#less than 10% of the way to the end!!! i thought i was exaggerating when i said 90% of the novel had no romance but no!!!

[lloydfrontera]

male authors, writing m/m friendships: their bond will develop through hundreds of chapters, we will get to see each stage of their budding relationship, they'll constantly be in each other thoughts, their first instinct will always be to reach for the other, their first worry will always be the other's safety, they'll spend every minute of the day together, they'll be complete opposites and yet perfectly compliment each other, they will put everything they ever loved in risk just to keep the other safe, they will give their life without hesitation to save the other's, they will fight and argue and tease and joke around but they will always be at each other's side at the end of the day, they will plan to spend the rest of their lives together, sharing the happy moments and the hard times, the idea of being without the other being unthinkable, the thought of being always together coming naturally, as easy as breathing.

the same male authors, writing m/f romance: she'll like,, smile once at him and he'll start thinking of marrying her and having children with her idk

#i talk a lot <3 #tged #the greatest estate developer #ch 368 #LITERALLY WHAT THE FUCK SIR #i remember the romance being sudden but this is fucking ridiculous lmaooooo #it came out of fucking nowhere!!! it's so shoehorned in there they almost cut off the heel to make it fit!!! #i don't think they've spent more than like.... 12 hours in the same room in all the years they've known each other.... what the fuck.... #and in fucking ch 368!! literally 40 ch away from the ending!! #less than 10% of the way to the end!!! i thought i was exaggerating when i said 90% of the novel had no romance but no!!! #i was fucking right!!!! #this is........ infuriating skjashdkdsf #to be clear i am not saying friendships cannot do everything i just listed here #of course they can!! more friendships in fiction should be like that!! but!!! you cannot write a friendship between two characters like tha #and then put one of those two characters in a romantic relationship with a completely different character #and not give it even a tenth of the attention you gave to the friendship and expect me to find it realistic!!! or compelling!!! #either give it the same level of attention or just!! don't include it!! #that's also an option!! just leave the incredibly compelling friendship you wrote be the highlight of the novel!! #let it be the most important relationship of the plot!! let it be the happy ending for those characters!! that's perfectly okay!!! #FUCK!!!! #i'm fine i'm normal i'm okay

[fumikoshi]

''How could you do this to your beloved husband, y/n…? I thought you loved me...''

...

''...No answer, huh? You pretended to love me all this time. Tell me, y/n, why did you marry me? To play with my feelings?''

''...Toru, don't exaggerate. Whatever you do, my decision is final. Just for one month, you'll stay away from sugar and sweets and sweets. It's for your own good.''

Your voice was stern, you weren't going to let him change your mind. He breathed dramatically and pressed his hand to his chest.

''I can't believe that my own wife wants to kill me-! Is this your plan to get rid of me? How could you do this to me? How do you think I can do it without those soft kikufukus, sweet cakes, and candies?''

''Toru-! Don't act like a drama queen, it's only one month.''

''What?! 10 years? Ah- please kill me instead of this..''

You sighed deeply. He really was like a child. Sometimes you think you're babysitting a child.

''Please, my lovely wifey~, you can't spare your super handsome, strong and lovely hubby~''

he took your delicate face in his huge hands and he looked at you with those beautiful blue eyes that he thought you couldn't say no to him. You frowned and grabbed his large hands and pulled them away from your cheeks.

''No is no, Satoru. You can't make me change my mind.''

he pursed his lips and threw himself down on the couch and spoke in a whimpering voice.

''You're too cruel to your hubby''

It was hard for you to restrict him from what he loved, but you had to do it. He ate too many sweets, and sometimes he preferred to have cake or candy instead of breakfast. This was very bad for his health. Especially teeth health. You thought that one month without sugar would reduce his sugar addiction.

At the end of one month, the last day of his diet, you will make him his favorite kikufuku with your own hands as a reward for his patience. With less sugar, of course.

Everything was going well for one week. At least that's what you thought. Little did you know, Gojo's love for sugar was as unyielding as his determination in battle.

One evening, as you preparing dinner, you heard a faint rustling coming from the direction of the pantry. Suspicion pricked at your senses. you went to the pantry to find out the source of the sound.

There, standing amidst the shelves of provisions, was Gojo himself, a joyful expression flitting across his features as he hastily stuffed something into his mouth. There was a lot of candy in an old box. Now you understand. The day you imposed the ban, he had made himself a stash of candy and put them in an old box, and placed the box in the pantry so it wouldn't attract too much attention.

That explains why he goes to the pantry every day, always with some excuse.

Caught red-handed, he froze, his eyes widening in surprise and guilt when he noticed you. The candies fell out of his hand

"Gojo Satoru," you exclaimed, your voice a mixture of disbelief and admonishment. "What do you think you're doing?"

Gojo attempted to feign innocence, his mouth still half-full of contraband candy. "Oh, wifey," he began, his voice laced with charm. "I was just… uh… inspecting the pantry! Yes, inspecting. I-I felt the presence of a curse here"

you crossed your arms over your chest, your patience wearing thin.

"Don't try to make excuses your way out of this, Satoru," you retorted, your tone firm. "You know very well that I've forbidden you from eating sugary stuff. And yet, here you are, sneaking around like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar."

Gojo's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Buut I just couldn't resist~."

He whined like a child. You sighed and shook your head in disbelief. "You're worse than a child sometimes, you know that? You're lucky I love you. Throw them in the trash right now and wash your hands. Dinner will be ready soon" When you said this, he pursed his lips and whined.

''...Okay''

Suddenly, a wry grin formed on his lips and pulled you to his chest

''But maybe you'll let me eat you out after dinner to curb my sweet tooth, wifey~''

Your eyes widened and cheeks turned red when you understood what he implied.

''Satoru!''

Fumi: I would be very happy if you could tell me what you think of this one-shot in the comments. ♥

#gojo angst #gojo imagine #gojo fanfic #gojo smut #gojo x you #gojou satoru x reader #gojo x reader #gojo satoru #satoru x you #jjk satoru #satorugojo #jujutsu satoru #gojo jjk #satoru x reader #satoru gojo #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu gojo #jjk x reader

[harry-sussex]

This was, no joke, the best moment of my entire life. I have been waiting so long for this. I never thought it would happen.

I had originally planned to volunteer with the UK branch of my job today, but when I saw the announcement, I knew I had to do this instead. I decided to get dinner at the pub, Dog and Duck, last night to look inside and try it out - I got bangers and mash and some fish (sans chips) as an appetizer, and it was legitimately so good. I also tried the Timothy Taylor’s Landlord Beer – you can see William in the photos from today right behind the tap. My server’s name was Bernie, and you can see her in some photos with William and Kate today too – tiny woman, short gray hair cut into a bob.

I set earlier alarms this morning but due to the time difference / jet lag, I didn’t make it here until 10am. I popped into a Tesco Express on the way to grab some flowers at @avidroyalfan’s advice – yellow of course, the brightest bunch I could find.

I made it over to the area around the pub and there were barricades and policemen everywhere. There was also a black Range Rover parked at the far end of Frith Street – the street they mentioned in the press release yesterday. It thought it was mildly crowded when I got there, but it didn’t even begin to compare to the crowd that had gathered closer to their arrival.

I really had trouble picking where I was going to stand – I didn’t want to be behind anyone, I just wanted to be up against the barricade, but given that the crowd was so relatively sparse on Frith Street (as opposed to right across from the pub on Dean Street) when I got there, I wasn’t sure they were going to come my way. I was also praying that I’d be on Kate’s side of the road if they came by – you guys know I love William, but if I had a chance, this once in a lifetime chance, I needed Kate. I went with my gut, a little further down the road than where the crowd at the time had started to assemble, so I could be right against the barricades. From the moment I got to the barricade, I was literally shaking, and I am not exaggerating – you can see it in one of the videos.

I passed the time talking to some lovely people – some of whom planned to be there and some of whom happened to stroll by. I met a lovely woman, Cath, who took tons of photos without me even asking – she just saw how excited I was and took the photos to send to me. Another woman named Teri did the same – just out of the kindness of their own hearts. Those are most of the photos you guys are going to see – I took a bunch while Kate was walking around, but I didn’t want to put my own camera in her face if she was standing right in front of me.

I stood for more than four hours start to finish and I do not regret it in the slightest. I thought a lot about what I was going to say to her if I had the chance – I’ve thought about it so many times over the years, but what could I really say that would summarize more than 10 years of pure admiration and adoration in 30 seconds or less? What could I – an American in London all the way from New York – possibly say to the UK’s next queen to tell her how much she’s meant to me for all these years?

There was a policeman right in front of me – his name was Thompson – who was subtly dropping hints about what was going on. He couldn’t say much but he did hint at the time we could expect them to arrive – about 12:45pm. He ended up pretty close – he told me that he got randomly assigned to the event today and that he (and basically the entire police force) would also be at the coronation. He also confirmed that they would be walking down Frith Street, where I was, though he wouldn’t hint at which of them was going to be on my side of the street.

By the time they arrived, the crowd had literally quadrupled – maybe even more. People were on the rooftops and hanging out of windows. Very few of them had flowers. Businesses let people go on their steps to get a closer view. A helicopter was circling above for security. There were policemen and RPOs everywhere. I thought William and Kate were going to drive right up to the pub but instead they walked from the far end of the street – I suppose because they took the tube. Speaking of the tube, that’s the exact line I took this morning. That’s also where the (absolutely enormous) press pack was assembled.

I could tell when they arrived, even though I couldn’t see them right away, because the roar of the crowd and the sound of dozens of cameras clicking said everything I needed to know. As I was a bit further down the street, I didn’t get the greatest view, but it didn’t matter – you could see Kate from a mile away. That jacket was bright in and of itself but she literally glows. There’s just an inherent radiance about her that cannot be explained unless you see it in real life – she’s ethereal in photos, but they don’t even begin to do her justice. She’s radiant. Also, you can see that her hair is perfect no matter how far away you are. As they turned the corner to get to the pub, I was able to crane my neck a little bit to see them get closer to the door, and I saw The Hand with my own two eyes. William placed his hand on Kate’s lower back to guide her inside – we’ve seen photos millions of times, but seeing it with my own two eyes was unreal. Completely surreal.

They spent far less time inside the pub than I would’ve thought (unless time was flying because I knew they were coming), but again, you could hear them come out the door just by virtue of the roar of the crowd. Thompson the policeman then told me that Kate was coming to my side of the street. I thought I was shaking before – nope, not even remotely compared to how I was when I heard that she was coming my way. I saw William first across the street – he went through relatively quickly but I could somewhat hear him saying “nice to meet you” over and over, shaking hands, laughing, the usual. He’s huge – I always knew he was tall but he’s massive, tall and broad. You could tell from twenty feet away - he’s huge. At one point, I literally blurted out “he’s not wearing blue!” once I saw the brown coat. He was on the side of the road that had more people, and he moved along at a solid pace - it’s definitely true that Kate is a chatter, no wonder they gave her the side of the street with fewer people. She would’ve been outside for 3 hours if she was greeting the amount of people on William’s side. He’s honestly such a good sport – he was shaking hands, standing on his tip toes and craning over the barricades to greet as many people as possible. I could very clearly see the faces of the people looking directly at him – you can tell they absolutely love him. Such genuine smiles. The pure adoration and happiness in their eyes said everything one needs to know – those people absolutely love him like their own.

When Kate turned the corner from the pub towards where I was standing, I swear to god my heart jumped right into my throat and my stomach dropped. God, she’s beautiful. Like I knew this, it isn’t news, the entire world is perfectly aware that she’s one of the most beautiful women on the face of the earth…. but she still managed to stun me anyway. She’s radiant. Absolutely gorgeous.

Somewhere along the way, as she moved down the line of people in my direction, it occurred to me that I was legitimately going to meet, or at the very least greet, Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, after all this time, after so many years… I am not exaggerating when I say I was physically shaking. You can see it on my face in the photos even as she approached, before she came near me – I wasn’t panicking, I was just in awe. I’ve always known she was real of course, but she’s… actually real? Do you know what I mean?

She was moving so slowly compared to William – I swear he was already 75% of the way through his side of the crowd by the time Kate got to me. That’s when I really noticed that she is just so chatty – I didn’t notice her just greeting someone and then moving on quickly. She was so engaged. Every single person I could see was like entranced by her very presence - she’s literally such a vision. It’s not just me, it’s not just us – people are completely fascinated by her.

And then.

She came closer and closer – as I was on her left, I could see the ring. It’s huge – like, it’s big on camera, but the thing is enormous. I could not believe for the life of me that she was right there. I made sure to stick the flowers out enough and stand up straight and believe me when I say I didn’t have to remind myself to smile or make eye contact – I could literally feel myself beaming (right before she got to me):

When she came over, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Before I knew it, Kate was reaching to shake my hand and saying “nice to meet you” and I literally still cannot believe it. I handed over the flowers and I said to her:

“It’s nice to meet you, I just wanted to tell you that I have admired you for so long and that I also studied Italian Renaissance art history just like you did.”

When I said that I admired her, she said “oh, thank you!” as I continued to ramble about the art. She was still holding the flowers. I cannot believe that there are so many pictures of Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales holding bright yellow flowers that I got for her while smiling ear to ear – she handed them off before she moved onto the next person, so she is definitely smiling at me in those photos.

She then asked me if I liked studying art, and I said of course – she responded “me too!” After that, she asked me if I used it in my career, and I said no (which I don’t) but my master’s was a passion project. She then asked where I flew from (the accent, I guess) and I told her that I came from New York. She said that it was such a long way to come and that she was surprised at how many people have traveled so far for the big weekend. She touched my arm so sweetly for like the quickest second; she then said that it was going to be such a big event and that she was looking forward to joining the celebrations and that it was going to be good for everyone.

The last thing I said to her was “also, I ate in the pub last night because I heard you were coming!” and she responded with “oh that’s great, how was the food?” It was legitimately fantastic – I told her so – and she said that they would have to come back and try it when there were fewer people around.

It was then time for her to get moving so I just said “it was so nice to meet you” again and she said “nice to meet you, have a nice day!” Right before she moved on and as she was saying goodbye, she handed off the flowers and went on her way.

The whole thing lasted maybe two minutes, but I will remember it for the rest of my life. Her eyes are so green and she’s just so stunning up close and I just cannot believe she was that close to me and that we were able to talk and she is everything I have ever dreamed she would be and more. Just so sweet and gorgeous and engaged in what we were talking about – she didn’t just say “hi” and “bye,” you know? She listened to what I said and responded back without generalities… everything I ever dreamed of and more. I thought I couldn’t love her more – I do now. She has made my entire day and my entire life and I will literally never forget the vision of Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, Catherine Elizabeth, someone I have adored for more than a decade, standing in front of me.

I am so happy I could cry. I was stunned after - literally could not believe what just happened to me. Take a look at the video below - you can see part of our conversation and then just the pure shock at the end. My hands were literally shaking.

Once the shock wore off, I did in fact cry. They say never to meet your heroes – why not? How could you go wrong meeting someone you have idolized when that someone is Kate?

#my post #katie goes to london pt. 2 #prince william #prince of wales #kate middleton #princess of wales #I’m sorry for the shitty quality I did this from my phone in a Starbucks lol #also thank you all for being so sweet I literally could not ask for anything more #I love you all so much #Kate and Katie

[arcadiabaytornado]

Who are your top 10 misunderstood characters from Life is Strange and Telltale’s The Walking Dead and why?

Kate (LIS) - Kate isn't misunderstood the same way Rachel and Chloe are, but I do think she's often portrayed as much more feeble then she actually is. For example: Kate stands for herself plenty in game. If you tell her to wait for more proof, she'll send Max this text. "Max. Sorry to have bothered you by asking for your advice. I guess I shouldn't do anything but let people enjoy my video all over the world." She'll also bluntly confront Max if you don't intervene when David's in her face. Don't get me wrong, Kate IS an utter sweetheart, but she's not a doormat either. She has a bit of a bite on multiple occasions.

Max (LIS) - Max is similar to Kate for me. I think she's often portrayed as much more feebly then she is. Some people treat her like she's a ...well...doe but she has a very strong bite to her! I mean, she's back with Chloe for 48 hours at most and she pulls a gun on Frank and maybe pulls the trigger. Also, if you don't side with Chloe for a choice, Max is very sassy about Chloe's objections. Chloe will say something like: "If you only you told David it was your joint," and Max will go "Oh, sorry, I was to busy saving your life. 🙄" Max is a very strong character, so I'm shocked that a lot of people see her as being super delicate. She's the furthest thing from a doormat.

More Undercut

Rachel (LIS) - Rachel deserves better. I can't even really get into this fully on this post because I want to keep my reasons shortish (well...short for me) but for a very quick and not detailed recap of my thoughts. 1. We don't even know if she cheated on Chloe, so, no, she's not the devil for sleeping with Frank. 2. Rachel is manipulative to a certain degree, but there's no indicator that she was an evil serpent women who only spoke in lies and manipulation. 3. There's plenty of in game evidence that she cared about Chloe. We can argue all day about whether she was ever in love with Chloe or not, but there's more than enough to back up that she at least cared for her.

Chloe - I'm going to make short points with her like I did with Rachel because this another topic I could make a full rant about. 1. She is mean, but some people really exaggerate the extent of it. 2. She's not evil for being mad that her best friend who ghosted her figured out how to work a phone when Kate called. 3. She's not a bitch for not liking her Step Father who is abusive to her. 4. She's not terrible for having a tense relationship with her Mother, who made it very clear that David is more than important than her. 5. Women are allowed to be flawed.

Ryan (LIS TC) - I will defend Ryan until the day I die. I know it isn't his best moment if he doesn't believe Alex at the end...but of course he doesn't believe Alex in all the endings?? Jed is his FATHER. A father he's close with and has been told his entire life is a hero. Then Alex (rightfully) bursts in and pops his bubble, and in the moment, he doesn't handle that well unless there's a lot of confirmation that his loving father is actually a hidden monster. And yes, I know that Steph backs up Alex no matter what...but Jed isn't her Dad, and she isn't as connected to the town, or it's stories, as deeply as Ryan is. She loses way less if Alex is telling the truth, while Alex's (rightful) honesty destroys what's left of Ryan's family after he already lost his Mother.

Violet (TWDG) - I've always thought it was weird how upset people got when Vi betrayed Clem in the cells. First off...Clem betrayed her first?? Vi spent the entire game defending Clem when no one else would. When AJ killed Marlon she stood in front of them with a cleaver to protect them from the other kids. When everyone voted to kick Clem and AJ out, she was the one shouting from the rooftops that it was unfair. When Clem and AJ came back, she was the one who insured that they could stay. And yet, when Clem saw her in danger, she chose not to save her. It's not shocking that she feels so upset, but it did shock me how fans reacted to it, and I'm someone who saved and romanced Louis! I mean...how unfair is a betrayal really if they stab you with the same knife you stuck in their back?

Louis (TWDG) - It's crazy how much of Ryan's paragraph I could apply to Louis. Of course he gets mad when Clem's murder toddler, who has never been taught restraint, puts a bullet in his best friends head. Marlon had given up. The gun was no longer in his hands. Clem had it handled peacefully, and then the situation ended with a bullet. I totally understand why he was mad, and I even understand why he wanted them to leave and not come back. He was mourning, and his pain is made even worse if you had Clem appeal to him because he helped disarm Marlon and that led to his death. So, in other words, I think his rage in episode 2 is very understandable. Plus, he moves on from his anger and apologizes for kicking them out in...Episode 2. The same episode the anger starts.

Sarah (TWDG) - People complain about her being a burden so much, but honestly that's Carlos's fault. She never really got a chance to be a survivor in the apocalypse because she was sheltered non-stop, and there's multiple moments that imply that she could have made it if things were different. I don't FULLY blame Carlos for sheltering her since I understand wanting your child to grow up in peace instead of surrounded by horror...but he really screwed her over. I think people should be way harsher on him than her. Sarah was doing her best. Carlos was not.

Ben (TWDG) - In the same manner as Sarah, people often complain that he's a burden. And...he kinda is, but also he's also literally sixteen years old. He makes bad choices because he's naive, not because he's malicious. Also, I know he indirectly got Duck and Katjaa killed, but the bandits were threatening to kill EVERYONE in the group if he didn't slip medicine to them. What Ben did got Katjaa and Duck killed, but who's to say the bandits wouldn't have kept their word and killed the entire group if he had refused. He was put in a no win situation, and honestly I just so much pity for him. I'm glad my Lee looks out for him.

Jane (TWDG) - Jane is...weird because she is a bad person but also some people act like she never cared about Clem and had entirely selfish motivations. She cared about Clem enough to teach her how to survive, which is something she never bothered to do with Sarah, even though she needed a mentor much more than Clem. And for as much as I disagree with her of philosophy of "never trust anyone, people are bad," I do think she was genuinely trying to help and giving what she thought was good advice. She also comes back and saves the group during the shoot out for Clem's sake, which proves that her motivations aren't entirely selfish...just mostly.

#lis #life is strange #twdg #the walking dead game #asks #liliothestich16

[halcyon-writings]

— modern au of daemon targaryen as your willing sugar daddy and you, the reader, being the unwilling sugar baby. the first challenge: groceries.

nav.

you know he’s staring at you.

feeling his gaze burning into your back, you can’t help but feel a little intimidated even if you were the one who invited him to come with you. you ignore him, or at least, try to. instead returning to the matter at hand, debating if this pack of chicken was more expensive than the frozen bag in your cart.

“just get both-” you interrupt him with a sharp stare.

“I apologize, but some of us have budgeting plans and try not to overspend,” you respond.

daemon targaryen, brother to the ceo of the conglomerate of the same name, could not fathom it. you couldn’t blame him however, seeing as how he grew up with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth while you did not.

which now that you thought about it, how did you meet him anyway?

it begins as all classic friendships do, you seeing daemon targaryen passed out and smelling like alcohol almost in the middle of the street. you had known of him due to his reputation, less than stellar compared to his family’s. and coincidentally had a class with him at your college.

although most of the time he was sleeping off a hangover rather than do anything else.

having gotten off from a late shift waiting tables, you were already tired but almost seeing the man get his head crushed because he had literally lay almost half into the road, you knew you did not need that on your conscious. you helped move to the sidewalk and helped him sit up, got him to call any of his several bootycalls, and went on your merry way when you saw a ride arrive for him. that was the end of it. or at least you had hoped.

suddenly you had a table partner during the lecture you both shared, and what started as him watching you take notes, began as him slowly trying to get your attention in between breaks or after the class was over. and you, dear reader, having the backbone of a chocolate eclair, had not wished to be rude and humored him.

the rest they say, was history. or at least, enough to clue you in on what was to come. which was him staring as you decided on how you wanted to buy your poultry.

his hands move over yours as he takes the package and then maneuvers your cart as you look at him with surprise.

“daemon targaryen,” suddenly you feel like a parent scolding a child.

“_____ _____,” he repeats, and you almost want to throttle him.

he looks over his shoulder, sending a smirk your way, merrily strolling along with your cart. you can’t help but feel reminiscent of the times you’ve seen him dump his many partners over the course the time you had been at college. although you wouldn’t go near that with a 10 foot pole, their seemingly hysterical anger at his flippancy seemed exaggerated almost. but now, as you watched him, you got it. you really got it.

but because he was who he was, you sigh, putting your head in your hands, and follow.

the cashier dutifully rings up your purchases, despite you staring holes into your friend’s back. (can you call him a friend if he insists on buying you things? even though you have told him time and time again he had no need to?) he somehow had managed to not only take your cart but your wallet too, so he would stop you from paying.

and that’s how you had daemon targaryen, carrying your groceries to the fanciest car that stood out in the parking lot.

“I never get any help,” he huffs, taking all the grocery bags in his hands anyway.

“then let me carry one,” you deadpan, reaching for one of the bags, even though he keeps them out of your reach, “i’m giving you decaf the next time you want me to get you a coffee.”

he gasps in mock offense, “why I never-”

“yes yes, why you never,” you wave him off, already sitting yourself down into the passenger side.

he then joins momentarily, before leaning back, running a hand through his hair like he had just trekked miles.

“so, what do you want to get for lunch?”

“we just got groceries,” you look at him unimpressed, raising your eyebrow as you do.

“but do you really want to cook?” he counters, a knowing look on his face.

and so that’s how you found yourselves in the parking lot of a fast food joint, groceries in the trunk while you ate.

#hotd x reader #game of thrones x reader #daemon targaryen x reader #house of the dragon x reader #game of thrones imagines #got x reader #got imagines #house of the dragon imagines #daemon targaryen & reader #daemon targaryen imagines #mine #put the & bc you can see it being platonic or romantic the world is your oyster #also didn’t rly like the ending but it’s also smth I’ve done before bc smth abt getting food after groceries hits different #asoiaf x reader

[dogtoling]

how would you go about designing a sona-adjacent character for splatoon? I know I’m going with octoling bc I play as them exclusively and this is more a character made from my ingame avatar, but everything else has me indecisive.. sorry I know this is a vague question but I’m interested in hearing your thoughts

this is a cool question! I struggled with this for a really long time and have had MANY sona designs (which either got trashed or became separate characters over time). Really i think how you approach a sona is different for every person. sorry if this is incoherent as i'm typing at 6am from bed

So basically first thing is what are you planning on using the character for? For example in my case when I used to try making splatoon sonas I made them *too much* like me to the point where i didn't like them and they didn't really fit in the world or were interesting at all. But that's just talking personality-wise. I could make an extremely bland octopus guy who doesnt play Turf War or ever go anywhere but it's also like, what is even the point of having a Splatoon sona at that point. What you want to use your sona for kind of affects how they would ideally be in my opinion.

So the way I ended up designing my sona (Koira) was to have us share traits but not have them specifically BE me, which is an approach that I find works really well in creating a connection to a character while still letting them be a character of their own. I would refer to it as more like making a self-insert character to control in a setting rather than physically being there and feeling confined to being yourself if that makes sense? it probably doesnt. But the self-insert player character is kinda what you already do in Splatoon anyway.

I find it a good approach to go with a mix of aspects that are accurate to you but combined with things that are kind of out there. Then you can have a character that's still interesting and appealing to you and might seem similar enough at face value to be relatable, while not being like, super boring. I don't remember my exact design process with Koira, I wanted the design to be silly and stand out and be relatable to how I play the game and approach the series, while at the same time not being confined to what I would realistically do or be like. Like I do not own a labcoat in real life, or mismatched boots, or round shades.

But I DO own a pair of broken shades i found from a trash can, and in the context of being an avid squid researcher online I felt it would be very fitting to make my in-universe guy an actual squid scientist, and i WISH i had shoes like that because theyre pretty cool. And he has split ends because I DO have split ends (there are so many), but i don't have blonde hair. I picked yellow because it's my favorite color. I would NOT touch turf wars with a ten foot pole if i actually existed in the splatoon world and was the same person there that i am in real life, but like, in the context of Splatoon i might as well have my Splatoon guy represent some aspect of my gameplay experience, hence they own like every weapon but don't really play. Et cetera.

So really again people have different preferences with how to approach making a sona, or sona-adjacent characters like you said, personally the Player Character approach tends to work pretty well for me. I try to reflect my real physical in-the-flesh self less, because that's kind of boring (i literally already exist), and go for the more exaggerated version where some aspects represent me but it's not Literally Me. Like, I'm trying to make What If I Was An Octoling, and not What If An Octoling Looked Like Me The Human. The process of how to get there is a little patchy and again, probably different for everybody, and bear in mind that you might make a sona and not like it and start from scratch. That might happen 5 times. That might happen 10 times. You still learn something more about the process every time.

Here's some questions I can present to help with sona designing...

1. What are some traits that I think reflect myself? How can I include those in the character design?

2. In tandem with the previous question; what species should I pick? (You already picked Octoling, so this one is a bit obsolete - but it's worth thinking about for people who struggle to pick.)

3. If I existed in the Splatoon world, what would I probably, somewhat realistically be doing with my life? What kind of job or hobbies would I have? Can that be reflected in the design?

4. Do I care about any of the above stuff or do I just want to come up with something original? Could I use some of my answers to work with and fill in the blanks with other things that are just cool?

5. How would the ways I play Splatoon be reflected if translated to an in-universe character? (For example, based on how I play, my game-realistic Splatsona would just be a full-time Salmon Runner...)

6. Do I want to use in-game gearsets, or reference the kind of style I prefer in real life, or maybe come up with something unique?

7. Can my main weapon or playstyle be directly equated to my character's personality or appearance? Do I want their personality to be game-accurate, real life accurate or somewhere in between?

8. Finding inspiration through your player character's Badges, Banner and Title that you currently have; what do those say about the player? Or what about the locker?

9. What are some things I love about the setting of Splatoon that I could reflect in a sona or self insert? (For example I made mine an in-universe Inkling researcher to reflect my own obsessiveness about Inkling biology. And squid suckers. I have a dried squid in a minigrip bag on my shelf)

10. The obligatory step in any character design: Can i do something to make it fun or appealing to myself? Adding some flavor.

Aside from all that and I definitely forgot SOMETHING, my general character design tip is do not expect the first draft to be the final perfect result. I watched a video once that said to draw every character design Three Times before 'finalizing' it and it works EXTREMELY well when youre whipping up a character basically from scratch and have an idea in your head, but on paper, you just need some kind of first draft to see if that idea works. The second and third iterations usually help trim out whatever didnt work in the earlier designs and when you keep making more, the parts that DO work are solidified and refined over time.

Rule number 2: if you make a sona design and don't like it, ask yourself why. Then change it! It's not the time to start some kind of self reflecting journey, maybe you just want a more interesting haircut than what you have in real life and you can totally do that if you're bold (my hair is brown, I didn't want the splatoon to have brown hair when like half the point of the game is Neon Color). Maybe you want bright pink eyes. Maybe you want a ridiculous job that you could never do in real life but that would make your character way more interesting. Maybe you want to give them a pet slug because you would LOVE ONE in real life but dont have one, and that would complete the character.

i forgot my point but hopefully this helped and was useful even a little bit? yay

#mailbox

[frostycatblr-fandom-files]

Prompt 10 with either Fives or a clone of your choice from @the-bad-batch-baroness list of prompts? 👉👈

The Long Way Home [Fives x Reader]

Prompt ten: "Did you feel that?" "Feel what?" "It's starting to rain."

List of all prompts found here [X]. Prompt will be highlighted in blue.

Warnings and Information: Wanting a taste of domesticity the moment he gets shore leave, Fives wants to spend the day with you doing general couple-ly things. A little shopping at the early winter markets of Coruscant, and utilizing every excuse to shower you in all the compliments he can to make up for lost time. When the weather has other ideas regarding your shared plans for the day, Fives is determined to make the best of a less than ideal situation. 

This is a general fluff + relationship fic at its core; friendly for all ages this go-round. Reader written with fem!reader in mind, not described save for minor notes about clothing and briefly implied (but not specified) height difference. Fives being a sweetheart. Sprinkling of Mando’a as a treat. As an additional treat, Order 66? Don't know her; Palpatine died and the Republic won the war. 🩷 2nd person POV. 

Word-count: 5,912

There's a knock at the front door of your residence, one you've been eagerly expecting most of the morning. You're quick to reach the door, keying him in so he can step inside where it's warm. He's late; which he had warned you about well in advance. And the first thing he offers before his usual hellos is an apology. 

A well-practiced one at that, from the warm cadence of his voice, brimming with just the right amount of shame.

“I'm so sorry to keep you waiting, mesh'la, I-”

You tug him close with the collar of his civilian wear (a thick, handmade sweater given to him by Hardcase who had recently taken up knitting since breaking one of his legs - so you're certain to handle it delicately) in a very practiced motion. As expected, it shuts him up just long enough to get a word in while he puts himself nose to nose with you. Practically close enough to taste the words on the others’ lips. “Hey. It's okay Fives. I understand the captain probably needed your help with something, or, you volunteered yourself to help. Again.” Your partner with his well-groomed goatee has a penchant for stepping up and lending a hand to a brother in need, brave and dependable to the end. 

Full lips dart apart, the tender flesh brushing over your own lips being this close is nigh impossible to avoid. “Are you teasing or expecting an answer?” Fives asks, hinting to his building confusion below a toothy grin. “Makin’ it hard to tell what you want when I can’t see all of your pretty face.”

That's fair of him to say, you should suppose. “Mostly teasing,” you promise him, at last permitting yourselves to kiss one another as part of the process - brief, chaste, sweet. “You know I wouldn't press you for details if it was classified ARC business.” You never have. Never will until you know the mission has been completed at least; because while you often burn with questions (as is only natural and expected in what was once a friendship, now a partnership) pertaining to his duties and practiced protocols within the GAR, you take the mantra “loose lips sink starships” very close to heart. 

Should you ever say something that could jeopardize the safety of the one you love, you’d never forgive yourself.

“No, not ARC business,” Fives offers at last, “I, uh… I told you I was gonna be running late because some of my brothers asked for my help with something kinda last minute.” The palm of his left hand strokes the back of his neck in a self-soothing fashion, a tell of either embarrassment or shame. “I couldn’t bring myself to say no…” 

“Young brothers?”

Fives only answers with a nod and an appeasing smile, knowing where this is going. 

“Star-struck little brothers wanting to ask what’s it like being an ARC trooper, and how they can train to be just like you?” you muse, exaggerating your train of thought with a couple of taps against your chin with the finger of your non-dominant hand, the other arm wrapped across your body.

It does not slip your notice how his tanned face begins to look a little flushed when you playfully bat your eyes at him for good measure, knowing what that kind of praise does to him combined with the light teasing. 

“More or less…” 

You giggle, not at him or at his expense, but more the mental image than anything. You can picture Fives, being as eager as he was to come see you now that he had shore leave, getting roped into regaling doe-eyed Clones with lengthy recountings of his service since becoming an ARC. All he wanted to do was peruse the early winter markets with you, the entire idea his from the start; and there he was, at least an hour of his precious free time used up already. All because he was too much of a selfless and wholeheartedly good person for his own good, on occasion. 

“I’m sure they appreciated you and Echo doing that.” Fives doesn’t have to mention his surviving squadmate, Echo, to know that the other half of the nicknamed Domino Twins had sacrificed his own time to answer a few (or a hundred, more rather) burning questions. “I’m sure the captain did, too.”

The humble grin is confirmation enough for you. You can continue to tease him later, however - you’re both wasting daylight the longer the two of you choose to linger in your comfortable Coruscanti apartment rather than getting the rest of your things ready. Light coats or other appropriate outerwear still needs to be gathered, the credits you’ve been setting aside for this occasion needs to come out of hiding, and he still needs to collect the rest of his civilian-wear he planned on wearing. There’s only so much space within trooper accommodations for everything he’s accumulated since the start of your relationship. Thick-knit hats, fleece-lined gloves, a scarf in 501st blue, things of that nature. 

And boots. It’d probably be wise to grab a pair of all-weather boots rather than tromp the markets in your slipper-socks, no matter how tempting the smooth streets would prove. 

Fives is ready far sooner than you, owing to how little he needed to add or change into to be more weather-ready, but he waits patiently. No teasing remarks for how long it takes you to disentangle a simple scarf from all the others, or the childlike nature of repeating the phrase that helped you remember how to tie your shoes even to this day, or any of the other silly little habits you comfortably show in front of him. There’s only a warm, endeared smile to be seen. He’s just happy to be here, to be in your presence after so long, and see all these little puzzle pieces into why he loves you as though for the first time, every time. 

“What are you staring at?” you ask with a bemused laugh bubbling up from your throat. Time to time, you struggle to figure your partner out, wondering what can be chalked up to his training and what can be passed off as quirks unique to him. You’ve gotten better with time and practice, being able to discern these instances. “What’s on that beautiful mind of yours, Fives?”

“Nothing more than perhaps the most beautiful person in all the galaxy, cyare.” Fives replies in earnest, dazzling you with one of those smiles that had charmed you since the very beginning. “And how I get to spend most of my first day of shore leave with that person, all to myself.”

Torn between scoffing and brushing him off with oh surely you can’t mean the most beautiful person thing and trying to shield your flushing face from view, so certain your cheeks must be scarlet red with all the flattery, you busy yourself with ensuring your door is locked and secure against unwelcome visitors. There’s been a minor rash of break-ins lately, and you know that a simple door lock won’t do anything to deter the truly determined - only the honest - it always seems to get a bit worse just before large deployments get shore leave… funny how that goes. 

At least you get a little help when it can be spared by those serving with the Corrie Guard, given your proximity to the senate buildings here. There was no small amount of surprise the day Commander Fox himself turned up at your doorstep to follow-up with a reported break-in for the unit above your own. He could claim he was there just to ask if you happened to notice anything, and nothing more than that, but you knew better. Working in loose relation to the complex goings-on with the Galactic Senate and the red-clad commander turning up only two hours after mentioning the incident to Fives was too big a coincidence to ignore. (You can only wonder what strings in the line of communication your smarty-pants of a boyfriend had to pull in order to get in touch with Commander Fox, directly.)

A smarty-pants that you had all kinds of preconceived plans to spend the rest of the day with, all to yourself. 

The ambling walk to the marketplace offers the pair of you plenty of time to catch up since you last spoke on the comms just over two weeks ago; it was a Zhellday if you're not mistaken. 

You don't really bring up your work if you can help it; the problems seem so trivial when you compare them to the frustrations of stamping out those stubborn pockets of Separatist resistance Fives and all his brothers have been dealing with since winning the war just a year ago. A malfunctioning caf-machine spraying your last clean work uniform seems like nothing compared to a desperate firefight against the horrifying, mechanical amalgamations the standard CIS battle droids have become as less and less functional droids become available. 

You have to ask Fives to be sure you heard him right after he says it. “Hold on: it had eight arms?” 

“Some Separatist-sympathizer - one who's, admittedly, crafty but incredibly elusive - has been a real pain in our shebs for a while now. ‘Case was so badly spooked by the crazy-looking clanker that he fell over backwards on a crate full of smuggled produce.” Fives explains, struggling not to laugh when explaining of all possible ways Hardcase recently broke his leg, it was falling over backwards on a box of illegal fruit and veg. 

“He’s okay, right?” you prod, “What'd Kix have to say about the break?” 

It's touching to Fives when you show your concern for his brothers, knowing you have genuine interest in their well-being. You always have. When you heard that the production of the cloning facilities were coming to an end on Kamino thanks to Chancellor Organa’s new bill, your immediate thought had been for the young cadets who had not yet finished training. 

What's going to happen to those little brothers, Fives? All the Clones still developing in the tubes and the nurseries and-

Mesh'la, with any luck, they'll become the envy of the entire GAR. They'll never have to taste war like we have if we squash out the remaining Separatists sooner than later. 

Fives gives the cuff to one of the sweater sleeves an experimental tug with a beaming smile. “Kix said the worst of it will be the bed rest for Hardcase. At least he's found a way to keep his hands busy between the physical therapy he has to do, thanks to Dogma.”

“Aww. That was kind of him.” you croon. He mirrors the relieved smile, sharing in your relief that his brother's injury was not as bad as you feared. He begins fishing through one of his pockets for something, saying he has a picture to show you. 

“Hardcase made Dogma the ugliest possible blanket using yarn we had scrounged up for him as a way of saying thanks. Thing's got all sorts of colors from baby pink, to brick red, even a smidge of neon yellow somewhere in there.” 

Without question, the immaculate bunk within the frame can be none other than Dogma's. Laid out in a uniform manner is a tidily-knit but disorganized rainbow of yarn in every shade of blue and a handful of other colors. (Sure enough, you can pick out the baby pink, the brick red, and the neon yellow Fives previously mentioned.) Honestly, you think it looks ugly only because there's no reason or order to any of the colors. A crisp, sky blue next to the imagined dryness of such a dusty shade of red is a bit jarring, visually. 

‘Case was likely working with the colors of yarn as he received them, if his brothers were coming up with loose odds and ends as Fives claims they did. 

You voice the question that crosses your mind the more you look at the image in your boyfriend's hand, “Does Dogma actually use the blanket, or is it just for show until it's time to sleep?” 

“Wondered that myself.” Fives admits to you with a cheeky wink between thumbing over to the next picture, a still of Dogma tucked under both the GAR-issued blanket and Hardcase’s, “It was so worth pretending to be asleep for forty-five minutes just to get Dogma to go to bed.” Dogma's always been the last to fall asleep within shared accommodations, so for the ARC trooper you're arm-in-arm with to have pulled the oldest trick in the book in order to get to the bottom of a low-stakes mystery, you can only imagine how disciplined you'd have to be to lay so still and silent for that long. 

“Why not just ask him in the morning?” you laugh, realizing how simple it would be to do just that rather than go through such efforts to trick someone into going to bed. Fives shrugs noncommittally in response before tucking his personal device away again, now that you're both within earshot of the outdoor winter market. 

It's bustling with activity, even for Coruscant. The pressing crowds and all-encompassing noise will make it difficult to carry on catching up in a meaningful manner for much longer. 

“Dogma's not much of a talker in the mornings, sweetheart.” Fives says with a chuckle. “Though to be fair, not a lot of us are either.” 

Strange… they've always seemed so… talkative and alert whenever you've had early morning communications with Fives. Those bleary-eyed video calls spent simply staring at the other, not too sure what to talk about in particular. The stolen minutes between breakfast in the mess hall and the barracks. (The lunch breaks where you've snuck off somewhere secret and pretended you're sharing the same ration, they've been talkative for certain!) Have you just done a poor job of noticing until now? Or are they better at masking how awake they truly are than you expect? But okay, fair enough. 

Now that you were here at the market, you’d be more than a little preoccupied to be thinking about it much longer, with Fives tucking his fingers between yours to prevent both of you from getting separated from the other. It’s rather busy; it must be the morning rush before everyone has to reluctantly shuffle off to work. And you should probably expect to have more than a few elbows - or entirely unaware people - knock into you and Fives while you’re here. 

What catches Fives’ eye first is a female Besalisk vendor with armfuls of rain repellers for sale (one for five credits, or two for ten) with a business partner checking news sources for reports on the weather nearby.

“Ah… knew there was something I forgot to check before getting to your apartment.” He says, quickly casting his eyes skyward. Certainly enough, there are rain clouds gradually building overhead. Strange. While it is technically early winter, this time of year typically has a weird, transitional period regarding the weather. Not quite past the sometimes cold and drizzly days of autumn, but still too early to dust off your proper snow coats from where they've been hiding in the back of your closet. 

“Let’s get one to be safe.” you suggest with a reassuring squeeze of your hand in his. If you buy one of the repellers and end up never using the thing, then you were over-prepared with little consequence. Having one more thing to carry wouldn’t be that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, surely. “Hi,” you address the vendor cheerfully, “a repeller for five credits, right?”

“That’s right! Pick whichever one you’d like, dears.” she tells you with a kind wink, thrusting the set of arms bearing all of the rain repellers a little further for your inspection. 

Fives wastes little time in selecting a repeller with a sleek and subtle design, something he thinks you’d like, perhaps. He’s incredibly thoughtful in that and many other ways. It’s one of the many parts of him that you ache for in his absence, the fondness for his charisma and slight cheek only deepening when he’s away, aiding in the peacekeeping efforts now that the galaxy is largely free of the Separatists. (How strange that things fell apart so suddenly for them, following shortly after the rather untimely and unexplained death of Sheev Palpatine (that, surely, can’t be related, right?) just last year.) You know he’s not giving up the fight just because they say the Seppies have surrendered, not when there’s still work to be done to make the galaxy safer for everyone. 

Fives isn’t still fighting the good fight just for his brothers, but for you too. Every last far-flung outpost they capture, each bubble of resistance they burst, it’s always the same message that finds its way to you, no matter the time and no matter the distance. 

For the Republic. For my brothers. For my Kar’ta. Talk to you soon, sweet. 

Both of you thank the vendor, and set off on your way, imagining what curiosities and delights could be found by the two of you together on this cold Coruscanti morning here in the intergalactic market. With a cultural hotbed like this - a diverse focal point in the heart of the galaxy with a population of roughly two trillion that is Coruscant - there’s no telling what you and Fives will see, from the familiar to the fascinating. 

In a dramatic, sweeping gesture Fives invites you to lead the way into the heart of the market with a dizzying grin, promising to follow wherever you roam.

“After you, angel.” 

You’ll only be there for an hour before the increasingly-inclement weather decides to become a little more concerning. Those cotton-soft clouds, planted in the lofty airspace high over even the tallest sentient lifeforms’ head(s), are beginning to appear denser and darker than they were when you set off this morning. Weather reports you peek at while Fives discusses something with a Tatoonine-born vendor suggests you might have another hour before proper rainfall.

“You say the yarn’s a bantha-blend, right?” Fives clarifies, gingerly juggling a few twisted hanks of it in his hands to get a feel for the softness. “Would it work for projects meant for… say, kids?” The vendor’s eyes flick to you, just for a second, and you can imagine what she’s thinking. Your partner catches that too, so Fives clarifies further. “Someone I know had twins last year. Tryin’ to, uh, contribute to a special present for the little ones. Brother of mine got some good yarn from Naboo to represent the mother. I was asked to find something to represent their father while I was here, if I could.” 

As could be expected, the yarn-seller is now tittering excitedly about how sweet it is that he and this unspecified brother (who’s definitely either Jesse or Kix) are looking to put together something for this ‘someone they know’ who had twins. Sweet little twins who you’ve happened to see crawling around the floors of the senate building out of the corner of your eye, as a matter of fact. But you’ve been aware of the “open secret” nature of the Skywalker-Amidala twins for some time now, and know you’re supposed to treat it like it’s more of a classified matter than it is in reality. 

Yeah, how strange that Senator Amidala and General Skywalker spend a lot of time together. Or that little Luke and Leia show up in the Jedi Temple on occasion, just as a last minute “favor” to the Senator - of course! 

“Yes, the yarn should be appropriate for the little ones!” the vendor promises, exchanging the appropriate credits as change from what Fives hands her as payment before gingerly bagging the hanks of bantha-yarn for him. “You’ll find a card with the best care instructions with your purchase inside the bag. Thank you for your business, folks.” 

When you've stepped beyond the earshot of the yarn-seller, now again arm-in-arm with Fives as you meander the little sector that seems to be dedicated to all things Tatooine, you feel it's safe to tease. 

“You're getting better at lying, Fives.” 

“Mesh'la-” Fives warns you.

“Okay, okay… Stretching the truth, if that's what you insist on calling it, mister ARC trooper.” you add. 

Fives doubles down on the insistent, close to disapproving tone. “Mesh'la… I've told you several times now, you know why we treat it like a secret.” 

“I know, Fives, I was only teasing.” you promise, offering an apologetic expression. 

You understand the faux secrecy is largely in relation to the response of some members of the Jedi Council when the inevitable truth about Senator Amidala and not just one child, but two, came to light. There's been a great deal of speculation from the 501st Legion of Anakin Skywalker’s expulsion from the Order; speculation that has them worried. Selfless to the end, the Clones are just as concerned for the fate of their General as they are about their own.

You change the subject as you pass a stall brimming with food-based goods from the Outer Rim planet, a warm, spicy odor cutting through the ambient smell of chilled steel and duracrete surfaces. Looks to be samples of an alteration to bantha steak soup. Something being offered to the market-goers to warm them up as the temperatures fall day by day, or hour by hour.

“Remind me: ever tried any food from Tatooine?” 

“Some of it's decent.” Fives admits with a chuckle. “Or, it will at least beat having rations for every meal. But nothing beats your cooking, cyare.” 

Your cooking, among many things, is what Fives has been looking forward to most about today, about shore leave. A chance to come home, a chance to catch one another up on the things they’ve missed (things too important or lengthy to say over comms), and a chance for splitting a hearty meal practically invented for sharing with the ones who mean the most to us. Same thing with coming to the market. Fives didn’t want to do a little shopping just to see what was new on Coruscant; he wanted to spend a little time with you away from home first, maybe find something special to buy to mark the occasion.

To be home after so long is a very special thing indeed.

“Hope you’re in the mood for soup tonight.” It’s a little simple, you tell him, but no less comforting or flavorful. “Didn’t know how tired you’d be, when you came home this time.”

“You spoil me.” Fives murmurs lovingly, craning his neck for the moment to plant a sweet, gentle kiss in the crown of your hair and against your temple. His full lips are warm, and where you’ve been kissed seems to glow with that warmth compared to the surrounding chill. “What’d I do to deserve you, kar’ta?”

There’s that word again. Pronounced KARH-ta, as he’s taught you.

It's Mando’a, meaning heart.

“Well, you kept the galaxy safe,” you answer with a sweet smile, “I think that’s a pretty deserving reason, don’t you?”

The warm, heartened smile is all you have to see to know he feels the same way. He helped keep the galaxy safe, yes; of course he should deserve to live a good life with everything said and done. With every bill and law passed towards the betterment of life for Clones after the war, it tastes like the sweetest victory, over and over again. If there was anyone more deserving of thanks, it was the mighty multitude of men who came from Kamino. 

As you’re turning the corner of a larger booth within the sprawling outdoor market, Fives mentions that somewhere down the lane he can hear a live performer playing covers of popular songs on what must be a hallikset. 

“Must be another one of your little soldier tricks,” you tell him with an impressed shake of your head, “I can’t hear any of that. What’s a hell- hall-? Wait, what did you call it?” How did he pronounce that so easily? 

You’re not surprised with many a Clones’ proclivity to be little cultural sponges that Fives seems to have the answer ready for you before you can pull something out of your pocket to search up the instrument he mentioned for yourself. “Halliksets are seven-stringed instruments popular on Naboo. Here, let’s get a little closer.” Fives offers, leading the way ahead to where he hears the music coming from. He wants you to be able to hear it better, to experience it for yourself. Appreciate it fully.

You momentarily pity the player’s poor fingers once you get closer, noting how red with cold they are. Like you, the hallikset’s owner is wrapped in layers between a thick jacket, a gray hood and a long scarf wrapped around their neck. But with the beautiful way they play, plucking and strumming each perfectly tuned string, you wonder if they don't notice, or care. Perhaps the lack of gloves to keep their hands safely warded against the cold is worth it to them for the amount of credits they're pulling in. There's several fistfuls at least, all piled up in the open instrument case. 

“Wow… I don't think I've ever seen one before, but it's beautiful; it's a beautiful instrument.” you offer your observation to Fives after spending a few minutes to simply stand and listen to the performer. Buskers, you believe they're called, playing for voluntary donations in public settings. 

The busker offers an appreciative grin, playing on smoothly without pausing the performance for even a moment as they bob their head in thanks for your compliment. 

“Certainly is, mesh'la.” Fives agrees. He dips a hand into one of his pockets, and adds a couple of credits to the pile in the instrument case. As a way of thanks, the song that was currently being played is masterfully morphed into one of the more familiar military anthems of the Republic, just for a moment. 

The performer, a young-looking Twi'lek, has of course recognized that Fives is a Clone, and is hoping to acknowledge what the Republic has done for Ryloth in some small way by playing something a soldier would recognize. Fives is equal parts flattered and amused, even if he himself may never have gone to Ryloth, that he's being thanked and acknowledged like this. 

“Heh. You're welcome, kid.” 

Putting his free arm around you as you decide to listen to the hallikset a little longer, you and Fives listen to the best recognized music forms of Ryloth start up from the instrument as further homage. You lay your head on your boyfriend's shoulder, leaning into his side a little deeper with a placid smile, drinking in this moment. 

Close to an hour later, when more yarn for Hardcase, a few decorative knick knacks for your apartment, and some novelty sweets have ended up among your purchases, someone’s stomach rumbles in complaint shortly before the time you would typically consider having lunch. Luckily Echo has offered to help you locate something by sending you a file to a map of the market with all consumables stalls highlighted and labeled after checking in on how things are going for you and Fives. 

While Fives quickly speaks with his brother and squadmate, you check the weather. Steadily, it’s only gotten colder, and in efforts to keep you warmer, Fives has sweetly given up his thick-knit hat for the time being until you come across another stall that offers cold-weather wear. There, he’ll find another hat for himself, suggesting you keep his. The fluffy curls of his clone-standard crew cut have been flattened a bit by the hat, amusingly. As a sweet gesture, you try to fix up his hair for him while listening to what Echo has to say.

 Force willing, as it’s only becoming more and more likely that it'll rain, that will be after you grab a quick bite to eat. 

(Pantoran food sounds good right about now.)

“Me? Oh, all was quiet on the homefront - busy playing a strategy game against Rex. Until we got ambushed by a couple of giggling womp rats.”

Fives grins like a nexu. “Brothers’ kids or the General’s?”

“Tup’s little boys,” Echo answers jovially between peals of bubbling laughter in the background, “things are getting a bit rowdy here, so you two better go. Enjoy your lunch and the rest of the market; I’ll tell everyone you both said hi.” 

“Thanks Echo.”

“We’ll talk later, Echo.” you promise. “Also, I’m keeping your brother all to myself tonight.” Echo’s laugh promises that’s fine by him. He trusts you’ll take good care of Fives, like he takes good care of you in turn. He’ll pass along the information that everyone will see Fives again the following morning. The Clone with the Aurebesh ‘5’ permanently inked on his right temple can only offer an eager smile. 

A homemade meal and the promise of staying the night when it wasn’t previously discussed? What better way to end a day than that? Fives walks with a spirited spring in his step, just short of tugging you along after him at first before you match his pace and revel in that excitement together. 

Excitement that quickly turns to surprise with the first of the rain starting to fall over the market. There’s a particularly heavy raindrop that lands with an audible spatter on Fives’ left shoulder. He chuckles, the sound somewhere between an amused ‘of course…’ and a nervous ‘uh-oh’. He’s patting down his deep pockets for wherever he’s stashed the rain repeller purchased earlier, since it could very well start raining steadily by the time you reach one of the food stalls that peddles any Pantoran cuisine.

“Did you feel that?” he asks, eyes flicking skyward between some of the many imposing, glinting skyscrapers that make up the surface of the ecumenopolis. It’s a small relief that you’re not quite out in the open, like you would be if the market had taken place in a location like Monument Plaza, at the least. If the rain got intense, fast, Fives could easily squeeze the pair of you into a dry alcove somewhere in the absence of the repeller now in his hands.

“Hm? Feel what?” you wonder just before you feel another droplet glance off your own coat. “Oh.” 

So much for getting lunch…

“It’s starting to rain.” the two of you say at once. And while it’s not quite sleet, it certainly feels close to it every time the stray droplet finds a patch of exposed skin. The idle prattle of buyers and sellers shifts in tone; a few surprised shouts here and there while vendors urgently cover their wares, and a few shoppers brushing past panickedly exclaim that they’re faced with taking the long way home because of street-closures tied to the event-space.

Thankfully that won’t be the case for you and Fives with the direction you came from your apartment, so long as the dispersing crowds allow. 

Opening the repeller, Fivers now pulls you closer, trying to fit it over both of you best he can. “Here, mesh’la. Wouldn’t want you to get cold and wet… That wouldn’t be a very pleasant combination, now would it?”

“No,” you agree with a little wag of your head, “buuuut, heading back to my apartment and calling in an order for delivery sure does.”

Fives brings up an excellent suggestion while you busy yourself with making sure all your purchases are safely in your arms before the pair of you about-face and make for home. “With a movie to watch, too, right?” Oh Maker, there are so many films you could choose from to watch; there’s always something new that you learn your beloved hasn’t seen, being so wrapped up in the pan-galactic war and its aftermath. Even films you don’t particularly care for become tolerable when you’re snuggled on some comfortable two-seater together, your head planted against his chest as he runs his hands through your hair in idle fashion.

You’re wholeheartedly in support, already impatient to burrow into that large, fluffy blanket with him.

Cupping his face in one hand, you kiss his cheek best you can as you walk, copying his deliberate stride. “That sounds like a great idea, Fives.” It’s kind of a shame that the weather put a bit of a damper on how long you had in mind about spending at the market, you add with a soft sigh.

He smiles, encouraging you not to let it get you down. “Not gonna let a little rain ruin my first day of shore leave, so long as I get to spend it with you, ner kar’ta.” Fives promises, being his sweet, joking self by downplaying the amount of rain. It’s gotten past ‘just a little rain’ at this point in time, with puddles forming atop the duracrete surfaces, some with multi-color veneers to them where the oils previously soaked into the street float to the top. 

As the freezing rain builds in strength, it patters and trickles off the rain repeller in thick rivulets while Fives holds it over each of your heads - it’s kind of a tight fit underneath, but neither mind. Making sure both of you and your purchases remain relatively dry means it’s a slow, steady march back home. It’s probably taking you twice as long to get back home than it was to get there. You could be taking some long, convoluted path, and you wouldn’t mind a bit with the way Fives has one of his arms so lovingly, kindly wrapped around the small of your back, both to hold you close, and to make sure you hear him when he talks.

“I’ve got a few stories to tell from this last deployment, besides ‘Case breaking his leg.” he starts, a note of mirth in his tone. “But there was one thing I kept thinking about, more than anything.” Fives adds, the slow cadence suggesting this is important.

Before you permit your mind to race with the possibilities, the many guesses you have, you bob your head, encouraging him to go on. 

“I’m listening.”

He wastes no time, sure of his words, but maybe not how to say them. “I wanted to ask if maybe now’s a good time to… Y’know. We might start thinking about a couple of things, now that the war’s over, and things are getting safer…?” You could practically swoon, knowing what he’s trying to tell you. What he’s thought about while he’s been deployed with those who’ve chosen to remain in service to the GAR for just a little longer, aiming to finish the job they’d been made for. 

For the Republic. For his brothers.

For you, his heart.

How would you feel about spending the rest of our lives together, cyare?

“Sounds like a good conversation to have over dinner.” is all you’ll suggest for the time being, bringing his face close once more for another caste kiss with the door of your apartment in sight. 

If you’d known he’d had this on his mind just a little sooner, or there was no premature rainfall to dampen your plans, maybe you would have suggested taking the long way home after all, just for the fun of it.

Taglist: @msmeredithrose Taglist form can be found here if you would like to make sure you don't miss a fic in the future. Thank you for your patience, and thanks for reading and requesting. 🩷

[Masterlist] [Requests: CLOSED]

#frostsfanfics #The Long Way Home #star wars #star wars the clone wars #tcw #sw fanfiction #request fic #anon request #sw x reader #tcw fives #arc trooper fives #clone trooper fives #ct 5555 #arc 5555 #fives x reader #fives x you #x reader #(mentioned) cameos of #tcw captain rex #tcw echo #tcw commander fox #tcw hardcase #tcw dogma #tcw kix #tcw jesse #tcw tup

[queeraroace]

Christmas is difficult in a way few cis people can understand.

I grew up Catholic, which meant big family gatherings, knick-knack nativity scenes, and midnight mass. Every year my immediate family would huddle in the family entertainment center to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (hated it), and Home Alone (love it).

Seeing the extended family was a mixed bag. Some made snide comments about how "anti-social" I was as a kid (overstimulated and autistic) but it meant the world to see my little cousins. I held them as infants when I couldn't have been more than 10, and watched them grow up as I babysat them since they were in diapers.

I looked forward to Christmas the way any middle class white kid does - I usually got one big gift and a heap of smaller ones. Christmas meant lots of candy, and maybe a Gameboy. It meant my dad's signature whipped potatoes and honey smoked ham. It meant seeing Macaulay Culkin outsmart adults in the funniest ways possible. It meant bearing church service so I could hear "Come, All Ye Faithful" and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" from the choir. It meant enduring cutting comments from my aunt about "always needing to be on a screen" to watch Jim Carrey's the Grinch with her tiny daughters.

To make a long story short, when I was 18, I came out as a trans man. I could only endure one family Christmas while trying to softlaunch my gender to my family. I took my blue hair and pronouns, and snuck out only a few hours later with a stolen bottle of wine to bring home to my other trans friends and roommates.

One aunt had compared me coming out as a man, but dressing feminine, to her belief that her ex-husband would fake his disability to seem worse than it was out of convenience (her eldest son would later develop that same illness she accused his father of exaggerating). When she saw this comparison didn't quite land, she assured me that being trans isn't something this generation would get, but there was always the next generation. I didn't feel like I had time to wait for that acceptance. I ended up in the hospital for suicidal ideation the next year.

I haven't been back to a family Christmas since. It's been ten years. My mother has asked me almost every year to come back, assuring me my family would be happy to have me - ignoring that her husband had kicked me out of the house out of anger about my queerness, and general abusive tendencies.

Last year, I tried. My little cousins have grown up enough that I spent the year reaching out and building bridges with them now that they're old enough to have cell phones and be out without parental supervision. The oldest of my little cousins, who's in college now, invited me to Christmas dinner, and I thought I could handle it.

I had top surgery, some bottom surgery, been on T long enough my voice had dropped. If my family misgendered me, it wouldn't hurt as much as it had a decade prior, when I was less sure of who I was.

Her mother found out about a week before the 25th, and let me know only two hours before dinner that I was not welcome in her house.

I have spent every Christmas since 2015 at a friend's house. Their families love me. They get my pronouns right. They offer me vegetarian spreads, and presents, and a warm bed for the night. I am so grateful. It is not the same. It does not fill the hole in my heart to feel like an orphan adopted for one night in a family that is not my own.

I hate this time of year. I resist celebrating it annually, trying to create my own traditions, and survive the winter. I still watch Home Alone every December. I still tear up when I hear "O Holy Night". I don't think cis people understand what I mean when I say "I hate Christmas".

#christmas #holidays #cismas #hrt #trans #trans man #queer #grinch #grinchmas #solstice #home alone #yule #winter solstice #winter #transgender

[ktarsims]

15 Questions for 15 Mutuals

I was tagged by @simstryingtheirbestok @mainlyjustthesims @spaceapples98 @agnelid @nocturnalazure @papermint-airplane and @samkat10423. Thank you! I feel popular. LOL

Answers below cut for those who prefer to scroll past.

1. Are you named after anyone?  I am. My middle name is my father’s first name, and my first name is a play on my mother’s middle name.

2.  When was the last time you cried? Within the last week sometime, probably. I cry when watching sad things sometimes, when I’m extremely frustrated, when I’m having an anxiety attack... you know, the usual.

3. Do you have any kids? Yes. Just one. Y’all have benefited from the tools he makes me to help me with my Sims 3 game.

4.  Do you use sarcasm a lot? Not really. When I do use sarcasm, I’m very careful with it, only using it with a small audience of people that I’m 100% sure will know that it’s sarcasm, or in an overly exaggerated way that I feel fairly certain cannot be misunderstood. I feel like sarcasm is an easy habit to fall into that often creates misunderstanding. My partner says I used to not use it at all, but nowadays I use it carefully.

5.  What sports do you play/have you played? The only sports I’ve ever played were the ones I was required to play in school. Then the asthma got bad, and I got a doctor’s note to be excused from PE class my last two years of high school, so no more sports for me. I do enjoy playing with a frisbee, ping pong, or badminton from time to time, but not as a sport, just as playing around. If you want to get serious about scoring, I’m out. That’s stress I don’t need.

6.  What's the first thing you notice about other people? I’m honestly unsure about this. The first thing I LOOK for is how they’re behaving towards the people around them. Polite, respectful? Helpful? Or if they’re not interacting with anyone, does their behavior seem normal and can I make a good guess as to what they’re doing or does it seem abnormal and possibly suspicious? Yes. I actually go through that sort of process with every person I encounter. Aside from simply being female, I also have an anxiety disorder, and I’m fairly asocial as a person, and due to life experiences, I think the scariest thing in the world is other people.

7.  Scary movies or happy endings? Happy Endings. I state this conditionally though, some movies are considered scary by some that I don’t really think are very scary? I mean, I watched Supernatural, and the original Firestarter is one of my favorite movies... so... but they do have good endings. Good endings are required. I will absolutely skip ahead to the end sometimes to make sure it has a good ending if I’m getting nebulous vibes about a show or book.

8.  Any special talents? I would say that I’m good at organization, but I’ve come to know some people in the simblr community that are WAAAAY more organized than I am. I’m great with sorting out a physical space though, and have sometimes been asked by friends who aren’t good at it to help them out.

9.  Where were you born? Long ago and far away... in the not so grand ol’ USA.

10.  What are your hobbies? Sims, Reading, watching various shows (sci-fi, fantasy, occult, and mystery themes), Pokémon games, occasional other RPG console or PC games, and sometimes DDO or LOTRO.

11.  Do you have any pets? Nope. I sometimes moonlight as a pet caretaker for people on vacation though, because I’m very good with animals. One of my friends dubbed me the ‘cat whisperer’.

12.  How tall are you? Short enough to be considered petite.

13.  Fave subject in school? Uh. I once took a class in business and psychology and I really enjoyed that. Otherwise... math and science maybe?

14.  Dream job? I have often thought over the years that being someone else’s personal assistant to keep them organized would be what I would excel the most at, but having looked at the job descriptions for some of those jobs, I’m less certain of that. For now, I’m just hoping to score a job I can do mostly from home.

15.  Eye color? I agree with @simstryingtheirbestok that these questionnaires sometimes tend to ask too much personally identifying information, or information that is commonly used in answering secret questions. However, in this case, having made a simself that’s been commonly shared here, my brown eye color isn’t a secret.

I don’t know if I can find 15 people to tag that haven’t done this, because I’ve seen hordes of these cross my dash in the last week, but... I’ll give it a go for at least five: @aisquaredchoco @cas-sims @sharssims @wannabecatwriter @nornities @blackbriarsraven @spnmoosejerk @id-element0 @chazybazzy @simlicious Okay, I made it to 10. Don���t feel obligated if these are not your thing, and if you do decide to do it, I do encourage you to exercise due internet caution when answering the questions.

#nonsims #non sims #personal #simblr memes

[delusionaid]

Salty meme! 😏 ❣ How salty are you feeling right now? (as a preface, you know) ✧ Do you agree with reblog karma or is it forced interaction? ☢ What fads/trends are you so over? ☀ What’s your rp pet peeve? ♒ Thoughts on the fandom you’re currently rping in?

Salt Meme :D

❣ How salty are you feeling right now? (as a preface, you know)

A solid 4/10! Also this turned out quite long so I am putting it under a cut! :D

✧ Do you agree with reblog karma or is it forced interaction?

I like the idea of karma as a general concept - I do think if you are doing nice things, you are more likely to receive nice things, but not out of a magical cosmic reason. It just puts you in people's mind in a positive light when you put yourself out there in a positive manner. That's simple psychology. If you look at it from an rp perspective it happens in the sense of: you send things, which makes you more visible to your mutuals and their followers which might cause some momentum that leads to more overall interaction, etc. etc. Also if you engage actively it motivates others to engage with you in return - sometimes.

That said, I do also think it's forced if people insist on it. I don't want someone to send in memes just to have sent in memes to "earn the right to reblog something from me". Me reblogging memes is an offer to my mutuals in case they want to start interactions, and these memes might not always work for every character. Sometimes there's just no sentence that fits. I don't want anyone to feel obligated to bend their character into saying something unfitting just so they can send something in that they're not even enthusiastic about receiving an answer for. And if they end up reblogging the meme from me, I don't know why I should see that as a bad thing. Best case scenario there might be a sentence in there that works for MY muse(s) to send to theirs!

Tl;dr when we look at reblog karma in the sense of engagement with mutuals to maintain interactions and staying in each other's minds, I approve of it. If it turns into forced interactions that neither party cares about, I don't want it. Reblog whatever you want from me, I expect/demand nobody to send me anything. It's just an offer and a reminder that the opportunity for interactions is open if you're interested.

☢ What fads/trends are you so over?

The attitude towards shipping and nsf/w writing some people have. If you don't want to write nsf/w content, you are fine. If you want to write nsf/w content, you are also fine. Let's just respect each other's interests, boundaries and ways of writing. Having a preference for love stories and/or erot/ica does not make you less of a writer than someone who only writes platonic things and vice versa. To each their own!

Cancel / callout culture. I know some callouts are made by people who had serious issues with someone, but many callouts are also made over petty disagreements about ships, characters or other minor things. I firmly believe that nothing positive comes from cancel culture and I reject it wholeheartedly. I've been rping for over 15 years now and I know how much nicer and more welcoming the rp community as a whole was when this was not a thing. I guarantee you all of us have things we don't want to see/read and that is valid. But publicly shitting all over someone because of it and turning entire fandoms against one person with sometimes deliberately exaggerated claims and one-sided "evidence" is equal to a witch hunt and creates a negative anxiety-inducing atmosphere for everyone sharing this space, to the point where people are too afraid to approach new followers, suggest ideas or get into ships with new writing partners. I've seen people get shit for not reblogging a callout for someone they never even spoke to, getting berated for "agreeing with what happened" because they didn't interact with the post. Please stop doing that. Not to mention that many callouts end in vile harassment of the people in question, sometimes to an extent that grossly outweighs the "crime" the person in question is accused of. (Remember, you never know who reads your callouts and what they decide to do with that!) Especially with the thought in mind that callouts often aren't necessarily fair or true, they can seriously damage people's reputation and in some cases this has real life consequences you cannot predict. As a community we must strive to find better ways of dealing with issues than raising a shitstorm each time we disagree over something.

☀ What’s your rp pet peeve?

People who obviously never looked at my rules and then come at me because they suddenly have an issue with something that my rules would have told them in advance.

When I'm trying to plot with someone and they are "cool with everything and anything", especially if I am already giving specific choices to pick from. We all lack ideas sometimes, it happens, but please don't make me decide everything on my own. Everyone has preferences.

People who can't distinguish between a villain character and the human being who writes them. In the same vein, people who think writers of villain muses are obligated to let their "good muse" win if they foolishly attack them since "they would win in canon". That's not how that works; canon cannot save you here.

♒ Thoughts on the fandom you’re currently rping in?

There are some incredibly nice and talented/skilled writers and artists in this fandom and I am happy I've had the pleasure of meeting some of them! No further comment <.<

#( ooc asks. ) #( meme reply. ) #orchideae #m. orchideae

[wolame-o-ccx]

would genuinely love to see your process for sketching out your comics!! ive wanted to make my own but i have never really figured out the process and end up overwhelmed- and you're one of the folks who makes stuff in a style that I kinda draw close to, and u do ur comics with pencil and paper- so if you wouldn't mind in the future, it'd be really cool to see how you actually get everything planned :)

This ask is so cute :( probably genuinely the biggest compliment I've ever received! Well, no waiting in the future! I'll tell you now what happens behind the scenes! :)

SO FIRSTLY, I'd like to clarify I am in no way a professional or even close to one, I never even looked up how to do comics, I just kinda do them and use what I've read from DC comics and Pinterest tips.

But! Personally, I find that making comics is fun and that's what I strive on. I won't lie when I say my comics are pretty bland, the surroundings are empty and lame but I think the character's expressions and body language make up for it, and especially the script. So altogether in this post, I'll be breaking down how my comics are made!

↓↓↓ if you're interested, open up the full post!

1 - Scripting

In both dialogue and character detail/placing!

I use a notes app for when I get ideas!

* I usually don't do specific dialogue, only stating the idea and then coming up with dialogue in my head, but there are some exceptions where I do write down pre-thought-out dialogues you can see in the examples I put below!

With the idea / dialogue in tow, we can go to character detail / placing. I don't know the actual word for it but basically how the character acts in a specific scene / dialogue!

Character expression is especially important when it comes to any type of art, be it comics or animation as it can tell a story with little to no dialogue!

* panels taken from 1 and 2 for context

From here you can clearly tell their expressions well! Be sure to exaggerate!

2 - Limit planning

With Tumblr's 10 images limit, as well as Instagram if you post there, it's important to note that limit and know when to end the comic with a good panel where it doesn't feel like it's supposed to continue UNLESS you're making two parts!

I can't tell you how many times I've ruined my sketchbook papers trying to get a perfect script but I've been doing it long enough that my brain has adapted to the limit and every comic I've done since adapting had been a perfect ≤10.

But even if you decide to go with two (or maybe even more) parts, you should make sure it ends well still! Like a book! Those spaces between paragraphs and chapters and such!

Take these for examples too!

* panels taken from 1 and 2 for context

So treat it like a book! I guess ?

3 - Panel placement

This isn't a necessity, but my personal way of drawing each panel is having it scattered around randomly around my sketchbook. I don't use strips or anything like that as it restricts me because using strips on paper is a whole lot harder than on digital. Because I have such a wide area to draw, I'm less restricted from drawing any excess things I want to add in case my dialogue doesn't fit the panel or so!

4 - Draw

Now to put it all together and make the comic! I usually already have my vision in mind so I can just go draw it without a light sketch layer, but I do recommend it!

What that is is essentially a sketch but drawn like.. your pencil is hovered above the page? Like you don't press down on it or something like that. Basically a guideline! So do that if you need it, and when you're satisfied with how it looks, you can draw it! And make sure it's clear!

After that, it's just picture and post! (Make sure you crop it right tho!)

4.5 - BONUS / TIPS

When I started posting Belos drawings, I never expected it to get any attention or even end up as a whole AU 😭 I just drew him in a babygirl hoodie and people ate that shit up so now it's an AU 💀 and because of that you need to prepare personalized tags!

Tags like pitmdau or sharing caleb au ! Very very useful for navigation

More important than tags, make sure you have a Masterpost!

I'm aware mine are unfinished and very messy and I'm trying to work on that right now but it's very difficult but people really need it so when making Masterposts, YOU HAVE KEEP UP WITH IT. I slacked of for ONE POST and now it's a mess.

Also another important note you can only put 100 links in one post so you have to make more Masterposts to navigate through the comics 😭

5 - Have fun!

When getting into comic making, I think really the most important thing to keep in mind is your enjoyment in making said comics. Sometimes some things can burn you out very quickly so when you're getting into things like this, especially when you're not getting paid, you gotta make sure you have fun doing it. It doesn't matter if it doesn't get a lot of traction or not, it only matters that you are enjoying making and posting them!

I've experienced MULTIPLE burn outs from making too many comics for my TOH AUs that at some point I just completely died and lacked motivation. But what drives me into making them are other people's enjoyment! Their enjoyment gives me enjoyment which gives me motivation to make more. Someday I'll know the AUs I've created will inevitably be over, at some point, but right now I'm just having fun with the small community I've built!

So make comics, and have fun!

I hope this was helpful in any way. I just want to clarify that, again, this is my way of making comics, and you don't have to follow anything I put into the post. I'm mostly hoping this was easy to understand as well. I'm more of a visual learner so making up the words to make this was kinda hard so I'm sorry if some parts didn't make sense. If anything, feel free to hit me with another ask or a PM! I know me not posting seems like I'm inactive but I promise I check Tumblr frequently 😭

Happy posting!!! :3

#asks #pitmdau #sharing caleb au #masterpost

[spacedlexi]

When you draw do you use references or just freehand everything? I’m trying to get better at figure drawing and different poses and I’m generally alright when I use a reference, but freehand I’m all over the place and everything looks stiff and bad.

ahah unfortunately for me i was on deviantart during my formative years when everyone acted like you were a cheater and a faker if you even Thought about using a reference (im SO glad its not like this anymore those were dark times as a child artist)

so 9 times out of 10 i do not use references. i really only use them when im studying or if theres a pose im unfamiliar with/certain pose i want to recapture. like right now im drawing some dancing but thats not something that comes to my minds eye easily so i looked at a bunch of different references just to get the "idea", instead of using just one

dont be afraid about using references if they help you a lot! different things work for different people and lots if not all professional artists are using references in some way

BUT if you would like to improve your reference-less figure drawing, and it seems like youre unhappy with the movement (or lackthereof) in your free hand drawing? my first tip for that is to use some sort of base so you can try feel out the pose before you actually draw it. here are some examples of what i mean:

i have a few different methods depending on how i feel like doing it but you get the idea. i usually like to block out the shape but sometimes i need to be able to see details so its more of a little figure. some people just use little wire-frame-like skeletons which i also use but more rarely(i like to see the silhouette). but regardless of the method you choose, the point is to help with posing and movement and to try to keep things fluid. especially if you really PUSH the movement youre trying to capture. just exaggerate the pose a bit. push and pull and squeeze and stretch it helps make your drawings looks more alive. having the base like this helps me exaggerate more if i need to during the line stage

it also helps to know about the way the body likes to naturally rest. tip 2 is to look up the contrapposto pose itll go into all that and give you a nice little diagram. but the "rules" associated with the pose help a lot in creating poses that feel natural. it just helps with figuring out angles/weight distribution/balance stuff like that. keeping in mind that everything has a weight to it and we move to compensate for that helps too

UHHH i hope this helps?? getting poses to look natural and fluid takes practice more than anything. for me the most important part to pay attention to is the way you angle the shoulders and hips. those are like grounding points for me and i work from there (shoulders/hips/spine) (youll read more about this if you look up the contrapposto pose)

HEREs a little link to an article about contrapposto with a quick video at the end that would probably tell you all youll need to know about it. look up images for more diagrams if you need them

#replies with lexi #incognito #art tips #i should start tagging these aha i like answering art questions if i can

[cheetahgirlju]

How To Be A Party Girl

In my mind, I'm Carrie Bradshaw. Where everything just comes to me, simple, yet very complicated, with particular indecisive goals. Sadly, I’m Dan Humphrey. If you don’t know who that is…well, I lerk and take in everyone else’s opinions, thoughts, and ideas. Then, I go and tell my friends because why not? So, I guess I am a little bit of Carrie.

Now, let me stop acting like I’m sophisticated. I wanted to start a blog because I can't seem to solidify my thoughts, I just let them swing and hang. So, I thought it would be hilarious and a little bit embarrassing if I started telling people my actual opinions. Maybe it’ll look like I'm talking to people when all my friends are in a different time zone than me.

I’m thinking I start this off with a silly story of what my friends and I did in winter. I’ll probably exaggerate a little bit but how else would I make it more interesting?

In late November, My friends and I started planning a night that would simultaneously be fun and relieving. We planned on getting an Air BNB that my mom would pay half for (this was before she got sick.) There would be “fun”, movies, singing, and pizza. Everything was worked out till a day or two before our plans. Knowing my mom, very bipolar and indecisive, even when promised she wouldn’t help me pick an Airbnb till a little bit before. My friends and I started looking online and somehow ended up in a small back house in the middle of Fontana.

For all my non-California residents, Fontana can be a very beautiful place…depending on the area. The back house we were staying at was rather small, and nosey-ass neighbors were watching our every move. And there was a ring camera, right IN FRONT of the door. Now, you’re probably like “What does that matter?” Well, there were a couple of rules to staying one night in this house. Rule No.3 happened to be “a maximum of 4 people.” I happen to have a friend group of a whopping 12 people. So, we started with myself and my very best and funniest friend. To get all of the other 10 people in, we had a very easy and maybe dumb idea. My funny friend pretended to be on the phone, speaking very loudly, and was right in front of the camera. This would help sneak the other 10 people in.

After all 12 noisy teens entered the compacted building, we kind of just sat there. It was not boring because my friends and I were never boring, but we didn’t have anything but an Xbox, Mother Nature’s plant, and a compact space. We wanted something else, so we contacted everyone we knew who had this “something.” Originally we were promised it by someone in the friend group but, let’s just say it was a very complicated night.

We started to brainstorm ideas. There was the option of “I forgot my I.D.” or/and begging. I wasn’t opposed to either, yet I was very anxious. We all concluded that 2-3 people should go to the liquor store and pretend to be over 21 and happen to forget their wallet. If that didn’t work, they could go ask someone outside.

After finally setting a plan, I somehow managed to be one of the strong troopers going to the store. I pushed up my bra, fixed my makeup, and put on my hooker face. On our way to the store, another friend joined us. This group of three looked very inexperienced and somewhat young. We walked in with a guilty demeanor and somehow managed to seem less mature. I went up to the counter and asked for 2 bottles of Amsterdam. I didn’t even know what that was. I just heard from a friend that it was the cheapest and most effective. She grabbed the bottles for us and when everything felt like it was going right, she asked for my I.D. I started my acting career by digging in my bag for a good 2 minutes. Then my choked-up words came out telling her I forgot it. She looked at me with disapproval and then at her coworker. They spoke in Spanish for a second and that’s when I knew it was over and we better go before we got in trouble. I just smiled and told her I'd be back….. I didn't plan on ever going back.

My friends and I walked out with pure embarrassment because it was the most humiliating experience ever. As my friends were walking ahead of me I spotted two GROWN, scary men getting out of a truck. I have no idea where my mind was or where my anxiety went but I just asked them if they could get us some bottles. The first one didn’t even understand what I was saying so I said never mind and kept walking. Then, lucky us, his friend was a creep and decided to lend us a helping hand. After 5 minutes of talking with a high-pitched voice and a push-up bra, he said yes. I gave him all our money and the order like I was ordering pizza. Then he went into the store. My friends and I started panic laughing and couldn’t believe it. There was a possibility we were about to get scammed.

We turned the corner waiting for him, and after 10 minutes he came out with two bottles. He handed us the bottles and told us to have fun. I just wanted to die because he was flirting with me and I didn’t want my life to end there so after he turned around to leave we ran to my friend's car. These bitches wouldn’t open the door so we stood there panicking. When they finally opened the door we stayed in the car for a few minutes hoping he didn’t see where we went. When it felt safe we ran back to the back house. I can’t describe the rest of the night because I can’t recall, but I know it was crazy-lit-movie.

In conclusion, in order to achieve this arc of partigirlness, leave just a bit of your self-respect at the door, JUST A LITTLE BIT, and connect your “nunga nungas” to your brain. You can get through life very easily by leading men on, which isn't that hard just make sure to be safe. And if you don't have boobs, I'm sure you have other assets that would draw creepy men to you.

XOXO

- ME XD

#2000s nostalgia #blog #girl blogger #tumblr girls #y2k #2000s #party #partying #funny #story #storytelling

[writeingdocs]

7.03pm

stray kids bangchan x oc reader genre: fluff, angst ? cw: the word “transes” used is a term we use for transcripts of notes/reviewers word count: 947 masterlist

x

“One tall hot cappuccino for Addy.”

Chan placed the cup in front of you—well your textbooks. The caffeinated beverage being your 5th one of the day—night.

“On the house.” He added with a wink.

You rolled your eyes at your friend who is left with his white button up shirt and black slacks after the apron was off. His shift was done.

“Impressive.” You say with a teasing amount of sarcasm as you looked at the foam art showing a girl’s sleeping face whom you can only assume is you.

“Thank you.” He equaled.

“No, but seriously, your drawing skills are impressive—much more on paper.” You locked eyes with him. “Why can’t you just tell your parents you want to go to an arts school rather than taking another business course for your masters?” It wasn’t a question—at least it didn’t sound like it.

“The same way you can’t tell yours you don’t want to take the NMAT and pursue Med.”

“Hey! I, for one, slightly like what I’m about to get myself into.” You defended.

“And I, for one, slightly like what I’m currently taking for Masters.”

“Yeah right, your past four-year rant hauntingly says otherwise.” You retorted remembering college days.

“Well, speaking of…how are you holding up?” He changes the subject, gesturing to the pile of transes and textbooks in front of you.

“How do you think?”

“Eh,” he made a face, “you’re holding up pretty decently.”

“Christopher, I’m literally dying.” Okay maybe that was an exaggeration. “And you giving me another cup pushes me more to my early demise.”

This dramantics (dramatic antics) earned a chuckle from him.

“Who says you have to drink it? I just gave you that to show you the foam art.”

“Well of course, you rich kid. Which makes me wonder still why you really work part time here.”

“I’m not rich, my parents are.”

“Exactly what rich people say.”

He rolled his eyes.

“And I work here for the ladies.” He smirked. “Plus it gives me my artistic freedom.”

It was your turn to roll your eyes.

As you were about to drink the cappuccino, not wanting it to go to waste, Chan stopped you.

“I’ll drink this.”

“You can’t even drink coffee.”

“I don’t drink coffee, not I can’t. Besides, if it keeps you alive a little longer then—aw!”

You hit his face with the transes you’re currently highlighting.

x

“Honestly, I’m terrified.” You confessed, hands tightly holding the matching mug filled with your favorite green tea.

Chan basically dragged you out of the living room towards the kitchen for a much needed 10-minute break from you two’s study session at his place.

“I’m terrified that I’ll always be the failure I am.” You continued.

There was a split second of silence before he turned to his side to face you.

“You were never once a failure.”

You laughed bitterly to yourself.

“Thanks, Channie. But I am.”

“No, you’re not.” His voice was stern.

Frankly speaking, you’ve never seen him speak this serious since your junior year in college when you nearly cried to him about your then supposed friends who were treating you like trash.

“I know I’ll never be able to fully understand the amount of hardship, self doubt, and fear you’re feeling as you head on this journey, not to mention the pressure you give yourself too, but let me tell you this: you are not a failure nor a disappointment.”

You could only nudge his arm in reply as tears started to well in your eyes.

You stayed in that comfortable silence for a moment, shoulders touching sitting closely next to each other, enjoying the warmth of your slightly less caffeinated drinks.

x

“Do you know why I took the job at the cafe?” Chan suddenly asks you one night as you two headed home after his shift ended.

“I thought you said it was for your artistic freedom.” You raised a brow which made him chuckle.

“That and also to see my peace.”

“You.”

This halted your steps as you looked at him a bit confused.

“Me?”

“I want to see you. It gives me,” he paused for a moment feeling his ears starting to warm, “peace. Seeing you gives me peace. And the cafe is where you always study so...” He shrugged.

“Not when I get into med school, no.” You laughed.

“Well then, I’ll just have to apply to the nearest cafe there which I’m sure where you’ll study!” He said matter-of-factly.

“Nah, I’ll probably utilize the library.”

He made a pout which in turn made you laugh.

“I can still make you coffee though. Working at the cafe has its perks! I know how to do it at home now so I can still see you when I give it to you.”

“You really are a dork.”

“Nah, I’m just romantic like that.”

You ignored his statement with a question.

“You said seeing me gives you peace, how is that?”

“I don’t know, you just do.” He hesitated a bit. “Fine, I admit I am stressed with masters—“

“Knew it!” You almost jumped.

“But, all of that fades away when I see you.”

“If we weren’t best friends, I’d think you actually like me.” You smirked.

“I do.”

Two simple words were enough to wipe the smirk off your face and instead make your pupils dilate and heart beat faster.

“I like you, Addy.” He said all too perfectly at the right second, not shying away and looking straight at you.

“A lot.”

Then your own words replayed in your head:

If you weren’t best friends, maybe you’d actually like him too.

- - - -

AN: this has been a draft rotting in my notes app from 8.12.21 that i stumbled upon while cleaning my files today and decided to edit and post haha ((the ending was not originally there but alas, my love for angst has won me over once again lol this was meant to be a f2l story w a touch of me projecting my love-hate rel w medicine))

late happy new year! reblogs and feedbacks are much appreciated :”

#writeingdocs #stray kids x you #stray kids x reader #stray kids fanfic #bangchan reader #bang chan x reader #bang chan x you #bangchan angst #bangchan fluff #bang chan angst #bang chan fluff #bang chan fanfic #stray kids imagine #stray kids scenario #this is me projecting my love hate relationship with med school

[longeyelashedtragedy]

d, k, r

D: What’s the most personal fanfic you’ve written?

Ohhh...hmmmm. I'd say my two multichapter AUs, and then dumb kids in their forties (SORRY TO KEEP BRINGING THIS ONE UP lol)

The multichapters (Mare Liberum and Dangerous) depict how I feel/felt about myself, my trauma, and as someone who has trauma that has colored their entire life.

Mare Liberum--written mostly a long time ago and conceived of pre-covid, even, is a version of myself that I feel rarely exists anymore. I love this fic and the universe so much, and wish I was updating it, but not only did it lose all but 1 person of its audience, I also wonder if I can't access that part of me anymore. That fic is just about someone bitter and angry at himself, at how the world treats and perceives him, at the wrongs done to him by others and by himself for who he is, and the fic's message (including the "love story" part) is--If you're born wrong, you're not gonna get a happy ending.

Dangerous is about the different ways people can become fucked up adults. Mikel's story, as I've said a few times, is a really twisted and exaggerated version of my own, and when we eventually get to the Christmas Chapter where Granit visits Mikel's parents for the holiday, this will be the first time I've ever ever given people a glimpse at how my lifelong mental health problems have informed my relationship with my own family. I...really don't like to talk about this topic, including in therapy, I think for Cultural Reasons, but because I understand Mikel's life so vividly, part of that is the family part. However--without giving away the ending, Dangerous I started coming up with in like, idk early 2022? And we were well into 2022 when I came up with the ending. The message of this fic, which could be perverse to some I guess, is "fucked up people deserve love too!" Obviously I'm not fucked up like Xhakarteta are in this but...what a lovely change of message ❤️

And then dumb kids in their forties...I didn't intend for the fic to be like this, but really, Jamie's thought process in this kind of depicts me in my absolute worst moments. Again, a bit exaggerated and what not, but like I was talking about the other day, the toxic inferiority. Idk if that's even a real concept, but I don't see it depicted to this intensity, and my own inferiority issues have done a shit-ton of damage in my adult life. It's something I work on a lot, and it felt self indulgent in a fun way to put Jamie through that.

There's a little bit of me in "Visited Upon the Sons" too--mostly, my frustration with compulsory heterosexuality and how it dominates conversations no matter where you go. But weirdly, writing that and discovering this through the fic, made me feel less frustrated about it in real life. Writing as Therapy!

Wow that was absolutely too long, I truly cannot shut the fuck up lol.

K:  Do you have a guilty pleasures in fic (reading or writing)?

Lately I've been enjoying reading and writing a little Wag Fic 🫢 it feels so taboo! I also like things that are kind of gratuitously exploitative, but with a caveat: it needs to be a little tongue in cheek, like I can tell the author is making a conscious choice. (I think Dangerous is kind of like that, or at least I hope so lol)

R: Which writers (fanfic or otherwise) do you consider the biggest influence on you and your writing?

Julio Cortázar, and to a lesser extent Carlos Fuentes and Gabriel García Márquez. Yesss my academic specialty was latin american boom and postboom lol. 11/10 recommend! For fic writers, legit you all are so good I'd rather attempt copying these big name authors than to even try to be like you!

#anonymous #answered #fic saga

[choices-binglebonkus]

Top Ten Books/Series I forgot existed

So this has been sitting in my drafts for like a month or two and I just got an ask that made me want to actually post it. I think I made this simply because I was bored, couldn’t sleep, and enjoy making lists, so I decided to make a top ten list featuring books/series that I totally forgot about because…they’re just forgettable, no two ways about it. Because let’s be real here: there are great Choices books, there are terrible Choices books, and there are Choices books that are like…hey…hi…I’m just kinda here.

10. Shipwrecked. PLEASE do not quote me on this, but I *think* it released sometime this past year. Honestly most of the reason this book suffered was due to the lack of interesting characters, or characters in general because off the top of my head all I can remember are the MC, the LI, Dr. Hale, and the LI’s old business partner but I can’t even remember their name at this point. Hell, I can’t even remember much of the plot, and even after playing a chapter I remember forgetting almost everything about it pretty much immediately.

9. Wishful Thinking. I actually quite liked this book. It was lighthearted and pretty fun during a time where we needed some lightheartedness to balance out the more intense/angsty book releases. But unfortunately, the plot itself was kinda meh, and since it was a standalone, there was no real reason to remember it. Even worse, this book began the unfortunate trend of reusing background characters as MC’s “close friends”.

8. Foreign Affairs. Remember when FA was announced and, the dumbasses that we were, we were all convinced it would save the fandom from the book drought? Yeah…it feels like such a distant memory now. The book seemed really, really promising. And it could have been. But holy hell, it was executed so poorly and the premise of the plot was so flimsy. What I once thought would be a great book is now one of the ones I just squint at when I remember it even exists.

7. A Very Scandalous Proposal. I’ve talked about this one a little bit before. The main appeal of AVSP was Simon/Ava. If you didn’t like them? Tough shit, buddy. The main goal of the book was to uncover the secrets of the Montjoy family. Unfortunately, PB didn’t give us a reason to care about or find interest in said Montjoy family, which is probably why the book faded from my memory so quick.

6. Passport to Romance. This is kind of a weird one for me. I forget it exists most of the time, but then when I do remember it, I remember how truly terrible it was, while most of the other books on this list aren’t very fresh in my memory. It was so unimpressive, bland, and the characters were tolerable at best and obnoxious at worst (ELLIOT LANGDON).

5. Rising Tides. The book was okay…but it pushed a generic “save the earth” message while forcing us to pay to clean the town. The MC was a sidekick in her own story which would’ve been fine, but Charlie was such an annoying character that it wasn’t even enjoyable. Also, the Big Bads conceded waaaaay too easily at the end. I’m not even exaggerating when I say that I forgot about this book in less than a week after the final chapter aired.

4. Witness: A Bodyguard Romance. Believe it or not, despite how awful this book was, I forgot about it pretty quickly. It could’ve been a really cool story, but it focused too heavily on romance when the MC and Cassian’s lives were on the line quite literally at every second. Other than that…I truthfully do not remember much about this book other than the Irish mob.

3. Ms. Match. This book was decent enough and it didn’t stop releasing until that long ago. However, the plot was one of those “fight to reach the top and win the competition” plots which quite frankly have been overdone in Choices for a few years now. Not to mention, there weren’t a lot of interesting characters except for Maggie and maaaaaybe the MC’s dad but that’s pushing it a little. The reason it’s so high on this list is because it didn’t end that long ago, yet I can’t seem to remember a damn thing about the book, other than that I HATED the love interest.

2. Home for the Holidays. Many moons ago, this was considered one of the worst, if not, THE worst, book in Choices. And many moons ago, I agreed. But the horrific mediocrity of this holiday flurry of fuck was outshined by some truly awful stories and simply faded into obscurity.

1. Sunkissed. As I made this list, I scrolled through the series on the app, and while most books on this list elicited an “oh yeah, I kinda remember this” from me, when I saw this one, I was like “holy shit, I completely forgot this book was even a thing”. While Home For the Holidays and Sunkissed are both sort of (for lack of a better word) Hallmark-y, Sunkissed was longer and, in my opinion, a little sloppier. The book just wasn’t sure what it wanted to be. A lighthearted summer beach romance? A tale of a family’s struggles with grief and interpersonal conflict in the wake of a father and husband’s untimely death? Fuck it, we’ll uncomfortably cram BOTH into the main plot, execution be damned!

#choices stories you play #playchoices #choices stories we play #pixelberry #pixelberry studios #playchoices fandom #choices stories you play fandom #long post #choices stories we play fandom #loooong post #ranking list