#and it’s only 7/75 chapters in. I’m already at this point NOW . I can not imagine when we’ll reach around 35 what will happen

[delizbin]

Personal take but totally inspired by the ff Fine Line by the amazing @firstdragonlady

[starsoforionwrites]

So, I'm finally back to writing Nature of Purity after.... fuck me, 7 months without an update. And I thought I'd take a moment to talk a little bit about why I stopped updating it.

The Setup

When I started posting NoP it was, I thought, mostly done. I'd originally intended it to be about 20k words. I had a sketch for the the overall plan, and I'd written what at the time felt like about 75% of it. In fact, I'd been sitting on those chapters for a few months already, working on them here and there as the whim took me.

One of the reasons I started posting it on AO3 was to try and push myself to complete it. I'd never finished a fic before. NoP was actually the first thing I'd written in years.

So I jumped in and started posting, knowing that if I stuck to a weekly update schedule I had a twelve week buffer to finish it off. That's ages! So much time! And I only had a few more chapters to write really!

Things went fine for a while, although I was still really struggling to stick to a schedule. I mostly managed though. I know some of you sit down and write in huge swathes, working steadily for hours and churning out 20k words at a time. That ain't me. I flit in and out of my fics, working for 20 minutes here, adding 150 words there. I'll get tired of the section I'm writing and move down a few pages, adding a section title with a couple of bulletpoints of things that will happen.

If I work at it, I can hit 1500 words in an hour-ish. I'm quite lucky in that once I start writing, I don't get stuck. Staring at an empty page means sometimes I never start, but if I put words to paper then I can keep going, flow of consciousness, pretty easily.

But usually, 2 hours is about my absolute maximum for a session, and I pretty much max out at 2 sessions a week.

Anyway, around June of '21, THINGS started to happen in my life. Here's a fun list.

I got a promotion at work

My mortgage came up for renewal

I ended up buying a new house instead

I had to buy a new car

I had a trivial argument with some close friends that got blown out of all proportion

This literally all took place in a period of about two months, which is right about the time I stopped writing. I kept posting chapters, but I couldn't bring myself to write any more. I ran out of chapters to post in August '22 (although I had been checked out mentally for a long time beforehand), and then I fucked off into the darkness never to be seen again.

So yes this is obviously a mental health post

I've always really struggled with depression. It's been a constant in my life ever since I can remember. I was sent home from school several times when I was around 10-12 because I was inconsolable over nothing. Or had been laughing hysterically for hours. Or I'd been staring at a wall for hours.

Eventually they sent me to counselling, which I did not handle well either.

Things got really bad for me around 16-20, and then slowly I started to level out a bit. Eventually I mostly got a handle on it as I learned to live with myself.

That said, I still find it really, really easy to fall into depression. Days when I wake up and just think "no" and go back to bed are still not uncommon.

This is all a precursor to say that, that bullet-point list above? Yeah, I didn't handle it too well.

The promotion at work came with huge amounts of new stress. I was now a client-facing, team-leading, systems-architecting badass, and my workload roughly quadrupled.

Buying a new house is also, it turns out, ridiculously stressful. This is the second time I've been through the process, although the first time round I had a partner to do it with. This time, it was just me, and on top of that I was having to deal with the transfer of assets due to my prior mortgage being in both our names, along with a wildly fluctuating market value of property. I'm aware this is not a particularly relatable thing to bitch about (oh no, poor me, my hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of material assets), but at several points in the process it genuinely looked like it would all fall through and I would be left homeless in one way or another.

The new car was a fucking ridiculous situation. I previously had a company car, as a perk because they didn't want to give me a raise. This meant I could sell my car and was very cool! Then covid. The company decided to cancel the car policy, and I no longer had one at all. Then the chip shortage! Remember that? The price of second hand cars skyrocketed. Again, very stressful.

And then the nail in the cake, my friends situation. I'm not gonna go into it, but it was ridiculous. Like, a genuinely stupid argument over absolutely nothing important. These are people I've known IRL for fifteen years. But the upshot was, I didn't feel welcome around them anymore, so I just stopped showing up on discord.

I haven't spoken to any of them since.

Sooooo, all this shit combined together to leave me a barely functioning person. I just about held things together enough to get moved in. I unpacked. And then I more or less fell apart.

Don't call it a comeback

Eventually I crawled my way back out of my pit.

This is, genuinely, in no small part thanks to the wonderful comments I received while still posting NoP. I have saved many of these comments. The fact that people were engaging with the stuff I was writing brought me so much happiness, I actually don't know how to describe it.

Reading the comments from you guys, who are out there reading my work, literally makes me cry almost every time. I get weepy over it. I have to go and have a little sit down. I can't stop smiling. It uplifts me, even if the comment is something small and throw-away for you. And Christ, some of you write such beautiful things. My God. Are you for real? I want to hug you so fucking badly.

But I was left in a bit of a pickle. I couldn't face going back to NoP. I'd sit in front of it, and I just couldn't find the voice anymore. The exact state of mind I'd been in when I was writing Hermione and Draco bitching away at each other in the library was eluding me. I'd sit staring at an empty chapter, which just had headers in it like "Talking to Luna" and "Nott a problem" and I was like who the fuck wrote this what does it mean??

But I wanted to write again.

And I had so many WIPs. Like no lie I have about thirty, that range from one-sentence descriptions of a vibe, to heres-a-complete-first-chapter-and-nothing-else-lol-figure-it-out.

And one of those WIP's was actually fun, and breezy, and easy to write. Epistolaries are so fucking easy my guy. Like they're so easy. You don't have to worry about any of that other shit! You don't need a plot, or to set the scene! You don't need to force yourself to describe what people are doing as they talk. They aren't doing anything! They're just writing letters! So easy!

For reference, I find dialogue absolutely trivial to write. It's everything else that fucks me up. So heck yeah epistolaries.

And it was a LOT of fun. Especially those first few easy-breezy chapters. Especially when you can leverage the fact that everyone reading knows EXACTLY what's happening in the background, so you can just drop allusions to it here and there in dialogue.

So I began posting The Penpal Program. And, because it was mostly canon-compliant, it got heavier and darker towards the end, but still stayed pretty light and fluffy. I had a few hiccups here and there where I (as I am wont to do) did no writing at all for three weeks and then had to have a massive catch-up session in the 11th hour, BUT I completed it.

And again, the comments throughout the whole process kept me going. It's actually crazy how much it makes my day to read a comment.

And, throughout all of this, I've been conscious of not updating NoP. I've had a couple of comments here and there asking for updates, and they've made me feel guilty. I've looked back at one specific comment made on the last chapter I wrote, letting me know they had faith in my storytelling. That they couldn't wait to see what happened.

And I feel like I let them down personally. Like I've just been the most useless, selfish, worthless asshole for seven fucking months. And I know that's crazy and depression and etc. etc. (I do know that), but still. I want to finish the fic. For them. And for the rest of you, who have commented, or not. Who hit the kudos or the like button or the bookmark or who didn't do any of these things and just kept the tab open and refresh it once every month or so. And also, for me. So it's done. Because it's not the longest fic ever written, or the fluffiest, or the darkest or the most realistic. But it's mine, and I'm proud of it. I've loved writing it. I love reading it back, because I'm a slut for reading my own stories. I love the way I feel every time I see someone else like it. I love sharing it with you guys.

And so, I'm writing it again. And I'm going to finish it. As I write this I have two chapters left to go and then it will be complete. I'm going to complete it before I start posting it again. I don't want to throw a single chapter up and then lose control again and disappear.

I said there would be four chapters to go, but there will actually be five. Three of them are written.

I also have a couple of "scenes from the cutting room floor", which I think I'll just chuck on here for you pack of reprobates to read. Or maybe I'll put them on AO3 as part of a series, loosely affiliated.

Either way, The Nature of Purity will be complete, and should be updating on AO3 within the next few weeks.

Sorry for wasting almost 10k words (fuck me) on this explanation of why I've not been writing, but I figured fuck it, you might wanna know.

Anyway as a little treat for reading so far have a little snippet form the next chapter of NoP.

"Merlin Hermione," George said, interrupting her. "I don't give a shit about your exams! Tell me about Draco dearest. I mean, when he stormed in here at Christmas and read Harry the riot act... Honestly, he got me all hot and bothered!"

"George!"

"Oh come on babe, I'm only human! Besides, I was only looking at him."

"Well keep your bloody eyes to yourself you git!" she snarled, as George and Ginny both giggled and exchanged significant looks.

"Relax love, he's not really my type you know? He was just all... I dunno. Commanding!"

"Oooh yeah," Ginny cut in. "I know what you mean. He's a bit... angular for me really, but he looked very.... stern didn't he Georgie?"

Hermione resumed drinking her tea, tuning out the background of Weasleys singing the praises of her betrothed. For Merlin's sake, Draco was right. They had no bloody decorum.

[meltwonu]

| 🍒 CH-CH-CHERRY BOMB! 🍒 |     [CHAPTER 16]

pairing; dom!seungcheol x camgirl!reader

this chapter’s notes; camshow, dom!seungcheol, oral(fem receiving), a little overstimulation, some hair pulling, dirty talk, possessive!seungcheol makes an appearance, sex toys, seungcheol riskin’ it all in this one 😏😳 yall!!! only 4 more chapters after this 🥺 it’s so crazy, I don’t even remember when I started this series but omg, my longest one yet! 💕 thank you so much for the support on cherry bomb, as always!! I love yall 💕💕 also my god has it been a week 😭 gonna do an inbox roundup tomorrow!💕 But for now, enjoy ch16 and have a good, safe weekend!! 💕🍒 

chapters; 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - x - x - x - x

“Let me get this straight… She asked you if you considered her your girlfriend and you said what?”

Seungcheol grimaces for the third time, brows furrowed when Jeongguk blinks at him incredulously. “I’m sorry, I just---I need to hear it from your lips again, hyung.”

“Ugh, I said ‘sure’, okay!? I got nervous! That was a big fuckin’ question!” Seungcheol tugs at his own hair, groaning as he slams his head down onto the concession stand. “Don’t even get me started on the look she gave me after. I had to sleep next to her, you don’t know how horrible that was after my fuck up.”

Jeongguk pats Seungcheol’s hair; shaking his head as he gently tries to comfort his hyung.

“What did she say afterwards?”

“She just said ‘oh, okay’ and then she changed topics.” Seungcheol lifts his head from the countertop, hair mussed as he stares back at Jeongguk who shoots him a pitiful look.

“And that was it? The two of you went to bed?” Seungcheol nods, “We ate a little and she started talking about work so I thought everything was okay? But the more I think about it the more I’m thinking ‘oh, okay’ isn’t really okay? Listen, I haven’t been in a relationship in a while and the last thing I ever expected out of meeting her was for her to be my girlfriend!”

Jeongguk laughs in return, “I can tell. You’re fuckin’ rusty as hell, hyung.”

“He said what?”

You groan as you pick up another plate. “He said ‘sure’ and then it got awkward. We ate dinner and then went to bed and this morning when he dropped me off, I felt like---weird? I was all shy all of a sudden, maybe even awkward.” Jun helps you clear off the table, taking a couple plates of his own before turning to face you.

“Like, ‘butterflies in my stomach’ kinda shy? Or, like, ‘that wasn’t really the answer I was looking for’ kinda awkward shy?”

Grimacing, you start to wipe down the table as Jun watches. “I’m not even sure. I mean… He didn’t say no, right? But I guess I was just expecting a little more than just ‘sure’. Nothing like, grandiose but… a little more than ‘sure’? It’s like he was replying to me asking if he wanted a piece of chocolate.”

Jun laughs, fingertips on his chin as he thinks of an appropriate response. “He might just be… awkward. I mean, what was the preface of this question? What conversation were you two having?”

Your lips press into a firm line, cheeks hot as Jun stares you down. “Okay… maybe you’re right. I didn’t really… work up to that question. I kinda just… asked it. I mean, you guys were asking about it in the comments too so I just thought--”

“Ah! There’s the problem though. I don’t think hyung was even in the chat at that point. So, just because all of us were talking about it doesn’t mean he knew, y’know? He might’ve just been caught off guard.”

“Ugh... fuck, you’re probably right.”

You and Seungcheol don’t talk about it.

Even though you can feel the tenseness between the two of you during dinner and even when he drops you off and picks you up from work Friday afternoon. It’s all clipped conversations and shy, awkward smiles like the two of you had met for the first time, all over again.

It eventually comes to a head when you’re only an hour away from needing to start your cam show, Friday night, and you realize that you weren’t sure if Seungcheol was going to be part of it or not. “Hey, ‘Cheol?” You ask, voice small as you stare at the back of his head. The male turns from his place on the sofa, eyes wide as saucers at your shy voice.

“Y-yeah?”

“Are you, um, going to cam with me tonight or…? I mean, I can do it alone, I just--I wasn’t sure if you wanted to, tonight.” Seungcheol bites the inside of his cheek; he really wanted to talk about it and he didn’t understand why this, out of all the things, was so difficult for him to talk about.

“I--I don’t know. I just, I’m sorry, can I just... apologize first?” He groans as he gets up from the sofa and rounds it until he steps in front of where you sit atop the bed sheets. “It’s been so awkward and I know it’s because of me, so you don’t need to say anything. I just--I should’ve said more than ‘sure’, I was just nervous!” His cheeks burn red; wide eyes avoiding your own as you stare up at him. “I really want you to be my girlfriend, if I didn’t already make that clear. I was just thinking about how I never really expected you to like me that much, much less start a relationship with me, so the first thing that came out of my mouth was just… that. It was dumb, I should’ve said something else, but I think my brain was just mush by then.”

Your own cheeks feel hot at his confession; trying to hide the beaming smile that threatens to paint your features. “No--no, I should apologize a little too. I asked you that out of nowhere and made you panic. I should’ve worked it up better than that too.”

“I guess we’re both a little dumb, huh?” He laughs under his breath as he scratches the back of his head in embarrassment. “We can talk about everything else under the sun but that was just… harder to talk about in the moment.”

“Yeah, but we’re okay now, right? We’re an official c-couple?” You bite your lip, looking up at Seungcheol who seems to be staring off into the distance. A grin finds itself painted on his lips as he meets your shy eyes.

“That’s right, babygirl.”

Seungcheol decides to let you do your cam show alone tonight; watching from the sofa as you get settled on the bed before nodding at him and starting your stream.

“Hey, everyone! Happy Friday!”

The comments and donations flood in as soon as you start and you already hit your donation minimum before you even open your mouth to speak again. It catches you off guard momentarily as your eyes go wide and your lips part in a shocked expression.

“Whoa, that was so fast! We already hit the donation minimum!”

sleepy_wonu has donated $75

sleepy_wonu: your channel has grown so much in the past few weeks im not surprised lol

universe_WZ: yea seriously, i remember when it took us like 30 mins before we hit minimum

artist8hao has donated $75

artist8hao: now theres ppl we’ve never even seen before in the comments lol

angelhan has donated $50

tangerine_kwan has donated $50

“Oh I know! Remember that one cam show where it took me, like, almost an hour to reach minimum? If it weren’t for ‘dom.cheol’ then, I don’t think that one would’ve taken off at all!” You giggle at the memory, eyes momentarily flitting to Seungcheol who smiles back at you.

kitty_junjun: speaking of? No loverboy tonight?

therealchan99: oh yeah i didnt even notice he was gone 😌

chwenon: lmfao

“Ah, he said he wanted to take a break tonight so it’s just me! Hope that’s okay with you guys?” You pout at the camera, fingertips roaming your lingerie clad body as you read off a few more comments. “I’m so used to his hands all over my skin though… He gets me to cum so easily, y’know?”

You pick up a dildo sitting next to you on the bed; bringing the silicone toy to your lips as you moan. “This is the biggest toy I have and it’s not anywhere near the size of his cock...” Wrapping your lips around the tip, you start sucking on the toy, imagining it was Seungcheol’s cock instead when it fills your mouth.

Your eyes flutter shut when you start grinding against the bedsheets underneath you and Seungcheol feels his throat going dry at the way you take more and more of the toy into your mouth until you’re gagging on it. Tears spring to your eyes when you feel your throat constricting around the silicone and you repeat this action a few more times before you’re pulling the toy from your mouth and sputtering to catch your breath.

gentleman_josh95: god youre so fucking pretty choking on cock

alphagyu97 has donated $50

alphagyu97: fuck i know

Setting the toy down, you immediately work to get your lingerie off; tossing it to the side before spreading your legs for the camera. “Mmh, I’m already so wet thinking about this toy filling me up…” You tease yourself with the toy, dragging the tip through your folds and collecting the wetness on it as you mewl.

xcaliburDK: but is it gonna be enough for you?

hoshi_tiger_xx: probably not, we all know the toys arent as good as the real thing lolol

You let out a whimper as you circle your clit with the tip of the toy. “I know… But I really want something inside my pussy…”

Seungcheol feels his cock throbbing in his sweats at the way your words only sound sweeter to his ears now that the two of you had cleared the air. He bites his lip, palming himself through the material as he watches you from his place on the sofa.

alphagyu97: is ur tight lil cunt ready to take it?

therealchan99: why dont u use your pretty fingers to get yourself ready hmm?

You nod shakily, setting the toy down again before bringing your middle and index fingers to your lips to wet them properly before snaking them down your body. “Ah, my fingers aren’t as big either…” Mumbling, you pinch and tease your clit, moaning out loudly before dragging them down and sinking them into your soaked entrance.

“Fuh--fuck, mmh!” Regretfully, your fingers aren’t as thick or long as Seungcheol’s but you curl and scissor the digits inside of you to prep yourself for the toy.

The sound of your moans and cries mix in with the pinging on your laptop from donations and comments and for once, Seungcheol realizes how weird it is to be on the other side and not with you. Admittedly, he’d gotten quite used to being on cam with you that it seemed awkward to just be doing nothing on the other side of the room.

“Oh, ngh, I--I want the toy n-now…” Mewling, you pull your soaking fingers from inside of your pussy; bringing them to your lips to clean them off of your wetness before grabbing the toy again. You run the silicone through your folds as you get it covered in your slick before positioning it at your entrance and slowly sinking it in.

It was definitely smaller than Seungcheol and didn’t have the same girth, but you still whine and whimper when it fills you up to the base of the toy. “Ngh, feels g-good…”

universe_WZ: i just kno that toy is noy as satisfying as the real thing huh princess?

xcaliburDK: right? Her pretty lil pussy is probably so used to being stretched by a big cock 

You thrust the toy into your pussy, soft cries spilling from your lips as you try to imagine it’s Seungcheol instead. In all honesty, you would’ve wanted him to film with you but you respected his decision to stay on the sidelines for tonight.

“Ah, it--it’s not the s-same… I--I need h-help…” You whine; shaky fingertips still working the dildo in and out of your soaking pussy. 

“P-please, ah… the toy’s not, mmh, enough to make m-me feel good...”

In the time between you picking up the toy and you actually sliding into your wet cunt, Seungcheol internally argues with himself on what to do.

And it’s not until you start begging to the air for more that he mentally says ‘screw it’ and gets up from the sofa.

Your eyes are clamped shut as you try to chase the pleasure and soon you feel the bed dip; confused eyes peering back at Seungcheol who’s entire body, including his head, is in the camera’s shot. “W-wait, you---”

“Me, what? You asked for me, right?” He turns his head, eyes staring directly into the camera as he smirks.

“Hi. I’m her boyfriend. But I think the rest of you know that already, right?”

The comments go wild with Seungcheol’s sudden face reveal, even though you and him are already lost in each other as he grips the base of the dildo and starts pumping it inside of you, angling it as best as he can to graze against your g-spot.

xcaliburDK: i think i need to quit my job tomorrow

chwenon: ??? didnt u just start

angelhan: damn i knew this dude was gonna be hot as hell

kitty_junjun: whoa nice to see ur face

kitty_junjun: i take it u lovebirds made up

xcaliburDK: yea i did but i think ive embarrassed myself enough for one lifetime

xcaliburDK has donated $150

xcaliburDK: for my shame

Your entire body is aflame with Seungcheo’s confidence and you feel the pleasure building up even quicker now that he was here with you. “Ah, f-fuck…” Whining, you bite your lip to prevent yourself from calling out his name; something you were used to by now.

“What’s wrong, baby? Call my name. Let them know who makes you feel this fuckin’ good. Let them know who’s cock you always crave and who’s cock fills you up better than this toy ever fuckin’ could.”

“Fuck, S--Seungcheol!”

Your orgasm hits you out of left field; thighs clamping shut around his arm as he continues to fuck you with the dildo as you ride out your pleasure. He turns to face the camera yet again, winking at it cockily before he turns back to you. “That’s right, baby. Now I’m gonna eat your ‘lil cunt out and make you cum on my tongue while you let the entire world know who gets you this fuckin’ wet.”

He doesn’t give you a second to come down from your high before he’s nudging your thighs apart and sliding the dildo from inside of you. A shaky breath falls from your lips as he readjusts you on the bed; this time giving the camera a side view as you turn your head to face the camera.

The comments and donations continue to flood in, except now it seems like they’re going twice as fast.

xcaliburDK: kjdkjghsdkhg fuck

sleepy_wonu: well can i say at least hes not an old weirdo lol

sleepy_wonu: ❤️

chwenon: im like, pretty sure ive seen this dude come to the convenience store i work at

chwenon: bruh i met a celebrity and i didnt even know it

xcaliburDK: dont even get me started

Seungcheol pries your shaky legs apart before he eases himself down between them. “I want you to be as loud as fuckin’ possible. Understood?” He smiles at you warmly, but his words have a certain edge to them that has you nodding profusely.

“O--okay…”

He wastes no time; skilled tongue flicking at your swollen clit as you jolt and immediately tangle your hands into his hair. “Oh, god, Seungcheol I’m--I’m, ah, sensitive…” He smirks against your skin, noting the way you already start to grind against his tongue despite your words.

Resting your thighs against his shoulders, it allows him to eat you out easier as he flattens his tongue and drags it from your soaking entrance to your clit; alternating the pressure as you whine and whimper above him.

When he notices you trying to keep your noises in, he pulls away slightly, flicking your clit with the tip of his tongue before speaking.

“I thought I told you I wanted to hear you, baby? Don’t get shy on me now.” He smirks, watching as the goosebumps rise on your skin. “In fact, why don’t you tell your lovely viewers how good I make you feel, hmm? Or tell them about the time you made me finger you in the restroom at work ‘cause your ‘lil cunt couldn’t wait.”

xcaliburDK: THE RESTROOM? At woRK?

artist8hao: ah one of the originals huh

gentleman_josh95 has donated $75

gentleman_josh95: for backstory

tangerine_kwan has donated $75

tangerine_kwan: seconded!

You bite your lip when you catch the comments, shy eyes flitting from the screen to Seungcheol who resumes eating you out. Your thighs tremble and threaten to snap shut around his head; body already on the edge of another orgasm. 

“I--S--Seungcheol was at, ah, w-work… and I--I couldn’t wait so--so I made him finger m-me in his work’s restroom…” You whimper, hangs tugging on Seungcheo’s hair harshly when his tongue dips into your entrance. “Fuck, I--I couldn’t stop thinking about, ngh, his--his fingers afterwards e-either… They fit my p-pussy so well…”

A garbled moan floats through the air when Seungcheol’s lips envelope your clit, sucking it into his mouth as your cry out his name.

Your back bows off of the bed, fingertips locked tight into his hair. “Fuck, Seungcheol, please… please…” You grind against him, toes curling against his back when your sensitive body gives into the pleasure and your orgasm washes over you a second time.

Cries of his name are all you can manage when your body goes rigid; head fuzzy when he starts to dip his tongue into your pussy again. He smiles against you, calmly continuing to eat you out as your orgasm continues to wash over you.

kitty_junjun: is it just me or is it nicer to hear her actually calling someones name

artist8hao: honestly i was just thinking that too

artist8hao: its more organic idk  

alphagyu97: ~organic~ ok nerd lol

chwenon has donated $50

therealchan99 has donated $50

When the  overstimulation starts to bite, your soft cries of Seungcheol’s name turn into hurried, jumbled noises and only parts of his name as you squirm and tug on his hair.

“Ah, ‘Cheol it’s, ngh, too--too m-much…!” He drags his tongue against your clit a few more times, relishing in the way you still grind against him. “I c-can’t cum again…” You cry, teeth chattering when he gently laps at your folds and collects your wetness on his tongue.

Seungcheol repeats this a few more times; letting you tug and pull at his hair as he licks you clean.

“Ngh, Seungcheol…”

He finally pulls away, using a hand to pry your fingers from his hair as he smiles at your tired body. “Cute.” Mumbling, he eases your shaky legs from his shoulders before he sits up; lips covered in your wetness as he grins at the camera.

Seungcheol picks out a few comments as he chuckles under his breath; already wondering what work was going to be like on Monday when he had to meet Seokmin. 

universe_WZ: u look like a dude that could fuck someone up 

kitty_junjun: he probably would too

chwenon: come thru the convenience store bro, I'll hook u up 

xcaliburDK: should I quit? be honest

Your tired groans bring his attention back to you; eyes trained on the way your tired eyes threaten to snap shut. 

“Okay, I think I need to go take care of my girlfriend now. It was nice meeting you all, finally.” Seungcheol grins, taking care of your stream before thanking your viewers and ending the stream. 

He turns to you, a genuine and caring smile on his face when your hazy eyes look up at him. 

“Ready for a shower?”

“Ugh, carry me, boyfriend~”

[cancerbiophd]

How I landed an industry job straight out of my life sciences PhD, without doing a post-doc 

In less than 7 weeks I’ll be defending my dissertation as a final step in my PhD in Cancer Biology, and yesterday I accepted a Scientist position at a local biotechnology company. And best part: I didn’t have to do the dreaded post-doc first! Which is pretty rare for our field (but I hope it’ll be more and more common for PhD’s going into industry).

I promised I would talk about the process here, and I hope that anyone who’s aiming for the same path can walk away with some tips or at least with a familiarity of the process. 

The main points I want to get across: 

Network network network. You can probably just stop reading here, because this job came about all through networking. I was basically head-hunted--someone in my network (a program alumnus) contacted me on LinkedIn to ask if I wanted to apply for a position on the team she directs. So set up your LinkedIn account, keep it up to date, and use it to actively network. At the very least you should connect with the alumni in your program as you all have something in common already, and since they’re out and about in the field they would be great resources for informational interviews and job referrals. 

My expertise and career goals matched the position. No brainer, of course. Even if I wasn’t contacted by the company, I would only be applying to companies I qualified for (so companies dealing with cancer since I’m my PhD is in Cancer Bio). My lab mate, for example, was finishing up his PhD in Nutritional Sciences but was applying to cancer companies with no result, because it just wasn’t the candidate those companies were looking for. My expertise was also probably what got that director’s attention in the first place and the reason she reached out. She was basically willing to wait 7 months for me (from job posting to my final start-date) because I was her ideal candidate, and not just based off my expertise alone, but our personalities matched too. She told me “we communicate well” aka our work personalities match. I know you can’t change who you are obviously, but getting along with your manager goes a long way. 

That being said, employers/PIs are flexible with start dates for PhD candidates. I applied to this position 6 months before I had my defense date set and when I only knew a ballpark of “sometime in the summer”. And then during my interview process I had to keep pushing that potential start-date back and back and back. But the company understood this. So as a PhD candidate you could start applying 6 months before your expected end-date (even if it’s still a moving target), or even months earlier for post-docs (which are much more flexible than industry positions). In general, you should start looking 1 year before your finish date to see what’s out there. 

It was also good luck/timing. If I had graduated earlier than the job posting, then I never would’ve had this opportunity. I also only added her to my LinkedIn network because I went to a lunch seminar where she gave a talk about working in industry. So small things that ultimately made a huge difference. Some you can’t control, but some (like going to that lunch) are definitely  opportunities to seize. 

I was low “flight risk”. Companies are always afraid their employees will leave the company/city for greener pastures, and that’s more common in “less popular” places to live, like the southwest desert where I’m located. But I’m from here, my grad school is here, my family’s here--so the company is making the assumption I’m not going to just up and go any time soon. You obviously can’t control where your family chooses to settle down, but you may be able to strategically choose your grad school based off of its proximity to potential companies. 

And lastly, in my experience, PhD’s with no post-doc in biotech industry should expect an annual salary somewhere between $75-95k (depending on the company and cost of living), with benefits.

Ok, my full story under cut if you’d like to know more about the process I went through:

It all started when a program alumnus (or alumna, if you’re picky about your latin) named RF talked at a lunch seminar to students in my program in Feb 2019. I was really interested in her company and knew she would be a great network to have, so I emailed her later to thank her, and then added her on LinkedIn. 

Fast forward to January of this year (2020) when RF messaged me on LinkedIn out of the blue asking me how close I was to graduating and if I would be interested in a position at her company. I think she wanted someone asap (so not me, I thought), but we talked more about my project, and she said she’d keep in touch. In February, she messaged me again saying a position opened up on her team and she wanted to see if I would like to apply. I said heck yes (or the more formal version), and sent in my application, with the expectation that I would be defending sometime in the summer. I also put her as my job referral and messaged her afterwards to let her know my application went through (with the hopes that maybe she could fast-track it through HR, which I think she did). 

In the meantime, I messaged (also on LinkedIn) another program alumnus I knew (our time overlapped a few years) who currently works with RF and we chatted on the phone about what he does at work, how he likes it there, etc. Basically an informational interview (and also to catch up as colleagues). I was also hoping he’d put in a good word for me with RF and can attest I’m a decent human being and all that. 

2 weeks later, I had a phone interview with RF, and I was super nervous going into it. I even practiced pages and pages of answers of common interview questions for a week straight. But to my surprise she opened the call with “I already know a lot about you from your CV, LinkedIn profile, and also your PhD training because we’re from the same program, so this is your chance to ask me questions!” And I was like, uhhhh awesome! The only thing she wanted to know about me was when I could start, and at that moment in time I was gunning for a July/Aug defense date. 

(I also emailed her and HR afterwards to ask them whether they could match my salary expectation, which I had researched well beforehand for what was common in the field for my position and experience, and they said they could.)

We then set up the next round of interviews for April with a colleague of RF’s who used to be in the same team but now directs her own, and RF’s boss (these would have normally been on-site, but I did them over the phone bc Covid). I again messaged my friend at the company asking if he had any tips. 

And then disaster struck! The company’s HR called me a week before those scheduled interviews to tell me the company had ordered a hiring freeze due to Covid and the effect it was having on the economy. Absolute bummer :( :( :(

So I then applied for a few more positions here and there, including some post-docs (which I really didn’t want to do). I got 2 rounds of interviews for a Scientist position at another local company, and as of today I still haven’t heard anything from them. oh well. 

Then in June I finally heard back from RF’s company saying the hiring freeze has been lifted and whether I’m still interested? Uh, heck yes! So we continued with those 2 phone interviews I had originally scheduled back in April. They both went really well. But I still continued to apply to other positions in the meantime because I wanted to have as many options as I could. 

Then 2 weeks ago (July 7) I got THE call: they wanted to offer me the position! :D

Only problem was, we needed to settle on a start-date. They of course wanted me to start like, yesterday, but my PI wanted to push back my original defense date of Aug 28 one more week to Sept 4, and also wanted me to focus on any dissertation edits for 2 weeks after that. So my earliest start-date would be Sept 21. If you remember, my defense date shifted from “sometime in the summer” to “July/August” to now September, so I was really worried the company wouldn’t accept this. I nervously waited 2 weeks for someone to call me back, and in my head I kept thinking, “I blew it I blew it”. I even sent in a job application to another company in that time. 

But RF finally called me and said hey, no problem, we can do that! She told me she was willing to wait because I really was her perfect candidate (I had all the experience she wanted, and she said we communicated well aka our work-personalities matched). She had also just recently hired another graduate from our program, who is also a friend of mine, so she knew we would all mesh together very nicely. 

And that’s the story folks! I’ll be starting the position remotely until it’s safe to return to the building again. They’re also working with my husband to see if he’s a good candidate for some of their other open positions (we’re both in the biotech field). We’re both super excited about this new chapter in our lives. 

All this because I attended the lunch seminar RF talked at all last year and then added her on LinkedIn. When people talk about opportunities lurking behind every corner, they really did mean that. 

[ourmiraclealigner]

Trust Me

Lewis Nixon x Reader

Gif not mine! Credit to original owner.

disclaimer: writings are only based off of the actor portrayals in the television series. this is not meant to disrespect the real hero’s of the war.

request: @floydtab Hi! Could I request some Nixon x reader fluff? Maybe he’s nervous about reader going on a patrol and tries to talk Dick into not letting her go (tho we know he’s just overreacting) thanks! ❤️❤️

synopsis: Lewis worries about readers saftey during the patrol + lots of fluffy background

—————————

When Lewis Nixon joined the Army, the last thing on his mind was falling in love. He had worked hard to get into officer school, fell in love with a civilian and gotten married a year before the U.S had been pulled into the war by Japan. He focused on his duties and responsibilities, not paying much attention to the privates and officers as they worked their way through boot camp. Of course, he knew of the ones that his best friend Dick always talked about. He knew Harry, Sobel, and the one female who never gave anyone the chance to mess with her.

Being the ladies man he is, he had started to pay attention to the young medic. He watched her in the dining hall and started listening to the stories Dick had told. He thought she was beautiful, but, being happily married and enlisted, he never made any attempts for conversation. Lewis Nixon was smart and practical; he wouldn’t ruin his reputation over a woman he didn’t know.

So, he kept his distance, focused on his work, wrote to his wife frequently, and tried to get Dick out of his shell.

Their first conversation came as they sat on the train, Harry Welsh fast asleep as Lewis sipped on his flask, watching the trees roll by as they headed to New York. The men were nervous with excitement, no one knowing if they would be heading to Europe or the Pacific.

(Y/N) sat with Malarky and Skip Muck, a book in her hands as she tried to tune the rowdy boys out and focus on the words in front of her.

“I’ll bet you $50 we’re going to Europe,” Skip announced with a confident tone, Malarky rolling his eyes at the boisterous claim.

“That’s ridiculous” Malarky added with an eye roll, writing down the bet in a little notebook he carried around “No way they’re sending us there, they need more Army guys fighting the Japs, only way we’ll win”

Skip Muck chuckled as he put a cigarette in his mouth, Malarkly leaning over and lighting it for him. “What do you think Doc?”

“Don’t know, don’t care” (Y/N) mumbled without looking up, silently begging the men to just let her finish the chapter in her book.

“Ah, c’mon Doc, don’t be like that” Malarkly urged, gently taking the book off her lap and closing it. “I know you want to get in on the fun. You can win back the money you still owe me from a few weeks ago” He added lightly, a smirk dancing onto his lips.

“What are we betting?” She finally gave in, smiling as Skip’s eyes glimmered with excitement.

“$50 on where we’re getting shipped off to” Skip answered, smoke drifting out from his lips.

(Y/N) thought for a few seconds, her eyes drifting towards the intelligence officer that sat a few seats in front of her. She clicked her tongue, shifting in her seat as she looked back at the two men.

“I have a better deal” She announced. “$75 from each of you if I can get the location from Nixon”

“Deal” Malarkly immediately responded, holding his out for her to shake. He was a sucker for a good bet.

“Now hold on” Muck quickly interjected, not as fond of losing money as his best friend was. “From Nixon? Right now?” He asked, trying to think of a time when he saw the medic and officer interact. He couldn't. He sat up a little straighter, the bet sounding better the more he thought about it. “What the hell?” He stated, “We’re going off to war, a few bucks won’t kill me”

She shook the two men’s hands before standing up, smoothing her Ike jacket down so she would be presentable. She slowly and shakily approached the officers, keeping her hands on the seats to make sure she didn’t fall. As soon as she reached them, she greeted them with a warm smile, her eyes on Nixon as she continued standing, not wanting to be rude.

“Sir” She started, speaking again only when he nodded for her to go on. She took a deep breath, trying to remember the short speech she had prepared in her head. “I know you aren't supposed to give away this kind of information” She watched his eyebrows raise in curiosity, Dick looking down at a letter he was writing and pretending like he wasn’t listening.

“Well Private, if you know I can’t tell you, I wouldn’t waste any time asking.” He interjected before she could go on. Dick hummed in agreement as she paused, taken aback by his response.

She cleared her throat as her hands nervously ran over her jacket again. “W-Well you see sir” She stammered, her cheeks heating with embarrassment. “I’m awfully curious about where we’re going” She explained gently, watching his features soften at her change in tone. “I’m proud to be able to serve my country wherever we end up, but I think I would feel a whole lot better if I knew where that place was.”

He shifted in his seat, her words playing over in his head as he turned towards her, his long legs crossing into the aisle. “If I told you, I’d have to kill you” He joked, the Vat 69 and her demeanor making him loosen up.

She giggled, his heart started to beat faster as he watched her smile reach her eyes. Now it was his turn to blush.

“I suppose I can divulge this one piece of information” He started sarcastically, Dick shaking his head at the choice of words. “But you have to promise you won’t tell anyone” He waited until she nodded before leaning close to her, his warm breath dancing on her skin. “Europe”

She pulled away with a quick nod, her cheeks bright red as she realized how close they were. He dismissed her with a curt nod, turning back to the window as Dick waited until she walked away.

“Guess you have to kill her now”

From then on, Lewis and (Y/N) became fast friends. She listened to his complaints about the maps and how “god damn hard they are to read” and he listened to hers about the comments the men made about her gender. Everyone knew they liked each other. (Y/N) got teased and dared to tell him by Skip and Malarkly, and the same with Dick and Lew. They both kept it hidden, not wanting to ruin the friendship that had blossomed between them. Because of the age gap, Lewis had a lot of firsts for (Y/N). He was her first best friend, the first time she put her full trust into someone, her first love, and on a rainy night in Aldbourne, her first time getting drunk.

They sat shoulder to shoulder under an awning, their body heat keeping eachother warm. They took turns taking small sips of the whiskey from Lewis’s flask. She was buzzed as she handed the flask back to him, their fingers brushing before he brought it to his lips.

“Lew” Her voice was small as his head turned to her.

“(Y/N)”

“You know my mom would be over the moon if I brought someone like you home?” Their eyes met, his voice breaking the silence.

“Someone like me?” He asked, confused by what she meant.

“Yeah” She grabbed the flask and took a sip before continuing “Like you. Handsome, smart, funny.” She took another sip, her mind screaming at her to stop before she said something she would regret. “I wonder if we would have met before the war things would have been different between us.”

“(Y/N)-” He started, but she quickly cut him off, needing to get the secret she had been keeping off of her chest.

“I like you, I like you a whole lot, Lew. I know we can’t-” He cut her off with a kiss, his hand on her chin to keep her in place as their lips moved together. He leaned his forehead against hers when they pulled away, keeping eye contact with her

“About time you said something princess”

They were inseparable from then on. Stealing quick kisses in corners of buildings, sneaking off to his office in the middle of the night, and his constant checking up on her in Bastogne. Lewis had no reason to be worried for (Y/N) but her safety plagued his mind 24/7. He knew she was smart and could handle any situation thrown at her. He never told her what she could and couldn’t do, he let her make those decisions but Haguenau was his breaking point.

He was the last one to know she was on the patrol. He had pushed the anger down and waited until he and Dick were alone, not wanting to cause a scene in front of the other officers and men. When he found himself standing next to the tall ginger as they stared to the German side across the river, he couldn’t hold back.

“Dick” His voice was sharp as his jaw clenched.

“I know” Dick was surprised Lew had been able to keep quiet for as long as he did. “I felt the same way at first. Spiers said she’s fast and we need her around if anyone gets hurt. It makes sense.” He tried to reason.

“It doesn't,” Lew’s arms crossed over his chest before he spoke again. “It doesn’t and you know it doesn’t. She’s not crossing that goddamn river. Cancel the patrol if you have to.”

Dick sighed. This is exactly how he expected it to go. “Lew” He said gently, turning to the shorter man. “The patrol is not getting canceled. It’s been cleared with Sink and you already got the boats.”

“I’ll get rid of them then. Burn them, shoot them, I don’t care. She’s not going. It’s too dangerous.”

Fed up with how outrageous Lew was being, Dick grabbed his shoulders and forced him to look at him. “Do you trust me?” Dick asked, his voice stern as Lew nodded. “Then trust that I made the right call and that she won’t be in any danger. You know if I didn’t think she was right, I wouldn’t send her.

And with that, Dick put any objection Lew had to rest.

(Y/N) sat in the basement, her eyes trained on the flame that was burning the tip of Shifty’s rifle. She turned her head when she heard heavy footsteps stomping down the stairs, standing when she saw it was Lewis. Silently she followed him up and out of the house, letting him take her behind the building. She rubbed his arms, their breath forming clouds in front of them.

“You know I don’t want you to go” He started softly, his brown eyes staring into hers. “And I put up a good fight when I found out” She smiled at this, imagining the conversation he and Dick had. “But I know you’re just as good as any other man and I trust you. That doesn’t mean I’m happy about it though”

She pressed her lips against his for a chaste kiss. “Thank you” She responded before kissing him again. He wrapped his arms around her, his warmth enveloping her small body. “I have to go, it’s almost time” She said reluctantly, pulling out of his grasp. “I love you” She said with a smile as she walked backwards so she could keep facing him.

“I love you too.”

The patrol was quick and was almost perfect. They lost one German on the river bank and Eugene Jackson. (Y/N) had done all she could. She held his head in her lap across the river and was pouring sulfur on his wounds before the other men laid him on the ground. Her hands worked quickly as she tried to stop the bleeding and drown out all of the chaos.

Although she had tried her best, all attempts were futile. Eugene Jackson was dead seconds after Eugene Roe ran in. (Y/N) sat on the dank basement floor, her shaking hands coated with the young boys blood as silence filled the room. She was tired of seeing young men die.

Eugene Roe glanced at her and Babe before reaching down and grabbing his dog tags to send back to his family.

(Y/N) felt numb as she stood from the floor, her chest tight as she breathed in the cold night air. She walked to the building where Lew’s office was and nodded at the young man standing at the door. Wordlessly he let her in, closing the door behind her as she started to walk down the hall. She knocked on the door twice before she heard Lew call out “Come in”.

She watched his features soften when her head peaked around the door. He stood up from behind his desk, disregarding the report he was filling out as she walked in and closed the door, giving them complete privacy. He pulled her into a tight embrace, her head rested flush against his chest.

“Eugene Jackson’s dead” Her words were heavy in the air.

“I’m sorry” He wasn’t sure what to say.

“I’m sorry too, for everyone that knew him back home.” With a quick shake of her head, she dismissed any other thoughts about it. “I don’t want to think about it anymore, I don’t want to think about any of this anymore. I just want to be in the moment with you”

He pulled away to sit on his desk, his hands pulling her in between his legs so they were eye level. His hands rested on her hips as he asked, “What do you want to think about?”

“Us. What our life will be like after this hell finally ends.” She ran her hand through his dark hair, gently pulling at it. “I want a dog. I’ve been thinking about names since Normandy. I really like the name Freddie.” She admitted.

He hummed and nodded his head in agreement. “Freddie? I can live with that.”

She smiled and kissed him, relishing in his warmth.

[440mxs-wife]

The Hunter’s Princess - Chapter 5: Arrows, Knives and Pistols

Pairing: Dean x OFC Kira (eventual), Prince!Dean x OFC Lady Kira. Other Characters: Sam Winchester, Prince!Sam Winchester, Castiel, Rowena, Gabriel, King!John, Queen!Mary, Lucifer and assorted minor characters.

Chapter 5 Word Count: 2490+

Warnings: None really. Each chapter will have individual warnings as needed.

A/N: This is from some material that’s been rattling around in my head from another project that changed direction. Couldn’t let all this content go to waste, though, so here it is. It’s a work-in-progress, and I will try and update as regularly as I can. If you want to be tagged in this series, send me a message!

Thank you and happy reading!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

On the morning of the first day of competition the air was crisp, but not cold enough to warrant an overcoat. Not a cloud in the sky, and the sun was out in full force, bathing the field of competition in its warmth.

Today, Kira would be demonstrating her skill with weaponry. First, the bow and arrow, then throwing knives and lastly, the flintlock pistol. She'd had plenty of practice over the years with these items, so she was not at all concerned about her performance.

Tomorrow's competition was an equestrian event, which involved a course of jumps and turns to prove her skill on horseback. Again, no worries, because she was perfectly comfortable on the back of a horse. Kira used to ride horses on her Aunt Brenda's farm, her favorite being an Arabian stallion named Midnight.

The part that scared Kira the most was the interview with the king and queen. Kira knew she had made an impression on the queen, but she had yet to  cross paths with the king. She could tell that the princes held a healthy respect for their parents. Kira had also heard stories that the king was not a man to accept disobedience lightly.

For anyone who had met Kira, it was well known that she has always had trouble following instructions. She had a tendency to follow her heart and leave her head to either catch up or be left behind. That alone was enough to make Kira a little anxious about meeting the king.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sarah entered Kira's room and opened the heavy window curtains, which allowed the abundant sunshine to flood the room with light. Kira was excited for the day's events, so she didn't need much coaxing. But as soon as Kira sat up, she felt a little dizzy so she stopped. She tried again to sit up, albeit a little more slowly and the feeling disappeared.

Kira reviewed her wardrobe and considered her fashion choices for  the day. She decided that a day dress would not be practical for the day's events. She   pulled on a pair of black leggings, a long rust-colored tunic and her black knee-high boots. She added the leather gauntlets for her wrists. Of course, Kira also made sure she had the locket, which she tucked under the collar of her tunic.

Sufficiently clothed, Kira wandered into the dining hall for the  morning meal. Serena and Christina were already seated at one corner of  the table, whispering with heads bowed together. As soon as Kira entered the room, Serena and Christina stopped talking. Adriana sat alone in the corner opposite the other two ladies, so Kira walked over to her.

Adriana had long, curly blond hair gathered in a low ponytail in back. Her coffee-colored eyes took in Kira's appearance, almost as if she were sizing up the competition. Adriana's attitude this morning seemed to be a complete   turnaround from their conversation at last night's dinner.

Kira wished Adriana good morning, and she politely responded. "Is it all right if I sit with you?" Kira asked.

"I'd rather have the time to myself, to prepare for today's competition if you don't mind," Adriana replied icily.

Kira could feel her cheeks growing warm. "I'm sorry if I have offended you in any way Adriana. If I've said something--" she cut Kira off.

"I'm not really interested in making friends or alliances. I'm here to compete for myself and for my homeland. So, you stay on your eastern side of the kingdom and I'll stay on my southern side of the kingdom. That way, we'll get along just peachy with each other," Adriana retorted as she got up to leave.

"Wow, making lots of friends, aren't we?" Serena sneered. "You've been doing a lot of running around with Castiel and the princes. You probably think that makes you better than the rest of us, but it doesn't. I'd watch your back if I were you, Lady Kira. Accidents can happen," Serena added darkly as she and Christina left the dining hall.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kira made her way to the field for the targeting event, where the other competitors were already waiting. While she walked, she thought about the conversation at breakfast, and each lady's reaction to her. She knew that she wasn't Serena's or Christina's favorite person. However, she thought she at least had a chance at friendship with Adriana. Guess I'm on my own here, she thought.

The firing lanes were spread ten feet apart between each of the competitors. Points were to be scored as follows: Bull's eye was worth 25 points. Moving farther away from the center ring, the point values were reduced to 10, 7, 5 and 3. Each competitor was given ten arrows. The one with the most points at the end of the day wins the event.

First up were Christina and Adriana. They each shot their ten arrows, with Christina earning a total of 75 points. Adriana did almost as well, turning in a good performance with 72 points, while Serena shot extremely well for 87   points.

Finally, it was time for Kira to compete. She stepped up to the firing line and shot her ten arrows. All that practice at the firing range in the bunker must have paid off, because Kira pulled in 89 points. That put her in the lead after the bow and arrow event. She looked over at the royal viewing box, and locked eyes with Prince Dean. He gave Kira a somewhat subtle wink and a smile, causing her to blush slightly.

The next event involved the use of throwing knives. Kira had definitely had plenty of practice at this when fighting shapeshifters and werewolves. She again came away with the highest number of points. By the time the first two events were finished, it was time for the midday meal. The royal family left first to be seated in the dining hall, followed by the competitors.

After everyone was fed, they all trudged back out to the competition field. Each lady's personal flintlock pistols were waiting on a table inside each firing booth. This time, competitors would only have five shots instead of ten. This made the margin for error much smaller, so all shots had to count. Kira only hoped that the lead she had built up from the first two events would be enough to distinguish herself.

Christina and Adriana fared a bit better in this task, while Serena continued to turn in a superior performance. Kira knew she had her work cut out for her. She currently held the lead, but the gap had narrowed to less than what she was comfortable with.

Kira stepped up to the firing line and waited for her cue to begin her performance. As soon as she picked up her pistol, she knew something was wrong with it. Kira examined her firearm, and did not see any immediate evidence of tampering, so she decided to move on.

She lined up the target in her sights and fired the first round, but it went wide of the center. At that moment, Kira figured someone had messed with her sights so they were completely off. Fortunately, she had enough firearms experience to be able to compensate for this occurrence. Kira adjusted her aim and fired her next round, which pierced the target in the center area. The three remaining rounds joined it and the crowd applauded in  appreciation.

Kira and the other   competitors were called over to the royal box to receive the results of today's events. As they waited, she happened to again lock eyes with Prince Dean, who smiled and nodded in Kira's direction, causing her to blush  again.

A page handed Queen Mary a piece of paper with the day's results. She cleared her throat before reading aloud the information. "There are a total of six points separating the top performers. Here are the rankings: in fourth place, Adriana of the Southern territory and third place is Christina, our competitor from the Western territory."

The queen paused at this time, because she had yet to mention two competitors, Kira and Serena. "In second place but only three points off the leader, we have Serena from the Northern territory, leaving Kira from the Eastern territory as today's winner!" The crowd jumped to its feet and broke into a thunderous applause.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After the announcement that Kira was the points leader in the Princes' Challenge, she received no end of congratulatory hugs and well wishes. She began to get a little uncomfortable with all the attention, so she excused herself to her room for some rest. Prince Samuel caught up to Kira as she walked back to her quarters. "Is everything all right, Lady Kira?" he asked.

Kira gave a quick curtsy. "Yes, Your Highness, everything is fine. I just need a small break for now, but I'll see you at dinner," she answered.

Prince Samuel took her hand and kissed the back of it. "I look forward to seeing you, Lady Kira. Absolutely magnificent performance, by the way. Can't wait to see you on horseback tomorrow," he grinned. "Until dinner, Lady Kira," he said softly, kissing her hand again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Prince Dean saw Lady Kira try and gracefully remove herself from the crowd of well-wishers. His heart went out to her because she looked a little overwhelmed from all the attention. The prince walked around the corner from the competition field, and saw Lady Kira in conversation with his brother. Only it looked like he was letting his lips on the back of her hand do more of the talking.

Dean didn't blame Lady Kira, she was only being polite, but he was angry with his brother. Sam saw how Dean reacted when he saw Castiel and Lady Kira together that first day in the marketplace. On that day, Prince Dean admitted that he was a little jealous. Castiel assured him many times that he had no intentions towards Lady Kira other than friendship. Prince Dean, however, had other ideas.

Lady Kira, he thought. She's....amazing. She's smart, determined and beautiful, with a generous spirit. She certainly proved her weapons skills today, he acknowledged. The prince could see that the lady cares so deeply about others. It made him wonder if she's ever given a thought about what she wants from life.

It was clear to Prince Dean that Lady Kira genuinely wants to help people, not for the fame or recognition, but because it's the right thing to do. It sounded to him like the makings of a good queen. Collins told the princes and Castiel that her people absolutely adore her and are fiercely loyal to her. Prince Dean thought that it was easy to see why.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dean and Lady Kira arrived in the Tub Room, where Dean showed her where the shampoo, soaps and towels were located. She had brought some clothes from her room to change into after her bath.

"There's hot and cold running water in here, 'hot' is on the left and 'cold' is on the right. I'll get it started, then you can adjust the temperature to however you like. When you're done, just pull the plug at the bottom and all the water will drain away," Dean explained. "Any questions?" he asked. Lady Kira shook her head. "Welp, then I guess I'll leave you to it. Enjoy," he remarked.

"Thank you," Lady Kira murmured. She marveled at the convenience of not having to heat up the water before bathing. She wondered how she was ever going to go back to the way things were when she returned to her home dimension. Nevertheless, she was determined to do whatever it would take to restore balance in the universe.

As the water filled the tub, Lady Kira selected some lavender bath salts, which she knew would smell nice and help her to sleep. She grabbed the pitcher from the cabinet shelf and the shampoo so she could wash her hair as well. She sprinkled in the bath salts and let the water run for a few more minutes before turning off the faucet and stepping into the tub.

After Lady Kira finished washing her hair, she nestled into the tub and let her mind drift to the three men in charge of her return home. For a situation that ought to be scaring the daylights out of her, she was surprisingly calm. It was like she'd met them before, but how could she have done that?

Castiel....an Angel of the Lord here, but there was a Castiel who was best friends with the crown princes....Samuel and Dean! Of course, that's why these men looked familiar, why she felt so at ease around them.

She wondered if the princes and Castiel in her world were also hunters. If they were, it wasn't something that was well-known. Lady Kira imagined the circumstances were the same in this world, that these men saved people. They just didn't want the recognition for it.

When the water started to lose its warmth, Lady Kira exited the tub and reached down to pull the stopper, as Dean instructed. These men were certainly attractive, but she was drawn to Dean in particular. The way he carried himself gave off an air of protectiveness, determination and strength.

However, his moss-colored eyes held a hint of sadness in them each time he looked at her. His look reminded Lady Kira of a man who clearly longed to be with the woman he loved. She wondered if there was some sort of attraction between Dean and the woman whose place she had taken. Lady Kira made a mental note to ask Sam about the nature of their relationship, if any.

She caught a whiff of the scent from the lavender bath salts and inhaled deeply. As she stood up, she felt a jolt of dizziness in her head. She braced herself on the edge of the tub as a slide show of images flashed through her mind.

At first, she saw Dean standing next to an older man with a beard and a kind face. She recognized Sam, but this was a much younger version. In the next flash, there were two women, one with short dark hair and one with long blond hair, taking turns hugging Sam and Dean. Another flash featured a short man in an all-black suit with a dark beard and mustache, standing next to a woman with long and wavy red hair.

These must be her memories, Lady Kira thought. That lavender smell must have triggered it, she reasoned. Another dizzying jolt brought an image of Dean and Kira, sitting on a couch, his arms wrapped snugly around her. She reaches for Dean's hands and intertwines their fingers. Although they are not looking at each other, Lady Kira can see it in their eyes.

They are most definitely in love with each other.

Part 6 here!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tags: @janicho88 @akshi8278 @magssteenkamp @swiftlymoniquesblog @lyarr24 @miss-nerd95 @distefano123 @hobby27 @deanwanddamons @jessica-noel94 @wayward-mikaelson @jawritter @gabrielslittleangel @jensengirl83 @deangirl93 @ellewritesfix05 @supernatural-jackles @babygurltt

The Hunter’s Princess Series tags: @flamencodiva

[sharperthewriter]

Chapter 7 of Possible-y Utah

Chapter 7 - The Mission-Trip 1

(2 days later. June 4, 2006, 2pm)

The Kimmunicator beeped the familiar four-ring tone on Kim's dresser as she was trying to get ready to go to the mall to see a movie with Ron and Monique that night. Kim was wearing a striped croptop shirt, stud earrings, a gold chain necklace, a silver locket pendant Ron gave her, and her famed Club Banana dark-denim baggy cargo overalls with the left strap hooked and right strap undone and sneakers.

She grabbed the Kimmunicator from the dresser and pressed the button as Wade came on-screen.

"Hey, Wade! What's the sitch?" Kim asked in her famed phrase.

"Hey, Kim. You got a hit on the site from Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado. The lead general of the base is on the line." Wade replied, typing away on his computer.

"Put him on-screen." she insisted.

Wade pressed a button as General Hux, a two-star general, came up.

"Miss Possible, I am glad that my superiors suggested your services." Hux replied. "We have a couple of gentlemen that hold something really important and valuable from a secret lab in Montana."

"What's the big about it?" Kim asked.

Hux tugged at his collar, "With all due respect, I'd rather not talk about it over public communications, Miss Possible. There is a reason why this is considered top secret."

"We will talk more about it in-person in 1600 hours, or 4pm to you civilians." the general continued.

"I will see you then, General!" Kim replied before tapping back to Wade.

"Looks like we're needed for our first mission of the summer." she said. "Movie night will have to be postponed to next weekend. I'll get Ron!"

"When you get closer to the base, I'll provide you with more info, Kim!" Wade insisted.

"Did I ever tell you that you rock, Wade!" Kim laughed.

(15 minutes later)

"Awww...snickerdoodles." Ron complained. Both Kim and Ron were at the Stoppable house and the both of them were in their mission outfits.

"Sorry, Ron. I know you wanted to badly see Bricks of Fury V: The Brickening for this weekend..." Kim began.

"And Rufus was all ready too!" Ron added.

Rufus got out a director's chair and sat onto Ron's shoulder. He grabbed a bullhorn and squeaked 'Action'!

"But our mission work comes first." Kim replied, pointing out on what mattered the most.

"You're right, KP. I just love you so much when we save the world together!" Ron gave his heart-felt reply.

"Aww...thanks, Ron!" Kim replied sweetly before a troop transport pulled up in the driveway.

"I take it that is going to be our ride." Ron guessed.

"Mmm-hmm. Now let's get in and see what the sitch is all about!" Kim insisted as she, Ron and Rufus went inside the transport.

(75 more minutes later)

Kim and Ron were with 20 other troops there heading towards the base.

"Can you help me here?" Ron whined, squeezed inbetween two of the troops. "I can't feel my legs..."

Sargent Jones was the commanding officer of the transport.

"Thanks for the lift, Sargent Jones." Kim replied as she traditionally did on all her rides to missions.

"Are you kidding, Miss Possible?" Jones replied, "It's the least I can do after you helped us lead on that rescue mission to save one of my troops."

"Oh that mission where we had an blizzard in a landside was so no big!" Kim grinned.

"We should be coming on the base very shortly, Miss Possible." Jones said, "I already gave the base security officer the request of security clearance for both you and...uhh...what's-his-face...to give access to the facility."

"Uh...the name's Stoppable...Ron Stoppable..." Ron insisted. "I'm the heroic sidekick slash distraction here!"

"Yeah...him." Jones replied. "Anyways, the BSO just replied. The two of you have been given clearance. General Hux should meet with you shortly, along with the scientists with the 'classified object'!"

"Understood, Sargent." Kim said.

(20 more minutes later)

Once the transport gained access to the base, it came to a complete stop at the front.

General Hux came to Kim and shook his hand.

"I am glad that you came on such short notice, Miss Possible." Hux said, "My soldiers have recommended your services for this mission."

"If there's anything that I can do, General Hux, just call me and beep me!" Kim insisted. "Where are the scientists?"

"They are at the other side of the base. Why not you and your partner step in a Humvee and we'll take you to them." Hux said, pointing to the intended Humvee that they were going in.

"Come on, Ron. Let's get inside!" Kim inclined.

"Right with ya, KP!" Ron said as he and Rufus entered into the vehicle.

(2:15pm)

"And there we go!" James exclaimed, "Everything is ready!" He then heard his cell phone ring.

James picked it up.

"Hello? Possible residence! Oh hey, Ann, my sweet honey bear! How are things at the hospital?"

"Good! Good! I have just finished the final preparations! No, I haven't told Kimmie-cub or Ronald yet. She says that she has to go on some mission. OK, I'll tell her when they both come back to the house! Okay, dear, bye!"

While the Humvee took Team Possible to the other end of the base, they took this opportune time to discuss something that was on Kim's mind.

"KP, do you think that Rebecca really is on the squad?" Ron asked, "Because I didn't like the way she treated Monique and Tara at the party a few days ago."

"No, Ron. According to the Mad Dog Cheer rulebook, Rebecca is only a prospective member on the squad. She has to go through tryouts in July first before she could join." Kim explained the procedure. "And besides, if she does that stuff, she will not be welcomed onto my squad."

Hux escorted the duo and the naked mole rat to a conference room in the base. It had a long table with 40 chairs in it.

"The scientists should be with you in a few minutes, Miss Possible. Make yourselves comfortable." Hux explained.

Kim and Ron then sat in the chairs as the two scientists came into the conference room. One was a female with blonde hair in her 30s, the other was a male in his 40s. Also wheeled into the room was a black box guarded by six soldiers.

"I am so glad that you are here, Miss Possible." the male scientist said. "We have heard of your marvelous reputation on taking on the most impossible of deeds."

"To be fair, Possible is in my name!" Kim smiled.

"We need your help in this trying time." the female scientist explained. "This involves a top-secret military experiment that we need help to transfer from here to another secret back located in the Utah desert."

"Since Hux told me that you're the main scientists behind the project, can you tell me what this experiment is?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, me and KP need to know what it is that we are dealing with." Ron added.

"I do apologize, Miss Possible..." the female scientist replied, "...but it is a matter of national security. About 98% of the information has been redacted from public eyes. But what we can tell you is that it should never EVER be removed from its protective box...or else!"

"Or else what?" Ron wondered.

"That it could fall into the wrong hands." the male scientist explained.

"And we do not want that to happen." the female scientist concluded. "So we are going to trust you with the protection of this object, Miss Possible."

"So when and where does the transfer of the...mystery object...take place?" Kim asked.

The male scientist answered Kim's question.

"It will take place about two weeks from now in Utah right outside the capital, Salt Lake City. On the 18th of June. "

"It's no big! I have a titanium-steel safe in my room where I keep my most glam jewels for special events." Kim explained, "The object will be safe until then."

"Then it's settled!" the female scientist replied, "Miss Possible has earned our trust to protect the object until the transfer occurs. We thank you for your services!"

"It's so not the drama!" Kim replied.

She then turned to her boyfriend. "Come on, Ron. Let's get a ride back to Middleton."

"Right with ya, KP!" Ron exclaimed.

[satoshi-mochida]

Tobyfox has provided a status update on the second chapter and beyond of Undertale sequel Deltarune in celebration of Undertale‘s fifth anniversary today.

First, here are the latest screenshots from Deltarune‘s second chapter:

Get the full update below.

Introduction

Hi everyone.

If you’re reading this, you must have been sticking around for about five years.*

I want to express my gratitude for everyone that has supported and encouraged me over this time.

Thank you.

I’ve said it many many times before, but I didn’t expect the simple game I made to receive so much attention. Because of that, many interesting things have happened, and now I can even spend my time making another game.

It seems both of us received a lot of happiness from this occurrence.

If it’s okay, I would like to keep striving to do things that make both of us happy.

Let me know what you think about that.

*Since the Undertale demo released in 2013, the game has really existed for 7 years. It’s already been more than 25% of my life…

Deltarune

I will make another.

I am making a game called “Deltarune.” It is the second game in the Undertale series.

The game will be released in many “Chapters,” the first of which I released two years ago on Halloween. Since that time, I’ve been working hard to figure out the rest of the game.

However, it’s a game that’s much harder to make than Undertale.

Graphics are more complicated and several times more involved.

Systems are more complicated.

Exposes the weak points of my creative and artistic ability.

Plot is much harder to tie together (more characters, more important locations).

Significantly more content than Undertale in one playthrough (especially cutscenes).

I have only made one game ever.

Unlike Undertale, this is the type of game that would normally have many designers working on each aspect of the game.

A story writer, a composer, an audio director, a map designer, a battle designer, a minigame designer, and an overall director. Instead, all of those roles end up handled by me.

The good news is that a few months ago, I completed a significant milestone regarding the game’s design. I completed readable outlines for every chapter in the game, including first-pass dialogue for almost all the cutscenes, examples of the music, etc.

Although certain details are still hazy, the flow of the game and all major events and battles that take place are now clear.

In summary, I largely spent the past two years writing, composing, designing, and drawing. However, that’s not the whole story.

We had actually attempted to develop the game since the time too. Development started around March 2019 and a 99% work was spent on investigating engines alternate to GameMaker, which I used for Chapter 1.

Without getting into the details, I decided a few months ago to go back to GameMaker after all. It still felt like the best fit for the project. So using Chapter 1 as a base, we’ve started creating Chapter 2 since May 2020.

A lot of progress has been made since that time. I believe we can complete this chapter, content-wise, before the end of the year (not accounting for translation, bugtesting, and porting).

I feel very confident. And the strange thing is, even though we ended up using the original engine, I don’t regret the lost time, either. Not only was I still busy designing the game, but during that long period, I was able to think of many ideas that make the game’s story and characters better.

I’m glad that I’m making the Deltarune that I have now and that we are making healthy progress.

Deltarune Status Estimate

■ Chapter 2 (04.15.20 – 08.13.20)

Phase 1: Design

Main Design: 100% (dialogue, etc.)

Initial Setup: 100% (stuff involved setting up people to make the game, adding debug tools, documentation, etc.)

Phase 2: Implementation (05.01.20 ~ 08.13.20)

Art: 90%

Cutscenes: 80% (90% are started, needs 2nd pass)

Bullet Patterns: 70% (enemies are mostly completed, bosses are about 40% done, needs 2nd pass)

Non-Bullet Battle Elements: 30% (Some ACTs are done and enemies are fightable, but interactive ACTs need to be completed and polished and the bosses aren’t programmed outside of bullet patterns)

Audio: 80%

Maps: ??% most are started or placeholder, most need 2nd pass. NPC interactions are completed in all spots where written.

Other: 65%

Phase 3: Finishing

Balancing: 0%

Bugfixing: 0%

Translation: 0%

Porting: 0%

(Honestly, a lot of stuff FEELS like 80% to me, but the truth is that what’s there is quite rough now. Polish ends up taking a lot of time, so the real actual time value may be around 50% done…? We’ll see what happens. It’ll be a lesson for everybody.)

■ Chapters 3 and Beyond

Phase 1: Design

Story and General Game Progression (first-pass): 100%

Cutscene Dialogue (first-pass, lacking cutscene instructions): 95%

Map Design (textual): 70% (varies per chapter, earlier chapters totally completed)

Map Design (drawn): 0% (this takes a lot of wrist energy so I don’t do it until we start programming)

Enemy Design (conceptual): 90% (all bosses are known)

Enemy Design (bullets / visual): 80% (varies per chapter, earlier chapters totally completed)

Music (concept): 95%

Music (completed): 50%

Visual Design:BG Concept (first-pass): 75%, Important Character, Bosses (first-pass): 100%

Phase 2

Sprite Art: 20%?

Other Content Creation: 0%

Phase 3

Release Readiness: 0%

(These numbers can be somewhat deceptive though. My true design style is to reach the moment where we have to make something, then suddenly think of something different at the last minute. This is always how it’s been with me and my work. It feels like no matter how much I plan, everything comes down to what I think of at the last second…)

Team and Disability

You may have noticed from my phrasing, but yes, there is a team helping me create the game. Other than me, there are about three active team members working day-to-day, with a few other people pitching in from time to time.

Their roles of the main members are overall content implementation and organization, bullet pattern implementation (part-time), and art (Temmie). Other than designing, I still have the role of system programmer.

I’m extremely grateful to have a team helping me carry out my design especially because of my disabilities, which have also made development more difficult.

Although I have long suffered from wrist and hand pain, about five months ago my wrist was the worst it’s ever been. I could not play the piano, use the mouse, and barely could use the keyboard. I navigated everything through voice to text.

Through weightlifting, exercise, and various equipment I have been able to somewhat increase the stamina of my wrist to an extent. Various solutions have included trackball mice for each hand, using voice to text whenever possible, using a foot pedal to click the mouse, etc.

Now I can use the mouse and keyboard for a certain amount each day provided I take frequent breaks. I wish I could work without stopping. Once the world situation improves I would really like to take physical therapy again and/or investigate surgery to repair my wrist.

Future Plans

Once we finish Chapter 2, I would like to use it as the base to create future chapters from. After gaining experience from this chapter, I think making future chapters will be easier.

Part of me wonders if we could make the game faster if we increased the size of the team and did something insane like create multiple chapters in parallel. However, another part of me understands that, adding more people doesn’t guarantee that the game will be created faster if it’s not done properly. I’m already just barely avoiding becoming a bottleneck on development even with a team of this size, due to my physical limitations.

To that end, I am interested in making a list of people that could potentially help me make the game. I’m not 100% sure if I’m going to ask anyone to help, but I think if I could find just 1 person that works well with me, it’s worth asking.

Chapter 2 is proceeding at a good pace, so if we do take anyone on, it will probably only be for Chapter 3 onward. So please understand that anything you send in may not have an immediate result.

People I Am Looking For

Feel free to send in your portfolio if you have the following qualifications:

Worked in the game industry before

Worked under NDA before

Have professional references

A degree of creativity while also being okay with just following directions

Fluent in English

People I Might Actually Use

Music Transcription / Basic Arrangement (Part-Time)

I usually start making songs by playing the piano and singing. An important step after this is to take this basic outline and transcribe it into melodies and chords. Though there are not too many remaining songs to transcribe, it would still help my wrist to have someone else start this process for me. Although I know many musicians, I’m sheepish to ask for help to them, because the main role is actually just to help me compose my own music…

Helpful qualities:

Good at transcription.

Can stand listening to me sing.

Optional: can use an old version of Fruity Loops.

Bullet Pattern Programming (Part-Time)

I’m looking for someone to help me program bullet patterns into the game. These people will work from text and visual designs to create fun battles that match the feeling of the game. I already have one person helping with this, but I think a second person would help a lot. You have to be able to use Gamemaker Studio 2 to manipulate objects on the screen / okay with using pre-existing scripts to accomplish this.

Helpful qualities:

Sense of fun and understanding of player perspective and gameplay balance. This aspect is [many times] more important than programming ability.

Reliable.

Able to make patterns based off of visual/text instructions.

Fine working with a poorly made battle system.

Able to sprite bullets.

Good visual / timing sense.

Minigame Programming (Part-Time)

There are a few minigames and small interactive events in the game, which appear in and outside of battles. These could take any kind of form… who knows what I’m thinking! Have you made a game before?

Helpful qualities:

Same sense of humor as me.

Some level of spriting ability is useful.

You have to have made a game that is fun.

Ability to work together with me.

Unlikely to Hire, But Send Me Your Information Just In Case

Cutscene Programming (Part-Time)

Besides the battles, the largest amount of content in the game is definitely the cut scenes. You will have to understand Gamemaker Studio 2, but the majority of the work is simply using a scripting system that I created to make characters move around the screen. The most important quality you can have here is not programming ability but the ability to efficiently use the system in order to create scenes with a good sense of humor, timing, and emotion.

I’d strongly prefer to hire someone I know to do this because it involves the story. So I most likely won’t hire anyone else.

Helpful qualities:

Can take text instructions and impart a proper sense of timing, humor, and weight to them.

Fine working with a custom scripting system (or smart enough to make something better that makes the game easier to make).

Art (Part-Time)

Sprite art—Temmie has already drawn a massive amount of art for the game, and continues to do so. And I actually already have a few other artists that have helped me that I’m more than happy to keep working with if things become more overwhelming. So currently I actually don’t need any more artists.

However, personally, I’d really like to build up a portfolio of available pixel artists and even concept artists. It’s not as if this is the only game I will make during my life. Anyone chosen for this game needs to be able to match the style of the game, but I’m interested in seeing people with different styles as well. Knowing that I have different options can open my mind up to different creative pathways.

Helpful qualities:

Can take bad looking sketches and turn them into art that looks good (magic).

Don’t mind if your work gets completely drawn over or thrown out.

Anyone that can draw cute or cool poses is good.

Uninterested in seeing people that have an art style outside of the scope of the game.

Write (Full-Time)

Someone needs to transform into a new wrist for me.

Helpful qualities:

Flexible.

Doesn’t hurt.

Musical sense.

That’s everyone I’m looking for. The only other kind of person I might hire would be a single jack-of-all-trades type that can do any sort of things such as cutscenes, bullets, or even system programming, with a good degree of visual flair. (But if you can do those sorts of things, aren’t you busy making your own game already!?)

Anyway, I’ll show you the e-mail now. Just make sure you read these rules first:

Don’t send in e-mails about anything else!

Don’t send to other team members, Fangamer, etc. about helping out!

Got it? Then please send your information to this e-mail address:

deltarunejobs@fangamer.com

Since Fangamer will be sorting through the e-mails for me, we’ll stop taking e-mails at the end of September so they don’t get overwhelmed. Ultimately, I’m only looking for one or two people, and to make a list of the rest of the potentially helpful people in the world.

Undertale is available now for PlayStation 4, Switch, PS Vita, and PC via Steam and GOG. Deltarune Chapter 1 is availble for PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Deltarune.com.

[ozkamal]

Wisdom notes1. It’s not who you are underneath it’s what you do that defines you 2. Stop living other people’s stories and start writing your own 3. We are all gonna die, not all of us get to make a difference 4. Just cause you know you are capable of something doesn’t mean it has to happen again 5. Every weakness contains within itself a strength 6. Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up. 7. In order to be what we are, we have to come out of what we are not 8. It’s not the size of a soldier in a fight, it’s the size of the fight in a soldier 9. some of the best things in life are by accident 10. you can lose to your enemy, but you must not lose to fear 11. if your looking for revenge, you should start by digging two graves 12. sometimes the scars you can’t see are the ones that hurt the most 13. sometimes the rain must fall for us to appreciate the sun 14. train yourself to let go, of everything you fear to lose 15. a man does not cry because he is weak, he cries because he has been strong for too long 16. not everyone can be trusted, even your shadow leaves when your in the dark 17. don’t trust anyone too much, remember the devil was once an angel 18. you didn’t fail, you just found out, eg:100 ways how not to make a light bulb 19. I failed over and over, that’s why i’m successful. 20. it isn’t what you got in life it’s what you make of it 21. people do not despise the thief who steals to satisfy himself when he is starving 22. a mans loyalty is tested when he has everything. a woman’s is tested when he has nothing 23. you have to be odd to be number one 24. trust takes years to build and yet only seconds to break 25. never regret a single thing that made you happy 26. make the plan, execute the plan, expect the plan to go off the rails, throw away the plan. 27. don’t be afraid of losing people, be afraid of losing yourself trying to please everyone around you 28. when we stop checking the monsters under the bed that’s when we realise they were inside us 29. sometimes she’ll keep you down but also somehow be the one to keep you up 30. From strangers. to friends. to being together but then back strangers but with memories 31. it hurts a lot when she breaks up with you. and gets together with someone else really quick... it just don’t feel like she cared, but sometimes you gotta let fate take you by the hand 32. you lost interest so fast.. my world ended before it even started 33. you can love somebody just by being attached. see loyalty is a action u can love or hate me but u still have my back 34. as dr seuss said, “i always knew looking back on the tears would make me laugh. but i never knew looking back on the laughs would make me cry 35. sometimes it’s hard to know what haunts you more, the memories of her, or the memories of how happy you used to be 36. it’s not that your life sucks, it’s just you done want to think that it doesn’t 37. love never ends, it’s the strength to try that does 38. silence can be just another word for pain 39. not everything lasts forever, people change, people grow apart. don’t force anything 40. absence makes the heart grow stronger 41. it ain’t about how hard you can hit.. it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward, that’s how winning is done 42. tomorrow is never promised 43. the most painful thing isn’t a cut or a broken bone, it’s seeing memories slowly become memories 44. better to have a short life doing what you love, than a long life living miserably 45. when a man loves a woman she becomes his strength 46. pay close attention to the people who don’t clap when you win 47. if your the smartest person in the room then your in the wrong room 48. a great future never requires a great past 49. everyone is the hero of their own story 50. the only time you should look back is to see how far you’ve come 51. there’s four things you can never get back, the word after it’s said, the moment after its missed, time after it’s gone and trust after it’s lost 52. they say you never knew what you had until it’s gone.... truth is, you just never thought you’d lose it 53. think of it like this, it hurts to let go... but sometimes it hurts more to hold on 54. out of all the things we learn in school, no one teaches us how to love ourselves 55. there comes a time in life, where you realise that nothing will ever be the same. And you realise that from now on, time will be divided in two parts, before this.. and after this 56. it takes absence to value presence 57. it’s not about the happy ending, maybe it’s about the story 58. it’s crazy how after so much, you become strangers again 59. words may sting, but silence is what breaks the heart 60. sometimes it’s not the person you miss, it’s the feeling you had when you were with them.. 61. in life there’s the people that tear you down, and the ones that build you up. but in the end, you’ll thank them both 62. you know a million words won’t bring them back, and you’ll know because you tried, neither would a million tears, and you’ll know... because you cried 63. the worst feeling is never being lonely, it’s being forgotten by someone, you’d never forget 64. you’ll realise how you waste so much time on certain people, but in the end sometimes they weren’t worth a second of it 65. there is always going to be some truth behind every “just kidding”. some knowledge behind every “i don’t know” emotion behind every “i don’t care” and pain behind every “it’s okay” 66. being happy is a very personal thing and it really has nothing to do with anybody else 67. don’t let something that’s long gone, control you. it’s time to let go 68. it’s amazing how one day someone walks into the life, and suddenly you don’t know how you every lived without them 69. someone once asked me if i knew you a million and one memories flashed through my mind.. but i just said i used to 70. at the end of the day, your not always gonna say and do the right things. and that’s fine, your not here to be perfect, your here to be real 71. going back to a relationship is like rewatching a movie, and hoping for a different ending 72. the worst kind of sad, is not being able to explain why 73. Life is the most difficult exam. Many people fail because they try to copy others. Not realizing that everyone has a different question on their paper 74. the difference between, like, love and in love is the same difference between, for now, for a while.. and forever 75. everyone can make you smile, but not everyone can make you happy 76. the most difficult part of moving on, is accepting the other person already did 77. it’s sad how the people you were once so close with. can become just another person you don’t know, not their just a stranger with your secrets 78. one day someone will break you so bad.. you will become unbreakable 79. you can close your eyes to things you don’t want to see, but you can never close your heart to things you don’t want to feel 80. if you think photos aren’t so important, wait until they’re all you have left 81. giving someone another chance, is like giving them another bullet, because the first one missed 82. the truth is.. we don’t mature with years, we mature with damage 83. consider how hard it is to change yourself, then you’ll realise what little chance you had in changing others. 84. everyone has a story, and everyone has something that changed them. so never judge someone by the chapter you walked in on 85. in life sometimes there is no next time. No timeouts, no second chances. sometimes it is now or never, things change, friends leave. and life doesn’t stop for anybody 86. can you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be? 87. it’s sad how you can go from speaking to someone non-stop, to never speaking to them again, in an instant, it’s like you could have just stayed strangers 88. it’s important to realise you can miss something, but not want it back 89. your current situation, is not your final destination 90. it’s never to late to be what you might’ve been 91. you start with such a simple hello, but end with such a complicated good bye 92. in order to move on, you need to understand why you felt what you did, and why you no longer need to feel it 93. telling the truth and making someone cry, is better than telling a lie.. and making someone smile 94. it’s not the goodbyes that hurt, but the flashbacks that follow 95. some would say people who say it is what it is are dangerous, i say those people have just been hurt to the point where they no longer care 96. if you don’t go after what you want. you’ll never have it. if you don’t ask, the answer is always no and if you don’t step forward, your always in the same place 97. live today the way you want because nothing else is more real than the moment you have in your hands 98. people come and go, but life is simply about... seeing who cares enough to stay 99. one of the most messed up things the world will ever do to you, is let you meet the right person. at the wrong time 100. apologise for your mistakes not your feelings

https://www.reddit.com/r/quotes/comments/n0o67m/i_have_made_a_list_of_quotes_from_movies_and_from/?utm_source=ifttt

[alien-rainbow]

By Your Side Until My Death(9/?)

Chapter 9: The World We Made

Available on AO3

Princess Artemis, the eldest daughter of the kingdom of Olympus is to be married to her childhood nightmare. In a land where anything remotely magical is banned, Zoë fears for her and Ladon's life but knows that she could never leave the princess's side if she tried. Magical beings, a forbidden romance, family secrets, and safety for magic all wait beyond the kingdom's borders.

- 3rd person, will be completed eventually, teen, not completed, Zartemis

READ PLEASE. Okay, so there was a lot of background going on in this chapter.

Cohorts: These are like the cabins, there are 20 of them for the 20 cabins in the PJO series, I decided to use greek names and move some people around if they are Romans. The only time I used Roman names is if the greek counterpart was part of the royal family.

Praetors: Two people who are elected from any of the twenty cabins and are (presidential system) like the president.

Centurions: These are like the vice presidents, but there are a lot of them. They can make decisions but need the approval of both of the Praetors but if 75% of the Centurions want an action to be taken, they can go forward without Praetor's approval. But Chiron can put a stop to anything he believes is really bad but for the most part, he just guides and observes.

Normal People are just called campers and each Cohort has a cabin that corresponds with gods and their skills. If you want the full list of Cohorts/Cabins and their god/skills, look at the endnotes (There is more explanation in the chapter too)

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

Annabeth with the help of Will and commentary from Nico gave the girls a quick tour of the camp. The first stop was the big house where the leaders met to talk. The leaders consisted of one immortal, a centaur named Chiron, and a group of twenty centurions that represented the twenty different cohorts, and two elected praetors from any of the twenty centurions. The centurions were divided based on skill and dominant traits, and in some cases who you were born to.

Percy for example was one of the only members in cohort three, the cohort of water. People that lived in the cabin were closely related to Poseidon, the immortal of seas, or water nymphs, or were incredibly good when it came to any water activity.

Annabeth was a mortal who was incredibly good at changing any form of magic and was in Cohort 6, where the children of Minerva usually went. They were known for Strategic thinking and Leadership, Annabeth was the centurion. Nico is a child of Hades, the immortal Death, The Underground, and Darkness, and is the centurion of Cohort 13. His younger sister Hazle was the only other occupant of Cohort 13.

Will pointed to a solid gold cabin, which seemed to either reflect the sun or was glowing itself. Cohort 7 was for children born to Helios, the immortal of Day. Healing was another large part of Will's Cohort. Will told them that he was a few generations removed but was a descendent of Helios.

"So you have solar powers?" Athena asked after Will finished talking about his Cohort.

"I'm honestly a better healer but I can heal and control light," Will said smiling bright enough to rival the sun itself.

"He also glows," Nico said smirking at the puppy-eyed glare Will sent his way.

"That's not important," Will shoot back at the smaller boy.

"He's the best medic we have," Annabeth said trying to get the conversation back on topic. The two continued to quietly bicker but there was no real heat.

"So how long has Jason been here for?" Thalia asked out of the blue looking away from the two boys over to Annabeth.

"He's been here since he was a toddler, why?" Annabeth asked confused.

"His surname isn't by any chance Grace?" Thalia asked quickly. Nico stopped his conversation and turned to look intensely at Thalia. Artemis, just like Annabeth was confused by the woman's question. She knew that Thalia had a little brother who was said to have died in a wolf attack but besides that had no family that she cared about.

"Why do you want to know?" Nico said before Annabeth could answer.

"I don't see why you need to know?" Thalia said narrowing her eyes at the shorter boy. Before another fight could be started Annabeth jumped in to supply Thalia with her answer.

"Yes, his full name is Jason Grace," Annabeth said still looking confused but trying to stop an oncoming storm.

"Where is he now? Can I see him?" Thalia's voice was shrill and urgent.

"Probably at the arena sparring with Percy, and I guess so?" Will offered to take them while Nico stated that he would be coming with them. Reyna opted to go with Thalia saying that they would meet up later that night. With that, the four hurried off towards the arena.

"What was that about?" Annabeth asked after the group had disappeared from sight.

"I don't know..." Artemis said turning to Zoë who shrugged. Annabeth then continued on with the tour as if nothing had happened. She showed them the climbing wall which was cover in lava. The amphitheater where the campers met at night for a sing-along, campfire, and a variety of other things. The stables held more Asseros' and a few unmagical horses, and pegasi. They then walked past the cabins, each held one Cohort and a number of campers. They ended their trip by walking past the armory then heading to the arena.

They entered the opened roofed area to see Thalia and Jason stabbing at each other. Nico, Will, Percy, and the feather girl sat on the sides watching them spare. Thalia had her long golden spear out, her shield sat on one of the benches next to her brown leather bag. Jason on the other hand was fighting her with a golden gladius.

The three walked over to the group that was already sitting to watch the two dance around each other.

"What did we miss?" Artemis asked sitting down next to Reyna who turned to her with a sarcastic smile.

"Nothing much, except that Jason is Thalia's presumed dead little brother. And they are both the children of Jupiter, the immortal of the sky. But besides that, not much." Artemis and Zoë both gave out shocked reactions before turning to watch the two reunited siblings spar.

The match ended with Thalia disarming her brother and a golden spear pointed at his chest.

"I win," Thalia said grinning at her brother.

"My turn!" Percy yelled grabbing a bronze sword running up to the spot where Thalia had just stood.

"Water first," Jason said grabbing a cantine and drinking the water that poured from it. He then walked over to the blond positioning himself lower to the ground getting ready to go again.

"Bro... what if we had a homoerotic sword fight..." Percy said smiling like an idiot before striking, they exchanged a few blows before backing away giving the other time to think. "jk, jk," Percy said referring back to his earlier comment. The two exchanged a few more swings before Percy spook once again, "...Unless?" The ravenett struck once more causing Jason to get knocked to the floor.

"I am literally the straightest person here," Nico said shaking his head at the Percys comment.

"What do you mean by that?" Artemis asked. The elder princess was confused at their language, straight? homoerotic? And why no one else found it strange that the two boys were acting playfully romantic towards each other.

"By what?" Nico asked looking at her instead of the stone floor.  

"Straight?" Artemis asked her cheeks burning as the others looked at her like this was a ridiculous question.

"Straight is another word for someone who likes the opposite gender," Annabeth explained.

"Are you implying that males can love other males? And females other females?" Athena asked astonished at the information.

"While yea, there's nothing wrong with loving who you want to love," Will said softly. "I mean Nico's my boyfriend," He said smiling and gesturing to the boy next to him. A blush covered the pale boy's cheeks as he mumbled something about 'Significant annoyance.'

"Really?" Zoë and Reyna said simultaneously.

"Yea, and don't let anyone ever tell you differently," Nico said his eyes darkening "Because they are  wrong."

Artemis felt a weight lift from her that she never knew she was carrying. She had never been interested in being intimate with any male. The thought of marrying any man and having his children make Artemis sick. The news that this wasn't a bad thing, that she could love a  female, a girl!  It made her happier than she could say. Zoë, Reyna, and Thalia wore a similar expression. Athena just looked thoughtful and happily surprised.

Artemis turned to look at Zoë and smiled at the older girl, for some reason her aunt's words from the day before came back to her,  "So who is it? I also know the face of heartbreak, whether you know it or not. " Artemis remembered telling her aunt that she loved no one, only for her aunt to ask her if she was sure. Then before her aunt could say who she believed her heart belonged to, Hermes had interrupted. Artemis wished now more than anything that she had gotten to hear her aunt's last words before they fleed.

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

WHAT COHORT##BY BIRTH##TRAITS AND/OR POWERS##CENTURIONS##OTHER STUFF

Cohort 1: (Jupiter) Sky and Justice [Jason] Cohort 2: (Juno) Family and Unity [OC] Cohort 3: (Posiden) Sea and Freespirt [Percy] Cohort 4: (Demeter) Earth and Stability [Katie] Cohort 5: (Mars) War and Physical strength [Clarisse] Cohort 6: (Minerva) Strategic thinking and Leadership [Annabeth] Cohort 7: (Helios) Day and Healing [Will] {Apollo is his name in both Romand and Greek, I did what I could} Cohort 8: (Diana) Moon and Independence [Bianca] Cohort 9: (Vulcan) Medal and Inventions [Leo] Cohort 10: (Venus) Munlipltiveness and Indisisviness [Piper] Cohort 11: (Mercury) Trickery and Stealth [Connor] Cohort 12: (Bacchus) Madness and Facetious [Pollux] Cohort 13: (Hades) Death, The Underground and Night [Nico] Cohort 14: (Iris) Messenger and Color [Butch] Cohort 15: (Hypnos) Dreams and Self-preservation [Clovis] Cohort 16: (Nemesis) Balance and Vengeance [OC] Cohort 17: (Nike) Pride and Victory [Holly and Laurel] {They refused to pick one} Cohort 18: (Hebe) Forgiveness and Childress [Paolo] Cohort 19: (Tyche) Good Luck and Balance [Chiara] Cohort 20: (Hecate) Magic and thoughtful [Lou Ellen]

Praetors: Frank and Hazle

[mirrorfalls]

The Alchemist When He’s Full of Metal, Vol. 27

(Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol. 5, Vol. 6, Vol. 7, Vol. 8, Vol. 9, Vol. 10, Vol. 11, Vol. 12, Vol. 13, Vol. 14, Vol. 15, Vol. 16, Vol. 17, Vol. 18, Vol. 19, Vol. 20, Vol. 21, Vol. 22, Vol. 23, Vol. 24, Vol. 25, Vol. 26)

And lo, there shall be an ending.

A double-triple-deluxe ending. It’s never an easy prospect, giving everyone something to do in your Grand Finale, but the genre pretty much demands it - even when the finesse needed to juggle dozens of protagonists and deuteragonists in the same room have crushed countless otherwise-talented writers. On the low end of the scale, of course, we have our pick of any Big Two kill-a-hundred-C-listers-cripple-a-couple-more crisis crossover (which, adding insult to injury, never actually end anything apart from the fans’ patience), and on the high end...

... on the high end, this is a pretty good candidate.*

I suppose I’m cheating, since this particular Final Battle started anywhere from one to six volumes beforehand, during which everyone from the Armstrongs to the Curtises to the Xingese to Scar to Marcoh to Yoki got to contribute something. But this is where the not-my-our victory theme truly congeals. Here, a lesser writer would’ve decided everyone else has already done their part and relegated them to cheerleading while Ed pastes the Dwarf solo; here, Arakawa makes damn sure that you know Ed owes it all to the sacrifices of unambiguous friends....

... and supposed foes.

Now, in case you think I’m getting too gushy: I still think the Dwarf in itself is an underwhelming Big Bad, and its actual “death” scene is visually impressive but emotionally not too different from setting the week’s trash out on the curb. I’m also not too unsympathetic to those who came away from this scene deciding Truth is the real Big Bad of the series**, or that the true moral is closer to “Equivalent Exchange rules all... but there’s still a guy at the top who gets to rule on what Equivalent is.”

A point made all too clear by what comes after.

Don’t get me wrong - I love that Arakawa doesn’t let the Epic War story get the last word over the small, all-too-human quest the Elrics started out on. And Ed’s giving up all his powers (and implicitly at least 75% of his combat ability) is still refreshingly unique among Shonen protagonists, even counting those whose powers are literally lethal curses. But I really could’ve done without Truth suddenly deciding to like and approve of the kid like some kind of auxiliary sensei. Even if it’s not a cheat - and I don’t think the manga ever denies that every single Gate Exchange only happened because Truth let it happen - it drains quite a bit of ambiguity and hardship from a scene that could only have benefited from both.

And then you’ve got Mustang’s equivalent to the above:

Okay, so Mustang never willingly entered the Gate - it’s fair enough he’d get his eyes back with less fuss, and on top of that he doesn’t actually get to be Fuehrer. I’ve no complaints on that front, but I wish a bit more space had been devoted to the Ishvalans beyond “Bad Army Men out, Good Army Men make everything okay for you oppressed peons now!” In particular, it feels off for Scar’s final scene to be with the uniforms that wreaked so much havoc on his people; I’m not saying he should’ve turned his backs on them entirely, but tell me it wouldn’t have been more heartwarming to see him rejoining the other Ishvalan refugees, or even Mei and Yoki.

Speaking of heartwarming... okay, I don’t have the time or space to go into all of the different epilogue-threads, but I’d just like to highlight this one in particular, because more than any of the others it lands just the right amount of hope.

Selim is, in the final analysis, a Nina who was saved - an innocent child, involved in repulsive alchemy experiments through no fault of his own, now untangled from it all and allowed to live as freely as he can. And through him, Arakawa raises a question I’d been wondering a while now: why should Homunculi be so feared and hated on sight, to the point where Mustang and friends spend multiple chapters acting like the Fuehrer being a Homunculus should in itself be a career-ending scandal? Oh, the seven Sins have the whole stigma from the Dwarf, fair enough, but they can’t have been the only Homunculi in existence, else the secrecy of their existence would preclude Amestris even having a term for it; and hell, when the chips were down, one of those seven turned around and gave its life to do the right thing.

They can learn. They can change. They can love. Not for certain - but then, a child should never be a promise, only potential. Potential to go higher than the last generation ever dreamed - or lower than it ever dreaded.

And that, ladies and gents, was Fullmetal Alchemist.

Is it good? Definitely.

Is it great? In many parts, yes.

Is it the epitome of everything the Internet says it is? No - at least, not at the stage I read it.

I can say this without hesitation: if this had been my first or second or even fifth Shonen, devoured anytime during my school years, I’d almost certainly be a full-on stan today. It’s a machine with many, many excellent parts - maybe too many to build a properly excellent whole. You’ve got all the talent and ingredients for a first-rate fighting fantasy, or globetrotting political thriller, or horror-fable about the follies of playing God, or goofy-ass romcom, or heartbreaking war drama, or a half-dozen other storytypes. Perhaps a more seasoned author could’ve mined the strongest benefits of each while keeping them all in line; as-is, they compete with each other as much as they complement. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen a perfectly poignant moment cut apart by an ill-timed joke, or how many many potentially interesting plot/character moments were either let down by insufficient worldbuilding or left dangling altogether.

(I’m told that 108 is some sort of sacred number in Japan, so I presume Arakawa had the total length mapped out before she even started the series, But as any author can tell you, no outline survives contact with reality; some characters might have been better off folded into others, some plot-threads trimmed altogether. I, for one, still can’t quite figure out why the heroes needed four chimeras turned to their side.)

At my current age, I suppose my eyes are a little too jaded, a little too impatient with (or worse, eager to point out) shortcomings big and small and subjective alike. But make no mistake: I don’t regret finally finishing this little epic, and if half my mutuals’ accounts are to be believed, it's just the start of the real fun to be had with the series.

Hi-ho, to AO3!

*The midpoints that come most immediately to (my) mind are Harry Potter, Gravity Falls, and Samurai Jack. Which stands atop which is an exercise for the individual reader.

**Y’know, there is still plenty of time for Arakawa to roll out a sequel series where our heroes fight actual God instead of a wannabe. ‘til then, let’s content ourselves with this.

[fauzhee10069]

Caato’s Stand and its mechanism so far (Jojolion)

Caato’s Stand, which until now has not been named yet, often becomes the object of hype in its ability and discussion in its name. I’m also interested to discuss both, but maybe I will focus more on its ability.

As her character is heavily a reference of French playing cards, Caato uses her playing cards as medium for her Stand ability.

Caato can store objects between her cards, making them appear or disappear like a magic trick. The first object we saw when she demonstrated her Stand for the first time was a cellphone. The phone is smaller in width and length, making the cards able to fully conceal it.

The second time we saw her Stand, she tricked Joshu to tidy up her cards, indirectly hurting him by the impact of the chair she stored into her cards when he took the cards that were stacked. With this second demonstration, we can sort the mechanism of her Stand:

She can store objects between her cards, making them appear or disappear like a magic trick

Anyone can release the objects that were stored inside her cards

She can store the objects with size much larger than her cards

Another interesting thing here is that the chair came out of two separate cards, it makes me wonder of the possibility that she could separate parts of an object and release them separately. There are also two things that I see as another mechanism of her Stand, though it’s still hypothetically speaking as the scenes were just mainly implication:

How she hid the chair between her cards? Did she slam the chair between her cards? If so, why no one noticed her while doing it (taking out two decks of her cards and putting the chair between them)? Two people might not had noticed that moment: Daiya (due to poor eyesight) and Joshu (being too distracted), why did none of the rest of the family notice that? Which led to two assumptions:

Caato does not need to take out (use) the cards to hide objects, she simply needs to will it

She does need to take out the cards, it’s just the family being too oblivious to notice that

Or some of them might actually noticed that but kept silent because Joshu definitely deserved that (LOL), the scene was focused on him afterall. Anyway, I’m more into the later, this reunion scene with her is not to be taken too seriously (in gauging the actual power as it is not a serious Stand battle).

In addition, a crucial thing that is easily overlooked in Caato’s words: “there certainly are a lot of chairs in this house, so you wouldn’t notice if I hid one between my cards, would you?”

Considering the hype from her supporters who frequently compare her Stand with D4C because their "dimensional-based" ability and "caught-in-between" mechanism?

「D4C」 has access to different parallel worlds/dimensions, it can also pull other people or items to other dimensions.

But in the case of Caato’s Stand and her words: she took out a chair from her cards, a chair that belongs to Higashikata's house, which is in the same world as her and the family. In other words, Caato’s Stand does not cross between dimensions in its mechanism, therefore the hype that her Stand has the same ability and power as the 「D4C」 has not been proven!

Notice how the warden took Caato’s cards, the decks were slightly open but nothing came out from them, but a few panels afterwards we see Caato took out her cellphone from the cards. Why didn’t the warden accidentally brought out the phone? It’s either:

Only Stand users (like Joshu) who can release the objects stored there besides the user (Caato)

Caato can control the timing of the stored objects to be released (and anyone who can release it)

I’ll pick the later too. However, there is also the possibility of luck as the decks, that were slightly open, were not storing her phone atm.

Now, regarding the hype she gets, many readers compare her Stand with Valentine’s D4C for being dimension-theme, though currently Caato’s Stand is still paled in comparison with D4C. Let’s see how D4C is capable of:

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (D4C)

SBR chapter 75: D4C – part 8

Take a note that the info explicitly said that D4C can send both living being and inanimate objects into another dimension, therefore it’s not limited to person.

Valentine sent away a man into another dimension, the caught in between two objects part is what makes the readers comparing this with Caato’s Stand. This comparison also conceived the idea of Caato being the part 8 main villain. The time-based theme that incidentally became the pattern of main villains’ Stands in Ireneverse (part 1-6) causing the readers to think that the reboot/SBR verse (part 7 onwards) will have the main villains with dimension-based Stands (in which this is still unconfirmed and purely assumption).

But if you consider the ability-based as the pattern, you should consider the form-based as the pattern as well. What kind of Stand the main villains always have so far? It’s always the humanoid-type. I don’t think Caato’s Stand is a humanoid-type, it looks more like a tool or bound-type.

After that, we saw that Valentine can also send intangible/non-physical objects such as Stand attack (Johnny’s Tusk) to another dimension, besides physical objects. Actually, he was unable to do that in Johnny’s case as Johnny’s Tusk Act 3 can also move through dimensions, but he did try it, meaning that under normal circumstances (non-dimensional Stand attacks), he can do that.

What makes D4C different from Caato’s Stand?

D4C ability can only be done by Valentine alone

Valentine does not need a certain medium to use D4C, he can use D4C with any objects that are available to be slammed together (since his Stand manifests in humanoid form)

Unlike D4C, Caato’s words in chapter 58 implied that her Stand does not cross between dimensions in its mechanism

While people like to compare Caato’s Stand with D4C, I’d like to compare her Stand with Terunosuke's Enigma which I found more similar to.

Enigma

Enigma, in the form of folded paper, can store any objects inside it just like Caato’s Stand, however Terunosuke has to fold them inside the paper which kinda reminds me of Paper Moon King visually.

DIU chapter 142: Enigma Boy – part 4

He can also store the object that much bigger than the paper itself, when the biggest object Caato had stored so far is a chair, Terunosuke had stored a taxi car (including the driver, btw).

Just like Caato’s Stand, anyone can release the objects that were folded inside the paper. Not only that, it can also store intangible object such fire and electric currents there.

And a living object such animal (scorpion).

Enigma can also trap a living person in paper, however, Terunosuke must discover the habits the target displays when afraid.

DIU chapter 141: Enigma Boy – part 3

He can also transform himself into a paper, by bringing a gun, he can surprise the target who opens the fold and harm them.

Damaging the piece of paper results in an equivalent damage on said object or person inside it.

What makes Caato’s Stand similar to Enigma?

Storing the objects inside medium (playing cards & paper)

Both can store the objects with size much larger than the medium

Anyone besides the users is able to release the objects from the medium

Even so, I'm a little confused, about the difference between the two. Does Terunosuke keeps some papers as medium or transform the object/target into a paper (which is then folded)?

I think it’s more the later, he did transform Tomoko into a paper rather than engulfed and folded her inside a paper, whereas in Caato’s case, she likely brings her playing cards as tool for her Stand ability.

We have seen very little of Caato’s Stand, thus, it raises quite a number of questions regarding its full capability:

Can she store living object?

My guess is she can. It’ll be cool if we see her trapping someone with dangerous animals such as killer bees, snakes or scorpions, though I’m not sure if she can store a human being.

JJL chapter 107: Kaato Higashikata's "Attack"

UPDATE! Eventually, the new chapter of 107 has shown that Caato is capable to conceal her grandson Tsurugi. Then it can be concluded that she can hide living object between her playing cards (though I think) as long as her playing cards perfectly stack.

Can she store intangible objects as well?

I think it is possible, I can imagine her working together with Jobin in a Stand fight (if he survives in the next chapter). It’ll be cool fight as well.

Is it only limited to her special designed playing cards?

Caato’s playing cards do have unique design, the back of her cards have the Higashikata fruit seller mark. I’m not really sure but I guess this can be limited to her special cards alone. Why would she keep these decks and use her Stand through them? Perhaps if the playing cards aren’t that unique, she can use her Stand ability through any playing cards, but let’s see it more in the future.

The exclusiveness of Caato’s playing cards as medium for her Stand kinda reminds me of Hot Pants’ Cream Starter.

Which can be used by anyone besides Hot Pants and still functions even though its user is already dead.

Does it have its own (humanoid-like) form?

I think it's possible, even every ability (non-power) based Stand such as Fun Fun Fun, Vitamin C, California King Bed, Walking Heart, Blue Hawaii etc have it. I hope it has a cool design. However, Tsurugi’s Stand Paper Moon King also hasn't shown its humanoid form yet, even though we have seen a lot of its abilities. 

However, Caato’s Stand seems to depend on her special designed playing cards which made it more like a tool/bound-type Stand and I haven’t seen any bound Stand that has its humanoid form. 

Perhaps, we will be really able to determine the type of Caato’s Stand if we have a chance to see its abilities further in a serious Stand battle.

UPDATE! The new chapter of 107 has shown that her Stand has its own (humanoid-like) form:

JJL chapter 107: Kaato Higashikata's "Attack"

At this point, it was most likely that all of the Higashikata family’s Stands have their humanoid form, bar Tsurugi… but I think that 「Paper Moon King」 will also have its humanoid form which it just hasn't revealed yet.

Next related post: The True Mechanism of Caato’s Stand, 「Space Trucking」

At the same time, the name of Caato’s Stand was finally revealed as 「Space Trucking」, it follows the ‘KING’ tradition just like every member of Higashikata family (including Mitsuba who joined the family through marriage).

Hence the speculation below that there will be the word "queen" in its name or that she is an exception due to her disowned status has become pointless LOL:

The Name of  Caato’s Stand

And last, about the name of Caato’s Stand, many readers (and JoJotubers) have talked about it. Some proposed names that appeal to me are:

Queen(s) of The Stone Age

Styx’s Queen of Spades

Queen’s The March of The Black Queen

David Bowie’s Queen Bitch

But why “Queen” instead of “King” (which becomes a trend in Stand naming among Higashikata family)? Perhaps because she is considered to be an outsider to the family as she disgraces the family’s reputation (for getting into prison) and divorced with the head of the family.

I am most interested in Queen of Spades just because I really like the album artwork “Pieces of Eight”. I think I’m gonna draw Caato in that album artwork style if this becomes her Stand’s name. A Caatofag also said that the lyrics are really complimentary to the lyrics Norisuke IV’s Stand, Metallica’s King Nothing, as if they are singing to each other.

Read also:

JoJolion Cardspiracy: Caato & Damokan group

Is Caato a Rock-Woman?

How does the hype of Caato turn really bad?

Edited:

Changed the spelling of 「Kaato」 into 「Caato」because it’s Caato, not Kaato.

[always5hineee]

Hell and Back- Chapter 38: Split Decisions (Trials 75-78)

Word count: 2686

Chapter warnings: Mild language, strong themes, mild gore

-----

       Congratulations! You have completed the Vat Trials. Welcome to Round 7, the Unit Trials! Round 7 will consist of 15 trials completed by units. A unit is a smaller group of several players. Depending on the trial, these units may be split, combined, changed, etcetera. If a player cannot continue or chooses to drop out, the trial will be null for that player and they will be penalized with the dropout fee. The remainder of the unit will still have to complete the trials. If all players in a unit drop out, the unit will be null for those players and the trial will be assigned to a new unit.  Round 7 will end after trial 86.

       Players will be rewarded one skipped trial for every fatality going forward. This will cause players to skip to trial 75. This rule will be kept in place until further notice. Press start when players are ready to begin Trial 75.

       After Lay's death, they had no choice but to continue. Unlike with Suho's death, they weren't allowed to leave. They couldn't eat, drink, shower, think... Of course, they always had the option to sleep, which they most definitely had taken. They'd left the room with Lay's body in it. They couldn't bear to look at it, but they had no means of burying him. After such, they spent a fairly long time trying to calm Kyungsoo down. He ended up tiring himself out on her shift with him, falling asleep in her lap as she leaned against the wall. Soon, they were both out cold. By the time she'd awoken, most of the group was laying on the ground as well, all but Chanyeol fast asleep.

       She'd had a short conversation with him, at the end of which they'd come to the same conclusion. To get out of here, they'd have to drop out, or finish. She even saw a small sliver of hope in his eyes as he commented that, if their wish was to form the band like they'd intended, they'd have to bring everyone back. She didn't have the heart to tell him that it wasn't possible- not because the wish was invalid, but because of her own mistruths.

       Once they'd awoken, they began to grow concerned simply for their own health. There was no food or water in sight, and they were all getting hungrier and thirstier. Kris, especially, was going out of his mind with a pounding headache, definitely at his own fault. He didn't admit to it, but he was definitely drinking the wine off the walls of his vat. Even the thought of it made her want to gag. He dry swallowed a few Tylenol to try and get rid of the headache- it seemed to be the most useful item they'd brought so far.

       All the other members agreed that they had to continue, regardless of whether they wanted to. It wasn't an option at this point. It was here that she saw the new trial requirements, as well as the fatality rule. They grew concerned. Four skipped trials meant four fatalities. They had five dropouts, but they were under the impression that Luhan, Tao, and Chen were all alive... Was that... was that not the case?

       "This means only one of them is alive." Kai said grimly. "That can't be right."

       "Who cares?" Kris asked, rubbing his head in pain. "It's free trials, we'll deal with it later." That didn't sit right with her... This didn't seem like a game that generally made mistakes. Still, it was as he said: they were now on Trial 75. This whole unit concept was strange to her, but there wasn't really much of a choice.

       "Wait, before we start," Sehun asked, "Is there any way for us to get water?"

       "There's..." Chanyeol said, trying to find a way to say it that wasn't awkward. "We don't have water powers anymore."

       "Hey, Xiumin has ice, right?" Kris yawned. "Have him make that and we can just melt it with body heat." He looked between them.

       "O-oh, I don't know if that's..."

       "That's actually a good idea, Kris." Y/N agreed. "Xiumin, would you mind?" He looked back and forth, slightly uncomfortable, but agreed, making a small chunk of ice for everyone. It wasn't the best, but it was heaven compared to their dry mouths and tear-caused dehydration.

       "So." Kai sighed, looking around. "Are we ready?"

       "Not a chance." Y/N returned as she hit the start button. Just as she did so, two panels slid open on the opposite side of their residual hallway. She couldn't really see down either of them, and they were of equal proportion and distance from each other.

       "Okay, that's weird." Baekhyun commented. "What are those for?"

       "Give me a second and I'll tell you." She rolled her eyes, looking back down at the screen.

       Trial 75: Choose a path. Only one unit may enter each doorway.

       Unit 1: Player Sehun, Player Xiumin, Player Y/N, Player Baekhyun

       Unit 2: Player Kai, Player Kyungsoo, Player Chanyeol, Player Kris

       Limited power: Sehun, Kyungsoo

       Drop-out Fee: Finger

       They all took several takes at this: some curiosity, others disbelief. The game had split them into units, as they'd been told would happen, but they were now being separated. Not only that, but each unit had its own limited ability. Chanyeol pointed out her final concern, saying incredulously,

       "If we drop out, they're going to take our fingers?"

       "That's what it says." Kris said with a face. "It's not like we can drop out now, anyway. Just ignore it."

       "But this is insane-"

       "Which door do you want?" Kai asked her before they could keep arguing. Looking to him, she realized that he was trying to do her the favor of letting her pick first, although she couldn't figure out whether he actually wanted to allow her the choice, or just didn't want to shoulder the blame for a bad pick should the revelation of what was behind prove undesirable.

       "Oh, uh... I don't care, someone else can pick." She looked to her unit, to which Baekhyun volunteered.

       "I'll do it!"

       "No-" Xiumin and Sehun said simultaneously. Stepping forward to move past him, Sehun chose the door on the right. "We'll go through here." Kai nodded in acceptance, looking to her one more time before going through his own door. He looked like there was something he wanted to say, but he eventually just muttered,

       "Be careful." Before he disappeared into the darkness.

       As soon as they stepped through the passage, the door shut behind them. Stumbling in the dark, she ran her hand along the wall, calling out for the other three.

       "Are you all okay?" She asked, voice echoing forwards.

       "Use your phone flashlight-" Xiumin suggested, making contact with her arm and grabbing onto her waist so that they wouldn't get lost.

       "I can't, I'm trying to save my battery, we can't do the trials without it."        

       "Oh, I have a charger." Sehun said. She recalled now that he'd brought it as his item. Maybe it would prove useful after all. "Turn on the flashlight, I'll be right there." Doing as he asked, she lit the hall with her phone, allowing him to bring her the charger. Once her phone was plugged in, she held it up so that they could progress more easily, leading them to a large metal door at the end of the hall.

       Before they opened it, she saw her phone display two completion tabs instead of one. The Unit 2 one was lit up, but the Unit 1 wasn't. Could they not continue until both units had completed their own trials? That was strange, especially considering she couldn't contact them. If only one of them had thought to bring walkie-talkies or something. Regardless, she heaved open the door, exposing a strange sight.

       In front of them, there was a very movie-esque doctor's office, a little too fake to be believable. One each side of the room, there was a rolling metal gurney, both with white sheets covering an unknown mass. The boys moved forward to look at the objects, while she touched the completion button on her screen. As she did so, the next trial appeared, showing that the other unit had already completed that one as well.

       "They're going a lot faster than us..." She said to herself. Maybe they were given easier trials? Well, she couldn't tell until she read through their next one. Looking at it, though, she quickly grew horrified.

       Trial 75: Find the key in one of the dogs.

       Unit 1: Player Sehun, Player Xiumin, Player Y/N, Player Baekhyun

       Unit 2: Player Kai, Player Kyungsoo, Player Chanyeol, Player Kris

       Limited power: Kai, Xiumin

       Drop-out Fee: Finger

       "That's disgusting." She muttered under her breath, looking over at the sheets. Sure enough, when the boys pulled them off, each had a dog underneath, as well as several scalpels. One was a golden retriever, the other a black labrador. They were the epitome of cute, friendly, family dogs. There was no way the other unit had gotten the same trial and not hesitated at all.

       "I mean..." Sehun swallowed the bile rising in his throat. "They're already dead." That was honestly more than she'd expect from such a trial. She turned around, shaking her head.

       "You do it, I don't want to." She knew it wasn't fair to them, but she also knew that they were suckers for her little scared girl act, and she was willing to take advantage of it just this once. She heard them start to mutter about whether to do them both at the same time, or one then the other. They decided on the latter, hopefully able to find it without mutilating two dogs.

       She had to cover her ears as they did it. She'd thought looking away would have been enough, but the sounds of squishing and pulling, it was too much for her to handle. Sitting down and facing the corner of her room, she held her hands to her head, only removing them when she felt the shake of her shoulders a few minutes later. Hesitantly removing them, she heard Xiumin's soft voice,

       "It's fine, Y/N, we found the key."

       "A-and the... the-"

       "We covered it up. We only had to go through one." Looking up, she recoiled from him slightly, noticing that he had wiped a significant amount of blood off his hands. While he'd managed to get the actual substance off, it had left significant stains that made her sick to her stomach. Noticing her discomfort, he apologetically moved away, hiding his hands behind his frame. Se shakily pulled her phone back out, accepting the next trial. Hopefully this theme didn't continue.

       Trial 76: Escape the room into the labyrinth through the far door.  

       Unit 1: Player Sehun, Player Xiumin, Player Y/N, Player Baekhyun

       Unit 2: Player Kai, Player Kyungsoo, Player Chanyeol, Player Kris

       Limited power: Kai, Baekhyun

       Drop-out Fee: Finger

       "That explains the math." Sehun groaned.

       "The what?" She was confused. What did he mean by math?"

       "The door the trial is talking about," Baekhyun explained, pointing to it, "It has a math problem on it. There's also a keypad and a keyhole. This key we, uh," He paused, "Found- must fit in the hole, but the code is probably the answer to that problem."

       "Do you know how to solve it?"

       "Pfft, of course not." Baekhyun laughed.

       "You're one of the only ones that finished high school, though-" Sehun groaned. Y/N moved to the door, eyes lighting up as she recognized the problem.

       "Oh! I think I could do this!" Now it was her turn to be useful. She was grateful for the opportunity, especially since they had completely covered her on the last one. Not only that, but this was the first instance in which the other unit wasn't already done. They must have been having trouble with the equation. That was assuming they had the same tasks, of course.

       "Chanyeol, your item was pens, right?" Surprised that she remember, he nodded. "Do we have anything to write on?" Looking around, they noted that basically all the props in the office were fake, leaving her with few options.

       "There's, uh, the sheet..." Sehun offered, but as she looked to the blood cloth, she shuddered in disgust.

       "I'd really rather not." Then, without warning, after he pulled out the writing utensils, Chanyeol took off his shirt.

       "Showoff." Baekhyun laughed as the boy glared.

       "You can just write on me." He offered. Tilting her head, she asked awkwardly,

       "Are you... sure??"

       "Yeah, just get us out of here." No matter how strange, she agreed with that principle, so she took him up on the offer. It was far more convenient than using her own arm, as there was adequate space and she didn't have to bend to an awkward angle. Dragging him over to the door, she wrote from his shoulder downwards as she worked out the problem. Within minutes, she had arrived at the answer- the fact that it was four digits was highly promising.

       Typing it in, she sighed in relief as the colored backlight shifted from red to green. Allowing Xiumin to place and turn the key (as she didn't want to touch it) the door swung open. Just as their unit lit up in completion, the second unit's did as well. They probably let Kyungsoo solve it.

       "So, that was easy!" Baekhyun said, causing the others to roll their eyes. "What's next?" She read it out to him.

       Trial 77: Find the other unit on the opposite side of the Labyrinth.

       Unit 1: Player Sehun, Player Xiumin, Player Y/N, Player Baekhyun

       Unit 2: Player Kai, Player Kyungsoo, Player Chanyeol, Player Kris

       Limited power: Kai, Kris

       Drop-out Fee: Finger

       "Both of the limited powers are from the other unit?" Chanyeol asked in confusion.

       "Flight and teleportation?" Sehun posed. "It makes sense if it's a maze."

       "Still..." They ventured out, her phone flashlight guiding their way. It didn't seem to hold any traps, pitfalls, or nightmares of unfathomable terror, which wasn't very on-brand. What it did host was turns. Hundreds of turns. She knew the rules of a maze, and she was sure the other team did as well. You keep to one side, and you'll eventually make it out. Still, the way this was comprised, that could take days. Days they didn't have, based on their food and water supply of zero.

       "Maybe Sehun can use his wind powers," She suggested. "Air tends to flow towards open areas, we can maybe use that to our advantage."

       "That could be a quicker way, but we don't know if there's actually an open area at the other end. What if there's another door?" Chanyeol warned. That was a valid point... What was there to-

       Her thoughts were interrupted by a joltingly loud banging from the distance. It sounded like a construction site, ringing over the walls and causing the floor to shake.

       "What the fuck was that?" Baekhyun asked incredulously.

       "You expect us to know?" It sounded again.

       "It's getting closer to us-" Chanyeol noted, backing up behind the others. Hearing it as well, she started moving towards it, much to the dismay of the others. Soon, they wee walking through clouds of dust, before finally coming up upon the source of the calamity.

       "Kris?" She asked incredulously.

       "Oh! Hey, we found them!" He said, laughing as he called the rest of his unit over.

       "What the..." Sehun muttered as he looked over the destruction. All the walls from the direction Unit 2 was arriving from were crumbling.

       "I brought fireworks!" He said, waving his last few around. "Turns out the walls aren't that durable."

       "If we came from this direction," Kyungsoo reasoned, "And they came from there, it's safe to assume, in a linear aspect, that the door is-"

       "Stupid-people-speak please." Kris interrupted him. Rolling his eyes, the boy pointed.

       "Blow stuff up that way." Grinning, Kris went to light the next firework.

       "Perfect."

Go to Chapter 39

[meltwonu]

| 🍒 CH-CH-CHERRY BOMB! 🍒 |     [CHAPTER 19]

pairing; dom!seungcheol x camgirl!reader

this chapter’s notes; camshow, powerbottom!seungcheol, brat!seungcheol, dom!reader, restraints(handcuffs), sex toys, dirty talk, degradation, dumbificiation, spitplay, yall the way i be using DDD like i’m guy fieri in this bitch ☠️ dkjfhdskh Also, merry christmas if you celebrate it!! Happy holidays!! Be safe, enjoy your day~💕 I’d say this is my gift to yall but I update every friday, I just so happen to be uploading on christmas LOL Although, Cherry Bomb has been a gift to write 🥺!! One more chapter after this, I can’t believe it... But also first chapter of DD next week 😳 Hehe~ as always, inbox roundup this weekend! Enjoy ch 19 and have a great weekend everyone!! ❤️🍒💕

chapters; 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - x

“Hyung… Are you… Okay?”

Seungcheol drops the set of skates in his hold; eye twitching when he turns to face both Seokmin and Jeongguk who stare back at him with a concerned gaze. “You haven’t moved from this spot in the last 15 minutes, Jeongguk was starting to get worried… And honestly, me too. You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Or three.”

“I, uh, yeah, I’m good.” Seungcheol laughs it off, shaking his head and letting out a deep breath he didn’t realize he was holding in. “It’s just… Well, I don’t wanna spoil anything but I’m just nervous for tonight.” He bites his bottom lip, remembering when you’d posted the notice to your homepage that basically sealed in the plans you had for him and really, what he had in store for you too.

The two younger males share a look, eyebrows raised. “Whatever’s got you this nervous must be good ‘cause you literally just zoned out and turned into a mannequin for 15 minutes. It was weird!” Jeongguk laughs; half in nervousness for Seungcheol and half in amusement. “Me and Seokmin snapped a few pics too. For posterity.”

Seungcheol rolls his eyes before he picks up the pair of skates again, “Okay, okay, enough with the teasing. Get back to work before Namjoon-hyung sees us all over here!”

“We could say the same to you!”

“Interesting setup…” Seungcheol mutters, eyes glossing over the vibrator, pink fuzzy handcuffs, and cockring that are neatly lined up on the bed. “Should I be concerned that this looks a little too normal?”

You laugh under your breath as you readjust your bra strap one last time before easing onto the bed yourself; patting the spot next to you. “Nah, trust me, it’s not gonna be that crazy. Now c’mere, we only have 10 minutes ‘til we need to start and you’re just standing there fidgeting like we’re about to fuck for the first time ever.”

“Damn, we should’ve done a show with a corruption kink or something.”

“Hey, it’s never too late!”

artist8hao: this looks relatively normal considering the notice

kitty_junjun has donated $75

gc__koo: yea… and considering how i found hyung earlier

alphagyu97: ???

alphagyu97: wdym

gc__koo: mans was a statue 

xcaliburDK: yea it was weird, it was like he was possessed 

sleepy_wonu: wait u work with him too??

therealchan99: wait is that why u almost quit?

xcaliburDK: can we not talk about me right now thank u

universe_WZ has donated $75

angelhan has donated $100

artist8hao has donated $50

“Well! Aren’t you all a lively bunch tonight!” You giggle softly, wrapping an arm around one of Seungcheol’s as he tenses up under your touch. “Seungcheol’s so tense tonight! Can we get some words of encouragement for him before we start~”

gc__koo: ayyyy my man its gonna be ok

hoshi_tiger_xx: think of it this way, any of us would pay to be in your position rn

tangerine_kwan: l i t e r a l l y

chwenon: its not like ur getting pegged 

chwenon: right

Seungcheol’s cheeks bloom a bright pink, wide eyes meeting yours as you laugh loudly. “Wait, is that what the vibrator is for ‘cause I--”

“No, no, no! Seungcheol’s not getting pegged tonight, okay?” Grinning, you ease off the bed and make your way towards the nightstand as Seungcheol watches you from behind.

You grab the item, smiling as you hide it from Seungcheol’s view for a little while longer.

“See, when we, really just I, decided to do this back to back camshow for the last time, I really wanted to try something new, y’know? But nothing too far out there ‘cause I didn’t wanna push our boundaries too much.” You move your hand, flashing the object in front of Seungcheol’s face as he raises an eyebrow.

“A gopro?”

Nodding, you show it to the camera, “Mmhmm~ The quality is gonna go down a bit but I think it’ll be okay! It’ll be worth it~” You set it down next to the array of toys, winking at the camera before settling in next to Seungcheol again.

You lean into his side, grabbing his arm and putting it on your inner thigh as you moan. “Thought that they’d like a new view of us, y’know? Instead of just the static view that we usually have. Now you can film me riding your cock and get a good view of it for the camera~” Seungcheol smirks as he drags his hand up your thigh; fingertips grazing against your panties as you mewl.

“So that’s the game you wanna play tonight, huh, baby? You wanna film each other up close and personal for everyone to see?”

He can feel his cock twitch in his sweats, already eager to see where this went.

“Well…” You bite the inside of your cheek, face hot as you pry his hand off of you. “Actually, I want you up by the headboard while I set up this gopro. Think you can shimmy up there, ‘Cheol?”

The male nods slowly, shuffling towards the headboard as you turn to the camera. “The stream’s probably gonna cut out for a sec while I set this up but please be patient with me, okay?” Winking, you quickly set up the gopro before cutting out the stream to fiddle with the settings and changing it so that the stream was coming from the gopro instead.

“Ah, good! It works!” You make sure everyone can see you from the smaller device before you’re rejoining Seungcheol on the bed; eyes twinkling with mischief as you hand the gopro to him before reaching for the toys you’d laid out.

chwenon: im rly curious about this

universe_WZ: i know, same

alphagyu97: fuck the angles we’re about to get with this for future shows tho

hoshi_tiger_xx: oh hell yeah

Seungcheol holds onto the gopro, making sure to film you as you hold the vibrator in your hand. “Let’s start with this first, huh?” You don’t waste a second before you’re turning the toy on and pressing it against his clothed cock.

“Oh, s-shit!” He almost loses his grip on the small camera when his body threatens to double over at the vibrations that quickly have shivers running up his spine. “Oh fuck, that’s---that’s so s-strong!” Seungcheol’s hips cant up, grinding against the vibrations when he realizes how good it actually feels.

“Strong? It’s only the lowest setting, baby. Is your cock that sensitive?” You smile; voice laced with a teasing lilt and the pieces start to fall for Seungcheol when you seem to spit his own words back at him.

“That’s h-how it’s gonna be, huh?” He grits out, jaw clenched when you raise the setting to the second highest. “F-fuck, you---”

“What? We’re playing like I wanna tonight, right, ‘Cheollie?” Licking your lips, you lean in close to the camera before your lust filled eyes meet his.

“And tonight, you’re just my dumb little fucktoy that I get to play with, aren’t you?”

Seungcheol tugs against the fuzzy pink handcuffs that keep him bound to the headboard; gritting his teeth when you turn off the toy for the third time.

“Ah, ah, ah, don’t move around too much, Seungcheol. Dumb little fucktoys should be good and stay still, right?”

“Right.” Muttering, he watches as you bring the camera closer to his cock again, filming the vibrator that you tap against the cock head; both covered in precum.

“Your cock is already so hard~ God you’re so fuckin’ easy~” You squirm a little from where you straddle his thighs; already wanting to sit on his cock but also knowing you still wanted to play with him a little longer while you had him underneath you.

angelhan: goddamn she’s so fucking hot when shes the dom???

therealchan99: the way i would pay her to choke me and spit in my mouth

alphagyu97: she could put me on a leash and i’d bark without question

You turn on the toy again, pressing it against his cock as he groans and thrusts his hips up. “Ah! We should use the last toy, before you end up cumming without my permission.” Seungcheol lets out a choked sob at the way you sound so cheery, eyes looking up towards the ceiling while you set the vibrator down in favor of the cockring.

Wrapping a hand around his cock, you work you hand up and down as you smear the precum down his shaft. “Hmm~ Bet you’d cum right now if I just sucked you off, huh?”

“Dunno, why don’t you sink your pretty ‘lil mouth down on me and find out?” He snarkily replies.

You shoot him an angelic smile; one that makes him realize he really shouldn’t have said anything when you hurriedly ease the cockring down until it sits at the base of his cock. Grabbing the vibrator again, you turn it onto its highest setting before bringing it back to his cock and holding it parallel to his shaft. “You’re so mouthy~ You should really be careful with that~”

Seungcheol lets out a sharp, shaky breath; eyes wider than saucers when he feels his abdomen tightening and the pleasure rapidly building up in his body. “W-wait, but---but, ah, h-hold on, it--it feels like I’m g-gonna cum!” He tugs against his restraints as his entire body squirms and thrashes against the bed at the sensations that flood his body.

“Ah, you really are so fuckin’ easy for me, Seungcheol~”

A weird feeling washes over Seungcheol when he feels his cock twitching; mouth open in stuttered breaths as his eyebrows furrow. It felt like an orgasm, but at this point, he can’t even tell. “Wh--what?” He lets out a drawn out groan, throwing his head back against the pillows just as you shut the toy off and toss it to the side.

“I think you just experienced your first dry orgasm, huh? Not so fun being on the other side, is it? Being played with~” You laugh teasingly, readjusting yourself until you’re grinding down onto his cock. instead. “Mmh, I’m gonna use your cock and I’m gonna make myself cum and you can’t do anything about it~ Just my own personal fucktoy watching me get off~”

You take the gopro and set it down right on Seungcheol’s chest, “Don’t move, or else.” He nods once shakily, watching as you lift yourself up and position his cock right at your soaking entrance. 

The two of you share a moan once you finally start to sink down onto his cock but Seungcheol knows he won’t actually be able to cum anytime soon.

chwenon: they rly said VIEWS on this one

gc__koo: honestly, i aint even tryna get off i just like watching knowing hyung is lowkey suffering

gc__koo has donated $100

gc__koo: its like a reward

kitty_junjun: he’ll be lucky if he even gets to cum again lbr

sleepy_wonu: oh how the tables have turned huh?

sleepy_wonu has donated $100

tangerine_kwan: wait but…

tangerine_kwan: if today was her idea and tomorrow is his…

chwenon: uh oh

artist8hao: oh i didnt even think about that

artist8hao has donated $100

artist8hao: for the aftercare funds  

kitty_junjun: dont be too hard on her!!

kitty_junjun: also breakfast on me when ur not too tired

You start bouncing in his lap, loud moans on your lips when his cock curves perfectly into your g-spot.

“Oh, fuh--fuck, your cock is so g-good! Fuckin’ hits me so, hah, d-deep!”

Seungcheol can’t do anything but grit his teeth and let you alternate between bouncing on his lap and swiveling your hips atop his own; jaw clenched tight. “Y-yeah? Your so-called sex toy fucks you g-good? I don’t even have to, ah, do anything, all I have to do is lay here and you’d cum, huh?” He smirks up at you, convincing himself he’s one-upped you when you pout and halt your movements.

He lets out a soft groan when you clench around him and you’re quick to grab the gopro still sitting on his chest before turning the camera towards him.

“Such a bold mouth you’ve got. But don’t forget, you’re the one handcuffed to the bed and you’ve got a cockring on, baby~ I can give you more dry orgasms if you’d like?” You lick your lips, “Be a good little fucktoy and open your mouth for me.”

Seungcheol narrows his eyes before obeying, lips parting hesitantly. “Now, stick your tongue out.” You turn the camera and hold it from the side; filming yourself as you let a glob of spit fall from your lips, directly onto Seungcheol’s waiting tongue.

A shiver runs up his spine when he draws his tongue back in to swallow the saliva, hazy eyes staring back up at you when he parts his lips to show you that he’s swallowed it all down.

“See? You can be so obedient. You just choose to be a brat.”

“Where’s the fun if I make it easy for you? And it’s cute watching you trying to dom me when we both know how much you like being under me.”

You resume your movements, swiveling your hips as you set the gopro back down onto his chest. “Ah, all the things I could do to you right now, ‘Cheol~ We should do this again so I can try some wax play on you… Or, hah, m-maybe even ice play? Since your body is so fuckin’ sensitive. Bet you’d be so fuckin’ cute cumming over and over and whining when the overstimulation starts to bite~”

It only takes a second for Seungcheol to mentally say ‘screw it’ before he uses all his strength to plant his feet down onto the bed and start thrusting up into you. Your body jerks on top of him, surprised noises spilling from your lips at the strength he exerts in his frustration.

“My body’s sensitive? You take one look at me and your panties are fuckin’ soaked.” Seungcheol scoffs, watching as you grab the gopro and set it to the side before it topples off of him. “I might be your dumb little fucktoy today but you’re mine too. My dumb ‘lil cocksleeve that only knows how to beg me for cock. Your pussy was made for me, baby. Don’t forget that.”

The pleasure builds inside your body as you meet his thrusts and for a second, you contemplate taking off the handcuffs and the cockring, but instead deciding to keep them on. Unless he begged.

“Fuck, S--Seungcheol, ‘m g-gonna cum~” You reach down, fingertips on your clit as you hurry to throw yourself over the edge of an orgasm. “That’s right, cum on my cock like the desperate ‘lil cock hungry girl you are.” He growls in frustration; wanting to cum but knowing he wouldn’t be able to unless you took the cockring off.

“Oh god, Seungcheol!”

Your walls flutter around his cock and he lets out a garbled moan at how good you feel when you cum; exhaling harshly at the frustration of not being able to cum with you. “That’s right, bet it feels good with my cock inside your tight ‘lil cunt, huh?”

He halts his movements just as you opt to grind down on him, fingertips still rubbing and pinching at your clit as you ride out your high. “Mmh, bet you wanna cum too, don’t you, ‘Cheol? Wanna, ngh, fill my p-pussy up with your cum like you always do~ But do you even deserve it? Or should I leave you here and let you cool down?”

alphagyu97: the energy we’ve created in the studio tonight

xcaliburDK: i know, holy shit

angelhan: i feel like i'm actually scared for this man im ngl

alphagyu97: if she lets u cum ur a lucky man

You let out a sultry moan; body filled with warmth as the last bits of your orgasm wash over you. “You’ve been so mouthy and bratty but I wanna feel you cum too, so I’ll be nice tonight~”

Smart move, he thinks.

Raising yourself off of his cock, you let out a whimper at the emptiness you feel; pussy clenching around emptiness as you settle back down onto his thighs that are slick with your wetness. “Mmh… On second thought… Why don’t you beg a little? Lemme hear how much you wanna cum~”

He feels his cock twitch and realizes you won’t make this any easier. “Fuck, okay, p-please.... Please take the cockring off so I can cum… I--I wanna cum inside your pretty ‘lil cunt, fuck, I don’t even care if you just jerk me off just---just please take it off! I’ll t-take it easy on you tomorrow, I s-swear!” Seungcheol almost accidentally spoils his ideas for his planned camshow and he quickly bites his bottom lip before he accidentally says too much.

“That was weak but it’s okay. Dumb fucktoys don’t need to think much, do they? Only good for being used like a toy~”  You pout mockingly at him before you’re easing the cockring off of him and Seungcheol lets out a guttural moan when you immediately wrap a hand around his cock and start jerking him off.

“You weren’t very nice with your words tonight so you’ll cum with just my hand.”

“Fu--fuck, that’s fine, just let m-me cum, please!”  You work your hand up and down his shaft, giggling when you already feel his cock throbbing in your hand when you run your hand from the base to the tip.

“Cum for me, Seungcheol~”

He lets out a small whine, eyes clamped shut when he finally cums and for the first time in his life, he feels himself momentarily black out with how hard his orgasm hits him. Ropes of cum hit his chest as you work him through it, alternating the tightness of your grip on his cock as he whines and moans in return.

“Ah, you’re cumming so much this time~ You’re making such a mess!” You tease.

Seungcheol can barely hear a word you say through the ringing in his ears once his orgasm starts to ebb away and he feels himself slump against the bed as he catches his breath.

His chest rises and falls in deep breaths and he feels you leaning over him to undo the handcuffs; tired sighs on his lips as he tries to focus on you through bleary eyes. He can feel his entire body twitching and he swears his arms have. gone numb from being handcuffed to the headboard. “You’re gonna get it tomorrow, I swear…” He mutters, no real threat to his tired words. 

“Hey, you said you were gonna take it easy on me tomorrow!”

“Yeah, well...” 

tangerine_kwan: yo im excited to see the sequel to this

gc__koo: i have some… ideas

gc__koo: things r falling into place

gc__koo: my brain is expanding

hoshi_tiger_xx: i feel like its gonna be intense lol

xcaliburDK: knowing hyung…

xcaliburDK has donated $100

xcaliburDK: if u call into work on monday i wont even question it

“Here, you need to drink this, ‘Cheol!”

The said male groans as he tugs a pillow into his arms, already on the brink of sleeping when you finally end your camshow. “But ‘m tired…” He whines. “Can’t we just go to bed and clean up in the morning? The cum on my chest is already dried, it won’t get on the sheets.” You roll your eyes in return, sitting next to him on the bed.  

“Oh, so now you’re being a big baby? I’m just trying to get you to drink some water and we need to get you at least a little cleaned up for bed. You can’t go to bed like this, y’know. And anyway, we need to be in top condition for tomorrow show too. We gotta get cleaned up and eat a little something.” You laugh under your breath, shaking your head as he only whines harder. 

“C’mon, I always do it for you, right?”

He nods only once before he’s sitting up tiredly; a shaky hand reaching for the glass of water you hold out to him. You immediately take notice of the slight redness around his wrists, pouting as you help him finish the glass before setting it down onto the nightstand.

“Your wrists got so red from the handcuffs, ‘Cheol… You should’ve said something if it hurt, I would’ve taken them off…”

Seungcheol grins at you, eyes unfocused with sleepiness. “Who said it hurt? I didn’t even feel that in comparison to that horrible dry orgasm you made me experience. God, it was like… Like when you have a dream but it feels real until you try to grab for something and realize you can’t?”

The two of you share a laugh as you help Seungcheol off of the bed so that the two of you could properly get cleaned up before he flopped back down onto the sheets.

“Yeah? Trust me, that wasn't even the worst I could’ve done! You’re lucky I took it easy for my first time!”  

[shapeshiftinterest]

The ‘Fake’ First Date: rufus x reg (CH 1)

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

mao mao heroes of pure heart valentines day event

prompt mix:

day 3: first date

day 7: one milkshake

big thank you to @ao3zephyrous for beta reading this chapter!!

story under the read more

The ‘Fake’ First Date (also on ao3)

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3

Rufus was sweating. He wanted to kick his past self. Sure this would have been a great con if they’d been partners for a while, but they’d only started working together a few months ago.

Damn it all! The waitress was waiting for their next move. Think, Rufus,THINK!

                                              -Earlier That Day-

“We’re in luck, Reggie,” Rufus said, gleefully rubbing his paws together. “It’s All Heart’s Day, and that means couples discounts galore.“ Reg watched as the fox spun in a circle, throwing his arms in the air and grinning at the idea of all that basically free stuff. 

“I didn’t have anyone to do this with previously, but now that you’re here we can put my plan into motion!“

“Whaddaya mean?“

“I mean, my dear Reg, that we can dupe all those store owners into thinking we’re a couple so that we can take advantage of the discounts,” he said, turning to look at the other and slicking his ears back with a paw.

“Ooooh. Wow Rufus! That’s really smart,” Reg clapped.

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

The pair had taken a few minutes to go over their story (first date as boyfriends after being friends for years) before setting off into town. The first few stores had been easy. A hug here, a hand on the shoulder there, and bam! free samples and Heart’s Day couple coupons.

 At one point Reg had pointed out a cloth stand (unfortunately no discounts) and distracted the vendor so he could sneak over and swipe a bolt. They decided on cutting some for themselves, turning the cloth into matching scarves and saving the rest to sell later. 

Rufus was so impressed at the gesture and the little detail to add to the con that he almost swooned a little. HA! Truly a raccoon after his own heart.

He’d been so giddy about his ploy that he’d forgotten they’d probably need to practice their couple act past just saying they were on a date. 

They’d been walking across the street when Rufus noticed the store’s promotional sign. 

[Come to our cafe! Heart‘s Day Special: Couples get 75% off if participating in Cutest Couple Photo Contest! Try our free Forever Love Milkshake ($25 coupon for future use if finished in 10 minutes)]

Not one to waste such an opportunity, he alerted his partner in crime with a subtle nudge, nodding his head in the direction of the cafe. 

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

~ding a ling~

“Hello, dear customers~ Welcome to Cafe Ruvia. How may I help you today?“ a waitress greeted them. She grinned wolfishly, tail swishing lazily behind her.

“Ah, yes, we’re here for the Heart’s Day Specials-”

“Oh?“

Rufus’s eye twitched, but his smile stayed in-tact. He hated being interrupted.

“But where’s your partner?“ she asked, craning her head to look around him.

“Pssst Rufus,“ Reg whispered behind his hand, shuffling over to tug at his jacket. “That milkshake is HUGE!“

They both watched as another waitress set a Forever Love Milkshake in front of an already seated couple. The glass looked to be about a foot high, not counting all the whipped cream and toppings.

Rufus turned back to the girl in front of them and put his paw on Reg’s back, pushing him forward for her to see. “This is my partner, miss...,” he squinted at her name tag, “Charlotte.”

She narrowed her eyes at the pair. Hmmm. They certainly looked the part. But then again, there were a ton of people pretending to date just for free stuff, especially on Heart’s Day. Her smile widened, deciding to test them a little.

“Haha, my mistake. I thought you were just friends.“ The waitress held up a camera, ignoring Rufus’s scoff. “If you’re participating in our Cutest Couple Photo Contest it’s mandatory to take the picture before coming in. Please step this way sirs.“

                                                       -Present-

And now the two were being stared down by a waitress with a camera. Ugh. She was probably trying to test if they were an actual couple or something. 

Rufus wasn’t sure what to do. Sure he could flirt and flaunt at a moments notice and Reg was easy to talk to, but it wasn’t like they were particularly close or anything.

“Are you sure y’all are together?“ she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I-“

“Sorry miss, my boyfriend’s kind of shy about PDA.“ Rufus and Charlotte turned to look at Reg in surprise. “I asked him out a few weeks ago. Thought if we had matching scarves it’d make us look more couple-y,“ he laughed, moving in to hug said ‘boyfriend‘ before pulling away to hold his paw.

Rufus’s eyebrows went up. Apparently his new accomplice was skilled at improv, how unexpected!

“Is there anything we need to do for the picture?“ Reg asked, looking up at the waitress. Charlotte giggled behind the paw not holding her camera.

“Just a kiss is all. Any kind is fine though if it makes it easier for your guy,“ she winked.

Rufus’s tail bristled. He didn’t really like being seen as the shy type but he guessed he’d have to suck it up for now. 

Reg nodded, lifting his arms in a ‘pick me up’ motion. The waitress adjusted her camera and smiled. “Say Cheese!”

Well this wasn’t too big of a deal. Rufus leaned in for a forehead kiss- only for Reg to grab him by the scarf and pull him down for an actual one. Oh. Oh my.

“Mmph?!” he squeaked, eyes snapping open right as Charlotte snapped the picture. It was a tremendous effort not to chuck the raccoon at her smug little face afterwards.

“It came out wonderfully! I’ll just put this on the voting board and someone will come seat you in a moment~“

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

“Reg that was brilliant! How did you come up with that story so quickly?“ he asked, pulling Reg’s chair out.

“There’s a character like that in the game I’m playing right now.”

They talked a bit more before waving down one of the waitresses and deciding to do the milkshake challenge before eating. It was much bigger in person, about half a head taller than Rufus and dressed to the nines in what seemed to be every topping under the sun.

It didn’t feel like they’d be able to finish it, but halfway through the time limit Reg had gotten a second wind. He practically inhaled the rest of the milkshake. 

Unfortunately they didn’t win the picture contest. That was gifted to some kind of snake-orangutan hybrid (did they even count as a couple or ???). 

Rufus scowled at Charlotte as she pranced over with a little extra pep in her step. Tch.

“You didn’t win but it’s still a cute pic right?“ she handed the item over to Reg "Come again soon!"

“Thank you!“ he waved back as they left the café. “She seemed nice.”

Rufus huffed and crossed his arms. “About as nice as a cactus.”

“Aw cheer up Rufus,“ the raccoon took something out of his hat. “At least we have some of their silverware.“

He took one look at the stolen utensils and back to Reg before bursting out into laughter.

“Oh Reggie, I think this is the start of a beautiful partnership,” he said, wiping a tear from his eye.

________________________________________________________________

chapter 2 is a year to a few years in the future

[rainofaugustsith]

Rain Plays SWTOR: SOLO gearing 6.0

In my opinion the SWTOR devs have given solo players a hearty "fuck you" with 6.0, between an insufferably long gearing system, nerfed companions, much higher conquest targets (with solo-friendly activities like galactic rampage now removed) and overtuned content. It's why I'm not paying for a subscription anymore. Damn it, though, I like the game, I like hanging out with Viri and I still have characters who have not finished all the content. Even though I am not subscribed now, I invested in Artifact Authorization for my account so my characters can wear the good stuff.

Despite the fact that the devs seem to be heavily pushing people to group, I decided that my own "fuck you" to them would be getting Viri to 306 without grouping even once. And I did.

Almost. Her gear rating is 304, but hell, she's close, and she already has several 306 pieces. These aren’t the final stats I want for her (as she changes to moddable 306 pieces I’ll be adding back her augments and changing those relics) but she’s a beast again. 

The important takeaway from this post:

You do not need to group to get good gear, even at level 75. You do not need to do veteran flashpoints to get good gear. Good gear drops in the solo flashpoints too!

Do you "need" it?

I hate it when other players tell me I "don't need" certain gear, so I won't do that to you. It's a personal choice. The higher levels of gear do seem to compensate for at least some of the currently overtuned parts of the game. In other words even if you are not interested at all in the endgame you may wish to pursue the higher-end gear simply to do the other content more easily.

If you are not playing Onslaught (or not playing it yet) there have been numerous reports of other missions/areas being overtuned, including the Star Fortresses, Bowdaar's recruitment mission, walker combat in KOTET and Iokath, the H4s and some H2s, and better gear could help there.

Onslaught is supposed to be designed so that you gear up as you level up, ending the expansion with a full set of 268 gear and a tactical item. In my own experience going through Onslaught, some of my classes did okay with this system but others did not. All had similar gear ratings (242-252), at least some augments, and at least one or two level 50 influence companions (usually Lana, but also included Vette, Mako or Akaavi for some characters). My Sith Warrior and Jedi Knight were fine. My Smuggler died if an NPC looked at her the wrong way and really struggled to get through. My Bounty Hunter and Lightning Sorcerer had a few hiccups but managed.

My own preference will be to get my characters leveled to 75 and geared before hitting KOTET now. I don't think they all need to be 306. My test subject, canon Viri (who has not done Onslaught) was blazing through content by the time she was a 286. I will likely aim for at least that rating on all characters.

So you want the gear. Now what?

Okay. It's a long, mind-numbingly boring experience to gear up but if you hang onto enough stuff, you might be able to avoid going through this nightmare on more than one character. How can you get gear without grouping?

1. The easiest and most effective way is to run a lot of solo flashpoints. Over and over again (the same way the folks who group are doing with Hammer Station).

The shortest and simplest flashpoint (at least for me) is Korriban Incursion, followed by Depths of Manaan. By the time you hit a gear rating of 286ish, you can chew through either of these alone in less than 20 minutes. Black Talon is next, but one of the bosses only seems to drop crafting material (including those coveted isotopes) and the bonus boss now has a lot of very uncomfortable flashing lights.

I went through several of the longer flashpoints like Copero, False Emperor, Rakata Prime and Boarding Party, too. On Copero I had four gear drops instead of three thanks to the bonus boss, and some random green gear dropped from NPCs, but otherwise the longer flashpoints don't seem to offer any real advantage over the shorter ones. Thus, unless there's something else you want from the flashpoint (like decos or achievements), it seems most prudent to run the ones that will cause you the least trouble. You might get random pieces (usually green 270s) from enemies but overall, usually only three bosses will give you proper drops. There will be a sack of Grade 11 crafting materials, probably a mod or two, and at least one piece of gear. This is RNG. Sometimes you will luck out and get two pieces of gear you can use. Sometimes you will get nothing and will end up deconstructing it all. Viri has received tank gear, things she clearly can't use like blaster barrels, and 274 pieces when she's a 294. As far as I know it happens in the veteran group flashpoints too. Just deconstruct it, or set it aside for another character if you think they will want it.

Once you get past 300, I have noticed you will start getting a lot more mods, enhancements and armor/hilts/barrels. This is a good thing. These are the pieces you can set aside for alts.

2. Conquest.

It's harder to meet this goal now but it may be doable for you on one or two toons. During this exercise Viri reached her conquest goal of 50,000 points just by doing flashpoints and a couple of easy heroics on Tatooine and Korriban. The Conquest gear crates are in my experience good, and I've pulled numerous gold set pieces, so it's worth it to try to aim for the goal, and it can be done solo.

3. Chapters.

I was very surprised to get a gear crate when I finished Shroud of Memory. A character who was just finishing up KOTET received crates for her last two chapters, too. I think this replaces the gear that used to be given for KOTFE/KOTET chapters. It's in line with the other weekly/daily crates.

4. Onderon weekly/daily crates.

If you have a character who has gone through Onslaught, do ten missions for the weekly and six for the daily. There are some simple quests that can be done quickly. In my experience these crates provide little more than deconstruction fodder most of the time. However it's worth it, if only for the tech fragments. Aside from gear, there are some nice decos available at the reputation vendor so raising your Onderon rep isn't pointless.

5. Mek-Sha heroics.

Again, if you have a character who has done Onslaught. Not the best option for the planet - see #11 for an easier one. Both of the Mek-Sha heroics give gear crates and in my limited experience they have been good. However, the heroics are tuned very, very high. Viri's clone (Sith Warrior; Vengeance Juggernaut) with a gear rating of 300 had trouble. The final boss in the Matter of Respect heroic has more HP than many flashpoint bosses, and he's with two silvers. Dying in these heroics is expensive, too: the tune of 20,000 credits per repair bill. I don't think this really is a good option for most solo players, even if you want to run them once for the experience/achievements.

This is the final boss in the second Mek-Sha heroic. No, you’re not reading that  HP number wrong. 

6. Renown crates.

Instead of Command Levels, there are now Renown levels. It's the same overall concept: gain a level, gain a crate with a piece of gear (the fun stuff like pets and companion gifts are gone). The difference: you're not going to gear up via Renown. For all intents and purposes it's probably best to pretend Renown doesn't exist. It's not like Galactic Command where doing the weekly in Section X or Ziost will at least earn you a crate or two.

You need 1,600,000 points to get one Renown crate. Considering that the weekly areas now award between 7000-28,000 points and a flashpoint awards 2000-3000 (and that is WITH the full 25% boost), it's going to be a while before you earn even one crate. When you do, I might suggest hanging on to them until your rating is high to try to get better gear. In my limited experience (I think my characters combined have earned about ten Renown crates!) I don't think I've ever pulled any sort of useful upgrade out of these crates. Take the item and deconstruct it for tech fragments, don't disintegrate it. Consider anything useful to be a pleasant surprise.

7. Treasure Hunting missions

Level 10 lockbox missions return with gear. It's not highly rated, though. Deconstruct it for the tech fragments. 

8. Crafting

From what I have heard this is such a clusterfuck that it's not even worth attempting, with many mats required even for low-level gear. Skip this, I think.

9. LS/DS vendors

Apparently if you are willing to fork over all 100 of your LS or DS coins to the vendor you can get an equipment box. I wouldn't do this because it's now very hard to get LS/DS coins (see Renown). Once you blow them all you're not likely to get so many back. 10. Random drops

NPCs in heroics, flashpoints and open world may occasionally drop random pieces of gear, usually green 270ish stuff that may or may not be for your discipline. It's good to deconstruct.

11. Mek-Sha Tradehouse missions In your faction’s starting point on Mek-Sha, you will find a datapad. Click this to get a short mission to speak to a Nautolan NPC in Huttbreaker’s Compound. The NPC will tell you that you can do short “adventures” around the galaxy to help out Huttbreaker’s auction house.  Now check out the small clickable terminal to the left of the NPC. You will get a Weekly - Tradehouse Acquisitions - and a daily mission that will take you to either Rishi, Tatooine, Onderon, Nar Shaddaa or Dantooine. These missions are very simple - usually just gathering some clickable items or scanning several targets with provided macrobinoculars.  To complete the Weekly, you need to complete three Tradehouse Missions. You can only do one per day. It will award you a gold gear box, so it’s worth it. 

When you get gear:

Use a character that you can devote solely to gearing for a little while. Canon Viri has not done Onslaught, but she's my strongest character and my main, and she has nothing else to do right now. I decided to gear with her.

If a piece of gear is an upgrade, equip it immediately. The higher your overall gear rating, the more likely you are to get upgrades. This will screw with your stats for a while, but you can sort it out when you get to the 300s. If it's not an upgrade deconstruct it for tech fragments - the currency you will use to purchase gear later.

Once you get to the high 290s or 300s you may wish to start setting aside gear pieces for your alts instead of deconstructing them. ETA Gear is now legacy bound, so you can pass it from one character to the next (except for weapons, I found). If you are moving up to a 306 piece, for example, save that 304 for the next toon who might need it, and pass around the gear to everyone’s advantage. 

Mods: Viri kept her augmented mainhand and offhand weapons (lightsaber and focus). I ripped out mods/hilts as needed to upgrade those weapons. However, ripping mods is very expensive so you don't want to be doing this for all your right side pieces. Don't worry about mods until you get to the 300s. Just keep using the non-moddable gear as you progress. This includes mods that don't seem to suit your character. If a Barrage or Studious enhancement would take Viri from one gear level to another I used it.   Use Takanna: Takanna is the vendor who sells "unidentified" pieces for around 350 tech fragments each. The pieces are supposed to be at least your item rating or higher, and with the exception of left side and mods, are supposed to be for your discipline. 

 I used Takanna to get over the plateaus that Viri would hit sometimes, when she would reach a certain item rating and would not get anything higher from the flashpoint drops. Buying a higher rated set of boots or bracers (for instance) would sometimes be enough to get her to a higher overall gear rating and break the stalemate.   Once you reach your quitting point: You don't want to go all the way to 306? You're fine at 290 or 286 or 300? That's cool. This is where you either decide that you're going to augment the non-moddable gear you have or start playing with mods and those gold set pieces. It is VERY expensive to move around mods and augments, especially after you reach 300 (we're talking 450K to rip three mods, I'm not exaggerating), so I advise that you put them where you want them to stay.

Set bonuses: The old set bonus you had from your GEMINI or Ossus gear vanished when you hit level 75. I don't think the new ones are as good, but in some cases all you need are two pieces to get the bonus. Ostensibly you could therefore have three different set bonuses (2, 2, 2) operating at once.

Tacticals: Viri received two as random drops once she was in the 280s. You also receive one good all-around tactical at the end of Onslaught. I wouldn't be fussed about getting these. If you get one, great. If you have credits to burn check out the vendor on the fleet who sells them. Otherwise wait until you finish Onslaught.   Amplifiers: I DGAF about these. Re-rolling the amplifiers is a large credit sink for (IMHO) small boosts. I personally am not bothering with re-rolling anything. Viri has what she has on her gear and I'm not worried about changing what is there.However, re-rolling an amplifier will now give you Conquest points, so you may decide to re-roll one just for that boost.    Augments: Viri has kept her 236 and 240 mods. They have been nerfed a little but the Grade 11 augments and kits are really expensive, and IMHO her old augments do fine for her.

Gearing alts: Send your highest-iRated toon shopping for the others. Vendors like Takanna will give you gear that corresponds to your toon’s level. So send your 306 rated character shopping, grab that high-level gear, and leave it in your Legacy hold for your alts.  I'm gearing my weakest alts, and those that have a lot of content left to do, first. "Weakest" might mean many things to many people. For me, it's the alt that has the most trouble getting through content and/or the class that I'm the least skilled at playing. I've also geared one of Viri's clones who did do Onslaught so she could do the Mek-Sha and Onderon tasks.  Overall, this gear system is no fun. I don’t think it would be quite as bad if there weren’t so many levels, but when you’re going through 19 - 284, 286, 288 and on and on and on - it feels like you’re slowly pulling teeth for every gain.  Still, the point was to show that it could be done without the grouping that the devs seem to be trying to force on us. Et voila.