#hopefully gonna be extra productive this month

[oleander-neruim]

Habby prdie mothh

#1 am lets go #excuse to use the funny gay colors /j #gay #it me #hahaha #hopefully gonna be extra productive this month #all of my posts will have extra queerness sprinkled on top #anyone who sees this: if you tag or comment someone from an smp ive drawn ill make a gay post flavored with them #pinkie promise ;> (wonk) #im so sleep deprived #🕊 #⛏️

[judeswhore]

love on you; steve harrington

summary: a few months into your relationship with steve you were still waiting on your first time but after an extra long day at work all you want is for him to relieve you of some tension

pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader

requested: yes

warnings: smut, 18+, oral (f) receiving, fingering, slight dirty talk, protected sex, this turned out a lot longer than i expected bc i wanted it to be soft and fluffy so hopefully it is

notes: feedback is appreciated! you can find my masterlist here. there was another request for sweet sex with steve after work which i incorporated into this but i lost the original ask so to the anon who sent it this is also ur request and i’m so sorry!

steve knew you were exhausted the moment you stepped into his bedroom, dropping your work bag to the floor with a quiet huff, lips pouted almost dramatically as you flopped down on top of him. you were still in the diners uniform, a cute yellow dress that steve told you constantly was the hottest thing he'd ever seen, but you'd removed the white frilly apron and black flats that came with it. he himself had finished his shift at family video almost two hours ago and after dropping dustin off at eddie's trailer, he'd spent the rest of his time waiting for you to finish, watching jaws.

his arms found your waist as you tucked your face away in the crook of his neck, lashes fluttering against his skin when you closed your eyes and he held back a shiver at the feel of your breath on his throat. you'd slid one hand into his hair and steve grinned at the way you so comfortably clung to him, took pride in the fact he was your source of comfort after a long day. he turned his head to kiss the side of yours, tucking his nose away in your hair and breathing in the familiar scent of your sweet and flowery perfume.

"rough day?"

"the absolute worst, my feet are gonna fall off." he could feel you pouting and the sleepy warn out tone of your voice tugged at his heart and he found himself pouting too. he brushed his hand up and down your back, slow and soothing and you seemed to melt into him, a content hum tickling his collarbone.

"my poor baby." he left a cluster of kisses against your head, tender and loving, the tips of his fingers tickling the bare skin at the back of your thigh before working back up. his touch made you shudder, had the tension in your shoulders finally unwinding after such a long day. it was always a surprise to you how much comfort steve could bring, how he would settle your mind and heart, could have you forgetting all about the stresses of your day with just a few light kisses and fleeting touches. no one had ever had that kind of effect on you before, no one had ever made your head spin and heart stutter the way he did. "how can i make it better?"

you shifted against his body at that question, lifting your head to finally look at him and he sent you a lovesick smile, one that twisted up your insides. you grinned at his slightly messed up hair, more than happy that it was free from product, fluffy and unkempt, eyes tracking over his freckles, those lips that you'd thought about on more than one occasion today. he was still tracing his fingers along your thigh and each time he got a little higher up your dress your body reacted, stomach clenching, pulse flickering in more than one place.

"you can kiss me." his smile turned cheeky, more flirty as he lowered his eyes, lifted his head until his lips grazed yours.

“can i now?” your nod had your noses bumping, your top lip catching slightly on his bottom and steve’s fingers curled around the back of your thigh. his other hand held your waist, his eyes twinkling and the heat of him made you feel a little flustered. in one movement he’d flipped the two of you over, your back hitting his mattress, head against his soft pillow and you giggled arms winding around his neck. he slotted easily between your legs, forearms resting on either side of your head and dipped low, lips brushing soothingly over your jaw. “missed you.”

“how much?”

“so much.” he nipped playfully at your ear, dragging his mouth back along your cheek until it hovered over yours, breath warm against your skin. he gave you one simple kiss, quick, fleeting, barely even there and it made you pout, fingers sinking into his hair. “been thinking about you all day.” he pressed a kiss to your pout but it still wasn’t enough to satisfy you, your skin prickling with an overwhelming need to feel him. in any way.

“yeah? what about?” he grinned that devilish grin again and dipped down to your neck, your head tipping back when you felt his lips at your throat. his kisses were full and wet, tongue darting out to soothe over the gentle marks he’d made and you gave a breathy sigh, fingers twisting in his hair. steve’s body between your legs had resulted in your dress rising up, thighs completely bare and your heart hammered when he slid his hand down it, fingers hooking around the back of your knee to lift it over his hip. it had him pressing completely into you, the fabric of his jeans against your clothed clit making your head spin, a whimper getting caught in the back of your throat.

in the months since you and steve had started dating you’d gone no further than heavy make outs, soft groping with fumbling and unsteady hands. on your part at least, steve was an expert with his hands, even when just running them along your body, teasing over your boobs as you’d moaned into his mouth. you hadn’t had your first time yet, with anyone, you hadn’t wanted to rush, but right now, pressed beneath your boyfriend, his weight and heat pushing you further into the bed, you didn’t want to wait anymore. you wanted him, in the closest way humanly possible. you were tired of the pent up frustration, the need to feel him completely almost overwhelming and after the awful day you’d had at work you wanted steve and the pleasure he could give you to help you relax.

“‘bout how pretty you are,” his words were muffled by your skin, slightly rough around the edges and you wondered if he was struggling to stay composed as much as you. he was still yet to kiss you properly and it was driving you insane, every part of your body begging to be touched by him. “because you’re so fucking pretty, baby, y’know that? got the prettiest eyes. the prettiest smile.” he punctuated his last two sentences with kisses to your mouth, his nose nudging yours. “you’re beautiful.”

steve finally kissed you, full and proper, lazy drags of his lips against yours that were mind numbingly sweet. he made a noise into the kiss, one that had your hips bucking up against his, fingers pulling at the ends of his hair and he groaned again in response, a sound that came from deep in his chest. his forearm was pressed just above your head on the pillow, holding himself up and his other hand left your thigh to cup your jaw, tilting your head back so he could deepen the kiss. he rolled his hips carefully into yours and your mouth fell open on a gasp, steve’s tongue taking the opportunity to meet yours.

your body felt like it was on fire, your dress suddenly too warm and too tight, heat creeping up your chest and neck as you licked into steve’s mouth, revelling in the taste of coffee on his lips. his thumb was brushing over your cheek, soft and comforting, and you felt dizzy with desire, fingers running down his sides until you reached the hem of his shirt. you pushed your hands beneath it, palms flat to his abdomen and you felt him tense, felt the strain in his jeans as he once again rocked his hips into yours, a shudder running through him. you wrapped your fingers in the hem of his shirt and tugged, pulling your lips away from his.

"take it off." your words were breathless, uttered against the corner of his mouth and steve paused momentarily as you pushed his shirt a little further up. he was breathing just as hard as you, chest rising and falling a little rapidly and it shocked you how much of an effect you seemed to have on each other. a few minutes of making out and you were both a little dizzy and disoriented. steve shifted up on to his knees between your legs, raised his arms and tugged the white shirt over his head, discarding it carelessly to his floor.

you followed him up, sitting with your knees bent on either side of his body, hands reaching for his chest, fingertips tracing the lines of his muscles, the dip of his v as you took in his now disheveled state. mused hair, kiss swollen lips, soft pink cheeks. he looked like sex and it was driving you insane. he dipped back down to kiss you, moaning softly into your mouth when you ever so lightly dragged your nails down his back. you ran your hands along his arms, the bulge of his biceps making your head spin because even after all this time you still found it hard to believe he was yours. he was someone who always seemed so far out of reach, someone who was too perfect to ever look twice in your direction and it was hard sometimes not to pinch yourself just to make sure it wasn’t all a dream.

your head tipped back, a breathy sigh rolling from your lips when steve dropped his face into your neck, lips hot and teasing on your skin. he sucked a kiss into a spot at the base of your throat and your stomach tightened, clit throbbing and it was almost embarrassing how desperate and wet you were. steve had barely done anything yet the damp spot in your underwear was only growing larger. he soothed his tongue over the mark he’d made, his fingers squeezing at your thigh, hand pushing your dress up until it was almost around your waist. the top of his thumb swiped beneath the band of your underwear and you squeezed his bicep, nerves on fire wherever he touched. curling your fingers around his wrist you pulled his hand from your thigh, brought it up and around your back, guiding him towards the zipper of your dress.

“can you unzip me?” it was a whisper but steve still heard, body freezing, lips parting from where he’d been sucking and biting a small blossom beneath your ear. he pulled back to meet your eyes, his own dark and lust filled, a little glassy and unfocused. he blinked at you, once, slowly and then reached his hand to brush along your cheek.

“we don’t have to do anything, you don’t have to feel like we need to just because, y’know.” he glanced down at his naked chest and then a little further until you were both staring at the obvious bulge in his jeans. he was straining against the material and you so badly wanted to touch him, wanted steve to teach you all the things he liked so you could have him falling apart in front of you. you shook your head, fingers brushing his hair back off his forehead, slipping easily through the silky strands.

“i want to. i- i want you.” the words settled over you, steve’s eyes flickering between both of yours as if he was trying to find any hint of hesitation, any small indication that you didn’t actually want to go any further. he rubbed his thumb softly over your bottom lip, shuffling a little closer to you.

“you’re sure? i don’t want you to feel pressured or anything, we can just like make out and watch a movie.” he gave you a small, lopsided grin as you took his face between both of your hands, cupped his cheeks and pressed a light kiss to his lips.

"i'm tired of just making out, wanna feel you." steve made a soft sound at your words, eyes falling closed for a second as he drew in a deep breath before letting it fan out over your lips. he bumped your nose lightly and then was kissing you again, slow and toe curling, completely all consuming, his fingers working at the zipper on the back of your dress. his knuckles dragged along your spine and pulled a shiver from you, your heart thrumming in your chest, tummy winding as he helped you out of the material, dropping it to the floor beside his shirt.

"you're gorgeous, just fucking perfect, baby." his eyes immediately fell to your chest, boobs almost spilling from your bra and suddenly he was crowding you, pressing you back into the mattress, arms caging you between them. his mouth was everywhere, against your jaw, your throat, grazing your collarbone, pressing softly into the swell of your boobs. his hands were just as bad, sliding up your thigh, over the dip of your waist, fingers brushing over every part of you they could. your fingers got lost in his hair, your whole body catching alight with each drag of his tongue until your chest was heaving and you were slowly becoming a whimpering mess.

steve's finger tip traced along the skin just beneath your bra, his lips shifting into a small smirk when you shivered. "can i take it off?" you were nodding before he'd even finished, lifting on to your elbows so he could reach the strap.

"please." the second your bra was gone steve was on you, mouth latching on to one nipple, thumb and finger pinching and rolling the other. he gently cupped your boob, squeezing softly until you were arching into him, pressing his head closer with your grip on his hair. he pulled off with a pop, blew cold air against your now wet skin and watched goosebumps rise across your body.

"got the prettiest tits." you felt hot all over, flustered and worked up, hips lifting so you could grind against steve's cock, slightly annoyed that his jeans were still in the way. he groaned low in response and bucked back into you, the metal of his belt cold and stinging against the flushed skin of your stomach. steve flicked his tongue over your nipple, pressed a series of soft kisses to the space between your boobs, nuzzling into your skin just slightly. "gonna take care of you, okay? but you have to tell me if you want me to stop."

"i will, promise, just-just do something." your mind was spinning, pussy throbbing with an overwhelming sense of need and you couldn't help the whine that slid into your voice. steve lifted his head and pressed a tender kiss to your mouth, lingering a few seconds before shuffling down the bed and your body. his hands soothed over your sides as he settled between your open legs, turning his head to kiss your thighs, mouth trailing up towards your pussy. the wet patch was obvious and steve grinned, blew onto it and watched as your body tightened.

“gonna make you feel so good, pretty girl, just relax for me yeah?” you gave a jerky nod of your head, watched steve hook his fingers under the waistband of your underwear and slowly tug them down. he kept his eyes on yours the whole time, even when he dipped his head and kissed the inner side of your knee, soft and comforting. “tell me if you want me to stop.” he repeated and despite the hunger raging low in your belly you couldn’t stop the swell of affection in your heart at his words. you nodded again and reached for one of his hands, locking your fingers through his and squeezing.

you’d propped yourself up slightly on your elbows, wanting to watch steve as his lips brushed over your inner thigh, his hair tickling against your sensitive skin and your thighs tensed on either side of his head when he pressed a feather light kiss to your clit. he looked at you from beneath his lashes, another kiss sending a surge of longing and desire up your spine.

“thought about this so much, y’know, ‘bout how good you’d taste, all the pretty noises you’d make. drove me fucking insane.” he mumbled and you let out a soft gasp at the way his bottom lip caught on the sensitive bundle of nerves. before you had the chance to say anything, to beg him to finally touch you, his tongue met your skin, gave one bold swipe from your already dripping hole to your clit and you fell back into the mattress. steve kept his hand in yours and ran his thumb comfortingly over your skin, his other hand pressed to your thigh in order to keep you open for him.

his tongue made quick work over you, flicking softly at your clit, lapping at your hole as he groaned at the taste of you, nose bumping deliciously into your clit. your body was tensing within minutes, thighs attempting to close around steve’s head as pleasure curled in your tummy, numbed your mind. you pressed your head back into his pillow, free hand reaching to grip his hair and your lips fell open, quiet moans spilling into the room. steve groaned low in his chest when you pushed his head further into you and attempted to roll your hips, chasing the orgasm that was only minutes away.

it wasn’t like you’d never touched yourself before, countless make out sessions with steve had resulted in you going home and taking care of yourself but this was different. it had never felt this good, this electric before, your entire body was wracked with pleasure, clit pulsing when steve sucked it into his mouth and your moans turned to whines, your back arching from the bed. he teased the bud with his teeth, kept his lips wrapped around it and sucked hard, his hand leaving your thigh so he could tease two fingers at your hole. you were already so wet, so worked up that they slid in knuckle deep without resistance, your surprised moan like music to steve’s ears.

“oh fuck.” you clenched down around his fingers, they were so much bigger than yours, thicker, longer, could reach sensitive spots that yours couldn’t. spots that had stars dancing behind your eyelids when your eyes fell closed. your grip on his hair was tight, hips rising from the bed as the sounds of his fingers entering you mixed in the air with your moans.

“doing okay, princess?” you could only nod, whining when he increased the pace of his fingers, curling them up to press against your walls. he was stretching you out, prepping you for his cock and your head spun as you revelled in the pleasure his thick length could bring if this was how his fingers felt. he flicked the very tip of his tongue over your clit, swirled it a little before lifting his head. “tell me how it feels.”

“so good, god, so good steve.”

“yeah? taking my fingers so well, can feel you squeezing them, you gonna cum?”

“yeah, oh my god. m’so close.” steve had dived back in, lips and tongue against your clit, fingers twisting and scissoring inside of you, working you open and towards you orgasm. it was dangling over you, thighs shaking on either side of his head, your fingers squeezing lightly at his while your head turned, face buried in his pillow. the coil in your tummy was ready to snap, pleasure burning inside of you and the continuous fluttering of your pussy had steve fucking you harder with his fingers. it sounded dirty and sinful, your wetness dripping messily out of you, down his wrist and on to his sheets.

“there you go, baby, i’ve got you. god you look so fucking pretty when you cum, wanna watch you forever.” your orgasm hit you like a truck, hard and all at once, a high keening moan of steve’s name and a few curses tumbling from your lips. your clit throbbed against his tongue, pussy squeezing his fingers tight as he leisurely pumped them in and out of you, riding out your high with slow careful licks. your thighs had closed around him, your fingers locked in his hair and it took a few seconds before you let him go, body relaxing as you sank back into his sheets.

your chest heaved and everywhere was overly sensitive, your skin still prickling with aftershocks of pleasure and you whined when steve pulled his fingers from you. they were drenched in your cum and as he sat up between your still slightly shaky legs you watched him suck them between his lips, suckling softly to clean them. something reacted inside of you, a carnal need for him taking over and you reached for him, tugging him down to slot your lips together. steve hummed softly, licked into your mouth and the taste of yourself on his tongue made your skin hot.

“are you okay?” he pulled away a little, meeting your eyes, fingers brushing beneath your eye, pushing the hair back off your face. despite his jeans you could feel how hard he was, cock pressing into you and you so badly needed to feel him inside of you.

“i’m more than okay, steve.” he smiled at that, nuzzled his nose against your cheek and turned to pressing kisses into your jaw. he was aching in his jeans, cock pulsing, desperate to feel you wrapped around him but he didn’t want to push, didn’t want you to think you had to go all the way. you knew he was hesitating, taking his time instead to kiss new marks into your throat and he groaned a little when your hands fumbled with his belt.

“we don’t have to, if you’re not ready. we can wait.” he dragged his kisses across your cheek until his mouth hovered over yours, his lashes fluttering when you finally unbuckled his belt and moved on to his button.

“i’m ready, i don’t wanna wait anymore.” when steve didn’t make a move to help with with his jeans, his lips just floating over your cheek you paused, worry trickling through your chest. “unless you don’t want to then we can wait.” his head shake was almost aggressive, a disbelieving breathless laugh washing over your skin before he propped himself up on his elbows, soft eyes on yours. he looked more than a little messy and you wondered if you looked just as bad, kiss bitten lips and sex strewn hair.

“i want to, you have no idea how badly i want to but i don’t wanna rush you if you’re not ready. i want you to be one hundred percent sure, y’know? i don’t want you to regret it.”

"steve," you brushed your fingers through his hair, nails scraping lightly over his scalp and lifted to press a kiss to his mouth. "i want this with you, one hundred percent. i don't wanna wait anymore because it's driving me crazy and,” you kissed him again, sweet and tender, not as lust driven as your previous ones. “there’s nothing i could do with you that i’d regret.” a tint filtered over his cheeks, soft and subtle and he brushed his lips with your own, catching your mouth in another scathing, heart pounding kiss.

“god, i got so fucking lucky with you.” one of his hands joined yours and you both worked his button open, the sound of his zipper being dragged down making your pulse spike with anticipation. steve parted from your lips to wriggle out of his jeans and underwear, the fabric hitting the floor with a dull clatter thanks to the belt, and then slowly lowered himself back over you, trailing his fingers up your side.

“i’ll go slow, okay? you can tell me if it’s too much and i’ll stop.” he kissed your cheek, grazed his knuckles over the skin on the underside of your boob and a different kind of heat bloomed in your chest. a heat made from love and adoration, of comfort and warmth and home. the reassuring tone of his voice made your heart skip, a smile tugging the corners of your lips.

“i know, do you, uh- do you have a condom?” steve froze above you, a brief look of panic filtering into his features and your heart dropped, disappointment swirling inside of you. you weren’t on any form of contraception and as much as you trusted steve you didn’t exactly trust his reflexes to be fast enough to pull out. you blinked and let out a breath and then steve grinned, bumped your nose with a quiet laugh.

“just kidding, i’ve got a box.”

“idiot.” you frowned and pinched his side as he leant his upper body over to his nightstand, satisfied when he yelped. he rifled through the drawer, pulled out a little blue packet and you huffed a sigh when he teasingly tapped it against your cheek.

“should’ve seen your face,” he was grinning, propped above you with that cocky, smug look on his face and you had to hold back your eye roll. “like i’d just told you i’d stolen your dog, want me bad huh?” you shook your head, ignoring his comment as you watched him place the condom packet between his teeth. your pussy clenched, a flood of heat settling between your thighs when he tore it open and you realised you were about to feel him completely for the first time. giddy anticipation filled you but the way you glanced at him was all shy fluttery lashes.

“can i do it?” he paused, condom in hand, packet fluttering to the floor and glanced down at you.

“you wanna put it on?” you only nodded and steve smiled, letting you take it from him. “just gotta roll it on yeah? it’s-” his words fell short, a soft hiss sounding from him when your fingers settled soft on his tip. both of you watched you roll the condom down him, his stomach clenching when your fist tightened to make sure it was placed right. he was achingly hard, bigger and thicker than you’d expected but still it was only desire and excitement that thrummed through you, your blood singing with pleasure already.

steve shifted, waited a few seconds as you ran your hands up his arms, locked them around his neck and pressed the tip to your hole, just barely pushing it in. his forehead was against yours, lips almost touching and he paused for a second. “relax for me, okay? gonna take care of you.” you nodded and then he was pushing his hips forward, burying himself into you slowly, inch by inch as your breath caught. the whimper you let out as he brushed against your walls had steve moaning softly, his head spinning at finally being inside you. you were still so wet, slick from your previous orgasm and he faced very little issues filling you up, only stopping once he was pressed completely to the hilt.

you were wrapped so tight, so snug around him, had swallowed his cock so easily and you watched him struggle to keep composure, his lashes fluttering. the stretch was slightly painful, you felt a little too full, could almost feel him in your stomach but the tiny pricks of pleasure at your spine was enough to have you shifting beneath him. he didn’t move at first, kept still, one hand clamped on your hip, the other pressed beside your head for leverage. his warm breath fanned your lips as he stroked your thigh, hooked it up and over his hip and you gasped when it had him pushing impossibly deeper into you.

“we doing okay, pretty girl?”

“yeah, yeah you’re just-” you lifted your hips, grinding up against him for that well needed stimulation to your clit and it made steve moan, quiet but enough to make your pussy flutter around his cock. “just so big.” his laugh was breathless and a little ragged, his cheeks flushing at the compliment, cock twitching as it almost begged for him to finally fuck you.

“you can take it, know you can.”

“yeah, i can take it. you can move, steve, please.”

“i’ll take it slow remember? you can tell me what you like.” you could only nod at that because he’d drawn his hips back, pulled almost completely out of you before pushing back in, pumping into you with slow, drawn out movements. he was so gentle, kept the hand that had been on your thigh, on the side of your face, cupped your jaw lightly so he could bring you in for toe curling kisses.

the first few moments were uncomfortable, your body not used to it but the pain quickly faded into heart trembling pleasure, your fingers tightening in his hair. he didn’t shift his pace, just kept filling you up slowly, each thrust of his cock stretching you all the more perfectly. he was hitting spots so deep, rubbing your walls as you clenched around him, lips parting as moans started to filter through them. he’d angled his hips so each pump would have his pubic bone grinding against your clit, the pleasure from that alone almost blinding.

steve couldn’t seem to get control of himself, he’d tucked his face away in your neck, tangled one hand with yours and his kisses were messy, broken up by his moans and soft grunts. your walls sucked around him, tried to keep him from leaving and he gave an extra hard thrust, one that jolted you up the bed, letting out a surprised whimper as your squeezed his hand.

“sorry, fuck, m’sorry you’re just so tight.”

“want it harder.” you wrapped your legs tighter around his hips, pulled him a little closer and what little thread of self control he had, snapped, his hips bucking harsher into yours. “oh god, steve, just like that.”

“jesus, you’re fucking perfect. taking my cock so well, baby, doing so good for me.” he whispered praises into your ear, about how good you felt, how well you were doing for him and it made your head spin, your fingers tugging at his hair. he fucked you down into the mattress, his thrusts growing a little faster as you teetered a little closer to your orgasm. his cock almost pounded into you, filling you completely before pulling out, the tip kissing against spots you didn’t even know were there, spots that made you dizzy, made your moans a little louder.

you were gripping him so tight, clenching a little harder when he pumped his cock a little faster and he knew you were close, could see it taking over your face and body. he shifted slightly, brought his lips to slant over yours, his thumb finding your clit. you whined when he started rubbing tight circles over it, his thrusts not faltering even when you started to unravel around him. your body tensed, thighs shaking ever so slightly and steve groaned at how tight you’d gotten, his own need to cum almost overwhelming.

“good girl, that’s it, need you to cum for me, baby. c’mon show me how good it is and cum on my cock.” it hit you so fast and sudden, your head tipping away from steve’s lips, back arching until your chest was pressed flush to his, whimpers and moans of his name filling the stuffy air. steve fucked you through it, brushed his fingers through your hair and mumbled how well you’d done, how perfect you were.

his thumb left your overly sensitive clit, hand gripping your hip instead and he gave a few sloppy, erratic thrusts, hips faltering as his stomach tensed. he came with a low groan, one that sent ripples of pleasure through you and made your already pulsing hole, tighten around him even more. he spilled into the condom, hid his face back in your neck as his thrusts got slower. he pushed into you a few more times, not wanting to leave your warm snug walls despite the fact he was just as sensitive as you were.

steve let himself relax on top of you, breath hot and sticky against your neck as your both fought to come down from your somewhat intense orgasms. you were warm and a little sweaty, every part of your body a little too sensitive even as he brushed his fingers up and down your arm. you were both quiet, fighting for breath and you whimpered when steve pulled out of you, a strange empty feeling taking over. he pushed up on to his elbows, met your eyes and sent you a lopsided, tired smile. he was sweaty, cheeks flushed, hair messy and you wanted to pull him in for a kiss, wanted to push him on to his back and fuck him until you couldn’t walk.

“are you okay? you’re not- you’re not hurt or anything? it was alright?”

“i’m perfect, steve, you were perfect.” you kissed him, grinned brightly as you pushed his hair back off his forehead. “i don’t think i’m ever gonna be able to get enough of you.”

“oh really?” he laughed, tickled his fingers into your side as you giggled and shuffled beneath him, heart swelling as he pressed kiss after kiss to your face. “i’m sure we can come to some sort of arrangement.” the playfulness fell away, his nose rubbing lightly over yours, his gaze tender. “but it can wait, need to get you cleaned up. you might be a little sore, i think i might have been a bit too hard but i can run us a bath and you can relax and we’ll watch that movie?” the kiss he dropped to your forehead was all affection, clear adoration in his face and his tone.

“sounds amazing, stevie.”

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[forestdeath1]

Hopelessness

@prongsfoot-microfic

It turned out that this microfic is 1600 words long, so if it's more convenient for someone to read on AO3, here's the link.

It's jilypad.

---

Sirius kisses Lily’s belly, stretched by a muggle T-shirt with Black Sabbath on it, his gift. The air's filled with the light scent of jasmine from the open window, letting in the cool June breeze. Lily isn't really into Black Sabbath, but Sirius hopes the band's symbolism might somehow influence Harry’s musical taste, since he’s got no hope with Lily and James. As Lily recently said, she wears that T-shirt solely because it features a "handsome vocalist" who reminds her of Sirius.   Sirius is quite pleased with that outcome.

They're sprawled on a wide sofa under a soft blanket, Sirius snuggled up beside Lily. The quiet of the Potter home, only interrupted by the ticking of antique clocks, always puts Sirius in a peaceful state. Lily gently strokes her rounded belly, while Sirius, with his arm around her waist, draws patterns on her skin, occasionally leaving soft kisses in response to the baby's sharp kicks. James, sitting opposite in a battered chair once favoured by Fleamont, reads the newspaper, his eyes scanning the pages gloomily.

"Oh," Lily exhales lightly. "He's been kicking all day. Extra lively today."

"Harry," Sirius murmurs softly, amazed at the depth of feeling he has for a child not yet born. "My handsome, smart boy."

"When did you get so sentimental?" James asks, not looking up from his paper.

"Since you married this incredible woman and started your own amateur production of 'Tiny Humans.' Even my frostbitten heart had to defrost for the premiere."

"Oh, my love," Lily, smiling softly, reaches out to gently ruffle Sirius's hair, "sometimes I think, what if I'd married you instead of James? How much prettier would my child be?" Lily's light, carefree laughter makes Sirius smile.

"Hey," James perks up, pretending to be offended. "There’s a lot of Blacks. And only one of me. Harry's gonna have the most unique hair in all of Magical Britain."

"And the dullest sense of humour," Sirius shoots back, still focused on the belly, speaking in a teasingly sweet tone as if talking to Harry. "Hopefully, you’ve got a better one. You got a bit short-changed on the genes from one side, but I promise to teach you."

"At least my humour doesn’t make people want to off themselves," counters James.

"You adore my jokes, don't kid yourself."

"Haven't heard one yet."

Sirius flicks his middle finger at James, who just chuckles, then removes his glasses and rubs his nose bridge in mock exasperation.

"Everything alright?" Lily asks him, concern in her voice.

"Yeah," James replies, trying to mask the worry in his voice. "Just going to make some tea."

Rising from his chair and heading to the kitchen, James leaves a trail of unspoken thoughts behind him. Sirius watches him go, and Lily, with a soft sigh, shakes her head.

"He's like this all day. Lost in thoughts about the war. Sticks to me like glue. Fancy taking him out somewhere? Hit a pub? Even stay out all night. He needs to get out more. He can't keep guarding me from God knows what," Lily adjusts a stray lock of Sirius's hair, a simple, familiar gesture.

"Alright, but not tonight," Sirius responds tenderly, kissing Lily's belly one last time before gently running his hand over her soft skin and carefully standing up from the sofa to not disturb her.

"Patrol?"

"Yeah," Sirius glances at the old wall clock, "and I'm already late."

"Why don't you move in with us?" Lily stops him with the question she poses every month.

"Don’t start," Sirius says with a light reprimand. "I'd end up covered in old people's dust here, sipping teas and reading newspapers. Tea? Seriously? When was the last time I drank tea?"

Her laughter, bright and full, fills the room, reflecting off the warm glow of the candles. She could easily shift from a pensive mood to mirth, and really, it took nothing to make her laugh. Lily was always so light, Sirius adored that about her. Like an autumn maple leaf playfully dancing with the wind – always ready to soar at the slightest breeze.

"Come here," she extends her arms, and Sirius leans in, allowing Lily to plant a tender kiss on his lips. "I love you," she looks at him, her gaze filled with care and tenderness, "Be careful."

"You too," Sirius smiles and ruffles her hair. "Look after Harry."

Stepping into the hallway, leaving Lily resting on the sofa, Sirius grabs his jacket from the coat rack and pulls it on, whistling a tune he caught in some noisy muggle café.

"James! I’m off."

James peeks out from the kitchen, holding a pack of tea.

"Not staying for tea?" he asks, knowing the answer already.

Sirius isn't much for tea, yet James has been offering it to him for years. In an attempt to make the drink more appealing, he once even started spiking the tea with Firewhisky. That gimmick worked for a while, but soon not even Firewhisky could dispel Sirius's irritation with the whole tedious, monotonous process.

"No, got patrol."

James looks slightly disappointed, tosses the tea pack onto a table cluttered with books and newspapers, and approaches Sirius.

"Lily suggested we should hit a bar," Sirius mentions.

James shrugs, adjusting his glasses absently.

"I can't leave her alone. Every time I go on patrol, you know it’s torture for me. I keep thinking something might happen, that they might attack our home, and…"

"I know," Sirius cuts him off. "That’s why I’m not inviting you. Just passing on Lily’s words."

James gives a soft smile, tilting his head slightly.

"You’ll come over on Friday?" he asks.

"Yes."

"And stay the night?"

"Of course."

James nods and hugs Sirius, pressing his face to his neck. Sirius leans into his ear, kissing it and breathing in the scent of earthy moss and the morning forest. James's scent always carried the notes of their moonlit adventures, as if his skin had absorbed the essence of those nights. They stand in silence for a moment until the soft hum of an old radio playing a vintage jazz tune Lily adores drifts in from the living room.

"Everything will be alright, James, hear me?" Sirius whispers, probably a bit too roughly patting James on the head as his movements have grown more abrupt lately. "I promise. Everything will be alright. With Lily, with you, with Harry."

"Yes," James says, rubbing an eye then running a hand through his hair. "Of course. It'll be alright. With you too."

"I'm not that important."

"Don't talk like that," James responds in a strained voice.

"I’d do anything for you, whatever it takes," Sirius says in a matter-of-fact tone, as if they’re discussing a Christmas dinner menu, not talking about things people usually don’t say to each other when everything’s fine.

James steps back, looks up at Sirius, and smirks, chasing away the worried shadows from his face.

"Have I mentioned you’ve become sentimental?"

"I've spent too much time around a mushy sod like you," Sirius grins, shrugging. "Bad influence."

James laughs, shoving Sirius's shoulder then pulling him in close, as if wanting to hide away in Sirius's broad embrace.

"I love you, you idiot," he kisses him, fingers threading through Sirius’s hair, tousling it. "Don’t be late on Friday. Lily’s making your favourite blueberry pie."

"I won’t," Sirius breathes out huskily.

James nods, and Sirius steps out the door. The June air hits his face, a warm breeze flicking a lock of hair from his forehead. The scent of night flowers mingles with the smell of fresh paint – someone nearby decided to give their fence a fresh coat.

Sirius moves a few meters away, casting one last glance at the Potters' house. James stands in the doorway, leaning on one shoulder against the frame. Sirius catches his worried gaze and nods subtly in response.

A moment later, Sirius apparates, but James's troubled face lingers in his mind like an echo. Usually, James's face brings peace, but this time it leaves a quiet itch, a reminder that Sirius is missing something, yet can't quite grasp what it is.

The war makes everyone nervous, anxious, and lost, and Sirius knows better than to succumb to these draining sentiments. But seeing those feelings in James – the person who made Sirius believe that even in the coldest winter, there's an unbeatable summer living inside him – Sirius realizes things are grim.

Of course, Sirius will come over on Friday. Perhaps he'll stay for the weekend, and they'll spend it together, like old times, before the threat of war knocked so clearly on their doors. They'll wake up to a late breakfast in the garden, reminiscing about school under the rustling of green leaves and birdsong, and perhaps even making plans for the future where the war is just a distant memory—a future where Sirius already knows exactly how to raise Harry and what gifts to give him from the very first months of his life.

A future where they're together.

After breakfast, they'll apparate to the lake, where James will set up broom races, beating Sirius yet again.  Lily, always rooting for Sirius, will put on a theatrical display of disappointment and spend the day cheering him up, recounting for the hundredth time the tales of James's rare Quidditch misplays at Hogwarts—as if Sirius didn't already know each one by heart.

After dinner, James will suggest a game of wizard chess, and Lily will pick out a book to read aloud by the fireplace. Soon, she will head to bed early, as has become more common since she got pregnant, and James and Sirius will go out to the garden, lie on the grass, and spend the night forgetting all worries, remembering that it's moments like these for which they're fighting and ruthlessly suppressing the hopelessness that seeks to consume their souls.

#james potter #sirius black #lily evans #prongsfoot microfic #jilypad #it seems to me this might be too saccharine #prongsfoot

[babacontainsmultitudes]

So you wanna sell your art on Redbubble but you don't know how?

(Or, I meant to write this months ago but better late than never lol)

OKAY okay. I have a bunch of friends as well as mutuals who have lovely lovely art and have considered selling it online (specifically on Redbubble lol that's what's being covered today anyways) but don't really have any clue how RB works, if it's right for them, or what to expect. SO I'M HERE TO GUIDE Y'ALL THROUGH ALL THE BASICS and hopefully, if I've done my job right, this tutorial will help you set up your RB shop and start selling your art online (or help you decide that RB isn't for you lol).

Table of Contents:

What the heck is RedBubble and should I use it?

How to make your account and set up payment

How to add a new work

Pricing? Markup?

Extra: Checking sales and payment history

Extra: Taxes and copyright, in case that scares you.

Extra: The Partner Program (or how to make "officially licensed" fanart)

What the heck is RedBubble and should I use it?

>> RedBubble is a site that allows you to upload your artwork and sell it on quite a variety of different products.

>> The main benefit of using RedBubble, aside from reach and visibility, is that RB handles *everything* when it comes to the manufacturing and shipment of your product. You are literally not responsible for anything other than making the art, uploading it, and deciding how you want it to look on different products. If there is any kind of problem with material quality or delivery (though in my experience they're pretty good with both of those things), it's not your responsibility to correct!

>> RedBubble does not charge you to sell on their site, but they do set a base price for all products to cover manufacturing and to ensure that they make some level of profit for each sale. We'll look into the specifics of this in a later section when discussing pricing and markup, but it would be considered pretty standard, for example, for an item to cost $20 and you to make $4-$5 upon making a sale.

>> At the end of the day, whether or not RB is right for you largely depends on whether or not you feel their pricing and payment is fair, and whether their available products correspond to what you wish to sell.

Okay, so how do I get started?

Well first you're gonna need an account!

>> Head over to the RedBubble main page and click "Sign Up"

>> Select "Artist Signup"

>> Fill in your email, shop name (this is your username also), and password

>> Click "Sign Up"

>> You will be brought to this dashboard page:

>> We will discuss creating products in the next section. Everything under "Set Up Shop" is optional and I'll let you explore that on your own so we can focus on the essentials. That just leaves... Getting paid!

>> First, check the email you used to confirm your email address. If you didn't receive an email to confirm your email address, don't worry, we can resend the form- keep going with the steps for now.

>> Then, under "Get Paid", click "Add your name & address". Note that all of the options in the "Get Paid" section actually lead to the same form, but selecting this option starts us near the top.

>> Fill out all the fields on this page. If you didn't receive the email to confirm your email address, click on this button:

Then check your email again.

>> Note when choosing your payment method: if you are from Canada, like me, then paypal is your only option. Same for parts of Europe that aren't in the UK. Otherwise, you also have bank transfer options:

>> Once you've finished filling in everything on this page, click "Save Changes" at the bottom and... That's it! Now you can get paid :)

**Note: I believe RB still requires you to make a minimum amount of money before they do a transfer (for me in Canada I believe it's $20 CAD?), so do keep that in mind!

>> Payments are made to your account monthly, generally on the same day every month (assuming you've made profits!).

How to add a new work

So you've made your account, fantastic. Now you're ready to actually add your works to RB and make them available for purchase to the wider public! To demonstrate the process, we're gonna use our pal Nicky here (who was a gift from my lovely friend @llumimoon) and pretend that we want to upload him:

Ain't he a doll? Anyways, let's begin.

>> Hover your mouse over your pfp in the top right corner to make this drop down menu appear:

>> Click on "Add New Work"

**On a new account with nothing uploaded, this will look a bit different. instead choose "Sell Your Art" from this dropdown menu, then "Add New Work" from the top right corner of the same dashboard page from earlier.

>> Click on "Upload New Work" (and note the file type and resolution requirements at the bottom. I always stick with PNGs, but in theory JPEG or GIF works as well.)

>> Select the file of the image you want to upload. In our case, that's Nicky.

>> Now write a title for your work, tags, and a description if you want. The tagging system is how people will actually find your work, it works a lot like Tumblr's! Try to choose things that are relevant to whatever your piece is. If you're uploading fandom-related art and aren't sure what tags are used for your fandom on RB, try looking some up and seeing what generates the most relevant results!

>> You may have noticed the "background color" section right below Nicky. This sets the default background color for your piece on different products. We're gonna keep this as the default white here, and I'll show you how to adjust this for individual products very soon.

>> Scroll down. This is where we decide what products we want this design to be available on and how we want Nicky to look on each thing we've enabled.

For example, if I were actually selling Nicky here (if that wasn't clear obviously I'm not actually selling my friend's art lol don't do that ofc) I would definitely want people to be able to buy him as a little sticker :]

>> In this case, "Stickers & Magnets" have been enabled by default. If you wanted to disable them, you would simply click that little "Enabled" button. Similarly, if we want to enable a product type that is disabled, just click that same button (which will be grey rather than green and say "disabled").

>> If a product is disabled and you are being prevented from enabling it, that's because the dimensions of your image are too small for the product in question! You'll wanna resize your image (preferably in a manner that retains its resolution of course) and come back.

>> Hm. Let's use the hats here as an example of how we might make edits to the layout of a specific product.

He's kind of cut off, as you can see actually that's pretty in-character, and I think I want this hat to be pink rather than this default beige-looking color.

>> Click on "Edit"

So, the first thing I'm gonna do here is use that "Scale Image" slider to scale him down a bit. I'm also gonna click the image and drag him up a bit to re-center him.

Next, I'm gonna pick from one of the default colors and choose the pink one.

>> Notice the two arrows beside the words "Bucket Hat"? This lets me go through the different types of hats available and change the background/base color for each of those, like the dad hat:

>> Before we apply our changes, click that little gear icon right under the pencil icon

>> This lets us adjust the markup price for each individual hat. It is 20% by default. Changing the markup percentage affects how much you will make off of a sale, as well as how much your product will cost. More on that in the next section!

>> Click "Apply Changes"

The "dad hat" was the last hat I had selected (when setting its color), so the display has changed to show that one in the preview. Here's our bucket hat from before:

Nice!

>> The specifics of how you can adjust your design will vary depending on the product. With pillows & totes, for example, the editing menu looks like this:

Using the "Choose pattern" option, I can make the Nicky image repeat as a pattern like so:

(note that I also scaled the image down a bit here too).

>> One last thing. See that "Replace Image" button near the top?

You can use this when you want to use a different version of your image altogether for a specific product.

>> That's the gist! Play around with the settings for each item as you see fit. You can always edit them again later.

>> Scroll down. Select up to 2 relevant media types.

I'm pretty sure this affects search results when users choose specific filters, but tbh otherwise I don't think it's all too important.

>> Let's look at what remains.

>> I have the "Who can view this work?" section set to "Only You"- THIS IS SO I CAN FINISH THE STEPS HERE AND SAVE THE WORK WITHOUT ACTUALLY MAKING IT AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC. In practice, you'd only use this option if you wanted to buy your own work on something but didn't want other people to be able to see or buy it. Otherwise, you're always gonna choose "Anybody (public)".

>> Collections can be created to organize the pieces in your shop (for example, by fandom), but we won't cover the specifics of how to do that here.

>> Set whether or not your work contains "mature content".

>> If you want, you can set which product shows up in the preview for your work when people view your shop. If you think your piece looks especially nice on a mug, for example, you can make sure that's what people see first.

>> Finally, agree to RedBubble's User Agreement (read that little blurble, since that's basically all you generally need to care about when it comes to what you can and can't sell on RB, but more on that later).

>> Click "Save Work" and voila! Your piece is now available in your shop, and can be found in the search results of whatever tags you left on it (this may take a few minutes to take effect).

>> If you want to check out your design in your shop, navigate to your pfp and click "View shop"

>> Don't fret if the design doesn't appear in your shop right away! Again, this can take several minutes.

>> To edit your design again (and to view/purchase privately uploaded designs like Nicky here), click the "Manage Portfolio" option instead:

>> Here is Nicky as he appears in my portfolio (again, your portfolio and your shop are different things- Nicky will not appear in my shop at all because he is set to "private")

>> You can click that little gear icon to do a variety of things, like return to the editing menu from earlier. The three icons below Nicky refer to the amount of comments, sales, and likes your design has received in total.

>> Click on your design either from your shop page or your portfolio page. Wow! Your cool art is now available on all the products you enabled. Be sure to look through them and make sure that everything is to your liking!

Pricing? Markup? What's that about?

Well good tumblr user, RB handles everything regarding the production (and shipping) of your product, which means that they set a base (minimum) price for every kind of product to account for materials and production, and of course make some amount of profit themselves. The *markup* is a percentage that you the artist set (see the previous section on how to do so), and will determine how much you actually make off of a sale. Note that increasing the markup price means that your product will increase in price as well!

>> An Example (using hypothetical but more or less realistic numbers):

Let's say that the base price (0% markup, i.e. no profit for you) of a phone case on RB is $15. You set the markup to 30%. 30% of 15 is 4.5, so the public price is increased to $19.5, and if anyone purchases this phone case with your design on it, you will make $4.5.

And that's really the gist! Ultimately the markup price is up to you and what you feel is reasonable, though RB sets it to 20% by default.

Extra: Checking sales and payment history

Eheh, unfortunately I've reached the image limit for this post but:

To check your sales:

>> Click on your pfp

>> Click "Account Settings"

>> Under "Artist Tools" (on the left side), click "Sales History"

To check your payment history:

>> From the same "Artist Tools" menu (see above), click "Payment History"

Extra: Taxes and copyright, in case that scares you.

>> Do I need to report the income I make on RB when I do my taxes?

Yup! But dw, it isn't anything special. I mean, I'm not here to do your taxes for you, but money you make on Redbubble counts as "Self-Employment Income", same as if you sold your art just about anywhere else really!

>> So what am I actually allowed to sell on Redbubble? Is fanart okay?

Generally speaking... Yes! Obviously work should be your own, and it should not contain any company logos or names that you don't have the right to, nor photos of actual people unless you have their explicit permission.

>> Hm, okay, but what if I *do* accidentally sell something that isn't allowed?

In most cases, it'll just get taken down 👍. And no, you won't be asked to pay back any profits you made off the work in the meantime.

**A more extreme case: Story time. So, years ago a friend of mine uploaded some official Rick and Morty art that he forgot to set to "private". Overnight he made... Let's just say he made quite a bit of money. RB responded by taking down the work and banning his IP address, effectively preventing him from ever selling on the site again. But they still let him keep the money he made, and he didn't get into any actual trouble outside of that. What I'm saying is, even if you really fuck up, it'll be alright. And again, this was a pretty extreme scenario.

***Note: if your work falls under one of the brands in Redbubble's "Partner Program" (see the next section), it will be temporarily removed from the search results and your shop while it undergoes review. So don't panic if you see your fanart suddenly disappear from your shop!

Extra: The Partner Program (or how to make "officially licensed" fanart)

Very briefly, Redbubble has their partner program, which I won't explain in full detail here, but basically it means that if you upload a work and tag it as one of these brands, it will be inspected for review and, upon passing that brand's guidelines, will be considered "officially licensed" merch for that brand. Just felt worth mentioning!

So that's really the gist folks! There's certainly much more to play around with when it comes to RB, but that's all you need to know to get started! Hopefully this was useful? Hopefully lol. In any case, good luck out there!

#*breathes* OKAY #gee I sure do hope this is actually useful lol #artists on tumblr #redbubble #selling art #idk what to tag this as lmao #baba's tutorials #<- new tag ig lmao #if y'all have other questions (especially friends and mutuals and followers) feel free to reach out and I'll answer what I can! #so if you're wondering. yes I've sold on the site before. no you don't get to know what haha. #bought a lot from RB too- their shit's good quality! #but to be completely clear ofc I don't speak on their behalf haha this tutorial exists so that I can buy more of my friends' cool art lmao

[legendary-defender-of-fandoms]

Pros of seeing Beetlejuice by myself either before or after seeing it with my family:

My sister in particular hates seeing stuff live with me because I get too invested. Idk if I clap & cheer too loud, or whisper too much about the stuff I like as the show is going on, or if it’s just a Me Being Her Annoying Little Sister thing, but it always feels like her agreeing to be seen in public with me is a huge sacrifice on her part. If I see the show by myself, I can have one Core Memory of enjoying the production without worrying about embarrassing her.

My brother’s being a bit of a sad sack right now, and God knows how long his moping will last (long, stupid story not worth recounting). Hopefully he’ll be better by June, but I’m not holding my breath. Again, seeing the show by myself means I’ll have one memory of it being just me & the Bug Man (and a few hundred strangers).

My relationship with my dad is . . . complicated. He said yes to seeing the show, but I think it’s because he had nothing else going on that night. He doesn’t have the ambition to reach out & ask others if they want to hang out, and I got tired of always initiating. And it might be kind of awkward watching Charles & Lydia go through THEIR complicated relationship while my dad is right there.

Our seats for the show aren’t the best in the house. We’re way in the back next to the sound booth. Good shot of center stage, I’m sure we’ll see everything that happens. But I wish I’d bought the tickets sooner so I could be in one of the Audience Interaction Zones. If I’m gonna be the only weirdo saying “AWWWWWW” while the rest of the audience is laughing at Beetlejuice’s abandonment issues, I want to be HEARD, God damnit!

Stinky lonely pansexual bug man make brain go brrrrr.

Cons of seeing Beetlejuice by myself either before or after seeing it with my family:

Money. I think tickets are a little over $100 a pop. I make enough money to make it fine to spend almost $500 on tickets to see a show with 3 others, and I can definitely swing an extra ticket to see it by myself. It’s more the principle of the thing. Is it WORTH spending an extra $100 to see the same show twice? (The part of my brain that’s hyperfixating on Beetlejuice is screaming “HELL FUCKING YEAH!!!”, but the practical side of my brain is annoying & whispering “you have bills to pay, your cats need to go to the vet, what if you lose your job even though you have crazy stupid job security”)

Availability. If I decide to see the show by myself, I have to decide NOW because tickets went crazy fast (or maybe they went super slow but were available for ages & I didn’t know because I just got bit by the BeetleBug last month). I was lucky to find four seats together for the show I’m already booked for. Finding one seat by myself won’t be quite as hard, but they might be gone by June.

My family will judge me. Not really a con, more of a fact of life. They already judge me for the rest of my “personality quirks” (aka my problems that they’re already aware of). Does it really matter if they have yet another reason to give me the side-eye at holiday gatherings or complain about me to friends, coworkers, and the rest of the family? I can think of at least one company of performers who would say life is WAY too short to deny myself simple pleasures.

Pathetic as it is, I DO have a life. Sort of. I don’t want to be dead on my feet at work or when I’m supposed to be taking care of my niece, and I don’t have the time to spare for the matinee. Or maybe I do - I probably won’t know until it’s too late to get my ticket.

I have no idea how long this brain rot is going to last. It’s burning hot & bright right now, but it could burn itself out before I see the show in person. It seems unlikely, but there’s still a risk.

#beetlejuice #beetlejuice musical #poll #please send help #I am unwell #bjtm #bjtmtmtm

[you-remind-me-of-the-babe]

I’m gonna do some fic recs today! Let’s goooo!

What Remains After the Storm, Complete, 86k, rated M by @hushed-chorus

This fic completely sucked me in and transported me to another world. Simon is a goatherd in a small seaside town who finds a nearly drowned man he rescues, only to find out it’s someone important from his past who also happens to be under a Fae curse that has turned him into a merman. The author weaves incredible lore, lush descriptions of harsh but beautiful settings and a meticulous plot that will blow you away. Plus! This fic is accompanied by a staggering amount of gorgeous art by @erzbethluna that compliments the story in such a delightful way. (Seriously, these two are geniuses.)

Swords into Plowshares, Complete, 6.5k, rated T by @ileadacharmedlife

I don’t often click on fics with the crack tag, but if they’re anything like this fic then I am thoroughly missing out! It’s a simple premise. Baz feels jealous that Simon is spending so much time with his new Excalibur sword. This silly yet sexy fic had me cackling with glee at nearly every turn. Come for the sword innuendos and stay for Baz’s paranoia clashing with Simon’s enthusiasm.

A Gift From the Propheseals, Complete, ~7k, rated E by @skeedelvee

Simon is sent on a mission to ask the propheseals to grant him visions to help with defeating the Humdrum and instead is gifted with visions of a future with Baz that is very different than what Simon would expect from his nemesis. This fic is tender, sexy and sweet and is accompanied with fantastic art by @letraspal that really adds a dreamlike quality to Simon’s visions. This premise is so creative and at just under 7k you will devour it quickly and be left with a warm feeling in your chest.

The Sexual Education of Simon Snow, Complete, ~15k, rated E by @eelwinks (LakeWitch on AO3)

Watford-era, Agatha wants to have sex so Simon sets off on a journey of educating himself on the intricacies of the act, with the help of his dread companion, and to the consternation of his roommate. I know, I know, this is an older fic, but some of us are slow readers and take a while to get to things. If you’re like me and you missed this one (or have been meaning to get to it) you should go for it. Of course the sexual tension between Simon and Baz is delicious but also I thoroughly enjoyed Penny bravely trying to teach her friend about sex with nearly zero boundaries.

Personal Best [Link to the Podfic version] Complete, 36min, rated T, written by @scone-lover and read by @petrodobreva

Man, there are some fabulous podfics in this fandom, and if you haven’t checked any out yet, this is a great one to start with. This Normal AU features Simon and Baz as rivals on the same swim team and does a beautiful job showing the progression of Simon’s admiration, frustration and feelings of inadequacy morphing into attraction and want. And @petrodobreva adds a rich layer of brilliant characterization, coupled with lovely voices/accents and extra touches of sound effects and music. Plus, if you like this one, she has a couple of other CO podfics that are done with equally superb levels of production.

And We Still Do, Complete, 8k, rated T by @facewithoutheart

Another one that came out months ago that I missed! This fic is really like 5+1 mini-fics, imagining Simon and Baz meeting in various different AUs. Each one is a mini world the author crafts beautifully in a short time, pulling you in and making you feel as if you’ve read 20k in each of them. My particular fave was Simon and Baz meeting at 5 years old, but honestly, they are all fantastic. Do yourself a favor and immerse yourself in each of these worlds. You won’t regret it.

That’s it from me for now! I’ve read other great fics but I’ll save them for another time. Thank you to everyone who continues to tag me btw! I love reading your stuff and hopefully I’ll have words of my own to share soon.

#fic rec #carry on fanfiction #snowbaz #I’m still writing I promise but it’s still been slow going and I continue to not really have anything I think is worth sharing #soon I hope!

[ape-of-no-state]

Day idc of no one asked November.

trying to actually make a doc for my world building. page 1 and hopefully the last i post before i get the finished product in a month. or o give up and post the scraps of what i got done. anyways.

if my setting was a soulslike these would be the cool npc guys around there. i was gonna write an extra about the themes and stuff but that is non sensical for now and i just want positive validation tonight haha.

#digital art #my art #sketch #original character #worldbuilding

[dustbunsinspace]

Hi, buns! 🍊 Hope you’ve all been alright in those crappy times.

So much ‘s been going on in the meantime, it’s hard to sum it up quickly, but most importantly I’ve been working extra hard to finally get my own place and I’ll hopefully get the keys by the end of this month ✨🤧 I still can’t believe it’s happening. My very own little rabbit den (can’t wait to build a huge ass shelf to put all the silly turtle- people figurines up there).

I’m still super busy, but have some cute stuff to post, and I really want to answer at least some of the asks, cause I love getting messages from you guys. And also thank you for all the support I got in the meantime, seeing new notes shot an endorphin blast straight to my adhd brain, and it really cheered me up in some tough times 🧡🍊

Alsoo, I’ve made a small Redbubble shop! (Yeah, I know it pays artists literal pennies, but it just makes me super happy to think there is someone walking around with my goofy art on their shirts and stuff. I have an old BioWare-centric redbubble and it always makes my day. And I’m not gonna lie, pocket money is always good as well 😗). Fun thing about it is that I usually post new stuff there before putting it anywhere else, cause it’s extra fun to see how it looks on products. (And, cough, doesn’t trigger my anxiety because no notes, just art looking cute on things).

#ensona #en talks #I don’t know I need some tags for those things #hmm #for real though #why the hell is going on with the world right now #jeesh #2024 please be less crappy man #but man #I’m gonna make that flat so cute #pastel colours #bunnies and turtles everywhere #watch me #it will take much work and money but aah #doing a little happy dance to celebrate not paying lanronds sh1t #not doing a happy little dance at paying it off for the next 25 years #but ayy #doesn’t Ensona kinda look like she’s bald on the top #she reminds me of old man Mikey #so I don’t care

[silvertsundere]

Silver Talks AniManga (13/08/23)

EXTREMELY short post this week since there was no jump I completely forgot about that or I would've caught up with some manga during the week WEH also no zom next week since something else is airing in it's time slot tho we're getting some monthly stuff like jojolands so that'll be fun

Anime

Pokemon Horizons Ep17

yet another roy episode, but at least they sowed the seeds of riko getting another mon so that's good. next episode is gonna be friede's backstory which seems like it'll be neat

Zom 100 Ep5

good ep I can see why it got delayed (even if that's unfortunate). as soon as I saw the shark at the start of the episode I knew what was gonna happen later lol. also they set up all this stuff with shizuka being like "well I'll never see yall again so whatever" but she's all over the op too so you ain't fooling anyone brother. anyway, there's not gonna be an episode next week either but not due to production issues, just something else is airing in that time slot. hopefully this extra week of time will let them get ahead in production so there's no more delays til the end but we'll see

Manga

Dandadan Ch117

yukinobu tried to fake out that the arc was ending but it was obvious that wasn't the case from the episode title. also the youkai chasing momo finally showed up again and started fighting the aliens exactly like how I predicted months ago good job myself

One Punch Man 187

been a while since we've gotten a goofy king chap and it did not disappoint, I also love atomic samurai so that helped too

Kindergarten WARS Ch40 - 41

yay we're finally caught up with the jp now, took quite a bit, even with 3 chaps a week. fun series tho, the comedy's nice, the action is good and the romantic hijinks are fun. a new arc is about to start so it's a really good place for them to have caught up in. anyway it's nice to see the romance between them progress so handily (even if the cop keeps interrupting it and rita didn't hear the thing below), hoping that it progresses even more with rita being jealous of the ex that just showed up.

#silver talks animanga

[edandstede]

“Our Flag Means Death star and executive producer Taika Waititi revealed that Season 2 of the hit pirate rom-com series will start shooting this October at a brand-new location.

“We start filming hopefully I think by October, and we’re gonna shoot in New Zealand. We shot the last one in LA. Weird place to try and do something all on the ocean, so we’re gonna go down to New Zealand which is surrounded by it. That’s one of the things I’m most excited about for the next year.” — Taika Waititi

While we still don’t have a precise release date for Season 2 of Our Flag Means Death, knowing that production starts in a couple of months is a good indication that we should expect Blackbeard (Waititi) and Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) to return sometime in 2023. Besides that, moving production to New Zealand means that HBO Max is happy with the series' performance and ready to spend some extra bucks to bring the whole crew closer to the sea.”

#ofmd #taika waititi #🍾🍾🍾 #ofmd interviews

[duggarsetal]

Okay, so, I am here today to talk to you about She Works Smart, Bethany Beal’s newest business venture.

What exactly is She Works Smart?

Well, I’ll let Bethany herself tell you. This is from the intro video she posted on her personal instagram.

Transcript: “ If you’re a stay-at-home mom and you’re wanting to bring extra income into your family, without having to spend a ton of time outside of the home, that’s what I’m gonna help you with. My passion is teaching women how to make passive income. So. I mean, they work hard one time on a specific project, and then from there they just promote it. They just talk about it and the income comes in. Um, so stick with me because I’m gonna show you over the next few months how you can take whatever you’re passionate about, whatever your expertise is - whether you are an expert at homeschooling or, you know, micro, a farmstead, having chickens in the city! Um, whether you are an English teacher, a nutritionist, whatever it is, I’m gonna teach you how to take that skillset and bring in over six figures a year with that specific skillset. Stick with me, I can’t wait to teach you all my tips and tricks, and hopefully, as a result, you will bless your family and have more time at home with your family.

That works as a reasonable summary - she’s gonna teach you how to make six figures per year in passive income. 

But how, exactly??

An online course of course! An online course about how to make an online course.

Wait, what qualifies Bethany to be teaching you all of this?

Why, she’s an Online Course Creator - something of an expert*

*although Bethany doesn’t brand herself using that specific word, she repeatedly talks about the importance of presenting yourself as an expert.

Transcript: “Here are three reasons you absolutely must present yourself as an expert in your niche. The last one is the most important. Number one - an expert is just someone who has a comprehensive understanding of a particular skill, subject, topic. So if you do not have a comprehensive understanding of that, you need to get there so that you can be an expert. Number two - the more you understand your subject, the more you are going to be passionate about sharing it. So always continue learning, always continue growing, so that your expertise can continue to grow. And number three, the most important - if you do not believe in your knowledge and your skillset and your ability to teach your community, your community is gonna catch onto that, and they’re gonna go somewhere else. They’re not gonna follow along because they will see that you lack the confidence, that you don’t really believe in the service or product that you are offering. So, are you an expert? Well, that’s up to you - do you have the comprehensive knowledge to teach, to share that subject? And, like I said, if you don’t believe you do - get there! Because that’s what being an expert means, and your community needs to trust that you are the expert, and they need to come to you for your advice.”

I’m assuming that she’s taking her own advice and bolstering her own credentials, knowledge and ability. I think this largely because, Dav is the one actually doing a lot of the actual work.

Transcript: “...I’ve done this before, I have experience with it, so I know the process, I know the ropes. But I also have my husband who’s gonna be helping me with all of the online setup, which I hate. So the whole Kajabi* - getting all of that set up and doing all of the videos, like editing them all for me. Which I could do, but I just like, really don’t like it and he’s much better at it. So that’s gonna save me a ton of time and he’ll just be so much quicker”

*Kajabi is the platform through which the course will be sold/accessed

So, what else do we have?

Maybe some hints as to the content that’ll be included?

Well, it certainly won’t be covering any copyright laws.

Now, you may have noticed that the course won’t actually be released until September. So, what has she been doing?

Mostly posting cringy reels, complaining about not getting enough engagement and trying to go viral.

Oh, and when this course does get released, expect to pay a hefty sum to get access!

Anyway, that's all for now, coming up, we'll take a look at some of her best, worst, and cringiest reels!

#sheworkssmart #bethany beal #girl defined #Instagram

[acevenoms]

A quick intro to HD physical media

Hey, since @pneumatic-tubes got me thinking about it again, I've been reviving my habit of collecting physical copies of media I like and I thought I'd share some good tools I've found for doing so. It should be said, collecting Blu-Rays is a bit expensive, your average BD movie is gonna cost $30-$40 new, 4K/UHD even more, box sets can cost up to a couple hundred. Even when I was collecting a ton, I really only bought movies and shows that I was absolutely going to watch multiple times. Still, I have them forever, in their original state, in full quality, with extras, and that's definitely worth something.

1.) blu-ray.com

This site is super useful for tracking your collection, getting news and updates on upcoming releases, understanding and finding the differences between releases, and even doing business with other collectors for rare or out of print releases. Create a free account, get the app on your phone, and keep your collection up to date!

2.) Shout! Factory

Shout! Factory is one of the biggest DVD/Blu-ray distributors outside of the major studios, they have hundreds of properties including anime, classic movies, cult horror, foreign films, and more. BestBuy actually carries a lot of their releases in store if you'd rather shop brick-and-mortar.

There are tons of boutique and more genre specific releasing companies still active so I won't list them all here, but if you explore on blu-ray.com, you're bound to find what you're looking for.

3.) RedBox

Even for new releases, getting the physical disk from a RedBox is typically cheaper than renting it on Amazon, Google, Apple, or where ever ($1.99 vs $3.99+). The selection is much more limited, but they do have more than new releases. RedBox carries the retail disks too, so you can watch extra features if you want.

4.) An actual blu-ray player

This one is a bit obvious, for sure, but in case anyone's wants some basic advice on buying one: Sony or LG are your best bet. Sony wrote the blu-ray spec so they're obviously invested in keeping the format alive. A good (4k/uhd) player is still expensive, but many of them double as a streaming player. My Sony UBP-X700M has Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu apps on it. In my desktop PC, I have an LG blu-ray drive (BH16NS40 Blu-ray Disc Rewriter) which is what enables me to do the cool shit in the next item on this list.

I've never explored external BD drives like you'd use for a laptop, hopefully someone who sees this post can give a good suggestion.

5.) MakeMKV

Honestly, this is the real special sauce on this list. Playing Blu-Rays on your PC is a huge pain in the ass. BDROM's DRM schema is absolutely insane, but it's not impenetrable, this is where MakeMKV comes in. MakeMKV is a tool for making legal, authorized back ups of blu-ray disks that you own, regardless of their encryption (obviously you would never make a copy of a disk you got from a RedBox). MakeMKV is currently in "beta" because they have not paid the license fee to legally read blu-rays, but anyone can use it, fully featured while it's in "beta", you just have to refresh the product key once a month. Personally I bought a license because the software is solid as a rock, built for windows and linux, and has been indispensable for blu-ray collecting.

6.) FFMpeg/Handbrake

I'm gonna plug this even tho it's only really applicable to digital copies of movies because I really think more people need to understand how to manipulate media files. The MKV (Matroska Video files) that MakeMKV exports are huge, blu-ray disks are effectively uncompressed video, and MakeMKV doesn't decide to compress them for you. After a while, you're not gonna want to have every movie taking up 30, 40, or even 60+ GB on your PC, so you're going to have to compress/re-encode them. An actual guide on how to encode video properly is outside the scope of this post, but both FFMpeg (command-line, multi-platform, handles anything) and Handbrake (GUI, windows-only, much more user friendly, less features but more focused) are very easy to find guides for.

Well that's about it. Video collecting is a fun hobby and a great way to preserve media you love. Hopefully, as more people get into it, studios will expand their offerings and we can avoid this stupid bullshit that HBO Discovery has put people thru losing access to shit they've already paid for just because some fuck-ass exec decided to pad the bottom line. Take real ownership of your media with these tools and happy collecting!

[gaymerborealis]

Do you have any estimate regarding when the neurodiversity mod will be available? No rush of course, I know these things take time, just curious. I’d love to be able to see or help test out the first release when it’s available.

Not right now, no. My productivity is very unpredictable to be honest. Fatigue, executive dysfunction and just the good old real life and Neurodivergent Brain™ has been kinda kicking my ass a little extra the last few years so it's gonna have to take a little time lol.

The last few months I also kinda lost my inspiration/motivation for the sims in general, though the new packs lately has started to reigniting it again and I've started working on the mod again! Hopefully I can get a first version, even if just a beta version, out this summer or autumn (but don't quote me on that, as I said, my body and brain are uncooperative bitches lol).

#Asks #Anonymous #The Neurodiversity Mod

[kushalfm2024]

Production Day - 1

Alright, after hours of hard work, actor dropouts, and extra dropouts, the day was finally here. The first day of our production. Now as informed before, due to the actors' availability we could not shoot the whole scene in chronological order, therefore we had to first start with, Andre and the extras fight scene. However, the universe was not done with its surprises! The initial plan for the day was for everyone to meet on location at 9am. Joesph, Davide, and the camera team were going for equipment collection and until then we would do the rehearsals, makeup, and just have everyone ready. I and Bethany our makeup artist were the first one to reach there. As soon as we entered the location, we tried switching the lights on. But no lights. THERE WAS A POWER CUT IN THAT SPECIFIC BLOCK!!!!!!!! After two months of prep, a power cut was going to stop our filming. Well, that was not the time to lose hope. I told Cathrine to finish her production design of the wall with torches. Ivan, our 1st AD was looking out for them. I asked Bethany to set up her makeup table near the emergency lights. But the rehearsals and actors had to just sit now. Nothing was in our hands. We had not even started and were already behind. After waiting for a while, the power guys came and took about half an hour to fix something. Luckily as soon as our van came the lights came on. However, the van was also delayed due to traffic. We were bound to start at 11am but the lights and the Van of equipment itself came at 10:40am. Anyhow now was the time to go for it. I helped with anything and everything. I helped set up lights, production design, and whatever I could do. In the last half an hour of the setup, I went to the actors and explained to them the scene and emotions again. I think we were set to go at about 12;15. I called in for a crew rehearsal where everyone came in and saw the action of that scene. We had taken a decision, that for the fight sequence, I could call cut of course but with that, Actors can call cut if they feel unsafe at any point, 1st AD Ivan can call cut, or Davide if he feels the camera just came to close to the action. After the discussion and bried we were set to go. As expected the first few shots were really tough, but we managed. As we progressed with the fighting, it was now time to change the shutter speed!!! A few days before I had a think about shutter speed and I was not convinced that we could shoot at a higher shutter speed because we were still not too close to each other while hitting so on a higher shutter speed that would have been more visible hence, we decide to go lower and have a blurry effect. At first, we used 270 angles, and that looked really good. Then a thought came to my brain that we have been so experimental throughout the shoot why not go 360. I was kind of second-guessing but this was the time to try it. We did it and it looked really good. Hopefully, it edits well. Anyhow we did the whole sequence of fighting and there were blood bruises. It was going well, until the last shot when we did the final take of that shot we realized that we had made a continuity mistake. I am not gonna reveal it, but there was a small mistake for which we did come up with a solution but was really stressful for a couple of minutes. We had now finished our first fight scene and no one got hurt! To make a long story short after the fight scene we shot the conversation scene between Sonia and Kevin. That went well, we had to cut down on a few shots due to time but other than that it was a good and tiring day.

[bitch1986miami]

Food Situation to Date

I'm asking for food from the food pantry, at my parish, Catholic, down the "street."

I neatened out my kitchen, 2 big boxes, 1 plastic, for food like from that food pantry. 1 is storage, and the other is more intended to be accessible with less in it.

Every Plate coming Wednesday, I have like enough for possibly up to a week left of Every Plate and Hello Fresh. I might order another Every Plate tonight. I plan to return like $300 of stuff tomorrow to get redeemed within hopefully a week or a little longer. I can order 1 or hopefully 2 more Every Plates after. The goal is to get 2 Every Plates a week. I don't have much else in my refrigerator. I liked my abundance of strawberry smoothie ingredients, no other fruits. I have 5 big bags of strawberries frozen. I finished 1 and a little or some of another in a few days. Sure, I need more food. If you get an account with an opening deal every week, it's like $300-$350 and some choices are more expensive, with options to add like maybe 1 or 2 pieces of garlic bread etc. for maybe a few more dollars. So, that's like up to approaching $700 a month maybe. I may have $1000 a month after bills if none will be paid late then. So, after Every Plate I'd have $300. Wait, I may only have $900, so that'd be $200 left. I can get by on less, like 1 1/2 of those size selections. I just need the food pantries from churches that accept my zip code and some groceries like the smoothies which seem a little sweet or fattening. Then I need other things but not always so much maybe. That's not much left for things like skin smoothing products from Amazon.

I'd prefer to take a bus to eat out. I had 2 emergencies this pay-period. I got Pizza Hut and then 2 orders, Wendy's and Taco Bell. I used DoorDash, also use Instacart. My Amazon Prime didn't go through so this $500 order had an extra $20. I might ask at least once if I can get a refund, contacted them 2 different occasions. I also belong to Wal-Mart, I think, now.

Now, church food is not all that perfect for a clinically diabetic person. Lots of pasta, then you can get grain rice and different beans, which I put the rice and beans together, tho they aren't red beans. Not much else so much here.

I wanted to go to festivals, but most aren't accessible by 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 hour bus ride. I could get cheap food but probably not enough. I couldn't find anything to do here! Maybe the aquarium. I was gonna see the resident orchestra here. I am just focusing on my health in my apartment. I need to figure out my money for November. (True, I may get Lejeune compensation..)

[spacevulpix]

my hours at work have been S E V E R E L Y reduced over the past year, i’m talking for the past 3 months or so i’ve been pulling 4-12 hour WEEKS at my ALLEGEDLY full time position, so i shot my shot and sent my resume to the store down the street from me that does the same thing i do now and they’re interviewing me on monday for part time!!

hopefully either this pans out well and i can transition to full time, or my boss will realize he needs me more than he seems to think he does right now and will clean up his act, like i get that our industry is seasonal but you brought me on to be a full time worker and 2 years later i’m being treated like a part-timer anyway so why not see what the competition has to offer??

the guy did mention in the email that they’re desperate for a graphic designer which is very much NOT what i’m interested in, but i’m willing to negotiate on that point, like maybe insist if they want me to do graphic design as well as production i have to get paid extra or they have to show me that they’re actively looking for someone to take that responsibility

like when i was walking in this morning one of my new-ish coworkers was like “it’s great to see you here today!! i seriously can’t fathom why the part time teenagers are getting so much time when you’re not, like they don’t have rent to pay and also they keep screwing things up”

but conveniently most of the teens here are related to the boss and manager so obviously when they fuck up a jersey we’re charging like $40 for it isn’t gonna be held against them the way it might with a non-relative employee (my boss never holds this stuff against us but i have noticed a severe uptick in him telling me what standards we’re gonna use for certain processes, which are things i’m already doing, and i know i’m only getting told to do these things bc he doesn’t hear about me fixing problems bc i know how to get them solved before bothering him, and the teenagers are teenagers so they fuck it all up and then act like there’s nothing they could’ve done different so now EVERYONE has to get re-educated on the processes..... all i can do is politely say “yeah this is something i’ve been trying to be consistent about for a while” and hope that translates to “i know how to do my fucking job”