#only through google search but i didn’t wanna post it without credit :(

[terrorofthetrident]

vhagar and aemond’s reveals at storm’s end were so dramatic..had lighting striking as they came into view/turned around and everything

[0poole]

I LOVE No Straight Roads

Honestly it’s hard to keep me away from a game with great visuals and even greater character design. I knew from the INSTANT I saw these characters that I was going to love it. I just finished it because it’s (unfortunately) pretty short, and even though I cheesed the final boss through it’s very lenient death mechanics (Instant respawn at the cost of a good rank) I actually appreciated that it wasn’t a pure cake walk. I’ve yet to rematch all of the bosses, but since I had genuine trouble with the later ones I’ll hold off on that.

But who cares about gameplay, am I right? I sure as hell don’t. I would’ve bought the game no matter what the hell it was. I wanted the characters (and the music, although I realized that second) and that was it. 

First of all, I love any world that is super fantastical but cheesy in its concept, ala a city powered by music, and battles between artists using music. Ideas like this only spawn from a mind that wants to create a fun atmosphere, if nothing else, and it was sure as hell fun. I genuinely love when someone goes so far into a crazy idea and doesn’t waste your time explaining it with real world logic. Wanna know how a city can be powered by music? Shut up and look at the cute virtual mermaid. Lord knows I did. Every once in a while, it does you good to just let the player/reader/viewer just revel in the idea without having to go out of your way to make things seem realistic. It’s not about “turning your brain off” or whatever, it’s picking your battles.

Also, I can seriously love a world with great background characters to it. Any game with the right situation to insert the random nobodies you find onto the streets into the art in the credits really played into the greatness of the world’s less important characters, and that’s always a good thing. It’s technically world building. But, since I always love to pick favorites, I’d have to say my favorite background character is easily Mia, the NSR infodesk assistant. It’s funny, because you can literally search “nsr characters” into Google and she’s the third image result. I love how jumpy she is when you first interact with her, since NSR probably spread the word about B2J suggesting they’re rock thugs who’d beat up anyone, so for all she knows she could die right then and there with a guitar lodged in her skull. She’s probably just some intern trying to pay for college. She don’t want trouble.

Also, I just realized that 90% of the characters in this game have the same body structure that I always love, that being having arms/legs that sort of fan out in width into relatively large hands/feet. It’s a kind of limb structure I fall into so much because it just really hits me right for some reason. I really can’t explain why.

Anyways, I gotta talk about the big boys individually:

Mayday and Zuke are an amazing duo. I’m always a sucker for a cute and crazy girl, but honestly Zuke hit so many of the right notes too. I will say it’s weird to pair the martian Zuke with the humanly-skinned Mayday, but honestly it doesn’t even matter because he looks so cool on his own. I love his weird blocky blue dreadlocks, and his weirdly shaped shirt which bares his chest in the weirdest way... And, oh my god, Mayday’s weird Spongebob background flower eyes? It’s little tidbits like that that really make me jealous. How could I have ever thought of that? It looks so perfect, and I don’t know why. And her little booty jig she does in her idle animation? Adorable. I played as her as much as was reasonable not only because I’m a filthy button masher with little strategy but also because she’s so damn cute. I can also appreciate how she has a tough-as-nails persona while still keeping a semi-girly attitude, like with her falling for 1010 and Sayu. Characters are so much better when they’re a perfect blend of characteristics, instead of being all one-note, like how Zuke is the quiet one but gets heated against DK West, and all. 

Honestly the voice acting for every character is great, but I love when Mayday’s VA’s accent shows through. It’s a perfect twang to accent (consider this the only acknowledgement of a pun in this post) her snarkiness. 

DJ Subatomic Supernova was going to be an easy favorite since he’s all space-themed. Also, I don’t know why I always end up liking the egotistic characters. Not in the sense that I like their egotistic-ness, but in the sense that I like everything else about them and they just so happen to also be egotistic. The same applied with Empoleon (maybe like my 2nd favorite Pokemon) and Rarity from MLP, probably among others. Either way, I’ll never not love space themes. Not to mention he’s got a funky disco theme, and I’m slowly starting to realize that I am in extreme love with techno-funk styles of music. The instant I heard his music he cemented his place into my playlists. 

As for design, I still have no idea what the fuck he is. Clearly AI is at human levels in this world, but if he’s a robot why does he still have hairy legs? But, if he’s a human, is that weird orb his head? Is it just some sort of puppet which he controls from inside his giant jacket? I know I dissed explaining things realistically but I actually want to know with this guy. Even the wiki doesn’t say. Either way, he’s clearly the logical extreme of “being at the center of your own universe.” Even his jacket depicts a solar system, with his hood being the sun. Didn’t see that until I tried to draw him. I really wish this guy wasn’t so tied to his DJ stand so I could reasonably draw him without it. I don’t want to draw his hairy ass legs. It is a great touch for his design though (although I prefer his beta look with pants and long boots, another design trait I tend to gravitate to) since DJs could reasonably not wear pants, since they’re always behind a table.

Sayu is my favorite. It’s so plainly obvious. It’s weird to say that sometimes, because some characters like Sayu are so clearly engineered to be as adorable as possible, to the point where they’re basically a parody of whatever they’re supposed to be emulating, but then they do that so well that they are still likable for what they’re trying to parody. Also, even though I’ve never looked into any vocaloid superstars myself, the fact that they exist and are loved in real life is absolutely perfect to be used as a character design in a world like this. It’s so weird conceptually, but we all know it’s normal and realistic. But yeah, she’s a giga-cutie whom I’ve already drawn and I’ve listened to her theme on loop on many different occasions. Favorite character, favorite track, favorite weapon of choice (What did I say about Empoleon?), which, and I wouldn’t have noticed this myself, looks like the USB symbol you see above USB ports on computers. How crazy perfect is that?

Even apart from my unbridled love for cute monster robot(?) girls, her boss fight is probably the 2nd greatest of them all, at least conceptually. She’s just a hologram, so you can’t touch her, but you CAN disconnect the artists which control her in order to defeat her. It’s the kind of concept for a boss fight that could only work for this type of character. I’m a sucker for the cute girl that provides her voice, but I love how the animator (video editor? the yellow one) actually attacks you with a mouse and lowers the brightness of the setting once he appears. Also, the mocap guy being the deeply-voiced type but still providing the adorable movements of her body. It’s such a great combo of characters, and their little extra art in the credits makes me like them even more. I just wish we could interact with them individually.

DK West was probably one of the most interesting characters visually, especially since I knew of every other NSR member long before the game came out, but I only just heard of him closer to the release. I wasn’t sure where he was placed, but I definitely assumed his gig was the weird shadow demon we saw in the trailers. When I finally saw him in game, I was shocked to hear him speak an entirely different language most of the time, which was really cool. Also, finding out he was tied to Zuke and wasn’t strictly an NSR artist really made him more interesting. You know, if his fucking shadow clone magic didn’t make him crazy cool enough. Even though I suck at his game and am not especially fond of his raps, the visual of him rapping with this giant monster behind him and dozens of weird shadow wingmen by his side hyping him up was probably one of the coolest in the entire game. The dark way they were hyping him up too gave such a bizarre atmosphere, especially since it parallels his seemingly chill and smiley demeanor. 

I definitely hope they’ll introduce new bosses as DLC in the future, and make them sort of in the same vein as DK West, where they aren’t the biggest artists ever, but they want to pick a fight with B2J. I’d kill for any extra content this game can provide.

Yinu is obviously special since she was the subject of the demo they put out for the game. Even though I knew all her bells and whistles, she and her mom still beat me a few times in the full game. Considering she’s semi-tied to story-ish spoilers I kinda want to go more into her in a separate section. It is worth considering playing the game first since it’s not hard (with the easy going deaths) and it’s short length.

1010 seriously grew on me as I learned more about them and interacted with them. I got their shtick when I first looked at them, but after seeing that animation of them touring the city on Youtube I was kinda falling for them. Then, I learned that they’re apparently repurposed navy war robots? I mean, maybe not them specifically, but it seems to heavily point in that direction, with the warship cars and “attention!”s and all. It took me a bit to get into their music too, but once I actually fought them and put their actions to the music I fell in love with it. I swear, Neon J’s weird dancing can has some of the smoothest moves in all of gaming. I don’t know whether they mocapped out those movements or got one of the greatest animators ever, but it looks so impossibly clean his part of the song gets me like 30x more hype than it would normally. 

Also, their little art piece of them looking at fan mail in the credits is probably one of the most adorable things ever. Even if they’re just Neon J’s puppets, that piece of art really makes it seem like they love every one of their fans. I’m not gonna lie, I might swoon a bit too if they picked me out and gave me some special attention.

Oh yeah, and the fact that Mayday was super sad in her showstopper against them was adorable and hilarious at the same time. The little tweaks they made to the showstopper for each fight were great.

Eve just has to be Lady Gaga, right? Like, an even crazier Lady Gaga. DJSS is Daft Punk (or any artist with a helmet persona, you know what I’m talking about), Sayu is Hatsune Miku, DK West is Kanye West, Yinu is a generic child protege, 1010 is a KPop boyband (just pick one) and Eve is Lady Gaga. That’s just how things are. But, again, this is the kind of boss fight that only this type of character could provide. It’s not just surreal imagery, it’s ARTISTIC surreal imagery. The fight is so mesmerizing in every way, especially by how it starts off so slow and calm and progresses to insanity, as well as the increased emotional investment in the fight making you feel so much more into it than just “That’s the boy band. Let’s fight.” Not only does it get you more invested, but it makes her artistic persona go deeper than just “she looks weird.” She is genuinely conflicted about her relationship with Zuke, and naturally that leads her to literally split him and Mayday apart. That mechanic specifically was the coolest, although I do wish they made it more obvious when you needed to switch over to a different side. I was getting pulverized by her fight too, since there were so many things to pay attention to. Her fight was definitely the best one. 

Tatiana and Spoilers:

Let’s be real with ourselves, the twist was so obvious. I do also think, though, that obvious twists aren’t bad if they’re just good reveals. At some point, a person just has experienced so many stories that “only pretty good” twists are easy to spot. It doesn’t mean that the twists are bad, it just means you yourself experienced.

I feel like her transition from rock to EDM was pretty understandable, even as a non-musician. She was so caught up in what she assumed was popular that it basically consumed her. It’s easy as an artist to want to forgo what you truly want to make in favor of what makes you popular, and clearly since her transition to EDM made her the CEO of the biggest company in the city (world?) that probably made her think she truly needed to change her outlook. Then, when she saw B2J try to bring it back, she sort of coined them as being as misguided as she was and knocked them down a peg. Plus, they were kinda being jerks about it.

It’s kinda like the Trolls sequel, where everyone pegs rock music fanatics as being too stuck up in their own heads to appreciate other types of music, which honestly seems more like the case than the alternative. When I first heard of the story of the game, I was seriously hoping they did put an asterisk on B2J’s ambitions because they were a bit sketchy from the start. 

That’s kinda where I want to talk about Yinu, because she was the true turning point in what they were doing. She’s literally 9 and yet she’s getting dragged into all this BS. When she said “I hate you all” at the end of her fight, and played a somber tune on her broken piano after the fight destroyed it, you kinda got a kick in the face to realize you’re kinda being an asshole to some of them. Sure, they fight back, but they wouldn’t fight in the first place if they didn’t have to. They are just people who play music under a joint name that B2J just so happened to get in hot water with. 

Then, of course, there’s Kliff, who also reeked of surprise villain, and who’s basically the embodiment of the bad side of B2J, where he just wanted to destroy for his own sake and not for the actual greater good. Once B2J realized their mistake, they backed off, but Kliff was so hard pressed to do what he planned on in the first place he wouldn’t stop. I kinda wish he got a bigger fight to his own since he’s clearly a big enough tech genius to divert a whole satellite into one specific building. Maybe the Elliecopter chase bit was his thing, but I do kind of wish he was there to fight against them too.

Even though Tatiana did kind of reform a bit quick, It’s still not too crazy to assume she could see that B2J was just misguided and the fact that they worked to revert their wrongdoings for her sake would make a pretty strong impressions. They clearly can hold their own, so it’s not like she wouldn’t want them to join NSR too. 

Oh yeah, and her boss fight was clock/time themed. If there’s a theme under space that I love, it’s clocks/time. 

And If I am to be respected by the internet, I must provide a negative opinion to balance out my positive one. I will say that the character model physics (like Mayday’s braids, DK West’s vest thing, Neon J’s fluffy neck thing, etc) got kinda funky at times. Especially DK West’s vest, which was completely messed up for every scene he was in... Also, even though the voices are mostly great, some lines felt a bit off. Just a bit. That good enough? Good.

But yeah anyway that’s another favorite game to add to the pile. Eventually I’m gonna have to compile a true list of my all-time favorite games/movies because I do kind of want to have a solid idea of what my all-time favorites are.

[thiswasinevitableid]

71. you’re famous and you want to hide out in my bookstore which is fine except the stupid paparazzi won’t leave and now there’s a photo of us in the tabloids and they’re printing misinformation and why the fuck won’t you clear this up on your twitter account

Sternclay, NSFW, please!

Here you go! Let's end this round of meet uglies with a bang

The post-holiday slump is always the worst; everyone maxed out their credit cards last month and doesn’t want to buy anything, and the tourists won’t be back until the spring. It’s not that he’s concerned about keeping the lights on; Bookworms is popular and has a prime spot downton. It’s that he’s bored out of his mind.

All his orders for the day are in, everything’s been received and shelved, and he’s running out of things to tidy. If he’s lucky, the clouds that have been threatening a snowstorm since this morning will burst and drive some people to shelter among the stacks.

Dingdong

Thank the lord.

“Welcome to Bookworms, can I help you?”

The man stays by the door, peering through the glass onto the street while pulling off his beanie, “Huh? Oh, uh, nope, just coming in to, uh, get out of the cold.” He turns, and two realizations slap Joseph in the face.

One: this is the hottest man he has ever had the pleasure of seeing.

Two: He’s seen this man dozens of times, just never in person.

Barclay Cobb is a Food Network darling who got his start on Youtube, sharing recipes from vintage cookbooks he found at garage sales. That’s not why he’s starstruck, but it is probably why the taller man is hiding in the craft books alcove and keeps nervously looking his way.

“I won’t tell anyone you’re here, Mr. Cobb.”

“Phew” the man sighs, unzips his jacket, “thanks man. Thought I’d be bundled up enough that no one would spot me while I was out, but I didn’t get my hat on in time coming out of the Chinese place down the block.”

“I love that spot, they have the best beer-braised duck.”

“Yeah, I always stop by when I’m in town, they’re food is worth getting photographed for.”

It’s odd, everything he’s read suggests chef Cobb is friendly and warm when approached by fans in public.

“It’s not that I don’t appreciate that people like my shows but, I, uh, sometimes I just want to eat or walk down the street without someone taking pictures of me.”

“Do you want to head into the back sections? There’s no windows in that half of the store.”

“Sweet, thanks. Uh, would it be cool if I autographed any books of mine you have? I like doing that, means I can send a little business towards smaller stores.”

“Of course. Here, the cookbooks are on this wall.” He slips into his office to grab a sharpie while Barclay pulls a stack of books and sits down on the floor. As the scratching of the pen fills the air, Joseph takes a trip to the paranormal and occult section, coming back with three copies of The Case for Bigfoot.”

“Y’know, not everyone stocks these.” Barclay smiles as he adds the paperbacks to the pile.

“Which is terrible business; you’re just as famous in the cryptozoology community as you are in the foodie one. This is the best book on bigfoot ever written, and I should know; I run a, um, a blog where I review books on paranormal topics.”

“You a true believer?” The cook blows on his signature in the copy of Desserts for All Seasons

“More an optimistic skeptic; your book is perfect because you make your case using actual evidence instead of reporting the same ten, poorly verified stories that everyone includes in their books. And I appreciated that you included recipes from the places you visited; that was a very nice touch.”

“Funny story about that” Barclay freezes as the front door opens. There’s definitely more than one person coming in, and when Joseph pokes his head around the corner he sees fifteen people, all with cameras or phones.

“Shit. You might want to hide in my office for a few minutes.”

By the time the crowd reaches him, Joseph is almost done re-shelving the signed books.

“Good afternoon, let me know if you need help finding anything.”

“Uh, yeah, we do, someone saw Barclay Cobb in your store-”

“Strange, we’ve only had one customer” he winces as someone’s shoulder knocks a hardcover off its display, “I didn’t get a good look at them before they went downstairs.” He tips his head at the staircase to the YA and Graphic Novel sections and is promptly knocked into the shelf as the throng hurries away.

“Come on, I can get you out through the back door” Joseph whispers to the Red Dust on his Soul poster on his office door. Barclay is remarkably quiet for a man his size as they sneak across the floor and let frigid, January air rush into the store.

“Thanks man” Barclay whispers, “I owe you one.” He sets a big hand on Joseph’s shoulder, squeezes it with a wink, then pulls on his hat and disappears into a crowd coming off at the bus stop.

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

Joseph always comes in through the back, flipping on lights as he goes, so the sea of bodies pressed to the front windows like a zombie horde surprises him. He knows Barclay tweeted about the signed copies, but this seems like excessive excitement even for a celebrity chef.

“Morning, Joseph--whoa, what the heck?” Aubrey clocks in without taking her eyes off the crowd, “why is everyone here this early.”

“Fan culture. I think.” The registers finish waking up, “I’ll pay holiday rates if you open that door for me.”

Aubrey gives a thumbs up, unlocks the double doors, and is swallowed up so quickly he worries she might have been trampled until she emerges near the greeting cards. Some people swarm the cookbooks, but an alarming number cluster around the counter, all shouting for his attention.

“How long have you been seeing Chef Cobb?”

“What?, I, I’m not-”

“Does he often visit your store?”

“No! He just came by yesterday!” There’s a horrible clatter of all the books on display near the door taking each other out like dominoes.

“Do you fuck in the backroom all the time?”

“Oh come on” He pushes past the man who asked that, deals with shouting all the way to his office and slams the door. A quick Google search for “Barclay Cobb” brings up a blurry photo of them in the alley, Barclays hand on his shoulder, and multiple headlines speculating on why the reclusive chef and author has chosen a nobody bookstore employee (he’s the owner, damn it) as his lover.

Okay, there’s a logical, easy fix to this.

He opens the door enough to speak, whistles so everyone will be quiet and listen to him, “I’m sorry, there’s been a misunderstanding. Mr. Cobb isn’t in any kind of relationship with me; he just came into the store yesterday for some peace and quiet. So, if you’re looking for information about him, this is not the place for it. If you’re looking for the signed books, the cookbooks are there, and the paranormal section is just around that corner.” He gives his best customer service smile as the paparazzi exchange perplexed glances.

“...Is it true he bought you this store?”

“Wh--no! We rent this space.”

“From him?”

“Arggh!” He closes the door, slumps against it and cards his fingers through his hair. As he contemplates closing for the day, he spots a little, copper card on his desk. It’s Barclay’s, which is what he expected, but when he flips it over there’s a message scribbled in pen.

Main St Hotel, room 503, here until Monday.

He pulls out his phone, tells Aubrey she’s allowed to get the crowd out by any means necessary except for fire, and elbows his way out into the winter air.

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

Barclay almost purrs when he peers through the peephole in the hotel door; Joseph, as his nametag read, is standing on the carpet, looking twice as handsome as he did yesterday. His cheeks are even a little pink, and Barclay has some thoughts on how to make that blush deepen.

“Hey, glad you found-”

Joseph holds up his phone, screen in Barclays face, “please fix this.”

“Oh fuck.” He ushers him in, “I’m so sorry, I thought they’d stopped doing this shit.”

“No, and they’re fucking up my inventory as a result.”

“On it, lemme text my assistant, she’s good at drafting these kind of messages.”

“Thank the lord. Right, thank you for that, I’ll go now.”

“Wait” Barclay reminds his instincts that blocking the door is rude, “do you wanna stay a few minutes? You look kinda stressed.”

“Because my store is being overrun!” Joseph snaps, then takes a deep breath and straightens his sleeves, “I’m sorry, that wasn’t called for, this morning has just been a mess. And it, um, it’s a little bittersweet to have people thinking I could land a hot chef when I can’t get past a first date with most people. Um, sorry. Too much information. That’s a bad habit of mine.”

Barclay tucks his hands into his pants pockets, “About that. Y’know how I left my card?”

Blue eyes blink, then brighten, “I thought that might be the reason but I dismissed it as wishful thinking.”

“Nope. A guy who's hot, nerdy, and competent enough to sneak me away from the paparazzi? Sign me the fuck up.”

“I’m not opposed to a, um, tryst, but I really, really need to get back to the store, I can’t abandon Aubrey to deal with this mess on her own, that’s not fair, and now we’ll have to reorder things too....” He laughs, a tense sound, “good lord, I get a chance to fuck a celebrity crush and I’m turning it down for work.”

“Hey” Barclay sets his hands on Joseph’s shoulders, “it’s okay. You’re not the first guy to be married to his job. But, uh, out of curiosity, you got any vacation days to spare?”

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

“This is all yours?” Joseph takes in the sprawling farm as Barclay unlocks the front door of a charmingly rustic house.

“Yep, all the way to the creek and all the way to the road. Might surprise you, but I like my privacy.”

“I’d never have guessed.” He replies with faux shock.

“Smartass.” Barclay kisses his cheek, holds the door open with his shoulder so Joseph can pull his bags inside. He packed as light and efficiently as he could for two weeks away (he’d initially planned on one until Aubrey and Moira ganged up on him and told him he hadn’t taken a real vacation in years so he was taking one now, damn it) but his suitcase is still heavy as he rolls it to the stairs.

“I got that.” Barclay shoulders his own travel bag and hoists Joseph’s in the other hand, carrying them to the second floor like they’re nothing more than pillows.

The week the chef was in Madison, Joseph went to his hotel almost every night. Fell asleep in his bed more than once, when discussions of fusion cuisine or the Fresno Nightcrawler turned into frantic, heated kisses under the covers. It’s only when the cook drops all luggage into the master bedroom that the truth of why he’s on this trip sets in.

“You really invited me all the way here because you think I’m hot.”

“Yeah but no.” Barclay drapes his arms over his shoulders, lips still a little chilly as he kisses them, “brought you here because you’re smart” another kiss, this one on his jaw, “and funny” another, on his nose, “and you’re the biggest bigfoot fan I know.”

“You wrote a book on it!”

“Point stands. And yeah” he pushes Joseph back so he lands on the bed, crawling atop him as he growls, “I invited you here because you’re so hot I wanna pour sugar on you and see if it melts. Now get your pants off; I’ve been thinking about sucking your dick since we left the city.”

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

“How did the whole bigfoot thing start?” Joseph sips his Irish Coffee as Barclay puts his feet into his lap.

“Guess the same way any famous person ends up with two gigs; I was doing the thing I love, then was dicking around on cryptid hunter forums and found out I was also hella good at researching bigfoot. By the time I got really into it, I had enough cash that I could write my book without worrying about going broke. Helps that I’d handed off The Arch and The Lodge and was just the exec chef on them, since then I could travel if I needed to.”

Joseph nods, moves one hand down to rub Barclays foot; in spite of no longer working the kitchens of his five restaurants or having to test recipes for the books right now, he spent most of today on his feet making elaborate meals for two. Joseph teases him that he’s trying to stuff him to the point he can’t leave. Barclay always chuckles and says he doesn’t know how right he is. The last two days, Joseph then wraps his arms around his boyfriend and tells him he’d stay forever if he could.

He’s never thought of himself as romantic; he’s pragmatic, knows that relationships are things built out of time, trial, and error. But god help him, he’s fallen for Barclay like they’re rom-com leads with only ninety minutes to reach their happy ending.

They’re out near the creek--really more of a small river--the next morning, talking about books and speculating on the existence of life on other planets, when a storm sweeps through the trees. As trunks groan and roots pull loose from the snow, Barclay calls, “we better head back.”

He gives a thumbs up. Then the ice under him cracks.

He doesn’t correct course quickly enough, the rest dropping from under him and dunking him in freezing water. It’s deep, too deep to stand, but he’s a decent swimmer and kicks towards the surface. When the shadow covers the opening with a boom, panic threatens to push the rest of his precious breath away.

The tree that fell across the ice is heavy, and no matter how he pushes it won’t give. He bangs on the ice on either side, trying to get it to crack, but his lungs scream and his limbs alert him that the cold will soon shut them down.

He closes his eyes, trying to think, not ready to give up, not with Barclay so close. There’s a groan of wood and frozen water. His mouth opens without permission, desperate for air, and chokes him on frost instead.

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

“...be dead, please don’t be dead, please please please don’t be fucking dead.”

“Nnff.” That’s not what he meant to say, but it seems to calm the voice above him.

“Thank fuck. I’m so sorry, I got to you as fast as I could, do, do you need anything?” Barclay sounds exhausted.

“Cold.” He mutters.

“I’m trying to warm you up gradually, that’s what the first aid book said but, uh, here.” Warm, fuzzy arms draw him into a hug.

Wait.

The first thing he sees when his eyes flutter open are arms covered in reddish-brown fur. When Barclay rubs their cheeks together, it tickles more than his beard usually does.

“Barclay? What the hell is going on?”

“Uh. So.” He’s rolled with ease to face a creature he’s never seen and eyes that he’d know anywhere, “I’m bigfoot. Or, uh, a bigfoot. Maybe that’s kinda obvious now.”

His brain crackles to life, “What better way to stay undiscovered than get famous by giving people the wrong information about you.”

“Some of it’s true. Just not anything people could use to actually find me.”

“Smart, big guy” Joseph pets his face.

“You’re taking this pretty well.”

“I think my system is too shocked to experience more shock.” He shudders, “relatedly, how’d I get out of the river?”

“I lifted the tree off and pulled you free. Took my disguise off to do that and, uh, the fucking thing fell into the water when I got you. So I’m gonna be stuck like this until a friend of mine can get me a new one.”

“No complaints here. You look incredible.” He runs his hands up and down Barclay’s side and chest, warmth seeping into his fingers as he does, “But I’m a little surprised you were willing to risk someone seeing you or me blabbing to someone and trashing your whole life in the process.”

A low rumble as Barclay kisses his forehead, “It’s worth it. I, this is gonna sound so fucking cheesy, but I haven’t felt this way about someone in a long time, and there was no way I was gonna lose you.”

“Oh.” Affection and surprise well up in his throat, pressing down his words so all he can do is nestle closer to the cryptid and let himself be loved.

His mind rebounds quickly from his misadventure. His body would like him to remember it for a while so he doesn’t put it in such jeopardy again any time soon. Instead of helping Barclay with cooking and chores, he lays under the covers while the storm rattles the roof and the cook clangs pots on the lower floor.

Barclay, attentive to a fault, is downright doting now that he’s stuck in bed. He’s never without a hot drink or something to read, and the cryptid is happy to answer the majority of his questions about the finer points of being bigfoot. When it’s bedtime, his boyfriend pulls him atop his massive frame and cuddles him, whispering over and over that he’s glad he’s okay, until they fall asleep.

Today followed much the same pattern, though when dinner time rolls around he gets a fantastic surprise.

“Chocolate fondue?” He peers hopefully at the bed tray in Barclays hands.

“Only the best for you, babe.” The cook sets the burnished wood down on the bedside table, “we lucked out, the berries I bought last week are ripe.”

Joseph reaches for the fork, but Barclay beats him to it.

“You should save your energy. Since you’re, uh, still recovering.”

He shrugs, sets his hands in his lap and opens his mouth for a chocolate dipped raspberry. It doesn’t take long to spy Barclay’s ulterior motive. The cook has a whole wardrobe designed to fit his cryptid form, but it’s having trouble concealing certain things.

“You’re getting off on this.”

“I, uh, I, maybe a little” Barclay blushes under his fur.

Joseph raises an eyebrow, tilts his head at the bulge in Barclay’s pants, “You call that ‘little’?”

A rumbly whine, the fork paused halfway to Joseph’s mouth, “I can’t help it. I’ve got a thing for taking care of partners, especially ones who are all competent and put-together the rest of the time, and you look so good when you eat and, ohfuck.”

Joseph inhales sharply as chocolate hits his exposed upper chest. It’s not hot enough to burn, and he moans as the sensation seeps across his skin. Barclays eyes, wide and ravenous, keep flicking between the splatter and his face.

“Looks like you made a mess, big guy.” Joseph begins undoing the remaining buttons on his pajamas, “you should clean it up.”

“Fuck yeah.” Barclay lunges, mouth first, lapping and sucking at the marked skin as Joseph laughs. Their shirts hit the floor together as he digs his nails into auburn fur. Barclay grunts at the pressure, sits up with a grin, and drips a line of chocolate down the right side of Joseph’s ribs.

“Oops. Better fix that too.”

“Cleanliness is importantAH, ahhnn.” He squirms a bit as Barclay nuzzles his stomach before dragging his tongue up his skin. There’ve been times he mourned the fact T didn’t make him as hairy as some other guys, but right now he’s grateful for the clear canvas Barclay can mark however he pleases.

“A mess can be more fun.” The cook licks his lips, sucks a hickey above his belly button, “and by the time I’m done with you, babe, won’t be a single part of you that isn’t one.”

“Then get to it.” He shoves his pants down, lets Barclay pull them the rest of the way off and fold them. He lays back, resting his arms behind his head, and moans as the cook drizzles chocolate on each hip. Joseph feels like a gourmet dessert and, from the growls between his thighs, Barclay intends to treat him like one.

His boyfriend is always enthusiastic when sucking him off, but tonight he throws finesse out the window in favor of burying his face at the crease of each thigh in turn, licking his hips clean while clawing at his calves and sides. He lifts his head, wipes his mouth with a satisfied grin that shows the points of his teeth, and dives down again.

Joseph yelps with pleasure, the hint of fangs hitting all his buttons, lighting him up like downtown on a dark night. It’s intense, the scratch of fur on skin just different enough from the usual beard to remind him of who’s down there, and his legs try to kick closed. Barclay growls again, holding them open with ease.

“Not until I’m done with you, babe.”

He surrenders to flood of feelings from both outside and within him, Barclay’s sheer delight at his body rendering all his doubts and worries toothless and small, quieting them until all he can think about is incredible creature holding and all he can say is some variation on-

“Barclay, please, right there, lordalmighty that’s good, that’s so good big guy, please.” He squeezes his eyes shut, craving the impending orgasm more than he has words for. Barclay sucks determinedly and huffs, pleased, as Joseph's thighs tense in his hold and his climax chases away the remnants of yesterday's aches.

As his brain insists that really, body, opening our eyes isn’t that hard, there’s a metallic zip and strong legs bracketing his thighs.

“Here I thought you couldn’t look any better.” He murmurs as Barclay gleefully strokes his cock, “as soon as my brain works again, I’m coming up with so many ways to use that gorgeous thing.”

“Can’t, fuck, can't wait to hear ‘em, but I only got one for tonight; I’m gonna use it to cum alllll over that fucking perfect body, fuck, Joseph, you look so good when you’re ruined, fuck.” An impressive amount of cum spatters up his stomach, chest, and neck as Barclay howlgrowlpurrs and then sets his hands carefully on the bed.

Joseph’s whole body is sticky with chocolate, sweat, and cum, and Barclay definitely has at least two of those things mussed into his fur.

“You’re right, big guy, a mess can be fucking amazing.”

That being said, being sticky gets old quick, and soon they’re in the tub, Joseph whistling as he shampoos Barclay’s chest. The cryptid hasn’t stopped purring, and every time he looks Joseph’s way the sound deepens.

“When are you next in the city?”

The cook yawns, “Was gonna check on how the new chef de cuisine is getting on at Kepler in about two week.”

“Would you like to stay with me? It’s not fancy, but it’s close to the Ismuth, so you can get to Kepler on foot without trouble, and there are fewer crowds there this time of year. I suspect paparazzi are also less likely to track you down at some random house than at a hotel. That might make up for my lack of, um, high class amenities.”

“Good point. But I gotta be honest babe; as long as you’re there, that’s all I need to be happy.”

[holidaywishes]

Focus On Me

  Requested: 👍

  Summary/Request: Can I ask for a Freddie Andersen story? Maybe something about angry Freddie after a bad game and only Y/N can calm him down? I'm fine with smut but making however you see fit. I got the idea from when Freddie broke his stick in the tunnel after a bad game and I thought it would make a good story. Thanks!

  Warning: fluff, implied smut, some language

  Author's Note: GIF credit to Pete Blackburn I guess.. I just found it on Google because it didn't come up in the GIF search but I knew this was the GIF that anon was talking about (I love it too, by the way.) I know this one is very similar to the one I just posted and, in hindsight, I should've combined the two but I had this idea that didn't really fit the other one. That being said, if they end up being super similar then that's why but I do still wanna apologize that it's not the most original imagine for this request. I hope you still enjoy it though!

  P.S. I'm slightly fuming over the fact that the Leafs can't seem to give Freddie a shutout after proving that they're capable of doing it for their other goalies, but I digress. That anger may or may not come through with this imagine but I tried to keep it as fluffy as possible. #justiceforFreddie

  masterlist

  the other masterlist

xx

  The Leafs had gone almost their entire two week road trip without a win and you could see it starting to take it's toll on Freddie whenever he had to do an interview. When Freddie got home, and the team had a few days off, you decided he needed to let off some steam

  "You just need to dance it out!" you exclaimed and Freddie just scoffed

  "I don't really dance, you know that"

  "I know," you giggled before walking over to Freddie, wrapping your arms loosely around his neck, "but baby, you're so stressed out. I think you need a night out with your girls and your boys" he scoffed again at your response but kissed your nose softly

  "My girls and my boys?" he finally replied

  "Yeah!" you laughed, "or just your girl"

  "I can handle that..." he whispered, leaning down to kiss you but you pulled away before his lips met yours

  "So get ready!"

  "No..." he stuttered, sitting down and dropping head, "I meant here... de-stress me here" you smirked as you sat on his lap, kissing the sensitive skin behind his ear

  "It's all about the foreplay baby" you whispered before kissing his cheek and standing up, turning away from him to saunter over to your closet. You looked over your shoulder to find him pouting at you before you unzipped your sweater to expose your bare shoulder, "wanna help me get dressed?" you teased

  "I wanna help you get undressed" he insisted, jumping up to follow you to your closet. You rolled your eyes and scoffed at his sudden excitement but you were happy he was starting to let loose; when you were finally able to get dressed, Freddie kept trying to take your dress off again

  "Freddie!" you laughed, "come on, the car's outside. We have to go..."

  "You look so good though," he nearly growled, a smirk growing on his face, "we can tell the car to leave and just have a good time here..."

  "Stop," you whined, still not pushing him away, relishing the feeling of his tongue tracing along your neck, "I need to show off this dress but don't worry, I'll stay really close to you" he groaned but took your hand as you led him to the car; you giggled as his hand crept up your thigh, leading the driver to peer in his rear view mirror.

  "Let's just turn around," he said, "we're not that far from the apartment. We'll just say we weren't feeling well..."

  "No," you scoffed, "we're gonna have a good time. Dance a little, drink a little and be completely stress free"

  "Fine" he sighed

xx

Freddie's P.O.V

  Even though you had argued with her before you left, you were having a great time at the club watching (Y/N) dance but not such a great time when she would drag you onto the dance floor

  "Come on," she whined, "Freddie, just dance with me!" you groaned but followed her out onto the floor. She wrapped her arms around your neck as she swayed to the music, trying to get you to do the same and chuckling when you kept looking around, "baby," she smiled, "relax. Look at me... you're dancing with me, these people don't care"

  "I look like an idiot" you sighed, leading her to smile, shake her head and turn around, placing your hands on her hips before she snaked her hand up to your neck so she could bring you down and whisper in your ear

  "Just feel my body against yours" she grinned, dropping her head back onto your chest before you kissed her neck and continued to dance with her. She had a few more drinks as the night went on, claiming that she was drinking because you, Auston and Willy couldn't, but you were worried that she had had too much

  "Alright," you said, pulling the glass away from her mouth before she could take another sip, "I think it's time for some water, don't you?"

  "No, I'm fine... I just need to sweat it out!" she joked, trying to pull you back onto the dance floor but you refused

  "Babe," you scoffed, pulling her onto your lap, "let's just sit for a bit. Have some water okay" she reluctantly agreed but made sure to glare at you as she did so, forcing a chuckle to escape your lips.

  "Fred," Auston sighed, "don't worry about the journalists and reporters. We've had a bad streak but we'll get back on track"

  "Let's not even talk about it" Willy insisted

  "Exactly!" (Y/N) slurred happily, "we don't wanna keep focusing on all that. We're here to have a good time!"

  "I actually think we should head out" you said, rubbing your girlfriend's back before she began pouting at you. "Everything's closing up, it's late, we gotta get a car, you're drunk..."

  "One more dance" she asked, kissing your cheek as if that was going to convince you but you just shook your head, opening your phone to order an Uber instead

  "Sorry, (Y/N)," Willy smiled, "I tried..." she stood up and gave the two a hug goodbye before grabbing your hand, intertwining her fingers with yours as you walked to the exit. When you got outside, you were bombarded by flashing lights

  "What the fuck?" you cursed under your breath

  "Freddie?" You heard (Y/N)'s voice soften and you could tell she had sobered up just at the sheer chaos the two of you were looking at

  "Ignore 'em, babe, just walk to the car..." you tried but the lights continued to strobe and flash, making it increasingly difficult to see in front of you

  "IS THIS HOW YOU GUYS DEAL WITH A LOSS?" one of the photographers shouted

  "HAS THE TEAM BEEN GETTING DRUNK BEFORE GAMES?" another yelled

  "IS THAT WHY YOU HAVEN'T BEEN YOUR BEST?" they continued

  "DO ALL THE GUYS HAVE GIRLS HANGING AROUND THEM TO LICK THEIR WOUNDS?" you were finding it hard to ignore them, tensing your jaw whenever any of them would say something but expecting a question to come up about (Y/N) and sure enough

  "IS SHE HELPING TO GET RID YOUR STRESS?" one of them called and you just about snapped at him when you felt (Y/N) tighten her grip on your hand, wrapping her arm around yours to bring the two of you close together

  "Focus on me," she whispered when you looked back at her, "ignore them" you could tell she was flustered by all the attention and all you wanted to do was get her into the car.

  "Could you just let us through please?" you asked politely but in your anger, you weren't sure if it was going to come across that way

  "WE JUST WANNA TALK FRED!" someone yelled in return and you looked at (Y/N) before taking a deep breath

  "Look, we're just trying to get home," you sighed, trying your best to keep your petite girlfriend out of their sights, "could you please just let us get to the car?" when they wouldn't leave you alone, you started to lose your temper

  "Freddie..." (Y/N) whispered when your body tensed and you puffed your chest, "please, I just wanna go home..." you kissed the top of her head and decided it was time to push through the crowd, finally making it to the car; letting (Y/N) step in first before you crashed onto the seat

  "Fuuuuuck" you groaned

  "I'm so sorry," she whimpered, "I shouldn't have made you come out tonight"

  "What?" you said, noticing a tear falling from her eye, "elske, this isn't your fault. I had a good time until all of that" you gestured behind you before wiping away the tear that had fallen. "Thank you for keeping me calm" you smiled and she smiled back

  "I wanted to get out of there..."

  "I know" you smirked

  "Maybe you were right," she giggled, "we would've had a much more stress free time at home"

  "Well maybe you'll listen to me next time" you teased

  "I still like the foreplay" she whispered, moving onto your lap

  "Hey, hey," the driver stopped her, "sit back on the seat please. Safety first" she nodded and moved off your lap but you kept your hand on her knee as the drive continued. When you got back to the apartment, (Y/N) got out of the car first while you thanked the driver, he made some off-handed remark about the losing streak and you ignored it the best you could, wrapping your arms around (Y/N)'s waist as the two of you walked back to the apartment. You started kissing her neck as she unlocked the door, your bodies connected as you stepped inside; your fingers began to drag down her body until they reached her centre and she hummed at the sensation.

xx

  You moaned as Freddie took charge of your body, his erection digging into your back before he turned you around to push you against the wall and you giggled

  "Gentle, daddy" he smirked at your words, picking you up to carry you to the bedroom, setting you on the bed before slowly removing his shirt. You bit your lip as you watched him strip, rubbing your legs together as you anticipated his body against yours. He hovered over you, directing you to lay down against the pillows, your hands finding his waist and your nails quickly dug into his skin.

  "I love this dress..." he whispered, "but I love what's underneath more" you chuckled at his intention but turned him over, climbing on top of him and removing your dress. Your lips crashed into each other as his hands roamed your body and your breath had built up so heavy in your chest that you had to break the kiss. He tried to lean back in but you didn't give him the satisfaction just yet, no matter how badly you wanted to

  "I know that you didn't want to be in that situation" you sighed, referring to what happened with all the reporters

  "(Y/N)..." he groaned, falling against the pillows in annoyance, "I don't even know how they knew we were there. We're not celebrities, we're hockey players..."

  "It's Toronto," you replied, "you might as well be celebrities" he rolled his eyes, placing his hands on your thighs before he attempted to kiss you again. "But listen," you stopped him, placing a finger in front of his mouth, "I'm proud of you" you continued. "For staying so calm back there but also, just..." he nipped at your finger first and then your lips, trying to change the moment back to where it started, "hey!" you chuckled. "I'm serious. I'm proud of everything you do, always, and everything you are. Don't let anyone, ever, make you feel differently about how amazing you are, okay?" he smirked as his hands wrapped around your body, bringing his chest to yours

  "Okay, baby, I promise" he joked, planting a kiss on the tip of your nose

  "Good" you returned, kissing his lips sweetly before letting the night continue; the way it should've been from the beginning.

[chuckbass-love]

Could you do a fic where Steve or Chris falls in love with an exotic dancer? ❤️

Hi, i hope i’ve done a good job with this. I’ve done it as Steve and i hope you love it

Dirty Dancer

GIF NOT MINE!!! Credit to whoever made this gif, if anyone knows who made it pls let me know so I can give credit. I genuinely just search gifs up on google and I never manage to find out where the original gif is from bc of so many people re posting gifs. I never wanna give credit to the wrong person! So if this gif is yours or if it’s someone you know then let me know and I’ll credit them. Thank you💗

Disclaimer: My work is not to be posted anywhere else other than MY Tumblr, Wattpad and Ao3 without my permission. However, reblogs are welcome.

Warning: Fluff, light smut, explicit language (sorta)

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Dancer!Reader

Summary: It’s Steve’s first time at the strip club and your first week as a stripper...

You never thought it would come to this, stripping for money and yet here you are, your first week in your new job. It paid well and you need the money for school. You’ve always had a talent for dancing so why not put it to good use. 

You were already racking up some regulars that were quickly becoming obsessed with you and the way your body moved up and down the pole, you were informed by the other girls that having regulars come to you within just one week of being here was rare. You must really be good. 

It was the last night of your first week here and although at first you felt a sense of shame for doing this, it soon faded when you got the hang of things. Plus the money was insane. 

As soon as you get to the dressing room to change into your clothes your boss approaches you. Telling you that you’re working the private dance rooms tonight, which means you’ll have to do the rounds on the floor to see if anyone wants one. You didn’t hate this but you didn’t love it either. Money is money. 

“Someone’s looking sexy” a familiar voice calls out to you as you check yourself out in the mirror, you turn around to see your colleague Jessica in the doorway. 

“Well i mean, this is average but you... Dam” she giggles as she walks over to you to help you put your heels on. 

Once you’re ready you head out onto the club floor, it’s packed in here. Time to work your magic.

As you strut around, flashing a couple of winks to some of the randy men, you spot a group entering the club. 3 guys. All 3 of them are fine as hell but there’s a rule here. You have to let them get a drink and sit down first before you approach them, if they come to you first then it’s fine. 

“Sam, i don’t even know why you brought me here” the tall blonde one chuckles as he looks around the room whilst leaning on the bar, his eyes flicker over to you, meeting your gaze. You look away instantly and strut off. 

Steve had never been to a strip club before neither had Bucky and Sam was determined to teach the two of them a thing or two. They get their drinks and find a seat. Right by the stage. You spot them all joking around but your attention is mainly on the tall blonde, he’s your type. You don’t stand a chance though after all, you’re just a dancer and he’s a regular guy.

“Excuse me” a voice calls out, breaking you from your daydream to see if it was calling to you, he was. You approach the group of guys with a friendly smile.

“Do you do private dances?” you nod in response to his question and he nudges the blonde. 

“Sorry, i don’t mean to be rude, i’m Sam, this is Bucky and Steve. Steve here would love a private dance” his name is even cuter. Steve.

You grin as you hold your hand out for him to take it, Sam pushes him up and out of his seat, handing him some money. His hand grips onto yours and you lead him to the back room, locking the door to signal it being engaged. 

He takes his jacket off, taking a seat down onto the chair in a huff. You can’t help but notice that he seems off. 

“Is everything okay?” you ask nervously “I’m fine, honestly i am” you shrug it off as you remove your cover up, your low cleavage purple dress catches his eye.

You strut over to him, the music playing quietly in the background. Your back faces him as your hips start to grind in a circle, your ass brushing over his crotch, you feel him start to get hard. 

He rests his hands on your waist, stopping you mid dance. 

“Okay what’s up?” you stand up, sighing. “Nothing it’s just, do you mind if i ask you something?” you sit down next to him, motioning for him to go ahead.

“Why do you do this and doesn’t your boyfriend hate it?” you look down at your hands before bringing them back up to his blue eyes. 

“I don’t have a boyfriend and i dunno, i love to dance and i need the money for school” you shrug and he rests a hand over yours.

“Shall i continue now or not?” you really liked him, he was attractive and very obviously not the douche bag type. You respected that about him. He nods and you go back to your previous position before turning around to straddle his lap.

You take his hands and rest them onto your ass whilst you continue to grind your crotch on his, teasing him further. 

Minutes later, the time is up. He grabs his jacket from the table and you place your cover up over your shoulders. You both exit and he returns to his table with his boys. They lean in closer to ask him if it was good and he grins at them. 

The rest of the night consists of private dances to all the major dick heads in the club, some try to get a little too handsy, leading you to snap at them. You have to make sure they know their place. 

It’s now 2am and your shift is over, you head back to the locker room, changing out of your stripping attire and back into your high waisted denim shorts and jumper. 

You slip on your converse and collect your money on your way out. As you walk out onto the streets, the cold hair hits you like wave. It feels good, you flick your hair out of your face and start to walk to find a cab. 

“Hello again” you jump out your skin, turning around to see him. Steve. He’s leant against the wall outside the club, his mates are nowhere to be seen.

“Hi, your mates left you?” he looks around as he walks closer. “Sure does seem that way, they left with some girls” you continue to walk and talk with him.

“So is this what you normally look like when you’re not stripping” you can hear his nerves in his voice.

“Pretty much, not exactly sexy bu-” 

“Oh i beg to differ” you freeze in your spot

“If you’re looking for a hookup, i don’t do that okay? i just want to go home” you don’t mean for it to come out as snappy as it does but you can see he’s not at all fazed by your random outburst.

“I’m not after a hookup, just company i guess. I don’t really wanna be alone again tonight and besides i like you” he what?

You can’t believe your ears, he likes you. But why? You’re a stripper, you just snapped at him and you’re probably not even his type.

“Yeah right. You don’t even know me” you laugh, continuing to walk with him

“No seriously, like i know we only met tonight but i think you’re great” you both come to a halt as you stand near a cab. 

“Look, come back to my place? no funny business or whatever you want. I just want to get to know you better” it’s too tempting to pass up. You reluctantly agree, getting into the cab with him.

You soon arrive at his place, it’s a nice but small apartment and it suits him, very chilled decor. A double bed in the room with Egyptian cotton sheets. You sit down on the edge of the bed, removing your shoes. 

“So, how did-” you cut him off

“No no, if you want to get to know me more, at least let me ask stuff too” he holds his hands up in surrender, signalling for you to go ahead. 

“So, Steve. What do you do?” he tenses up a little at the question

“I can’t really answer that” but why not? “Okay then, what’s your last name?” he smirks “Rogers”

“Steve Rogers, i recognise that name. Wait, aren’t you Captain America?” everyone went on a hype a year ago, The Avengers was all anyone spoke about. 

“Indeed” he joins you on the edge of the bed 

“So i gave Captain America a lap dance earlier. Wow. Guess i can tick that off the old bucket list” you both break into laughter at your joke.

“How old are you?” 

“I’m 21″ he seems shocked. 

“I’d have guessed 25 but not because you look old. You don’t look ol-” 

You can’t hold it any longer, he looks so good. You press your lips to his in a sudden kiss.

Once you pull away he sits there in a state of shock.

“You really don’t know a thing about women do you Rogers?” your little giggle comes out and he shakes his head in admission to your question. He seems so innocent. It’s obvious that he’s a virgin. 

His body language screams it. 

“I’m exhausted” you stand up from the bed “maybe i should go home, i know-”

“Stay, there’s enough room for the two of us in my bed and it’s a little late to be travelling home alone” he wasn’t wrong. He stands up too, taking a white shirt from his drawer, throwing it over to you. 

“Wear this” you smile, walking into the bathroom to change and get ready for bed. You walk out to find him, in nothing but his boxers. He’s ripped, his body looks like it was sculpted by gods. You quickly look away and shuffle past him nervously, making your way to the bed. 

He finishes up in the bathroom then steps out of his room to lock up.

You both get into bed and adjust the pillows to how you like them.

You lay there, facing each other talking for a while until you feel yourself getting sleepier.

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

The sunlight flashes through the blinds, instantly waking you up. You rub your eyes as you look at Steve next to you. He looks so peaceful. You quietly get out of bed and head into the living room to find your bag, you check your phone to see it’s 7:00am. You should probably go, you collect your things and shove your shorts on with his shirt too. It’s too comfortable to take off and you figure he won’t miss it. 

You unlock the door and make your way out, hailing a cab to get you back home.

Steve reaches his hand to the other side of the bed, only to discover that you’re not there. He sits up, looking around the room. 

He searches around the small apartment, you’re nowhere to be seen. 

Great, you walked out. 

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

You arrive at work again, it’s your third week here now. You were really getting good with your moves and the money is flooding in. 

It’s only a short one tonight, a dance on the stage and a couple of private dances. As you take your money from your stage slot and walk into the locker room, Jessica is waiting for you. You shove the money into your bag.

“There’s some dude out there asking for you” you turn to face her “wait what?” 

“Yeah, tall blonde, very hot” It’s him again.

He’s made a couple of visits to the club since you walked out on him that morning, before he woke up. 

Each time he comes in, he asks for you. You’ve gotten to know him a bit and you’re starting to like him but the thought of him settling for you when he could have a woman who was more together was horrible. You didn’t feel good enough for his attention.

“You again” you call out and his face lights up.

“Me again. Look can we talk?” you roll your eyes and lead him to the private dance room.

“You can’t keep coming here just to talk Steve. I gave you my number for that” he pulls you close to him, taking you by surprise. 

“Let me take you out on a date” your eyes widen at his offer. 

“Please” you wrap your arms around his neck loosely and his hands fall to your waist. 

“Fine, you can take me out” he smiles down at you and you walk away from him. 

“How about tomorrow?” you agree, winking at him before exiting.

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

It was time for your date with Steve, you decide on wearing a little black dress with some matching black heels. You strut up to him as he’s leaning on his motorcycle, greeting him with a hug, he presses a kiss to your cheek as he hands you the spare helmet. You get onto the bike, making sure to grip onto him real tight during the ride to the location.

The bike comes to a halt and he parks up at the side of the road. You look around, taking your helmet off to discover that you’re outside of a restaurant. Italian to be exact. He rests his hand on the small of your back and you both walk in. He’s wearing black pants, a white shirt and a jacket, smart-casual dress sense. Not too formal.

Once the waiter seats the two of you, you speak up.

“How come you wanted to take me out?” you rest your head in your hands, giving full eye contact. 

“You’re attractive and funny and like i’ve stated plenty of times i just want to know more” he sure knows the lines.

“I like you but why do i get the impression that you struggle to believe that? That someone could actually want you” 

“Because i’m not the girl worthy of being treated like this”

“Why not? Because you work at that club? You said yourself, it’s for school”

“You deserve a lot better than a girl like me okay” he shakes his head as your drinks arrive. You take one sip and look around. This place is fancy. Too fancy for you. You stand up from the table.

“I gotta go, this was a mistake” you storm out, he follows closely behind.

“Y/N WAIT” he runs over to you, you stay still as he stands in your way.

“Steve, i think you have the wrong girl here. I’m not your ty-” he crashes his lips to yours.

His tongue swipes across your bottom lip and you moan slightly making way for his tongue to enter your mouth.

“Stop with the ‘i’m not good enough’ routine. I’m a grown ass man and i can decide who i want to date”

You feel the tears brimming. You’ve never really felt worthy of love and now a guy who is quite literally perfect is telling you he wants to date you.

“I see this going somewhere but it can only go somewhere if you let it. If you truly don’t want to then i’ll leave you alone, i’ll stop bugging you but if you want to give it a shot then i’ll be thrilled” 

You look up at him, his blue eyes meeting yours, making you melt. He’s so attractive and sweet.

A silence falls upon the two of you whilst he awaits your decision.

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

That was a couple months back. You still work at the club to help with school fees and supplies but you don’t work as often.

“Steve stop” you squeal as your boyfriend tickles you, leaving you with no option but to squeal and writhe around. 

“Okay okay” he holds his hands up in surrender.

“How about this instead. Do you like this more huh?” he leans down, taking your sweet spot into his mouth, sucking and biting at it. 

You let out a breathy moan, letting his hands roam your body.

“Those men might get a small part of you, but i get all of you” he peppers kisses down to your sex until his face is inches away from your clit. His mouth attacks you, sucking and licking your folds. 

“As sweet as ever” 

“Please Steve, just fuck me already” you whine and he chuckles, it vibrates on your clit.

“Of course my lady” he rests his tip at your entrance, soaking it in your arousal before pushing in slowly.

“Fuck, just like that” he flips you over so you’re straddling him.

“Ride me” he instructs, you do as you’re told. 

The slow movements on his length have him turning into a moaning shambles. You know he won’t last long with you doing him like this. But you don’t care.

“Make yourself cum baby” you pick up the speed, bouncing up and down rapidly, chasing your high and pushing for him to reach his. 

You’ve been teasing each other all day. You’d bend over on purpose in front of him, extracting a grunt from his mouth in the process. He’d adjust his size in his jeans in front of you, making sure you saw it every time. 

“Cum on my dick baby girl, come on” his words send you over into your high. Your pussy pulsates at the feeling whilst you milk him for everything. 

You feel him spill into you, filling you up just the way you like.

“I’ll never grow tired of that” his chest heaves 

“Me neither”

“I love you Y/N” you stare down at him, happy tears brim in your eyes at his words.

“What?” you know what he said but you just want to hear it again.

“I’ll admit, you had me wrapped around your finger the second we locked eyes for the first time. It’s clear you’d spent so many years doubting yourself and not believing anyone when they slipped you even the smallest of compliments but i meant every one i gave you and i mean it now when i say i love you”

“Steve, i love you too” 

[generic-url-name]

On Reposting Art

So, I hate to be that bitch, but c’mon guys. It’s 2020. We gotta stop doing this. Reposting/stealing art is never a good thing, no matter the intentions.

“But I want people on X site to see it too” “But I want more notes and followers~” “But X blog does it too!”

Ok. A. Either get the artists permission to repost w/ credits or don’t and B. Then make your own fucking content. Getting notes off of someone else’s work isn’t great to say the least. Sorta like, ya know, taking credit for something someone else did. Just don’t. C. Well, they suck. Don’t be like them.

Aside from it being VERY disrespectful to the artist, reposting/ stealing art usually results in:

Artist deletes their pixiv/twitter/art account and all the works with it

Artist privates their twitter, meaning newcomers, new fandom members, ect won’t be able to see their art

Artist stops posting entirely and stops creating new content

It’s possible for all of the above to happen, because I’ve seen it happen with multiple artists in multiple fandoms.

The above mentioned results in negative consequences for pretty much everyone. It ruins things for people who are newer to fandoms or even particular artists in general. People who have never seen an artists’ works before and go to follow them on twitter or pixiv, only to find they can’t because their twitter is private, or just doesn’t exist, sucks and it ruins it for people who haven’t done anything at all.

If you want to PROPERLY repost art, then first ask the artist for permission, and if they say yes, always remember to credit and link back to their website, be it twitter, pixiv, deviantart, or anything else. If they tell you no, you cannot repost, even with credits, then respect their wishes. It’s their content and their art. 

Just because its online, just because you found it through google or any other search engine does NOT mean you get some 5 second rule BS and freebies on reposting. A lot of artists, especially Japanese/ Korean artists will have “Do not repost/ recopy / recreate/ steal” in ENGLISH in their BIOS. Please take a second to read that and then respect the artists wishes.

And lastly, even if you can’t repost or cross-post to another site because the artist doesn’t allow it, that’s okay. I know sometimes when you see artwork that you really like, you wanna share it with the fandom, which is great!-But, its always important to remember that the wishes and will of the artist comes first before anything else. There may be alternatives, like linking the artists’ webpage without any art (just their account) and how you’d recommend for people to follow them or something. But ONLY with the artists permission of course.

Also, this doesn’t just apply to digital artwork, but also: fanfics, edits, translations and more. If you didn’t make something, don’t be a jerk and steal/repost to another site, because again, its incredibly rude and disrespectful to the original content creator, and it usually results in ruining things for everyone.

Also yes I’m fucking tagging this so ya’ll can see it.

[beesonestopcurioshop]

Safe

Note: This is my second Drabble attempt. I actually like this one better than the first. This one was for my dear friend @boogiewrites I hope you all like it! The prompt I was given is number 14 from this list. I’m also posting from mobile again, so disclaimer I can’t add a keep reading bar lol.

Warnings: Some violence. Yelling. Knives. Guns. Alfie Solomons.

Word count: 1410. Oops. I got carried away. 😂

Photo Credit: Quick google search.

••

Josephine took a deep breath. The smell of London infiltrated her nose. It was very harsh and city-like. She loved it. It made her feel at home. Safe. Even in the midst of the chaotic bustling energy. She wanted to go for a walk and see where her feet led her. It hadn’t been long since she had been back. Just long enough for things to change. It would be nice to get acclimated again.

Something felt different than before. Unstable. Kinetic. Combustible if handled incorrectly. New hands laid in power for different sections of the city. There were whispers of three brothers coming in and taking over a nightclub. The Shelby brothers making a grand entrance into London life. If they were anything like what she had heard, they would fit right in.

Walking through Little Italy was a dangerous game to be played. Especially when the Italians knew your face and didn’t approve of the company you kept. She had to fight off the urge to roll her eyes into her next life. Darby Sabini had always been around. He probably would be, or at the very least his legacy, until the end of time. He was an insufferable little man. He was definitely a thorn in a lot of people’s sides.

The one rise to power that did not surprise her one bit, was one Captain Alfred Solomons. Or Alfie as he liked to be addressed. Alfie ran a tight ship. He always had. She was excited to see him again. In his element, but in a different manner.

Jo walked around taking in the things that had changed, and things that stayed the same. In this day and age, businesses came and went. Especially with the people who actually ran the city versus the elected officials.

The bakery she was looking for wasn’t far. She had noticed a tail on her a while ago in little Italy. Sabini most likely already knew she was back. She was surprised he didn’t know the moment her feet touched London soil.

Josephine was livid at the audacity of Sabini’s men following her into Alfie’s territory. These were newer faces, so they probably only had the shadow of a story about her. So she let them tailing her slide. They appeared to have been employed long enough that they should have known their boundary lines better.

Coming up on the bakeshop she could see that there was a side alley. It was perfect for making her point. She made a quick duck into the side street and placed her back up against the bakery wall. She reached into the waist belt on her dress for her knife while she patiently waited.

One of them jogged by. She let him pass. They were panicking that they had lost her. ‘Good. Let those fucks flounder.’ She moved to the other wall of the alley. If they circled back around, which she was sure they would, she wanted to get the jump on them.

Hearing one set of dress shoes slapping against the walkway she counted the seconds as he got closer. ‘Three, two,’ she struck out onto the walkway and gripped his collar tight. She pulled him violently into the side street and pushed him against the wall with her knife at his throat.

“Why the fuck does Darby Sabini have a shitty tail on my heels? Huh?!” The edge of her knife pushed into his neck harder the more she jumped toward him. He pleaded in Italian. He honestly seemed like he was about seventeen.

“Oh, are you the one they sent without a gun? You haven’t even lost your training wheels yet, boy.” Jo leaned backward with a light laugh as his eyes widened.

“They really didn’t tell you a damn thing about who you were following, did they?” She heard a door open and close behind her. It must have been the big side door to the bakery. Alfie would most certainly be out here in two minutes flat.

“Hey! Let him go! I’ll shoot you and not think twice!” A quivering voice shouted from the mouth of the alley.

“Oh, will you? Did Darby tell you to do so on another man’s land? Stupid move boy.” Jo backed up, allowing the other boy to move to safety.

She watched as the one with the gun assessed his partner to make sure he was okay. They had to have been brothers. The slightly older one was worried sick. He didn’t hide it well. His worry told her he could very well have pulled that trigger. She felt sympathy for the boys. That was until the older one opened his mouth.

“Sabini will hear of this! Your head will be on a pike in front of Alfie Solomons’s business by tomorrow morning.”

“Oh plea…,” she didn’t get the chance to finish. The doors behind her opened up with a cacophony of sliding and slamming. There was a fury behind the motion.

“Gentlemen! Right, you know you’re not supposed to be over this way, right? I have a meeting with this lovely lady here, and I don’t think Sabini would like hearing that his… boys got caught would he?!” Josephine smiled darkly pleased at the voice booming through the lane. It sounded like a god had descended upon the passageway ready to pass judgment.

“Boys, if I were you? I would toddle along. You can say I went out for a walk, and then went home to my flat. Darby doesn’t have to know any different.” Ollie came up beside her to gently usher her backward toward the side door. Normally this would aggravate her, but she let him lead her to Alfie’s office. She hadn’t even been back for 24 hours and she had already caused a stir. She calmly took a seat on the couch in his office.

“Thanks, Ollie. Good to see you again, mate.” Jo smiled and Ollie looked helpless. He knew she was in for it. The thundering footsteps that climbed the stairs confirmed just as much.

“Fuck off Ollie! Right fucking now.” Alfie commanded. Josephine gave Ollie a wink to let him know she would indeed be okay through the storm she had created.

“You know, yeah. When I told you last to get my attention when you got back to the city, right, I did not mean almost START A FUCKING WAR.” Alfie roared. His eyebrows came down over the bridge of his nose and his lips curled inward in a snarl. She sat there determining her next move. A small huff of a laugh escaped her.

“You think this is funny?” The roar continued.

“No, Alfie. I don’t. If Darby didn’t have children doin’ his grunt work, maybe he wouldn’t have to worry about someone noticing and potentially causing a problem. Especially someone he knows can, will, and has caused issues before when slighted.”

“Look if you wanna get shot so bad, I'll shoot you, right?!” His hand landed on his gun. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought he would shoot her right where she sat.

“Look, Alfie. I wasn’t actually going to hurt them. I was just getting a point across that I don’t appreciate being followed.” Jo stood and made her way over to Alfie. She gently placed her hand over the top of his on his gun. She ran her fingers across the back of his tattooed hand hoping to reign in the beast.

“You and I both know that I’ve suffered worse than a gunshot.”

“Yeah, well I’ll be damned if you have to ever again under my rule. Right outside of my bakery, yeah.” He sighed heavily through his nose. Josephine would be the death of him one of these days. He called it back in the war, and it still stood to this day.

She grinned at his grumpy face. The dimples in her cheeks peeking out, melting his irate nature the smallest bit.

“If there’s anywhere I know I’m safe, it’s here.” She raised her right hand, “I, Josephine the magnet for trouble, solemnly swear that I’ll behave to the hardest degree of my ability.” She paused and took in his cantankerous visage. “Now hug me, you grouchy man.” She pulled him in, gripping him tightly. She hadn’t realized how much she missed him.

The door opened behind them, Ollie peeking through. “Sorry to interrupt, but Thomas Shelby is here to see you, Alfie.”

••

I hope you all enjoyed this as well!! 🧡🐝

Taglist: @boogiewrites @ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes @deanscroissant @justanothershelby @parochialism @hazelnmae @reyloshipper-starwars @smallheathgangsters

[transgenderteensurvivalguide]

Can I bind with ace bandages if I'll have it on for less than a half hour? I usually bind with about 13 sport bras and it still makes me not very flat. I just wanna see what I look like with a flat chest

Lee says:

We really advise against binding with ace bandages or binding with more than 2 sports bras- both of those things can hurt your ribs.

If you have 13 bras on all at the same time, you’re defs not going to be looking flat anyway since all those bras are gonna be layered up on top of each other and it might cancel out some of the effect of doing it in the first place.

Dysphoria sucks (read through Our Dysphoria Tips Masterpost for some coping ideas) but getting injured because you’re binding unsafely also sucks.

These are side effects we’ve heard people self-report after unsafe binding:

Damaged ribs (bruised, broken, deformed, warped, cracked, etc)

If you deform/damage your ribcage, you may have issues getting top surgery, or never be able to bind comfortably again.

aggravation of existing conditions (such as asthma)

heart and lung problems

build up of fluid in the lungs

vomiting

coughing up blood

Reduced lung capacity

Our Binding FAQ has instructions on getting a safe binder:

Open a private window on your browser and pick the binder you want online, add it to the website’s shopping cart and start to check out until you find how much it costs with shipping and tax. If you don’t have access to a computer at home, use one at the library.

Save up enough money to buy the binder. Make sure you have a few dollars extra for the extra fee of buying a prepaid card, which can be around $4.

If you have a debit card but don’t want your parents to see the purchase, withdraw money from your account and use the cash to buy a prepaid card. You can say you just wanted to have some cash in case you needed it.

Go into a store and buy a prepaid VISA gift card. They have them at lots of stores, even CVS. (You can also ask a friend to do this if you can’t walk/bike/get a ride to a store on your own)

Prepaid credit cards require you to be 18 to open an account, but you can purchase prepaid gift cards at a grocery or other store at any age and use them wherever Visa, MasterCard or AMEX are accepted. These gift cards, which aren’t reloadable, usually carry an activation fee along the lines of $4.95 for every $50 increment. You usually find them in denominations of $25, $50 or $100.

Figure out where you’re going to get it shipped to, since you’ll need to put an address when you buy it.

Ship it to a consenting friend’s house or an accepting relative, if you have one.

Ship it to your own house and try to get the mail yourself.

If the parent gets to the mail first, say you bought a present for someone. If you’re going the pretend-present route, order it near a real birthday for someone or a holiday like Christmas. You may want to go to a store in person first and buy an actual physical present to then gift to cover up that it wasn’t in the package. You could also ask a friend to lend you a shirt, tell your parents you won a shirt in a giveaway or bought it but decided to give it to a friend as a present, then give the shirt back to the friend.

Get a PO box if you’re going to be getting things in the mail frequently.

If you buy an Underworks binder on Amazon you can pick it up at an Amazon Locker at Whole Foods or a different location.

Buy the binder online. Put the name on the card in the payment section of the website. Clear your internet history if you’re at home and didn’t use a private browser window. Make sure the invoice is sent to an email that only you have access to, or a disposable email (just google “disposable email” and there are a ton of options!)

Hide it when you get it. Handwash it when it gets dirty. Or start doing your laundry yourself. Wring it out and hang it to dry in the back of your closet. Bring it in a bag with you to change into it when you’re out of the house.

(Or ask a friend with a debit/credit/gift card to buy you a binder if you give them the cash.)

What is the gc2b packaging like?

What’s the underworks packaging like?

What does shapeshifters inc. packaging look like?

binderbuddies

You can also try to apply for a free binder for trans people:

Local LGBT organizations or support groups may have free binders that have been donated by other trans folk, especially if they also have other donated clothes available so check in with local resources first since it’s usually easier to get a binder from them in person than it is to go on a waitlist for a non-local organization and get something shipped online.

In a Bind (USA)

Big Brothers (Donation required, 18 and older or with parent permission)

Come as you are (Canada)

Point5CC

The Binder Project

Gender Gear (Canada, $5 each)

Kyle’s Binder Donation LIst

Transgender Advice Group Care Packages

Search “binder giveaway” on Tumblr and keep that tag tracked! Also check out blogs like @Binder-giveaway-reblogs.

If all that isn’t possible for you yet, work towards that goal and see our Binding without a binder post in the meantime.

[modesty-blaise]

Since I'm curious, what caused you to become very possessive of your gifs? Not out of rudeness but curious, since no matter what you do a lot of them show up in the gif function on Tumblr which automatically credits you at the bottom of the gif.

Hey. Tbh, at first I didn’t wanna bother with yet another anon but since I see no ill intent behind this, I decided to go and answer it. Unfortunately, half-way through I realised my reply is turning into incredibly long semi-bitter rant and expands well beyond calling out just one person in Psychonauts fandom (and yes, this is related to Psychonauts fandom – you do know that these anons are not really that anonymous, right?) so… buckle up! All that beneath “read more”.

I’ve been on this hellsite for like…7-8 years? Maybe more? Can’t really tell cause I moved blogs and my old blog now consists of only 4 posts I’ve made close to leaving so I honestly have no idea how much time I’ve spend here before moving. Anyway, during those few years I’ve spent on my first blog I’ve met a lot of creative gifmakers who enjoyed sharing their love for fandoms they were in. I’d like to point out that this was waaaaay before tumblr created that insert-gif option so, back in the day, the only way to add gifs to your post was to: 1. make them yourself 2. take them from someone else. And a lot of people were taking them from someone else which resulted in many gifmakers giving up on making gifs and leaving fandoms and/or even leaving tumblr – and I’ve had many of my friends give up on what they love and have their games/shows/movies/whatnot ruined for them cause people would not stop stealing from them. And many of my friends eventually left tumblr cause they couldn’t deal with it anymore.

Tumblr adding insert-gif option, in my opinion, honestly, just made it worse for gifmakers. Cause now people had the opportunity to use gifs for their posts, with or without creators’ permission/knowledge, but it was alright and it was perfectly fine cause creators were credited. There’s their name at the bottom. It’s alright. Like… it doesn’t matter if they’re actually okay with people using something they’ve put hours into making or if they’re not – tumblr gives them credit so they SHOULD be okay with it. Simple as that.

Well, we’re all different and some people are not okay with that. I’m not okay with that. It took me weeks to figure out how to use photoshop correctly. Took me countless hours of looking through different tutorials and basically trial-and-error-ing my way through the process. Whenever I make gifs, it takes me hours to record videos and then hours trying to achieve that 3mb limit on gifs (thank lord these days we’re beyond 1mb limit). After all that effort I put into creating gifs for games that I love and enjoy, someone is going to make 2 clicks and have that same gif added to their post, without even asking. So how is that okay?

Back to your question. Yes, “no matter what you do a lot of them show up in the gif function on Tumblr”, that is true and that is something I was aware of when I saw you-know-who announcing they would be starting 30 days Psychonauts challenge. So, hating to see my gifs used against my will, and not wanting to start any unnecessary drama and threaten people in advance with reporting them if they do use them, I’ve made my blog as private as I could. It was only accessible through the dashboard, it was not showing in ANY search engines inside and outside tumblr, and my gifs were impossible to find through insert-gif function – I’ve made sure. I did all that cause I just knew that during those 30 days, someone would use my gifs and I would get mad and I desperately wanted to avoid that (hence going extreme). And you know what happened? You know what creator of this challenge (who prevously already reposted my gifs) did? *drums* They used my shit anyway. :3 They just uploaded it from their computer, where they’ve saved it earlier.

And like… a lot of people see pretty pic and decide to save it - I mean, we all do that. Heck, even I have a folder full of shit I saw online and liked it – but i’m not uploading it online cause I haven’t made it. It’s not mine to share.

But some people are not like that.

Some people see fanart of something they like and they want to share their opinion on it – and instead of making their own post, maybe drawing the fanart themselves, they decide to use someone else’s art for their post. Do they know who made it? Do they have creator’s permission to share it? If the answer is NO, then they should be a decent human being and not do that to creators. Oh, they shared it anyway but now people in fandom are calling them out BUT this actually happened on accident? They know who the creator is but, somehow, they accidentally forgot to credit them? OK, well, it��s possible, shit happens, but they better make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Then sometime later these same people decide they want to make a post appreciating their fav character and they want to include pics cause duh, you can’t have character appreciation post without pics, right? Now they have several options: they can get their own screenshots, make their own gifs, maybe draw something… or they can just take someone else’s creation. Do they know who made it? Well there’s my fuckin name on it, and since they’ve stretched it from 245 to 500px, it’s really hard to miss, plus it’s not like there are that many people making Psychonauts gifs. Do they have permission to share it? Hmmm, nope, didn’t ask me. Is this also an accident? Could be. I mean, I’ve seen stranger things happen, so accidentally forgetting to credit content creators twice… kinda suspicious but still possible. Who am I to say?

Now if these people then decide to make a post appreciating their fav ship and they want to add a cute pic of the loving couple – yup, you guessed it! They can either create something or take something. Again: they know who did? They asked for permission? Got the permission? No?!?! But they posted it anyway?!?! :o Could it really be, that after being called out publicly, after being told that reposting is bad (something that’s very easy to understand), after even having tumblr staff intervene and remove stolen shit from their blog, after all that - could it really still be an accident?

Nah, man.

They just don’t give a shit.

Cause if they did, they’d stop with that crap first time they were called out.

(and if you think Psychonauts fandom is their only fandom and that they’re not doing this crap in other fandoms too - hoooo, boy, do I have some bad news for you! Do you know how many stolen and butchered HP fanart is on their blog? Hobbit stuff? They seem to be one of the most accident-prone users on tumblr. And honestly - it’s a real miracle their blog’s not been terminated.)

Back to what I was talking about - I’m not okay with people using my gifs and I’ve made it very clear. I literally do not give a shit if I’m credited or not, I’ve made it very clear that I don’t want my gifs used without my permission. If you like them and want them on your blog, there’s a fuckin reblog button. It’s sole purpose is to allow you to share other people’s creations. Or shitposts, cause lord knows we all love those.

So that’s why when someone spends hours going through my Psychonauts tag and goes as far as to send me “I love your gifs” anonymous message, but the very next day makes stim moodboard post including one of my gifs, now cut and resized to fit 3x3 format they’re going with, I get mad. And that’s why when someone uses one of my gifs to promote their RP blog, butchering it to fit their aesthetics, and later when confronted going as far as blaming their good friend on it cause god! they’ve had no idea it wasn’t theirs, I get mad. (makes you wonder though: if they friend has such skills, why not making them gifs themselves?)

Like…. I’ve had my gifs stolen plenty of times. I’ve had them stolen for roleplaying, for headers, for imagines, just for notes… I’ve had them stolen by people claiming to run official fan sites (that’s a real wild story but I won’t get into that now)… I’ve seen them on pinterest, weheartit, FB, all those random gif sites… and I’ve seen EVERY. POSSIBLE. EXCUSE. ranging from: “well i found it on google so why should i credit you” “lol dunno who made this but its pretty so im posting it” “ive had it on my computer for years so i don’t remember where i got it from” “i dont know how to make gifs so im using weheartit as a source” “credit to whoever made this” (that’s my fav) to “its just a gif so who gives a shit” (it’s not – it’s hours of creator’s time and lots of love that you’re now shitting on so thanks) and “i have an /illness/ and getting notes makes me feel better so dont u dare blame me for stealing” (I don’t remember exact excuse but it was something along those lines and like… how do you even respond to something that without looking like an asshole?).

And sometimes it really is just an accident. Sometimes people really do forget to credit you and/or ask you for permission. And I’ve had my fair share of those accidents. People in Psychonauts fandom have been using my gifs for various crap but, when approached, they’ve removed it and apologised. And it’s something I really appreciate. (if they actually bother reading this and they recognise themselves: i’m really grateful and thank you for not being an ass)

But you know what I don’t appreciate? People making a call out posts about me, asking about my gifs when they know very well they’re the main reasons why I’m not making those gifs anymore, at the same time failing to address any of the issues I have with them and instead rather explaining to others what happened BUT explaining only the parts that make me look like a villain cause how I even dare be mad about them stealing? How I even dare call them out on it? That is so ridiculous and criminal of me, and it’s so so sooooo bad that they need to call me out. I deserve to be called out by the very same person who’s been stealing my shit.

And their explanation is…well… it’s something.

They were sympathetic and polite? When did this happen? Did I completely missed that part? Please someone fuckin enlighten me with such post/message where they expressed their sympathy and politeness and I’ll apologise right this second.

I told them to “literally fuck off”? Yeah, that did happen, I admit that. Did they bother explaining why I told them to fuck off in the first place? Did they say they were caught stealing from me and had tumblr stuff remove my shit from their blog? Did they get into details of how they demanded the proof of my so very wild and obviously false claims but then when I showed it, they just deleted that “how dare u call me out cause I would never do such thing” post? No, they didn’t and geee, I really wonder why.

Instead, what did they choose to address? Out of all the things I’ve said. Hm? What did they choose? Me telling them to fuck off. Me dropping the F-bomb on them, rudely rejecting their obvious kindness and politeness. Nothing else.

Back to what I was talking about before I got derailed again: no, I’m not mad cause this person used my gifs without crediting me. I mean – I am, but that’s not my main issue with them (and they know it). My main issue is that this is someone who will continuously lie and steal and still deny any of it, even when there’s plenty of proof (and you can always count on me to show up with proof tbh), and then go as far as to publicly ask about my gifs and try to call me out. Like me getting mad that something I’ve put hours of work into, and something I’ve made cause I love the game and I want to share my love and appreciation for it, is now being shared against my will and my knowledge - like me getting mad over something like that is so unreasonable that they need to make an entire post about it while pretending they have absolutely no idea why I’m even mad and why we have issues.

And I have every fucking right to be mad. 3 times is not an accident. 2 times to the same person is not an accident. They know it. But yeah, playing stupid is their defense so it’s not like I expected them to actually address their actions this time either.

And you know what? Just because I swear a lot doesn’t mean I’m wrong. Doesn’t mean there’s no solid ground for my claims. People on tumblr have always been and always will be stealing shit. Sometimes they will credit you, often they will not, and that’s just how it is, doesn’t matter if you’re okay with it or not. But that doesn’t mean I’m just gonna sit quiet and accept someone’s shitty behaviour. Especially when it’s directed at me.

TLDR: giving credit =/= having permission

but my previous posts leading to this ask were not about that

you knew that already

[zoolingual-blog]

RULES.

DISCLAIMER  :  i am not in any way affiliated with any of the fcs i use. thank you. however, i did create danny and her world and i would appreciate it if no one stole anything

ONE      •    THIS BLOG IS A SAFE SPACE.     that means no hate, no bigotry, no jackassness allowed. if i see it on my dash, you will be blocked.  i will reblog callout posts, but only for serious stuff. if i see a callout posts for someone ’ not writing their character right ’ or ’ not being original enough ’ or something like that, it will be ignored. that’s dumb and you need to get over yourself. i myself am a white, lgbt female. i am not perfect, and if i do some shitty things, i expect people to come talk to me about it because in no way do i want to be make people uncomfortable or be ignorant. but i do prefer you come talk to me first, don’t just blast hate about me without trying to work with me first. i am not a hard ass, im actually quite the pushover. and i swear im pretty nice.

TWO     •     I DO NOT FOLLOW DUPLICATES.     this should not be an issue, as danny is an oc and there really should be no duplicates

THREE     •     WE NEED TO DISCUSS FACECALIMS.     there are a certain bunch of fcs i refuse to interact with, mostly because the actor themselves gives me a bad taste in my mouth. if you have a character with one of these fcs, i will not follow. if you wish to change the fc and don’t know who to change it to, come talk to me and i can help you out ! i will gladly point you to alternate fcs. if any of my fcs are / become problematic as well, feel free to tell me so i can change them !! the fcs i will not interact with are RDJ, MARTIAN FREEMAN, BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, SCARJO, ELLE FANNING, EDDIE REMAYNE, HAILYEY ATWELL, & JOHNNY DEPP.

FOUR     •     I AM HIGHLY SELECTIVE & MUTUAL ONLY.     basically what this means is that i only follow some people back on my dash, and i will only interact with you if we are mutuals. if we are not mutuals, do not like or reblog anything. i just like to have a clean dash, and if we are not mutuals it makes me very anxious to have to answer questions or make you a starter. just don’t, or i will block you.  i may take a while to follow back though, so if it’s been a few days and i haven’t followed back, don’t worry ! i might be getting to it ! but also don’t ask me about following you back. i have a hard time saying no to people, and then i just feel trash about myself because i didn’t want to follow and i made myself. so please just, don’t ask. but no matter if we are mutuals or not, if you want to come to my ims to talk about something, feel free !

FIVE     •     ALL GRAPHICS ARE MINE.    i save the screencaps and i made the psd from scratch and everything edited is mine. please do not take that from me, it’s incredibly disrespectful and i will block and report you. that being said, if something i use is art and if the art is your art and you want credit / want to have it removed, let me know ! i will gladly add the credit or remove it ! most of the time i just google search shit and random stuff pops up and i don’t know where it’s from, so just let me know ! occasionally i will make gifsets / edits of my muses : please don’t reblog these unless i give permission. i’ll usually put something like that in the tags or something.

SIX     •     I HAVE MY OWN SYSTEM AND WRITING STYLE.     i do memes a certain way and i write my drafts a certain way as well. the only thing you really need to know is that once i reblog a meme, it’s open forever. you could send it to me the day i reblog it or three weeks later - i don’t really care. if i don’t want to answer a meme anymore, i’ll delete it, so anything in the meme tag is fair game. other basic rules apply : if you want to continue an ask meme to a thread, move it to a new thread because if it is on an ask i won’t reblog it. i do prefer small text and icons, but i won’t not interact if you don’t use these.

SEVEN     •     I KINDA ADORE SHIPPING.     this includes platonic, frenemies, romantic partners - if it’s a pairing of any kind im a sucker for it. as for romantic things, danny doesn’t quite know her sexual orientation yet, she kind of just dates who shes wants to date. in regards to shipping, i ship chemistry above all else. i do not write smut, as i am just entirely uncomfortable with it. i may mention some things here and there, but that is it. if you see our muses being together all romantic like, let me know ! cause i may ship it too, and we could have some fun. oh, and i am ship exclusive ( meaning i will only ship with one of a particular character )

EIGHT     •     IF YOU WANNA BE MAINS, ASK ME !     i like having mains, like really like it, so if you want to be mains just let me know ! exclusives are a bit different, as i don’t like to say im exclusive with anyone. it really has to take a strong bond of me to your character portrayal for me to be exclusives. also, if i say you are my main / exclusive, do not feel pressured to add me back ! i do it for my own comfort via the relationships ive built, and it just makes me comfortable. do not feel obligated to do the same in return, you def don’t have to.

NINE     •     I TAG TRIGGERS AS TRIGGER TW.     if you want a trigger tag, tell me so i can tag it ! i try to tag the basics, but sometimes i forget, so if i forget just remind me ! i ask that you tag any vague posts you might post. i have a habit of thinking they are about me no matter what they are about. simply tag anything about it being vague or simply put ’ not about my mutuals ’ if it’s about something else ! spoilers for tv shows / games / etc will be along the same lines tagging wise.

TEN     •     MY ACTIVITY IS SPOTTY AS HELL.     currently, i work a part time job at 30 hours a week, take 18 credit hours of class, and also try to have a social life and sleep on top of all of that. there are some nights where i do not get on tumblr at all. my activity still is all over the place. if this bothers you, please do not follow. i can’t control it, and tumblr doesn’t pay me to rp, so this isn’t my number one item of things i have to keep up with. also, my main blog is @ unastute, not this one. danny is mostly plot based if i’m being honest. drafts are rarely in queue, so if i post a draft, you know i’m on, if even for a moment. i am always on discord & you can reach me in ims at almost any time as well ! if we are mutuals, hmu for my discord !

ELEVEN     •     HI I’M SYD.     i am a white female living in the usa. i am 20. im not entirely sure wtf my sexual orientation is, but if you ask me irl my first answer is usually bi. i have high anxiety, bpd, avpd, and i fluctuate between periods of high empathy and periods of low empathy. i am a sophomore in college, studying marketing and minoring in event management. really though, i’m just a smol child tryin to make it through life in one piece. ask me about my puppo and i will show you the 60 pictures i take each day of him. i also have a youtube channel, but i rarely post videos so if i’m on there i’ll shout it into the void. thanks for reading this long thing, it means a lot. i’m sure i’ll add more as i find more things, but for now, have fun and explore ! remember i love you and you’re amazing !

[unastute]

                   RULES.

DISCLAIMER  :  i do not own new girl or jessica day. i am not in any way affiliated with any of the fcs i use. thank you.

ONE      •    THIS BLOG IS A SAFE SPACE.     that means no hate, no bigotry, no jackassness allowed. if i see it on my dash, you will be blocked.  i will reblog callout posts, but only for serious stuff. if i see a callout posts for someone ’ not writing their character right ’ or ’ not being original enough ’ or something like that, it will be ignored. that’s dumb and you need to get over yourself. i myself am a white, lgbt female. i am not perfect, and if i do some shitty things, i expect people to come talk to me about it because in no way do i want to be make people uncomfortable or be ignorant. but i do prefer you come talk to me first, don’t just blast hate about me without trying to work with me first. i am not a hard ass, im actually quite the pushover. and i swear im pretty nice.

TWO     •     I DO NOT FOLLOW DUPLICATES.     i always feel bad about this rule, but it gives me such high anxiety i don’t know what to do. i love anyone who makes a new girl blog, and we can still be friends if you rp jess too ! just shoot me a message and i’ll give you my discord. but in no way will i be following your blog, for my own mental health.

THREE     •     WE NEED TO DISCUSS FACECALIMS.     there are a certain bunch of fcs i refuse to interact with, mostly because the actor themselves gives me a bad taste in my mouth. if you have a character with one of these fcs, i will not follow. if you wish to change the fc and don’t know who to change it to, come talk to me and i can help you out ! i will gladly point you to alternate fcs. if any of my fcs are / become problematic as well, feel free to tell me so i can change them !! the fcs i will not interact with are RDJ, MARTIAN FREEMAN, BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, SCARJO, ELLE FANNING, EDDIE REMAYNE, HAILYEY ATWELL, & JOHNNY DEPP.

FOUR     •     I AM HIGHLY SELECTIVE & MUTUAL ONLY.     basically what this means is that i only follow some people back on my dash, and i will only interact with you if we are mutuals. if we are not mutuals, do not like or reblog anything. i just like to have a clean dash, and if we are not mutuals it makes me very anxious to have to answer questions or make you a starter. just don’t, or i will block you.  i may take a while to follow back though, so if it’s been a few days and i haven’t followed back, don’t worry ! i might be getting to it ! but also don’t ask me about following you back. i have a hard time saying no to people, and then i just feel trash about myself because i didn’t want to follow and i made myself. so please just, don’t ask. but no matter if we are mutuals or not, if you want to come to my ims to talk about something, feel free !

FIVE     •     ALL GRAPHICS ARE MINE.     i save the screencaps and i made the psd from scratch and everything edited is mine. please do not take that from me, it’s incredibly disrespectful and i will block and report you. that being said, if something i use is art and if the art is your art and you want credit / want to have it removed, let me know ! i will gladly add the credit or remove it ! most of the time i just google search shit and random stuff pops up and i don’t know where it’s from, so just let me know ! occasionally i will make gifsets / edits of my muses : please don’t reblog these unless i give permission. i’ll usually put something like that in the tags or something.

SIX     •     I HAVE MY OWN SYSTEM AND WRITING STYLE.     i do memes a certain way and i write my drafts a certain way as well. the only thing you really need to know is that once i reblog a meme, it’s open forever. you could send it to me the day i reblog it or three weeks later - i don’t really care. if i don’t want to answer a meme anymore, i’ll delete it, so anything in the meme tag is fair game. other basic rules apply : if you want to continue an ask meme to a thread, move it to a new thread because if it is on an ask i won’t reblog it. i do prefer small text and icons, but i won’t not interact if you don’t use these.

SEVEN     •     I KINDA ADORE SHIPPING.     this includes platonic, frenemies, romantic partners - if it’s a pairing of any kind im a sucker for it. as for romantic things, i strongly ship nick and jess, and their relationship means a lot to me. but only in a few verses will i have them post season 7, just to keep options open. in regards to shipping, i ship chemistry above all else. i do not write smut, as i am just entirely uncomfortable with it. i may mention some things here and there, but that is it. if you see our muses being together all romantic like, let me know ! cause i may ship it too, and we could have some fun. oh, and i am ship exclusive ( meaning i will only ship with one of a particular character )

EIGHT     •     IF YOU WANNA BE MAINS, ASK ME !     i like having mains, like really like it, so if you want to be mains just let me know ! exclusives are a bit different, as i don’t like to say im exclusive with anyone. it really has to take a strong bond of me to your character portrayal for me to be exclusives. also, if i say you are my main / exclusive, do not feel pressured to add me back ! i do it for my own comfort via the relationships ive built, and it just makes me comfortable. do not feel obligated to do the same in return, you def don’t have to.

NINE     •     I TAG TRIGGERS AS TRIGGER TW.     if you want a trigger tag, tell me so i can tag it ! i try to tag the basics, but sometimes i forget, so if i forget just remind me ! i ask that you tag any vague posts you might post. i have a habit of thinking they are about me no matter what they are about. simply tag anything about it being vague or simply put ’ not about my mutuals ’ if it’s about something else ! spoilers for tv shows / games / etc will be along the same lines tagging wise.

TEN     •     MY ACTIVITY IS SPOTTY AS HELL.     currently, i work a part time job at 30 hours a week, take 18 credit hours of class, and also try to have a social life and sleep on top of all of that. there are some nights where i do not get on tumblr at all. my activity still is all over the place. if this bothers you, please do not follow. i can’t control it, and tumblr doesn’t pay me to rp, so this isn’t my number one item of things i have to keep up with. my drafts are rarely in queue, so if i post a draft, you know i’m on, if even for a moment. i am always on discord & you can reach me in ims at almost any time as well ! if we are mutuals, hmu for my discord !

ELEVEN     •     HI I’M SYD.     i am a white female living in the usa. i am 20. im not entirely sure wtf my sexual orientation is, but if you ask me irl my first answer is usually bi. i have high anxiety, bpd, avpd, and i fluctuate between periods of high empathy and periods of low empathy. i am a sophomore in college, studying marketing and minoring in event management. really though, i’m just a smol child tryin to make it through life in one piece. ask me about my puppo and i will show you the 60 pictures i take each day of him. i also have a youtube channel, but i rarely post videos so if i’m on there i’ll shout it into the void. thanks for reading this long thing, it means a lot. i’m sure i’ll add more as i find more things, but for now, have fun and explore ! remember i love you and you’re amazing !

[rosedalemike]

The Mood: Blog #11 “WTF is next, ROSEDALE?!”

     I've had so many random ideas for what this next blog should be about. I wanna try to stay on track with the story of Rosedale's farewell/next chapter as that seems to be the most common topic with the lovely Rosedaliens that have been coming out to shows.      But the truth is that I'm just as unsure as everyone else. I don't even have a clear vision of what I picture September looking like. I guess my plan in September is to plan what 2019 is going to look like. 2019 seems so much further than it actually is, I'm sure.      The only things I'm sure of are that I would like to: 1: be a helpful contribution to music scenes (artists, venues, promoters, fans etc.) using more than just my own voice. 2: keep making new music under a different name (using my voice ...maybe some features...maybe a band? Who knows. I'd love for someone else to decide that.) 3: continue to work with other artists on their art and ideas.      I know those are all vague ideas. And regarding the name delema; I have a giant draft email to myself (the most common email address in my inbox is rosedalebooking@gmail.com) that has a bunch of artist names and band names. Some are pretty good, some are not. 

Self-Lyric Party: 

" 'cause I live entirely for the self-satisfaction that I made this- I turn Whiter than a song in C as I watch the room empty No! Just press on, believe. My numbers are truly sad Tell me again; can I beat Quicksand? Yes I Can! " - Quicksand

    As I check back to my last blog (to see how I quote/credit a lyric party...to keep continuity) I noticed that google placed a Chipotle add on the right side of the blog page! This is likely because I searched Chipotle at least 10 times in this past week. And that is because there is new company in the new Rosedale crew already and Chipotle sometimes hooks up traveling musicians with free food. 

     Her name is Siena. We all know Bryan, right? (cousin, hockey guy, #1 merch dude/email address collector...) Siena is the female Bryan. But luckily, she's not my cousin. I mean it'd be awesome to have known her all my life (like I've known Bryan all my life,) but for "heart-crush" reasons, I'm really glad she's most definitely not my cousin. 

     I met Siena at our San Diego show in November 2017. I say "our" because she's in a band called Going Postal, and they played that Soma show too. Like many bands today, they'll admit that their future is a giant question mark. But unlike many bands today, they sound awesome! 

Check them out

.https://goingpostalca.bandcamp.com/releases

     I call Siena "S Money" because one of her friends she was facetiming called her that and I, too, wanted to sound gangsta- "DJ $ Money" to be exact. Siena is finishing her final online college classes while traveling around America with me and selling my merch. When she's not selling merch she's helping me move my insane amounts of gear. When she's not selling merch and moving my insane amounts of gear she's teaching me how to promote in a more professional manner by helping me post enticing social media posts/stories/streams more regularly/organically. 

     Siena is a very kind-hearted, helpful champion that is way too chill to be so attractive. I just may be the luckiest Tall Canadian with Way Too Much Gear to have her on tour with me. After this tour she's moving to LA to become a world famous movie star so I only have about a month more of her awesomeness. She likes animals a lot, especially animal memes/vines. Mostly cats and dogs. So share/send any good ones and I'll make sure she sees them. (I'm also currently tethering off her wifi hotspot because all of Ohio's wifi is down right now.)

      Now that I've made you feel warm with paragraphs of cute kittens and puppies and rock n' roll princesses and awesome music and free Chipotle and sharing wifi; I must reveal some bad news; MY BACK IS F**KED!!! I somehow slowly injured my lower back while walking down some rusty stairs at the wrestling ring venue in Benwood, WV last Tuesday. I was getting ready to catch a little light-up-with-movement Nerf football, moving no different than any human casually walking down a set of stairs- then all of a sudden I felt my back juice trickling into the lower center of my back.     Don't be alarmed, this is not a career ending injury or anything. This actually happens to me every two years or so. And this time is not nearly as bad as the last time (when I was filling in for my Dad in his Canadian Tire men's hockey league and I casually skated behind my net to find out how 3 weeks of near paralyzing lower back pain felt.)      It's funny; when people ask if I have tall people back problems and I'm not dealing with back problems at that given moment, I usually reply "nope". But as soon as I do experience my dual-annually (I made up that word...) back pain, I remember the last time I had severe back pain.       So anyway, I had to cancel two shows and I'm not happy about it. It's getting better. I'm three days without pain relief meds. Stretching a lot. Rubbing Tiger Balm and Icey Hot every few hours. Just taking it easy in Cincinnati until Atlanta's show on Tuesday. That show is gonna be really awesome and there’s no way I’m missing it.      I played drums for a band on Warped tour in Dallas too. That was pretty fun. I learned their songs in three days. They have a lot of air horns in their music so I went kind of overboard with the Roland Pad's air horn sample. (Maybe that's why they found a replacement drummer for Pittsburgh Warped.)      It was fun seeing the Warped Tour for the last year and getting to play on stage again. We also went to the Cincinnati Warped Tour and learned what heat stroke felt like.

     Enough updates on my odd summer. I'll wrap it up with some insightful life/music stuff as I'm hanging out with the infamous Alex Baker.  https://alexanderbaker.bandcamp.com/ First though, his dad told us one of the greatest dad joke of all time: 

DAD JOKE PARTY:

"I was trying to think of a good reason to go to Switzerland and then I realized the flag was a big plus." 

But for real; we were talking about how things would be so different if we had just been understanding with our ex-bandmates in the golden years. We were all young and surrounded by the odd discovery of egos driven by art/success.  Alex was in a band called Dewey Decibel  https://alexanderbaker.bandcamp.com/album/the-dusting-dewey-decibel They had a fun indie style with a really organic, interesting production. Dewey Decibel recorded their album in their house in Nashville. From the sounds of it, once they started getting attention from NPR and local radio stations things started getting to everyone's heads. 

     It's not uncommon for a band to get along really well when things are on the up then fall apart when the going gets tough. The more I see it the more I understand the damage it did to Rosedale.      But on the other end of that unfortunate reality is the fact that I never would have met Alex Baker if the Rockstar ego-turmoil didn't happen to Dewey Decibel and Rosedale. I probably wouldn't have met Siana (AKA DJ $ Money) either. I'm not preaching that everything happens for a reason. I'm just kinda preaching that if you take the inevitable destructive events in life and turn them into fuel to move on and stay positive, better relationships grow. And those relationships are better because you've grown and learned how to be a better person.       So, like I keep driving home in all of these "Farewell Blogs", I'm looking forward to where things go. I'm happy I've experienced all the curveballs along the way to teach me how to eventually hit some home runs. I feel like I'm on the right track with these new friends that I've only met through grinding past the hard times and pressing on for what I had my heart set on.       Do you ever think of how you came to know some of your best friends? Like what events led them/you there that day and how grateful you are for those events and the transparent friendships they created? I know facebook gives us the ol "5 years of friendship" tag or whatever. But sometimes I see those and think "ohhh if you only knew, facebook...me and Casey Phillips go WAY BACK!"      Anyway that's all for now. If you've been thinking of meeting me or Siena or Alex Baker the best way/time to do it is to come out to an event we're at and experience some in person hangouts. This will be the last few weeks of touring for quite some time for me so really try to highlight these dates and make a solid effort to come catch a show. I promise you will not regret it. 

UPCOMING SHOWS:  7/24 - Atlanta,GA @ The Masquerade  7/27 - Jacksonville, FL @ Jackrabbits 7/29 - St. Augustine, FL @ Sarbez 8/3 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Black Forge Coffee 8/4 - Niagara, NY @ Evening Star 8/7 - Brampton, ON @ Spot 1 8/10 - Charleston, WV @ The Empty Glass 8/11 - Myrtle Beach, SC @ TBA Then a bunch of East Coast tour dates.

[aizawa-yamada-shinsou]

When you thought things couldn’t get more absurd

Summary- In a group of murders, psychos, and demons, it’s the normal innocent egos that seem odd and out of place. But what happens when these egos aren’t as innocent as those around him are lead to believe? 

Genre- Fluffy fluff. 

@immortalpoptart I was gonna post this all at once but my roommate had some emotional issues I had to help her out with so I hope you still enjoy just getting the first part. I’ll get the next two parts up as soon as I can!

The office felt uneasy for days. The unfortunate discovery of Bim’s not so human background came as a shock to most, even without the little detail of them finding him snacking on a human corpse into the equation. He admitted he liked pretending to be human better than a demon so his deep purple ram horns and jagged razor claws stayed hidden, his eyes remained the brown they always had instead of the fluorescent purple slits that had appeared, his skin less lilac and more tan, and his mouth stayed human-sized full of human looking teeth. The game show host tried to act as he always did, happy and excitable, but there was an underlying unease to him as if he was waiting for… something to happen. The backlash from the egos he had turned timid probably, most unnerved after the display of bloodlust and gluttony he had displayed, or perhaps the demand, hidden as an offer, from Dark to use his power for the monochrome ego’s will.

Even the normally calm and collected egos or the innocently oblivious egos were acting on edge around him. Most concerningly were the Jims. The four brothers had seemed to flock to the older ego almost as soon as they gained life, respecting the weak light-hearted ego almost more than they did Dark and their creator. The week after their reveal all five of the egos seemed on edge around each other, each Jim glancing at Bim uncertainty anytime they were in a room together, opening and closing their mouths as if to say something before looking away. They didn’t seem to know what to do, and Bim seemed unwilling to push them one way or another just watching them with resignation.  

It was the Friday after the reveal that the others noticed the disappearance of the Jims. Even after Wilford had searched the Studio from top to bottom and the Googles checked the security feeds they still couldn’t find the quads anywhere on the grounds or inside the Office. With no other options in sight they tracked down Bim, he always seemed to know what the brothers were up to, even when they weren’t talking.

“Trimmer!” Wilford sang, kicking down the door to the greenhouse. The man leaped, magic shocking himself turning his usual black suit polka dotted. Bim shook himself out before turning to the entrance, eyebrow raised as Bing, Dr. Iplier, and Jackieboy followed Wilford inside.

“Everything okay, Wil?”

“Have you seen the Jims?” Jackie asked, tugging on his cape without looking at Bim. His eyes widen as he took in the people in front of him before removing his glasses to rub his eyes, mumbling deeply in a smooth chilling language a few recognized from Dark’s use of it.

“Uuuuh English please dude?” Bing asked, only to jump back as the older ego opened his eyes to reveal purple slits.

“I said I know where they are, but we can’t find them until it’s over.”

“Over?” Doc asked, tone even, but eyes hard and judging, “when what is over?”

“The meeting, probably,” the short reply came as Bim replaced his glasses, having them fade back to brown, “They’ll want as many people together as possible,”

“What exactly are you talking about?” Bing asked concerned, “you make it sound like their planning something.”

The smirk they received in response was not comforting. Though the look quickly faded into an angry scowl when Jackie glared at him opening his mouth to warn,

“If you’ve done anything to them…”

Bim growled low in his chest, “You know I haven’t changed Jackie, you just know I’m not human now. I’m still the same Bim that had movie nights with you every month and learned dances to musicals with.”

“You eat people!” He snapped back, arms crossed over his chest tightly.

“Not by choice!” Bim snapped back, “You eat meat and stuff, and nearly everyone that lives in the office has killed someone, so why am I suddenly the bad guy because I’m forced by my biology to eat human flesh? Because I’m more like everyone else that lives here then you realized?”

The superhero didn’t answer, just turning on his heel and leaving the greenhouse. Bim deflated as he left, face falling slightly as the others stared at him with mild unease. Wilford pushed past it first, placing a hand on Bim’s shoulder.

“Don’t be so sad, chap!” He said smiling brightly, “Some of us just need to get used to these changes. It’ll all work out in the end,”

The younger man just shrugged off his hand and turned, disappearing into a lilac puff of smoke, leaving the rest to stare at each other, guilt twinging their stomachs. Doc Iplier rolled his eyes, turning to leave as well.

“Honestly, you’d think a demon wouldn’t be as sensitive,”

Wilford scowled at the man but stayed silent.

Bim was one of the first to the meeting room, eyes trained on the table from where he was slouched in his seat. He seemed to wither even more as more people filled in, feeling the heavy weight of eyes burning into him. As Dark entered, singling the meeting as to start, he straightened his tie, noting that the four seats reserved for the Jims were the only ones empty.

“I see that our eccentric news crew is still missing,” He hummed as conversations faded around the room, “I thought I sent some of you to find them when they did not appear at breakfast,”

“Well Bim had some lovely insight on that, Darky,” Wilford answered smirking at the scowl his nicknamed earned, “apparently they don’t want to be found,”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Anti piped in from his place at the table, “The puff balls playing a game or something?”

“Or something,” Bim mumbled statement carried through the room. Jackie’s glare on him was intensified.

“How do we know you didn’t do something to them?”

Bim’s head shot up, boiling rage causing his teeth to sharpen, “Seriously!? Why the hell would I hurt the little Imps? Why do you suddenly want to make me the villain for everything Jackieboy?”

Before the superhero could fire back a retort the speakers around the rooms crackled to life. Fast pop music poured into the room making all the egos look around in confusion until two thumps were heard. On the table stood Jackieboy, and Doctor Iplier, eyes glazed and clothes slowly melting into a 90 esque girl clothing, matching baggy black graphic off the shoulder tees tucked into puffy pastel skirts paired with bright leg warmers and converse shoes. The other egos sat in shock, a mixture of amusement and horror growing on their face as the two egos began dancing and singing their hearts out to “Girls Just wanna have fun.” Anti, Wilford, Robbie, and Bing had no problem laughing outright at the start of the song, Jameson clapping his hands in silent laughter with them. Slowly Oliver, Yandere, and Chase started giggling soon after the pair started bobbing and shimmying to the beat, and by the halfway point, Marvin and Schneeplestien had joined in watching with keen eyes as Doc and Jackie, twirled around like preteens. Dark rubbed his eyes, a snarl rising in his throat. 

“Wilford, if this is your doing….” Dark trailed off as the floor was covered in dark tinted smoke that looked like oil spreading across the carpet, morphing into a ball pit, the plastic balls rising until they were level with the table edge.

“Oh I wish this was my handy work,” Wil wheezed out, wiping a tear from his eye as Jackie launched himself into the ball pit with a cry of,

“I LOVE BALLS!”

Doc backflipped off the table after him sending balls flying across the room. No sooner did both of their heads disappear under the sea of plastic that they shot to their feet, eyes clear.

“What happened?” Doctor Iplier asked shakily as he glanced around the room taking in the plastic balls and laughing faces, before glancing down and yelping, “What am I wearing?”

Jackie blushed, pulling down his skirt, eyes flashing over the egos in the room, “Funny guys, who did this? Anti I swear if this was you…”

“Aww…” Heads wiped around to see the four previously empty seats now were filled, “They keep giving our credit away to other, Jim,”

Reporter Jim nodded sadly at Weatherman Jim’s whining, “I know Jim, quite upsetting,”

“Why four came up with this?” Wilford’s question was met with the quad laughed loudly.

“Of course!” Cameraman Jim giggled, glancing at his camera screen, “We even recorded it!”

“We couldn’t let you guys getting away with being mean to Boss now can we?” Field reporter’s words were bathed innocence but the twisted grin on his face ruined the effect.

“Boss?” Dark questioned, mouth set in a fine line. Instead of the Jims answering Bim broke in.

“I told you four you didn’t need to do this,” He growled, eyes flashing purple as he glared at them. The brothers didn’t even blink, just smiling fondly at the irritated game show host.

“And We told you, boss,” Reporter started before Weatherman cut in,

“That we weren’t going to let people treat you like that,”

“Without getting what was coming to them at least,” Field Reporter added before cameraman laughed.

“Plus did you expect anything less from us, Boss?”

Bim sighed, shaking his head, “No, I know you four little shits too well not to expect you to pull something like this,”

“What you five on about?” Anti asked eyebrow raised, “Since when is he your Boss?”  

“Shall we Jims?” Report asked and the other three Jims nodded in unison.

“We shall Jim?” Most in the room jumped as the oily looking smoke covered the Jims fading away to reveal the four changed egos. Each was a different color, Dark reddish brown, then greying blue, deep green, and finally a pale yellow, but they were identical past that. Four pairs of black soulless eyes sparkled with mirth as the rest of the egos took in their newly revealed forms, from the devil tails twisting together behind them, the shiny scales climbing up their throats and sharp grins, with even sharper teeth, it was impossible to deny the Jims were…

“How are you demons!” Bing yelped, indignantly, “You guys are always freaking out at everything calling it demons before sprinting out off like you’re about to be killed!”

The Jims broke down into crackling laughter as Bim’s head slammed onto the table in front of him.

“I hate you four,” They heard him moan, making the Jims smirk, vaulting the table to crowd around the downed man.

“No you don’t boss!” the brown one, Reporter said cheekily.

The green one, Field, wrapped his arm around Bim’s shoulders, “You would have given us up to Dominix a couple of millennia ago if that was the case,”

“I am not the only one lost right?” Marvin managed to squeak out drawing four devilish grins turning his way.

“Sit down,” The hiss was unexpected and made the brothers jump before slinking off to their seats as Bim sat back up, eyes flashing purple and his horns fading into existence as his emotions spiked.

“You four fucking imps are driving me up a wall,” He said glaring at their deflated states before he let a fond smirk travel up, “At least people will believe me now when I saw you’re all little shits,”

“Trimmer,” Dark spoke evenly, aura twitching giving away his frustration, “Why don’t you explain,”

Bim’s smirk blossomed into the cheerful smile that he was known for, looking chilling paired with his non-human features, “You’re not the only one with Underlings, Dark.”

[atc74]

Fire & Ice

A probably not highly anticipated part 2 to She Waits. I totally did not intend for it to have a second part, but then I joined another challenge and the host graciously agreed to it. So if you’re interested, here is some more disgusting fluff. Taylor, @impalaimagining, this is for you, love and your Sing It Supernatural Challenge. Thank you for all your love and support! My prompt is in italics.

Pairing: Rob Benedict x Reader

Word Count: 2192

Warnings: Rob singing, pregnancy, birth (not graphic), Rob singing

Thank you to all who indulge my Rob Crisis as is reaches critical mass. I mostly blame @iwantthedean and @d-s-winchester, as they are horrible, amazing influences and I love them. Also, to my beta, @just-another-busy-fangirl, I love you!

(photo credits to google search, @mandileaphotography and @stardustandmelancholy)

Rob slipped quietly through the door to your rented condo in Vancouver. He knew you had been tired lately, being six months pregnant and all, and he didn’t want to risk waking you. It had been a long night on set and the director hadn’t called a wrap until almost two in the morning.

He removed his shoes and tossed his jacket over one of the kitchen stools before grabbing a bottle of water and shuffling his tired feet and body down the hall. He ensured the bathroom door was shut before he turned the light on and set to getting ready for bed. After a quick shower, he brushed his teeth. He flipped the lights off and tiptoed into the bedroom.

Rob reached his way along the wall to his dresser and grabbed a pair of boxers and pulled them on. He eased his way to the bed and gently pulled back the comforter.

“Rob?” your voice was raspy from sleep.

“Hey, Honey, I am sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you,” Rob whispered.

“S’okay, baby woke me up anyway; hafta pee,” you groaned as you eased your swollen body from the mattress and rushed the bathroom. You quickly finished your business and returned to the bedroom, greeting Rob with a kiss.”Hmmm minty. How was your day, Babe?”

“It was good. Long, but good. Only one episode left,” Rob welcomed you back into bed with open arms.

“I missed you, Baby,” you snuggled into his side. “Only a couple weeks left and we will be on our way home. I can’t wait to get the nursery finished so we can be ready for this little wiggle worm.”

“I can’t wait to meet our baby, Y/N. I love you,” Rob murmured into your hair.

“I love you, Robby,” you whispered before drifting back to sleep.

~*~

“Honey, are you ready?” Rob called through the apartment.

“I will be in just about three minutes,” you responded strolling out into the living area. “Can you zip me please?”

“Honey, you look absolutely exquisite,” Rob breathed out, his cerulean orbs roaming your figure in the dress you had found on a recent shopping trip.

“Thank you, Robby. I am just glad it fits, for now,” you joked. “I am getting bigger and bigger every day. Pretty soon, I will only be able to fit into sweats!”

“It doesn’t matter what you wear, you will always be the most beautiful woman in the world to me,” Rob said. “And you’re all mine.”

“Okay, you sap, we are going to be late if you don’t zip me up,” you joked, turning around and gesturing to your back.

“I don’t care. I just want you all to myself,” Rob murmured, as his fingers slowly caressed your spine, taking his time.

“I promise you I am all yours tomorrow, but tonight,” you sighed. “Tonight we have a wrap party to attend and you are the emcee and entertainment.”

“I am going to hold you to that promise, Y/N,” Rob relented and zipped your dress with a heavy exaggerated breath.

“You know, you look pretty damn good in that suit, Babe,” you teased, getting an eyeroll in response.

The bar had just started to fill up and it looked like you and Rob arrived just in time. Jensen and Jared greeted you at the door.

“Y/N, you look beautiful, too good for Rob. Run away with me?” Jared teased.

“I am sure Gen would not be okay with that. Control yourself, MIster!” you joked just as easily with him. You loved this family with everything you had and knew your life wouldn’t be the same without them. Throughout all the struggles of the past few years, before, during and after Rob’s stroke and thinking you might lose him, they had all been there for you, through thick and thin.

“Jare, get off the pretty lady! Hey, Sunshine, how is my favorite niece doing?” Jensen hugged you and instinctively rubbed a large hand over your belly.

“Jen, we don’t know if it is a girl or boy, so don’t get too excited just yet. You’ll have to wait a few more months, just like us,” you told him.

“Yeah, well I can hope! And we have receipts for everything!” Jensen blurted out as he took your hand and led you to a table reserved for you. “What can I get you?”

“Just some water with a lemon, please,” you eased yourself into the chair and noticed Rob in the corner talking with Bob Singer and Jim Michaels, figuring it was most likely about the episodes they had just filmed.

“Hey, Honey, you comfortable?” Rob crouched down in front of you.

“Yeah, I’m good, let’s go mingle with everyone before you are stuck on entertainment duty,” you proposed and Rob helped you to your feet, one hand on the small of your back as you walked around, talking to all of your friends and family.

“So how many weeks left, Y/N?” Brianna asked excitedly.

“Just about ten. It feels like just yesterday when I found out,” you marveled.

“I know! It feels like it goes by in the blink of an eye, but lasts forever at the same time!” she exclaimed, hugging you tightly.

“Hey, where’d my husband go?” you wondered aloud as the music started. Brianna just pointed toward the stage where Rob and Rich had taken up their post.

“Ladies and germs! Thank you all for coming tonight. We have some people who wanna say some stuff, so please, pretend to listen and be interested, and blabbity blah, yada yada yada,” Rich joked and passed off his mic to the show runners.

Jokes were made, insults tossed back and forth, but it was all in good fun and camaraderie; the cast and crew were notorious for it and it was what made them all family. They had another great season under their belts.

“Robby?” Rich called out.

“Yeah, Rich?” Rob answered.

“So you guys gonna play something for these nice people? And Jared and Jensen?” Laughter broke out among the party, Jared and Jensen feigning offense.

“We were thinking about it, why, you gonna join us?” Rob asked. “And ah, Jensen Ackles, get your ass up here, too.”

Applause rang out as Jensen jumped on stage, Rich handing him a microphone. The opening notes of ‘Whipping Post’ started and Jensen was flawless. More and more guests joined the stage singing a variety of songs, just like a Saturday Night Special concert.

You alternated between sitting and standing, singing along and carrying on conversations with everybody. The baby would start kicking furiously whenever Rob was singing and it made your heart happy to know that your baby loved Daddy’s voice as much as you did. You had just returned to your seat and slipped off your shoes when you heard your name.

“Y/N, Honey, I know this isn’t the most romantic way to spend our first anniversary, but I don’t think we would be here today if it wasn’t for the love and support of some of the people in this room,” Rob looked off the side and then you saw Gil walk out on stage, followed by Jensen, Brianna, Kim, Ruth and Mark took up his post on the drums. “Surrounded by our friends and family, I vow to you, Y/N, to love you more each day and never to look back, as you are my future.”

You smiled sweetly, not believing what a sap he had turned into. “I love you, Robby!” you yelled to him as a familiar pair of arms encircled your waist and a loud kiss was placed on your cheek.

“Nic! What are you doing here?” you squealed as you hugged her.

“Well, we were coming just to help you move, but Gil couldn’t pass up an opportunity to sing with the boys, so here we are,” she shrugged.

The music started again and you both turned back to the stage, giving your husbands and friends your attention as a old country tune filled the room. This was different than they normally played, but you didn’t care. Rob singing was what you enjoyed most and it didn’t matter if he sang commercial jingles.

“This song is dedicated to my beautiful wife. She is everything I could want and more. Happy anniversary, Honey,” Rob announced.

She’s sun and rain, she’s fire and ice

A little crazy but it’s nice

And when she gets mad, you best leave her alone

‘Cause she’ll rage just like a river

Then she’ll beg you to forgive her

She’s every woman that I’ve ever known

She’s so New York and then L.A.

And every town along the way

She’s every place that I’ve never been

She’s makin love on rainy nights

She’s a stroll through Christmas lights

And she’s everything I want to do again

You and Nicole swayed to the music, not caring anymore that you had taken your shoes off or that your feet still ached. A warmth surrounded you as Rob sang, the group harmonizing perfectly behind him. You watched him as he left the stage and knelt before you.

She’s anything but typical

She’s so unpredictable

Oh but even at her worst it ain’t that bad

She’s as real as real can be

And she’s every fantasy

The song finished, but you couldn’t hear anything. Your attention was on your husband as he wrapped his arms tight around your middle, placing soft kisses to your baby bump. He looked up at you with tears shining in those blue eyes you loved so much.

“You and this baby are all I could ever want. Thank you for being patient and loving me. I don’t know where I would be without you,” Rob confessed and kissed you soundly as everyone clapped, wishing you a happy anniversary.

“You’ll never have to find out,” you promised.

~*~

“Rob!” you yelled from the bathroom one dark and stormy night. A rare thunderstorm had rolled through Los Angeles County and although you loved a good storm, this one had woken you up only to discover that your water had broken.

“What flavor?” Rob mumbled from the bed, still half asleep.

“Rob, Babe, I need you to get up and get dressed right now. My water broke,” you told him, gathering a change of clothes from the bedroom.

“Okay, I’m ready! Let’s get to the hospital!” Rob jumped out of bed and put his shoes on.

“Babe? Uh, you probably are going to want a shirt…and some pants,” you observed as he stood before you in nothing but his boxers and a pair of sneakers.

“Oh, yeah, right. Pants,” Rob babbled as he ran around your bedroom, looking for said pants, settling for a used pair from the hamper.

“Baby bag, check. Mama bag, check. Pants and shirt, check,” Rob recited his list of go items, as he ran down the stairs of your two story home to the door to the garage, slamming it behind him. The door opened and slammed again, and you heard him as he bounded back up the stairs. “Pregnant wife, check.”

“I was wondering if you were coming back for me!” you laughed as he helped you down the stairs, out the door and into the car. Your breathing exercises were not exactly helping, but as you glanced in the back to the brand new car seat he had installed the day before, worry set on your face. “Rob, what if we are horrible parents?” you blurted out as the panic started to set in. You and Rob hadn’t had the smoothest of roads and you worried if you had rushed into the parenting thing.

“Honey, as long as we have each other, that is all that matters, remember? We made it through together and we will make it through this, too,” Rob assured you, his hand rubbing soothingly up and down your arm. He started singing as he drove, knowing that always helped calm you.

~*~

You woke to the sun as it shone through your window, blinking in the brightness. Your arms stretched over your head and you noticed a dull ache in your midsection. The events of the night rushed back to you as your eyes opened wide to take in your husband singing softly, gazing lovingly at the pink bundle in his arms. You listened, content at the sight before you.

“You know, she still needs a name,” you pointed out and his eyes met yours.

“Hey baby girl. Your mama is awake,” Rob cooed gently as he rose, shifting your daughter into your arms. You had marveled over this little wonder for months and she was finally here.

“I was thinking about, too, and may have an idea,” Rob volunteered. “How do you feel about Rowan?”

“I love it, Rob. Welcome to the world, Rowan Elizabeth Benedict. Your Uncle Jensen is going to be so pleased to meet you,” you whispered. Rob reached over and wiped away your silent tears before he kissed the top of your daughter’s head. “She’s beautiful.”

“Just like her mother,” Rob agreed.

Taglist - now open - add or remove here: @iwantthedean @chelsea072498 @paintrider13-blog @d-s-winchester @just-a-touch-of-sass-and-fandoms​ @just-another-busy-fangirl @winchesterprincessbride @waywardjoy @like-a-bag-of-potatoes @mamaredd123 @ellen-reincarnated1967 @sis-tafics @katymacsupernatural @tankcupcakes  @wonderange @meeshw777  @tmccarney @ruprecht0420 @theoriginalvicki @hexparker @nanie5 @docharleythegeekqueen @megansescape @notnaturalanahi @impalaimagining @mrswhozeewhatsis @blacktithe7 @emoryhemsworth @dracotomanddeansprincess23 @bringmesomepie56 @devilgirlsarah @spnbaby-67 @emilycollins11 @myoutletforfanfiction @deansangelgirl @mizzzpink @jerk-bitch-and-an-angel @kayteonline @percussiongirl2017 @fanfreak07 @tattooedmomster13 @sandlee44 @moonstar86 @uttertrash–butlikecutetrash  @squirrel-moose-winchester @growningupgeek @charliebradbury1104 @evansrogerskitten @feelmyroarrrr @itseverythingilike @smoothdogsgirl @evyiione @ashstrom87 @supernatural-jackles @ryantherandomhero 

[suzanneshannon]

The Thirteenth Fourth

Well boy howdy. The 13th birthday of CSS-Tricks has rolled around. A proper teenager now, howabouthat? I always take the opportunity to do a bit of a state of the union address at this time, so let’s get to it!

Design

Technically, we’re still on v17 of the site design. This was the first design that I hired first-class help to do, and I’m still loving it, so I haven’t had much of an itch to do massive changes to it. Although it is quite different¹ today than it was on launch day.

For example…

The search experience is totally different, as it is powered by Jetpack’s Instant Search now.

The Almanac pages (e.g. background-blend-mode) have an additional sidebar that helps you navigate between pages

I re-did the typography using Hoefler&Co. Sentinel and Ringside. The monospace font code snippets are in Operator Mono and the logo has long-been Gotham Rounded, so it feels like one big happy family of typefaces.

Maybe next year we’ll do something different again. My list is starting to grow for some behind-the-scenes tech stuff I wanna re-jigger, and sometimes that goes hand in hand with redesign work.

Closed Forums

The forums on this site have been a mental weight on me for literally years. Earlier this year I finally turned them off. They are still there, and probably always will be (so the URLs are maintained), but nobody can post new threads or replies.

It was a painful move. Even as I did it, there was still some regular daily activity there and I’m sure it didn’t feel good to those people to have a place they have invested time in shut down. Here’s why I did it:

Nobody here, including me, checked in on the forums with any regularity. Unmoderated public forums on the internet are not acceptable to me.

The spam volume was going up. There were periods where most posts, even after the automatic spam blocking I get from Akismet, where spam that required manual removal. Even if we had a dedicated forums employee, that’s no fun, and since we didn’t, it was just a random job for me and I don’t need a time sink like that.

The forums represent a certain level of technical debt. They need to be updated. Their design needs to be functional in the context of this site. At one point I ripped out all custom styles and left it be the default theme, which was a good step toward reducing technical debt, but in the end it wasn’t enough.

I can handle some work and some technical debt, of course. But when you combine those things with the fact that the forums don’t contribute much to what I consider to be the success of the site. They don’t exactly drive page views or advertising demand. There isn’t really money to hire help specifically for the forums. But that’s a small part of it. I want this site to help people. I think we can do that best if we focus on publishing with as little divided attention as possible. I think there are places on the internet that are better for forum-like discourse.

Now that they’ve been off a number of months, I can report that the lifting of the mental weight feels very good to me and there has been little if any major negatives.

Social

Here’s another mental weight I lifted: I stopped hand-managing the Twitter account (@css). I still think it’s good that we have a Twitter account (and that we have that cool handle), but I just don’t spend any time on it directly like I used to.

In the past, I’d queue up special articles with commentary and graphics and stuff and make sure the days were full with a spread of what I thought would be interesting tweets about web design and development. That’s fine and all, but it began to feel like a job without a paycheck.

We don’t get (or seem to drive) a lot of traffic from Twitter. Google Analytics shows social media accounts for less than 1% of our traffic. Investing time in “growing” Twitter just doesn’t have enough of an upside for me. Not to mention the obvious: Twitter can be terribly toxic and mentally draining.

So now, all our posts to Twitter are automated through the Jetpack social media connection (we really use Jetpack for tons of stuff). We hit publish on the site and the article is auto-tweeted. So if you use Twitter like an RSS feed of sorts (just show me the news!), you got it.

The result? Our follower count goes up at the same rate it always did. Engagement there is the same, or higher, than it ever was. What a relief. Do ten times less work for the same benefit.

When I have the urge to share a link with commentary I use the same system we’ve always had here: I write it up as a link blog post instead. Now we’re getting even more benefit: long-term content building, which is good for the thing that we actually have on our side: SEO.

Someday we could improve things by hand-writing the auto-tweet text with a bit more joie de vivre, crediting the author more clearly, and, #stretchgoal, a custom or fancy-generated social media graphic.

Opened Up Design Possibilities

One aspect of this site that I’ve been happy with is the opportunity to do custom design on content. Here are some examples of that infrastructure.

On any given blog post, we can pick a template. Some of those templates are very specific. For example, my essay The Great Divide is a template all to itself.

In the code base, I have a PHP template and a CSS file that are entirely dedicated to that post. I think that’s a fine way to handle a post you want to give extra attention to, although the existence of those two files is a bit of technical debt.

I learned something in the creation of that particular essay: what I really need to open up the art direction/design possibility on a post is a simple, stripped-down template to start from. So that’s what we call a “Fancy Post” now, another template choice for any particular post. Fancy Posts have a hero image and a centered column for the content of the post. From there, we can use custom CSS to style things right within WordPress itself.

For example, my recent post on DX is styled as a Fancy Post with Custom CSS applied right within the block editor.

The Block Editor itself is a huge deal for us. That was one of my goals for the year, and we’ve really exceeded how far we’d get with it. I think writing and editing posts in the block editor is a million miles ahead of the old editor.

The hardest challenge was (and still is really) getting the block transforms set up for legacy content. But once you have the power to build and customize blocks, that alone opens up a ton of design possibility within posts that is too big of a pain in the butt and too heavy on technical debt otherwise.

Another door we opened for design possibilities is a classic one: using categories. A sort of freebie you get in WordPress is the ability to create templates for all sorts of things that just sort of automatically work if they are named correctly. So for example I have a file called category-2019-end-of-year-thoughts.php and that fully gives me control over making landing pages for groups of posts, like our end-of-year thoughts homepage. Not to mention our “Guide Collection” pages which are another way to programmatically build collections of pages.

That’s a lot of tools to do custom work with, and I’m really happy with that. It feels like we’ve given ourselves lots of potential with these tools, and only started taking advantage of it.

Speaking of which, another aspect of custom design we have available is the new book format…

eCommerce

We’re using WooCommerce here on the site now again. I just got done singing the praises of the Block Editor and how useful that has been… WooCommerce is in the same boat. I feel like I’m getting all this powerful functionality with very little effort, at a low cost, and with little technical debt. It makes me very happy to have this site on WordPress and using so much of suite of functionality that offers.

So for one thing, I can sell products with it, and we have products now! Lynn Fisher designed a poster for our CSS Flexbox guide and designed a poster for our CSS Grid guide, which you can now buy and ship anywhere in the world for $25 each. Look, with the Block Editor I can put a block for a poster right here in this post:

CSS Flexbox Poster

Find yourself constantly looking up the properties and values for CSS flexbox? Why not pin this beautiful poster up to the wall of your office so you can just glance over at it?

$25.00

Shop now

Another thing we’re using WooCommerce for is to sell our new book, The Greatest CSS Tricks Vol. I. If we actually made it into a proper eBook format, WooCommerce could absolutely deliver those files digitally to you, but we haven’t done that yet. We’ve take another path, which is publishing the book as chapters here on the site behind a membership paywall we’re calling MVP supporters. The book is just one of the benefits of that.

WooCommerce helps:

Build a membership system and sell memberships. Membership can lock certain pages to members-only as has programmatic hooks I can use for things like removing ads.

Sell subscriptions to those memberships, with recurring billing.

Sell one-off products

And I’m just scratching the surface of course. WooCommerce can do anything eCommerce wise.

Analytics

They are fine. Ha! That’s how much I worry about our general site analytics. I like to check in on them from time to time to make sure we’re not tanking or anything scary, but we never are (knock on wood). We’re in the vicinity of 8m page views a month, and year-over-year traffic is a bit of a dance.

Sponsors

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

That’s what I have to say to all our sponsors. We’re so damn lucky to work with a lineup of sponsors that I wholeheartedly endorse as well as literally use their products. We have different sponsors all the time, but these are the biggest and those who have been with us the longest.

Automattic: Thanks for building great software for the WordPress ecosystem. This site is made possible by a heaping helping of that software.

Netlify: Thanks for bringing the Jamstack world to life. I’m also a big fan of this way of building websites, and think that Jamstack should be the foundation for most websites. Beyond that, you’ve redefined modern developer experience.

Flywheel: Thank you for hosting this website, being a high-quality host I can trust and who has been helpful to me countless times. This is what high-quality WordPress hosting looks like.

Frontend Masters: Thank you for being an education partner that does things right and helps me have the best possible answer for people when they are searching a more structured formal education about doing web work: go try Frontend Masters.

If you’re trying to reach front-end developers with your products, that’s literally how I make a living and can help.

My Other Projects

CodePen is no spring chicken either, being over 8 years old itself. I repeat myself a lot with this particular aspect of talking about CodePen: we’ve got a ton of ideas, a ton of work to do, and we can’t wait to show you the CodePen of tomorrow. 2020 for CodePen has been a lot different than the last 2-3 years of CodePen. Some technical choices we’ve made have been starting to pay off. The team is vibing very well and absolutely tearing through work faster than I would have thought possible a few years ago, and we haven’t even unlocked some of the biggest doors yet. I know that’s vague, but we talk in more detail about stuff on CodePen Radio.

ShopTalk, as ever, is going strong. That’s 420 episodes this week, friends. Dave has me convinced that our format as it is, is good. We aren’t an instruction manual. You don’t listen to any particular episode because we’re going to teach you some specific subject that we’ve explicitly listed out. It’s more like water cooler talk between real world developers who develop totally different things in totally different situations, but agree on more than we disagree. We might evolve what ShopTalk show is over time, but this format will live on because there is value in discussion in this format.

Life

My wife Miranda and I are still in Bend, Oregon and our Daughter Ruby is two and a half. She’s taking a nap and I’m looking at the monitor as I type.

We have the virus here like everywhere else. It’s sad to think that we’re this far into it and our local hospital is pleading with people to be careful this holiday weekend because they are very near capacity and can’t take much more. Here’s hoping we can get past this painful period. Stay safe and stay cool, friends, thanks for reading.

I always feel bad when I make design changes away from an actual professional designer’s work. Is the site design better today than Kylie‘s original? Uhm probably not (sorry for wrecking it Kylie!), but sometimes I just have an itch to fiddle with things and give things a fresh look. But the biggest driver of change is the evolving needs of the site and my desire to manage things with as little technical debt as possible, and sometimes simplifying design things helps me get there.

The post The Thirteenth Fourth appeared first on CSS-Tricks.

The Thirteenth Fourth published first on https://deskbysnafu.tumblr.com/

[hollygopossumlovesj2]

Come Back Down, Part 16

(Gif found on Google. Credit goes to maker. Not mine.)

Characters: Jensen Ackles x Reader

Rating/Warnings: NC-17; Smut and schmoop. Literally this entire chapter is sex with lots of feelings. If you don’t like that, feel free to skip. If you do, grab a glass of wine, relax and let it happen.

Summary: Jensen shows you how much he loves you and tells you why. In graphic detail.

A/N: I was gonna post this later this week, but I was too excited to wait. I hope you guys like it. Feedback is like finding a $20 dollar bill in the couch you didn’t expect to be there. I love it! Also, please don’t send me Danneel hate. I needed a villain.

Come Back Down Master List

Hollygopossum’s Master List

Our eyes locked as I crawled backwards down the bed. A sharp stab of lust shooting through me at the sight of her plump bottom lip trapped between her teeth.

I slid my hands slowly up her shins, over the soft skin behind her knees to finally grip the back of her thighs and spread them as far as they would comfortably go. I telegraphed every intent as I laid down and began pressing chaste kisses to the inside of her thighs. They soon progressed to open mouthed, dirty ones as I tried to memorize the taste of her soft skin under my tongue.

 Her hips bucked, a thin whine slipping through her clenched teeth as my breath ghosted over her center. She was soaking wet and I could smell her, a salty sweet scent that made my mouth water.

I nosed along the ticklish crease between her thigh and groin, inhaling deeply just to tease us both. Her musky scent mixed with her wisteria scented body wash and I groaned at how much I wanted to taste it.

She sighed my name as her fingers threading through the longer hair on the top of my head. She was just resting there for now, but I looked forward to the sting of it when she was out of her mind with pleasure. My scalp was a little known hot button, one that Danneel had never even tried to discover. It was at that thought I realized why sex with Y/N was so revolutionary. There was real emotion here, a feeling that I was connected to her in more ways than one. I shook my head to rid myself of the comparison. Danneel had no place here on this bed.

I enthusiastically parted her lips with my thumbs, enjoying the shiver of want I saw course through her body as I took in the view before me. She was shiny with slick and swollen already and the sight slammed me with want, causing me groan deep in my chest.

Just before I lowered my lips to take a taste, our eyes connected again. “You’re beautiful, sweetheart.” I whispered and didn’t pause for a reaction, the need to taste and give her pleasure was too overwhelming to put off sinking my tongue into her folds.

Her gasp of surprise turned into a throaty moan as her taste exploded across my tongue. I couldn’t help the groan that accompanied the dirty, wet sounds of my mouth as I licked and savored her, getting lost in her taste and the feel of her heat against my mouth.

I teased for a moment, dragging my tongue through her hot core and touching everywhere but her clit. Her hips bucked so hard as she looked for friction that I had to hold her down with my forearm. My words were muffled as I sucked on her lips, but I spoke loud enough for her to hear. “I love the way you feel when I’m so deep inside you that your ass presses into my thighs and your walls pulse along with your heart beat. How you fit so snug around me, like you don’t want to let me go.” Her fingers clenched and unclenched in my hair as she moaned. The way her breath was riddled with gasps and whines is intoxicating. She was making my pulse race, but I was only getting started.

The second my mouth left her she whined, her hands dropping to the side to fist her sheets. Although, this time, she was more overcome than frustrated. I soothed my hands over the tops of her thighs in a placating motion before I set the rest of my idea into motion. “You’re perfect.” My lips felt bruised and swollen as I mumbled into the skin covering her hip bone, nibbling and sucking a mark there.

Her scoff got stuck in her throat as I nosed across her mound until I reached the opposite hip bone to make a matching red mark there. I couldn’t touch her enough, so I smoothed my hands up and down her sides and belly, mapping the way before I placed kisses there. She flinched a couple of times, a playful smile quirking her lips, as the contact tickled.

“I love your belly.” She twitched, her hips bucking occasionally as I spoke directly into her skin. “I love that you have an iron stomach. You don’t get squeamish at illness or blood. You don’t make me feel like a bio hazard when I’m sick. I love how you take care of me.” I nuzzled and kissed her warm body, never staying in one spot, filled with the need to press the love I felt for her into her skin. “I love that you go with your gut feeling and intuition.”

She smoothed her hands lovingly over my shoulders and neck pushed into her hands like a cat, and if I were capable of purring I would, She was calming down a little as she ran her fingers through my hair, but soon I’d be riling us both back up. Moving on to her ribs, I traced the line of her ‘love her but leave her wild’ tattoo. She hummed in approval, her finger tips moving to the short hair on my neck.

I placed a few kisses there when I was done, “I love how independent you are and how you’ve made this amazing life for yourself all on your own. I love how you followed your dreams and chose your own path no matter what happened in your life.”

I felt a rush of affection when she blushed, realizing that what made this meaningful was that I didn’t have to embellish or think too hard about what to say. The thoughts came easy and I hoped that she understood that.

I spared a little attention to her breasts. “You know I love these. They’re the perfect handful.” I nuzzled the underside of each one, making her giggle and twitch before I began pressing wet, open mouthed kisses all over them. Her hips twitched up and her giggle slipped into a needy moan when I finally took one of her nipples into my mouth.

Her legs moved restlessly, her thigh accidentally rubbing against my dick in the most delicious way. I ground down, searching for a little relief, groaning loudly into her wet skin when I found it.

Reluctantly, I moved on, pressing kisses along the way until I settled to suck a mark into the center of her chest. I’d intended to drive her crazy with teasing while I hopefully got through that thick skull of hers how wonderful I thought she was, but I was torturing myself, too. Fine tremors moved through me as I fought the urge to drop the whole thing and ravage her.

When I finally gained enough control to speak, it came out breathy and rough. “And your heart. I love your heart because it’s so big. You’ve been through so much, been hurt so many times but you’ve never given up on me. Even when I’ve given up on myself.”

Her hand sifting through my hair and her soft expression was too much. If I stared too long, I would turn this into something else entirely. However, I had a point to make, so I continued on by kissing and nibbling across her collar bone and neck on the path to her ear.

I breathed through the waves of pleasure hitting me as my dick smeared a wet strip of precome across her hip with each movement. She bucked up to meet me, her arms encircling my back and pulling me even closer as she whispered my name into my neck.

Goose bumps erupted all over my body as her breath ghosted against my sweat damp skin, lighting my nerves on fire. “You have no… no idea what you do to me.” I nosed around the sensitive skin around her ear, trying to collect myself. “You have no idea how hard it is to resist you.”

“Then don’t.”

“Nope.” I kind of grumbled and groaned out in a very nonsexy way as I pulled my knees beneath me so I wouldn’t be tempted every time she moved. “I’m sure you wanna hear why I love your ears, right?” She nibbled a teasing bite to my shoulder but said nothing. “I love your ears because they’ve listened to 16 years of my good times and bad times without ever telling me I was stupid for feeling a certain way.”

“I may have told you that you were being stupid a couple of times…” She mumbled against my shoulder, a bit of humor in her tone.

“Only when I needed you to.” I sat up, crouching over her hips, and she took the opportunity to tease her fingers lightly over my throbbing, red cock. “You don’t play fair.” I gasped out and smiled wickedly as I took in her flushed cheeks. I smoothed my thumbs gently over her cheeks and then her eyelids, encouraging them to close. “I love your eyes.” I whispered, lightly kissing each one while I cradled her face in both hands. “Because of the different way you see the world. The way that you see me like no one else ever has.”

“You’re saying I’m an oddball, just in a nice way…”

One eye brow was arched and I paused to kiss it before I kissed her forehead, temples and even the top of her head. It caused her to laugh a little at how cheesy and ridiculous I was being.

I wasn’t really bothered by my current mushy status. It was Y/N that inspired me to act like a lovesick fool, so it only made me smile harder with fondness burning in my chest.

“You are odd, sweetheart… But you’re also unique and individual. You stand out in the best of ways.” The words muffled as I nuzzled into her sweet smelling hair, “I love your brain and your thoughts and ideas. You come up with so many things that I would never think of. The shots you take with your camera are genius.” I nibbled her nose and she flinched away with a slightly perturbed expression on her face. “You’re so damn smart.”

She was incredibly uncomfortable with the praise by now, her body shifting restlessly. “Please Jay, no more teasing?” She was on the verge of tears again and I couldn’t tell now if they were because she was happy or more upset.

I locked eyes with her as my fingers traced over the features on her beautiful face, “I love every bit of you, do you understand? And even the idea of you not understanding how perfect you are…” I finally gave in, laying my completely turned on body against hers so that our lips were only inches apart. “It hurts.”

Her lips were immediately desperate against mine, either overcome with emotion or desperate for me to stop talking. It could’ve been either one as I opened my mouth to her questing tongue with a moan. I was torn between letting her take control and continuing with my plan. Her body was insistent against mine, her hands mapping new paths across my skin.

But once again, somehow a brain cell was allowed to function as I remembered my initial plan. “Y/N wait.” I mumbled, pushing up to hover over her. She was now flush all the way down her neck into her chest, her lips kiss swollen and wet. Her bottom lip trapped between her teeth. Her y/c/e eyes were pleading with me not to tease anymore. “No more teasing,” I kissed the tip of her nose, “I promise.”

I wasted no time before I settled myself back between her thighs and dove in with enthusiasm. I immediately latched onto her clit, lightly sucking and groaning as I savored her flavor and the way she pushed back into my face. “Fuck, Jay! Fuck!” Her hands were buried in my hair and twisting before I knew it, sending bright flashes of want straight to my cock.

“Fuck you taste so good, sweetheart.” I lapped at her lips, creating a completely absurd wet sound with my tongue. She practically screamed my name when my tongue was buried as deep as it could go, massaging her walls with wide strokes.

Between her steel grip in my hair and her hips pushing into my face, she was riding me, and I was enjoying this more than I ever had before. She was out of control from being teased for so long, her body intent on getting pleasure as her actions pressed my nose into her clit. Her movements soon became shaky, her hips rolling in an erratic rhythm as her moans became a higher pitch.

She was repeating my name over and over, sending sparks of pleasure that were incinerating my nerves and self control. Her grip wasn’t so tight that I couldn’t pull back for a breath before diving back in, and I growled words that I knew vibrated all the way up her spine as I gripped her ass to encourage her. “That’s it sweetheart, ride my face. So fucking hot, baby.”

And that’s all it took before her body tensed all over and my mouth was met with a gush of slick as she screamed my name. I worked her through her orgasm, savoring her taste, but never slowing my ministrations. Instead, I added a finger alongside my tongue to her hot center, thrusting in and stretching until she could take a second one.

She was sobbing words that I couldn’t make out. Her thighs shaking and pressing around my ears as I latched onto her clit and sucked as I crooked my fingers just right. It only took a few more strokes of my fingers inside her before she came again, causing a throaty, fucked out moan from her throat and causing me to thrust harshly against the bed a few times to take the edge off. She was so fucking hot.

She was shaking all over and out of breath when I paused a moment to nuzzle her breasts, causing her to gasp before I continued on my way. I settled my weight between her legs and took her lips in a dirty kiss, groaning at the feeling of satisfaction of having her skin flush against mine. At this point, I was afraid that one more twitch from her body and it would all be over before I got to finish this properly.

Her moan was muffled as she pushed hard into my mouth and her hands slid over my back and ass, fingers pressing into skin with too much fervor to be soothing. “Need you, Jay. Please?” Her eyes were glassy and blown wide, her face and neck flush and sweaty from her two very recent orgasms and I felt a deep sense of pride alongside my desperate need.

I smoothed her wild hair out of her face, hands stopping to cup her neck and cheek in my hands. “What do you want, love? Do you want my mouth? My fingers?” It was a genuine question, the desire to take her apart with pleasure my only goal.

Her fingers dug into the skin of my shoulders as her legs wrapped around my waist. Her grip wasn’t enough to draw blood, but enough to get across her frustration and want. “Need your cock, Jensen. Please fuck me?”

Pure lust and possessiveness slammed into me, forcing a surprised huff of breath to gasp from deep in my chest and stealing the rest of my oxygen as if I’d been kicked in the abdomen. My cock twitched against her stomach, blurting precome and adding to the rather impressive amount of fluid that I’d already leaked onto her skin. “Oh fuck, Y/N.” It made it even sexier to know that this wasn’t an attempt at dirty talk, it was a bare honest plea.

I didn’t waste any more time before I was slowly sinking into her, surrounding myself in her wet, tight heat. I let my face fall to her shoulder, my entire body shaking as I willed myself to go slow, holding myself back from just slamming into her and taking. I was barely hanging on, my breath panting out like I’d just ran a marathon instead of pleasure my girlfriend.

Her hands turned gentle again, moving easily over me due to the sweat forming over my skin. She started pressing open mouthed kisses over my neck and shoulder, occasionally sucking bruises there that tested my control. But then, she started to talk, her breath a little choppy and warm in my ear and causing goosebumps to raise everywhere.

“I love you, Jay. I love the teenager you were but I fucking love the man you’ve become.” Her breath was hitching in her chest, her body shuddering with pleasure with every inch I slid into her. “You’re so brave and strong and loving. You’re everything I didn’t think I needed until you kissed me, Jay. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

We both moaned as I bottomed out, my balls resting comfortably nestled against the soft skin of her ass, our panting breath’s nearly synchronized. My heart thumping double time, a heavy feeling of love that was almost too painful in response to her words spreading in my chest. She was holding me tight, even though I was pressing my entire weight against her. It was just like her to feel like she needed to pull her weight in everything, even sex.

“Please.” She was moving her hips, her head rolling back and forth, caught up in the pleasure.

“Please, what?” I teased, receiving a halfhearted glare for my trouble. Her arms clamped down as well as her core, causing my hips to roll and a growl to rumble in my chest. “Fuck, sweetheart.”

I knew once I started to move it would be over, but I couldn’t resist anymore. Especially when she pressed her heels into my ass. I worked my way up into a steady pace before I tucked my face into her neck, sucking the skin there to muffle the out of control moans rising up in my throat. My moans were muffled, but I could hear hers loud and clear.

I dragged in a ragged breath when breathing through my nose didn’t suffice. I felt my orgasm building, and knew at any moment I was going to lose it. I didn’t want to come without her. I wrapped my arms around her, one hand cradling beneath her head and holding her to my shoulder. I tucked my thighs beneath her ass so that I sank deeper and she rolled her hips, pushing down to draw me in.

I wasn’t able to pull out very far, but the feeling of being entirely surrounded by her like this, as I slammed back in, was incredible. “Jay I-!” She pulled away from me so that she could see my face, her expression rosy and pained. “Oh, fuck, Jensen. I’m-.” Her words were cut off by my lips because I couldn’t stand another moment to go by without kissing her. That’s when I felt her tense, her center gripping me even tighter as she gave into her orgasm.

She moaned helplessly through her release as I fucked her through it, trying like hell to hold on as I watched her fall apart. The feelings that were coursing through me made it hard to breathe while my heart hammered away inside my chest like it wanted to break free. The minute her y/c/e eyes slid open, pleasure glazed and so full of love, my control snapped. I whined, the feelings ratcheting up and becoming almost unbearable as I felt it begin to crash into me. “Baby.” I managed through a strangled moan and my eyes slammed closed. A moan was ripped out of me when my entire body locked up as I released inside her.

“Oh, Jay.” I heard her sigh when the fog started to clear, the contractions still wrecking my body and making me tremble becoming nearly painful. I felt her hands soothing up and down my back, through the hair on the back of my head, her body rocking me through my release and prolonging it. Her lips whispered against my temple as I realized that I’d buried my face into her shoulder. “Love you, Jay. Love you so fucking much.”

It was when I’d finally calmed down, still enjoying the feeling of being inside her as I became soft, that I realized that I’d never loved someone as much as I loved Y/N. I’d never felt this warmth and fullness that felt so good that it hurt and I might die from it. I realized then that I was done taking the passive route, and that whoever was responsible for even thinking about hurting her, was going to fucking pay.

Tagging: Forevers: @perpetualabsurdity @maileann @daydreamingintheimpala @gecko9596  @gemini75eeyore, @jotink78, @dancingalone21 @winchesterprincessbride, @sandlee44, @exploratiionist, @arryn-nyx @littledarlinhavefaithinme, @boredoutofmymindstuff, @feelmyroarrrr, @raeganr99 @ruprecht0420, @anokhi07, @letsgetyourdeanon, @sis-tafics, @jensen-gal @theoneandonlysaucymo, @27bmm, @callmesatansprincess, @hbenth, @keepcalmandcarryondean, @sea040561, @just-another-busy-fangirl, @spn67-sister, @uniquewerewolfsuit @ria132love, @mrswhozeewhatsis, @tas898, @atc74, @ryansgirl5509, @mysteriouslyme82, @notnaturalanahi, @tiffanycaruso

CBD: @melissaj616, @katrena7, @butiaintgonnaloveem @wheresthekillswitch, @anticipate1003

If your name is crossed through, tumblr won’t let me tag you. Also, for some reason, on my previous chapter I missed tagging some people. I’m so sorry.