#I do line edit my blog posts....rarely

[seeingteacupsindragons]

I've been wanting to do a demo on how I do line edits for a while, but the trouble is: it's basically impossible to do a significant amount of this as a blog post. It's just too hard to show my thought process and editing in an easy-to-understand way. I've considered doing it on stream, but I'm not sure anyone has any interest.

Regardless of all that backstory, however, I found this truly ineffective line while editing today, and I thought I could make a short example of it.

It was black, with plating that the pale glow from the light above his shoulder reflected off.

I just want it to be clear that this sentence is long and wordy. So first, let's rearrange this for conciseness.

The pale glow over his shoulder reflected against plating on the black surface.

To be frank: this is still a garbage sentence. But it's also four words shorter, and those words were all kinda empty prepositions and pronouns. Rearranging the sentence to focus on the actual image and objects in this sentence helped.

Let's see what else we can do.

The glow over his shoulder picked out polished silver plating over the black wood and a matching handle.

This time the adjective has been removed from the "glow" and has been added to the "plating" instead. Mostly, because the light source has already been detailed in this scene and isn't needed here (and earlier revisions have also indicated it's not pale...lol), but also because the silver plating is more important in this sentence, because it's what the characters are seeing.

I also changed "surface" to "wood" because it's more specific and sounds, frankly, more like a human would say it.

The detail about the handle has been added mostly because I think it helps really bring the image of the door to life (it's a door. It was mentioned it was a door in the previous sentence, so I didn't repeat that information, but I think you can actually tell that now even without the context).

The light glanced off polished silver plating engraved in black wood and a matching handle.

Wait, more?

I decided I didn't like "picked out" very much as a verb choice here, but I didn't want to go back to "reflect" so I mused over a thesaurus for a bit and came up with this. I'm still uncertain about it, though.

I've also changed "glow" to "light" because it fits better, I think, and cut the location of the light, because I don't think it matters in this sentence so I want less focus on it.

I also added "engraved in" here instead of "over" because: more specific, and putting more details into the mind's eye of my reader.

I think I'll keep this version of the sentence (for now). It's actually only two words shorter now than the original, but I think the words that are there are more relevant and they flow together better than the string of filler words I had before. And I think it's given a lot more information than the original.

[felassan]

What's all this about Solas speaking in iambic pentameter? English isn't my first language so I never noticed anything odd about the way he talks, but your blog is the first time I've seen it mentioned by anyone

hello! ◕‿◕ Solas sometimes speaks in a specific pattern or rhythm. It sometimes gets described as or compared by people to iambic pentameter. (which is a type of rhythm common in traditional English poetry. Shakespeare used it in his sonnets and plays.) Though, I'm not sure that it's actually literally that or always that. The main point is that at those times, he's speaking particularly poetically, with a specific poetic rhythm in his speech. (Like where the stress on syllables is and the 'beats' in his speech.) Occasionally, the Inquisitor's dialogue line[s] in response to him are the same.

When Trick Weekes wrote Solas in DA:I, they wrote some of his key scenes to KD Lang's cover of the song Hallelujah on a loop. They talked about some of their process and the reasons for the use of this technique in terms of Solas' characterization in this DA:I-era blog post:

Trick Weekes: "When Solas talks about things that he saw in the Fade, things that speak to a distant past, I needed him to sound ever so slightly otherworldly and wistful – someone remembering a dream with a sense of both sadness and inevitability. If you follow [that link] and look at some of Solas’s lines, you may notice a familiar rhythm come out. It would have been forcing it to give lines the same rhyme scheme, but giving the words the meter captured some of that wistfulness and made Solas sound ever so slightly otherworldly. (In the rare cases the player got into the same rhythm, there was always an approval bump from Solas. For that brief period, it was like the player was thinking like he did.) I used this a few times over the game, and I love what it did to his voice. Also, Cori (who edited Solas) is exceedingly kind for putting up with my request that changes to those lines keep this surreptitious rhythm."

[source]

An example of when it happens in DA:I is:

"I've journeyed deep into the Fade // in ancient ruins and battlefields // to see the dreams of lost civilizations. I've watched as hosts of spirits clash // to reenact the bloody past // in ancient wars both famous and forgotten. Every great war // has its heroes. // I'm just curious // what kind you'll be."

Compare this with the song's lyrics:

"I heard there was a secret chord // That David played, and it pleased the Lord // You don't really care for music, do ya? Well it goes like this: The fourth, the fifth // The minor fall, the major lift // The baffled king composing Hallelujah Hallelujah // Hallelujah // Hallelujah // Hallelujah"

An example from Trespasser is:

"I lay in dark and dreaming sleep [I heard there was a secret chord] while countless wars and ages passed [That David played, and it pleased the Lord] I woke still weak a year before I joined you. [You don't really care for music, do ya?]" etc.

Recent mentions of this are:

Q. Will Solas still occasionally or dramatically speak in iambic pentameter? A. “Massive kudos to Patrick, who always writes Solas so well. Again, Solas is a returning character. It’s the same Solas you know and love (or hate depending on who you are). The same writer. So I think the answer is yeah, it’s Solas.” – John Epler

[source: BioWare dev Discord Q&A on June 14th]

User: "you really went off with solas. but the iambic pentameter makes writing fanfic dialogue for him so treacherous..." Trick Weekes: "It doesn't always have to be in the cadence! Just when he's deeply feeling The Old Days! He's written in standard prose 99% of the time!"

[source]

I think he does it a bit in the gameplay reveal video [Veil ripping scene with Varric] too. hope this helps :>

[msg refs this post]

[For the developer Q&A from June 14th on Discord: Notes are here, re-watch link is here]

[ovwechoes]

Talon & Secret Talents (Headcanons) Super indulgent, but these are what I think the members of Talon would have their secret talent as. My asks are open and requests are welcome, enjoy (they're under the cut c:)

Akande Ogundimu / Doomfist: I can honestly imagine Akande being incredibly good at Luthiery, which is crafting and repairing string instruments like guitars and violins. He taught himself years ago, and has continued honing his skills, modifying instruments and making them out of unconventional materials just to prove to himself he can do it. It's something Akande takes great pride in, serving as a way for him to relax with something mindless and meticulous.

Gabriel Reyes / Reaper: Gabriel has a secret talent for wine and beer making, often spending months at a time making some for his wife, or his colleagues for their birthday. He'll never tell them that he made it, just that it was the cheapest in the store to throw them off his track. Gabriel was taught by his dad how to, and has since loved making it out of ingredients that you wouldn't expect, like sugary sweets or caffeinated drinks. He enjoys the time spent carefully watching it brew, spending weeks to months focused on making sure it tastes divine.

Moira O'Deorian: Honestly I like to think that Moira's good at embroidery, especially cross stitching. She was taught how to do it by her mother, who was taught by their mother and so on. It's a family gift, and she values the time spent carefully making beautifully woven creations. She used to fabric dye too, taking her time with an airbrush to make the most beautiful Ada for people to buy from her. It's her secret hobby, and it helps her to unwind especially if she can't sleep that night.

Siebren de Kuiper / Sigma: Siebren's always enjoyed writing, finding it to be the best way to express his thoughts and feelings. Over time, his writing has become more erratic, scattered, and incoherent. It's something that weighs on his mind from time to time, but he enjoys reading back his older works, like diary entries or poetry he's written. It fills him with a hope of returning to that mental state, and writing in and of itself helps him to clear the echoing thoughts that linger each day. 

Amelie Lacroix / Widowmaker: Amelie has always loved dressmaking, and considers herself to be a talented seamstress. She's always enjoyed it, and it's something even Talon wouldn't be able to pry from her hands. Amelie made her wedding dress, cocktail dresses for parties, and likes to make new patterns for future designs as often as possible. It's something meticulous, and helps to focus her mind on something that won't impact her negatively. Often, Moira and Olivia will ask Amelie to make them designs that she thinks would compliment them, but wouldn't expect her to make the dress completely for them, often tailoring it to be absolutely perfect on them. It's not as much of a secret talent as she'd like it to be, with Moira and Olivia being the only people that know about it. However, she values their opinions on her work, and appreciates the way they express their gratitude over the dresses she makes for them. It makes her feel as though she has a purpose again; one that doesn't have a road of dead bodies following her.

Olivia Colomar / Sombra: Olivia's scarily gifted at photography and photo editing. She has a secret blog and secret twitter to share her creations, to conceal her identity and prevent anyone finding them. Her works are based on her traumas, and the things going on in Dorado that she can't prevent. They're often thought provoking, bringing light to the things that people often overlook. She likes to add an element of hope into the images, and likes to add a line that adds to the work to each post. They're not popular by any means, with rarely anyone interacting with them, but she doesn't care - as long as someone's documenting the way her home is being destroyed by the violence, she's content. It's something she intends to keep private, and she doesn't want to attach her face or name to the images she's creating.

Maugaloa Malosi: Maugaloa has a talent for memorising and recalling information - even when he was a child, he was applauded for his ability to recall exact details of the smallest things from months ago. It's something he prides himself on, but doesn't talk about often enough, wanting to utilise this skill when it'll suit him the most. He enjoys the ability to memorise things, often seeing it as a weapon ready to be used whenever he needs/wants.

[spot-the-ableism]

to set the record straight, as I have zero things to hide.

[IMAGE ID: a tumblr post by user crippled-peeper, it is a reblog chain of 3 posts. It reads “accuses me of “race faking” because I talked about being a refugee from Katrina checks my bio again first line: white man” next reblog reads “idk what’s more fucked up, that these bloggers are named “spot the antisemitism” or “ spot the ableism” or the fact that they are so racist and ableist they think the only way a white person could be a refugee is if they’re making it up” next post reads “ “you can’t be a refugee and disagree with me!!! Everyone knows that I am the arbiter of who is and isn’t a refugee as someone who lives in a gated community in the USA !!! Don’t you know I RUN A BLOG?!?!?” The tags read “#I’m so glad other people are im agreement that these kids are actual clowns not to be taken seriously at all” END ID:]

I never said or insinuated that you were not a climate refugee, nor that you were a racefaker

above is proof, I have not edited the posts nor want to. You have the reblogs to prove I in fact did not edit anything.

the things you are claiming I “did” were things that spot-the-antisemitism did and said.

intracommunity ableism is still ableism, hate speech against both Jewish and other disabled people is not okay, you can be both completely totally right to call out spot-the-antisemitism’s ableism and commit hate speech against random Jewish and disabled people. You can do both, nuance exists.

me calling you out on harmful behaviour and inciting hate speech is not a bad nor immoral thing I’d hope you would do it to me.

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Link 4

if you are mad at me swearing at you may I remind you that you have committed way worse acts of hate speech and yet I gave you benefit of the doubt. People are allowed to swear at people.

i have said you may be having a horrible time right now due to medication troubles and that people should not harass you regardless. And that they should keep in mind that you have been through a lot and do not want harassment. I do also humbly apologise for swearing it was wrong of me to and not conducive to anything helpful.

if anything I have been way too forgiving, what you have said to many well meaning and non-ableist/normal disabled people has been utterly vile and yet do I use that against you? Yet do I say those same things towards you? Yet do I mean to hurt or harass you? No.

I live my life, you live yours, I care about you enough to actually call out people who do wish to hurt you. I shouldn’t, but I do. If you return my very calm and sincere response with the same energy and hatred that you usually do it is not in good faith.

you are having a hard time, a hard time always. And I do not wish to contribute to that. But I cannot stay silent and let others be hurt by what you do and you say. Words do effect reality, there are people behind these screens and I am one, and I am writing this sincerely.

again why am I ableist when I was the one to in fact call out and hold spot-the-antisemitism accountable, and explain why it was bad? I spotted the ableism, simple as that.

I am no wimp, or coward if you wish to call me horrible things I am proud to Bare it.

As I do with all things.

sincerely a disabled person who was told way worse things than this over the course of my childhood.

if you do say "KYS" or any variation of it I will be reporting you.

as that. is. hate. speech. and violent speech which. is. not. legal.

I have not discriminated against you nor malgendered you, I have only sweared at you at the worst (and called out that fakeclaiming and spewing violent hate speech is unacceptable), if anything I have been on your side on most of this.

this comes from a place of love, not hatred.

[vonpharma]

w[h]ip wednesday: blocked by sicktember edition

welcome to whip wednesday! did you know the sicktember mods blocked me despite me being an avid fan of theirs for years, contributing 60 works and over 190k words, and hyping up their event in my social circles the whole time? i still do not know why this happened! i am pretty sure it's because i posted some very lukewarm critique about how the event was being run, on my personal blog where they had to go digging to find it.

i'm obviously heartbroken and pretty stressed about that but i've got a whole spreadsheet of planning done and a shit ton of fills ready to go so whatever. highly recommend not supporting the event this year or for the foreseeable future (there's talks of a new mod. if you're reading this, wanna unblock me?) because i'm starting to think the event runners might just be mean!

do, however, lavish me with praise. i will be writing sickfic until the end of the fucking universe, and when the new sickfic event makes their grand debut i will be kissing their feet.

here's some franmaya from my day 4!

With a confirmation of their reservation—curious, Franziska’s twisting expression seems to say, why would one need a reservation for a botanical garden?—the single employee standing stationary heaves the lock off the gates. They part as if heralding the arrival of something far grander than two young prodigies celebrating an anniversary—not even a proper one, something far more juvenile. Still, Maya feels nothing short of royal as she’s entering the sprawling, lush grounds—and the wonder sewn into every square of Franziska’s face tells her she’s not alone.

“Maya,” Franziska says, wandering toward the boundless stretch of camellia bushes, “what did you… the whole place is…”

“Empty?” Maya grins. “Yeah, happy anniversary, babe. Go wild.”

And Franziska looks at her like she’s hung the stars. How long Maya has waited for that look.

Because Franziska is rich. Loaded, even. There was so little you could buy for the woman who could buy herself anything, especially on Maya’s comparatively meager income. Her only saving grace was in the fact that Franziska was a workaholic to a fault who rarely thought of leisure, or pleasure, or earthly desires—so much so that the religious acolyte from the mountain commune was somehow less detached from those pleasures than she. Maya couldn’t often pay, but she could conceptualize.

This time, though. A year’s worth of saving, and planning, and praying… and finally, with all her ducks in a line, Maya was able to find a gift befitting of the wonderful creature who’d allowed her a space in their shared life. A few hours in the moonlight, wandering around the emerald sprawl of the biggest botanical garden in all of SoCal, with no one to bother them but the bugs chirping in the thicket.

A Franziskan paradise. A perfect night. Or it would be, if not for…

Another muffled sneeze escapes into the collar of her winter jacket, and it takes all of Maya’s willpower not to groan in sore irritation on the tail end of it. They’re starting to hurt, now, barreling through her with little regard for the shredded state of her throat or the date with the pretty girl she is currently trying to go on. It’s been relentless ever since last night, and Maya had hoped and prayed to Mystic Ami herself that she not be sick on her two-year anniversary that she’d spent ages arranging. As fate would have it, though, even Mystic Ami could not cure the common cold.

(Despite what the dusty tomes buried in the archives back home said….)

Luckily, even overdoting Franziska seems far too distracted right about now to notice that’s what’s happening. If this were any other situation, Maya’s sure Franziska’s searing blues would lock onto her like a vulture that’s just spotted a bloating corpse. Thankfully, the flowers are very distracting.

“It’s all…” Franziska is powerwalking from bush to bush in an erratic, excitable zigzag. “Maya Fey, is this whole garden nothing but camellias?”

“I dunno babe,” Maya sniffles once, twice, “you’re the expert. You tell me.”

Coming to a slow halt, Franziska allows herself to look out across the expanse—flowers as far as the eye can see, still in full bloom despite the bite of winter. In all colours, in all sizes, lit only by the far-off insomnia of the city, the moonlight peeking through the cloudy skies.

“I just—” Franziska turns back to Maya, glowing brightest of all, “—can’t believe the variety here, look at all this…”

Maya wanders closer to her side, feeling sunlit despite the chills that are quickly growing harder to ignore. Franziska kneels down to graze a gloved thumb across a velvety red petal, and Maya squats far less elegantly beside her, tilting her head awkwardly back in an attempt to keep her nose from running. 

“I can’t believe it,” Franziska marvels, “Maya, this is quite literally a historical specimen. You’ve brought me to the home of the oldest camellia in all of Southern California.”

“Yo, for real?” Maya stares at the flower, completely unremarkable to her own untrained eye. “Did this bitch know the dinosaurs?”

“No, nothing like that…” Franziska chuckles, continuing to cradle the flower in her hands as though it is the most precious thing in the world. “They’re Asian in origin. This one in particular is one of a kind, having traveled here from Japan in the 1800s.”

“Woah. Just like me for real.”

As she says it, Maya presses her cheek against Franziska’s own, that brand of endearing obnoxiousness that the two of them loved so much. Their hair bunches and tangles in between them, but Franziska leans into her beloved rather than away.

“I didn’t know winter flowers were a thing,” Maya lies, prompting her girlfriend to spring back to her feet, gesticulating vastly and passionately with her arms. 

“Oh, they’re some of the loveliest flowers in existence!” God, she’s so cute when she’s infodumping. “Camellias are some of my favourite of all, in fact I’d even heard of the breadth of this collection of them before coming to the states! It’s comprehensive reputation is largely the work of a single German botanist who traveled here in 1878, so naturally I was already in the know…”

Ever the savant, she carries on. Maya thinks she could listen to a phonebook being read, so long as it was drenched in Franziska’s wonderful, captivating, rounded accent.

[hanniiesuckle17]

Chapt. 03

A/n: I’m so sorry guys that this series has been all over the emplacements with posting times. But my life is slowly coming back together and I’m enjoying writing more and trying to get back to it so!! I also apologize for any misspellings or grammar mistakes I didn’t have time to edit this! Here we gooooo!!! Tag List is Open <3

Tag List: @ashisparanoid @mini-meanhoe @leggomylino @doolsetnet @desertofdessert-blog @hoes4hoseok @mrsunshine999 @jisungsjheekies @hannie-squirrel00 @cotccotc @yangs-jeongin @binniebutter @orangegyu @little-precious-baby @raethethey @sofie296 @bluejayboys @bunnyjaycheoluwu @mingiholic @doom-fics @justhere4kpop @honeyhotteoks @star-hrts

C. L. Tag List: @realrintaro

Pairing: Jisung x Reader x Seungmin

Genre: SMAU, Series, College AU,Love Triangle, Comedy, Fluff, Drama, Smut, Best Friend AU, Slice of Life AU, YouTuber AU

Schedule: Not Scheduled ATM

Warnings: Cursing, Partying, Substance Consumption Including Alcohol and Cannabis, SMUT (Choking, praise, teasing, dirty talk, safe sex, blowjob)

Synopsis: Timing is everything. Sometimes it’s the right person and the wrong time and sometimes it’s the right time but nothing is going your way. Life revolves around this college friend group as everyone is intertwined in fate. Time will only reveal the ending.

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : 03. a little more atmosphere

Y/n’s Pov

No matter how many times you had been to the frat sectors of your campus you could never get over how normal the houses looked. Other than the size of the houses it looked more like a regular neighborhood. White, gray, and blue houses lined the streets with inviting lights along the sidewalks. Further down you could see a good sized group of people lounging and gathering in the front yard of a house.

There was a cool wet breeze in the air. The kind that felt gentle on your skin. Your little group made its way down the street. The three of you: Nadia, yourself, and Felix, had taken a shuttle to this side of campus with the knowledge that none of us would be able to drive home. To be honest Hyunjin, who was already at the party, may have already pressed the company to do a pre game round before coming that left a fluttery nice cloud over your thoughts.

There was no doubt where Sigma Chi’s pledge event was happening. The music could be heard two doors down. It was highly likely it would cause no issue considering that the neighbors were also probably attending the party.

As you entered the house you were swallowed by rhythmic music, bodies, and colorful dancing lights bouncing around the room. This was definitely not your first frat party not that you would tell your parents. Your eyes surveyed the scene and easily found Jisung slightly elevated with his mix set up. There were a few guys chilling with him behind his set up, clearly enjoying the party.

It sometimes slipped your mind that your best friend was almost a local celebrity. Then again it also rarely crossed your mind that someone might think the same about you. It still felt weird that Jisung was always asked to DJ the parties on campus because of his radio show’s popularity.

His eyes met yours and quickly were overtaken with a smile- a bright grin that reached every part of his face. He waved before holding his hand up as if asking you to stay still. Felix and Hyunjin were still trying to get the group situated so you saw no problem and waited. Jisung dipped his head and adjusted some of his equipment.

It was as if his vision tunneled and channeled on you as he watched you expression change. The almost instantaneous joy on your face never failed to make him feel proud of himself as he switched to your favorite anthem. It was something he did only for you and no one else.

Your body jumped up and down to the beat- hands in the hair. Jisung started jumping along with you and the small crowd in the house immediately started getting hyped like it was foreign club.

Someone tapped your shoulder. You turned finding Seungmin’s friendly face. His hair was a little messy from the party atmosphere put everything else about him was clearly meant to flatter. The black button down he wore lay perfectly on him accenting his frame.

His hand smoothly slid from your shoulder to your hand. Gently he lifted it and encouraged you to twirl to the music for him. It was hard not to admit the action made you feel a little warmth on your cheeks. It was either that or the shots were kicking in.

As you finished your turn he pulled you into his chest and leaned down so you could hear him over the music. “You look really good, Y/n.” His long fingers hesitantly adjusted your top layer of clothing.

Seungmin greeted the rest of the group and you all headed out back onto the patio. As you stepped outside your shoulder brushed a giggling blonde haired boy. “Oh sorry-“ you said turning back to look at him. The boy had a half finished blunt in his mouth, lazy smile on his face. He had a funny pair of sunglasses falling low on his nose and his attention trained on the girl who was holding his hand behind him. The boy’s other hand was holding an entire bottle of jack.

Seungmin laughed and put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Woah there bro,” He looked between you and apparently his fraternity mate. “Jeongin this is, Y/n.”

His eyes widened and a massive smirk grew on his face. His fingers adjusted the bottle of alcohol so he had two free fingers to reach and pull the joint from his lips. “Oh yeah- dude, she’s Jisung’s friend right?” Seungmin looked a little annoyed that’s how you were being introduced as. “Hey, boo. Yo- you ever want something hit me up I’ll give you the Jisung’s friend discount.”

The boy didn’t even wait for your hesitant smile response and he turned away dragging away the girl in tow behind him. “So-that our newest recruit, Jeongin.”

“What a colorful gentleman,” you mused with a laugh as Nadia handed you a drink.

The evening rolled on in a happy blur. The music was good and always the perfect vibe, though you would expect nothing less from your best friend. You enjoyed the time with your friends, everyone drinking and having fun. Occasionally a game would come up to play but eventually everyone would fall back to your lounge spot and just talk for hours.

You were lounged on a patio couch outside, Seungmin’s leg resting over yours as he took up the rest of the couch. A nice rosy glow painted his cheeks. Felix couldn’t keep a giggle from bursting out which made you burst out laughing for a reason you could not even remember.

Feeling the need for another drink you tapped on your friend’s leg, which he immediately lifted. You stretched and offered refills before heading into the house towards the kitchen.

The party had taken a turn as the hours had grown late. Instead of the thundering base the house was now filled with a sound that made you feel suspended in pleasure. The colorful lights flowed in tune with the music and the rooms were collecting clouds of smoke hanging in the air like chandeliers.

Making your way past several people in the kitchen you found the island counter which was covered completely in bottles of liquor and mixers, coolers, and ice. A plethora of bad choices. How lovely!

Your hand instinctively went for the rum and you began pouring a drink to your liking. The air shifted and you felt a familiar presence enter behind you. An echo of laughter followed him in the room. His eyes immediately met yours before grabbing a random cup from the counter and drinking from it.

“Are you enjoying the party?” He leaned on the counter next to you, head tilted with his little impish grin.

You rolled your eyes with slight smile that did not go unnoticed by Jisung. “I just wish it had a little more atmosphere, you know.” Hearing the sarcasm drip from your lips had the boy pushing himself off the counter and puffing his chest and stepping up close to her.

“Oh yeah- you wanna fight bro-“ He stopped when he heard you collapse in a fit of giggles and his arms instantly came to rest on your elbows making sure you hadn’t lost your balance. “Nah that’s not me, honey. I’d atmosphere the shit outta this place.” Jisung filled the rest of your cup, knowing just how you like your drinks. “Changbin’s giving me a break.”

You nodded, sipping on the bubbly concoction. “Makes sense,” you replied, leaning against the counter shoulder to shoulder. “No wonder everyone is basically fucking.” The two of you looked around and laughed before tapping cups and taking a giggly shot.

The two of you sat in comfortable silence for a moment before Jisung turned and nudged your shoulder. “Hey- you wanna get some air?”

“I’ve got some in my lungs already but I could always use some more.”

“Ass.” Jisung said with a laugh, his hand resting on your lower back as he guided you to the front of the house.

Twinkling stars and fluffy clouds emerged as you exited the frat party and followed the sidewalk in the front yard. There was a step in the path and Jisung comfortably plopped himself down there as if it was the comfiest seat on the block. The ground a was a little wet as it had just begun to rain- more like a mist, gently kissing your warm cheeks.

Cans and party favors littered the grass around us. The air smelled fresh and new, something you always loved about rain. The part still roared on inside the house, Changbin’s music seeping through the walls and onto the street. Occasionally colored lights would flash through the windows and catch in the tiny droplets of rain like crystals.

There was a small group of college students chilling out with drinks on the porch. Whispers of their conversation floated to your little spot but neither of you really cared to listen.

After taking a drink, you pulled your phone out to see the night had already come to almost three in the morning. “Ooooo the witching hour,” Jisung joked shaking your shoulders. After he let go he set his drink down in the grass before pulling something out of his pocket. “Do you mind?” Jisung asked placing a joint between his lips.

You shook your head and took a sip from your drink and watched as he lit and took a deep draw expertly inhaling before gentle pools of smoke floated out of his nose with a sigh. His eyes lazy opened and met your gaze before he offered you a hit.

Shaking your head you said, “I’ve already had a bit to drink.” He nodded and leaned back on his elbows before tilting his head back and taking another deep hit. You could almost see the point where a nice little daze came over his eyes. A beautiful funnel of smoke came from his lips straight up into the air.

“I forget- do you smoke, babe?”

He giggled as you shrugged. “Nah, I mean…One time- Felix and I, we made these like pretty sick edibles.” It was impossible not to remember how fun that night was. Jisung let out groan, hands covering his face, before he shot up and came only inches away from your face.

Your eyes widened as you looked and him and the grip on your cup got a little tighter. He had a lazy smile on his lips as he whispered, “Fuck- make me edibles, Y/n.” Something about the way he said your name had your hazy mind tripping over itself.

“Uhm-…”

“Dude- that would be the best high ever! You’re food and- fuuck, Y/n.” Jisung grabbed your cheeks and squished your face. He looked at you for a second, clearly feeling the effects of the smoking blunt in his other hand. “So do you wanna try?”

You giggled as his arm slid behind your back and he leaned into you. This side of Jisung was all too familiar. “How does it always end up like this?” You ask pushing him away a little.

“Like what?”

“You teaching me to do all kinds of shit like; you taught me how to kiss, and you taught me how to sneak out and all that other stuff.”

He laughed and flicked your forehead. “Your fault for hanging around a bad influence.”

“Somehow my parents think you hung the moon.” Jisung held your gaze before looking to the joint and back to you. “You kinda wanna teach me don’t you?”

He grinned, pushing his slowly dampening hair from his face. “Kinda a lot.” You nodded and took the blunt from his grasp. He watched you eagerly as you brought it to your lips. “So you’re going to want to suck and then inhale. But think of it more like a helium balloon than a straw.”

You felt a sweet smell float into your nostrils that somehow felt like pepper. The back of your throat burned a little as you breathed it in. After a second you couldn’t help but cough.” He laugh at how cute he found you. The watering in your eyes and scorched remnants of your throat spoke volumes that you were quite the opposite as you continued to cough.

Gently Jisung patted your back before ruffling your hair. “That sucked balls.”

“How do you know what balls taste like, bitch?”

Rolling your eyes, your fingers brushed your friend’s hand as you passed back the joint. “Not for me, I’ll stick to edibles.”

“Which you will be making me soon by the way," his words were ever so slightly slower letting you Jisung was definitely feeling good right now. You nodded and let him lean his head against yours. Suddenly the mist gently floating onto your skin became heavy droplets and both you and Jisung sat up at the feeling.

With squinted eyes your friend turned to you and said, “My car’s right over there- you wanna?”

“Yes, please!” You shouted as the rain began to pick up just enough to be uncomfortable.

Jisung pulled you up and tucked you and his still lit joint under the shield that was his arm. Quickly the two of you shuffled through the shower to the gray sedan that he had been driving since high school. The lights flashed through the weather as the backseat door was flung open and your best friend ushered you inside.

Once you were safely enclosed in the vehicle, you watched his slender form jog around to the other side of the car before climbing in with you. “Did it go out?” Jisung asked, clearly referring to the joint he had handed to you at some point.

Lifting it, he smiled seeing the tiny golden embers still burning. “Niiice.” Jisung then reached between the front seats and turned on the car before cracking the back windows ever so slightly so the smell of the rain would float in and the future heavy smoke filled air would flow out.

While he was adjusting things, you were busy getting comfortable having brought your slightly rain filled drink with you. Jisung handed you his phone, a habit of his whenever you were in his car. It was the only time he would ever let you play your own music.  “Yeahhh I’m gonna ruin your buzz with death metal music.”

“Y/n no- that is so not the vibe pleasssse,”

“You handed the phone and with it the power. Kisseth my ass.”

“Bend over.” Jisung had a lazy smirk on his face and you were happy that the car was dark except for the colors coming from the dashboard a small world away. Suddenly the backseat felt much smaller than it did before. 

Obviously he was joking, but that did nothing to stop your already pink cheeks to flush even more. “Fine, I’ll pick good music.” From the way your voice got softer Jisung could tell you were blushing. He leaned back into the corner of the door and the seat and took another draw before blowing it gently out the window, savoring the feeling of the smoke leaving his body. 

He watched you scroll on his phone, letting his unfiltered thoughts float freely as rain pelted the roof above. Maybe it was just he hadn’t seen you in a week, or maybe all of the smells around him seemed fresher, but something magnetic was drawing all his senses towards you. 

When music softly starting coming from the surrounding speakers, you looked up to find Jisung already looking at you- a loopy smile on his face as his fingers rolled the blunt back and forth between his grip. “What?”

“I’ve missed you,” He said, brushing his nose and pulling your legs into his lap.

There was no helping the goofy giggle that came out as you were now feeling the effects of all the shots that were taken earlier in the night. “You just saw me the other day!” The handsome boy shrugged and you felt him absently rub his palm up and down your calf. You were almost certain he was not even aware of his actions. For just a second your head dropped back on the seat and you let yourself get lost in this perfect atmosphere.

“Yeah- but I mean I wanted to hang out with you at the party tonight,”

“Yes, the party you were working?”

He laughed once again drawing patterns along with the music on your leg. “Hey if I’m drinking I’m not working. Why didn’t you come up to the booth and chill?”

There wasn’t really an answer. Not one that Jisung would like anyway. Jisung didn’t have anything against Seungmin, but the two always ended up butting heads on something. “Well, Seungmin was the one who invited me and it is- in a way- his party,” The boy rolled his eyes before turning to look at you with a smile. “I’m chilling with you now though!”

“Who's more fun, me or the kappa boy?”

“You were just playing their pledge party. How do you not know the name of the fraternity?” You could feel yourself struggle to string together so many sentences that long in a row. “It’s Sigma Chi.”

Jisung’s lids hung low over his eyes as he laughed. “Whatever, admit that I’m more fun already!” He whined. Without another word, you told him exactly what he needed to hear, if only to shut him up. There was nothing that made you happier than being with Jisung even when he was being an ass. In fact when he was being an ass you found him the most loveable. It was one of the hardest things about having a crush on him.

Clearly the effect had set in on Jisung, but it didn’t take him long to notice every so now and then you would sneak a glance at him messing with the joint. “Do you want to try again?” He asked with such patience you didn’t expect that it made your heart skip a beat. Remembering the awful burning sensation you vigorously shook your head no. The tiny bit of fear in your face made Jisung laugh. He was always going to be the stoner out of you two. He also had no doubt that you were probably getting at least a small contact high from the lingering smoke. That was what gave him the idea.

Jisung normally had zero filter and thought about nothing before he said it. So, of course this instance was no different. “Do you want to shotgun?”

“Like get in the front seat? Why?”

Your best friend burst out laughing, slapping the side of your leg in his lap. “Bro- no,” Jisung’s laugh was contagious and between him and the slow feeling of inebriation, it didn’t take long for you to laugh along with him. “Hold up- let me show you,” Jisung turned so he was now facing you and he gave your ankles a tug, silently asking you to come closer.

Scooching across the backseat of his car, you came face to face with your friend. You had been this close before many times but it always made your heart race. “You like Harry Potter right?” Jisung questioned in a funny accent that made you giggle. “Okay, so- hey! Eyes on me!” He jokingly scolded you for getting slightly distracted by a group of people running outside behind him. “So, you’re gonna pretend like you’re a dementor sucking out my soul.”

“What soul?”

He rolled his eyes with a smile and brought the joint up to his lips and you tried your hardest not to let your gaze linger there. With gentle hands he brought your face even closer to his own. Once he had a mouth full of smoke, Jisung tapped your cheek with his finger and you parted your lips slightly. Suddenly you were very aware of your surroundings and even with the rain and the music it felt very quiet. You watched in fascination as the smoke gently billowed from his lips towards your own. Not exactly sure what you were doing, you closed your eyes and took a deep breath.

You could feel the smoke as it scratched the back of your throat leaving a tingling sensation behind. There was still a burn in your nose but it almost felt like someone had just sprinkled too much pepper on their food. When you opened your eyes, you found Jisung still holding your face, his eyes trained on your lips.

A tension hung in the air as rain pelted against the car windows. Your friend looked at you with heavy eyes, dozily fixating on his finger as it moved to brush and trace over your lips. You felt your skin come alive as you simply held as still as you possibly could while he gently traced over your features. “Jisung?” His eyes brought themselves back into focus but he made no effort to move any amount of distance away from you. “You good?”

“Oh-I’m fantastic.” You could feel his hand ghost over your shoulder before it dropped into your lap. “This is the best high I’ve had in a while.” His other arm reached up and laid itself across the top of the backseat. His head flopped onto his arm as he looked over at you with his brown doe eyes.

“I’m feeling pretty nice too,” You giggled, resting your head on the seat and enjoying the floaty feeling engulfing you.

A goofy smirk played at the corner of his mouth. “You wanna feel even better?” Before you could ask how or why Jisung’s lips were on yours. Oh this was a terrible, awful, stupid, irresponsible idea. That thought went out the window when you felt Jisung pull you closer to him by the back of your neck. He grinned as you returned the kiss with an equal passion. College was for bad decisions right? This was definitely a mistake that would feel so...fucking…good. You pulled away to set your drink in the door’s cup holder and Jisung chased after your lips. “No, where are you going?” He almost whined. “Come back to me.”

You gasped as his grip got a little tighter around your throat. By what some might call a happy accident you had turned into his hand, his thumb moving to the other side of your neck. He smirked, giving the soft skin in his hands a gentle little squeeze as he turned your attention back to himself. “That was really fucking cute.” You stayed frozen in his grip completely enamored with the way he was looking at you.

Jisung had a curious grin on his face, almost as if you were a peculiar new toy for him to play with and explore. “Well- who taught you that…”Instead of pulling you back up into his lap your body was twisted and pushed down into the car seat. You were very aware of his knee brushing up between your thighs as Jisung looked at you from above.

Mesmerized, your eyes tracked the swing of his silver chain. A gentle tug of your chin brought the focus back onto him. You were completely enamored with the way he looked at you with his pretty face. It was a struggle for your brain to function as you tried to find a better word to describe how happy looking at his face made you feel in that moment other than…pretty.

His smile dripped away into a sly smirk as he said, “Mmm, now I’m curious what other things you do.” You giggled as his lips tickled their way down your neck and playing with your shirt. “Hey- that a cool sweater why don’t we,” Jisung joked before pulling your top over your head. The second the fabric revealed your face he captured you in a giggly kiss that made your noses bump together.

You felt a cool touch against your very hot skin and for a moment you didn’t even care where it came from that it felt so good. Had you opened your eyes the sight would only have made your legs squeeze tighter than they already were. Jisung was latched onto your neck and chest while his other hand sneakily has made its way past the barrier of your pants.

And then, all of a sudden, you felt a weight on top of you that cause you to groan and then laugh. “Oh my god- Ji- what was that!”

“Sorry my wrist gave out,” He giggled making no effort to relieve his weight from your chest.

You slapped his shoulder “Here, get off of me.” With little contest, Jisung pushed himself up and reclined in the backseat. With lazy, happy eyes he watched as you crawled into his lap and the between his legs on the floor. His pretty brown eyes tracked the way your hands moved up and down his thighs. “Better.”

In the backseat it was hard to see but you watched his eyes darken as you smiled at him. He watched with a raised brow as your bottom lip was pulled by your teeth. “What are you doing?”

“Showing you what else I do,” You reached up and smiled as you started undoing his pants. For a moment he let you feel him, the cloth underwear providing you a hint of what you had only guiltily dreamed about.

“Hey- wait gimme a sec…” Jisung said nervously laughing and pulling your hands into his own.

Your brows furrowed and the silence between changing songs seemed to last a little longer than you had noticed before. “What’s wrong?” He seemed to notice you begin to second guess yourself.

“Dude- I don’t let anyone see me half soft.”

“Jisung we’ve taken baths together!” You said between giggles as you rested your arms on his thighs.

“Yeah, but we were five! Just shush- trust me I don’t need long.”

Sighing, you rested your head on his thigh and looked up at him. His senses zeroed in on the gentle touch and tap of your fingers on his leg and you were so close that he could feel the soft brush of your breath against him. He watched the way your lips absentmindly whispered the words of the song playing in his car. When you noticed him staring you gave him a little smile, leaning your head deeper into him.

“Yep-that’ll do it. Come here. Now.” He leaned down and pulled you to meet him for one last steamy kiss. Eager to prove yourself, you parted and gently pushed him back in his seat. His eyes widened and a weighted sigh left his lips as he felt your tongue wrap around him.

It was easy to take him simply because the sight of him enjoying your mouth made it water immensely. It was as if every little sound and move from his beautiful face made you want to live only to experience this. His hand very quickly found purchase at the back of your head, twisting your hair between his fingers. “Fucking hell…” he breathed, hand covering his eyes.

Jisung pushed it back into his hair only to meet your eyes as your lips quite literally popped off his dick. Your stomach twisted and your thighs begged to squeeze together as you attempted to hold eye contact with him. It was hard but somehow the hazy fog in your brain gave you the confidence. “You mind if I get more comfortable,”

He shook his head and smiled as you came face to face with him again. With a curious grin, he watched you slide your pants free from your legs and toss them in the floor. The consequences of this would be great, so now was the time to make it worthwhile. Your knees came to rest on either side of his waist, pressing into the backseat. A cool breeze from somewhere in the car ghosted over your lower back as you slipped your hand past your underwear and felt a smooth wet sensation coat the tips of your fingers.

Jisung let out a low moan as the same hand gently wrapped around him coating his length with the soft feeling. His own hands tried to pull you closer to his lap. “Why so far away?” Jisung smirked, his lips coming dangerously close to yours.

“You got a condom, then?”

“Back pocket.”

“Really, Ji, that’s kinda gross,” you giggled, as he lifted the two of you a little so you could reach.

He nuzzled into your neck leaving open mouthed kisses in his wake. “It’s only for emergencies just such as this.” He captured your lips in a kiss that made your body melt as you pulled the wrapper out of his wallet. “This definitely qualifies as an emergency.”

You listened to the soft music and rain pelting against the window as Jisung slipped on the condom and pushed the fabric of your panties to the side. Slowly, you began dropping your hips down onto him and let your eyes flutter closed.

Eagerly, Jisung tried thrusting up into you before he had even fully bottomed out. It made you smile and sink down onto his lap. A low groan came from beneath you and his hand wrapped around you almost in a hug. Your heart was beating thousands of miles a minute wrapped in his embrace feeling everything you had to offer each other.

A shiver crawled down your spine as Jisung’s hand trailed down your back and twisted your underwear in his hand- tugging it away from your soft skin. It was so easy to completely fall into the steady rhythm the man below you was setting. Your fingers rooted and twisted in his hair as a soft moan left your lips.

“Do it again.” Jisung smirked and started putting more intention behind his movements. Stuck in a happy cloud, you complied and let every sweet sound fall loose and into the air hanging heavy around you. “Fuck- I’ve never heard a sound like you…” he groaned, letting his head fall back.

Seizing this opportunity of the weakness, your lips attacked the beautiful skin of his neck. With hooded eyes you watched each little twitch of his face as you kissed and bit down his chest. Jisung wasn’t as vocal as you had imagined, but hearing his baited breath and raspy groans had you breathlessly grinding against his own thrusts.

His long fingers pushed your focus back to his brown eyes before capturing you once again in a kiss. Remembering the oh so sweet little trick from earlier they then gently wrapped around your neck, squeezing the sides. A shaky whimper was cut off in your throat.

You opened your eyes to see Jisung staring at you with that goofy, mischievous smile that made every inch of your body feel happy. His other hand was pressed firmly on your lower back before you felt it move up and start to undo your bra.

Whether Jisung’s body count was higher than yours or not, you knew it would take more of his focus to remove that article of clothing than it would be to stop you from doing whatever your wanted. You let your hips move and bounce a little and almost instantly you could feel his body react under you.

He had only managed to undo one of the hooks, and now was simply trying to pull the straps down your arms. Jisung could do little to keep his arms from going limp, fully succumbing to how amazing you felt around him. His eyes closed and his head dropped onto the seat behind him.

The streetlight cast shadows through the drops of rain still falling on Jisung’s rear window. The shadows rested on his cheek and lips making you want to do nothing but touch them. Leaning down, pushing his hair away from his forehead, you kissed him. Though his body was relaxed, Jisung returned the kiss fervently.

“Keep going,” he rasped against your mouth.

The idea of you basically fucking yourself on his dick in the backseat of Jisung’s car would have made the everyday ‘you’ red up to the ears. Yet here you were, desperate to listen to the quiet sounds he made as you used him.

Regaining his composure Jisung tried to move your underwear that had shifted back and was rubbing against the two of you. Each attempt had him frustrated in both the best and most aggravating way. After giving up with it, you felt a sharp but lazy smack to your ass.

“Jisung-“ you moaned against him.

“Mhmm if you keep going like this I’m gonna fucking lose it.”

You could see the windows quickly building up with steam as your bodies moved in sync. Coming down just in the perfect way, you gasped and let loose a starved moan. Every very small amount of sense was shook loose from your brain. A kind of euphoric feeling was coming over you.

You hardly gave a fuck about getting off. It was going into this, the furthest thing on your mind. The universe had glitched and this wasn’t supposed to happen but here you were pulling on your best friend’s hair as he was desperately trying not to cum so soon. His muscles were tensing and his breath became short and quiet. His face beautifully twisted in pleasure. Jisung’s arms wrapped around your waist and back in tight hug that begged for you to keep going.

“Fuck, yes- Y/n, just like that, honey…” he groaned. You could feel that familiar knot forming at the pit of your stomach. That wonderful warm tension. “Oh- fuck,” his voice trailed off in glorious moan that had you clenching around him.

Quickly his hand reached down and held you against him, pushing him deeper than you expected to go. Then that tiny little ball tightly twisting in your stomach floated apart in the wind and left you in shaky feeling of ecstasy. All you could do was melt into his arms with a whine.

Jisung’s chest heaved as he stared up at you. You had no time to be embarrassed about exactly how of much your own wetness you both were in. He held your gaze as his hand rubbed up and down your back before tangling in your hair, bringing you down for a breathless kiss.

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

C. L. M.List

Masterlist

[wild-raven-and-crow-favorites]

Edit: I posted this to the wrong blog, lol, so I posted a second copy to the right one. Here's the link.

I mentioned earlier that Munin had an adventure I would tell you about...

The Norse God Odin had two ravens, Hugin and Munin (Thought and Memory) that would fly around the world bringing him the knowledge of the day. What would it have felt like, awaiting their return? This stanza from the Grímnismál speaks of this:

"Over the earth Hugin and Munin set forth to fly.

For Hugin I fear lest he'll not return,

But for Munin my fear is more."

(Note: Since the Norse name Munin translates as "Memory" in English, we call Munin "Memory" when we really want her attention, or when we want her to come to us. Otherwise she'd quickly learn to disregard her name since we talk about her in her presence so frequently. It is best for her to have a common name, and a "secret" name we call her with.)

Munin's Adventure:

We were invited to a picnic down in Samammish with friends, and Munin was the guest of honor. We were all sitting on the grass, munching on chips (Munin loves chips) when she flew from her perch, snapping her leash. We thought she would wait patiently like a dog while we reattached it, but no (only idiots would think this.) She flew off to a nearby tree and then perched there, chatting with us in her croaky voice happily in an infuriatingly unreachable way. Ravens are like this.

Here is where I must confess that she doesn't come to her name well at all. She is very aware that it refers to her, and will turn to us when we call it, but she only flies over if she sees a reason to, and we had already plied her with every delicious snack at the picnic. I admit this is a failure with our teaching.

We waited under her perch for about an hour, getting on with our picnic, offering her treats every so often for which she politely declined to fly down. Then Munin spontaneously to flew towards us as we were distracted by handing people drinks, then away from us beyond our line of sight. That's when I became concerned.

Very clearly, she was having fun, and when ravens have fun you know something terrible is about to happen.

We called to her, and searched, and eventually she started calling back from a distance, the faint feminine croaking muffled by the surrounding trees. We followed the sounds and sighted her in a tree so tall that she was just a black blob against the afternoon sky. She had already attracted a couple of angry crows that were yelling at her to leave. She tried making friendly calls to them, but it takes more than a friendly greeting to convince a gang of racist crows to hang out with a newcomer. She gave up, and started trying to ignore them. She chatted with us when the crows calmed down a bit. We called back to her and she responded while hopping between branches, occasionally pausing to tear leaves off the tree, tossing them into the air so they fluttered to the ground. Trees have a lot of leaves. We figured that this new project would take her some time.

As we watched, the picnic slowly dwindled in size over the hours, as the lengthening shadows weakened the group by attrition. Only the last and most loyal remained as Munin finally spread her wings and soared up into the sky. The dying sun reflected the end of a beautiful day upon her feathers, as she wheeled about in ever-higher, ever-widening circles, separating herself from our desperate cries of "Memory! ...Memory! ...Memory!!! NO!!!!" Could she even hear us through the rushing wind? I don't know.

So the day ended.

We have given Munin the opportunity to hone her flying skills, and she has learned to forage for treats well, often circumventing my attempts to prevent her from stealing. However, ravens with all their brilliance do have a weakness, and that is language. We can show Munin things to teach her about the world, but we can't tell her about something she hasn't seen yet. Bald Eagles for instance, who on rare occasion prey on ravens, are not something Munin is familiar with, and the fact that two such eagles were nesting in a tree right next to the one Munin had been happily playing in was not possible to communicate to her. It was also not possible to tell her that large flocks of territorial crows can knock a raven off course, nor that West Nile Virus is quite deadly. Munin's previous experience in her rather small, easy-to-navigate world has shown her that everyone loves and admires, or at least respects her. She has certainly never met anyone who considers her edible. As individuals, there will always come a time when our beliefs are tested, when our ingenuity is tested, when we face the dangers that lurk behind the borders of our picnic. That moment often defines us, if we survive it.

We did not wait quietly for Munin's return. We posted paper flyers within a two-mile radius, we put about a hundred flyers under the mats of the nearest neighbors, we notified local birding groups, we paid for online ads targeted to local people, and we handed out flyers by hand asking people to post it on their social media accounts or elsewhere online. Also, we made sure someone was always at the property from which Munin had flown who was able to call for her. For good measure, we brought Hugin in a crate and placed him in the center of the garden to help us call for her. I knew that if she heard him she would come to him.

Every day after, we woke up at dawn to search the distant skies for a lone raven, or any bird being harassed by the local crows. We noticed the local birds flew across the sky at about 5am, so we woke up early every day in case she was with them. We called out "Memory!" every time we saw a bird that could have been her. We rarely got responses, but we got enough to hold on to our dwindling hopes that she would return. Actually, it seemed that we were rather torturing the neighbors, who every dawn and dusk would hear banshee-like cries in the distance as we walked to and fro across the grass plaintively shrieking "Memory, Memory..." Phone calls and texts came in with news of any oddly-behaving raven that was spotted, or offers to help look. We had other animals at our house that we needed to care for, so one of us spent at least half of every day commuting between our home and Sammamish. Finally, we started to talk about staying at home because driving the two hours between our home and Sammamish every day was becoming unreasonable, but we waited one last day anyway, because it didn't feel right to just leave. The dusk and dawn once more passed with no response, and we began to pack up to leave for home. It was the third day. We had everything arrayed on the driveway next to our truck, when my phone rang.

I answered the call, and I heard a calm voice on the other end of the line say "I think your raven is on my deck." The voice said he'd been talking to the raven for about an hour. I asked if she had jesses on her legs and he said yes. I said we'd be right over in a few minutes, and he said he'd keep talking to her. I suggested he feed her cheese crackers and he seemed doubtful. Alan nearly crashed the truck on the way over, but we made it, and we ran around the back of the house where Munin was waiting. She made low, happy croaks as we approached, and flew to Alan's arm the moment he held it out.

Munin was finally returned to us.

The ironic thing in all this is that the guy who saw Munin was too afraid to go outside his door to try and approach her, or feed her treats... he just talked to her through his window from the safety of his house. Memory was returned to us by a very sincere, bird-phobic man. I am deeply appreciative of the lengths to which brave and good-hearted people will go when someone else's heart is on the line.

Now that Munin is home, she seems to have matured. She is a little more confident when flying from place to place, is more unwilling to have us leave her when we're out in strange places, and is much more likely to come to her name quickly. Overall, she seems more confident and relaxed. She seems to have learned some very helpful things out in the world.

(Munin and Hugin are my African ravens.)

[skzoologist]

Bumping into a fan in public

word count: 1.6k

warnings: none

genre: fluff

a/n: Here you go anon deary, the first of your asks now done at last 😄Hope you like it, since I felt like these two boys didn't get enough content on my blog. And as always, feel free to drop by anytime if an idea is tickling your mind, I'll get to it eventually!

Please let me know if I left a warning or anything out, I will add it in! Reblogs, likes and feedback are greatly appreciated!

!I don't condone anyone stealing my work and posting it anywhere without my permission, or feeding it to AI!

!This is just fiction, my interpretation of Stray Kids. By no means is this how they are and how they behave in real life!

‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹

‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹

It was another day of work and practice, something that only seemed hellish from an outsider’s perspective. Idols were more than used to it, the industry and their own pride demanding it endlessly. Bae had no problem with it, only when those he cared for overworked themselves and stepped over a line they shouldn’t have. 

That was why he’d been glad that day, his schedule overlapping with the others frequently, granting him the best opportunity to silently observe and care for them. This meant passing their towels and water bottles over to the members in each small break during dance practice, helping them execute a particularly tricky move, or just silently letting them cling to him when they had the chance. A comeback was breathing down their necks, the stress in the air basically palpable.

The perfect excuse for being lenient with the members and their shenanigans, caring for them silently.

Bae was watching Jeongin through the glass silently, his hands already working on mixing the sweet honey into some warm tea. Seungmin’d been enjoying the taste of his by then, only a few sips remaining in his mug as he was scrolling on his phone with an indifferent face.

The oldest member in the room’d been the first to have his singing practice, leaving Seungmin and Jeongin to have theirs later, providing their hyung ample time to get his hands on some tea and brew it up for the two. It wasn’t hard to do, since he kept some filters stashed away in the room for this exact occasion, being a regular there and all.

A little snort broke him out of his mindless stirring and staring ahead, a lit up phone entering his line of vision. It was a tiktok video, the edited face of his menace of a hyung greeting Bae back. He couldn’t help the quiet, strangled sound that left his throat, somewhere between a giggle and a cough. Nobody blamed him for it though, and certainly not Seungmin, the two quietly cackling at the short compilation.

The quiet giggles continued with every video, the two sitting next to each other, the younger letting all his weight fall onto the older.

It was peaceful, something rare amidst these chaotic days.

The door opened and both boys turned their heads towards the sound, watching their precious maknae exit the room and talk with their teacher. They only exchanged a few sentences, the young one soon joining them on the couch. Bae didn’t hesitate to gently push the still warm mug into his hands, gently smiling when he got a quiet thanks in return.

Bae went up to their teacher next, exchanging some quiet words and making plans for their next practice session. It was both a necessary and the most comfortable solution, since he could just convey the now modified plans to the young ones and let them take a small break at the same time.

Once he was done, he politely said goodbye to all the staff members, earning cheerful smiles and waves in return. He looked at the two on the couch, sat close to each other, probably watching a video from the same phone, not an unusual occurrence. The mugs were now empty and set to the side carefully, so no one would accidentally sit on them or push them onto the floor.

Just as Bae was about to go and get the mugs, fully intending to clean them, one of the staff members -a kind, middle aged lady, always willing to help- grabbed them and winked at him playfully. He froze in his spot, in disbelief, but soon he shook his head gently with a small smile dancing on his lips.

“Ready?” - his voice was quiet, yet the two young ones immediately heard it and looked up at him with a nod.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the bottom floor of the company, having made plans to eat an early dinner together at a nearby restaurant. A pleasant conversation was freely flowing between them, ranging from their just finished singing practice to movies they all enjoyed. Bae mostly watched the two in silence, only nodding and humming from behind the layers of his scarf and mask. 

He always enjoyed watching them animatedly talk about something they liked, a bright light shining in their eyes captivatingly. Even when the topic of the conversation eluded him, as if he was trying to catch water with his bare hands, that fond look never escaped his face.

“Hey, Dal hyung, you wanna come over and watch some marvel movies with me and Felix hyung?” - Jeongin asked and Bae knew he could never say no to those puppy eyes.

Seungmin merely snickered behind his hand -even though his mask muffled the sound already-, amused by the quick nod his hyung gave their maknae. The older playfully glared at the puppy, both knowing that the whole dorm would join in on the movie marathon anyway, if not the whole band, regardless of their own nightly plans and wishes. Nobody could say no to Jeongin, especially when he teamed up with Felix, creating an impossible challenge filled with puppy eyes and pouty lips.

While Jeongin celebrated his victory animatedly, Bae ruffled Seungmin’s hair, earning a whine from the boy. The older’s hand was batted away, but he could tell Seungmin was just pretending to be annoyed by the lightness of his expression, eyes still as bright as ever.

Just when the small restaurant came into view -it was slightly hidden away in a narrow street, its brightly lit sign the only indication of its existence-, a meek little voice stopped them in their tracks. 

Turning around, the three were met with a younger girl, form petite and small as she was anxiously fiddling with her sleeve covered hands. There was a faint dusting of pink on her cheeks, either from the chilly autumn wind, or her nervousness.

Even though he doubted there was a problem or danger, Bae still unconsciously stepped lightly before Seungmin and Jeongin, his voice soft as he prompted the girl to speak up.

“I- I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m a huge fan and, uh, I was wonderingifIcouldaskforapicture?” - her words were rushed together at the end, making it hard to understand them.

The three looked at the overly nervous girl, afraid she would worry herself sick at this rate. With a quick, shared glance, Bae stepped forward just a bit, careful not to startle her with their huge height difference.

“Sure, who did you have in mind?” - he asked as if he was talking to a startled animal, thankful that her shoulders slightly slumped down at that. “Ah, uhm, all three of you? If that wouldn’t burden you too much, of course! You’re my bias, Oppa, while Jeongin and Seungmin oppa are my bias wreckers!” - she replied, the faint colour now prominent on her faint skin.

Bae could only blink down at her with slightly widened eyes, a bit caught off-guard for a single second before he tamed his emotions and leveled his face. If he let his skin flush even a bit and showed how flustered he was, he knew his younger members would not let him live it down for at least a day or two.

Looking away from their excited fan, Jeongin and Seungmin nodded back at Bae, their eyes now crescent shaped. They all loved to meet with their fans, always glad to interact with them and take selfies with or give them an autograph. Usually those who approached them on the streets were kind and respectful, like this fan, making the experience all the more pleasant.

The four huddled together more, the petite STAY in the front, while the idols were behind her, with Bae in the middle. He was the tallest, so he was the one who took her phone and held it up, his height granting him the advantage for the perfect angle. Jeongin poked his dimples, Seungmin showed a V-sign, while Bae put up bunny ears for the puppy at the last second. His side was poked in annoyance, as subtle as Seungmin could be with the fan still in front of them.

Holding back a flinch, Bae lowered the phone and handed it back to the little STAY, watching with delight as her whole face lit up and she lightly jumped in place a few times. Catching herself, she pocketed the phone as if it was the most precious thing in her possession and bowed at them deeply, wishing them a good day and thanking them once again. The boys thanked her for her support, truly honoured to be her favourites, and waved at her leaving form.

“Did you really have to do that, Hyung?” - Seungmin’s annoyed voice could be heard, prompting Bae to step behind Jeongin and away from approaching hands.

Bae merely nodded, an unseen smile widening on his lips. Seungmin huffed, trying to circle around their confused baby bread to get to his hyung, yet to no avail.

‘Wait, what happened? Can you–” - Jeongin’s question was cut in half, the two around him too fast to follow. “Hyung, stop running away!” “Don’t want to.” “Then at least stop running around me and dragging me with you as if I’m your doll!” - Jeongin whined out desperately, having had enough of the two’s shenanigans.

Needless to say, Bae paid for the entire meal and carried the rightfully angry maknae back to their dorms. It was the only way to placate Jeongin, the ache in his muscles stronger than his dislike towards skinship.

[kuromispamton2000]

Welcome to my blog (i guess)

the name's Crystal, code-name: kuromispamton2000 and i'm...an amateur (?) artist not the best but i like to art actually, i love roleplay as well, i am a Mr. Puzzles simp and i love him so much fr, fr....apart there's Kuromi and Spamton...oh! and here's my sona reference

i am an weird mix of aesthetic and pastel goth girl lover

i am 24, my birthday being on June 22

errr i'm mexican

I AM TAKEN (errr hasn't edit this post twice, no no)

i have many fandoms which are: Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Kirby, Animal Crossing, Bendy and The Ink Machine, Pikmin, Sanrio, Steven Universe, Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss, Undertale/Deltarune, SMG4, Star vs the forces of evil, Gravity Falls, Five Nights at Freddy's and a big etc

actually jobless

i have various mental issues, between these, that i get sad randomly and i feel unmotivated to do shit of time by time, be warned by that

my favorite holiday is Christmas uwu

i love cats and chocolate hehe

my main focus is SMG4 and would...rarely (until the SMG4 Hype goes down that gonna be when Mr. Puzzles disappear) draw of other fandoms, mostly i focus on my OC's only, not much on do canon art, my OCS are all based from Mr. Puzzles

my Mr. Puzzles ocs that had gave recognization to this blog:

SMGP (Super Meme Guardian Puzzles) the least Popular of the 4, belongs to #swap au, he is just simply a swap between SMG4 and Mr. Puzzles, Mr. 4's reference can be find on my profile, if you're in mobile just click my profile and search: "swap au" in tags, with a plot twist, he decapitated, no was born with a tv head already

🔥Trickster Mr. Puzzles🔥 the most popular of the blog, he is simply Mr. Puzzles but he engaged Trickster mode! (Trickster Mode from Homestuck) the first one on engage the Trickster Mode on SMG4 universe, he wants spread the Trickster Mode around the mushroom kingdom, and create the reborn of "Puzzlevision" but under the name of "Trickstervision"

Guardian of Popstar Mr. Puzzles, the 3rd popular of the blog, he is an Mr. Puzzles that had swallowed his pride and apologized and asked a second opportunity to SMG4 after had a strong fight with "the entity" . . .SMG4 just for get rid of him sent him to Popstar/Dreamland and now he is a father to Kirby, Kirby got very used and is happy to have a dad

🔥Mr. Puzzles: Trivia🔥 the second most popular of the blog, being the first transexual character i ever made, he is transexual female to male, Trivia is shy, nerd, aesthetic babygirl/boy (he is called babygirl by the fans XD), his apparence takes after Mr. Puzzles and Spamton G. Spamton, he is a dealmaker but very amateur, he lives on a very futuristic mushroom kingdom thanks to a strange group of scientists that came from future to stay, his ratings are stars and likes, he is a very slow working villain, but more of his story later (writen only i no feel like draw)

rules:

suggestive is good as long as you no start a sexual shit on time line, if u want a +18 thing (of course being an adult) send me a dm

no ask for donations, please, real life subjects make me so nervous, and this is a art blog, i no want be rude, i just no want mix my art/vent blog with real life things of wars and etc

not be annoying or not use to sarcasm with me unless you do /joke, /silly OR XD at the end of a sarcasm, if you don't you'll have 5 strikes, you'll be blocked, i am very sensitive, i'll try do the same, even if my humor seems i am mad or something-

i am spanish, english isn't my main language, please don't judge my english grammar, or if you gonna do, do it respectfully

it's all you need to see my blog and follow if you want and decide stay by my side! thanks you for read, and hope you enjoy your stay!

[blck-drgn]

✨Commissions✨

As soon as I changed my drawing style, I was repeatedly asked questions about the commission. For a long time I could not decide to open commissions on foreign platforms due to sanctions and other restrictions, but recently I found a site that will help solve this problem, and therefore, the commissions are open!

For questions about ordering, please contact strictly via messages at the specified links! https://www.tumblr.com/blog/blck-drgn (English speaking) https://vk.com/blck_drgn (Russian speaking)

I draw: Horror, Erotica, Fantasy and People. I DO NOT draw: Furries (I have no practice. You can take them, but at your own risk), animals (we can discuss), complex architecture, complex landscapes.

Important!:

You must have a clear Technical Task and a precise understanding of what you want to see on the finished canvas;

Having references is a MUST. It is also desirable to have a reference of the face for your character (any actor, model, any celebrity, etc. I draw strictly according to the face model. If you do not know who might be suitable for your character, I can search for a model.)

When ordering art, you should indicate only the information necessary for understanding, if this is a plot art. If you do not understand what you want to see on the art, you can describe the character's personality, his hobbies. I will think about it and offer an idea. It is up to you to choose;

100% of the payment is made immediately after the sketch is approved. Refunds are not made under any circumstances. CONSIDER THIS.

Work edits:

Sketch: edits are free;

Line: 2-5 edits are possible (depending on the complexity of the order). Then, an additional payment of $15-20 for each edit (Depends on the complexity);

Fill, gradients: Only color and gradient edits are allowed;

Finished work: It is advisable not to make edits in the finished work, you had opportunities at the sketch and line stages. If the situation is critical, 1-2 edits in details are allowed. Then, an additional payment of 20-60% of the total order amount for each missed detail (Depends on the complexity of the missed detail and the selected order type)

Extra charge:

Extra character on art: from 50% to 100%. Depends on the complexity of the order, characters and the selected work.

Complex background. The extra charge can be from 20% to 100%. In the event that the background is too full of details. It also depends on the style of work.

Animals on order. Depending on the animal and the type of order. Extra charge from 20% to 80%.

Urgent order. +20%-100% depending on the complexity and urgency of the order.

Deadline 2-30 days.

The order can be used by the customer as he wants. Except for commercial use and promotion of the order in any kind of merch, without concluding an agreement with me.

I have every right to refuse to fulfill your order for a variety of reasons. Situations are extremely rare, but I will inform you of the reason for the refusal immediately.

Authorship, as the performer, remains with me.

Payment:

Hipolink.net - for English speakers

Sberbank - for Russian speakers

If you want to support me and my projects without commission orders, you can do it on the same Hipolink! My profile: https://hipolink.me/blckdrgn hipolink.me/blckdrgn/tips

Website for payment from foreign cards: Hipolink.net I found it literally last night, so there are no posts there yet. But I hope that I will actively start using it when I will post explicit art on my projects. Here in the VK group I will post works with censorship, and on the new platform, for an additional fee, work without censorship. Maybe even with additional information on the projects! I have never made a payment there before and I just hope that everything will go well, because the site provides the ability to pay with both foreign and Russian cards. As soon as I manage to complete one of the commissions, I will definitely let you know if this option is good!

[the-s1lly-corner]

Splendorman headcannons; catchup edition

General hcs plus some of the prompts that I did for multiple characters!! Idk how this is gonna look but we'll see (I tend to write these notes before writing the actual... post..) so!! Yeah!! I've been meaning to expand the base list of characters I do for hc posts; esp since it's so small and I dont feel comfy writing romantic stuff for a lot of the popular characters in this fandom <\3

Anyways! I'll have this split off into like. Segments. One for basic hcs, and different areas for prompts I did in the past (ex. Pet names, plushie stuff, ect!!)

This is gonna be a looooong post

General hcs;

To be fair, I'm still fleshing out how I want to interpret Splendor, and how I want to write him into my au

Obviously he's going to be related to Slenderman; as well as Trenderman (whether or not I add trender to this blog isnt decided yet, since I feel like not many people would be interested)

Most days he couldn't hurt a fly even if he wanted to.. however on the off chance he does need to fight/defend himself; he will

He can be just as, if not more, devasting than his brother

"The devil shivers when a nice guy loses his temper" except its splendorman and he actually is a nice person with a rare but hot temper

Usually his ugly side doesn't show itself unless someone tries to hurt those who are innocent

Perfect segway into the concept idea I have for him in general/in the au; but I like to think of him as a guardian

Now I may be getting silly, since he reminds me a bit of itward from fran bow; but I wanna use itwards whole imaginary friend/whimsical being as a basis for splendor

Also this is propaganda for fran bow; go play it, it's a nice game and it's been a hyperfixiation of mine since it released

Carrying on

But for splendor, rather than solely appearing to children, he appears to all

Bros like an anti dementor; adds life into a room

Actually he's kinda like scp 999

Guys can you tell my minds all scattered with vague ideas

Anyways

Similar height to slenderman; about 11-12 feet by default but he can also shift his height around for intimidation/convenience

Going with the hc that he has bells on his tentacles; you can hear him walking around/j

Said bells are also semi sentient; they still bend to his will most the time but sometimes they can snip at people... lil bites n stuff; like you know how bells usually have those lil.. gaps? In them? Idk what they're called but the X shaped things on them; that's the "mouth" for each bell

Actually unlike slenderman, you can actually see splendorman walk around, whereas slenderman just. You blink and he's moved.

Gives the absolute best hugs; also does the thing LJ does, and snakes his arms all up around you

Adding onto the idea that splendor is basically itward/scp 999, he basically shows up for people who need company, or need their spirits raised

Torn between giving him an actual face, or making it a blank face line slenderman where the smiley face is just markings; if he does have a face I'm also torn on whether to give him a perma smile or not

Idk

I like both ideas

Has clown/magician logic. Can pull next to anything out of his hat and/or suit sleeves/pockets

Reaction to s/o having plushies;

Doesnt mind it one bit!

In a way he finds it cute, and endearing!

Would never ever make fun of you for it; in fact he wouldn't make fun of you ever

Seemingly manifests plushies and accessories and all that for you

Does one have a stain or tear? Hes already working on fixing it!

Makes you handmade plushies as well; they have that charm to them, some having mismatched fabric patches, button eyes, ect

Yes he WILL smooch each of them if you ask him to, even if you ask as a joke

AND he will tuck them in!!!!!!

What he calls you/wants to be called;

He calls you: sweetheart, sunshine, my dear, sunflower, schnookums and similar dumb lil names! I feel like those would be more teasing/joking

He wants to be called: he has no preference, as long as the term is endearing and meant for him, hes happy

Downtime;

Off days with Splendorman usually are filled with fun and activities

If you want to spend time outside, he will pull something together. Gardening, picnics, stuff like that! Unfortunately, since hes still considered... a monster, he needs to remain out of sight, so walking out in broad daylight is a no go for him, unless the area is isolated - so that does make things a little limited in terms of time and location :(

But if you want to spend time indoors, he's more than happy to stay!

Baking, arts and crafts, ect ect! If it's something fun that at least two people can do together, its an option!

I feel like he would have lots of fun reenacting things with you; like dramatic retellings of your favorite books or movies or whatever

He gives a passionate performance

Ideal Partner;

Like most the other characters in the other post I made on thing, he doesn't have many preferences when it comes to partners: both in regards to personality and looks

Looks really mean nothing to him, you could be tall or short, fat or skinny or buff, guy or gal or anything else, and he wouldn't care so long as you're you

Personality? As long as you aren't a bully or otherwise cruel, he can love you with his whole being

That's really it, Splendorman isn't very picky

Just don't be a jerk and you're set

Though he will be thrilled if you share the same energy as him; though it's not required

Perfect date;

I covered a lot of things in the downtime section, so this spot isn't going to be too long, as to avoid me just repeating the same thing reworded

But this dude has a list of ideas as long as he is tall; he is not picky!

He doesn't really have a "perfect" or "ideal" date, as he's down for anything and everything

Well almost

Anything that puts ANYONE in danger in an immediate and hard no, same goes for if it puts anyone in emotional or physical distress

Otherwise anything else is possible! He's free to let you pick and take the lead; however he'll hardly mask his excitement if you tease the idea of doing something he very much enjoys/wants to do

It's kinda like watching a dog get excited after mentioning a treat or a walk

Romantic hcs;

Writing this first before I have the chance to forget: but when hes about to leave, he'll kiss you.... and when he turns around to leave, he'll let the lil bell monster things on his tentacles kiss you all over the face as a extra bit of affection

Now onto how I wanted this segment to start

S tier partner, out of the (creepypasta) characters that I have written for thus far, at least in my opinion

Great listener and willing to give advice, amazing comforter, and generally adds an air of excitement to life while also keeping things stable

Moving on

He gives the best hugs, as mentioned in the segment above, his can snake his arms around you in a similar fashion that LJ does

Speaking of that segment, depending on how you see his face working kisses can go multiple ways

If he does have a face, kisses go as expected; but if he has a perma smile it can get awkward since his face is constantly pulled into that large grin

But if its the "the smiley face is a group of markings" route, he can't really... kiss you.. at least not in the traditional sense

He'd approach it the same way slenderman does and imitates the act by gently nuzzling/knocking his lower face against you

He loves quick little pecks; on the cheek, forehead, and mouth, nose, loves it all

Always gives you flowers; usually defaults to sunflowers and daisies but if you have any particular favorites he'll provide it

Likes using that hat trick of his to present gifts

Just

Takes off his hat, puts his hand in it, and BOOM ! He pulls out a bouquet of flowers for you

If you get sick he'll be a mother hen and fret over you; won't back off until you're back at full health, and even then he'll hover over you for a few days afterwards just in case

He always let's you know how much he loves you; he'll remind you at least once a day

[teecupangel]

Writing this as my pinned post since I have a bit of free time anyway.

Introduction:

Hi. You can call me teecup or angel. This is primarily my AC and writing tumblr blog.

I post my fics in AO3 as teecup_angel.

I also have this tumblr blog that’s mostly me reblogging other stuff and very rarely I post something personal, I guess.

I have a twitter too but I haven’t used it in… I wanna say nearing a year? Maybe??? Yeeaaahhhh…

I’m currently writing fics for Assassin’s Creed and my primary focus is Desmond Miles because he deserves better.

Warnings:

I will pair Desmond with anyone (and I mean anyone) and my OTP is AltDes. I also do write gen so if you want to look at my tumblr but you don’t ship Desmond with any of his ancestors, I suggest blocking the following tags (altdes, ezides, condes, haydes, eddes). I also use those tags even when it’s just hinted at just to be safe.

While I cannot stop any minor from looking at this blog, please note that this may contain nsfw posts and I curse like a repressed catholic who was not allowed to curse when they were young. Also, I use 'dumbass' affectionately.

For Asks and Requests:

My ask box is open for nonnies and I try to answer every ask I get unless they specify that they want to keep it private.

Also, if you left me a suggestion or request in AO3, I do try to keep notes of them.

If you do request something or just leave me a plot idea, the most you’ll get from me would be a rambling of how it could work and possible subplots we can add to it. I tend to write whatever strikes my fancy and I’m hesitant in posting too many wips in AO3. Here on tumblr though… short fic and drabbles galore. The only reason why I wouldn’t answer your ask is if I couldn’t get to it in time as I allot a specific time for all asks and reblogs I get. If you don’t see it answered, it only means I’ll get to it next time.

I'm also fine with anyone using any of the posts/fic here or in AO3 to write or draw something as long as the post is linked and I'm informed :)

Also, you can request any crossover ideas with Assassin’s Creed and I’ll find a way to kick Desmond into it. I am a big believer of Desmond is the ultimate isekai protagonist. XD

Concerning the tags of this tumblr:

I got lazy later on in tagging posts I reblog (mostly fanworks from other people) but:

Any ask I answer will have the tag: #ask and answer or #submission for long asks.

Any fic idea I write will have the tag: #teecup writes/has a plot or/and #fic idea: assassin's creed (note: this one usually does not get used for any reblogs with additional ideas so I guess check the reblogs and the replies? This also sometimes does not get used if I'm butting in on other people's posts because it kinda feels wrong to add it? I know I should add a different tag for that but we'll see if I do down the line XD)

Headcanons and analysis (they're sometimes the same???) have #teecup analyze more than necessary and/or #headcanon: assassin's creed

Sometimes I make edits with varying success of humor: #teecup edits (sometimes I do screw up use '#teecup edit' instead XD)

I also draw rarely: #teecup draws

AO3 Stuff:

At the moment (and this part will be updated if necessary), the following have a weekly Monday update:

Eagle of Alamut (Desmond gets thrown back to 12th century Jerusalem in his 16-year-old body, endgame: AltDes)

I also sometimes suddenly post sometimes 2 or 3 more fics all at the same time and it’s kinda my modus operandi to 'coincide' it with important AC dates.

(Also, for those asking me if I need a beta, yeah, most probably but then I would be obligated to remove the "No Beta We Die Like Desmond" tag and the tag is too funny for me to give it up. XD I'd appreciate any comments that tell me if I've written something wrong though, especially the non-English words I sometimes use.)

[seabeck]

FAQ + About (for mobile)

About me: My name is Milli (she/her), 25yrs. I love taking photos of nature and my Subaru. I’m a huge nerd about mushrooms, plants, and skulls. I’ve been hiking ever since I was a little kid and at this point I feel at home in the woods.

I have a flock of chickens, a boyfriend, a dog, and waaay too many house plants

Did you take all the photos on this blog?

Yep, every photo posted here was taken by yours truly unless otherwise noted (very rare).

What camera/lenses do you use? 

My crop sensor/work kit is:

Nikon D7100

10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR

Dolica ZX600B103 Tripod

My full frame kit is:

Nikon D850

Sigma 150-600mm f5.6-6.3 

50mm f/1.8 G

60mm f/2.8 ED Macro

Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR G

17-35mm f2.8 

20mm 1.8 ED sold

Sigma 150-500mm f5.6-6.3  sold

Kenko extension tubes

Raynox 250

Vanguard Alta Pro 263AB (works for macro + everything else)

Filters and other gear:

Hoya circular polarizers + Stop down/up kit

Nikon camera backpack (discontinued)/TARION Camera Backpack

Instax Mini 90

Other cameras I’ve owned:

D50

D200

D3000

D7000

Here’s my lens wish list, some are on there for fun and some I actually want.

What camera gear would you recommend for a beginner?

Before you worry too much about getting the best gear, make sure you learn how to use it first. You could go out and buy the fanciest camera and lenses and still not take good photos because you don’t know how to use your camera or how to “see”. There’s also a saying, “you marry your lenses and date your bodies”. Invest in good lenses, preferably full frame compatible ones in case you ever decide to upgrade to full frame, and get a cheaper body to start. With that out of the way…

If you’re just starting out, I’d recommend getting a refurbished or used camera from the D7100+ line. They’ve come down in price as of late and are pretty solid cameras. Just make sure to check the shutter count.

I’d skip anything from the D3000 & D5000 lines. They’re not bad cameras but they do not have built in autofocus meaning they rely on the lens itself having autofocus. This isn’t horrible but it does limit what lenses you can use (and some of the lenses that won’t autofocus with those cameras are good AND cheap) and that can be confusing for a beginner.

As for a lens, a 50mm f/1.8, or 35mm f/1.8 is a great lens. Both lenses are inexpensive, have good quality glass, and can used for nearly everything. The 18-55mm lens that comes with cameras isn’t bad either. 

I don’t shoot Canon/Sony/whatever else so I can’t give any advice there sorry!

How did you learn to take photos?

LOTS of practice, I first picked up a camera back in 2013. In high school and college I took photography classes but ultimately I didn’t really learn much from them, they started at too basic of a level.

I did learn a lot about photography from taking art classes however. They taught me framing, how to use shadows/light, and movement in a photo (where does your eye travel when you view an image/art piece). My mom is also a professional photojournalist so I picked up some knowledge from her and my grandfather who’s also a published photographer.

How can I take better photos?

Again, lots of practice. Learn what every setting and button on your camera does, try different shooting modes, take the same photo at several different apertures and shutter speeds to see what changes. You can learn a lot from reading articles too but the best way to learn, imo, is by doing. Don’t worry about getting the best gear and the best camera, learn how to take photos first.

Study other photographers photos, and even paintings, and see what you like. Pay attention to directional lines and where your eye travels. Learn how to use Photoshop/Lightroom (just pirate it). Take photos in different weather, lighting, and times of day. 

What programs do you use to edit? What presets/filters do you use?

I use Lightroom and Photoshop Classic along with custom presets that I’ve made for different situations (fog, snow, etc) to process most of my images and then I make minor tweaks. A lot of my presets started as VSCO presets and then I kept the things I liked and changed the things I didn’t.

What is your job?

I’m a real estate photographer specializing in short term rentals. I love it.

Are you related to Eddie Vedder?

Yep, we’re very distantly related. Something like 7th cousins twice removed but I’ve never met him.

Can you add a photo to your print shop?

Sure! Just tell me the name of the photo (or link it if possible, I reuse a lot of names) you want added and I’ll get it up there.

May I use one of your photos?

I’m 100% ok with people using my photos as a reference for drawing/painting, I’d even love to see the result. For anything else, just shoot me an ask beforehand and I’ll let you know. Please do not repost my photos on Tumblr or elsewhere without my permission.

[blazehedgehog]

ICYMI: My Sonic Frontiers Criticism/Essay Is Out Now

So here's the last four months of my life come to fruition: the longest piece of edited criticism I've ever put on my Youtube channel, clocking in at just over an hour. For those of you that may be new around here, I am pretty against making long videos. I don't know if I overthink things too much or what, but it's rare for me to have much tolerance for feature-length reviews of things. They can wear me out just watching them, and it definitely wears me out to make them.

But sometimes you just have a lot to say. And I didn't even necessarily say everything I could have said here; there were things I would have added if not for the looming deadline proposed by the video sponsor. That's not a complaint -- sometimes you need someone else to tell you "be done by this date or else." Limitations foster creativity and toiling away at perfection can sometimes be just as toxic as crunch.

What I was trying to say is it's a big video, and it was hard keeping everything straight in my head because there was so much. One of those times where I was glad how I planned things out in advance, because sometimes the thoughts you had four months ago are not the same thoughts you have today, and the thoughts from four months ago were better.

It's already proving to be a bit of a divisive video, given I am going against the grain here. But I'm a big boy. I've spent time on the front lines of these sorts of things before. I know how to handle myself. I mean, half the reason I started my tumblr back in the day was pointing out some of the truly deranged takes I'd get in the replies to my Sonic 06 video.

Though I do worry. I'm getting a lot of people who are... politely declining to tell me what they think. More than a few "I don't agree with you, but I'm glad you released this video" that then never elaborate further. And that makes me feel bad? But why? Do I want to argue with my friends? Not particularly.

But more to the point, are people afraid to argue with me? Do I get too aggressive? I've picked up on a vibe, not just from friends, where people seem to go out of their way to avoid arguments with and/or around me. I mean I literally just said I started my Tumblr blog as a "get a load of this guy in my comments" spotlight (which, for the record, I don't do anymore). I don't want to be scary. But is it scary, or is it a strength? Or am I just imagining the whole thing? History says it's probably that last one, but it doesn't stop me from wondering. It's a lot to chew on.

At the end of the day, I do think parts of this script could have been better. I do kind of get a little mean at a couple points in ways I could have written around. A lot of people are bristling at the opening spiel, where I get more than a little "you people" about the Game Awards voting situation. There's another part later in the video where I also feature actual comments from a previous video and as I was editing it together I thought, "this sounds mean." But given I was less than 24 hours away from that deadline, I just had to roll with it (so I at least blurred the names and cropped the avatars out).

I'll end this post by quoting what I wrote on Patreon day before yesterday for the early access version of this video:

What a march this has been. I've worked on some videos that felt like they took forever, but nothing like this. This felt like the project that would never end. Some of that's because, after pushing myself so hard on the Sonic Adventure 2 video, I tried to be a little more casual with this one. I think I started the script around the end of April, a couple weeks after finishing the game on-stream. The idea was to avoid burnout.  And then the script grew, and grew, and grew, to be the longest script I've ever written. After doing voice over, I had three hours of material I had to cut down. I captured more than 60 hours of gameplay from more than 50 games. Thank goodness I took the time to stop and "storyboard" out this review like I did with the SA2 video. It actually proved to be extremely valuable here -- with a video this long, that takes so long to put together, it's hard to keep all of your ideas hot and ready in your head. Often I'd fall back to the storyboard and realize I planned something months ago that was way better than what I was doing in the moment.  And then in July, a sponsor came calling again. Suddenly I had a real deadline. The last four weeks have been a race to move this mountain of material into something resembling the shape of a video. The last couple days in particular have felt something like a miracle. A work ethic I hadn't tapped into in years suddenly roared to life as I locked down 20+ minutes of video in a matter of hours. It may have involved several actual panic attacks and me running on about four hours of sleep, but here we are. I was revising the script all the way up until a week ago. In retrospect, the sponsor segment probably leans a little too much on SAGE content, but by the time I realized that the train was barreling down the tracks too fast to stop. Thoughts for next time, I guess.

Patrons get a PDF of the script I used, including an unfinished earlier draft I abandoned where I think I was actually even meaner about it, if you can believe it. They also get a PDF of what my "storyboarding" process looks like (which is all just text).

I'll probably toss up a post for all the art I made for this video, too.

[simmyfrobby]

sorry if this seems naive but i am new to hockey tumblr and genuinely trying to work out the etiquette and there seem to be some tags/spamming ~discourse~ going on. what is the best practice? i'm scared reading these posts that i'm going to upset someone when i post

hi! i don't really keep up with anything at all so i don't quite know what discourse you're referring to, but tumblr is a buggy app and if you want to be able to find anything you always have to make sure to get the tags exactly right.

if i post (an original post) about a player i typically put their first & last name in the tags + the team they're currently playing for. i also consistently tag a few things (my own edits, other peoples edits) so i can find them more easily. the rest of my tags are just me yelling about things. as is my right.

tumblr politeness dictates that you don't tag your hate (don't put the name & team in the tags if you're being v negative about a player). do tag your live blogs ("pens lb," "bruins lb," "wild lb," just so that 1: other people liveblogging at the same time can interact with your posts and you can make friends and 2: people who don't like the team can block the tag). try to tag trigger warnings if you're aware of them ("cw: blood," "tw: blood," "blood," whatever system works for you). tumblr is not like instagram. the search function rarely (if ever) works and there is no algorithm, so tagging things "for exposure" doesn't work. you're usually better off just tagging the things you're actually posting about.

don't forget that the original poster of the thing you're reblogging!!! can!!!! see!!! your!!!! tags!!!!! they show up in their notes!!!! and they read them!!!! the blog you're reblogging the post from also sees your tags in their notes. if complete strangers in the notes of my post say something along the lines of "hey fuck you OP" i sometimes block them. this is fine and normal and recommend. block & blacklist whoever you want for whatever reason you want. for ur health. :)

[divineerdrick]

Warhammer Day 2023

EDIT: This is almost a full week late! This week has sucked for many reasons, but I still can't believe it took me that long to get one blog post done!

I know I'm late on this one, but I crashed right after watching it. I noted my reactions down, but I'm going to file this under "Not So Live Blog." My attempt to revive this blog is off to a fantastic start!

Which makes it only slight worse than this set of Warhammer Day reveals!

I won't bury the lead hear. GW put a lot of marketing and hype into the 40th Anniversary of Warhammer. But I feel they definitely overhyped this. It's not that there weren't any big reveals, but nothing on the scale of Leviathan. I wonder if they were originally intending to announce Leviathan at Warhammer Day, but then things got changed to keep their summer launch cycle. I've started having more than a few suspicions and question regarding that release.

One issue is with the need to make sure there are regular news and announcements. I feel things that maybe should have been a part of something like Warhammer Day ended up preempting it. Leviathan may be the obvious one, being delivered at Adepticon instead of a GW event, but both new seasons of WarCry and Underworlds were announced less than a month prior. As a result, there was really only one big reveal for this 40th Anniversary blowout and I feel like it's half missing.

And it sucks, because what was revealed was great!

But enough preamble, let's see what was unveiled!

WARHAMMER 40,000

With all the major news for 40K happening this past summer, we're now into our standard Codex and miniature release cycle. For Warhammer Day, it was Necrons and AdMech!

Necrons

The greatest military mind the galaxy has ever seen returns! Imotekh the Stormlord is back and free from Finecast resin! This new model looks fantastic! While Immotekh isn't currently a very potent model, there are plenty of ways that could change with Codex Necrons. Speaking of which, we got some teases as to what the new Detachments will be, including a Stratagem and Enhancement. In addition to a Canoptek detachment and a Destroyer Detachment, we got a direct reveal for the Hypercrypt Legion.

The Hypercrypt Legion is all about movement shenanigans, using teleportation and gate technology to get your legions into position. They demonstrated this with Hyperphasic recall, which lets you take a wounded Necron unit and move it to a Monolith. It's 2CP, but there are lots of evil things you can do with this. Your opponent always wants to make sure they destroy your units, and with some Necron bricks that can definitely take a few units worth of shooting. Removing a group of Necron warriors out of the line of fire, only to then Reanimate them could be a frustrating trick. It'll be even crueler if you have the tools to then send them back into the fight.

Next we have the Destroyer themed Eternal Madness. As long as this isn't too expensive, this is another winner. Fight on Death is a powerful ability. Just the threat that a Destroyer Lord could be taking a unit with him will make opponents think twice. All and all, some fun previews for the Undying Legions.

Adeptus Mechanicus

I'm just gonna start by putting this right here.

This model is so crazy and I am so here for it! Eddie with Warhammer Preview described it as being "a little bit Marmite." I'm sure a lot of people are going to think this goes too far, but I think it's perfect. The Sydonian Skatros will also be a cheap Lone Operative, so it will definitely be a useful addition to nearly any AdMech army. AdMech will of course also be getting some new Detachments with their Codex, which are much needed. In addition to Detachments themed around Tech-Priests and Cybernetica, we have the Skitarii Hunter Cohort.

Unfortunately, the second part of this Detachment rule will rarely matter in game. But the first part will increase the durability of your Skitarrii and Ironstriders, the first of whom have already gotten a nice durability buff. Providing the Stratagems and Enhancements are good, I'd probably always take this over the Rad-Cohort.

And speaking of Stratagems . . .

Binharic Offence is 2CP to give two of your Skitarii units an additional pip of AP against one chosen enemy unit. This is huge! AP is at a premium in 10th Edition, and anything that improves it is more than welcome. All and all a great start to the Hunter Cohort.

With that, we move away from mainline 40K. Though we're not quite done with important reveals for my favorite game just yet . . .

AGE OF SIGMAR

And again, I'm gonna just put this here.

Do I really need to say anything?

I never dived particularly deep into AoS. I've read the Daughters of Khaine Battle Tomes for 2nd and 3rd Edition, plus Morathi, and I've read the 3rd Edition book. I also used to follow Warhammer Weekly pretty faithfully, but haven't caught any episodes since shortly before the reveal of 10th. I like the game, though there are a few bug bears I have with it (one of which has snuck into 40K.) But the models are just amazing! The writers and artists for this game have just done fantastic work creating a familiar fantasy setting that is still very much its own beast.

Just amazing!

These miniatures are part of the ongoing narrative arc, Dawnbringers. And here is where I have to reveal some of my ignorance. How long has AoS had Armies of Renown? I know they have Warscroll Battalions, but are these new to the current campaign?

Regardless, I am here for both of these miniatures! Alarielle is still my favorite plastic miniature, possibly my favorite GW miniature period, and I'm going to eventually want Belthanos to go with her.

KILL TEAM

After teasing us before the reveal of Belthanos by accidentally starting the wrong video, we got the reveal of the next Kill Team season and our first two Kill Teams. There's two big pieces of news here, while not a lot of actual detail about the new season.

The big reveal is that the first new Kill Team set will include the new Striking Scorpions. I was just talking to a friend the other day about the fact that Aeldari still needs to finish their range refresh. There's no sign of Uncle K yet, but this is still great news.

The second big reveal is this season of Kill Team will not be sold with huge terrain sets. GW isn't giving up on Killzones, but they'll be available separately now for all of us that already have a huge assortment of Kill Team terrain. Hopefully, this means the Kill Team box sets will be much more affordable, especially for anyone that wants to get their hands on either the new Scouts or the new Striking Scorpions.

On a side note, I never blogged about how confusing the whole Scouts thing was. They removed Scouts to Legends, then released new ones. Why not just update the Datasheet in the Codex? I thought Scouts going to Legends was weird to begin with . . .

What was surprisingly missing from the reveal is anything regarding what this new Season is about. The Gallowdark has fallen to this ocean world and now various factions have pursued it there. That's about it. We know the first Killzone will be set on a derrick in the middle of a hostile ocean. They even mentioned that the waters with be deadly, with a joke about SPEHSS PAHRAHNAHS! But there was no real mention of any overarching story or theme for this season.

THE OLD WORLD

At last we come to it - what could be considered the big reveal of this Warhammer Day.

The Kingdom of Bretonia!

And if you've been following GW reveals, you know why that's a bit underwhelming. We already know Bretonia is coming for Old World and will be one of the first armies we get. Still, let's start with the good stuff.

Again, just looks at it! The new Lord on Pegasus looks amazing, as does the alternate kit for a Baron on Pegasus. There's a lot of incredible detail, personality, and life in this new miniature. And we can see that in all the new miniatures.

But that's where the cool stuff stops. The new Kingdom of Betonia set is bringing some new models, but the bulk of it looks to be returning models from classic Warhammer. And as you can see . . .

Some of them just don't hold up well next to the new miniatures. While it's great that you can still use your old miniatures to play, one of the pains of having a game shut down is the loss of new and updated sculpts. I know there are plenty of classic Warhammer fans that were hoping for more.

The next bugbear to tackle is the Forge World kits. For various reasons, GW often uses Forge World to support their "Boxed Games." Despite originally being a mainline game, I think we all suspected that when The Old World released it would be supplemented by Forge World. But it looks like it's going to be a lot of kits. Anything new not coming out in the launch box appears to be Forge World, including that Handmaiden above. My guess is that anything that was a pewter kit will also be Forge World, since that's one of the reason GW still uses resin. We already know the Field Trebuchet will be returning as a Forge World kit. All and all, there doesn't appear to be anywhere near the plastic support for The Old World that The Horus Heresy got.

Finally there's the fact we're still getting drip-fed the previews, even though it's Warhammer Day. I don't understand why they couldn't just give us some more substantial reveals. We know basically every kit we're getting for Bretonia in the launch box, but we don't have the reveal of the launch box. While we're pretty sure who their opponent will be, they haven't official revealed them, let alone new miniatures. Finally we know that The Old World will release in "early" 2024, but nothing more solid than that.

Though, to be fair, that last one is consistent with GW marketing and their seeming refusal to give us launch dates until they're almost on us. Doesn't anyone in their marketing team understand the concept of saving up for things?

All and all, this reveal is taking away from the impact a final Old World reveal could have. It's weird because GW can be so good at maintaining hype through previews and teasers. Maybe they're hoping that when they announce the second faction and drop its new miniatures, it will make up for it.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Like I said, I feel for the 40th Anniversary of Warhammer, this Warhammer Day preview is just lacking. It needed something to help make it a celebration of these great games and this great hobby. Hell! As I'm finishing this there have been more products added to the Warhammer Day celebration. The best one wasn't even revealed during this Preview - a reprint of the original Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. I don't understand how they could build up so much hype and momentum for the 40th, only to let it hit so lightly.

The new miniatures are still awesome, especially for AOS, and I'm still glad to see The Old World returning. But as companies before them have learned the hard way, if you're going to build a ton of hype, you need to have a payoff for it.