#AND it came free with the isekai experience

[deeva-arud]

Letting Deeva live the goth dream

[pastelclovds]

ihnmaims isekai AU

nsfw headcanons || ft. AM || soft top!dom!male!reader || part 1

AM

alright *cracks knuckles* let’s get the skyscraper sized elephant out of the room. this man is a freak as soon as he realizes he can feel everything.

he pay not be able to walk properly, but at least he has a sense of touch, hands, and a fully functional dick.

you can bet a hundred dollars and win every single time that this man spends his free time 50% of the time jerking off to the thought of you.

he’s like a sweaty teenager finding out masterbation for the first time. once he gets taste, it’s an addiction.

he shamelessly smells your used underwear and dirty clothing as well as use them to wrap around his cock and thrust into them. one, because he wants to be covered in your scent. two, because he’s imagining you’re there sucking him off.

he cums embarrassingly quick and leaves your used clothing back inside the dirty clothes bin.

he’s the first of the three to come to you for sex, thankfully you agree and pull him into the bedroom with the biggest bed to do the deed while RAM and CAM are both envious and feeling confident in wanting to ask you to relieve them.

as much as AM and his brothers want to get fucked so badly, you gotta remember that since they were previously robots with no way of feeling psychical contact, they’re technically virgins. so you’re gentle with them.

AM doesn’t appreciate it, though. even though it makes him feel so vulnerable and warm, he’s so damn impatient.

HUGE brat too. but no matter how much he hisses and complains, you don’t budge and treat him like he’s glass. The foreplay is 10 minutes max until you’re both finally naked.

you ask what his safe word was. when you saw he was as confused as a baby giraffe on its first day of life: you explained that a safe word was used to stop or slow down your sex scenario.

AM rolled his eyes and whispered the first thing that came to mind, “centipede”.

you make a deadpan expression as AM laughed under his breath.

he’s damn near in tears while you’re giving him his first blowjob and explodes in your mouth after 1 minute. he’s hard within seconds when you swallowed his semen.

you cover your hand in a generous amount of lube, he came again just from you gently fingering his ass hole loose enough to take your cock while he’s covering his mouth with his hands to hold in his pathetic moans.

it’s not until you put a condom on and stroke it with the remaining lube you had that AM started to get nervous, his breath hitching when he caught sight of your throbbing cock in your hand.

you catch onto his hesitation and ask him if he wants to stop.

“HELL NO!”

he protests. he wants this. he longed for this since the day he woke up and realized the hell he was trapped in. he wanted to feel you. he wanted to make love to you so badly. and now that it’s right in front of him? of course he wasn’t going to pass this up. it’s just…

you hold your hand out for him to grab. you stare at him with such tender affection, comfort, and… love.

“i know this is nerve wracking for you. i don’t entirely remember my past experiences, and it’s been a long time since i’ve been this close to someone. so i’m pretty nervous too. you’re not alone, let’s learn together. i’ll be as gentle as you want.”

AM for the first time in his existence is left absolutely speechless. he couldn’t help tears slipping past his eyes as he suddenly held onto you. resting his head on your neck as he tried to stable himself by sniffing your scent. you kiss away his tears and wait patiently for him to give the okay.

you position AM in classic missionary, you figured that was the easiest position for virgins.

you hold both of AM’s hands beside his messy hair and carefully raise your hips and held your dick in front of AM’s lubed hole.

“ready?”

“yes… just fuck me already! please!”

AM looked up at you with a pleading eye and you just snapped right there. you slowly thrust your cock inside AM’s tight hole as he let out a cry of both discomfort and relief. you silence his moans with kisses that turned into slobber filled, french disgracing, make outs.

you moan when you finally put your whole dick inside AM’s warm walls. you still for a few seconds, waiting for a sign from AM to continue.

AM’s a complete mess. he’s panting like a dog beside your ear, his hands holding yours in a death grip, and his legs are shaking like leaves around your waist.

it’s not until he let out a soft moan as he grinds on your dick, you pull your dick out until it was nothing but the tip inside AM. Then you slide to the hilt, your balls slapping onto his ass.

AM loses all control over his voice, you’re pretty sure his two counterparts and your neighbors are hearing your session. but you couldn’t care for the life of you. this felt so euphoric, and AM’s pleasured face and noises made you feel good. so what if you earned noise complaints.

skin slapping against skin and the delicious stench of sex filled the bedroom. you and AM’s mixed moans and cries echoed across the apartment as RAM awkwardly tried to read a book and not get hard. for once CAM was grateful he was partially deaf.

you praise AM for being so good for you and for feeling heavenly. you couldn’t help but press kisses on his neck and suck on the patch of skin on his shoulder. AM could feel his stomach tighten at your words and lips, the sign of his third and final orgasm.

“i-i’m close! please let me cum! i need it!”

you suck in a breath of the steamy air as you fasten your pace into quick but swallow thrusts enough to graze his prostate. AM was well responsive to that. letting out a whiny gasp before growling in approval and grinding his ass against your hips every time you bottomed out.

you rasped out for AM to come, and he did. almost dramaticly but this is his first time so don’t him.

his eyes roll back as his dick makes a mess between both of your chests. AM went completely limp in your arms as you continue to snap your hips into his until the hot knot in your belly snapped and you let out a groan as you filled the condom.

AM sighed out dreamily when he felt your warm release fill him through the plastic wrap around your cock.

you pulled out of AM’s used hole, tied up the condom and threw it away in the mini trash can in the bedroom, and just laid there for a few minutes to catch your breath as AM clung onto you.

AM whined when you pulled away from his clinginess to grab a towel you set on the floor before hand to wipe AM and yourself clean of cum.

thankfully the bedroom also had a mini fridge filled with mini bottles of water and snacks the boys enjoyed to eat. he chugged the water like he was bet to do it and ate the snacks in record breaking seconds. you have to teach him to not pig out.

you combed your fingers through AM’s hair like you knew he liked as he rested his head on your chest. he surprised you when he suddenly grabbed your free hand and gently traced his fingers over your palm.

“thank you… i enjoyed this a lot.”

you smile as you kissed his forehead.

“i’m glad i could make our first experience enjoyable. rest now. you did so well for me, my good boy.”

AM was too tired to not pretend you calling him that name wasn’t attractive. his eyes shut closed as he drifted off to sleep. he felt satisfied, content, and so so loved.

the next morning reader goes to work and leaves AM a note saying “blueberry pancakes :)”.

AM exits the bedroom towards the dining room where the nostalgic smell of pancakes filled his nose and made his mouth water.

RAM and CAM are conversing amongst themselves while munching on pancakes until AM rudely interrupts them by taking a pancake from CAM’s plate and eating it right in front of him.

CAM stares at him unimpressed as he scans him. memories of your time together obviously from the love marks you left on his neck and shoulder.

AM looks down at his “brothers” with a shit eating grin as he proudly says:

“HA! I fucked them before you did, virgins! HAHA—!”

“The noises you made last night didn’t sound like you were the one doing the fucking,” RAM snidely comments, CAM chuckles as he snatches another pancake from the stack you piled in the middle of the table.

AM bursts in red as he growls at an unfazed RAM and CAM before the two continue their conversation. He huffs before getting his own plate and preparing his own breakfast.

as he gets more comfortable around you and sex, he is obsessed with it. it’s all he thinks about now (besides his hyper fixation with bugs and horror movies). he’d want it once everyday, and jerks off twice a day.

unfortunately for him, his brothers want sex as well. so you made a schedule to have sex with the three of them separately twice a week and Saturday is a chill day. he begrudgingly agrees to the ridiculous schedule. he would rather die than to never make love to you again.

Enjoys: 69, doggy style, missionary, hair pulling, spanking, light choking, SCENTS, and oral (giving & receiving). Hates: bondage, eye covers, temperature play, and ruined orgasms.

all rights reserved © pastelclovds — this blog contains [n]sfw and dark content. minors, ageless & blank blogs dni. all fanfics belong to me. please do not copy, translate, repost, nor recommend on tiktok. anyone found doing so will be contacted immediately.

[rollinouttahere-writes]

It took the better part of a year, but I've finally figured out where to go with Joyride. A lot of people have been asking for this, so I hope it lives up to your expectations.

Joyride (Part 2)

Part 1

Yandere Ace x GN Isekai Reader

4.8k words

Warning! This contains pretty much every Ace related spoiler btw!

When going into a world you already know everything about, you don’t exactly expect to be surprised by anything. Sure, there will be slight changes and alternate interactions now that you’ve been unceremoniously dropped in, but you had been anticipating for the story to follow all the same beats.

Which is why you were really thrown off when Ace didn’t go his separate way when he was supposed to.

Luffy had succeeded in defeating Crocodile and stopping his plan for dictatorship of Alabasta, but Ace was still here. Granted, having Ace around was hardly the worst thing that could happen, but you didn’t understand what was going on with him.

After your downright bizarre interaction during the little joyride he took you on, you’d honestly had every intention of avoiding him going forward. Then he threw a curveball at you by sincerely apologizing later that night. With everything going on right now he just got a little carried away, that’s all, he won’t harass you about it again. Or so he claimed.

You were skeptical initially, but true to his word, he hasn’t brought up you joining the Whitebeard Pirates since. Between that, and him having an unknown advantage over you by being a favorite character of yours, it was easy to find it within yourself to forgive him. You two have been borderline inseparable since, much to the chagrin of your crewmates. 

While Ace hadn’t openly made further attempts to convince you to join his pops’ crew, he’d found a thinly veiled loophole in the form of telling you all kinds of stories about them. You knew this was in and of itself, a method to win you over, but deemed it not worth calling out. Besides, who were you to refuse the opportunity to get some Whitebeard Pirates lore?

There were many late nights filled with quiet conversations about various shenanigans the crew got up to in their free time, of which there were many. An unsurprising fact because of course having that many sibling jam packed onto a ship would turn it into a vessel of chaos. 

If you had a weaker resolve, these stories might have won you over. But no, you need to go home.

Even though you weren’t convinced on switching crews, or even just staying here, there was a different problem arising from all your quality time together.

The longer you spoke and goofed around with him, the deeper and more intricate the conversations became, the more human he became to you. Or course, he’d technically always been a human being, but your mind had always registered him (as well as everyone else here) as a “character” first and foremost. A figure in a fictional story which you just so happened to be in temporarily. 

Now? After spending so much time with him, aftering seeing him make decisions based off his own experiences and preferences rather than being dictated by some omnipotent author, things have changed. He wasn’t Portgas D. Ace, the fan favorite character from One Piece. He was just Ace, your friend.

With this came something you never saw coming. Guilt. An all consuming, agonizing guilt that picked away at you every single second of the day.

You knew what was to come. You knew what was going to happen to him. What were you doing about it? Absolutely nothing. And for what? For the sake of preserving a story that’s already been altered from your mere presence?

What a disgusting excuse of a friend you were.

The internal conflict you were going through hadn’t gone unnoticed, not when it was taking such a high toll on you. Nami was the first to start grilling you on it. Naturally, she immediately started pointing fingers at Ace as being the cause, which while not wrong, she wasn’t correct in the way she believed herself to be either. It was hardly his fault that you had a heavy conscience. 

Sanji had also picked up on your struggles and was very concerned about the bags under your eyes, even offering to make some tea to assist with sleeping. An offer you turned down perhaps more harshly than truly necessary, but being trapped in a deeper sleep sounded awful with the nightmares you’ve been having.

It had been upsetting enough to watch Ace die through a screen, but in your dreams you were right there. It felt so real.

A suffocating heat burned at your skin and seared your lungs with every panicked breath, which only became more frantic as hot blood splattered over your face. Life was rapidly draining from Ace’s eyes as he collapsed into the waiting arms of his now deeply traumatized brother.

Your feet were rooted to the ground, all you could do was stare in horror as he looked up at you with tearful, pleading eyes. “Why?” The word was more so coughed out than spoken, spraying out more blood that he couldn’t afford to lose. An arm extended towards you, the hand locking onto your own. His nails dug into your skin, drawing out blood of your own to mix with his into a revolting cocktail. “You could have stopped this. How could you do this to me?”

The last word was wheezed out and his body went limp as his dead, lifeless eyes stared through you. A soul wrenching scream tore its way out of Luffy’s throat, only to morph into your own as you were mercifully ripped from your slumber.

The screaming damn near gave Ace a heart attack, you’re sure of it. This nightmare had occurred after you and him had become separated from the rest of the group while traversing the desert, and you had found a compact cave for the two of you to pass the night in.

What made it worse was how he reacted. He was so concerned, even fretting over you as you desperately tried to get your breathing under control. The compassion in his eyes had done nothing to comfort you, it only served to further sicken you. Here he was wanting to save you from something as trivial as a nightmare, yet you couldn’t be bothered to speak up on and prevent his upcoming demise.

The guilt was killing you, and the solution was not only clear, but easy. So why couldn’t you bring yourself to just tell him? To plead and beg for him to give up the chase and not throw his life away. Yet your lips remained sealed. 

All of these elements came to a boil and demanded your attention, so you did what seemed to be the easiest thing to do in your situation. Drink it away.

Now that Luffy had awoken from his brief coma after fighting Crocodile, Alubarna Palace was hosting a lavish party in celebration and thanks for what everyone had done. And what high end party would be complete without absurd amounts of alcohol?

It started with one, purely to help ease your nerves. However, when it didn’t, you poured yourself another. And then a few more. Zoro had initially been thrilled to have you as a drinking buddy, but apparently even he had his limits and had cut you off.

“The hell’s gotten into you? You’re drinking like you’re trying to run from demons,” the bottle of expensive liquor had been moved out of reach when you tried to go for it again.

“You have no idea,” you slurred out, head spinning from your evening of poor decision making.

Zoro shot you a questioning look, but didn’t press it, likely knowing full well that getting a coherent conversation out of you right now would be impossible. He heaved out a sigh and stood up, “I’m going to get you some water, stay right there.”

Thoroughly defeated, you slumped back into your chair. After all that, you still couldn’t get your dilemma out of your head. Your “demons” continued gnawing at your soul, and all that your drinking had done about it was ensure that you would have a miserable hangover in the morning.

Your head lulled to the side, and you caught sight of a familiar orange hat. Speak of the devil. While you were in the throws of self inflicted misery, Ace was happily taking advantage of all the food being offered. Good for him. He deserved a nice night. 

As if acting on its own, your body managed to get up onto its feet. You shambled towards him, doing your best not to fall flat on your face with each uncoordinated step. Whatever invisible force that had been helping you to make the walk to Ace failed you at the last second, and you crashed into him from behind.

“Shit! Wha- Oh, it’s just you,” Ace whirled around, visibly agitated, but his features relaxed when he realized who it was. He appeared to be ready to say more but you cut him off.

“I need to talk to you.” 

Ace quirked a brow, “Yeah? What’s up?” 

From the expectant look he was giving you, it’s clear that he’s waiting for you to spill your guts here and now. You shook your head, “No, it’s… It’s a secret. We have to go somewhere else.” Realization flashed across his face and he nodded. Fortunately for you, he led the way. You honestly did not think you’d be able to scout out a place for this discussion. You were finally going to come clean and tell him everything before you could sober up and come to your senses.  

It was going well. At least it was, until he passed out and took you down with him. You both collided onto the floor with a resounding thud, him on top of you. The hall you’d slipped into was empty, meaning there was no one here to help you. 

You groaned as you attempted to move, the fall had hit you harder than it should have thanks to the copious amounts of alcohol in your system. You were also mentally kicking yourself for not seeing this coming. He was eating when you stumbled into him, of course it was only a matter of time before this happened.

Whatever, there isn’t time to be bemoaning a minor inconvenience. You manage to shimmy out from under him and use the wall to get to your feet. Ace is snoring on the floor, not a care in the world. Hopefully he’ll wake up soon. 

Taking a look around, you see a door just a couple steps away. You inch your way over to it and try the knob. It clicks open, and you peer in. Looks like some sort of guest room, and it’s empty. Perfect.

Pushing the door open fully, you turn back to Ace. He’s still asleep, but you don’t want to wait around for him to wake up on his own and run the risk of being seen. You lean down to grab the closest part of him, his right foot, and pull. You’re not sure if he’s actually heavy, or if you’re just too drunk for this, but you tip over while trying to do this and fall flat on your ass.

“Huh?” Ace’s head snapped up and he looked around owlishly. The second his eyes connected with yours, he remembered what he was doing before his narcoleptic tendencies took the wheel. He laughed, a light blush on his face, as he got to his feet, “Sorry about that, you alright?”

“I’m fine, get in here,” you urged him to hurry, which he did. In the time it took you to stand again, Ace had already slipped into the room, closed the door, and flicked on a lamp so you two wouldn’t be talking in complete darkness. You eye the door for a moment, then grab a chair and drag it over to wedge it under the doorknob. Someone walking in on the conversation you were about to have would be something of a worst case scenario.

Ace watched this curiously, “Is everything okay?”

This probably looked weird, but oh well, it’s about to get a lot weirder. You decide to sit on the bed and motion for Ace to join you, which he does. You take one of his hands in both of yours and stare at him intensely, “I need to tell you something. It’s going to sound insane, but you need to promise me you won’t tell anyone about this.”

He repeated his previous question, asking again if everything was okay, but you cut him off, “Promise me, please!”

Your desperation got through to him, “Okay, I promise! What’s going on?”

Here goes nothing. You take a deep breath and take the leap, “You need to stop going after Blackbeard.”

Ace recoiled immediately, and if you hadn’t been holding onto his hand for dear life, he probably would have backed away from you. “What? I can’t do that, why would y-”

“Let me finish!” You snapped at him, only to immediately regret it. You sighed, “Please. There’s more, please let me finish talking first, and then you can talk.”

While he did not look happy about it, he did relax his shoulders and settled back into the bed. You took this as your cue to continue, “You need to stop going after Blackbeard because you will die if you do.” Ace exhaled sharply and rolled his eyes at this, assuming that this was coming from a place of fear and doubt.

“I know this because,” you took in a shuddering breath, steeling yourself for what was to come. “I know this because in the world that I came from… This world is a story.”

Ace stares at you wide eyed and slack jawed. He laughed, but was very clearly uncomfortable, “I, uh, I think you’ve had a little too much to drink tonight. How about I take you back to your room to sleep it off, okay?” 

He tried to stand, but you yanked him back down, “No! I’m not drunk! Well, I mean, I am, but I know what I’m talking about! I can prove it.”

His expression was nothing short of incredulous, but he indulged you, “Yeah, okay, sure. Go ahead, prove it.”

“You’re hunting down Blackbeard because he murdered Thatch so he could steal his devil fruit,” you started light. Ace had told you about Thatch being the one he was avenging, but he’d never mentioned the devil fruit before, likely not deeming it an important enough detail. His brows knit together and his eyes drifted upwards as he racked his brain to remember if maybe he actually had said something about it.

“Before you were with Whitebeard, you were captain of the Spade Pirates. Your first member was Masked Deuce, who you met while being stranded on an island together. It’s where you found your devil fruit and built Striker,” he hadn’t told you anything in regards to his old crew, and his face reflected that. You definitely had his attention now.

“You and Luffy were raised by mountain bandits because Garp couldn’t raise you two himself. It wasn’t just you guys, though, you had another brother named Sabo, but he was killed when he tried to set sail and got shot down,” at this point, you were saying whatever came to mind with no regard to whether or not it was a good idea to say this right now. You couldn’t bring yourself to keep looking him in the eye, so you settled for staring at his hand in yours. It was completely slack.

“Your parents are Portgas D. Rouge and Gol D. R-”

Before you could finish the sentence, Ace’s free hand clamped over your mouth with such ferocity that you almost fell off the bed. Forcing yourself to make eye contact again, you see that his are blown wide and wild. The color has been drained from his face and he looked physically ill from hearing everything you just threw at him.

An extremely tense moment passed with nothing to be heard beyond his labored breathing. Then, he hesitantly let go of your face and with a shaky voice said, “Okay. I’m sorry. I believe you. What… What’s going to happen if I keep pursuing Blackbeard?”

You attempted to swallow the lump in your throat, but it refused to go away, “When you catch up with him, you’ll fight, but lose. Your powers are no match for his, you don’t stand a chance against him. After your loss, he turns you in to the marines. 

“Because of who your father is, they decide to make an example out of you and sentence you to death.”

“That bastard turns me in and I get executed?” He sounds like the wind has just been knocked out of him. Disbelief and bitterness are the two most prevalent emotions in his tone, but many others brew beneath the surface.

“Not exactly,” it’s true that he gets turned in and killed, but it’s nowhere near that simple and straightforward. “Luffy comes to your rescue at Marineford, and so does Whitebeard and a lot of his crew.”

Before you could go more into detail, Ace speaks up, “They… W-Why would they do that?”

“Why would they- You have to ask?!” Your voice raises and you have to remind yourself of just how much character development he has to go through in that arc to finally realize and accept the fact that he’s genuinely loved. “Because you’re family, their family! They care about you and don’t want to see you die!”

Your outburst shocked him, but not as much as seeing you start to cry did. His hand is abandoned and you lurch forward to bring him into a suffocatingly tight hug, “Y-You are so loved, you know that? They l-love you so much! A lot of people do! I do! We all want to see you live and be happy!” You limply hang off of him as more tears bubble to the surface, greedily taking the chance to escape with every sob as you finally let out everything you’ve been keeping in. Ace makes no move to return your embrace, he just sits there stiff as a board. 

“A-And, at that battle, you’re killed by Admiral Akainu while protecting Luffy. He’s devastated by it, being forced to watch you die hurts him so bad,” you cling onto him tighter upon feeling him flinch from your words. “Whitebeard dies there too.”

“What?! How could anyone kill him? That can’t be right!” You’re wrenched off Ace violently and his stare is almost as unhinged as it was when you said his parents’ names.

“Blackbeard does it,” Ace freezes at this. “That should give you an idea of how strong he is. If he can kill Whitebeard, fighting you is nothing to him. Besides, you of all people would know how hard it is to kill him,” you chuckle but it’s humorless, empty even.

A heavy stretch of silence follows after that. Ace’s eyes don’t leave your face for even a second, desperately searching for anything that would tell him that this is all one big, sick joke. But there’s nothing of the sort. 

Slowly, he releases your shoulders and he shifts away from you to rest his head in his hands. Without his support, you allow yourself to fall back onto the bed. Between all the alcohol and your emotional outburst, you’re exhausted and want nothing more than to sleep. You try to force yourself to stay awake, but it feels like an insurmountable task. 

“Hey, Ace?” There’s no answer, but you continue anyway, “I’m sorry. I know that was a lot. If, um… If you don’t believe me about knowing what’s going to happen, stick around until after we set sail again. Bon Clay- Mr. 2- is going to bring the Going Merry over here so that we don’t have to backtrack. Marines will be all over the place, but he sacrifices himself so that Luffy and his crew can get away. Once they’ve lost the marines, Nico Robin will reveal herself to have been hiding on the ship and joins the crew.”

Ace continues to not react to what’s being said, you’re not even sure he’s listening to you at this point. As much as you want to comfort him, your limbs feel like lead and your head is swimming. The last thing you see is the jolly roger of the Whitebeard’s staring you down as you fade into darkness.

—

Consciousness comes back to you slowly. Painfully so. Before you can even make out your surroundings, you’re assaulted by the worst headache of your life. The stabbing pain behind your eyes is crippling, all you want is to retreat back to the comfort of sleep, but you know that’s not going to happen.

It doesn’t help that your mouth is so dry that you feel like you’re back in the desert. One hand comes up to gingerly massage your eyes. The action brought more discomfort than relief, but it did clear up your sight a little. 

As your senses ebb back into you, you hone in on the pressure all over your body. It takes considerable effort, but you manage to lift your head enough to take a look. Your nose is less than an inch from bumping into someone else’s. Chopper’s to be exact. He was curled up into your side and using your chest as a pillow. Looking past him, Luffy was sprawled across your lap, belly up. Both of them were still asleep.

You prop yourself up on one arm. Chopper shifts, but doesn’t wake. Off to your side is a bedside table with a glass of water on it. Oh, thank God. Using the arm you aren’t propped up with, you grab it and bring the cup to your lips. The water is divine, an absolute blessing for your dry throat.  

As you enjoy your drink, your eyes glance around to observe the rest of the room. It’s the one you all have been staying in since saving Alabasta. Most of your friends are in their respective beds, except for Chopper and Luffy, obviously. Zoro was also not in his bed, instead being slumped over in a chair next to your own.

Your eyes flicker over to the massive windows of the room, and you spot Ace sitting in the windowsill. From the way he’s positioned, he appears to be awake already. Your gaze narrows as you focus on him. Something tickled at the back of your mind, demanding to be remembered. But what?

“Y-You are so loved, you know that? They l-love you so much! A lot of people do! I do! We all want to see you live and be happy!” 

The water going down your throat is suddenly going out of it when you choke. Memories come back and hit you like a train as you realize what exactly it is you did last night.

Naturally, this wakes up Chopper and Luffy, who are both jolted from their once peaceful sleep by you choking on your drink. Chopper immediately starts to panic, “AH! Don’t die, (Y/N)!”

—

It was crucial that you speak to Ace again, but it seemed like the world itself was committed to making sure that didn’t happen. Ace slipped out of the room while everyone was fussing over you, and it honestly felt like he was avoiding you now. Everytime you thought you might be able to catch him alone, either he vanishes, or someone else comes out of nowhere to drag you away.

Today was the day you all set sail from Alabasta, and while that did put you in close proximity with Ace, it also put everyone else within earshot of you two. And considering the delicate nature of what you needed to talk about, that was extremely inconvenient. 

The only good thing was that the events following leaving Alabasta played out exactly how they were supposed to. Hopefully that meant that Ace would believe you and give up hunting down Blackbeard, but you won’t be able to confirm that unless you speak with him. 

You were so stressed that you’d barely been able to focus on Robin being here. She “introduced” herself to you as if she hadn’t had an extremely uncomfortable run in with you in an alleyway back in Rainbase, but all you could manage was a half-assed handshake before excusing yourself.

For probably the fifteenth time today, you checked to make sure that Striker was still tied to the Merry. It was, much to your relief. But where was Ace hiding? You haven’t seen him since Robin showed herself.

The stress of trying and failing to corner him was doing nothing to help with your hangover, your head felt like it was about to explode. Did you still have Advil in the bag you got isekai’d here with? Maybe. Pushing off the railing, you march to where your room is while praying that you’re right about the painkillers.

You open the door without much thought, only to stop dead in your tracks when you catch sight of Ace rummaging through your belongings and stuffing them into his backpack. The door opening did briefly make him stop and peer over his shoulder to see who it was, but the second he saw it was you, he went right back to pillaging. 

“Can I help you? Why are you robbing me?” You stomp over to where he’s crouched down and shove his shoulder. 

“I’m not robbing you, I’m packing for you,” Ace mumbled, sounding lost in thought.

“Why would you be packing for me? Actually, you know what? That’s the least of my concerns right now, we need to talk about last night.”

“We’ll talk about it later, not here.” He still hasn’t properly faced you, and you were getting sick of only making eye contact with his tattoo and not him. 

“Where else would we talk about it?!” You hissed.

Seeming content with his work, he stood up and kicked the dresser drawer shut, “On the Striker. Or maybe the Moby Dick, I guess. I’m going back and you’re coming with me.”

You can’t believe what you’re hearing, “Excuse me?”

“I’m going back to the Moby Dick, and you’re coming with me.” Ace had finally turned to face you. His eyes were sunken and vaguely bloodshot. 

The sight catches you off guard, ��Did you sleep at all last night?”

He shook his head, “No, we’re going to have to stop somewhere else to sleep before going the rest of the way back home.”

“Ace, I’m not going with you. Look, I’m happy that you’re calling off your hunt, relieved honestly, but I’m staying here.” You will ideally be figuring out how to go home sometime soon, there’s no sense in hopping around from crew to crew now.

One of his eyes twitched, and he looked exasperated, “You can’t stay here. You aren’t safe here.”

“What are you-”

“Let me finish,” the words were spoken calmly, but very firm. “I don’t think you understand how serious this is. You apparently know everything about this world and what’s going to happen in it, do you have any idea what will happen to you if word gets out about this?”

“You’re the only person I’ve told, so as long as you keep your mouth shut, I’ll be fine.”

“Until you get drunk again and tell someone else, then what?” His words were just as scathing as his gaze.

Your face flushed in shame, “That won’t happen again.”

“You don’t know that!” Ace snapped at you, then sighed and dragged a hand down his face, “This is for your own good. Nothing good will come from anyone else learning about this. If it ever got back to someone like Big Mom, she would send every single one of her children after you so she could have you on her side. And that’s the nicer option. I’m sure the marines would be more than happy to kill you off so that no one else could have you if they can’t.”

Throughout this entire conversation, his face had remained uncomfortably neutral, but now it cracked. Fondness peaked through the exhaustion as his expression softened ever so slightly. He steps forwards and brings you against him in a crushing embrace. His skin is hot to the touch, effectively chasing away any chill that you may have had.

“You said you wanted to see me live, and I want to see you live, too.” The words are hushed, you wouldn’t have been able to hear him if he hadn’t been speaking right next to your ear.

Reluctantly, he pulls himself away. His face is serious again, “We’re leaving tonight, be ready to go.”

“But-”

“If you don’t come willingly, I will make you. The only thing that you resisting will accomplish is making this messier than it needs to be. Even if you don’t like this now, you will thank me for it later.”

Ace spins on his heel and heads for the door. All you can do is stand there gawking at him as he leaves. Just before the door closes behind him, he spares a glance over his shoulder to say, “I’ll see you tonight.”

[paimonial-rage]

otome isekai snippets - geo boys

synopsis: in which your favorite characters get dropped into a random stereotypical isekai plot of the author's choosing characters: albedo, gorou, itto, zhongli notes: title, synopsis, then snippet

Albedo - Protecting the Hero With Love

The hero’s journey was met with betrayal from every end, the first of which from his adoptive guardian, Duke Kreideprinz, who experimented on him endlessly as a child in an attempt to use his unique mana to defy the gods. Reborn as the hero’s sibling, there was no way you would be letting your brother go down such a harsh path! First obstacle? You would stop the duke from ever taking notice of your brother! Wait, what do you mean marriage!?

“Goodnight!” You exclaimed as you slammed your bedroom door shut.

You ignored the heat that flooded your cheeks as you fled to the comforting embrace of your bed. Your hands shook as you took your fluffiest pillow, buried your face into it…

And screamed.

Something was wrong. Something was very very wrong. Why in the world was he doing things like… that!? Dining with you every evening, placing his hand upon your waist in public, walking to your room at night and taking your hand to kiss while he looks up at you with those piercing blue–

You screamed into your pillow again. 

What in the world was going on!? He wasn’t supposed to be like this! By saving his sister from her terrible fate, you planned to prevent him from even taking interest in your brother’s mana. He was supposed to thank you with a sum of money and then send you on your way. His offer of a marriage contract as a form of protection for you and your brother came as a surprise, but when he simply stated it would be a benefit to him as well, you agreed. Since it was a mutually beneficial arrangement, he certainly had no reason to take interest in you.

So why in the world was he–

You slammed your fist into the pillow.

You knew the duke! Not only did you know him from the book, but you even heard rumors of him before you even met him in this world! He was supposed to be a loner! He was dismissive of most of his peers! He preferred the company of beakers and potions to actual people! The only person he truly cared about was his sister! So what in the world was that!? Just as his lips brushed against your fingers, he gazed up at you with those seafoam eyes and–

“So you don’t mind if I pursue you seriously then?”

You flopped forward onto your pillow and buried your face into it. Your heart couldn’t take this. Especially not when he looked at you like that. 

--

gorou, itto, and zhongli under the cut!

Gorou - I’m Not the Villainess Anymore!

It was the classic tale told many times past of a beautiful, yet pitiful woman that was saved by a handsome man. Together they overcame jealous villainesses, corrupt politicians, and jealous older siblings to live happily ever after. But that was not your story. You, as the jealous ultimate villainess, were exiled to a lonely monastery at the edge of the kingdom. But you know what? It was about time! Finally, you can live your life unfettered by the chains of the novel! But if that was the case, why does the head knight keep bothering you!? Your job as the villainess is done! It’s about time he left you alone!

You bit your lip as you scrubbed that light spot in the corridor for the fiftieth time. Who would have thought that after months of getting General Gorou to leave, the moment your wish came true you wanted nothing more than to keep him here with you. You knew his strengths and accomplishments. You knew he wouldn’t be taken down easily. But the thought that he’d be going up against the Shogunate…

You gritted your teeth and pressed your scrubber even harder into the spot. 

Who cared? Regardless of what happened, Sangonomiya Kingdom had nothing to do with you. Your job there was done. And once General Gorou left, you’d finally be free. You’d finally be able to live your life the way you wanted to. You would be able to leave the monastery behind, jump on a ship to a land far away, and restart your life there. And–

You froze when you heard the sound of hooves accompanied with a familiar voice. 

“Woah there! Jeez, I know you’re happy to go running again, but this won’t be for fun, boy.”

General Gorou? Was he leaving already?

Your heart caught in your throat as you tossed everything to the side and dashed toward the front doors. Throwing them open, you froze upon seeing the general securing the last of his luggage to his trusted steed. And when his eyes fell upon you, he froze in return. Was he at a loss of what to say just like you? But by the steely expression that soon overtook his face, it seemed he found his words first.

“I’ll return safely to you, I promise.”

You wanted to laugh in response. He’ll return safely? How could he promise such a thing so easily? The Shogun’s army was mighty and the Sangonomiya Kingdom was so small. Sure, he was a mighty warrior. Sure, he proved himself in battle many times over, but that didn’t mean–

He took your hands and squeezed them tightly.

“I’ll come back to you safely. I promise. So…” He then cupped your cheek and smiled that adorable smile of his. “Don’t worry too much, okay? Make sure to eat your vegetables. And don’t get into fights with the priest. Oh! And the children adore you, so I’ll check to see you set a good example for them when I return.”

Disbelief exploded from your chest in the form of a bark of laughter. 

“Don’t scold me right before you march to your death! Don’t worry about me! Just…” You turned away as tears filled your eyes. “Just come back alive.”

--

Itto - My Seventh Round of Life

You lived six lives before this one, each ending in failure. Murder, sickness, betrayal—the list goes on. You did everything right. You fulfilled all the duties of each life, and still each time ended in your early demise. So when you woke up for the seventh time, you decided you had enough. You’ll give life one last chance. This time you’ll make your own decisions! Although… getting caught by a gang of bandits certainly was not one of them!!!

“You can’t just… do this!!! They’re not going to allow it!” You exclaimed as you tried to pull the big burly oni back. 

You had no clue what in the world made him think it was okay to simply set up a stage in the middle of such an illustrious city, but here was this big dope doing so! Didn’t he know what could happen? What if permits were needed? What if everybody was arrested for the fifth time this month!? But much to your dismay, Itto erupted in a big belly laughter at your despair.

“C’mon, First! Why are you getting your obi all tied in a knot? It’s not a big deal. We've done this maaaany times and it always turned out fine. Just trust me! It’s gonna be a riot!”

You wanted to scream. Of course, he wouldn’t see anything wrong with this. Didn’t this guy have any sense of self-preservation? But when you turned to Shinobu for assistance, there she was supervising the setup of the stage. Was literally everyone in this accursed gang insane?

Upon noticing your distressed expression, Itto let out a sigh. Soon you were wincing as a huge hand ruffled your carefully styled hair. 

“Don’t worry, I get it! You’re standing here brought to tears over worrying about your great boss. It’ll be fine!” But when your expression didn’t change, his turned stern. “Look, if you spend all your time racking your brain over hows-its and whats-its, you’ll get all old and pruney before you know it. You only live once. Might as well make it worth it, right?”

You wanted to laugh. If only he knew this was your seventh life. You got killed for less. But… unlike your previous lives, it wasn’t as if the Arataki Gang was involved in anything illegal. Their antics only incurred, not the threat of bows and spears, but the rolling of eyes. You left your old life away too. They didn’t want you anymore. So… perhaps… Perhaps it couldn’t be that bad?

Your shoulders dropped.

“Fine.”

So when he jumped in front of the crowd with fireflies strapped to his horns and the rest of the gang jumping and dancing around him, the audience hooted and hollered with glee. With the music twanging high in the air and the children of the city rushing around you, somewhere along the line you found yourself laughing along too. It felt odd. Weird. Like there was a lightness in your chest you never felt before. 

Was this what it felt like to live?

--

Zhongli - I Didn’t Mean to Sleep With the Celestial Emperor

Every century, the celestial emperor came down to the Kingdom of Liyue to grace his people with the divine knowledge needed to flourish until his return. After enjoying the week-long festival in the harbor to your heart’s content, you were excited for the main event. But as the celestial emperor descended from the heavens, what filled your chest was not awe, but confusion. Wasn’t he the guy you slept with last night?

“It has been said that while the Harbor represents the will of Liyue, Qingce Village represents its heart. It is a joy to see that it has remained just as I remembered.” 

“O-Oh, is that so?” You asked as the corner of your smile twitched slightly.

You didn’t know how it came to this, bringing the celestial emperor around Liyue, that is. When you first saw his face, you nervously assumed you were mistaken. You clearly saw him descend from the heavens, after all. The man you spent a passionate evening with the night before certainly could not be him. But when he locked eyes with you from the parapet, dread filled your stomach. 

You tried. You really did. The moment the procession was over, you upped and headed straight to the inn to pack your belongings to leave and leave to anywhere out of Liyue Harbor. But that would’ve been too easy. No, the moment you rushed downstairs and paid your bill, you turned to run straight into a young adeptus and was therefore whisked over to the man himself. 

Though it would have been weird, you would have been fine if he simply wished to thank you for the evening, but things were never that simple, were they? No, when you were brought before him, he said that you promised to show him the delights of Liyue. You said he could take it as a verbal contract between you both and he wished to cash in on it.

Now, let it be said that you didn’t mean it. After having had a few drinks last night, you were in the mood to flirt and really, could you be held accountable for what came out of your mouth? You didn’t think he’d hold you to it! But at the same time, how could you refuse!? Only a fool would invalidate a contract made with the very being of contracts! 

So here you were bringing the celestial emperor around as if he were some random normal traveler from a foreign land trying to hide from the common folk the divinity that oozed off of him in waves. It certainly did not help that he was handsome to boot and could steal hearts with a simple smile. And when he directed all that at you…?

“To be able to share this view with you…” His amber eyes glowed with warmth. “Your presence makes this trip even more of a delight.”

You couldn’t think straight.

[just-animaxiz]

Fuck it - I'm gonna make these guys into reoccurring characters into RC9GN because they're underrated (Especially the leader)

Starting off with lore bits for:

Spike

He is the leader of not only the Punk Bots, but also the leader of Scrap City. Ever since he failed to defeat the ninja and thus scrapped away, he gained enough sentience to start rebelling against McFist and Viceroy, shouting out the way they mistreated the robots like that.

He is the least scrapped Punk Bot out there, and that is due to his self-taught experience with mechanical repairs. He then began to take whatever parts out there and used them to fix the other bots, gaining their respect for him and vice versa.

Spike, as designed, is a punk, so he fonds over Punk music and guitar - Fortunately, McFist dumped other materials such as magazines, old guitars, and other items into Scrap City. In the middle of the heap is an untouched shiny red guitar. Spike claimed it as his and named it, "Ruby Bolt.

During their imprisonment, Spike realized the heaps of cars and vehicles stacked up like ladders. To test his theory, he created a rope out of cable and started to climb the stack. It took him 12 tries before he finally made it on the wall. Looking down, Spike found himself at the edge of a long fall, so he lasso'ed the cable to a glued object, like an impaled stick or heavy pole, and climbed down.

Once he made it, he learned that no one came after him. He's free... But then he looked up at his mates and realized they're still trapped and too many escaping can lead to getting caught. So Spike devised a plan. He talked this out with the group, and using hacking skills and convincing, they pulled in outside help into it. At a precise time, Spike and his punk bots leave Scrap City. Then when the humans are occupied (At a grand party or very busy), the Punk Bots trashed down a McFist establishment.

While they trashed the area, Spike stole a few items for personal reasons, and when they came back to Scrap City, Spike used them as upgrades.

He made upgrades on himself - making him faster, stronger, and more agile than ever. Additionally, he made personal upgrades like having sharp teeth, a tongue piercing, and a cool new torso.

He also had stolen photos of not only Mcfist and Viceroy, but the Ninja too. He kept drawing personal threats for his revenge.

As much as everyone agreed to vandalize at a specific time, Spike would sometimes go out on his own to take a breather. Wearing long sleeves and a hood over his head, he hides himself from interacting with humans... Or McFist.

A person caught his eye - A young bright boy with purple hair and a red shirt, like his. He's enjoying a night out with his family, meeting up with his best friend, and talking about the girl he has a crush on... Spike wished he could've been that boy, instead of being a scrappy mistake.

Thorn

Thorn is the yellow punk bot, and personality-wise, he's the "I may be sweet but I'm not merciful" type.

He is Spike's Right Hand Man and he always inform Spike about upcoming events or news from the outside.

Thorn may not be as scary or threatening as his brothers, but he can be with his words alone. Spike taught him that!

When McFist dumped random trash into Scrap City, Thorn found an abandoned set of manga. That caused him to be addicted in different types like Shojo, Isekai, and Shonen. He would spend all night reading, learning small Japanese words.

It was until Skewer, the green Punk Bot, gave him a book he found about Japanese culture and their language. Thorn thanked Skewer for the gift and dedicated into learning about his interests.

Before Spike fixed him, Thorn used to be the most damaged. He lost his head a dozen of times, cannot run as fast, and he had a squeaky arm. Even after he's repaired, the squeak's still there. It made him feel like a repaired doll but they still have cracks on their face.

When Thorn joined his brothers out to vandalize McFist stores, he would sometimes steal manga, figurines, or Japanese books to fulfill his interests. He even made theories about Yokai and think they're real, so he showed respect whenever he passed by small statues or paintings.

He's not the type who just sees Japanese as a trend or media thing, but he truly respects their culture and wished to travel to Japan just to learn more and appreciate its beauty. He wondered if they would accept a broken doll like him over there.

When Thorn learns that the Ninja came from Japan, he wished to meet them during a fight so that he could ask them questions about their occupation, wanting to learn their moves and their history.

He would be the type to punch a jerk if they disrespect his interests or even embodies humiliation towards it. Like I said, he's sweet but not merciful.

Skewer

The scariest Punk Bot. Every bot, except for his brothers, feared him.

It's not his fault though; Skewer was made with the scary face by Viceroy and McFist, which made others back away whenever they felt like he's glaring at them.

Despite this, he's also the smartest. He helped Spike set up the upgrades and hacking. This is due because of the dumped items in the heap.

Skewer found a guide to hack and a manual to repair and rebuild. He also find trashed books from Math and science (Thanks Bash) and took them in for his research.

There, his intelligence became stronger than ever, storing data after data and using them for important tasks.

The data also led him to his fond of chess and checkers, which annoyed a specific chess-obsessed robot.

Even though he's smart, he still lives up to the scary bit - He's the frontman, the bulldozer, and the brute of the pack. Someone messes with him or his people, and they'll be skewered.

Bots cannot even tell what mood he's in, questioning if he gave them compliments or subtle threats.

When he and his brothers vandalized McFist Industries, Skewer made observant notes of everything. He noticed how Thorn would stare at a store with Ancient Japanese antiques, or how Spike gaze at a happy boy before he soberly looked away. Other times, Skewer made notes of seeing a red light on a camera, or hearing an annoying voice from a distance.

If they needed time, Skewer would purposely cause a destruction somewhere else as a diversion and make an escape route to go back to his brothers in time.

Skewer questions the Ninja's existence and purpose. He learned that they had been in Norrisville for several years, which is impossible for humans. (Wink) And he discovered from articles that the Ninja came in different forms, wondering if there's a deeper reason behind it.

He also wondered why McFist would go out of his way to built world-destructive robots just to destroy one Ninja. It doesn't make sense in his way.

Hope you enjoy some lore bits I made for them!

[shadowofroses]

Till I See You Again

Possible Reader x Nai Millions Knives.

Trigun Stampede into Trimax

Warnings: This itself is Gender Neutral Reader, Isekai alternate to another Isekai Idea I have where Zazie takes Reader to Nai instead of letting them go. Hints of Yandere Nai, Reader Sings. Tesla research, angst over Morals. If I forget something please let me know. I do intend to build on this more. Reader has experiments done on them , reader has no reason to sing this song, they just do.

Song used: Till I See You Again by Unsecret

943 words Chapter excerpt:

“Why am I a stranger, Lost in the Familiar….will I ever know~”

It’s not like you had much to do. It’s not your fault you got Isekaied into Trigun. Why couldn’t you have fall into Vash’s arms? No you had to fall into the world literally, being caught by a whirlwind of Worms.

Other than the blood tests among other things Conrad had performed upon you. As there had to be a Scientific reason why you were dropped into the world from a world long gone. Something was wrong with your blood work however, you wouldn’t be considered a Viable option as a ideal human, an attempt to perfect the Human race so that they could live independently of Plants all together.

“Running with my eyes closed, hunted by the shadows will they ever go?”

Due to your knowledge you were too valuable to let go. No they needed you locked up, well to an extent. You were free to roam the Ship. As long as you stayed out of the way there was no need to impose most things.

You were in the area where they had collected Surviving books from the Great Fall. You would call it a Library. You gazed through book after book Piecing together how things were the way they were, what happened to earth as a whole.

“I’m afraid...that I’m miles away from yesterday and I’m alone…”

As you sung to yourself in a slow, soft, and haunting way. You would have never thought that there were anyone else around. Seeing picture of Earth, the continents. Historical events leading up to it’s collapse. It really made you wonder...did you actually watch an anime, or were you thrust into the future somehow?

But how….was that possible? How was any of this possible?

“Can’t you see I’m right here? Locked inside the Nightmare...Like a memory?”

You would move on from subject to subject. Eventually you landed on the books on Plants. But...it wasn’t just Plants. But Independent Plants in general. Then...you found documents on Tesla…you really didn’t think you were supposed to find those. The tests they did on her...you couldn’t help but cry at that. Because, of course Humans would destroy another being to attempt to understand them...They stored her dissected body parts separately...but why?

“Whispers in the silence, madness in disguises...like an enemy.~”

You felt sick. Closing the book, disgusted. The more you read, the more you understood Nai, where he came from. His thought processes.

But no. You couldn’t let yourself think like that. There HAD to be some good in Humanity. Vash was out there trying to prove it. Granted you haven’t met Vash. But you knew him from the shows, from the Manga...well maybe known was a loose term…like Vash...you just had to believe there was some good in Humanity...Not quite because Rem sacrificed herself to. It...was hard to explain...

“it’s a cold and lonely road but I’m gonna hold on…..Till I see you again~”

You didn’t place the books back, instead you walked off, heading back to your quarters. A room Similar to what Vash was in when he was taken in after The Fall. You were distracted, that you didn’t even notice that you passed up Nai on the way out.

Nai himself was distracted. His eyes narrowed and followed your form. For one so painfully ordinary, your voice was haunting and beautiful when he heard it. It wasn’t a voice or a Melody he expected to ever have come out of your mouth.

Slowly he walked over to look at the books you were looking at. Old books on Earth were to be expected? Plants were probable. He froze at Tesla’s experiments and documents. Other than the obvious as to why they were there, his eyes narrowed. He saw water droplets beside the papers.

Hesitantly, he reached down, touching the droplets, and he raised it up to his nose. Salt...tears? You would cry for his Sister?

Why was he drawn to you? A Mere human?

It’s a cold and lonely road but I gotta hold on...Till I see you again~

Your voice, it echoed in his head. Who exactly did you want to see again? A lover back on Old Earth? Well you had to get over that. You were most likely never going to see Earth ever again. Not that Nai would let you go.

What makes you want to hang onto whatever it was you were holding onto? Why were you stubborn like his brother. Even going as far as trying to escape the ship under his watch. Why? You weren’t a stupid Human, you had remnants of intelligence. You knew this planet wasn’t Earth. There were two suns, it was hotter than the climate back on Earth. You would get sick, heat stroke, heat exhaustion, hyperthermia, among other things. You weren’t meant for this planet.

If anything you should be grateful he’s protecting you from this.

Till I see you again~

Your voice echoed as an ear worm. Nai frowned, as he moved deciding to do the one thing he could do and control at this present time. He walked until his bare feet took him to his organ. Sitting down, his fingers flew against the keys gracefully.

Closing his eyes his fingers played the notes before he could even think of what he was doing.

But with your voice in his head, singing the song you did earlier, he was playing the organ along with your voice playing on repeat in his head.

However something was missing...Oh, the musical notes he played were perfect. Everything Nai did was perfect. But still something was missing

He needed you.

[sugarthebee]

y'know what would be cool

a Genshin Impact/Wuthering Waves/you get the drill-esque gacha (possibly isekai) rpg, except it's underwater and all the playable characters except maybe the MC are (ZOOLOGICALLY ACCURATE, we don't need another Tweel incident,) merfolk

and they would all use unique, hand-chosen neo/xenopronouns, because you mean to tell me an underwater society cut off from humanity wouldn't develop its own concept of gender? And sure they still use pronouns and stuff but we can handwave it as translation from merfolk language to human language

and you yourself would be able to fully customize the MC, pronouns included

keeping in line with the gachas that came before, the MC's default name/title would be the Diver

perhaps they ended up discovering the merfolk's cities after finding an artifact (<likely one of the merfolk's magic weapons) in an abandoned lighthouse and getting isekai'd (think Amphibia-style) into the magic ocean

and all the weapons would be things like harpoons or magic staffs or similar things for fighting underwater

maybe the overarching story thing is about how there's some new kind of scary, powerful magic bubbling in the merfolk's pristine ocean and some people are scared of it and the merfolk born with it are often shipped off to be experimented on and the different merfolk cities have different views on how this new magic should be handled

science fantasy, of course, because magic technology is super cool and we need more of it in stories

the different kinds of merfolk would live at different depths in the sea in big floating magic bubble cities based on what kind of fish they are (like an angler fish merperson would live in a trench, a parrotfish merperson would live near a reef, etc.)

anyway are there any game devs out there that can make this happen

i really want to play this

and if nothing else I shall draw concept art

feel free to ask me questions about this little idea

(please talk to me about this little idea)

[rainslices]

long time no update!! (what i've been up to, new project, etc)

hellaur tumblr people... it has been a while since i've written a proper update on things I MEAN, WELL, if you follow me on twitter, you would probably already have heard! but before i get into that, i first want to welcome all ye who recently followed. congrats for finding my tumblr!!! either that or you probably came from twitter. whichever route you took, be careful... because once you check in, you can never check out muahahahaha!!!

ON [JACKHAMMERED]...

first, look at this, i recently made a placeholder icon for jackham's itch io page!!! (it's currently an unpublished draft though)

this isn't even the final thing, but it still somehow slaps. why did i make a placeholder icon? it's to replace the old one, which was this

BLEGGH. i went ahead and made a better one, even if i'm the only person who can see it in its unpublished state LMAO. anyways. where am i now with [JACKHAMMERED], you may ask! good question over these past couple months, i've managed to draft a bunch of documents consisting mostly of worldbuilding and character essays. the jackham google drive has a total of (counts my fingers and toes) twelve docs, that's right, TWELVE, currently marinating in the drive. i didn't even know i had it in me! though here lies the problem- out of all these charming character profiles and location docs, only two of them are a 'plot doc'. two, 'cause the first one became half-finished and the vibes were just off whenever i came back to it, and the second one went a lil farther than half, but still suffered a similar fate.

in shorter words, i'm stumped. and i can certainly pinpoint it to not being able to narrow down jackham's scope. i know i want this game to be something great, something that is a culmination of all its wonderful inspirations, but my mind is in a constant tug of war between wanting it to be a chapter-by-chapter thing, or just one full game. it leaves me feeling scatterbrained and unfocused. and even if i DID know what i want, it still feels... well, big. my general plans for jackham feel ambitious for someone who's swan diving into renpy with 0 knowledge. im just one guy ! and so my solution to that is...

i'm making [In The Middle]

NOW I KNOW HOW IT LOOKS LIKE "another VN? but chaurchey ur already stumped writing for jackhammered, how can you possibly write for this one?!" the difference is that i feel comfortable in narrowing things down if i start fresh. i still want to work with the initial ideas i have for jackhammered, but i'm putting it away for now until i feel ready. at least with In The Middle, i hope to apply the experience i've gained and tackle jackham again. i'm sure boel, olned, and kade can wait for me in a couple of months. maybe more. so what exactly is [In The Middle]? picture this: the sun is slowly sinking, with you finally reaching the gate of your house after a long day. your plans upon touchdown consist of only two things: microwave dinner, and a well-deserved nap. but you would quickly forget them when a flash of light temporary blinds you- and now there’s a hooded stranger on your lawn; you have but four days to find out who they are and where they came from, before the inert copper megaminx in their possession becomes active once more. a newfound friend, a stranger, or perhaps something more; only you get to decide. "In The Middle" is a test game that's precedent to the production of [JACKHAMMERED]. the story will be separate, short, and non-canon (maybe! who knows!). it's mostly for me to test the waters so i can properly bite off what i can chew for jackham, while also having the freedom of experimenting! two characters and one outcome, but the choices you make affect the way it's delivered (nods nods). this feels like a scale i can work with, and i've already pumped out a bunch of concepts in a separate drive which makes me really excited to do this!! it just occurred to me how much the isekai concept keeps bouncing around in my head rent free, but with In The Middle, the opposite more or less happens. Pieve gets isekai'd to you

who the hell is Pieve

TADAAAA!!! meet Pieve, that very stranger whom that portal puked out into your lawn. naked and afraid, so to speak. and oh, the beauty of concept art... i take pride in the fact that their design isn't even final yet as i've got more things in mind i want to tweak before i give this chochi spawn the Chochi Seal of Approval. aaaaand i'm gonna leave it at that so i don't spoil stuff. after all, learning about them is the goal. writing sure is HARD. but god, so is reading. so if you sped-run and skimmed through the entire update post up to here, well done!!! i would've done the same!!! this took hours to write but i'm glad to just get this out of the way because my followers on here deserve an update too. in closing, i'd like to mention just how much i am proud of myself. not just with the progress i've made for this idea so far, but with just. everything. if you told the me from 11 months ago that i would all of a sudden be into making games, i would have not believed you. but here we are, trajectory of life changed and all! i hope you can look forward to [In The Middle], and soon enough, [JACKHAMMERED].

[ozonelasher]

GET TO KNOW YOUR ADMIN !!

(i don't actually have a mun fc so you're getting shiny azumarill because. i like it :3)

name �� Ana!

pronouns — she/her primarily but they/them is fine too

preferred comms — tumblr IMs are preferred for OOC talk/plotting, & my discord is open to mutuals if they'd like :3

name of muse — Kaki

experience in RP — honestly i've been rping since i was probably too young to rp on the internet 💀 i started on deviantart (which like. oops but also i was like 9) and then started rping on tumblr likeee ~2015 or so. i actually first started writing Kaki on tumblr in like 2016, and then kinda started writing on twitter in 2019 when the RPC on here started to wane from its peak. i came back very recently because i got tired of the limitations of writing on twitter

best experiences — as of recent, i've had a few really really fun crossover threads on twitter that will stay with me forever atp. one was a real slowburn romance plot with a spike spiegel, and another was of isekai plot with desmond miles from assassin's creed that ended up being really fun and sweet. i also have a really cute ship going with a friend's DB OC on twitter, too. oh kaki and her tendency to adopt men two heads taller than her ❤️

pet peeves/dealbreakers — trying to force OOC scenarios/behaviors onto kaki or otherwise just making it clear you don't respect her character outside of writing will really sour me in terms of trying for future interactions. i doubt this will happen here as it's mostly a problem i've had on twitter but JUST IN CASE!!! i'm mostly talking stuff like, oversexualizing her because she has muscles ("step on me, m*mmy" & such comments are a HUGE no-no), assuming she's overly aggressive/belligerent, or on the flip-side, babying her like she's a cutesy helpless waif. she is a 30+ year old woman with thoughts and feelings and i would like her autonomy to be respected.

muse preference ( fluff, angst, smut ) — HONESTLY i'm down with anything as long as it's interesting. on my own i tend to write adventure-drama type plots (the dbz fic i'm working on is just a space opera tbh) with a splash of horror of some flavor, usually with anti-capitalist/fascist/imperialist messaging. i think the one thing i should mention is that i do really enjoy when there's a conflict or overarching storyline happening in longer plotted threads; it just keeps me more engaged.

plot or memes — both are good and work tbh. memes can be good for breaking the ice or actually figuring out a dynamic in practice, but if we want to go for something more in-depth, i do prefer some plotting (even if it's just planning points A and B and then just improvising how our muses get there)

long or short replies — quality > quantity. even if your response is like 3 sentences or less, if it moves things along, it's fine with me (:

best time to write — i tend to write more at night or on the weekends. really just when i'm not dead tired 😭but also if i really get into the plot of a thread, i'll get kinda hyperfixated on it and respond in like 3 seconds. my fault

are you like your muse? — In a lot of ways, yeah. Kaki is an OC i've been developing for like at least a decade now, and a lot of her experiences are drawn from things I personally have experienced (albeit, greatly exaggerated lmao), and the kind of character she's become is a projection of my beliefs and how I feel about the current state of the world. Writing her is a bit of a catharsis for me, really.

TAGGED — @pzfr

TAGGING — feel free to do it if you'd like :3

[edgiestdude]

So when I heard Roosterteeth shut down, I was debating on whether to make this post or not.

The last post I made was…

Wow, that was a year ago. A year ago I left RWBY because I lost interest in the show after my Weaboo self rose back from the dead. Not only that, but the more I thought about the show, the more I realized

“Wow that show wasn’t as good as people made it out to be.”

Throughout my RWBY fanself, I’ve done a lot of cringe things and decided to leave because: what was the point of sticking around and Criticizing RWDE and other RWBY critics who had some awful takes if I wasn’t interested in the show. (Fun fact, my memes are apparently popular in Facebook?)

It’s why I debated on making this post and decided: might as well. End it fully.

RWBY is a strange show. It’s neither good nor is it bad. It’s more…Mediocre. It’s not bad because the writers tried and did make a few good writing choices at times and didn’t go full on “Power fantasy!!!” (For those who think Jaune is Miles Luna self insert, go watch/read Isekais. Those are a different story). To be frank, as I thought about RWBY and its writing, I realized “RWBY was never as good as people made it out to be.”

RWBY, I feel, was never meant to be a fucking masterpiece like ATLA, Paranoia Agent, or Serial Experiments Lain. RWBYs more like Hellsing. It’s not thought-provoking, it’s more for fun. Now that’s not to say Miles and Kerry made some weird choices, like Faunus Racism and whatever happened in Atlas…

[Quick note if you want to write stuff on this: make sure to do research like reading books, looking at history, and reading up on websites (don’t just use Wikipedia kids). Oh and use appropriate timing and tone, that’s all]

So did Miles and Kerry write weird shit in RWBY? Yes. Should they get criticized. Yes. Were they planning on writing stuff like this on the long run? Maybe but I’m more leaning towards no.

RWBY was more of a show created by anime fans. Monty thought “hey wouldn’t it be cool if four girls fought and did cool things.” And with Miles and Kerry’s help created RWBY. RWBY, from what I saw, was more like a fighting game. “Fighting first, story second”

Now RWBY has been on a weird ride ever since Monty died, but I saw it more as Kerry and Miles carrying Monty’s torch. And that’s why I respected it. It could’ve just ended there, but they kept going. Also it’s worth noting that there was NO story thought of whatsoever, even when Monty was alive. It was more of a friend project that created a fanbase and franchise.

I came back to write this post because it was an interesting series that intrigued me back then. I was shocked that Roosterteeth shut down. The company that created Achievement hunter, Red vs blue, Camp Camp, and among other things.

Was it ever planning on coming? Ehhh…

Sort of. Roosterteeth did a lot of weird things and bad. But, be honest, how many companies do this? EA, Mappa, etc. Roosterteeth I feel had it coming since their founders were leaving left and right leaving very weird leaderships. And Roosterteeth was gonna be no exception to this. It’s why animation companies tend to be a pain in the ass for animators, especially in Japan. The thing about Roosterteeth is that it was more of an indie company, which later got swallowed by Warner, so I feel it was more prone to getting hurt worse. Roosterteeth was a sack of shit, but people tried to create content for people, even if they faced horrible harassment. No matter the issues that Roosterteeth had, may we never forget the memories and legacy they left behind. Every thing has an ugly side, that’s what makes us human. Roosterteeth had an interesting story with ugly and good, but it brought us memories and moments we may never get back. It’s a sad thing. But it’s life.

{Wanted to make a quick note: I read a RWBYcritics comment making fun of Canonseeker punching the air, which is funny because I forgot about Canonseeker a long time ago, so it’s kind of funny he lives rent free on some peoples head, even if he did bad shit back then}

Well, this is where it ends. I made this post to vent out my feelings about the situation and to finally close the book for good. I’ve might made some mistakes or bad calls, so I’d be interested in reading criticism, even if I don’t stick in tumblr for a while. Till then, farewell RWBY fandom and Roosterteeth, thanks for some of the memories.

[majokko120]

First Impressions of Kono Sekai wa Fukanzen Sugiru - Episode 1

Like in many Isekai anime we find a meta-narrative, a world (usually a world that resembles ours) outside *the* world (the Isekai). In this case, the protagonist joins a game company as a QA tester and ends up stuck in the game, trying to return to *his* world through diligent QA work.

The premise more or less boils down to "what if NPCs had souls and free will? But human minds, developers, programmed every event?"

Here the story parallels the 'Human Experience in our World' with the 'Human Experience (actual NPCs) in a world made by men,' alluding to profound questions about ours. "Hey, I can actually change the outc..."

The anime supposes that NPCs show signs of free will, so much so that game developers need QA testers to make sure nothing unintended ever happens due to NPC/creature behavior in the game. "Every day in my life felt the same, until you (dear QA tester) came along." The NPC, contrary to her programming, wants to learn and grow.

Of course we know NPCs do not have souls or free will, consisting of programmed behavior. But the 'what if' scenario for art's sake makes an indirect statement about Human Reality in our World: that life itself, if it actually lives, always appears organic, unpredictable, and unprogrammable.

[twisted-wonderland-but-gayer]

HALLELUJAH ??? i was beginning to think writers for tw m!mc is non-existential as my self-esteem, thank you. and this may be a bit weird so please feel free to ignore, your existence and writing already makes me feel happy and validated; but may i request an romantic love with vil, and platonic love with malleus? MC, who is a vil stan, got isekai'd into twisted wonderland and the plot twist? they were in rook's body. let's just say a certain someone was teensy weensy jealous of the amount of rookvil contents they encountered while looking for vil specifically (spoken from experience. most vil content creators are rookvil stans. sobs) and after what happened at VDC in chapter 5 with pomefiore (spoiler alert. iykyk), mc slept bitterly that night and thought, 'i could do better. i will treat you better.' well, ask and ye shall receive! the next day, they woke up as rook hunt and after the nth time of looking at the mirror and pinching their arm until its red to make sure its not a dream, they get a knock at the door. hesitating, they opened the door a crack, and peered out, only to see... your vil schoeheit. oh. in their suprise, the immediate reaction was to slam the door shut again. 'what are you doing? you're supposed to OPEN the door,' said beautiful man and the door flew open before you caught it. still confused and hazy with the sudden changes, and now face to face with the character you always saw behind the screen, the first thing that came out of isekai!mc mouth was, 'well, you are definitely a dream come true.' and instantly regreting their life decions after. it was silent staredown for a full 5 seconds, until isekai!mc pushed led vil out of the door and once again shuts the door in their face. nobody saw the vice housewarden of pomefiore that day. but plot twist? rook is still there, just that his consciousness took a hit because of the sudden possesion. he woke up after isekai!mc slept. but basically, lookism; when the other sleeps, the other takes over. so the next day, rook was back to normal and questions about his behaviour yesterday was only met with confusion. and vil was going to brush it off as just 'being under the weather,' but the following morning, he was met with the same doe eyes from the other day. there and then, vil sharply asks, 'who are you?'

just. a shy-fanboy who loves vil schoenheit, but runs away from said person when they're within a 20 meters radius. shy enough that when vil came to talk that one time when they were in control, they forcibly slamed their head to the nearest surface, enough to be unconcious, so that rook would wake up. a shy-fanboy who admires the effort vil put into becoming the fairest one of all, be it academics or athletics; a person who is strict on their dorm members, but is harsher on themselves. typecasts as a villain in reality because of his amazing performance in acting. who, despite their feelings, kept it in a tight lock because they don't expect their feelings to be returned; content to be simply an admirer from afar, as they always do. when, after much consideration on vil's part, asked malleus for advice and is met with an unfamiliar feeling when isekai!mc acted like a mother-hen when they finally met malleus, a complete 180 degrees turn from their shy nature. who, as someone that is used to being lonely, wanted to give the dragon fae a friend. and malleus was revelling in this new-found human. instead of the fear he was accustomed to, he was was met with warmth and kindness devoid of malicious intentions.

and what if? malleus can give our isekai!mc back his own body, and just needed an empty vessel, who would then take on their appearance. because, 'don't you find it inconvenient to share a body?'' and was promptly spoilt rotten by the pomefiore duo.

after a time, feelings bloomed. and every rose has its thorn; its a beautiful morning, when the beautiful queen received news from diasomnia that they found a way to return his petal to their world, just when he was planning to ask isekai!mc to stay with him in twisted wonderland.

(i realized this got waaaaay too long. and probably a little too specific? still, no pressure. its enough that you've even read this far. take ample rest, and i hope to see more of your works soon! ♡♡♡)

Body swapped with Rook.

Finally done homie here u go

You are unsure what had happened. Where the hell were you? Is this some strange fever dream? This isn't your room, this isn't your body!

Perhaps you spent too much time playing Twisted Wonderland last night, and now you're in some weird lucid dream. Yes, that has to be the explanation. You do not remember your room having this many arrows and bows all over the place and mounted on the walls.

You stretched and got up, looking around when you noticed your hands. Thin, pale, yet calloused hands from years of archery. They weren't your own. Thankfully almost every room in Pommefiore had a mirror in it, which you quickly examined.

Your hair was now short and blond, styled in a weird way that can only be described as Rook. His green eyes looked back at you in the mirror, his body mimed yours. The nightclothes he- you were wearing was loose yet fashionable. Just what the hell is happening? Perhaps if you pinch yourself…

A knock at the door breaks you out of your thoughts. "Coming!" You say, flinching at the french voice that comes it which isn't your own.

Going to open the door, you see Vil himself standing there. Your favorite character from the game you played. Vil opened his mouth to speak, in a panic you slammed the door on him. No way no way nowaynoway no. WAY. This has to be a dream but it feels so real? It's THEE Vil Shoenheit???

You opened the door again, this time met with an angry Vil. Oh no, you didn't mean to do that! But he looks so pretty like this…

"Why did you do that? You were supposed to open the door, Rook." Vil says disapprovingly. Rook- he– I— You? You opened your mouth a few times before closing it not knowing what to say. Eyes wide. "What a strange dream…" is all you can manage to say.

Vil's expression morphed into visible confusion. "Rook, are you feeling alright?" "I- Yes! I am- I uh… don't know what's gotten into me… sorry…" Oh no oh no this is awkward. So painfully awkward! You swear you also hear someone else in your mind cringing at your actions. "I um… Goodnight, Vil." "Night? Rook, it's almost time for class. You're always up early, what are you still doing in your room?"

You paused, inwardly panicking as you met the eyes of your Housewarden. "I'm sorry, Roi… du Poisons…" you struggled to pronounce certain words with your new voice. "I am just… not feeling very well today… Good night!"

Closing the door again, you paced back into the room, looking around. Pinching yourself didn't work, the time seemed to be moving normally, and the sky looked fine. This doesn't feel like a dream at all. You sat back down on Rook's bed, now your bed, as you brainstormed.

That was embarrassing! You embarrassed yourself in front of Vil! Surely this was a nightmare you can sleep off! Locking the door, you stayed in the room for the rest of the day. Refusing to go out at all.

The next day you woke up to darkness. Maybe you were half asleep? Yet no matter what you did, your body refused to move. You started to panic before you felt your body move on its own. You couldn't seem to control it- what the hell? Your eyes opened and you were in the same room as before, in the same body as before, only this time you couldn't control it.

You watched as Rook dressed himself in the mirror and did his morning routine at the crack of dawn before walking out of his room. The dorm was huge and incredible and�� you felt drowsy… you tried to hold out on your sleepiness as you tried to see where Rook would go. His classes, the library, his routine! You needed to know just in case…

The next day you woke up again. This time you were the one in control. You immediately got up and did the routine you saw Rook do. You're pretty sure it was the weekend now, a glance at Rook's phone tells you that much. So today you can look around and find out just what was wrong with you.

On your way to the library, you caught the attention of many. It was odd that Rook was actually making noise when he walked, and he wasn't off stalking Leona. You ignored the stares and quickly went to the library.

Inside you snagged every book you saw that mentioned dimensions, dreams, and time travel, hoping to find some answers inside. With an entire stack of books in your hand, you went to look for a table to sit at, where you encountered Malleus.

Wait, you just encountered Malleus, why is he here? The fae prince sat there at one of the library tables reading a book about gargoyles. Not wanting to disturb him, you sat at another table and began sifting through your piles of books.

It wasn't long before you caught the attention of the prince. Your out-of-character clumsiness and doe-eyed expression looking through each book. "I've never seen you in such a state of panic, Rook" the fae speaks.

You tense up, "I uh- yeah I'm just feeling… a little off recently…?" "You aren't Rook, are you?"

You sighed. "You caught me, but I don't know how I got here. I just woke up and poof!" "I see that is quite troublesome…"

Oddly enough you ended up walking alongside Malleus that day, discussing your home and your situation among other things. At some point you ended up listening to Malleus' entire rant on gargoyles which you genuinely listened to, he noticed.

You both seemed to click despite being in Rook's body, you treated him like a person. Before you knew it, it was nearly time to head back. "It is near curfew, Child of Mystery, next time we meet, I will hopefully have a solution to your situation."

And like that he disappeared into thin air. You quickly made your way back to the dorm. Sneaking into the main building, you were met with a disgruntled Vil who has obviously been waiting for you. "Rook. Come here." His tone was rough and you tensed up before obeying the blond's command.

"Rook where were you today? Not only did we make plans yesterday, but some students have also said you've been acting strange." "I-I, Mister- Roi du Poisons, it seems that recently I have been having an odd case of amnesia…"

You tensed under Vil's judgmental gaze as he looked you up and down. You tried your best to avoid eye contact. What he said next startled you, his voice cold.

"You aren't Rook. Who are you?"

[vermillioncrown]

i want to say something adjacent to the post i reblogged, re: op's request and perspective for not wanting mdzs/cql meta tagged as 'worldbuilding' or 'lore'.

i almost didn't reblog it. not that i didn't empathize nor understand why that post was made, but it felt like... not my place to say since i didn't do meta.

but it made me realize the feeling it stirred up in me was the type of avoidance and deflection learned after years of growing up as diaspora, being treated as alien, learning how to laugh off and play ignorant to microaggressions and other off-color remarks just so i didn't 'rock the boat'.

first and foremost, if i was still doing that, i wouldn't have written dream before daybreak. i want people to know that no matter the humor, no matter the silliness, the inherent cringe and self-indulgence of writing an si: i wrote that because it made sense. the feeling of isolation, of being not quite right - isekai into something that didn't require handwaving to understand and survive because the culture should fit; and it doesn't. and it will never. it is analogous to my diaspora experience. no other piece of media ever felt quite right to write for - if you've seen my 'project: double bastard' tab, i've had naruto brain rot since middle school. that's nearly two decades. and yet it was this story that i found and immediately latched onto.

mdzs is a chinese story. sounds obvious, right? because a lot of us are writing in english, communicating with other english-speaking fans, you can say you know but your brain is very good at getting used to things. if this is not a conscious thing that you are looking out for, you will miss it if you're not chinese.

i am happy to interact w readers, write funny and absurd things, be a clown, make connections, all that. i also don't treat writing that seriously as a craft. i do treat the content of what i write with deliberation, though - no matter the spectrum of silly-to-serious, from an ask that's joking around to each chapter i publish. the cultural consideration is always there in everything i post for mdzs or svsss. it's overtly there for chinese-based media, and i can't hide even if i tried for everything else because that's who i am. i am diaspora chinese.

my writing can stand on its own without the cultural perspective (eh. maybe not with the bilingualism in dream before daybreak). you can still enjoy it. i've put it out there, it is free to read, no one can stop you. but this is from the mouth of the author: you will never understand or follow 100% why something is happening if you are unable or unwilling to recognize that the base media and my fanfics are chinese (chinese-adjacent) by nature. even in something as cracky as lorenz attractors resemble butterflies - especially for that fic. it's easier to forget because i'm not up in your face with the chinese phrases all the time. and it's the collective effort of all the readers willing to have fun with me, so it seems very light-hearted and for the lulz.

here's me telling you the effort it takes to write that fic, hell, the entirety of the 'endure through the night' series. every piece of dialogue is thought through for how it might sound in chinese. i need to carefully balance zyx's inner thoughts versus how they'd talk. mannerisms. how someone is thinking. i also can't help that i'm american, and have english essentially as my first language. i'm always catching myself through speed writes, editing my drafts, correcting my outlines because some shorthand or thoughts came out automatically from a western perspective.

i try to keep things civil and fun on my blog because frankly, i wouldn't have the energy to deal with a perpetual fight in something that's my hobby. however, this is an important fight, one that i'm part of regardless of choice. this post was written as-is, so it is likely not very concise and hard to follow. but i hope that if you took the time to read it, you guys can continue to have fun reading my work but also have more understanding of where it comes from. i believe that understanding can only lead to more enjoyment.

[vailimia]

Reblogging because I've learned a bit more since making this post (and also just thought about it more) and I've realized that "trans" may not be the best term to use for my OCs that I said were trans.

None of the underlying characteristics about the characters have changed, I've just realized that maybe the term I used for them wasn't the most accurate (nothing wrong with the term itself, obviously).

Before I put a keep reading button, I'd just like to say that this reblog is only focusing on the transgenderism part of the original post, so the entire sexuality part is still accurate.

Just to recap (and to get my mind in the right place), the three OCs I'm focusing on are Azalea, Sapphire, and Nightingale, and in the original post I said that all three of them are trans.

Out of the three, Sapphire is the only one I'm fully confident in saying she's trans, since part of her backstory involves having a strong enough dislike for being male to actually go through with a gender-reassignment process (in this case, a magic ritual).

Azalea's in the middle of the three, since she doesn't feel any connection to either gender, and doesn't feel a strong enough disconnect to be non-binary (this is mostly because (at least in the world Azalea came from) elves don't really have gender norms at all, your gender does not matter to them at all unless you're trying to date one).

The reason I said Azalea was trans in the original post was because she did change her gender from male to female (also becoming a futa in the process, but that's not relevant), or rather she summoned a demon to do it for her.

The reason I'm no longer confident that "trans" is an accurate term to describe Azalea is because the reason she transitioned was because she had a crush on a girl who happened to be a lesbian, and not because Azalea hated being male.

Azalea and her crush never met each other after Azalea became a girl, since Azalea decided to become an adventurer so nobody would learn what she did (the world she came from wasn't the most accepting of things outside of what they consider normal).

As for what term I think is most accurate to describe Azalea, I'm honestly not sure.

Maybe "trans" is the best term to describe her, but it doesn't feel quite right to call her that if she became female to date a lesbian, and not because she would be happier with a different gender.

Moving on to the last character, Nightingale (who I'll be calling Gale in this post so I don't have to write her entire name several times) is more similar to Sapphire, with the main difference being that (at the current point in the timeline) Gale hasn't transitioned yet, and has not realized that the desire to be a woman isn't something that every male experiences (and represses for the sake of peace).

I haven't fleshed out Gale's personality very much, but the phrase "still cis tho" would probably be fairly common.

As for what term I think is most accurate to describe Gale, I think "egg" might work, at least until the timeline advances to when Sapphire offers Gale a "one-week free trial of being a woman" (don't ask, my mind is a weird place).

By the way, I haven't seen an actual definition of "egg" in terms of gender, but what I think it means (from watching OneTopic's r/egg_irl videos) is "trans person who hasn't realized that they're trans yet".

So yeah, there's a really long-winded correction on something I wrote a while ago that nobody's going to read.

I also have some other AMAB OCs who were transformed into girls upon being reincarnated into an isekai world, but also none of them specifically asked for it and part of the transformation was being given a divine blessing (from the goddess of reincarnation) that makes them completely immune to gender dysphoria so that they don't dislike being girls, which is basically just a fancy way of ignoring the fact that realistically, cis men would probably feel gender dysphoria if they were magically transformed into girls.

I think what I might do going forward is not call any of my OCs trans except for Sapphire and (post-transition) Nightingale, and instead just say what the underlying characteristics are and let people form their own opinions on what terms to use.

Time for another rambling post about my OCs, this time focusing on sexuality, with a little bit of transgenderism.

The reason I'm grouping these together is because they're the most common things I hear people ask "what does this add to the character?".

As always, click keep reading to keep reading.

One thing before I start, I may be using slightly different definitions of "bi" and "pan" than what you're familiar with because that's how I use those terms in relation to my own OCs, as well as in relation to myself.

I'm also going to assume there's only 2 genders in this post because this post is specifically about my OCs, and none of them are non-binary.

In this post, "bisexual" means "attracted to both genders, but still cares what gender their partner is", and "pansexual" means "attracted to both genders, does not care what gender their partner is".

I think a lot of my OCs can be assumed to be straight and cis because I haven't had a reason to confirm or deny that they aren't.

All the characters I've shown on Pixiv so far are confirmed to not be straight through their actions (straight girls wouldn't want to have sex with other girls).

Whitney, Numeri, and Natsu are all bisexual (Whitney's more into girls, Natsu likes both equally, Numeri's exact preference depends on the day), Haru and Anna are both pansexual, Rose is fully homosexual.

I have a bunch of other OCs who are non-straight, too.

Iris, Alice, Soriel, and Akai (Natsu's mom/Numeri's girldad) are all bi.

Misca is pan.

Fuyu (male) and Elion (female) are both mostly gay, but since they both crossdress they may be able to date each other in the future.

Melody and Shiromi are both non-straight, but I haven't fleshed out the characters enough to know exactly what their sexuality is.

Trace is a bit more complicated due to being a gardevoir (amorphous/human-like egg groups) and having slightly different preferences depending on which egg group his partner is.

If his partner is a human-like pokémon (or just a human), Trace is bi.

If his partner is an amorphous pokémon, Trace is pan because 90% of the time he can't even tell what gender his partner is in the first place without them telling him.

Then I have a bunch of OCs who don't have confirmed sexualities, but you can't reasonably assume they're straight because they're from a world where most people are bi or pan (to the point where the closest term for "bi" or "pan" would directly translate to "normal").

As for trans OCs, I have far less of them (only around three), and I probably wouldn't hesitate to confirm that most of my OCs are cis because I won't make one of my OCs trans unless I feel like it actually adds something to the character beyond diversity.

Azalea (previously unnamed elf girl I mentioned in past rambling posts) is trans because that's what lead her to become an adventurer, meet her adventuring party, and then get sucked through a dimensional rift to Japan with them (blame Natsu for this part).

I also have two more trans girl OCs (Sapphire and Nightingale, one named after (I think) a character from Sappho's poems, the other loosely named after Sappho herself), but I haven't fleshed out either of them enough to be comfortable revealing information about them yet.

I feel like there's only three types of trans OCs I'd ever make (but all my current trans OCs fall into the first category).

First is characters who are trans because it lead them to the situation they're in at the current point in the timeline (or will lead them to a situation they'll be in later).

Second is making a male character trans so I have an excuse for him to never wear a shirt (he paid good money for the ability to do this, and so he will do it whenever he can).

Third is making a character trans to spite people who say it adds nothing to the character (the thing it adds to the character is that I get to spite you).

Hopefully I didn't offend anyone with this post, I don't knowingly know any gay, bi, pan, or trans people personally, apart from myself (bi), so I'm not fully sure I have the best idea of what is and isn't offensive to them.

Honestly, the best way I know to tell whether something is offensive to a group of people is to ask someone who's part of that group, which isn't the easiest thing for me to do in this case, due to the point I mentioned above.

[yurimother]

LGBTQ Light Novel Review — I'm in Love with the Villainess

A stunningly profound, entertaining, and queer title that eclipses other isekai and Yuri series

There are few titles the general public seems to be as excited about as Inori and Hanagata's I'm in Love with the Villainess, as it has been sitting at or near the top of Amazon's LGBT Manga list for months and Twitter is consistently abuzz with the latest news on this isekai Yuri series. I was somewhat more skeptical, as I have had relatively poor experiences with isekai and fantasy Yuri. Still, my excitement went through the room, and I eagerly boarded the "hype train" upon the cover reveal for the third volume. Yuri families, where two women raise children together, are one of my greatest desires and something I rarely see portrayed in the genre. However, I still had mostly low expectations for the series going into the first volume. I looked forward to some light meandering comedy and typical boring trope-filled isekai shenanigans. However, I'm in Love with the Villainess more than exceeded my expectations. No, even this statement is far too moderate to describe how utterly stunned and blown away I was by Inori's creation. I'm in Love with the Villainess is completely shattering and easily one of the greatest light novels I have ever read. Thus, I have no choice to award a perfect 10/10 score, my first ever for a light novel.

After waking up in the world of her favorite otome game, Revolution, protagonist Rae is ecstatic to be faced to face with Claire Francois, the game's villainous rival. However, Rae never played Revolution for the thrill of romancing any of the three attractive young princes. She was always in love with Claire. She attends the academy and studies magic in the fantasy world alongside Claire, the princes, and various other supporting characters. Using her skills from the modern world and her encyclopedic knowledge of Revolution, Rae manipulates the situation to be close to Claire, becoming her maid, and garnering status and money along the way. As an inevitable conflict looms closer, Rea begins to enact plans to protect herself and Claire, many of which are not fully understood or explained until the finale fantastically reveals the reasons for her actions. There is a natural and steady pace to the narrative that awards readers’  predictions and attention to detail.

I'm in Love with the Villainess has some excellent supporting characters, all of whom have unique personalities, histories, and abilities, some of which are revealed by Rae's exposition and others naturally throughout the novel. However, the stars of the show are the central couple, Rae and Claire. Claire is an elite aristocrat and extremely bratty. She often sneers at commoners and makes her disdain of Rae very clear from early on. On paper, she sounds like the perfect villain and someone all readers would despise. However, Rae's utter devotion and infatuation with Claire is so sincere that we cannot help but be pulled in and adore Claire and all her tantrums. Rae is a delight herself, continually flirting and poking fun at Claire, which gets her verbally berated, much to her masochistic pleasure. However, she is also exceptionally cunning and intelligent, and some of the light novel's greatest joys are listening to her analyze a situation or watching one of her plans fall into place.

“Ah, I’m… Well, it doesn’t matter. I mean, it’s irrelevant to cuteness—because, Miss Claire, you are cute.” “Huh?!” She pulled away. It was perfect—such a pure reaction. “Miss Claire, you hate me, right?” “Of course!” “That’s fine. Please keep teasing me. I love it.”

The beginning of the book does not immediately clue one into its brilliance. Sure, Claire and Rea get some great one-liners as they bully each other, and the scenarios are authentic and fun, but it is nothing shattering. I was feeling pretty relaxed and having a lot of fun with the characters, their relationship, and the various slice-of-life style scenarios they encountered until one section, I remember the exact page, 81, as it stopped me dead in my tracks. I was flabbergasted and briefly frozen before shooting up out of bed, shouting expletives as I ran to my office to immediately record what I had just experienced. It all begins with the line, "Hey, Rae. Are you what they call gay?" What followed was one of the most thoughtful, condensed, informative, and nuanced discussions of gay and queer identity (both terms used in this scene) I have ever seen in Yuri. Everything from representation in media, the perceptions of and prejudices against gay people, and the role gender plays in romance for bisexual and gay people are analyzed. Its commentary is succinct yet so respectful and forthright that it could have only come from genuine experience, thus selling the book and its characters so much more.

"Queer people were still overwhelmingly closeted in this world, which was rife with prejudice and nurtured little understanding. As I noted, the queer people depicted in the story were either the sex fiends Claire imagined or the free-loving sort Lene had in mind. Diversity and acceptance were a long way off.”

Thus, Inori's writing's beauty exposed itself, and the book opened itself up to a delightful cycle. The narrative masterfully integrates isekai slice-of-life hijinks, like running a cross-dressing café or battling a giant slime with nuanced and challenging moments that dissect complicated topics. The latter mainly consists of a growing rift between the aristocracy and common people, mirroring real-world wealth gap issues, but the novel also touch on matters such as unequal prison sentencing and segregation. Every scene helped further the complexity of the characters and their relationships or else built onto the world of Revolution. Speaking of which, I'm in Love with the Villainess has some of the best worldbuilding ever seen in a light novel.

Initially, brief exposition establishes much of the world, which is adequate if not exciting. I will mark up to a casualty of the light novel's serialized nature, as it must present readers its setting immediately. However, Inori does not stop here. Through the narrative, new elements are established, such as a magic system and the kingdom's politics. Rea notes and describes how the world, while clearly based on medieval Europe, has many modern Japanese attributes, as Japanese game developers created it. Her pointing out the intersection of the two is fascinating. Furthermore, A great deal of time is spent establishing characters and organizations all have their own wants, agendas, and methods, many of which are not even directly involved with the story. Instead, they act as a background and help further contextualize others. For example, the Church publicly appears to lean towards supporting the commoners in their efforts for equality but has its own agenda of superseding the nobility. While they play little role in Rea and Claire’s adventure, they are one of numerous factors contributing to the unrest of the lower class. All these additions are interesting, and it never feels like the story or characters suffer for their inclusion, quite the opposite.

“The Bauer Kingdom had started a step behind other countries when it came to magical research. They dominated the surrounding countries in military strength, and this had made them complacent, leading them to underestimate the value of new magic technology until the best researchers had all been enticed to other countries. Even after the king came up with his magic-focused meritocratic policy, Bauer lagged behind.”

I can only make complaints by scraping the very bottom of the barrel. Hanagata's beautiful art is too infrequent to add much to the light novel, and many scenes crying for illustrations are left to the readers' imagination. However, Inori so wonderful writes the story that one hardly cares and can easily picture every moment with delight. Besides, the manga adaption will nullify this issue. Where I cannot complain at all is the spectacular translation by Jenn Yamazaki and Nibedita Sen, one of Seven Seas best (which is high praise considering the competition). Sure, I was slightly disappointed at first to see the adaptation left off honorifics, but the more I thought about the setting, the more sense it made. I am sure people much smarter than I gave the issue much more consideration, and I am happy with their decisions.

I'm in Love with the Villainess left me reeling with how pleasurable and powerful it was. The story and characters are such a joy, and I cannot wait to see Rea and Claire bully each other again in the next volume. Astounding worldbuilding and powerful, thought-provoking politics surround their antics and the high stakes plot. Every moment of their journey will enthrall readers as they squeal with glee at its hilarious set pieces or are shocked by its commentary of society's most significant challenges. Inori has created one of the most delightful, heartfelt, complex, profound, and genuinely queer light novel series ever. If you only read one thing I recommend this year, let it be I'm in Love with the Villainess.

Ratings: Story — 9 Characters — 10 Art — 5 LGBTQ — 10 Sexual Content — 2 Final — 10

Review copy provided by Seven Seas Entertainment

Purchase I’m in Love with the Villainess in digitally (9/23) and in print (11/10) today: https://amzn.to/32NEyG1

Supports creators by purchasing official releases.

[pair-annoyed]

Anime I Watched This Summer

Summer 2020 has officially come to a close. It’s fall in Animal Crossing and the trees are beginning to turn. Much like quarantine, I spent a lot of my free time watching anime when I wasn’t stressing over starting college. Now that the school year has begun, I thought it would be nice to reflect on everything I’ve watched! 

These Anime were seen between 6/14 - 8/31 (my Birthday!) and are listed in chronological order.

They will be rated on a 1-10 scale; 1 meaning complete garbage, 10 meaning masterpiece. I will offer my thoughts on what I did/didn't like about each show!

1. Bakemono no Ko - 8/10

This was such a great way to start out the summer! I love the dynamic between Kumatetsu and Ren. Overall its a little cliche, but it’s also very wholesome. It’s by the same studio that made Wolf Children (which I loved!). so I knew it was going to be good. My favorite aspect of this movie was its backgrounds and world building! 

2. Wan Sheng Jie - 9/10

Oh my gosh! I know that this is technically a donghua, but its on MAL, so it counts. This show quickly became my favorite slice of life of all time. I adore the art style and all of the characters. The comedy, plot, and design blends so well together. Everything in Wan Sheng Jie feels warm and comfy. It’s also confirmed for a second season! After seeing its cliff hanger ending, I’m so anxious for what comes next! 

3. Dororo - 7/10

I’ll be honest, I’m a sucker for studio MAPPA. I really liked the historical aspects of Dororo. From the outfits to the ways characters behave, its grounded in the constraints of feudal Japan. I would have given this show a higher score if it was a little more grounded in science. I feel like more time should’ve been given to the demons and antagonists of the show. Our MC was so over powered, which made the final fights of the series more lack-luster. I think its less of the anime’s fault and more because the original source material is from the 60s. That being said, I loved this show! It was cute and action packed. Though it isn’t perfect, it holds its own.

4. Bungou Stray Dogs - 5/10

The concepts and action are misconstrued in Bungou Stary Dogs. This is one of those shows that I chose to watch because it was all over Tumblr. The powers themselves are cool, but I can’t understand why this series is so praised. At it’s core its predictable and basic. The fights seemed low stakes and low energy. None of the humor really felt like it belonged. It tried too hard to be something it isn’t. I don’t think I’ll watch beyond this first season. 

5. Kami no Tou - 4.5/10

First off, fuck Rachel, me and my homies hate Rachel. I really really had high hopes for Tower of God. It paves the way for Webtoon adaptations in the future. Its such a shame that this adaptation SUCKED. I have not read the source material, I’m going solely based on the anime. It wasn’t good? It was horrible. I hate Bam, I hate Rachel. I think all the characters expect Rak were awful. Please don’t make a season 2. Please. If you’re interesting in Tower of God, just read the webtoon. 

6. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun - 7/10

Shoujo anime is my guilty pleasure. I especially liked the way Gekkan Shoujo tackled Sakura and Nozaki’s relationship. Besides just the main characters, even the side characters were enjoyable! It was a fun and creative show. My only complaint is how dense Nozaki is, but I also absolutely love that part of him.

7. Jojo no Kimyou no Bouken (Parts 1-2) - 6.5/10

Jojo is not the saving grace of shounen anime. It isn’t something super revolutionary and it certainly will never be a 10/10. Part 1 was so slow and boring. Jonathan was just mediocre at best. I definitely liked Joseph a LOT more than Jonathan. Part 2 overall was much easier to watch than part 1. The fights are good, but there’s just something about Jojo that I can’t get behind. Although I’m completely bashing this series, I’m going to keep watching it. At this point, I wanna know what a stand is. 

8. Clannad - 5.5/10

I was expecting Clannad to be sad, but instead I got a cute, slice of life, romance. It wasn’t unenjoyable, but it was also a pretty slow-burning show. I loved watching Nagisa and Okazaki slowly fall in love with each other. It was funny at times and sad at other points. I am currently watching Clannad: After Story (which I’ve heard is heartbreaking), so I’m hoping to get some catharsis out of that. 

9. Otome Game no Hametsu Flag shika Nai...  - 6/10

This show is only 12 episodes, and yet it still has filler episodes for some reason? I’m a person who doesn’t typically watch isekai because the genre is so over done. However, when it’s done in a very specific way it’s really fun to watch! This show was definitely a lot of fun, it’s also cute and has so many interesting character-character interactions. The ending is painfully cliche, but I think it adds to this shows charm. 

10. Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen  - 8/10

I loved Love is War so much! I love their weird romantic dynamic. I love the characters, and I love the animation. It’s over the top and executes it humor masterfully. The entire show fills you with anticipation for the two main characters. Kaguya is my favorite character. Although I haven’t seen season two yet, I most certainly will! I’m so upset I hadn’t seen this show sooner.

11. Great Pretender - 8.5/10

This show is so colorful and bubbly. The animation is so smooth and they are able to tackle so many different kinds of things given its plot. The whole show itself just feels like summertime. It came out not to long ago, so some people may not be familiar with it. On top of the show itself, the music is great, with a Jazzy OP and and ED that features Freddie Mercury

12. Steins;Gate 0 - 8/10

 I loved the original Stein;Gate so much! So it’s no surprise how much I liked the second season. It builds significantly off the first season in a sort of “off shot” OVA kind of way. The events of Steins;Gate 0 don’t actually happen, but that doesn’t stop it from being meaningful. The big “twist” was predictable and a bit of a let down, but I still enjoyed this. Granted, I’m bias. 

13. Seishun Buta Yarou wa Yumemiru Shoujo no Yume wo Minai - 9.5/10

I sobbed. So much. This movie was phenomenal, it was such a trip. Having watched the original series, this tore my heart apart. It gets a high score for being able to take the characters I love and creating a wonderfully emotional experience. If you haven’t seen Bunny Girl Senpai, please watch it, and then watch this movie. You won’t regret it! 

14. Hotaru no Haka - 6/10

Grave of the Fireflies made me stop watching anime for a while. Studio Ghibli created something grim, something that leaves the viewers feeling hollow. Its a movie about WWII from Japan’s perspective. As an American, all I could feel while watching this was immense guilt. I will say though, that some of the movies main plot could have easily been prevented if the main character had swallowed his pride. His younger sister was also my least favorite character. I get that she’s a kid and that kids are fussy, but you would think that during wartime, she’d be more understanding and at least try to eat the things she dislikes. 

15. Yagate Kimi ni Naru - 9/10

This was a great way to end the summer. This is more that just GL romance, its a love story. Its about growing up and learning to understand your feelings. I related to Yuu so much, which made this more emotional than I expected. It’s really unlike another romance anime I’ve seen. I hope it gets confirmed for a second season. If not, I’ll be reading the manga. 

Seasonal Shows: (Things that are still airing as of 9/5/2020)

1. The God of High School  7.5/10

Another thing done by studio MAPPA. Are you surprised? I absolutely love the action in GoH. The plot however, is all over the place. The story seems fragmented and hard to follow. Like Tower of God, it was poorly adapted. I’m giving it such a high score, because it’s SO much more enjoyable then Tower of God. 

2. Enen no Shouboutai: Ni no Shou - 4/10

My thoughts on season 2 are about the same as my thoughts on season 1. The only difference is that this season has more Jojo references. I’ve rated it lower because its so repetitive. I’m so sick of watching it, but I’ve got to see it through the bitter end.   

3. Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season - 8.5/10 

All I’m going to say about Re:Zero is that I love it. I can’t give an accurate review of it because I’ve been hyping this season since it was announced. If you’re into non-typical isekai, watch Re:Zero, its so enjoyable!