#found some fun new problems that I'll have to deal with at some point

[quicksilversquared]

My advisor asked that I send her an email update on what progress I've made over the break (for assorted planning purposes, I guess) on the second (also known as "a week before I head back"). I believe she intended that I just send a brief overview.

...it's over a page and a half long at this point.

[jessejaredstories]

Walk on the Wild Side

Sergio was a walking gay man’s fantasy. He was tall and muscular as fuck. Beefy could barely even begin to describe him as everything from his biceps, chest, thighs, back, and even ass were massive! He made his living off of flexing his hot body as well as fucking other beefy dudes on camera. Sergio was truly living the life many could only dream of having.

But although Sergio was living the good life, he couldn't deny that something was missing. More specifically, something about his sex life. Sergio loved his very active sex life and was more often than not satisfied after every hookup he had. Yet at the same time, Sergio found himself wanting more. He wanted something new, and he knew exactly who to contact. Kris the Kink Witch.

Sergio reached out to Kris through Twitter DMs. Kris, like Sergio, also made his living off of recording and selling the videos of his gay escapades. He was known to be one incredibly kinky motherfucker online, and he took great pride in it too- as evidenced by his self proclaimed title the Kink Witch. But unlike Sergio, Kris took a much more professional approach to his line of work. For Kris, it wasn't about pleasure, it was about money. He meant business, and he never shied away from demonstrating that fact.

Fortunately, Sergio was also pretty well-known in the online gay community. Kris recognized Sergio and responded back to him within a couple of minutes. Their conversation went as follows...

S: Hey, you're the Kink Witch right? I've got a request in mind.

K: Yo. Yeah that's me. You want to film a collab together?

S: Not at all. I was actually thinking you and I can link up and have some fun. No cameras. 

K: Sorry, I don't do charity work. 

S: Trust me, I don't either. I just need to have some real fun and I know someone like you can help me out with that goal. I'll pay you a good amount too if you're interested.

K: Go on, I'm listening...

Sergio and Kris went on to negotiate the deal. In exchange for a kinky night of fun, Sergio would pay Kris $2500 in cold, hard cash. However, in order to earn that money, Kris needed to get Sergio to cum and to feel real pleasure while doing it too. But before they could seal the deal, Sergio gave Kris a heads-up by saying that he had already done almost everything anyone can think of. If it wasn't something new and exciting like he wanted, then Sergio had no problem calling the deal off. Yet despite his stark warning, Kris accepted the deal without any hesitation. It slightly unnerved Sergio how confident Kris was. He was pretty sure they both had more or less the same amount of experience when it came to sex. Could Kris really know something Sergio didn't?

Regardless of the initial unease Sergio felt, it was too late to back down now. Kris was already on his way to his apartment. Sergio passed the time by doing the usual prep work of cleaning himself out, just as Kris told him to. Yet despite his best efforts to distract himself, Sergio couldn't help but wonder what Kris had in store for him.

Does this twink really think he's gonna satisfy me just by fucking me? Ha! I've already taken on plenty of men, there's nothing new he can do there! 

Sergio chuckled at his own thoughts. His curiosity was making his mind run wild. Luckily it didn't take much longer for Kris to arrive. He showed up at the entrance of the building and Sergio buzzed him in. Sergio then welcomed the young man into his home, and although he was excited to hook up, he couldn't help but wonder if he was in over his head by hiring some 20 something year old dude with messy hair and a dirty hoodie. 

"Alright, you ready?" Kris said as he began to strip down to nothing but his underwear. 

"Yeah, do you wanna go-" 

"Wrong answer," Kris interrupted Sergio. "I'll excuse the first mistake but you'll only address me as Sir, Daddy, or Papi from here on out. Got it?" 

Sergio was thrown off by how to-the-point Kris was but decided to just ignore it. 

"Yes, Sir." 

"Good boy, now whip out your cock. Get hard too,"

Sergio did as he was told. Kris did the same. Sergio was impressed with Kris' member. It was long and hairy with some decent girth too. Although his was definitely longer, Sergio's cock was the thicker one. They were both hung, Sergio like a bull and Kris like a horse. Once they were both erect, Kris reached down to his pants. He pulled out two rings out of the back pocket, one gold and one silver. He put the gold ring on, then handed the silver cock ring to Sergio.

"Put this on, then on the count of 3, twist it to the right."

Sergio held the cock ring in his hand. The silver hue of the ring almost seemed to glimmer under the light. He hesitated putting it on. It definitely wasn't the first time he wore a cock ring, but Sergio got an inexplicable feeling telling him that he shouldn't put it on. Kris noticed his hesitation right away.

"C'mon, don't be shy, put it on!" Kris said firmly. Sergio looked up and met his gaze but didn't say anything. A moment of silence passed, then Kris sighed.

"Look man, you paid me to do a job and I plan to deliver. You trust me, right?" 

Kris seemed slightly more empathetic now. It was just enough to make Sergio trust him. Sergio nodded, then proceeded to put on the ring. He placed it on the tip of his dick and slid it down to the base of his rock hard member. 

"Alright, ready? 1... 2... 3!!!"

Sergio and Kris then twisted their cock rings to the right at the same time. The moment they did, a wave of orgasmic sensations hit their bodies, causing them to throw their heads back with pleasure. 

"UURRGGGHHHHH!!!" They both moaned obscenely loudly. 

Sergio's vision blurred as he felt the wave of pleasure overtake him. His body trembled as the ring grew tighter around his cock, making it engorged. Then suddenly, Sergio became extremely lightheaded. He could feel his very soul leaving his body. As his soul stepped out of its vessel, Sergio lost all physical feeling as he became nothing but a mass of light. He looked ahead and saw the same had happened to Kris. Both of their souls had just stepped out of their bodies!

Sergio was mind blown by what he was seeing. But before he could even react, his soul began moving on its own. His soul was floating towards Kris' body. At the same time, Kris was floating towards his body. During the brief moment they passed each other, Sergio could've sworn he saw Kris smirking. His soul continued its march towards Kris' body, and as soon as it made contact, it began sinking into the soulless body. Sergio's soul aligned with its new vessel within seconds. Every single cell of Kris' was invaded by Sergio's soul, and he could feel ecstasy wash over him as his soon-to-be new body surrended itself to his control. Once it was done, Sergio immediately felt the difference as he longer possessed his jacked, beefy body but instead a hairy twink like Kris. 

"Arghh fuckk.. what the fuck..." Sergio said with his new voice. All of the extraordinary sensations he just experienced made him fall to the ground. While he was busy trying to recover, he could see his body moving out of the corner of his eyes. 

"Bro look at these fucking pecs! These are some massive slabs of meat on your chest!!" 

Sergio watched as Kris bounced and groped his pecs with shameless joy. Slowly but surely, while Kris was enjoying himself, Sergio came back to his senses. He sat up, then kneeled down onto his knees. Well, Sergio was mostly back to his senses anyway. The sight of seeing a burly man play his own chest was filling him with lust. The only thing on Sergio's mind was how to best worship and please his master. 

Kris noticed Sergio was basically drooling and smirked.

"What's the matter, you want something?" Kris stripped down naked, then bounced his pecs again. Sergio nodded his head vigorously. "Then ask for it, tell Daddy what you want."

"I want milk Daddy..." Sergio said with bated breath and dilated pupils. "Please, Sir, let me worship your beautiful pecs!" 

"Good boy," Kris put his thumb on Sergio's chin and flicked it down, leaving his mouth hanging open with his tongue out. "Now show your Daddy what you can do with that mouth."

As soon as he heard he got permission, Sergio couldn't contain himself anymore and pounced onto Kris. He immediately planted his mouth on one of Kris' nipples and began suckling away while Kris enjoyed getting serviced. He was smirking all the while. His plan had gone off perfectly; the cock rings switched their bodies! That was the kink Kris had planned for Sergio, and he knew it would be the fun night he could've never predicted. After all, nobody knew how literal his title of Kink Witch was. But while Sergio was aware that they switched bodies, there was one little detail Kris kept to himself. Both rings would allow a body swap, but only the gold one would let the user retain their original personality. Because Sergio used the silver cock ring, his soul was forced to absorb Kris' hidden total sub personality when it took over his body. It might still be Sergio in mind and spirit, but it was now Kris in personality. With Kris possessing Sergio's muscular body with his mind still intact, the conditions were now set for him to complete the request Sergio made. 

"FUCK yeah, just like that!" Kris moaned. He could feel as Sergio alternated between licking, sucking, and flicking his nipple with his tongue. His warm mouth felt amazing against his sensitive nipples. Kris pressed Sergio's face down into his chest. Sergio let out a muffled groan of pleasure as he motorboated Kris. They were both having the time of their lives, filling the room with their sensual moans. 

Kris let Sergio worship his chest for a while longer before moving onto the next phases. Within the span of the next half hour, they made out passionately and intensely. Kris stuck his tongue inside Sergio's mouth as they grinded their bodies together, sharing their body heat together. Kris then began moving his mouth down Sergio's body, covering his neck and torso with hickies as he bit and sucked on his body. All while Kris had his middle finger firmly set inside Sergio's ass, massaging his hole and making him squirm while he claimed him as his sub. 

Then, before the final act, Kris tore Sergio off his body. He had a hand wrapped around his throat, lightly choking the panting young man. Sergio's eyes were lit with an intense lust, begging and desperate for more. Kris smiled internally. He had him right where he wanted him.

"Fuck, Boy!! You really know how to please your Master, I wanna give you a reward... Are you ready? Are you ready for Daddy's present for his favorite sub?" 

Sergio whispered "yes Sir, please Sir." Kris then pulled out a couple more things he brought and gave them to Sergio, who put them on enthusiastically. 

Sergio laid there with his ass perked up. Kris came up from behind and laid his big, strong hands on Sergio's perky cheeks. He massaged him first, letting Sergio's bubble butt jiggle in his hands for a bit. He then spread his cheeks apart and leaned down to stick his tongue deep inside his ass.

"Nghh..." Sergio groaned. He could feel Kris' tongue swirl and flick around inside of him and it. Felt. AMAZING. 

Kris ate Sergio out for a while, making sure his ass was nice, wet, and ready for his girthy cock. Once he had enough of using his tongue, Kris got back up and positioned himself just above Sergio. He let his dick rest in between his cheeks and moved it up and down, making Sergio squirm in anticipation. Then, with a wide grin on his face, Kris stuck his dick inside of Sergio. He let out a silent "fuck..." as he watched his cock head penetrate his bound up sub. He thrusted slowly, letting inch by inch of his fat member disappear into Sergio's hole. Kris was proud of his tight and warm hole, and now he finally got a chance to fuck himself in a very literal way. He waited a bit to let Sergio's wall expand to accommodate his dick, then began pounding away at him. 

Loud obscene moans, guttural groans, and boorish grunts filled the room as the two men fucked. Kris found the perfect rhythm to move his hips, fucking Sergio like he was a jackhammer. Sergio closed his eyes as he took the dicking down like a champ. Somewhere in the back of his head was the vague memory that he and Kris had switched bodies. The thought of getting fucked by his own body made his pleasure increase tenfold. It was his own cock stretching out his hole and rearranging his insides. It was a strange thought, but Sergio didn't care. All he could think about was how he was Daddy's personal fleshlight and how much he was loving servicing a big, strong man like Daddy. 

They fucked for a while longer until Kris couldn't hold his load in any longer. He pulled out, flipped Sergio over, tore off the jockstrap, then stuck his cock back on.

"C'MON! CUM FOR ME! COVER ME WITH YOUR- FUCKKKKK!!!!"

Kris finished mid sentence. He rammed his throbbing dick deep inside Sergio and let out all of his loads inside of him. Hearing Kris' satisfied groaning as he cummed along with the sensation of getting filled with his seed made Sergio shootout ropes of warm jizz all over. Within seconds, they had both become incredibly sweaty, potently musky, and drenched in Sergio's spunk. Sergio got his walk on the wild side and Kris completed his job.

Once they cooled down and cleaned up, Sergio collapsed onto his bed. Aside from the mind blowing sex, he was also exhausted by swapping bodies. He was a first time swapper after all, it was only natural. 

But just before he could drift away into a deep sleep, he noticed Kris was still moving around with his body.

"Hey... what are you doing?"

"Daddy's gonna go have a night out with his bros. Don't worry about it, just go to sleep."

Kris hopped into bed with Sergio. He kissed him on the forehead, snuggled with him, and watched as he fell asleep in his embrace. Sergio was way too tired to question it, and Kris was glad. Kris then hopped out of bed and let Sergio rest inside his body while he went out to complete his next assignment: find a hairy, muscle bear with a big ass. Now it was his turn to bottom, and although Sergio woke up the next morning not knowing where Master was with his body, he had no problem patiently and eagerly waiting until Daddy returned home.

[mehiwilldoitlater]

If it is too much trouble could you write about Bián huá grooming Yuán Fèn after a big battle

When traveling, one gets dirty, and one doesn't have much time to clean themselves

Bajie would no doubt have fun at the youngster's expense 

"It's not necessary!"

"Yes, yes, it is. You stink." You smelled a little in your armpit; your nose frowned. "And so am I."

He looked around; the fog of the hotspring didn't give him enough visual of his surroundings, and that couldn't give you both a disadvantage in a fight. But the hot water... it was tempting.

He scratched his arm, but it was the nervousness that made him do that. To be honest, all of his body was in an itching mess, especially after your last mission.

You both had been on the road for some time, and you were returning from Yellow Wind Ridge. The sun, the bugs, the sand—you both were in need of a bath, and Yuán fèn? He needed a good grooming session. You could see the small flies jumping here and there on his furr, and trying to help himself wasn't helpful.

So, when you spotted the hotspring, you had an idea... that he regretted the moment you started to remove the upper part of your clothes.

"I can't smell anything! What if someone attacks us?!"

"Bajie is around, so it won't be a problem for now."

"I can do it by myself! I don't need you to help me with a grooming session!"

"You can't reach every part! Come on, you've been bathing with your sister when you were young!"

"That's... not the problem..." He mumbled, his cheeks and ears tinted in a soft shade of pink. You kept your top, and what it was supposed to be was a pair of boxers, so you weren't completely naked, you still had some privacy, and you immerged one foot in the warm water. 

"Off your clothes now."

"Do I have to?"

"I can't clen your back with your garmet on!" You try to reach his belt, but only to meet hair when he dodges and starts to panick.

"Okay okay! I can do it myself!"

When he finally decided to get in the water, he kept his pants on, refusing to let you see more of his exposed body. By the movements of his tail, he must have been quite nervous. Despite the protests, the complaints, and his whining, in the right moment the warm waters of the spring touched his malnourished skin, a sigh of relief emanating from him. It was true; he really needed that, but he never said that he needed your assistance!

Sitting on a rock behind him, and with the help of a comb, you started to tend to his mane and skin, trying to catch every parasite or insect that had the luck to escape from the boiling.

He said that wasn't necessary. His skin was full of scratches and deep cute from his long and sharp nails. Scabs and new cuts here and there, some knots of fur that couldn't be reached, dandruff... Unnecessary your ass! He was a mess!

"Look at you. If you needed so much, you could just ask!"

"I didn't want to delay the mission." He mumbled, trying to clean his arm from more dust and dirt. The water had some spots from what was removed from him.

"It's a noble gest, but if you end up like this, then it's not a delay at all. Here, I'll do the head now."

You helped yourself with your bowl by pouring some of the water on his head, letting him lean against your tights. You started to scratch gently with the comb his furr, freeing him from more fleas and dead hair.

"Next time, let's bring some soap. It will help. We can even take out time and stay in a bath house."

"..."

"We can even deal with the money?....I mean, how many infested bath houses can be found?"

"..."

"... Yuán fèn? Are you listening?"

Oh, how much he needed It. To the point that he completely lost consciousness. The water, the warmth, your soft skin, the head scratch... his senses were completely out. Then, you felt something, like a small vibration, coming from...

No, it couldn't be...

You brought your head nearer, avoiding sudden movements, and you felt it.

He was purring.

You had to cover your mouth to avoid to giggles and squeals for your new find out discovery.

Since when he was able to do that?! OOOHHH, how much you wish that your phone hadn't died a few days ago. After your arrival, you would love to have some videos of him like this!

You continued the session, enjoying the fact that he was literally melting in your hands. You both were completely in the moment when-

"Enjoying the evening, are we?"

Bajie's voice was cracking by the laughter of the scene. The surprise of his sudden arrival caused your fall in the water, resulting in you gasping for air and Yuán fèn losing his balance on your legs, receiving a head bump on the rock.

You all left the hotspring for the night, with Bajie making some remarks about the sweet scene that he had witnessed, Yuán Fèn that still massaged his head, and you wondering how to make that monkey purr again.

@sun-jglim

@sleepingdramaqueen

@crimsonflameproxy

@everlastingmoonlightsworld

@biankanoir

@certifiedsimpinggalorempinggalore

@cromboloni

@miraclecherryblossomsblog

@masksandfeathers

@cinnamonroll-anon

@justrandomlypassing

@cute-angi @luckyangelballoon

@dressycobra7 @naarra

@virtualexpertanchor @phoenixeclipse-lmkau

@szynkaaa @kirax-the-lazy-girl

@sleepydang @weaverworks

@kishimiest @marcu-bug

[igotanidea]

Test ride: Jason Todd x reader preview

Guys! I might be back from the dead! With a bleeding heart and tired mind, but with a few ideas up my sleeve :)

***

One thing about her was sure.

She was unbribeable.

And that was something in Gotham.

And I s'pose a vigilante, even Batman himself, can use a little help from a lawyer sometimes, right?

And clearly, one day, councellor Y/N Y/L/N got so tired of working with her ordinary cases, that she started aimlessly wandering across the Gotham's alleys.

Or maybe it was some sick self-destructive instincts. (pretty similar to someone else's if you ask me...).

The point was, Batman jumped in, saved her ass, yadda, yadda, yadda.

And she got his attention.

A few weeks later, Tim's style, she figured out his real identity. And therefore, joined the team. (subjecting Bruce to merciless teasing from the batkids, mocking him with the all-familiar phrase "do not involve civilians in the bussiness).

Obviously, Y/N was not a front-line fighter, but sidelines worked quite well for her as she focused on lawyering, cracking cases like walnuts and providing intel and insight.

But even with a new purpose, she was still lonely.

And the fate had it, that Jason Todd was bored.

And with his snarking, teasing uptake on things, drive to danger and the pressing urge to keep his shit under control, in which the current state of mind was not helping - he made her a proposition.

"Hey Y/N, you know what?" he called her casually one day after all the batkids, Jason included, miraculously found themselves in the batcave.

"Not a mind reader" she responded mockingly in a singing tone.

"Good for you" Jason immediately matched her tone "you wouldn't last a minute in my head, sunshine."

"Is that an invitation or a challenge Mr Todd?"

"A challenge. But in a different way than you might think."

"Well then, I;m all ears." she turned to face him, purposefully leaning a bit too close, to take this whole thing up a notch.

"We are both screwed..." he started

"Objection!"

"Overruled." he rolled his eyes "my deal is, since we are both fucked up, we might as well share the mental disease."

"huh?" Y/N raised an eyebrow, not understanding a single word, but fairly convinced that the Lazarus water finally ate his brain out completely.

"You're alone-"

"well thanks for pointing that out, since I had like five minutes of break from thinking about it-"

" -and I'm bored, so how about we keep each other entertained and take each other for a test drive?"

Y/N almost choked with her own saliva, her eyes popping out as she started caughing looking a freaking frog, even going a little green on the face.

"The hell Jason!?"

"Shit, I swear it sounded better in my head!"

"It should have never left your head!"

"It's not my fault you keep reading into the words too much!"

"I'm a lawyer! The hell were you thinking!?"

"Oh, I;m sorry for believing that under all that all and mighty professional armour you might be a human!"

"You're a freaking hypocrite, you know that?"

Jason sighed in frustration and run hand through his hair.

"Look all I meant was that we fill the gaps we're missing."

"So you'll act like my arm candy and I'll be your personal clown?"

"You don't even have to try much, do you?" he smirked

"I swear one more word out your mouth and the only entertainment you'll get will be a kick in the ass."

"I guess ending in hospital after such attempt would resolve your loneliness problem as well."

"Jerk."

"I'm serious Y/N. What do you have to loose?"

"Dignity, self-integrity, sound mind..." she started counting

"ok, okay, fine, I get it!" he raised both hands up, stopping her chant "but - it can also be fun. And if you keep refusing I might think you're chickening out."

"Oh! so it's not a challenge. It's a dare of which one of us will go insane first?"

"Something like that. Scared?"

"huh! you wish! you're the walking dead!"

"So, do we have a deal?"

"Yeah, we have a deal." she smirked and reached her hand towards him.

They shooke them, loooking into each other's eyes, getting mentally prepared for quite a lot of fun, even if neither was willing to say it outloud.

[thegreatyin]

and with that, lark is off to his ambition finale. this isn't actually the end- there's a lot left to go after this- but it's effectively the end. i have all the items to clear all the remaining walls, and light fingers lacks the same 24 hour cooldown the other three ambitions have. once it's done, it's done.

in terms of personal thoughts, this was... probably my quickest ambition yet, honestly? i mean, "a few months" is still a few goddamn months, but compared to heart's desire and nemesis, this felt like it went by super duper fast. maybe i've just gotten good at FL, maybe LF is genuinely quicker. regardless, that's still a standout. y'know... among all of the other things LF stands out for.

that's not to say it's bad, of course. far fucking from it. this was peak. this is peak. i see why everyone likes light fingers, and not just because there's a fucked up blorbo and an adorable bug child in it. this bad boy has horror, action, iconic moments, dozens of chekov's guns that almost all get fired, a heartwarming core with a cinematic climax- i'd go so far as to say it's the platonic ideal of what an ambition should be. i still adore the other two i've finished! LF is just that good!!

obviously it has its flaws. for a story dealing with such severe topics, the way it handles its women is... leaving some things to be desired. and what i've heard through the grapevine doesn't inspire confidence about the stability of the found family its built up. and, as tough as it is to admit it, gee willikers could the content warnings and "point of no return" be signposted better. for the only ambition you can back out of, i really expected more direct in-game signage about what the player is implicitly consenting to. it's not too big of a problem, but it is something to take note of. this fucker has the dead dove tag written alllllllll over it. you'd think it'd stress that better.

all of that aside? as i said, overall- yeah! LF is good! i recommend it! it's a banger ambition that's worth playing any day of the week! goes without saying that all of them are, but. this really is a special treat. if you're a fan of fallen london, haven't yet played it, and can handle the content warnings, do yourself a favor and check it out. become mentally ill about edward like the rest of us. embrace your new life as parent of a bug. kiss mr fires with tongue. haha i mean what.

as with the other ambition finales, i'll hold off on posting much more until lark receives his treasure- with the notable exception of meeting poor edward at the altar. i have some fun OC writing to post about that. but we'll get there when we get there.

fly free, songbird. we'll make a spouse out of you yet.

[my-great-big-book-of-fan-fiction]

Gojo satoru x F!reader fic in which you and Megumi interact after his "adoption"

You guys I know Gojo's more like a mentor to Megumi in cannon, but pls pls pls just let me have this, I'll give you good vibes for a week if you do 😭 Also, Satoru is more like a side character in this one, sorry babes.

Warnings: Slight innuendo, some cursing, good feels

The walk home with Gojo was...interesting. No, scratch that. Annoying. Megumi could do nothing but listen to him talk and talk and talk, to the point that he wished he was getting sold to the Zenin clan.

"Man, you're boring for a 1st grader, huh? What are you, like 8?"

"I'm 6."

"Rightttt....most serious 6-year old I've ever met."

coming from him? Megumi liked that. Whoever Gojo found entertaining had to be crazy.

"You know, my usagi-chan is gonna looove to meet you,"

"Usagi-chan?" He stretched out the pet name, a confused and judgmental tone in his voice. What kind of parent names their kid "little bunny"?

Gojo beamed, holding his hand out and counting on his fingers all the things he liked about you. "Oh yeah, She's great! She's smart, and funny, and she's a great cook, and a really strong sorcerer, and..."

Megumi tuned him out. It was bad enough, dealing with this guy, now there were going to be two of you? He dreaded what the rest of his life would look like.

Gojo was still talking as they walked up the final steps to Jujitsu tech, making their way to the dormitories, only shutting up for a moment when he opened the door to Megumi's new room.

You were there, setting a bouquet of carnations in a vase and angling it perfectly on Megumi's new night stand. The second you realized they arrived, you nervously turned around and smiled sweetly. "Hi! You must be Toj- uh, Megumi Fushiguro!"

"Toji's son" sounded a little demeaning to you.

Megumi nodded, seeming to be examining your face, trying to get a read on you. "I'm (y/n), It's great to meet you...I was going to make lunch, but then I realized I don't even know what you like...so how about when you're settled you can tell me what you like and I'll make it for dinner?" So Usagi-chan wasn't your real name...

"Can you even cook," Megumi asked, the first thing he's ever said to you, his little voice mature sounding for a kid his age.

You giggled, his bluntness making you relax a little at how amusing it was. "Well, he thinks I can," you laughed, pointing at Gojo, who has now made his way over to be next to you, "But he thinks I'm good at everything, so how about you try it and find out?"

Megumi hesitantly nodded, satisfied with your answer, and plops his backpack on the ground. He's decided he likes you.

You made pork gyoza for him that night, some of the best gyoza he's ever had, yet to be matched in his mind. As time went on, Megumi came to realize that you and Gojo filled entirely different roles. While Satoru lived in the dorm right next to Megumi's, Megumi saw a lot more of you than him, even though you worked at the Kyoto sister school.

You came over every day, eating dinner with him and shoveling big portions on his plate because he was "a growing boy", helping him with his homework, listening to his problems, attending his elementary and middle school graduations. At first, Gojo really only interacted with him to train every weekend, to bring him up to his level, but as you took a more parental role, so did he.

Of course, neither of you wanted to be called mom or dad, and Megumi didn't want that either, so he just called you by either your names or "sensei" when being educated. That said, you and Satoru always joked with each other about being teen parents, lamenting the fact that you "got the kid without any of the fun." The very implication of you two doing that always made Megumi gag.

Speaking of that, having the talk with him was surprisingly easy for you and Satoru, disgustingly easy in Megumi's 12 year old eyes, and although at the time he never intended on putting the information to use, it was still good to have.

You were always patient with him, staying gentle during his angsty middle school years, and eventually helping him train even more once he entered high school. You even insisted he danced with you at your wedding, stating that you needed "at least one dance with a gentleman."

All of this said, none of the other first years in the Tokyo school even knew of your existence until the good will event. You showed up with your students, The first person you greeted being Maki. Despite being Mai's teacher, Maki loved you. You were just so...bubbly.

"Maki! Ugh, it's been forever since I've seen you," you squeal, bringing her into a tight hug. You greet Toge and Panda respectively, Before rushing over to your now husband and dramatically swooning into his arms. "Oh, Satoru," You sigh, the back of your hand resting delicately on your forehead. "Ah, Usagi-chan, How I've missed you in the time we've been apart," he sighed, holding you by your waist and the nape of your neck. The sight was completely cringe-worthy, but it was funny to you two and that was all that mattered.

The two of you kissed, much to the confusion of Nobara and Yuji. You opened your eyes, peaking at their faces, and quickly sprung out of the arms of your beloved husband.

"You never told me how adorable your first years are," You giggled, taking Itadori's face in your hand and examining it. You didn't release him as you turned back to Gojo, calling out, "This is the vessel, right?" Satoru nodded, saying, "That's him," proudly. Yuji finally spoke up while Nobara laughed at the sight, asking, "Uhhhh...who are you?"

You pulled back, posing a little and responding with, "I'm (Y/n) (L/n), Satoru's wife!" You never took his last name, seeing as just being connected to the Gojo clan made you a bigger target than you already were. Nobara and Itadori's eyes lit up, both of them shouting, "Tell us everything!"

You would have been happy to, but you saw Megumi out of the corner of your eye. "Ah, Megumi!" You zoomed over, hugging him so tightly his bones might crack. "I've been meaning to ask, what do you want for dinners this week?"

Nobara and itadori got even more excited, you being the best source of information on their closed off friend and surprisingly mysterious teacher.

"I don't care..." Megumi sighed, blushing a little at how open you were about all this. "Maybe Gyoza," he muttered.

Ok, you could be a little annoying sometimes, but that's how all mothers caregivers were. He wasn't mad, even when you invited Itadori and Nobara over for dinner after the event, or spilled all of the details (except for the ones not even Megumi knows) about your life with Megumi and Satoru. He was ok with this, albeit a little peeved, because at the end of the day you cared for him in a way he never would have imagined being cared for.

Life didn't turn out to be so bad after all.

I absolutely loved writing this, it's been on my mind for a while now! As always, let me know what you think :)

[fictional-orphan-smackdown]

Round 2, match 1!

All propaganda and what each competitor is from under the cut

Peter Parker/Spiderman (He's from a lot of things)

Orphaned twice over

Both of Peter's parents are dead so he's raised by his aunt and uncle, his uncle dies as part of his origin story. His aunt often dies eventually too, but she may come back depending on continuity (ex. Peter in the comics made a deal with the devil to sacrifice his marriage and child to bring Aunt May back)

It’s Spider-Man guys. Coolest guy ever.

The Baudelaire Orphans (A Series of Unfortunate Events)

The epitome of orphans, they’re the best

“I’m having a very terrible childhood right now”-Klaus

The story deadass begins with them being told that their parents died in a fire and that they're orphans now. They then bounce from guardian to guardian who tend to always meet a gruesome fate at the hands of Count Olaf. Not only have they been orphaned once, but have been orphaned multiple times and are called "The Baudelaire Orphans" by not only characters in the book but by the narrator himself. They're called "The Baudelaire Orphans" so many times that it might as well be a defining character trait of theirs, and honestly it sort've is. The series doesn't even end with them finding a home or guardians of any kind, it ends with the Baudelaires fate being completely ambiguous with them literally sailing away from the island they were stranded on in the final book (yeah this series is quite the journey, I highly suggest it). These poor three kids are probably the most orphaned kids of all time since their orphaned in a new way almost every book and they deserve at least one win in their unfortunate tale.

These guys are like the poster-child of orphaning, we open the series with them finding out that they're orphans and also have no access to their money so now they hop around from place to place from weirdo caretaker to another weird/crazy/murderous caretaker and it's all fun and games and murder and decieving and surviving and thriving and---my point is, these three are a wonderful trio of siblings who love and rely on one another through all their trials and tribulations.

Literally every single one of their problems come from being orphans. They’re continually referred to as orphans and the plot of the first half of the series is them being shuffled around to guardians.

These kids are so orphaned they never even get a found family outside themselves. At least most stories featuring orphaned kids see them fulfill some sorta epic destiny or have them find a new home or set of loved ones of sorts. The Baudelaires? They're thrown from one fucking failure of a home into the next, ignored, hunted, etc.. It's been years but like, even in the end, they still have to set sail alone. As individual characters, they aren't bad either. Violet's the dependable big sister who's knack for inventions comes in handy, Klaus is a well-read chap and Sunny is a lovely gremlin. They make a good trio.

Every single guardian they try to obtain throughout the series turns out to be someone who wants the large inheritance left for them and is willing to do whatever it takes to get it.

They basically fend for themselves the whole series when no adult will listern to them. The whole series is them being resourceful and clever the whole series despite the misfortune. Violet is a brilliant inventor, Klaus reads and collects knowledge, and Sunny learns to be a good cook over the series

their parents die tragically in a fire and then everything awful proceeds to happen to them

I haven't read these books in years but if any orphans deserve to win a smackdown it's these fools, they are constantly in the trenches in those books goddamn. Also that baby is like a shredder they have that on their side, I think that beast literally solo'd a snake?

(This one was specifically for Klaus, but I'll put it here still) He and his sisters being orphans is kinda the point. As in many books, it's the trigger for them to change lives and navigating hardships. The thing is, their hardships just grow worse and "unfortunate" (read "dreadful") events keep happening to them as they stick together instead of the story getting better. Klaus and Violet become Sunny's subtitute parents and get through their more and more miserable lives together keeping hope things would eventually get better

Arguably more famously orphaned than Bruce Wayne, if not for how their story happens while they’re orphaned children versus an orphaned adult. Definitely have the most famously tragic post-orphaning story. All three are incredibly brilliant in their own way, including the literal baby. Pursued relentlessly by the leader of a maniacal theater troupe and letdown by a slew of adults, so it’s all the more impressive how amazing they each turned out to be. Book series was so good it got turned into a pretty great movie and then a successful TV show years later. Also can’t forget how these three are orphaned repeatedly as the distant relatives who take them in get killed off in increasingly inventive manners. Let’s be honest, ain’t no characters out here orphaning like the Baudelaire orphans.

this series taught me so many cool words and phrases and I love each of the 3 main characters so much

Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are peddled from caretaker to caretaker over the course of 13 books, always being chased by the evil Count Olaf who wants to steal the Baudelaire fortune that the children are meant to inherit once they reach a certain age.

Spoilers ahead, the Baudelaires siblings story starts with them going from being the Baudelaire kids to the Baudelaire orphans, after their parents pass away in a mysterious fire. But they arent the only paternal figures that they lost, they go from tutor to tutor, almost all the good ones dying in front of them, and even the ones that survive at first their future is uncertain since the last time the kids see them they are blindfolded in a burnind building, and we never found out who make it out alive and who didnt. Even the main villian, Count Olaf their first tutor, and the only constant adult in their life after their parents death ends up dying in front of them. These three are orphans ten times over.

They are THE orphans. They have lost not only their parents but multiple guardians that they went to live with as well.

They're THE Orphans. The childhood book orphans we all read, Orphans Prime if you will. They lose their parents, every caregiver who's ever kind to them, then say fuck it and live on a deserted island on their own to raise themselves abd fully embrace their orphan status. On the island, they learn their parents survived the shipwreck then died again - double orphaning even.

OH MY SWEET LITTLE CHILDREN THAT FUELED MY LOVE FOR READING AND THE MACABRE Violet- Won her first of many invention competitions when she was five with an automatic rolling pin (comprised of a window shade and six pairs of roller skates). Extremely innovative and genius, foiled by her kindness to others. And she knows how to make a Molotov cocktail. Klaus- Absolute monster of a bibliophile, conducts research for fun, and has a photographic memory. He is known to want nothing more than "a good book, a comfy chair, and the warm glow of a reading lamp". He also is a Herman Melville fan, which is points for him in my book. Sunny- Most people know her only for her penchant for biting, but Sunny is a distinctly distinguished character. She has sharp wit (as long as you can read it through her babbles), her poker skills are phenomenal for a baby, and she has quite the knack for cooking! Also yeah, the teeth. She climbed an elevator shaft with them once.

They are constantly going through it, give these kids a break for real

[thenightfolknetwork]

Turning isn't fun for me. I don't know if it's my particular strain of lycanthropy or if it's just me, but it hurts... a lot. It's really inconvenient.

I can feel the full moon deep in my bones. I've heard others describe it like a buzzing energy, a pinch in your center, or ah, I don't know a restlessness, maybe? It's annoying and a pain to deal with, but ultimately, nothing completely life altering. It's not like that for me.

For me, the moon is a constant ache that grows worse as the month advances. I can feel my bones grinding, twisting, and shuffling around. I've had to make a chart on what times of the month certain foods are dangerous for me to eat because the closer I get to the full, the more canine my insides are.

Now, my pack is incredibly supportive in all this. We've gone to doctors, witches, the fae, you name it, to try and find a way to cope. So far, we can't pin what's wrong, but we've found a way to manage my pain to be somewhat tolerable. My pack is not the problem. My problem is Debbie.

Debbie is a wolf shifter. While her change is influenced by the moon, she has conscious control over when she can shift, and by her own admission, it's virtually painless. She is also my only coworker connected to the community.

It was fine for a while. I thought we'd hit it off. As the only two people of the night, we could support each other like no one else in the job could. We'd trade jokes, cover each other's shifts at work when we weren't scheduled the same day, or just talk. I considered her a friend, or maybe more than, and even talked about introducing my pack to her.

The thing is, due to the nature of my condition, I have to take three days off a month. For years, this set up as been fine. Sure, I get a little less time off than everyone, but I love my job, and it's not like i can really go anywhere, so I don't consider it much of a loss.

But last month, my time off was denied. They wouldn't accept it. I asked if there was anything I could do to get it off, another sick note or something, but they said that they had "investigated" my condition and confirmed with someone else in the community that I was overexaggerating my symptoms. They told me they would let me off with a warning because of my track record, but not to make it a habit.

I was crushed. One of the reasons I love my job is because of their leniency. Without it, I would get burnt out and possibly aggravate my condition.

I told Debbie what happened. It was partly to see if she could cover my shift, but also to warn her to be vigilant and protect herself in case something similar happened to her. It turns out, SHE was the one that claimed my symptoms were overexaggerated! This whole time, she thought I was making out my condition as worse than it is. Her packmates don't have my problems, so clearly I'm just trying weasel in some paid time off.

I was so, so angry. I shouldn't have yelled, but my pain, both mind and body, was excruciating, and I couldn't take it anymore. I think I got the point across, though. By the time one of my packmates came to pick me up, she looked absolutely wrecked.

It's been a month and we haven't spoken outside of work related things. I'm currently looking for a new job because even with paid time off, my condition is slowly eating into it. Plus, I have a life outside of my job and would like to spend time with my pack.

But I don't want to leave Debbie on a sour note. I might not trust her like I used to, but she was a friend. With me leaving, She'll be the only person of the night in the job. I feel guilty leaving her by herself.

So, how do I approach this? She broke my trust, but we have too much history for me to feel comfortable leaving without saying anything.

How can I talk to her without getting hurt? Is that even possible anymore?

I'll get to the final part of your question in just a moment, reader. First, I want to address some of the issues you've raised about your workplace.

You say that, because you take three sick days a month, you get less holiday than your co-workers. From this, I am inferring that you are taking these days off as holiday rather than sick leave. Which raises a great many questions about their refusal to grant you leave on the grounds of this so-called “investigation” of your condition.

Your employer is entitled to refuse you leave, but they can only turn down those requests on reasonable grounds, and they cannot refuse to give you your leave entirely. This refusal does not seem to be made on the grounds of any clear business grounds – they haven't cited understaffing as the reason, for example.

In fact, any business concerns they might cite are clearly unsubstantiated. You've been working there for years, with no evidence at all that this time off has affected the business. And if they have no business grounds on which to refuse you, you're entitled to take that time off as you wish.

Instead, your employers have refused you on the grounds of their so-called “investigation” of your health condition, thereby treating your holiday leave as sick leave. If this time off is sick leave, they need to do far more than asking the opinion of some random person of the night. To deny you sick leave, they must conduct a proper investigation into your condition and take the actual medical evidence into account.

There is a wealth of medical evidence that somatic transformation is a radically varied phenomenon, and chronic, painful transformations are well-documented as a real medical concern. This is not to mention the evidence you've accrued over the years of your own efforts to find treatment for your condition.

In short, they have no grounds to refuse you this time off. If you really don't want to leave that place of work, you need to stand your ground and push for the leave you're entitled to. Speak to your manager, and make it clear that you know your rights and are willing to escalate the matter as necessary to see that those rights are respected.

I also strongly recommend you speak to this manager about the obvious lack of professionalism shown by discussing your private medical issues with another employee. As well as being a violation of your privacy, it's also demonstrates an appalling lack of respect for liminal identities and the diversity of experiences within the community.

In short, reader, put the fear of God into them. With any luck, you'll be able to keep your job and your time off, and find the balance you need to manage your condition in a healthy, sustainable way.

As for Debbie, that's really up to you. You say you don't know how to speak to her without getting hurt, but that's not something you can control. There is nothing you can do to ensure she won't say something at best thoughtless, and at worst, actively hurtful. All you can do is brace yourself for the possibility, and plan for how you can look after yourself if she does end up hurting you.

To be frank, however, I'm not sure she deserves it. She's undermined your trust and forsaken any right to your time and energy. Talk to her if you really want to, but I think you'd be well within your rights to draw a line under that relationship and concentrate on relationships that centre respect and mutual care – or at the very least, a modicum of solidarity.

[For more creaturely advice, check out Monstrous Agonies on your podcast platform of choice, or visit monstrousproductions.org for more info]

[gimlilithegreat]

One of the weirdest interactions I’ve ever had with a commenter happened today.

A couple of days ago someone started commenting on my HP/Twilight fic, innocuous things, it’s always fun when someone comments when they reach the end of every chapter because I can kind of see their progress through the fic.

They get to chapter four and there is a moment in that chapter when Harry is making fun of someone and they really didn’t like it. Left a multi paragraph comment with dictionary definitions and a lot of rage.

No problem. I get it. Stuff can be triggering. I get the email notification, go off and do some research to try and see it from their point of view and decide if I’m going to respond, if I want to make any edits, that kind of thing.

They continue to comment. So I’m like hey, that’s nice at least that didn’t ruin the fic for them.

Their next comment is about something completely different and when I go to respond to it I notice that there isn’t a reply button.

I have no idea what that means, but after some googling it looks like they blocked me. Fair, I wrote something, they had a reaction. I can understand blocking someone. But now I’m really confused because they are still reading, I’m still getting an email every two hours that they are commenting.

Positive things. Reactions to parts of the story. Favourite bits or characters. Things I’d usually respond to.

So I make a Reddit post to see if I am alone in thinking that’s weird. Maybe this is normal and I’m alone in finding that strange. I’m relatively new to writing fanfic maybe this is something people do.

Nope. Everyone thinks that’s weird.

Great.

One of the suggestions on a way it could be not weird was if they’d blocked me by accident. People suggest I leave a guest comment to double check.

After basically a day of getting fixated on how weird this is I decide to do just that. Head into incognito and leave this comment:

“Hey! Not sure you're aware but you've actually blocked me (the author) from responding to your comments?

If you have deliberately blocked me, that's obviously fine, you do you, but I'm not massively comfortable having comments I can't respond to in my comment section especially as I get an email notification every time you leave a comment and I just find that really strange. So I will be blocking you from commenting on this fic. And potentially deleting your comments. Unless this was a mistake, I'll leave this up for a bit to check.

I've appreciated you going to the effort of commenting either way.”

A couple of hours later I get this back:

“Not a mistake but don’t see the big deal. Don’t know if you’re really the author or not but if so it’s a little weird to go out of your way to message someone who clearly didn’t want further interaction than leaving a comment.”

Wow.

Just wow.

Now I’m offended BECAUSE I AM NOT THE WEIRD ONE HERE.

2 hours later she’s finished the fic and left another positive comment.

Like a weirdo.

So I blocked her back and deleted her comments.

Obviously this has become a point of fixation here. I am not going to get over how weird I found this for a while.

So that was my day, how was yours? XD

[biblioflyer]

(No spoilers) Don't believe the anti-hype around Captain America (4) Brave New World

Look, I drunk the koolaide. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I did not care for Secret Invasion at all, The Marvels had its fun moments although it felt creatively messy and seems to have not found much of a devoted following. Quantumania wasn't that bad but it lacked the charm of the first two: the Quantum Realm just felt like Pandora and the delight of seeing the real world through radically varied perspectives of height was lost.

So when I saw the trailers for Brave New World when combined with the rumors of problems with the production, a flat test audience response, a supposed account of a troubled production leaked by an alleged anonymous crew member, I was primed to feel very "meh" about it.

I like Sam Wilson as a character and Anthony Mackie is a fine actor, I don't believe that Bucky should have been the one to get The Shield. But The Formula was starting to show in recent Marvel outings, I was starting not to really feel it, and I projected that onto the trailers.

I was wrong. If the rumors of an entire set piece having been cut for instance and major plot reworkings undertaken, my sense is that it was for the best. This was a cleaner narrative. Not an exercise in overtly trying to sell merch and set up a zillion sequels by bloating the film with subplots, references, and cameos.

Which is good! The point of having Sam as Cap isn't just to do a palette swap for the social justice of it all, its to tell a kind of story that you couldn't tell with Steve with different stakes. It largely succeeds at this. I wouldn't necessarily say it knocks it out of the park, but it does succeed. The film does enough to remind us that Sam is not an enhanced and he has to approach danger with a different attitude than Steve.

Without giving too much of the plot away, redubbing the film Brave New World instead of New World Order feels like a good choice instead of an act of cowardice. Brave New World fits this film's spirit much better. Depending on script changes, I suspect New World Order would have been a darker, more nihilistic film, on par with the pessimism of Secret Invasion. I have no basis for this, its just speculation.

This is a more hopeful film, I'm glad of it because for many reasons ranging from self interest, principle, and empathy I'm not really enjoying my experience of the New World Order of 2025 and like my beloved Star Trek, I find myself comforted by stories of principled people reacting to indecency with decency rather than embracing nihilism and cynicism. Doomerism in media felt radical and bold in 2003, today I find it boring. If I want to be sad, I'll read the news. In fiction, I want some mix of novel allegory and inspiration.

By no means is Brave New World a saccharine movie, like Falcon & Winter Soldier it is a film about the sins of the past maturing into poisoned fruit in the present and the need to address history's moral lapses and deal with their consequences rather than pretend it never happened. But it is inspiring in that it is a film in which characters choose to "do better."

[the-weeping-dawn]

Your OC's personalities

ty @arach-tinilith @mogruith and @majorasnightmare for tagging me in this

honestly since I'm late compared to when I was tagged I think I'm out of people who haven't been hit with this one yet. So I'll just give a if you're seeing it feel tagged. Do the questions.

I'll likely do a few but there's the obvious starting point of this fucking disaster

How would you describe Ilztaun’s personality?

A fucking web of contradictions that even taking out that he's very good at faking his personality to match the situation, when comfortable enough he tends to quite reserved, seeming a bit cold, showing very little emotionally. Minus if one were to pay attention while playing his lyre which often gives far more away. Unless of course, and most often when protecting the very few people he cares deeply about, in which case he's anything but and is willing to rip and burn through anything in his way. Often while refusing to shut up at them. And yet never seems to remember the concept of vicious mockery in these times, because that would require him to be handling it in his normal slightly performative and still a little dramatic way.

What brings Ilztaun joy?

Music. Even when seeing most of himself as worth nothing more than what use he could be for others, the one thing he always took pride in was being a skilled musician, and while he has an incredibly sharp memory in general, he's far more for song, and able to recall and transcribe complex pieces he heard maybe once years ago. Hand him some strange and hard to play instrument and watch him get fucking giddy trying to work it out.

He respects almost no one, even when he had near no autonomy over his life he found ways to be in control of as much as he could, and once he had no one to stop him, quickly finding the exact way to get under people, particularly authority figures, up to and very much including gods those aspiring to be one, and so on, skin and just start burrowing in. Raphael most of all since they can both be theatrical little shits, and they will match one another's energy without fail, and he'll just have an impish glee at seeing where he clearly scripted his whole apperance, and he's going to be pulled as far from it as he can manage. He won't even let him finish the little Comyr rhyme because in that short of a time he can tell it would just annoy him so fucking much if Ilz finished for him. Really Raphael just brings him endless joy to deal with as much as he also hates him, he also would show up to a month of rehearsals for a final fight if told about the song.

Solving problems, puzzles, people who are also kind of just puzzles to him, knowing he's managed to nudge someone into holding a position completely against where they started before they could even see what had happened...

Poisons. Learning how to mix them, creating new ones. Generally he's fond of botany and potion crafting but he truly does enjoy a fun bit of poison.

Knowing he's actually wanted not for a version he presented for that end but as himself.

Also cats. Cats, he respects. (Generally fond of animals but holds a bit of an admiration for how little someone else can control a cat. )

What does your character strongly dislike?

Having his position in a situation presumed, again specifically if it's someone who acts though they're above him. Even when his life was just becoming a tool for his house, or single friend, it likely wasn't true as far as he's concerned. And he's petty and can hold grudges that might be over solved situations for centuries. And will.

Is Ilztaun scared of anything?

That the few people he's finally been willing to trust and be vulnerable with, for, from the encouragement of, were just using him and see him as disposable as he had burned into his mind from as long as he can remember. He'll be an efficient knife, but let him know that's what he is.

How little it seems he knew his own heart.

That he knows how easily he'd hand back his strings if told to in the right way by the right person. To have again seen a glimpse at a life and future that was actually his, and have it taken from him. Again. When brought back to Menzoberranzan after studying as a bard, with the plan having been to slip away and continue performing, he refused to let himself have any personal wants again. And it could just be an even shorter flicker of what he could have been after all...

What is their alignment?

Chaotic Neutral, leaning more on the good end of things

[musiingwords]

MURDER DRONES EPISODE ONE SENTENCE STARTERS

"we finally had a future all to ourselves."

"it's like we're waiting for an inciting incident!"

"so not the vibe!"

"easy moron. it doesn't work... yet! it doesn't work yet!"

"who said it doesn't work? maybe it does!"

"the homework was a word problem on buying watermelons."

"and is it supposed to be that color?"

"ew. it didn't kill her / him / it / them."

"that's never gonna end up problematic."

"hey, those bandages look pretty badass."

"no more feedback on my repression today!"

"and where might you be off to?"

"...sneaking out to make out with my boyfriend that i definitely have?"

"well we don't just play cards."

"neat. therapy is fun."

"holy crap it talks."

"yeah sorry it's just my uh-- head kinda hurts."

"that's not true. everyone tells me i'm useless and terrible."

"wait. i'm not supposed to tell you that part!"

"well honesty is the best policy."

"i uh have to... go."

"sure! i love doing anything!"

"sweet uh... i'm open to new things, i guess."

"we are never talking about this."

"talking about what!? consider it, uh, repressed!"

"and yet, i still feel nothing."

"oh god! who are you!?"

"so obviously a lot of mutual respect there!"

"but secretly, i actually kind of have a crush on her / him / they / it."

"___, you're worthless and terrible."

"they never taught us how to land."

"i guess i just wanna be useful."

"oh my! you sure are rebellious! it's kinda exciting!"

"you know, i left an extremely dangerous excuse uh outside!"

"oooh deal me in! i love rummy! wait no. ugh. i'm gonna murder everyone... rain check!"

"uh actually it's gin rummy. soo..."

"what have you done?!"

"i'm sorry. i really enjoyed our time together."

"i messed up. in the same way i'm about to fix it!"

"point and shoot. trust me!"

"am i dreaming or did you do something not useless for once?"

"lowest body count eats a missile!"

"you know what that means! branded pens!"

"excuse me?"

"you just finally gave me the excuse i needed."

"i hate to see you corrupted as well."

"i ruined your card game, then made you have an awkward moment with your dad."

"and i made you rebel like an angsty teen, which got you killed."

"though, you also tried to kill me, so morality calls this a draw."

"for the record, that was the lamest heel face turn in history."

"being rebellious is a lot harder than it looks. thanks for showing me the ropes."

"i screwed up."

"so they found our evacuation spot."

"for real?"

"you're sometimes kinda mean to me, and i wish you weren't. just some constructive critisicm."

"too bad! good luck!"

"my minds in a weird place, don't read into this!"

"have fun repressing this!"

"i've had pray fight back before but your edgy spirit is just so..."

"one more buzzword and i'll do it."

"you chose to leave me for dead instead of just fricken believing in me!"

"i banish myself!"

"hope you're having important character growth or something though!"

[wazzappp]

Do have any like world building tips for someone wanting to create their own aus?

Oh boy. I think this might be a little better answered by this previous ask (I sorta suspect you might be the same person but I wont assume lol). Usually AU ideas just sorta grab me by the throat and shake me around until I draw them, but I'll try and think up some stuff thats specific to AU's!

First things first: I know I talked about it before but I REITERATE. You gotta decide if you're just putting these characters into the world, or if they're following a predetermined story. For example: The cyberpunk au I am building is the former. I'm sticking my favoritest characters into the world and making up a story from scratch (sorry violent revolutionary Keanu Reeves you will only be mentioned). FUN! The latter would be what I've made with the RE AU so far. ALSO FUN! It's not a one to one recreation but it's following along the story pretty closely. Different AU types have different rules.

When you're just sticking your guys into a setting you have a LOT more freedom. Because the story can be exactly what you want, that means the rules of the world can be bent to fit your story. The only problem with that is theres a tendency for people to make their characters WAY overpowered with no weaknesses. And listen. Dude. I'm so down for making your blorbo the most specialest guy in the whole universe, but without limits or drawbacks or CONSEQUENCES, unlimited power gets BORING. The rules of the world exist for a reason. Don't break the guardrails until you know WHY they're there.

Even ridiculously overpowered characters like One Punch Man still have to deal with consequences. In his case it's unrelenting boredom and desire for a challenge. It's a good demonstration of the idea that if you don't have physical consequences you can inflict EMOTIONAL consequences. If your guy is almost indestructible, have that fact fuck him up a little bit. Mess with em :]

An AU thats following a story has a LOT more rules to it. You have to decide before hand how closely you're sticking to the original story. And honestly, if you're doing it right you SHOULD have changes to the story happening. The whole point of putting new characters into this situation is that they wont react the same to the originals. If a person in the canon situation decides to run from a threat, your AU replacement might decide to fight them instead! And that CHANGES things!

Also, if you're changing something about a characters background from an AU, you gotta think long and hard about how that effects the way they think! If you're putting someone into the future and they grew up in the foster system you gotta ask what the FUCK future foster care looks like (<- a headache I am. presently dealing with. bleh). A setting affects people a LOT.

Changing up a characters personality for an AU is TEMPTING and you CAN DO IT but do it CAREFULLY. If you aren't careful you'll just end up creating an OC. Nothing wrong with making OC's I just figure its not what you're going for. It helps if you identify the core characteristics of what makes someone recognizable. I'll use RE Lisa as an example (I think. She's a good example. I feel like I did a good job on her).

With RE Lisa I tried to look at canon Lisas core traits. She's stubborn, kind, strong, a little conniving (I'll never get over her fucking year long reconnaissance mission), and she tries to assume the best in people. Lisa is a person who seems to believe in the GOOD everyone is capable of. But the situation she has found herself in means she is being stripped of that. Lisa cant AFFORD to see the good in others if she wants to survive in the Dimitrescu castle. The only behavior that is rewarded (rewards being food, affection, rest) requires her to ignore all that. So she keeps stubborn, strong, and conniving, but the kindness and assumptions of the best in people have been literally cut out of her. Once she starts to realize that she's with people (Robbie and Gabe) who are safe enough to assume are good, those parts of her start coming back. She can laugh it off and play up the persona she's created to protect herself, but deep down she's starting to CARE about people again (she's been desperate to care about someone. To be safe with someone again for so so long she's almost forgotten what it feels like) and she's scared of losing that. So thats an example of how I tried to adapt her character into this world while trying to make sure she still feels like her!

I hope I could help!! Have fun with your AU making!!!!

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #308

Like most Tuesdays, I had entirely too many appointments today. One was for psychotherapy. Another one was for physical therapy. And the last one was the regular dentist.

Regular therapy was interesting today. I spoke for a full hour and a half about things I dare not speak of in this space (at least until you're safe). It was… cathartic to say the least. I spoke at length about the way I perceive the world; it's definitely not normal, so there's not a whole lot of folks I can talk about it with. My therapist understands it when I speak, and that's amazingly refreshing.

…Before you ask - no, I don't wander around having hallucinations or whatever. Due to my experiences growing up, some of my perfectly normal human senses are sharper than they ought to be, and sometimes that's a problem in certain contexts. I won't explain any more than that, at least not yet. Maybe in a few years, depending on how things go for you. We'll see.

That said, something tells me that maybe you already know what I'm talking about. Or maybe not. Who knows; it's not as though I'll ever be able to ask you and find out.

…

Physical therapy was after that. I got a new exercise that I think works the rhomboids…? Or something around there. It's very unpleasant; it hurts to move those muscles. But I gotta; if nothing else, the results of doing it will help K understand what's going on a little better, hopefully.

…And then the dentist. The outer surface of the molars on the upper right side of my face feel like they're being stabbed to death with white-hot needles anytime anything touches the white of the tooth near my gums. I guess my gums are a little bit receded there for some reason, and also those teeth are being moved around, and so parts of these teeth that aren't normally exposed are now exposed. Apparently the sensitivity will go away with time. I hope that's true. I was given a special toothpaste to help. I really hope it works.

At very least, though, the pain I'm experiencing isn't the result of something rotting - to make sure of that was the whole point of this appointment. It's annoying, but I can deal with the pain until it stops being a thing. Hopefully it'll stop being a thing relatively soon.

There was a great big gap of time between physical therapy and the dentist - like 2 hours. But both physical therapy and the dentist are in the same relatively faraway town. So rather than go to physical therapy, go home, only to go back, J and I just chilled out nearby. I found a nice park:

...I wonder... would you sit with me here?

...A swing is a lot of fun. I wonder if you've used one before. If you haven't, then I hope you get to try it; I think you'd like it a lot, actually.

J was still in the building working at his computer in the presence of the free Wi-Fi. I was by myself. So I sat on the swing and enjoyed swinging on it for a while, wishing you were here with me.

...I know it's impossible. I know. It's okay.

My hands started to get sore from the chains, though; it's been a long time since last I've used one of these on a regular basis. So from there, I wandered around, taking pictures for you:

...I found a hat, too!

...It was a very pretty hat. I'm sure someone must be looking for it, so I left it there; there doesn't seem to be a lost-and-found anywhere, and no more visible place to put it than this. I really hope that whoever lost it will remember where they left it and come back soon to retrieve it.

...I don't have a whole lot more to write about today. I had to be at a lot of places and do a lot of things, so I'm pretty tired now. I don't have any big or insightful thoughts to write to you; just lots of pretty pictures of autumn, and a brain that is not quite soupy, but is approaching that general direction, for sure.

...I hope you're okay where you are. I wish you could tell me that you're okay, or that you're gonna be okay. I get worried about you; I can't even begin to imagine the difficulties you're facing now. All I have is the wish that I could somehow help you through them; no one should have to go through difficult things alone.

Well. I guess I'll end this here for today before I start rambling or something.

I love you. Please stay safe out there, okay? I need you to come back to us safe and sound. Because lots of people need a friend like you. And even if that wasn't true... I would certainly enjoy a friend like you. Because then we could go and play video games and take neat pictures of things and eat tasty snacks and talk about all kinds of cool stuff.

I'll write to you tomorrow. So keep doing your best out there. I'll be cheering for you from here.

Your friend, Lumine

[accidentally-in-fictional-love]

Things I Noticed While Writing Light The Fuse: Part 3, Episode 1

Phew okay time to wrap this one up for real this time!

This shot is interesting, we've got Ethan staring at Meredith, who's again looking at him, although probably because he's new and an easy target lol and then Johnson is watching Ethan, probably because he's looking at Meredith, while Matty has his eye on the bar

This is as far back as this shot gets, but Avron is nowhere in sight, so he had to have seen Matty walk over and purposefully approach him, what an asshole

Found him, weasel was waiting over there on the other side of the bar. Also I still can't get over Agnes calling him Prince it's so cute I just had to make it his actual title, the Prince of the Phoenixes 🥰 but I know it's probably got a bitter side to it too as a reminder that he is still a Phoenix, my deep dive on Matty could go on forever do not get me started

Okay I needed to point out this entire scene cause these two have such a fascinating not even relationship or rivalry but SOMETHING going on that I need to sit down with the creator and Rhys to know exactly what happened. I can theorize and write up Avron being horrible all day long but my desire to know what went on outside of 'Avron becomes a Brawler and Matty is jealous' because every single acting choice they chose for this scene is so fucking on purpose.

The way he just freezes and stares when he hears his voice isn't jealousy, that's a reaction. He was already tired from the run so he seems to be in a more serious mood here, but something switches as soon as Avron shows up. This is no longer fun on the river Matty, or initiation 'tell me why you wanna be a Phoenix' Matty, this is him upset over something, and Avron brushing him off is only making it worse like look at his face change once he touches him

That feels like such a deeper hatred than just jealousy. The way Avron is holding onto him and brushed him so roughly, the need to do full eye contact between them, and Matty's mouth twitches again before he says no problem. He was about to start something and I really need to know what happened you guys it's scenes like this that makes this show my Roman Empire

I looked up dandelion boys specifically for this fic and it turns out it means something along the lines of someone who has lived through great hardship and came out resilient and strong and I'm sobbing again

I don't want just this scene to be another post on its own so I'll save the rest of this for my eventual Matty deep dive but oh my god. Oh my god. The way he plays all of this. He wants to be a Brawler so bad but we all saw how happy he was on the river. I'm gunna cry again and I'm not joking this time. Oh my god.

Here it is, the moment that made me wanna do this series in the first place because I definitely didn't notice this the first time since Johnson was too hot. While Matty is getting the drinks, Johnson and Ethan grab some seats and sit down. Johnson is lighting a cigarette. Matty sits down with the drinks, Johnson is smoking throughout the whole scene, Meredith leaves, and then talks to Joel. Matty then talks to Ethan about her, now smoking, and Johnson is lighting another cigarette. Matty stole it from him instead of getting his own. They're married guys I'm not even kidding with this one.

Also I just love the insinuation of Johnson falling for all of them with no example from Matty, yet he's the only one who actually talks to a Pinup (cough Angel cough) at any point in the show. Gunna be a little full of myself for a second and say out of all the stuff I've written for the fic series so far, I feel like their talk on the car about love might be the closest to canon out of everything, it just feels right.

Okay first of all I love the little smile Ethan gives at their warning, what a sweet pea. Second there's Avron staring entirely at Matty again, just completely locked on. My god I need to know what their deal is you guys this is getting serious

He's not straight. This isn't a theory. I also think I was dead on with Matty only starting this conversation because he didn't like how he was talking to Ethan. Best way to get his attention away is to make him focused on Matty again after all

I really love the detail of Ethan trying really hard not to engage after getting involved with the asshole at the restaurant and him going so still the second he looks at Avron

His mouth was twitching again, he reached his breaking point with that one, he's not even looking at Ethan. Also lmao at Johnson looking like me the second I don't have my phone, and the cute lil spin in his chair I love him so damn much

This is another interesting shot to me, Matty is the one saying all this, and Johnson does a fake impressed whistle to go along with it, but Avron says 'that's right' to Johnson out of everyone there, like he should be impressed or something, you can see him look his way specifically, away from Matty and not to Ethan, I wanna know why they choose that direction (it's because I'm right and he's jealous)

This is so evil of Matty to reveal the Aunt V secret, look at how Avron's smile just falls because it's getting out, which is why I am constantly insisting that this runs deeper than jealousy because this is so incredibly personal, this one was made to hurt. Also in the og script they actually caught Avron getting a bj from a guy when they were on the river!

I'm crying again ;w; wonder why they went from this to something even worse? Probably because of all the violence everyone is about to lay out on this man heh me included

What did Avron do to make Matty say this??? What did he repeat that Matty must've told him??? Johnson is staring him down and agreeing with him too I'm gunna lose my mind!!!

Ethan coming in hot with the misdirection so he doesn't hurt Matty, Avron successfully reaching for him only for Matty to take it back, and those punches are not just jealousy again guys he's so fuckin mad here! He hurt him and Matty is hurting him back THIS IS KILLING ME

Once again Johnson is just sitting and watching back there. I mentioned it the first time I posted this scene a while back but I firmly believe he wasn't gunna let Joel throw him out, or maybe he knows that Joel actually wouldn't do that to begin with and this is just to scare him after acting out? The man really does have a soft spot for him so this wouldn't have been the end, he just needs to be grounded for the night and Johnson is aware of that. Obviously I wrote him right there trying to get Joel off cause the thought makes me cry, but I can just as easily picture them sitting outside afterward, Johnson just hands Matty a drink and they hang around all silent GAH I wanna write now but I can't until the weekend OTL

This isn't an observation. I do love how Ethan stands his ground cause we all know he isn't fragile, but jesus christ if anyone grabbed me like that I'd fold so fuckin fast 😳 On another note, it's probably intentional but I really thought Joel was Meredith's dad by this point lol so I had to make Ethan say just that in the fic

This is another interesting shot because Meredith comes into focus and waves of course, but that's also when Matty and Johnson come into focus as well ;w; he could very much be looking at them and then notice that she was there too (which is how I wrote it) just as much as him looking at her while they happen to be walking by, but of course my bet's on the former cause I love them. I'm also madly in love with the track that plays during this scene it's so damn good

They're looking at each other in the mirror 😭 and Matty was already looking before Ethan I can't take thiiiis

It's the end of the first episode are they trying to kill everyone watching?? Cause that certainly nearly happened to me when I saw Johnson looking like this godDAMN also Matty in a tie is the cutest thing I've ever seen I love how all three of them dress so much 🥰

And that's it for episode 1! I used up almost/all my pics/gifs in all three of these and I could've used so many more just on those Matty scenes, thankfully not as much happens in the future so I should be good sans probably the finale which might need two or more depending on how much I cry over the big reveal ;w; ❤️💛💙

[utilitycaster]

Either is denial of processing that trauma (which we know Launda compartmentalizes like fuck), or she's already processed it off screen (even prior to meeting Imogen). I think she's processed her death quite a bit, as we've seen with her early talk with Orym. ("The worst thing has already happened to me...") - I'm confused with why people think it's not being explored ENOUGH when we've literally been back to Whitestone and even got Vex's own reaction to the dead woman who was her doppleganger on the Tree? I think Laudna could easily go Dark Side for the people she loves and Delilah would fucking love that shit and stoke the flames for it. I guess I'm confused as to why you think she's "aimless" when there's a bigger picture happening? Also maybe we're not diving more into Launda's stuff because we're dealing with some exploration of Ashton's past at the moment?

Hi anon, my apologies if I misread this because I found some of it a bit hard to follow, but: you actually bring up a pretty major problem, namely, we know Laudna is compartmentalizing - we see this come out notably in her conversations with Ashton and in Issylra - but Marisha initially envisioned her as over her trauma and so this expression has been inconsistent (and to be clear: not inconsistent in the sense of a person compartmentalizing so hard they don't realize it; inconsistent in that whether Laudna is being played as over it or as compartmentalizing is so vague that even you seem to not be able to decide which it is in this ask).

As for Whitestone: Vex's response to Laudna has nothing to do with Laudna's growth as a person or feelings; that's an exploration of Vex's feelings. We got Laudna's backstory. Laudna's got tons of backstory. We are not actually doing much meaningfully with this backstory. It's there, and because it's a backstory that relies quite heavily on one of the most famous villains in the world and because Laudna does not like Delilah yet has done virtually nothing to get rid of her, it stands to reason that there needs to be some sort of exploration of why this is, but there's not. She's just kind of hated her for 30 years on her own and 2 years with Imogen and however many months with Bells Hells and done below the bare minimum to like...investigate, find a new patron, do anything. As Marisha even said on 4-Sided Dive, she's just going to roll with the punches...which, again, not an invalid decision per se but you need to actually explore why someone would have their murderer in their head and capable of controlling them physically and be like "yeah I'll roll with the punches."

And the issue, to be clear, is that in 71 episodes we have never gotten that. We're dealing with Ashton's stuff now but like. what about the rest of the entire campaign. I could tell you what every other character in Bells Hells (and, frankly? both past campaigns) felt about their past, and what they were working towards at most given points. With Laudna? That's not happening. Like, it's great that you think she could go "Dark Side" although you'll have to be more specific but like, is this a thought based in evidence? Or are you just saying "this is a thing I think would be cool"? Because the latter is valid but as I said in the previous ask (and the one linked, and, frankly, have been saying for nearly a year now), the fandom is filling in all the gaps and we're not even able to do so consistently in the way we have with other characters. We keep throwing out possibilities and none ever come to fruition.

As said, I have my speculation why this is (in brief: I think Marisha has excelled at playing very driven characters and is running into difficulty trying to play one who is go with the flow and overcorrecting into "stuck" without exploring why she's stuck) and honestly she's still like, fun to watch, I liked her conversation with Pate this past episode and the dog fight and, my thoughts about sorlock mechanics aside she's good in combat, but like, I have little investment in her narratively because I don't expect to get anything. And that could change - but my grace period has long since expired and so it's a case of "if something that actually engages with this concept happens I'm going to be here for it - I'll even throw out some ideas if they come to me or engage with the ideas of other people who have interesting things to say - but I'm not waiting around when there's six other characters who actually have arcs."