#Of special interest to some ladies.....follow link

[revashomedesigns]

Got Green Strawberries

Well I got some green strawberries 2 weeks in a row thinking they would ripen up. That’s not the case.

I learned once a strawberry is picked off the vine before it’s time it will never ripen any further. I did not know this! It’s not like a tomato so save your money if you can’t get a good strawberry that’s nice and red and juicy. So, now what do do with these unripened berries that you have wasted money on. Well, you could mix them with perhaps another berry of your choice and make jam, jelly or preserves or do what I did. I put diced up strawberries in a skillet, added a little sweetener, a little lemon juice, about a teaspoon crème of tarter and a little water. This made a fruity sort of syrup and I put it on my waffle. It was tasty but I still have 2 lbs of not very ripe strawberries and I do not know what I am going to do with those. Perhaps just put them diced up in a zip lock freezer bag and add to smoothies. That’s probably my best bet.

#strawberry #frozen strawberries #freshstrawberries #organicstrawberries #ilovestrawberries #localstrawberries #strawberries and bananas #pickyourownstrawberries #green strawberries #notripestrawberries #strawberries and waffles #Of special interest to some ladies.....follow link

[stargirl-writes]

through your eyes

pairing : librarian! reader x artist! anakin skywalker

word count : 2.7k

masterlist | ao3 link

summary

you'd find every book there is in search of a world you can get lost in. you thought you weren't really special enough to pursue an adventure for yourself. when one day, you notice a certain jedi spend a lot of time in your quiet library. strange— how he'd choose to sit in solitude when he can be pursuing a more colorful life outside, even stranger, is how he shows you a portrait he drew of you.

tags : fluff, romance, comfort, maybe a bit of angst(?), but it's a happy fic i promise!

warnings : none(!)

notes : hello angels! i REALLY needed to write a lover-boy-anakin for my sanity and this came to me because of this blog and watching 'the portrait of a lady on fire' because i just love how artists love. so if you're in for a tooth-aching soft fluffy ani fic, i gotchu!

likes, comments, and reblogs are highly appreciated!

There is nothing more magical than the worlds you escape in reading for hours.

You can become an adventurer, seeking a great legend, or a fighter, ready to give your life for a cause, or a witch, enchanting villages to heal, or something useful, like a staple gun, or in love.

It would always take you away from the realities of your world. A galactic war, you grieve at night for; because you're you. And you're only the librarian in the capital city of Coruscant.

Besides, there's the Jedi Order and the Republic to fight the war. All there's left for you is to wait, and cry silently, and try to live despite it all.

You close the book you were holding, it was the last installation of the novel you were following. Towards the end, the female lead finally achieved her life's purpose— a happy ending.

It left you feeling empty, jealous even. Because she got to live a life worth hurting for— a sweet fervor. At least her suffering is met by an ending she deserves.

With a sigh, you got up and placed the book neatly on the bookshelf. The library was quiet, like it usually is. No one seems to take interest in thousands of stories waiting to be unravelled.

Maybe, they're actually living a life worth telling a story for. And you're here, stuck, looking for anything to take you off your own reality.

You heard a chair creak from a distance. You perk your head up, trying to find the source of the sound.

A lone man sat, holding what looked like a book in his hand. He was wearing robes you could recognize were of the Jedi's. Strange, a Jedi reading, even stranger, he was holding something, a pencil or a pen, and he was writing down in his book.

As the librarian, you wanted to come up and ask him if there was anything you could help him with. Half-hoping to hear what type of books he was interested in. But his eyes were focused and intent, like he was really immersed, and you thought it best not to disturb him.

So you left him to his business. It was already late, and your energy is already depleted from finishing your book.

The following days were identical. Arranging books, cleaning shelves, helping a few readers find their books.

The Jedi you once saw that night became ever-more present. You wanted to ask what he was reading, must be something good if he's willing to sit down and go through it rather than pursue colorful adventures as a Jedi.

You were finishing the inventory one night when you curiously peeked over the Jedi. His eyes caught yours and you looked away, embarrassed to have been so shamefully staring.

But then, your curiosity overcomes your embarrassment, so you walk up the Jedi.

"I can't help but notice you come here often" You began, trying your best to conceal your excitement. You wanted to know what he was reading, you needed some place to take your mind off.

"Oh?" He looks up, closing his book.

The cover didn't have a title, and you frowned at the let down.

"Well, I've never seen a Jedi actively want to read before" You commented, earning a chuckle from him.

"May I ask what you're reading?" You blurt out.

You could feel his gaze land on you and you suddenly feel conscious of being subjected to his attention.

He shakes his head with a lighthearted smile, and tucks his book to his robes.

"No, I'm sorry, It's not a book" He answers.

Seeming to read the visible disappointment in your face, he brings the book on the table again.

"Then what is it?"

"I draw, sometimes" He answers, handing you his journal, you turn the page revealing his sketch of the architecture of the library, it was elaborate, sharp lines that capture the symmetry of the columns, darker shades where there is no light.

Your eyes land on another sketch, a mech-droid. He even has a deconstructed version beside it like he had been studying how to operate it.

You turn another page, and you recognize a woman, Madame Jocasta, the librarian for the Jedi Library.

"These are really well done." You commented. "Are you a mechanic?" You asked, finding another elaborate deconstruction of a lightsaber.

"Yeah, you can say" He answers with a smile. "But I'm a Jedi knight, I'm only drawing what interests me"

"Why come to the library then?" You asked, turning to the last few pages, and to your surprise, you saw a sketch of the night you finished a novel you were reading.

Your cheeks were painted scarlet— following the lines he used to capture your visible dismay. You look up, stuck between being flattered and feeling embarassed.

"I meant to give you that" He scratches the back of his head.

You shake your head, deciding it was an innocent act to observe and draw what he sees. "Well, you got my nose wrong" You tease.

He chuckles, as if he's relieved by your positive reaction.

You dared turn another page and find another portrait of you, you recognize that it had been the day when you were explaining the metaphor used in your favorite classical tale of a boy who's got too much in his ego, it ended up being his downfall.

The Jedi didn't fail to capture the Twilek's reaction to your rambling and you laughed at the picture.

"I think she just wasn't ready to hear the tale of a boy who got too close to the sun" You explained the reason for the Twilek's expression on the portrait.

"I don't understand why it'd be a tragedy, Icarus was smiling when he fell" The Jedi speaks, and your heart skips a beat. He knows the story, you fought the excitement to urge him to expand on his thought.

"You know the story?"

"Ah, my mother used to tell me a lot" He answers. "She told me that he knew exactly what it'd mean if he went too far"

"And you think he was happy when he fell?" You inquired, curious by his optimistic view.

"I think he finally achieved his life's purpose" His lips curl to a smile.

For a moment, you held your breath, perplexed by how he interpreted such a tragic end.

You caught him looking, and you stripped your gaze away, closing his journal and handing it back to him.

You hoped that you've not made him feel embarrassed to not want to come again. The way he gave a fresh view on your favorite tale made you want to hear what he has to say.

"Well, if you're interested in drawing, I'm always here" You invited.

His eyebrows flash. "In that case, I swear I'll never bore the way that Twilek did. You can tell me all the stories you can"

Your heart skips and you can't help but smile at the thought.

"My name's Anakin"

"[Name]"

Anakin became more apparent to your life.

With your permission, he finally was able to study you, his eyes would narrow in focus, trying to replicate what he sees and how he sees you using a pencil, and you, reading stories and tales out loud.

In the beginning, you felt squirmish. He was really intent on looking at you, seeing you. No one else has quite looked at you the way he does. and you felt like every insecurity of yours was brought up front.

It felt like undressing; you thought, if he sees too closely, and unmasks you, will there be anything underneath? You felt like you were too mundane for him to look at you the way he does.

"And towards the end, she'd settle for a quiet life. She'd have lain on the ground he'd walk on, and this was a life she could see herself in" You finished the tale.

Anakin's eyebrows furrowed, showing dislike for the ending. "That can't be her end" He states his opinion.

You put down the book, happy that he was thinking the same as you. "Why do you say?" You encouraged him to speak more.

He doesn't stop looking up and down from you to his sketch. "She was an traveller, she wanted to sail" He recalled the synopsis.

"She was in love, it made her have different priorities" You considered the point the author made.

His hand halts, and his eyes land on yours. "If he truly loved her, he would have allowed her to become a fully realized person. He'd not have asked her to extinguish her fire" He looks up, as if in thought. "If he loved her, being near her fire would have been enough"

You smiled, surprised to learn that Anakin had been such a romantic.

"Well, what do I know, I've never been in love" You shrugged.

You look up to find Anakin's expression soften. You wondered what he was thinking of in this very moment.

"It's done" He says after a while.

He shows the portrait, and immediately, you see how unkept your hair looked. Then, how he deliberately emphasizes the creases of your cheeks when you smile and how he erased a portion in your eyes to make them appear as though it twinkled with light.

"You don't like it?" He says after noting your reaction.

"No, no, it's lovely" You answered. Though, you felt like it was too pretty, too idealized. Perhaps, he was seeing you in a manner you can't, for better or for worse, you don't know.

He nods, you can see his reluctance to ask what you thought, then you mentally slapped yourself for forgetting he can sense, and he definitely got what you'd been feeling.

The following afternoons went like that. You freely speaking your mind and him carefully sketching, listening.

For the first time, you don't feel like there is a need to escape your world anymore. You wake up, filled with stories you wanted to tell Anakin. Your heart would skip every time you hear the bells of the library door ring. Or when you'd catch Anakin so deep in focus, as if he was committing you to memory, and over time, his sketches of you became more honest, he'd sketch your insecurities with charming strokes, and you don't feel as though you have to hide them around him. He looks at you and sees art. It felt like the most comforting thing.

"But that was the test, he needed to trust that she'll walk behind him, he has to decide that it would be enough" You challenged his view one time you finished reading a tale of two lovers, Orpheus and Eurydice.

He has finished drawing and put down his journal to engage with your opinions.

"Can you really blame him? The Gods were playing with his doubts" He defends.

"Right, he did walk to hell for her" You considered.

"But isn't that what makes it so tragic— they could have made it out, they were so close" You grieved, because despite knowing the ending, you still hope that somehow, they'd find a way to crawl out of hell. Enduring love like that earns an ending that is deserved.

"Orpheus was only a man. He chose to look at her, one more time. He knew if he did, he'd lose her. And he did. It's a choice not of a lover, but of a poet" He concludes, and you thaw.

You'd still find yourself mesmerized by his mind. The way he sees things, the gentleness that comes, not because of the absence of violence, he knows too much of it in the war, but because despite the abundance, he remains tender.

You don't know when you started falling in love with Anakin. You only know that he'd be the story that'll last for your lifetime.

Anakin hands you the portrait. And you smiled at the expression he chose to immortalize. One of when you're almost brought to tears narrating how Eurydice was always behind Orpheus despite him never hearing her.

"I wish I looked this pretty when I cry" You commented, tracing over the lines of his sketch of you.

You felt Anakin tuck a loose strand of hair to your ear. He was looking at you with the same focus, the same wonder, same fascination.

You've grown so used to his gaze, it felt like you were communicating something that can't be expressed into words.

"If you see yourself the way I do now, you'd never doubt my sketches" He softly speaks.

"You're beautiful"

His words latched to your heart.

Anakin is the most dream-like of all; sometimes he feels like a mere character of a novel incarnated into an etheric being.

Anakin held your face, and in the heat of the moment, you pressed your lips against his.

You thought, if anyone else can feel how he makes you feel, they'd never doubt that true love exists.

The understanding you craved for— he gave you most ardently.

Saying 'I love you' came easy. Sometimes, you feel as though saying it would not suffice for how enormously you felt for him.

Your afternoons became late nights, and early mornings. Anakin would ask you to stop smiling, so he could draw you in honesty, but how could you not? You loved the way he'd be so immersed, so lost by gazing at you.

It was a bliss you've only known with Anakin.

But you watched how slowly, he was becoming more and more tense. You're not fighting the war the way he was, being a General, wielding a weapon at the front lines.

He'd rip away pages in frustration, and though you try to soothe the tension and pressure, you're afraid that this story will end in a tragedy.

All your favorite romances leave you feeling hollow towards the sad ending. And with Anakin, you keep being haunted by the thought that any moment might be the last.

What an odd plot to be involved in; loving and being deathly terrified of losing it.

You wrapped yourself in his robes— wishing the feeling to stop plaguing you. Anakin had been asleep, and you stood by the balcony, deep in thought.

You tuck your hands in your pockets, feeling your fingers grow cold by the crisp midnight air.

A piece of paper crumples, and you unfold the portrait.

It was the night you first shared yourself with Anakin. Your mind is flooded by the memory; how he made sure you felt comfortable, how he took every moment slowly like the world outside didn't matter.

You didn't know he drew you, or that he kept it in his pockets. It was strange— to see the picture he loved most was one where you were sleeping. You tuck the paper back inside and go back to bed.

He's gone most of the days now. But you can tell he's making the effort to stay awake when he'd come to your quarters.

"—Love is not an everlasting performance in which you have to attempt to keep your lover's attention. Rather, it's the release of insecurity to trust them to choose to stay, no matter what they see" You narrated softly, thinking Anakin had fallen asleep.

You planted a kiss on his forehead.

"I don't think I've heard this story before" He speaks up after a while.

"No, you haven't" You managed a wan smile. "I wrote it"

Anakin was looking at you the way he used to before. Your heart ached, but you proceeded. "I love you with what in me is unfinished, with what in me remains changing. By you, I am forever undone."

Anakin holds you tight.

"Do you think it'll have a happy ending?" You spoke nakedly.

"Not all stories end in tragedy, my love" He reassures.

You bit your lip "We'll have to conquer the fates, it's been written so many times, a cruel ending" You can't entirely let your fears go.

"Fate gave you to me"

"If by some twist, we end in tragedy, then I am happy to have loved you" He says.

You let out an exhale. There was the simple truth of it; that all things must go, even Anakin. And like him, you felt as though you were blessed to even share a portion of your life with him. Loving is never a waste, even just for the brief time you're allowed in one lifetime. You decided it would be enough for you.

In his arms, it felt like you're unravelling a story that may have a happy ending after all.

#anakin skywalker #anakin (ciella's ver) #star wars #sw #anakin x reader #anakin x you #star wars anakin #anakin #anakin fanfiction #anakin skywalker fanfiction #anakin skywalker fic #anakin skywalker imagine #anakin skywalker x reader #anakin skywalker x you #anakin fluff #anakin skywalker fluff #sw anakin #anakin star wars #anakin imagine #anakin x y/n #Spotify

[szanne7000]

🟢Windswept ~ A Witch Cottage🟢Simblreen Gift🟢TS4🟢

Windswept is a Simblreen Gift for all of you! I started this build on October 11th & finished it October 20th when I sent it to Bodaccia for testing. I started working on finding all the links (that I was able to find) Saturday, the 21st. Let me tell you that there are over 900 pieces of cc (and several of their swatches!) in this build… I think I’ve been dreaming about missing texture files, links, Google, & Wayback Machine every night when I finally went to bed, LOL. Bodaccia informed me of some things that needed changing, & I worked on those over Wednesday & Thursday & finished them all on Friday when I sent it back to Bodaccia for “emergency” testing. While she was doing that, I was finishing up the links & taking pictures. I think the only time I’ve worked harder & faster was when I was participating in DOTY. It is now about 4 pm on Saturday, October 28th, & I just need the Tumblr to work…

Happy Simblreen!!! I hope you are pleased with Windswept for a long, long time.

1 Bed/1 Bath

Living, Dining, Kitchen

Workroom & Consult Area

Spell Room

Séance Room

This build came about as a wish from my youngest son, Ben. He wanted a fantastical Witch Cottage to play in, & we both thought that all of you might enjoy it, too. Windswept is based on real-life architectural plans & my imagination. As many of us adults, he has loved The Sims since the beginning. In fact, both my sons (Travis is my oldest) were responsible for getting me into this game. Without my sons’ interest in this game, my love of building, landscaping, & decorating in The Sims would not have happened. Thank you, my Loves, for your push.

The Credits & Links pdf file included with the build contains everything you need to enjoy this build. Go see all of these Amazing Creators in their native habitats!

A Gigantic & Special Thank You to the following Creators who allowed me to include their content as a Gift with this build:

@karzalee -001StudioK @ADVMabra, @aggressivekitty @mel-bennett @psychicpeanutkitty @irinaseverinka @solistair & @theeaax

I want to give a Huge Thank You to all the Creators whose generous TOUs allow inclusion of their content with builds, which for this Simblreen Gift is most of you.

2SIS @alf-si Angel74 Anidup animefemme @pinkbox-anye @arcanewonder @ars-botanica @artrui Asyli @aroundthesims @baufive Bodaccia @budgie2budgie @buildingdiva @chalipo-all4sims @simthingnew - Chicklet Chisami @clarasims4fan @coralitt-sims Daer0n X MDN Daer0n S4D IDBD Elfydrell @ethericall @exzentra FAB @patchouli-sugar flirtyghoul @haruinosato @helen-sims Hel Studio Hel Studio X @sundays-sims @hydrangeachainsaw Ichosim @ilonastuffforsims4 @simverses - Ingeli @jools-simming @kerriganhouse @kitkatssimporium @lady-moriel lavi3enrose @leaf-motif Ledger Atelier-Modern @leosims4cc @lina-cherie Llen @loree-sims4 @loveratsims4 LunaLuciaLuna @luumia @lumenniveus @magnolianfarewell Mammut @mangosims4-blog @mimoto-sims @imminervaa @mio-sims @msteaqueen @mxims Nelfeah neriney-moxXxes, @nynaevedesign Ohmysims @oldbox1310 OrangeMittens @omorfi-mera @serenebluesims @cross-design @rumorukaraizon @sanoysims @saudade-sims4 sg5150 @simdertalia @sims4luxury @simspirationbuilds X Hel Studio Sn4 Snowhaze @sooky88 @syboubou Tekinkah thealienships-Willow Gardens @thejim07 @therran91 @tilly-tiger @tkangie @wykkyd-sims @xelennsimblr @yumesims & @yumia-x

The few creators whose content you need to get can break between patches; they all deserve an Enormous Thank You for everything they do.

@dorocash @momo-cc aka MountainSplitter @natdreamsims @simcredibledesigns & thepancake1 and @mizoreyukii

I also want to give a Massive Thank You to the Modders/Creators whose contributions make my game easy to finagle & look gorgeous: You do impossibly great work!

20thCPlumbob @bakiegaming crosire @k-hippie @lotharihoe @pictureamoebae @ravasheencc @simp4sims TwelthDoctor1, @twistedmexi @yakfarm & @zerbu

Lastly, I need to thank my Bestie, @bodaccia48. She’s absolutely the Bestest Bestie there has ever been. Even though she’s been under the weather this week, she fully play-tested this build to ensure that you & your simmies can enjoy it without issue. She even dragged herself out of bed right before I did a final save of the lot to run an emergency check to make certain some necessary fixes actually worked. Seriously, they don’t come better than you, Bestie!

🟢Download🟢

MEGA

MediaFire

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#ts4 build #simblreen 2023 #simblreen #szanne7000

[gasolinerainbowpuddles]

Between the Shadow and the Soul║ ⒸⓄⓁⓁⒺⒸⓉⒾⓄⓃⓈ

| Between the Shadow and the Soul | part of the A Savage Place collection ║ series masterlist ║ main masterlist ║

| PAIRING(s): sub!Joel Miller x dom!fem!OC | RATING: explicit material | 18+ | WORD COUNT: 6.4k | CONTENT: exploration of power dynamics, submissive and domination practices, dirty talk, rewards and punishments, pegging (YAY!), some degradation type kink stuff idk, one moment of mommy kink I guess, Joel loves to throw himself a pity party & dom!fem!OC has no interest in letting that fester

| SYNOPSIS: Pegging, but make it therapeutic. And maybe a little romantic?

“It’s right back here,” Chris calls over his shoulder to you. He waves his arm in a wide arc without glancing back, motioning you to the storage area of his shop. 

You follow with barely contained excitement at what awaits.

“Here’s the loot,” he chortles. He reveals the items in question with an abrupt yank on a heavy blanket shrouding it. He gestures broadly at several dingy looking boxes that were hidden beneath.

You peer into the closest one that’s open and can’t help but gasp at the glorious sight before you: a variety of sex toys and intimacy products still in their original packaging. No sun bleaching. No molding. No wear and tear. Almost perfect condition.

“How?!” you practically shriek. “In the back stockroom of some toy shop. Shopping center next to a mall,” Chris readily explains with a shared enthusiasm. “Must’ve been in the middle of unpacking a new shipment or something because most of it was in the box still, like you see it here.”

“But they’re in such good condition!” you marvel.

“Yeah, the stuff closer to the front that wasn’t picked over already was damaged by sunlight or whatever else, but this treasure trove right here was tucked away near the back. Still got some sun and air, but not enough to damage them. I told Alex I officially believe in miracles now,” he snorts.

“Yeah, no kidding!” you laugh with effusive mirth. “I can’t believe this. Seriously. You know how long I’ve been looking for this kind of stuff?!”

“Probably about as long as I have,” he titters gleefully.

“Hey, you have the real thing at home, and I know Alex is hung like a horse based on how he carries himself,” you point out with feigned indignation.

“Yeah yeah, but it’s still fun to have toys!” he retorts with a wistful edge to his voice.

You couldn’t argue with him on that account. You thank the heavens above that Chris and Alex have a soft spot for you after you helped them link up. Alex routinely oversaw more of the specialized patrol missions, and you’d known it in your bones the moment you met Chris that the two of them would hit it off. When you and Alex set out on a 3 day scouting trip all those moons ago, you’d convinced him by the end of it to strike up a conversation with Chris just to “see where things went.” Of course they didn’t even make it through their first outing to get drinks together before they were infatuated with one another.

“And the real thing I have at home was just about as excited as you and me are,” he adds. “Has his eye on a few things, but don’t worry, though. I already old him it was only right that you get first pick.”

You waste no time rummaging through the goods. You snatch up several items you know will serve you well. When your hand hesitates over the packaging of a strap-on harness, Chris lifts a curious brow. You grin and roll your eyes at his silent probing.

“Dare I ask who the special lady is?” he questions in a sing-song voice.

When you purse your lips into a poorly contained smirk, his eyebrows lift into his hairline. “Oh, a special man?”

He eyes the strap harness before looking back at you with a wicked grin. “Okay, I’m not gonna ask about it today, but you WILL be spilling all the details at some point.”

You giggle and agree you’ll eventually share some of the particulars about your “mystery man.” After going through each and every box, you set out with a hefty bag of goods, satisfied with your haul and all the possibilities it facilitated. You could hardly wait to get into all of it and surprise Joel with a few things. You thankfully didn’t have to wait long for an opportunity as it was only a few days later that he was able to meet up at your house.

It had been almost two weeks since you’d been able to spend time together outside of patrols. His mood had shifted into something closer to his previously staunch antagonism, and you weren’t sure if he was dealing with something privately or if he was just sulking over your stringent expectations of his behavior when you were apart. If it was the latter, not being allowed to get yourself off for a little while certainly didn’t warrant such a surly disposition.

Something felt off, though. It wasn’t just the bitter, grouchy temperament that you’d come to know and dismantle over the months you’d been seeing each other. No, there was something else bubbling under the surface. Something more than sexual frustration, although you’re sure that didn’t help.

His sullen knock at the door was the first reminder of the semi-detached doldrum he’d taken to lately. You beckoned him inside and gave several languid kisses along the column of his neck the moment the door closed. Instead of meeting your physical advances, his hands gently wrapped around the span of your back and cupped you closer to him. When he released a ragged sigh, you knew it was going to be one of those times where he needed a little extra tenderness.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Joel drawls in a lazy hum.

“Hey, baby. What’s going on?” You push a few of the graying, curly strands from his forehead, taking the occasion to search his face for any indication of what had him so squarely in the clutches of unrest.

“Just havin’ a time right now with Ellie, is all,” he mumbles after a moment. His eyes focus on your shoulder and collarbones - anywhere but meeting your gaze - but there was a faraway look in them. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” you ask carefully. The topic of Ellie always had the potential to be a sensitive one for Joel, and you had your suspicions for the past couple of weeks that there was some sort of unresolved issue between the two of them.

Joel shook his head gently. “Nah. Not ready.”

You nod and immediately back off the topic. Joel needed a safe place to run to, and you didn’t want to be another thing he was running from.

“Let’s get you cleaned up so I can take care of you today, okay? How does that sound?” you offer in a sultry, low voice.

“Sounds perfect, honey,” he agrees, his shoulders slumping at the pacifying reassurance you always provided.

You help him out of his jacket and boots before guiding him to the bathroom. You turn the shower on and strip him down while it warms up. The growing heat of the water begins to plume into a fog of cloudy steam inside the bathroom.

“Go on and sit,” you shoo him into the shower. You strip yourself and join him. Even with his large frame and broad shoulders, Joel looks so small in this moment, sitting wide legged on the built in shower bench with his head leaning against the wall behind him. You can see just how tired he looks when you’re eye to eye like this.

He appraises your naked body with a wanton, gluttonous fixation. His cock twitches in response to the gains yielded by his unabashed ogling. His hand edges towards where he’s already half-hard, but he doesn’t touch himself yet. Not without your permission.

You take your time angling the showerhead so the outpour of water cascades over his crown and downward between the stretch of sore muscles of his shoulder blades and back. His eyes close with a satisfied groan at the feeling of the heat over his tired, aching body.

You divert some of the water with your hands to douse his upper body. You grab the shampoo off to the side and spurt a small puddle of the rosemary and lavender scented liquid into the cup of your palm.

“You been a good boy?” you gently ease into some teasing. You rub the shampoo between your hands.

“Haven’t got off in over a fuckin’ week, if that’s what you’re askin’,” he snips impatiently.

You balk at his impolite tone. “Well don’t ruin all that now with such a bad attitude,” you chide.

He sighs and drops his shoulders. “Sorry,” he mutters, looking away and grasping his hands together in his lap before looking back up at you with a chastised, contrite expression. He extends a tentative reach and curves his hands around your waist in a meek bid for forgiveness.

“I’ll accept your apology, but don’t test my patience,” you warn.

You lather up the shampoo in his hair and work it over in kneading circles. His brows knit together. His eyes peacefully drift shut. You scratch at the base of his scalp, just where he likes. He lets out a low groan of relief.

“I know you’ve been having a hard time lately, Joel. That’s what I’m here for. I’m here to take care of you, give you what you need. So are you going to be a nice boy for mommy today and let me give you what you need?”

His eyes remain closed as you rinse the suds from his hair.

“Yes, ma’am,” he promises.

“That’s what I like to hear, sweet boy.”

You work up a soapy foam and wash him top to bottom. His cock is soft again by the time you make it down his legs, but there’ll be time for that later. Right now you need to get Joel into a clearer headspace, one with a less turbulent response pattern. You take extra care to wash his feet, knowing he doesn’t ever take the time to really look after them as well as he should. He moans at the kneading motions you rub along the arch of his feet.

“God that feel so fuckin’ good,” he murmurs.

You spend a few extra minutes massaging his knees, never able to forget the day that raider had knocked him down and added even more strain to his already bad joints. When you finally finish working over his muscles and washing him up, you direct the water back and forth to rinse any remaining residue.

Once the final specs of soap have been cleared away with the rush of hot water, you massage his temples and jaw where he endlessly overtaxed the muscles with incessant clenching and grinding - a longstanding bad habit that had made a return as of late. 

He sighs and leans into your palliative hold, letting the hot water wash over his back. His arms circle your middle and hug you closer to him. Sometimes it was sloppy messes, wet kisses, and blood surging between thighs from the moment he came through your door. Other times, like today, it was something more intimate, a give and take. 

He’d nestle himself right into the crag of reprieve and sanctuary you’d cleft into for him. You let him stay there for as long as he wanted, whenever he wanted. It felt good to be needed. It felt gratifying and substantial to guide something broken through the thick of it all and into someplace less fraught with the realities of life. You, too, could escape there right alongside him, swept up in the creation and execution of taking someone into yourself to safeguard and mold into a dulcified, amenable thing.

You cut the water off and wrap a soft towel around Joel’s shoulders. You help him towel dry his hair and upper body before exiting the shower and hug a towel over yourself. Joel drapes another clean towel around his waist and heads for the bedroom. You smile to yourself at the familiar routine that’s already been established between the two of you. As expected, he’s lying over the towels, spread across your bed, as he waits for you to join him.

You grab a clean, oversized t-shirt and pull it on to stave off the chill in the air. You grab the container of lotion from your dresser and head for the bed. Joel watches you with a soft fondness as you climb onto it and straddle him. You take a dab of lotion and rub it into his cheeks and nose.

“Still don’t see why I gotta get this stuff every time I shower over here,” he objects gruffly.

“Because you don’t ever lotion, Joel. Seriously, the only time you ever take care of your skin is when somebody else is forcing you to,” you huff in a laugh. “You’re sexy and all that, but nobody can pull off lizard skin. Not even you.”

He belly laughs at that and runs his palms over your bare thighs as you sit atop him. It’s nice to hear him laugh. You feel proud that you’ve already gotten him this relaxed.

“Besides, I know it feels good to finally get some moisture on this goddamn sandpaper you call skin. It just about drinks up every drop of lotion I’ve got every time I do this,” you point out.

“Mmmm, yeah. Does feel nice,” he admits with a sheepish, lazy grin.

You smile back at him and shake your head. “Silly boy. Already told you that’s what I’m here to do. To make you feel good if you’ve behaved yourself.”

“And, uh… today, do I…” he trails off.

You realize he thinks showering and some light pampering is all he’s getting rewarded with today.

“I mean, I just… you know, after a whole week - OVER a week, actually - of not havin’ any ‘stress relief’, especially when I really coulda used some,” he emphasizes.

“You’re the one that canceled last week,” you remind him pointedly.

“I know, I know. Didn’t want to. Somethin’ with Ellie came up, and … anyway, I didn’t cancel because I wanted to. God knows I’ve been goin’ outta my fuckin’ mind tryna follow your fuckin’ rules,” he gripes.

“Joel Miller, are you pouting because you couldn’t jerk yourself off for a few days?” you taunt.

Joel huffs loudly but doesn’t respond further.

“I asked you a question,” you caution.

He breathes out a weighted puff of air and nervously readjusts his body. “Look, it’s not- I’m not pouting. I just.. I missed bein’ with you, I guess. Needed you, like this,” he admits quietly.

You heave a half-exasperated sigh. It was hard to stay annoyed with him when he got like this. He sometimes put forth a weak effort to regain some of the control in your dynamic, but you could understood how hard it was for someone like Joel to give up control in the first place. If it wasn’t working for him anymore, you might’ve relented, but deep down you both knew he needed the reinforcement and structure you gave him. What you had worked for both of you, even if Joel sometimes tried to self-sabotage.

 “I missed you, too, baby,” you yield. You rub lotion into the rest of his body and watch the rise and fall of his chest start to slow. After a few moments of comfortable silence, Joel shifts again under your touch.

“I guess I just–I dunno. I didn’t know what to expect comin’ over today. Never canceled on you before. Didn’t know if it was gonna be some punishment or somethin’ for it. Didn’t know if I’d done good enough to get rewarded,” he explains stiffly, nervously.

“You know if you follow my rules and obey me, you get rewarded. Why would that change?” you contend.

“I dunno,” he blows out in an exaggerated exhale, staring up at the ceiling. “I guess I just feel like I don’t know much of anythin’ anymore.”

Before Joel could slump any further into his own pity party, you decide to give him the swift kick to the ass you had to dole out every now and then to get him back on track. You lift away from straddling him and place both knees on one side next to his hip. You lean forward, one arm firmly planted beside his head.

“Well then let’s clear it up, Joel,” you hiss. His eyes light up excitedly at your change in tone.

“This–” you grit out, roughly grabbing his soft dick “–belongs to me.”

You slowly stroke him a few times, enjoying the way blood starts rushing to his cock and hardening under your touch. All too avid and supplicant at your directive.

“And you don’t need to worry your pretty little head about what happens to it because that’s for me to decide. Are we clear?” you press.

He lets out a choked moan and nods.

“SAY IT.”

“It’s all yours, sweetheart,” he grinds out with effort.

“What’s mine, Joel?” you push.

“My dick. It’s yours. All yours,” he grits out when your strokes get firmer and faster. Beads of precome start to trickle freely from his swollen tip.

“Mmmmm, that’s right. Glad we could clear that up,” you chuckle humorlessly. Your hand drops lower beneath his balls, garnering a hitched breath and exhilarated stare from Joel. 

“And this little hole is mine, too,” you murmur. You swirl the pad of your middle finger over his asshole and smile when you feel it pucker inward.

Joel swallows harshly and nods in agreement. “S’yours, baby.”

You hum with delight and agreement. “Good boy.”

Joel’s cock jumps at the simple plaudit, and you’re relieved that he’s finally veering away from feeling sorry for himself. “I just love when you obey me, Joel. It means I get to take such good care of you. Give you just what you need.”

You slide off the bed and saunter lazily to your closet where all your new goodies are tucked away. You bring out the opaque plastic container you’d housed them all in after sterilizing and cleaning everything.

“What’s all that?” Joel asks, almost breathless with anticipation.

“Just a few things I picked up,” you respond coyly. “Couldn’t pass them up once I realized I could find new ways to use you.”

Joel emits a needy groan at the possessive and maddeningly vague language around what was going to happen to him at your hand today.

“I’m going to sort through a few things here, and when I turn back around you’d better be on your belly with some pillows beneath you. I want your ass UP and waiting for me.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Joel agrees in a rush. You smile to yourself when you hear his hurried repositioning. You take your time pushing things around the container, tacking a few moments onto the process just to draw out the intoxicating thrill of anticipation.

When you turn and see him splayed out for you just as you commanded, you have to stop yourself from reaching between your legs.

“You’re such a good listener when you’re weak, honey,” you needle. “Haven’t gotten off in over a week, right? So fucking pussy drunk you’ll do whatever I say, just so you can come, huh? Pretty fucking pathetic.”

“Fuck,” Joel hisses under his breath. His cock is rock hard and pressing straight down between his thighs against the pillow. He grinds it pitifully against the pillows propping him up, searching for any sort of relief.

“I’m goin’ outta my fuckin’ mind,” he grates through his teeth. He really does sound pained.

“If you don’t stop complaining, I will find something to shut you up,” you warn him flatly.

“Just fuckin’ need you, baby, please,” he grumbles with a touch more humility.

“Where do you need me, Joel?” you tease.

“Anywhere,” he groans desperately.

You crouch down behind him and run an admiring pass of your hands over his backside. You spread them apart and shoot a hot ball of spit onto the opening in between. Joel jumps and moans at the sensation, and you give him no time to process it further before sliding the flat of your tongue against the glistening wet you spit onto him.

He bucks his hips into the pillows beneath him and lets out a loud, strained moan. He already sounds completely wrecked. You lap gently, delving your tongue inside of his opening every few passes, and settle into a slow rhythm until he relaxes beneath you. You only break away to grab at Joel’s mouth and command for him to spit into your hand. He gives you everything he can gather and makes a mess of your palm. You work the slippery wet over your fingers until they’re coated.

You gently cup and massage his balls while you advance your index finger inch by delicate inch into his taut ring of muscle. You laugh quietly under your breath as you watch your digit get practically swallowed into him without any effort from you.

“Such a needy little hole,” you mock. “Didn’t realize it craved my attention this bad.”

Joel groans and shifts his hips higher for easier access.

“Talk to me, baby. I wanna know how it feels.”

“Mmm, s’g-good. Like it. You make me feel–hnn–so good,” he answers in a stilted gasp.

When you pull out just enough for your fingertip to be all that’s still inside him, Joel’s hips cant backwards towards you, chasing the fill of you. He mumbles something quietly that you don’t catch.

“Speak up,” you reprimand, laying a harsh swat to the flesh of his backside. He jerks forward and moans before repeating himself.

“Fuck – just, maybe could you … just – more?” he asks in a hushed tone.

You exhale a laugh through your nose and spit on your index and middle fingers before gliding them inside. Joel tenses slightly at the added girth, and you rub encouraging circles against the back of his thigh with your free hand.

“You look so good opening up for me like this, baby,” you coo. “I wish you could see yourself spreading around my fingers. So fucking tight, but you’re taking them so well.”

“How can I–” he grunts, cutting himself off as he tries to relax into the intrusion.

“Just breathe through it and know it makes me happy when you take my fingers like this. So proud of you when you open up for me like this.”

It takes a few minutes, but eventually Joel is taking the gentle push and pull of two fingers without any resistance. He’d only ever taken one before today, and you needed to get him more worked up if you wanted to do what you had in mind.

“God that feels fuckin’ weird but so damn good at the same time,” he huffs. 

You can’t help but smile at the hint of confusion in his voice, the mystery of the pleasure his own body holds. The pillow beneath him is smeared with dribbles of precome, and you need to back off for a moment before he comes everywhere. He makes a noise of dissent when you slide your fingers all the way out.

“As much as I love that needy little hole of yours, mine comes first,” you remind him. You wipe your hands and between his thighs with one of the towels from the shower and make your way over to the box of goodies. Joel turns on his side to watch what you have planned for him. You take out the mid sized dildo to gauge his reaction, which turns out to be an almost comical look of panic.

“Don’t get too excited, baby boy. You haven’t earned this one yet,” you tut.

You pull out a bottle of lube that was revived once a little water was added to it and squirt a small amount onto the tip. It wasn’t as big as Joel - and therefore wouldn’t be as satisfying -  but it would do for now in taking care of the throbbing feeling between your legs as well as getting Joel even more worked up and accepting of anything you gave him.

You pull your shirt up and over your head, tossing it carelessly on the floor, as you head over to the bed once more. You kick the pillows to the side and lay on your back beside Joel. He eagerly scoots closer to you and runs his hands up and down the expanse of your body.

“You’re so fuckin’ beautiful. So fuckin' perfect,” he breathes.

You’ll never get over the earnest admiration in his voice when he compliments you during these quiet, shared moments. The gratitude and reverence in the lilt of his extolling makes your chest feel warm and light.

“Can I help you feel good, too?” he pleads with big eyes.

“Only because you’ve been so good for me.”

He breathes a smile and watches as you slowly insert the toy into your aching core. You sigh at the small but welcomed stretch, working it in and out with a steady rhythm. Joel’s mouth is on your hardened nipples, your neck, your earlobes, your ribcage, your clit. Anywhere and everywhere he can worship you with his mouth. It isn’t long before you’re clenching repeatedly onto the toy. Joel releases the suction of his mouth against your clit to watch the spasm of your muscles.

“God, I could watch that all fuckin’ day,” he muses, staring intently at your pussy as your orgasm starts to ebb away.

You pull the toy out and let him admire the glistening mixture of lube and your slick. You sit up slowly, with Joel mimicking the movement, and offer it to him. “Clean it.”

He quirks an eyebrow and reaches for it, presumably to take it to the bathroom to rinse it off. You grin at his misunderstanding. “With your mouth.”

Joel’s eyes narrow at you for a moment. “You really want me gaggin’ on that stupid thing and pukin’ all over your bed?” he scoffs. 

“Never said that, but if that’s what I wanted then that’s exactly what you’d be doing,” you snip sternly.

Joel’s brow pinches together in a fluid movement before returning to something more neutral. He remains silent, but you notice the way his breath has picked up with the lift and sink of his chest. It was no secret to you that Joel got off on the idea of you commanding every idea, movement, and action of his, yet somehow he still managed to be surprised sometimes by his eagerness to be dominated and subjugated by someone he trusted and knew would never actively seek to harm him.

“On your knees,” you bite. He groans but positions himself as you instructed. You stand on the bed in front of him and hold the toy between your legs, right at his eye level. “Open your mouth and lick this cock clean.”

Joel considers the toy for a moment, a flush of heat gracing his cheeks, before looking back up at you.

“Tongue out, baby boy. Don’t get shy on me now,” you taunt.

He closes his eyes and sticks a sliver of tongue out. He starts grazing a small area near the base but doesn’t seem all that enthusiastic about it.

“You keep your eyes open and on me when you’re licking my cock clean,” you snap with a forceful grab to his hair.

Joel growls at the sudden pull on his scalp but keeps his eyes opened and trained on you.

“Stick it out, wide and flat,” you instruct. Joel complies, jutting his tongue all the way out and wide open for you. “Good boy.” You thrust the toy slowly against the flat of his tongue with a rolling motion of your hips as you use his mouth to clean it. You grow impatient with the task before it’s even halfway cleaned.

“That’s good enough. I’m ready to take that little hole of yours again,” you drawl.

You ignore Joel’s excited breathing as you exchange the toy for the smaller, curved one you made sure wouldn’t be too small to fit the strap harness. It wasn’t what you wanted to see shoving in and out of Joel’s asshole, but you had to start somewhere.

“On your belly, just like before,” you call over your shoulder.

You hear the rustling of Joel positioning himself, eager to please and eager to see what you’re gifting him with next. In the months you’d been exploring this dynamic together, you’d found that Joel liked a constant barrage of unknowns you’d throw at him, only to safely guide him to the other side of it where he’d be trying to catch his breath after being catapulted into yet another overwhelming, blissful climax. There was a thrill to it now for him, one that he hadn’t embraced at first. You can only hope he doesn’t fight you too hard on this one.

You quickly fasten the harness around your waist and legs and attach the small, curved dildo to it. You grab the bottle of lube to take with you back to bed. You spread Joel apart and dribble a cold stream of it onto him, letting it slither down to his hole that’s begging to be filled with you. Your index and middle fingers slide in without resistance. He was so worked up from everything that he was just about ready to take what you had for him.

“Roll over.”

Joel obeys, and you watch with stifled delight as he takes in your get up. His eyes snap up to yours with uncertainty.

“Knees up.”

Joel slowly draws his heels onto the edge of the bed and removes one of the pillows underneath his hips. When you stroke some lube up and down the small toy, something seems to snap in him. He huffs a sigh and drops an arm over his face.

“Joel, you need to use your words if this is something you don’t want,” you assert slowly and firmly. “You know how this works by now. You can’t expect me to know every little thought you have. If you want this to stop, it stops, but you have to tell me.”

“I know that. It’s not that. I trust you, I do–” he sighs, lifting his arm from his face and resting it above his head, “–I’ve just never done this shit before, alright? I’m tryna enjoy it, but that’s kinda hard to do when I’m wonderin’ if I’m gonna be shittin’ weird for the next week or somethin’.”

You suppress the urge to roll your eyes. You wanted to tell him you’ve taken much bigger without any life-altering results, but you know it would only get the conversation incredibly off course.

“Have I ever hurt you, Joel?” you level at him.

He lets out a deep breath after a moment. “No.”

“Do you think I’d take advantage of this thing we’ve got?”

He shakes his head thoughtfully. “No.”

“I’m going to ignore the fact that you’re not referring to me correctly because I know you’re distracted, okay? But you need to trust me if this is going to work. So, you need to decide if you trust me to make you feel good and to take care of you how you need.”

Joel locks eyes with you and nods. “Okay. I trust you.”

“Good. Now put your fucking knees up and say thank you.”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you,” Joel obliges.

You grab the base of the toy and guide the tip of it right to his rim. You slowly push inside, studying Joel’s face for any sign of pain. 

“You’re opening up so good for me,” you praise as your gaze settles onto the toy already halfway inside.

“PLEASE CAN I FUCKIN’ TOUCH MY DICK,” Joel chokes out in a gasp.

“Go ahead, baby,” you answer calmly.

Joel grabs his rigid length and strokes himself vigorously. His eyes roll to the back of his head when you push the toy inside him all the way to the hilt. When you draw back out, a broken moan catches in his throat. You watch the pace of his hand up and down his length and mimic the same rhythm. It’s not long before he realizes you’re matching his movements, and his brow tightens and releases with the realization and acceptance of this novel pleasure. 

“There you go. Just how you like it,” you coax softly. You smile as his eagerness intensifies. You love to watch him catch onto things, make these small discoveries about himself. This is a bigger leap than you’ve taken before - and maybe he still needs to be in control somewhat - but that spark of hunger you’ve ignited in him will only grow. You know one day soon he’ll be begging for you to fill him up with the biggest toy you’ve got while he’s on all fours.

You lean down for a moment to give him a slow, gentle kiss. You pull back slightly, rubbing your nose against his for a moment.

“Joel, what happens here - between us - it’s safe. So you can say what you’re dying to say. I see it all over your face how much you want to.”

You pull up and resume the steady thrusting motion from before. Joel’s hands grip the sheets in hard fists by his sides.

“You can say it, Joel. Tell me how much you love getting your tight, needy hole fucked by my cock,” you urge.

“Hrrmmpphh-fuck!–yesss–hnnffff,” he pants. Sweat is gathering in glimmering beads along his hairline and forehead.

“You’ve got such a greedy little hole for me to fuck, don’t you?”

“Gahh–AGH—YES,” he croaks. He’s starting to writhe underneath you. You wrap your hands over his hip bones and thrust harder.

“You know I wanna hear you say it, baby.”

“I–GOD, fuck yes–please,” Joel pants. “I fuckin’ have a — god dammit, such a - have such a greedy little hole I want you to fuck.”

“Yeah, you do, huh?” you chuckle. “I love watching how well you take it. You take my cock so well, Joel. You were just made for me to use.”

“Feels so fuckin’ good, honey,” he moans as you pick up the pace.

The muscles in his stomach begin to tense up, and you watch as it dawns on Joel that he’s coming. His mouth stretches open to a silent scream as his hands fly over top of yours, squeezing and grabbing for something to keep hold of him.

“Oh, fuck yeah. There we go,” you laud as you watch heavy beads of semi-clear white spend dribble from his angry, red tip. 

You fuck him through it, tilting his hips up when they drop so you can keep nudging against his prostate. When you pull out of him, he’s still coming down from what you can only assume is his first prostate orgasm. Just in case he could ever forget how good you make him feel, you want to add on one final novelty.

“Hands and knees,” you instruct coolly.

“I-I can’t,” Joel exhales heavily.

“Hands and knees or it’s two weeks without coming.”

As expected, Joel complies to avoid the punishment. You squirt more lube onto the toy and settle on your back beneath him, once again moving the pillows out of the way with a quick kick. Before you can give him his next instruction, Joel’s mouth is on yours with a heavy, impassioned kiss.

He groans into your mouth, sucking and licking into it as if the oxygen from your lungs is all the air that he has in order to breathe. The intensity and undeniable intimacy of it catches you off guard, and you quickly fall into the movements of his tongue against yours.

Joel pulls away, breathing fast and heavy, with a look of complete deference. “Tell me what you want me to do, baby. Anything. Anything for you. Just tell me, and I’ll do it.”

“Sit on my cock,” you pant, out of breath from the kiss.

Joel clumsily lines himself up with the toy and sinks onto it with a heavy groan.

“Fuck yourself with my cock, and you can come all over these pretty tits,” you goad.

Joel starts jerking himself and grabbing at your breasts. You caress and stroke his balls. He awkwardly rolls his hips until he finds something that works for him, settling on a slow, deep grind. His face quickly contorts to one of imminent release.

“Such a good fucking boy for me today, Joel. So good for me. You wanna come all over my tits, baby? Make me all messy with your come? Give me something to taste?” you ask in a sickly sweet voice.

“FUCK, yeah–yes, baby, fuck yeah I do, so fuckin’ bad,” he rasps.

You take a free hand to pinch one of his nipples, and he jerks forward with a moan. You watch the small space where he lifts himself from the toy as he grinds against it.

“Keep going. Taking my cock so good. You look so perfect spreading open for me like that,” you spur him on.

You keep a steady, massaging motion on his balls as you open your mouth wide for him. You make a playful, teasing moaning noise beneath him, wordlessly begging for him to come all over you.

Joel’s hips stutter with a hitched whimper as hot white ropes start to erupt all over your chest and face. He falters forward, catching himself with his free hand against the mattress at the last moment.

“FUCK! Got my fuckin’–christ almi–FUCK,” he groans as the last bit of his spend lands with a soft splat onto your belly.

He lifts himself off the toy and slumps into a heap halfway over your body. He doesn’t seem to notice or care about the feeling of his come spreading against his skin where his weight bears into you. He slowly catches his breath and opens his eyes to meet yours. You wait, watching him with a satisfied smile. His face is relaxed and open. The grooves and lines of stress and upset are no longer as prominent as they’d been when he first arrived.

He drags a thumb through a half-crusted glob of his spend drying against your cheek and brings it to your lips. You open your mouth and suck on it. He scrapes and feeds you the rest of his release from your neck and face. You smile contentedly at the look of sleepy wonder he has for you.

“Don’t know what I did before you,” he muses in a soft hush.

You lean in with a gentle kiss, letting him taste himself on your tongue for a moment, and pull back. “You know we have to get a shower again, right?”

He shuts his eyes and grumbles. “You’re gonna make me use lotion again, aren’t you?”

“Absolutely,” you laugh as you pull him into a tight embrace.

This is not the last of Joel getting pegged, so please don't fret. Just wanted to explore the *~first time~* for him. Please trust I have every intention of this man getting his cheeks clapped hahaha.

Title is from Pablo Neruda:

I don’t love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz,    or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:    I love you as one loves certain obscure things,  �� secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

catch ya later, ♥Puddles♥

tagging if you requested pegging or if I feel that you are spiritually aligned with Joel Miller getting pegged:

@beelzebeth87 @lvl-2005 @wannab-urs @for-a-longlongtime @toxicanonymity @walkintotheriveranddisappear @munchieforpedropascal @danaispunk @cinnamonpolvera @jupiter-soups @roguedjarin @rav3n-pascal22 @someotherasshole @forestfaeriequeen @not-a-unique-snowflake-blog @atticrissfinch

#fic: a savage place #sub!joel #joel miller #pedro pascal #pedro pascal characters #tlou fic

[shinjisdone]

I saw you're doing requests and I do not request often but- Take this if you want?

Yandere! Link (Twilight Princess) (Romantic as I think he's an adult in the game? Sorry if not, been awhile. Platonic works too) with Female! Reader Scenario? (One of my fav games, lol)

Do what you want with it... idk what prompts to ask for :/

If you don't want to do this please tell me! I read the rules and picked something simple :) Take your time! 🐈‍⬛

😳 THE yandere-galore panther taking requests from me? Usually its the other way around haha

Prompts are not a must if you really don't know what you want, though I gotta admit I had to ponder a bit since the request has no specifications. Things are pretty general therefore but I had to add a few things to get creative. This turned out longer since I like to develop Yandereness especially - it's always interesting to see from where the sprout stems from and how it'll grow. Otherwise it feels too forced and sudden to me. Have been following for quite a while, hope you like this!

TW: Yandere behaviour, obsession, long pining, idolization, one-sided feelings, obliviousness, stalking, aggression, blood and killing

Yandere! Twilight Princess! Link Scenario with Female!Reader (Romantic)

All your good deeds turned into sin, it seems.

Or at least some form of karma, but you didn't know enough about that to truly tell. It was just a gut feeling.

You are nothing but a wandering traveller. Knowledge of self-defense goes without saying, especially since the land of Hyrule turned so hostile over time. According to old legend a calamity is soon to approach, which only makes you yearn for serenity even more.

Ordon village sounds so tempting. Small and humble, the entire village feels nothing like the rest of the outside. The people certainly looked at you weird for deciding to stay here for a while - the most exciting thing to happen after all are raging goats!

Thus you were saved from one by a quick-witted, local fellow seemingly grappling with the animal before it calmed down and he offered you his hand. His light brown hair and deep blue eyes were welcoming and you took the offer.

"Thank you."

He said his name was Link.

»»————-　　————-««»»————-　　————-«

The children weren't as relaxed as the adults though. Even as their parents called out for them to help in the shop or with the goats, all four of them would stick close to you, each jumping to your side as they asked questions upon questions about 'the traveler lady!' The rest of Hyrule wasn't something they'd see or even hear from often. It was deemed as exciting to be able to go to the castle town to deliver some milk.

How is the town? Have you ever crossed that big bridge? Were you ever up at that Death Mountain? Can you catch bigger fish in that giant lake? Have you met the knights, soldiers and their princess?

All of these things were also asked by Link.

He bashfully admitted to being a regular country pumpkin as you sat beside each other by the river, fishing. He managed to please the kids with a promise to play as they finally left you alone. Rubbing the back of his neck, he couldn't hide the excitement on his face nor the stammer in his voice as you told him of your stories.

"The most exciting thing I'll ever do in my life is probably deliver that milk. Can't lie, I am lookin' forward to it..." He chuckled sheepishly. Shaking your head, you offered a smile.

"You should go out of the village more often. You're old enough now, I'm sure you'll grow to like everything you'll see and meet."

You smiled at him. It cheered him up, admittedly. You looking at him like that felt special too, perhaps because you weren't from here and encouraged him to go, even if it meant leaving the village and his goat-herding duties behind for a while.

»»————-　　————-««»»————-　　————-«

If only he never left.

Though for whatever reason that thing called it a lucky coincidence, a deal.

He ran back towards the forest, rushing by the familiar lake where the children went missing. It happened too fast and even though they adored him, looked up to him, he could barely realize what was happening before the world went dark and darker and darker.

His heart pounded against his ribcage, the shadow tailing after him in high speed which only made his panic grow more. How could this have happened? Where is everyone and are they still well?

His pants turned and echoed in a yelp - then a growl. He couldn't control it, it sank into his brain as he saw the glimmer of a blade shooting up this close to his face.

Gritting his teeth, his blue eyes shot up big. Frozen in place he looked up as the weapon was slowly withdrawn.

"...You don't have to be scared."

Link did not notice he was shaking.

Quickly he realized it was you, the 'traveler lady', as you kneeled down and took a good look at him. The young man was confused on how you kept calm as your hands gingerly grazed his fur. Your hands went down to his chained paw and a frown graced your face. "You poor thing. No wonder you are so terrified."

Link was hesitant but could not deny your guess.

Eagerly you tried to remove the chain, even if it did not affect him. Adamently working on it you suceeded even if it costed you time and tools...your gentle hands soothed the irritated skin with your own oilments that you carried.

"It's best if you don't go into the village. The children went missing...and the parents are distraught. You better go home to your own family, little one."

You gave one last pet and smiled as you returned to Ordon Village.

»»————-　　————-««»»————-　　————-«

You thought this would be last time you saw the curious wolf. Yet here he is, having trouble as he carried a wooden shield and hauling it through the dark. As the villagers investigated the strange sounds coming from him, you were quick to distract them. Swiftly hiding him behind a house, you ducked him down.

You ask him what he is doing here, take away the shield - which he fights against almost pleadingly - and shush him from the worried parents.

"Everyone's drowning in worry." You pet him up and down, whispering, "...I really hoped I could stay here for a while, get away from all this chaos outside. But even such a sweet village like this one gets attacked...kidnapping kids...and the Link fella is gone, too..." You trail off but try to smile as the wolf whimpers. Inhaling deeply and forcing a grin you drown him in pats and cuddles. "But don't worry...! I promised them to get the children back! I don't know where they are or where to start...but I'll get them back. I swear, Wolfie!" You laughed as you petted him more, which only made the animal grin. He had long sat down and listenend to your words.

Link was unsure if you were even real when he first saw you that night. The twilight blinded him as that Midna thing mockingly told him of the possible fate of his friends. The people, the spirits - they all whimpered as his sight, smell, touch and hearing changed. All that he knew was different and he might never turn back into the real Link.

You, this new and mysterious woman, were the only thing that seemed real to him. The blade you shoved into his snout, the paw you healed and your hands that combed through his fur - all of this were the only things that felt warm and familiar in this twilight. He hoped you'd be fine. If only he could turn back to his real self and help you. He'd feel better if he had you as a companion and not that shadow imp.

»»————-　　————-««»»————-　　————-«

Lake Hylia is grand, Death Mountain steep, and the castle town empty. It's strange to think that he is right here, seeing all the things you saw and encouraged him to. Though the circumstances turned out to be much more meaningful than a simple country pumpkin such as him could have ever imagined.

Midna was right, Hyrule is so close to its doom. All he wanted was to get back to the children and maybe meet you again as you were looking for them too. Though still as a wolf you left for your quest. And now here he is at Kakariko Village. Here to save the kids but to also have to climb Death Mountain first. It's what he as a 'chosen hero' has to do.

Still, he ignored Midna's request as his blue eyes wandered the dry and sandy place. Link found the children quickly and as they pointed to the an opening door, his face lit up. A familiar woman stepped out and he could see you squint your eyes in confusion while he ran up to you. Holding firmly on your arms you were first startled before the young man explained himself.

"Link? Oh, Link! I didn't recognize you, you're so green now!" You pointed out and he couldn't help but laugh. He told you of what happened and what he had to do.

"Are you sure you must? You went missing too, I mean you must be as confused as the kids. You don't have to force yourself if you were hurt as well." There was your concern again, the same one on that night. Even as he assured you, you offered to help but both of you decided that you stay with the children...even if he would have loved to have your company and spend some time together. He was sure you would be of great help and support.

"Well, Death Mountain is hot and dangerous but if you made it so far, you'll be fine. Might as well finally get to see it." You chuckled sheepishly, trying to lift the mood.

»»————-　　————-««»»————-　　————-«

He thought he'd be free from his curse already, the spirit said so. Promised him so but here he is back on all four paws with Midna dying on his back. His pants grew rapid, panicking as the shadow imp almost fell off when he acted to quickly and too carelessly.

What to do? Where to go? Midna is dying...and he is just some animal again! Stuck in this lake, in this desert! The night grows darker and the people more hollow. With a pounding heart he tried to sneak out of the Kakariko's cave first -

"Wolfie...?"

If it weren't for you again.

You knelt down to him as he anxiously turned his snout to his back. Carefully you took Midna, for who you mistook for some kind of baby. As you nervously tried to make sense of the situation, the wolf jumped at you, his eyes wide and bright with his paws on your shoulders as he barked and barked and barked. Please, please, please, do something as you did in Ordon. You have to, you must.

Link is useless like this.

"...Hey," Gingerly you cupped his cheek and wondered how a wolf could be getting misty-eyed. You wiped the fresh tears away. "Wolfie, Wolfie..." Whispering you lean his head against yours and onto your shoulder. You shush him as Midna lays on your lap, caressing his back as he ceased to shake. "You poor thing." Again, you said that again. Adjusting the creature on your lap, you wrapped your arms around the animal and nuzzled his fur. Your lips met his cheek and lingered there as you whispered; "You'll be fine. Everything's gonna be fine again, I promise you."

Link felt like crying again. You were the only one.

»»————-　　————-««»»————-　　————-«

Again, you were the only thing that seemed real as his existance as a wild animal.

Midna was the only one to talk to and her personality and motivation left a lot to be desired. She proved her heart was noble but that wouldn't deter her from her jabs. Link could only show his unrest through growls and yips, which she only brushed off with a roll of her eye and taps to his back to hurry up instead.

Even as he ran through the swamps and forest, the dead castle town and plateus, he could often sniff you from afar. Often you found yourself meeting up with the mysterious wolf and it was delightful after he got better. It was even more delightful for Link.

Whatever happened to the 'baby' was left as an enigma to you.

With a groan Midna would retreat into his shadow, mumbling how much time they are wasting again on his little, favorite human, as the wolf appraoched you with a wagging tail. Small recaps of your own adventures and a round of pats were always included.

You could be focused on a task at hand, fight off against monsters or ride through the meadow but the moment you noticed him you'd turn around and your lovely face would lit up. 'Wolfie!' You'd yell out and Link has grown to love no word more than this one. It felt a bit demeaning at the beginning but that just meant you always liked him from the start, right?

Liked him even while he is stuck in this hideous form. He didn't know how long he'd be stuck in there and if he will ever get his human form back, no matter how much Midna promised him, but at least, at least you were here. This wonderful woman with a smile that could rival the sun.

"You be careul on your way now, okay, Wolfie?" You chuckle as he barked in response, turned in a circle and jumped up on you again. His snout searched for your lips.

»»————-　　————-««»»————-　　————-«

You inhaled deeply. This must be...the third time now, if you aren't mistaken.

Castle town seemed dimmer and more hollow the last time you were here and while it was a firm reminder of how much you wanted to leave in the first place, something more sinister has entered this place recently and you can't shake it off. The town square is brimming with a hopeless crowd but you reckon you always hear a cheerful voice calling out to you. Often you find yourself turning around and seeing the image of a hand waving as green ghosts around and between the merchants. The calls seem to drown between the mumbles and even the bar, the one place still full of superficial but pleasant talks felt suffocating. As if entering the wide space was walking into a pair of arms squeezing you from both sides.

The woman behind the counter often raised her brow when you entered until one day she finally spoke up. Apparently somebody's been looking for their good friend, a beautiful gal and you fit the regular's description perfectly. From head to toe. With a worried tone that you couldn't hide, you told the barkeeper that you travel alone.

»»————-　　————-««»»————-　　————-«

Castle town became too asphyxiating, your gut feeling telling you to escape in a hurry to Kakariko village, to familiar faces. You still owed the Ordon elders the promise of returning their children unharmed, after all.

And so you did, pushing Colin out of the way and losing sight of the world as a monstrous goblin took ahold of you with the last thing you heard being aggressive galloping and your name screamed out.

Eyes shot awake as you tumbled to the ground, rolling away from the Elden bridge, coughing. Your arms were too weak as you shakily tried to sit up - the rest of the world blurry and dipped in twilight as more screams echoed about. Squinting, you turned around to see something akin to a giant boar falling down right after Link pulled his sword out of its abdomen. With a squishing sound the blinding blade was torn out of it, creating a bigger hole in its flesh. The cry was cut short as it fell to the ground and a pool of blood quickly tainted the rest of its body.

You let out a gasp and at the slightest sound, Link's ear twitched and he swiftly turned around, his face immediately morphing from a glare to a grin. Swinging the blood off his weapon, he rushed over to you and putting his sword back. He unwittingly created a small trail of blood after him. His bloodied arms shot out for you, supporting you as he sat you up. The young man started talking and gushing while you stared up at him, helplessly leaning on him while still beside yourself.

"...Link...?" "You're safe now." He instantly countered with a smile that was meant to reassure you. You swore his eyes were cold as he gave the final blow but now they are the softest you've ever seen. "I saw what you did, you saved Colin. That was so...amazing of you but you gave me a heart attack." Finally, you were able to slowly go back to your senses. "What? You weren't there..."

"Didn't you hear me call you?" You blinked and again, asked him what he meant. 'At Castle town', he grinned and said he saw you. You didn't hear him though. And when he arrived at Kakariko also you did not hear him.

"W-What...?" You let out but were shushed as your head was put on his shoulder. Closing his eyes as he combed through your hair and pressed you further into his body. "You'll be fine. Everything's gonna be fine again, I promise you." He shushed you again as you attempted to speak up and just nuzzled you.

It felt good to repay a favor, be the one who saved you this time. It felt just as good, if not a bit different, to have you in his arms, with him being your hero.

Not the other way around. Though he does not mind that.

»»————-　　————-««»»————-　　————-«

Colin's face soured as you explained yourself.

How could he not? A child that you promised to bring home watching you leave for an 'extended period of time' leaving all of Eldin to go to Ranelle. Far, far away.

The little tent you built yourself in the corner of Lake Hylia should be safe and hidden enough. Close enough for fish and far away from monsters. Yet just as you were about to lay down, you heard unusual bickering and turned around, only to once again meet green.

Letting out a yelp, you dropped your weapon in shock only for Link to bring his finger to his lips and shush you. He pointed to himself again and again that he was indeed Link. "What are you doing here?" You manage to let out as you calmed down, "I have to be here." He answered quickly yet you doubted that. "Why are you here? You just left and," He licked his lips, "I was worried about you!" He took a step closer before you could reply.

"It's dangerous to be alone out here. Especially for you, yer..." He couldn't help the grin, "You...you're a beautiful gal and it's best if you aren't alone...say, since we both are here, why don't we stick together? You offered me your help once and I always would have loved to have you with me for a bit..."

"How did you find me?" You took a step back and eyed your weapon on the ground. Link only looked confused. "I...saw you here on the way to the lake. It's easy to spot you." He chuckled sheepishly but you only shook your head and crossed your arms. "...No, thank you. I came here to...relax a bit. The recent events were...frightening."

"I can imagine," Once again his blue eyes softened and he neared you again, putting a hand on your cheek. He missed the way you twitched. "None of this is your responsibilty...yet you choose to help anyway. You're kind...and sweet as honey. That's so amazing of you." Link almost seemed mesmerized as his eyes narrowed. "But you'll have me...I can look out for you, I can protect you-"

"I won't go." You take his hand off your cheek and distance yourself again, finally having the courage to glare at him - in turn, he only looked more confused. "But why? You love Wolfie but when it comes to me, you vanish. Are you shyer around a human than an animal?" He tried to laugh it off even as he saw your face morphing into shock. Quickly you ask him with a stammering voice how he knows that but he seems to ignore it. "I am no different...you saved me a dozens of times! And I," He hesitates but lets it all go as he takes ahold of your shoulders, "I...I think I fancy you and I have been waitin' for so long to at least spend time with you! The only other times we see each other is when you don't understand me, when I'm just some wild beast!"

"But even then you seem like the only one who understood me, the only real one between all these ghosts! So, as payback, at least let me protect you...let me help you. We could be doin' this together."

Link wastes no time to shove you into his chest, into an embrace. He nuzzles your head and his lips met your temple. "I'll defeat the darkness and then we can see the rest of the world together, okay?"

#request #yandere #tloz #yandere tloz #the legend of zelda #yandere the legend of zelda #tloz link #tp link #yandere link #yandere tp link #oh this turned out long #hnggg was very afraid tumblr was gonna tell me STOP #hopefully this was good #i think more specifics are always good

[sunshinesdaydream]

Happy Together Part 1

Pairing: Wrecker x Female Reader AU: Right to Love Clone Matchmaking AU Rating: SFW for this part but minors DNI as future parts could be NSFW. Summary: It's Wrecker's turn. Word Count: 1208 (not counting the extensive notes below) Note: So this is an EVERYONE lives AU for me. Echo never got blown up. So to fix this we have a couple things going on. 1-The Domino Squad "Adopts" The Bad Batch sort of when they are on Kamino 2-Fives and Echo tell Rex about them and Rex insists Cody introduce them 3-Rex semi-adopts the BB (shared custody with Cody) 4-This is Crosshair PRE-trauma. He is based on is behavior in the Clone Wars Arc, not The Bad Batch 5-Yes the rest of Domino is still alive. We will get to it later (I said I was digging myself in over my head didn't I?) 6-the future fics related together the X Reader will be "You" and not likely use y/n. However the other partners to the guys in each fic will have a place holder name (no, you can't be all of them at the same time. That would be confusing) Link to Playlist I use for this AU

Part 1 / Part 2 Masterpage

Wrecker was impatient, tapping his foot as he waited for Hunter and Tech. “If you two don’t hurry up, I’m going without you!” He bellowed towards the communal ‘freshets. “Geez Wreck, I think some of the guys ten levels up didn’t her you!” Fives complained, leaning into the corridor. “Ah, sorry Fives,” Wrecker apologized, “They are taking forever,” “Just messing with you,” Fives grinned, “and good luck,” “Thanks!” Wrecker said, brightly as Fives disappeared back into his bunkroom. Tech appeared just after Fives left, ”There is no need to disturb the entire building, Wrecker. We have sufficient time to travel to the office before they close,” “Yeah but if we aren’t back before Omega is done with training,” Wrecker began. “She’ll just go harass Rex or Cody or some of their boys,” Hunter said, joining them. “Ready to go?” “Am I not invited?” Crosshair drawled from where he was leaning in the door to their bunkroom. “We did not think that it would be something you would be interested in,” Tech responded. “Why not?” Crosshair asked. “Because you are a crotchety old pain in the shebs,”Fives poked his head out again. “Shut up, or I’ll give you a pain in the shebs, “ Crosshair answered. “Not now, you two,” Hunter stepped in between what was sure to become yet another snark battle between the two. “Cross, if you are going let’s go”

You weren’t sure what to expect, going to Right to Love. Other than you didn’t want to go to the clubs and compete with the perfectly pretty dolls that lurked there for all of the male attention. You had gone, of course. And had your fair share of fun. But you realized it was at best a haphazard way to meet someone when you were looking for a partner in life. You had gone in the week before, filled the profile out and been interviewed. You had gotten the information packet and had read through it twice. You expected to get a call, which you did. But they were calling for you to come in. Special circumstances he had said. “Don’t worry, just Isa would like to have time to talk with you. She is very excited.” So here you were walking back into the building the next day after you had managed to get away from your family's bakery.

You are greeted by the same man as last time, a clone with long curls he wore down and a warm smile.

“Good to see you,” he said, “Come this way, please,”

He led you to an office, with many holos on the walls and desk. The lady, Isa you remembered, stood as you entered.

“Hello!” she says, excited tone to her voice and her eyes lighting up. “Have a seat while we talk,” she motions to a pair of chairs by the window.

Isa picks up a datapad and follows you over, taking the other seat.

“I don't understand,” you say, “I thought I would be getting a phone call,”

“Typically, yes,” Isa nods. “But there is the rare special circumstance. Just want to verify a couple of things first. We already talked about the possibility of someone still active in the GAR? Someone that might have to go off planet for periods of time?”

“Of course, as I said before. I expected it would be a possibility,” You answer, “I have two sisters that co-own and work the bakery with me, along with some good friends and neighbors. I have an excellent support system,”

“Yes, I have a further question,” Isa says, “Do you think you could cope with someone that is special operations, someone that is going to be in more dangerous situations than the average trooper?”

Now that wasn't something you had considered. Even though the war was over, plenty of men went into dangerous situations as the republic tried to rid the galaxy of slavery. Even the ones on planet had to venture to parts of the lower levels in their line of work.

“I believe I would be able to,” you respond.

“As a note I'd like to highly recommend therapy with someone who specializes in this specific area should your match be successful and you end up in a long term relationship with someone in this level of danger,” Isa said, “Even in the short term you may want to discuss this with a typical therapist. I am sending some recommendations and other resources to you now,”

You remind yourself that they liked to be overly cautious, and make sure you have all the resources that you could possibility need. And then you nod for her to continue.

She smiles brightly, “So let me tell you about him. His name is Wrecker, and he's definitely special. He was part of a particular,” she paused, a look of distaste on her face as she searched for a word, “Program where the Kaminoans discovered differences in some and enhanced those differences to be beneficial as a solider. More specialized than just slightly more muscle mass,”

“Such as?” you ask.

“Well, with this particular man...significantly more muscle mass. Also quite a bit taller than average,” Isa explained. “Also, due to injury he has significant scaring and a cybernetic eye,”

“Okay,” you answer, having expected the possibility of scars and prosthetics and the like due to the nature of war.

“As you know, due to some updates in policy we utilize holos now,” She scrolled through her data pad to bring up the holo she was looking for.

You expected the image of someone very gruff, worn. When she handed you the data pad to show you his image you let out an involuntary “Oh!”

The man in the image radiated a kindness that surprised you. Somehow he even managed to make his cybernetic eye convey warmth.

You look up at Isa and ask, “When?”

“So... how did it go?” Hardcase asked Wrecker in the mess the next evening when he came in from his patrol.

Wrecker shrugged, “About the same as everyone said, form work, a lot of talking. The people there are nice,”

“Unlike some people,”Crosshair said, joining them on the other side of Wrecker and looking pointedly at Fives.

“Only you don't me, everyone else...”Fives began.

“Thinks you are obnoxious and a pain,” Kix cut in.

“You're siding with him?!?” Fives exclaimed.

“Well,he's not wrong,”Echo added.

“I think you're nice, Fives!” Hardcase said.

“You're more obnoxious than him,” Crosshair pointed out.

Hardcase smiled, “Yes, yes I am,”

“I think you're nice!” both Tup and Wrecker joined in.

“That's because you two are too sweet for your own good,” Jesse “Don't look at me,” Dogma said, “I think all of you are obnoxious,”

“I concur,”Tech agreed as he and Hunter joined the table.

Wrecker's com beeped, he looked at it and saw who it was and paused.

A chorus of “ooooo” went around the table.

“You better get that,” Crosshair said in a sing-song way.

Wrecker nodded and answered,”Hello?”

“Hello Wrecker, this is Greatheart from Right to Love. I was calling to tell you about a match,”

Thanks for reading! Check out more of this AU @tcwmatchmakingau

❤️Love and Wrecker Hugs!❤️

Tag list (Send a message, ask or use this form to join or be removed)

@lightwise @captainbutterflynonsense @sleepycreativewriter @523rdrebel @inneedoffanfics @cloneloverrrrr @Trappedinlimbo15 @chubbyhedgehog @blueink-bluesoul

#tcw matchmaking au #wrecker x you #clone matchmaking au #wrecker x reader #star wars #the clone wars #the bad batch #sunshine writes

[copperbadge]

The Shivadh Romances: Volume I is now available for sale! 

This book collects the first three novels in the “Shivadh” romance novel series, and is available in epub, paperback, and special-edition hardback. 

Askazer-Shivadlakia is “the little country by the sea” — a coastal micronation perched between France and Italy, with Europe’s only Jewish royal family and a distinctly queer-friendly culture. The irreverent but earnest Shivadh people have recently elected a new king, and there are a lot of changes afoot for the country and its rulers.

Fete For A King introduces Crown Prince Gregory, who needs both a husband (sooner rather than later) and a caterer for his coronation. He wasn’t expecting American celebrity chef Eddie Rambler to want either job, but it looks like Eddie’s applying for both. The sequel Infinite Jes follows Gregory’s father Michaelis into retirement; he was just looking for a new hobby, and instead encounters broadcast journalist and nonbinary icon Jes Deimos. They might be more than Michaelis bargained for, and vice versa, but each might also be what the other needs. And The Lady And The Tiger finds Lady Alanna Daskaz visiting Galia, a nearby micronation that claims she’s the heir to their throne. She and her best friend Jerry, Duke of Shivadlakia, are going to have to figure out how to get her out of this -- and maybe figure each other out along the way. 

Read all three in a single volume! 

Buy in ePub | Buy in Paperback | Buy in Hardback

Or if you’re interested in reading each novel individually, you can learn more about them and find purchase links here. 

Due to some pricing foorarah, I can’t price the paperback or hardback editions of The Shivadh Romances: Volume I any lower than they are, despite the fact it pays me honestly more revenue than I’d prefer. To compensate, $5 from each paperback purchase and $10 from each hardback purchase will be donated to 826 National, supporting young writers, and the American Civil Liberties Union, supporting civil rights such as abortion access, safe voting, and a range of rights and protections for LGBTQIA+ individuals. 

#shivadhverse #books #romance novels

[sea-owl]

I NEED violet and edmund's reaction to Portia planning on marrying Cousin Jack. Like do they get angry or do they think he did something? Do they outright kill him or get rid of him in other ways?

I gotchu! Since you and @lyramundana are both wanting a part two, and I am not hard to enable, here it is!

For part one thankfully I wrote it in such a way that I could throw it in any of the variations of the isekai and yanderes aus.

Here is part one if you're curious. Link

-

Violet shattered the cup.

Edmund scooted closer to his wife and pried her grip open so the pieces didn't cut her. She didn't look at him.

"Darling?" Edmund followed his wife's line of sight.

Oh hell no.

Portia was walking arm in arm with the new Lord Featherington. Mary followed a few steps behind them as if acting as a chaperon instead of in her usual pace at Portia's side. The kids trailed after, all of them throwing discreet glares at the new lord.

It was a statement, one that wasn't often made but many knew what it meant. The new Lord Featherington intended to marry the dowager lady.

Violet was eyeing the knives too closely. They can't do this here, it's too open, too many eyes.

"We need to leave," Edmund whispered to his wife.

"Edmund," Violet argued. "We can't-"

"Now," Edmund ordered.

Back in Edmund's office Violet threw a vase Edmund kept hundreds of in case she needed to break something.

"What has that bastard done to her?" Violet hissed. "Is he blackmailing her? Threatening her? Portia Featherington would never enter into a marriage with a man like that."

Edmund didn't have an answer for his wife. This didn't make sense at all. This Lord Featherington had no interest in the estate all these years, practically leaving it to the previous lords family. Now he shows up out of no where and tries marry the former lady? What game was he playing at? Was he a fortune hunter? Or was there some truth to the whispers around the ton of Portia and Mary being more than friends? Are they using the new lord as a cover up?

Violet gasped, pulling Edmund out of his thoughts. "What if he did something to her!? What if he has attempted to ruin her?! Or the children? I swear if has laid one ungentlemanly hand on the children!"

Edmund pulls Violet into an embrace. "Don't worry love. We got rid of one Lord Featherington before, we can get rid of this one too."

Violet smiled.

"Don't kill him."

Violet frowned.

Their third born, Colin, had slipped into the room. "At least not yet, don't kill him yet." He pulled out a journal. "I have been investigating this new lord since his arrival. I found it rather unsettling how he came in over night and then proceeded to try charm the rest of the ton."

Edmund nodded. This was good. He knew none of his children liked the new lord, especially his sons since he was an unmarried man around their loves.

"He has sunk his claws into a few. I would like to declaw him from the Featherintons before ending him. They do not need scandal to fall upon them just because they got stuck with him for a lord."

Violet sighed. Edmund patted her shoulder. He knows she loves a good hunt but they need to put Portia, Mary, and the children first this time, even if it was harder to do.

Edmund turned back to Colin but smirked when he noticed two things. First there was a love bite that just peaked out from underneath his jaw. The second thing is there was a red hair stuck in his cravat.

Well it appears one of his sons was farther along than the others. Perhaps he'll be a grandpa soon. Edmund hoped so, it didn't matter to him if they had to get a special license, hell he'll drive them up to Gretna Green himself if that's what was needed.

Edmund approached Portia at the next ball. "A dance my lady?"

Portia laughed, it sounded shocked more than anything. "Oh no my lord. I haven't danced in years."

Grabbing her hand he led them to the dance floor. "All the more reason for you to my lady."

"Viscount Bridgerton, I am far too old for this," Portia insisted.

"Nonsense," Edmund said. "Besides, I have business deal for you."

That caught Portia's attention. She never could say no to a good business deal. "I will have to get Lord Featherington."

Edmund leaned down to whisper in Portia's ear. "Not him. I will only make deals with you."

Portia shivered. Edmund could see Violet grinning at them over Portia's shoulder.

#violet wants to kill jack so badly #her husband and child won't let her though #not yet violet #have some patience #fun fact my computer kept trying to correct violet into violent #bridgerton #isekai and yanderes au #what if villainess isekai au #what if spouses remembered isekai au #what if edmund lived isekai au #edmund/violet/portia #edmund bridgerton #violet bridgerton #portia featherington

[queenie-blackthorn]

this is far overdue, so heres an introduction post

• you can call me queenie, im keeping my real name anonymous • muslim (feel free to ask any questions, idm, theres no stupid questions only misinformation) • minor • my birthday is march 20th, astrology is full of shit because i am the epitome of a gemini but apparently im a pisces ??? no • she/her • poc • intp (i know way too much about mbti and not enough about other forms of typology, like socionics, enneagram, etc) • self-diagnosed autistic • my special interests include writing (either original work or fanfics) and psychology • hobbies include hyperfixating, reading, writing, listening to music, and ranting to my friends about books ive recently read

on this blog pretty much all i do is talk about my fandoms, which may include:

• riordanverse • shadowhunters • the folk of the air • the ascendance series • heartstopper • anne with an e

(its mostly the first two tho)

and then the slew of anime i watch, which ill link here

my asks are also open in case youd like to request headcanons or fanfics, but obviously i cant do it if i dont know the fandom, so please if its anything anime/manga related, i cant guarantee that ill know it, so try to include the name in the ask

i also have a side blog @queenie-says-free-palestine. dont think i need to clarify what the posts are abt

uquiz masterlist (uquizzes i made):

• assigning you an ascendance series kin • choose something about me and ill decide if i like you or not • i assign you a percy jackson kin except the questions are stupid

more to come

kinlist here

my tags:

#queenie doesnt shut up #eka asks

dni if you are:

• zionist • ableist • sexist (that counts as misogyny OR supporting #killallmen) • racist • religiophobic (including antisemitism) • xenophobic • proshipper • sexualise minors (real OR fictional. idc if you age them up)

masterlist of my writing

i do have an ao3 account, which i will link here, but i only have like two works up on there as of april 2023

i also have a wattpad account, but its just the same fics as my ao3 account

also please follow the writing blog i made with my friendsss

tagging people who deserve some love:

irl: @itadori-yujiii - sister who is always on the receiving end of my rants @tinadablackthorn - other sister, sometimes forget she exists tbh @greenmanwiththesauce - asshole friend who exists solely to make me question my existence @velversess - my parabatai ily @1tomie1 - one of my irl friends who is literally me but not really @maybecordelia - cousin but also best friend also my fangirl buddy 🫶🫶 @ada-apolog1st - frenemy 😘😘

online (all of which are very cool people w amazing taste) @aliciasfantasyxox - online-friend-in-law we have not conversed but hello @moondust-on-the-hijabi - one of the first friends i made on here :D lovely lady lin rules over EVERYTHINGGG @that-multi-fandom-hijabi - ARAB MUSLIM AROACES UNITE !!!! @nerdy-girl3791 - showed up one day n i love seeing you around yes hello @sleepy-vix - someone who likes heartstopper, bsd, sk8, thats hot people shit right there @loife1m - LOLLIPOP :DD my love you are a breath of heaven walking upon this beautiful earth STAY STRONG BABES @someonewhogotanaccount - rambling twinsies whos basically a confused n optimistic me @heartstars - MY LITTLE SISTER I LOVE YOU SO SO MUCH @reyna-obsessed - my darling mini come lets be gremlins together @hijabi-desi-bookworm - STOP CALLING ME [redacted nickname] OR I SWEAR TO GOD ILL SMITE YOU (jk ily esme<33)

yea thats pretty much it, may update later idk

#intro post

[e-adlirez]

Okay so this is a part 2 to @echoflare841's question because I quickly realized that this is gonna be one helluva mega post if I slapped it all into one post. You might wanna sit down for this one, and uh, if you wish to maintain your innocence and not develop a whole new infuriation towards Scholastic for being so damn slow with translations, then uh, this is your chance to leave and keep Pandora's box unopened, I'll see you when my brainrot allows me to actually do something ^^. Here's a little guy to take with you on your travels.

Still here? Aight, cool. Buckle up.

Scholastic currently has five of the Thea Stilton series translated to English for us to consume, and that's 36 books in the main series, 19 books (on paper) in the Mouseford series, 9 special editions, the Treasure Seekers trilogy, and four Classic Tales. (The graphic novels were released by Papercutz, a company independent of Scholastic.) Now, if we're gonna tally up EdiPiemme's arsenal of Thea Stilton books (and I do mean arsenal), one thing you're gonna have to remember is that Thea Stilton itself is a franchise, not a series. Yes, the Thea Sisters are the spotlight in most of these, but there are some series that fall under the Thea Stilton franchise that are rather different and simply are an extension of the Geronimo Stilton Literary Universe.

Anyway so with that, this is what EdiPiemme has in Thea Stilton books, as of 2023:

59 books in the main series (Avventura)

61 books in the Mouseford series (Vita al College)

12 special edition books, plus the Treasure Seekers trilogy

12 Classic Tales or Libri del Cuore (they did Jane Eyre ya'll as a ninth grade Jane Eyre fan I am surprised)

11 Heart Detective books (Detective del Cuore, basically the girls open up a hobbyist detective agency dedicated to the romantic, the infatuated, and the people who are too shy to confess to their crushes. They play part-detective, part-matchmaker in helping two people who have crushes on each other get together. I think. The detective agency tho I'm very certain on, it's the cutest thing they've done so far)

5 Secret Diaries, just some extra content in the form of a diary all five girls share. Stuff about their lives you don't get to see in adventures that much, and it's cute :D

5 Secrets of the Thea Sisters -- i-it's just five kids' activity books but Thea Sister-themed and also some lore

3 books in Sirene, which is a fantasy thing where the Thea Sisters find a magic link in Whale Island that leads to a mermaid kingdom :D if you felt clickbaited by the special editions because they don't actually have the girls become fairies or something, then Sirene actually has them turn into mermaids for their time in the Cobalt Kingdom :D

23 books in Incanto-- it's a KoF spinoff that follows a group of KoF princesses and princes trying to save it from uh big baddies :D

3 books in Three Girls in the Court of King Arthur, once again another spinoff that circles around three lady knights in King Arthur's court hoping to save the world from Morgana and her mysterious Silent Knight

3 Adventures Through Time, yes the girls get to travel back in time, but it's more magic than science and there's an emphasis on some historical girlbosses

6 Stars Academy books

2 books in The Roses and the Spades, which is a sequel to TGitCoKA

1 SuperSisters book, which is basically a superhero book for the Thea Sisters so they can kick ass and stop having villains roll nat20s in intimidation--

2 Cases in Progress, an ongoing series where the girls are investigating some funky cases detected by an algorithm Paulina's invented that searches the internet space for funky anomalies and weird shnit to investigate

1 book in Spectralia, where three hooman girls get Jumanji-ed into a board game and they gotta Jumanji their way outa there, I only learned about this just now while doing research and it's an interesting premise :3c

And I think that's it? There's one choose-your-adventure type thing where you get to investigate with the girls on a case relating to a crown, but that's about it I think. I dunno, EdiPiemme and the Thea Sisters' blog's catalogues have been a mess since they updated the visuals on both, so I unfortunately can't say for sure if I got all of them or if I missed one because my original sources missed them, but eh. Anyway uh, hope you have fun with this new knowledge :'D

#geronimo stilton #thea stilton #thea sisters #questions with e #hey if all else fails now you are free to express your frustrations on it and grieve with us on the lack of content we English speakers hav #if you decided to let sleeping dogs lie #then I hope you enjoyed the bord #he's a familiar from a roleplay server I'm in #he's my son <:] #if you chose to read on then uh enjoy the information you now have? #the next maneuver can only be to #what the hell scholastic

[aggravateddurian]

Boy golly, I've just come back to tumblr and...

It's WIP Wednesday Whenever, my dudes (gender neutral, of course)!

Thank you to the following who tagged me: @wanderingaldecaldo, @chevvy-yates, @olath124 and last but not least, @ouroboros-hideout.

Judy and Val have arrived to serve cunt. Night City, you have been warned...

Where Has Durian Been?

Firstly, I've been on a bit of a tumblr hiatus. There's something screwy with my feed that means I'm not seeing everyone's new stuff (some people yes, but for others it's weeks, even months old). I stopped posting for a bit in the hopes it was something on my end. Alas, it appears not to be so.

I have elected to therefore charge ahead and just post anyway.

Yet Another Valerie Ocampo-Gonzalez Lore Rewrite/Character Respec

I've recently become very interested in netrunners, and in a move that I feel fits Val's established backstory well, she's becoming one.

Vik is surprised to find that not only has Val had two girlfriends in one year (she has relationship dramas that are often not her fault) but they have the same haircut! Clearly she has a type...

As some may be aware, I recently began writing The President's Lady, a Myers x Vega 'V' Hawse AU fic. I made some changes to Val's speciality and abilities.

Val has moved from being a Solo with a strong techie background to a netrunner. In a lore post coming up soon, Val goes on the net by the handle 's33lynx' (a play on the word 'lynx' and 'c-link', the latter being the official name for the interface plug on the back of netrunners' heads, and the former her favourite type of cat). She loses the Apogee Sandevistan for Class III netrunning hardware.

Otherwise, there's no major change in her character.

(also, if you know how to do tattoos for the VTK texture system and would be interested in a commission or request, hit me up, I have cool ideas for Val's tattoos that I've drawn sketches of, but no real idea of how to make them appear on Val's body because I ain't really a visual artist. I know my strengths, I'm a writer, not a visual artist haha)

Val's Pussy... cat, I mean cat!!!

xBaebsae released a Nibbles replacer mod about a year ago. I mentioned Val is a cat person and owned a ginger cat.

This is Pumpkin, Val's cat. In both appearances of Val (Brother's Shadow and Chorus) she's Val's cat, and both times, she's a gift from Melanie Foster. In Brother's Shadow, Melanie, of course, ghosts Val for unspecified reasons, so Val keeps Pumpkin. Pumpkin (or more appropriately, calabaza) is Judy's pet name for Val, so there's also that, I guess.

Writing Projects Continue

I am continuing to write Chapter 4 of Brother's Shadow. It's gone through the wringer as my perfectionism has once again claimed another victim. Rest assured that if you're interested in that story, it will come out before Christmas.

Chapter 3 of The President's Lady is also coming out by the end of tomorrow. Those who have me on Discord have already seen a preview, but if you're not one of those people, have a look:

Myers grinned as she placed her chin on V’s shoulder, “I can relate to that loneliness. It’s easier to talk about with someone who’s experienced it.” V nodded, “Yeah.” Myers’ hands began to explore beyond Vega’s arms, towards her hips, “If I’m out of line…” Vega felt… odd. The President… Rosalind was her boss… but at the same time, Rosalind was the only other person who really knew how Vega felt. She didn’t really want her to stop exploring. All Vega could do was smile, and follow Myers’ hands, “Glad to see we’re on the same wavelength.” The door creaked. Vega’s smile faded as Myers’ hands quickly retreated from Vega’s body. Reed stomped into the room. Myers clasped her hands as she turned to face him, “Solomon.” Reed eyed the pair of ladies. He seemed somewhat suspicious as he held up a sealed shard container, “The report, Madame President."

There are now two new projects in the pipeline. The first is The Alpha Bitch of Dogtown, a story about my femV character Vega becoming the leader of BARGHEST and Dogtown after allying with Colonel Hansen in an alternate ending to Phantom Liberty.

After being dumped by Judy (it's Vega's canon event for Judy to leave/move on from her due to various reasons), she falls in love with Bennett, who she then dumps and exiles from Dogtown after he is revealed to betray her, and she falls in love with another BARGHEST soldier who she has grown close to.

It forms part of Chorus Timelines, an AU where basically any time something begins to rot my brain, a new timeline is created where said brainrot occurs. Vega goes through a lot, I feel sorry for her.

The second is an as-yet untitled Rogue x V fic, based on an idea I developed spontaneously on Discord. I thank @merlgeim and @awwwokay for planting the seed of brainrot in my mind. Basically, Rogue falls for V(ega) after Johnny and Rogue go on their movie date, and Johnny is beside himself over it all. Queue funny interactions with Johnny about how V stole his girl.

Virtual Photography

My VP is in a moment where I come up with cool ideas, I snap them, and they either become photo stories or illustrations for future chapters of my fics. I have a few non-specific ideas that will get put through, including another Val x Judy photo story set in 2077.

I've kinda based it around one idea, and that's putting V (Val's half-brother) to rest in the columbarium after he is presumably killed at the Crystal Palace. It's the last act she does before she and Judy leave Night City with the Aldecaldos, and a capstone to the tumultuous relationship she and V have had, with Vince's final epitaph.

"See ya, V. Save a seat for me next to mom at the big bar in the sky."

What I intend to be the last words of Valerie to V in Brother's Shadow. How we get there? We'll have to find out as I develop Brother's Shadow.

Other Random Stuff

I've decided that at some point, Val and Songbird can meet and be very normal about how similar their hair is.

...

That's about it. I would like to tag: @merlgeim, @awwwokay, @ratsstick and @byberbunk2069.

Thank you to everyone who follows and supports my horrific brainrot content, and enables my continued spiral into fanfic shenanigans. Please continue to tag me, comment and/or dm me.

Cheers.

#wip wednesday #wip whenever #finally got around to it #thanks for bearing with me #blog update #cp2077 au: brother's shadow #chorus timelines #cp2077 au: the president's lady #cp2077 au: the alpha bitch of dogtown #new brainrot just dropped #oc lore drop

[lingthusiasm]

Transcript Episode 81: The verbs had been being helped by auxiliaries

This is a transcript for Lingthusiasm episode ‘The verbs had been being helped by auxiliaries’. It’s been lightly edited for readability. Listen to the episode here or wherever you get your podcasts. Links to studies mentioned and further reading can be found on the episode show notes page.

[Music]

Lauren: Welcome to Lingthusiasm, a podcast that’s enthusiastic about linguistics! I’m Lauren Gawne.

Gretchen: I’m Gretchen McCulloch. Today, we’re getting enthusiastic about auxiliary verbs. But first, we’re doing a fun experiment. Are there linguistics things in your life that you would like advice about? Whether that’s serious advice or somewhat silly advice, we’re gonna do a special linguistics advice bonus episode for our 7th anniversary coming up in November 2023 with questions from patrons.

Lauren: Ask us your question by following the link in the show notes by September 1st, 2023. We’ll have the episode as our bonus in November 2023. Our most recent bonus episode was a discussion about linguistics and jobs, including a behind-the-scenes on a new academic paper that brings together seven years of interviews with people who have done linguistics and gone on to interesting careers.

Gretchen: You can go to patreon.com/lingthusiasm to get access to these and upcoming bonus episodes and also because our patrons are what lets us make the show. We don’t run advertising. If you like that Lingthusiasm continues to exist, we always appreciate patronage at any level.

[Music]

Lauren: Today, Gretchen, we’re going on an excursion to a farm.

Gretchen: Ooo, what are we gonna see at the farm?

Lauren: We’re gonna see all kinds of animals that we’re gonna use as our example sentences. The first is this horse. The horse is eating grass

Gretchen: Ah, look at the horse! The horse has eaten an apple.

Lauren: Oh, what a nice treat. Both sentences “The horse is eating grass” and “The horse has eaten an apple” are about the verb “eat,” but they’re structured a little differently.

Gretchen: Yeah. They’ve got something in common, which is that they have a main verb “eat” – “is eating grass,” “has eaten an apple” – and also a second helping verb that’s less important when it comes to how we’d draw a nice picture of the scenario but gives us some useful grammatical information.

Lauren: These verbs have their own life as well when they’re not hanging out alongside another verb and helping it. “The horse is eating grass” is the same verb as in “The horse is an animal.” Here “is” is doing the work of painting a picture of what’s happening. The “is” is the whole verb by itself. It doesn’t have any helpers.

Gretchen: The same thing with something like, “The horse has an apple.”

Lauren: Oh, lucky horse.

Gretchen: Lucky horse. We don’t know whether it’s eaten yet, but the “has” there doesn’t have any helpers. It’s not helping. It’s just the only verb. Whereas in “The horse is eating grass,” “The horse has eaten an apple,” you have “eat,” which is your primary verb, star of the show, and then that “is” or “has” that’s helping it out.

Lauren: And those verb-y things that are helping another verb are known as “auxiliary verbs.”

Gretchen: Yeah, “auxiliary” is – the type of terminology, like, “Wow, that’s a long word for such a short verb.”

Lauren: Yes. It’s a very fancy word for when often very short verbs are used to help another verb. It’s because it’s just the very fancy French borrowed word for “help.”

Gretchen: It’s this French word which was borrowed from Latin meaning “helpful” or “aiding.” You do sometimes see an auxiliary, like an “auxiliary armed force” or like a “ladies auxiliary” in a historical military context.

Lauren: True, yes, that is where you may have also encountered the word “auxiliary” outside of linguistics.

Gretchen: I wouldn’t say it’s super common, but there we go. Sometimes, you do see people just refer to them as “helping words” which is also extremely defensible, but the technical, formal word that linguists use is “auxiliary,” which is sometimes shortened nicely to “aux” – just A-U-X.

Lauren: We have auxiliary verbs in English, like the examples we just shared. We can explore how auxiliary verbs work in other languages as well thanks to a very conveniently timed launch of a new database called “Grambank.”

Gretchen: This is very good and coincidental timing. If you’ve listened to previous episodes of Lingthusiasm, you might’ve heard us talk about WALS, which is the World Atlas of Linguistic Structures, which does these cool diagrams of where various linguistic features are found. Grambank is sort of like the new WALS. Let’s talk a little bit about – do you know the history of how these two sites came to be?

Lauren: WALS has been our go-to for almost 20 years. It started out in 2005 as a CD-ROM.

Gretchen: Oh my god, I didn’t realise that it used to be a CD-ROM.

Lauren: Only came online in 2008. The way that WALS works is that an individual researcher would come up with a question, and they would survey as many grammars as they could and then share their results. The way that Grambank works is, instead, they started with almost 200 different features of how the grammar of a language can work, and then they had a massive team – there’s over 100 named authors on the Grambank big, initial publication – and those 100+ authors went through over 2,000 different grammars of different languages looking for each of those 195 different features to put in the database. It’s a very different process.

Gretchen: That’s both more questions than WALS, which has around 90-some questions and also way more languages. Generally, when you see a language map in WALS it’s got maybe about 500 languages, somewhere between 400 and 800 languages, whereas there’s thousands of languages in each of the Grambank databases – not the full, maybe, 7,000 that we think exist, but 2,000-2,500 is certainly a lot closer to having some sense of “What do things like look cross-linguistically?”

Lauren: To pull an example of a grammar completely not at random, one of the coders used my grammar of Lamjung Yolmo. They picked up the grammar, and they opened it up, and they literally went through their list of 195 questions looking for the answers in the grammar and added it to the database.

Gretchen: This is, I think, such a tremendous example of how the work of linguistics involves so many different people because each of the grammars that this database is using as input – and a database like WALS also uses as input – is written by one person or a group of people and can be several hundred pages long and take like 5 or 10 years. Then you have another group of 100+ people spending all this time looking through the grammars and trying to compare them and extract things that make them comparable to each other when grammars are written in different traditions at different times by different people with different interests and try to do something that lets you compare them with respect to each other.

Lauren: One thing that Grambank does really well is that it’s really transparent about the methods it uses. There’s an entire Wiki that goes along with it that explains the process and the methods and what terminology they’re using and why. I think that really helps to make sure that everyone is as much on the same page as possible when it comes to making these decisions.

Gretchen: If you had somebody who’s writing a new grammar, they could look at these 195 questions and say, “I could just provide answers for them in an appendix” or something at the end, so you could just encode them more directly in a future version of Grambank. Are they planning on doing that?

Lauren: This is definitely Version 1.0. There is scope to expand both the number of features they look at the number of grammars that are included in the future, which is also really exciting.

Gretchen: It’s all freely available online, so if you wanna poke around and see what’s in it, that’s a thing that anybody can do.

Lauren: WALS absolutely still has value. I’m sure that we will continue to refer to it when it’s useful, but I’m excited that we’ll also get to use Grambank for future episodes as well.

Gretchen: Yeah. And they ask slightly different sets of questions, so it’s still worth having both sets of resources. But since we have auxiliaries today, and since WALS doesn’t do much with auxiliaries, this is a great time to say, “What does Grambank tell us about auxiliaries in 2000+ languages?”

Lauren: Before we do that, we have to decide what is an auxiliary in any given language. All of those people who wrote those 2,500 references that are included in Grambank, and that means that we have to think about “What are some of the most important features when we’re talking about something as an auxiliary?”

Gretchen: Right. I think a basic working definition of an “auxiliary” is that when you have multiple verbs in the same phrase like “has eaten.” One of them contributes the most to the meaning, and other ones have grammatical function and don’t really have much with their own meaning. In something like, “The horse has an apple,” “has” has a meaning of owning or possession or belonging to, whereas in something like, “The horse has eaten,” it’s not that the horse owns or possesses or belongs to the state of having eaten. It’s an auxiliary in that case where it’s helping out the other verb with grammatical functions.

Lauren: As we’re going through these examples, I think just like we might go for a wander around the hypothetical farm we’re talking about today, we’re also just wandering through these examples and not getting too bogged down on making a complete list. We have that list in the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. It’s a very big and heavy book.

Gretchen: Speaking of reference works that take multiple people to do, this is also some 2,000+ pages and has 12 co-authors. There’s many people at every level of this process trying to describe what’s going on in a language. This is not an exhaustive tour.

Lauren: In English, we’ve talked about “is” and “has” having auxiliary functions. We also have “do” as in “The horse does eat grass,” which is different to “do” in its main form as “The horse does a dance,” maybe for some dressage.

Gretchen: “The horse does a little dance, does a little jump” – that’s “do” as its canonical, by itself, independent verb form, whereas “The horse does eat grass” is doing a grammatical thing. Similarly, with an example like “The grass was eaten by the horse,” or maybe by a stray goat, the “was” there is doing a grammatical thing and “eaten” is the main verb.

Lauren: “The grass was eaten by the horse” is a really nifty example of how the auxiliary is helping by making the grass the focus and creating this passive structure.

Gretchen: Right. Sometimes, “The horse is eating grass,” or “The horse has eaten grass,” this locates the event of grass-eating in time and the timeline of how this event has happened. Sometimes, it can change how the entities in the sentence relate to each other. There’s lots of different things that auxiliaries can do.

Lauren: Another example of what auxiliaries can do that’s not from my variety of English is “The horse be eating grass” in African American Vernacular English, where instead of the “is” form of the verb, you have the “be” form. That means that it’s being used in a way that means the horse regularly or habitually eats grass.

Gretchen: Which I think is a true thing about horses.

Lauren: I think so. Neither of us are particularly horse experts.

Gretchen: One of the papers that I like to cite about this construction which is called, “Habitual ‘be’,” uses “Cookie Monster be eating cookies” as the example, which is definitely true about cookie monsters. Even if Cookie Monster is not currently eating cookies, this is a thing that is habitually true about Cookie Monster as an entity.

Lauren: That’s a really helpful auxiliary.

Gretchen: It’s interesting how auxiliaries are often drawn from this relatively limited set of words. Here, we’ve seen “be” and “is,” which are part of the same verb, be used in three different ways as slightly different flavours of auxiliary in English because it’s this small set of auxiliaries, and then you can do all these interesting grammatical things with them.

Lauren: There’re all these downstream effects of what happens when you have an auxiliary. Because it’s being used to help in terms of what it’s contributing to the grammar, it means that it’s not coming along with its own meaning as central. Because they no longer bring their own meaning while they’re helping, you get sentences which, if you don’t treat them as an auxiliary, sound a little bit contradictory. So, “I am going to come to the farm,” because “going” is the auxiliary there, you can use it with “come,” which has the opposite meaning if you’re thinking about the meaning of both of these verbs.

Gretchen: Can you say, “I’m coming to go to the farm”?

Lauren: It would be like, “I’m coming to your house, and then we’ll go to the farm together,” so it’s not really an auxiliary.

Gretchen: The one that I really like is – so “have,” which can be an auxiliary or not an auxiliary, is very often pronounced differently in English. It’s spelled the same way, but it’s pronounced differently in English depending on which one it is.

Lauren: Huh.

Gretchen: Let me try this little quiz for you. If I say, “I have two pens” versus “I have to pen up the chickens,” did you notice the difference between how “have” is pronounced there?

Lauren: “I have two pens” and “I have to” – “I hafta,” “I hafta pen up the chicks.” I could make that really short.

Gretchen: One of them is “have” pronounced with the V – “have to” – the other one is “hafta pen” with an F sound, which you could write like “hafta.” It would be sort of weird, I think, to say, “I hafta pens,” to mean “I have two pens.” I don’t think I can do that.

Lauren: “She hasta duck because a chicken is flying over her head” versus “She has two ducks.”

Gretchen: That’s “has” which gets pronounced with a Z when it’s “has two ducks.”

Lauren: When it’s helping, it’s no longer the star of the show. We can smooth down the edges of how we pronounce it.

Gretchen: And make that S or that V more like the T that’s coming after and change the sentence to “She hasta duck.” I think if you say something like, “She has to duck,” it sounds very formal. You can do it, but it sounds very, very formal. [Slowly] “I HAVE to pen up the chickens,” “She HAS to duck” – I just have to say it so slowly in order to not make the “to” into /tə/ and the “have” into /hæf/ and /hæs/.

Lauren: That works for other ones as well. Like, “I’m gonna come to the farm.”

Gretchen: Right. Like, “I’m gonna the farm” – maybe you can say it in some very informal or relaxed varieties.

Lauren: It’s a very informal Australian-sounding pronunciation there.

Gretchen: But like, “I’m gonna milk the cows” or something, like that’s just the one that means future. One that I like is, so, you can say, “I’ve gone away” – you’re reduced that “have,” you know, the auxiliary. It’s shortened from “I have gone away.”

Lauren: “Have” just reduced to /v/ there.

Gretchen: But “I’ve the milk” – do you have that?

Lauren: Now, you sound British in my head.

Gretchen: “I’ve the milk” and “I’ve the eggs.” I think I would have to say, in my Canadian English, “I’ve got the milk” or something like that. I’d have to reinforce the meaning there if I wanna shorten it. I really don’t think I would say, “I’ve to go,” to mean “I have to go.”

Lauren: No. Much harder to shorten a main verb than a helper verb.

Gretchen: I can say, “I gotta go,” “I have to go,” but it’s not quite something I can shorten in that context. Auxiliaries tend to have these sorts of contractions because they’re grammar-y things. They’re very high frequency. Fun fact about high frequency – there’s a very fun study that finds that words that are unexpected in their context or that are less frequent overall in a language tend to be produced over a longer period of time, like slower with longer duration. The example from this that I really like, which is – so there’s a word, “cant,” like a “thieves’ cant” or “the cant of the streets.” You can tell that me saying it with the definition it’s not super common. It’s like an argot. Like, “I heard the cant of the streets going through the night.” This tends to be produced much longer and slower and more precisely than “I can’t” as in “I can’t go,” “I cannot go.”

Lauren: I can’t say “cant” with the same vowel, so it doesn’t work for me, but it does make sense because these auxiliaries are really hard-working helpers. They turn up in sentences so often, and they don’t contribute that meaning. It makes sense that they would be the thing most likely to reduce.

Gretchen: They’re squished down because they’re being grammatical glue between the big meaning-heavy chunks of words. Once we figure out, okay, this counts as an auxiliary, it’s helping the verb in this language, we can then start saying, “What else do auxiliaries do in a particular language that might be of interest when you start zooming in very narrowly on one language?”

Lauren: I know auxiliaries and how we ask questions in English interact in interesting ways.

Gretchen: Right. Let’s look at some examples and questions. We could have “Is the horse eating grass?”, “Has the horse eaten grass?”, “Does the horse eat grass?”

Lauren: In all of these, the auxiliary is at the start – “Is the horse,” “Has the horse,” “Does the horse” – and “eat” is further back.

Gretchen: “Eat” is further back. When those same verbs are used as main verbs rather than auxiliaries, it gets a bit weirder. So, “Eats the horse grass?”

Lauren: Hmm. Hmm. That doesn’t fit with my grammar.

Gretchen: This does exist in the history of English. It’s still something you can say in other Germanic languages, but it’s not something that’s for most present-day English speakers. How do you feel about “Does the horse a dance”?

Lauren: You sound very theatrical, which is usually a way of saying that it is a more archaic form of English.

Gretchen: What about “Has the horse an apple?”

Lauren: Yep, very similar vibes.

Gretchen: I feel like that one sounds a bit British to me also. But “Is the horse an animal?”

Lauren: Yeah, that’s a perfectly normal sentence to my ears. I sometimes have to double check after hearing a bunch of things that I’m questionable about. Be like, “Ah, that is a sentence.”

Gretchen: That’s why I did it in that order just so you could have that happen to you. Yeah! This is a downstream thing that happens with English auxiliaries if you don’t have any auxiliary in the sentence like, “Eats the horse grass?” You have to put one in, “Does the horse eat grass?” or “Can the horse eat grass?” But for some reason, “is” is an exception. I dunno. “Is” is a bit weird. You can check out our copulas episode for more. These are why these aren’t quite used as a diagnostic for auxiliaries, it’s just sort of a thing that happens afterward.

Lauren: Once again, there’s a reason the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language is the size of a relatively healthy cat.

Gretchen: A nice big farm cat.

Lauren: So far, we’ve only had examples of sentences with a single auxiliary, but they are so helpful that they’re willing to stack up and have more than one to help create even more complex meaning in a sentence.

Gretchen: So, if you leave a big barrel of apples on the farm, and there’s a bunch of goats around, by the time you get back into the room, you might see that the apples will have been being eaten by the goats for the whole day.

Lauren: Oh, no. It’s a sad situation but a very exciting use of – was that four? – auxiliaries, “will,” “have,” “been,” “being.”

Gretchen: Yep.

Lauren: And then “eaten.”

Gretchen: Exciting day for the goats. Exciting day for the auxiliaries. Not so exciting for the humans who want to eat the apples. And we still have one main verb, which is “eaten,” because that’s still the action that’s happening, and then all of these other auxiliaries are telling us things about how and when and under what circumstances this event happened.

Lauren: “Do,” “have,” and “be” are doing a lot of heavy lifting in English. We also had a whole episode on modals, which are also like auxiliaries in a lot of ways.

Gretchen: Modals are interesting in English because they don’t act like full verbs, so you can’t just say, “I can the apple,” or “I will the apple,” “I should the apple,” but you can use them in the same auxiliary slot and helping slot as other auxiliaries that are verbs. Sometimes, people talk about auxiliaries as a category that includes verbs that are definitely verb-y, like “be” and “have” and “do,” and other things that are maybe not verb-y, but they’re still doing what seems to be the same helping thing as these helping verbs.

Lauren: Alongside our really common helpers, there are some occasional helpers. “Let” is a really nice example. Something like, “Let’s go.”

Gretchen: “Let’s go.” It’s originally “Let us go,” which sounds very formal to me, and doesn’t quite mean the same thing as “Let my people go,” “Let us go,” it just means, “Shall we go?” or “Let the group of us go” or “Let there be light,” “Let there be peace,” just used as a formal command. “Let” can be an auxiliary because you have these other main verbs like “go” and “be.”

Lauren: That’s a really nice example of how auxiliaries can fork off from their main verb usage and go on their own little adventures. They’re often weird or irregular because they’ll keep this grammatical function that’s separate from their main meaning function.

Gretchen: This grammatical idiosyncrasy of auxiliaries was something that came up a lot when I was learning French. I know you haven’t studied French, but my experience with French was that we spent years and years and years learning this one particular thing about French verbs, which is known as the “passé composé,” which is how to make a certain type of past verb in French, that if you were translating literally, you could translate as something like, “I have eaten,” “I have arrived,” but it’s used to just mean a general past thing. There’s a “have” word there, but it’s used to mean a past thing.

Lauren: It’s nice that it uses “have” as an auxiliary like English does. Big shout out to “have.” I feel like we could have a whole “have” episode.

Gretchen: We really could. In this case, it is “have” most of the time, but sometimes, instead of “have,” it’s “be.”

Lauren: Okay, this is why it took so long to learn.

Gretchen: Yeah. They mean the same thing. There’s just, for a word like “eat,” you use “have,” but for a word like “arrive” or “come” or “descend,” you use “be.” It’s our old friends “have” and “be,” but in this case, it’s like some verbs get “have” and some verbs get “be.” This is actually something that existed historically in English and still exists a little bit in German where you can kind of say in English, “I have come” or “I am arrived.”

Lauren: True. They both work.

Gretchen: In a way that, with other types of verbs, if you say something like, “I am laughed.”

Lauren: Okay, that definitely doesn’t sit well with my intuitions.

Gretchen: No. Or if you say, “I am eaten,” again, well, that means something very different.

Lauren: You’ve got to stay away from those goats. They’re very vicious.

Gretchen: “Help, help, I’m being eaten alive!” Yeah, but you can say, “I am arrived,” in a way that’s a little bit old fashioned, olde-y time-y in English, but doesn’t sound nearly as out there as “I am laughed” for “I have laughed.” But in French, this is obligatory. Some verbs are like, “J'ai mangé,” “I have eaten,” and some verbs are like, “Je suis arrivé,” “I am arrived,” and this is this whole thing that you need to just learn if you’re learning French. It’s also the case in Italian. There’s some stuff in Spanish about which auxiliary verb you need to choose when in these particular grammatical circumstances that is the kind of thing that shows up if you’re learning one of these languages.

Lauren: A good reminder even if two languages use their language’s verb for “have” doesn’t mean they always use them in exactly the same places and in exactly the same ways.

Gretchen: One of my favourite examples of how a word can become grammaticalised and then almost lose it’s original literal meaning comes from Spanish where you have “haber,” which is spelled with an H, and you can see its roots to Latin “habeo,” which is “to have.” This is used for grammatical functions like “El caballo ha comido,” “The horse has eaten,” but it’s no longer really used in most cases for “have” as in “to own” or “to possess.”

Lauren: So, it’s so helpful that it stopped having its own life and now is just helping out.

Gretchen: This is a metaphor, you know, don’t give up on your dreams, “haber”! Now, you have “tener,” which is from Latin and means something like, “to hold” or “to keep.” You can say something like, “El caballo tiene una manzana,” “The horse has an apple,” as like “to have” and “to hold,” which is not the same verb at all that’s used for “has eaten.” But historically, “have” was used for both, and then they were like, “Oh, no, let’s take this other one to mean the more literal meaning of ‘have’.”

Lauren: On the topic of same verb. Latin “habeo” and English “have” – related, not related?

Gretchen: You know, this is the thing that really gets me. They really look like they should be, and they are not.

Lauren: Oh, wow, plot twist.

Gretchen: Plot twist. They are not. You could look this up. We have looked this up. It’s kind of cute. The Wiktionary entry for both “habeo” and for “have” are like, “They’re not related, guys. I’m sorry. We promise. Here’s all the reasons.”

Lauren: Which is why it’s always good to double check these things.

Gretchen: In fact, we don’t think that there was a common Indo-European root for a word meaning “have” because it’s like forked in the descendant languages.

Lauren: Ah, got to save it for the “have” episode.

Gretchen: Oh, yes, sorry. One day we will HAVE an episode about “have.”

Lauren: Acknowledging that auxiliaries can look different in different languages, have slightly different functions, have different downstream effects, let’s return to Grambank and have a look at what they have to say about the spread of auxiliaries across the world’s languages.

Gretchen: Yeah, I wanna find out.

Lauren: The nature of the database means that we can look at the types of questions they have asked, and they’ve asked if auxiliaries are used for a range of different functions across the world’s languages.

Gretchen: One of those functions is, as we’ve seen in English, things like, “is eating,” “has eaten,” things that have to do with when and how and in relation to what an event is taking place.

Lauren: That is the most common use of auxiliary verbs across the world’s languages. It’s way more than 30% of the world’s languages, according to the coding that’s been done, have that kind of auxiliary.

Gretchen: This is formally known as “tense, mood, and aspect.” We’ve done episodes about some of these topics and may do episodes about others of them in the future.

Lauren: The next most common use for auxiliary verbs is to use in negation, which is not quite something we have in English.

Gretchen: In English, you can make a negation by putting “not” after an auxiliary, or depending on how you wanna analyse it, you can add “n’t” to the auxiliary. You can say, “The horse is not eating grass,” which “not” is not acting like a verb there. I can’t say, “The horse not grass.” Or I can say, “The horse isn’t eating grass,” and the “n’t” is attaching to the “is,” which is, again, not a separate auxiliary verb that specifically makes it negation.

Lauren: That’s very different to a language like Irish where the negation changes depending on whether it is happening now or happened in the past. In the present, it is “ní,” and in the past it is “níor.”

Gretchen: Interesting. That’s something that English doesn’t do. What percentage of languages do that auxiliary verb for negation?

Lauren: It’s around 20% of languages in the database have that. The final type of auxiliary use they coded for was, in an English example, “The grass was eaten by the horse” – since the horse didn’t get its grass before, I wanna make sure it has had it now. That passive usage is found in about 10% of languages. The really nice thing about a database like Grambank is that we can click on the map and see that for these passives, there’s this big chain of languages that spread down through the Europe, India, Indo-European area and then down into Southeast Asia. That 10% of languages tend to be focused in that area. There’re large parts of the Pacific and Africa and North and South America where there aren’t as many languages that do this, so we see some kind of common themes among specific languages of certain families or in certain areas that tend to more likely do this. That’s one of the really useful benefits of a big database of features like this.

Gretchen: And one that’s based on a map where you have all of these languages as points on a map.

Lauren: Yeah, totally.

Gretchen: That’s really neat. Seeing languages that are related to each other or just languages that had contact with each other over thousands and thousands of years of history and many people have been bilingual and borrowed things from one language to the next, and you can see these areal groupings of different languages. Auxiliaries are very neat, but clearly, they’re not a thing that all languages necessarily feel the need to use. If a language isn’t using an auxiliary, what are some of the things that they could be doing instead?

Lauren: Grambank tends to code things just on a yes or no basis, so if it doesn’t have it, it’s just coded as a no, but we know there’re some other strategies if you’re not using an auxiliary that you can use to get the same kind of function.

Gretchen: One obvious idea would be to use a suffix or a prefix. If you wanted to say something like, “The grass was eaten,” you could add some sort of ending or some sort of prefix on to “eat” that would make it passive instead of having the “was eaten” part make it passive. This is a strategy that lots of languages do.

Lauren: You might have a prefix for negation instead of some strategy that uses an auxiliary.

Gretchen: You can also use a different type of word. Instead of something being specifically you’re recruiting a helping verb that is verb-y to do your meaning, you could also have a “particle,” which is a glorious linguistic catch-all term for “I dunno. It’s a word doing something.” It’s not obviously a verb. It’s not obviously a noun. It’s just a word that’s there and doesn’t really change its form – like “not,” which I think is a negative particle. Something like “not” is a way of expressing negation rather than changing the end of the word, the beginning of the word, you can have “Let’s just stick in another word.” I don’t think anybody thinks “not” is a verb in English.

Lauren: I don’t know, but different linguists use different criteria for defining what is a verb and what is a particle, so if they have an argument to make for it, then it’d be interesting to hear.

Gretchen: I think in English our standard tests for verb-hood “The horse not the apple” doesn’t seem like it’s acting like a verb there. You could use other words that aren’t necessarily verbs to express negation or passives or any of these complicated tense-y, time-y, timeline-y things.

Lauren: You could say something like, “The horse habitually eats grass.” We have to use “habitually” there or “regularly,” and it makes you realise just how elegant that AAVE construction is using habitual “be” for “The horse be eating grass.”

Gretchen: Or “I eat already” compared to “I have eaten.” The “already” or the “usually” or the “habitually” – adverb-y things – can also sometimes express some of these meanings as well. We’ve given a lot of love to “have” as a very common copula.

Lauren: We have.

Gretchen: We have. But also “be” is a very common copula in a bunch of languages.

Lauren: We are gonna give it some love.

Gretchen: Basque uses “be” as a copula.

Lauren: Ooo, our isolate language of Europe.

Gretchen: Yes. I don’t know enough about the history of Basque to know whether this is related to contact with a bunch of other Indo-European languages in the Spain/France region where Basque is spoken, or whether this is something that is passed down from historical Proto-Basque, but it does use “be” as an auxiliary.

Lauren: Okay. So, still in the European neighbourhood. But we don’t need to stay in that neighbourhood. Palestinian Arabic is another language that has been analysed as using “be” as an auxiliary.

Gretchen: Very nice. We have an example where something like, “She wrote,” is done without an auxiliary, and then something like “She used to write” uses “be” to express that “used to” meaning. “Used to” is another interesting example of an auxiliary in English, actually, now that we’re thinking about it.

Lauren: While we’re collecting them.

Gretchen: Compared to “used two pencils to write.”

Lauren: Hmm, yes.

Gretchen: Also, Kinande, which is a Bantu language, uses “be” as an auxiliary.

Lauren: Excellent.

Gretchen: I have a rather violent example here, which is “We hit (recently, not today),” and “We are hitting,” are both forms of the verb that change based on a prefix. Then “We were (recently, not today) hitting” is a form of the verb that uses “be” to express part of that meaning.

Lauren: So, all using the same “be” verb but in slightly different ways and to achieve different grammatical ends.

Gretchen: Exactly. And showcasing some of the ranges of examples of different types of meanings, whether that’s recent past or “used to” or other types of meanings that can be expressed with an auxiliary just depending on what your language is in to.

Lauren: While they’re not the only verbs that can become auxiliaries, “have” and “be” deserve special shoutouts for being the work horses of auxiliaries across many languages.

Gretchen: We could think of auxiliary verbs as if you are just a person with a shovel, with a rake, trying to plant some seeds, you’re gonna have a bit more difficulty than if you have a plough or you have a horse that can draw it and help you out with your ploughing, so you have the horse helping you out.

Lauren: I think maybe we should think of it as an aux-driven plough instead of an ox-driven plough.

Gretchen: Oh, no, these words sound exactly the same for me. “Ox” as in “oxen,” the animal, and “aux” as in “auxiliary” sound exactly the same for me.

Lauren: This is disappointing where “ox” and “aux” are another thing where I don’t have a merger.

Gretchen: I think actually English might be the only language that has the “ox/aux” merger.

Lauren: Okay.

Gretchen: Because “auxiliary” comes from French, and so French has “auxiliaire” to mean the grammatical thing, but then the animal, like a male cow, is just a “bœuf,” like a “beef.” Whereas German has “Ochs,” as in the cow, but for the grammatical thing it has “Hilfsverb,” which just means “help verb.”

Lauren: Oh, a much more transparent root than English borrowing French auxiliary.

Gretchen: But it does let us make this spectacular joke, which is that you can have an aux-driven verb. There are a few people, including friend of the podcast Kirby Conrod, who sometimes jocularly pluralise “aux,” as in “auxiliary,” as “auxen,” like the cow.

Lauren: Oh, I am definitely gonna start calling them “auxen” from now on. It’s a nice souvenir from our trip to the farm.

[Music]

Gretchen: For more Lingthusiasm and links to all the things mentioned in this episode, go to lingthusiasm.com. You can listen to us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube, or wherever else you get your podcasts. You can follow @lingthusiasm on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr. You can get aesthetic IPA posters, IPA scarves, lots of linguistics t-shirts, and other Lingthusiasm merch at lingthusiasm.com/merch. I can be found as @GretchenAMcC on Twitter, my blog is AllThingsLinguistic.com, and my book about internet language is called Because Internet.

Lauren: I tweet and blog as Superlinguo. Have you listened to all the Lingthusiasm episodes, and you wish there were more? You can get access to an extra Lingthusiasm episode to listen to every month plus our entire archive of bonus episodes to listen to right now at patreon.com/lingthusiasm or follow the links from our website. Have you gotten really into linguistics, and you wish you had more people to talk with about it? Patrons can also get access to our Discord chatroom to talk with other linguistics fans. Plus, all patrons help keep the show ad-free. Recent bonus topics include a liveshow Q&A with Kirby Conrod, our 2022 listener survey responses, and using linguistics in the workplace. If you can’t afford to pledge, that’s okay, too. We also really appreciate it if you can recommend Lingthusiasm to anyone in your life who’s curious about language. And don’t forget to ask us your linguistic advice questions by the 1st of September, 2023.

Gretchen: Lingthusiasm is created and produced by Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne. Our Senior Producer is Claire Gawne, our Editorial Producer is Sarah Dopierala, and our Production Assistant is Martha Tsutsui-Billins. Our music is “Ancient City” by The Triangles.

Lauren: Stay lingthusiastic!

[Music]

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

#language #linguistics #lingthusiasm #episode 81 #podcasts #transcripts #auxiliary verbs #auxiliaries #verbs #grammar #grambank

[lairofdragonagelore]

DA2 DLC: Mark of the Assassin

[This is part of the series “Playing DA like an archaeologist”]

This DLC basically offers a better understanding of the Qunari in general, an alternative understanding of the Qun coming from an elf’s perspective, the introduction of the Ben-Hassrath inside the lore, and a  reinforcement of what we have been listening since the time of Sten: The qunari will eventually invade Thedas.

This DLC has a brief presentation similar to DAO or DA2: we see a map which displays two columns [the black wall] that represents Kirkwall and its two white figures on them, the colossal statues of the twin slaves, covering their ears. Tallis narrates our objective: the jewel she has to recover is called Heart of the Many.

The presentation lacks of the intricacies and detailed symbolism that previous ones had. There is little to interpret, it’s just plain meaning: we see the Duke’s mansion from where we have to recover the jewel. Tallis explains the difficulties of this task: the jewel is in a vault, surrounded by traps and security.

The only detail worth naming is, so far, the loadscreen where we notice that, once more, these lines are used: they usually represent Lyrium veins, and depending on their colour, they are normal Lyrium or red one. Most mountains have this symbol on them, game after game.

As another detail worth mentioning is that, besides (potentially) Morrigan and some NPCs in Lothering, we see  almost no Chasinds in DA series. In this DLC we have some low interaction with Cahir, who works as a bodyguard for the Duke. What we can summarise about Chasinds with his small appearance is that, with the exception of Morrigan, they seem to have dark skin and tattoos on their face, their personality tend to be a bit rough around the edges, and seem to interact with the cities via trade. You have options to treat them like savages, so it’s given that they are considered as such.

As we explore the place where the nobles are hunting Wyverns, we find interesting things. One of them is a Scholar from Cumberland, researching an Avvar cult that seems to have left some relics. This cult worshipped the Lady of the Sky alone, rejecting the rest of the gods. If we go to the where the shrine is

we find smoky spirits of the cult members, like Sky Priests, and we need to kill an arcane horror. After that, there is a chest that looks like Orlesian, which only contains a belt and a sacrificial dagger related to the Skies and a book of the Lady,

The book only explains the tribe of the wyvern: this clan had a vision that the Lady of the Sky would only be able to save them from the incoming calamity, so they dedicated themselves to the goddess, ignoring the rest of the pantheon. The over Avvar groups considered this action an offence to Korth, the “mountain-Father, so they tried to push the new cult back to the old ways, but they could not.  However, when the Tevinter came and invaded the mountains, they wiped out most of the clans, with the exception of the Wyvern clan, which disappeared.  The symbolism is clear… being turned into serpents is the image of Tevinter invading and slaving the clans. The Lady of the Skies apparently sent eagles to save this clan in particular. 

Eagles in DA2 have a lot of symbolism with Hawke, which makes no sense to link to this legend. There are also eagles in the elven runes we look for in DAI to get access to the Dirthamen temple, which again has no link with this. The other symbol about eagles, specially related to Avvars, is that they are a weapon or a “scout” means in their hunting parties. Finally, the last symbol and the more reasonable one for this legend, is the Lady of the Skies herself, which iconography is an eagle:

Although sometimes she is depicted as an Owl [which is a creature related to Andruil and Dirthamen at the same time among the Ancient Elves if we follow the non-so-reliable tales of the Dalish]

About less interesting details, I’ll keep these: 

We have the usual terrible noble, which heraldry I wanted to keep just in case: a sword and two wyverns by its sides. 

After the hunt, we can explore the celebration where we find many characters from DA2 and DAO, such as Leliana, whose interaction with Tallis gave us the information that they had met before in Orlais. Leliana was, back then, a bard, while Tallis, probably was part of the Ben- Hassrath (the heart of the many) already. In short, two spies.

There is almost nothing to say about the decoration that can draw some lore: 

Most of the time with this DLC is just a bunch of statues with not much context or interest, and Wyvern’s heads.

The rugs feature the same heraldry that the guy who was a bad loser during the hunt: A sword with two wyverns.

and clearly there is an excess of wyvern obsession in this DLC.

We find boring paintings of nobles that trigger some codex which are more boring, like Lady amandine du Val, or are related to chars that appeared in Dragon Age, The Last Court [currently gone, and a game I didn’t play. Sorry, I’m not a big fan of Orlais and nobles].

This is probably the mos interesting part of the DLC, which is basically a more alternative explanation of the Qun by a non-kossith to make the player understand what it has of value for some characters, specially those who never had much room for choosing in life, such as the Elves. What we learn here can be summarised as:

Tallis started this mission with the intention to stop her former mentor, Salit, from selling a qunari “weapon” to the Orlesians since he had been declared Tal-Vashoth by the Qun.

She introduces in this DLC the Ben-Hassrath, which will be important for us to understand DAI and Iron Bull. She explains that people consider the Ben-Hassrath as the reinforcement of the Qun to keep the qunari in check. She tries to explain a subtlety: they are the soul of the Qun, protecting it from corruption or misuse from within and without.  Since the Qun supports the concept of community, and everyone has a role to fulfil, as long as everyone does their part the system stays balanced and fair. 

The Ben-Hassrath watches over this balance, using many means to protect the Qun system. Which, ironically, she describes what she denied before:  The Ben-Hassrath is the reinforcement of the Qun.

She claims that this reinforcement is not always done with violence, but so far, even in the last book Tevinter Nights, we see the Ben-Hassrath keeping things balanced through violent reinforcement. The only Ben-Hassrath member who doesn’t do it (for a long time) is Iron Bull, but he has slowly stopped being a typical qunari. This line of thought gives us the idea that those who stop being a bit qunari are who prefer reinforcement through less violent means.

We learn, again, in case Act 2 in DA2 was not sufficient, that a Qunari can be of any race, not only kossith. 

Qun is about unity and community, about thinking and acting in the benefit of the many. It’s also the concept of fighting to improve, conceiving a life without pain, fear and doubt.

We face for the first time in DA series creatures such as a Ghast and a Velghastrial. They are quite strange, looking a bit like crafted abominations, and the latter can use magic even. I personally consider they can come from a similar place where the Varterral comes: a mixture of animals

For some reason there is a moment where everyone seems to be surprised about the existence of a lake underground. Apparently, according to Varric, it’s common knowledge among the dwarves that underground lakes simply exist, while seems to be surprising to the surfacers. I really don’t get why this is surprising.

The meeting between Salit and the Duke happens at the base of the mountain.

When Salit gives the weapon to the Orlesian, we realise it’s a list of names that the Duke dismisses immediately.

I keep these screenshots just to archive Salit’s look and mostly, his detail in the tiara and hairpin. It seems to be a red sword in a rhombus. 

The fight against the Duke finishes, and we get our answers;

The scroll that Salit had handed out was a list of non-kossith agents of the Qun, many of them already who have given up to the Qun. That list would allow any person to clean Thedas of any Qunari agent and destroy the Ben-Hassrath since they are the eyes and the ears of the Qun. 

[Index page of Dragon Age Lore ]

#dlc #The Lady of the Skies #Avvar #qunari #Qun #Ben-Hassrath #chasind #Playing DA like an archaeologist

[ddwcaph-game]

So I received this super long anonymous ask, so I hope you don't mind if I cut off the extraneous bits and spoilery parts so this doesn't become too long!

I'm very grateful for the ask though, but please send your spoilery asks to @in-auctorem-credimus-if instead! I'll be happy to answer if you have further or follow-up questions!

In Auctorem Credimus spoilers ahead!

1. I only found one hidden link on my second playthrough as my Heart Twin and all I have to ask. Is there some kind of translator for the link? [...]

Yup! Just look up "hexadecimal to text converter". It's likely that you won't be familiar with the decoded text, so you'll have to use Google Translate to find out its meaning!

2. The villain. Honestly, you may have already explained this and I just wasn’t here for it, but is there a villain, maybe villains? [...]

The "villains" that will be chasing you throughout the story depends on which genres you pick in your short story. Each genre has a different villain, so you might get different dialogue and fight/chase scenes, but they all have the same role story-wise.

They'll be the "main villains" from Volume 1 to Volume 3. The ending of IAC happens in the middle of Volume 4, so from then on, the group is basically trying to run away from both the story villains and The Foundation... except, isn't CANon trying to capture the story villains too? And even if Squad 626 lets the kids go, they still have to deal with the rest of CANon.

I won't spoil too much about what happens after that, but there's another "villain" behind everything else. You won't find out who or what it is until the end of Volume 6, but trust me when I say that it's the hardest thing to keep a secret. 😄

3. Hope this doesn’t come off as rude because I’m genuinely curious because the more I think about it, what exactly does our story genre change? [...]

Lots of things:

Unlocking special interactions, dialogue, and flavor text: This can be as small as MC knowing what JM's dog is named after, or as big as knowing a certain monster's weakness, or giving you extra clues when trying to complete sidequests. For example: The Leap Day Lady sidequest provides different bonus clues for Fairytale/Mythology/Supernatural/Mystery Lovers.

Your MC's powers and abilities: The best example I can think for this is that Fairytale Lovers will gain the ability to talk to (or at least understand) animals later. Each genre combination has their own advantages!

Your story world: Yes, you do get to visit your own story world in Volume 6. This also affects the villains chasing you throughout the story, as well as the background and powers/abilities of MC's parents.

4. I wanted to know that if the player decides for MC to go the same way, say their personality is very different than the one they began with. Will that be recognized? [...]

Yes! That's the plan at least. I'm also planning a feature in later volumes that will allow you to shift personalities much easier in-between volumes. (If you're interested about the mechanics, you can find more information here.)

5. I know you said you don’t really want praise. But I’m going to do it anyway. I know you have a hard time giving the Twin their own identity outside of the MC since they are already so customizable, but I’m going to be honest… Some of my favorite moments are when the Twin says/does something when I’m not currently playing as them. [...]

Hehe, thank you! I've said this before, but I did base the Heart Twin's personality from Wayne and Roselyna since they're the original twins in the first draft of my story, while Star Twin's personality is closer to Lily and JM's.

6. If F6E had their own stats similar to the Twins, what would it look like? [...]

If you mean the four attributes (Vigor, Grace, etc.), you can find them in the non-mobile version of the character page.

If you mean their personality stats, please send a separate ask because this is too long already! 😅

7. Our pet! Honestly, one of my favorite additions to this story. I know we probably won’t see our pet past Chapter 3 (even though I wish we could!) But I love them. I chose to have the dog and named him Boney. (if you get that reference, you’re awesome.) [...]

You'll see your pet again in Chapter 5 if you go the Investigation Branch. Although now that I think about it, maybe they can make another appearance in Chapter 7 during the school invasion? One of the reasons Julie/Robert adopted the pet was to keep an eye on the twins, and the invasion is definitely enough of a threat, although the pet will be definitely be trying not to blow their cover.

The pet was inspired by Perry the Platypus from Phineas and Ferb, so yes, the pet could be from any story world—CANon has animal agents too, which is one of the reasons the pet can understand the MC regardless of whether they have the [Animal Lover] Trait or not.

And sorry, I don't get the reference. 😅

8. Anyway, the stats in DDWCAPH interest me. In fact, just last night, I was thinking about what the hell they could possibly be used for like is my Heart Twin gonna randomly stumble upon a huge boulder in their and F6E’s way and using vigor, they just somehow pick it up. Imagining a 12 year old do that is. silly. [...]

I renamed the stat from Strength to Vigor because I wanted it to represent a general physical "fitness/endurance/constitution" stat, so it's not just about pure strength.

Maybe picking up boulders sounds silly if you didn't choose the Superhero genre, but when I mentioned you'll be fighting legendary monsters in the introduction post, I mean monsters like the Big Bad Wolf, Medusa, and the Lernaean Hydra. Not to mention there's also the story villains. I think imagining a 12 year old do that is a lot more sillier.���

And thanks for the recommendation! I've heard of Disco Elysium before, although I don't think I'd enjoy it very much. The mechanics do seem interesting though!

why our aunt (I think it was our aunt) hid to us about our Mom coming back? The twins are obviously both hurting from this. Do they think it would make their relationship worse or is it for more selfish reasons? [...]

If you follow the Secrets Guide, yes, you can find out in Chapter 3 that Julie does indeed want the twins to be her children. It's selfish, yes, but you have to keep in mind that Julie and Maggie are estranged, and Maggie just suddenly showed up on her doorstep with the twins. (Also Julie doesn't want a repeat of the cursed fieldtrip—it's very likely that Maggie won't follow through with her promise again, and she'd rather not disappoint the twins and make them fight again.)

There's definitely more to this story as you'll find out in the Investigation Branch in Chapter 5, but yup, regardless of the reasons, MC has every right to be angry at both Julie and Maggie.

Also, incase you didn’t know, I somehow remember a glitch about how if you find this secret before your twin gets out of the shower, [...]

Oh no, not another bug! I'm not sure when you last played, but I tried to fix a looping shower bug a few days before, so I don't know if you're referring to the same thing.

But yes, I would absolutely appreciate screenshots if it's still happening. Thank you!

I have more questions, but I kind of want to replay through the whole game + IAC to get more of a good view of it all.

Thank you! I'm honestly just flattered you have this many questions for me, but please space them out a little so the ask doesn't get very long! 😅

#ddwcaph spoilers #in auctorem credimus #mc #mc's twin #mc's pet #maggie #julie #f6e #the villains #secrets #dear diary asks

[laufire]

which comic runs are you reading?

quick run down:

CURRENT RUNS

Batman '89: Echoes. Sequel to Batman '89, which follows the 'verse of Tim Burton's Batman films. I enjoyed the previous run a lot and I'm curious about this one.

Batman: City of Madness. Black Label run with terrific arc that I want to get my hands on. Eldritch horror Gotham my beloved.

Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham. Another Black Label run with great art. This one leans a bit on catholic horror which I also approve. Also: very recommended if you like a super unhinged Bruce.

Batman: Justice Buster. Manga run. Original takes on the characters. Artificial Intelligence version of Robin you KNOW is gonna cause issues (but Dick Grayson is also around).

Batman: Off-World. Early batman-ing days Bruce gets himself kidnapped by aliens. On purpose. So he can learn how to fight them. Because of course.

Batman: Wayne Family Adventures. A mix of "so not my thing" with some fun/inspiring character moments that make me come back every time.

Detective Comics. Batman (or the *idea* of Batman) has been "executed". Selina had to rescue him, now Talia is taking care of him. Actually interesting arc in a mainline run??

Superman: Lost. Clark got lost in space for years, though when he returns to earth, it's like no time has passed. Issues ensue.

OLDIES

Knightfall. I'm reading the WHOLE arc. SLOWLY. It's gonna take me a while xD.

Red Hood and the Outlaws vol. 1. I hate it here. I'm doing this because I want to read everything every version of Jason ever appeared in, and there are... *kernels* I could use for inspiration, here and there. But it's bad. -1000/10 would not recommend. Alongside it I'm reading other Jason appearances in the new 52 era, in chronological order. Rn I'm in the middle of Death of the Family and hating every damn second xD

Titans (1999). I only intend to read the first 15 issues (for now), because I'm reading this in my quest to read Devin Grayson's Nightwing comics. So far, it's pretty great. I'm hooked. I'm also crying about the time I wasted reading a handful issues of the current Titans run, but that's a given xD

I'm also reading a bunch of comics that involve bat-related characters and their introductions/key moments of their backstory. I'm done with Talia's and Steph's, and I'm now set on Dick (his original turn to Nightwing, his arrival to Bludhaven, and a self-indulgent re-read of Robin: Year One is coming) and Helena's (first Huntress' volume).

NOT-DC

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees. Anthropomorphic butchy bear lady that lives in idyllic town is secretly a serial killer. A second serial killer is encroaching in her territory and endangering her cover.

Dark Spaces: The Hollywood Special. Fading starlet doing a tour to support the war effor in the 40s ends up in a town where something Really Fucked Up is happening.

Monstress. Protagonist is linked to an eldrich monstrosity while the world is on the verge of a terrible war. Deliciously grimdark and women-centric.

Quest. The princess' new hubby gets abducted by demons at their wedding, and she starts a journey to rescue him.

Saga. Epic tale of two star-crossed alien lovers of two warring factions and the child that nobody else wanted to see born.

The Cull. Five friends set off to shoot a short film. End in some weird liminal space/alien dimension.

The Invincible Iron Man. A....... good Iron Man run?? He's lost everything, he's poor again, he's technically homeless, he's getting fake-married to Emma freaking Frost. It's great!

#replies #anonymous #talking to the void #my thoughts #comics #dc comics #books #fandom nonsense #bat clan

[tachvintlogic]

The Lightning Conductor 12/15 entry commentary

In which Jack's deception is discovered!

Oh no! Oh yes!

FROM JACK WINSTON TO LORD LANE Pau, December 15. Dear Safety Valve,

Safety valve, that's one hell of a nickname.

I am thinking in Pau that it never rains but it pours young men - Miss Randolph's young men. We've got another one now, in his way as objectionable as the first

Oh no Jack doesn't realize that Jimmy knows Lord Lane. This is going to be fun.

Between two evils I chose the less, and put my name down as "J. Winston," hoping that if anyone knew me they wouldn't know Miss Randolph, or vice versâ.

Ha ha ha ha ha!

[Image Description: an image of an old woman with gray hair with subtitles that read "Honey, you've got a big storm comin'." End Description]

In an evil moment a golf rage overpowered me, and I yielded, seeing no special reason why I shouldn't. The Pau links are the best on the Continent, and I had retained my membership of the club from last year, when I was here with my mother, so that was all right. I nicked into a cab and told the man to drive to the golf club.

Let me guess, Molly is going to be there with Jimmy. Jack, you realize that all that needs to happen is that someone who knows who you are is in the same room as Molly for this to all fall apart? I guess he doesn't. I didn't even specify where Molly was going to be the whole day, so for all I know, he has no idea.

the other man, deeply impressed, inquired [...] whether his magnificent acquaintance was at present travelling on the famous Panhard, and had it with him. "No," was the answer; "fact is I got a bit tired of keeping the road, and lent my car to my old friend Montie - Lord Lane, don't you know, who's running it about the Riviera now."

So this is interesting, this guy who is "a curious combination of Sherlock Holmes and Little Lord Fauntleroy" lent Montie/Lord Lane his car, who apparently doesn't actually know how to drive as far as Jack knows.

"I am going on to Nice myself in a day or two, with some ladies, on their motor-car," said he. "Very good car, I believe; one of the ladies very handsome. She has a chauffeur, of course, but I shall drive and let him do the dirty work. [...] I lay low, like Brer Rabbit, but my ears were burning.

Jack just be happy that you don't know this guy so your ruse isn't up quite yet.

He advanced towards me, somewhat to my surprise, and hailed me from afar, seeing, I suppose, that I was inclined to move on. "I say, sir," he began, "if you want a game, will you take me on?

Oh no. The steward knows who Jack and this guy, Jimmy Payne, is. He's going to get Jack's real name and then Jack is screwed. I know the ruse will be up by the end, but it's exciting to see how it will.

"B-ah Jove!" he ejaculated. And then, "'Pon my word, what damned impertinence!" He stood glaring at me through that eyeglass with such an "I am the Duke of Omnium, who the devil are you?" sort of expression that I thought he must be mad, and I stared also, in amazed silence.

Ah that's what does it. He recognizes Jack as the chauffeur.

Holy shit Jack is lying his ass off using his knowledge of Lord Lane to keep this guy quiet. I'm guessing he is the Duke of Burford, otherwise he wouldn't be able to catch this guy in a lie.

"I know him very well. He can do a good many things, can Lord Lane, but he can't drive a motor-car."

So that was also part of the lie.

"You're a regular blackmailer," gasped Payne. "Not at all," said I. "I suggest a bargain, but I don't want money. All I want is not to lose my job. Don't you give me away, and I won't give you away. Do you agree to that compromise and no more said?"

This is not going to work for long. And honestly, Payne should expose him for lying. He offered to chauffeur Molly and Aunt Mary plus drive them around in Molly's and then his own car under false pretenses.

We had been holding each other by the eye, but suddenly his wandered, assisted by the monocle. So odd an expression sat on his face that I followed his straying glance, and saw what he saw - Miss Randolph!

:O

Without a second's hesitation I gripped Payne by the arm and dragged him across the lawn, using him as a screen.

Close save there!

I wonder what I should have done in the unlikely event that she took me at my word? Picture my feelings, bereft of my Goddess, bereft of my Napier at one and the same time, constrained to resignation, while a confounded impostor drove off with both from under my very nose!

Yeah even tho Payne is coming with, Jack ain't Molly with his car, even if she doesn't know it's his car.

So his ruse isn't completely up. It was only partially discovered.

#literary letters #the lightning conductor #I like the images at the end of the entries #they're a nice edition