#I’ve been doing this video for a while and some of it gets easier slowly but… still.

[museenkuss]

loving and moving my body this week (21.10.-27.10.) [Anniversary!!]

Monday. pilates to strengthen and tone [32 mins] // [10 min surprise]

Tuesday. gentle yoga for flexibility & stress reduction [16 mins] // [13 min surprise]

Wednesday. bollywood belly dance choreo [20 mins] // [10 min surprise]

Thursday. pilates [22 mins] // [10 min surprise]

Friday. ballet workout [20 mins] // [13 min surprise]

Saturday. yoga sculpt day 2 - power up! [22 mins]

Sunday. full body pilates for good energy [30 mins]

–

Last week marked the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of my Loving & moving my body series!!! Incredible. 52 weeks of stretching, strengthening and experimenting. It’s been a great journey and I’ve had so much fun during — I tried so many new things and challenges myself so often. And even if I haven’t done every single workout every week (although keeping track of it on tumblr has kept me very close), I’ve moved more consistently and with more variety than ever. So now I’m super excited for week 53! :)

In case the suggestion doesn’t feel right for that day, here are some alternatives (13 minutes or less, can also be used as add-ons). No shame in taking it slow! Let’s move according to our needs! :) bedtime yoga stretch to release stress & tension [13 mins]  // beginner’s ballet flexibility [8 mins]//  slow & smooth beginner belly dance workout [12 mins]  // lazy girl full body workout [7 mins] // express pilates [10 mins]

[miragemurder]

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Secret

Part 2 of Spotlight

Pairing: Veneer x GN Reader

Genre: Fluff, Make out

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A continuation of the oneshot, Spotlight.

For the people who asked. <3 ★ ★ ★

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A few weeks had passed since you last been at the club with your friend. So much had happened in that one day, it felt like you just rode the craziest roller coaster in the world. After the party, you and your friend spent the rest of the night giggling and fawning over the guy you just met. He wasn’t just some guy though, he was the Veneer.

You laid back in your bed, head softly hitting the pillow behind you as you pick up your phone from the side table. Today was a relaxing day as you didn’t have anything planned for today, so why not just lay back and go on your favorite social media. You clicked on an app and doom scrolled for a little bit. Most of the posts you saw were just of people going crazy about the latest stars and their new albums. You sighed and kept scrolling, not really interested in other people’s “fangirling.”

You stopped on a post that really struck your interest. It was a post of Velvet and Veneer. You didn’t even know they had social media let alone allowed to because of their agencies. You continued watching the video as they were announcing their touring schedule and meet ups. That’s when your brain clicked. You had Veneer’s number.

You got up from bed and scurried to your dresser, opening up a drawer and picking up the crumbled piece of paper that had his contact information. You took in a deep breath as you opened up the message app on your phone and dialed in his number. You decided to keep it simple and type in a little “Hey, its [_____]”

You dropped your phone on top of your dresser and paced around your room, anxiety getting the best of you. You didn’t know why you were so nervous, it was one simple text. You felt like you were about to pass out until you heard a buzz. You ran over to your phone and read the message.

“Oh hey! I didn’t think you were actually gonna send a text. Had me worried lol.” He sent a little laugh emoji next to his message.

You sighed deeply, all the worry draining from your body as you sent him a reply.

“Heh yeah, I eventually gained the courage lol”

You slightly cringed at the text as you sent it. You waited a couple of minutes for a response until you heard the vibration coming from your phone. He was trying to call you. You panicked and quickly picked up the phone.

“Hey sorry for the incoming call. It’s so much easier just to talk than having to type out everything. How were you lately?” He asked.

“Oh I’ve been good, just relaxing at home and sometimes going out everyone once in a while.” You sighed and smiled. You were nervous and excited all at once, you just hoped he couldn’t hear any of it.

“I wanted to invite you over to one of our meet and greets at the Rage Dome tomorrow, do you think you’ll be able to make it?” He questioned.

You quickly looked at the calendar you had hanging up on your wall. It’s not like you had anything planned but you liked to check.

“Nope! I should be free tomorrow.” You said, a little bit of your excitement coming out.

“Great, can’t wait to see you there.” He softly laughed at your excitement, making you fluster.

“Ugh, crimp is pestering at the moment. I’ll call you back when I can, bye.” He dragged out the bye and hung up. You sighed and laid back on top of your bed. You really were down bad for this guy.

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The next day rolls around and you slowly get up and stretch. You smiled to yourself, remembering that you get to see him today. You get up to go take a shower and fix your hair. You set the shower to be a nice warm temp and started stripping. You hopped in and quickly cleaned yourself, not wanting to spend forever in the shower. You quickly got out and got dressed, picking out your best formal outfit you can find. Yes, it is a meet and greet but you still wanted to look good for him.

You finished up your final touches when your phone started vibrating again. You picked up your phone and answered the call.

“How is my number one fan doing this fine morning?” He laughed. You laughed with him.

“I’m doing good, just finished getting ready for the day. How about you?” You asked, leaving the bathroom and sitting down on your bed.

“I’m doing alright. Honestly, I am way too tired to be getting ready right now but what can I say. Crimps already all up in my hair about the meet and greet. I don’t know why she’s so worried, the meet and greet doesn’t start until six.” He groaned. You can practically hear him roll his eyes at the end of his sentence.

“Well, I wish you luck.” You said softly.

“Thank you.” He paused for a moment until he continued. “What if you come an hour earlier so we can meet up beforehand? In private.”

You flustered a dark red. There was no way he just asked you to meet up IN PRIVATE.

“Uh yeah that would be great!” Your voice almost trembled because of your nerves. There is no way that this was actually happening.

“Great, I’ll see you at five.” He hung up. You sat at your bed, shocked. You slowly went downstairs and went into your living room, filling in time until it was ready to go.

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You stepped inside the Rage Dome and were almost blinded by all the lights they had going on. You were about to pull out your phone until you saw someone approaching you.

“Hey you made it!” Veneer cheered, spreading out his arms to wrap you into a hug.

“Yeah, I was just about to ask you where to go.” You chuckled and so did he.

“Let’s go on back to my break room. I don’t want anyone seeing us out here. I’m not ready for all the paparazzi.” He shuttered sarcastically.

He walked you back to where all the breakrooms were. The rooms were for the celebrities to take breaks in, just in case they needed to fix their appearance or if the crowd was being too much. Once you walked in you noticed that Velvet wasn’t there.

“Where’s Velvet?” You asked, scanning the room.

“Oh she’s getting ready in another room. They gave us separate rooms which I kind of enjoy.” He smiled and looked at you.

“Can I just say something real quick? Your outfit is gorgeous.” He complimented. You smiled, blushing a little.

“Thank you, I didn’t think you would care that much.” You said with an awkward smile.

“It looks really good on you.” He stared into your eyes. You felt like you were about to explode with how close you too were. He slightly pulled you over to the couch and sat you down, him sitting right next to you.

He gently touched the side of your face with his hand, still staring longingly into your eyes. He slightly looked down at your lips and back up again before asking something.

“Can I..” He spoke hesitantly, leaning closer. You followed his actions and leaned in. He brushed a piece of hair back behind your ear and quickly closed the gap between you two. Your eyes fluttered closed as you two both enjoyed each other’s presence.

You wrapped your arms around him, your hand slowly moving through his hair. He deepened the kiss, his other hand grabbing your hips and moving you closer. He pulled back for a quick second to give you guys some time to breathe. His hair was a mess and his eyes were half-lidded. He was breathing heavily. You took in the sight, making sure to keep it ingrained in your memory.

“That was…” He looked down into your gaze. You smiled slightly and pulled him back in for another kiss. You laid down on the couch, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him on top. You continued making out for what felt like forever until you heard some foot steps from down the hall. You guys hurriedly got up and brushed yourself off, making sure it looked like nothing happened.

You were just about to walk out the door before Veneer put his hand on your shoulder.

“We can…keep this….as our little secret.”

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Aye! I made a part two! I hope you guys enjoyed this. I tried to keep it as Pg-13 as possible since he is a teenager. He’s still a little out of character but eh, what are you gonna do. Anyways, leave requests down in the comments!

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[sebsreflection]

I’ve started trauma therapy, and part of that is EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), and honestly, I can use it for shifting.

Here’s how that works:

So, part of EMDR is imagining a safe space, whether one you’ve been to or often imagine for yourself, and this safe space, well, helps you to feel calm, safe, joyous, etc. Anything along those lines.

While doing so, you have some kind of bilateral stimulation, whether that is something moving in front of your eyes, a sound going from ear to ear, or tapping of either side of your body. Personally, I prefer the sound, but everything works differently for different people, find one that works for you best. (You can find videos with bilateral stimulation, sound wise, on YouTube. For the tapping, just cross your arms across your chest and tap your hands slowly and softly. For the movement in front of your eyes, have some kind of object, usually something like a ball on a chain [necklaces or pendulums also work just perfectly], moving across your sight from side to side.)

While imagining and having this bilateral stimulation, you should be doing your best to ground yourself in that safe space. Basically, focus on your senses. What can you feel there? What can you smell there? What can you hear there? What can you see there? Stuff like that. Take your time to fully focus on each thing, go at your own pace.

And you should focus on your feeling of joy, calm, peace, safety, etc. Whichever calming and positive feeling you have associated with that place/that place brings you. Where do you feel it? In your chest? In your stomach? Another body part? How would you describe it to someone, even if it’s in “odd” phrasing? For example, I describe the feeling my safe space gives me as a pit of joy in my stomach.

You can also have a phrase or word, basically a name, for this safe space. It can be literal or it can be anything else that makes you think of it. Mine personally is quite literal, and is called “The Tree”. Say this word to yourself, either in your head or out loud, while focusing on your safe space and having the bilateral stimulation. This allows you to go back there more easily whenever you think of the name for it.

Also, you can have your eyes open or closed for this whole thing, whichever helps you ground yourself better.

Annnd, you can either imagine from the first or third person. Most of the time, I physically cannot imagine in the first person, and only/usually imagine in the third person, but this technique literally pushed my mine into the first person. Either work though at the end of the day!

Usually, this skill is intended to be used while you are in distress, whether that be a minor annoyance that can disappear more easily, or even something like a PTSD episode and/or flashback.

In this case, you can use it to shift. That safe space can become your waiting room of sorts, or it can even be your DR itself.

Personally, my safe space is a memory (somewhere I’ve been before), which allows for it to be familiar, more easily recalled, more easily grounded since I have been there before and have felt or heard or smelled or seen the things there, which allows for more effective grounding. So, it will become my waiting room, and I can shift more easily because of it.

This seems to be quite similar to the Five Senses Method in a lot of ways, but for me, once again personally, this allows for a more effective grounding in the place I’m intending to shift to. The Five Senses Method has never worked for me, because I genuinely cannot imagine what the senses in my DR feel like to me since I’ve never been there before. So this might be for you too if you have the same issue!

And obviously, the more you practice this, the easier it will get to do. Don’t expect instant results always, sometimes it takes time, and that’s alright. (But also, it’s entirely possible to get it on the first try, and that would be so cool if you did.)

But yeah, the main things all summed up:

1. Safe Space = WR or DR

2. Bilateral Stimulation [Eye, Tapping, or Sound]

3. Name For Your Safe Space [Literal or Otherwise)

4. Senses + Grounding [Taste, Smell, Touch, Sight, and Hearing]

5. Take Your Time !!! [Don’t be hard on yourself, relax, this is supposed to be relaxing!!!]

Okay, enough of my ranting, see ya!

[?Also, if this catches on or anything, and/or is recognized as a new method, maybe call it the EMDR Method?]

[shiny-jr]

Please yap away about your new Empyrean series~! I’ve been watching a bunch of videos and reading about Genshin Impact so I can better understand the world and dynamics you’re planning to write about and absolutely fascinated with everything~

Is there a specific dorm you’re looking forward to writing about or possible side arcs/missions in between the MC meeting the different Archons like the events in Twisted Wonderland? Were some of the dorm leaders easier to place as the different Archons elements than others and if so who did you struggle with?

Oh god, where do I even start? How much is too much to say? I don't want to spoil whole parts. I haven't actually written anything for it, but I do certainly have ideas. Ideas that have been accumulating slowly but surely.

Uh, I think first thing's first, none of the TWST cast are going to be just human. How unfair would it be if, say, Riddle was an archon (god) and Ace was just human? Kinda unfair. Which is why all the characters are going to be something else. I'm still figuring some of this part out.

Keep in mind, my knowledge of Genshin Impact extends as far as Inazuma and no further. Anything I know beyond that was through tiktok, that is it. So I'll be taking heavy inspirations from the first three regions.

Pairing the element to a character wasn't too hard actually. So first I focused on the archons, and I looked at the dorm leaders and what they stand for and what type of magic they use.

We know Riddle uses a lot of fire magic based off his SSR Dorm Uniform card. Additionally, the color scheme just went well with his hair color and the roses and all. At first I thought it seemed uncanny, because how could a green region based off of Britain be symbolic of the pyro element? Well, then I considered that since it borders Savanaclaw, it could make sense.

For Leona, I took into account the volcanoes that act as a natural border between his land and Riddle's. Additionally, his unique magic made it a very easy choice. I mean, turning things to sand? Slapping Geo on it and calling it a day.

On Azul's, I was actually torn. I know it seems like an obvious choice of hydro, but listen, at first I actually considered giving Kalim hydro due to his own unique magic. Then I thought maybe Azul would get cryo, but in my mind, leaving the other elements to the remaining characters just didn't make much sense. So, ultimately, Azul won the hydro element.

Giving Kalim the dendro element just happened to coincidentally align with the Sumeru region's main element. I wanted to give Kalim the next best thing if he couldn't have hydro, which was dendro. As I see it as a very "good" element with positive qualities, which he deserves.

Vil was one of the others that gave me trouble when assigning him an element. For a very brief moment, I considered giving him dendro, but that just didn't fit the sort of aesthetic I had in mind for him. Then I remember what his home region is supposed to look like, if it's similar to Epel's, it's snowy, right? So cryo was the next best option. I think it actually fits him well, if I do say so myself.

Idia was the last character to give me trouble. For a while I really was not sure about giving him the anemo element, as he just seemed like the complete opposite of Venti and his ideals. However, the longer I thought about, the more I came to terms with it. Wind doesn't have to mean just freedom. Wind can be very terrifying too, like what we see in Stormterror's Lair which is the sort of aesthetic I imagined when I finally assigned him anemo.

I mean, duh, of course Malleus was getting electro. What else did you expect? I mean, there was a second where I considered giving electro to Idia, but then giving anemo to Malleus didn't sit right with me. Electro was ultimately the best choice for this archon. It's constantly used in the games around him, he has control over it, it just made sense to give him this element.

Any other characters that are not archons will have their elemental type be based off the region they're from. HINT HINT. For example, Riddle may be pyro as he is the archon, but at least one person in Heartslabyul will not have the pyro element.

[twice-inamillion]

Honeymoon in Hawaii 

Fluff and Smut (Adventure, hiking, surfing, bikini, deep penetration, anal, cream pie, ahegao, sloppy sex, outdoor sex )

Chapter 212

2,953 Words 

(Honeymoon adventures with Jihyo and OC. Jihyo and OC have messy sex.)

After having your morning session, you and Jihyo make your way to the first destination, Stairway to Heaven. 

It has been Jihyo’s dream to hike the trail since she learned about it a few years back. With her wedding in Hawaii, she wanted to make that dream come true. “Babe, I’m so excited. I am looking forward to doing this hike.” 

“Haha, you’ve said that about a hundred times. It’s good that it’s just both of us, or else we wouldn’t make it.” 

“Yeah, I know. You’re the only one that can keep up.” 

“No, I just let you lead,” giving her a smirk. She looks at you, smirking, and slaps your leg, “Hey, that’s mean.”

The two of you arrive at the trail entrance and gather your belongings, a light backpack, each with snacks, water, an emergency kit, and extra clothes. You make your way to the travel and start to hike for a mile before you reach the base of the mountain.

“Wow, that’s really high.” Jihyo smacks you on the arm and says, “Come on. If we don’t hurry, we won’t get some good shots. “Okay! Coming!” as you see Jihyo picking up the pace.

With your GoPro on, the both of you record as you make your way up the slippery trail. “Alright, babe, let’s take a small break,” says Jihyo.

You’re almost two hours in, and the both of you are making good time. The hike up the mountain is about six hours, but you might be able to make it to five at your pace. 

After a small break, you begin to climb again, and without realizing the scenery of the surrounding mountains starts to show from the fog. “Look, you can see much better” Jihyo points at the closest mountain. You peek and see the steep drop, which makes you a bit worried for Jihyo’s safety. “Alight, that’s enough looking,” you grab onto Jihyo’s hand and keep her from getting too close to the edge. “Oppa, don’t tell me you’re scared.” 

“I’m not scared; it’s you I’m worried about. I don’t want you to slip and fall off.” 

“Haha, I’m careful, but I’ll try not to get too close anymore.”

With only the last leg of the trial remaining, you hike up the mountain. The higher you go, the better the view until you reach a wall. You see a long rope and footprints on the wall from the number of other hikers and decide to give it a go. 

“So you want me to go, or do you want to give it a try?”

“Hmm… I want to try,” as Jihyo grabs the rope and wraps it around her arm for support. She places her right foot, then her left, and climbs slowly. Midway through the climb, her foot slips, causing her to yelp suddenly. “Want me to give you a boost?”

“No, I can do it. Let me just get a better footing.” She finds a crack in between the boulder and makes it all the way to the top. “See, I did it. Here!” throwing the rope to you.

You grab the rope, wrap it around your arm, and make it to the top with little effort. 

“Alright, just a bit more, right?” 

“Yeah, excited?”

“Of course, I’ve been waiting to come here for a while; too bad we can’t go the other way.”

“Yeah… no one is allowed, but some still do it. It’s a nice view but not worth the risk.”

“I heard it’s an easier climb.”

“Yeah, I saw a couple of YouTube videos, and it’s way easier.”

 Jihyo and you hike for another thirty minutes until you reach a radio station, signaling the end of the hike. 

“Wow, it’s beautiful,” Jihyo takes in the view. She points towards the ocean, the cars passing through the highway, and the small buildings in the city. 

You can't help but take your phone out and snap a picture of Jihyo’s expression. You’re in awe of how beautiful she is and how your wife looks. She turns around and notices your camera, “Let me do a pose,” and holds a peace sign and squints her eyes. She does other poses and grabs your phone. She snaps multiple pictures of you with the great view as the background until you pull her to you. “Let’s get one of us together.”

Jihyo gets on one of the rails, wraps her arms around your neck, and gives you a kiss on the cheek. She grabs her GoPro and holds the gimbal's end to record her surroundings. Jihyo goes down the stairs to get a better background, making you laugh as you find it cute of her being a blogger. 

After ending your photo session, Jihyo, you sit and admire the view. It’s completely silent; no words are needed to express your feelings. You’ve made an excellent decision to marry your best friend and the mother of your child. You look at her, staring at the blue ocean, and pull her in for a kiss. 

The climb down is much easier, and it takes only an hour. Once you arrive at your car, the both of you are a complete mess, boots and legs full of mud. You grab a jug of water, wash each other’s legs, and change into sandals and new shorts. Jihyo takes off her top and tosses it in the back of the car, leaving her with a sports bra. “Come, babe, take that shirt off. I want to see your abs.” 

You arrive back at the house and take a quick shower before having brunch. The both of you sit on the back patio and enjoy the view of the ocean in front of the house. While Jihyo cleans up, you head to the backyard and set up the large hammock between two trees. 

“Want to take a small nap?”

“But we just ate.”

“Ahh, don’t worry about the small details. Come on, join me.” you grab her hand.

“Okay,” and climbs into the hanging hammock. 

“What do you think? Comfortable, right?”

“Yeah, not too tight. I like it.” 

“Maybe we should have one back home.”

Jihyo shoves her face into your chest and slowly drifts away after a tiring morning. You watch as Jihyo falls asleep and caress her hair before falling asleep as well. 

Three hours later, you wake up from your nap and notice Jihyo gone. You search around and see a small sitting by the shore. 

“Hey, you left. What’s up?”

“Woke up earlier than you and didn’t want to wake you up. You look cute when you sleep.” You can’t hide your embarrassment from Jihyo and pick her up, placing her on your shoulder. 

“Wait! Where are you taking me?”

“You said you wanted to have fun, right?”

“Yeah, but what are we doing?”

“We’re going surfing. There’s a pair of boards in the back.” 

“Really? We’re going to surf?”

“Yeah, I asked Nayeon to pack your swimming suit before we left.” 

“Yay!”

With the two of you in your swimsuits and board in hand, you head to the water. Jihyo is the first one to run into the water, “Come on, slowpoke!” 

“Alright, alright, I’m coming.”

Sitting on the board, you listen to Jihyo’s plan as you float in open waters. The first wave comes, and you watch her try to ride the wave but falls. She swims back to where you are and tries again, this time staying longer on the board. Time after time, she comes back with lots of energy and tells you her mistake and how she is going to do better. She gives you a couple of pointers before you head out to catch a wave. 

After a couple of times, you come back completely wet from falling so much. “Haha, finally something I’m better at.” She mocks you and comforts you on trying your best after getting her fill. 

“Okay, let’s try again. I think I can do it better this time.”

“Hmm? Are you challenging me, Oppa?” 

“I guess I am.” 

“Okay, loser does whatever the winner wants.”

You hesitate for a bit and see Jihyo’s smirk tease you. “That’s a bet,” and the both of you shake hands. 

You and Jihyo spend two hours surfing but also take a few breaks here and there. It’s sunset, and you two are enjoying the sun setting down behind the ocean. 

With your boards side by side, you two hold hands. “We’re finally husband and wife. I can’t believe it. It’s finally hitting me.”

“Haha, it hit me too when I saw you walking down the aisle; you looked beautiful. I think I’m the happiest man in the world right now.”

She can’t help but laugh at your comment, “Okay, okay, we get it. You don’t have to get all sentimental here.”

Eventually, you both return to shore and head towards the small outdoor shower to clean your board and rinse yourself. Jihyo removes her swimsuit as she tries to get the sand off, revealing her bikini. You do the same but can’t and stare at her tanned body.

Jihyo then takes off her top, which reveals her perfect breast, “Fuck…” She doesn’t notice you coming up behind her until she feels your lips on the back of her nape. “Babe, that tickles,” as she squirms around. You slowly move your hands on her ass, aim for the piece of string holding her bikini, and pull on it. Unaware that her bottom is undone because of your kissing, you pull down your shorts and give Jihyo a nice smack on the ass. 

“Ahh…” 

You pretend to lose your balance and press your body against hers. She places her hands on the wall to keep herself from falling, “You’re heavy, babe. Get off.” With your semi-hard cock in hand, you slowly align yourself to Jihyo’s entrance. She doesn’t notice what you are about to do since you keep her distracted by kissing her nape. When she does feel your hot cock’s head poking at the entrance of her slit, she lifts her butt. 

With her permission, you grab onto her waist and penetrate her cunt. You don’t feel much resistance since you warmed her up a bit with all the kissing and reached her deepest parts in no time. “Mmhh… ahh fuck!” You give her little time for adjustment and begin to thrust at a fast pace. Jihyo immediately starts to moan loudly since it is just the both of you around, “Ahh… yes! That feels so good! Fuck… you’re so deep inside my pussy!” 

Knowing she is enjoying it, you increase the pace and press her against the shower wall. You pull most of your cock out and immediately shove it back inside, causing Jihyo to grunt. “Omg! Your cock is hitting my womb! Keep fucking me just like that,” as she moves her right hand to her cunt and starts to masturbate. She rubs her lips at a rapid pace, aiming for her orgasm. It doesn’t take long for her to reach it, and she is the first to cum. Her legs shake as she orgasms and sprays the floor with her love juice. 

You don’t slow down or stop fucking her as she rides her orgasm but instead increase the pace. This makes all her senses go into overdrive, and she loses her balance in the process. After her orgasm dissipates, you pull out your cock and see her get away from the wall and move to the other side of the shower to get a hold on something firm to keep herself from falling, but you have other plans. 

You can’t but want to get back at her from earlier today. So grab Jihyo’s hand and say, “babe, one more, please,” giving her a puppy dog eyes. She looks at you exhausted but nods and places her hands against the shower window. She positions herself and spreads her legs to give you better access to her mess of a cunt. You have other plans, though, and get your cock ready. “Remember our promise, right? The loser does whatever the winner wants.” It takes her a bit to get her thoughts together, but when she does, it's too late. You align yourself to her entrance and press the tip against it. It is then when she realizes what you’re about to do, “Wait… babe… that’s the wrong…” doesn’t finish her sentence as she feels the tip of your cock against her puckerhole. 

You push your cock in slowly, and you’re met with some resistance as her walls try to push you back out. “Relax, babe. Just a bit more.” Jihyo turns around and sees your puppy dog eyes, and accepts your cock inside her ass. After that, her walls loosen, which makes it a bit easier for your cock. You press forward and insert more of your cock inside of Jihyo’s ass. 

Jihyo bites her lips as she feels her ass being split wide open by your cock. She’s always had a harder time with anal and has only done it less than a handful of times, and every time is the same. She would rather keep going a few more rounds with her cunt and remembers the number of times you have asked her for anal. She wants to keep her promise, accepts the temporary pain, and relaxes her body. 

With your right hand on your cock and the left on Jihyo’s waist, you penetrate Jihyo’s tight ass. You can feel Jihyo’s body relaxing, which allows you to shove more of your cock inside of it. Jihyo moans and grunts aloud as she takes an inch at a time, “Fuck! Your cock is too big! It’s going to destroy my ass, fuck!” 

Not wanting to make her suffer more than she has to, you decide to get it over in one go. You press her against the wall once more, grab onto her waist, and give it one final thrust. Jihyo opens her eyes wide open when she feels your whole length inside her ass in one go. Her walls tighten even more around your cock, and give her a chance to adjust to your length. Jihyo can feel the hottest of your throbbing cock inside of her. “Fuck… you’re so tight,” as you try to move. After getting her approval, you begin to thrust, increasing the pace little by little. It goes from a sharp pain to slight pleasure as she feels her insides getting rearranged. 

You place your hand against her lower lips and finger her cunt to make it easier. This helps a little bit and makes it more pleasurable for her. You then pick up the pace and give a couple of hard thrusts, and can feel your cock from the other side. You feel the bulge of your cock inside her ass with every thrust. It turns you on to see her bulging belly every time you press your cock against it. 

Little by little, Jihyo gets used to your cock inside of her puckerhole and begins to enjoy it. She can't help but touch the bulge in her belly every time it pokes out and finds it kind of hot. “Ahh… ba babe… you really want to mess me up like chaeyoung, huh.”

“Yes, I want your ass to give itself to me. I want to teach every inch of your body that it belongs to me,” and decide to pick her up. Jihyo is surprised and gasps when she’s placed in a reverse stand-and-carry position.

Now the both of you can see your cock creating a big bulge in her belly as if she’s pregnant once more. “Fuck… you're reaching all the way to my deepest part!” You can feel your cock throbbing and begin to fuck her ass while being carried. 

Jihyo moans as she’s carried in the air and enjoys getting railed in the ass. Every time your tip reaches the deepest part, it feels like ecstasy. Little by little, she gives in to the pleasure until she is a complete mess. She doesn’t realize her mind is fading away, and her body is riding on pure ecstasy. 

You give it a couple of thrusts before your orgasm reaches its peak. You see Jihyo’s face ruined by pleasure and say, “Babe, I’m about to cum” but there is no response, just random mumbling, indecipherable words. You ask, “Want me to cum inside?” She tries to come up with the words but can’t and just nods. “Okay, if you really want me to cum, then hold the peace sign.” 

Jihyo, with her remaining consciousness, holds the peace sign as you face her towards the mirror by the corner of the shower. You lift her up, only leave a head of your cock, wait a few seconds and drop her whole weight on your cock. Jihyo’s body immediately reacts, making her squirt all over the mirror as you drown her ass with your biggest load. The expression on her face is priceless as she does a messy ahegao expression while holding the peace signs. Her body loses all its energy and becomes limp and letting go of your cock, only leaving a gaping hole. 

After the messy session, you return to your room and let her rest. She cleans herself with your assistance by taking a proper shower before going to bed. Tomorrow, you both will wake up sore from being busy the whole day, Jihyo especially. 

[wildflowerblurbs]

A Light for the Knight of Shadows | Isaac Rhoades

Isaac Rhoades x GN! Mythic! Reader

CW: mentions of past trauma/mistreatment, reader feeling anxious, minor injuries

A/N: wrote this ages ago and recently found it in my drafts; please disregard any mistakes.

-

“I’ve been lying to you.”

Isaac freezes in his chair before quickly relaxing and placing the documents he’d been reading on the desk. He slowly turns towards you, motioning for you to come closer. 

“You certainly know how to get my attention,” Isaac replies nervously. You could tell he was wary despite his playful words. “What have you been lying about, exactly?”

You fidget in front of him, not quite able to look at him while you contemplate just how you’d broach the subject of who you were—or rather what you were.

Thanks to the stupid rules of your kind, you couldn’t outright tell him what you were. Something about “ignorance being bliss” or however that human saying goes. It was a safety issue. Hunters can’t hunt what they don’t know.

Truthfully, if someone had told you that you’d be in this position six months ago—telling a human of your true identity—you would’ve laughed in their face and reported them to the elders for even suggesting a thing. Well, to be fair, you would’ve done anything to get in the elder’s good graces six months ago, but that’s not the point. Details don’t really matter. What matters is the forbiddenness of what you’re doing. 

It’s a bad idea, really. Humans are fickle creatures and there’s no guarantee Isaac’s love will last. You’d waited until he finally opened up enough to begin a relationship with you, but—disregarding the fact that your kind isn’t even supposed to fall in love with humans—that doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. He’s human. Or at least, that’s what you kept telling yourself.

The guilt of keeping this from him was easier when he held you at arm’s length, when the possibility of him throwing you out was high. But things changed. He opened up, slowly but surely, and even revealed his biggest secret. A secret that killed his family and destroyed his innocence. A secret that wasn’t a secret to you.

When he showed you the video of the werewolf, you’d tried to respond in a way that didn’t alert him to your own extended knowledge on the topic, of a life that most humans don’t know about. You’d questioned the validity of the video, both because you weren’t sure if it was created by some human to create chaos and because, if it truly was real, you wanted to gauge his opinion on the matter. You wanted to know if he believed it was real. 

Despite his suspicious nature, he did end up believing the validity of the video. Was it perhaps because he wanted to believe the thing that killed his parents wasn’t some sort of practical joke? Maybe, but that doesn’t really matter either. 

He knew creatures like you were out there, which makes it easier to approach telling him the truth of your existence but also a lot harder at the same time. The shock won’t be from your existence, but rather that you kept it from him. 

Moreover, when it comes to the logistics of your exact conversation, there are a few major issues. 

There is no name for what you are. Names and identifying information are forbidden. Any utterance of information on your kind is immediately quelled before it leaves your mouth. Your throat closes up and you’re left a sputtering mess. Writing anything down is out of the question as well, your hands only producing incoherent scratches and marks if you tried. It’s a curse, you suppose—and an inconvenient one at that—but also an effective way to hide. And an effective way to lose the man you love if you don’t hurry up and say something already. 

You must’ve been quiet for too long because Isaac had long since abandoned his chair and walked over to you when you heard his voice again.

“You… don’t need to force yourself to tell me if it’s difficult. I’m well aware that some secrets are best kept hidden. It’s my job to pry, but you’re not a case to be opened. You more than have the agency to tell me what you wish.” 

At his words, you finally look up at him. His face is a mixture of concern and the same wariness as before. 

“It doesn’t feel fair. You’ve told me things you’ve tried to keep hidden for years and yet here I am struggling to tell you something so important.”

At this, you feel Isaac’s hand gently lift your chin. 

“Have you been spying on me this entire time?”

The shock must’ve been evident on you face at his question.

“No, of course not!”

“Were you sent by an enemy organization?”

“Isaac, you know that’s not the case.”

“You’re right. I do know that’s not the case.”

“Then why are you—?”

“I’ve long since accepted you for who you are, for everything you are. You don’t need to hide from me. Whatever it is you’ve been lying about, I know it was never to hurt me.” You could feel Isaac move closer, closing the gap between you two. “And even if you did try to hurt me, my heart is yours to hurt. Call it unhealthy, but I wasn’t lying when I said that you were now my motivation to live. Do whatever you need to soothe your aching heart. I’ll be here to bear it all.” 

You weren’t sure which one of you moved first, but before you knew it his lips were on yours. It wasn’t like one of the kisses you’d share to greet each other or show affection, this kiss was full of something else. It conveyed the love he professed to you moments before, but it was also vulnerable. Isaac’s heartbeat was more honest about his feelings than he was. You could feel his heart pounding. He was anxious despite his comforting words. 

After you pull away, you decide you’d let the suspense go on for far too long. His words had finally let you find your resolve. 

“Follow me,” you ordered as you pulled Isaac outside of his office. While he normally would’ve teased you for sudden boldness, Isaac knew to keep quiet and let you lead, something you quite appreciated. 

He didn’t question you as you lead him into your shared bedroom. Originally quite bare and minimalist, you’d added your own charm to the bookshelves and wooden furniture that furnished the room. Isaac welcomed your changes, even if he still pauses upon seeing your stuffed animals or displayed collection of fairy tale figurines. It’s not a bad pause by any means, but rather one of disbelief. His room had never been this lively before you. It now had evidence of your shared existence. 

“Ok, I need you to bear with me. This isn’t something I can outright tell you,” you warn as you finally let go of his hand and shut the door. 

He simply nods and waits for whatever you’re planning to do. It’s not until you start to take off your cardigan and shirt that he shows any kind of reaction besides his existing nervousness. 

“What are you—?” Isaac starts but is immediately cut off by a large flash a light and sudden blast of wind that would’ve knocked him down if not for the door behind him. 

Suddenly, the fact that you are shirtless in front of him is the last thing on his mind. He has bigger issues to discuss, namely the wings that were now sprouting out of your back. 

He is speechless as he takes in your new form. Your wings are birdlike—white like a dove’s but don’t look nearly as soft. Rather, the feathers look sharp enough to cut him if he were to touch them, a risk he’s debating taking as he continues to look at you, enthralled by what he’s seeing. 

You stand in silence for a few moments, waiting for him to finally say something. You look for any signs of fear or anger, but only see pure amusement. 

“…An angel…,” he manages to breathe out. 

You don’t even try to speak. Confirming or denying his claim is just as forbidden as outright telling him what you are yourself. Instead, you walk over to him, taking note of how he steps back—an impulse even he can’t shake—and immediately freezing in your spot. 

You lower your wings, not wanting to intimidate him. They weren’t as big as the others of your kind—a reason why you were cast out—but they’d seem big to anyone who’d never seen them before. Hell, the wings themselves are intimidating. 

At seeing your attempt to make yourself smaller, Isaac walks towards you. 

It wasn’t just the wings that were different about you. Your skin was glowing, radiating a soft light that was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. Your eyes were sharper, not quite glowing but still brilliant enough to notice. It was like your entire being was made up of light. It was all so inhuman. 

Despite this—or maybe because of it—Isaac doesn’t hesitate in gently placing his hands on your both sides of your face, caressing the soft skin. 

“I’m not who I said I was, Isaac,” you say finally, almost too quiet to hear. 

“Strange, I don’t ever recall you ever claiming to be human,” was his response. 

You look up at him in disbelief. His tone was playful, but his eyes showed something different. You’d figured he was delirious from the shock, but he was quite serious. 

“I don’t understand. You’re…ok with this? That I kept this from you?”

Isaac pauses for a second to think before be responds. 

“After my grandfather showed me the video, I spent months trying to find as much information on the supernatural as possible. I didn’t follow any threads that would put on their radar, but not knowing anything about these creatures that I was suddenly now aware of was difficult. I needed to do something to ease the uncertainty I was facing.” 

He had moved his hands from your face, opting to hold yours instead, squeezing them in comfort. 

“The research I did was quite extensive and I managed to find quite a lot of information once I weeded out the websites and blogs that were obviously written by humans who had no idea what they were talking about. There were hundreds of entries, both by creatures writing about themselves and by those who hunt them.”

His face hardens. 

“The hunting records were endless. Reports of entire clans being massacred, the best ways to torture every kind of creature you could think of, their strengths and weaknesses, the trafficking of supernatural creatures for purposes of protection or… other unsavory reasons. All of these records claiming that the supernatural are dangerous, yet only showing the cruelty towards them at the same time. I thought that the video of the werewolf being tortured was bad, but it was nothing compared to what I found afterwards.”

His expression becomes intense as he brings you close to him, minding the wings as best as he can.

“You know my stance when it comes to human nature. We are weak compared to the supernatural, but we aren’t innocent by any means. Humans are cruel and seek out any and all kinds of power for the sake of their own advancement... You were protecting yourself. I can’t blame you for that.” 

You weren’t sure when it started, but his final words made you realize that you’d started crying. Once coming to this realization, you bury yourself further into his chest, feeling his arms hold you tighter to him as well, now letting your wings cut him as much as they want.

“You’re you. It doesn’t matter if you’re not human. Everything you’ve shown me in the time we’ve known each other has only proven that you’re better than any other human could be—even without having so-called ‘humanity.’ I love you. That hasn’t changed, nor would it have changed over something like this to begin with.” 

You pull back slightly and he wipes the tears from your eyes as you finally speak up again.

“You really mean it? This doesn’t bother you?”

At this, Isaac looks offended that you’d even ask those questions.

“My feelings for you aren’t so fickle that they’d disappear over something like this,” he asserts with a tinge of a tease in his voice, hoping to lighten the mood. “It doesn’t matter what you are, you are mine—” 

He pauses and lifts your chin once again.

“—and I am yours,” he finally finishes. 

When he leans over to kiss you, you let him take over, trusting his words fully as he shows you his determination. Your mind is a blur of all kinds of emotions as you melt into his soft yet somehow still firm hold. When you finally pull away, you’re breathless from the sheer intensity of it all. 

It’s also once you pull away that you realize you’ve been shirtless for the entirety of this conversation. Suddenly embarrassed, you shift back into your wingless form—much to Isaac’s disappointment—and rush to pick up the shirt you were wearing to put it back on. 

As you quickly—and shyly—put on your shirt, you take notice of Isaac’s own appearance, or rather the cuts covering his arms where he’d made contact with your wings. Your eyes widen as you rush over, apologetic over having hurt him unintentionally. 

Before you can say anything or apologize, Isaac cuts you off: “Don’t. I did this to myself. Besides, they’re more like scratches than anything. It’s nothing to worry about.” 

He sighs as he sees your guilty expression. An expression he reasons is due to his injuries, but is rather something much deeper.

“…The first aid-kit is in the bathroom. You can patch me up if you’d like.” 

You perk up at his offer, quickly rushing to the bathroom to grab the first-aid kit as he’d requested. It’s not hard to find by any means—meant to be easily accessible for emergencies—but you’re delayed by your own thoughts. 

You should’ve been defeated by the fact that you couldn’t heal him in the same way others of your kind easily could’ve in your position. You should’ve wished to be as strong as them, to be worthy of calling yourself [redacted], but for once in your life you weren’t. 

Here you were, living a life with a man who loves and accepts you for who you are. Even if it’s just the two of you, you finally have a home and family. You have a purpose, whether it be being Isaac’s life partner or a private investigator. You were actually glad to have been cast out, to have been abandoned and left to fend for yourself. All of the pain and suffering—

“Having trouble finding it? I’ll try looking for it downstairs. I may have left it down there.”

You smiled to yourself. Right, you had a job to do. This reflection can come later. 

“Nope, it’s right here! I’ll be there in a bit!”

The day would come when you’d finally grow strong enough to protect the two of you, to tell Isaac of your upbringing and the reason why you were cast out—or at least as much as you were allowed to—but that would come in due time. Right now, you’d help in the way you knew how, and that was more than enough. 

[m4iya]

ᝰ.ᐟ✮⋆˙ Matchup #8 @rinaland˙⋆✮ᐟ.ᝰ

Hello! Once more I’m trying to regain motivation for writing! That might be the reason why these have been coming out so slowly… lol

After a while, deciding and ‘analysing’ I’ve decided to match you to Oikawa Tohru!

Let’s begin with the hobbies c: I don’t think we know a lot about his hobbies in specific (other than volleyball obv) but he seems like the type to play video games in his free time, or just do random things in general. I think the two of you might play video games together, linking with each other in games and playing over call, or in person. Maybe something cozy, or an RPG or maybe even a shooter game where the two of you are in a call and he gets mad, insisting the people are ‘hacking’. He’d either suddenly go quiet and stop speaking out of annoyance, or become so frustrated that he yells at the console. He might even mutter the occasional “Ppft, whatever. I’d probably beat them in volleyball anyways.”

In a similar fashion, I can see the two of you wearing matching jewellery; something you made or something he bought. Maybe even matching lock screens, or his would be a candid photo of you. 

Since you mentioned keeping your interests to yourself until you get close to someone, I think he’d be the type to find someone like you pretty interesting. At times, he's either an open book, or super hard to read, so if he met someone like you, who (I might be wrong here, ignore if me if I am) is quiet and reserved yet still polite, open up and become flowery, beaming with a bunch of different interests and hobbies, might really keep his attention focused on you. 

One thing we (kinda) do know about Oikawa is the way he struggles with his perception of himself and his skills. He might find solace in venting his worries to you, noticing how you listen and provide an environment that makes it easy for someone to feel understood. 

He might tell you something, worrying and expecting to be scolded, but get the exact opposite. Maintaining a level-headed perspective on his issues, you might point out his wrongs but in a way that’s easier to digest than a lecturing session. To listen, but not be ready to attack at any moment. Because of that, I can see him being the type to ring you up at random times of the day, (mainly late night) and tell you about his day even when he had no issues or complaints. 

He’d ring you just when you were about to sleep, whining that the bread shop near his house was all out of his favourite milk bread. 

“…and get this, I had to get red bean bread instead.”

“Couldn’t this have waited until tomorrow?”

“Nope, I felt like you should know right now.”

Soon, it turned from venting worries to sharing the smallest details about his day. You’d smile and listen, and he’d feel understood. 

Here is a short story I wrote regarding outfits, gift giving and what not:

At last, he was free from practice for at least a day and you were able to spend some time together. Even if all the two of you were doing was laying on his bed, chatting and watching videos.

“This is so cute, isn’t it?” Turning the screen towards him, he squints.

“I mean, it’s okay.” His attention shifts back to his phone as he scrolls through training videos.

“I’m gonna check it out.” Pressing a link which led to the website, you search for where the store is located “It’s close by, wanna come?”

“Can’t we just stay here?” He groans.

“Come on, it’ll be fun!”

Slipping your shoes on, you step outside his house. Joining you after closing the door, the two of you walk there with your arms linked. On the way there, he stops by a juice bar, buying something for the both of you to drink. Even though he placed the order, after trying yours he repeatedly hinted at ‘how much nicer it was than his’ until you gave in and swapped your drink with his.

Once you reached the store, you began browsing, looking for the dress you saw online. Once you found it, you took it along with a few other things to a changing room to try on. Instructing him to wait on a seat nearby, you told him that he’d be the judge. With a sigh, he gave in, assuring you that he’d ‘do his job properly’

Outfits upon outfits, he’d give you ratings. Not on how you looked, but on how the outfit itself looked. After a while, he tapped on the door and told you that he’d be right back, and to wait for him before trying on the next outfit.

A few minutes passed, and another knock sounded on your door. Cracking the door open, you peeked your head through. In his hand was a satin, pearly light pink dress. The hem flowed down to the floor, and it adorned an asymmetric, one collar design with a pleated bottom.

“I thought you weren’t really into this.”

“Well, I did say I’d do my job properly.” He smugly replied. Taking the dress from his hand, you slipped it on with ease. Looks like he knew your size pretty well. Maybe all these shopping trips eventually paid off..

The changing room had spare heels situated near the mirror, so you used them to boost your height so that the dress didn’t drag behind you.

Stepping outside, you held the side of the skirt with a hand, flourishing the dress design.

“What do you think?” Truth be told, you loved it. The way it hugged your waist, but wasn't too tight, and the elegant feel of it made you wonder how you hadn’t noticed it on the clothing racks before.

“Well..” He tapped his chin in thought. “The dress is.. alright.”

Crossing your arms, you shot him a glare. “Hey, I’m not done yet!” He chuckled, throwing his hands up in defence.

“The dress is alright, sure, but it looks better with you in it.”

Ignoring the warmth flushing your cheeks, you gushed. “Oh, come on!”

“I’m being serious! Like, it went from a 5 to a 10.”

“I take it you’ll be paying then?”

“Sure, sure.” He sighed. He secretly didn’t mind spoiling you from time to time.

The two of you left the store with the dress as well as the outfit you saw earlier on your phone. Though, he made you to promise to wear that specific dress the next time the two of you went to dinner together.

The pink dress is kind of what i was trying to describe. The rest of the pics are things I imagined as the aesthetic!

[anony-man]

Part one here!

Chubformers drabble #133!

Characters: Megatron & Megatron X (Cyberverse)

Word count: 1.3k

“Good evening, ‘Cons!” Megatron greeted with a wave from her cushy gamer chair. “I see we’ve got a full house for this stream… no surprises there.”

Adorned in a skimpy new outfit that was already stretched at the seams and looking far more irritable than normal, Megatron had come into the start of her stream prepared. She was desperate to get it over with as quickly as possible this time, and for good reason. Collaborations had become rather popular since she’d begun her gaming, and while she’d branched out far with the additional side videos devoted to mukbangs, gift hauls, and all other sorts of exciting videos her followers begged for her to tape, joining another bot for a stream had been very, very low on her list.

Megatron wasn’t selfish when it came to fame on the web. She was far from it, really, and more often than not encouraged her most popular viewers to explore their own streaming interests. Collaborations and joint videos simply opened up a world of disasters, and with her audience, she’d be damned to find someone even slightly worth working with.

Enter Megatron X, and her streaming partner for the night’s collaboration. Her fans were utterly delighted, of course, especially considering that she herself had taken the advice of a few frequent commenters and bitten the bullet, but Megatron was feeling quite the opposite.

“We’ve got some big plans for tonight,” she continued, clapping her servos together. “Thanks to some wonderfully persistent suggestions on your ends, I’ve decided to dedicate this stream to something new. Inflation is on the agenda, and joining me—“

“Yes, yes, they get the drill,” her companion cut in. Megatron X came zooming into focus, forcing the near-identical and very disgruntled version of himself to huff and scoot aside. “Hi guys, it’s me, your favorite Megs—“ under his breath and behind a not-so-discreet servo, he added— “and the almost devaststor of your entire planet’s Cybertronian population… but anyway, welcome to our stream!”

“Mhmm,” Megatron hummed, her arms crossed over her pudgy belly. “Welcome to my stream—and thank you, Megatron X, for joining us tonight.”

“Please,” her multiverse counterpart purred through gritted teeth, “just call me Megatron. It’ll be easier for all of us, don’t you think?”

She would have sat and glared at him for the entirety of their allotted stream if she could, but Megatron let it drop with a huff and a shake of her helm. Getting up from her chair after she’d become wedged in so comfortably was a challenge, but someone had to retrieve the fuel pump—and it certainly wasn’t going to be her stream imposter.

“We went over a few ideas the past few nights,” she said, speaking over her shoulder as she slowly moved across the room, “but I think we could do with a refresher.”

Her frame jiggled with every step, and from the pings from her monitor, the fans were liking what they saw. Megatron had chosen another of the too-small and too-tight outfits her top viewer had sent over the weeks, and for a night like this with Megatron X as her company, she knew she’d need something eye catching to keep the focus where it belonged. Thin straps dug into the many folds of mesh and the sagging fat of her was in constant motion as she stood on her toes to reach the tube, bent over low to plug it in, and then dragged it ever slower across the room to where her less than pleased companion sat keeping the chat company.

“It’s the first inflation stream on this channel, so we’ll keep it short,” she said as she plopped back down into her seat, leaving Megatron X to glower at the creak of its strained base. “One tube this time—first one to tap out loses.”

“Ah, a competition?” Megatron X said, already reaching for the tube on his side of the machine. “Don’t let this pretty frame fool you. I’ve got tanks of steel and a pretty fraggin’ good appetite to back me up.”

A snappy retort was at the tip of her tongue, but Megatron held her peace. She’d gotten good at this, and inflation or no, she knew her limits… or lack thereof. What was a little bottomless fuel filling her up and rounding her out to worry about?

“Ready when you are,” Megatron X mumbled around the tube’s opening sliding into place.

Megatron glanced at the monitor, which was alight with comments, pings, donations, and piling members joining in for the show. The switch was flipped, and both mechs moaned aloud as the first few mouthfuls of fuel were downed.

They were off to a good start, and in the beginning, Megatron almost had hope that their (hopefully) brief collaboration. As the pump steadied on and his belly grew, however, things started looking rather bleak. Megatron X, for one, was especially looking bleak.

It was just as she’d expected, as the lesser version of herself had grown little more than a fuel baby belly and was already beginning to struggle. She herself was filing up nicely, and the strings of the cheeky thong outfit her supporter had gifted her was nearing its limits. Megatron X was having none of it, though, and as he fought the bloat of his swollen belly, he kept one servo to rubbing and the other to… to…

Oh, slag no. He was not turning off their pump!

“Mmph,” Megatron mumbled around the tube, struggling to speak against the fuel flowing down her throat. “Mm-mm!”

She attempted to swat his hand away, but to no avail. Like Megatron X and his rapidly bloating belly, she, too, was pinned to her seat. The energon flow was steady and endless (which was the point, and she’d warned him of that plenty of times before), just as she had hoped. To stop it now would be like giving up her entire stream.

“Mm-mmhmm!” Megatron X cried back, his expression a mixture of pain and irritation as he turned from reaching for the switch to swatting Megatron’s servo away in kind. “Mmp—hupp-gurrgh!”

Satisfied for the moment as her troublesome opponent turned his attention to soothing his belly and stomaching the rest of the burps that worked their way up his throat, Megatron went back to admiring her own progress. A string had already torn, and the rest of her top was hanging by thin tendrils just waiting to snap. The pings on the console were endless by then, and with them both sporting big, sloshy bellies—

All of a sudden, the fuel pump stopped. Megatron snapped her helm up and glared as she ripped the tube from her mouth.

“What are you doing?” she snapped. “You’re ruining the stream!”

“I can’t take any more,” Megatron X panted in return. With both servos cupping his swollen, sloshy, stuffed middle, he moaned. “It’s too much… what are you doing, trying to offline me?”

“You agreed to this!” Megatron spat as she waved a servo wildly. “Look at you, you’ve hardly made a difference!”

“Oh, is that so?” Megatron X shouted back. “Why don’t you get your fat aft over here and find that out for yourself?”

The two bots struggled against their chairs, both having become pinned to their chairs by the wait of their bellies. Drained tubes lay abandoned on the floor as they clawed the air and spat insults at each other from afar, filling the air between their bellies with swinging servos and hurled words. It was a nightmare of a stream, and Primus, Megatron couldn’t even begin to imagine the damages it would cause. The damages in question, though, were not to be found.

Between the hissy cat fight both mechs found themselves in, the cameras taped on, and the comments piled in. It wasn’t just a good stream, but the best stream, and all thanks to the impressive shot of two sloshy bellies swinging as the remnants of an attempt at inflating themselves up lay in the background.

Megatron was happy to swear off future collaborations right then and there, but in the comments, her fans had other plans.

[dantetel1028]

Hi so uh little rant 

(I am absolutely terrible at grammar and such so if it’s fucked up don’t mind it please)

Ok so I’ve noticed how no one talks about how /fit/ is alone, like /no one/ really talks about it. I think the reason the characters and the viewers and even q!fit himself overlooks it is because q!fit has always been alone. Pac is used to company, and when mike his platonic soulmate and richarlyson his child went missing he wasn’t used to it. The comfort that he had known most his life was taken from him so suddenly. But with fit he has always been alone so there would be no reason for him to be hit so hard by all of this right? WRONG. my man was in a wasteland where the moment you got attached to something it was gone, and then he came to a place that’s wasn’t so hardcore and He was not only allowed but  ordered to take care of something, he was hesitant and a little annoyed at how he had to take care of some egg he was just supposed to complete his mission and finally have at least a little peace , but slowly he started to get attached to the little boy and eventually that kid became /his son/. But then his partner, the man he was supposed to team up with, the man who was supposed to be his partner in parenting their child left without even a goodbye or a real reason as to why he left so he had to tell his son and everyone on the damned island that he left to get cigarettes. Of course fit isn’t really all that bothered by it, I mean he’s used to being alone and he barely knew that guy. But still…maybe he should monitor his future friends. just to make sure they don’t dump their responsibility’s on him of course. But time goes by and he for the most part forgets his absent partner. 

Then his son loses his first life. 

And then it became Ramon before the mission. He would never say it fully out loud but he would give up the mission and just about everything for that kid, it was /his/ kid, dragon be damned and he wasn’t going to let this kid be alone. He wasn’t going to let his kid be alone. 

And then more time passes, everything is fairly quiet and normal, well as normal as quesadilla island can be, yes he don was kidnapped once but all it took to get him back was a weak dungeon it was nothing

Then he was told his son would leave and never come back. He was told he had only had 6 days left with Ramon from a fairly traumatizing video. And he’ll be damned if he doesn’t make those 6 days count. 

Then the 6 days pass and he accepts that he will be alone once again. And he goes through the day grieving but pushing on, moving forward and so on. Besides he doesn’t have time to dwell since there are new members here, most of them don’t seem like they will be that much of a problem, and there are two who seem to be fans of his work he did while at 2b2t one of them seems particularly nice

And guess what! His son is back, Ramon is back! He’s not alone! But now his son is cracked. He needs to be extra careful now especially with the so called ‘federation’ that claims the kids were returned safely 

More time passes, and his son is a fairly good engineer! All is (for the most part) well , he’s making friends with those two Brazilians (known as tazercraft) and they tired out to be quite the trouble makers, he doesn’t fully trust them but they are friends- real friends not just ones he has to be friends with in order to make his mission easier 

Ok I realize im ranting too much so I’ll sum it up

Fit is supposed to be used to being alone, but it slowly starts to get to him, he’s starting to not be used to being alone to the point he now has separation anxiety instantly, almost everyone he has genuinely cared for on this island has disappeared or been kidnapped at least once, and he can’t take it anymore, he’s trying his best to go back to not caring but he’s getting closer and closer to a particular Brazilian (pac) and he’s not sure what to do, he said he’d take baby steps but even those seem too fast, and now his son and everyone else’s is gone, and they have no clue where they are and only a bit of a clue if they are ok. 

But I’m just saying that without Ramon, if we don’t count pac fit is alone, him and phill are friends but he’s not close enough to tell him about his mission and the same goes to tubbo, especially tubbo actually, since the kid is a big trouble maker (be it on purpose or accident) and has his own suspicions on fit himself

Pac has the other favela members but fit has no one is what I’m trying to say 

[blouisparadise]

Upon request, today we have a rec list of fics where Louis, Harry, or both of them have pets. This is a great group of fics, so please be sure to check them all out and show the authors some love! If you enjoy our rec lists, please also like and reblog this post to help spread the word. Happy reading!

1) Maple | Mature | 5,255 words

Prompt 30: Louis is crazy about animals, so Harry is determined to get him all the pets he wants even if they are unconventional, like a baby goat. Louis is over the moon when they get to adopt a goat family, but there’s one little problem, and that is the goat not liking Harry…or even letting him get close to Louis. At first it’s all endearing fun and games, but when it starts affecting their sex life and Harry’s dick feeling neglected, he’s determined to try win over the goat so he let him be with Louis. It’s easier said than done - who knew goats could screech that loudly? (Tip: google goat screaming to get an idea how loud.) ***Change to a cow, I hope that is okay.

2) At The End Of My Rope | Mature | 5,608 words

"Baby?" Harry mumbles, voice laced with sleep and a shiver goes through Louis at hearing the term. He hasn't called him that in so long, in that voice and, clearly, even Louis' body fucking misses it. "Did you cheat on me?" Louis finds himself asking. If he's being honest it's more so he can see Harry's reaction, than a genuine question, but what has he got to lose? Sure enough, Harry's face changes from sleepy to the most incredulous look Louis' ever seen on him. He actually looks terrified, all wide eyes, mouth gaping like he can't believe Louis would even assume that and Louis would laugh at it, but he's so done with the way Harry's been acting, he just wants to know what the hell's going on.

3) If This Room Was Burning | Explicit | 8,629 words

Where Louis' cat gets stuck on the roof and Harry is the firefighter who ends up saving her.

4) I Built This Bed For Two (I Built This Bed For Me and You) | Explicit | 8,942 words

Harry and Louis broke up after uni and haven't seen each other since—until they're roped into doing a Buzzfeed video together. Featuring awkward cuddling and a reunion that just needed a kick in the arse, gleefully provided by Niall.

5) Glistening Under The Sun (You’re My Honey Soaked Love) | Mature | 8,996 words | Sequel

“Oh Petal,” he picks her up nuzzling the top of her head with his cheek as she nibbles on the lavender, “How lucky are we? I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy, the only thing we have to be sad about is that soon I won’t be able to hold you like this,”

6) Candle Wax & Polaroids On The Hardwood Floor | Explicit | 13,082 words

Prompt 463: Clumsy modern witch Louis AU where he accidentally gives his roommate Harry a love potion and he has a crisis because he thinks he will get in trouble with the law for technically poisoning someone and Harry’s heart eyes aren’t helping.

7) A Vivid And Wistful Melody | Explicit | 13,137 words

"Slowly, he takes his violin out of its case, listens for a few more minutes to Louis’ flute, before joining him as best as he could. The flute stops for a few seconds, and Harry imagines Louis blinking cutely, taken aback, before huffing with a smile, and starting to play again, on a suddenly far happier tune. Harry closes his eyes as he twirls around the living room, violin in hand and music filling the air. He pictures Louis doing the same in his own flat while being careful as to not step on his cat. Somehow, even with heavy eyes and tired limbs, this is the happiest Harry has ever felt in years."

8) Absolutely Smitten | Mature | 20,120 words

Louis is walking his dog. Harry is walking his cat. Leashes get tangled, and feelings too.

9) I Didn't Fall For You (You Fucking Tripped Me) | Explicit | 20,681 words

These days Louis tends to steer clear of dating alphas. He’s dated too many knotheads in his time, and he’s ready to just focus on school and his friends and his pet monitor lizard, of course. Too bad the alpha next door won’t take a hint and stop using the worst pick up lines of all time on him. He’s really got to stop laughing with him--and talking to him and walking to class with him and letting him bring him coffee and tea and gifts for his lizard and watching Netflix together and...

10) Nocturnal Creatures Are Not So Prudent | Mature | 24,558 words

Louis is a white witch with a little black cat named Hemlock and a best human friend Liam (they're a lot like Samantha Stephens and Louise Tate). When he's dragged out to a new club Liam's heard about from a friend and classmate, Louis comes face to face with that which witches do not touch: a charming vampire by the name of Harry.

11) Weightless | Explicit | 25,332 words

Harry is the best dragon racer the world has ever seen and Louis is an almost-vet who feels like he is carrying the weight of the world.

12) A Common Place Affliction | Explicit | 36,508 words

“You should go home,” Louis muses, and Harry can feel the omega crouch down to become eye level with Harry, poking his cheek with a dainty finger. Harry lifts his arm, taking a peek at Louis’ face. Louis looks tired, he notes, but not exhausted, and there’s an eyelash stuck to his cheek. Harry doesn’t hesitate to lazily reach out and thumb over his cheek. “Can’t,” Harry croaks, blindly twisting his hand around to grab at Louis’ offending finger and just holding it. “C’mere. Take a nap with me,” he asks after a beat, opening an eye to look at Louis. Louis raises an eyebrow. “M’not going to nap with you in the middle of the ER, H.” Sighing, Harry squeezes the young nurse’s finger. “Nobody cares.” He knows they do; they’ll annoy nurses and probably worry patients when they catch sight of a nurse and surgeon sleeping on the job. Let alone in the middle of the emergency ward hallway. Harry can hear the complaints now: ‘these are the people we’re supposed to trust with our lives?’

13) You Wish I Was Yours And I Hope That You're Mine | Explicit | 36,992 words

The one where Harry's a bit strange and Louis doesn't give up easily. Of course, they fall in love.

14) Give Me Love | Explicit | 41,041 words

Louis doesn't feel like a good omega, Harry doesn't remember how to be an alpha, and they figure it out together.

15) This Glass House | Mature | 43,072 words

While deployed, Alpha Harry gets injured by an IED explosion, leaving him to deal with severe injuries in its devastating aftermath. During his road to acceptance and recovery he learns with the help of Louis and their children just how important family can be for the mind, body, and soul.

16) Breakable Heaven | Mature | 44,594 words

“What do you think?” Louis gets captured by Harry’s green eyes, unable to look away or even take a breath. “I think you’re the most magnificent creature I’ve ever met.” “You must not have met many creatures then.” Harry’s eyes glance downward to Louis’ lips and his tongue darts out to wet his own. “None like you.”

17) Yesterday Came Suddenly | Explicit | 48,504 words

They don’t talk about it. The way Harry deflects any and all questions about his past and Louis pretends he isn’t confused or hurt by it. The way Harry keeps a distance between them and Louis acts like he can’t see it creating a wall between them. The way Harry doesn’t always answer honestly and Louis goes along with it as if he can’t tell. They don’t talk about it. Harry knows Louis feels like he doesn’t know him well enough, and it pains him. It pains him every time Louis gets that look on his face that’s a mixture of disappointment, frustration, and confusion. And sometimes, self-blame. It pains him because Louis is wrong. Because even though there is a lot Louis doesn’t know about him, there is so much that he does. He knows what Harry is like at his most vulnerable: curled up on this bed with him in the dark where it’s safest. He knows Harry in a way no one else does.

18) So Much We Didn’t Say | Mature | 53,584 words

Harry’s near fatal accident exposed the cracks in his and Louis’ eleven year marriage. A serious error in judgement by Louis shattered it completely.

19) Secret's Safe With Me | Explicit | 59,208 words

When bad turbulence and three glasses of wine have Louis spilling all of his secrets to the man sitting next to him on the plane, it's embarrassing, sure, but it's also easy enough to shrug off and block out of his memory forever. Or at least, it was until Louis went into work on Monday morning and realized that the man from the plane is the new CEO of his company.

20) Tug-Of-War | Explicit | 63,000 words

Louis' husband dies suddenly and he is left with nothing. Well, not really nothing. He has Harry. And a St. Bernard puppy named Link, whom his late husband left behind for him. Louis takes care of Link and Harry takes care of Louis. Everything is okay until suddenly, it isn't.

21) Sweet Creature | Explicit | 78,282 words

Prompt: "You're having a nightmare and I feel bad because you're trembling and crying so I crawl into bed with you and hold you so you feel safe, but in the morning you wake up with my arms around you and you're really confused and embarrassed."

22) Elysian | Mature | 81,886 words

Harry is running out of time to fall in love, but with Louis, it seems as if there’s all the time in the world.

23) Beautiful War | Mature | 103,379 words

Five years ago, Louis was nearly the next victim in a string of murders plaguing Portland, Oregon. He managed to escape and the Angel Killer was apprehended and sent to prison. Now, Louis' a best-selling author that assists state police with minor cases. He still suffers from the events of the days he'd been held hostage, but he's found ways to cope. That is, until the killings start up again. A body was found in the woods. A body that bared the same signature the media had dubbed: The Angel of Death. Special Agent Harry Styles leads the case, and he doesn't buy into the clairvoyant bullshit that Louis spewed to save face five years ago. He's certain that Louis Tomlinson was involved. Until they meet, and they're both left questioning everything they'd thought to be true.

24) Only You Can Be My Alpha | Explicit | 212,387 words

In a world where one was either an Alpha or an Omega wolf, Louis found himself in a body that could be neither. Born an Omega without the expected characteristics of one, he felt broken, choosing to live as Alpha a lifestyle as he could. Harboring a serious lack of respect for Alphas and their authority complexes, Louis managed to get himself banished from his home, forced to wander the unforgiving woods for years, facing the elements and fighting enemy rogues each time they arose. Unbeknownst to Louis, in a tribe to the southwest of his home, there lived a dysfunctional Alpha, the orphaned pack leader Harry, who had never felt satisfied enough with anyone to settle down and continue his royal line. Living their lives apart thus far, the both of them assumed that they might be alone forever, making the best of things despite this even though it hurt. Chance, luck, or maybe fate brings Louis to this tribe when he’d least expected to receive kindness and shelter from a stranger, and when he arrives, something in his soul pulls him to Harry like a raging river current. The two don’t get off to a good start, but everyone around them can sense the chemistry—and in time they do too.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

[puphyo]

could you talk more about little!jihyo going out of regression in your forever home au?? like what circumstances does she do that, what is she like when she’s big, etc…i’m curious to know!!

and i loved your recent update, can’t wait for more!!

hihihi!! i’m happy to hear that!! i’m sorry that it’s taking me quite a while to write, i’ve gotten into one heck of a writers block but i’m working through it slowly!!

jihyo, outside of her regression, she used to do it a lot more when she first was classified. she still has those underlying little instincts that she fights to not follow, still is attached to 2yeon, but she’s much more of her adult self. she used to pull herself out when jeongyeon would be called into work (she works as a psychiatrist, but does most of her work from home in the office, and even during video calls for appointments, jihyo was well behaved if she was small and didn’t cause much of a ruckus, other than wanting to be held often, jeongyeon could never tell her no) so that 2yeon wouldn’t worry about her getting into stuff she wasn’t supposed to, that she would be okay on her own, that kind of thing! after a while it got harder for her to keep herself out for long periods of time, like the six hours jeong would be at work, which is why mina was hired, mina was a close friend of jeongyeon’s and had been classified and looking into the process of taking in a little herself, and jeongyeon thought it would be good practice for her to take care of jihyo, though that’s neither here nor there.

now she really just pulls herself out for important doctor’s appointments so that it’s easier to explain and understand medical jargon, and she’s fairly the same though with an expanded vocabulary and quite a bit more independent, sometimes she’ll go out with a friend for some time for lunch or similar and she’ll be big for that, but as soon as she comes home to 2yeon, she’s just their little girl again, she finds it hard to be in her adult headspace around 2yeon. though even in her adult headspace, she relies a lot on 2yeon, asking 2yeon if it’s okay to do something and whatnot. it’s fairly uncommon that a little will be able to pull themselves out of their little headspace like jihyo can though!

she’s a bit more calmed in her adult space, though just like little jihyo, she finds herself absolutely fascinated with so many things just as much as she does as she’s little. she’s more rambly, with the expanded vocabulary, she can just talk for a while and often does, about things she finds interesting, about things she notices, about her caregivers, her friends, she’s just a little chatterbox, more so than she usually is as a small one!

i can’t think of any more specifics at the moment but if there are any ideas or whatnot i’m more than happy to hear them and expand on them if possible! i hope that i can figure out the next part soon for forever home :))

[alilybit]

[Pokémon DP Cover] Cracked Reflection | Infinity Train: Book Two

I’m Lake.

Hi, I’m back once again. This time I really actually want to get back to regular uploads. Thank you for continuing to watch even when I don’t upload for months or years!

The Song

As you can hear, this is something a little different. I’ve been wanting to expand beyond only 8-bit and only covers for a while. This one actually came to be sort of accidentally. I wanted to just transcribe the song into LMMS to have all the notes and instruments visualised to make it easier to then arrange it into FamiTracker. I love trackers and I find them incredibly comfortable to use, but for planning an arrangement I find it easier to have a fully visual version of all the notes. And I’m not bound by a limited amount of channels. I can transcribe everything I hear (or possibly want to add) to LMMS and then use that as a reference to plan how I want to turn this into a FamiTracker arrangement, and what parts should be in which channel and what parts have to be omitted.

And as I continued transcribing it using the DP “soundfont”, I thought it sounded very interesting and maybe I should not just transcribe the notes but polish it into its own full song. And so I did. I’ve been wanting to make covers with game soundfonts like this for a long time. It was so much fun to do, finding instruments that sounded close enough to be a good representation of the original felt very similar to recreating instruments in FamiTracker. Just like how I use FamiTracker to make faithful 8-bit music, I want to make the game soundfont covers faithful. I don’t know of proper specialised way to do that (althogh I haven’t looked yet), converting the original samples to .sf2 and then just using them in a DAW like LMMS probably doesn’t produce a very faithful result. And this time I’ve taken a creative liberty that I don’t plan on using in other DP covers: I used tons of reverb. Because that’s what the original song is like and that makes it sound much better and more like the original. Playing around with reverb allowed me to make some instruments sound a lot more fitting than they would otherwise be. I’m quite happy with how most things turned out sounding, except for the main chords. I couldn’t find an instrument that sounded satisfactory and I’m not entirely happy with the one I eventually decided was the best. I love how those ascending notes like at 0:20 turned out, though. Although doing the timing of those notes was not easy, I played around with them for a long time and still couldn’t get it to sound exactly like the original. And for that slowly descending sound like at 0:00 I used the sustained crash cymbal (?) sample and made it slowly go down in pitch. The result sounds surprisingly good, I didn’t expect to be able to find something to recreate that sound. What gave me the idea to use the crash cymbal for this was that I found out while analysing the DP Opening Movie that its ending loop also uses that same crash cymbal to make those 3 sounds that to me sound like coal digging in the Oreburgh mines.

I also made more changes to the song than I’ve ever done before. I added a counter melody to the main A D G D F# B and I added 1.5 whole sections. Those sections use a similar saw-like instrument to the aforementioned ascending notes like at 0:20, just a little less sharp (called “off the train” in the project file as can be seen in the video). I think I might have tried both instruments for the ascending notes, decided the sharper one was better and then ended up re-using the other instrument for this additional part. Because I love how these two instruments sound. This additional saw-like melody is meant to represent Lake’s journey through the Train, with its ups and downs, sometimes succeeding in getting closer to defining their own self and destiny but also sometimes feeling hopeless when the world just doesn’t seem to let them.

The secondary instrument playing during the new parts (called “flecs” in the project file as can be seen in the video) is a piano that plays a melody inspired by the motif that plays whenever Mace and Sieve appear and do mirror law enforcement things. It’s meant to represent how the Flecs are a constant threat in Lake’s life, obstacles on their journey through the Train, and the instrument alternating between playing and breaks shows how the Flecs keep coming back, and their echoes stay in Lake’s mind even when they’re temporarily not pursuing Lake.

And then there is the second shorter additional part that ends the main part of the song, with just the “off the train” instrument playing a happy end, and no “flecs” because the Flecs following Lake are gone, Jesse came back for them because he cares about them and sees them as their own unique and equal person, and they got off the train.

The Art

For the art I went through my screenshot collection of the second season. I often take screenshots when important, emotional and/or beautiful stuff happens. I thought about what facial expression and pose would best represent Lake, and I thought that this expression of them looking to the side with a mix of mild amused annoyance would be perfect. Maybe even a little bashful and definitely happy. In that original scene the rest of their body is just stiff and straight and boring, so to make them look more dynamic and even more cool I combined that facial expression with a hands-in-pockets pose. Turned away a little, thinking about their new life.

And of course the background is that absolutely beautiful Bob Ross landscape. I again had trouble drawing the clouds and I don’t like how they turned out, but I like the rest. I definitely had a lot of fun drawing this piece and I really like it.

The Video

I wasn’t sure how to do the visuals for this DP cover, and soundfont covers or LMMS songs in general. The only “dynamic” thing I could record and show is the LMMS overview, but that’s filling the entire screen with no room for art or animations, unlike the Synthesia-like notes I put over the art in 8-bit videos. I initially decided on just recording LMMS and then putting a sprite of Lake somewhere on it, in a DPPt trainer battle pose and style. I drew that sprite and a round in-battle grass platform for them to stand on, but it looked not that good and the sprite itself and the video idea of just showing LMMS with a random out-of-place sprite somewhere covering things up just didn’t resonate with me at all. I wanted to add a DP-like battle-like background to the sprite, those with just a few blurry coloured stripes like I did in the DP Opening animation. I wanted to use the beautiful Bob Ross landscape from the series as a reference for the colours, but I ended up painting the entire scene instead. And unlike the small sprite I liked this painting. And then I drew the Lake pose on top of it. I planned to make multiple versions of the song, definitely also an 8-Bit cover and possibly something fully hand-played too. So I might need multiple different drawings, and I thought about this Bob Ross landscape + Lake pose, the battle sprite and what other things I could do, and which of them I should use for which version. The DP sprite would obviously fit the DP cover best, but since I don’t like how the sprite turned out but love the painting, and I really want to finally upload this song and upload something again, I decided to use this painting for the DP cover.

But the painting fills the entire screen. I had two screen-filling things, the painting and the LMMS recording. Only having a static image for an entire video might be too boring. But I didn’t know what meaningful and useful things I could put on top of the drawing. So I tried to see if maybe just switching to LMMS for a few short times to give viewers a glimpse of the project file in a very slightly Synthesia-like way would look acceptable and make it more interesting. I did a simple fade over to LMMS twice. It looked alright, I guess. But then I thought about how I could make the transitions more interesting, and I had the idea that it would be interesting and fitting to do a digital glitchy transition that makes it look like the artificial image being projected for the viewer is disappearing because the actual machinery behind it all is malfunctioning and revealing the actual mechanisms behind it, just like how removing the orbs reveals the tech stuff behind the train’s illusions. I probably won’t find a way to integrate temporary transitions to LMMS into other DP covers as nicely, but for this one it ended up fitting really well.

And at the end there’s of course the crucial hand reveal scene. I’ll see you on the train!

Oh yeah, and I’m not sure about how to title this series. Right now it’s called “[Pokémon DP Cover] Cracked Reflection | Infinity Train: Book Two”. The thing in brackets is the problem. I want it to be as short as possible, but also as informative as possible to as many people as possible so they easily understand what this song is. It’s not a song from DP, it’s a song from something else played with DP’s instruments. I guess the word “soundfont” is widely used and easily understandable even by people who don’t know much about music, so I considered stuff like [Pokémon DP Soundfont Cover], but that’s way too long. I could leave out the “Pokémon” and the “Cover” parts I guess, but that might cause more people to not understand what this is. And I want to clearly distinguish covers from potential future originals. Let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions.

PPS: I’ve never interacted with the Infinity Train fandom in any way, but now I’ve seen a little bit for the first time after I posted the video and drawing on Tumblr. As I imagined, there seem to be a lot of people using they/them or he/him for Lake and so on. I initially used she/her for Lake in this post even though I myself have a lot of thoughts about Lake including in the realm of gender, but I didn’t want to assume a part of Lake’s identity and force my own views onto Lake. After all, Lake’s theme is that Lake wants to do Lake’s own thing and not be assigned and told anything by others. Respecting that and only using what Lake lakeself said in the show was important to me. But now that I’ve seen others take the character further than what was depicted in the show I’ve relaxed that mindset a little and thought to myself that while I want to respect Lake which is still very important to me, Lake is a fictional character and I too can continue the version of Lake that’s in my mind into any direction I personally like. So I will personally take Lake into the direction of non-binary and they/them, because I feel like that fits their character’s theme of wanting to be their own person and not being satisfied with predefined binary choices. I feel like this would be something the show and its writers might have done if the show had been done later where this would be more acceptable. So I’ll edit the pronouns I’ve used here to reflect that decision. And of course I’m fine with any other way other people interpret their Lakes.

Lake is just the best, I love them so much. And of course I also love Jesse.

[showfallsquigandiris]

/Video input received/

/Source: HS: IR-15/

/Starting transcript/

…

[A powered off hair dryer is being held a bit away from the camera by Iris, who’s fake skin has noticeable stitches running up the length of her arms as she wraps the power cord around the handle.] 

Iris: God Bluebird, seriously, you are a life saver for that. I do not know how much longer I could have stood that wet hair.

[The camera tilts up and turns, a teen girl is standing there. The girl has medium length curly brown hair, with two light blue streaks framing her face, which is covered by the typical Showfall mask. She's also wearing a suit that appears 3 sizes too big.]

?: No problem Iris!

/New person registered, identified as "Bluebird"/

[The camera shifts in place a bit along with some shuffling sound, a frizzy bright red lock of hair falls in front of the camera before Iris’ hand comes up to quickly brush it away.]

Iris: Now I just need to get back to where I’ve been storing my stuff while here so I can get all this-

[Iris’ hand can be seen at the edge of the frame gesturing towards her own head.]

Iris: -under control. 

Bluebird: Can I come with?

Iris: I mean as long as you won’t get in trouble for leaving…

[The camera flicks over Bluebird’s shoulder, focusing on the spaceship set behind her, a few other employees can be seen doing small busy work, before the camera focuses back on Bluebird’s mask.]

Bluebird: Should be fine? I'll run and ask real quick!

[Bluebird skips over to the set, humming a song as she does.]

[The camera glances back down at the hair dryer still being held by Iris, who just quickly turns and shoves it on a nearby table before looking back to where Bluebird went.]

[Someone can be heard hopping above Iris before hitting the ground.]

Bluebird: ow-

[Turning towards Bluebird, Iris can be heard letting out a small sigh.]

Iris: You good there?

Bluebird: Yeah… Uh, I can go with you by the way. None of the crew needs me.

[Bluebird tries to get up, only to slip on one of her suit jacket sleeves and fall again.]

Iris: Okay yeah, if you wouldn’t have already been getting a new suit in general, you certainly would be after seeing that.

[The camera lowers as Iris offers a hand out to Bluebird whos struggles with the suit’s sleeves a bit more before being able to grab Iris’ hand. The camera returns to its original height as Iris helps Bluebird back to her feet.]

Bluebird: Thanks-

[Iris lets go of Bluebird hands and waves dismissively.]

Iris: Well I couldn’t just leave you on the floor, anyways, it’s not… too far from here, come on.

[Everything blurs for a second as Iris quickly turns and starts to slowly walk back back into the main area of the Mall. A smaller set of footsteps can be heard following along after a few seconds.]

Bluebird: Soooo Iris… I've been meaning to ask you something…

Iris: Go ahead, if there was any time to ask me questions it’s now.

Bluebird: Ok… Well it's two questions but the second one is tied to this one and-

[Bluebird cuts herself off before clearing her throat.]

Bluebird: We're almost done filming… I think the next two days will be it? Do you think… I can go with you when you return to your facility?

Iris: I mean yeah, that’s the plan. I’m uh, not sure the exact date of when I’ll finally be heading back, but Boss Lady did mention to me that all the paperwork is through for your transfer.

Bluebird: Wait really?

[Iris lets out a hum and the camera slightly shakes up and down, before flicking to the side to glance at Bluebird.]

Iris: Yeah uh, considering your… position at the Mall and how you started working here in the first place, it was a lot easier than it usually would have been to submit for a transfer. 

Bluebird: Oh um… In that ca-

[A loud shrill childlike scream suddenly is heard in the distance. Bluebird lets out a shout and the thump of feet hitting the floor can be heard. The camera turns to fully face Bluebird and Iris places a hand on the teen’s shoulder.]

Iris: Jeez, do they not use any kind of soundproofing when recording for horror shows around here? 

[Bluebird begins shaking as she slowly puts her thumb down.]

Iris: I uh, guess we can add this to the list of why a transfer would be good for you, not that we need more reasons at this point.

[The camera flicks around Bluebird, and Iris lightly squeezes her shoulder.]

Iris: Trust me, random screaming like that is… okay well it does happen sometimes, but it shouldn’t be too hard to make sure you just work far away from any horror sets. 

[Bluebird lighty nods in approval.]

Bluebird: T- thanks…

[Iris gives one last squeeze to Bluebird’s shoulder before letting go, the camera turning back to just point at the empty mall around them.]

Iris: No problem, and luckily where I’ve been keeping my stuff is in the opposite direction of where that came from, so hopefully if that keeps happening we will be out of earshot ‘til they’re done filming.

Bluebird: Y- yeah…

[Iris makes a small affirmative hum before starting to walk again, a bit quicker than before. A smaller set of footsteps once again following.]

[The camera briefly loses focus before a ding can be heard coming from Iris, and the camera once again focuses.]

Bluebird: Time for my second question… Would I be able to go outside from time to time? Like you and Steve?

[Iris gives a small laugh.]

Iris: Funny you should mention Steve, it’s likely you’ll be working somewhat closely with him for a while. Which means that yes, you will be outside. I doubt you’ll be allowed to leave the entire Island, at least not right away, but it’s honestly kind of hard to work on the Island… and not have to go outside.

[Iris’ hand lifts up and makes a wide sweeping gesture.]

Iris: It’s way bigger than this place… and a lot more well organized too, no offense. Unless you have a desk job, which isn’t in any of the possibilities we have for you.

Bluebird: Really! 

Iris: Yup! Hell, even the fact that you wanted to come with me proves that you definitely need a job that won’t have you stuck in just one area.

[Iris chuckles before stopping in front of a storefront with no sign above it. Inside there are all sorts of miscellaneous bits of furniture.]

Iris: And we’re here, this is where I’ve been keeping my stuff. It’s uh, a bit hard to get around but honestly that’s part of the point. Don’t want people taking my shit.

Bluebird: Fair enough!

[Iris walks into the store turned into storage, carefully squeezing through the piles of furniture before stopping to look back at Bluebird.]

Bluebird: Yeah?

Iris: Are you going to come in?

Bluebird: Oh um, yeah! Sorry.

[Bluebird slowly walks in making sure to not mess with anything.]

[The camera turns back around and continues moving further into the store until it reaches a spot where most of the furniture has been pushed to the side except for a red couch and a desk. There are various bags laying around the area and a still dripping wet yellow sweater is hanging off the leg of a nearby upside down chair.]

Iris: It’s uh, not usually this messy. 

Bluebird: Have you seen where I work? This is clean as heck compared to the rest of the Mall.

Iris: I… yeah, good point.

[Iris moves over to a red bag that’s on the top of the desk, quickly unzipping it and rummaging around before pulling out a hair brush.]

Iris: Finally I can start getting this under control. Oh and uh, feel free to take a seat Bluebird.

[The hair brush is set down on the desk as Iris’ other hand pulls a nearby desk chair closer to her. The camera turns as the swivel chair creaks as the same time Bluebird is seen sitting down on the couch.]

Iris: So I know you said you only really had those two questions, but surely you got more? I just know I’d be dying to know everything about the place I’d be transferring too.

[Plastic clattering can be heard out of frame before Iris pulls a section of her hair to her front and starts to brush out the ends, the camera angled towards the hair but Bluebird is still seen at the edge of the frame.]

Bluebird: I mean… I get to hang out with you… And Ms. Squig… And the Triplets you mentioned… and Steve. So I'm happy! and I'll be away from here.

Iris: And thank god for that, you are way too… nice I guess, for the kind of workplace this Mall is. Things are a lot less… consistently chaotic at the Island.

Bluebird: That’s a good thing right?

Iris: Yeah, I’d say so. I remember Mai kept saying you were a bad employee, but honestly it was always obvious that she was just never good at being a boss. 

Bluebird: Was she good at anything?

[Bluebird chuckles.]

Iris: Boss Lady showed me some of the files on Mai and apparently she was pretty good on a basic technical level… but she always kept trying to… I guess innovate would be the right word. Except Mai didn’t know enough beyond the basic technical level to do that even remotely well.

[The camera blurs in a circular motion before returning to its original position.]

Iris: Honestly, it was like looking into a mirror except the mirrored version of me was 90% more incompetent. 

Bluebird: That’s fair… Ugh, I feel sleepy?

[Iris pauses in brushing her hair and the camera flicks up to fully look at Bluebird.]

Iris: Well uh, if you want to take a nap on that couch, that’s what I’ve been using it for. Just uh, were you given a specific time you needed to be back on set by?

Bluebird: Uhhhh I don't think so?

Iris: I’ll just… make sure you’re back before tomorrow morning then. But yeah, if you need to sleep for a bit, go ahead.

Bluebird: You… Sure?

[The swivel chair can be heard creaking as Iris turns fully towards the desk.]

Iris: Of course, oh and there’s a blanket and a pillow just on the floor on the other side of the couch if you want to use those. Unless I moved them and forgot.

Bluebird: Ok… t- thank you Iris…

Iris: It’s… no problem.

[Iris reaches into the red bag from before and pulls out a small mirror and sets it on the desk. She lets out a huff as her frizzy mess of hair is reflected back at her.]

Iris: Plus, no safer place to sleep than literally with a Head Security in the room.

Bluebird: Good point…

[Iris hums, and slightly tilts the mirror so Bluebird can be seen in the corner.]

Iris: Yeah yeah, I only make good points. Get some rest Bluebird.

[Bluebird passes out, humming a song.]

…

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[ladylibido]

It's closing in toward the end of Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week and I doubt I'll get this fic finished by sunday so I'll share this one particular scene with R'Vindr and Ketna that matters a lot to me.

R'Vindr is aromantic with a disinterest, boarding on aversion, to acts/displays of affection. But he still cares in his own way. I wanted to write something that shows the way they interact despite having very different needs and boundaries when it comes to affection. That sort of low/no affection aromantic with no desire for a committed relationship (but also isn't antagonistic), while also being very sexually motivated, is something I don't see very much.

And narratively it works as a great way to introduce Wojciech.

1121 word snippet of a future fic, behind the Read More

=======================================

By the time R’Vindr hoisted her carefully out of the chair, Ketna had the sense of mind to begin grounding herself and return to reality. Ketna nestled herself against R’Vindr's chest, getting what comfort and closeness she could out of being carried by him, knowing it would be the most she would get.

"You’re lucky I like you." He remarked, hefting her a bit in his arms to balance his hold of her before he moved.

Ketna grunted her appreciation for his uncharacteristic attention, against his chest.

“Anyone else I’d give them a hand up and a glass of water, but you, you’re spoiled next to everyone else.” Taken at face value it could seem like chiding, but by his tone Ketna could tell it was good-natured.

Ketna huffed a laugh and muttered a “Thank you.”, ensuring her head was faced outward so he could hear it.

“Consider it compensation for letting me use you as a living masturbation toy for the last few hours. Though I don’t know why you put up with it if you need this much aftercare.” R’Vindr placed Ketna down at the corner of the couch. “You keep saying this is enough, but I know you’re lying.”

He presented Ketna with the folded weighted blanket, not needing any confirmation from her. She took it slowly, taking practiced motions to let it drop so she could wrap it around herself. He was right, she needed a lot more than this, but it was mutually understood that it wasn’t his ‘thing’ or interest to be affectionate. This ritual of shared video browsing and a weighted blanket was the best either of them could negotiate out of this arrangement. R’Vindr took his usual spot next to her on the couch.

"You need a boyfriend." He teased after seating himself.

Ketna groaned before she answered with only just enough annunciation. "Easier said than done."

The television glowed on, R’Vindr controlling everything in the house invisibly as he always did. There was some quiet between the two, as if expecting Ketna to elaborate but she had nothing to add to that.

“… I suppose that would be difficult given your circumstance-” R’Vindr turned his head to Ketna. “Is the whole face covering thing an all-the-time situation or-”

“Yeah, it’s all the time.” Ketna sounded resigned when she answered.

R’Vindr studied Ketna a moment before speaking.

“Is there anyone you don’t wear a mask around?” He asked.

Ketna paused to consider her response. The somber topic pulled some clarity from the afterglow fog, when she finally spoke, it was clearer than the last time.

“Yeah, Munin, I’ve mentioned him before. But he’s just as uninterested in physical affection as you are- and no, we're not fucking. He’s a close friend, but that’s never been a part of our relationship.” She shifted under the blanket, adjusting it. “We do the same thing when I need comfort. Get myself wrapped up in a weighted blanket and he sits next to me and we just talk.”

“That pulls a lot of things into perspective.”

Ketna nodded, acknowledging she heard.

There was a beat of quiet between them, sound from the barely noticed television took up the space until R'Vindr talked over it, again.

“Do you have anyone you can be all… cuddly with?”

“Not really. I have a few partners that are more intimate after sex, but that’s it. But only after the hookup, not anyone to just… be held by for no reason.” Ketna turned her head to face R’Vindr. “I don’t mind this line of discussion, but what’s with all the questions about my personal life, specifically my access to intimacy? Not something I expected from you.”

R’Vindr took a moment’s pause before he spoke. “The longer I’ve spent time with you the more..” He made a gesture with his hand, searching for the word. “Worn out I can tell you are. I like you well enough to hope you’re doing something about it.”

Ketna laughed softly. “Episodes of binge sex, is what I do about it.”

R’Vindr chuckled in kind, then a thoughtful pause before he continued.

“The motivation for my concern, however, is ultimately self-serving.” R’Vindr’s tone shifted to something more stern. “It is risk-assessment. I’m attempting to ensure that the expectation of intimate closeness between us won’t escalate. I like you, but I’m never going to have feelings beyond general fondness. I tolerate this-” R’Vindr gestured between the two of them on the couch “Out of that fondness. And I need to know that you know, this is the absolute limit. That you're not consciously or otherwise, banking on me to be the one to provide you with anything more. I don’t want some debt of intimacy I never asked for."

"Oh believe me, that won't happen." Ketna assured emphatically. "You are the exact definition of a fuck buddy to me and I have no desire to go beyond that." She chuckled as the words formed in her head before she delivered them. "Rest assured I only want you for your body."

"Well thank you." R'Vindr sounded humored but sincere. "Relieved to hear we're on the same page."

Ketna stretched in place, between the time passed and conversation, she felt sober enough to get moving. After pushing the blanket aside she was on her feet. R'Vindr appeared to be staring off while Ketna hoisted her bag from its usual spot to make for the washroom. She thought nothing of it until she heard his voice again.

"You wouldn't mind if I introduced you to someone in a less anonymous way, right?" He called out to her while not leaving his spot.

"You're not planning on setting me up on a blind date, are you?" Ketna sounded almost offended, but amused.

"Of course not, this is a hookup not a date. But this guy is the cuddly type." R'Vindr paused in speech while sending a contact internally. "You've never crossed paths because he doesn't show up for the open invites. He's not keen on orgies or detached sex."

Ketna laughed. "How did you two get involved if he's not into detached sex?" She left the washroom open to continue the conversation.

R'Vindr rose from the couch to follow her so they were no longer raising their voices at one another. "I made his entire sexual sensory system in addition to his sex mods. I hijack it from time to time to get feedback from whoever he's fucking, or just fuck with him." Upon reaching the washroom, he leaned himself against the frame of the door. "Consensually, of course." He added.

Ketna laughed a little louder. "That makes so much more sense." She finished up with her clean off and began to re-dress.

[out-and-aboot-eh]

Day 12 - Tofino

We woke up to glorious sun peeking through the trees around us, which boded well for today’s main activity, whale watching! After a bit of breakfast we boarded the minibus and headed for ‘Remote Passages’, the company that would be taking us out on the whale infested waters! We were advised to wrap up warm as it can get quite chilly out in the open water, but the sunshine was bouncing off of the harbour as we arrived.

After an introductory video about the wildlife and what we might see as it was filmed around the area, we were provided with thick red puffy boiler suits that would float if we fell out and fill up with water in certain areas to keep us warm. I don’t know the exact science behind it, but I wasn’t planning on falling so I didn’t worry too much! Once zipped up, all the layers I had on seemed quite unnecessary, so I left one behind and opted for a half zip down to stay cool whilst on land. We were introduced to our skipper Charlie, who would be guiding our rib, by the name of Night Eagle. The group all managed to board without dropping in the sea, and G and I sat at the back of the boat to give her the best chance of not feeding the fish with her breakfast.

We left the harbour at a steady speed, watching the land slowly sink into the distance before Charlie cranked it on the open ocean. The spray was a rainbow on the water as be bumped along on the look out for whales. On the way we saw a few sea otters looking very chipper floating in the sea as they’re not bothered by the boats. Sea otters will spend their lives in the sea without venturing onto land and can do so without feeling wet or cold because of their thick fur. There was a fair bit of activity over the radio that wasn’t easy to work out, but G heard the call of humpback whales and she must have been right as we turned around and went off in a new direction with some haste for a few minutes before slowing down where a couple of other boats were floating.

Charlie informed us that hump back whales are harder to track and predict where they’ll surface as their movement is random compared to other whales, so we sat patiently waiting to get a glimpse at some humpy goodness! After a couple of minutes Charlie shouted and pointed over yonder and we caught the first glimpse of a mother and calf. We spent a while in the area as the humpbacks surfaced every 2-3 minutes. I have a fair bit of footage to sift through to see if I’ve caught anything decent, but my gut feeling is probably not! We saw a couple of flukes, whereby the whale dives and the tip of the tail flicks in to the air on the way down. They’re respectful of the animals here and give them a wide berth, so we didn’t get too close and I was only filming on an iPhone.

From there we went closer to shore where en route we saw more sea otters including a pair together and then lots of seals chilling on the rocks. They looked very cute and smiley basking in the sun and at this time of year they can relax a bit more as the orcas aren’t lurking below. There were also a few small birds dotted around the ocean and gulls in the air, but our next stop was to see some grey whales. We stayed close to the shoreline as the grey whales congregate near to a part of the island that is only 30 ft deep, which is only 5ft deeper than some of them are long. These were easier to spot than the humpbacks as there were 4 of them around and their movement is more consistent and they popped up more frequently with bigger spouts of air. But due to their length in relatively shallow waters for their size, they don’t tend to ‘fluke’ as they end up bumping their noses on the sea bed! It was great to watch these magnificent creatures doing their thing, including one called ‘The Orange Crush’ or ‘OC’ who got her name due to some orange lice on the top of her head upon first visit and has been returning to this spot for over 70 years, a whale local celebrity! It was brilliant to watch these magnificent beasts in their natural habitat enjoying some cool Canadian water, which I myself have done on many occasions on this trip (not always through choice!)

On our way back to port Charlie spotted another humpback, which he was very excited about and with good reason. They believe this particular whale is a newbie to the area and he was the first one to spot it, so if it is indeed a new whale to the area based on the data they’re collecting, he’ll get to name it! As a fellow Brit, I’m sure he’ll go for the obvious name of Whaley McWhale Face! As time was against us, we didn’t stay for long, but did stop for another brazen sea otter who practically waved at us as we took a few snaps! After a fast and bouncy ride back, we stripped off our chunky red attire and headed into the town of Tofino.

We had a few hours to explore, so G and I popped in to a couple shops before heading for a little stroll around Tonquin Park, which included a boardwalk through the forest to a small beach, where there were dogs playing and one guy all in black fishing from the rocks below us. There was signage saying a known bear was in the area, but the closest thing I’ve seen to a bear is Iain’s bare arse! There were lots nooks and crannies that looked like they could be liveable for a furry friend and G recounted a tale that our zip-line guide told her. He had come across a tiny hole (by bear standards) that looked interesting and stuck his head in it to find himself nose to nose with a sleeping bear and as he backed away a rather dazed and confused bear head popped out! However the closest we came to a bear was whilst we were minding our own business looking at the sea and the fisherman came scrambling up the side of the rocks through the bushes huffing and puffing! He must have sensed our surprise as he asked whilst walking past “Did I scare ya?” Of course not, I always walk around with my fists clenched!

As we still had a bit of time on our side we returned to the minibus via a couple more shops and of course a bar, for a swift cider. Our next stop was Chesterman beach, which is award winning coming in at number 5 as a best spot for surfing. We ambled up the beach as far as we could go, with our toes dipped in the water. We eventually hit a patch that was a private beach which was our point to turn around and head back to where the majority of the group were chilling. Megan mysteriously disappeared before picking us up and but the mystery was soon uncovered when the waft of chips was a coming from the back of the minibus. We returned to our campsite via a quick ‘gas station break’ where I was hopeful for another ‘Big Gulp’ but alas all the huge drinks on offer were ice based and I can’t be getting brain freeze whilst trying to type the blog!

As this was to be our last night with Chief as chef, we were hopeful for a Canadian classic and our hopes were answered as soon as the chips were bought! We enjoyed them with cheese, gravy, bacon and for those in need of some vitamin c, tomatoes. As always there was a little something sweet for afters, in the form of a s’mores pie and other left over desserts, which we made short work of! It was an earlier dinner than usual as we had a final stop for the evening, Long Beach, where we could watch the sunset. We just caught the final glimpses of the full sun as it fell behind the row of trees along the beach. After taking a variety of snaps, we headed back to camp for a final few games of werewolf, before our last full day.

Georgie’s highlight of the day: Seeing the whales fluking and Tonquin Park walk.

[sheetmusiclibrarypdf]

10 Great Jazz Saxophone (Alto Sax) Players

10 Great Jazz Saxophone (Alto Sax) Players

Charlie Parker A.K.A “The Bird” Let’s get the obvious out of the way first since this list could not be possible without him. I’m talking about Charlie Parker, of course. As far as the saxophone goes and lots of other instruments for that matter, the Bird is the father of bebop. The innovator, the creator, the instigator. He is without a doubt one of the great musical geniuses of the 20th century so far ahead of his time if he were alive today his playing would still sound contemporary. It’s ironic that many musicians that came after him were accused of being Charlie Parker clones, when in reality, Bird’s playing is still unmatched. As far as I know, this is the only existing live performance video of Bird playing. They are playing the Tad Dameron composition “Hot House” which is a contrafact, a bebop melody over the chord changes to the Cole Porter tune “What is this Thing Called Love.”

The technique is ridiculous. Check out the efficiency of finger movement and how rounded his fingers are. When he plays the palm keys none of the other fingers move. He’s playing on his King Super 20 alto which is now on display at that the Smithsonian Museum of Black American Culture. Notice he plays the middle D with the Eb palm key there to get a particular sound. This might make certain passages easier for those of you playing Charlie Parker transcriptions from the omnibook. So for me that is a short yet perfect solo. I just wish we had more video of him playing live since there is so much to be learned from watching the masters. Sonny Stitt From 1956-1966, I count 68 albums released by Stitt mostly as a leader. There are dozens of others outside that 10 year period. It’s just a phenomenal amount of recordings and they are all killer. For me if I put on a Sonny Stitt track, it leads down a rabbit hole of binge listening that can last for weeks So while Sonny Stitt had been criticized for mimicking bird I think that is unwarranted. First of all he clearly developed his own unique sound and style albeit inspired by Bird. But as the great Bob Mover once said to me, “if you don’t have a little bit of Bird in your playing you’re doing it wrong.” Check out this live recording of Loverman from I think 1965. Again notice the impeccable finger technique, and how much mouthpiece he takes in. That’s one of his classic diminished scale licks. Looks like he’s playing on a Selmer Mark VI with an otto link super tone master mouthpiece. Julian Cannonball Adderley Cannonball is off in a different direction. There is still the link to Charlie Parker’s bebop language but he’s got a very distinctive sound with a lot of edge in it. He played on a NY Meyer and a King Super 20 alto saxophone. Notice the heavy swing feel with his eighth notes and the very soulful style, which would eventually develop into what would be called soul jazz. Still very firmly rooted in bebop. Check out his embouchure. That’s why of love these videos. you can see he’s got his bottom lip rolled in quite a bit. Also he doesn’t take as much mouthpiece in his mouth. One of the all time great saxophone players in any style. I could listen to Cannonball all day long. You should check out his work with Miles Davis and his solo albums Johnny Hodges Known for his singing expressive tone, large bends, and wide vibrato – Johnny Hodges played lead alto with the Duke Ellington orchestra for almost his entire career from 1928 until 1970 (Except for a few years when he went solo). Ellington wrote many compositions and arrangements that featured Hodges unique alto sound as a soloist. Like this version of “I’ve Got it Bad.” He get’s that long bend, by slowly opening the E palm key. He’s playing on his Buescher Top Hat and Cane model alto here and what looks like a Berg Larson mouthpiece to me. I love watching these videos. Benny Carter Benny Carter was a contemporary of Johnny Hodges and while there were some similarities in their playing style, I can broadly generalize by saying Carter was more of a technical improvisor, where Hodges was more of an emotional one. Benny Carter was a prolific composer and arranger who also played the trumpet. Here he’s playing over the standard Indiana which are key changes for Charlie Parker’s Contrafact “Donna Lee.” Jackie McClean Jackie McClean is one of the most important alto saxophone players in the history of jazz. His career spanned 5 decades of prolific recording and performing as not only a leader, but also as a sideman on some of the most iconic jazz records with many of the giants of the art form. He is considered an early pioneer of what is called hard-bop. Bebop evolved into 2 distinct directions in the mid 50’s – hard bop and cool jazz. While cool jazz had more of a western classical music influence, hard-bop was very much black American music. Unfortunately I couldn’t find an older video of Jackie performing live, but here is one from 1988 with is son on tenor. While Jackie Mclean was very firmly rooted in the bebop tradition, he later developed his playing into a more avant garde style. In this solo he is playing a lot of tensions like whole tone scale patterns and then masterfully resolving them to typical blues language. Lee Konitz Lee Konitz is another highly influential and prolific saxophonist who’s career spanned seven decades. He’s one of the few to have developed a truly unique improvisational style. Here he is playing another contrafact called “Half Nelson” which is based on the chord changes to “Lady Bird.” Konitz was best known for his cool jazz recordings, he was on the iconic Birth of the Cool album that featured Miles Davis in 1949. While many jazz improvisors have their own vocabulary that gets reused a lot, when you listen to Konitz it always sounds like something new and truly improvised. Paul Desmond Best known for his composition “Take 5,” recorded with the Dave Brubek quartet, Paul Desmond’s alto sound is characteristic of the Cool school of west coast jazz in the 60’s. His sound is on the darker end of the spectrum and his articulation is very light and breathy. His playing is very thoughtful and melodic. The word delicate comes to mind for me. Clearly influenced by Lee Konitz, Desmond’s solos are studies in thematic development. Listen to how he takes an idea and plays it several ways before moving onto another melodic idea and repeating the process. Phil Woods Night in Tunisia. This comes from a recording in Paris from 1960. Phil Woods carried on the bebop tradition of Charlie Parker. You can hear a lot of that influence in the sound and phrasing. Again you can see impeccable finger technique and hear the swing feel. He’s always a very creative improvisor He actually married Charlie Parker’s widow and outside of the jazz world he is best known for his solo on Billy Joel’s Just the way You Are where he blows some killer bebop lines on a pop tune with a samba groove. That’s the 1970s for ya. Listen to him sneak a flat 5 in on that solo so smoothly. Love it. Ornette Coleman Ornette Coleman is the champion of individuality and doing your own thing regardless of what other people think or say. So whether or not avant garde music speaks to you, his commitment to innovation should serve as inspiration to anyone who’s ever had an original idea. His music has been deeply controversial from the beginning, but by removing the elements of form and strict harmony from his compositions, he managed to create a more truly improvised music than traditional jazz is. So there’s that. He was known for playing a white plastic Grafton saxophone but in this clip he’s playing a white lacquer Selmer Mark Vi with a low a key.

TOP 10 ALTO SAXOPHONE Players of all Time (Classic Jazz)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMrKsI0dn6s&t=11s Jay Metcalf reviews his list of top 10 of the greatest, most influential and must know alto sax players of all time. Players mentioned (not in any order): Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, Cannonball Adderley, Johnny Hodges, Benny Carter, Jackie Mclean, Phil Woods, Lee Konitz, Paul Desmond, Ornette Coleman Read the full article