#i have a deadline in a week and drawing is hard

[kenjo-arts]

Oh would you look at that! It's monday! Is this still a thing?

🥚💚 <3

C!DREAM EGGS MONDAY!!!! but lil blob!

[sheepalmighty]

Some more of that Chai joins Vandelay for half a day AU. Or just a picture of a kinda OOC Kale chilling if you wanna gloss over those comics. I'm still not sure if the colours are too garish or not.

These were mostly done with the premise of treating Kale's office like the hideout. I also really like how mundane, or familiar, the interactions between Chai and Kale can be in the game so I wanted to draw some stuff exploring more like that. But also, there's the ulterior motive of shipping so I included an out of context scene because I can't bother drawing the rest of it (though it seems like a huge jump in their relationship as a result. I think they're so big headed that they get stuck in a feedback loop of stroking the other's ego if an excuse comes up to do so)

[robotwrangler]

Taking ibuprofen with my choccy milkshake at 1am so my eye strain and sleep deprivation headache goes away so I can stay up longer in case my motivation to draw recharges from 0% to 1% so I can do like twelve minutes of messing around with lineart and then get distracted and watch Clint’s Reptiles vids until 6am instead

[foone]

I see a lot of people joking about the adhd thing of "I have a appointment/phone call at 3pm, guess I won't do anything all day!"

But no one seems to make the connection that it's a time blindness thing. One of the symptoms of ADHD is not having a good and accurate sense of time. And not doing stuff prior to an event with a hard deadline is an obvious coping mechanism for that.

Can I go to the store? It's 10am and the appointment is at 3pm. How long does going to the store take? An hour? Three hours? Five hours? I DON'T KNOW!

I get anxious trying to do things before appointments because I'm aware that I don't know how long those things take, and that if I think I do, I may be very wrong. Too often I've been like "hey I can walk to the corner store and grab a drink, that'll take like 15 minutes!" and then an hour later I get back and whoops my rice has burnt.

Plus there's also the fact that ADHD people know that motivation and focus is a two-edged sword.

Like, let's say you decide to play a video game. You've got time, you can pause/save whenever, so this should be a perfect fit to make good use of your waiting-time. So you start playing and WHOOPS you get really focused for some reason today (because people with ADHD do not get to pick when their brain decides to focus) and the next time you look at the clock it's 2:49 and you haven't showered or dressed and the appointment is 30 minutes away. Fuck. (you could have set an alarm, but now you're asking people with the forgetting-things-and-time-ignoring condition to remember it set alarms)

And with motivation, it can be almost worse. Instead of playing a game, you so something useful or creative. You clean your room or fix your plumbing or write a story or draw a picture. And suddenly it's great. Your brain is firing on all cylinders. You've got all the motivation you can ask for, and you are FLYING. the ideas are brilliant, your hands are nimble, you're getting stuff done you've been putting off for weeks or months. And then the alarm goes off. Time to go to your appointment. Fuck.

You drive there, your brain still full of ideas and plans. But by the time you get back, the motivation is gone. You may still have the ideas but you don't have the drive to write them down. You can't force yourself to do it. Your sink is still in pieces. Your room is half-cleaned, and you have to shove all the sorted clothes into one big bin just so you have somewhere to sleep. You've left things half finished again, in a cycle that has been repeating your whole fucking life. It seems sometimes that nothing ever gets finished.

So next time you don't even start. There's not time. You've been burnt too many times. Why add another half-completed project to your pile of shame?

My point is that people seem to be going "lol I can't do anything all day if I have an appointment at 3pm" like this is a quirky "oh I'm so scatterbrained!" weirdness they alone have, and not a major complication of a disabling mental illness.

(and that's not even getting into the secondary effects. If you know that having an appointment ruins your whole damn day, you're going to avoid them. Even when it's things like "going to that party" or "meeting your friends for a drink/game" or "going to a movie with that cute girl from your math class". Things you should enjoy. Things that'd help you be social. Things that make you feel human.)

[littlestpersimmon]

also. been having a very hard week. our house was burglarized / mini invaded. no one got hurt, but my sisters iPad she uses for her online school and dad's phone got stolen, and our kitchen was semi destroyed, our rice supply was spilled everywhere and some?? eggs?? and canned stuff was stolen. After that, a family friend who was helping me with house duties got a stroke. So now I am all alone in dealing with all of this. It would be a huge mental health imrpovement, would absolutely mean the world to me if you guys can maybe help me boost my art? it's just that I love drawing and it's the only thing that's been cheering me up.

my Twitter is my "home base" and I've been posting lots of my drawings there that I don't post here, idk only if you'd like to follow ofc.

>> (link to my Twitter)

my patreon is only 1 dollar a month, and if you'd like to support me n my disabled family, through patreon would be awesome! if you'd like!

>> link to my patreon

and here is my imprnt

>> link to my imprnt

I also have three more slots of commissions on my ko-fi if you'd like to directly help.

My dad's phone has the philippine version of venmo, called "gcash", and it had about 200 usd in it that was only accessible through his phone (that got stolen).. it was for my mom's next hospital visit for her glaucoma and some grocery expenses.. so, if you'd like a custom portrait from me, I will do commissions. The automated message says the deadline is June, but full disclosure, the earliest I will be able to send a commission completed is JULY.

>> link to my commissions

mostly I just want a bigger audience for my drawings, I want to share my comics and my love for southeast asian culture, and would really really love a boost. Thank you for reading through n I hope u have a good day.

[tortademaracuya]

Every week I try my best to rush things and help with parts that are not mine so we can pass the class and everytime im let down because no one wants to fucking work

[echobsilly]

Hi hi! With the 5th Anniversary coming up, @kiwicartwheels and I are thrilled to announce - THE FLOWER POWER COLLAB! 💐 A Smile For Me digital gallery for Flower kids, Fan-Habiticians and more!

More info below 🌻

For this year's collab, we'd like to put a spotlight on the creativity we've seen these 5 years - where artists draw pieces for Smile For Me-inspired OCS!

This includes Flowerkids, fan-habiticans, self-inserts, even AUs! Canon characters are allowed, but the focus is originality!

This'll be a DIGITAL GALLERY rather than a Zine, where your work will be hosted on a site similar to previous year's collab!

Anyone can join! Next week we'll be posting a form, where you can submit your art piece until a deadline set sometime in May :-)

Any additional info, like the hard deadline, guidelines and more will be in the form, and if you have any questions beforehand, feel free to reach out to me! We’re super excited to start and celebrate 5 years of Smiles!! 💐

[subskz]

pay attention - h.js

note: this is a reupload from my old blog

content: sub jisung, dom reader, jealousy, brat-taming (sorta), jisung is very childish, use of vibrators, edging, orgasm denial, slight exhibitionism, lots of begging, very light degradation/humiliation, reader’s sex is unspecified

word count: 5k

A loud, exaggerated huff met your ears for what must’ve been the thousandth time that day, and for the thousandth time that day, you ignored it.

Jisung was seated across the room at the kitchen table, his meal untouched and long forgotten in front of him. Instead, his eyes were locked on you, inwardly begging for you to just spare him a glance as you strolled around the kitchen, fully immersed in the phone call you were having with your coworker.

You had a major project due in just a few days, and you’d spent the better part of the past two weeks talking with your team members over the phone and meeting with them to work on it. Jisung hadn’t minded how busy you were at first. He was happy seeing you get along with everyone so well and working hard on something you were passionate about. At some point, however, that happiness had started to waver.

More specifically, the exact moment he came to realize just how often you seemed to be talking with a certain member.

Every time Jisung came across you chatting on the phone, it was with the same guy. He couldn’t help but begin to wonder irritably why a group assignment would require so much one-on-one interaction between the two of you, and he often found himself listening in on your calls with a bit more interest than necessary when you were nearby.

Things had only gotten worse from there, when he ended up making yet another unwelcome discovery to add to his sense of unease—that being, how often you tended to break out into laughter while talking with the other man. Jisung had grown used to being the sole object of your affection, with all your fond grins and playful eyerolls directed at him. As much as it wounded his ego to admit, it bothered him that there was someone else who could draw out your laughter the same way he could, the same way he prided himself on. 

“He must be pretty funny,” Jisung had commented one day after you’d ended your call, trying his best to appear nonchalant.

You’d put your phone down with a faint smile. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Not funnier than me though, right?” The words were out of his mouth before he could think to stop them, and he nearly cringed at himself for sounding so blatantly insecure.

He was met with a disbelieving snort from you, as if the thought wasn’t even worth considering. “No way,” you’d hummed.

That, coupled with the affectionate poke you’d given his cheek, had instantly made him relax. Jisung was grateful, as well as a bit ashamed, that you hadn’t caught wind of the thinly-veiled concern in his question. It seemed you had more faith in his maturity than he probably deserved.

As the week continued and your deadline drew closer, that brief period of reassurance had faded away little by little. Every time you left Jisung to go meet with your team members for hours on end, or took another call in the middle of what precious little free time you had with him, he felt more and more neglected. He knew it was selfish, but he couldn’t ignore the undeniable pit of jealousy that had been steadily building up inside him. It was like a constant, nagging itch that he couldn’t quite reach himself—you were the only one who could scratch it for him.

He would give anything for you to talk to him for longer than just a few minutes at a time or hold him in your arms without using your other hand to type away at your laptop. And on a deeper level, he craved the familiar comfort of your touch and your addictive words of praise in your more intimate moments together. Every part of his mind and body were crying out for your attention. To focus on him and only him.

He was, after all, every bit as needy as you liked to tease him for.

It was for that reason that when your phone had rung in the middle of your lunch, interrupting the first meal you’d been able to share together that week, Jisung had done away with his last shreds of common sense and decided that he’d reached his limit.

“Your food’s getting cold,” he called out, still not taking his eyes off of you.

You paused to glance over at him, and he felt his spirits lift just a bit as you flashed him a quick, sweet smile. “Just a second, Hannie,” you replied. “I’m almost done.”

The warm feeling in Jisung’s chest fizzled out as soon as you returned to your call, turning away from him and continuing to discuss the seemingly endless details of your project. He lifted his chopsticks to prod at his food half-heartedly, letting out yet another annoyed huff for no one to hear but himself.

Just as he was about to give up on convincing you to join him, the sound of your laughter filled his ears again, making his skin crawl with that same jealousy that had grown far too familiar for his liking in recent weeks.

Jisung stood up suddenly, pushing his chair back faster than he’d intended and creating a harsh squeaking noise that instantly caught your attention.

“Seriously,” he complained, not bothering to watch his volume. “Just hang up already.”

Your eyes widened at his outburst, and you pointed to your phone urgently in an attempt to get him to lower his voice. He made no effort to, however, a hurt pout forming on his face instead. “You’re supposed to be spending time with me, right? Tell him you have to go, I can’t wait any more.”

His whine echoed throughout the kitchen, and you covered the speaker of your phone with your hand, trying to mask the sound of it. “Jisung,” you scolded under your breath. “I told you, I’m almost done. This is important.”

“More important than me?” he mumbled.

You raised an eyebrow, thoroughly confused as to why he was being so difficult over something as silly as your lunch. Before you could say anything else, your coworker spoke up again through the phone.

“You there?” he asked.

“Yeah, sorry,” you replied, giving Jisung one last concerned look before preparing to continue the conversation.

Jisung’s pout morphed into a full-blown scowl as you brushed him off yet again.

“You don’t like me anymore,” he announced loudly.

Your head darted in his direction to give him a warning glare, but he held your gaze stubbornly, puffing his cheeks out in a way that would’ve been adorable if it weren’t for his behavior. A part of Jisung knew exactly how unreasonable he was being, but it paled in comparison to the other, which had become far too consumed with pettiness to care.

“Hey, give me a minute,” you told the man on the other line, quickly muting your phone.

Jisung shrank slightly into his hoodie as you made your way over to him, the exasperation evident on your face. “Jisung,” you began. “What’s up with you?”

He stuffed his hands into his pockets, giving a tiny, irritable shrug. “You’re ignoring me.”

“I’m not,” you retorted. “You know how busy I am this week, but it’ll all be over in a few days. Just be patient, babe.”

There was a pause, and Jisung looked conflicted, making you think for a moment that you may have gotten through to him. It was short-lived, however, as he furrowed his brows immediately after, unsatisfied with your reassurance.

“I don’t want to be patient anymore,” he grumbled. “You’re always with your team members, especially that one guy. And what’s so funny, anyway? Why are you always laughing with him?” Jisung’s voice rose in pitch, his habit of speaking too fast kicking in and turning his words into one, indecipherable ramble. “Seriously, you can’t even stop talking to him to eat with me.”

You pressed your lips together, feeling a faint tinge of guilt as you realized there was some truth to what he was saying. Though you’d certainly had your work cut out for you on this assignment, there was no need to let it take up your time to this degree, especially considering the fact that you had a whole group of people to help you out. On top of that, it was no secret how much Jisung thrived on your attention, and receiving so little of it for the past two weeks was bound to have taken a toll on him.

It was just like him, really, to feel like his place was being threatened over something as harmless as a work project.

Though you understood his feelings, you held your ground, too annoyed by the fact that he was being so ridiculously childish about it.

“Don’t be silly. We’re covering the same section, that’s why I have to talk to him so much.” You crossed your arms. “You know I’d rather be spending time with you than working.”

“Then pay attention to me.” Jisung whined, not missing a single beat. He reached out to tug at the sleeve of your shirt, and the needy gesture accompanied by his unfairly cute expression nearly made you falter.

You sucked in a deep breath, using all your willpower to resist his doe eyes. “As soon as I’m done,” you said sternly.

Jisung made a noise of protest as you brought your phone back to your ear, ready to unmute it. Without thinking, his hand flew up in an attempt to snatch the device from you, causing your thumb to miss its target and accidentally end the call.

Your face dropped as you realized what had happened. With an alarmed squeak, Jisung let go of your hand and backed away, immediately sensing that he’d gone too far.

You shut your eyes for a moment, gritting your teeth in an attempt to contain your frustration, and when you opened them again, you were met with Jisung’s guilty stare. He looked apologetic, but you didn’t miss the tiniest flash of gratification that crossed his features. The corner of his mouth twitched just slightly, almost as if to fight back a smile—almost as if he had secretly been hoping for this exact outcome.

He held his breath in anticipation as you eyed him with growing understanding. Jisung was so desperate to be noticed by you, to have your thoughts occupied with him for more than just a fleeting moment, that even your disapproving glare was enough at this point.

Something clicked inside you. Still, you studied his face a moment longer, just to ensure that you were reading the situation correctly.

“You want attention so bad?” you began slowly.

He nodded, tongue darting out to lick his lower lip in a way that made your heartbeat pick up.

“I need it.” His emphasis on the word was fully intentional. If you hadn’t gotten the message before, you certainly would have now.

You glanced down at your phone to check the time, then locked it with a heavy sigh that masked the excitement bubbling up inside you.

“Fine.”

You took hold of Jisung’s wrist, hardly giving him the chance to react before guiding him to the other room. He stumbled after you with little resistance, and when you came to a stop in front of the bed, he gave you a look that was all too eager.

“Undress,” you ordered.

Jisung hesitated, cheeks flushing at the sudden request.

“What’s the matter?” You tilted your head. “Since you’re so shameless today, go ahead and show yourself off for me.”

The scorn in your voice compared to your gentle reassurances from earlier made Jisung’s stomach flutter. His hands quickly reached down to grab the hem of his hoodie, pulling it over his head and tousling his hair in the process. He was wearing nothing else underneath, and you admired his lean frame with a quick onceover before motioning for him to remove the rest of his clothes as well.

Jisung’s fingers began fumbling with the waistband of his shorts, only for him to pause again. “Help me?” he asked with a pout.

You refused to let that pleading look of his get to you a second time. “Be a big boy and do it yourself.”

Your chiding earned an unhappy hum from him, but he complied nonetheless, pushing down his shorts and wriggling out of them along with his underwear.

“So worked up already,” you commented, shaking your head. “Does it get you off, acting like this? Aren’t you embarrassed?”

Jisung’s blush grew deeper, and he instinctively moved his hands to cover his half-hard length. He braced himself as you came closer—half-expecting you to touch him like he’d ached for so badly for days now—only to yelp in surprise as you gave his chest a light nudge that made him topple back onto the mattress.

“Stay just like that,” you commanded.

He sat up on his elbows, looking ready to object, but you didn’t bother to stick around and listen.

You headed towards the closet, already set on how you were going to deal with Jisung. He was going to get his wish, but you planned to grant it in a way that would leave him even more frustrated than before.

After some digging around, you were able to find what you were looking for—a hitachi wand and vibrating plug. Grabbing them along with a bottle of lube, you quickly made your way back to the bedroom where Jisung was shifting his weight anxiously from side to side. He parted his lips in surprise as he saw the toys in your hands, a nervous sort of arousal building in his chest.

“What are you gonna do with those?” it came meek, completely unlike his earlier, childish demands. 

“What you wanted.” You popped open the cap of the lube bottle. “Hannie needs all eyes on him, right? So I’m gonna sit back and watch while you entertain me.”

The whimper that left Jisung only solidified your decision, and he lifted a hand to paw at you. “Th-that’s not—” he began, cutting himself off when you moved out of his reach. “I…please, want you to touch me instead.”

“Such a greedy boy,” you clicked your tongue. “You should be quiet and take what you can get.”

Jisung let out a small, miserable noise before laying back down in defeat. Despite his protest, his cock hardened fully against his stomach as he watched you squeeze the lube onto the plug, lathering the toy until it was thoroughly coated.

“Spread your legs for me,” you directed.

He did so instantly, parting his thighs and raising his back off the bed just slightly to make things easier for you. Carefully, you lined the plug up with his entrance and prodded at it. Jisung exhaled heavily, trying to relax his body as you began pushing it in bit by bit. A shiver ran down his spine from the familiar sensation of being filled up, and he couldn’t bite back the soft, satisfied moan that escaped him.

Once it was fully inside, you gave Jisung’s cheek an approving pat. He squirmed around in the sheets as he adjusted, hissing lightly when the toy brushed against his prostate. You motioned for him to sit up, watching closely as he complied. It was exactly the kind look he’d missed, a look that made him feel like he was made for your eyes only.

As soon as he was upright, you brought the hitachi wand to hover above his length, making his breath hitch. “Please,” he squeaked as you pressed down on his already dripping head, smearing the droplets of precum around. “Don’t tease me.”

“You think this is teasing?” you hummed. “You’re in for a rough time, then, baby.”

At that, you pushed the button on the wand and it buzzed to life, earning a sharp gasp from Jisung. His whole body jolted as the vibration rippled through him, and you once again found yourself marveling over how sensitive he was.

You kept the vibrator steady, holding it against his tip just long enough for him to grow restless before beginning to move it in small, deliberate circles.

“M-more,” Jisung whimpered almost immediately. “Want more.”

“You’re hopeless, Hannie,” you scolded.

The boy groaned, pushing his hips up to emphasize his plea. You rolled the toy around his head as slowly as possible, taking pleasure in the tiny, frustrated noises that slipped out of him.

Without warning, you slid the wand along the underside of his cock, brushing against a particularly sensitive spot and making Jisung hiccup weakly.

You held it there for several seconds, focusing on the delicate area before pushing the button on the vibrator once again to increase its strength. Jisung’s hips fully bucked this time, the burst of stimulation catching off guard.

“A-ah!” he cried out.

“Is it good?” you asked innocently.

Jisung’s hands gripped the bedsheets, and he swallowed hard before mustering up a reply. “Hah...y-yes,” he mewled. “Touch me, please.”

“I don’t think so,” you drawled. “This is all a brat like you gets.”

You were met with another pitiful whine, and it only grew louder as you moved the vibrator away from his sensitive spot and down to the base of his dick. The toy pushed Jisung’s length against his stomach, smearing some of his precum against his skin.

“Please,” he tried again. “Wanna f-feel you. Miss you.”

For good measure, he blinked his eyes open to hit you with that irresistible gaze, embodying innocence even in moments like these. Still, you managed to hold on to your resolve.

“You asked for attention, and now you’re getting it.” you said simply. “If you keep complaining it’ll only get worse for you.”

Before Jisung could respond, you used your free hand to grab the remote control for the plug. A choked noise escaped him as you pressed down on the power button it began to vibrate inside him. He arched his back sinfully, the combined sensation of both toys making his head spin.

“Ah! Wait!” Jisung gasped. “So good…m-more,”

“Hm...which is it? You want me to wait or not?”

He shook his head frantically, squeezing his eyes shut. “No! P-please,” he whimpered.

“Poor baby can’t even think straight,” you cooed. “Is this too much for you?”

“Please,” he begged, louder this time. “Don’t stop, I’m almost—”

Jisung’s words morphed into a broken moan, and when his arms began to tremble, you knew that his high was already creeping up on him. Listening carefully to the sound of his breathing, you slid the vibrator back to the head of his cock to toy with it some more.

A shiver ran down his spine as you passed over his most sensitive spot once again, causing his whole body to quiver with effort. The moment you noticed him tense up, you pulled the wand away, earning a cry of protest from Jisung.

His eyes fluttered open in alarm, trying to process the sudden drop in pleasure in his scrambled mind.

“N-no...why’d you stop?” he mewled, adorably disoriented. “Was about t-to—”

“What’s wrong, Hannie?” you faked a pout. “I’m just trying to spend time with you for as long as possible. I can’t do that if I let you cum so soon.”

Jisung hiccuped miserably in response, grinding down on the plug vibrating inside him in an attempt to draw out his orgasm. “This isn’t f-fair,” he stuttered out. “You’re being so mean.”

You didn’t bother to deny it, instead watching in delight as he squirmed around, the desperation growing more and more evident on his flushed face. He shut his eyes again, trying to focus on the feeling of the toy pressing against his walls. With a frustrated whine, Jisung released his grip on the sheets and brought a hand up to length. You raised an eyebrow as he wrapped his fingers around it and began to stroke almost mindlessly, determined to do whatever it took to make himself cum. His hand moved at a rapid pace, and just as you were about to scold him for acting without permission, another strained groan spilled out of him.

“N-not enough,” he slurred. “S’not enough…I need you. Please, please, touch me.”

You reached forward to cradle Jisung’s face in mock sympathy. “It’s just not the same, huh, baby?” you murmured. “Maybe if you'd been a good boy, I would’ve played with your needy little dick for you.”

His moment of disobedience ended as soon as it began. With a mewl of defeat, he released his cock from his hold and dropped his hand back onto the mattress. You gave his cheek a condescending pat, satisfied with his quick surrender, and leaned back once more.

Jisung’s breath caught in his throat as you brought the vibrator to tease his tip once again. You gave the toy another click, changing the setting from a constant vibration to short, rapid bursts. Jolts of pleasure shot through him with each one, and he shot his hips up eagerly in an attempt to gain more friction.

“Hah—fuck!—please,” he gasped. “F-feels so good,”

Jisung was writhing again in no time, simultaneously trying to push forward into the wand and press down on the plug inside him. “Lemme cum, please,” he begged. “C-can’t take it. I’ll seriously go crazy.”

“That’s no good, angel,” you frowned. “I’ve only stopped once. Are you really gonna disappoint me? I thought you wanted to put on a good show.”

Your voice was sickeningly sweet as you taunted him, making Jisung lower his head in shame. “N-no,” he objected feebly. “Wanna be g-good. But I—”

“At least try to hold out after causing me so much trouble,” you cut him off, moving your wrist to roll the vibrator around the head of his cock. Jisung’s body jerked at that, and a loud hiss escaped him as the plug brushed against his sweet spot, sending him dangerously close to the edge again.

His mouth fell open when you pulled the toy away a second time, leaving his length to twitch uncontrollably against his stomach. “N-not fair,” he whimpered. “Good boy, ‘m a good boy, p-please.”

You simply grinned as Jisung’s high slipped away from him again, waiting patiently for his pants to die down so you could go right back to teasing him.

Suddenly, the sound of a third object buzzing filled the room, and you realized with a start that your phone was ringing against your thigh. You slid your free hand into your pocket and retrieved the device, your smile only growing when you read the Caller ID.

Jisung blinked his foggy eyes open curiously, his interest piquing when he noticed the delighted look on your face.

It was your coworker—probably calling to see why you’d hung up out of the blue earlier. A wicked idea came to mind as the phone continued to vibrate in your palm, and you locked eyes with Jisung.

“If you’re such a good boy, let’s see if you can behave for me this time.”

His expression morphed into one of pure alarm as your intentions became clear to him, and before he could say anything, you accepted the call.

“Hello?” The man’s voice rang out as you hit the speaker button.

“Hey,” you answered casually.

Jisung stiffened as you moved your other hand to ghost the vibrator over his cock. He gave you a panicked look, silently begging for you to show him some mercy. You contemplated for a moment before lowering the setting to a softer vibration, solely so that the sound of it wouldn’t be too obvious.

“Sorry about earlier,” you told your coworker, trying to keep the amusement out of your voice as you pressed the wand against the underside of Jisung’s dick. “My connection got cut off.”

Jisung gritted his teeth in an attempt to suppress a moan, and you gently began dragging the toy up and down his length.

“No problem,” he assured you. “We were almost done, anyway. But I just wanted to double check how the last few slides are gonna be presented.”

“Sure, what’d you have in mind?”

Your words were immediately followed by a poorly muffled whimper from Jisung, and his heart skipped a beat when he realized how loud it’d come out. Despite the fear of being caught, however, he couldn’t ignore the way his arousal skyrocketed over the possibility of being heard like this.

“Well, since we’ve got two more major points to cover—”

He was interrupted by another strained gasp from Jisung, and this time, it was noisy enough for him to hear. “What was that?” he asked.

“What was what?” you feigned obliviousness, grateful that he couldn’t see your eyes glinting with hunger as you took in the sight of Jisung. He was biting down on his lip like his life depended on it, the muscles in his abdomen flexing and unflexing in a desperate attempt to control his movements.

“P-please,” he whispered, struggling to manage his volume. “Can’t hold b-back, please.”

You tilted your head at him innocently before turning your attention back to your call. “So you want me to take one and you take the other?” you asked the man on the other line.

“Yeah, I think that works,” he agreed. 

You listened absentmindedly as he continued with the details, sliding the vibrator back up to Jisung’s weak spot. His back arched suddenly, and when he clamped his jaws shut to hold back an especially loud cry, you wasted no time before pulling the toy away once more.

The choked sob that escaped Jisung didn’t disappoint, filling you with satisfaction as it echoed throughout the bedroom.

Your team member paused, growing silent on the other end. “Are you hearing that?”

“Hm?”

“Dunno...just heard a weird noise,” he said slowly.

It took all your willpower to keep from giggling as Jisung gazed at you hopelessly, chest heaving and lips trembling. “Oh, it might just be my boyfriend calling for me,” you dismissed. “He’s in the other room.”

Another pause. “You have a boyfriend?”

“Mhm.” You didn’t miss the way Jisung’s features lit up adorably at your mention of him, even in a less-than-ideal situation like this.

“Oh. I’m surprised I haven’t met him before.”

“Well, he’s a bit shy.”

Jisung’s stomach flipped as you began inching the vibrator closer to his cock, prepared to mess with him yet again. “Please,” he whined, voice growing higher in pitch. “Please, please, please,”

You felt goosebumps form on your skin, your own adrenaline spiking over how shamelessly he was begging when he knew how easily he could be heard. You hesitated for just a moment before pressing the wand against him, teasing the underside of his length once more.

“Anything else you wanted to cover?” Your question barely masked the way Jisung cried out your name, so intensely that it made your own heart skip a beat. 

“Hmm...no, I think we’re good for now!” your coworker answered.

“Gotcha. Talk to you later, then.”

“Right, bye.”

At that, you ended the call. Jisung let out a long, filthy moan the very instant you did, and you finally allowed the snicker you’d been holding back to slip free.

“Hm...you did a pretty awful job at keeping quiet, baby boy.” you remarked. “Any longer and he definitely would’ve been onto us.”

You clicked the button on the vibrator to increase its strength once more, leaving Jisung unable to do anything but squirm pathetically. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to show him that you’re mine.”

Despite everything, his face flushed impossibly more, and you knew you’d hit the nail on its head. His thighs began to quiver weakly as his climax drew near, unable to contain the pleasure that shook his body any longer. Deciding that Jisung had suffered enough, you kept the vibrator pressed steadily against his cock, urging him to finally come undone.

“G-gonna!” he warned breathlessly, throwing his head back. He rocked his hips into the mattress, grinding down on the plug until he felt the hot tension in his core snap at last. “Cumming!”

He hardly got the words out in time before he was emptying onto his stomach, splattering the tan skin with pearly ropes of cum. Moan after moan spilled out of his parted lips as he was finally granted his release, sending waves of bliss all throughout his body.

Jisung continued squirming for several seconds, and you only pulled the vibrator away once the last few spurts of his seed had shot out of him and his calls of your name faded into quiet mewls.

You drank in the sight of him, admiring every inch of his spent form before reaching for the plug’s remote and powering it off. A long, content sigh escaped the boy as you did so, making you soften.

As soon as he managed to catch his breath, his hazy eyes refocused and met yours. You gave him a small smile, patting your thighs to beckon him over. “C’mere.”

He obeyed right away, crawling unsteadily into your lap and slumping his full weight against you. Careful not to disturb him, you reached down and began to pull the plug out little by little. He made a small noise of discomfort as you did so, and you murmured gently in his ear in an attempt to soothe him.

Once you’d fully removed the toy, you leaned over to place it on your nightstand, grabbing some tissues to begin cleaning his seed off his stomach. Jisung let out a sweet hum, nuzzling his face into your neck as you delicately dabbed away.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled sheepishly. “About...how I acted. I know you’ve been working really hard.”

You raised your other hand to cradle his head. “It’s alright, Hannie. You were feeling lonely, weren’t you?”

Jisung whined quietly in agreement, clutching on to your shirt as if you might slip away from him. “You’re not mad?”

“No, angel,” you answered honestly, planting a kiss to his damp hair. “I missed you, too, y’know.”

There was a pause, then you continued playfully. “But next time, don’t be such a baby about it.”

He lifted his head at that, furrowing his brows and curving his lips into an irresistible pout. “I’m your baby, though,” he huffed.

Your fond giggle filled Jisung’s ears, and he felt more ridiculous than ever as he noticed for the first time how your eyes sparkled when you laughed with him in a way they never did for anyone else.

[cuddlesworks]

Happy February! I'm hosting another DTIYS challenge for Valentine's Day! This drawing is of Illinois Jones in a pink/lovecore themed cowboy outfit!

Please follow these 3 rules if you'd like to join!

♡Keep the colors the same!

♡Keep the same pose!

♡Respect others participating!

You can change the design/details on his outfit! You may also change the background as well! You can add whatever else to your piece! Be as creative as you'd like, and have fun with it!

The deadline is set for the 29th! Take your time with it! I will announce the winners a week later! There will be 3 winners!

1st place will get a full body drawing of any character of their choice! 2nd place will get a headshot drawing of any character of their choice 3rd place will get a Chibi drawing of any character of their choice!

I hope this is fun to do even if you don't want to win the competition! I had a fun time drawing him and it was really hard trying not to post this early! I hope you have a good rest of your day! ❤️❤️

[murderhelionweek]

Murderhelion Week

↪ mutual administrative assistants

Welcome to the first annual "Murderhelion" Week, April 21-27th

Feel free to use the prompts in whatever order you'd like, however you'd like; for Art, Writing and any other forms of media you may think of! There is no hard set deadline, so take as long as you need and remember to have fun!

*Note! I hoped to keep the prompts vague enough so that those who just want to explore MB and ART's dynamic are welcome to draw/write about it (Shipping "Murderhelion" is not a requirement to participate! Interpret the prompts however you'd like!)

PROMPTS:

Watching Media Together

Vulnerability

Meet the Crew(s)

Long Distance

Misunderstandings

Acts of Affection

Realization

Attempt at Comfort

FREE SPACE

BONUS PROMPTS:

Breakdown/Recovery

Truths/Lies

Trust/Betrayal

(Also a more "Relationship" oriented prompt list can be found here!)

Be sure to tag your completed works with

#murderhelion week!

[cre8inghavoc]

What are friends for?

PT. 7

Status: ongoing!!

Updates: no set date.

WC: 2734

Pairing: megumi fushiguro x FEM!reader

Genre/Warnings:[18+] Characters are aged up. This story contains toxic boyfriend, cursing, name calling, self-doubt/hate, angst, breaking up, post-breakup, alcohol, drug use, drunk moments, new friends, dating!au, college!au, no curses!au, dark humour, dark jokes. SMAU.

Recap:

Now that your ex has retrieved his belongings, you're on a tight deadline to get everything packed by the end of the day. You have to move out tonight, especially since you're starting at a new school tomorrow. Plus, moving everything out today will make it much easier to settle into your new room before school starts. And, it's a good way to pass the time until 6:40 PM tonight, when you plan to head to the park.... Tonight will be the moment of truth to see if he decides to show up. You're overwhelmed with the need to apologize for your silence all week and for turning down his invitations to hang out. And then there's the mess with your ex, which just adds to the chaos. You really want to explain to him that your ex was only there to pick up his stuff before you move, but it's hard to make him understand when you hadn't even mentioned your plans to move to begin with.

It just feels like everything is just spiralling out of control…

MEGUMIS POV:

The phone sits there, taunting me with its silent demand for attention. My fingers itch to reach for it, to answer her call, but I know I can't. It's a battle of wills, and I'm fighting against myself. If I give in, I'll only end up forgiving her too easily, forgetting all about her with her ex.

 But it's so damn hard. 

She's always on my mind, her smile a reminder of genuine warmth that lingers in my thoughts. Her eyes, deep and honest, draw me in with every glance, revealing layers of her soul I can't resist. And her scent... her perfume, it's like a gentle embrace, comforting and alluring, even when she's not around. Every moment with her is like poetry in motion, each touch, each word, sparking a fire of longing within me. She's more than just a person; she's a feeling, an intoxicating presence that I can't shake.

She's a masterpiece in every sense, utterly captivating and impossible to overlook. Despite the simmering anger within me, my deepest longing is to have her close, to revel in the comfort of her embrace. Yet, I restrain myself. I can't muster the strength to answer the phone, to engage with her messages. Not now. At Least not yet….

I glance over at my phone and catch her last message: meet her at the park at 7.

Damn, she makes it so hard to resist.

 7 PM…..

The park across from my place. She'll explain what happened. Maybe it wasn't as serious as it seemed... Maybe he just showed up? Knocking at her door, threatening her. Damn it. If that's the case, what the hell is wrong with me? How could I be so blind? What if he intended to harm her, and I just walked away, leaving her alone? Is she okay? The amount of messages she sent suggests she is, but still... How could I be so reckless? What if she got hurt? I would never forgive myself. Never.

Fuck!

I have to go…. I have to make sure she's okay, to reassure myself that my fears are unfounded. And if she needs me, I'll be there, no matter what.

I glance at the time: 6:55 PM.

God damn it... 

I won't make it back in time, at least not for another 10 minutes or so. With a heavy heart and a sense of urgency, I gather my thoughts and hit the gas, pushing the limits to get home as quickly as possible, determined to find her and ensure her safety, no matter the cost.

I'll just call her and let her know I'm on my way and that I'll be a little late. As I pick up my phone and dial her number, it goes straight to voicemail twice. Is she ignoring me? No, she wouldn't... Why would she? Maybe her phone's dead? Or maybe she turned it off? I have to get to her as fast as I can.

But as I arrive, the park is deserted, and she's nowhere to be seen. Dread washes over me, realizing I'm 15 minutes late. Did she give up on me? Did she think I wouldn't come? Panic sets in as I frantically search, hoping against hope that she's still here, waiting for me…

But she's not. She's gone. And the weight of that realization hits me like a ton of bricks.

I pick up my phone again, desperate, and dial her number once more. But it goes straight to voicemail again.

"Please, angel... pick up," I whisper into the void, my voice strained with worry.

But there's no answer. Just silence. And in that silence, my fears grow stronger, gnawing at my heart with a relentless grip.

YOUR POV

You arrived at the park five minutes early, hoping against hope that Megumi would show up on time.

6:55 PM.

Anxiety courses through your veins, the uncertainty of his reaction weighing heavily on your mind. Would he even show up? Or would he take your explanation poorly, not believing a word you'd say, and then leave you? Both outcomes are equally terrifying, but you can't shake the feeling that Megumi not showing up might be slightly worse. It would mean he wants nothing to do with you, and you wouldn't even have the chance to explain what actually happened. The guilt would eat away at you.

You've turned your phone off, ensuring that when he arrives, if he does, you won't be interrupted. Your focus would be solely on him.

7:00 PM.

You sit there, waiting, scanning the park for any sign of him. Each person who approaches, you hope it's him, but it never is. With every passing moment, your thoughts spiral further. Was he ever going to show up? Did something happen? Or does he just not want you anymore?

7:10 PM.

You give him an extra ten minutes, clinging to the hope that maybe he's running late. But as the minutes tick by, hope fades into disappointment. He's not coming. He didn't come. What's the point in waiting any longer? Even if he did show up, would you be angry? Upset? Feeling unimportant because of his lateness? Maybe he forgot or didn't see your message? You try to give him the benefit of the doubt, but it's hard. Trust is a fragile thing, especially after what you went through with your ex.

You stand from the bench, tears threatening to spill, but you hold them back as best as you can. The emotions swirl within you—sadness, disappointment, frustration. You start to walk away, making your way back home. You've already packed everything after kicking out your ex, so all that's left to do is go back. The movers said they'd be there by 8 PM to gather your things and take them to your new place.

At 9:40 PM, over an hour has passed since you finally moved into your new place. With the help of your friends, unpacking was a breeze, and it felt surprisingly good to be living with them. As you make your way to your room, you're pleasantly surprised to find it larger than expected. Thank goodness for Toge's spacious house, where even the rooms are sizable. And having your own bathroom? That's a luxury you definitely appreciate.

You take a moment to survey the space, considering how to arrange your belongings. With a generous window offering a view of the expansive backyard—complete with lush green grass, towering trees, and a sparkling pool—you decide to position your bed beside it. It's the perfect spot to gaze at your favorite view, especially with the moon casting its gentle glow outside.

Setting up your room with your friends was a joyous experience, making the whole moving process feel more fun and exciting. As you begin to organize, you can't help but feel a sense of contentment and anticipation for the adventures that await in your new home.

You call out to Maki, asking for her help in setting up your gaming equipment in the corner.

"Yep! Is your PC in this box?" she asks, pointing at the one labeled "fragile."

"Yes, ma'am!" you confirm with a smile.

Turning to Toge and Yuta, you assign them the task of mounting your TV on the wall across from your bed.

“Yes ma’am! You got it!” Toge says, in his usual playful manner, as he salutes. 

“You’re so stupid” You say while slapping your forehead. 

Laughter fills the room, easing the tension that's been weighing on you all day. You don't realize how late it's gotten until you finally check the clock: 12:12 AM.

With a mixture of relief and gratitude, you thank your friends for their help. However, beneath the surface, the lingering disappointment of Megumi's absence still weighs heavily on your mind. Though you try to push it aside, your friends can sense that something's bothering you.

"Thank you guys so much for helping me. I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time!" you apologize.

"You know you don't have to thank us... We're always going to be here for you!" Maki reassures you.

"I could've been playing Fortnite, so she does have to apologize for taking up my precious time," Toge interjects jokingly, prompting laughter from everyone.

"Sorry, Toge, didn't know Fortnite was more important," you tease back, rolling your eyes.

"Just kidding, obviously you're more important!!!" Toge replies with a smirk, in a sarcastic tone, though what he said is true... you definitely are more important.

"Wow, screw you," you playfully retort, sticking out your tongue and your middle finger as you all continue to laugh.

"How are you feeling now that you're officially moved out?" Yuta sweetly asks.

"Honestly, I feel happy and comfortable. I love being with you guys, and now that we all live together, it's going to be so fun. And I'm going to the same school as you all! Speaking of which, we should probably head to sleep... It's almost 12:30, and we have to wake up at 7 AM," you say, a hint of tiredness creeping into your tone.

"That's good, and we're happy you're with us too! Goodnight, Y/N," Yuta replies with a smile before hugging you and then heading towards the door.

"Finally, I can play Fortnite," Toge jokes before noticing you picking up a pillow.

"Y/N! I was kidding! I WAS KIDDING!" Toge exclaims, darting out of your room as you chase after him, pillow in hand.

The chase leads you both around the house. As you enter the kitchen, Toge quickly runs on one side of the counter, putting distance between you. Determined to catch him, you move to your left, but he mirrors your movements, keeping just out of reach.

With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Toge grins and taunts you from across the counter, knowing he's outmanoeuvred you for now. But you're not one to give up easily, and with a playful smirk, you prepare to outsmart him in this game. 

“Y/N IM SORRY! I SAID I WAS KIDDING PLEASE SPARE MY LIFE!!!! I BEGGGG” he yells out. 

“NOT UNTIL YOU APOLOGIZED AND SAY IM YOUR BEST FRIEND AND YOU LOVE ME.” you yell back teasing him. 

“NO NEVER!” he runs past you and you chase him back up the stairs but you corner him before he could get to his room.

“IM SO SORRY QUEEN Y/N MY BESTEST OF BEST FRIEND I LOVE YOU SO SO MUCH!” he says in fear. 

“Love you too bestie!! goodnight!” You smile innocently and make your way to your room.

“she's fucking crazy....” he mumbled to himself as he gets back up.

“mmm? what was that?” you say turning back towards him. 

“Uhh... N-NOTHING!!! HAHA… NOTHING AT ALL” With a nervous chuckle, Toge swiftly opens the door to his room, slipping inside and securing the lock behind him.

Maki, witnessing the entire exchange, approaches you with a smile to say goodnight. But before she leaves, she asks about Megumi.

Your surprise is evident, but you can't bring yourself to lie to your best friend. 

"It's... kinda bad right now. We're not really talking," you admit.

"What? What the hell happened?" Maki responds, shocked.

"He saw my ex at my house today. He was only there to grab his stuff, but then Megumi showed up around the same time, and my ex lied to him... I didn't know he was there until it was too late," you explain with a sigh.

"Why didn't you just call him and explain?" Maki inquires.

"I tried, but he didn't answer at all. I even texted him to meet me at the park across from his house at 7 PM to explain everything, and if he didn't show up, I'd just assume he didn't want to be friends anymore or have any type of relationship."

"And...?" Maki prompts, sensing your hesitation.

"He didn't show up," you admit, feeling your heart drop.

"What the hell? Why wouldn't he show up? That guy is literally obsessed with you," Maki says, clearly bewildered.

"Stop..." you respond, feeling annoyed.

"Stop what?" Maki asks, confused.

"Stop saying shit that isn't true, you really don't need to lie about that." you say, your frustration bubbling up.

"What do you mean?! I've known Megumi since he was a kid, y/n.. He's never been like this, not once with a girl before. Every girl that's ever tried talking to him, he wouldn't even notice or care to at least. He puts no effort in at all. Why do you think when we saw him with you on the couch together, we were extremely shocked. He barely gets near a girl, so the fact that he let you lean on him AND hold your hand shows that he likes you. Like, a lot," Maki explains, her words hitting you hard.

"We're just friends... that's all. And it's normal," you respond weakly, trying to dismiss her observations.

"Maybe normal for you, but definitely not for Megumi. He barely talks to girls, let alone looks in their direction. Seriously, Y/N, you'd have to be blind or stupid to not see that he obviously has feelings for you," Maki concludes, her annoyance evident.

You fall silent, feeling conflicted by her words as she leaves you to ponder the truth of her observations.

"Goodnight, Maki," you respond, your tone tinged with a hint of annoyance. Despite her insistence, you can't shake the feeling that what she's telling you isn't entirely true, convinced that Megumi sees you only as a friend.

"Y/N—" Maki starts, but you cut her off, retreating back into your room and heading straight for bed. Without wasting a moment, Maki quickly pulls out her phone and sends a message to Nobara.

7AM

As your alarm blares, announcing the start of your first day at a new school, a rush of nerves and excitement courses through you. But, having your friends by your side brings a warm sense of familiarity that soothes the uncertainties of the day ahead.

Last night was rough. You couldn't sleep good as thoughts of Megumi consumed your mind, denying you any peace. Despite knowing it's time to move forward, his memory persists, a constant companion in your thoughts. It's tough to shake off the memory of someone who felt so right, even when things didn't quite align.

The second alarm that goes off snaps you out of your thoughts, prompting you to get moving. With a sigh, you drag yourself out of bed and start getting ready for the day.

Arriving at the school, you feel a mix of excitement and anxiety as you head to the office to pick up your schedule. Despite the last-minute transfer, you're relieved that they've welcomed you, easing some of the nerves about starting anew.

You rush up the stairs of the school, the realization that you're running late sets in. Panic starts to rise as you frantically search for your classroom, the maze-like layout of the school making it difficult to navigate.

"Where the hell is this stupid class?" you mutter under your breath, frustration mounting with each passing second.

With your mind solely focused on finding your class, you fail to notice the person standing directly in your path. Before you can react, you run right into them, the impact jolting you back to reality.

Stumbling backward, he reaches out to steady you, his hands gently settling on your waist, you look up to apologize, only to freeze in shock as you lock eyes with the person before you.

"Megumi?" you blurt out, unable to hide your surprise as you take in his familiar features and all-black attire.

His expression remains impassive at first, but as his gaze meets yours, recognition flashes in his eyes.

"Y/n…?"

omg omg omg omg omg

finally finished this part... took longer than expected... sorry for the long wait

i rly appreciate ur guys patience <3

this part was kindaaa boring but i promise next one will get more interesting teehee

TAGLIST <3

@lavender-hvze @xbarrjallenx @atinymonbebestay @1l-ynn @chilichopsticks @dr-fluff-meow @lost-resonance @maya-maya-56 @ichorstainedskin @luciiferslover @madaqueue @vanitywoo

[infinitestarsdev]

Devlog 2024-02-09 (Episode 4 - Part 1 is out NOW!)

It's Friday! And this is a special Friday because it's a RELEASE Friday!

That's right! Episode 4 - Part 1 is now live!

Update Edit: It's also a sad day for my family. I lost someone dear to me this morning, someone even dearer to my loved ones, and my heart is aching with them for our loss. I wish things weren't the way they are. I wish I could do more to ease their suffering.

Project Details:

167,666 words in total. (That's roughly the same length as the first two Harry Potter novels combined)

825 possible choices.

Patrons can get their version over here (win|mac|lin) or here (android), and everyone else can get the full game on Steam or Itchio!

Episode 4 - Part 1 continues the story after the dramatic conclusion from Episode 3.

It introduces several new characters, several new and redrawn backgrounds, several new portraits, several new music tracks, an overhauled story controller, a new free-roam mechanic, a new star system navigation interface, a lore gallery with unlockable entries, a system for players to load custom-made stories written by other players into the game, a seasonal event (Spooktober Heist), and nearly 40K additional words of content (some being intimate content for Kiaria, Lochem and Khalil).

It also includes two very special player portraits! Thanks to the amazing ladies from Wanderlust Games, you can now play your Mah'Abeu as a younger version of Damon or Ayame from Andromeda Six! (Seriously, if you're hearing about Andromeda Six for the first time– You're about to fall in love. Go check them out and support them if your wallet allows!)

We've been working extremely hard to bring this release to you, and while we've added a ton of new things, we would have loved to add more. Sadly, we had to draw a line in the sand and release what was available.

Some of the things that we could add before the deadline that were requested by our beta testers:

MC is more knowledgeable about the Cephilusk.

Added a location hint during free-roam sequences.

Made Kiaria more Kiaria when dealing with current events.

Your Mah'Abue now crafts the notice being sent to the crew.

Several more personality options (with more on their way)

Most free-roam scenes now have the crew members touching on or hinting at the current situation.

Fixed some logic bugs with Sonia's scene.

Adjusted Andreas' scene with an additional choice if he becomes too much.

Added some additional logic and checks to the response you can give when the crew/your LI asks about how you are coping. (Might still expand on this.)

Your Mah'Abue now has more control over how they handle Nikau.

Added Lindi's music track.

An additional intimate scene for Khalil

Some of the things that we couldn't add before the deadline that will be added very soon. (over the next week or three):

Implementing some more of the Beta Tester feedback requests.

The start of Tabitha's character arc.

A free-roam scene for Lebeny, along with an additional intimate scene.

Adding a semi-intimate, more risque scene with Matthias.

Adding additional character expressions to some of the free-roam content.

Additional music tracks where there is only silence.

Missing Lore Descriptions, replacing the WiP notice with actual content.

The new trailer for Episode 4.

Some of the things that we couldn't add before the deadline that will be added down the line. (more than a month from now)

Additional backgrounds and characters.

Continuing Episode 4, including the much-anticipated Matthias Elevator scene.

Additional Lore items to unlock.

More free-roam content, more character content (Reyna and more), more intimate scenes.

Character relationship arcs (and intimate scenes) for Raymond, Matthias, Veera and Tabitha as a prioity.

Character relationship arcs (and intimate scenes) for Cephilusk, Andreas and TBD a little further down the road.

As always, despite the hours and hours and heaps of financial resources poured into the project, Infinite Stars is still entirely free! If you like what we are doing and can afford to show your support, please consider joining one of our paid Patreon tiers!

Infinite Stars wouldn't be nearly as cool as it is without the support of our amazing Patrons who believe in us!

If you can't afford to support us, that's cool. We still love you, and having you enjoy our game fills our hearts with joy! If you like the game, share it with your friends or give us a positive review to help with the visibility algorithms.

Have a peaceful weekend, enjoy the release, and go hug one of your loved ones!

[ahhhsami]

What writing tips would you give to beginner writers?

These are some general things I wished I had known when I started writing. Keep in mind that everyone is different, so these tips may not be as useful to you as it may be to someone else.

Tropes exist for a reason. If you have an idea, but see that there's already a fic with similar ideas, that's okay. Don't be discouraged. Tropes are loved because people want to read them and reread them. Plus your take will always be different from others because we all have different perspectives, writing styles, and ideas.

Write for the hell of it. If you have an idea, just write. It's okay if it's not good. It's okay if you never go back to it. The more you write, even if it's not to be shared, is good experience and can help you grow as a writer. Keep in mind though, that the more you post, the more feedback you receive which can help you improve greatly. It's always good to get constructive criticism from others. It's also okay to not be interested in constructive criticism. You'll still improve just by writing more.

Write for yourself. This might sound cliché, but it's true. Write what you want to and what you enjoy. Even if it's niche, that's okay since there will still be people interested in it. Interests are not exclusive and you may even be surprised that what you think is niche, might not be at all!

Schedules work for some and don't work for others. If you're a person that knows deadlines work for you and it won't hinder your creativity, then set a schedule for yourself. Set goals of writing a specific amount of words. Set dates when you'll post new chapters. BUT, it's also okay if schedules don't work for you. They personally don't work for me at all. Writing and sharing, especially when it comes to fanfiction is FREE. So don't feel obligated to get a chapter out by this time or that time. Creativity comes and goes, things in life happen, there's so many factors to posting, so don't feel pressured to do as others. Do what suits you! Some people can post every week, some can post every few months, some people need years and that's perfectly okay.

Don't base your success on hits/comments/kudos/etc. Some of the best stories I have ever read on AO3 have had low hits/comments/kudos. There are so many hidden gems out there. But do keep in mind that when you start writing and posting, these things may naturally be lower at the beginning. Over time, as you post more, people can become familiar with your style and what you write. On top of that, this feeds back to just writing. Writing more will improve your skills, which then will draw in more readers and also get them to stay or look at your other works.

Don't be scared to share and self-promote. When you start, it can be daunting to share what you've created. But we all had to start somewhere and if you asked me if I liked my first stories, it would be a hard no. What matters when I do look back at them, is that I see improvement. And as long as you keep working and enjoying the process, then improvement will definitely happen. Finally, when it comes to self-promoting, do it! Sometimes the only time I see a new story that I end up loving is because someone has promoted their own work. They're proud of it and I love to find new things that people were passionate about. I will also shamelessly recommend my own stories if needed. Just don't spam people 😂

Pantser, Plotter, or Plantser. These are three different ways of describing your writing style. Pantsers are more fluid and free with the way they write. Plotters lean toward more strict planning, relying on outlines and following a specific plan. Plantsers are a combination of the two. Try different styles and gradually you'll find what works best for you. I started out as a wildly free, honestly chaotic, Pantser but am very much a Plantser now. Writing styles can change over time, but just know that being comfortable with the style you're using is what's important.

Hopefully some of these things are helpful. They're somewhat vague and not all of them are strictly related to writing, but they are all things that I believe are important to know. These are also some things that can even be helpful to people who aren't new to writing. These are all things that I still follow and practice to this day too.

PS: I like to keep my asks/dms open for people looking for a second eye on their writing. If anyone is interested in having me read anything and share feedback, you're welcome to send me a message. My availability varies due to work, so you may not hear back from me right away though.

[genericpuff]

On today's episode of "Rachel exaggerates things to make herself sound cooler-"

Soooo this is a lie.

No seriously, this has to be a lie. I don't make these kinds of accusations willy-nilly. This has to be a lie.

First of all, if her file sizes are truly 11GB for each episode, that would mean her file resolutions would have to be stupid high, and I just ain't buying that when so much of her art comes out looking like fried chicken.

But again, look at the backgrounds. Crystal clear. Which supports my theory that Rachel has her assistants draw the characters flat and exports them as PNG's so that she (or another one of her assistants) can slap the backgrounds in afterwards which is why when they pinch and zoom, the backgrounds look fine (as they're added in afterwards) and the characters look like they've been drawn with chalk. The shading itself isn't deep fried though, which is, again, because Rachel adds in the shading in post after her assistants have sent her all the flats.

Anyways, moving on from that, if her file sizes are actually 11GB per episode, that would mean her resolution would have to be STUPID high and that would mean there's no excuse for panels to look like this. This is not a Webtoons compression problem, Webtoons does compress images for you if you don't do it yourself but they don't result in specifically deep fried textures like this, that's ALL happening on Rachel's side. If it were a Webtoons' problem, the entire comic would look like that, not just select panels.

This is also what the panels tend to look like in book form. The book art is clearly very compressed and blurred from being too low of a resolution for print, which means either the editor is not being provided the root files, or the root files weren't ever that crisp to begin with. Either one is plausible and either one isn't good.

But of course, I'm not going to make these claims without my own proof. So here's the file sizes for Episode 12 of Rekindled, the longest episode in the series so far by panel count and page length, clocking in at 42 panels and an average of 25 layers per page (and that's including the text layers which adds a good chunk on its own, the actual art layers are like, half of that).

Also, here's what a pinch and zoom panel in Rekindled comes out looking like:

You can still pick up on some fuzziness, but the lineart doesn't look straight up chunky like it does in LO.

Meanwhile, one of my longest episodes of TIME GATE: [AFTERBIRTH] has a file size that honestly shocked me with how small it was.

Guess how many panels that episode had?

Go on, guess. Take a second. Compare it to the file size of Episode 12 of Rekindled, take your best educated guess. Time Gate: [AFTERBIRTH] is also a full color webtoon with full shading and rendering that I used to upload once a week. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Ninety-seven.

Ninety. Seven.

Not only is that more panels than what LO dishes out on a weekly basis, but its overall file size doesn't even come out to be 10% of what Rachel is claiming LO's file sizes to be.

This is what Time Gate: [AFTERBIRTH] looks like, by the way:

(don't mind the blurriness that's working against my point, that's Tumblr, not me LMAO)

But, let's face it, I didn't want to just use my own examples as a comparison, because that seems unfair. I'm not an Originals creator, I just put myself under similar pressures as one because I'm an idiot who tries too hard.

So I asked one of my Originals pals. I will not disclose their name, but they are someone who works for Webtoons Originals and has similar panel requirements and deadlines. They also work with a similar flatting + shade workflow as LO, they have cel-shaded colors and bold flat coloring.

When I asked them how big their file sizes were, they said that at 2500px width - similar to what I draw at, 2400px width - and 200-300k pixel length (again, they're drawing an entire episode on one canvas) their episode file sizes come out to roughly one gigabyte, very rarely much bigger than that.

Rachel is full of shit. This is some Tommy Tallarico level shit, exaggerating stupid things that don't matter to try and make herself seem impressive. It isn't impressive. It makes her look like an unorganized dunderhead at best, and at worst, makes her look like a flat out liar who needs to prop herself up on the dumbest shit to make herself look good. File gigabyte size isn't impressive or indicative of anything, you can achieve high quality art without your file size amounting to 11 GB, and let's face it, Lore Olympus is not high quality art. You're telling me art like this:

amounts to 11 GB?

Now the only way I can see this happening is if maybe, maybe she had like, a bajillion layers full of garbage-

Oh. Oh no. Lore Olympus. Is a sprite comic.*

(*edit for clarification: I've had people confused over what I mean by sprite comic because LO clearly isn't made with 16/8 bit sprites. Sprite comic was a term universally used back in the day for comics that reused the same body parts, heads, expressions, etc. much like how sprites are designed, often keeping an entire file full of different layers made up of these assets to make for easier development. This technique was utilized in comics like CTRL + ALT + DEL. LO is definitely not literally a sprite comic but the way its layers are designed feel very much like something that's being cobbled together like 'sprite' comics were. I'm old.)

Even with these pics for proof, with 600+ layers on one canvas, if there's barely anything on those layers, then it still wouldn't make up that 11GB file size because the amount of layers doesn't necessarily add to file size on its own, at least not by that much, unless they're actually filled with stuff. And again, Rachel's art in LO doesn't scream "highly detailed with many layers". It only had many layers because for some reason she insists on working that way even to its own detriment.

From the looks of it, Rachel's importing all of her assistants' PNG's as separate layers and adding all the shading and the extra details on their own separate layers and basically dividing everything up into tiny bite sized pieces. That's the only clear explanation I can come up with. But if so, that means she's being INCREDIBLY inefficient with her workflow that it's amounting to SIX HUNDRED+ LAYERS AT 11 GB PER EPISODE. THAT IS ABSURD. THIS COMIC IS WAY TOO LOW QUALITY TO JUSTIFY THESE FILE SIZES AND LAYER COUNTS. RACHEL DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK SHE'S DOING-

She's also very clearly using the cloud as a way to backup her work and work with her assistants. God knows how much she's spending on cloud space because of her own incompetency.

Honestly, at this point, as I sit here playing the Photoshop equivalent of Cookie Clicker, clicking the 'new layer' button over and over and over again with my mouse to truly understand what it would feel like to operate at 600+ layers per episode of a webtoon, I'm more inclined to believe she's just lying. Capping. Pulling shit out of her ass. Straight up making shit up. It wouldn't be the first time she's done that. But also because the alternative is a lot more grim - the #1 best selling webtoon on the platform is being operated like the world's worst group project and still coming out on the other side looking like deep fried garbage despite its stupid high file size.

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

Let's talk numbers, shall we?

Thesis: Sydcarmy draws in more viewers. Period.

We can all agree on the fact that The Bear S2 was the most Sydcarmy-friendly of the 2, even with Claire's addition, right? I mean, we can have different interpretations about certain scenes, but we can't deny they happened, i.e.: "I'm saying goodnight" storming out, the panic attack, and the under-the-table scene... etc.

@belassima got me thinking about numbers. I already had the feeling this was the case, but never really did the actual research till now and this is what I found:

Source: Collider.com via Nielsen / June 2023

And those were just preliminary figures in June last year from a week after S2's premiere.

The numbers obviously went up since. Astronomically so.

So it's undeniable, Sydcarmy brought in way more viewers last year than whatever viewers were already watching the show in 2022, because S2 was the most streamed one out of the 2 and it was inarguably the one with more Sydcarmy content out of the two. Full stop.

And that's not even taking into account SM activity. We all know that the #Sydcarmy movement is strong here on Tumblr, it's taking over TT, whereas Reddit and X seem to be 50%/50%, leaning more towards Sydcarmy on X, but only slightly. And YT is full-on Sydcarmy stand territory, although it doesn't really count because the anties do not create video edits of their Anti content, Sydcamy truthers do. So, it's like winning a 1 army war. Unfortunately, I don't have the actual figures, but they are quite easy to get, we just have to track the respective tags and keywords on each platform, I will not be performing such a time-consuming analytics assessment for free, of course. But feel free to jump into it, if you want to, I'd love to have those numbers too.

Conclusion: What's factual is that the Sydcarmy numbers on every platform and on streaming have only gone consistently up year after year since the show premiered in 2022.

IMO: I find it very hard to believe that Storer and/or the network/s don't care about this hard evidence, which is obviously equivalent to REVENUE.

All the major news outlets unanimously back this data up:

Deadline

Variety

IMDb

THR

Source: THR via Nielsen/June 2023

So, I'm tired of arguing from a merely subjective standpoint, whenever you come to me to tell me Sydcarmy is not a thing, etc... SHOW ME THE MONEY!

[xpau-official]

Almost time for XPAU official comic to start *removes mic and sits in a chair while you're on a sofa* So, our audience would like to know how do you feel about this advancement of events.

Honestly? I’m nervous.

Nervous for a few reasons. The biggest one right now is actually because I’m rushing to hand in all my work before deadlines LMAO and that’ll take a whole week, which means I won’t have time to draw any new parts until that’s done. I tried to make up for it in the launch, and I know you guys don’t mind the wait but it still bothers me a bit. However, I know that there won’t be a consistent posting schedule anyway, so I hope you also don’t mind that.

I’m nervous because of how different the comic might be compared to CPAU. I’m afraid it might be boring. I know I already said that they’re not the same and whatnot, but I can’t help but compare sometimes. That’s natural though.

And I’m nervous because I’m a bit of a perfectionist. I tend to strive for complete perfection, though I’ve been trying to loosen up for this AU. The amount of times I’ve read over the script to check that it’s amusing is funny in itself HAHAHA

But nervousness aside, I’m excited. I can’t believe how much this AU has grown in just 10 days! It feels like it’s been a month at least. I’m really happy that so many people have joined in on this idea, and the fanart already? Amazing. It feels surreal to see.

I’m really thankful for all of you that have gathered here for the party. I know I might be a bit hard on myself right now, but I’ll be sure to deliver the best I can.

Thank you for asking!