#I get an idea and want to implement it immediately into my writing

[antiyourwokehomophobia2]

Dear God, what will it take for me to develop the patience of jkr lmao.

#She introduced Sirius black in the first chapter of the very first book and then doesn't show him again until the third book #She mentions Dumbledore's nose appearing broken but doesn't explain why until the last book (?) #Like God #I get an idea and want to implement it immediately into my writing #I want to write that cool scene I thought of immediately #But it won't hit unless I build it up first lmao #It's sooo frustrating but I also know it'll be so fucking worth it

[v3nusxsky]

Hello! I love your writing, and I have a request;

Larissa x teacher,fem!reader and they’ve been together for a few years and then Wednesday arrives to Nevermore and things start going downhill, the murders start and all that, so just about Larissa being overly overprotective over reader when those things happen, not letting reader out of her sight and constantly having to know where reader is because she doesn’t want reader in danger/to lose her. Reader is a bit stubborn and too independent and sometimes (for example) goes for a walk in the woods where the hyde is even though larissa told her not to bc its dangerous.

Basically fluff, larissa being overprotective, and possibly angst too!

You don’t have to write this if you don’t like the idea, also take your time!

Thank you <3

Temptations and Confessions

*Authors note~ the first instalment of my you are my world (YAMW) series and I must say I adore my Larissa Weems. Some themes may be a bit tricky so always read the warnings and check the rating love yall. Sorry to the anon for changing a few details to fit in with the series I hope that’s okay*

Trigger warnings~ Nevermore supernatural usual drama overprotective Larissa due to past trauma

Prompt~ see ask^^^

Tag list

Empathy. Often as children, we get told to have more empathy for others. But for you that’s not the case. No. You were labelled the overly sensitive child. The one who seemed to be nicknamed the cry baby. It wasn’t your fault really. Being born into two Normie parents who didn’t understand you wasn’t going to help your situation. I’m fact your ability became a curse rather quickly. It became a weakness. Others could now use this against you and it resulted in you curling in on yourself, speaking less and less, isolating yourself completely and building walls so high that they would rival the Eiffel Tower. All until you stumbled into Nevermore. Literally.

Feeling your own emotions deeply was manageable but feeling others on top of your own made everything ten times harder than it should’ve been. Your own nerves bubbled in your lower stomach uncontrollably as you made your way to the gates of Nevermore. That’s why you didn’t see it. Overwhelmed with not only your emotions but those of the whole school as well made your head spin, eyes blurring round the corners causing you to trip over a obnoxiously large stone and fall face first down to the ground. What a great impression that is.

That day led you to the current moment in time, you’ve been teaching at Nevermore for a year now, dating Larissa for a few months. Larissa’s aura immediately drew you in, a stunning mixture of gold, pink, green and light blue and slight speckles of red all swirling together in a pattern that is so uniquely hers. You adore how each colour simply is woven into each other yet still remaining visible to your eye. It is nothing short of gorgeous and even now you know you’ll never stop being stunned by the woman.

Over the past two weeks your girlfriend has had exhaustion and irritation rolling off her aura in brutal waves due to the newest student of Nevermore. In fact, you felt like you’d hardly seen her since Wednesday had arrived at Nevermore. And whenever you did, she was drained. Wherever an Addams goes, trouble and darkness will always follow, a rumour you’d heard but not had evidence of till now. The young Addams radiates black and indigo in her aura, it’s practically dripping like blood as her emotions of disinterest and annoyance seeped through. Despite not seeing the principal, you’d received many texts apologising for her lack of presence these days, reminding you she cares for you and to stay safe. Things would settle down soon. You both hoped for that. But a niggly feeling deep in your soul told you that that was simply wishful thinking.

Emotions constantly consumed you, the fear of the students impact your ability to remain neutral, to the point you were having near consistent headaches. New rules being implemented for staff and students due to what some believe is bears. Bears in the woods were believable but perhaps it was paranoia of the students effecting you or Wednesdays constant insistence over there being a monster In the woods killing people. Whatever the reason was you couldn’t do the constant headaches, anxiety hitting you like tidal waves every time you left your room, even altering your dreams now. This couldn’t go on much longer, it’s draining everyone, especially the poor Principal. Truthfully you weren’t sure what emotions were your own these day.

Shooting a quick text off to Larissa you found your shoes and jacket and got ready to leave the grounds in search of a break. Only to be stopped by a frantic round of knocks on the door of your private chambers spooked you. Instantly tapping into your ability, you knew your girlfriend was stood on the other side of the door riddled with panic causing you to make quick work of letting the woman in.

“Isa?” You puzzled, stepping back away from her slightly as the full force of her emotions hit you. “Darling! You shouldn’t leave the grounds. I can’t protect you there my love! Please don’t risk your health. I can’t imagine what would happen if-“ her own sobs choked the final words of her pleas. Tears forming in her cyan blue eyes, “I don’t like this darling girl” you couldn’t help but mumbled sadly “I need a break Isa. It’s too painful. Maybe if I can prove there’s nothing abnormal the students won’t be so paranoid. I have to try Larissa! Please for my sake let me go” you stated with the stubbornness she knew you held. Especially when it involved someone you care for. “I- I don’t like it” she whispered as her emotions clouded every word. As much as she didn’t like this, she doesn’t want you in pain either.

Warm slender fingers came to cradle your cheek as she attempted to persuade you otherwise. The blondes heart clenching with fear as you squared your jaw and pushed calming emotions into her. “I’ll be fine Isa. I promise. Just need fifteen minutes to myself away from all the madness. Larissa you must know I respect you but I need this. I’ll be back soon love” you stated before slipping under the shifters form that was blocking the doorway. You didn’t dare look back, knowing your heart would shatter into millions of tiny pieces at the hurt and anguish she was being drowned in.

One thing about Larissa Weems is she protects those within Nevermore and those who she holds dear with every fibre of her being. To see you go into the unknown alone most definitely shouldn’t be happening on her watch. But, she’d the let fear of losing you paralyse her, moments trapped in her own mind as it drew up the worst case scenarios.

The ticking sound escaping the grandfather clock seemed to be only adding to the blondes fears. You’d said fifteen minutes, by minute three she had moved back to her office and began rapidly passing the floor. A desperate attempt to calm herself was failing as she glanced again at the clock for at least the hundredth time. By minute eight, every emotion was clawing its way through the shifter inhibiting her from forming a plan. To save you from the unknown.

By minute fifteen, tears caressed pale cheeks as her chest heaved in attempt of getting enough air to fill them. You’d left. And she’d let you. Failing you in the first few months of your blossoming relationship wouldn’t booded well with her desire to love and protect you till her last breath. A lapse in her judgment that wouldn’t happen again.

As you made your way back to the grounds, shaken and sore you were immediately hit with your lovers emotions. Self hatred, solitude, love, panic, confusion and an overwhelming sadness were swirling inside of her like a mini tornado. So much so it practically made you feel more nauseous than you previously did. As you crawled into Nevermore the only thought you had was that she was right. If only you’d listened to her.

Not even bothering to knock you let yourself into the office panting slightly through the pain which caught her attention. “Are you hurt? Darling? Let me see. Are you okay? Gods don’t ever do that again! I could’ve lost you. Do you know how incredibly dangerous that is. Is that blood?” She rambled as her eyes frantically ran over your from. She immediately noted that you seemed to hold your right heel off the floor and a deep crimson stained your cheeks and left arm. Almost as if you’d been scratched by something.

“Isa” you groaned, “yes. I’m sorry. You were right” you mumbled as you tried to focus on anything but the swirling emotions that were brewing inside of you. “Stay” was all she offered as she let her long beautiful legs carry her to fetch what could only be a medical kit. Sure enough that’s exactly what she was clinging to as she moved to kneel by your saw body. “I’m sorry darling. I need to clean this up love” she murmured softly to you as she set to work on her task. A peace offering of painkillers and some bottled water to help with the physical pain. Praise flowing as she carfully cleaned and patch up the deep cuts before wrapping your ankle to help with the pain.

“Feel sick” you whimpered as she cleaned off the blood staining your cheeks. “I’ll just” she trailed off as you cut her off with a desperate plea to stay. “Please! Isa I need you here! Don’t leave me! I’m sorry, don’t go” only to be hushed and gently scooped into her arms and carried to her private quarters. From there she joined you on the bed, extra cautious of your sore body. “Okay.”

Okay. You were okay. But hurt. Alive. She reminded her self as you clung to her. She had no clue what had happened and it wasn’t her right to pry, you’d speak when you felt ready. In an effort to help with your nausea she tried to pour all her love and calming energy into you as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. You could’ve died. Left. Gone. She wouldn’t have been able to tell you she loved you. Although you knew that, she wanted the first time admitting it out loud to be perfect.

“I’ll never let anyone hurt you again” she mumbled dropping a sweet kiss to your head. You’d been silent for a while, chest rising and falling slowly with your eyes screwed shut as you hid yourself into her. Only natural she thought you’d been asleep. “I’m sorry I’ve let you down my darling. I can’t lose you. From here and now I’m going to make sure that you are safe. Better protection for you from emotions. Anything to keep you safe and happy. I- i- oh heavens how will I tell you when you are awake if i can’t say it now?’ I love you sweet girl. Always will.” She managed to stumble out before dropping another round of sweet kisses to the crown of your head. No verbal answer was given, but the onslaught of love forcing its way into her body was all that she needed to know.

You’d get through this together. She hadn’t lost you. And wouldn’t ever again. Stubbornly, you mumbled telling her she was protective of you. Only to be reminded that to Larissa Weems you are her whole world. Nothing is more important than your safety and happiness. Nothing. She’d deal with your stubbornness if you accepted her need to protect someone as precious as yourself from such a cruel world. Her love. Her life. Hopefully her wife. One day.

Word count ~ 2005

#anon answered #v3nusxsky answers #fanfic #anon requested #larissa weems x reader #larissa x you #larissa #larissa weems #larissa x reader #principal weems #principal weems x reader #principleweemsxreader #principal weems x you #principal larissa weems x reader #principal larissa weems #weems #v3nusxsky you are my world series #v3nusxsky

[watermelonlovershigh]

The Period Incident /blurb/

AN: can you guess? yep, another random idea that popped in my head and now is wrote out for you to read. i really enjoyed writing this and i hope you enjoy. please reblog and leave your feedback : ))))

This story contains: implements of sex, kissing, talks of period blood, crying, embarrassment, comfort, fluff

{ boyfriend!harry - softrry - any harry era }

word count- 1,275

When you arrive back to Harry's house from a date night, things start to get heated quickly but as he goes to pull your panties off, that's when he realizes you aren't wet from arousal but are wet from aunt flo.

You'd just been out on a lovely date and as soon as you arrived back to Harry's house, things started to get heated very fast. When you made it passed the front door, Harry lifted you up from your thighs and carried you up to his bedroom. The whole way there he had his tongue basically in your mouth and you couldn't help but moan at the hunger you were feeling for this man.

Entering his spacy bedroom, Harry stumbled his way over to the bed with you still attached to his body and carefully laid you down on the soft mattress. With eager hands, you both started to pull and tug each others clothes off, so horny driven you couldn't think straight. By the time Harry made it to your panties, he was only left in his boxer briefs and you were completely bare on the top of your body, round breasts on full display.

But when Harry goes to tug down your white cotton panties from your hips, he notices something is wrong immediately. The crotch of your underwear was soaked in a reddish brown substance and your shaven pussy had smeared blood all over it. It looked like a total crime scene. Being the mature adult he was though, Harry knew all it was was you'd started your period.

When you feel Harry pause in his movements of removing your last bit of clothing, you look up at his flushed face and ask hesitantly, "What? What is it?" He really didn't want to embarrass you because realistically periods aren't meant to be embarrassing. But Harry knowing you, he knew you'd get embarrassed and upset. He just didn't know to what extent.

Slowly pulling his eyes away from your bloody vagina, Harry gently explains, "Um...... it appears you may have started your period, love. But hey, it's okay. No need to be embarr...."

Your boyfriend was cut off by you shakily muttering out loudly, "Oh GOD!" as you looked down between your legs and seen the horrid view of what you thought was arousal forming in your panties from being turned on but turns out it was your period that came a day early. You give no warning as you quickly jump out of bed before ruining Harry's sheets and run into his bathroom.

As soon as you step foot in the bathroom, you slam the door shut, lock it, and scramble to find a tampon under the sink. Harry always kept tampons and pads for you or any female that may need it when using his bathroom. A thoughtful *king*. Then you grabbed a dark colored washcloth and wet it before sitting on the toilet. You kicked your bloody panties off and began cleaning yourself up.

You wiped all the wet and dried blood from your pussy and then patted yourself dry with some clean toilet paper. After that, you quickly opened the tampon package and inserted it in before you started leaking again. When the tampon was correctly inserted, that's when the full length of your embarrassment came flooding in and you quietly begin to sob on the toilet, fully naked and feeling vulnerable.

You and Harry have only been dating for about five months and you were never embarrassed to share with him when you got your period or talk about periods with him. But this, this was so much worse. He was literally about to go down on you when he came face to face with your bloody vagina and bloody underwear. How will he ever look at your pussy the same way again, you think to yourself.

Back in his bedroom, Harry was left sitting on his bed, still half naked and hard, unsure of what to do. He was going to come straight after you and repeat you didn't need to be embarrassed but after some quick rethinking, he realized you probably wanted some privacy for a few minutes. To clean yourself up and get yourself situated.

After sitting on his bed for about ten minutes at this point, Harry starts to hear your soft cries from within his bathroom. He knows he must get up and do something, anything to bring comfort to his vulnerable girlfriend. So he walks over to your overnight bag that's sitting on his bedroom floor and rummages around for you a fresh pair of panties. Then he goes over to his dresser and finds you one of his large t-shirts because he knows you like sleeping in his clothes verses your own.

Once Harry has the clean clothes for you to put on, he hesitantly walks to the bathroom door and knocks softly. "Love, I've got you some fresh clothes to put on for sleep. Um, I know you feel quite embarrassed but I want you to know that I'm not mad or upset with you. Periods happen and it just means you're healthy which is all I could ask for."

You hear his words from behind the closed door and feel even more emotional at his kind words. You always knew Harry was understanding but this, this is too sweet of him. If it was any of your other partners in the past, they would have kicked you out of their bed with discussed and gagged at the thought of your period blood. But Harry, he was so compassionate and loving that you should have known this would be his reaction.

Hoarsely from your raspy voice due to crying, you reply, "But..... but, I've ruined our night. We had such a good date and then we were gonna have some great sex and..... and I've ruined it."

"Baby," Harry speaks gently, "you did not ruin our night. Sex or no sex, it doesn't matter as long as I'm spending time with you. How 'bout you finish up in there and come out to the room where I'll have your clothes laying on the bed. I'll give you some privacy to change while I go make you some hot tea in the kitchen. Then we can cuddle and maybe watch a film in bed."

Weakly, you agree with, "Okay."

Harry goes down stairs to get your tea started and you come out of his bathroom to put on the fresh clothes he has laying out for you. Once you're in the clothes, you crawl under his heavy duvet and wait for him to return.

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

Five minutes later Harry came back with the cup of hot tea in his hands and he carefully sets it on the table beside the bed for you. Then he grabs the tv remote and climbs into bed beside you. What you didn't know was the tea had some natural sleeping agents like melatonin in it because he thought it would help you relax and get a good night's sleep. So that explains why half way through the movie you fall asleep against Harry's bare shoulder.

When he notices you're asleep, Harry turns the tv off and slides down further in the covers to keep warm. And to keep you warm, he turns on his right side to spoon you. He places one arm under your neck and his other arm hangs over your hip. Then Harry carefully slips his right hand on your lower tummy and rubs it in soothing circles because he knows your cramps will set in by morning and he wants to help as much as possible. Not long after, he drifts off to sleep as well, holding his girlfriend nice and tight to his warm body, not hard anymore because all his worry and concern for you turned him soft rather quickly.

————————————

(PLEASE REBLOG BECAUSE WRITING IS NOT EASY AND IT’S FREE SO JUST DO IT)

tag list: @one-sweet-gubler // @harryscherrysugar // @japanchrry // @lollypopsx // @harrycanyonmoonn // @itfeelslikemytherapisthatesme // @bohogoth // @damnasstyles  // @mrsstylesharry // @softmullet  // @meetmyblondemuffins  // @thegirlnextdoorssister // @stanleystyles  // @haarrrys // @michellekstyles  // @skyangel57   // @the-gardener-31 // @lhharrylilpumpkin // @yousunshine-youtemptress  

// @clairestylessss  // @kissmyaxe140  // @goldenmelonsugar-hi // @kaitieskidmore1 // @florencepughily  // @alienorknight //@dancearoundthelivingroom  // @swiftmendeshoran  // @luv-flor7777  // @alohastyles-x // @tenaciousperfectionunknown  // @sleutherclaw // @siredtohybrid // @whoscamila // @a-strange-familiar  // @golden-elodie // @mrspeacem1nusone //  @goldenkhae // @lntwithharry // @mellowkingdombouquet  // @manifestrry  // @mendesblurb // @sunshinemoonsposts  // @depersonalizationsucks // @academiaghosts // @zendayassimp // @reveriehs // @vsnnstuff // @dancinsunflowerkiwi // @quinnsgrapejuice

let me know if you’d like to be added on my tag list in my next post by telling me HERE (let me know if i forgot to add you)

______________

My Masterlist Masterpost

#harry styles #harry styles fluff #harry styles smut #harry styles period comfort #harry styles comfort #harry x reader #boyfriendrry #boyfriend!harry #softrry #soft!harry #period comfort #harry styles fan fiction #harry x female!reader

[olliesneweyes]

Wanted to flesh out and add more headcanons to this ↑, so that'll be under the cut!

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

This post by my friend(?) Is basically what I mean by he's chaotic academia lol

⫘⫘ Messy as hell handwriting that only he can read, although sometimes he can't read it either and struggles with remembering what he wrote

i feel like he'd have a typewriter in his room for important notes because of this (no idea if those actually existed when idv takes place but we have cypher machines which seem pretty similar so-)

He's always, always doing something with his hands.

if he's not writing on his notes, he's doodling abstract shapes or concept inventions on them.

And if he's not doing that, then he either has something to fidget with or tinker on, or he's playing with his hands.

⫘⫘ speaking of hands, to me he only wears one glove because they irritate his scarred hand.

He should take regular breaks so his hands don't cramp and hurt, but he's usually so engrossed in his tasks that he forgets it's even a problem.

⫘⫘ He talks a lot! But sometimes it's not just the chatty type of talking but a cacophony of thoughts and ideas that his brain works him up into and needs to be dragged out of him by the only way he can.

If you're not his friend already and you end up on the listening end of one of these, as long as you don't actively recoil from it you've probably gained a ton of trust with him.

⫘⫘ Part of talking so much with everyone is that he has a lot of friends! But he doesn't really have many friends, you know? There's only a select few he trusts properly.

⫘⫘ His memory tends to go blank on things like the date or time.

He's worried quite a few people by not realising it was a holiday, and commenting on it with confusion.

More minor holidays like Easter and Valentine's Day are the easiest to forget, because people don't really decorate for them.

He has Several alarm clocks for timing, but he usually asks people to immediately come and get him if he's needed for something and isn't there.

Due to this, he's been part of things he wasn't supposed to be, because he generally trusts that he's just forgotten he was meant to be there.

Of course he has distorted dreams of the incident, but he actually has quite a lot that revolve around his prison time.

⫘⫘ He has a lot of night terrors. There's been so many nights where he's jolted up, heart racing, and couldn't tell what was real or fake or where he was for a while.

He was treated... extremely badly there. Any excuse to take frustrations out on a rich person was taken liberally by the other people. Prisoners, guards, all of them.

Lots of both physical and mental trauma helped to cement his broken mental state and lack of memory, as well. Being hurt like that is not going for your head.

After all, one of his canon dislikes are "implements of torture"

⫘⫘ He's pretty good at decoding when he decides to do a match! He avoids hunters pretty well too. Unfortunately, they don't like him very much...

He always HATES the rocket chairs. Not necessarily what happens after he's eliminated, although that's startling too. It's actually being strapped down to it that makes him panic.

He doesn't like being stuck to anything, and he especially doesn't like it when the hunters are usually nearby ready to hurt him.

⫘⫘ It's alright though, because he has his chain! He's augmented it in order to create the static charges you see in the matches.

There is just one teensy little problem. After coming to the makeshift hospital ward after blacking out while using his abilities a couple of times, he was asked what he did to keep his electricity generator from shocking him. He didn't have an answer.

As it turns out, he's rather numb in certain parts of his body. Including his neck. And as he was only focused on this invention being effective, he never quite realised that it might be a danger to have it near his already messed up brain.

He's trying to refine it so it doesn't do that, but he's advised to stay out of matches for now.

⫘⫘ he's not the best with self care. At all.

his hair is VERY messy, so it's tied in place with a lot of unconventional things.

Ribbons, wires, gears to wrap it around, clasps, and more. He even kept it tied with a pair of pliers one time. He just needs it up. It's a sensory thing.

But on a less light hearted note, he usually forgets to eat, and "forgets" to sleep while he's working.

If he does eat, he usually brings things like pastries from the main hall to his room.

And if he sleeps... The night terrors about killing his mentor are much more vivid when he jolts up to a desk that looks exactly as it always did back then.

⫘⫘ he doesn't work on his invention. He desperately wants to, but he can't.

Even for someone with good memory, trying to continue a project you last worked on YEARS ago, completely from scratch, is hard.

But he barely remembers what it was meant to do. His life's devotion, shattered to pieces in his mind because of a stupid impulsive accident he feels that he caused. It breaks him.

So he works on other things. Everything and everything will be tinkered with, because maybe he can remember what he wanted. Someday. Through desperate notes and ramblings and trying to weld the puzzle pieces together in his mind.

Grasping for it even as it slips away the more he tries to think of what it was...

⫘⫘ He has friends now. And he'll do whatever they want to do. Anything to distract himself from his plight.

They're the main reason he takes self care at all, besides keeping up appearances. He doesn't feel as alone when everyone is struggling with him.

His room is full of little gifts for them. Might as well put his knowledge to things that make them happy, right?

#identity v #idv #idv prisoner #identity v prisoner #idv luca

[da-mous]

How did you get the motivation to make games? Or the discipline and determination to actually go all the way thru?

I am just a bad developer, but i have some nice ideas and i actually write them down so I don't forget, like a mix of tunic and minecraft, but with a actual conlang for you to learn and not a english cypher

following through is actually something I really really struggled with for years, but I'm much more productive than I used to be, and I have a few strats that help

1: Structure!! The structure that works for me is working on weekdays (even if it takes time to get going!) and strictly taking weekends off, even if it means not working when I really want to. I don't have strict hours during weekdays, but I try to start early enough in the day so that I can work for 6-8 hours before I get sleepy. I always end up filling the time I give myself! Time tends to fly after the first hour or so

My weekends off are super important, too. I think periodically forcing myself *not* to work on my projects makes me enjoy working on them that much more. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I really feel that in how much I tend to spend my Saturdays, surprisingly, wishing I could be working!! It also helps prevent burnout and offers guilt-free time to play other games, do other hobbies, take care of household chores, etc

2: Thinking time!! It's important to give your mind time to wander, undistracted. That's when inspiration will strike and you'll do your best thinking and planning. I think that's why "shower thoughts" are a thing. Showers are good for this, but they're short! I take daily walks that are between 40 and 120 minutes during which I only listen to music with no words in it--especially music that fits the vibe of my current project! I don't actively try to force my thought process to go anywhere in particular, but it often wanders excitedly to my projects anyway (By the way, I also listen to the same music while I'm working! It's the perfect way to get in, and stay in, the right mindset)

3: Deadlines!! Even soft ones! My roguelike is coming out in 2026. The more I work by then (without overworking myself!), the better the final product will be! The desire to make something really good really drives me

4: Making something you want to play!! Playing my own game is one of the most important parts of my process. The first thing I do every day when I sit down to work is play the game. This naturally drives me toward finding areas I can improve and polish, coming up with features I want, and being motivated to implement those things. The ideal is to feel like a fan of my own work, eagerly awaiting every little update. The more I play, the more I'll tailor the game to my own tastes. This leads to me enjoying it more, so I'll be even more motivated to improve and add to it!

My current project is actually perfect for this, because it's a roguelike (highly replayable, a genre I know I can enjoy for a long time. Binding of Isaac is one of my most played games ever) platformer (one of my favorite genres in general. immediately kinetically satisfying) with a high level of randomization and variety, meaning even I can be surprised by my own game!

The strategies that work for you will likely differ from mine (especially if you have a day job or something!) but hopefully that helps :)

[caught-in-a-tism]

Corruption

I was struck with inspiration as I lay in bed last night. I'm gonna write it as a rule for dnd 5e but the concept could be adapted to similar games easily.

The basic idea is to sometimes replace damage with Corruption Dice (spooky), which are subtracted from d20 rolls and sometimes cause surprise damage.

(plain text is rules jargon, purple text is me saying stuff)

Concept:

This mechanic is meant to emulate various forms of magical curses as an alternative to damage. In my head it's something that can be inflicted on players if you want to create a sense of impending doom without just damaging them.

It adds a numeric way to simulate indirect harm that spooky things might cause. Just damage can get boring so this is something to heighten vibes and force players out of their comfort zone. The intended effect is to make players feel like something bad is coming, or like they're being forced by some supernatural energy to accept harmful consequences.

Added bonus is that it can mitigate insane modifiers that high level players end up with.

Mechanics:

Corruption is inflicted on characters (or creatures generally) as a number of dice. These dice are not rolled but are added to a pool. For example, if a creature takes 3d6 corruption, add 3d6 to their total corruption and don't roll them (this could be a written tally or a kept as a pile of dice in front of the player). A creature with a non-zero amount of corruption is referred to as corrupted.

This pool of dice remains until spent, or until removed by the lesser restoration spell or any effect that removes curses. Whenever a corrupted creature makes an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, they can spend some of it by rolling a number of corruption dice and subtracting the total from the initial roll. When they spend corruption in this way, they cannot spend more than 3 dice on any given d20 roll.

Alternatively, a corrupted creature can spend up to 3 corruption dice during a short rest, roll them, and take damage equal to the total.

When a corrupted creature makes an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw and rolls a natural 1, they must immediately spend all of their corruption dice at once. When the dice are spent in this way, they deal necrotic damage to the corrupted creature equal to the number rolled.

Implementation:

Corruption can be quickly inserted as a replacement for damage. It can appropriately be inserted into the spells or abilities of fey, fiends, or undead. One use I would recommend would be to use it instead of damage for magical traps or include the mechanic when designing cursed magic items. For a direct conversion, consult the following table:

If this makes it more complicated than necessary, or you don't want to mix types of dice, just do 2d6 for every 5 damage.

Lair/Legendary Actions:

This is a good place on a stat block to sub in or add corruption. In addition to damage conversion, you may replace any condition caused by a special action (such as frightened or paralyzed) with a number of d12s equal to the challenge rating of the creature. If you wish to make a creature more powerful, choose one or two of these actions and add d6 corruption/CR to the existing effects (allowing a wisdom or charisma save to avoid it if you want).

Regional Effects:

Unhallowed land, the shadowfell, the territory of a cursed or undead creature, or the domain of an illegitimate ruler may all be places where corruption permeates the air and soil. Use it when it feels right or for a specific antagonist or faction if you want them to have a unique flair. When a creature finishes a long rest in a corrupted place, they must make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw. On a success, the creature feels a vague sense of unease but suffers no other effects. On a failure, the creature gains 2d6 corruption.

If the source of the corruption is a sentient creature, they can choose up to 13 creatures that they know to be within the affected area. When any of those creatures fails their saving throw, they instead gain 1d12 corruption for each night they have spent in the affected area.

Monster Traits:

Following are a few example traits that use corruption. They can be added to the statblocks of appropriate creatures. Alternatively, they can be used as identifying features of all creatures in a specific faction or from a specific place.

Aura of Evil. Any creature that starts its turn within 10 ft. of [this creature] must succeed on a DC [8 + proficiency + Cha or Con] Charisma saving throw or gain 1d12 corruption.

Corrupted Strikes. [This creature]'s weapon attacks are magical. When [this creature] hits with any weapon, the target gains 1d8 corruption. A creature immune to necrotic damage or curses is immune to this effect.

Foul Magic. Any creature that fails a saving throw against a spell cast by [this creature] also gains 1d8 corruption. A creature immune to necrotic damage or curses is immune to this effect.

Tainted Blood. A creature that touches [this creature] or hits it within a melee attack while within 5 ft. of it gains 3d6 corruption.

Items:

Below is a single example magic item, to show the way this mechanic could be used to represent curses.

I think it's neat because the ability to use corruption to your advantage encourages a player to seek out dark and dangerous situations. It makes corruption a little less scary, but it uses the meta to push the character to find opponents to inflict it on, lest they suffer the consequences of their actions.

Narrative:

In darker campaign settings, corruption can be used in roleplay to underline thematic elements. The DM may inflict 1-3d8 corruption on any character who gives in to dark desires, betrays someone's trust, does something impious or blasphemous, or witnesses something grim and horrifying.

The DM and players should decide ahead of time exactly which actions or events will lead to corruption, and how severe they have to be to incur a given number (or size) of dice. Consider which type of roleplay you all want to encourage, and which themes should be emphasized.

Player Options:

Spells and abilities that deal damage can easily be converted, either on a character by character or spell by spell basis. Spells that this change would be most appropriate for include arms of hadar, blight, chill touch, cloudkill, dissonant whispers, summon celestial, summon undead, toll the dead, etc.

You could also modify (or make up!) class features so that they inflict corruption instead of damage, or in addition to other effects. A vengeful Cleric's Channel Divinity might inflict corruption upon sinners, even a Rogue's sneak attack might inflict supernatural woe in place of additional damage.

If you, as the DM, allow players to cause enemies to gain corruption, remember that you should spend it more liberally than a player might. You can and should roleplay as that monster or enemy, but consider that a creature that will likely not survive the fight may make the players feel cheated if it never chooses to suffer the penalty.

Variants:

The damage type that corruption deals could easily be changed to highlight different themes. Change it to psychic damage for a more horror or lovecraftian setting, change it to poison damage it you are using it to represent toxic substances or diseases. Perhaps you want to use it to represent radiation poisoning, in which case it could be radiant damage (if not poison or necrotic).

Another idea I like is to make the corruption represent horrible luck. Because the damage is triggered by natural 1s, the DM can describe it as a consequence of some kind of accident and declare an appropriate damage type. For example: a character that rolls a natural 1 on an attack may fall on their sword and take piercing damage equal to their remaining corruption, or a natural 1 on the Constitution save triggered by a green dragon's breath may represent a character gasping and breathing in additional poison damage like an idiot.

Another change, for a more sword and sorcery setting, could include allowing spellcasters to accumulate corruption in exchange for more potent magic. Whenever an arcane caster casts a spell, they may gain 1d12 corruption and increase the level of the spell by one without expending a higher level slot. This could also be a mandatory feature, to make all magic a form of dark bargaining.

This has not been play tested so you may also find it necessary to balance it by including maximum corruption (perhaps dealing its damage if it reaches that threshold), limiting it to d6s or even d4s, or making it less deadly. If the potential damage seems too high, random, and/or disruptive to combat balance, it could be spread out. To do so, change it so that each time a corrupted creature takes damage, they spend one die and add it to the damage.

#dnd #dungeons and dragons #dnd 5e #homebrew #dnd homebrew #game design #ttrpg #ttrpg resources #first post #dark fantasy #fantasy

[onejellyfishplease]

Jelly, help, I’m already letting this au consume me LOL

K so translating my notes(cause my writing sucks) and then a breakdown of each doodle. This is just some ‘testing the waters’ doodles to see what ideas I like and what I don’t.

This isn’t actually finished yet, but I ended up loving the Sketchpage that I wanted to show, so here we are lol

“Lantern/light clan cult gang thing, tried to get Donnie to join by sending an oozesquito after him.”

So yeah, there’s a gang of moths that worship light and they wanted somebody smart in their ranks. They wanted Donnie to join because he was known all over the hidden city for his intelligence during the krang invasion. They uhh… They kinda kidnap him during a mission ig lol. He escapes but not before getting turned partially into a moth. They weren’t really as smart so they didn’t even think that maybe the mutation would only take partial transformation so uhhh mission failed-

“Tiny hairs as per many insects”

I liked your idea of the hairs that allow Donnie’s hands to stick to stuff, so it was kind of a no brainer to add that here too, since moths stick to stuff all the time.

“Common Crimson & Gold Moth (an attempt at keeping sorta purple colors)”

Yeah no, it’s more red and gold than anything but dang these things are pretty. Could be a nice design.

“Luna Moth (mostly here for the green, but an iconic moth too)”

Yeah, I wanted a nice green match for the wings as a potential option too, and I also figured when you think of moths, a lot of people think of Luna moths.

“White Ermine Moth (fluffy Dalmatian vibes)”

Kinda thrown in for the recognizable reason again, since a lot of people tend to think immediately of fluffy snowy white moths like white ermine moths or poodle moths.

I kinda like the first two a bit better tho, ngl.

“Eyes go black when pissed or scared?”

Yeah, so, I had an idea where his eyes would invert so his eyes were black with white pupils, but I kinda dropped that idea, but then I picked it up again and thought maybe his eyes look more moth-like when really stressed or enraged or smth?

“So meticulous but I love the detail ngl…”

“Mini moth man”

So yeah, I learned I liked the more meticulous antenna style. Also yeah, even if I don’t use it I’m totally making a Mothman version of him lol

“Smth like this ig??”

Me trying to figure out the wings and she’ll mix. I had the idea that the wings would sprout out from inside, sorta like your idea ngl, but I think it’d be less like… Under, and more through, so the wings would kind of be impossible to hide at that point.

“Donnie Day 1

‘Everything’s fine ✨’

‘W a t ?’”

“Donnie Day 5

‘isaideverythingsfine~’

‘Wat.’”

A stupid silly comic I made for an idea I had where Donnie starts out kinda like a moth caterpillar, looking and feeling normal, but the more days that go by the bigger his wings and antenna grow, becoming impossibly to hide, and he just can’t really pretend that he’s a full turtle anymore lol

Also definitely not motivated by me wanting to implement an idea about how apparently the reasons you get holes in your clothes is because caterpillars are eating through it (and not fully grown moths usually) so maybe he’d be hoodie biting excessively during that time lol

I have a few more snippets only written on Google docs right now but gosh I am loving this au, I totally see the fun of formation swapping Donnie now LOL

Eventually, all the important info will be on one sheet though (hopefully) and I’ll tag you then about it lol

OMG i actually love this so much!

i love how the transformation is a slow one.

And he eats his clothes as a nervous habit??? love it. glorius. amazing.

Also the eyes going black? that would be so creepy to see, it would definitely terrify villians. and his brothers (the first few times lol)

AND HES FLUFFY AHHHHH

#also i love the cult bit at the beginning #how they wanna capture donnie and make him #one of us one of us one of us #but arent really competant enough to do so lol #rottmnt #rottmnt au #moth donnie au #?? #idk what u want to call it #rottmnt donnie #asks

[writing-havoc]

Hello! I wanted to request, if you write for Nikolai, a scenario where the female reader has a moment of romantic tension with Nikolai. Although it can be anything that doesn't have distress.

Project

♡ Summary: You bump into Nikolai on the way to the library, he accompanies you

♡ Fandom: Shadow and Bone, Grishaverse

♡ Pairing: Nikolai Lanstov x Fem!Reader

♡ Warning(s): None

♡ WC: 2.1k

Hello! I absolutely do take requests for Nikola

My apologies for taking so long to get to this request </3. I wanted to read King of Scars and Rule of Wolves to try and get a better understanding of his character. Reading takes me a while. It takes a minute actually start a new book and then I became swamped with homework but!! I got it done

Hope you enjoy and that it is to your liking <3

Please excuse any grammar and spelling mistakes

∘₊✧──────────────────✧₊∘

David needed to be more careful about his notes.

It's not that he was careless, per se, he took good care to make sure they weren't in any immediate danger.

But man are his scribbles hard to read.

There are parts where you can clearly tell he was looking elsewhere rather than at the notebook while he was writing, the words slanting or bunching together or becoming a really long line that he wrote over. And there are parts that one might assume were penned by an upper-class woman.

At this point it's its own language, one that you can't add to your growing list quite yet. Genya, though, is fluent.

Too bad she isn't present at the moment.

David sat across from you. Well, not really sat. More like he got stuck between standing and sitting over a stool as he made calculations on a spare piece of paper, rapidly looking between diagrams and another book of his notes. He mumbled every once in a while, which made Genya smile. Genya was actually sitting, rambling about something that you weren't quite sure the topic of, your presence only acknowledged when she needed you to confirm something and when she first appeared to say hi.

You know it's not meant with malice though. You loved seeing them together. The look David got when Genya suggested something, his brain doing the calculations and seeing that it worked, made it easier to feel like there was hope somewhere.

Somewhere blond, preferably.

"David, can I take your notes to the Little Palace?" You asked, hoping you spoke loud enough to get past the haze he was working himself into. "I just need to cross reference something in the library and i'm not gonna be able to remember this chicken scratch."

"A chicken has not been near my notes ever." He said, eyebrows creasing. "No, you can't. I need them here for this."

You sighed, fixing your posture from where you were leaned over. 'Careful what you wish for', you supposed. "Alright, I'll be back with probably about fifty books in tow."

"There's a book cart just outside the library!" Genya called to you, a smile on her face. "Put them on there and they shouldn't be hard to wheel back!"

"I'll keep that in mind." You replied, voice monotone.

The way back was filled with attempts at trying to not forget what exactly you needed. You thought of various keywords in the notes and the project itself.

It was relatively simple. Just making improvements on Ravkas airships and implementing them in the most optimal and cost effective way possible.

You'll probably need various books actually. The whole "fifty books" joke didn't seem funny anymore. Off the top of your head there was a rather recent one about aerodynamics. One of the Squallers around here should be able to give a bit of insight about it as well. There may be a way to make the airships lighter, but that would be sacrificing strength and safety for the people on the aircraft.

Maybe you could use the idea of the bulletproof kefta and apply that to the hull. At least to the more critical parts. Though that would require a horrible amount of fabric and would just be awkward. They'd have to withstand ground artillery, which is exponentially more powerful than a bullet.

But you could always scrap the fabric and make a different material semi bulletproof.

Inside the walls, you bumped headfirst into a surprisingly stiff figure. You grabbed onto them tight and righted your legs, their arms gripping you as well.

"My apologies-" you looked up, coming face to face with the King "-moi tsar."

He smirked. "Don't fall for me quite yet. I haven't properly courted you. And I know ive told you many a time that you may call me Nikolai, if you so please. It feels awkward among friends to be referred to in such a formal manner."

You sighed, a smile tugging on your lips, disentangling yourself from his limbs. "If you insist, Nikolai."

He grinned, something wide and reaching the corners of his eyes. "Oh, I definitely do."

Nikolai let you go, only moving half a step out of reach. He smelled vaguely of petrichor and more strongly of smoke. But it wasn't choking, rather welcomed. It took you back quite a few years, sitting with your parents next to a great bon fire, smiles on your faces and stories exchanged.

"You seemed terribly distracted just before we engaged in such a lovely embrace." He prodded.

You sighed once more. "Yes. I was attempting to gather a list of books in my head for the reinforcing. It kept getting longer and longer as I thought about it."

"Quite the load, I take it?"

"Unfortunately so. I can think of two others as I stand here." You rubbed your hands over your eyes, dreading the task of reading them. They ached already.

"Ill lend a helping arm. Or two, considering the grave look on your face."

You couldn't help the giggle that escaped your lips, a deep breath filling your lungs with more smoke. A thousand thoughts were playing in your mind, and then a flit of sudden embarrassment overcame your skin.

"My apologies, Nikolai." You took your hands away from your eyes, looking up and finding his trained on you. They looked greener today. "I don't mean to say the work is too much, or too hard, really, I don't. Im just complaining-"

"Allow me to stop you there to say, it's alright. It's to my understanding that you didn't get enough sleep last night?" Nikolai began walking, a slow pace meant to nudge you along, and you followed immediately.

"I..." You wondered how he knew that, and then realized you had complained to Tamar earlier this morning. Your heart fluttered. "No, I didn't. A cold breeze kept coming in through to my chambers. Drove me crazy trying to find where it was coming from."

He made a noise in understanding. "I take it you found it?"

"I did," your shoulder bumped into his arm, "not until I realized the moon had nearly run its course through the sky."

"Happens to the best of us, unfortunately."

Nikolai opened the door to the library, holding it open for you. You grabbed your kefta and playfully curtsied. "Why, thank you."

"My pleasure." It caught you off guard how sincere he was. Still, you smiled, walking through the door and immediately scanning the aisles and aisles of books.

"What are we looking for?" Nikolai asked.

You turned to face him, his eyes doing just that same as yours before. "Nikolai, I cannot ask that of you-"

"Oh but you didn't ask me anything. I'm volunteering my services. You should be grateful, you know. It's not everyday that someone gets to order a king around."

You rolled your eyes, waiting a moment, two, for him to back out. And when he didn't, you swallowed a confession and began to rattle off the list of books you accumulated and the ideas you had with them.

Nikolai went a few rows down, apparently knowing exactly what book you would need about various ways wind behaves given the shape of an object. You wanted to get advice straight from a Squaller, but apparently almost all of them where spread throughout Ravka and those that remained seemed to be highly busy elsewhere, and you would like answers sooner rather than later.

Most the other books you needed were more rudimentary than anything. Little things to refresh your memory. The math was going to be the hardest part.

Some were for inspiration. They broached a similar topic and held actual experiments and diagrams about how they worked. Hopefully they would give you an idea or two.

You reached on your tip toes, fingers just barely grazing the underneath of the last book you needed. The books were tightly packed, which you could feel but didn't know the extent of as you looked down, your muscles stretching to get just a few more millimeters.

When it was finally teetering on the edge, you gave one last tug and looked up. However, you barely had time to realize that three other books were coming down along side it.

You braced for impact, ready to feel the stabbing pain of book corners jabbing into your skull and the nape of your neck. You felt a different presence over you.

The feeling of cloth, warmth and a Kings coat barely felt through your kefta but ever present.

Quickly you turned, seeing Nikolai standing with his arms crossed over your head, a book perfectly balanced there.

"Ow." He said, moving a hand and grabbing the book. He looked at the cover and gave a short chortle, showing the cover. "I believe this, is what you were looking for?"

But your mind couldn't catch up. That smell of smoke filled your nose, the undertone of petrichor back in full swing and paper to boot. The library was silent, a faint chattering heard from outside the door as people passed.

Nikolais hazel eyes stared at you, definutely more green given the palette of his outfit and the browns of the books. The longer you looked the wider the centers became, flickering in size when he looked from your eyes and down your nose, over your cheek, to the corners of your mouth and over your lips, back to your eyes. You could feel your heart pounding in your chest, trying to leap out and into the hand that held that damned book.

He knew what he was doing, letting you see it all. Nikolai is a king, master of pretending. His jacket stuttered in and out, heart beating so hard you could just barely see it pick up beneath his coat. This was genuine.

You reached out to the book, fingers touching his warm ones. Without breaking eye contact, you muttered a small "thank you", and watched as his eyes creased.

"My pleasure." He leaned forward, bunting his forehead into yours for a mere moment before leaning back.

"Is your shoulder okay?" You asked, watching him roll it.

He stood still. "I've faced worse. I'll be alright."

He surveyed the area around him, the three books you didn't need scattered on the floor while another two were dropped at his feet. You could feel the four you grabbed resting against your foot where you nearly stepped on them.

"Left quite a mess, haven't we?" You said, tapping the book to your chest. Your heart was still pounding, and you didn't even want to imagine how hot your face felt. Nikolais own was back down to its usual light tan, but his eyes were still like saucers in the center, his breath a slight stutter in his coat. Just barely there.

"Just a little." He leaned down and grabbed two, walking forward and pausing in front of you again. You moved out of the way, leaning down and grabbing the last of the ones that fell.

You handed it to him for him to put back. He allowed his hand to brush yours. You both snickered at the childish flirting, leaning down to pick up the plethora of books you acquired.

Nikolai took two of your books without a word, leaving you with only three in your hands.

"Are you sure you don't have anywhere to be?"

"You're actually quite lucky. I was on my way to Kirigans when you greeted me with that little hug of yours."

You knew it was a lie. But if he was willing to miss whatever it was he was intending on going to to make a detour to Lazlayon, then it couldn't have been that important.

"If you're sure."

"My dear y/n." He just couldn't stop smiling. "I can be sure of anything, if you would will it so."

And isnt that the perfect way to stop your heart? You rolled your eyes. "Such a romantic, you are."

"I hear a challenge."

"Oh saints please no."

You dread to see the lengths he would go to prove just how romantic he could be. But for now, you'll accept this.

#ask #shadow and bone x reader #shadow and bone fanfic #shadow and bone x you #shadow and bone x y/n #fanfic #anon #nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai lantsov x you #nikolai lantsov x y/n

[twojackals]

The Gateway

"I need an icon, an image of my God(s), it's $300 I can't afford it."

Hold up.

Just... hold up.

Go out into the world.

Yes, leave your computer. I believe in you.

Go outside, and walk as far as you need to walk, until you find: a rock.

What kind of rock? It's not for me to say. A small rock, a big rock, a jagged rock or a smooth rock, a beautiful rock, a rock only a mother could love -- the kind of rock is entirely up to you, and you will pick this rock from all the rocks because it calls to you and says "I am the rock". Trust me. It will happen. No, not… not verbatim. It's a vibe. There are no talking rocks in this equation.

TL;DR: a rock.

Take that rock home.

You're going to need some limited supplies and procedures.

First, you're going to want to wash your rock. Get all that dirt off of it, make it as clean as a little rock can be, though a little bit of dirt is certainly not going to be a dealbreaker. It's just a good idea not to bring a bunch of outdoor dirt inside unless you have intimate knowledge of the area the rock was in. Dirt may have more than just "earth" in it. In addition, I would recommend purification. Bury the dry rock in salt or clean sand for the next 24 hours before bringing it "into service" on your shrine or altar setup.

Second, you're going to need writing or painting implements. This could be a pen (if you feel it can actually, successfully write on your rock), a sharpie (very good for writing on rock), or paint! But if you're like me and can't paint in a straight line to save your soul, don't worry, use whatever you can use to write on this rock. I recommend steering clear of the color red in terms of paint and ink when thinking about my own Kemetic practice, but if your personal practice has no holds barred in terms of color selection, I am certainly not going to be a person to stop you.

Next, you're going to need a word, set of words, or phrase. Often, the word or words is going to be the name of the Deity you are trying to represent, but it could easily be something else if you feel so moved to go in a different direction. I am not teaching you how to be a cookie-cutter magician here, I am encouraging you to navigate your life and your choices on your own; but, for the basic guidance, a name is certainly sufficient. It's important to note that this name needs to be one you understand. Writing is one of the most powerful forms of magic in this universe, but if what you are writing is meaningless to you, you are losing a functional amount of this power because you are putting a lot of energy into basic comprehension. Choose a language or symbolism for the name you will be writing that holds meaning to you within your own mind and your own heart. You should see this name, these words, or this symbol or set of symbols, and immediately feel your Deity within the moment you see it and within yourself. It should be recognizable at a glance every single time. If you want it to be extra special in another language (particularly one of ancient origin), you want to ensure you comprehend it in this one-glance way. You should not have to sit and think and remind yourself "What does this mean". Instant recognition is what you are looking for.

Finally, you are going to paint or write this name, phrase, symbol or set of symbols, onto your rock, and while you are writing, you are going to be putting your energy in the form of 'intent' into this creation. There are a lot of ways you can do this. You could be thinking of the Deity in question while you do the decorative aspect of this project. You could be playing music, you could be singing, you could be chanting, you could be reciting a phrase or poem or set of words that holds meaning between you and your Deity. What is important is that you focus your intents into the writing of your Deity's symbolism whereby that rock is the focus point of this intent, and that rock in turn becomes your intent.

Yes, it's true: this simple, lowly rock, will be your icon, and it will be just as if not more effective than any other store-bought icon you could have possibly found on the internet because of the process you are undertaking now. Because it isn't about how closely your icon resembles your Deity. It isn't about how much money you've spent on your iconography, either. It isn't about new materials or old materials, it isn't about one person's interpretation or spelling of a name or another, it isn't about one particular kind of phrase or the exact words of a spell or chant or song. You do not need to spend $100, $300, $2,000 on a shrine icon, because the point of a shrine or altar or ritual icon is not what it looks like or who crafted it or what materials went into it.

The purpose of a shrine icon is all about:

Representation

Intent

Focus

Energy

Connection

Bond

And as you impart your focus and your intent, coupled with one of the most powerful forms of magic -- writing, you are creating and inscribing and imbuing a representation and embodiment of the Deity you follow, issuing a bond between you, Them, and that object that cannot easily be broken. This icon is going to be with you, on your shrine or altar or in your ritual setup, representing the powerful presence of your Deity and giving you a focus point for your communication, intention, energy, and direction.

Once completed, this icon should be treated with the same dignity and respect you would treat any altar or shrine icon that is representative of a Deity. You should keep it relatively clean, decently protected from harm or accident, in a purified state (which can include re-doing the salt or sand purification if needed), packed with care when moving, and deprecated in an appropriate manner if you will no longer be using it (probably a post for another time).

This is no longer just a rock.

This is a gateway, that you have created, and the bounds are limitless.

#polytheist #polytheism #paganism #kemet #kemeticism #kemetic #pagan #magic #magick #deity #deities #god #gods #goddess #goddesses #altar #shrine #ritual #spirituality #spiritual #religion #iconography #icon #writing #heka

[wings-of-ink]

Hi! (this got a bit long, sorry for that,,)

I just finished reading the update and wanted to let you know I absolutely loved it! It was such a pleasant read, even if it wasn't packed with drama and action to the brim—I feel like a palate cleanser like this was appropriate after such an eventful start to the story.

I loved all the interactions between the characters, the dynamic between Oswin and Nathanael is especially fun. Actually, Nathanael by himself is fun. The oats sowing euphemism made me laugh more than it should have because, yes, I'm childish like that. What a dork; I love him. (I'm imagining now a scene in an alternate universe where MC stumbles up to Oswin dazed out of their mind after they shared a pipe with Nathanael, which is immediately followed by Oswin grabbing the merchant and shaking him until he spills out what it is he smokes—because we all know it ain't just plain ol' tobacco—and how could he let MC of all the three other people gathered take a drag, all while MC and Zahn sit by the fire, watching a looney tunes cartoon unfold before them.)

Oh, and Zahn! Oh man. Can I just say if they asked, I would give them anything? (the world, the universe, the stars; you name it.) Actually, no, scratch that—they don't even have to ask; I would just bring them all the yummy food and warm blankets and pamper them until they accept they are worth it, because they! are! not! a bad! person! Also, I don't know why, but before they were introduced, I had this image of them being a character that would only appear here and there (you know, like every story has a character that just doesn't get enough screen time), but knowing they'll be tagging along for a while longer makes me really happy! Right now it feels like a circus lol we have a horse (maybe also a mule), an elk, a cat and a golden retriever✨.

I also found it particularly interesting how you implemented the hobbies! To be honest, I haven't read the flavor text for all of them yet, but I picked sewing as soon as I saw it as an option (no reason, I just liked the idea). My MC chose to be a healer, so learning that they were the most trusted with stitching up wounds was a really nice touch. (Not to mention they can—and will—make/mend clothing for Zahn in secret and then surprise them while they least expect it… >:P) Once their journey is over and the MC comes back to Stonebrook, they're going to wait for Nathanael to pass by with his cart and give Shadow a little kitty sweater💖.

This is already too long, sorryy; I just get very excited when I find a story that pulls me in and refuses to let go. Seriously, I keep thinking about it way too much lol. I'm usually a simple lurker and nothing but, however, I do believe there's never enough praise and encouragement! You've done amazing so far, and I know it's only going to get better. (Can't wait to meet the rest of the cast; I keep daydreaming about Rune.. it's getting serious)

Thank you for your hard work, and I hope you have a nice and cozy rest of the weekend! <33

No worries, Anon, sometimes you just have a lot to say! ^_^

I am so glad you enjoyed the chapter! I am hoping to update it soon. I'm adding a few extra optional moments to spend with all three of your camping companions. Fingers crossed for more shenanigans.

Nathanael cracks me up too. I find fun in writing for all of them, but I feel like he gives me more liberties. I wrote the oats line and made myself crack up, but thought most wouldn't find it quite as funny so I'm glad you did! Also, your imagination is pretty much spot on with that scenario!

The hobby section was fun, but also a little bit of a slog for me to write since it was huge, so you won't find a ton of differences. The exception is the singing hobby. I really want to incorporate original music in some way, but I have zero - absolute zero - skills in it, including writing lyrics. I went a little extra, and I found a small artist to help me out, though the type of song I asked for was like waaay out of their normal wheelhouse, lol. I think they did a wonderful job. They are listed in the credits too.

I can't wait to give you a chance to spoil Zahn a bit! They need it and will adore you for it! Well, they will adore you pretty well regardless, lol. Shadow does not like clothing, but he's also getting attached to MC - best bed he's tried probably ever - so he'll make an exception to wear the little sweater.

I am so glad that you are living a bit in my little world. I can't wait for you to experience more! Thank you so much for the wonderful message, it lit up my day! As someone who usually just lurks as well, your reaching out warms my heart. ^_^

#god cursed if #asks #twine if #if wip #twine wip #if game #interactive novel

[transforming]

Life Update + Commissions!

Hey y'all! So here's a life update because right now, it's fucking hell on earth:

I'm going through major financial instability in my life, and as a college student, it's really hitting hard. Parents are out of a job, and my college just implemented a salary earnings cap for student jobs, which honestly I think is stupid and cruel to low-income students like me. On top of that, where I live, students can't work part time jobs outside of university, which would make it even more (and already) extremely difficult for me to cover my living expenses, let alone tuition fees.

After talking to some of my friends in this community about what I could do to keep myself afloat (and try to keep paying for my studies), and after getting some advice on how to proceed, I have decided to open up writing commissions.

To start, here is how it's gonna work with me:

Firstly, send me a message. You could do it over here on Tumblr, that's fine, but I'd much prefer it if you could message me on Discord, since I'm more reachable there. This makes things a lot easier for us to talk through your ideas and delve deeper into them, really flesh them out, and figure things out before I start writing.

Do NOT send me commission requests through asks.

Second, make sure to properly read through my rules below. Pricing details are set out below (rule 4), so make sure to keep that in mind when you're sending a request and when we're in discussion.

The number of commissions I will take on at at time will depend on a number of factors:

balancing my writing with college assignments & priorities

my level of interest

my writing mood / mental health

I'll make sure to provide updates on when I'm open to them or not.

Okay, now that those are out of the way, here are the very important rules that need to be taken in consideration.

The Transforming Commission Rules:

1. I reserve the right to refuse writing commissions.

Beside the above-mentioned reasons for the number of commissions I'm willing to take; or regardless of the reason; or for no given reason, no means no. Flat out.

I may not like the idea. Maybe I'm busy with classes, life or other commissions. Or perhaps my mental health's taken a downwards spin and/or I'm just not in the mood to write at the moment.

Make no mistake, if you pester me and ask if I've reconsidered your idea, I will simply just block you, no questions asked. If you want to politely ask again if my classes/time/mood were the issue for my saying no, I'd be more than happy to talk things out.

Also, please keep in mind that besides writing stories and my college classes, I have a life too. If you message me about a commission and I don't respond immediately, I'm either just busy or asleep.

I'll make sure to reply to those that inquire, it might just take me a sec.

2. Be as creative as possible, but also use your common sense.

As a creative writing student, I'm gonna be hard on this: one-sentence commission requests that just say "Make me into a twink!" or "Turn me into a frat bro!" will more than likely get refused. That said, try to make your request a little more compelling for me.

Come up with a plot summary, throw some more tf's in there, maybe add a delicious plot twist that would subvert a part of your idea, . I can only write so many of one type of tf story - they're fun, but don't make me bored sick of writing any more of them.

Also, be conscientious and realistic about the length you want. I'm no literary god with unlimited time, and I definitely can't fit a heavily descriptive tf AND a good plot in just 1,000 words.

If you're feeling insane super generous, or more supportive to help me out, and want to commission longer pieces (more than 3,000 words), we can talk more about it when you make the request.

3. I have limits. Push them and our deal's off.

Some of these are without question:

Underage characters / tf's (you will immediately get blocked if you make such a request).

Feet

Violence / pain / rape / non-consensual acts

Homophobic tf's (refer to my repost of @idesofrevolution's post - they've explained it better than I ever could)

Chastity

Unrealistic sizes

Animal tf's

Celebrity tf's (more details below)

I'm primarily a male tf writer, so gender tf is fine, but a heavily female focused story is a nope from me.

Don't even think to ask, I simply will not write them.

As much as I used to include them in my previous stories (especially with TF College), I won't generally do celebrity tf's anymore (i.e. stuff like "Turn me into Henry Cavill!") There may be a lot of very sexy celebrities around, and as hot as it may be to become them, I've had my fair share of writing those stories to the point where I'm done with them. Writing up original characters are more my thing these days - I'm a creative writing major, after all.

There is, of course, some flexibility with this, so if you have an idea but aren't completely sure, you can always ask me. If the idea is compelling enough -- and the guy hot enough -- maybe I'll make an exception. That's much better than getting rejected.

4. Payment & Delivery.

See, as much as I'm struggling right now, I'm not inconsiderate either - I know I'm not the only writer going through shit. I also know people aren't gonna dish out money to completely cover my life and instantly get me out of this hellish rut.

That said, I charge $0.04/word (for my British friends, £0.03/word). That's $40 (£30) per 1,000 words, or $20 (£15) for 500 words.

Payment is via PayPal. In full, up front. I will not begin writing until I've been paid.

When it comes to format of delivery, I will send you a pdf of the final story, provided you give me an email to send the pdf to (unless you' message me on Discord, for which I can just send the pdf to you directly).

5. Use of Images & Posting on Public.

The final say on any images included in these commissions are up to you. You're completely welcome to bring your own images to for me to write around, but if you don't have any, I'm happy to try and find some I feel fit the particular story if you'd like me to.

Then again, I can't make any promises. If I can't find image(s) that fit, or you don't like the ones I provide, I won't climb every mountain or cross every stream to find something. These are writing commissions in the end, so keep that in mind.

I'll also give you the final word on posting these commissions here on Tumblr. If you specifically don't want me to post yours, please say so during the process. If you say nothing, I may end up posting some of them after they've been delivered.

If you're okay for me to post the commission, but would like to remain anonymous (as in not get tagged on the post), make sure to let me know that too. This is an easy one to forget, so I'll be reaching out to you on posting after I've delivered it.

- Drew the Transformer

P.S. Don't forget, you can also tip me over on ko-fi, if you can't or don't want to commission! Seriously, any support during this very difficult time is always welcome, but I'll also understand if you can't.

#not a story #tf commissions #life update

[mxmollusca]

for the "get to know your fic writer meme"! 4, 17, 46, 54! and if you have one that you REALLY want to answer but no one's asked it yet, this is your wild card to answer a question of your choosing 😌

4. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

Whatever I'm currently learning about worms its way into my writing. An Arm and a Leg and The Sticking Place are rooted in my love of cephalopods, and my philosophical interest in body neutrality and self-love through self-discovery. In Favor With Their Stars and The Ship of Theseus stem from my interests in AI, space exploration, engineering, humanism, bodies, neurodiversity, and personhood. Wave Hello to the Void is an ode to monstrosity, gender, the interrelationship between hyperfixation and passion, interconnectedness, and physics. A lot of my stories are seeded by poetry I read. I get a lot of inspiration from images, metaphor, and turns of phrase that make me reconsider how I view the world. I love the ways in which Rae Armantrout, Jane Wong, Maggie Nelson, and Robert Wood Lynn have made me reconsider my POV in particular.

17. What do you do when writing becomes difficult?

Body doubling and rubbering ducking with my betas. Most of my problems with writing come from being slow and struggling to initiate the task. With a buddy writing at the same time (Discord sprinties ftw), I am able to at least get something on the page, and having the cheerleader there to give some immediate feedback will usually be enough reinforcement to unstick me. Same works for my original writing, which is why I find having a writing group to be indispensable.

46. How would you describe your style?

Lyrical? Maybe a bit self-indulgent. I'll get a turn of phrase stuck in my head and sometimes I'll write a whole scene just so I can use it. But that's one of the great things about fanfiction---at the end of the day, I'm writing it for myself. I am going to write it in the way that feels best to me, and sometimes that way is floridly.

54. What's your favorite part of the fanfiction writing process?

I love the editing process. I love getting feedback and implementing it. I love seeing something from another perspective, making tweaks, and seeing the quality improve. I also love it when my betas yell at me in the comments. A well-timed 🔥 emoji does so much for my motivation.

get to know your fic writer challenge

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd fanfic #fanfiction #writing #ao3

[the---hermit]

hello cris! i would love to ask as someone who is currently learning a language (i'm currently trying to learn italian again for the nth time) what are your favorite techniques when it comes to learning a language? i've been trying to study italian for two years now but i always end up giving up immediately 😭🫶🏻

Hello anon!

Firstly I had a vague memory of talking about this before and I checked my masterlist so in case you want to read more here is another similar ask I answered to a while back and here an ask in which I meanioned a few italian fiction books for people who are learning. I'll be honest I did not reread those and I don't remember what I wrote lmao. But you have some more reading to do after this just in case!

At the moment the main language I am very slowly trying to learn is Irish. But I will be honest it's more a free time hobby than actual studying. In the sense that I don't have a schedule for it and I have ups and downs in which I am able to focus a bit more, and times like the past few months in which my energy is nowhere to be found so I do very little progress. The main way I am dping this is with duolingo, which I feel is a great way to start and to keep a tiny bit of practice in your everyday life which is fundamental. Of course if you want to have more progress I would suggest coming up with a more structured study plan and schedule, but I'll talk about it in a bit. The other thing I am implementing is a grammar book that of course is what requires more mental energy. My technique with that is, as everything I study, to read it, underline important things and write my own set of notes. That is because I know it is my main way of learning in general.

And with this we come to a important point, before getting into learning anything try to figure out what are the ways you learn things best. Everyone's brain works differently, I personally have awful memory and my brain works way better using logic (which is why the way duolingo is structured works wonders for me, because it forces me to learn grammar rules with logic and it repeats vocabulary so much that even I end up memorizing it). Writing notes down, even several times, is my go to way of learning in general so of course I focus a lot on that. Clearly with learning a language you also need to implement a lot of practice, which is way I recommend trying out a well made plan. This doesn't mean create insane goals that will make you feel overwhelmed. Instead create a low effort plan in which you regularly do a bit of everything:

Learn vocab and practice it

Learn new grammar rule and practice them

Work on booktext esercises

Active learning with a book

Active learning with a video

These are just some ideas. When I self studied english what really made me learn the language was active learning by immersing myself with the language. That forces you to learn. Watch youtube videos in italian (I am pretty sure there's some people who make specific videos for language learnera in which they speak slowly and focus on certain vocab, so I highly recommend those, but when you feel more comfortable with the language go for pure entertainment, that will have you learn actual spoken Italian which is of course different from textbooks). Approach the language with written texts with either children's books or those novels simplified for language learning (those are great because you often get exercises to practice how much you understood of the story).

I know I have probably mentioned it before, but the first way I got into self studying English when I was younger was by writing down lyrics to my favourite album. I think I have it lying around still, a notebook filled with the lyrics to all the songs from Imaginaerum by Nightwish next to the translations. Listening to music in your target language is such a good trick imo. Take my brother, the guy does not speak one word on English but he knows by heart all the lyrics to Iron Maiden songs all.of.them. he never really had to practice English but if he had to I would suggest he started there. The more you get your target language into your daily life the better it is, and I don't mean just learning from books. Force yourself to describe the room you are in in your target language, write about your days in a diary and do that in your target language. When you are waiting in line list all the words that come up to you in your target language. It's hard at first, of course it is, but with time it gets easier and easier. The final goal is to be able to think in your target language, even if the grammar isn't perfect and it takes a long time to remember the correct words.

Think of yourself as a young child. They are learning languages like you, starting from zero, so focus on things that are for them, books and movies. You cannot expect to learn a language like a native speaker of your age right away, they have years of experience speaking it. If you instead think of yourself as a kid you will approach things that are at your current level, and after you can move on from there.

I think the goal is to make a plan and to fit even the tiniest bit of language learning into your everyday life. The progress might be slow but you are training your brain anyway. When you see something isn't working change it up, give yourself reachable goals, and keep it fun.

I hope this was somewhat helpful! If you have any other questioms my inbox is always open. Buona fortuna!

#ask #asked #asks #answered #language learning #langblr #studying #studyblr #study tips #learning tips #cris speaks #mine #the---hermit #anon

[dreamtigress]

#79 please!

79. Do you have any writing advice you want to share?

I am seriously honored to be asked this one.

Of note, my advice is geared towards the way my neurodivergent brain works, so mileage may vary. AuDHD for the win.

In whatever way you like to write/keep notes, make an Ideas/Notes document, and jot down all of the ideas that come to you. Be they snippets, a new piece of headcannon, a chunk of dialogue, whatever. Whenever they come, and you can get 'em down, nail those suckers down. You might never use them, or they might get edited beyond recognition, but I know that if I make note of them, I won't lose them to the ether. To that end, if I'm driving and an IDEA comes, I call and leave myself a voicemail. I can access my notes doc from any internet connection, and jot down ideas ALL the time. It is so advantageous.

I don't always write linearly. I have a ongoing timeline to keep track of my stories and ideas in order, and what things happen when, but I tend to write when the muse hits for a specific piece. I do sit down and try to finish things, in some semblance of order, but I don't force it. I allow myself to work on the piece that is speaking to me, that is delivering the dopamine. I can swap back and forth between WIPs fairly easily now.

Go back and re-read your own work when trying to find or remember a specific characters voice. Often, when I sit down to write a POV, I will go and skim other sections by that same character to give myself a refresher on how they sound in my head and look on the page. As I expand into more varied character POVs, this has become super helpful.

My workflow tends to go:

Rough/First Draft (get it all down, even if it is a little choppy.)

First Edit Run (soon after finishing the rough draft, if not immediately. Refine dialogue, add in bits of background, describe emotions/moods, double check if the physical blocking makes sense.)

Second Edit Run (Usually a day or three after the First Edit. Double check that all the additions FLOW.)

Find _ Edit Run (Using Find to look for repeated/overused words, like 'look', and any 'had hads' or '*'d hads'. I dislike repeating words, and the Thesaurus is my friend. This one goes super quick.)

Read Aloud Edit Run (Read the entire work aloud to myself. This is so key in finding hidden repeated words, badly placed alliteration, clunky dialogue, and run on sentences. It also helps me place punctuation better.)

Final Edit Run (Usually weeks after the original writing. I give myself time and space to 'forget' the work, and then come back with fresh eyes. I usually change very little at this stage, but sometime there's last minute tweaks. If Beta readers have given me feedback, this is usually when I implement it.)

@stormkpr I am so jazzed to get to answer this question, seriously. And it has actually helped me clarify some of my own thoughts on writing, so THANK YOU!!

From here: https://www.tumblr.com/dreamtigress/745684465673748480/fanfiction-writing-asks?source=share

#writer asks #a03 writer #fan fic writer #soc fandom #kanej writer #writing advice #honored #creative writing

[nera789]

The Consequence of Sacrifice

Sigh. Here we go again.

Rating: Teen and Up audiences Word Count: 2.5k Warnings: manipulation, mental anguish, mentions of past abuse Summary: You managed to resist the astral touched tadpole when it was given to you, but only just barely. Astarion does not take too kindly to its influence over you. Pairing: Astarion x Urchin/Rogue!Tav [Reading this that I also wrote for my Tav isn't necessary for understanding this one, but it does give greater context to where my head is at for characterization when writing this haha. I am writing these ideas as they manifest while playing the game 🤣] [Takes place immediately after the event at Wyrms Lookout. Big, big spoilers through the end of Act 2 ahead. I had to bend a couple small mechanics as this scenario plays out in the game and how the characters handle this. But I felt this scenario had a ton of potential and wanted to explore it since it would have been difficult for the game to implement, haha.]

With the hardest thrust you could muster, you threw your sword into the ground and it dug itself deep into the dirt. You fell to your knees with a loud yell, screaming out into the sky at the cliff that overlooked Rivington and Baldur's Gate.

It had been a bad idea. Your gut had told you this from the start. You should have seen this coming.

You had barely resisted the astral touched tadpole from the Emperor. Barely. By shear, unadulterated, dumb luck. But these so called illithid instincts had nearly taken you. Changed you. 

You had embraced the potential, early in your travels…

You were not imbued with magic the way sorcerers or wizards or warlocks or druids were. You did not have the strength of a barbarian or a fighter.

You grew up on the dirty streets of Baldur's Gate, surviving on crumbs with little beyond knowing your way around locks and traps, an adeptness for persuasion and, somehow, an uncanny ability to lead. For most of your life, that had been enough.

But this…these battles, this journey you were up against– it terrified you that it wouldn't be enough.

You had grown attached to your companions. Attached enough that you'd die for them if it came to it. Beneath your little rag-tag group’s quirks and beneath your steely exterior– it was the first real family you wish you had long ago. Throughout your life as an orphan, people had come and gone. Some had stayed longer than others, some had a greater impact on your life, but they were kindnesses that existed only in passing. 

These companions had fully trusted you with their lives, their very fates– and you took that seriously. 

They had all suffered such incredible hardship even before this mess– before these tadpoles had bore their way into all of your skulls. Your life surviving on stealing and scraps seemed like a cakewalk in comparison to what some of these people had gone through. Yet here you all stood– persevering despite it all.

Their second chance at a life of peace was in your hands– these people who cared for you and you cared for so deeply. Failing them was not an option.

So when the time came to consume the tadpoles and “embrace your potential,” you and you alone took it. You thought you had done it strategically of course– consuming as few as would keep you all alive. You used your tadpole’s influence where you thought it mattered.

But like all things, it came at a cost.

When the mindflayer….the Emperor had pushed you to use the astral touched tadpole– it had nearly taken over. Hijacked your mind– almost consumed you with the desire to…evolve… When you came back to your senses, it had only just dawned on you how close you had come to losing yourself. 

How long could you hold out like this for them? How much of your mind had the tadpoles destroyed that you’d never get back…How many of your thoughts and decisions were even your own anymore? And would they continue to align with keeping your companions safe? 

What would happen if there came a time it didn't?

Tears leaked around your balled up fists that pressed against your eyes and your tadpole squirmed at the pressure.

“....Darling, are you alright?” The voice startled you from behind and you lurched around, your reflexes expecting another fight. But your mind finally caught up and your body relaxed– squeezing your eyes shut as you wiped at your face.

“I heard yelling. Given what we just faced… I wanted to be sure we didn’t have any more unwelcome visitors.”

Your throat wanted to close.

“I'll be fine, Astarion. I…I just needed a moment…”

“‘Fine’ does not look or sound like this, dear.” He gestured at you with a quick once over. You watched as he studied your face with rapid eye movements.

This had been the first time he had seen you break. And you could tell it was startling him.

You had survived the crash. Quietly killed the goblin leaders. Leveraged Wyll's contract for him. Convinced the Orthon to kill himself and all of his followers. The tollkeeper. Ketheric Thorm’s followers. Faced and defied Vlaakith with Lae’zel, helped Shadowheart defy Shar and free Dame Aylin. And to top it all off--killed Ketheric Thorm as the avatar of Myrkul. The God of Bones himself. 

To him thus far, you had seemed unshakable. An unyielding force as sure as gravity. To him, thus far– your protection and the safety you provided was unwavering.

Dealing with Cazador was still on the horizon. 

“Please, Astarion. It doesn't do you or anyone any good to see me like this. I just need to get my bearings…it was... It was just overwhelming.”

He watched you again. With a depth behind his eyes you had a hard time placing. But then his expression fell and his shoulders dropped with a slow sigh. And after a moment's thought, he closed the distance between the two of you.

“I'm not here for my sake.” He said as he sat next to you, allowing silence to settle between the two of you. 

The both of you stared forward, watching the faint glow of the city below. The people that had no clue what was headed their way. How many of them might die in the coming days? 

It was interrupted only when his eyes caught sight of your hands as they wrung together in your lap.

“It's about the astral touched tadpole isn't it?”

You bristled, and your hands suddenly tensed together in a tightly knit lock. So he had picked up on it…of course he did. Much of your conversations together had been unspoken. Reading body language was an art form you both spoke.

“I saw the look in your eyes. When the Emperor gave it to you. It almost happened…Didn't it?”

Without turning your head to him, your eyes darted in his direction at your side then away. You could feel his gaze on you. In a small way, you were relieved that there was a mutual understanding here. The less energy you had to devote to making sense of the topic, to conveying it to him– the less risk there was for the tadpole to warp your words and betray you. But on the flip side of the coin– you weren't sure if it was safe speaking about this to him at all.

“I have to be careful with my words about it.” You mustered carefully, tactfully– and you could swear you could feel a frown form at your side.

What came next however you did not anticipate.

Hearing him shift closer next to you, you felt his cool hand slide against your face– urging you to make direct eye contact with him in an uncharacteristically intense focus.

You blinked a couple times, taken off guard by how close he was now. 

“It's trying to control you. Manipulate how you feel about it. Even now…isn't it?”

An answer came to you immediately, but the words struggled to leave your mouth. Something was pulling them back.

“...--Yes.” You winced, managing to grab back the reins momentarily. “I'm scared of what I might say about it. To you. I’m not sure how much I can even acknowledge it, let alone…” Another wince.

He studied your face even longer this time, as if he might find something hidden somewhere in the most subtle aspects of your expression.

Apparently it worked. And he found his answer.

“Give me your pack for a moment.” 

“What?” You asked, but before you could protest, he was already on his feet and rummaging through it before he found the astral touched tadpole. 

With very little hesitation, he dropped it to the ground. Without having embraced his illithid instincts like you had or needed to use his tadpole’s influence almost at all prior to this because you had taken on that mantle– its grip on him seemed almost nonexistent in comparison to yours.

Wait! Stop him from– The emperor’s voice gripped at the edge of your mind, demanding alarm and attention.

“Astarion–!” Your illithid instincts lashed out, unsure if the words were even your own and lunged at him with anger. But Astarion was quicker than you, and he squashed it deep into the dirt beneath his heel.

The crack in the veil formed by the time you made it to him, and he caught you in a firm restraint of an embrace. He knelt back down to you.

You felt a tug at your mind again.

Disappointing. Our chances of success have been lowered by your companions' actions. You would do well to work on your leadership.

“We…we could have needed that…” you gasped, but your words were hollow and lacked conviction. There was objective truth to the words you spoke, but you couldn't tell if you said them because you believed them or if you were still being influenced by your tadpole.

Your weight sank in his arms as your vision was clearing, though the echoes of the influence remained with the tadpoles you had already consumed. “What if…what if it was the only way I could–”

“I remember when I turned into a vampire.” He started, loosening his grip on you to something gentler. “I was helpless when it happened. My body warped against my will and I was just there along for the ride. My body and mind were no longer my own. I refuse to do that again. And I certainly will not let that be forced on you if I have any say in the matter.”

You were frozen there, knelt over awkwardly in his lap and unable to think clearly. You weakly gripped at the fabric of his shirt and buried your face in his chest. It seemed to compel him to speak again.

“Look, you've–... you’ve given a lot of yourself to everyone here. In fact, you’ve helped everyone in this camp. Myself included. Here I was thinking I had nothing to give back.”

“It wasn't transactional.”

“Please. I’ve spent too many years feeling pathetic. As miserable as it is to say– the highlight of my life has been this little adventure of ours and most of what I've gotten here has been pity. The bar isn’t very high.”

“Astarion–...” but he raised a hand to stop you.

“So believe me when I say that if you needed but couldn't squash the little monster on your own, I am delighted to. We've made it this far without the astral touched tadpole, we'll make it out of this without it too. With your mind and body still intact. Even if you managed to resist it now there's no telling if you could later. I'm simply removing the temptation when it clearly does not seem like you or, quite frankly, anyone here wants this.”

It took you a moment to form the words. 

“I felt this…strong wave of disappointment when I denied the astral touched tadpole. When the Emperor gave it to me. A stronger emotion than I think I’ve felt for anything. Ever. The abilities I gained by using these illithid powers and the influence I had on others, it turned itself on me twofold. I almost lost myself to it. I was afraid to talk about it to anyone here. Touch it, look at it– anything. I was afraid I'd lose the battle the second time around or even worse…might try to convince someone here to evolve.”

“Perhaps your tadpole would not have let you do what I did. All the more reason some intervention was in order. Take this from me. It is not worth the cost.”

“The Emperor will be…is…upset with us.”

“Let him be. Eugh. That way he looked at you, that whole ‘devastating beauty’ shtick–” he said with his signature mocking tone, a sweeping hand gesture and an annoyed flick of his wrist, “not that I disagree of course,” he added with a sour chuckle, “but it made my skin crawl. I know that tone better than anyone. Seems even a mindflayer can be capable of floundering with subtlety.”

“Am I detecting a hint of jealousy?” you tried to tease lightheartedly, but it just came out exhausted. “Almost everyone in this camp has already come onto me or tried and you made no mention of it before.”

“It's a different discussion entirely if you were entertaining the advances of our travel companions. But the Emperor trying to influence your free will on the matter is frankly something I won't stand for. At least when I tried to...to manipulate you into– well… you still had the free will to say no.”

You could feel him bristle at some kind of internal struggle at his own words. But it seemed before he could put any more thought to the matter, he spoke again.

“We’ll be better for this, I assure you. Like I said– we've gotten along fine without it so far.”

“Let's just hope it's a decision we won't come to regret. If it was the only way I could save some of you, I–”

“I think I should stop you right there. I believe you had a line for this, my dear. Refresh my memory on your wording, would you? I think it went something like– repeat after me– thank you for helping me, it was very kind?”

You sighed, wishing you could muster a measure of your usual returned banter. Some kind of feigned annoyance at the fact your teasing was being turned against you. But in honest to goodness truth– you were relieved. Relieved that this decision was taken out of your hands. Relieved that you didn't have to worry about convincing your companions to evolve or doing so against your will. Relieved that you weren't battling this alone.

And incredibly grateful that he had stepped in and sensed this about you. That you needed help with this– and that he helped.

“Thank you, Astarion…Thank you for helping me…it was very kind.” you said, pulling yourself further into his embrace. “More than you realize.”

 There was a momentary hesitation from him, but with a slow drop of his shoulders, he returned the gesture– pulling you up into a proper hug as you both still sat there on the cliff that overlooked Rivington. His words were softer when he spoke again.

“Any time, love.”

#astarion #astarion x tav #tav #bg3 #bg3 spoilers #bg3 tav #baldurs gate #bg3 fanfiction #bg3 fanfic #bg3 fic #obligatory please excuse any bending of canon here haha #with the durge route in mind #how he helps you through that night #i just thought this was an interesting concept to explore because i feel there could have been some motive here #astarion fanfic #astarion fanfiction #baldur's gate spoilers #baldurs gate 3 spoilers #its interesting how when you want to 'discuss the astral touched tadpole' #your words very often speak kinda fondly of it and you dont have many options to the contrary

[daydreaming-sunflower]

A, R, T

hiii baby thank you for this artistic ask

A: Of the fanfic you've written, which is your favourite and why?

okay i KNOW this is getting tiring but my heart has developed an unhealthy attachement to the apocalypse fic because it was such a big idea in my head and i just feel like it worked out really well like i've executed the vision the way that i wanted and i am really proud but also now that i am talking about it, and after the last ask i answered i'm wondering if the fact that it ended up not being that popular (which i was expecting because of what it is and the mcd and stuff) maybe it somehow made it a little dearer to me in a way

ANYWAY here is a few more i like: the sun and moon fic - i find the idea very cute very fanart-able (wink wink nudge nudge) also is very underrated i think okay the safe space fic - this is genuinely therapy to me

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

ooh difficult i genuinely think every time i read anything that i like my personality absorbs it completely and i spend the rest of my life trying to recreate it/implement it somehow into my style so there is a lot of them but here's just a few off the top of my head right now:

you (kiss <3) Wankerville (strawberry milk fic my beloved) @dvp95 Richard Siken Savannah Brown

T: Any fanfic tropes you can't stand?

i simultaneously wanna say not really and yes a lot lol what a dilemma. so like i do think everything can be good when written well, like there are fics that i really loved that have things in them i usually avoid. also as someone who often tortures herself by reading fics that i quickly realise are badly written just because i find ranting to my friends about them fun in the gc i could name so many random little pet peeves i have however i don't feel like there is a thing that immediately comes to my mind like Yes (Thing) I Just Can't Stand This, you know what i mean? like there i tropes i don't really read but i don't feel like i have strong enough feelings about them to say this

fanfic writer ask meme

#ask game #illiterature #hi bub #moonie