#after scad then what ..?

[eebie]

thinking about the future . . . .

[vintagerpg]

This is Castle Drachenfels (1992), which is maybe Flame Publications’ last Warhammer supplement. Or it is a weird interregnum publication by Games Workshop after Flame’s shuttering but before the Warhamer Fantasy Role Play license was handed off to Hogshead. Whatever the case, this is Carl Sargent’s adaptation of the castle as portrayed in the novel Drachenfels, by Kim Newman (using the pen name Jack Yeovil, 1989).

What you get is a history of the castle and its owner (the great enchanter Constant Drachenfels is a legendary, monstrous figure in the lore of the Old World), a detailed room-by-room description of the horrible place, scads of NPCs and several “adventure themes.” These last are interesting, in that they give motive to players to explore the castle while also acknowledging that the castle is largely unconquerable. No megadungeon is, but rarely are they so upfront about it.

Chatting to folks about this one has gotten some mixed opinions. It reminds me quite a bit of Jennell Jaquays Dark Tower or a less deserted version of Tomb of Horrors but with a sense of humor. That dark comedy seems to be the prime divider, as it is a bit zanier than what you find in the Old World up to this point — folks either love it or hate it. I fall in the love category. The castle is plenty horrible, it is nice to have what laughs you can squeeze out of the carnage. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a stone cold classic of the line, but it is nevertheless as fine an example of a large funhouse dungeon as you are likely to find.

[hidefdoritos]

Today's Mending

I'd really hoped to be well enough to sit up at my sewing machine today and knock through a pile of mends that are waiting on the machine. No such luck; my temp went back up today. Two steps forward, one step back.

"I will no longer berate myself for resting," I said as I laid in bed for three hours after waking up. "I will no longer berate myself for resting," I chanted as I sewed while bending in strange positions on the floor. "I will no longer berate myself for resting," I promise myself, taking cough syrup and ibuprofen and lying down again.

So here's what's been done today. I enjoyed it. I don't need to punish myself for doing less than yesterday. Anything I get to take a needle to is a blessing and a joy.

First up is my brother's suitcoat. Yep, the brother with the 30" waist and the 40" hip. He asked me to take it in. I've never messed with tailoring coats, but I gave it a shot today. I basted the center back seam in sort of a diamond shape. So far I don't like it and it makes weird bubbles.

I watched a tutorial that takes the jacket in at both side seams primarily. I'll have Joe try it on first, once I'm well enough to be around people, and then see what I can do to the jacket.

I found two random little cuts in the hem of this hoodie. Can't imagine what did that, but there they were. I mended a tiny cut in this same hoodie's sleeve yesterday with blue thread, so I carried on with the blue mends.

So, I got some blue fabric from a free bin! The tag shows 4.67 yards for $4.67 and a purchase date in 2003. I also found two GORGEOUS pillowcase tops in that same bin. The yellow isn't usually my color, but since they're handmade, I just had to take them.

I like to think that these came from the same sewist. Maybe they never put the fabrics together--the yardage seems more fitting for a dress--but I hope they'd be happy to see their hard work being used. They're going to become my primary pillowcases.

Today I just cut out the backs. Some other day I'll sew all the seams.

I was out thrifting, on my way to the register, and this miniskirt jumped off the rack, bit me, and asked to become a tote bag. Well, not quite, but that's essentially what happened. I have serviceable sewing and crochet project bags, but I don't have one big enough for a swimsuit, towel, sunscreen, and change of clothes. This will be it!

I've thought of every way to add a bottom to the bag, and eventually I settled on sewing it shut. I have scads of heavy-duty cream-colored blue-striped canvas (from the same free bin! I'm saving it to make a corset), so I'm making the straps out of that. Today I just cut and pinned them. I'm finally coming around to the trend of stripes with flowers, I guess.

I cut out a couple more patches for these awesome summer shorts. Then I remembered that I'm sick and exhausted. And that somebody else has my iron right now. So, they can wait.

[simplyclary]

We Won.

The title is self-explanatory and is a good reference for those who know both the book and the movie that these words came from. It also is the right combination of words to encompass such a special feeling that has not left me since the moment I woke up this morning at 6am (mind you, it's past 11pm as I'm writing this).

To keep this short, Taylor Zakhar Perez just won the 2023 Breaking Big Award during the SCAD Savannah Film Festival yesterday, October 27, 2023 and I was one of the many proud fans that was waiting for him since the moment he was announced to be a panelist and an honoree at this event.

I can't even begin to write down in words the amount of emotions that I have been feeling since I saw this photo. A mix of happiness, joy, pride and so much more. Like he really deserves this award.

I just realized that this is his first award in his acting career and believe me when I say that it is just the first of the many awards he will receive for future projects. With the right collaborations, projects and stories, Taylor Zakhar Perez is sure to gather more awards in the future (maybe some Emmys, Golden Globes and sure, let's manifest it that he will get nominated for an Academy Award one day).

Another thing that makes this award special for him and for us, the TZP Squad, is the knowledge that he got this after many rejections and people telling him that he "wasn't Latin enough". I'm just glad that Taylor is proving himself and I'm sure he will continue to do so in the future.

I'm excited to manifest great things for Taylor. I, along with my fellow TZP squad folks, will continue to love and support him in his future endeavors, in and out of TV and film.

Before I end this entry, I would like to comment on his outfit here. It's the definition of casual but make it designer and sustainable. His usual tousled hair and stubble adds a little grunge but he still managed to pull it off in true TZP fashion.

He won't be able to read this but if I were to say something to him, I would say this: Taylor, my dear, congratulations on the award and I'm looking forward to what good things the future holds for you! You are one of the most talented and kindest people I know and love and this is the beginning of something special.

History, huh? I bet you he made some!

[therobotmonster]

In honor of he who died and rose after three days in the grave and now grants life ever lasting to his followers I thought it only right I got into the spirit once. So Dracula, this one's for you:

Just look at it.

You have what appears to be (and is) an accountant being menaced by boobalicious vampire women twice his size, so he's got Ethan Winters beaten to the punch by 34 years. But don't be fooled. One glance into his 30-yard stare and its obvious why only Mr. Weems can stop these sinister She-Vampires:

Weems is dead on the inside yet still living, where the she-vampires are animated from within with life, while dead.

He is their antithesis.

So yeah, a pile of jank with a fun name crossed my path, and now you all have to hear about it. If you're not hitting 'J', you have no one to blame but yourself.

Released on a scad of systems, but mostly the ZX Spectrum and the C64, The Astonishing Adventures of Mr. Weems & the She-Vampires is a sort of 'Gauntroidvania'. It's also trying to push the limits of how titillating a pre-NES era game could be, though the C64 port's interface missed that memo.

The hacked c64 version was the one I played, but giantbomb had a lot of gifs from the ZX verison that I've upscaled for demonstration purposes.

The only bit of story is from the back package. Weems wants to feel something, so he's decided to take on the Great She-Vampire or die in her buxom grasp. Fair.

This game is not recommended for people with epilepsy, dignity, or in general.

Mr. Weems has a garlic gun to defend his ever-dropping blood supply (vampire hunter is an odd professon with anemia) and destroy the baddies...

All three of them, which are all introduced on the first screen!

You've got bats, they pop out of pots and attack you.

The manual says these guys are Frankenstein's' monsters, but they're clearly the giant from Twin Peaks trying to warn you that you've bought a dud.

On the C64, the lesser she-vampires are clearly based on Dracula's brides, whereas on the ZX, they're more like ghosts with big naturals.

Which means that to get both kinds of vampire babe from the secondary cover, you'd have to buy a cassette for your c64, and and for your ZX. And I don't mean a cartridge, I mean a, Cassette tape.

If you manage to stalk your way all the way to the end and find the gear you need to destroy her, the Great She-Vampire awaits:

There's no boss fight, but there is a 1 pixel nip, at least on the ZX spectrum.

From there you book it back the way you came, only every screen now has a she-vampire chasing you in a murderous rage. Make it out, and you win. Or maybe you didn't, because just like the Dungeon of Fear and Hunger, you can never really escape Mr. Weems & the She-Vampires.

Only Weems increases the immersion by truamatizing you, the player. Mr. Weems is fine. You don't have to worry about the Weems.

So...

Is it a good game?

Not remotely, but that isn't the point in the slightest.

It's temping to say this is the Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies of video games, but that's not quite right. Weems has promise and ISCWSLaBMUZ doesn't make promises. It issues threats.

Mr. Weems has the charm of a concept that's all potential and zero execution. A dead-eyed accountant gunning his way in a Gauntlet-esq blitz through a vampire-babe infested castle is a fun idea, more-so with all the secret passages and 'gather items and backtrack to the boss' aspect. It's just everything else that goes wrong.

I mean, who doesn't want to hunt the Great She-Vampire to her penthouse for a good staking, I ask you?

[see-arcane]

See if Mary didn't quit after being told by the new married employers "going to an asylum brb here's money and the key until we return" and then days later being telegrammed "back in a few or never xo" and then she sees them back home like two months later, irrevocably changed, then it'll be fine... Alternatively, she took the payment and moved to Switzerland

If the Harkers' track record holds steady, their sheer magnetic 'these are my Harkers now' vibes will keep Mary and anyone else on board.

They are sweethearts and at worst she has to stop them from trying to do her duties right under her nose, the little workaholics. It's like shooing cats out of the pantry, but with the added trouble of somehow convincing your former-lower/middle class employers that no, honest, you can let the people hired to take care of the house take care of the house. Don't you touch those linens. No, put the broom back. Out with you! Shoo! Go write something somewhere!

Worse (better), they are scrupulously tidy and organized. Hawkins was no slob, but he was careless and a bit slower as age and the gout went to work on him, poor fellow. The Harkers leave scarcely a mote of dust to sweep or a book askew.

(There are scads of books now, Mary notes. Walls have been eaten whole by bookcases. They welcome everyone to their thickening library--their biggest vice with money in their pockets is an ongoing mutual affair with the booksellers.)

Other times, she and the cook will turn their backs for one moment and discover the Harkers have gone and made dinner before anyone else can set foot in the kitchen. Mrs. Harker is a talent by way of practice, while Mr. Harker is one by way of sheer love of cuisine. Mina sees to English favorites while Jonathan replicates dishes harvested from the Continent, always in generous helpings. The Harkers eat with the staff with the same ease as if they ate with family.

(Hawkins was a cordial old fellow, but he always did dine alone while the help had their own meal at another hour. And, Mary and the rest are stunned to discover, the Harkers regularly have an actual lord, his friend the asylum-running doctor, and a renowned international polymath of a mentor over for supper. Casual as anything. Mary had to get smelling salts for one of the younger girls the first time she realized, yes, that was in fact Lord Arthur Godalming at the door.)

The Harkers have their strange features, of course. Traits and habits and, don't laugh, a few superstitions they've ingrained in the edges of things...but it really is leagues away from the worst of what other households must suffer from their owners. The Harkers love their home and the people it came with as dearly as kin. Ardently so.

(Mary once saw Mrs. Harker throw a Look like knives into the head of a man who tried to accost one of the girls weeding the garlic and rosebushes in the garden. While the man was trying to puff himself up and not sweat under her scrutiny, Mr. Harker manifested at the top floor's window, opened it, and then scaled down the wall like a spider. This he did with his kukri knife ready, that accessory forever at his hip just as the revolver lived in Mrs. Harker's reticule. The man had fled. The Harkers had stared after him with lambent eyes before seeing if the girl was well, would she like to head in for a rest..?)

The Harkers are strange.

The Harkers are uncanny.

And the Harkers are not about to lose Mary or anyone else under that roof any time soon.

[hyugaruma]

House Party (Nakagoshi x Reader)

♡

re: you have a bit of a crush on your friend…

me and my headcanon that nakaoka would have an average businessman older brother

♡

The reverberations of the deep bass shuttered the old, wooden infrastructure of the house, frames creaking as if in protest. The music was too loud to decipher what song was playing; you had to wonder if the neighbors wouldn’t have something to say about it. When Nakaoka went around inviting a bunch of Oya High’s first- and second-years to a party over the weekend, you hadn’t expected to find yourself crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in a traditional Japanese minka house of all places.

“It’s my older brother’s,” Nakaoka explained when you’d first arrived. “He’s a businessman.”

Now, you found yourself hovering at the edge of the room, trying your best to slink as far into the shadows and away from the drunk, dancing crowds as possible. When Nakaoka had mentioned the party to you, you were expecting something small, likely consisting of Nakaoka and Nakagoshi’s closest Oya goons. But this far exceeded your expectations. There was a fair number of women there too, which came as a surprise to you because it seemed that the brawlers of Oya High were far more interested in fighting than courting. Nakagoshi, of course, had been the one to talk you into going to Nakaoka’s “little” party. Otherwise, you would have been perfectly content spending your Saturday night catching up on your shows and snacking on junk food in the comfort of your home. But no, “It’ll be fun,” Nakagoshi had sworn to you. And now, said male was nowhere to be found, and you were left alone hiding at the fray of the party. You could’ve strangled him.

In desperate need for some personal space, you squeezed your way through the crowd of partygoers, somehow managing to navigate yourself out onto the veranda. The cool night air was a welcome reprieve from the heat of the bodies inside the home. However, it seemed a plethora of other people had had the same idea as you; the backyard was nearly just as noisy as inside. A group of guys took turns batting a baseball into the wooden fence surrounding the garden, guffawing loudly at every thunk it made. Scads of people milled about on the porch, swaying to the beat of the music echoing from beyond the walls. Several of them toked on cigarettes, plumes of smoke suffocating the air. Just on the lawn was a table where another group was playing an alcohol party game that seemingly had no discernible rules from which you could tell. Somebody bumped your shoulder as they squeezed past you to join the others on the lawn. You huffed, and contemplated just heading home to your pajamas and bed.

Just as the thought tempted you, you felt an arm snake its way over your shoulders. You turned to see that damned smiling face, if only it wasn’t so charming. Nakagoshi.

“Come out here for the fresh air?” He asked.

You squinted your eyes at him. You had half the mind of telling him off for making you think this was some sort of “small” get-together, but you couldn’t. You never could, not with that smile he’d send your way. “Something like that,” you replied, eyes scanning over the people spread out over the backyard. “It’s not really much better, though.”

Another drunken body knocked into yours as they ambled down the veranda. As you tried to glare after the guy who had just bumped you, your eyes caught a couple making out, dimly illuminated by the porch lights. Your eyes widened, and you averted them.

Nakagoshi turned to look, catching sight of what you had noticed. He chuckled at your fluster, giving you a little shake with his hand on your shoulder. You tried to nudge him off, but he didn’t budge. “Come on,” he said. “I think the front is a little quieter.”

You and Nakagoshi weaved your way through the throngs of people inside, making it back outside to the front porch this time. You both took a seat on the porch ledge. You pulled your knees to your chest to insulate against the cool, breezy evening air. Nakagoshi let his legs dangle off the edge, leaning back with one hand supporting him from behind. Spring crickets just barely made themselves heard over the sound of the party music, like they decided to play along. You let out a deep breath, finally able to relax amidst the frenzy of the night.

Nakagoshi eyed you from the corner of his eye. “I really did think it’d be something small.” He tugged awkwardly at the headband secured around his head. You could tell by his tone that he felt bad. You and Nakagoshi were close; he knew you well enough to know that this wasn’t your typical scene. Though, knowing that, you weren’t quite sure why he decided to convince you to attend the party in the first place.

You shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. It’s not so bad. Just a bit overwhelming.”

“Think he just got a bit overexcited knowing he had his brother’s place to himself for the whole weekend.” Nakagoshi leaned his shoulder against the support beam he sat next to, turning his body slightly to face you.

You gave a small smile. “Sounds like him.” A lightning bug floated lazily just past your nose, and you watched it as it flickered off into the distance. The music playing from inside abruptly changed to the next song, and you wondered if somebody complained about what was playing.

Nakagoshi stretched his legs out in front of him, looking around to scout out any people hanging around the front porch. The few that had been milling about when you two first walked out had seemingly headed back inside to regroup with the party. It was just the two of you now. Nakagoshi cleared his throat, trying to be casual but clearly failing with the way you cocked an eyebrow at him.

“What?” You asked.

“Nothing,” he laughed, giving a one-shoulder shrug. “Just clearing my throat.”

“You can go back inside to the party,” you offered. You felt bad that you pulled him away from his fun Saturday night. Nakagoshi’s friends were probably looking for him right about now. “I really don’t mind. I came, I saw you. I’ll probably head home soon.”

His response came instantly. “I’ll walk you.”

“You don’t have to do that,” you assured him. “I’m not trying to ruin your fun. I don’t want to be a killjoy.”

Nakagoshi pulled a knee up and rested his arm on it. He had a serious look on his face as he studied you. You could feel your cheeks growing hot with the way he looked so intensely at you. You wondered if it was obvious how he made you feel. It felt obvious, at least, all the little internal and external reactions you had at anything he said or did. Maybe he did notice, and he just didn’t feel the same. That thought made your stomach twist. It wasn’t like you wanted to risk your friendship with him by outing your feelings.

“You’re not a killjoy,” he finally responded after what seemed like some consideration. “I asked you to come because I wanted to spend time with you.”

You felt your heart jump at his words. You stuffed those thoughts and feelings back down. “I just don’t think I’m as fun as your other friends.”

Nakagoshi laughed. You couldn’t help but to admire the way his face crinkled when he laughed, that boyish attraction that seemed to alight his features. It felt magnetic, and you couldn’t help the way you leaned forward ever so slightly towards him. It was like you needed to be closer to him. You swallowed hard. Again, Nakagoshi didn’t seem to notice the effect he had on you. Maybe it was better that way.

“You’re joking?” He pushed his hand through his messy hair, just for it to flop back down over his headband again. “They’re not half as fun to be around than you are.”

“You’re joking,” your brows knitted together disbelievingly at his words. “They like to go out and fight and drink and make music and do things. I like to… stay at home. I’m boring.”

Nakagoshi snorted and rolled his eyes. This time it was his turn to lean in towards you. You felt nervousness creeping up your spine. Your body almost leaned back in panicked response, but you held steady, soaking in any amount of closeness you could get to him. God, if only he knew how crazy he drove you. Damn him. “I don’t think you have any idea…” he said, a challenging smirk hinting at his lips. His eyes looked dark, even in the glow of the moonlight. Your eyes flickered to his lips for all but half a second. All you could think about was kissing him. He plopped a heavy hand on top of your head. “Not any idea about yourself, do you?”

You were taken aback. “Huh? What does that mean?”

“I mean,” he emphasized, pulling his hand back and giving you a grin worth damning. “You’re way too hard on yourself. You think I try so hard to hang out with you all the time, because, what? Because you’re boring?” Nakagoshi shook his head. “I asked you to come because I wanted to see you. Because I like hanging out with you—“

Before he could even finish his sentence, your lips were on his. It happened so fast it took you a second to realize it had happened. And it was over quicker than it started as you pulled yourself away. Nakagoshi’s eyed widened, but yours were wider.

“Oh shit,” you muttered. You could feel your cheeks were on fire. You had really, truly fucked it now. “I’m so sorry,” you started, feeling the words tumbling abashedly from your lips. “I didn’t mean to do that and I am so, so sorry. I wasn’t even thinking and then the stuff you were saying and before I even knew it I just kissed you and, oh fuck, I’m really, really—“

Nakagoshi quickly cut you off by grabbing your face gently between his hands and pulling you back again, this time him initiating the way your lips oh-so-perfectly melded together. You felt your heart swell with all the emotions you had tried so hard to hold back. He was kissing you, Nakagoshi was kissing you. If it was a dream you would have been satisfied with never waking up. But, it wasn’t. And you realized that you should probably kiss him back. Your hands snaked up to grip his black t-shirt like it was the only thing that could tether you to this reality. You tilted your head to deepen the kiss, leaning tenderly into the hand which cupped your cheek. His lips were soft, chapped, sweet, everything you had imagined they’d be. You could’ve gotten drunk through kissing him alone.

Your noses faintly grazed each other as you both pulled back. The distance in which you held was small, but felt monumental in comparison to what you had just shared. His eyes were lidded and glossy, like he could’ve kissed you again… And he did kiss you again. Once. Twice. Three more times, like he, too, couldn’t reach his fill of you. You could feel your heart pound with each kiss, and you briefly wondered if it was possible to keel over from too much bliss.

He finally pulled back, really pulled back this time, much to your dismay. Then, he was sending that damn smile your way again. You smacked him lightly on the chest.

“What was that for?” He laughed.

“You—,” you didn’t even know what to say. “You know why!”

“You kissed me first,” he jokingly defended. “Gotta admit, kind of surprised me.”

You let out a huff of a breath, crossing your arms over your chest in mock indignation. Not that you could have been mad about anything in that moment. You felt like you were soaring above the clouds. But it’s not like you were going to let that get to his head. “Surprised myself.”

“I liked it though.”

“Shut up…”

Without warning, Nakagoshi slung a lazy arm over your shoulders and pulled you against his side. “We should do that again sometime. Like next weekend? What do you say, how ‘bout a ‘boring’ weekend next week? Your place?”

You rolled your eyes, but couldn’t help the way you leaned into his side. A small smile ticked at your lips. “Sounds like my kind of weekend.”

[crowfootwrites]

Eaha’le

I got the idea for the first part of this fic, the interaction between reader and Senator Cretak, and it rooted itself so deeply in my brain that I could literally hear it in her voice (specifically Megan Cole's Cretak, who I am deeply in love with 😅). Anyway, here's another entry for the December Prompt List by @creativepromptsforwriting. Tagging the folks I knew usually love that good Romulan shit! @deepspacedukat @bigblissandlove1 @sleepycat82 @starrynightgardens @horta-in-charge

Eaha'le translates to "sweetness" in Rihan.

December 8: Sweets (Senator Kimara Cretak x GN!Reader)

Warnings: none; pure fucking fluff; not beta'd we die like men. | Words: ~620

“And, what did you say this was called again?” Kimara asked as she sat, slightly wide-eyed, at your mother’s kitchen table, the few brown crumbs dusting her lips begging you to kiss them off.

You laughed and wiped your floured hands on the towel slung over your shoulder before taking a seat across from her, the Christmas platter of shaped cookies resting between you.

“Gingerbread,” you reminded her.

“It is… spicy,” she murmured, reaching for another Human man-shaped cookie. “But also sweet.” She studied it intently before gingerly taking a bite.

She nodded thoughtfully. “This is excellent,” she mumbled around the cookie in her mouth.

More of your laughter bubbled over – while you never imagined you’d refer to a Romulan partner as “adorable”, Kimara’s curiosity was endearing and it made her all the more lovely to you.

You knew, of course, about the Senator’s penchant for sweets. In the time you’d known her, she’d never passed up an opportunity to try a new confection. She’d actually introduced you to jumja sticks after you’d arrived on Deep Space 9.

But being back in your family home on Earth for Christmas meant introducing Kimara to scads of novel, handmade Terran desserts – so far, there’d been some hits and some misses. She wasn’t a fan of sweet potato pie, which you’d lamented dramatically, or peanut butter fudge. But she’d eaten enough lemon bars to make herself sick and was “delighted” by the lightness of your profiteroles. Gingerbread, it would seem, was another hit.

“I’m glad you like it,” you offered. “It’s a pretty traditional Christmas dessert, around here anyway.”

A loud clinking carried across the kitchen as your mother entered, carrying a tilting stack of ceramic casserole dishes. She swore loudly as she caught her hip on the corner of the counter and dumped the pile of pans on the countertop in annoyance.

“I’m fixin’ to make my famous banana puddin’, Kimmy,” she divulged, leaning against the counter with one hand on her hip. You snorted lightly at your mother’s diminutive nickname for your dignified, Senate office-holding partner. Kimara glanced between you and your mother, her eyes still wide.

“Bananas are a sweet, custardy kind of fruit – and in banana pudding, you slice up bananas and layer them with cream and crispy vanilla cookies,” you filled in.

“And mine’s the best,” your mother added, fluffing her hair a bit. “Won the blue ribbon at the holiday bake-off for the last three years.”

“That sounds like an exceptional accomplishment,” Kimara replied earnestly, and you reached for her hand over the table to give it a squeeze. Her kindness never ceased to amaze you – it was unexpected from someone who’d previously described the Romulans’ “well-earned” arrogance to you.

“I look forward to trying it,” she added with a respectful incline of her head.

“Oh, you’re too sweet, Kimmy.” Your mother flushed and began making a racket as she shuffled her dishes around and started setting out ingredients.

A timer sounded from beside the oven and you ruefully pulled yourself from your Senator’s grasp to pull your thumbprint cookies out of the oven. Navigating around your mother’s chaos in the kitchen, you set your cookies to cool and poured a cup of tea each for you and Kimara. As you turned toward the table, you spotted her finishing her third gingerbread cookie and chided her softly.

“You’ll make yourself sick again,” you warned around a grin, setting the cups on the table and seating yourself beside your partner. 

This time you couldn’t help it, leaning in to kiss away the specks of gingerbread clinging to her soft lips, your eyes fluttering closed as she kissed you back, spice and sparks crackling to life between you. 

[laurashapiro-noreally]

So, Season 2 messed me up for a while, as I think is true of a lot of us. But my own particular flavor of freakout had to do with investment in a read on Aziraphale and Crowley and their relationship which I felt in my bones that I understood -- and I had written hundreds of thousands of words about it. About a Crowley who fell in love at first sight, about an Aziraphale with scads of sexual experience, above all about the both of them -- by the time that tartan thermos was exchanged, certainly, if not well before -- knowing they were in love. Only waiting, maybe without much hope, for the moment when it would finally be safe. In my head, they knew. They both knew. And I wrote about that moment, and what came after.

Season 2 changed everything and for a long time I didn't know what to do. I couldn't go on purveying erotic romances as though nothing had happened. The thing I most desperately needed to work out, was, how did we get here? If, after the Ritz, things didn't go as I'd always imagined -- what did happen?

Thank goodness for @julietk, who allowed me to throw myself on their tender mercies and served up their flawless, flawed Crowley as brilliantly as ever, to support my occasional rep as Aziraphale-whisperer.

If you're still in a lather about S2, I hope this story brings you the comfort it has for me.

[gerec]

Hello, I just want to say thank you so much because you’re one of the main reason I’m back into the Cherik hole again after 8 years :Đ (I’m still having a lovely time here). Also, would you mind if I ask you for some fic recs of 1. Alternative first meeting where Erik and Charles meet/flirt with each other at the bar and 2. Smut fics that included dirty talk about breeding/pregnant kink but no actual mpreg. I know it’s a lot but I hope you could help :Đ Thank you so so much for still being here!

Hello darling Anon! Sorry for the delay; it took a while for me to search for recs based on your criteria! I've got some good ones for their first meeting at a bar, but I was only able to think of/find one fic with dirty talk that didn't include mpreg (the other one is rule 63). Anyway I'm so glad you're giving Cherik another go around it's wonderful to rediscover an old love :D :D :D Hope you enjoy!!!

First Meeting at a bar (there aren't many canon verse fics I know of, but there are many great aus):

In Plain Sight by Lenore

As it happens, Charles does know how it feels to hide who he is. A stranger in a pub sees right through him.

Bloodbound by ikeracity

Finding himself strapped for cash at the start of his senior year, Erik decides to become a donor at TypO, a blood bar where vampires come to drink fresh blood from consenting donors, safely and legally. There, he catches the eye of Charles Xavier, vampire, telepath, professor at Columbia, and quite possibly the most alluring person Erik's ever met. Their first meeting sets into motion a bond much deeper than they can understand, one that neither of them had ever expected.

Hitting If Off by niniblack

Erik meets the perfect guy at the bar. Too bad Mr. Perfect is on a date with someone else...

Twinks, Daddies & Bears. Oh my! by Villain

Charles is fresh back from Oxford and new to the gay scene in New York. On his first night out at the clubs with his best friend Hank, he sees the Big Bad Wolf; otherwise known as Erik Lehnsherr.

Punk Rock Boy by Not_You

Charles goes to a punk gig for an anthropology paper, and things get crazy.

A Telepath Walks Into a Bar by ximeria

Erik hates it when drunk idiots interrupt his flirting.

United We Stand, Divided They Fall by ximeria

The prompt was "the only two people at a bar rooting for the same football team au". And that's more or less what it is.

99 bottles of beer on the wall by orphan_account

It's been years since the accident that paralyzed Charles, leaving him wheelchair-bound and shattering his carefree life of drinking, sex, and loose telepathy. Raven finally guilt's Charles into going to a bar with her, only to have them run into a rather unsavory Mutant and Disability fetishist.

And One For Yourself? (Let Me Take You Home?) by meh_guh

Charles has had it with academia. He's sick of Boston, sick of teaching Bio 101, sick of Nathaniel Essex's guerrilla campaign against his lab time. So of course, the only thing to do is to move back to NYC and open a bar. It'll be a lark.

And Tony's there! Scads of guilt-free, friendly sex is never to be frowned upon.

Of course, the bewitching lunatic behind the bar complicates matters, but Charles is hardly new at seduction. He'll win Erik over in a matter of weeks.

A month at the outside.

Really.

Baby, You're A Hit by mutanitys (chekov)

"How to not make it up to the cute professor you mistakenly punched at a bar" by Erik Lehnsherr.

(Erik still punches the wrong guy, but this time the hospital doesn't seem to be an option.)

-------

Fics with dirty talk about breeding/pregnant kink:

serendipity by intentation

Charles runs into his professor at a sex club. How can he possibly resist?

Perfection by LadyLustful

Charlotte Xavier didn't think she would be into being bred but here she is, getting off on hearing how she's perfect and will give Erik perfect babies.

[shirogane-oushirou]

hi it's time for a dive into * .✧ ro's ancient oushirou art ✧. * on this lovely oushiversary!!

(aka i don't wanna reblog any of this art directly from the source bc a number of the posts include my old name ^_^ also there's a lot and i'm already spamming y'all with old art KJNASFKJN)

↑ early college era -- still hadn't taken coloring classes, but i had taken anatomy classes and was using my favorite boy as practice outside of classwork :o)

↑ that first one was from when i was drawing my own dakimakura cover bc i figured honeybee would never deliver on an official one (and also a nod to the fact that i had just had my first taste of nutella and it broke my brain (positive)). and i could be wrong but i thiiiink the second one was around when the official one was announced...? maybe?

i just needed a daki so badly. when i FINALLY got my hands on the daki cover, pillows of that size weren't standard over here, so i actually had to make my OWN dakimakura by sewing two standard pillows together... in a larger case comprised of a sheet... which i did all by hand bc i didn't have my sewing machine at the dorm... i was Committed. 😊👍🏻✨

↑ The Sillies. i'm saving everyone from being subjected to all of the oushipug drawings but. ousheep.... ough... and i included the third one in my nick-gave-me-a-pass-to-gush post, but i'm putting it here too bc. it's cute. :3c

↑ practicing with the yoh yoshinari sections in the PSG design books. good stuff, highly recommend taking a look if you're into very interesting western-japanese animation style mixes.

↑ shortly after getting my hands on after winter -- the bouquet is a drawing of a scene from his route ;w; he's so sweet... and so clumsy... top left is from the time when i was watching the end of clannad during all-nighters while working on assignments. can you tell just from that sentence that i was Quite Unwell at the time? KJASNFKJN. (still love miku!oushirou so much tho. honestly love this style. i want to study my art from around this time at some point, maybe regain some things that were uhhh Firmly Discouraged, to put it nicely, during my later college years.)

↑ doodle dumps! first one is from shortly after playing AW, second is from maybe... junior year with a couple from sophomore year? just a lot of style practice. third is mostly from the end of college when i was. struggling kJNASFJKN. SCAD Profs I Will Not Name made me feel like shit for drawing "too anime", then a couple of years later said their "anime" students were their favs, so my style was. very mixed and not confident. skjdnf.

↑ random gifs! wish i could find it, but i also have one somewhere of him blasting off team rocket-style KJASNKDJN and another of him getting scared from a horror game? movie?

↑ first anniversary pic!! and a reblog meme of "draw your favorite character wearing what you're wearing right now", and i was dressed to drive down the street for some late night gas station food w roommates.

↑ selfship-before-selfship "wife blog" art from 12yrs ago!! kazuaki, the series's artist, has drawn catboy oushirou in design docs before, so he'll sometimes pop up in my art as well ksjdnfnkj. also, naturally, self insert art babey. and he's being a little asshole ksjnd.

↑ the one on the left is like. right around when i graduated?? the one in the middle was for his bday, probably 2020, when i was just starting to get back into art, the one on the right is a college sketch that i redrew as practice to ease myself back into drawing in 2020.

↑ bday cupcakes for the bday boy!!!! around like. 2013 or 2014? i used to do a lot of baking for his bdays before i had dietary restrictions kJNASKJFN, though i sometimes sneak a little treat in on his bday if i can find one.

maybe as i sift through posts on my old blog i'll collect all of the weird art i've done and post them in chunks like this. nice way to put them someplace without spamming people with old curiosities ksjdnfk.

(credit)

[marauders-fanfilm]

Hi Everyone,

   I want to sincerely apologize for both the long delay between updates and the necessity for one at this point in general. When we set out to make this project, none of us ever anticipated we might still be working on it eight years later. And while a lot has happened in that time, I promise you, no one wants it to be completed and released more than we do.    2022 has been a difficult year for the project on a number of fronts, but we’re still standing. This year has seen an essentially unprecedented demand for the VFX industry, while they continue to fight for the sort of protections and working standards that the rest of the film industry and most industries in general have. Last year’s near IATSE strike was a wake up call for many of us that the film industry can very easily become incredibly dangerous and destructive to the lives of the people who work in it, and we’ve all tried to do our best to ensure we and the rest of our crew members take the time they need to take care of themselves and their loved ones. This, while absolutely critical and my top priority for the team I am responsible for, has meant that there have been some delays with our progress due to artists needing to take time to focus on themselves and their families, or simply because they’ve needed to prioritize their non-volunteer work, and haven’t been able to juggle both.

   As I’m sure just about all of you know, over the past few years, the original author of the franchise has dedicated her time and legacy to an anti-transgender campaign. I’ve talked about it previously, but it’s been an incredibly difficult situation for all of us. While our film doesn’t benefit her in any way, it’s complicated to dedicate months or years of work to a project that is still playing in her sandbox. For some of our artists, it simply wasn’t something they could come to terms with, and they had to step away from the project for their own well being, which all of us on the TGS Production Team absolutely understand and sympathize with. I’ve struggled with it a lot personally, I know most of us have. Speaking purely for myself, while I think the franchise and world will always be tainted by its author’s bigotry now, I love this film, I am incredibly proud of all of the hard work our cast and crew have poured into it, and I made a commitment to see it through. I intend to do so. But I will never harbor any resentment towards any member of our team who doesn’t feel the same way, and wish them nothing but the best of luck on their future endeavors.

   There’s not much we can do from our small platform to challenge her, unfortunately. Our film is long-since written and shot, and a time capsule of where we all were as fans and aspiring creators when that happened. What we can do is support our trans team members and supporters, and reject bigotry like Rowling’s. We will be adding a note on the situation and our rejection of her and her prejudice at the opening of the film, and I have elected to strike her card from the animated credits sequence. She created the world and most of these characters, I can’t change that. She’ll be credited for her part of course, as it would be wrong not to, but we don’t need to plaster her name across the screen either.

All that said, where is the project at?    The first two acts are just about picture-locked with finished VFX, barring a handful of shots that are currently in the works. Among the work done on this section:

An incredibly intricate steadicam shot of the Marauders fleeing Filch’s office after releasing a series of fireworks and dung bombs, as seen in our very first piece of concept art. This effect required the work of four separate artists to rotoscope the actors, 3D model and track the set and camera movement, and the actual effect work of the smoke and fireworks. Talented artist Porter Justus is hard at work on the scene between work on his Masters from SCAD and preparing for the birth of his second child. Congrats again, Porter!

Top to bottom creations of numerous Daily Prophet page graphics and layouts for a montage sequence by talented Malaysian 2D artist Kunal Chopra.

A Virtual CG version of the Marauder’s Map for various shots by American artist Alyssa Nicholas, for tight insert shots where tracking a physical prop became too difficult.

Artist Jorge Gúzman, who was only able to join us briefly before having to leave to focus on paid projects came on and helped with a handful of Marauder’s Map shots.

Artist Chris Shivers has been working on a spell effect for a series of shots of Lily Evans between his other paid work.

UK artist Nathan Collins has been hard at work on several potions class scenes, including the infamous Amortentia potion!

Nic Bahn, a German artist known as WizardingsFX online, has been hard at work helping us upgrade the opening scene of the film.

Talented Spanish artist Pablo Nadal, who goes by Pancatum in online fandom circles, has been busy for much of this year, but when he’s had time to join us, he’s worked on a great sequence between Regulus & Marlene.

And lastly, our VFX Supervisor, Martin Bayang, who between his demanding hours at his Los Angeles VFX day job and helping me manage our team, has still managed to carve out time to work on a number of shots from our Valentine’s Day sequence!

The Third Act is where most of the work is still being done, including a large fight sequence and where most of our focus is.

When VFX Artist Emma Matzke has time between professional VFX work and parental responsibilities, she is currently hard at work on Snape’s big final scene, which is looking absolutely amazing!

Our dynamic duo from Spain, Guillermo Valadez and Iván Rubio, both full-time professional VFX artists, are bouncing between a couple of segments, including that large fight scene, and another key moment of the finale I can’t talk about without spoiling the ending!

There is still work to be done on both Sound and Color, but the brunt of the workload has been on the VFX front.

There is still a decent bit left of both final action beats, along with a handful of Marauder’s Map shots, and one complicated VFX shot for the final sequence of the film that has proved more challenging than anticipated. But we’re hard at work trying to progress through them as quickly as possible.

  Our composer J. Paul Bourque has had a very busy year with his professional composing work in New York, but we’ve slowly been chipping away at the last of the score for the film. We are currently undergoing some revisions to the final sequence, after which Paul and Writer/Creative Producer Ben Wessels will be going back through all the tracks for final adjustments and filling in some final instrumentation, along with the recording of one track I won’t go into detail about that is being recorded live. We’re all really excited about and proud of how the score is sounding, and can’t wait to share it with all of you.   Lastly, while I had hoped to save this announcement until the trailer reveal, I am incredibly excited to announce that over the last couple years we have been working alongside the magically talented Tom Ya, also known as The_H_Project, a french architect who used his lockdown time over the pandemic to create an insanely detailed digital replica of Hogwarts Castle! All of the establishing shots in the film have been replaced with custom shots Tom crafted for the project, and I cannot overstate how much it adds to the final product. Tom is now working, again as he’s able to between his busy day job and time with his new bride (Congratulations again, my friend), on integrating elements of his model into some other shots and sequences, and the results so far have been truly fantastic.

   I want to apologize again to our incredibly patient friends, families, and fans that the project has taken so much longer than any of us have anticipated. We all want to see the project finished and released, and we are working as hard and as quickly as we can to make that happen. But I also just want to take a moment to say how proud I am of our team and everything they’ve accomplished, both on the film and in their personal, professional, and creative lives since the project began. We all really appreciate your years of patience, and we will continue to pour our hearts into this project, and try to get this film finally completed and out to you soon. Happy New Years, everyone. Aaron

[raggedy-albert]

omg good question anon

al knew something was off, but he had no idea what. he hit his head and he was soaked and everything was wrong. he was locked in the cellar with no food or water or anything for two days, he hadn’t slept at all, and he was basically delirious. when he finally was let out his main priority was just to get a bit better. the “food” at the refuge was barely edible, but it was some of the best food he had when he got out.

he was exhausted and wound up and so mad but he knew that being not 100% in the refuge is dangerous, he’s seen it happen before. he went to the same old bunk bed, his only hearing ear facing down, and he tried to sleep.

unfortunately, oscar got orders to bring al to the warden. he stormed in and ordered al to go to the office, but al was ignoring him. how dare he? oscar got furious, he hurdled towards al and shoved him, hard, rolling him over and screaming that he was ignoring him. al was confused but also pissed. why was oscar yelling when he had done absolutely nothing wrong? he started yelling back. he hadn’t heard a single thing and oscar was being stupid. al was so close to just throwing himself at oscar and oscar was this close to just killing al.

as they were arguing, al’s mind was beginning to realize that something was weird again. he had heard oscar yell before, practically a million times, and it never sounded this muffled.

that’s when he realized. oscar had taken half of his hearing. he snapped. he threw himself at oscar and he just started beating on him and shouting. he was incomprehensible and furious and upset and he didn’t know what to do except make oscar pay.

morris finally came in to see why oscar was taking so long and when he saw what was happening he ran over to get al off his brother. al got up and he was still shouting. oscar was panting, holding his wounded face, and morris was so angry that al would do something like that unprovoked.

al stopped suddenly, a terrifying look on his face. morris yelled at him, asking why the hell would he would do that. al told him, staring directly at oscar, that he couldn’t hear anything in his ear anymore. morris’ brother took his hearing. both of their faces dropped; you could really tell that they’re brothers from the near identical expression.

al, on the other hand, was still so incredibly upset. so, he used that opportunity to run. he didn’t know where he would go, but it needed to be not there. he ran past the scads of people, just shoving them out of the way, and out the doors of the refuge. after that he just kept going. he ran and ran until he just absolutely couldn’t (it wasn’t very far since he still was recovering from being in the cellar). he was on a semi-crowded street that he wasn’t familiar with, but he couldn’t go any more. he sat down where he hoped he wouldn’t be crushed by the people walking by, and he just spaced out. he couldn’t deal with everything going on then, and it was a lot.

after a period of time, he had no idea how long, he got jolted back to reality. a tall boy around his age with curly dirty-blonde hair and a newspaper bag slung over his shoulder was standing in front of him. he was waving his hand in front of al’s face with a concerned look and asking if he was ok. after assuring al that he wouldn’t do anything to hurt him (it took a while) the boy, race, helped him up and started to lead him to a place he swore al would be safe and protected.

al didn’t know why, but he really trusted this kid. he was terrified and angry and ready to fight god and severely traumatized. his legs were shaky, but they steadily followed race. he knew he would really help.

[regexkind]

how much cum d'you reckon is in the sea

Like, there's a lot going on here that makes this question complicated imho

Are you asking after human cum specifically, or so all forms of animal semen count? When does it stop being cum, because of the degradation of the harsh saline environment and scads of microbes? People say things like "hur hur the molecule of water in your body was once dinosaur urine" and I don't really actually want to count everything that was once dinosaur urine as if it were always dinosaur urine

In general, questions like this are anathema to my personal epistemology. You'd be better off asking me questions like "what are the probable outcomes of having sex in the ocean? given certain desired features of ocean-sex, how could I work to make it a better experience while still satisfying those desires?"

[lunammoon]

how would marion and the toymaker interact? just watched the final and god the brainrot has me sobbing

So before I begin I'm going to say "this is brainrot that's been in my head since 2020 mixing with new 2023 brainrot that may not be the same as whatever brainrot infects me when I finally write it."

He calls her "the Marionette". Or "Marionette". Not like, in an affectionate way obviously. You but you know, like a puppet. Because her name is "Marion"

He will occasionally manifest a string on one of her arms to yank her around until she rips it out herself as part of the Marionette thing. It hurts to rip the strings out. Marion does it anyway.

He implies that if she gets stuck in his realm he'll kill her over and over again or as he words it "Oh it's nothing you aren't used to! I'll break you apart, and wait for you to put yourself back together again".

Adding to the last point, this makes the Toymaker one of few beings the Doctor (we're talking about Fourteen) won't let Marion do the "I'm pointedly standing in front of you thing" and encourages/demands that Marion "please get back". (Ties into a thing I mentioned when someone asked me to elaborate on scene and I picked the one where Five gets scad (scared and mad) but basically the older the Doctor gets the more their thoughts on Marion more or less go from One of my companions > My Friend > My longest companion > My Bestfriend > One of few constant presences in my life outside of death and the TARDIS > Someone who I Can Not lose). He can't lose Marion and certainly not like this. He's hanging on by a thread and that would snap it.

I had an idea when I was reading the Toymaker novel that instead of what was iirc, shutes and ladders he traps them in a D&D game since "three's enough for a party, isn't it?" Dunno if I'll continue with that one.

She’s just got a baseline level of severe dread (the external kind) and vertigo the entire time she (or more specifically the Doctor) is around him. Which would suck even without the constant moving and spinning she suspects is intentional.

In the Toymaker serials, the longer One's invisible and Intangible the worse Marion feels. By the end, she keeps absentmindedly hitting her chest trying to alleviate pressure. Steven asks if she's okay Marion just kind of goes 🙃👎.

When One goes invisible and intangible, Marion uses one of her very few verbal "OH FUCKS"

Spice Girls dance scene Marion gets thrown into a wall with enough force that there's a her shaped dent or otherwise she just straight up crashes through the wall (also leaving a her shaped hole)

In general, the Toymakers antics don't particularly frighten Marion, what Frightens her is the fact that he hurts people she cares about, and she doesn't think that she could get far physically attacking him.

The guy himself does creep her out.

She muses that he could probably get people to play with him willingly if he promised to let them leave no matter what after like 2 hours but she doesn't voice this.

[kedreeva]

Oh! I always thought the line "rich parents, super popular, chicks love him" means he's jealous Steve gets to be a womanizer and I thought the cynical eyes thing underlined that 😅 But I always thought it didn't fit his character if he wanted to be popular with the chicks. What's your take on that? I feel your takes are more fitting than mine 😅

I think that... we know Eddie's capable of being jealous. He outright tells Steve he's super jealous. but it's not about the listed things. He says he's jealous before all that. He's jealous of ONE thing: Dustin's love. Dustin's good opinion, which Steve actually has in scads, and Eddie's acutely aware of it- says as much, when he tells Steve Dustin talks about him to Eddie.

And the REASON he's jealous that Steve has Dustin's love is... because Eddie doesn't think Steve is a good person. Or didn't. He had the image of Steve in his mind that he's got rich parents, he's super popular, chicks love him.... all of which, to Eddie, reads as 'this person is a douche.' Has to be, because NO ONE Eddie has experienced that has those things has ever been good to him. His personal experiences, INCLUDING with Steve at least through observation, have been the opposite of good.

So what Eddie is jealous of isn't that Steve is those things and Eddie isn't. It's that he thought Steve was bad AND somehow still managed to get Dustin's love. When you're bad, you don't get the love of good people, right? Isn't that how the world works? It's probably how Eddie's been told the world works. He's got enough wounds that say that's how the world is supposed to work. So how can Steve, a bad person (as far as he knows), have earned the love of the kid Eddie's been trying to impress all year, whom Eddie considers to be a good person?

Eddie doesn't want to be popular with the chicks. Eddie wants to be loved despite what he might think of some of the things he's done in life, despite the way he was brought up by his father, despite the way the popular kids like Steve and Tommy and Jason and Billy looked at him, despite the magazine articles calling him evil for playing a game. He's spent the last 24 hours thinking he ran away from danger, that he's been a coward, that he isn't good, and he's being faced with the realization that every bad thing he thought about Steve may not, actually, add up to him being a bad person after all, and that maybe Dustin was right to love Steve. And he's a little (super) jealous of it turning out that way, all things considered.