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harcourtholmesii · 2 years

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First Row: - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim; Primarily, I adore the open world and making it all your own. - Fallout 4; Much the same as above, just in a setting I can appreciate more (post-apocalyptic). - Among Us; When I am a crewmate, I am the most suspicious person in the group. When I am the murderer, I am the most innocent of beans. I enjoy the irony, I think is what I am saying. - Red Dead Redemption; Honestly, I haven't played this game in a loooong time, but I remember loving it all. The world and space, hog-tying criminals and leaving them on train tracks... Ah, the good times. - The Red Lantern; It is a game of beautiful puppy dogs and I love it. Puppy deaths are off, because I can't stand the thought of it as is, I don't need to bawl my eyes out over a Nintendo Switch game. Second Row: - Assassins' Creed II; What I felt was missing in the first game was massively improved upon and explored in this one. Not to mention, a very charismatic main cast and a gorgeous setting in Renaissance Italy. - Dungeons & Dragons (Fifth Edition); Whilst you didn't specify video games, I had to put this TTRPG here, simply because it rules my every waking moment. - Dead By Daylight; The community is a love/hate box of mad cats, and the game is a cruel mistress, but I am addicted to it! I love it far too much. Claudette and Zarina are my main survivors, and though I rarely play killer, both Trapper and Pyramid Head are my mains. - Cuphead: Don't Deal With The Devil; This game was tough, and there are still certain bosses I dread to face again, but I love it all the same. The lore is interesting, the style is beautiful and the soundtrack is such a bop. There is a reason I just have 'Don't Mess With King Dice' in my usual youtube playlist. - The Lord Of The Rings: Battle For Middle Earth II; I absolutely love this game, and I am so disappointed that I can't run it on my newer computer. I haven't played it in years, but it was my go to game 5+ years ago. Third Row: - Payday 2; My partner and I play this all the time. It is a game we both love to have, and whilst they are far better at it than I, there have been improvements made on my part. Sokol will forever be my main. - This War Of Mine; The addition of the expansion packs made this game work even better, at least for me. It is a hard game and a depressing one, but it is one I adore. For the life of me, I can't really fathom why, but every time I play it, I am immersed. - Sims 4; I only play this game to build. I have played some of the actual life simulation but it bores me pretty quick. Sims 2 was the only one of the Sims games that kept my interest in the actual gameplay. However, Sims 4 is my favourite for its style and the updating of the build/buy tools. - Infected; If no one has tried or played this TTRPG, I highly recommend it. It is a zombie game, but it is so much fun with a lot of character building options. It fuels my love of the genre so much! Fourth Row: - Team Fortress 2; Whilst I am more of a Mann vs Machine player, I do really enjoy most gamemodes for TF2. I haven't gone into many of the fan made works, though I really want to, simply because I am unfamiliar with how it works. My mains, in order of my frequency playing them, are; Medic, Sniper, Scout and Pyro. - Pokemon Sword; I'll admit, I don't have much to say about this game. I do genuinely enjoy it, but Pokemon games have never really been to my fancy. I love seeing them roam about the wild, though! - Until Dawn; The first game that I saw published by Supermassive Games, and my overall favourite. Yeah, the characters don't really behave all that realistic/aren't really relatable, but the game is fun with some really good jump-scares and storytelling. - Outlast and Outlast Whistleblower; There are a number of games on this list that deserve a viewer discretion warning. This, however, takes the cake. Probably the most violent and horrific of the horror genre on this list, both the main game and its DLC are brilliantly terrifying and with a very in-depth and well-crafted story (in my humble opinion). - Northgard; A game remarkably similar to Battle For Middle Earth II, and yet, with a lot more to it and a very harsh spike to its difficulty. Sometimes I just chill on normal mode, other times I am losing my mind as a blizzard rolls in for Winter. Goat clan all the way! I shall have all of the fluffy bois! Fifth Row: - Detroit: Become Human; This game gets a lot of well warranted critique, and understandably so, but it does not dampen my love for such an interesting concept and a wonderful cast of characters. Connor's storyline is, by far, my favourite, followed by Markus' revolution. - Telltale's The Walking Dead (Seasons 1 and 2); This game hurts me inside. It really does. I do not much appreciate how the story turned in the second season, but the first is fantastic and the second is a worthy, if harsh, follow up. As for the other two seasons and the DLC, I'm afraid I have not played them. - Minecraft; This is a game made for me to waste time. It is both stressful and stress-relieving. It might be childish, but it lets me whittle away the hours I have stewing in my own consciousness. - Telltale's The Wolf Among Us; Holy Hell, I love this game! Good guy Bigby all the way but I adore most everything about it. The style, the main character, the rest of the cast (especially Faith, Grendel and Bloody Mary), and just the story pulls me in, no matter how many times I play it. - Call Of Duty: Black Ops II (Zombies); This one is just fun. I used to play this all the time with a friend and we have been slowly getting back into it and getting better every time. If you want just straight action and a rising difficulty on horde mode, I would highly recommend!

A short list of honourable mentions below: - Warhammer End Times: Vermintide - Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn - Garry's Mod: Prop Hunt - GTA V - The Forest - Gartic Phone - Papa's Something-eria - Google's Internet-Is-Down Dinosaur Game

Whoo! And that should be most, if not all of it. This was a long and unnecessary answer, but I am an indecisive hooman being who felt the need to answer in detail.

Now is the time for me to return to my lair. See below:

Until I am awoken again, thank you @ur-typical-nerd for the lovely ask, and sorry for the unnecessarily long rant. Have a good one!

#Favourite Game Bingo #Not Sure If Tumblr Will Like Me Excessively Tagging This Post #So I Won't #Answering A Question #HarcourtHolmesII

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romana-after-dark · 7 months

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Dead Dove December

Hello everyone! This December I’m hosting an event for the Oscar Isaac and Pedro Pascal fandom that I’m calling, Dead Dove December! From 12/01/2023 - 12/31/2023 I’m encouraging others to create something that expresses their deepest and (most importantly) darkest desires. I will be reblogging all pieces of art or fanfiction, and will post a masterlist in January.

Details below the cut…

What is Dead Dove Do Not Eat?

Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, or DDDNE has its origins in one of my comfort shows!

The phrase comes from a meme referencing the 2003 Arrested Development episode "Top Banana", in which Michael Bluth opens a paper bag labeled "DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT" and, upon discovering that there is a dead dove inside the bag, says, deadpan, "I don't know what I expected." - fanlore.org

In short, what you see in the tags is what you should expect to see in the fic. This can apply for any type of fic, including the fluffy ones, but it’s usually associated with darker themes. That being said, this is your warning that this is a DARK THEMED EVENT. If you aren’t comfortable with darker topics like non-con, excessive violence, blood/gore, death, toxic relationships, 18+ age gaps, and more, then I encourage you not to participate in this event.

How to Participate

For the month of December, post your Dead Dove fanfiction or fan art on your blog. Use the tag #deaddovedecemeber2023 and tag me. You can also send a link via ask or DM if you like! I will not be posting anything for you, just reblogging and linking. At the end of December I will post a masterlist with links to everyone’s works! Side Note - Since Tumblr doesn’t really allow for NSFW art, you can post your work on Twitter or any other site that allows it and just send me that link so I can add it to the masterlist.

Rules

You MUST be 18+ to participate. I will be checking your blog/social media to be sure. Please make sure your age is easy to find. If I find that you’re a minor or if your age isn’t readily present I will be blocking you and you will be unable to participate. You can just add that you are over 18 if you don’t want your age out on the internet. As the creator and promotor of this event, I need to know I’m not interacting with minors given the nature of this event.

The work MUST be dark in some way. There’s no limit to how dark your work needs to be or can be, but it needs to contain some sort of dark theme in order to qualify. If non con isn’t your thing, dub con via stockholm syndrome or brainwash can let you write a more comfortable scene while still remaining dark. Fics and art do not necessarily need to be NSFW.

Do NOT post anything before 12/01/2023. I will not count submissions prior to that date or after 12/31/2023. Masterlsit will be posted in January.

Your work MUST contain the proper tags. I won’t police how detailed your tags should be, but, for instance, if your work contains non-con, and you didn’t tag non-con then your work will not qualify. Please be inclusive in your writing where you can.

You may submit no more than two (2) pieces. This can include a fanfic and fanart, two fanfics or two fanarts. This is to allow someone to write a piece and make a work of art to accompany it.

I’m not going to yuck someone’s yum, but there are some things I’m just personally not comfortable with and since I’ll be reading/viewing all of these, I have a few things not allowed in the event. The list of what’s NOT allowed is shorter than the list of what IS allowed so here’s a list of the things that will NOT be tolerated in this event:

No underage/aged up minor content - To clarify, this includes things popular ships like - TLOU 1 or Show Ellie x Joel or Miguel O’Hara X Gwen Stacy. No "ageing up" minors for the purpose of a fic.

No Bestiality - To clarify, monsterfucking does NOT count as bestiality (at least to me). For example, werewolves, venom, Khonshu, e.t.c. are all allowed.

No incest - To clarify, step-sibling/step-parent relationships are permitted as long as everyone is 18+. Selfcest relationships are also allowed (like Moon Knight or Miguel with his alternate self, e.t.c.).

If you’re unsure if something is allowed or not, you can send me a DM or an ask for clarification prior to posting.

You can use any prompts you want or none, you aren’t tied to any one idea but here are some to get the ideas flowing if you need them!

Also, you can absolutely use a fic to inspire your art, or art to inspire a fic! Your inspiration piece, whether yours or someone else’s does not have to be from December, but you MUST obtain permission from the original creator before I promote your work. Most creators are happy when their work inspires others, and all my fics are open to being used for inspiration, but please reach out to the creator first.

I’m very excited! I’ve never done anything like this before so things may be updated as I go so bear with me! Looking forward to seeing what you all come up with!

Dividers and header made by the amazing @melodygatesauthor

Please consider reblogging to spread the word!

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writingquestionsanswered · 5 months

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Fan-Fiction: Warning the Reader About Content

Anonymous asked: Hi, I'm writing a fic that deals with a pretty excruciating topic, I don't want to do it too explicitly, but not superficially either. The suffering of the protagonist could cause upset readers, so what do you suggest I do to warn them without spoilers and without discouraging reading? (Because as already said it's not too graphic, so I wouldn't want to warn too excessively.) Also, how can I write something angsty and still be believable? I don't want it to be overly melodramatic but I don't want it to be superficial either

[Ask edited for length.]

If you're writing fan-fiction and are posting it to a fiction sharing site like AO3, there are tagging protocols in place for story content, so you would need to look at what's required or typical for users of the site.

If you're posting it to a site like tumblr, you will want to do some research on how content warnings and tags are handled on that site specifically. For example, on tumblr, if the character is going to experience domestic abuse, you would at the very least use the hashtag trigger warning for domestic abuse, which you will see me use (among others) in this post because of the content we're discussing.

Depending on what you're posting and where, you may also choose to do an author's note to give the reader additional warning. Again, using domestic abuse as an example, you could do something like, "Author's note: while the protagonist in this story does experience domestic abuse, it is not explicit and most of it occurs off the page." This gives the reader an idea of what to expect on top of the relevant trigger warnings/content warnings and appropriate tagging.

As far as how to properly portray the situation with the right amount of angst but without melodrama, it's a good idea to do some research on the situation you're trying to portray. It's very helpful if you can find a guide to portraying a character with that experience, and even more helpful if you can find firsthand experiences via interviews, blog posts, etc. where people discuss their feelings during and after the experience. You may also wish to use a sensitivity reader who can vet your portrayal and make sure it isn't inauthentic or harmful

I hope that helps!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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#tw domestic abuse #tw suffering #tw angst #writing tips #wqaadvice

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boobearymuch · 10 months

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Revisiting Vices

Summary: You thought you knew Leon pretty well by now, but finding him on the balcony tonight with a cigarette in hand had you thinking – wow, maybe you didn’t. Tags: Leon S. Kennedy/gn!reader, light angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, insomnia, sex is mentioned (very very briefly), smoking, cigarettes, Leon S. Kennedy needs a hug Word Count: 1.4k Read on AO3

Notes: ao3 shutting down traumatized me enough to get over my fear of posting fics on tumblr 💀 enjoyy <3

It’s never bothered you – the way Leon’s insomnia seems to have bled into your own nighttime routine. Ever since his return from Spain – a trip he refused to discuss – the occasional bouts of insomnia have turned into a far more persistent beast. There was only so much you could do for him, only so much he would allow you to do for him – if only he could just open up. You thought you knew Leon pretty well by now, but finding him on the balcony tonight with a cigarette in hand had you thinking – wow, maybe you didn’t.

“Those things will kill you, you know.” You’re trying to tease, but it comes out half-hearted. Something is wrong. He used to smoke, but quit after being drafted into that top secret government program of his. You’re not sure when or how he got his hands on a pack of smokes, but something about the way he fiddled with the cigarette told you this wasn’t his first one of the night. Leon gives you a weak laugh, a light huff of air that smelled of the cigarette’s musk.

“I’ll be back in bed soon. Get some rest.” You lean against the railing to watch him, much to his disappointment. He stares down at his hands, then you. “Are you mad?”

You shake your head softly. “Do you wanna talk?” Of course, he didn’t. You knew that. It’s why he sneaks off in the night to seek comfort in nicotine instead. Leon hangs his head and takes a drag. He does it so well, like he never quit at all. You can’t help but picture a younger version of Leon doing the same. Perhaps he smoked with other recruits during his police training; a young rookie who would rather cough and splutter than admit he couldn’t keep up with the tar.

“Not really ready to.” Leon admitted gently, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” You wrap your arms around yourself and decide to face the street instead. You just didn’t want him to be alone right now. Leon had a nasty habit of getting stuck inside his own thoughts, which made the insomnia worse. Silence fell between the two of you – comfortable and long – as he smoked. You didn’t check the time before rushing to find Leon, but it had to have been early morning based on the quiet street below. A pair of pale blue eyes calmly watched you survey the stars above, or what little could be seen through the light pollution.

“I used to live near a casino as a kid.” Leon’s words cut through the night air, and you nearly jolted from his sudden – albeit quiet – declaration. His voice came out hushed, as if afraid of disturbing the city’s peaceful night. “About thirty minutes away from our house. We went all the time. Not to gamble, of course – I was too small for that. My family liked going to the buffet.” His cigarette tapped against the railing, shaking off the excess. “I hated going. You couldn’t escape the smell of cigarettes.” You watched the end of Leon’s mouth flick up into a tired smile that never reached his eyes. “But the chocolate cake was the best there.”

Leon worries you sometimes. Just as he begins to pull away, he’d catch himself, and somehow reel you both back in. The story about the casino almost felt like an apology somehow. Like he was saying, I’m sorry I can’t tell you everything yet, but here is what I’m willing to share. “You think all chocolate cake is the best.” You whisper back. Leon shakes his head, your response genuinely making him smile.

“I have standards, you know.” You hum lightly, feigning disbelief, and silence prevails again.

Maybe on another night he would have stayed in bed; it wasn’t unusual to wake up to gentle tugs as Leon played with the hem of your sleep shirt, staring off into the darkness. On nights like those, he didn’t like talking either. Instead, he’d feign some half-hearted apology for waking you – but you both knew he meant to – before softly sliding his hand up your shirt. The sex took his mind off of whatever haunted memory came to plague his thoughts in the cruel hours of the night when sleep eluded him. He’d mewl soft thank you’s into your neck, fist your shirt like your flush bodies weren’t nearly as close as he needed you to be.

After, you’d run a shaky hand through his tousled hair and refuse to sleep yourself until Leon’s breath evened out into a light snore. To you, there wasn’t a sweeter sound in this world that could compete. And no sweeter sight than the blush across his cheekbones the next morning when you teased him for drooling on your shirt. Perhaps he felt guilty for waking you like that so often. Maybe that’s why cigarettes have taken your place tonight.

Another cloud of smoke fills the night air as Leon exhales, this one shakier than his last. “You don’t have to stay out here, you know.” Leon isn’t looking at you when he says this, “One of us should get a good night’s sleep, at least.” He then huffs out a mirthless laugh, “Fuck, I feel like I’m giving you second-hand insomnia at this point.” You bite your lip to hold back a stupid grin, but Leon frowns at you, “That wasn’t meant to be a pun.”

“You’re a natural.”

“I’m serious.” He insists.

A hum leaves you. “I am too. I’m out here because I want to be.” You gravitate to him without meaning to, your hand landing on his arm like a satellite pulled into orbit. His sullen eyes drop to the contact and stay there, “You don’t have to do this alone.” Your thumb gently glides across his moonlit skin, “And as long as I’m here, you won’t have to, got that?”

You don’t mind reminding Leon of this every so often. You’d repeat it a thousand more times if you had to, and you might. There’s a heavy pause after your statement as Leon watches your hands. You understood that he was worried, but losing a few hours of sleep to give him company – peace – was well worth it. An ambulance siren starts up somewhere in the distance, and he finally nods in defeat. “Okay.”

“Okay,” You repeat and let go of his arm, “Glad we settled that.” He curiously watches you step away to press your back against the railing, content with yourself. “You know, some chairs would be nice out here. I’m always thinking that, but I dunno, what do you think?”

You thought he didn’t hear you at first with how long it took him to finally respond to your dumb ramble. “Yeah,” He breathes out, and you hum comfortably. You’re about to suggest a shopping trip in the afternoon when a sudden pair of arms are pulling you to the side. The world spins when Leon’s warm lips find yours, kissing you like your skin holds all the answers to his desperate questions. And you don’t mind that his mouth tastes like cigarettes and unspoken horrors. You welcome his touch, his tongue, his broken gasps; you welcome all of him as he is. When he pulls away, his eyes are still closed, but your own trace every inch of his tired face. You wished he’d let you in on what’s going on in his head tonight. If you could ease his pain – just for a bit – it’s all you could ask for. Leon will come to you on his own terms though; it wasn’t anything personal. It takes courage to face the monstrosities of this world, but even more to talk about them.

You only noticed he extinguished his cigarette when both his hands rose to trace your jawline. “Are you ready for bed?” He asks breathlessly.

“Only if you’re coming with me.” You murmur back.

“Yeah,” He sighs, thumbing your cheek, “I think I’m ready.”

It occurred to you, in the early rays of morning sun, that maybe Leon couldn’t sleep because he was scared to. Maybe stewing in his own thoughts for hours on end fared him better than whatever horrors awaited in his dreams. But in the glow of morning light, Leon slept so soundly, so quietly. Your hand came up to softly brush a stray piece of blonde hair away from his cheek; what were you dreaming of, Leon? What keeps you up at night?

You’ll never know for sure, but maybe you didn’t need to.

#comments really appreciated !!#leon kennedy #leon kennedy x reader #leon kennedy x you #resident evil #re4 leon #resident evil leon #leon kennedy fluff #resident evil 4 #leon kennedy x male reader #leon kennedy x female reader #leon kennedy x gn!reader

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morningberriesao3 · 7 months

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Dom!King!Steve Harrington X Sub!Eddie Munson

Get High, Go Down: a series of “next time”s

Summary: Steve doesn’t have any money on him, so he offers to pay Eddie some other way.

Word Count: 3.6K

Part: 1 of 4

A/N: this series was one of the first things I posted on ao3, so i want to apologise for any incorrect grammar/awkward delivery. i’ve come a long way since then in my writing (i’m still learning everyday), but this was still received really well 🥹 so as a throwback, she’s joining the realm of tumblr. thank you to anyone who reblogs, comments, likes, messages, or tags me in posts or challenges (even if sometimes I don’t do them ‘cause i’m too nervous lmao). I thrive off interaction so ilu all sm.

Content Warning: this series includes explicit m/m sexual content including oral sex, dom/sub undertones, light S&M, under-negotiated kink, pain play, nipple play, anal play, anal sex, rimming, multiple orgasms, cum & spit play (a lot of wet and messy things), spit kinks, pain kinks, praise kinks, semi-public sex, light feminization, switching, unsafe sex, and impact play. Excessive swearing. Recreational drug use and drinking. All characters are—and always will be—18 or older, whether stated or not. This post is intended for adults ONLY. I am not responsible for the media you consume.

DONE DEAL

Fir Street, Forest Hills trailer park. Trailer number 3401.

Steve sat in his burgundy BMW staring at the flickering lights that danced from inside the trailer’s windows. The familiar rusty van, famously belonging to Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson, was parked beside him. Alarmingly unassuming.

He was definitely in the right place.

He nervously maneuvered his body from his vehicle. As far as Steve knew, Eddie didn’t love doing house calls. He mostly conducted business in one of the abandoned bathrooms at Hawkins High, or behind the school in a small clearing of the forest that surrounded it.

But Steve was desperate.

He climbed the metal stairs of the trailer, sure that his weight clanking on the steps already signaled his arrival. He still lifted his fist to the door and knocked three times.

From inside, Steve could hear some shuffling and perhaps what was a grunt from Eddie Munson’s lungs. He tried not to think about how hot his face felt from hearing the simple sound.

Then the door to the trailer swung wide, and there stood Eddie: tall, shirtless, tattooed, and… fuck, pierced? Yes, Pierced. Those were definitely nipple piercings on his pale, bare chest.

Steve felt hotter than before.

“Steve Harrington?” Eddie sung, letting his eyes slowly cascade from the top of Steve’s mass of hair all the way down to his white and red Nikes. Eddie lifted the last of a cigarette to his lips, taking a final long drag, before flicking it past Steve’s shoulder into the gravel outside. His gaze landed on the eyes of the boy in front of him. “To what do I owe this magnificent honour?”

“I…” Steve felt suddenly lost for words. Sure, he was The King of Hawkins High. But nobody, royalty or not, could ever seem bigger than Eddie Munson. He was larger than life. Majorly intimidating. After what seemed like way too long standing on Eddie’s steps (the metalhead watching with a bemused grin the entire time), Steve finally breathed out, “need weed. I came for weed.”

“Mhm…” Eddie crossed his arms and lazily rested his slender form on the doorframe. “And you thought you would bother me on a Thursday night, at –” he looked at the watch on his wrist “– 10:30pm to get said weed, instead of waiting like a good boy until tomorrow?”

Steve’s face felt so hot from Eddie’s words that he thought he might melt into a molten pile of lava right then and there. He was tongue tied, a little embarrassed, and amazingly flustered. All he could do was nod in answer to Eddie’s question.

Eddie let out a sigh – one that would surely win him an Oscar for Most Dramatic (if that was such a thing) – and stepped aside. He flourished his arm in a somewhat inviting gesture for Steve to step into the trailer, but barely left enough room for Steve to push past him. Their chests lightly brushed against each other in the narrow doorway, Eddie refusing to give Steve anything other than the minimum amount of space to move.

Steve felt tight everywhere. His chest, his jaw, his fists. And especially in his jeans. It was unnerving.

“Alright, Harrington,” Eddie started, slamming the front door to the trailer, and pushing his way past Steve into what he could only assume was Eddie’s bedroom. The curly-headed man arrived back at the entranceway not a moment later with a black tin lunchbox firmly in his grasp. He basically threw it onto the countertop of the small kitchenette, which subsequently created a loud clatter that made a skittish Steve jump from his skin. “Half an ounce is thirty. I have half a mind to charge you an after-hours fee, but I’m feeling generous and will spare you. This once.”

Eddie cocked his head to the side and hung a plastic bag full of pot from his fingers.

“Uhh…” Steve shuffled from one of his feet to the other, looking between the bag of weed and Eddie Munson’s overly large eyes. Eyes that furrowed at Steve’s reluctance.

“What is it? Want some pre-rolls instead?” Eddie tossed the bud back into the container and lifted a separate baggy with a dozen or so joints perfectly wrapped within it. “Each one is five bucks. Or, for you, five for twenty-five.”

“Five for twenty-five?” Steve scoffed. “That’s not a deal.”

“Exaaaactly.” Eddie rolled his eyes. “So? How many do you want?”

“I… um. I don’t have any money on me.” Steve’s ears were ringing at the admittance. His head felt flooded and hot and muddled.

“Jesus Christ, Harrington!” Eddie tossed the weed back into his lunchbox and slammed the lid closed tight, making a point to shove it far away from Steve like he was no longer even allowed to look at Eddie’s stash. “Why did you come here if you knew you couldn’t afford it, hmm?”

This was it. This was why Steve had been so fucking nervous to come here. He took a breath meant to calm himself, but it didn’t come close to doing its job. “I thought we could… do a trade instead?”

“Pfft!” Eddie huffed, frustrated. “I’m sorry, your royal highness, but I don’t accept trades, or favours, or IOUs, or promises, or anything relating. I accept cash. That’s it. End of story.”

“Are you sure?” Steve stepped forward into Eddie’s personal space and was pleased to see the other man’s round eyes grow impossibly larger. “I feel like I could offer you something that you want, that isn’t cash.”

Eddie’s breath hitched, “and what, exactly, do you think that might be?”

“Come on,” Steve purred seductively, suddenly confident, reaching out to twirl one of Eddie’s curls between his fingertips. “I see how you look at me in the cafeteria. I saw how your eyes lingered in the locker room last week. And how you stare in my direction in algebra.”

“What?! I –” Eddie bit his lip as Steve leaned even closer, the two boy’s faces mere inches apart. His skin flushed a lovely shade of scarlet red from his cheeks down to his chest. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, man.”

“No?” Steve asked, closing the remaining distance between their bodies so they were flush against each other. He pressed his palm against the firm bulge in the front of Eddie’s jeans and gave it a tight squeeze. The noise Eddie made, somewhere between a moan and a gasp, went straight to his own dick. “Your mouth is telling me one thing, Munson, but your cock has an entirely different story.”

“Look, Steve…” Eddie panted, holding his hand out in front of him in defeat. “I’m sorry. Please don’t… Please don’t say anything to anyone. I just want to fucking survive the school year, man. That’s all.”

Steve tilted his head as he gave Eddie’s cock another firm press with his open palm.

“Ah!” Eddie’s head fell back and he bucked his hips reflexively into Steve’s hand, searching for any type of friction that might be awaiting him. “You can… You don’t have to do this. Just – just bring the money tomorrow. To school. O-or whenever you have it. I’m not picky!”

“Mmm… I don’t think I’ll have any spare cash any time soon,” Steve trailed his free hand down Eddie’s heaving chest until his fingers toyed with the handcuff buckle on his belt. “Plus, I’d rather not have any unpaid debts. You know?”

Eddie nodded, eyes glazed, chest glistening in a layer of sweat from the muggy late-spring air. “Yeah? I mean – yeah. I… get that.”

“I knew you would understand,” Steve whispered lowly into Eddie’s ear, before he flicked his tongue outwards over the lobe. Eddie’s knuckles went white as they clung to the edge of the countertop behind him. Steve pulled the bottom of Eddie’s ear into his mouth and sucked the metal stud that decorated it between his teeth.

Eddie moaned and finally moved one of his hands from his side to fist into the hem of Steve’s shirt.

“Oh... Oh, shit, Harrington” he rocked forward into Steve’s palm once again with more fervor than before. Steve’s hand started to unbuckle the leather around Eddie’s waist, but the latter pulled back from the attack of Steve’s lips on his ear. “I’m serious. You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, Steve. You really don’t”

Steve paused for only a moment to say, “Shut up, Munson,” before lunging forward to envelope Eddie’s plush lips with his own. A startled gasp came from the older boy, but he immediately overcame the shock and wrapped his arms around Steve’s middle, coaxing him to rock his hips into his now splayed legs.

“Fuck… Steve,” Eddie muttered as Steve thrust himself against Eddie. The two layers of denim did nothing to hide how hard either of them were.

Steve’s fingers travelled up Eddie’s torso and found his little pink nipples. He assaulted one with a rather aggressive flick, which cause Eddie to yell, open-mouthed, into the ceiling.

“Sensitive, are we?” Steve asked, rolling Eddie’s silver jewellery between his fingers before pinching the bud of his skin tightly.

Eddie keened, and Steve could feel his chest tremble beneath his fingers.

“Hurts!” Eddie’s voice cracked, his eyes squeezed tightly, causing a tear to escape from the corner of one.

“Do you want me to stop?” Steve asked, concerned he could be taking things too far.

“No! No!” Eddie’s eyes shot open, his own fingers moving over Steve’s, motioning for him to pinch down again. Steve obliged. “Ahh! Feels so good!”

“Mmm, of course you like it rough,” Steve whispered, lowering his head from beside Eddie’s so he could replace the fingers against the metalheads chest with his teeth instead. He bit down onto one of Eddie’s nipples, rolling the silver barbell with his tongue, and then eased off with his teeth to instead suckle at the sensitive skin.

Eddie sounded like he was sobbing above Steve, but his hands were tangled in the younger’s hair, pressing him against his skin. He was panting a string of words over and over, like a broken record: “Fuck yes, Steve, ahh, ow! Fuck, yes, Steve!”

“I think you could come just like this, couldn’t you?” Steve teased as he pulled back, taking in Eddie’s already fucked-out and completely dishevelled appearance. He was so fucking beautiful.

Eddie’s jaw hung open as he nodded in agreeance, his cheeks darkening in embarrassment.

“Well, maybe next time. I have a little more planned for you tonight,” Steve explained, finally undoing Eddie’s belt. He opened the button of his fly and pulled down his zipper. “Since you’ve been so understanding with me.”

Eddie’s eyes rolled to the back of his skull as Steve wrapped his fingers around his freed cock over his boxers. His skin was hot, even under the layer of cotton that separated them. He could feel a damp patch gathering steadily where the tip of Eddie’s length poked under the tent of fabric. He pressed his thumb there, rubbing the slicked cotton and subsequently Eddie’s leaking tip in teasing circles.

“Steve… St –” Eddie groaned unabashedly into the empty air, apparently unaware, or maybe uncaring, that his neighbours could most likely hear him. He was a noisy little thing, Steve noticed, much to his own pleasure.

His own dick was pulsing painfully under the stiff fabric of his Levi’s, the only relief he was getting was from the occasional thrust forward that he allowed himself into Eddie’s hipbone. It wasn’t doing much, but he was so turned on that it was probably more than enough.

Steve dropped down onto his knees with an alarmingly heavy thud – Eddie’s eyes popping out of his skull to look down on the younger boy in front of him. “If you liked my lips on your nipples, wait until you feel them wrapped around your dick,” Steve said smugly, lacing his fingers under the waistband of both Eddie’s boxers and his jeans, and tugging down.

Eddie’s cock sprang free in front of his face, bouncing once to hit against Steve’s nose, before it stood at full attention in front of his face. The trail of hair that led from Eddie’s navel attached to a thick patch of dark-brown curls that framed the top of his cock – thick and veiny with a slight upwards curve. It looked fucking delicious, like a cherry popsicle. Red and glistening and dripping like it was melting on a hot summer’s day.

Steve didn’t waste any time getting a taste.

All at once, he swallowed down Eddie’s cock until he could feel it pressing firmly against the back of his throat. He gagged and sputtered, not yet adjusted to the intrusion, but it didn’t stop him from pulling back and shoving forward again until his nose was buried in the patch of hair near Eddie’s skin. He shook his head back-and-forth, Eddie still firmly seated in his throat, nuzzling his nose in the soft curls. He wished he could breathe him in, but his airways were currently very restricted.

Eddie’s fingers tugged at his hair as he bobbed his head on Eddie’s length, saliva spilling from his gaping mouth, coating his chin and Eddie in a thick layer of wet that pooled and dripped onto the linoleum.

“Shit, shit, shit, aahhh!” Eddie huffed over Steve as his muscles of his thighs twitched under his fingers. “Your mouth – shit – Steve, it feels so good. So good.”

Steve hummed, squeezing where he rested his hands, and then shoved Eddie’s pants down further until they were pooled by his feet – his lower half completely naked. He tore himself away from Eddie and the older boy gyrated forward at the loss of his hot throat. Steve licked a firm, long line under Eddie’s shaft, trailing against one of the puffy, swollen veins that led all the way to his flushed tip. With the flat of his tongue, he lapped at the translucent white that drooled from its slit.

“You taste amazing, baby,” Steve said breathlessly, swallowing down the salty, musky taste of Eddie mixed with his own spit that gathered under his tongue.

“Steve, what are you –” Eddie gasped as Steve shoved his thighs farther apart, spreading him completely open in front of his face. He made eye contact with Eddie as he sucked two of his own fingers into his mouth, slicking them with the slippery mess within it. When he scissored his fingers apart, thin strings of drool connected them together in an obscene display.

As if asking a wordless question, Steve rubbed high on Eddie’s inner thighs – not quite reaching his ass, but the implications were loud and clear.

Eddie nodded, and that’s all Steve needed before he lifted his spit-lubed fingers up to Eddie’s entrance. The ring of muscle contracted under his tentative touch, Eddie mewling pathetically above him. Sobs racked his shoulders forward. Near tears.

No, not near tear. There were definitely already tears.

“Mmm, that’s it, baby. Just relax for me,” Steve cooed as he massaged his middle finger around Eddie’s asshole. Eddie’s cock – still near his face – twitched in neglect, or maybe in anticipation, as a string of precum beaded and fell from its tip. The droplet landed on Steve’s shirt, and he immediately used his free hand to bring the fabric to his mouth so he could lick it off. “Such a messy boy, Eddie. Getting me all wet, covered in my spit and your cum. Who’s gonna clean this mess, hmm?”

A choked laugh erupted from Eddie’s throat, “I think you’re doing a pretty good job of that yourself, Harrington.”

“Oh?” Steve abruptly stood to his feet and grabbed Eddie’s jaw. The latter squeaked a noise of shock as his mouth was roughly pried open by Steve – jaw wide and lips spread. “Gonna be a brat, are we? Why don’t you take some of your mess back then?”

With that, Steve spat directly into Eddie’s slacked jaw. A whimper escaped from his pillowy, pink lips as Steve allowed him to close his mouth and swallow the saliva – tainted with the flavour of his own cock – down.

“Holy fuck,” he whispered, almost to himself, as he stared with dazed eyes into Steve’s face. Steve couldn’t help but smile at how cock drunk Eddie looked as he licked at his lips. He hadn’t even swallowed down Steve and he was already a slobbering mess. Steve couldn’t help but wonder what the older boy might look like if he fucked into his mouth instead.

Next time.

He dropped back to his knees and pushed his finger against Eddie’s entrance until it sunk into the tight ring of muscle to the first knuckle. Eddie groaned and grunted, and his legs trembled as they struggled to keep him upright as Steve started sinking deeper and deeper into Eddie’s yielding body. Eventually his entire finger was seated inside Eddie’s asshole – he could feel the flutter of Eddie’s walls around him as his body sucked him in.

“Fuck, you’re so tight, Eddie,” he moaned, kitten-licking at the tip of Eddie’s straining cock that bobbed and twitched so close to his face. Eddie cried something entirely incoherent as his head fell backwards, smacking against the door of one of the kitchen cabinets. “I want to feel you wrapped around my cock one of these days. Don’t know how I’d ever fit in here though. You’re squeezing the shit out of my finger.”

As if to make his point clear as daylight, he pulled his finger nearly all the way out of Eddie’s body and plunged back in, this time with his ring finger alongside the middle. Eddie wailed, open-mouthed, grabbing at Steve’s hair and tugging. Steve grunted from the pain and his cock throbbed under his jeans. He was ridiculously hard, and it would admittedly not take much to make him come, so he slotted one of Eddie’s legs between his thighs as he knelt on the ground.

He continued to fuck into Eddie with his fingers as he thrust his hips forward into Eddie’s calf, matching the moans of the boy above him. When Steve curled his fingers inside Eddie’s body, he found the bundle of nerves that nearly made Eddie’s legs give out.

“Holy – fuck!” Eddie gasped like a fish out of water above Steve as he stroked his prostate over and over. “Oh! Steve! Whatthefuck?! What – Steve. Ah, ah, ah!”

“Mmm, that’s the good spot, isn’t it, Eddie,” Steve said, smugly. He twisted his finger just right to rub against that sweet spot with an intentional pressure that made Eddie weep above him. “Do you like that?”

“Yes, yes, yes, yes,” Eddie blubbered atop Steve. His cock twitched aggressively until it was nearly straight up, and then it bobbed back down again against Steve’s cheek. “Oh God, I’m – Oh. Oh. Oh God, I’m so –”

Steve rutted his forgotten dick against Eddie’s calf, so close to his own release from hearing Eddie’s sobbing desperation. Desperation that Steve was bringing to him.

“You’re gonna come, Eddie?” Steve grunted as he pushed himself against Eddie’s leg over and over, continuing to massage those sinful noises out of the boy above him.

“Yes! Yes… gonna come –”

“Then come for me,” he ordered, taking Eddie’s dribbling dick all the way back into his mouth, and swallowing. As his throat contracted around his cock, Eddie thrusted forward. Hot liquid spilled down Steve’s throat in rivers, nearly choking him, but he managed to swallow down Eddie’s cum without a single drop missed.

“Fuck! Steve! Holy sh – Holy shit! So good, so fucking good!” Eddie’s asshole tensed around Steve’s fingers, impossibly tighter than before, as he fucked in and out of him throughout his orgasm.

With one more aggressive rut of his hips, Steve came inside his boxers, slicking them in a sticky heat that helped him slide under the fabric, rocking against Eddie during his aftershocks.

When he pulled his fingers out of Eddie, the man finally collapsed in front of him. He fell to his knees, and then onto his stomach, barely bracing for impact with his arms. He laid face-down, naked, gulping for air, on his kitchen floor. Used. Spent.

Steve was quite proud.

“You alive down there, Munson?” he quipped as he stood to his feet, trying to readjust in his pants as best as he could to get comfortable. It was no use – the cum was spread throughout his boxers and would be irritating until he had the chance to change them.

Eddie grunted a response against the floor but made no move to get up.

“Take what you want, man,” he flailed his arm in the general direction of his drug pail. “Take it all if you want. I don’t care.”

Steve snorted, giving Eddie’s side a nudge with his foot. Eddie managed to lull his head far enough to the side to look up at Steve, who stood with his arms crossed around his chest and a pleased smirk glued to his face.

“I’m gonna head out. It was a pleasure, Eddie. Truly.” He stepped towards the door.

“Wait – dude – your weed. Honestly. Take what you came here for.” Eddie scrambled to his feet, pulling his boxers up over his abused lower half so quickly he nearly tripped.

So fucking endearing.

“I already got what I came here for, Munson.” Steve said, opening the door to the trailer.

“W-what?” Eddie stammered, looking between the jock and his – still full – drug stash.

“See you at school tomorrow!” Steve called as he flung himself back into his BMW. He might have asked to stay longer if he didn’t desperately need a shower and a change of pants.

But as he thought before, there was always next time.

He smiled to himself as he pulled from Eddie’s trailer, watching the shell-shocked man – eyes ballooning and mouth agape – disappear in his rear-view mirror.

NEXT PART

MASTERLIST

SOCIALS

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changingplumbob · 1 month

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6 months in...

Have a teen Cassandra, Devin and Charlie.

Today makes 6 months since I've been posting, and about a year that I've been playing with my rotational save. I'm so happy to finally have people to talk to about my sims so this post, much like my 3 months post, is here to say THANK YOU

Thank you first and foremost for caring about what I have to share into the void. I really didn't think my little stories would gain any followers beyond the people I migrated here from Spoutible with. After all they're sims living simple-ish lives, making their families with less drama than the average story on here. And no tidying up filters or edits. Somehow you welcomed them into your dash and I'm extremely grateful. Thank you for every single like you give. For those that comment, thanks for the chats. For those that want to comment, I promise not to be scary. For those that don't want to comment or don't have time, guess what? I still appreciate you being on this journey with me!

On behalf of my sims, thank you for accepting them. Thank you for understanding they fall all over the map. They have different body builds, genders, romantic attractions, sexual attractions, woohoo drives, are neurotypical and neurodiverse as well as having different moralities (I have an evil sim and a good sim now? Can't remember if they've ever talked but they certainly know of each other). I'm trying to add in more ethnic/cultural diversity where I can but with long lifespans it can take a while.

Between you and me one of my biggest tumblr fears is getting to part 3 of a household only for someone to comment "These ones are so boring, get back to blah blah blah", but... that hasn't happened? Somehow I've been extremely lucky and landed in the part of tumblr where none of you post mean or rude things on my posts. For this I am incredibly thankful.

Thank you for accepting me being me, and everything that entails. Including days where my IBS keeps me from being overly literate. All the cute cats I have no choice but to reblog. Understanding I have no idea how to play tag properly. Not cutting me off for an excessive love of puns and shoving song lyrics into tags. For including me with the boops, virtual flower bouquets, and asks where I can't seem to give a short answer.

Thanks to you for not minding me commenting on your posts. Extra thanks for reblogging the content and stories you enjoy to broaden my horizons.

So until later today (or your tomorrow) when I introduce which household we'll be heading next I decided to do something different. I have on my external harddrive screenshots from when I decided to start writing alongside my sims gameplay. There was some weird happenings way back when so have a flashback or three.

What's that? A couple of you have followed me in the past three months and haven't seen my cat? Let me remedy that! Here she is with one of her two favourite blankets.

EDIT: I'm super nauseous today and will probably be off tumblr while my IBS settles and I have to take her *points above* to the vet because her arthritis meds have her off her food and I want to make sure we're doing what we can to keep up her food intake because she's a delicate 12 year old lady.

#6 months in #feeling grateful #thanks for being you #thanks for letting me be me

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bibi-likes-to-draw · 5 months

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‘Ello, Tumblr!

(Screen)name’s Bibi Likes To Draw (you can call me Bibi) and I like drawing, animation and having a fun time with my art!

For my art look at the tag art and for my text posts look at the tag text posts

DNI Of You Are…

A Troll

Ableist

Homophobic

Transphobic

Aphobic

A Racist

A MAP

A Zoo

If You Use My Art, Here’s How To Credit Me!

If you use my art in a pfp or a banner, please credit me in this format: [original photo/photo] by Bibi Likes To Draw

For the blue space, if you are putting the credit in you intro post or tumblr bio, you can just do it as a mention, but if you are putting it on another social, make sure my blog link is there.

Feel free to redraw any of my art, just as long as you credit me with the aforementioned format on your post!

Do not just repost or trace my art, even with credit. Thx!

I Take Art Requests! Here Are Things That I Am Not Ok With Drawing!

NSFW (I’m 14!)

Ships with characters under the age of ten

Ships between adults and minors

Ships with power dynamics

Codependent ships

Incest

Excessive gore (light gore and other forms of horror are fine, just don’t ask for anything too graphic!)

Anything that insights hate or violence towards any sort of minorities

Stuff About Me/Favorites Lists

I use any pronouns, I plan to take commissions soon, (but not yet!) My birthday is October 16, I do animation and illustrate, and my favorite fandoms are as follows (current hyper fixation in bold);

The Owl House

Undertale

Pokémon

Yo-Kai Watch

Kirby

Mother/Earthbound

Gravity Falls

Big City Greens

Sans AUs/UTMV (yes, it is it’s own fandom, fight me)

Sailor Moon

Rise of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Bendy and the Ink Machine

Baldi’s Basics

The Amazing Digital Circus

Super Smash Bros.

Bomberman

Epic Micky

And some of my favorite visual artists/animators are

@duchesscelestia

@zan-hoshi

@lamemummy59

Danna Terrace

Josh David McKenny (Pidgin Doll)

Cudlil

Ello Mellow

Nirami

Gigi

Fionapollo

Get Madz

@itsnicsalad

Kitten Sneeze

Dan Povenmire

Cinnamon_Mushroom :D

Twisted Doctor

Gooseworx

Aimkid

Most all of theses artists are either on here, YouTube and/or TikTok, so go show ‘em some love!

Also some of my favorite music artists/groups are

Jack Stauber

Toby Fox

Jaroslav Beck

Tom Cardy

The Greatest Bits

Keiichi Suzuki

Hirokazu Tanaka

Koji Kondo

Boom Kitty

The Living Tombstone

Hirokazu Ando

Jun Ishikawa

Gooseworx

Stuff I Make

Illustration and animation for the most part, but I plan to branch out into other creative endeavors soon! I am open to art requests!

My side blogs just for silliness! @bibi-likes-to-reblog, @ask-the-bombermen, @i-love-ac-bob,and @jokesupersmashbrospolls

My other socials: YouTube, Unvale

Any ways, have fun out there, random strangers on the internet! And may you day be better than the last!

#meet the artist #meet the artist meme #about myself #stuff i like #lists #favorite artists #my favourite #favorite #favorite music #digtal art #my art #art #art of me #pined post #masterlist #master post #updated #updated masterlist #masterpost

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magpiesmemes · 6 months

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|| Magpie's Tumblr RP guide ||

So it's been a while since I made one of these but with the shut down of omegle, more people are joining the site to rp, I figured I'd explain some of the basics.

Now none of these are necessary, you can just do as you do but these are some of the 'norms' here on tumblr currently. They may change and evolve over time, they've done so countless times in my time on tumblr but here's this for now for those who might find it useful!! Please feel free to offer feedback on this, I struggle with giving instructions so I've tried to make it as clear as possible but my brain isn't the best with this kind of thing. I will correct anything that needs correcting and add things as time goes on, so please do check back if you request an explanation/addition to something as I will try to add it asap.

Last updated: 29/11/23

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BASICS

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Basic Etiquette

Don't reblog roleplays that aren't yours, often this will mess up peoples thread trackers and it's a nightmare.

Rather than reblog asks to continue them as roleplays, make a new post and link the ask in that post. This avoids blog clutter for both parties.

ALWAYS read peoples rules and about pages. No exceptions.

No one is obliged to write their character purely as they are in canon. Canon divergence, au, or just additional headcanons for canon characters is very common. Do not make issue with someone just because their writing for a character doesn't fit with how you see them. It's their character, just don't write with them if you don't like how they write them. Simple as that.

Don't godmod. This means don't take control of a persons character unless otherwise instructed by the other writer, do not assume attacks immediately hit/injure/kill their character without prior planning for such a thing. You can write the attack, just don't assume it lands. This also applies to your character being aware of things - just because YOU know something, doesn't mean your character does.

Mun does not equal muse. Many people play villains because they're fun, don't assume that these people share the viewpoints of such characters just because they're writing them. The RPC would be painfully boring without some villain muses to stir the pot!!

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xkit rewritten

The absolute saviour of tumblr rp when you're on pc, unfortunately I don't believe it's available on the phone app but it's super useful for pc users. For chrome you can find it in the chrome extensions, I'm sure it's available similarly for other browsers. The functions on xkit that specifically benefit rp are: clean feed (for blacklisting any content you don't want to see), mutual checker, tag tracking+ and trim reblogs. Any others are entirely up to your discretion whether you want to use them or not. To use 'trim reblogs' the post must be in your drafts or posted, then you can use the little scissor tool at the bottom of the post to snip off older replies and avoid posts becoming excessively long.

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Settings

So if you're like me and want a chronological timeline for those you follow? Here's how to do that. Go into account settings. Not the blog settings to edit how that looks, you want the settings that has your account info, dashboard preferences, ect. Click 'Dashboard', which should be on the right hand side menu on your screen if you're using pc. Optional: Enable 'Show timestamps' so you can see how old posts are. I find this useful as it ensures I'm not responding to something that is 5 years old lmfao. Scroll down and turn off 'Best stuff first'. This should make your 'Following' tab chronological, ensuring you see whenever people you follow are posting.

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Blog Design

Try to make sure you have a header and an icon for your blog, you can set those using the 'blog settings' tab. Even if there's no picture of your character themselves, try to use an image that captures their vibe - this advice is for both the icon and the header tbh. While not having one isn't bad, it will make people less likely to follow back or perhaps even block you! Often iconless/headerless blogs are spam bots and everyone loathes those.

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Meanings of words commonly used by RP accounts:

Mutuals - Your mutuals or 'moots' are those following you that you follow back. Private - This means that the blog only interacts with Mutuals. Selective/semi-selective - Won't roleplay with everyone, they'll rp with people based on their own preference. Thread - A single rp storyline. Verses - Different timelines of characters. Eg. Kidverse, fantasyverse, ect. Mun/Mundane - You! The writer of the blog! Muse/Muses - Character/s you're writing. Faceclaim - The 'actor' of your muse, whether canon or otherwise. Who do you imagine playing them when writing or whose icons would you use for them.

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Tagging

When writing with someone it's a good idea to put their username in the tags at the very least, this allows them to find your threads easier. ie: '#magpiesmemes' would be used by others if they were to write with this blog.

Making tags for individual threads is also useful, meaning you can find specific rps far quicker. They don't have to be fancy but some people do like to make fancy ones. A nice simple one would be 'Thread: Threadname'.

Also having tags for specific verses is a good idea, indicating to your rp partner what timeline they're writing it. Something like '#kidverse' will do the job but you also can make those fancy.

Having a tag for rp memes you've reposted is a good idea also, meaning it's easier to find if someone wants to send you something. '#memes' does the job just fine.

Lastly, if you're a multimuse then having character tags is a good idea, indicating to people what character they're writing with. Something like '#charactername' is fine but again, any tag can be fancied up to your likings.

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Pinned Post

Having a pinned post at the top of your blog has become fairly standard practice in the rp scene these days. Usually this has your important links on it (rules/muse pages) and some explanation of what kind of blog yours is. For example: 'This is a Private, selective blog for charactername from fandom/an oc. Written by mun. [Ruleslink] - [Muselink]' This would work as a simple rudimentary introduction for people checking out your blog. You can pin a post by selecting the three dots in the top right on it after it is posted, ensuring it's the first thing people see when looking at your blog. This is mine, for example but it needn't be so indepth. I just have zero chill. If you're writing on a sideblog then it's best to also have a pinned post on your main account with a link leading to your roleplay account. That way people will know that you're a roleplayer looking to write if you follow them - and also they may follow the link to check out your stuff!

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Making Rules/Muse pages

These are important to indicate to people what you will or won't write, your personal writing preferences, ect. Many people won't rp with people who don't have these as it means they can't be sure of boundaries. People often use a post to do this, linking it in their pinned post to ensure people can find it. [Tutorial on how to link posts here]. That's the simplest way. You can also make a google doc or even make a carrd instead, linking them for people to refer to for this information. Alternatively you can use your pinned post and simply list it there - though there is risk of it cluttering your page if you have many muses. To avoid that, you can use a 'read more' such as the one this post was under. Make a new paragraph and various options come up, you want the one that looks like two straight lines with a squiggly line between them. [This icon].

Things to have on your rule page:

- Things you won't roleplay/triggers. - What is your stance on shipping (do you autoship with people who rp your muses partner or do you prefer chemistry first, ect.) - Writing length preference. Do you prefer short simple threads, paragraphs or more novella style? - Do you use icons? Do you prefer your partner would use/not use icons? Same questions with text formatting. - Tagging requests. Are there things you want to avoid on your dash using xkit's blacklist?

Things to have on your muse/about page:

- Basic description of who your character is, it's best to write it as if you're explaining them to someone who hasn't seen what they're from - even if they're a popular canon character. - If they're an oc with a universe of their own, a basic explanation of that universe would be useful but isn't really necessary if you can't/don't want to. - A picture reference of some kind is also useful, if possible. - A description of the verses you write them in. For example: 'Kidverse - This verse is set when my character is aged whatever and this is a short description of what they're like in that particular verse.'

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Advertising Your Blog

One of the many ways people advertise their blogs is by posting self promos. These are usually edited images with a little blog tagline, links to important pages and a short description of your blog. Here's an example of my own. Including tags of the fandoms you write in/write with is a good way to try and draw attention your way. Alternatively, if you're limited in your image making/editing skills you can make a simple post, perhaps with an icon or gif to draw attention. Explain your blog, what you write, who you're looking to write with, ect. Make sure to include tags so people can see it!

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More To Do?

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Okay, so you've got the basics down, now what? Well, there's a lot you can do to make your blog more functional and/or appealing.

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Thread Tracking

So you've got a roleplay but you're scared you'll forget to reply? I recommend RPThreadTracker. There's a how-to use it on the site faq and it's a lifesaver in keeping track of your threads tbh.

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Icons

Though not necessary, you can find icons to use usually by searching the 'charactername icons' or 'faceclaim icons' right here on tumblr, be sure to follow peoples instructions for using them though. Some people will want a like/reblog for their use.

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Formatting

Many people, like myself, use some form of text formatting when writing. Some of the usual ones are small text, like the one I'm writing in now. That's done either by using 'ctrl+shift+-', 'ctrl+-' or you can use this:

while highlighting text. This tool also allows you to colour your text, italicise, ect. Play around with it in your own time to see what works for you. Some other useful keyboard shortcuts:

'Ctrl+b' - Bolds highlighted selection 'Ctrl+i' - Italicises highlighted selection 'Ctrl+z' - Undo, good for if you've accidentally erased text you didn't mean to erase.

#tumblr rp #tumblr rpc #rpc #roleplay #omegle rp #Okay I'm posting this now and I'm gonna modify it later #seriously if there's stuff I missed/got wrong please do correct me I promise I won't bite

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yukidragon · 2 years

Text

An Examination of Joseph Cullman’s Childhood

Okay, while I don’t want to make a habit of answering twitter asks here on tumblr, this got my brain buzzing, and I want a little more room to ramble than in a tweet thread.

Before we get started, the lovely artwork I’m using for this post was drawn by Sauce/Jambeebot and was posted on their public twitter before it went down. As always, I’ll gently remind you not to post any of the private pictures from the SnaccPop Studio patreon. It’s only $3 to sign up, and it really supports this engaging game. Also, consider joining the Sunny Day Jack kickstarter, but hurry since there’s less than 2 weeks left to get the rewards.

Quick warning, Something’s Wrong with Sunny Day Jack is an Adults Only game, so there will likely be some mature themes discussed. At least one image I use will depict a person committing self-harm while being encouraged verbally to do so. Take care when indulging in this fandom.

Also, before I begin, I want to tag @channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars. If you want to be tagged when I make these headcanon posts, please let me know!

Oh, and while I’m at it, please let me know what you think about my SDJ fanfics, Sunshine in Hell and Sunshine in Another World. Thank you!

With all that out of the way, let’s get down to business.

First, let’s list out the facts we do know about Joseph’s childhood that are canon according to the official Sunny Day Jack twitter.

Joseph Cullman was (presumably) born in 1959, according to this memorial marker.

He attended Haberdae High School until he ran away during a school day at 12pm.

He traveled on foot and was last seen by train tracks.

He would be 63 years old at present day.

He got into trouble at school on a regular basis, as evidenced by comments on this disciplinary report.

Joseph had a habit of skipping school to the point that it seemed to frustrate his teachers.

He carried around a lighter and a small knife.

He “smelled of smokes” (cigarettes).

The disciplinary report was written on August 23, 1973, around the start of the school year.

He was given a 1 month in-school suspension.

The teachers were given permission to search Joseph’s belongings before class.

Joseph had changed his last name to Haberdae when he got the part of Sunny Day Jack.

As an adult, Joseph is concerned about putting children “in a bad position,” or something to that effect.

Joseph stated that he got his tattoos when he was in high school when he, “didn’t know any [better].”

The show’s psyche and development consultant made these assessments about Joseph at their first meeting:

Consultant: I’m willing to bet that you had a very hard life growing up. For someone so young to be so defined(?) in themselves and to lash out like that, making permanent adjustments to their bodies in order to stand out… You wanted attention, didn’t you? You wanted to be seen and heard and felt and loved…

Consultant: I’m sure you especially understand what it’s like to, say… have a parent or guardian tell you that they love you, right? But, maybe even as young as, say… six, you could tell that they didn’t really mean what they were saying.

So far, there’s no information about Joseph’s biological family, or about any friends he may or may not have had at any point during his childhood. The only relationship we get a glimpse of is the (presumed) frustration of the teacher writing the disciplinary report, as suggested by the use of excessive exclamation marks and the phrasing used.

Students in the USA attend high school at ages 14-18. Given that Joseph was born in 1959, and the report was made in 1973, it’s most likely that he was 14 at the time the report was made.

The punishment for his behavior was to put Joseph on an in-school suspension for one month and allowing teachers to search him before class begins.

What is in-school suspension? Well, here’s an definition I found:

In-School Suspension (ISS) is a behavior management program for student misbehavior aimed at keeping students in school to complete their work while being isolated from the rest of the student body. ISS is used as a school punishment for infractions that are not severe enough for suspension but require behavior remediation. Students who are in violation of school rules and regulations can expect to be temporarily assigned to the ISS classroom where they will be supervised by school personnel or a teacher.

From all this, we have a brief glimpse at the timeline of Joseph’s high school life. Right at the start of attending Haberdae Highschool, he was skipping classes, presumably to sneak off to smoke, as he was found smelling of cigarettes with a lighter and a knife on his person. There were no cigarettes on him when he was caught.

Joseph had frustrated his teachers, and his behavior resulted in him being isolated from his peers for at least a month with an in-school suspension. At some point after this report, he ran away from school during lunch and hadn’t been seen by anyone who knew him since then.

This immediately makes me think of a piece of art where Jack said certain things that stood out to me.

While technically this picture isn’t canon due to it not being in the game or on the official twitter, I think the things Jack says here connect directly to his experiences in Haberdae Highschool. What’s also telling is that there are two styles of font - the more easily read white on red text, then the more faded and smeared text.

What’s interesting is on the Patreon, this image was voice acted and was slightly modified. While I won’t share the video file here, I’ve been told that it’s fine to discuss what is seen on Patreon, so I’m going to do a quick transcript.

...

(panting, out of breath, sounding like he's speaking through faint TV static)

There we go!

That wasn't so hard, was it?

It's all done now.

You won't ever hurt them again.

(more breathy and composed)

Isn't that nice?

Aren't you glad?

It's for the best, I promise.

You just aren't special enough for them~

(slightly tense but still "cheerful" tone)

This is the right away~

(more breathy, quieter voice)

You're so worthless.

You can't do anything right anyways.

You're just a burden to the whole class.

I'm sorry, but you failed.

I'm clean now.

Don't ruin this for me.

(no static filter, normal speaking voice, tense yandere tone)

They don't need you.

I'm the only thing they'll need... forever... and always.

(knife slice)

...

I highly recommend joining the patreon to listen to the audio for yourself, as the transcript doesn’t give the marvelous voice acting justice. Jack is very chilling in this audio.

This picture suggests the duality of the cheerful Sunny Day Jack persona conflicting with Joseph’s core feelings and issues. The former is written in the more bold text, more confident and almost “cheerfully” delivered as if he’s trying to keep acting like the teacher he played on TV. The latter is delivered in almost a whisper to himself, as if he’s projecting things that once were directed at him as Joseph to this unknown victim.

I suspect that Joseph was told, among other things, that he was “worthless,” “a burden to the whole class,” and that he “just can’t do anything right anyways.” Given that the last known class he attended was high school before he ran away, it would seem to be these were things teachers said to him. If he’s projecting these words on people he finds, as his profile might suggest, “inferior,” then that suggests how he felt about himself at this age... or at least that’s what others labeled him as.

It also suggests many scars from Joseph’s childhood are still lingering to this day.

This paints a strong picture that Joseph was disliked by his teachers during high school. Whether or not he acted out earlier during elementary or junior high is difficult to speculate, but it’s unlikely these behaviors started on the first day of the new school year.

I’d like to take a quick look at this picture of young Joseph (along with fully grown Jack). While the canon of this picture must be taken with a grain of salt, it does suggest a few things. Joseph is roughed up, his clothes scuffed, he’s covered in bandages, his clothes have a patch on them, and he shows a rebellious attitude, sticking out his tongue and flipping the bird. He gives the impression of a typical “punk” teenager.

If the consultant’s assessment was accurate, then Joseph, when younger, acted out to get the attention, most likely the attention of his parents/guardians. This suggests that his parents/guardians were neglectful of him and his needs. They paid lip service to being his caretakers, but in the end didn’t actually care about him at all. This sort of neglect often leads to kids lashing out in order to get some sort of attention. After all, bad attention is still attention.

The game takes place in El Paso, Texas, where the SunnyTime Crew Show was filmed, but that isn’t necessarily where Joseph is from. It’s hard to say how far his hometown is from El Paso, but either it was a good distance away... or the people in his hometown weren’t trying very hard to find him.

According to the interview with the reporter, the SunnyTime Crew Show was “inescapable” and “everywhere” with Jack being regarded as the “leader,” otherwise regarded as the face of the show. The reporter commented, "I'd put money on you being the crush of at least half of the housewives across America who tune in." This implies that the show was broadcast nation-wide and was very popular, which suggests to me that, even though Joseph is still actively listed as a missing person, no one is cared enough to really look for him.

This ties into the themes of Jack being deathly afraid of being forgotten. Joseph was ignored unless he lashed out, only to be isolated from others as punishment, and even as a missing person with his face plastered on televisions, lunchboxes, books, and other merchandise, no one bothered to look at Joseph even after he ran away from home as a teenager.

All of this paints a pretty bleak picture of Joseph’s childhood, one devoid of love or affection. It’s no wonder he’s so desperate for it now and why he’s abandoned his previous identity for one that was actually cared about and remembered... until the studio buried his memory, of course.

#Sunny Day Jack #Something's Wrong With Sunny Day Jack #SunnyDayJack #sdj #swwsdj #Headcanon Ramblings #Ask #Transcript #Sauce-y Art

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vergeltvng · 2 months

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Thanks for reading my guidelines. I go by the mun-alias Midnight, also Raven (she/they), early millennial, living in the CET timezone. My activity level is medium to low, my reply speed is slow, please don't rush me. English is my second language. I'm from a german roleplay community and immigrated to Tumblr in 2022 after our old platform got shut down. I'm still learning about Tumblr rp etiquette and guidelines, please be patient with me. If you see me doing something unusal or weird feel free to correct me at anytime but be respectful about it.

01. To interact with me, you have to be 18+ (mun and muse). I am not affiliated with The Boys, its creators or the actor Karl Urban and I don't own the character Billy Butcher. I claim ownership of my own written headcanons and texts only. The Boys is an R-rated series and this is a general trigger warning for mature content such as blood, gore, violence, abuse, trauma, sex, sick humour, foul language, weapons, drug use and overall rude behaviour which can be expected from this muse.

02. It should go without saying but at the same time cannot be stressed enough: mun ≠ muse. On some occasions people were not able (or willing) to differentiate between me and my character which led to them feeling offended ooc and hardblocking me midconvo without communicating their discomfort. Butcher can be tremendously rude and aggressive, he swears excessively and is quick to insult your muse if he dislikes them or feels provoked. Writing him close to the canon is very demanding and getting his tone of voice and demeanor right is one of the greatest challenges that I've ever came across in 15+ years of writing. It's such a bummer when I put in the effort and the result is totally misinterpreted. Make sure beforehand that you can absolutely handle interacting with such a muse and do not take anything from him personal or too serious. I am completely different from him, I consider myself friendly, patient and very chill about most things and I'm always willing to talk things out.

03. Besides roleplaying I am also a hobby gif maker, therefore personal blogs are welcome to interact with my posts. Just make sure you don't reblog or comment on roleplay related stuff which includes tag games, writing examples, headcanons, threads and answered asks. Speaking of asks: I will generally react in-character whenever possible. I've received some messages in my inbox that I can't quite classify. If you want to talk to me, the person behind, please put your text in brackets or mark as "for the mun" so I know for sure you're addressing me and not my muse.

04. I haven't very much in-character text on this blog yet, since I mostly rp privately in DM's or on sideblogs. I'm very open and curious to try threads, I'd love to have some writing on my blog whether it be novels, oldschool style shorter postings or some in-character chatting. This would come closest to the 'Pinnwand' we had on our old platform and I still miss it a lot. I'm using the beta editor, which should be standard at this point anyways, and I am able to trim posts. Feel free to hit me up if you're interested and are comfortable with doing any sorts of public threads. You can also just send me an ask (off anon to start a continuous interaction) or tag me in a starter. I highly prefer german and I'm not open to english advanced literate, where complex prose is required. I have little to no experience with it but maybe I'll get more comfortable in the future.

05. When it comes to writing, I ask for a few things: no godmodding, power play or meta gaming. I also don't like forcing or rushing certain interactions that don't feel like natural character progression. Plotting beforehand is welcome but not mandatory. If it ever feels like being stuck we can pause the writing and have a small plotting session between scenes or even for the same scene. I am a big fan of the "yes, and" approach. Give me something to work with, don't let your replies be "dead" and passive. I get discouraged very quickly when I get little to no input and have to come up with moving the plot or interactions myself all the time. I don't have an estimated length for texts, it always depends and I usually don't match length just for the sake of having written a lot. I am not too fond of texts that are artificially bloated and there's essentially nothing happening.

06. I'm multiship and multiverse, meaning every ship takes place in its own verse if not communicated otherwise. I personally enjoy shipping a lot if there's good chemistry but Butcher is difficult to ship and due to his background pretty much unavailable for romantic bonding. It's not impossible though. I'm also interested in any setting where I get a chance to write him as an unhinged villain and diverge from the canon more liberately.

07. My approach to curating my dashboard is quite different, I would say, compared to what's considered standard (clean dash, small circle of mutuals). I follow a lot, and I mean a shitton, of people. I follow every blog out of interest and curiousity but please understand that it's impossible for me to interact with everyone. Also due to my gif making I get quite a bit of notifications when I'm actively posting sets, I'm prone to accidentially miss out on notifs about new followers/mutuals. My dashboard is fast and busy and I like it that way, I've made a conscious choice about this. It has become a wind down ritual for me, just silently scrolling, catching up and finding lots of stuff I enjoy without feeling obligated to contact people or getting replies done. Yes, I am here for rp, but I like to do lots of other things on Tumblr, too. There's periods of time where I don't have the energy to work on drafts or talk to anyone, not even folks who I have grown to genuinely like. Rest assured that you never did anything wrong when I disappear for a while. If I have any sort of issue or problem I will communicate it. What I'm not willing to do is constantly giving activity updates on a schedule. If I go on hiatus for longer I will most likely make a post about it. It's my personal opinion that no one should ever feel pressured into explaining why and for how long they are away.

08. Don't be a cunt. I have zero tolerance for homophobia, transphobia, racism, ableism, sexism, hateful comments in general, out of character drama, gossiping, constant negativity, passive aggressiveness, vague posting, guilt tripping, gaslighting and other similar behaviour. Just be a decent person and we're fine.

#「𝟶𝟷」⸻ 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝖿𝗂𝗅𝖾. ⊣⊢#「𝟷𝟻」⸻ 𝗈𝗈𝖼. ⊣⊢#fakevz

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skepsiss · 2 months

Text

Chapter 13 is up now! (3,841 words)

Read it here on AO3: The Last Strange Thing

I realize now that it is April Fool's Day and this post is probably going to drown and not get much traction, but it is what it is. This is a heavy-hitting chapter! And very important to the story.

Rate: Explicit (violence, gore, and s*x) Read tags under the cut for warnings, and details. This is the most intense chapter out of the entire series, and the only one that is told from Eddie's POV. Time to learn all about this boy's trauma.

Chapter summary: Eddie retells the story of his childhood, and what his life was like running with the Red Saints. We learn all about his unpleasant past, his father, and what led him to flee the Saints in the first place. None of it is pretty, but the truth needs to come out. He is all the Red Saints say he is, and more.

Read the full series description, additional tags, the monster reference guide, and more under the cut!

Welcome to the apocalypse. The demo-infection has taken hold of the world, and humans are a rare thing these days. Still, people hang on to civilization in pockets across North America and beyond. Hawkins is one such place. Steve Harrington is a scout who runs missions for Hawkins, and on one of those missions, he becomes separated from his scouting partner, Robin. He has to find his way across Indianapolis in an infected world, meeting one very important individual on the way, Eddie. The two of them must trust one another in order to journey across Indiana, while perhaps finding something softer to nurture with one another along the way.

The journey is full of romance, death, action, and suspense. This is a "The Last of Us" alternate universe. This work is 100% completed, and I will be posting each chapter between now and April 7. Prepare yourself for approximately 52k of action, horror, romance, supernatural happenings, and love.

@llamalpaca will be posting some VERY COOL accompanying art that inspired this WHOLE PIECE! So be sure to give them a follow and check out that art piece when it drops in April.

Big thank you to @knormalizeknitting for being my beta reader!

Link to the Monster Reference Guide, here.

Censoring the word s*x so tumblr doesn't get mad at me. Please don't tag with NSFW or other such tags. The post itself is not inappropriate, but I want people who are going to read the fic to be aware of what is there.

Additional Tags: action, romance, hurt/comfort, alternate universe, The Last of Us AU, canon divergence, apocalypse, apocalypse au, body horror, gore, blood, animal and human death, excessive force (weapons), level of violence and graphic nature of imagery that aligns with Stranger Things, dead dove don’t read, dead dove don’t eat, smut, nsfw, frotting, handjob, happy ending, zombies, zombie apocalypse, steddie, stobin, platonic stobin, Steve and Robin are best friends, Steve and Robin are platonic soulmates, slow burn, emotional hurt/comfort, angst, miscommunication, misunderstanding, Steve Harrington loves Eddie Munson, Eddie Munson loves Steve Harrington, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Bisexual Eddie Munson, betrayal.

#my_writing #eddie munson #steddie #steve harrington #stranger things #Robin Buckley #Stobin #platonic stobin #stranger things fan fiction #Stranger Things Reverse Big Bang 2024 #STRBB24 #The Last Strange Thing

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harcourtholmesii · 2 years

Photo

Okay so... I know I have already done this, but I had too many characters in the previous one that were tied with others from the same series. So, I decided to do up a part 2 (>'-'<) That and there were just too few character spots...

First Row - Hyuga Hinata from Naruto, Naruto: Shippuden and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations / Tied with Rock Lee - Sokol from Payday 2 - Peter B. Parker from Spiderman: Into The Spider-Verse - Karl Heisenberg from Resident Evil VIII: Village - Dogmeat from Fallout 4

Second Row - Boromir from The Lord Of The Rings - Lieutenant Columbo from Columbo - Usagi Yuzuha from Alice In Borderland - James Logan Howlett / Wolverine from the X-Men Film Series - Jasmine from Deltora Quest (the book series)

Third Row - Abdul Ali from Squid Game / Not seen here, but he is tied with Kang Sae-Byeok - Klaus Baudelaire from Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events (the book series) - David from Camp Camp - Sophie Hatter from Howl’s Moving Castle

Fourth Row - Flame Princess from Adventure Time - Evan Macmillan / The Trapper from Dead By Daylight - Daryl Dixon from AMC’s The Walking Dead - Sarah Connor from the Terminator film series - The Tenth Doctor from Doctor Who

Fifth Row - Tali’Zorah vas Normandy from the Mass Effect series / Tied with Garrus Vakarian - Harry Hart / Galahad from Kingsman and Kingsman: The Golden Circle - Peridot from Steven Universe / Tied with Garnet / Ruby + Sapphire - Zer0 from Borderlands 2 - Emily Davis from Until Dawn

That... And I’m also a little ashamed to say, but I have just been set back in posting my artwork for the moment. However, I should hopefully have a bit of an art dump soon, to finally get some of my work posted once again.

#Favourite Character Bingo #Not Sure If Tumblr Will Like Me Excessively Tagging This Post #Guess This Is A Personal Post?#I Welcome Discussion Or Questions #HarcourtHolmesII

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athenaholmesartistsguild · 4 months

Text

My services are now available!

I've been thinking about offering commissions for a little bit so here's your chance to get some art by meeee (very reasonably priced I might add)

Additional info:

Commissions will be completed in the order they're received.

25% of the total price of an illustration will be due before I begin work on any piece. This is not due until it's time for me to create the sketch for your piece.

Once the finished sketch has been sent, any revisions can be made at this point. Once approved, payment for the rest of the piece is due before I will finish it. Important: No more revisions can be made once the sketch has been approved.

Reference images are encouraged especially if you have an OC or want fanart of a specific character!

All commissions will be posted by me on sites such as Tumblr or Patreon. If you do not want your art posted anywhere, please let me know!

If you'd like to post your artwork on your own social media, make sure to tag me so I can see it!

See more examples of my art here!

All the information in the above pics has been typed out below the cut:

Commission Info

Lineart only:

Bust: 7$ Half-Body: 15$ Full-Body: 20$

Pen Shaded:

Bust: 10$ Half-Body: 25$ Full-Body: 35$

Full Color:

Bust: 15$ Half-Body: 30$ Full-Body: 40$

Tarot Card: 75$

Painted Background: +10$ (based on complexity)

Extra Character: +50% of base price

I won't draw:

Excessive gore/violence

Animals

Mechs

All prices are in USD

Interested?

Dm me through Tumblr or email me at: [email protected]

#commission information #art commissions open #my art #yakuza #kiryu kazuma #majima goro

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writing-for-life · 2 months

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Neil reblogged a post and I muse about fandom pipelines…

I woke up to absolute chaos on my lawn again—in excess of nearly 1,500 notes. Took me a hot sec, but this time I got fairly quickly that Neil reblogged one of my posts again (the last time it happened, I was much more confused). And while that’s always super fun (of all the posts, it had to be one with the #murphy and his cool hat-tag 🙈. Also: Thanks Neil for my shredded inbox—I was sleeping and couldn’t switch off notes. So if any of you are waiting on replies or anything, forget it right now, can’t find anything 🤣), it also made me reflect. You know me, I always have to turn everything into an essay, so here goes…

The post in question was a couple of days old and already sat in the 400 notes range before Neil hit the chaos button. I have posted some of Vince’s art before, most notably the sister piece to this one (which I personally think is a more accomplished work of art, but that’s personal taste). As you can tell, none of them have near as much engagement. No surprises there.

My blog is small, but not tiny (4 figure amount of followers). Pretty pictures always get engagement, but mostly when they’re Murphy or Death (I don’t post shipping content because despite ample shitposts, I created this blog with the goal of source material appreciation and deeper engagement with it). The odd one of Delirium or Desire breaks through, BUT…

I often read that people care about all the characters of the Sandman, even (!, ha) the female ones. My blog is mostly rooted in the comics with the odd journey into the show (you won’t find too much fan-content about the actors here), so I try to post about ALL the characters, even “obscure” ones, and tag accordingly. Of course I have my own preferences, and there’s obviously also much more art centring Morpheus than, say, Despair (which also supports the point I’ll try to make), but I make an effort to dig and/or write for it, be that art of Destiny or Lyta or a meta about Desire or Lucien/ne. And especially the writing can feel discouraging and somewhat self-perpetuating, because if you spend whatever time you have left in your day on creating content that no one is interested in because it’s not centred around one or two favourite characters (because they always get engagement on here, and I’m sometimes not sure if people even truly digest them—some of the tags/comments suggest they don’t), you simply reassess if you shouldn’t do something else with that time. Or you keep on writing about one favourite character because… you might as well.

But when something like this happens, I notice one thing: Most people so obviously don’t search the tags. They get their content from one or two (or a handful of) blogs and content curators. Neil is obviously different in the way a post takes off, but I also see this on a smaller scale regularly:

People say they care about Sandman characters other than Morpheus (and “the other one”), but hardly any posts about them (bar Death and *maybe* Delirium and even *more maybe* Desire) get any engagement off the bat. Often not even from people I know are fans. And of course we’re not all online 24/7 and things slip through, but these are visible trends, not just singular occurrences, when you run a blog like mine.

Because that content is right there, in the tags, if you only look for it.

If people checked the tags of the characters they supposedly care about, they would find them, even if the posts are not as plentiful. And every so often (read: hardly ever, but it has happened once or twice), one of the bigger shipping blogs will reblog a post about those characters. And guess what? Immediate engagement. Slay Queen! 🙄

But many, many people don’t look for them. They find them on their dash because they follow certain blogs and let them curate stuff for them. Fair enough, it’s at least partly how Tumblr works. But that’s also how the fandom pipeline works. And the fandom pipeline is biased.

Call me slow, but if people profess their love for all the characters and especially the women of the Sandman, why don’t they check their tags? Because if you run a blog with half-decent engagement like mine, it becomes so immediately obvious where the engagement comes from:

Posts about Murphy: Almost always directly via my blog AND reblogs. The former means through my followers and tags. And I can see that a decent amount comes through tags, because not everyone who reblogs from my blog follows me. So for Dream, people do check the tags (although: pictures always do better than metas, and thirst-trap pictures do a lot better than more artistic and abstract takes. Fics? Bwahaha, you’re joking. I don’t write Dre@mling, reader-inserts or smut, so no chance).

Posts about Death and Delirium: Yeah, maybe? Occasionally? Especially the “pretty” ones. Especially the ones that sideline them a bit and still centre Murphy in some way (and I understand how hard it is not to do that, because in the grand scheme of things, it is his arc we’re following. He is the central character, even if not in all storylines, and we don’t need to pretend he’s not and be angry about it either).

Posts about everyone else: Hahaha, nope. UNLESS a big (shipping) blog reposts them. Which hardly ever happens.

So is it really true that people care about the female characters (or any characters other than Morpheus and the one that shan’t be named) if they don’t even check their tags? If they only get their content from a handful of blogs that are so clearly biased towards two characters?

Don’t get me wrong, I have my favourites, too. And that’s totally okay. We’re all allowed to like what we like, it’s not about that. But we can’t be in denial about the fact that the majority (I’m not saying everyone) of fandom engages with The Sandman purely through a shipping lens, so I guess I personally just wish people would reflect more on how the fandom pipeline works. People are commonly told to create what they want to see etc. But what’s so totally obvious is that most people don’t even look for other characters via the tags. They let other people do the work for them. And if those blogs don’t post diversity apart from the odd token female character, guess what happens?

Long story short: I’m a big advocate for getting into the habit of checking the tags for more than just one or two characters (and I know some people do, so this is rather a general observation). And to check the tags regularly, even for the characters we like most if they are the more popular ones; it works the same for them, as reblogs by people like Neil always show. Because that post was already there for days, but the majority of people bar the first 300-400 did NOT find it through the tags.

Echo chambers are the death of different and critical opinions about anything. Even female characters; the fandom pipeline works for them, too. It’s just that far fewer people are interested outright, but the narrative in any fandom gets controlled by the most vocal blogs for any character.

And maybe that’s the former scientist in me speaking, but:

Bias is not the problem. We all have it. And as long as we’re aware of it, it’s okay. The problem starts when we let it work the pipeline until nothing else is left. And the easiest way to avoid that is not to rely on just a couple of favourite blogs for content.

#fandom pipeline #fandom bias #fandom misogyny #fandom things #fandom problems #shipping culture #Neil can’t even reblog a post without my getting deep about it 🤣#sandman fandom #the sandman #sandman

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bellaxgiornata · 11 months

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Life Worth Living [Chapter Three]

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Original Female Character

[You can find the full summary and chapter list for this series here]

Warnings/tags: 18+ for this series; contains fluff, angst, violence, PTSD, smut (Contains our beloved Defenders and lots of plot twists)

Word Count: 4.5k

a/n: Posting one last one for this series for now! Feel free to leave feedback so I know how interested y'all are in more of this one because it's a bit of an undertaking to transfer full series to tumblr!

Heading back to the couch with my first aid kit in one hand and a soapy, wet washcloth in the other, I eyed Matt from the corner of my eye. He was fairly relaxed, leaning against the back of the couch and waiting patiently for my return. When I set the first aid kit down onto the coffee table I hesitated, eyeing the spot beside Matt before forcing myself to just sit down beside him. I’d already offered my help bandaging his cut, I was going to have to touch him. Sitting near him on the couch was sort of unavoidable, too.

Licking my lips, I fidgeted with the wet cloth in my hands. “I’ll need to clean the cut out first.”

Matt leant forward, his elbows resting against his knees as he turned his head towards the coffee table, giving me easier access to the cut.

“Do whatever you need to,” his deep voice told me.

My jaw clenched at his words and the heat it drew to my cheeks. His mouth tugged up into a slight smirk, almost as if he could see the reaction he’d just had on me. I shook my head lightly, shaking out any inappropriate thoughts.

Don’t make this weird, Olivia.

Very gently, I grabbed his chin in one hand and tilted his head at the angle I needed, trying hard not to focus too much on the rough stubble and warm skin beneath my fingers as I did. Releasing his chin, I focused that hand higher on his head, brushing away the soft brown hair from his temple and holding it out of my way. Matt’s eyes fluttered closed at my touch, slightly leaning into my hand. I paused for a moment at the subtle movement, trying to control my breathing. Letting out a slow exhale, I began carefully washing the cut with the cloth.

“So you know I’m a lawyer,” Matt said, breaking the silence. “What is it you do, if you don’t mind me asking?”

I tried to keep my focus on cleaning out his cut, trying hard to ignore the way his shoulder brushed against my arm as he adjusted his position on the couch a bit.

“I’m a programmer,” I answered him. “Nothing exciting; I create programs for companies to help with data storage among other boring things.”

“What uh…what made you choose that?” he asked curiously.

I pulled the cloth away from the now cleaned cut, removing my hand from his hair and watching as it fell forward, stopping just before his injury. It wasn’t a deep cut; nothing remotely serious. Something I could have easily helped him with in another way if that wasn’t sure to send him running from my apartment.

“I don’t know exactly,” I admitted as I set the cloth on the cover of the first aid kit, my fingers rifling inside for some ointment. “I guess I liked the idea of creating things,” I told him. “And programmers, in the right company, can make a decent living–though New York City is still expensive,” I said with a slight laugh, causing Matt to chuckle in agreement. “And…working from home was appealing, I suppose.” I opened the ointment, putting a little on my finger before closing the cap and setting it back into the kit. Then I turned my attention back on Matt, gingerly sliding the hair away again as I applied the ointment to his wound. “I like the quiet. And being in my own space,” I continued as I turned back to the coffee table, wiping off the excess ointment from my fingers on the washcloth before searching for a bandage that would work. “I’m not a big fan of being around too many people, so working in an office, with co-workers and bosses always hovering…that just sounded awful.” I grabbed the appropriate bandage and began peeling the protective coverings off. “And I can work from anywhere, too. If I want to just move to a new city or a new state even, my bosses don’t care. I can even take long vacations if I want since I can work from anywhere as long as I have internet access. It’s…freeing, not feeling…stuck in one place.”

Suddenly I paused, my face heating up as my hands hovered just over his face. My eyes widened as I realized I’d been rambling.

“Sorry,” I said quickly, the apology coming out rushed. “I tend to babble to avoid awkward silence when I’m nervous.”

“No, don’t apologize,” Matt said, a smile fighting its way onto his lips. “I like listening to your voice. It’s…soothing.”

“Oh…uhm, thanks?” I let out a nervous laugh, my stomach twisting into knots. “I’ve uh, never been told that before.”

I focused hard on applying the bandage to his cut, willing my hands not to shake so much. Once I got the bandage in place, I smoothed it out across his temple before leaning backwards on the couch, my hands dropping into my lap.

“All done,” I informed him, my voice coming out quieter than I’d intended.

Matt turned on the couch, positioning himself towards me better. He smiled warmly in my direction, his eyes focused just somewhere above my left shoulder.

“Thank you,” he said. “I appreciate the middle of the night medical care.”

I bit my lip, laughing softly. “Well I appreciate the middle of the night safety check-in.”

Matt snorted a laugh in response as he reached a hand out, finding my knee and giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Anytime,” he said, a charming smile spreading across his lips. “But I should probably let you get back to sleep.”

I sighed slowly, glancing down at my hands in my lap. “Right,” I said half-heartedly.

Matt’s head tilted at my response, his brows furrowing together as the smile left his face.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

I shook my head, knowing he couldn’t see the gesture as I dug my thumbnail into the fabric of my sweatpants, toying with the cloth nervously.

“No, I…,” I began, pausing for a moment as I repeatedly fidgeted with the fabric of my pants. “I just don’t think I’ll be getting back to sleep anytime soon. After…everything.” I bit my lip nervously, chewing it for a moment. “I’ve got some broken glass to clean up anyway.”

Matt sat straighter against the couch now, a frown crossing his lips. “Broken glass?”

An awkward laugh escaped me briefly, the sound humorless. “I broke my lamp, if you remember me saying that a bit ago. Haven’t had a chance to clean that up.”

“Would you like some help?” Matt offered.

My eyes went wide as I focused my attention back on him, quickly shaking my head. “No, no that’s alright,” I told him in a rush. “I’m not going to keep you any longer. I just…didn’t feel right letting you go back to your apartment with a bleeding cut on your head.”

A moment of silence passed between us. I continued to awkwardly fidget with the fabric of my sweatpants between my fingers as Matt appeared to be in thought.

“If…if it would make you feel more comfortable,” Matt began hesitantly, “I can stay for a bit? Keep you company?”

My mouth opened and closed a few times but no sound came out. Had he really just offered that? There was no way I could say yes to that, I would sound childish–having a nightmare and not wanting to be alone. How would that make me look to him? A grown woman afraid to be in her own apartment at night, afraid of the dark and what lurked in her dreams?

“Honestly, I don’t mind,” Matt continued. “I can go into the office a bit later tomorrow morning if I need to. That’s the beauty of working for yourself,” he said with a grin. “I really don’t mind. It would actually make me feel better. If I’m not intruding, of course.” He cleared his throat, and I swore I saw a tinge of pink rise on his cheeks. “And I…I'm finding I enjoy your company.”

Chewing the inside of my cheek for a moment, I considered his offer, trying hard not to focus on the last thing he’d said. I really didn’t want to be alone, and he was offering–quite persistently for him to not really mean it.

“If you’d like,” I answered him slowly. “And if it really won’t affect you having to work tomorrow. I would feel awful if I was the cause of you being tired all day.”

“Really,” Matt said, settling back into the couch. “I don’t mind.”

“Okay, I’m just going to grab the broken bits of my lamp and toss them,” I told him as I rose from the couch. “There’s like three pieces, it shouldn’t take me more than a moment.”

“I’ll be fine right here, unless you’d like some help?”

“No, it’s not a big deal,” I said sheepishly. “I’ll just be a moment.”

I hurried down the hall to my bedroom. My sheets were still half thrown on the floor from where I’d woken in a fit. I rushed over to the side of my bed and collected the broken lamp, careful not to cut myself on the glass as I did. Satisfied I’d grabbed all of the pieces, I headed back down the hallway, blushing as Matt smiled when he heard me.

“So you said you don’t particularly enjoy being around a lot of people,” Matt called out as I headed into the kitchen. “Can I ask what drew you to the city then? Seems…not the best place for you if that’s the case.”

I tossed the lamp into the garbage before glancing at him on the couch. His arm was thrown over the back of it and his head was turned slightly towards where I was in the kitchen. I smiled softly at the sight of him sitting there.

“I don’t,” I admitted. “Like being around a lot of people, that is. But I lived in Anchorage, Alaska for a few years before I came here. I wanted a change. Not that Anchorage is quiet, it’s actually the most populated city in Alaska, but it’s…isolated. Everything there sort of is. It’s kind of what drew me there initially.” I cleared my throat, as I walked into the kitchen, opening a cabinet and pulling some glasses down. “I haven’t done much grocery shopping yet, so my hostess options are limited, but would you like some water?”

“Yes, thank you,” Matt answered.

Brief silence followed as I filled up two cups of water and headed back towards the couch. Matt held his hand out and I gently handed him the cup of water. He took a drink at the same time I did.

“The coffee table is about a foot and a half in front of you,” I murmured. “If you’d like to set the glass down.”

“Thank you,” Matt said, smiling lightly as he leaned forward to do just that. As he leaned back against the couch, he curiously asked, “What was Alaska like? I've never left the city.”

I smiled, glancing down at the cup in my hands and fiddling with the condensation on the glass. My mind’s eye recalled the place I’d spent quite a few years calling home; part of me missed it already.

“It was…beautiful,” I said, voice quiet, almost reverent. “I’d been traveling briefly right before having moved there,” I told him, fighting hard to keep the memories attached to that buried deep. “But I’d never seen any place like it. The mountains are just…massive. They tower behind Anchorage and all the buildings and houses there. Just always in the distance, always standing so tall; I’d never seen anything quite like them before. And the forests…” My voice trailed off as my eyes closed, remembering the forests. “They’re wild. There’s so many trails there to hike. So many different types of spruce trees, cedars, and birches. Moss literally coats every inch of the forest ground. It’s just… so green . So much life everywhere. You could look up and spot bald eagles or magpies; moose and their young always on the side of the roads or cutting through backyards in the city.” I smiled as a memory surfaced and I told him, “I’d run into one on a trail once. It was a trail I always ran on in the city; I was definitely lucky she didn’t charge me because they’re massive in person.”

Matt chuckled at my words and as I opened my eyes, I noticed he’d closed his at some point. A small smile passed my lips as I continued.

“There’s bears everywhere too–black and brown. You have to wear bells when you hike and carry bear mace, just in case. And when you travel out towards the ocean, the shoreline isn’t sand, it’s just these beautiful black river rocks. They’re uncomfortable to walk on, but there’s just so many that it’s…incredible,” I told him, glancing down at my hands holding the glass of water in my lap. “Sometimes you can see the whales breaching the water. Or otters swimming with their young. Seals sunbathing on the shore–and for the record, they smell very bad. Like shit and rotting fish." Matt laughed along with me, his head leaning towards me, eyes still closed. “In the summer, the sun never really sets. It could be eleven at night and it perpetually looks like the sun is just about to go down, but it never does.” I sighed, picturing summers in Anchorage. “There’s this flower called fireweed; it’s everywhere, blanketing the grasses in bright pink like the ground is on fire. There’s so many of them that you can smell it in the air.” I laughed lightly. “And the air is definitely cleaner there. That’s for sure.”

I paused, taking in the look of peace on his face. Slowly his eyelids fluttered open, his head turning towards me and his eyes almost catching mine.

“You paint a beautiful picture,” he said quietly. “It sounds like you loved it there.”

I exhaled slowly, nodding my head. “I did,” I told him. “I loved hiking the trails. Even learning to do a bit of mountain climbing. I never got into the fishing or hunting out there though–not really into the idea of killing things," I said, a shiver running down my spine as I continued on, pushing more memories farther back. "I visited some glaciers and even tried foraging. I tried hard to start a life out there but I was just…lonely.”

“So you moved here?” Matt asked.

“So I moved here,” I agreed.

“And are you feeling less lonely?” he asked me curiously.

I smiled softly in response, capturing my bottom lip between my teeth as I eyed him. “Well, I’ve been here a week and made a few friends already. So, I’d say so.”

A warm smile crossed Matt’s face, his eyes creasing at the corners. “I’m glad to hear that.”

Whether it was the lack of sleep and early hour, or the look on his handsome face, I suddenly found myself blurting out, “I prefer talking to you without the glasses.” And when I realized what I said, I grimaced, slapping a hand to my face and groaning audibly. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled out behind my hand, hearing Matt laugh at my words. “That is probably such an incredibly rude thing to say.”

“No,” Matt said between a chuckle. “Not at all. Most people find my eyes unsettling.”

My hand quickly slid from my face, my jaw dropping. “What?” I asked him incredulously.

He lifted a hand, gesturing at his eyes. “I’ve been told they make people uncomfortable so I wear the glasses.”

“Wow, who would be such an asshole to even feel that way, let alone say that to you?” I asked in disbelief.

He shook his head. “You’d be surprised. But actually, you’ve been far from rude. Most people ask me about my blindness. Whether I was born this way or what happened. You…haven’t. It's sort of a first.”

"I mean, that seems pretty rude to just ask someone," I told him before taking a sip of water. As I set the glass onto the coffee table I added, "It's not like that's all there is to you."

He smiled, a look crossing his face that I couldn't quite place.

"You're very right," he said gently. His hands fidgeted in his lap for a moment before he spoke again. "You know I'm expected to say I don't miss my sight; I wasn't born blind. There was an accident that caused it," he told me. "But I would love to see the sun rise again." He turned towards me further, his knees brushing against mine as he did. "Or the sun that never sets in Alaska."

I felt my face flush not for the first time this morning at his words. Nervously I pushed a strand of hair behind my ears, my breath coming in short.

"I think Foggy is wrong," I joked, my voice a little breathless. "Pretty sure your super power is flirting."

Matt barked a laugh at my words, the deep sound rumbling brightly through my living room.

"He may have mentioned you said I'm a flirt and not your type because of it," Matt countered.

"I'm sure you've got plenty of other options," I teased him lightly.

"Oh, and why is that, would you say?" he teased back with raised brows and a boyish grin on his face.

I rolled my eyes, raising a hand to my burning cheeks. "You're an attractive man, Mr. Murdock. And you're quite good at being charming."

He leaned towards me on the couch just a bit, the grin still on his face. "But not quite good enough to tempt you?" he mused.

I pulled my legs up onto the couch, crossing them in front of me as I tried to steady my racing heart.

"I don't…really date," I told him awkwardly. "Certainly not someone with wandering eyes."

The moment it came out, I clapped a hand over my mouth. Matt burst into a laugh again, his hand reaching out and resting gently against my knee as he did.

"I didn't mean it like that," I whined out behind my hand. My cheeks reddened further in embarrassment. "I meant I don't like guys who are always looking for something better."

"I know what you meant," Matt told me, his hand squeezing my knee. "Poor choice of words, I get it. It happens often around me." He cleared his throat, the toothy smile still on his face as he stared somewhere around my mouth. "But for the record, I'm not that kind of guy."

From behind my hand that I was trying to embarrassingly hide behind, I asked out, "Were you not just out late last night on a date? And now you're here, just one night later, flirting on my couch?"

Matt's smile faltered at my words. He opened his mouth to answer, but quickly closed it again. He was clearly frustrated, wanting to say something but for some reason not able to. Eventually he exhaled deeply before answering.

"I was on a date last night, yes," he responded slowly, carefully answering me. "But nothing happened. Despite what I let Foggy think, I don't actually sleep around. And I don't go on that many dates." He cleared his throat, scratching his forehead for a moment. "And if I was interested in someone, my eyes wouldn't be wandering for any other reason besides the fact that I'm blind and can't help it."

A laugh bubbled up and I buried my face in my hands again. When I looked up, Matt was grinning back at me.

"You did not just make that joke!"

Matt shrugged in response. "Just trying to get you to stop being so embarrassed by it. I'm not insulted, I promise."

"Fine," I groaned, letting my hands fall back into my lap. "I'll try to let it go."

He relaxed back into the sofa and I watched him quietly.

"What would you be doing if I hadn't shown up?" he suddenly asked me.

My eyes crossed the room and landed on the TV.

"Probably would throw something on television to zone out to. Something that wouldn't be triggering," I answered him softly.

His head tilted and he smiled softly. "Feel free to put something on, if you like."

I bit my lip, chewing it thoughtfully in the silence. Matt seemed to pick up on my struggle.

"I can listen to whatever you’d like if you would like me to stay," he told me.

"You can stay," I said slowly. "But I don't really know what I'd put on."

He licked his lips, looking at me curiously. "What were you watching earlier?"

My head ducked quickly down and I laughed awkwardly. I ran my hand through my hair a few times before I admitted, "One of those really horrible Christmas romance movies…one of the least nightmare inducing things I could think of." I paused before mumbling, "Didn't seem to work though."

Matt openly tried to stifle his laugh at my admission and I frowned.

"They're a guilty pleasure to those of us lonely, nearing middle-age and middle-aged women," I said defensively, pointing a finger at him.

He held up his hands in mock surrender, fighting back the smile on his face and doing a terrible job at it.

"I'm sorry," he teased, not sounding too sorry. "I just didn't peg you as the type to watch those."

I rolled my eyes before burying my face in my hands, entirely embarrassed now.

"Maybe I should have sent you home bleeding," I grumbled into my hands.

I felt his weight shift on the couch and I stiffened momentarily as I felt his hand rest on my shoulder. When I glanced up, pulling my face from my hands, Matt had a serious expression on his face. All traces of his previous laughter now gone.

"Olivia," he said, tone as serious as his face, "please put on whatever terrible, romantic Christmas movie that is playing right now. I'd be happy to watch it with you." He paused, a playful smirk breaking his serious composure suddenly. "Or listen to it, in my case."

I frowned at him across the small space between us on the couch. The weight of his hand became very apparent on my shoulder and I tried to ignore it. Instead, I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to gauge if he was serious. As if he could read my thoughts he spoke again.

"I'm being serious," he said, sliding his hand down my shoulder, down the length of my arm before he gently brushed his fingers over my knuckles. I shivered at his touch. "I apologize for laughing before."

A small grin spread across my face. "I mean, they are truly bad. Entirely unrealistic. But I…enjoy them. Better than the news, which always seems so grim lately."

"Please introduce me to this…genre of Christmas movie," Matt teasingly pleaded.

I let out a deep sigh before leaning forward and picking up the remote from my coffee table.

"If you insist, Matt," I joked as I turned on the TV.

It took a moment for the TV to turn on, but when it did I immediately recognized which movie was playing. A very unlady-like snort of amusement escaped me before I could stop it.

"What?"

"I've seen this one before; it looks like it's a few minutes in," I informed him.

He settled in closer beside me, his shoulder and leg brushing up against the side of me. I grabbed the soft, dark green blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over both of our legs. Matt adjusted it on himself, somehow scooting closer to me. I noticed he smiled softly as his fingers slid over the blanket a few times.

I focused on the movie, but after a few minutes I felt Matt shift beside me. His mouth was suddenly beside my ear, warm breath tickling my skin. I could feel the goosebumps rise on my arms before he spoke.

"So what is this one about?" he asked, voice just above a whisper.

I swallowed hard at how close his face now was to me, his head tilted just slightly towards the television as his breath fell over the side of my face. I could feel the warmth radiating from him. The faint smell of cedar and clove was now noticeable at this proximity. If I turned my head, my lips would brush against the warm stubble on his cheek and that thought alone suddenly sent my heart hammering in my chest.

Matt's head turned just a fraction towards me, almost instinctively as if he could tell what he was doing to me. His tongue darted along his lips again, a habit I noticed he did often, one I internally cursed for its ability to make me aware of his lips more than I should be.

"Olivia?" he asked, his voice much quieter now.

I exhaled a shaky breath as quietly as I could. I noticed how Matt suddenly tensed beside me, his jaw clenching.

"It's about this lawyer who is trying to get a historic and supposedly haunted inn sold," I told him, trying to remember the plot as I became even more aware of his thigh resting against mine under the blanket. "And this ghost comes alive every year twelve days before Christmas. She ends up falling in love with the ghost."

Matt twisted beside me, his eyebrows shooting up on his forehead. "A ghost? She falls for a ghost?"

"Better than a mannequin " I quipped, heart steadying a bit as I focused on his utter disbelief.

"You've got to be kidding," he deadpanned.

I smiled and shook my head. "Not at all."

"So how does it end? She falls for a living man?" he questioned. "Please tell me she does."

I grinned at him. "You know nothing about this genre of Christmas movie, Matt Murdock."

He scoffed and shook his head. "He returns to life, doesn't he?"

I nudged his shoulder with my own. "Maybe…"

Matt snorted. " How ? He's dead!"

I shrugged, my shoulder brushing against Matt's muscular arm as I did. "Christmas magic, of course."

Matt chuckled, the movement jostling me beside him. "Oh, right. Of course."

"We don't have to watch it…" I offered, turning my head towards him.

He slung his arm on the back of the couch behind me, his hand resting so close that his fingertips almost brushed my shoulder. He shot me a small grin and shook his head.

"Nah, I'm good," he said. "But I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention it to Foggy."

"Your secret is safe with me, Murdock," I joked.

“Oh, is it?” he teased.

He didn't say anything further, his face returning towards the direction of the screen; but I spent the following fifteen minutes trying to decipher what the devilish smirk on his face meant.

#matt murdock x ofc #matt murdock #matt murdock fluff #daredevil x oc #daredevil #matt murdock fic

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