#putting this in main tags to catch anyone interested……..

[skysquid22]

Asking around on other socials and medias—Minedai fans would you be interested in participating in a Big Bang?

If you don’t know what that is, it’s a collaborative event where writers write something with a high word count and as it’s written they’re paired with an artist that draws a piece based off their writing. At the end, everyone shares their finished pieces ❤️

I’ve been in a reverse Big Bang before but never ran one but I would love to make some more Minedai stuff happen with other creators.

[leighsartworks216]

Cookies And Kisses

Zayne x gn!Reader

I am YEARNINGGG for a Zayne kiss so badddd (and also cookies) I also wrote this like minutes after my friend sent me the trailer for the new banner cuz ough Zayne why you gotta kiss like that and NOT BE REAL

Warnings: fluff, domestic fluff, silly, kissing, baking, established relationship

Word Count: 1,229

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AO3

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It was only a matter of time before the sweet fragrance of baking cookies beckoned Zayne to the kitchen. Even though he was in his office, working away on his reports and research, it's the most surefire way of getting him to take a break. You've only just put in the second batch when he wanders in with that round-eyed interest, honing in on the fresh tray of sweets.

"You're baking today?" he asks. You hear the excitement in his voice, even if he's trying to act natural.

You slip off the oven mitt with a smile. The counter is a bit of a mess - flour, baking soda, vanilla and almond extract, sugar both powdered and crystalized. You tried to keep it contained, for what it's worth. Cooling racks are spread out on the kitchen island, empty for now. A full one sits beside the oven. Twelve golden sugar cookies, with coarse rainbow sprinkles pressed into their tops. You are the only thing between him and the cookies.

"They're still hot," you warn, walking over to meet him so you can hold him back for as long as it takes to let them cool for just a couple minutes. You wrap your arms around his neck. His hands rest comfortably on your waist, slipping around to your back to hold you close. Eyes focus down on you, momentarily distracted by the one thing he loves more than his sweets. "I thought it would be fun. I was going to bring some to Yvonne and Grayson."

He glances back at the cookies. "How many are you making?"

"The recipe makes about 50 cookies. I don't think either of us need that many to ourselves."

He hums noncommittally and asks, "How many are you giving them?"

"Eight each. Will 30-something cookies be enough to satisfy you?"

"With your baking, no amount could satisfy me."

You laugh softly. Your fingers begin caressing the back of his neck and playing with the short ends of his dark hair. His eyes soften behind his glasses, warm with affection as he soaks in your touch. "With your sweet tooth, no amount of anyone's baking could satisfy you."

His ears grow warm, but he just smiles. His long fingers trace light patterns against your spine and lower back. He glances at the cookies once more. You try not to laugh at how obviously he's restraining himself. "Can I have one?"

"Just one?"

"Mm, or two, or three?"

You peck his lips with a snicker and pull away. His hands slide away, falling down back to his sides. You miss them immediately. Still, you grab a napkin and carefully settle two cookies on it. The third you take for yourself, taking a bite as you turn to rest your back against the counter, holding out the napkin for him. He stands close, comfortably within arms reach, as he eagerly accepts the cookies and takes a bite of one.

Still warm, the sugar cookie crumbles in the best way possible. The subtle vanilla, the sweet almond, the added crunch of sugar crystals. He hums in content. You reach up to wipe away the crumbs at the corner of his mouth, and he looks at you with a smile.

"They're delicious," he praises after he swallows his first bite. He leans down and presses a sweet kiss to your lips. "Thank you."

You catch his lips again before he can fully pull away. A quiet sigh escapes him as he reciprocates, fanning across your cheek from his nose. He tilts his head. Sets his partial cookie back in the napkin to hold your cheek as he licks the seam of your mouth, tasting the cookie's lingering sweetness on your lips, on your tongue.

Zayne kisses like he'll never kiss you again. It wasn't always like this. When you first started dating, kisses were hesitant. Light pecks, chaste and quick. Even your first make out, there was always something restrained in the way he kissed. He allowed you to lead, to take what you wanted from him. Now that you've grown as a couple, discovered each other's quirks and habits, moved in together, begun intertwining your souls, his kisses aren't the quiet, reserved pecks they used to be. He's always aching to kiss you deeper. Tilting his head from one side to the other as his hands hold you in place, pull you closer. His breaths grow heavy with excitement, soft sounds escaping the back of his throat. He devours you. Kisses you as though it's the last kiss you'll ever share and he needs to make the most of it. Kisses you like a soldier off to war, saying goodbye to his partner before he's shipped off. Kisses you like you're sweeter than pure sugar.

The oven beeps. You pull away with a sigh, sad to see the moment end. He smiles reassuringly as he kisses your cheek, silently promising to continue this later, before he steps away to lean back against the island. Those lithe fingers slipping from your cheek to pick up the cookie again, bringing it to his kiss-swollen lips and-

The oven beeps once more and you push away from the counter to stop the timer. You slip on the oven mitt, open up the inferno to let its dry heat caress your already-warm cheeks, and retrieve the tray of fresh cookies. Zayne watches as you hold the tray in one hand and pick up the spatula with the other, one by one depositing the cookies onto a cooling rack.

He's halfway through his second cookie when you begin scooping an array of dough onto the tray. Sneaking a third from the first batch when you're pressing divots into the center of the dough-balls and dispensing pinches of sugar in them. Finishing the third when you're slipping the tray on the top rack of the oven and setting a new timer. You grab his hand before he can grab a fourth, tugging him away and toward the kitchen doorway.

"You're gonna make yourself sick one of these days," you playfully chide. "No more until after dinner. Or at least until I've boxed up the ones for Yvonne and Grayson."

He chuckles as you drag him all the way back to his office. Smiles like a lovestruck fool as you push him into his chair. He grabs your hips before you can pull away, settling you to be standing between his legs as he looks up at you like you're the moon itself.

"Will you tell me when you've finished?"

You brush his bangs aside from his forehead. Trail your touch down his cheek. Hold his chin as you run your thumb along his lips. "Finished baking or finished separating theirs out?"

His eyes close as he presses a kiss to your finger. "Both."

You lean down and kiss his forehead. "So long as I don't catch you sneaking out before then."

"I won't."

"Mm-hm."

He tilts his head back, eyes flickering to your lips. "I won't," he insists.

"You won't get caught, you mean." You brush a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

He turns to fully catch your lips again. Draws you into him, until your knee is resting on the chair right up against his crotch. He murmurs breathlessly against your mouth, grinning with a subdued playfulness, "Now, I never said that."

---

Tag List:

@the-golden-jhope @deepzombieyouth @armycaratlover @cheesemachine44 @nyx2021 @angel-jupiter @thelittlebutton @pikachuzhc @pomegranatepip @cordidy @an-ever-angry-bi @thejysemongko @deusfoundry @hawtlineblingz @that-lost-one @always-just-red @sine-nomine0 @beautifulthingsiadore @nothankyew @nezuswritingdesk @ssushi @mina7820 @monophobix @mentaltrouble2201 @mskaylacharite @nerrivm @ichosesparklingtorment @schnittled @animegamerfox @perla-drg @17chuuya @slovesyouuu @whisteriaremembers @leiakitty

[toxycodone]

𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 !

𝘤𝘸. 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦

𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘰𝘴, 𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘶, 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘤𝘬

Laios:

I genuinely think Laios is attracted to the unconventional or stereotypically attractive. Anyone with unique features, personality quirks, etc. If you don't fit in, you're more willing to catch his eye.

He finds it difficult to really like? Gain an interest in someone who doesn't really "stick out". I think it's clear with the way he treats Kabru that like! People kinda are a blur to him! So! anything that makes someone stick out will catch his interest and he'd be more willing to remember them + actually continue to think about them.

MUST. Share his interest in monsters/animals. This is very important. Like there must be a shared interest there whether its just about anatomy, behavior, etc. I just think he needs to be accepted to talk about this and share fun facts. He likes it. Cooking or an interest in food would also be another plus.

Also just? He likes really easygoing people who aren't super judgemental. Laios is really unapologetically himself and he gets chewed out for it by his friends enough. He's very self aware when it comes to his own issues (esp by the end of the manga) so. Yeah. Just someone who he doesn't feel the need to mask around.

Honestly, maybe someone childish would fit his vibe too? I mean this in a more lighthearted sense. Like someone he could play tag with or goof around in the woods with. He missed out on being a kid for a while, and he's still kinda interested in stuff like that (bug collecting, cool rocks, etc.). Even in post manga he still wants this.

Also uhhhh beastkin/monsters/whatever of any kind get bonus points. Do they have to be this way? No. But. It would definitely do some favors to be feral/wild in some way like this.

Kabru:

Okay I am not saying this is healthy or anything, but Kabru is ridiculously attracted to fixer-uppers. The main character/savior/hero complex kicks in and he cannot help it.

This can either be super good for him if the person is like. not terrible and is actually okay with this. but uh. that isn't always the case. Bro is often setting himself up for some sort of situationship most of the time. He cannot catch a break.

But he totally needs to be confronted about this to have a relationship work out. Hope you can be at least a little assertive!

Oh and the people pleasing. It's going so far. Please, I-....

He needs to be stopped.

Ultimately. He's gonna go after the people who show the least interest in him and this SPECIFICALLY comes from his own insecurities as a person.

But in the end he's gonna truly fall for someone who can put their foot down and confront him about these issues. He's so insightful and perceptive when it comes to others and can easily point out and help you with you're own shortcomings. But he is super blind to his own faults. Legit does not. Even realize.

He honestly needs someone to help him grow, because in my eyes I can see him like even post manga being pretty stagnant here so . Yeah. You don't need to be like some badass assertive person either. As long as you can just sit down and have a serious conversation w him about this I think it'd go well.

And he'd fall for you because I think it's the first time he genuinely sees someone who recognizes things that are bad about him + still loves him despite that + wants him to grow as a person and assert his own wishes and needs more. Yeah. I just have a lot of feelings about that.

Chilchuck:

This goes two ways.

Non Toxic Route

He'd easily see himself falling for someone mature and responsible. It would start out as just a professional admiration but it would slowly become more intimate as Chilchuck starts to enjoy their more unique personality traits (and even ones he'd consider annoying) --like being feisty, or maybe they're picky, or they can be silly sometimes. That type of thing.

It's a total slow burn with him.

But he also likes people who are more lowkey. Chilchuck is not a "falls for you immediately/puppy love" kinda guy. He's jaded and has a past and has KIDS so. He needs to be treated gently and not rushed into things. Anyone who lets him come to them and start to be more affectionate without demanding it...yeah. Handle him with care PLEASE.

And speaking of this...he wants to keep up appearances since he does value his professional life and has kids and an ex-wife. So he wants someone that can blend into this life without causing drama or more headaches (his party gives him plenty. pls.)

"Toxic"/Not Gonna Last Route

Chilchuck is easily motivated by the more basic pleasures of life, so I can definitely see him having a bootycall that becomes some weird "what are we" type of vibe.

He's like...in the back of his mind the type to enjoy a "dirty little secret". Something he thinks only him and this person know about. But as time goes on he eventually gets emotionally involved with them and is like "we need to cut this off".

It is an extremely painful breakup on his end for sure and makes him more jaded when its literally! His own fault.

[wotay27166]

AN ASSORTMENT OF SPARKLECARE FORMER FAN COMICS / AUs / PARODIES

The following are made by people not associated with KC and do not support KC. For each project I've written up a little blurb and put together some images to give an overview of sorts. If you are still into Sparklecare and want something to fill the void, here are projects that stem from it inspiration wise:

RELEASED

Suga Rush by @twinleafsystem

When Sugar Sweets is diagnosed with the chronic illness known as Sweetie Drops, the local hospital involuntarily admits them to Sparklecare Hospital. Unfortunately for Mx Sweets, the titular Sparklecare Hospital has anything but their best interest in mind. But with the help of her new friends, maybe she can escape! You can check it out here

Dovecare by @monsieurcapgras

Working as a nurse at Dovecare hospital, Uvie Hurse wishes to see the best in an otherwise horrible predicament. A shady boss, and troublesome patients - it's all in a day's work. You can check it out here!

Fresh Blood by @kyodentporc

Despite heeding the warnings of Charles Wells, Syco Sid's parents didn't exactly get the memo. Forcing their son to be institutionalized, Syco now must survive the horrors that await him. You can check it out here!

Ask Penpals by @sparklecare-good-au

The misadventures of Saturn Lonli and his pals! Originally the main character of the Sparklecare Good AU, now in his very own world! A heartfelt down-to-earth slice of life teen drama comic where YOU through asks can guide the story! You can check it out here!

Hell Hospital by @hell-hospital-blog

Hot off the heels of an arson attempt, Flayme Wolfe is sent to Bluebird Hospital as punishment for his crimes. The hospital is a front for vile experimentation where the patients are dismembered and have each other grafted onto each other. You can check it out here!

Crackcare by @cartooemcanhis

A redraw of the original Sparklecare comic in the artist's very own art style with a few new silly additions! You can check it out here!

PRE RELEASE / IN DEVELOPMENT

Strawberry Nightmare by @thecrumpler

There isn't much info about it right now, but Strawberry Nightmare is a reinterpretation of Sparklecare using names and characters to tell a completely different story that will prominently focus on Mood! You can check it out here!

Sparklemall by @snowytiger

The characters you know and love from Sparklecare now in an entirely new setting with radically different characterization! Hanging around in the hippest coolest mall in town! You can check it out here

Glittercare by @starrlybearleon

A proposed parody of Sparklecare that asks the question, what if the focus was one of those other hospitals in the same network as Sparklecare? You can check it out here

That's all folks!

These are the ones I know of, if anyone has more to add feel free to do so in reblogs. In the future if there are more that pop up that catch my attention I may make another post.

A reminder that #sperklacera is being used by a lot of people on tumblr for sparklecare adjacent stuff out of the main tag!

I will conclude this post with words from @toynbeck, someone who has been directly affected by the predators KC has associated with, on the most respectful way of going about creating things inspired by Sparklecare without supporting KC or invalidating victims:

[chocodile]

Hiya! I was the advice anon from a few days back! First of thank you so so so so much for taking the time to not just answer but give such thorough advice! I really appreciate it so much, shared it with other friends of mine who have similar anxieties as I do. I really do appreciate it so much. Even if the internet isn’t how it used to be with less algorithms and numbers, I hope that I can still find my own enjoyment. I do have a best friend who I reconnected with 4 years ago and he gave me back that spark I was losing being one of the first people genuinely in love with my work much how I love his!

And yes please! I would love to hear your thoughts on meeting other creators and how to “launch” stories , and create that community! I love hearing the insight and introspection of fellow artists ! Everyone has different experiences that can be learned from and I just love reading what artists have to say about their work or methods ! Don’t worry about length, the more the better (of course please do not stress or worry about it, take all the time you need!)

Thank you again for answering my questions earnestly, made my week!

Hey Anon, sorry this took a while to get to! I've been pretty busy. I'm glad you found the first post helpful!

Regarding audience building and finding other creators... as I mentioned, I have a lot of thoughts. Here's a bunch of slightly disjointed notes on I've put together…

AUDIENCE BUILDING TIPS FROM SOMEONE WHO KINDA DID IT:

TIP 1: FIND OTHERS WITH SIMILAR INTERESTS!

Making OCs and original stories can be kind of isolating compared to, say, fandom. Best we can do is find specific points to bond over.

What is your story about? Does it involve heavy research into a specific topic, like speculative biology or real-world history? Look up tags related to this and see if anyone else is doing characters or stories based around this topic.

Does it share a theme with a popular media property? See if you can sneakily trick some of the fans of that media property into looking at your thing, too. ;) For example, a high-fantasy story might do well to court D&D fans. If you're writing a romance story, try to think of other stories and popular fandom ships that share themes with yours. You can follow artists who draw for that fandom, draw fan art for it, or make an AU of your character in that setting. Or all of the above.

This can even apply to very superficial things. Like, is your main character a woman with red hair and glasses? Did you find another artist whose favorite OC is a woman with red hair and glasses? That's a connection opportunity! And chances are, that artist may have friends or fans who ALSO like red haired women with glasses. Superficial appearance might feel like a silly thing to bond over, but catching someone's eye with your design is often the first step toward them engaging with the character more deeply.

Of course, you shouldn't be doing this as a cynical attention-grab… I absolutely wouldn't recommend courting a fandom for something you don't personally enjoy, and I wouldn't recommend following artists purely in hopes that they follow you back. That's a recipe for feeling miserable and resentful when it inevitably doesn't "pay off" immediately. Building relationships and establishing yourself in spaces takes time, and it needs to be something you enjoy doing or you'll just feel frustrated and give up.

TIP 2: BE THE ONE TO REACH OUT FIRST, BE CONSISTENT, BUT HAVE REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS.

So you've found someone you think is cool! Their story has werewolves in it, and so does yours. You think their main character is pretty cool and would like to know more about them. (And, secretly, you want them to ask you about your characters, too!)

So, get the ball rolling! Go ahead and ask them about their guy! It's scary, but that's often what you gotta do. If, after a few messages, they seem amenable, you can eventually start dropping tidbits about YOUR guy and YOUR story. "Your description of how the transformation sequence feels is very vivid and cool! In MY OWN werewolf story, transformation goes more like this…" or "Your guy who hates his werewolf side wouldn't see eye to eye with my werewolf character, who sees it as a blessing because…"

See if they bite on that. If they don't, maybe they're just not interested. But a lot of creators are interested in that kind of connection!

Some caveats here:

While many artists love that sort of attention, some people can be kinda defensive of their creations and become standoffish and prickly when strangers try to chum it up with them about OC stuff. If someone is like that, leave them be and don't try to force it.

Super popular artists tend to have way more messages than they can keep up with. You're very, very unlikely to develop an equally reciprocal friendship with them as a stranger in a short amount of time, and it's absolutely not anything personal. That's not to say you shouldn't bother interacting with them, just don't feel stung if they don't respond or follow you back. (This kind of overwhelm happens at much lower levels than you might think!) In my own experience, friendliness with a popular artist tends to happen when you're a consistent positive presence over a long period of time (often multiple years, but at least a span of 6+ months). And even then you will not be in their "inner circle" with the friends they've known for a decade, and that's fine!

Artists with smaller followings are way more likely to be receptive to following you back and doing the reciprocal friendship thing.

TIP 3: FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT.

If you do manage to make a connection with someone, or get a friend or two on board with your story, commenting and sending asks and stuff publicly is extremely helpful for audience-building. Not only does it increase your visibility, but it gives shy audience members "permission" to comment themselves, and a template for what kind of comments you find agreeable. A lot of people will think "Oh I want to comment… but what if I say something wrong and they get mad? I'll just say nothing instead." If you demonstrate that you respond in a friendly manner, they'll feel more comfortable. People are herd animals like that.

Also, people love the audience engagement aspect of sending "asks" and seeing responses to comments drawn. It doesn't need to be an "ask", though--one of the first things I did for Amaranthine was draw Hyden reacting to people's tags. You could even invent a question no one actually asked and draw a response, just to show people that you are open to that kind of thing.

In fact, way back before Amaranthine, I proposed a plan to collaborate with my friends to astroturf audience engagement to launch a story by sending each other and ourselves fake anon asks with questions. I ended up not having to do that--Amaranthine's popularity caught me completely by surprise--but if I ever have to cold launch a brand new story, I would probably send myself some fake anon asks to get the ball rolling, hah. Feel free to steal this idea and try it yourself!

TIP 4: SHOW CHARACTER, SHOW LORE, OVERSHARE, AND DO IT OFTEN!

There are tons of characters on the internet. What makes them memorable is sometimes their design, but usually it's their personality and story. If people don't know anything about a character except their name, physical appearance, gender, sexuality, and three character traits, they might think "aw, that's a neat character!" but probably won't think much more than that. They may like the cool art but probably won't say a lot about it beyond #cool art.

But if you draw the same character living out their daily life, interacting with friends and lovers and enemies, hanging out in their messy room, a flashback to them as an angry teenager, a short mini-comic of the incident that got them expelled from necromancer school, all coupled with little lore tidbits that offer a deeper look into their life, world, and inner psychology… that's when they start feeling like a PERSON, not just a cool design. Couple this with the asks and stuff from tip 3 and they become "a person I, the viewer, can reach out to and engage with".

It feels vulnerable to put this stuff out there initially, when you're not getting much feedback. But by having this built-up library of art and info people can read through, new viewers will arrive, think "hey, this character seems cool!" and instead of stopping there, they'll binge on your archives. It's very fulfilling to see a new person find your stuff and then see a strong of "likes" on older pieces as they go through your story/OC tag.

…Also, people have short attention spans, and modern social media means a lot of people won't see and certainly won't remember everything you post. Kwillow and I occasionally joke about "whoa, I can't believe I got a question about a topic I already answered! Don't they remember this 1 single post I made about the topic four years ago?" NO, THEY ABSOLUTELY DO NOT. You need to restate things, repost things, etc because people are probably not paying THAT much attention. You can't just put it out there once, especially the really juicy stuff!

You also gotta stick with stuff even if it feels like it's not working. Put your stuff up on a bunch of different platforms and cast a wide net. You might only get 1 comment on Tumblr, but if you post it to Bluesky, DeviantArt, Instagram, etc, and each of those gets 1 comment, then that's 4 comments. Think of posting on other sites like extra slot machine pulls. Even the ones with bad odds are still worth doing when the cost to pull the lever is basically nothing.

TIP 5: THE BITTER PILL:

Bitter pill to swallow: Modern social media favors things that can be distilled down into hashtags/tropes/aesthetics. Furries, punks, cottagecore, monsterfucker, D&D-esque, enemies to lovers, princess-core, werewolves… the harder something is to reblog with #aesthetic, the harder it is to sell in general. It'll always be harder to sell Bob The Regular Human Guy's story than it would be to sell that same Bob as a furry, or Bob as a shy punk with a shipping-fanfic-trope-friendly crush on a guy at a coffee shop. This doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't try, but it is something to be aware of. Like, if your thing isn't doing social media numbers, odds are high it's not bad, just not hashtaggable enough.

This is one of the reasons I say to try to focus on yourself and a small group of like-minded friends first. You can't count on social media mechanisms to help boost you if you're marching to the beat of your own drum. You can try to use tropes and fandom for your benefit, as described in #1, but even so it's often kind of an uphill battle.

However, if you have a ton of energy and love for your project then the awesome glowing power of your passion will help draw people to you. People like that energy! It may never be huge social media numbers, but do remember that every single person who interacts with your stuff is A WHOLE ENTIRE REAL PERSON, and that's pretty damn cool. 10 notes on something is 10 entire people standing in your living room giving you the thumbs up.

Anyway, hope at least a few of these tips are helpful! The social media landscape for artists is, frankly, very bad right now, and if you are struggling and feeling discouraged you are not alone. But there are still ways to find each other even in this landscape!

[natewriteslol]

"Short" Fuse

Summary: Despite not really being close, Chilchuck opens up to you about being short, you listen and offer some interesting counters to his insecurities.

A/N: a lil sum sum :P

It had been a long, adventurous day, yet Laios continued his search within the dungeon for some food. The entire party was hungry, but of course the two chefs especially held the urge to eat. They both wanted to go after these specific monsters in the area that could be tasty, something about these snail creatures and main course. Despite apprehension from Marcille she tagged along and Izutsumi not wanting to miss out on the action and still wasn't tired due to her slight nocturnal nature followed suit.

They assured the remaining two should keep watch of the supplies of your camp. And with waves from all of them except from the beastman, the four were engulfed within the darkness of the dungeon.

Leaving solely you and Chilchuck.

Your relationship was most definitely not the closest as he adopted a fatherly nature amongst the other members of the party except for Senshi and you. And whilst that makes sense as the dwarf and yourself were both adults just like Chilchuck, it still was completely different.

You honestly just chalked it up to you joining the party at a later date than the rest, despite bonding with the rest of your other people, even getting closer with someone as combative as Izutsumi.

Truth be told, you couldn't stand it as you were at a stand still of a lack of satisfaction. You weren't liked and you weren't disliked as you both almost never spoke to one another. But you persevered and decided to completely break the ice, not caring if you were being weird at this point.

"How is your sight so good?"

He was caught completely off guard, thinking that you both were going to sit in silence the whole time.

"What do you mean?" Chilchuck asked back, side eyeing you.

"When defeating golems, you're the first to spot their hearts before anyone and you spot weak points on different creatures also that others are blind to. How do you do that?" You explained.

"Half-foots typically have keen eyesight, it comes with the hearing too. Big eyes, big ears," he put it simply.

You continued to poke and prod at him and you ended up making decent conversation with the man, even getting a couple of laughs. But somehow your topic had evolved from weaknesses, to then insecurities.

"Laois is an idiot, but I would rather have more height and be able to perform in battle a little more. Half Foots mainly need to stay out of the way and let other people handle it. It feels...cowardly," he says, putting his arms on top of his knees and sighing.

It was catching you a bit off guard but I guess the saying of opening up to a stranger than someone you know is making itself very apparent at the moment.

"I completely disagree man," you replied, taking a more casual approach.

Chilchuck didn't want to completely block your opinion and he was curious about what you had to say surprisingly , "What are you saying?"

"I'd argue every person in here obviously has an asset that they possess, meaning one would fall apart without the other. Also we have all been in close to death situations and you're usually the most likely to survive due to your height," you explained, poking at the fire with a twig as you sat on the cold dungeon floor.

"I guess," he replied, looking off to the side. But the look on his face had told another story, as if the brunette had more to say.

.

.

.

"Ever since my wife left me, I've been more caring about how people percieve me. Gets on my goddamn nerves."

There it was.

The Half-Foot blurted out, both horrified and relieved he got that off his chest. He held a small pebble within his palm, semi- gently throwing a rock into the fire, crackling the wood and which sent out light embers into the air.

He had been definitely holding that in for a long time, and had no idea how to say it or if he could even speak it aloud. It's common for people to feel that way, more vigilant and embarrassed over what others have to say about them especially if they're single. But it had been a while since the Half-Foot truly felt it after being married for so long.

And for the past five years, it had been completely gnawing at him and his security as a man. He was twenty nine yet still couldn't shake that feeling, but with his occupation, Chilchuck couldn't exactly dwell on romance mid-lock picking or battle.

But on quiet nights like this, it got to him.

"Well, you're lucky you're a good looking guy, otherwise you would be screwed," you said bluntly, taking off your boot to get some dirt out from the inside. He was honestly speechless, had you of all people thought that? Or were you just talking to make him feel better.

But this whole interaction makes him feel so weird, but it's not a... negative feeling.

"You are so damn ridiculous, you know that?"

"You can think whatever you want Chilchuck, but I think deep down you know I'm right," you said, your eyes still fixated on your boot cleaning process. Your statement made a blush spread across his cheeks.

"This dungeon is making me talk to you, I swear," he replied frustratedly, growing "tired" of your antics.

"Well good thing we had this talk, since we both have had things on our mind for a while, huh?"

Although you both opened up about how you've been feeling, Chilchuck was doing a majority of the talking on this subject. Was that what you mean? The beginning when you were talking about yourself and not his appearance and you finding him attractive?

Right?

And just as he was about to inquire further, the short man was quickly cut off by a certain loud blonde.

"Hey guys, we're back!" Laios said excitedly from afar, his voice echoing slightly on the dungeon walls, his hands were wet with wet giant snails whilst Senshi carried a large sack of god knows what on his back.

Marcille and Itsuzumi looked green in the face with disgust, but you knew they would most definitely eat the monster Escargot that you knew the dwarf would whip up. The sight always brought a smile to your face, especially their hypocrisy in finding everything Senshi and Laois made yummy.

As you sat up to go and help with dinner, you looked over your shoulder, "Thanks for the talk Chilchuck, we should do this more often."

This was might not curate the best outcome, but why didn't he want to stop?

Why the hell did he even care?

[strawberryya]

I have this friend

pairing: seungcheol x reader x soonyoung

synopsis: Your regular hookup with Seungcheol took an interesting turn when he brought a friend along, one that was more than willing to help you two try out something new.

word count: 2.5k

genre/cw: smut, fwb, strangers to lovers too, threesome, double penetration, mentions of being in a club and sex in a bathroom (lets agree that this one is unusually clean and nice ok) unprotected sex - which should not be done, smut rules applied (so no questions or reality checks should exist around here), fem reader, oral sex

rating: 18+

a/n: got it in my head that this needed to be created, and I was correct, it was a need.

network tagging: @svthub @cultofdionysusnet @k-labels @kvanity-main

While Seungcheol was thick, Soonyoung was, simply put, big. The length of him alone would hit further up than you had ever taken anyone, and your mouth watered at the way he was deliciously thick as well. He wouldn't stretch you out until you fell apart as Seungcheol could, but you were already eager to discover what he would be able to do to you. 

You stroked his length slowly, taking in his pretty cock with your eyes while you had the chance. If you bent over right now you could get the chance to taste him as well, but you knew the man behind you would make the most out of that position once you got into it, and you were simply not done playing with the two just yet. 

Seungcheol was someone you had known for ages, regularly fucking him on nights out like these. It had started as a one-time thing, but after the fourth time, you had both agreed that it was best to keep things casual. Although, you also agreed that it would be more fun to continue if the opportunity arose in the future, but as friends. 

The opportunities, it had turned out, were plenty. You both ended up at the same clubs and bars too often to call it a coincidence. 

And right now Seungcheol’s heavy cock was once again pressed against your back. His hands skimmed your body, caressing your skin and carefully unzipping your clothes. He had been hard since before you had made your escape to this bathroom along with a new addition to your regular pairing: Soonyoung, one of Seungcheol’s friends since way back. You weren’t too sure how far back they went, you hadn’t asked for too many details before following along to the back of the club and to the nicest bathroom they had. 

He had been a good dancer, which had convinced you that even if he couldn’t meet your expectations he could at least keep a steady rhythm. Not to mention that he had a certain air about him, something that made him seem cocky without being a pain in the ass. It was intriguing. You had let them surround you on the dancefloor. Grinding against them under the colorful lights, your friends had already left you to your regularly scheduled routine with Seungcheol the moment your eyes met. None of them had heard the conversation that followed, the one where Seungcheol had excelled in his casual flirting before telling you about this friend he had brought with him to the club. When he gestured to the man in one of the booths you had giggled, unsure if he was being serious or not. 

“Are you trying to set me up with him?” 

He shook his head, “C’mon, you think I’d give you up that easily?” When you rolled your eyes, hoping that he couldn’t feel your heart skipping a beat at the hint of possessiveness in his words. “I just think you two would be good friends.”

“Good friends… like you and I?” you squinted suspiciously at the man smiling handsomely in front of you. When he winked at you before asking you to dance you knew exactly what he had in mind. He had been right, Soonyoung had fit right in with your dynamics. He was quick to catch on to what the older man wanted him to do, and the way he moved carefully around you didn’t hide how much he desired you one bit. You knew he would be a lot of fun to tease, and you had been right. 

He had made such pretty sounds as soon as you had kissed him on the dancefloor, and they had only gotten sweeter as his clothes got sparser. He let your hands explore more of his perfectly sculpted body eagerly. 

“You were so right about her…” Soonyoung moaned as your fingers swiped the precum off the slit of his cock and continued pumping him. You liked the way his chest heaved and the way he couldn’t stop himself from jerking into you each time you stopped your movements. 

“Right about what? Have you been talking about me, Cheollie?” You asked, feigning innocence as you finally let yourself bend forward, wrapping your lips sluttily around Soonyoung and giving Seungcheol free access to the parts of you that ached for his touch. You had been wet since the dancefloor. Their hands on your hips, along with the gazes that followed your movements as if you had enchanted them, had turned you on until the point where you felt your panties sticking to your slick lips. 

“I told him all about you, how could I not when you’re such a good little slut for me?” He growled above you, pulling you back from his friend’s cock by the neck. You couldn’t help but smile when you felt his cock hard and twitching against your ass. 

“You’re not getting jealous now are you, Cheollie? He’s very pretty, and he’s bigger than I expected you know…” 

It was a foul move to tease him like this, but you knew he could take it. After all, if he didn’t want you sucking another man’s dick he wouldn’t have brought Soonyoung on a silver platter for you. You both looked at the younger man who now stood untouched, entranced by the way his friend had you under his control. You could see his ears flaming up when he realized how exposed he was, standing before you two barely clothed and desperate for your touch. “He is pretty…” you heard Seungcheol whisper behind you, making you chuckle at how he couldn’t argue against you on that front. 

“Such a brat,” he mumbled to himself before he turned you around to face him instead of his friend. The kiss he planted on your lips was passionate and sloppy, he had been forced to wait his turn while you played with your new friend, but now he wanted to get a taste of you as well. 

When he pushed you back against Soonyoung you weren’t too sure what he meant to do, but as he left your mouth to squat down in front of you while pushing your short dress up even more you understood perfectly. He kissed up your thigh, hot breath flowing against your soaked panties. 

Seungcheol threw your leg over his shoulder, letting Soonyoung support you while he pushed the fabric covering your cunt aside and began kissing your sensitive bud. His tongue licking up your arousal made you moan from the pleasure, head falling back against Soonyoung’s steady shoulder. You could hear the younger man whining behind you, his hands roaming your body to find something that would distract him from your ass pushing against his hard cock. He wanted to know what you felt like too, jealousy over the fact that Seungcheol had had you all to himself this entire time burned inside of him. 

“Can I taste you too?” he asked you shyly, soft kisses pressing against your cheek and down your neck. You hummed in response, “Do whatever you want as long as it makes me cum…” 

“Fuck,” was all you heard, his erection grinding against your ass without him being able to stop himself. Did you always hand over the control to Seungcheol like this? God, he wanted to be the one making you feel this good, Soonyoung thought as he listened to your moans. Seungcheol knew what he was doing, and you came on his tongue soon enough. 

Soonyoung had taken the opportunity to pull your dress down, revealing your heaving chest to both of the men currently kissing and caressing your body. 

“That’s it, baby. What a good girl, isn’t she Soonyoung?” Seungcheol praised while letting you ride out your orgasm on his face and fingers. 

“So good, tastes so good too I bet,” Soonyoung agreed as he played with your hardened nipples. His hard cock was still pressing against your lower back and you felt yourself wondering how good he would feel inside of you. 

“Soonyoung, baby, I need to know something. Are you clean?” You panted, surprising the man behind you. 

“Uh, yeah, I am… wait, you don’t mean-?” He could come on the spot, the thought that you might want to do it raw set off a million tiny explosions inside his mind. 

“I only fuck Cheol, and I know he’s good, so if you’re clean and feel like giving it a try I’m okay with that.”

Seungcheol was already rising, lips glistening from your arousal and a handsome smile adorning his face. “You won’t regret it, trust me.”

Soonyoung didn’t need his friend’s support on this, he was down for almost anything you would be able to suggest, at least he was convinced of that at this moment. 

“I’m so down, but who… goes first?” He asked and looked between you and the older man. 

You looked to Seungcheol, “We could always stretch your cute little holes out at the same time. What do you think about that sweetheart?” 

“Both of you?” You gasped at the thought. Your eyes were wide, but the idea of being filled so completely made you flustered beyond salvation. Soonyoung had gone speechless behind you. 

“Don’t wanna?” Seungcheol asked, moving back an inch to give you some space to make your decision. However, you were quickly shaking your head. 

“No! I’ll try!” 

The smirk he flashed you at your eagerness to please them both made your skin heat up even more. “Could you… show me how?” You asked nervously, smoothing over the soft material of Seungcheol’s button-up shirt. 

You felt his heart, fast but steady in his chest. “Of course, baby. You just focus on being relaxed and we can handle the rest. Right, Soonyoung?” The younger man nodded, “We’ll be careful.”

“You don’t have to be careful… just make me feel good, okay?” You said while turning back to watch Soonyoung’s entire face redden at the way you acted with them both. He would have to be in debt to Seungcheol for the rest of his life after this, he realized. You were simply too good to be true. 

Seungcheol kissed you gently as he used the moment to switch positions with his friend. Letting him leave against the solid block of dark stone that held the sinks. He let you use him to climb up, legs wrapped around his waist and hard cock pressing against your entrance. You hadn’t noticed when he had freed himself, but feeling the head of his erection sliding against your slick triggered your muscle memory and you were sliding down on him before you knew it. He stretched you out perfectly as usual, making your head spin and the pressure build quickly in your abdomen. The low groan he let out as he was finally being stimulated made you want to bounce on him to hear even more, but his firm grip on your waist told you it wasn’t you who was supposed to do the work tonight. 

“My turn?” Soonyoung asked, startling you just a bit. You had almost forgotten this wasn’t one of your usual hookups with Seungcheol. The younger man’s cock pressing against your hole was an immediate reminder, however. You relaxed as much as you could when Seungcheol instructed both you and his friend. 

Seungcheol couldn’t let go of you since you were in this particular position, but you were convinced that if you had been in a different space the older man would’ve personally helped his friend spit on his cock before slipping inside of your tight hole inch by inch. 

He filled you up quickly, and soon you felt delirious from the slight pain that mixed with enormous pleasure. The sting of being stretched more than you had ever been before, with two men filling your holes up, soon dissolved and you were a moaning mess as they began thrusting into you. They matched their rhythms to one another, grinding up into you perfectly in sync. 

“Look at you, taking us both so well,” Seungcheol groaned as he helped hold you up while he and Soonyoung used your holes for their pleasure. “I’m so proud of you,” he mumbled with a gentle kiss on your neck.

The two men’s groans and erratic breaths made your head spin, and their cocks pounding into you hit all the right spots. When you came, you couldn’t even scream, the pleasure too much for you to handle. You squeezed around the two, pulsating walls tightening around their sensitive lengths. Soonyoung whined that he was close, and you moaned in response. “Fill her up Soonyoung, she loves it,” Seungcheol panted, making the younger cum as if on command. 

Seeing both you and Soonyoung in pure bliss set Seungcheol off as well, and as he emptied himself inside of your dripping pussy he moaned into the kiss you pressed against his lips the moment you realized he was close as well. 

When your feet touched the ground again you felt how unstable your body felt, luckily the two men held you up with ease. 

“Let us take care of you,” Seungcheol said gently. Soonyoung quickly cleaned you up while you let your body rest in Seungcheol’s arms. 

“I like you,” you said sleepily to Soonyoung, the tiredness having hit you hard very suddenly. The younger man’s ears became a shade redder yet again, making both you and Seungcheol chuckle. 

“If you like him that much, why don’t you take him home with you?” Seungcheol said in a joking manner. 

“I’d like that. Would you two like to come with me tonight?” You asked without hesitation, knowing that whatever happened after this would be things you wouldn’t regret in the near future. 

When the two led you out of the club, arms wrapped around your waist, you signaled to your friends that you would be leaving. The looks on their faces asked about a million questions. Both about who the stranger who had your lipstick on his face and neck was, but also about if you were actually planning on going home with the two. In all the months you and Seungcheol had been hooking up you had never actually gone home together, his car or a nearby hotel being the closest you had gotten to a home. Tonight felt different, not just because you had been more than the two of you, but because you weren’t the least bit hesitant to bring the both of them home with you. You were honestly just looking forward to the change in scenery. They would both look amazing on top of your duvets, you could already see it in front of you as you left the club with Soonyoung and Seungcheol. 

Reblogging and commenting is highly appreciated!! Hearing what you thought is what makes writing and being here overall so much fun! Ty and ily 💕

[brennacedria]

THURSDAY BANGERS

Free form a blurb or drawing based on the weekly lyrics prompt. It doesn't have to include the prompt just whatever you're inspired to write, write it! Then tag some friends so they can play as well. It doesn't have to be finished on Thursday just post it whenever you can (you have a whole week between Thursdays).

Thanks to @woundedsoul12 for the tag! In return, I'm gently tagging @becausedragonage @pixiedurango @feralkwe @runawaydragons @ccrystalfox @serensama and anyone else interested 😘

This week's prompt:

No matter what happens, he cannot come between us again, I know we're better than friends- Million Dollar Baby by Tommy Richman 

Heya~~ I got my Thursday Banger done ON the actual Thursday the prompt was posted! Anyway... This one tried to run away from me, but I think I managed to catch it and get it to calm down a little. This is an angsty little follow-up to the AU where Ria Hawke and Sebastian get together. (AO3)

The sixth bell chimed, and Ria glanced first at the front door, then at the study. Sighing, she made her way across the main hall to the latter. “Anders, it's almost supper.” The mage didn't look up from the papers on the desk as she entered, and instead continued his scribbling. “And?”

“And Sebastian will be home from services soon. You know I don't mind your company, but if he ever finds out you technically live here, even just in the servants’ quarters, it's going to get ugly.” Anders snorted. “And Maker forbid a mage have a warm bed.” “That's not it and you know it.” “Then what is it?” Ria rubbed her temples, begging the oncoming headache to go easy on her. Anders was in one of his moods, though, so the odds were against her. “It’s not because you're a mage, or even an apostate. If he really cared about any of that, he'd have turned you in to the Circle years ago. He just doesn't like you personally.” “Because I believe in freedom for all mages.” “It’s not that either, because I'm just as involved in the cause as you are, Anders.” Anders finally dropped his quill. “Are you? Are you certain? Because I've definitely seen less of you since he moved in here.” “Are you serious?” she asked as he began to clean up the desk. “I am,” he replied. “It's been almost three months that he's kept you hidden away here, away from everyone. It's not healthy.” “I'm sorry,” Ria snapped back at him. “The next time my mother's murdered I'll remember to come out to play cards more often.” He paled. “Ria, I didn't mean–” She sighed, and began to help him sort the papers. “I know you didn't mean it like that,” she said softly. “But you have to remember that's why he was here the first two months. After that, I decided it was time to move on, and how and who I wanted to do that with.” “You could have chosen anyone, you know.” Glancing up, she realized how closely he was watching her, and how close his face was to hers. A few heartbeats passed. “You mean I could have chosen you.” “Would that be so bad?” Shaking her head, Ria turned back to the papers she was sorting. “Don't stack those ones, the ink is still wet,” she said absently. “You didn't answer my question.” “Maker's breath, Anders, we had this discussion already. Years ago, back when Bethany–” she paused. “After we lost Beth, you and I talked about this. We agreed that we'd missed our chance, and then I moved on. I'm sorry you couldn't.” “It's not too late–” “Anders, it is too late, because I'm happy. Sebastian makes me happy.” He took the pages she'd sorted and added them to his own stack. Then he fished a key out of his pocket and laid it on the desk. “I won't be needing this any longer.” She picked the key up and put it on top of the pages in his hands, only for him to put it back on the desk again. “I mean it.” “Where will you go without it, if the Templars come for the clinic?” “I don't need it.” “You do need it. You can't do anything for other mages if you're dead, and if the Templars find you without a place to run they will kill you.” “Please,” she begged, taking his hand and pressing the key into his palm, “keep it and use it.” Anders shook his head and sighed, and returned the key to his pocket. He reached for the last few papers but Ria swatted his hand away. “I told you, the ink’s still wet on those ones,” she said, straightening them out. “I'll sort them once they're dry, and have Orana put them in your room later.” He nodded, and looked for a moment like he was going to say something. He thought better of it when they heard Bodahn greet Sebastian, and left through the servants' passages without any further comment.

[cruelsummerwhump]

oh, hi! introducing to you-

Cruel Summer: A Taylor Swift Themed Whump Event

FAQ

Q: hey mari what the heck A: So a little while ago I put an interest check on my blog @tdaywasamaritale to see who would be interested in a Taylor Swift whump event based on lyric prompts. By a slim margin the answer was yes, so I decided to go through with it!

Q: So what is this, exactly? A: Cruel Summer is a whump event just like any other whump event, the only difference being the theme. Each day, there’s a lyric prompt to write from (with some trope examples to help), as well as a couple alternatives you can choose from if a day’s prompt doesn’t suit you.

Q: I’m a writer, but what’s whump? A: Whump (like the sound) refers to writing where Bad Stuff Happens. Captivity, torture, experimentation, emotional distress, all of that falls under the big ol’ whump umbrella.

Q: When is Cruel Summer? A: The event takes place during the month of June. There are 30 main prompts in total for each day, and 7 alternative prompts. So, for example, June 1 is Day 1, June 2 is Day 2, and so on and so forth.

Q: Do we have to pick one of the trope examples for each lyric? A: No! Those are just in case you get stuck. The only thing guiding you is the lyric of the day. Interpret that however you like!

Q: How do I join? A: You don’t have to sign up, per se, just mark your calendar and get ready to write.

Q: Then how do I participate? A: Every day of the event, this account will post the prompt of the day (WITH A TAGLIST THAT YOU CAN BE ADDED TO! JUST ASK IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST ON THIS ACCOUNT!), and all you have to do to submit your entry is tag @cruelsummerwhump in your post! You’ll be reblogged from there!

Q: I don’t get it- who are we writing whump about?? Taylor??? A: Nope. You can write about anyone you like (EXCEPT irl people or celebrities). This includes characters from fandom or original characters. Someone else’s original characters, even! Crossovers? You bet!

Q: Help! I saw this mid-event and want to join! Is it too late? A: Not at all! Do as many prompts as you can! No catch-up necessary either, and if you want to go back and do a prompt you missed, feel free!

Q: But what if I wasn’t late and I just don’t want to do all of the prompts? A: No obligation whatsoever. If you miss a day or skip on purpose, that’s alright! The only rule is that you just can’t skip ahead!

i’ll update this section as asks start rolling in

PROMPT LIST

Day 1: Renegade

“I tapped on your window on your darkest night; the shape of you was jagged and weak. There was nowhere for me to stay, but I stayed anyway.” Trope example: fever care

Day 2: Dear Reader

“Dear reader, if it feels like a trap, you’re already in one. Dear reader, get out your map, pick somewhere and just run.” Trope examples: escape, running away

Day 3: Haunted

“Come on, come on, don’t leave me like this! I thought I had you figured out!” Trope examples: betrayal, death

Day 4: Out of the Woods

“Remember when you hit the brakes too soon? Twenty stitches in a hospital room. When you started crying, baby, I did too, but when the sun came up, I was looking at you.” Trope examples: hospitals, surgery, tandem injuries

Day 5: Nothing New

“I’ve had too much to drink tonight, and I know it’s sad, but this is what I think about, and I wake up in the middle of the night, it’s like I can feel time moving.” Trope examples: drugging, alcohol poisoning

Day 6: Castles Crumbling

“Power went to my head, and I couldn’t stop. Ones I loved tried to help, so I ran them off, and here I sit alone, behind walls of regret.” Trope examples: losing control, magical manipulation, cursed artifacts, corruption

Day 7: I Did Something Bad

“They’re burning all the witches even if you aren’t one. They’ve got their pitchforks and proof, their receipts and reasons.” Trope examples: magic misuse, false capture, torture

Day 8: Last Kiss

“I feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe.” Trope examples: amnesia, brainwashing

Day 9: this is me trying

“Pulled the car off the road to the lookout, could’ve followed my fears all the way down, and maybe I don’t quite know what to say, but I’m here in your doorway.” Trope example: showing up to the door injured

Day 10: Anti-Hero

“I’m a monster on a hill, too big to hang out, slowly lurching towards your favorite city, pierced through the heart but never killed.” Trope examples: monster whump, experimentation

Day 11: The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived

“Were you sent by someone who wanted me dead? Did you sleep with a gun underneath our bed?” Trope examples: betrayal, carewhumper

Day 12: Guilty as Sin?

“If long suffering propriety is what they want from me, they don’t know how you’ve haunted me so stunningly.” Trope examples: stockholm syndrome, loss of a loved one

Day 13: ‘tis the damn season

“There’s an ache in you put there by the ache in me, but if it’s all the same to you, it’s the same to me.” Trope examples: aftermath of betrayal, whumper turned into caretaker, carewhumper

Day 14: Getaway Car

“Well, he was running after us, I was screaming ‘go, go, go!’” Trope examples: escape, jailbreak

Day 15: Sparks Fly

“Drop everything now, meet me in the pouring rain, kiss me on the sidewalk, take away the pain.” Trope examples: brainwashing, drugging, fever

Day 16: I Hate It Here

“Now I seem to be scared to go outside, if comfort is a construct, I don’t believe in good luck now that I know what’s what.” Trope examples: scared animal whumpee, aftermath of experimentation or torture, shaky recovery

Day 17: Down Bad

“Did you really beam me up in a cloud of sparkling dust just to do experiments on, tell me I was the chosen one, show me that this world is bigger than us - then sent me back where I came from?” Trope examples: sci-fi, alien abduction, experimentation, stockholm syndrome

Day 18: So Long, London

“My spine split from carrying us up the hill, wet through my clothes, weary bones caught the chill.” Trope examples: fever, escape

Day 19: All Too Well

“Check the pulse and come back swearing it’s the same after three months in the grave, and then you wondered where it went to as I reached for you, but all I felt was shame, and you held my lifeless frame.” Trope examples: near-death, death

Day 20: ivy

“Crescent moon, coast is clear, spring breaks loose, but so does fear. He’s gonna burn this house to the ground.” Trope examples: stockholm syndrome, escape, carewhumper, arson

Day 21: Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?

“I wanna snarl and show you just how disturbed this has made me. You wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me.” Trope examples: psych ward, asylum, experimentation, labs

Day 22: Midnight Rain

“He wanted it comfortable, I wanted that pain.” Trope examples: whumper x whumpee

Day 23: You’re Losing Me

“We thought a cure would come through in time, now, I fear it won’t.” Trope examples: sickness, lethal illness

Day 24: Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus

“You needed me, but you needed drugs more, and I couldn’t watch it happen.” Trope examples: drugging

Day 25: So It Goes…

“Cut me into pieces. Gold cage, hostage to my feelings, back against the wall.” Trope examples: gilded cage, dolled up whumpee, pet whump

Day 26: exile

“I think I’ve seen this film before, and I didn’t like the ending. You’re not my homeland anymore, so what am I defending?” Trope examples: recovery, conditioned whumpee

Day 27: cardigan

“You drew stars around my scars, but now I’m bleeding.” Trope examples: carewhumper, caretaker turned into whumper, betrayal by fellow whumpee

Day 28: The Prophecy

“A greater woman stays cool, but I howl like a wolf at the moon, and I sound unstable, gathered with a coven around a sorceress’ table.” Trope examples: witchcraft, monster whump, corruption

Day 29: Bad Blood

“Bandaids don’t fix bullet holes.” Trope examples: gunshot wounds, unsafe medical care

Day 30: Cruel Summer

“Said I’m fine, but it wasn’t true.” Trope examples: hiding injury

ALT PROMPTS

You’re On Your Own, Kid

“I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this.” Trope examples: overtraining, willing experimentation

Sweet Nothing

“They say the end is coming, everyone’s up to something. I find myself running to your sweet nothing.” Trope examples: hypnosis, brainwashing, mind-numbing, drugging

Call It What You Want

“My castle crumbled overnight, I brought a knife to a gunfight.” Trope examples: royalty whump, fight sequence, gunshot wounds

The Great War

“Somewhere in the haze, got a sense I’d been betrayed: your finger on my hairpin trigger.” Trope examples: battles, betrayal

tolerate it

“You assume I’m fine, but what would you do if I break free and leave us in ruins? Took this dagger in me and removed it?” Trope examples: escape, betrayal

I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)

“His hand, so calloused from his pistol, softly traces hearts on my face.” Trope examples: carewhumper, gentle whumper

us.

“The curse or a miracle, hearse or an oracle; you’re incomparable, fuck, it was chemical.” Trope examples: conditioning, drugging, experimentation, stockholm syndrome

FILE: SECRET SESSIONS ACHIEVEMENTS If you’ve scrolled down this far, the Department would like you to know about a few classified achievements during the event. - From the Vault: ??e all ?f ?he al? ???m???. - Taylor’s Version: C?m?le?e all ?f ?he mai? ???m???. - Sing-Along: ??e a ???m?? l??ic i? ?he ?? ???e e????e?. - Sad Girl Autumn: ??e a diffe?e?? l??ic f??m a ???m?? ???g ?ha? ?he ??e ??ed i? ?he ???m??. - Surprise Songs: Use more than one prompt in a single entry. Hm. There seems to be a visibility issue. Maybe complete them first? Otherwise it would be prudent to check back later . . .

[lurkingshan]

Hi! I really enjoyed your long essay on ThamePo -- I was looking for some commentary on the links between Only Boo! and ThamePo and I stumbled onto your essay. I have tried signing up for Tumblr but I'm still finding my way. I wrote a long essay about Only Boo! and I'd like to post it somewhere; I was going to do it in the comments section of BL Watcher's site but they have never reviewed Only Boo! and a few days ago they stopped posting again after a several month hiatus earlier this year. What do you suggest I do about the essay? I can send it to you if you'd like to read it.

Hi and welcome to tumblr! I’d love to read what you wrote about ThamePo and Only Boo! I was thinking a lot about the connections between them and the big differences in their commentary on idol and fan culture while watching. Here are a few tips for posting meta here (this is what we call essays about media):

Anything you want to post, you do on your own blog. The way to help others find it is to tag it (you’ll see the tags on this post below the main text). On tumblr, we use tags both as an organization and as a sharing tool—people track tags for stuff they’re interested in. So when you post your essay, tag it with relevant show tags and others will find it. For this one, you can use: [#thamepo, #thamepo the series, #only boo, #only boo the series].

If there are certain people you want to make sure see your post, you can also @ them either in the body of the post or in the replies. When you post your essay, you can tag me by adding @lurkingshan and tumblr will send me a notification, ensuring I see the post.

Labeling the post clearly (like with a title that includes the show names) also helps, because once others reblog your post, people will also see it on their dashboards and if they’re interested in the shows the title will catch their eye.

And a few general tips for using tumblr:

You should add a profile pic to your account. Not of yourself—tumblr is an anonymous website so most people just use pictures from media they like or want to discuss (so you might just pick an image from ThamePo). This helps assure people you are a real person and not a bot.

The best way to get folks to see and engage with what you write is to do the same for them. Go into the [#thamepo] tag and interact with other people’s posts. You can like, comment, or reblog on posts, and you can follow blogs whose style or content you like. This will tell people you exist and are interested in the same content.

Reblogging is the most important feature on this site because it’s how we help other people see content we like. Reblogging promotes posts by putting it onto the dashboards of anyone who follows the reblogger. Once you follow a blog, everything they post or reblog will appear on your dashboard. When you reblog you can also add commentary in the tags either addressed to the original poster (that’s what people mean when they say “op”) or just add your own thoughts to whatever they said. This is one of the most common ways tumblr users talk to each other.

Sending asks like this one is always welcome and a good way to get to know people, as well.

I hope this helps! Definitely feel free to tag me when you get your essay posted.

[rainba]

I love the idea of a reader that likes to play slasher movie with Luka. A reader that goes to a bar and picks up a guy and lures them to the woods to start off the slasher movie cliché. it ends with the guy slaughtered and Luka chasing the reader and claiming them, the reader is slung over Luka’s shoulder for a night of fun. Such a cute date idea 💜

Omg…. This is SUCH an amazing idea for an AU of sorts. I think your ask is mostly referring to them basically roleplaying, but I like the idea of it also being real. ^_^ For regular Luka, that would totally be a perfect date idea, though... (˘︶˘).｡.:*♡

If you don’t mind, I shall elaborate on it.~ 🤍 ( ´ ▽ ` ).｡ｏ♡

((For this version of Luka, I imagine he wears a muzzle.))

TWs: graphic violence, blood, NSFW

GN reader!!

🤍 Luka and his darling: a serial killer duo that the world will never forget. You: the lure. Him: the hunter.

The two of you prey upon a small town, living right around the outskirts within the forest. The entire place is surrounded by miles upon miles of trees: the perfect gravesite for your all’s countless victims.

You both work together so perfectly; your crimes are nearly flawless. There’s a rumor that goes around claiming anyone who talks to you will eventually go missing, but nobody is able to say for sure... In all honesty, this doesn’t scare anyone away– in fact, it draws people closer to you. They’re so curious to see if the rumor is true.

Luka has you both wearing matching outfits: black leather jackets with angel wings messily painted on the back.

The entire situation is so, so exhilarating. It never gets boring.

You lure your victim away from the bar and out into the woods with the promise of money or sex. It works every time. Nobody can resist you.

The two of you go deeper and deeper into the forest under the guise of playing a fun little game of tag or hide and seek. You smile and laugh as you spur the other person on, encouraging them to come catch you.

But far in the distance, Luka is watching closely, biding his time.

Sometimes Luka switches things up. On some days, he’ll use a knife. On others, he’ll use a scythe. But his main weapon of choice is oddly a chainsaw.

He loves the way his victims freeze up in horror when they hear the saw go off. Luka is silent and precise, but the chainsaw is loud and reckless. Putting them together is the perfect storm.

There’s never been a time where Luka hasn’t captured his prey. Luka is always so much faster– and he knows the forest like the back of his hand. In many ways, it’s his territory, his morbid little playground.

Luka never likes to end the chase quickly– he prefers to draw it out. He always gives his victims a head start. It makes things so much more interesting.

When he’s ready to hunt, Luka makes his presence known, then counts down from ten. 

He sneaks around through the trees and hides within the bushes, always keeping his distance. But he never lets his victims stray too far.

Luka likes to analyze his prey’s behavioral patterns before deciding how he wants to catch them.

Every time he captures someone, it’s always an absolute massacre. Blood pools in the green grass below, dyeing it a dark red. Blood splatters all over the nearby rocks and trees, staining them permanently. He tears into his victims to the point where they’re unrecognizable. 

And when he’s done, he flips his victims onto their stomachs and carves a pair of angel wings into their backs.

After he’s done carving, he’ll whistle a specific tune, and that’s when you know that it’s your turn to run. And just like how he does it with his victims, he gives you a head start.

But since he loves you, he gives you twenty seconds instead of ten.~

When he’s nearby, he’ll rev up his chainsaw as a warning, giving you a little bit of time to run further away from him. He loves the way you keep on trying, despite knowing that it’s inevitable he’ll catch you.

After he reaches you and tackles you from behind, he’ll toss the chainsaw aside and pin you down to the ground, already hard and ready to ravage you.

He aggressively pulls your pants down to your ankles and spreads your legs apart, lifting your ass high up in the air. He then rips your underwear off and tosses aside the scraps– he does this every time without fail. And without saying anything more, he buries his cock deep inside of you and bottoms out.

The blood of your all’s victim mixes with sweat as he fucks you ruthlessly, smirking deviously as he whispers praises in your ear.

The muzzle over his mouth drives him insane– all he wants to do is leave marks on your skin and kiss you on the lips. He’d do anything to stick his tongue in your mouth and dig his fangs into you.

In many ways, the sex is a way to celebrate a job well done. Another person on a long list of victims… The two of you are bound together by the sick and twisted nature of your crimes.

If one of you falls, the other falls too. Every victory is shared. Life was so, so boring before the two of you met each other… And now, Luka can’t stand the idea of a life without you.

His little tease, the perfect bait for his hunts, his partner in crime. He cums deep inside of you as he darkly moans your name, holding you in place the entire time. He loves the way you convulse around his length as you both come down from your highs.

Since you did such a good job, he’ll make sure you get to cum two or three times, just because he loves you so much.

And when everything is done, Luka will lovingly lift you up from off the ground and sling you over his shoulder, giving your ass a little smack too. He smirks if it makes you squeal.

Then the two of you go further into the woods, back to the little cabin that the two of you share. 🤍

[starfacenix]

Dolus/Dolos, god of trickery, craftiness, and cunning deception

I’d say the majority of people that work with Greek deities have either not heard of Dolus or haven’t looked into him. Well, for the latter you wouldn’t find very much anyway so I don’t blame you.

I felt drawn to him when I had happened to stumble upon his name during some research with an unrelated project. Reaching out to Dolus was an easy thing to do, but what wasn’t easy was tackling how to exactly work with him or even worship him.

There’s basically nothing on this guy. Like next to nothing.

There is one main myth, but that is all there is on him which is incredibly unfortunate. I’ll put the Aesopic fable he’s mentioned in at the end if you want to skim it, but it doesn’t have his personality in it at all, or all too much about him. It does show off the “craftiness” title of his, though.

Some may not know if Dolos is a good fit for you if you’re interested. But from the little time I’ve known him I would say his expertise stretches way beyond what you may think. But, primarily he would be great for those of you who work with other trickster gods and the like. But also anyone that wants to try out types of divination that are a bit more niche and strengthening your intuition.

Depending on one of the two literature quotes you can find very easily on his theoi page, Dolos is either the son of Nyx or Gaia. Going forward and on any post I make on him (if it comes up) I’ll be addressing him as the son of Nyx, though.

His personality is one that may catch you off guard, as he, with me anyway, goes from such a kind and warm energy to one that has me wandering what the fuck I did to deserve him playing jokes on me I don’t understand half the time. (All in good fun I’m just terrible with social cues) But that’s the fun of working with him. I’m learning to let loose a bit more and find hobbies that actually tap into my more.. “craftier” side for lack of a better word that doesn’t sound like a really horrid pun.

I’m not great at tarot reading, or just that type of divination in general. Which is unfortunate since I’d like to be quite good at it. Dolos is someone that caught onto this rather quickly, noting my horrid shuffling and how long it took me to interpret cards and such. If you’re in the same boat at me, he’s your guy. The energy that filled my room was one of patience and understanding, but also an energy that wanted to push me to actually dedicate myself to learning the craft.

When I decided I wanted to help him set up more things to associate him with, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the warmth I felt from him. It was a moment that helped me decide that I’d love to do something like this for other gods too. Ones that are either buried or are too intimidating to reach out to because there’s such little knowledge out there. I hope this encourages others to do the same. It’s an incredibly rewarding task, as it also helps you develop a close relationship with said deity.

I’ll have a separate post I’ll link right here that gives you a nice idea for what you could put on an altar for him. In the future, I’ll be mentioning him a lot more, hoping to fill up his tags until it’s filled with people other than me lol.

His Theoi page.

Devotional activities and things to put on an altar: here.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. I know this isn’t super thorough, but I’ll update with anything else that comes to mind or make another post soon. 🩶

[mystxmomo]

can you…write…kevgar… again.. please…

im not asking for a 100k words, 100 is enough for me.. please…

😭💔😭☹️☹️🥺😭😭💔😭eyyeus eueue 😭💔🥺🥺

Okay so like. I do actually want to come back and write something once this event wraps up, because I'm genuinely kind of baffled at how much we're being... like given? It's sparking some ideas. No promises on it though because I need to write being carried by the muses and the tides.

Edit: Also this art at the bottom is REALLY cute I forgot to mention it at first. Thank you for. Letting me see them....

Anyway. I can do you one better than 100 words. Back in like. 2022, I was working on a massive Hanahaki Kevgar AU. I ended up dropping it because I explored what I was interested in with "As the pieces fall into place" (Aka erectile dysfunction au) and was pretty happy with what I had + I think I used chunks of this dialog in that fic (So if some of that looks familiar thats why). However, I also had like. A REALLY NOT INSIGNIFICANT part of this fic written?

Thought it would sit around and collect dust forever in my docs, but you and I both know how sad the state of the Kevgar tag is in. Here's what I had of it put together. Again, I can't stress enough. This is unfinished. But it's also uhhh. Almost 5k words of unfinished? So hopefully some of it still scratches at your brain, even if it's just a draft.

"Original Authors note: 

Hello there main friend group, extended twitter friendgroup, and three random strangers in my puter that this pairing will appeal to, I hope this fic finds you well.

Basically, I saw a tumblr post maybe a year or two back that talked about the idea of Hanahaki not as a lethal disease, but instead a chronic one. The idea that it’s a manifestation of your emotions, and your emotions aren’t going to kill you, but by damn they’re gonna be a bitch to deal with. Especially if you keep shoving them down in a little box and avoiding them. 

Basically the flowers are a metaphor. It takes away from the tragedy but adds an angle of nuance that I as a writer find personally enjoyable to navigate and play with.

AND I thought to myself. Man you know who would be fun for that? Gay Kevin."

===================

Edgar Valden is real pretty, is the main thing.

Frustratingly so. Men, let alone men with personalities as rotten and cruel as Valden’s shouldn’t be allowed to be as pretty as he is. 

But he is, and it’s an issue. 

He’s also. Ah… Small. Frail enough to tug at Kevin’s heart strings in a way he’s not entirely comfortable with. He catches himself thinking about that mid-match, Edgar dizzy enough from a recent hit not to fight being carted around on his shoulder. A head smaller than Kevin, and lighter than some of the ladies, Edgar is easy on his arm and warm against his shoulder.

The first time he realizes it, the illusion is immediately ruined by Edgar catching his barings, and begins to kick and struggle out of his hold and cuss him clean. But a sickly, uncomfortable feeling settles in his stomach, and eventually even the most private of Kevin’s thoughts always have a funny way of haunting him. It’s easy to hate him when he’s standing in front of you, sneering and glaring like the bullheaded swine he is. But out on their game field, when the adrenaline runs so heavy his blood goes cold, and Edgar is flying around the field with the same amount of speed and dedication that he takes to his art, it becomes harder to separate pretty from fragile. And late into the night, when Kevin’s thoughts have a tendency to haunt him the most, there’s no escaping it. He prefers it to the guilt that plagues the back of his mind at those hours, but it sits at the pit of his stomach with the same amount of discomfort and nausea as that guilt does. And that guilt, inevitably, turns to rage.

And rage always comes back to frustration. 

When he starts hacking up petals and blood, he doesn’t think it’s Valden. He doesn’t think it’s anyone, really. 

//

Emily tells him that it’s called Hanahaki.

“I’m surprised you’ve never encountered it before,” She says, as a general musing.

“I’ve heard of things like it,” He says, “You tend to hear a lot of rumors n’ stories while travelin’ around. You can’t take everything at face value, y’know? Thought it was closer to tall-tales.”

She nods, her brows furrowing together. She tends to get like that when she’s deep in thought. Sort of snappy, and certainly less patient. But she hasn’t gotten to the point that she gets after they finish their matches, running around like a chicken with her head cut off. Instead, it’s quiet pacing.

“Our body has an odd way of reacting to…” She tilts her head, carefully considers her words before she says them. She’s smart like that, “Emotions. Stress. Eventually, it manifests itself physically,” She gives him a concerned look, “Has there been any changes in your life?”

He gives her a weird look. Permanent state of stasis they seemed to be trapped in, their changes were rare and minimal. He had less games these days then when he’d started here, and most of the new personalities at the manor were a respectable sort. To his silence, she almost rolls her eyes. Almost. She’s professional enough not to.

“Ayuso, it could be anything. Have the games been worse recently?” He gives her a stranger look for that one, and she tuts, runs her hands back through her hair and messes up her otherwise pristine looking bun, “Honestly, I’m surprised we haven’t gotten a case of it in the manor sooner. Maybe because of how isolated we are..?” She considers it in silence, and Kevin thinks it would be wrong to interrupt her. But then she’s turning to look at him, “Can I see those petals again?”

Raising a brow, he takes out the handkerchief he’d collected them in. It’s from a personal favorite outfit of his, and at first he’s not actually sure what she’s looking for. Because she brushes the petals off to the side, and raises the cloth to the light, and what she says next concerns him more than anything else about the conversation has, “It’s an abnormal amount of blood for such a minor case,” She mutters, stares, “You did come to me immediately, right?”

He huffs laughter. His throat hurts, “‘Course, course. I didn’t see petals and think it was normal.”

She glares, “Don’t get smart with me, Ayuso. I swear, some of these people could come down with consumption and avoid me for it…” She sighs, and her shoulders fall, “Is it growing thorns…?” 

“Is that possible?” He asks, and feels somewhat foolish for doing so. Of course it is. She wouldn’t have mentioned it if it hadn’t been.

“It’s not unheard of,” She says, and steps forward to hand him the handkerchief back. When she looks over at him again, it’s with a certain amount of sympathy he rarely sees on her face, “You should be fine, but…I won’t say it will be pleasant.”

He chuckles, and it comes across as weak and forced, “Ms. Dyer, I may be something of a foolish man, but I don’t think anyone is foolish enough think flowers in your throat are a’pleasant experience.”

She rolls her eyes at him, “Let me see what medicine I can find. I might be able to kill a few of them off for you…”

//

He doesn’t want to acknowledge his unfortunate reality, but the first time he vomits up fist fulls of flowers, he’s in a match with Valen

It’s not a good match. Emily goes down fast. Kevin doesn’t have time to get across the map. Mike tries to pull off a rescue, but Michiko is faster than he is, and a bit more clever to boot. Edgar manages to pull something off with those paintings of his, but Kevin’s never been any good with the technology in the manor, and by the time Emily’s out of the game they barley have two ciphers done.

With Michiko distracted by Mike, it gives him the chance to slip away with Edgar. He knows Edgar took a bad hit, because he stays limp over his shoulder rather than attempt to fight and squirm against him.

(He’s warm, something whispers in Kevin’s ear.)

“There you are,” Kevin draws, and drops him on the ground with no amount of care or subtlety. Edgar stumbles back a few steps, attempting to blink away the lightheadedness that comes with these matches.

“... Thanks,” Edgar says, quietly, and brushes himself off at the knees. Though he’s doing well to hide it, he has an embarrassed blush on his face, and he needs to lean back against the crumbling wall to keep his balance. 

Kevin reaches out to steady him a bit better, and Edgar shoots him a look that could kill. 

“Go decode, I’ll catch my breath and find a way to distract her again,” Edgar turns to give him an odd sort of look, the normal irritation that shadows over his face mending away to something else entirely. Though what it is, he’s unsure, “We can probably still save this if I…” He’s trailing off, a distant, manic look to his eye as he does. It answers none of Kevin’s questions, and only increases his concern, and when Edgar kneels on the ground it’s to fuss with something in his hand.

He’d not noticed it before, but the painter already has a syringe in his hand. He must have scavenged the supplies from Dyer's chair, because he’s already trying to find a vein with shaking, cold-nipped looking fingers.

And like a pendulum swinging back and forth, his irritation washes back to sympathy. And with that sympathy comes guilt, and nausea. 

Kevin steps forward, and grabs his arm for him. Edgar immediately tries to pull away, but Kevin is stronger than him, and it only takes tightening his grip to get Edgar to still. Edgar squirms under his touch, and something in Kevin’s head equates him to being no different than one of those squeaking barn kittens that didn’t know threats from friends and so they yelled and hissed at anything that grabbed ‘em.

“Hold still,” he says, his voice strained, and Edgar does glare at him this time, “Save the supplies. Y’might need it later.”

Edgar lets him. Patch him up. He can’t argue with strategy, and their playing field is the uncomfortable equalizer. To Kevin’s discomfort, Edgar spends the entire time staring at him with this ugly, uncanny look.

…

“You’re hurt,” Edgar says, suddenly, and reaches out to grab Kevin’s face. Edgar’s hands are soft, and but his touch is not. His thumb brushes against his mouth, and he’s surprised to find that it comes back with blood. He doesn’t remember tasting it. Maybe he’s already so used to it, that he’d just not noticed it, “When did you take a hit?”

A smarter man would be able to come up with an excuse on the spot. It’s not unusual, afterall, to end the match covered in your teammates blood. Especially ones that run as poorly as there’s. Especially with Kevin’s position being as it is.

Kevin is not a smart man. He’s dull, and a coward.

“I’m fine,” He snaps, and pulls back from Edgar. Feeling suddenly quite defensive, he feels his lips curl up in defiance. It’s all show, really. Because underneath it, he can’t deny the sudden surge of nerves and panic and fear. He’s never been any different or any smarter than a cornered animal, but most men in his position aren’t.

 Edgar’s hand lingers in the air, fingers oddly delicate despite the blood. And Edgar stares at him. He stares at him for a long time, his eyes distant and hollow and cold, “Okay,” He says, and his tone is odd when he says it. Like Edgar doesn’t entirely believe him. And when Kevin thinks he’s going to leave it at that, he clarifies with, “Okay. You don’t have to tell me. Whatever. Just- Go decode. Maybe I can still save this for us, you useless asshole…” 

And Edgar trails off, stares at the spot of the snow where his own blood has dripped on the snow. 

There’s no fight left in him after that. There should be. This is the part where Kevin normally feels anger and discomfort at the mans provocation, where they ruin their match and draw the hunters ire. It’s normally the part where irritation takes over sensability.

Instead, Kevin stumbles away feeling nauseous. He doesn’t decode. Decoding would be the smart thing to do, and he is not a smart man. A cold sweat crawls over his skin, and he’s shaking hard enough that he’s having trouble staying upright. He feels it, in his throat and in his gut. Something cutting into his flesh, like the way a cats claws would dig into skin.

He makes it behind shack, before he needs to stop and stable his weight on the wall.

It’s petals and blood mix on the ground in a ugly red soup, chunky and red with rotting petals and cuts of flesh. He wheezes in an attempt to catch his breath, but he finds himself dizzy for it. Eventually, he needs to kneel on the ground and rest his head against the wall, unable to keep his eyes open without risking another fit. The cold weather of Leo’s is as much of a sting as it is a comfort on his throat and skin. And just when he thinks he’s settled his head, he lurches again, the cycle repeating all over.

He doesn’t realize the blood rushing in his ear is the hunter until he feels her cold hand on his back.

“Oh dear..” Michiko says, and her voice is soft on his ear, “This is where you’ve been hiding.”

Michiko is a sweet sort of lady. She doesn’t take the chance to knock him out over it. Instead, she lingers behind him and ushers him in the direction the dungeon must be, stopping him from falling over himself twice in the process

He’d not realized she’d found Edgar. She must have. By the time she guides him over to the dungeon, it’s already open, the wind blowing out of it. He drops into the dungeon without as much as a tip of his hat, and there's this cold, empty feeling that sits in the bottom of his stomach.

Valden was going to kill him.

// Editors note: These next sections are unfinished, but I still give everything I had for you. Anything that has a "...." Around it was supposed to have more of a lead in.

Edgar doesn’t kill him.

But also Edgar doesn’t talk to him for a while, after that.

He doesn’t talk to him. He expects a fight out of it, but he stumbles into the room so pale and dizzy that it draws the concern of Emily immediately. 

[Edgar picks a fight with Emily because he's confused and irritated]

“Come on now Valden, don’t give her a hard time ‘cause you’re in a shitty mood,” He steps in between them, and Edgar snarls at him.

“Don't fucking touch me,"

...

Something clicks into place in Emily’s gaze, something Kevin barely catches himself. She looks at the two of them. Opens her mouth to say something. A scolding, maybe.

Then closes it, her eyebrows furrowing.

//

The first time he coughs up a stem, he cuts up his throat so badly he can’t talk.

Perhap's its for the best. He feels uncharacteristically irritable about the whole thing, as the rose thorns hook into his throat and restrict his breath.....

“Ayuso…?” Edgar calls out, and he sounds surprisingly… small. It pisses him off. 

“Just-” Kevin draws in a long breath, holding his head in his hands, 

Edgar lingers in the doorway for a few seconds, blinking dully. He looks away, “I was going to ask if you’re alright.” He says, sounding short with him. “I thought….” He trails off, stares at him for a long time. His gaze burns into Kevin’s skin

“Nevermind,” Edgar grumbles, and pushes past him. It’s with a harsh shove, and some smarter part of Kevin thinks he might deserve it. But some ugly, more stubborn part of him only makes him angrier. 

//

....

“Of course I know what hanahaki is,” Edgar says, and the door closes with more force the necessary, “The droll hopeless romantics in the arts don’t know how to shut up about it.”

“You don’t hate me?” Kevin’s heart swells.

“Why would I hate you?” Edgar wrinkles his nose at him, “You’re annoying, and I wish you’d learn how to shut the hell up. But thats really not different than any of the other dumbasses that populate this manor."

Unsure of whether or not to be relieved or to scold the man, Kevin laughs. He feels light headed.

“Want to hear somethin’ funny?” Kevin doesn't wait for a reply, “I don’t…. think I hate you.”

Edgar takes a moment to process that. Then laughs at him. Loudly, and full body. It’s sharp on his ear, and as ugly as it is pretty. Perfect, for a man like Valden, “That's what you’re so worked up about?” He asks, and steps forward to look him over. 

“You’re fuckin’-”

“You’re throwing around children's insults and throwing up flower petals over the fact you might not hate me. Ayuso that’s- Ridiculous. Tell me you see how ridiculous that is,” He says, and his smile is hidden behind his hand. Kevin feels ill looking at it. Because even when he’s mocking him, that smile causes his stomach to turn and nerves to creep under his skin. 

(His smile is, while at first perplexed, otherwise sincere. It’s something rare to see on the man.)

And he- he doesn’t understand. Edgar doesn’t know. He doesn’t understand what this means for Kevin, he doesn’t understand the severity of that acknowledgement. 

Kevin barely understands what this means for himself. 

Kevin lunges forward and grabs him by the shirt. He kisses him.

Edgar looks startled. At first, he panics, and Kevin has acute awareness of the way his hand grabs at his shirt and wrist. He doesn’t pull away

But eventually, he calms as Kevin does. His hand moves from his chest to his jaw, cupping his cheek like it actually means something to him. His hands are soft, and Kevin’s are not. Kevin’s lips are chapped, and Edgar’s are sweet. It causes guilt and disgust to rest in his gut all the same, and instead of rage, it just sinks and sits there. 

When he pulls away, Edgar is giving him a distant, careful look. 

Kevin stares at him with exhaustion, pale in the face and ill in the stomach.

“Oh. You taste like blood. Come here.” Edgar says, and his hand lingers on top of Kevin’s wrist, on his cheek, thumb against the corner of his lip,

Edgar kisses him again. It doesn’t help, but Kevin still indulges in it like it does.

...

When Kevin breaks away, he’s shaking.

Guilt. Disgust. Anger. Discomfort. There are butterflies in his stomach, like the first time [his lady I forgot her name] grabbed his hand and smiled at him.

Fuck.

He pulls away, and he vomits.

Edgar is quiet this time. There’s no mockery, and no cruelty. He watches him with a blank expression on his face, hand drifting like he's unsure whether or not he wants to touch him again. Then, he kneels down next to him. A warm body against his side, a soft hand on his back, rubbing right up between his shoulder blades.

“Hey,” Edgar says, “Go to bed, Ayuso. We can talk later.”

His eyes burn.

Edgar helps him over into bed, and sits on the edge of it until he falls asleep. 

They don’t talk about it.

//

He tries to talk to Patricia about it.

“Mother once told me that love was something you chose to do. People think they fall in love. And maybe there’s some honesty to that. But love is conditional. It’s as much of a choice as cruelty,” Patricia says. She looks toward him, frowns, “But I will admit. You seem to have been born strictly to challenge that idea.”

Kevin can’t help himself. A smile hesitantly pulls onto his lips, and he says, “Y’think?”

“That’s not a compliment. Moron,” Her tongue clicks against her teeth, but her eyes soften on him.

“I don’t know. It sort of sounded like one.”

...

"Listen, Kevin. And I am begging you to listen closely. Because I'm going to tell you something I wish, more then anything, someone had told me," She struts forward, placing her hands on either side of his cheek. The touch is gentle, but firm, guiding his gaze to hers. She has to gaze up at him to look him in the eye, but when that meets, hers narrows on his with an almost predatory look.

But then it falls. Her lips twitch down, and her hands fall, "It's okay."

He laughs, "That's it?"

She considers her next words carefully. Instead of snapping back at him, there's a patient, creeping look to her eye, "It's okay that you're uncomfortable with this."

And his blood runs cold.

Something must change about his expression, then. Because she sways forward again, closer than before. She swallows, slow and collected, "It's okay to feel disgusted with yourself, and it's okay to feel guilty. That's outside of your control. I need you to think about that, because I know you don't understand it. What you're feeling now is- it's fine. It's just... Fine. But if you sit there and let it eat you alive then you're better off dead."

....

He coughs.

And coughs again, . He’s struck with a sudden wave of exhaustion.

He ... Sits down. He feels winded.

He holds his head in his hands.

"I don't think this was ever about Valden," He says, and his hand scratches at his throat.

"Maybe not," Patricia shrugs, "Maybe it was. You'll have to be the one to figure that out.”

//

He extends an olive branch.

"Do you wanna come drinkin' with me tonight," Kevin asks, and he holds back a grimace as he asks. 

Edgar looks at him weirdly, "Not really," He says, too fast for Kevin's heart to handle. But then he continues. Not in any consideration of Kevin’s immediate heartbreak, but because he muses outloud to himself more than he doesn’t, "It gets too loud in Demi's bar. That room is too damn small sometimes. That doesn't sound even remotely relaxing."

Kevin pauses.

"It can just be us," he offers, and takes a small step forward, "I ain't exactly picky about where I drink. If the bar is too loud I can come on up to your room, or you can come up to mine."

"..." Edgar turns to look at him, and his gaze glimmers with a curious interest, "Why don't you come by my studio tonight with some wine."

For a minute, the guilt in his heart is replaced by those soft, lovely butterflies that scatter and crawl about. 

“Alright.”

//

....

“Oh, it’s you,” Edgar wipes away the paint off his arms, and nods him into the room. Kevin offers him a suspicious, quiet look, but steps forward.

“Hurt my heart, Valden. Soundin’ so disappointed I showed up.”

“I didn’t actually think you would,” Edgar says, like an admittance, “Sit down.”

Kevin does.

“I hope you don’t mind if I paint you while we drink,” Edgar says, pouring the wine Kevin brought into two cups. And Kevin - he grunts.

“Now I didn’t exactly remember that bein’ part of the deal.”

“Sucks.”

Edgar extends the cup out for him to take. Kevin does. Their fingers brush, and Kevin’s entire arm buzz with the nerves that come from it.

Edgar works in silence, for the most part. It’s awkward, and uncomfortable. Kevin falls into sharp coughing fits, and Edgar without fail will wrinkle his nose at him, come on over, and wordlessly tilt his head back to the position he wants him in. His touches are soft, and careful. Calculated in a way that Kevin doesn’t often see on him. The wine aside, Edgar has tea prepared for him, which surprises him. Given that Kevin arrived so late, it’s mostly luke-warm. Edgar doesn’t bother mentioning or apologizing for that. 

He finishes off a glass of wine. Then another. It just further succeeds in giving him that uncomfortable, sticky feeling he’s never been good at handling.

Edgar stares at him, and Kevin feels that gaze crawling across his skin. The room isn’t warm, but it might as well be.

“I’ve never been good at portraits,” Edgar admits to him, suddenly, his gaze lowering to his pallet. Kevin waits for him to continue, but realizes that on his on he probably won’t.

Despite himself, he prompts him.

....

His gaze is tired. His figure is stiff, “I’m not good at this, Ayuso. I’ve never been good at this. So I’ll be forward. I don’t know why you’re here, and it’s really hard to convince myself of any explanation that seems reasonable.”

Kevin's throat itches. Edgar looks up at him.

“What are you asking me, then?”

“I don’t know.” Kevin says, “I don’t even really know what I want outt’a this, if I’m bein’ honest with you.”

Edgar rubs his eyes. It seems tired, “Fuck me, you’re so fucking stupid sometimes,”

Kevin feels that anger, that kneejerk horror, and he moves to stand. There’s a snarl on his lip before he knows it, as the embarrassment passes over him

“No, no. Jesus- Get that look off your face, I wasn’t insulting you. You just- Are.” Edgar’s jaw sets. His paintbrush slams down, and with it, Kevin stills. He looks like he has a headache, “You are.” He repeats, sharply, and more firm.

“How is callin’ me stupid not an insult?!” 

“What else am I supposed to call you when you act like this!?” 

Kevin stares at him in disbelief, and Edgar throws his hands up in the air. He holds his head in his hands and closes his eyes, and there’s this short, uncomfortable silence between the two of them. It passes. It always passes. 

Kevin gets up to leave.

Edgar catches his hand and stare at him. Kevin hadn't realized he could move that fast, or maybe that he'd been approaching him to begin with. Kevin turns to snap at him, but when their eyes meet he feels it all die out.

“Sit down,” Edgar says

Kevin.... sits.

[The note in my drafts here just said "Second Base" With no other context]

He feels. Guilt. For for wanting him like this. 

And, above all else, guilt at placing himself in Edgar’s life. Guilt for his feelings.

He coughs. 

Kevin nudges Edgar off of him, and for a moment Edgar’s eyes flash with panic and - To Kevin’s mild horror, betrayal. But Kevin doesn’t have time to sit on it. He rolls over and, as he’s become so accustomed to, hacks and coughs until vomit and blood and whole flowers pool out of his mouth. At first in chunks, and then and into a puddle on the otherwise clean cloth. It tastes like rot in his mouth, stinks like the mush thrown at hogs. 

When he comes back down from it all, Edgar is next to him folded on his knee’s. He has a hand between his shoulder blades, tracing sweet little lines into his back. 

When Kevin breath’s again, he’s surprised. 

His hand is still near his mouth, covered in the ugly [visceral] and gore. 

Kevin think’s Edgar will leave him as he did before, especially when he leaves his side and mumbles about not needing to do anything tonight. But to his surprise, he comes back. He has a rag in his hand, stained by paint but otherwise clean, and a cup of water. Edgar takes his hands between his own again and mindfully begin to clean it. His nose wrinkles up when his hands touch a little too close to the gunk, but to Kevin’s surprise, he still works to clean them.

It’s been a while since anyone’s done that for Kevin.

He feels emptier for it.

...

“Didn’t think someone like you would have the stomach for this,” Kevin says, eventually, when his body no longer betrays him.

“... My sister used to get sick when she was younger,” Edgar says, 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” He looks ahead, rather than at Kevin, “The maids were supposed to take care of her, but I…” Edgar trails off, his fingers twitching. Kevin doesn’t push him about it. He has a few stories of his own that he wouldn’t want told.

“Sorry ‘bout your uh-” 

Edgar looks down at the vile, and wrinkles his nose, “Why are you apologizing? It’s just spare bedsheets. They were probably Balsa’s anyway,” 

They sit in silence.

Kevin is the one to leave.

//

What he hates most, he thinks, is that Edgar isn’t wrong. Kevin can’t deny his own attraction to the man at this point. That’s why he was here, wasn’t it? And there’s such shame in that. He was better than that. 

He doesn’t have a defense for himself. He says, "Is it hard to believe I find you kind of- I don’t know. You’re interesting?"

Edgar's nose wrinkles. His face blanks over. God that's - infuriating. He does that when he realizes he's not going to be getting his way, that he's maybe not as right as he thought he was. Kevin knows this because Kevin's argued with him before, "What could you possibly find fascinating about me?"

“I don’t know yet,” He answers, weakly, and Edgar gives him a look with disbelief so thick he can cut through it. His throat feels dry. Not even the stuffy, clogged dry that could get him out of this, but instead an uncomfortable, distant feeling that has him falling silent and still. He wants to raise his hands up and touch them to the other man's shoulders, but just as much, he finds his hand paralyzed at his sides.

Edgar tries to take pity on him.

“Ayuso, that’s not- It’s not an accusation,” Edgar says, slowly, “It’s just what it is.”

Kevin draws a long breath in. It's patient, and careful, "You were okay with me using you like that?"

"You weren't using me," Edgar sounds annoyed, but there’s confusion there, "I want to fuck you. If I didn’t want to fuck you, I wouldn’t be here.”

Kevin flinches at the vulgarity of it. Maybe it's just how sharply it contrasts the emotions of the conversation, but he - He does flinch.

...

Edgar steps closer, so that they can sit next to one another. He's still and uncomfortable. "Okay."

Kevin laces their fingers together.

There's no guilt for that.

[sanguinemanare]

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Bloodmoon! This is NOT a RP Blog. Something, something The Sun and Moon show?: My Bloodmoon has zero relation to The Sun and Moon show. (I have no knowledge of anything from that show) He is just my own creation with his own AU/s. (Please respect this and use proper tags for him if you decide to put any in reblogs/posts)

How tall is he?: I have no set height for him. (Like legit measurements anyway) And my art of him is never consistent (I try man). He is probably around ehhhh.. 10 feet tall? He's a big boy and definitely bigger than the original Daycare Attendant. How would he react to a Y/N who is unafraid of him?: He would find it intriguing as most people display/show fear around him. He might even be a little confused by it at first. He may also try harder to unsettle or scare Y/N as it's a favorite thing for him to do. How would he react to receiving affection?: There is definitely some confusion at first because his base instinct is to hunt down others and hurt them. It was apart of his game version personality to do so. So receiving any kind of affection is confusing to him. At first he might just ignore it, not really catching it, but after a while it will intrigue him. Like wow after all this time they're still coming back? After his obsession with y/n settles in he will for sure like it. He might not show it often, but he will 100% like it. Although I don't think he will really know how to show affection, "properly" at least, in return.

How would he react to accidentally hurting/harming Y/N?: I cannot state enough that this would happen A LOT. There is also a huge possibility for death of Y/N.

It would happen accidentally and intentionally. He does not pay mind to his own strength so injuries are for sure going to happen. He also has zero control on his reactions and emotions.

What if Y/N dies?: This is honestly the most probable outcome for y/n if they're involved with Bloodmoon in any way. If y/n dies he would become more unhinged and insane. He would talk to them like they're still there. His memory of y/n would never leave and it would corrupt his coding even more than it already is.

After a period of time if there were another person to appear in his life he would probably refer to them by original y/n's name and treat them like they are the original y/n. He would not really notice differences in the new y/n unless they blatantly shove it in his face. However if he begins to realize they're not the same he would most likely lash out in anger which again would result in another death and possibly starting the cycle over. How would he react to Y/N being sad?: It depends on the situation. I think he would find it interesting if anything. He'd be curious about it. He often associates it with people being scared, which is something he enjoys. Once he learns about the emotion though he might use it against y/n but like in the way of, "oh you're sad? Here come to me, I'll make you feel better/happy." (really he just wants y/n to stay with him) So like emotional manipulation may become a thing. How would he react to others harming Y/N?: Another situation dependent on his obsession for Y/N. Although he is already super aggressive towards anyone who comes near him. He may let the situation play out a bit for his own amusement but only if its teasing or light bullying. If it's intense violence he would not hesitate to kill the offending person. Now if his obsession with Y/N is at it's peak, the offender would be offed immediately.

Will update this more in the future if needed! :D

Main Art Blog! https://www.tumblr.com/deceptiveshadow

[kaiserin-erzsebet]

This is a total sidebar to what you’re thinking about right now re US institutions (which I totally agree with), but I actually wondered if you could share a little about your uncertainties about Timothy Snyder’s work? I recently read a few of his books (Black Earth in particular) and thought it was really interesting, but am not a historian to know if his analysis is at all correct or what biases to keep an eye out for

I should have guessed that someone would catch me putting that in a tag.

I am not, perhaps, the person best placed to critique his work since I tend to focus on things more or less West and South of Poland, and he is looking the opposite direction with a lot of his work. However, I have had several conversations with people who dislike him for a number of reasons.

Here are the broad reasons people are skeptical of him and his work (and from what I can tell there are two main reasons, though it's a venn diagram with some considerable overlap):

People who don't like his books because they feel like he doesn't know his own limits as a historian and writes confidently and incorrectly about things he doesn't know. He's been pretty heavily criticized, for example, on the grounds that he hasn't read enough of the historiography about Nazi Germany to make the broad claims that he does in Bloodlands. I once met a Romanian historian at a Conference who despised Bloodlands because, as he puts it, "Not a single thing about Romania in that book is correct." Snyder is a historian of Poland, Ukraine, and Lithuania. From conversations I've had, it seems that the consensus is that The Reconstruction of Nations is his best book because it's the one most focused on what he actually works on. To be fair to him, there are a whole raft of historians who have unearned confidence on things outside of their field. I have dragged many "general" European histories for being wildly wrong on the Habsburg empire, because that's my specialty.

People who do not like him as a public historian or a political writer. Here I think there are good and bad reasons to dislike him. I think the idea that historians "shouldn't" do political interviews or comment on current events is unhelpful. We're not helping anyone by locking ourselves in academia and acting like we are above it. However, there are legitimate reasons to not like what he says in those interviews. A historian who works on the Russian empire that I talked to, for example, doesn't like the implication that there was some inevitability to the Ukrainian invasion because that's just how Russia is and always has been (as opposed to being related specifically to Putin's manipulation of the past and historical memory.) And I think people who have made careers studying the Romanov period have some right to take umbrage with some of the claims he makes since he is a 20th century historian.

You can decide how you personally feel about these things, but that should give you a general idea of what the issues are.

Other people who have more feelings about his work, feel free to add on.

[rynrising44]

Some fanfiction tips and tricks:

Hi hello how are you- I've been writing a lot of fanfiction recently (shocker) and wanted to make a little list of helpful tips when it comes to formatting and getting thoughts in order. I still fall prey to many of these errors and see a lot of them out there on AO3, which stifles a good chunk of fics that readers, especially English only speakers, ultimately lose interest in/are unfamiliar with.

NOT HARD AND FAST RULES. Just what I've noticed throughout my process.

English speakers/ writers use quotation marks in their writing. They look like this: "I can't believe you've done this!" she screamed. Using << I can't believe you've done this! >> she screamed, OR 'I can't believe you've done this!' she screamed when writing in English are foreign to most readers. If you're having trouble reaching audiences and are using one of the two formats above, it's probably because of the way your dialogue is written.

NOTE: if you are writing in another language which uses <<+>> or '+' keep using those formats. This only applies if you're writing in one language but keeping the structure of another.

You don't have to say, 'he said,' or 'she said,' after every line of spoken dialogue. Have fun with it and go back and forth! Here is an example in present tense:

"You're about to get sacked after being shot by Russian sleeper agents and stealing a helicopter," he says with bad taste. "How does that make you feel?" "Getting shot? Or getting fired?" Mackey asks. "Getting shot and then getting fired." "Seriously?" "Just... taking the piss, alright?" Mackey doesn't bother replying.

Epithets are not your friend. Do not use them. Get in the heads of your characters! Would the wife of your main character refer to him as 'the taller man' or 'the blonde?' NO! We refer to others by their name, nicknames, and pet phrases (don't overuse the pet names though).

Read books! The best way to learn how to write is to read. This will really help you understand the way sentences flow and how to end/begin sentences.

The quotations go outside the period. "Like this."

Pick a tense and stay with it. Don't go back and forth between 'said, went, replied,' and 'says, goes, replies.' This is a mistake I see people do a lot, especially when first starting out.

When tagging your fics, don't use tags like "Bad at tagging" or "This is garbage I don't know what I'm doing." That is YOUR WORK. Your fic is yours and you should be proud of it. If you don't stand by your creativity and ideas, then why should anyone else?

One shot collections should be in a series. NOT in a multi-chaptered fic. Unless they are complete, in the same universe, and follow a timeline, try to post them individually. That way, if someone likes one but not the other, you aren't screwing yourself over.

Use your summaries wisely. Quotes, action scenes, and eye-catching statements will draw a reader in. (Please don't say something like "Bad at tagging and summaries.")

Write what you want to read. Not what others want to read. If you love writing rare-pair F/F fanfiction with established relationships, DO THAT. (Shameless plug there.) Don't go chasing pairings and tropes that you hate just for views/kudos. The good feelings will not last, and you will pigeonhole yourself into things you don't like. (want proof. Try it out and see what happens.)

Get involved in the fandoms you write for. Comment on other author's works, especially if the fandom is small. Chances are, they will click on your fic, read it, and share it with others. Also, you can yell at one another and keyboard smash all day long.

Give each other shout outs on Tumblr.

The summary section for your fics is NOT where you put things like 'taking requests. give me a request. please comment fic recs.' Save that for Tumblr/ Twitter (rolls eyes, 'X') and Wattpad. AO3 is for stories, not algorithms. If you really feel the need, include it in your profile.

WRITE SOMETHING IN YOUR PROFILE. People love personalization. Also, you can give blanket statements about your rules on gifts, inspirational works, and other things.

Do not overtag your works if those tags do not apply. Writing 50+ tags for a 1k fic is a little head-scratching. Focus on the main ships only and the top relevant categories (and any triggers, oc). If it's a 1k fic, people will honestly just get annoyed at seeing all the space taking up their AO3 pages. (I say this with love. We all remember that one 'Untamed fic.')

Don't like. Don't read. Don't bash. Don't be cruel.

Do. Not. Hate. Fics. Publicly. On. Tiktok. Or I swear to the gods I will hunt you down and skin you alive. Save your scathing reviews for private messages and private DMs on Discord. Fanfiction is free and authors don't owe you anything. (YES! This includes drabbles. And incest. And any/all of the clerical errors I have already discussed above.)

Also, comment on older fics.

Comment on all fics, actually.

Also, read WIPs. If you want fanfiction to continue and you want longer works, support the authors that write those works. Don't be greedy and entitled by closing up your mind. If you want to read complete works only, that's your right. But you don't have to brag about it/ moan about not having anything good in your fandom of choice when you refuse to keep an open mind to like, half of the fics on there. (This is not a statement about my works, btw. I have a little group that comments/I know is aware and interested in some of my stuff. This is more for the general public.)

Kudos aren't limited. No one tracks them. Literally no one cares what you like. If you're worried or embarrassed about something you like that's between you and god only, private bookmark it. But kudos everything you like/re-read because if you don't, the author probably assumes you didn't like their work and that will make them sad.

AI is not art and you should never use it. Not even to help you come up with ideas. You're better than that, okay? And if I see/read an AI work on AO3 I will block you and mute all your works ASAP without a second thought.

There are definitely so many other things that come to mind when thinking about AO3 and writing in general, but I feel like this is a good place to stop. Again, not trying to step on any one's toes. Heaven knows I use purple prose and commas and the words 'and/ gods/ absolutely not' like they're candy. But I'm also aware that I am doing so and being aware of my habits and tendencies make all the difference.

(The writers curse does exist btw apologies in advance, but your life will probably go through changes the instant you press that 'post' button.)