#rambles because i need to study instead of draw

[musubiki]

once again thinking about limes very quick descent into madness surrounding the time when he realizes he might like mochi after the first night he spends cuddling with her. always love the slow start of "Okay she's kinda cute I guess. She has cute tendencies sometimes. There, you happy? I admitted it. Now leave me alone." which in the span of about 3 days RAPIDLY spills into being unable to think about anything else to the point he can barely hold a conversation with anyone because his mind keeps daydreaming back to holding her in his arms. All day feeling like "I can still feel her warmth on me..." and has to keep being snapped back to reality by everyone around him

he can barely even talk to mochi because he keeps thinking about it. has no idea what to say to her the next day. is very quiet. and mochi thinks hes mad/uncomfortable with her now, since hes always so standoffish to girls at school she thinks she might be in that category now. so the next night while lime is about to go to bed, STILL THINKING ABOUT IT, and he gets a text from her that reads something like: [Hey lime!! about last night- sorry i fell asleep on you!! i know your not super comfortable with that stuff!! it wont happen again!! 🙇‍♀️ see you tomorrow!] and he feels his heart drop to his fucking stomach. lays there reading it back over and over with his thoughts a mix of "Yeah I guess that makes sense, it happened by accident. It was never gonna be a repetitive thing." vs "Won't happen again...? Like....ever? Are you fucking kidding me? I never get that ever again?"

eventually after an hour of tossing and turning, thinks up some bullshit excuse to sneak over to her house and climb up over her little bedroom balcony, knocks on her window and says something like "Hey uhhh you forgot one of your socks over at my place so I brought it back." or something that is absolutely stupid and could've definitely waited for the next day. manages to weasel his way into crawling into her bed with her because every bone in his body is telling him to.

huheuheu love to see lime aching for her eheheh

[wileys-russo]

never being able to finish a movie with golden retriever unc lessi because she can’t sit still for that long and the two of you just end up messing around and making out instead 😫😫😫 I want her to kiss me SO BAD

golden girl II a.russo

you tapped your foot impatiently as you knocked on the door of your girlfriends dorm room, not having been able to see your favorite blonde all day which had felt like an eternity.

normally the two of you were attached at the hip, both exceedingly needy, but with her championship game coming up alessia was having to do extra training sessions almost daily, and with your finals in full swing you were needing to study.

things in which you were unable to help one another at all.

you were dangerously uncoordinated with a football and your girlfriend was dangerously distracting when you were trying to focus on your revision.

but you'd finally finished your last test today, and alessia had finished training early due to the heat wave which had decided to roll in just in time for the weekend. which finally meant the two of you could spend some quality time together again, both having been texting the other all day about how much you missed them, despite having seen one another just last night.

like you said, you were both exceedingly needy, and forever teased by your friends for your obvious co-dependency.

when she didn't answer you knocked again, in fact you knocked continuously until you finally heard footsteps hurrying closer on the other side of the door.

"oh my god i was literally using the toilet can you-"

"catch me!" you sang out, suddenly launching yourself at the taller blonde, jumping on her and wrapping your legs around her waist as she stumbled slightly but caught you, flinging the door closed.

"hi baby!" the blonde beamed happily, any previous annoyance at your feverish knocking completely wiped away. "hello gorgeous." you grinned, grabbing her face and smashing your lips to hers, pulling away with a slight smack as your mouths seperated.

"i missed you." alessia's entire face lit up as she placed you gently back down on your feet, drawing your body into hers and peppering your face all over with kisses. "i missed you more. how was training?" you both exchanged a few proper kisses and sat down on her bed.

"god it was awful. we were doing wind sprints and conditioning and it was so hot!" alessia groaned at the memory, collapsing backwards into the mattress, both of you shuffling around so you were sat up against her headboard and her head lay in your lap.

"if even i think its hot i can't imagine what its like for your poor british skin." you teased, tangling your hands in her hair. this then prompted her into an infamous ramble, the girl chattering away happily as you hummed occasioanly to show her you were listening.

"oh! hey i saw this video babe i wanna try something." she shot up suddenly, frantically changing subject, scrambling for her phone and tapping through for a moment. "no way, you'll drop me!" you shook your head in refusal at what she was propsing.

"no i won't! look at these." she made a show of flexing her muscles as you rolled your eyes, fake yawning and checking the time on your imaginary watch, squealing as your girlfriend tickled your sides for the action.

"come on." she stood, grabbing your hands and tugging you with her, laying down on the floor and assuming the right position. "like the video." she encouraged, propping her legs up and holding out her hands for you to grab.

"lessi i really don't think-" "don't think, just do. just trust me!"

you gave in with a sigh, shuffling closer and very carefully moving so you were stood basically on the balls of her feet. "see!" alessia grinned, pushing her legs upwards as you made a strange noise and your girlfriend held you up in the air.

"i'm gonna let go now." "baby no!" "it'll be fine, okay in 5, 4, 3-" "if you drop me i swear to-"

though of course your sentence was cut short as she dropped your hands early and you wobbled, going toppling down on top of her as the blonde let out a loud grunt as your body collected with hers.

"i told you! idiot." you smacked her shoulder and sat up, rubbing at your ribs which had copped the force of most of the fall. "oh that reminds me! lotte did this insane slide tackle today babe." with that your past activity was forgotten, alessia eagerly jumping to her feet.

you smiled in amusement as she threw her whole body into her story telling, hands flying around and legs kicking out violently as she avidly re-enacted various things which had happened to her today making you laugh.

your beautiful golden retriever of a girlfriend.

~

"babe can i braid your hair please?" you hummed with a nod at her request, adjusting your position laid up in between your girlfriends legs.

her slender fingers carefully let down your hair, combing through it gently as your focus remained on the movie playing on her laptop which was perched precariously on a stack of textbooks at the end of the bed.

both of you having joined your friends for dinner earlier in the evening you'd cut your time with them short, returning to alessia's room to shower and soak up all the quality time you could with one another before she'd be busy most of the weekend preparing for the championship.

to your surprise the blonde had suggested the two of you watch a movie, the heat still relentless and the air thick and humid, not letting up no matter how late into the night it ticked.

both of you were laid together with alessia only in shorts and a sports bra and you in a large shirt of hers opting out of shorts entirely, sleeves rolled up to your shoulders.

though given the shortness of your girlfriends attention span you were impressed you'd gotten even halfway through the movie, the heat seeming to calm her normally hyperactive behavior.

but it would appear, you spoke far too soon.

"baby i'm bored." the girl sighed heavily, growing tired of playing with your hair as her arms flopped back down to her sides. "watch the movie then." you smiled, craning your head back to press a sweet kiss to her jaw, grabbing her arms and wrapping them back around you.

that seemed to work for about ten minutes.

"baby i'm still bored." she whined, head thumping against the headboard with a groan. "we can do something else after this finishes lessi." you promised, squeezing her hands which were intertwined as your eyes stayed trained to the laptop screen.

"...or we could do something else now?" she husked in your ear, your body tensing in her arms as she started to kiss at your neck. "i really want to see how this ends babe, go practice your juggling or something." you shrugged her away, now only around a half hour left of the movie you were determined to see its resolution.

"it's too hot for that." the blonde pouted, chin resting on your shoulder as her hands left your own, creeping their way up your body and you knew where she intended them to land. "alessia." you warned quietly, far too used to the outspoken girls antics when she didn't get her way.

"mm?" she hummed, her hands sure enough dipping down the collar of your shirt and settling themselves on your chest. "no baby." you sighed in amusement, grabbing her wrists and removing them, holding them back around your waist.

"yes baby." she yanked them away and quickly reassumed her position, squeezing your chest teasingly. "no!" you laughed, removing them again much to her impatient protests.

"but i can't sit still babe, can we pleasee makeout or something." alessia almost begged, her knees starting to bounce beneath you as her lips peppered kisses along your bare shoulder. "there is like twenty minutes left lessi, play with your phone or something." you denied her again with a small sigh, eyes still refusing to leave the screen much to your girlfriends growing need and annoyance.

"you could pause it, we have a little smooch, watch the ending, continue to smooch...maybee a little extra afterwards." alessia suggested with a wry smile, teeth tugging playfully at your ear lobe.

"smooch? who the hell's been teaching you to say that?" you laughed, your girlfriend groaning as you ignored her request. she tapped your shoulders and grumbled she needed to use the toilet as you sat up to allow her to get up. you blew her a kiss as she continued to pout at you moodily, huffing when your head turned back to the movie.

she returned a few moments later, flopping herself down on top of you and ignoring your whines it was too hot as her legs settled either side of your hips. "what are you doing?" you sighed as she basically laid herself down on top of you, pressing her face into your neck.

"just watch your movie baby." she whispered, your eyes fluttering shut with a wince as her teeth suddenly sank into the tanned flesh of your shoulder.

"lessi!" you managed to breathe out as the girl left a feverish hickey, her tongue gently swiping over the bright red mark to soothe its sting, quickly moving onto the column of your throat, sucking aggressively at the skin making your hips buck involuntarily.

"no no, you just watch your movie babe." you felt her smile into the skin as she attacked your neck, holding your hands down to the mattress as you tried to grab at her. "shit." you hissed as she left a particularly nasty lovebite on your collarbone, kissing over it gently and murmering how much she loved you in your ear.

the movie long forgotten now your eyes closed and your head pressed back into the pillow with a needy whine as the taller girls knee came to slot in between your legs.

you exhaled shakily as the striker purposefully pressed down right where you needed her, but intentionally not with enough pressure to satisfy the way her lips destroying your neck right now was making you crave her.

"tell me how the movie ended baby, or no more touching." alessia grinned down at you with a wicked glint in her eye, loving nothing more than to rile you up so your energy levels matched her own which were constantly soaring.

"they all murdered him." you managed to get out as she pulled your shirt up with her teeth, leaving a trail of sloppy kisses up your stomach and sternum, the sight only driving you further toward insanity as she pressed her knee down a little more firmly, teasingly moving it round and round in slow circles.

"oh really? why?" she asked, nose tucking itself back into your neck as her kisses became sweeter, her tongue lovingly tracing its way across the scattered galaxy of marks you both knew you'd be yelling at her for later.

"he was-he was a bad man. ripped them all off!" you stammered out, the blondes mouth now hovering over yours with a hum. with expert precision she leaned back slightly, using her foot to slam the laptop closed, cutting off the sound and plunging the room into silence.

finally letting go of your hands you wasted no time grabbing the back of her neck and pulling her mouth to meet with yours, a messy clash of lips, teeth and tongue as the two of you shifted and rolled against one another, quiet moans echoing around the dorm room.

you huffed as alessia again pinned your hands by your head, grinning down at you cheekily as she pecked your sweetly lips a few times. how the girl could go from assertively sexy to cute and goofy in a matter of seconds would always baffle you.

"my most pretty girl." alessia murmured affectionately, smiling at you lovingly for a moment before letting go of your hands and pressing a tender kiss to your sweaty forehead.

the striker then rolled off of you, claiming she was now far too hot to continue, leaving you hot and bothered in another way as you looked to her in disbelief, the blonde reaching over for her laptop.

"so, what should we watch next baby?"

[justporo]

Astarion doesn't know how to cook, but wants to make Tav a romantic dinner. He enlists the help of Gale and regrets it near instantly. Do with this what you like :3

My dear mushy, this is a wonderful prompt, so thank you so much for that. (I loved that it had me write another one of the companions!)

It is in fact so wonderful that it will turn into a short little two-part thingy (because it makes sense in my head and also I can split up the parts, so I can go to bed now, hihi)

So, have: Gale and Astarion pissing each other off in this part and find out if Tav actually does get her romantic dinner in the second part of:

A Night of... Shattered Glass and the Smell of Burning?

“Dinner? Oh Astarion, all these months on the road and all this time since we’ve come to Baldur’s Gate. And you only ask me now?”

“Not with you, you idiot, with Tav!”

Astarion was standing in the wizard’s study – in the place Gale had obtained after your joint adventure to stay a while longer in the city. The wizard was sitting behind his massive desk, Tara on his lap who purred excessively because of all the head scratches she received. And in front of the desk stood Astarion, arms crossed over his chest and an displeased expression on his face. His body was halfway turned towards the door as if he wanted to be ready to leave the room and this place – forever – whenever the need arose.

Gale grinned at the vampire’s uneasiness but didn’t say anything to soothe his former companion – he was relishing the moment way too much for that. So he opted to just stare at the elf and make him suffer a little while longer.

Astarion sighed in defeat and pinched the bridge of his nose with thumb and index finger before he let them stretch out, pressing into his closed eyes. “Gale, don’t make me regret I’ve come here, please”, Astarion pressed out from behind gritted teeth.

Tara stretched out on Gale’s lap, yawned deeply and jumped off her owner’s lap to saunter around the desk. Gale let her, keeping his gaze on the vampire: “No really, you have to give me at least this one moment in return, Astarion, just one teeny tiny moment of you coming to me for help. You’ve actually grown so much over just such a short span…”

Astarion zoned out while the wizard rambled on trying to have his superior moment of being sarcastic and sassy – Gods, it had been a horrible idea to come here. He felt the wizard’s cat stroke around his legs then, rubbing her head against his shins and looking up at him expectantly.

So, he bowed down to lift her up and started to pet her to which Tara responded with arching her back into the vampire’s careful touch and starting to purr loudly. At that a smile crept onto Astarion’s face. He’d always liked cats – fierce and beautiful creatures.

“…and I feel so honoured that you would ask me out of all people, Astarion – really!”, ended the wizard his sarcastic speech and was finally silent. Astarion rolled his eyes: “Now go and write it all into your journal and draw pink glittery hearts around it while kicking your little feet. Are you done now?” Gale lifted one finger and narrowed his eyes with raised eyebrows: “Allow me one more question.” Astarion groaned. “Does Tav know?”, the wizard asked.

“No”, hissed the vampire in response and stared angrily at Gale “and if you’re going to tell her, I am going to rip your godsdamned throat out.” Gale reacted with lifting his hands defensively: “Alright okay, I’m done. Your secret’s safe with me.”

Some of the tension left Astarion’s body. “So will you help me or not?”, he asked while focusing on the cat in his arms instead of the person he was asking something off – openly committing to wanting help, talking about a weakness – and may it be something as inconsequential as this – was not something he had learned awfully well to accept; perhaps he never really would.

Gale’s gaze softened a little and he stood up from behind the desk to walk around it and leaning against it in a relaxed pose. He crossed his arms over his chest: “So… come again, what exactly is it exactly that you’re planning?”

Finally, Astarion lifted his gaze to look at the wizard. His eyes was full of suspicion after Gale had at first opted to tease him about a genuine demand. And it had already cost him an enormous amount of pride to swallow to actually come over and voice his request for help. The wizard sighed: “Okay listen, I’m sorry, I was a dick about this – it’s just… I wouldn’t have expected this from you, is all…”

Astarion didn’t say anything in response, his reluctancy had not yet left him. And so an awkward kind of silence stretched between the two men – unable or unwilling to be more open and sincere; at least for the time being.

“Listen”, Gale started again “I’ll help you, I promise. But you have to tell me what you want to do or else I don’t know how.”

Astarion looked down again at the purring cat in his arms. After a few heartbeats he sighed and said: “In a few weeks, it will be six months since… Tav and I are official. And I thought after all the peril she, I mean we all, but she especially has been put through and after everything she’s done for me…” The vampire’s words trailed off and he threw Gale a glance. There were no more words needed in this instance, Gale had been there beside him and Tav when they had walked into Cazador Szarr’s lair.

The wizard felt his throat close up at the memory – as much in dread, as he remembered, as in compassion for his… friend.

“So”, Gale coughed and readjusted his position against his giant wooden desk, before he went on in a more animated manner, “you thought a nice romantic dinner would be a nice opportunity to show her a little bit of your gratefulness and also celebrate your love.” “I see we are finally on the same page, my wizard partner in crime”, Astarion replied then cheerfully – thankful for the change in mood.

“And the problem is that it’s been a while, naturally, since you had the pleasure in the kitchen”, Gale went on. Astarion cleared his throat: “To be honest, even before… let’s just say food had just always come on a plate.”

“Hah, and now it always comes from a neck, right?”, Gale tried to crack a joke and failed miserably. The vampire looked ready to leave once more: “Please leave the jokes to me, Gale. Else I’m leaving – and taking the cat.”

Gale let his head fall back until he was facing the ceiling. “This won’t be easy”, he whispered under his breath. Then he lifted his hands as he let himself look at the vampire once more that had started cooing at Tara in his arms – making little kissy faces at the cat that was stretching out one of his paws as if in a gentle caress of the elf’s face.

“Let’s just get to the point. What did you have in mind then?”, said the wizard and made a few steps towards Astarion how was now stroking Tara’s face with a single finger as if she was a baby. Only when Gale was almost in front of him did he notice that the wizard had asked him another question.

The vampire gave another sigh and then shortly bent down to set down the animal which protested softly but then just kept stroking around his legs. “I thought you could teach me some stuff. Show me to make some dishes so I can prepare the dinner for Tav myself…” “Yes okay, but what does she like – I mean, back on the road we all made do with what we could get our hands on, but if you want to surprise her with something shouldn’t it be something to impress her?”, Gale interrupted, immediately getting into planning mode. His head was already turning on how to get organised and starting. “Well, Gale, from what I’ve heard the last time you wanted to impress a woman it didn’t go all too well, didn’t it? Maybe tone it down a little”, the vampire bit out. But a sparkle had entered his red eyes, nonetheless, at the thought of actually pulling this surprise off.

Gale though was back at looking at the ceiling, cursing whatever had put this flatulated vampire in his path. “Alright”, Gale sighed, “first thing we have to settle is that we can’t go for each other’s throats all the time – VERBALLY, verbally”, he exclaimed with raised eyebrows and pointed a finger at Astarion when the vampire had started smirking at him in a kind of way.

“I didn’t start – at least this time”, the vampire shot back. “Astarion”, Gale drawled annoyedly in a tone that might’ve been used many a time towards his cat – which did actually look up at her owner and cocked her head at him.

“Fine”, Astarion agreed in the same tone. “So, let’s figure out the desired menu first, shall we?”, Gale said to put them back on track. “What’s Tav’s favourite food, what dishes does she like – sweet, savoury?”

Do that Astarion put a hand to his chin and started to think. His brows furrowed and his gaze was suddenly miles away: “Her favourite thing are strawberries by far, but that does only work for dessert. Maybe with something chocolate-y, she really does have a knack for sweet stuff.” At that point Gale opened his mouth to crack another joke but shut it immediately when he realised how genuine Astarion had become all of a sudden.”

“She likes hearty foods – nothing needlessly complicated or pretentious. And she always goes on about how she’d love to have more fish but that it’s so complicated to prepare sometimes, hmm.” Astarion was still lost in his thoughts and kept rambling on about every last detail he could remember about what might work and what they had to avoid.

Gale’s face split into a huge, warm grin, bewildered by Astarion and how much he knew about these small little details about his soulmate and how much genuine care and love shone in his eyes as he kept talking about her.

Gale put out his hand to lay on Astarion’s shoulder who was still somewhere else, still talking. At the light gesture the elf flinched and shock filled his eyes for a short moment before he realised is was only the wizard. “Second rule, don’t just touch me”, he hissed at the man who was still smiling warmly at his friend behaving like a feral street cat.

“Agreed. Let’s just get to work, Astarion. I’ll make a chef out of you in no time. Let’s go.” And with these final words Gale went off towards his kitchen.

Astarion expressed his doubts in the wizard’s self-impression but followed closely behind.

[jet-teeth]

Specifically relating to my latest post, but in general also: I feel like my attention span has gotten so bad these days in terms of actually finishing anything, to the point that the deflection/procrastination-projects get as silly as "builds a whole-ass 3D model instead of finishing the goddamn drawing because that's somehow easier than dealing with the perfectionism demon hovering over my shoulder when I draw these days"

(I think this why I'm trying to chase looser styles/play around with traditional media here and there again, since anything too precise starts to activate the Overthink Demon. I guess what I post is "oops! All sketches" anyway, but a lot of things still get overworked. Probably should start using timers again or something idk) Rarely do I actually "finish" models as well, which is generally why I don't post any (they are almost always studies/character reference models) but let's see if I can get around to making some Printable Little Guys this year, since frankly I find 3D a more comfortable medium to work in than outright painting/doing rendered-out stuff

Ramble post, but I'm always interested in the topic of "process" when it comes to art, and how struggles & limitations might actually help an individual find what their strengths really are too (or, just reveal areas that need more work. I DO want to finish a couple of the paintings in my WIP folder, but I also have accepted that it's not gonna be the natural medium for me ever) (I always try to include art in long text posts like this so they aren't as boring. Have a Banana Cat drawing I never uploaded. Also yes the printer HAS been added to my enclosure and it's great fun :> )

[littlemissaddict]

Can I request a Steve fic 🫣? Something along the lines of reader is struggling with anxiety and only needs Steve to reassure her…. It can be smutty or fluffy…. Or both… I’ll leave that up to you

I love your writing! Steve is so so cute 🥰 keep up the good work 🤗🤗

Thank you, it means to much to know people like my writing. I hope this was along the lines of what you were looking and I'm sorry it took me so long to get done.

Word Count: 3192

A/n: This does contain smut so if you're just here for the fluff don't worry it can be read with or without the smut so I've put a cut in just before it starts so you know where to stop.

She was studying or that's what she'd told herself anyway. The truth was her textbooks and notes from class were spread out around her on top of the duvet but she hadn't touched a single one of them since she'd laid them down. It had been her intention to study, with finals coming up she wanted to be prepared but within ten minutes or so she'd already zoned out and had been for the past, well she wasn't sure how long it had been as she didn't even know what time it was now. All she knew was that her vision was hazy, her eyes had long since glazed over with unshed tears and her legs ached from however long she'd been sat crossed legged on the bed.

It wasn't until Steve's greeting that she'd realised what she was doing but then it was too late to hide it because Steve had already seen and the look of concern he was sporting was enough to make her feel worse than she already was. "Angel what's wrong?" he asked, his voice soft as he spoke and not even his childhood nickname for her cheered her up.

When she didn't answer, he carefully shifted her papers and books and moved them over to her desk out of the way so that they didn't get messed up as he knew she still needed them. Then he climbed onto the bed, sitting in front of her in the same crossed legged position as his hands reached out to gently brush against her legs. “You know you can tell me anything, right? We’re best friends it’s what I’m here for” he reassured and then in one last ditch attempt to make her smile he added, “I’m sure it can’t be any worse than that ridiculous crush you had on Billy Hargrove”

A small watery laugh left her lips at the thought, although he couldn’t have been further from the truth as it was never Billy she’d had a crush on, she’d just told him that so he’d stop asking her. It was short lived, the laughter as she lifted her head to finally meet his eyes, those soft brown eyes looking at her with nothing but softness, drawing her in and almost making her forget why she was upset.

“Am I really so unlovable?” she blurts out, unable to keep it to herself any longer.

“Of course you’re not, where is this coming from” he asks, brow furrowed in confusion as his head tilts a little to the right as he waits for her to continue.

“Is it not obvious, I mean all the boys I try to get to know only want one thing from me and then they leave as soon as they get it. And the only one I have ever truly had real feelings for doesn’t even like me that way, instead he’s stuck on someone who’s smarter, prettier and all round better than me in every way” she rambles, a stray tear falling from her eyes which he’s quick to wipe away with a gentle swipe of the pad of his thumb against her cheek.

“Hey don’t say that, you’re smart and pretty and there is no one that compares to you, alright Angel?” he questions as his hand moves from her cheek to rest under her chin as he lifts her head from where she’s dropped it so that she can see in his eyes that he means every word.

“Don’t-Don’t do that” she shakes her head as he asks her what she means, “Say stuff like that, give me hope that you actually mean it and like me the way I like you because it’s just cruel Steve. I’m barely holding on right now and you lying to me might just push me over the fucking edge so please just don’t” she manages to get out, pushing his hands away from her and furiously wiping at her eyes in a feeble attempt to hide the tears that are now falling freely.

Her confession seems to have rendered Steve speechless as the pieces fall into place and she half expects him to just get up and walk out because clearly she just ruined their friendship, dropping that on him like that when he doesn’t like her back. Only he doesn’t move, not away from her anyway but she does feel the bed shift seconds before she feels his hands on her face again, holding her so that she can’t look away from him.

“So you’re telling me that you love me?” he questions, his voice and his face giving no indication to what he’s thinking and figuring she can’t ruin this any more than she already has, she doesn’t lie to him as she nods in answer. “And the girl that I’m supposedly stuck on, who you think is in your words ‘smarter, prettier and all round better than you’ is Nance?” he asks just for clarification to make sure he’s understanding her, even though he already knows the answer before she nods.’

Sighing in response, he can’t help but shake his head as he takes his hands from her face to pinch the bridge of his nose as he tries to work out just how she can be so oblivious to his feelings for her, “Angel, I’m going to let you in on a little secret and you’re probably not going to believe me but know that I would never lie to you” he tries to reason with her, his voice wavering slightly as he speaks, “but it’s not Nancy that I’m stuck on”

She gives him a pointed look, crossing her arms over her chest as she worries the plush of her bottom lip between her teeth. Steve, not stuck on Nancy, that had to be the biggest lie he’d ever told her even if he said he wasn’t lying. From what he’d told her it was a messy break up and she was the one to end it, even going so far as to call their whole relationship ‘bullshit’, but Steve didn’t give up, taking it upon himself to go to her house with flowers and practically beg her to get back together with him. Unfortunately for him that never happened.

“Nancy is great and I know I tried hard to make it work with her even after well everything but I didn’t tell you the whole reason as to why we broke up” he sighed like this was hard for him to admit to and maybe it was because she’d didn’t have a clue where Steve was headed with this right now but she waited patiently for him to speak, it was only fair as she’d said what she wanted to now it was his turn. “When she said our whole relationship was bullshit, she wasn’t exactly lying” he says slowly, pausing to take a deep breath as his hand runs down his face. “I like Nancy, I do but not in the same way I knew she felt for me, well in the beginning anyway, you see I think I’ve always been in love with you and I didn’t think that you would ever feel the same so I thought that I could move on and Nancy would fill that gap but I know now that was cruel of me to use her like that” he reveals, a sad smile on his face and she notices how his hands fidget with the duvet cover as he speaks.

It takes her a few seconds to process what he’d just said and even longer to believe it. He loves her, not Nancy, her. The smile lights up her face but he doesn’t see it as now he’s the one to drop his head as his eyes focus on the duvet cover that he’s twisting in his hands. Without a second thought she leans closer to him, this time it’s her hands guiding his face up and towards her own but he still can’t quite meet her eyes not that that means anything as her eyes are already fluttering closed just as she softly brushes her lips against his. She pauses for a second to give him chance to pull away if this isn’t what he wants but he doesn’t, instead he’s closing the miniscule gap between them and presses his lips more firmly into hers as he kisses her fiercely as if her kisses are the only thing keeping him alive.

She doesn’t complain because she’s been wanting this for just as long, if not longer than Steve has and she tries to pour all that into the kiss as if the one kiss is supposed to make up for all the time they’ve lost that they could’ve been doing this for. By the time they pull away, her lips are tingling and her chest is heaving from lack of oxygen but her eyes are shining brightly as she looks up at him and finds his expression mirroring her own.

“So does that mean I get to call you mine now?” he asks, his tone teasing but there's a lilt of nerves creeping in.

“I’ve always been yours Steve but I guess this makes it official” she giggles, sealing it with a chaste kiss to his lips which is followed by more giggles as he tries to follow her lips for more kisses and whines when she pulls out of his reach.

“Yeah? I like the sound of that” he hums, deciding he doesn’t like the space between them as he pulls her closer until she’s sitting atop his still crossed legs, “Now we just have to let people know” he smiles mischievously up at her seeing as she’s now slightly taller than him from where she’s sat on his lap.

“Oh yeah and what did you have in mind Ste-ah” she gasps as she feels his lips wetly pressing against the side of her neck as he mouths at her skin, soft sucking and nibbling that has shivers running down her spine and her eyes rolling back at the sensations. She finds herself holding onto his shoulders for support as she rolls her head further to the side to give him more room to kiss until he’s happy with the marks he’s left and he’s pulling away to admire them and the girl in his lap.

Smiling to himself as he takes in her flustered form, his eyes trailing up from her heaving chest to her kiss bitten lips and then up to her eyes which are still closed. “You still with me, Angel?” he chuckles, swiping his thumb across the plush of her bottom lip and watching as her eyes flutter open revealing her lust blown pupils staring back at him which takes him by surprise that she got that worked up after a little bit of neck kissing. Although it doesn’t quite prepare him for her to slip his thumb into her mouth on a second pass of it over her lips, all his blood rushes south as she begins sucking and swirling her tongue around it as if it was his cock instead as her eyes stay locked on his. “You’re killing me here Angel, I’m not going to be able to stop if you keep this up” he groans as she hums around his thumb in acknowledgement, the vibrations of it going straight down to his cock as he can feel his pants growing tighter.

“I don’t want you to stop, Stevie” she pleads, pulling her mouth of him with a popping sound as the digit slips free from her lips. “Please I need you to show me I’m yours” she begs all high pitched and whiny as she takes his hand and guides it down from where it rests on her hip until he’s cupping her through her leggings where he can feel her wetness soaking through the material.

He groans, squeezing his eyes shut as he feels how wet she is, trying to control himself so he doesn’t cum in his pants before they’ve even begun. The thought leaves him feeling ridiculous like he’s some fresh faced virgin who’s never had sex before but that’s what she does to him, every touch from her leaving him giddy with excitement for what’s about to happen.

Unable to keep things slow any longer, he’s pulling his sweater over his head and throwing it to the side without sparing a second thought for where it lands before he’s moving onto her shirt and doing the same with it. His breath catches in his throat when he turns back to find that she’s already undone the clasp of the bra and is sliding it down her arms to reveal her boobs to him, the sight of them makes his mouth water and he wants nothing more that to kiss them but he knows they’re far to worked up for that just now. He settles for a few quick pecks as he guides her to lay back on the bed so that he can work on getting their pants off and getting them one step closer to what they’re both desperate for.

“God damn you’re beautiful” he breathes, almost awestruck as he takes in the sight of her bare body before him, “I swear I’m so damn lucky to have you all to myself” he mumbles against her lips, unable to resist kissing her again now that he had permission to do so.

“Steve please, no more teasing, need you” she pleads as she pulls away from yet another kiss. She was more than happy that he wanted to appreciate her body but right now there was a fire burning within her and only Steve could clench it.

“You got it Angel” he salutes, making her laugh as he begins unbuckling his belt, followed by his jeans and then he’s pushing them and his boxers down his legs all at once. Once they’re off, he quickly reaches into his pocket for his wallet where he finds the small square foil that he pulls out before wasting no time in crawling back onto the bed where she’s waiting for him. In his absence he notices she’s taken things into her own hands, quite literally as he swats at her hands where they’re nestled between her thighs, fingers running through her pussy and over her clit. “As hot as it is to watch you play with yourself, it’s my turn to make you feel good” he smirks as she nods eagerly, reclining her body so that she’s propped up on her elbows to watch him.

He begins the task of rolling on the condom, bringing the square packet up to his mouth and ripping it open with his teeth but playing it up in an attempt to make it look sexy which only has her giggling again. “Can I?” she asks once the giggles have subsided, holding out her hand and waiting for him to hand it to her, smirking up at him once it’s in her grasp.

“No playing Angel, I need to be inside you when I cum” he warns, noticing the look on her face as she begins to roll the plastic over his length, squeezing as she does so despite his warnings and revelling in his gasps and moans. “God I need to be inside you right now” he curses as she comes to a stop at the base of his cock and giving one final squeeze she lines him up with her hole, letting him take control again as he starts to push into her.

She moans at the feeling of his cock stretching her out, her hands blindly grabbing for him and pulling him down so that they’re chest to chest and he has to support himself on his elbows by the sides of her head. “M’so full Steve” she babbles as he bottoms out inside of her, pausing to let her adjust to his size until she gives him the go ahead to move and then he’s pulling out and slowly pushing back in again, letting her feel every bump and ridge of his cock sliding inside her.

Their movements are slow and controlled despite their need for each other but tonight is about exploring the others body, getting a feel for the other for the first time besides they’ll have plenty of time to fuck like animals in the future.

“You feel so good, I’m so close, please tell me you’re close too” he rambles, mixed with moans and grunts as his hips speed up, snapping into her to meet her hips.

She nods into his neck as her breath comes out in pants and moans, unable to speak because of how good the pleasure feels coursing through her and it only intensifies when he pulls her legs up to wrap around his hips. The change in angle has them both moaning loudly as he finds that spot inside her which has her seeing stars and as her body begins to tense they both know she’s teetering on the edge of cumming. Only seconds later she’s clenching around him as she cums, wave after wave of pleasure and the tight, wet heat of her body as it happens is enough to tip Steve over the edge as well and he cums in the condom with his face buried in her neck which muffles the sounds of his groans.

They are quiet while they catch their breaths, more than content in basking the the feel of each other post bliss that is until the uncontrollable urge to laugh fills her body and then her body’s shaking with laughter rather than pleasure but the whole thing leaves Steve confused. “I wasn’t that bad was I?” he pouts as he pulls his face away from her neck and stares down at her with wide eyes.

She shakes her head in response, trying to find the words to tell him how she feels. “I just never thought we’d get this and now to be here after some pretty great sex I guess it just feels like a crazy dream” she smiles, following her words with a more than content sigh.

“Oh so you dream about me?” He teases with a smirk and she pushes at his chest as she turns her head to hide the way the heat is growing on her face but she can’t hide the smile that seems to be a permanent fixture. “I promise you it’s not a dream” he reassures in a soft voice, gently turning her head back so that she’s facing him as he softly brushes his nose against hers before he leans further down to follow it with a soft kiss that makes her melt until he pulls back with the smirk returning to his face. “Give me five minutes and I can prove that this is no dream” he means it as a statement though it comes out sounding like a question, one that she eagerly nodding to in reply as she pulls him down for another kiss, letting him reignite that fire inside her.

[mothmanadjacent]

you don't have to answer this publicly, but i just wanna ramble for a sec re: the anon earlier. they're probably either young and/or have their own things to work through to have had such a strong and negative response at beautiful art, but i wish i could stress to them that fanart (fanfic, too) of ships/character dynamics are not ONLY created and shared to bring joy, they're often forms of personal artistic expression as well.

yes, these types works are sometimes - in fandom culture - centred around more wholesome romantic pairings for feel-good vibes, but that's never exclusively been the case, and it is definitely not reflective of the (real) world we live in. there's pain and beauty in equal amounts to be found here. ergo, art is influenced by both sides.

one might argue that art can take on different purposes or have specific target audiences. anon may be under the assumption that fanart should depict a certain trope or dynamic or act as a form of escapism online, but the reality is that artists create fanart for a vast number of reasons. personally, for me, it can be anything from figure drawing, master study, working through trauma, exploring themes, exploring styles, being moved deeply and needing to express myself through a dynamic, or even "just because". that's the beauty of fan works.

anyways, loved the valangel art and it spoke to me a lot!!

This is so beautifully put, thank you🩷🩷🩷

I feel like I've established with my art so far that I don't always draw art that makes me feel good. Sometimes I want fluffy, sweet things that makes you happy, but art has always been about expression to me, it's why I have so many vent pieces.

With all the moody art pieces I've done involving Angel, you would think people wouldn't be so surprised about me throwing Val in there too. I have more bedroom pieces involving Val that I have planned and I'm not gonna NOT make them just because some people are upset that the dynamic exists.

There are hundreds of artists that can cater to whatever the hell you're looking for. If you want someone to just draw Huskerdust and pieces of the happy hotel cast holding hands you are more than welcome to seek those people out instead of bothering me.

[wilchur]

How many references of the same damn character can I make before I get bored?

Yes.

Some design and related rambles below because I'm in A Mood

There's uhh, selfharm mentions in there on top of the typical Durge shit. Just in case anyone needs a heads up.

I keep tweaking his design every time I draw him, but I think I'm decently happy with it now? It's mainly the burn scar that has been annoying me because I both want it to unique but still somewhat fit the game texture..

I wish I knew how to mess with texture maps to make him custom ones so that all the scars in game match The Lore, but ughh learning that is way too much work.

The scar run down so far:

THE BURN SCAR is a souvenir from Cania. It covers almost the entire upper left half of his body, but on his arm it ends abruptly at the elbow because the explosion that caused it took off his whole forearm so the limb is "brand new" and therefore, scarless.

Yes, he can regrow limbs like an axolotl. However here, I think healing magic was involved too. Just because of how extensive the damage was. I'm imagining his forearm blown off and what's left of his arm charred nearly to the bone. Same with his face, his cheek was definitely gone. An absolutely terrifying image and one that's for sure seared into Gortash's brain forever.

THE VIVISECTION SCAR is Kressa's work of course, but its shape is pretty atypical for how most of the fandom does Durge's scars. The arms of the Y incision don't extend towards his shoulders and go underneath his pectorals instead. It's mostly because his organs have fuck all to do with the tadpole Kressa was studying so I headcanon those experiments to have been done purely for sexual gratification, not scientific at all. Which makes cracking open his ribcage feel like too much of a hassle to me, she can still get in there for a rummage through his stomach after all.

THE SMALL STOMACH AND CHEST SCARS are all stab wounds. I like to think they would've healed fully long ago, but Ezra subconsciously keeps that from happening because they're like mementos to him. It was... a religious/masochism thing between him and Helena. A tad messed up, but he liked her a lot okay.

THE THIGH SCARS are self inflicted. Some are cuts, some poor, frenzied attempts at flaying the skin off to maximise the pain. They start to fade and heal post tadpole because he forgot about the habit thanks to the orinbotomy, but he used to pretty much selfharm his emotions away. Sad? Pain. Affectionate? Pain. Guilty? Nothing some more pain can't fix! It started in his youth when selfharm was his only way to get some clarity of mind when the Urge started to muddy his thoughts and it escalated from there to using it for everything.

THE HAND SCAR is also of the self inflicted kind, but that one is really old. He was around 12 when he stabbed his hand out of fear that if he didn't use the knife he was given to hurt himself, he was going to cause harm to someone else. It was pretty soon after killing his foster parents so the panic was understandable, got him banned from the kitchen for years tho. The scar never faded completely because he was really weak and sickly as a kid due to not feeding the Urge, which messed with his healing abilities (amongst other things) making it stick.

THE HEART SCAR is an another old one. It's from the wound he was killed with when he transformed into the Slayer for the first time. It's symbolic and one of those scars that don't heal because he doesn't want them to. It marks the death of the person he was before Bhaal and serves as a reminder of that whole event. The paladin who killed him (a close friend and mentor actually so that's fun) ran him straight through with a sword so there's a matching scar on his back too.

Those have all pretty much always been there and the only change is the lore of the stab wound scars, though. I just felt like talking about them because I like giving those things A Story.

And since I'm already babbling, I also added some stuff!

He didn't use to have his nails painted post nautiloid, but I had the bright idea of Shadowheart seeing the remnants of chipped off nail polish and because of that offering to do them for him at some point. Probably not until act 3 when they finally reach civilization, but still!

I once mentioned in passing that he collects rings and never implemented that into his design, but here it is now! It's mostly a case of him feeling like he should wear a ring out of habit and ending up going a bit ham with it.

Old wedding band mark :) only sticks around for a bit post nautiloid and eventually disappears, but I still included it anyway for the angst. You understand.

One day I'll do a proper colour reference and decent art of his clothing to go with it, but this will do for now. I just love him so much, he can fit so much lore on him and it's driving me a bit crazy. My beloved hairy bastard man.

[wonderful-magician]

OK do you ship dinahboose and if you do I NEED YOUR THOUGHTS. ( I saw you where analyzing ceeb’s characterization sooo) if not just use this as a free space to ramble about something else idk 💀

it is 1:am but I am so desperate to ramble and I also will take any excuse to draw any ship I like ever which is almost too many so excuse me if I sound nonsensical

^^!!

OKAY I LOVE DINAHBOOSE obv I've been into this musical for a total of 2 weeks or so- so I'm still scrounging every bit of Information on these guys that I can. And I've done wayyy more research on CB than I have Dinah ( he has a lot more to look at though ) but these two just make sense to me. They just make sense. Opposites but not opposites. They are confusing and they are both confused. But at least they can hold hands while confused.

Personally I struggle to ever hate or dislike ships unless there's like a blindingly obvious reason to dislike a ship. But dinahboose is probably my second favorite ship so far for StEx ( Electraboose has 1st place and Krupp/purse has 3rd )

Totally not gonna use this to talk about my personal rewrite of StEx.. specifically C.B. because I don't want to make a post just for it LMAO.

So yeah I've been basically studying C.B. ( or, I guess caboose because he hasn't been called C.B in a long time... but C.B has more personality.. ) and my version of C.B. is probably a horrible amalgamation of OLC and 2015 Bochum. Because I love radio aesthetics and the Dinah friendship but I also love the toy soldier aesthetic and absolutely batshit laugh ( I also love it when C.B. is played by somebody too flexible for their own good ) hes just a glorified circus clown on wheels with a radio set strapped to his head.

And I wish I could pretend that I understand cutting him but I do and I don't and I do. Because I honestly feel like C.B in the original does more than Electra lmao. But I don't think cutting people is the solution most the time tbh.

Okay onto more half asleep rambling that is likely to change because I'm still in the early stages of this rewrite. But. I recognize that C.B. has some issues. The one most of my friends point out is that he seemingly has no motive. He just... Is silly I guess. And I think this is a bit funny because I do like an antagonist with the motive of " it would be funny " , but at the same time. Kind of hard to make that character very ...er... Well I'll just say it does get a bit boring.

Something I also heard was that in the reasons C.B. has been cut was because caboose's aren't exactly used anymore, which is totally fair!

But could also totally be a motivation! Think about it, why is C.B still working? Still working with the freight despite essentially being useless? Because greaseball wants to keep him around to use him for cheating. Easy! Obviously none of this could easily be translated to the show. But for some comics/writings? Yes. Yes.

Think about it. Rusty is struggling, he feels a bit useless because steam is falling behind! So he tries to win and prove himself. But who else feels useless because of their job being replaced? C.B. but unlike rusty, C.B takes the other path, instead of trying to be a role model and win or prove himself. He just goes down the path of crime. And hey, he's probably a crazy adrenaline junky too so he's still doing it for the fun!

And why does he betray greaseball? Plenty of reasons. C.B might dislike greaseball because of poor treatment, he might dislikes greaseball for his treatment of Dinah, he probably just wants to get the adrenaline high of betraying him in the first place. Maybe to prove that he's important and needed because if he doesn't help, greaseball will lose. And he wants to hold it over him for his own personal desire of self importance. Who knows. He's a complicated little clown he is.

Ok anyway yeah I'm like the #3 Dinahboose supporter I will draw them more hehbehehehee

[presidenthades]

Your Aegon seems to have quite hidden potential . We have seen how westerosi education system is quite lacking. Could u shed light on how Aegon can actually be unconventionally successful. He has this unconventional masculinity which doesn't fit with the traditional westerosi . He is a pretty boy , focuses more on art , is eldest son but not the heir or head of family and is a trophy husband.

Hello! I will combine this with your other Ask because they’re a bit similar thematically:

“Can u draw up a list describing the talents of the targbros and velargirls. They are quite a talented generation.”

I answered a similar Ask a few weeks ago about the kids’ hobbies. Most of my thoughts are still pretty similar, but I have a few details to add.

Starting from youngest to oldest so I can ramble about Aegon at the end:

Joff: Witchy stuff aside, she is a bit of a mad scientist. She likes experimenting (e.g. poisonous gas in Chapter 3 of the Handbook), and she has an in-world equivalent of a microscope which she loves using to study all sorts of natural matter. If she were allowed, she might enjoy forging some links at the Citadel (specifically bronze for astronomy, copper for history, silver for medicine, and especially Valyrian steel for higher mysteries).

Daeron: Social butterfly. Knows all his courtesies and is happy to use them. During his childhood he’s more of a follower (to his older siblings and Joff), but as he gets older, I can see him developing more individual interests; I haven’t yet figured out what they are exactly, but probably in the vein of jousting, hunting, falconry, poetry, and other courtly/knightly arts.

Luce: Playing lyre and dancing are her more “typical” courtly arts. We know she likes knitting, but she also enjoys other sorts of crafting, which is a nice bonding activity with Helaena. In the next chapter of Compromised, there’s a mention of Luce making a scrap quilt for Arrax to use in his dragon den. Also, she is very good at math and bookkeeping, which I hope to explore more in Compromised.

Aemond: We have his canon skills, i.e. studying and sword fighting. I’ve joked before that he’s the medieval equivalent of someone who goes to work, goes to the gym, goes to sleep, and that’s it. As for actual hobbies… Serious answer, strategy games like chess. Unserious answer, calligraphy 😂.

Jace: Like canon!Jace, she’s known for her diplomacy and tact. This is useful for anything from hosting parties to negotiating peace agreements. She laments in The Golds that she isn’t good at anything, just studying, but this is a soft skill that she underestimates in herself. She can also come up with very creative non-violent punishments, like forcing Daemon to attend girly tea parties for two weeks.

Aegon: We’ve seen him sing, play lute, draw, and go sleuthing in the city. He’s naturally talented at learning a variety of new skills, but he lacks patience to hone that talent—unless he can use Jace as inspiration ☺️. He can put on a convincing act when he needs to, so he would probably be a theater kid in another life. He is also able to come up with very creative punishments, but unlike Jace, he is more willing to use violence (see: Edwyn Pyle in Chapter 6 of The Golds).

Aegon has enough “traditionally masculine” traits that he isn’t ridiculed as being un-masculine. Also, in the medieval era, activities like music and poetry were considered suitable for noblemen, so those aren’t necessarily points against his masculinity. Henry VIII (who lived after the medieval era but close enough) was known to compose music, and he was regarded as manly.

Admittedly this is Westeros, not the real world, and Westeros tends to be a lot bloodier and more martial than real medieval Europe. People like Otto would prefer Aegon to channel his efforts into history, governance, sword-fighting, etc. instead of the arts—in other words, to be more like Aemond. Those would be the ideal qualities in an heir…but Aegon isn’t interested in being heir.

In the real world, queen consorts had lots of influence over court culture, charity work, and political appointments. They created jobs at court, sponsored orphanages and religious establishments, and could even intervene in the monarch’s decisions (e.g. request mercy for someone the king condemned to death).

Given the interests and talents he’s exhibited thus far, King Consort Aegon would encourage a proliferation of artists and musicians at court, and he’s definitely helping Jace host whatever diplomatic summits she needs to run. He runs around with smallfolk a lot, so he probably brings up social welfare issues at court. If Jace is hesitant to act viciously because she wants to cultivate her image of gentleness and mercy, Aegon can act as the iron fist on her behalf. He’s a Targaryen, so people expect fire and blood from him anyway 🤷🏻‍♀️.

I also joked in this Ask that because Aegon is so worried about Jace enduring childbirth again, he might inadvertently host the world’s first obstetrics conference just to make sure she gets the best care possible. So there’s that too.

[precious-little-scoundrel]

What got you into writing/how long have you been writing?

What’s your writing inspiration?

Do you write in silence or need background sounds? Like music?

Do you struggle more with dialogue or detail?

Any tips for someone who wants to write fanfiction?

How do you differ all your OC’s so you don’t rewrite the same characters over and over?

Do you do research?

— from someone who would love to write their own stories lol but yours are great!

My darling. So many apologies for how tardy I’ve been in replying to this, I really wanted to give it due thought because I’m quite touched you’d even ask.

1: I’ve been writing since I was little, my mama was always reading me classics and my greatest ambition was to be some kind of author every bit as colorful as their characters, a la Oscar Wilde. 🥳

2. Writing inspiration? Oh that’s a hard one only in that I could cite a million things and chat your poor ear off, but to be boring and also frank -I just love stories. I think they’re so inspiring and healing and necessary for making sense of things, or else resigning to things that can’t be explained. I love to study love and how very human and fallible and also indestructible it is in its many forms. I love to dig through tragedy and find the refining purpose of it, I love to take characters through hells I’ve been through so that I can imagine their triumphs, too, and my own through them. If this can happen to -name your hero- then I’m no smaller for it happening to me, if -name your hero- can get through it and be loved and admired by a whole fandom? -I deserve the same commendation from myself at the very least. Stories are essential and fun and I never ever imagined I’d have a little group one day liking my own where we could all scream about these things together. I’m legit so humbled each time I log on here and find y’all ready and waiting and interactive. The community of it, that’s the biggest drive right now, tbh. What a sweet season.

3. I usually write in silence, or else at any chance where I have a moment, so that could be public transport or lunch breaks or in the loo during family holidays, ha. However I do find music to be an inspiring mood setter for writing later that day. Especially as i juggle many ongoing projects at once, the genre im listening to before may very well influence what gets worked on.

4. Detail!! Dialogue can be challenging but I hear it so clearly in my head most of the time that it’s not hard. Details can devastate me.

5. Ooof, I still feel like I’m a baby at it, this is only my second fandom to dare for. I’d say for sure write what you find inspiring instead of what appears to be wanted, i firmly believe that’s the only sure way to keep up any inspiration and the niche will draw its own crowd, one’s who will like it all the better for its specially crafted world. Also, for dialogue -replay and replay dialogue from the character before you write. Are they terse or do they ramble? Are they sarcastic or earnest? Do they have a word they repeat often? -I noticed the other day how Rosenthal uses “you know?” often in the show. Also, sometimes switch up sentence structure from character to character, it helps feel like hopping brains without a fully jarring POV change. All these are things I’m currently working at myself, but that’s the best I’ve got for advice.

6. Oh boy I’m still figuring this out myself. Three things come to mind as little helps I use- first off, read real biographies, it helps tremendously with crafting fully dimensional fictional people. Two -have a maturing arc for your OC during the story, separate from whatever adventure or romance that occurs, this will make it feel less like a inserted person into the broader story. Three, choose a personality type or something similar to both keep them separate from the next but also to ensure their virtues have corresponding vices.

7. I do research a lot. But I find that it’s a fine line for myself of when that drains all creativity or bravery. Im massively indebted to so many mutuals who generously share their own with me.

[kjqhaujdffjryakhf]

dinosaurs are one of my biggest special interests. tf2 is probably getting close as well. i will now ramble endlessly about my thoughts, assigning those old men dinosaurs and you're all gonna listen. also, this is based like...99% off of the characters, not taking gameplay stuff into account. it probably makes less sense in that scenario

cut because this will get LONG

also excuse any blur or bad image quality, its the way the images are cropped lol click for better quality!

so, i COULD be boring and bland and predictable and say Scout would fit a Velociraptor...and im gonna. theyre small, agile, a middle ground between labrador levels of dumb and raven levels of smart. relies on others around him to succeed, and i think he deserves to be small and fluffy ^_^

Medic, i think, wouldnt be a dinosaur at all. instead, i see him as a pterosaur! more specifically, Quetzalcoatlus. absolutely massive, terrifying and unsettling to look at, probably more dangerous than it looks (and it looks dangerous). something about it just looks right for him

Pyro's choice is 50% for the name: a Pyroraptor. i also think its cute how striking the resemblance would be with Scout as a Velociraptor: pretty similar in size, build, matching silly levels!! theres also something about the "looks cute, seems cute, moves like a deadly predator, kills like something far worse" kinda deal going on here

Sniper is also technically not a dinosaur! Deinosuchus, an absolutely huge crocodilian, just felt. correct. while not very australian (i actually considered a Minmi for a while!), there is just no choice. big crocodile, patient hunter, strange and offputting. probably bites

Heavy, who i almost dubbed a Borealopelta, is SUCH good Therizinosaurus material. massive, terrifying weapons (im aware that recent study/s suggest their claws werent used for combat. i simply do not care ^_^), but absolute softies. Therizinosaurus was a strict herbivore (contrary to first thoughts after its discovery!), and i think the contrast in appearance vs behavior lines up kinda nice

no explanation needed. look at the image. need i say more. assigning anything besides a Pachycephalosaurus to Engie is just wrong. enjoys play fighting with Pyro and knocking them down (gently) a lot

pretty privilege: the animal. like Microraptor: not very big, probably annoying, weirdly ruthless. spilling anything on them would result in a very slow head turn that signals your incoming demise. has learned to take advantage of Engie's big ass head: he cant actually feel that thing. perfect place to crouch on without causing alarm

i struggled the most with Demo because nothing seemed like...obvious to me? i have very little to say abt this one, i picked Suchomimus based purely off of vibes. i imagined it and it made sense

Soldier has two options, one is funnier than the other. primarily, i'd see him as a Daspletosaurus! one of the smaller tyrannosaurs, still very big though (~8ft tall, ish?). alternatively, i can NOT get the idea of him as a Protoceratops out of my HEAD. small ("small" is relative here. think of like...a really large dog), probably barks for fun, loves digging holes, has every disease

if i could draw with a mild level of skill, i'd be drawing them all day. they mean everything to me. im imagining them so much and its doing wonders for my mind. (also, the scaling off the animals + mercs in these images are not accurate in the slightest, thats just how it turned out)

i'd talk about them for HOURS if i could

[kierancaz]

𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 (𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫/𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐬/𝐨) 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐: 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬

A/N: k so bc I couldn’t fit everything I wanted into my first one shot I decided I would make some headcanons of the same concept. You might have to go read part one for this

Warnings: mentions injury and burns, possible spelling and grammar mistakes,

Synopsis: after Legolas finds out about you and your dragon, these are some things I think would happen. (The Dragons name is Shernka in case you didn’t read part one)

༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻

❥ ok sooo after Legolas gets over the fact that you’ve been hiding a dragon inside Greenwoods boards he has questions

❥ for starters: how did you meet this dragon?

❥ you’d have to explain to him that you found her injured and decided to nurse her back to health

❥ and since she couldn’t fly on her own you started building saddles and new tail fins for her so that you could fly together (yah we’re going the toothless route with this shut up)

❥ it takes him a while before he and Shernka actually get along

❥ i don’t think that Legolas would ever be fully comfortable on dragon back. He much prefers to have his feet on the ground

❥ that is unless he’s flying with you.

❥ he trust you to know what you’re doing. Also he just likes being that close to you but shhhhhh

❥ after he really starts developing like a hard core crush Shernka knows IMMEDIATELY and becomes even more of a menace

❥ after a while you tell him that you want to leave Mirkwood to study dragons and because you know you can’t keep Shernka trapped in that clearing forever

❥ and by then Legolas is already totally whipped so he’s just like “ok so when are we leaving?”

❥ he just kinda dips with you and tells his dad like “yo I have another adventure I need to go on bubYEEEEE”

❥ he just escapes with you in the middle of the night

❥ he likes it when your flying together at night because not only is he close to you but he’s closer to the stars and what more could he want then that?

❥ studing dragons was a rough and most of the times you ended up with burns and cuts and occasionally broken bones

❥ Legolas low key becomes a mother hen

❥ he’s always chiding you about taking to many risks and how reckless you are and you’re just like “but it’s for SCIENCE” “AND SO THAT MAKES GETTING INJURED OK????” “……yes.”

❥ he wants to strangle you sometimes

❥ but he has to admit that he loves seeing this side of you, you were always so quiet and awkward so he loved seeing you when you were totally in your element talking about something that you loved

❥ most nights are spent with the two of you leaning against shernka, cuddled up with the fire barely going, it’s very peaceful most nights

❥ he likes to watch you draw sketches and take notes of the dragons you’re currently researching

❥ remember when I said Shernka becomes a menace after she figures out Legolas is in love with you??? Yah well she’s alway pushing you guys together.

❥ literally she’ll always use her head to shove him into you when you have your back turned to him

❥ or she’ll just walk around you two and force you closer together

❥ she loves being a jerk though also so sometimes she just uses her tail to trio Legolas so when he falls flat on his ass you can rush over and dote on him a bit

❥ see? She’s helping it’s all part of her master plan. She totally doesn’t just like being an asshole to Legolas because he took her bestie. That’s totally not the case guys why are you making that face ???

❥ anyway whenever you get hurt he’s always very gentle when he’s patching you up

❥ he gets a little nervous though because usually you’re doing something else while he’s patching you up like drawing or writing or just rambling and you’re practically like sitting in his lap

❥ i’m imagining a confession happing one day just because he’s so exasperated with your dragon loving antics and accidentally calls you “meleth nìn” instead of “mellon nìn”

❥ immediately after he’s just like “oh shit” and is trying to stutter out both an explaination and an apology at the same time. Shrenka is laughing in the background.

❥ he’s terrified because you’re not saying anything oh my god why aren’t you saying anything ????

❥ eventually he just offers to leave and he stands up but you stop him and you’re like “where do you think you’re going meleth nìn you need to finish patching up my arm.”

❥ give him a kiss afterwords you really stressed him out with that long ass silence

[tmntkiseki]

TMNT Art Diary 2: The Importance of Art Goals and Focusing Your Attention

Happy March, everyone! How are we doing? It's been almost a month and a half since my last turtle art diary, so I figured it was about time to type up yet another set of ramblings talking about my experiences learning how to draw the 2003 TMNT.

Before we get started, I feel it's worth mentioning that the future of this blog is kinda up in the air at this point? From the beginning, I've been against AI generated images because of the ethics involved and like many in the Tumblr art community, recent going-ons with the site have me concerned for where things might be headed. I'm not planning to jump ship just yet, but there is a pretty good chance that I'll be posting less and less original drawings here and start utilizing my newly created Pillowfort instead, as the staff has taken a very firm anti-AI stance to the point of completely banning both AI generated images and writing on the site (the official Tumblr post regarding their decision). If you're a fellow artist, TMNT or otherwise, they might be worth checking out as a potential alternative to Tumblr.

With that out of the way, let's begin!

Okay, so let's talk about something that applies to most anything when you're learning how to do art; the importance of art goals and taking things one step at a time. Whether you're a beginner artist or someone who already has years of experience under your belt, it's important to not only have goals in mind of what you want to learn, but also to try and not do everything all at once. There is a lot that goes into successfully drawing the turtles; their anatomy, applying their less human features like their shells and three-fingered hands, their expressions, their colors, etc. HOWEVER, if you're trying to learn to draw too many aspects of their designs all at once, you are going to become overwhelmed very fast and you will not see improvement as quickly, which inevitably results in frustration and loss of motivation. Ergo, you need to take things bit by bit, breaking down the turtles designs into bite-sized pieces and focusing on specific areas that you are having trouble on.

For instance, early on, I realized pretty quickly that one of the areas I was struggling in was the turtles heads; I love their shape, but damn are they hard to draw. Subsequently, there was a point where I was largely drawing turtle heads and ONLY turtle heads so I could learn what shapes went into them, what they looked like from different angles, etc. Within even a few days, I already saw massive improvements just because I wasn't trying to draw EVERYTHING all at once; just one very specific aspect of their designs. Compare the very first Donny I drew on the 5th of January to a quick doodle of Mikey I did a couple of weeks later on the 25th and you can see how much I learned in such a short timespan.

Speaking of shapes, you wanna know the biggest hack I've discovered for learning how to draw the 2003 turtles? Studying the Fast Forward art style. Yeah, you heard me.

At first glance, this seems kind of stupid. I'm pretty sure most people aiming to draw fanart of the 2003 turtles are planning to draw them in a similar style to the first five seasons, so it makes more sense to study screencaps and model sheets from those seasons rather than FF. However, the reason why Fast Forward is so useful for TMNT 2003 fanartists is because, at its core, Fast Forward is 2003's art style simplified. Anyone who has ever taken a professional art class or looked up tutorials online knows that basic shapes are incredibly important when drawing, as they are the building blocks of literally whatever illustration you're trying to make. Now, I absolutely love how detailed the designs from the first five seasons are, but because they are so detailed, a lot of the basic shapes do get lost under everything as a result, which can make it hard to figure out what actually goes into the turtles designs at a fundamental level.

Because the designs in Fast Forward are less detailed compared to what was seen in the first five seasons, many of the basic shapes that go into the turtles designs are much easier to spot. If you've been following me long enough, you know that I was absolutely LIVID to discover that one of the things I genuinely don't like about the Fast Forward style--the pentagon shaped heads--makes drawing the 03 turtle heads so much easier. To explain it in detail; a pentagon basically maps out the five "points" of a turtle's head. What these points represent can change depending on the angle from which you're drawing your chosen turtle, but if you're doing a turtle head from a front/three quarter view, the five points denotes the top of the head, the cheeks, and the chin. It requires some practice to get right, but by building off this initial pentagon shape, you can easily draw a turtle head in the style of the first five seasons. A hexagon works just as well and is especially useful if you're going for a rounder/softer head shape.

Beyond that, I think making to deliberate choice to draw in the Fast Forward style rather than the OG style is helpful for other reasons. When a turtle's head is only a pentagon, you don't have to worry as much about details and can focus on other areas you might be neglecting, such as figuring out the positioning of the eyes/mask, or developing the way you draw the turtles' expressions. (Seriously, the white pupil-less eyes are cool, but they do make conveying emotions a hassle, especially when the turtles are lacking for proper eyebrows.)

It's been about two months since I drew my very first 2003 turtle and while I'm still very far off from where I want to be, I've already made some leaps and bounds in terms of overall progress. I do sometimes feel annoying yelling about my turtle art learnings and struggles (especially when I know there is stuff that potentially comes off as Captain Obvious territory to others) but I personally find it helpful to write down everything I've learned and experienced in case I forget something and need to look back on it. And hey, maybe someone will see these disjointed ramblings as helpful. You never know.

Anyway, here's a lil Donny doodle from today to finish this entry off. See ya later!

[flowery-manipulations]

My self-pitying post

I do not know how to better name this post, but this seems most accurate. Because I understand that I made a wrong turn somewhere, and it led me here. My life isn't in shambles, but I feel like it is. So here's my sob story: I am not the victim, but someone who could've done better and can do better and just needs to let this out into the world somewhere. It may make someone feel better about themselves. Someone may relate. Someone may make fun of me. It is what it is. To summarise, I'm giving myself an ultimatum before I give up living: only go through with it if I cannot improve my life until my 21st birthday in August.

Just a heads up, thia is rambly and some parts dont relate to the main issue. I just let the words flow.

I was a bright child. I loved math and computers. I still do, in theory. My family immigrated to the UK when I was 9/10. I didn't speak any of the language. So, as it was expected, I didn't learn anything in my first year of school. The tutor the school gave me to learn English didn't help me at all and would get angry and yell at me when I didn't understand a word she was telling me- she showed no pictures and did not speak my native language, so I had no idea what word she wanted me to understand. The kids were no better. I did not understand it then, but they only spoke to me to bully or make fun of me. I don't know whether it was a blessing or a curse that I did not realise then. But I did understand when, on separate occasions, different boys tried to assault me when I went to the classroom to get something during breaks or at the park outside of school. And how the girls who bullied me would block my exit.

I had to fight past them to leave. Only one or two students at the school were genuinely kind- ironic for a Christian school. As such, in my perpetual loneliness, I spent the lessons drawing and my breaks reading in my native tongue. The only lessons that brought me joy were maths. I was ahead of the class due to my interest and my mother's tutoring at home. By the time they reached fractions, I had been memorising the Pythagoras theorem. Since math was going well, no one cared that I was failing Spanish (and in secondary, I was made to learn French, so that was a slight loss).

In secondary, I was in the top set for maths and the bottom set for everything else- but only for a short time. I had begun consuming English books, and my mum made me read them aloud to memorise the words. I remember one instance clearly when I had two copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in front of me- one in Polish and one in English- and I was going through them page by page to grasp the context. It's not the best learning method, but it's a core memory for me. In year eight, I moved up to second set; by year 9, I was top set in everything. I also made some real friends. I had 4 I could call my closest and many others that weren't as close, but I still enjoyed their company. Little did I know that only one would stick by my side all these years. Two dropped me in year 9 with no explanation, and one just stopped texting back after sixth form. I joined clubs, became a prefect, and had two job experiences by year 11. It was going great. For my GCSEs, I convinced my head of year to let me take computer science instead of French since the school wanted everyone to take a language. I also wanted to do Drama, but the choice was between Art and Drama, and my mum decided art would be more beneficial. Considering that the subject made me hate drawing for years, while my love for the performing arts persisted, I would disagree, and my mum eventually conceded that she should've let me study it after I kept buying tickets out of my allowance to watch plays on the West End.

I passed my GCSEs with flying colours. And my first A-level that year- Polish, having done the GCSE for it a year prior.

At A-levels, it all went downhill. I barely passed maths. I would blame COVID, but I would game through the online classes, so I am more to blame than a virus. I did alright in Physics and well in computer science and psychology. But that's when my tearful phone calls started after my exams. My mum would stress out after each call as I began going frantic and anxious over every exam answer. My best friend stuck with me through countless nervous breakdowns and anxiety attacks. I love her more than anything and hope I can pay her back for all she did and endured because of my frail emotional state. She was the only one who knew I was having thoughts of ending it all, the first to know I was bisexual and that I wanted to leave the church. I think she was the only thing keeping me alive, my closest confidant, my sister from another womb.

University started on a high note. We were still in quarantine, so there were only a few opportunities to make friends. I paid little attention to all the content of the lectures as I had covered it in A-Level. I did really well in the first year. It's too bad that it doesn't contribute to my grade. In my personal life, I was working out and building soft skills to help me develop myself.

Year two rolled in with languish or undiagnosed depression. I do not know; I can't afford a diagnosis and would have to wait years to get one through the NHS. I did some volunteering but stopped after an older man stalked me and kept harassing me while I was helping out at a science fair for children. Another volunteer noticed and helped me out, but after reporting the man to the venue, we found out he had done this before to other women and to forgive him because he is autistic. Which was no excuse, but I was too shaken to fight. That year, I failed one module and only passed another by a percentage, still calling my mum in tears after each exam. I stopped showering regularly. And barely brushed my teeth.

Now, here we are. Semester 1 of my third year came and went. I attended a few meetings for the societies I'm in. One module failed utterly, and waiting for the results of the other two (but I'm not hopeful). I am behind on my dissertation work (which is meant to include a technical aspect), barely taking care of myself, six hours away from my only friend, with no romance in sight and wanting to just disappear from the world. I still love computer science and math in theory but can't bring myself to study them. I can't drop out as I won't be able to afford to return to my studies. I hoping to scrape a 2:1 for my final grade, but that will require near-perfect grades this semester.

I do not know how to proceed. I won't drop out, but it all seems impossible. I don't know if I will end it all. I might, I might not. I will wait 6 months, though, until my 21st birthday. Maybe I'll figure something out. Perhaps I will be able to do the integrated masters my course includes. Maybe I will barely pass and have to get experience to do the master's and the PhD I so desire. I will let you know what will happen when the 19th of August rolls around. I will try to exist to the best of my ability.

After all, the last time I gave myself six months was when I was 15. And I'm still here.

[whipplewhippler]

Snivy x Sceptile Headcanons, pt. 3

Look here for context!

He grabs her attention— Snivy is always happy to indulge him, even in the wake of him avoiding her— and, stuffing down all his insecurity, he goes for it and spills his heart out to her. 

But Sceptile can barely even finish his nervous, heartfelt rambling, because Snivy’s already pressed a Vine Whip tendril to his mouth and given him a soft, knowing smile that just makes Sceptile melt. “It’s okay, Sceptile. I like you, too.” Is all she has to say. It’s all she has to say to make Sceptile’s eyes go wide, first in disbelief; then, he’s wiping them vigorously in an attempt to conceal his relieved, overjoyed tears. “That’s great,” He chuckles. “That’s-… that’s so great.”

In the days following the confession, Sceptile and Snivy are rarely ever apart.

Sceptile having his feelings reciprocated is an entirely new and very thrilling experience for him. Everything is so fluttery and warm and feel-y, and he even finds himself wondering why he hadn’t just spoken to Snivy sooner. Just seeing her in passing is enough to make him weak in the knees. 

Being in love is very new for Snivy, too. There’s a new sway in her stride, and her head’s held high— like, even more so than normal. She smiles way more often and is far more relaxed, too. 

The unfamiliarity of it all does make her nervous, but Sceptile’s there to be nervous right along with her. 

Being the reptilian grass-types that they are, their favorite pastime— besides battling— is simply curling up on a rock together and sunbathing. Professor Oak studies this behavior vehemently— though Sceptile can be a smidge protective of Snivy should Oak get too close. (Not that Snivy can’t handle herself, of course, but there’s something about Sceptile’s defensive behavior that makes her giddy. Rarely is someone so quick to protect her.)

They also develop a habit of taking a daily walk around the entire lab. Although they’ve both been around the bend nearly a thousand times, everything seems so fresh, and so novel, now that they’ve got each other. They’ll even venture beyond the lab, simply as an excuse to spend more time with each other farther from the chaos. (Snivy’s also not complaining about the boost in height that comes with sitting on Sceptile’s shoulder).

If Snivy isn’t perched comfortably atop his shoulder or head, though, chances are she’ll have a tendril extended from her collar to wrap around his wrist as they walk. The gesture, while subtle, makes Sceptile giddy every time. 

Although both Sceptile and Snivy can be proud, Sceptile is usually the one flaunting  Snivy to the rest of their friends. She likes to pretend it bugs her, but her chest always swells with pride whenever Sceptile brags about her. 

Eventually, it hits Sceptile that what he’d felt for Meganium was just infatuation. That what he feels for Snivy is beyond just a passing fondness— it’s love, through and through. That he really, truly does love her, and, Arceus-damnit, she loves him, too. He really would do anything for her.

Every night, when Sceptile retires to a comfy nook in a nearby tree, Snivy curled atop his belly, she always makes it a point to let him know how deep her love for him runs. He doesn’t really need to hear it, of course— he already knows how much she cares for him— but she insists she needs to get better at saying “I love you.” And each time she does, Sceptile gives her a silly, lovestruck grin and draws her in so she can instead cozy up to the crook of his neck. 

Sceptile still has a whole heap of insecurities when it comes to romance— Snivy, too, but the two of them want only to make each other better.

[hooniaddict]

Can’t remember if I ever posted it here or not, but I will now cuz I guess I just need to ramble and vent. I got this comment, sometime in November I believe (sometime after Christmas and before new years I think. Could be wrong). Anyways, thankfully it wasn’t my post it was a comment under someone else’s, I just replied to em and stuff and then got this comment. For context, the post was some instagram reel about artists getting cancelled for drawing minor characters, someone in the comments said they would prefer if it was a characters instead of real life ppl. Then someone else responded saying that they thought the same way until they read some article about a study done to see if pedophiles could be like, “treated” if they used realistic dolls or something (it was something similar to that from memory), but ultimately it was considered inconclusive. I ended up replying (and this was my mistake cuz I think we both just misunderstood each other), saying that it was false that you can be diagnosed as a pedophile just by drawings. Because, to my knowledge with what I’ve read, that’s true, you cannot be considered or diagnosed a pedophile over fictional characters (like, only over fictional characters, for example anime characters.) and when I kept trying to defend/inform (idk how else to word it), I got this reply.

This reply bothered me, like really really bothered me. I’m not really sure why, but it was to the point where I was shaky and couldn’t even open instagram without getting shaky and such intense anxiety. I ended up just blocking the person, cause I didn’t want to continue engaging with that person. I had really bad intrusive thoughts, couldn’t draw or even leave my room/bed without getting horrible anxiety. Cause I would think to myself, “am I a bad person? Would other people think I’m a disgusting horrible person for this? What if I accidentally harm someone close to me?” And just, other thoughts like that. Like that comment sent me spiraling, it seriously affected me. Thankfully, I had friends who supported me and my therapist is helping me through it. Even now I still kinda struggle, it’s not as crippling as before but I still get anxious over this, and I’ll be talking through it all with my therapist lol. I guess I just, wanted to get it all out and vent about this. So sorry if this is just, a rambling mess this wasn’t really meant to be anything else than a vent post. But this is what made me want to seek out proship communities, kinda find solidarity I guess? A nice community where I don’t have to worry about getting harassed or anything.