#he's technically turning 26 this year

[rindemption]

Happy birthday Nathan!

I didn't forget this year 😅 he got lots of food and candy and flowers to celebrate

[bloodorangesoup]

Kinktober '23 Day 2 - First Time (SVT Mingyu)

Kinktober 2023 Masterlist

Warnings: a lot of build up, first time (tbh i didn’t address this much 😭), a lil breast sucking, desperate reader, oral (f. receiving), riding, unprotected sex (lets pretend ur on the pill), slight praise, creampie, slight perv gyu but with respect and some tlc 😌

Word Count: 3.6k

A/N: I can never just write a short story can I? Dammit. Anyways, pls send requests!

-

The rain pattering against the window muffled the busy streets. It was a Saturday in Seoul, meaning the traffic wouldn’t die down until late at night. The air outside was frigid and wet, but you found comfort inside, the heater turned up just enough to feel cozy without a blanket. 

“Yah, its kinda hot in here, isn’t it Gyu?” You pulled on the collar of your sweatshirt and turned your head to face him. He sat on the other end of the small couch, legs stretched and on your lap. 

“A bit I guess, do you want me to turn down the heater?” He questioned, head tilting against the top of the cushion. 

“No, no. That’s okay, it’ll just get cold if you do. I’m gonna go change really quick.” You gently pushed his legs off your lap, making his body turn straight. Mingyu sat up on the couch, sitting normally as he continued watching the show streaming on the TV. 

A few minutes passed, Mingyu felt stupid for feeling this way but he had already begun to miss your company. His fingers itched to have you back in his hold. Nights in were rare for you two, his schedule constantly requiring him to be everywhere at once. Most nights he had off he had somewhere new to be early in the morning, preventing any real quality time together. 

“Y/n-ahhhh,” Mingyu whined. "Where are youuuu?" His head fell back against the couch, feeling more impatient with each second. 

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” He heard your voice grow louder as you walked back towards the living room, your footsteps echoed down the hall as you approached. “Feeling impatient tonight huh?” Your voice was back in the room with him. He opened his eyes and lifted his head off the couch.

“Finally-” his comment was exaggerated but died in his throat once his gaze landed on you. He knew you were changing but he wasn’t expecting you to be wearing such, well, little amount of clothes. Your sweatshirt still hung off your body, but your sweatpants had been replaced by what Mingyu assumed to be the tiniest shorts to ever exist. The shorts covered your ass just enough, but the trim was loose and frilly, exposing the bottom of your cheeks when you walked. You were technically still pretty covered up, which is why you couldn’t understand why Mingyu was looking at you with such a stunned expression. He couldn’t help it. He didn’t understand either. Mingyu was a 26 year old man, he was no stranger to seeing a woman’s body. Yet the sight of seeing so much leg right in front of him ignited something in his brain. 

You sat back down to his right. Deciding to be a tease, you swung your legs over his lap, scooting closer to his side. Your arms rose to rest on his shoulders, your head falling against his chest as you looked back toward the TV. Mingyu’s right arm wrapped around your back to secure you. His left hand landed on your calf, rubbing up and down to your knee. You sighed, enjoying the contact, and Mingyu found it increasingly hard to concentrate on the plot of the show. His eyes looked down to your leg. He stared at your thighs and his hand slowly ran higher. He didn’t realize he was holding his breath until he felt you shift. 

“I still feel hot,” you huffed. 

“Why don’t you take off your sweatshirt, baby?” Mingyu rubbed your side. His curiosity piqued when you looked away embarrassed. It clicked in his brain, “Oh. Are you, like, not wearing anything under?” 

“No, I am. I just, I’m not wearing a bra,” your voice quiet at that last part. You continued to look everywhere but at him as you felt his thumb rub the skin on your thigh. “You know, I just- we just never...” You could feel the heat creep up your neck and to your face.

Mingyu wanted to make you feel comfortable, but there wasn’t any choice. He could already imagine what you looked like underneath the sweatshirt and it was sending heat down his body. He should have offered you his shirt, or gone to turn down the heater, but it was too late and he was already thinking with his other head. 

“I know,” he cooed. A slight pout formed on his lips, his eyes opening to feign innocence. “It’s okay, baby.” His right hand was now rubbing the bottom of your thigh, fingertips gracing the hem of your shorts. His other hand toyed with the bottom of your sweatshirt. “Take it off,” he whispered. Your eyes were glued to his as you nodded. Reaching down, you slowly lifted the sweatshirt off your torso. For a moment, it covered your head and your arms were raised to lift it off your shoulders. Mingyu sneaked a glance down and let out a groan at the sight. Your boobs sat beautifully in your top, the low hemline exposing your cleavage. You softly grunted as you tried to untangle your arms from the sleeves, breaking Mingyu from his trance. He helped you get it off and you let out a sigh from the exertion. 

The air was thick. Even though it was just you and Mingyu you felt a million eyes on your body. Mingyu cleared his throat, tearing his eyes away from your chest and looking up to meet your eyes. This was foreign territory for the two of you, but you had to admit that the way he was looking at you was turning you on. There was a hunger in his eyes and it was clear he was trying hard to fight it for your sake. He pulled you close, retaining the previous position you both held. His hand continued stroking your thigh and the urge to cup your ass was tearing him up inside. He had no idea what was going on in the show anymore despite his hard stare at the TV. His right hand slid up and down your waist, coming up higher every time until it was resting over your ribs, right under your boobs.

You let out a shaky breath. You didn’t know if you wanted him to stop the torture or to manhandle you like you knew he wanted to. You felt pressure under your thigh and it took a moment for it to register to you that he was growing hard under your legs. Mingyu’s fingers itched to take hold of your breast. To squeeze them and bury his face in between them. His grip on your thigh tightened and he bit his lip hard. 

He shook his head. 

“You should get off me, y/n.” He exhaled, his body attempting to slip from under yours. “We haven’t- I can’t control myself right now. Just sit next to me and gimme a minute.”

You grabbed hold of his bicep. 

“No.”

“No?” He looked at you incredulously. 

“No, yes, wait- just,” you shook your head. Before you could understand what you were doing you shuffled forward and straddled his lap. You held eye contact, testing the waters. He just looked back confused. The two of you had made out before, this wasn’t the first time you’ve ever sat on his lap like this. But never with your boobs pressed up against his chest like this, never with such little fabric separating your body from his. Slowly, you sat down, gasping when you felt his erection press up against your clothed cunt. 

Mingyu’s hands held your waist to steady you, or to press you harder against him. He didn’t know which course of action to take yet. You cupped his cheek with your hand and kissed him. As you leaned into the kiss your clit rubbed over his hard on and you moaned into his mouth. It was like something broke in you. All the waiting, all the desire, all the heat. You started moving back and forth grinding on him. He groaned into the kiss, his grip tightened on your waist in an attempt to stop your movements. Taking hold of the back of his hand, you intertwined your fingers and slid it up your body to cup your right breast. You squeezed over his hand, allowing him to feel you. Mingyu broke the kiss and rested his forehead against yours.

“What has gotten into you?” he panted. His mind was foggy. He didn’t want to stop but he wasn’t sure this was the right time for it to be the first time. 

“Please, Gyu,” you whined. A trail of kisses started at his cheek, moving its way down to his adam’s apple. You continued to press his hand against your chest and he could feel you take grasp of his other hand. He knew what was coming so he took hold of your wrist.

“Y/n-”

“Please, Gyu, please,” you continued grinding over his aching cock. He could feel the precum leaking in his boxers. 

“Y/n,” he said sternly this time. It caught your attention. You looked back up at him, eyes desperate. 

“I’m ready, Mingyu. Please, I don’t know what it is. I need you so bad. Just touch me. Please.” 

He stared at you for a moment waiting for you to take it back. To realize this was a mistake. But your breathing just got harder as you tried to move against him. 

“Okay, okay baby,” he whispered. He found his voice, “Come here.”

He pulled you in for a kiss, wasting no time to slip his tongue into your mouth. Your tongues danced together sending a sensation down both your bodies. Now that you were both on the same page, you took hold of his other hand and moved it to your chest. This time he squeezed on his own accord, relishing in the feeling of your soft skin. His body took over, his hips jerking up to continue grinding against you. He could feel the heat radiating off your core, it made him dizzy.

Kissing down your jaw, he bit at your collar bones, leaving marks down the way. You leaned back, giving him access to your chest. He continued squeezing you, watching as he pushed your tits together and let them drop. Lowering his face to the valey of your breasts, he pushed them together again, losing himself in the feeling of your soft tits suffocating him. 

“Can I?” His fingers came to the neckline of your tank top.

“Please.”

He didn’t hesitate, pulling down your top and letting your breasts spill out over it. 

“Fuck, fuck baby” he muttered grabbing at your bare tits. His index fingers passed over your nipples and you gasped. He watched as they hardened under his touch. Mingyu squeezed your left breast, pushing your nipple up so he could take it into his mouth. He sucked on it feverishly, as if all this time this was exactly where he needed to be. He continued playing with your other breast, pinching your nipple and rolling it between his thumb and finger. He moaned as your hand raked through the hair at the nape of his neck. He released your nipple, moving to the other and giving it kitten licks. Reaching around you, his large hands gripped your ass, pushing you forward and pulling you back over his dick. 

“Ah, Gyu, I need you, please.” You gripped his hair, pulling him away from your tits. 

“Need what, baby?”

“Not now, Gyu. Please,” you whined.

“No, really. I need you to tell me what you need right now.” 

“I need you in me,” you pleaded.

“How do you want me?” He looked at you expectantly. You grew impatient. 

“Fuck, Gyu. Just, take your clothes off. Please.” You got off him quickly, discarding your tank top and pulling down your shorts.Then you stopped. Mingyu threw off his shirt. Before he could take off his shorts he noticed your change in demeanor. You looked nervous, a stark contrast from the you that was just humping him like you were in heat. 

“Baby, you okay?” His eyes grew concerned. You fidgeted. 

“Yeah, yeah. I just-”

“We can stop if you want.” He reassured.

“No, Gyu. I just-”

“Don’t think that we have to keep going just cause we-”

“Mingyu, stop.” He fell silent. “I just, you’ve never seen me naked before. We’ve never done this before. I’ve never done this before. I’m just kinda nervous.”

“And you’re sure you want to keep going?” 

You scoff, “Mingyu, did you see how I was like a minute ago?” He laughed. 

“Fine, fine. Come here.” He reached for your hands, pulling you towards him. 

You stood directly in front of him now. He was at the edge of the couch, his chin rested against your stomach as he looked up at you. His hands snaked up your thighs, sliding over your ass and resting on your hips. 

“Can I take these off, pretty?”

You let out a shaky breath and nodded. Hooking his fingers over the waistband, he slowly dragged down your panties. It felt like time was still as he kissed down your legs. His hand carefully lifted your feet to step out of the garment, tossing it to the side. His lips rose to your stomach, kissing around your belly button and pulling a giggle from you. His hands squeezed your ass and he continued leaving kisses further down until he was right above your pussy. His hand ran down your left thigh, lifting it until it rested on his shoulder. His hand moved toward your inner thigh, closer to your core until he could slide his thumb through your folds. He groaned at the feeling. You were so wet. Your breath caught in your throat, staying there until he leaned forward and licked a stripe from your pussy to your clit. You let out a deep moan, reeling from this new feeling. Mingyu felt like he was drunk, he couldn’t get enough of the taste. His hand spread you open as he went in, licking up and down, only interrupted when he would stop to suck on your clit, loving the way you moaned when he would stay there. A finger prodded at your entrance. He slowly pushed it into you, kissing your clit. He kept his finger buried inside you, curling it towards himself and rubbing the ribbed flesh. You gripped his shoulders for stability, jumping as his long fingers hit a spot you had never been able to. 

You backed away from him. His head lifted up, worried he may have gone too far. 

“Are you okay?” his eyes searched for any signs of discomfort. 

You held his face. 

“I’m fucking amazing but right now I need you in me. I can’t wait anymore.” Your hands reached for the waistband of his shorts, pulling his boxers down with them as he lifted his hips. Your eyebrows lifted for a moment, taking in his naked form. Fuck, he is gorgeous. You finally looked down and your mouth fell open. Fuck, he’s big. 

“Like what you see?” His cockiness took you by surprise, a switch from his previous sweetness. 

“Shut up, Kim,” you retorted, pushing his chest. He fell back against the couch, his arms coming up to rest upon the top of the cushions. You held onto his shoulders, positioning your legs on either side of him. You moaned together as his cock came in contact with your pussy, your wetness spreading over him. You slid yourself back and forth over him, preparing yourself for what was to come. He had had enough. 

Mingyu lifted you up, positioning himself at your entrance and pulled you down, slowly filling you up. You hissed at the stretch, face scrunching as you tried to take him. He had a strong grip on your hips, not wanting you to move too quickly and hurt yourself. He felt your pussy squeeze him the whole way down. Even as he was worried for you, he couldn’t deny how fucking good you felt. With a sigh, he bottomed out in you. 

“Feel alright, baby?” Mingyu stroked your cheek. The sweetness back in his face as he studied yours. 

“It’s tight,” you hissed. Mingyu’s eyebrows furrowed. You kissed in between them. “It feels good, I just need a sec to adjust.” 

“Yeah, of course, baby, anything you need.” He continued to study you, wanting to make your first time as comfortable as he possibly could. His hands rubbed up and down your back, soothing you through the pain. After a moment you lifted yourself up, feeling empty as his cock pulled out of you. Slowly, you let your body slide back down somewhere halfway before lifting yourself up once again. The repetition of emptiness to fullness turned from pain to pleasure as you began to focus on the feeling of him sliding through you. You bounced directly over him and felt strangely mechanical. You huffed out a breath of frustration, needing more but not knowing exactly what. 

“Baby,” Mingyu lifted you out of your thoughts. 

“I don’t know what to do,” you muttered bashfully. With anyone else you would feel embarrassed, but Mingyu looked at you with such care and adoration you couldn't possibly feel that way with him. 

He let out a small chuckle, “Try this.” His hands guided your hips up and towards him as he pulled your back down. He continued to move you in this rotation, noting the way you moaned every time your clit rubbed against his pelvis. 

“Fuck, Gyu, that feels so good.” You were a mess on top of him. Your body taking control as your mind processed these new sensations. Your back arched when he hit a particularly deep spot and Mingyu took it as an opportunity to keep playing with your tits. He sucked a nipple into his mouth as you used him, your tits bouncing in his face. Mingyu’s mind was running a million miles a minute, he rested his forehead against your chest, your boobs bouncing on either side of his head. He had been wrong earlier, this is exactly where he needed to be. 

“God, y/n,” he huffed out, “you’re so tight. Fuck you’re doing so good for me. Driving me crazy.” he shook his head against your chest, trying to hold out. 

“Ungh, Mingyu” you barely got out in between moans, addicted to the feeling of him filling you up. 

He looked up at you and held your face, bringing you down into a kiss. It was sweet, giving you both a moment of reprieve from the intensity of the night. Mingyu pressed his cheek against yours, whispering in your ear.

“Doing so good, baby. Making me feel so good. Keep going, princess. Make yourself come all over me.” His hands were roaming all over your body, taking in how nice it felt to have you on top of him. 

“Min- agh, fuck. Mingyu I’m so close. I can’t,” you struggled. You were close but you couldn’t quite push yourself there. Sensing you were overworked, he lifted your hands from his chest and wrapped your arms around his neck in an embrace. 

“I got you, baby, don’t worry. Just hold on, I’ll take care of you. I’ll make sure you come.” His breaths were ragged. His arms reached around your waist to hold you as he began thrusting up into you. You moaned as he moved even faster than you had been previously. You could only hold onto him as he hammered into you, your body convulsing as it reached its peak. 

“I’m gonna come Mingyu, mmmhm, I can’t hold it in,” you were panting in his ear. 

“Let it go baby, fuck, come all over my cock.” He was struggling to keep himself together. Your pleasure being the only motivation for him to hold his own orgasm back.

With a snap of his hips your body jerked as the pleasure took over. Your mind went blank, only being able to feel pleasure rolling through your body. Moans escaped your mouth as your head fell forward on Mingyu’s shoulder. Your pussy was buzzing, pulsating from your orgasm and tensing from Mingyu’s continued thrusts. Your walls fluttered and squeezed him, the final straw that made the burning heat building in Mingyu’s abdomen release. He stilled as his orgasm took over, his balls clenching when you started bouncing on top of him again, riding out his high. He moaned out your name, cursing under his breath. 

Lifting your head from his shoulder, you looked into his eyes, glossed over and fucked. His hand rubbed your back. 

“You did so good, baby. ‘M so proud of you,” he pouted. You giggled at his dramatics.

Pressing a soft kiss to his lips you sighed, “Thank you, Gyu.” You smiled at him. “We should get cleaned up now huh?” You looked down at your bodies, a sheen of sweat covering the both of you. His gaze followed yours, looking at your connected bodies. 

“Yeah, we should. But let's stay here for a bit.” His arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you into a hug against him, “I don’t wanna leave you yet.” 

You nuzzled your head against his, listening to his steadying breath and the rain against the window.

A/N: Thank you for reading this far! I am taking requests so much sure to check my kinktober masterlist for some inspo!

[strawberrystepmom]

gojo x f!reader. self ship coded. wc 1.1k. cw: reader is referred to as "little snow angel" and is wearing high heeled boots. divider thanks to @/cafekitsune!

You are sixteen years old the first time Gojo uses your warmth for his own comfort.

He presses his cold fingertips against your sun warmed cheek on an early spring day and you squeak, furrowing your brows and pouting while the two of you walk down an empty Tokyo street. It’s midday and you were paired up for a mission that was completed as quickly as it started, now walking side by side and enjoying a light lunch of whatever you wanted to grab from the convenience store while returning to the train station.

“Why did you do that?” You lament, chewing the mouthful of onigiri you managed to bite off before he cruelly interrupted you with the icicles he calls fingers. You shiver exaggeratedly and he sticks his tongue out and laughs, shrugging. 

“Dunno. You looked like the warmest thing around.”

The compliment makes your cheeks further warm and he feels it. He’s seventeen and awkward, as inexperienced in matters of the heart as you are but he understands that despite his tendency to touch and need for physical affection, he wouldn’t be able to do this with anybody else. Your patience with his antics is a very small part of why he finds himself so drawn to you and it’s only a tiny piece of the puzzle of his feelings.

Years later, and after many additional pieces have been added to said puzzle of his feelings, he’s still seeking out your warmth. 

Namely today when the air is so cold each of your puffs of breath leave you with dramatic wisps, curling through the air like hot tea you wish were in your hand warming your bones. Instead your hands are buried deep in your pockets, your legs carrying you as quickly as they can into the warmth of the apartment you moved into around a year ago - Satoru’s. Well, yours too, technically, considering you receive mail addressed to both of you but you still call it his apartment. Maybe someday you’ll get used to the fact that you two share a life together and not just pieces of a puzzle still in progress.

You are 26 years old, a virtual lifetime removed from the girl you were a decade ago, a dedicated teacher at the school you attended through your teenage years. In fact, you’re headed home from there now, the chunky stacked heel of your winter boots clacking against the cold sidewalk below them with every step you take toward the building your high rise is situated in. It’s so close yet so far away and you whine quietly, hoping he remembered to turn on the kotatsu like you asked.

Out of the pair of you, you’ve always been the hot one.

In the early days of your relationship, you realized that you and Satoru both worked better when each of you maintained defined roles. You are the serious one (sometimes), he is the joker (always). He’s the cool light of the winter moon, you’re the warm first day of spring sun. He’s the protector, you’re the protected despite your protests against this status and his insistence upon its importance. These roles have evolved over time as you’ve come into your own and he has done the same, your relationship as fluid as each of you are, but there is one thing that is always true. You run warm and he runs ice cold.

Already beneath the kotatsu upstairs, he’s in the apartment impatiently awaiting your arrival, shoving his hands and feet beneath the most ingenious invention mankind has ever dreamed up. It isn’t as hot as it should be, he forgot to turn it on when you asked and managed to remember about ten minutes ago, but it’s warming up enough that he can get the slightest bit of relief. 

Off on a mission without you, he spent the whole day freezing inside of his oversized black jacket. Even three layers beneath it couldn’t keep the chill from seeping through and luckily he made it home hours before you, the danger eradicated as quickly as he could manage. Since returning home he has taken a shower with water so hot it bordered on scalding, thrown his softest and warmest sweater over his head, and moped around knowing he is missing out on the thing that keeps him the coziest.

“I’m home!”

His ears perk up as soon as he hears your voice, withdrawing himself from beneath the warmth of the kotatsu. 

“Oh thank god!” 

Shouting his response and scrambling to stand up, he makes it there finally and jogs across the apartment in socked feet. You grin seeing him, grateful he made it home in one piece even if it was hours before you, and you pull your boots off with an unenthusiastic grunt. He rushes to scoop you up and hold your body against his. He’s shocked when he feels how cold you are and he coos sadly, pressing his warm fingers against your cold face.

“Poor thing,” he mutters and you giggle with a shake of your head. Gojo helps you out of your coat and you sigh contentedly, letting him work each of the sleeves off of you and then go to work unraveling the scarf tied around your neck and throat. “If you’re cold it must be very cold.”

Another nod. You struggle to speak, your smile frozen on your face, because you’ve realized yet again that the roles in your relationship have evolved. He’s the warmth you’ve come home to, hands and arms and chest thawing out the frost that has developed over you throughout the day. 

“I’m just glad to be home.”

Patting your face gently, warm fingers replacing the cold ones of that decade old memory, you lean into his touch and he pinches the round of your cheek between his index and forefinger as he often does. You giggle and grin and without any additional thought, dive face first into his chest and the smell of your laundry detergent and the beating heart beneath it all. Whatever winter chill remains is slowly melting away with each breath you take and each of his you listen to. 

“Come on.”  Satoru wraps you up and holds you against him, letting you walk on top of his feet back to the main living area. This is also something the two of you do often because he cannot physically handle being away from you long enough for you to guide yourself. “Let’s go warm you up, my little snow angel.”

Rolling your eyes at the brand new nickname he’s come up with (something else that is a daily occurrence you’ve learned to love over the last ten years), you smile to show him the gesture is nothing short of joking. He lets his hands fall around the waistband of your pants and slips one of them beneath your shirt, a yelp leaving you when the cold appendages wrap around your hip.

“Satoru!” You squeak and he chuckles, humming a little song to himself as he does every time he hears you say his name in that tone of voice. “What did you do that for?”

“I wanted to.”

He leans down and kisses your forehead with exaggerated smacks of his lips against your still cool skin.

You’ve heard it a million times - to be loved is to be changed - and you never considered that a change as small as hot and cold would fill your heart as full as it is right now. Even the cold fingers resting beneath your blouse can be forgiven when he leans down to envelop your lips in a kiss, chasing the winter blues so far away they’re all but long gone.

[master-jarrus]

So I found out about Splinter in Dead man’s eye

It puts Lloyd at age 9 when he was the green ninja

So I’m redoing my timeline for the show

Pilot episodes:

Kai is the oldest at 15

Cole is 15 but a few months younger

Zane’s body is actually about eight years old but I hc that Professor Julien had his program running on computers for awhile so Zane is actually 12 acts like an adult though so they just assume he’s 17

Jay is 14

Nya is 13

Rise of the serpentine

It’s been exactly a year

Lloyd is 9

Kai and Cole 16

Zane 13

Jay 15

Nya 14

Legacy of the Green Ninja

Nyas birthday passed making her 15

Rebooted

Kai and Cole 17

Lloyd just turned 10

Zane 14

Jay 15

Nya 15

Tournament of Elements

Year has passed

Kai and Cole are officially adults at 18

Lloyd is 11

Zane’s program is 15

Jay is 17 but he lied and said 18 to become a tv host

Nya will be turning 17 soon

Skylor is 17

Possession

Lloyd is 12 but will soon be 13

Kai is 19

Cole will be 19 when he turns into a ghost

Zane is 16

Jay is officially 18

Nya is 17

Morro died at 20

Skybound technically didn’t happen but

Lloyd is 15 and they have to do limited screen time which is why he’s missing for like half the episode they were filming

Kai and Cole are 21 Kai went drinking Cole has not because he is a ghost and doesn’t see the point

Zane is 18

Jay will soon be 20

Nya is 19

Hands of time

Obviously happens after the time span that Skybound would’ve taken up if Jay hadn’t wished it back

I say they are still all about the same age but now Jay is 20

Sons of Garmadon

Lloyd will soon be 16

Harumi is confirmed 14

Kai and Cole 22

Zane is 19

Jay is 21, Kai and Nya took him out to celebrate but the others were out on missions he let Nya have some of his alcohol and Kai made him pay for it because of that

Nya is 20

Hunted

Same ages

March of the Oni

Lloyd is sixteen now

Secrets of Forbidden Spinjitzu

Lloyd is 17

Kai and Cole 23

Zane made it to 20

Jay 22

Nya 21

Prime Empire

Zane 124

Shintaro

Same ages

The island and Seabound

Nya turns 22

Crystallized

Lloyd is 18

Kai and Cole 24

Zane 125

Jay 23

Nya does she age when she’s water? I mean I guess 22

Dragons Rising

Lloyd is 20 when the merge happens but meets Arin when is 25

Kai at time of merge 26 reconnects with everyone one at 31

Zane is 127, when his program isn’t running should he age?

Nya 24 reconnects with them at 29

Cole 26 runs into Nya right after 31st birthday

Jay 24 merge happened before his birthday. In his cameo he’s 30

Arin is five at the time of the merge and is 10 when he meets Lloyd

Sora eight at the time of the merge and is 14 they went to junkyard for her birthday and entered the race

[the-case-book-of-fanfiction]

Love Bites {Masterlist}

With your memory spotty, you gravitate toward the first person you see—an old friend from a very old past. But Astarion is keeping plenty of secrets...and he's never been the best liar. How long will it take before his deceptions unravel? And what will you do when you realize just how much damage he's done?

Ship: Astarion Ancunin x fem!vampire spawn!elf!Tav/reader

Warnings: 18+ MDNI, vampire spawn!Tav, fem!Tav, manipulative but guilty/regretful Astarion, Astarion's sexual trauma, Cazador, vampire bite, reader is turned into a spawn, reader is technically one of Astarion's victims

18+ Warnings: vaginal sex, consensual sex, mirror sex, riding, fingering, oral, blood kink, bite kink, loving sex, non-descriptive noncon/dubcon (Astarion’s trauma), Astarion experimenting with his boundaries

Total Word Count: 47,397 words (87 pages)

Notes: The title of this fic (and some of its chapter titles) is heavily inspired by Def Leppard's song Love Bites.

Posting Schedule can be found on my {Updates Page}

CONTENT NOTE: Where Astarion's perspective comes into this fic, I tried writing his experience with his hurt that he has been treated this way along with his "this is what I do" mentality; he's very back and forth about the abuse he's endured and some of my writing reflects that. If that upsets you or makes you uncomfortable in anyway, I completely understand and I encourage you to leave the fic at any point. However, I do believe writing this perspective is necessary, as his blasé take on his sexual trauma is one that I myself have struggled with, as I am sure other survivors have as well.

☟ story parts linked below ☟

Best Unremembered {Chapter 1} Waking up with a spotty memory and the only person you do remember is jarring enough—but it only gets worse when the people who remember you are monsters and strangers.

Walking Corpses {Chapter 2} Astarion's night spent searching for prey is interrupted by an unwelcome feeling of familiarity. Your life is derailed by recognizing a long-dead friend.

Little Love {Chapter 3} Appearances can be deceiving, but they can also tell you everything you need to know. A second look at the elf you once called a friend is all you need to fill in the two-hundred year gap.

The Golden Elf {Chapter 4} Sometimes, vampires choose their spawn specifically. Sometimes, they're in the wrong place at the wrong time and are lost to their loved ones for centuries. These days, that's all you can think about.

Little Star, Little Sun {Chapter 5} A long-awaited reunion that doesn't go quite as planned can lead to many things, especially when two manipulators both lay their traps for one another. Though is it really a trap when all you want to do is spare your lover from yet another night of torment?

Love Bites {Chapter 6} Astarion remembers you, but it's already too late. He's bedded you and remembered the love and life you had together, two hundred years ago, and now he has to make a choice. Does he sacrifice himself, or does he sacrifice you?

Love Bleeds {Chapter 7} Fangs gleam in the shadows and a coffin lies open nearby. Vampire lords are nasty creatures; even a changed heart can do very little when there are claws around it.

On My Knees {Chapter 8} A betrayal so severe even centuries of love threaten to break beneath its weight. Yet you offer forgiveness, even if Astarion has not felt its kindness in two hundred years.

Second Chances {Epilogue} Home is a place and home is people. You have quite the large family now, and it's time to provide for them, however you may.

Love Bites Soundtrack — 3h50min

Chapter 1: tracks 1 - 6 Chapter 2: tracks 7 - 13 Chapter 3: tracks 14 - 19 Chapter 4: tracks 20 - 26 Chapter 5: tracks 27 - 32 Chapter 6: tracks 33 - 40 Chapter 7: tracks 41 - 46 Chapter 8: tracks 47 - 53 Epilogue: tracks 54 - 60

[Image Caption: I do not give permission to repost, translate, or publish my work on any other site or app by anyone except myself. I do not give permission for my work to be fed into AI (for audio, art, or writing).]

Baldur's Gate 3 // Astarion Ancunin

Taglist: {comment and let me know if you'd like to be added to the Astarion taglist!} @wayward-hel @cheeslyy @ofmyth-andmagicart @neetheslayer @whispering-depths @freesidexjunkie @lightsinmycity @the0ldmann @gobbodoggo @oooof-ifellforyou @beeblisss @fangboner @aquaarietes @fiercest-eigengrau-skies @niqhtfell @call-me-nyxx @lueji-m @ceres-xiv @tricksy-trinity @graynstairs @rosa-rubus @ynisthatyou @thegoodwitchs-blog @catching-fire-in-the-wind @kiyastrf94 @vincemachina @silverfangmarks @ravenswritingroom @hinata7346 @hellethil

[soup-scope]

we finally got canon ages for some of the redacted boys!!!

Samuel Collins- 29 *when turned* (technically 44 ig)

Vincent Solaire - 20 *when turned* (technically 43 ig)

Avior- Coalesced 36 years ago

Gavin- Coalesced 33 years ago

Aaron- 33 years old

David Shaw- 30 years old

Asher Talbot- 30 years old

Milo Greer- 30 years old

Lasko Moore- 29 years old

Elliot- 29 years old(???) (timeline just states he was adopted 29 years ago)

Huxley- 26

Caelum- Coalesced 24 years ago (caelum is still very much mentally a child tho. don’t be weird)

Damien- 24 years old

[animeyanderelover]

Anon: Can I please headcanons with Agni/reader/Soma triangle, where both fell in love with a maid of Phantomhive who is older than Soma, but younger than Agni (about 23-26 years old)?

For your information, Soma is 17 years old and Agni is 31 and I just decided that the darling is 24 in this headcannon. Also as an additional information, there is a passage of time in those Hc’s so Soma is at the beginning of those Hc’s 17 but turns 18 as the story progresses.

Tw: Yandere themes, toxic relationship, possessive behavior, obsession, clinginess, delusional behavior, stalking, overprotective behavior, manipulation, guilt-tripping

Taglist: @lovley-valentine7 @leveyani @chxxz

Falling in love with the same s/o

🍛​🤜​You are bound to get acquainted with both Soma and Agni, considering that Soma likes to spend time with the young Earl which would be the fastest way for you to meet the duo as well as the case where you would see those two the most. Soma in that case would be the one who would fall for you first without a single doubt, absolutely enamored with you and everything you do. Really, it isn't hard to notice that he is head over heels for you as he is talking about you nonstop and likes to follow you around. He is distracting you from the work you are supposed to do and this is where Agni decides to hold his prince back to give you time and space to finish your chores. He understands that you need to do your duties and that Soma is for the better or worse just hindering you from working as efficient as you normally could. Agni is also just as aware that all of Ciel's servants are extremely skilled and dangerous even if they may not look like it on first glance. You are no exception.

🍛​🤜​Whilst Agni has yet to fall and has sympathy with you, Soma is far more entitled than that. He is angry and frustrated whenever Agni has to pull him away from you and he is almost acting like a bratty child at times, awfully spoiled. Yes, he knows that you are technically the servant of Ciel and not his own but he still wants to spend time with you and your chores seem to be constantly in the way. Can't you just let someone else do them for you or just drop them and spend some time with him instead? Soma is very distracting and it only because of your patience that you seem to be able to skillfully blend him out whenever you are focused on your tasks, much to his dismay. The young prince hates to be ignored, especially since he has even been neglected by his biological family since he had so many siblings. He is whining, complaining and even forcing himself in front of you just so that you have to look at him with a frustrated pout on his face, upset that you ignore him as often as you do.

🍛​🤜​You receive presents, flowers and much more from Soma as the young prince seems to already have the wedding planned for you two. Being delusional truly can be a blessing and a curse at the same time as he even informs Ciel about this spontanously. The young lord is in his office working on some documentaries when Soma suddenly slams the door open and a flustered and apologetic Agni follows him and urges him to think it over again. Yet nothing can stop Soma who slams his palms on the desk and blurts out in Ciel's face that he plans to marry you and that Ciel will have to let you go because Soma doesn't want his wife to work for someone as a wedded couple should spend all of their time together. So bold and confident is he that Ciel chokes on his own saliva for a couple of seconds before he gives the prince a flabbergasted look. The entire household finds out about it within the same day as Soma walks around and declares to all of them that he's going to marry you. Agni is the one who is left apologising to everyone, including you.

🍛​🤜​You get quite close to Agni due to all of the commotion that Soma causes as he is the one defending you against his own prince. He is loyal to the young prince of course but he knows that you work for the Earl of Phantomhive and respects your own wishes. He promises you that Soma is a good person but just very easily caught up in his own daydreams and you can truly see that every single day where Soma follows you around like a lost puppy and tells you about what clothes he wants you to wear, considering which color would suit you best and even brings you jewelry he wants you to wear on your wedding. So ecstatic is he about it all that he even wants to marry you two times considering that you grew up in London and he grew up in India. You can plan the second marriage in England if you want to. Agni can only silently thank the heaven that you are as patient and considerate as you are as you could have easily broken Soma's heart multiple times by now, although somehow Agni doubts Soma would stop even then.

🍛​🤜​Agni's obsession is honestly a slowburn and barely noticeable to the point where he himself doesn't even notice. You spend time with Soma because you like him in a way you would like a friend, you reject his proposals and Agni can only tell his prince exasperated that he should respect your feelings yet Soma doesn't believe you when you tell him that you don't see him in a romantic way. You're just hiding your feelings because if you wouldn't feel the same way he does, why do you still spend time with him? As Agni is busy holding Soma somewhat back from his delusional love, he himself barely realises that he starts growing feelings for you too as both of you also spend a lot of time together and even do chores together when Agni offers his help. Soma offers to help too because he doesn't want to feel left out and doesn't want Agni to just hog your attention but he most of the time only ends up giving you two more work. Soma never learns though so the cycle repeats itself again and again.

🍛​🤜​Agni is much more subtle than Soma, which is admittedly not that hard, but still. His creeping obsession is expressed in his growing protective feelings over you despite knowing that you are very capable of protecting yourself and by the time he comes to realise what has happened, it is already far too late to stop himself. He feels guilty though as he knows that Soma is already a bit overbearing for you and the last thing that you would want is him acting the same. Agni is much more practiced in his own self-control though which is why he holds himself back and that becomes even more apparent as soon as he is aware of his own emotions. He almost grows more distant to not make another burden from you and instead likes to observe from a few steps away but at the same time he also feels bad when you approach him and ask him if something has happened as you have noticed his change in behavior. He doesn't want to give you the impression that it is your fault after all.

🍛​🤜​Soma and Agni are pretty capable of sharing but Agni just doesn't have the courage to tell you nor Soma about his feelings. He feels guilty for admitting that he has fallen the same way for you as Soma has and at the same time he doesn't want to take your time away from Soma as he knows how much Soma adores and loves you yet he also feels guilty for keeping this from the both of you. It is a quite complicated situation Agni finds himself in and he spends days and nights pondering how he could tell the both of you. he actually decides to tell it to you first as he is worried that Soma would react too dramatically. He knows that you will react to it in a calmer way than his prince would and he actually apologises to you for his own feelings. Soma, as expected, is reacting very dramatically. Above all though he is disappointed that Agni hasn't told him about it before and has instead kept it a secret from him. Whilst Agni reassures his prince that he won't try to steal you from Soma, it is actually Soma who makes the decision that Agni should still spend time with you.

🍛​🤜​Agni has been nothing but loyal to him after all. At least Agni balances out Soma's clinginess and delusional thinking as he can hold the young prince back from being too overwhelming with you. The age difference will also have some influence as you tend to treat Soma like a young boy due to him being younger than you and whilst Soma is definitely spoiled and acts like a child at times, he still insists that you see him as a man and stop thinking of him as a boy. Agni on the other hand at times feels more inclined to protect you because he is older than you. Soma is very open with his adoration as he literally worships everything you do but it is worth mentioning that for Agni you are also something more than just his love. You have given him a new meaning to a new life that was given to him by his prince and whilst he isn't as physically touching or as verbal as Soma is, he does a lot of quiet gestures to show you his eternal love.

[miraclegemz]

SONIC POLL RESULTS

Hello people from this poll! This is a breakdown of the poll results with evidence! Please note that this only included events from the games. But before that lemme preface this with I Did Not expect the poll to get *checks notes* 8,639 votes?!!?? I expected like 150 max. So that’s why some response were kinda exaggerated or just straight up wrong because I’m incapable of counting. So here’s the results!

Option 1: Shadow the Hedgehog gets crucified (TRUE from Sonic 06)

Ok so this is what I meant when I said I exaggerated some stuff. No he does not get nailed to a cross. However, he does get put in T-pose jail.

(From here starting at 11:37). Considering the context of being forsaken by humanity after the world ends, and that you can’t really nail a guy to a wooden cross in a fiery wasteland, this is pretty damn close to a crucifixion (cyber crucifixion? It is 200 years in the future). I may have exaggerated but I am prepared to stand by it.

Option 2: Sonic gets thrown into a maximum security prison (TRUE from Sonic Adventure 2)

This was way more known compared to option 1. So during SA2 sonic gets framed for stuff he didn’t do as a coverup and he gets imprisoned on Prison Island

(From here at 6:40)

Option 3: Tails gets turned into a cyborg (TRUE from Sonic Lost World)

I kinda don’t blame people for not knowing this one since this game was kinda boring, Tails gets captured by the villains of this game and they turn him into a robot to fight Sonic. However Tails was able to circumvent their brainwashing and keep his free will.

(From here at 26:21)

Option 4: Knuckles beats the shit out of a ghost (TRUE from Sonic Adventure 2)

This also hails from SA2 as a random one-off boss fight that has nothing to do with the main story. It’s cool as fuck though.

(From here)

Option 5: Sonic gets Isekai’d twice (TRUE from multiple games)

Ok so I fucked up this one. I only counted the Sonic Storybook Games of which there are two (in which sonic is sent to worlds based around the Arabian Nights and Arthurian Legend). However Sonic has been thrown into different dimensions both in Sonic Rush Adventure and Sonic Forces and probably some others I’m forgetting about. That’s honestly my bad BUT I’m technically still right

Option 6: Eggman asks Sonic “How did you get here so quickly?” (TRUE from Sonic Unleashed)

This is probably the best line in the series since Eggman is being completely serious asking this to his arch-nemesis with super speed. Come on dude.

(From here at 20:35)

Option 7: A Frog swallows a Chaos Emerald (TRUE from Sonic Adventure)

Yeah so a cat’s pet frog swallowed a chaos emerald, grew a tail, and got chased around the country by both the cat and Eggman’s robots. Don’t worry the frog and cat were reunited safely in the end.

(From here)

Option 8: Shadow gets possessed by a time god (FALSE)

I found you, faker!

While Shadow has been subject to mind control by an evil alien overlord, been a victim of identity theft by half of a time god (pictured)

and also abducted by a different (or the same?) time god, he has not been possessed and/or controlled by a time god.

And Finally,

Option 9: Amy can turn invisible (TRUE from Sonic 06)

Yes, this is true. It is a one-off ability that is never explained nor brought up again.

(From here at 2:04)

In Conclusion

Go play/watch Sonic 06

[gingerale-enjoyer]

Never done OC’s before but here there are!

I want Bad Batch in Book of Boba Fett/The Mandalorian so here’s the new batch in 9 ABY.

“Nal” (he/him, 26 years old)

-child of Phee and Tech

-named after Skara Nal, the planet his parents went on their first mission together

-Tech and Phee managed to conceive him in the weeks/months on Pabu where they were rebuilding after the tsunami

-unfortunately Tech did not know about Nal at the time of his death

-Phee is still around but was not super involved in his upbringing (she has always had trouble forming deep personal bonds and Tech immediately falling off a mountain and dying right after she fell for him didn’t really help) she is typically out doing treasure hunting on her own

-he’s basically just Tech but if Tech had better fashion sense and more support/acceptance growing up (Tech but with higher EQ and more swag)

“Omega” (she/her, 41 years old)

-it’s her turn to parent lol

-a single mom who works two jobs who loves her kids and never stops 🎶

-Hunter gave her his crusty bandana when he retired and she became the new squad leader

-Technically Nal and Lula’s aunt but basically functions as their mother at this point

“Lula” (she/they, 19 years old)

-named after her father’s one true love (aside from explosives) 🥲

-basically just got dumped on Pabu by their mom, DNA test confirmed they were wreckers

-their dad passed away when they were pretty young due to the strain of his rapid aging/enhanced metabolism on his heart

-but in the time he was alive he was super involved he absolutely loved his little girl

Hunter is still alive btw he’s just super old. He is retired on Pabu (spends all day fishing and taking naps) but Omega still coms him when she has no idea what to do with her squad (Lula bit Nal).

(It is taking 110% of his willpower rn to hold back his laughter because having to babysit feral kids is Omegas problem now instead of his)

I will maybe add more to this later on :)

[yanderepuck]

Kinktober Day 26

WELCOME BACK SLUTS. It's that time of the year you've been looking forward to. As always, Kinktober is hosted by your local Napoleon simp @xxsycamore

If you would like to read Kinktober 2021 and 2022 they are here

Remember to reblog and tell me what you thought about it

Day 26 -Body Worship | Aftercare

Leonardo

You lay on his bed, panting and rubbing your wrists. The adrenaline was starting to wear off. You feel the bed shift and open your eyes to see Leonardo getting off the bed and putting his pants back on.

You pout as you watch him you want to cuddle. He sleeps any other time so why is he leaving now.

"I'll be right back, cara mia," he kisses you, much softer than he was moments ago. Without bothering to put a shirt on he leaves the room.

You lay there and pout, but you're also wondering how he can pound you into the mattress and still be able to walk. You can barely roll over in bed sometimes. Which is all the more reason for him to stay.

You muster up some energy to roll to the side of the bed and grab an article of clothing. Leonardo's shirt happens to be closest so you put it on and lay back down with a thud. So tired.

Moment later Leonardo comes back. Rather than turning on his ceiling light, he turned in the lamp on his desk so it isn't too bright, but so they can still see.

"I brought you snacks."

"Snacks?" You get excited and try sitting up again but your butt hurts. You just knew there was a large handprint stamped on you.

"Lay on your stomach, Cara Mia," he also had a soothing cream to rub on you. You roll into your stomach and Leonardo sets a plate down on his bed in front of you.

"I didn't want to make too much noise so I just grabbed something quick."

It was a small piece of cake along with some cheese and crackers. You start with the cake without thinking about it, then a few bites in you stop.

"Wait. Is this Theo's cake?"

Leonardo sits next to you on the bed and puts the cream in his hand, and rubs it on your butt. "Sebastian didn't technically make it for him. So no, it's not."

"He's going to kill me tomorrow," but you keep eating it, not caring enough.

"Don't think of other guys while I'm rubbing your ass," he pouts.

Leonardo then rubs his hands up your back, pushing his shirt out of the way. You let out a soft moan. He gives you a gentle massage as you start eating the cheese and crackers.

"How do your wrists feel?" He takes one of your hands and rubs the cream on your wrist before you even answer. Then eats the cheese you were holding.

"Hey! That was my cheese!"

He laughs and takes your other wrist and does the same. "There you go."

He lays beside you, putting an arm around you while you finish what was on the plate.

"Now it's cuddle time," he nuzzles his face into your neck and you giggle.

[spacebarbarianweird]

The Dhampirs of the Sword Coast - Chapter 3

Part 3 of Astarion's daughter adventures and consequences of releasing 7000 vampires into the Underdark. After saving Tara from the smugglers, Alethaine finally meets her parents' friend, Gale Decarios.

Read on AO3

Link for Part 1, Part 2

Thanks @queenofthespacesquids for beta-reading!

The List of Chapters

Masterlist

Headcanons

Alethaine (High Elf/Necromancer) - age 25. Astarion's daughter. Lawful Neutral.

Ulsha (Half-Orc/Paladin) - age 26. Lawful Good.

Theris (Tiefling/Bard) - age 27. Chaotic Neutral.

Mierni (Human/Wizard)- age 14, Gale's foster son. Suffers with selective muteness. True neutral.

Alethaine jumps on the floor and faces the owner of the tower.

The archwizard of Waterdeep, Gale Decarios, is standing in front of her with the tressym in his hands. 

“I suppose you are Alethaine Ancunin, my friend’s daughter? – He asks. – And who is this young man with you? Sorry if I've assumed his gender or age incorrectly.”

“This is Theris. I am afraid he has some prejudices against wizards”

“I don’t blame him, to be honest. If I weren't a wizard myself, I would be biased towards them, too, – He smiles wide. – I am happy to welcome you to my home, Alethaine – and finally talk to you. Last time your father visited he didn’t shut up about you”

“Oh?” Alethaine suddenly feels a wave of embarrassment. “Did he?”

“Of course! You see, I've recently gotten an interest in dhampirs, and as a man of science I couldn’t ignore the opportunity to obtain new knowledge first hand, – Gale shrugs, showing his unexpected guests the way out of the library. – Well, technically, second hand, since I interrogated your father about it. I must admit I used to think it’s not possible to manifest dhampir abilities at the age of five months old! But Astarion was very proud when I told him you are that peculiar. But I also would love to hear certain details from you directly. Both of you.”

Theris tries to hide behind Alethaine’s back which falls flat due to the height difference. 

“I will not let you vivisect me! I will fight!”

Alethaine thinks Gale will be offended but instead, the old wizard laughs.

“You probably mistake me for someone else, Theris. I prefer arcana and theory, not butchering young… dhampirs. I welcome you to my home, feel free to make yourself at home.”

“Yes, you have nothing to worry about, children,” Tara yawns. 

An hour later, Alethaine sits in the hot tub. The warm water relaxes her muscles and feet.

It feels nice.

Sharpened hearing catches the distant echo of the conversation. Gale interrogates Theris – how old was he when his dhampirism manifested? Were his parents tieflings? Does he drink blood? Does he know other dhampirs? Has he ever been to the Underdark?

Five years old. Mother was a tiefling. Sometimes he drinks blood but he feels bad after. No, physically. The bard has no morals! He knows Ulsha the Half-Orc. No, devils save him!

Alethaine submerges herself under the water. She doesn’t need breathing, and she curls in the fetal position on the bottom of the tub, allowing the water to cover her body like a blanket.

If she closes her eyes she can imagine it’s her home in Daggerlake.

Alethaine could lie like that for hours before the water turned uncomfortably cold and she had to get out of there. Water deafened her sharpened dhampir hearing, and she could relax in silence.

Suddenly Alethaine realizes there is someone else in the house.

She can hear Gale and Theris from below and Alethaine is also aware of Tara’s presence in the hall.

The tressym hisses, and the dhampir hears someone else’s embarrassed footsteps.

“My dear, I didn’t know we were hosting a Sea Elf!” Tara jumps on the edge of the bathtub. “Well, maybe your mother’s father was one of them? Though Tiriel never struck to me as a water lover.”

Alethaine sits up and wet hair sticks to her face. “I don’t need to breathe, that’s all”

“I know, I know. You, dhampirs, are peculiar creatures! Who knew saving seven thousand vampires could lead to such a drastic change in the Swords Coast demographics?”

“Is that sarcasm?” Alethaine gets out of the bathtub and puts a towel on her head. Her waist-length silver hair will take an eternity to fully dry. 

“Maybe! But you know… vampires or not, they were still thinking creatures. Your mother is a true hero for saving all of them!” Tara jumps on the chair and Alethaine sees a dress and a bathrobe which were not there when she entered the bathroom. 

Tara disappears, and Alethaine puts up the clean clothes. The dress is nice, probably made of much finer fabric than the dhampir has ever worn. The robe is fluffy and warm and Alethaine has a glimpse of a thought to steal it once she is ready to go.

Though stealing from a wizard is probably a bad idea.

When she goes down to the dining room, Theris is already there devouring an enormous plate of food. Gale looks absolutely unbothered – more than this, he looks like a scientist observing a specimen.

“Alethaine, sit down with us!” Gale waves at the empty chair in front of him. “Hope the food will be to your liking”

Alethaine stares at the plates. Well, either Gale has a very good cook somewhere in the tower, or the wizard himself spends his free time in the kitchen.

Everything looks fucking delicious.

Alethaine decides she has never had table manners and probably never will and starts eating in an even messier manner than Theris.

“If you don’t like it, just tell me,” Gale smiles.

“Honestly, sir, my father is a vampire, my mother can eat raw meat, and I’ve been adventuring for six years. I have very low standards,'' Alethaine answers with her mouth full. “If it hasn't burnt, I can eat it. And if it’s burnt, I can give it a try.”

“I was the camp cook back in the day. Your mother really had weird habits even in comparison to the rest. Well, she wasn’t from the Sword Coast, after all”

Suddenly Gale’s gaze becomes dreamy. He looks left and smiles, remembering something.

“Your parents…” he suddenly says. “They are… still together?”

“Of course. They moved to Luskan a few years ago”

“Not far away! I think I should pay a visit. Besides, I haven’t seen Tiriel for, let me think, 45 years. But I bet she hasn’t changed much”

Theris suddenly elbows Alethaine. “It seems like the wizard had a thing for your mother”

“What? No!” Alethaine probably responded much louder than she intended because suddenly Gale stares at her as if trying to see familiar features in her face. 

“Oh yes, you mother… Well, I actually thought I would be in charge since, of course, I was the most competent of the whole gang! Me, a renowned wizard! Who else? – Gale chuckles.But you know sometimes you should let people do what they are fit at.

He is silent for a few seconds.

“Tiriel led us all through the pain, fear, and misery. Saved us all! Told me she would break all my bones if I tried to recreate the crown of Karsus and, hells, she was right – it’s not the power a man should obtain, – Gale looks away, reminiscing. – She made the Duke of Ravengard beg his only son for forgiveness… Dragged poor Shadowheart from the cult. Tiriel… She is one of these people who couldn’t care less about power, but she made us all fight for our personal freedoms. Me, your father, the rest of us.” 

Gale chuckles.

“Well, Tiriel could have become the leader of Baldur’s Gate – people would love her. But she preferred to stay on the road, to do things she liked. Well sometimes I think what could have been…–Gale sigs. – But, honestly, your mother would have been bored in Waterdeep''.

Alethaine stares at Gale. So he did have a thing for her mother. That is definitely something new.

Gale notices that and smiles.

“Well, I will be honest here. Tirie caught all my attention. I made a mistake thinking that her friendliness and kindness were a sign of romantic interest. Tiriel was just kind to everyone, I wasn’t special. And when I finally got a grip and wanted to talk to her, she was already in your father’s tent, – he smiles bitterly. – Never thought  I would be jealous of a vampire. But six months after I met your mother for the last time I saw how happy she was. How happy Astarion was with her. He was literally a different person. And, to be honest, he deserved it. After everything he’d been through.”

Alethaine looks at her plate. Her mother and that wizard? She can’t imagine that. 

Suddenly she hears light footsteps. 

“Mierni! Come here, say hello to Theris and Alethaine!”

A fourteen-year-old boy with dark skin and protruding ears enters the dining room. He wears a pair of trousers and a white shirt but his feet are bare.

Tara immediately rushes to him and starts bumping her head on his leg.

“Mierni, darling, put on your shoes – it’s rather cold here!”

Mierni shakes his head and approaches the table. His dark skin is rather pale as if he’d been dead for a few hours. Two fangs are visible on his lips. 

Another dhampir!

The boy quickly grabs a meat pie and rushes up to the wall. In a few moments, he sits in a dark corner of the ceiling like a huge bat.

“Don’t be offended,” Gale says. “This is Mierni. He is a good boy, he just sometimes doesn't want to speak. But very talented! Can cast fireballs like a battle mage!”

“Mierni is going to be a fine addition to the Decarios clan!” Tara adds. 

“Is he your son?” Alethaine asks. 

“Yes and no,'' Gale sighs. “His mother is a storm sorcerer. She'd gotten it into her head that if she had a child with a vampire, he'd be the most powerful wizard in the world. She'd found an undead somewhere, more an animal than human, one of those poor things that had gone mad over centuries of captivity in Cazador's dungeon, – he makes a sip from his glass. – Unluckily, Mierni had no special innate abilities other than dhampirism. I'll spare you the details, but this child was mistreated poorly. Beaten, starved. I found Miernilocked in the attic, and he'd never seen sunlight before.”

“So we kidnapped him,” Tara says.

“I prefer the word adopted,” Gale corrected. “Mierni is very smart! And knows many more spells than I did at his age, Though, unfortunately, you need to be able to speak to pronounce the spells – and it’s an issue”

Alethaine looks up at the ceiling. Mierni turns his head and casts a wary glance at her. Human-dhampir probably doesn’t see a lot of people.

“Is he mute?” Alethaine asks.

“From time to time. Maybe he will want to talk to you, though.”

Alethaine stands up from the table and walks up the wall to sit close to the boy.

“My name is Alethaine Ancunin. And you are Mierni, aren’t you?”

He nods.

“What are you reading?”

He points at the hardcover. “Crests, flags, and banners of the Moon sea. Interesting?”

another nod.

“THERIS!” 

A loud scream forces Alethaine to stir and she almost falls down from the ceiling. Mierni jumps on his feet pressing the book to his chest.

“Sir, whatever lies she is going to say, it’s not true, it wasn't me and it never happened!”

Standing in the doorway, a half-orc paladin is fuming.

“Ulsha” Gale approaches her. “Please, calm down.”

“I won't! Gale, I am sorry, but he is dangerous!” 

“But he is my guest. It would not be nice of me to betray people I shelter”

“He’s a dhampir”

“So what? Since when did you dhampir have fewer rights?”

Ulsha looks up at the ceiling, and Mierni immediately jumps on the floor.

“Ulsha! I am so happy to see you!” he rushes to her, and the half-orc hugs him.

“I am happy to see you, little wizard.” 

“I’ve finished the book you brought me!” Mierni shows her the heavy volume. 

Alethaine jumps back on the floor. Theris stands behind her using her as a shield and Black Death squeaks. 

“Don’t give me to her,” he whispers.

“Ulsha,” Gale invites her to the table. “I am aware Theris is a notorious troublemaker, but he and Alethaine retrieved Tara from smugglers. I suppose it’s enough”

“You don't understand!”

“I think I do, Ulsha,” Gale’s voice sounds more stern, “Please. Can I ask what brought you here?”

“it’s personal”

“Not a problem, Mierni, show Theris and Alethaine the library.”

Mierni nods and grabs their hands.

The boy doesn’t shut up the whole way up to the library. By the time they reach the room, he suddenly realizes Theris is a tiefling and he starts asking to touch his tail and his horns and also asking what it is to be a tiefling. 

Then he switches his attention to Alethaine - mostly to her ears, so different from his own. 

For some reason, it doesn't annoy her. The boy is so innocent, so open-hearted that Alethaine decides she is going to kill anyone who would threaten him.

“You are a necromancer!” he exclaims. “I wanted to learn necromancy, but my father told me I shouldn't indulge in such dark sciences! Can you animate something dead?!”

‘Well, to animate something dead, you need to kill something first,” Theris chuckles.

Mierni rushes to the dark corner of the library and proudly brings a dead mouse. The animal has probably been dead for a few days.

Theris closes the rat’s eyes. “Don’t watch, my friend.”

Mierni places the dead rat on the floor and steps back.

“Please! Please!” Now Mierni sounds like a five-year-old who has found a new toy.

Alethain sighs and kneels in front of the tiny corpse. 

Dark strings pierce through the tips of her fingers and connect to the body.

The dead mouse opens its eyes.

Alethaine feels the strings tense. Now the animal is all in her power.

“Climb his shoulder,” Alethaine orders and the dead mouse climbs onto Theris. 

“Don’t do anything stupid!” Theris hisses still covering his living rat’s eyes.

Mierni laughs and picks up the dead mouse. “Can you teach me? I want to know necromancy!”

“I think Gale will kill me,” Alethaine smiles. 

“He won’t!”

“No, Gale, I am not doing this!” Ulsha enters the library. Gale follows her. “I am not going to work with that… thing”

Theris bares his fangs almost indistinguishable from his tiefling canines. “Are you pointing at me or the elf?”

“Answer your own question.”

Theris shrugs. “Aletahaine, I’d be really offended if someone called me a thing”

“Shut up”

Ulsha shakes her head. “No. I told you it wouldn’t work”

“What is the problem?” Alethaine asks, putting the mouse to rest. The small body stills and Alethaine catches a pleasant scent of decay.

She still isn't sure if decay smells nice to her because she was born half-dead or because of her sorcerer's nature.

“You see, Alethaine, ever since Ulsha left the Underdark where she grew up among the vampire spawns, she’s wandered the Sword Coast, saving the less fortunate from their peril, true to her oath to - “

“Of devotion,” she finished. “I serve Lathander, the Morninglord.”

‘Morninglord? Is she insane?’ Alethaine wonders. The god hates the undead so much that he demands the slaughter of vampires and other creatures of the night.

“What’s so funny, elf?” Ulsha asks.

“Listen, I am not a woman of spiritual nature,” Alethaine explains. “But couldn’t you choose a god that doesn’t despise you for your mere existence?”

“He doesn't despise anyone,” she says sternly. “We, dhampirs, have a choice of which side to take. And I’ve chosen the light the moment I left the disgusting tunnels of the Underdark. But everyone makes their own choices,” Ulsha pushes the dead mouse away with her leg. “Some prefer to enforce their vampiric side. Bloodrinking and death worship.”

“I do none of that,” Alethaine comes close to the half-orc.

Gale takes Ulsha’s hand and offers her a seat. The half-orc obliges, but Alethaine physically senses the hostility coming from her. 

“Returning to our matters,” Gale smiles. ��It's difficult to be a sole adventurer – and people get suspicious when Ulsha spends too much time with them. Folks just don’t see a difference between a vampire and a dhampir and very few of them want to educate themselves.”

“So?” Theris gets impatient. He drums his fingers and frowns.

“I think you would work perfectly together.”

“I am not going anywhere with her,” Theris says.

But Gale doesn’t listen to him.

He keeps talking about some spellbook of old that was lost without a trace centuries ago. And he thinks he knows the exact location of the volume, and he doesn’t trust anyone but Ulsha to retrieve it.

“Ulsha’s oath forbids her from using dark magic. Besides, the Bowgentle of Silverymoon’s spellbook doesn’t lie in the open. You will need to break into the lair. I will pay you generously, each of you.”

“How much?” Alethaine asks, doing mental math. Gale definitely isn’t poor and retrieving a book of magic doesn’t sound simple. Besides, a wizard spellbook must be worth a fortune.

Gale chuckles. “I see you take after your father. Your mother would agree first. 150 gold for each of you. Yes, including you Ulsha.I doubt Lathander would want his paladin to die in poverty.”

“200,” Theris says. “The task is rather dangerous.”

“150, Theris, you are not the first adventurer I have to deal with.”

“Let me,” Alethaine approaches Gale. “ 250. You know we can always sell the spellbook.”

“No one will buy it.”

“Don’t underestimate my intimidation skills,” Alethaine bares her fangs.

Gale cringes. “Two hundred and twenty gold.”

“Agreed, and we take all the treasures we find.”

“I doubt you would know how to use all these artifacts, Alethaine,” Gale smiles behind his beard.

“Oh, trust me! I am full of secrets!”

… Hours later, when Alethaine stands in front of a stall with weapons, choosing between a longbow and a short sword, she laughs at herself for tryingto get more money from the wizard.

Well, she was taught not to sell herself too short.

“Do you know how to shoot arrows?” Ulsha asks as she prepares her armor.

“If I am an elf it doesn't mean I am an archer.”

“But do you?”

“Yes. I am an archer.”

“Great. Then you are in the back. Avoid getting in the middle of the fight, that’s my job. Do you know any healing spells?”

“I am a necromancer. It’s the opposite of healing.”

Theris switches the daggers from the stall. '`Wait, are you going to allow Ulsha to be in charge?!’

“She is a fucking paladin!” Alethaine takes the bow and the arrows. “Of course, she is going to be in charge and take all the blame if we fuck up. And we will fuck up.”

Gale places healing potions at the stall. “It’s very mature of you to understand there is sometimes just a much more competent person in the team than yourself. It took me days to finally put trust in your mother but I never doubted her choices after. So, maybe, we should have left Duke Ravengard to suffocate in his prison.”

Mierni, dressed in his traveling clothes, takes Gale’s hand. “I don’t want to go.”

Gale pats the boy’s head. “Mierni, you need to see the world outside my tower. Besides, even though you are mostly human like I, you are still a dhampir and you should be with your own kind to figure things out for yourself. Besides, what would a wizard do without their own stories about adventures?”

“But I like it here!” he pouts. 

Alethaine looks at the wizards. Yes, they are more like father and son rather than one wizard and apprentice. Besides, he is only fourteen! When Alethane was fourteen she was afraid to go to the nearest village on her own and found a dozen excuses to stay home. She can’t imagine becoming an adventurer that young.

Besides, her own parents wouldn’t have let her go, that's for sure.

“It’s your home, Mierni, and you are always welcome to come back. But I don’t want you to waste your youth in the company of an old man.”

“Yes, Mierni,” Theris tugs the boy to himself. “You can waste your youth in the company of a necromancer and a delinquent bard.”

…They leave the city at night. Ulsha is in the front with her shield and a longsword,  The paladin armors make her look much bigger than she already is. Mierni, who probably has never left Waterdeep on his own, whirls his head like a five-year-old on the market square. 

“How the hell did you manage to persuade him to pay us more?” Theris asks as they walk along the Long Road in the direction of Amphail. 

“Hm, two options. My own charms or he has flashbacks of having to deal with Astarion Ancunin,” Alethaine shrugs. The night makes her feel better - after all, she is a creature of the night as well.

--

--

Tag list

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@dajeong @wilteddreamsofbaldursgate

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The Bezzle excerpt (Part II)

I'm on tour with my new novel The Bezzle! Catch me next in SALT LAKE CITY (Feb 21, Weller Book Works) and SAN DIEGO (Feb 22, Mysterious Galaxy). After that, it's LA, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix and more!

Today, I'm bringing you part two of this week's serialized excerpt from The Bezzle, my new Martin Hench high-tech crime revenge thriller:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865878/thebezzle

Though most of the scams that Hench – a two-fisted forensic accountant specializing in Silicon Valley skullduggery – goes after in The Bezzle have a strong tech component, this excerpt concerns a pre-digital scam: music royalty theft.

This is a subject that I got really deep into when researching and writing 2022's Chokepoint Capitalism – a manifesto for fixing creative labor markets:

https://chokepointcapitalism.com/

My co-author on that book is Rebecca Giblin, who also happens to be one of the world's leading experts in "copyright termination" – the legal right of creative workers to claw back any rights they signed over after 35 years:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/09/26/take-it-back/

This was enshrined in the 1976 Copyright Act, and has largely languished in obscurity since then, though recent years have seen creators of all kinds getting their rights back through termination – the authors of The Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley High Books, Stephen King, and George Clinton, to name a few. The estates of the core team at Marvel Comics, including Stan Lee, just settled a case that might have let them take the rights to all those characters back from Disney:

https://www.thewrap.com/marvel-settles-spiderman-lawsuit-steve-ditko/

Copyright termination is a powerful tonic to the bargaining disparities between creative workers. A creative worker who signs a bad contract at the start of their career can – if they choose – tear that contract up 35 years later and demand a better one.

Turning this into a plot-point in The Bezzle is the kind of thing that I love about this series – the ability to take important, obscure, technical aspects of how the world works and turn them into high-stakes technothriller storylines that bring them to the audience they deserve.

If you signed something away 35 years ago and you want to get it back, try Rights Back, an automated termination of tranfer tool co-developed by Creative Commons and Authors Alliance (whose advisory board I volunteer on):

https://rightsback.org/

All right, onto today's installment. Here's part one, published on Saturday:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/17/the-steve-soul-caper/#lead-singer-disease

It was on one of those drives where Stefon learned about copyright termination. It was 2011, and NPR was doing a story on the 1976 Copyright Act, passed the same year that was on the bottom of the document Chuy forged.

Under the ’76 act, artists acquired a “termination right”—­ that is, the power to cancel any copyright assignment after thirty-­five years, even if they signed a contract promising to sign away their rights forever and a day (or until the copyright ran out, which was nearly the same thing).

Listening to a smart, assured lady law professor from UC Berkeley explaining how this termination thing worked, Stefon got a wild idea. He pulled over and found a stub of a pencil and the back of a parking-­ticket envelope and wrote down the professor’s name when it was repeated at the end of the program. The next day he went to the Inglewood Public Library and got a reference librarian to teach him how to look up a UC Berkeley email address and he sent an email to the professor asking how he could terminate his copyright assignment.

He was pretty sure she wasn’t going to answer him, but she did, in less than a day. He got the email on his son’s smartphone and the boy helped him send a reply asking if he could call her. One thing led to another and two weeks later, he’d filed the paperwork with the U.S. Copyright Office, along with a check for one hundred dollars.

Time passed, and Stefon mostly forgot about his paperwork adventure with the Copyright Office, though every now and again he’d remember, think about that hundred dollars, and shake his head. Then, nearly a year later, there it was, in his mailbox: a letter saying that his copyright assignment had been canceled and his copyrights were his again. There was also a copy of a letter that had been sent to Chuy, explaining the same thing.

Stefon knew a lawyer—­well, almost a lawyer, an ex–­trumpet player who became a paralegal after one time subbing for Sly Stone’s usual guy, and then never getting another gig that good. He invited Jamal over for dinner and cooked his best pot roast and served it with good whiskey and then Jamal agreed to send a letter to Inglewood Jams, informing them that Chuy no longer controlled his copyrights and they had to deal with him direct from now on.

Stefon hand-­delivered the letter the next day, wearing his good suit for reasons he couldn’t explain. The receptionist took it without a blink. He waited.

“Thank you,” she said, pointedly, glancing at the door.

“I can wait,” he said.

“For what?” She reminded him of his boy’s girlfriend, a sophomore a year younger than him. Both women projected a fierce message that they were done with everyone’s shit, especially shit from men, especially old men. He chose his words carefully.

“I don’t know, honestly.” He smiled shyly. He was a good-­looking man, still. That smile had once beamed out of televisions all over America, from the Soul Train stage. “But ma’am, begging your pardon, that letter is about my music, which you all sell here. You sell a lot of it, and I want to talk that over with whoever is in charge of that business.”

She let down her guard by one minute increment. “You’ll want Mr. Gounder,” she said. “He’s not in today. Give me your phone number, I’ll have him call.”

He did, but Mr. Gounder didn’t call. He called back two days later, and the day after that, and the following Monday, and then he went back to the office. The receptionist who reminded him of his son’s girlfriend gave him a shocked look.

“Hello,” he said, and tried out that shy smile. “I wonder if I might see that Mr. Gounder.”

She grew visibly uncomfortable. “Mr. Gounder isn’t in today,” she lied. “I see,” he said. “Will he be in tomorrow?”

“No,” she said.

“The day after?”

“No.” Softer.

“Is that Mr. Gounder of yours ever coming in?”

She sighed. “Mr. Gounder doesn’t want to speak with you, I’m sorry.”

The smile hadn’t worked, so he switched to the look he used to give his bandmates when they wouldn’t cooperate. “Maybe someone can tell me why?”

A door behind her had been open a crack; now it swung wide and a young man came out. He looked Hispanic, with a sharp fade and flashy sneakers, but he didn’t talk like a club kid or a hood rat—­he sounded like a USC law student.

“Sir, if you have a claim you’d like Mr. Gounder to engage with, please have your attorney contact him directly.”

Stefon looked this kid up and down and up, tried and failed to catch the receptionist’s eye, and said, “Maybe I can talk this over with you. Are you someone in charge around here?”

“I’m Xavier Perez. I’m vice president for catalog development here. I don’t deal with legal claims, though. That’s strictly Mr. Gounder’s job. Please have your attorney put your query in writing and Mr. Gounder will be in touch as soon as is ­feasible.”

“I did have a lawyer write him a letter,” Stefon said. “I gave it to this young woman. Mr. Gounder hasn’t been in touch.”

Perez looked at the receptionist. “Did you receive a letter from this gentleman?”

She nodded, still not meeting Stefon’s eye. “I gave it to Mr. Gounder last week.”

Perez grinned, showing a gold tooth, and then, in his white, white voice, said, “There you have it. I’m sure Mr. Gounder will get back in touch with your counsel soon. Thank you for coming in today, Mr.—­”

“Stefon Magner.” Stefon waited a moment, then said, for the first time in many years, “I used to perform under Steve Soul, though.”

Perez nodded briskly. He’d known that. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Magner.” Without waiting for a reply, he disappeared back into his office.

ETA: Here's part three!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/19/crad-kilodney-was-an-outlier/#copyright-termination

[velteris]

Frieren timeline

The only timeline available on the wiki isn’t super fleshed out with exact dates and counting backwards etc. So I decided to make my own.

Notes:

1. Spoilers for up to manga ch119 (the most recent at this time)

2. Even if it’s likely just a rough measure (“three hundred years ago”), I’m gonna assume when doing my math that it was exactly 300 years, because otherwise I can’t do most of the math

3. I skip most events that don’t have an exact year, eg Fern and Stark respective being taken in by Heiter and Eisen. I do make some estimates (eg Sein’s birthday, we only know he’s in mid-30s so he can’t have been born any further back than year xx).

4. Standardised year 0 as the year the demon king was defeated

5. Realised about 2/3rds through that I could be writing down chapter citations but at that point it was too late lol sorry

behold!

-3,000: Earliest mentioned date, by Frieren re: dwarf beliefs; most people believed the dead turn to dust, so pre-Goddess. Unclear when Goddess actually starts appearing.

[Emperor Boshaft alive, so is Milliarde, Frieren in village]

-1,000: Frieren becomes Flamme’s apprentice

-950: Flamme passes away*

-510: the last time Frieren fought a demon (quite likely Macht, as in year 80 she says 600 years ago, which would be -520. What’s a decade here and there?)

-420: Frieren restores her golden arm

-422: Aura became one of the seven sages of destruction

-322: the last time Frieren saw another elf, Grandfather Voll starts to protect village

-222: the last time Kraft saw another elf

-120: Fass finds Emperor Boshaft’s alcohol, Gehn starts working on his village’s bridge

-26: Himmel is born

-11?: Hero of the South visits Frieren and dies a year later; tells her she’ll meet Himmel soon**

-10: Hero Party sets out from capital

[Hero Party kills Immortal Bose and pushes back Aura sometime during this period]

-3: Goddess arc (Himmel is 23), Hero Party seals Qual***

0: Demon King defeated, Era Meteors, Macht starts to serve^

2: Denken born

20: Macht is braceleted

28: Continental Magic Association started (at latest), Lernen was first first-class mage

29: Denken came to Auberst with his wife (who died when he was in his twenties); Denken’s wife presumably passed away very soon after

30: last sighting of a Darkness Dragon (per random apothecary); Weis turned to gold and sealed

39: Earliest possible Sein birthday (he would be 40); humanity learns to fly

45: Wirbel born

50: 2nd Era Meteors; Himmel passes away; Aura reappears, demon activity increases in north and baby Wirbel makes promise

61: Stark is born earlier in the year after winter; Fern is born some time after harvest festival but before the last three months of the year

68: Graf Granat’s son dies in war against Aura

69: Sein’s friend Gorilla left

70: Frieren and Fern meet

74: Heiter collapses

75: Stark runs away from Eisen

76: Heiter passes away; Frieren and Fern set out on their journey

76.5: half a year spent looking for blue moonweed

77: Fern turns 16 (after spring, latest autumn)

78: 3+ Months spent at seaside town cleaning beach

79: wintered with Kraft, Stark’s 18th bday (after spring), meet Sein around harvest festival (time is a bit funky since it gets cold and then warm after this?)^^

80: El Dorado arc

81: first chapter after El Dorado. As of ch119, we are here, 31 years after Hero Himmel’s death!

and in the future…

97: Tod’s “curse” will engulf the star?

100: Next meteor shower. Fern and Stark would be 39.

149: Frieren promised to be back at hero’s sword village by this time

1079: Frieren may return to the Continental Mage Association :)

*Assuming she died soon after Frieren’s last shown convo with her where she said “it’s only been 50 years”

**Unclear just when was the Frieren/Hero of the South meeting, so it could technically be anywhere before, but -11 is the most recent it could be

***Frieren says it’s been 80 years in year 77. If she’s being precise then this is the date—but I have doubts as Qual was sealed in the Central Lands, and Hero Party should be well into the Northern Plateau near the goddess monument by this point.

^Technically I think Macht starts to serve a leetle bit before the demon king is defeated, but no time frame given for how long it took Macht and Glück to have those convos

^^To be more precise: they start the year’s winter with Kraft. Then it gets warm, and Stark’s birthday happens. Harvest festivals are usually in autumn, which is when they meet Sein, and then it gets cold enough for the gang to wear their winter gear again, and they spend a winter (or a cold snap?) with Sein. When they get to Auberst they spend an additional two months training with Fern while waiting for the exam to start. But when they finally leave Auberst in ch61, and aren’t wearing their winter clothes anymore, it’s still listed as 29 years post-Himmel death??? There’s a mention of it being because they’re in the volcanic belt… But seriously, year 79 goes on and on. I honestly think the authors just forgot to find a good spot to switch that over lol

[hoardlikegoldenirises]

I'm posting this now because I'm impatient and also because I just got that commission done by jerribbit (go look at it and admire it 🥰) which is based off of the same thumbnail as this drawing (lol) 'cause I had one of those moments like, "wait this concept is too good for me to not also draw this picture," so even though I paid someone else to draw it, I decided to also draw it. But expanded upon.

anyway it's AU-related and I plan to actually put this in a post with some other images later but I have to like, draw the other images first...

these are both Kaine as he looks in Houston in windowverse; left in mid-october or thereabouts and right in mid-november ish. 2015. he's 26/27/28/6 years old depending on how you start counting. (lol) (he's 27 and a half)

originally, I was gonna put his costume underneath, but I ended up deciding to bare his neck, just for the like... cohesion of the image as a whole.

closeups/details under the cut:

left pic is Kaine in mid-October ish as mentioned, mid-to-late really... he ran out of medication and he's not doing so hot. some breakthrough spots as his immune system kicks back into gear.

some of those spots (the little ones) are just from picking at his skin though.

then he gets eaten by werewolves.

also shaves his head. the white pupil is a cataract he's had for a few years at this point. a combo of meds + physical trauma when he was a few years younger.

also it turns out shaving a character's face and making his cheeks rounder really shaves off the years.

he may be going through some shit and adjusting to new medications and so on and so forth but at least he's eating enough ❤️

stop chewing your lips dude. anyway i spent at least an hour on coloring his scars in the second pic lmao, i just enjoy that. Like, lighting? no. texturing? yes. it's just a bunch of overlapping marks of cain. mark of cains. handprints :) a la Spider-Man: Redemption.

opposite side obviously.

some red hairs in his scraggly little beard :p

his voice is fried, for the record. that scar is right over his voice box. it's like five years old though, so it's well-healed.

and then it gets even more fried, probably. this relatively fresh extremely gnarly scar is from getting his throat ripped out by a werewolf lol.

He died! Then he got better. Obv being eaten by werewolves is directly lifted from his Scarlet Spider solo, though not everything is identical.

i had to bullshit the way it looks also cause idk about you but it seems like asking for trouble to try and google, like, "scars from wolf mauling" or something. lmao.

in the windowverse setting, the Other heals injuries but existing scars stay put, and in this case the life-threatening injuries he sustained made new scars rather than healing away to smooth skin, on account of, hey, he got torn limb from limb by werewolves! not exactly a papercut, you know???

admire his hair. the only reason it's not one big fluff is because of his expensive hair products.

oh yeah blue pullover hoodie because that's what Ben has :)

and the charcoal gray hoodie is a $345 Derek Rose hoodie he got from Saks after Aracely decided that she liked his blue hoodie and it's hers now.

oh right as far as his age goes—

this pic is, as mentioned, how he looks in fall 2015.

he was ''born'' on 4/1/2009 (so if you must be literal he's 6 years old)

he reached 22 the day after Peter's 22nd birthday (10/31/2009) (so he's 28)

but his 22nd birthday wasn't until 4/1/2010 (so he's 27)

according to the birth certificate wally gets made for him in this au he was born on 4/1/1989 (so he's legally 26)

He usually counts from his observed 22nd birthday in 2010 so generally he would consider himself 27 at this point. as long as he can remember his fake birth year it doesn't matter if he forgets what age he's ''supposed'' to be and since he was born in 2009 technically that makes 1989 much easier to remember.

also aracely was born in 1999 in this universe so this makes her both 10 years older than and 10 years younger than him :) which was another factor in why i picked 1989

[danilovefest]

from: Box Repsol blog

What makes Dani Pedrosa a one-of-a-kind rider?

His clean, technical style

Wherever he sets his eyes, his wheels follow. Dani has always been an extremely smooth rider, taking turns with the best riding line and great skill. This riding style protects the wheel from wear and allows him to gain precious seconds. Although the samurai can’t always take the line he’d like to on the track (because it’s occupied by another rider, for example), knowing which is the optimal line helps him identify the best alternative. If you can’t take the riding line you want, make your own.

Sportsmanship

One of Dani’s stand-out qualities for his fans, the media, and other riders is that number 26 is a true gentleman when it comes to competition. When he’s on the bike, respect for his fellow competitors and safety on the track are values that he refuses to set aside. That’s why Dani has earned the respect and esteem of everyone in the paddock.

Tenacity

Dani is a demanding rider who always tries to give his all on the track. It doesn’t matter how many times he’s been one step away from success, the Samurai isn’t satisfied with almost achieving something. His tenacity is an admirable quality, even more so after years of pursuing the title, something that he hasn’t achieved in the top category. Having tried time after time alone is a feat that’s difficult to match.

His numbers

31 victories in MotoGP; 153 podiums across all of the categories, the third most podiums in history; and 2940 points, the second highest number of total points in the top class. To that, add three world titles — one in the 125cc category and two in 250cc — as well as 16 consecutive seasons winning at least once race, 12 of which were in MotoGP. All of these numbers paint the portrait of a tremendously successful MotoGP career, and are the foundation that earns him the support of many fans.

Modesty

Even with all of his success, Dani is still the same guy he’s always been. He likes cycling, Japan, water sports, and spending time with his friends. Dani is by no means pretentious, and we can see that in the way he works, how he celebrates his successes, and how he always greets his fans with a smile.

Beloved

It’s precisely because of all of these qualities (and many more) that Dani’s fans love him. Dani has enthralled an entire generation of motorcycling fans, who have shouted in unison: “No corres solo” or “You’re not riding alone!“. The fan club of this rider from Castellar del Vallés is one of the most active, and is legendary on the grandstands at circuits such as MotorLand and Cheste. The red and blue banners with number 26 and the baby samurai are their most beloved symbols. Their support has always been essential for Dani to remind him of the effort and determination that have got him to this point and that, whether he’s on his bike or not, he’s never riding alone

[sunsetcougar]

Alongside all my world building I’ve been doing for the Cannibal Angel AU I’ve also been ironing out some of the details for my Circus AU, and I’ve got the base notes for most of the main cast figured out. Ages are a pain to figure out when in canon the characters are all immortal, but I ran roughly based on how long they’ve been around in canon and what sort of dynamics I want them to have.

Lucifer, 56 - He started the circus alongside Lilith. He was full of so many big dreams and loved seeing them come to life around him. Lilith’s disappearance destroyed him, and he wishes every day for closure.

Lilith, 55 - She started the circus alongside Lucifer. While he was the dreamer she tackled the more technical bits, enjoying seeing the pieces fall into place. She’s been missing for seven years and no one knows what happened to her.

Sera, 48 - Her and Emily’s mom was sixteen when she had Sera. She was mostly raised by her grandparents but always knew she was unwanted and that they thought she ruined her mother’s life. She joined the circus to try and give Emily a life filled with the joy and love she herself was denied.

Adam, 45 - He was an accomplished trapeze artist and when Lute and Vaggie were forced out of their careers because of their injuries he left with them and followed them to the circus, refusing to abandon his best girls.

Lute, 44 - She was an accomplished trapeze artist before she was involved in a car crash, lost her arm, and gained heavy scarring across part of her left side. It causes her chronic and phantom pain and some stiffness. She joined the circus because they gave her a chance to prove herself again.

Husk, 40 - His gambling and alcohol addictions ruined his life. He was married, but his wife has since divorced him and took their son. He hates and blames himself for how his life has turned to shit. He joined the circus for lack of other options.

Alastor, 39 - He was a famous radio host but due to rumors he found himself out of business. He despises modern technology, viewing it as flashy and unnecessary. He joined the circus for his own entertainment while he rebuilds his radio career.

Angel, 36 - He's a sex trafficking victim, on the run from his abusers. He joined the circus because it’s always moving so he’ll be harder to find. He has a lot of body image issues and is constantly terrified he’ll be tracked down and dragged back to the hell he escaped.

Emily, 26 - She was the “do over” baby for her and Sera’s mom and step dad. It didn’t go well and Sera ended up getting custody of her when she was five. She’s was practically raised in the circus, barely remembering a time before it.

Charlie, 25 - She was raised in the circus, having never known anything else. She’s participated in acts since she was a kid and found herself suddenly being given the title of ringmaster when she was twenty, two years after her mom disappeared.

Vaggie, 23 - She was an accomplished trapeze artist before she was involved in a car crash and shrapnel destroyed her eye and tore up her back, causing her stiffness and chronic pain. She joined the circus because they gave her a chance to prove herself again.