#I shall improve on my background work

[scrimblyscrorblo]

Demon Sanegiyuu <3

Any background constructive criticism is very much welcomed, tis the bane of my existence, yet, I am determined to improve!

Face close-up

[theroyalyandere]

i love your writing soooo much!! if it's not too much trouble, may i get some headcanons of the yandere emperor & a commoner/fallen noble darling?

I'm answering this request because this just made me feel things 🫢

Warning: this work contains dark content. Mentions of alcohol abuse, mentions of harassment, and gambling addiction, yandere, mentions of death, some graphic description of dead bodies, mentions of trauma, kidnapping, physical assault, torture, mentions of blackmailing, assassination

Kindly scroll away if you do not wish to interact with this post or my blog. Remember this is only a work of fiction and shall not be taken seriously!

authors note: This is actually pretty tame because I want darling to fall in love with yan!emperor. I also made this gender neutral for those who have been looking for content like this. I wanna improve in writing smut.

yandere!emperor x commoner/fallen noble!darling 18+ smut

A little bit of background, your family used to be an established noble house but due to some conflict the previous emperor and the court had taken away your family's title.

The noble family you belonged in was a prestigious name throughout the land, the fall of your house surely caused a lot of catastrophe in your life.

One day you're living lavishly being pampered by your servants and family then the next you're stripped of your title as a noble with hundreds of people as witnesses.

Your father was so devastated he drowned himself in agony alcohol. Your mother had begun to partake in gambling. Your siblings had either become criminals or worked at brothels, truly a fall from grace.

Seeing the destruction and misery that had fallen upon your family, you still tried to do your best to live as an upright citizen of the land.

Despite the numerous whispers you hear, the taunts, and sometimes the harassment from those with two eyes following your every move.

A few years later, the previous emperor had passed his crown to his only heir, the Crown Prince Alastair. A man beloved by many with his aid, the empire had flourished through his genius mind.

You on the other hand, had moved away from the capital, away from the judging stares and malicious mouths you encounter. You managed to live your life and survive through hardship further solidifying your will.

You accepted the fate bestowed upon you and live your life in peace.

One day while washing your laundry at the riverbed, Emperor Alastair has stumbled upon you while he was out on a hunting trip with some nobles accompanying him.

You were minding your own business until an arrow was shot on your way ultimately landing on the poor hare in front of you.

You look up and see a dashing man grinning down at you, an amused glint in his eye as he introduces himself.

He thinks he had seen you before but could not pinpoint when and where but for him, Alastair could not believe he had coincidentally found a beautiful person such as you.

He believes that this is destiny, you are the one he will love and worship in his lifetime.

You are equally charmed by his gentlemanly gestures, quickly ensnaring your heart as you were captivated the same way as you did with him.

You converse for a little while until a group of nobles that accompanied him had appeared where one of them had recognized you.

The noble sneered as he started to mention who you were and started to degrade how desperate you are which effectively makes you cower a little.

The noble had mentioned that Alastair is the emperor startling you that you did not know he was the new emperor making you feel even more ashamed.

Little did you know, Alastair had a dark look in his eyes. Disgust and rage running through him as the noble continued to talk down on you.

You were going to be his beloved, the one who will rule by his side until you're all frail and gray.

Alastair stepped between and stares down at the noble, subtly insulting the noble's own lineage making him regret his mistakes.

Alastair then turns to you, his change of demeanor surprised you as he suggests to accompany you. You admit you were charmed by him and agreed.

He stayed at the village you live in, spending most of his time getting to know you completely winning your trust and affections.

At the last day of his hunting trip he had asked you to go back to him to the capital.

Even though you were reluctant and something has been nagging you to not go with him but due to his charms and you believe you were in love you followed him back to the capital.

As the carriage carries you away, you remembered the noble who insulted you on the first meeting with Alastair.

You curiously asked him and Alastair only smiled and replied that the noble had already gone back to the capital a few days early.

He tells you to not worry and only pulls you closer to him.

What you did not know the man who insulted you was already a decomposing body in the woods.

After a few days, you arrived back at the capital making you anxious due to the trauma.

Alastair felt you tensed up and tried to soothe you with his words and strokes on your skin, distracting you from time to time.

Hiding behind him from the stares was proven to be futile, as he is the emperor, it is natural all attention would be on him.

As you two were walking inside the palace, the servants and nobles lingering and passing by kept their eyes on you and they all began to glare and whisper again.

As you enter the throne room, you and Alastair were greeted by the former empress and emperor who immediately locked eyes with you.

Both of you bowed before the dowager empress and the former emperor, their eyes staring holes right through you.

Alastair rises with grace and a smile on his face. Your face falls as he introduces you as his lover. Everyone in the court gasped and the former emperor's face curled into anger.

His booming voice echoed throughout the entire room making you shake in fear.

He suggests that you should go back to where you came from or else you would tarnish the imperial family's great image.

Alastair chose to fight his love for you even though you haven't confessed to each other yet, you believe that you two had a connection.

Tears began to swell in your eyes but you would not want to let anyone see them fall so you ran away from everyone not knowing where your feet will take you.

You find a secluded place where you sit down to process what happened, questioning yourself whether you truly made the right choice to follow the man you love.

A few minutes later, Alastair finds you and embraces you tight against him.

He apologizes for startling you and declares that he truly loves you. From the bottom of his heart Alastair, is deeply in-love with you.

His father may call him obsessed but no one ever knows what he really feels. Anyone who thinks about separating you from him shall be eliminated.

He tells you not to care about what others say and before you say anything he cuts you off with a deep kiss which leads to you being brought to his chambers.

You strip each other out of your clothes feverishly, grabbing each other's flesh.

Alastair devours your lips in a breathless kiss, a string of saliva connecting you two as he parts away.

He looks down at you with lust and devotion evident in his eyes. He tells you that you're beautiful.

His hardened cock twitches against you, making you feel more aroused. The sight of his large cock makes you drool.

The precum oozing at the tip and the veins decorating the sides makes you want to worship him.

So you asked him to lay back and worship him. At first, he refuses to do so but when you start to stroke his cock he relents allowing you to go down on him.

As you start to worship his cock with kisses and licks, Alastair thinks he's going to go insane with how much pleasure he feels from being teased by you.

Eventually you take his tip into your mouth, curiously swirling your tongue around him before taking him inch by inch until you can't.

Your hands wrap around what you can't reach and you do your best to pleasure him. He starts to lose his composure at the sensation of your warm mouth wrapped around his cock.

He will surely lose his damn mind seeing you make eye contact with him. He couldn't help but hold onto your head as he nears his peak.

He loves the gagging sounds you produced and although it was sudden, you can't deny you loved how he took control.

Alastair brutally thrusts his hips into your warm mouth until he pulls out to paint your face with cum.

You gasp for air when he releases you, feeling your arousal intensify at the feeling of his cum dripping down your face.

He became hard again and this time he got on top of you. Alastair groans as he tells you how much he has waited to touch you and feel you.

He pushes inside you making you arch in pleasure. He fucks you mercilessly for the whole night surely making the whole empire hear your screams and moans.

The next day a servant came in and was shocked to discover the mess that your little endeavor with him caused.

Since then people knew that both you and the emperor often slept with each other causing chaos and solidifying your title as his lover.

There had been a time where he was supposed to meet another noble to become his empress. You were caught being fucked by him at the garden where the meeting place was supposed to be.

The poor woman had to see you being wrecked by the emperor.

You then earned a reputation as the Emperor's whore, a rather derogatory term which bothered you a little.

Alastair became more insatiable sometimes going at it for several hours at risky places.

He also went against his father and continued to cause ruckus.

The former emperor could not separate you from Alastair, he needed to take drastic measures to make you disappear.

Days later, the palace held a huge ball where you were invited at. You enjoyed your time sticking to Alastair, not giving a fuck about anyone and anything for as long as you're with him, you're alright.

Later, Alastair was called urgently making him grumble for being separated from you.

As you were walking towards a secluded balcony, you were suddenly hit in the head making you black out.

You blink your eyes until your vision clears and in front of you were soldiers looking down at you.

They began to beat you until you coughed blood and your body bloomed with bruises.

You were tortured until the sun rises, with your soul feeling hollow. They kept you in captivity where they would mistreat you badly you could not lift a finger.

A day later, you woke up with screams ringing in your ears. A loud bang came from the exit of the cell you were held in. There stood Alastair wearing an armor covered in blood.

He sees you and feels his heart being crushed into pieces at the state you're in.

Everything becomes a blur when he gently cradles you in his arms and guides you away from the cell.

He takes you back to the palace where he commands everyone to take care of you.

Alastair confronted his father who was behind your assassination.

Without a word, he slays his father where the empress dowager screamed in horror at the gruesome sight. Alastair then slays the older woman.

That day blood bathes the whole palace with the amount of bodies that experienced his wrath.

Everyone who he deems to take you away from him is eliminated.

Terror began to spread while at the same time he loomed over you watching your condition.

You slowly healed but every little mistake made by the servants and healers resulted in death.

One time a servant made a loud noise, which triggered you. The servant was immediately beheaded by Alastair himself.

After a while, he introduces you before the people as his official consort by marrying you, ending any marriage proposal sent to him.

Your family found out you were crowned consort and tried to pester you about it. Alastair deems them unworthy and blackmails them to keep them away from you.

In the end, he got you despite still being a little broken. He vows to nurse you back to your old self to the best of his abilities.

For now, he will hold you in his arms and love you till the day he dies.

[scientia-rex]

Long ask. I didn't see that you had answered anything similar.

How do I do activism? Yes, I could Google it, but I would rather learn from a stranger with claimed yet unverifiable experience on Tumblr than from a stranger with claimed yet unverifiable experience anywhere else, and I'm here and so are you and we can talk and have a [para]social interaction. I won't bore you with a condensed autobiography, but I have a lot of experience fixing mistakes, not unlike being a physician, but far less noble, what David Graber would call a "duct-taper". It's partly what led me to socialism. I fixed mistakes but could not fix the root causes and, when I investigated those causes, I ran into structure. I couldn't explain the human behavior I witnessed as human nature, because it wasn't my nature and, as far as I know, I'm human, so the only explanation I could come up with was that the structure of the company I worked for created the problems I was trying to solve, and I had no power to change that structure, and no desire to join the psychopaths failing up the corporate ladder. I expanded my thinking outward and saw the problem inherent in capitalism and all the associated -isms and -archies, all the while trying to figure out what I could do that could possibly change any of it. I dove into progressive politics, read theory, consumed all the lefty content I could find, and thought, and keep running into the same problems. But even if the root causes cannot be addressed, the effects still need to be, because the effects are people, hence activism.

How do I talk to congresspeople? I email them about issues, but am frankly afraid to call them. Shall I get voice mail, or does a person pick up? If the latter, I'm assuming it will be a secretary. I don't want to be mean to a person answering phones. I've been one of those people getting yelled at or threatened because of events I did not cause and could not possibly prevent or change and, maybe I'm oversensitive or have PTSD or just a hyperactive amygdala, but I cannot overstate the damage those negative experiences cause. Sure, in the grand scheme of things, the lives that can be saved or improved outweigh a few people's hurt feelings or possible psychological trauma, but I would prefer not to turn this into a trolley problem if at all possible. Maybe it's a stupid question. Maybe I'm overthinking it. I can be charming and I have no lack of empathy; I can politely disagree. Shall I have to argue with anyone? Or is it a thank-you-for-your-participation-I-will-tell-the-congressperson-have-a-nice-day situation?

How do I get a job doing good things for people? This is somewhat pressing as I quit my corporate job five years ago, to have what turned out to be a midlife crisis, and have been living off savings (that are running out) ever since. I want to help and don't want to be ashamed of what I do for a living. I've always been able to do anything I've ever tried to do, but I'm 45 with little formal education or qualifications, and am thinking it's maybe too late to go back to school. Most of the non-profits I see seem like little more than scams. And perhaps the most serious complication: I'm a loner, more out of habit than inclination. I'll spare you the background, but I have no connections and no idea how to make them, and I don't believe I have any particular skills so valuable that should confer an immediate advantage or demand for my labor, but then again I don't know what is in demand.

It's OK if you can't answer some of these things. I simply have no one to talk to about them who can give any actual advice and figured you might. Thanks.

How to do activism: The first thing you need to know is your axe to grind. It was easy for me. I've been out since I was 13, nobody ever believes a girl is bisexual, it's always "you want attention" or "you're secretly a lesbian." That was in 1997. I went through hell and I'm bitter about it. So when I realized I liked medicine, I realized I could turn my life into an extended revenge arc by moving home and telling everybody it's OK to be gay. Two birds, one stone. I work with a woman who didn't get her axe to grind until about three years ago. She realized she was fed up with people abandoning dogs. She's one of the most active volunteers at the local shelter now. She's saved a lot of dogs' lives. She didn't start out knowing anything about it, but she told the shelter she wanted to volunteer, and they've helped her grow through the rest of it. My husband works with the local food bank, because his mom's neighbor (who is a family friend and sweetheart) wrangled him in to serving on the board, so now in addition to board meetings once a month he goes in sometimes to do things like help his mom's friend unload trucks. Sometimes the cause picks you, sometimes you pick the cause, sometimes you are the cause. And no matter what the cause is, someone else is already working on it. Someone else already cares deeply and if you show up ready to be hands on and help out, with humility because you know that you don't know everything, they will help you learn how to be effective. I started out in medicine by volunteering at the emergency room near where I lived. I pushed a linen cart around and restocked gowns in rooms, and when I couldn't fit any more washcloths into drawers I cleaned doorknobs. One of the nurses once told me she really appreciated that I cleaned all the doorknobs, because it wasn't getting regularly done. I am in medicine now because of many, many people I asked for help and who helped me because they wanted to contribute to justice and equity in medicine, whether for queers or rural people or women. This is, and has always been, a combined effort. Alone we beg, together we bargain.

Calling elected representatives: Oh god I know, me too, calling strangers is the LITERAL WORST. I'm 40 and I'd rather pepper-spray myself than argue with a human on the phone. Wait until after hours and you'll get a voicemail. I like to leave voicemails that start with "My name is Dr. Rex, I'm a constituent of yours, and I VOTE, and I'm calling about ____." That's honestly about all it takes--when I was hanging out with the lobbyist she told me they keep lists with tick-marks for how many calls, emails, etc., they get on a topic. Calls count for more. The more effort you have to put in, the more engaged they know you are. So call, but if people scare you (and the people who pick up are almost always nice, if you do get a person, and they will 99/100 times say "thank you for your call, we will pass your concerns along to so-and-so"), call at night.

Going back to school is probably unnecessary. Spin your past experience aggressively and start applying to nonprofits. (You "took time off from the working world in order to sharpen your focus on what matters most to you," which will be whatever this particular group does.) It's OK if you pick a bad one to start with; most of them are shit-shows, and lots of them still accomplish good things. Nonprofits are a bloodbath when it comes to actually being an employee--they know that part of the compensation is the sense of living ethically and they will use your altruism against you--so keep your resume updated and be prepared to bail if grant funding doesn't come through, but most areas have food banks and pet shelters and human shelters and jails and medical clinics and hospitals (for every doctor who works at the local hospital there are at least 10 support staff by the numbers, and they are utterly critical and always under-staffed). Sometimes if you start by volunteering somewhere, once they realize you're dependable, you can get a job there. I am zero percent kidding about working for a hospital, clinic, or jail, by the way. Those are places I know well, and there are always civilian jobs available. You want to make a patient's day better? Be the front desk, front line staff who use the right pronouns and cheer them up.

I think it's completely reasonable to have procedural questions about how all of this works, and I am grateful to you for giving me a chance to talk about it a bit. Please feel free to ask any follow-up questions. And for reference, when I was just starting out in research at a time when the market for research-trained people frankly sucked, I applied well over 300 times and got well over 300 rejections (I was counting) before I ended up with a job that I loved (even though it was hellishly stressful and I made just barely more than minimum wage for working well over my alleged, salaried "hours") and felt like I was making a positive difference for the world with. And from there, I kept making changes as I realized what I wanted and needed. Just keep doing it. You don't have to feel good about every step, you don't have to know what you're doing, just keep putting one foot in front of the other as you try to figure out what will make you happy. Because nothing else is a good proxy for happiness, and happiness, for a whole lot of humans, means finding something meaningful to do in life. Helping others. Be okay with changing, be okay with sacrificing who you are right now for the sake of who you can become. You've survived four decades on this bizarre and cruel planet, and you have inherent, intrinsic worth as a human being. You deserve your own kindness.

[wholesomefluffdaddy]

Wednesday's new court mandated therapist is having her keep a journal of her thoughts and feelings. Wednesday finds this to be a complete waste of time and decides instead to use it to record her observations of her unusual roommate Enid Sinclair. Wednesday POV.

——————————————

At the behest of my newest court mandated therapist I am to keep a journal of my mundane daily activities. She believes this frivolous and time wasting activity will 'allow me to gain new perspective and be more reflective.' I find this to be merely tedious busywork.

At first I assumed this to be a lazy invasion of privacy. A way for me to do her work for her. Presumably she would assume to find heartfelt confessions of a confused and addled youth. Yet I have been informed that even that is expecting too much. She says she does not even intend to read it. I do not see what would stop me from simply falsifying the activity in question save for the fact that she wishes me to choose some day at random to share a snippet from.

To see the depths of her indolent work ethic I decided to ask for clarification as to what she wishes for me to record. I should not have been surprised by her answer of 'anything that stuck out to you that day or made it special.' I find nothing extraordinary out of my monotonous days at the academy. Not since the Hyde disappearance and end of the Cragstone bloodline. Each day is dreadfully predictable, dry, stale, and safe.

Well, except for the ongoing enigma that is my roommate Enid Sinclair. A case study really ought to be completed on her. There is no rhyme or reason to her madness and she continues to perplex me. I have therefore decided to conduct my own by recording her strange occurrences as part of my journaling assignment. For she is certainly the most unusual and unpredictable part of my day.

Before I begin my observations, I feel it relevant to provide some background information.

Enid Sinclair. Werewolf. Age: 18. Hair: Blonde with lurid pastel blues and pinks. Eyes: Cerulean. Height: 5 ft 6 in. Relationship Status: Single.

Family Bio: Enid Sinclair, one of five children. Youngest and only daughter of Esther and Murray Sinclair. Full werewolf. Until recently was unable to fully shift into wolf form or in her words 'wolf out.' This inability to 'wolf out' at an early age is the source of much strain between her and her mother Esther. The relationship has not improved since Enid's complete transformation under the Blood Moon. Her relationships with her father and brothers appear more amicable.

Out of purely academic curiosity I intend to study if there is any correlation of her strange behavior and the phases of the moon. Perhaps this shall provide greater insight to-

[archandshri]

9th feb '24 - [arch] characters, interactions and emotion - making a mini webcomic

Gahhhh Shri this has been an absolutely crazy couple of weeks!!!! Hope you are doing well :)) First of all, WOW! You have a lot of goals, and I’m sure you’ll get them done! I’ve worked a lot on my graphic design during the process of making Winter Wellbeing. If you wanna see a blog post dedicated just to that, I can do so! It would be cool to compare notes on the approaches we take for graphic layouts. If you wanna share your knowledge of camera skills when you build that up that would be awesome 😭😭

It’s been a tough few weeks, art wise. I have been reflecting on my process, motivations to create, the ego and all the baggage that’s lumped into the creative process for me. It turns out there’s a lot. I took some space from my illustration practise (literally for a weekend!) and began to realise how dysfunctional it is. I’ve been writing a lot about that so there may be a larger piece of writing coming about that at some point (no promises!!)

But for now, let's talk about little successes!

I’ve been playing with some characters for a while but I’d hit a bit of a block with the plot. I realised the expectation of having a finished project of high quality soon is unrealistic, and an unhealthy expectation to put on myself. I rarely give myself time to play with concepts for a long time and let the characters, plot and interactions evolve naturally. Maybe this in part came from sticking to the short university module turnaround. I noticed that that short turnaround was causing a lot of block, so I have decided to bench it as a comic for now and focus on using it as a playground - falling in love with the characters, creating stories and drawing them for fun. Maybe years down the line I’ll make them into a comic - we shall see! 

I *tried* to do hourly comics day this year and it didn’t quite work for me. I think I made 3 comics? And then got distracted with a bigger project that ended up taking a week or so to complete. Let’s have a look at it, shall we?

[you can find the full version here]

First of all, it’s based on an unfinished fanfiction I started a couple of months ago, which was mostly bad, but there was one nice scene that I liked and wanted to expand on. I started by having a look at the script I wrote and thumbnailing on the iPad. I’m away from home at the mo and usually would prefer to do most of my artwork traditionally, but because I don’t have access to a scanner, the whole process was digital this time. A lot of the pages got scrapped because the dialogue wasn’t necessary, and I’m not drawing pages that aren’t necessary.

some more development screenshots

I thought a lot about posing during the process, acting the scenes out in my mind and sometimes physically, really understanding the emotions of the characters, why they’re saying what they’re saying, their tone and how to convey that though their body language and expression (i find grian really annoying normally [affectionate] but I want this grian to step on me).

Pearl was hard with this because she’s quite erratic and unpredictable in this series, so I wanted her to switch from raw explodey anger to playful jabs at Grian. I’m hoping this comes across as somewhat insane, rather than tonally off and inconsistent. I did super enjoy drawing her and her explosive nature though, especially in comparison to Grian’s coldness.

I played with levels and monotone colour too - I’m not working with multiple colours much at the moment so I’m able to focus on things like values composition, characters and backgrounds. My skills limit the kind of stories I can tell currently, so I’m working to improve those foundations. Maybe when I’m back in the riso studio I can play with colours a little more.

Colours - despite the simple pallete it gets a bit nerdy here.I stuck to specific flat percentages for most of it - Pearl’s hair and Grians jumper are 60%, Grian’s hair and Pearl’s cloak are 20%. Then I added a 14% layer for shadows, using a ahrd blend eraser tool for highlights, making the images quite dark. I fill a layer with texture from Forystr’s riso brush for procreate, and turn it into a 40% opacity colour dodge layer. This gives it some much needed texture and makes the lighting feel low and nighttimecore. It also pushes the values to look really nice - I tend to be too scared to push them by myself.

I tried a few different colour layers to get a *vibe* but settled on a low percentage riso blue in a colour layer. All layers besides the riso blue are in a riso black, colour picked from a riso colour pallete. I learnt these tools - using percentages to get good values - from working with risograph. I really recommend having a look at these techniques and doing some monotone work. It's really improved by character designs, page layouts and compositions.

That's all from me today, though I have had MANY other thoughts over the past two weeks about creating, but perhaps we'll dive into them another time. If you (or anyone else) has any questions, hit me up with a reblog or an ask and I will get right to it. Lovely to hear from you! Hope your art is going great too :)) Arch :)

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

If we're gonna do this we gonna do it right!.... Song fic (or headcanon; whatever fits your mood) of Silver & Deuce trying to set Lilia & Mama Spade up for a date; cameo of "Kiss the Girl" moment from the OG Little Mermaid >:3c

[Referencing this unofficial blog event!]

*makes a banner that looks like a little kid bashing two of their dolls’ heads together* I decided to use Lilia’s Clubwear look for the banner since that’s the closest thing to “casual clothes” he has. I also threw in some… guest stars, shall we say, to spice up the situation! Kronk voice) Oh yeah, it’s all coming together 😎

I wrote headcanons again since I'm already working on quite a few longer pieces in the background. I went wild with this one, so I hope you enjoy!

Curiouser and Curiouser...

Deuce regularly spoke with his mom over the phone about the recent happenings in their lives. What he didn't expect was for her to announce that she was visiting the town on Sage's Island tomorrow. "I've been improving my computer skills, Deuce!" Dylla told him proudly. "I've been doing that instant messaging thing that's all the rage with you kiddos. I even made myself an online friend! I'm going to meet him in town. I'll come see you afterwards, okay?"

Well, that just sent Deuce into an existential crisis. Sure, his mom was a tough, independent woman that could fend for herself, but he had a tendency to fret for her wellbeing, especially knowing what he put her through in his delinquent phase. What if the "online friend" was a total creep or even someone dangerous? She deserved nothing less than the best company (and anyone that so much as looked at her the wrong way would soon find Deuce coming at them full throttle to slug them in the face).

He can't focus during lectures or on his homework at all. Deuce just keeps fidgeting and pacing back and forth, his thoughts wracked with worry. At some point, he can't contain himself and blurts everything out to Ace (first mistake).

Ace decides to pounce on this opportunity to tease his roomie. "Dude, she's definitely meeting a secret boyfriend for a date. You'd better start preparing lines to kiss ass to your soon-to-be-stepdad."

"MY MOM WOULDN'T DO THAT!! N-Not without telling me about it at least..." Deuce insists--but as irritating as Ace is, his immature jokes only feed the paranoia. Was it possibly true? Was his mom seeing an unknown man, considering bringing him into their family?! Those thoughts swirl in his head and cloud his better judgment when he turns in for the night.

The very next day, Deuce makes a beeline to the town to put his nerves to rest. I'm just going to watch them to make sure nothing weird's going on and that mom stays safe!! He's in such a hurry that he barely registers Ace shouting after him, "It was just a prank, bro! I didn't think you'd actually take it this seriously!", nor the startled Silver (+ a bird friend resting on his shoulder) and angry Sebek that he crashes into.

Right as Sebek starts on a fresh tirade (“Watch where you’re going, human!! Have you no regards for your seniors?!”), Deuce shoves right by him with an, “Aaah, I don’t have time for this! Mom’s in a pinch!!”

"What NERVE, running off while you're being berated for your negligence?! GET BACK HERE, I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!!" (And so Sebek gives chase after him)

"Sebek, wait..." (But he's already long gone, and too frenzied in his pursuit, that he doesn't pay his fellow knight any mind.) "... I wonder what all that was about," Silver sighs. I should follow them to make sure things don't get out of hand.

He's a few steps down the road when he hears someone fast approaching from behind. Who should appear but an out-of-breath Ace. "Hey, Silver-senpai! Did you see Deuce going this way?! Sheesh, can that guy run! Took off so fast, I couldn't keep up..."

"I did. He ran into town, and Sebek after him."

"Great! That's all I needed to know, thanks!" And then Ace, too, is gone. (Silver, pure soul that he is, incorrectly assumes the best of him. If Deuce and Sebek both leave campus without getting the right permissions for it, they could both get in trouble. Ace is so considerate to go and help his friend. He's really living up to the Heartslabyul spirit and creed.)

The four boys eventually find each other again in town (Silver trailing after Ace, Ace tracking down Sebek by his loud voice, and Sebek locating Deuce, who is shadily staring daggers at a pair window shopping).

Sebek’s back to shouting at Deuce, Ace is telling Sebek to can it, and Deuce is ignoring them both. "Who's that guy mom's with?! I can't see too well from this far away, but I can't get any closer in case I'm spotted..." Deuce grumbles to himself.

“Hold up, lemme see!!” Ace nosily butts in, squinting at the duo in the distance. “Huh, it kinda looks like Lilia-senpai from this angle, but I must be wrong... right?”

Silver looks where Deuce and Ace are, and his heart nearly stops. "F-Father?!" The word is out of his mouth before he can reel it back in—Sebek’s face is affixed in horror at the slip, and the Heartslabyul boys absolutely lose it.

“Whaaaat?! I-If your dad is my mom’s date… then… th-then… Silver-senpai and I will become stepbrothers?!”

“Forget that!! What I wanna know is, why does Silver-senpai’s dad look like a carbon copy of Lilia-senpai in a different hairstyle and punkier clothes?!”

“WHAT NONSENSE ARE YOU BLATHERING ON ABOUT NOW?! Hold your tongue, cur! You know not of what you speak!! C-Clearly Silver’s father does NOT resemble our esteemed Lilia-sama in any way, shape, or form!!” Sebek bellowed angrily. “TELL THEM, SILVER!!”

“Er… yes, that’s right. I’m afraid I don’t see the resemblance at all. They are nothing alike."

(The Diasomnia duo had been totally blindsided by this turn of events; when Lilia had told them earlier that he was going to meet up with an online friend, they hadn't expected it, in actuality, to have been a date. Silver had thought Lilia was going to meet his long-time gaming buddy, Gloomy Samurai, in person, not a classmate's MOTHER.)

“Are you both sleeping with your eyes open or something?! That SO totally looks like Lilia-senpai,” Ace protests—but Deuce (bless him) is somehow 100% convinced. In fact, this realization just fuels him even more!!

"We should leave. It would be rude of us to intrude on their private time together," Silver tries to suggest--but no, Deuce won't back down at this point.

"Silver-senpai! ... No, future stepbrother Silver-senpai!!" Deuce says very, VERY seriously, "Don't stop me now! I have to do this....!! I have to make sure your dad's the right man for my mom."

Sebek begins to raise his voice again, but (shockingly) Silver puts an arm in front of him, silencing the first year. Silver's expression turns very fierce, matching the hardness in Deuce's eyes. "I can assure you, my father is a good man. He would never bring harm to, nor disrespect, anyone. I apologize, but I won't allow you to remain suspicious of my father. If he wishes to court another, then that should be his prerogative, and I fully support him."

But like a boulder, Deuce's determination is difficult to shift. "Even if it's you asking me to step down, I won't!! This is important to me. My mom is important to me!!"

Those words seem to strike a chord with Silver, whose features soften. "... I understand. If that's the case, then prove your resolve to me, man to man--and I will demonstrate mine." ("Ohoh!! Silver has thrown down the gauntlet!! What do you say, human?! Do you accept his challenge?!" Sebek cries in the background. Ace eyes the situation warily--how quickly his teasing had spiraled into something serious.)

"I gotchu." Deuce slams a fist into an open palm, grin wicked--his delinquent side coming out. "We'll throw down, get our parents to show off their best attributes to each other."

"It's settled then."

"We'll make their date go smoothly!! That way, we'll see just how much of their good points' come out and if they're suited for each other or not."

"Agreed. It is simple."

"It's so obvious!"

"How did you guys even come to THAT conclusion?! You totally skipped some steps there,” Ace groaned (amidst Sebek's way-too-interested chanting). "You guys rubbed your collective two brain cells and that's the best thing you could come up with?!"

The boys shadow Lilia and Dylla for a few hours, but nothing that interesting happens. It’s mostly them talking and sightseeing (plus the occasional bad pun, which sets Deuce's mom into hysterics), not really doing anything inherently romantic. Ace starts to sweat, realizing the hole he’s dug himself into. If they figure out this was all based on a bad joke, then he’d have an upset Deuce and maybe even Silver and Sebek wailing on him. If he doesn’t turn the tables soon, he might be in a world of hurt.

“Wow, would you look at that! They must be really shy!” Ace hurriedly comments.

“That’s strange. Father isn’t normally like this. He’s very free-spirited. I wonder if something is wrong…”

“Maybe Deuce’s mom is such a bombshell that he’s all tongue-tied!!” Ace elbows Deuce in the ribs, only to earn a slight glare back. “We should try to do something to move things along.”

“… I got nothin’,” Deuce confessed.

“Seriously? Alright, I guess it’s up to me then.”

“JUST A MINUTE,” Sebek thunders. “Who died and made YOU the love expert?! How do we even know we can trust your advice?!”

“Uh, news flash numbskull: I’ve actually had a girlfriend before so I’d know the kind of junk chicks are into! Besides, what would you know? All you ever kiss is Malleus-senpai’s—”

“Do NOT use the Young Master’s name in vain!! It is this exact kind of brash behavior that explains why you’re without a partner now!!” Sebek smirked as he folded his arms. “I, on the other hand, am well-versed in matters of love thanks to Lilia-sama’s mentoring and the romance materials I’ve absorbed in my spare time.”

“Like hell you are! Hearing about it and reading it is totally different from experiencing it in real life!!”

While Ace an Sebek squabble, poor Deuce is trying so hard to brainstorm and Silver’s starting to doze of again. That’s when his head bolts upright from a peck on the cheek. His bird friend peers right into Silver’s eyes as if to say, “Watch this!”

The bird flies off and snatches the cap from Dylla's head. There’s a big commotion as both she and Lilia try to retrieve the hat, but the bird easily avoids them and retreats with them closely following. Silver automatically recognizes where the bird is leading them and urges his classmates to come along.

As he suspects, the love guru bird guides them all to a lagoon far off from the town and teeming with wildlife. It drops Dylla's hat into a small abandoned rowboat by the shore, which Lilia scoops up and replaces on her head. He’s not bothered by the chase—his eyes sparkle with wanderlust, and he mouths something to her, waving at the boat. It’s an invitation to ride out with him, which she agrees to.

Lilia bows like a faithful attendant and gestures for her to step on. She does—wobbles at the instability of the water that the boat is upon, and Lilia swoops in, steadying her and leading her by the hand on.

He goes afterwards, nestling between the oars and startling to propel them to the center of the lake. They grow smaller and smaller, until… “Crap, they’re going to go way too far into the water for us to keep up with them,” Deuce curses. “How are we supposed to give them support like this?”

That's when Sebek gets surprisingly smug and declares that at times like these, one should create the right mood with music! "In the old days, the nobility of Briar Valley would sing sweet serenades to win hearts!! This lake is the perfect location for it, as the still waters will carry voices well." ("Oh yeah? And how are we gonna get them to serenade each other in this day and age, dumbass?" Ace asks cheekily.)

"Simple!" Sebek straightens the lapels on his jacket. "I SHALL BE THE ONE TO PROVIDE THE ROMANTIC AMBIENCE!!" This sends Ace into a laughing fit that hits so hard he doubles over, clutching onto his stomach as Sebek clears his throat, preparing for his performance. Silver quietly slips his hands over his bird friend's ears.

Out on the lake, Lilia's pointing to various constellations in the sky and telling the tales associated with each. Dylla's eyes sparkle as he regales her with the heroic exploits of the demigod Hercules, the firefly that fell in love with a star called Evangeline, the star that brought a puppet to life, the great kings of the past, the second star to the right--named for the boy who never wanted to grow up...

Deuce isn't ready for it when Sebek belts out the first note. It's ear-splittingly loud and scratchy, like a poor animal on its deathbed croaking its last word. The boys collapse to the ground, shielding their poor ears and shouting for Sebek to stop.

Dylla grimaces at the sound. "Did you hear something?" she asks Lilia. He simply claims, "No, nothing."

"You're screwing this up!" Ace hisses at Sebek. "There's gotta be some other way for us to make music."

"Wait, I've got it!!" Deuce says--and with the wave of his magical pen... "Come forth, cauldron!" It lands in front of him with a colossal THUNK, and while the rest of the boys stare, Deuce looks pleased with himself. "It can work as drums!"

"I won't be bested by the likes of a human!! If you're going to play the drums, then... then... THEN I WILL PLAY THE VIOLIN!" Sebek summons the instrument with his own magic, only to be stopped by Ace.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I heard from Epel that you suck at the violin! Can't you pick something else?!"

"THE YOUNG MASTER IS SKILLED AT PLAYING THE STRINGS, SO THAT IS WHAT I, TOO, SHALL PLAY!! I REFUSE TO COMPROMISE ON THIS MATTER!!"

"Tch. You never listen to anyone, do you..." Ace heaves a sigh. "Well, whatever. I'm not about to waste more energy arguing. Just playing the instruments from here won't do much, so I'll use my wind magic to amplify the sound."

“We have percussion, strings, and winds then. All that’s left for a romantic song is… words.” Silver looks at each of his classmates in turn. “I will accept this task, since I’ve yet to be assigned a role. There is one love song I know of from father, so I hope it will suffice.”

The bird on his shoulder tweets, letting the boys know he, too, will lend his help. With the flap of his wings, he takes flight once more, spreading word of their cause to the animals in the surrounding area. They rally like a performance troop, fanning out through the lake and readying for a musical number.

As their discordant song swells up, propelled by Ace's winds, the lake comes to life with sweet birdsong and humming fish. Silver gathers his breath and releases it, singing the words to a song once performed by the friends of a mermaid princess. "There you see her, sitting there across the way..."

"I'm sure I hear something this time," Dylla says, craning her head to look around the lake. "Someone's playing music and... singing?"

"Really? I don't hear it," Lilia says, giving the oars another row. As they pull up from the water, Dylla startles at the frogs that stand upon the oars in a neat line. They look like they've assembled for choir, ribbiting in harmony until Lilia dips the oars back into the lake water.

"Something strange is definitely going on here! How can you not hear it now?" (He shrugs.)

The boat drifts along to an area blanketed by willow trees. Two storks swoop down, parting the leaves for them to enter. When the leaves fall down, they're curtained away from the rest of the world, secluded with one another. There's only each other, and the soft glow of fireflies warming them.

Lilia stops rowing the boat. He checks to make sure the coast is clear, then leans closer to Dylla, a knowing grin at his lips. "Sorry! I didn't want to ruin the boys' fun so I went along with it and pretended to be none the wiser. We should be safe now though--they can't see us thanks to this shroud." He gestures to the willows draped around them.

"My hearing is quite sharp." Lilia cups an ear, as if to demonstrate. "It sounds like Silver, Deuce, and... Ace and Sebek, two of their classmates! Sebek in particular is difficult to not notice--his voice is very loud."

"What are they doing all the way out here?"

Lilia laughs softly. "It seems there's been a bit of a misunderstanding on their part. Someone has convinced them that this--" He waves at the space between them. "--what we have here, is something more."

Dylla face settles into a solemn expression. “Oh no, I’m sorry that Deuce is causing you trouble. He’s probably got it in his head that I'd be happier if I found a new husband and jumped at the first other single parent he knew... Deuce gets overexcited sometimes and doesn’t know when to stop once he’s started. My boy can be as stubborn as a mule, but he shouldn't be putting pressure on you to feel a certain way."

"Don't worry! Silver's doing the very same." Lilia lets his head rest on a shoulder as he looks out at the lake. “I haven’t given much thought to finding a significant other myself. Happiness isn’t inherently tied to marriage after all. It’s something we all seek out and discover for ourselves.”

Dylla finds herself smiling a little at Lilia's words. In all the time she has spoken with him, he's mostly been silly--but he also knows when to pull back and to speak seriously. There's a sense of comfort and security to Lilia.

"It's funny, isn't it? Our children are nearly adults now, yet they're still as innocent as they ever were. They wish for our happiness so much that they've taken it upon themselves to make it a reality. There is a simplicity and a selflessness to that. They mean well, they're just going about it in their own way. We can give them stern talking-tos when we return, no need to get to it now."

"... You're exactly the kind of role model Deuce needs in his life."

"Be careful what you wish for, dear," Lilia says with a wink. "I just might sweep you off your feet. I can't help it if you fall for me, you know? I'm too cute to resist."

"Hahaha, now you're just getting smart with me!" Dylla playfully shoves him in the chest--a little too hard, not recognizing her own strength. Lilia wobbles, the boat wobbling with him. He grips it to steady them both, but they're already teetering, and... SPLOOSH!!

The boat tips over, dumping both Lilia and Dylla in the icy waters. Luckily for them, the lake isn't that deep so while they're sopping wet and shivering, they're still safe.

“Are you okay?” Dylla calls out to Lilia. He responds with a laugh, splashing her with water. It’s a direct hit on her face!! Wiping off the water dripping from her features, she growls, “Alright, I get your game! You wanna play? Then let’s play.”

Back across the lake, the boys’ song had finished. Deuce shades his eyes and gazes at the willow trees. “… How do you think they’re doing in there?” Deuce nervously wonders.

“OBVIOUSLY LIL… Er, I mean, SILVER’S FATHER THAT IS DEFINITELY NOT LILIA-SAMA MUST BE THE CAUSE FOR HER SWOONING!!”

“Man, just say that you think the date’s going well. That’s way too many words for what you actually want to say.”

Silver strains his ears and listens. The soft sounds of nature are punctuated with laughter and squealing beyond the weeping willows. His father, and Mrs. Spade, and the joy they experienced in each other’s company. “I think… we don’t need to worry.”

And so the hectic day ended happily ever after.

[shen-daozhang]

ooh i saw your tags in the post about ppl hating female characters for the same things they love about male characters, and i thought about sqt vs jgy, so i wonder what you think about both of them! (if you feel like answering! it's not like a 1:1 comparison)

*vibrating* Yea I like those characters a normal amount why do you ask!! (Also I had a super busy week at work and I kept thinking about this ask and monologuing about it in my head, so thank you for the enrichment in my enclosure)

(very messy thoughts incoming!)

Ngl, I never considered how they are similar until this ask, and there are a lot of ways that they are! A background that includes abuse, being seen as less-than for the circumstances of their birth (SQT as a Butterfly Boned Beauty Feast, JGY as an illegitimate son of a sex worker), both gravitate towards powerful men to protect themselves, both are navigating the confines of society trying to move upwards, again, in order to protect themselves. Also both use torture (or at least the 0.5 timeline SQT does)! So that's a fun little similarity.

Now, a big difference is there is the element of revenge in JGY's actions on top of the base need to survive (and a desire to thrive in a world that looks down on you), and I think considering his intelligence he would have gotten away with his plans if not for the completely buckwild re-introduction of WWX back into the plot after his death. I personally think SQT is just focused on survival, and even when she is cruel to Chu Wanning in the 0.5 timeline, I believe she does so because considering TXJ's own treatment of CWN she thinks that is want he wants, and doing so will improve her standing with him (which, sidebar, I am always floored by people who hate on SQT for hurting CWN while they woobify TXJ). Her accusation of Ye Wangxi is only done in an attempt to survive, and I think should be viewed in the lens of the danger that Mo Ran's planted evidence places her in - she's a known Beauty Feast and you know in the world of Erha the second she is out from the protection of Nangong Si her life is likely literally over.

SQT is also just not as smart as JGY, which isn't a slight towards her, JGY is obviously brilliant on many fronts. But I think there is an element of SQT batting above her level, and that leads to her downfall in both timelines. Another glaring similarity is the fandom reaction to them and their actions being a smidge... shall I kick the hornets nest and say hypocritical especially when compared to the actions of the main character? Or other characters in the story who get woobified? (I will also throw Ye Bingchang from Till the End of the Moon into this category). At the end of the day, they are people who are just trying to survive in a deeply messed up world in the only way they know how. Now! Are they both innocent of any wrong-doing because of this? Of course not! That's what makes them interesting and why I gravitate towards these types of characters. The TL;DR: of this is essentially, "people doing fucked up stuff to survive in a world where you have to do fucked up things to survive? It's more likely than you think!"

I will say the fandom's feelings towards JGY has chilled a bit lately, but people were nasty towards him back in the day. Unfortunately, people still are towards SQT and I don't see that changing. I actually ended up including her in my 0.5 fic because I was tired of seeing fics that she either didn't appear at all OR was killed off in a way that was obviously done with malice on behalf of the author. Now she uh doesn't meet a happy end in either of my fics where she features but she's actually a character I really enjoyed writing, and I hope I did it with some sense of sympathy.

There was more I wanted to say but this is already long so I shall post this before it withers further in my drafts! <3

Also gonna link my own fics in case anyone is curious since I mentioned them. SQT appears as a character in this one here - my take on "hanahaki but worse" which has a sad ending - and her death is an inciting incident in this one, an AU where Chu Wanning is the one who got the flower and has become a zealot trying to cleanse the cultivation world (a WIP but I will finish it!).

[zoeykallus]

Hi ZoeyKallus,I love your works especially My Beloved Enemy. Could you do a Hc on the Batch with Howzer as a bonus. On their first times with the reader for whom it is also his first time. PS: I don't see Crosshair as a bastard on the contrary I think that when he loves the reader it's entirely without showing it in public.

Hi! Oh thank you!

The Bad Batch x Reader - First Time HC's 2

Warning: Suggestive / Mention Of Nudity /Mentions Of Sexual Intercourse

Hunter

You are both virgins and it's time to make the first experiences. Hunter acts very instinctively, he is the type of man who does or decides a lot based on his gut when it comes to such things as intimacy. He may be a little clumsy at first like most, but unlike most, he learns very quickly and can improve directly during your first sexual encounter. His advantage; he perceives through his heightened senses much faster what you feel, what you like and what you don't and if you are enjoying yourself.

Basically, this gives him the opportunity to be much more sensitive than most men. He is quite passionate from the start, a wild kisser, a lot of physical contact, his hands are everywhere, he will probably automatically take the lead even if he doesn't really know what he is doing yet, but that comes automatically for Hunter. You could say he is a natural.

Echo

Things are very bumpy here. Echo is super shy and you are both inexperienced. The first touches are accompanied by little accidents and embarrassed giggles. It takes quite a while for things to click and for you to actually be at it. He will learn, you both will, but it will take time, Echo is way too shy and reserved and it is hard for him to let himself go, so the whole process involves a patience game.

But he tries hard and he enjoys your closeness, he just takes a lot longer than everyone else to get things going to some extent. His caring and loving nature makes up for it quite well. It is worth to have patience.

Wrecker

Unexpectedly, he is a real natural, also in terms of foreplay. Somehow you just fit together wonderfully, even intimately, there are very few bumpy moments, the whole thing actually works out almost flawlessly from the beginning. He is patient and very loving, you are almost not nervous, because he is so incredibly sweet.

Of course, the first time is not perfect, but much better than expected and Wrecker is very curious and ready to learn more and new, everything that makes you happy, shall be fine for him.

Tech

Be prepared for the fact that he wants to prepare everything. Your first time will definitely not be spontaneous. He plans the location, all the items you need, a time frame and everything else. He's read up on information, tons of it, because even if he doesn't say it and you might not see it on his face, he's super nervous.

But as soon as you start and he tries those foreplay techniques on you that he learned or read, he's all over it. He tries his hardest and he learns damn fast, he has stored every one of your movements in a split second and knows which touches you find the hottest. He knows all kinds of tricks so that you can have fun and reach your desired goal at the same time. You will spend a long time in the bedroom, but it will be hot and you can safely sit back, Tech has everything under control.

He won't admit he's a virgin, at least not right away. It will be feverish and bumpy and he will finish way too early. He'll be incredibly embarrassed, he'll expect way too much from himself.

Crosshair can't take this lying down though, he'll try his hardest to make you have fun before he tries another round. He will want to start over and over again until he actually manages to satisfy you at your merge. This could be a long first night.

Hozwer

The guy is super romantic from the get go, romantic and passionate. He will surprise you with rose petals in bed, fruits dipped in chocolate and moody background music. He tries hard and he is a natural when it comes to kissing. Somehow it is easy to let yourself fall with him, because he is demanding and gentle at the same time.

Maybe not everything works out perfectly, but he still ensures that it will be one of your most beautiful experiences of your life. He is very attentive and anything but selfish.

@rintheemolion

@andyoufollowyourheart @clone-whore-99

@brynhildrmimi @kaliel2310

@misogirl828 @tech-deck

@meshla-madalene

@chxpsi

@thebahdbitch

@nahoney22 @ladykatakuri

[tales-from-nocturnaliss]

Yesterday, I rekindled my love of writing.

I'll admit: I've struggled a lot for a while. I feel like, since becoming aware I'm autistic and thus no longer having to search for answers, my brain decided that writing - exploring characters, namely! - no longer was a necesity. After all, it's through exploring them that I figured myself out. And what is left to figure out now, when finally I make perfect sense to myself?

I needed to find another reason for me to desire to write. There's some things I want to get to, like a novel I've been meaning to write since 2011, and yesterday I thought: okay, let's try to work on a large character story I need to improve in order to have all the background information for said novel. This story is a decade old, in a style I no longer use - more flowery and omniscient.

As I struggled to start because of the prospect of having to rewrite basically everything to match my current style, a thought occurred to me:

Do I have to rewrite everything into my current style?

Turns out that I didn't. The old style works so well for the story, it would've been an absolute shame to change it - but also an impossible task. So, instead, I decided to absorb the old style and blend it with my current skill level. And happiness ensued.

If I've taught myself something, it's that perfect PoV isn't as important as seamless continuity. I know I notice PoV issues, but does a reader? Does it even matter, as long as the story flows as one whole? In my head, the story's like a movie: different camera angles, still the same atmosphere and tone. Sometimes a close-up is required, sometimes a wide angle is what drives the story forward. But it remains the same story.

So now I get to obsess over the flow of stories and the accuracy of character portrayal while eating up their delicious feels. It's actually a peaceful place to be in. And my brain seems eager to continue writing like this, so, at least for the time being, this is what we shall be doing.

[moonfeatherblue]

It's Worldbuilding Wednesday! So I'm raiding your Ask Box to ask to tell me about my Roman Empire: Food and Culture.

How does Food impact or feature in your work?

Alternatively, you can tell me about your equivalent of the Roman Empire lololol

Thank you so much @amaiguri for this lovely ask ~

I shall do my best to describe the food situation in my main magical series, particularly as it relates to the protagonist.

This superhero fantasy series is called Sh!t Just Got Magical. There's a lot of food mentioned in this series. As in, a LOT of food. Food plays a huge role in this story due to its importance to Kazaio "Kaz" Szuo and his sparkly new career.

Just a bit of background info to help set the delicious foodie scene.

The main setting is the city-state Seszun (Seszun is both the noun and the adjective), located on the Seszun Peninsula. Now a predominantly green city, this near-future urban metropolis spreads across the entire peninsula and is built in and around (the re-vitalized remnants of) natural features, most notably Chaiuin Forest, the Cheosaing Mountains, and the Sousz Salt Flats. Since the global unification movement began, Seszun has been considered the symbolic capital of Earth.

Kaz is a 21 year old boy who was born in Seszun to birth parents of non-Seszun background. He has a large family including his foster mother, foster aunt, three half-siblings and two foster cousins (it's complicated, but I promise it makes sense). His aunt has a very good income (she's a nutritionist, funnily enough), but given the size of the family, money is frequently tight. They'd probably be considered a middle-middle/lower-middle income family because of this. Kaz has historically had difficulty holding down a job. Without his family, would be 100 percent broke.

Now, onto the food!

Kaz is now a magical boy, hired by an intergalactic Alliance to defend the universes from an evil alien warlord and his "Liberation Force". Being a magical boy presents a few interesting challenges when it comes to diet, the main one being Kaz has to significantly increase his food intake. This is not only to support his intensive training and resultant increased muscle mass. When Kaz transforms he becomes immortal (this does not mean he cannot die; he's just much harder to kill). This immortal form has an incredibly high metabolism rate. If Kaz does not eat appropriately before transforming (and he may be called on to transform at any time), his immortal form can obliterate all his mortal reserves. As such, particularly after strenuous battles, de-transforming can be dangerous - becoming mortal again when his body has been all but stripped of nutrients. Under more usual circumstances, de-transforming gives Kaz a serious case of the hero munchies.

To avoid malnourishment and fainting spells (or worse) after battles, his support team are currently developing an easy-to-digest nutrient cake that Kaz can eat post-transformation. They haven't yet found a recipe that won't turn his fragile human guts inside-out, but they're working on it. Until then, Kaz guzzles calorie boost bars and Re-Hydrate Plus (an electrolyte drink) post-transformation, then hunts down the fastest, biggest, healthiest meal he can - or his space cat mentor does, anyway. Kaz would prefer battered squid sticks.

This might go without saying, but given his magical job and all the training involved, Kaz also has to improve his semi-sub-standard diet. He'll get right on that…

Although Kaz has a sizeable income now, he's used to buying food on a budget and generally sticks to that (he is both a creature of habit and a lover of bargains). This means lots of convenience stores, vending machines, and fast food restaurants, as well as his mom's cooking. Even when he starts trying to eat healthy, he doesn't often venture beyond these options - unless food trucks or street food carts are involved.

One more point: Kaz actually likes to cook and he's not half bad. We'll see him cook for his family quite a few times throughout the series ~

Here's a bunch of food Kaz has eaten so far. This gives a bit of an idea what an everyday person on a budget (who makes slightly unhealthy food choices) in Seszun eats.

Cracklebombs (popping candy chocolate; bought at a drug store)

Crunchables (dried seafood snacks; bought at a drug store)

Sticky butter rice cake skewers (bought from a street vendor)

Rice

Beer (predominantly rice lager)

Kelp soup (Mom and Kaz both cook this)

Chilled tea (fruit flavored, black, and golden)

Battered squid sticks (bought at a convenience store)

Battered fried shrimp "shell stack" (a hybrid of sandwiches and wraps) with rice, spicy coleslaw, and gloppy specialty summer sauce (bought at a convenience store)

A curry cup (bought at a convenience store)

Frozen air-fried mollusks (from his freezer)

Oyster bake (Mom's cooking)

Breakfast steamed buns with dipping sauce (from a family restaurant)

Oyster and potato stew (from a convenience store)

Fried scallop burger (from a fast food restaurant)

Barbequed pork intestines with sticky citrus sauce (from a hole-in-the-wall restaurant)

Oyster stew (Kaz's cooking)

Rice salad with mix-and-eat toppings and garlic dressing (from a fast food restaurant)

Seared tentacles and omelet balls (from a fast food restaurant)

Deep fried breaded shrimp (Mom's cooking)

Noodles in sweet nut crab sauce (from a café)

Extra spicy soup sack (a giant soup dumpling) with scallops and quail eggs (from a food truck)

Gently spiced crab legs (from a food truck)

Sticky fried chicken with pickles (from a fast food restaurant)

Crispy potato skins drizzled in tangy-sweet curry sauce (from a canal vendor)

Seszun-style fried rice (Kaz's cooking)

Instant nutty-lime egg noodles (from a vending machine)

Milk stew (leftovers at a friend's place - not Seszun-style food)

Traditional sweets - jellified rice and iced fruit topped with crystallized honey (from his fridge)

Boiled custard buns and skewered jelly cakes (from a street food cart)

Wow that's a long list. And that's not even everything!

Kaz eats a lot…

Okay, just for fun, let's get a bit more technical - badly-written-half-copied-from-the-textbook-high-school-social-science-paper style! Kaz wrote it, I swear…

Seszun cuisine is predominantly influenced by Wauian cuisine; the majority of people who identify as Seszun today are descendants of settlers from Wauia who colonized the peninsula a thousand years ago. Wauian cooking methods were adapted to consider locally available ingredients, producing a cuisine more unique to the peninsula. Over time, this was also influenced by the cooking methods of the local Indigenous people, the Nauje, creating what is now considered traditional Seszun cuisine. The Nauje maintain to this day an ancient food culture that is similar to, yet distinct from that of Seszun.

The majority of traditional Seszun cuisine consists of short-grained brown and white rice (frequently mixed together); noodles; sea vegetables such as kelp; crustaceans such as shrimp and crab; mollusks such as squid, mussels, and clams, with scallops being perhaps the most popular and most commonly consumed; fish such as tuna and mackerel; quail eggs; soy beans; root vegetables such as onions, radishes, carrots, and local varieties of potatoes; cabbages; and fruit, predominantly citrus fruits (cold-tolerant varieties), although seasonal melons, berries, and pome fruits are also available. Tea (of black and golden varieties) is the traditional drink of choice. Traditional seasonings include citrus, soy, sesame, garlic, ginger, honey, coriander, and chilli. Most traditional Seszun dishes are simple, fresh, and fragrant with an emphasis on presentation. Early Seszun literature describes as follows: Peninsula folk eat first with their eyes; if their eyes are not satisfied, their mouths do not eat (this refers only to the aristocrats of the time, the Seszun Circle). The most common cooking methods are boiling and searing, with light soups, stir fries, and curries being common dishes. Most traditional desserts are rice and fruit based.

The most stereotypical traditional Seszun meal, no matter the time of day, includes a bowl of rice (sprinkled with desired seasoning), kelp soup, seared scallops (either fresh or marinated), and potentially a fresh salad with radish, carrot, cabbage, and coriander.

More modern Seszun cuisine incorporates ingredients and influences from all over the world. Seafood remains the most popular choice of protein, however, chicken is now readily available and is a staple of modern Seszun cuisine. Pork and beef is now more common, although beef is very expensive and generally only consumed by the wealthy. Pork offal is a cheap, widespread alternative meat. Perhaps the most notable difference between modern and traditional Seszun cuisine is the introduction of deep frying and, more recently, air frying almost anything that can be breaded or dipped in batter. Although many authentic international cuisines are available in Seszun, more commonly global dishes are given a "Seszun spin" with the new invention regularly becoming synonymous with modern Seszun cuisine. Bread and cakes have also become incredibly popular, the Seszun varieties made predominantly with rice flour. "Shells" are a rice-flour flat bread baked in molds that produce its namesake's shape. Developed around 150 years ago (so considered by some more modern than traditional), two domed shells are used to cup (or sandwich) anything from salads to curry, producing a cheap, filling, easily transportable meal. "Shell stacks" were and remain a popular and usually more healthy food choice for those on a budget.

More important features of modern Seszun cuisine include convenience, with the advent of frozen food, convenience stores, and vending machines, and also self-service; gourmet instant noodle eateries and other do-it-yourself eating experiences have become very popular since the global unification movement began. Also, as with most of the world, Seszun now runs on caffeine. While tea is still drunk more than water, Seszun now imports more coffee than any other location on Earth.

Food of every variety, but particularly traditional sweets, are offered to Seszun's many deities, both on their feast days and when praying for a deity "take interest".

And… that'll do for now! I honestly haven't thought too much yet about food in relation to Seszun's culture, history, and religion - I'll be thinking more about that as the series goes on! Eventually I'll have to start thinking more about various alien cuisines as well. I won't mention what the Liberation Force eats... trust me, you're fine not knowing. And, at this early point in the story, we usually just see Kaz's space cat mentor eating nutrient cakes, or else snacking on whatever Kaz is eating.

Please remember that this series is still in its infancy - names may change, locally available ingredients may shift. Perhaps in the future I'll re-visit this scrumptious world-building subject. I might even achieve something resembling succinct next time! But I doubt it.

This is why I haven't made many posts along these lines… whenever I try, it takes all day…

Thanks so much again @amaiguri. This has been a wonderfully helpful exercise, hunting through the story and old notes to pull together everything food-related. I shall be referring back to this on a regular basis.

On another note, I haven't had Kaz nearly hungry and faint enough after all his battles. That's something I must amend on the next editing pass ~

Sorry, Kaz…

[idk6123]

A Little Practice (Trent Northwick X Male Reader)

“O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?”

As Y/N walks in the almost empty music classroom, he spots his boyfriend, Trent, practicing his acting. With much passion and drama, the blonde actor is giving out his best Juliet impression.

“Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet.” Trent ahem his voice as he switches character. “Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?”

“Thou art a arsehole, thy beloved.” Y/N says with a angelic voice, making Trent look back at him with a smirk.

“You were always the best at improv.”

“Still am.” Y/N walks over to Trent to give him a peck on the lips. “Practicing again?”

“Yes. The play is next week. I got a commercial to shoot this Saturday. Audition about two weeks. I’m thriving!” Trent proudly smiles, until he drops his façade. “But I’m also stressing the fuck out.”

“Figured. Thought you may need me.” Y/N reassuringly smiles. “We can hang out or I can help you practice.”

“Second one.” Trent walks over to a table to put down the Romeo and Juliet script down, grabbing another one in return. He walks back to give Y/N one of the script. “It’s the commercial. You’re person 2.”

Y/N hums and looks at the script. “America, a land of opportunity, dreams, and pride. When we got to the US, I expected everything to go perfect.” Y/N slows down his voice by the following lines, being extremely confused. “Turns out illegally crossing the border brings problems. My wife is going to be a whore if we don’t enough money.”

“No need to worry!” Trent says with a chivalrous voice, not bothered by the unusual script. “We at Blackshark reassures anyone to live a happy life with their family. No matter the background, we like to give anyone the opportunity to blossom. Don’t worry about paying your loans. Spend it to whatever you desire, and we promise you, at the end of the day, you will prosper.”

“Wow! Now I don’t have to sell my organs. Thanks Blackshark.”

Y/N looks up to see Trent smirking proudly. “I nailed it. You on the other hand.”

“The fuck is this script?” Y/N merely blurts out. “And your commercial is about loan sharks?”

“It sure is.”

Y/N wonders that his boyfriend know the possible consequences. “Isn’t this bad for your brand? Being revolved with scammers?”

“Look, if Paris Hilton is allowed to get in drama without issue, so am I.”

-

Minutes later, and Trent decides he had practice enough with his scripts. After convincing Y/N to do something else, they change into more flexible clothes.

“You know everyone is going to bully you if they discover you can do ballet.”

“Ballet is the core of dancing. It comes back in many other genres. Also, it’s good for the body. So if anyone is going to harass me, I remember their name and call them out once I’m rich and famous.” Trent says without a doubt.

“Don’t you mean we?”

“Depends. I don’t want to associate with lower class people.” Trent respond without remorse. He and his boyfriend begin sitting on the ground and do some stretching. “I suggest working on that football dream, buddy.”

“It’s not my fault Ted keeps hogging the quarterback spot.” Y/N groans. “I hope after all the bootlicking he gives the spot after he graduate.”

“You need to do better. Have you tried sleeping with him?”

Y/N deadpanned at his boyfriend. “You want me to cheat on a straight guy?”

“If it makes you famous like I’m going to be.” Trent merely replies. “Besides, I’m sure he swings both ways.”

“According to who?”

“My gaydar.”

Y/N sighs. “I think yours broken.”

“Na-ah. 100% accurate. You, gay. Gord, Kirby, Cornelius, Vance, definitely bi. Troy, gay. Ted, bi as fuck, he just doesn’t know it.”

“Look, just because you’re right the previous ones doesn’t mean you’re always right.” Y/N corrects him. “Wait, aren’t we supposed to do ballet?”

“Oh, yeah.” Trent forgot. He and Y/N stands up. “Let’s begin with some poses, relevé.”

“Rele-what?”

“Relevé.” With elegance, Trent jumps up a bit and with his tips of his toes, stands on the ground. With his hands, he lifts them up and make a circle out of them. “Voilá.”

Y/N is amazed by the sight, especially the ridiculous strength his toes has to balance him. “Since when do you know all this shit?”

“Since I was young. Practice makes perfect.” Trent comments. He stops posing and expectedly looks back at his boyfriend. “Now you.”

“You expect me to stand on my toes?” Y/N barely have any experience with ballet. The only experience he has is when Trent tries to flex his skills and try to compare his with his boyfriend.

“I help, since apparently you can’t do it on your own.” Trent playfully mutters the last part. He gets behind Y/N to put his hands besides his body. “You pose, I balance you.”

Y/N can’t help but smirk. “Fine.”

Thus, he put his arms up and stand on his toes, which took a couple of seconds. Luckily, after trying a couple of times and with the help of the actor, Y/N is standing in the pose. Though he gives up after almost 3 seconds.

“There. That was annoying.” Y/N chuckles.

“Good, for your first time.” Trent unnecessary comments. “Now we have 25 left to go.”

“By the love of-”

-

After a lot of practice, Y/N somehow did most of the poses Trent requested. They already practiced Trent’s scripts and ballet training, Y/N wonders what’s up next.

“Please tell me we actually do something normal.”

“You’re saying this isn’t normal?” Trent questions, but he quickly dismisses the jock’s comment. “Anyway, let’s do the last exercise.”

“And that is?”

“Improv.” Trent says with a smirk. “Since you’re good at it, have fun thinking about your first line.”

“Uh!?” Y/N quickly panics as he thinks for something to say. “Nice weather, huh?”

Trent raises his eyebrow, judging his boyfriend. “That’s what you came up with?”

“Shut it. You’re breaking character.”

Trent chuckles. “No, it’s raining you dumbass. Can’t you see through the window.”

“Oh no, what an idiot I am. Sorry, must have the moron decease I got from my boyfriend.”

“Sounds like you’re the only one suffering from it though.”

“Nah. I’m certain he got it too.” Y/N decides to play alone just to shove it on Trent’s face. “He makes me do all these dumb acting exercises instead of taking me out on a date or something actually normal people do.”

“Huh. Sounds more like you don’t care about your boyfriend’s passions and dreams.” Trent plays along as well, with both men smiling.

“Yeah, you can say that again. I really don’t care.”

Trent laughs at the respond. “Alright, alright. That’s enough. You did good.”

“Thanks. I was only kidding about the insults. I actually like you’re over confident attitude.”

“I know you do.” Trent proves the footballer right. “So, now that we’re done and I’m entertained, you want to go out?”

[nokingsonlyfooles]

Finish the Feed and Plug the Thing! (And Play the Music!)

Today, under the cut, I shall demonstrate my new ability to create original music that might be recordable! (Guest Starring the Radio Demon from Hazbin Hotel!)

My web serial! My brainchild! My empire of dirt! I write this, I'm only on social media because I want people to look at it, and they're not. I suspect I've sold my cow for some magic beans and it turns out they're not even regular beans, they're foam peanuts. Nevertheless, the people in my orbit seem decent in general SO I WILL CONTINUE TO BROWBEAT YOU WITH GUILT-INDUCING REMINDERS UNTIL MY READERSHIP IMPROVES! No need to thank me! It's a service I provide!

Current known readers: 3 (hi!), 1st Goalpost: 10?

Current supporters: 2 (hi Kith and 5th!), 1st Goalpost: 5?

So! I am doing a Hazbin Hotel fic, while working sporadically on the serial. It involves David and I have a lot to say about mental health, fictional universes and massive multiversal crossovers, so it's still technically serial content, even if you may not want to read it.

But, I like to use side projects to experiment. I have to have something I like enough to put a lot of effort in, but I don't want to feel terrible if that effort comes to nothing. The fic happened because I drew David Vivzie-style to test my drawing ability and stamina. (It's improving! I can draw! Slowly!)

I am writing MUSIC with STAGE DIRECTIONS for David's stay at the Hotel, both reprises of Hazbin Hotel tunes with new lyrics, and new songs with public domain melodies. There is a LOT of music in the public domain. I've been filking pop songs, but that's still legally grey. When I filk this stuff, there's no limits!

...but that's not true, because a lot of it doesn't have lyrics. My process up until now has involved rewriting music with existing lyrics. Never before did I tackle an instrumental. Now I have!

I would call it a 75% success. It scans, fairly well, but I think I made an error in choice of melody. I LOVE this raggy 1925 arrangement of Hungarian Rhapsody - I listened to it a million times to do this and I STILL love it - but if you actually had to sing it at speed, I think your tongue would fly off. Hamilton has unsingable music like that, too, but I think this came out too complex to be catchy. I can barely sing it and I WROTE it!

Nevertheless, here it is (stage directions omitted for ease of reading along fast enough to keep up), with some background on the fic for context: David has, at this point, convinced Alastor they were best friends in the 20s, and made friends with Angel Dust in a more conventional way. Alastor does not wish to be second-best at anything (we've already got a canon song about that!) and is registering an objection from the piano.

...That's probably still incomprehensible, but the point is, it scans. You gotta ignore the intro and start reading when the treble kicks in, but I do think it scans.

ALASTOR: Funnily, we’re both used to dining with refinement Trust two chefs to know I thought our dinner was almost perfect When the waiter served it But then you fondle The ketchup bottle! There’s bearnaise right there on the platter, what’s the matter? Must you stoop so low? Horrors! It’s just as if you called the sous-chef over —  “This needs salting!” So insulting! DAVID: Darling! The sauce is no improvement If the meat is poor With ketchup, there’s no dressing there to dress up  No one loves a pompous bore, Bestie! A: If that’s better, I’ll do better Don’t we both play well together? Formal wear is not required Friendship outshines one’s attire And I won’t mind, I won’t pretend Remember I’m your dearest friend I won’t compete, it’s not a test I can’t be beat, I’m always best D: Although your doubtful dedication’s Quite despicable I don’t envy your situation That’s forgivable A: I’m dedicated when it’s worth it Is that true for you? And of course my friends deserve it What I’d do for you! D: Oh, I forgot, my poor coat is soaking Might you mop up my reckless joking? A: If that’s better, I’ll do better Don’t we both play well together? D: And one more thing, I’m a little squeamish You think we could keep the murders cleanish? A: If that’s better, I’ll do better Don’t we both play well together? D: You’re so competitive Do you just want to win? A (counterpoint) : (If that’s better, I’ll do better) D: Hey, I need devotion, too, if you’ve a notion to! You can’t be listening Might you do anything? A: (If that’s better, I’ll do better) D: A fur coat, a fancy car, how ‘bout a chocolate bar? A: If that’s better, I’ll do better Don’t we both play well together? D: For the salt lick, I hope I’m forgiven? I show respect with little gifts given A: If that’s better, I’ll do better Don’t we both play well together? D: If I’ve annoyed, I think I should mention I just enjoy all kinds of attention A: And I won’t mind, I won’t pretend Remember I’m your dearest friend I won’t compete, it’s not a test I can’t be beat, I’m always best And I won’t mind, I won’t pretend Remember I’m your dearest friend I won’t compete… D: Can we have sex? A: I ca… [spoken] Old friend, if you were a woman… I’d turn lavender [note: 20s slang for gay] with shame. D: Ah. Tant pis! Shave and a haircut, no sale!

It diverges at the end, they need time to talk to each other, but it's very close!

And I should add how I "transcribed" the music to write that, because it almost broke me. It was so silly I started cackling and had to confess what I was doing and show the spouse the placeholder lyrics. You see, transcribing the beats and stresses as dashes and numbers wasn't working, so I decided to use words. I decided to listen to this music over and over, trying to find words that had a matching rhythm, and place them into stanzas with a rhyming scheme. THIS is what THAT looks like:

It’s okay it’s not even ready it’s a steady It’s an onion bowl Oh but it’s not a begonia-bopper It’s a hot dog topper It’s a taco And it’s a tico It’s okay it’s not even ready it’s a steady It’s an onion bowl Oh ba-by but it’s not a holy hanger it’s a radio And it’s okay but it’s just a Samples! It’s not a rosy robber It’s an onion bowl It’s not a motherfucking compsognathus  It is just an onion bowl But it’s Not a pony in a pickup It’s a doughnut in a slicker It’s no pony in a pickup It’s a tuesday hiccup coat And scrambled eggs, and scrambled eggs And applesauce, and applesauce And jellybeans and jellybeans And polka dots and polka dots It isn’t very much to listen It’s okay but it’s Not much of a good decision It’s okay but it’s It isn’t very much to listen It’s okay but it’s Not much of a good decision It’s okay but it’s Not a dog, it’s okay but it isn’t Not a dog, it’s okay but it isn’t Not a pony in a pickup It’s a doughnut in a slicker Not a dog, it’s okay but it isn’t Not a dog, it’s okay but it isn’t Not a pony in a pickup It’s a doughnut in a slicker It’s a blue doughnut boy he’s got a taco truck (not a pony in a pickup) And it’s a tree it’s a tree it’s a tree but it’s not It’s a blue doughnut boy he’s got a taco truck (not a pony in a pickup) And it’s a tree it’s a tree it’s a tree but it’s not Not a pony in a pickup It’s a doughnut in a slicker It’s not a puddle puck in a piston It’s just a whiny duck who won’t listen Not a pony in a pickup It’s a doughnut in a slicker It’s not a puddle puck in a piston It’s just a whiny duck who won’t listen And scrambled eggs, and scrambled eggs And applesauce, and applesauce And jellybeans and jellybeans And polka dots and polka dots And scrambled eggs, and scrambled eggs And applesauce, and applesauce And jellybeans and jellybeans And polk— It’s not anybody it is just a Camaro cap!

I can't sing that version either ("It's not a motherfucking compsognathus!" I'm dying! 😵I'm dead!) but I'm still fond of it. And look, it worked! Kinda!

If I want to do this for the actual serial, I may have to pick simpler music, or simplify it by choosing PART of the melody to use and repeat. I can't write or read musical notation, but most people can't either, so if I can link you to a piano roll or someone's recording of an old record, we can both sing along on the internet. And maaaybe some day I'll be able to record something. I wouldn't be good at playing or singing, but if you throw enough money at me, I can pay someone!

SO PLEASE GO BEG PEOPLE TO READ ME AND GIVE ME MONEY! THANK YOU!

[your-nanas-house]

Just acting... right?

◇ Pairing: Neil Lewis X Best Friend fem!Reader

◇ Warnings: filming, shitty acting skills, dry humping, Neil cumming in his pants, Y/n director, bit of shaming

◇ Summary: Neil needs some help for the sensual scene they need to record.

◇ Note: Sorry for the mistakes and the English. This isn't proof read.. like most of my works but 🤫 I'm tired. This is based on this BEAUTIFUL moodboard made by @darlingsfandom.

"Stop, Stop... Cut!" Y/n's disappointed voice interrupted Neil in the middle of his acting for a clip of the short movie they were recording to promote an event at Gumshoe Video.

That time the nerdy man had asked a little help from his best friend in hope to improve and give a kind of upgrade to the usual stuff.

The scene on the script, which was written by Neil himself, should have been a passionate and sensual one where the main character was having an intimate moment with a lover of his.

Due to the low budget there wasn't actually a second person there, not that they really needed it since that scene had the cameras all pointed at Neil's face, taking in his expression and the movements of his body.

So yeah... it should have been a sensual and sexy act that should have aroused and not disgusted or made the viewer worry of the main character conditions. "Dude... what was that? Are you okay?... it looked like you were having some kind of attack or about to throw up. Geez" the young woman confronted her best friend while staring at him with concern before rolling her eyes as soon as he went on the defensive

"Shush, no arguing with the director. You can't act this kind of scenes on your own, it's the forty-first try we make... I can't suffer this thing again. Sensual, sexy, you're having an orgasm... not dying by a bullet or due to poison" her harsh words slapped Neil right across his face, making him shut his mouth and follow her orders.

His best friend moved closer, fixing the camera again before meeting his gaze still lost in her thoughts.

They needed to find a solution to finally finish that short film.

"Okay... nerdy thing. Let's... Let's simply pretend shall we?" Y/n murmured with less confidence as she climbed on his lap and fixed the background which were the sheets of the bed and the pillows... there were also some rose petals because Neil had insisted.

Her eyes met carefully Neil's piercing light blue ones and she had to swallow the lump, that had formed in her throat, without stopping to fix the set to try for the forty-first attempt "And... action!" Y/n exclaimed as she focused the filming on her friend's freckled face, her hips casually grinding against his clothed crotch.

As the minutes passed and Neil said his lines, his expression started to become more genuine and real— expecially when his hips started to thrust up in seek of more friction. His slender fingers grabbed her hips, forcing her to grind harder on him while getting to the exact position the two characters should have been in the script.

A long whiny moan and his beautiful eyes were rolling back, his back arching softly and his swollen lips parting, as soon as his climax hit him like a train.

The scene was perfect, they didn't need to film it again, so Neil had all the time to change his cummed pants and underwear before recording the final parts of the script.

They were just acting, right?, Y/n asked herself as she glanced back at her best friend, still feeling the tension and butterflies in her stomach.

[vikenticomeshome]

Cyberchase Web Adventures Episode 5: Hacker Jack by Ron Barrett

Ron Barrett is an illustrator and comic artist who is probably best known for illustrating "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs", a classic story written by his wife, Judi. However, he also produced a series of web comics for Cyberchase that were released on the pbskids.org website. He produced a single Cyberchase web comic in 2005, and then a set of three one-shot Cyberchase web comics in 2011. None of these comics are on the website anymore.

The web comic from 2005, Hacker Jack, was the final entry in the Cyberchase Web Adventures line of web comics. This series included the original three-part prequel comic and the original Poddleville story, "Numberless Poddles".

However, Hacker Jack was an entirely different style. Those four comics were assembled like animation cells. They placed the background layers first, and then added separate images that they rendered on top of of the background. By swapping between different images, they could make simple two-frame or three-frame animations. Hacker Jack was drawn in a more traditional comic panel format.

As i said before, this comic is not on the pbskids.org website anymore. Additionally, it is not on Ron Barrett's personal website. I am only posting it here for the purposes of archiving it and sharing it with the fans. All credit for its creation goes to Ron Barrett.

I will transcribe all of the dialogue. I will leave my comments to the end, unless i feel it is absolutely necessary. Let's begin.

Buzz or Delete: Gee boss, look at all those freaky tikis!

Buzz or Delete: Everyone in Tikiville is flipping out!

The Hacker: Can the cackling! Prepare to land!

Tikiville Citizen #1: Hack attack!

Tikiville Citizen #2: Don't walk, run!

Tikiville Citizen #3: Taxi!

The Hacker: Behold! - The Great Tiki of Tikiville! When I topple this giant, all the tikis will fall... like dominoes!

The Hacker: Then this site will be mine! All mine! Ha Ha Ha!

Delete: But boss, how can you topple a tiki that's this big? Grunt!

Buzz: Grunt!

The Hacker: I am a man with a plan! - Look!

The Hacker: As it was said by another genius long ago...

Poster of Archimedes: Give me place to stand and a lever long enough and i shall move the earth.

The Hacker: I shall call my invention the Hacker Jack!

Buzz: It'll never work.

The Hacker: You dare to doubt my brilliant design?

Delete: Well... um yeah!

The Hacker: Give me that ice cream pop and i will make a model to test it!

Delete: Hey!

The Hacker: SHHH-LURP

The Hacker: This stick will be my lever

The Hacker: And this will be my fulcrum!

The Hacker: I press down on the lever and...

The ice cream pop stick: Snap!

Buzz: I told you it wouldn't work.

The Hacker: Zip it!

The Hacker: Hmmm! I need to use something stronger, something that won't break... something just like...

The Hacker: This leg from your chair!

The Hacker: And now to test my new, improved lever

The Hacker: I press down and...

Delete: Nothing happened!

The Hacker: Hmmm... a minor adjustment... I'll move the fulcrum closer to the box and...

Buzz: A full-crummy idea!

Buzz and Delete: The Hacker Jack works!

Delete: Now we have all the parts we need to build the super-size Hacker Jack!

Delete: Huff-puff

The Hacker: Ow! Watch that board!

The Hacker: All is ready! I shall jump upon the Hacker Jack and set in motion the toppling of the tikis. Then - I will rule supreme!

Narration: Or will he? Can you stop The Hacker?

Buzz: Lookin' good, boss!

Motherboard: Hacker alert!

Motherboard: ... the Cybersquad needs you to invent a machine

Motherboard: ... stop Hacker from toppling the tikis!

And so, we reach the end of this comic. There was option to send in drawings of your invention. These drawings were placed in a gallery on the website. I was able to preseve this gallery. One day, i may grab some pictures from that gallery to share.

As i said before, this was the end of the Cyberchase Web Adventures line. It ended on this cliffhanger, so we don't know if The Hacker was successful, or what invention was used to try to stop him.

While I enjoyed the comic, it doesn't really fit in with the rest of the Cyberchase Web Adventures series. I find it interesting that Buzz is openly criticizing The Hacker here. He would grumble a bit in the show, but i don't remember him saying it to his face. And then, The Hacker casually rips off one of Delete's antenna caps.

[puppyluver256]

Iiiiiit's that time agaaaiiiin, time to look back at the art I've done over the year hehe :3 I was so desperate to get that Taion pic done tonight so I could include it cuz I really like how the Mondo turned out o:

January - BIG SHOT | I'm gonna go over these and try to remember why I put them in here, so here's the first one. Uhhh, I think I was just really proud of how Spamton Neo came out, 'specially for my first attempt at drawing either form of Spamton seriously, as well as...whatever that technique's called where something in the front (ie. the Fun Gang/Sh-- Squad/Lancer Fan Club here) gets blurred to keep your focus on the Main Subject, that turned out well too c: February - On Wings of Golden Skies | I'm not the best at drawing complex birds, especially big complex birds, so Ho-oh looking as good as they do makes me happy considering my second main-series game was Gold, even if I was more of a Crystal player eventually. That and Bell Tower looks nice too :D March - Wave o' Babies | Oh boy. For something semi-serious made off the back of a dumb method of attacking one of the titular Teen Girl Squad gals, this was fuuuuunnn and cathartic. April - Winter Delight | Had some fun figuring out how to shade snow with my insistence on keeping my brush use more varied now :3 Also, was good practice for drawing black people with more realistic black features, just the lips here as lightened palms are kind of hard to see underneath mittens hehe. May - Frigid Coffin | Ice effects. 'Nuff said. Also Lief is cool, no pun intended c: June - Macaroni and Bees | Love how the honey turned out! Both in this art and in real life! Please try honey in your macaroni, it's Nice, also barbecue sauce but maybe not at the same time until you've figured out whether or not you like both. July - In Pursuit of Power | I'll be honest, I included this one solely because of the art theft fiasco, all to give said thief one last symbolic middle finger >:3c August - I Shall Not Bow | Textless version featured in this review preview, this one was chosen both due to how important the message was to me and also how I was pretty proud of how yahweh's stupid face turned out. September - Overcoming the Odds | Backgrounds, man. I keep improving with backgrounds and this one's a good example in my eyes. October - Team Snakemouth | I just like them okay!! :D November - If only I could hug you back | ...idk, I really don't remember why I picked this one, selfshipping ahoy? XD December - Hazy Figure | Taion best lad. Also, like I said at the start, I just REALLY like how the Mondo look here. Yeah, it's copy-paste of a single piece and motion blur, but it works so well!!

All characters featured belong to their respective creators, more information in the links above. All artwork featured © PuppyLuver Studios

[twilightmalachite]

Hermitage - Monday 2

Author: Nishioka Maiko (with Akira)

Characters: Mika, Shu

Translator: Mika Enstars

"(Missing? —No, the problem is that it’s overflowing. I suppose I should be pleased with how human he is, but…)"

Season: Winter

Location: Dance Room

Shu: …… (lightly doing stretches)

Hm?

Mika: Yer early, Oshi-san. Sorry t’keep ya waitin’~

Shu: You’re on time so there’s no problem, but you’re later than usual. Don’t you typically arrive earlier than I do?

Mika: Nnah~, well I have a reason fer that. Hajime-kun made me breakfast, so I was eatin’ it.

Practice begins today, so I thought it’d be good to eat well in the mornin’.

Oh, and Hajime-kun makes the most delicious food, y’see~?

He made me hot miso soup with nice and warm rice. And hijiki salad and boiled egg too! Should I get some prepared for you too next time, Oshi-san?

Shu: Just listening is making me feel heavy… Eating too much in the morning will give me heartburn, you know… Besides, I’m much more comfortable eating Western food.

Mika: Ah~… Thats true, yer a small eater, Oshi-san.

I didn’t used to eat much before, either, and would only like what looked like failed dishes, but lately things have been delicious to me.

Maybe that’s why I’m eatin’ more?

‘Cuz y’see, I get some food whenever someone makes somethin’ in the dorms.

Shu: There’s nothing wrong with receiving meals, just be sure to not overeat.

If your figure changes and you can no longer wear my outfits, or if it gets in the way of practice, that’ll be the day I get angry.

Mika: Scary…! I know that, ‘course…!

Shu: Now then, shall we begin practice? For we who pursue excellence, there is never enough time.

Kagehira, come and corroborate this real quick.

Mika: Hmm? What’s this stack of papers for?

Shu: Must you ask… It’s the storyboard for our new song’s MV.

Mika: Eh!? We only made those decisions yesterday, and you’ve already come up with a storyboard!?

Shu: It shouldn’t be so surprising. It’s been an entire day.

Well, as far as quality goes, there is still room for improvement. But this is better than nothing.

Mika: Nahh, this is more than enough. Yer amazin’ as always, Oshi-san, you get work done so fast!

Shu: You just take things too leisurely, Kagehira.

Mika: Ahaha, you might be right there.

Alright, lemme take a look at the storyboard. Hmm…

Hmm, hmm—Hm? A doll…?

Hey, Oshi-san. The storyboard lines up exactly with my image, but how come the artist’s makin’ a doll? I was thinkin’ more of a painter or a sculptor for an artist.

The image here feels a bit more like last year’s Valkyrie.

Shu: Right. Because the concept is based on a fairytale—In other words, an old tale. That is why I dared utilize the image of the old Valkyrie.

As for paintings and sculptures… I had given great thought about what would be the symbol of something that can forever preserve beauty without decay.

In the end, I can’t help but think that’s best expressed with the motif of a doll.

Humans tend to dedicate themselves to things that resemble themselves, as opposed to inorganic things.

That, and there are many artists interested in humans. It is why so many extraordinary artists have a medical background.

That is why I chose what is closest to the human form, a doll, as a motif.

Mika: Nnah~, I see! Just lookin’ at the storyboards, I can tell the MV will be real beautiful.

But will we be able to have a large-scale set? Wouldn’t it be too costly? I wonder if those at the agency will get angry…

Shu: No need to worry. I’ve already talked to the agency about it.

So put that aside. What do you think? Is this what you had in mind?

Mika: Mhm! It’s perfect! Alrighty, Oshi-san, should we start practice?

Time passes…

Mika: ♪~ ♪~

Shu: (Hm…?)

Kagehira. Stop for a moment.

Mika: ? What is it, Oshi-san? Did I do somethin’ wrong?

Shu: I wouldn’t call it wrong… However. It is not quite the right image.

Mika: How so?

Shu: It isn’t doll-like. Try giving off the image of the old Valkyrie more.

Mika: O-Okay. I gotcha. I guess I’ll give it a second try.

Time passes…

Shu: Kagehira, do it again.

Time passes…

Shu: Kagehira, use more of your imagination.

Time passes…

Shu: Absolutely not. That is nowhere near the level of quality we are looking for!

Time passes…

Mika: Nnah~…

Shu: Non! Wrong, completely wrong. Not at all!

Mika: But, Oshi-saaan… I can’t figure out what I’m missin’…

Shu: (Missing? —No, the problem is that it’s overflowing. I suppose I should be pleased with how human he is, but…)

(While I recognize Kagehira as an artist of his own… It appears that it has become an obstacle for this particular concept.)

It isn’t enough just to get rid of your facial expressions. You are still full of vitality from the tips of your fingers to your toes.

Perhaps I should call it a state of “nothingness”—Either way, if you cannot make yourself into a vessel, you will remain far from the expression of eternity.

Mika: That bein’ said… Hmm, vitality… I’m tryn’a recall the old me, though…

Shu: I guess we’ve got no choice, then. That’ll be all for today. If you cannot yet grasp the image, you need more time to solidify it.

Polish it more by tomorrow, Kagehira.

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