#I love talking about this stuff. I've got plenty more tips but this is getting long already lol

[deoidesign]

Any tips for a newbie trying to write a comic?

maybe...

Start now!!! Perfect will never come. A year from now you'll have learned more than you ever would have by waiting to be good enough to let yourself start in the first place.

Starting small is generally good advice, but really you should start with the story you're actually excited to make.

Every scene is there to accomplish a specific goal, and that goal CAN be accomplished in more than one way. Don't go ahead with a scene you don't love because you "need" it. Plan ahead, and edit with a machete.

If you don't love a scene, your readers won't love it either.

You have to be your number one fan, keep your number one critic to yourself. Putting yourself down doesn't make anyone want to read your comic.

The process that works for you is NOT what will work for others! Be patient with yourself as you figure out what does work, it takes a long time.

Clarity is far more important than anything else. Your comic doesn't need to be gorgeous, what it NEEDS to be is clear, direct, and effectively show the reader what they need to know.

Characters need to show their emotions and actions

Backgrounds need to tell us where we are

Paneling needs to show us which order to read things in

Using photos, 3d models, or copy/pasted assets is all perfectly fine and acceptable. As long as you own the rights to use the images or models, you're allowed to use them however you see fit. It's not cheating.

Do not start making comics for money

Don't start making comics for fame

Comics aren't a stepping stone to adaptations. If you want an animation, make an animation.

Get into comics because you love comics and you've got a story that you simply can't go another day without telling.

Make comics!

[msbigredmachine]

Warm (Jey Uso/OC)

An on-again, off-again couple takes the snowy ride to the next town together.

PAIRING: Jey Uso x OC

Word Count: 6.3k

Warning: The usual smut and everything in between.

A/N: First fic of the year! Enjoy!

Click here if you want to be on the tag list. If I’ve forgotten anyone please let me know so I can add you.

Credit to the owners of the pics and gifs.

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"Hey girl, got a sec?"

Looking up to see Nia standing right in front of her, Malia stood up straighter. The locker room was full of her friends and fellow wrestlers, all done for the evening and packing up to leave the arena. "What's up?"

"I totally forgot that I agreed to carpool with Maxxine after the show," she said as they exited the locker room together. "I'm really sorry, it totally slipped my mind."

"Oh, that sucks," Malia said, a little disappointed as Nia was great company. "It's no big deal. I'll figure something out."

"Are you sure? It's starting to snow out there. Will you be okay on your own?"

"Alone on the road with full control of the heating and my own playlist?" Malia laughed. "I'll be fine."

Nia nodded. "Okay. I feel bad, so I'll ask around and see if anyone needs a ride. That way you can split the bills and stuff," she offered, pausing when she looked over Malia's shoulder. "Oooh, look who's coming our way," she grinned.

Curious, Malia turned around, and her heart skipped a beat as Josh Fatu walked in their direction, his carry-on behind him and his phone in front of him. She plastered an unbothered expression on her face and turned back to Nia, but the Irresistible Force saw right through the facade.

"Girl, you're blushing already!" she cackled. "You and him still fucking?"

"No, I'm not blushing. And no, we're not fucking," Not lately anyway, Malia added to herself, fluffing her Afro as nonchalantly as possible.

"Liar. You two crack me up, you're totally in love with each other but keep acting like you're not. I did warn you about the whole friends-with-benefits thing."

She did. And Malia caught feelings and had been trying to run from those feelings since. But not with much success, given that she and Josh were both part of the Monday Night Raw roster and lived in the same goddamn city which gave him plenty of access to her. The problem was she was falling in love and he wasn't, so she tried to save face by imposing an extended 'break' from each other, under the guise of 'seeing other people'. Being alone with him on a long midnight drive wasn't going to help her cause to break away.

"It's a three-hour trip from here to Cleveland. Think you can hold off for that long if you go together?" Nia asked, a little too gleefully for Malia's taste.

"Stop with the slander. You make it sound like I'm this raging nympho," she rebuffed.

"When it comes to him? Yes! I've witnessed it! You jump each other's bones every chance you get. How you guys aren't official, I'll never understand. He's getting closerrrr," Nia sang, clearly enjoying the way Malia was trying not to squirm. "Let me go talk to him."

Malia started to panic as Nia moved towards him. "Where are you going?" she warned, "Nia, no!"

"Um, you want a ride or not? Hey, Joshyyyy!"

"Savelina!" Malia hissed, falling silent when Josh looked up from his phone, his gaze lingering on her for a long, tense beat before moving to Nia. "Sup ladies," he said, tipping his bearded chin up in greeting. His jaw moved repeatedly, and she saw he was chewing gum when he opened his mouth to speak. Juicy Fruit, she predicted. His favorite.

"I heard you're driving by yourself tonight," Nia said to him.

His eyebrows rose skeptically. "Yeah..."

"You want a passenger? Cuz my girl over here needs someone to ride with, in more ways than one..."

"Lina, shut up," Malia cut in, stepping in front of her and meeting Josh head-on. "Forgive our friend, Becky hit her in the head too many times tonight," she explained, her insides warming when Jey laughed. "I was supposed to carpool with bitch over here but she made other plans and left me stranded. So umm...if you're going alone, would you mind if I tagged along?" Why the fuck did she sound like she was asking him to Prom?

Again, the air around them simmered with an unknown element. When he took longer than usual to respond, her heart sank a little. "It's cool if you don't want to, I can find someone else-"

"Nah, it's all good, uce, you can come along," he spoke up with a smile. "But I'm 'bout to leave right now, so if you ready-"

"I am," Malia answered, a bit too quickly, and flushed with embarrassment when the corner of his mouth curled upward in a bemused smile. It was then she realized that Nia had disappeared, leaving the two standing alone in the empty hallway.

"Uhh...We should get going," Malia spoke up, scratching awkwardly at the nape of her curly Afro.

Josh nodded, pausing as his eyes scanned her up and down again. "This what you wearin'?" he inquired.

She made a quick, albeit thorough twirl to show off her outfit, a short, figure-hugging beige dress accompanied by a black pair of furry knee-high Uggs. "Yeah, why? What's wrong with it?"

"It's a lil' chilly, no? I mean, don't get me wrong, you look real good, it's just-" Catching himself, he trailed off nervously before he could say anything else inappropriate.

"My jacket is right here, I'll be fine. But if I do get too cold, I'm sure you can keep me warm." Her smile was syrupy sweet as she let the innuendo sink in. The awkwardness was melting away, leaving only the sexual synergy they were both accustomed to.

Josh chuckled to himself and stepped closer to her. "A'ight, I see what'chu tryna do," he said in a lower, huskier timbre that made her loins flutter. "Let's get outta here before I do sum'n we'll both like."

She wanted to ask what was stopping him but instead took the hand he held out to her. It was big and protective and the gentle way he rubbed his thumb over hers always made her feel safe. Together they left the building and into the indoor parking lot. He helped her put her things in the trunk of his Ford Expedition rental, and she fought the urge to stare at his ass when he bent over.

As they began their journey, her gaze landed on her on-again, off-again 'boyfriend', his own fixed on the road ahead. Wearing a fitting dual-colored Nike tracksuit, he looked yummy himself. The hand that had held hers was now on the steering wheel, and she found herself wishing it was touching her again but on a more risqué part of her body this time. They were on a 'break' but she envisioned a lot of difficulty keeping things platonic tonight.

"Since when do you listen to Bon Jovi?" She broke the ice several minutes later, talking over the eighties rock ballad that was playing on the radio and was surprised it hadn't been turned off. "You always used to tell me to change that shit," she laughed.

"They not so bad, they got some good workout songs," he defended with a shrug. "How come you didn't take a flight tonight?" he asked.

She gave a shrug of her own. "I don't know. I probably should have. But with the weather and everything, there'd probably be tons of delays at the airport. I would have ended up sitting there all night. How about you?"

"Same. I prefer the open road anyway," he replied. "Drive fast, blast some good music, you know what it is." He shot her a grin, making selections on the GPS. "Everything good? You comfortable?"

Smoothing her dress down her crossed legs, she nodded and tilted her seat back. "Yeah, I'm good," she responded.

"So how was Christmas? Whatchu do? Spend time with your man?" Josh asked.

Malia snorted and flipped her hair. "Ain't no man. He's an insecure bum so he's gone. I stayed with my brother and his family for a few days, played with my nieces, they're so big now."

He wanted to feel bad about the way his heart leapt for joy about her relationship status. "I told you he was a bum from the jump, uce," he mumbled.

"Well, you were right. Congrats," she bit sarcastically.

"I ain't wanna be right though. I just want you to be happy," said Josh, exchanging a glance with her, his stare filled with its familiar warmth that was charged with something else.

Being here is a bad idea.

"What about you? You were with your boys and their mom, I'm guessing," she kept the conversation going.

"More of the boys, less of their mom," he clarified.

"That's it? No woman to warm your bed?"

He snorted and shot her a bombastic side-eye. "If I remember clearly, you sent the last woman I was with packin', with your razor-sharp ass tongue."

Malia burst out laughing. "Ha, that bitch? She's a clout-chasing airhead. One conversation with her and my IQ got fucked up. Stop messin' with those NXT bimbos, Joshua. It's not a good look."

"Why you so pressed though?" He had an idea, but he wanted to hear it straight from the horse's mouth.

"I'm not pressed. You smarter than that. She wasn't good for you."

"And you know this, how?"

Because she ain't me. None of them are. "I just know," was all she said.

"Huh. We seem to 'know' a lot about each other," Josh noted, "So why don't you want us to stay together?" he asked.

And there it is. "You already know the answer," she responded, with a hint of attitude.

"No I don't, so how 'bout you fill me in, huh," he retorted. They had stopped at a red light so he now had all the time to look her in the eye.

Exhaling a heavy sigh, she refused to get suckered in. "Because. Your roster is deep enough as it is," she mumbled.

"What roster?"

Malia huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, we gonna play dumb now? I'm not the only woman you're fucking, Joshua."

"The last person I had sex with was you, right before you dumped me for ol' boy," Josh replied, annoyance creeping into his tone.

"Correction. I did not dump you. Dumping implies that we were dating," Malia argued. "I distinctly remember you saying you weren't looking for nothin' serious, so it ain't dumping if there's no relationship to dump."

The silence that followed was deafening, even with the music playing. The temperature in the car plummeted several degrees. Josh simply shook his head. "Damn, that how you feel all this time? Okay then." he tsked, releasing the brakes as the light turned green. "A'ight. Note taken."

The hurt swirling in his voice surprised her. Rattled, she opened her mouth to speak, but wisely decided to close it back. Because there really was nothing to say. This was the consequence of getting involved with someone without setting clear boundaries; the result of repeatedly holding off the simple task of defining a relationship — nothing but uncertainty and heartache. It was the bed she made long ago and now she had to lie in it.

But oddly enough, that seemed to be the appeal of entanglements; the thrill, the warped sense of freedom to do whatever you wanted to each other with no strings. But intimacy always had its attachments, and Malia had been attached to Josh for a long, long time with no idea how to cut the strings without getting hurt.

"The snow seems to be getting worse," she changed the subject and with good reason. They seemed to be driving into a storm. The snowfall was heavier and the nearly empty highway was turning white. "Are you sure we'll make it into Cleveland like this?"

Her question was answered only a few seconds later, by the flashing lights and flares up ahead. A car wreck, and a bad one judging from the amount of fire, rescue, and police crews on the scene. As Josh slowed the car to a crawl, they were greeted by a gruesome tableau.

The many bright, flashing lights cast a grotesque glow on the crumpled remains of an SUV. A black bag, zipped and strapped to a stretcher, was being loaded into the back of an ambulance. Malia's eyes widened with horror. The mangled car was the same type as theirs, and the driver's seat was covered in blood, a lot of it splattered on the white snow. "Oh no...Babe..." she breathed.

Her voice was tiny. Scared. Josh grabbed her hand and squeezed it repeatedly to get her attention. "Ay, don't look. Look at me," he cajoled, waiting for her to do so, running his thumb over hers to quell her panic. "I'll take the next exit. Let's find somewhere to crash until morning." He cringed. "Bad choice of words. Sorry."

"You don't mind stopping?" she asked, feeling a little sick. There was no way she was going any further with what she'd just witnessed.

"Personally, I'd rather be late gettin' where I'm going than never gettin' there at all."

"I agree. I'll check if there's any available hotels nearby," she offered, reaching for her phone in the console.

"You good?" he checked on her again, his fingers flexing around hers.

"I'm okay. It's just...that was horrible," Malia shuddered. "But you calmed me down. You've always been good at that." She smiled gratefully at him.

"Mm-hmm," he mumbled, as he lifted the back of her hand to his lips in a gentle kiss. He then rested his hand on her bare leg, running it up her smooth chocolate skin. Ironically, her dress gave him perfect access to the sensitivity of her inner thigh, and he allowed his fingers to dance over it.

Malia cast her eyes down to watch his hand disappear under her dress. This was what she liked about him so much; his boldness, his sense of adventure. Only he could dare to touch on her while driving on a dark, sleety highway. "Boy, what are you doin'?" she asked as he squeezed her thigh. She tried to play it cool, tried to act like her skin had not been set ablaze by his touch.

"Keepin' you warm," he affirmed nonchalantly, as he slid his palm over her lace panties, his favorite on her, enjoying the feel of her moist warmth against the fabric. He had since learned that he couldn't stay mad at her for long. "I miss you," he whispered, breaching her underwear with one finger.

"I miss you too," she admitted, jerking as the finger slipped inside of her. "Oh, shit," she gasped, tilting her head back against the leather headrest.

"Phew, you wet as fuck," Josh whistled, eyeing up his ex with a Cheshire Cat-like grin. "Ol' boy wasn't fuckin' you like he should?"

Before she could answer, he slid another digit into her wetness, drawing another moan from her. She moved her legs further apart, causing her dress to ride higher up, and grabbed his wrist with both hands. "Fuck, yeah," she sighed, going slack in her seat.

Maybe it wasn't the brightest idea, Josh realized, as the sound of her wanton moans filled the car. As her pussy tightened around his fingers. He wasn't doing much for his own erect state by doing this, but the look on her face convinced him to keep going. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, keeping his eyes on the road. "How's that feel, hmm?" he asked.

The only response she could muster was another breathy moan while strengthening her grip on his wrist. She didn't want to come just yet, but between his fingers twisting deep inside her tightening core and the added heat rushing through her, she knew she wouldn't last long. She wanted this to last forever, just like every time she was with him; she clung desperately to every second, because each one was always better than the last. He just hit different. He always did.

The spell broke when she heard him curse and he abruptly stopped, slipping his fingers out of her. "The fuck?" she whined.

"Sorry, I had to," Josh explained, pointing. The smoky haze of passion and frustration cleared quickly enough for her to realize they had left the expressway and were now pulling into the parking lot of a hotel. Crossing her arms petulantly, she sat up straighter and pouted. "Goddamn tease. You ain't slick," she grumbled.

"Nope. But you are," he emphasized, holding up his fingers covered in her essence and bringing them to his mouth. "Mmm, sweet and spicy, like always."

His dirty snicker had her pussy clenching again. This man was going to be the death of her.

Parking the Expedition in front of the hotel door, they rushed in with their bags to the check-in desk and found the exhausted-looking receptionist behind the counter. It was clear they'd had a massive influx of people and that she was the only one handling everything.

"You're just in luck. We have one room left," the lady replied when Josh asked her if they had any vacancies. "It's probably our smallest room and only has one queen-sized bed, but it's perfect for a lovely couple like yourselves," she smiled warmly.

"We'll take it," Josh responded, handing over his credit card before Malia could reject it. Given the state of the weather outside and that horrendous crash they came across, it was likely the best, safest option.

They got the keycards and made a quick stop at the nearby Chipotle to get some food. Josh paid again, boxing Malia against the counter with his big frame and frowning menacingly at the cashier who had the nerve to flirt with her. Though there technically was no territory to mark, she didn't mind. Besides, it was cold outside and his body heat was inviting and much needed. Afterwards, they returned to the hotel and made it into the small room that was warm, toasty, and quite clean, making them feel a bit better that they wouldn't be stuck in some Bates Motel-type murder house.

"Last time we were stuck in a room together, we spent all afternoon working out how many pinning combinations we could make each other come in," Malia reminisced as she bit into her burrito.

"Yeah. I remember winning," Josh grinned proudly. "You can have the bed, by the way," he gestured to her. "Imma sleep on the couch, give you some space."

"Why?" Malia gave him a stern look. "The bed is big enough for both of us. Plus, your back will be fucked up if you sleep on that lil ass couch."

She wasn't wrong; the couch felt rather firm and it wouldn't be pleasant. Josh was trying to be a gentleman, but he ultimately agreed since driving tomorrow with a backache did not sound ideal.

After finishing their meals, they settled in, and Malia texted the Talent Relations rep to inform them of her and Josh's whereabouts. Unfortunately, the weather forecast on TV was pretty grim as they were expecting upwards of forty inches of snow. Getting to their destination in time tomorrow would be a tough ask.

Josh used the bathroom first to give Malia some privacy. When he re-emerged, she was stripped down to a short white bathrobe that did nothing to hide that body of hers, giving him a little peek of her voluptuous behind as she picked up her toilet bag.

Fuck.

"Babe, do you got a spare shirt I can sleep in?" She stood back upright, her throat drying up at the sight of his towel hanging low on his hips. She watched the rivulets of water drip down his tattooed chest and felt parched.

Josh swallowed. "Sure, I got somethin'." He crossed the room, reached inside his open luggage and pulled out a 'YEET' hoodie. "This okay?"

He gazed into her eyes, and Malia felt her knees quiver, almost like they were threatening to collapse beneath her. "Yeah, thanks," she smiled, taking the hoodie.

"You called me babe again." There was a small, teasing smile on his face.

Malia felt her face burn. "Oh, um...Yeah. Habit. Sorry..." Lost for words, she quickly departed, silently willing her limbs to not give out on her.

Waiting until the door had closed behind her, Josh sank down on the bed and tried to focus on the TV. He could hear her moving around. Brushing her teeth. Undressing. Rubbing his face, he groaned when he heard the shower start. After their argument in the car and what he did afterwards, his emotions were all over the place, and now they had to share this bed. Keeping his hands to himself was going to be a tough ask.

Keep your hands to yourself, Malia repeated to herself over and over as she finished up her skincare routine. It's just one night. Behave yourself. What happened in the car meant nothing.

Yes it did, the voice she fondly named 'Delulu', debated, He misses you, he said so himself. That's why he acted the way he did in the car. That's why he almost bit that cashier's head off in Chipotle.

She had a point. She recalled the full-blown lust in his eyes as he touched her, the eager movement of his fingers inside her as though he couldn't stop himself. Overall, it felt good to know he wasn't quite over her just as she wasn't quite over him.

Don't do it, her other voice, dubbed 'You Right' because it always was, warned. You're just his plaything, always have been. Why do you want to play house with a guy who doesn't love you like you love him? He just misses the pussy. That's it.

Good point.

But I miss the dick too! 'Delulu' pouted.

'You Right' rolled her eyes. Too bad. Take another shower, a cold one this time.

With a heavy sigh, Malia wrapped up her hair and put on her pajamas for the night. The hoodie was big on her, reaching her thighs. She decided against panties, having made up her mind about the voice she was going to listen to.

She returned to the warmth of the bedroom, instantly landing on the ruggedly handsome man stretched out on the left side of the bed. His favorite side. His gaze flickered from the TV to her, his lips twitching into a small smile.

"You make my merch look so sexy, baby," he commented.

"Why thank you Daddy," she replied, then froze, her eyes wide. Shit, did she just say that out loud? Judging from the heated look in his eyes, the answer was yes. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife as they regarded each other.

Sitting up straight in the bed, Josh clapped his hands. "A'ight, enough of this. Come here," he growled.

She thought he would never ask. She hurried to the bed and crawled towards him. He sat up straighter and reached for her, their lips crashing together before he had finished pulling her onto his lap. All the weeks of pent-up urges and desires came pouring out of them both as they kissed like the desperate, needy souls they had become. They only pulled back long enough to take off his t-shirt before they embraced again. His bronzed skin was warm underneath her palms, the touch of his hands seemingly burning through the hoodie onto her own.

Without breaking the kiss, Josh shifted so that they were lying on their sides, helping her tug his sweatpants down his hips. Once they were gone, he pulled her tightly against him as he slid his leg between hers, draping her top leg over his waist. He then pushed his hands under her hoodie, his fingers digging into her waist to grind her against his thigh. Malia smiled at his surprised gasp, his realization that she was wearing his merch and only that. She knew he could feel the moistness of her core, smearing his upper thigh as their kisses got even more heated. She let him pull off the hoodie, and Josh's eyes blazed with need as he gathered her right breast in his hand and devoured it with sucks and licks. Meanwhile her hand wrapped around his dick, stroking for a few moments before easing him inside her.

"Oh, shit," Josh froze, his expression slightly panicked, "I ain't got-"

"Calm down, I still got my IUD. You good." She kissed his lips and reared back a little, letting him push fully inside her, and he ripped his mouth from hers in a low groan and tucked his face in her neck.

"Fuck, Malia..."

She moaned with him, gripping his muscular shoulders as he moved inside her, and groaned again when his hand scraped down her back to squeeze her ass cheek tightly.

"Mmmph..."

"Yeah, I know you like that," he whispered, slapping her ass this time, his breath hot and heavy against her face. "Say my name baby, call out for me."

"Joshua...Daddy..."

"Mm-hmm, I love it. God, you're fuckin' beautiful," he said, his voice rough with need as he tongue-kissed her slowly, matching his grinding thrusts, sending chills running all over her body.

"Ohhh," she gasped, tensing in his arms, bewildered by her desire for him.

"Relax. I gotchu," he promised with another hungry, borderline sloppy kiss. He was nearing the pit of her stomach with his lengthening strokes, but he wanted more. He held up her thick thigh, automatically sliding him even deeper inside her. A big smile lit up his face as her mouth fell open; he knew she could feel all of it, the head of his dick toying with her g-spot, her breathing quickening as her slick moisture made its presence known with every push of his dick into her.

"Hear that?" Josh whispered, "Hear how wet you are?"

Malia dug her nails into his skin, staccato breaths pulling from her lungs as he rammed up into her again and again. "Shit," she whined, "Aw fuck, please don't stop," she begged, tears gathering in her eyes at the thought of him ceasing his actions.

"I ain't stoppin' baby." He couldn't seem to stop kissing her, doing it again as he increased his speed, his dick all up in her wet pussy. The sensations were dizzying, taking her to another dimension. "Uuuunh," she cried out with a shudder, the flutter of her pussy around his cock sending shockwaves of pleasure through her.

"You wanna come, babe? Wanna come for Daddy huh?" He pressed his forehead against hers, his hypnotic eyes holding her gaze as her whimpers for him grew louder. "Come, Malia," he urged with gritted teeth, his heart pounding from the emotions vibrating through him. "Come, baby girl. Nut on Daddy's dick. You look so beautiful when you come."

Malia heard what sounded like waves crashing in her ears. Immediately her body seized up, and her voice was a high-pitched cry as the pleasure ripped through her. Moaning his name repeatedly, her head fell back and she saw stars as the bliss took over.

Man, she missed being touched like this, kissed like this...fucked like this.

Still trembling, she was vaguely aware of him pulling out, letting her leg down and rolling on top of her. Stroking her face, he stared at her with a mix of wonder and tenderness and something else she couldn't quite determine in his eyes.

"What?" she pressed.

Josh licked his lips, looked away for a second and then back at her.

"I love you."

She expected to be shocked, stunned by his declaration. Instead, it felt more like a eureka moment, like she had finally cracked a passcode she had been struggling with for eons, like the world had at last righted itself after an eternity of confusion.

"What took you so long?" she asked, emotion seeping through her tone.

"I don't know," he confessed, and when her brows furrowed, he elaborated. "I just know I can't do this no more. I'm fuckin' tired. I been feelin' this way for too long. You the only one that makes me feel like this."

"Like how?" she breathed. She wanted to hear it, wanted to know if his agony has been anything similar to hers for the past couple of months.

"Like I'm empty inside when I'm not with you. Even when I'm with someone else, I feel like I'm cheating on you," he went on, suddenly feeling free, unburdened. "I can't stop thinking about you, can't function...I don't just want sex, Malia. That's all good but I wanna be your man. For real this time. I want you."

There it was again, that intensity in his eyes that never failed to steal what was left of her breath. If this was a dream, she did not want to wake up. "I love you too. I wanna be with you. Let's not break up ever again. I don't like not being around you," she admitted.

"Same here," he said, covering her mouth with his. This kiss was so passionate, so deep and all-consuming, that she struggled to hang on to her sanity. She groaned against his mouth as he found his way back inside her with a couple of swift, seamless strokes. Her wetness instantly enveloped him again, prompting his hips to roll seemingly on their own accord. Malia wound her arms around him, holding him as close to her as possible. There was no more talk after that, letting their bodies do the talking, writhing together as if they were meant to exist that way.

"Wrap your legs around me, baby," he told her.

Immediately, she wound them around his waist with her ankles locked tight behind his lower back as he rocked into her. She moved with him, matching his tempo in a sweet symphony. There was no space between their flesh; and whatever tiny space remained was closed off with delicious, decadent kisses with lots of tongue. They savored every second in each other, every gasp and moan they elicited from the other. Her wetness compromised the friction between them as his dick slipped in and out of her with ease that still kept her walls snug and taut around him.

"God, you feel so good, baby," she moaned in his ear, weaving her fingers through his soft hair, anchoring him to her as though fearful that he would slip away at any given moment.

"I can feel you dripping all over my dick. You make me wanna pound this good pussy," he mumbled against her neck, his tongue swiping over her heated skin.

"Then pound it," she murmured, spearing him with a hot, hungry look when their eyes met. "Pound my pussy, Daddy, I need it," she practically begged, her voice a pleading whine.

"Bet." Caressing her thighs for a few seconds, he then propped her legs on each of his broad shoulders. Her gaze met the ceiling, clouded over with lust as he hunched over her, working his big dick in her. All she could see within the bluish hue of the small room was his larger, muscular body looming over her, like a glowing, almost nightclub-like dreamscape. His chest tattoos were a beautiful mural that she couldn't stop herself from worshiping, and she leaned up to drag her tongue along his nipple, flicking the hard bud playfully as she caressed his triceps. She was rewarded with harder snaps of his hips, his balls mashing against her ass from how deep he was digging. Every time she tried to look at it, she would grow weak from the sensitivity and fall back against the bed.

"Fuck, Joshua..."

"Mmhmm, I know it feel good. Your tight little pussy is creaming for me," he rasped. Holding her down to the bed, he circled his hips while buried in her for good measure, making her pussy greedily grip the entirety of his girthy length and wringing moans of pleasure from both of them. Dipping her hand down between her thighs, she rubbed on her clit only for her eyes to roll back as an intense fire lit inside her like a firework. Then, clearly intending to destory her, he sat back on his knees and wrapped his arms around her thighs, holding them to his chest as he thrust faster and harder.

"Oh my god," Malia sighed, planting one hand up against the headboard to steady herself. She could feel her breasts bouncing recklessly with each stroke, felt his long fingers grab one and massage it in his hands, then the other, arousing her even more. His dick pulsed inside her as she tightened around him with increasing frequency. She willingly let him take her as he wanted, because she wanted to feel all of him, savor the sight of him breaking down and plunging headfirst into that secret place of pleasure that belonged to them and them alone.

The tricky part was Josh wanted to take her there first. He switched up again by pinning her knees into the pillow on either side of her head, opening her wide. He fucked her like a man possessed, the force of his movements knocking the bed hard and repeatedly against the wall. His hard, pounding thrusts had her pushing her face into the pillow and screaming into it. They hoped the room was soundproof. Either way, he didn't stop, not until the coil inside her body unraveled, and Malia screamed again as she came, hard and hot, her orgasm flushing through her like a tidal wave. It was the sweetest, the realest, the product of the joining of not just their bodies, but something deeper, too.

Josh must have been thinking the same thing, because when he stopped to stare her down again with those beautiful eyes of his, they glittered with warmth and affection. They gazed at each other, the stunned joy of their shared feelings morphing into something richer, something fiercer. He really did love her, she could see it right there on his face. She didn't quite know how she managed to miss it before.

The air between them thickened as they remembered they were still naked and entwined. Reverting back to their primal, passionate state, Josh moved again, thrusting all up in her dripping tightness. Malia gripped his hips to pull him deeper, her fingers digging into the flesh of his ass as he pounded into her with newfound ruthlessness. The mattress squeaked underneath them, mixing with their moans and whimpers and the wet slapping sounds of their bodies. He was close; his strokes became increasingly erratic, his grunts heavier and more vocal, his cock pulsing inside her pussy and his balls tightening.

"Fuuuck, I'm comin' baby, come catch this nut," he pulled out of her and quickly straddled her torso, stroking his dick in her face. Malia opened her mouth wide and poked out her tongue, watching his gorgeous face twist in painful pleasure as he unloaded in her mouth, thick spurts of his salty sweet cum flooding her tongue. Completely turned on, she rubbed herself with one hand and grabbed his dick with the other, stroking him harder to milk him to the last drop. His deep, throaty groan broke her all over again, plummeting her into another incredible orgasm, brought on by the sheer power of his.

Josh's chest heaved as he watched her slap his dick on her open tongue, coated white with his release. He then ordered in a husky voice, "Swallow it."

Malia obeyed heartily, slipping his cum down her throat then gently sucked him off for a couple of seconds, moaning softly from the unique taste of him mixed with her. Josh fought off the urge to nudge his dick deeper into her mouth and pulled away to lie down next to her. The realization of what had just happened must have hit both of them at the same time, because with one glance at each other, they burst out laughing.

"Damn," was all she had the energy to utter, allowing him to pull her against him as their joint laughter rumbled between them. He fucked the shit out of her. She felt like a brand new woman, even now, as he ran his hands all over her body, gifting her with a breathless kiss to her succulent lips. "I guess Lina's plan worked," she giggled, snuggling against him.

"Yeah," Josh agreed, his features suddenly serious as he carefully tucked a loose piece of her hair back underneath her scarf. "I ain't like how you be pushin' me away, Malia," he grumbled, "Don't be scared of us and what we got."

Not for the first time, she wished she'd been brave enough to express her true feelings. "It's not you I'm scared of... I'm scared of us falling apart if we become serious, and I don't wanna live without you," she confessed.

Josh chuckled and pressed his mouth to each of her palms. "You already can't," he smirked.

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly and smacked his arm. "You don't gotta agree."

"It's the truth though. But like I said, I love you and I'm not going anywhere. I mean that," he promised.

Hearing those three words from him again made her feel all giddy inside. "I love you, too," she whispered, smiling softly against his lips when he dropped a tender kiss to hers.

"How long's it been since we last fucked?" he inquired.

Two months and three weeks, but who was counting? "Couple of months," she answered, keeping it cool.

"Shame on us. I think we can make up for it, right?"

Malia raised an eyebrow when he started to crawl down her body, sprinkling butterfly kisses down her belly until his head was between her legs. Her body flushed with need. "You know we need to go to bed, right?" she questioned, her fingers sneaking into his hair despite her half-hearted protest.

"I know. But this pretty pussy is callin' my name." He winked at her and bit gently on her inner thigh, dangerously close to her throbbing treasure, soothing the skin with a wet lick. Her keening moan was all he needed to hear. "Now lay your sexy ass back and let Daddy eat."

And with that, he bent his head and spread his mouth over her, wiping every rational thought she owned with mind blowing pleasure.

THE END

-----------------

So...did you like it?

Please leave feedback/comments. I appreciate them as they help me improve my writing.

Thank you all so much for reading!

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[punchliiine]

things i've learned through shifting

i don't know what to post so i thought of posting some stuff that i've learned, improved, and simply practiced through shifting. it's not a lot but it's a lot.

so firstly, i thought of introducing some of my hobbies prior to shifting, and then ones that i've picked up after shifting. and lastly provide any details if needed.

I - hobbies

↳ before shifting

↳ ↳ reading

i've been able to read SO many books in my library wr.

i have a huge list of books that i've put off because of school, but through shifting to my wr, i've been able to finish at least 66 out of 117 i believe?

also i was able to find some of my favorite authors through this, like sylvia plath, mahmoud darwish, virginia woolf, khalil gibran.. and honestly, a lot more, but these are the ones that i remember for now.

↳ ↳ writing

in my native language, i've become REALLY good. as for writing in english it's ?!? but i'm slowly getting there.

not showing off, but i was really good prior to shifting. but now, i've become REALLY good, like now i'm able to touch the soul with my poetry. i also learned some tips for expressing 'my' feelings.

one of them is to think about a phenomenon in nature that resembles how you feel, whether it's by colors, weather, atmosphere, movements.. etc. then write about how each of the elements relate to what you're wishing to express. and ever since i learned that expressing my feelings // painting a scene whilst writing feels so, so much easier.

i guess the same can be used for drawing or painting? so feel free to interpret it in your own ways!

the only reason i emphasized on 'my' feelings was because the things i learnt in there were personal to my learning. before shifting, i had scripted that they would match me and fit me perfectly, so they wouldn't apply to everybody if that makes sense? but if you feel like it fits you, then you're more than welocme to use it!

+ i don't take any sort of credit for it since somebody might've thought of it first, i'm only here to share it!!

↳ ↳ drawing - painting

i was able to experiment freely with color theory, perspective, expressionism, symbolism.. etc. and i was able to find my art style! and practice some others i found interesting.

↳ ↳ editing

nothing to say about this one other than the fact that i was able to experiment with so many styles, and i reallllyyy enjoyed it. i also got to watch some of my old edits that have been deleted. (have been meaning i deleted them) 10/10.

↳ after shifting

↳ ↳ sewing

currently in the process of making a cute pair of opera gloves, idk how to explain it but yk the ones that are pitch black by the finger tips and fade as they go up? those are the ones that i'm attempting to make. and so far it's good!

↳ ↳ crocheting

i've recently made a doll i've found online which looks like little red riding hood, and it's cute. also i'm currently making a chibi jjk cat beanie (sashisu the world!!! ๑ > ᴗ < ๑)

↳ ↳ sculpting

i've sculpted hands, like tons of them. and i've used gojo satoru as a muse for at least 100% of them (i am insane about him)

some appreciation for my muse's hands:

can we talk about the fact that his fingers are 6 inches anyway!!!!!

II - skills

it's worth the mention that i've become skillful in most of my hobbies "it isn't necessary to become skillful in any of your hobbies for plenty of reasons, but i aspire to!" i'd say intermediate in most, advanced in a few.

also idk if it counts as a skill, but i have become skillful in all of my subjects. like i have become amazing in math and physics thanks to my study wr <3

as for other subjects i've always been amazing, but with math and physics, i've had awful teachers teach me crucial information, so i was miserable for a bit, but thankfully not anymore!

i know i could've manifested it since i use loassumption all the time, but i love studying, so i wanted to go through the whole process if that makes sense? like i didn't wanna take the shortcut (manifesting) + there's no shame in wanting to take the shortcut.

as for real skills.. yeaaah not yet

III - languages

i've become better in korean.. i can sort of understand people when they're speaking? but i can't speak nor write. but hey, at least i'm enjoying the proces, that counts for something!

i'm aware that there are some things in here that i could've gone on the internet and just practiced // learnt. BUT the way i did it was different, i went to a wr where i got to learn all about my hobbies, skills, subjects, and languages and practice freely without any sort of stress whatsoever + occasionally recieve tips and advice. and it was all free and unbelievably fun!!!

[mcromwell]

Ayo! New follower here. I love your art and your mind set of just messing around to make cool stuff. but I’ve also seen you love been to at least one convention (I didn’t scroll far enough to see more about conventions) and I wanted to ask. How you did it? I really enjoy making art and I would love to make it a career so this boils down to :

how did you do it? And how can I do it too?

not just like first steps but what happens after that? I’m young enough that if this doesn’t work out I have plenty of time to look into other careers before worrying about paying for rent or necessities with money from my future occupation. I know that everyone’s experience is different but I still hoping you can give me a somewhat clear answer.

thank you for inspiring me

(sorry this ask was so long)

Hello there! Thank you for your message.

These questions are large and hard to answer. Being more specific in your questions helps. "How I did it" is very... large in scope. That question could be answered just by saying, "I did it by never wanting anything else and never losing sight of my goal." But that doesn't help you much. So I'll just try to touch on some key points and contexts.

I'm 32. Only in the last couple years has my practice been enough to make a living doing it. I've always wanted this and literally everything I've done in my life has been to get here. I've worked two jobs my entire working life (age 19-now): retail/customer service and art stuff on the side. Because of the pandemic, I got double unemployment and stimulus checks, which became my initial investment into merch and savings safety net to get started. I started therapy to address my fears of asking for help, my negative self-talk, and catastrophic thinking. (Therapy has helped me with my art so much.) Then I was laid off for real in 2020 and hit the ground running with art. I split rent with roommates, I live very very cheaply, and art is my passion. If art for a living is what you want to do and you're happy to make lots of concessions to get it, this career works. It takes a while to get momentum and regular sales/attention-- just don't quit. The more stuff you do the more people will recognize you and like your work.

It would be dishonest to not address my privilege here, too. My parents have always emotionally supported my practice, my friends too, and I got to go to art school with no debt. I did outside of school art mentorships. My art education experiences taught me a lot of art techniques and self-employed skills and that only happened due to the support of my folks. I had resources a lot of people don't. (Which is why I want to help new artists learn this stuff as much as I can; not everyone is as lucky as I am.)

My advice for you if you want to do what I do, which is being self-employed making and selling art and art merchandise for a living:

Get used to making concessions right at first. Your art career will probably not start out gangbusters, so get used to low sales and saving money and working hard. Make things within your means and grow from there.

Fuck around and find out. Try making merch, try making videos, try things you see other artists doing, try everything and see if it works for how you like to make stuff. I learn so much from YouTube, to be totally honest. Artists are good sharers.

Follow a shit ton of artists and see what works for them. Join artist groups and ask thoughtful, specific questions to learn from those already doing it.

Learn how to write about your art. Write about why you make it. It helps make it more compelling to others. "How to Sell Your Art Online" by Cory Huff is a good book to read for tips on this.

Develop a healthy relationship with art-making. If you sit down at a blank page and it terrifies you: address that first. Don't try to start a business if you're still struggling with making art regularly.

In fact, don't start a business until you're really ready. Art comes first. You can easily do art and build skills and do commissions and run an online shop along with working a job that pays bills reliably while you grow into the artist you're meant to be.

Don't pigeon-hole yourself into only one channel: don't JUST apply to cons, try street fairs too. Don't JUST sell online, get your work into cafes as well. You'll see which routes are more profitable/worth the time as you try them out. Eggs in many baskets, you know.

There's probably a whole essay I could write on this. And you're right--mileage varies between person to person vastly. The part of the world you live in, your access to transportation, education, your mental health, what type of work you like to make, etc. Art careers almost never look the same 1:1 even in fandom spaces like furry/anime. If you're self-made, it will reflect that.

I recommend the YouTube channels Rafi Was Here, Robin Sealark, Cat Graffam, and the website The Abundant Artist (again by Cory Huff) for more resources.

Don't be afraid to take leaps of faith. Try everything. Be true to what works for you and what doesn't feel sustainable. Be authentic with your art and stay true to your interests. And good luck.

[iztea]

Maybe you have some drawing tips for beginners?

Your style is incredibly beautiful and it just inspires this thing inside me to grab my iPad and start drawing but unfortunately I have no idea where to even begin

Or maybe you have some recs where to look to learn how to draw stuff?

But I understand completely that it’s your thing and artists should never feel pressured to share all their techniques and secrets, you worked hard on it!

I just really really love your art to the point where I just look at it for 30 minutes straight with this big feeling in my chest

<3

ah it was never about being secretive, i'm pretty open about my drawing process since gatekeeping knowledge is a big pet peeve of mine. It was more like,, laziness because writing a cohesive and helpful drawing tutorial is pretty difficult and i wouldn't even know where to start; i'm afraid i'll get maybe too technical and what have you.

As for tips for beginners, i've shared plenty on my couriouscat so you can scroll through the answers there, i also have some drawing timelapses on my twitter account as well (albeit you'll have to scroll a little)

I'm very flattered you feel that way about my art, it really means a lot to me and i'm glad to have inspired you to draw as well that's awesome and i wish you best of luck!

I actually don't know how different drawing on an iPad is compared to a graphic tablet+desktop, so I am actually pretty clueless in that regard. I think Procreate is the most used digital art app for iPad so you can start by getting it and familiarizing yourself with the UI. I think this step is often overlooked. The brushes and the chosen program can make or break the drawing experience. If you simply find yourself not enjoying Procreate, experiment with other apps or maybe try switching to a graphic tablet, maybe that feels better and is more suited to your tastes.

To be completely honest, one "bad" piece of advice that i should probably keep to myself is to draw something you actually enjoy: fanart, Pretty Girl Portrait(tm), your cat, landscapes etc even if it's above your skill level (becoming obsessed/ fixated on some character from a piece of media also works wonders i'm just gonna throw that out there). The main point is to actually care about your chosen subject in order to get inspired and to have that inner desire of "doing them justice" aka drawing them well. The traditional art learning route probably involves studying the fundamentals, shading spheres and cones and simple 3D forms blablbablah which. Yeah ! sure that's probably better advice but i'm telling you what will make you want to keep going and not get discouraged after a few failed attempts.

As for the drawing subject, I highly recommend having photo references to guide you.. you always need refs it's a recurring thing. My fastest artworks are the ones where I have the right references. the less references the more difficult it is to draw something

As a beginner it is also a good practice to draw OVER your photo reference to get the proportions right ( i'm not talking about literally tracing the contour of a face or limb ( just an example ), but moreso identifying the Main shape which makes up that body part and observe how long is it in respect to the other components, how does it connect to the other parts etc - big difference. Tracing won't help you in the long run).

Another thing you can do is to study your favourite artists and see how They tackle whatever it is that you like in their work. how do they simplify facial features? what about anatomy? color/ light etc and kinda reverse engineer your way through their process. ( but i highly recommend to just keep these practice sketches to yourself, and to not share them on social media- unless you get the artist's permission)

This is how i got into drawing and what i did back then, again, for more technical hands-on information i did answer similar CCs before so with a little bit of stalking you'll find them in no time

I wanna finish this with some resources that helped me:

>youtube guys - sinix, ahmed aldoori, marco bucci, and also just speedpaints in general i highly recommend watching those

>for simplified anatomy i found @/ taco1704 's ref sheets to be very helpful but ........... I'm pretty dry here i just look up refs on Pinterest tbvh

speaking of, here's my pinterest i have a bunch of art related boards board cool stuff overall maybe they can help guide you towards some direction or inspire you in some way idk

ok i kinda suck in the resource department listeN. im starving too just.................. watch youtube speedpaints ok

SORRY IT'S SO LONGGGBGGG i hope it was at least a bit helpful? this was all over the place... I'll try to come up with a tutorial as well but i really gotta be careful with how i go about it. I'll leave you with this for the time being. Again, thank you a lot for the kind words, I really am very grateful and touched esp by that last part about staring with the big feeling stuff eeeeeeeeeeeeee really wow T T that's so lovely and a big compliment thanks ty ly

[ntzsche9]

So, hi! I'm Verne (they/them), practically a queer elder in my 30s, brand new to tumblr (dunno how I ever missed the boat), and I only ever seem to write in the 20 minutes or so between pulling up to work and clocking in, or when I'm putting my toddlers down for a nap but don't want to crawl out of their beds and address the chores I gotta do while they're out of the way. I've written poetry, prose, and roleplayed in the past but got away from it for years and years, and only recently started writing again. I have notebooks and lists of story ideas but the few things I have fleshed out are mostly silly character-based "what if?" scenarios, because those are the most fun to me. Too many of my stories are me simply wanting to write a scene, developing a bit of a world around it, then losing interest entirely. I hope this blog can change that a bit, help me focus on following through or figuring out how to better develop small ideas into something longer.

Interests:

Post-apocalyptic

Near-future dystopias

Scifi/Fantasy (urban) with magical realism

History/AltHistory (especially lesser-known and marginalized stories)

Horror, dark, violent, and mature themes

Queer everything. I can't write heteros to save my life and I'm not all that sorry about it.

Sexy melodrama and smut with too much plot

Fanfiction (I could read/write Fallout stuff all day)

Some Favorite Authors:

Octavia Butler

Nnedi Okorafor

VE Schwab

Starhawk

Madeline Miller

Ta-nehisi Coates

Becky Chambers

Emma Donoghue

Looking for:

Community, inspiration, other writers to follow, and problem-solving tips in storytelling and sticking to stories when things get tough. I really just need some folks to talk to when working through all the things in my head. Open to the occasional tag but I'm not great at responding.

I have plenty more little bits of nonsense in various states of readability, like character backgrounds, alt-ending scenes, slice-of-life banter between characters, etc. These will be posted under the tag #ntzsche misc

Noteworthy WIPs:

Bad Blood - A Fallout Nuka-World fanfic (#ntzsche Nuka-World)

My longest story is a fanfic, but with a cast of characters largely not in the Fallout 4 DLC. I intend to eventually write this in a way that someone who hasn't played the game would be able to easily read.

Lafayette, the son of a 'retired' raider, left his abusive father to find his place in the world and was taken in by an eclectic trauma-bonded found family that inspires him to be a better person and shows him love he is certain he doesn't deserve. When his father comes across them in a raid, Lafayette is given the offer to join him, and he agrees in order to save the settlement and his little brother. Lafayette finds that being with his dad again, and being the son he always wanted him to be, isn't nearly as difficult as he thought it would be. He struggles to maintain the person he wants to be with the person he suspects he is, all while a cast of scheming raiders, wastelanders, and slaves vie for power in the raider city built within the rusted remains of an amusement park.

Salem's Child (#ntzsche Salem)

A background on one of the lesser Nuka-World characters that I got carried away with.

Andrew Rook doesn't look like his parents. He looks like someone they are desperate to forget. Growing up in post-apocalyptic Salem, Massachusetts has it's perks, though. In a fading settlement run by incompetent men who would rather blame the population of feral black cats for their problems than try to solve them, Andrew and his two best friends build a world in their imagination that shields them from the wretchedness of the wasteland and the people they have to rely on to survive.

Hechizo

Another character background that I would love to expand into a few short stories around.

Mateo Zavala was born in the vibrant and tight-knit community of Navarro. His great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother, a pre-war ghoul, is still the ruling matriarch, and it's hard for her not to play favorites when she has over 300 living descendants.

The Crash (#ntzsche Crash)

A what-if real-world rewrite of an event from another story. I just really enjoy writing these two.

Gabe always knew his functional alcoholic roomie would get into a terrible car wreck some day, but he never thought he would be dumb enough to be in the car with him. When the consequences of the wreck threaten to destroy Dave's life, Gabe finds himself doing everything he can to hold those pieces together. The love he harbors for his straight, polyamorous best friend runs deeper than either of them are ready to face, and find that Dave's injury turns their relationship completely on end.

[harmonycorrupted]

Just a reminder that if you enjoy my blog, there's way more and way better stuff on my Fansly!

We can also get to know each other as we talk about kinks and fetishes or play together😏

Best of all... there are plenty of free pics and clips for followers!

If you just really enjoy what I post here or cannot pay me on Fansly, I've also got a tip jar and a Throne wishlist☺️ Every single gift and tip are rewarded with special treats from me😘

[toournextadventure]

Hey Charlie, I'm in a bit of a trouble. I've got a tattoo appointment coming up this Wednesday. It's gonna be a pretty big one on my back, with part of it running down my spine (a red dragon and a black snake all tangled up). I've had a tattoo on my ribs before, and it lasted 1.5 hours and hurt like hell. Now, I've got a whole-day session ahead of me. Any tips on how to take my mind off the pain? And any ideas on how to kill time because I'll probably be there for ages? Maybe some cool podcasts or something?

The only thing motivating me right now is that the pain will be temporary, but the slaying will be eternal

-🕷️

My dude you have come to the right place, day sessions are my hobby and passion and I cannot wait to schedule another one. But be prepared, I'm going to give you PLENTY of options that worked for me, but I'll put it under a cut just so I don't clog up everyone's feed! (Also, this sounds like the most dope tattoo ever, you're going to absolutely love it)

(Also also, since this is basically a tattoo help list, I'm including some general stuff for newbies too, just because)

This 100% depends on your relationship with your artist, but honestly? Sometimes they love to talk and they make excellent distractions. Like, my artist and I will talk nonstop, then we'll chill, talk nonstop, chill, and it works great.

This one isn't as fun, but if you have work? Bring it. Homework, hobby work, paid work, whatever you've got. I've literally taken a conference call in the middle of a session. Again, it's not so fun, but it works phenomenally.

An obvious choice, but your phone and headphones! If you have a portable battery pack, bring that too. But it keeps you filled with games, music, youtube, whatever you can think of. One of my favourite podcasts (and probably the only one I listen to regularly) is "Cults" by Parcast (who also has a wide range of different podcasts too, they have haunted stuff, conspiracy theories, true crime, whatever suits your fancy).

A book! As we are all aware, tattoos take a lot of time. Bring a book or two. I usually end up doing other things, but a book makes a nice change of pace. And if it's a good book, then you practically forget you're even getting stabbed a million times in the first place.

(Just a general tip) bring a backpack with all your things in it! Obviously don't be packin a whole suitcase, but a small backpack with the things above? It does wonders and keeps you with plenty of options. Sometimes it's hard to do one of these things for hours and hours, but if you bring all of it then you can switch it up when you need to.

Those are the best tips I've got to keep yourself distracted! But also, if you really need to, don't be afraid to ask your artist to use a numbing agent if you need it. I did the entire back of my calf in about 9hrs (?) and my artist used some numbing gel for the last 2hrs and when I tell you it worked phenomenally?? Probably the only way my body toughed through that last stretch of colour. Most artists have no issue with it, just make sure you ask! But keep in mind, at least for me, the lack of pain was more of a distraction than anything else

[catkin-morgs-kookaburralover]

hello i want to send some of those drawing prompts in but i know nothing about your ocs. would you mind telling me a little about them? general personality traits, theme song (if they had one), role, and whatever else you'd like :>

owo!!!!!! :D okay SO i have multiple different stories (many many many) but I'll elaborate on the two that are currently most in my mind (apart from the animal-centric one, #taira, which wouldn't work with those drawing prompts)

Um. Putting this under a read more because it's getting long. Gonna copy-paste the under-the-cut stuff into a reblog to my backup sideblog, tho, just in case. Trigger tags are for the second story, and only because they're mentioned as part of it but definitely not in detail.

#adira - the tag goes for both the story as a whole and the main character. in summary my beloved girl discovers the Bible (dystopia which has wiped out Christianity in that location and no internet so very localised an controlled) and has a crisis of faith while working everything out. that's the first book. it develops, but yeah. most of these characters start out in their early/mid teens. may be referencing later events because this series is likely to end up covering at minimum a decade of their lives to a greater or lesser degree.

Adira - has a temper (classic redhead), passionate and intense about many things, somewhat arrogant, very determined to figure out the truth of the world, somewhat a self insert (has ended up completely accidentally very visually similar to me xD ) . I don't know her theme song. She's the main character. I love her so much. I can talk endlessly about her but also I'm kinda mixed up atm with reading over past drafts and how she was portrayed then and how that'll change.

Tom - ALSO has a temper (ends up with significant anger issues/tendency to violence that require a lot of work to get over and nearly destroys his marriage), physically disabled (details to be worked out), has a bunch of health issues, significant self-hatred and attendant mental problems, tendency towards obsession, side B bi. Dunno if he has a theme song as I've found yet. He's a supporting/secondaryish/main character. Becomes one of Adira's closest friends and has a significant role in the first book. Has a nasty history that honestly has ended up more like grooming than anything else (he the victim). Is driven by determination and an iron will that will carry him almost beyond the point of endurance. I love this dude sm. Also he's possibly half Indian? Not certain yet tho. But yeah, I got a lot to figure out about his character. Incidentally he and Adira end up married (and yeah their relationship tips into toxic territory for a while before he gets pulled up short and forced to rebuild it; not entirely his fault but definitely mostly). Obviously I need to work on that bit too but since that's plenty beyond the first book I'm more working on setting up foreshadowing and his character so that he'll develop into that sort. (I love him but he Sure Has Issues.)

Emily - uhhhh she's not particularly fleshed out yet xD She's Adira's adopted sister, but they're not especially close anymore (they grow closer over the course of the books, and were friends as small children). I had an idea for her and then I kinda a) realised it didn't fit with the rest of it and b) yoinked the best bits of her character for a different story which I'll expand on once I've done with these ones xD Anyway, she is good and kind and sweet and gentle and I love her. Her only real faults are rather Jane-Bennet-ish at present, and also that she's too ready to agree unquestioningly with those she trusts. In later books she goes through a crisis of faith and quite literally nearly dies as a result (there's a fun bit in there where the other characters on the scene realise that they don't know if the danger she ended up in was accidental or deliberate (it was accidental) and others go through Many Emotions as a result; they're all in a hard spot at that point with varying mental challenges). I found a theme song for her once but I can't remember what it was. She's a side/secondary character.

Dorothy - Adira and Emily's mother. She's somewhat similar to her daughter, but without some of the emotion to drive her. Pretty cool and calculating, but with a great warmth underneath. She's repressed her emotion for years and years in a mildly abusive family situation (her husband Theo is horrible and I despise him). She helps Adira to figure things out, with the help of a friend she introduces Adira to (Mr Saunders). I feel like I don't have a great handle on her character specifically, just Vibes.

Mr Saunders - he's ended up being a main character of the short story collection I call on here #suh, because two of the five stories (including the longest, at 23k) deal with him as a main character. (That short story collection is to be self-published in ??? once I finish editing it. his stories are tagged #story:wcb and #story:preacher (tho I'm not sure the latter has anything tagged as yet.) Anyway I've got it professionally edited I just need to go through that and then one more round of edits and then it's formatting and printing timeee.) Anyway, he's old and slow and very very gentle and kind. Like Dorothy, there are depths to him. But he loves deeply and has been hurt and yet those hurts slip off him like water. I love him so much and wish I could meet him in real life. He's the only one at the start of the story who is already currently Christian (in secret tho, and his ending is... I have Thoughts on that), though he's introduced mid-story. He's v important to Adira's development.

Neil - this dude has been severely depressed for YEARS okay he's my darling even tho it's mostly his own fault. Originally heavily inspired by Loukanos from S. J. Knight's A Time To series (fantastic 10000/10 would recommend, especially the first book). He's a doctor. He's Emily's biological uncle, her only remaining biological family. He has terrible hurt in his past, and he dwells on it and grows rancid over it. Incredibly bitter and lashes out. Not sure when he's gonna be introduced in-story, I know by what time I need him in the book but I dunno when he'll be introduced. He also has trauma/resentment around Christianity that he has to work through. I need to flesh him out better.

Giselle - we only learn her name closer to the end, when she and the story part ways. Her tag is #the evil spychologist. Not a typo, and for a good reason. Anyway, I adore writing her scenes and interactions with Adira. Shows how much I love writing stories where the main character is aware that they're being manipulated. Her character as herself isn't particularly apparent (she may show up later in the books or she may not) she's more a front for the evil government.

Those are the only main characters I can think of at this instant, but other side characters include Rosalind (kind of love interest for Tom at one point, it's complicated), Elton (can i punch his face can i PLEASE punch his face), Merry (either Adira or Emily's friend from <extracurricular>), Sandra (Dorothy's friend w a family), Rick (the resident Good Atheist), [name] (I forgot her name rn but she was Adira's friend from IMI, becomes an archivist like Dorothy and later meets Adira again. looked conservative and quiet and happy and whatnot in school and when she meets her again she's sporting a smart blue haircut, incredible heels and long sleeves...), and not to forget the twins Adira and Tom unexpectedly adopt with zero notice in like the fifth book xD their names are Faith and Hope. There's also another Faith (hehe spoilers but I love her sm).

oh crumbs I forgot Tom's entire family. Anyway there are a bunch of them. Alison (mother), can't remember his dad's name, and the kidlings are in no particular order Norah, Elizabeth, Katy, Rufus, Andy (he's importanter), Rufus's twin uhhhh can't remember his name, I think that's all the kiddos. I named each of the girls after a character I love lol.

ANYWAY I think that's all the summary of that particular series. moving on to the other which has a much smaller cast and is very character-driven

#vaniah - this tag goes for both the focal character and the story. Basically a story of healing from trauma, partly using the vehicle of an arranged marriage to handle it. It's very strongly Christian, both main characters are Christians and their faith is the only thing that holds them through everything, especially Vaniah.

Vaniah - my boy is Traumatised. Partly this is his own fault/perceived as his fault bc he was pressured into things and feels later that he should've said no, and he deals with incredible guilt and self-hatred. It's an extremely dark story with a lot of dark themes (graphic on-page self harm at least once as well as description of scarring, lots of discussion of suicidal ideation, potential suicide attempt, mentions of alcoholism and a couple of instances of my boy being Quite Drunk, some level of mentions of adult themes and slightly suggestive content, though that especially I will handle as carefully as I'm able). However! there is light hearted stuff in there too and ultimately it's a story of hope and rising from rock bottom. Vaniah loves butterflies and will infodump for as long as anyone wants about them (and other things). I dont really know how to talk about his character because for most of it he's SO consumed with self hatred to a greater or lesser extent. I don't know, I'm not selling this very well xD Alexandra has done fanart of a scene from this story and I'm still obsessed with it.

Emily - I know she has the same name as in Adira's story. These were originally connected, and now she's different. I'm still using this name but that will change in time (possibly to Amelie? idk). She deals with an eating disorder which Vaniah also helps her with. She's sweet and very gentle but has strong feelings. Vaniah perceives her as very pure and innocent, though this in fact is not quite true. She's been through somewhat herself, and her hope and faith are more out of determination than come easy.

I could ramble on about these two forever but I have somewhat done so before probably (you could check the tags. the tag #emily does cover both Emilies tho)

Side characters include: Ben (Emily's brother), Camilla (his wife), [name] (Vaniah's sister), uhhhhh there are probbably more I'm forgetting rn

Please ask me for any details or clarification or ask about anything to do with anything! :D

[6irlpet]

Mm im a virgin and im nervous about my first time can u give me some tips

hmmmmmm ok ok ok ill try

first of all its normal to be shy/nervous but anyone who's worthy as a partner isnt gonna make u feel weird or bad about that. if they do they r not the one!

be safe 😑 similarly anyone who doesnt respect your wishes for things like... condoms, lube, or what u dont want to do, etc etc is not the one!!! never Ever not just for first times!!!! it is OK to not be comfortable with certain things!!!! i know this sounds like elementary advice but a lot of people think they know it, then freeze up in the actual situation :(

wear s/t that makes u feel cute and confident (doesnt have to be crazy lingerie just like. favorite pair of underwear ukno!) and i like to Always shower day of + wash downstairs like 5 mins before sex bc its (1) clean (2) less anxiety on my part

tbh dont build it up in ur head as something that HAS to be perfect and romantic or whatever....... maybe i'm just not a very romantic person (yes) but virginity is not a big deal imo? u wouldnt expect to be good at any hobby with your first attempt, your goal should just be to have fun. and its practice! u get better lol. like unless its the only time you're planning on having sex ever in your whole life it's ok if the planets didn't align or whatever, just learn what worked/what didnt and carry it with u for a better next time!

Have Fun!!!! even when i have someone tied up i love talking/teasing, laughing with them, etc etc... esp since i'm not very dominant and just top 4 friends, i try not to get frozen in my head about what i ~should~ be acting like. i'll go with what feels natural (it all comes easier than you'd think in the moment honestly) and try to channel a bit of what i know they like. but if ur sexy character breaks or whatever , its ok... have fun with it... just be urself fr... i know that sounds corny but its true!! just have fun and anyone who is worth it is gonna giggle along with u. sex is FUN its a connection with someone, an interaction between bodies, making e/o feel good, let it be natural.

dont be afraid to mention if something doesnt feel good? so many of my friends have told me like, "i didnt like when my parter did this / it turned me off or hurt" and i was appalled, like... tell them??? u can move someones hand elsewhere, u can Communicate. when im topping i like to ask 'is that ok? that feel good? can i touch u here?' etc. u can make it sexy by saying it teasingly, but it gives a real window for someone to say if its not.

this isnt possible for every situation but i think it is worth it to have your first experiences b with someone you trust. it doesn't have to be romantic but i think you're a lot more relaxed if you are comfortable with the person. a lot of my firsts were forced/not rly fun, my first Sex was while intoxicated w/ a guy i'd only known a few days + first kink experiences were also random rushed unsafe stuff. i dont exactly regret but i do feel weird about it sometimes and so i've only recently started to be ok with hooking up with people again. via doing so with FWBs i trust and it's been a vastly different experience!!! idk how to describe it, but like knowing we're good and that it's ok and safe and fun and that they're not judging body or whatever, it's given me more confidence in playing + communicating. i used to freeze up if anyone touched me and now im getting open enough to where im considering letting myself sub again, and ok with more physical contact. ofc not everyone has friends who are dtf but no matter who it is, being comfortable with them is everything!!

nothing should hurt or bleed and i'll die on that hill. with plenty of foreplay/arousal and lube and slowly working up a stretch (if ur being penetrated) it shouldn't hurt. example: i hadn't been penetrated with more than 2-3 fingers for months, when i got home recently i tried dildo and couldn't get it in, i just relaxed + worked up with a smaller toy + knew i could go for lube if i needed (i didnt bc i have a faucet pussy but it does make it easier) similarly with anal, u just gotta work up and relax

in line with #7..... theres nothing wrong with using lube. and foreplay IS essential bc when you get aroused your muscles will relax and you'll feel better and more receptive to every aspect of sex not just penetration. i also don't think there's anything wrong with using toys????? a straight girl im friends with said her boyf can't get her off and i told her to tell him to use a vibe and she was like "i don't think we're close enough for that" like girl what the fuck he's had his tongue in your vagina i think it's okay to use a toy 😭 people historically would have gone nuts for the availability of sex toys we have now fuckin shake it up and have some fun!! it's not weird!!!! god straight people and their sex hangups. anyway.

i hope that helps????? tbh i think a lot of these are aimed @ cishet men being awful in bed for the most part but! they can still apply to keep in mind! summary: dont let anyone make u feel weird or bad for wanting things / not wanting things and u should feel comfortable and good and dont be afraid to communicate what u like (give encouragement vocalize that u feel good!) + what ur not feeling (share if s/t hurts or if u want them to go faster/harder or move up a bit or whatever)! literally HAVE FUN AND BE YOURSELF

[earlgreytea68]

hello!! is the merch they're selling online the same they had at the show (excluding the chicago exclusives ofc)? it all looks great

Okay, YES. LET'S TALK MERCH.

The first time I saw Fall Out Boy it was at a festival and so I spent the whole day hanging out by the barricades waiting for them to start, and at one point the nice person next to me saved my spot for me so I could go off and get lunch and then I walked up to the merch tent and bought merch, the end.

So I was COMPLETELY unprepared for the chaos of buying merch at this concert. Now I understand why I was reading about people being in line all day or whatever, and I was like, ...are people trying to buy last-minute tickets? Why are people in line? NOW I KNOW.

SO. I got to the stadium at 6 and I thought that would be plenty of time and it was, they didn't start playing until after 9, so it didn't matter that the merch lines were super-long because I had plenty of time to kill. (Although I wanted to catch the TAI set so I was glad that I found a merch stand with a shorter line and got through in 45 minutes.) BUT they were already sold out of a bunch of stuff by then. So if you really care what you get, I guess yeah, you have to get there early. I thought for sure they shouldn't sell out THE FIRST NIGHT OF THE TOUR but I'm also sure they're trying to create artificial scarcity.

I got one of the Wrigley exclusive shirts, which I really wanted, but the other shirt I was looking for I THINK turned out to be "the tour shirt" that's not available online. Their Instagram seemed to show a shirt that had the dog on it and the lyric "I think that I've been going through it and I've been putting your name to it." I love their shirts with lyrics and I love that lyric so that was the shirt I was aiming for and it was sold out when I got there. Whatever, I wasn't devastated, I got my Wrigley shirt and then I chose the shirt with the stars that's available online (the front of that shirt says "I'd never go, I just want to be invited" and as I said, I love the lyric shirts, and also I think it is so hilariously clever to use that lyric on the front of the shirt listing the tour stops lolololol GOOD ONE, BRONX loololol). But! This would be my advice to all of you (because I know you're all dying to hear it):

If you find the dog shirt, BUY IT, because apparently you can't get that one online. All of the other ones you can get online. And yes, to answer your actual question, all of the shirts online I saw there in person. The only one I don't see online is the dog one, and I didn't see that in person because I'm pretty sure it was already sold out, and because it's the only one not available online I assume that's the "tour shirt" they reference in the post as only being available at the venues.

Okay, so now! More information! I got the VIP package, not the one with the drinks or anything. Really I just got it for the seat. I got so confused by the ticket-buying process that by the time I figured it out, the Ticketmaster dynamic prices were through the roof, and the seats weren't even that good, and I was frustrated and clicked on the lowest VIP package and because those prices weren't on Ticketmaster (I think this is what happened), the seat was better AND cheaper, so it was a no-brainer, I bought the VIP package. (I have no idea how ticket prices/availability look right now, but I guess that's a tip for you, that the VIP package might not be as expensive as you think, especially if Ticketmaster prices are outrageous.)

So the VIP package came with merch which made me laugh because I assumed it would be terrible because: Fall Out Boy merch. It's actually cute! Honestly, their merch has entered a new era, Bronx must have taken a graphic design class. So, in case you're curious about that merch: It was a clear backpack with the smiley-face logo stamped on it; a fantastic cell phone lanyard thing with "FOB" on it; a keychain with "So Much for (Tour) Dust" on it; a coin with the same (?? Is this a thing people collect and I'm just Too Old); and THE BEST THING: A MAGIC 8-BALL.

Let me clarify: I'm no magic-8 ball aficionado. Like, they're not really my thing, that kitschy sort of thing. I know some people love it, and it seems totally on brand for Pete, but I saw the magic-8 ball and kind of shrugged. Today, I was finding places to stash all the merch and I decided to actually fool around with the magic-8 ball and IT'S A SPECIAL FALL OUT BOY MAGIC-8 BALL, THE CHOICES ARE FOB LYRICS. Like, one of them was "Stay thirsty like before." It's somewhat poorly made, the little triangle thing is hard to read (or, again, maybe I'm just Too Old), but it is SO CUTE, I'M DYING, WHAT A GREAT THING, I LOVE IT. So the VIP package was totally worth it for the magic-8 ball, A+, Pete Wentz, if you're reading this, I LOVE IT, WELL DONE.

[poisonouswritings]

heyo!! i’d like to request for the m3 being with an mc who’s a college student (specifically involving art) and has to go their uni through a portal?? tysm ! <33 stay safe dear!

1. Aisogkgudisa pet names (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)

2. I am currently sitting on a hole for a golf tournament and just nearly got hit in the face with a ball so I am very much not staying safe (◍•ᴗ•◍)✧*。

GN!Reader, Good End where MC and co. can travel between universes at will

Felix Escellun

Let's say that you are,, a,,, painter.

Luckily there's plenty of material nearby to use as inspo! The soaring towers of Fathom, the bustling market of Porrima, the gothic spires of Blackthorn Hall, and that's not even mentioning the rainbow of flora Florian's got in his garden

That being said Florian is a painter and I think he'd be more than happy to share some tips with you! That can range anywhere from picking the right palette for the tone of the piece to centering your subject to composition to whatever it is you're looking for.

I've said it before and I'll gladly repeat it, Florian probably makes his own paints and he will loan you some

Felix,, probably doesn't know a lot about painting? Like I think he appreciates art and all, I just don't think he's ever actually done it. But he will gladly take you around Blackthorn and talk about the different paintings there (aka he asked Florian the night before and made note cards except he then lost the note cards so he's kinda just bullshitting)

He probably knows some art museums to take you to tho!!

He does his best to accommodate you however he can. Helps you set up a little studio and find the best supplies and makes sure you take breaks when you need them

Your school is having a showcase and you bring him along,, because he definitely has the aesthetic (and posh behavior) of a Respected Artist, when he proclaims that Yours Is Definitely The Best Here, people listen.

If it's a competition that he casually (jokingly?) suggests yeeting the other entries into the Void. You're pretty sure he's joking.

,,,,, maybe keep an eye on him just in case

Felix,,, in a,,,,,, beret,,,,,,,,,,

Anisa Anka

Anisa my beloved~

We're gonna say you do sculpting! Why? Because I want you all to imagine That One Ghost Scene with Anisa,, with her hair up and she's got some clay on her face and she's giggling as you try to guide her,,, looking up at you with those hungry eyes she gets when she's excited,,,, hehehehehe,,,,,,,,,

Anyways moving on Rivath probably has some unique materials/methods you can use to practice!! And if your class lets you do home projects (I've never taken a sculpting class so just bare with me) then you can totally get help with it.

Azimuth uses a little bit of future sight to help you pick what to do,,,

You can make Anisa little sculptures,,, like a clay bird or something,,,,,, She Is So Excited. Will treasure it forever by which I mean it gets lost in her room about ten minutes later

I think she's super interested in what you're doing!! Loves hearing you talk about it and (if you let her) will sit in your studio to keep you company while you work. Sometimes she tries to make her own stuff but it usually doesn't turn out well. She gets a little frustrated until you remind her that it takes a lot of time and a lot of practice. Maybe share some stories about your earlier disasters.

If you do take her to a school exhibition,, and I highly recommend you do it'll be so fun for her,,, there is a 30% chance she'll go find your teacher to ask if there's anything she can do to help you.

You bring Azimuth and Saaros,, Saaros is shit-talking everything while Azimuth is gushing over everything. Idiots™

Sage Lesath

You're a photographer!

Please,, get Sage his own SD card,,,, he loves taking pictures but he has no idea wtf he's doing so a lot of them are incredibly blurry and you just don't want that on your SD card.

He tries to take a picture of himself but he forgot the flash was on and it blinds him and he gets [] this close to throwing your camera out the window on impulse. And then immediately goes find Felix and Anisa to flash it in their faces because he thinks it's funny

He's more than happy to take you out to interesting parts of town or certain spots in the forest where you can get really nice shots but I just,, don't think he goes with you all that often? Or like he goes with you but he gets distracted and tends to wander around a bit because taking pictures can be a slow process and he can only sit still and quiet for so long.

If you point the camera at him he will do dumb poses.

Loves taking pictures of you!! He tries to take one when you're asleep because he thinks you look adorable but the flash is on and you nearly kick him in the balls on impulse because you think you're being attacked or something. He's proud of your reflexes

You can bring him to a showcase if you want,, but,,, after he (loudly) brags about how good your stuff is, I think he'd get bored pretty fast. Also showcases kinda require you be quiet-ish and that would bug him. If it's a competition then he's perfectly content to wait until the end because he wants to see you win :) and if you don't win then he says it was rigged because yours is clearly the best >:(

[the---hermit]

It's 3. something am but my brain is full of ideas and holidays are closing in by the second maybe on how to gift a journal or some kind of useful stationery for like folks who enjoy this form of art.... cuz let's be honest here this is art and its so damn personal I've never ever seen journals that look alike.

Hello! To do a very specific gift ideas post I would need more time to look for things and more references I think, and I wouldn't have enough time now (I am annotating this on my bujo for next year), but I can write down a few tips on here in case someone needs last minute help!

Gift ideas/tips for people who love journaling:

my top idea is to go in local stores, try to avoid super big chains of stores, this way you might find something unique that the person you are shopping for wouldn't have otherwise found. There's plenty of places with very cool journals, both handmade or just of smaller brands that you don't see everywhere.

if you know well the person you are getting a gift for you can go two ways: either get them something you know they use A LOT, or go the opposite and get them something totally out of their comfort zone. This could be a great challenge for them to try new things, sometimes we need a little push to try new stuff, and that's a gift itself in my opinion.

a personal favourite of mine are highlighters so I could never not recommend getting a nice pack of new highlighters to someone, I am particularly fond of pastel colours because they are amazing both for journaling and for school notes and book annotations.

maybe a nice pencil case could be a nice gift too, there's so many options out there you will surely find something for everyone's taste

a less common thing could also be a journal sleeve, there's book sleeves online that are super cool and protect your book covers from being damaged in your bag/backpack. You could pick one up with the purpuse of protecting the journal of the person you are shopping for.

this is more on the bookish side of things, but it was really appreciated by my best friend last year. I created for her a book annotating starter pack, to go alongside the custom reading journal I made her. I got her a nice pencil, an highlighter, some colorful post it notes and tabs and a tiny additional notebook to write all her favourite quotes on. I got everything in the same colour so it looked really thought out, but it was a quite cheap but effective gift.

going back to journaling, one thing I m considering for this same friend this year is a journaling prompt jar. You could also do this in another format, but it can be nice to just write down very random journaling prompts on pieces of paper for when your friend is out of ideas. You could do a themed thing, like self care prompts with a self care journal maybe.

talking about a self care journal, this is something you could do for a friend with very little effort. You get a pretty journal whatever you prefer, and then you can create different sections for your friend. Write in for them self care ideas, write inspiring quotes in it, create a spread in which they can write down compliments people give them so that they are "forced" to practiced a bit of self worth. When I created one in the past for someone who was really struggling at the time I had also wrote down a very random list of small things to appreaciate in life even in bad days, like the feeling of getting home when it's cold outside, all these little things you tend to forget about when your mental health is not at its best. There's plenty ideas for a self care journal (in the future I could do a specific post, although I don't keep one myself).

one last tip is to just go around stores without a clear idea and see what artistic tools make you think of this person. You see a nice set of pencils in coulours that remind you of them? Get that. Whatever you see that makes you think of this person is probably a good idea, in my opinion some of the best gifts are the most randm. And again always keep in mind that whatevr you get for this person you can probably custum in very easy ways to make it perfect for them. I personally really like to make things as much as I can instead of buying them because I think the time I put into crafting these things for people shows how much I care for them, it does not have to be perfect, in fact it has to be made with love and than believe me it will be perfect.

These are all the ideas that came to my mind right away, I hope it might be helpful for someone. I might do a more researched and structured post next year. If you need help with more specific things send me an ask and I'll do my best to help!

[jaimistoryteller]

Hello! This is your friendly inquiry to answer this ask with whatever you'd like to talk about right now! Whether that be a story you're working on, something you're excited or worried about, or just something random you happen to know.

All the love,

~ toribookworm ❤️

*smiles* it was a pleasant surprise to see the notification for this in my email.

It got a bit long, so I put it under a read more

*blinks* An invite to babble about what I want to talk about, hmmm, *head tips* well. Lately there's a been a lot of stuff going on. Most of which hasn't been good. I've been trying not to stress, but it isn't exactly working the way I want. My insomnia has been flaring up cause of pain *sighs*.

I've been working on coloring pages for my patreon. Here's the free ones I did for Valentine's Day, the rest I've done so far are part of the $1 a month tier. Haven't had anyone sign up in a long while, but hey, I am working on getting my patreon active and stable around my health hating me.

I've also done a little bit of digital art, Stiles/Bucky for Inell's birthday and her series In the Shadows. With it, I used a few new brushes I downloaded, and some new styles I have been trying out. There's been a lot of downloading and sorting of brushes to play with.

I've also made some gimp brushes of my own, which will get added to patreon as well, depending on the brush set, they'll either be early release for my patreons and then public for free fourteen days later. Most were created to make things easier when doing art for the coloring pages.

When I have the energy, I'm gonna test all my Sims4 CC for putting on there as well. I made a lot last year for that purpose, but then couldn't figure out how to clean copy test it. I was doing some cleaning when I remembered I have my old laptop, which does run Sims4 and I can use it. I had gotten it fixed last year, after it sat dead for a long while, in case this laptop goes down again, as it has done that twice due to life going wrong.

Writing has been hard. Well, maybe hard is the wrong word. I open up a doc on the computer or touchpad to write, and the words run the hell away *grumbles and shakes head*. Yet I can hand write plenty. Just means I will have to scan it in.

My muse has been focused on a Peter/Stiles unexpected pregnancy fic *grumbles like frustrated cat*.

I have all these other projects I want to work on, but no *side eyes writing notebook and the muse*. That's the one my muse likes, to the tune of more than 30 front/back hand written college rule paper.

Then when I can physically handle it, I do little things around my house. At least they feel little over all, even if they are huge as far as my body cares. So much pain caused, but I love the progress. I'm slowly getting my house repaired and rebuilt. I hate that every little repair ends up physically costing me hours where I am passed out cause pain, or wishing I was. *sighs*.

I get tired of having to beg for help, yet that is sadly a regular thing in my world. I'm sure others get tired of seeing it. It's sadly part of since commissions and my limited amount from patreon doesn't always cover the bills. I apply for small jobs where I can, but alas, due to health, that rarely works either.

I really appreciate the message and offer to babble. Apologies if it ended up being a bit more than expected, or wanted.

How is everything for you? anything you'd like to babble on?

[missspringthyme]

January 12th, 2024

Travel day! My dad said goodbye to me before work and gave me a really long hug. My sister helped me carry my things to T's car (and then she got locked out lol, I told her where the spare key was but then she used it in the wrong lock and ended up having to call my dad).

T drove me to the smaller airport in my town, which is the airport my dad encourages me to fly in and out of if I can. I don't like to because this often means that I have to take a useless, 20-minute flight to get to the bigger airport in my state before taking my actual flight, which is exactly what happened today, but whatever. The US needs more trains.

T dropped me off, but I forgot to give him his forward kiss I always do when I say goodbye (before we started dating this time (we dated in high school and then reconnected as adults) we went hammocking and ended up talking until very early in the morning. I was exhausted, so he offered to let me spend the night (just friends right!) so I wouldn't fall asleep at the wheel. When I got up to leave he looked so peaceful and it had been such a good night that I was overcome by the urge to kiss him on the forehead. I quickly stopped myself though, because that was an incredibly weird thing to do to your high school ex. So, in my infinite wisdom, I decided that the appropriate compromise was to kiss the tips of my fingers and press them to his forehead. He's insisted I do it when I say goodbye to him now ever since). I'll have to find a way to make up for it eventually.

My bag was 2 pounds overweight so I had to stuff some jeans in my backpack. There is nothing more humiliating than being crouched on the floor of an airport with an unzipped suitcase. All was well in the end, and I got to my gate with plenty of time to spare for my useless flight.

I've been listening to a podcast where this guy reads Percy Jackson for the first time, as my (not ever really) dormant obsession with Percy Jackson has been reinvigorated by the still-releasing TV show.

At the big airport, I grabbed lunch during my 45-minute layover (bagel sandwich and sparkling water) which I managed to finish eating seconds before my group began to board.

The flight was awful, awful, awful. Behind me were 3 unsupervised, unoccupied, very young children. Which, let me preface by saying that I am not one of those people that thinks that children should not be allowed on airplanes (???) and in general I do not operate under the belief that children should be expected to not behave like children to exist in public spaces. HOWEVER, at least one adult should be present on a 12 hour flight.

Additionally, next to me was sat a massive man who had no qualms about placing his legs far past the imaginary boundaries of our seats. He seemed to be in his early to late 30s, and I know with the way I was dressed I look younger than I am. This made it all the more concerning when he began blatantly hitting on me and asking me increasingly specific questions about where I lived. He asked me if Germany was my final destination, which I took as my chance to pretend I didn't speak much English and then let him get off the plane well ahead of me. Absolute nightmare.

I also could not get comfortable so I slept very poorly if at all. When I was a kid, we flew all the time (I'm pretty sure my first international flight was before I was 6 months old), and I loved it. Airports are still a bit of a happy place for me, but I've developed a bit of a fear of flying. Every time I step on a plane my thoughts are filled with death and the cold acceptance of my fate, although I've found not sitting in the window seat helps.

I sat in the window seat on this flight.

[complete-idiot-in-love]

Once Upon a Witchlight: Episode 43 (SPOILERS)

This episode is so good because of the mushroom people curse, I've included some lines my S/I would say and the songs they're riffing off

ANDY AND DEREK SWITCHED SPOTS, I DON’T LIKE IT AHHHHHHH

MUSICAL EPISODE??? MY S/I WOULD BE SO HAPPY

Frost singing rainbow connections YESS, I LOVE THAT SONG

I love it when Andy does his lil dancy dances, he is so gender

Shroombek is a moldy mushroom lmao /j

Imagine my S/I's mush-sona, mushroom with horns lookin ass

Michael Jackson Gideon!!

I love all of Derek's references, bro is so good at comedy

Death metal Gricko is so FUNNY!!

I swear to god if Twig is dead again bc of mushroom shit I will scream

TWIG NOOOOOO, WAKE UP!!!

I love this episode already because of singsong Torbek and Death metal Gricko

Torbek and my S/I would definitely be duo dancing, besties who binge musical theatres are besties forever (more like I force him to watch them w me >:3c )

Gideon is so sad because of his rhythm being stolen, F’s in chat for my fire dad

"Just dance! It'll be okay, gid a do do. Let's dance! And kill that hag fam do do do do!" - My S/I (Just dance)

Bard era in this episode fr fr

"So tell me do ya wanna go, kill a fuckin hag tonight? Run away after we fight? Impossible maybe to you, it's what we gotta do whoa! This is the greatest curse!!" - My S/I (Greatest Showman)

Torbek talking naughty as usual with his "hairy mushroom"

Are we lost in the forest lmao

CANON TORBEK HEIGHT? HE'S 7FT?? (If Andy has mentioned this before, I'm fuckin stupid /j)

Gricko trying to day-o (The banana/beetlejuice song) the bird and therefore getting disadvantage on his roll is so FUNNY TO ME, LIKE HE WOULD USUALLY BE SO GOOD AT ANIMAL STUFF BUT WITH THIS MUSICAL CURSE HE SUCKS ASS!!!

PLUS 8??? GRICKO IS OP AS HELL WHEN IT COMES TO ANIMAL SHIT (makes sense tho cause of the whole “druid w an owlbear daughter thing”)

“Torbek! Is a big hairy mushroom!” is gonna be my new stim phrase I swear to the gods

In my mind, their mushroom colors are: Torbek = Pink, Gricko = Blue, Frost = Green, Kremy = Purple and Gideon = Red (I'd be yellow because my two fav colors are already taken)

“This is little green to purple bird” YES, I LOVE THAT NICKNAME FOR GRICKO AND I LOVE THAT IT KEEPS COMING BACK!!

“Help! We are stuck as shrooms, I don't wan’t to sing to death!” - My S/I (Stop! in the name of love)

Oh no, pixies! Please Gideon, don’t fuck them!

“Bumpin noses” sounds very suggestive coming from the bird

“I've got candles and rations galore, you want makeup? I've got plenty!” - My S/I (Part of your world)

Is she a phoenix now? Because that's cool af Nikkie

“Roll Athletics or Acrobatics” HAHA JOKES ON YOU I'M PROFICIENT IN BOTH!!

“They'll bust in your mouth, watch out” HAHAHA YEAH AND SO DOES FROSTY!!!

BUM BUM BUM BUM BUM BUM BUM “ARE YA READY??” ARE YA.. REAAAADY??” I love my alligator dad so much

Torbek and Gideon are pixie attracting CHADS

Mikey's commitment to still trying to say deez nuts jokes is so good, like Gricko would definitely forget about the fey pact and try to do it

“PULLON DEEZ NUTS!!” *Gricko and My S/I high five*

Kremy being really good at makeup is CANON IN MY HEART. WE GIVE EACH OTHER TIPS ON FOUNDATION AND EYELINER AND SHIT (We both have disguise kits)

Torbek reminiscing about Reada Flaugh and Gricko reminiscing about Busty

YOOO, ARE THE WITCHLIGHT PIXIES FAKE???

Torbek is a teenage boy with his horniness and libido /j (I still love my bestie tho)

THE BEEZLEBERRIES MAKE A CAMEO YESSSS

GODS DAMN IT KREMY, DON'T HURT TORBEK FOR MORE “WITCHES BREW”

Frost and Kremy talking about meta stuff in their voices just makes me think of an “Actors Au” where this is all a movie that they’re acting for and ITS SO FUNNY TO ME

Torbek, dear. NOBODY WANTS TO SEE YOU “Squeeze out some Torbek juice.”

Torbek’s one hard no is house piss kinks?? Bro is wild fr fr

Torbek and Andy are so deranged, I love the gremlin activities

YOOOOOOO NAT 20 FOR TORBEK!!!!!

Torbek eats a cigar and my S/I has to find the fey equivalent to bleach for their eyes after watching him “Milk” himself

Alligator husband offers to make fire husband uwu death whey protein powder, very cute

CARLFISH RETURN YESSS (also carlatafish omg!)

Pixies love my fire dad (-_-)

Kremy and Gideon are a poly couple where Gideon gets all the babes and then Kremy swindles them out of their money /j

Disgruntled wife Kremy is so damn funny

Divorce arc for my dads /j

Gideons home depot asshole XD

Family dinner of Carlfish :)

Uh ho, Frosty teleported us in his sleep /j