#hope it's okay i posted it instead of private reply :^)

[nexility-sims]

Hello! I hope you are having a great day! I just happened across your story, and I was absolutely blown away by the detailing and just everything (OMG it was so perfect) If you don't mind, can you please tell me how long it took you to set up and shoot scene 14? From the building to the posing and then editing?

this is so incredibly sweet !!!! thank you for taking the time to send such a kind note. 💓💓💓💓💓💓 like, i know people read it, but 😭 i’m touched ! anyway, it’s impossible for me to answer questions with simplicity, so ... i apologize for the wall of text: 

this scene was a little different than the usual. i built the room a long time ago (like last year), since it’s essentially fernando’s work office, and i’ve used it for another scene. however, i would say decorating a room like this one probably takes me ... half an hour? maybe an hour, if i have to close the game and go download more clutter for it. i’ve mentioned before, but most of my sets are box rooms, not actually part of a larger cohesive structure. this one, actually, is part of a building ! i didn’t build it, tho; it was a lot i got from the gallery. y’all will never see the exterior of it because ... it’s not the exterior i use for nakawe palace, lmao. i don’t think building sets for stories has to be as complicated as i make it, but this is what i’ve chosen !!!!! 

for the posing, i can’t totally recall ... i want to say in the ballpark of 15 minutes? i rarely make my own poses, so that saves a ton of time. the more heated arguing is from a single pose pack; everything else is the result of me clicking through random poses and using the tool mod to make it look right. i honestly spend the most time rotating sims back and forth by 5-10-15 degree increments to get the correct visual effect sdjkfksgs

editing ! once i’ve adjusted the in-game lighting to my liking, reshade (now gshade) does the heavy lifting for me. in photoshop, i have an action set that i like to use—it just makes everything richer and more dramatic. i slap on a black and white filter because the preset i use is slightly more sepia, then another layer to brighten things up. this takes ... <15 minutes, since the most time consuming part is clicking through screenshots.

i actually let this post sit in my drafts for a few weeks before i went back to write the dialogue and such. i was a little afraid of it, lmao, because this is a pivotal scene and also a shouting argument (which is, for me, harder to write). the dialogue probably took like 20 minutes? including revising? the two paragraphs i attached took perhaps ... 15 minutes when i drafted it the other week, then another 15 minutes when i edited yesterday. i have to budget 5 minutes for the absolute misery of rereading my rough drafts dfjkldfhdkg 

TLDR; SO LIKE THE ANSWER IS ... perhaps an hour and a half, spread across several weeks? i usually do my scenes in one go, but not the ones i’m posting as of late. 

[bangtanfanfiction]

love at first squat? → k. sunwoo

Listen I'm a whore for Sunwoo this comeback. I will use every opportunity to praise that beautiful man.

♢ Pairing: Sunwoo x Gym rat!Reader → Idol AU

♢ Word count: 2.2k

♢ Genre: Fluff, suggestive, established relationship

⌲ Description: Inviting you to join him at the gym with his members was supposed to be a cute outing. Instead Sunwoo is left speechless and probably more in love than he thought possible. ↳ Warnings: Cursing, horny thoughts, mentions of sex, Sunwoo is ready to call you mommy (jk. maybe not. idk)

Listen.

Sunwoo wasn’t stupid, okay. 

Besides his obvious talent for being annoyingly witty, he considered himself to be fairly intelligent.

Which is why he was quite certain there were very few situations these days that would make him feel like an idiot. 

But here he was. Feeling like a complete, flustered idiot. 

All because of you. 

Okay fair enough, it was his fault this situation happened at all. But still. 

Being a twenty-three-year-old man, Sunwoo doubted there was much in the world that could turn him back into a speechless, bubbling idiot after being in the entertainment industry as long as he had. 

He’s seen it all. Over-the-top performances, beautiful idols, arenas filled to the brim as well as anything negative to follow those specific areas. 

And so Sunwoo had the brilliant idea of wanting to spend some time with you today that didn’t just include laying around and eating a bunch of snacks. 

Something cute, y’know. Wholesome. Instagram worthy without the posting etc, etc. You get the idea.

Since it’s only been six months since the two of you started dating officially, after all. He had to keep the fun going somehow.

He was also confident that he knew most of your likes and dislikes at this point. 

For instance, Sunwoo knew you loved the gym. You were 110% a gym girl with nearly all stereotypes to follow. 

He rarely saw you outside of comfy hoodies and sweats. He knew about your strict five-day workout routine you kept to almost religiously. He knew you struggled with fulfilling your needed protein count every day because you always complained to him about it. 

In all honesty, Sunwoo shouldn’t have been as surprised to actually see you in a gym environment. He knew you were fit and healthy - Of course he did. He‘s seen your naked body more times than he could count at this point. 

But all those times had also been in a private relaxed space. Often after eating takeout with a bloated stomach each.

So when some of his very avid gym-going members asked if he wanted to join them, he further stretched that invitation to you. Hoping to get a day spent together out of it. 

He had never seen you reply to something as quick as that.

You had met him in front of the private gym their personal trainer owned a walking distance away from the company. Dressed in a comfortable loose set of white sweats and matching hoodie, a black gym bag swung over your shoulder as you skipped the last distance towards him, launching into a tight hug.

“Hi.” Sunwoo smiled down at you, brushed away some stray hair falling into your face.

“Hi.” You returned it with a wide grin, leaning up on your toes to press a series of pecks on his irresistible lips, like an overbearing mother without the maternal instinct obviously.

“Missed me?” It had been a little over a week since you last managed to meet up in the midst of their recent comeback. 

And God, what a comeback that was.

“I always do.” You were never shy of your affection towards him, even to the point of making him shy in front of his members. “It’s unfair how perfect this comeback fits you.”

Your fingers flicked his parted hair with a wink.

Sunwoo only kept grinning - you had already shared your very enthusiastic opinion of him five minutes after the MV had dropped, texting a whole paragraph on how beautiful he looked and how your possessive nature might just turn deadly. (Jokingly, that is)

You had been in his shared dorm with Chanhee, Changmin and Younghoon spread throughout the living room and kitchen, tucked into the corner of their L-formed couch as you watched their most recent live performance - Sunwoo right beside you, waiting for your reaction.

He had paid careful attention, especially when his part had come on. You had watched the entire video silently with a completely straight face.

Chanhee would forever hold his trauma over your heads having been a witness to see you dragging Sunwoo to his room by the front of his shirt, locking the door audibly with a click before the sounds of thumping music came on to hide the sounds of your very obvious antics.

They didn't need to listen to know what the two of you were up to. Not with how Sunwoo seemed to be on cloud nine the rest of the week.

("Best fucking blowjob ever.")

Your screen saver was later a picture of his iconic part in 'Watch it'.

His hand slid a little lower at the memory, against the visible dip of your lower back and perky ass. One of his favourite physical traits on you, and Sunwoo would never be ashamed of being an ass man.

Shaking his head, he gave your butt a fond tap as you both made your way inside the building. The other members were already inside; Sangyeon, Jaehyun, Kevin, and Eric were in various positions stretching their bodies. 

You greeted them all cheerily with a wave and grin, before thanking their PT for allowing you to use the gym. 

Sunwoo was half listening to their workouts planned out while also glancing at you through his peripheral vision - curiosity driving him to see you for the first time in a gym together. 

You were obviously in the zone, within a corner of the private gym, not wanting to get in their way. 

He saw you tipping back a dry scoop of pre-workout and washing it down, before stretching just like them. You were still patiently at it as he began his first workout, falling into the same concentration with his members scattered around him doing their own things; their PT walking around and fixing any details. 

Sunwoo had just finished all his sets of a lat pulldown when the praise came from Sangyeon in a disbelieving mutter, stopping in his DB shoulder presses. 

“Whoa, that’s insane.”

Turning around, Sunwoo’s cough mid-water sip was not subtle. 

You were on whatever set of your hip thrusts, 200kg worth of plates on the bar as you breathed in concentration, not even aware of how much attention you had drawn. Your soundproof headphones made sure of it. 

You had shed the hoodie and sweats, only a pair of navy blue shorts and an oversized t-shirt he recognized as his, tucked into the band of your sports bra behind as you pushed through. The bar clattered slightly as you dropped back down. With a relieved sigh, you stood up only to flinch in shock to see him and his members still staring. 

Pushing back the headphones, you gave an awkward smile. “Hi?”

Sangyeon walked forward with an admiring grin. “Y/N that’s crazy! How long did it take you to get you that weight?” The two of you easily fell into conversation with Sunwoo still on mute. 

You had always clicked quickly with his oldest member, being such big gym goers to the point of obsession. Where Sunwoo also enjoyed going to the gym, he didn’t see it as his priority besides aesthetic pleasure. 

Not that he didn’t appreciate those who did. 

Speaking of...His eyes started to trail down your body. 

How the shorts were clinging to your quads, muscles shifting as your feet moved on the spot while talking, to your damn impressive round ass - frankly looking huge with the pump it had just gone through. He could see a sliver of skin from where your t-shirt was tucked up, showing off the lean lines of your strong back. 

God, Sunwoo was certain your quads were bigger than his head (They were).

Despite your makeup-free face, flushed skin, and sweat coating it - you had never looked hotter to him. 

“Give us a warning if you’re planning to go crazy.” Kevin’s voice snickering next to him snapped Sunwoo out of his stupor.

“Huh?” 

His hyung didn’t stop smirking knowingly. “You’re drooling. So if you’re planning to drag her away, at least warn us of the trauma of witnessing something we don’t want to.”

A blush spread across his face and the tip of his ears as Sunwoo complained. “Ah, hyung! I’m not going to do that.”

He had more decency than that. (Not really.)

Glancing over again, he watched as Sangyeon was helping you rerack the weights and moving the bar to a squat position -your next workout - the two of you moving with surety in every move around the equipment. 

You gave him a perfect view of your ass again as you bent to pick up the last plate, the muscles of your hamstrings tightening impressively, his head tilting to follow the movement.

Sunwoo wondered how he had never noticed that detail before. 

He would have to appreciate your body again (very) carefully once he got the chance. 

If it weren’t for the rough push Kevin put on his shoulder to continue with his workout, Sunwoo would have probably just stood there staring to his own embarrassment. 

“Baby, can you spot me?” 

You waited in patient amusement for his double take at the weights resting on the squat rack before his brows furrowed.

“I’m pretty sure you’ll have to save me if anything happens.”

You snorted out a laugh, his deadpan sense of humour was always a weakness of yours. Making you laugh with a simple sentence even if said in complete seriousness. 

“I’m not hitting over my max today, so you’re good.” You only chuckled, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards you slowly, as if coaxing a frightened animal. Only this one kept his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Nothing is gonna happen, I just need a little bit of support on the last rep.”

“What support am I supposed to give?” Sunwoo eyed the plates carefully, voice flat. “That’s more than my body weight.”

Giving him a quick look up and down; dressed in a pair of grey sweatpants with a fitting tank top, you gave the vision of absolute innocence. “Visual support.” 

Kevin, who was quick to get your innuendo from the bench next to you, laughed out loud. Before Sunwoo could comprehend what you meant, you had already moved into position for the squat. 

Sunwoo could only shake his head as he carefully shifted into a supporting position behind you, knees bending alongside your form but never touching.

"Fine, but if I break something you're taking my place in promotions."

"I'm sure Deobi's will love me more than you anyways." You stuck out your tongue in retort before starting with a huff.

He could see your strain by the seventh rep, thighs shaking and face scrunching up in concentration. 

But he saw the determination. And despite the risk of his demise, Sunwoo moved closer.

“You got it, come on.” He encouraged you, gently tapping your hip as you let out a large breath and pushed up, succeeding without him having to risk his life. 

“Okay, you two, enough of the lovey-dovey, back to work Sunwoo.” Their PT called out lightly. 

About an hour later, you were resting after finishing stretching, casually leaning against the wall with a hip popped out and scrolling through your phone when Sunwoo snuck up behind you, wrapping an arm around your waist and pulling your body flush against his chest. 

“Hi.” You only smiled up over your shoulder. “All finished?”

“You’re being unfair,” Was all he said, burying his nose into the crook of your neck and shoulder, tickling you as you squirmed. 

“About what?” You laughed. 

“Distracting me…” He mumbled with a pout. “I could hardly concentrate this entire session. I think I fell in love all over again."

"If I knew my legs were so powerful I would have squatted in front of you on our first meeting."

Sunwoo bit his lower lip to hide a smile. "Love at first squat, you say?"

“Unless you're just jealous of my thighs, that is.” Despite the flutter of your heart, you continued to tease him lightly, stretching out a leg and tightening your muscles still pumped out from your session. “I’ll teach you how to get them.”

Sunwoo hummed lowly against your ear, and you knew he was plotting something.

“I’d rather be buried between them.”

Your scandalous gasp was loud as you whirled around to slap his chest, catching the attention of the rest of the guys who were cleaning up. 

“Kim Sunwoo, we are in public!” You whisper-shouted in mortification. It was his turn to smirk at you in satisfaction, only giving an innocent shrug. 

“Ugh, Sunwoo is being indecent, hyung. Scold him.” Eric called out with an exaggerated shudder, turning to Sangyeon. The leader only sighed exasperated. Already far too used to you and Sunwoo's shows of PDA.

“You didn’t even hear what I said,” Sunwoo called out. 

“I didn’t have to! Y/N proved it.”

“Well maybe I offered her ice scream and she got overjoyed.” He retorted, their usual bickering starting up again. 

“Suuuure, if ice cream meant fu-”

“OKAY!” Sangyeon exclaimed loudly before Eric could finish that sentence, causing a fit of snickers from the others watching, as well as your furious blush spreading as you hid behind the palm of your hand. “Let’s not finish that, Youngjae-ah.”

Eric sucked in his lips with a mischievous glint, shoulders shaking in muted laughter. 

Just as everyone finished cleaning up and you put your outer layers back on - Kevin sidled up to you casually, slinging a friendly arm around your shoulders as you walked out of the building and down the street. 

You both watched Sunwoo take a running start before jumping on Eric’s unsuspecting back as they both stumbled with the maknae’s dramatic complaint of his sore legs echoing.

“You should probably cross out working out together.” Kevin had a shit-eating grin on his face. “You know, for public decency.”

“Oh shut up.”

Thank you for reading!

[j0hnj4ej3n]

how nct dream would kiss you

Word count: 1.4k

Warnings: SUGGESTIVE

Notes: might be my most suggestive post LOL but honestly, most of it is just innocent, loving kissing! however, i do feel a little embarrassed because i’m just a conservative baby :”) but this was requested by @jwisbby <3 thank you for requesting this! 

i know i haven’t posted in a bit but i’m currently in my first semester of my third year in university so i’ve just been busy getting used to attending lessons again after a long summer break! this also means that posting as regularly would be a slight challenge :( i’ll continue writing through my semester but yes, i will definitely post a lot less… BUT i am still always lurking online in my free time so feel free to leave messages or requests in my asks! truly sending all my love and i hope you all enjoy this one <3

𔘓 Mark:

Mark usually kisses you softly, his lips would graze light against yours as he holds you close. Sometimes, he would smile against your lips or even laugh midway. You can’t blame the guy, he just likes you so much, there are times he still can’t believe he’s kissing you. Mark kisses you in a way that is comfortable, no matter the time or situation, his kisses calm you and you feel so safe. He has a habit of looking at your lips first – as if it’s the first time he’s kissing you and he’s trying to be as gentle as possible – before he leans in and captures your lips in his. “Can I kiss you?”, “Is this okay baby?” Mark would still ask sometimes and his heart never fails to flutter every time you would nod shyly or simply lean in instead of actually replying to him. Even if he’s flustered with the thought of your lips, his kisses are confident yet soft, firm yet sweet. His kisses are never too aggressive. Mark just likes to take his time with you, slow and steady as he takes in every bit of each kiss. And you won’t deny it, Mark is a great kisser. However, he likes to give you pecks on your cheeks when you’re around others instead, since kisses are private and reserved for alone time!! On days where you’re down or even when you’re simply cuddling before bed, Mark would place firm kisses on the top of your head. Mark kisses you like you are his entire world and that’s only because you truly are.

𔘓 Renjun: 

Renjun is surprisingly quite shy when it comes to sharing kisses. That is not to say that he doesn’t like kissing you, no, he LOVES kissing you. This baby just feels his heart swelling so much to the point where it’s going to burst because he adores you so much, so he settles for a lot of quick pecks instead. Renjun press light pecks on your lips and then lean back to offer you a sweet smile and you can’t even help but smile back. There are other times though, where Renjun’s eagerness to kiss you overwhelms his shyness. Like when you do something so cute, he would squish your cheeks between his palms gently before pressing a slightly aggressive smooch on your lips. Because shit, you’re just so GODDAMN cute! Or when the two of you are sharing an intimate moment, having heart to heart conversations while cuddling in bed. In those moments, Renjun would brush his thumb ever so lightly across your lower lip before he connects your lips together tenderly. The kiss is slow and sensual, Renjun kisses you deeply, conveying all his love through his kiss. Man, even all his little pecks are heavy with his love for you. Every light kiss that he leaves on your cheek, your neck, even the curve of your shoulder is an indicator of how much he truly adores you.

𔘓 Jeno:

Although Jeno’s affection in public is limited to just handholding and hugs, in private he would kiss you a lot. He just can’t get enough of your lips, it’s the prettiest lips he has ever had the honour of kissing. Jeno kisses you sensually, his hands ghosting over the skin of your bare back, landing on your waist under your shirt. You always know when Jeno is thinking of kissing you, because even though he can maintain the stoic look on his face, he can’t hide the glint in his eyes or his gaze that lingers a little too long on your pink lips. Jeno likes to place his fingers ever so delicately under your chin, tilting your head enough for him to press his lips against yours. It always begins with a delicate kiss, Jeno would place his lips tenderly against yours, moving only slightly before pulling away. And then before you know it, the two of you are all over each other. Jeno would leave a few pecks along your jaw before capturing your lips again, nibbling lightly before deepening the kiss as he cages you between his body and the bed. 

𔘓 Haechan: 

Lee Haechan. This guy is crazy. He will never stop kissing you if he was given a choice. He likes giving you big, loud smooches that leave a bit of saliva on your cheek or lips. You find it endearingly annoying, so depending on your mood, you would either offer him another peck or smack his arm. Haechan also loves trailing kisses down your neck, before he snuggles into the crook of your neck and wraps his arms around your waist. When you and Haechan share a slow, intimate kiss, you honestly feel like he has the power to single handedly drive you crazy. It’s soft and loving and he makes you feel like the prettiest person alive because of the way he looks at you after the kiss. Haechan is a great kisser but you make sure to never tell him. In times of passion however, it takes quite a turn. Haechan’s hands would be all over you and it’ll get a little messy. If you even try to pull apart for air, Haechan would chase your lips and capture them in his again in less than a second. It’s wet kisses, teeth clashing, heart racing, passionate kissing and you swear Haechan will be the death of you. 

𔘓 Jaemin: 

This cheeky, lover boy will never miss out on a chance to kiss you. Jaemin tries not to kiss you too much in public or around friends because he respects the people around him, but more importantly (!) he just doesn’t want you to feel uncomfortable. Jaemin kisses you rather gently most times, like wow you’re so precious and cute and he loves you so much! He would capture your lips between his own, sucking only lightly before he tilts his head to kiss you better. He would also constantly leave featherlight kisses on your nose and he definitely loves peppering your face with kisses as you giggle and try to wiggle out of his kiss attack. Jaemin can get a little aggressive at times, don’t get me wrong it’s not like he bites (well… maybe) or hurts you. He just gets a little dominant, that’s all. Jaemin would always hold the back of your head when he deepens the kiss, his lips moving expertly against yours, guiding you. Kissing Jaemin makes you feel like you’re floating and the only thing(s) keeping you grounded is Jaemin’s firm hands on you, constantly pulling you closer to him. 

𔘓 Chenle: 

Chenle gives you a lot of pecks instead of kisses, because even though he is a self-assured and confident guy, he still secretly gets flustered when it comes to kissing you. But when you two do kiss, he seriously gets so lost in it. Over time however, when he grows even more comfortable with you, kissing you just comes naturally to him. Chenle feels like the world stops when he’s kissing you, your lips move against each other sensually, both hesitant to be the one to push things further. If there was one thing Chenle loved as much as kissing you full on the lips, it was kissing you on the cheek. He would always kiss you on the cheek, when he just woke up and when he was going to leave the house or just whenever he wanted to. Chenle always kissed you like his life depended on it, like it’s his last time kissing you and you always feel like you’ll drown in his love but you won’t have it any other way. 

𔘓 Jisung: 

Jisung and you share light pecks throughout the day, just reminders of the love you two share. And because Jisung is so tall, he loves placing soft kisses on the top of your head. Sometimes out of nowhere, when you two are holding hands, he would bring your interlocked hands up towards his lips and place a chaste kiss on your fingers, before offering you the cutest smile. Jisung’s gaze would always linger on your face, searching for any signs of discomfort before he hesitantly leans in and presses his lips against yours. He is never not shy when he even thinks of kissing you. Jisung can feel himself physically melt whenever your lips meet. You can feel his hesitance as he moves his plump lips against yours, he’s gentle and soft. Sometimes he would giggle after pulling away and blush slightly. Even though Jisung often comes off shy, he always knows exactly what he’s doing. He would always cup your cheek in his hand firmly, his thumb caressing your face as he tilts his head to the side to kiss you more deeply.

taglist - @addictedtothesummernights

[sflow-er]

To August anon 2

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply! I don't know if you'll even see this as I've decided not to risk the backlash of putting it on the main tag, but I hope you do.

[Earlier posts: August anon 1, August anon 2]

I want to curate the discussion a bit now that you've shifted part of the focus on Sara. I don't share your position of liking both her and August for being 'morally dark' people, and I fear it may be a bit jarring to any Sara fans reading this. So I've decided to screenshot your message and put it under the cut instead of replying directly.

We disagree on some fundamental things when it comes to August's and especially Sara's characterisation, and I doubt we're going to reach consensus. But that's okay! I'm just going to explain some parts of my POV below, and then we can agree to disagree. There are also a few areas where we seem to be getting our wires crossed (e.g. what we mean by 'understanding' the consequences) so I want to clear those up.

Most of this rambling essay was written before the S3 trailer came out, so I'm not focusing much on the glimpses we see of them in the trailer. But I am still using the spoiler tags just to be safe.

CW: negative take on Sara (but the anon actually likes her); couple of suicide mentions

Okay so... I'm going to start by clarifying a couple of things:

Understanding vs. understanding

Infantilising vs. taking young age into account

When I talk about August and the consequences, I'm not saying he lacks the intellect or analytical thinking to know/predict them. I'm saying he lacks the empathy and relevant frames of reference to understand them. I think we're just using the word 'understand' to mean different things - maybe internalise, empathise or relate would be a better choice for what I mean by it?

To revisit my previous example, August as an incredibly privileged member of the elite cannot understand i.e. relate to Simon's experience as someone whose ability to make his own reputation and get by on his own merit has been permanently affected by the video. As a very confidently straight man, he also cannot relate to Wille's experience as someone whose non-straight sexuality, a deeply personal and private thing that he wasn't even done figuring out, has suddenly been exposed to the world and potentially even some homophobic hate.

I'm not saying this to infantilise, defend, or excuse August. I'm saying it because to me, it partly explains why it's so easy for him to dismiss the harm to Simon and see his betrayal of Wille as just a matter of loyalty - the only moral code he knows - instead of something that would've been wrong no matter who the victim was. It's a thought pattern that stems from his upbringing and worldview, and it would have to be dismantled for him to feel proper remorse. Which I think would probably take professional help at this point.

(I agree with you that August would be extremely prejudiced against Boris. A glimpse of him googling therapy providers or booking an appointment for after graduation might feel more realistic to me - but I guess it depends on what the writers want to do with him. We already saw very quick progress with Wille in S2 so it's safe to say they can take some liberties.)

I still believe that August will lose his social status in S3, likely towards the end. But it's fair that you don't, and the trailer is certainly edited to support your position. If he retains his status, then you may be right about him remaining the same old asshole! If he does lose it, then my original point about him likely not being resilient enough to cope with the consequences still stands. He is very much the kind of person to whom suicide is the "proud" way out compared to the shame of losing everything.

Now, the age thing.

Respectfully, I think you may be ascribing too much meaning to August and Sara being of age in S2 (note that Sara was still 17 when she made the deal with August in S1). Eighteen is the age of legal adulthood, yes, but it doesn't make them fully grown and mature adults in the (neuro)biological, psychological or social sense.

[This feels like a good point to say that I am not going to try to account for Sara's neurodivergence here. I definitely don't have the insight, so if anything I've written below is in any way inaccurate or offensive to persons with AuDHD, please let me know!!]

Firstly, it's important to note that that the human brain matures gradually and unevenly. The prefrontal cortex i.e. the 'reasoning centre' only matures in the mid-to-late 20s, while parts that handle things like right/wrong, risk/reward, and emotional responses (e.g. the amygdala) mature earlier. This can cause teens and young adults to struggle with things like impulse control, assessing the long-term consequences of their actions, understanding others' emotions, and rational decision-making in situations that trigger a strong emotional response. Reason can get overtaken by emotion on a chemical level; sometimes the young person can't even fully explain afterwards why they did something they rationally knew was wrong all along.

[I don't think August was in a particularly analytical state of mind when he decided to post the video. He was an intelligent but emotionally unstable and empathically challenged 18-year-old who felt like he had nothing left to lose and the only moral code he knew (i.e. loyalty) was obsolete. He was also still stewing in the emotional turmoil of his humiliation and likely stuck in a negative feedback loop. It feels very plausible to me that he could be in a very bad place for a pretty long time and still function enough to plan his revenge (more on the revenge part below).]

Secondly, both August and Sara have also had some pretty traumatic experiences (Sara's bullying, August's dad's suicide, the influence of both their dads while they were still in their lives). These may have impacted their emotional and psychological development in various ways and created some thought patterns. Not to play arm-chair psychologist, but I don't think it's a coincidence August's decision to post the video is related to his family estate and legacy, while Sara's decision to make a deal with August is related to the threat of being sent back to Marieberg.

[This feels particularly relevant for Sara, whose bullying was brutal and long-term enough for her to have to repeat a year. The negative attention on Simon after the video probably seemed less severe in comparison, and also like a 'first incident' (in fact, she might have even felt like Linda was applying a different standard to Simon's ordeal compared to hers by immediately wanting to take them both out of Hillerska).]

[I vehemently disagree with Sara's idea that the damage to Simon was already done and it wouldn't have made a difference whether he knew who was responsible, but I think it matters to some extent that she didn't know the history between Simon and August. To her, the video probably seemed like something that was mostly between August and Wille. That idea was likely reinforced by August consistently dismissing Simon's side of it - and also by Simon seemingly moving on with Marcus and no longer being the talk of the school after Christmas. This kind of rationalisation may have even made Sara feel better about pursuing a relationship with August in S2.]

[I also think Sara probably felt like she had the right to be selfish after everything she'd been through. Simon's support during her bullying wasn't conditional; she didn't feel like she "owed him" any sacrifices. It was clearly Simon's idea to follow Sara to Hillerska, and she may have even felt like he was hovering a bit (I doubt S1E1 was her first time saying she was fine now and he didn't have to be there). Then, Simon started to keep secrets and even see Micke for reasons Sara didn't know, altering the terms of their relationship, while Sara was finally daring to dream of things she'd been denied for so long. Friends, a better future, even romance. To her, it felt extremely unfair to have to give all that up and go back to a school that was a nightmare to her but not to Simon. Especially when her and Simon's lives weren't as intertwined anymore and she finally felt like she was gaining some agency in her own.]

Thirdly (circling back to the point about maturity), it's good to keep in mind that both August and Sara are still in the high-school phase of life. A phase when most people are a bit selfish, and their past and current dramas and dreams for the future are everything to them. They haven't really acquired much experience or long-term perspective yet. So I really don't think we can call them that much more mature in the social sense than, say, Wilhelm and Simon. They are still messy teens living their messy teen lives, shaped by their upbringing and limited life experience, all the while thinking they are basically grown adults.

So am I saying all this to infantilise August and Sara and excuse their actions? I'm sure it sounds that way; hence, not putting this on the main tag.

But the way I see it, to infantilise them would be to say they weren't responsible for their actions or didn't know what they're doing. They are responsible, and they do know. All the factors laid out above (and also in my previous August posts) explain their reasoning and actions to some extent, but they do not excuse them. The fact still remains that they both applied their best judgment and deliberately chose to do the thing that they knew was wrong.

You're right that they took time to consider their decisions in S1, although I don't think we can know for sure exactly how long August takes. The timeline is a mess at that point; he is still at the Palace wearing the same outfit when the others make their statement, and I doubt he could've been there overnight. But he does take several hours in any case, and although he isn't thinking rationally at that point, he still knows what he's doing is wrong. In fact, he does it with the sole intention of hurting others, which makes it all the more reprehensible.

I just want to caution against labelling him as some evil, fundamentally unfeeling mastermind. He's just a very selfish and immature young man with a very warped view of the world, who needs to see some consequences for his own sake as much as his victims'. I think part of the reason we saw him turn so soft with Sara in S2 was to underline that he is capable of empathy and caring; it's just a matter of unlocking those emotions. They haven't exactly been nurtured growing up, so he is only applying them to the people he deems "worthy", instead of all his fellow human beings. That selective empathy is another thing he seriously needs to work on, alongside the lack of accountability.

As for Sara, she takes several days to consider what to do about the video, which makes her betrayal of Simon more severe. But as explained above, it's so much more nuanced than her not caring about him. (Or indeed her being some poor victim who didn't know what she was doing and fell in love with The Devil! Don't get me wrong, August definitely let her believe she was guiding him in a better direction, which may have even pushed some Micke buttons in her subconscious and/or memories of Simon's insistence that everyone deserves a second chance... But she still made her own decisions and is responsible for them.)

It's easy to forget that we do in fact see Sara aware that her actions are wrong even before the end of S2. She looks conflicted/unsure when she and August make out in S1E6, cries when Simon earnestly proclaims "I like you when you are you" and "I'm trying to be your friend again because I need you" after she has just betrayed him, and again looks conflicted when the siblings talk about loving the "wrong person" in S2E5. She did some very selfish things and hid them for much too long, yes, but I believe her regret is genuine. It will take some skilful writing to make her and Simon reconcile in a way that makes sense, doesn't feel rushed or reduce her to an archetype, and doesn't just magic away her leftover feelings for August (as those will probably take some time to clear out). But I do have faith it can be done.

So I think that just about covers what I wanted to say. This isn't a comprehensive essay by any means, and I'm sure it won't go down well with everyone. I also don't expect it to change your mind about these characters, anon, and that's okay!

I mostly just wanted to push back on the notion that Sara and August being 18 means all their bad decisions are now on par with bad decisions taken by fully grown adults and their character development is now set in stone. I highly doubt the show will end with them both proudly standing behind their poor choices - I can certainly see August doing that if he doesn't see any repercussions, but not Sara.

In any case, thank you for taking the time to explain your point of view on these characters, and sorry again for taking so long to respond!

[otterlyinluv]

A touch of darkness (pt.1)

Link to part 2

Summary: Dark convinced himself he must stay as far away from you as possible for your sake. That all changes when you start experiencing feelings you hadn't before.

Pairing: Darkiplier x DA!Reader

Tags: sfw, pining, proximity, general confusion caused by feelings

A/N: This is the first time I posted my writing somewhere. Hope you like it! (there will be more romance in the next part)

Word count: 1.2k

--

Damien, who always made sure you knew he was with you by touching you. Holding the small of your back when guiding you places. Putting a hand on your shoulder when you were getting mad at someone. Leaning into your touch when you held him.

But when you showed up at the new ego manor as a reincarnation from the mirror, Dark felt conflicted. You looked like the person he used to hold so frequently it became second nature. Even your soul was the same. But you weren't who you used to be. You didn't remember. At first, he kept a distance from you. Not an obscenely big one just enough to respect your private space.

And after a suspiciously short amount of time, he felt as if he was missing something. He felt an itch of sorts.

He found his eyes wandering to your hands. He wondered what it would be like to hold them. How they would feel compared to his. After thoughts such as these, he would shake his head in hopes that it would keep any similar ones at bay. After all, you were not his anymore.

--

You were extremely confused. Any time you stood next to Dark to point out something on his computer, he always moved away even if it was just by an inch. Every time you tapped his shoulder to get his attention, he would stare at your hand for a split second. Even if you accidentally bumped into him, he would visibly freeze. It was official. Dark most probably hated you. Okay, maybe hate was a strong word, but he didn't want to be close to you, that's for sure.

You didn't even know why you minded it. You got plenty of hugs from Wilford and the occasional hand around your shoulder from Illinois, so it's not like you lacked physical contact.

While you were sure he at least tolerated you, he obviously didn't want to spend more time with you than necessary. But, seeing as you two worked together rather often, you were in a rather bad situation. You didn't want to make him uncomfortable. So, you tried not to invade his personal space as much as you could.

--

A knock on your already open door disturbed you from your task of tracking down where Mark could possibly be. Not looking up from the screen, you uttered a quiet "Come in". The familiar sound of dress shoes made you tear your eyes away from the computer. Dark stopped just in front of your desk.

"Oh. Hi, Dark."

He didn't usually come into your little corner office. If you could call it an office. You were the one to look for him when you needed something or to share any new discoveries.

"I received complaints about the computers... I worked out the issues with the others already."

"Oh, okay..." You let him join you on the other side of the desk. But before you could leave him your chair, he reached for the computer mouse and put his left hand on the other side. Which meant you were trapped between his arms. Great.

To ease the increasingly awkward atmosphere, you said: "I thought Google fixed problems with computers."

He replied after a couple of seconds. "It's more of an organizational issue. His program doesn't extend to the placement of the files."

You nodded your head. You could feel his shoulder on the back of your head. Whether it was his shoulder or not was only a guess. You've never been this close before. Given his distaste for such closeness, he must have been suffering.

Instead of focusing on your proximity, you opted to look at the monitor. Search by name. Copy. Paste to another folder. Search through already existing folders. Copy. Paste.

You couldn't understand why he insisted on being the one to rearrange the misplaced files when you were perfectly capable of doing so yourself. Granted, he was much faster and more efficient than you would ever be. The room was filled with clicks and your rapid heartbeat. He still hasn't moved from his original position. In fact, it seemed as if he was even closer than in the beginning.

He let out a deep sigh, which you felt on the top of your head. You assumed it was because he couldn't find the file he was looking for. Or you would, have you not been so terribly plagued by thoughts racing in your head.

"There are only a few files left." There was a deep rumble in his voice that you wouldn't have heard if he wasn't so close to you. You weren't used to this. At all. He always made it seem like he wanted to be as physically far away from you as possible, but with the way he stood right now...

You didn't mind it as much as you should have. The lack of distance felt suspiciously comforting even though it was something you weren't used to. It was quite peculiar.

"That should be all of them."

His hand started withdrawing from the mouse, so you turned around to thank him when you froze. His face was mere inches apart from your own. You didn't expect him to be so close. Because of the proximity, you noticed his eyes weren't a deep shade of brown like many of the other inhabitants' of the mansion. They were black like a starless night sky. The color was rather pleasing. For a split second, you could've sworn you saw his eyes flick to your lips. But before you could confirm whether it was actually true, his gaze was back in your eyes. He drew in a sharp breath.

"I... I should go." He shook his head, but you caught him by the hand before he could move any further.

"Wait. This seems familiar." His body went rigid at your words.

"Familiar in what way?"

"I don't know just you, me... us?"

His eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"Are you doing this? Have you discovered a new power of influencing minds and are testing it out on me?" Your lips spread in a cheeky smile.

"That is ridiculous." He said sharply. "Even if I had that sort of ability, I would never use it on you."

His tone of voice was harsh, but his eyes... Slightly wide, eyebrows furrowed as if he was offended by your accusation, but his eyes held feelings. Fear. Though you were unsure what exactly he was afraid of.

He pulled his hand from yours with surprising gentleness.

He opened his mouth as if to say something but shook his head. "I believe my work here is done."

Fixing his suit jacket lapels, he started making his way to the door.

You stood up abruptly.

"Wait!"

He stopped and turned towards you slowly.

You yourself were confused about your sudden urgency for him to stay. You half expected him to simply shake his head, chastise you for wasting his time, and go wherever he needed to go. But he didn't. He stood there. Waiting.

"I... I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."

You swore something akin to disappointment appeared in his eyes before his look became neutral once again. He nodded his head and left the room.

You sank back in your chair. Why did you just do that? There was a foreign pang in your heart after you heard the door close. With each of his steps turning quieter and quieter, you felt like you were... missing something. You could not figure out what.

But maybe someone else could help.

[bethisims]

How am I uneducated for not wanting grown adults stripping in front of Children?! That's the only problem I have! How is that anti-LGBT? I literally have NO problem with you being Gay, quite frankly, I hope the best for you and your fiancee! I don't have a problem with Sam being gay and I hope that they'll be able to find a girlfriend someday, I just... do not like getting children involved with Drag shows which are made FOR adults.

I DO understand that kids can realize they are gay or bi when they start finding out what love and relationships are, but to force it on children isn't okay. That is all I'm saying. (But I do understand that explaining to a child why someone has 2 moms or 2 dads and that's okay)

I'm Bi, and I didn't realize until I was 23 when I discovered Sam's channel, Sam opened up a whole new world for me. I was ignorant and I still sort of am. Sam is the reason I stopped thinking the whole pronoun thing was stupid. (I know it isn't stupid, but Sam is the one who inspired me to change my mind and my hateful ways and it is something I will forever be grateful for)

Don't think that because I'm Conservative I hate anyone, if anything, I am against Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, Ableism, and everything else! NOT ALL OF US ARE BAD!

If I had a problem with the LGBT+ community, I would have never interacted with Sam, I would have not spent the past 12 months trying to fix things and return to a community that is mostly LGBT, Neurodivergent Liberals! I also wouldn't be trying to apologize and fix my prejudiced behavior, I'm just sick in the head and I say horrible things in a psychotic rage, I am getting help!

I know I said terrible things in the past and I am willing to change! I care about all of you and you guys opened up my eyes to my own behavior! Can't we just make it work?

I can get help, I can stop being hateful, I can do better and I am one conservative on this planet that is willing to change! I am willing to do better and I just need you guys to give me a chance! This world will not get better if we are at each other's throats all the time, please just let us work this out! Let me prove that I am NOT as hateful as you think I am! Please!

Wow, back to anon, huh? Didn't like that I posted your account instead of replying privately like I used to.

I'm not even going to touch that first point. You're ignorant.

You've already had multiple chances to apologise, to work on yourself, to prove to us that you can change. This has been going for months and you are still doing this.

You are NOT allowed in this community because you make people uncomfortable. It's that simple. And it's not just Sam, or the mods anymore, it's everyone that you've sent anons to. Nobody wants to talk to you, we don't want to have to interact with you at all. And you pushing is doing nothing to help with that.

Now, I am done. Any further messages with be screenshotted and deleted.

[soaps-mohawk]

Hey love! 🖤

I got a bit of a random tumblr related question for you! Why do people who want you to know that it's specifically them, send you asks anonymously and then add something specific to them as a signature of sorts, instead of just asking without hiding their username? 🤔

I have absolutely nothing against people doing this and everyone should be free to do as they like! I'm just genuinely curious 😅

It just seems like a lot of extra effort and a change of people getting mistaken for other people, you know?

I've only recently started being social on this site, even though I've been lurking for years, so some things are a bit of a mystery for me still 😖

Anyway, I hope this isn't something rude of me to ask and that you have a wonderful day! 🖤🖤🖤

p.s. English is not my first language, so I hope I worded this coherently enough 😅

Hello love!!! Hmm I'm gonna try to answer this in a way that makes sense lol.

People have been doing this since probably before I joined tumblr almost ten years ago. I know back in the olden days, people would send anons because they didn't have accounts or didn't want to make an account. I don't think tumblr lets you do that anymore? Or perhaps I'm wrong and they never let you do that 🤷 I just vaguely remember seeing asks on other blogs from anons that didn't have tumblr accounts.

A lot of it, I think, is just for anonymity. People prefer to keep their blogs private for any number of reasons. Perhaps they're just shy or anxious and would prefer to not be known, or maybe they follow and interact using a side-blog but tumblr won't let you send asks as a side-blog, only from the main blog or anon (if that's enabled). (We literally just got the ability to reply as side blogs on posts so here's to hoping they'll give us the ability to send asks as side blogs soon). That being said, I think it's just a lot of anxiety or preference for remaining anonymous for their own personal reasons.

I don't mind either way. I know some people prefer it and that's fine with me. I get it, I hate being perceived sometimes (I'm looking at you fart anon when I find you it's over for you 😡). I haven't had established anons since my Kpop days (shudder) but I'm fine with however people want to chat.

So yeah, that's what I think it boils down to. Just personal preference and I'm sure they all have their reasons and that's okay. Definitely no pressure on them to have to share their reasons, either.

[traegorn]

Heyah! I’m very sorry to bother you at this time but I’m hoping if you’d be so kind to check the post that I pinned on my blog and maybe give it a little help by boosting/sharing it? it’s for my cat who struggles to breathe :((( and we need help to get him the tests that he needs. Thank you if you do as it would really mean the world to me and I understand if you don’t, still appreciate you and stay safe! Btw, please do send me a msg to reply or answer the ask privately instead as I dont want other blogs to think im a spambot or what, sorry for asking this, praying you’d consider! 🥲

What, you don't want me to publicly mention you when you're clearly trying to scam folks for money? It's amazing you don't want folks to think you're a "spambot" when you're an outright scam artist.

How do I know? Cuz when you literally deleted and remade your blog... your cat magically changed colors.

Folks, don't give money to paypal user "kristisua" -- they're a lying scammer trying to take advantage of people's kindness. They do not have a sick cat. They stole some images off the internet and wrote a convincing lie.

Fuck right off, okay?

[delborovic]

Del Replies To Asks

Gonna answer a bunch of all of yours asks beneath the cut!! So if you sent me a message recently, please check below~ It's gonna be LONG!!!!

@mrdurepei Hello~!! During Law of Talos Del (me) was 22, currently I am 37 ;) Time flies~

We don't! I haven't spoken to him since about a year after Law of Talos ended. He was always so lovely to talk to and very busy. I hope he's doing well whatever he's doing now, he always was so kind all the way around!

Yes, Rellik is "Killer" backwards ;) I made him originally when I was about 13, shhhhh~

Hi @mari-anokhiafton ♥ ! Thank you so much for your kind message! I really appreciate it and I'm so glad that you enjoy my art & style!

And hmmm, let me see~ how to describe Rellik... I agree he is a little grumpy like an old man ;) and he can be cold-blooded in a way a lot of vampires are. Rellik puts up a lot of walls and keeps himself distant from people, though underneath he has a kind heart that he doesn't want anyone to know about. He talks very flat with little inflection and is introverted. It's very easy to lose people as a vampire who lives for a long time, so he tends to like objects and can be fussy about keeping his things nice, because things will last longer if you treat them well. Whereas.... people.... you can't count on. Rellik also doesn't like to start fights, but has no issues ending them if he's pushed to violence.

I hope that helps! I also think whatever sense you get from him is legitimate too! Thank you so much for your kind message!

HEYYYY @captainmera ♥

Oh my goodness flash from the past!! I didn't keep up with EfN but your art (and Brother) definitely look familiar to me! (bro knucks in the people who lost to Zeurel group ♥) Thank you so much for the message!!! So glad to see that you're around too! The OCT people are art lifers, I think so ;) I hope all is well with you and you keep it up with all your art as well! Thanks for saying hi!!!

@yeeyeeravioli Hello~! As long as you aren't claiming the character as your own, that's totally fine! I'd love to see if you end up doing it :) thank you very much for asking, I appreciate it!

Hello (new!) Anon! Thank you so much for being so kind and asking! For one, if it's a private story.. honestly feel free to do whatever you want. That doesn't bother me at all, and if it's for your person use + space, no issue whatsoever! If you end up posting it or posting about it, I don't mind that- I just appreciate keeping straight what things I'm involved with or not. I've obviously drawn some shippy stuff of Rellik with friends' ocs that I know personally! So as long as you just specify that it's your own ideas/ocs and that Rellik belongs to me, that's totally fine! ♥ You feel free to make fanworks to your hearts' content! I hope he treats your OC well!!

Hello Anon~! SO! My OC Del would KNOW of Climber. Because she (like me) is a dA artist and would know about Endzone and those things from online, thus prompting her to make Rellik join an OCT also. BUT she would not PERSONALLY know Climber, as she never met him "in person" in the art universe. (I know i've made this complicated by its own meta nature, but I hope this makes sense.) Crowley and Chimbley were both in Law of Talos and thus would have been around to meet Del-character in the flesh so to speak :) Hope that helps!

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

PHEW. OKAY. There, I'm sorry you've all been waiting so long! I will do my best to reply- but seriously, if you have a quick question or comment, please feel free to DM me in messenger on Tumblr instead of using the ask function :) I can reply much more quickly that way! (especially since so many of these are just saying THANK YOU to everyone's so sweet messages!)

Anywho, please have a lovely weekend everyone! I'll see ya next time~

[merrock]

As promised, there are a few pre-holiday things that I wanted to discuss with you guys this week, just so you know what is expected activity-wise through the end of the year, and some little things about keeping things festive, fresh and fun around here.

As this post might be a little bit lengthy, I am going to pop it under a cut, but please take a few minutes to read through things! xx

Firstly, although I don't have the exact dates in mind, this is a warning that we will have two more activity checks before the end of the year. One will be at the end of November / beginning of December, and one will be at the mid-month point before the holidays. The next check will be a full sweep: meaning we will look for inactive accounts, those not meeting three replies, and those who are not replying to three writers per character, nor replying to new open starters.

The mid-December check will likely just be checking for straight-up activity (inactive for two weeks: removal, inactive for one week: warning). We will not be doing a check at the end of December, but will instead be doing an interest check after the new year to allow you to make changes you need, drop characters you don't want, etc. This means that we will be toughening up and clean slating activity in the middle of January, once everyone is where they need to be. Those first couple of weeks of January should be used to do what you need to do to be meeting our rules and get back on track.

Please remember that we do not offer semi-hiatuses! It's the holidays, it's okay if you're not active every day; as long as you are able to do three replies within a two week period at any point, you are not going to lose your role, even if you might get a reminder/warning on check. We promise. If you need a hiatus, we do grant those for up to two weeks. If you speak to us personally and privately (meaning not a public OOC post, talk tags, etc.) about activity issues, we will be lenient and understanding as long as you are trying. That's all that we ask of anyone during busy times, is just that a little effort is made to be here, follow the rules, and have fun!

Not to be a meanie, but if you decide that this group is not for you, whether it just not be the perfect fit, or you simply do not have the time, please ask us for an unfollow. We absolutely never hold it against anyone! But this allows us to remain lenient while opening spots for new writers. You are always welcome to return!

As for my role as admin: I plan on maintaining rolling, daily acceptances during the holidays, and am hoping to be on daily to help with what you need. Please note that I will be having a hard "mod logs out" time at night of 10:00PM EST, with very few exceptions. And remember, just because I am online doing replies does not mean I am in mod mode -- I want to write and enjoy the holiday season with you guys, too! Please send things you need changed/updated to the ask box here on main, versus a message. Extend the same understanding and patience towards me when it comes to the holiday season and availability, is all that I ask!

Alright, past that! Let's talk a little bit about holidays in Merrock, in terms of our favorite Merrockites! As you may have noticed, we have lots of holiday fun coming up -- I recommend bookmarking our holiday guide post to keep track of everything and make it easy to plot with others around town! There should be something for everyone to do -- even those who don't celebrate specific holidays -- but we are also open to editing the post for other business owners or people who would like to offer things around town! Or even if you have ideas / suggestions. Just let us know.

We've had people ask in the past about holiday gift giving, and yes, we do allow that here! But we ask you to be considerate of dash spam. For example, if you want to give gifts to 10 friends, tag them all in one post, versus rapid fire posting 10 posts at once on dash. (It's okay to separate out a husband, a best friend, a sibling, etc.) I also want to make it clear: gifts are not mandatory. You're also welcome to post a tray of cookies and tag friends, or give out little ornaments, or just not do anything at all. We also don't want people to put so much priority into gifts that they're not active. We promise that no one will be offended if you don't have huge, elaborate gifts, or choose to focus on activity.

December and January are pretty 'in the books' for me as an admin; all of the events are drafted, announcements have been posted, birthdays and mini events are queued, so I will be taking care of site maintenance and mostly enjoying the holidays with you guys and doing my best to keep things active. I've put a lot of work into the holiday season, so please: take advantage! Post lots of open starters, reach out to those you don't normally plot with, spread love and warmth during this holiday season. xx

[thewingedmuse]

𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝘼 𝙒𝙞𝙨𝙝

In celebration of Chinese New Year, my spirit companions and I are excited to bring forward a Make A Wish event. This is a tradition that has been practised in our spirit family in past years. We now invite you to partake in it, and hope that the year ahead will be amazing and magical for everybody! 🎋 🐇

This event will be open from 21st January to 28th January 2023 [2359 UTC+8]

NOW CLOSED 🐰🎋

Please peruse the rules carefully.

1. Send your request as well as other requirements in one ask. No anons; private replies available. Your ask must include:

🎋 Your Wish

🎋 Your Name or Nickname you feel most represents yourself (no initials unless it's your nickname then you have to specify it)

🎋 Your Offerings

2. Reblog this post.

3. Wish Requirements

⭐ Be brief and straight-to-the-point. Only one topic, like if it's love, then make it only about love.

⭐ You may wish for wealth, luck, love, peace, self growth or health.

⭐ Wishes align your energies with the things you wish for. They also open up opportunities in your life. However, wishes are not miracles. You have to work on your goal and be quick to grasp opportunities in order to get what you want.

⭐ If you are not sure whether your wish is okay, then you're welcome to leave a comment before you send your ask.

⭐ Suggestions for you

- I wish to align with my highest self in all my deeds and feelings.

- I wish to be a better friend, lover, family member and member in society.

- I wish to embrace both my feminine and masculine sides to achieve true harmony with my identity.

- I wish to have protection and guidance in all the things I do.

- I wish for love in all forms, in all ways.

- I wish I will always find money whenever I need it.

- I wish for a lucrative career.

- I wish to reunite with a soulmate. (No specific person please.)

- I wish to have the discernment and courage to cut away unwanted people in my life.

- I wish for the courage to move on from this situation.

- I wish for academic achievements.

- I wish my efforts will be seen and appreciated.

- I wish to enhance my inner and outer beauty.

⭐ We will not accept wishes like these:

- Please do not write to us about a specific illness or condition. We are a shifter, a djinn and a human but we aren't doctors. Please wish for health instead.

- Anything that bends people's free will like “make X fall in love with me” and “make X text me back”.

- Selfish or abusive wishes.

4. Your Offerings

⭐ In order to partake in this event, you have to prepare offerings for the beings who volunteer their energy for it to be a success.

⭐ If your request is accepted, one of the beings would work on it alongside me. However, no matter who would be working on your request you must first provide offerings for both.

⭐ Offerings for M — “A fine, loving day honouring yourself is what I wish for. Take the time to savour what being by yourself, enjoying your own company feels like. Write me a letter if you will, or just something short. It's the experience that counts.”

⭐ Offerings for K — K would like to receive photograph(s) of dragon statues, I-Ching coins and/or purple gems. He has always enjoyed these items, and would love to take a look at the ones that you find unique and beautiful. You can take pictures or search online as long as it's not random ones but ones you truly like. “Bonus points - tell me why you like them,” said K.

Here are the beings' basic info:

Djinn, M [they/them]

M is a gentle and loving soul. They are focused on wishes involving self love and self care. They will not undertake wishes that benefit only oneself.

Ancient Dragon Shifter, K [he/him]

K is a protective and strongly honour-aligned individual. He specified that he will only undertake morally right wishes.

[the-kipsabian]

Yo hi there! I’m very sorry to bother you at this time of the day, just reaching out if you’d be so kind to check the post that I pinned on my blog and maybe give it a little help by boosting/sharing it? it’s for my cat :((( and we need help to get him the dental care he needs. It would really mean the world to me and I understand if you don’t, still appreciate you and stay safe! and btw, please do send me a msg to reply or answer the ask privately instead as I want avoid other blogs to think im a spambot or what, once again im sorry for asking this, praying you’d consider! 🫶🏽🥹

you know what

no 🙏❤

hey kids, lets play a game of spot a scam again!! (im copying the message ive replied with before here and the original is at the bottom if you wish to reblog that one :) just editing this a bit here to show the new stuff they are putting out there in this very message yay!!)

okay this is literally the same story ive seen before at least three times. its word to word the same. youre not even trying

reblogs only from original posts. they have gotten "smarter" tho as this blog followed me in attempts to try to show its "real". and yet they havent reblogged from blogs they supposedly follow, only from probably the top posts from some popular tags and only from the original posters. also please note literally all the posts in their blog have been reblogged today within the past three to four hours (apparently im so loopy i cant read times rn, its been about the past 15 to 16 hours but the point still stands, they are all reblogged within the last 24 hours)

also they try to act more human with a decent description and likes and follows turned off. dont try hun

their only original post as far as i scrolled (which admittedly wasnt very far as its obvious this is a scam lol) is the donation post. unsurprisingly

ive said it before and i'll say it again - they seem to target people in similar positions that they are supposedly in, trying to pluck that sympathy cord with "your pet is sick so you are sensitive and know how this feels". this isnt my case rn but i obviously have posted cat photos and i have a donation ko-fi link in my pinned post sssoooo

"pls consider answering this ask privately" lmao so what people dont know youre a scammer? NEXT (they literally say this now like lmaooo for real? so that people dont think youre a scam bot?? honey please are you even trying)

a simple search even within tumblr tells you people already know about this. the account, the story and the cat. you aint fooling anymore

if unsure kids, ask a friend and google things 👍 reverse image search, for example, is your best friend!! also googling the latter half of the given paypal name reveals immediately that this is a scam. plastered all over the first search page lmao

also kids, in case youre asking "well what bad could a one little me reblogging a post even if its a scam do if i dont donate :/" 1. im sorry what and 2. it makes them look legitimate which they are not. the more notes the more trusted the source cause tumblr is full of idiots (sorry not sorry ive been here for over 11 years i know what people are like) plus you put your friends, mutuals and followers in a risk of participating in a scam. and have your name associated with it as well. do i need to go on?

anyways hi go report this blog and always be hesitant if someone you dont know asks you for donations like this. unless its a beloved mutual on your dash, reconsider. stay safe, thanks 💜

looking forward to being unfollowed and blocked immediately after posting this, but i'll be sure to report you for a scam. :) also fuck you for using someone elses poor cat and their situation to literally scam good natured people out of money, what the fuck is wrong with you

peace and love, fuck you ✌💜

[justsmilestuffhappens]

Prompt: Post-lawsuit Buck is left totally out of the loop. One day Bobby invites everyone to his house for a bbq, except for Buck. Eddie makes some snide comments and it's the last straw as Buck gets in his face. However, instead of yelling at Eddie, Buck just looks completely shattered as he says " I should have died under that truck, you all would have still been my family then." Everyone is stunned and horrified as Buck then runs off. A terrified and remorseful Eddie and firefam go after him

Okay, so you never replied privately to me after I made that post last night to talk, and I can't blame you there because coming off anonymous can probably be hard to do sometimes, I get that. But.

I haven't done prompts from others in a very long time and don't see that changing anytime soon. Got burned a few times before, even with the nice ones I got sent also. Any prompts sent here probably won't get done. Lack of motivation and time sucks really bad.

This is a great prompt and really made me gasp because of the line alone. While the lawsuit arc is constantly used, this hurt and felt kinda new in that sense.

On the bright side I thought this was cool and should get written but it's not going to be me who writes it though. I was going to ask if it was okay to pass it around because I liked it so much and if you'd like to send it to other prompt blogs or writers who are taking suggestions.

Please do send this to others because while I'm not maybe somebody else is willing to or has the time and motivation for it or just check back and make sure they're accepting prompts and understand that simply because they've done them before they aren't guaranteed to now. People and circumstances can change. I don't do prompts anymore and haven't written any in a good while.

I hope you have a great day, and I'm gonna go show this around because wow, do I know others would like it too.

[whumpy-bi]

Original Work: The Investigator

Warnings: implied kidnapping to be explored in future installments, disappearances

Words: 1097

Note: this is way longer than most of my other posts, but I wanted to try a more substantial story with my own characters. This is also just going to be a collection of whump tropes I particularly enjoy, so I hope y’all like it too!

Owen had sent the message to his consultant around two in the morning, when he absolutely should’ve been sleeping. But, instead, he was hunched over his computer as usual, multiple tabs open with deep web pages and unmarked files he’d personally found.

This is happening too much to be a coincidence. There’s a pattern here.

Owen opened up his map program again, marking out every disappearance he’d been told about in the last six months. Every victim—they ranged in age and background, Owen couldn’t observe a pattern with them—was last seen in the same area, a long stretch of road across town with an array of local businesses and offices. He knew the street, it was only a few blocks away, but he couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually been there. The authorities had written all of them off as runaways, they had mostly dismissed all of them. But what were the odds of so many people, in so many circumstances, going missing in the same place?

Owen mumbled to himself, resting his head on his hand. “There’s no way. No way.”

He scrolled through the map, watching the road as it moved further and further south into a huge stretch of woods. Miles and miles of empty land, nothing but trees and a single road separating them.. Until—

Owen stopped when he spotted a building from overhead, zooming in and squinting. He typed the address out to his companion, sending it along with a screenshot.

This looks like an old cabin or something. What can you find?

His friend replied within minutes. Evidently, they also couldn’t sleep.

This guy owns it, he’s been real active in the search parties. Owns a big chunk of the land out there. Some kinda survivalist guy, runs a blog about it.

The investigator looked over the link his friend attached, reading the basic information of a social media page. “Benjamin, huh?” He mumbled to nobody in particular. “Looks like he’s got the only property on this road. Guess he won’t mind if I take a look around.”

I’ll head down there tomorrow. Maybe he can answer some questions about what’s going on.

Dude, what if he calls the cops?

I won’t do anything illegal, relax. Just a friendly guy coming by to ask about the area.

You’re not gonna break in again?

That was one time, okay? I swear to god, no break-ins.

Owen did manage to get a few hours of sleep after that, driving out to the cabin a few hours into the morning. Even with the summer warmth and bright sunlight, the expansive forest was beginning to creep him out. He could easily see how people went missing in this—if you lost sight of the road, you could absolutely find yourself stuck in an endless loop of trees and rocks and soil. No distinguishing landmarks, no breaks in the trees to civilization. Whatever search parties went through here, Owen could imagine they might have missed something.

When he pulled up, the house looked well loved. Hydrangea bushes in the front, colorful and watered, a very nice-looking vintage truck in the driveway, and a (somewhat tacky) Memorial Day sign hanging on the front door.

Owen awkwardly knocked on the door under the sign, his jaw shifting as he heard someone fiddling with the lock. The man who opened the door regarded him with a smile.

Owen’s first thought was that he looked like the photo he’d seen—pale, with light brown hair and a thick beard and eyebrows. His eyes were dark, but they looked kind, and Owen felt at ease for a moment.

“How can I help you, mister…?”

“Uh—hi. I’m, uh…Owen Jones, I’m a private investigator. I just had a few questions about—“ He gestured to the forest surrounding them. “The area, I heard you might be familiar with it.”

“Of course! Not to boast too much, but—“ The older man smiled wide. “I’m probably the most familiar with these woods.”

Owen smiled, his expression naturally warm and approachable. “That’s great. I’ve been tracking a couple…disappearances, recently. One of the victim’s families really hopes I can find an answer, you know?”

“Of course, of course. It’s been really tragic, I’ve been helping the police look for all those people. You seen the last one? Poor girl, young. About your age, I think, really horrible. I’ve still been keeping an eye out, myself.”

Owen frowned, nodding in agreement with his words. “Yeah, I did see the woman who just went missing. It’s happening a lot, so—I guess I just need to know if you’ve noticed anything suspect. Anything at all.”

The homeowner rubbed his jaw in thought. “Not that I’ve noticed, unless you count the occasional bear sighting. Some weird noises at night, maybe? But I could be hearin’ things.”

Owen nodded, his hand twitching a bit as he listened. “Well, I’ll give you my card…just in case you do hear anything. Maybe we can stop the next incident, right?”

“I’ll certainly keep an ear out.”

The younger man glanced back at his car, wincing. “Hey—could I use your bathroom before I go? Long drive back.”

Owen blinked slowly as he washed his hands in the cabin’s bathroom, glancing between his hands and his reflection. “Well…this was a whole waste of time, but at least he’s nice.” He frowned, remembering his previous experience with a very angry and very intense mechanic who had once threatened to kill him for daring to ask questions on his property.

As he smirked to himself at the memory of the man’s face, his eyes drifted to the window. The house had a small backyard, a little space of grass before the endless ocean of trees. It seemed nice—a fire pit, a single lawn chair and a bird feeder. But Owen’s eyes locked on something that seemed out of place, under the colorful lawn chair.

A dark metal circle, flat against the ground. It was just barely peeking out from under the chair, but it was unmistakable.

Owen’s mumble was barely audible. “What the hell…?”

He was heading for the front door a few minutes later, adjusting his blazer over his shirt as he walked out. “Thanks for talking with me, Benjamin, i appreciate it a lot!” A canned spiel Owen had said hundreds of times, the friendly words were automatic and (hopefully) convincing. He typed out a text message to his associate, finishing and sending it before he was back in his car.

I’m coming back tonight, something didn’t feel right. I’ll need you to drive in case it goes wrong.

[tvmicroscope]

Hey hey :) I just wanted to let you know that I love love LOVE your analysis (all of them!) on Young royals. It's so well thought through and well written with humor and detail, and I've learned so much from reading them.

I was just thinking if you ever thought about doing an analysis about the topics of hands ( - and touching, like in Wille dream in s2e1 hands play a major role and to calm his anxiety in S1 as well... ) and another about the topic of lighting, light versus darkness (like the sunlight in the morning after scene in S1, the kind of darkness when they first kiss in S1 as a representation of staying hidden, a secret...).

I don't know if there is even anything to analize to be honest or if I'm just too lost down the rabbit hole for this show. Haha. 🙈 I'm not as good in spotting things as you are!

Anyway, I just thought I'll message you. No pressure of course, just wanted to ask if you're planning on or thought about it... Sorry this got longer than I planned to.

Once again, thank you for all your amazing work! I hope you have a nice week! 😊

Hey, I hope it's okay if I answer your ask publicly instead of privately? (I just thought some other people might be interested in my answer, as well.)

Anyway, sorry my reply is coming so late. I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the reactions and comments I'm getting right now.

But thank you so much for your kind ask. It really means a lot and motivates me no end.

As for your question: While I haven't considered writing anything about the lighting specifically (I feel most of it has probably already been written at some point, and you're making some really good points yourself in your ask!), it might come up here and there in a half-sentence. But no, I don't have anything specific planned in that regard.

I do, however, want to write rather extensively about that dream sequence in a really freakishly long post I'm planning to write about the sexual subtext of this show. So far I haven't written a single sentence of it, but it lives rent-free in my brain, so it'll have to come out eventually even though I'm still a bit unsure about how to proceed down that avenue. Writing about sex in a context of a show that's about teenagers should be done very, very carefully and respectfully (if at all). None of us want to be August, after all. On the other hand, the writer put the subtext in there for a reason, so pretending it's not there, I feel, would just take away from our film analysis experience and leave some very interesting and enlightening subtextual hints unexplored.

So, basically, watch me struggle with this for another couple of weeks and then at some point in late summer I will probably manage to write it all: the hands, the dream, the everything...:D

Thank you again for your ask. I was feeling a bit down in the dumps yesterday (writing-wise) and needed some motivation and then suddenly the comments and the asks started to come in and made me smile. Yours in particular.:)

[ralphiesaces]

hi again, its engineer seb anon!

this au is getting bigger and better every day bcz including hanna? chefs kiss!!

seb validating jenson like babe you are smart, you should voice things you think because you are really really great at this stuff!!! supportive husbands for the win

also sebson dating without actually officially starting dating?? gimme please

welcome back engineer seb anon!! 🫶 (i was sorta hoping to summon you w that post lol! i love talking about this w you)

this au has taken over my brain i can’t lie

seb’s so supportive of jenson but jenson also knows when to keep his mouth shut lol

he’s not going to tell seb how to do his job, but he will make suggestions if he’s stuck, bc jenson has a different perspective

who knows who wins this season 🤷‍♀️

but i imagine that over summer break, they’re already dating-but-not-dating and thrown off when they’re not seeing each other almost every day

hanna gets sad texts from jenson, wondering if seb is bothering her about him too

but seb is offline whenever he can so there’s radio silence on his end (even if he is feeling the same privately)

so when hanna tells jenson he’s said nothing, secretly jenson thinks he should stop pursuing him, that he’s making him uncomfortable

so when the break is over, jenson still hovers around and stuff, but he’s a little off, spending more time in his own garage or with the other drivers instead

(mark thinks seb rejected him or smt, so he doesn’t push, but he can tell something is off w jenson, just offering him his presence so he doesn’t have to be alone)

and you know, crashes are inevitable

after 2009, jenson was a lot better at compartmentalizing and keeping his personal life and emotions out of the car, so he swears up and down to seb that it wasn’t his fault when they finally talk it out

it’s nothing bad, just crashed into a barrier, but for a second, on the tv, it did not look good

the view of his head was obstructed and he lost his front wheels

on top of that, he was winded enough that he couldn’t reply to hanna right away

so seb is focusing on kimi, telling him there’s a red flag, when he hears hanna yelling at jenson to come in a few seats down

and seb knows the risk of driving. he knows what it’s like to hold his breath and hope is friends are okay, but seb had to grip his seat so hard that his knuckles turned white

when jenson finally replied, out of breath and chest tight, seb felt sm relief and he couldn’t explain why (ofc he could, he’s not dumb just trying to suppress it)

so jenson comes in, gets checked by medical, the races finishes w kimi on the podium (not quite p1, bc ofc susie has it, but close enough that he’s still a contender for the championship)

after everything is all finished for the day, seb wants to talk to him

but bc jenson’s race ended early, he’s already gone

so seb stomps his way up to jenson’s hotel room and knocks on his door

the first thing jenson sees is seb’s angry face and he knows he messed up lol

seb’s yelling at him, trying to understand why he’s been avoiding him (bc deep down he worried that if jenson had died today, he would’ve never known why) and maybe jenson braked too early, and seb is technical. so he’s like “how could you have been so reckless”

and at this point seb is just yelling to get all of his pent up frustration out, even if he’s not saying what he really wants to

but then he notices jenson wincing

and seb, the man with no concept of personal space when it comes to jenson, steps forward and pulls his shirt up

and jenson’s bruised, bc he only crashed a few hours ago

and automatically seb calms down, fingers running gently over the bruises, and just stares silently

jenson reaches out to grab his wrist, just to have an excuse to touch him and tells him “they’re not as bad as they look”

seb just rolls his eyes “well, they look horrible so they must hurt a bit”

and just to antagonize him, he lightly pokes at one of them to watch jenson wince

so seb spends a couple of hours helping jenson take care of the bruises and jenson’s just like “i was cleared by medical” and seb replies “just let me help you”

they fall asleep curled up on jenson’s bed after talking for hours

even if they didn’t get to talking about why jenson was avoiding him, or about their feelings—

everything was gonna be okay