#loved working on this. great client tbh.

[grimae]

a commission

[notjanine]

i’ve submitted well over 50 job applications this summer. tell me why the one (1) position i’ve made the most progress toward is one i didn’t even apply for???* and THEN. yesterday. one of my preceptors from the internship i just finished emailed me out of the blue like Hey i'm gonna have an open position at my private practice soon, are you interested?** girl what the fuck is going on here***

[fuck-nonsense]

.

[dropthedemiurge]

Aaah, this was one of the best episode of The Trainee (and certainly the most heartwarming episodes out of all Episode 11 in BLs xD)

🥺🥺

List of the most adorable details:

Pah still bejng the heart of all interns and encouraging communication and teamwork

Bamhee thinking and planning future for herself (and I bet she and Judy will be amazing best friends at least)

Tae making sure he shows affection for Bamhee enough and doesn't lose himself only in work, we cheered

Pie's CUTEST reaction to having her idea be chosen (and the fact that all the small intern tasks they did actually were important and paid off) her squeals and attempts to contain joy aaah

Even Ryan loudly claiming what he wants + changing other people in smallest ways (such as teaching them how to treat paper)

50% of this show is a promotion of Recycling Paper lol

Insecure Jane backstory, he looked hot in every scene but the vulnerability made him seem so different from start episodes aaah love it

Jane losing the sparkle and his ambitions, forced to master staying in the shadow until a random kid that doesn't know anything showed up and cheered him up to be confident in himself and helped break out of stagnation

Ryan encouraging Jane! Saying not being chosen doesn't mean you don't deserve your spotlight at all! This little sunshine ball of a kitten outpouring love in "scariest and coldest person on the team" no wonder Jane got overwhelmed and kissed him right there and then, I would too

Btw who on earth looks SO GOOD in denim shirt and denim pants? Off reminding me that he was in my original lineup of Thai BL actors I feel in love with many years ago because of his visuals

He's gonna fight for Jane's reputation as he has been doing from the very beginning but damn I want to see Jane tearing Nine apart for using the wrong idea

Also when he stormed out of the room with very annoying pressuring ex and crazy harrassing client without enduring and playing along like he's been doing in shadows, it was Jane's first step to stand up for himself and direct his own life

And Ryan was the one who gave him the needed boost (you could say, he did a great job assisting him heh)

I love love love credit small knowledge scenes, I wish more shows done that, that's cute, I love learning new things

And I love editing and lighting and fashion department of this series, why is it so perfect I could stare at every shot for hours and it gave me insane amount of warmth. Not enough people watch this show tbh, GMM directors need to all watch it and learn about good production tbh

[kustas]

Do you have reccs for "ugly" art (manga, comics, movie, etc.)? Thanks for the Tekkon recs btw I really liked it

That really depends on your own personal media landscape and what your definition of "ugly" is! As a random example, I've seen many people call ONE's art ugly because of the wobbly linework when I think it's lovely. Ugly could also mean something a bit shocking/crass in its themes. Etc, etc... I'm going to go with the definition of "something that's a bit jarring to look at or go through" here :)

Disclaimer: a lot of these tackle sensitive topics, sometimes for fun and not always tastefully. If there's themes you really can't handle in media, do your research before looking into them.

Manga

I keep recommending yes because it rules but Dorohedoro and its scratchy messy art and gore galore. talking about the manga exclusively here the anime is too polished for my taste

God's Child (Kami no Kodomo): tbh this one is for the art only I hated the writing. very gruesome & unique looking short story

I hesitate to recommend this one because it's edgy as hell but I shan't lie I had a lot of fun with Hellsing. it's "bad" in the same areas as something like berserk but unlike that one it does not take itself seriously

if you liked Tekkon i strongly suggest trying out more stuff by its author (saying this with immense biais). the most ugly/messy thing i've read of his, which isn't a lot because i find his work very delicate, is No. 5 which i would less describe as "good" than "very compelling to me". i also recommend this wonderful essay tearing it down

Comics (non JP)

FLEEP: a short story about a man who wakes up in a phone cabin seemingly encased in concrete. one of the comics i always recommend for its length and storytelling. (link leads to the artist's website where you can read it for free!)

The Astonishing Exploits Of Lucien Brindavoine: a young artist gets drafted in the first world war and goes through a series of almost supernatural adventures. beyond the adventure book aspect, a harsh criticism of nationalism/patriotism that's still awfully relevant

Animation

Ruben Brandt: Collector: a psychiatrist suffers from strange art related nightmares ruining his life. his clients, a bunch of high profile criminals, decide to help him fight off his demons by organizing one long vacation where they steal every painting involved. extremely unique visually, a fun heist movie with thriller elements.

Junk Head: goofy post apocalyptic movie about a man on a quest to save, who keeps losing sight his goal because cartoony violence episodes have his head tumble into new lows, literally. this is, perhaps, one of my favorite animated films ever, it's earnest and fun and lovingly crafted. very unique of a watch

The Apostle: freshly escaped from prison, a thief is on a mission to find treasure hidden by his old cellmate, and finds himself stuck in an ancient village who's strange looking elderly inhabitants are way too insistent on his stay. classic spooky folktale with its millennial curses and foreboding warnings, it's also a nice peek into the culture of Galicia and old world medieval weirdass catholicism. you can buy a DVD on their website

MKFZ: dumb as hell high adrenaline animated B movie with excellent animation. there's a plot about alien living undercover in fantasy california but you don't watch this kind of film for the plot. fair warning this is adapted from a french comic so of course, it's crass and racist

Blow to the Head - Lightning bolt: awesome music video (YT link)(warning for flashing/strobing lights if you're sensitive to that!)

Canon Fodder: from the Memories omnibus film. little slice of the life of a fantasy war obsessed industrial nation

with its new movie on the horizon, it's a great time to get into Mononoke, despite traditionally pretty visuals its got a unique style and gets pretty offputting

Live action cinema

7:35 in the morning: short film about the fear in improvised musical numbers where you don't expect any. it's on youtube in bad quality

The Draughtsman's Contract: an artist is hired by a Lady to draw several vistas of her house, in exchange for money, good drawing condition, and the Lady. follows a good hour of cunts in powdery wigs being awful to each other for their own gain. if you're into dark humor it's a good test, otherwise it has a really satisfying murder mystery to follow too.

Three Kings: during the gulf war, a group of US soldiers decide to steal Hussein's gold for themselves under the mighty standard of kuwait's loot repatriation. extremely caustic take on good ol murican international politics. i was shocked at how far it goes and it's express, low budget treatment which i did not expect from a hollywood film. the movie tires itself fast and becomes less good in its second half but the it's opening acts are interesting

Delicatessen: a sliver of humanity survives in an old timey stone building in the middle of nothingness on top of a functional butcher's shop. gossip follows the arrival of a new roommate. how does one even maintain a butchery in a no man's land? weird film with a unique(ly goofy) take on the post apocalyptic genre

Other

For traditional artists, I like the works of Beksinski (<3), Schiele, Giger. For modern artists Oleg Vdovenko (heavy gore warning for that one), Jeff Simpson

I'm less a fan of the MV and live performances they got infamous for than their music proper but I really like the band Cardiacs, who's judged by many of my friends to be extremely hard to get into lol.

[kemihaydeestantonva]

So now that I.M.P. is no longer using the book, where does that leave Loona? She's the receptionist but she's clearly never liked or been any good with clients or doing paperwork. She only ever looked present and focused while using the book or helping them in the field.

So is Loona going to become more a part of the active crew? Out in the field? Tbh I think she's wasted on desk work and I think she knows it. You know who WOULD be GREAT as her replacement? Somebody who loves words

[stychu-stych]

lol I’m sure someone has asked this at least once but how does it feel to do art in such a permanent medium? Artists are often times their own worst critics and I just wonder how you navigate that. When you look back on the tattoos you have done in the past what do you feel? Is that something you’ve somewhat overcome at this point?

Also I love your art sm. Your style is so so nice to look at. Your character acting+designs and rendering makes them feel so tangible and expressive. It’s so lovely I want to eat it so bad. I also really like the slightly more sketchy lineart a lot that you do. Just a personal preference but it scratches my brain in just the right way. Also your blood/gore omg👀

It took me a while to answer to this question jdhsjs

Not gonna lie, working with such a permanent medium can be stressful as f 😭 Especially at the beginning. And yeaaaah, I'm definitely one of my worst critics jdbdjdhdh It was hard at a beginning, I compared myself to others, more experienced artists a looot. I've always thought that I have to do better (the studio I worked at the beginning of my journey didn't help at all, hearing that my second tattoo ever looks like shit was traumatic) Beginning of my tattoo journey wasn't easy, there was a lot of crying and panicking that I def "destroyed someone's skin" 😭 Especially that I was mostly self-taught tattoo artist (not by choice but that's a material for another story and I don't want to bore you all with my talking about toxic tattoo studios and how my full tattoo journey looked like)

But now I think I'm fully reconciled with my old tattoos. I learned that everything can be fixed, I also talked with few of my first clients that told me that getting tattoos from me was really nice experience and even the tattoos are not perfect, they still love them because they had a great time and they felt safe with me as their tattoo artist

Also when I see my first tattoos after years passed I can say they wasn't so bad for a beginner

Here comparison between my 3 months and my 3,5 years experience and I'm proud of both of them

And thank you 💖 Tbh I've never liked doing lineart (it was one of this toxic traits when you think that lines have to be clean). And when I let myself go with more sketchy artworks life suddenly became better

[olasketches]

If JJK characters were in Non- Curse world, what would their job be if not become Jujutsu Sorcerer (in your opinion)? Why? Please pick your top 5 (or top 3) fav characters...

ohh what a fun question! ok so tbh I can't imagine sukuna in a cooperate job or anything like that. in my head he's yuuji's older brother (or just really annoying roommate) who is living at his apartment like some sort of parasite (affectionate). he would probably just snooze and eat all day cause he lives quite an active life at night. I imagine that his way of making a living would be through illegal fights. he would go out each night to hakari's fight club and beat the crap out of his opponents... for FUN. the money would be just a bonus (he really couldn't care less about it). HOWEVER, in an ideal world where sukuna is fully integrated with the rest of society, I think he would be... a teacher. I genuinely believe that he would make a quite decent teacher. he's passionate about jujutsu, he actually understands the mechanics behind it, which makes him a great source of knowledge. also he's really good at encouraging others and helping them improve.

as for yuuji... basically what gege said. I think in a non-curses world he would be a firefighter. he enjoys saving people because it gives him some sort of purpose and we know boy canonically has 'hero complex' (which makes sense given the fact that he was basically raised on fiction). also let's be real yuuji craves adrenaline. he's in his element whenever he's facing danger. this boy sure does love a good rush of adrenaline. AS FOR TEEN YUUJI (current yuuji lol) I imagine him working at a cinema... solely because of his love for movies.

ok megumi... hmmm I think his ideal job would be working with animals, but since I love putting this super introverted boy in social situation for my own entertainment, I like to think that he would work as a barista... just imagine him having to deal with impatient or rude clients or random people hitting on him cause they found him cute like that would be so funny to witness lol. also I genuinely think he would make a great barista. he KNOWS how to make a good coffee just to other people's liking. plus I can't help but imagine him making those cute milky animal shaped foams on top of coffee, cause megumi is just a softie like that.

[toasteraaa]

It's been so long...

Not the fnaf song lol...

But genuinely I haven't posted in a long time. I adjusted my profile a bit, and I've also got some splatoon ocs to share!

Meet this gang!

A kind of messed up height comparison. Next time I'll do better, I promise!

Alrighty, let's start with the basics. A basic introduction. I will post more about these fellas when I do more art of them :>.

The events with these fellas happen in Splatsville tbh!

♤Mia♤

Mia is a popular make-up artist in Splatsville. Owns a make-up salon that's visited by many on a daily basis! If they are not doing someone's make up, they post make up tutorials. Outside of the fashion and make-up industry, Mia loves hiking and nature. Her salon and home are filled with many exotic flowers and plants, and they take a great care of the plants! Mia dates Ivy. During battles Mia can be seen using Dynamo Roller or Flingza Roller.

♡Blaise♡

Blaise is the least popular of the gang, but that doesn't mean he is a less of a member than anyone else! He is both a traditional and digital artist, he mainly draws fan arts and secretly works on his own projects. Blaise is a sucker for comics, he has a huge collection and dreams of creating one in the future. His boyfriend is Dash. Blaise is a charger main, but you'll see him play with the Snipewriters often.

◇Ivy◇

Mia's sweetheart! But also Ivy is a writer and a journalist in a popular Splatsville magazine for health and fashion! In her articles, Ivy gives good advices all the time! Ivy is also the reason why Mia's salon has so many clients. Ivy often advertises it in her articles! Outside of writing, Ivy loves doing photography, especially of nature. She often joins Mia hiking in order to capture really good photos of the breathtaking nature! Ivy is a Tri-Slosher main, but she can also use E-liter if she desires (Blaise taught her).

♧Dash♧

Blaise's darling. Funny enough when the two first met they had a rocky start. They barely got along, but with time and patience they became closer and closer and now they are together! Dash is a very popular influencer and a competitor in tournaments. Dash is admired by many, he loves the fame, but what he loves more than that is his boyfriend's love! Dash loves playing video games too! He likes streaming gameplay from time to time, but he enjoys multi-player games more so he can play together with Blaise and his friends. Dash is a strong Nautilus player.

☆Iris☆

Iris is Ivy's roommates. They met in Inkopolis years ago and decided to move to Splatsville together after the Splatocalypse. Iris is shy and timid. She isn't very talkative, but when she talks she scolds someone or give a scientific fact. Iris is a programmer and creates games that are loved by many! Her trustworthy tester is Dash. He gives an excellent review and promotes Iris' games on his social media. On the battlefield Iris can be seen using the two pairs of Splat Dualies.

Alright everyone, that's all I've got for today! I am going to post more about them in the near future!

Stay safe!

[carlyyyyxbishhop]

Love me like I haven't changed // Shayne Topp // 1

Okay so hi, long time smosh fan lmao. I used to write stuff for bands back in like 2014-2017 but I stopped for some reason. Recently I kinda wanted to get back into it... so I started writing this. Idk if you'd count this as a fanfic because idk how long its gonna be.

Tbh I got an idea and just started writing so I'm gonna post parts 1 and 2 tonight. Lemme know if I should continue writing because I'm slightly hesitant.

part one // Kate

I bounced my right leg anxiously, out of habit I guess. The waiting room was a sterile white, littered with magazines and children’s toys. But I’ll never forget the smell, funny that. It smelt like pure vomit, there’s no other way to describe it.

I stared at the poster on the wall in front of me, it said something stupid like keep hanging on. I rolled my eyes and looked toward the reception desk. A woman was sitting filing her nails with her airpods in, obviously making great use of company time. I looked to my right as a door opened. 

“Kate?” He called out into the room as if I wasn’t the only person sitting in the waiting area. I stood, flashing him a small smile, before following him into the small room. To say the office was small was an understatement. I took it in quickly before finding a chair in the corner near the window.

“Hi Kate, I’m Charlie. It’s nice to meet you.” He started as he sat across from me. I cleared my throat before I spoke, not realising I hadn’t spoken a full sentence in over 48 hours.

“Hi, nice to meet you too.” I watched as he grabbed a small notepad from the table beside him.

“Kate, I know your mother was adamant that you come to therapy but if you’re not ready you don’t have to be here. I just want to let you know that before we start.” He looks over at me, he can probably already sense I’m hesitant.

“No it’s fine, if I don’t come to the appointments she’ll keep harassing me until I do.” He nodded slightly and wrote something on his notepad.

“Okay well, just know you can back out at any time,” He offered a smile that I returned, “So, uhh, if you don’t mind could you tell me a bit about yourself?”

“What, like my job and stuff?”

“Well if that’s what you want to talk about, then yes we can start with that.” I think for a second.

“Do your clients usually go straight into their traumas?” He furrowed his eyebrows at the question.

“Not particularly,” He starts, “Usually they start with simple things to get us started.”

“Oh right,” I say slightly embarrassed, “I’ve never been to therapy before if you can’t tell.” He smiled.

“Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself, some hobbies, work… maybe friends?” He offers some starting topics.

“Well, I’m 29 and I’m currently on mental health leave from my job. Mostly because I stopped going to work about 3 weeks ago and stopped answering their calls. Eventually they called my mother because she’s my emergency contact and she made up some bullshit about my Dad dying.” I slightly rambled.

“Did you stop going to work because of your father?” He asked hesitantly, almost trying to predict the reason.

“No, he died years ago. I just kind of lost interest in life when my ex left.” I gulp down the ball in my throat and reach for my water bottle as a distraction.

“Oh right, your ex… was he a big part of your life?” He looks down at his notepad as he makes some notes.

I laugh slightly, “I guess you could say that, we were together for five years.”

“Wow, that’s quite a long time. It’s normal to be upset when going through a breakup.” He tries to reason.

“Is it normal to lay in bed for weeks after a breakup?” I try to find the novelty in it.

“In extreme cases… yes. It can be perfectly normal to have a negative reaction when someone breaks up with you.” I tense slightly at his words.

“See,” I gulp down another lump in my throat, “He didn’t break up with me… he left me.”

“Right… and do you know why he did.” I laugh slightly and look toward the window.

“Yes.” I say shortly, holding back the tears threatening to spill.

“Did you want to talk about it?” He asked, almost unsure if he should. I shook my head no.

“Okay, well why don’t you tell me about him?” He asked.

“What do you want to know?” I looked back toward him and tucked my legs under myself, getting more comfortable on the lounge chair.

“Why don’t you start from the beginning?”

[sincerelywhistler]

CEBALRAI

In the most recent channel anniversary trivia livestream, Erik mentioned he once upon a time ago had plans for a soft Sadism boyfriend character. This is my OC of said boy, Cebalrai!

More under the cut:

Here’s a Pinterest board that captures his vibes :)

And a Spotify playlist as well

• Cebalrai (pronounced as “SEB-all-rye”) often goes by 'Ceb' (still pronounced like "Seb”). Beta Ophiuchi, also named Cebalrai, is a star in the equatorial constellation of Ophiuchus. Ophiuchus is the canonical name of Gavin’s steward and I will SOMEHOW absolutely be incorporating that into his story k thanks

• He works for the Department in the mental health field as a psychotherapist, most often with Seers in specific. As a Sadism demon, he’s able to feed from his empowered clients' troubled emotions while counseling them during their personal healing journeys.

• Coincide with that Department role, he is a thread-cutter (a demon who is responsible for cutting the magical threads of empowered humans to Aria). Our beloved Seer, Morgan, stated that, "there very serious mental and emotional repercussions to a decision like [getting threads cut]; it is not one to be made lightly," (Learning About Your Magical Abilities From a Seer). It is Ceb's job to reassuringly assist empowered persons of whether or not cutting their threads is the best decision, subsequently severing their ties to magic in a comfortable setting should they choose to proceed. He’s a soft and gentle presence, a great fit for the job.

• He and Morgan are work buddies :)

• Ceb has a soft spot for humanity, being obsessed with human traditions, culture, history, psychology, so on. The prospect of being mortal fascinates him more than anything. If there’s a non-magic way of doing a task, he’ll take that route.

• Green witchy boi hehe

• TALL MAN!! HUGE BOY BUILT FOR GIVING HUGS THAT SWALLOW YOU WHOLE!!

• Baker of any and all things sweet

• The star's name literally translates to "dog of the shepard”. Reflecting this, Ceb, like a sheepdog/cattle-dog, has a natural inclination to guide people towards their sense of safety and belonging. Task-oriented and loyal until the end of time.

• He loves gardening! Talking to the plants puts his mind at ease. And because he doesn't need to feed his physical body with physical foods, he often gifts his home-grown produce and herbs away to his struggling patients and the few kind coworkers he knows.

• Probably smells like rain tbh

• Cannot do math to save his life

• If he’s not wearing cozy sweaters, he’s in the most ethereal attire because he’s extra like that

• Avid reader! Romance is his absolute favorite genre. But as sweet as he is, bro won't hesitate to go on tirades about how toxic or poorly the relationships in some books are portrayed. Colleen Hoover may be his worst enemy.

• Favorite book is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

• Hydrangea tattoos to symbolize grace and gratitude. Bein’ a Sadism Demon comes with a lot of baggage, man

• Main love languages are acts of service and quality time

• Lives a quiet life in a secluded, little cottage-like house out on the rural edge of town with his three corgis— LaVern, Maxine, and Patricia (aptly named after The Andrews Sisters, a female big-band & swing vocalist group popular in the 1930s-50s, aka my Ceb's favorite era of music).

• Will try to pet any animal. The opossums by his house know little peace. 

• Rabid for cherry vanilla coca-cola he is an addict

I've got whole documents pertaining to this big dummy, and you’ll be seeing much more of him in the future <3

[mermaidsirennikita]

What are your favorite boss/employee romance novels?

Oooh, good question.

The Duchess Hunt by Lorraine Heath is a great one. The hero is a very bossy, intimidating duke who has a secretary he totally depends on and sees in a Totally Professional setting. He needs her for everything, and he's decided to look for a potential wife and puts her on the case. Of course, she acts very put together but is totally in love with him, so she's like, trying to steadfastly help him while also inwardly freaking out, and it's clear that she wants to quit... to which he is QUITE ALARMED. Famously has a moment where she masturbates in a carriage thinking of him, then tells him about it, to which he's like ".... excuse?"

Joss and The Countess by S.M. LaViolette. God, I loved this one. The heroine is a twice-widowed countess who's nearing 40, and she hires Joss (who's 28--have to mention that as it's rare and you hardly ever see it in HRs) to be her bodyguard/manservant to discreetly escort her about town as she visits her lovers (her husbands never got her off so she's trying to have fun) and bops about town. What she doesn't know is that before he worked for her, Joss was a sex worker. It's got a lot of that boss/employee angst and it's SUCH a good "fine lady/bit o' rough" book. Like. Joss. FUCKS. He. FUCKS. IT. UP. TW for abuse both physical and sexual--none of it is on the page, but the villain in this one is horrible.

The Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles. Recent m/m release, one hero becomes the secretary of the other. Tbh there's not a lot of work, but the boss feels very guilty initially about it all, which I love, personally. Once boundaries are established he'll also randomly be like "suck me off" which I think is fun (and so does his lover).

Salt Kiss by Sierra Simone. I mEAN. It IS boss/employee. Another one "by way of bodyguard" but Tristan is VERY aware that Mark is his boss, and it's all very sexy as the tension builds. And of course, this is an MMF book, so you have the added bonus of being like "I can't get with my boss's fiancee!!" (he can). It's super hot and angsty perfection.

Managed by Kristen Callihan. I think this counts, as the hero is the manager for a famous rock band and he hires the heroine as their photographer/social media manager. But yeah, he is SUPER uptight and stern, and she's kinda wild; he has insomnia and they start platonically sleeping in the same bed because it's the only way he can get to sleep. The platonic thing is ruined by one of my favorite romance scenes, where he jerks off while smelling her dirty underwear in the bathroom. He's very ashamed. TW--a focal part of the plot is one of the hero's best friends attempting suicide in the past.

Preferential Treatment by Heather Guerre. The heroine works at a major corporation, and catches the attention of her billionaire boss. He's like "will you be my domme" and she's like "what" and he's like "I feel like you'd be good at it and I'll give you this much per month" and she goes "okay". Very hot soft femdom, he is quite a fun brat.

The Nanny by Lana Ferguson. Surprisingly hot contemporary; the heroine is taken on as the nanny for this single father chef. The issue is--she used to do OnlyFans while wearing a mask, and he was a favorite client... which she realizes before he does.

Lead by Kylie Scott. SUCH a good rockstar romance, the hero is the frontman for a world famous rock band. He was a major mess, addicted to drugs, and he OD'd--which compelling the band to hire a PA/sober living companion for him. This is the heroine, who is incredibly bossy and no-nonsense and in charge... but as the book begins, she realizes that she's in love with him and quits. Obviously, he takes this rather poorly because he cannot live without her, a boss/employee staple. Has one of my favorite "get it out of our systems" scenes EVER.

Praise by Sara Cate. BUT OF COURSE. The heroine is broken up with by her douchey boyfriend, shows up to collect his half of the rental deposit or something from his dad... and his dad gets confused and thinks she was the person auditioning to be his new submissive. She REALLY likes being praised by him, but he's like "no way" once he realizes she's his son's ex... however, he takes pity on her and hires her as his assistant. I imagine you can tell where this is going.

The Billionaire's Wake-Up-Call Girl by Annika Martin. The hero is a billionaire, as you can tell. The heroine works for his company but has never met him; her bitchy boss assigns her to schedule his wake up calls with this service, but when she fucks up one day she freaks out and does it herself... and he likes that she talks back to him, so she keeps on doing it, lol. This soon devolves into some very mouthy phone sex, and it's great. I'm currently reading The Billionaire's Fake Fiancee by Annika, in which the grumpy hero enlists his super bright, soap opera-loving, Hello Kitty bag-wearing stylist ton pretend to be his fiancee on a yacht, so I think this counts as well.

Married by Morning by Lisa Kleypas. The hero is a former disreputable rake who's cleaning up his act but remains QUITE slutty. The heroine is his sisters' governess, who he's been bickering with for several books. Basically, he wakes up in this one and is like "I must have you", but she has a dark past and tries to resist. Famously the one where he makes her ask him to touch her pussy. TW for past abuse.

Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt. The heroine is the hero's housekeeper, with the twist that she's actually spying on him on behalf of someone he's blackmailing. He's a loony tunes villainous kidnapper/blackmailer, she's no-nonsense and takes zero shit. Check the TWs, this one is dark.

The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt. Widowed 30-something heroine is taken on as an early's secretary. He's scarred after smallpox and has a hard time finding a woman who will marry him, very gruff, and they bond.... which is why she's upset when she finds out he's been burning off their sexual tension by visiting an exclusive brothel. Naturally, she puts on a mask and goes to the brothel to pose as a sex worker, and naturally he fucks her. GREAT.

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert. Heroine is the baby of the family, seen as very immature, and is on the spectrum. She tries to get a new sense of maturity by working at this B&B... But she hits her new boss with her car by accident, which puts them on the wrong foot, naturally. Notable for the bickering, the fact that both leads are on the spectrum, and the time he gives in and fucks her with a sparkly dildo.

[wuntrum]

Hey, do you have any advice on setting up an online portfolio? Specifically, what did you use to create the site, or did you code it yourself? I've been wanting to make one but I've never built a site before. My art instructor recommended using Google sites but I thought I'd ask for your recs bc I love how yours looks :^)

hi there!! i use cargo for my portfolio---they're a website builder like wix or squarespace, but i find that some of the features they have are a bit more avant-garde/interesting compared to something like squarespace (and when i joined, it was cheaper---now theyre about the same per month, so its up to personal preference tbh)

i would only recommend using something like squarespace or cargo or wix if you can justify the cost of the website upkeep, otherwise there are some other options out there: carrd is genuinely a good option, accessible and affordable (and im sure there's plenty of videos going over how to set one up for a portfolio); neocities is also fun, but you have to know how to code a little bit to utilize it (but! its really cool and cheap, so if you wanna learn how to code your own site, its a great place to do it). i also think google sites can totally work---haven't used it myself, but i've seen other people who have!

honestly, the most important aspects of a portfolio are: showing your work, nice and big, without too many distractions (captions and accompanying text are fine yknow), with a clean layout, and some sort of bio section with a way (or ways) to get in touch with you! as long as you can put everything together in a way thats easy for potential clients to see your work, then it doesnt matter exactly what you use :)

(i would recommend getting your own domain name if you can, honestly i think thats one of the more affordable things that makes your site feel professional! like if you connected a .com to a carrd, i think thats a great utilization of funds, if you can afford it ofc)

[anatheyma]

Indeed, is not a easy instrument to learn. When I left home and I got my first job I saved enough money to buy a violin and learnt to play it from scratch, without any help. I learnt to play the cello briefly after that, when I was around seventeen. I've tried to learn piano but as same with languages, I am often too busy at work to do it properly.

I am a big fan of describing people I enjoy being with. I could talk about how I perceive you for hours without any problem and even in deeper detail than how I did before. Cute puppy boy.

You do have pretty eyes and curls, though, so they're right about that. I practically raised most of my youngers neighbors and one of my first jobs was being a babysitter, so little kids love me in a really curious way. And because, well, I can carry them around on my back or let them sit on my shoulders and they enjoy it just because I'm tall, hah. Also, maybe I give dad vibes? Not sure.

Do you ever miss your family? I'm deeply sorry if it's a personal question, you don't have to answer it if you don't feel like it. I think of my mom sometimes when I do stuff that she used to do.

–🦴

impressive! once again. too bad you're too busy to learn piano, it sucks when responsibilities get in the way of our interests!

i think it's interesting to hear what other people have to say about me, so i don't mind at all. it's very flattering. i'm a good listener and i love it when people talk to me about anything in deeper detail tbh! especially things they're passionate about. i tend to remember small details about other people. as long as there's nothing on my mind to distract me so i'm able to fully focus.

and thank you! i'm not sure i've shown too much of myself on here... but still, thanks! that's also very cute! love some good dad vibes. and the kids love it too apparently!

i do miss my family often. but i know it's better this way! i especially miss my dog and my dad. my dad's like my best friend. i also miss my little brother. he's an adult now too and lives on his own, we kind of grew apart. used to be really close. oh well. my mom on the other hand... let's just say it's complicated. she was my abuser and we were regular clients of the child protective services who ended up not doing Shit about the situation, mostly because my mom's a great manipulator. but i got out of that house and that's all that matters! better late than never.

[warlordess]

Ooooh mind telling us about the stobin paranoia one? Or the country club meet cute?

Oh gawd, oh gawd; my dumbass critical anxiety (on top of being exhausted after working 32 hours in two days; tbh it's mostly that second thing) kept me from answering this until now.

I do want to remind whoever, including OP, that I don't really have anything more than bare bones synopses for any of the ideas I mentioned. Also, i haven't talked up a thing I've created in so long that I don't know if I remember how.

That being said, another Steddie acquaintance, @ataliagold (go read their Steddie things maybe?? They're very good, gimme just the right amount of yummy whump) asked me about both of these in PMs so I have shared a little bit about each and they liked both concepts a lot, which gave me some courage.

So, anyway, as for the Stobin paranoia fic, which I've wondered if perhaps "paranoia" is too strong a word but eeeh... Basically, it takes place right after Starcourt (maybe like the week following or so). It's pretty well-established that Steve and Robin were still at least a bit high and hopped up on truth serum during The Bathroom Talk, not to mention the memory blurring is probably even more effed up by Steve's 74th concussion in three years (lol... sorta), so Steve gets it in his head that he somehow forced Robin to come out to him and, knowing how important safety is for a hidden queer person, especially in a place like Hawkins, he starts spiraling and isolating from her. He doesn't deserve to have his person if he has to manipulate them into divulging their secrets to him after all, she's far better off without the resident douchenozzle, Steve Harrington, invading her space and privacy and having any intimate (platonic) expectations of their relationship. While he's all in his own head about that, Robin starts coming around to check on him, only to realize she's being ignored. This causes her to eventually start spiraling too - of course the great King Steve couldn't handle being friends with a fucking dyke, of course he would snub her after the smoke and fog cleared and he remembered that she'd spurned his advances, what a load of crock, she should have known better - thus their newly formed super bond starts having holes drilled into it... Anyway, the fic is about that whole misunderstanding and them trying to work through it. I just love that kinda trope 'cause I'm the worst.

As for the Steddie country club meet-cute, it starts off similarly to a couple other fics I've read here Eddie is forced to go straight (financially only) after Reefer Rick is arrested and his supply dries up and the cops have hounded him and Wayne enough times and etc. He ends up employed at the semi-local country club predominantly as a caddy. Decent pay, some tips even, enough downtime while standing on the sidelines and aimlessly following his current client around that he can think up some future campaign ideas... and, early on, another perk introduced is his good-looking apparent coworker (who he unfortunately crosses paths with while coworker is being reamed by one of the more infamous club members). He and Steve pass each other a few more times and begin engaging, closing some distance until it's unfortunately revealed that Steve is NOT his coworker and is in fact closely related to the rich fucker that was seen yelling at him on day one. He had a good excuse for being in uniform that first time but has obviously decided to lie in order to fuck with Eddie every day since.

Well, anyway, those are the general premises of those particular fics. I feel like I gave too much away but also like I didn't really say anything at all. Lol.

[tennessoui]

miss kit i was just at a wedding and the people who caught the bouquet and the garter didn’t know each other but they were talking and made to dance and i low key think that would be a cute au obi catches the bouquet anakin catches the garder and made to dance w each other ending w then getting together would be a great idea. what do u think?

That is so sweet!!!! I love wedding adjacent aus tbh, like where one’s the best man, one’s the man of honor; one’s the best friend, one’s the father of the bride (hot); one’s the caterer, one’s the brother;

I feel like in this one, one’s the wedding cake baker, the other is the wedding planner and they hate each other but goddamn if anakin doesn’t make the best damn lemon and blackberry 4 tiered cake in the area even if he is an absolute asshole. Obi-Wan works with him out of necessity because his clients deserve the best but they hate each other

But since this time Anakin actually knows the wedding party, he’s invited to the actual wedding so he’s there and Obi-Wan is there and they catch the bouquet and garter and have the most sexually charged dance in history.

(Obi-Wan sees Anakin and he’s loudly complaining about the NERVE of him! He comes here and upstages the bride???)

(Someone looks at him and he’s like i dont get it he’s just some dude.)

(Meanwhile Anakin overhears someone criticizing the wedding colors/theme and goes batshit defending Obi-Wan because it’s not HIS fault the couple chose such bad colors.)