Yes, have it brought here."

When the woman left and he had shut the door, he slowly turned around. "What are you up to, princess?"

"What do you mean?"

"Last night you didn't want to sleep in this room, and now you're willing to bathe in here?"

"Is there a problem with that?"

Schlatt grabbed a grape off the tray and slowly walked over to her, brushing it against her bottom lip. She opened her mouth and let him pop it in.

"Not at all, beautiful. There's nothing wrong with that...it was just...unexpected."

The wooden tub was brought in and set next to the window, a sheet was place inside and warm water poured in.

The servants left and Y/n stood close to Schlatt, eyes locked, his breathing was shaky as she dropped her nightgown and undergarments.

His hand moved out to touch her, but stopped. His fingertips were a millimeter from the soft skin of her hip, but he couldn't bring himself to do it, without her consent. He didn't want to lose her, now that she's warming up.

"Just yesterday you spit at me and you looked at me like you wanted to see me die, but now you're fully naked just daring me to touch you..."

"Why don't you?" She asked.

He leaned closer, "Your bath is getting cold."

Y/n smiled, backing up towards the tub and getting in. The water was warm and soothing, and Schlatt's gaze raked over her body.

She sat down, closing her eyes and tipping her head back to get her hair wet. When she opened them, Schlatt was next to the tub, sleeve rolled up and his hand was dipped into the water.

He brought it back up, holding a soapy sponge. Gently rubbing it over her shoulders and back, he started to go lower. Y/n's breathing got heavier when the sponge brushed over her breast, his thumb toying with her sensitive bud.

Schlatt kissed her temple, feeling her shutter as his hand dipped between her legs and his fingers found her clit.

"Schl-"

"It's okay, I won't hurt you. I just want to make you feel good, my love."

He rubbed tight circles against her bundle of nerves, drawing quiet moans from her. He smirked, feeling her legs shake as she gripped his arm.

Schlatt stood, stepping into the water with her.

"Your clothes!" Y/n gasped.

"They'll dry, don't worry about them."

He pressed a soft kiss to her lips, his heart racing when he felt her return it. Schlatt's fingers went back to massaging her sensitive clit, as he dipped his head and began sucking at her neck.

Y/n's back arched as he slid his fingers into her aching cunt, a desperate moan left her as he curled his fingers, hitting her G-spot.

"You like that don't you? You like your Kings fingers inside you?" He asked, nibbling on her sweet spot.

"I- ahh! Y-yes... please! Don't stop!"

"I'm not stopping, baby. Gonna make you cum over my cock."

He suddenly pulled his fingers away, chuckling at her pitiful whine. He removed his cock from his wet trousers and lined himself up with her.

"Hold onto me, princess."

Y/n wrapped her arms around his neck, splashing water onto the floor. She captured his lips with hers, their tongues dancing together as he thrusted into her. Y/n's head fell back as she cried out, breathing hard and gripping Schlatt tighter.

"There you go, I got you..." He whispered.

Schlatt started slow deep thrusts, the slide of his cock hitting every sensitive spot inside her.

"Mmm." She moaned. "You're s-so thick."

"I know, you gotta get used to it."

His thrusts picked up, he gripped her hips and buried his face in her neck. Y/n's moans fueling his arousal, Schlatt's fingers attacked her clit again, making the knot form in her abdomen.

"I'm close." She whimpered.

"I'm not done with you yet."

Schlatt hammered into her, kissing and sucking at her neck. Y/n's hands tangled in his wet hair, her orgasm approaching quickly.

"P-please- I gonna cum. Let me cum.... please!" She cried.

"Remember who your taking to." He growled against her neck. "I own you, little thing. You're mine."

"Y-yes, sir."

"Yes, What?"

Y/n couldn't hold back anymore she needed to cum, she let go of her stubborn attitude and let him win.

"Yes, My King."

A smiled spread over his face, "Cum for me, princess. Let me feel you."

She let go, her heat pulling him over with her. He gripped the edge of the tub, a low groan leaving his mouth. He sat back into the tub, pulling her into him and kissing the top of her head.

"I knew you'd warm up to me." He whispered.

Y/n giggled, placing a kiss to his jaw. His chops wet against her lips.

"You're still despicable."

THE END ❤️

Part 2?

I hope you enjoyed

Reblogs are welcome 🤗

[glassartpeasants]

Had a fic idea but decided it wasn't gonna be long enough for a full fic so here's the slice of idea my brain had. Also written on my phone at work so-

Eustass Kid x GN!Reader

Warnings: angst, cheating but literally one line mentioning it.

~~~

Tears slipped down your cheeks as you stare out to sea, wishing you were sitting on a ship instead of an old rickety dock. The salty breeze blowing against your face lightly. In your hands were open letters and letters waiting to be sent. Each one dripping with love and devotion. Words of encouragement scribed on the pages along with a red origami heart waiting to be discovered.

All that for the love of a man who you realize you'll never see again. Even though he promised he'd come back for you. That all you had to do was give him a year and he'd be back to take you with him. To bring you to sail the seas with him as he paved his way to becoming king of the Pirates.

All you had to do was wait a year. And wait you did.

Even though you couldn't tell him how much you loved him in person, you sent him letters every week. Each and everyone expressing you love for him, about your week, congratulating him on getting in the paper and giving him the little red origami heart. Or when you didn't have the red paper, you'd gently pick a red tulip from your garden and press it before sending it put in an envelope with the letter. Watching the carrier bird fly away made your heart jump as you couldn't wait for the letter that would come your way in return.

You remember how joyous you used to feel when a letter came only a few days later. Being handed a letter covered in oil and smelling of metal felt like tou were getting a present everytime. When you opened it after immediately running home and jumping on your bed to read it, you were always met with a piece of metal formed into a flower. Each one different then the last.

While some might not be able to read his brutish hand writing, you could understand it perfectly. Reading each one made you kick your legs and giggle. Excitement filling you as you waited for yhe day when he returned to the south blue to whisk you away and show you how life is meant to be lived. Each letter only made you impatiently wait for the day.

But one year turned two, then three. And still no sign of your live coming back. The weekly letters turned monthly before then turning once every few months. Each passing day was like torture. Waiting and praying a letter would arrive only to be broken hearted 99 percent ot the time. You heard about him in the paper more then you heard from yhe man himself.

The times a letter did come, there was no longer a crafted flower along with it, the writing sloppy and no longer had the words 'I love you' written at the bottom of the page. While the envelope was still stained in oil and had the intense smell of metal, your heart no longer jumped when you were handed it. What once you use to read immediately, you now wait till the end of the day to read it. Anything and everything before reading the letters.

Now, the letters have stopped coming. And you've stopped sending them. No point in continuing to shatter your already broken heart, crying for another only for it to never arrive.

The final straw your fragile heart could take was seeing a picture of him kissing an unknown person. Seeing it on the front page of the newspaper made your world crumble around you. The life you planned stolen from your fingertips right before your eyes. Dreams of going places out to sea and away from the south blue crushed. Bringing you back to the same dock you met him at, clutching all his and your letters close to your heart.

"Red headed bastard...you really are the worst of the worst generation."

[deansapplepie]

Marchweres - Day 3

Prompt: The Bite + Mating Bite

Pairing: Werewolf! Daryl Dixon x Werewolf! Reader

Word Count: 679

Warnings: NSFW, smut, penetrative sex, unprotected sex, biting during sex, blood, knotting, mentions of rut, mentions of heat. Minors do not interact!

A/N: I don’t mention any female body parts here, use of the pronoun You. So it’s pretty much my first gender neutral story, anyone can read. Only thing is that I use the word heat. 🩷

When you joined the pack of Alexandria you just wanted a safe place, you were tired of being on the road always running, no good night of sleep, hunger, fear… The world wasn’t the same, dead people were walking around and even being a wolf it didn’t make it any safer for you. You earned much more than you expected.

Now you had protection, a family, friends and a mate… it wasn’t easy at first. When you first locked eyes with each other you heard your wolf inside your head say the word ‘mate’ and it was similar to being hit by lightning, you got stuck in your place, a wave of energy running through your body and an overwhelming feeling on your chest. His eyes at first showed surprise, but then they hardened, and man… was it difficult to get him to soften them.

Months passed and little by little you were able to break his shell. You started being a couple, taking baby steps don’t rushing things. First thing admitting you were mates and there was an undeniable force pulling you together. Then being polite, gentle… soon going out on ‘dates’ or as much of what you could call dates recently. You hold hands. You had your first kiss. It seemed silly for many people, but you needed to take this time, he had already been through a lot. Little by little while you were getting to know each other, he opened to you.

With time things started to get heated between you too, and when I say heated, I mean it on the good side of the word. It was starting to get difficult for both of you to hold it on. You had to mate, you needed to. Your desire for each other just grew and when his rut came and activated your heat by some kind of weird bond between you two… it was impossible to keep holding it on.

At the moment, he hammered onto you, your hips hitting each other in synchrony. Your lips opened apart saying his name like a mantra between all the moans. “Daryl. Daryl. Daryl.”

He licked and nibbled on your neck, right on the spot you soon should have your mating mark. The care he was giving to your gland making the pleasure being overwhelming. Your hands travelled on his body sometimes on his chest, stomach… then on his back, on his butt… damn he had a delicious round cute butt. Your walls contracted around him, you were close and gods he was too. He grunted and growled, neither of you were going to last any longer.

“Bite me.” He grunted on your ear.

“Ugh?”

“Bite me, I want ya to bite me. Gonna wear yer mark proudly, as yer gonna wear mine.” He looked you in the eyes, and god, that was the hottest thing you have heard, and let’s say you two had your share of dirty things.

He increased the speed his hips trusted on you, your arms now holding on his shoulders and when you were near exploding you bit him, right on his gland, and at the same time he bit yours. Both your mouths tasting of each other, sweat and blood. The sweet sensation of pleasure, pain and belonging sending both of you to the edge. You saw white, eyes rolling into your skull, while Daryl trusted aimlessly inside of you, his knot and seed making you full.

He collapsed on top of you, peppering your face with kisses and looking at you in adoration. You were everything he ever needed and never thought he deserved to have. He was everything you wanted, but never thought you’d be able to find. He rolled both of you on bed, being on his back, still inside you, you on top of him. You listened to his heartbeat, your mind foggy and blank. He wasn’t different from you. Soon you drifted to sleep, but both of you could swear ypu listened each other say “I love you”.

Wanna be added to my tag list? Let me know. (Please tell me if you want to be tagged on everything or just specific series) Everything Taglist: @lilyevanstan1325

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Cute paw divider by @lazyneonrabbitt

[starplusfourletters]

I finally finished the last command

and it was a romp (spoilers)

Chewie spends the whole book on the edge of a nervous breakdown but buddy you very much did that to yourself. Sure, you swear a life debt to a guy who turns out to be One of the People in the Galaxy That Things Just Keep Happening To. Bad luck, bound to happen sometimes. But then you decide that life debt extends to his wife knowing FULL WELL that Even More Things Just Keep Happening to HER, and then they go and have TWINS? That’s on you, bud.

Mara “I still do want revenge on Luke Skywalker yes definitely now hold that thought I need to go risk my life to save Leia and the twins” Jade. Mara you’re embarrassing yourself.

Actual conversation:

Leia: Thanks again for saving my life. Mara: Don’t thank me until after I’ve killed Luke which I still absolutely want to do. Leia: So uhhh why’d you do it? Mara: I’m just opposed to kidnapping. Leia: Were you kidnapped? Mara: I dOn’T wAnT tO tAlK aBoUt iT yes. Leia: ... Mara: YOU THINK THIS IS ABOUT MY TROUBLED PAST?? Leia: … Mara: BECAUSE IT’S NOT Leia: … Mara: Anyway here’s the information only I can provide that will turn the tide of the war. It’s free. Friends and family discount. Leia: Thanks. Mara: I’M STILL GOING TO KILL YOUR BROTHER Leia: That’s nice, dear.

MY KINGDOM FOR GHENT. His dad boss forgets to pick him up from AV Club so he spends two months wandering unrestricted through the capital building and then cracks Enigma because he’s bored

A TWELVE-DAY Character Bonding Hiking Trip??!? Zahn’s really outdone himself this time

WAIT THIS WHOLE TIME MARA DIDN’T KNOW LUKE AND VADER ARE RELATED?? Omigod that’s HILARIOUS. I mean, yeah, I guess it just never came up? And she didn’t watch the OT movies? That’s very funny to me for some reason. I definitely assumed she’d gotten that memo

Oh man it really feels like I should have seen that reveal coming and I absolutely did not. Gawd I love the 90s. Wowowowowowow. Chef’s kiss. I have so many questions about the Bespin janitorial system

“LUUKE” I’m dying

Admiral “It appears to be a trap.” Akbar

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Good vs. Evil Star Wars content to bring you “the two Evil factions getting in each other’s way vs the two Good factions getting in each other’s way until they all realize we’ve hit the end of the book and just start attacking everything indiscriminately”

The Climactic Battle Scene:

Luke: Fighting his clone! Han: Pew pew pew pew! Mara: Psychic defense! Psychic attack! Leia: Dual wielding blaster and lightsaber! Karrde: In the back, petting his doggos and talking on his phone I was legit worried about his safety in this book. But he's not dumb; he knows he doesn't have enough plot armor to take on the Big Bad. He is simply the best there is

Wedge / Aves is the rarepair I didn’t know I needed

RUKH!!

Oh thank God the doggos are okay

So as far as I can tell Thrawn made one mistake that wasn’t just bad luck and it was doing a shit job of getting Mara out of the way. The dude really should have had MORE of his enemies killed

Thesis statement: Aww Themb! <3

Now I just need to watch someone explain this series to Ep9-era Palpatine. Preferably in the style of Worthikids.

[hitsdifferenthughes]

Superstar - Jack Hughes

“You smile that beautiful smile And all the girls in the front row scream your name

So dim that spotlight, tell me things like

"I can't keep my eyes off of you"

I'm no one special, just another wide-eyed girl

Who's desperately in love with you

Give me a photograph to hang on my wall

Superstar”

Warnings: some swearing, full fluff.

It was a cold and bitter night in the darkest month of the year. February definitely wasn’t your favourite month out of the twelve but still you walked down the street to the Prudential Center as if it was a warm day in New Jersey May. Your hopes were high as you entered the stadium and you were met with the warmth of the lobby. As you walked through the large glass doors you were met with the faces of many beautiful young women… you knew who they were here for. Feeling less secure in your appearance you continued walking towards a security guard and flashed them the bright vip badge hanging around your neck. The guard lead you down an empty hallway where you would soon be met the warm face of Ellen Hughes. She was in the city for a couple days to watch her two youngest sons play. This wasn’t your first time meeting her as you had gone out for dinner with her and Jack the night prior and had made arrangements to watch the game together the next day. As you two walked towards the doors to the cold rink you made small talk, once you were seated you continued to talk over the loud cheers and music playing throughout the electric environment booming with fans. As you scanned the room you saw more women whom you viewed as much more attractive then yourself, all dressed in jerseys of the man you loved some even holding signs trying to get his attention. You grew quiet as the game commenced.

The Devils ended up winning 3-2 in OT against the rangers. Jack and Luke were obviously escatic on the car ride home so Jack didn’t seem to notice the dull mood you were in. You couldn’t blame him, You were happy for him! But you just couldn’t seem to shake this feeling of insecurity.

12:15am

You were sitting up right in bed, wet hair from your long warm shower was dripping onto the pillow behind your back. Jack climbed into bed beside you, you could see the concerned look on his face in your periphery. “Is something up?” Your eyes met his “No nothing! Why?” “Well you’ve been quiet…and it’s not like you to not celebrate a win with me and Luke y’know” you sighed, “Well I feel like I’m replaceable! I mean look at all those other girls in the crowd tonight, they were beautiful! You could have any of them in what… a heartbeat!? It just makes me feel kinda shitty.” Jack furrowed his eyebrows “Y/n What the hell are you talking about!? Why would I want any of them when I have you, the whole game I couldn’t keep my eyes of you!” Your gaze softened “Well I didn’t see that!” You said blushing. “It’s true!” Jack exclaimed “Ask Luke or Dawson or Nico I was totally distracted by you and your beauty.” A grin spread across your lips and you looked away. “No really! I’m not just fucking with you!” Jack laughed. “I believe you” you smiled and sunk down into bed “I love you”Jack said as he pecked your cheek and flicked off the lamp on the nightstand beside him.

[foster-the-world]

I love

I love when I get to hang out with any of my kids one on one. We need to make concentrated efforts to do it more often. I'm home with baby boy all week while my husband took the girls to Cali to see his parents/sister.

Baby boy is so much fun alone (as I've said a million times). We went to the Children's Museum and the MOMA kids art lab. Kids art lab was underwhelming but he enjoyed himself. Did a quick walk through of the art. He wasn't too impressed.

We had an indoor monkey bar system set up yesterday. It took the guys a lot longer then they planned. Last night I was regretting the choice. Felt a little too risky. I think I know how we can make it safer. Its supposed to be a part of his sensory diet. We used some funds we got when the DOE reimbursed for some OT costs.

Rebel was sick Thursday night. Thankfully fine all day Friday. Flew out very early on Saturday. His parents picked them up with masks and dropped them off at a hotel. They were supposed to go right to the cousins house and were scheduled to stay with his parents. I guess his parents were worried about the stomach bug. Which is understandable but I thought it was rude not too let my husband know beforehand. He got up at 4am to take two kids on a six hour flight by himself. He would have warned the girls they were expected to go isolate in a hotel room. Of course, my husband is a Saint and just went along with it. If my parents didn't see my girls for three months there is zero chance they would give up even one hour with them - sick or not. And they weren't even sick anymore. She never had a fever. Threw up 36 hours before. Anyway not my rodeo.

Baby boys ezcema is not good. His poor little cheeks. I guess its just the cold weather.

My own scalp is so, so, so itchy. Before the last month I've never in my life had this problem. No dandruff just itchy/burning. Its not a super bad pain level but its nonstop. It keeps me awake at night. I'm assuming its related to the low iron and the hair loss. Not sure what to do. Trying shampoos right now. Probably need to do some kind of eating changes but not sure exactly what and also don't want to. My skin is also itchy but that's less persistent. The skin is also something I'm used to when the weather gets cold like this.

DOE is giving new options for baby boy since they can't find providers. I'm on the fence. It involves a different school. Its not far away, is an inclusive classroom (8 special ed kids, 8 gen ed), would include all providers (OT, PT and speech) , and would include free summer camp which also includes all providers. These are all big benefits. Its a fancy private school - which is not our vibe. I guess they reserve some DOE spots. I don't really want my poorly behaved (but o so sweet) black boy to be a scholarship kid (in essence) in a school full of rich white kids. In their defense I think by private school standards it is more diverse then most. I don't want my kids to grow up with kids who think spending $60K a year for school is normal. I think it just gives a view of the world I don't want them to have. But that's more of a concern for older grades. Not an issue for 4yo's. He can go back to our little public school for K. We need to figure out a place for providers and this maybe our best option. The free summer camp is a big draw. I need somewhere that can handle kids like him. One that is paid for and includes his services would be a huge win. They do swimming lessons and teach Spanish. He's actually picking up some Spanish vocabulary (numbers, colors, animals) so a place where that can grow would be great. DOE is setting up a tour after winter break. I'm sure its a very nice facility. Let's see how it goes. I won't hold my breathe until a solution is actually implemented.

[waterfire1848]

How’s it going @waterfire1848 ?

Got an Azutara idea for you, and I was wondering on your opinion. It is simply after all, just an idea or prompt if you will for your consideration. It is colloquially titled “Hearts of mine”.

So it’s a modern (no-bending) type au regarding Azutara. The story starts of in the immediate aftermath of Yon Ra’s murder of Kya. Katara and Azula would be around eight? I think that was Katara’s age during Black Snows in canon. Like in canon the snake slipped away before he was apprehended. Anyway, because she is awesome Kya had signed up to be an organ donor after she died.

It just so happened that Azula was born as a sickly child with an incurable heat disease. I’m no medical practitioner so I can’t accuracy state what condition this would be. In any case the doctors of the hospital Azula practically lived in for most of her early life (either in the Avatar world or an AU of our own) do not give Azula long left to live. She would need a full body heart transplant to up her chances and full recovery from her illness. Unfortunately, finding a match for Azula had proven… difficult for the hospital.

That is we’re Kya comes in. It is often that many organ donors in real life save a great many lives posthumously. Kya in her compassion is no different. Her heart is transplanted into Azula. Saving her life, and allowing Azula to live the life of a normal healthy child for the first time.

Azula also sends later an unsigned thank you letter to the Water family. Who were told of Kya’s decision but did not wish to be informed about who the exact individual it was that Kya’s heat was transplanted into. Perhaps out of sadness, perhaps out of anger.

Likewise these AU doctors do not inform Azula, or the rest of the Fire Family about the identity of the life saving organ donor (Kya). A confidentiality agreement existing to prevent an identity from being known. The doctors simply assured that the letter will get to the donors family.

A letter which Hakoda allows Katara to keep close to her.

Years later at the age of XVIII or so. Katara decides to attend a university in Republic City with Sokka and her friends (the Gaang in this case).

Katara could be I don’t know a marine biology or medical science major? And Azula maybe a history or law major?

There she makes the acquaintance of Azula and her friends and brother (Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee). While an attraction exist (though the two both vehemently deny it) between Azula and Katara from the start, so does a rivalry of sorts.

Whether it is academic or athletic that two constantly compete with one another. Attempting to “one up” their rival. I’d envision their competition to be like a see saw of sorts. To the bemusement of both friend groups.

Eventually, Katara confronts Azula about the rivalry at some point. Which sparks a fight of sorts. One that ends… in a draw.

At this point, when Azula and Katara are both on their knees and panting in front of each other the two “give into” their desire for one another.

At this moment, Azutara may or may not get in slight trouble with their university for “public indecency”.

Afterwords, Azula and Katara are officially girlfriends. To the surprise of no one. And the Gang + the dangerous ladies + the families back home tease both girls immensely for how obvious they both were.

Several blissful months pass, when one day while the two are enjoying an evening in Katara’s dorm Azula stumbles upon a curious letter. A letter that she recognizes. A letter that has burned it self into her memory. A letter that she wrote.

When Katara returns to find her Azula in tears she is alarmed. She wonders just why her headstrong girlfriend is crying and tries too comfort her. Ot is then that Katara notices the letter and explains to Azula her mothers sacrifices after her murder.

It is then that Azula admits to Katara that she was the one who wrote the letter. Which predictably does not go over well at first. But eventually the the love between the two overcomes the struggle.

And in the end, Katara is grateful that it was her mother who had perhaps prophetically saved her girlfriend and eventual spouse. She will always miss and loves her mother. But Katara is relived to hear her mothers heart pattering away in Azula’s chest when she lays an ear to her breast. A smile always comes to Katara’s face as she hears the the steady beat beat beat. It is a reminder of both the fragility, the coincidences, and the joys of life.

————————————————————————

What do you think? Like I said it simply a barest outline of an idea . I don’t know if you take prompts or anything like that, but if the idea tickles your fancy as it were, I wanted to bring it to your attention. If it not, that’s a okay two! Like I said it is merely an idea for your consideration. So feel free to add or subtract from the idea.

I hope you liked it!

-745 voice of the people

Hi! @745voiceofthepeople

I'm doing well! How are you?

This is such an interesting idea!

I love Azula and Katara having a "friendly" rivalry with one another while everyone around them is just betting on when they'll get together (Aang would win the bet btw). It would be like a see saw. Azula gets the best grade in their calculus class? Well then Katara has to one up her in their organic chemistry class.

Azula: My perfect score on our last psychology test will great with the others.

Katara: Where should I put this hundred that I got with a little gold star from our professor saying I outdid his expectation?

Toph: Just kiss already!!!

I wonder though if there could be a way to foreshadow (for lack of a better word) that Azula has Kya's heart.

Like Katara and Azula are on a date one night and Azula has chest pains and needs to go to the hospital which is when she tells Katara about how sick she was as a kid and that she needed a heart transplant.

Katara: You really scared me back there.

Azula: Sorry. I really didn't think this would be an issue anymore.

Katara: I'm just glad you're okay. So, what happened exactly?

Azula: When I was younger, I got really sick. My heart didn't work right and I needed a new one so I got a transplant. I'm just lucky someone had a heart I could use. According to the doctors, if I hadn't gotten one within the month I would have died.

Katara: Well I wish I could have met whoever it was that gave you your new heart. I owe them a lot.

Katara thinks it's just a weird coincidence because she has no idea who her mom's heart went to but it's just a little hint.

Also love how conflicted Katara would be here. On the one hand, if her mother was still alive Azula, her girlfriend and later wife, would be dead. On the other hand, Azula being alive means her mother had to die.

So, I do take prompts the problem is that this could turn into a 20 chapter story easily and I can't do that😂.

[steamberrystudio]

Quick Devlog

Hey everyone! This is just a quick update on development because I haven't posted to tumblr in a while.

I have been posting regular updates to Patreon and Kickstarter - and semi-regular updates to Itch. I talk about development on Discord on a daily basis. It's just become a lot ot manage by myself which is why tumblr updates have somewhat fallen by the wayside.

I am going to try to get back into regular posts here - even if it's monthly like KS and Itch.

So for a very quick summary of where Reuben's route is right now - it's basically almost ready for beta testing. I'm just doing a few final touches and will hopefully send it out to beta testers in the next couple of days.

Reuben's route is around 111,000 words and, with this route, the word count of the game is around 927,000 words. All the assets for Reuben's route are complete (all CGS, all sprites, everything). The route is done. It just has to be tested.

Yuu's route is planned out and started but I'm obviously not far along in it yet (just in chapter two) since Reuben has been my priority until now.

I am hoping that development of Gilded Shadows will be done within the next six months or so. I have one more route to complete at this point and am actually hoping I can get it written quickly. But we'll see.

Many of you did see the ask where I semi-announced my next project - When Stars Collide.

Full development of that project is on the horizon. Far, far away on the horizon but it's there. I won't start full development on it until GS is done but I do work on it a couple of times a week right now.

If you want to keep up a little more with updates and stuff, I recommend giving a follow on Itch - I started updating there monthly(ish) because I have a lot of followers there and kept getting people posting threads to ask about development so it seemed more logical to post devlogs there. You can also join the Discord server where I do talk about development even if I'm not posting lengthy updates there.

I'm still going to try to update tumblr a little more frequently - put it on my calender for, maybe, monthly updates. But I am updating across numerous platforms now and it's a little tricky to manage. But I will try. 💪

[mayasdeluca]

The "I rather wait till september" is a really odd way of thinking for me lol. That would mean almost 18months between two seasons, thats holding everyone for almost a year. It also means a lot of crew out ot work for at least 3 or 4 months more. All of that for 7 or 8 more episodes? On a show that struggles with pacing and has shown to make full use of filler scenes and episodes. So we wait a whole year just to see maybe 10min more of Marina and 4 episodes of a useless storyline from one of the male characters.

This "my way or no way" is really weird. It's a essemble show, they wouldn't fullfill all the expectations and we can only hope for better quality and resolved storylines. Also, this is a difficult situation that no one but the studios provoked, so everyone would do their best to adapt to what they can do.

Exactly...even disregarding the impact it would have on screen, people need to realize that 'waiting until next fall' just to get a season that's longer and they think won't be rushed (as if this show hasn't rushed things in the past) is pretty selfish because it will keep crew members out of a job for even longer than they have been when it's been well documented that people are struggling to keep their homes and pay for things. And also to have 18 months between seasons is bound to affect the ratings of a show which would put the future of the show in jeopardy...the less time in between seasons the better so that people continue to watch and are still invested.

The truth is not everyone is going to be happy with what happens regardless of how many episodes, when it happens, what it consists of, etc. We know the expectations of this show by now and we just have to hope that we at least get some of what we're looking for as far as Marina goes. I'm just going to be happy to have them back on my screen at this point and the sooner that happens, the better.

[nakanotamu]

ive never actually watched a stardom match and im really bad at learning new things, so how would you recommend watching matches? and do you have recs for what matches to watch first?

AHH I'm so so happy to hear you're even thinking about checking them out I love getting asks like this!

Okay so idk what your familiarity is with pro wrestling but if you've like never watched wrestling at all my friend wrote a guide to starting with Japanese pro wrestling here. It's targetted towards people also learning Japanese and much more comprehensive promotion wise than just Stardom so the part you'd want to read is the one labeled "How プロレス storytelling works".

As for how to watch Stardom like the literal steps of how to find Stardom matches, I answered that in my sort-of beginner's guide here. (I talked about a couple other companies as well but me being me it's mostly Stardom.) tl;dr kind of the only way to watch Stardom matches in full and in decent quality is just paying for a sub to Stardom World. There are pirate sites but they tend to only have big shows and top out at 15 year old cellphone quality, and there are highlights (though I think those have become more rare?) and the weekly show on youtube if you're really not sure about the like $8, but World has everything.

As far as specific matches I have sort of two answers for this. I did, pretty recently, recommend a bunch of random matches in this post right here, and stand by those as matches I really enjoyed. Also I have since watched the QQ vs OT cagematch I mentioned there and can confirm it owns and I think the emotions will still come through even if you didn't follow the whole story.

However. That is where the second answer comes in - following stories. To be quite frank I think watching old wrestling matches is overrated, I think most of the fun is in following along with wrestling; wrestling is something happening right now. This is probably an ironic answer from someone who is like chronically a month behind bc I can't stand to ever skip a show but I am who I am. Maybe it's more accurate to say I think rewatching matches is overrated.

But anyway the simplest way to put it is my rec for matches to watch first is matches that you think look interesting that have happened pretty recently. Natsupoi and Saori Anou had a strap match on July 2nd, which is just as gay as it sounds but not in the way it sounds, I haven't watched it yet but I've heard good things. The 5 Star Grand Prix, Stardom's yearly big singles tournament, just began last weekend on the 23rd, and is a great way to get introduced to most of the wrestlers. I know the time commitment of a wrestling show can be daunting, I'm very familiar on a personal level with the way it eats time, but I think you can still get a lot from just watching a little if you can't get through everything. If you pick one person in each block and only follow their matches, you'll still get a little snippet of every other competitor to see if they hook you, y'know? Caveat if you do begin with that show though that the main event ended with a real injury, which obviously isn't fun to see happen.

If you decide you're enjoying it and want to try and start following along, my translation blog is here (it's not exhaustive and I'm behind with some stuff but I do what I can) and my asks and DMs are always open if you have questions about any stories or characters or anything.

[chidoroki]

Actually i think that The One could have done so much worse than just take Emma's memories. I mean he didn't stop her to be able to be with them again, after they found her, he didn't take her feelings for them, she still had those feelings deep in her heart. He could have, along with the memories, making her unable to bound with them again and feel only indifference toward them.

He could have done worse

1) Erasing Emma from EVERYONE memories. Like it's also a "i will take your family away" since they would not have been able to remember their bound, or see her like a sister/best friend again. She would be a stranger from them. And it would be as much worse to being forgotten by them than forgetting them for her.

2) Keeping her in HIS world, in a kind of stasis state for as much years that she has spent in the demon world. So 13 years and few months/weeks. And it would be kinder that letting her grow up alone in HIS world without anyone to speak with, or without any way ot occupe herself. Her mental health would not recover from this horrible loneliness (humans are not made for being so alone). So she would arrive in the humans world 13 years and few months/weeks after everyone. And they would have grow up, they would have almost all moved on (because at a point, they would have give up the searchs =( since they would really not find her and woudl think that she sacrified her life). The youngest may have kinda forgotten her or berely remember her. It would be also a "taking your family away" thing. It would be still her family but they wouldn't be the same, almost everyone would be adults or almost adult. Even Carol would be older than her. of Course, Ray and Norman would be here for her, but they would be adult, they would be 26/27 when she would be still 13 and few weeks ^^". She would have more or less "lost" her family and so much time with them.

3) Sending her far away in the futur, like 100 years in the futur when everyone she knew would be dead.

4) Asking her to give up her life to be reincarnated in the humans world as soon that the promise was set in motion. She would have to start a new life, with parents, siblings, a loving family. She would be the same physically, a energic ginger girl with green eyes, she would have even the same name. She would have the same personality (loving her family, her friends, being smart and atlethic) but wouldn't be the same Emma since she wouldn't grow up in the same circonstances, wouldn't grow up with the same persons. she would have her two parents who would care for her and love her. Even if everyone search her in the world, would they pay attention to a little girl who would look like Emma at the same age (even if… even Ray must have hard time to remember how was Emma at a so young age like between one and three) and have the same name? Maybe. They would mostly be amused by the ressemblance and the coincidence. But i doubt they would think it's their Emma. In some way THE ONE would take her family there too.

This demon god would have done so much worse then in canon ^^"

First off, sorry it’s been a couple weeks since you first sent this in, but thank you for being patient with me! Secondly, the demon god could’ve absolutely done worse regarding the reward. Unfortunately for Him, He underestimated how determined Emma’s family would be in order to reunite with her. Taking away her memories and putting who knows how much physical distance between her and everyone else upon their arrival in the human world seemed pretty drastic already, but no way was her family gonna give up on her. I’m really glad her heart remembered them once they found her though. It truly shows how much she loved each one of them.

Ahhh, pain. All these different situations are just full of pain!

I honestly think this could’ve been the worst (& most possible) scenario that the demon god could’ve came up with, especially if Emma was the only one to remember her family. Yeah I can easily imagine her being determined enough to find every single family member, just as they were all so focused and driven to find her in canon, but then a part of me wonders what she would’ve done once she found them again. Would she wanna reconnect with them just as everything happened in the canon timeline or leave them be to allow them all to live a normal life without all the doubts and confusion that canon Emma continued to face even after being told of her previous life? A part of me thinks that just knowing everyone crossed over okay would be enough for Emma to feel satisfied enough to stay out of their lives, while another part of me could also she her introducing herself as someone new to them and keeping all their relationships and history locked deep within her heart. I dunno. Of course the demon god could’ve taken away everyone’s memories of everyone, so that no one remembers anything at all, but then that kinda seems anti-climatic? They would all feel like new people to each other and us readers.. although, if everyone still has a firm grasp on their strong feelings, like they know they’re all missing someone and long to find them, similar to how canon Emma felt, then that’ll surely add to the drama.

My first thought with this scenario was how impossible it seemed (at first) since the new promise states that all humans raised as food can cross over to the human world and there would be no way to travel between the two worlds ever again, which prevented demon god to keep any of Emma’s family behind with him, but the little loophole I can dig up could be that demon god agreed that everyone, including Emma, can cross over to the human world, but it was never specified as to when. So with that, it definitely seems like something He would do, like “oh you can go with everyone, just not right now. later perhaps.” But damn, thirteen years alone at the day & night? Our girl would go insane. I dunno if the space demon god occupies functions exactly like the Seven Walls, where the surroundings/events react to the person’s consciousness, but if it does, then Emma could perhaps imagine her family and the human world, like a genjutsu and/or tsukuyomi experience with all the illusions. Maybe staying behind wouldn’t as horrible then, but nowhere near as fulfilling as actually being in the human world with her real family. The idea of her showed up thirteen years later when her whole family got aged up is kinda amusing. She’d literally become the youngest sibling and I imagine some of the once younger kids finding the whole situation funny, that is if the whole family didn’t give up there search for her during all those years.. aahh I wanna confidently say that everyone would never give up searching for Emma, but then again, thirteen years is a real long time to be separated! Who knows how much their feelings would’ve changed by the time they would finally reunite.

Pfftt, demon god sending Emma into the future like: “I said I’ll send you and your family to the same place, not the same time period.” That would be such a dick move. I’d definitely hate Him for that, even more than I already do. The real depressing thing about this scenario is not everyone else thinking she’s dead (even though that’s still mildly upsetting), but how she would learn that everyone else died since she’d arrive a hundred years after their initial arrival in the human world. Ohhh, she would absolutely breakdown.. she’d visit their graves every damn day.

This is essentially what happens in canon, at least it seems that way on the surface with how the demon god took away Emma’s memories and ID number so she could potentially live as a normal human instead of a cattle child. If this new Emma did get mixed up with everyone else in a similar matter to how they found her in the last chapter and wondered if she was the real deal or not, it would truly be a coincidence this time that she looks so much like their Emma since this one wouldn’t be able to call upon any distant feelings from her heart that would make her believe everyone’s words. This Emma would know she’s not the same person these people are looking for as she would clearly remember the life she had growing up with her biological family of this world. She’s probably have to deny the escapee’s claims and their advances several times too before they realize she’s not the same Emma, which is a whole other level of heartbreaking.

So yeah, the ending could’ve definitely been worse for our girl and her family, but it also could’ve been better! Thankfully we got a happy ending after all the drama this series had us experience.

[thewriterowl]

Now for the hard question: in your top 10 movie franchises list add in ALL of the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings movies in order of favorites.

Oh you have to ask the hard questions! Ok, let me see...in order for Star Wars:

Empire Strikes Back -- it is just such a good movie with some iconic Luke looks and Daddy-Son moments. It's so good and him with grandpa-Yoda is so cute. I also love how we see this lead up into Luke's change of perspective with everything.

Return of the Jedi -- Also great Luke and Daddy-Son moments. I think it barely inches over New Hope simply because I got to see it again on the 40th re-release in theaters and I was feral over how Luke looked. Also, loved the fighting scenes and we get Lando. I also happen to love the Ewoks.

New Hope -- May actually be in second place once RoJ-theater release gives me peace (need another few months). But this Luke is just so pure and whiny and I want to put him in my pocket forever and ever and ever. (let me throw this Luke at Din omg)

Revenge of the Sith -- UGH just UGH so god. Anakin is so hot in this and so messed up and this lead up is just fantastic and wonderful and absolutely tragic.

Rogue One -- I mean, how could I not adore this? It is absolutely AMAZING. Just heartbreaking with amazing graphics, awesome characters, and is only getting better thanks to the Andor series.

The Force Awakens -- Honestly, I adored this movie so much. It wasn't perfect, it needed more Luke and the original trio, but it had so much potential. I just thought it was leading up to something amazing and the memes Mark gave us after left me excited and laughing for a long time.

The Phantom Menace -- Part of this is spite-love for young Anakin and Jar Jar Binks; both deserve better. But honestly, I have rewatched this a few times recently and was all "this is actually great? why the hate?"

Attack of the Clones -- Honestly, I need to rewatch this again. It's just here cause I haven't rewatched it in a while and i don't know why. We get Jango! We get the Clones! Baby Boba! The SAND-QUOTE! Obi-Wan's mullet! The lead up to the Clone War series! Badass Yoda! Yeah, gotta do a re-watch.

Solo -- Again, i actually really enjoyed the movie. It wasn't the best but it wasn't bad. Honestly, there were just some weird choices for some story movements and character interactions but other than that? It was good. I need to rewatch it honestly.

The Last Jedi -- I hate, hate, hate what they did to my Luke. If they were going to go this route with him I'd understand 100% because it would make sense for him to to have so much PTSD and just be burnt out and so hurt (still, i think we have enough of this and deserve older heroes that are still full of hope and silly and are kind). But the execution and how he is made to be a loser is just wrong. There were also some other scenes and interactions that were "uh...no?" but the fight scenes were great, Po was great, I loved Rose, I loved Finn's story and realization. It was just really wonky, disjointed from what we were getting before, and I will keep my head-cannon Luke in my claws.

The Rise of Skywalker -- I...didn't like it. I saw it twice and actually checked the time till I could go home often (only have done that with like two other movies). It was so awkward, the dialogue was poor, the actors seemed done, there was so many random new stories thrown in at last second, characters were thrown away, "Palpatine somehow returned?" like...what??? It was just lame. Such a lame, lame ending. The OT-trio and the new trio deserved so much better. It needs a re-do.

Now for the Lord of the Rings!:

The Fellowship of the Ring -- Even though it wasn't the most action packed, what it sparked, how good it was...just AUGH perfection. I adore this movie so much.

The Two Towers -- Incredible, amazing, also perfect. Great action, all the characters are given their due-time (with Legolas making faces). I love it.

Return of the King -- AMAZING ENDING. The wraps up is just...the moments of suffering and the release. The HAPPINESS. How ever gets what they deserve (tho RIP Boromir) just adore it so much.

The Desolation of Smaug -- PERFECT. Except for maybe some off CGI, this movie was amazing. So much Bagginshield, the intense cliffhanger, the Arkenstone....it was so good. I adored this movie so much!

An Unexpected Journey -- I adore Bilbo. I love him so much. And how this opened up Bagginshield just how could I not adore it??

Battle of the Five Armies -- I didn't like it the first time I watched it. But a few more times I was "huh, actually, it's not bad!" It honestly should've been loads better. There were so many wonky decisions and everything that happened did not feel like it met up with the end of a trilogy. But the end....how everyone survived! Can you believe that there was absolutely NO HEARTBREAK WHAT'SO'EVER??

[judgeanon]

Plastic Skies - Model 11: F-22 Raptor “Mobius-1″

As soon as I had a couple of finished models under my belt, I knew what I wanted my “Final Boss” to be. There was one plane that I really wanted to not just build, but build right; to do the absolute best job I could with it. It took me a while to get there, and there were a few bumps and stops along the road, but in the end I managed to not only build it, but also close the circle of what had inspired me to start modelling again.

It was time to become an Ace. Or at least try.

So, the F-22 Raptor. I love that thing.

Everything about it is just cool as fuck to me. Its shape, silhouette, hidden weapon bays, everything. It's just square and sharp enough to look futuristic while still having enough curves to still look like a fighter jet and not some jank spaceship.

The other reason why I love the Raptor is Novalogic’s old F-22 RAPTOR flight sim from 1997. At the time, and for a long time, it was the best flight game I’d ever played, looking and feeling lightyears ahead of any other flight game at the time. Even if the Raptor has famously never been in any actual combat or downed any enemy planes (which as far as I’m concerned is the best thing that can happen to any weapon), it’s sure seen a lot of virtual warfare. Especially in another series...

The thing about Ace Combat is that I’d never really played them until a bit under a year ago. As I mentioned when I started this series, I knew they existed and I’d had a few close brushes with them, but I’d never sat down and played any until Ace Combat 7, which promptly blew my mind. Soon, through the power of emulators, I made my way through every single game in the series. And one of the things I noticed was that every Ace Combat is actually two games in one: there’s the game before you unlock the F-22 Raptor and the game after.

In pretty much every Ace Combat, the Raptor is a late-game unlock, and always one of the best. It’s faster, moves better, and just using it feels like dropping the difficulty level down at least one. On top of that, it’s been featured in the covers of a lot of them, including the very first home release:

So playing through the series really reignited my love for the damn thing, to say the least. And when I entered the hobby shop for the first time and spotted that Revell kit up there, I knew I was going to end up building one sooner or later. But I held off for months, building other models, learning every technique I cared ot try and accumulating an arsenal of tools. Along the way, I also ran into something wonderful: an eBay listing for a decal sheet full of emblems from Ace Combat, including everything I could need to build not just any Raptor, but THE Raptor. Mobius-1′s Raptor from Ace Combat 04.

As it turned out, there had been an official AC04 Raptor model kit released some years ago, and while getting my hands on one was out of the question, the instructions were easy to find online. Turns out the model used the exact same mold as the Revell one, and the instructions included a color guide that helped me find the exact shades of gray used on the official thing. You’ve actually seen that gray paint in my F-16 and Fairey Swordfish models. It’s not the easiest paint to work with, but I was happy to have it and the decals. Between them, I had everything I really needed... except the model itself.

Unfortunately, 2023 didn’t have the best of starts for me, especially when it came to money. Long story short, my job started paying me late. Like, very late. Insultingly late. “Three months late” late. Although my family generously loaned me enough cash to make it through, it was a very upsetting era of getting paid, spending a third of it paying last month’s debts, then having to stretch what was left for two months until I got paid again and the cycle started again. It’s why I’m deeply indebted not just to my family, but also to the friend who sent me those old WWII models I posted about last time, since the frustration of having all these tools and nothing to use them on was really getting to me.

Eventually, in early March, I finally got paid and after clearing up a bunch of leftover debts, I said “Fuck it”. Whatever else was going on in my life, I decided I needed something to do other than worrying about money. The price of the kit had gone up since the last time I’d seen it, which was frustrating but also made the decision to buy it even easier. Get it now, before inflation made it any harder to grab. Unlike every other plane I’d built so far, I told nothing about it to my family. A part of me felt terribly guilty about it. Where did I get off, buying toy planes when less than two weeks ago I was asking my brother for grocery money? It was childish, irresponsible, and at the time, utterly necessary. I was increasingly feeling like I would go insane if I waited one more day.

Unfortunately, I’d still end up waiting one more week to really get started, since just as the kit arrived, my mom invited my brother and I to a short vacation trip. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to finish the kit, but by then I was so upset by the whole thing that I nonetheless spent an afternoon focused purely on the tailfins. Stupid as it sounds, I just... really needed it.

The trip was fine. Good times were had, new places were explored, mountains were hiked, and I can’t say I hated it or anything. But the closer we got to the end, the more I remembered those two tailfins drying out alone and the other 114 parts I hadn’t touched yet. It was late at night when I finally got back home, and that night I set everything up to get started first thing in the morning.

Unfortunately, that morning I woke up to a pretty troubling phone call. My dad had some health issues, and ten minutes later I was hailing a cab to go ride an ambulance with him to the hospital. I left home at around 9 AM that day, and only got back at 7:30 PM. He’s safe now and made a full, if lengthy recovery, but the days and weeks of having to be ready to drop everything and rush to the hospital to check on him quickly became grating. As with the trip, I found myself living for someone else, putting everything else I wanted to do on hold for the sake of others.

It didn’t last long. Once I was sure dad was out of danger and comfortable in the hospital, and once the rest of the family had started mobilizing to help, I once again said “Fuck it” and finally dove right into the Raptor, making it my personal anchor, a little thing I was making just for myself and nobody else.

The build started alright, but quickly ran into some trouble. A few of the parts were a hard fit, and the fuselage had gotten bent and warped a little in the box. Plus, I figured painting some of it would be a pain once the whole thing had been built, so I started painting some pieces as I went along. Which was absolutely the right choice, but it meant a fair bit of stop and go.

Something I did decide early on was to go “wheels up” with this one, not doing the landing gears. I figured an Ace Combat plane would be best displayed in flight, all weapons at the ready. I’m glad I made that call, because the build was already giving me enough headaches without the wheels.

Those little edges across the plane’s contour were particularly troublesome, since they required a lot of masking tape to work. I’m not terribly good at masking yet, and if you compare the two sides of the plane, you can tell. Still, it really was nice to see everything finally taking shape.

I also skimped on the armaments a little. The kit came with tons of decals for all the missiles, but I have a lot of trouble with the little stripe ones that usually go on them, and doing it for eight different missiles was daunting to say the least. I knew that alone was going to be a whole day’s worth of work. So I decided to save myself the trouble and just leave them like that.

The camo pattern, by comparison, was surprisingly easy to pull off. Using the paint guide from the official model, a couple of fine brushes and some very good gray paint, I did a much better job of it than the poor F-16.

The decals were a similar story. Funny enough, they actually came from three different sheets: the Raptor’s own, the Ace Combat one I’d bought off eBay, and that white marking in the center, which points to the Raptor’s fuel tank. Real Raptors use a different marking nowadays, but the one from Ace Combat 04 used this older model, which I got from the F-16′s sheet. In fact, that decal sheet was one of the reasons why I’d bought that specific F-16. By then I’d already decided to build Mobius-1, and I knew I’d be able to use that decal to give it that final touch.

Speaking of final touches, the panel lining also went shockingly well. This is one of the things I’ve gotten way better at, no longer having to rely on the sludge technique or anything. It’s still tricky and time consuming, but I can’t deny how much it improves a model, even when done sloppily. I also went and bought a box of transparent orange paint just for the cockpit, which in hindsight is... a little nuts. I have no idea what else I could possibly use that paint for, but I didn’t want this to be just another kit.

I left the weapon bays for last. Truth be told, I was a little terrified of them. Lots of small parts, two of which actually broke during the build and had to be tossed out. The end result is by no means perfect, and one of the side missiles is completely wrong, but by now I’ve learned to accept the small imperfections and let go of the things I can’t really fix (or am too scared to try). All poetry and self-improvement aside, I was squarely in that “let me just finish this” moment.

(It’s a good thing that I got the weapon bays done well too, because without a landing gear and a stand base, the plane currently rests on the bay doors. I should probably do something about that soon...)

Through the whole process, I still felt a few pangs of guilt over building this while dad was in the hospital. He wasn’t at risk or anything and I still made time to go see him, but there was enough shame to it that I didn’t really show the finished plane to any family member until about a week ago. And even then, I didn’t tell them when exactly I built it. As far as they know, I just willed it into existence in a couple days. It’s a terribly selfish thing to think, but after putting myself on hold for the sake of others in so many ways while also dealing with being routinely ignored by my work, having this one thing to make was important to me.

Eventually, the Raptor was finished. There’s a lot in it. Decals from three different sheets, paints and washes from about five different brands, a lot of material in general. There’s also a lot of me in it. Kid me, playing a 90s flight sim on an old Pentium and clumsily putting together cheap kits with cheaper glue, and adult me, falling hopelessly in love with a decades-old game series and comparing paint numbers to make sure I have the right shade of gray for the job. There’s some guilt and shame in it, but also pride and satisfaction. Even if I never built any other plane kits, I at least now had my Raptor. Not just a Raptor, or the Raptor, but my Raptor. With everything that entails.

(Also, you can’t understand how much I adore that the stabilizers are movable)

Things are getting better now. Dad’s way healthier and I’ve managed to more or less stabilize my finances, while also getting close to some new job offers. But for about a week, when everything else was a whirlwind of anxiety, this chunk of painted plastic was as good of an anchor as any. And I’m happy to say it’s not, in fact, the last kit I’ve made.