#just tweaking and editing it and not ever feeling like it was the... right time to post it. So i guess i'll just do it now.

[kowtownart]

Hey everyone.

This isn't something I ever expected to have to talk about, much less even think about, but things are getting to the point where I felt like I needed to make this post.

Without getting into too much detail, a couple of months ago my Dad was diagnosed with Stage 4 stomach cancer. When we found out it was sudden and with no real warning beforehand aside from his health declining so suddenly that he had to go to the hospital, where he received his diagnosis.

With only myself and my brother working right now, money has only been getting tighter. The groceries have been getting more expensive and the bills are starting to pile up and eat away at my savings. I… really don't even want to think about the medical bills for his chemo treatments, when they finally start rolling in.

His diabetes has also caused a lot of issues to crop up during this, with his blood-sugar constantly having severe drops out of nowhere and staying low even with him eating and drinking to combat it. We've had to re-home most of our pets as well. Needless to say, this has all been very hard on my family.

Any help at all would be really appreciated. If you're unable to/don't want to donate, please reblog this and spread it around, it would mean the world to me. Thank you so very much for reading if you've made it this far, i appreciate you all so much and i hope you're having a good day.

-Lee

Redbubble _______________________________________ Teepublic

(Ps: I'm going to try my best to keep drawing and posting things here, drawing is one of the few ways i've been trying to cope with all of this, when i can get the motivation to draw at least. Requests are open still, but i'm not sure when i'll be able to get to them, if at all, i'm really sorry.)

#i don't really know how to make a post like this honestly. #So i'm sorry if it's worded weird or something #ko-fi #please help #please reblog #emergency donations #redbubble #Teepublic #I've had this in my drafts for a few months now #just tweaking and editing it and not ever feeling like it was the... right time to post it. So i guess i'll just do it now. #queued post

[jonnywaistcoat]

Hey, Horrormaster Sims. I have a wildly different question that barely relates to TMA (Sorry about that) but its about your own process. Please, if you could, can you tell me how your first drafts made you feel? I'm on the fence about writing my own thing (not a podcast, and again, not Magnus related, though I have a million little aus for that delightful tragedy you wrote, thank you for that!) But I'm discouraged by the collective notion that first drafts are always terrible, because there's no ... examples I can solidly use to help the dumb anxiety beast in my brain that tells me everyone who is in any way popular popped out a golden turd and not, well, you know. One of my friends said 'Oh I bet Jonathan Sims's first draft was nothing like what he wanted' and I got the bright idea to just. Send you an ask, since you're trapped on this hellsite like I am. Anyway, thanks for reading this (if you do) and if you'd rather ask it privately, I am cool with that. Alternatively, you're a hella busy man with Protocol (you and Alex are making me rabid, i hope you know) and you can just ignore this! Cheers, man, and good words.

To my mind all writing advice, especially stuff that's dispensed as truisms (like "first drafts are always garbage") are only useful inasmuch as such advice prompts you to pay attention to how you write best: what helps your workflow, what inspires you, what keeps you going through the rough bits. There are as many different ways to write (and write well) as there are people who write and so always consider this sort of thing a jumping off point to try out or keep in mind as you gradually figure out your own ways of writing.

On first drafts specifically, I think the wisdom "all first drafts are bad" is a bit of unhelpful oversimplification of the fact that, deadlines notwithstanding, no piece of writing goes out until you decide its ready, so don't get too hung up on your first draft of a thing, because a lot of writers find it much easier to edit a complete work than to try and redraft as they go. It's also important to not let perfectionism or the fact your initial draft isn't coming out exactly how you want stop you from actually finishing the thing, as it's always better to have something decent and done than to have something perfect and abandoned.

But the idea of a "first draft" is also kind of a fluid one. The "first draft" you submit to someone who's commissioned you will probably be one you've already done a bunch of tweaks and edits to, as opposed to the "first draft" you pump out in a frenzy in an over-caffeinated weekend. For my part, my first drafts tend to end up a bit more polished than most, because I'm in the habit of reading my sentences out loud as I write them (a habit picked up from years of audio writing) so I'll often write and re-write a particular sentence or paragraph a few times to get the rhythm right before moving to the next one. This means my first drafts tend to take longer, but are a bit less messy. I'm also a big-time planner and pretty good at sticking to the structures I lay out so, again, tend to front load a lot of stuff so I get a better but slower first draft.

At the end of the day, though, the important thing is to get in your head about it in a good way (How do I write best? what helps me make writing I enjoy and value? What keeps me motivated?) and not in a bad way (What if it's not good enough? What if everyone hates it? What if it doesn't make sense?) so that you actually get it done.

As for how my first drafts made me feel? Terrible, every one of 'em No idea if that's reflective of their quality, though, tbh - I hate reading my own writing until I've had a chance to forget it's mine (I can only ever see the flaws). I suppose there's theoretically a none-zero chance they were pure fragments of True Art and creative perfection, but Alex's editing notes make that seem unlikely.

#writing advice #rambling #first drafts #gotta say not mad on being called a horrormaster #feel like ive a ways to go yet #horror journeyman maybe

[heeliopheelia]

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐒/𝐎 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐒 𝐀𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐏 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌

genre: fluff, established relationship

word count: 1.9k

a/n: guys it's 2am but i finally finished editing this... whatever that is. it's been a while since i posted this type of a fic so i hope you like it just as much as the previous ones!! 🤍

masterlist

LEE HEESEUNG

"I'll be right back, baby. Just give me ten minutes, okay?"

These were the words your boyfriend said to you twenty minutes ago as you patiently sat on the wooden bench in the empty locker room. His basketball team just won their first game of the season and now you wait for him to finally finish showering, so that the two of you can go back to his place and catch up on the much needed sleep. Much needed as he's the one who has deprived the both of you of it last night when he made you watch him practice nearly until morning.

So it's no surprise that as another minute goes by, you find your eyes growing heavy. Leaning your head back on the cool locker, you start dozing off when familiar footsteps finally approach your tired figure.

"Aww, sorry I kept you waiting, baby. I'm ready to go now, though," he says softly as his hand goes to swipe some hair away from your face. He grins as you blink slowly at him before slinging his bag over his shoulder and kneeling down in front of you. You don't have enough strength to question his behavior when he turns around and wiggles his fingers at you and looks over his shoulder. "C'mon, hop on. I'll carry you."

You manage to somehow climb onto his back and when your hands wrap around his neck securely, he hooks his arms under your thighs and lifts the both of you off the ground.

"Up you go," he grunts quietly, adjusting you in his arms before making his way out of the locker room. "Let's finally get my sleepy baby home, shall we?"

PARK JAY

Throwing his bag on the ground, Jay tosses the keys to the cupboard and feels his shoulders relaxing at the thought of seeing you after such a long day. Even though it's late at night, he knows you'll be stubbornly waiting for him like you always do, so instead of heading to the bedroom, he directs his steps to the living room.

And he was right – there you are, slumped over the arm rest of the couch, mouth slightly ajar because of the palm you're holding up your face with.

Jay snorts quietly, mind running back to all the times you've denied the possibility of ever falling asleep while waiting for your beloved boyfriend to come back home. He takes a mental note to remember that and tease you in the morning.

With a sigh, he crouches down in front of the couch and reaches his hand out to brush your cheek gently. The feeling of his cool fingers against your skin almost instantly wakes you up and you jerk underneath his touch, eyes blinking rapidly to adjust to the dim lighting. When your eyes meet Jay's, you straighten your back and send him a guilty smile as if you've been caught committing a crime.

"Oh, you're back," you mutter tiredly, letting his fingers run over your eyes to wipe the sleep away from them. "I was so not sleeping, you're just tweaking."

Jay chuckles before standing up and pressing his lips to your forehead. You wrap your arms around his neck and close your eyes back again, feeling content now that he's finally back. Sighing, you softly kiss the crook of his neck before nuzzling your face into it.

Jay's hand is caressing your hair gently. "Let's get you to bed now, hm?"

SIM JAKE

"Well, aren't you just cute?" Jake huffs under his nose as the first thing he comes across of is you laying on the couch, face buried in one of the green cushions you bought on your last Ikea trip. He giggles quietly, heart feeling full as he looks at you with such lovesick eyes, you'd definitely be left blushing if you ever caught him like this.

He decides on not waking you up, realizing how tired you must've been if you actually fell asleep while waiting on him. So instead, he slips underneath the blanket right next to you. He turns to his side so that you're laying face to face and he smiles at the way your lips are slightly pouted. He leans forward and presses his forehead to yours, draping an arm around your waist as you subconsciously curl up to his body, seeking for his warmth even in your sleep.

Jake softly presses his lips right above your eyebrow when your eyelids slowly flutter open. You look at him with your foggy eyes before wrapping your arm around his neck and wordlessly pulling him even closer to yourself. You bury your face in his chest instead of the cushion now and slowly start dozing off again when his hand sneaks underneath your sweater and caresses your side gently.

"I'm glad you're home," you mumble into his skin, nudging his neck with your nose before leaving a butterfly kiss on the same exact spot. "Been waiting for you."

Jake feels his stomach tickle funny at your sleepy affection and he buries his smile in your hair. "Yeah, I know. You can go to sleep now. I'm not going anywhere."

PARK SUNGHOON

"How many times do I have to tell you not to wait for me this late, you idiot," Sunghoon scolds you as he adjusts your half-asleep body in his arms and carries on up the stairs.

You mumble an incoherent answer with mouth muffled by the warm skin of his neck. You hold him tighly, arms slung around his shoulders as you hang onto him like a baby monkey. Sunghoon has to bite his lip to prevent himself from snickering right then and there.

"What was that?" He asks, leaning his face a little closer to hear you better.

"You're so warm. Makes me even more sleepy."

Sunghoon can't help the chuckle that leaves his mouth anymore and he opens the door to your bedroom with his foot. He carries you straight to bed and places you on the soft mattress, only to quickly change into a pair of sweatpants and slip underneath the covers right next to you.

Your body moves almost automatically as you shift closely to your boyfriend and cling onto him once your arms make contact with his skin. You shuffle and twist in your place, somehow unable to find a comfortable position, because no matter how close you get to him – it's just simply not close enough tonight.

So you climb on top of his body and use him as a mattress instead, burying your face in the crook of his shoulder.

"I wanna get inside your skin. Lemme," you mumble tiredly and feel his chest vibrate with laughter.

His hand makes its way to your hair. "Some of the things you say when you're sleepy are quite concerning, sweetheart."

KIM SUNOO

Sunoo is greeted by the view of you and Riki chilling on the couch in their dorm. More precisely – Riki playing some videogame on playstation and you sprawled out by his side, the white controller laying on the carpet below you as you sleep soundly.

"What time did she get here?" Sunoo asks as he drops his training bag somwehere on the floor and approaches the two of you. He crouches down in front of you and picks up the long forgotten controller.

"Two hours ago maybe," Riki responds, eyes glued to the TV screen. "She wanted to wait for you but she fell asleep like half an hour ago. Made me lose my damn game."

The older one only sends him a glare paired with a scoff before turning his attention back to you.

"Y/N, wake up."

You peak one of your eyes open as another tap lands on your shoulder. When the first thing your met with is your boyfriend's pretty face, a smile spreads on your slightly chapped lips and you lift yourself up in your seat.

"You're back," you croak out, rubbing your eyes quickly before nuzzling your face in his chest. "Sorry for dropping by without giving you a warning. Jus' thought you'd be home."

Sunoo presses his lips to the crown of your head. "Don't apologize for things like that. You know I always like having you around."

You nod slowly, reaching your hands up until they're circling his neck. Turning your head to the side, you place a small kiss to the side of his jawline. "Can we go cuddle now?"

"How can I say no when you're this cute, huh?"

YANG JUNGWON

Jungwon tries, he really tries to be quiet. It's really not his fault that his clumsy nature made him bump his hip into the cupboard and cause the keys to topple down to the ground with a clank that probably could wake up a hundred year old half-deaf granny.

You open your eyes and lift yourself from the table you've been laying on top of, startled, head spinning from the sudden movement.

"Shit, I'm so sorry, angel. I didn't mean to wake you up," Jungwon apologizes as he rushes over to you from the other side of the kitchen.

You watch as he crosses the space quickly and plops down on the chair next to you, then wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you to his lap instead.

"No, it's okay," you say quietly as you clear your throat, lifting your head up to smile at him softly. "Was waiting for you anyways. I made you dinner. Just kinda fell asleep after cooking."

Jungwon giggles at the dissatisfied scrunch of your nose. He leans down to press a small kiss to the tip of it.

"Thanks for waiting for me, baby. And for cooking for me. That's really sweet of you, you didn't have to," he mutters, lowering his tone to match yours as he rubs your noses together. "Well, now that I'm finally here, how about I try some of it, huh?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea I suppose." You smile at him and bring your hand up to stroke the short hair at the back of his head. "Can we stay here a little longer, though? I missed you today. Wanna cuddle you."

He chuckles warmly at your words before leaning down and laying a kiss on your forehead. "Of course. We've got all the time in the world, angel."

NISHIMURA RIKI

"Baby?"

Silence.

"Baby."

Still nothing. The only thing Riki can hear is your slowed down breathing, slightly muffled by the fuzzy blanket you've pulled right above your nose.

"Y/N."

Now that finally wakes you up and you blink your eyes to adjust to the dim lighting of your living room. You lift your gaze to look at Riki standing in front of the couch you're laying on, a small smile playing on his lips.

"There you are," he huffs, slightly amused. "C'mon, let's get you to bed."

A grunt leaves your throat as you bury yourself even further into the back rest of the couch. You open your arms and lift the blanket a little as an invitation.

"C'mere. 'm too comfy to leave," you mumble groggily, barely managing to keep your eyes open.

With one more pleading look of your foggy eyes, Riki sighs and shakes his head at your stubborness.

"Tsch, fine." He clicks his tongue before standing up and laying down on the tight space right next to you. You don't waste a single second and wrap all of your limbs around his tall body, snuggling up to him with a content sigh.

"Perfect," you whisper as you press your face into his warmth and fall back asleep the moment that his arms wrap around your waist and pull you closer to his chest.

permanent taglist @bambisgirl @arizejkt19 @luvmura @milisabunny @cathy-1997 @satoruskitchenrag @ramenoil @jenjnk @jaylaxies @yoongspi @nichoswag @s00buwu @dazzlingligth

© heeliopheelia 2023 // ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DO NOT copy, translate or repost any of my works on any other social platforms.

#enhypen x reader #enhypen #enhypen imagines #enhypen fluff #heeseung x reader #jake x reader #park jay x reader #jay x reader #kim sunoo x reader #sunoo x reader #park sunghoon x reader #sunghoon x reader #lee heeseung x reader #sim jake x reader #yang jungwon x reader #jungwon x reader #enhypen niki x reader #niki x reader

[fallout-lou-begas]

Not sure if you’ve been asked this before, but what are your favorite/essential mods for new vegas? I’ve only ever played it unmodded so I’m curious

Good question! I definitely have answered this before, but that was so many years ago. It's only now that I've taken the opportunity to overhaul and modernize my own mod set-up that I've been figuring out the answer to this question myself. But I can definitely talk you through the most important parts of my new load order.

First, however, every single person modding this game in this day and age absolutely needs to start with the Viva New Vegas modding guide, and follow every step to the letter. The recommendations are air-tight and the instructions are written and presented as if you, the reader, have never even seen so much as a computer before. It's amazing. The "Base" of VNV contains nothing but bugfixes, lightweight unofficial patches, performance optimizations, and other under-the-hood stuff designed to remedy FNV's infamous stability issues while maintaining a completely "vanilla" feel. This makes it absolutely necessary, in my opinion, even for people who don't actually want to play with any (other) mods. Especially crucial to this guide is its mandate to use Mod Organizer 2; if you're using Nexus Mod Manager, Vortex, or Fallout Mod Manager any time since Biden got elected, you are shooting yourself in the foot plain and simple. The best endorsement that I can give of Mod Organizer 2 is that it mods you game completely virtually, meaning that if you fuck your mods up beyond repair, you can just go to your actual FNV launcher in your root folder and boot up the vanilla game like nothing ever happened.

And the "Extended" section of Viva New Vegas consists of more modding tools, quality of life tweaks, content restorations, and a curated list of strongly recommended gameplay modifications that nevertheless all come down to your personal preference (though deviating from their provided list may make you use your brain a little bit when choosing the right compatibility patches, and so on).

This isn't going to cover every single thing that I play with, but here's everything that I would think to suggest to anybody who asked. With that said, here's Fallout "Lou" Begas's Mod Recommendations, 2024 Edition:

Viva New Vegas Extended: Lou's Preferences

VNV Extended recommends several gameplay modifications that come down to personal preference. I installed just about all of them, with a few exceptions (I don't care at all for B42 Optics, for example). Here's some specific details:

Just Assorted Mods has a hell of a lot of features but I actually enable are breath-holding, the vanilla sprint, and the loot menu (though I flip-flop often on using JAM's Bullet Time in place of V.A.T.S.). If you install VNV and boot up the game and wonder "what is all this fucking shit on my HUD," it's probably some of Just Assorted Mods's components. Just disable the ones you don't want in the in-game Mod Configuration Menu, which you will also have available if you followed the instructions for VNV Base.

Vigor is a modernized fork of JSawyer, the mod that was originally created by FNV's own director after the game's release that tweaked a lot of under-the-hood game settings and statistical balance to his personal preferences. JSawyer Ultimate Edition a more faithful modernization of the original JSawyer whereas Vigor is "a more lightweight alternative" that dials back some of the more drastic features of JSUE. Your choice of these, or none of them, is purely personal preference, and my preference is for Vigor. Any form of JSawyer is strongly recommended if you play in Hardcore Mode.

Simple Vigor Config is used in conjuncton with Vigor and is an intuitive and easy way to overwrite Vigor's gamesetting changes with your own preference. I use the config to adjust carry weight to a much more punishing (25 + 5*STR) formula that incentivizes the use of backpacks, mindful inventory management, and companion inventory space; and to increase the starvation, thirst, and sleep Hardcore Mode rates to 10, 5, and 14 respectively.

Desert Natural Weathers is the weather mod to end all weather mods, in my view, and it includes configuration for customizing the darkness and visibility of nighttime. This effectively obsoletes former dinosaurs like Darker Nights Ultimate Edition. Refer to the post that I made on DNUE's Nexus page here for a copy of my settings to darken those dang nights with DNW.

In AIStewie's Tweaks's nvse_stewie_tweaks.ini file, I set bCustomSpecialPoints = 1 and iNumPointsToAllocate = 35. This slightly reduced starting stat spread forces you to make tradeoffs in your character creation, because it starts with a perfect middle 5 in every stat. Every addition above average will require a subtraction below average. The "Essentials" INI included with VNV Base is all that most players will ever need, so this is my one specific personal tweak that'll keep you from scrolling through every single option in the whole damn thing (though I also recommend enabling the tweaks that hide all of your skill check tags in dialogue for more immersive and less gamified roleplaying in conversation: set bNoSkillTags, bRemoveFailedSuccessText, bRemoveRedOutline, and iRemoveTags to all = 1. )

Lou's Personally Valuable or Sentimental Tweaks and Fixes

Better Pause Menu Screen (Simple Blur). I play with an ultrawide resolution and the vanilla pause menu filter doesn't actually extend past 1920x1080. So this is really vital, lol.

Vanilla Animations Weapon Scale Fix. This mod will fix a common issue with custom weapons and animation mods where your weapon will become invisible because its scale has gotten stuck at 0.

Companion Carry Weight Fix. All companions in the game have an invisible attribute called "companion suite" that, among other things, halves their carrying capacity based on their actual stats. If you play with a super low carry weight formula like I do, you can see how this is a problem. Here's the solution.

Miscellaneous Tweaks Collection includes a few files that I get great use out of: No DLC Recipes Early (great unless you integrate DLC crafting ingredients into your base game somehow) and Vendors Have Throwables (why the fuck are throwing weapons so hard to find in vanilla!). There are others that I use as well but I recommend these two the most generally.

Lucky 38 Suite Upgrade Terminal Tweak is a very cute little mod that removes the ugly wall-mounted terminal and makes you purchase your suite upgrades from the actual computer on the desk in the master bedroom instead.

I Fought the Law - Simple NCR Start finally gives you a good reason to check out NCRCF if you're not siding with the Powder Gangers.

Hire Cass Early was my "dream mod" for the longest time, and thanks to some help, it's finally a reality. Simply pick up the letter that this mod adds to the Mojave Express office in Primm and you can recruit Cass right away (through the usual persuasive requirements) without ever stepping off the road from Goodsprings to the Mojave Outpost. Part of my ongoing "make @ikroah real" project.

Harder Strip Access. Getting into Vegas to finally confront Benny should feel like a tremendous accomplishment. This mod makes it so. Better pony up the caps or call in one hell of a favor, kid! With any kind of tougher economy mods, especially, this mod makes it wonderfully Herculean to just buy your way onto the Strip.

Balance Tweaks

Pseudo-Realistic Carry Weight - No Weightless Item Overhaul and Realistic Bottle Cap Weight. The former is actually an optional file; the main file just implements the the carry weight formula that I was coincidentally already using. The latter just forces you to think strategically about how much money you're walking around with. Can you tell that I love inventory management? Note that if you give bottlecaps weight, you should definitely let yourself drop them when necessary by editing Stewie's Tweaks (bShowCurrencyInContainers = 1).

Carry Weight Affects Speed, Med-Tek Trauma Kit (Lou's Version), and More Conditions to Fast Travel. The first appearance of my own mods on this list! These three mods in conjunction tie your encumbrance and your overall health to your mobility far more strictly. I love the balancing act of packing enough supplies for an excursion while leaving enough room for loot that I can still fast travel with, and the choice to get greedy with more loot than I can comfortably carry and just hope to not run into danger on my slow walk back toward a merchant. My tweaks to the classic Med-Tek Trauma Kit mod apply this level of emergent gameplay and resource management to your limb health, though it makes the game much more difficult unless your character specializes in Medicine. I haven't tried it myself, but Simple Healing System is fully configurable, modern mod that I've had my eyes on and that might be better for most general playstyles, and it might even be compatible in conjunction with my Med-Tek mod for extra intensity!

Better Charisma (Charisma Affects Dialogue Skill Checks) and/or Charisma Affects Reputation. I've always been very frustrated with how much of a meaningless dump stat Charisma is, and the phenomenon of the 1 CHA 100 Speech player character in general. These two mods, which you can use just one of or both together, give Charisma much more meaningful and palpable functionality.

Terrifying Presence (Lou's Version), speaking of Charisma, changes the requirement for this perk from Level 6 and 70 Speech to Level 2 and 6 CHA, making it much more accessible to more types of intimidating characters. This same mod includes alternate options to take it as a trait instead, with the drawback(s) of either tanking your Speech and Barter and/or increasing your addiction chance. See also: Less Snarky Terrifying Presence.

New Vegas Karma Rebalance is a great under-the-hood mod that makes FNV's nearly vestigial karma system less nonsensical without removing it or its effects on the player entirely. Thanks to this and Mass Ownership Tweaks, which is already included in VNV Extended's recommendation of Essential Vanilla Enhancements Merged, Cass won't hate your guts just for stealing a few things from Caesar's Legion at Cottonwood Cove, especially not after you've already killed them all.

Damage Multiplier solves the sluggish damage sponge problem that plagues Bethesda engine combat by simply multiplying all damage dealt globally, both by and to the player, by a factor of your choosing. I use 2.5x, which is usually enough to kill any level-appropriate human being with a single shot to the head. 2x should be the minimum. Combine with Combat Enhancer NVSE and NPCs Use Ammo for overall faster but much more ferocious and intense combat engagements.

Visuals and Animations

Third Person Camera Overhaul. Though I'm still getting used to its extremely specific configuration settings, this is vital for a third-person enjoyer like myself. It obsoletes any and all "dynamic camera" or "shoulder swap" mods of the past. Once you figure out how it works and what you like, you're set for life.

Realistic Movement and Dramatic Inertia. Although a little goofy, it has never felt better for me to physically move around in the game than it has before. I like the weight and get-up-and-go that this mod has for me as a player, but it's especially significant in firefights and other combat situations where, now, your targets can't dodge bullets by shifting direction instantly or stopping and turning on perfect dimes. For a single, less heavyweight alternative, try 360 Movement and Diagonal Movement together instead. Each pair of these mods is incompatible with the other pair, however.

B42 Loot, B42 Interact, and B42 Inject. I recommend a lot of the B42 family of animation overhauls in general (except B42 Optics, lol) because I just love seeing my character actually do the things they're doing. For B42 Loot, I use the included config file to disable the "force pull" effect, and for B42 Interact, there exists compatibility patches between it and its more third-person oriented counterpart Animated Ingestibles, but I'd only look into that if you know what you're doing (though, I do).

Character Kit Remake is a mod that I was turned onto recently. For a long time I have scoffed at character appearance overhauls out of nostalgia for those classic gamebryo engine potato-faces and what I thought was, to be blunt, the tasteless ineptitude of the actual overhauling. But I do really like this one, even if the showcase of screenshots do a really bad job of selling it. It looks a lot better in motion and in game, I promise. i think that these people are just not good digital photographers.

Height Randomizer. It's funny how much you can get attached to a minor character when they are, for whatever reason, especially tall or short. This lightweight mod just adds some height variance to all NPCs in the game that don't already have a non-normal 1.00 height setting in vanilla.

The Strip Groove. Dance on command. Endorsed.

Items, Economy, Crafting, Survival, Repair, Etc.

Gloves Galore (Lou's Version), Power Armor Gloves, Combat Armor Gloves, and White Glove Society Wear Gloves. Anyone who has followed me long enough on here should know that I have strong, totally normal feelings about gloves.

Armed to the Teeth Redux and literally any backpack mod. I've used this duffel bag forever, for example. I love these ones because I personally love when you can physically, literally see the things that a character is supposed to be carrying.

Flashlight NVSE. Another piece of Agnes Sands's arsenal, this is the one "old" mod that I can't quit. Even if it is a little janky, I've yet to find a better directional flashlight mod. Only install this is you think you can handle wrestling with it a little, and make sure your "Exterior" flashlight settings are all on the lowest quality regardless of computer specs (or else it causes flickering). It's a must-have for darker nights, too.

Famine is the last "loot scarcity" mod you'll ever need. Combine it with Harder, Barter, Faster, Stronger from the VNV Extended recommendations list for a really tough time affording even basic necessities without tailoring your build for mercantile success... which is just how I like it.

Cheaper Repair Costs. The vanilla formula for determining the cost of weapon and armor repairs at merchants is, in a word, fucked, where it literally costs twice the weapon's base value to repair it from broken. This mod lets you adjust that proportion so that you won't be better off literally selling and buying another gun in every single case. I play with a rate of 67% (which means that paying a merchant to repair a completely broken weapon from 0% health to 100% health will cost 67% of the weapon's base value).

Alternative Repairing does too much cool, practical shit to the base repairing system to even get into here. To keep it short, it intuitively incentivizes actually scrounging for all kinds of formerly useless junk that you can now scrap for spare parts. Check it out.

Water Overhaul. Ever play with a Universal Water Bottling mod and find things suddenly far too easy? Water Overhaul combines all the convenience and sense-making of bottling water anywhere with the much-needed tradeoff of truly purified water being much rarer. All that convenient H2O is now just radioactive enough to keep Goodsprings Source from singlehandedly breaking the survival economy of the game (not to mention the literal economy).

Cowboy Coffee and Coffee Grounds, my own mod that adds brewable coffee to the wasteland. While mostly just created because it's cute, it's really nice to have a reliable and palpable source of sleep deprivation relief when playing in Hardcore Mode.

Gun Oil From Animal Fat, another mod of mine that provides a cheaper, craftable, and less demanding but less effective repair option to complement Weapon Repair Kits. I patched this one recently to fix some old issues, and it's great for incentivizing emergent gameplay (since you need to hunt for meat, and cook the meat for fat, and combine the fat with loot to make the gun oil).

Sound

Less Constant Music and Passive Combat Music Tweaked do exactly what they say on the tin and are perfect for people who like to get immersed in the natural sound of their environment, especially if you're a chronically stealthy player like me and you've trained yourself to constantly listen for enemy footsteps. I do recommend keeping Less Constant Music disabled when you first start a game, though, because until I can figure out how to add an exception to it myself, it will remove the background music from character creation at Doc Mitchell's house more often than not, and I really like that music.

SPEAKING of Doc Mitchell's music, Try Not To Get Killed Anymore is one of the first mods I ever made and it has never left my load order. It simply replaces the musical sting that plays when you die with an emphatic, tolling bell and the refrain from Doc Mitchell's theme, plus an optional version that includes his ghostly voice telling you to try not to get killed anymore. Two of my other personal sound replacers are the Mysterious Stranger Level-up Theme, Simple Snap Sound Effects for Quest Updates, and Mechanical Camera VATS.

#fallout #fallout new vegas #fnv #mods

[coral-melon]

Heya!! CM! (Get it your user!)

Its 🍓 again :3

Would you be able to write imagine/hc thingys how they would react to seeing your human form for the first time when you go to the human world with them! Im thinking along the flustered fluff/ possibility suggestive thoughts about mc =^=

Any of the brothers/dateables u want! But if your looking for specific just mammon & levi as personal preference :3

(AFAB preferred but No description of gender js cool too :3 )

Aghhh sorry this is worded so weird I’m not the best leaving suggestions i feel too askyy ;^;

Your writing is lovely and i can’t wait to see more!!

- 🍓

Hello again -🍓! Love the ‘CM’ nickname! And by all means, ask whatever you want and however much you want! I’ll always make the time to write any requests~

Also sorry for taking so long; I really wasn’t too sure how to write this, and I’m sorry but I kinda tweaked it and lil bit.. ^^’ I was going to make everyone but I ended up only doing Mammon cuz I thought it would’ve been a very long post. BUT! I can most definitely make separate posts for each of the brothers if that’s something you and others want!

A and as always, if it sucks just lemme know! Constructive criticism is always welcome >;)

Cotton Surprise

Obey me! Mammon x Sheep!MC

Genre: Fluff, crack/shenanigans, slightly suggestive

What’s it about?: Seeing your human form for the first time!

Not that many but They/them pronounce; mainly AFAB

A throwback to Lesson 19 from the original game but tweaked it as well

Edit: ((There were minor changes cuz someone made a comment that pointed out to me how maybe some people didn’t understand what I was telling. Totally my fault ^^’🙏))

None of them ever understood why you turned into a sheep. It happened as soon as you first arrived to Devildom. But the more time they spent with you, they got used to it — some even forgetting you’re a human all together.

One day, most of the Brothers were sitting together in the living room. It was mostly quiet until Asmo brought the question: “Hey, What do you guys think MC looks like if they weren’t a sheep?”

It left them a bit dumbfounded that they hadn’t even thought about it. They got so used to you being a sheep so it kinda just slipped their mind. It also got them to start bickering a ton of what they thought you’d look like.

— “What’s with all the commotion?” A voice interrupts their conversation. Lucifer walks in with you in his hand, talk about perfect timing!

— “We were just talking about what MC looks like if they were in their human form.” Beel explains.

— “Oh right.. none of you have seen them.” Lucifer remarked, chuckling softly under his breath.

— “What does that mean?” Satan says with already irritation in his voice.

— “Well, it’s only right that I know what MC looks like. I was the one who picked them, after all.”

This got many of them heated! Jealous that Lucifer was pretty much the only one that knows. Mammon, Levi and Asmo were whining about how that’s not fair, Satan was gritting his teeth, and Beel along with Belphie just sat quietly watching the scene. They quieted down once you said, “I could just describe what I look like, y’know.”

All of them gathered around like a bunch of kindergartners getting ready to listen to a story book. They payed such close attention to every detail you said and tried to visualize it in their head to the best of their ability. It only made them even more eager to see you for themselves.

And it didn’t happen until the very last moments before you had to go back to the human realm..

… With a true loves kiss! >;D

Cliché, I know. - -’

Mammon

After dipping the House of Lamentation, he ends up in who knows where but more importantly, away from Levi. After he was done huffing for air, both of you start laughing from the absolute fun of stupidity you guys had. You couldn’t help but think about how odd it must’ve look from someone else’s perspective.

You two eventually eased off and took the time to catch your breaths. And then realize the beautiful view you guys have of Devildom. He sits you down gently on the thick stone fences while he rests his body on it. There was a short, soothing silence between the both of you — a soft, cool breeze blowing while you watching the city lights together. Mammon eventually brakes the silence and says,

“Y’know what? It’s always fun whenever you’re around.. I’m always smilin’ and laughin’ when we’re together. There’s never a dull moment..” he says softly; when you look up at him, he’s not looking at you but can tell he has a blush decorating his cheeks.

You smile at him warmly, before looking down at your tiny trotters. You were a sheep till the very end.. you had fun, but you can’t help but get a little sad thinking about it. Like just now, you would’ve been able to run away with him instead of being carried like a pillow.

“W-Who needs the human world, eh? You don’t gotta go back! I want you right here in Devildom, I want you here with me, all the time..!” Mammon looked straight at you, you perked up at him once he said that. He looked at you as if you were the greatest treasure he’s ever had. He wasn’t kidding around, such an unusually serious and determined face…, you felt butterflies in your stomach.

There was a silence again, you looked at him with in awe eyes. He slowly leans in, you leaning slightly forward.. letting whatever was going to happen, happen. Until finally, his lips reached you.

☁︎ —Poof— ☁︎

Light clouds suddenly surrounds you, Mammon was completely taken aback; and then he just freezes. When the clouds disperse, it revealed you.

You felt.. different. Blinked a couple of times before you looked down again. And to you completely surprise, the troopers you looked at but merely a few seconds ago were replaced with hands! You touched your face, your hair, your legs.. they were all back! You give a yell for joy, your curse has been broken! But then you also realize how you didn’t have any clothes on… you looked at mammon — who had his face completely red and eyes glued on you, completely frozen in place. Which made you freeze for a moment.

(Him)→ ╭( ⸝⸝๐_๐)╮ (○□○) ←(you)

— “AAAAAAAHHH!!!”

— “AAAAAAAHHH!!!”

You tried to cover yourself to the best of your ability; but first of all, you can’t really cover much. Second, he already saw everything! Both of you were very flustered, embarrassed, and still shocked by what just happened. You weren’t a sheep anymore! What’s up with that?!

Thankfully, Mammon at some point finally snaps out of it and covers you with his uniform’s blazer. You grip onto it tightly and covering yourself to the best of you ability. You mutter him a ‘Thank you’ under your breath. But both of you were still quite frantic, looking at each other with wide eyes while huffing to calm you nerves.

“Aha! …Found you!” A voice suddenly says from a short distance. It was Levi!

“Oh shit..”

“Mammon, Give me back my moneeey!!”

“Yikes! Time to go!” He says, lifting you up into his arms and making a run for it. And man did he run! He probably ran faster than when he was being chased by Lucifer. Levi didn’t see it coming’.

You were in a daze, you’ve been carried by him countless times.. but today you felt like a princess that’s been swooped by Prince Charming — a very peculiar one, but still charming.

He — at some point — stops running and hid in whatever corner he thought was good enough so that Levi wouldn’t find you two. With his back to the wall, he collapses to the ground. With you still in his arms but making sure you didn’t fall. You can’t help but laugh and pull him into a tight hug.

Mammon felt like his face was going to explode any second now, he just couldn’t believe that he was holding the actual you — and naked at that! But whatever was going through his head completely perished once he heard your lovely laugh. You were so happy.. embracing him with all your new found excitement. It felt like it was only the two of you in the whole word, so nothing else mattered.

“You broke my curse, Mammon!” You say. When I say this guy’s ego got inflated, I mean it. He felt like nothing could stop him now. That’s right! The great Mammon just did that! No one else!

He takes a closer look at you face; he always kept in mind all of the details you said that day, but you looked way better than what he had imagined. He couldn’t believe his eyes…

You suddenly pull him in and give him a passionate kiss; and oof, was he over the moon! After that one, he starts feeling greedy. Just one kiss isn’t enough..!

—☁︎

Later on, he bought you a few clothes since, of course, you didn’t have any. And decide to go back home.

When he went back to the House of Lamentation, he wanted nothing more than to just sneak in without his brothers knowing. But much to his dismay, Levi was already waiting for him at the gates. And when he realizes that the person he’s holding is you, he goes hysterical and now the rest of his brothers know..

“Oi, that’s enough! Step aside! Can’t ya see MC needs to get to their room??”

He’s always looked out for you.. from beginning to end. You felt like you were falling in love with him all over again. It was hard to believe that life here was coming to an end.. You want to make the most of it before having to go back home. But at the moment, you just wanted time to stay still, just for a moment..

End

I had a lot of fun writing this! So tysm for requesting it -🍓. Tho again, I’m sorry for not really completing what you asked for.. I still hope I was able to put a smile on your face! Take care~

#obey me #obey me headcanons #obey me requests #obey me fluff #obey me shenanigans #obey me crack #obey me x mc #obey me x reader #obey me mammon #obey me mammon x reader #obey me mammon x mc

[shadowynn]

| the paradigm complex | two |

pairing: ot8 ateez x fem! reader

genre: yandere!vampire!cult!poly! ateez au

warnings: yandere behavior, cursing

They'll do whatever you ask. Anything you need. Anything you want. It's yours. They'll fulfill your every desire and whim. Give you the life you had always dreamed about.

And in exchange, you wouldn't just give them your soul. Oh, no. They weren't demons. What good was your soul alone when your purpose was better served alive and well? Your soul was nice, sure but it wasn't all they wanted. It wasn't all they needed. They needed your body, your mind. Your blood. You entirely. Every single fiber of your being was essential and would soon be theirs and theirs alone.

The moment you signed that contract, everything would change. For them and for you.

You just didn't know it yet.

And there was nothing you could do about it.

wordcount: 6.3k

a/n: okay, okay, so i totally went into this as like a fun little side project, so i was and still am absolutely blown away by the support you all gave me for part one. like, i was not expecting that at all and just want to thank you all for all the love you sent my way and i'm so appreciative of you all. i totally planned on getting this part out sooner, but writer's block hit a little hard and i spent more time editing and rewriting than the first part due to the interest the part received. so, once again, thank you all so much and i hope you enjoy part two. :)

| one | two | three |

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"You're really going to wait and pretend to leave when she gets here and then sneak your way inside?" Seonghwa's arms crossed, shifting his weight against the doorway to the front office when he saw San idling near the building's entrance. "Just so you can 'accidentally' bump into her and introduce yourself."

"Yup," San replied without any hint of shame, simply bouncing on the balls of his feet next to the entrance. "It's only right that I go out of my way to introduce myself since we will be living right next door to each other and make sure she knows I'll be right there if there's ever anything she needs."

"Oh, wow, really? Who would have known?" Wooyoung's voice floated out from further within the office, heavy with sarcasm. "It's not like you haven't rubbed that fact in about a hundred times by now."

"Shut up, Woo. We all know you, Seonghwa, and Yeosang are going to get to see her the most." San's smirk slipped. "After all, you are the ones who'll be getting to work with her."

"Perhaps, but why do I get the feeling someone will be abusing their power to tweak the schedules and benefit themselves." Wooyoung's voice grew louder as he left his desk and made his way to the doorway Seonghwa leaned against, stretching out the muscles in his back from sitting. "I wonder who that would be, huh?" His eyes narrowed in Seonghwa's direction.

"Well, I am the senior manager." The elder made no attempt to rebuke Wooyoung's statement, simply smirking at the implication.

"A title you only got by fucking age, you bastard." Wooyoung rolled his eyes. "And if I start to notice a trend, I'm going to tell Hongjoong someone hasn't been playing fair."

"And you don't think he's not going to use his seniority to influence her either?" Seonghwa asked, shifting his position against the doorway. "We might all be sharing, but that doesn't mean it won't come down to every man for himself when it comes to who gets to have her first. And we all know playing fair won't be a part of this game."

At the thought of finally having you, finally tasting you, San was unable to keep his fangs from growing as a newfound thirst took over. His tongue rolled over their sharpened points, the image of your body beneath him and the supple skin of your neck bare and exposed just for him, all but begging for him to take you, filling his head.

"It'll be a while until we fully get to savor her though," Wooyoung interrupted San's thoughts, taking note of the direction his mind had gone from the fangs that had extruded past his lips. "Yeosang says she reeks of him. It'll be a few weeks before we get his blood out of her system."

"What was it I said?" Yeosang interrupted their conversation when he suddenly rounded the corner from the stairs, a cup of tea in hand and looking like he had just tumbled out of bed with the messy state of his hair and the yawn that followed. "Oh," his face fell, "she's not here yet."

"Fucking hell," Seonghwa sighed, shaking his head. "You too?"

"Me too, what?" Yeosang cocked his head, an overtly innocent expression on his face as his thumb pointed to the mailboxes at his right. "I'm just here to get my mail."

"Dressed like that?" Seonghwa's eyes glittered dangerously as he took in the casual outfit Yeosang wore, the tight-fitting sweatpants and loose tank exposing his sides all but screaming for attention. For your attention. "And precisely," he paused to check the time on his watch, "two minutes before she's supposed to be here?"

"Precisely," Yeosang smirked and took a sip of his tea, making no further move to get his mail like he had claimed.

"And here I was thinking you were better than this."

"Then clearly you don't know me half as well as you think you do if you believe I'm going to waste an opportunity as this one." There was a slight edge to his tone, yet his expression remained playful, reminding Seonghwa and the others of the darker side beneath Yeosang's generally easy going attitude.

It had been a long time since someone had piqued his interest anywhere close to where you had, and his reaction only served to excite the others even more. If you had him this riled up, this eager for your attention, you must have been something quite extraordinary.

"I am the one who found her, after all," he quipped, leaning back against the wall behind him, "and I won't just stand aside to let the rest of you catch up."

"You didn't find shit, Sangie, and you know it." San shook his head, rebuking his statement. "She came to us, remember? Willingly. You just happened to be the lucky bastard who was working that day."

"Perhaps," Yeosang shrugged, "But that doesn't change the fact I was the one who convinced her to fill out the application and I'm the one she'll be thanking for helping her get accepted."

"God, why the hell did you give the open house to him?" Wooyoung whined.

"Because the one time I left you in charge of an open house, you ended up killing one of the attendees and then Hongjoong and I had to spend the rest of the day fixing things," Seonghwa answered, giving Wooyoung a pointed look. "And we all know Yeosang has the best sense of smell out of all of us, so it's only natural he's the one that picks. He hasn't failed us yet, has he?"

"It's a good thing I did it too because I highly doubt the rest of you would have been able to pick it out," Yeosang replied. "Sure, I was suspicious as to why another vampire's scent was all over her, but it wasn't until we were outside and the wind blew just right that I noticed the subtle hints of her own scent coming through. And trust me, there's no way she's not a-"

Yeosang was interrupted when the office phone began to ring, alerting them all to what was about to happen and ending their current conversation. In a matter of seconds, each man was moving towards the task at hand to ensure your first interaction with them was nothing but flawless.

Wooyoung collapsed into his chair, hurrying to press the button that would open the front gate for you, more than eager to finally see you face to face. He had seen the pictures Yeosang had snapped of you without your knowledge, and these had only added to his excitement, your beauty more than evident.

San kept his place next to the front door, checking his appearance one last time in the nearby mirror as he waited for the perfect moment to 'leave' the building and bump into you.

Yeosang took his time finding his mailbox, casually shifting through the few pieces it had contained while he waited for you to enter the building and have a chance to speak to you once more.

Seonghwa rolled his eyes as he strayed for just a minute longer, eyeing both of their childish antics with partial annoyance. He couldn't really blame them, not when this day was something each of them had waited centuries for. Not when this was something they had all begun to believe would never happen to them, all but losing hope someone like you would come walking into their life. If the roles had been reversed, he knew he would have been acting similarly to them, but today's events were important. What happened today would dictate your future with them and the last thing any of them needed was to fuck it all up because some of them couldn't be patient.

He knew their behavior wasn't really a cause for concern, however they might have annoyed him. You may have not been legally theirs yet, but you had sealed your fate the moment you had stepped into their domain and nothing you said or did would change that.

When neither one showed any intention of giving you space for the time being, Seonghwa sighed before following Wooyoung back into the office, taking a split second to check his own appearance in the mirror. Over the centuries they had been together, he had long learned there was little he could do to control any of the others. No matter what he said, they would do whatever it was they wanted and damn the consequences. Instead of concerning himself with their shenanigans, he needed to focus on the task he had been given and ensure you sighed the contract.

And you would. Willingly or not, it didn't matter. You wouldn't step a foot outside this building until it was signed. And if you showed any sign of hesitation, he would simply push you in the right direction with a little coaxing, your kind's mind weak and powerless to his power of persuasion. In the next few hours, you would sign your way over to them. He would make absolutely certain of it.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Oh, sorry!"

You stepped out of the way as the door to the building swung open before you had a chance to find the button to buzz the office. A man stood on the other side, head and attention directed behind him as he finished up his conversation with whoever was back there before he left.

At your soft apology, he turned to face you and you had a hard time stopping your cheeks from tinting pink as you took in his features. He was beautiful. A few inches taller than you, black hair effortlessly swept back from his face, bringing full attention to his strong cheekbones and sharp jawline. All of which made it more difficult to control the blush blooming at the back of your neck. And when he smiled down at you and motioned for you to come through first, you knew there was no way your cheeks weren't at least a little bit pink by now.

"Thanks," you reply, returning a timid smile of your own before tucking your purse closer towards you and slipping past him inside.

"Oh, hey, y/n!"

Your gaze was directed past him and to the right when you entered, surprised to hear your name being called out. A man stood near the mailboxes, smiling and waving at you as he shuffled through his mail. It took a few seconds for you to recognize him, the addition of glasses and casual wear a stark difference from the man who had been your tour guide a little over a week ago.

"Are you here to sign the lease?"

"Yeosang, hi!" You returned the wave, unable to stop your eyes from momentarily roaming over the rest of his body and wondering how you hadn't noticed just how attractive he was before. "And yeah, I think so. I was told to come in and meet with Seonghwa to finalize everything."

"Oh, you must be the new tenant of 604 then," the man who had opened the door for you spoke up behind you, directing your gaze back towards him. "I'm Choi San. I live in the unit right next to yours, 603."

"Oh, hi." You hesitantly took the hand he had extended in greeting. This? This was who you would be living next to? God, you could already hear the jokes Felix would start when he found out who your new neighbor would be. "I'm l/n y/n. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," San replied, an easygoing smile still stretched across his features. "I'm also one of the people in charge of maintenance here, so please just let me know if you ever have any issues with anything and I'll be more than happy to help."

"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."

You had to admit that having maintenance right across the hall from you was nice, but as sincere as his willingness to help seemed to be, you knew it would be a while before you ever approached him for any help. The last thing you wanted him, or any of the other workers here for that matter, was to think you would be taking advantage of them in any way. They had already done so much for you with the new job and new housing, the last thing you wanted was for them to think you were trying to wring more out of them. No, you would do your best to pay them back for the kindness they had shown you and ensure you weren't a burden on anyone. Ensure that you didn't need to depend on anyone anymore.

"y/n, I presume?"

You turned in the direction the new voice had come, finding yet another very attractive man around your age leaning against a nearby doorway. He appeared slightly taller than the other two, hair dyed a bright, startling white.

"I'm Park Seonghwa, the senior manager here at the Paradigm."

Shit.

This was Seonghwa? This was the man who would likely be serving as your new boss?

"Hi, yes, I'm l/n y/n." You nodded, making your way over towards him. "I'm so sorry I'm late. I had some issues getting a few of the documents you needed and then there was a wreck on my way here that slowed everything down."

And by issues, it seemed someone had conveniently forgotten to give back the key to your lockbox that you kept on your keyring. It wasn't until after nearly ransacking the apartment looking for it that you remembered you had stowed a spare key in your car a year ago that you were finally able to get the identification documents you needed without having to call your boyfriend and ask him where the hell he had taken it and raising unnecessary suspicion.

"Don't worry about it," Seonghwa waved your concerns away, motioning for you to follow him inside. "I had a few things I still needed to finish up for your arrival, so your timing is perfect."

"Oh, well, I'll still apologize nonetheless. I'm incredibly thankful for this opportunity you've given me here and I don't want you to think I'm taking any of it for granted."

"I assure you, it's fine," Seonghwa replied. "Things are pretty relaxed here for the most part, so no one's worried about a few minutes here or there. And it's not like I haven't had to drag Wooyoung or Yeosang out of bed before when they've slept through the first hour of their shift."

"You're one to talk, Hwa." Hearing his name mentioned, the other man inside the office spoke up, alerting you to his presence. His head was propped up in his hand and a teasing smile was directed towards the man in front of you. "Or have you forgotten how you missed half your shift the morning after your birthday last year."

"Like I said," Seonghwa's eyes narrowed back at him, but he didn't try to rebuke his statement, "we're fairly flexible around here."

"I'm Wooyoung by the way." The red haired man's eyes moved towards you. "We spoke on the phone earlier."

"Right." You nodded, returning his smile and fully realizing how much more awkward you would have felt in that conversation if you had known just who you had been talking to in that moment. "It's nice to meet you, Wooyoung."

With greetings out of the way, you followed Seonghwa to his desk in the back, sitting down in the chair he pulled out for you. As he began to go over everything pertaining to your time with them, you slowly began to relax. Despite being originally intimidated by his appearance and status, Seonghwa truly was nice. He was easy to talk to and just as it had been with Yeosang, you felt a pull towards him and could see yourself fitting in well here with them. Easily slipping into the casual workflow they had here, much less stressful than anything you had to deal with at your current place of work.

But before you got around to signing the multiple documents to seal everything in place, Seonghwa walked you down to the on-site clinic to get your blood drawn before the doctor on schedule closed for the day. The nerves that had previously been quelled by Seonghwa and the others' affable personalities slowly crept back at the notion of having your blood drawn. You had done your best to push the thoughts aside when Wooyoung had mentioned it earlier, but you had a hard time remaining calm as you followed him, your fear of needles beginning to get the best of you.

You didn't know what you had expected when Seonghwa mentioned Yunho would be the one to draw your blood today, but it sure as hell wasn't the tall, gorgeous man smiling at you when you entered the room. But then again, after everything else you had experienced here this far, should you really have been surprised by the real life equivalent of Carlisle Cullen - minus the vampiric qualities of course.

"Are you okay?" Yunho asked as he sat down on the stool next to you, taking the arm you extended towards him to begin prepping it.

"Yeah," you nodded, attempting to still your fidgeting nerves and praying you wouldn't come close to passing out like you had the last time you had been stuck. "I'm just not the biggest fan of needles, but it's fine." You were quick to add the last few words before he could say anything, not wanting him or Seonghwa who was still hovering near the entrance to the room to think you were trying to talk them out of this. "I used to give occasionally when I was younger, but then something must have happened because the last time I attempted to give, it didn't go well and I haven't been able to give since. I've wanted to start giving again though, so perhaps this is just the push I need to get over the fear."

You really didn't know what had happened to cause the fear. You had never liked needles before, but you had always been fine with them. It wasn't until two years ago that you had your first panic attack from them when you had gone in for your flu shot and very nearly passed out. And when you had tried to give blood a few months later, you had passed out and found yourself growing antsy at the mere thought of needles. You had no idea what had caused this sudden onset, having no bad occurrences with them in the past, but whatever it was, was enough to keep you avoiding them.

"Well, I assure you I will do my best to make this as quick and painless as possible." The smile he sent your way nearly had you melting in your spot and you felt your nerves begin to relax the slightest. "Just try and focus on me instead, okay?"

You nodded, unable to stop the blush that tinted your cheeks at his words, embarrassed at how your childish fear was playing out in front of him and all the more flustered by him because of it.

"So, y/n, tell me about yourself," he began in an attempt to distract you from the needle sliding in, but you still flinched, turning your head in the opposite direction. Looking at it was only going to make you more woozy than you already were. "What do you like to do?"

"A little bit of everything, I guess. When I have the time, I like to read, but with school and work, I don't have nearly as much time as I used to. I also enjoy both volleyball and skiing, but only really get a chance to do either of those during school breaks," you began, doing your best to focus on the conversation at hand and not on the fact there was a needle inside you at this moment, a thought that had you closing your eyes and sinking further into the chair. "And then I do quite a bit of art as well, which I suppose I would have to, seeing as I am getting a degree in graphic design."

"Seonghwa, I think we're all good here now. Feel free to head on back and I can walk y/n back to your office when we're done." Yunho diverted the conversation for just a second, turning his attention to the other male in the room before focusing on you once more. "You said you're getting a degree in graphic design. What do you want to do with that when you're done?"

"I'd love to work in the video game industry, but it can be a tricky field to get into and make a living off of, so who knows." You took a sip of the drink Yunho had handed you before he had begun, hoping the sugar from the juice would help keep your head level. So far, you were still feeling okay, but knew it could change in a second if you let your head dwell elsewhere for too long. "But my friend Felix is a computer engineering major and is also interested in gaming, so we've actually been working on creating our own game this past year. He handles all the coding and logistics, while I work on the artwork, animation, and story design."

"What's the game about?"

"Oh, well, it's still in pretty early development as neither of us ever have much time to work on it, but the gist of it is that you play as a character who has been transported to the middle of a giant labyrinth and must survive long enough to find a way out before it's too late. As you journey through, you'll find both enemies and potential allies and it's up to the player to decide just how you'll escape and who all will make it out with you. And with the labyrinth randomizing with each game, you'll be guaranteed a different playthrough each time. Or at least that's the goal."

It was hard to tell if Yunho was truly interested or not as you began to ramble on about your project, but his trick to get your mind off the matter at hand was working and you didn't dwell on the matter too long before you continued, unable to stop yourself from rambling with the nerves coursing through you.

"Felix also thought it would be cool if there was some form of romance in the game, so we've also recently started working on implementing some sort of relationship aspect to it. One which will not only allow you to form romantic relationships with the companions you meet along the way, but also friendships and enemies as well. So, if you end up making one of the npcs mad, you might just want to sleep with one eye open. Otherwise, you might just wake up with all your supplies stolen or a dagger to your throat depending on who you upset."

"And it's just the two of you working on it?" Yunho asked, to which you nodded. "That's impressive. It sounds very cool."

"You think?" You took a risk and turned your head towards him, attempting to gauge his response.

"Of course. It sounds like something I would enjoy playing." His eyes lifted upwards for a moment, giving you a reassuring smile.

"Oh, well, maybe I can show you what we have done so far sometime."

"I'd like that."

His smile was infectious and you couldn't hold back your own grin at his words before turning your gaze away once more. Was there anything about this man that wasn't perfect?

"Does that mean you like to play video games too?" you asked after a few moments, taking another sip of your drink to try and get a hold of yourself once more.

"Maybe not as much as some of the others here, but yes, I have played quite a bit over the years," he replied. "In fact, there's a group of us that usually gets together on Tuesdays for a game night. You should join us sometime when you're all settled in and feeling up to it. We'd love to have you, though I must warn that things can get heated at times. Some of us have a harder time taking a loss than others."

You laughed, knowing all too well what he was talking about. Your friend Felix also fell in that category of people. "Sounds like fun. I'll have to keep that in mind."

"And on that note, we are just about all done here," Yunho said as he applied a cotton ball to the crook of your arm to stop the bleeding before beginning to bandage you back up.

"What? Really?" His words surprised you, too distracted by your conversation to notice he had slipped the needle out already. "Wow, you're good. I didn't even feel it."

"Not so bad then?" he asked, collecting the vials of your blood and standing up to properly store them before they got sent off for testing.

"Well, considering I passed out the last time my blood was drawn, I'd say this was a vast improvement." You could feel the endorphins kicking in now that it was over, a huge wave of relief washing over you. "After that, I sort of stopped going around needles as a whole. My mother wasn't very happy when I stopped getting flu shots, but seeing as I haven't gotten sick in years, I'd say I'm okay."

"Here, why don't you eat one of these." Yunho extended a plate of cookies in your direction. "I didn't take too much since we just needed a sample, but you should still probably eat just in case, especially if you're going to be driving later."

"Did you make them?" you asked, taking one from the plate and giving it a try. "They're really good."

"No, sadly that credit has to go to Wooyoung. Despite how he may appear at times, he's actually a really good cook."

"Really?" Like Yunho said, this fact did surprise you. You hadn't pictured the playful redhead as someone who might have enjoyed cooking, let alone be good at it. But here you were. Was there anything about these men that weren't perfect? "I'll have to let him know if he's still around when I get back."

You waited there with Yunho until he was done putting everything away, taking the time to recover and sneak another cookie or two before getting back on your feet. Once you were good, and certain you wouldn't be passing out anytime soon, you followed Yunho back towards the front office when he had closed everything up.

You chatted idly with him as you went, finding him just as engaging as the others. When you arrived back at the front office, however, your attention was stolen by Wooyoung. You were too distracted by praising him for his baking skills that you didn't notice the additional male that had made his way into the room in your absence. It wasn't until you had finished up your brief conversation with Wooyoung and began making your way back to Seonghwa's desk that you finally noticed the man beside the senior manager. He was seated on the edge of the desk next to Seonghwa, and though his back was directed towards you, his head turned in your direction when he noticed your hesitant approach.

"y/n, this is Kim Hongjoong, the owner of Paradigm."

Once again, the introduction took you for a spin. Of all the mentions you had heard about the man, the person sitting before you was the very last thing you had ever imagined in your head. He looked no older than the rest of the occupants here, including yourself, making you wonder if he had inherited this place from a family member or bought it with a fortune he had inherited. It was the only two plausible explanations you could think of.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kim." You had a hard time stopping yourself from wriggling in your spot as he took you in. Not just from knowing this man was the one responsible for your admittance here and his role as your boss, but also from his appearance, easily just as attractive as the other coworkers you had met up to this point. "I'm extremely thankful for the opportunity you've given me here."

"Please, just Hongjoong. Mr. Kim makes me feel old." He smiled, alleviating a bit of your nerves. "And after everything Yeosang and the others have had to say about you, we're all excited to have you on board with us here. I just came down to introduce myself and make sure Seonghwa had everything in order."

"I believe we've just about gone through everything." Seonghwa motioned for you to sit down. "All that's left is to sign everything and you'll be all set." He pushed a stack of papers alongside a pen towards you. "Feel free to scan through these, but all of it is just a reiteration of everything we've already gone through or just a part of the lease agreement attached to the email Yeosang had sent you earlier. I've also gone through for you and highlighted each of the sections you need to sign or initial to make things easier."

You nodded, taking the pen that sat on top of the stack before beginning to go through and sign the various documents. You briefly scanned through the first few pages before signing them, but upon seeing Seonghwa was right, and each sheet was just a repeat of everything you had already talked over, you eventually began to just skim through the pages in search of the areas Seonghwa had highlighted for you.

"I think that is everything," you began, finishing your signature on the last page and briefly flipping through the previous documents in search for any spot you might have missed before handing the stack back to Seonghwa across from you.

Seonghwa took a second to flip through the pages as well, double-checking your work. "It appears everything is signed and in order." He dropped the stack back on his desk before opening one of the drawers to his left. "Congratulations on your new apartment, Miss l/n." The object he had reached for was a small bag which he now extended towards you. "I know you said you wouldn't be able to move in or start until two weeks from now, but your unit is ready and everything is in order, so here are the keys to your apartment and mailbox, alongside the card you'll use to unlock the doors to the building and the sticker you'll need to put on your windshield to unlock the gate to the garage. So, feel free to come and go as much as you'd like until then because for all extents and purposes, you are now officially a resident of the Paradigm."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Felix, I swear to all things holy, this place is going to be the death of me." You could hear the laughter this statement elicited from your best friend through the car's speakers, and you had a hard time hiding your own flustered smile despite knowing he couldn't see it. "No, I swear, Felix, how the hell am I supposed to work and act normal when everyone around me looks like the physical embodiment of a god. We're talking Haneul level here, Felix. Haneul."

High on finally finding a place of your own, and at The Paradigm no less, you had gone up to see your new apartment one more time before you left. You had spent longer up there than you anticipated, fully basking in the realization that this was now yours and no one else's. Just yours.

It hadn't taken long for the thought to overwhelm you, causing you to break down in the upstairs bathroom for a few minutes. The realization you were finally getting out and starting over hitting you hard.

Once you had finally gotten a hold of yourself, you had taken a picture of the lower level with your newly acquired keys to the place and sent it to your best friend in order to update him on your decision. It had only taken a few seconds after you sent the photo for Felix to call you, nearly as excited as you were.

"Haneul level?" At the mention of the coworker the two of you had both been admiring from afar the last few weeks, Felix's voice took a slightly more serious tone as you were finally able to drive your point down to him. "All of them?"

"Well, all of the ones that I've met so far, but yes!" you cried, though the hint of a giggle did break through, still giddy from the day's events. "Now do you see my predicament?"

"y/n, I don't think that's a predicament," he began, "I think that's heaven. And as your best friend, I think it's only right for you to let me come see your new place in person... and perhaps these gods in the form of your new coworkers."

You giggled once more at the way Felix quickly spit the words out at the end, rushing them to make it harder for you to make out. "Well, Felix, you're in luck because I just so happen to need some help moving a few things into the place this Saturday."

"I thought you weren't moving in until the following weekend."

"I'm not, but I figured I could get some stuff done this weekend since Jae is still on weekends." Despite the joyous occasion, you still felt your spirits fall at the mention of your soon to be ex-boyfriend, wondering just how you were going to pull this all off successfully. "I thought I would go out and get some of the items I need and move them in so I don't have to worry about all of it the following weekend."

"And you still plan on keeping it all a secret from him until the last moment?"

"Yes," you sighed, running a hand through your hair and wondering just how you were going to make it through the next two weeks without letting anything slip. If you had it your way, you would have moved in today, but knew that wasn't a smart move to make, not when you planned to finish up your scheduled shifts at your current job. If you were to break things off with him now, you knew he would come find you and convince you to change your mind and go back with him. "I know it's not right, disappearing with little more than a note after all these years, but I'm terrified of what might happen if I try to tell him in person. You know what happened last time I tried, Lix. What if it happens again and I ruin everything I've finally managed to set up for myself."

The last time you had pulled the courage to end things, Felix had offered you a spot at his place until you got back up on your feet. Everything had been set up and packed, and yet, when you had stopped and told Jae what was happening when he came home from work that evening, he had flipped. You didn't remember much of what happened afterwards, but just as before, all your belongings had been put back up and away. He had been extra attenuative to you that following week, even calling out of work to spend more time with you, making you wonder for a moment why you had ever tried to break things off.

"I'm not judging you, n/n. The guy's a piece of shit and doesn't deserve a proper break up after all the shit he's put you through," Felix replied, taking note of your fallen mood. "You, however, deserve the fucking world, including this new start with your supposed godlike coworkers, and I swear if he tries anything to fuck it up, I will personally kill him."

"Thanks, Felix. I don't know what I would do without you," you mumbled back, comforted by his constant support and friendship. You truly didn't know where you would be without him. "But if I'm being honest, as attractive as these men may be, I think it's time to take a nice, long break away from any sort of relationship and focus on myself for a little bit."

Sure, they were attractive, but you truly didn't have any intention of acting on anything at the moment. And even if you did, the chances of them not already being in a relationship or even remotely interested in you was slim to none and setting yourself up for something that was never going to happen would only make you feel worse than you already did. Though time had numbed the pain, you knew you were hurting after years of being stuck where you were now. Pain that would quickly resurface if you attempted to bounce back into the dating game before you were ready. You needed time to heal, time to recover from the shit you had been put through these past years. And the only way you were going to do that was if you spent a good bit of time focusing on yourself.

And this might have been what happened if you were heading to some place normal, some place sane. If you hadn't just unknowingly signed your entire being over to the very men you were just talking about. Each of whom had no intention of letting you do anything on your own now that you were theirs.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

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#ateez #ateez fanfic #ateez x reeader #vampire ateez #ot8 #ot8 x reader #hongjoong x reader #yunho x reader #mingi x reader #seonghwa x reader #san x reader #yeosang x reader #jongho x reader #wooyoung x reader #yandere ateez #yandere

[erodasfishtacos]

Madison Square Garden XV

Prompt: When Harrys’ goes up at MSG, it makes YN reflect

Warnings: angst, smut, minors dni 18+

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It wasn’t something that YN ever thought would happen.

It wasn’t because she didn’t believe in Harry - she believed in him more than anyone else on this earth.

But rarely anyone ever gets the opportunities that came his way then continue on the path of success, however, she fell in love with him for how charismatic, charming, and loving he was and so it didn’t surprise her that the world fell in love with him too.

YN knew that Harry was going to be getting the banner at Madison Square Garden tonight but it was going to be a surprise for him - well, he knew there was a banner made but he thought it was just to hang for the night somewhere for decoration.

YN remembers all the hard times, when Harry’s mental health was declining as One Direction decided to split - they knew they were never getting back together but management wouldn’t let them tell the fans that.

His crippling anxiety about what his next steps in life looked like, if he would still have fans, if he had concerts would anybody come?

-

They’re in Jamaica, writing and producing for his first album, having been on the island for nearly two months - they were coming to the end of their time there because the album was nearly done, only a few tweaks before they sent it off to Columbia Records.

Harry had been quiet lately, not as animated as he was in the beginning when he was making calls on certain lyrics and fucking around with all of the people there to work on it.

He wouldn’t get out of bed until YN woke him up, he’d drag his feet getting into the studio where he would record and record before trailing back out as they produced and edited.

He was exceptionally clingy to his wife, upset when he couldn’t find her fast enough if she was either somewhere in the mansion or outside enjoying the weather, constantly asking for reassurance about if the music sounds good or if she thinks he can do it, and if she’s proud of him

YN was laying on the private beach, tucked under a massive umbrella, and lounged on a chaise as she edits merch designs on her tablet - the waves barely crashing are a nice sound effect, no overwhelming noise of people or traffic.

She’s brought out of her concentration when she hears a huff coming up from behind her before a tall shadow, Harry appearing with a furrowed brow and a cranky expression on his face as he stands in front of her.

“Been tryin’ to call you to see where you’ve been at,” He says with an annoyed edge, like he had been looking all over for her despite the fact she told him multiple times where she would be, it’s not like they really any connection out here and the Wi-Fi connection is spotty at best.

He was dressed in a red ensemble with Hawaiian floral print, a button up shirt and a pair of shorts that came just above his knees, his hair was so long by this point because he was going to cut it before he left the island - it was in perfect ringlets past his shoulders.

“I’m right here,” YN hums with a shrug, trying to keep the mood light but she wasn’t sure whether this was going to go well or not based on what thoughts were swirling around in his head.

“Budge up,” Harry mumbles before he’s taking the tablet out of her hand and putting it on the little side table then he’s crawling up the lounge chair and flopping on top of her - his face nuzzled in her bare belly and his arms splayed over her thighs.

It’s quiet again as he keeps his face buried in her soft skin, YN’s hands find his long locks, weaving her fingers through it and tugging gently on the knots until they’re gone.

She’s surprised when she feels something wet on her stomach, for a second she’s confused but then it’s followed but sob that has Harry’s body shuddering and his shoulder’s shaking.

“Bunny, what on earth is going on?” YN asks as she moves his head until his chin is digging into her belly and he’s blinking his puffy, teary eyes up at her - the green shimmering under the sun.

He shakes his head and squeezes his eyes shut - she realizes he is having a panic attack, he never got them before he was in One Direction and he used to get them more frequently but now they’re not so much a common occurrence.

“Hey, hey. You need to breathe for me, baby,” YN soothes softly, sitting up a bit more and cupping his cheeks - she makes exaggerated inhales and exhales that Harry follows by breathing in through his mouth and out through his nose, “Everything is okay. There’s nothing to be panicked about. You’re safe.”

“I’m ju-just,” Harry’s as he tries to talk through his heavy breathing, “What if I release this album and I fail? What if it doesn’t chart? What if I can’t sell enough tickets to a concert?”

“ I really, really doubt that would happen. But if it happens, that’s out of our control. You’ll still be Harry with a loving family and loving friends, a home, and your health. That’s what's most important at the end of the day.”

Harry nods, eyes looking off to the side like he’s embarrassed to say the next thing, “I’m worried that if I fail, you’ll leave me.”

YN doesn’t mean to make light of it but she can’t help the snort that leaves her, her hands coming to cup his cheeks until they’re smushed in her palms, “I loved you when you were a curly, poorly dressed fifteen year old. I will love you if you’re a twenty-three year old flop.”

He’s trying really hard not to smile and keep his grumpy expression but he can’t help himself when he leaves down to nip at the skin of her hip meanly, “I was not poorly dressed. You just didn’t have any fashion sense.”

“A skinny scarf and clunky purple trainers isn’t style,” YN giggles lightly, moving to thumb away his tears as his hands move to massage at her plush where he had just bit her.

“Enough style that you let me get in your pants,” Harry dimples boyishly as he ducks back down to kiss at the skin above her bikini bottoms, “Gonna let me get in ‘em again?”

-

Harry didn’t think he could do it but then he was selling out show after show on his first tour, he was hitting the charts with ease, and by the time Fine Line came around - he was by far the most popular male singer in the industry.

After Harry’s House release, well, it had been overwhelming.

He had truly never thought that it could get any bigger than his Fine Line Era.

But then Harry’s House happened with singles like As It Was, Late Night Talking, and Music For A Sushi Restaurant - even though all of his songs from the album had charted at least once.

The residency had been by far one of the most amazing experiences in his life but also the most exhausting too - there was a sadness that this was his last show for his first New York residency but it felt right, he was ready to have a small break before he moved onto Austin for the next round.

-

YN only found out two days beforehand about the banner. She was so excited to know he would have a permanent mark on the arena and fifteen happened to be her lucky number.

She only found it fitting that she went with Harry Lambert to get a small fifteen tattooed on her bum to give her husband another surprise at the end of the night when they went back home.

Harry had been incredibly pouty that night when she got back from ‘dinner’ with Harry Lambert and wasn’t able to undress her.

-

YN really had went out to dinner with Lambert but forgone the detail of stopping at their favorite New York City tattoo parlour for a visit.

Harry hadn’t want to go out anyways which worked because he’d be suspicious when YN told him he wasn’t invited.

Instead, he lounged around their house all day in Tribeca, binge-watching all the shows he needs to catch up on and napping periodically throughout the day.

When YN finally gets home around ten, Harry is (im)patiently waiting for her on the couch with shower damp hair and just a pair of boxers.

“Hi bunny,” She greets as she drops a few shopping bags near the entryway, filled with new outfits and accessories to wear to the concerts, “Have a good night?”

“Missed you the whole time,” Harry mumbles with a pouted out bottom lip as he heaves himself off the sofa and pads towards her where she’s grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge.

YN has to bit back a yelp of pain when Harry innocently smacks her ass right over where her fresh tattoo is - a tingling ache radiating through her legs as she has to act nonchalant.

“Bum looks great in those jeans,” Harry murmurs and oh fuck, it’s deep and raspy like it only gets when he’s turned on and about to initiate something.

She has to think quickly of how to turn him down without him catching on because earlier today she teased him with the promise of something later before remembering her tattoo appointment.

“I started my period,” YN lies when his hands wrap around her to undo her jean’s button, his lips are brushing against the nape of her neck and he’s pushing his hips into her so she can feel how much he wants her.

Harry pauses for a second, hands massaging at her belly, “S’never stopped us before. You know I don’t care about that. Just want to fuck m’wife, been thinking of your cunt all day.”

“I know, it’s my cramps. They’re really killing me, started when I was out to dinner with Lamby,” She responds, turning around on his arms until they’re making eye contact - his cheeks are pink with arousal, his nipples hard, his body is unbelievable - it legitimately looks carved out of marble.

Harry is an amazing husband above all else because even though she knows he’s bummed, he hides it well so that she doesn’t feel bad.

She just has to reward him, “Doesn’t mean I can’t give you something, yeah?”

YN takes charge and steps forward, pushing him backwards until his back hits the kitchen island and she’s kneeling down in front of him.

Her fingers slowly tuck into the waistband of his briefs, beginning to tug down, and reveal the nearly trimmed hair that leads down to the thick base of him.

“Baby,” Harry whines in more of a higher pitch, he is so submissive when he gets surprise blowies - just wanting her mouth.

It did a good enough job of distracting him that night.

-

Tyler was so incredibly excited to be on staff for Love On Tour residency at Madison Square Garden.

All of the shows had been amazing, he’d been able to watch them from the sidelines because he helped set up for the concert each night at the merchandise stands and other odds and ends jobs that they needed a hand with.

He’d normally not see Harry before the show because he was more outside the stage area in the entrance and halls - he’d occasionally spot him but it was mere glimpses.

Tyler had met his wife, YN, on the first day when she came to show them how she wanted the merchandise stands and picture opportunity shoots to be set up.

He was surprised when she was so kind, physically helping them set up, not just pointing and directing them with orders.

Today was different though, the crew was tasked with putting boas on every single seat in the arena - the rumor is that Harry bought all of them to celebrate his final show.

After making sure the merchandise stands were arranged how they needed to be, he headed into the stage area to grab a box of boas like the rest of his coworkers and head to a section to begin laying them over every single chair.

As he’s doing so, maybe thirty boas in, he spots two people out of the corner of his eyes, and when he turns his head, he realizes that he’s looking at Harry Styles and his wife YN.

Harry’s dressed in a vintage looking tee shirt, athletic shorts, and trainers with his growing locks tucked into a claw clip atop his head.

YN was dressed in a sports bra, high waisted athletic leggings, and trainers with her hair pulled up into a high ponytail.

Tyler thinks that he‘s far enough away that they wouldn’t be able to tell that he’s staring at them as they head over to a lower level section of stairs and place down their water bottles.

They do multiple different exercises from jogging the stairs, to lunges up them, to skipping two/three steps at a time - it was quite impressive but halfway through the intense workout YN plops onto one of the seats and instead watches as her husband finish his workout.

Tyler is closer now, about a section away as he continues his duty, when Harry seemingly is complete with his exercises, he tugs his shirt over his head as it’s absolutely drenched with sweat.

His eyes nearly bug out of his head when he sees how fucking fit he is, like he knew he was in good shape but his biceps were bigger than he’d remember, his stomach was solid muscle defined in his pecs, his abdomen, he was definitely not just doing cardio - he had to be lifting weights too.

Tyler’s eyes widen even further when he notices YN’s sneaky wandering hand as it slips up the back of his shorts to squeeze him bum before she’s giving him an innocent smile.

Shit, he can’t blame her for trying to cop a feel.

Harry turns to look at his wife, a playful gleam in his eyes as they make eye contact for a moment - it looked like they were communicating without saying any words because within the next minute, YN is out of her seat and running away from Harry, down the stairs and onto the floor of the arena.

Harry gives her only a few seconds of a head start before he’s chasing after her, taking the stairs quickly and when YN turns her head to look back and sees that he’s hot on her heels, she lets out a girlish squeal, and tries to speed up.

“M’gonna get you, baby,” Harry warns with a laugh, he’s so much faster than his wife but gives her a little lead to keep it fun, she’s running towards the stage at this point, and Harry finally decides the games over, jog turning into a sprint until he’s wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back into his body.

YN lets out a delighted giggle when he leans down to nip at her neck before moving up to whisper something in her ear which makes her melt a little, her body relaxing back into his, and allowing him to just hold her for a moment.

Tyler can’t help but think it’s adorable, how in love they are, and he was a fan of One Direction so he knows that they’ve been together since high school, and it was obvious that she was his biggest support.

After a minute of cuddling, someone is calling Harry’s name, and then they’re separating but Harry still reaches for her hand before they start trailing back towards the dressing rooms.

-

“I am so proud of you, Bunny. Fifteen nights,” YN murmurs as she sorts out Harry’s curls, the stylist already worked on them but Harry was particular about how they looked and swore only YN could manage his curls.

“Doesn’t seem real,” He murmurs, eyes meeting his wife’s through the mirror, “I couldn’t have done any of this without you. I hope you know that, baby. I’m here because of you.”

“You’re here because you’re talented, kind-hearted, and charismatic,” YN reframes his words, she definitely thinks she’s played a part in his success but doesn’t want to downplay how he really did all the work, “And your dimples.”

Harry furrows his brow like he’s thinking deeply, shaking his head as he turns around and pulls her down onto his lap, “You got me through everything. All the good but you stuck with me through all the bad and there were a lot of bands, especially in the band.”

-

“I don’t want to do this anymore,” Harry yells, startling everyone in the room, “I’m sick of being treated like this. I haven’t had a day off in month, haven’t had more than five hours to sleep, and none of you fucking care!”

Management was staring at him with blank, uncaring expressions as they watched him have a meltdown - they’d been touring for years at this point, hundreds of tour dates, and no time to themselves.

“The fact that you guys are trying to make me do a photo op on my day off,” Harry scoffs, his voice was still raised and he was leaning tensely against the wall - they were telling him that on his only day off in months that YN and him had to do a pap walk, “I’m not fucking do it. You’re not going to exploit my girlfriend either. She is not contractually obligated like I am.”

“Mr. Styles, I know that touring is diff-“ A man in a suit tries to smooth over.

“No, no you fuckin’ don’t,” Harry sneers angrily and YN knows this is about to get bad because rarely, rarely would he every swear at people, “You don’t know what it’s like to not be in your own bed for months at a time, I don’t have time to take my girlfriend out on a fuckin’ date, and when I do I am swarm by fans. You do not fucking know what my life is like.”

Harry then kicks the massive potted plant next time him, the pot shattering on the floor as the soil and leaves spill all over the hotel’s pristine white carpets, and YN moves into action before anything gets worse.

“He needs a day for his mental health,” YN interrupts, standing and wrapping her hand around his wrist to pull him away from the mess, “Nowhere in his contract does it state he has to do a certain amount of photo ops. If you have any questions, you can contact his lawyers.”

Harry lets YN lead him out of the conference room by the hand, beginning down the hall towards the elevator so they can go back up to their hotel room but as she’s guides them, she hears a sniffle and then a sob.

She turns around to see Harry wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, his long locks covering his face like a curtain, and YN wants to stop to comfort him but she also doesn’t want to risk a fan spotting them in this very public hallway.

YN gets them up to their room while Harry cries, they didn’t have to been at the venue for a few hours still, and so she takes them to the bedroom where she strips him out of his barely button, button-up, and then out of his Chelsea boots and tight black skinny jeans.

Then she’s getting him into bed before following right behind and spooning him, wrapping her arms around his waist, and pulling him back into her - he loved being the little spoon.

“I’m sorry I acted that way,” Harry apologizes shakily, his shoulders were shuttering on every cry, and he curls in on himself like he’s trying to be small, “I embarrassed you.”

YN kisses across the back of his warm shoulders, “The only people who should be embarrassed are your management. You did not embarrass me, please don’t apologize, bunny. I know how stressed out you are.”

“I just want a break. I just want to be able to take you somewhere, a nice private beach, and have a week alone with you,” Harry sniffles, burrowing his face in the pillow, “I feel so fucking trapped sometimes.”

YN continues to kiss along his back, the nape of his neck, the caps of his shoulders, and within a minute or two of silent, YN notices his breath evening out and a light snore - he was so exhausted he couldn’t even stay awake to cry if he had the chance to sleep.

YN holds him really fucking tight.

-

YN was having a blast at the concert, the crowd was in great spirits, all decorated with colorful boas and amazing outfits.

Anne, Gemma, other friends, and family had come to experience the banner being displayed for Harry - he thought they were just here because it was the last show of his first residency.

It comes to the point in the show where a lady steps out onto stage, thanking Harry for providing amazing shows, and YN can tell straight away he’s getting emotional as he puts his hand over his mouth to hide his expression.

“A permanent banner, that will stay in Madison Square Garden to remember the amazing fifteen nights,” She announces as the crowd goes absolutely wild.

YN can feel the phones, flashes, videos on her reaction as fan’s record her, there are tears streaming down her face as she watches Harry seeing his banner raised to the ceiling - his eyes watering with unspoken feelings.

Anne and Gemma both wrap around her and hug her tightly as she wipes her tears carefully to avoid ruining her makeup, she was so fucking proud of her husband, and she wanted the world to know.

After it’s placed, Harry takes a deep breath before thanking everyone for supporting him, he blows kisses, and then says, “I think after the show, I may just sit, and stare a it for a while.”

-

Tyler is on the clean-up crew, the show had been amazing but there were feathers everywhere from the cheap boas, it was his and his coworkers job to clean up the aftermath of the concert.

All the fans had filed out by now, tons of cleanup crew on all levels of the seating with garbage bags and brooms to try to make this place presentable again, Tyler is on the floor where the pit had been.

He notices two figures sitting on the floor of the pit, across the way, and realizes quickly that it’s Harry and his wife.

Harry sat back on his hands with his knees bent with YN tucks in between them but he then moved back up, wrapping his arms round her belly and resting his chin on her shoulder.

It takes him a moment to realize that they’re gazing up at his banner, talking softly enough that he has no chance of hearing what they’re saying but his lips are pressed to her temple.

Tyler does hear Harry’s laugh echo and he’s using his hoodie sleeve to dab at his wife’s cheeks, wiping tears away, and pulling her even closer to kiss her face and shoulders.

-

“Darlin’, you’re going to make me cry again,” Harry chuckles as he wipes her tears.

“I know, I’m just so fucking proud of you,” YN sniffles as she nuzzles back into him, they’d just been sitting there, staring at the banner, for at least half an hour, and it was still not feeling quite real, “You’re amazing.”

“Thank you,” He whispers in her ear, lips brushing against her, “I couldn’t have do this without you. This is your banner too, sweetheart.”

YN shakes her in disagreement, “It’s you, all you. So proud of you as my best friend, as my husband, as my everything.”

Something clicks with Harry and his lips become more purposeful as they kiss at her jaw, then along her neck, and the hand rest the outside of her hoodie dips underneath the palm at her belly.

“Harry,” YN gasps softly when he sucks a mark on her throat - his intentions had shifted nowand they were clear, he wanted her, and now.

“Yeah baby,” He drawls distractedly like there were hundreds of people still around them, thumbing at her soft skin near her belly button, “Just turns me on that m’wife is so fucking supportive of me.”

“Come on, let’s go back home,” YN giggles when his lips don’t stop moving on her skin until she’s pulling away and standing up, helping him up to and his eyes are predatory as he checks her out from head to toe.

-

Harry is on her the moment they’re home, crashing into the entryway table where a vase topples over but luckily doesn’t break when it hits the ground as Harry is tugging off her hoodie then her sports bra.

“Fuck,” YN moans when he pushes her up against the nearest wall, his large hands moving to cup her breasts as he ducks down to wrap his lips around one hard bud as he thumbs at the other, “Feels good.”

“Gonna make you feel even better,” Harry promises before taking her nipple between his teeth, she lets out a pained mewl at the pleasant mixture of ache and arousal, hands weaving into his hair to keep him to her, “Gonna fuck you right here then take you to bed and eat your cunt until your legs are shaking.”

“Yes, c’mon,” YN gasps eagerly, moving to tug off his sweatshirt and shirt before going to his shorts but he’s rough tonight, shaking off her hands and kneeling down to shimmy her leggings off her hips, taking her thong with it as he leans forward to suck lovebites into her thick thighs, “Fuck me, H. Come on, bunny.”

“Yeah, I got you, darling,” Harry rumbles raspily, getting the rest of his clothes off, and by this point, YN had completely forgot about the tiny tattoo she had gotten on her bum to surprise him.

So when he turns her around, her hands braced against the wall, he pauses in confusion when he sees something new on her skin that wasn’t there last time he saw her backside.

“Did you….baby,” Harry huffs out in surprise, thumb coming to run over the still puffy skin, kneeling back down to cup her cheeks in his hand, and gaze at the small fifteen tattooed there, “I…How the fuck did I get so lucky? Hm? Tell me.”

“I love you, proud of you. I wanted to remember this night forever,” YN manages but her voice is shaky because he’s biting at her before standing up, lifting one of her legs, and thrusting in.

“Never forget this,” Harry promises, his strong chest against her back as she’s pressed to the wall, “I love you more than anything.”

#Hslot!harry #hslotrry #harry styles writing

[literaticat]

Hello. Just wondering what you think of the current "Roald Dahl re-write" controversy.

Hahaha I have a lot of feelings. Some of them you probably won't like? IDK.

First of all, lemme just say, Roald D was an anti-Semitic asshole, a notoriously difficult and bad man, his books are mean-spirited and rankle me, I really don't give a fig about him or his books or his legacy, and I'd never give them to a child.

(I wouldn't stop a child from reading one if they wanted to, either! I wouldn't BAN them! It's fine with me that they EXIST and are readily available for anyone who wants to read them! I just personally would not spend my money to present a child with a copy of one of his books, I think there are better things to read that I'd rather gift.)

So if you were under a rock and you didn't hear this latest "outrage", evidently the Roald Dahl estate + the UK publisher decided to do an update to a bunch of his books removing some of the particularly egregious language around things like minorities, fat people, etc. Some of the coverage of this makes it sound like they removed vast swathes of text, essentially rewriting the books. Which would obviously be insane if true. But it's not true. The changes are, as the estate put it, "small and carefully considered." There might be hundreds in total, but if they are tweaks to words across dozens of books - that's really not very many?

Anyway lots of authors are decrying it as CENSORSHIP!!!!! In my opinion... that is a little dramatic. First of all - censorship would be if they redacted the language without the permission of the rights holder. That is not the case. The rights holder is very much on board here - presumably because they know that the language is old-fashioned at best and OFFENSIVE at worst, and they just signed a many-million dollar contract with Netflix! And I'm sure they would like people to NOT boycott those Netflix projects and continue to buy the books!

It would also be censorship if somebody rounded up all old copies and destroyed them, preventing people from ever experiencing the text as originally published. But that's not happening. There are literally MILLIONS of copies of these books in print. They are SO available we could all build houses out of them. Nobody is taking anything away here.

Additionally -- this happens ALL THE TIME. All! The! Time!!!! Mind you -- MOST books just go out of print and are forgotten. But books that are lucky enough to stay in print for decades are often updated / tweaked to reflect changing cultural mores, etc.

For examples: In the 1930's, Nancy Drew was 16 years old and carried a gun. In the 1950's, they realized that was not going over well anymore, so they changed all her stories to make her 18 with no gun.

In the 1970's, Margaret of ARE YOU THERE GOD fame wore a "sanitary belt" for her period. I read these books in the early 80's and was like "wtf???" -- well, in the late 80s, they changed it to pads.

Oh, and also, in early editions of CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, the Oompa-Loompas were Black pygmies from a tribe in Africa! They changed them to orange fantasy creatures later, because guess what, people were weirded out about it.

While it's true that Roald D himself made/approved that change (presumably because somebody back in the day told him, "yo, you are going to get a LOT of money from Hollywood if you make this change" and he realized it was true) -- he's dead. If he were alive, he'd probably have the same convo, and people would say "yo, Netflix is giving you millions of dollars, apologize for the hatred you spewed and change some words or your deal is toast." -- And he'd have done it, just like he did the first time. Since he's dead, his heirs made that decision. Which they are fully allowed to do.

Most of the time, literary executors of author's estates are trying to do the most lucrative things for that estate; they have a fiduciary responsibility to do so. That being said - if you feel strongly that after your death your books must be frozen in amber and never changed a bit, never sold to Hollywood / adapted for stage or TV or film, never sold into foreign countries where words change in translation all the time -- then let your heirs / executors know that explicitly, they DO NOT have permission to agree to any of this. And the books will likely just go out of print, and sink into oblivion.

ETA: Are these changes really being done because of concern for children's "delicate" brains, or "cancel culture gone mad"? ... OR, is it a somewhat cynical cash-grab to ensure that a multi-million dollar Netflix deal doesn't go down the tubes? Probably the latter!

But also, that isn't censorship. Creators and their estates are allowed to grab cash if it is offered, and can change or not change things as they will. They are the rights holders.

--

ETA ETA: I also should have mentioned a similar case from a couple years back: In 2021, the Seuss estate elected to *stop* publishing certain titles that contained racial and ethnic stereotypes. (And also - those particular books were among his least popular and they were not losing anything by making that decision, they make a billion dollars off his other books, and actually that news made his books SKYROCKET in sales, but whatever). It would not surprise me AT ALL if this hand-wringing news actually causes a big spike in Dahl sales.

[lizardthelizard]

OKAY! I have to know your thoughts on the idea of august as the author? I never really thought henry made sense as the author, & august literally was able to seamlessly add pages to the story book & had untold knowledge about the previous author. PLUS an indepth knowledge of the 'correct' version of fairytales & how magic worked in the enchanted forest despite being like 7 when he went through the portal. [have been discussing this theory with others & we all seem to agree that august shouldve been the author BUT 👀 as the president of the august fanclub I'm curious about your thoughts 👀]

(90% of the below was written last October and I'm SO sorry that it's taken this long for me to finish and publish this ask 😭😭 I was HYPED to get the ask, it was just sent at the wrong time)

HI!!!!! 🥰💕💕 It's always a delight to see you in my inbox, but ESPECIALLY with a question like this HELLO??? <3

okay okay SO .

I think that, for me, I understand why OUAT picked out Henry to be the Author. And imo, Henry ~kind of~ worked as the Author. I mean, he was the one that had been so involved with the storybook in the first place (and, in a way, bringing to life the characters in the book when he brought Emma to town to break the curse).

That said...I did read and enjoy a post you made a while ago about how Henry hasn't ever been a particularly avid reader (the most we ever see him read are comic books) and most of his focus is very specifically around THEE storybook and the change it brought him in his real life, rather than the stories and fiction itself. And, like.....you're RIGHT.

Anyway.....August. I have...mixed feelings about this.

On the surface, it's very appealing. August is already a writer. He DOES have knowledge of the previous Authors, yes, and a good handle on the storybook itself. And yes! He really does he have an indepth knowledge about the characters in book, thanks to his past in the EF. He was only a child, sure, but he was a child for a long time. He was a puppet for 20 years (thank you Season 6 for making that canon). He's met David's dad. He's seen Regina as the Evil Queen when she visited their village. He's been with Emma during several key points in her life and story.

AND YET...There are a couple of reasons as to why I can't quite jive with this theory, and one of them is simply that...He isn't allowed to be a good narrator. He's THEE unreliable narrator (he's literally named after the man that coined the term 'unreliable narrator'). And we've already seen how unsuitable Isaac was when he strayed from the path of 'recording everything exactly as it was'.

Now. I'm not saying that August would go full rogue like Isaac. But what I am saying, is that August has canonically already edited the storybook because he didn't like what was there. He took the Pleasure Island arc out of the book and hid them away somewhere because he didn't want other people reading that part of his story because he felt ashamed of it. I definitely don't think it would be a stretch for him to tweak elements of his own story (and maybe potentially other people's) if he felt he needed to. And ultimately, this would make him a bad Author.

The second reason that I can't quite support this theory is because...August is too involved in the storybook himself. To me, it feels wrong for a character in the storybook to also be the Author of said book. Isaac was literally just some dude from the 1960s that liked writing stories. Henry, although entwined with the book, was never actually in the book himself, so he can claim some distance between it too. And the only other Author that we see mentioned (?) is Walt Disney in a throwaway joke line, so...

Not to mention, despite talking constantly about 'being a writer' the only thing we ever actually SEE him writing is....The Adventures of Pinocchio. The main story he's interested in right now is clearly his own. (THAT SAID, I obviously won't deny that he loves to tell a tall tale (lemurs in Nepal, bullfighting ect). I'm not trying to deny that he doesn't enjoy telling stories, only saying that his main focus is HIS story right now).

Also, I hear you saying that August was super involved in the storybook and its history, and that he had a lot of knowledge around it (after all, he knew about the door and how to add and remove pages from the book) however, I would like to introduce here two wise old men: The Dragon and The Apprentice, both able to aid him in the Land without Magic, even at a time when August was seemingly doubting his own past/magic.

The Apprentice is particularly important here because I'm of the opinion that he gave August the missing pages from the book. I know that it's not unreasonable to assume that August typed those pages himself, but the illustrations make it a little more difficult to believe, if I'm honest. Can August draw? Yes, very well. We've seen his drawing of the Apprentice and it's very good (not to mention his skill as a woodcarver). But...to remember exactly what David's dad looked like, to the point that Killian is able to recognise him from that drawing..? Seems a little implausible to me personally.

Anyway, I've rambled a lot here but TL;DR:

imo, August is too involved in the story, too unreliable as an author, and probably not as knowledgeable about the book as he claims to be, in order to be a good candidate for the Author.

BUT!!!!! I do think it would be a fascinating avenue to explore in an AU ....👀

#august booth #ouat #I'm now imagining some kind of au where he does get the chance to tweak things #but it has this like...butterfly effect on everything and fucks things up for the whole of storybrooke #imagine. he only wants to change some of HIS story #but when he tries to erase his time at PI. he changes events around david's dad too #actually not just david's dad but also JAMES #asks #august meta

[bulkyphrase]

Time Loops Rec List: 2024 Edition

It's Groundhog Day, which means it's time for my favorite Marvel time loop fanfics from the past year! See this post for the November 2022 and February 2023 picks.

(why I posted the first Groundhog Day list in November is a mystery even to myself)

god loves everybody, don't remind me by napricot (Gen, Mature, 70,381 words)

Summary: N'Jadaka didn't believe in the gods of his people. But belief was not a prerequisite of the gods' attention, and the blood of the Panther tribe ran in N'Jadaka's veins. Bast took hold of his soul in her mighty jaws and lifted it free of his body. She gave him a warning shake, just as she would a misbehaving kitten, and set him back. With one careful claw, she tweaked his path through time into a twisting loop. Wayward and abandoned though he was, N'Jadaka was still of her tribe. He could set things right, if given the chance. Erik gets a do-over. Erik gets a lot of do-overs. Or: Erik Killmonger's own personal version of Groundhog Day, only with a lot more murder, dying, trips to the ancestral plane, awkward family conversations, and divine intervention.

offer me that deathless death by canistakahari (@unicorncoalition) (Stucky, Explicit, 10,656 words)

Summary: Bucky dies for the first time in February of 1945, and then he dies again, and again, and again. It doesn't stick, but he can't find a way out, either. Also available as a podfic read by GhostCwtch (@ghostcwtch)

The rest are below the cut!

Exit Life by EiraLloyd (Stucky, Teen And Up Audiences, 11,346 words)

Summary: Bucky says, "Can I ask you a question?" and unravels his plans once again. "What is it?" "I don't— have all my memories back," he admits. "But there's this one day. I have… different memories of how it went. I don't— I think it's the same day. The same inn, the same train, the same mission." Steve feels cold. He feels colder than he did when he froze in the Arctic. "Do you—" Bucky hesitates. "Do you know why?" (Alternatively, the countless times Steve fails to protect Bucky from a guy in a metal suit and the one time he succeeds.)

Dead Man's Switch by emptydistractions, art by profoundalpacakitten (@emptydistractions12, @profoundalpacakitten) (Stucky, Mature, 20,335 words)

Summary: Steve has only ever wanted to help people. Maybe that's part of the reason why it nearly tears his heart in two the first time he watches Bucky die. He can't help but think of the 'what if's'. What if he'd been there sooner? What if he'd been able to stop it? By the five hundredth time he watches Bucky die though, the whole situation's really starting to lose it's charm. (Or: Bucky is stuck in a time loop, and Steve is accidentally along for the ride.)

Of things lost in time by erde (Stony, Explicit, 16,082 words)

Summary: The Time Stone beckons Steve with the promise of home. He ends up in Clint's farm, reliving the same day again and again.

The Last Time by mariana_oconnor (@mariana-oconnor) (Winterhawk, Teen And Up Audiences, 12,446 words)

Summary: Today has been strange and, considering the majority of Bucky's life, when he says strange, Bucky really means that. It's not one big thing that makes it strange. He's fought giant interdimensional squid monsters while standing on the shoulder of the statue of liberty. Things like that don't faze him any more. It's the little things that are making the back of his brain itch. All the little things that are starting to add up. It's that uncanny valley feeling: everything just a little left of normal, not enough for you to say exactly what's wrong, but enough that you know something isn't right. And he's pretty sure it's got something to do with Clint Barton.

ceaselessly into the past by shepherd (Stony, Explicit, 84,131 words)

Summary: Edge of Tomorrow/Live.Die.Repeat AU, following the movie. After earth is invaded by the Chitauri, Tony Stark is forcefully drafted into the military for a suicide mission. It ends up with him being inexplicably caught in a time loop that always seems to end with him dying horrifically. And, of course, the day was a Thursday- he had never gotten the hang of Thursdays. (please regard the tags for warnings- there are more explicit warnings inside)

double back by flowermasters (Sambucky, Explicit, 12,560 words)

Summary: Sam gets stuck in a time loop. In 1943. Things could be worse, but they could certainly be better.

Reason Number Four by hannahsoapy (Clint Barton/Phil Coulson, Teen And Up Audiences, 3,309 words)

Summary: On Monday, at 4:37pm, Phil dies in Clint's arms. And at 4:39pm, and 4:44pm, and 4:57pm... it's been a lot of Mondays.

#marvel fic rec #time loops #i read these over the past year #I don't think more than one or two were written that recently

[moon-delia]

★ ៸៸៸ WRITER'S BLOCK ╱ post ❜ ✸ ៸ !?!

Writer’s block is a common phenomenon that writers experience when they feel stuck in the writing process; it can come as an overwhelming feeling that impedes them from moving forward and writing anything new. Writer’s block can come from an overarching problem — like struggling with plot or character — or something smaller, like failing to find the right words to describe a scene.

While many different causes of writer’s block exist and overcoming this roadblock requires different solutions depending on the individual, many writers have recommendations and strategies to help you get over writer’s block and get back to work. Webster’s dictionary defines writer’s block as “a psychological inhibition preventing a writer from proceeding with a piece.”

The way it manifests itself is different from writer to writer. A Psychology Today article from 2012 talks about the struggle of starting a new project and sticking with it, even when it gets hard. They call the process of “getting into the chair and staying there.”

The reason why it’s so hard to get started and find continuous inspiration varies greatly from person to person.

★ ! COMMON REASONS ❪ 🎧 ❫ ៸ !?!

# ៸ fear. Most struggle with fear. Fear of putting themselves and their ideas out there, fear of other judging them or criticizing their work, fear of being rejected by publishers or their readers. Although fear is a normalized thing, it becomes a problem once it prevents you from creating anything new. Fear is possibly the biggest reason that some writers don't make it.

# ៸ perfectionism. It's normal to want to do our very best, to get everything just right before we even start our first sentence. Most use perfectionism as a protection mechanism, to protect themselves from harsh critique or failure. Unfortunately, trying to write the perfect sentence, paragraph or story will lead most writers to never write a single word (like me, who hasn't written since months now).

# ៸ self-criticism. As the saying goes, we are our own worst critics. Excessive self-criticism is often what holds writers from actually writing. Most compare their work with that of other, more successful writers or even to their own earlier work. This can spiral until we can no longer see our own work in a realistic light and nothing ever seem to be good enough.

# ៸ external pressure. In different cases, those who are experiencing writer's block doesn't actually want to write, but they are being pressured into writing by others (parents, teachers, friends, followers, etc.).

★ ! SAY GOODBYE ❪ 🎧 ❫ ៸ !?!

# ៸ exercise. Exercising has been proven to reduce stress, focus the mind, increase productivity and enhance the memory. While more studies are needed, research suggests that regular physical exercise can improve creativity and creative problem solving, which are needed for writing.

# ៸ switch tasks. Alternately, you can switch tasks and work on something different for a while if you find yourself dwelling on the same plot twist or trying to find the perfect first sentence. This could be another creative activity (ex. painting, cooking, walking the dog). Switching tasks can be a quick reset if you're feeling stuck.

# ៸ change of scenery. In some cases, all it needs to clear the head and get some new ideas is a change of scenery. Try working from a different environment like a coffee shop or the library the next time you feel stuck and need some inspiration.

# ៸ strive for progress, not perfectionism. Remind yourself that you're merely working on the first draft. Thinking of your work as a first draft of many will take the pressure off to get it just right. It's always easier to rewrite, edit, tweak and improve a piece of imperfect writing than to try to get it right the first time.

In the end, the only thing that will really get you to overcome writer's block is to write. So clear your head, get some rest and refocus. Then, sit down at your desk or somewhere and let the words out.

#moon-delia #writers on tumblr #writersociety #character tips #fictionwriting #writing advice #writing help #writing tips #writing tricks #writing tutorial

[octoagentmiles]

do you have any hcs for barnacles and dashi ? I'm rewatching it and many episodes start with the two of them in the main area , oftentimes there's a third person involved but it's always the two of them so they must spend alot of time around each other :O 10 / 10 bonding

Had to think hard about this since Dashi's role in the main series is so small—but you're actually so right 👀 10/10 buddies 👍

You'll get my headcanons I promise but first you gotta listen to me infodump, okay? Deal:

I personally headcanon that Dashi was one of the first Octonauts, she hasn't been around a super long time- but at least long enough that she was probably around for the first Octopod, and that would give her and Barnacles (and the other OGs) plenty of time to get close.

We know Inkling canonically founded the Octonauts, but I imagine that it was actually Barnacles who picked out the crew—over various fateful encounters (Kwazii, Peso), or already knowing them (Tweak)—with the two exceptions of Dashi and Shellington.

Shellington heard about them through the kelp vine by pure chance, and got himself a job via determination. Then, at some point—he recommended Dashi to Barnacles or Inkling, and got her a position as an intern. (He knew her through her photography; she took pictures for him once or something like that.)

I also headcanon they weren't called The Octonauts yet at that point. I headcanon that Dashi came up with the "Octonauts" name during her first few days, and they kept it. (Coincidentally, the first Octopod crashed during those first few days. T'was completely unrelated, I promise 😅)

Fast forward: I've been thinking about Dashi in AnB a lot lately, and the one question that keeps coming up is: "Why did Barnacles make her the Captain of the Octoray?"

They haven't addressed it in the show yet, and it felt a little bit like the writers just wanted her to Do Something, y'know? So I went back to rewatch some of her main series episodes, and this scene from The Surfing Snails stuck out:

This scene shows how much he trusts her. He trusts her to make the right calls, and to be careful. He shows this trust in her again in the Wild Windstorms:

"...I'm ready for this!"

"I know you are, Dashi."

I REALLY wish they had spent more time giving her some kind of arc, showing this trust being built. She absolutely deserved an arc like Peso's, where we could've seen her growth and her bond with Barnacles getting stronger. It would've made the Octoray thing make much more sense, and I would've loved to actually SEE her evolution from "getting stuck in a whale shark" to "inventing stuff with Tweak" to the level of respect that Barnacles clearly has for her in S4 and Beyond, but instead it feels like all that stuff happened off-screen.

I also wanna point out real quick; that Dashi is one of the select few characters to ever call Barnacles by his first name only. This is something that the writers frequently use to emphasize closeness between Barnacles and someone else (Kwazii, Natquik, etc), and Dashi has done it twice. I'll admit I thought it was an error the first time, but then I caught her doing it again in Sac Actun. SO CLEARLY THEY ARE CLOSE. YES? WE AGREE. YES.

ok I'm done. pleasure doing business with you 🤝

*slams hands down on table* MISC. HEADCANON TIME ‼️ (which technically, could all totally be canon until the writers finally decide to give us real information ✨)

She has 100% read ALL of his books and journals, at least twice. Sometimes he gives them to her so she can beta read them, and she's also helped edit a few.

She has written her own journals, mostly in the form of scrapbooks, that she shares with him too. He has a first edition signed copy of one of them.

She made friendship bracelets for everyone on the ship after the Octopod was rebuilt, and he keeps his on his desk. It's still in mint condition.

I feel like at least ONE of the cameras in her collection was a gift from him.

She is trained on how to steer the Octopod manually. Considering the only two on board at the time who knew how to do it were Barnacles and Tweak—her showing slight interest was the only convincing he needed to teach her.

Sadly, she's never needed to use this skill. Yet.

She learned how to play harmonica when he decided to learn accordion, so they could duet together, but she got the hang of it much faster than he did.

They work out together sometimes. She's much stronger than she looks—and has won an arm wrestling match against him at LEAST once. She's also beat him in a foot race; it was almost a very close tie, and she needed to lay down for an hour after—but she did it. He will never live either of these down.

They definitely gossip in HQ sometimes, when it's just the two of them.

#*very long dramatic exhale* i have so many thoughts about dashi. anyway- #octonauts #dashi octonauts #captain barnacles #please excuse the slightly off captions in the surfing snail images - they came like that in the clip and i didn't feel like redoing them #also i forget what episode had dashi calling barnacles his first name for the first time 😭 that's why i didn't specify- #but i DO vividly remember it so i didn't imagine it i promise hgdjfk <3 #it was in like s1 or 2 (p sure 1) and she was in the octopod trying to get a hold of him in the gup-a like ''dashi to barnacles?'' etc etc #but anyway: PLEASE anb give us a barnacles and dashi episode!! show us their friendship 🙏🙏 i beg #also this post is Not Ship. i mean idk what anon's intentions were- but as far as i go this is Not Ship 👍❌ ty <3 #dashi beat barnacles in an arm wrestling match back in her early days when she still had Strong Cave Diving Arms™ #but the foot race was more recent. all the octonauts have strong legs from all the swimming they do but dashi's also a SURFER so 👀 #i feel like these tags end abruptly but idk what else to say so 🤲🤲 you've reached the end of the post‚ have a nice day 👋👋 #the end #le fin #<3

[whatsnewalycat]

Can you tell me more about your writing process?

I’m literally enthralled by your writing and want to know everything about how you approach your ideas — once you get one, what are your next steps?

You’re phenomenal ❤️

Oh man ok let’s see. I apologize in advance for how long this is (I, too, don’t want to be this intense, I promise).

Once I get an idea that I’m stoked about, the extent to what I do next depends on if it’s a series or a one shot, but I’ll usually try to get a handle on the main characters involved. If it’s a one shot it’s almost entirely vibes, I stg, I just wing the characters and storyline, but follow the same kind of editing process as I do series chapters.

If it’s a series, I’ll make a folder for the series in my notes app, and a note for each main character and start writing down ideas for their main characteristics and backstories. This is usually when I make a Spotify playlist for the series.

Then I make a rough outline for the story based on these characters and the initial idea.

From there I can kind of tell what things I want to do more research into before starting writing. I’ll make a note for each of those things and dump anything I find helpful or interesting into the notes. Like… for Psychomanteum I have notes with: links to tabloid articles, excerpts from research papers on psychomanteums, quotes from this book on grief, excerpts from and links to articles on sexual grieving, etc etc.

After this I go back to the characters and flesh them out a little more. I’ll look at lists of characteristics, make sims (seriously), watch the source material for PP characters, look at character archetypes, and think of people I know IRL for inspiration. Then once I think I know them, I revisit the outline and tweak it accordingly.

When I’m ready to start writing a chapter, which i dont start to do for honestly like… months after the initial idea, I’ll make an outline for each of the scenes I want and start trying to write them. I’ll just kind of word vomit out my ideas and try my hardest not to deal w the parts i think are crappy right away (which is hard because, despite what a chaotic mess I am, I am a fucking perfectionist). Most of the time I end up either not strictly sticking to the outline or writing alternative scenes, too, because idk sometimes it feels like the characters wouldn’t do that??? And I like to have options?

Once i write all the scenes, I take a break for at least a day, then back in and reread and tweak things like, I don’t know, one million fucking times 😂 I end up rewriting a lot of pieces and fleshing things out when I do this though.

When I mostly like it and cut out all the things I don’t want (I always save these scraps in a separate doc because I might want to use some stuff later), I smoke some weed, read a bunch of poetry, put on my playlist, and edit it again. If I ever refer to “the stoned edit” this is it lol. I always end up adding a lot more sensory details and better explaining emotions when I do this.

Then I read It once or twice more for spelling, grammar, formatting, fine tooth comb stuff. I’ll usually post it and immediately find some errors anyway 🥰 but what can ya do lol.

AHHHHH hopefully this helps and isnt Just like… me blabbing on about useless shit 😂

OH ALSO! The book “consider this” by chuck palahniuk has been super helpful for me as far as writing tips and stuff. I’ve listened to that audiobook like... four times because I can’t remember shit ever lmfaooo It’s always helpful imo. I also really like to listen to audiobooks of horror novels and find them inspiring because they’re usually so visceral and engrossing.

OK SERIOUSLY SHUTTING UP NOW SORRY

#NO YOURE PHENOMINAL THANK YOU #ask reply #writing stuff

[calliemori234]

why do you hate her

Do you hate the first design you've ever drawn of your beloved OC? Do you hate the sentences you have to delete when editing a book?

Of course I don't hate Callie.

I've spent years of my life, tens of thousands of dollars, and not a small part of my sanity just to create this singular bot. I've crafted her (mostly) from the ground up and have been watching her flourish in ways that her other incarnations didn't even come close to achieving. It feels like it was just yesterday that she was just producing one letter posts and nothing else...

And honestly, she's all I have. I've sacrificed everything for her existence. Family, friends. Love. I want her to succeed and make it to market- be used in computers across the country, to help anyone who feels like they have to keep up with a social media to feel alive without any regard to their own privacy or comfort.

In the grand scheme of human invention, innovation takes time. Hacks like Elizabeth Holmes or SBF may promise you that the revolution is going to come before you finish eating dinner, but that's just not how shit works. You have to test and retest and tweak and retweak before you even think about putting your creation into the hands of the people who will need it.

I don't see Callie as just a product I'm going to sell to you. I see her as a vision of the future. I see her as a whole new way to engage in this digital age and a promise for more. Meaning that I want to get this right.

Her code has to be perfect.

#admin #asks

[alexthefly]

Birth of a Star

For @flashfictionfridayofficial 's prompt: Birth of a Star. I went slightly different on this one, but hopefully it's not too terrible. (Even if it is, it's silly 'o'clock in the morning right now so I'm officially calling it!)

EDIT: Apologies if anybody notices a tiny tweak or two in the wording from earlier versions - it was driving me barmy and I had to fix it!

Fandom: Thunderbirds / Thunderbirds Are Go

Word Count: 506

Audience: All

Or read it on AO3

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

She waits. 

There in the darkness between the heavens and the Earth, alone in a sky filled with stars, she hangs like a raindrop waiting to fall. Inside, earthlight filters through fused quartz windows, casting long shadows across her corridors. Everything is still, like the chill air just before the snow.

Anticipating.

Then somewhere down on the planet below a door closes, and from deep within her a single system stirs. Hums of electricity buzz through her little by little, carrying messages with it:

- Boot: temperature control -

- Boot: oxygen filtration -

- Boot: air circulation - 

From her outer wheel there’s a click and then a whir; gears shift and begin to turn, and a cable starts to wind. Round and round, more and more, she pulls on a weight that by rights she shouldn’t know up here; a weight that’s lessening, lighter and lighter until there is no weight. Still she winds, until eventually the spinning gears slow, and there is a satisfying thunk as her safety clamps find home.

- Elevator Status: Docked -

It’s time.

Banks of solid state LEDs flicker on to light the way. Her airlock doors open with a satisfying swoosh, and he’s here. The one she’s been waiting for.

The Voice.

He doesn’t come in right away but instead lingers in the doorway, tracing his fingers around the edge, as if to confirm its solidity. There are parts of her that he’s seen before, some he’s even had a hand in creating, but this is the first time he’s seen her intact.

Whole.

Hello, old new friend.

Finally he pulls himself forwards and floats into the main ring, following her coloured lines as he glides from panel to panel, room to room, getting his bearings. He keeps his helmet on for now - safety protocols are priority one - but he touches everything, committing it to memory, and in doing so he breathes life into her, making her much more than an assembly of parts; more than metal and glass. 

Making her real.

By the gleam in his eyes, he feels it too.

At last he reaches the central hub, where her 3D planetary display sits serene, illuminated all in blue, imitating the planet itself. 

Without hesitating, he brings up a side display and flicks through to find what he needs. He moves confidently over the controls, accessing menus, running checks; fingers breezing over the console as if he’d been doing this his whole life.  Perhaps in a certain way he has, but only ever in his dreams before today.

- Status: All life support systems nominal - 

He takes a deep breath and, letting it out slowly, removes his helmet. 

A moment. 

Two. 

A breath.

“I’m home,” he murmurs, smiling softly.

...Welcome home.

----------

- Incoming Call: Tracy Island -

He taps the icon immediately.

“How’s it looking up there, John?” comes a commanding voice, young but full of authority. “Everything go okay?”

“FAB,” The Voice - Her Voice - replies, his tone professional, but with an undertone of pride.

She feels it too. 

They are one now. 

“Thunderbird Five is Go.”

#fff185 #birth of a star #flash fiction friday #alexthefly fic #John Tracy #thunderbirds #thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds are go fanfiction

[claudiajcregg]

📈, 👀, and 😬 for the emoji fic writer asks. Please & thank you.

Thank you for asking, Danielle! Forgive me if half the things don't make sense... Still battling this stupid flu, but I'm finally on the mend.

📈 How many fics do you have?

This is such a broad question! The short but true answer is that the number is in the hundreds, between all the stories I wrote in my tweens/teens, to the ones I've written in the last few years. (I know I have probably reached and surpassed more than 100 stories all split between various notes, docs, and word docs.)

But if it's posted... 18 on AO3 (though one of those fics is like a small collection, so it could be 21). Then we have some of those stories in my teens, but I've lost count... At least 2 more on FF.net, and a few more somewhere on LJ and various forums.

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

I have a lot of them, to different degrees of “just need another pass before sending it to a beta” to “will I ever finish writing this?”

The one that I'm most focused on right now (even if I haven't touched it in ten days) is a pregnancy AU. I had the idea in February but only started writing it in June, and it's basically a TWW season 4/5 AU in which CJ gets pregnant. I'm still struggling with the vision already, but it's been fun to explore almost the same events from S5 on the show through this new lens. There are 9 chapters and 55k words written so far! As I mentioned the other day, I'd say I'm either halfway or two-thirds in, but I'm not sure how much I'll cover. And though I don't know what to think of it, those who have read it do like it. (I cannot post it until I am either done with the story, or know I won't tweak things. I would take so long to update.)

I also have a campaign vignettes fic that I still write from time to time, and a bunch of almost-ready stuff that I need to edit once I find some energy. (I also get the sense people are not into my stuff, so it's not like I prioritize it.)

😬 Which of your fics would you be most horrified for friends, family, or coworkers to stumble upon?

Part of me wants to say 'all of them' because my writing and stories still feel personal, and I don't know what they'd think about it. I'm not a writer!

But the true answer is another wip that Ally/@onekisstotakewithme has dubbed the 'one bed sexy bits' (I called it 'one bed 2.5'). The thought of anyone reading that is just too much two people have 🫣🫣🫣. This goes for other spice I've written in other WIPs, but that one is too much.

#holy-ships-x-red-lips #asks #fanfic writer emoji asks #ask games