#nothing special about the date of this post creation

[notecapn]

do you remember the rumours that Heizou had a moustache? the ones before his release? no? yeah me neither

[spr1ngbunni]

Stress Relief (William Afton x Reader)

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Summary: Reader is stressed out as usual and William takes things into his own hands to relieve your stress.

Tags: nsfw, smut, vaginal sex, overstimulation, corruption, daddy kink, drugging (but the reader is into it LMAO), age regression if you squint, choking, multiple orgasms, creampie, breeding kink, toys, soft!dom!William, submissive!soft!reader

author’s note: AAAAAAA here’s my first William x Reader smut fic i’m a bit shy to post this tbh 🤧. This definitely isn’t for everyone as there’s some very self indulgent kinks but regardless I hope you enjoy!! Also no beta LETS GOOOOOO

Word count: 4k

You & William have been dating for a few weeks now, and you couldn't have asked for a better lover. He was the richest man in Hurricane, with an empire so great he could care for you, a whole family and more. His tall frame domineered in every room he was in. His usual bored, uninterested gaze always turned to one filled with love and admiration when pointed in your direction. William considered himself God, a man who created life itself, and every person in Hurricane was so much lesser than him, less smart, less powerful, less brilliant, except for you. You were his treasure, his most precious belonging. You belonged to him. Such a darling little thing for Mr. Afton.

You were always so kind to him, and he adored your sweet voice, kind eyes and he believed you to be absolutely ravishing. You had to be his, all his, and you took to his advances so well.

William had never loved like this before. Hell, he didn't even know a love like this could exist. William Afton was a whore, and despite this, his many partners in the past could never amount to how you made him feel.

Really there was nothing like it. He had remembered the first time he held you- you were a crying touch starved mess, and William’s gentle affection brought you to tears. And in his embrace sparked a unique, unforgettable and esoteric feeling. As you cried, you couldn't help but feel like a kid again, running to your Dad for comfort… and for William, he was a Father again, holding his newborn baby as they cried and cried. Gently rocking you in his arms to soothe your quivering, emotional self.

Since then the dynamics really shifted between you and William. Whereas he becomes more of a dom and caretaker than a traditional boyfriend. And you have loved it so much. Some people may say he was too controlling… But it was a comfort to you. You were always stressed, worrying about every little thing, and what kind of Daddy would he be if he didn’t help his baby bunny? So of course Daddy will help you out, pick out what you’re gonna wear for the day, what to eat… All he wanted was the best for his baby.

Which is why he made you a special little gift. You have been stressing out more than usual as of late, so William has taken the executive decision to remove every last bit of stress from you. And with this-

William held up a mechanical device underneath the blinding bulb of the overhead lamp sitting above his workbench. He inspected it for any imperfections. The device itself was sleek and smooth, a plastic outer shell, in the shape of an egg-like structure. The top had an opening, fit with soft smooth silicone. The opening was no more than a few inches deep, and at the base of the toy was a more phallic silicone object. All waterproof and skin safe of course.

William smiled at himself in self satisfaction. He had made great unbelievable advancements with his robotics, so certainly machines of this nature wouldn't be difficult for him to replicate.

Toys were no new thing for you and William, but it would be the first time he built one for you. Completely tailored to your body, your greatest weakest points all taken into account upon creation. To have William’s precious baby bunny come undone from his own creations, was an exhilarating thought. One that practically made his pants tighten at the mere thought.

After feeling satisfied with the aesthetics of it, William decided to try the power. A few second long press of the button and the little toy came to life. A soft humming resonated through the workshop, and William carefully examined the toy. Pressing the opening to his hand he smiled.

Just the right amount of vacuum pressure, vibration, and the pulsating inner core really tied it all together. His hand slid to the phallic object on the other end of the toy, wrapping around it tight, imagining his hand to be your inner core gripping onto it. He smiled once more as his hand ached, just knowing the thousands of nerve endings in your cute little pussy would be no match.

Yes this will do. This certainly will do.

It would take away his baby bunny’s stress but even their mind as well… Though this was no concern for William, you are his bunny after all, and that includes having ownership over your mind. He’ll take good care of it as he does you…

Though his little excursion didn't end there. Once the toy was all set he grabbed a miscellaneous dime bag, filled with crystalline substances and headed upstairs into the kitchen.

He loves his baby bunny he really does. And he’s so proud of them for working so hard. But his bunny works too hard sometimes, not knowing when to stop. Even he struggled to get his bunny to rest.. Some nights William had to physically pull you away from work and into bed… and with the amount of stress you’ve been harboring as of late… William wasn’t taking any chances! So of course he needed to take things into his own hands.

He was cooking dinner for you, and upon plating the servings did he make sure to incorporate a decent dose of the crystallized powder into your serving. He hummed in satisfaction and returned to waiting for your arrival.

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The familiar sound of the door locks unlatching brought upon William’s attention.

“I’m homee !” your voice called out, completely intertwined with stress and exhaustion.

Oh poor baby, you sounded so stressed..

William rushed over to greet you, cupping your face in his hands and pressing kisses all over.

“Welcome home Sweetie”

You giggled at the sensation of his beard and kisses tickling your face. You wrapped your arms around him tight as he showered you with his love.

William rubbed your back soothingly and gave you a gentle pat.

“Aww my poor baby…”, he cooed, running his hands through your hair soothingly.

“I can feel the tension in you…Why don't you let me take good care of you. I made dinner already so why don’t we get all cleaned up and eat hm?”

You pull yourself slightly away from him, not enough to fully separate yourself from him and nod.

“Yes.. that would be so nice” you respond, the sound of exhaustion in your voice apparent.

William hummed in satisfaction and scooped you up to head towards the bathroom. He turned the knob on the shower on and began to gingerly undress you, leaving gentle kisses on your bare skin whenever exposed. He really had to hold himself back from going overboard, there would be plenty of time for that later, but for now he just needed to care for his bunny a little bit.

Once declothed the both of you entered the shower, water now hot enough to your liking. You found yourself hugging Will again, feeling affectionate. The vague weariness in your limbs causing you to lean into him exhaustively.

“My poor baby, all stressed and tired” William squeezes you tight before running his hands down your body. He reached over for the soap to begin cleaning you, keeping you close.

Letting William bathe you like this was always so intimate and sweet. It really highlighted the more gentle side of himself. The way he worked was focused, methodical, similar to him cleaning his animatronics, and with that spark in his eye. That spark that said “This is mine”

Once clean, you both head to the kitchen to eat. You already feel so much better, the heat from the water and Will’s gentle affection soothing your body and mind.

You sat down at the table already feeling much better, and now noticing your hunger. Will returned from the kitchen with two plates of food, setting yours right in front of you.

“Aw Will, it’s so sweet of you to have cooked for us, its like you’re the housewife for a change” you joke, as Will cooking was rare. You tended to cook for the both of you like the sweet housewife you were to him.

Will chuckled in response “You’ll always be my little housewife bunny, plus, how could I not take care of my baby?”

You smile at his words and begin to eat.

“This is delicious! Thank you again Will” though you noticed something was off with the aftertaste. It was almost sour. Maybe William wasn’t the best cook but you paid no mind to it. You just pushed past it and continued to finish your plate.

“You don’t have to thank me bunny, I’m just taking care of you” he smiled.

As you finished your plate, you noticed the beginnings of a sensation pooling in your stomach. You could feel your head start to feel a bit hazy. It felt as if… something was kicking in? You shook your head, choosing to ignore it and finish your meal.

But the feelings only increased. Your vision shifted in and out of focus and you squirmed in your seat.

“What’s the matter?” William reached across the table and grasped your hand, rubbing soothing circles onto the back of it.

“I’m-I’m fine really, just a little dizzy” you go to stand up and thats when it really hits you.

You stumbled and Will was quick to catch you, getting up from his seat and headed towards you, wrapping you tight in his arms.

“Whoa there sweetie ! Be careful !”

“Aahh Will, I feel weird, like something is kicking in” You hold onto the man tight, feeling your head go more and more numb. The warm feelings increased and spread throughout your whole body. Being so close to Will and simply just touching him made it worse. Did being this close to him always feel this good?

His scent; cigarettes, cologne and a secret third thing that was just so purely William filled your senses as he held you close. And the tactile feeling of his soft shirt and warmth of his body was just so intoxicating.

“W…..Will, Did you drug the food…? I’m not mad… just wondering..” You nuzzle him affectionately and glance up at him with those sweet eyes of yours.

He smiles at you in return, petting you lovingly.

“Aww baby I had to! You were so stressed and upset I couldn’t just leave you like that… and you’re a very good bunny you always are.. but sometimes you don’t listen and won’t rest.. So Daddy needed to give you special medicine to help you relax is all. I just want the best for you”

You let out a soft whine as the drug continues to assault your system, and Will’s sweet words bounce around in your brain, registering purely as pleasure.

“Daddyyy… I love you Daddy… so good to me.. taking care of me like this”

You couldnt help but feel a rush of excitement over the situation. How Will loved you. Loved you so much he’d do anything to make you feel better. To even go as far as to drug you as a way to release you from your stress had your head spinning and your pussy throbbing.

“Now sweet bunny why don’t we get you to bed hm? So Daddy can help scrub away whatever stressful little things are left in that pretty head of yours”

William scooped you up once again and took you to the bedroom, making sure to leave a long kiss on your forehead, pouring all his love into it.

“There we are…. Now how are you feeling?”

Daddy sat on the bed as you lay next to him.

He gazed down at you, gently petting your hair, occasionally running his thumb across your cheek affectionately.

“Mm feeling all floaty… its nice…. want.. want Daddy closer” You reached out to him, wanting to hold him close.

“Of course darling” William moved across the bed to hold you tight, increasing his petting to your whole body. He ran his hands down your arms, your side, down your thighs and back up, repeating the motion, each time creeping closer and closer to your inner thighs.

All you could do was babble and whine as you regressed into a more docile and dumbed down version of yourself. High off the pleasure from the chemicals of the drug and your Daddy’s gentle touches and words.

William loved seeing you like this, all dumb and sweet for him. Seeing every last bit of stress leave your face, seeing you relax into him, unable to even form coherent sentences. He leaned down to kiss your face again, in between muttering words of praise.

“My bunny, so good for me”

You wriggled and whined, feeling increasingly needy as he continued. Eventually you couldn’t take it and captured his lips in a deep kiss.

Though you were the one who initiated the kiss, you were quickly put into submission as William took control, holding you firmly in place as he kissed you so deeply.

His hand dips in between your thighs as he lightly sucks on your tongue, rubbing gently over your clothed clit.

William smiled through the kiss and pressed his hand harder onto your cunt. He didnt move for a few seconds, but held his hand still, pressing into the dampening fabric. The firm pressure of his hand on your crotch made your head melt even further. Feeling the edges of your mind slip away as he continues rubbing you deeper into submission.

“Aww is my baby getting needy?”

You continue to make sweet noises for him, and he gently shushes and pets your hair, slipping his hand into your panties to touch you directly.

Your reaction is immediate.

You gasp out as your head spins. The feeling of his fingers on you is such a simple action, yet its breaking you apart.

“Such a good bunny for Daddy, taking pleasure so well” William kisses your forehead and removes his hand from your crotch and roughly pulls your panties down and off of your body. Then, he aligns his hips with your crotch and begins to grind against your bare cunt.

You can feel yourself soaking the front of his pants, the rough fabric and his hardening cock grinding into your overly sensitive pussy.

“Ddadddyyy too much ahhh—!” you cry out as he roughly ruts against you.

Your head still spinning you feel William grip your hips and push them against his, ignoring your cry.

“You’re all mine bunny, this cute little cunt of yours belongs to me ”

William wraps his arm around your waist and pushes you ever closer to him. His hips began to increase in pace as you start to cry out for him over and over. Leading into an explosive climax, you cum all over him, feeling a rush of wetness between the both of you.

William continues grinding into you, overstimulating you but not too much.

This was just the beginning, and he couldn’t get too carried away just yet. And look how cute you were, cumming all over his clothed hard crotch.

William kisses your forehead, and leans close to your ear and speaks lowly,

“Darling, I have a surprise for you,”

“Wha? Daddy?” You barely could register what he was saying to you, your mind melded with the drug and the overwhelming high of post orgasm bliss and overstimulation.

William reached into the nightstand to reveal a lewd looking object, clearly a sex toy that he himself had engineered.

“This is made especially for you my princess,” he leaned back over to you on the bed and started peppering your face with kisses.

Sliding his hand down your body he gently rubbed you again, and with his other hand clicked on the toy.

A humming vibrating noise filled the room along with your uneven breaths, your brain now registering just what he was talking about.

William went on to explain the toys functionality, in the same way he would go on about his own animatronic creations. Methodical and professional, his voice confident and unwavering as if he didn’t have a trembling little bunny beneath him.

“This here is for your clit. The opening is fit with soft silicone. I just know how sensitive you are there sweetie, its one of your weakest points and Daddy just can’t help but play with it hm?”

“When I place it on you,” William held the toy firmly against you,

“there’ll be a bit of vacuum suction and vibration of course, all meant to overwhelm your cute little clit with pleasure”

Before you even had the chance to respond William clicked the toy on, and your response was immediate.

“Dadddyyyyyy—!”

Your clit is sucked up gently into the toy exposing every sensitive nerve to devilish vibration.

Your hips jerk upwards and William pins you down firmly, pressing the toy ever so slightly harder into your supple flesh.

Its pleasure like you’ve never felt before. Your weakest point manipulated solely by your Daddy’s creation.

You writhe under his grasp, crying out broken moans and whines of “Daddy” fully melting underneath his assault directly on your clit. And it just keeps going.

It’s only seconds before you’re cumming again, and again, and again. Completely overwhelmed with continuous orgasms, your body unable to handle the newfound pleasure that has been bestowed upon you.

“Shhh sweetie its okay. Just keep cumming for Daddy alright?” William’s voice is sickeningly sweet, laced with lust as he continues pushing his creation harder onto your clit, upping the power even more.

“Too much Daddy— its too—!” tears slip out your eyes, completely overwhelmed with mind numbing pleasure.

“Aww my poor baby” William leans down to capture your lips in a deep kiss to shush you, wiping away your tears. You can barely kiss him back, just crying out as he dominates your whole being completely.

After he pulls a few more orgasms out of you he finally puts the toy to rest. He kisses you deeply, his feverish movements now slow and intimate. He sets the toy aside and rubs his hands soothingly up and down your body. He breaks his kiss with you and gently wipes your tears away. He then kisses down your body, leaving marks at your neck, down your chest, kissing softly on your tummy.

Once his face greets your overstimulated, swollen pussy he gently pushes a single digit into you. You’re tight, but due to your arousal and subsequent orgasms you’re cunt is more receptive to the intrusion.

He pushes his finger in and out slowly as you begin to whine again when his finger curls just right inside of you. He stretches you out slowly and fully, inserting another finger.

“Good bunny, taking my fingers so well”

Once he feels satisfied with his work, he reaches back for the toy, this time his attention on the other side of the object. He clicks on the button and teases your entrance with it. Your clit still buzzing and your head still melting, you cry out as you feel William push in the vibrator. Your walls clench against the vibrating toy, already feeling pleasure heat you up once again.

William wraps you into his arms and kisses you again as the toy assaults your insides.

At this point your head is mush, overwhelmed with so much bliss as Daddy cares for you. Every worry and every bit of stress you carried completely melting out of you. Your head lulls and William holds you up

“Don’t go out on me now sweetie, Daddy isn’t done with you yet. I still have to breed that tight little cunt of yours”

“Daddyyy please—-“

“Wanna feel you deep inside—!”

You whine out feeling your cunt overwhelmed with pleasure as the toy inside you continues to buzz. It feels so good but it isn’t Daddy. And you want Daddy’s thick cock and virile seed inside of you, desperately.

“No need to beg sweetheart Daddy’s got you” he pulls the toy out of you, then undoing his belt and fly, pulling his straining cock out his pants. He strokes himself a few times kissing the corners of your mouth as you gasp for breath.

He lines himself up with your heated core and slowly pushes himself in. Savoring the feeling of your tight heat with every inch.

“Biiiig stretch bunny” William completely sheaths himself inside of you, and you can feel your walls stretch to accommodate his large size. He’s much bigger than the toy so its quite the fit. You feel him snug against your cervix and you let out a drawn out moan as you’re completely filled with Daddy’s cock.

“Nggghhhh… so deep Daddy”

Slowly and firmly he presses even deeper before sliding out slightly. Sensually and gently fucking into you.

Your head spins, your breath quickens, your mind completely hazy as you take your Daddy’s cock so deep inside.

William presses his forehead against yours and intertwines his fingers with your trembling hands.

“My sweet baby bunny, you’re so good for me”

You can only moan in response, completely incoherent as the drug pulses through your veins and pleasure spreading from your cunt to your entire body.

William languidly fucks into you, wrapping his arms around you tight. He lifts your hips and pulls all the way out leaving your hole clenching on nothing for a brief second before he slams himself in again. This time rough and even deeper, practically bruising your cervix.

You cry out as William ruts into you at a rough pace, all his inhibitions gone. He loved toying with you, but he’s just been aching to be inside you all day.

“Ahh— Haah Daddyyy—!”

“Good bunny taking Daddy’s cock so well. Gonna breed you so fucking good”

William continues his brutal pace, bringing one of his hands to your throat and pressing down firmly. You gasp and squirm under his touch, bringing your hands to his, feeling the strength of his grip on your sensitive neck.

Your head becomes impossibly even hazier as Daddy presses his hand tighter onto your throat. You glance up at him and see nothing but love and adoration in his eyes. His precious bunny was being so good for him. Taking his cock so well while he choked you. He truly loved you so much.

Your hips lift up to take him as deep as possible, lewd wet sounds filling the room. Nothing but pleasure is coursing through your veins and in that pretty little head of yours.

“Look at my baby bunny, taking a proper fucking from Daddy, yeah?”

“Ahh- Haah fuck so good Daddy!”

William releases your throat from his grip and reaches over and grabs the toy again, pressing it on once more.

You gasp for air and once the sound of vibration hits your ears you feel yourself ache again.

“Daddy I can’t-“

before you even finish your sentence the toy is back on your clit, sucking and vibrating the oversensitive nub.

You cry out a broken scream as the sensations of being ruthlessly bred and your clit stimulated at the same time overwhelming your poor bunny brain as you cum all over again, clenching around William’s cock.

“Feels good doesn’t it princess?”

“Gonna fill your womb with my cum. Gonna make you a mommy” William groans out, watching your fucked out expression as he rams himself deep inside you.

Your mind goes nearly blank at the thought of carrying his child and William notices, and that look alone brings him to the edge. He curses as he feels himself spill inside you, thrusting and pushing his cum deep into your womb. He leans into the crook of your neck and groans as he feels you squeeze him so nicely.

“Such a nice hole for me to fuck…such a pretty womb all for Daddy to ruin”

“Mmm—! Daddyyy love you so muuuuch—!” You cry out, wrapping your arms around him tight, tears spilling out your eyes once more.

“Love you too bunny” William kisses you deeply, keeping eye contact with you as he does. You cum around his cock again, milking him for all he’s worth. He keeps lazily thrusting and sets the toy aside, settling on rubbing your sensitive nub in slow, soothing circles.

You continue to throb and clench around him involuntarily, softly panting in your post orgasm bliss.

“Mmm my pretty bunny”

William pets your hair softly, moving a strand out of your face.

You’re completely gone at this point, William having corrupted you completely and fully. Turning his sweet little stressed bunny into his pleasure filled fucktoy.

He kisses you again, gently and soft.

“Love you my sweet princess” he whispers, watching as you lose consciousness there in his arms.

[ollieolliewrld]

DMC AND HSR WRITER?????!?!????? i think im in heaven omg. dante and argenti with an s/o who bakes for them?!!??!!! pretty please??!??!! (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

OH, this is adorable >.< I will let you know right now I will be making this request into full posts soon bc my heart is so happy with this idea!! <3

0.6k words

Dante

♡He is the happiest man on planet Earth with this

♡As much as he prides himself on his body he cannot resist your creations

♡At first, he was a little weirded out as he is not used to people doing kind things for him 

♡But he sees that you do this out of love and each of your dishes is made special for him

♡This made him emotional when he realized that

♡Knowing that you love him so much that you take the time out of your day to prepare sweets for him brought him to tears

♡Dante starts calling you names like, “Sweets”, “Angel Cake”, and “Honey Buns”, partially as a joke partially because he thinks the look you give him when he calls you those names is adorable

♡He has tried to join you in the kitchen and he was actually pretty good 

♡Granted all he was making were chocolate chip cookies, he knows that baking is important to you so he does his best to respect your craft

♡Loves to come up behind you and wrap his arms around your waist while you work

♡He won't be in your way but he adores to spend time with you while you are doing something you love

♡To date, there have been exactly 4 flour fights that ended with you cracking an egg on his head 

♡He cleans you up after and makes sure nothing important was ruined

♡Dante is the type of guy who will bring some of your baked goods into Devil May Cry and brag that these delicious treats were made by his loving and beautiful s/o

♡Literally will not stop, the entire day he is just singing your praise to everyone around him

Argenti

♡This man was so taken back when you first presented him with beautifully decorated cupcakes

♡Here you are the definition of beauty creating baked goods that are not only beautiful in appearance but also taste

♡Argenti is always so excited to try everything you make 

♡Your relationship is so cute because he likes to bring you gifts and you like to bake him things 

♡It is such a loving bond that you share everyone around you is jealous

♡He is not much of a baker but wants to learn the proper way to frost things

♡Argenti would like to be able to spend time with you and add to what you do so aiding you in decorating would be his thing

♡Whatever you make does not just get eaten it is savored 

♡He likes to take the time to fully immerse himself in what you’ve made picking out every taste note 

♡Very much the type of lover to get you both matching aprons that say something cliche like “kiss the chef”

♡This is mainly done so that every time you put it on he has no excuse to not walk over and immediately place a kiss on your lips

♡He feels very lucky to have found a s/o that has such a talent

♡The fact that you have such a cute hobby is one of his favorite things about you

♡He is also the type to now refuse to eat any baked good that was not made by you

♡Once he has tasted the best how could he have anything else?

♡Is convinced that your love and care are what make your baking so good

♡Argenti can also taste how you were feeling through your baking

♡If you ever made him a pie while you were sad he would know within the first bite and then be off on a mission to cure your sadness

[doctor-badadvice]

This man has not updated his wardrobe since 1947

There's already a few posts discussing outfits and symbolism and while I found them very interesting, I'm a person of strong opinions now writing two characters with chess related names. So here's my two cents (or should I say, nickels) about Bishop's appearance throughout the 2003 show and what tells us about the specific moment of his life that's being portrayed. The focus will be mainly on the palette, but also on whatever influences are behind the designs.

So let's get started!

1815 — Battle of New Orleans

Here's the first disclaimer. I know next to nothing about US history past what little school required me to learn and generically speaking, I've never been interested in the nuances of how people come together to kill each other. History classes were far more interesting to me when we talked about society and culture. So take what I'll say with a grain of salt. My military expertise here is a couple Wikipedia pages.

As far as Bishop's uniform goes, I have no idea what's going on. I read that uniforms were supposedly mainly blue with whatever color corresponded to what the unit's duty was, with the exception of musicians who had their colors swapped. If that's true, Bishop here could have been a musician having a not so great day at work. But the field medics later in the flashback are wearing the same color so it's probably just a choice to keep the color palette consistent.

Other than that, the belt would suggest he had some kind of rank. Though I don't think they were trying to be accurate past the bare minimum. I'm not going to guess what Bishop was up to in his mortal days.

Also, a special mention goes to Bishop's facial hair. He must have been popular in his time.

1870 — Creation of EPF

This is where colors start being relevant but first, another disclaimer. I appreciate the work wiki editors do, but it would be nice to have sources to whatever's stated on a given page, especially if you're providing estimated dates. I can't say I disagree, but it'd be nice to know where the information comes from.

So the wiki says that Bishop was supposedly born in 1776. It means that at the time of EPF's foundation he was nearing his hundredth birthday. No wonder he's dressing in all black. The average life expectancy at the time was about 40 years old. It's very possible Bishop had already outlived most, if not everyone he knew and it's probably something one would struggle to come to terms with.

Design wise, turtlenecks were nothing new at the time. Medieval knights wore garments in a similar shape under their armors well before the 15th century. And yes, I guess that's more of a coat than the average tactical turtleneck, but it still gives him a hitman, or even hunter vibe which is more or less what he was up to at the time.

1947 Roswell. New Mexico/present times

I can finally explain the title now. But first, let’s take a step back!

Bishop’s default outfit is the secret agent outfit™ we’re all well accustomed to. Specifically, I think the closest he takes inspiration from is Agent Smith from the Matrix movies (as I previously mentioned here). Guy in a black suit with shades, apparently impeccable self control and a distinctive way of talking that compels you to listen to him.

There’s so much to say about motivations and themes these two share, but let's focus on the aesthetic side.

These two fools are men in black. Yes, like the movies. The whole trope originates from some old conspiracy theories about the US government hiding aliens. These theories date all the way back to 1947 from some guy named Harold Dahl claiming a man in a dark suit told him not to tell anyone about some UFO sightings. Various fellow ufologists made similar claims over the years, making it a staple of their general paranoia.

Because of the second flashback, it’s possible that Bishop himself was one of these men in black, if not the one the rumors started from. It's a funny thought and I feel like Bishop would also find it amusing to watch people lose their minds about his fashion choices for decades.

Color wise, white has been added to the mix. It’s been a while now since the creation of EPF and Bishop has found some kind of balance in his life. He’s still dead set in his hatred for aliens and clearly enjoys inflicting pain on creatures he sees as undeserving of basic human decency, but he now has some purpose other than looking at the sky for something to shoot down. He leads an elite task force with men and funding devoted to developing a proper defense of the planet. He’s a foe not to be underestimated and a formidable fighter who can and will take on multiple opponents. But he’s also a very scared man who doesn’t wish what happened to him on anyone.

I often praise the show because Bishop can survive getting impaled but he still remains human. He will react with sheer violence to aggression and reform his ways when shown kindness. He will happily stick his hands in turtle soup for some DNA, but also be the best man at his friend's wedding and even attempt dressing up for the occasion despite having been deprived of normal human interactions for more than a century.

(I know it's a little cluttered in this point but I can't just leave out Casual Friday Bishop)

Design wise, I like just how an otherwise elegant attire works during the fight scenes and this detail specifically.

This man’s power is stored in the leggy.

Interlude

So this pic above is me right now.

For context, I usually consider the episodes of the staged alien invasion to the outbreak as part of the same arc. The entire situation is absolutely absurd from Bishop dragging the president into his fanfiction in response to budget cuts, to Baxter's bodily misadventures, to Bishop making a deal with a random ghost over the phone while New York is turning into yet another Umbrella Corp mishap.

But anyways we're here to judge this man's fashion taste and we have two outfits to talk about.

First off, a special mention goes to the catsuit and this pose specifically.

The sass is off the charts.

Though I find this one kind of depressing. There isn't a lot to read in it either other than Baxter grabbing the most generic tactical turtleneck for the sake of keeping Bishop from walking around bare chested (and the scene before this pic clearly shows Bishop isn't afraid to show some titty). But seeing him in all black right after moving to a new body kinda points out that Agent Bishop, leader of the EPF, is kinda on par with a piece of military equipment (and the president probably sees him as much to an extent). He's the mold for an army of supersoldiers for crying out loud.

But he switches back to the usual suit afterwards and what matters here is the supersuit.

S3 onward

Imagine being an alien, member of the starfleet of your planet and senior officer of the invading force tasked with taking over Earth. You have trained hard, wargamed the whole operation a bunch of times and concluded that it will be piss easy to conquer this underdeveloped planet.

You reach the surface, get into formation and then this nerd rolls up.

The best way to describe this suit is "hostile". It's hostile to the animators and to whoever has to stare at this eyesore before Bishop shoots at them.

And I love it. There's nothing quite like a black and red suit of armor with various cybernetics and lights to say that you mean business. It goes very well with how the stakes just start steadily rising from this point of the show onwards and seeing as the suit was ready during the staged invasion, we know that Bishop never really planned to retire after unleashing his army of clones.

It adds that extra bit of cyberpunk that I like to see and it shows that Bishop never truly gives up on anything since we have actually seen this design before.

Bishop was so proud of his Slayer he just stuck with him in spirit.

Couple that with a new coat to take off for extra dramatic effect and— maybe the president was right about not trusting him with unlimited budget.

2105 — New York apparently

Another century has passed and Bishop is still alive and kicking. Well, he doesn't kick as much anymore as it would be unbecoming if the beloved president of the Pan-Galactic Alliance were to go around kicking alien butt.

Jokes aside, you can disagree with Bishop's portrayal in Fast Forward, but they were still trying to do something meaningful with him. The idea of the turtles having to work with him when they were trying to kill each other just the other day is surprisingly deep for a season that felt the need to have the most unfunny robobutler ever.

They were clearly attempting a chess joke switching the palette to white with black streaks. Bishop has completely turned his life around and it even shows in the way he presents himself. It's nice to see just how much he managed to accomplish as well, even though it would have been very interesting to see him have a gradual change of mind, rather than selling us the concept through timeskip magic.

Does the design still hold up then?

Well, Bishop is clearly making an effort to look the least intimidating. He is fairly more patient when others don't immediately do as he says, even asking for help rather than blackmailing, and is still commendably dedicated to his job. He still asserts dominance by showing leggy (seriously, Mr President, that slit doesn't have to go this hard) and he's still deep down, at all times, ready to throw hands.

That's Bishop alright and it's no coincidence that he starts running around shooting aliens the second Baxter shows up in his life again. I'm not much of a fan of his new armor though. I think they were going for a futuristic design but it's the blandest they could think of. It reminds me of Obi-Wan Kenobi's armor in The Clone Wars but it just kinda comes out of nowhere. It would have been cooler if his tunic turned into a set of armor kinda like what the turtles got.

In any case, if you really want to see reformed Bishop really shine, you should check out @adenthemage / @violetvulpini 's art. You will not be disappointed.

[butterflydm]

WoT reread: The Strike at Shayol Ghul & some final thoughts, post-reread

So, I was not planning to do a full reread back when I first picked EotW back up again! My primary motivation was to refresh myself on books 1-3 so that I would be prepared for S2 of the show, lol.

But I'm glad that I did this reread. There was a lot in the books that I had forgotten or where I'd bought into the fandom party line despite the books themselves not supporting the arguments imo, so it was great to dive into them again and see what I think and not simply what general fandom thinks. Thanks so much to everyone who commented on or interacted with my reread posts. <3

While this next bit is technically not a reread because I never got around to reading it when it first came out, I went ahead and read "The Strike at Shayol Ghul" (written in 1996 by Jordan). Thanks to @wafflelovingbatgirl for reminding me about its existence! I may try to get around to reading "River of Souls" (about Demandred, by Sanderson) at some point, but TSaSG was easy to find online.

here there be spoilers

The Strike at Shayol Ghul

It's pretty short -- it's "an introduction" written by someone in-world -- Jorille Mondevin, who is the Royal Historian for the Queen of Kandor. Looks like the Queen that we know in the series -- Queen Ethenielle. Nice. I always enjoy 'in-world" texts, so this is very interesting.

She's telling the queen about a recent discovery of a "partial copy" of a "history of the world" from the drilling of the Bore until the end of the Breaking of the World. We get a worldbuilding note here: that the practice of printing survived the Breaking "when so much did not", which helps explain the high literacy level in the Westlands. While many inventions were lost, the printing press survived! Though most of the actual writings were lost during the Trolloc Wars and the War of the Hundred Years.

"We must marvel at any writing that has survived more than three thousand years." So true, bestie. (I've decided that Jorille and I are besties) "What we know is based on fragments, copied and recopied a thousand times, but at least we know something from them. Even a little knowledge is better than ignorance."

I love how this feeds into the basic concept we're dealing with -- history becomes legend. We're talking about that process here, of knowledge being reduced to fragments that are passed on.

Oh, man, reading this does remind me about reading about IRL fragmentary texts. "Such a history would no doubt be a vast, multi-volume work, yet of the two hundred and twelve surviving pages, the largest number of consecutive pages number six, and nowhere else more than two."

She notes that the dates given in the text make no sense, because "no calendar dating from the Age of Legends has ever been found". There are references both to large-scale events such as cities destroyed by balefire during the War of the Shadow, as well as mentions of individuals' personal appearances. But nothing that tells the special significance of most of the people mentioned.

The six consecutive pages that survived are of particular interest, because they are about the sealing of the Bore by Lews Therin Telamon and the Hundred Companions.

"We still cannot be certain how long passed between the creation of the Bore and the actual beginning of what would come to be called the War of the Shadow, yet plainly at least fifty years and possibly more than one hundred were marked by a rapid decline in the social order". During the first three years of the War of the Shadow, the Shadow made great in-roads and then during the next four, Lews Therin pushed them back to reclaim some of what was lost.

But ultimately, the Shadow began to prevail because it did not care if it left disaster in its wake. It was soon clear that they were losing again and their losses were accelerating. "If they were to win at all, it must be done quickly".

There were two plans proposed at the time that are mentioned here: first Lews Therin's idea of directly attacking the Bore itself. The Seals were going to be used to shut the Dark One away from the world. The plan was considered risky due to the Dark One's influence on the immediate area surrounding Shayol Ghul, with Lews Therin admitting that he expected few or perhaps none of his "raiding party" (of twenty thousand soldiers and 13 Aes Sedai) would survive. Additionally, there was a concern that if the seals were not placed in precisely the right locations, the strain of them would rip open the Bore entirely and free the Dark One.

The other plan, in opposition to this, was proposed by Latra Posae Decume. Her plan was to use two massive sa'angreal (the ones that Rand ended up using during the cleansing of saidin) to push the Shadow's forces back and erect a barrier around Shayol Ghul until... you know, they figured something better out. Downsides to this plan: the Bore has kept getting bigger since it was first drilled, so it might continue to do so behind this barrier as well, and if the Dark One got loose inside the barrier, the barrier itself might come undone under the strain.

Latra and Lews were both, apparently, very convincing speakers, with Latra getting every female Aes Sedai "of significant strength" to sign what the manuscript calls "the Fateful Accord" though Jorille doubts that's what it was called at the time. I wonder if the 'strength level' was "Nynaeve-level" or if it was lower and more like "Egwene/Elayne-level". It was believed that the signing of this accord killed Lews Therin's plan in the water, because "men cannot create a circle, only be brought into one created by a woman".

Work on the massive sa'angreal was rushed into production. There is, Jorille says, a lot of speculation among historians about whether or not the sa'angreal would have worked as Latra had proposed. She also mentions speculation about whether or not women going with Lews Therin into his plan would have protected saidin from the taint or if it would have only meant that saidar was tainted as well.

But disaster struck as the sa'angreal were completed. The place where the access ter'angreal were created (needing to be done remotely due to "uncontrolled resonances during the finale stages" -- Jorille doesn't know what that might mean, but I'm guessing it would mean feedback leading to a big boom) was overrun by Sammael and the forces of the Shadow, though they did not find the access ter'angreal.

With the sa'angreal unusable, Lews Therin argued again for his plan but Latra wouldn't budge. As time had passed, even more of the female Aes Sedai had pledged to the Accord, even though they weren't strong enough to be part of the circle anyway. "Tempers and passions rose, and an apparently unprecedented division along male-female lines began to develop among the Aes Sedai in general, if not within the Hall itself". The Hall decided to stay with Latra's plan, attempting to smuggle the access ter'angreal out of the area now controlled by Sammael.

Jorille notes that all those making the attempt to find the access ter'angreal were later found out to have been captured, tortured, and killed, though none of them betrayed the location of the ter'angreal to Sammael.

As the Shadow swept forward, there was the "re-emergence of the peace faction" who argued that negotiations should be held with the Forsaken. Jorille notes that this peace faction, over the course of the War, would send people on its own to try to negotiate with the Forsaken but, upon the return of the delegations, they would act out plans that aided the Shadow's cause "though it seems that in some instances, they were completely unaware of what they had done" (aka Compulsion).

Despite how dire the situation had grown, Latra's resistance to Lews Therin's plan held firm. "the lines of division had hardened to a point where many female Aes Sedai refused to speak to male Aes Sedai, and the reverse as well". Lews Therin decides to act on his own, without the Hall.

Jorille notes at this point that Latra had earned the name Shadar Nor, translated as "Cutter/Slicer of the Shadow" but what deeds earned her that title have been lost to history.

So, Lews Therin launches his own assault against Shayol Ghul, with the "Hundred Companions" (though Jorille says that text notes they numbered 113 at this point) and ten thousand regular soldiers.

"Exactly what occurred that day can never be known, only the results. Of the soldiers, not a single man or woman returned to give any account." It is known that the seals were placed safely, that "all thirteen of the Forsaken" were at Shayol Ghul and trapped in the sealing along with the Dark One. If that had been the only result of the attack, then the world would likely have recovered well over the next few years, Jorille speculates. "Civilization has retained a large degreee of cohesion in the ares held by the Light" and without the top generals, the armies of the Shadow fell into struggles for power among themselves. "In any case, the War of the Shadow must be said to have ended that day at Shayol Ghul."

But, Jorille adds, this was not the only result of the assault. "Instead, there was the counterstroke from the Dark One at the moment of sealing, and saidin itself was tainted." Lews Therin and his companions "went insane on the instant" and by the time the taint was discovered, hundreds more male Aes Sedai had been driven mad by the taint. "That fateful day at Shayol Ghul ended the war, and began the Breaking of the World."

She says that the manuscript itself, in its own introduction, speaks for what the people at the time were suffering: "Whoever reads this, if any remain to read it, weep for us who have no more tears. Pray for us who are damned alive."

Very informative and pretty evocative as well. One of the things that I love about WoT is the post-apocalyptic setting and one of the things that I love about that setting is learning about the world before and during the world-breaking event (one of the reasons I also love the Horizon Zero Dawn games).

I have no clue why I didn't read that back when it was first published. It's great and it's pretty short. Though I realize that a lot of that information had kinda filtered into my world-knowledge already, lol.

My personal ranklist for the WoT books:

The Fires of Heaven (😍)

The Shadow Rising (😘)

The Dragon Reborn (😘)

The Path of Daggers (😘)

New Spring (😘)

The Great Hunt (😄)

The Gathering Storm (😄)

Lord of Chaos (😄)

The Eye of the World (😄)

A Memory of Light (🙂)

Towers of Midnight (🙂)

A Crown of Swords (🙂)

Winter’s Heart (🙂)

...

...

...

...

...

Crossroads of Twilight (😒)

Knife of Dreams (😒)

While I am glad that I did a full reread this time, there are definitely parts of the books that mostly frustrated me and I'll probably just skim past them in future rereads (I suspect I will want to do at least some rereading after S2 airs) -- I'm not sure if I'll ever reread Mat & Perrin's sections of CoT & KoD again. That's essentially the heart of the Slog right there.

Some things that definitely changed for me during this reread:

a. I noticed how much shipping material there is for Cauthor as a pairing (obviously this is mostly in the first five books but there are crumbs even after they separate). Very exciting to me! I didn't go into my reread expecting much, because fanon had definitely affected my memories of Cauthor and I was assuming that their friendship permanently broke in TGH after Mat found out that Rand could channel. Very untrue! I (and many of the other readers, I must assume) was just too young to pick up on all of Mat's subtext back when I first read the books.

b. Gawyn's stock massively rose for me. One of the best points that @markantonys made to me about Gawyn is how similar his 'coping with trauma' behavior is from the outside to Rand's is -- we just spend so much more time in Rand's head that we understand him and his choices better than Gawyn's. And I think that the TV show bears that out a lot because show!Rand got a lot of the same complaints thrown at him as book!Gawyn does. I gained a lot of sympathy for Gawyn over the course of this reread.

c. Min's stock, on the other hand, massively fell. I remembered her as my least favorite of Rand's romances but was still fond of her, but wow, my reread burned away so much of that fondness. Which is kinda a shame, because now it's going to be a genuine effort to make sure that I don't hold the sins of book!Min against show!Min, whereas before I did my reread, I was liking show!Min a lot. But between her (admitted to in her own PoV!) manipulation of Rand to get him to fall in love with (the invented version of) her, the way she acts in their relationship (to pick a few things: trying to force him to be jealous because she thinks it makes the sex hotter; threatening him with knives; reading his mail and trying to burn it before he gets the chance to read it himself; punching him hard enough to make him grunt), and the way she changes herself to suit the person she believes she needs to be to get and keep Rand's attention... it's just yikes all over. She's not my least favorite character in the books, but she's definitely the character who fell the furthest down on my list after my reread.

d. While I didn't like Tuon any better in this reread, Sanderson does set up the Mat & Tuon relationship to be much less.... character-breaking for Mat than it was in CoT & KoD. Mat's brain starts working again around Tuon in AMoL and she actually experiences some minor consequences for her actions, it seems like, instead of just skating through everything on brainwashed autopilot like she did in the Jordan books. I actually feel like the Mat in AMoL is prepared to Do Something about the Seanchan Empire and slavery, while it felt like CoT & KoD Mat would have just rolled over and let Tuon do whatever she wanted because (much like Min) he'd given up his morals and personality for the sake of his prophesied romance.

e. I was able to really parse through and see what I liked and disliked about some of the 'plot shortcuts' that Jordan used -- the ta'veren shortcut of coincidences is mostly fun, because it forces the plot to happen when the main characters are there but gives an explanation for it, but it also affects random things (like people falling off buildings or the rate of weddings in a town), but wow did I dislike some of the heavy-handed romance prophecies and how they mostly seemed to be used to bypass crucial relationship development (especially in Rand/Min and Mat/Tuon).

f. There are also the two major Mat-related plotholes I noticed that still bug me so much, even now, one during Jordan-era and one during Sanderson-era:

Everyone's vow of silence about Mat being trapped in Ebou Dar (Nynaeve is the worst offender because she spends weeks/months with Rand and never bothers to tell him that his best friend was left behind in enemy territory).

Mat's magical teleportation to Ebou Dar at the start of AMoL that completely breaks the logistics of the narrative.

Both in clumsy service of attaching Mat to the Seanchan storyline At All Costs (Even Logic), which really does stand out to me as the worst plot choice that Jordan locked himself into way too early on via prophecy and then didn't know how to handle when it actually showed up on the page.

[bg3-npc]

I wanna share my "BG3 Through Fandom Osmosis" experience:

Baldur's Gate 3 has been trending frequently on here since it's release. Besides being a video game, I had zero knowledge of it. It was trending so often I'd periodically check the tag out of curiosity.

However I was never there very long, because the tag was mainly Astarion. I'd skim the few top posts and get the gist of his deal: asshole with a tragic past, vampire, you can actually fix him, ect. I saw the appeal, but it wasn't there for me personally.

I didn't look any further into the game for a while because I didn't care about the only character getting engagement. Karlach had some attention at first, and she had grabbed mine. Unfortunately, content for her subsided and became outnumbered by Astarion stuff. The only other character I saw that piqued my curiosity in the game was quickly shoved to the side in favor of the vamp.

It wasn't until I saw a post of Wyll that I found out there were other companions to play. I went back to the BG3 tag for him, and imagine my surprise when I found out everything this game has to offer. Quests, character creation, multiple choices and endings, more hours of various content than Game Of Thrones or Lord of the Rings. You name it, this game has it. You can even play without the vamp! He's not strictly necessary for game completion! Endless gameplay options, but I had no idea because I saw NO content besides Astarion.

Is it nice to see a white guy that's actually a well developed character? Obviously! I like seeing people talk about him with actual canon instead of stuff people gleamed/made up about him. (At least most of the time.) That said, it's a disservice to anyone unfamiliar/interested in this game to give Astarion sole focus.

What if, and this is blasphemous I know, someone isn't drawn in by him? If there's no content for anything else, the assumption will be he's the best part of the gaming experience. From an outside perspective, you'd think BG3 is nothing more than a ~Special White Guy~ Dating Simulator. If you have no interest in him, why would you ever look further into the game?

If there's no new people playing BG3 and/or participating in fandom, then eventually even Astarion content will run dry. I don't want that for anyone in any part of this fandom! However, you've gotta have fans of different parts of the media itself if you want to keep a fandom alive.

It's also a bit insulting to the anyone who worked on anything non-Astarion related. All the energy that went into this massive game, only for everything outside of a singular character to go mainly ignored? While I've heard the other companions are "less developed", none of them are underdeveloped. They hold different parts of the game in themselves. There's so much to learn and work off with them. You're genuinely missing out on the game by ignoring them!

General Fandom Disclaimer™️: I'm not bashing anyone's love of him. If he's what you're drawn to, he's what you like. It's not your job to make fan content or engage with anything outside of your likes. Fandom is an individual experience, not advertising or a recruiting service. It's just personally frustrating cause there's literally an entire world outside of that vampire, but you wouldn't know that from looking at this fandom.

[popcornforone]

The Speed of Silence

Mr Ben Fan Fic

I didn’t plan on going back to Mr Ben for a while. The SNL hype had dropped & I was in deep writing some other drafts I had on going. & then @alwaysdjarin tagged me in someone’s twitter post going write a scenario based on a certain idea a moot had. Here I am 12 days later publishing it.

I don’t like to big up my work but there’s a paragraph in here that I wrote & when I reread it I was like damn I wrote that. Also yes I know the book shelf picture is Rockford but it was part of the inspiration for this, so I wanted to include it.

Synopsis: Mr Ben is rumoured every year to be dating the popular girls at university, so why would he ever look at you. But then a few chance meeting & a late night study session in the library, make you both think about making those rumours true.

Word count: 5,700

Warnings: DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE UNDER 18!college professors student relationship (but you are not his student) protected PIV sex, public sex, swearing, pining, unrequited love, choking & muffling, rough, teasing flirting kissing. Eventual established relationship.

All feed back as always is welcome peoples… thanks for the read. It’s really appreciated

10pm the clocks slowly tocks past, headphones on, another coffee poured, in the university library trying to write you appendix for your art portfolio your handing in tomorrow. You knew when you looked all these artists & photographers up for inspiration you should have written down who inspired you. But no it’s now 10pm & you’re missing 8 references to submit along with your sight & sound presentation.

You know full well you don’t need the references though. Your photographs you have of traffic moving at night almost leaping out the page at you & your puddle reflection of what life should be like in the city instead for he chaos it is, speak for themselves. No matter who walks past your screen at the moment even if they don’t do the subject for your degree, just stops & does a double take. Your creation is the talk of the university be it pupils & staff or teaches.

But there’s one who’s taken a particular interest. He not your teacher. He teaches Philosophy about 5 class rooms away but he shares an office with your art & photography professor Jane. You are often popping in the office to book additional time or ask to use the larger printer. It was once when you were waiting for Jane to bring some resources back that he came in & started a conversation with you.

“So your little miss photoshop?” He says as he saw you waiting for her to return. “That I am professor, Jane has just gone to get something for me that I don’t have the funds to print off, I’ll be out of your office in 5minutes.” “Ooooh no…” he says with a slight smirk as he pops his bag on the back of the door “I’ve heard so much about this art, I want to see it what makes it so special, why is yours the talk of the campus”. He adjusts his large framed dark glasses. LIt’s nothing really I…” “you can’t say that without letting me judge it, please•”he waves a hand as he pours his coffee & casually leans against the back wall “I’m most intrigued”.

His eyes sparkle at you. You’re not sure there’s a brown rich enough to ever try & replicate those on any art software, they are unforgettable once you’ve made eye contact. Which you just have. It’s for all of a passing second but you’re lost, so so lost in them. You’re never getting out of this trance ever. He must see you blush as he very quickly moves away from leaning & fidgets. You go to your carry folder & produce 4 drafts of your work in progress, about The Speed of Silence & start to explain what it means & why you’ve done it. He stands there nodding hanging on every word you say agreeing & asking your different techniques. He really in engaged in your art & is mesmerised by it, like you with him.

He lowers his hand to ask a question & your hand brushed over his sending chills down your spine, it’s just the slightest feather touch but it’s enough to make you want more. He then takes his hand & rests it on top of yours. You both freeze & gulp, both unsure what to do next. “Professor i…” “shhhh it’s okay I think we…” he’s edged in your personal space, his head slowly drawing close to you, when You both hear the door click & Jane humming to herself so you break the look & return to showing him your art. “Ahhh here you are my sweet, sorry the lift was broken that’s why it took a while. Oooh Ben you’re here. Help me sort these out for her so she can take what she needs” & I pause in a fluster. My breath caught in my throat, my palms sweating instantly. This isn’t just some professor, this is Mr Ben!

Mr Ben every year at university, there is a rumour he’s dating a popular blonde student. It’s kind of mythology, & he goes along with the joke & plays up to it. But no one has ever actually seen him with a partner inside or outside of campus. If he is dating the blonde from the football team as she claims he is, or the brunet from drama he’s hiding it well. He’s not dating Jane, you all met her wife on the field trip to the Andy Warhol museum. But here you are standing in Bens shared office having just had a genuine moment with the man most men & women on campus would give an arm to do… & you did it without even realising.

You’re snapped out of your trance by the voice of Jane eventually “just because your art works at so many rates per second, doesnt mean you can slow down & daydreaming to” “sorry miss I just had a random though & my mind wondered” “maybe if you’ve got a wandering mind, you should sit in on a philosophy class?” Ben asks with a smile on his face that makes you feel weak. He’s biting his pencil & looking at you suggestively “…I…I… I really should get going” you sigh once you’ve taken what you need from Jane & your portfolio is back into your art folder. “It was lovely to meet you professor…” “it’s Mr Ben but please just call me Ben” he extends his hand which you take & shake. Large & firm & also just the right feel to it. It’s only once you get back to your room that you realise in your art portfolio & resources, that Ben had slipped his business card in there, with his office number & email.

You didn’t email him for 2 weeks & you actively asked Jane in her classes for supplies or support. You wanted to avoid Ben for as long as you could, hoping you had dreamed up the meeting & the stolen moments you had shared. He had filled your dreams since that precious glance & you didn’t want to fall further under his charm. Avoiding him you thought would help but it’s just made it worse. However fate lead to your paths crossing, not at campus but at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You were in the gift shop looking at post cards scanning for ideas for your silent part of your art, when he walked past & turned back almost doing a double take as he went to leave”miss photoshop what a pleasant surprise, what brings you to the met on this wet winter afternoon?” He leans next to the display as he engages in conversation with you. His coat looks warm & cozy even if a little damp due to the rain, but his hair is in pristine place & his glasses are either missing or replaced with contacts making those eyes even larger “I need something for the silence part of my project sir, but I’m having a hard time picking it, so I came to watch people look at art in silence to see if that gave me inspiration but it hasn’t”

“That’s a shame” he says “let me buy you a coffee & we can people watch together if you want” “I’m sorry what professor?” You say in shock “it’s just Ben,” he offers his hand “I encourage all my students at least once a month to go people watch & come up with pretend story’s for who people might be that walk past them, it’s like a window to their own soul as they try to guess others.” “Did you just quote Man Ray?” You ask “because then I’ll take you up on that coffee & we can talk art & photography while we people watch.” The smile on Bens face is infectious. Gone is that moody professor who people gossip about. The person in front of you now is a man & clearly at least a friend, you both have a connection with the other. “I’m happy to talk art & people watch, it would be an honour.”

You start off people watching in silence sipping coffee unsure what to say to each other or about the people. The tension is palpable. & then someone with a Star Wars bag walks past you & you ask Ben “rebel, sith or jedi?” & that’s all it takes. For the next hour you both sit there talking about where all these people are going & what’s happening with their lives, sipping coffee & laughing. It’s only when his phone rings & it’s on loud that people shhh you both & he answers it. “Sorry, I have to go” he says. “But this has been fun, much better to sit here & talk with someone else & people watch than do it on your own” he says as he stands & you notice how tall & long he is. “thank you for the coffee Ben, as much as this was fun, it didn’t provide the spark I need for the silence I need for my project.” “Maybe inspiration will hit you a different way.” He replied & grabs your hands to help you up, almost pulling you into his chest. You can feel as your hand is wrapped around his wrist that his pulse has spiked. You both stand in silence for a few minutes & then shuffle awkwardly unsure what to both do next. At the end of the day you might not be his student but he’s still a professor at your college. You, against everything your body & heart are screaming out for more, decide not to act on your own needs & wants.

You both head outside the museum & it’s still raining. “Do you want to share a cab?” Ben asks in a friendly way “thanks Ben but I’m off to a friends now, i’ll get the subway but I’m sure we will bump back into each other soon” you blush trying to hide his affect on you. “Have it your way I’ll see you soon, I hope you work out your project” he waves a friendly good bye & goes to get in the taxi but he’s still distracted by your big smile & doesn’t see where he puts his foot. “bollocks” Ben shouts. He stepped in a deep puddle before shrugging at you & then gets into the taxi which speeds off. But in that reflection you see in the puddle from the ripples, the grey sky & lights of the city reflect back to you. The madness of the city being so calm & reflective in one tiny puddle. Ben has given you the inspiration for the other half of your project without even trying.

You don’t go to your friends, you head straight for the high line, one of your favourite places in New York & you start taking picture of the rain falling, the puddles forming & slow silent reflections gleaming back at you. It’s almost to perfect the mixture of architecture, nature & photography. It’s too good to be true. You don’t care that you are drenched to the bone & will be sick for 3 days in the next week, this is the perfect calming yang to your traffics ying. It going to look phenomenal.

You have every week since then gone to a different museum to see if Ben is there to people watch with, & you’ve also been popping into the office to discus your art with Jane, talking to Ben a few times. You’ve not yet told him he’s part of your inspiration for this, you will do before the presentation at the end of term. But you & Ben now have a close friendly relationship. He says hi when he sees you walking about & you have slight giggles & little jokes with each other. All harmless fun, but there are still moments when your eyes meet that you can’t deny to yourself, that you would like to be who the rumours are about. He always asks about your art & has asked Jane who it’s all going for you too. You hope he puts in this much dedication with his actual students.

10 days ago however your world crumbled. There was a rumour Ben was dating a student in the first year. As someone in their final year, you’ve heard all these story’s before & know they aren’t true. But you heart just feels like it’s shattered. Everything you had hoped for that you might have one day with Ben has gone. You remember this is just everyone’s fantasy & it won’t be happening to you any time soon. The student is what he’s always rumoured to go for, athletic, bit ditsy, blonde & stick thin. Not someone with blue streaks through their black hair, a squishy nose who could probably eat that girl as she’s so skinny for diner. You are heart broken from the relationship you’d secretly wanted more from, even though you hadn’t been brave enough to act on it. You bury your head into your art & try to not think about it at all.

You’ve seen Ben since this day & been nice to him, but you just feel a little lost. It is just a fantasy, everyone wants for Mr Ben to be there’s. To have a few stolen moments but you were sure it might slightly happen to you but it hasn’t. So you’ve plowed on with & burrowed your head in your art portfolios & are now just hours away from your deadline in the library, referencing as much as you can ready to hand in your appendix in the morning. It’s only when your music pauses in your ears, that you realise someone is sat in the chair next to you, with their own cup of coffee. You can tell from the hand on your music player alone, exactly who it is.

“Ben” you say not having to whisper at 10pm, as you remove your headphones. There’s all of 8 students in here all with their own headphones in. “It’s late what are you doing here?” You ask. You’re startled but also instantly calm that he is here & he is looking so handsome. The tie he is often seen wearing isn’t on, the glasses dark frame matching his dark black shirt & his selves are rolled up. He looks at you with genuine concern & affection in hope to help you with whatever it is you are doing. “Late night study group with my second years, 6 of them just haven’t understood the last 3 essays I’ve asked them to write or read, so we did a coffee & cake night. I think 4 of them have finally got it though, I always think it helps to share the problem, no matter what it is.” Ben takes your hand, that large thumb trailing over your knuckles, what you wish you could do with that thumb. “So I was walking past & thought I’d pop in to see who was in the library this late, & who do I see…you, little miss photoshop, with your head in a pile of books & websites, not actually creating. Is everything okay?” He ask, your eyes meeting & you do everything you can to look back at your work from this handsome distraction, but he lifts his hand to the side of your face to turn you back to face him as he softly whispers “seriously, your amazing, your perfect, I’ll do anything”.

That’s all it takes. You lean in touching his face in return & tentatively take his lips with your own. He’s a-gasp, shocked at your advanced. He can feel all the butterfly’s you have felt for the last few months since you met him. You’re electrified & then you very quickly break away from your embrace & look back at your laptop & not at Ben, but you can still feel him on your lips & how he made you feel like you were going at a million miles an hour but also completely still much like your photographs. “Shit” you mumbled “Ben I…” you don’t get a chance to apologise, Ben has turned your face back towards him & is engaging in the next kiss. He’s hungry like he’s waited for this for ages, like he’s willing to break all the rules to have a few stolen moments with you but he wishes he could have more. Your of age & an adult & not his actual student, he’s not that much older than you. He wants this but he has so many conflicting things going on in his mind right now, as do you. But you are both desperate for each others touch. This kiss is the best you have ever had. No man or woman has ever made you feel this good from just one kiss.

“Sorry” he says “I just had to be sure I wasn’t dreaming”. His words come out breathy as he pants. “I should go…””No!” You shout & realise it was quite loud for a library even when there is no one really here. “Please stay, your presence calmed me when I realised it was you” Bens half way out of his chair unsure if he should sit back down or go home. He wants to stay & distract you from your appendix, In so many ways. It’s all he thought about since he met you. Those few stolen moments in his office, your little smirk at the museum, the way your hands are so expressive when you talk. He noticed every single detail & he is desperate to make a go of this. He looks in your eyes & he can see the same desire & longing being directed back to him. He has to make the choice for the both of you.

“Grab your laptop & books & come with me” he states,”there’s better wifi else where in the library, it will make attaching your appendix faster & then we can talk”. Ben goes to pick up his mug & yours & raises an eyebrow at you. You know deep down that this isn’t going to be studying, you know you’re actually going to be the girl the university gossips about & if it’s true or not. “Okay Ben, I’m almost there though I’ve got 8more…” But Bens hand doesn’t go for your mug & you are interrupted. His large hand strokes across your chin before his thumb that you have often wondered what it would feel like, traces over your lips. You gasp & instantly become aroused. It’s so flat & soft & it make you want to suck it & beg for some of his other fingers else where. “Ben” you moan as his hand moves away. You hit save & collect you items putting them in your 2 bags & grab his hand, while making sure no one is watching you sneak off with a professor.

Ben doesn’t even check, he wants you & he needs you. The second your hand entwines with his, he is off at a speed your art is. He take you to the back of the library which is dimly lit & is where all the media & art books are. “Oooh you actually wanted to help Ben, I didn’t realise.” You feel a little flat thinking Ben has no intention of doing anything other than be a professor at this moment. But the second both your bags are on the table between the two rows of bookshelves, Ben is hoovering over you. Eyes filled with desire, his breathing is short, & you can feel his wanting of you radiating from every inch of his body. He doesn’t need to say a word. You cup his face & kiss him deeply as he pushes you against a chair at the table. Those large hands of his, twisting your hair, before one moves down your back to rest just on your waist, so you can be pushed further into him. You never want to break this kiss. The way your body is responding to his, is magnetic. The way you moan & groan just from a simple deep kiss, one filled with all the lustful dreams you have ever had about Ben, just taking over your mouth & making you want more. You know you’re aroused, your pleasure is screaming for him to touch you even more. Ben is also trying so hard not to just cum in his trouser right now, he needs you to relieve his own pressure as he grows harder.

“I don’t know what happening” you eventually mumble as he starts to kiss your neck “but I’m happy it is” you both say at the same time & then both have a little giggle before his eyes meet yours again. “If you’re not comfortable with this…” Ben starts but you squeeze his arse through jeans which makes him yelp. “So we did have a moment when we first met then?” You ask him “oooh yes & I’ve been trying to work out since that moment if I would be in trouble for asking you on a date, your not my student, I’ve never asked any student out before or even kissed them, even if they have since left” this makes your heart flutter. All the myths about Ben are false, he’s squeaky clean & is a moral teacher to be looked up to. No affairs with any students at all, & then you remember why he’s saying this all to you. You’re about to become his exception to the rule & you really don’t care. You’re going to be the hearsay.

“Well technically we have been on a date at the museum…” “that doesn’t count” Ben replies “& for half of it we sat there in silence & it was a chance meeting” he lowers his head to whisper in your ear seductively “however if you’d have got in my taxi, it might have been another story” he peppers kisses down your neck “no it was destiny for your to leave without me. Where did you think I got my reflection art idea from Ben?” He pauses his kisses for 2 seconds as he goes “really?” Your shy nod through your blushes are as hot as the next kiss he gives you. It’s so powerful that he pushes you into the book case, which creaks. “Ben” you moan at his sudden movement from the table. “This is so intense, I…I” “shhh baby shhhh” his lips are still searching for yours & your chin, as his hands move to your hips, which are desperate for friction.

“I…I…I need you Ben, I need you & im not sure my body will allow me to wait to get back to my room or your place, maybe your office or…” but you her the clink of his belt being undone as he moves a hand so it’s leaning over you holding the book case “baby, I don’t think I can make it to my office. I wish wed had this moment sooner, so I could have taken you out on a date first. I wish I had known, I wish I had” “the signs were all there Ben” you moan back at him as you undo his fly, the zip sound wrong but so erotic “are you happy you want to do this?” You ask & your hands move to your leggins & knickers to roll them down in a second “im the man, I should be asking you?” He responds in a soft tone. “Are you sure?” He asks & his face for a nano second has turned serious asking for your consent. “Yes Ben I want this, I want you” is your clear response Consenting to his pleasure as you step out of both your leggins & knickers & he reaches into his back pocket to produce a condom. “Yes baby, I promise we will do this properly another time” he rolls his jeans & briefs down to just below his knees & you see him cover his impressive length with the protection.

Ben edges closer to you & starts to raise your dress ready for a clear & swift entrance inside you. “You… you are okay with this… this isn’t your first time?” Ben asks suddenly very much aware he’s about to have sex with a student in the university’s library & not everyone has had sex before “Ben I’d have been even more hesitant if it was, & I’m on the pill” is your response. A small smirk creeps across his face before his lips lock with yours & he pushes hard against you & the shelving. He teases you slightly before he pushing inside you. You moan loudly, he’s girthy & much larger than you have had before. It pinches & pushes all the air out of your lungs. “Beeeennnnn” you growl, feeling so full & satisfied already, desperate for more movement.

Ben doesn’t say a word. He just sighs & thrusts again & you whimper. Your mouth & jaw go slack at the most relaxed but also most sexy feeling you have ever experienced in the world. He lifts your right leg to wrap it around him for a better & more enjoyable for the both of you, his hand gripping your thigh firmly. This hand then moves up your body & towards your mound with the next couple of thrusts, before his thumb, that large thumb that was trailing across your lips, flicks at your bud, you instantly clamp around his cock & moan loudly “yessss Ben” & his other hand covers your mouth “shhhh baby we don’t want to get in trouble now do we, be quiet girl & we can have some fun” & his hips really start to move.

Who’d have thought Ben was so adventurous in not only wanting to have sex with a student, but to do it at 11pm at night, not just in public but in the library where he works & you study. He has thought about you & how your body would feel for months now, when you had sex. But here he is, his length pulsing inside your core making you want to make the most erotic noises in the world, as he drills into you, with his hand over your mouth “shhhhh baby we don’t want to get in trouble do we, save the moaning for another night” he says as he movements become larger & the book case starts to creak that he’s pushed you against harder.

Crash! the first book falls from the shelf with an almighty thump from how fast he is pushing you into the unit. It’s not even a small book. It’s Hockneys complete appendix of British culture. It’s a coffee table book. So if he is thrusting that hard at this early stage, how much faster is he going to go? Your eye glances down at it but then return back to those large dark Carmel’s that are dilating with every second , every pulse & every want he has to make you feel even more of a woman than you already are. He’s so large, he’s making you gasp for every breath. He is giving this all he’s got. “I know you want to moan my love, but keep it down okay” he removed his hand from your mouth, but not before he allows you to suck his thumb. “Ben oh Ben oh baby yes” I whisper trying to not sound so needy & desperate.

He moves with an impressive rhythm. The book case creaking & the occasional book hitting the floor is louder than your collective moans & panting. You feel every thrust inside you making you want so much more. Bens lips move from your face to your neck, sucking & pecking away at it. His hand is now towering over you for balance as he goes & he breathes heavier. Such a large hand capable you now know of many naughty things you can both explore. Your own hands are digging into his hips & shoulders as you try not to scream from pleasure. “Yes Ben” are the hushed tones coming from your mouth “baby oh baby,you’re so good” he replies back. Every time he thinks you are moaning too much, he slows down slightly & he kisses you back on the lips, to remind you to stay silent. The moan he makes as he pulls away & speeds up again is louder than the noise you were previously making.

“Fuck ooh yes, so close, you feel so good…” you’ve reached the point of no return, as these breathy high pitched words leave your mouth. His hips blistering into you, he’s almost there too. He grabs you around the throat which makes you gasp & also shuts you up. It’s not firm but you did not have Ben down for doing that. “Shhh baby, we’ll get in trouble”. He mumbles as 2 more large books fall out of the shelving “don’t…care…” you just about manage to get out before your rendered speechless by the next 3 thrusts that hit the spot & you let go. Your orgasm spiralling through your body. Ben lips shhh you as you go to scream yes. You bite into his bottom lip to try & keep your cry of pleasure down. He’s sent you over the edge. Bens rhythm falls out of sink & the deep shallow growl his voice makes into your mouth, happens as he fills the condom with him own cum. Slowly he stops his movements, & eventually the books stop falling & the shelving once again becomes silent.

You wrap your arms around Bens neck as you both open your eyes which you’d both closed while cuming. His eyes less filled with passion now but still so handsome & so dark & mesmerising. Panting & sighing happening between you both. His hand cups you cheek “you have the most beautiful eyes” you eventually manage to say to Ben & a small grin covers your face in your afterglow. “No I don’t” Ben replies “yours eclipse anyone’s with beauty, they really are the window to the soul” You bring his face into yours for another deep kiss, one full of hope & wanting more than this. Your hand goes up into his hair to caress his head as you make out continues.

“We need to clean this up” Ben say when you eventually break from your embrace & he shimmy’s his briefs & trousers back on after tying off his condom. “We don’t want to piss of the library team do we” you quickly put the books back between you & make sure everything is in as a correct place as possible. “Am I really the puddle inspiration?” Ben asks inquisitively as he adjusts his glasses. The glance from your eyes of pure love tells Ben the truth without you saying a word & he walks up to you & kisses you. “So I’m guessing tonight we created our own version of The Speed of Silence?” You muster once the kiss is over, never wanting to be far apart from those lips again. “You could say that” Ben smiles.

For the next month campus is full of gossip. There are rumours that there was sex in the library & that people heard books crashing & that no one been able to find that Hockney book since, but no one’s taken it out. As someone who doesn’t usually contribute & look like they pay attention to the rumours you find all this funny & really what you want to do, is tell people how right & wrong they are. No one has worked out the it was Ben or you or the both of you. You’ve had sneaky sex since, once in his lecture room when you did sit in on a class & twice in the art supply cupboard, but he’s yet to take you on that date he promised. Maybe all the rumours about Ben being a one off passionate lover were true.

However on the night of art & photography show case, things moved. You stand there explaining to your fellow student’s, alumni & teachers about your project when you hear a voice from behind you. “Why puddles?” Ben says & you turn around & you both beam at each other “whatever caused you to think of that must have had a really deep & meaningful impact on you” “yes it did professor…” you wink at him & Ben turns red & try’s to concentrate on the rest of your talk. Moving uneasily desperate for more.

Once the group you were talking to leaves, Ben slides in behind you “congratulations little miss photoshop, you are the talk of the campus, in more ways than one” His hand slips into yours, that large thumb tracing across your knuckles. “So are you Ben” I glance up towards his face. “I wish this was something more thorough, if I’m honest” you sound a little bit down despite this being your night to shine.

“& it will be” is Bens quick response & his eyes gesture to his bag, which he opens & you gasp. He has the missing Hockey book inside it. “Should we go return this, have a repeat performance & then I can take you out for dinner?” Ben ask. Eyes wide & seductive looking into your soul, once again making everything fly past so fast in your mind but also freezes you in time. You hand trails across his chin. “Took you long enough to ask Ben” He waits for someone to walk past before he kisses your forehead, & then takes your hand. “Your art speaks for itself, let’s go now & give the campus some real gossip to talk about” & Ben leads you out of the exhibition & back to the library, for your own private viewing.

[penncilkid]

Hi hey hello, it’s PK! Back with another non-canon ship paired with far too many words. Welcome to one of my fic-adjacent ramble sessions! I mentioned it the last time I did one of these, but today, we’re discussing Sam/David— Or Lunar Healing (Yes, I gave them a ship name. I like to have fun /lh). This post will be going over the main timeline I’ve envisioned for these two. However, I have dozens of general ship headcanons as well so if anyone would be interested in seeing those, let me know and I’ll make a sequel post. (Also special shoutout to @cashandprizes, they certainly had some sort of part to play in the creation of this post /lh /pos). Now then, let’s get into this!

Pairing: Sam/David*

Word Count: 3.8 K [Note: If you wanna skip the Inversion stuff near the end, then it’s only 2.5 K]

Content Tags/Warnings: Inversion will be brought up/discussed near the end of this (Specific heads up for mention of blood) // I’ll also be using my listeners’ names at points (Who’s who will be indicated for clarity purposes)

*Maia, my version of Darlin’, is mentioned in this. Additionally, in this version of events, she is dating Milo and Nirav, my version of Sweetheart. (They’re not the focus though)

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Some quick stats for my version of David and Sam: David is 6’0” and Latino (specifically Colombian) // Sam is 6’3” and Black [Added in case you wanted to know a bit more about my vision]

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My vision for this pair begins with Fred and Bright’s turning. As mentioned in the timeline, canonically speaking, David inquires about the two newest additions to the Solaire clan. I imagine this plays out in a vaguely similar way as Sam/Darlin’s first canonical meeting. Sam’s doing the whole “get off of our property / who the hell do you think you are?” routine, though he’s internally cursing himself when David introduces who he is. Upon realizing he’s speaking with the Shaw pack alpha, he becomes very formal with David: calling him Mr. Shaw and such, asking if he wants to speak with his clan leader, etc. David explains that he was coming to speak to William himself and that Sam doesn’t need to do anything. 

David asks for Sam’s name. Upon realizing who he is, David has to fight the urge to ask more about what happened on Halloween night directly. He’d heard some of the details and assumes William will disclose more, but there’s a part of him that wants to hear it firsthand. Instead, David tells Sam that if he ever needs any assistance given everything going on, he should reach out. David remembers how difficult it was after Gabe passed, and while this is a different situation, he knows how damaging isolation can be. Sam thanks him (out of politeness) before David heads off to meet with Will.  

Sam doesn’t take David up on the offer— At least for a while. The main reason why is because from his perspective, he doesn’t want to bother “Mr. Shaw” if he could handle it. He’s been a vampire for well-over a decade, he figures he’ll be fine once the dust settles. But after a particularly rough night looking after Fred and Bright, Sam bites the bullet and calls David. The two end up meeting somewhere with food because David figures food is the easiest way to get people to relax (and because he was hungry). Sam is still guarded when it comes to his venting, not wanting to share too much or put too much of a burden on David. But as the two talk and David offers what reassurance he can, Sam finds it a bit easier to spend time around the alpha.The two of them having one more of these meet ups before they go back to their respective lives, Sam viewing this as nothing more than a “one-off” thing.

Enter: Maia. Now, as mentioned, her timeline leads to a relationship with Milo and Nirav (Sweetheart) rather than with Sam. If she followed canon, she would have gone to Wonderworld in search of Quinn, met Sam, and then reached out to him for healing help after the vampire fight. The way canon diverges here is instead, she goes to Wonderworld looking for Quinn but doesn’t disclose her name or explain why she was searching for him after finding out he’s not there. When she gets into the fight with the vampires, she knows she’s in bad shape and needs help. She bites the bullet and instead shows up on Milo’s doorstep, asking if his partner can heal her while begging him not to tell David she’s back in Dahlia. Milo agrees to hide her return from David only if she explains everything to him and Nirav instead. 

Realizing it’s probably not the safest idea to stay at her own place, she begins crashing with Milo and Nirav while continuing her search for Quinn. As she tries to track him down, she ends up reaching back out to Sam, wanting to know what he knows while looking to work together to a certain degree. At this point, the two are acquaintances who have a mutual aversion to the same vamp.

David begins to suspect that Maia is back based on things he’s hearing around Dahlia— Though, he can’t simply confirm based on rumors alone. When he hears that a shifter’s been spotted around Wonderworld a handful of times, David decides to reach out and asks to meet with Sam. It’s been quite some time since the two saw each other one-on-one, but because of the base level of mutual respect (and trust, arguably), David invites Sam to his house for this meeting. Initially, Sam isn’t sure what David is looking to discuss but agrees nonetheless. Upon arriving, Sam finds himself getting distracted by David’s presence. Sure, they’ve seen each other before, talked for hours. But there’s something about being this close to the shifter after so long— David’s hair being a bit messier since he was relaxing at home. The way David’s biceps look on display thanks to the tank top he’s wearing. Or the way the scar on his lip— “Collins?” “Sorry, what were you saying, David?” 

David asks Sam if he’s been interacting with a shifter in the recent weeks. When Sam says yes, David begins listing a series of physical traits out— “Do those descriptors apply to the shifter in question?” Sam bites his tongue, cursing inside because he can tell that there’s no good way of answering this. But that hesitation tells David everything he needs to know. He asks Sam if Maia seems safe (relatively speaking as Maia’s definition of safe is far “looser” than David would like). Sam says that he doesn’t know much about what she’s got going on when she’s not around him, but that she seems like she’s doing alright when they speak. David takes this information in before explaining to Sam that he’s not going to interfere— Not yet at least. He wants to wait and see if Maia will disclose her return naturally. In the meantime, Sam should continue doing whatever he sees fit.  

After David finishes discussing Maia, Sam gets ready to leave as he figured that was all David wanted— But David stops him. “Sam, I wouldn’t invite you all the way out here for a ten minute conversation. At the very least, I should feed you or something.” Sam tells David that’s not necessary but it takes David insisting once for Sam to fold. As David cooks for Sam, the two strike up a conversation. They talk about various things— How Fred and Bright are doing, how the pack’s doing, personal life updates and such— and it feels reminiscent of those times they spoke with each other months prior. Sam ends up staying for at least another hour or two as they talk. When it’s time for him to go, David tells Sam that he wouldn’t mind making a habit of these talks if Sam is interested. Sam grins and tells David he likes the sound of that. 

Something I feel is important to Sam’s characterization is that he takes things slow when it comes to relationships. That’s not to say he doesn’t feel things sooner, but the way in which he acts on those feelings is paced. This in mind, I also 100% see David catching feelings first out of these two. As he and Sam begin regularly spending time with each other, David finds it easier to exist as someone other than the Shaw pack alpha. Meanwhile, Sam’s slowly realizing that David is “Mr. Shaw”— But he’s also “David”, who chastises him for not drinking enough blood or asks what he’s craving despite their shared awareness that Sam doesn’t have to eat. They start seeing new sides of each other as they grow closer, and it’s difficult for David to ignore his growing feelings. (Note: I imagine they spent the Sunbound Solstice together that year as an example. Mentioned because I intend to write a few headcanons about that day)

After this goes on for a while, Sam is eventually invited to a pack meeting. By this point, David has already confronted Maia about her being in Dahlia, what’s been going on with her and Quinn, etc. They’re holding a meeting discussing the situation, and David figures the Solaire Clan deserves to be kept in the loop. After all, Maia and Sam have some level of connection, and two of their own were turned by him. Sure, David could’ve set up another meeting with William to update the clan, but he thinks Sam is just as suitable an option. By this point, Sam and David have become a lot more relaxed with each other compared to the first time they met. But it’s not only in terms of formality (or rather, the lack thereof). There’s something in the way they interact with each other before and after the meeting. The way David watches how his pack interacts with Sam, taking in both the vamp and wolves’ body language. How his gaze softens ever so subtly when he’s speaking with Sam. The flickers of smiles or hushed laughs when they overhear something said by the other. It’s subtle yet impossible to miss. 

At the end of the meeting as people are clearing out, Asher stays behind because Beta duties and whatnot. As he walks Sam out with David, he’s taking in their interactions up close. As soon as Sam’s gone, Ash turns to David with a knowing smile. “So. You and Collins, huh~?” David rolls his eyes, “It’s not a big deal.” “So you admit there’s something going on?” “Will you come on so we can get out of here already?” David walks off but Asher’s busy grinning at his best friend regardless.

As Sam continues to become more and more present in David’s life, he begins to internally confront his own feelings. He’s well aware the way he feels about David is far from casual, but he isn’t sure how to go about dealing with those. He feels like him and David have a good thing going, and he doesn’t want to mess that up somehow. For the time being, they continue doing what they’re doing, just without the official label of dating per say. That’s not to say their dynamic doesn’t evolve, though. In public, David still plays it a bit professional/formal with Sam, primarily because of Shaw Security and because he’s still considering how their relationship may be perceived at times. But at a pack meeting? Their attraction is palpable. As soon as he sees Sam arrive at the den and walks over, Sam’s pulling him into a hug tight enough to lift him off the ground a bit. And despite David saying “Alright, alright. That’s enough, Cowboy”, he always pulls Sam into a kiss with a smile that tells you they might as well be the only people in the room. There’s a sense of intimate comfort they share with each other, and it’s something that continues to surprise them both. 

Around early December (aka right before Hot Boi Winter begins), David decides he wants to invite Sam to the cabins with the pack. The pack already expects Sam to be there— They’re all more than aware of how close the two are— but David doesn’t want this to just be about the cabins. Sam’s over at David’s place (a frequent occurrence by then) and as they’re laying together, David tells Sam he wants to ask him something. “If this is about the cabins, Asher’s already brought it up—” “Do you want to be my mate, Sam?” They both watch each other for a moment, and inside, David panics a bit. “Nevermind, forget I asked—” “Hey now, hold on a sec, David.” Sam stops David from leaving, holding the shifter’s hand. He apologizes for looking so shell shocked but assures David that it’s only because that wasn’t what he expected him to say. David starts to explain himself more, wanting to make it clear that he understands the question he’s asking. He talks about how much he enjoys any time spent with Sam. How it’s easy to get out of his head when Sam’s around. The way his mind seems to shut off when he feels Sam’s hands on him. All the nights they’ve spent together— Talking about their lives, sharing pieces of their past, comforting each other after difficult days, kissing and holding and loving on each other. “I’ve never had a mate before. I didn’t think that would be a possibility for me when I was appointed alpha. But I do know that being with you feels right. So I wanted to know if you wanted to be that to me too.” 

The entire time while David is talking, Sam’s gaze is fixed on the shifter before him. At no point did he ever doubt his feelings for David and vice versa. But to hear David speak so candidly about the way he feels and what he wants is something he didn’t realize he needed. “Ask me again.” “...What?” “Just do it, David.” He can’t help but roll his eyes with a bit of a grin before looking at Sam. “Do you want to be my mate?” Sam kisses David before smiling at him, “It’d be my honor, Mr. Shaw.” David groans at the last part, which makes Sam laugh before they kiss again. When they’re up at the cabins, prior to Sam’s arrival, David mentions that him and Sam are officially mates. Asher swears before handing a very smug looking Milo twenty dollars.

///

To make up for the next section of the timeline, I’m gonna talk pet names real quick: Typically whenever I see speaker/speaker ships, I see people assign what would be the listener's nickname to the other speaker.  Now I’ve got no issue with that whatsoever (/gen), it tends to hit. But when I was thinking about Lunar Healing, I was like “Hmm I’m not so sure that would be giving the vibes I need it to give.” As I was discussing this with Lexi, the lovely visionary they are, I was like “I like the idea of David using a Spanish term of endearment for Sam. I’m gonna go with ‘Querido’, but I still need something for Sam to call David.” It was at that moment that Lexi breathed into existence one of the best sentences I’ve ever heard: “Hear me out. I actually like Sam calling David Angel more”

When I picture the first time Sam uses it, David makes a face, brows furrowed. “What? You don't like it?” “It doesn't fit me.” “Now what makes you say that?” “Angels are too good for me to be one. They're sacred beings—” Sam pulls David close so their faces are an inch apart. In a low voice, “You're heaven on earth, David Shaw. You're sacred to me, and I want everyone to know that. That’s why I’m calling you ‘Angel’. Got it?” David has to take a moment to mentally recover and actually come up with a proper response (/pos)

I also like to imagine what outside reactions to the pet name would be like. Like David, Milo, Asher, and Maia are all hanging out to do something, Sam arriving late. When he gets there, he kisses David before saying “I'm sorry I'm late, Angel. Do you mind if I run to the bathroom real quick?” “Yeah, we'll wait for you to start.” And as soon as Sam is out of the room and David turns around, they're all like “So. That’s new~”

///

Alright. So. One thing you will quickly learn about me is that when I explore a Redacted rarepair, I almost always explore Inversion in tandem. This next section will be covering how I think things would play out for Sam/David, but if that’s not your thing (or you’re tired of reading), feel free to leave on a high note. Now then:

[Let’s talk Inversion]

As mentioned in the main timeline, David and Sam are officially together when the E&E games roll around. Sam’s been hearing all about the behind the scenes from David, and when Vincent mentions wanting to go for Ayl (Lovely), it’s a given that he’ll be going as well. Vincent enjoys teasing him despite inviting Sam because “Your boy toy’s working security~” “Keep it up and I’ll tell him you called him my ‘boy toy’ (/lh)”. Sam wanted to get DAMN earlier so he could see David beforehand, but the sun obviously had other plans. I’d like to think that because of this, Sam scans the game/ceremony feed so he can spot the moments where David’s shown on screen. 

On David’s end, he’s admittedly excited knowing Sam will be there for the ceremony. With all the preparations and work, they hadn’t had much time to just soak up each other’s company. At least now, he’d be able to see his mate once this is over and appreciate him properly. At this point, we’re following how the ceremony canonically progresses up to when the rift opens and shades start spilling in. The same core moments play out: David making the call to bring the ward back down. Sam and Vincent trying to get to Lovely, ending up inside the ward before realizing it’s back up. They were both trapped inside the ward in canon, but now it means something entirely different. 

When the shades start spilling in, Sam is freaking out. He wants to go find David but he also doesn’t want to leave Vincent alone. Ayl is still relatively new to the magical world, he’s not a shifter, he’s got more disadvantages in a situation like this. Vincent will go looking for his partner regardless, and Sam decides to go with him. Later on when he realizes the ward is back up, he’s torn between wanting David in there with him and wanting him outside, safe and away from all this mess. He sees shifters running around, but he’s never seen David shifted at this point. It’s near impossible for him to focus long enough to try and find his mate, and he knows that if he’s not careful, that could get someone hurt.

Initially, David is focused on the job at hand. He’s the one that made the call to trap all these people, he’ll be damned if he doesn’t try to help as much as possible. Realizing Asher was inside the ward stung in its own way because he wanted his best friend out of harm’s way, but he pushes that down for the time being because he trusts Asher to handle the crisis before them. However— The moment he realizes Sam is inside the ward as well? His stomach is in knots. Like with Asher, he has to push down those anxieties, silently hoping things will work out in the end. If Ash tries to ask David about it, David shuts the conversation down. He doesn’t have time to think about this when people’s lives are at stake. 

As Inversion continues to play out, Sam is trying his best to focus on Vincent And Ayl as well as helping the people he can. There are moments where he swears he can feel David closeby, his head turning as he tries to spot him before telling himself to stay focused. Likewise, David is focusing his energy and attention on crisis response, ignoring his own exhaustion as he continues pushing forward. He keeps reminding himself that they’ll get out of this— That if he keeps going, eventually this nightmare will end and things will be alright.

What he doesn’t account for is Asher getting attacked by a shade. It’s an emotional breaking point for David—It was bad enough that his mate’s trapped in here with him, but now he was going to lose his best friend too. The way in which Sam’s name tears from David’s throat stops the vampire in his tracks. David’s been trying his best to stay calm and think rationally since the rift opened. But in that moment, all he can focus on is Asher in front of him, his hands slick with his best friend’s blood, Asher’s breath coming too fast and too shallow, his eyes closing, he’s not moving enough— “Angel— Angel, look at me.” There are tears streaming down David’s face as he looks at Sam. “Can you help him?” “I can try.” Sam is able to focus on healing Asher with David’s help, but it cuts deep seeing his mate in so much pain, even if emotional. 

The rest of Inversion plays out as it did in canon up to the point where Milo brings the ward down. As soon as he sees that the shades are gone, David goes to find Asher again, part of him still terrified that he’s gonna wake up and Ash will be gone. As the two of them make their way back out, Malakhi (Babe) nearly crashes into the both of them, trying to check on them both because they’ve certainly seen better days. David lets go of Asher so him and Mal can have their moment together, not wanting to interrupt. David would do his best to mask it externally, but inside he’s panicking because he hasn’t seen Milo, he doesn’t know how much of his pack made it out alive, and Sam’s nowhere to be seen. He gets confirmation that Milo’s alright while he’s still near Asher, and it’s enough to make him cry again. While waiting for Milo to come find them, he sees Sam again. The vamp is much more relieved to see David alive and in one piece, kissing him and pulling him into a tight hug before quickly apologizing as David winces. 

They don’t get much time to talk before David has to go address DUMP and such for his decisions. Sam recognizes the subtle shift when David takes on the role of alpha again, ignoring whatever’s going on in his own mind for the sake of responsibility. Sam asks David if he should stay, but David tells Sam that he’ll be fine and that he should go with Vincent/be with his clan for now. Sam is reluctant but agrees after promising to come back for David when DUMP’s done talking with him. It’s hours before Sam hears from David again, but as promised, he comes and picks him up once he’s been released. The drive home is silent, neither of them saying anything. It’s only when they make it inside and David sees his own reflection that he finally breaks, clinging to Sam as the weight of everything that happened hits him. 

/// So yeah, this concludes another fic adjacent ramble (/lh)! As mentioned at the start, I have many headcanons for these two, so let me know if that would be of interest to anyone. This was a labor of love, and I really hope that it was enjoyable to read through. (And, once more, if you actually read through all of this, hi, thank you, you’re wild /lh /pos)

[cosplayinamerica]

Somnacanth from Monster Hunter Cosplayer: @the_gnome_queen  // photo: quachstar.jpg

I’ve been cosplaying for 9 years and every time I choose a cosplay I like to add something new to my skillset. Sometimes it’s from a franchise I’m deeply familiar with and sometimes it’s just something that catches my eye. Somnacanth was an example of the latter. I saw the concept art for the armor and was immediately drawn in by how different it was. The colors, the design, and the potential to add my own details to the armor was what attracted me. But I don’t like being ignorant of the source material and I hadn’t played Monster Hunter in years, so I started picked up Monster Hunter Rise. What I love about the game is the creature and world design, as well as the ability to craft materials into your own weapons and armor.

Although the world of Monster Hunter doesn’t technically have magic, there are similar qualities to the experience. The Somnacanth Armor reminded me of something inspired by mysticism and the creature itself has almost supernatural qualities that I wanted to capture in the amor and details. I love finding new technology and incorporating it into my cosplays. With a recent project I discovered tiny LCD screens that play back eyeball visual effects with movement. I knew I wanted to incorporate that into the monster head prop. However, I had never used that technology before and so it took some time to learn and master the coding needed to customize that effect as well as the wiring involved.

One of my favorite aspects of cosplay is connecting with other creators and “talking shop”. Each year, NYCC draws extremely talented individuals to compete in the Crown Champsionships of Cosplay. I’ve been able to meet some truly amazing makers who are so giving and passionate about sharing knowledge within the cosplay community. NYCC was one of the first conventions I returned to in a post pandemic world and so it’s special to me in that way.

This was my third time competing in the Crown Championships at NYCC and while I had won a category in the past, this was my first time placing in the contest. It’s truly an honor (and so humbling) to be recognized by such inspiring judges and stand alongside other cosplayers who are at the top of their game. I’ve never travelled to a convention that hasn’t been within driving distance from my home. The chance to attend C2E2 for the finals and meet other cosplayers from around the country and the world is thrilling!  I hope to make the Monster Hunter community proud!

Something I really love about cosplay is seeing people’s reactions to something I’ve worked so hard on. With my Somnacanth Armor I was especially proud of all the details I added. From hand beading to lighting sfx and foam smithing to 3d modelling I am floored when people get to see the details I’ve added. There’s nothing more gratifying than someone saying “look at this…but then look at this….and then there’s this!”

I love sharing knowledge about making things. When someone reaches out with a question about how I did something, or how they can learn a new skill it feels good. I hope my passion for this craft and community comes across in what I share.

Cosplay has given me the opportunity to have a creative outlet among a group of likeminded people. Growing up, my father always taught me that age is just a number and if you love something you should embrace it. He passed away just before I started cosplay as a hobby and so I threw myself into it to deal with my grief. I was initially reluctant to share my hobby with those in my everyday life, but as I learned more about myself through crafting, I became more confident and proud of my creations. I realized I wanted to be the person that younger me would be proud of.

I know a lot of people find them creepy, but I really just love gnomes! I’m totally dating myself, but I grew up watching a cartoon called David the Gnome. Gnomes have always kind of followed me throughout my life. Friends and family give them to me as gifts. They’re all over my house in small and large ways. I even have two gnome tattoos!

[yarnnerdally]

For the Be My Valentine Content Creation Challenge. Thanks so much @xxsycamore and @chaosangel767 for putting this on! I've gotten a few done and I'll post them all soon, but here's the first!

Stupid Cupid

Pairing: Kyle Ash/Reader Rating: T Prompt: "I've been hit with Cupid's Arrow" (thanks @voltage-vixen!) Tags: cw: alcohol, romance, Valentine's Day, fluff Word Count: 645

           

            The chill in the air refused to subside even as the sun shone bright. A bare dusting of snow could be seen blanketing Cradle and despite the brightness of the sun, there would be no chance for it to melt with how cold it was. You and Kyle had gone to the Central Quarter to get some shopping done, mostly for restocking supplies for the infirmary. Thankfully his hand was warm in yours as you walked, noses growing rosier as the day went on. The shopping didn’t take long and you both decided to have an impromptu date and headed to the tavern, Oasis. Dum was cordial, as usual, and waved to you.

            “Hey, love birds. Got a new drink on the menu. A special for Valentine’s Day,” Dum stated as he walked over, nonchalantly draping his drying rag over his shoulder. Your brows rose while Kyle’s brow furrowed. “It’s got honey whiskey, apricot syrup, and blackberry juice. Along with a couple other things.”

            “I’ll stick to an ale. Your specialty drinks tend to be trouble,” the doctor chastised lightly. You giggled a little and nudged Kyle’s knee with your own.

            “Well, good thing I have you to look after me. That sounds very interesting, Dum. Could you make me one?” Kyle sighed next to you. You were just as stubborn as he was and knew, especially if the drink had plenty of sweet fruit juice, you couldn’t resist. Dum grinned, nodded, and went to get started on their order. You looked to Kyle who was still frowning slightly. “You okay?” He sighed and rested his head in his hand, elbow on the table as he looked at you.

            “Yeah, I’m fine. Just wanna make sure you’ll be okay,” he said, reaching to you with his other hand and tucking a lock of hair behind your ear. You grinned and leaned forward, pressing a chaste kiss to Kyle’s nose. He began to flush a little, the tips of his ears turning to match his hair.

            “You’re sweet. Thank you for worrying about me.” Your drinks came soon enough and, wisely, you both waited to indulge until you’d eaten. The drink looked fairly usual despite its dark, somewhat purple color. You took a cautious sip before letting out a pleased hum. “Oh. This is good.” Kyle chuckled a little and ruffled your hair lightly. The drink warmed you to your toes and it went down rather easily. Despite a small warning from Kyle, the first dink went down easily and soon a second followed. The rest of the night passed as usual and soon both of you made your way back to the Red Army’s Headquarters, though you clung to Kyle as you went along.

            “Remind me to cut you off after one,” he said lightly, still supporting you and chuckling as you hummed happily beside him. You looked up to him and pouted, sticking your tongue out a little at him.

            “It’s not my fault you’re so lovely~” you purred, causing the doctor to flush again. He paused your walking and looked at you squarely before sighing. “What?” He sighed and shook his head.

            “Nothing. You’re just a little drunk,” he commented before making sure that his grip on your waist was solid enough to help you walk as your gait swayed just a little.

            “Not drunk, Kyle. Just. I was hit. With Cupid’s Arrow,” you giggled, taking full advantage of the situation and wrapping your arm around his waist to hold on to him. “That was the name of the drink, after all,” you added, your grin blindingly bright as you looked up to him with flush cheeks. He sighed and held onto you a little tighter, a grin unable to stay away from his face. You were right, of course. A small chuckle made it past Kyle’s lips.

            “Cutie. Let’s go home, yeah?”

[jouliejihan]

𝑳𝑶𝑽𝑬 𝑶𝑵 𝑨𝑰𝑹! - hueningkai × fem reader

𝑺𝒀𝑵𝑶𝑷𝑺𝑰𝑺: When Y/N and her eccentric friends decide to host the 'Love On Air' podcast, they think they can heal the heartaches of all HYBE Uni students.  But when love begins to bubble up behind the scenes, Y/N finds herself at the center of a messed up love triangle. While she tries to save broken hearts, a shy student, Hueningkai, does everything to win her heart. With clumsy dating advice, accidental encounters and a chaotic podcast, will love triumph or end up in a hilarious mess?

"Tune in with us guys, cause Love is On Air!"

TAGLIST (open, send ask or comment to be added) @full-sunnies ​@enhacolor ​ @mackjestic ​@beabeanice ​@beoms-sugar

previous • masterlist • next

11- TBT (Tiger-Bee Truce)

Y/N and Wonwoo were sitting side by side, focused on Y/N's laptop screen.  They were editing the latest episode of "Love On Air", ready to be posted on the YouTube channel. Jungwon and Jay's laughter and lively conversations with her echoed through the hallway as they worked.

"This part was funny, don't you think, oppa?"

"Yes, definitely. I think our listeners will love it."

While editing, they started talking about other topics.

"So, Wonwoo, what do you like to do in your free time?"

"Well," he said thoughtfully. "I enjoy everything, reading, going out drinking with my hyungs, but my favorite hobby as you heard, is gaming and streaming with my followers."

"I confess that games aren't really my thing" she scratched the back of her head, embarrassed "The only one I usually play sometimes is Legends of Runeterra, as it is one of the few Riot Games games that explores the game's universe and lore beyond of what was presented in stories, cinematics and other media."

"I've never heard of him. What is it?"

"It's a card game with some of the champions that League players know, with a few more special things! If you have time, I'll show you this game!"

"Of course, I would love to."

The conversation flowed naturally, and they discovered that they had a lot in common on other subjects, despite studying in practically opposite areas at HYBE Uni. Wonwoo had big aspirations in the gaming industry, while Y/N had other plans for her future.

"You know, oppa. My dream is to publish a book one day, maybe one of my stories will be adapted into a film script, or even I'll be called by Riot to write a new champion's lore in League!"

"Anything can happen, but I see that you are very talented, Y/N! You have a lot of potential to achieve great things in your life!"

She blushed slightly at the compliment.

"Thanks. But what about you? How are you doing with your livestreams?"

"Very well! In the last broadcast I broke my last record in Super Mario Kart and my goal of 10M subscriptions on my Twitch channel!"

"Really? Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!"

As they continued to talk, they discovered more about each other's interests, sharing stories about their hobbies and their ambitions for the future. Slowly, a friendship began to blossom between them, fueled by their passion for their studies and their excitement at working together on Love On Air.

As she finished editing the episode, she looked at him with a warm smile.

"Thank you. You really were a gem in this episode."

"It was my pleasure. I can't wait to see how our listeners react!"

As the sun set on campus, their friendship was beginning to form, fueled by their love of creation and shared dreams. It was the beginning of something special that they both knew could last a long time.

Y/N returned to her dorm, feeling a heavy weight in her heart due to the recent conflict. She knew she needed to sort things out and start a heart-to-heart with him. When she opened the door, she saw Sooyoung, who seemed to be reading something on her phone.

"You came back."

"I'm a woman of word, oppa. I would never postpone something so important to us for nothing."

The silence in the room was suffocating. Guilt weighed heavily on Soonyoung's shoulders, but the broken heart shook Y/N's feelings, so as she sat down on her rolling chair, dragged her closer to Hoshi and took a deep breath, she decided it was on her to take the first step.

"I want to apologize. I was immature with you, and it wasn't fair. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

He nodded, showing gratitude for her sincerity.

"I also apologize, Y/N. I didn't make an effort to really get to know you. I was influenced by rumors, both those posted by Beomgyu and those told by Yunjin and her friends. I feel so bad for judging you like that."

She smiled, relieved that they were finally starting to work things out.

"I understand. We both made mistakes by subjugating each other, but I believe we can do better from now on."

He nodded in agreement.

"Of course, that's why we need to establish some rules for healthy coexistence in the dorm, to avoid worse fights for no reason."

"I agree. Here are my suggestions: I would like to have more privacy and quiet in the room to study and plan the "Love On Air" episodes. And I would like to help you organize your things in the half of the room that is yours, I would hate to see you angry when you easily lose something important because of disorganization."

He considered the proposals and nodded.

"It's okay, I can do that. In return, I would like you not to go through my things without permission and to make a greater effort to respect my likes and hobbies."

She agreed, saying the rules were fair and balanced.

"Agreed. I promise not to touch your things and respect your tastes. Let's create a healthier coexistence from now on."

"No silly arguments and resentments?" he reached out to her

"I promise. Those were waters under the bridge, what matters is our future in the dorm." She returned a friendly smile.

"Good to know! I think we can be good roommates from now on, maybe even friends?"

"Don't force it." she grinned "It's going to take a while before I even consider you a friend, okay?"

"I'll take that risk." he shrugged

They knew it would be a winding path of learning, but they were determined to make living in the dormitory more harmonious and respectful. For them, this was a new beginning.

A/N: SooY/N FINALLY having their redemption arc. Things are getting spicy...

[coconi]

💕 self-love time! talk about which ones of YOUR creations (edits, artworks, fanfics) you like the most then send to other creators to do the same 💕

(forwarding optional)

Aaaaaaa thank you, friend! 💖 This is gonna get messy and lengthy just fyi.

Let's see... I think my two favorite standalone fics to date (that are completed and posted at least) are Treading Water and Fugacious. Both happen to be pieces I wrote for fan events, so maybe those bring something special out of me?

I've talked many times about Treading Water. It's near and dear to my heart because of how many things about it felt experimental — the imagery/water metaphor, my own take on Aryll, using NPCs more, the getting to know someone through traces and impressions (which was the prompt!). It was fun to just follow Revali along from scene to scene as his pride thawed little by little, and everything fell into place so neatly it was almost scary 😅 I remember liveblogging as the word count increased because I simply couldn't believe it! It's still my longest work to date, and while to many 14k is nothing, to me it still is a huge accomplishment. That Aryll lives in my head rent-free with a story of her own, I love her so much.

Now Fugacious... I'll admit, when I saw that my giftee for the Revalink Secret Santa was @ghirahimbo I was a little scared. Steph is a phenomenal fanfic writer, one of the best I've encountered across fandoms, and she single-handedly got me into the ship (and into writing again!), so I wanted to write something to thank her for that. I'd been dying to explore Satori Mountain and its Lord so I figured going with something I truly wanted to write was my best bet! But I didn't really have a plan so I picked the route for the roadtrip and traveled it in-game, taking notes on landmarks and fun tidbits I could use. The problem was I found too many interesting things, so I had to axe a good chunk of them 😭 (RIP to the scene I had planned in Rutile Lake with Link swimming and splashing Revali to tease him). All in all it was a very fun fic to write.

Now, since the ask specifies edits as well and I'm a proud video editor, I'm gonna talk about my favorite MMV! I think we can all agree my best is Mirrors (with Rising Tide as a valiant second best), but today I wanna talk about Crossed Threads.

This fucking video is a testament to my perseverance and love for my wife. It took me four years to complete. Four years. I almost dropped the project it was too much work — I was getting frustrated, my editing skills had morphed and I didn't have the energy to redo old parts, Sony Vegas gave me the middle finger constantly, and there was so much masking. But I pushed through. I told myself over and over it doesn't have to be perfect, just get it done. And I did and I'm fucking proud of it 💪

Here's Tara's reaction at the time since this was a gift for her:

[20:44] Tara: YOU VILLAIN

I LOVE YOU

YOU WHORE OF BABYLON

I was also glad to give some food to the kyomami crew, since this ship is so criminally underrated. So many people thought I used doujinshi when most of the material used here (save for two images) is 100% canonical!!!!! Gah!!! Go read Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Different Story y'all, it's so fucking good!!!! I love these girls to death!!!!!!

Ahem... anyway. That's all.

If you read all this, you're a real one. Here's a cookie 🍪

[tejasmehndiartist]

Make Your Big Day Unforgettable with Breathtaking Bridal Mehndi

Introduction

As the world continues to advance, and people look for ways and means to make a wedding as memorable as can be, the elegance and beauty of bridal mehndi cannot be overemphasized. As such brides from Mohali look for experienced Bridal Mehndi Artists in Mohali so that they can take their traditions in the right spirit and let that add a magical touch to their big day. In this blog post, we will discuss bridal mehndi, the new designs, and the steps that one should follow to find the best Bridal Mehndi Artist in Mohali. Further, we will emphasize the extraordinary Tejas Mehndi Artist Services having documented and renowned for designing work and punctuality.

Trends in Bridal Mehndi Designs

1. Intricate Paisley Patterns

The mehndi designs are filled with beautiful paisley patterns which are always favored by brides. It may be a little complicated with curves and detailed design but all patterns can be created to fit the bride’s desire and taste.

2. Floral Motifs

Ornate decorations bring beauty to bridal mehndi and a touch of flowers make it more feminine in its feel. This flower is considered to be a symbol of beauty, and often real roses, lotuses, and jasmine are used to improve the image of a car.

3. Personalized Elements

In the case of bride-to-be’s mehndi designs, many brides prefer to have their initials, wedding dates, or certain symbolic objects illustrated on their hands and feet. This customization makes the mehndi even more special and personally acceptable for the bride.

4. Fusion Designs

Fusion style combines both the conventional and the new trends of today’s world; these creations are perfect for brides who dream of a dress with a timeless look. These designs might cover geometric shapes, mandalas, and Western patterns to look a more intriguing appearance.

Choosing the Perfect Bridal Mehndi Artist in Mohali

1. Portfolio Review

Portfolio analysis enables one to determine more about an artist - be it his or her, specialties or abilities, and range. There are so many artists out there in Pakistan that I suggest you select which artists' work matches your bridal mehndi designs.

2. Recommendations and Reviews

They emphasized that word of mouth and online reviews are two important sources that give an insight into an artist’s status. Closely questioning friends or relatives if necessary, and, in the case of searching for professional wedding planners and photographers, paying attention to their previous client’s feedback.

3. Trial Session

A trial as a session gives a feel of the artwork from the artist under consideration. Eat together, talk about your preferences, and check whether the executed mehndi design meets your expectations and is of high quality.

4. Customization

To ensure a unique gift is tailored according to the given guidelines, one has to select an artist who accepts modifications. A bridal mehndi must hold the mirror up to the girl’s personality therefore when choosing the design, the artist should be willing to incorporate your ideas.

Tejas Mehndi Artist Services

 Tejas Mehndi Artist Services is one of the best Bridal Mehndi Artist providers in all of Mohali. Often taking up projects in Chennai and nearby regions, brides have feared nothing but Tejas Mehndi Artist Services when it comes to their artistic and detailed mehndi designs. Given the experience that the team has, they have been able to get the right touch for designing products that can be considered unique and sophistically appealing. I understand the importance of high quality, natural henna at Tejas Mehndi Artist Services; therefore, their customers get beautiful, safe, and skin-friendly mehndi.           

FAQs on Bridal Mehndi Artist in Mohali

1. When should I book a Bridal Mehndi Artist in Mohali to make sure that I don’t have to run around at the last minute?

Depending on the personality, it is preferable to hire your preferred Bridal Mehndi Artist in Mohali 3-6 months before the function to avail the best services and have room for trial if necessary.

2. I have a skin problem, please advise me concerning how I can prepare my skin to prevent any glitches during the mehndi application?

While preparing skin for mehndi, dye molecules penetrate your skin better, and thus, to enhance mehndi color, scrub your hands and feet a day before the application. It is recommended not to use any lotions or oils on the day of the application of henna to get a better output.

3. How much time is spent at bridal mehndi to get the mehndi on?

Mehndi hand designing can take about 2 to 6 hours in total especially if the design to be used is very elaborate. During the process, stressing and fixing an uncomfortable pose should not be done.

Conclusion

Mehndi is an essential part of a bride’s look at the wedding and when choosing the best Bridal Mehndi Artist in Mohali, here are some factors to consider. One can always trust the wonderful talented hands of the Tejas Mehndi Artist Services, to give your bridal mehndi the look that will take your breath away. I urge my brides to trust our skills in making your special day one to remember.

[stampwithtami]

Flower Cart Fun Fold Card [Arrow Fold Series #4]

FLOWER CART ARROW FOLD CARD Today, I am thrilled to dive into the world of creativity and share with you my experience with the Stampin' Up Flower Cart Bundle. As we step into the new year, the crafting community is abuzz with excitement, thanks to the upcoming release of the 2024 January - April Mini Catalog. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this fantastic bundle and explore the possibilities it holds for my card-making adventures. The Stampin' Up Flower Cart Bundle: Let's talk about the star of the show – the Stampin' Up Flower Cart Bundle. This delightful stamp and die set combination offers a myriad of design options for creating charming and intricate cards. The attention to detail in the designs is impeccable, making it a joy to work with. Sneak Peeks: In the spirit of sharing the excitement, I've sprinkled a few sneak peeks of other fabulous products on the card. The Bright Skies dies and the coordinating Sunny Days Designer Series paper add a touch of whimsy and vibrancy to my creation. What's even more exciting is that you can snag the Sunny Days Designer Series paper for free during Saleabration, starting January 4. It's the perfect way to kick off the crafting year with some extra flair! Learn more here. Arrow Fun Fold Series – Installment 4: For this project, I decided to incorporate the Arrow Fun Fold technique, marking the fourth installment in my Arrow Fun Fold Series. If you've been following along, you know that this series is all about adding a dynamic fun fold element to your cards. It's a playful way to showcase your creativity, and I encourage you to explore more ideas and tutorials in the series for added inspiration. In conclusion, my journey with the Stampin' Up Flower Cart Bundle has been nothing short of delightful. The anticipation of the new catalog, the thrill of experimenting with fresh products, and the joy of sharing my creations with you make this crafting adventure truly special. As we approach the release date, get ready to embark on your creative journey with the Flower Cart Bundle, Bright Skies dies, and the Sunny Days Designer Series paper. Don't forget to mark your calendars for January 4 and take advantage of the Saleabration promotion to add a bonus touch to your crafting supplies. Stay tuned for more crafting escapades, tutorials, and creative inspiration. Until then, happy crafting! INSTRUCTIONS & VIDEOS INSTRUCTIONS     INSTRUCTIONS ARROW FOLD VIDEO ARROW FUN FOLD VIDEO CLASS SPRING MINI CATALOG REVEAL See this new Flower Cart Bundle and all of the new products in the 2024 January-April Mini Catalog  on this video. Click the button for more details. 2024 SPRING MINI CATALOG REVEAL MATERIALS TO MAKE THIS CARD STAMPIN UP MATERIALS I USED Click the thumbnails for more details on each product and to shop my online store.    SEE MORE TUTORIALS MY ARROW FUN FOLD SERIES ARROW FOLD SERIES Click the thumbnails below for more free tutorials in my series. NEED A CATALOG? PHOTOS Want to save these ideas for later? Pin them to your favorite Pinterest board. Have you tried these designs? I love to see your creations! Be sure to share them on #shareyourcrafts post every Saturday on my Facebook Page    I just love these new Flower Cart dies. So adorable. A view of the inside of the card. I added some clouds and grass from the new Bright Skies dies. This die set coordinates with the Sunny Days Saleabration Designer Series Paper I used. I cut the flower from the Sunny Days DSP using the from the Flower Cart set. Then I added some daisies from the Hearts and Flower Adhesive Embellishments. The Landscape Arrow Fold technique completes the card. See the video and tutorial above to create this card. Read the full article

[marketingprofitmedia]

Booqs Review – Just 1-Click E-Book Without Writing a Word

Welcome to my Booqs Review Post. This is a real user-based Booqs Review where I will focus on the features, upgrades, demo, pricing, how Booqs can help you, and my opinion. A world-class AI app that can turn anything into a fully designed eBook or flipbook in no time. Then sell it in our private market where readers are actively looking for it. We’re making $584.45 every day. All of this without writing a single word. It only takes 1 click in 60 seconds.

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Booqs Review: Product Overview

Creator: Seyi Adeleke

Product: Booqs

Launch Date: 2023-Dec-12

Launch Time: 10:00 EST

Front-End Price: $27

Product Type: Software (Online), Video

Support: Effective Response

Recommended: Highly Recommended

Discount : Get The Best Discount Right Now!

No Need Skill Level: All Levels

Refund: Yes, 30 Days Money-Back Guarantee

Booqs Review: Key Features

The World’s First Voice-To-eBook App. Turn your voice into a stunning ebooks & flipbooks.

Instantly Generate 100% Human-like And Unique eBooks.

Seize the Opportunities of the AI Wave with a Single Click.

100% Cloud-Based Nothing To Install Or Configure.

Anyone Can Use It Without Any Prior Experience.

Create eBooks, FlipBooks, PDFs, Presentations, Reports, And More.

Publish Your eBooks Immediately on Our Marketplace.

Distribute Your E-book to Get Immediate Access to Buyer Traffic..

Start Your Publishing Business Today.

Instantly Generate 3D eCover for your eBook.

No Initial Expenses.

Money-back guarantee for 30 days.

Booqs Review — How Booqs Work?

Booqs Review: Who Can Do For Booqs?

1-Click AI eBook Generator: Creating an eBook used to be a difficult task that included research, formatting, writing, editing, and design. Those obstacles, however, are no longer an issue with Booqs. Simply enter a single term, and Booqs’ AI will handle the rest

100% Human-Like Content: Rest assured, Booqs guarantees that AI-generated material is undetected. It excels in creating top-tier, 100% human-like material, a unique talent for which others pay exorbitant fees

Plagiarism Free Content: Your content is 100% unique to you. Booqs don’t scrape or reuse content. We have the best AI engine in the world that will create unique content on demand for us.

Generate FlipBooks, Presentations, PDFs, eBooks, Sales Materials, And More: Booqs doesn’t create just eBooks, with Booqs you can create much much more All in less than 40 seconds. With Booqs you can create much much more All in less than 40 seconds.

AI Researcher: Doesn’t matter what niche you’re in. AI can research and create the best content possible. The content is so good, a human can’t replicate it. You don’t have to do any research.

1-Click FlipBook Designer: Content creation is step one, but a simple ebook lacks appeal. Transform unique content into stunning flipbooks or eBooks effortlessly with AI, no design skills needed.

3D eCover Generator: Effortlessly generate a professional 3D eCover for your eBook in seconds — no design skills, Photoshop, Canva, or designer hiring required.

Create AI Story Books: Desired to publish a sequence of your own storybooks? Create a comprehensive narrative for any niche with Booqs and publish it instantaneously on Amazon or any other platform of your choosing.

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Booqs Review: More Benefits Booqs

Voice-to-eBook: Speak Your Book into Existence: Booqs’ unique voice-to-eBook feature allows you to dictate your content directly into the app, which then uses its AI engine to convert your spoken words into a polished and professional eBook. This is a game-changer for those who struggle with writing or simply prefer the convenience of speaking their thoughts.

Go Beyond eBooks: Create Flipbooks, Presentations, and More: Booqs isn’t just about eBooks. You can also use it to create a variety of other content formats, such as flipbooks, presentations, PDFs, and even AI-generated storybooks. This versatility makes Booqs a powerful tool for marketing, education, and entertainment.

DFY Mid-Ticket Offers: Earn While You Create: Booqs comes with ready-made “done-for-you” mid-ticket offers that you can integrate into your eBooks. These offers pay out between $200 and $400 per sale, providing you with a potential income stream while you’re creating and publishing your content.

Plagiarism-Free Content: Focus on Your Ideas, Not Copyright: Booqs’ AI engine generates original content that is 100% plagiarism-free. This means you can rest assured that your eBooks are unique and won’t get you into any trouble with copyright infringement.

AI-Powered Research: Let the AI Do the Heavy Lifting: Booqs’ AI researcher can help you find and compile relevant information for your eBooks, saving you time and effort. This is especially helpful if you’re writing on a topic that you’re not familiar with.

Fill Your eBooks with Your Links: Boost Your Marketing Efforts: Booqs allows you to easily insert links to your website, social media profiles, or other affiliate offers within your eBooks. This is a great way to drive traffic and generate leads.

Professional 3D eCovers: Make Your eBooks Stand Out: Booqs provides access to a library of professionally designed 3D eCovers that you can use to make your eBooks visually appealing and grab attention.

Easy Integration with Other Tools: Booqs integrates seamlessly with a variety of other tools and platforms, such as Mailchimp, Zapier, and Gumroad. This makes it easy to streamline your workflow and automate various tasks.

Booqs Review: Verify User Booqs

Booqs Review: Who Can Use It Booqs?

Affiliate marketers

Email marketers

CPA marketer

Ecommerce

Entrepreneurs

Coaches

Blogger

Local businesses

Influencers

Individuals

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Booqs Review: OTO’S And Pricing

Front End Price — ($17)

OTO 1: Booqs Unlimited ($67)

OTO 2: Booqs DoneForYou ($297)

OTO 3: Booqs Automation ($47)

OTO 4 : Booqs Swift Profits ($47)

OTO 5: Booqs Limitless Traffic ($97)

OTO 6: Booqs Agency ($167)

OTO 7: Booqs Franchise Edition ($97)

OTO 8: Booqs Multiple Income ($47)

Booqs Review: Free Bonuses

Booqs Review: Money Back Guarantee

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1. Do I need any experience to get started?

None, all you need is just an internet connection. And you’re good to go.

Q2. Is there any monthly cost?

Depends, NONE if you act now. However, if you wait, you may wind up spending $997 every month. It is all up to you.

Q3. How long does it take to make money?

Our average member made their first sale the same day they got access to Booqs.

Q4. Do I need to purchase anything else for it to work?

Nop, Booqs is the complete thing. You get everything you need to make it work. Nothing is left behind.

Q5. What if I failed?

While this is improbable, we have eliminated any danger for you. If you tried Booqs and were disappointed, we will return every penny you spent. And then offer you a lot of goodies to make up for wasting your time.

Q6. How can I get started?

Awesome, I like how excited you are. To get your copy of Booqs for a one-time fee, just click any of the buy buttons on the page.

Conclusion

Booqs will save you time and effort while creating content. Even for AI-powered writing novices, Booqs is simple to use. Booqs redefines eBook generators in digital publication. With its advanced AI, Booqs simply turns keywords into profitable, beautifully produced eBooks and FlipBooks. Booqs has everything from 1-Click content production to Siri- and Alexa-rivalling speech recognition. It’s an AI-powered eBook generator that outperforms ChatGPT 4. Enter the future of publishing with Booqs, where creativity meets efficiency and success meets simplicity. Start building a successful publishing company here.

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Thank for reading my Booqs Review till the end. Hope it will help you to make purchase decision perfectly.

[asimo3089]

Asimo3089

Asimo 3089: The mystery character’s life, family and career

There are many people who have gained immense fame from social media. However, some prefer to not reveal their identity to remain a mystery to the world. Asimo is one such character who prefers to not disclose real name or face to the public. It is this mystery that seems to compel fans to know more about him.

Game developer

Those have played ‘Roblox’ are sure to have come across this name. He had co-developed a part of the game named ‘Jailbreak’. This game can be found on Roblox platform and has achieved tremendous success among people of all ages. Almost instantly, he became an international star for his creation!

Family and early life

He is said to have born in Arizona, USA on August 26, 1995. Being a secretive person, nothing is known about his family. The only thing that his fans can know about him is he has 5 sisters and the only son of the family. But the professions or names of his parents are also not disclosed. Till date, he has not posted any video using a facecam and rarely visits gamecons or other eSports events. Thus, his fans will not be able to identify him even if he before them.

He said to have matriculated in 2013 from an Arizona-based local high school. At college, he is assumed to have studied Computer Programming or Computer Science. He got employed as game developer with Roblox Corpn. But nothing is known about his institution from where he had completed his studies.

Personal life

As stated above, Asimo3089 prefers secrecy about his life, family and personal life, etc. Hence, it is not known if he is currently dating with someone, his ex-girlfriends or marriage, etc.

Hobbies

He has a strong passion for cars and also a technology enthusiast. He is known to have a special preference for Tesla and has made Elon Musk his role model. He even has kept his nickname ASIMO that the whole world knows him as. It stands for ‘Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility’), a humanoid robot created and released in Japan by Honda in 2014. This robot can recognize postures, gestures, sounds, faces and objects. It even interacts with humans. Hence, the nickname that he chose to represent himself to the world clearly shows his love for technology. He is active mostly on Twitter with 400,000 readers while YouTube channel has 130,000+ subscribers. For more details visit: https://biographytribune.com/asimo3089-wiki-biography-age-real-name-face-net-worth/