#(read: not a whole heck of a lot in most situations)

[bluebeads-art]

As the flash hits your eye, you feel something crashing into you from all directions. Below you is obvious, Bonbon situated themself to bump into you while the picture was taken. You look to your right, and Mirabelle’s cheek is pressed up to yours. On your left, Isabeau’s sheepishly hugged you to his side. There’s a hand in your hair, too, and it feels like Madame Odile. [...] “We need a souvenir of this trip,” Mirabelle adds. She rushes to the ground to pick up the picture and snort-laughs as she looks at it. “Oh no, Siffrin looks like we’re holding him hostage!” — Curtain Call, Chapter 9, by @openphrase123 (Link in the replies)

2024 October 22nd

Fanfic fanart fanfic fanart!! When I read the "hostage" line, it invoked such a clear image in my head of Siffrin tensed up like a startled prey animal that it got added to my list of things to maybe draw immediately.

Dooon't think about the words 'left' and 'right' in that quote too hard. I know how to read I prommy. :) (I did Not process those words and lost the coin flip in the composition phase...)

Close-up and ramblings about the cans of worms I unleashed upon myself under the cut

Time taken on this was [head in hands] 48 hours and 37 minutes.... That bloated number has two culprits:

1) I got a new tablet! My old one was 10 years old. Its plastic was melting and the electronics had ghosts in 'em, so it needed the sweet release of retirement. However, I had just gotten to the line art phase when the switch happened. Clumsily getting used to the new one during the most precise phase of the process did devastating things to my perfectionism.

2) I made a GRAVE mistake with how I chose to color this. I wanted to keep the grayscale layers for accuracy instead of just slapping a B&W filter over the colored version, so all the colors come from gradient maps, color balance layers, overlay layers, and raster layers clipped to other layers. Listen. I'm used to working with lots of layers. I like keeping things separate so I can edit them more easily. But this is the worst layer system I have ever created. Going from color to B&W requires toggling exactly 20 layers & folders on or off. There are 87 visible layers total. This file lags when you edit it. I've never wanted CSP v1.13 to have layer comps more in my life.

Not helping matters was Isabeau. I said he was the easiest to draw in my last post, but he took that as a challenge, apparently. It's a simple fist-on-hip pose, why was that so hard!?! His face gave me grief too.

Odile's lil' wave got added at the end of the line art phase. I've never added to a sketch that late in the game before, but I felt bad about how little screen area she got, haha. Girl, I tried, but this composition was not kind to you.

Giving Isa, Odile, and Siffrin skin colors felt cursed. Well... "color" is maybe a stretch for Sif. The pallor from being affection-jumpscared isn't helping. In the dev's nose reveal post, they said that Siffrin isn't white but is white-passing, so BOOM albinism headcanon. Like c'mon, they wear a big hat and have most of their skin covered because the sun is a deadly laser when you have little to no melanin and idk if sunblock exists in-universe. Heck, maybe most Islanders have it, their whole religion is about the night sky so maybe they're nocturnal. This makes perfect sense. :)

[jayktoralldaylong]

One of my favourite things about Arcane is that all the couples can be read as toxic, which is GREAT.

I'm tired of people bringing morality debates into dark media. Let dark media be fucking dark. You guys wouldn't survive a day in the TMA fandom, needing everyone to be as good as gold. How are they going to make for enjoyable complex characters if they're not morally grey. In fact, I wish there'd been more expansion on just how morally black they can become!

"CaitVi is so toxic" According to lesbian statistics, that sounds just about accurate. 💀 Heck, I wish Caitlyn had done more (Not really, but it would have been nice to further explore the darkness in her heart). Isn't it adorable how she immediately folded as soon as Vi called her cupcake? Caitlyn's like one of those villains that will consistently do the most....until it comes to someone else hurting her girlfriend. The only one allowed to hurt her girlfriend is her. 💀

Then let's talk about Vi. Someone pointed out how Vi never cared about Zaun's independence in the first place and many people yelled that they were wrong. But actually, they were right. Vi never wanted Zaun. Zaun was Silco's dream, and Jinx inherited that dream cause Silco would never shut up about it. Vi wanted Piltover to take responsibility for all the shit they allowed to happen in the Undercity. That's a part of the reason she joined up with Caitlyn in the first place. Let's not forget she wasn't dissuaded when she dragged Jayce down to fight with her and he killed a child. Children been dying, it's been her whole life. Someone needed to do something about it, and Zaun would have just isolated the people from all the privileges that Piltover SHOULD have been providing for them. Some people just can't accept that Independence cannot in fact solve every problem, and sometimes independence is colonisers running away from the responsibility of fixing the mess that they started in the first place.

Besides, we all know Vi joined up with the Enforcers because "I feel like I am worthless if I can't be of service." She'd already run out of family members to serve, Caitlyn was the next best thing. She's just like Jayce.

And speaking of Jayce, let's talk about his violent levels of codependency with anyone who'll give him attention. People LOOOOVE to talk about Mel, but it's there with Viktor too. When bro wasn't basing his worth on his inventions, he was centering it around Viktor.

Viktor who decided at some point in his life that he would not LIVE without Jayce. He was fine dying without him, but living without him was unacceptable. Oh how healthy. 🙄😂 Viktor be the kind of toxic ex to threaten divorce 500 times over, then burn the world when you actually leave him. Jayce is no better cause he's the kind of guy to keep going back to his toxic Ex.

Yes, Mel is manipulative. That's what I love about her. How are you guys failing to give this woman the praise of being an outsider in Piltover, but running their entire council. 💀 Girl raises her hand once and the whole government starts spinning. She was the best sugar mummy Jayce and Viktor could ever ask for. She kept the whole city running. Literally the entire of Piltover dancing on her palm. And yes she manipulated Jayce but let's not forget she thought that was a love language. 💀 You wanna be mad at someone, be mad at Ambessa for raising her that way.

I also don't think it's fair to blame her for the Undercity situation, she's not native. Monkey see, monkey do, and not a single one of those Council members actually cared about the situation down there, it was deplorable. 💀 Jayce did way more in his two weeks as Councillor than any of those drug pushing, money laundering, Piltovian heads of government.

And that just covers MelJayVik, we don't even need to get fully into TimeBomb, cause we know what's wrong there. 💀 Surely we have not forgotten the many teammates Jinx has killed, but making sure to never kill Ekko cause that's her man. Ekko has a lot to unpack, like how his consistent and unwavering love for Jinx is an indication of a lot of doors he might not be ready to open. I know they dynamics go crazy and I love to see it.

Ambessa and Sevika are a crack ship but I'm sure we all know bedroom dynamics go crazy with Mrs. Warlord and Miss Liberation. I love it when characters clash in a toxic heap. It's insane and should be explored.

Quit saintifying my toxic ships with your woke morality debates. If you want everyone to be sunshine and rainbows then you should be watching literally anything else. 💀 "It's not healthy." GOOD, I like it that way. 💀 Angst, spice and trauma are the recipe for a plethora of explorative fanfiction. Any of their dynamics can be taken in any toxic direction and I want that EXPLORED.

[clairewritesfanfics]

do you like those fics where the premise is "all the variants are here for y/n but main mark hasnt even dated her"

i like them the most when its a right person wrong time situation on main marks part because im mean

like since highschool theyve never managed to be single at the same time and then he finds out the evil versions of him destroying shit have had her when hes never even got to try asking her out

nobody has written this specific type of thing i want to read yet, but like, the variants getting stuck in main marks dimension and he and y/n keep finding out things about the variants loves with their version of y/n thats excruciating to hear for two people whove been in love their whole lives but have never been in a place to act on it

the only variant who hasnt done anything with her is maskless who was in a very similar situation with his william. like three of the older marks were actually married to her, at least one out of those 3 had been about to have a kid with her before losing her. literally none of them have ever broken up with her of their own free will. at least one of the younger marks had only just managed to start a relationship with her before he lost her.

main mark watching these versions of himself practically swarming someone he also loves and has probably loved before he even understood it but with no right to do anything about it because hes with eve. who he does like. but he asked out after a version of her from the future told him she loved him apparently her entire life and he was her biggest regret.

main mark experiencing never before seen types of emotional pain wondering if he should have read into the eve thing as the universe telling him you were about to break up with your at the time partner just as he was getting into things with eve, or if waiting to see if youd leave them would have prolonged your relationship with them because the universe fucking hates him for reasons beyond his understanding

i would write this myself but im already stuck trying to write like 3 other long projects already. but if i did write it id probably end it as happy as possible because even though i like angst i can only stand so much.

It is truly the writer's blurse to be struck with so many fascinating concepts while juggling already existing WIPs.

( ꩜ ᯅ ꩜;) 

It's an amazing idea with a lot of angst potential. I have encountered a similar but not exact premise a few times, maybe not as fully realized fics but as propositional posts.

I've always loved the idea of the Marks being so obsessed and devoted that they will stop the violence in order to reminisce about their respective Readers aka Y/Ns. (Oh, and this is more of my personal preference as an Invincible fanfic writer: the Reader-sexual crew includes Maskless because, as I have once discussed in gruesome detail, when it comes to Mark it is all or nothing for me. I can't tolerate him being in love with Eve or Amber in my verses, so I can't handle him being in love with William either. I am an equal opportunity "homewrecker." VCS readers, please don't ask me more about this because I might end up spoiling some things about my future plans.)

Honestly, if you have the energy to spare, you should give it a go, it doesn't have to be multi-chaptered. It can just be a short story or a bunch of "reactions" strung together. Heck, just write dialogue for it. Pure dialogue. Maybe you can use this idea as a writing exercise, like trying a different style or POV. Something to come back to and appreciate when you want to take a breather from your long fics.

Tbh, you've given me an excuse to stop delaying and start practicing first person POV again, and I was reminded why it's so hard penning reader insert stories:

I was surrounded. I could take on one or two of them, but twelve of these murderous assholes? My best bet would be to retreat while they were distracted, but there’s one problem: you.

You were the ball in this screwed up game of catch. All eyes were on you and I doubt there was anything that would take everyone's attention off of you at the same time. Even if I did manage to steal you away in a split second of distraction, I wouldn’t be able to go very far, not with that girl version of me here.

I watched as she pulled the pink scrunchie from her hair, black Rapunzel braid falling apart as she placed the hair tie gingerly on your hands. 

You gave her a shaky smile but she didn’t seem to care.

I clenched my fists.

She was fast, faster than the rest, and faster than me. 

“Cute, aren’t they?” The me dressed in my father’s colors watched you with arms crossed. “Don’t even think about trying to take her away, Marcy will rip you apart before you get the chance to take off.”

“Marcy?”

“Long story.”

It was hilarious. Not too long ago, this guy sent my girlfriend to the ER and here we were, talking like old pals. I wanted to punch him in the face but–

“You want to kill me,” he said, not bothering to look at me. “But we both know you won’t do that in front of her.”

“You don’t know anything about me or her.”

“I know that every version of you that came here is because of her.” He finally turned to me. “We all wanted a reunion.”

“I won’t let you take her.”

He scoffed. “We’re not interested in ‘taking’ her anywhere, we just wanted a chance to see her. To talk to her again.”

My fingers twitched. I already had my suspicions but I needed to know. 

“What exactly is she to you?” I asked.

The faintest smile melted all the coldness from his face as he answered, “She was my dove.”

Time slowed to a snail’s pace as my voice betrayed me, “What?”

He met my gaze. “She was my wife.”

“Was?”

The ice returned as he turned away. “She died.” That was all. He continued staring at you, his longing obvious under that veil of composure.

I watched as more versions of me crowded you. Each one had something to show or say to you, each one looking like they have waited a thousand years for this.

The fear seemed to have dissipated from you somewhat, because you were now laughing at the words of my maskless self. He was smiling softly at you, but I could see the cracks in his expression. He looked at you like you were the world, but it was clear to me that he was searching for something.

I didn’t know what it was but I couldn’t help but release my fists, wondering if Eve ever caught me wearing the same expression.

#

I kept accidentally bouncing from third person to first to second. 😭

But it was a fun exercise!

I hope you do write about this someday because it is a great concept. Thank you for sharing it with me and our fellow fans.

PS

I must ask for clarification what you mean by "the Eve thing." Is this a reference to a specific plot point? Or just his relationship with Eve in general?

[goldfades]

𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃 ─ PB⁵

౨ৎ ─ summary | paigey being your girlfriend - a list of relationship "headcanons"

─ warnings | in a bullet-point formatting, i hope you guys like it! fluff (lmk if yall want nsfw ones bc i can provide), paige being DOWN BAD, social media tingz, maybe alluding to being outed but not really, some angst but you can skip over it, paigey being protective (duh), nothing else?

─ taglist | @xocherishxo @iienstein @yazmunson and here's a link to my taglist if anyone would like to join!!

─ ev's notes | THIS IS SUCH LONG MESS BECAUSE I'M HAVING PAIGE BRAINROT RN, but i hope y'all enjoy nonetheless LOL being in my paige era i've read so many of these and i'm sure you guys have as well, so i'm making this as unique (or descriptive) as i possibly can to make it because it's more fun to read (and write cus im a sucker for details)

PRE-RELATIONSHIP STUFF

when you guys first started dating, i feel like paige would be kind of secretive about it

maybe secretive isn't the right word but very... private but not secret type of vibe (at least irl)

not because she doesn't want to show you off, because believe me, she wants to (she's a bragger what can i say)

but just because she wants to keep you all to herself for a while

she knows that as soon as people find out about it, everyone will be talking about it and making assumptions and she just wants to keep you to herself

at least for a couple months

she doesn't care about the public's opinions but she wants to make sure that y'all are LOCKED IN before she makes it public on social media

but it's clear to paige that y'all are very much locked in after the first couple weeks

she's not new to relationships and she's had her fair share but she can tell that it's different now

so the whole "not sure if i wanna hard/soft launch her cus what if we're not a long term" sentiment turns into "i wanna keep this special thing to myself ONLY for at least a couple months"

and of course the entire team knows paige is down bad for you, they've never ever seen her this WHIPPED

because paige seems like she'd be nonchalant and SHE IS... for people she doesn't give a fuck about

so when she likes someone, she LIKES someone

she is extra what can i say

they tease her about it and in any other situation, she would be annoyed but she loooooooves it because it's like "yeah i'm in the best most awesome relationship with the cutest sweetest and kindest girl in the PLANET"

you and paige would've definitely known of each other since freshman year but like... she's kinda intimidating so you sorta tried to steer clear of her

you were really close with some of the girls on the team, specifically azzi so you saw paige kind of a lot

but sophomore year, azzi kind of pushed you guys to be close and since she knows you guys so well, IT WORKED!

you guys clicked so quick and that doesn't happen a lot with paige, it takes a lot to earn her friendship

but you practically ripped down all her walls within like an hour of talking to her

definitely the first one to catch feelings

at least... to her ;)

very much friends to lovers trope with lots of sexual tension cus who doesn't love that?

i feel like after 3 months of being really close friends, you guys would spend like a shit ton of time together

you guys were ALWAYS together

she even tried to convince you to come to practice with her but you said no cus... what the heck

everyone knows... EVERYONE knows that paige likes you

and it kind of becomes like cemented (for paige at least) after she realized you were her literal COMFORT PERSON

like after every terrible, long practice or after losing games all she wants to do is be AROUND YOU so she could forget about everything

especially when she gets injured, she's such a wreck and the only person who made her feel better was you

it wasn't even what you said or what you did, it was simply just you

and after going through such a bad time with you, she realized that she liked you and she can't keep pretending

and she asked you (yaya!) and you said yes cus you liked her back (yaya!) and everything is just YAYA

so it's safe to say she knows she's found her soulmate within a month of knowing you

but she doesn't wanna seem like she's love-bombing you or whatever so she pretended to be nonchalant

which of course FAILS because she's down bad

so she tells you she loves you within like a month of dating

i KNOW it seems bad but you guys both felt it because of the whole injury and spending every moment together

when you know, you know vibes

she told you she loved you after you were there for her through some of the worst times of her life and you said it back of course and it's all cutesy

paige's love language is TOTALLY quality time and touch

even before you were dating, she just liked having her hands on you whether it was like holding your hand while walking through a crowd, or braiding your hair, or putting her head on top of yours or something as simple as just HUGGING you

but she kept it cordial of course cus y'all weren't dating

yeah that was all thrown out the window as soon you became her girlfriend

hands on you at ALL times, it becomes so subconscious neither of you even know you're doing it anymore

so remember that whole secret relationship thing?

well... everyone kind of figures it out online after like 3 months of dating

it was because of paige, poor girl couldn't keep her hands and lips off of you after a particularly hard game and somehow 🤨🤨someone gets a picture and it was all over twitter and tiktok the next day

literally "paige bueckers girlfriend" trending after an hour of getting posted

but neither of you cared too much about it because A. it was totally worth it cus the kiss was 😫😫😫 and B. she finally doesn't have to turn off her girlfriend mode when she's with you at games

cus she has the prettiest and best gf in the world and she wants everyone to know that

the only reason she was slightly annoyed was because she couldn't hard launch you on instagram :( poor girl had potential captions in her notes :( cus she's our little drama queen:(

but that doesn't stop her cus she ends up doing it! (shameless plug right there hehehe)

now that she can freely touch you and just be herself finally, she literally doesn't GAFFF

of course nothing like over the top because sure she loves PDA to a certain extent and she's an athlete so she needs to keep it civil

RELATIONSHIP STUFF

we've already covered how paige is a physical touch and quality time girly

and paige loves spending literally all her free time with you because you just recharge her

but it isn't in like an overwhelming way

paige understand that sometimes you need quiet time (or vice versa) but the thing is she doesn't even need you to talk just being around you is enough

so idk if it's necessarily QUALITY time but just being around you and spending every free second she has with you tells you that she is in love with you

paige is the most protective person IN THE WORLD, not just with you like in general

it doesn't even have to be someone she knows, if she sees someone giving someone else a hard time SHE WILL STEP IN!

and with her friends, y'all have seen her... she does not back down and will literally murder anyone who comes for the people she cares about

so if that's with people she doesn't know, and her friends, you guys can imagine how crazy she gets over you

if somebody says something even slightly consendecing or mean, slap. someone looks at you the wrong way? slap. somebody breaths wrong around you, slap.

obviously she won't lay a hand on them first but likeeee would she back down, nope

she is actually your guardian angel

like at parties, her hand is always on you and she never ever leaves your side

you need to get a drink, she's coming to

if you need to pee? she'll wait in the bathroom for you

yeah don't expect her to leave your side

because even when she IS by your side, there is always a weirdo in your guys' ear trying to get with one (or both!) of you

but yeah she's not afraid to defend you when it comes to literally anything

and this doesn't only apply to strangers, if there is someone that you know (your friend, her friend, etc) she WILL stand by you and defend you

like she doesn't shy away from confrontation, she will say something but only if you want her to

and GOD HELP THEM if you shed a single tear, cus the next morning you bet she's saying something

like i said, paige is a confrontational person and that means she's the biggest communicator

if she has a problem, she will tell you so that you guys can fix it

but sometimes she can come off a little argumentative and like she's just attacking you

she uses a lot of "you" statements so it seems like she's pushing the blame all on to you

so that can be the root of a lot of your guys' arguments when paige is only trying to solve the issues

but of course paige doesn't back down so she will be arguing with you even if she doesn't even know why, she just hates being wrong

but she doesn't let you leave or go to sleep unless the problem is fixed (or at least on the road to being fixed)

she'll give you space, she'll go another room to take a breather but she will not let you leave until it is fixed

usually after the breather you guys can come to an agreement and then paige usually hugs all the anger outta you

cus who could resist her?

if the argument lasts a couple days (it usually doesn't unless it's something serious) paige will talk it out with her mom or her friends

and you'll usually do the same

and paige will force you to sit down and talk about it until it is FIXED because she hates not being able to talk to you

and when you guys do eventually talk about it, especially if it's a serious topic, it will end with tears with both parties

but you guys always make up and everything will be better

okay okay no more angst ... for now hehehe

i feel like paige's nervous tic would be braiding the ends of her hair so i feel like that would transfer to YOU somehow

she just likes braiding your hair!!!!!! or just running her hands through your hair, it would help her relax

and if you're like me, it will help you relax as well

if you're black/have braids, she would only touch your hair if you let her!

paigey takes pictures OF EVERYTHING so obviously that includes you

her camera roll consists of ONLY you atp, like... 20% pics of literally anything else, and the rest would just be pictures of you or something to do with you

and oh my gosh don't get me started on the damn .5's of you, some of them are HORRENDOUSSSS and paige uses them as reaction pictures sometimes

and you found out from azzi that she does indeed use them in the girls groupchat

but she argues that you just look adorable which you respectfully disagree

oh and don't get me started on her tiktok drafts, she has at least 1,000 (rip her storage)

and when y'all started dating she just makes cute relationship tiktoks but she never posts them

EXPECT the "you're spinning me around, my feet are off the ground one" cus she wants to prove to the world that she has muscles

and the tiktok girlies will cry but WHO CARES!

oh and if you're on the basketball team, they will started to fan-girl over you as well

HELLA TIKTOK EDITS

and paige will favorite, repost and comment on them

like the most down-bad, insane comments you can think of

"GET THE STRAP GET THE STRAP!" is one of many ✨✨

if you aren't on the team, trust the tiktok girlies will find a way and they will make edits of you

and paige will do the same

obviously you do the same for her, your favorites are just paige edits atp (mine too)

ESPECIALLY THE GET IT SEXY ONE OMLL

and everyone will make ship edits and cutesy things like

"omg the way paige looks at her" and like a slideshow of paige being like all 😍😍😍

after paige gets more comfortable with like the media knowing about you two, she posts you every five seconds

usually like stories and stuff and especially if you’re also a basketball player, she reposts ALL your stuff

she is a proud gf !!!

she also has a highlight FOR SURE, she loves

also she def has like 10 diff wallpapers of you and her, some are really cute and some are really… 🫣

also paige strikes me as the type to like be texting you ALL DAY

and girl doesn’t care if you reply, she will send you 8 consecutive messages of different things

“omg look at the group chat 😂 *insert screeshot*” “baby they ran out of fucking caramel at dunkin, how does that happen ?” “i ended up going to a local cafe why did this shit cost me 9$” “baby you’re coming to my game on saturday right?” “HAHA look at this meme 😂” “why haven’t you responded to my tiktok’s in 2 days?”

yes she 100% uses the laughing with tears emoji argue with the WALL

or skull emoji

she also sends you 20 minute snapchat vlogs and they’re so chaotic, especially when she’s at practice or something

kk will steal her phone and say hi then you’ll hear them play fighting for like 80% of the vlog

also she does grwm’s on snapchat too when she’s at away games and her morning voice is SOOOO SEXY CUTE

↳ make sure to check out my navigation or masterlist if you enjoyed! any interaction is greatly appreciated !

↳ thank you for reading all the way through, as always ♡

[rekino2114]

I've been meaning to ask this for a while, so sorry if I asked this already and forgot, but how did the first meeting go between Fami's S/o and makima

Death's s/o meeting makima

A/n:this was requested before the reveal so by fami I assume you meant death which funnily enough I think made the concept for this post way more interesting

Also some of the stuff I wrote kinda contradicts some other stuff in my other fics but.....just don't think too much about it

Since there are mentions of two y/ns here too I'll do the same thing I did for my meeting yoru post just y/n is fami's boyfriend while (m)y/n refers to makima's husband

To be honest you have absolutely no idea how you ended up in this situation

One moment your girlfriend tells you she wants you to meet her sister and the next you're in the office of the head of public safety sitting next to arguably the two most powerful devils in the entire world

The tension could be cut with a knife, and the the creepiest part was that neither of the two women were showing it, death was just eating the sushi makima had gratefully offered the two of you, meanwhile she was just watching her sister eat with her usual smile on her face

"It's really been far too long since we have hung out like this fami"

Your girlfriend finished swallowing before answering

"I agree....... even though I go by death now"

"Oh? You stopped faking I see"

"Y-you knew about her identity?"

You immediately regretted even speaking since makima's gaze made you feel like even that was too far, however after dating a devil for so long you could sense that she had no real intention of hurting you.....that still didn't stop you from being nervous as heck though

"Of course, death has a very peculiar smell, I'd recognize it anywhere, plus I'd be a bit of a bad sister if I didn't recognize my own siblings"

"War should learn something from you"

"I mean it's not her fault you've been lying to her for so long"

Death stopped eating and looked straight at makima with somehow even colder gaze

"......it's ironic of you to criticize me for lying"

"......what are you implying?"

"...I think you know, but I'm really not in the mood to point fingers"

"....well what are you here for then?"

"Isn't it obvious? Introducing y/n to you"

"Oh yes of course"

Makima held out her hand for you with a smile

"It's nice to meet you, I'm makima"

You hesitated in holding her hand, still remembering the last two times you held one of death's sisters hands you seriously risked either being turned into a weapon or just getting the life drained out of you but almost as if she was reading your mind death calmed you down

"It's alright y/n, it's safe"

With that you shook her hand in friendship for a little while

"Plus......I think she knows better than to hurt you"

"Of course, hurting my future brother in law on our first meeting wouldn't be a good first impression now would it?"

"However it seems like you had no issues planning to get rid of your sisters for your plans"

This was the first time you had seen makima surprised the whole meeting as her eyes widened and she stared at death who in the meantime was still eating

"..............."

"Oh? Did I say that outloud? Pardon, I must have been distracted"

".....You're really more talkative than usual today aren't you?"

"I just have a lot of things to say to my sister"

"......I can see that"

"Well like I said, I'm really not here to argue or fight so please ignore anything I say that might trouble you"

"......of course"

After a while spent in very uncomfortable silence you felt death point the chopsticks she was holding at your plate of sashimi

"Are you alright y/n? You're not eating"

"O-oh well I'm not really in the mood to eat"

"Oh........may I?"

".....yeah"

"Thank you"

She grabbed a piece of salmon from your plate and quickly ate it before resuming to talk

"......control, like I said I'm here to introduce you to y/n......and that includes what I'm about to tell you"

"Go ahead"

".....control, I love you, I love all of my sisters, however, I already told this to all of them and I think you're the one who needs to hear this the most.....I love y/n way more than you or anything for that matter.....so, if you were to do anything to hurt him....no, if you were to do anything at all that I or he disapprove of"

Death grabbed another piece of your sashimi, but this time instead of immediately bringing it to her mouth she placed it on her plate before stabbing it with her chopsticks for seemingly no reason, however to makima especially the message she was sending was clear, especially because in that moment death had fully unleashed her aura, making the atmosphere in the room 10 times heavier now that she was fully glaring at her

"I will slaughter you and cut your body into tiny pieces, then I'll feed whatever is left of you to that chainsaw you like so much, I'll make sure not even the memory of what you represent survives"

Even if you knew those words weren't directed at you and that death would never hurt you under any circumstances, you still couldn't help but have a mini heart attack as that treath combined with the already tense atmosphere would make anyone scared of simply being in this room. However to your surprise makima just stood there with her smile still plastered on her face seemingly completely unfazed by her older sister's promise......seemingly, as a matter of fact makima had a single bead of sweat trickling down her skin, even if she tried her best to not show it, she was scared too

"I'm sorry, I didn't go that far for war or famine, but I think it was needed with you seeing your.......tendencies and power level. However I'm sure it will never come to that, I know you're smart enough to not participate in fights you can't win, you're not war"

".....yes, I'm sure of that too, I'd never hurt someone who brought you love, it would be very hypocritical of me"

After swallowing again death tilted her head and looked at her confused

"What do you mean?"

"Well I'd never want you to hurt my husband so it wouldn't be very fair or just of me to do that to y/n over here"

"Oh yes, I suppose I shouldn't mess with your dogs, or however you call them"

"...........take that back"

"....hm?"

Now it was makima's turn to glare at her sister, a somehow even scarier glare because it contrasted so much with the smile on her face, a smile that seemed much more menacing than before, she seemed genuinely hurt, like death had insulted her directly

"Take back what you said, I rarely use that term anymore, and especially with (m)y/n.. he is not a dog, not one of my workers, he is my husband and the love of my life, I also don't tolerate anyone disrespecting him so I suggest you use the right term for him, I can.....make some rather rash decisions when he or his honor is involved"

Death's head tilted once, she seemed genuinely curious, even taken aback in some ways

"..........You're willing to fight me for saying that?"

"Oh please no, I'm not that petty, a slip of the tongue is natural sometimes.....if you were to hurt him however....."

Makima's smile widened even more now, she closed her eyes making an even creepier, more uncanny expression

"That would be a much different story"

Death looked as expressionless as usual but you who had learned to discern her emotions could sense there was something much more behind those cold eyes, it wasn't fear or anxiousness, she knew she could kill makima if she really wanted to, it was more like surprise, death was genuinely shocked that her sister was willing to go this far for her husband

"......I see"

Suddenly death took off her hat and placed it on her heart before bowing a bit and closing her eyes, a sign of respect neither you nor makima were expecting

"I would like to apologize control, i have misjudged you, can you forgive me?"

".....what do you mean?"

"I know you, or at least the old you i suppose, I know what you wanted to do to me, our other sisters and anyone you're close too really, I thought (m)y/n was just another one like those, someone you were manipulating to use for your goals"

Death opened her eyes, her pink pupils staring at makima again, this time they weren't glaring at her, just staring with...warmth, sisterly love that you had seen before but was totally missing this whole meeting

".....however.....what you said before, that willingness to fight even me for your lover, to do anything to protect them or their honor.......it's fierce protectivness that I myself feel often when it comes to y/n.....and it can only come from pure love....if I understand this emotion correctly"

Death bowed even more while makima had stopped smiling and looked surprised as well

"I would like to apologize for judging you harshly, I hope you understand me and forgive me"

"O-oh no it's.......it's alright, thank you for recognizing it though"

"Your love?"

"Yes exactly i love (m)y/n more than anything....so it's nice that someone else recognizes that"

"It's nothing, you recognize my love for y/n too so it's really the least I could do.....I love him more than anything too as I have said, but.....I never thought I'd hear something like that coming from you....it's nice....You've really changed control"

"I could say the same thing about you.....death"

Her older sister smiled slightly before putting her hat back on and finishing the last bit of (your) sushi and getting up from the comfy chair, prompting you to do the same

"Oh and thanks for the meal by the way, it's not every day we get to eat fancy and expensive sushi"

"Oh its no problem at all. If you'd like, I could get some more that you can bring home, since I saw y/n ate nothing"

You were surprised by her kindness probably because not even 10 minutes ago she seemed like she wanted to kill you and death but accepted nonetheless

"Thank you again, and......it was nice to meet you"

"Likewise"

You two shook hands, with this handshake feeling much more relaxed and non-threatening than the last one

"And I hope we can see each other more often, it's really been too long since we had some sister bonding time"

"I agree, I'll ask war and famine if they're interested, maybe they can bring their boyfriends too"

"I'd like that, just let me know, goodbye"

"Bye"

And with that, you left the building. You breathed a sign of relief feeling the tension melt. Meanwhile, death held your hand holding the sushi bag in the other one.

"That was a good meeting"

".......was it? You seemed like you wanted to kill each other the entire time"

"Sorry, I was just being prejudist of her, now that I know that she changed and she actually feels love....I wouldn't hurt her, i love my sisters.....well unless she hurt you of course, like i said I love you way more"

"You'd really kill your own sister for me?"

"If she killed you........definitely, there is no one I wouldn't kill for you"

"......t-thanks I guess"

"You're welcome, but like I said, I don't think that will ever happen, from what I've seen.... all of my sisters, me included, have managed to feel love and better themselves, and.....they wouldn't just abandon that to go back to their old ways"

"....how do you know that?"

"......because I wouldn't, I love you too much, and I'm sure war famine and control all feel the same regarding their lovers"

".....I see, well I'm glad I could be here for you"

"I'm glad too......thank you...truly"

[honey-bee05]

TWST Stranded Alien AU

Okay this may be a bit convoluted, but I’ve had this idea living rent free in my head for a while now and I had to write it down.

So, we know how Twisted Wonderland is a different dimension/ planet from the one Yuu is from, right? I’ve always thought how convenient it was that Yuu is the same as the humans of twst (minus the magic part), spoke the same language, eats the same foods, etc. But what if that wasn’t the case?

What if instead of Twisted Wonderland being just a magical version of Earth, it was well and truly a different planet. Here’s a bit of a brain dump of things that I think would be different:

-Twst humans aren’t biologically the same as Earth humans.

Sure, they look similar, but there are some glaring differences. I like to think that Yuu would give the twst humans sort of an “uncanny valley” feeling, and vice versa. Like maybe the twst humans’ skin is weirdly texturless/ too smooth, or Yuu’s facial expressions are really exaggerated in comparison. I want Yuu to really feel like an alien in comparison. It might also be neat if only humans could easily tell the difference, so Faye and Merpeople and the like may not be able to tell at first.

I also imagine this would extend to things like Yuu having a blood type no one else in twst has (heck, maybe blood types don’t even exist there). Maybe they’re allergic to certain common foods or able to digest things that are poisonous to most twst humans. I could write about this part for days, but I’ll leave it here for now.

-Different Language and Culture

If you were to suddenly find yourself on an entirely different planet, what are the odds that you would speak the same language as the people living there? Pretty much 0, in my opinion. I think an untranslatable language barrier could be a really fun obstacle to play around with, and would add an extra layer of difficulty and frustration to the whole situation. 

I’ve also read a lot of fics where Yuu/ reader tries to navigate cultural differences between them and the non-humans of twst, but what if that were extended to the whole cast? I imagine that because of magic, the evolution of life on Twisted Wonderland happened in an entirely different way than it did on Earth, which would lead to a unique culture for its civilizations.

-The Geography/ Planet Itself is Different

Not sure why, but I’ve always had the headcannon that Twisted Wonderland is significantly smaller than Earth. I know we haven’t seen much of the world map yet, but I imagine what we do have is about ½ to ⅓ the size of the whole planet (Forgive me if I’m wrong, I haven’t finished reading the last chapter or hardly any of the vignettes yet). With that being said, gravity would be much lighter than that of Earth’s which could lead to some funky consequences. 

I also think that the weather would be different, and in my opinion, less extreme. I remember in the masquerade event, when Malleus caused an earthquake after finding out Rollo duped him, the cast was pretty shocked (yes, at the fact Malleus caused it, but it also seemed like they were surprised by an earthquake in general), even though it was quite a light one with little to no real damage done. Natural disasters aren’t really that uncommon in our world, and are often bad enough to take tens to hundreds of lives and cause millions in damages. I mean hell, we even have “tornado/ hurricane season” it's so common. 

-Morality and the Concept of Good vs Evil

Ok this kind of ties in with the culture thing, but I felt it deserved its own category. I think that the difference in how civilization came to be would vastly alter what people think is and isn’t ok. We know that physical/ magical strength is a huge factor in determining class/ hierarchy in twst society, so there might be more of a “survival of the fittest” mentality going on. It’s also interesting to think how having multiple sapient species, as opposed to Earth’s one, would affect things.

These are just some thoughts I’ve had for a while. I love world building so much, I’d be absolutely delighted to write more about this if anyones interested. Also, if you have anything to expand on this, please tell me! I’d love to bounce ideas off one another :D 

Anyways, hope y’all have a great day!

[physalian]

Writing Tone #2: Avoiding Manufactured Sincerity

There’s a scene in season 5 of My Hero Academia where two beloved teachers have been brought to some high security prison to interrogate a captured villain that turns out to be a brainwashed childhood friend of theirs. The scene is really dramatic, these two teachers are screaming at this guy, heartbroken, and when I saw the episode (shortly before quitting the entire show mid-episode over how bored I was) I was not at all as outraged and horrified as they were.

It was so tonally jarring, and so unfounded within the plot, that it was almost uncomfortable to watch. The villain they’re interrogating isn’t unfamiliar, but the plot-twist-surprise childhood friend is a stranger no one but these two care about.

I didn’t care, couldn’t empathize with why they were upset, knew nothing about their relationship with the guy beyond the ham-handed flashbacks given right that moment. I wasn’t prepared to mourn the loss of this random character, wasn’t primed ahead of time with the idea that this was a possibility to dread the scene before it happened. I was just waiting for it to be over and when it finally was, the impact it had on me was a resounding: Well that was weird. Now back to the plot.

Unfounded sincerity is the uncomfortably ugly step-sibling of plots that are starved of sincerity—look at most of Phase 4, but really, starting with Thor: Ragnarok in the MCU. Many Marvel properties are afraid to embrace the emotional moments and resort to bad jokes to laugh at themselves before the audience can laugh at them. Because how dare a late-stage superhero story about mythical gods be at all sincere in its relationships, its quiet moments, its tragedies. Nope, time for jokes.

Unfounded sincerity is when a story goes far harder with the drama, the love-declarations, the angst, the humor, where it’s trying really hard to convince the audience to care and it just isn’t working.

This happens when arguments start out of nowhere, as well, when characters explode at each other in a heated screaming match that hasn’t been left to fester for nearly long enough, undercooked and hard to swallow.

This happens when characters fall suddenly, madly in love with each other with zero dubious intervention to explain away the sudden passion.

It happens particularly when characters care a whole heck of a lot about someone the audience doesn’t, at the expense of characters the audience is invested in.

It happens when characters have emotional breakdowns and start crying over what ends up reading like spilled milk. When stoic and strong characters break over something they normally would never, for ~drama~.

This is usually both a tone and pacing issue, and a serious case of telling. The author hasn’t done any of the work ramping up a situation or relationship for proper delivery of these emotionally charged moments that are written like critical character beats we’re supposed to care deeply about.

So how does this happen?

1. The author *really* wants this scene, but writes it too early into the story

Unless there’s foul play involved, or this is a romantic comedy that isn’t supposed to be a realistic and healthy depiction of how romance works, characters suddenly declaring love for each other at the cost of their own well-being, their own character arc and journey, and their other motivations can be very frustrating to read.

But the author wants to get to the Good Stuff, so they coast on the “male + female leads = relationship” expectation without writing the why (and so ensures the rise of so many gay ships in the process). Or the male + male leads” or what have you.

2. The author cannot fluidly change tone and characters explode, instead of simmer

An argument that comes out of nowhere can really take your audience out of a scene. Your characters suddenly look ridiculous and your audience can’t follow what’s going on or why they’re so upset. This is different than a character exploding seemingly out of nowhere, but who we know has been building resentment for dozens of pages and loses it over something otherwise inconsequential.

These scenes are painfully, obviously there for manufactured drama and don’t feel natural. These characters don’t feel like people, but playthings, action figures manipulated by the hands of the author.

3. The characters involved are underdeveloped

As in the My Hero scene mentioned above, of the three characters in the scene, the “friend” we’re supposed to care about is a non-entity. The two teachers could have lost their minds over this guy’s sudden death, or the reveal that he turned traitor, or that he murdered younglings and puppies and kittens, to the same emotional impact, because we don’t care about this guy (or, I don’t, at least. I didn’t, and shouldn’t have to read the manga).

You can of course have characters who grieve non-entities, like the fridged wife trope. The difference is the audience knows we’re not supposed to know or care about that lady and the character she never was. This happens pre-plot, not mid-season 5. The frigid wife is the catalyst for the character we then come to know, not a character whose death radically changes our heroes from the people we’ve already established.

4. The tonal jump is just too extreme from the established rules of the story

Abrupt changes in tone can be very tricky to pull off, and almost always fail when it surrounds an abrupt shift in character dynamics (as opposed to something more plot-related). As in, your lighthearted comedy suddenly stops the plot so two characters can scream at each other, when this level of emotional charge hasn’t been established as a possibility.

Or the aforementioned emotional breakdown that just leaves audiences uncomfortable like the awkward friend trying to soothe a weeping companion.

—

Unfortunately, the fixes to these situations are either delete that entire scene, or go back and do a lot of rewriting so there’s enough build-up to justify its existence. Go back and write in that simmering resentment, all the little frustrations, a pre-existing tension within the relationship that is always primed to snap.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder and there’s a reason the “slowburn” is so popular. Setting out from the beginning to write a fast-paced, passionate romance tells your readers to expect exaggerated displays of emotion.

My favorite musical is Moulin Rouge. This movie is insane. Everyone is hyperbolically emotional and nothing is half-assed. The dances, the belting singing, the costumes, set-design, editing, the declarations of love– they’re all dialed up to 11. So characters screaming their love or rage from the rooftops is a *lot* but you’re prepared for it from the opening scene, knowing exactly what kind of movie this is.

Even if you don’t start your story with the level of drama it will eventually reach, there should still be some sort of progression when it comes to character drama.

Last Airbender didn’t open episode 2 with the emotional intensity of Zuko and Azula’s last Agni Kai… but it did show you that this isn’t just a lighthearted comedy in episode 3, with the reveal of Gyatso’s body and Aang’s violently emotional reaction.

Speaking of episode 3, they didn’t throw in Gyatso out of nowhere. We know from the show so far that a) Aang is the last of his kind, and b) he doesn’t know this. Everything leading up to this reveal is lighthearted, sure, but with that undercurrent of dread, waiting for Aang to see for himself, waiting for that other shoe to drop.

So some things to keep in mind are:

Prime the audience with dropping that first shoe, make them aware of the building tension (romantic, aggressive, grief, or otherwise), even if not all the characters are aware.

Build that tension. If your characters will eventually explode, let them be mildly irritated first, then annoyed, then frustrated, then angry, then raging until they can’t contain it anymore.

Make sure every party involved in this dramatic moment is someone the audience actually cares about, not just someone they’re told to care about.

TL;DR: Don’t pull the trigger prematurely. It’s most obvious with suddenly passionate arguments, characters flinging insults and hurts the audience isn’t prepared for and doesn’t know about, in effort to move the plot along before it’s fully cooked.

So unless there’s some drugs or fairy magic involved, or one of these characters has a gun to their head forcing them to do this right now, people don’t just explode in a rage without some buildup first. People can explode in a rage over a seemingly inconsequential and unrelated thing, but they’re likely already upset and this one little thing is the final straw. Audiences love the anticipation of what that final straw will be, and whether the explosive drama is rage or romance, “slowburn” is immensely popular for a reason.

[buggleboos]

what the heck !! i didnt know you had a toyhouse page because i only know you from youtube content. your designs are so awesome :D whats up with quigley j jumble :0?

Thank you!!!! He's my LANCER (TTRPG) pilot !! Unfortunately I can't really explain his whole deal without getting into the Entire Story So Far.

I CAN tell you about Him though! Quigley's nice and friendly but also kind of odd. He's chipper and quite loyal but has a hard time getting close to people because he has a strange approach to doing most things and keeps saying weird, offputting stuff.

I gave him a character item that lets him change his appearance whenever he wants so i draw his hair length very inconsistently i find it cute :)

Here's some of his skills too! I think theyre quite characterful. Quigley makes used of Read a Situation and Spot a LOT!!

Thank you for asking i love to yap about my little TTRPG guys :D

[ghostofhyuck]

𝗗𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂. ✧₊⁺

Vampire! Zhong Chenle x Human! Reader

Summary: You never thought that Zhong Chenle would like you, heck even go through measures of courting you just to show you that his intentions to you are genuine. Or is it? If you only knew about his real identity. 

Word count: 3.5k

TW: Contains blood, and noncon biting. Read at your own risk.

AN: I skimmed the Dracula plot just for this fic, if inaccuracies occurred, I’m sorry. 

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Everyone would think that you’re just a typical college student who studies literature at her local town college. 

“Oh my god, you have another one!?” your friend shrieks as she sees the bouquet of flowers on your desk. 

Except what makes you stand out from the others is that you’re being courted by Zhong Chenle — one of the most popular guys in your college.

Popularity isn’t just by the looks. Sure Chenle is one of the most good-looking guys in your town, but that’s just a small part of his popularity. He came from a family who runs a centennials-old business. The Zhong family are knit-tighted and are old money. They’re highly influential. Chenle being the second son of the Zhong makes him stand out. Aside from that, he studies business while being the captain of the college’s basketball team.

Girls would die to be noticed by him. But Chenle was dubbed as an “ice prince” due to his cold yet cool image. He rarely engages in conversations with anyone aside from his friends, and has been known to turn down confessions coldly. People’s impression of him as someone who’s untouchable. Even in academic projects, he's as formal as he can be. 

You think of him as someone who’s unreachable. You did find him ideal and handsome but not enough to throw yourself on him. 

That’s why you were surprised when one day he striked a conversation with you. You thought of it as merely a coincidence. You were part-timing at your older sister’s book shop when he entered the place. You never thought that the college’s star athlete would find himself going to a book shop. 

You stared at him unknowingly as he scans around the bookshelves that contain poetry books. You watch as he scans the books, finding himself engaged between the pages, and obliviously, you have your gaze lock on him. Everyone’s right. Chenle does have a strong aura that can make everyone turn their heads on him. 

And there, he started asking you questions. Keeping the conversation going on. You were surprised by the way he talks to you, casually. You always thought that he’s a bit cold who thinks highly of himself. That’s why you’re there, quietly flustered as he gives you a small smile before waving goodbye to you. 

That’s not the only thing that happened to you. The next day, the whole school is buzzing as Chenle drives you to school. They were shocked to see Chenle step out of the car and walk towards the passenger seat in which he opens for you. Due to embarrassment, you ran away without even turning around to look at the crowd. 

You knew that day, you'd end up being the talk of the town. The girl who managed to swoon Chenle. There were a lot of stories and gossip running wild as they tried to decipher how you managed to end up in that situation. Even getting strangers to ask you and ask you what’s your deal with him. 

It didn’t stop there. Everyday, you’d go out to your house and see Chenle waiting for you outside. He’s leaning on his car and has every plan of driving you to school. You told him that it’s fine, but he insists. Even during days where you have classes and he doesn’t have, he’ll still drive you to school. 

Then came the gifts. The foods he brings you, and small gifts that he insists that it’s nothing. You tried to ignore it but you knew where it would lead, and you were suspicious of it. 

“Whatever you’re planning, stop it,” you told him one day. 

Chenle glances at you, dribbling the basketball so casually as he throws it to the ring. It went straight to it and you only watched as he caught it. 

“What do you mean?”

“You can be honest with me, if your friends just made a bet to date me or something, you can now tell me because I don’t have any plans of making myself look like a fool,” you explained, letting out a small sigh. “If you’re doing this because you’re bored, find another girl.”

“You got to stop reading romance novels in your past time,” Chenle mocked instead. “I’m not that type of guy yn, if you want, fine I like you.” 

“Stop fooling around —”

“I’m not, and if you find yourself doubting me, it’s okay,” Chenle said with a serious tone. “Because I’ll prove to you that my intentions are genuine.” 

That’s how you ended up being courted by Zhong Chenle. You know that it’s some old-fashioned thing to do but it was Chenle’s decision to do so. He has every plan of making you his. While you’re just there, accepting all things he does to you. 

You bear no feelings for Chenle at first. You found it suspicious that he chose you out of all the girls in your college. But he explains so casually that he’s just drawn to you. Whatever that means. You think. 

But as day passed by, you slowly opened your heart to him. He’s not the ice prince everyone calls. Chenle also has a side that only he opens to you. He’s good with his words, can be straightforward but you’ll find yourself agreeing with him. He also likes teasing you, and you’d come to realize that you’re lucky that you hear his laughter on a daily basis. 

Soon, you find yourself thinking that maybe being courted by Chenle isn’t that bad at all. 

“Hey!” you looked up to see Chenle in front of you. He’s wearing a plain tshirt and jogger pants. Hair still dripping wet indicating that he’s fresh from the post-practice shower. His gym bag slinged on the left side of his shoulder. 

You only smiled at him as you grabbed your backpack and stood up from the bleachers. 

“Should we go now?” you asked, Chenle only nods. He helped you get down from the bleachers and as you two began walking, he grabbed your backpack and wore it on his left arm. You only smile at his gesture but shift to the book you’re reading. 

“What’s that?” he asked, pointing out the small book you’re reading. 

“Oh, it’s Dracula by Bram Stoker,” you answered, showing him the book cover. “It’s for my Gothic Literature class, I’m doing a novel analysis for it.” 

“About vampires?” he asked. 

“Yeah, why not?” you only smiled. “The plot’s interesting plus the writing style is different.” 

“Didn’t like the novel,” Chenle casually said. “There’s a lot of inaccuracies.” 

You raised an eyebrow, “inaccuracies?”

“About vampires.”

You laughed at his comment. “Okay nerd, are you a big fan of vampires? Next thing you’ll say, twilight isn’t an accurate representation of vampires.”

“You’re right actually,” Chenle pointed out. “Vampires can actually be exposed to the sun, it’s just that they’re just more active during night because they’re more connected to the moon rather than the sun.”

“Okay where did you even learn that?” you raised an eyebrow. “What’s next? they can actually eat garlic and can actually touch silver.” 

“Vampires can tolerate garlic, it’s a food preference just like how you don’t like some types of vegetables while they can touch silver but not those silver stakes that are blessed with holy water. That’ll kill them.” 

“You’re bluffing.”

“I’m not.”

“Then how come you know much about vampires? Wouldn’t be surprised if you’re secretly a vampire.”

But Chenle only laughs at your comment. He swings his arms around you pulling you closer to his stance. “What if I am really a vampire? And then I’m gonna eat you!”

You let out a small shriek as Chenle tickles you on your waist. You squirmed your way out of his touch, and as you catch your breath, you can hear the horrendous laughter from your suitor. 

“You’re such an asshole!” you shouted, playfully kicking his shin in which he was able to dodge it quickly. 

“Sorry, it’s just you’re just too cute!” Chenle squealed, squishing your cheeks before he steals a kiss on your nose. 

“That’s not going to work Zhong Chenle,” you said, sticking out a tongue. 

“Yeah I know, I just want to kiss you,” he smirks. “Come on, let’s just go get some iced coffee for you.” 

-

“Ugh, you reek of her again,” Renjun complained the moment Chenle entered the mansion. 

“Isn’t she sweet?” Chenle proudly said, making his way towards his room while his cousin was just behind his tracks. 

“Not for me,” Renjun pointed out. “She’s too sweet that I’ll get cavities just from a drop of her blood.”

“Well that’s a relief because I have no plans of sharing her to you.” 

The older one only lets out a sigh. “The full moon will be out in a week, if you don’t get the chance to drink from her —”

“Yeah I know, i’ll die from starvation,” Chenle rolls his eyes. “Don’t worry about me, I can handle it.” 

“I just hope you’d do it in a decent way.'' It was the last thing Renjun said before leaving Chenle alone. 

As Renjun’s footsteps started to fade, Chenle could only laugh as he grabbed his phone, revealing a stolen photo of yours. 

“You don’t have to worry about that dear cousin.” 

-

Despite being courted by Chenle for months, you two never really had a proper date. You’re used to him taking you out to eat dinner or lunch just outside your college’s vicinity but the formal ones never really happened. 

So you were surprised when Chenle asks you if you’re free on Sunday night. 

“For what?”

“A date,” he said so casually and yet, it made your heart jump in joy. 

“A date?” 

“Yeah, I mean I’ve been courting you but I never really took you out for a date,” he said. 

“I mean, it’s okay with me but can I ask where?” you asked. 

“I actually wanted to invite you to my place,” Chenle pointed out. “The full moon’s happening tonight and my mother has a garden that’s full of moonflowers. It only blooms during the full moon and I want you to watch it bloom with you.”

“Oh Chenle,” you gasped. Flustered with his words. “That’s sweet of you but I'm scared that I might draw a wrong impression on your family.”

“Oh don’t worry about my family, they already like you,” he brushes it off. “I’ve told them how amazing you are and they couldn’t wait for you to be part of the family.”

You only let out a small chuckle. “Okay, I’ll be happy to watch the moonflower with you.” 

You watched as Chenle’s smile grew bigger to your answer. In a swift second, he gives you a hug and a kiss on the cheeks. “Thanks yn, you’re not going to regret it.”

“Those moonflowers better be worth it.” you teased. 

But you were only welcomed by a small pinch from Chenle. “Of course they will be.” 

When Sunday night arrived, you felt nervous. You tried your best to find the most appropriate dress you can find from your closet. 

With the help of your best friend, the two of you managed to find the most decent yet formal looking dress from your closet. It was a black sleeved dress that hugs your chest area and has an A-line skirt just above the knee. You paired it with short heeled sandals. You let your hair flow, curling the ends and doing light makeup. 

You let out a sigh as you wore the silver cross necklace that your mother gave to you. Adorning it with silver stud earrings to compliment your overall outfit. As the night deepens, you can feel your heart beating fast. The moment you heard the honk from Chenle’s car, you did everything at the last minute and grabbed the small bag that contained your things. 

As you open the gate, Chenle is there, leaning against his car’s hood. He looked exquisite in his black slacks and white sleeved polo, rolled down to ¾’s and two buttons undone. You were in daze, thinking that you indeed scored a good-looking guy as your suitor. 

Chenle glanced at you and did a double take, he was about to approach you when he stopped, you became confused when you noticed the sudden discomfort from his face. 

“Is everything okay?” you asked. 

“Oh I’m fine,” he said. “Your necklace looks nice.” 

You smiled, “really? I got it from my mom.” 

“It’s pretty,” he said looking away. “It’s a shame that I won’t be able to give you my gift.” 

You raised an eyebrow. “A gift?” 

From his back pocket, he grabs something and shows it to you. Your eyes wide at the silver necklace that’s adorned with a topaz trinket. 

“It’s beautiful,” you said, touching the topaz. 

“It’s from my mom,” Chenle answered. “I was hoping if you could —”

“Of course! I’ll be happy,” you only smiled. 

Chenle watched as you took off the cross necklace, he could only sigh internally as you placed it inside your bag. He then carefully places the necklace around your necklace. Clasping the lock before grazing his finger against your nape. 

“It’s beautiful,” you said once again. 

“Should we get going?” he asked, making you nod. 

The Zhong Mansion can be found on the outskirts of the town. It just sinked into you just how far Chenle drives just so he can pick you up. The gesture makes your feelings for him deepen. You watched as you trailed off to a more secluded part, turning left towards a dark road that seems endless to you. 

You would eye Chenle from time to time but it didn’t budge him, he kept on driving until you passed by huge bamboo stalks, swaying slightly against the wind. And from there, you noticed how there’s a few lantern lights from afar. You guessed that that’s Chenle’s place. 

After minutes of driving on the endless road, you found yourself in front of a white steel gate. Chenle honks for a few seconds before the gate opens slowly and from there, your jaw drops. 

A white mansion rests idly on a small hill. Chenle drove further until you two reached the entrance of the house. There, he shuts off the engine while you remain frozen from where you are sitting. You flinched as you felt his hands holding yours. 

“Nervous?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” you said. “Your house is huge.” 

“I know,” Chenle only said. “Let’s go inside? Everyone’s waiting for us.”

Your worries disappeared when you were welcomed by warm hugs and laughter. There were only a few people and just like Chenle said, it was an exclusive party. They keep their life private, away from the prying eyes of the public. Only a few guests are allowed and you’re just lucky that they agreed to invite you over. 

Chenle introduced you one by one to his family, and just like what he said, they seem to like you. You only smile as they give you handshakes or hugs. You found it incredibly fascinating how they’re so pale and seem ageless. You guessed that that’s what happens to rich people. 

“Finally glad to meet you,” you turned around to see a guy around your age. He’s wearing a black sheer blouse that’s tucked in his black slacks. He’s insanely pale and pretty as he gracefully took a sip from the red wine that he’s holding. 

“And you are?” you asked while waiting for Chenle who went out to get you some food. 

“Renjun, Chenle’s cousin,” he introduced. “Care for some?” 

You only stare at the wine he’s holding and you shake your head gently. “Sorry, I don’t drink red wine.”

Renjun laughs, “who says it’s red wine?”

“Then what is it?”

He brings the glass closer to you, “why don’t you find out?”

You stared at him for a second, an innocent smile forming on his lips. You raise an eyebrow before accepting it when Chenle grabs your hands. 

“Chenle —”

“Auntie is looking for you Renjun-ge,” Chenle said with a cold tone. 

But Renjun wasn’t fazed by his cousin’s words. “Alrighty then, see you later yn,” he gives you a wink before leaving you two. 

Chenle lets go of your hand. You ignored the way it hurt you, Chenle placed the plates full of food in front of you and sat next to you. 

“Sorry about that, Renjun tends to be a prankster,” Chenle apologized. His hands make their way to your wrist as he lightly presses it. 

“It’s fine, I get it,” you assured. “What’s in that drink by the way?”

“Alcohol but not wine,” Chenle answered. 

You let it be. Giving him a sign that it’s fine now and you two can start digging in. The whole night, you two enjoyed mingling with his family. Dancing to the music and even talking to his parents. They were lovely people, despite the enormous teasing that you got from them for being the first girl Chenle has brought, you couldn’t help but feel at home with them. 

“It’s almost eleven,” Chenle pointed out. “Should we go see the moonflowers?”

“What about your family?” he asked. 

“I know a perfect spot to watch it, come on,” you weren’t able to say yes when he tugs you away. 

You two walked towards the backyard of their property. A wide grassfield that's a field with nothing but tall trees and wildflowers. You only hold on to Chenle as he finds the route towards the garden of moonflowers.

“Wow,” you mumbled as you two reached the garden. Chenle finds the marbled bench that’s beside a pillar where the moonflower vines crawled. You looked at the white buds, they’re twitching as the full moon slowly rises, gray clouds acting like a curtain opening slowly the bright gleam of the moon. 

You sat there in awe, watching the moonflower bloom slowly and beautifully. Your eyes widen in amazement because it’s the first time you have witnessed a flower bloom, let alone in the middle of the night. 

“This is amazing,” you only mumbled. “I’m so glad that you brought me here. Thank you Chenle.” 

“I’m happy too,” he smiles. 

Silently, you gaze on his eyes. That’s when you noticed how his eyes weren’t in the shade of black, more of a unique reddish brown. The two of you stared at each other for a second before Chenle leaned on you slowly. 

You couldn’t help but to close your eyes as Chenle’s lips crashed onto yours. It was soft, tasted like cherries, so sweet and addicting that you couldn’t help but to kiss him back. You can feel your heart beating fast, the feeling was something new yet blissful. 

Chenle’s arms trailed around your waist, you couldn’t help but to distinctively wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him closer as you two kissed each other under the bright moonlight. 

He breaks the kiss, leaving trails on your jaw, going down and down, earning a moan from you as you feel his lips on your neck, somewhere you’re sensitive the most. 

But your eyes widened as you felt something sharp — a deep sting stabbing on your neck. You let out a mute scream as you tried to grasp for air. The stabbed deepens more and as you try to push Chenle away, his grip on your arms tightens. 

“Chenle…w-what?” you stuttered, finally having the courage to speak. You let out a scream as you felt the stab being removed from your neck. As you come face to face with Chenle, you watch as he licks his lips in pleasure, blood dripping from his fangs — something that you were surprised that he had. 

“Fuck you’re so sweet,” he said. “I’ll never get tired of drinking your blood.” 

“What?” it was the only thing you could say. Your mind is turning hazy, feeling the blood dripping out of your neck. You feel pale and weak, watching Chenle cup your cheeks. His eyes turned red fully. 

“You’re driving me crazy yn, your blood is driving me crazy. You don’t know how much I endure taking you in whenever I’m with you,”

The truth was out. You can feel your tears flowing out from your eyes. No wonder he was drawn to you. It was your blood that he’s addicted to. Chenle’s eyes darken and yet, his thumbs swiped the tears away.

“Oh don’t worry dear, I still love you,” he said. “You’re going to be mine anyways.” 

“What do you mean?” you asked, heart beating fast. 

“It’s easy, you’re going to be mine,” Chenle said, resting his forehead on yours. Eyes gazing at you with every dark intention he had in his mind. From there, he smirks. “We’ll share the same blood and drink from it. You’ll be just like us.”

“No!” you shouted, pushing him away but he was just too strong. You struggled your way out of his grip but Chenle was just too strong for your weak body. He pushes you against the marbled bench, trapping you in between his arms. His left hands grabbing both your wrist to stop you from struggling.

“Don’t worry, it’ll just hurt a little,” he assured, gazing his hands on your cheeks. You watch as he leans close to you once again. 

And you could only let out a guttural scream as his fangs deepened on your neck once again.

[lumina-649]

Sesshomaru Sucks (Mainly Sesshomaru x Rin)

Yeah. I said it. Fight me. Sesshomaru from Inuyasha freaking sucks and I'm tired of people on the internet acting like he doesn't just because he's married, conventionally attractive, and has kids. I don't even have a problem with the fact people like him. I have a problem with the fact people like him so they try to act like he's not a crappy person. I don't care for any so-called nuance this guy could have. I don't care what 'redemption' he was given. I don't care for any of that. I know for a fact that if this guy was uglier than a toad, you'd all hate him. Ain't no way in heck I'm gonna back down just because y'all are okay with the pairing of this eight year old girl with an adult freaking man.

On top of being a self-centered and careless jerk, he's also a major hypocrite and his (now romantic) relationship with Rin is so off-putting to me. "He isn't abusive to her----" Congratulations, he does the utter bare minimum---is he supposed to win a consolation prize for not being the scum of the Earth? "Oh, but Inuyasha and Kagome have a large age ga---" Inuyasha was mentally & physically (meaning both qualities should be present SIMULTANEOUSLY) the same age as Kagome when they first met. Ironically enough, before the whole Kikyo situation, he was 150 (which alludes to the fact he was a teenager within the realm of his species). The only reason why Inuyasha is chronologically older than he is---is because Kikyo shot an arrow into him that kept him in a state of limbo and being unchanged. Even regarding the overly complicated realm of when and how long it takes for supernatural beings like Inuyasha to age, one thing is for sure----Sesshomaru met Rin when she was LITTLE. "Oh, but he went away for a long time and met her as an adult---" I don't care. Let's really put this into perspective and think of what that fully entails. You're a fully grown adult who knew this person from the time they were eight years old. You then move away for a long time, then return---all for personal reasons. You see the person you knew as a child and meet with them. Would it NOT be considered weird at LEAST if you were to be in that situation and then think, "Hmm, I wanna get with that." In what universe would that context NOT be gross? Who in their right mind would willingly marry someone they used to know as a child while they were an ADULT? At least Inuyasha was mentally and physically a TEENAGER when he first met Kagome. Sesshomaru has known Rin as an adult from the time her age was a SINGLE DIGIT. The fact I even have to explain any of this makes me wonder if I'm in a simulation waiting for Morpheus to wake me up. If it wouldn't be okay for Kagome to wait until Shippo was an adult to have kids with him, why is it okay for Sesshomaru to do that with Rin? It makes no sense. "That's how it was back then---" Still doesn't make it any less gross, bro :) Though, let's say somehow that I am wrong----and that there's nothing wrong with Sesshomaru's relationship with Rin---

NOPE, never mind, he's still a major freaking hypocrite. He gave Inuyasha so much crap for having Kagome with him, hated his own mother for being human, hated his father for being WITH a human----only for him to then turn around, marry a human girl, and then have KIDS WITH HER. So even if everything else that I said before this aspect of the topic is incorrect (which I really don't think it is or will be convinced it's not), you gotta admit that Sesshomaru's behavior + hypocrisy is very slimy. Heck, even if they had her first encounter him as an adult or if he was ALSO kid when they first met---I most likely would've been a lot more receptive to them being a couple. "Oh you must've not watched the show/you have poor reading comprehension---" What else is there to comprehend? A guy married a girl who he knew as an adult when he had first met her when she was EIGHT. He practically raised this girl before letting her go with Kaede. WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO ANALYZE?! "Sesshomaru didn't raise Rin---" Okay, so what the heck was he doing the whole time she was around, then? Because he was protecting her, taking care of her, making sure she had stuff----that sounds like raising a child to me. Pretty sure Rumiko (the creator) even describes him as Rin's hogosha (which means protector). Even if not, the so-called romantic feelings Sesshomaru could've had are never mentioned of when they started forming. But no matter when or how it started, it's still VERY weird because he knew her when she a----say it with me----A SINGLE DIGIT. He still knew her as an adult when she was kid, so even if those 'feelings' were to have only begun when she was (let's say) 18, it's still off. I understand that both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were previously morally corrupt/murderous beings before undergoing the general direction their stories went in. So as the audience, we tend to forgive things from them we normally wouldn't---especially considering the overall nature of their plot. But if a character is going to be a murderous piece of crap, don't have them be a hypocritical murderous piece of crap and act like we're supposed to forget it afterward. As much as I love the addition of Yashahime (because duh, it's more content that involves characters I like), the romantic relationship between Rin and Sesshomaru felt so unnecessary to me (if not downright disgusting---which it is). Don't get me wrong, Kagome and Inuyasha's relationship is not in any way perfect either, but at least Kagome wasn't freaking EIGHT YEARS OLD.

He really should've just stayed her father figure/caretaker/platonic mentor or something like that. A cold-blooded fiend like Sesshomaru reforming upon learning to care through adopting a child would've made a MUCH better and cuter arc for him than whatever the [BLEEP] this is.

Insult me all you want, but it's the truth. Sesshomaru x Rin is freaking disgusting.

[arcane-ish]

Some thoughts on love, changing the world, co-dependency and commander Caitlyn

I watched this youtube video, “Understanding Vi”. I think it makes a pretty good case for why Vi falls for Caitlyn and what the appeal, the draw of the relationship is for her.

Looking at some of the other vids on the channel, I got the impression that there is focus a bit on ships that would actually be working and healthy in a real life way, couples whose personalities and goals and stage in life are a good match.

It made me look at CaitVi a bit under that light, and also what Amanda might have been thinking when she forged them.

I’m personally a big subscriber to the whole “shipping something doesn’t mean that the characters are perfect or that the relationship is perfect just that you think there’s a good story there”. And I vibe with that a lot. I can want to see characters interacting or just what the interactions would tell me about a character I like, even if I think the relationships might end in breakup or death and murder eventually. At the same time, not everybody ships like that or ships like that all the time.

It can be a particular type of comfort ship to look at your ship and just feel like things will be alright for them. That no matter what happens they’ll support each other and they’ll still be together when they are old and gray. And for that you do have to write the characters as just being very stable with each other.

[speaking of which, maybe that’s just the Zaundads shipper in me, I have seen quite a bit of hot CaitVi art of course and quite a bit of CaitVi if they met as kids, but are there any good arts of them growing old together/spending their life together? I know League means they will forever be frozen like that, but I think for a bit them with the first traces of gray hair could be lovely, especially if as part of a chain of arts with them also being younger]

I think CaitVi can work like that, two people who genuinely like each other, who want to make it work and who overall have enough self discipline that they can make it work despite any conflicts that might rise up.

Looking at the plot, I do feel like CaitVi got shafted a little bit in season 2, for my tastes, my priorities, because if you look around, it feels like with most of the other ships they have a measurable effect on the plot. Zaundad reuniting is the reason why the AU is like that according to the writer’s statements, Ekko stops Jinx’s suicide attempt, Jayce talks Viktor down from destroying the world, timetravel Viktor is the reason that Jayce became interested in magic.

And no, I’m not saying that CaitVi has no effect on the plot. In season 1 it is very clear, Caitlyn is Vi’s “bridge” to Piltover, their connection is why Vi and Caitlyn are standing in front of the council trying to make a case for Zaun, their connection is also the reason for a lot of conflict and misunderstandings between Vi and Jinx.

And even in season 2, her love for Cait is clearly the reason why Vi joins up with the enforcers or why she lets herself be handed over to Ambessa.

But now we get to the actual meat of what I want to talk about. I know there are a lot of jokes about “Vi calls Cait cupcake and fascism leaves Cait’s body”. And here it goes: I don’t think that that’s true because Cait was pretty half-hearted about fascism anyway.

And this is not to say Caitlyn is not to blame for the things she did as Commander Caitlyn or before. Heck, especially if you knew on some level that it was wrong makes it extra questionable in its own way. But that’s just genuinely how I read Caitlyn as a character. From her point of view there two big candidates for “for love” decisions:

turning on Ambessa

letting Jinx go

But both of these to me seem like they are in general alignment with what Caitlyn is feeling in this situation anyway. Which doesn’t mean that Vi isn’t a factor in the mix of Caitlyn’s motivations. But that she isn’t the only one and that I can picture worlds where Caitlyn makes roughly the same choices even if Vi wasn’t around.

Caitlyn doesn’t fight to become commander. It gets offered to her without any pushing on her side, it basically falls into her lap. We skip forward in time and she is already doubting that it’s a great idea in her scene with Maddie. I feel like her doubts grow in the scene with Singed. IMO Caitlyn was (1) never that gung-ho for commandering from an ideological point of view, she was willing to do it and ignore her own doubts for the big goal of “catching Jinx”. And yes maybe she was curious about Ambessa. (2) she was already out with half a foot when she meets Vi again and Vi gives her the opportunity to jump ship.

Similarly, letting Jinx go, I feel like Caitlyn understands that she needs to let go of her hate. That’s what her scene with Jinx is about. Maybe in a world without Vi Caitlyn wouldn’t have been able to bring herself to the point of actively letting Jinx go/unleashing her on the world again even as she understands that she needs to let go of Jinx/her hate for Jinx. But I think she at least heavily would have thought about it.

I think from a ship point of view? You want your ship to be powerful, you want it to have a ripple effect on the plot, you want it to shape the world. But from a relationship point of view? It’s probably better and saner if the people involved are put together enough that they can fix themselves before hooking up and are not co-dependent on each other for not going evil or not offing themselves.

From a relationship point of view, it’s probably better that Caitlyn doesn’t need Vi to develop doubts about Ambessa and that Vi doesn’t need Caitlyn to pull her out of her self destructive spiral from the beginning of s2a2. Because if they have the strength to pull themselves out of their dark places it makes them more ready to have a healthy and sane relationship and choose each other because this is what they want.

There’s a romantic appeal to co-dependent characters who absolutely need each other, but from a relationship POV? It’s probably better to … not be like that. That Vi and Cait do have things in their lives and parts of their personality they want to explore before they return to each other.

(that said, I do hope CaitVi fandom is full of “Commander Cait can’t live without Vi and decides to sneak into Zaun to watch Vi fight undercover, after having seen the posters, or just having heard the reputation, or runs into her accidentally while doing a raid on the club. Because while from an intellectual point of view I totally get why it’s probably better that Vi pulls herself out of her hole, for my shipper tastes, yeah I totally want Cait to see Vi at her lowest and it gals me that in canon Jinx is sneaking into Vi’s fights to check on her and not Cait)

[hiwelcometothemonstersancturary]

If they live in area with hurricane and tornadoes how do they react

I'll be honest: I have no idea how USA geography works. I'm a brazilian girlie, we don't have hurricanes or tornadoes, but my amazing partner unfortunately went through a hurricane or two and all I have to say is that Angel AND the toys have a very similar "what the FUCK is the weather up to now" reaction.

Angel first calmly explains to the group what a hurricane is - Miss Delight probably helps, cheerfuly doing a beautiful explanation for all of them -, then asks everyone to keep calm when the storm arrives. Reassures them everything will be alright but internally they're thinking "why the heck did I move from Brazil to here".

I like to think all the toys help Angel organize things pre-hurricane! Some toys go with them to the grocery store, others stay to grab blankets and prepare the electronics for the storm, Catnap and Prototype make sure to patrol the area and check with Miss Delight and Bubba for any possible damages to the house, etc. Angel is just a ball of stress because they're a parent but they can handle that.

Dogday, Picky, Bobby, Bunzo, Boxy and Kissy probably have the worst time. Dogday has excellent hearing and the whole situation makes him go "the world outside is ENDING even though it's NOT ENDING", while the others are just scared. Bunzo probably heard Miss Delight speaking about what hurricanes can do to houses and is just "what if..... What if the house FALLS APART.... And we all DIE????", poor baby. Kickin meanwhile is pretending to be all cool but he refuses to leave Dogday and Hoppy's side no matter what.

The other minis, small toys + PJ Pug-a-Pillar i think are a mixed bag of scared but not terrified like the previous toys. I hc most of the toys are between 13-19, so they are more chill and can come up with really fun ideas for games when the power goes out. Crafty and Mommy Long Legs come up with a lot of fun games to keep everyone entertained!

Catnap, Hoppy and Poppy are wary. They helped Angel set everything up, but Catnap still fears something will go wrong with their food. Hoppy is just wary in general, and Poppy fears something unexpected happening, but tries keeping her cheerful tone.

Huggy doesn't seem to mind anything but Angel has to tell him to NOT scare poor Bunzo.

Miss Delight and Bubba need to stay in the same room as everyone because there's a 50/50 chance they'll decide to go outside to "see it for themselves how the thing works". They're SO excited when it happens the first time!

Prototype, however, has to be allocated from his hut to the main house. Angel makes sure he's on his own confined room and covered head to toe in blankets because they're afraid he'll attract lighting. Catnap takes turns with Angel to check in on him, and when night arrives some of the younger toys rush towards Prototype because he's big and scary and will surely protect them from the storm (he can't but okay). Catnap sleeps next to the Smiling Critters in order to "protect" them (read: Dogday can't sleep so he keeps him company).

I like to think everyone sleeps in a big cuddle pile in the living room, after eating some snacks and Angel reads them a book. Miss Delight and Dogday help with making sure the youngest are asleep before checking in on Angel, who's half-asleep while Long Legs is using them as a teddy bear.

Overall I think Angel handles things pretty well when it happens! It feels better than dealing with THAT all alone. My Angel has a fear of floods, so you can imagine how stressful a hurricane or a tornado can be for them.

[struggling-jpg]

Some Things About Ma Feima (Yanqing) I Learned

And it matters to HSR Yanqing only because some people have had what they heard about Ma Feima affect their views of him even though it really SHOULDN'T imo.

The underlying point I'm trying to get at is that when we hear about parts of a story or characters we aren't familiar with, it'd be fairer to at least try to look into it more before making final judgments, especially if we only hear see memes and short summaries from a person over the internet.

If you're also interested in this topic then this will be very long, so thank you for bearing with me.

And if not, especially because you don't care or don't want to read about 7S/HI3 Yanqing then that's also fair, Ma Feima and Yanqing are different characters, and I hope you have a good day!

(NOTE: CW for the mention/discussion of a notable age gap between characters in the story. There are details surrounding that but I'd rather place this here for convenience. Look out for yourselves and stay safe!)

It's wild how many different versions of what happened in the Seven Swords visual novel, which is understandable due to its lack of official translation + not being complete (as far as I know? I am open to corrections overall). But the amount of details that go missing or are incorrect is notably large and I find this situation interesting. As mentioned, anyone who knows better (content, translation-wise, etc.), please correct me on anything if needed.

I will use some screenshots from the videos that translated the available chapters (1-2 and part of the beginning/prologue of 3, I believe). The translations are not entirely accurate so heck, I might be wrong on stuff too.

From personal experience, there were two things I heard about Ma Feima from HI3 players:

He killed his master, Fu Hua.

He cheated on his wife.

Legit, the first time I encountered these points, it was as simple as that. And I took it at face value because it understandably takes effort to look into this stuff and a lot of players from HI3 were saying it. But over time, curiosity got to me and I wanted to see the context surrounding it, and here's what I found.

However, here are some things to know about Seven Swords and Fu Hua's disciples:

The Seven in order are: Lin Zhaoyu, Su Mei, Jiang Wanxi, Jiang Wanru, Cheng Lingshuang, Ma Feima, and Qin Suyi

The present of the VN is set in 1496 while the assassination of Fu Hua was twenty years prior in 1476.

Ma Feima, despite being the 6th disciple, is the youngest.

Ma Feima's original name was Yanqing but changed it to Feima when he got older.

Qin Suyi, the 7th disciple, is Sushang's mother in both HI3 and HSR.

Lin Zhaoyu, the 1st disciple, and Ma Feima are married.

Onto the points:

He killed his master, Fu Hua.

Yes, he was involved but some attribute the plan to him. BUT he wasn't. The person who formed this plan was Su Mei, the 2nd disciple.

Supposedly, all seven disciples participated though most, if not all of them, were reluctant to do so.

They were all bothered by Fu Hua's, effective but cruel way of dealing with Honkai-infected people (She would wipe out whole villages if even ONE person was infected).

The last straw for the disciples was when Jiang Wanru, the 4th disciple, got infected.

It was in that battle that Ma Feima got the scar on his face.

Also to note, Cheng Lingshuang, the 5th disciple, was the one to get the last hit on Fu Hua.

This is a straightforward point, a lot of people know this stuff, and is probably the point that's more elaborated on. But I still wanted to mention it because, oftentimes, a lot of the credit for the plan, and sometimes the last hit is given to Ma Feima. It erases the actions of other pretty interesting characters and is simply incorrect.

Onto the second point, because this is where things get really interesting and a lot is going on.

2. Ma Feima cheated on his wife.

This has given the idea that he had an affair, cheating on his wife, Lin Zhaoyu

No, he didn't.

It is true that he was in love with Su Mei but she never loved him back and was very clear about it so in a literal-traditional sense, he didn't have an affair.

Emotionally, yeah.

It seems that he had been attached to her since he was a child.

Lin Zhaoyu seems to have always been aware of that and still pursued to marry him.

BIG NOTE: This is where I'm going to cover the age gap stuff.

One thing that I have rarely seen anyone mention is the large gap between Lin Zhaoyu and Ma Feima in age.

It's said that Lin Zhaoyu is 15 years older than Su Mei.

Supposedly, Qin Suyi was around eight years old when Fu Hua found her.

Remember, Ma Feima is the youngest of the disciples.

I wouldn't have harped as hard about the age gap if they met/didn't know each other in Ma Feima's childhood, but the disciples technically grew up together so I found it to be questionable.

For reference:

In order, that's Lin Zhaoyu, Su Mei, and Ma Feima when they were younger.

At minimum and based on all the searching and math, at minimum, Su Mei would be thirteen there, and by the 15-year age gap, Zhaoyu would have been 28 years old.

Now, based on the writing, Zhaoyu and Feima most likely got married in the twenty years between the assassination of Fu Hua and the present of Seven Swords.

The youngest Feima would've been at the assassination was seventeen years old at that point.

For the present of the story, Zhaoyu, and Su Mei are 56 years old and 41 years old respectively. Feima is likely in his thirties.

Like I said, I'm making a big point to this because, like, what the heck. That's MAJORLY concerning even if you tried to reason your way around it. Besides any potential "normal in the era" type stuff and that they got married when they were both adults, it's still a huge yikes, isn't it? Also, I've seen barely anyone mention that, and the ones I did see it from, it was when I was looking into the visual novel.

It's mostly because Yanqing is the one in HSR, he's the character that gets the most eyes. And when people only know him as a "master-killing wife cheater" without any of the context surrounding it, it's a huge shame, albeit fair if people don't want to actively look into it themselves. But because a notable chunk of players have let those perceptions have weight over an unrelated by anything but appearance, old name, and the parallel of (potentially) killing a master.

The circumstances surrounding the two are very different.

HSR Yanqing has Jing Yuan to raise and guide him safely through his early life. He's still very young and while stubborn, has a good head on his shoulders, and has a lot of potential to grow into someone strong and stable.

7S/HI3 Ma Feima on the other hand, is shown to have grown very differently from his younger self.

He is far from enjoying life, and don't get me wrong, he isn't completely innocent.

But he's completely aware and is miserable.

There's a lot more I could cover in terms of Ma Feima, his circumstances, and the things about the characters around them, but my brain is so fried lol. All-in-all, his story alongside the seven, is very...complicated.

My main thing is that, hey, maybe we should be a bit more vigilant when we learn things about characters. Beyond fiction, misinformation spreads very easily because we, understandably, take things at face value. In terms of media literacy, we see it time and time again when characters get reduced to a singular trait or a ship or get heavily misunderstood by the audience because a simplified summary will never do the context justice.

[shima-draws]

Well since the Mochi Mayhem DLC out. How did that go when it came to the Kieran Orgepon AU. Heck what about Indigo Disk since things are bound to go differently there?

HONESTLY probably not that different from canon except Kieran teams up with Juliana to absolutely whoop Pecharunt's ass LMAO

Originally I thought that the Lousy Three had been manipulated into working under Pecharunt (I mean they still kinda were? Technically?) but then I read up on their lore and realized that Pecharunt basically took their desires and made them a reality, so it was more of an even trade than anything. The trio got to power up and achieved what was previously impossible for them, and Pecharunt got their loyalty and could command them as it wished. Part of me wanted an arc where after defeating them they are released from Pecharunt's control and could then apologize and reconcile with Ogerpon, but I really think they did a lot of what they did out of free will. So they're still assholes lol

Anyway as for Mochi Mayhem, Kieran would most likely recognize Pecharunt right from the start and would be squaring the HELL up. Pecharunt manages to get a shot at Carmine and flees (like a COWARD!!) so Kieran calls up Juliana and asks her for help. Which starts the impromptu visit to Kitakami with Arven, Penny and Nemona tagging along ;)

Juliana's never seen her friend so angry before so she realizes this is probably smth important. Cue the trauma arc and Kieran revealing Pecharunt had been behind everything regarding his masks and the Lousy Three terrorizing him all those years ago. (He didn't recognize Pecharunt in its dormant form, but once it awakens he sees it and goes !!! >:0)

At first Juliana's a bit hesitant but once she hears what Pecharunt did she's just as angry as Kieran, if not angrier. The Paldea trio are like WHAT is going on rn why are you two so fired up. And then what commences is the most epic beatdown in history. (And is also pretty cathartic for Kieran, too, finally able to vent out all his anger at the mastermind of the whole situation.)

Juliana probably catches it to keep it under control, but as for what they decide to do with it after...who knows. I feel like Pecharunt has always been intentionally malicious, so training it to not be that way would be difficult, not to mention how uncomfortable Kieran would be with the whole situation. Idk it could go either way!

As for the Indigo Disk--hmm. I'll have to think on that one a bit more. It'd definitely be different since Kieran was never a trainer to begin with, so he's not the BB Academy champion. And for conflict, I'll probably ramp up Briar's obsession with Terapagos to make it a bit more spicy, bc I felt that her arc was too underwhelming. Make her the real villain, and make her even more unhinged when she finds out about Kieran >:)

[king-candybug-backup]

Hi, I was wondering something. Can you maybe give me a quick summary of what your fic ‘Kill Switch’ is all about? And where I can read it? :)

Heck yeah, totally!!! :D So to sum it up (somewhat) briefly, Vanellope finds out that King Candy is still alive because he’s been so deeply entangled in Sugar Rush’s code for so many years that the game thinks he belongs there now, and so has been respawning him when he dies. However, it hasn’t been respawning him properly, so he stays horribly injured and in Cy-bug form, trapped in Diet Cola Mountain and all that jazz. Vanellope, though still VERY much mistrustful of him of course, figures that leaving him to be basically tortured in a painful death/respawn cycle for however long is kinda, like… way too cruel for her liking, so she decides to help him out and use heal kits to patch him up, but like, slowly, so that she can figure out how to deal with this whole “murderous a-hole still alive and kicking” situation. 😂 Candybug starts off sorta playing along with her because she’s the only ticket he has to get out of this stupid mountain lol

Unfortunately for them, it’s discovered that another unplugged villain (Sinistar) had heard through arcade gossip about the whole ordeal with the Cy-bug infestation of Sugar Rush and the monstrosity Turbo turned into when eaten by one, so he intentionally sneaks into Hero’s Duty and gets himself eaten by a Cy-bug to become a hybrid as well, and starts game-jumping all over the place to eat weapons and characters for more power-ups. At that point, things start snowballing out of control with Sinistar rampaging all over the place, and so Vanellope, Candybug, Ralph, Felix, and Calhoun are all basically forced to team up because if they don’t work together on this, Sinistar will 100% without a doubt kill all of them, lmao. So it’s basically just a lot of Candybug being a major asshole while everybody else has to very reluctantly put up with it because he’s literally the only person who can 1v1 Sinistar in emergency situations, also meanwhile Vanellope is trying VERY hard to figure him out and reign in his assholery as much as she can, lmao (and somewhat succeeding in very small areas, but, y’know, it’s Turbo. He’s a massive bitch who is very unwilling to change. 😂) Also he’s been going through a bit of an ongoing mental health crisis/depression spiral the whole time due to his world constantly falling apart around him SO THAT’S BEEN FUN

(Sorry if this explanation isn’t very good, I was trying not to make it super long while also still covering most of the main stuff, lol. It’s readable here on AO3!)

(Tfw you have to rely on a mentally unstable Cy-bug that hates you and tried to kill you multiple times to stop a DIFFERENT Cy-bug from eating you for your glitching powers so that the arcade doesn’t get completely destroyed ← Kill Switch in a nutshell lol)

[multifandomxdanganronpa1356]

Foreseer seems Shuichi is most likely has mischaracterized a lot of times, what's most infuriating line that you find..?

I know, before that lemme call Shuichi I have some most infuriating line that make me mad the most.

Shuichi come here!

*Shuichi comes to Foreseer* Hey Foreseer what's up?

Shuichi.. I found the most infuriating line from mischaracterized Shuichi from another timeline.

Please spill the tea! Tell me!

Guys, anons, lil bit of trigger warning, this crap contains self loathing crap and controversial opinion about therapy, just skip reading this if you uncomfortable.

*he reads it* "would you prefer if I went back to therapy even though it only made things worse the first time? I’m too messed up to get better. just let me deal with it on my own."

I'm cringed and mad so bad at this.. like how dare you... ugh..

Bruh... no.. nope just nope!

Do you think that's what I do?? Nah that's not me, I'm never excuse myself like this to skip mental recovery therapy appointment!

Like I was survivor of Danganronpa V3 killing game and survivor of mental illness too, and I'm once go to therapy like him, but lil bit of fact I do take mental recovery therapy and I do it a lot diligently.

Guess what? It do helps me a lot.

That's just hoax for me.. therapy helps a lot, it's just some people's will have different preferences on getting a nice, helping therapists or psychotherapist.. it needs time to get it work!

Mostly depresso peoples will blame themselves not blame the whole universe or someone or the situation.. and they're not playing victim as if they'll suffer than most of us.

And this also.. trigger warning swerslide threat for manipulation *he reads it* "I don’t deserve to be alive and to be wasting time and energy and resources. There’s a million people more deserving than me... maybe I should. Then nobody would have to deal with me anymore as if you’d let me oof… you’d probably bring me back just to watch me do it again, wouldn’t you? you all love to watch me suffer…"

This is triggers me to the core.

*laughing so hard* why.....!!!? I don't do that! Swerslide baiting isn't okay dang it!

Sorry I sweared.

That's not what I do back then! Plus there's no one who genuinely swerslidal ever do this what the heck! They just indirectly said that they want to go home or something like that.. They mostly like...

Okay first for research look at reference from psych2go videos on YouTube, or from hanaboone videos on TikTok about depresso, there's nothing like this..

yeah probably people said depresso is about constantly wanna oof.

Nah it's deeper than that.. they must research this further by look at credible source, not using stereotyped symptoms from some bogus content creators.

You're smart..

Heheh.