#I just finished quinn's route

[sunshineneedsaplacetokeephernsfw]

Quinn is now my new comfort character!

Say hello, everyone!

I originally wasn't going to include that last image, but Quinn greeting Julian like that was so funny I decided to keep it

From Particles of Reality (a game that is a dark, twisted otome that is very much 18+) and belongs to @arewar

[theemporium]

You were going to be late.

Hockey was a beloved sport around the world. It was adored by thousands of fans all over the globe, if not more. It grew with each passing year. It was the dream of so many little kids to make it into the big leagues and have one of your biggest passions be your job. And for those who worked their way up the leagues, it was surreal to even be considered—let alone drafted—into the top league. 

And to be named captain on top of it all? It was an honour that anyone would fucking dream of. 

And despite being so aware of said honour, you were going to be late to Quinn’s first official gala as captain of the Vancouver Canucks because of his wandering hands and stupid fuck-me eyes that you couldn’t seem to resist.

The event itself wasn’t special, in the sense that it was just one of many that the Canucks would hold over the season. And it wasn’t the first one Quinn had been invited too (though, he usually tried to get out of them). But it was his first one attending after his captaincy was announced so he should have been hell-bent on making a good impression as he entered this new stage of his career.

Instead, his attention had been focused on you the second you walked out your shared bedroom in the floor length Canuck blue dress. 

You had batted his hands away when you were applying the finishing touches of your makeup in the mirror. You had scolded him when he playfully slapped your ass when you bent down to pick a pair of heels. You had warned him that you were going to be late if he didn’t hurry up and grab his keys instead of ogling you while you took some photos of yourself to send to your friends. 

And then, in the car, it was like he had you right where he wanted you. 

The venue wasn’t very far in distance, just set in a place a little out of the main city. But with Vancouver traffic, it was taking you around forty minutes to get there, and that would be just minutes before the event was officially meant to start. 

But instead of rushing, Quinn was taking his time. He was driving leisurely, taking the backroads and longer routes with his hand lazily resting on your thigh, between the slit of your dress. 

You told yourself you weren’t going to fall for it. You knew what he was doing, you knew what he wanted, you could see it in his eyes and the slight tilt of his lips. You fucking knew, and you told yourself you wouldn’t give in because this wasn’t an event you could afford to be late for. 

You told yourself you wouldn’t, but you were never really good at listening. 

“Shitshitshitshit—”

You had one hand pressed against the window, the glass fogged up and the condensation dripping down in small droplets. Your dress was bunched up at your hips, the fabric now wrinkled and creased as Quinn gripped it between his fingers. 

“You’re a fucking dream,” Quinn gritted out between clenched teeth, his heart thumping in his chest as his hands guided you. “Bouncing on my dick in your pretty, lil’ dress.”

“Quinn,” you whined, the coil in your stomach tightening as you gripped the fabric of his shirt between your fingers. “Shit, baby, I-I can’t.” 

“Shhhh no, you’re doing so well, honey,” he murmured as he tucked his chin to his chest, his eyes focused on the sight of his cock disappearing inside of you. “Just one more, baby, one more.”

You shook your head, tears prickling in your eyes and blurring your vision ever so slightly. “Too much—”

“You can take it,” he told you because he knew you could, and he knew you would. “You’re gonna take it like a good girl, gonna let me fill you up, hm?” 

“Please,” you whined as you dipped your head down, lips pressing against his in a messy exchange of kisses. “Wanna feel you inside me all night.”

“Fuck,” he groaned, his hands tightening as he held you in place, thrusting his hips up to meet yours. “Gonna fill you up nice and good, honey, since my pretty girl asked me so nicely.”

“Oh shit,” you choked out, nuzzling yourself further into the boy as he pounds up into you, his tempo fast and relentless as if he hadn’t already fucked two orgasms out of you. 

“Atta girl, honey, come f’me one more time,” he moaned, his lips brushing against your ear as you tipped over the edge for the third time that night. 

You could barely lift your head off his shoulder, your body wanting nothing more than to cling onto him and stay there forever. His hands were warm and comforting, rubbing up and down your thighs as he cooed and whispered about how good you did for him, like he always did because Quinn Hughes was nothing but a giver in bed—in both orgasms and praises. 

“We’re definitely late now,” you murmured against his shoulder, though made no move to lift yourself off his cock as you pressed your cheek against his shoulder. 

He huffed out a small laugh. “It’s your fault, you wore that dress.” 

“Or you’re just a horny bastard,” you retorted. 

“Maybe that too,” he admitted unashamedly. “But that is also your fault. Look at you, honey, can’t expect me to not wanna fuck you every chance I get.” 

“Yeah, well, now everyone’s gonna know that,” you murmured. You were going to have to spend the last fifteen minutes of the car ride to the venue trying to fix your hair and makeup so it didn’t look like your boyfriend fucked you relentlessly in the back of his car.  

“Maybe we should just head back home,” Quinn suggested, his words thick and heavy with desire as his fingers slowly moved up until his thumbs were brushing over your tits. “The dress is ruined, there’s no point of going.” 

You snorted. “This is why I put a hand steamer in the back of your car. I’m not walking in there with a creased dress.”

Quinn groaned. “You’re no fun.” 

“We gotta go, Quinn,” you murmured as you lifted your head, this time meeting his lips in a softer and slower kiss. “And then you can fuck me all you want when we’re home.” 

His lips twitched upwards. “Any chance I can convince you to leave early too?” 

“Guess we will have to see, Captain.”

.

[kingcrow01]

DC/Marvel Pool Noodle Party 2024

Week 5 | Mercs & Murder Husbands

Marc Spector & Harley Quinn, 0 fics!

@dc-marvel-crossovers

Here’s the outline of the event for those interested. TLDR, This event celebrates relationship tags that have less than 30 works on ao3, both platonic and romantic. The rarest of rarepairs!

Inspired by Harley harassing interacting with Marc and Damian in chapter 20 of in labyrinths of reflections by @blackkatmagic, specifically these lines:

“Fuck the hell off,” he growls, and gets a hand on her face as she tries to kiss his mask. She’s wearing a lot of lipstick, and he'd rather not run around the rest of the night with a black lip-print on his face. 

and

Harley blinks at him, big eyes and blond pigtails and smeared makeup that makes her look like a raccoon with a hangover, and then laughs. 

Ho-ly-shit, I cannot begin to express how happy I am with this piece! Initially I was having a hard time with MK’s suit, to the point that I was contemplating just dropping the whole project. (I hate drawing superhero suits, why do I keep on doing this to myself) Like always, all it came down to was retaking my ref and utilizing that handy-dandy line of action, and I finished it pretty easily after that.

Damian was a last minute add-on, and I wanted to draw him on Marc’s right side and a head taller (kids are bigger than you think!) but I ran out of room on the page. I ran into the same problem with Harley’s mallet; I wanted it to be bigger, but with the angle it had to sit at to rest against her thigh, I kept it on the smaller side. 

This piece has made it very clear how limiting my sketchbooks’ size is. For example, I have an idea for another week in this event, but it literally wouldn't fit in this sketchbook so I’m not going to make it. Digital art 1: traditional, 0.

I tried out a new lining style as well, and I’m never going back. Before, I was making every line the same width, but it’s SO much more impactful with alternating line thickness! I attached the lined final sketch below. Do you see how much of a difference it makes?? (Written early May, so I've been using this style since.)

Details:

I think it’s silly that Harley’s boots are covered in blood, but not her actual weapon lol

Harley is as tall as she is because she’s standing on her toes in platform boots

The tattoo on Harley’s midsection is of ivy leaves (though, it’s not poison ivy) as a sort of homage to Ivy. Not that she’s dead or anything. They’re just. Lovers. So, tattoo.

I got to put NO WORK into shading the black parts of MK’s suit, and that was FABULOUS

I wanted to give her colored shoe laces, because I love small details like that. I would love to give characters any color of laces, but some of them seem to have negative meanings, especially on Doc Martens, so I went the safe route and gave her purple laces, which represents gay pride. Yes, I know she’s bisexual, but I felt like I didn’t have many options.

[maleyanderecafe]

The Kid at the Back (Visual Novel)

Created by:𝖋𝖆𝖓𝖙𝖆𝖘𝖎𝖆 | TealCat

Genre: Thriller/Romance

The Kid at the Back is very cool looking and technically well done. I love all the character designs made in this one and Sol himself is pretty interesting at least that's what it sets itself up to be. All routes lead to the same ending though which is r18 considering that we basically see him jacking off to the main character's voice.

The story starts out with Darling Quinn finishing class. One of their classmates, Brittney tries to get them to join them for lunch together while the class representative, Crowe Ichabod comes in to defend Darling from her. Darling can then choose to go with Brittney to the cafeteria, go to the library or go to the rooftop.

Choosing to go to the cafeteria with Britney will lead to meeting a couple of other characters: Jess, a shy girl who follows Britney around, Deryl the friendly jock and Geo, the quiet cool kid. If the player has their own lunch, they will sit down and talk to Geo and Deryl for a bit as they have their playful banter while going with Britney will have a conversation with Crowe. In the end though, Britney's outfit is ruined by another girl who seems to have beef with her, before the entire cafeteria gets thrown into a food fight. In the end, Darling gets hit in the head with one of the trays causing them to pass out and end up in the infirmary. Crowe stays for a bit after Darling wakes up but ultimately leaves for classes. Darling ends up seeing another student who seemingly has had his hand cut and he gets bandaged up before Darling ultimately goes back to art class.

Choosing to go to the roof will lead to Darling going to the roof to eat lunch, only to end up accidentally eavesdropping on someone during a call. The boy, Hyugo, asks Darling for a favor to take his place as he needs to ditch his partner, Sol, in his next class to do something.

Choosing to go to the library will lead to them going there to read, only to find someone in their seat. There are a couple of ways this can go depending on choice. The one with the least interaction is sitting next to him then going to class afterwards to see him in the back. Sitting in another seat will lead to Darling seeing a commotion in the back where the guy is getting beat up. Here, they can either step in or chicken out. Chickening out will lead them feeling guilty when the two meet up in class, but helping them out will prevent him from getting bandaged later. Talking to him directly leads to the most interaction with him, with Sol getting more snarky with the player, and asking what they will give him in return. The best response is to just demand him to give them their seat back, to which he refuses and Darling ends up sitting on them, causing them to blush and start talking about the book he's reading, Edgar Allan Poe and well as what books that Darling has been reading before the two head to class. Choosing to do something intimate will lead to Darling asking if he wants a hug to which he makes a confused response and Darling will end up sitting next to him after a bit of awkwardness. They can also offer to buy him a drink where they can choose (the latte will have the best response out of him) before they head to class.

Darling will end up spotting Sol in the back seat (as the name implies) though will have different reactions depending on their interaction with Sol, to feeling embarrassed that they left him to get bullied, to surprised if the two met in the library etc. The professor will ask everyone to pair up and Darling is left to partner up with Sol. The two will introduce themselves to each other, before deciding who will be drawn first. Sol will have different interactions based off whether Darling declares they're good at drawing to bad at drawing as well as which route they took (and how much affection he has towards them.) So this can vary from him getting embarrassed that Darling is trying to draw him from a 3/4ths angle to, to him brushing hair away from Darling's face that gets them flustered, to talking about Hyugo and others. It all really depends on previous interactions. At the end, while Darling is leaving, Sol will ask for their number as a way to keep in touch with them for the project. Upon leaving, they'll also see a poster for the Hallow's Ball. Upon returning to the dorm and eating, Darling will talk to their other friends, Geo, Deryl, Brittney, Jess and Krowe about the ball. They will then text Sol about the ball, who seems hesitant, but ultimately agrees to go knowing Darling is going. The last scene is Sol masturbating to Darling's messages, implying he's done it before and that he's happy that they finally were able to talk.

So first thing I have to say off the bat is I really like the designs of all the characters. They all have their own charm and are unique, which I can always appreciate. I also like that Brittney isn't really like the mean girl she's depicted as she is considering she pretty much just asks Darling to come eat with them and basically only really fights when she gets attacked first. Kind of a minor thing, but I do like it. Small animation in the main menu is nice as well. One of the things I think is cool is that there are slightly different reactions to how you meet Sol when the two of you draw each other, which can lead to different CGs and dialogue, which is a subtle but nice way to give bits of information about them and more interaction with him without having to write out a bunch of scenes.

Sol as a yandere, well there's currently not a ton considering it's a demo, however, we still do get a semi good idea on what he does know. For one, we know that Sol has been stalking Darling for a while, given his comments at the end, and that he has been listening to their voice for a bit. I do like seeing his more flustered reactions in some cases, like when Darling sits on his lap or when they're drawing him, because flustered yanderes are the best. It's likely that he probably got a favor for Hyugo on his route, considering it's very coincidental, and it would make sense that he would manipulate the situation so that he would end up hanging out with Darling. Sol it seems has been dealt a hard hand in life, considering he always gets bullied or otherwise hurt by others. Still, this could also in itself be a manipulation tactic in terms of getting Darling to care about him, which would make him technically a Damsel yandere, something I would be very happy to see, since that's something that I would love to see more in yandere content in general. But yeah, other than that he seems like emo (gothic? punk? I don't know styles), and a bit awkward.

Overall, he seems very cute and the game itself is very well made. I hope we get to see more of it in the future because it does seem like something that does have a lot of potential in what kind of yandere can come later on.

[scrollf0x]

(Spoiler Free)

Resident Lover Routes Ranked

As tradition when good things end, we overfixate on it! After 48 hours of completing all routes in Resident Lover, here's my spoiler free ranking of the good and bad endings in the game brought to us by Team AVIA 🙇🖤

Top Romantic Endings (Good ending)

#1 Miranda

As recommended by Team AVIA this route should be played last after completing all the other routes, and istg this was the best approach to the game, there's so much stuff going on (in a great way), it ties up all stories together, it explains the biggest mystery in the game and the end was SO SATISFYING. Mother Miranda was MOTHERING so good and I'm definitely obsessed with MM now. There's so much I want to talk about but won't for now to keep this spoiler free.Best route ever hope you enjoy it! 🐦‍⬛🧎

(UPDATED REVIEW: As MCs we can't escape her fr fr. You should see all cult endings in all routes before going to her cult ending. She's unbelievable but it's so hard to hate her once you get into her route and I can't explain why I still love her but holy fuck, Miranda. You make Joe Goldberg and Love Quinn look like novices for the things they do for love. Miranda literally took Yandere to a whole new level...and I love it 👀)

#2 Donna's Route (UPDATED)

We get our Flourist AU with our resident spicy sweetheart (you'd understand the spicy part later) Donna! Everything from her route was so mysterious and selecting her route before getting to Miranda's route was such a good build up before getting the answers to the numerous mysteries you'll uncover in the other routes. Donna and Miranda's route has SOOOO MUCH to bring into the table about the main mystery in the game. Plus the rivalry between Donna and Miranda for MC??? IM DEAD 😭💖

(UPDATED REVIEW: Holy shit y'all I just recently uncovered the actual cult ending for Donna's route, and as sweet and passionate her love is for us - the neutral ending was really sad, but holy fuck the double tragic endings in the cult version was just..I can't even react properly after finishing it I'm forever traumatized - see cult ending ranking)

#3 Alcina's Route

If you're into student-teacher relationship with much more murder mystery from the game and of course our Mother Alcina herself, this is for you! For all Alcina fans, buckle up for a ride because this route does not pussy-foot around romance between Alcina and player and my god THE SEXUAL TENSION. ILLICIT ROMANCE. SHEESH. Y'all are going to love it so much istg. Even the counterpart ending ate up (see tragic ending below)

TOP Tragic Ending (Cult endings)

#1 Angie and Donna's Route

Angie

Y'all would not expect the darkest ending for the sweetest character with the most lighthearted romance development of all routes. It starts off really innocent and sweet before it all goes downhill so fast, and Donna was so terrifying in this route 😭 Both bad endings were absolutely devastating and I really want to find out how Angie will react once she finds out - or if she will.

Donna (Updated review)

How was it even possible that Donna was so loveable and so terrifying at the same time? Everything from her good to bad route was just *chefs kiss*. Follow Team AVIAs guide to routes, and reach the cult ending (with additional 2 tragedy scenarios) I guarantee you both tragic scenarios will leave you terrified and heartbroken.

#2 Alcina

As amazing as the romance is with Alcina the bad ending route was downright nightmare-ish! We all love our hot psychopath mother but y'all would be baffled at just how CRAZYYYYY she is when you find out in her tragic ending route ☠️

#3 Dimitrescu Sisters

The Dimitrescu siblings SERVED in all routes Bela most of all but gaddamn as amazing and complex our relationship with them are, the tragic endings are INSANEEE. Bella's outfits were AMAZING and her storyline even more so. Cassandra is such a cassanova and a diva (so much teenage drama here btw you'll love it). And our precious Dani bby girl with our fake dating thing, she deserves so much love I wanna give her a hug. Their tragic endings are so so so sad, all I can say is Miranda did them so dirty 😭😭😭

Overall the game was AMAZING in every way, Team AVIA really put there heart and soul to this and it really shows, so please take the time to drop by at their page @resident-lover , give them your love and appreciation, and enjoy the game!

Let me know what you guys think ☺️

[letsgetrowdy43]

Luke brings home a girl to meet his family. Gave her a tour the lake house. Didn’t know she a piano prodigy. Just in awe of her. (Inspired by https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z75QuC9TuHY&pp=ygUbTGFkdCBzb25nIG1pbGV5IHBsYXlzIHBpYW5v )

The prodigy ❧

He’d only met her a few weeks prior to inviting her over for dinner with his family.

She had run into him while at the beach, the girl's younger brother threw his beach ball right at Luke’s head while she was trying to teach him how the game of volleyball works. The girl apologized repeatedly, her face flush with embarrassment as he brushed off her sorries, “I’ll accept your apology if you accept my invitation to dinner,” he grinned as the girl agreed to his terms.

That was a little over a month ago after finding out that the girl was a New York native and going to university at Rutgers Luke knew that he could make this work, so he decided what better way to see how well this plays out than to introduce her to the most important people in his life.

She was nervous but excited, she’d heard amazing things about the Hughes’, his entire friend group raved about Ellen and Jim’s kindness and his brother's way of making everyone feel like family, so she wasn’t surprised when they had met her expectations the moment she stepped foot into their lake house.

Ellen was in the kitchen finishing up dinner when Luke ushered her to meet his mom, “it’s lovely to finally put a face to the girl my son has been talking so highly of,” the woman smiled as she pulled the young girl into her arms. “Luke you show her around and I’ll finish up dinner,” she said as she pushed her son out of the kitchen so she could concentrate.

Luke gave her the grand tour, starting the tour in his room which he had finally cleaned, wanting to impress her. They ran into Jack in the basement who seemed a little too excited to meet Luke’s new girl, a smirk on his lips as Luke cut their chat short before his brother could say anything embarrassing. And finally, they ended up in the living room, her eyes lighting up at the antique upright piano in the corner of the room, some random sheet music on the music shelf, a large oil painting sitting on top of it along with a few hanging plants.

“Who can play piano?” “It was my great grandmothers, the best I can do is a lovely rendition of ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’,” he mused as she looked up at him with these questioning eyes, almost asking for permission for her to play, “Do you want to play it, mom got it tuned in April.”

She nodded slowly and walked over to it, taking a seat as she ushered for Luke to come closer. She delicately placed her fingers on the keys and started to play ‘Une Barque Sur L’océan’ her brows pulled into a concentrated look as her hands danced over the keys. Luke sat in awe, his heart loudly beating in his chest as he watched the emotions pour out of her into the music.

“Who’s playing that?” Jim asked as he and Quinn entered the living room, he was met with a ‘shush’ from his youngest son who was sitting on the couch watching the girl play beautifully.

As the song came to an end the girl came out of her trance and looked around the room at all of the Hughes family members standing in the entrances of the living room watching her.

“Did I mention I almost went to Julliard?” She asked shyly as she looked to Luke whose lips were slightly parted, eyes full of hearts as he watched the blush on her face start to form from all the attention she was gaining. “No, you didn’t.” “I decided to go the more practical route and studied education instead,” she grinned at the boy who was slowly coming out of his love-infused trance.

“You’re perfect did you know that?” he questioned as his lips met the side of her face.

-

-

-

i kinda love this!!!

[icallhimjoey]

A Whisper Away

♥ ♥  Joseph Quinn x Fem!Reader

Summary: A continuation of Like A Poem and A Lot Like Love where we dip into your November for a couple consecutive years and see how you’re getting on with the bookstore, Joe’s career and… other changes.

CW / disclaimer: rpf, fem!reader, angsty, I strongly advise you to read the previous bookstore fics before diving into this one!

Author’s note: an amazing request from @darthvontrapp​ inspired this “third season” in the bookstore - remember that my aim never was to hurt you!

Wordcount: 3.4K

part one - part two - part three - part four - part five

"Goooood morning!" your voice comically singsonged when you heard the door open.

You swung around playfully with Alfie giggling in your arms, limp like a rag doll, hanging upside down, facing out to greet Anne who had just walked in through the door.

"Good morning, good morning, good morning," you jiggled Alfie in your arms, hopping towards Anne with every good morning you gave her. You were used to her at least giving somewhat of a friendly face to Alfie, but Anne looked extra bad-tempered this morning. 

"I am meant to talk some sense into you today," Anne said, revealing she'd ran into Joe on her way in. Your face dropped immediately and you bent over to let Alfie's feet touch the ground. You tickled his sides with grabby hands, making him squeal and run, filling the store with joyful screaming. "Where did you see him?" you tried not to shift the tone of your voice too drastically for Alfie's sake - he was still in a giddy, excited mood. "Bakery," Anne said, holding up a small paper bag to prove it.

"What's the fight about this time?" Anne walked into the breakroom to hang her coat, Alfie and his bouncing curls hot on her tail. 

"We're not fighting. He wants..." you squeezed your eyes shut for a second. "He wants us to tag along with him for three, maybe four months, if not longer," you revealed. 

"Mmmh, Joe sure wants a lot of things," Anne commented from the back. You agreed, but felt the sting of her words, knowing that it meant you probably revealed a bit too much to her over the past couple of weeks. 

Joe wanted to buy a house and move away from above the bookstore, like your grandparents had done too when they'd had their daughter, your mother, and they felt like they were outgrowing the apartment. You, however, felt fine up there and felt there was enough room for the three of you, feeling no urge to get out of there any time soon. Joe'd been dropping silent hints for a while, and you'd picked up on them, but had pretended you hadn't. Joe was away for work a lot, and the moments that he was home, you didn't want to talk about any of that stuff. You just wanted to enjoy your time together. 

You wanted Joe to walk in with baked goods and for you to kiss behind the counter. You wanted Joe to walk into the apartment just before you'd finished dinner and hug you in the kitchen, complimenting you on how good it all smelled. You wanted Joe to take showers with Alfie with the door open so you could hear them sing silly made up songs about you. The way Joe had you swooning out in the hallway when he got Alfie to babble along to The Temptations 'My Girl', but having switched the lyrics to 'Mama' was really something else. Alfie's little voice repeating after Joe as he sang, "What can make me feel this way? Mama, mama, mama... talking about, mama," had made your heart swell to a new capacity you weren’t aware your chest could really handle. You wanted Joe to have enough time off to just hang around in the store for hours and then go pick Alfie up from nursery and take the long route home through the park so they could see the ducks. 

You didn't want Joe to go abroad for months for his job. You didn't want Joe walking in late, after Alfie had already been put to bed, and he'd sneak into his bedroom just to have a look, often waking him up in the process. You didn't want Joe to want to leave the apartment above the bookstore, and you also definitely didn't want to fight over it. 

Last night, Joe'd received his schedule, and as the two of you were talking through it sat at the dinner table, Joe had suddenly said, "Come with me."

You'd just looked at him funny. 

"I'm serious, come with me. I don't want to miss you for so long." Joe's hands had found your thighs to hold onto. You looked at his hands and then back up at him. 

"Come with me." he pleaded, and it was almost heartbreaking how much want shone from Joe's eyes. And you understood, because you also didn't want to spend months communicating through texts, phone calls and FaceTime. You didn't want to see Joe's sad eyes when you'd flip the camera to let him see Alfie play. You didn't want Alfie to hear his dad tell him good night or good morning through a device. 

There were a lot of things Joe wanted, and there were a lot of things you didn't want. It had started to become an ongoing issue with the two of you, one you still tried to pretend wasn't actually there. You were good at ignoring things until they didn’t feel real to you anymore and had put practice into play.

"Joe..." you had started, voice full of hesitation, and Joe's expression immediately changed. 

"I know, not tonight," and he’d leant in for a kiss. 

This year, Joe had remembered. He still felt awful about last year and had spent most of that following Sunday trying to make it up to you. You'd kept your promise and kept the store closed to Joe's surprise, but when you explained why, he'd felt his heart drop out of his body. When your mother came to pick up Alfie for the afternoon, you'd spent over an hour sat sideways on the sofa, arms and legs wrapped around each other’s bodies, hugging each other like two puzzle pieces slotted together. There were no more tears left in you then, but you hadn't been able to stop your emotions from hurting your throat and every time you'd breathed funny, Joe had hugged you tighter and whispered more apologies into your hair. "You're my third too," he had said. "I'm sorry I forgot."

But what you wanted to tell Joe wasn't that you didn't want to talk about it tonight - that wasn't going to be the next part of your sentence. You wanted to tell him that you couldn't come with him. Within a couple of seconds your mind had racked up over a dozen reasons of why you couldn't leave your home for a prolonged period of time like that. You could go and visit him, sure. You'd visited Joe on set many times. It was always fun to see him in costume, all up in his element, but also intimidating and frankly, a little boring too.  

"Not tonight," you smiled when you broke your kiss and followed it with several smaller ones, happy to not delve into something you knew you would disagree on. 

But then the following morning, over breakfast, Joe referenced it again. 

"Maybe your mother could help out," he said out of the blue. 

"She helps out all the time," you said, passing another small piece of toast to Alfie who sat in his high chair, happily munching on whatever you and Joe would pass him from the table. Your mother took Alfie for two afternoons each week – she wanted to, insisted on it, but the knife cut both ways and it also really helped you out. 

"I mean with the store. It'll just be for a few weeks if you really think about it." Joe casually minimized four months into just a couple of weeks and fed himself another bite of scrambled eggs. 

You stared at your own plate with a pained look as you chewed on a small piece of toast meant for Alfie. You didn’t want to tell Joe no, but you couldn’t tell him yes, so you remained silent which for the time being felt like the safe middle ground.

“Mmh?” Joe encouraged. “Anne wouldn’t mind the extra hours, would she?” 

“Maybe,” was all you could muster. 

Joe let out an annoyed groan, knowing your ‘maybe’ was just a careful way of dismissing his proposal. It made him put his fork down on his plate with a loud clink and sat back in his chair. “So, do you want to talk to me?” 

You didn’t. You really didn’t. 

So, you let your eyes do the talking. 

Joe scanned your features a second, then pinched his eyebrows together. “Please?” Joe said your name with so much emotion that you could almost feel it scratch at your heart. But your expression didn’t change. It made Joe grunt with frustration as he picked up his plate to take to the kitchen, indicating that breakfast was over. You passed Alfie two more small pieces of bread before lifting him from his chair and placing him onto the floor. You then followed Joe and found him leaning on the kitchen counter with his arms out wide, hanging into his shoulders, head dangling down. You took the moment to hug him from behind, letting your arms snake around his torso and pressing your chest into his back firmly.

“I’m sorry,” you said, because you didn’t know what else to say, and you were sorry. Joe didn’t move bar his chest heaving as he breathed heavily. 

“I know it’s difficult for you to stray from routine,” Joe started. He was right, you didn’t do well with change.

“But you’re making it unnecessarily difficult,” you felt Joe move his hands to cover yours. You hoped it would be a sweet moment and that Joe would accept your hug, maybe even spin around to hug you back, but instead he used his hands to remove your arms from his body. “I’m telling you I don’t want to leave you, and you’re giving me nothing,” Joe accused and took a step back from you. 

“So then, don’t leave us,” you shrugged, knowing it was empty advice. Of course Joe was going to go. It was in his contract, it was his job - one that he loved at that. It was just that he hadn’t been away from Alfie that long before and Joe was scared that he’d miss out on too much of him. 

Joe knew that you knew that he was going to go away, and that by putting the ball in his court like that, he also knew that if he’d tell you all the reasons why he couldn’t just not go, you’d fire back with all the reasons why you couldn’t just not stay. There was no point in saying things aloud that you both understood, so you both let it linger. Tiny hands found your calves and you looked down to see Alfie by your feet, gazing up at the two of you with his big round eyes, the same colour as Joe’s. When he reached up his arms and made small whiny noises, you were quick to bend over to pick him up.

“You ready for the day, baby?” you cooed, but Alfie was quick to reach for his dad, and Joe took him from your arms. It was insane how much Alfie resembled Joe. His features were identical; the curls, the eyes, the nose, the lips... when people would see you with Alfie, they’d always say how much he looked like you, until they’d see Joe. Then suddenly Alfie was fully Joe’s child instead of yours. Looking at the two of them now, smiling and giggling at each other as Joe tickled Alfie’s neck, guilt washed over you as you witnessed what you’d be depriving both of them of by not simply dropping everything you currently had going and leaving with Joe. 

You hadn’t said another word until Joe had to leave for meetings and you were about to open the store. He’d urged you to at least think about it more, have you reconsider before setting anything in stone, and you had nodded and had accepted his kiss against your forehead that lasted long enough for you to close your eyes to it. 

And then he’d ran into Anne at the bakery where he picked up his lunch to bring over to the offices, and had asked her to talk some sense into you without explaining much more.

Anne walked back into the storefront with Alfie in her arms like she was cradling a baby. Alfie gladly let her; he loved Anne. Something about the way she wouldn’t use a baby voice around him, none of her demeanour adjusted to fit communicating with a small child... it really seemed to work for Alfie. You could still sometimes see customers think twice about approaching Anne, but not your child. If Anne sat down somewhere, Alfie would be on her within seconds.

“Maybe Joe could also want things for you instead of just for himself,” Anne backed you up, and it made you wince. “Joe wants things for us too, don’t you worry,” you said, your voice high-pitched as you pricked fingers into Alfie’s stomach to make him laugh, his giggles were music to your ears. You didn’t mind Anne openly disliking Joe; it was the charm of their relationship, all they did was make digs at each other. You also honestly thought it was good for Alfie to grow up with people who weren’t impressed with the celebrity of Joe, so you would almost encourage them to bicker. But pointing fingers at Joe like Anne had done just now felt wrong, the situation a little too fragile to poke fun at. 

“He seemed pretty adamant. Said we’ve got a few weeks to convince you,” 

“We?” 

“Joe and I.” 

Gross. You didn’t like the sound of them teaming up. You knew Joe’s career pushed him to make certain sacrifices, but he didn’t need to make that a part of anyone else’s life, you thought. You audibly sighed and checked the clock. It was time for you to take Alfie over to nursery, leaving Anne to do some in-store tasks on her own before you’d open up at 10. 

“All right.” You sprung into action. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t talk to Joe, and when I get back, we’re not going to talk about this again.” you stated, and Anne nodded before saluting you. 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

You spent the whole day milling it over in your mind. Pros and cons. More pros. Then more cons. Heavier pros. But then even heavier cons. Every time you concluded in favour of or against Joe’s idea, you’d push yourself away from it, thinking that not settling was going to help. Like it’d be better that way. As if that would keep doors open so that you could have an open conversation about it later with Joe. Except you were absolutely taking your own bait, because you knew exactly what you wanted. 

You wanted everything to stay how it was, with Joe at home, with you two living above the bookstore, with Alfie’s little giggles beaming joy into his aura, and then past it, making strangers smile by just walking past them. 

It was a selfish wish, but that’s what you wanted.

Joe picked up Alfie from nursery that day, and when you saw them walk past the window from behind the counter, Alfie out of his stroller, just visible from his golden curls peeking over the window ledge, your heartbeat instantly picked up. You could see Joe talk to Alfie as he sped up past him to reach the door before Alfie did.

"My boys," you dramatically exclaimed with your hands clutched to your chest when Joe held the door open for Alfie, the empty stroller held behind him blocking half the pavement. In his little hands Alfie held a hand-picket bouquet of what looked like plain grass that very obviously came from the park. Alfie tried exclaiming, "Flowers!" as he ran over, weeble-wobbling across the store floor, remarkably unstable and over-confident in his physical abilities without a very good idea of when to stop. You crouched down beside the counter and let Alfie bump into you. You held your hands out for Alfie to inattentively dump all he was holding into your palms, his little squirmy fingers pushing all of it flat, leaving it in a messy pile. His proud little smile could cure your worst mood any day of the week; it was adorable. 

"For me?" you gasped in surprise at Alfie who took a step back and clasped his little hands together as he bent over a little, the excitement within his little body barely able to keep him still.

"Picked all of it himself," Joe smiled as he folded the stroller, leaving it upright next to the door before coming over to greet you. 

"Do you want to go see who's in the back?" you talked to Alfie like you were telling him an exciting secret, knowing he'd be thrilled to see Anne was still in the store. 

"Is that Alfie?" Anne had obviously heard you, and it took Alfie less than a second to scurry off to find her. 

Joe helped you up and grinned at you in a way that made you slightly suspicious before using both hands to push your hair back from your forehead, tilting your head backwards as he did. 

"What's up with you?" you asked, brows furrowed slightly in confusion, but cheeks tugging your lips into a smile as Joe leant in to kiss you. A quick kiss, just a second or two, your head still in his hands as he leant back to look at you again, the glint in his eye unwavering.

"What?" you tried again, making Joe chuckle a little before leaning in to kiss you again. When you tried to pull back, Joe didn’t let you, instead pressing his lips against yours harder. It made you giggle, until you felt Joe work his tongue into your kiss. Oh. So you were going to just make out in the store for a hot second? You forgot about the weeds still in your open palms and grabbed onto Joe's biceps with both hands as you kiss grew in intensity, showering Joe's jumper in dry greenery. One of Joe's hands found your neck and Joe used his fingers to tilt your head upwards more, giving him better access to your mouth as he used his other hand to curl around the small of your back, pressing your bodies together. You tried to think of the last time you kissed each other like this, noses bumping, hot breaths escaping into each other's mouths, moans barely able to keep from slipping from your throats. One of your hands found Joe's hip and you let two fingers pull at one of his belt loops as you forgot where you were for a second.

"Sometimes, your parents do that, and it's not okay," Anne suddenly spoke and you instantly pulled back from each other. You could see Joe's flushed lips, shiny and swollen, and you could feel how heat had risen to your cheeks. It was honestly embarrassing. Anne was stood in the doorway of the breakroom with Alfie in her arms, his little head on her shoulder, but looking at the two of you. 

"It's just because we're very happy," Joe said, wiping left over blades of grass from his outfit and reaching for Alfie to take him from Anne's hold.

"Why are we happy?" you smiled, eyebrows raised high, still not sure to what you owed that kiss from Joe. You still felt like you were floating, all giggly, like a 14-year-old who had just learnt her crush liked her back.

Joe raked his fingers through Alfie's curls as he perched him on his hip and grinned widely. You noticed how tired Alfie looked, his head now on Joe's shoulder like it had been resting against Anne's seconds earlier.

"I talked to your mother today," Joe started, and your smile faltered slightly. "And guess what?" Joe spoke to Alfie, his voice quickly adjusted to toddler ears. "Nana's totally willing to run the store for however long we neeeeed!" Joe softly celebrated, stretching his words and he lifted one of Alfie's arms, giving cheers, his face beaming with a huge smile.

Anne gulped loudly as she saw the blood drain from your face, your expression instantly falling and all the teenage-joy you'd felt before vanishing into thin air. Your eyes didn't leave Joe as they grew cold, and you managed to not let any of the immediate anger burst through, but you felt your fingertips itch, hands ready to break something. 

Anne took a cautious step back, as you managed to furiously utter one word through gritted teeth.

"What?"

-----

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[margotexposed]

Margot was pleasantly surprised and her and Nicholas’ conversations. It’s rare with her when she comes across a guy who states he is fond of Harley Quinn and Barbie not for the aesthetic but for what they represent. She found that incredibly endearing. It also didn’t hurt that he wasn’t bad to look at. This was the first date she’s gone on where she felt like she was being seen for her intellect rather than just her looks. Since separating from Sebastian about 2 years ago, she has been incredibly picky about who she goes on actual dates on. She’s had a few friends with benefits, but it’s rare for her to be interested enough in someone to go on an actual date on. She found him incredibly fascinating and she was excited to get to know him more. As much as she wanted to help him get a leg up on the competition with his sister, she found his response on only wanting to share the conversation with each other heartwarming.

After they set a date, Margot texted Nicholas her address to pick her up. After she got out of the shower, she blow dried her hair and curled her hair in loose beachy waves. She put on some mascara, clear lipgloss and a thin layer of foundation. Margot was very naturally pretty that she didn’t need a lot of makeup to enhance her features. She took a look at the time and saw it was about 10 minutes before he arrived. She had a few outfits in mind but she wasn’t sure which route to go. She would go a more causal route, more street wear, or a classic look. She started to get nervous as the clock was ticking down and she decided on a pair of light washed mom jeans, a white body suit, a pink blazer on top with some white converse. She heard the knock on her door and grabbed her purse. She took a last look in the mirror, fixing her hair and letting out a breath to calm her nerves. She opened the door to walk out and greeted him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I think it’s earned you some brownie points that you showed up slightly late but not late enough that you worried me about forgetting our date. Just enough time for me to finish getting ready,” she said as she locked the door. As they walked to the car together, she smiled at the presence of Nicholas. “You look good,” she complimented. @galitzineexposed

[grayscale-blep]

I unearth myself at the very end of December to post this I've given in to the voices

Since I've already drawn Frisk in the Prodigy world, why not draw the student from the most recent PMG trailer in Undertale? (1st is finished product, second is original flats and such). Redesigning the academy uniform was hell

and now I have another au

Info under cut:

Hi yes this is another prodigy Au but this time... It's a crossover. Since there is no further information about the student from the trailer, I've decided to name her Quinn.

Aight, so when the big PM battle happens in Prodigy, Frisk just so happens to fuck up on a beginning save as Quinn messes up on a difficult and dangerous spell. So they both swap places- Quinn goes to the very beginning of UT (falling down, meeting Flowey), and Frisk is teleported straight to the Puppet Master fight. I haven't decided the route for either of them yet, but I'm leaning towards pacifist.

Honestly I just thought it would be fun to see two main characters from a 1st person RPG switch worlds an now I got this. Yes it's cringe and yes it'll happen again.

Context really isn't my forte but Quinn might've accidently dusted a certain someone with a stick in the ruins

while not being aware that monsters can perma die after losing EXP

.

She fixed it tho

[kemendin]

Chapter I: In a Single Understated Word, Unfortunate

When a critical mission for the Empire goes wrong, MALAVAI QUINN and LORD KHEL SUTEK find themselves lost behind enemy lines in the inhospitable ice-wilds of ILUM. With only each other to rely on, and their recently-formed relationship still relatively untested, the strain of survival under such circumstances is bound to cause a few cracks. But for two men with life-long tendencies towards walling themselves away - perhaps a few cracks are just what they need in order to start sharing things they've long kept inside.

Malavai Quinn x Light Side Sith Warrior Words: 5000/?? A/N: Been working on this one on and off (okay, mostly off) for over a year now, and while it's not yet finished, I decided to finally release the first chapter into the wild. Started as a light-hearted thing, ended up as deeper exploration of the early relationship between Khel and Quinn. Nothing like the threat of freezing to death to bring a couple closer together, amiright?

Read on AO3 (short excerpt below cut)

‘Present circumstances’ were, in a single understated word, unfortunate. But then there had been no way of knowing, when Quinn set out from the Imperial base alongside Lord Khel Sutek, the Emperor’s Wrath, that the two would find themselves stranded behind enemy lines with few supplies, fewer options for getting back, and facing the inexorable onset of night.

The mission had started out well enough. The loss of the Empire’s single remaining crystal mine to Republic control had necessitated going after their enemy’s stores instead. Scouts had relayed a careful route through the jagged forests of ice that covered this world, and while ground troops formed another blatant assault on the bulk of Republic forces, Lord Khel had led a small speeder-mounted strike team into the very heart of the the enemy’s presence here: an ancient temple constructed by the Jedi that stood guardian over one of the most generous deposits of Adegan crystals on the entire planet. The Sith’s team was only one of half a dozen smaller forces, all making coordinated bids for the Republic-controlled stockpiles of the crystals that were scattered across the frozen wasteland.

Once the team’s presence was realised within the temple, resistance to their infiltration had been fierce; but by then the Republic troops were divided, and the Imperials had made it too far in to be completely repelled. Still, fighting their way out with the precious cargo had been a more hair-raising feat, and they’d lost several good men before the sturdy containers were secured to the waiting speeders and the team could make their escape.

And that was where it had started to go wrong, because - and in fairness, not entirely unexpected - they’d found said escape route cut off by Republic reinforcements.

In typical Khel fashion, the unflappable Sith had leapt ahead to draw their ire. Bundled against the cold in his frequent colours of cream and soft brown, wielding lightsabers of deep gold and nearly white, the Mirialan could easily be mistaken for a Jedi - and he held no qualms about using that confusion to his advantage. 

The Republic squad had hesitated this time, had let him get too close; and within moments, their regret was audible, as shouts of alarm rose above peals of desperate blaster fire echoing off the ice.

Quinn had covered his lord from the side, his own blaster adding to the confusion, and in the chaos the crystal-laden Imperial speeders had managed to slip past the Republic lines. Malavai hoped that they had made it all the way to the rendezvous point, but there was no way to know; because as he and Khel made their own break and whizzed away on the last speeder, an errant shot from one of the remaining enemy troopers had struck the vehicle and sent it careening off across the ice.

With Force-enhanced reflexes Khel had seized Malavai and pulled them both from the speeder, and they’d gone tumbling together through the barely broken snow as their transport exploded against a cropping of ice several hundred metres away. Quinn had sustained no injury more severe than some scrapes and bruises beneath his thermal-wear, protected as he was by the Mirialan’s own body and hastily summoned Force shield. And as for Khel… well, Malavai was fairly certain that his lord wouldn’t even admit to dying, unless it were advantageous to do so.

So now, here they were, trudging as quickly as they could manage across the brittle terrain, trying to put some distance between themselves and the Republic’s forces. As Khel did something clever with the Force to roughly cover their trail through the snow, Quinn was fiddling almost constantly with his comm unit and becoming more irritated by the minute.

“No joy on the communications front, then?” asked Khel, and Quinn’s initial reply was a visible puff of breath.

“I’m afraid not.” Malavai tapped at his earpiece and pursed his lips. “Frankly, I can’t tell if they’re jamming frequencies, or if this abominable cold is doing the job for them. Either way, the fact remains that I can’t get through.”

Khel gave a noncommittal sort of grunt as he turned around again to glide a hand over their wake, smoothing out their shallow tracks through the ice. “That may not be the worst thing, right now. If signals aren’t getting through, that means they can’t trace us.”

“Possibly, my lord, but overall I think I’d prefer the risk of contact. We could at least be certain that the rest of the team made it back with the crystals. I’d like to die knowing it was for a good reason.”

“We’re not going to die, Quinn,” said Khel patiently, as he resumed walking beside the captain.

“No? You’ll pardon me for contradicting you, my lord, but the probabilities aren’t in our favour.” The cold was making him more than a bit tetchy. “Considering the situation - our remote location, our nearly non-existent supplies, the plummeting temperature -“

Khel paused, turned, and hushed him with a gloved finger against Quinn’s slightly blue lips. 

“We’re not going to die,” he repeated. “At least, not here. That would be a wretched end, wouldn’t it?”

[the-lunar-library]

Writerly Questionnaire

Questionnaire by @davycoquette

This is a very in-depth questionnaire for writers, suitable for original fiction writers, fanfic writers, and people who aren't writing but who are messing around with OCs. It's a lot of fun and I'm glad I stumbled over it.

Original post here.

About You

When did you start writing?

Very, very young. I would write and draw picture books about horses. Occasionally I finished them. The first chapter “book” I completed was called Starlight's Fury and heavily based on The Silver Stallion and similar wild horse stories. It was also only 3100 words. Short chapters, big writing, and lots of illustrations.

Are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

Sometimes. I have no interest in writing romance novels from the 1960s, but if I can find them cheap secondhand, I will snatch them up. I'm trying to think if there's themes I seek out without wanting to write them myself, and I sort of have the opposite... I tend to avoid stories centered on love triangles, but in my original fiction, I keep writing relationships that, if they aren't exactly triangles, veer awfully close. Eider-Diarca-Yew, Charmian-Jimson-Rigmor, Akantha-Alexandros-Genesius, and, yes, another one for the fourth book. In my own mind, I can declare these aren't love-triangly love triangles, but possibly I am kidding myself.

Is there an author (or just a fellow writer?) you want to emulate, or one to whom you're often compared?

I wrote last week about how Tanith Lee greatly affected my voice was I was developing it in the mid-2000s. The combination of her conversational tone and unexpected imagery really struck me, and I still find myself looking back to her and thinking how she would approach certain narrative moments.

I once heard a professor say that Emily Dickinson's writing style “scared him” because it was so spare and direct, and, my golly, I would love to be able to do that, and it's something I keep in mind when heading into heavier subjects. (I don't always want to scare the reader, but I often want that direct impact.)

Recently, my mother read The Alice Network by Kate Quinn and said its style reminded her of mine. But I don't think there's anyone I've been often compared to.

Can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)? (Room, coffee shop, desk, etc.)

I love the idea of writing in a cozy coffee shop, but the truth is that I would probably be too distracted. I tend to write in my bedroom, cross-legged on the floor. When I was younger, I mostly wrote longhand and would snatch whatever writing time I could, during free periods, in cars, that sort of thing; I would take my writing notebook to school and on trips.

What's your most effective way to muster up some muse?

The muse, she does not come when she's called. She likes music though. A lot of the time, any music will do, just to create a sense of shut-in-ness and a barrier from the world. If I'm writing something emotional, then I might go for really emotional music. (I wrote the last chapter of The Stars Are Fire with “Weight of the World” on repeat.)

But I don't rely on my muse if I can help it. When I was younger I did, and my (original) first drafts spanned years, and en route I often ran out of interest and momentum and they languished unfinished. So now, when life allows it, I try to set time aside (a 30 minute block, say), and that's for writing (includes editing) and you just have to sit and write, sorry, but yes, you may take breaks between paragraphs. This allows me to write much more quickly, and the idea that I won't be working on this first draft for years affords me a light at the end of the tunnel. I don't expect it to always work, but right now, it works enough.

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

Yeah, somewhat. Relatives' homes, different areas where they lived (the differences in scenery, animals, overall moods), and then where I grew up, traces of it have shown up in my writing. As for people, that's a tricky thing to cop to, basing characters on people you know. I don't have any characters that are one-to-one analogues of people I know. When it comes to antagonists (dangerous territory), I try to draw more on my own negative traits and bend or exaggerate them rather than settle scores writing someone I know as a villain.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

Ones that I've noticed include guilt, a sense of being cursed, conflict between once-friends, untrustworthy romantic interests, large snakes, learning how to break free/express anger in a useful way. They're not surprising. Not that I'm an edgelord or something, but these are things I'm interested in, these are things that I think make for really powerful stories.

I could also sweepingly say DEATH, because that is something I return to, though I think more in fanfiction than in original fiction. Lost Savior, Elysion, Death and Ker, The Stars Are Fire, parts of The Muse Trilogy, definitely parts of the unposted Fate stuff – they all focus on mortality and what it means for you (the person dying) and how you cope with it (the person surviving).

I'm sure there are themes that would surprise me, but that's the sort of thing a reader figures out before the writer does.

Your Characters

Would you please tell me about your current favorite character? (Current WIP, past WIP, never used, etc.)

I'm the author, and I'm irresponsible, and I'm saying Alexandros, the trickster prophet from To the Ravens. He's not my favorite in that I think he's particularly admirable. You could definitely pick a better role model. But I love writing him. He's creative, intuitive, over the top, very fun in how he talks and how he acts. He can be warm and reassuring and heroic. He's beautiful and eloquent and he can cut right to the heart of the person he's talking to. But he's always operating from an angle, coming up on your side. He spins explanations quickly, he lies with a smile, and he never looks back. He's exhausting, but so fun to write.

Which of your characters do you think you'd be friends with in real life?

I feel sorry for Diarca, and he's shut up in a mirror, he could use a friend. I would also love to be friends with Wuxle, just an absolutely steady presence, someone who will watch your back when you're in danger while undramatically pointing out you're maybe not making the best decisions. I could see myself befriending Akantha and Karyai and probably even Kokkonas, though we might bicker a lot.

Which of your characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

It's probably too easy to just list off antagonists, particularly the ones who head into Actual Villain territory. Among the “good” or more neutral characters, I think I'd find both Charmian and Yew sometimes frustrating in real life. But then, their bad decisions are part of why their stories happen. I don't think I'd actually dislike them, but there might sometimes be words exchanged.

Tell me about the process of coming up with one, all, or any of your characters.

I don't have any one method. With Eider, I set out to make her very appealing – I designed her to be extremely beautiful for that fairy tale factor, and I wanted her to be very brave and earnest in the hopes the reader would really get behind her. So there were a lot of deliberate choices made in her creation. Similarly, Arsen was intentionally written to evoke gothic romantic hero tropes, hopefully to examine them in an interesting way. Other characters come along in a more as-you-go sort of way. I've talked about how Jimson was originally a more villainous character, and I'm not sure what exactly changed him – the needs of the story versus how I felt while writing the character – but he definitely circumvented my plans. Akantha was originally a defiant trickster character, but researching the lives of Greek women in antiquity ended up being more interesting to me, so I wrote her well within those confines, defying them in a more slowly building way.

Right now, I'm brainstorming a possible ghost character, but at this stage I don't have much set in stone – some world-building ideas for where the ghost comes from, some tropes I might use for their personality. I think part of this process is going to involve reading different ghost stories from different sources and seeing if that shakes any interesting ideas loose. From there, I might just start listing possible tropes, origins, arcs, regardless of whether they're good, and see what connections form. Or maybe I'll work on a different character from that project and the arc of that character could end up shaping the ghost's arc secondarily. It's still early enough that things could head in so many directions; the ghost doesn't even have a name yet.

Do you notice any recurring themes/traits among your characters?

Many! There's the stuff I mentioned above, like Yew, Charmian, and Akantha all considering themselves cursed in some respect. I see some similarities between Jimson and Alexandros, these charmers who have some pragmatism behind their smiles. Mabry and Yew are also somewhat similar, bold, irreverent, even having some similarity in their designs with their long sleek hair and big dark eyes. Charmian and Akantha both deal negatively with arranged marriages. These characters aren't identical, but they share some themes and ideas I've been turning over and exploring from book to book.

How do you picture them? (As real people you imagined, as models/actors who exist in real life, as imaginary artwork, as artwork you made or commissioned, anime style, etc.)

I'm able to draw them, and that's another way I refine their characters. (Though in many cases, I don't draw them until after the project is finished.) Even so, it's not perfect. I can draw a figure with the necessary traits, but it doesn't necessarily capture the character. I still feel like I haven't ever properly drawn Arsen, and though I've gotten closer with Diarca, he's still elusive. Still not entirely pleased with any pictures I've done of Genesius – I don't think I've quite gotten his maturity, maybe. Real people do sometimes influence the characters' designs; I'd been watching lots of Poldark ahead of writing The Price and Prey of Magic, and my goodness, Aidan Turner and his deep sultry voice definitely passed some DNA on to Arsen.

I realize though that's not quite the question. How do I see them in my mind, as real people or drawings? I think it's closer to real people, but real people whose faces are still sometimes a bit blurry and uncertain to me.

Your Writing

What's your reason for writing?

I've always done it, and I've always been considered good at it (for my age group, when that was still applicable). As with a lot of writers, there's a sense in which writing's difficult and I drag my feet, but simultaneously I can say that I love it, I get an emotional and even a physical sense of well-being from it. It makes me feel accomplished, it organizes my thoughts. Being able to write, especially original projects, often feels like it's a sign of my mental health being good. When my mental health isn't as good, writing fanfiction allows for a lot of comfort and fun, emotional release, and interacting with other fans. (Which is not to say I only write fanfiction when things are going wrong in my life – don't worry about that! But for years I felt like I couldn't write original stuff anymore and fanfic gave me a way to keep writing.)

In a more exterior way, there's a quote from the Matilda movie that I can only paraphrase, but which has always stood out to me: That writers send their books out like ships to bring messages to people. I'm not claiming to have very deep material, but I think about how much enjoyment other writers' books (and fics) have given me, and I would love to pass that on as a writer.

Is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers?

All comments made in good faith, even criticism, are generous gifts. But the comments that really stand out tend to be specific – lines people liked, twists that surprised them, theories they have. One comment I remember from years and years ago was an anon on Fanfiction.net who noticed I updated a certain fic the same day every week, and that made them look forward to that day all week. Another reviewer said that years after first reading it, they still quoted one of my fics. Learning that is so touching and I'm feeling all fuzzy writing about it now.

As for criticism, I've definitely gotten it, and while I don't always agree with it, I think I can tell when the reader's put thought and honesty into their feedback. So even if I don't make the changes they suggest, the feedback is still valuable. Other times, the critic's been exactly right, and even if the feedback comes too late for me to change a project, I can still keep it in mind as I write new things.

In general though, comments in and of themselves are motivating. You might know people are reading a fic, you might see the hit number going up, but not hearing what people think about it is discouraging.

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work? (For example: as a literary genius, or as a writer who “gets” the human condition; as a talented worldbuilder, as a role model, etc.)

It's that Matilda quote again. I really, really want you to enjoy my writing, whether it's original or a fic. I want you to read it and remember it years later, and it gives you a warm nostalgic feeling, taking you back to that time in your life. When it comes to characters and world-building, I hope people find them intriguing and worth studying for their own writing, and I hope the themes and my takes on them resonate with people. But the real thing, the crucial thing, is that I hope you like my writing and remember it.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

It's hard not to think of an answer that doesn't come from someone else. It's also easier to focus on shortcomings. Part of the problem is that quality is subjective, so something I really like about my writing could be just the thing a given reader hates.

I think I'm capable of some good poetic language. For some people, it might shade too purple; other people might say it doesn't go purple enough. Some would say that if I like a line, I should make like Faulkner and kill it, but I don't subscribe to that motto. If you let all your darlings live, will you let some awful cringey lines survive? Yeah, probably. But experience will make you better able to hear what sounds awkward and what doesn't, and, honestly, better that your writing be awkward and memorable than serviceable and anonymous.

What have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

People note my descriptions, my dialogue, especially funny one-liners. Readers have also liked (or at least been affected by) my emotional endings, particularly in fanfic. On reflection, my fics' endings tend to be received pretty well.

How do you feel about your own writing? (Answer in whatever way you interpret this question.)

It's tiresome to harp on, but I do see a lot of flaws in my writing. I often feel my plotting is weak and I can fumble when it comes to internal rule-/world-building.

On the positive side, right now, at this point in my life (the last 7 – 5 years or so) I'm very happy that my writing's been happening, projects emerging quickly, projects getting finished. I can't know if that will last, but I'm grateful for it as it's happening.

As for the writing itself, looking at it separately from me, my feelings are complicated. Like many (most? all?) writers, I'm writing the stories I want to read, so that's fun. On the other hand, they're written by me, so I can see backstage, as it were, see all the scaffolding and compare the story to an ideal non-existent version of it in my head. So that harshes the fun.

I've written before that when it comes to my fanfic, I'm able to go back after posting and reread it and enjoy it a lot. But rereading my published stuff doesn't offer much relaxation – I'm too caught up in things I can no longer change. I still feel that way with The Price and Prey of Magic and The Escape of Lady Aigle, but with To the Ravens, I have been able to go back and reread it, at least some sections. And while I still see small things I question and wish I could go back and alter, I do enjoy rereading it. I don't know if I've turned some corner or if there's just something special for me about To the Ravens.

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

If I'm looking at this literally, I think I would be too depressed to write. But looking at it theoretically, at the broader question – or maybe just hoping that my initial depressed paralysis would be temporary – yes, I think I would write even if I didn't expect anyone to read. I have writing projects that I never plan on sharing. I have a diary I don't ever want anyone who knows me to read. My favorite fanfic has never been posted, and I'm still torn on whether it ever will be. Like I said above, writing makes me feel good. So if I'm the last human, I think writing would help. And I think I'd want to document things, just in case someone ever did come along.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? If it’s a mix of the two, which holds the most influence?

I don't know if anyone can write with such selfish purity, if they're intending to share their work. (Again, see my favorite fic, just for me, utterly self-indulgent. But even there, I didn't write it without ever considering what other people would think of it. The barrier of outside criticism was lower, but it was still there.)

So yeah, I think about the audience, in terms of making my ideas clear, or trying to make sure I'm not unwittingly offensive or insensitive, and then, yes, what they might enjoy. On the other hand, I'm very much writing the stories I want to write. My fanfic is mostly for niche JRPGs from the 2000s, 2010s, not exactly white-hot fandoms; even within those fandoms, I don't think I'm writing the subjects or characters that will get the most hits. As for the original stuff, if I was going for mass appeal, all three novels would be markedly different. I don't think I would've written a book about a second-century snake cult on the moon.

But I think there's a subtler answer. There's “readers” as in generic, mainstream readers. And then there's people who read my stuff. These are people I do and don't know, and if they like some of my writing, I'd like to think they'd enjoy more of it. I wouldn't want someone to read one of my fics/books and be majorly disappointed by another. At the same time, you can't expect to hit the target for every reader every time; that's unreasonable.

This answer is just getting more garbled. Yes, I do both. I have no idea what the percentages are, but I think generally it's always best to be true to yourself in writing, even if it might alienate some readers. Again, better to alienate and make an impression than to be palatable and easily forgotten.

[forabeatofadrum]

Hello folks! Happy Out of Touch Thursday. I am a day late, because yesterday I was out and about all day, so thank you @facewithoutheart​, @confused-bi-queer​, @wellbelesbian​ and @artsyunderstudy​ for the tags.

It is actually a great timing, because today I found out that I have passed my thesis! Guys, I think I just kind of graduated university. My advisor sent me this:

Not going to lie, I expected a better grade (I got a 6.5), but you know what, I accept it. I had a lot of problems with my thesis and I most of the time felt like I had no clue what I was doing, so I am glad that I made it. Not only that, but I had fun doing it, most of the time. The real grade is the friends we made along the way or something.

I will make sure y’all can read it if you want. As mentioned, I can put it in my university’s thesis repository, but then it’ll be in Dutch so I will translate it for my “international audience”. I do want to come back to this question: do you guys think it is allowed on AO3?

Anyway, the moment I handed in my thesis on Sunday I just started fic writing. I even made a meme about it, because of course I did. I’ll put the snippet under the cut with the weather.

So yeah I just finished 6 chapters of Ljubim te but not the upcoming one. Fun. I also worked a bit on the Quinn side-story, because yes, there is a Quinn side-story. Not only that, but I have gotten ideas for the final chapter and then it’ll be over.

I actually hope to have this fic finished before I go on vacation, because that would be lovely, but I am not going to force it. I’m glad I am finally seeing the end, because I am excited to share the story with you.

Here’s some stuff from Ljubim te to begin with:

“Oh, there is a hat shop over there,” Kurt says after Quinn’s detailed everything about her fancy beret. It’s a bit on the nose, but it is stunning and it keeps the sun out of her eyes. “You should check it out.”

Kurt gives Quinn the route towards Rikoma, Miha Kotar s.p.

Quinn beams towards Blaine.

“Oh babe, I keep telling you to not slick back you hair, so that you can wear a fancy hat as well. We should go there!”

Kurt’s stomach churns when he hears the term of endearment.

Kurt and Quinn await Blaine’s reaction. It’s an out. They’ve had their dinner and they can go. Kurt has given him a way out, and he didn’t even mean to. But to Kurt’s surprise, Blaine declines.

“How about you check it out,” he says to Quinn.

“Oh. Okay.” Quinn seems as surprised as Kurt.

Yes, Quinn is a hat person in this fic. I don’t know when that started, but it first because the hat shop is actually really nice. AND the new VIGÒ store is apparently next to it. In fact, when I saw the location of the new VIGÒ my first thought was: “No, the hat shop is gone???” but it isn’t. They’re neighbours.

And now, the weather: @quizasvivamos @blurglesmurfklaine @coffeegleek @esperantoauthor @otherworldsivelivedin @caramelcoffeeaddict @sillyunicorn @bazzybelle @dragoneggos @raenestee @tectonicduck @nightimedreamersworld @urban-sith @thnxforknowingme @captain-aralias @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @takitalks @justgleekout @cerriddwenluna @tea-brigade @ivelovedhimthroughworse @moodandmist @whogaveyoupermission @bookish-bogwitch @aroace-genderfluid-sheep @ionlydrinkhotwater @1908jmd @special-bc-ur-part-of-it @larkral @chen-chen-chen-again-chen @cutestkilla @martsonmars @shrekgogurt @boyinjeans @rockitmans @bitbybitwrites @whatevertheweather​ @nightimedreamersghost​

[nicolesainz]

New Romantics (Part VII)

Carlos Sainz x OC x Mason Mount

Chapter 8

Warnings: smut-ish, minors dni, angst, jealousy, lots of tears

Carlos POV

I was an asshole. I am an asshole. How can people present me as a sweet and humble man when on the inside I’ve hurt so many people? That sounds like what a cruel and shameless person would do.

After that night in Monaco, I hadn’t stopped thinking about her. Somehow, she managed to hide herself very easily during the race. I only spotted Mason giving me death stares every time he saw me looking through the Red Bull area.

Obviously an apology wouldn’t make the cut. I was to blame for the distance created between the Norris siblings. I couldn’t face Lando after that. I felt disgust dousing me. That day in Monaco, should have been a happy one, considering the podium, but it was the worst one to exist.

Quinn deserves to be with someone better. Someone who would treat her right. Apparently the one was Chelsea’s golden boy. But I would have given up everything for it to be me.

The following 2 races weren’t the best ones for me, having known that Silverstone was coming up and there was a chance that I’ve scared her off from coming to the race.

I didn’t want to hurt any other person further, so I broke up with Isa. She was and is a dear friend to me and doesn’t deserve a person like me in her life as her partner. I’d harm her. I’m in love with someone else. Not her.

Canada finished off on a high, almost winning the race but eventually settling for a second place. I really craved this first win in Formula 1. Being in the sport for eight years, that was my next goal.

The Monday after the race, I took a plain back to Madrid. I needed to be alone before I had to travel to UK for the weekend. I had to clear my head. There’s no grater thing in life than being surrounded by family and people who love you. But at that moment, I had lost a loved one with a mistake of mine.

Wednesday was my last day at home, so I decided to let myself be lazy and do nothing for the remaining hours. Sports websites, sports channels, instagram, Twitter, every social media, was buzzing about the announcement of the teams for the World Cup, taking place a few hours after Abu Dhabi ends.

Knowing that Spain qualified, I turned on the TV and waited to hear which players had been selected. To my disadvantage, the countries were being picked by alphabetical order.

“…And now moving to another favorite of the championship, England. This year, their squad may even be stronger than the one from 2018” one of Sky Sports commentators said happily

“Oh yes! New additions to the team. It’s taking the form of the one they had back in the 2020 Euros. So, let’s hear the names of the Englishmen representing their country in the World Cup”

“Marcus Rashford, the extremely talented Forward of Manchester United…and Mason Mount, Chelsea’s rising star and one of the best midfielders”

As I heard his name I wanted to smash the Tv. I decided to take a safer route and simply turn it off. I grabbed my phone and opened Instagram, only to see that Quinn had posted a story. She doesn’t usually post anything. Not being very active.

I take a deep breath, only for my heart to tear apart a bit, as this picture pops up right in front of my face

My stomach started twisting and turning around. But it was for the best. I was the one who let her go. He simply took the chance.

I close my phone as I hear a knock on my door. I started recollecting whether I had invited someone or not.

“It’s Charles! Open up loverboy” I hear my Monégasque teammate shout from outside. What was he doing here?

“Oh finally. It was getting a bit cold out there. Sorry for barging in without telling you” he apologized with a suitcase behind his back

“No worries. But what are you doing here? Did something happen?” I ask with concern knowing that Charles didn’t drive all the way here just to go together to Silverstone

“I assume you’ve seen the story Quinn posted?”

“Yes. Unfortunately. But I can’t do something about it”

“Yes you can! All you need is a plan”

“I already tried Charles. Whenever I’m around her, she refused to talk to me and then Mason comes to the rescue”

“Try and approach her in another way”

“Like how?”

“First of all text her if she’ll be in the race. It’s Lando’s home race after all”

“I think she’ll regret coming to Silverstone. I was the reason she didn’t attend any of the races in the past two years. She was and is scared of me”

The words come out of my mouth and they taste sour. Charles doesn’t talk for a moment. I was too furious and too disappointed at myself. I caused this mess myself. And I didn’t know how to fix it.

“You know what? Let’s go out! I can’t stand looking at you being all sloppy and moody. We’ll get drunk” my teammate suggest, well, demands we do.

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea Charles, we have to get up early tomorrow”

“I’ll get you drunk no matter the cost! You need to cheer up a bit man!”

Last time I was drunk, it led to me pathetically texting Quinn and hating me even more than before. If Charles locks up my phone, then maybe getting drunk again wouldn’t sound like a bad idea.

“Okay, deal” I say shrugging my shoulders

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quinn’s POV

I was sitting smiling across Mason, on his bed, while he was screaming and laughing while Face Timing with Declan. Being best friends and picked for Englands National Team is a dream for them.

I enjoyed seeing Mason this happy. It would be his first ever time competing in the World Cup! It’s been quite the time since I felt this excited for someone. My heart was fluttering and I was over the moon.

“Gotta go mate. Jude’s awake and I need to check on him. Laters! BYE QUINN. TAKE CARE OF MY BUDDY!” Declan exclaimed loudly through the phone and hung up afterwards

Mason turned to face me with a huge smile on his face. Suddenly he attacked me with multiple tickles and kisses all over my cheeks. Pure bliss i would say!

“This is perfect. I am going to the World Cup and I found out the news having you by my side. I couldn’t have asked for anything better than this. Thank you Quinn” he said, lowering his forehead to touch mine.

“Why are you thanking me? You should thank yourself for being so talented and proving your capabilities to the English crowd” I cupped his cheeks, caressing them softly

“I just hope I don’t disappoint them, or you. I really wanna show the world what I’m capable of”

“You could never disappoint me Mase, nor the team. Remember the Euro’s? The brilliant goals you scored and how you saved the team. I’m immensely proud of you”

As the worlds escaped my lips, a few seconds later they were occupied, being tangled with Mason, us kissing passionately, him being on top of me, removing our shirts so our skins could touch.

His mouth moved inches lower to my neck, sucking it, whilst my hands were playing with the lace of his sweatpants.

“Less teasing, more doing” Mason breathed and went on kissing and licking my hardened nipples, drawing circles with his tongue around them

“Oh Fuck-Mase!” I tried to hold my groan but it was nearly impossible, with the way he was making me feel.

My hands lowered both his pants and underwear, revealing his erected dick to me. I couldn’t react when I felt my panties being ripped by Mason. I took him in my hands and put the tip of his cock on my entrance, feeling both his and my pre cum.

“I need you Quinn. More than anything” Mason kissed me hardly once more, leaving me breathless.

“Open up like the good girl you are” he demanded and I immediately obeyed. Didn’t even think twice.

Mason knew that this would be my first time, so he didn’t force himself inside me, instead started slowly and with smooth moves. When I felt him inside me I let out a big gasp, with butterflies fluttering around my stomach.

“My god Mason” I exclaimed as my nails were dug inside his back, trying to steady my body.

“Fuck, you’re so tight baby, it’s amazing” his dick was clenched all over my pussy and a few moments later his pace became more speedy than before.

He found my G-spot with a rough trust, making me moan his name so loud, probably his neighbors heard us. He picked me up and threw my body against the shower wall, opening the tap and hot water pouring all over us. This was pure euphoria.

“You’re taking me so good love. Let me know if I’m hurting you” I could tell from his voice that he was scared of hurting me in any way

“You could never hurt me” I moan once more, reaching my peak. I was ready to cum.

“Mason I’m so close”

“Cum all over my cock princess. I want to taste you”

“I want you to fill me up. Every last inch” I say without being able to breathe anymore

“Your wish, is my command”

We both let a synchronized moan and came all over each other. I was utterly happy and satisfied after what had just happened. I’ve never felt so thrilled before.

“Thank you for allowing me to be your first” Mason gently said, wrapping my body with a towel.

The words i bursted our afterwards, were the truest, most honest and heartfelt ones I’ve said to someone. And I hoped to god, no one took them away.

“I love you Mason”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

@alwaysclassyeagle for you being the only one on the masterlist of New Romantics 🫶🏻

Thank you for the support

[practically-an-x-man]

your OCs have been replaced by a mimic! how do their loved ones figure out they're fake?

Oooooh, this is really cool! Thank you!

Rae: Well, let's see... is she flagrantly reckless and self-sacrificing if she thinks someone else is in trouble? I mean hell, if she shows any shred of self-preservation at all, that's the mimic right there. The real Rae has infinite willingness to finish a fight and zero care if she's completely outmatched.

Robin: I mean, she and her loved ones have already dealt quite extensively with clones before, so they'd either just notice the differences pretty quickly or would just ask one of the resident telepaths to look inside her mind. But for something more personal... check her eyebrows - the real Robin has a small scar from where she used to have an eyebrow piercing (the mimic probably picked up on the rest of her facial scars, but that one's small and hidden and probably got missed)

Madison: Honestly, Bravo would probably be the first to tell. He'd be barking up a storm from the moment the mimic walks in the door, he knows that's not his girl. But if for whatever reason Bravo isn't there, Alex would just call her by her full name instead of Mads - the real Madison would be confused, he always uses that little nickname unless something's genuinely wrong, but the mimic probably wouldn't even notice.

Ophelia: Honestly, they wouldn't have to do a whole lot, just watch her and interact with her for a while. Olly has a very distinct way of carrying herself, and while her loved ones might not be able to identify exactly what that is, they'd sense something off about a mimic.

Gia: Anything related to her clover, honestly. The mimic might recognize that there's some kind of significance to it, even that she's protective of it, but wouldn't realize that it's her literal life force because that's quite literally her deepest secret.

Jasper: Take them near a crowded area, but not in the middle of the crowd itself. Jasper's empathic sense makes busy areas difficult for them, since they get emotional feedback from everyone around them even from a distance. A mimic wouldn't have their empathic sense, and even if they tried to imitate Jasper's discomfort with busy places, they'd assume it's exclusively about being in the middle of the crowd.

Quinn: Honestly, just put her in front of One and let him talk for a while. The real Quinn will take any excuse to make some quip at his expense, she probably can't even get 30 seconds into the conversation before she some dig on him. The mimic would try, but just doesn't have the same je ne sais quois

Kestrel: Honestly, they'd probably go the fairly standard route of just asking questions about details only Kestrel would know - stories from their past adventures with the Knights, the contents of the vault in Fablehaven, even simple things like their favorite fruit (raspberries) or favorite flower (dandelions). It's some very similar techniques to the ones Warren uses when Kestrel is at risk of losing their grip on their identity.

Katherine: Honestly, just quiz her on ancient history - and we're talking deep trivia. She's done a lot of studying, particularly into Ancient Egypt, because understanding the history and culture helps her harness its magic most effectively (and not to mention, she's gotten a lot of stories from a direct source). The mimic might get a few details right, but Katherine's giving a passionate half-hour-long ramble about something most people never even knew existed.

Eris: Challenge them to a sparring match. Now, this could get dangerous fast, but there's logic here. The real Eris has a complicated sort of dynamic with the people he cares about - if Rick were to challenge her to a fight, for example, she certainly wouldn't back down, but he'd also be careful that Rick didn't get too badly hurt in the process. But a mimic would only see Eris' token ruthlessness, since those other dynamics are rare and complex and hard to see, and would treat the fight like any other battle.

Nikoletta: Ask her to take off her gloves. It's a similar story to Eris, really: the mimic would see more of the persona she puts out, but her loved ones would recognize that she has more complicated feelings about it. If she puts out bravado and acts all cool, it's the mimic. If she hesitates or looks concerned, even just for a millisecond, it's Nik. Alternatively, they could get a stranger to reach for a handshake (the real Nik will hesitate even if she's wearing gloves or doesn't have her shadow-touch), or offer her a chair that puts her back to the door (the real Nik gets very uncomfortable when she can't see the entrance/exit of the room she's in)

Jimmy: Read him a quote from a book (without showing him the title) and ask him to identify what book it's from. The real Jimmy has a fantastic memory for the things he reads and could identify the book and even the rest of the scene surrounding the quote, plus it's a bit gentler of a means than asking him for information about his death/ghosthood.

[sunsrefuge]

hi del im here for the dating sim asks and. :) youll never guess. :)

(yeah its Quinn- i have to pick Quinn's route HAHAHBDJ)

QUINNIE !! (tbh at this point you might be her biggest fan next to Tres and it warms my heart so so much !! my silly mundane girlie ♥)

Quinn's Route could potentially be very fun!! She lightly frequents a few bars around DR and LA, but it's also not uncommon for her to wander around in the middle of the night, and to be off on her Whispers Agent missions! Man, wouldn't it suck if you met her while she was undercover so she had to lie to you about a bunch but you both hit it off really well regardless?? <- Not the take I'm gonna use here but it occurred to me and now I want to put her in such an AU fdfksjdnf - She's a part-time bartender in Divinity's Reach, so maybe you meet her at the bar one time! Regardless of which side of the counter she's on, she's very friendly and nice! When working, she's diligent about her responsibilities, but if you prove to be fun conversation then she'll do things a bit quicker just to have a few more seconds to chat with you! - You're gonna have to be either chill or affectionate towards cats, and you can't talk down to her about her bar job! ;w; She loves her job and has an absolute ball with it most days, so talking down about working in a bar in any form is going to be a huge turn-off for her !! Same thing with cats; you gotta at least be nice to her baby boy Pepper!!

(apparently i have WAY more to say about her than i THOUGHT i would. so !! readmore in the middle lmao)

[Fun fact continuation!] - She loves spontaneous outings!! Little adventures in between everyday life is what keeps her happy and goin'!! She'll likely try to invite you to some late-night street exploration, or dropping into some party she heard conversation about, or even just running around some woods at night!! Even better if you're the one who suggests something spontaneous first!! - Quinn's a huge sucker for sparring and duels as well; if you're the combat / adventurer type like she is, she'll absolutely want to spar with you and it is absolutely bonus points if you go through with it! A bonus for YOU is that she typically banters and flirts during duels. >:) - But she is OBLIVIOUS to flirting!! yours OR her own!! She's dumb!! She is absolutely the person that you could flirt with in increasingly obvious ways, and she would absolutely think that you just Really enjoy her company!! (Literally, her husband [who ive been ignoring for the sake of this bc his involvement would prompt It's Own Route ♥] was taking her on dates and giving her kisses and even calling her Dearheart and she never got it until he wrote her a whole ass love letter. She's THAT level of oblivious!!)

Good Ending: The trick to getting the good ending requires one thing: Being Very Direct With Her. As previously stated: Quinn is a total airhead about love. You could literally be making out with her on the couch and she would just think that you're great buddies who are hella comfortable with each other!! Being direct with her is going to give her a small crisis, but mainly in the "oh gods i've never been in a relationship before" department; the good news is: Even if she's hella bad at the whole relationship thing at first, she is undoubtedly going to give it her all. :3 This is definitely a girlie who's good ending finishes out with a wedding tbh, or at least a "years later" wedding bonus scene

Neutral Ending: Basically achieved but just. Not Saying Anything, lmao. You could be flirting with her, you could also not be flirting with her! Either way, platonic ending, basically! :D you'll still get to share your late night adventures and do spontaneous shit together, you're just (probably) not kissing in alleyways on your way home and whatever.

Bad Ending: you just?? don't hit it off that well i guess?? or you were mean to her cat, or about her job. :( She's not like a vengeful person so nothing all that exciting would happen here tbh! it'd be more like a gentle drifting apart! Unless you mistreated her on purpose and her brothers find out ♥ then you suffer at their hands, and that might be exciting! KSDJFNS

[kalchips]

INTRODUCING.

(niko terho, 27, he/him, cis man) — hey, that’s KALLE 'KAL' LEHTO ! did you know they’ve been living in golden view for TWO YEARS ? i heard they’re an ASSISTANT PRO ATHLETIC TRAINER and often hang out at FRANGIPANE. people say they’re EASY GOING, but also INDULGENT. they live in apartment 14c and are currently NOT LOOKING for ONE roommate ROOMMATES WITH QUINN MCKENNA. they really remind me of… unruly curls bouncing with movement, early morning workouts to start the day, the sound of athletic tape coming off the roll, & singing in the shower. — ©

ABOUT.

tldr; kal was born to barbadian artist and finnish hockey player, grew up bouncing between the US and finland. he played hockey growing up and thought he was going pro until injuries playing college hockey got the best of him. instead, he got his masters' in sports medicine after finishing undergrad. he spent one year serving as assistant athletic trainer at university of michigan, before getting an assistant athletic trainer position with the san jose barracuda where he has now worked for three years.

— kalle lehto was globe trotting long before he was even born : conceived in bridgetown, barbados, spending much of the nine months in his mother's belly in the united states, before finally being born in rauma, finland. as for his parents : it'd been love at first sight between a talented barbadian mural artist adanna and a finnish hockey player arvo lehto, and the rest as they say, is history. they had kal rather young, but the young couple were more than up for the challenge.

— much of his childhood years where in finland, summers in barbados visiting family on his mother's side, looking for some stability in their lives as his father entered the nhl. somewhere around age 11, they moved more permanently to the united states, following his father whose career had stabilized at this point with the panthers.

— they spent a good few years in the outskirts of miami, before they moved north to boston when kal was 15, again following the trajectory of his father's path.

— kal took all this moving in stride, and maybe it was a little cool to grow up in and out of nhl dressing rooms. through this semi-tumultuous period of growing up, sports were the one thing that kept kal grounded outside of family. they helped him make friends, establish a place for him, and growing up playing pond hockey in finland, it brought many fond memories. and kal was good at it.

— he was recruited to play at the university of michigan, where he played, studied movement science at the school of kinesiology, and flirted with the idea of going pro one day just like his father. it wasn't so much of a pipe dream as a potential reality : drafted in the second round of his draft year, and recruited to UM. however, pro dreams ground to a halt in his junior and senior year, when injuries plagued and sidelined him, even despite the efforts of trainers and his own education. some things aren't meant to be and that's okay.

— the door was far from closed. kal ended up applying to the graduate sports med program at UM his senior year, keeping his options open and ultimately going that route. he knew if he were to go a trainer's route, that he wanted it to be in the hockey sphere and this afforded him the ability to do so. he received his nata certification not long after graduation.

— the summer after his graduate program, he was lucky enough to be given an assistant position with team finland at the ii.hf world championships ( maybe a little bit of nepotism was involved but we don't talk about it ). that summer, while he applied to a few positions, none were willing to hire and he ended up back in UM, filling a trainer role for the men's hockey team there.

— part way through the season, he heard through connections about a potential opening with the ahl san jose barrac.uda, and was always in conversations with management there before the opening was even posted. his initiative paid off, and by the time the next summer hit, he was given an assistant athletic trainer position with the san jose barrac.uda, as much a stepping stone to the nhl as it is for players.

PRESENT DAY.

— kal just wrapped up his third season with the san jose barrac.uda ( ahl affiliate to the san jose sh.arks ), serving as their assistant athletic trainer. however, he has only been living at mit heights and golden view for two years. however, he definitely visited mit heights frequently in his first year !! while summers are usually spent completely in finland, he's decided to stay in the states this time to attend some sports medicine conferences and seminars to continue his learning and network as well.

— living in mit heights may seem a little obtuse for someone working in san jose most of the time, but it's not a bad drive. 45 minutes to an hour and it has lovely coastal views — and ofc he drives a hybrid. he likes that peace ( and affordability ) of mit heights, and being a little removed from everything is nice too. he lived in san jose his first year with the barracuda and it was fine. but when quinn told him about mit heights and they made some haphazard plans to move in together, well kal never really looked back. this will be his first full summer in mit heights but he's really looking forward to it !!

— without the responsibility of the season to keep him busy this summer, kal has queued up a whole slew of things to do ( besides his conferences and seminars ), primarily : part time deck-handing on ferries and tour boats, and volunteering with youth hockey camps and summer hockey leagues.

— in the rest of his free time, he'll be dedicating a little more time to his usual hobbies : sketching, karaoke, rock climbing, hiking in the mit mountains, keeping his workout schedule, and trying every pastry at frangipane and pretty much every sweet in mit heights.

— always always always starts his day with a specific workout at the gym or a run ( he has a schedule based on the days ). it gets him in a good mood for the day and he likes to stay in good shape.

— kal likes to be out a lot. while he's come to enjoy time at home more now that he lives with quinn, he still gets restless and likes to be outside as much as possible. in finland during the long summer days, it's not uncommon for him to not step foot inside unless the sun is down.

— while kal likes routine, he's not afforded much of it during the season, or rather, he cycles through several different ones depending on what his responsibilities for the day are : a routine for game days, a routine for practices, a routine for player's days off but he still has to go in to prepare and organize things, a routine for off days... it's a good thing he's so organized. organized chaos for sure.

MISC.

— citizenship : united states & finland

— skills / hobbies : sketching, singing, playing the guitar, rock climbing, hiking, sailing, multi-lingual, cooking, hockey, soccer, chasing after dogs

— languages : fluent in finnish (first language), english (second language), and spanish (product of living in miami) ; able to muscle his way through bajan ; understands enough german and swedish to not be totally lost — languages are by far one of the things he entertains himself with on the long bus trips to games, by which he means he watches tv shows and movies in said target languages.

— for someone so easy-going, it comes as a surprise to some that kal is so organized. his trainer's kit and room is always impeccably neat and well-stocked. he was quickly put in charge of placing supply orders because he always had a good grasp of what was needed and when. his apartment is also clean and organized. he can't stand coming home to a messy apartment after roadtrips. his positive trait is he never leaves dishes in the sink.

— good at cooking and often does so for himself ( & quinn ). he makes a whole range of healthy and well-balanced meals with caribbean, asian, latino, and scandinavian influences. while he's not a dietician, he knows his way around nutrition well enough. protein heavy dishes tend to dominate his dinners for quinn and himself. when he has the time, he likes to make his own bread. spring rolls are his go-to snack. pickled herring is his second.

— kal doesn't do any formal dancing, but he is coordinated. he likes club dance floors and is never one to stay on the sidelines sipping a drink unless the company is good.

— can, will, and does slay at karaoke. he also has a tendency to sing in the shower and doesn't sound half bad. while he doesn't ever think he has interest in becoming a musician, he does play guitar as well. it's good for campfire nights.

— he does indeed like kale chips

PERSONALITY.

+ active, adventurous, athletic, calm, capable, easy-going, resourceful - boyish, indulgent, obsessive, escapist, avoidant, nosey, a worrier

— kal comes across incredibly boyish when people first meet him : from his easy-going demeanor to his smile to his unruly curls, it's probably the first word that comes to mind. it's true that kal tries to take life not so seriously : he likes to have fun and he's not shy in admitting that. indulgent in that if he wants something, he will have it : his college years were mixed with plenty of hookups and parties and nights out.

— active, adventures, athletic : they all go hand in hand. kal's not one to remain still for very long, loving his job as a trainer and not always knowing what the next day or week might bring. he likes being challenged, and that shows in his hobby of rock climbing too : loving figuring out the best run to take in a physical setting. he loves to try new things, and he'll do anything at least once even if it doesn't sound like a great time.

— but other times, he leans too much into being active and physical. another thing about kal is he's a worrier. he has a tendency to fawn though he does an admirable job at keeping this buried and professional when on the job. when it comes to those he cares for though, he can't help but be concerned, always ones to text and call and reach out first.

— but he's never been one just to assume that things would just be handed to him in the hockey world just because his father played and now works in it. he's always put everything into whatever he does, to the point of being obsessive over it. it surprises some how serious kal takes things underneath that infectious smiles and relaxed posture.

— he's good under pressure too : calm & capable even when things start going south. it's one of the things that made him a good defenseman when he played, and one of the things that will make him a fantastic athletic trainer in his career ahead. though he's been fortunate to not have faced any extremely serious injured players that have involved a stretcher or trips to the hospital, his skills remaining sharp when faced with the unexpected have come in clutch again and again.

— kal is resourceful too, never one to back away from something because he didn't have the right tools to do it. this means he's often one to try to fix broken things himself : with a mixed bag of results. he probably should leave the plumbing issues for an actual plumber. but they say a lack of tools breeds ingenuity and some of his college dorm experiences definitely reflect that. on the job, though he always tries to be well stocked, it means he's able to quickly read situations and figure out a solution with what he has. perhaps in another world, he would have made a fantastic paramedic.

— kal can't help but be curious about other people's business, maybe defining him as a bit nosey. he's not one to want to start drama, but boy does he love to hear about other people's drama and gossip. he's not overly aggressive in this, not one to pry forcefully, but he's always going to listen and ask some very well-placed questions.

— a problem solver what it comes to everything else, it all balances out when you take into account kal's escapist & avoidant tendencies. he doesn't like conflict, to the point where he's been taken advantage of because of it. he's not always the best at seeing when he's being used and it's lead to some less than ideal situations. as he's gotten older, he's definitely gotten better at being an advocate for himself, but it doesn't change that fact that he likes everyone to like him and able to rely on him — even if maybe he should take a step back and take care of himself first.

APPEARANCE.

— 5'11" ; tall by average metrics, short by hockey player metrics

— 192 lbs, a strong build — he likes to stay in very good shape.

— black, loosely curly hair, long enough for the curls to have definition and look unruly ; medium tone skin ; dark brown, friendly eyes ( reference )

— demeanor : good & strong but relaxed posture, quick to smile, welcoming, someone who would hold the door for you or pick up something you dropped, tries to make people feel comfortable in his presence, non-threatening despite his muscled stature

— modifications : pierced ears, though he doesn't wear earrings on the job ; no tattoos ; varies miscellaneous scars

— style : practical but fun, mostly whites and neutrals but doesn't shy away from colors or patterns when the opportunity arises. probably wears too many tank tops / muscle tees. loves a good sneaker, admittedly partial to converse in every color but white is classic. not much into fancier dress but cleans up very nice. has a few bespoke suits.

OOC.

hello everyone !! i'm ollie and i can't wait to get things started 💕 i haven't written anything out wanted connection-wise but please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any ideas. i will reach out as i read intros and am inspired. i'm also very open to going off chemistry and seeing what happens.