#i’m going through them so quickly and i’m only partway through with one of the arm covers!! and i’ll need more for the chest plate!

[officialbabayaga]

thank god the hanks of 0/11 seed beads i need to make my decorative ren faire chain mail are only $4.50 each bc I just had to buy the rest of their stock to make sure I’d have enough

[ctitan98official]

Anonymous: If I could, I would love to see a part 2 to the soft dom!reader breeds Mother Miranda fic. Preferably something smutty partway through her pregnancy, when she’s overly sensitive, but still with a bit of a fluffy tone. Perhaps her wings get even more sensitive than they already were and the reader can get her hot and bothered with something as simple as stroking them and her belly at the same time?

18+ Minors DNI

Yeah! I love soft pregnant Miranda T^T This is purely self-indulgent for me ;) Read the first part here! Let’s get into it!

Miranda has been so happy since you two decided to have a baby together.

Her regular body temperature has risen and she’s so warm. The perfect person to snuggle with. However, she often has to go outside for some fresh air because she becomes so flushed. She talks to the baby constantly and enjoys watching how her body is changing to adapt to her pregnancy… It also gets her going to know that you’re the one who did this to her.

For you, another perk of Miranda’s pregnancy is getting to see her become turned on by the lightest of caresses. Her body is flooding with hormones and it doesn’t take much for her to get… Excited.

One thing that you’ve discovered completely by accident… Is that her wings and belly are now very responsive to touch. One night, you wake up and can’t fall back asleep. You look over to your love and the downy appearance of Miranda’s wings looks heavenly. You absentmindedly reach out to rub one with your finger and Miranda immediately bolts up in bed.

At first, you are terrified that you hurt her somehow. “Oh my gosh, are you okay?!” You ask frantically.

Miranda’s eyes are wide open and her breathing is labored. You can’t see it in the dark, but she is blushing like mad. Her gorgeous silver eyes lock onto yours before she answers. “They’re… Just so sensitive.” She says quietly.

You’re confused. “What’s so sensitive?” You ask and begin to helplessly fluff her pillows to try and get her comfortable.

Miranda can’t help but giggle at your concern. “I’m fine, draga mea. My wings just feel a bit… Stimulated when you touch them.” She says, her voice adopting a low and husky growl.

You’d recognize Miranda’s seduction anywhere. She is devilish in the way she uses her voice sometimes.

“I’ve never noticed that before.” You say, hopeful that Miranda is feeling as aroused as you think she is.

“It’s a new sensation.” Miranda answers with a coy smile. “My body is just reacting to our little one.” She says and places her hand gently on her swollen stomach. “I love what you’ve done to me, my dear.”

You grin back at her. “The feeling is very much mutual.” You joke and run your fingers across her tummy.

Miranda gasps at your actions. Your hand on her belly really does something to her. She’s pretty sure that she would completely climax if you rubbed both her wings and her tummy at the same time.

You love feeling how the soft silk of Miranda’s nightgown glides smoothly across her perfect skin. Her belly is so warm and plush. She’s so… Sensual without even trying. Everything about her is drawing you in.

Miranda leans forward and kisses you softly.

The taste of her on your lips makes your sex drive kick into high gear. You bred your woman… And now it is time to reap some of the benefits. You deepen the kiss and shove your tongue in her mouth without warning.

Miranda whines at your sudden intrusion. She can feel herself panting in anticipation.

You chuckle as you hear the desperate sounds she is making. “Now, be a good girl and lie back. I’ll take care of the rest.” You whisper.

Miranda moans deliciously at your choice of words. She lowers herself back gently into the pillows.

You softly part her legs and your tongue takes a long, slow swipe at her slit.

Miranda twitches in desire. She feels herself develop a familiar, but hopeless, hunger only you can sate. Her body is so ready for you to pleasure her.

You begin eating her out, but Miranda quickly grabs your hand and places it on her stomach, urging you to rub it. It only adds to the lustful sensations she’s feeling.

You smirk as you start to use your other hand to thrust two fingers in and out of her sopping wet entrance. “You like that I claimed you, don’t you? You like watching your belly grow? While your breasts swell with milk for my child?” You tease.

Miranda closes her eyes and nods eagerly. “Yesss.” She hisses in pleasure. “It’s the best gift you could have ever given me, my love.” She manages to choke out as she writhes in ecstasy.

You feel a deep satisfaction at hearing this. Your pace becomes faster and rougher as you feel Miranda’s inner walls tightening. Wow, her body really must be sensitive. She can typically last a lot longer.

“Y/N… Y/N!” Miranda unexpectedly wails as she comes. Her orgasm takes her by surprise. Her eyes roll back in pleasure as she allows herself to be fully consumed by her powerful climax.

You have never seen Miranda come so hard. She looks otherworldly like this. A maternal vision that is too gorgeous for you to fully comprehend. Slightly mussed hair, flushed cheeks, perfectly plump breasts… And her growing tummy. All on full display just for you to witness. You crawl up beside her and press kisses to the side of her face. “Such a beautiful mommy.” You say, completely in awe.

Miranda feels her heart warm at your comment. She loves being pregnant with your baby. She’s thankful that you’re in love with the experience just as much as she is.

You two are quiet for a moment as you both begin to relax. Your heart rate slows considerably as does your breathing. Miranda can tell you’re just about to fall asleep.

Miranda needs little sleep, but she decides to cuddle up next to you and settle down anyway. She wants to be near you. She begins to daydream about all of the possible experiences you are both about to go through. It makes her smile. “Rest well, my love. I will keep you and our precious child safe while you sleep.” She promises and kisses you on the cheek.

You drift off and Miranda lies there, completely content and rubbing soothing patterns on her belly. She’s so grateful for you.

Note: I literally just wrote things I want to hear Miranda to say to me (But honestly, I do that with all of my writing) XD Excellent prompt. This one was very fun for me!

Masterlist

[theresattrpgforthat]

I have ADHD and memory issues, but the _Patchwork World_ writeup seems to focus on learning the rules and chargen, which are the aspects I have the least trouble with (I can do them asynchronously, alone and between sessions) -- my main issue is with maintaining attention over the duration of a play session. Are there games designed to be played in short bursts -- maybe sessions of 10-30 minutes?

THEME: Quick / ADHD friendly games.

Hello friend! So I’m going to break down this ask a little bit to hopefully make it more helpful. I’m going to include games that can be played in short bursts, but I’m also going to highlight some games that might help in other ways.

I’m also going to include some advice I’ve picked up about gaming from ADHD - tips that I got specifically from creators who have ADHD themselves. I recognize that it works differently for everyone, so your mileage may vary, but hopefully one or two of these tips will be useful!

Disclaimer: I do not have ADHD myself. I am forwarding advice from other creators. The two creators that I took tips from are the following:

10 Tips to Make Your Tabletop RPG More ADHD Friendly, by How to ADHD.

DnD and ADHD, by Azrai.

Both of these videos are focused on D&D, but there is advice that is translatable across games.

One of the biggest helps to understanding the obstacles to gaming with ADHD is the re-contextualization of how an ADHD-brain works. As far as I understand, ADHD brains have an easier time focusing on something if it’s engaging. If it isn’t engaging, or if your brain can’t sort through the information to understand what’s going on, it just kind of… shuts off. So the biggest thing is to think about what makes playing games interesting.

Short Sessions and One-Shots.

I can definitely understand the effectiveness of short sessions and one-shots. You don’t have to retain information from a previous session, and short games are usually rules-lite so you don’t have to keep a lot of information in your working memory.

Oh No It’s Gay, by blake stone.

a quick, single-session dice-stacking RPG about flirting, falling in love, and being super queer. rules for both two-player and multiplayer games are included.

I’m recommending this game because of the dice-stacking mechanic that I think might be engaging. The game itself is pretty simple, and I don’t see a session lasting longer than a few minutes. This game seems to work best with two-to-three players, and the dice-stacking requires you to pay attention when it comes to making sure the dice stack stays up. At the same time, you don’t have to hold much information in your head, and most of your actions are determined based on how you’re feeling. If you’re feeling flirty, then you’ll probably be stacking lots of dice!

Subway Runners, by Gem Room Games.

Life is tough for the cash-strapped in Prociopolis. Ever since the secret to immortality was discovered, nobody retires anymore! With all the steady jobs taken and no sign of any new ones opening up, there’s only one sure way to make some quick cash: sign up as a Subway Runner and work for the Metro Authority to hunt monsters and repair subway lines below the city.

The minds behind Gem Room Games prioritize making games that can be run quickly, and Subway Runners is an excellent example of that. Characters are randomly generated, so you can cycle through the generator until you find one that you like. Then you can download the character sheet and print it off if that works easier for you! You roll a number of d6’s whenever you attempt to do something, with 1-3 being bad, 4/5 being a partial success, and a 6 (or more) being a full success. The staggered success is similar to the way Patchwork World works, but instead of trying to keep track of moves, you just need to find which skill of yours makes the most sense to use.

Subway Runners is a great game for one-shot play! If you hold sessions for longer than 30 minutes I would recommend having a break partway through and doing a re-cap when you come back from the break, to make sure everyone is on the same page and is able to focus on what is about to happen next. If you hold sessions for 30 minutes at a time then I can see the game as functioning as essentially a min-campaign, in which case a quick re-cap before each session is absolutely fundamental.

Finally, if you’re going to be playing shorter sessions, it might be more logical to play online so as to reduce transport costs and the amount of time you need to set aside for a game, and Subway Runners is designed to be run online!

Firebrands: Mobile Frame Zero, by Meguey & Vincent Baker.

Humanity has spread through the Milky way, using interstellar transit gate technology to colonize the galaxy. Mobile frames are the hard-working, hard-fighting combat- and labor mecha they’ve brought with them. You are romantic ace mobile frame pilots, caught up in an undeclared war for the future of the Bantral system.

I don’t know anything about how Firebrands-style games play, but I do know that they are effectively built to be a series of mini-games. You might be able to play one mini-game per session, in order to keep each session short. The biggest downside might be that each mini-game uses a different set of rules, but if you’re only doing one mini-game at a time, that might not be an issue for your group.

The Score, by Tin Star Games.

THE SCORE is an all-new kind of collaborative story game that lets you create the world's greatest heist movie with just 18 cards in under 18 minutes of game time. It's a revolutionary take on shared storytelling that needs no GM, no complex rules, no hefty rulebooks and gives you all the idea prompts you need to be the mastermind.

This game is still in funding but it's meant to be played in 18 minutes, which is probably the shortest tabletop roleplaying game on this list. You can check out the link above to find reviews, playthroughs, and a short guide on how to play!

Visual References and Tactile Player Pieces.

A game that has a visual reference can be stimulating and can help someone keep focus over an extended period of time. This visual reference might just be pictures that you share online to help you visualize what’s going on, or it might be something that is can be seen and interacted with in front of you, to help keep you engaged and interested. This is probably a mandatory thing in games that are long, with a lot of rules.

Lancer, by Massif Press.

Lancer imagines a future where a survivor humanity has spread to the stars after weathering terrible ecological collapse on Earth - the end of the Anthropocene as a consequence of unrestrained consumption and poor stewardship. Thousands of years later, humanity lives in the wake of a desperate revolution, one where the victorious radicals now manage the galaxy they've won.  

Lancer is a mech game, set in the far future, and it has a lot of moving pieces, but it also has an immeasurable wealth of player aids. The creators (and fans) of the game have provided the Comp-Con App, which acts as a Compendium, a Character Creation Tool, and a Character Keeper all in one. The App helps you track damage, plan out your mech build, and mark off deployables as you engage in combat.

I play Lancer in person with a small play group, and we use a hex-map and chess pieces to keep track of what’s going on in combat. This gives us pieces to pick up and move, and it also gives us a visual reference to track where we are and what we want to do next. While our game has chunks of narrative play to provide plot points, the bulk of our game sessions involve combat, and the nice thing about that is that you only really need to know what your objective is, and therefore you can focus on moving across the map and wiping out your enemies. If you want to make combat shorter, you can stop partway through or break it up into smaller skirmishes with a few enemies at a time.

I’m the GM for the game, but I personally cannot keep all of the rules straight in my head - luckily I have a player or two who love rules and will happily remind me how inflicting Burn works, whether I can shoot things in soft cover, and what exactly a Veil Rifle does.

Yazeba’s Bed and Breakfast, by Possum Creek Games.

Welcome to Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast, a slice-of-life tabletop RPG about a heartless witch, a peaceful house, and all the folks who have made their home inside. 

Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast is a very special game. It uses pre-set characters, quick-play chapters, and an adaptable ruleset unlike anything else out there. It takes less than a half hour to learn how to play and get started, but with new chapters and secrets to unlock folks can stick with the game for years and years.

Jay Dragon, the Project Manager for Yazeba’s Bed and Breakfast, places accessibility at the forefront of all of Possum Creek’s games. Each chapter of this game has slightly different rules, but you use the same characters for each one. Many of the games use tokens, which will be earned, spent, and placed on tracks to make things happen in the story. Each session looks as if it is meant to last 40-60 minutes, which is a bit longer than you might be looking for but is certainly shorter than a typical D&D session.

Because of the token usage in this game, I can see this game having a big tactile element. The character art is also colourful and engaging, and provides you with a really strong visual reference that can help you identify with whichever character you decide to play. Yazeba’s B&B chapters also mean that not every character has to be present for each game.

If you want to check out this game, there is an Ashcan Version on Itch.io, and if you want an Online play option, you can check out Yazeba’s Online by One More Multiverse! The Online game has a whole map of Yazeba’s that you can actually move your character through, and I think that really improves how easy it is to keep engaged with the game.

Light Rules and Communal Player Resources.

If there are not a lot of rules or math that has to be done, you don’t have to spend time thinking about how you do something and you can spend more time focusing on what you want to do. Communal player resources can also be a big boon because if the entire party has the ability to see what’s available, it’s not up to just one person to remember what kinds of tools you have at hand. I personally love online player-kits that are visible to everyone, because you’ll never lose your character sheet, and you fellow players can help you find the pieces of information that you need to figure out what it is you want your character to do next.

Camp Flying Moose for Girls of All Kinds, by Alicia Furness.

Camp Flying Moose for Girls of All Kinds is a PbtA game about teen girls at a summer camp filled with strange supernatural occurrences. Inspired by Lumberjanes, and my own experiences of summer camp, the game investigates mysteries, monsters, and teenage identity. 

You mentioned Patchwork World as a game that you felt worked for you. Patchwork World stands out to me as a PbtA game that lets you customize your character, but only really requires you to remember the moves that you specifically have to make. Camp Flying Moose is also a PbtA game and also lets you create a character by putting pieces together. You will choose a two special moves that define your character, assign numbers to five stats as you like, and answer two characters about your experience at camp.

I’ve also created a communal character keeper that you can use to track all of your character information as a group! You can check it out here.

Visigoths vs Mall Goths, by Lucian Kahn.

Visigoths vs. Mall Goths is a tabletop roleplaying game and dating sim about the conflicts and romances among the warriors who sacked ancient Rome and 20th century spooky teens, set in a suburban Los Angeles shopping mall during 1996. There are a lot of bisexuals.

I talk about this game a lot, and that’s because it’s good. The player aids are easy to understand and follow along. There is a map of the mall to help your characters figure out where they want to go next. There is a day tracker that the GM will move along as you play, which ensures that you finish the session within a reasonable time. And there are things that you as a character can do even when the spotlight isn’t on you to help keep you engaged even when it isn’t your turn - characters can embarrass themselves in order to give a bonus to a friend while they roll.

I also find that this is a game that encourages competition, so if you like games where the goal is to (humorously) one-up other characters, you might find this game to be up your alley! This game is also PbtA, often hailed as a hall-mark for being rules light.

I also made a character play-kit for this game, which you can find here! There’s also an Online Supplement made by Chloe Sutherland that makes it easier to play this game online.

Finally...

I recognize that a number of games on here don’t look like they run in very short sessions as designed. For a lot of games, I think having a game table that is on board can be the biggest help. You want a game group that understands your need for re-caps and short sessions, and is willing to work with you. Perhaps meeting online makes it easier to schedule a short game, or maybe taking a 5-minute break halfway through an hour-long game gives you a chance to get your focus back. I’d also recommend talking to your GM about what you find interesting in play. If you’re into romance and all the group is doing is fighting monsters, I can see it being very easy to lose focus.

Some final tips:

Keep the table small if possible (only 2 or 3 players), so there is a shorter wait time between each turn.

Our table lets people do things when it’s not their turn, such as get up to stretch their legs, munch on snacks, and doodle. Keeping our hands busy and letting our blood flow gives some of us the re-set we need to keep focused.

Ask your GM to give you one piece of information or one obstacle at a time. Then you don’t have to try and remember all of the things happening around you at once.

[imaginedreamwrite]

Halloween photoshoot:

Ari and his Luna are having a shoot cause she loves the fall and wanted to do something special with him.

She's had the whole thing planned, and has been working with the photographer cause she wants to announce that she's expecting.

They have been trying and trying for months.

He doesn't know, and this will be his first pup.

Halloween countdown day 26 — have a Halloween/fall photoshoot

“Do you need help, Sweetpea?” He called out to you as you leaned against the vehicle for balance while yanking on your other boot.

“I’m fine! I’m fine!” Your reply was short and sweet, coming moments before the photographer had set up their camera and the portable flash.

“Ready when you are.” They chimed, following Ari down a path that led partway into the woods where your first pictures would be taken. “Ari thank you for letting me do this.”

“Its more for her benefit than mine.” Ari had admit, slipping his hands into the pocket of his jeans, watching you closely as you followed up behind. “Sweetpea loves the fall.”

“I do,” you agreed and crossed the distance until you met up with Ari, immediately settling yourself against him, “I love the winter too.”

“Alright, if you’re ready let’s set up the first shot.” They led you further down the path until they had come across a massive overgrown log, the perfect destination for your first picture.

The photographer had coordinated you two in the manner they wanted, only having to make small adjustments in your positioning. The photographer was chin to capture the image and quick to realign your legs after you’d moved them.

“This next one,” you turned your head and looked at Ari, the two of you still pressed together, “is going to be my favourite.”

“Why’s that luna?” Ari cupped your cheek and angled your head, the tip of his nose brushing against yours. “What’s so special about this shot?”

“You’ll see.” You grinned, the intimate moment caught with a few clicks of the camera and then the photographer hummed.

“There’s something not quite right with this one.” He had walked back toward you with the camera held tightly in his hands until he was standing before Ari. “Would you mind looking at this?”

Ari had grabbed the camera and turned it to see the screen on the back, the image that was just taken displayed for him. He had studied the image in silence, slowly coming to terms with the addition the photographer had added.

In the middle of the frame with the two of you in the background had been a small decorated pumpkin. The black lettering written on the gourd had been an announcement with a date and two makeshift little baby feet.

“Sweetpea…” Ari’s eyes immediately dropped to your belly, his hands quickly resting against you as his fingers curled against the material of your shirt. “Really?”

“I’m pregnant,” your smile was bright yet soft, and you had nodded in agreement with what was hanging in the air, “I think I’m about six weeks.”

The photographer had taken the camera back from Ari, determined to catch the shot when Ari had lifted you into his arms and spun you. Your arms were wrapped around his neck, his arms around your waist and when you met for another heart stopping kiss, the click of the camera had hit your ears.

“You’re pregnant, we’re having a baby.” Ari had spoke with immense pride, slowly falling to his knees so he could lean in and press his nose to humour belly, his eyes fluttering closed.

“I’ve never been happier,” he mumbled quietly, overcome with emotion, “Sweetpea, after months…”

“We’re having a baby,” you brushed your hands through his hair, humming under your breath, “wait until your ma finds out.”

“Luna,” Ari exhaled against you before he gazed up at you with unkempt pride, “you are everything to me. Both of you.”

“Our little family unit.” Your hand test against your stomach, Ari’s hand resting on top of yours.

“Its perfect. All of it.”

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

So I’ve decided for absolutely no reason whatsoever that today would be a good day to look up this Sam Campbell person. I knew almost nothing about him, except a bit on his reputation. Last month I saw a picture from the 2023 Melbourne Comedy Festival, and I spent so long trying to identify the guy next to Tim Key, because I was so sure I knew who he was. I asked about it here, someone told me it’s Sam Campbell; I only vaguely recognized that name, but definitely did not know what that guy looked like, which confirmed that I did not actually recognize him. I only thought I recognized him because he looks exactly like a teammate of mine from university.

I have since then matched that name to the reputation that I did, in fact, vaguely know. To list the things I knew about him without Googling anything whatsoever: Is Australian. Looks like my old teammate. Won the Melbourne award that used to be named Barry and I think maybe isn’t anymore but also maybe still is, I think named after the Dame Edna comedian who died recently, and that seems to be a big deal. Also won the award that used to be called the Perrier and definitely isn’t anymore but because I have spent so much time going through Edinburgh comedy from the 00s I think I’m going to always call it that anyway. Considered to be good by proper comedy fans, the ones who actually go see this sort of thing live and know about this stuff (by which I mean: people who are cooler than me, a person who created a Tumblr blog so I could post about panel shows).

I decided today that I would look this person up, and it turns out he’s got a comedy special on YouTube:

First of all, I need to address something that is not at all important but it was still enough to distract me throughout the hour: he did not just seem familiar in that picture because he looks like one guy I used to train with, he looks very much like about eight different guys I used to train with, and looks vaguely like another forty or so of them. People joke, in the sport of wrestling, about there being a certain “look” that would let you recognize one of them on the street even if you didn’t know them. That is the look. That guy in the video, that’s the look. That is what all wrestlers between the ages of 17 and 27 look like. Which may or may not be a compliment depending on Sam Campbell’s actual age at the time of recording, I’m guessing it’s early thirties, but he looks exactly like every university-aged wrestler. It’s not important, but it was so noticeable that it distracted me as I tried to watch him. I had difficulty getting lost in the comedy because looking at a guy who looks like that makes my brain not process it as a comedy video, and instead expect him to dive at someone’s ankle. Not his fault, but definitely an issue.

Anyway, when I managed to get past that, the actual comedy show was quite entertaining. Quite a few of the jokes would be average at best if they were just written down on paper, but very funny when he delivered them. A couple of times I found myself in the middle of laughing, and stopping to ask, “Is this joke inherently funny? Or is he just funny?” Doesn’t really matter though, it still works. Also, about ten times across the hour he said something legitimately clever enough for me to say, “Okay, you could write that one down on a piece of paper and it would still be hilarious,” and that’s a pretty good rate for that sort of thing.

A lot of it is observational, but observational taken to amusingly extreme logical conclusions, I’ve rarely seen observational turn into surreal quite so quickly. My favourite part of the show was a routine about moving company workers that straddled that line perfectly, expressing something that’s sort of real and familiar but also absolutely ludicrous.

And he really committed to the bit with setting up the whole thing through a sniper lens. I kept thinking he’d drop that partway through, but nope, that was just there, all the way along, for one joke from the beginning. I don’t know, maybe it was supposed to have some sort of meaning? Hard to tell, doesn’t really matter, the commitment made it funny.

I do like a narrative and a theme in a comedy show, and this didn’t have that. I believe there was one callback throughout the entire thing. But that’s all right, because it was funny. It was a lot of funny stuff thrown together in ways that only barely make sense, but barely making sense was sort of the point, I think. There wasn’t really a point at all, and that may have also been the point. He managed to be high energy while giving the impression of the opposite, and did not run out of steam. He had a really funny joke about David and Goliath. It was fun to watch. If he went to a mid-level university tournament I would never be able to pick him out of the crowd, honestly, it’s fucking distracting. He’d have to watch his back or someone would give him an MVP award or something, to put with his MVP of Edinburgh and Melbourne trophies, because he looks so much like an amalgamation of the last six guys to win MVP of this tournament. That is not his fault, though. It’s fine. He’s very entertaining.

[fateinthestars]

Star Crossed Myth Advent Calendar Fanfic: Day Sixteen - Home Comforts (Aigonorus/MC)

(Twenty-Four days of Star Crossed Myth Flash Fics using this prompt list)

Title: Day Sixteen - Home Comforts

Pairing: Aigonorus/MC (MC's name left blank so you can fill it in with whatever you wish in your head)

Word Count: 653

Rating: T

Prompt: "A tender hug, just staying together for a while"

Summary: MC's work day is cut short due to an equipment failure. Aigonorus is there to provide comfort.

A/N: Slight spoilers for Aigonorus' path. Set after his sequel epilogue.

Day Sixteen: Home Comforts (Aigonorus/MC)

___ sighed softly to herself as she packed her stuff away ready for going home early from the planetarium. This had supposed to have been the last main event for work before Christmas, but the projector had broken down partway through the performance. No one had done anything wrong, it was just one of those things, but the event being cut short like this and having to refund the customers had left her in a rather downbeat mood.

Saying goodbye to Hiyori, ___ walked slowly home, now feeling rather sad. Aigonorus normally made time to come and walk home with her unless there was absolutely no way he could get away from work, but as she wasn’t scheduled to leave yet there was no reason for him to be there right now. 

It was so early she could have gone shopping or taken in a Christmas event, but she didn’t really feel like doing that on her own. I wish Aigo could be here.

About to head straight home, ___ paused as she was about to head past the convenience store. Well, as she was early, she might as well get the ingredients to make marshmallows so she could surprise Aigonorus with them later. Unless she could get a message to him somehow, she’d probably have to head back to the planetarium when it was time for work to actually end, else he’d probably worry about where she was.

Now at least having something to do, ___ quickly bought the items she needed from the shop and then headed home, opening her apartment door.

As she stepped inside, she realised she wasn’t alone. Before she could say anything, she felt herself pulled into a tender and loving embrace by her boyfriend.

Leaning into Aigonorus, ___ let him pull her down onto the sofa. “Aigo? Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“So should you,” Aigonorus muttered, frowning at her with concern. “Your wish reached me. I checked the reflecting pool first and saw you were heading back this way… what happened?”

___ leant into him. “Projector broke. Not much point being at work when we can’t put on any shows.”

Aigonorus sighed softly. “These things happen, right?”

“Of course, but…”

Smiling gently at her, Aigonorus squeezed her a little. “You like your work to go well. If you’d called out to me I could have fixed it you know. You aren’t trying to handle things on your own again are you?”

___ looked up at him, swallowing at the frown now on his face. “No. I didn’t really think of that. But if I had, wouldn’t that have raised a lot of questions? Like we’d already identified the fault - If it started working again, the customers would have still been annoyed and then the director would be very confused as to what was going on with the equipment. It might even have caused him to have a go at the company that makes it.”

Aigonorus’ eyes widened. “... Oh.” He then smiled kindly at her. “Then what can I do?”

“... I would say just continue holding me like this, but, don’t you need to get back? You’re only here now because I made a wish which means you’re technically still working.”

Sighing, Aigonorus glanced away slightly. “Meh, let Leon yell at me tomorrow. I’m not leaving you here alone like this.”

“I’m fine, really.”

Aigonorus looked back at her, his expression showing that he did not believe that for a second. “___ …”

___ sighed and forced a smile. “... I’m fine now, then. I bought stuff to make marshmallows…”

The other smiled brightly at that. “Let’s do that together then. But later. I just want to hold you for now. You still need a hug and I still need my full dosage of ___ softness for today.”

Smiling more genuinely at that, ___ squeezed Aigonorus gently.

They fell asleep in each other’s arms on the sofa.

[sheraswaterbendingavatar]

Blood Bending Can Be Traumatic (Katara x reader)

You comfort Katara after the whole blood bending experience with Hama and she was forced to learn blood bending.

A/N - I'm new to this franchise. I've just finished watching this series and I'm partway through Legend of Korra. I'm loving this franchise a lot though! Also my work is not and never will be proof read! Final thing, if anyone can think of a better name for this one shot I'd be grateful!

Word Count = 712

“Congratulations. You’re now a blood bender.” Hama says with an evil laugh and I watch as Katara bursts into tears and collapses to the ground. Man, that woman is pure evil to force someone to do a cruel ability, especially when I know for a fact Katara wouldn’t have wanted to learn something like that if she had a choice.

As she continues to cry, I kneel down in front of her and bring her into a hug. There’s nothing I can say to comfort her and we both know it. So, the best form of comfort I can give her is to be there for her while she gets through it and we remain in this position for a while. Until Aang speaks up. “We should really get out of here and make camp for the night.” We all agreed, and I stick with Katara the entire time. Not like I had a choice since she has literally lung herself to me, but I don’t mind. In fact, I’m secretly loving this I just wish it was under a different, happier circumstance.

///

Eventually, we land, and we all dismount off Appa. I set up Katara’s tent given the state she is in and then set my own up next to hers. “You gonna be okay tonight?” I ask her. “Yeah, I will be. if you stay with me y/n?” I am definitely surprised she asked that, but I guess it makes sense to not want to be alone after such a traumatic experience. “Of course, which tent shall we go in?” She chooses my tent and so we both go inside.

When we go inside my tent, I roll out our sleeping bags and try to make it as comfy as possible for her. I know all I would want is all the comfort I can get if I was in her position. After a few minutes I am satisfied, and we both climb into our sleeping bags and we both quickly fall asleep.

///

I wake up in the middle of the night to the feeling of being kicked so I naturally assume someone is trying to attack me and sit right up. Only, there is no attacker. It is just Katara but she is still asleep and by the looks of it, she is having a nightmare. I shake her awake which was proven more difficult than I thought it would have been.

“Are you okay?” I ask. She doesn’t say anything but bursts into tears again. I can only assume it was about the events from blood bending. “I’ll never blood bend again.” She tells me. “I know.” I answer and bring her in for another hug. “It was awful. To control someone using their blood knowing it causes them a lot of pain.” “I’m not a bender at all so I can’t even begin to think of how it must have been to go through it but because of the person you are, I know you’ll get through this and I know you would have never used blood bending if you had a choice but you didn’t. Heck, had you not used it, who knows what that woman would have done to you and then to Sokka and Aang.” “That’s besides the point. I still used it.” “And you even said yourself that you’ll never use it again and those two never held it against you so there’s no point beating yourself up over it.” “You really think so y/n?” “I do. You reckon you’ll be able to get back to sleep now?” Katara nods and we both lie back down.

Once we are both lay back down, Katara scooches her sleeping bag over to me so that we are lying next to each other. I turn over so I am lay facing her. We just stare at each other momentarily and what Katara does next, I never would have guessed she would do. She gently connected her lips against mine. The kiss was short and sweet but held a promise. That we’d always be there for each other. When we pull apart, she rests her head onto my chest and cuddles into me and we spend the rest of the night in a peaceful slumber.

What did you guys all think of this one? I currently take requests for Katara, Korra, and Asami. Hope to see your requests soon! :)

[thefuseoftemptation]

If I were to request a follow-up to the drabble it would be reader joining the hellfire table at lunch and being overwhelmed but generally having a nice time (kinda hiding behind eddie bc wow that's a lot of eyes on them now, doesn't really help given that its eddie), minor timeskip to reader trying out joining a game but has a panic attack and leaves partway through. Very much hurt/comfort. Totally not based on my own experiences, surely not lol,,,

But that's just if you have the inspiration for the scenario! nbd either way~

I see and I got you. thanks for the request!!!

—YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY ONE

EDDIE MUNSON X GN!READER

A/N: PT.2 from this request HERE. For the description of the anxiety attack, I went based off what helps me—not saying that it’s like that for everyone, because we each got something that helps us—but it’s honestly what does it for me.

WARNING(S): cussing, hurt to comfort, description of anxiety attack (if that’s triggering then don’t read). NOT PROOFREAD

. . .

It felt as if the closer you got to the cafeteria, the heavier your feet felt. The nerves were beginning to settle and they seemed to really peak once you were at the doors.

It honestly would be new stepping in there, not counting the time you entered on your first day here—you chose to forget that seeing as you took a seat to the furthest table of the room by yourself. Head tucked low as you picked at your tray—it was expected, but nonetheless, it still hurt knowing that you were the only one without any presence nearby.

You weren’t even sure if you could go through with it, thinking that you could still make a leave and maybe take refuge in the restrooms or even the library. That would probably be more appropriate as it made you feel and look less pitiful. Honestly it’s where you’ve been these last few weeks during lunch, that or sitting at a corner in the empty hallway—but you knew Eddie would be expecting you. He had seemed really sure and hopeful to see you, and he was nice enough to even offer you a seat and you weren’t really looking to give him some poor excuse as to why you weren’t there just because you were nervous. So, with a deep breath, you pulled the doors open.

The noise of the cafeteria was deafening, voices and shouts thrown left and right ‘cross the room as you stood by the entrance trying to spot Eddie and his unruly curls.

You felt quite small, almost as if everybody was looking at you. Your thoughts and nerves consuming every part of your form—your breaths went unsteady, and your chest began to tighten suddenly. Though before you could fully be pulled into it, somebody grasped your elbow. 

“Hey, there—are you alright?” Eddie cut his initial sentence off when he took in your state, eyes wide as you trembled. He pulled back a little when you briefly shut your eyes, a sigh of relief released. You quickly nodded to assure him. “Yeah, yeah, I’m alright. Just, uh, not used to this.” You gesture to the crowd.

“Never been here before or what?” He asked as he leaned his head over to listen to you speak, so the noise wouldn’t interfere much—your mouth brought to the shell of his ear. 

“No, it’s not that, it’s just, the experiences here aren’t worth remembering.” You admit and it earns a nod from him. “Well, from now on, maybe you will, yeah? C’mon.” Eddie hovers his hand over your back, guiding you to his table, well their table.

The members of the club stopped their conversations when you two approached, all eyes on the newcomer—you. The sudden attention had you shifting where you stood before them, hands clammy as you held onto your things, pulling them tighter to your chest. “Guys, welcome Y/N. They’re new here.” Eddie introduced. You gave them a sheepish wave and a small ‘hello.’

It was quiet for a few until Eddie cleared his throat, giving them a stern look, though that went unknown to you. And as if all on cue, they were quick to move, scooting their chairs to make room for yours, as they voiced their greetings and names.

“Nice to meet you guys.” Your tone was low but not enough to where they couldn’t hear you.

“So, you’re new here?” 

“Where are you from?” 

“Why haven’t we seen you before? Is it because—” 

Your eyes were wide at the many questions thrown your way, overwhelmed by them and the members' sudden interest to know ‘bout you.

It was new, since nobody ever bothered to try and get to know you in your time there, or anywhere to be exact. You couldn’t help but shrink into your chair, trying to shift it closer to Eddie subtly but ‘course, it went noticed by him.

“Shut up!” Eddie slapped his hand on the table, pieces of pretzels and chex spit out from his full mouth. Gareth and Jeff, more Gareth though since he was closest to Eddie, wiped their cheeks.

“Dude, seriously? Chew.” He grumbled. 

“Sorry.” Eddie offered  “It’s alright.” 

“Not to you, to Y/N.” Eddie pointed and clasped his hands together before he looked at me. “You alright?” And when you nodded, he sighed through his nose and then looked at the table. 

He held a pretzel in his fingers, pinched between his index and thumb, and then pointed to them. “Look, one question at a time, got it? It’s overwhelming for them.” Eddie informed, waiting expectantly for nods of understanding.

It went from there—the guy’s were welcoming—sure, they may have come off a little forward but it wasn’t meant out of nothing but curiosity. You were new and honestly, it wasn’t usual for somebody to willing come and sit with them, even if Eddie had suggested it. They were easy to talk to, the conversations were flowing as you guys spoke ‘bout thoughtless things here and there. It was nice.

For the first time since you arrived at the school, you didn’t feel like you were the only one there—you felt like you belonged. And as the seconds on the clock ticked by, you eased out from behind Eddie, even going as much as to scoot your chair closer and lean on the table when Lucas and Mike were bantering once more.

“Oh, hey, Y/N—are you coming to the the game this evening?” The sudden interruption of the question caught you off, your brows furrowing as you looked at Jeff.

“Game?”

“Yeah, you know, DnD?” Mike pressed.

“There’s the campaign that we’re in the midst of but I’m sure we could figure something out so you could get in on it. Eddie?” Dustin looked to senior who was too busy staring at you.

“Hm? Oh, yeah, totally. You should come—I mean your welcome to!” He rushed as he straightened himself out.

“B-But I’m not sure how to even play, but I guess I could try even though I’ve never been one to—” You fumbled as you tried to get the words off your tongue, pushing your glasses up.

“Hey, you’ll learn. We’ve all been there at some point, so just, bring yourself and leave the rest to me.” He grins and gestures to himself.

The bell rung, everybody rushing to get out of their seats to throw their trash and leave so they wouldn’t be late to their next class but not before giving you their byes. You were slow to gather your things, your thoughts on the game that was to be held that evening.

“So, you’ll be there?” Eddie queried. He was really hoping you would, since it gave him a chance to see you more.

“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. I just—are you sure, Eddie? I’m not really—”

“Hey, Y/N. I’m sure, okay? Seriously.”

You sighed and offered a small ‘I’ll try.’ Eddie clapped his hands and then pointed at you, a look of expectancy.

“I’ll see you there then—don’t be late. Now, c’mon, I’ll walk with you.” And with that, you two left.

. . .

The handbook was pulled out, propped open, as Eddie hovered and went over the rules and essentials of the game—you two were the only ones who were there since it was way before the requested time.

When he had told you ‘not to be late,’ he wasn’t expecting you to be but then again, he also wasn’t expecting you there that early. Though who was he to say something?

You were leaned into the table, chin perched on your hand as your elbows supported you. The end of the pencil between your teeth as you listened intently to what was being said, trying not to miss the little things.

There was concentration shown in your features but there was also the underlying stress. You felt the nerves settle in once more as Eddie kept talking. There was so much to the game. It was honestly too overwhelming that you had to clutch your knee to stop your leg from bouncing up and down.

“So, here is where you—hey, you with me? You alright?” Eddie looked at you, concern crossing his features.

“Mhm, it’s just a lot.” You release an unsteady breath.

“Yeah, uh, look—seriously, it’s alright, Y/N. It may take some time but you’ll get it.”

“B-But they’ll be here in a few and—” you stumbled, but you stopped when Eddie gently grasped your shoulders and looked at you.

“Y/N.” The way he said your name had you turn to him, the look in his eyes telling you everything. You nodded and brought your hand up to wipe your eyes, lifting your glasses before you set them back and released a sigh.

“So, where were we?”

. . .

The clutch your hand had on your knee was still there as the more members filed into the room. You could only watch as the club eagerly got their things set up and waited expectantly for the game to commence. It was all happening so quickly and it wasn’t helping your nerves.

It only worsened when everybody settled and took to their spots—your leg bouncing again when Eddie spoke. He was going into the introduction, voicing the outline of the campaign when you suddenly felt your breaths become heavy.

Then everybody took to their turns, the dye rolled ‘cross the table as all eyes looked to them in anticipation—and that’s when you felt your chest begin to tighten. You shut your eyes briefly, trying to ease yourself out of it so you could focus but it was proving to be harder than you thought. When you opened them, all eyes were on you. Their mouths were moving but you couldn’t hear what they were saying—

They kept gesturing to the game, the dye in front of you but you couldn’t bring yourself to move—Eddie popped his head in front of you, and when he took in your state, the grin that he held, dropped.

You felt tears pool at your eyes and without much thought, and with what little you had left in you—you pushed the chair back and stumbled out of the room. Your eyes darted left and right, quickly heading to the restrooms that were just round the corner before you fell to the floor.

Your hand clutching your chest as you tried to breathe, your chest felt heavy, and the tears were hot as they traced your cheeks. You sniveled as you were curled there in the corner, you were really trying to tame yourself—taking a breath at a time, small ones at that. Though when you suddenly felt a presence behind you, you flinched.

“Shh, shh, it’s me. It’s Eddie.” He pulled you in closely, rubbing your back as he held onto you. Eddie kept quiet, choosing to just hold you. He circled his thumbs on your temples and he could’ve of sworn you leaned into the touch more.

The restroom was still, the only sounds to be heard were your sniffles, and the drips that leaked from the sink faucet. Your breaths had become somewhat steady, and your chest loosened. Eddie released a sigh and you closed your eyes at the feeling, trying to listen to his heart that beat just underneath where your ear was pressed against his chest. The sudden movement of your fingers clutching his sleeve brought him out of his thoughts.

“Y/N?” He tested gently.

“Yeah?” Your voice was croaky. Eddie could only tighten his hold on you as he released a sigh of relief. “Jesus Christ.” He mumbled into the side of your head.

“You had me worried. Had all of us worried. Fuck—I’m so sorry.”

You couldn’t really speak that much, still trying to settle yourself. So, all you could offer was a few squeezes to his arm. Eddie held you, and wouldn’t let go until he knew you were no longer struggling. It was comforting, he was comforting, and you could only hope that it wouldn’t change any time soon.

.

.

.

A/N: not sure I like how it ended,,,oh well, fuck it.

feedback and reblogs are appreciated.

[cloudbattrolls]

Epimetheus

Guardian Artifice | 465 sweeps prior | Civitrecce

“I think you’ve been working on it too long, dear.”

The words were fuzzy. Muffled. They only barely had meaning. 

“Nonsense! I last took a break, ah -“

“Three hours ago, dear. You’re going to burn yourself out if you keep pushing it.”

The click of a tongue. What was a tongue?

“I’m fine! You’re just fussy, sweetheart.”

“You won’t be fine if you don’t rest, love.”

A complaining tone replied, yet it had a clear undertone of fondness. The voices moved away, muted until they vanished entirely.

How did it know all this? It remembered nothing. What was it? Who was it? 

It opened its eyes, not realizing it had had them. It couldn’t see well either. It was in a…workshop? Many tools and materials lay around it, machines of purposes it could only guess at.

It squinted. It tried to move.

It couldn’t. It did have a body - it was more than just thoughts - but it was strapped down by leather to a cold, hard table.

It ached from stiffness, it realized. As if its body had been lying here for nights…

But how did it know these things? How could it conceive of past nights when this was the very first time it had opened its eyes?

It tried to speak. No good; its throat was too dry, its tongue - yes, muscles for speaking - was leaden and useless.

An animal wandered up to it. A familiar animal…? No good, it couldn’t recall if the big white furry thing with the small ears and knowing dark eyes was known to it.

The animal sniffed it, then started chewing at the cords. It felt a rush of excitement.

It took a few minutes, but where was it going to go? It had no idea where it was. Who it was. Why it was here. 

It was rapidly realizing it had far more gaps than anything else in its head. An awareness that there were massive chunks missing, including context for what it did know.

As the animal finished chewing through one strap, it flexed its arm. Pale gray. Clammy. The flesh turned to metal, partway down the arm. Part of it felt that it shouldn’t be able to move.

But most of it delighted in the freedom, and several minutes later, its other three limbs and tail followed. Wobbly, hesitant, it eased its aching body off of the hard gray table and stood up, relying heavily on its large tail for balance. 

The animal nuzzled it. It wasn’t sure how to respond. It tried to nuzzle it back, feeling the press of something hard into the animal’s soft fur. The animal backed up and wheeked softly. 

Its mood plummeted. Oh no, it had offended its savior…

No nuzzling, then. 

But…

It looked at its hands, sharp and bladed. It didn’t…it didn’t want to hurt this animal.

Animals bled.

Did it bleed? 

Curiously, it cut its skin -

“No!”

Said one of the panicked voices from earlier and it looked over, recoiling in fear from the noise as it stopped. It had only made a small cut, and a few droplets of a grayish red substance oozed out.

“Oh - oh my goodness, you’re alive! You’re awake! Can you understand me? Oh, please, please don’t hurt yourself, Arty.”

It tried to speak, but again its throat was too dry, and it could only make a croaking noise.

“Oh, of course! Your throat’s dead…you’re dead, well, your body was dead, I…one moment!”

They sounded quite flustered, this voice, frantic, yet excited. It could only make them out as a blurred gray shape in red and yellow clothes, with bright green eyes. Then they turned and quickly walked away.

It stood there, unsure what to do. Follow them? But it could barely move, still…

The animal stayed a few feet out of reach. It wanted it closer again. It would be so careful and not hurt it at all. It knew it could do that.

It put a bladed hand to its face and found…metal. It tapped it. Hard and unyielding. No wonder the white creature had shied away…it was soft and warm and…

Alive.

It wasn’t really alive, was it.

“Here you go! Water! Ah - be careful. Those hands of yours are fragile.”

Carefully, it gripped the glass with both hands, shaking a bit as it drank. It nearly coughed the water back up, its throat so dry and unused to it after nights spent - yes, nights spent dead.

It must be dead. 

Yet it wasn’t.

“Why…” it said, the word slow to come, hard to say. “Why am I…” it gestured to itself. Speaking was difficult, so terribly difficult, and it had so much to ask.

The person - the troll - fidgeted and patted its arm.

“Oh, you poor thing…I meant to be here when you finally woke up! You must have so many questions…ah, but having questions is such progress! I was beginning to think…never mind! This is my first great breakthrough! All that work wasn’t for nothing!”

They sounded so jubilant, and yet…it couldn’t share in their joy.

“Arty…I promise this isn’t forever. We’ll get you fixed up! You’ll be able to do everything! Anything! You’ll be just like a normal troll, I swear. Better, even! The first living security system!”

It shrank back. What did that mean? They were talking so loudly, so fast. It put its hands to its head, dropping the glass of water It wanted the animal back.

The troll startled at the noise, but its head already ached along with its body now.

“Ah…oh dear, you’re probably a little overstimulated, I’m sorry. I’m just…you have no idea how much this means to me. But you will! I promise I’ll teach you everything. You’ll understand just how wonderful you are.”

Wonderful…

It didn’t feel very wonderful right now.

It sat down, tail curled around itself.

“I want…” it gestured at the white animal.

The troll paused. “My lusus? Oh - well, sure, why not! Go on, Baba.” It said in an encouraging tone. “Go to Arty.”

The animal looked at the troll, but then walked back over to Arty. Carefully, Arty extended a leg, its bare foot not having any blades, and touched the soft fur.

Yes. Much better.

Vaguely, it noticed the troll writing something with feverish enthusiasm. It couldn’t bring itself to care.

“I’m…dead. Who am I?”

Clumsy. Fumbling. It had to get better at speaking, as soon as possible.

“Oh! Well…your body belonged to a friend of mine.” Said the troll with a sigh. “Poor thing. Mutants tend to have health problems…we really did try to save them. They agreed to let me have their corpse for my work, and not a night passes when I wish I could thank them again. But you are Arty. Guardian artifice. It’s a nickname for who and what you are, you see? Isn’t it cute?”

Cute…like the animal, which had settled down, its nose twitching occasionally as it let Arty pet it.

Yes, it wanted to be cute too.

It nodded in agreement, the movement heavy and awkward with its metal faceplate.

The troll beamed, they thought, from what they could make out of their expression.

“Ohhh!” They said, hands clasped. “I can’t wait! This is going to be amazing!”

Whatever the troll said next, Arty didn’t hear, as it curled up next to the animal and went back to sleep.

[tiny-cloud-of-flowers]

(last one i promise) (SORRY FOR ALL THE ASKS) for felix!! how did you come to see catarina as a sister ?? whats your favorite thing to do together when theres free time ??

(IT’S ALRIGHT, ANYONE CAN ALWAYS SEND AS MANY ASKS AS THEY WOULD LIKE TO!)

Felix: “Taking some time off from your usual expeditions, are we? Well, it’s good to see you in good spirits.

To answer your first question, that.. took a bit of time. You know what I was like back at the academy, after all. I didn’t actually get to meet Catarina until partway through the year, since it was only then that we ended up in the same house, but.. I’ll admit she caught my attention pretty quickly. She’s never trained as often as me, but we ended up arranging to spar together a lot, and that’s really how things got started. I’d say we have quite similar ways of fighting, so that common ground helped us to build up a connection, and then.. we started talking about other things than training, somehow. I suppose it was just- refreshing, to have someone around who had such an outside perspective. She may have roots in Faerghus, but the fact she wasn’t raised there, or raised to uphold the same typical values the Kingdom prides itself on - or even anywhere else in Fódlan - meant that.. there’s a lot I felt I could talk to her about, in a way I just couldn’t with others. Also, she wouldn’t hesitate to give me a piece of her mind, or say what she thought about things. Not many others were like that, so it stuck out to me.

By the end of the year, it didn’t feel like we had developed the same dynamic I have with my friends - and I wouldn’t necessarily say it was any worse or better, it’s just.. there was something different about it. Maybe it’s because it was just something shared between the two of us, not a piece of a larger group setting. A closeness that almost seemed more natural, or permanent, than just friendship, even despite the much shorter time we’d actually known each other. What I mean by that is that.. Rina and I can talk about anything, and it’d never feel like what we had could just suddenly fall apart, no matter what we actually said to each other. In fact, I don’t know if we’ve ever fallen out in a serious way; we may bicker a lot over little things, but it’s always more playful than anything else - never as tense or able to suddenly escalate as it could be with others. So, that’s.. really where the whole “sister” thing started.

Oh, and for your second question - we still train together, a lot. Catarina prides herself on being a difficult opponent to strike, and I’m very familiar with that by this point, but it doesn’t make it that much easier to get a hit in on her. Sometimes it can feel like I’m fighting a mirage of myself when she’s more on the offensive, which.. is a strange feeling, but I think it’s good. She also keeps trying to help me with the magic side of things, which usually results in her taking a pile of books out of the library and dragging me somewhere to go read them with her until one of us gets bored. ..I’ll admit that seeing her own spellcraft in action has helped me gain a greater appreciation of magic than I used to have, but I’m still not close to her own proficiency. Then again, I know I’d overpower her if she wasn’t using magic, so me having greater physical strength can still be more useful than her balanced and more agile style. And, the magic I do know how to cast is already far above what most swordsmen could use or expect from me, so I still have the edge in most combat situations, even without being an expert.

I.. hope that all of this answers your questions. Feel free to stop by again if you want to ask more.”

[maxinemaxmayfield]

hello friends, i’m morgan or cass (she/they) and my personality is basically a combination of pam beesly and bubbles the powerpuff girl but make it queer. i write fanfic and sometimes edit silly little videos. 

current fixations: stranger things and steddie, the last of us

fanfic tag / ao3

silly little videos

steddie fic masterlist below the cut!

various drabbles and ficlets on tumblr & ao3

it's time to run • teen, 26.5k

“–Can you hear me? Dustin! Earth to Dustin!” Steve jolts upright. Eddie’s voice, slightly distorted, coming through the walkie. Nancy’s voice answers, and Steve blinks, looking around. He’s in the Wheelers’ basement, folded awkwardly into a horribly uncomfortable chair with wooden armrests. Lucas and Dustin are snoring nearby, and there’s the sound of soft voices and the clatter of cutlery from upstairs. He’s been here before.

this feels right and i'm letting it • teen, 3.2k

“Girls are more touchy, Steven, more emotional. Men don’t do things like that, hugging and crying. Those things are only for little boys.” OR five times Steve gets hit, and one time he realises he needs something else

In Eddie's Honor • teen, 5.8k • warning for major character death

Without thinking, he reaches down and slides his fingers over the indent made by the pen. Eddie must have pressed down harder than necessary, leaving a tactile mark as well as the visual one. Steve’s hit by the realisation that Eddie will never write his name again. Never write or draw, or even hold a pen again. Ever. For the first time in two weeks, he stops. He looks around his room, feeling lost, feeling alone and so achingly, horribly empty.

i send you things i wouldn't say • teen, 7.8k

It starts with a text to a wrong number. That's not where it ends.

what did i get right to deserve somebody like you? • gen, 720

He’s holding a faded, battered book that looks like a photo album, too overfilled to close properly. It’s covered in poorly drawn hearts and flowers, shaky handwriting across the front declaring, “My Dream Wedding.”

sweet gingerbread made with molasses • teen, 10.1k

Steve Harrington has two goals this Christmas: 1. Survive working as a Christmas Elf at Starcourt Mall 2. Convince his new coworker that Christmas isn't all bad

cupid is a knavish lad • mature, 12k

Of course, Steve is going to go support Robin when she lands the role of Mustardseed in Hawkins High's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, there's no question about that. He isn't expecting Eddie Munson to be playing Puck, and definitely isn't expecting him to jump off the stage and sit in his lap partway through the show.

nobody rules these streets at night like me • mature, 57k Steddie Big Bang 2023 - art by maikaartwork

Eddie Munson has never stayed in one place for long. When his mom disappears for the last time and his dad goes to jail, he has no other family to turn to. He spends his teenage years moving through the foster system, making friends and then losing them just as quickly. In the end, there’s never any reason to stay. After he runs away from his fifth foster home, he finds his way to Hawkins, Indiana and for the first time, finds a reason to stay.

How to Be a Heartbreaker • mature, 8.7k

Steve has a plethora of methods under his belt for getting his conquests to leave soon after they’re both satisfied. He’s used them all, with varying rates of success. He doesn’t have much experience in getting someone to stay.

Young and Reckless • mature, 41k

Welcome to Lover’s Lake Summer Camp, Summer of ‘86! Steve Harrington knows exactly what to expect when he starts his third summer as a counsellor at Lover's Lake - screaming kids, tiny cabins, mediocre food, and smelling so strongly of sunscreen and campfire smoke that no amount of soap can get rid of it. It's his favourite part of the year, and he can't fucking wait. Until a new counsellor turns up and everything changes.

we'll be burning up like neon lights • explicit, 3.5k

“So, what’s Eddie Munson doing in a place like this?” Steve asks, wiping a droplet of beer from the corner of those goddamn lips.   Eddie rolls his eyes. “That’s a terrible come-on.” “Coming from Mr. Come-Here-Often?” Steve says, a mock deep voice that, apparently, is supposed to be Eddie.  “I didn’t fucking say that,” Eddie points out, taking another deep drink. It’s taking far too long to hit him. He should’ve ordered a shot. Or three. Steve laughs, throwing his head back. Showing off that fucking neck, again. “Close enough. You didn’t answer my question though.” “Same thing you’re doing, presumably.” Steve looks him up and down, one eyebrow quirked. “Yeah? So why’d we stop?”

sink your teeth before i disappear • explicit, 4k

“I’ve never really slept with anyone before,” Eddie admits quietly, not sure if Steve is even still awake. Steve turns around awkwardly, trying to keep Eddie’s arm wrapped around his waist as he rolls over to face him. “Like… sex, or just actually sleeping next to someone?” OR Sharing a room leads to sharing a bed leads to sharing...more

stay here series • explicit, 6.8k part 1 - stay a little longer (stay a little longer with me) part 2 - stay a while (let me hold you) part 3 - if you stay, stay darling (stay in my corner)

Steve finds out the hard way that Eddie is extremely vocal when he's getting comfortable, and other such situations.

the boy in the band is backstage after the show • explicit, 16.3k

In Indianapolis, Steve Harrington can explore his sexuality. Can flirt and dance with men, unashamed and unafraid. In Indianapolis, Eddie Munson is free. Free to be a freak, a metalhead, a queer. But Indiana is smaller than either of them knows.

if my body told the truth • explicit, 19.3k

“Hey, hi Eddie, hey, it’s Steve. Uh, do you know anything about cats?” he asks. There’s a pause. “Steve, did you get a cat?” OR - Steve gets a cat to ease the loneliness, but she likes his fuckbuddy better than him

Ahoy, Sailor! • explicit, 3.6k

Eddie spins around with a Cheshire cat grin and a polaroid clutched in his hand. He holds it up, and Steve squints to see what it’s a picture of. “Why have I never seen this?” Eddie asks, and Steve can make out two blue-and-white-clad figures, standing behind the new counter of a just-opened ice cream shop. Oh, shit.

With Demons in My Head • explicit, 64.3k

Eddie dropped his voice low and leaned in towards Steve. “Can I let you in on a little secret, Harrington? No one’s life is what it looks like from the outside.”

[hummingbird-of-light]

Against All Odds

Part 61

McCoy

McCoy was deep in thought as he walked. Lunch had felt tense after he had asked about the other boys’ families. He could have kicked himself for not making the connection between Jim and his famous father. Scotty hadn’t been eager to answer either, and he wondered what nerve his question had touched there.

He looked at the sky and cursed. This is why he wouldn’t be a good king. His brain came in too late. He had been doing good, talking, relating, trying to be more personable and then he made a mistake like that.

He would find Jim later and thoroughly apologize for his error.

The thought of Scotty joining him soon brought a smile back to his face.

He reached the end of the trail and sat on the bench watching the wind make small waves on the water. Soon his mind was calm again and he was peacefully unaware of anything around him.

Which is how Scotty snuck up on him.

He laughed at Scotty’s school forbidden snacks.

“Do they check packages? Before they give out mail?” he asked.

“Don’t know. Never been sent a package.”

“Well, maybe we should get Leah to send some good things and see,” McCoy grinned. “Hey, so how did Keenser know?”

Scotty sighed. “The wee man can see better in the dark than humans.”

“Maybe we should ask him if Jim and Spock were up to anything,” McCoy laughed. “I’d love to tell Leah that!”

“Your sister and you are close,” Scotty said.

“Well, I mean, we fight, but we didn’t have many others to play with growing up. Spock isn’t exactly one who’s ready to play pretend. So yeah we are.” McCoy laughed. “We like to poke fun of each other every time some tabloid writes something about either of us. She’d be the better ruler than me.” His smile faded.

Scotty’s brow furrowed as McCoy’s smile left.

“Ye know, Robbie has quite the crush on your sister.”

McCoy laughed again.

“Don’t tell me that! Yuck!”

Scotty laughed.

“It’s really nice here,” McCoy said and looked back at the lake. “I know it’s still too cold, but that water looks so inviting.”

He looked back at Scotty in time for the boy to push forward and kiss him. He slid an arm around Scotty and held him close. When they pulled apart they sat in comfortable silence for a while.

“Leonard,” Scotty said softly breaking the silence.

“Hmm?”

“Why did they send you here partway through the year?”

McCoy sighed.

“I didn’t mean to be rude,” Scotty said quickly.

“No, it’s fine,” McCoy answered. He sighed again. “There… There was an incident with a foreign minister. A whole ‘do you know who I am’ back and forth between me and him. It… was not pretty. And it made my parents realize I needed to be out and spend more time with people. Father called Pike and, well, here I am. Leah thought the whole thing was hilarious. But she agreed with Mother and Father. And… I do need to improve. I know that. They make it so easy and I’m just annoyed with people too easily.”

“I’m glad you came,” Scotty said and squeezed his hand.

“I am now too,” McCoy agreed. “May I ask you something that may be rude?”

“Suppose that’s fair,” Scotty shrugged.

“At lunch, when I was an ass and asked about families, you only mentioned your mom and grandfather…”

Scotty shifted on the bench next to him.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up again,” McCoy said hastily.

Part 62

Scotty

It must have been hard for Leonard to move to the school. If he didn’t know too many people, then how should he learn to act around them? That incident must have been horrible for him. And to get send away from home after it, must have felt like being cast out.

But Scotty really was happy that it had happened. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have met.

“At lunch, when I was an ass and asked about families, you only mentioned your mom and grandfather…”

Scotty felt his heart drop and he shifted uncomfortably. He knew what Leonard was going to ask. And it wasn’t easy for him to talk about that topic. Leonard seemed to realize that instantly.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up again,” he quickly apologized but Scotty shook his head.

“No, no. It’s… it’s okay.”

He needed a moment to find the right words, but when he started talking Leonard was listening closely.

“My father worked at the shipyard in Aberdeen. My mum always thought it was much safer to work there than to work on a starship.”

He remembered how he and Robbie once broke into a yard and were caught. Scotty had just wanted to see the ship! And he had noticed an error. But no one had listened to a wee boy like him.

It all had happened before…

“Well, it was not. One day, there… was a fire. The whole yard was destroyed. Only two percent of the staff survived the incident. My father… dinnae make it.”

He felt tears in his eyes and quickly blinked them away. He usually didn’t talk about this, that’s why everytime he did, he got quite emotional.

“I’m sorry,” Leonard whispered. It sounded like there was a huge lump in his throat too.

Scotty leaned closer and rested his head on Leonard’s shoulder.

“Sometimes I think that my mum hates me for still wishing to be an engineer. And for the fact that Robbie took after our dad too and that I encouraged him in following me.”

She never showed it. She always supported them. But sometimes when they talked about the future, he could see the fear in her eyes. She was scared that she would lose her boys.

Leonard wrapped his arm around him and pulled him even closer.

“I don’t think that your mum could ever hate you. You… are far too good to be hated. You are gentle… and smart… and funny. And I-“ Leonard suddenly stopped himself, turning red.

“And what?” Scotty asked, looking up at him.

“And I really like you.”

Scotty blushed too at hearing these words.

“Well, I like ye too.”

Yes… they really liked each other. For a moment the other l-word had been on his mind, but… he couldn’t use that, could he? They knew only so long and… he had never said this word to anyone else than his family before.

This was all new to him.

They sat in silence for a while when suddenly a raindrop fell onto Scotty’s nose. He looked up to see more following.

“Oh shit,” he swore and they both got up, quickly packing the candy back into the bag.

“There’s a small cabin close by. We can hide there before the big rain comes,” he quickly said but it was too late.

When they reached the cabin they were soaked through. Thunder was rumbling outside, lightning lightened up the sky.

They moved over to the small table and placed the bag there.

“I’m sorry. I dinnae know it would rain.”

But Leonard just chuckled.

“Well, me neither. But we need to get out of these clothes or else we’ll get sick.”

He pulled at his soaking wet shirt which stuck to his body.

Scotty looked around. He knew that there was a heating somewhere but there surely weren’t any spare clothes.

“Uhm… we could dry them over there.”

He pointed into the small separated bedroom and Leonard peaked inside.

“Great.”

And suddenly he started to take off his clothes. Just like that! Scotty couldn’t help but stare.

“Uhm…”

Leonard looked at him and suddenly he seemed to realize that he was standing there in nothing but his underpants in front of a boy he only knew a week.

“Oh, uhm, I- I’m sorry. Does… this make you uncomfortable? I just thought-“

Scotty chuckled softly as he shook his head.

“No, I… I like the sight,” he joked and Leonard blushed.

“Well then…”

The prince looked Scotty up and down.

Right… his own clothes needed to dry too.

[therealjammy]

Bristles

I know a lot of you don’t come here for my original work, but I’m gonna share this anyway because I don’t have anyone to talk about this story with currently; it’s an excerpt from a longshot Arthurian story, told from Guinevere’s perspective. Even if the writing is going slowly, I’m still having quite a bit of fun puzzling everything out and seeing how far I can ramp up the tension--sexual or otherwise. Anyway, happy reading xx

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

A stir met Morgan’s arrival just before midday. We few of Arthur’s court welcomed her at the gates, while behind us other nobles poked out their heads from any opening they could find for a glimpse of the fairy-woman. In the books, they were always described as small and nimble, the better for weaving their way in the world, but Morgan was nearly as tall as myself, built more like her father the Duke Gorlois with every inch of her mother Igraine’s beauty. The court bristled at her unbound, uncovered hair, which hung in inky waves to the middle of her back, at her navy robes that were well-suited for her olive skin, at the grace with which she dismounted her dapple roan horse and approached, straight-backed and high held chin, noble heritage on blatant display.

              Arthur stepped forward, taking his kinswoman’s right hand in his and laying a kiss against her knuckles. “My lady Morgan,” he said, “you are most welcome to Camelot.”

              “The honour is mine, my lord Arthur,” she responded, and I sensed the small shock that went through some of the gathered court; they had never heard her voice, and did not expect a woman with such a feminine appearance to have an alto timbre. When released, she turned to me, taking one of my hands within both of hers. Her lips against my cheek were feathery, hardly daring to touch my skin, yet her breath puffed against it, moist and warm. “You look exceedingly well, my lady Guinevere,” she said.

              “And you also, Lady Morgan,” I said, not knowing why the words struggled to form on my tongue, “in spite of your travels.”

              “Then I do hope I am not unsuitable to appear in your halls.” She gave her horse’s reins to a nearby groom and instructed firmly, “Take utmost care of her. She is one of Lady Vivian’s treasured.”

              Next to Arthur, I once again bore witness to their resemblance. While he was of much fairer complexion than she, and bearing features inherited from King Uther, one could see the structure of their faces was similar, at least around the cheekbones, eyes, and mouth—but that was much the end of it, save for perhaps a few mannerisms; they were only partway related, after all. The knowledge had grown old for me already, but for the gathered crowd, it was entirely new; mouths moved quickly in verbal observation or stayed tight to spread word at a later hour. I suspected, as we moved inside at last, watching as Morgan took Arthur’s offered arm, I would hear much of it from my women as they dressed me down for bed.

              Naturally, there was a gander of the place, so Morgan might know her way about, and introductions to the nobles she hadn’t met when she had attended the wedding between Arthur and I one year ago, and introductions to the women who’d been chosen to care for her in the duration of her stay. She eyed each of them carefully, as if she could see into their very souls and judge their characters, and said, after they’d each given her a customary curtsey, “I shan’t have need of these women.”

              The head maid, Livia, who had chosen my own women, coloured visibly. “I beg your pardon, my lady?”

              “I am of simple taste, madam; they would only get in my way.”

              Livia looked from Morgan to Arthur, bewildered; my lord husband soothed her in his gentle manner, “It’s quite all right, Lady Livia. We must allow Lady Morgan some of her own comforts, being leagues from home.”

              “As you say, my lord,” said Livia, fixing Morgan with narrowing eyes. The women, however, looked rather relieved.

              �� “I expected her to be ugly,” said Gyneth, slipping my nightshift onto my shoulders.

              “And small,” added Lucia, “with only a fine bosom and wide hips as worthy assets.”

              Gyneth laughed but scolded around it, “You should not talk so, Lucia!”

              “If there are no men to hear it, I can talk as crude as I like.” She glanced up at me from her position at my bed. “That is, if my lady doesn’t mind.”

              “One can hardly avoid crudeness in a castle full of men,” I said. “But you mustn’t allow it to leave this room.”

              Lucia twisted her fingers about her pretty lips, as if she were locking a chest, and flicked her wrist in the direction of the window.

              “Is she truly Arthur’s kinswoman, my lady?” said Gyneth. She was taking down my hair now, preparing to brush it out. “They could not be more opposite, in appearance as well as mannerisms.”

              “Oh, indeed,” Lucia agreed, finishing at last in turning down the bedclothes and checking them over. “It’s a wonder the same blood bred such different characteristics, and that His Majesty seems to have escaped the fairy-tendencies. I fear the man he’d be if he hadn’t.”

              “Would he not be like Lord Merlin if he hadn’t?”

              “What,” said Lucia with a scoff, “a man aged before his time and loony?”

              I said firmly, “I’ll thank you not to speak of the Lord Merlin in that way, Lucia. Let us not forget it is because of his wisdom that my lord husband has driven back the Saxons and that Camelot still stands firm atop its hill."

              Lucia’s pale cheeks pinked. “No, my lady,” she said. “I shan’t forget.”

              “See you do not. Now lay the basin and pitcher and be off to bed.”

              Gyneth finished my hair, trailing behind Lucia after bidding me good night. I was alone for a quarter of an hour before Arthur’s arrival. His golden hair was damp from a wash and tiredness was written across his features.

              “Is your fatigue Morgan’s doing?” I said.

              “Not entirely,” replied Arthur, removing his outer robe and draping it over a bedpost. “I had a letter from Lancelot that required an immediate reply.” He climbed into bed, and I beside him, keeping space between our bodies.

              “What news does he bring?”

              “Nothing concerning, I assure you; only a longing to return home.”

              “He says nothing of the battle?”

              Arthur’s tone firmed. “Where did you learn this, Gwen?”

              “It isn’t hard to guess at,” I returned. “Why else would the king send away his best knight, if not to go into battle?” I turned from him, reaching for the tallow candle burning on my night table. “I am not a simple woman,” I said quietly. “I should think you’d enjoy that, seeing as your kinswoman puts herself on a mighty high hill and you do not scold her for standing upon it.”

              I blew out the candle, feeling Arthur’s irritation, and then his guilt.

              He asked, after a good length, “Do you envy her?”

              A laugh bubbled from my lips. “If there is anything to envy about a sorceress, it’s that the world yields to her because it fears what she’d do if they didn’t.”

              And how useful it would be, I thought later, as Arthur faded into dreams, to know magic and to strike fear into people’s hearts with a single look.

              Useful, said a more logical tendril, and then dangerous.

[jordanprice]

June 16 - Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and Iwatayama Monkey Park

Today we went to the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and the Iwatayama Monkey Park. We started off by heading to the bamboo forest. In the train station, we ran into this silly little robot guy just vibing and going around the station.

It took like an hour total for us to get to the bamboo forest. Emily and Ana had gotten there early to rent Kimonos and I have no idea how they managed to and survived hiking in them. Absolute troopers I tell you. The bamboo forest was cool, but it was way overhyped in my opinion. It was kinda just a path through bamboo with a million tourists shoving you forward and cars that drove through the crowd practically. The experience would have been exponentially better if it weren’t for all the people.

After the forest, we then walked down to the river. It was very hot outside and people were remarking on how refreshing the water looked and how they just wanted to go jump in it, and I cannot say I disagreed with them on that. The river indeed did look very pretty and quite refreshing.

We then broke for lunch, and some of us went to this one vegan place nearby. We had to split into groups, and Lauren and I ended up getting seated alone. Okay, so I’m not even trying to be dramatic when I say this, but it would be better to starve than to have to eat the food there. I got cold noodles, which was my first mistake. I did not realize they were gonna be cold, and I must say that I have no earthly idea how literally anyone enjoys those. It was actually sickening to me. Noodles must ALWAYS be served at the very least warm, if not hot. The rest of the little side dishes it came with were also not edible. ESPECIALLY this one pudding type thing with soy sauce on it (see top middle of the picture of the plate). I took one little bite of it and genuinely almost threw up it was that bad. Lauren said she wanted to try it, then quickly changed her mind. I wouldn’t’ve allowed her to suffer through that regardless. Also, Lauren, who is vegetarian and eats vegan food often, agreed that it was literally not edible. She had gotten like a rice dish and could not eat it. The food was so terrible I cannot express. So we basically didn’t eat lunch. At least we got ice cream though. Lauren got Sakura ice cream and I got vanilla with yuzu honey which was pretty good.

We then walked to the bridge to meet up with the group before hiking to go see the monkeys. While waiting there, a group of university students walked up to us to ask us to participate in a survey for them. It was on our views of caronavirus. They were really nice about it and both Lauren and I participated. I found it kinda funny that out of our whole group, they only asked Lauren and I.

Next, we hiked up to see the monkeys at the Iwatayama Monkey Park. My favorite part of the hike up is that they had a rest area partway up that had like a playground, and the best part a slide that was, and I quote, “out of order.” Bro, how’s a slide gonna be out of order??

Eventually we made it to the top, and immediately when we got up there, we saw a mother with her baby walking by, which was quite cute. The view from the peak was my favorite view we got of Kyoto on the trip. It was very beautiful, especially since you could see Kyoto Tower my beloved.

I liked that the workers at the park had monkey friends that would hang out with them as well.

You could then also purchase apple pieces and peanuts to feed the monkeys through fencing. Everyone wanted to feel the babies of course, but the mom would just steal all the food. One thing that Lauren and I found hilarious is that the one mom would let her baby walk freely around, but the second it rounded the corner of the feeding area, she would chase him down and bring him back. Also, this entire time, and I’m talking the entire time, Lauren and I were going on about my “sir” bit. It’s something I started doing a while back where you just go like “sir, a moment of your time sir, a handshake if you will sir, sir it would mean the world to me for just a moment of your valuable time” and so on like that. I’m so glad Lauren likes that bit so much, as it’s one of my favorites and no one else has ever really seemed to appreciate it until her. It’s just something about saying it to like animals or like characters in video games or like statues even that absolutely cracks me up.

Feeding the monkeys was cool, but they had a limit on how much you could feed them. The monkeys very much preferred the apples over the peanuts, and it showed. Another thing that Lauren and I found hilarious was that the one mom would just drop food and crumbs on her baby whom she was holding. She wouldn’t share any food with the baby, but she would like crunch peanut shells over it’s head and it was really funny. We compared it to like using a baby as a lap napkin in a nice restaurant and dropping food on it.

On the way back to the hotel, Lauren and I got two different strawberry cakes to compare, and I got an Italian lemon soda in a glass bottle. We both agreed that the slightly more expensive cake was a lot better in every way, and I really liked my soda. Lauren tried the soda, but it was too sour for her taste.

For dinner, we got Emily to join us in going to a vegan place that had like pizza and pasta and burgers and stuff. I thought it was pretty alright, but they both seemed to really enjoy it which I was happy about. It’s been difficult for them to find good food on this trip, especially Emily who had said it was her first real meal in three days. Lauren and I then decided we would drag Emily to more meals with us for the rest of the trip so that she could eat.

Academic Reflection

Today I learned about the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. It is an extremely popular tourist destination in Kyoto, and has over 10 million visitors per year. The land is protected, and houses a ton of bamboo, as well as cherry blossom trees, red pines, and others. Beginning in 1870, the Japanese government implemented a new forest management system focused on maintaining the ideal landscape and or function of different areas of forests. Under this legislation, the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest is protected due to its landscape. Seeing it in person, it honestly didn’t live up to the hype in my opinion, but it was still cool to see the bamboo forest and I understand why it is protected.

I also learned about The Tale of Genji and The Shrine in the Fields. In The Tale of Genji, Prince Genji and Lady Rokujō have an affair. Somewhere along the lines, Lady Rokujōs jealousy leads to the death of Genji’s wife. At least that is how this version of the Nō play depicts it. The Shrine in the Fields differs from this in the sense that Lady Rokujō is treated with sympathy and there is no notion that she caused Genji’s wife’s death. I find it interesting how different interpretations can arise from the same story. We unfortunately didn’t see any Nō performances on the trip, but it could’ve been cool if we did.

[frankhightower]

A change of pace

If you follow me here, you have doubtless noticed the sharp uptick in submissions this weekend. If you’ve been following me on twitter, you probably already know why, but for those who don’t, I believe I owe an explanation.

In my last FA journal, I basically announced my intention to keep posting to Twitter even though I was going to stop posting everywhere else: I noticed that my art time was getting narrower and narrower every day, so after cutting down my warmups from 3 pokémon to 1, I eliminated posting those warmups until I had more art time. It is now about half a year later, and I have not gotten more art time.

My critical mistake was that, when that wasn’t enough, I eliminated what came after the warmup. Even though the warmups were taking only an average of 20 minutes, it was still a tight schedule. So, forced to choose between what was effectively therapy, and what made me money, I chose the former.

It worked… for a short while, until it was revealed that my raise was not a raise at all. I did realize the problem pretty quickly, but soon find myself unable to act upon it.

So, at the start of march, I ran another poll, this time binding, essentially announcing I would stop doing the Pokémon warmups altogether. And when the time for the poll ran out, I actually did stop

…and began the crazy adventure that is running a growth drive / shrink drive, but there still was a problem: I couldn’t post it here!

I had around a dozen pieces ready to post – mostly the commissions I had managed to finish since the journal – but not posted due to multiple reasons (missing a link, undecided on a title, or simply hadn’t had the time to write anything at all). Most sites don’t allow reordering submissions after, well, submitting them (and I wanted to post them to all sites together), so I pretty much had to post them in the order I’d done them (the order I wanted them to appear)

The main problem with that was that, even if I could write all the missing descriptions, titles, etc; some pieces needed additional work before posting (such as having to add Arisu in Arisu’s reaction drawing). These created a bottleneck.

What ended up happening was, I decided to work on commissions for the entirety of my drawing time (i.e. with no warmup) on days the Size Drive earned no donations (I had 4 commissions in my queue – which was supposedly what I had been “warming up” for with the daily Pokémon drawings but of course hadn’t been able to do – at the time of starting the size drive). The commissions were quite complex, with the Kadabra one taking exactly a week and the Charizard one burning me out partway through.

Such expenditure on effort, only to be unable to post it, left me really upset so, first chance I got (meaning I could be sure my job would be fine without me, I dedicated a full day to doing that additional work

<hr>

TL;DR: I’m broke so I’m focusing on commissions now, which enabled me to post the here.

[campbluelake]

Where The Viaduct Looms Like A Bird Of Doom | Ch3 Voting End (2/3)

“Well, you all seem to have agreed at the very least. But let’s see what actually happened.”

The fire is already roaring to the maximum it usually is when Ranger Buddy does these replays, but somehow it gets even brighter. It’s like you’re staring at a welder’s torch without a shield over your eyes. You’re absolutely going to see spots for a while after this. But shapes form within the flame, and the past is revealed in perfect detail.

Jo has spent the past several days in a state of mounting panic. There’s only one thing she’d kill to hide, after all, and although she already knows who has her fake secret, she has no idea who has the real one. So when Warrick spots her by chance and approaches her to tell her that he’s got her secret, his fate is sealed, even though he doesn’t say what it is. Still, since they’re in a very public area at the time, they decide to meet up again a little later, in the music cabin where people are less likely to overhear. They also agree to temporarily switch their walkie-talkies to one of the lesser-used bands in order to communicate with each other if anything comes up before 9pm.

Once they separate, Jo springs into action. She rummages through the tool shed for a weapon, settling on a pickaxe. Then, she realizes that she can’t kill Warrick in her regular clothes— the evidence will lead right back to her if she tries to dispose of it. So, when she notices that Cabin 6 is empty, she sneaks in and steals one of Kaede’s outfits. To complete her incognito look, she ties her signature twin ponytails up into two buns on her head, making it harder to tell who she is from a distance. She then goes to lie in wait for her prey.

Warrick arrives a few minutes early to the music cabin, taking off his poncho and hanging it on the back of a chair. Time passes— five minutes, ten. He pulls out his walkie-talkie and asks Jo with some irritation where she is. After a moment, she answers with a strained—

“Do you really believe that I’m a murderer, Warrick?”

He asks her what the hell she’s talking about. But she ignores the question— does he think there’s something wrong with her? You asshole, you don’t know what kind of hell she’s been through. And if you think for one second that she’s going to let some idiot ruin everything for her, then— then— !!

“Then what. Don’t try to threaten me.”

“Oh… oh no. I’m not threatening you. But… what if I said that I have someone with me?”

Warrick, already agitated, finally snaps and bursts out of the music cabin before she can even specify which someone she’s bluffing about, leaving the door ajar. They argue, voices overlapping as Warrick enters the woods to try and track her down— and when Aurora happens to switch onto the band they’re using without thinking, she overhears:

“You think I’m afraid of you?!”

“Then— quarry— prove you’re not scared.”

Unable to back down, Warrick races to the quarry— right where Jo wants him. She gets the jump on him at the entrance and lands a hit on his leg with her, where they struggle for a bit, one of her hair ties coming off. Eventually, Warrick disengages and rushes towards the BB range with the hopes of getting something to defend himself with while Jo follows not so far behind, knowing he won’t last long on that leg. Once he arrives, he has just enough time to grab a BB rifle and load it with pellets so he can fire them at Jo when she gets closer. A few shots miraculously land on her arms— but it’s nowhere near enough to stop her approach.

When he realizes this isn’t working, Warrick takes off with the gun, limping quickly towards the Squatch tower and heading up the stairs inside with Jo close on his heels. Small drops of blood drip from his leg in the one place where they won’t get washed away by the rain. Shots are fired and missed, pickaxe swings are made and missed. Partway up, Jo catches the gun with the pickaxe, and Warrick lets go of the gun altogether to focus on ascending. Fortunately for Jo, he’s finally started to succumb to his injury by the time they both arrive at the top, making it that much easier to overpower him without too much of a fight.

It’s at this point when Aurora arrives at the quarry, just in time to see something at the top of the tower that’s awful enough to make her drop her walkie-talkie in shock. But while she thinks she sees Kaede, it’s Jo who swings the pickaxe down on Warrick, over and over, until he’s long stopped moving. You understand now why the cause of death was so vague— there’s a lot that could have done the job. Once she’s satisfied, she leaves the pickaxe in Warrick’s torso and takes a ride back to the ground on the zipline.

As Aurora climbs up the tower stairs and pulls the pickaxe out of Warrick in a panic (making her the mysterious body discoverer), Jo quickly makes her way back to the cabins so that she can change back into her own clothes and hide the welts on her arm with a hasty makeup job. Finally, she disposes of Kaede’s bloody clothes outside of Cabin 5— if Suzy's so eager to throw away their friendship, then fine by her.

The last thing you see is a manicured hand wiping the last bit of blood off of her face before patting both her cheeks, reverting after a moment’s hesitation to that same bubbly grin you’ve all come to know.