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slight-gaming-addict · 2 days

Note

Can you do a housewardens x reader and the reader is a kind person who likes helping others to the point where it affects their sleep like someone who is constantly asking the reader for help or something in the middle of the night and the reader feels bad to say no (sorry I’m bad at explaining things)

sleepless nights

masterlist | request rules | ko-fi

how housewardens react to you not sleeping at night to do things for other people

characters: azul ashengrotto, kalim al-asim, idia shroud, malleus draconia

𝑨𝒛𝒖𝒍 𝑨𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒐

It's not uncommon for Azul to be up late working on his multiple business plans, and at first he was happy he could have some company when you started showing up to work next to him.

A week has passed and you're still, like clockwork joining him for his late night endeavors. He never asked what exactly you're working on, knowing that some things are better left not talked about, but he's been slowly noticing how you stay up later than him, and then are up early again the next day.

Now, he would normally be impressed by the work ethic you show, but he notices how your demeanor slowly changes over the couple days. The bags under your eyes seemed to just get bigger as the days go, and your usual happy, bouncing self is now dragging yourself everywhere. So he took it on himself that night when you're both working to finally ask what you were working on.

You're taken aback by the question, not thinking he would actually ask what you were working on; just thinking he was content with the company. You tell him your plans, with it not being a secret anyway.

You see his face go from curious to shock when you inform him that the work isn't even for you. "You're doing all this work for something that's not even going to benefit you?" You don't even know how to respond to him, knowing the entire thing sounds ridiculous.

You said yes to this project because the person really sounded like they needed help, and you felt bad for them, so you just decided to try to get it out of the way quickly. However, apparently the project was longer than you anticipated and with you wanting things to be perfect, it's been taking twice as long for you to finish.

Azul asks who the work is for, and you don't answer him, keeping your head down. You should have known when he doesn't ask any more questions that he was up to something, but you didn't know what until the next day when the person who asked you to do the project practically sprints up to you.

They're a stuttering mess when trying to tell you that you didn't have to finish the entire project, and the work you already have would be fine for them to finish. You didn't even get a chance to ask them why before they were gone from your vision completely.

That night you walk into Azul's office with a burning question in mind. "What did you tell them?" You know he's aware of what exactly you're talking about, but he acts dumb about it all anyway.

"Whatever do you mean?" He feigns innocence that you see right through. You're about to argue with him, but he doesn't give you the opportunity to. "It's late, you should go to bed." Even though it's a lot earlier than you stayed up during the week, you couldn't argue that you weren't tired.

That night you have the best sleep you've had in weeks, and you have Azul to thank for it.

𝑲𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒎 𝑨𝒍-𝑨𝒔𝒊𝒎

The thing with Kalim is, he's also someone who likes to help people. Usually, he'd be in the same predicament as you, if it weren't for Jamil managing his time.

When he finds out that you've been going around helping as many people as you can, he thinks it's nice that there's someone else who cares about people as much as he does.

He usually wouldn't bother you when you look as busy as you do, but he can see your body slowly deteriorating as the days go on. Eventually, Kalim finds himself approaching you to ask about the work you're doing.

You give him a smile, telling him about the people you've been helping lately, even though the smile doesn't quite reach your eyes. The lack of sleep is clearly shown on your face, and while Kalim is all about helping people, this just seems a little extreme to him.

He asks if you need any help with the tasks you have, so you can at least get some rest. You really don't want to bother him with the tasks you brought on yourself, but you don't have it in you to say no to the grinning man in front of you.

The two of you eventually get through the long task for that day, and you're able to finish early enough to get to sleep earlier that night.

However, you didn't anticipate the person disrupting your sleep once again for a completely different task. You hesitate this time but end up saying yes to the person again.

When Kalim sees you working the next day, he goes to help you with it. From now on, it seems every time he sees you working on something, he's going to try to help you with it.

You're completely grateful for the kindness he's showing you, but you eventually feel bad for him working on things you decided to do. You can see him also losing sleep because of it, and you have to bring yourself to refuse the next time the person asks you for something.

You know that you're only refusing solely for Kalim and how he would feel, but you figure it's a step in the right direction when you're able to finally get some sleep at night.

𝑰𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝑺𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒅

Usually, Idia is up late anyway playing video games, so he hears your footsteps outside his room late into the night and chooses to just ignore it. It's when he hears you up late coming onto the fourth night in a row that he drags himself away from his desk to go see what the problem is.

He finds you with an armful of things, attempting to carry them back to your room, and you pause when you see him standing there. You immediately apologize for making so much noise and insist on him going back to his room.

Idia contemplates turning around and walking back to his room like you said, but he watches you take another step, and more things start to fall out of your arms. He finds himself going to help you pick the things up against his own will. Even though he desperately wants to go back into his room without a care in the world, he can't find it in himself to just leave you struggling.

He goes to grab the things falling the most from your arms and has no idea what you could possibly be doing with all this stuff. "What is this even for?" he finds himself asking you, glancing up to see your conflicted reaction.

"Uh, it's for…" You pause, trying to collect your thoughts, "um it's…" You can't come to a solid answer, not really knowing what it's all for yourself. There's been a different thing this person has needed every night, and the nights have blurred together, so you can't bring yourself to remember exactly what you're supposed to be doing tonight. You got all these things to try and jog your memory, but they don't seem to be working at all as you stare down at them with a blank expression.

Idia just stares at you before dropping everything in his arms on the table in the corner of the room and bringing you over to do the same. You think he's just trying to help you sort everything out, but he grabs your arm and starts to drag you away from the table.

You attempt to pull yourself away from him and back to the table your things were on, but Idia doesn't let up, not letting go of you until you both stand in his room. You're confused about why he brought you in here when you have the thing you have to do for the person and don't want to disappoint them.

Idia settles back down at his desk, unpausing his game but leaving his headset off. You turn around to leave his room, but he interrupts you before you can get to the door. "Bed's over there. You obvs need sleep if you can't even tell me what you were doing with that stuff." His eyes don't leave his computer screen when he speaks, but you can still hear the care in his voice.

Your eyes glance over at the bed that accompanies the room and can't lie to yourself that it looks really comfortable. You look back to Idia, whose attention is fully back on his game, even though his headset is still off, and then look at the door to exit the room. He doesn't look like he's going to force you to stay if you really don't want to, but you find yourself walking towards the bed anyway.

You climb in, and with the feel of blankets and pillows around you, you drift off to sleep in seconds. Idia flicks his gaze to your sleeping form, happy that you stayed and are actually getting the sleep you need.

𝑴𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒖𝒔 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒂

Malleus is always up late into the night, not needing much, if any, sleep. It's how he first discovered you were also up at that hour. He's confused at first, not knowing why you weren't in bed yet, as everyone else would have gone to sleep hours ago.

He grows curious about where you are rushing off to and decides to silently follow you to see where you are heading. You're meeting up with this person for the second night in a row since they told you they needed help again. You don't mind helping them again since they seem distraught about it, even if you are a little behind on sleep at the moment.

This goes on for a couple more days, and Malleus can see you growing more and more tired as the nights progress. He's confused about why you keep meeting up with this person, as it just looks like they're pawning off a load of work on you every night.

When he sees you walking away from the person one night, he decides to intervene. You jump when Malleus suddenly appears in front of you, holding the binder you're carrying to your chest.

"You scared me, Mal," you breathe out with a slight laugh, but he's more interested in what you're holding than anything. He reaches out his hand towards the item in your arms as if to grab it from you, and you let him, not seeing the problem in him wanting to see it.

He starts flipping through the pages, his eyebrows knit in confusion the whole time. While fully engaged with the contents he's holding, he mumbles a quiet "What is this?" It takes you a second to realize that he even said it, with how quiet and sudden it was. You answer him, even though it sounds like he was talking more to himself than to you.

You tell him that it's various things you're working on at the moment, not finding the big deal in it all, even with the lack of sleep coursing through your veins.

"But it's not for yourself." He looks up at you from the binder, shutting it closed with a thud. With the way he says it, and the look flashing through his eyes, it doesn't seem like he's looking for a response.

Without another word, Malleus walks off in the other direction with your binder tucked under his arm. Even if you wanted to attempt to stop him, he's long gone before you even get the chance to understand what's happening.

With nothing to do for the evening, you decide to catch up on some sleep at least, not planning on seeing Malleus more that night to get your things back anyway.

The next morning, you wake up feeling more refreshed than you have in days. You run into Malleus fairly quickly, which you're thankful for because if he didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be.

You ask for your stuff back, but he claims that he has no idea what you're talking about. You're confused because you distinctly remember him taking it last night, but you start wondering if it was just a dream. You see the person you've been working on stuff for and start to walk over to them, but as soon as they see you, their eyes visibly widen and they practically start running in the other direction.

You look back at Malleus to see him looking around the room nonchalantly. He sees you looking at him and smiles, walking the few paces to get to you. "Breakfast?" He takes your hand, not even bothering to wait for your response before hauling you off to get breakfast. You have the feeling that you're done working for that person.

buy me a coffee ♡

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1-helluva-hazbin · 3 days

Text

˖⋆✶Kissing Him Our Colors✶⋆˖

Lucilith x Female!Concubine!Reader (Lilith x Reader x Lucifer)

Content warning: Heavy teasing, groping, marking (kiss marks/hickies), sexual themes, sexual innuendos, no smut, polyamory, minors do not interact (MDNI), fast proofread

Summary: In your relationship with Lilith, marking one another with crimson or black kiss marks had been your signature sign of affection since the beginning. What will change when Lucifer poses a hypothetical question with an obvious implicit meaning?

Author Notes: Thank you @damsel-loves-machines for the inspiration to write this one shot! I'm definitely going to be writing a follow up concubine one shot off your more recent post but, it's going to be a little while before I get to that (too many projects!). Enjoy this in the mean time!

Word Count: 5083

To be the king or queen’s lover was an achievement sought after by the masses; both sinners and hellborns. A quick claim to fame. At some point in their long lives they had both begun taking new partners to their beds. Most held the title for extended periods of time as Lilith and Lucifer were both particular with their partners and once they found someone they enjoyed, they tended to hang on for a while. Not that there wasn’t the occasional individual rumored to have warmed one of their beds.

In the centuries since the royal’s opened their relationship though, there were whispers of 3 individuals, all of them hellborn, who had held an official title of concubine. For the title, you had to win both the king and queen over and tend to the both of them; separately and together. The title was coveted despite neither Lucifer nor Lilith ever having confirmed such individuals existing.

When you had first heard of the royals taking lovers, and the whispered concubines, it had been a fantasy you entertained in your free time. You had always been confident of your body and sexual prowess -you were certain lust had been your downfall sin- but, you were never delusional enough to consider angling for the position. Considering the rate of sinner lovers was so drastically low it was basically unrealistic. You also knew fanangling yourself into their lives would come off as desperate and that just wasn’t a look you were willing to wear. No, you were happy fantasizing about the power couple and seeing them occasionally at rallies or events.

It had been entirely coincidental you had met the king and queen one night when they came into the restaurant you served at and were seated in your section. Even more of a miracle that you not only had the audacity to question the queen’s choice of wine but, that you had enough charisma to smooth over your transgression. Promising she would much prefer your recommendation based on the snip-its of her preferences you had gleaned from her indecisive rambling at the king. Trying not to break out in a sweat as Lucifer violently glared you down from his seat, hints of horns poking from his forehead when you had challenged the royal.

You can still vividly recall her eyes rolling back into her head after having sipped the wine you gambled your life on. The lusty sound of her satisfied sigh that rolled from her lips after having left the most beautiful black lip marks on the ring of the glass.

“My dear…” her voice low and sultry as her eyes opened to give you a half lidded look, “you have exquisite tastes.”

“Thank you, my queen.” You offer a small smile and bow, making sure you didn’t break out in a full grin or groan out in relief. You couldn’t stop yourself from adding, intentionally or not, flirting. “I’m here to ensure my guests have the most pleasurable experience possible.”

Her lips had curled in an almost cat-like grin. “I’ll keep that in mind.” The silky purr having tickled your ears as she swirled the glass of wine slowly in her hand. Her expression evolved from indifferent to amused while Lucifer sneered at the exchange.

The next time you had seen Lilith, she had come back to the restaurant for lunch a week later on her own and had requested your company as she ate. It had taken her almost 3 hours to eat the small bites of food between the almost unnaturally easy flowing conversation.

The marking had all started that day.

As she had been getting ready to leave, you had gently taken her hand in yours and bowed, bringing her hand to your lips leaving a bright red kiss mark on her knuckles. As you straightened, you had smiled at her and told her, “A promise that I’ll answer should you ever decide to call on me again, my queen.”

Every encounter after that contained one of you, or both, leaving a kiss mark on the other; Lilith in her signature black lipstick and yours had become the crimson red you had dawned that day. The playful, prominent display you both unabashedly wore. A kiss on the cheek before going out together. Sliding down a sleeve to leave a hidden mark prior to an event. A kiss to the side of the knee. There soon weren’t any areas off limits.

Some of the times making promises that you both would ensure were fulfilled. Never a promise neither of you couldn’t.

All the while, Lucifer had been slowly growing use to your presence. He had kept his distance in the beginning due to his known dislike of sinners but, the longer you stuck around the more he seemed to relax. When you once couldn’t enter a room without him slipping out, you now could hold a small conversation with him about some of the events going on that day, before he would excuse himself. He used to turn his nose up at your attempt to make him breakfast and now he would periodically make requests. The three of you had even started having dinner one or twice a week with Lilith’s encouragement.

You had also noticed that when he was around the two of you, he would watch the both of you and seemed to have taken a particular interest in the marking. You hadn’t caught on to it at first, being so smitten with Lilith your focus had been entirely on her. The first time you recall seeing it though, it had been so fleeting it almost hadn’t even pinged on your radar.

“Say ah my queen~.” a gentle instruction as you had held up a strawberry to Lilith’s lips. She had giggled and parted her lush, ink black lips and took her bite of the strawberry. A bit of the succulent fruit’s juice slipped past her lips racing towards her chin.

You hadn’t even thought twice about grabbing her chin to turn her head. Leaning in to slowly lap up the nectar before planting a firm, red mark in its place. Your voice low as you growled out, “Delicious.”

She gave you a half lidded look, lightly biting her smirking lip. She reached over to your free hand and placed it on her knee before slowly sliding it upwards. “I have something else for your that’s delicious.”

It was at that point you caught Lucifer out of the corner of your eye observing your flirting. His lithe body, propped up against the door frame with his hands in his white sweatpant pockets. You hadn’t been able to catch his expression though, from what you could tell of his posture, he had been at ease watching the situation. As you turned, he was already walking towards the two of you. “Good morning ladies.”

“Morning my love.” Lilith responded, reaching for Lucifer with the hand that wasn’t on yours, to kiss him. Her lipstick transferring to his pearl white lips along with a small portion of your red. She grinned seeing not only her mark but yours as well.

“Good morning my king.” You grinned and shook your head at her antics, though refrained from telling him. You loved the look of the black and red against his porcelain skin and you thought at the time, that would be as close as you would ever get to painting him in your signature color.

Neither you nor Lilith knew that after Lucifer had retired to prepare for the day, he had intentionally sequestered himself to his office upon seeing the mark, so he could unabashedly wear it the whole day. Conflicted in his excitement to have both marks on him. It had only been around dinner time that he had removed the lipstick before he joined the two of you for a meal.

Several times after that, when you had marked her -or visa versa- you caught him watching. You had tried playfully teasing him initially about wanting to watch, or join, the two of you and that had beautifully blown up in your face. He had become seemingly agitated, or perhaps flustered, and immediately left. Lilith had soothed you as best she could but, you had convinced yourself you had taken it too far knowing his disgust of sinners and newly developed tolerance for you.

The breakthrough with Lucifer had come suddenly during one of the events you had been invited to attend with them since it was being held in Pride Ring. It was a bigger event where Lilith and Lucifer would speak together in front of the citizens.

You had just assisted Lilith with a little stress relief before she went on stage. You hadn’t cleaned yourself up considering how close you two had cut it. As soon as she gotten off, you both had bolted to the stage where she immediately walked out as her name was called.

You stood there with your lipstick smeared across your face, the backdrop for a single black kiss etched across your lips, your skin glistening with her juices. Entirely too worked up, and entirely indifferent, to care if people saw you like this momentarily. In the darkened wing, most just hurried around you focused on their work as you watched her command the stage effortlessly. Your eyes hungrily locked on to the smooth sway of her hips wanting to part her legs again. Crowd be damned.

“You uh…should probably go see the makeup artists to fix your makeup. If they were able to fix up Lilith’s makeup, after seeing what you look like, they should be able to take care of yours without much issue.” you heard from beside you.

You tilted your head to see Lucifer standing next to you, his eyes focused on Lilith despite his comment being aimed at you. You smiled and put a hand over your lips as you replied, humbled enough to make it a little less obvious, “Thank you for letting me know sir. While I don’t doubt the makeup team’s ability… they didn’t have to do much touch up with Lilith’s make up.”

His brows furrowed and he turned his eyes onto you. You couldn’t stop your quiet giggling at his befuddled expression. You had always found it amusing how when you were trying to be subtle about your sexual endeavors with Lilith it would go over his head. You stepped closer to him, your arm brushing against his, before leaning down, “I made out with her other lips sir.”

His eyes popped open and lips pressed into a thin line as he whipped his attention back towards Lilith. In the dim light, you could swear you saw the rosey tone of his cheeks spread back towards his ear. You didn’t want to assume though, especially after your multitude of botched attempts to flirt or tease him, so you bit your cheek and slipped away from him to give him back his space.

Lilith’s voice echoed around the both of you as you watched her. Filling the silence that would have lingered between the two of you so you could comfortably exist together. At least, until Lucifer cleared his throat. You turned to the king as he asked, “If you were to leave a mark on me right now, where would you do it?”

Stunned, you blatantly stared. Processing. You must've heard that wrong. He couldn’t have just asked what you thought you heard.

“What?”

A brow perked, his eyes locked onto you as his face remained stone still, repeating himself. “Where would you mark me?”

You swallowed hard, closing your ajar mouth only realizing now it had fallen open. Your voice, and mind, failing you as he waited. Skin crawling to reach out to answer him with action in the absence of your other voice. You slowly reached up, succumbing to the desire to show him, before you hesitated.

“May I?” A softly croaked out question.

He looked to your hand leaning away slightly, as if unsure, before meeting your eyes, courage rejuvenated enough to bob out a nod. You released a breath you hadn’t realized you had been holding and your hand continued it’s path. Slowly, your middle finger skimmed along the collar of his jacket, slightly pulling downwards to see the untouched succulent flesh of his neck. Your eyes honing in on where his neck met his shoulder. The thought of marking him there appealing though, with him going out on stage it could be spotted very easily.

You prowled behind him, his bent collar revealing the back of his neck. An excellent choice as well. You could imagine licking up the back of his neck to his hairline, nipping lightly before placing your firm red impression. Yet, given your current relationship with him it didn’t seem right. You did lean in though, unable to resist, to lightly blow on the back of his neck, sending goosebumps rippling across his skin.

As you rounded his other side, your attention caught on his ear. Your hand released his collar to lightly caress it’s way up his neck with your knuckles. Gently pushing his hair back away from his ear. Your finger sliding it’s way up the lobe towards the middle ear to lightly pull it forward, exposing a small patch of skin.

Subtle. Sensual. Intimate without going too far.

You lean in, your lips inches away from his face as your eyes raked over the flesh. “Right there.” you uttered, barely audible over Lilith’s voice, the acting of stroking behind his ear emphasizing your choice while making him shiver.

It was his turn to swallow.

He started to open his mouth when his name was called by Lilith. His eyes shooting over to her and then back to you as you pulled away from him. “Good luck my king.” You grinned at him, stepping away. He cleared his throat, briskly fixing his collar and hair before joining her out on stage. His rebound seemingly effortless.

Momentarily you marveled at their ability to flawlessly recoup as Lucifer joined hands with Lilith and carried on with the show. Neither of them letting on that they had been out of sorts before walking into the limelight.

As more guests joined you off stage in the wing, you slipped away to fix your make up. The smeared red having lightly stained your skin and despite your best attempts to remove it, the staining was steadfast. Acquiescing, you mask it with a new layer of foundation and contouring before returning to your place off stage.

The crowd roared when the royals made their exit.

You awaiting them as they approached. “You two are a marvel at getting the crowd going.” you whisper, turning to walk next to Lilith placing her in the middle as the three of you made your way towards dressing rooms.

“Well we’ve been doing it long enough.” Lilith chimed, “The real challenge is always navigating and garnering the support of the goetia at the after party.”

Lucifer let out a disgusted groan and rolled his eyes. “Some of them are so…”

“Pompous?” Lilith offered, her tone pairing well with his tone despite her own schooled smile.

“WHY do we agree to the dinner party?” Lucifer grumbled.

You smiled as Lilith giggled. “To ensure they’re doing what they need to be doing, my love, and to be available for if they require our assistance or insight.” He tsked as you all approached Lilith’s dressing room and Lilith stopped. “I’ve just got to grab something from my dressing room real quick. Lu, can you run ahead and have the car readied?”

“Of course.” he said, throwing a grin over his shoulder as he sauntered off.

You stopped at the door, watching Lilith walk over and grab her clutch. She popped it open, grabbing her lipstick to freshen it up quickly in the mirror all the while her eyes were on you. You smirked, her own grin growing in response.

“You’ll never guess what Lucifer asked me before joining you on stage.”

Her application faltered briefly before she finished and turned towards you with both brows raised. She made her way back to you, at which point you offered her an arm. She happily slid her hand along your forearm purring out, “Well, don’t keep me waiting.”

“He asked if I were to mark him, where would I do it.” You placed your hand atop hers as her smile dropped into a stunned gape. “I know. I’m certain I had the same look on my face.”

She snapped her mouth shut and the two of you headed towards the exit. You peeked over at her, giving a lopsided smile seeing her contemplating the news. She huffed out, as if she had made a weighted decision and looked at you. “Are you interested in having the both of us?”

The fantasies you use to craft when being a lover or concubine was a far fetched dream flitted through your mind inducing a blush. You laughed out nervously and she leaned into your arm emitting a soft ‘hm?’ as if Lucifer being attractive hadn’t been something the two of you had talked about. You glanced at her half lidded eyes and knowing smile.

“I am.” you utter as you both turn a corner to Lucifer waiting at the end of the hallway.

She leaned close, lips brushing against your ear. “Follow my lead dear.”

You shivered, biting your lip hard. Excitement and nervousness twisting your stomach.

“Thank you for getting the car ready Luc.” Lilith called, pulling away from you to a respectable distance. He eyed the two of you as the chauffeur opened the car door. “Go ahead Luc.”

He stared a moment longer before he relented and climbed in. His obedience evoking a smirk from his wife. She withdrew her hand from your arm and steered you towards the car. “Go ahead.”

You hesitated. Lilith had always sat between you and Lucifer anytime the three of you had ridden together. It had never been you in the middle. She had implored you to follow her lead though and so you did. As you climbed in, you noticed that she had started around the back of the car towards the other side.

It wasn’t going to be you in the middle.

You bit back a smile as you settled into your window seat, the chauffeur closing the door behind you just as the other door opened to Lucifer’s surprise. “Slide over love.” she cooed, waiting until he had started to shuffle before she slid in. Pinning Lucifer between you and her.

“Oh! Well, this is different!” he laughed out nervously. His knees pinched together and hands tightly gripping his cane that he had propped between them.

It made Lilith laugh out softly as the door closed behind her. “I was feeling a window seat after being stuck in the middle for so long.”

“Is that so?” he gave a tight smile.

“It is.” she angled her body towards him. “I think we all should take turns being in the middle from now on.”

You smiled, biting your cheek. Picking up where she was going with this. So you too angled your body towards Lucifer who was too focused on Lilith to notice. “Aaaaannnnd…why would we do that?”

“Well…” Lilith’s eyes flickered to you and then back. “if we are all going to be marking one another why wouldn’t we?”

Lucifer’s eyes widened and he laughed out looking back at you, “That was just an innocent question Lili.”

“Was it?” Your question pushing Lilith’s agenda as you recalled his reactions; him holding his breath, the shivers, his hard swallow, and his questionable blushing. Further proving the point though, you reached out and lightly flicked the edge of his collar eliciting a hard swallow from him.

Lilith perked a brow at the reaction, giving Lucifer a lopsided smirk. She reached out and turned his attention back on her with a single finger to his jawline. “Lucifer…” she leaned in and brushed her nose along his cheek back to his ear. “I’ve seen the way you look at her.”

“I have no idea-” he started.

“We both have your majesty.” A quick interjection from you. Gaining confidence as you push past his collar to run your fingers down his neck and then slide them into his hair. Your pinky running over the spot behind his ear.

His face began to flush. He tried to look back at you as Lilith held his face in place. “What’s holding you back my love?” Lilith posed, the hand holding his face sliding down his neck to his jacket to undo the fasteners. “Is it purely the fact she’s a sinner?”

Lucifer’s eyes shot back to Lilith as your hand stilled while lodged in his hair. “That’s not….I mean…”

“She’s been a good sinner to me, to us, hasn’t she?”

He sighed out. “She has.”

“Passed all of your ridiculous background checks and little investigations?”

Your brows furrowed and you shot a confused look at Lilith that begged the question ‘What now?’ She remained focused though, her free hand sliding across the back of the seat and to your hand wrapped up in his hair, beckoning it to move with a light push as he replied. “Yes…”

“You find her attractive?” Lilith pressed onward, the hand on his chest having freed all the clasps, pushing open his jacket to begin working at his vest.

You would most certainly be bringing up the background checks later but, you let it slide for the moment. Your hand beginning to rake through his hair again before combing it downwards, abandoning Lilith’s hand, to lightly pull his jacket off of his shoulder. You leaned in, lightly blowing on his neck making him yelp out, “YES!” He coughed, shutting his eyes and attempting to recover, “I uh do.”

“Then, can I mark you?” the words came out almost involuntarily, though you knew Lilith approved as her eyelids lowered. Lucifer sucked in a sharp breath. Your hand on his shoulder reached up to turn his head to you making his eyes fly open. His face fully flushed now and eyes saucers.

Lilith leaned in to kiss Lucifer’s neck making him jump slightly, his attention stolen. Nothing a quick tapping to his chin didn’t correct, begging an answer with the quirk of your brow and pout of your lips.

“I…” a quiet stutter as she shivered at the feeling of Lilith pulling his vest aside before she stopped. The three of you still awaiting Lucifer’s approval. “Y-Yes.”

“So stubborn.” Lilith crooned into his neck, beginning to tug at his tucked in shirt.

An elated shiver quaked through you as you turned Lucifer’s head towards Lilith enough for you to access his ear. Leaning in, your hands brushed backed his hair and lightly pulled his ear forward enough so you could finally plant your first mark. Firmly pressing your lips to his skin, ensuring it would leave a solid imprint before pulling back to revel in your crimson work. “I’ve waiting so long to do that.” you whispered out.

“Oh why stop there?” Lilith growled as she leaned forward to paint his stomach with her own inky strokes.

Lucifer choked and gasped out, “Hold on!” Lilith’s only response was to grab one of his hands and pin it to the back of the seat. He shot a pleading look to you, as you took his other hand, lacing your fingers with his before pressing it to the seat as well.

“Pentagram is our word if you genuinely want this to stop my king.”

Lilith looked up to the both of you, her movement dragging his gaze away from you down to her. He nodded, gulping as his head lulled back to land on the seat. “Okay.”

Lilith’s tongue snaked out of her mouth and slipped below the waistband of his pants evoking a moan. “Such a good boy.” you utter into his ear before you begin your own descent. His hand squeezing yours at the praise.

Your hand pulled his shirt up higher, undressing more of his torso. A pristine white canvas that you fully intended to marr, the thought alone making your chest tighten. Leaning in, your nose brushed against his chest gliding over his nipple. You slipped farther down and right where his sternum ended you landed a kiss before dragging your lips in a sweeping motion following the anatomy.

Lilith pulled back from her work, his stomach already covered in marks; both solid and smeared. Seeing your paint stroke she smirked before leaning in to mimic it on the other side as you leaned in to leave a solid kiss on his belly button. Moving downwards, you started littering his skin with light smudges. Fragments of impressions. The only other full lip mark you decided to leave was on the hip closest to you. A single finger slipped under his band to pull it down enough you could fully capture his hipbone with your kiss.

Lucifer had slowly brought his head forward to watch the two of you. Desperately willing himself still despite desperately wanting to writhe. His breathing had sped up though and he had groaned out a few times; such as when Lilith had matched the rib mark you left or when your finger teased his pants downward to access his hip. He couldn’t stop from grinding his hips upwards towards the end, right before you and Lilith slowly pulled yourselves away to examine your handiwork; his eyes glazed over, face flushed, labored breathing, with a plethora of lip marks strewn across his abdomen tapering off on his chest.

It made you want to hike your dress up to ride him into oblivion. Obviously the sentiment was shared with Lilith who moaned out, “God you make me so wet.” A breathy moan of agreement sounded from you as you bit your lip, knowing it was turning the same color as your lipstick from the pressure.

“Such a shame we have the dinner.”

Both Lucifer and you snapped your attention to Lilith who smugly started to fix Lucifer’s outfit. Oh. What a tease. You knew he wouldn’t be able to focus. You wouldn’t be able to focus either but, few would take an interest in your presence. You apologetically looked at Lucifer who was sitting there gaping. “M-My love! I can’t go to the dinner like…like this!” he looked down at himself, alluding to the tented pants but, Lilith feigned ignorance.

“Oh my love, these marks will be well hidden beneath your clothes. It won’t be a problem.” She soothed, his shirt messily tucked in now. She released his hand to straighten it out and then started reclasping his vest. “We just cannot skip any more events than we already have this month.”

He groaned looking to you for assistance, receiving only a shrug. The idea of subtly teasing him further at the party making your core ache. “I don’t make the schedule my king. I promise on all my markings though, I’ll make your patience now worth it later tonight.”

Lucifer narrowed his eyes at you before he freed his hand from yours quickly wrapping his arm around your waist to yank you closer. With his other hand, he pulled down your sleeve before sinking his teeth into the flesh of your shoulder. You gasped, eyes fluttered closed as he began to roughly suck. The hand that had bared your shoulder sliding down to capture your clothed breast in a tight squeeze.

You heard Lilith hum before feeling a hand on your knee, slowly caressing it’s way upwards beneath your skirt. Her fingers ever so lightly skimming across your panties, ever so slightly applying pressure to the perfect spot, only to depart down your other leg making you whimper. “All in good time my loves.”

Lucifer pulled back with a loud pop to examine his claim on you. Smirking at it he leaned back down to lick it before trailing his tongue up your neck to your ear. “I’ll be damned if you get any sleep tonight.”

You shuttered. Your breathing quivering as you almost inaudibly whispered out, “I’m here for your use.” An approving growl sounded and the hand on your hip gave a tantalizing squeeze with his claws.

He then turned his head to Lilith, his hands quickly grappling her. Draping her across the both of you; her ass in his lap and her back on yours. “Don’t think I forgot about you my darling wife.” he seethed, hiking up her dress.

“I’d be disappointed if you did.”

She sat up, one elbow propping herself up on the seat between your legs. The other hand reached up to grab the back of your head and pull you in for a sloppy kiss; tongue slipping into your mouth. All the while Lucifer propped one of her legs up and leaned down to sink his teeth into the flesh of her inner thigh. Repeating the process he enacted on your shoulder. The sensation making Lilith moan into your mouth.

She only pulled away when Lucifer released her leg with another loud pop. The both of you panting, neither of you wearing the other’s lipstick having spent it all on Lucifer. “Such a shame…” Lilith pouted, her hand sliding around your head to brush her thumb over your lips.

You laughed out softly, “Good thing I painted your lips earlier.”

“You rake.” She playfully swatted your chin before sitting up further with your assistance. Still in Lucifer’s lap, she started fixing his jacket.

“You sure we can’t just…go home?” you ask, leaning in to kiss the back of her neck as Lucifer wrapped an arm around her waist and yours just as the car pulled to a stop.

“The show must go on.” she purred, smirking at the both of you before sliding off of Lucifer’s lap to let herself out of the car, seamlessly fixing her dress in the same motion. You and Lucifer both making your own noises of displeasure as the car door behind you opened marking the beginning of what would feel like a never ending soiree.

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felikatze · 3 hours

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QoL as Kindness: ISAT's diagetic tutorials

This is the hopefully first of a series of posts I'll be doing reinterpreting ISAT's Loop through the lens of START AGAIN: a prologue's context. As such....

Major spoilers for both ISAT (all acts, including optional content) and SASASAP (all endings).

One of the biggest differences between ISAT and SASASAP is it’s QoL – it’s Quality of Life. QoL refers to all the little things that make a game just that little bit more playable; quick to navigate menus, quicksaving… tutorials.

It’s not really a surprise that SASASAP is as RPGmaker as RPGmaker gets. This isn’t a criticism, just an observation, and also a compliment to how much Adrienne’s skills with the engine improved between releases. Still, there’s some things that ISAT has over SASASAP.

ISAT’s QoL is absolutely essential to making it bearable. Anyone ever watch an ISAT playthrough where the player sighed in relief as the tutorial on picking where you loop came up?

SASASAP lacks a lot of ISAT’s QoL because it’s an earlier project without a studio backing it, but what impresses me is how this change ties into narrative.

Because the greatest chunk of ISAT’s greatest QoL is provided by Loop.

Even before you ever meet them, they’re already over your shoulder. Loop is the tutorial, speaking to you inside your brain. It’s genius, in that no player is ever going to question this. Hell, SASASAP’s movement tutorial is the exact same thing with less flavoring

This reframes what the QoL is – it’s not just a convenience to the player, it’s a convenience to Siffrin, too. It’s diegetic. It’s not something the game is giving you, it’s something Loop is giving you. Let’s look at what Loop gives you, and more importantly, why.

Zone Out

The first of the QoL features I want to talk about is the Zone Out function, the absolute bread and butter of not making this game a total slog.

The Zone Out feature as is did not exist in SASASAP (because Adrienne didn’t know how to do it yet) – instead, some doubled scenes let you just skip them entirely outright. There’s only two extremes: listen to all of it again, or none of it.

ISAT’s zone out system is much more dynamic, since it fast forwards dialogue line by line, letting you zone in whenever you’d like, and forcing you to zone in whenever a) something notably new happens, or b) whenever Siffrin speaks.

The way this feature is introced by Loop is kind of genius. Because Loop’s tutorial is about one thing – it’s okay to skip.

“You might miss what your party is saying, but who cares, right? If you make them mad, you can always loop back and they'll have forgotten all about it!”

It’s a cruel joke, or at least it seems that way on the surface. It’s also genuine advice. And a cruel joke at the same time. For Siffrin, freshly starting the loops, this is scandalous, but for Loop, who’s long since desensitized, it’s the same old same old.

What Loop’s doing here, by joking about Siffrin not listening to the party, is alliviate Siffrin’s guilt when they inevitably take Loop up on the offer. Because, even though Loop loves their party members…

From SASASAP, when sitting outside the bathroom:

(Will you get farther this time?) (Will you live this time?) (Or are you stuck listening to the same lines forever?) (…) (Stars, you’re so tired.)

Loop knows intimately well that Siffrin is going to drive themself insane trying to be a people pleaser every single loop, so this joke is telling the outright – don’t bother.

At first, Siffrin (and the player) still might. I really enjoyed reading the same conversations five times minimum because they’re fun and I’m deranged, but at some point I did start skipping them. And it was a relief to know there wouldn’t be anything new.

Siffrin: “Should I check everything again?” Loop: “You mean, should you check the same barrels, the same closets, the same objects on tables every loop?” Loop: “I mean, you can, but… You know things won’t change, right?” Loop: “If you really want to get a certain item again, or listen to your friends repeat something funny, you should!” Loop: “I personally would only check two or three things every loop, and ignore the rest.” Loop: “It will just make you crazy to expect something to change, when nothing will.” Loop: “All that might change is your reaction to it!”

The game is telling you, Loop is telling Siffrin, don’t drive yourself insane playing, please. The characters aren’t going to remember if you skipped something.

In the course of my script wizard activities, I’ve gotten an in-depth view of just how much that actually holds up. Pretty much all major differences are by Act, unrelated of how often you’ve done something. Minor variations apply for other things, but… those variations are minor.

And this also points out what all those variations are. Siffrin’s reactions!

Loop’s pre-empting Siffrin’s guilt, cuz they probably felt it themself. Hell, we do know they felt the pressure to perform and make sure nobody notices anything’s wrong, in SASASAP! Right up until the finale, Loop was driving themself up the wall.

(You have to act, you can't crack, you have to fake it and play it exactly as you did the first time for the whole way through so your friends don't find out anything is wrong) (You don't want to know what would happen if they knew their quest was in vain) (If they knew their quest for justice and change always ends in stillness and death!)

Acting everything out perfectly is one of the ending paths for SASASAP, which results in… complete and utter failure. Obviously.

(You acted perfectly normally, didn't you?) (Nothing out of place, nothing weird, every line the same as it might've been the first time?) (Ah…That was your mistake, wasn't it…?) (Because… Didn't your very first time… end exactly like this?) (The King throws the Housemaiden's body onto the floor again.)

Zoning out for too many conversations actually awards weird points in SASASAP, locking you out of the Perfect Ending. On the other hand, acting “perfectly” in ISAT… has no awards whatsoever. No special scene or or optional event or anything at all. You get nothing for paying attention!!!

So spare yourself the pain already, m’kay?

(On that note: I don’t think Loop not being sarcastic about it would’ve like… worked. At the start of ACT 2, Siffrin isn’t going to believe Loop when they say “Stop forcing yourself to relive the same thing over and over because you’ll start seeing your friends as disposable actors and lose touch with reality.” That all comes later, when Siffrin can look back on Loop’s words and see how right they were.)

Loop Back

The second biggest sigh of relief in any given ISAT playthrough is probably this specific tutorial.

Loop graciously shows you that you don’t need to loop back all the way to the beginning every single time. You can pick and choose where to go, even going forward by paying up with Memories of Skirmish.

This is a feature SASASAP does not possess, for the reason that it is much, much shorter, only covering about as much as one floor of ISAT’s three floor House.

But… since this is a character showing this to you, Loop showing this to you, we can ask… when did Loop learn this? After all, START AGAIN, Loop’s loops, do not have this feature.

“It'll save you time, so it's important, so listen up!”

This feature not existing in SASASAP means this is a thing that Loop did not know exists during their own time as Siffrin. god fuck it let’s go.

And that’s just the thing, isn’t it? SASASAP’s Siffrin does not know how to do this. They cannot pick and choose where they end up, as demonstrated wonderfully by SASASAP’s True Ending. There’s an even more wonderful implication, though –

On SASASAP’s Perfect End path, when exiting the final room before the King, Isabeau says this:

Isabeau: “…I'm glad you're feeling better, though!” Siffrin: (…?) “What do you mean…?” Isabeau: “Oh!!! Um, you were…” Isabeau: “Well! You were acting a little weird when we were way closer to the Castle's entrance……” Isabeau: “You weren't really listening to us, you were kinda smiling the way you do when you're actually not happy…” Isabeau: “…and you like, almost acted like you knew exactly where you were going?” Isabeau: “But clearly you're feeling better now! You're acting just like normal!!!”

SASASAP’s Siffrin knew how to do this, somehow managed to lock themself into the House’s last floor… and then forgot how to get back. By making this tutorial, Loop is ensuring that Siffrin never will.

“What can I do next?” – SASASAP’s greatest flaw

So, if you’ve had the pleasure of playing START AGAIN START AGAIN START AGAIN: a prologue yourself (as you should), then you’ve probably faced this scenario, or some variation of it:

I got to the end, I died to the King, but… what do I do next? The game tells me to go for the extremes, but how do I do that?

Maybe you try another loop, but just get the same ending again (or a differnet one, depending on a coinflip). You’re getting frustrated. Getting the Perfect Ending demands pinpoint precision to avoid everything weird, the True Ending demands good memorization of every single damn key in the game, and the order you do everything in. (Though, to be fair, the requirements on that one are actually more merciful than one might expect.)

Point is, in SASASAP, it’s incredibly easy to get stuck in that endless loop of “What the fuck do I do now?” It’s not uncommon to think you got it right only to get the same result anyways. What does one do in this situation?

They consult a guide, obviously.

START AGAIN’s ending requirements are frustrating. They are. When I tried to go for either the Perfect or the True Ending, I saved inside every single room, just so I could get right back to it when I inevitably fucked up five times minimum. This is both criticism… and praise. Because Loop is the major reason that ISAT does not suffer from this same problem.

Whenever you’re stuck in ISAT, Loop is just a single loop or call away at any times. And besides that, no plot requirement in ISAT demands nearly as many moving pieces all at once as SASASAP does – the “Sus Route” has been relegated to an optional ACT 4 exclusive event, instead of the game’s True Ending.

Instead of consulting an external guide on how to progress, you have one right there in the game, always ready with the next tip. They’re not infallible, mind you – enough time in Isatcord’s #game-help proves that, but Loop solved all of the moments I got stuck and frustrated in ISAT for me.

(Primarily that one time you need to figure out that a photo is similar to being stuck in time. That moment in particular is actually commendable, as you need to ask Loop about it twice before they tell you, leaving you a last shot to try and figure it out on your own.) Loop is a feature that nullifies SASASAP’s greatest flaw in its successor, and they choose to do so.

Memory of Keys

In my humble opinion, Loop does this because… they do not want Siffrin to suffer as they did. They want Siffrin to escape. And there is no greater example of their kindness than how Loop treats keys.

First of all, all keys in the game have a sparkling effect on them if you’ve picked them up at least once before, making it immediately clear where in the room they are. This means you don’t need to search every single room top to bottom for them, as you had to do for any keys and Star Crests in SASASAP. It’s some nice QoL that just means you don’t have to re-search the same area if you happened to forget which specific cupboard the key was in.

Key point being: SASASAP did not have this feature. In SASASAP, you did have to memorize where all the keys are, and doing so is expected if you want the True Ending.

Loop does not want Siffrin to have to do this. Because…

From SASASAP’s True End:

(The torch in the infirmary? That’s important!) (The key in the book? Soooo important.) (The names of your friends, that have been by your side throughout this entire adventure?) (Not worth remembering.)

Compared to ISAT’s ACT 2:

Siffrin: “How come I can see where the keys are?” Loop: “Whaaaaat? You caaaaaan? How can that beeeeeee?” Siffrin: “Is it thanks to you?” Loop: “Maybe.” Loop: “I figured you'd have other things to worry about than where a stupid key is.” Loop: “No need to thank me.”

To Loop, that they memorized the House’s layout over their friends’ names is a defining moment to their own failures. After all, in all likelihood, the True End of SASASAP is the last loop before they called it quits. It’s a traumatic experience from them, one that came from having to remember all the dumb fucking keys.

They do not want Siffrin to experience this. They do not want Siffrin to have to memorize the House, to push away what actually matters in favor of efficiency. So Loop is directly, personally, giving them a boon, so that Siffrin does not have to.

Conclusion

There’s probably more tutorial things I could talk about, but I feel like you’re seeing the pattern now, even if I don’t bring up saving level ups or keeping equipment or the “You’re stuck” signifier, least of all cuz they don’t have direct points of comparison with SASASAP like my other examples do (SASASAP has no changeable equipment, and saving levels doesn’t matter if you only have one floor, and you can’t softlock either.). So.

Loop’s tutorials all belie a fundamental kindness to their character. Everything that made their own experience trapped in the timeloop just that bit worse, they’re choosing to do away with it for Siffrin. They are choosing to make Siffrin’s time here easier.

Zoning out too much lead to them never paying attention to their friends, forgetting their names, so they make sure that Siffrin can still zone back in whenever something new happens.

Loop trapped themself for years on the final floor, locking themself out of progress that might lie further back, so they’re ensuring Siffrin knows exactly how to loop forwards and backwards so it doesn’t happen again.

Loop lets Siffrin keep equipment across loops to cut down on time spent doing the exact same thing over and over.

They are saving Siffrin time, and they are giving Siffrin comfort. At every single turn, Loop is saving Siffrin from the same pitfalls they fell into without anyone to guide them out.

It's honestly incredible to transform an increase in skill into an actual narrative element. Yes, SASASAP sucks more to play. But ISAT sucks less, because Loop wants it to. It's the perfect marriage of real world circumstance and storytelling. I could... probably pull another comparison here, saying it's like a game and its remake - overhauled graphics, expanded story, and loads and loads of QoL, because the makers of the remake realized something. They love the original, but parts of it do suck, and there's so much that can be done to make a new player's experience smoother. Metanarrative commentary,,,, woah,,,,,

Every single one of these QoL elements I’ve mentioned function as a crutch for a player’s failing memory, but also Siffrin’s (similar to what I talked about in my previous essay on ISAT’s ludonarrative - the player and Siffrin are always in sync, even in how tutorials benefit them). Loop doesn’t know the player exists though (only the Change God does), so they do everything for Siffrin.

To keep Siffrin from forgetting. To help Siffrin focus on what’s important. To make Siffrin’s journey just a little bit less miserable. Loop directly improves ISAT’s QoL. For you. For Siffrin.

From Loop’s introduction:

Loop: “See, I’m useful! I’m very useful! That’s why I’m here, helpful Loop.” Siffrin: “Why are you helping me?” Loop: “…” Loop: “Because I think you should be helped.” Loop: “I won’t always have the answers, but… I think having someone on your side to talk to is better than dealing with this alone.” Loop: “Right?”

From Loop’s hangout:

“But it’s fine.” “Whether you believe me or not, I’m here to help you.” “So you can escape this loop.”

And finally, from the start of ACT 3:

Siffrin: “Are you really here to help me?” Loop: “Stardust…” Loop: “…” Loop: “Yes.” Loop: “If you can believe anything, believe that.” Loop: “I asked to be here, so I could help you.”

And I do believe them. Loop’s feelings on Siffrin are… complex, to say the least. They love Siffrin, and they hate him in equal measure. They’re jealous, and spiteful, but underneath everything…

In SASASAP, if you die to a Sadness thrice, you get this monologue:

(Sometimes, when you loop back here…) (In the corner of your eye, you can sometimes see someone that looks just like you.) (Is it a you from another loop? Remnants of your past failures?) (Are you going crazy?) (May they succeed where you cannot.)

#feli speaks #in stars and time #isat spoilers #start again: a prologue #sasasap #LOOP TIME BABEYYYYYYYYYYYYYY #WATCH OUT IT'S FELI TALKING ABOUT LUDONARRATIVE AGAIN

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yukipri · 2 days

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Some thoughts on Cara

So some of you may have heard about Cara, the new platform that a lot of artists are trying out. It's been around for a while, but there's been a recent huge surge of new users, myself among them. Thought I'd type up a lil thing on my initial thoughts.

First, what is Cara?

From their About Cara page:

Cara is a social media and portfolio platform for artists. With the widespread use of generative AI, we decided to build a place that filters out generative AI images so that people who want to find authentic creatives and artwork can do so easily. Many platforms currently accept AI art when it’s not ethical, while others have promised “no AI forever” policies without consideration for the scenario where adoption of such technologies may happen at the workplace in the coming years. The future of creative industries requires nuanced understanding and support to help artists and companies connect and work together. We want to bridge the gap and build a platform that we would enjoy using as creatives ourselves. Our stance on AI: ・We do not agree with generative AI tools in their current unethical form, and we won’t host AI-generated portfolios unless the rampant ethical and data privacy issues around datasets are resolved via regulation. ・In the event that legislation is passed to clearly protect artists, we believe that AI-generated content should always be clearly labeled, because the public should always be able to search for human-made art and media easily.

Should note that Cara is independently funded, and is made by a core group of artists and engineers and is even collaborating with the Glaze project. It's very much a platform by artists, for artists!

Should also mention that in being a platform for artists, it's more a gallery first, with social media functionalities on the side. The info below will hopefully explain how that works.

Next, my actual initial thoughts using it, and things that set it apart from other platforms I've used:

1) When you post, you can choose to check the portfolio option, or to NOT check it. This is fantastic because it means I can have just my art organized in my gallery, but I can still post random stuff like photos of my cats and it won't clutter things. You can also just ramble/text post and it won't affect the gallery view!

2) You can adjust your crop preview for your images. Such a simple thing, yet so darn nice.

3) When you check that "Add to portfolio," you get a bunch of additional optional fields: Title, Field/Medium, Project Type, Category Tags, and Software Used. It's nice that you can put all this info into organized fields that don't take up text space.

4) Speaking of text, 5000 character limit is niiiiice. If you want to talk, you can.

5) Two separate feeds, a "For You" algorithmic one, and "Following." The "Following" actually appears to be full chronological timeline of just folks you follow (like Tumblr). Amazing.

6) Now usually, "For You" being set to home/default kinda pisses me off because generally I like curating my own experience, but not here, for this handy reason: if you tap the gear symbol, you can ADJUST your algorithm feed!

So you can choose what you see still!!! AMAZING. And, again, you still have your Following timeline too.

7) To repeat the stuff at the top of this post, its creation and intent as a place by artists, for artists. Hopefully you can also see from the points above that it's been designed with artists in mind.

8) No GenAI images!!!! There's a pop up that says it's not allowed, and apparently there's some sort of detector thing too. Not sure how reliable the latter is, but so far, it's just been a breath of fresh air, being able to scroll and see human art art and art!

To be clear, Cara's not perfect and is currently pretty laggy, and you can get errors while posting (so far, I've had more success on desktop than the mobile app), but that's understandable, given the small team. They'll need time to scale. For me though, it's a fair tradeoff for a platform that actually cares about artists.

Currently it also doesn't allow NSFW, not sure if that'll change given app store rules.

As mentioned above, they're independently funded, which means the team is currently paying for Cara itself. They have a kofi set up for folks who want to chip in, but it's optional. Here's the link to the tweet from one of the founders:

And a reminder that no matter that the platform itself isn't selling our data to GenAI, it can still be scraped by third parties. Protect your work with Glaze and Nightshade!

Anyway, I'm still figuring stuff out and have only been on Cara a few days, but I feel hopeful, and I think they're off to a good start.

I hope this post has been informative!

Lastly, here's my own Cara if you want to come say hi! Not sure at all if I'll be active on there, but if you're an artist like me who is keeping an eye out for hopefully nice communities, check it out!

#YukiPri rambles #cara #cara app #social media #artists on tumblr #review #longpost #long post #mostly i'd already typed this up on twitter so i figured why not share it here too #also since tumblr too is selling our data to GenAI

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shautiecultist · 2 days

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Promise

lottie matthews x reader sumary: you and lottie fight but you also made a promise to never go to bed angry

It was a long and silent car ride home after an equally silent date. As soon as you got home from your date, you could tell Lottie was mad with you. The car ride was filled with silence, and by the time the two of you got home, Lottie barely acknowledges your presence. The worst part is that you don't know what you did that could possibly piss her off like this but you were determined to find out.

You take a deep breath and approach Lottie. She was in the kitchen slamming drawers as if she were looking for something but didn't know what.

“Are you finally going to tell me what’s bothering you?”, you say carefully, not wanting to piss Lottie off even more or say the wrong thing.

Lottie turns around and for the first time since you two got home, she ackowledges you. As soon as you see her face, you can see all the emotions coming off of her.

"What's bothering me? You seriously don't know?", Lottie says turning around, finally facing you. You shake your head. "Our date was at 8pm, not 8:30. You left me standing there all alone for half an hour. And don't think I don't know you were taking work phone calls anytime you went to the bathroom. You're not that slick, you know"

The realization of what you had done hits you like a truck. The thought of losing her terrified you. "Lottie I genuinely thought our date was 8:30, I'm sorry. And about the phone calls, work has been a mess. We have a big project coming up, you know that", you say feeling like guilty for not giving your girlfriend the attention she needs and deserves.

"Oh so me and our relationship are not important enough that you can turn off your phone for a few hours? Got it." And with that, Lottie storms off to your shared bedroom, slamming the door. The thought of losing her terrified you but you knew she needed a little time and space, so you decide to stay in the living room for a little while longer, hoping your girlfriend would cool off.

…

After what feels like an eternity of sitting alone in the darkness of your living room, you come to the conclusion that you should probably sleep in the guest room, assuming Lottie doesn't even want to look at you tonight. When you open the door of your bedroom, you see Lottie laying down reading a book. Her eyes don't even lift up from the book, which means she’s back to ignoring you.

As you grab your pajamas and walk towards the door, Lottie finally acknowledges you. “Where are you going?”, her eyes leaving the book and making eye contact with yours.

“Guest room.” You say as you leave, not wanting to prolong the fight even more.

After almost an hour of laying completely still in the guest bedroom bed, you finally realize why you can’t seem to fall asleep: the promise you and Lottie made when you first started dating - never let your last words to each other be laced with anger just in case something bad happens in the middle of the night.

And just like that, you stand up and make your way back to your bedroom.

“I thought you were sleeping in the other room”, Lottie says, her tone now much more relaxed than she was before.

You don’t say anything. Instead, you make a beeline to her side of the bed and bend down to kiss her twice. “I love you”, you say as you stand up to leave the bedroom once again.

“I love you”, Lottie says smiling slightly at the gesture, also remembering the promise.

Needless to say, not even 5 minutes later, Lottie was also on the guest bedroom bed cuddling with you, holding your hand close to her chest.

#yellowjackets #yellowjackets x reader #lottie matthews #lottie matthews x reader #my posts

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sunnitheapollokid · 1 day

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PLEASEEE I NEED A DUAGHTER OF APHRODITE X LEO VALDEZ

🎀┊ ౨ৎ ₊˚⊹ 𝐌𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐄.

⤷ leo valdez x daughter of aphrodite headcanons!

dedicated to all my aphrodite girlies. ࿐ ˚ . ✦ special tag to my favorite aphrodite gal - @pinkdiorluvr !

☀️ sunni's notes : HIIII! THANK YOU FOR REQUESTINGGG! SORRY this has also been marinating awhile in my inbox,, errrr but ugh i love this dynamic as well,, like GRAAAH i can't i simply can't. may or may not finish all the reqs today?? i only have a few!! so when i finish my writing reqs and my 200's event reqs i'll open my reqs again 💝. THIS WAS SOOO FUN TO WRITEEE LIKE,, i might have to make a part two.. (or a jason version) well, happy reading! sunkisses,, sunni!

୨୧ safe to say,, leo's whipped for you.

୨୧ so whipped, his jaw drops the second you come into the bunker all pampered and dressed.

୨୧ BUT HONESTLY, even when you're not dressed out, he still thinks you're the most beautiful girl ever.

୨୧ your meet cute strangely didn't happen back in camp.

୨୧ leo was dropping something off for his dad in olympus, and you happened to be having a girl's day with your sisters and your mom.

୨୧ he walks past you, twinkle in his eyes.

୨୧ and you flash a smile at him.

୨୧ a smile.

୨୧ a smile that sent him over the moon,

୨୧ and a smile that the seven heard of the next following week, THEY WERE SICK AND TIRED OF HIM LMFAOOO

୨୧ he needed to find out who you were!!

୨୧ and what a coincidence? you came that same summer to camp half-blood, the same smile plastered on your pretty 'ol face.

୨୧ jason had to close that mouth of his before a fly could swoop in.

୨୧ we all know leo's a natural flirt right?

୨୧ BUT SOMEHOW,, THOSE SKILLS OF HIS ARE SUPRESSED JUST BY THE MERE SIGHT OF YOU.

୨୧ he'll blush, stumble over his words, and for the last bits of any interaction you guys have, he'll stare at you for a good ten seconds before you realize.

୨୧ "what is it leo? food on my face?"

୨୧ "NOTHING! DONT TALK TO ME! NEED TO FINISH PROJECTS!"

୨୧ and he runs away, leaving you confused to your core in the middle of camp grounds.

୨୧ the only reason why he can't ask you out is because of his insecurities.

୨୧ i mean, why would a gorgeous demi-god like you want to take a chance with him?

୨୧ and yet, you did.

୨୧ he sent you numerous anonymous letters, pretty, hand-written letters.

୨୧ (with the help of his favorite apollo kid, me, of course.)

୨୧ and gods, you thought they were so beautiful. like you didn't know emotions could be passed on paper and in words, but this mystery person did.

୨୧ piper couldn't keep it a secret i fear.

୨୧ she had to tell her sister and her best friend, LIKE COME ON!!

୨୧ and when she did, you guys went on your first date, that he had planned out for the two of you, hand laced together the whole night.

୨୧ SJDVHDWHEW GOING CRAZZZYYY

୨୧ leo doesn't usually get dressed out, but he made exceptions for you.

୨୧ ALSO ALSO. I SAW A HC BEFORE WHERE IT SAID "campers said you two reminded them of silena and charlie."

୨୧ and i think i bawled the minute i saw that.

୨୧ and when people tell you this,, you literally jerk a tear. hoping, you won't face the same fate as them.

୨୧ when people tell leo this however, he tries not to be too affected by it, flashing a smile and telling them a thank you,,

୨୧ but when they're out of sight, he falls to his knees and starts sobbing.

୨୧ you heavily promised him that you won't leave him, nor will you two be separated.

୨୧ still, makes you smile thinking of you half-sister watching over you and leo and smiling.

୨୧ OKAY ENOUGH WITH THE ANGST!!

୨୧ leo keeps spare ribbons for you in his tool belt or his pockets incase you need one.

୨୧ i truly think all aphrodite kids and talented designers, so you use leo as a sort of,, mannequin for your designs and most of your work is dedicated to him.

୨୧ all this man wears is two different grease-covered tanks and his army jacket, you needed to help him.

୨୧ you have the softest hands ever, so it compliments so well with his rugged rough ones.

୨୧ whenever you'd come down to the forge to check up on him, his eyes grow wide and he kicks you out.

୨୧ kicks you out meaning : he carries you outside.

୨୧ "the forge is dangerous mi vida, don't want your pretty face to get dirty."

୨୧ despite this, he admires you even through your pretty face.

୨୧ he thinks your so incredibly compassionate, and creative, and talented.

୨୧ lets you kiss his face with your lipstick.

୨୧ like, he actually wants you to.

୨୧ you're about to kiss, and he stops you,

୨୧ "where's your lipstick baby?"

୨୧ you smile and apply your lipstick before plastering his face with red lip stains.

୨୧ he pulls away with a dreamy sigh and a dazed-smitten look on his face.

୨୧ it's kind of a symbol of "(name)'s property in a way."

#— sunni adores leo (ꈍᴗꈍ)♡#leo valdez pjo #leo valdez x reader #leo valdez fic #leo valdez #pjoverse #heroes of olympus x reader #heroes of olympus #leo valdez x daughter of aphrodite #daughter of aphrodite

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outofgloom · 2 days

Text

THE TOOLS WE HAVE

He was back. The room spun, and he heard, rather than saw, the worm-like creature slough away and plop into the water of the nearby pool. Then he was very, very sick...

When it was over, he raised himself shakily and checked the interface suspended above him. The six brains glowed faintly, and the six Matoran bodies attached to them remained motionless, as still and unmoving as they had been since the Signal crossed the universe and worked its terrible transformations, however long ago that’d been. There were no more days or years since the sky had been taken apart, so it was hard to keep track.

The various linkages of the interface seemed unphased, which was more than he had expected. He steadied himself against another wave of dizziness. His mind felt…bloated…expanded, worse than normal telepathy. Helryx had mentioned side-effects…the toll of “transtemporal projection”. She was one to know, of course.

Aside from that, everything had gone according to plan. He’d conveyed the information that Helryx had provided, as best he could. The Matoran that he had addressed…the Matoran had been strange—confused at first, but seeming to understand by the end. Afterward, he’d successfully pulled himself back, though the effort had been greater than expected.

Was it enough? How would he know? Even Helryx hadn’t been sure. The fact that he was still here, in this chamber, still in continuity with past thoughts…Did that mean he had failed? Would he even recognize success? The changes might be subtle...

He looked around. The chamber looked no different than before. He placed a hand against the cool stone of the floor and sent out a sonar pulse into the substructure. Mostly intact, no new incursions, although the ominous microtremors were still there, as always.

Unsatisfied, he stood and crossed to the long row of masks embedded in the wall nearby. He removed an Akaku and an Iden and placed them on the faces of two of the inactive Matoran. He tried not to look at them for too long. It still disturbed him to see them this way, even after all this time. His sensitive hearing registered the ever-so-slight shift and rasp of their autonomic breathing.

“Get used to it,” Helryx had told him time and again. “We work with the tools we have. If you succeed, you can have all the stimulating conversations with them that I’m sure you would’ve had otherwise. I never found Ce-Matoran to be particularly good talkers myself…”

Krakua wasn’t sure that he would ever get used to it.

The interface hummed ready. He stooped and positioned himself in the center again, and the six brains glowed in a circle above him like a living Suva. Eyes closed, he exhaled and activated his own Suletu.

Suletu into Iden. Up through the stones of the fortress his consciousness projected, broadened, then coalesced. He was in open air, hovering just above the central column. Into Akaku, he swept the interior rooms briefly from above. All as expected. The many defenses continued to be manned by his forces. No change.

Now he moved his mind-spirit out to the ramparts and brought the telescopic components of the Akaku online. The dense protosteel walls went transparent, and he looked beyond:

Dry oceanbed greeted him, but that was nothing new. He had hoped...but no. In all directions the waste spread from what had once been the shores of the fortress island. His fortress, now. The ocean floor was eaten into numerous holes and channels, all the way to the smoke-filled horizon. The Swarm appeared to be focusing its efforts elsewhere for the time being. He glanced up at the sky, or what once had been sky—now a mixture of jagged gaps and fitful flickering lights. It was a strange, broken thing, and beyond his sky there was another sky. More alien, with a single great light burning down.

He remembered when the Swarm had started to eat the sky, and the stars had gone out one by one. That was when he’d known for sure that the world was over.

He had not felt that way when the first Cataclysm had struck the universe, and they all learned that the Great Spirit had been deposed by a treacherous Makuta named Teridax, nor even when the second Cataclysm followed, and the seers said that the Makuta was contending with the Great Beings themselves.

Even when the Swarms had appeared from every hollow and deep crevasse, and the strange Signal washed across the universe, converting every Matoran it reached into a servant of the Swarm, into a destroyer...he had not yet given up hope. Everyone he had sworn to protect, gone. All but the Ce-Matoran, whose minds were different, and who instead were simply hollowed out by the Signal and left empty. The seers cried that the Great Beings had cursed the universe for the crimes of the Makuta, and had sent their robotic servants to accomplish one last terrible Duty: to eat the world into Nothing.

Even then he had not fully despaired. But the sound of the world being unlidded: a deep, unnatural groaning noise that shook the atmosphere and went down into his innermost ears, into his bones…That had been the moment. There was no going back.

But Helryx had another plan. A backup plan. She always did.

The interface powered down as he reinstalled himself into his own body. He sat motionless, letting the seconds beat by. Nothing outside had changed, as far as he could tell. After all the battle and desperate strategy, all the effort, the sacrifices and pain, all the millennia of preparation…he had hoped that it would be enough, that he would not have to—

The ground shook slightly, enough to ripple the water of the dark pool. Suddenly there was a squat figure in the doorway at the other end of the chamber. Two icy-blue eyes stared at him from beneath a domed faceplate. It was one of his. It chkt'd at him in its ugly way, and he understood it—he had by now become adept at communicating with the creatures via their sound-frequencies.

“INCOMING INCURSION. NORTHERNMOST HEXTANT, BELOW,” it chkt’d.

He’d been the only Toa of Sonics in existence when the second Cataclysm arrived, and that made him uniquely suited to combat the Swarm. He was able to confuse their command-structure, deactivating individual units entirely or even turning them to his own will.

“RETURN TO COMPLEMENT,” he chkt’d in reply. “INTERCEPT AND DIVERT.”

The swarm-unit acknowledged his command and swiveled to go. Another tremor went through the floor as it did so, and for a moment it teetered, off-balance.

“Careful, Mazek—” he began to say involuntarily, but stopped. Helryx’s words drilled into him. They are gone. Their names are gone. He fought back a tide of memories, memories of a Ko-Matoran, a friend…the accursed Signal ringing in their ears—unexpected, too fast for him to neutralize it with his own counter-vibration—of the painful sound of limbs buckling and stretching, of armor fusing here and splitting there, of a voice pleading for help, pleading as the vocal tract deformed and the words distorted, and the eyes elongated into slits, still icy-blue.

Disconnecting it from the rest of the Swarm had been the only mercy he could give. They are gone. Shut it out.

No, he would never get used to it, not even after ten thousand years.

The swarm-unit had left. He sighed, resigned at last to what he must do. He removed the Iden and Akaku from the interface and re-cycled the system, checking the attachments on the Masks of Truth, Translation, and Helryx’s own Mask of Psychometry once again.

Next, he retrieved a stack of tablets from a nearby table. They were covered with writing and calculations: Helryx's logs. He waved to the far wall, and the door of the vault opened with a hiss. The chamber beyond was cold and damp, green-tinged, and filled from top to bottom with hundreds of small tubes.

And in each one there was a worm.

He surveyed the result of their centuries-long hunt through the wreckage of the world. The Order had known for some time that the transtemporal memory encoded in the nascent minds of the creatures could be used to reconnect to moments in the past, but never to change those moments. Not until Helryx’s research, and the creation of the interface.

He consulted the tablets again, tracing along the carefully organized shelves. He would have to select another specimen, target the right moment, and communicate the right message, but which to choose? Helryx had been unsure if a sequence was required, even with all her years of traversing alternate dimensions and spying on different timelines using the last remaining Olmak.

For his first attempt, just minutes ago, he had used the one that Helryx deemed to have the broadest potential: a specimen that had attached itself to a single Matoran prior to either of the cataclysms. The messages he had transmitted were obscure, something about the importance of “lightning” and “six heroes”. That was as much as he could transmit through the link.

It was odd, though. The Matoran had not responded to the name Helryx had listed. It insisted its name was something else, something starting with a “V”. He couldn't recall. Hopefully it wasn't vital. The target had been located in an important place, after all—very close to the Core. Surely it had been the right Po-Matoran...

What next? The logs offered many options. A number of specimens had apparently interacted with the Makuta Teridax himself at one point, but such direct interference seemed unlikely to succeed. Another of the worms had apparently linked itself to an ancient entity called Tren Krom at least forty millennia before the cataclysms. There might be an opportunity there, yes…

He pulled down the canister containing that specific worm and tucked it under his arm, returning to the main chamber. There was another shudder in the ground, and the stasis tubes clinked and jostled as he moved to the interface, preparing to unseal the tube.

Something stirred in the doorway on the far side of the chamber—another of his swarm-units, or one of the lesser couriers he’d peeled off. He chkt'd to dismiss it without looking, too absorbed in his task.

“The Manutri chirps its greeting,” a voice said, “but the icehawk is earless and cannot hear. It dives for the kill. Who is the greater fool?”

Krakua’s eyes snapped upward. It was a Matoran—bent and ill-shaped—standing across the room from him, examining the interface with sharp eyes.

“Who—?”

Another tremor shook the fortress. Harder this time. His forces must have engaged with the latest incursion below ground. The Matoran moved into the room. A Po-Matoran. A familiar mask. Krakua stared. For a split second, he thought he might be hallucinating. His mind still had that bloated feeling. It was possible...

“I take it that, from your perspective, we have only just spoken,” the Matoran said, stepping into the room. “For me, it’s been a little longer, but here I am.”

Krakua finally found his words: “How are you not…not…”

“Not part of the Swarm, like the rest? When the fields of Flameleaf dissolve each season and must be replanted, the hardier Firevine is exposed, for it does not melt. But that’s not really important, is it?”

It was relief that he was feeling. Relief like pain, washing over him. He felt his legs go weak. He hadn’t had a real conversation for such a long time. It was difficult to formulate his thoughts aloud.

“I thought…I thought nothing had changed,” he stammered. “Thought the message didn’t work. I can’t believe it.”

“Well...” The face of the Matoran now grew flat and serious. “You’d better get over that quick. I’ve had time to consider this plan of yours, messy though it is. You’ve at least done most of the legwork, I see.” The Matoran motioned to the open vault.

Krakua nodded slowly, still feeling a little dazed.

“First,” the Matoran continued, “you can put back that worm you’re holding. It’s the wrong one—the markings are off. We’re looking for a specimen from Metru Nui, around the time of the first Cataclysm. You have this, yes?”

“Metru Nui…” Krakua set the tube down and focused his attention, sorting through the tablets he still held. “Yes, here. I dredged the specimen from the ruins of the city outskirts, but Helryx classified it as ‘minimal impact’.”

“Did she? How disappointing. No matter. There is a Toa in the city who will need some special...encouragement, I think. And then…then we’ll see what happens.”

“Encouragement? There’s nothing about that in the notes…I wouldn’t even know where to start...”

“Encouragement was never her strong suit, I suppose. Well, I'm sure your mentor did her best, but this may have been a little beyond her expertise. Where is she, by the way? I thought she would be here.”

Krakua blinked. “She…The last time…she never came back.”

“Encouraging.”

“She was probably just delayed. Time runs differently on other planes. Or maybe—”

“Or maybe not.” The Matoran shrugged dismissively. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll work with the tools we have...”

The tools we have. Krakua’s gaze wandered to the interface as the Matoran spoke. The masks stared back at him. The eyes were open, glowing but empty.

“...And we’ll have to get a bit more creative with our messages,” the Matoran was saying. “We can do better than...whatever it was you relayed to me back then.”

The floor trembled again, just a little. By the feel of it, he could tell that his forces had been successful in deflecting the incursion. His tools...They'd report in soon.

They are gone. Their names are gone. But if you succeed...

Krakua shook himself. The Matoran was looking at him expectantly. “Well, uh...the messages have to be simple,” he said. “Otherwise the disturbance is too great, and the timeline splits.”

“Of course. Basic causality.”

“And they have to be cryptic as well—not too easy for the target to comprehend immediately, but still decipherable at the right moment.”

“You don’t say.”

“That’s the hardest part, really. Helryx hated it, and I was never any good at riddles...”

Velika smiled.

#bionicle #art #writing #fanfiction #works #outofgloom #krakua #time trap

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deepestnightcolor · 3 days

Note

https://www.tumblr.com/forrest-onfire/749854472357953536/so-ive-got-the-date-night-redux-mod-for-sdv-and

saw this and thought of you immediately!! it sounds so cute

ᴀ/ɴ: First of all, thank you SO MUCH for thinking of me! I tried my best with this one, and I hope you will enjoy it! I think I got a little carried away, hehe... Thank you for your time and thoughts, love!

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: Sam (SDV) x Fem!Reader

ᴡᴄ: 4182 words.

ᴍᴅɴɪ ✧ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: sloppy sex, unprotected sex, teasing, despair, semi public sex, Sam still has a dick piercing (fight me), drool, biting, mentions of oral (male receiving)

☾ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ ɴɪɢʜᴛꜱ ☽

Being a farmer was in direct relation to being incredibly busy. Getting up early every morning; caring for all the hungry mouths that needed to be fed, tending to crops that either required watering or harvesting. Sure, your husband, Sam, was often of great help, getting up even before you to give you a hand, but that didn’t mean you could just relax for the rest of the day. A livelihood needed to be made, after all. Sadly, being a farmer also meant that you hardly ever had time to come up with ideas for dates. You tried really hard to compensate for that with thoughtful gifts or tasty dinners for your husband, yet still, sometimes you wished it was different.

That was also why your heart had leaped in your throat when Sam stopped you as you were just about to leave the house. Green-blue eyes sparkling at you with the excitement they always held when he came up with a new project or idea as he asked you on a date to camp out in the woods. “I will get everything ready; you and your cute ass just have to show up,” he had smiled. And how could you have said no to that? There was no way in hell you could have done that either way, but now he underlined his words with that cute little pout he used when he tried to convince you of something (often of something stupid, you had to admit). Instead, you had wrapped Sam in a tight hug and kissed his cheek, then his lips as you said yes, leaving the man on the porch with a bounce in your step.

And really, Sam was so proud of himself for coming up with the idea. It was going to be perfect, he found. So right after you had vanished in the barn to begin with your daily routine, he shouldered the heavy backpack that contained everything he would need to make his way to Cindersap forest.

He chose the spot close to the river, making sure to be far enough from both Leah’s and Marnie’s homes – after all, he wanted you all to himself tonight. He dropped the rucksack to the earthy ground, excitement rushing in his veins when he pulled out the bag that contained the tent. The user manual was the first thing that smiled at him when he opened the sack, but why would he, Sam, need a user manual? It was just a tent, after all. Pitching it would be self-explanatory, right? And besides, how hard could it be? Those wilderness explorer kids he sometimes saw on TV could do it, so…

It turned out that it was way fucking harder than it looked and those wilderness kids were probably a scam. At least that was what Sam’s bruised ego would have liked to believe, given the fact that he had dropped the metal bars on his toes more than once already and that he had even gotten himself caught in the canvas that was supposed to offer the two of you shelter tonight. Sam was huffing and puffing as he finally managed to untangle himself from the fabric, sweat glistening on his forehead. Where the fuck was the user manual when he needed it? He lifted the canvas again, only to be met with the pile of metal laughing at him. Why did a tent even need this many bars? It was a tent, not a mansion, for fuck’s sake! What had he been looking for again? Right, the manual. He lifted the backpack off the ground, letting out a relieved huff as he saw the booklet resting right beneath it. He was just about to reach out for it, yet a gust of wind proved itself to be faster. The booklet was picked up by the invisible force and dropped in the cool of the river. As if to add insult to injury, Sam was able to watch it drift along the stream, slowly vanishing out of his field of vision. Exhausted, he allowed himself to drop on his butt, hollering as the hard metal bars met his tailbone. What the fuck was this tent’s problem? He got up again to give it a good kick, just to regret it when his toes actually hit the hard material – even he had to admit that he could have guessed that outcome.

A glance at his phone revealed that it was nearing ten AM, and the tent didn’t even have the decency to be halfway pitched. The blond decided that harder measures were needed. Pulling out his phone again, he searched for the only solution he could think of: “Dad? Can you teach me to pitch a tent?”

Sam’s father had appeared surprisingly fast, and after getting the first few questions out of the way -very good questions, admittedly, like why he was trying to pitch a tent at ten in the morning, and where the manual was –, the tent found its master. Kent was quick in setting it up; it didn’t even take him half an hour. Sam was watching in disbelief as his father worked because he made it look as easy as it seemed on TV. “We will practise that again,” Kent offered, smacking his son on the back affectionately. “So you don’t need to call me out here again.” A grin was plastered on the otherwise stern face. “Treat her well tonight.” Sam was left blushing in the Cindersap forest as Kent made his way back home, the blond staring at tonight’s shelter. “Why the hell wouldn’t you act that way for me?”

After staring some more daggers at his newfound mortal enemy, your husband decided there was no more use in crying over spilled milk. You would arrive in about six hours, and Sam wanted this to be perfect. He carefully put up the fairy lights he had brought before he began working on the fireplace for tonight. He had brought a pot and some veggies, hoping he would be able to make a good stew for later. The rest of his plan was executed more smoothly, especially since he didn’t have to make a fire from scratch but instead had the support of his lighter.

“Sam, wow,” a voice, so soft, so full, completely in awe came from behind him. He quickly dropped the ladle he had used to stir the stew, turning around to see the love of his life. His heart swelled in his chest, seeing you like this. You had put on a dress and Yoba did you look pretty. You always did, of course. But every now and then he had moments where the realization of just how pretty you were sunk in for him; hitting him like a ton of bricks at full speed. Sometimes it overwhelmed him, to know that you, you of all people were married to him; it made him want to kick his legs, jump around, holler out the excitement that squeezed his heart in a grip full of love. He pulled you in his chest and kissed your head, allowing himself to take in this moment and quietly thank you for showing up. You felt so right in his arms, and Yoba, he would have done anything for you, just to see the look of happiness on your face. Just so you could catch a glimpse of how much he loved you.

“Come on, I made dinner,” he smiled, leading you to the fireplace. He pulled out two bowls from his rucksack – for once it seemed that Sam hadn’t forgotten anything – filling it with the hot stew that he had been preparing ever since he had been done with setting up. The two of you cuddled up near the fire as you took the first sip, a small moan leaving your lips at the taste. If Sam knew how to do something, he always managed to rock it. This stew was a recipe both he and you knew inside out, and yet it always amazed you how delicious it turned out when he cooked it. Sam was so full of pride and love that he felt himself ready to burst. When your head rested on his shoulder, he knew he had done everything right; and fuck, how he wanted to please you. Dinner was mostly silent aside from the sound of you humming happily as you did that little bobbing motion you always did when you were happy about food. It was those little things that had made Sam fall for you hard and that had him in an iron grip even after a year of marriage.

The bowls were long empty as the sun had finally settled in its bed behind the hills, but your head was still comfortably resting on Sam’s shoulder. The blond had his arm wrapped around you tightly, fingers brushing through your hair. He was mindlessly picking up pebbles off the ground as he held you, flicking them into the river. Some bounced across the surface, which always managed to get you to coo out in awe. “You know, I never figured out how to skip rocks,” you murmured into the silence of the night. Sam gasped at your confession, eyes immediately snapping down to you. “You didn’t?” “Nope. I tried once or twice, but my rocks always sank right away.” “That will definitely change tonight.” There was no time to protest because Sam had pulled you to your feet faster than you could have reacted. Just mere seconds later you were standing near the river, pressed up against your husband’s chest with a flat rock in your hand. Sam pulled your hand back gently, just to guide it forward, sending the rock bouncing over the water. “Oh wow, what the-“ you laughed, tipping your head back so you could look up at him. How was someone being so undeniably cute fair? “Now you try,” Sam urged, but what he didn’t expect was the feeling of your ass grinding into his dick as you suddenly bent down, picking up a rock that seemed flat enough to be skippable. “Like this?” You asked, pulling your hand back and then twisting it forward, just like he had shown you. The rock had the mercy to bounce twice before sinking with an audible plop.

“I did it!” You called out, jumping up and down on your heels. Sam wanted to be excited for you, seriously, he tried! But the pressing and grinding of your ass against his crotch was… a distraction. One that made his cock stir against the fabric of his jeans. “You did it!” He strained, only barely able to hold back the moan at the tip of his tongue as you bent down again. This time your ass was flush against him, having his head roll back. Sam had always been down bad for you, and Yoba did you feel good. He knew you probably had figured out by now that he was hard and that this was part of a little game, but did he care? No.

His hands wrapped around your waist, and it took him nothing but mere seconds to pull him flush into his chest again. With a strong grip on your hipbones, he thrusted forward, allowing himself to inflict friction on you this time around. His voice was husky as it met your ear, and you could feel the smile that was plastered on his lips as you shuddered against him. “I know rock skipping is fun once you’ve got it figured out, but I have got something that could be much more fun.” “Oh, do you now?” It was a weak attempt at biting back, yet there was no way to blame you. Sam’s erection was now grinding between your legs, and you could already feel that delicious cock entering you, drooling all over your squishy walls. You could feel the metal of his piercing bump against you while he fucked into you, praising how good you took him. You could already hear his shaky little whines that always escaped him when he mindlessly and sloppily bucked his hips into you, always like a bitch in heat. It was undeniable that you could feel yourself growing wet, your clit throbbing under that arousal that ran down your spine. You hadn’t thought your teasing would bear fruit so quickly, yet your mouth was able to do much better things, you believed. Like shamelessly bellowing out that shaky moan as Sam rubbed against you much faster, with much more vigour as his hands held you to him with an iron grip. Sam’s thoughts were definitely going in the same direction, his head tipped back, your question long forgotten. He wasn’t even ashamed that he was rutting against you out in the open, illuminated by the innocence of the fairy lights he had put up just hours before. Your moans simply were so delicious, so precious. He could have fed on them for hours, starving as he was. Usually, Sam would have taken you right then and there, not minding if your screams awoke the whole valley. Though tonight, he didn’t feel like sharing.

Sam’s body moved backward to the tent, one of his hands always staying on your hip bone, as the other simply began to tug and rip at your clothes. He simply didn’t have time to be careful with how incredibly hard he was for you, his heart thundering with both arousal and love for you. “Sam!” You gasped out as you heard the seams of your shirt rip, but a muffled “sorry” had to suffice. After all his lips were busy kissing all over your neck as he dragged you to the tent, a set of sharp fangs sinking into your freshly exposed shoulder while his other hand worked on undoing your pants. The urgency within his movements finally made you snap into motion, the fingers that had been curling in the fabric of Sam��s blue jacket now finally working on discarding the bothering piece of clothing.

When the two of you finally stumbled into the tent both of you were breathless, and you were already half naked. Sam clumsily zipped the tent shut, before slowly turning around to you. You had already dropped to your knees on the ground, looking up at your husband with those big doe eyes of yours that he had fallen in love with. He let out a shaky breath, roughened-up palm reaching out to pin back a loose strand of hair. He had to close his eyes for a second when you leaned your head into him; the feeling of love that rushed through him was almost unbearable. “Sam,” you suddenly cooed, your own palms reaching for the tent – that one he had been able to pitch easily – in his pants, “I...I am so wet. Please, please hurry.” It was a mere murmur, but one that sent his stomach into tight twists. He knew his cock was leaking in his boxers, the wettened fabric clung to the shaft in a way that had him embarrassed. Sam licked his lips as he unbuckled his belt, half-opening his eyes to see the look of anticipation on your face. And really, your eyes were glued to his crotch as you rocked your own against your legs. He really was the luckiest man on earth, wasn’t he? Being gifted with a literal angel. He allowed his pants to pool around his ankles, his boxers soon following suit. Sam almost stumbled as he tried to approach you, but your hands on his hips guided him into a steady position. The sweet smile you gave him made his pierced tip leak more globs of pre-cum – at least he hoped it was only pre-cum. He had to hold himself together, to feel your sweet, wet cunt clench around him, hug his dick like a glove. Which, again, was harder than he had deemed it to be, especially now that your tongue darted out and pressed flat against his tip, just to turn to kitten-licks in an attempt to clean him up. His breath was already shaky in his throat, and he was surprised he was able to inhale air with how tight his whole body felt already. “Fuck, babe, no- I- I asked you on a date,” he tried, lowering himself to his knees. He was surprised you didn’t whine as he took in a criss-crossed sitting position, though he soon found out it was only because you busied yourself with getting on his lap. You had pulled off your panties by now, the fabric hanging loosely between your teeth.

“Did I ever tell you how lucky I am to have you?” Sam breathed, leaning forward to grip the string of lace between his own teeth, just to drop them on his lap in favour of kissing you. The kiss was hard and sloppy, teeth clattering against teeth as your tongues licked at one another’s. The moan you two shared made Sam shiver, his cock so painfully hard this felt like the most pleasurable torture on earth. His hands reached for your pretty tits, only to find them still held up by your bra. Your husband grunted into the kiss; a sound of dismay while his hand reached around your back. You could feel his fingers work against his skin, and just seconds later your breasts bounced free. After all, if Sam had acquired a skill, he was good at it. “Pretty, pretty wife,” he whispered against your lips, tugging on the lower one gently. “Fuck, I love you so much, baby. So, so much,” he murmured. You giggled into the silence of the night, but the sound quickly shifted into one of a moan as the blond’s lips wrapped around a perky nipple. You needed Sam; you needed him so, so badly. Your mind had been whirring for him all day, and now you could feel him; smell him, touch him. Usually, it was Sam’s patience running thin, but this time it was yours. You lifted your hips while your fingers wrapped around the base of the man’s heated up shaft, guiding the leaking tip to your drooling hole. It was like you froze Sam in place, his lips still wrapped around your nipple, but his tongue did no longer swirl around it. He was too busy moaning your name, the high-pitch in his voice only turning you on more. Fuck, he really tried to give you the reins tonight, but you were so wet already and your pretty sweet pussy was clenching around him already, as if it attempted to pull him in. He would have been an absolute monster if he didn’t oblige! He needed to, or he would go up the wall. “Saaam!” the whine was long and drawn out as he bucked upwards, his thribbin g dick gliding along your walls. And he had to swallow down the dryness ruling in his throat caused by that glorious sound, Adam’s apple bobbing up and down at the strained motion of his throat. He loved you. Shit, he loved you so, so much- and he simply couldn’t resist. His hips moved upwards, the stretch his length caused only making his eyes roll back. You always felt so perfect around him, and it never did not feel like a betrayal when he had to pull out of you. He could have stayed forever like this, buried to the hilt inside of your beautiful cunt. Yet your hips shifted upwards, and he could slowly feel the tightness wrapping around him so snugly vanishing. This time it was Sam who whined until he felt you slide down on him again. He had to keep himself from fucking into you whenever you lifted your hips, so his arms wrapped around your hips tightly. “That’s my girl,” he cooed, his head thrown back, just for him to crane it forward in an attempt to catch your bouncing breast. “Takin’ me so well again, aren’t you?” His words were already slurred; feeling you around him like this just always had him so incredibly pussy-whipped. He could hear the wetness of your pussy squelching around him in protest whenever you moved upwards, and your moans just mixed so beautifully with that sound. Sam knew he was big; he knew it was always a stretch for you and that it never was easy to take him, but you just fucking did. Fucking yourself on him the way you liked, looking like an absolute goddess as you were bouncing on his lap.

The greenish blue of his eyes was filled with admiration, neigh worship spreading out in the sea of them. And the way you looked down at him – eyes holding the same love for him he felt for you, freckles of lust having them glazed over. He could have cum from nothing but looking at you, yet your pretty pussy felt so incredibly good around him, too. He barely was able to breathe as the cocktail of emotion swirled around in his blood, a trail of drool leaving at least a trace of all these feelings on your chest. “That’s my girl, my good, good girl. Think you can- ah- think you can handle me a little faster?” The beg that was underlying in his words was obvious; Sam simply wasn’t ashamed to beg. His arms were still pressing you to his body as you rocked back and forth, your jaw slack when you felt his pierced tip bump into your sweet spot. And it felt so incredibly good around him, feeling you leak all over him, moaning out his name in a sense of pride, with so much need accompanying these pathetic little sounds. The more high-pitched they grew, the closer you were. Sam knew it- and he just couldn’t hold back anymore. His hips snapped upwards while you rocked yours, tearing that cry from you that never failed to make his world go black. He himself was teetering incredibly close to the edge; each clench around his shaft, each begging whine of his name, each brush of your hands along his neck, soon to be followed by your lips leaving reddening spots behind; it all pushed him closer. His thumb found your clit to rub sweet little circles on, his lower lip now bitten in an attempt to keep himself from filling you to the brim. Not yet, he told himself; he had that carnal need to make you cum first. “Sam! Babe! Oh, fuck! I am going to- I need to-“ A sob escaped you before you could silence it by biting down on his shoulder, yet the whimper that left your husband only made the twists in your tongue tighten. The blond wasn’t able to produce words anymore, only your name left his wettened lips. A trace of drool ran down his chin, tongue lolling out as he licked down along your cleavage, thumb unwilling to come to a halt on the throbbing bundle of nerves. The whisper of your name, so full of…everything, simply was too much for you. The knot in your stomach snapped, making you shoot upwards and press into Sam, your thighs shaking as they wrapped around his tender hips. You were sobbing quietly while your orgasm rocked through your body like a storm tormenting the sea. You were barely even able to feel how tight you clenched around your husband, who struggled to aim his sloppy thrusts upwards. “Saham!” You cried when his tip bullied further into you, earning a groan in response. “Fuck- shit, so tight,” he yapped, only managing one last buck upwards before he himself came undone.

Only your name left his lips in tiny whimpers as ropes of cum painted your walls, his eyes halfway closed as he tried to overcome the wave of pleasure that seemed to take a never-ending hold on him. His hips were still giving tiny thrusts upwards, unable to hold still under the pressure of his orgasm. You were still sobbing against his neck as his hips finally halted, sloppy thrusts having milked everything out of him he had. And you were full – so fucking full of your husband’s cum that mixed with yours.

Your head tiredly dropped against Sam’s chest, shaky breath nothing but an effort to ground yourself. Sam wasn’t in much better shape; his body still quivered from the orgasm that had just wrecked through him. Still, that didn’t keep him from beginning to run his fingers through your hair, tiny little “I love you”s were sent your way as soon as he had been able to find the words. Sam kissed your head, giving himself permission to slowly drop back onto the sleeping bag that he had brought, his arms locked around you still.

The two of you lay there for a while, allowing the sounds of the night to wrap around you like a warm blanket, basking in the afterglow of your orgasms.

“Take me on dates more often?” “Fuck yes.”

#sdv #stardew valley #stardew valley fanfic #stardew valley farmer #sdv fanfic #sdv sam #fanfic #sdv sam x reader #stardew valley smut #smut #sdv sam x reader smut #sdv sam x farmer smut #sdv farmer

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deerlino · 3 days

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WHEN CHAN STUMBLES

— chan, who’s usually super serious and all put together, just totally loses it when he sees you. like, his brain completely shuts down—seriously, someone call 911 because it looks like he had a stroke or something. but nah, he’s just crazy in love with you. <3

words ༯ 0.5k / pairing ༯ bang chan x gn!reader / genres ༯ college au (study night, supposedly), fluff, humor, crack, established relationship / warnings ༯ no warnings for this one, just pure, sweet fluff !

a/n ༯ hey yo heyo! this is my first piece here and i’m lowkey nervous to post it, but here we go! chan is the absolute cutest in this one, love him. hope you enjoy, tho! <3

Chan had always been the epitome of seriousness. He was the guy who could ace an exam, lead a group project, and still manage to hit the gym—all in one day. Your friends had nicknamed him “Superman,” but to you, he was just Chan. Your Chan.

Tonight, you were hanging out in his dorm room, supposed to be studying for your upcoming finals. His desk was cluttered with textbooks, highlighters, and half-empty coffee cups, but neither of you seemed too worried about it. You’d been dating for six months now, and his dorm had become your second home.

“Okay, if I have to read one more sentence about organic chemistry, I swear I’ll scream,” you groaned, dropping your highlighter dramatically.

Chan chuckled, glancing up from his laptop. “You know, you say that every time we study.”

“And every time, I mean it.”

He shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. “Alright, take a break. You’ve earned it.”

You stretched, letting out a satisfied sigh as you leaned back on his bed. Chan watched you with that soft look he always got when he thought you weren’t paying attention. But you noticed. You always noticed.

“So, how’s your paper going?” you asked, trying to sound casual.

“Eh, it’s going,” he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ll get it done.”

“Of course, you will. You’re Chan, the man who does everything.”

He laughed, but you could see the faint blush creeping up his cheeks. “Yeah, yeah. Just don’t let it go to my head.”

You rolled over onto your stomach, propping yourself up on your elbows. “Can I help? Maybe proofread or something?”

Chan glanced at you, and in that moment, it was like his brain short-circuited. His eyes widened, and his mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. It was like someone had hit the pause button on his brain.

“Uh, Chan? Earth to Chan?” you waved your hand in front of his face, giggling.

He blinked, snapping out of his trance. “Sorry, I just... you’re really... distracting.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Distracting? Me?”

“Yeah,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck again. “Like, a lot.”

You crawled closer to him on the bed, closing the distance between you. “How so?”

Chan swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on yours. “Because... you’re... you. And you’re here. And it’s just really hard to think straight when you look at me like that.”

You grinned, your heart swelling with affection. “You’re so cute when you’re flustered.”

He groaned, burying his face in his hands. “God, I must look like an idiot.”

“An adorable idiot,” you corrected, pulling his hands away from his face. “And for the record, I think you look pretty hot when you’re all serious and studious.”

His eyes lit up at your words, a shy smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Really?”

“Really,” you confirmed, leaning in to kiss him softly.

Chan melted into the kiss, his serious facade crumbling completely. He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you closer until you were practically in his lap. When you finally pulled away, he rested his forehead against yours, his eyes closed in bliss.

“You know, you’re the only person who can make me feel like this,” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Like what?”

“Like my brain has completely shut down and all I can think about is you.”

You laughed softly, brushing your lips against his again. “Good. Because I feel the same way.”

© deerlino (est. 030624) ༯ heyo, did you enjoy this piece? if you did, maybe you could reblog, drop a comment, or shoot me an ask to let me know your thoughts. also, feel free to check out my other stuff! thanks a bunch for the support! <3

#bang chan x reader #stray kids x reader #skz x reader #stray kids fluff #skz fluff #bang chan fluff #chan x reader #chan fluff #stray kids imagines #skz imagines #stray kids fanfic #stray kids scenarios #skz scenarios #bang chan x you #stray kids x you #bang chan imagines #bang chan scenarios #bang chan fanfic #*writing

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just-my-latest-hyperfixation · 1 day

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⚙️ Steddie Big Bang 2024: Project Reveal ⚙️

I am stoked to reveal my project for the @steddiebang2024 - an action-filled, steampunk-inspired Steddie adventure. I'll be collaborating with the amazingly talented @cuips-not-cute on this one, and I can't wait to see what they'll create! 😍✨️

Summary and snippet under the cut

⚙️ Excerpt

“Look,” he finally says. “We've been over this. The doctors said it's perfectly normal. ‘s called phantom limb or whatever the fuck. Can take years to go away, sometimes never does. It's fine.”

Gareth shuffles unhappily. “Yeah, but-”

“No buts,” Eddie insists. “I appreciate your concern, Gare, I really do. But to be perfectly honest with you, I’d rather hack off another limb than go anywhere near those shallow, sanctimonious, rich assholes ever again, so they can take that money and shove it right up their-”

“Eddie, shut up, for fuck’s sake!”

Gareth's voice cracks around the last syllable and Eddie trails off with an irritated groan.

“What? Why?”

“Just-” Now that he thinks about it, Gareth is sounding weirdly nervous. Eddie frowns at the wrench in his hand. “There’s, um …”

“No, by all means,” says a new voice. “Let him continue. He hasn’t said exactly where to shove that money yet.”

Eddie shoots out from under the transporter and nearly crashes into a pair of legs.

“What the fuck?” he blurts, slamming his feet down in a desperate attempt to brake. His right leg creaks and the metal foot scrapes over the floor with a harsh, grating sound. Eddie thinks he sees sparks, briefly. “Hey, look where you’re-”

There’s a guy staring down at him. A guy in an embroidered waistcoat with tails so long they nearly brush the shafts of his shiny leather boots. He's leaning on a carved walking stick, raising an elegant eyebrow from under a swoop of shiny, chestnut hair. Eddie decides then and there that he hates that douchebag.

“Where I’m going?” Douchebag finishes his sentence. “I was just standing here. Maybe you should-”

“Yeah, well,” Eddie sneers, finally remembering to sit up and push his goggles back. The movement leaves a black smudge of oil on his forehead, wet and sticky. “It’s still my damn shop, good sir, so excuse the fuck outta me if I don’t go out of my way to kiss your-”

“You’re Edward Munson then?” another voice pipes in. “Of Munson’s Machinery? You own this place?”

Eddie blinks. A girl is peering over Douchebag’s shoulder. She reminds him a bit of one of those tall monster birds with the long necks he saw at the zoo once - all gangly limbs and jerky movements and nervous eyes. Ostriches? Yeah, he thinks that's what they're called.

“Eddie is fine,” he says automatically, then remembers he's still mad at the both of them. “I mean … what's it to you?”

Douchebag huffs a sound that might pass as a laugh, if only his face matched the noise.

“Nevermind,” he murmurs and turns to go, making to put his preposterous top hat back on. “This was a stupid idea anyhow.”

“Steve?” The girl latches on to his arm and yanks him back. Douchebag makes an annoyed, whiny sound and Eddie can feel his own mouth twitching into a grin. “Be nice?”

While Douchebag pouts and grumbles something unintelligible under his breath, she turns to Eddie with a strained smile.

“Sorry about him,” she says, fingers awkwardly tugging on the dispensers of her billowy pants. “We talked about this before coming here, or at least I thought we did, only right now I'm honestly wondering if we had the same discussion, because you're sort of our last chance, so it would really befit us to treat you with some basic-”

“For fuck’s sake, Robin,” Douchebag blurts. His hand flies up like he’s trying to scrub it down his face, or pinch his nose maybe - one of those theatrical, overdone gestures of long-suffering exasperation - just that he’s still holding the stupid hat and almost whacks himself in the forehead with it. “Just go ahead and tell him everything, why don't you? That'll do wonders for our negotiation position, I'm sure.”

“Excuse me, what position?” asks the girl. She throws up her hands, so suddenly that her dispensers twang with it, and Douchebag flinches. Eddie’s starting to like her more and more. “And I'm asking that in all honesty, dingus. This place is the only option we have left. Our position isn't just shitty, it's literally non-existent. There is no position, Steve. So you can either try again and behave like a decent human being or we can just go home and forget about the whole-”

“Ugh, alright,” Douchebag snaps. “I'll do it, I'll do it.”

He shoves himself past the girl and her shit-eating grin so that he can glare down his nose at Eddie. Eddie, who is still crouched on the ground, glares right back, head tipped into his neck.

“I, um-” mutters Gareth, shuffling off the workbench and gathering his half-finished breakfast. “I'll just … I’ll come back later, I guess. See ya, Eddie.”

Eddie makes a vague sound of acknowledgement as he bustles out, but doesn’t bother breaking his staring contest.

“So, Mr. Munson,” Douchebag drawls after a second or two. “Would you be interested in a job offer? I heard you’re one of the best mechanics on this side of town.”

#steddiebang24 #steddie #steve x eddie #steve harrington x eddie munson #steddie fanfic #steddie brainrot #fanfiction writer #fanfiction #fanfic #my writing #updraft steddie fic

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yanderespamton78 · 1 day

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sometimes i feel like toby fox made spamton and the addisons especially for people to hyperfixate on. everything about them seems so perfect for people to go rabid about its insane to me

for one, spamton himself pretty much counts for 4 people, those being addispam, big shot spamton, in game spamton, and spamton neo. now sure you mostly see people going rabid about in game spamton but ive seen plenty of people who are obsessed with a version we dont get to see on screen

secondly, even the main in game spamton himself is kinda up to interpretation. loads of people characterise him differently. if i compared two aus to eachother theyd often be very different and depending on the ones i chose could be almost like 2 different people, and then if i compared those to in-game spamton, theyd still be very different. also since you dont see addispam and big shot spamton on screen you dont even know what they acted like so again basically you can make your own guy to fixate on with a few prompts as to what he was like

dont even get me started on the addisons. now im biased as fuck here seeing that ive been fixated on the addisons for like 6 months now (send help) but toby fox basically gave us 4 templates for us to have fun with. sure based off of in game dialogue you have a bit to go off of when it comes to their personality (pink being an asshole and blue being caring for example) but even then every addison in every different au is slightly different and i have never seen two addisons turn out exactly the same. ALSO you dont even know the relationship these characters have to spamton meaning you can have them be siblings, you can have them be friends, or you can ship them based off of what you enjoy. OR you could just ignore them altogether (which a lot of people do lmao)

also another thing is the fact that you dont necessarily need to have your addisons' personalities just reflect off of spamtons. I mean the main 4 addisons give you enough to go off of to make your own, and you are given cyber city, an entire fantasy world for you to put them in. cyber city again is up to interpretation, some people have it be like a normal city, some people make it a utopia, some people make it a hellscape. the choice is yours!!

and even then in game spamton is so versatile. he is perfect for angsty stuff, fluffy stuff, or jsut silly stuff, and none of it is out of character. you couldnt really make an angsty spongebob edit could you, itd be weird and out of characer and no one would take it seriously. but also you couldnt make a silly walten files video, sure people do but its out of character and wouldnt actually happen canonically. but spamton on the other hand. hes the kinda guy who you can draw holding a wallet in his mouth like a cat and generally being silly but also you could draw him sobbing at the bottom of dumpster and neither would be out of character!! AAAA

also extra thing i thought id add but his backstory is also very up to interpretation, like i dont think ive ever seen two people who think spamtons rise and downfall went exactly the same. sure everyone has the same general idea of how it went but some people believe in acid theory, some people believe in puppetification theory, some people have a mix of both, some people have their own idea of how it went down, and with that you can project different parts of your own trauma onto whatever happened to him.

ok sorry that was so long thank you for reading my very biased ramble about why spamton is perfect byeeee

#scrolling through my drafts and i found this #i thought i posted it?? i was kinda confused on why i didnt get any notifs for it at the time lol #i wanted to repost it anyways so here you goo #deltarune #spamton #spamton deltarune #spamton g spamton #deltarune spamton #addisons deltarune #deltarune addisons

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so-that-was-okay · 1 day

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Shout out to all the queers who don't have queer friends or don't really, or don't want to, fit into "queer spaces". (yes it's eventually about Tommy and Buck, bear with me)

Like every community, the queer community also has its strong codes and many queers don't follow them as most people expect them too. In the past, I met a lot of adult gay guys who weren't part of the "gay community" because they felt it was almost like another closet, just bigger and with a lot more people in it. They didn't feel like they belong in those spaces built around being gay. And they didn't hate it at all, it was not criticism (though one was actually homophobic, it was... something), it was just not them.

Then I realized, as an non-binary/agender person who really realized who they really were in their 30s, I never fitted in any community. While Afab, I never fitted in the girl mold. Like ever. The whole dresses, makeup, high heels? As a teen I tried, really, but I also quickly gave up. Then growing up, in my 20s, I was the girl who wore clothes "like a guy" among my friends. Black turtleneck, black pants, black biker boots, camel or black longcoat. Anything to be neutral with a twist. As for my friends, they've always been fierce allies or queer (I was never out by the way, I'm still not out to my friends).

I'm queer, but I don't define myself by my queerness. I'm a lot of other things that are equally important, if not more, actually. And honestly... it might me projecting myself, or me using the people I met to flesh out Tommy and Buck's relationship to queer communities, but I like to think that while they're absolutely proud to be queer, they just live their life as... guys. Not gays, not bis, just guys. They have queer friends, they can hang out in gay bars or queer friendly places but as long as it's safe, they're not focusing on that. And it's not about fitting into an heteronormative society, it's just not following any code, and by any, it also means not even the queer ones.

I know a show like 911 wouldn't show its characters being too "proud" anyway, Hen and Karen are also living a very heteronormative life if we want to label it. But it's also life as a queer person. It doesn't have to be all rainbows and stereotypes (that we love too!). I call that being a quiet queer. We love that the noise of the community exists, we'll always support it but it's just not for us.

#bucktommy #tevan #kinley #tommy kinard #evan buckley #long post #sorry #of course it's purely a headcanon for tommy and buck #i'm not saying they're like that in canon or should be like that #i just like to think they're just guys being queer #also i'm 200% an introvert and it shows lol #if the gray area of life was a person that would be me #i'm undefined

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redbatchedcumbermayned · 1 day

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I have recorded different versions of my name, and the last time I was told it was Haynrix and I was like, really? Haynrix? - Interviewing Chris Tester part 3

We contiune talking about the transformative power of fanworks, a bit more about romancing Heinrix, how Heinrix is pronounced actually, what a dream come through project would be for Chris and why a stage production of Crime and Punishment was his most memorable work to date and his newly discovered interest in playing D&D.

Part 1 of the interview

Part 2 of the interview

This is the final part of the interview. Thank you so much for reading and listening! (the audio quality is not spectacular but tumblr limits uploads to 10MB). If you quote or reshare, please quote me as the original source.

F: It's very transformative. You take a game and you get your own stories after the game or with the people you interact with. It's very creative. Because Heinrix is very much an archetype, as you said, he has this duality about this very authoritative man with so much trauma underneath. There is a lot to explore, and that speaks for Olga's writing as well, because only a very well written character would draw you in like that into a story.

CT: I mean, it's a crazy balancing act, definitely. And at any time, it could close off, you shut him down, or he shuts you down. And you're like, Oh, okay.

F: And it was incredibly funny that the first romance lines straddled the line between workplace harassment and flirting. And he is so unnerved and then it doesn't like to cordon you off and say, well, you were too aggressive. Game over.

CT: Yeah.

You can switch to this closeness path like in a real relationship, you are maybe very flirty, very teasy at the beginning, and then things get real and you get real and it changes. And that was very dynamic. I never experienced that before. BioWare writes great romances, but they are often very one note in their games.

CT: And there's still the kind of like, okay, so are we sleeping together? Yeah. Or we do not. All right. No, okay, great, fine. God, I had to go through all the different fucking options just to go like, Is this, is that, no, no, okay, fine, right, yeah. So in terms of nuance and dynamic, it's you've got your issues over there, but regardless, can I just say the right thing? Uh, or not, you know, or be pure, or whatever. Garrus was always a favourite for me.

F: Oh yeah, Garrus, Garrus is great.

CT: Yeah, yeah. I'll be honest I didn't really appreciate quite how subtly all of the pieces are put together until I played through bits of the game and watched bits of the game afterwards [this relates to Rogue Trader]. Because there are so many different moving parts, but also so much is recorded out of order, it's very difficult to get a full appreciation of the whole, and it's the credit of the directors to just be able to give you enough for you to get it in two or three takes, because we gotta move on because time is money is time.

And so that's kind of crazy, where you've got to just act in faith in the moment and trust that the people who are listening on the other end feel as if they're getting what they need. Obviously the more you record, the more you get a sense of what the character is about and the palette and the playfulness and all of those kinds of things. But because there are such a multitude of choices anyway, no one can explain to you exactly the context of what it is because that's all such a movable feast as it is anyway.

F: That's a huge credit to voice actors to still get it right in three or four takes.

CT: Well, the aim is to give them options so that they can trial it out and be able to have a playfulness about things. It's always nice when you go like, I'm just going to try this different take on how this might traditionally be read as or something, and then you maybe hear that in the game and go like: Oh, okay, that's a little bit of whatever.

Because quite often you'll probably be told to read a line no more than three times, and the first time that you read a line, that you read it out loud is the first time that you read the line at all. So, you don't read it in advance, and sometimes that goes in. It's normally the second or third take, I would say, but that depends very much on the voice actor. Because quite often, the whole point is to be quite good at sight reading, and sometimes there's a spontaneity in the reading of something for the very first time, which might give something a little bit unexpected, or a little bit fresher.

And then you realise halfway through, there's a word I have no idea how to pronounce. Is it von Valancius? Von Valancius as it's written or von Valen and you're just like, the hell? Okay. And then you need to go back.

F: Or his name actually, because as a German, we have Heinrich as a first name. So is it Haynrix? Is this Hainrix? But we can say it's Low Gothic, so it doesn't matter.

CT: I have recorded different versions of my name, and the last time I was told it was Haynrix and I was like, really? Haynrix? Okay. Sure? But I've not had a definitive conversation about that, so I don’t know whether or not they change it or, or whatever.

F: I settled on, it's Low Gothic and not the German version and it's fine because that's a fantasy language. It doesn't matter. And I know from other voice actors that sometimes you don't get any directions on how something is pronounced.

CT: Quite often we're just taking an educated guess. I mean, they're very good in terms of some pronunciations, but if no other character is saying this word except you, then there's probably not a guide for it in which case you just make sure that you record it somewhere. So, it's consistent. So, if you're saying it more than once, at least you're saying it wrong consistently. So that becomes the new, right?

F: What was your most memorable work to date? Stage or voice acting?

CT: Stage or voice acting or whatever? God, I would say one was a production of Crime and Punishment. There you go. It was a three-person adaptation of the massive book really condensed into about 90 minutes, essentially. Quite a radical adaptation, but it was a beautifully written adaptation, and I think I did it probably about 2017, 2018. That was wonderful storytelling because it had so much of the original flavour in it and also this ambiguity of character. A much more ambiguous character than someone like Heinrix. Someone who is so eminently fallible and flawed, and yet trying to find a through line through it and a making of sense and the justification for the reasons why people do bad things. That is pretty iconic for me as an experience.

I do feel lucky that a lot of the things that I'm able to explore in the video game or in the voiceover world generally are completely new and unexpected things. Whereas on stage, unless you're doing a lot of new writing, the vast majority of the time, it's a role that you're familiar with or have seen or have heard about. It's pre-existing. Whereas with some of these video games, you get to create that whole original world or character and that kind of stuff. Which is why if anybody asks me, what role do you want to play? I'm like, the role that I don't know exists yet, and Heinrix is very much one of those. Like, I had no idea and neither did I have any idea that it would develop in the way that it did.

But the whole process itself is a lot of fun and you work with very cool people to tell a completely new and original story. But having that ambiguity, having that tension within the character, every actor has to find that for themselves anyway, just to keep creatively engaged and alive, but have that so vividly running as an undercurrent and for it to be able to go in different ways, that's such a cool kind of thing. I'm just so up for more of those kinds of opportunities. Maybe hopefully in the future, we'll see.

F: Has voicing Heinrix opened any doors? Did you notice an uptake in offers?

CT: I think it means that a few more people probably know who I am, and that's cool. A few more people. Yeah, it's definitely been referred to. Other than that, I don't know. But it certainly doesn't hurt being involved in such a high profile and well respected, well-loved game. I mean, for me as well, because I've done various different aspects of stuff in that world. That doesn't hurt.

I love the whole Warhammer 40k universe, at the same time I don't want to just be like, I'm a 40k actor and that's all I do because that world also probably doesn't need just another white middle-class man in it, even if that is like 70 percent of the world. Like you say, they're trying to broaden it out and diversify it and necessarily if it wants to get to a bigger audience and have a healthier ecology on so many different kinds of levels. So, I don't want to go all in on just that, even if it's a very rich world. So, it was a real pleasure.

F: Would you want to broaden your repertoire into radio plays, because I know on your LinkedIn, you write, you're the voice when Cumberbatch is busy and listening to you, there are undertones of Benedict Cumberbatch in your voice, and Benedict before he became really popular, he did something like Cabin Pressure, which is so fun.

CT: Yeah.

F: Would you be open to doing radio plays like that?

CT: Definitely. I've just recently come from a voiceover conference in the UK and did a couple of workshops and that reminded me of what the work is that I want to actively seek out. And there's a lot of audio drama stuff floating about, a lot of that is available via social media or is operated in the U.S. as opposed to in the UK., though there are some great ones in the UK. as well, and it's tricky to know why and how to validate some of those things. So, it's something that I would love to explore doing more of as well as, you know, you can do these audio drama things, which are kind of like shorter versions of audio books, almost essentially with not so many voices. And I think those medium and short form ways of storytelling would be lovely. It would be great because I'm not right for a lot of video games.

I don't think I'll ever be actually a very prolific video game actor if that makes sense because I'm okay at shouting and I can play some monsters and I've got a couple of accents in the bag and that kind of thing in terms of doing voices. People will say it's about the acting Chris, it's not about voices, but doing some voices and being able to nail certain things there are people that are brilliant at that. But there are people who have probably a wider palette of voices than I will ever have.

I never started out as a voice actor. I'm very much an actor who uses the voice, and I'm trying to broaden that out a little bit more as I keep on going. But I want to open myself up to more different types of stuff to be creatively fulfilled. The prospect of going into a recording session and screaming “grenade” and “bang” is not very fulfilling. I did that for a few games, and then I'm done with that. Like the money's not good enough for me to do that. I mean, never say never. If the money does become good enough, then we can talk. But you push your voice and it's a different kind of acting, I'll put it that way.

F: So, last question. What would be a dream come true project for you?

CT: A dream come true project? Probably something entirely original that I can't imagine. I would love to be able to work on an audio project where I'm working with other actors in real time. I would love to be able to work with most of the cast in Rogue Trader, for example, but I’d love it for us to be able to have dialogues where you're actually responding to each other as opposed to insert A, B or C here, that kind of thing. Because that's the one thing I kind of miss so much from the audio side of work is you getting something unexpected from the other person and then riffing off it. You have to self-generate as a voice actor that a director will go do you want to try it like this? Or maybe like this, it's supposed to be funny. Try it dead pan, that kind of thing.

But quite often that kind of spontaneous element of discovery only comes from when someone gives you a line in a way that you really didn't expect, and maybe it makes you laugh, when it's supposed to be tragic or whatever, those kinds of things. The biggest thing I miss about stage work is when you're working with an actor at the top of your game and they raise you up to their level. It's terrifying, but in the best way. Some actors can do that effortlessly because they're so in the moment, because they don't know what they're going to do next, even though they can find their light and make sure that the audience is still seeing their brilliant acting at the same time. Clever, clever bunnies. That feeling because they don't know exactly where they're going, you're kind alive to the moment in a way that quite often you're not, and if there was a way to be able to replicate that in an audio way and a long form storytelling way, then that would be cool.

I've just started playing a little bit of D&D and I don't know if I'll ever get good at that, especially in terms of like, so I've got to come up with words. Oh my God. Whereas I will never watch a D&D playthrough for four hours on YouTube myself, personally, life choice, I can start to understand the appeal of that because there's an element of that spontaneity and playfulness, but in a group. So, if there was a way to do that with actually scripted drama, I'd be all in on that. That would be amazing. Or some kind of hybrid. So I don't know exactly what that is, but that kind of thing would be quite cool.

F: That's what the BBC did with Cabin Pressure. I attended one live recording and it was just amazing. You have all the other actors [apart from Benedict Cumberbatch] that are household names. And to see them act and how little takes they actually need for the lines and everything is amazing.

CT: Yeah, there's an appreciation of the craft, but it's also the fact that it's not into a void. It's not like, okay, we've done three. Is that okay? We're onto the next. I think in many ways it can make the work much easier, because you're using your imagination, but in a different way, because you're operating with a stimulus. And that's always exciting.

F: And good D&D is just like improv theatre.

CT: Yeah, exactly.

F: Really good players are spontaneous. Just very creative.

CT: That should be celebrated and I think harnessing more of those kinds of things would be fun, because in all honesty, still probably about 60, 70 percent of the work that I do is in the corporate and business sphere. That's just because of how I sound. I didn't go out to court that work particularly, but in terms of the stuff that pays the bills regularly, that's the kind of stuff that I do. Even then, you're trying to find levels of playfulness or colour so that you're not just coming over with: “in a world where you can trust a big corporation to take your money.” So, there's any kind of nuance or subtlety to that, that will be a good thing. So that's the kind of stuff that I crave as a result.

F: Thank you for your time.

CT: Oh, my pleasure.

F: It went by so fast. We went over time; I still have a lot more questions.

CT: Oh, sorry.

F: No, no, no, no, no, no. That, that's, that's absolutely fine. Thank you.

#chris tester #heinrix van calox #rogue trader #warhammer 40k #rogue tradercrpg #owlcat games

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